Defeating the Taliban in Sangin
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Progress in Afghanistan Bucharest Summit2-4 April 2008 Progress in Afghanistan
© MOD NL © MOD Canada © MOD Canada Progress in Afghanistan Progress in Bucharest Summit 2-4 April 2008 Bucharest Summit2-4 Progress in Afghanistan Contents page 1. Foreword by Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, ..........................1 Jean-François Bureau, and NATO Spokesman, James Appathurai 2. Executive summary .........................................................................................................................................2 3. Security ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 • IED attacks and Counter-IED efforts 4 • Musa Qala 5 • Operations Medusa successes - Highlights Panjwayi and Zhari 6 • Afghan National Army 8 • Afghan National Police 10 • ISAF growth 10 4. Reconstruction and Development ............................................................................................... 12 • Snapshots of PRT activities 14 • Afghanistan’s aviation sector: taking off 16 • NATO-Japan Grant Assistance for Grassroots Projects 17 • ISAF Post-Operations Humanitarian Relief Fund 18 • Humanitarian Assistance - Winterisation 18 5. Governance ....................................................................................................................................................... 19 • Counter-Narcotics 20 © MOD Canada Foreword The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission is approaching five years of operations in Afghanistan. This report is a -
Bringing Governance to Ungoverned Places Afghan and Marine Forces
file:///P:/Roundup/2011/111203/Roundup-111203-working.html Bringing governance to ungoverned places By Cpl. Reece Lodder GARMSIR DISTRICT, Afghanistan -- In the furthest reaches of Garmsir district, nearly 70 kilometers from the district center, a mixture of local elders and farmers sat quietly around a collection of ornately woven Afghan rugs, awaiting discussion with their district governor and Marine leaders. Following their recent assumption of security responsibility in Garmsir, the leadership of 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment joined District Governor Mohammad Fahim to visit and interact with citizens throughout the district, Nov. 22 to 24. Shuffling brightly-colored prayer beads through their fingers, local residents listened to Fahim’s encouragement, intently processing the 25-year-old governor’s words. Though Fahim is headquartered within the Garmsir bazaar, far from many of the people he serves, he used the visit to ask for their help in continuing the development of the flourishing district. He encouraged the various tribes to unite, saying inter-tribal conflicts prevent further progress toward peace and stability throughout Garmsir. “With unity, there is prosperity,” Fahim said. (STORY) Afghan and Marine forces examine the impact of culture, religion By Staff Sgt. Andrew Miller CAMP DWYER, Afghanistan -- The Afghan National Army 1st Brigade, 215th Corps and Regimental Combat Team 5 conducted a Religious Engagement Conference here, Nov. 23. “In this part of Afghanistan, culture is religion and religion is culture,” said Dauod Parwani, the RCT-5 cultural advisor. “The two concepts are inseparable, and unless you are speaking in the language of religion, no one will listen to you.” The conference brought together religious leaders from the partnered forces, including ANA Religious and Cultural Affairs Officers and U.S. -
2011 Kurt Schork Memorial Awards Winners Are Named Brave Reporting
News release from Kurt Schork Memorial Fund, London 14 October 2011 2011 Kurt Schork Memorial Awards winners are named Brave reporting from Libya, Afghanistan and Zimbabwe stood out for judges assessing entries for this year’s Kurt Schork Memorial Awards in International Journalism, the results of which are announced today (Friday, 14 October, 2011). Naming British journalist Jerome Starkey as the 2011 winner of the category for freelance journalist covering foreign news, the judges said he had clearly taken high risks to get his stories in Afghanistan and Libya. This year’s winner in the local reporter category is Gertrude Fadziso Pswarayi who wrote about raped and exploited women in Zimbabwe, a country with “zero tolerance for the journalism of revelation”, the judges noted. Almost 90 journalists from around the world submitted entries for the 2011 Kurt Schork Memorial Awards which are the only ones that specifically honour the contributions of freelance journalists covering foreign news and reporters living and working in the developing world and countries in transition. Each entrant can provide up to three articles for consideration and the winner of each category receives a US $5,000 monetary award, presented at a ceremony in London. This year’s ceremony will be held on November 17, hosted by Thomson Reuters Foundation at Canary Wharf. Jerome Starkey’s winning entries were two reports from Afghanistan and one from Libya. A story from Helmand province published in The Times (UK) in October last year described being present during a mine blast that claimed a British soldier’s life; another published in The Scotsman in March this year told of the aftermath of a Taleban roadside bombing. -
Last of U.S. Marines Leave Afghanistan's Helmand Province
Last of U.S. Marines Leave Afghanistan’s Helmand Province Departure Is Part of the Withdrawal of Most Foreign Combat Troops by Dec. 31 KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – The air traffic controllers had to stay until the very end. After several busy days and hundreds of flights out of Helmand province, the last of the U.S. Marines filed into helicopters around midday Monday, leaving behind a sprawling compound that for years served as a crucial base of the fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan. “I don’t think we’ve had time to digest it, we’ve been so busy,” said Marine Corps Capt. Benjamin Kiley, an air- control officer, who said he had slept just four hours over the past four days. Minutes before leaving, air tower workers destroyed sensitive gear and made sure no classified papers were lying around. For years, Helmand was the focus of Marine Corps operations in Afghanistan. Camps Leatherneck and Bastion— shared by U.S. and British forces before being formally handed over Sunday—comprised the logistical hub and headquarters. The base once housed some 40,000 U.S. and allied troops. The compound is now in the hands of Afghan forces, who began trickling in to secure the perimeter Monday morning. Marines prepare to depart Helmand on Monday after American and British forces formally handed over the Leatherneck and Bastion camps. “It’s kind of surreal. When you’ve been here for so long it’s incredible to think that we are finally leaving,” said Marine Corps Lt. Nicole Kreis, an air-traffic controller who was on one of the last helicopters out of Camp Leatherneck. -
Understanding State-Building and Local Government in Afghanistan
Working Paper no. 14 UNDERSTANDING STATE-BUILDING AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN AFGHANISTAN Sarah Lister Crisis States Research Centre May 2007 Copyright © S. Lister, 2007 Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of material published in this Working Paper, the Crisis States Research Centre and LSE accept no responsibility for the veracity of claims or accuracy of information provided by contributors. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing of the publisher nor be issued to the public or circulated in any form other than that in which it is published. Requests for permission to reproduce this Working Paper, of any part thereof, should be sent to: The Editor, Crisis States Research Centre, DESTIN, LSE, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE. 1 Crisis States Research Centre Understanding State-Building and Local Government in Afghanistan Sarah Lister1 Crisis States Research Centre Introduction The state has been brought back ‘in’ to development. ‘State-building’ is big business, as even a cursory review of recent academic literature, as well as donor documents and consultancy reports, will show. ‘State-building’ is breathing new life into a faltering ‘good governance’ agenda, despite continued confusion and ambiguity about the term. Indeed, almost every donor has established a ‘fragile states’ or post-conflict state-building unit. Yet attempts at ‘state-building’ have been even more unsuccessful than most good governance initiatives – to date most efforts by external agents to ‘build states’ have been, at best, mixed and in most cases unsuccessful (Fukuyama 2004; Paris 1997; Rondinelli and Montgomery 2005). -
Foreign Military Experts Aiding Taliban: Baghlan Police PUL-I-KHUMRI - the Police Chief for Northern Baghlan Prov- Govt
www.outlookafghanistan.net www.thedailyafghanistan.com facebook.com/The.Daily.Outlook.Afghanistan/ facebook.com/The.Daily.Afghanistan/ Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Phone: 0093 (799) 005019/777-005019 Phone: 0093 (799) 005019/777-005019 Add: Sarai Ghazni, District 3, Kabul Add: Sarai Ghazni, District 3, Kabul Back Page May 18, 2017 Ghazni Kandahar Jalalabad Clear Clear Clear Mazar Clear Herat Clear Bamayan Clear Kabul Clear Daily Outlook 33°C 25°C 35°C 35°C 35°C 18°C 30°C Weather 24°C °C 22°C 13°C 23°C 18 7°C 15°C Forcast Foreign Military Experts Aiding Taliban: Baghlan Police PUL-I-KHUMRI - The police chief for northern Baghlan prov- Govt. Set Thursday ince on Wednesday claimed sev- Deadline to Remove Mangal eral Russian, Pakistani, Egyptian and Chechen military experts KABUL/JALALABAD - Residents of east- had arrived in the province to ern Nangarhar province on Tuesday accused train and support the Taliban the provincial governor of corruption and militants. demanded his removal till Thursday or they Brig. Gen. Ikramuddin Sarai would launch massive protests. told Pajhwok Afghan News the About 25 civil society activists and political foreign military experts had en- workers coming all the way from Nangarhar tered Kunduz, Faryab, Badakh- told a press conference in Kabul that crimes shan, Helmand provinces and from kidnappings to murders, corruption, land Dehna Ghori, Tala wa Barfak, grabbing, mafia groups and others had peaked Dushi and parts of Dand-i-Ghori under Mohammad Gulab Mangal as the Nan- and Dand-i-Shahabuddin dis- garhar governor. -
BACKGROUNDER Military a Nalysis Andeducation for Civilian Leaders June 10, 2010
INSTITUTE FOR THE Jeffrey Dressler STUDY of WAR BACKGROUNDER Military A nalysis andEducation for Civilian Leaders June 10, 2010 Will the Marines Push into Northern Helmand? Northern Helmand may be the next focal point narcotics network and home to large contingents of of U. S. and British efforts in the province, just enemy fighters, IED manufacturing compounds, four months after U.S. Marines launched the and weapons storage caches.4 Sangin and Kajaki massive Operation Moshtarak in Marjah in central initially became hotspots for the Taliban after Helmand.1 This effort, which would be significantly they were driven from Musa Qala in December smaller in size and scope than Marjah, would 2007. Since then, the Taliban have expanded their concentrate on the troublesome districts of Kajaki presence and run mobile courts and effective shadow and Sangin in northeastern Helmand. governance structures in the districts, offering popular and effective services for the population.5 Speaking to reporters in London on June 7, U.S. Taliban elements operate relatively undisturbed Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said he discussed in the dense agricultural expanse that surrounds the possibility of sending more U.S. forces to both banks of the Helmand River to the south and northeastern Helmand.2 However, Gates noted that north of Sangin. Afghan, U.S., and coalition forces any final decision would be up to General Stanley in the area have been able to conduct only limited McChrystal, commander of U.S. and NATO forces patrolling beyond the district centers and the area in Afghanistan. surrounding the Kajaki dam, which provides power for much of Helmand and portions of Kandahar. -
Operation Golden Gate to Connect Sangin, Musa Qal'ah Tanks Disrupt
NEWS Operation Golden Gate to connect Sangin, Musa Qal'ah Story and photos by Cpl. Anthony Ward Jr. SANGIN DISTRICT, Afghanistan – Ground was broken for the start of Operation Golden Gate in the Sangin District of Helmand province, Afghanistan, Nov. 4. Marines, sailors and soldiers are working together in an effort to build a bridge more than 24 feet wide that will span more than 150 feet across the Helmand River, allowing for easy passage for the local people. “This is a joint project to build a permanent bridging solution to connect the east and west banks of the river, “said 2nd Lt. Benjamin Nelson, mission commander for Engineer Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 2, Combat Logistics Regiment 15. The current bridge site is near the northern causeway, which once housed a bridge that connected the people of Sangin and Musa Qal’ah. “The northern causeway was the site of an existing medium girder bridge,” said Lt. j.g. James A. Bruno, platoon commander with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133. “Over time, the river expanded west, making it no longer feasible to have the bridge there.” (Read the STORY) Tanks disrupt enemy activity in known insurgent hotbed Story and photos by Cpl. Mark Garcia COMBAT OUTPOST SHIR GHAZAY, Afghanistan – During a time when insurgents typically bed down for the winter, Marines and coalition forces engaged multiple enemy forces during Operation Helmand Viper, Oct. 19 through 27. Tanks with Bravo Company, 2nd Tank Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 7, led the support mission for special operations forces. The operation’s focus was to find and destroy weapons caches, improvised explosive devices and drug producing facilities. -
The High Stakes Battle for the Future of Musa Qala
JULY 2008 . VOL 1 . ISSUE 8 The High Stakes Battle for district. This created the standard and treated their presumed supporters in of small landlords farming small, the south better,5 this time there would the Future of Musa Qala well-irrigated holdings. While tribal be no mercy shown to “collaborators.” structure, economy and population alike This included executing, along with By David C. Isby have been badly damaged by decades of alleged criminals, several “spies,” which warfare, Musa Qala has a situation that included Afghans who had taken part in since its reoccupation by NATO and is more likely to yield internal stability work-for-food programs.6 Afghan forces in December 2007, the by building on what is left of traditional remote Musa Qala district of northern Afghanistan. The Alizai are also hoping to get more Helmand Province in Afghanistan from the new security situation. They has become important to the future Before the well-publicized October 2006 have requested that Kabul make Musa course of the insurgency but also to the “truce” that Alizai leaders concluded Qala a separate province.7 This proposal future of a Pashtun tribe (the Alizai), with the Taliban, Musa Qala had has been supported by current and a republic (the Islamic Republic of experienced a broad range of approaches former Helmand provincial governors. Afghanistan) and even a kingdom (the to countering the insurgency. In addition This would provide opportunities for United Kingdom). The changes that to their dissatisfaction with British patronage and give them a legally- take place at Musa Qala will influence operations in 2006, local inhabitants recognized base that competing tribal the future of all of them. -
An Illusion of Complicity: Terrorism and the Illegal Ivory Trade in East Africa Occasional Paper
Over 180 years of independent defence and security thinking The Royal United Services Institute is the UK’s leading independent think-tank on international defence and security. Its mission is to be an analytical, research-led global Royal United Services Institute forum for informing, influencing and enhancing public debate on a safer and more stable for Defence and Security Studies world. Since its foundation in 1831, RUSI has relied on its members to support its activities, sustaining its political independence for over 180 years. Occasional Paper London | Brussels | Nairobi | Doha | Tokyo | Washington, DC An Illusion of Complicity Terrorism and the Illegal Ivory Trade in East Africa Tom Maguire and Cathy Haenlein An Illusion of Complicity: Terrorism and the Illegal Ivory Trade in East Africa Occasional Paper Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies Whitehall London SW1A 2ET United Kingdom +44 (0)20 7747 2600 www.rusi.org RUSI is a registered charity (No. 210639) An Illusion of Complicity Terrorism and the Illegal Ivory Trade in East Africa Tom Maguire and Cathy Haenlein Occasional Paper, September 2015 Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies Over 180 years of independent defence and security thinking The Royal United Services Institute is the UK’s leading independent think-tank on international defence and security. Its mission is to be an analytical, research-led global forum for informing, influencing and enhancing public debate on a safer and more stable world. Since its foundation in 1831, RUSI has relied on its members to support its activities, sustaining its political independence for over 180 years. -
Masterarbeit / Master's Thesis
MASTERARBEIT / MASTER’S THESIS Titel der Masterarbeit / Title of the Master’s Thesis “Does the war on drugs help or hurt state-building in Afghanistan?” Verfasst von / Submitted by Dilyana Bizheva Angestrebter akademischer Grad / In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (MA) Wien, 2018 / Vienna, 2018 Studienkennzahl / Degree Program Code: A 066 589 Studienrichtung / Degree Program: Masterstudium Internationale Entwicklung Betreut von / Supervisor: Dr. Peter Hauslohner Abstract The opium economy has plagued Afghanistan in the last 30 – 40 years. Counter- narcotic efforts have been implemented in Afghanistan since 1989. In 2017, the United Nations has recorded an unprecedented level of opium production – 9000 tons of raw opium, which triggered the interest to investigate the topic. Counter-narcotic efforts have been thought to achieve two goals – to reduce the harms inflicted by the illicit economy in Afghanistan and worldwide as well as to help Afghanistan in its state-building process. Hence, the pivotal question of this research project has become the effects of the external counter-narcotics efforts on the reconstruction process in Afghanistan. Specifically, the aim of this research is to determine whether the war on drugs helps or hurts state-building in Afghanistan. The research has focused on the likely net effect on state-building from the counter-narcotic strategies in the provinces Helmand and Nangarhar. The research resorts to extensive secondary source information from researchers on the ground and analysts. Moreover, semi-structured expert interviews have been conducted with specialists on the topic. The results from the research show that the external counter-narcotic interventions have partially helped and partially hurt the state-building process in Afghanistan. -
Afghanistan Monthly Idp Update
AFGHANISTAN MONTHLY IDP UPDATE 01 – 30 November 2014 KEY FIGURES HIGHLIGHTS --- -------------------- ---------------- - . Region end-Oct 2014 Increase Decrease end-Nov 2014 15,617 individuals, displaced by conflict, were profiled South 207,160 3,050 - 210,210 during November 2014, of West 193,439 4,286 - 197,725 whom: East 134,640 1,030 - 135,670 10,138 individuals were North 100,897 1,785 - 102,682 displaced in November; 2,674 in October; 649 in September; Central 112,081 5,432 - 117,513 1,002 in August; 60 in July; 31 Southeast 18,328 - - 18,328 in June; and 1,063 earlier. Central Highlands - 34 - 34 . The total number of profiled Total 766,545 15,617 - 782,162 IDPs as of end November 2014 is 782,162 individuals. The major causes of displacement were the military operations and armed conflict between Anti Governmental Elements (AGEs) and Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF)/Afghan local police. Other causes included harassments by AGEs. Disaggregated data for November profiled: 49 % male The primary needs profiled was food and NFIs, followed by shelter and cash grants. and 51% female; The majority of the profiled IDPs in November were assisted with food and NFIs, 48% adults and 52% children. through the IDP Task Force agencies including DoRR, DRC, NRC, UNHCR, WFP, APA, ODCG, ACF, etc. PARTNERSHIPS Lack of access to verify displacement and respond to immediate needs of IDPs continues to be a significant challenge for IDP Task Force agencies. The National IDP Task Force is The UNHCR led verification of Kabul informal settlements which was planned for chaired by the Ministry of November is completed.