Paris Meeting Overshadowed By Vote Fraud Claims
02 September 2009
'Afghan Meeting In Paris Overshadowed By Vote Fraud Claim', Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, 2 September 2009
EXCERPT: "U.S. President Barack Obama's special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, is meeting representatives from 26 nations in Paris to compare notes on the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan. Discussions are being overshadowed, however, by growing allegations of fraud in the country's recent...
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Blast "Kills Afghan Intelligence Deputy"
02 September 2009
'', AFP, 2 September 2009
EXCERPT: "A Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up outside a mosque in Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing the deputy head of Afghan intelligence and more than 20 other people, officials said. The assassination of such a high-profile member of the Western-backed Afghan security services, which have been on the frontline of an increasingly...
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Contractors Outnumber US Troops In Afghanistan
02 September 2009
'', The New York Times, 2 September 2009
EXCERPT: "Civilian contractors working for the Pentagon in Afghanistan not only outnumber the uniformed troops, according to a report by a Congressional research group, but also form the highest ratio of contractors to military personnel recorded in any war in the history of the United States. On a superficial level, the shift means...
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Opium Production In Significant Decline
02 September 2009
'Afghanistan Opium Production In Significant Decline', United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 2 September 2009
EXCERPT: "Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan is down 22 per cent, opium production is down 10 per cent, while prices are at a 10 year low. The number of opium poppy-free provinces has increased from 18 to 20 out of a total number of 34, and more drugs are being seized as a result of more robust counter-narcotics...
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