27 November 2009

Pushing Alternative Crops in Afghan Opium Fight, Reuters, 27 November 2009

EXCERPT: "From the helicopter, you can see the empty fields of southern Afghanistan's Helmand River valley. Now comes the question: when the fields are lush again in spring, will farmers be growing opium poppy or wheat? 'This year we want to reach a minimum reduction of at least 50 percent,' said Gulab Mangal, Governor of Helmand, Afghanistan's...

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27 November 2009

, The New York Times, 27 November 2009

EXCERPT: "Far from the heartland of the Taliban insurgency in the south, this once peaceful northern province was one place American and Afghan officials thought they did not have to worry about. Afghan officials cut the police force here by a third two years ago and again earlier this year. Security was left to a few thousand German peacekeepers. Only one...

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27 November 2009

German Minister Resigns over Afghan Airstrike, Deutsche Welle, 27 November 2009

EXCERPT: "Germany's former defense minister Franz Josef Jung has stepped down from his cabinet position over an alleged cover-up regarding civilian deaths during a NATO airstrike in Afghanistan in September. Announcing his resignation to reporters in Berlin on Friday, Jung said he would take responsibility for any policy mistakes. 'I told Chancellor Merkel...

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27 November 2009

Shahrbanou Tadjbakhsh, Conflicted Outcomes and Values: (Neo)Liberal Peace in Central Asia and Afghanistan, International Peacekeeping 16.5 (November 2009): 635-651

EXCERPT: "The implementation of liberal peace in the context of both transition economies and post-conflict situations often involves policy advice from international financial institutions for rapid opening of the economic and political systems. Experience, however, shows that...

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