31 August 2009
'Taliban Expand Presence In Northern Afghanistan', The Dallas Morning News, 29 August 2009
EXCERPT: "Taliban insurgents have taken over parts of two northern provinces from which they were driven in 2001, threatening to disrupt NATO's new supply route from Central Asia and expand a war that has largely been confined to Afghanistan's southern half, U.S. and Afghan officials say.
Violence has been on the rise in recent...
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31 August 2009
'Taliban Ready If Afghan Government Fails, Analyst Warns', Reuters, 31 August 2009
EXCERPT: "Afghanistan's government must fight corruption and quickly deliver services to Afghans, because Taliban militants are filling gaps and winning support to their cause, a top counter-insurgency expert said on Monday.
The Taliban were already running courts, hospitals and even an ombudsman in parallel to the government, making a real...
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31 August 2009
'US, Afghan Forces Strike Haqqani Network Bases', The Long War Journal, 30 August 2009
EXCERPT: "Afghan and US forces killed scores of Haqqani Network fighters during assaults on two bases in the mountains in eastern Afghanistan.
The first attack took place on Aug. 28 when a joint US and Afghan force assaulted a fortified Haqqani Network base located in the mountains of the Urgun District in Paktika province along the Pakistani...
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31 August 2009
'US "Needs Fresh Afghan Strategy"', BBC News, 31 August 2009
EXCERPT: "A top US general in Afghanistan has called for a revised military strategy, suggesting the current one is failing.
In a strategic assessment, Gen Stanley McChrystal said that, while the Afghan situation was serious, success was still achievable.
The report has not yet been published, but sources say Gen McChrystal sees protecting the Afghan people...
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28 August 2009
'New British Army Chief Pledges Afghanistan Focus', Reuters UK, 28 August 2009
EXCERPT: "The country's new army chief General David Richards took command on Friday, pledging to focus on the conflict in Afghanistan where 9,000 British soldiers are on duty. Richards takes over as chief of the general staff from General Richard Dannatt following the bloodiest month for the British military since the 1980s Falklands War after...
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28 August 2009
'Accusations Of Vote Fraud Multiply In Afghanistan', The Washington Post, 28 August 2009
EXCERPT: "One week after Afghanistan's presidential election, with the winner still undeclared, increasing accusations of fraud and voter coercion threaten to undermine the validity of the results, deepen dangerous regional divisions and hamper the Obama administration's goals in this volatile country. With U.S. popular support for...
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28 August 2009
'ISAF Commander's Counterinsurgency Guidance', International Security Assistance Force / North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, 26 August 2009
EXCERPT: "The ISAF commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, issued his counterinsurgency guidance to his forces here Aug. 26th, which provides direction to ISAF conducting counterinsurgency and stability operations in Afghanistan. 'Protecting the people is the mission,' said McChrystal,...
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28 August 2009
'Turkey To Increase Military Presence In Afghanistan', Bloomberg, 28 August 2009
EXCERPT: "Turkey pledged to double its contribution to peacekeeping in Afghanistan, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said. The reinforcements will bring the Turkish force to 1,600 troops from 795 and will arrive when Turkey takes over control of the rotating command of NATO operations in the Afghan capital Kabul in November, Davutoglu said...
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27 August 2009
'Abdullah Spurns Karzai's "Mafia-Like" Political Deals', Bloomberg, 27 August 2009
EXCERPT: "Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah says he won't take part in a power-sharing deal with incumbent Hamid Karzai, if that means accepting what he views as a fraudulent election.
'I don't find a place for myself in this mafia-type system,' Abdullah said in an interview last night at his home in...
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27 August 2009
'US Helicopter Attacks Clinic Treating Taliban Commander', The Guardian, 27 August 2009
EXCERPT: "A US helicopter gunship has fired at a clinic in eastern Afghanistan where a wounded Taliban commander was being treated.
According to the US military, the helicopter opened fire during a lengthy battle with Taliban fighters after Afghan and US forces made sure no civilians were inside.
Reports of casualties varied. A spokesman...
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