Service Notice: Afghanistan and Pakistan Conflict Monitors Cease Publication
04 July 2011
Dear Subscriber,
As a result of staffing constraints, changes in media reporting on Afghanistan and Pakistan, and a shift in our strategic priorities, we have decided to discontinue the Afghanistan and Pakistan Conflict Monitors. As a consequence, we will no longer be producing the Daily Briefing, or updating the websites.
Instead of continuing to feature news stories, which are increasingly well covered by other...
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Service Notice
30 June 2011
Please be advised that our offices will be closed on Friday, July 1st, 2011 in observance of Canada Day.
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Combined Forces Raid Ends Deadly Taliban Attack on Top Kabul Hotel
29 June 2011
Nine suicide bombers penetrated several rings of security to lay siege to one of the capital’s premier hotels for six hours overnight Tuesday in a complex attack that jolted Afghans’ sense of security and highlighted the weakness of their police forces. At least 21 people were killed: all the attackers, two policemen, nine Afghan civilians, and one foreigner, a Spaniard. One witness said that the police failed to stop a man who obviously...
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Kidnappers Free Two French Journalists, Interpreter after 18 Months
29 June 2011
Two French journalists abducted in Afghanistan 18 months ago have been released, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced. Herve Ghesquiere and Stephane Taponier were freed along with their interpreter, Reza Din, Mr Sarkozy said in a statement in Paris. They are reportedly now at a French base in north-eastern Afghanistan. Expressing delight, Mr Sarkozy thanked Afghan President Hamid Karzai for his handling of the hostage situation. Prime Minister...
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Trends in Terrorism in Central, South Asia from 2007-2010: Report
29 June 2011
This report draws on an extensive modeling effort by Andrew C. Gagel. It provides a statistical trend of the US count of terrorist actions by terrorist organization in each region and country, along with maps of the number and density of terrorist acts. These trends and developments are summarized in a short overview for each sub region. Terrorist activity was also high in Central Asia and South Asia. Unsurprisingly, terrorist activity was the...
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The Insurgency in Afghanistan’s Heartland: Report
29 June 2011
The insurgency in Afghanistan has expanded far beyond its stronghold in the south east. Transcending its traditional Pashtun base, the Taliban is bolstering its influence in the central-eastern provinces by installing shadow governments and tapping into the vulnerabilities of a central government crippled by corruption and deeply dependent on a corrosive war economy. Collusion between insurgents and corrupt government officials in Kabul and the nearby...
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Ethnic Leaders Forge Alliance Against Karzai
29 June 2011
A group of former warlords who helped the U.S. topple the Taliban regime in 2001 have launched a political alliance against Afghan President Hamid Karzai's rule, in a re-emergence of old civil-war divisions as the country looks ahead to the departure of U.S. forces. The leaders, each representing a minority ethnic group, say they are concerned that Mr. Karzai will seek to claim more power following President Barack Obama's announcement last week...
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Report Finds over 250,000 Displaced in Last Two Years, Criticizes Local Police Programs
28 June 2011
Afghan civilians are caught in the middle of an intensifying military campaign against a fractured armed insurgency. Despite the U.S. military’s claims of progress, insurgent attacks are up by 50% over last year, and more than 250,000 people have fled their villages in the past two years. U.S. funded and trained militias are only exacerbating this explosive situation. As the U.S. begins to draw down its forces and transition responsibilities...
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28 June 2011
A senior leader of an al-Qaida-linked terror group has been captured in northern Afghanistan dressed up like a woman — the latest in a recent series of cases involving male militants disguised as females, the U.S.-led military coalition said Tuesday. A joint Afghan and coalition force apprehended a senior figure from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and two of his associates during a nighttime operation Monday in Kunduz city, NATO said. It...
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28 June 2011
During his confirmation hearing last week for his new post at the helm of the Central Intelligence Agency, Petraeus said coalition forces had already shifted out of some parts of the country—including the areas in and around Kabul—and handed security responsibility off to the Afghans. He said coalition forces planned to move to parts of the former Taliban stronghold of Helmand province this fall, with further redeployments set for next...
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