Tuesday, April 23, 2024
What Kabul Elites, Washington Officials Are Looking for in Meeting of Presidents Karzai, Obama
With the unseasonably warm weather in Washington this week, you’d think the tulips were out, considering how officialdom is tiptoeing around the subject of Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s visit to confer with President Barack Obama on Jan. 11.
Decoding the Afghanistan Summit: Presidents Obama and Karzai on Sovereignty
Last week’s summit between President Obama and President Karzai addressed few of the points that dominated the speculation of commentators in the weeks leading up to the meeting. But in fact, it might end up being one of the more important summits, for Afghans and Americans alike.
Afghans Need Elections They Can Trust, Says Afghan Parliamentarian
“Trustable” presidential elections will be the linchpin for Afghanistan’s transition in the next two years, according to Fawzia Koofi, a member of Parliament and chairman of women’s affairs in the chamber. She told a USIP audience that Afghans feel burned by the lingering questions about the legitimacy of the last presidential elections in 2009.
Ceasefire, Peace Accords Rarely Address Sexual Violence
The idea that sexual violence in wartime and its aftermath is avoidable is such a new concept that ceasefire and peace agreements almost never included any mention of it, according to speakers at USIP’s Missing Peace Symposium.
Afghan Rural Minister Appeals for U.S. Support of Successful Program
More than three-fourths of Afghans live in rural areas. An Afghan Cabinet minister who oversees a development aid program for villages and settlements is appealing for continued U.S. support.