Stories about Afghanistan from December, 2007
Afghanistan: Harsh Winter Predicted
Nasim Fekratْ reports that Mullah Omar, the leader of Taliban, disseminated a message to the international forces in Afghanistan saying they should expect more attacks on them by Taliban in winter.
Afghanistan: From Bhutto to Christmas, Child Marriage to the Plight of Women
Joshua Foust briefly considers the murder of Benazir Bhutto, then looks at what else is affecting the country—notably, the growing problem of child sexual exploitation.
Afghanistan: Osama wants EU to stop helping the U.S.
Sanjar reports on the news article, which says that Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden called on Europeans to stop helping the United States in the war in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan: Tribal Law
Mohammad Fahim Khairy reports on a shocking case — resident of Paktia province of southern Afghanistan shaved his wife’s head, cut it her nose and ears by a knife and burn her down with boiled water in the first day of Eid.
Afghanistan: Reconstruction Under Way
Peter Marton tells about the developments in the Afghanistan's province of Uruzgan, and covers a Netherlands-funded project for the infrastructural project there.
Afghanistan: Tribalism, a true enemy
Sanjar opines that the reason Iraq and Afghanistan remain unsettled battlefields isn't that our two civilizations can't agree on the nature of God, but because they can't agree on the nature of man.
Afghanistan: Taliban Call
Sanjar reports that Taliban leader Mullah Omar on Tuesday called on foreign forces to withdraw from Afghanistan.
Afghanistan: Taliban in 2007
Joshua Foust is discussing the most significant events of 2007 for Afghanistan, highlighting the entrenchment of the rise of the Taliban.
Afghanistan: More aid, more personnel
Bboyd reviews a new report on aid progress in Afghanistan, published by Senlis, a European-based think tank, which is saying that aid inflows have been inadequate.
Afghanistan: Who's to Blame?
Barnett R. Rubin analyzes the change of tactics in dealing with NATO allies in Afghanistan, announced by Robert Gates, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, at a NATO meeting in Edinburgh.
Afghanistan: Contractor Database
Carl Robichaud reviews the Windfalls of War report, an investigation of US contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, puvlished by the Center for Public Integrity.
Afghanistan: Oil Transit Prospects
Joshua Foust reflects on the Afghanistan's prospective role in oil transit, whilst work on the TransAfghan Pipeline continues apace with India joining the consortium, backed by the Asian Development Bank.
Afghanistan: Beauty Products Made in Afghanistan
Afghanistanica reports on the rise of beauty industry in Afghanistan, offering the scents, oils, lotions, cosmetics and whatnot manufactured by Gulestan Company.
Afghanistan: Air power vs. insurgency
Afghanistanica reviews the American military man's master’s degree thesis on “Unconventional Counter-Insurgency in Afghanistan”.
Afghanistan: Small Breadwinners
Nasim Fekratْ has a touching photopost, reflecting on the destiny of many children in Afghanistan, who are in the street to work and earn money to feed themselves and their families.
Afghanistan: Leaked map has got more no-go zones for aid missions
Carl Robichaud reacts on the recent article in The Times with the leaked information about new map for aid missions in Afghanistan. According to this UN map, almost half of Afghanistan is now too dangerous for aid workers to operate in.
Aghanistan: Taliban's Shallow Promise of Justice
Afghanistanica comments on the IWPR article, which is suggesting that some people are looking to the Taliban’s parallel justice system for help with their grievances. The blog insists that the Taliban’s promise of justice is shallow: while the current justice system in Afghanistan is indeed wretched, the Taliban justice system...
Afghanistan: ABC/BBC/ARD survey reveals problem spots
Christine Quirk reviews a nationwide survey conducted in Afghanistan on behalf of ABC news, BBC News and ARD of Germany, whose results are interesting for a number of reasons – particularly the wealth of tracking data from 2006 and 2005. The economy remains a serious trouble spot, as does security.
Afghanistan: Opium Season
Ian reviews briefly a new book “Opium Season: A Year on the Afghan Frontier” by Joel Hafvenstein, saying that the author knows how to write, and unlike many writers about Afghanistan, has a sense of measure and humility about his own limitations and failures.
Afghanistan: New “Super-Envoy” to Kabul
Carl Robichaud reports that Paddy Ashdown, the former EU-UN High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, has been offered a newly created position in Kabul as a “super envoy” that would head Afghanistan efforts by NATO, the UN, and perhaps the EU.
Afghanistan: The Army's New Academy
Carl Robichaud reflects on the new military institution, established in the United States specially to address the Afghani issue – the U.S. Army's “Afghanistan Counterinsurgency Academy”.
