Pomegranates Usurp Afghan Poppies
13 January 2009
'Pomegranates Usurp Afghan Poppies', ONLINE International News Network, 13 January 2009
EXCERPT: "Afghanistan's heavy economic reliance on illicit opium poppies has long been an impediment for the country's development. The most recent attempt to usurp the crop's importance will see it replaced with pomegranates. The drive to replace Afghan poppies is part of a US$12m dollar American initiative to update and expand...
Read the post »
Afghan Insurgency Inspiring New Fighters: Analysts
13 January 2009
'', AFP, 12 January 2009
EXCERPT: "Afghanistan's long years of unrest have produced a new generation of Islamic militants, many of them bent on holy war, who are reinforcing the 'old Taliban' in their deadly insurgency, analysts say. When the Taliban regime was toppled in a US-led invasion in late 2001, the hardliners were considered a spent force. But in their...
Read the post »
Afghan Force Supplies Face Pakistani Disruption
13 January 2009
'Afghan Force Supplies Face Pakistani Disruption', Reuters, 13 January 2009
EXCERPT: "Western military supplies passing through Pakistan to Afghanistan faced more disruption on Tuesday after protesters blocked one route and militants launched the first attack in two weeks on another. Pakistani supply routes to land-locked Afghanistan are vital for Western forces battling a resurgent Taliban and they are likely to become only...
Read the post »
How US Tries To Limit Civilian Deaths In Afghanistan
13 January 2009
'How US Tries To Limit Civilian Deaths In Afghanistan', The Christian Science Monitor, 13 January 2009
EXCERPT: "In recent months, coalition deaths here have outnumbered those in Iraq, and attacks in 2008 were up by 28 percent over the previous year, says Col. Skip Davis, strategic adviser to Gen. David McKiernan, who commands the approximately 70,000 troops in Afghanistan. A record 294 NATO soldiers were killed in Afghanistan...
Read the post »