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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