28 September 2007

Matteo Tondini, "Rebuilding the System of Justice in Afghanistan: A Preliminary Assessment", Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, Volume 1, Issue 3 November 2007, pages 333 - 354

This preliminary evaluation describes the role of international assistance in the reconstruction of the Afghan judicial system. It focuses on how international policy has both sought to develop and impose externally designed central administrative models...

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27 September 2007

Vanda Felbab-Brown, "Opium Licensing in Afghanistan: Its Desirability and Feasibility", Brookings Institution Policy Paper, Number 1 (August 2007).

The licensing of opium for medical purposes in Afghanistan, most prominently advocated by the Senlis Council, would reduce some of the negative effects of unmitigated illicit drug production. It would also eliminate several important negative side-effects of standard counternarcotics...

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27 September 2007

In a new report to the Security Council, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has called for an overhaul of the Afghan justice system, citing widespread corruption and 'direct involvement in criminal activities.' Weak governance is eroding public confidence and undermining the legitimacy of the government, the report states. The report is also critical of the Afghan police, stating that "respect for authority and elementary discipline have...

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27 September 2007

The United Nations Security Council has extended the mandate (S/RES/1386, S/RES/1510) of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to October 2008. Adopted by the Council on September 19, Resolution 1776 calls on U.N. members to "contribute personnel, equipment and other resources to ISAF." For a list of recent U.N. Security Council resolutions and Secretary-General's reports to the Security Council, please visit...

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26 September 2007

The Congressional Research Service has updated their report "Afghanistan: Post-War Governance, Security and U.S. Policy". The report provides extensive background on the conflict and details U.S. engagement with Afghanistan and the region. A table of socio-economic indicators has been added to the Monitor's data section. Other topics updated in this report include the Taliban 'resurgence' in 2006 and 2007, the divisions within...

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22 September 2007

The Brussels office of the Washington, D.C.-based World Security Institute publishes a monthly overview of security-related developments in Afghanistan. The archive is available here.

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21 September 2007

Magnus Norell, "The Taliban and the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA)", China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly, Volume 5, Number 3 (2007), pages 61 - 82.

This study sheds light on the issue of Pakistani support for the insurgency in Afghanistan, mainly the Taliban, who, by way of being the most active, have been ? for all intents and purposes ? able to direct much of the insurgency in Afghanistan. In the study, it will be argued that without...

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21 September 2007

Astri Suhrke, "Reconstruction as Modernisation: The 'Post-conflict' Project in Afghanistan," Third World Quarterly, Volume 28, Issue 7 October 2007, pages 1291 - 1308.

This paper examines the post-war reconstruction programme in Afghanistan, arguing that it contains the seeds of radical social change. The paper analyses the tensions of the present reconstruction project in light of the past experience of similar programmes launched...

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12 September 2007

Half of U.S. combat casualties in Afghanistan have been caused by improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, the Congressional Research Service reports. The report, entitled 'Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Iraq and Afghanistan: Effects and Countermeasures', highlights similarities and differences in how IEDs are used in the two theatres, and reviews the measures the U.S. military is developing to counter the IED threat. The report states...

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11 September 2007

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) released a detailed study which presents the recent findings of a comprehensive inquiry into the phenomenon of suicide attacks in Afghanistan. The report, entitled "Suicide Attacks in Afghanistan" is based on interviews with more than two dozen people arrested in failed attacks, or on suspicion of being involved.

Unlike suicide attackers in the rest of the world, Afghanistan's...

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