Afghanistan: a Year After
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Afghan Force Development
The Center for Strategic and International Studies Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy 1800 K Street, NW • Suite 400 • Washington, DC 20006 Phone: +1-202-775-3270 • Fax: +1-202-457-8746 Web: www.csis.org/burke Winning in Afghanistan: Afghan Force Development Anthony H. Cordesman Arleigh A. Burke Chair Revised: December 14, 2006 Introduction ! This briefing is based on a trip to Afghanistan in November 2006. ! Most of the material is adapted, or taken directly, from expert briefings provided on an unclassified level. The opinions are the author’s. ! The rise in threat activity is serious, but must be kept in context. ! The challenges to be overcome a far less serious than in Iraq. ! The US and NATO scored important victories in 2006. ! The Bush Administration is already considering major increases in military and economic aid and limited increases in US forces. ! NATO commanders understand the problems and weaknesses in current NATO forces and rules of engagement, and are seeking to overcome them. 2 !"#$%&&'()*+(,-./)(0).-123.4(),5../6(3257(8/95): !;<(=53/6(56/5) !;<(><5)3.-7/?(@57A.<>B/A !C<D7364(A-E-A/A(F4(32/(G-7AD(HD)2(I<D735-7( J571/ !G5)(5(><,K5653-E/.4(L/63-./(56/5(-7(32/(7<632 !M./E53-<7(L6<,(&###N 3<($&%###N 5F<E/()/5(./E/. !C5K-35.(<L(H5FD.(-)(53(O###N 57A(-)(-7(5(E5../4 3 The Challenge of Afghanistan vs. Iraq AFGHANISTAN ! Land Mass – 647,500 sq km ! Population – 31,056,947 people ! Land locked, primarily agrarian AFGHANISTAN economy ! Lacks both transportation and TOTAL US AND COALITION FORCES information infrastructure ~32,000 ! Restrictive terrain dominates the country IRAQ ! Land Mass – 432,162 sq km ! Population – 26,783,383 people ! Economy dominated by the oil sector and fertile river valleys ! Comparatively developed transportation and information infrastructure IRAQ TOTAL US AND COALITION FORCES ~162,000 4 Key Trends ! Development of effective government and economy will take at least 5-10 years; no instant success is possible. -
1 USIP –ADST Afghan Experience Project Interviwe #1 Executive
USIP –ADST Afghan Experience Project Interviwe #1 Executive Summary The interviewee is a Farsi speaker and retired FSO who has had prior Afghan experience, including working with refugees during the period the Taliban was fighting to take over the country in 1995. He returned to Kabul in 2002 as chief of the political section, although retired, for seven months. He returned in 2003 and worked at the U.S. civil affairs mission in Herat for 6 months. He came back later in 2003 to Afghanistan working for the Asia Foundation. He worked on a PRT for approximately three months in late 2004 in Herat. The American presence was minimal when he got there. Security was excellent and the local warlord, Ismael Khan, was using revenues he siphoned from customs houses into development projects. Shortly after subject arrived in Herat, Khan was ousted in a brief battle by forces loyal to Kabul and with the threat of unrest U.S. forces were increased in the area. Our subject suggested to Khan that he make peace with the Kabul government, and he did, perhaps in part on the advice of subject. The Herat PRT had about one hundred American uniformed troops with three civilians, State, AID, Agriculture. Subject was the political advisor to the civil affairs staff, a reserve unit from Minnesota. But much of their work was soon taken over or undercut by the U.S. military task force commander brought in in response to the ouster of Khan. According to subject, the task force commander in the region saw himself as the political expert. -
The Politics of Disarmament and Rearmament in Afghanistan
[PEACEW RKS [ THE POLITICS OF DISARMAMENT AND REARMAMENT IN AFGHANISTAN Deedee Derksen ABOUT THE REPORT This report examines why internationally funded programs to disarm, demobilize, and reintegrate militias since 2001 have not made Afghanistan more secure and why its society has instead become more militarized. Supported by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) as part of its broader program of study on the intersection of political, economic, and conflict dynamics in Afghanistan, the report is based on some 250 interviews with Afghan and Western officials, tribal leaders, villagers, Afghan National Security Force and militia commanders, and insurgent commanders and fighters, conducted primarily between 2011 and 2014. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Deedee Derksen has conducted research into Afghan militias since 2006. A former correspondent for the Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant, she has since 2011 pursued a PhD on the politics of disarmament and rearmament of militias at the War Studies Department of King’s College London. She is grateful to Patricia Gossman, Anatol Lieven, Mike Martin, Joanna Nathan, Scott Smith, and several anonymous reviewers for their comments and to everyone who agreed to be interviewed or helped in other ways. Cover photo: Former Taliban fighters line up to handover their rifles to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan during a reintegration ceremony at the pro- vincial governor’s compound. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. j. g. Joe Painter/RELEASED). Defense video and imagery dis- tribution system. 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. -
Strategic Insight
Strategic Insight The Loya Jirga, Ethnic Rivalries and Future Afghan Stability by Thomas H. Johnson Strategic Insights are authored monthly by analysts with the Center for Contemporary Conflict (CCC). The CCC is the research arm of the National Security Affairs Department at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Naval Postgraduate School, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. August 6, 2002 On June 24 the Afghan transitional government and administration of Hamid Karzai was installed during formal ceremonies in Kabul. Karzai had easily won the June 13 election at a national political assembly, or loya jirga. The loya jirga consisted of 1500 representatives, elected or appointed from 32 provinces, and debated the political future of Afghanistan over a seven-day period. The Karzai government is supposed to rule Afghanistan through 2003. During the ceremony, Karzai and his new cabinet took an oath in both major Afghan languages (Pashtu and Dari), vowing to "follow the basic teachings of Islam" and the laws of the land, to renounce corruption, and to "safeguard the honor and integrity of Afghanistan."[1] How successful they are in achieving these vows will be critical to the near term future of Afghanistan, its reconstruction, and possibly the stability of the entire region of Central Asia. This transitional government was the result of an Emergency Loya Jirga and part of the Bonn Agreement (of November-December 2001). While not explicitly stating so in the Bonn Agreement, Lakhdar Brahimi, the Special Representative of the U.N. -
Badghis Province
AFGHANISTAN Badghis Province District Atlas April 2014 Disclaimers: The designations employed and the presentation of material on this map do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. http://afg.humanitarianresponse.info [email protected] AFGHANISTAN: Badghis Province Reference Map 63°0'0"E 63°30'0"E 64°0'0"E 64°30'0"E 65°0'0"E Legend ^! Capital Shirintagab !! Provincial Center District ! District Center Khwajasabzposh Administrative Boundaries TURKMENISTAN ! International Khwajasabzposh Province Takhta Almar District 36°0'0"N 36°0'0"N Bazar District Distirict Maymana Transportation p !! ! Primary Road Pashtunkot Secondary Road ! Ghormach Almar o Airport District p Airfield River/Stream ! Ghormach Qaysar River/Lake ! Qaysar District Pashtunkot District ! Balamurghab Garziwan District Bala 35°30'0"N 35°30'0"N Murghab District Kohestan ! Fa r y ab Kohestan Date Printed: 30 March 2014 08:40 AM Province District Data Source(s): AGCHO, CSO, AIMS, MISTI Schools - Ministry of Education ° Health Facilities - Ministry of Health Muqur Charsadra Badghis District District Projection/Datum: Geographic/WGS-84 Province Abkamari 0 20 40Kms ! ! ! Jawand Muqur Disclaimers: Ab Kamari Jawand The designations employed and the presentation of material !! District p 35°0'0"N 35°0'0"N Qala-e-Naw District on this map do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, Qala-i-Naw Qadis city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation District District of its frontiers or boundaries. -
The Future of Afghanistan
Thier The Future of Afghanistan The of Afghanistan Future J Alexander Thier editor United States Institute of Peace The Future of Afghanistan Thier-Afghanistan-2a rev.indd 1 12/17/08 11:24:43 AM Thier-Afghanistan-2a rev.indd 2 12/17/08 11:24:43 AM The Future of Afghanistan J Alexander Thier editor UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEACE Was H in G ton , D.C. Thier-Afghanistan-2a rev.indd 3 12/17/08 11:24:43 AM The views expressed in this book are those of the author alone. They do not necessarily reflect views of the United States Institute of Peace. UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEACE 1200 17th Street, NW, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20036-3011 www.usip.org © 2009 by the Endowment of the United States Institute of Peace. All rights reserved. First published 2009 To request permission to photocopy or reprint materials for course use, contact the Copyright Clearance Center at www.copyright.com. For print, electronic media, and all other subsidiary rights, e-mail: [email protected]. Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standards for Information Science—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. Thier-Afghanistan-2a rev.indd 4 12/17/08 11:24:43 AM Contents Acknowledgments v Map of Afghanistan vi 1. Introduction: Building Bridges 1 J Alexander Thier 2. The Transformation of the Afghan State 13 Barnett R. Rubin 3. The Future of Security Institutions 23 Ali A. Jalali 4. -
302 272,868 Border Monitoring Update
Afghanistan BORDER MONITORING UPDATE COVID-19 RESPONSE 26 APRIL – 2 May 2020 CHA staff (UNHCR partner) deployed to Islam Qala reception center 24 March 2020 CHA/ E. Karimi 302 Since 01 January, UNHCR assisted the return of over 300 Afghan refugees from Iran, Pakistan and other countries under its facilitated voluntary repatriation programme. As of 04 March, UNHCR AFGHAN REFUGEES RETURNED suspended the return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan, Iran and other countries as a precautionary TO AFGHANISTAN measure linked to COVID-19. According to MoRR/IOM, during the week of 26 April – 2 May, the total number of undocumented returnees from Iran was 5,801 and since 01 January, the total number of undocumented returnees is 272,868 individuals, including 271,035 from Iran and 1,833 from Pakistan. On 01 May 2020, the 272,868 Government of Pakistan announced that Torkham and Spin Boldak crossing points will be opened five UNDOCUMENTED AFGHANS days a week (Monday – Friday) for commercial purposes (both for Afghan transit trade and bilateral RETURNED FROM IRAN AND trade). Pedestrian movement of stranded Afghans and Pakistanis will be allowed once a week PAKISTAN (Saturday), and a maximum of 500 persons will be allowed to cross into Pakistan through Torkham and 300 individuals through Spin Boldak crossing point. UNHCR is aware of reports of the abusive treatment of a group of Afghans following their irregular entry into Iran, and of allegations of resulting loss of lives. According to initial information in media reports, a group of 57 Afghans who had irregularly crossed Afghanistan’s border with Iran on Friday 1 May, were reportedly apprehended and beaten by Iranian border authorities and subsequently thrown into the Harirud River (shared by Afghanistan, Iran and Turkmenistan). -
AFGHANISTAN MAP Central Region
Chal #S Aliabad #S BALKH Char Kent Hazrat- e Sultan #S AFGHANISTAN MAP #S Qazi Boi Qala #S Ishkamesh #S Baba Ewaz #S Central Region #S Aibak Sar -e Pul Islam Qala Y# Bur ka #S #S #S Y# Keshendeh ( Aq Kopruk) Baghlan-e Jadeed #S Bashi Qala Du Abi #S Darzab #S #S Dehi Pul-e Khumri Afghan Kot # #S Dahana- e Ghori #S HIC/ProMIS Y#S Tukzar #S wana Khana #S #S SAMANGAN Maimana Pasni BAGHLAN Sar chakan #S #S FARYAB Banu Doshi Khinjan #S LEGEND SARI PUL Ruy-e Du Ab Northern R#S egion#S Tarkhoj #S #S Zenya BOUNDARIES Qala Bazare Tala #S #S #S International Kiraman Du Ab Mikh Zar in Rokha #S #S Province #S Paja Saighan #S #S Ezat Khel Sufla Haji Khel District Eshqabad #S #S Qaq Shal #S Siyagerd #S UN Regions Bagram Nijrab Saqa #S Y# Y# Mahmud-e Raqi Bamyan #S #S #S Shibar Alasai Tagab PASaRlahWzada AN CharikarQara Bagh Mullah Mohd Khel #S #S Istalif CENTERS #S #S #S #S #S Y# Kalakan %[ Capital Yakawlang #S KAPISA #S #S Shakar Dara Mir Bacha Kot #S Y# Province Sor ubi Par k- e Jamhuriat Tara Khel BAMYAN #S #S Kabul#S #S Lal o Sar Jangal Zar Kharid M District Tajikha Deh Qazi Hussain Khel Y# #S #S Kota-e Ashro %[ Central Region #S #S #S KABUL #S ROADS Khord Kabul Panjab Khan-e Ezat Behsud Y# #S #S Chaghcharan #S Maidan Shar #S All weather Primary #S Ragha Qala- e Naim WARDAK #S Waras Miran Muhammad Agha All weather Secondary #S #S #S Azro LOGAR #S Track East Chake-e Wnar dtark al RegiKolangar GHOR #S #S RIVERS Khoshi Sayyidabad Bar aki Bar ak #S # #S Ali Khel Khadir #S Y Du Abi Main #S #S Gh #S Pul-e Alam Western Region Kalan Deh Qala- e Amr uddin -
Kabul Municipality
د اﻓﻐﺎﻧﺴﺘﺎن اﺳﻼﻣﯽ ﺟﻤﻬﻮری دوﻟﺖ دوﻟﺖ ﺟﻤﻬﻮری اﺳﻼﻣﯽ اﻓﻐﺎﻧﺴﺘﺎن Kabul Municipality ﺩ ﺳﻴﻤﻪ ﻳﻴﺰﻭ ﺍﺭﮔﺎﻧﻮﻧﻮ ﺧﭙﻠﻮﺍﮐﻪ ﺍﺩﺍﺭﻩ ﺍﺩﺍﺭﻩ ﻣﺴﺘﻘﻞ ﺍﺭﮔﺎﻧﻬﺎي ﻣﺤﻠﻲ Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Independent Directorate of Local Governance THE STATE OF AFGHAN CITIES 2015 MINISTER’S FOREWORD Ministry of Urban Development Affairs Cities have great potential to improve livelihoods, drive economic growth and provide safe and affordable housing and adequate services. With continued urbanisation in Afghan cities occurring in the next few decades, there is a great opportunity to promote urban development that is sustainable, equitable and a catalyst for economic growth. The priorities of the National Unity Government of Afghanistan for the urban sector are very clear. The ‘Realizing Self-Reliance’ Framework presented at the London Conference on Afghanistan in 2014 explicitly stated cities are to be drivers of economic development. The Ministry of Urban Development Affairs (MUDA) is currently leading the drafting of an Urban National Priority Programme (U-NPP) and associated comprehensive urban development programme. Together these will lay the foundations for a sustainable urban future. However in Afghanistan, basic information for urban areas does not exist, is outdated, or not shared. As a result, MUDA has been challenged to pro-actively guide the growth of Afghanistan’s cities and harness urbanisation as a driver of development. This State of Afghan Cities 2014/15 report and associated dataset is already providing essential inputs to these ongoing processes. It will ensure the outcomes are pragmatic and reflect the ground realities across the country. I sincerely thank all programme partners, the Government of Australia, and UN-Habitat for supporting MUDA to implement this programme. -
UNITED NATIONS General Assembly Security Council
UNITED NATIONS A S General Assembly Distr. Security Council GENERAL A/52/358 S/1997/719 17 September 1997 ORIGINAL: ENGLISH GENERAL ASSEMBLY SECURITY COUNCIL Fifty-second session Fifty-second year Agenda item 43 THE SITUATION IN AFGHANISTAN AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY Report of the Secretary-General I. INTRODUCTION 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to paragraph 19 of General Assembly resolution 51/195 B of 17 December 1996, in which the Assembly requested the Secretary-General to report to it every three months during its fifty-first session on the progress of the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan (UNSMA). The report, which covers the third three-month period following the submission on 16 June 1997 of the second progress report (A/51/929-S/1997/482), is also submitted in response to the request of the Security Council for regular information on the main developments in Afghanistan. II. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN AFGHANISTAN Military situation 2. The military confrontation between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance continued on all fronts during the reporting period, with the front lines relatively static until 20 July when Commander Ahmad Shah Massoud of the Northern Alliance launched a major attack and captured Charikar and Bagram airbase north of Kabul. This offensive continued until Massoud's forces reached to within 20 to 25 kilometres north of Kabul. The city came within range of rocket and artillery attacks. Taliban counter-offensives and additional military thrusts by Massoud's forces resulted in little change on the ground. Both sides used tanks, heavy artillery, rockets and aerial bombardment during these assaults, with total casualties numbering between 500 and 1,000 fighters. -
Ethnicity, Space, and Politics in Afghanistan
University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Urban Studies Senior Seminar Papers Urban Studies Program 11-2009 Ethnicity, Space, and Politics in Afghanistan Benjamin Dubow University of Pennsylvania Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/senior_seminar Dubow, Benjamin, "Ethnicity, Space, and Politics in Afghanistan" (2009). Urban Studies Senior Seminar Papers. 13. https://repository.upenn.edu/senior_seminar/13 Suggested Citation: Benjamin Dubow. "Ethnicity, Space, and Politics in Afghanistan." University of Pennsylvania, Urban Studies Program. 2009. This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/senior_seminar/13 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Ethnicity, Space, and Politics in Afghanistan Abstract The 2004 election was a disaster. For all the unity that could have come from 2001, the election results shattered any hope that the country had overcome its fractures. The winner needed to find a way to unite a country that could not be more divided. In Afghanistan’s Panjshir Province, runner-up Yunis Qanooni received 95.0% of the vote. In Paktia Province, incumbent Hamid Karzai received 95.9%. Those were only two of the seven provinces where more than 90% or more of the vote went to a single candidate. Two minor candidates who received less than a tenth of the total won 83% and 78% of the vote in their home provinces. For comparison, the most lopsided state in the 2004 United States was Wyoming, with 69% of the vote going to Bush. This means Wyoming voters were 1.8 times as likely to vote for Bush as were Massachusetts voters. Paktia voters were 120 times as likely to vote for Karzai as were Panjshir voters. -
Choosing Sides and Guiding Policy United States’ and Pakistan’S Wars in Afghanistan
UNIVERSITY OF FLORDA Choosing Sides and Guiding Policy United States’ and Pakistan’s Wars in Afghanistan Azhar Merchant 4/24/2019 Table of Contents I. Introduction… 2 II. Political Settlement of the Mujahedeen War… 7 III. The Emergence of the Taliban and the Lack of U.S. Policy… 27 IV. The George W. Bush Administration… 50 V. Conclusion… 68 1 I. Introduction Forty years of war in Afghanistan has encouraged the most extensive periods of diplomatic and military cooperation between the United States and Pakistan. The communist overthrow of a relatively peaceful Afghan government and the subsequent Soviet invasion in 1979 prompted the United States and Pakistan to cooperate in funding and training Afghan mujahedeen in their struggle against the USSR. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Afghanistan entered a period of civil war throughout the 1990s that nurtured Islamic extremism, foreign intervention, and the rise of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, ultimately culminating in the devastating attacks against Americans on September 11th. Seventeen years later, the United States continues its war in Afghanistan while its relationship with Pakistan has deteriorated to an all-time low. The mutual fear of Soviet expansionism was the unifying cause for Americans and Pakistanis to work together in the 1980s, yet as the wars in Afghanistan evolved, so did the countries’ respective aims and objectives.1 After the Soviets were successfully pushed out of the region by the mujahedeen, the United States felt it no longer had any reason to stay. The initial policy aim of destabilizing the USSR through prolonged covert conflict in Afghanistan was achieved.