Pakistan, US Say Taliban Commander Killed In Shootout
18 April 2008
'', Associated Press, 18 April 2008
EXCERPT: "A Taliban commander blamed for the deadliest attack on U.S. troops since they entered Afghanistan in 2001 has been killed in a shootout with security forces in Pakistan, American and Pakistani officials said. Police killed Ahmad Shah, also known as Mullah Ismail, at a roadblock near the northwestern city of Peshawar, a senior Pakistani...
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Al-Qaeda Adds Muscle To The Taliban's Fight
18 April 2008
'', Asia Times Online, 18 April 2008
EXCERPT: "From many hundreds, al-Qaeda now has fewer than 75 Arabs involved in the Afghan 'war on terror' theater, but the group is more lethal in that it has successfully established a local franchise of warriors who have fully embraced al-Qaeda's ideology and who are capable of conducting a war of attrition against the coalition in Afghanistan. In the...
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Canadian Liberals Demand Minister Bernier To Resign
18 April 2008
'', The Canadian Press, 17 April 2008
EXCERPT: "Opposition parties are slowly roasting Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier over his diplomatic blunder on Afghanistan. Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae called for Bernier to be fired Thursday, describing him as incompetent and irresponsible. And the NDP put a motion before a Commons committee demanding the minister...
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Pashtunistan, NATO and the Global War on Terror: "If you don?t fight, you cannot have peace in Afghanistan"
18 April 2008
Michael Mihalka, '', Central Asia - Caucasus Institute, February 2008
EXCERPT: "Since 9/11 terrorism has increased and become a prominent feature of ongoing insurgencies. NATO has become increasingly involved in one such insurgency in Afghanistan. However, perceptions of failure in Afghanistan have decreased public...
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Canada Wanted Detainee Kept Out Of Guantanamo
18 April 2008
'Canada didn't want Khadr sent to Guantanamo',Canada.com, 17 April 2008
EXCERPT: "Canada tried to stop the transfer of terror suspect Omar Khadr to the U.S. detention centre in Guantanamo Bay in 2002, according to an Associated Press report. Canadian officials said it would be 'inappropriate' to send Khadr, who was 15 at the time, to the prison in Cuba because of his young age, according to the report, which cites a diplomatic letter...
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Pakistan's Afghan Refugee Repatriation Plan Could Fuel Militancy
18 April 2008
'', International Herald Tribune, 17 April 2008
EXCERPT: "The U.N. urged Pakistan to revise its plan to repatriate 2.4 million Afghan refugees by 2009, saying Thursday [17 April 2008] that the strategy is unworkable and could fuel militancy. Pakistan announced the schedule last year following international criticism over cross-border attacks by Taliban militants...
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Pentagon Records Detail Prisoner Abuse By US Military
18 April 2008
'', Associated Press, 17 April 2008
EXCERPT: "Military interrogators assaulted Afghan detainees in 2003, using investigation methods they learned during self-defense training, Pentagon documents released Wednesday [16 April 2008] show. Detainees at the Gardez Detention Facility in southeastern Afghanistan reported being made to kneel outside in wet clothing and being kicked and punched...
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18 April 2008
'', United States House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, 17 April 2008
EXCERPT: "The House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations chose to investigate Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) because they are considered to be critical to our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The subcommittee...
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Irish Govt Ends Funding For Expelled Diplomat
18 April 2008
'Govt Ends Funding For Afghanistan Diplomat', RTE News, 17 April 2008
EXCERPT: "The Government has ended its financial support for the EU diplomat Michael Semple, who was expelled from Afghanistan amid claims that he was undermining the country's security. Mr Semple, who is an Irish national, received around ?10,000 a month from the Department of Foreign Affairs for his work in the country. He was expelled from Afghanistan on Christmas...
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Keeping Canada In Afghanistan
18 April 2008
Samantha Power, 'Keeping Canada In Afghanistan', TIME Magazine, 17 April 2008
EXCERPT: "The U.S. does not often look north to gauge its own security prospects. But over the past few months, Canada has been quietly embroiled in one of the most revealing political and international-security debates since the end of the cold war. It's a debate critical to the future of NATO. And its outcome may tell us a lot about the fate of the U.S.'s...
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