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Campaign Trail 7: The young candidates' challenges

Almost one fifth of the candidates running for Kabul in the upcoming parliamentary election are young, between 25 (the minimum age required by the law to run) and 35 years old. The proportion of young candidates varies, but provinces with big urban centres like Balkh, Nangrahar and Herat tend to have more. Some of these young Afghans appear to be genuine idealists. Others just seem to be using the election to promote themselves for personal ambition. AAN political researcher Gran Hewad has met dozens of these young men and women and has been looking at their political agendas. read more »

posted: 30-08-2010 / by: Gran Hewad

Ten Dead in Badakhshan 7: An Afghan aid worker speaks up

Belquis Ahmadi(*) is an Afghan aid worker who had known, cooperated and traveled with Tom Little under the most difficult conditions of the 1990s civil war. Read her warmly commemorating the slain aid worker in this guest contribution to our blog. read more »

posted: 30-08-2010 / by: Belquis Ahmadi

Campaign Trail 6/2: Loya Paktia, Strongmen and Parties

In the second part of his pre-election analysis of Loya Paktia – with the three provinces of Paktia, Paktika and Khost -, AAN researcher Fabrizio Foschini takes a closer look at some of the candidates, the equilibrium of power that shapes their chances in the 18 September poll and ponders what will happen to the ballot boxes. read more »

posted: 29-08-2010 by: Fabrizio Foschini

Campaign Trail 6/1: Loya Paktia, elections without campaign and (many) voters

Loya Paktia, as the three provinces of Paktia, Paktika and Khost are sometimes referred to, is one of the portions of Afghanistan most hardly affected by the insurgency. With a long history of low degree of state control and an equally long border shared with Pakistan’s FATA, the region does not look like the perfect ground for a democratic election in these hard times. Why are people running as candidates, then? In the first part of a pre-election analysis, AAN researcher Fabrizio Foschini looks at the situation in which the 18 September poll will tale place. read more »

posted: 28-08-2010 by: Fabrizio Foschini

Kabul’s kitschy wedding cake architecture

Kabul is a city of dramatic contrasts. In the streets, shiny black-windowed limousines drive immediately alongside scruffy pushcarts with wobbly wheels. On the sidewalks, one-legged beggars hold out hands to well-dressed business men in sharp, knitted suits and gleaming shoes. In the built environment, too, these contrasts seem nearly infinite writes our guest blogger Anne Feenstra (M.Arch.)(*). read more »

posted: 27-08-2010 by: Guests

The Civilian Cost of Armed Conflict in Afghanistan: An Overview of Recent Reports

In July, the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and UNAMA published their mid-year reports on civilian casualties and protection of civilians in the conflict in Afghanistan. AAN Senior Analyst, Sari Kouvo, takes a closer look at patterns identified on violations against – and protection of – civilians in the war in Afghanistan and brings in other, lesser known data. read more »

posted: 26-08-2010 by: Sari Kouvo

Campaign Trail 5: A pre-election visit to Paktika

Paktika is not one of the most accessible places in Afghanistan. Hit by insecurity and forgotten by most development actors , Sharana, a dusty small town and the provincial capital, is a place rarely visited by outsiders. But thanks to the eager support to NGO involvement by the civilian team at the PRT in Paktika, our guest blogger Tina Blohm(*) was able to get on a flight to Sharana. Here is what she saw during a short stay in Sharana. read more »

posted: 23-08-2010 / by: Tina Blohm

Ten Dead in Badakhshan 6: Local Taliban Say it was Murder

There has been the first on the record condemnation by a senior member of the Taleban of the killings of eight foreign aid workers in Badakshshan on 5th August. Qari Malang, the representative of the Western Nuristan Taleban front, told AAN the Nuristani Taleban considered the killings to be murder. The initial claim of responsibility made by the Taleban spokesman’s is looking ever more far-fetched. AAN’s senior analyst, Kate Clark, asks, if this was not an operation carried out by Taleban based in Badakshshan or Nuristan, why is the Kandahari leadership continuing to maintain its silence over the murders? read more »

posted: 20-08-2010 by: Kate Clark

Ten Dead in Badakhshan 5: Condemnation from a Taleb: silence from the Palace

A north-eastern Taleban leader has been in touch with AAN to condemn the execution of unarmed aid workers in Badakhshan ten days ago. His statement reveals unease and disagreement within the leadership about this extreme act of violence. According to the Taleban’s own new code of conduct – a copy of which AAN has also obtained – it is clear that these killings were in clear contravention of Taleban rules. In other words, their spokesman should have condemned, rather than claimed responsibility for them. At the same time, as AAN senior analyst, Kate Clark, reports, there has been near silence from the Government side about what was probably the worst attack on humanitarian workers in Afghanistan in the last thirty years. read more »

posted: 17-08-2010 by: Kate Clark

Campaing Trail (4): Candidates and Campaigning

At a time when two candidates for parliamentary elections have been killed, three kidnapped, at least ten issued with death threats and 48 excluded from the final list, the surviving candidates are campaigning hard. This is often a multi-goal struggle: to become a representative of the people, to get publicized via their candidacy, to be posting banners and posters on the walls, to pursue competition between cousins, to be seen on TV, to follow up a family tradition and respect their fathers’ souls and so on and so forth. AAN is interviewing candidates – about three dozen so far – from across the country and our political researcher, Gran Hewad, has been getting his teeth into their various campaign strategies. read more »

posted: 16-08-2010 / by: Gran Hewad

An Update on Voter Registration

Last Thursday, August 12, saw the conclusion of yet another stage on the road to the elections of 18 September. Making sure all those eligible to vote get their voter cards (and one card per voter only) is clearly a major part of any free and fair election. But in what has become something of a habit, the two-month long period designated for the registration of voters and the distribution of voting cards ended in polemics and accusations. AAN analyst Fabrizio Foschini tries to summarize the major features of this process. read more »

posted: 15-08-2010 by: Fabrizio Foschini

A Wikileaks Leak and Human Rights Matters

A series of emails sent to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange by human rights groups from or based in Afghanistan has been leaked to the media. The groups ‘called on the whistleblower website to expunge the names of Afghans mentioned in the war logs because of fears that they could be targeted by insurgents’. AAN’s co-director Thomas Ruttig shakes his head in despair. read more »

posted: 13-08-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

Ten Dead in Badakhshan 4: Afghan Reactions (UPDATED)

AAN has been asking for the memories and thoughts of some of the Afghans who knew the members of the eye camp team who were murdered in Badakhshan last week. Initially, we wanted to find out what they thought about the Taleban accusations that the team had been preaching Christianity, but it soon became clear that most people just wanted to share their memories of the dead, particularly the two oldest members of the team, Dan Terry, who was in Afghanistan for almost 40 years, and the team-leader, Tom Little, there for thirty-four years. Both men lived through successive regimes, brought up their families and forged many enduring friendships. read more »

posted: 12-08-2010 by: Kate Clark

Ten dead in Badakhshan 3: The Dubious Taleban Claim

The Taleban get in quickly with their claims and they get in dirty. Spy, whore, preacher – Taleban accusations stick, regardless of who they are aimed at, Afghan or foreigner, and regardless of the truth of the matter. In an Afghan context – and it seems, also, this week in an international one – such accusation can succeed in justifying, or at least explaining, murder. Following the killing of ten members of an eye care team in Badakhshan last week, senior AAN analyst, Kate Clark looks at how an opportunistic accusation by the Taleban that the dead had been preaching became ‘the truth’ in places far from Afghanistan. She’s also been hearing from Afghans who defend the dead. read more »

posted: 11-08-2010 by: Kate Clark

Ten Dead in Badakhshan (2)

We follow up our reporting on the murder of ten aid workers on Thursday with two contributions from guest authors, Michael Semple and Christoph Reuter (1). They shed more light on three of the victims, Dan Terry, Daniela Beyer and Karen Woo; Michael additionally analyses the status of the insurgency in the area the killings happened and sheds light on social deformations that result from the decade-old conflict in Afghanistan. read more »

posted: 09-08-2010 / by: Michael Semple and Christoph Reuter

Ten Dead in Badakhshan (UPDATED)

Among the party of Afghans and foreigners returning from holding an eye camp for communities in Nuristan and murdered on their way back in Badakhshan were several known to many in AAN. We grieve with their families and friends. Read an obituary by our Senior Analyst Kate Clark (with updates at the end of the text). read more »

posted: 08-08-2010 by: Kate Clark

Pakistani Anger with WikiLeaks

Pakistan has remarkably free media. However, this freedom has been limited on a few subjects. Journalists would not touch the Pakistani involvement in Afghanistan during the ‘jihad’ against the Soviet occupation in a critical way, for example. It looked as if the ISI often was dictating the leaders on this subject in at least some of the important newspapers. As the WikiLeaks affair shows this still seems to be the case. Even ‘many journalists in Pakistan are on the payroll of various intelligence outfits’, how a courageous author put it. In this light, Ulrike and Karl Fischer(*) look at reactions on the Afghan WikiLeaks affair in Pakistan. read more »

posted: 06-08-2010 / by: Ulrike and Karl Fischer

Afghanistan is (still) not Iraq

One of the monsters thought to be slain has raised one of its ugly heads again: the 'let's replicate our Iraq success in Afghanistan' discussion, seasoned with 'yes we know Afghanistan is not Iraq but...' attachments. See the surge that supposedly has brought a decrease of violence in Baghdad and elsewhere and has been replicated in Afghanistan. The Sons of Iraq a.k.a. Awakening Councils are reincarnated in the countless 'tribal' 'shuras' and non-militias etc pp. Now the walls that segregated Shia from Sunni in Baghdad are erected in Kandahar. Kate Clark, Senior Analyst at AAN, calls the Baghdad-Kandahar comparison 'lazy and dull' and finds Kandahar much more like --- Kabul. read more »

posted: 06-08-2010 by: Kate Clark

Justice in Afghanistan: the Insect and the Elephant

AAN political researcher Gran Hewad attended this week's opening event of the 'National Campaign on Supporting Justice in Afghanistan'. He visited the tents, watched the audience and reminisces about the war and the chances of establishing justice. read more »

posted: 02-08-2010 / by: Gran Hewad

Campaign trail (3): the candidates and their strategies

While half of the world is on holiday and the other half is going through the wiki-leaked documents or is wondering how to follow-up on the successes of the Kabul conference, the electoral campaign in Afghanistan is going ahead – at least in parts of the country. The cities are covered in posters and banners, the newspapers carry campaign ads and the candidates in the provinces are trying to find ways around the limitations posed by security and powerful rivals. Listen to what some of the candidates and voters say, when talking about the elections: read more »

posted: 30-07-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

Wikileaks, Strategic Communications and (Im-)Plausible Denials

Wikileaks, with its publication of some 75,000 classified US military documents on the war in Afghanistan on Sunday, has brilliantly made use of the summer slump. Instead of escaped crocodiles at lakes popular with swimmers (a favourite of the German media in former years) or silly ideas of backbenchers, we have been given the chance to have a newly energised debate about Afghanistan. i.e. what the West is doing there, for what purpose and – if we’re really good – what Afghans (not only Karzai and the Taleban) want. It just can be hoped that this is not, again, turned into a purely domestic debate with the aim of scoring cheap political points. Therefore, it might be useful to check what is really new in the leaked documents and what the leak signifies. read more »

posted: 29-07-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

Kabul Conference (4): Don't Mention the War

The Kabul Conference has ended, the foreign ministers have left, the roads have reopened for traffic. Most Afghans seem unimpressed. Several of the ‘big speeches’, and probably quite a few of the ‘smaller’ ones, impressed upon the audience that it was actions, not words that would ultimately count. They are of course right and I am sure the Afghan population agrees. But the words at the conference aimed to weave a new narrative which has very little to do with the realities of Afghanistan. Several things stood out starkly: the discussion of plans and policies as if there was no war going on, an optimism that economic development and effective government are within reach, and a level of ambition that was not, in any way, tempered by the realities of implementation. read more »

posted: 24-07-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

Kabul Conference (3): More plans and programs, but what has happened to the earlier ones?

There are mixed feelings among Afghans on the eve of Kabul International Conference. Many people who are involved in convening the Conference, are extremely excited and proud that it's the FIRST international event being hosted and planned by the Afghan government during the past ten years. However, there are some other critics who continue with their cynicism that it's nothing more than just another conference on Afghanistan. However, we can only assess the impact and effectiveness after a while, when the promises in the conference are deceived or fulfilled. Time will tell.... but my cynicism stems from the past failures. read more »

posted: 20-07-2010 / by: Wazhma Frogh

Kabul Conference (2): How to spend three quarters of a billion dollars

AAN has seen and studied the – not yet public – Afghan government’s plan to reintegrate Taleban who lay down their arms. We also took a look at an earlier draft (see an earlier blog) and have been following the process since well before the London conference. Now comes the moment, at the Kabul Conference, when the foreigners will be asked to support – and fund - the Afghan Peace and Reintegration Plan - to the tune of three quarters of a billion dollars. Kate Clark, AAN’s senior analyst, has been wading through the 80 page document to bring you her first impressions: that it is impossible to envisage this plan being actually implemented, but very easy to see how the money will get spent. read more »

posted: 19-07-2010 by: Kate Clark

Kabul Conference (1): Outsmarted and made to pay

For weeks I have dismissed the Kabul conference as yet another conference – as something diplomats do, when they don’t know what to do. It was, as usual, preceded by a merry-go-round of pre-meetings and document-drafting-sessions and discrete enquiries (who is coming from your side? are you pledging?), which made it look like simply more of the same. But now I am not so sure; things in Afghanistan are different this time. And the Kabul conference may turn out to be more than just a distraction. read more »

posted: 19-07-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

New NDS boss – who is he?

The appointment of a new head of NDS (National Directorate of Security) has come with a lot less fanfare than the departure of the old one, Amrullah Saleh, who resigned after deep disagreements with the president over policy towards the Taleban. The acting director, Engineer Ibrahim Spinzada, has returned to the shadows and his day job as deputy head of the National Security Council, leaving one of his protégés, Engineer Rahmatullah Nabeel, in charge of Afghanistan’s intelligence apparatus. read more »

posted: 18-07-2010 by: Kate Clark

Afghan civil society launches Access to Information campaign

This morning a large number of Afghan civil society organisations and several media organisations used the media attention surrounding the Kabul conference to launch a campaign highlighting the need for access to information and calling for the necessary legislation to be drafted. The demand is an important one. The pervasive ambiguity, the lack of clarity on what the rules are and the lack of transparency on how they are implemented within government instutitions undermines the efforts towards better governance and the strengthening of citizen's rights. read more »

posted: 18-07-2010 / by: Martine van Bijlert / Afghan civil society

The Alchemy of Vetting

The vetting process on parliamentary candidates that was concluded on July 6 has resulted in the exclusion of 36 candidates for alleged links with armed groups, and a remarkable amount of confusion and doubt among those who tried to follow the process closely. There has been a consistent and intentional lack of transparency on where and how decisions were made, and many of the excluded candidates seem to have been randomly picked in an attempt to bolster numbers. Vetting for armed groups has been controversial in all elections, but this looks like it may well have been the worst vetting process so far. AAN researchers Fabrizio Foschini and Gran Hewad try to give a fairly precise account of what has become a very murky process indeed. read more »

posted: 16-07-2010 / by: Fabrizio Foschini & Gran Hewad

Campaign Trail 2010 (2): Baghlan - Divided we Stand

Situated in a central position crossed by some of the most strategic road connections of the country, Baghlan province shows a high level of social and political fragmentation. The growing instability of the province does not bode well for the oncoming elections, and forecasts future problems for the government and the international forces in the area. read more »

posted: 07-07-2010 by: Fabrizio Foschini

UK court rules on detainee transfers and the risk of torture

Judges at the Royal Courts of Justice in London have given a ‘mixed ruling’ on a bid to stop UK forces transferring detainees to the Afghan intelligence directorate, the NDS. They found that there was risk of torture – which should make transfers illegal – but ruled that they could continue to be transferred to the NDS in Lashkargar and Kandahar, so long as detainees were properly monitored, but not to Kabul (where transfers had already stopped) where the risk of torture was too great. Human rights campaigners have variously called the ruling cowardly and a partial victory which can be used to call British forces to account in the future. Senior AAN Analyst, Kate Clark, looks in detail at the ruling, at what it will mean for the British and the fascinating insight it gives into how foreign and Afghan institutions deal with each other and the way the UK has sought to find ways of working with an institution which tortures. read more »

posted: 05-07-2010 by: Kate Clark

Six years late, the Constitutional Commission is formed; but will it take on president and parliament?

One of the many ambiguities in the Afghan Constitution is on who has the authority to interpret the Constitution. For no obvious reason a mix of both judicial and legislative oversight was smuggled into the Constitution when it was adopted in 2004. Six years later, the Independent Commission for the Supervision of the Implementation of the Constitution (Komisiun-e Mostaqel-e Nezarat bar Tatbiq-e Qanun-e Asasi), as called for under article 157 of the Constitution, has been established. Although it is a step in the right direction towards constitutional compliance, it remains to be seen whether the Commission will solve some of the underlying problems of Afghanistan’s politicized justice system. read more »

posted: 03-07-2010 by: Sari Kouvo

Talking Haqqani

‘Totally baseless, a lie and no truth in it’. This is what an Afghan presidential spokesman said after a not-too-unimportant TV station reported contacts between Kabul and the Haqqani network, the most ruthless outfit of the Afghan insurgency. Is there no fire at all for all the smoke? asks Thomas Ruttig. read more »

posted: 01-07-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

How to become a minister: bribe the parliament (UPDATED)

(With the results of Monday's vote on eight ministries) Five more men have become ministers after gaining a majority of votes from the Afghan parliament. Two others failed to gain MPs’ approval. As with the earlier votes, both in January, allegations are circulating that some MPs’ votes were bought. While AAN is not accusing any individual candidate in their bid to gain parliamentary approval in Monday’s ballot or the two earlier ones, whether successful or not, the allegations of bribery are impossible to ignore. They are also difficult to prove – but now, AAN’s senior analyst Kate Clark brings evidence from one MP who has said she was offered – and rejected – a bribe in the January vote. read more »

posted: 30-06-2010 by: Kate Clark

Flash to the Past: Football under the Taleban (2) - Nobody Shouts ‘Allahu Akbar’

Kabul Olympic Stadium sometimes was turned in to an arena for executions and floggings under the Taleban regime. For this, it became world-famous. But to do the venue some justice, most of the time it was used for proper sports. Thomas Ruttig visited a match there - football in Afghanistan 2000: Air goals by funnily clad players on a brownish-green pitch, in front of war-damaged stands with bullet-riddled walls and steaming samowars. read more »

posted: 29-06-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

Flash to the Past: Football under the Taleban (1)

The World Cup 2010 in South Africa is in its first round of the knock-out stage. It has seen favourite teams crashing and others shining. Afghanistan did not qualify. It lost both first round Asia qualification matches against Syria 1:5 on aggregate. Afghanistan's only scorer was Obaidullah Karimi who plays for Hamm United FC in Germany's Landesliga North, the sixth-highest league. The 'home leg' had to played in Tajikistan for security reasons. Afghanistan currently ranks 189 (among 210 countries and territories) in the FIFA(*) world ranking. But many Afghans watch it nevertheless. Local TV stations have long made sure that they can broadcast it legally, and - as elsewhere - experts analyse each match after the final whistle. Only ten years ago, things looked differently here - as our senior analyst Kate Clark, then with the BBC, reported in 2000. read more »

posted: 29-06-2010 by: Kate Clark

At a snail’s pace towards a full cabinet (UPDATED)

President Karzai’s latest fill-up list for the cabinet is out. It has gone from the presidency to the parliament today (Saturday), as Afghan state TV confirmed. The President continues his piecemeal approach – and introduced candidates for only seven out of the 13 cabinet slots that are still open. Here an overview compiled by Thomas Ruttig, in cooperation with Gran Hewad. read more »

posted: 26-06-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

The revolt of the good guys in Gizab

A recent Washington Post article recounts how a group of local villagers in Gizab district revolted against the Taliban and kicked them out – with the help from US and Australian Special Forces. It reads as a good news story. read more »

posted: 24-06-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

“Hundreds of Taleban released last year”

A senior Taleban commander quietly pardoned by President Hamed Karzai last year, Akbar Agha, has given his first interview since being released from Pul-e Charkhi jail. He told AAN’s Senior Analyst, Kate Clark, that he was one of “hundreds of Taleban prisoners” across the country who were released by the president to mark Eid al-Fitr in September 2009. Akbar Agha was sentenced in 2004 to 16 years in jail (which was subsequently reduced on appeal) for ordering the kidnap of three UN staff. He was then the leader of a Taleban splinter group, Jaish ul-Muslimin. He maintains his innocence. read more »

posted: 24-06-2010 by: Kate Clark

The General in His Labyrinth

Sorry, the temptation to personalize is too big to drop such a headline. But in fact it’s the system, stupid, argues Thomas Ruttig on The General’s encounter with a rock music magazine. (Hum to the tone of Dr Hook’s famous hit ‘The Cover of the Rolling Stone’, lyrics below.) read more »

posted: 23-06-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

Latest rumours about still open ministries

As AAN has reported recently, there are still 13 vacancies in the Afghan cabinet. For the next days, at least some proposals from the President are expected by the parliament. The following list of possibly included candidates has been published by an Afghan website, claiming that it is based on ‘reliable reports from the presidential palace’. Although AAN cannot guarantee the correctness of this information, we find it interesting enough to share it with our readers. The information has been edited by Thomas Ruttig and Gran Hewad, with the help of Khabarha-ye Sar-e Chowk (1). read more »

posted: 22-06-2010 / by: Gran Hewad and Thomas Ruttig

Continuing tug of war between the Parliament and Karzai

As the Parliament has entered its fifth(!) week of “silent sessions”, the government is moving towards meeting some of its demands, to some extent – in a typical display of Afghan political ambiguity. A constitutionally-mandated oversight commission has finally been established, but its membership is still incomplete and the controversy over its authorities continues. And some, but not all of the candidate ministers are likely to be introduced to Parliament in the coming days. Martine van Bijlert on Kabul’s continuing game of political ambiguity and tug-of-war. read more »

posted: 20-06-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

Campaign Trail 2010 (1): Badakhshan – drugs, border crossings and parliamentary seats

The final candidates list for the 2010 parliamentary elections takes shape. It is expected for 21 June. Recently, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) reinstated seven candidates that had been removed from the list before. But currently, the vetting process has been frozen by the IEC - it waits for the return of the President from a trip abroad. As the elections get closer, AAN will look at various of its aspects and the situation in some provinces. In the first installment in this series, Fabrizio Foschini, AAN's Junior Researcher in Kabul, looks at Badakhshan. read more »

posted: 19-06-2010 by: Fabrizio Foschini

A New Taleban Front?

The Taleban successfully have infiltrated Northern and Northeastern Afghanistan and destabilised certain areas, mainly in Kunduz province. Now, there are signs that they might attempt to push forward into mainly Hazara-settled areas the central region. The main road into Jaghori, an important Hazara area, has been blocked raising fears of a new economic blockade or event an attack. Thomas Ruttig looks at the first symptoms of this new development. read more »

posted: 18-06-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

Reviewing prisoners after the peace jirga

AAN has learned that a new committee to review security prisoners – as called for by the peace jirga and decreed by the president on 5 June – has been set up and has held its first meetings. Member and spokesperson for the committee, Professor Nasrullah Stanekzai, told AAN the committee was currently getting lists of prisoners from various Afghan security agencies and foreign forces and will start by reviewing those prisoners who are in legal limbo – not under investigation, not charged and not sentenced – but not released either. The committee told AAN it hopes to free its first prisoners in a week’s time. read more »

posted: 15-06-2010 by: Kate Clark

Congratulations, Francesc!

The Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN) conveys its best wishes to Ambassador Francesc Vendrell, Chairman of its Advisory Board, former Special Representative of the UN and the EU to and in Afghanistan, on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Find below some of his selected statement, predictions, warnings – and also some regrets for misjudgements. read more »

posted: 15-06-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

Freeing the Prisoners Blog 2: Protecting the Innocent?

An unknown number of Afghans are being held in custody suspected of being Taleban or convicted of insurgency-related crimes. Complaints about wrongful arrest, detention without trial, torture and a justice system where influence and money count for more than guilt or innocence are rife – and, of course, not limited to security prisoners. President Karzai’s order to review security prisoners and release those detained because of, “unreliable reports and unproved accusations” is potentially a good day for human rights. In her last blog, senior AAN analyst, Kate Clark, looked at the danger – voiced by the former head of the Afghan intelligence boss, Amrullah Saleh, that the review would be used to release active Taleban and those guilty of serious crimes. Now she looks at the possibility that those who are innocent – or pose little threat – might get released. read more »

posted: 13-06-2010 by: Kate Clark

Freeing the Prisoners Blog 1: Letting the Guilty Go Free?

When the Afghan intelligence boss, Amrullah Saleh, said he could not, in all conscience, carry on in his post if it entailed “negotiating with suicide bombers” he became the first person to take a principled, stand against the way Afghan policy on the Taleban is developing. Saleh is particularly opposed to freeing Taleban prisoners. Yet this was one of the most common suggestions of the 28 committees which the delegates to last week’s peace jirga split into. It was also the first of the jirga ‘recommendations’ which the president has chosen to implement. Two issues are critical: will a proposed prisoner review commission free active Taleban, including those guilty of major crimes (what Saleh fears) or will it help to reduce arbitrary arrest and detention? In the first of two blogs looking at prisoner release, AAN senior analyst, Kate Clark, concentrates on the possibility that the commission will help the guilty go free. read more »

posted: 11-06-2010 by: Kate Clark

GUEST BLOG: The Story of ‘M’: US-Dutch Shouting Matches in Uruzgan

In a reply to a recent article in the New York Times, our guest author discusses different approaches of how different NATO countries deal with what could be labeled ‘allied illegitimate armed groups’. By Bette Dam (*) read more »

posted: 10-06-2010 / by: Bette Dam

More on the resignation of Atmar and Saleh – and who might replace them

The repercussions of the sacking/resignation of two of the president’s three top security officials on Sunday are still sinking in, along with the President’s decree that the status of Taleban prisoners must be reviewed. These major changes on security follow his proclaimed success in demonstrating ‘national unity’ at the peace jirga. Despite the tent being packed by Karzai loyalists, it was a beautifully stage-managed event. Those journalists and diplomats who kept saying it would strengthen Karzai’s hand seem to have issued a self-fulfilling prophecy. The president is certainly looking more confident. In her next two blogs, AAN Senior Analyst, Kate Clark, looks at the aftermath of the jirga – the sackings and detentions. read more »

posted: 07-06-2010 by: Kate Clark

The resignation of Atmar and Saleh; early thoughts

After what is reported to have been a day of rather heated discussions, Interior Minister Hanif Atmar and head of the National Directorate of Security Amrullah Saleh have handed in their resignation. President Karzai swiftly accepted and has already appointed their deputies, Munir Mangal and Engineer Ibrahim, as acting heads. read more »

posted: 06-06-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

Afghanistan Has a Two-Party System Now

No, this is not a joke. It really has one, at least for a couple of days. Yesterday, 15 Jauza (5 June), was the last day for Afghanistan’s parties to re-register, as required by a law. The MoJ official responsible for party registration confirmed to AAN’s Kabul office that all the old licenses are invalid now. That means that all but two parties are now basically illegal. read more »

posted: 06-06-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

PEACA JIRGA BLOG 9: A Déjà vu of Big Tent ‘Democracy’

A commentary ‘from the gut’ (1) about democracy and democracy deficits at the Kabul peace jirga, and of jirgas in general by Thomas Ruttig. read more »

posted: 04-06-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

The Peace Jirga in tweets

There has been some formidable twitter reporting going from inside the peace jirga tent, particularly during today's plenary session. AAN has been following @Hairan and @WazhmaFrogh and has collected all the tweets, for the record. read more »

posted: 04-06-2010 by: Guests

PEACE JIRGA BLOG 8: The Afghan jungle’s big beasts and ‘lively debate’

The peace jirga has left the older generation of factional leaders nicely split: a few (Sayyaf, Rabbani, Mujadddidi) have been honoured by the president and treated like long-lost brothers by the world’s diplomats; others (Dostum, Mohaqiq, Abdullah) are sitting, Achilles-like, sulking in their tents; while just a couple from the 80s generation of mujahideen stalwarts (Hekmatyar, Haqqani) have been left, issuing curses from the wilderness. Meanwhile, in the jirga tent itself, delegates have told AAN there has been real, lively debate about what to do with those relatively new kids on the block, the Taleban. On the third day of the peace jirga, AAN senior analyst, Kate Clark, reports. read more »

posted: 04-06-2010 by: Kate Clark

PEACE JIRGA (GUEST) BLOG 7: The first day of the peace jirga

Chevening Scholar (International Development Law and Human Rights) and civil society activist, Wazhma Frogh, reports on the first day of the Afghanistan Peace Jirga. read more »

posted: 02-06-2010 / by: Wazhma Frogh

PEACE JIRGA BLOG 6: An attack on the jirga, an end to peace?

It was in the middle of a live radio interview, as we were discussing the basics of the peace jirga that had just kicked off, that the interviewer cut in: "It seems the jirga has been attacked. There was an explosion or shooting. Karzai has been taken away, maybe to hospital. It was probably the Taliban, no? So this must mean the end of any prospect for a peace deal." read more »

posted: 02-06-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

PEACE JIRGA BLOG 5: The Big Karzai Show

A first commentary on the beginning National Consultative Peace Jirga in Kabul by Thomas Ruttig read more »

posted: 02-06-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

PEACE JIRGA BLOG 4: Who’s come to town… and who’s staying away

The peace jirga has begun today without President Karzai’s main rival in last year’s presidential elections, Dr Abdullah, who has announced that he and his supporters are not attending. Abdullah’s party comrade, head of Jamiat-e Islami and former president, Burhanuddin Rabbani, however, looks set to chair the jirga – a move which is seen as an attempt by the President to split potential opposition inside the tent and beyond. There is now an agenda of sorts and a better idea of how discussions will be structured. And it appears ever more clear that it will be largely Karzai loyalists hearing and discussing what plans the government has for the insurgency. A blog by AAN senior analyst, Kate Clark, with input from AAN co-director Martine van Bijlert. read more »

posted: 02-06-2010 by: Kate Clark

German President's Resignation (Not) Afghanistan-Linked

More News from the German Front: In a surprise move, without precedence in German post-war history, head of state (Bundespräsident) Horst Köhler stepped down from his office with immediate effect today after noon. His step was triggered by remarks he made on the return of his first trip to Afghanistan (after six years in the job). read more »

posted: 31-05-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

PEACE JIRGA BLOG 3: Preparing the Delegates

The long-anticipated and twice-delayed ‘consultative peace jirga’ is about to happen. Delegates from across Afghanistan have been arriving in Kabul and the press corps of the world is arriving to report on them. Journalists are here in such numbers that AAN is wondering if there will be more reporters than delegates. Diplomats are also excited about this ‘Afghan-government-owned process’ which they hope will demonstrate a national consensus for peace. Meanwhile, the expectation on the streets seems to be that the jirga will be a ‘drama,’ a show for the cameras. Senior AAN analyst, Kate Clark, has been looking at preparations for the jirga, due to start on Thursday, 2 June. read more »

posted: 31-05-2010 by: Kate Clark

News from the German Front: The West’s Afghan Policy ‘has failed’

Five German institutes draw a condemning conclusion about the West's policy in Afghanistan +++ Another institute alleges that the German government hides the larger portion of its Afghan military mission's cost +++ Germany's Minister of Defence does not know what happened to Afghans taken into custody and handed over to Afghan authorities +++ The 'German Taliban Mujahideen' - Mulla Omar's German branch read more »

posted: 30-05-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

Afghan Journalists Push into Parliament

With the release of the names of candidates for the parliamentary elections, AAN has been excitedly pouring over the candidates’ list. The former journalists among us – myself and Thomas – were pleased to see a high number of our colleagues putting themselves forward for public office – at least twelve for Kabul alone - but should we be? By Kate Clark, AAN Senior Analyst, in Kabul read more »

posted: 29-05-2010 by: Kate Clark

The Kuchi-Hazara Conflict, Again

As every year around this time, violent clashes have erupted between local Hazaras and incoming Pashtun Kuchis in the pastures of the Eastern Hazararat. Houses were burnt down, people and animals killed, many fled the area. Hazara MPs boycott the parliament's sessions. But the level of violence seems to be higher than ever. Fabrizio Foschini. Junior Researcher at AAN's Kabul office, reports on the events and patterns of this annual conflict. read more »

posted: 27-05-2010 by: Fabrizio Foschini

A Ministers retreat, a rowdy crowd and the politics of the thinly veiled threat

A quick visit to Bamyan to see the sights and enjoy its beauty – no politics intended. But in between the magic of the Band-e Amir lakes and the Dragon Valley, the ancient cities of Zuhaak and Gholghola, the awe of waking up to the view of the Buddha silhouettes, the walks through the fields and up the hills – in between all of this, politics was never far away. read more »

posted: 24-05-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

Drugs, plots and stockpiles: Afghanistan’s failing poppy crop

A mysterious desease is spreading through Afghanistan's poppy fields: Is it a secret counter-narcotics operation or simply caused by nature? And what do 'the markets say'? Answers given by Kate Clark, AAN Senior Analyst read more »

posted: 20-05-2010 by: Kate Clark

The MP (not) always runs twice

The nomination of candidates for September’s parliamentary elections has been completed. It went reasonably smoothly and the preliminary list of nominees has been released by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). A first look at the process by AAN researcher Fabrizio Foschini. read more »

posted: 19-05-2010 by: Fabrizio Foschini

“Oh let it rain, let it rain on the fields, let it drench the head scarf of my beloved”

Going to Bamian and Yakaolang brings up a lot of memories and shows how times have changed since Taleban times. An AAN 'travel blog', by Kate Clark, currently a Senior Analyst with AAN. read more »

posted: 17-05-2010 by: Kate Clark

New Bureaucracies to Welcome ‘Upset Brothers’

Jobs, training, psychosocial counselling and block grants: A look at the Afghan government’s new ‘peace and reintegration’ plan to bring home the Taleban. By Kate Clark (with input from Thomas Ruttig) read more »

posted: 14-05-2010 by: Kate Clark

Guest Blog: We are One Tribe – and Live in The Society of Intervention

A critique of intervening half-education, in reply to Major Jim Gant’s much-read blog and paper 'One Tribe at a Time'. By Prof. Michael Daxner (*) read more »

posted: 13-05-2010 / by: Michael Daxner

An Honest Transfer or ‘The Devil May Care’?

‘Transfer of Security Responsibility’ is one of the latest buzzwords in Afghanistan. It is part of the NATO strategy also sometimes described as ‘Afghanisation’. But, maybe, the latter resounds too closely with the term ‘Vietnamisation’. So, it is more probable that we will have to get used to yet another acronym: TSR. read more »

posted: 12-05-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

PEACE JIRGA BLOG 2: Peace Jirga goes to Washington: whose opinions count on reconciling Taliban?

‘Peace Jirga goes to Washington,’ was the headline in Payam-e Mujahid newspaper this week. The headline sums up how politics have been on hold in Afghanistan since President Karzai was invited to Washington and also, very succinctly, where the power of decision-making in Afghanistan lies. By Kate Clark, currently engaged as Senior Analyst with AAN. read more »

posted: 10-05-2010 by: Kate Clark

Counterinsurgency in Kandahar: what happened to the fence?

A short visit to Kandahar, as it has been a while. In the afternoon there is a donkey cart bomb several blocks away. It kills three children, destroys a police post and rattles the office I am visiting. The blast of moving air tells the body something about vulnerability that it had forgotten. In the evening there is a warning that a nearby compound may be attacked: people in the area have been told by unidentified men that it is in their interest to leave. The next morning there is news that the deputy mayor has been shot while doing his prayers, and a phone call of a friend saying: just don’t move around too much today. In the afternoon, as I drive by the sites of earlier bombings – the recent ones still a mangle of rubble, snapped wood and folded pieces of metal – there are more warnings and rumours, and an eerily quiet city. read more »

posted: 22-04-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

Getting ready for the next election: the IEC pushes ahead

The country is gearing up for the next election. Local notables and the ambitious young are consulting and assessing the support they can muster. The Wolesi Jirga is still protesting the adoption of the new electoral decree, but nobody seems to be listening and the candidate registration process, which starts within a few days, will soon be demanding their attention. read more »

posted: 17-04-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

Reliable partners

The pendulum has swung again. After a few days of crisis and strained relations the US administration has publicly smoothed over the unease and the anger and has welcomed Karzai back into the ranks of ‘reliable partners’. Letters have been sent, joint appearances made and reassuring statements given. It is difficult to know what is worse, to see the world gang up and push Karzai around for supposedly being the beginning and the end of all Afghanistan’s problems, or to witness the backing down, the overly friendly words, the subjects that must now not be broached. read more »

posted: 14-04-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

Separating the government, the Taliban and the people (1): Karzai and the confusion in Kabul

Over the last few days Karzai has found it increasingly difficult to stop saying in public all the things that he has been saying in private for months: who do these foreigners think they are, what are they playing at, and do they really think they can push me and my people around forever? Observers have sought to understand what this means in terms of his partnership with the international actors, his state of mind and his outlook for the future. read more »

posted: 07-04-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

Separating the government, the Taliban and the people (2): Meanwhile in the provinces

Meanwhile in the provinces the lines are blurring even further. This is illustrated by recent instructions from the Quetta shura on how to treat people working for the government or the internationals. read more »

posted: 07-04-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

The Electoral Law that wasn't amended (yet) and fraud by foreigners

Karzai’s last minute attempt to rewrite the electoral law has been stalled, after Parliament rejected the decree on Wednesday. It has been a bizarre process in which political strong-arming and legal debates have made the outcome unpredictable. This continues to be the case. read more »

posted: 01-04-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

PEACE JIRGA BLOG 1: How serious is the Peace Jirga?

While the press makes it sound like a deal with Hekmatyar is just around the corner now that a 15-point plan has been presented, and while the Taliban continue to deny their involvement in any kind of talks and continue to adapt to the twin pressures of military operations in Afghanistan and high-level arrests in Pakistan, preparations for the Peace Jirga in Kabul continue. The timing is right, the agenda is relevant and the consultative nature of the gathering is necessary. But as usual with these kinds of high-profile events the question is: how serious is it going to be? read more »

posted: 28-03-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

Flash to the Past: Islamic Order à la Hekmatyar

The following statement was broadcast by HIG’s radio Payyam-e Azadi (Message of Freedom) in Pashto on 9 December 1994. read more »

posted: 24-03-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

Gulbuddin ante portas - again (Updated)

After the Soviet troop had withdrawn in early 1989, leaflets turned up in Kabul signed by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar announcing that he would ride into Kabul on the back of a white horse and pray in Pul-e Kheshti mosque. That made many Kabulis shiver. They said that the mujahedin leader was ‘worse than the Russians’ and would take revenge on everyone who had stayed with the ‘puppet government’. My neighbour, a Leningrad-trained former army officer who has resigned in 1979 in protest against the Soviet occupation, said he would pack his bags and leave. Now, Hekmatyar might be on his way to Kabul again. read more »

posted: 22-03-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

Days of the Living Dead

I have just returned home after three weeks in Afghanistan doing research in Kabul and Kandahar on a forthcoming report for AAN on local defence forces. I’m just starting to work on the paper, but perhaps a few quick facts that I came across during my research might be of interest to readers of the AAN blog already now. By Mathieu Lefevre(*) read more »

posted: 09-03-2010 / by: Mathieu Lefevre

New troops too late for Badghis?

Inactive foreign troops and gross human rights violations with an ethnic bias have made the population of Badghis 'poor, fed up and completely alienated from the government', an ideal breeding ground for the Taleban and an eight-fold increase of poppy cultivation. A rare glimpse into one of the most neglected provinces of Afghanistan. By Mònica Bernabé(*) read more »

posted: 07-03-2010 / by: Mònica Bernabé

How ‘neo’ were the ‘Neo-Taleban’?

Since the Taleban’s quick resurgence after the fall of their regime in 2001, their insurgency often is described with the term ‘Neo-Taleban’. Here it is argued, though, that there was more continuity than change from the pre-9/11 to the post-9/11 Taleban movement. The real ‘neo-Taleban’ might emerge now – after the arrest of accommodation-inclined Taleban leaders by Pakistan’s authorities. The main feature of these ‘neo-Taleban’ would be that they are tools in the hands of the ISI. read more »

posted: 05-03-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

Don't Call That Warlord a Warlord

In Afghanistan, some feel insulted when they are called a 'warlord'. Some rather call them, euphemistically, 'local power brokers' or 'strongmen'. The author of this blog thinks that the term still is useful - but that it should not be used randomly and proposes a sharper definition. By Antonio Giustozzi. This blog first appeared on the AfPak Channel blog of Foreign Policy magazine on 25 February 2010 (link below). read more »

posted: 04-03-2010 / by: Antonio Giustozzi

Political Parties in Re-Registration

On Monday, the six-month’s deadline for a re-registration of Afghanistan’s 110 registered political parties is ending. This is based on requirements of the new political parties law passed by the parliament in June 2009 already. After some back and forth between the executive and the legislative which led to some amendments in detail, the President signed it on 6 September 2009 and it was gazetted three days later, on 9 September. This is when the deadline for re-registration came into force. read more »

posted: 04-03-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

Some Birds with One Stone

Pakistan is establishing a new Taleban leadership that is more aggressive, less inclined to talk and primarily follows the instructions of its ISI minders, says Christoph Reuter(1). With this aim, it manipulates different leaders of militant groups, using targeted arrests and ‘invitations’ into ‘guesthouses’. read more »

posted: 02-03-2010 / by: Christoph Reuter

Finding Kabir

Arresting the former deputy ‚prime minister‘ of the Taleban apparently needed less than rocket science. Pakistani intelligence sources also confirm that the arrests of Maulawi Kabir and Mulla Baradar foremost serve Pakistani interests, both with regard to urgently needed financial resources and possibly to the strengthening of an old ally, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. A guest blog by Willi Germund(1) read more »

posted: 02-03-2010 / by: Willi Germund

Strangers kicking in your door

“Hello, I am calling from Kandahar. I got your number from a friend. One of my employees, a driver, was arrested a month ago. ISAF forces came to my house at night and took three people away. They also almost took me. They are still holding the driver, the ICRC says he is in Bagram. His family is very worried. Is there anything you can do?” - That was yesterday, just as I was reading the paper by Open Society Institute and The Liaison Office on the impact of night raids. That night I dreamt of Special Forces entering houses (until the earthquake woke me). read more »

posted: 28-02-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

Flash from the Past: Russian Advice on Afghanistan

'In fact, we [the Soviet Union] were the first to defend Western civilization against the attacks of Muslim fanatics. No one thanked us.' This is only one of the core sentences in an op-ed I almost had missed. It was co-authored by ex-General Boris Gromov, now the governor of the Moscow region who commanded the 40th Soviet Army in Afghanistan up to its withdrawal in February 1989. and Dmitry Rogozin who is Russia’s current ambassador to NATO and was published in the New York Times on 12 January this year. read more »

posted: 27-02-2010 / by: Boris Gromov / Dmitry Rogozin

Voices from Zabul

Just got back from a short visit to Zabul, the largely forgotten province that is surrounded by Kandahar, Uruzgan, Ghazni, Paktia and Pakistani Baluchistan. I was curious how things had developed since my last visit three years ago. The governor had been changed – and so had the Taliban governor – some provincial department heads had been moved around, while others seemed stuck to their seats. The Stryker Brigade had come and gone. Some of the elders had been detained at Bagram Airfield, others had been killed. read more »

posted: 27-02-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

Taleban Attack on Muhammad's Birthday

It was around 6.30 this morning when we were woken up by a violent blast. As it turned out, it was another of the ‘complex’ (or multiple) attacks using suicide bombers and ‘commandos’ armed with small arms for which the Taleban have regularly claimed responsibility. The main targets seem to have been two guesthouses in Shahr-e Nau used by Indian aid workers, next to the Safi Landmark hotel and City Centre, a shopping mall, both in one building. This big building – in which some Indian and Australian embassy staff live - also is heavily damaged. At least 15 people were killed, amongst them apparently at least four Indians. At 1 pm Kabul time, shots still could be heard from the area. It is particularly remarkable that the attack happened on Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, or Maulud-e Sharif, a religious holiday and mainly claimed Afghan (Muslim) casualties. read more »

posted: 26-02-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

Elvis Ain’t Dead

He has been spotted in Marja (Helmand, Southern Afghanistan). The only problem is: Marja does not exist. Because it is not on Google Earth. And Operation Moshtarak in Helmand is a fake. But let me start from the beginning. read more »

posted: 25-02-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

Dreaming of a pliable parliament and a ruling family

President Karzai has changed the electoral law, driven by anger over an in his eyes over-interfering ECC, the desire to have a pliable parliament and a sense that it his right as a president to be in charge. The substantive changes in the electoral law have, as a result, focused on roughly four areas: gaining greater control over the main exclusion mechanisms (the ECC and the DIAG secretariat), minimizing international interference, limiting the grounds for criticising the IEC, and raising the bar for conditions on candidates. read more »

posted: 24-02-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

After two years in legal limbo: A first glance at the approved 'Amnesty law'

Impunity is certainly a problem in Afghanistan, but now impunity has been made into law. After two years in legal limbo, the so-called amnesty bill (now titled the National Reconciliation, General Amnesty and National Stability Law) was published in the official gazette in December 2009. read more »

posted: 22-02-2010 by: Sari Kouvo

A reform of the electoral law?

The reform of the Afghan electoral law is moving again. ANTONELLA DELEDDA looks at the proposed amendments that are circulating in Kabul, at the question whther this can be done by presidential decree and whether this would be the urgently necessary 'organic reform' or mainly serves the interests of the current elite after the faulty 2009 election. read more »

posted: 19-02-2010 / by: Antonella Deledda

Wondering where all of this is going

Back in Kabul, I am struck by the sense underlying most conversations that things are happening above people’s heads, out of their reach and largely unseen. The London conference seems to have confused more than it has clarified and the questions that are always latently present are becoming more pronounced: What are the foreigners doing? What are they planning? What is it good for? read more »

posted: 16-02-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

Implications of Mulla Baradar’s Arrest

With Mulla Baradar the operational leader of the Taleban movement has been captured. Mulla Baradar – this is a nom-de-guerre and his real name is Abdul Ghani – had been appointed one of the two deputies of Mulla Muhammad Omar when the movement reorganized after its collapse in late 2001. read more »

posted: 16-02-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

An Offensive Foretold

When I checked the BBC website last night after watching the world premiere of the reconstructed famous 1927 German silent movie ‘Metropolis’ (a 'don't miss' for all cineasts), the red ribbon for breaking news flashed: NATO and Afghan troops have started ‘Operation Moshtarak’ (Together) in Helmand. read more »

posted: 13-02-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

On Commander Razeq again

AAN member JOANNA NATHAN draws attention to the recent "mistaken" killing of civilians by Kandahar’s border police, which has gone largely unnoticed. read more »

posted: 11-02-2010 / by: Joanna Nathan

Rules and Empty Promises

I have finally arrived in Kabul, after spending several days travelling half the world to get a visa for Afghanistan. My quest started in Dubai, where in the past it had been relatively easy to get multiple entry, multiple months. I had heard about a new system that involved getting a “Mofa number” (i.e. a reference number linked to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs authorisation, in a procedure very similar to the Iranian one) but I still thought I should be able to get an entry visa without too much trouble. read more »

posted: 11-02-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

World to Afghans: ‘Unhappy with our choices? Grin and bear it.’

After participating in parallel events to the main London Afghanistan conference, FATIMA AYUB points at the alarm amongst many Afghans caused by indications of a 'headlong dash to give Taliban leaders recognition and power'. read more »

posted: 10-02-2010 / by: Fatima Ayub

London Conference (2): Peace, Reconciliation and Reintegration

The London Conference and the media chatter around it has put the subject of reintegration and negotiations with the Taliban firmly on the agenda. Although both issues had been repeatedly raised by Afghan government and international officials over the last few years, the media and wider public still seemed to be taken by surprise. A closer look at what was said and some of the implications. read more »

posted: 02-02-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

A challenge for the next head of UNAMA

Minna Jarvenpaa, AAN founding member and former head of UNAMA's Analysis and Policy Unit, looks ahead at the challenges faced by Afghanistan's new UN SRSG. read more »

posted: 02-02-2010 / by: Minna Jarvenpaa

London Conference (1): Calling for Afghan ownership and Afghan leadership

The London conference has come and gone. World leaders gathered to try to create a sense of momentum and partnership and to persuade sceptical audiences that there is a plan and an end in sight. There were several messages, but the one that was drowned out in the media coverage surrounding on what to do with the Taliban, was the message of Afghan leadership and Afghan ownership. read more »

posted: 01-02-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

Are We Afghanistan-Driven in London?

While the 70 or so delegations to the London conference are already sitting in Lancaster House, here some first thought about what is being discussed and what not. No claim to be exhaustive here. read more »

posted: 28-01-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

Between Frustration and Bakhshishs

Another attempt to make sense of the Wolesi Jirga vote of saturday 16 January which confirmed seven of candidates of President Karzai's second list and rejected another ten. read more »

posted: 18-01-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

Dealing with brutal Afghan warlords is a mistake

With this op-ed by NICK GRONO and CANDACE RONDEAUX* originally published in the Boston Globe we continue our discussion of the warlord issue in Afghanistan. read more »

posted: 17-01-2010 / by: Nick Grono / Candace Rondeaux

Caught between the Taliban and the Special Forces

It is an all too familiar story, but beautifully told. How elders seek out foreign strangers, hoping to find solace from the Special Forces' search operations. Leaving a population not feeling very protected, despite all the recent population-centric military rhetoric. An excerpt from 'Captain Cats Diaries'. read more »

posted: 16-01-2010 / by: Captain Cats Diaries

The Cabinet vote: Fourteen in, eleven to go

The Parliament has voted for the second time. Seven out of seventeen ministers were approved this time. We have a Cabinet of fourteen now, still eleven to go (we're still waiting to see who is going to be introduced as Minister of Energy and Water). And though the dust has not settled yet, a few things can already be said about what happened today. read more »

posted: 16-01-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

AAN Myth Busters (II): Taleban = Pashtuns?

The Afghan government’s draft strategy for reconciliation with the Taleban and other insurgents to be published soon is heating up the discussion about talks to ‘moderate’ Taleban amongst Western politicians. While this discussion is useful, it is necessary to look at its background a bit more closely. read more »

posted: 15-01-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

On Kunar’s Salafi Insurgents

Usually one needs two sources at least, but this one I find too interesting: A few days ago, on 9 January, the Taleban website Shahamat (which means ‘bravery’) reported that one of the smaller insurgent groups – theSalafi from Kunar – has pledged allegiance to Mulla Muhammad Omar. read more »

posted: 14-01-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

So where are we with the 2010 elections?

Despite what logic and reason tell us, all indications are still that the IEC is getting ready for a parliamentary election in May 2010. The date was announced on 2 January, the electoral calendar was presented on 7 January and the government's intention to press ahead was confirmed in a 12 January press release from the presidential palace. This despite the fact that the UN and the main donor nations, still reeling from the traumatic roller-coaster ride of trying to first ignore and then repair a very fraudulent election result, had decided in December that there should be no elections until at least late 2010 or even 2011. read more »

posted: 14-01-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

A GoA Reconciliation Policy in the Making

The government of Afghanistan (GoA) has announced that it is working on its own reconciliation strategy with its armed opponents. This has been confirmed over the last few days both by Vice President Muhammad Karim Khalili and by the presidential spokesman Wahid Omar. read more »

posted: 13-01-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

Hope has returned to Afghanistan, or so they say.

There is something strange about opinion polls in Afghanistan. They always seem to have been done in a parallel universe, where things are less bleak and people are more confident that all will be well. Ever since the first poll results were published in 2004 there has been this glaring gap between the relatively upbeat polling results and the general mood in the country. read more »

posted: 12-01-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

Beheaded by the Taleban? No, this time it was about sex

In Afghanistan, things are often more complicated than they look like at the first glance. Some armed fighting, for example, is motivated by local conflicts. But there are always people who are interested to present this as ‘Taleban’-driven. Our guest author BETTE DAM*, a Dutch journalist, pleads for more accuracy in reporting such incidents. read more »

posted: 12-01-2010 / by: Bette Dam

A Note from the (Soccer) Field

Here a dispatch received and sent in by ONE OF OUR FRIENDS in Afghanistan. It seems that not only the Africa Cup of Nations (with the attack on the Togo team bus) is overshadowed by violence. The dispatch has been slightly edited. read more »

posted: 12-01-2010 by: Guests

A First Glance at Karzai’s Second Choice

With surprising speed, President Karzai has submitted the second set of his ministerial candidates to the Afghan parliament for approval. Contrary to what had been expected by some in Kabul, the President refrained from re-introducing some of the candidates that were rejected by the Wolesi Jirga on 2 January. read more »

posted: 10-01-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

A UN Postscript to the Provincial Council Elections

The following is everything the UN Secretary General and his Kabul rep Kai Eide have to say about the highly flawed provincial council elections. read more »

posted: 08-01-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

AAN Myth Busters (I): ‘Afghans Always Fought Outsiders’

There are a couple of stereotypes about Afghanistan that simply refuse to go away. Instead, they are recycled in some media time and again. But it is particularly annoying when they appear in statements of politicians being elevated into some kind of eternal truth. Today, we start another series that attempts to deconstruct some of them – driven by a recent interview of the US Special AfPak envoy, Richard C. Holbrooke. read more »

posted: 08-01-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

Read PASHTO MASHTO!

Blog-e newin-e Shabaka-ye Tahlilgaran-e Afghanistan be-khwaned! De AAN neway blog wu-lwalley! read more »

posted: 07-01-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

Rejection of Ministers: The Legal Basis

The rejection of 17 ministerial appointees by the Afghan lower house, beyond its political implications also represent another episode of the conflict between executive and legislative branches of government, which have increasingly exacerbated over the last six years, writes our member ANTONELLA DELEDDA*. read more »

posted: 06-01-2010 / by: Antonella Deledda

An Ugly Kind of Security

The new security regulations announced in the US already draw criticism. Rightly so because they smell like racial and political profiling – plus a pinch of the bad old ‘axis of evil’ thinking. read more »

posted: 05-01-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

Rays of Hope in Parliament

We continue our reporting and discussion about the next Afghan cabinet – with this blog by our founding member MINNA JARVENPAA. read more »

posted: 05-01-2010 / by: Minna Jarvenpaa

What the Lakki Marwat Carnage Shows

With horror and disgust I was watching over the last days how the number of victims of a car-bomb detonated at a volleyball match in Shah Hassankhel village (Lakki Marwat area), close to South Waziristan, in Pakistan was steadily rising: 22, 32, 60, 75, 89, up to 93 Saturday afternoon. (No further reports from Sunday on, though.) read more »

posted: 04-01-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

Response to: ‘Time to Work with Warlords? What?’

The following response to my blog ‘Time to Work with Warlords? What?’ (30 Dec. 2009) came from the author of the original op-ed, GERARD RUSSELL, who criticizes that I did not pay sufficient attention ‘to what I actually said in my article’. Here his remarks: read more »

posted: 04-01-2010 / by: Gerard Russel

The Cabinet Vote: Confusion as Political Principle

A commentary --- No, the rejection of two thirds of his cabinet proposals by the Wolesi Jirga is no ‘slap in the face of Hamed Karzai’, as some media put it. On the contrary, it is a success for him. read more »

posted: 03-01-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

Parliament votes off most of Karzai's Cabinet

After over two weeks of listening to presentations by the candidate ministers and being subjected to lobbying and negotiations, the Lower House of Parliament finally voted. And only seven out of twenty-four ministers were passed. read more »

posted: 02-01-2010 by: Martine van Bijlert

Aid Workers and the Military

Let’s start 2010 with something positive: German chancellor Angela Merkel commended the work of civilian aid workers in Afghanistan in her New Year address, before mentioning policemen and soldiers. read more »

posted: 01-01-2010 by: Thomas Ruttig

Afghanistan's Most Under-Reported Stories in 2009

Read a compilation of stories that did not really make it into a lot of international headlines in the year 2009 that's just ending - but surely would have deserved it - by our member JOANNA NATHAN*. AAN welcome contributions adding to this shortlist. read more »

posted: 31-12-2009 / by: Joanna Nathan

Time to Work with Warlords? What?

I did not believe my eyes when I reviewed what the international media have printed about Afghanistan over Christmas: A fellow of a famous US university’s Human Rights Policy(!) institute proposes that it is ‘time to work with Afghan warlords’ (maybe not his own headline) and that ‘if President Hamid Karzai and his Western backers handle them right, they can be part of the solution’ (Boston Globe, 24 December). read more »

posted: 30-12-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

Happy Christmas (But war isn’t over)

‘Happy Xmas (War is over)’ – this was John Lennon’s wish in his beautiful 1971 holiday’s single already. The ex-Beatle (killed already 29 years ago) wasn’t referring to Afghanistan, obviously, then. read more »

posted: 25-12-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

Rearranging election outcomes while the IEC archive burns

While people across the world are wrapping their last gifts and doing their last Christmas shopping, Afghanistan still has unfinished election business. And it is clear that we haven’t seen the last of all the bizarre twists and turns. read more »

posted: 24-12-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

The Cabinet list

For those of you - sitting under the Christmas tree - who have not been able to find the complete Cabinet list yet, please find it below. With some of the most basic facts added. Corrections and additions, as always, welcome. read more »

posted: 24-12-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

Obituary Dr. Bernt Glatzer (by AGA)

The following obituary of our late Advisory Board member Dr Bernt Glatzer was published by (German) Wissenschaftliche Arbeitsgemeinschaft Afghanistan (AGA) [Scientific Working Group on Afghanistan] whose chairman Bernt was from 2001 to 2007. It cointains a comprehensive professional biography, including Bernt's major publications. read more »

posted: 23-12-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

Thoughts and worries

There is a lot to worry about in Afghanistan. The politics of government, cabinet and parliament. The local power play of oppression and violence. The future, the family, where the country is headed. How bad the winter is going to be. Some conversation fragments: read more »

posted: 22-12-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

Until you get the wrong Ahmad…

Recently, I participated in a discussion in Washington where I drew a lot of anger when I said that 'kinetic' house searches still alienate many Afghans - if they don't push them into Taleban ranks. That's not correct, I was told, the US and NATO forces have changed their approach. Here a first-hand story that shows that this malpractice is even spreading, now to Afghanistan's North. Read a contribution by AAN member SUSANNE SCHMEIDL*. read more »

posted: 19-12-2009 / by: Susanne Schmeidl

How Do Afghans Tick? (in memoriam Bernt Glatzer)

The following is the translation of an interview given by late Dr Bernt Glatzer to a Berlin daily newspaper in 2008. He talks about how he himself became involved in Afghanistan, gives his opinion about current events and covers the ethics of ethnologists in war. read more »

posted: 16-12-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

The confused fight against corruption

This morning saw the opening of a three-day national conference to identify “best practices and effective measures” in the fight against corruption. There will be workshops attended by government officials and civil society actors from all over the country, but today I only stayed for the opening statements in the grand hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And what was said and not said in those few hours both illustrated and confirmed how difficult dealing with corruption is going to be. read more »

posted: 15-12-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

BERNT GLATZER PASSED AWAY

With great shock and deep sadness, we have learnt about the sudden demise of our valued colleague and good friend Dr Bernt Glatzer, member of the AAN Advisory Board, in the night to 08 December at his home in Schriesheim, Germany, only a few days before his 67th birthday. read more »

posted: 14-12-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

Parliament getting ready for the new Cabinet

Several weeks have passed since the President’s inauguration on 19 November and the waiting is now for the announcement of the new Cabinet – an event that as usual has been imminent for quite a while. The Parliament has delayed its recess, which was to begin on 6 December, so that it can vote on the Cabinet as soon as the names are known. read more »

posted: 12-12-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

Finishing the unfinished election (2): Panjshir and Kapisa

Not all provinces show signs of a very uneven rate of disqualification between the presidential en provincial council elections, like we saw in Helmand Khost or Farah. Take for instance Panjshir. read more »

posted: 11-12-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

Finishing the unfinished election (1): Helmand, Khost and Farah

As the final provincial council results are being finally and gradually released, an early analysis of the figures shows that the fraud in the provincial council election has, unsurpisingly, been largely left untouched. read more »

posted: 11-12-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

Afghanistan's democrats; from underground to marginalisation (MEI paper repost)

This is the second repost of an AAN contribution (without the footnotes) to the Middle East Institute's recent publication "Afghanistan 1979-2009. In the Grip of Conflict". Thomas Ruttig was one of the 53 experts who contributed essays on Afghanistan's much conflicted recent history. read more »

posted: 08-12-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

Small stories from the province (1): A very high-ranking dog

“Did you hear about the Australian dog that was lost?” We had been discussing everything from the latest tribal gossip to the final announcement of the provincial council and the recent local appointments. And now, as we are packing up to go, there was apparently still a story of a dog. read more »

posted: 05-12-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

MEI paper repost: How to respond to a flawed election

The Middle East Institute released its 'Viewpoints' special edition on Afghanistan yesterday. It contains 53 short essays by leading experts and practicioners on Afghanistan's recent history, including several AAN members. The paper below is a repost of Martine van Bijlert's contribution (without the footnotes). read more »

posted: 03-12-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

NDS detention - not just a Canadian problem

Former diplomat to Kabul, Richard Colvin, caused quite a stir in Canadian politics with his testimony to a parliamentary committee on the Afghan mission on 18 November 2009. Colvin described how he repeatedly alerted his superiors to the fact that prisoners handed over to the NDS (National Directorate of Security) were likely to face torture and abuse. read more »

posted: 01-12-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

Militia Sightings

Some see 'hopes of a large-scale tribal rebellion against the Taliban’ But how spontaneously did the new militias really emerge? Here are some reports on the new militias found in the international media (further contributions welcome). read more »

posted: 29-11-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

Ghosts of Najibullah

With President Obama’s release of the new Afghanistan strategy ahead on Tuesday and first details coming out, parts of the puzzle fall into place. As it looks it will be less than the US 40,000 troops desired by Gen Mc Chrystal that will be sent to Afghanistan – probably some 30,000. read more »

posted: 28-11-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

A meaningful Afghanistan conference needs civil society involvement

It apparently has been decided that the next international Afghanistan conference is to be held on 28 January in London. It might be followed by a second one in spring – perhaps March or April - in Kabul. But the latter is far from clear. read more »

posted: 25-11-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

Kabul Diary (2): A Ring of Steel Sheets

Finally, the long expected rain is falling in Kabul. But what’s good for next year’s crops makes life miserable for people in the cities. And for the first time, there were hours-long complete traffic break-downs in Kabul yesterday and today afternoon. read more »

posted: 24-11-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

A Suicide Attack in Uruzgan (UPDATED)

13 people killed by a suicide bomber. But who did it? Finding out what really is behind incidents like this one is extremely difficult. Facts are rare, versions and opinions, however, ample to find. read more »

posted: 23-11-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

Militias - The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’s Genies (2): A Look Forward

The case of Abdul Razeq’s police-unit-cum-militia (see our recent blog ‘Militias 1’) should send a stark warning to those planning envisaging a new version of ‘community-based’ defence forces. It is not clear yet how this exactly will look like but it seems to be sure that it will come. A few titles, names and concepts swirl around in Kabul and the provinces again. read more »

posted: 20-11-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

Corruption, corruption, corruption

Karzai's international backers have made no secret of what their priorities for his new administration were: transfer of security responsibilities, reconciliation, economic development, relations with the neighbours, and corruption, corruption, corruption. They were well served by Karzai’s inaugural speech: everything was included - reason for a (small) collective sigh of relief. Another potential confrontation, with its awkwardness at home, averted. These were the words, now the deeds. But there is something slightly wrong with all these public displays of toughness and the calls on Karzai to clean up his government. read more »

posted: 20-11-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

Surveyed: The Cost of War

The war-destroyed Dar-ul-Aman palace in the South of Kabul was the perfect venue for the presentation of the report ‘The Cost of War’ to the Afghan and international public. The palace, designed to house the first Afghan parliament established under King Amanullah (ruled 1919-29), never served its aim. Amanullah was toppled by a mulla-led and British financed tribal rebellion before it was finished. In the 1980s, the ruling Soviet-backed People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) made it the Defense Ministry and the civil war turned it into ruins. Also the timing was well chosen: one day before the swearing-in ceremony for President Hamed Karzai’s second term in office. read more »

posted: 19-11-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

AAN Guest Blog: Influenza politica

The following blog about a government-made swine flu hysteria is provided by CHRISTOPH REUTER, a reporter with 'Stern' magazine in Germany who is currently in Kabul. read more »

posted: 18-11-2009 / by: Christopher Reuter

Militias - The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’s Genies (1): A Look Back

When I read Matthieu Aikins’ brilliant reportage in Harpers (‘The Master of Spin Boldak’) about the mutation of a 1980s tribal militia into a drug trafficking network that survives to the day, I was reminded of an episode in 1988. I was living in Wazir Akbar Khan then. Around the corner was the house of a former mujahedin leader who had switched sides to the government. read more »

posted: 18-11-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

AAN Guest Blog: Some ANSF Maths

The following blog is contributed by A FRIEND of AAN in Kabul who – for a good reason which in the media is usually describes as that she/he is not authorized to speak about the subject – does not want to see her/his name printed here. read more »

posted: 15-11-2009 by: Guests

AAN Guest Blog: A ‘weapons system’ based on wishful thinking

Recently, indications are appearing that a new round of massive money dropping is about to start in Afghanistan order marginalise the Taleban. By ANDREW WILDER* read more »

posted: 14-11-2009 / by: Andrew Wilder

Waiting and watching

So I am not in Afghanistan (no, not evacuated - just no reason to come rushing back once the second round was called off). Not part of the local speculation game on who is going to be part of the new cabinet and who will get which positions and based on which deal - although I am being told that it is unusually quiet on the rumour front at the moment. Not in a position to make early pronouncements on the political future of Afghanistan or to report on developments in the deal-making scene. What reaches me from Afghanistan are echoes and fragments. And they are full of doubts and question marks. read more »

posted: 09-11-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

New Book: 'Empires of Mud'

Antonio Giustozzi is arguably the most studious and productive researcher and author on Afghan affairs. His output is based on insight won during intensive travels to the country far beyond the capital. read more »

posted: 08-11-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

Prof. Rasul Amin passed away

AAN has just learned of the passing away of leading Afghan scholar and politician Professor Rasul Amin during a stay in Australia on 31 October at the age of 72 read more »

posted: 06-11-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

AAN Election Blog No. 40: The President has been elected

Afghanistan has a new president. After several hours of deliberation on how to respond to Abdullah's pull-out (and after initial statements that Saturday’s second round would go ahead as planned) the IEC announced today that as Karzai had received most votes in the first round and no longer had a competitor in the second, he is now Afghanistan’s elected president. read more »

posted: 02-11-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

AAN Election Blog No 39: Deeper into the One-Way Street

Not the pull-out of Karzai challenger Dr Abdullah brought the Afghan election process into a crisis. It was the irresponsible decision to hold a run-off within two weeks in a country like Afghanistan after the credibility of the first round had drowned in a flood over one million votes rigged in favour of Karzai. read more »

posted: 02-11-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

AAN Election Blog No. 38: I think we should be worried now

It is eleven days since President Karzai, flanked by a posse of international envoys and ambassadors, announced the date of the second round of the 2009 elections. Since then the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and UNDP ELECT have pushed ahead with the logistical preparations, releasing election material to the far corners of the country and remobilising electoral staff (although the details on who gets fired and rehired, and why we suddenly only need two staff per station instead of five, remain murky). read more »

posted: 31-10-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

The Guesthouse Attack and the Run-Off

This time it looks as if the Taleban really have managed to give the Afghan election – more precisely: its second round set for 7 November – its own turn. They already considerably influenced the first round of 20 August when they threatened attacks like cutting of inked fingers of voters but largely left polling sites – and with this uninvolved civilians – UN and election offices alone. read more »

posted: 29-10-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

What about the voters (2)

What do people think? Now that a million votes have been disqualified and the second round has been announced. Another collection of conversation fragments. read more »

posted: 21-10-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

AAN Election Blog 37: The next chapter of the conclusion (2)

So Karzai announced. His desire to have a second round, so that the bad taste of the first one could be washed away. His pride over being one of the two candidates running in that second round. His appreciation for the Afghan nation and how they participated in the election. His gratitude to the internationals for their support in difficult times. read more »

posted: 20-10-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

AAN Election Blog 36: The next chapter of the conclusion

The ECC has released its decisions and in doing so has laid to rest the doubts or speculations that they may bend under pressure to fudge or withhold. A scroll through the well documented findings confirms the widespread reports of fraud and provides a fascinating read of what the elections must have looked like in the places where authorities, election officials, local strongmen or independent entrepreneurs conspired to fix the outcome of the vote. read more »

posted: 20-10-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

What about the voters

What about the voters (and the non-voters). Maybe we should listen to them as well. A small collection of random conversation fragments. read more »

posted: 19-10-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

AAN Election Blog 35: The fog of an election result

Since the results of the ECC investigation have become roughly and widely known (47-48% for Karzai) the “process” has disintegrated into a large number of scattered negotiations and confidential meetings of which the status is unclear. read more »

posted: 18-10-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

AAN Election Blog 34: Rumours of a Run-off

The Afghan electoral process has gone into yet another phase. The audit results were passed onto the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) a week ago. They have been endlessly mulling on how to calculate the number of polling stations that are to be annulled and are expected to hand over their conclusions to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) today or tomorrow. In the meantime the city is buzzing with rumours pointing to the possibility of a second round. What is going on? read more »

posted: 16-10-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

What the preliminary results tell us (3): Logar, Baghlan and Uruzgan

Another brief overview of what you can find when going through the preliminary election results in which a few simple calculations illustrate how far some people will go, acquiring thousands of votes often in very limited localities. No wonder voters feel their vote no longer counts. So let's take a brief look at some results from Logar, Baghlan and Uruzgan. read more »

posted: 16-10-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

AAN Election Blog 33: So what do we do with the audit?

The audit has come to an end. So now... proportion... sample... fraudulent... calculate... disqualify... certify... And then we will have a result. And I am sorry for everybody who is feeling almost relieved, but I really need to say this: read more »

posted: 10-10-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

What the preliminary results tell us (2): Nimruz provincial council

The study of the provincial council results was initially prompted by a series of phone calls from Nimruz by unsuccessful candidates and upset voters. Their complaints focused on a handful of candidates who had provisionally won the provincial elections and who were considered unsuited for the task - a big smuggler, a person with no influence ("he has only three families in the whole province") - and were alleged to have defrauded the local election. read more »

posted: 09-10-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

What the preliminary results tell us (1): Kabul provincial council

With (international) attention focused firmly on the complexities surrounding the Presidential vote, the struggle for a fair outcome in the provincial council elections continues. read more »

posted: 09-10-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

AAN Guest Blog: Anti-fraud measures in the Afghan elections

The procedures to cope with the electoral fraud in Afghanistan become more and more complicated, as is the relationship between the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC). The following guest blog authored by our partners from ARGO in Italy bring light into the affair. read more »

posted: 08-10-2009 / by: ARGO

AAN Election Blog No. 32: We have a new universe - and an old problem

The saga of the Afghan election vote count and recount is nearing its conclusion, although even the concluding phase may still drag on for quite a while. The process (oops*) has become so technically complicated and politically multilayered that voters, candidates, donors and observers have lost track of what is happening and how worried they should be. read more »

posted: 06-10-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

What possibly still could be done...

.... after the ‘Friends of Afghanistan’ anti-democratic 'consensus' read more »

posted: 02-10-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

BREAKING NEWS: Ban Fires Galbraith

Watch the UN website tonight: The UN Security Council has decided to fire Peter W. Galbraith, the American deputy head of its Afghanistan mission UNAMA. An announcement by Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon on this step is expected to be published tonight (GMT). read more »

posted: 29-09-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

Francesc Vendrell's Perspectives On Resolving The Postelection Crisis

AAN Advisory Board member and former UN and EU personal/special representative to Afghanistan FRANCESC VENDRELL was interviewed by Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty read more »

posted: 28-09-2009 / by: Francesc Vendrell

AAN Election Blog No 32: What Next in Afghanistan? (1)

What remained of a democratic process in Afghanistan had been brought to a halt with screeching brakes by the massive and systematic fraud on 20 August. read more »

posted: 20-09-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

AAN Election Blog No. 31: We have a result – sort of – and some very frayed relations.

Suddenly there it was: the final announcement of the preliminary results of the Afghan Presidential election. The event itself was a bit of an anticlimax, but the announcement means that there is one thing less to wait for, although the wait is by no means over. It means that the focus has shifted and that all eyes are now on the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC). It also means that the problem has shifted: it is no longer fraud, but a system that does not deal with fraud. read more »

posted: 17-09-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

Kabul Diary (1): Glimpses of Kabul, Summer 2009

Blue sky over the Spinghar mountains through the airplane window. Small green fields along grey Kabul river. The tin roofs of Pul-e Charkhi reflecting the sun. read more »

posted: 12-09-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

Hollow Excuses

'We apologize. It was a mistake. We regret the loss of innocent life.' How often have I heard these sentences after operations of NATO troops had caused – what a horrible trivialisation – 'collateral damage'. read more »

posted: 12-09-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

An election observer speaks out

‘Really widespread fraud‘ has happened during the Afghan presidential election, says Gunter Mulack, a former German diplomat and director of the German Orient Institute in Hamburg; until a few days ago he was the chief political analyst of the EU election observer mission... read more »

posted: 10-09-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

Another Day without an Orange Revolution

Quite some people here in Kabul – maybe internationals more than Afghans – had been looking forward to the day that just passed with mixes feelings. It was 9/9 – and ten years ago Ahmad Shah Massud, the leader of the Northern Alliance mujahedin was killed ... read more »

posted: 10-09-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

Flash to the Past: Elections under Fire (12 Sept 2008)

All sides involved - the Kabul government, its Western allies, donors and the United Nations – pretend that almost everything’s in order at the Hindukush, apart from small hick-ups. The reality, however, looks different. read more »

posted: 08-09-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

AAN Election Blog No. 30: Which votes are to be counted - a crucial battle

As the press continued to recount stories from far-flung districts (outraged elders, stuffed ballot boxes, intimidated electoral staff); as the international actors were “allowing the process to run its course”; as the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) stoically continued to announce its batches of preliminary count results, while releasing more and more “dirty” ballot boxes into the count; and as the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) was faced with an ever growing number of complaints, on Tuesday 8 September 2009 suddenly all strands came together in what may well become the elections’ most important confrontation. read more »

posted: 08-09-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

UNODC Sees Afghan Drug Cartels Emerging – With One Eye Closed

‘U.N. Sees Afghan Drug Cartels Emerging’, reads a headline in the 2 September issue of the New York Times. Now the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) got it. Or did it? read more »

posted: 05-09-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

AAN Election Blog No. 29: ‘A fraud would go unnoticed’

Imagine it is election-day and someone else casts your vote. It is possible because in many polling stations no one will ask for your ID card. read more »

posted: 01-09-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

AAN Election Blog No. 28: Two Paktias?

A member of the US PRT in Paktia also experienced that amazingly brilliant blue sky over Paktia. But the elections she saw were quite different from what I have experienced there. read more »

posted: 01-09-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

AAN Election Blog No. 27: A mysterious election and a fluid count

Analysing the 2009 Afghan election as they are unfolding is quite a unique experience. An observer from Global Democracy, recently quoted in Kabul Weekly (26 August 2009), aptly called this "a mysterious election" in which "even the number of voters is not known". And mysterious it is. read more »

posted: 31-08-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

AAN Guest Blog: The US's strongman policy in Afghanistan

Here a reply written by our friend and AAN member JOANNA NATHAN* to the New York Times article 'Accused of Drug Ties, Afghan Official Worries U.S.' It was posted first on The AfPak Channel, a blog of the Foreign Policy magazine, on 28 August 2009. read more »

posted: 30-08-2009 / by: Joanna Nathan

AAN Election Blog No. 26: If no one saw it, did it happen? - AAN recommended election reading (UPDATED)

The further you get from where things happened, the easier it is to wonder whether they ever took place at all. And whether the reports (and echoes of reports) and denials (and echoes of denials) are not just a matter of claim, counterclaim and unsubstantiated rumour. Whether the calls of fraud are not just part of the political game of winning and losing. read more »

posted: 29-08-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

A response to AAN Election Blog No. 23

A reader responds to AAN Election Blog No. 23 (How much are we expected to believe?): "This article was forwarded to me by a friend. I was impressed with this article as it really reflects the concern of an Afghan who stepped out of his/her house with a hope and besides all risks cast his/her vote on 20th August to select the future leader of the country through a democratic process. read more »

posted: 27-08-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

Epistemology of Reconciliation

Read a report by Aunohita Mojumdar about the AIAS/USIP 26 August 2009 Kabul launch of Michael Semple's book ‘Reconciliation in Afghanistan’ with Nader Nadery from the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and Thomas Ruttig from AAN on the podium under 'past events'. read more »

posted: 27-08-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

AAN Election Guest Blog 2: This is how election fraud worked in Kandahar

It was already dark and Afghanistan‘s elections had been over since three hours. Then suddenly two men accompanied by three police cars with armed and uniformed escorts showed up in front of the polling site in Kandahar’s Aino Mena neighbourhood. Very relaxed they entered the premises where ballot boxes where waiting to be picked up - and stuffed additional ballots into the boxes for the presidential and provincial council elections. "No one dared to stop them", says Haji Gulalai who represented Muhammad Ehsan, the hitherto deputy head of the provincial council here. By WILLI GERMUND* read more »

posted: 27-08-2009 / by: Willy Germund

AAN Election Guest Blog 1: Logar – any voters out there?

For various reasons Logar seemed to be an interesting area to develop an understanding about the insurgency, the elections – and electoral fraud. The province, just south of Kabul, has the reputation to be at least partly controlled by Taleban. US forces conducted numerous raids in spring and had clashes with armed opponents. Only recently the situation did not deteriorate further, as it did for example in Wardak and most northern provinces. By CHRISTOPH REUTER* read more »

posted: 26-08-2009 / by: Christopher Reuter

AAN Election Blog No. 25: Balm for Election Sores

The partial results presented by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) in a well-attended press conference today in Kabul are mainly meant to calm down the tense atmosphere of accusations and counter-accusations that has developed since E-Day by applying a dose of transparency. It does not say much about what the outcome of the elections will look like. read more »

posted: 25-08-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

AAN Election Blog No. 24: Stuffing and Counting in Paktia

A few days after the election, Paktia is in counting mode. Results from the districts trickle in and are collected and reconcilied by the different candidates' campaigns. Also reports about a lot of irregularities are coming in, despite the low coverage of independent election observers. read more »

posted: 24-08-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

A clarification

Some German-language media have quoted me over the past days as saying read more »

posted: 23-08-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

AAN Election Blog No. 23: How much are we expected to believe?

As journalists are starting to pack up and go home and observers are formulating their conclusions (some irregularities, need to work on the voter registration) it seems that the real contest is yet to start. The network of governors, district governors, police chiefs and local commanders, that was mobilised in the run up to the elections and that had seemed to play a surprisingly minor role in the process (apart from some campaigning assistance) has kicked in. And has gone overboard in the process. read more »

posted: 23-08-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

AAN Election Blog No. 22: E-Day in P2K

Frankly, when I went to bed on E-Day eve in Gardez, on Wednesday, I wasn’t sure whether it was a good idea to leave the UNAMA compound the next day to watch polling sites in Paktia province. A lot of people looked very sceptical when I mentioned this idea. Gardez centre was the maximum, almost everybody agreed. It was covered by a security box – whatever that meant. read more »

posted: 21-08-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

AAN Election Blog 21: Observing the Vote - An Election with Many Faces

Election Day 2009. After the suspense of the last few days, things seemed refreshingly normal. Kabul city was quiet, but people were chatting at the side of the road, riding their bicycles and allowing their children to play outside. I had decided to return to the areas where I had watched my first Afghan election enfold in 2004: the Shomali plains, just to the north of Kabul. read more »

posted: 20-08-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

AAN Election Blog No. 20: Armchair analyst

Distance can provide perspective, at least that is what armchair analysts like myself try to convince ourselves. However, having monitored two elections in Afghanistan, I know that distance also means that one misses the political undercurrents and the real stories behind facts and figures. read more »

posted: 20-08-2009 by: Sari Kouvo

AAN Electoral Blog No. 19: The day before the 2009 elections

Kabul 19 August 2009. The day started with a several hour shoot-out in Kabul’s old centre after a handful of armed men attacked a bank. The attack was claimed by a Taliban spokesperson and the story that was passed around was that the Taliban had entered the city and that fighting had started, which sounded more alarming than the incident warranted. It took a while to die down and added to the nervousness brought on by several rocket attacks and two suicide bombings during the days before. read more »

posted: 19-08-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

AAN Electoral Blog No. 18: Some last minute figures

Last minute figures indicate that there will be no voting in nine districts; that it is still not clear how many polling station are planned to be open (the ambiguity could lead to 'ghost polling'), and that FEFA observers will cover roughly 60% of the country's districts. Complaints received by the ECC show marked regional differences. read more »

posted: 19-08-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

AAN Electoral Blog No. 17: Voter Turnout - stating the obvious

Some things are so obvious that you almost forget to mention them. This is one of them: voter turnout and what that tells us about voter engagement and the credibility of the elections. The answer is: very little. read more »

posted: 19-08-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

AAN Election Blog No. 16: Impressions from P2K (3): Taleban Shut Down Bazaars in Paktika and Khost

The scenery was a bit like in those Westerns where the population has got wind that the really bad guys would ride into town soon. The sun was scorching down almost vertically, the wind drove plumes of dust and waste plastic bags down the main road while a single motorbike with two young chaps curved in from a side lane, defying a ban on all motorized vehicles imposed by the Taleban. Otherwise, the road was empty and the metal shutters were lowered in front of most of the shops. Sharana, centre of Paktika province in the South-East of Afghanistan, on an early Tuesday afternoon before a national holiday where usually a lot of shoppers are around. read more »

posted: 19-08-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

AAN Election Blog No. 15: The Best Candidates’ Posters (3) - War & Peace Movements

The prize for the boldest election poster goes to Shahnawaz Tanai, another presidential candidate from the South-East, from Khost province to be precise where his Tani tribe dwells in the dry plains outside Khost town ‘where only stones grow in the field’ as a local friend describes it and in the chromite-(holding) hills to the South from where a less described smuggling business to Pakistan is thriving. read more »

posted: 18-08-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

AAN Election Blog No. 14: Impressions from P2K (2): Floor Crossing and an Afghan Perspective

For someone who is used to think of Pashtuns as wild big guys with big beards and big noses, armed with Kalashnikovs, a stroll through the bazaar of Gardez today must have been shocking. With not only the presidential elections (on 20 August) but also the holy fasting month of Ramazan (on 21 August – if the moon-sighting works properly) approaching fast, most of them carried heavy plastic bags full with green cucumbers and tomatoes. With the woman mainly confined to the homes, the gentlemen are doing the shopping here. read more »

posted: 17-08-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

AAN Election Blog No. 13: The Debate

Sunday afternoon, flicking through the channels (men singing, dubbed cartoons, news in Pashtu) wondering whether it was going to happen, and there it was: the debate. A large light blue studio, an expectant audience and the three contenders sitting slightly nervous on the first row. read more »

posted: 17-08-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

AAN Election Blog No. 12: Impressions from P2K (1): Flying with Both Hands

Gardez makes true of its name – ‘dusty’. The capital of the South-eastern province of Paktia’s skyline, with the two characteristic cony hills and the Bala Hissar, the fort, on a third hill under which Buddhist remains are suspected are barely visible in the dust that is driven by the afternoon wind over the plateau 2300 meters above sea level. Particularly so the large compound close to the airfield that is still lined with the heavy weapons of militias and army units that were ‘cantoned’ at the start of the DDR program in 2003 – kilometres of artillery pieces, rocket launchers and armoured vehicles of Warsaw pact origin slowly rotting in the dry air. read more »

posted: 17-08-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

AAN Election Blog No. 11: The Return of the General (to be continued)

The unexpected return of General Dostum on Sunday night, one day before the end of the campaign period, may solidify Jombesh support for Karzai - depending of course on how tomorrow's breakfast with President Karzai goes and on what the General tells his followers. read more »

posted: 16-08-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

AAN Election Blog No. 10: Elections in far-away places

Elections in far-away places can be fairly crude affairs. Never mind procedures and regulations and forget about the monitors. Travellers from a Hazara enclave in southern Afghanistan, recount what an election looks like in their quarters. read more »

posted: 16-08-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

AAN Election Blog No. 9: On the Campaign Trail III

Kabul provincial council candidates try to scrape together their campaign and to attract the attention of the city and district voters. A closer look at how this works, through the eyes of three Kabul contenders – let’s call them Shafiqa, Engineer Ahmad and 'Mohammad the Poor Guy'. read more »

posted: 16-08-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

AAN Election Blog No. 8: The Best Election Posters (2)

Today: Al-Haj Ustad Zakera Anwar – the power of Tide: The prize for the best location receives Ms Zakera Anwar, a Kabul provincial council candidate from Qala-ye Fathullah in the Afghan capital who calls herself an ‘independent’. She placed her poster in a grocery shop – next to a stack of washing powder. read more »

posted: 15-08-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

AAN Election Blog No. 7: Parliament's closed doors and wedding discussions

It’s already a while ago that the Parliament closed its doors (after it turned out that most MPs were too busy campaigning to come anywhere near a quorum). A quick look at the subjects they discussed during that first day of convening (25 July 2009) – just after they came back from recess and before they decided to devote themselves to electioneering and with elections looming large – is quite insightful. read more »

posted: 15-08-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

AAN Election Blog No. 6: An Ink Issue Again?

During the 2004 presidential election, ink became an issue. Enraged losing candidates went as far as to demand that the vote be annulled because the ink supposedly did not work. Will it become an issue again? read more »

posted: 15-08-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

AAN Election Blog No. 5: The Best Candidates' Posters (1)

In a loose series, AAN will introduce some of the best election posters and give some background on the respective candidates. Today: Foruzan Fana – positive vibrations and an unresolved murder. read more »

posted: 14-08-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

AAN Election Blog No. 4: The Bag and the Donkey

The balance of Karzai‘s five year tenure for Afghanistan is devastating – but it is unfair to blame him alone. Indeed, the general framework has considerably improved in comparison to the Taleban era. read more »

posted: 13-08-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

AAN Election Blog No. 3: On the Campaign Trail II

Campaigning in Afghanistan. The phone calls start coming in and friends stop by: let me tell you what is happening in my area. These are the details of just one day: rallies, threats and doubts. read more »

posted: 11-08-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

AAN Election Blog No. 2: On the Campaign Trail

A view of the Afghan elections through the eyes of the so-called ‘minor actors’, those without influence and money who try to navigate and position themselves and try to find their place in what is going on. The first campaigner to be introduced is – let’s call him Abdul Mohammad. read more »

posted: 10-08-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

AAN Election Blog No. 1: Rockets over Kabul

Two days ago, my local radio station called me to describe how I experienced the recent rocket attack on Kabul early Tuesday (4 August) morning. read more »

posted: 07-08-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

'The one thing you need to read about Afghanistan'

Recently, I came across a blog that recommended what to read about Afghanistan: a Kissinger op-ed, speeches of McCain and Spanta... But if you only read one thing about Afghanistan, it said enthusiastically, don’t miss the testimony of Marin Strmecki... read more »

posted: 06-08-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

Beyond Taleban

Multiple suicide attacks in Gardez and Khost. July most bloody month ever for US forces in Afghanistan. More British troops to be deployed. Karzai’s empty chair at Tolo TV’s presidential candidates’ debate… Reporting about Afghanistan mainly focuses on security issues and elections currently. Very often, our own countries’ domestic politics overshadow the other reality, life of Afghans themselves. read more »

posted: 24-07-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

Germans at the Front

“It couldn’t have come worse. It is mid-August 2009. American pilots bomb an Afghan village, many women and children die. The target for the attack was provided by the Germans.” [The German parliament is currently in the decision-making process about sending AWACS surveillance planes to Afghanistan.] read more »

posted: 30-06-2009 by: Thomas Ruttig

Theatre about conflict – and how we all have to relate to it

Mid-June, I had the opportunity see the revival performance of a play entitled ‘AH 7808’ that toured most Afghan regional capitals in 2008. The play is an adaptation of an Irish script addressing conflict and each individual’s responsibility to overcome it. Through the play, the audience gets to take part in one man’s struggle to decide if he wants ‘truth-recovery surgery’ or if truth is best forgotten, as recovering it may also force him to face his own deeds and his own past. read more »

posted: 22-06-2009 by: Sari Kouvo

A few thoughts on the UN Human Rights Council and its review of the Afghan government’s periodic report

On 7 May 2009, the Afghan government presented its first report to the UN Human Rights Council. If I am rightly informed, the Afghan government received around one hundred recommendations that should be discussed, refused or adopted. If adopted, the Afghan government should by the time of the next review show if and how it has made progress on these issues. read more »

posted: 15-06-2009 by: Sari Kouvo

Teeth, flowers and another tale of violence

Every day in Afghanistan is full of stories. Most of them with a fair share of bad luck and wry humour and usually quite a bit of violence. This story is about – let’s call him Hamidullah. read more »

posted: 08-06-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

Modest beginnings

April 2009. After having worked out of the EUSR office in Kabul for almost five years I am suddenly institutionally homeless. I borrow a spare office in an NGO compound, so that I can at least offer people a quiet place and a cup of tea. read more »

posted: 29-05-2009 by: Martine van Bijlert

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