24 April 2008

'NATO Mentors Hope Afghan Police Academy Graduates Will Regain Public Trust', Macleans, 24 April 2008

EXCERPT: "Hundreds of grinning Afghan police-academy graduates crowded like excited schoolboys into a dimly lit assembly hall Thursday for some words of encouragement before resuming their dangerous duties as keepers of the peace in a province racked by war. Having completed an intensive eight weeks of basic training by largely American...

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24 April 2008

'Subnational State-Building in Afghanistan', Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU), April 2008

EXCERPT: "Since 2004, the Afghan government and its international partners have become increasingly aware that issues and challenges surrounding subnational governance in Afghanistan are crucial to national development, stability, and security. This period has also been a time of extraordinary change in subnational governance structures,...

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24 April 2008

'Schools Torched, Teachers Missing: Afghan Police', ABC News Australia, 22 April 2008

EXCERPT: "Militants have torched two mixed-sex schools near the Afghan capital, police said, and the Taliban said it had kidnapped two teachers and a school superintendent. Police blamed the attacks on the schools near the small town of Logar, 50 kilometres south of Kabul, on the 'enemies of Afghanistan' - a phrase that most often refers to Taliban...

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24 April 2008

'Greece Flooded By Iraq And Afghan Refugees, Under Fire For Asylum Policies', Christian Science Monitor, 24 April 2008

EXCERPT: "A squalid squatter camp on the outskirts of this port city stands as a stark symbol of Greece's broken asylum system. Hundreds of young men and boys from Afghanistan ? many of whom say they fled violence ? huddle in bare shacks and over open cooking fires, waiting to be smuggled deeper into Europe. If they're...

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24 April 2008

'Pakistan Fury At NATO Border Raid', BBC News, 24 April 2008

EXCERPT: "Pakistan's foreign ministry has said it has lodged a "strong protest" with Nato and the Afghan military after a border skirmish left a Pakistani soldier dead. At least eight Taleban militants were also killed during the clashes which began when an Afghan border post was attacked before dawn on Wednesday [23 April 2008]. During the battle, Nato forces fired...

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24 April 2008

'Be honest: We're at war in Afghanistan, panel told', The Globe and Mail, 24 April 2008

EXCERPT: "The Canadian government should be more frank about its military engagement in Afghanistan and call it a 'war' instead of describing it in innocuous terms such as restoring 'security' or offering 'humanitarian assistance,' a former chief of staff to two Liberal defence ministers says. 'Even today you won't see much use of the term war, insurgency...

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24 April 2008

'Slovakia To Boost Afghan Mission', Press TV Iran, 24 April 2008

EXCERPT: "Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Baska says his country intends to double the number of its soldiers serving in Afghanistan by 2010. 'By 2010 we want to rise our mandate in this mission to about 250 or 280 soldiers,' Baska said Wednesday [23 April 2008] at a press conference. Slovakia currently has a 69-strong force in Afghanistan which is set to increase to 115...

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24 April 2008

'Peace Deal Between Islamabad, Pro-Taliban Militants Rankles U.S.', Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, 24 April 2008

EXCERPT: "Pakistan's new government is close to signing a peace accord with pro-Taliban militants as part of a softer counterterrorism policy from Islamabad that deemphasizes military strikes and calls for U.S. forces to show more restraint in the area. Britain has expressed reservations about the strategy, and Washington...

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24 April 2008

'U.S. Commander Predicts More Violence In Afghanistan', FOX News, 24 April 2008

EXCERPT: "Insurgent violence in Afghanistan could reach record levels this year as militants increasingly target police and development projects, a top U.S. general said Thursday [24 April 2008]. Maj. Gen. Jeffrey J. Schloesser, who commands U.S. forces in the country, said a large number of insurgents are still pouring into Afghanistan from Pakistan. Schloesser...

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24 April 2008

'US Considering Changes to Afghanistan Coalition Command Structure', Voice of America, 23 April 2008

EXCERPT: "U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says Pentagon officials are discussing possible changes to the NATO and coalition command structure in Afghanistan. But he says the United States is not ready to make a formal proposal to its allies. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon. When Secretary Gates announced Wednesday that the...

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