Nov 22, 2009
August, 2009
- Aug 31, 2009
CBS News correspondent Cami McCormick was injured by a road-side bomb in Logar province just one day after attending a shura where U.S. military officers tried to convince tribal elders to find these deadly devices for a $25,000 dollar reward. McCormick attended the shura alongside Karin von Hippel when she was out in Logar after observing the Afghan elections. McCormick is reported to be in stable condition.
- Aug 28, 2009
This piece discusses the perceived impact and importance of the recent elections for ordinary Afghans and points out that while intimidation was certainly a factor in discouraging voter turnout, so was apathy. Farkas points out that while the international community remains focused on the presidency, ordinary Afghans, and especially women, would benefit more from improving decentralized institutions of government and bolstering local leaders who can partner with the U.S. on the ground.
- Aug 21, 2009
Hardin Lang was on NPR yesterday after observing the elections with Democracy International in Kandahar. Lang reported low voter turnout and describes the “ambient environment” on the ground at the polling stations he visited.
- Aug 20, 2009
Election turnout today was low and not surprisingly plagued by instances of fraud and intimidation.
- Aug 20, 2009
Rick Barton appeared on fox news "Afghanistan on High Alert."
- Aug 18, 2009
In the final few days before the Afghanistan elections on August 20th, many are hard at work to ensure that they are successful, accurate, and attract minimum disruption.
- Aug 18, 2009
Rick Barton was on Federal News Radio this morning to discuss the surge of civilians being sent to Afghanistan ahead of the elections. Listen to the full interview.
- Aug 17, 2009
With fast approaching elections and intensifying criticism of the war in Afghanistan, Karzai may not be the cause behind the U.S.’s problems.
- Aug 14, 2009
With Western attention to foreign policy fixated on Afghanistan and Pakistan (Iraq has already faded from the radar for most casual observers), the recent deaths of Zarema Sadulayeva and Alik Dzhabrailov have barely been mentioned. The husband and wife were kidnapped in Grozny and found in the trunk of their car. Outside the community of Russia/Eurasia specialists, why should anyone care?
- Aug 13, 2009
According to the Telegraph, Karzai's brother Ahmed Wali has been making deals with Taliban-affiliated groups in the Pashtun south to ensure that more polling stations can open, on top of attempts to buy votes.
A series of secret ceasefire deals have been agreed with Taliban commanders to ensure that voting can go ahead in Afghanistan's volatile south during next week's presidential elections.
- Aug 12, 2009
Foreign Policy Magazine and the New America Foundation just launched AfPak Channel. @AfPakChannel is great on Twitter, so it isn't surprising that site is already an important center for the debate on our strategy and the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Here are some highlights from its first few days.
Aug 10, 2009
As you probably know, Baitullah Mehsud was killed by a U.S. drone last week. Karin von Hippel discussed the repercussions with Reuters:
"It would have better to arrest him and bring him to trial to see if he really did kill Benazir Bhutto.
"There are 40-plus militia leaders that comprise the Pakistani Taliban alone.
"I'm not sure we have a very good understanding of how all these militia groups operate within Pakistan and with the networks across the border in Afghanistan.
"What happens when you kill one person, is another comes in and takes their place pretty quickly."
- Aug 4, 2009
Karin appeared on WorldFocus yesterday to discuss the current situation in Afghanistan: the uptick in violence and military casualties, upcoming elections, and the strategic surge in the south.
- Aug 3, 2009
The Taliban is stretching into the north and west (after attacking in the east a few weeks ago). They are spreading out partially because they are feeling the heat in their traditional southern strongholds by the NATO surge, but also beacuse they are realizing that they must reach beyond their Pashtun base to the other ethnicities that make up Afghanistan, as the new Taliban manual shows. That means they're causing problems in areas they aren't normally seen, according to this article from the Christian Science Monitor.