Latest Articles about Afghanistan
Armenia Plans Troop Deployment in Afghanistan
Armenia is due to send a small contingent of troops to Afghanistan next month, in what will be a largely symbolic boost to the NATO-led multinational force fighting the Taliban insurgency. The deployment, approved by the Armenian parliament last month, has a primarily political significance.... MORE
China Builds Closer Ties to Afghanistan through Wakhan Corridor
As NATO forces push forward toward stabilizing Afghanistan, backed by the commitment of an additional 30,000 U.S. troops, there has been a growing call by the United States for other countries to shoulder a greater share of the security burden. While China is clearly increasing... MORE
START Treaty Not Ready, While Afghan Cooperation is Stalled
Moscow and Washington have failed to complete a strategic nuclear arms control agreement before the end of 2009. This failure may cast a long shadow on other more urgent issues, such as cooperation on Afghanistan and the Iranian nuclear issue. The failure underlines the gap... MORE
The Disconnection of Indonesia’s Jemaah Islamiya and al-Qaeda from the Afghan Jihad Experience
In legitimizing their acts of terror, al-Qaeda and Indonesia’s Jemaah Islamiah (JI) frequently draw inspiration from the anti-Soviet Afghan jihad experience of the 1980s. To what extent, however, does the Afghan event justify their violent operations? On July 17, 2009 the twin Jakarta bombings of... MORE
Taliban Issue Interview with the Jihad Leader of Sar-i-Pul Province
Every month, the so-called Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan releases al-Somod Islamic e-magazine, a main Taliban propaganda publication. The e-magazine contains religious, political and military articles on the Taliban’s activities. Often, the e-magazine interviews one of the Taliban’s jihad leaders. The forty-second issue of al-Somod carried... MORE
Tashkent Prioritizes its Strategic Role in Afghanistan’s Future
Uzbekistan’s state railroad company Ozbekiston Temir Yollari has won the Afghan government’s tender to build rail infrastructure linking the northern Afghan border town of Hairatan with Mazar-e Sharif, supported by a credit line extended by the Asian Development Bank. In late November, the Uzbek government... MORE
Jihadis Debate Growing Rift Between al-Qaeda and the Taliban
Taliban leader Mullah Omar’s statement on the occasion of the end of Ramadan festivities, published in al-Somod Islamic e-magazine, was seen by many Salafi-Jihadi forum participants as a retreat from true Salafi-Jihadi practices and a sign of unacceptable moderation and concession to the United States... MORE
More Reboot or a Real Strategic Overload?
On December 1, after lengthy consultations with his military and political advisors, President Barrack Obama announced an increase of 30,000 US troops for Afghanistan and sent his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, to Brussels to help secure an additional 10,000 troops from other NATO members.... MORE
Taliban Expand Insurgency to Northern Afghanistan
Northern Afghanistan, a secure and stable area until last spring, is now an insecure and fearful place. Although Taliban and al-Qaeda activities have been limited mostly to southern Afghanistan over the past eight years, the Taliban were able to expand their terrorist activities to central... MORE
French Operation in Afghanistan Aims to Open New Coalition Supply Route
Not far from the site of a disastrous encounter with Afghan insurgents last year, French forces have now mounted an offensive to clear the strategic Tagab valley of Taliban and Hizb-i-Islami fighters. An important mission lies behind “Operation Avalon” – the construction of a new... MORE