An Interview with Karzai
21 December 2009
Karzai's Challenge, Newsweek, 21 December 2009
EXCERPT: "Will a surge of American soldiers turn the tide in Afghanistan? Or will the United States endure a defeat similar to the one suffered by the Russian Army not so long ago? In the wake of President Obama's decision to send an additional 30,000 young men and women to fight Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan, all eyes are on Afghan President Hamid Karzai?who now suggests...
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Govt Forces Repel Taliban Attack on Police Station
21 December 2009
Taliban Clash With Afghan Forces, Al Jazeera, 21 December 2009
EXCERPT: "Two Taliban fighters have been killed in a clash with Afghan police near a police station in eastern Paktia province, officials have said. The Taliban fighters launched an assault on the police headquarters in Gardez, the provincial capital, shortly before 10am local time (05:30 GMT) on Monday and opened fire on security forces, Rahullah Samon, a provincial government...
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High-Level Corruption Hampers Local Governance
21 December 2009
, The Associated Press, 21 December 2009
EXCERPT: "Building up local government is key to improving people's lives and winning their support against the Taliban. The experience in Rig district in Helmand province, a crossroads for Taliban fighters entering from nearby Pakistan, highlights just how difficult that challenge can be. 'Right now it is a race between us and the Taliban,'...
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Afghan National Police "Part of the Problem"
21 December 2009
, Toronto Star, 21 December 2009
EXCERPT: "'In Afghanistan, there's a saying that the Afghan National Police will shake you down by day and the Taliban by night,' says professor Tom Johnson, of the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., who has studied the turbulent country for 25 years. 'They are part of the problem, not part of the solution.' But...
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