31 January 2008
'Oxfam Warns of Humanitarian Disaster in Afghanistan', Agence France Presse, 31 January 2008
EXCERPT: "Aid agency Oxfam warned Thursday [31 January 2008] of the risk of a humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan unless Western countries make a "major change of direction" in their strategy in the violence-scarred country. In an open letter to Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the group said progress in improving ordinary Afghans' lives...
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31 January 2008
Jacob Townsend, 'Charting A Course For Afghanistan', Australian Strategic Policy Institute, 31 January 2008
EXCERPT: "The Rudd Government has inherited plans for a military build-up and a
rising aid budget in Afghanistan. In December, the Defence Minister,
Joel Fitzgibbon, assessed that ?We are winning the battles and not the
war...We have been very successful in clearing areas of the Taliban but
it's having no real strategic effect.?...
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31 January 2008
'Saving Afghanistan: An Appeal and Plan for Urgent Action', The Atlantic Council of the United States, 30 January 2008
EXCERPT: "Make no mistake, NATO is not winning in Afghanistan. Unless this
reality is understood and action is taken promptly, the future of
Afghanistan is bleak, with regional and global impact. The purpose of
this paper is to sound the alarm and to propose specific actions that
must be taken now if Afghanistan is...
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30 January 2008
'Afghanistan Study Group Final Report', Center for the Study of the Presidency, 30 January 2008
EXCERPT: "The report asserts that the United States and the international community have tried to win the struggle in Afghanistan with too few military forces, insufficient economic aid, and without a clear and consistent comprehensive strategy to fill the power vacuum outside Kabul and counter the combined challenges of reconstituted Taliban...
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30 January 2008
'Military Expert Criticizes Proposed German Force for Afghanistan', Deutsche Welle, 30 January 2008
EXCERPT: "A day after it was officially confirmed that NATO had made a request to the German Defense Ministry to provide 250 combat troops to a Quick Reaction Force in northern Afghanistan, former NATO Chief of Staff Harald Kujat warned that German soldiers were ill-equipped to deal with combat operations against the Taliban and al Qaeda...
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30 January 2008
'Six Years After Invasion, Taliban Is On The Rise', USA Today, 30 January 2008
EXCERPT: "In the better times that followed the U.S.-led
invasion, Kabul's famous Chicken Street used to attract hundreds of
foreigners seeking a bargain on Afghan rugs, leather goods and
gemstones such as lapis lazuli. These days, the Westerners have all but
disappeared from the downtown thoroughfare in Afghanistan's capital. At
shops such as the one...
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29 January 2008
'Canada May Pull Afghan Troops Unless NATO Boosts Support', Agence France Presse, 29 January 2008
EXCERPT: "Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Monday [28 January 2008] warned NATO that Canada
could pull its 2,500 troops from volatile southern Afghanistan next
year unless NATO provides substantial reinforcements. Harper
endorsed an independent panel's much-anticipated report last week that
recommended Canada's military mission continue...
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28 January 2008
'Ashdown opts out of Afghanistan envoy role', Financial Times, 28 January 2008
EXCERPT: "Plans to install Paddy Ashdown as a new "super envoy" in Afghanistan were abandoned yesterday [27 January 2008] after the former high representative to Bosnia pulled out of the race, saying he lacked support from the Afghan government.
The Afghan government said its preferred candidate was now General Sir John McColl, a British general...
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24 January 2008
Robert Matthews, 'Poppy seeds and dragon's teeth: NATO confronts an opium-funded war in Afghanistan', FRIDE, 24 January 2008
EXCERPT: "On November 6, Afghanistan was shocked by the deadliest bombing in the country's history. The suicide attack occurred in the province of Baghlan, heretofore relatively quiet compared with the violent southeastern territory. The terrorist act killed at least 77 people, including a key opposition figure...
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24 January 2008
'Afghanistan sets up prison for women', Reuters AlertNet, 24 January 2008
EXCERPT: "Afghanistan launched its first prison for women in the capital Kabul on
Thursday as part of a plan to build 15 such facilities, officials said.Built with the assistance from Italy's government, the jail can
accommodate 330 prisoners who currently languish in various prisons on
numerous criminal charges."
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