Afghanistan Conflict Monitor

Violence against Women Rooted in Afghan Society: UN

Violence against Women Rooted in Afghan Society: UN, AFP, 30 November 2009

EXCERPT: "Violence against women is widespread and deeply rooted in Afghanistan, where they are becoming less active in public life eight years after the Taliban regime collapsed, the United Nations said Monday. The world body has spearheaded a 16-day campaign to eliminate violence against women, which is due to end on December 10, the anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights. 'Violence targeting women and girls is widespread and deeply rooted in Afghan society. It is not adequately challenged and condemned by society and institutions,' said Norah Niland, chief UN human rights officer in Afghanistan. 'The space for women in public life is shrinking. The trend is negative,'she told a Kabul news conference. Banned from public life under the iron fist of the Taliban regime from 1996 until the 2001 US-led invasion, women still struggle for their rights in the impoverished, deeply conservative and war-torn country."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Afghanistan: Public space "shrinking" for women: UN official, IRIN News, 30 November 2009
UN-backed campaign seeks to stem 'widespread' violence against Afghan women, UN News Centre, 30 November 2009
Press conference by Norah Niland, Chief, UNAMA Human Rights Unit (HRU); Zia Moballegh, acting Country Director for the International Center for Human Rights and Democratic Development (ICHRDD); and Aleem Siddique, Spokesperson, UNAMA Strategic Communication and Spokespersons Unit, ReliefWeb, 30 November 2009
Factsheet on the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan, ReliefWeb, 30 November 2009

Related posts:
The policy and law-making process of Afghan's "rape law", 2 October 2009
Karzai passes law diminishing women's rights, 14 August 2009
Backing women's rights deadly for officials, 26 June 2009
Afghan women struggle to be heard, 10 February 2009
Women and human security: The case of post-conflict Afghanistan, 26 October 2007

The Eye of the Storm: Cities in the Vortex of Afghanistan's Civil Wars

Antonio Giustozzi, The Eye of the Storm: Cities in the Vortex of Afghanistan's Civil Wars, LSE Development Studies Institute - Crisis States Research Centre, 30 November 2009

EXCERPT: "The relationship between the urban and rural world is examined here from the standpoint of the role of local leaders and their retinues of armed men, their impact on the cities and the impact of the cities on them. In periods of state weakness or disintegration, Afghan cities were unable to resist the 'solidarity groups' which had coagulated in the countryside under the pressure of constant conflict. The domination of the cities over the countryside, therefore, was reversed and the cities were conquered. However, the relationship was not just one way. The cities were necessary to the 'warlords' who had emerged in the countryside to run the polities that they tried to establish and had some influence in shaping them. However, after 2001 the developing relationship between cities and 'warlords' was cut short by foreign intervention, which re-empowered the cities and encouraged urban strata to distance themselves from the power groups which came from the villages."

Read the full report [pdf].

Afghan Talks to Seek Path to Security Handover

Afghan Talks to Seek Path to Security Handover, Reuters, 28 November 2009

EXCERPT: "Britain will host talks on Afghanistan on Jan. 28, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Saturday, just days before U.S. President Barack Obama sets out his expansion of the war effort next week. The international conference in London, to be followed by a meeting in Kabul, will address progressively handing security to Afghan control, Brown and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at a Commonwealth summit in Trinidad and Tobago. That would, in theory, allow NATO countries to draw down their forces as public support wanes on both sides of the Atlantic for the costly eight-year-old war. The London and Kabul talks will 'outline the framework for an increased lead role for the Afghans in the shaping of their destiny,' Ban said. Brown said he saw the need 'to transfer at least five Afghan provinces to lead Afghan control by the end of 2010.' Despite talk of gradual troop cuts, the immediate focus for the United States, Britain and their allies is how best to fight a tenacious insurgency by Taliban and al Qaeda militants, including calls for tens of thousands more soldiers."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Karzai under pressure to draw up troop exit plan, AFP, 29 January 2009
UN welcomes upcoming conference on Afghanistan, RIA Novosti, 29 January 2009
Brown announces timetable for Helmand handover to Afghan control, The Telegraph, 28 November 2009
Afghanistan to be given timetable for progress, The Associated Press, 28 November 2009

Related posts:
UK offers to host Afghanistan conference in 2010, 17 November 2009
Helmand handover to begin next year, 12 November 2009
Support for Afghan mission drops in UK, Canada, 16 October 2009
High-level conference to assess progress, 10 September 2009
UK House of Commons report on Afghanistan and Pakistan, 5 August 2009

Afghans Detail Detention in "Black Jail" at US Base

Afghans Detail Detention in "Black Jail" at US Base, The New York Times, 29 November 2009

EXCERPT: "An American military detention camp in Afghanistan is still holding inmates, sometimes for weeks at a time, without access to the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to human rights researchers and former detainees held at the site on the Bagram Air Base. The site, known to detainees as the black jail, consists of individual windowless concrete cells, each illuminated by a single light bulb glowing 24 hours a day. In interviews, former detainees said that their only human contact was at twice-daily interrogation sessions. 'The black jail was the most dangerous and fearful place,' said Hamidullah, a spare-parts dealer in Kandahar who said he was detained there in June. 'They don't let the I.C.R.C. officials or any other civilians see or communicate with the people they keep there. Because I did not know what time it was, I did not know when to pray.' The jail's operation highlights a tension between President Obama's goal to improve detention conditions that had drawn condemnation under the Bush administration and his stated desire to give military commanders leeway to operate."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Interviews with detainees, The New York Times, 28 November 2009
Two Afghans allege abuse at US site, The Washington Post, 28 November 2009

Related posts:
US shifts, giving detainee names to the ICRC, 24 August 2009
Pentagon seeks to overhaul prisons, 20 July 2009
Prisoners in protest at Bagram jail, 16 July 2009
The origins of aggressive interrogation techniques, 18 June 2008
Abuse of detainees routine at US bases in Afghanistan, 16 June 2008

Pushing Alternative Crops in Afghan Opium Fight

Pushing Alternative Crops in Afghan Opium Fight, Reuters, 27 November 2009

EXCERPT: "From the helicopter, you can see the empty fields of southern Afghanistan's Helmand River valley. Now comes the question: when the fields are lush again in spring, will farmers be growing opium poppy or wheat? 'This year we want to reach a minimum reduction of at least 50 percent,' said Gulab Mangal, Governor of Helmand, Afghanistan's main opium-growing province and the most violent front in the Afghan war.' There is a very strong link between opium growing and the Taliban -- the drug dealers are helping Taliban by buying weapons and ammunition for them.' Once known as the bread basket of Afghanistan, the lush green irrigated fields of Helmand are the world's single largest source of opium. The United States sent 10,000 Marines to the province this year, joining a similar-sized British force. They simultaneously launched the two biggest military offensives of the 8-year-old war, aiming to drive out Taliban fighters from the opium lands. Meanwhile, the Westerners and the Afghan government are trying to persuade farmers to switch to other crops."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Roses and opium in Afghanistan, Radio Netherlands, 26 November 2009
Fighting Afghan Taliban with Islamic credit unions, Reuters, 26 November 2009
Afghan provinces get millions to reduce poppies, The Associated Press, 23 November 2009
In three tacks for Afghan war, a game of trade-offs, The New York Times, 22 November 2009
As deaths in Afghanistan rise, so does the growth of opium, The Independent, 22 November 2009

Related posts:
CIDA to expand program swapping poppies for wheat, 15 October 2009
No more opium, no more money, 4 August 2009
Opportunities for pro-poor agricultural growth, 16 June 2009
"Poppy free" provinces: A measure or a target?, 1 June 2009
Nourishing Afghanistan's agricultural sector, 28 May 2009

Taliban Open Northern Front in Afghanistan

Taliban Open Northern Front in Afghanistan, The New York Times, 27 November 2009

EXCERPT: "Far from the heartland of the Taliban insurgency in the south, this once peaceful northern province was one place American and Afghan officials thought they did not have to worry about. Afghan officials cut the police force here by a third two years ago and again earlier this year. Security was left to a few thousand German peacekeepers. Only one Afghan logistics battalion was stationed here. But over the last two years the Taliban have steadily staged a resurgence in Kunduz, where they now threaten a vital NATO supply line and employ more sophisticated tactics. In November, residents listened to air raids by NATO forces for five consecutive nights, the first heavy fighting since the Taliban were overthrown eight years ago. The turnabout vividly demonstrates how security has broken down even in unexpected parts of Afghanistan. It also points to the hard choices facing American, NATO and Afghan officials even if President Obama decides to send more soldiers to Afghanistan, as he is expected to announce next week."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Afghan Taliban may wait out Washington's "endgame", Reuters, 27 November 2009
US buildup seen as helpful in two Afghan provinces, The Associated Press, 27 November 2009
Taliban resurgence seen, UPI, 26 November 2009
Taliban leader says US faces defeat in Afghanistan, Los Angeles Times, 26 November 2009

Related posts:
Militants deepen their foothold in Afghanistan's north, 22 October 2009
Germans thrust into "war" in perilous Afghan north, 20 October 2009
Taliban growth in north threatens to expand war, 31 August 2009
'Troops moved to south, clashes in north', 22 July 2009

German Minister Resigns over Afghan Airstrike

German Minister Resigns over Afghan Airstrike, Deutsche Welle, 27 November 2009

EXCERPT: "Germany's former defense minister Franz Josef Jung has stepped down from his cabinet position over an alleged cover-up regarding civilian deaths during a NATO airstrike in Afghanistan in September. Announcing his resignation to reporters in Berlin on Friday, Jung said he would take responsibility for any policy mistakes. 'I told Chancellor Merkel this morning that I am vacating my position as labor minister,' Jung said. 'I hereby assumed political responsibility for the internal communication policy of the defense ministry,' he said. Jung said he still believed he had acted in good faith in the airstrike aftermath. 'I have correctly informed the public as well as the parliament about what I knew,' he said. In parliament on Thursday, Jung admitted that the report did point to civilian deaths but said he had had no 'concrete knowledge' of its contents."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
"Jung never got a handle on the Defense Ministry", Spiegel Online, 27 November 2009
Factbox: Five facts on former German labor minister Jung, Reuters, 27 November 2009
Air-strike general's resignation hailed, Gulf Daily News, 27 November 2009
Germany's doubts about Afghanistan grow after revelations about air strike, TIME, 27 November 2009

Related posts:
German general resigns over Afghan airstrike, 26 November 2009
German troops OK in calling for airstrike: General, 29 October 2009
Bundeswehr faces uphill battle against Taliban, 29 July 2009
German liberal party calls for exit timetable, 19 August 2009

Conflicted Outcomes and Values: (Neo)Liberal Peace in Central Asia and Afghanistan

Shahrbanou Tadjbakhsh, Conflicted Outcomes and Values: (Neo)Liberal Peace in Central Asia and Afghanistan, International Peacekeeping 16.5 (November 2009): 635-651

EXCERPT: "The implementation of liberal peace in the context of both transition economies and post-conflict situations often involves policy advice from international financial institutions for rapid opening of the economic and political systems. Experience, however, shows that the immediate outcome is increased poverty and inequality, leading to high social and human costs. Efficiency-based inquiries on externally supported state building and peacebuilding projects often use a problem solving approach which seeks ways to improve performance without questioning the validity of the liberal peace model. Inquiries based on critical theory, however, question the underlying assumptions and the legitimacy of the project itself. Using evidence from Central Asia and Afghanistan, the article argues that legitimacy depends on both how much, in the eyes of local populations, liberal peace actually improves everyday life, and how much it is valued as a goal and adheres to internal norms and values. The main proposition is that values determine how the liberal peace model is understood, while outcomes impact on how the project is accepted. High expectations of protection and welfare during crises also mean that the state can play a key role as legitimizer."

Read the full article [subscription required].

German General Resigns Over Afghan Airstrike

German General Resigns Over Afghan Airstrike, The New York Times, 26 November 2009

EXCERPT: "The head of the German armed forces resigned Thursday over accusations that the military withheld information on a deadly airstrike in Afghanistan in September that killed civilians as well as insurgents. Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg told Parliament that General Wolfgang Schneiderhan, the chief of staff, as well as a senior official in the Defense Ministry, State Secretary Peter Wichert, had tendered their resignations after German news reports that information on civilian casualties had been withheld from the public and from prosecutors. Their departures set off political tremors in Berlin and within the German military, with the opposition Social Democrats calling for an official, parliamentary inquiry because information about civilian casualties had been 'systematically withheld.' Other opposition groups — leftists and Greens — demanded the resignation of Franz Josef Jung, the labor minister in Chancellor Angela Merkel's government who was the defense minister at the time of the attacks."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Germany's first political casualties of Afghan raid, BBC News, 26 November 2009
Factbox: Germany's mission in Afghanistan, Reuters, 26 November 2009
German media roundup: Jung under fire for Afghan air strike, The Local, 26 November 2009
Civilian deaths in Afghanistan: Did the German government misinform the country?, Spiegel Online, 26 November 2009

Related posts:
Germany: Civilians likely killed in Afghan strike, 6 November 2009
30 civilians killed in NATO strike: Commission, 14 September 2009
Afghanistan: Understanding German objectives and strategies, 10 July 2009
What does Berlin want in Afghanistan?, 10 March 2009
UN: Afghan civilian deaths jumped 40 percent, 17 February 2009

Afghanistan National Development Strategy: First Annual Report (2008/09)

Afghanistan National Development Strategy: First Annual Report (2008/09), International Monetary Fund, 25 November 2009

EXCERPT: "This report presents the first narrative on progress achieved by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in bringing the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) to the implementation stage. A year ago, the ANDS document was approved by the President of Afghanistan and subsequently endorsed by the donors in Paris in June 2008. The first year was devoted to translating ANDS concepts and plans into an implementable form, generating a rudimentary implementation and associated monitoring and evaluation framework, and organizing and engaging the government machinery in support of the implementation of the ANDS aimed at poverty reduction. A complex change management process had to be launched to harness intra-governmental support to address the priority implementation measures. The change management process will have to continue until such time as ANDS is on a steady path of implementation producing tangible results in basic public service delivery, justice and rule of law and human security. Aid management and donor coordination constitute a parallel process, which has been ongoing for the past few years. It is now placed under the change management process to support ANDS implementation."

Read the full report [pdf].

Related posts:
The future of Afghanistan and Pakistan: The development challenge, 31 July 2009
Afghanistan: Key issues for congressional oversight, 23 April 2009
Afghanistan National Development Strategy, 5 June 2008
Afghanistan hopes for $50 billion, 22 April 2008
Development and war in Afghanistan, 2 November 2007