14 January 2010
UK Plans "Trust Fund" to Woo Taliban Fighters, The Guardian, 14 January 2010
EXCERPT: "Taliban fighters who lay down their arms will be offered money from an international trust fund under a plan being drawn up by British government officials, it emerged today. For months, British and US diplomats and intelligence officers have been approaching Taliban commanders considered 'reconcilable'. However, their approaches...
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Under McChrystal, Drone Strikes Quietly Rise
14 January 2010
, The Washington Independent, 14 January 2010
EXCERPT: "Last week's two drone strikes in Afghanistan rattled journalists. Didn?t Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, sharply restrict offensive air strikes? Laura King, reporting from Kabul for the Los Angeles Times, wondered if the two strikes, occurring in rapid succession, 'signaled what could be a change...
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The Quetta Shura Taliban in Southern Afghanistan
14 January 2010
Jeffrey Dressler & Carl Forsberg, , Institute for the Study of War, 4 January 2010
EXCERPT: "Much of the recent debate regarding the war in Afghanistan has focused on al Qaeda, specifically, the extent of their operations in Afghanistan and the Pakistan border region. Often overlooked in the strategic calculus are other enemy groups operating in the region and their ability to challenge...
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US Approves Training to Expand Afghan Army
14 January 2010
, The New York Times, 14 January 2010
EXCERPT: "The Pentagon has authorized a substantial increase in the number of Afghan security forces it plans to train by next year, in time for President Obama's deadline for United States combat forces to begin withdrawing from the country, military officials said Thursday. The new training goals would increase the size of the Afghan army from its present 102,400...
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