Karzai Urged To Halt Executions
17 April 2008
'Karzai Urged To Halt Executions', BBC News, 17 April 2008
EXCERPT: "Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been called on not to sign execution orders for around 100 prisoners because of concerns over fair trial standards. The US-based Human Rights Watch said Afghanistan's legal system did not meet international standards in capital cases. It said the Supreme Court's sentencing of the prisoners showed 'a disturbing disregard for the right...
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Germany Pledges Special Envoy, More Security Trainers
17 April 2008
'Germany Pledges Special Envoy, More Security Trainers', The Earth Times, 17 April 2008
EXCERPT: "Germany pledged to increase its efforts in training Afghan security personnel, following a meeting in Berlin Thursday between Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung and UN special envoy Kai Eide. The number of police training officers would be increased to 45 from 30 currently, Jung said. He noted that the number of military trainers had been...
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UN Envoy: Training Of Police Is Priority
17 April 2008
'', China View, 16 April 2008
EXCERPT: "The training of Afghan police is a priority for the international community, said Kai Eide, UN's new envoy to Afghanistan, on Wednesday [16 April 2008]. 'In the overall architecture of what we are doing, this (police training) is still an area which really needs high priority and extra efforts,' he told reporters after a meeting with representatives...
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Congress Urged To Pass War Funding Request
17 April 2008
'US Official Urges Congress To Pass War Funding Request', Voice of America, 17 April 2008
EXCERPT: "The Bush administration is warning Congress of potential layoffs at the Department of Defense if they do not approve a $108 billion funding package for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by the end of next month. But lawmakers are demanding more accountability over the war funds and more attention be spent on domestic initiatives,...
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300,000 Vets Have Mental Problem, 320,000 Had Brain Injuries
17 April 2008
'', Associated Press, 17 April 2008
EXCERPT: "Since October 2001, approximately 1.64 million U.S. troops have been deployed for Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) in Afghanistan and Iraq. Early evidence suggests that the psychological toll of these deployments ? many involving prolonged exposure to combat-related stress over multiple rotations ? may be disproportionately...
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French Push To Spur Bin Laden Hunt
17 April 2008
'French Push In Afghanistan To Spur Bin Laden Hunt, EU Aide Says', Bloomberg, 17 April 2008
EXCERPT: "France's plan to send a battalion to eastern Afghanistan improves the chances of catching terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden, the European Union's anti- terror chief said. Bin Laden and his al-Qaeda cohorts are operating out of rugged tribal areas along the ill-defined border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, said Gilles de Kerchove,...
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NATO Drops Ammo Into Wrong Hands
17 April 2008
'', Agence France Presse, 17 April 2008
EXCERPT: "NATO admitted on Thursday [16 April 2008] that a helicopter mistakenly dropped military supplies in the wrong place in southern Afghanistan and that they had subsequently disappeared. Afghan media said the ammunition including rocket-propelled grenades as well as food and water was seized by Taliban militants, but NATO's International...
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Overwhelmed, Overstretched: The Canadians In Afghanistan
17 April 2008
'Beleaguered Canadians Face A Long Wait For The Cavalry', The Times Online, 17 April 2008
EXCERPT: "Private Terry John Street was on a routine patrol along a lonely stretch of road flanked by green marijuana fields and deserted towns when his armoured vehicle struck a roadside bomb, killing him instantly. On the same road, less than three hours earlier, two Canadian soldiers and their Afghan interpreter were wounded in another explosion....
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