Number of results to display per page
Search Results
112. Afghan Update: Sept. 5 - Oct. 2, 2005
- Author:
- Joseph Button
- Publication Date:
- 10-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- U.S. led coalition forces killed 12 militants and arrested nine others in a raid in Zabul province on Sept. 5. Coalition forces did not suffer any casualties. U.S. military officials said the militants used their hideout location to stage attacks before the upcoming Sept. 18 elections. In a remote area of Kandahar province, U.S. and Afghan forces killed 13 Taliban fighters and captured more than a dozen more on Sept. 5. The U.S.-led assault targeted Taliban rebels suspected of the murder of Abduallah Kalid, a candidate for the upcoming elections.
- Topic:
- Human Welfare, Politics, Religion, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, and Taliban
113. How the Drug War in Afghanistan Undermines America's War on Terror
- Author:
- Ted Galen Carpenter
- Publication Date:
- 11-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- There is a growing tension between two U .S. objectives in Afghanistan. The most important objective is—or at least should be—the eradication of the remaining Al Qaeda and Taliban forces in that country. But the United States and its coalition partners are now also emphasizing the eradication of Afghanistan's drug trade. These antidrug efforts may fatally undermine the far more important anti-terrorism campaign.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy and War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, Middle East, and Taliban
114. Perspectives of Security Development in the South Caucasus
- Author:
- Elkhan Mehtiyev
- Publication Date:
- 02-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Austrian National Defence Academy
- Abstract:
- Many observers emphasize the importance and strategic location of the Caucasus region in the struggle for access to Central Asia. For Turkey and Western countries, the Caucasus is a linkage to Central Asia and, after the collapse of the Taliban regime in November 2001, to Afghanistan. For Central Asia, the Caucasus is a vital route to both the West and Turkey for transportation of energy resources, goods and commodities. For Russia, the Caucasus has always been a gateway to the Middle East.
- Topic:
- Security and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States, Central Asia, Turkey, Middle East, and Taliban
115. Security Sector Transformation in Afghanistan
- Author:
- Mark Sedra
- Publication Date:
- 08-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
- Abstract:
- The U.S.-led Coalition's swift victory over the Taliban regime in October 2001 created a security vacuum across Afghanistan that the international community was unprepared to fill. Winning the peace in Afghanistan has proven to be a much more complex, costly, and protracted endeavour than winning the war, an imposing burden that has severely tested the resolve of the international donor community. With only 11,000-13,000 Coalition troops mandated to eradicate the last remnants of al-Qaeda an the Taliban in the south and a limited NATO presence of 6,000 troops deployed in the capital to insulate the fledgling political process, the onus for maintaining security in the country fell on the Afghan government and its fledgling security forces. After 23 years of civil war the country's security sector was in a state of disarray, its infrastructure destroyed, resources limited, and facing a shortage of human capacity. To bolster Afghanistan's beleaguered security institutions and ensure they conform to international standards, the major donors engaged in the country launched a security sector reform (SSR) process. Security sector transformation rather than reform seems more appropriate to describe the task of creating efficient, effective, and democratically accountable security forces in Afghanistan, for the bulk of the country's formal security apparatus ceased to function over a decade ago. In spite of the massive challenges that face program, it has been portrayed as the primary means to redress Afghanistan's immediate security woes. What by its very nature is a gradual, long-term process has been thrust into the position as short-term panacea.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, and NATO
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, Middle East, and Taliban
116. At a Crossroads in Afghanistan: Should the United States Be Engaged in Nation Building?
- Author:
- Subodh Atal
- Publication Date:
- 09-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Despite progress in the return of refugees and the prevention of humanitarian disasters, stability in Afghanistan is threatened by ethnic tension, feuding warlords, and violence perpetrated by regrouping elements of the Taliban and their allies. The United States is being asked to increase its level of commitment to rebuilding Afghanistan as a means of stabilizing the country, even as American troops battle the resurgent Islamic extremists who operate along the Afghan-Pakistan border.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Development, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, America, Middle East, Taliban, and Arabia
117. Stability and Viability in Afghanistan
- Publication Date:
- 04-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
- Abstract:
- As post-Taliban Afghanistan struggles to build a viable and secure state under President Hamid Karzai, a clear and urgent need exists for the international community to assist Karzai's government in building enduring domestic institutions that support the promotion of democracy, while improving the stability and security of this Asian country. In March 2003, Princeton University's Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination (LISD) sponsored a colloquium entitled, “Stability and Viability in Afghanistan: Building A Viable And Effective Afghan State,” held in Triesenberg, Liechtenstein, which brought together diplomats, government officials, academics, policy experts, and field practitioners to examine international and local best practices relevant for state and security building in Afghanistan—to be considered policy recommendations by Afghans themselves.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Government, and War
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Taliban
118. Democracy and Military Intervention: Challenges and Opportunities
- Author:
- Daniel Byman
- Publication Date:
- 02-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies
- Abstract:
- The Bush administration entered office skeptical of using the U.S. military to build democracy. Condoleezza Rice, President Bush's National Security Advisor, wrote before the election that: "The President must remember that the military is a special instrument. It is lethal, and it is meant to be. It is not a civilian police force. It is not a political referee. And it is most certainly not designed to build a civilian society." Despite this skepticism, policing, building a civilian society, and other tasks inherent to democratization were quickly thrust upon the Bush administration. Even before the fall of the Taliban, the United States and its allies began trying to shape a new government to take power in Kabul. And today, as the United States and its allies move to topple Saddam's regime, they are grappling with how to create a stable and democratic future for Iraq.
- Topic:
- Security, Government, Peace Studies, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, Taliban, and Kabul
119. Pakistan: The Mullahs and the Military
- Publication Date:
- 03-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- The resurgence of the religious parties in the October 2002 elections portends ill for Pakistan's political, cultural and social stability. For the first time in the country's history, an alliance of six major religious parties – the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) – has won power in two provinces, vowing to Islamise state and society through Taliban-like policies. The MMA based its electoral campaign on Islam and anti-U.S. slogans, targeting President Pervez Musharraf's pro-U.S. policies and pledging the enforcement of Sharia law. It now runs the government in the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP), bordering on Afghanistan, and shares power in Baluchistan.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Development, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, United States, South Asia, and Taliban
120. Afghanistan: Women and Reconstruction
- Publication Date:
- 03-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- The establishment of an Interim Administration for Afghanistan during the Bonn talks in December 2001 was heralded as offering Afghan women a chance to claim their place in public life and participate in the country's development after systemic exclusion under the Taliban. Creation of a Ministry of Women's Affairs, the commitment of substantial donor assistance to programs targeting women, and, most critically, the return of women to universities, schools, and government offices all portended a new day.
- Topic:
- Development, Gender Issues, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Taliban