Latest Articles about Afghanistan
Roundup of Kabul Suicide Gang Reveals Ties to Pakistan
Suicide bombings have become a regular insurgent tactic in Afghanistan since 2005, with a special focus on Kabul in the last year. The number of such attacks have grown considerably during the recent years in Kabul, culminating in the February 12 suicide bombings that targeted... MORE
Kazakhstan Raising Its Afghanistan Profile
On January 28 the United States announced plans to purchase a "significant part" of the goods needed to supply its forces in Afghanistan from Kazakhstan. U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan Richard Hoagland clarified these intentions in the context of the U.S.-Kazakh agreement on the transit of... MORE
Afghanistan Deployment puts Germany in al-Qaeda’s Crosshairs
Speaking in accented but fluent German, Abu Talha al-Alamani made al-Qaeda’s most direct threat to the German nation yet in a recent video, saying that Germans were “naive and gullible” if they thought they could “emerge unscathed” from being the third-largest troop provider in the... MORE
Upcoming Changes to the Drug-Insurgency Nexus in Afghanistan
While there are many Taliban-controlled villages in Afghanistan that do not cultivate opium, there are few villages cultivating opium that are not under Taliban control. The concentration of opium production in a handful of southern provinces has placed Afghanistan’s opium economy almost completely under insurgent... MORE
Taliban Target Karachi and Peshawar Links in NATO’s Afghanistan Supply-Chain
The announcement yesterday by General David Petraeus that the United States had reached agreements with Russia and several Central Asian nations for a new (and costly) U.S.-NATO supply route into Afghanistan came as the struggle for control of the supply routes through Pakistan continues. While... MORE
NATO’s Khyber Lifeline
The recent spate of attacks on NATO’s supply convoys in Pakistan’s northern city of Peshawar and the adjacent Khyber Tribal Agency has not only tested Pakistan’s much-touted performance in the global war on terror, but has also compelled U.S-led forces in Afghanistan to dispense with... MORE
Going to “Plan B”: Negotiations with Taliban May Shape a New Afghanistan
Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s September announcement that he had sought the support of Saudi Arabia and other key actors to engage Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar with the intent of establishing a formal dialogue to end the violence in Afghanistan appears to mark a major... MORE
RUSSIA’S VIEWS ON AFGHANISTAN: DOES “SIZE MATTER”?
Russia’s assessment of NATO’s operations in Afghanistan, as well as the future nature of the alliance’s mission there, has been mooted within Russian diplomatic circles. These observations, shared with the alliance through official channels, point to genuine concern within Russia’s government and its military and... MORE
CENTRAL ASIAN LEADERS SIGNAL SUPPORT FOR NATO CORRIDOR TO AFGHANISTAN
NATO's 59th annual gathering is a glittering affair with an ambitious agenda. According to the media group on NATO, security leaders from NATO's 26 member states were joined by representatives from an additional 23 nations involved in NATO's Partnership for Peace program (Rompress, April 2).... MORE
RUSSIA, AFGHANISTAN AND THE DRUG TRADE
Alarmed by the rise of opium cultivation in Afghanistan, Russia’s Federal Drug Enforcement Service has opened a permanent office in Kabul, Afghanistan. Federal Drug Enforcement Service Director Alexei Milovanov said of the move, “Russia advances cooperation and interaction with Afghanistan in the war on drug... MORE