Stories about Afghanistan from January, 2008
Afghanistan:The Rambo Syndrom
Abu Muqawama writes about “the Rambo Syndrom”.The blogger says the New York Times has published an article about violent incidents perpetrated by returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Afghanistan: Suicide Bombing at the Hotel
Carpetblogger opines on the suicide attack at the Serena Hotel in downtown Kabul yesterday, saying that in a complete audacity suicide bombers in police uniforms stormed the lobby of the biggest, most prominent hotel in the city.
Afghanistan: Balkh City on Fire
Mohammad Fahim reports that the administrative center of Balkh province, Mazar-I-Sharif, faced a terrible day when a largest eight floors market went on fire , and posts some pictures as well.
Afghanistan: Development of media
Bipasha Ray reviews an interesting look into the development of news media in post-Taliban Afghanistan, released recently by the U.S. Institute of Peace exploring the rapid rise of local media, especially radio.
Afghanistan: Opium Poppy Crops Eradication Disputes
Barnett R. Rubin reports that the major donors and troop contributors to Afghanistan will meet in Tokyo early February to review progress in Afghanistan, and one major theme of the meeting will be counter-narcotics, as opium production increased last year.
Afghanistan: Taliban leaders freed and rejoined
Mohammad Fahim Khairy says that since 2002 many Taliban top commanders were freed from jails by assurance of the Afghinistani government and rejoined Al Qaeda or were hired in many different position in the current government.
Afghanistan: Afghan police in Nawa, and parkour
Peter Marton says that the Afghani policemen do and will play a crucial role in winning in Afghanistan, although their current image inside the country is quite bad.
Afghanistan: More troops
Bipasha Ray reports that the Pentagon has asked Defense Secretary Robert Gates for 3,000 more troops to be sent to Afghanistan, to counter a potential Taliban spring offensive.
Russia: Migration and Racism
Moscow Through Brown Eyes writes about Russian racists and labor migration to Russia.
Aghanistan: Bagram Holds Twice as Many as Guantanamo
Afghanistan Watch reviews a New York Times report, in which it is said that the secretive American detention center at Bagram base in Afghanistan now holds more than twice as many prisoners as Guantanamo Bay.
Aghanistan: People killed “needlessly”
Bipasha Ray reports that according to testimony of a former member of the Marines unit at a military court yesterday, a few U.S. Marines shot and killed 19 Afghan civilians “needlessly” after a suicide bomb struck their convoy in March last year.
Afghanistan: Drug Use
Nasim Fekratْ focuses this time on the issue of drug abuse in Aghanistan and says that the number of opium addicts in Kabul alone was more than 30,000 in estimation in 2004 but three years after, this number doubled.
Afghanistan: Intrigue of expelled diplomats deepens
Bipasha Ray reports that the intrigue surrounding the expulsion of EU acting representative in Afghanistan, Mervyn Patterson, and UN diplomat Michael Semple, is deepening. The Afghanistan's government sources claim that the two were trying to “turn” the brother of the late Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah into an informant.
Afghanistan: National Army Review
Afghanistanica reviews a recent Asia Foundation's public opinion research on the state of Aghanistan's National Army.
Afghanistan: Taliban Top Commander Escaped
Mohammad Fahim Khairy reports that the Taliban top commander gave an interview with local media after escaping from Kabul National Security cell, saying that the guard was bribed.
Afghanistan: Counter-corruption experience
Bipasha Ray says there is an interesting report from Integrity Watch Afghanistan on Afghan experience of corruption finds that while Afghans tend to have higher patience with petty corruption.
Afghanistan: Timberlords and the Deforestation
Afghanistanica focuses on a problem that has received very little attention is environmental issues. Pollution, overpopulation, depleted resources, health issues, lack of clean water, overgrazing and deforestation are usually put forward as the most pressing of these issues.
Afghanistan: Bhutto assasination echoes in Aghanistan
Bipasha Ray says that assassination of Benazir Bhutto last week continues to ring across Afghanistan, as American officials worry that it heralds the rise of a more virulent extremism against the Pakistani government that could undermine the Afghan mission.
Afghanistan: Pakistani Refugees Flee to Afghanistan
Afghanistanica reports that according to a report from Bakhtar News Agency over 3000 Pakistani refugees from the Kurram Agency have arrived in Afghanistan over the last two days.