The Green Valley of Panjshir — Afghanistan's Secure Province
This article was submitted by a consultant in working Afghanistan.
Remnants of war — mines, unexploded ordinance, discarded machinery — blight Afghanistan. Soviet, American and NATO/ISAF hardware, not to mention the motley military flotsam of the Afghan civil war, dot the landscape. But in at least one part of the country Afghans have put the detritus of war to good work.
How do the Taliban deal with their combat casualties?
By Robert Karniol
A couple of months back I rang the Pentagon press office with a few questions centred on a basic theme: How do the Taliban deal with their combat casualties?
Many years ago I spent some time in the field with Cambodian guerrillas fighting to end the Vietnamese occupation, in the process learning something of their medical services. Our group of about a hundred fighters had two field medics, peasant boys with some three months of training supplemented by a bit of time at the civilian hospital in a border refugee camp.
As we had taken several casualties in an encounter with Vietnamese forces soon after entering the country from Thailand, I saw them work and they couldn’t have been more professional.
Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration - Re-visited
By Richard Scarth (in Duabi)
Anyone living and working in Afghanistan, even for a short time, is likely to witness history repeating itself. Whether it is journalists re-embedding to cover another significant battle in the south, reporting the surreal oddities found in what is now the “Obama bazaar,” covering another search for the elusive reclining Buddha of Bamiyan or describing another successful Donors Conference while clearly unaware of the previous year’s milestones, history seems to repeat itself far too quickly in the transient world of Aid.
What Development Looks Like
By Scott Bohlinger (in Afghanistan)
About two years ago I drove from Taluqan to Fayzabad in the remote northeast of Afghanistan. It took 6-8 hours to cover a distance of 170km. Across the river from the dirt track that served as the road, work crews were engaged in the seemingly ceaseless and impossible task of blasting and digging away at the mountains which hindered the desired course of the road.
Report highlights challenges, contradictions of negotiating with the Taliban
By Jesse Hembruff (in Waterloo)
As the war in Afghanistan continues, leaders are taking the view that a negotiated settlement with the Taliban will be necessary for long-term stability in Afghanistan. However, despite nearly ten years of fighting, the organizational structure of the Taliban remains opaque, with important implications for the negotiation process.
The Government Should Start to Govern
By Scott Bohlinger (in Afghanistan)
On a hot day in London I had look back at the building from which I had just emerged to make sure it hadn't been the Iranian embassy, which is right around the corner. Why? A number of applicants and myself had just been treated with an astounding degree of unprofessionalism in the rejection of our visas by the Afghan embassy. This episode reminded me of why I agree with one element of NATO's Afghanistan strategy, the withdrawal timetable.
With 95% of the Country Insecure, The Prospects for the Parliamentary Elections Look Grim
By Nasim Fekrat (in Carlisle, Pennsylvania)
According to the BBC, the Afghan Interior Ministry released a report to the media on Thursday June 17th stating that out of the country’s 364 districts, only 11 are stable. This report has come out during preparations for parliamentary elections scheduled for September 18, 2010. It raises question marks over the ability of the Afghan government and its international supporters to hold a national election amidst widespread insecurity that is escalating with each passing day.
Fresh Allegations Against Karzai
By Nasim Fekrat (in Afghanistan)
Recently, a journalist based in Kabul reported from an unknown source that Mullah Baradar, the deputy of Mullah Mohammad Omar, the leader of the Taliban, has revealed information regarding his relationship with the Afghan authorities. Baradar was captured by US and Pakistani forces in February 2010 and is still in custody in Pakistan. President Karzai has persistently demanded that the Pakistani government transfer him to Afghanistan, but Pakistani officials have refused.
Afghanistan Descends even Deeper into Chaos as Two Top Officials Resign
By Asma Nemati (in Kabul)
Sunday’s baffling resignations of Interior Minister Hanif Atmar and Amrullah Saleh, head of the National Directorate of Security, shocked and worried Afghans, not to mention high-ranking foreign military officials and the international diplomatic community.
The official reason for the resignation of these two officials was President Karzai’s anger at their inability to thwart Taliban attacks on the first day of the National Consultative Peace Jirga. Analysts here are quite skeptical of that explanation and are scratching their heads trying to find a good reason for these sudden resignations. However, a clearer picture is emerging of the underlying conflict between Karzai and his ministers.
New Counter-Insurgency Strategy, Same Results
By Anand Gopal (in Afghanistan)
Wardak province, a rustic region of verdant dales and twisting streams that borders Kabul, is home to one of the untold stories of the Afghan war: over the last nine months, U.S. forces have quietly decapitated the Taliban’s leadership in the area. Through dozens of nighttime raids, U.S. Special Operations Forces have succeeded in killing or capturing a number of important Taliban commanders. Dozens of notorious insurgent leaders who have ruled Wardak for five or six years unmolested have suddenly been removed from the picture, marking one of the biggest setbacks the Taliban has faced on the ground in recent times.