Afghanistan War News Digest, September 26, 2011

Posted by CODEPINK Staff

Significant violence in Afghanistan over the past two weeks included the assassination of former president Burhanuddin Rabbani, and an attack on the CIA office in Kabul. In Pakistan, the revelation that the Pakistani military would not go after the Haqqani network led to criticism and threats of cuts to US military aid to Pakistan. Reflections on the upcoming 10th anniversary of the war in Afghanistan came up in analyses of drone warfare, night raids, media discourse, and women’s rights in Afghanistan.

Killing Deals Another Blow To Afghan Peace Talks
Former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani was killed on September 20 by a suicide bomber. The assassination is considered a major blow to the peace process in Afghanistan.

Attack on Kabul CIA office kills 1 agency employee
One CIA employee was killed, and an American was wounded in an attack on the Kabul CIA office which was carried out by an Afghan working for the US government. The attacker was killed.

Afghanistan: NATO's night raids cause more harm than good, report says
Relations with Afghan civilians have soured as the result of NATO night raids intended to capture insurgents.

Pakistan not going after Haqqani network
Pakistan’s military will not go after the Haqqani network because Pakistani forces are stretched too thin, according to statements from Pakistani generals on Sunday.

Sparks fly as U.S., Pakistan spar over Afghan bloodshed
Admiral Mike Mullen accused Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) of supporting the Haqqani network. His accusations were rejected by Pakistan’s interior minister, Rehman Malik, who also warned against any unilateral US ground campaign against the Haqqani network in Pakistan.

Senator calls for cut on military assistance to Pakistan
Senator Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) called for cuts in US military assistance to Pakistan, in the wake of allegations that Pakistan supported the Haqqani network, which has recently carried out attacks on the US embassy in Kabul and US soldiers in Wardak.

Army to Cut Nearly 9 Percent of Its Troops
The Army has announced plans to cut 50,000 troops from its ranks in the next 5 years.

Did the Rabbani hit really kill peace talks?
Despite commentary to the contrary, the assassination of former Afghan president Berhanuddin Rabbani did not deal a fatal blow to peace talks, because Rabbani could not answer the Taliban’s demand for the complete withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. Commentary by Gareth Porter.

For Afghanistan and Pakistan, Final Reflections on a Dark Anniversary: Brown
Writers and reporters in Afghanistan and Pakistan continue to process the aftermath of 9/11 ten years later. Commentary by Katherine Brown.

As The Drone Flies
Alarming developments in drone warfare could lead to devastating blowback. Commentary by Ralph Nader.

How McChrystal and Petraeus Built an Indiscriminate "Killing Machine"
Although Taliban fighters and insurgents have been killed in Special Operations Forces raids, the raids have also killed alarming numbers of innocent civilians in Afghanistan. Analysis by Gareth Porter.

What went wrong for Afghanistan's women?
Despite claims in 2001 that war on Afghanistan would liberate women from Taliban oppression, the situation for women in Afghanistan has not improved very much over the past 10 years. Blog post from the Poverty Matters Blog.