04 June 2008

JoAnne O?Bryant and Michael Waterhouse, '', Congressional Research Service (CRS), 9 May 2008

EXCERPT: "As interest in troop level deployments continues, there remains an increase of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. President Bush announced in a February 15, 2007, speech the Administration's plans for an increase in U.S. forces in Afghanistan, including a planned gradual increase of 3,200 U.S. troops on the ground....

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04 June 2008

'Water Management, Livestock and the Opium Economy: Changing Levels of Opium Cultivation (Nangarhar/Ghor)', Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, May 2008

EXCERPT: "This report looks at changes in opium poppy cultivation from 2005-06 to 2006-07 in two provinces of Afghanistan: Nangarhar in the east of the country and Ghor in the centre. Nangarhar is of particular interest, both because it experienced a comprehensive ban on opium...

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04 June 2008

'China: Afghan Investments Reveals Larger Strategy', Eurasianet.org, 3 June 2008

EXCERPT: "China has won a $3.5 billion contract to develop Afghanistan's Aynak copper field, the largest foreign direct investment project in the history of Afghanistan. The size of the bid -- almost double the expected amount -- surprised other potential foreign investors. By some estimates, the 28-square-kilometer copper field in Logar Province could contain...

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04 June 2008

'France To Deploy Troops To Afghanistan', Press TV Iran, 4 June 2008

EXCERPT: "France is set to send 700 soldiers to Afghan Kapisa province near Kabul where most of the other French forces are being stationed. President Nicolas Sarkozy announced the extra troops, on top of about 1,670 already in the country, at a NATO summit in Bucharest but did not say where they would be deployed. It has been decided they would go to Kapisa northeast...

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04 June 2008

'', Federation of American Scientists / Department of Defense, 30 May 2008

EXCERPT: "U.S. forces must be prepared to properly control, maintain, protect, and account for all categories of detainees in accordance with applicable U.S. law, the law of war, and applicable U.S. policy. The challenges of today's security environment and the nature of the enemy require clear operational and strategic...

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04 June 2008

'Hunger, Water Scarcity Displaces Thousands Of Afghans', Reuters, 4 June 2008

EXCERPT: "Thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes due to food and water shortages in northern Afghanistan, the government said on Wednesday [4 June 2008]. Many parts of Afghanistan did not receive enough rain and snow this year, increasing concern the country may face drought again, amid global soaring food prices that have already hit the...

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04 June 2008

'Parachute Regiment Launches Surprise Attack On Taliban In Afghanistan', The Telegraph, 4 June 2008

EXCERPT: "The Parachute Regiment began major operations against a Taliban redoubt in Afghanistan on Tuesday [3 June 2008], launching a surprise raid on suspected insurgent strongholds. With Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries booming out over loudspeakers, paratroopers embarked on large Chinook helicopters at Kandahar airfield to fly into enemy-held...

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04 June 2008

'Canadian Contractor In Afghanistan Cited For Deficiencies', Canada.com / Ottawa Citizen, 3 June 2008

EXCERPT: "The Canadian Forces prime civilian contractor in Kandahar had to implement a 'get well plan' three years ago to correct management deficiencies, Canwest News Service has learned. The federal government forced SNC Lavalin PAE to take corrective steps in the delivery of its contract to support the Forces' Afghanistan mission in...

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04 June 2008

'Promoting Perfume, Not Poppies, In Afghanistan', National Public Radio, 4 June 2008

EXCERPT: " Since the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan, poppy production has skyrocketed in the country. The Afghan heroin industry is by far the largest in the world. For the past several years, a group of Afghan and foreign businessmen has been trying to offer an alternative, by urging farmers to grow flowers for perfume instead of for drugs. But...

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04 June 2008

'', Agence France Presse, 4 June 2008

EXCERPT: "MPs accused the defence ministry on Wednesday of a 'gold standard cock-up' for spending hundreds of millions of pounds on eight helicopters grounded since delivery in 2001. The government's spending watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO) found the eight Chinook Mk3s have been lying idle in hangars in southwest England at a time...

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