Taliban Exploit Governance Vacuum in East
07 March 2011
Insurgents are exploiting a governance vacuum in Afghanistan's remote eastern hinterland, finding funds and safe haven to fuel an escalating war against NATO-led forces. In the border province of Paktika, U.S. and Afghan intelligence officials describe a "shadow" Taliban authority that levies taxes on the harvest of pine nuts, skims money from the salaries of teachers and runs a network of governors from over the border in Pakistan's lawless tribal...
Read the post »
Taliban Step Up Pressure with Suicide Strikes
07 March 2011
Experts say the Taleban have orchestrated a campaign of suicide attacks to counter claims that they are losing ground and are ready for peace talks. This year has seen an intensification of suicide bombings, with seven strikes killing some 400 Afghans, many of whom were non-combatants, according to security officials. [...] "This past month has been almost like the [1992-96] civil war, when rockets would land every day and kill or injure dozens of...
Read the post »
US Reduces Women's Rights Requirements for Development Projects
07 March 2011
The removal of specific women's rights requirements, which also took place in a $600 million municipal government program awarded last year, reflects a shift in USAID's approach in Afghanistan. Instead of setting ambitious goals to improve the status of Afghan women, the agency is tilting toward more attainable measures. "If you're targeting an issue, you need to target it in a way you can achieve those objectives," said J. Alexander Thier, director...
Read the post »
Blackwater to Stay despite Shakeup of Security Contractors
07 March 2011
[...] Under plans to be announced by the Afghan government this month many security contractors, whom Karzai regards as being little better than militias, will be allowed to continue operating for another year. As part of a complex new transition strategy the government is giving them until 21 March 2012 before most security for development projects is taken over by the Afghan Public Protection Force. The APPF is a government security service intended...
Read the post »
Good Practice for Humanitarians in Complex Security Environments: Report
07 March 2011
[...] The last ten years represent one of the worst decades ever in terms of attacks on humanitarian workers and lack of humanitarian access. When people in need are deprived assistance because relief workers are attacked or blocked, we are not faced with a political or diplomatic ‘problem’—we are faced with an outrage and a criminal act under international and national laws. And it must be treated as such by governments and inter-governmental...
Read the post »
US Military Revamps Afghan Detention System
07 March 2011
[...] In the year since American commanders shuttered the infamous Bagram Airfield prison and opened a new facility nearby, they have released hundreds of low-threat detainees, hoping they would spread word of fair treatment and improved conditions in U.S. hands. [...] U.S. commanders say the contrast is sharp between the old Bagram detention center and the new one, called the Detention Center in Parwan. [...] The new facility—which now holds...
Read the post »
Protests against Civilian Casualties as Gates Lands in Afghanistan
07 March 2011
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates met Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday at a time of increased strain between Kabul and its Western backers and with important security transition milestones looming. Karzai will soon unveil a timetable for the start of a handover of security responsibility from foreign forces to Afghans. The process is to begin in July and be complete by 2014. U.S. officials said it would be the focus of Gates's trip. [...]...
Read the post »