Military Weighs Private Security On Front Lines
27 July 2009
'', The Washington Post, 26 July 2009
EXCERPT: "The U.S. military command is considering contracting a private firm to manage security on the front lines of the war in Afghanistan, even as Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates says that the Pentagon intends to cut back on the use of private security contractors. On a Web site listing federal business opportunities, the Army this month...
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"The ANSF Is Vital To NATO/ISAF Success"
27 July 2009
'', Center for Strategic and International Studies, 27 July 2009
EXCERPT: "Military action is only a part of the strategy needed to win in Afghanistan, but no other effort towards victory will matter if the Afghan people cannot be given enough security and stability to allow successful governance, the opportunity for development, and an established civil society and...
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First Local Taliban Ceasefire Fell Apart
27 July 2009
'Short-Lived Cease-Fire With Taliban Dims Prospects For Broader Deals', The Christian Science Monitor, 27 July 2009
EXCERPT: "Almost as soon as the Afghan government trumpeted a local cease-fire with the Taliban Monday, the purported deal fell apart. The breakdown of this minor agreement underscores the extreme difficulty the government and its international backers face in finding a political solution to the insurgency. The...
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Britain And US Prepared To Open Talks With Taliban
27 July 2009
'Britain And US Prepared To Open Talks With Taliban', The Guardian, 27 July 2009
EXCERPT: "A concerted effort to start unprecedented talks between Taliban and British and American envoys was outlined today in a significant change in tactics designed to bring about a breakthrough in the attritional, eight-year conflict in Afghanistan. Senior ministers and commanders on the ground believe they have created the right conditions...
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