What Ho Chi Minh can teach us about bringing peace to Afghanistan .
Foreign Policy
15 August 2013
By Lawrence Korb
Talks aimed at ending the Afghan war got off to a rough start last month when the Taliban hung a plaque outside their Doha , Qatar office that read : "Political Office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan ." The brazen attempt to present themselves as a government in exile prompted Afghan President Hamid Karzai to call off the whole exercise -- even temporarily severing negotiations with the United States over a long-term security agreement between the two countries. (read more)
Taliban Attacks Highly Regarded Afghan Army Unit
Rod Norland and Azam Ahmed
April 12, 2013
KABUL , Afghanistan Taliban insurgents dealt a serious blow to one of the Afghan Armys most highly regarded units on Friday , killing 13 soldiers and overrunning their outpost in eastern Afghanistan .
It was one of a series of bloody attacks by the insurgents during their current spring offensive , which has helped drive the rate of government fatalities to the highest level of the war. Afghan soldiers and policemen are dying at a rate more than double the rate a year ago, according to military officials . (read more)
Villagers Take On Taliban in Their Heartland
By CARLOTTA GALL
March 20, 2013
PISHIN GAN SAYEDAN, Afghanistan An uprising against the Taliban that began last month in this southern Afghan village has now spread through dozens of others, according to residents and Afghan and American officials , in the most significant popular turning against the Islamist insurgents in recent years.
Since early February , when villagers joined with police forces to begin ousting Taliban fighters from this region of rich vineyards and orchards southwest of Kandahar City , hundreds of residents have rallied to support the government . Nearly 100 village elders vowed at a public meeting Monday to keep the Taliban out as the new fighting season sets in, and Afghan flags are flying from rooftops in the villages , residents said. (read more)
11 Afghans Killed in Military Actions Near Pakistan Border
The New York times
February 13, 2013
KABUL , Afghanistan International military officials are investigating two episodes in which as many as 11 Afghan civilians may have been killed in what appeared to be American-led military actions .
In the more lethal episode , 10 civilians were killed overnight in Kunar Province in eastern Afghanistanin a village where two know Talibancommanders were visiting family members , Afghan officials said.
Ten civilians were killed last night in a joint Afghan and American operation that took place in Chogam Valley in Shigal District , said Fazlullah Wahidi , the provincial governor . He said four women, one man and five children between the ages of 8 and 13 were killed ; four teenagers were wounded, three of whom were girls . (read more)
Une frappe de l'OTAN tue dix civils, dont cinq enfants, en Afghanistan .
February 13, 2013
Une frappe de la Force internationale d'assistance la scurit (ISAF ), sous commandement de lOTAN , a tu dix civils dont cinq enfants, mercredi 13 fvrier, selon des responsables locaux. L'attaque arienne a eu lieu dans le district de Shigal (province de Kunar , dans l'est de l'Afghanistan). Elle a t confirme par l'ISAF, qui ne s'est cependant pas prononc sur l'annonce de dcs de civils.
"Les forces trangres ont perptr l'attaque de leur propre chef , sans nous en informer ", a dnonc le gouverneur de la province. Il a prcis que la frappe avait eu lieu dans le village de Chawgam et que les dix civils tus appartenaient deux familles du village . Quatre combattants talibans ont galement t tus dans la frappe et cinq autres civils ont t blesss, a-t-il ajout.
Le major Adam Wojack, porte-parole de l'ISAF, a dclar avoir t inform d'un incident qui "correspondait" celui de Kunar , mais n'a pas confirm le nombre de victimes. "Nous prenons au srieux toutes les accusations de victimes civiles et nous sommes en train dexaminer l'incident pour claircir davantage les faits", a-t-il dclar. L'ISAF affirme rgulirement avoirdiminu le nombre de victimes civiles ces dernires annes en Afghanistan et estime que les insurgs sont aujourd'hui responsables de la majorit des dcs .
Copyright Le Monde 2013
Government Panel in Afghanistan Confirms Widespread Torture of Detainees
DOUGLAS SCHORZMAN
The New York Times
An Afghan government panel on Monday acknowledged widespread torture of detainees, after a two-week investigation of a United Nations report citing rampant abuses .
At a news conference in Kabul , Afghanistans capital , the panels director said its inquiry had confirmed evidence that nearly half of the 284 prisoners interviewed in three provinces had been tortured during arrest or questioning . The inquiry also found that many of the detainees never had access to legal defense .
But even though the official , Abdul Qadir Adalatkhwa, noted that the findings were serious, he insisted that there was no evidence of systematic torture . (read more)
Fears of the future haunt a budding generation of afghan strivers.
The New York Times , February 11, 2013.
Graham Bowley .
KABUL , Afghanistan The landmarks of this capital citys new middle class light up a once-restrained night sky vast and glittering wedding halls with aspirational names like Kabul-Paris, streetlamp networks, come-hither billboards for energy drinks .
After the ouster of the Taliban in 2001, thousands of Afghan families returned from abroad, or came in from the countryside, to construct urban and increasingly Westernized lives . They built homes and careers based on an influx of foreign money , expanded bureaucracies and new educational opportunities . (read more)
Persecution of Women : Afghanistan
Afghanistan was first unified by domestic power in 1747 under Pashtun leadership. Control in Afghanistan was held by Britain until 1919, when independence was obtained and leadership reverted to a unified tribal council . Democratic reforms instituted from 1919-1929 created rifts in the highly religious and polarized country. Numerous tribal wars ensued.
A military coup ushered in a communist regime in 1973, prompting immediate support and invasion by the USSR . The Peoples Democratic Party of Afghanistan initiated the coup , backed by Soviet troops. The communist regime was unable to gain control of the country outside of the metropolitan areas where armed resistance groups had formed. The US and other outside powers provided assistance in training and arms to the resistance fighters against the Soviets . Afghanistan became a drain on Soviet resources and eventually prompted the Soviets to withdraw in 1989.
Taliban Islamist extremist groups took power after Soviet withdrawal and openly allied with Al Queda against the US , Saudi Arabia , and the West . The Taliban and Al Queda gained control over 90% of the country and eliminated all opposition . They implemented strict Sharia law and committed massive human rights violations against non-Muslims, ethnic minorities