Conflict and Peacebuilding Observatory Nº 35 – November 2015
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Taliban Fragmentation FACT, FICTION, and FUTURE by Andrew Watkins
PEACEWORKS Taliban Fragmentation FACT, FICTION, AND FUTURE By Andrew Watkins NO. 160 | MARCH 2020 Making Peace Possible NO. 160 | MARCH 2020 ABOUT THE REPORT This report examines the phenomenon of insurgent fragmentation within Afghanistan’s Tali- ban and implications for the Afghan peace process. This study, which the author undertook PEACE PROCESSES as an independent researcher supported by the Asia Center at the US Institute of Peace, is based on a survey of the academic literature on insurgency, civil war, and negotiated peace, as well as on interviews the author conducted in Afghanistan in 2019 and 2020. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Andrew Watkins has worked in more than ten provinces of Afghanistan, most recently as a political affairs officer with the United Nations. He has also worked as an indepen- dent researcher, a conflict analyst and adviser to the humanitarian community, and a liaison based with Afghan security forces. Cover photo: A soldier walks among a group of alleged Taliban fighters at a National Directorate of Security facility in Faizabad in September 2019. The status of prisoners will be a critical issue in future negotiations with the Taliban. (Photo by Jim Huylebroek/New York Times) The views expressed in this report are those of the author alone. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Institute of Peace. An online edition of this and related reports can be found on our website (www.usip.org), together with additional information on the subject. © 2020 by the United States Institute of Peace United States Institute of Peace 2301 Constitution Avenue NW Washington, DC 20037 Phone: 202.457.1700 Fax: 202.429.6063 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.usip.org Peaceworks No. -
Afghanistan 2015 Human Rights Report
AFGHANISTAN 2015 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Afghanistan is an Islamic republic with a strong, directly elected presidency, a bicameral legislative branch, and a judicial branch. Presidential and provincial elections held in 2014 were marred by allegations of fraud that led to an audit of all ballot boxes. Protracted political negotiations between the presidential candidates led to the creation of a national unity government headed by President Ashraf Ghani, with runner-up Abdullah Abdullah assuming the newly created post of chief executive officer. Constitutionally mandated parliamentary elections did not take place during the year. The most recent parliamentary elections took place in 2010 and were marred by high levels of fraud and violence, according to domestic observers, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and other international election-monitoring organizations. Civilian authorities generally maintained control over the security forces, although there were occasions when security forces acted independently. The most significant human rights problems were widespread violence, including indiscriminate attacks on civilians by armed insurgent groups; armed insurgent groups’ killings of persons affiliated with the government; torture and abuse of detainees by government forces; widespread disregard for the rule of law and little accountability for those who committed human rights abuses; and targeted violence of and endemic societal discrimination against women and girls. Other human rights problems included -
Aasen -- Constructing Narcoterrorism As Danger.Pdf
WestminsterResearch http://www.westminster.ac.uk/westminsterresearch Constructing Narcoterrorism as Danger: Afghanistan and the Politics of Security and Representation Aasen, D. This is an electronic version of a PhD thesis awarded by the University of Westminster. © Mr Donald Aasen, 2019. The WestminsterResearch online digital archive at the University of Westminster aims to make the research output of the University available to a wider audience. Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the authors and/or copyright owners. Whilst further distribution of specific materials from within this archive is forbidden, you may freely distribute the URL of WestminsterResearch: ((http://westminsterresearch.wmin.ac.uk/). In case of abuse or copyright appearing without permission e-mail [email protected] Constructing Narcoterrorism as Danger: Afghanistan and the Politics of Security and Representation Greg Aasen A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Westminster for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy January 2019 1 Abstract Afghanistan has become a country synonymous with danger. Discourses of narcotics, terrorism, and narcoterrorism have come to define the country and the current conflict. However, despite the prevalence of these dangers globally, they are seldom treated as political representations. This project theorizes danger as a political representation by deconstructing and problematizing contemporary discourses of (narco)terrorism in Afghanistan. Despite the globalisation of these two discourses of danger, (narco)terrorism remains largely under-theorised, with the focus placed on how to overcome this problem rather than critically analysing it as a representation. The argument being made here is that (narco)terrorism is not some ‘new’ existential danger, but rather reflects the hegemonic and counterhegemonic use of danger to establish authority over the collective identity. -
The Evolution of the Taliban
Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive Theses and Dissertations Thesis Collection 2008-06 The evolution of the Taliban Samples, Christopher A. Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/4101 NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS THE EVOLUTION OF THE TALIBAN by Shahid A. Afsar Christopher A. Samples June 2008 Thesis Advisor: Thomas H. Johnson Second Reader: Heather S. Gregg Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED June 2008 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE The Evolution of the Taliban 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 6. AUTHORS Shahid A. Afsar and Christopher A. Samples 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION Naval Postgraduate School REPORT NUMBER Monterey, CA 93943-5000 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING N/A AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. -
The Haqqani Network
October 2010 Jeffrey A. Dressler AFGHANISTAN REPORT 6 THE HAQQANI NETWORK FROM PAKISTAN TO AFGHANISTAN INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY of WAR Military A nalysis andEducation for Civilian Leaders Cover photo: Members of an Afghan-international security force pull security on a compound in Waliuddin Bak dis- trict, of Khost province, Afghanistan, Apr. 8, 2010. During the search, the security force captured a Haqqani facilita- tor, responsible for specialized improvised explosive device support and technical expertise for various militant networks. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Mark Salazar/Released) All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. ©2010 by the Institute for the Study of War. Published in 2010 in the United States of America by the Institute for the Study of War. 1400 16th Street NW, Suite 515, Washington, DC 20036. http://www.understandingwar.org ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jeffrey A. Dressler is a Research Analyst at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) where he studies security dynamics in southeastern and southern Afghanistan. He previously published the ISW report, Securing Helmand: Understanding and Responding to the Enemy (October 2009). Dressler’s work has drawn praise from members of the Marine Corps and the intelligence community for its understanding of the enemy network in southern Afghanistan and analysis of the military campaign in Helmand province over the past several years. Dressler was invited to Afghanistan in July 2010 to conduct research for General David Petraeus following his assumption of command. -
Humanitarian and Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan, 2001
A Joint Evaluation Evaluation A Joint A Joint Evaluation Afghanistan was a troubled country in 2001. Not only is Afghanistan one of the poorest HUMANITARIAN 2001-05 AFGHANISTAN, ANDTO RECONSTRUCTION ASSISTANCE countries in the world, but protracted armed confl ict since 1978 had forced 6 million HUMANITARIAN AND out of a population of some 25 million people to fl ee to neighbouring countries, caused massive destruction of infrastructure and paved the way for warlords to rule over large RECONSTRUCTION ASSISTANCE parts of the country. The 2001 11 September attack by Al Qaeda placed Afghanistan at the centre of international politics and provoked the US-led ‘Coalition of the Willing’s attack on 7 October on Al Qaeda bases in Afghanistan in collaboration with a loose alliance of TO AFGHANISTAN, 2001-05 Northern Afghan groups and the subsequent overthrow of the Taliban regime. After the international military operation and up to mid-2004 Afghanistan received close FROM DENMARK, IRELAND, THE NETHERLANDS, SWEDEN to Euro 3.2 billion in total of humanitarian and development aid to rebuild the country. Of this, 25 % - Euro 791 billion came from fi ve bilateral donors: the United Kingdom, AND THE UNITED KINGDOM the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Ireland. In 2004 the fi ve donors decided to commission a joint evaluation of their aid programmes 2001-2005. The evaluation was carried out by a consortium led by Chr. Michelsen Institute, Bergen, Norway, contracted by Danida’s Evaluation Department on behalf of the fi ve donors. The donors’ support to Afghanistan was not just another humanitarian operation. It was a multi-dimensional intervention combining the objectives of development co-operation with broad foreign and domestic policy objectives, where the donors – of whom some had taken an active part in ousting the old regime – also aimed at supporting Afghanistan’s new start through putting into place a new and democratically elected government and market economy. -
The Strategic Value of Proxies and Auxiliaries in Wars Amongst the People
Conceptualising the regular-irregular engagement: the strategic value of proxies and auxiliaries in wars amongst the people Book or Report Section Accepted Version Rauta, V. (2019) Conceptualising the regular-irregular engagement: the strategic value of proxies and auxiliaries in wars amongst the people. In: Brown, D., Murray, D., Riemann, M., Rossi, N. and Smith, M. (eds.) War Amongst the People. Howgate Publishing Limited, Havant. Available at http://centaur.reading.ac.uk/81725/ It is advisable to refer to the publisher’s version if you intend to cite from the work. See Guidance on citing . Publisher: Howgate Publishing Limited All outputs in CentAUR are protected by Intellectual Property Rights law, including copyright law. Copyright and IPR is retained by the creators or other copyright holders. Terms and conditions for use of this material are defined in the End User Agreement . www.reading.ac.uk/centaur CentAUR Central Archive at the University of Reading Reading’s research outputs online 1 Chapter 5: Conceptualising the Regular-Irregular Engagement: The Strategic Value of Proxies and Auxiliaries in Wars amongst the People Vladimir Rauta Introduction The notion of ‘war amongst the people’ is a central feature of the twenty-first century security environment. Introduced by Rupert Smith in his ground-breaking The Utility of Force,1 ‘war amongst the people’ captured a reality long in the making, whose historical lineage could partly be traced back to the origins of war itself. The appeal of the concept came from combining the simplicity -
Conflict in Afghanistan Is Here-To-Stay: the Taliban’S Second Coming
University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Economics Scholarship Economics 2-18-2004 Conflict in Afghanistan is here-to-Stay: The Taliban’s Second Coming Marc W. Herold [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/econ_facpub Recommended Citation Herold, Marc W., “Conflict in Afghanistan is here-to-Stay: The Taliban’s Second Coming” (Durham: manuscript, Dept. of Economics, University of New Hampshire, February 18, 2004) reprinted at http://www.grassrootspeace.org/herold_taliban_afghanistan.pdf This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Economics at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Economics Scholarship by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 1 "Conflict in Afghanistan is Here-to-Stay : The Taliban's Second Coming" by Marc W. Herold Departments of Economics & Women's Studies Whittemore School of Business & Economics University of New Hampshire Durham, N.H. 03824 U.S.A. Phone: 603 862-3375 FAX: 603 862-3383 e-mail: [email protected] February 18, 2004 On May 1, 2003, in Kabul flanked by his obedient client, Hamid Karzai, Secretary Rumsfeld announced to the world that the United States had moved from a period of major combat activity to a period of stability and reconstruction in Afghanistan. The 'news' was gushingly reported by the U.S. mainstream corporate press, e.g., Matt Kelley of the Associated Press and a favorite of the U.S. colonels at the Bagram base. -
Principes Directeurs Du Hcr Relatifs À L'éligibilité Dans
PRINCIPES DIRECTEURS DU HCR RELATIFS À L’ÉLIGIBILITÉ DANS LE CADRE DE L’ÉVALUATION DES BESOINS DE PROTECTION INTERNATIONALE DES DEMANDEURS D’ASILE AFGHANS Haut Commissariat des Nations Unies pour les réfugiés (HCR) 19 avril 2016 HCR/EG/AFG/16/02 NOTE Les Principes directeurs relatifs à l’éligibilité publiés par le Bureau du HCR visent à aider les agents en charge de la détermination du statut de réfugié, notamment le personnel du HCR, les gouvernements et les organismes privés, à évaluer les besoins de protection internationale des demandeurs d’asile. Ces principes constituent des interprétations juridiques des critères d’éligibilité au statut de réfugié, qui concernent des groupes de population spécifiques et tiennent compte des circonstances sociales, économiques, sécuritaires et humanitaires ainsi que de la situation des droits de l’homme dans le pays ou le territoire d’origine concerné. Les besoins de protection internationale s’y rapportant sont analysés en détail et des recommandations sont formulées sur la manière de déterminer si les demandes en question relèvent des principes et normes du droit international des réfugiés, notamment au Statut du HCR, à la Convention de 1951 relative au statut des réfugiés et à son Protocole de 1967, ainsi qu’à certains instruments régionaux spécifiques comme la Convention de l’OUA de 1969, la Déclaration de Carthagène et la Directive Qualification de l’Union européenne. Selon la situation, ces recommandations peuvent également concerner des régimes de protection complémentaires ou subsidiaires. -
The Human Cost RIGHTS the Consequences of Insurgent Attacks in Afghanistan WATCH April 2007 Volume 19, No
Afghanistan HUMAN The Human Cost RIGHTS The Consequences of Insurgent Attacks in Afghanistan WATCH April 2007 Volume 19, No. 6(C) The Human Cost The Consequences of Insurgent Attacks in Afghanistan Map of Afghanistan.................................................................................................. 1 I. Summary...............................................................................................................2 II. Background........................................................................................................12 III. Civilian Accounts...............................................................................................25 Attacks Targeting Civilians ................................................................................25 Indiscriminate or Disproportionate Attacks on Military Targets ..........................47 IV. Civilian Perceptions ..........................................................................................67 V. Rising Civilian Casualties: Trends and Statistics ................................................70 VI. Legal Analysis...................................................................................................78 Applicable Treaties and Customary Law ............................................................79 Applying Legal Standards to Insurgent Activities ...............................................82 International Forces, Security Concerns, and Laws of War Violations ................ 98 VII. Recommendations ........................................................................................ -
Suicide Attacks in Afghanistan: Why Now?
University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Political Science Department -- Theses, Dissertations, and Student Scholarship Political Science, Department of Spring 5-2013 SUICIDE ATTACKS IN AFGHANISTAN: WHY NOW? Ghulam Farooq Mujaddidi University of Nebraska-Lincoln Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/poliscitheses Part of the Comparative Politics Commons, and the International Relations Commons Mujaddidi, Ghulam Farooq, "SUICIDE ATTACKS IN AFGHANISTAN: WHY NOW?" (2013). Political Science Department -- Theses, Dissertations, and Student Scholarship. 25. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/poliscitheses/25 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Political Science, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Political Science Department -- Theses, Dissertations, and Student Scholarship by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. SUICIDE ATTACKS IN AFGHANISTAN: WHY NOW? by Ghulam Farooq Mujaddidi A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts Major: Political Science Under the Supervision of Professor Patrice C. McMahon Lincoln, Nebraska May, 2013 SUICIDE ATTACKS IN AFGHANISTAN: WHY NOW? Ghulam Farooq Mujaddidi, M.A. University of Nebraska, 2013 Adviser: Patrice C. McMahon Why, contrary to their predecessors, did the Taliban resort to use of suicide attacks in the 2000s in Afghanistan? By drawing from terrorist innovation literature and Michael Horowitz’s adoption capacity theory—a theory of diffusion of military innovation—the author argues that suicide attacks in Afghanistan is better understood as an innovation or emulation of a new technique to retaliate in asymmetric warfare when insurgents face arms embargo, military pressure, and have direct links to external terrorist groups. -
Al Qaeda’S Command- And-Control Structure
Testimony of Steven Emerson Before the United States House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence April 9, 2008 Steven Emerson Executive Director Investigative Project on Terrorism www.investigativeproject.org email:[email protected] Introduction: The 2001 invasion of Afghanistan was successful in obliterating much of al Qaeda’s command- and-control structure. Due to a robust and successful counter-terrorist policy made up of good intelligence gathered by the FBI, asset forfeitures and designations by the Department of the Treasury, and other good work by the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies within the intelligence community, the U,S. has fortunately not been hit with another attack since 9-11. Moreover, in the six and a half years since the those horrible, al Qaeda’s direct orchestration of acts of terrorism on the operational level has been somewhat constrained. This is not to say that al Qaeda has not been involved in terrorist attacks and plots since 2001 (training and guidance provided by al Qaeda in the 2005 London transit bombings and foiled 2006 Heathrow plot prove otherwise), but the group’s leaders have relied largely on the power of self- anointed franchises and recognized the power of spreading its message and ideology via the Internet. Extremist Muslims throughout the world have responded to this message and have sought to execute a number of attacks. While most have been stopped, some have been successful, killing hundreds and injuring thousands more, resulting in propaganda coups for al Qaeda and its leadership. Parallel to franchising the al Qaeda ideology, the group has successfully regenerated its operational capabilities in the sanctuary of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in Pakistan.