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“Why #Afghanistan is always being criticized over “Women Rights”? Do you know about Saudi Arabia women who even can’t drive???
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“@UnaInKabul To some extent agree, but not at all. We are seeing female driving in Kabul, but what about Riyadh? We’re paving ways anyway.
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“@UnaInKabul I haven’t said we should give up on women’s right, what I am saying is, why western media is more focusing on Afghan women —>
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“@UnaInKabul ..while there in Saudi Arabia women are even not allowed to drive. At least we have no violence against women in —>
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“@UnaInKabul …county’s justice system. We need some more time to restore everything in place. We should never give up anyway.
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“@UnaInKabul That’s not said in Afghan justice, it was totally illegal as she was released.
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“@FarzadLameh Gulnaz’s case was not unique. Half of all women in Afghan prisons are there for so-called moral crimes: trunc.it/j5cap
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@ISAFmedia, the official Twitter account of NATO forces in Afghanistan was, until very recently, mocked as an example of an organization using Twitter very poorly. @ISAFmedia’s tweets were wooden summaries of press releases and the account manager didn’t interact with other Afghanistan war tweeters. All of that changed in the fall of 2011. Here’s a snapshot of what @ISAFmedia is tweeting now.
Clarifying security reports in Kabul.
| “ | Alarms sounding on ISAF HQ compound are scheduled, routine training exercise. | |||
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| “ | I wondered so - RT @ISAFmedia: Alarms sounding on ISAF HQ compound are scheduled, routine training exercise. | |||
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| “ | On explosion reports: Word is that booms were ceremonial cannon fire by Afghan officials. Reinstated noontime tradition. | |||
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| “ | ISAF helicopter shot down in Paktia province’s Wazi Zadran district at 09:00 am today. All onboard killed, wreckage still lying in area | |||
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| “ | Acc to Taliban tweep @ABalkhi, a NATO helicopter was shot down earlier 2day in Afghanistan’s Paktia province.No reaction from @ISAFmedia yet | |||
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| “ | @yannikouts He’s lying, as usual. There was a hard landing. No shootdown. All aboard are alive and safe. | |||
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| “ | ISAF press conference on recent UN report on violence in Afghanistan beginning now. | |||
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| “ | Jun-Aug 2011: Enemy attacks 17% lower than in 2010. | |||
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| “ | @ISAFmedia Lower in the number of occasions? Or gravity? What is the reference? | |||
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| “ | @jfkorn Will try to post link to fleshed-out stats as soon as they become available. | |||
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| “ | @ISAFmedia I understand :). Keep up the flow of information, appreciate it. Looking forward to the whole data package. | |||
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| “ | @jfkorn Will do. Many, many PowerPt. slides right now. Impossible to synthesize them into 140 chars. | |||
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| “ | Diverging narratives in #Afghanistan. UN: violence up 39%. @ISAFmedia RapidResponse: “inconsistent with the data we have collected” | |||
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| “ | @ISAFmedia Where do ISAF, UN stats differ? Enemy-initiated attacks? Attacks in general? | |||
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| “ | @starbuck_woi Differences come down to categorization. For instance, UN counts “potential or attempted” attacks. | |||
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Flame-warring with the Taliban tweeters.
| “ | 11 children among dead. Noticed @abalkhi didn’t tweet this one. http://ow.ly/6GQWH | |||
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September 29, 2011 was a typical day in the Afghan war Twitterverse, with journalists providing the bulk of incident reports, belligerent parties submitting their own rapid fire (and highly dubious) reports and experts adding context and clarity to reported stories.
Unconfirmed incident report by a journalist, with self as source.
| “ | Taliban burn a school in Badghis province last night. The school was recently build by #Spanish PRT team in Balamorghab district | |||
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| “ | 500 girls and boys were studying in the school, Badghis province | |||
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| “ | Afghan security forces in Baghlan finally managed to kill Abdul Ghafor, a prominent commander who was involved in extorting money from PPL | |||
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| “ | US tank destroyed in IED attack: KANDAHAR, Sep. 29 – An IED attack in Maiwand district yesterday afternoon destr… http://bit.ly/neRC1p | |||
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| “ | Ajiristan district HQ comes under attack: DAIKONDI, Sep. 29 – The district HQ of Ajiristan came under an armed M… http://bit.ly/p2qxe5 | |||
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| “ | Just heard tht taliban has killed/beheaded people going to iran.All victoms frm #Jaghori district. Plz update us f u have any info abt it | |||
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Incident report with source, emerging details.
| “ | TOLOnews BREAKING NEWS: Explosion in Herat…more details to follow | |||
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| “ | ANSO: Herat Province, Injil District, Airport Road, Explosion. | |||
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| “ | Roadside bomb killed 3 and injured 9, this morning N Herat, border police was target in this incident, most of casualies B.police: TOLOnews | |||
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Incident report with context.
| “ | Taliban-style bombing kills two women cops and a male cop along the Herat airport road. Afghanistan already facing a shortage of female cops | |||
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Adding context, clarity to a report.
| “ | Chimtal/Charbolak close to Mazar but not exactly “at the gates.” MT @atnussan Taliban stalks outskirts of calm Afghan city wapo.st/qRaLgf | |||
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Spoiler alert: nowhere.
The Economist recently published a piece called Visa Free Travel: the passport that allows you to go anywhere.
Of course, Afghanistan was the bottom of the list.
“AFGHANS hoping to embark on a grand tour of Europe, or any other continent in fact, are likely to…
ISAF’s Twitter account manager tweeted a warning about unexploded ordinances during the waning hours of the September 13/14 attack in Kabul. The tweet was sent to specific journalists who were on the scene and known to be followed by many of their peers.
ISAF and the Taliban had a Twitter fight.
An Afghan journalist tweets about an encounter with a US military convoy.
Ahmed Wali Karzai 1961-2011. Isaf Media, some rights reserved under creative commons.
It looks like President Karzai’s half-brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, has been the latest victim in a series of assassinations in Kandahar that claimed Chief of Police Khan Mohammad and Deputy Provincial Governor Abdul Latif Ashna this year.
The New York Times amongst others claimed that AWK, (as he’s known in ex-pat circles), had numerous links to the Afghan heroin trade and was accused by many of corruption. But President Karzai famously said, when confronted, bring me the evidence and I will convict my brother. Or words to that effect. He was the leader of the Provincial Council and is described by Al-Jazaeera’s James Bays as the second most powerful person in Afghanistan.
Now he’s been killed, seemingly by his own bodyguard while at home. The Taliban will very likely take credit for it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it wos them wot dun it. AWK had enough enemies, rivals, power and influence to make the space he’s now left very inviting. Also, his very presence in a position of authority has always been an embarrassment to the international community. This is in no way pointing any fingers - the likelihood is that the Taliban have been planning this for a long time - but just underlines the complexities of the case.
The bodyguard in question seems to be a very close aide, according to @mattaikins, which suggests infiltration from the highest levels.
