Forgot your password?
Document Actions
Afghanistan BLOG
Up one levelKarzai again offers talks with Taliban leader
Yesterday: some tough talk from Karzai as he offered a guarantee of safe passage to any Taliban leaders or representatives willing to come to Kabul. The Taliban are reportedly “drawing up a response”.
Recommended report: Afghan opinion poll
The Asia Foundation have conducted their fourth annual survey of the Afghan population. The poll highlights increasing pessimism amongst the populace with security representing the main concern, followed by the economy and then corruption.
Hanif Atmar - at last some good news for Afghanistan...?
The Afghan cabinet reshuffle last month saw the move of the efficient and corruption-free Hanif Atmar from the Education Ministry to the Ministry of Interior. His efforts will be resisted but this could prove a crucial boost to police reform efforts and attempts to tackle government corruption generally
Talking to the Taliban, slight return…
The dilemmas implicit in this notion were highlighted at the Swedish Afghan Committee conference
Obama and Petraeus - the "Comprehensive Surge"??
It seems the next year or two for Afghanistan will almost certainly be characterised by significantly increased levels of US military activity - hopefully there will be a bit more to the approach than merely boots on the ground...
Failure is an option: The problems with NATO…
…as presented by NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General John Craddock. NATO’s mission in Afghanistan seems increasingly to becoming one of extracting itself from Afghanistan with some shreds of credibility intact while maintaining the pretence that it is a viable organisation for the 21st century…
Recommended websites, part III: CSIS and "winning" the war in Afghanistan
The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, and in particular the work of Anthony Cordesman, continue to provide refreshingly blunt critique of the US Government's prosecution of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan - well worth checking out...
How are we doing in Afghanistan, part II: New UK views - pessimism or realism...?
UK senior and experienced diplomatic and military sources claim that the "war" in its current guise, cannot be won.
Taliban communication skills increase - Mullah Omar speaks with confidence and awareness...
An object lesson to ISAF in how to communicate a message that will resonate with the target audience. A fascinating address, articulate and inspiring, attributed to Taliban leader Mullah Omar on the occasion of Eid. The growing sense of confidence and the developing understanding of the international community and their difficulties in Afghanistan is tangible - he offers ISAF "safe passage" to withdraw.
The Canadian military commitment to finish in 2011
Is this the start of the slippery slope as Western nations struggle to pull out of a domestically unpopular war with credibility intact...?
Interview with a "new Afghan incarnation" of the Taliban.
A Journeyman documentary from this month - interview with the Taliban and an intriguing glimpse of a "former Pakistani soldier" engaged in teaching Taliban fighters small arms skills...
Airstrikes and civilian casualties in Afghanistan
A New Human Rights Watch report highlights the increasingly difficult and emotive subject of civilian casualties caused during the conflict between insurgents and counter-insurgents - the implications of "drop less bombs" would appear to be "send more troops"...
Taliban attacks getting more effective
Two significant attacks were initiated by the Taliban yesterday. One resulted in the death of ten French soldiers and the wounding of 21. Taliban attacks have become larger and more confident in the last two years. Now they are becoming more effective.
The Taliban "address to the Canadian people" after killing female aid workers
The Taliban send an open letter to the people of Canada following a Taliban ambush which killed three Western civilian aid workers - two of them Canadian women.
Visit to Meymaneh PRT...
I wanted to sketch in my experiences with the Norwegian Provincial Reconstruction Team last month...
Civilian deaths: Afghan parliament want to control ISAF operations and deployment
The Afghan parliament's Upper House has called for legislation to cover ISAF/NATO operations against the Taliban and the length of time of their deployment following increasing concern over the number of civilian casualties caused during the fighting. Emotive reactions from an inexperienced parliament could be damaging to Afghanistan, its government, the international community and itself.
Mujahideen of Herat: Tajik fighters join the Taliban?
A Herat-based group of fighters formerly aligned with the Afghan government (the leader of the group was part of provincial government) now apparently conducting armed oppostion against the Kabul regime. The group is Tajik, but their language is pure Taliban...
International Crisis Group paper on Taliban propaganda
The International Crisis Group produce yet another impressively comprehensive work, this time looking at the Taliban’s propaganda activities, attempting “to learn about the insurgency from the insurgents”.
SIPRI Afghan Blog in Afghanistan...
SIPRI Afghan Blog has been in Faryab province, north-west Afghanistan for the last two weeks, generously hosted by the men and women of the Norwegian/Latvian/Icelandic Provincial Reconstruction Team. Invaluable discussions and lessons identified.
Thoughts on the Kabul suicide attack
The chioce of target makes it almost too obvious to point at Pakistan. Al Qa'ida involvement is a plausible bet. Afghan-Pakistan relations will suffer amidst a flurry of accusations and allegations.
Germany to send more soldiers to Afghanistan?
German defence minister, Franz-Josef Jung, has announced that Germany planned to increase the number of troops it can send to Afghanistan by 1,000. However, suggestions that this is a new "anti-Taliban" mission would be wrong - any additional troops that may arrive do not appear destined for combat with the Taliban.
Taliban suggest an “independent investigation team on the killing of civilians” including Taliban and NATO soldiers working together...
In a fascinating posting from late May that purports to come from the “Leadership council of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”, ie the Taliban leadership, appears a request for the international community and the Taliban to work together to investigate civilian war deaths in Afghanistan since 2001. They actually suggest that small teams of Taliban and NATO soldiers are formed to conduct a country-wide assessment.
How are we doing in Afghanistan, part I: the dangers of statistics...
There are widely varying degrees of positive and negative assessment regarding the progress of Afghanistan. Many of the conclusions of progress against the Taliban are based on assessment of the numbers of attacks taking place across the country. At best, stats can serve as very crude and loose indicators. At worst they can be misleading, distorting and something to get distracted by. Beware of premature declarations of victory...
The Taliban speak – the Germans listen...
The Taliban explain to Spiegel Online that “what's important is to kill Germans” - useful insights into Taliban thinking, German attitudes and media approaches.
Recommended websites, part II: The Taliban speak...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/talkingtothetaliban Very interesting and insightful set of short interviews with over 40 Taliban fighters
Hekmatyar speaks...
...but does anyone listen? Notorious former Mujahideen resistance leader, one-time Prime Minister and now a Taleban-supporting insurgent gives rare interview
Recommended websites, part I: informed comment...
http://icga.blogspot.com/ Well-informed, timely and relevant comment, featuring Afghan guru, Barnett Rubin...
Why the PRTs must be reviewed
The Provincial Reconstruction Team concept, initiated in 2002, although doing much good in Afghanistan, is unfocused, uncoordinated and without a strategic plan. They are attracting criticism from the international community and Afghans alike. Afghanistan in 2008 is significantly different to 2002 and a review of their role, tasks, lessons learnt and their future is overdue.
That assassination attempt...
In terms of media impact, the attempt on Karzai's life on 27th Apr was an undeniable propaganda coup for the Taleban that will trump NATO's April "Vision Statement" of support for Afghanistan. It also serves as a useful reminder for the international community to consider what the "Plan B" would look like in the event of Karzai's death.
NATO's Bucharest summit: implications for Afghanistan
The NATO Summit in Bucharest last month saw many hints of progress, but largely fell short on the most pressing question for the alliance: Afghanistan.