28 March 2008

Heidi Kjaernet and Stina Torjesen, '', Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, 27 March 2008

EXCERPT: "The report offers a stocktaking of Afghanistan's regional challenges. It finds that domestic instability in Pakistan, strains in Pakistan?Afghanistan relations and insecurities associated with the US?Iran stand-off on Iran's nuclear programme continue to pose the most significant...

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28 March 2008

'', The New York Times, 28 March 2008

EXCERPT: "When the United States Army decided this week to suspend the main supplier of munitions to Afghan security forces from future federal work, it did so after a field investigation documented what it called an act of fraud.  Last Nov. 25, the president of the company, Efraim E. Diveroli,...

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28 March 2008

'Russia Offers Help "If NATO Curbs Eastward Expansion"', Forbes, 28 March 2008

EXCERPT: "Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko told Interfax his nation is ready to help NATO on Afghanistan, provided that Moscow's security interests, including a halt to eastward expansion of the alliance, are respected. Russia is 'considering the possibility of deepening' cooperation with NATO over Afghanistan, but this will not happen...

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28 March 2008

'Canada Confident NATO Will Help Its Troops', Reuters, 27 March 2008

EXCERPT: "The Canadian government left little doubt on Thursday [27 March 2008] that NATO allies would send additional troops to southern Afghanistan, fulfilling a condition that Canada had set for keeping its own soldiers there. Briefing reporters ahead of next week's NATO summit in Bucharest, officials said Canada's discussions with its allies over providing new...

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28 March 2008

'Taliban Declares New Afghan Offensive', Reuters, 28 March 2008

EXCERPT: "The Taliban announced the start of a spring offensive in Afghanistan, promising 'painful strikes' to force all enemy soldiers to leave, according to a Web message seen by a U.S.-based monitoring service on Thursday [27 March 2008]. NATO-led forces have conducted wide-ranging offensives in southern Afghanistan to disrupt the insurgents ahead of spring, which each...

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28 March 2008

'Sarkozy Under Fire For Troop Offer', News.com.au, 28 March 2008

EXCERPT: "French President Nicolas Sarkozy has come under fire at home for offering to send more troops to Afghanistan and for making the announcement to the British parliament. Socialist Segolene Royal and the leader of her opposition party opposed the plan for deepening French military involvement in Afghanistan while several MPs called for a full debate in the French...

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28 March 2008

'New UN Envoy Arrives In Afghanistan', Reuters, 28 March 2008

EXCERPT: "The new U.N. envoy to Afghanistan, Kai Eide, arrived in Kabul on Friday [28 March 2008] with a pledge to improve coordination with President Hamid Karzai's government. 'The Afghan government has asked for that for a very long time and we have to respond in a better way than we have managed so far,' said Eide, a former Norwegian ambassador to NATO. Eide, who is replacing...

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