20 May 2008

'', International Herald Tribune, 18 May 2008

EXCERPT: "NATO rejected on Sunday [18 May 2008] a report by a U.N. rapporteur about the number of civilian killings at the hands of the alliance-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. The U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions Philip Alston said on Thursday some 200 Afghan civilians...

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20 May 2008

'Global Peace Index 2008 Report Reveals Global Upturn In Peacefulness', PR Newswire, 20 May 2008

EXCERPT: "Most countries in the world are performing better against key measures of peacefulness compared with last year, according to the latest rankings of the Global Peace Index (GPI), now in its second year. This year the Index has been expanded to rank 140 countries - from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe - according to how peaceful they...

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20 May 2008

'Afghan South: Will NATO-ISAF Adopt the Strategies & Tactics for Counterinsurgency brought to RC South by the US Marines?', Canadian American Strategic Review, May 2008

EXCERPT: "In a recent press conference, US Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, said that the same kind of Taliban insurgency that has plagued eastern Afghanistan  had  now become entrenched in southern Afganistan. [1] Secretary Gates remarked  that...

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20 May 2008

'Diggers Launch Strike On Taliban In Afghanistan's Uruzgan Province', The Australian, 20 May 2008

EXCERPT: "Australian and coalition forces have launched a major strike against Taliban insurgents in the violence-prone Baluchi Pass of Afghanistan's southern Oruzgan province. The push is part of a series of operations - among the biggest since the spring thaw - involving combat engineers, infantry, cavalry and support troops. The Defence...

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20 May 2008

'NATO Beefs Up Forces Along Pakistan-Afghanistan Border', Daily Times Pakistan, 20 May 2008

EXCERPT: "NATO has reinforced troops along the Afghan border, anticipating that the peace deals between Pakistan and the Taliban will allow the insurgents to launch more attacks into Afghanistan, NATO's commander in Afghanistan has said. 'Our analysis of the previous peace deals ... is that when that dialogue is ongoing or when talks have been...

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20 May 2008

'UK Concern Over "Old" Army Kit', BBC News, 18 May 2008

EXCERPT: "[Liberal Democrat leader] Nick Clegg has said he is concerned the British army in Afghanistan has "old kit" and suffers equipment shortages. The Lib Dem leader, who is on his first visit to the country, also said there were 'big issues' over soldiers' pay. Earlier, he said failure in Afghanistan would be "devastating" and the Nato mission...

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20 May 2008

'German Special Forces In Afghanistan Let Taliban Commander Escape', Spiegel Online, 19 May 2008

EXCERPT: "German special forces had an important Taliban commander in their sights in Afghanistan. But he escaped -- because the Germans were not authorized to use lethal force. The German government's hands-tied approach to the war is causing friction with its NATO allies. The wheat is lush and green in the fields of northern Afghanistan...

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20 May 2008

'Norway Not To Send As Many Troops To Afghanistan As Planned', RTT News, 19 May 2008

EXCERPT: "Norway has decided to reduce its proposed troops surge in Afghanistan by 50 to 60 soldiers due to economic constraints and changing requirements, its defense ministry said Monday [19 May 2008]. Norway, which is a member of the NATO alliance, proposed last year that it would send about 100 infantry soldiers to bolster the NATO-led peacekeeping...

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20 May 2008

'India To Help Afghanistan Set Up Local Government Agencies', Thaindian News, 19 May 2008

EXCERPT: "India has pledged to help Afghanistan set up local government institutions by deputing Indian experts here as well as by attaching Afghan local representatives with Indian local governance bodies. This was decided during Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar's four-day visit beginning Saturday [17 May 2008]. A memorandum of understanding...

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20 May 2008

Soraya S. Nelson, 'Afghans Frustrated by Slow Pace of Development', National Public Radio (NPR), 19 May 2008

EXCERPT: " Afghan Gov. Arsala Jamal is in a bind. He wants to build a gate between two walled compounds that house a girls' school in Khost, Afghanistan. That way, the girls won't need to walk outside and risk attack in this volatile province southeast of Kabul. In America, Jamal might pick up the phone and call the school board...

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