01 May 2008

Selig S. Harrison, Pashtunistan": The Challenge to Pakistan and Afghanistan', Real Instituto Elcano (ARI), 2 April 2008

EXCERPT: "The alarming growth of al-Qaeda and the Taliban in the Pashtun tribal region of north-western Pakistan and southern Afghanistan is usually attributed to the popularity of their messianic brand of Islam and to covert help from Pakistani intelligence agencies. But another, more ominous, reason also explains...

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01 May 2008

'', Agence France Presse, 1 May 2008

EXCERPT: "A majority of US soldiers who have done tours of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan say they suffer from stress-related troubles linked to their deployments, a study showed Wednesday [30 April 2008]. But most keep their psychological problems to themselves for fear of being stigmatized or seeing their careers take a nose-dive, the study conducted...

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01 May 2008

'Turkish Armed Forces In Afghanistan', Turkish Press, 30 April 2008

EXCERPT: "Turkey continues to contribute to global peace since the Korean War as well as the recent peacekeeping operations in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Lebanon. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) has become a force sought in all parts of the world to support peace operations. As part of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's directives that said 'Peace at home, peace in the world',...

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01 May 2008

'Inside Afghanistan's "Heroin Fields"', BBC Radio 1, 1 May 2008

EXCERPT: "The sky's clear and the sun's beaming down. The greeny blue river's on one side, and across the water as far out as you can see, are miles and miles of poppy fields. It's beautiful. But it's deadly.  Ninety per cent of the heroin found on UK streets comes from Afghanistan. It's the country's biggest export and brings in a third of its income. At this...

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01 May 2008

'Thousands Flee As US Military Operation Gets Under Way', Integrated Regional Information Network, 1 May 2008

EXCERPT: "Thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in different parts of Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan, as a US military operation in and around Garmsir District against Taliban insurgents gets under way, provincial officials said. 'Our preliminary reports indicate that more than 1,000...

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01 May 2008

'Germany Terrorism Suspects In Afghanistan', United Press International, 1 May 2008

EXCERPT: "More and more extremists from Germany are traveling to Pakistan and Afghanistan to plot terror attacks; a new video shows a German convert to Islam who calls on Islamists back home to follow his example. The video that appeared Tuesday [29 April 2008] on a Turkish-language Web site threw German security experts into a frenzy: It showed a German...

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01 May 2008

'', Associated Press, 30 April 2008

EXCERPT: "Trafficked across the border from Pakistan with her 3-year-old son, Rukhma was handed to an Afghan who raped and abused her, then beat the toddler to death as she watched helplessly. He was jailed for 20 years for murder, but Rukhma ended up in prison too. She was given a four-year sentence on Dec. 5 for adultery and 'escaping her...

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01 May 2008

'', United States House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, 1 May 2008

EXCERPT: "The size of the stabilization and reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, both in terms of cost and number of personnel deployed, far exceeds any similar undertaking since the Vietnam conflict. The United States has deployed a large part of our volunteer...

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01 May 2008

'US Cites New Evidence of Iranian Support for Taliban', Voice of America, 30 April 2008

EXCERPT: "The Pentagon said Wednesday [30 April 2008] Iran is continuing to provide weapons and other material to Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, in addition to its alleged continuing support for Shiite militias in Iraq. Officials spoke to reporters Wednesday shortly after a second U.S. aircraft carrier strike group arrived in the Persian Gulf....

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01 May 2008

'Americans Build Elite Afghan Commando Force', Christian Science Monitor, 1 May 2008

EXCERPT: "Pvt. Said Reza says he's ready to be a soldier in his country's fight against extremists, and as he stands in uniform in the middle of a training camp here with his semiautomatic rifle, kneepads, and American-style dark glasses, he looks the part. Private Reza has already graduated from basic soldier training. He volunteered to become a member...

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