23 January 2009

'', The Associated Press, 23 January 2009

EXCERPT: "President Dmitry Medvedev said Friday that Moscow is ready to help stabilize the situation in Afghanistan by allowing the United States and others to allow cargo for coalition forces there to be shipped across Russia. Medvedev said that Russia also is prepared to help international efforts to combat drug-trafficking and terrorism...

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23 January 2009

Jacob Townsend, 'Upcoming Changes To The Drug-Insurgency Nexus in Afghanistan', The Jamestown Foundation / Terrorism Monitor Volume 7 Issue, 23 January 2009

EXCERPT: "While there are many Taliban-controlled villages in Afghanistan that do not cultivate opium, there are few villages cultivating opium that are not under Taliban control. The concentration of opium production in a handful of southern provinces has placed Afghanistan's...

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23 January 2009

'Disputes Cloud Afghan "Public Guards" Plan', Los Angeles Times, 23 January 2009

EXCERPT: "In village after village, the pattern is the same. Sinister 'night letters' threaten tribal elders considered loyal to the government. The local girls school is forced to close down -- or goes up in flames. Those bold or reckless enough to travel by road risk ambush, abduction or worse. Alarmed by the tightening Taliban...

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23 January 2009

'NATO General Approves Of Afghanistan Troop Surge', CTV News, 23 January 2009

EXCERPT: "NATO's top commander in Southern Afghanistan believes the U.S. president's intention to send an additional 30,000 American troops into the war-torn country will be a 'very effective' strategic move. Maj. Gen. Mart de Kruif says the troop surge ordered by U.S. President Barack Obama will help improve the level of security that...

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