Knight-Wallace journalism fellow at the University of Michigan. Previously worked with the NYT, the Washington Post & the Canadian Press. Alum of CUNY J School.
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Oct 30, 2021 • 11 tweets • 2 min read
One reason behind the collapse of Ghani’s govt was that he, his allies&majority of Afghans rarely acknowledged or even spoke about the internal dimension of the war. For them,Pak was behind everything, even when a son blew up himself inside his own house to kill his pro-govt dad.
Afghans rarely/never discussed about over 90% of insurgents who were Afghan villagers, picking up arm for various reasons. All debates, talks and focus was on the less than 10% of Pak-based Talib leaders, and foreign fighters including Pakistanis, mostly Pak Pashtuns,Uzbeks, etc.
Jul 29, 2021 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
Thread on Iran-Taliban relationship:
1- Historically, Taliban and Iran were arch-enemies. Iran supported northern alliance with cash & weapons in the 1990s, and the Taliban retaliated by killing 10 Iranian diplomats & a journalist when they captured Mazar-e-Sharif in 1998.
2- The Taliban delegation visited Tehran at least four times in the past two years to normalize the relationship. It seems both sides are willing to forget the past and start a new chapter. The Q is what they get out of this relationship?
Jul 27, 2021 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
Thread on Pak-Taliban ties:
1- We know the Taliban leadership is in Quetta, their wounded fighters are being treated in Pakistani hospitals, Pak-based religious Madrasas contribute fighters for them, and most importantly they have close ties with ISI and Pakistan’s military.
2- Despite all these undeniable facts, I dont believe the Talibs are the Pak’s “proxy.” I believe the relationship between the two is based on mutual interests. Talibs want to overthrow
Afg govt & Pak wants to apply constant pressure on a govt which isn’t so friendly toward it.
Jul 25, 2021 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Elite forces make up only about 10% of over 300000 ANSDF, and yet they are doing the bulk of fighting to keep the Taliban at bay. Why the 90% conventional forces aren’t fighting? Why 1000s of them have surrendered& handed over bases,territory&equipment in return for safe passage?
The reasons are:
1- They are undertrained, most of them are deployed to the frontlines only after few months of training.
2- They often run out of ammo&food, & the air force cant supply them on time. They are left to their own fate once they are dropped n remote&besieged bases.
