Peace with Taliban Remains Elusive
26 February 2010
Peace with Taliban Remains Elusive, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, 26 February 2010
EXCERPT: "'If there's an atmosphere of trust, I'd like to meet the Afghan president and brief him,' a ranking Taliban commander recently told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan on condition of anonymity. The leader of a band of about 40 fighters in Afghanistan's most violent province, Helmand, indicated that, given the chance, he would tell Hamid Karzai...
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Germany Approves Troop Increase for Afghanistan
26 February 2010
German Lawmakers Troop Increase for Afghanistan, Deutsche Welle, 26 February 2010
EXCERPT: "The lower house of the German parliament, the Bundestag, voted on Friday to approve a plan to raise the number of Bundeswehr soldiers in Afghanistan. Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet had approved the plan two weeks ago, in which an additional 850 troops would be sent to Afghanistan, boosting the number of soldiers on the ground to around...
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Suicide Bombers Target Kabul Hotels
26 February 2010
Suicide Bombers Target Kabul Hotels Killing Seventeen, The Telegraph, 26 February 2010
EXCERPT: "Up to nine Indians, an Italian diplomat and a French film maker were among the dead in the worst assault on the Afghan capital for several months. Witnesses said a four-hour battle began with a car bombing and included suicide bombers and Taliban fighters throwing grenades. Guests were knocked from their beds by the early morning explosions...
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Law on Reserve Seats for Women MPs Overturned
26 February 2010
Karzai Overturns Law that Reserves Seats for Women MPs, Times Online, 26 February 2010
EXCERPT: "President Karzai has given his election cronies the authority to find new ways of filling women's seats in forthcoming parliamentary ballots, in a move that critics fear will erode constitutional safeguards designed to guarantee female MPs. A unilateral decree issued last week gave the Independent Election Commission, which ran the fraudulent...
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NATO: Deaths of Eight Boys Were a Mistake
25 February 2010
NATO Admits That Deaths of Eight Boys Were a Mistake, Times Online, 25 February 2010
EXCERPT: "A night-time raid in eastern Afghanistan in which eight schoolboys from one family were killed was carried out on the basis of faulty intelligence and should never have been authorised, a Times investigation has found. Ten children and teenagers died when troops stormed a remote mountain compound near the border with Pakistan in December. At...
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US Improves Treatment of Bagram Prisoners
25 February 2010
With New Bagram Prison, US Looks to Put Bad Press of Years Past to Rest, Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 25 February 2010
EXCERPT: "The bearded Taliban prisoners at Bagram broke off from a spirited game of soccer in the yard to greet a McClatchy Newspapers reporter, the first journalist allowed into the notorious U.S. jail in Afghanistan since detainees there were moved into a new multimillion-dollar facility. 'Nice to see you guys!'...
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South Korea Clears Afghan Troop Deployment
25 February 2010
Summer Deployment Approved for Afghanistan, Joong Ang Daily, 25 February 2010
EXCERPT: "The National Assembly yesterday approved a plan to dispatch Korean troops to Afghanistan on a mission to protect civilians working on recovery projects in the war-torn nation. Some 350 troops will be sent to Parwan Province this summer with a mandate of a two and a half years. The deployment marks a return to Afghanistan for Korean troops. Medical...
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Afghan Officials Claim Control Over Taliban Area
25 February 2010
, The New York Times, 25 February 2010
EXCERPT: "The black, red and green flag of Afghanistan was hoisted over the center of this onetime militant stronghold on Thursday, as Afghan officials symbolically claimed control after a major military offensive by Afghan and international troops to drive out Taliban fighters. With Afghan soldiers, tribal elders and residents of Marja looking on, the governor...
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UN Urges Steps to Prevent Child Deaths in Conflict
24 February 2010
UN Urges Steps to Prevent Child Deaths in Conflict, UN News Centre, 24 February 2010
EXCERPT: "A senior United Nations human rights official today called on international troops fighting militants in Afghanistan to follow directives designed to guard against civilian deaths, drawing particular attention to the plight of children caught up in the conflict. Last year, some 346 children were killed by warring factions in Afghanistan, the...
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Blackwater Workers Took Afghan Police Assault Rifles
24 February 2010
Blackwater Workers Took Police Assault Rifles, Hearing Told, The Guardian, 24 February 2010
EXCERPT: "Employees of American defence contractor Blackwater took more than 500 assault rifles that were intended for the Afghan police force and routinely carried weapons without permission, it emerged in a hearing of the Senate armed services committee today. It also emerged that to shed its sullied reputation and win contracting business...
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