Canadian Withdrawal in 2009 Would Be 'a Recipe for Disaster': Expert
05 December 2007
Allan Woods, '', Toronto Star, 5 December 2007.
"Canada has run out of time to find foreign replacements for its 2,500 soldiers fighting in Kandahar when the mission expires in 2009, a former government foreign policy adviser says.
"Roland Paris, a University of Ottawa professor and former analyst in the Privy Council Office, says it is no longer realistic to believe the government can...
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More Recruits, U.S. Arms Planned for Afghan Military
05 December 2007
Ann Scott Tyson, '', Washington Post, 5 December 2007
"The United States and Afghanistan plan to expand the Afghan army by up to 12,000 soldiers and accelerate shipments of tens of thousands of U.S. M-16 rifles, armored Humvees and other weaponry by the spring to counter a growing threat from Taliban insurgents and al-Qaeda fighters, U.S. and Afghan commanders said Tuesday. The Afghan...
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Anti-malarial Crop Suggested for Afghan Farmers
05 December 2007
'
Anti-malarial Crop Suggested for Afghan Farmers', CTV, 5 December 2007
"A think tank suggests that Afghan farmers could grow a new anti-malarial crop as a way to move them away from growing opium. 'This would kickstart a legitimate Afghan pharmaceutical economy,' Norine MacDonald of the Senlis Council told CTV Newsnet on Wednesday. Senlis believes Afghanistan would provide good growing conditions for artemisinia, a shrub that...
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Indian-Afghan Relations Profiled
05 December 2007
Jayshree Bajoria, 'India's Northern Exposure,' Council on Foreign Relations Daily Analysis, 5 December 2007
"By helping to rebuild a new Afghanistan, India strives toward more regional stability, but also hopes to counter Pakistan's influence in Kabul. India wants new land routes to be able to move goods to Afghanistan, bypassing Pakistan. 'Pakistan is wary of providing a land route to India, since the two countries are competing for...
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540,000 Refugees Expected to Return in 2008 and 2009: UNHCR
05 December 2007
'UN Prepares for Repatriation of Over Half a Million Refugees', IRIN, 5 December 2007
"The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has asked for about US$100 million from donors for its Afghan operations in the coming two years, according to UNHCR Global Appeal 2008-2009. The UNHCR will need over $49 million in 2008 and over $50 million in 2009 to assist 540,000 Afghan refugees who are expected to return primarily from neighbouring Pakistan and Iran....
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05 December 2007
Nick Meo, 'Leaked aid map of Afghanistan reveals expansion of no-go zones', Times, 5 December 2007
"Almost half of Afghanistan is now too dangerous for aid workers to operate in, a leaked UN map seen by The Times shows. In the past two years most foreign and Afghan staff have withdrawn from the southern half of the country, abandoning or scaling back development projects in rural areas and confining themselves to the cities or the less...
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