02 April 2008

'NATO To Meet Canada's Demand For Troops', CBC News, 2 April 2008

EXCERPT: "NATO members have agreed to Canada's demand for 1,000 more troops in southern Afghanistan, a spokesman for the military alliance says, in a move that secures Canada's participation in the mission for at least three more years. Spokesman James Appathurai said French President Nicolas Sarkozy offered a battalion ? normally about 700 to 800 troops ? for the volatile...

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02 April 2008

'', Associated Press of Pakistan', 2 April 2008

EXCERPT: "International aid and debt relief for Afghanistan has been thrown into doubt by the country's failure to honour an agreement with the International Monetary Fund and warnings that its three-year development masterplan could be rejected. Anwar Ul-Haq Ahady, finance minister, last week admitted to donors that the government...

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02 April 2008

'', North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), 2 April 2008

EXCERPT: "August 2008 marks the fifth anniversary of NATO's presence in Afghanistan. Set against the devastating effect of decades of conflict, these five years have witnessed substantial progress in all spheres of Afghan life ? from a reasonably stable security situation in most of the country to a massive increase...

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02 April 2008

Andrew Imbrie, '',British American Security Information Council (BASIC), 25 March 2008

EXCERPT: "NATO's upcoming summit in Bucharest this April comes at a particularly challenging moment in the Alliance's history. In Afghanistan, NATO forces face a resurgent Taliban in the south, widespread corruption across the country, and steady growth in the illicit narcotics industry....

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02 April 2008

'UNHCR and Tajikistan Agree On Integration Of Refugees', United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 2 April 2008

EXCERPT: "The UN refugee agency and the government of Tajikistan have agreed to strengthen their cooperation and open the door for the integration of some 1,000 Afghans who have been refugees in the Central Asian country for up to 20 years. These goals were enshrined in a joint communiqu? signed on Monday [31 March...

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02 April 2008

'Turkish Military Advisers Work In Southern Afghanistan', Turkish Daily News, 2 April 2008

EXCERPT: "Turkey is not expected to announce any additional troop commitment at today's NATO's summit where U.S. President George W. Bush will press member states for more troops. The Alliance needs more troops, especially in the south of the country where fierce fighting is taking place against al Qaeda and Taliban. Despite Turkey's refusal to...

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02 April 2008

'Czech Republic To Send More Elite Military Unit', Ceske Noviny, 2 April 2008

EXCERPT: "The Czech Republic will soon send an elite military unit to Afghanistan that will be made up of members of the special forces unit in Prostejov, south Moravia, that has operated in Afghanistan twice already. Parkanova said previously the unit that participated in combat operations in Afghanistan several times would serve as part of Operation...

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02 April 2008

'US To Provide 1,000 More Troops In South Afghanistan', CTV.ca, 1 April 2008

EXCERPT: "Washington has made an iron-clad commitment to provide 1,000 combat troops to bolster the NATO mission in southern Afghanistan, CTV News has learned. Sources told CTV that Canada will also lease aerial drones from the U.S. at a cost of $165 million, and procure between four to six Chinook helicopters and an unspecified number of light-armoured vehicles...

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02 April 2008

'Troops in Afghanistan sufficient: Rudd', News.com.au, 2 April 2008

EXCERPT: "Australia's commitment of 1000 troops in Afghanistan is 'sufficient', Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said today, as he pressed Europe on the need for all coalition forces to share the burden of danger in the war zone. Mr Rudd reinforced Australia's plan to stay for the 'long haul' in Afghanistan but indicated that it had no immediate plans to bolster its presence...

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