29 February 2008

'NATO Chief Disputes US Intelligence Assessment On Afghanistan', International Herald Tribune, 29 February 2008

EXCERPT: "NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer took issue Friday with the U.S. intelligence chief's recent estimate that the Afghan government controlled only about 30 percent of the country. In a speech, de Hoop Scheffer also chided U.S. officials for publicly criticizing the contribution of other NATO members to the...

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29 February 2008

'International Narcotics Control Strategy Report - Southwest Asia: Afghanistan', United States Department of State, 29 February 2008

EXCERPT: "Afghanistan's drug trade is undercutting efforts to establish a stable democracy with a licit economic free market in the country.The narcotics trade has strong links with the anti-government insurgency, most commonly associated with the Taliban. Narcotics traffickers provide revenue and arms to...

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29 February 2008

Fr?d?ric Grare, 'Anatomy of a Fallacy: The Senlis Council and Narcotics in Afghanistan', Centre for International Governance Innovation, February 2008

EXCERPT: "Supplying the majority of the heroin consumed in Europe and nearly all consumed in Russia, Afghanistan's booming illicit drug market has not only entirely distorted the Afghan economy but also corrupted the country's nascent, fragile political system. While current norms regulating...

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