Category: Global

Most Americans (67 percent) support expanding UN peacekeeping operations beyond Kabul in Afghanistan, according to a recent survey by the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA). PIPA director Steven Kull explained that despite concurrent deployment of US troops elsewhere, Americans are supportive of efforts in Afghanistan “[p]resumably… prompted by a combination of a feeling of […]

At a House hearing held yesterday on Afghanistan’s reconstruction, Representative Tom Lantos (D-CA) called upon NATO, which recently agreed to take over the 4,500 person peacekeeping force in Afghanistan (ISAF), to double the size of ISAF. He also called for NATO to expand its mandate to provide greater security throughout the country and “to prevent […]

The Feminist Majority, along with along with 78 other humanitarian, human rights, and conflict prevention organizations, called upon NATO to expand the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. NATO will assume control of ISAF in August, but the groups are urging NATO to order an expansion of ISAF now because it takes time to […]

Underscoring the lack of security in Afghanistan, four German peacekeeping troops were killed on Saturday in an explosion that wounded 31 others. This was the biggest attack on the international security assistance forces (ISAF) yet, according to Reuters. The peacekeeping troops were traveling on a bus in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, when a suicide […]

Dozens of activists from women’s rights and human rights groups filled a Senate hearing room yesterday wearing bright yellow stickers that read “Afghanistan: Where’s the Marshall Plan?” Andrew Natsios, USAID administrator, testified before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations on the President’s budget for 2004. In his opening remarks, Ranking Committee Member Senator Patrick […]

A recent rise in threats against Afghan citizens for expressing their views on the country’s draft constitution is a cause for concern, according to the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) and the United Nations. “We have received reports of increasing threats, physical aggression and even arbitrary detentions,” said Nader Naderi, an AIHRC commissioner, according […]

Hamid Karzai, the interim President of Afghanistan, called for an extra $15 billion from the West for his country’s reconstruction. According to The Observer, Karzai warned that the current $5 billion committed so far is not enough to meet the promises given by the United States and Britain to rebuild Afghanistan. Karzai also stated that […]

Afghanistan plans to begin voter registration for the 2004 elections this September. However, Afghan President Hamid Karzai warned the United Nations that with no recent electoral experience and after two decades of warfare, the country could not accomplish this task alone, according to the Associated Press. Registration is expected to cost around $80 million and […]

During a visit to Germany by Secretary of State Colin Powell, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder called for the expansion of international peacekeeping forces beyond Kabul. Since Germany currently leads the peacekeeping force of some 4,500 troops, Schroeder’s statement prompted NPR reporter Emilie Harris to speculate on whether his announcement signals a possible shift in U.S. […]

At United Nations Security Council briefing yesterday, Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi called the security situation in Afghanistan “unstable and insufficient.” Brahimi called for the expansion of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) outside of Kabul to the rest of Afghanistan in order to support the development of a new constitution, voter registration, and the 2004 […]

Three hundred Afghan demonstrators staged an anti-US, anti-British protest in Kabul today-the capital’s first since the Taliban fell in 2001. Shouting sentiments like, “We want Islam to rule. We want security. [The US and Britain] have failed to bring it to us and we want them out,” the protesters confirmed warnings that religious fundamentalism is […]

A 35-member commission appointed to review Afghanistan’s draft constitution includes seven women. A preliminary draft of the constitution was completed last November by an eight-member committee headed by Vice President Nayiamatullah Shahrani, according to the Associated Press. The new commission will spend a month refining the draft, and then they will solicit the views of […]

Religious fundamentalism is on the rise in Afghanistan, an international human rights group warned officials this week at the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Commission. Human Rights Watch (HRW) representative Loubna Freih addressed the Commission saying, “The international community has allowed warlords and local military commanders to take control of much of the […]

While the United States Office for the Reconstruction of Iraq sent teams to Iraq to establish offices in various parts of the country this week, Afghanistan continues to struggle for resources and security to make possible the rebuilding of its government and its country. According to the Washington Post “the military is splintered by factionalism, […]

US bombs were responsible for the deaths of 11 civilians in Afghanistan earlier this week, according to the Agence France Presse. Considered the most serious mistake by the US military in Afghanistan since the accidental bombing of an Afghan wedding party last June, the 1,000-pound laser-guided bomb struck a civilian home, killing seven women and […]

An eight-member committee created last October to write a new constitution for Afghanistan submitted a draft last week to President Hamid Karzai, reported the Associated Press. While details have yet to be disclosed, the general framework is expected to be based on the 1964 Constitution, incorporate some elements of sharia (Islamic law), and resemble an […]

As the United States military launched preemptive strikes on Iraq last night, 1,000 soldiers from the Army’s 82nd Airborne began a two-and-a-half day attack on three villages east of Kandahar near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Operation Valiant Strike, the largest operation in Afghanistan since Operation Anaconda last year, involved assaults by Chinook, Blackhawk, and Apache helicopters […]

At a two-day conference this week in Kabul, Afghan President Hamid Karzai told international donors his country’s reconstruction may now cost as much as US$15 billion to US$20 billion, according to new estimates. Citing agricultural devastation, decrepit infrastructure, and widespread fighting throughout the region, Karzai told attendees, “The needs of Afghanistan as we know it […]

Despite some measures of progress following the Taliban’s fall from power in late 2001, Afghan women and girls continue to suffer brutal acts of violence and inequality, according to a United Nations (UN) report released today. The 18-page document, entitled “The Situation of Women and Girls in Afghanistan” stated, “In the absence of an effective […]

At a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai testified on post-conflict Afghanistan. Karzai stated, “Whatever the United States does in Iraq it should not reduce its attention to Afghanistan.” Karzai also listed his priorities, which include more funding for reconstruction, the Afghan National Army, and for Afghanistan’s budget. In […]