Gates: Some Troops Could Leave Afghanistan Early
10 March 2010
, The Associated Press, 10 March 2010
EXCERPT: "U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates raised the possibility Wednesday that some of the U.S. forces involved in the Afghanistan surge could leave the country before President Barack Obama's announced July 2011 date to begin withdrawal. Without giving specifics, Gates said, 'It would have to be conditions-based.' Gates made the remarks during...
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Minister Admits Failures over Soldier Training
10 March 2010
Minister Bill Rammell Admits Failures over Soldier Training, Times Online, 10 March 2010
EXCERPT: "The Government admitted today that four soldiers killed in Afghanistan had been failed after highly critical comments from the coroner at their inquest yesterday. The military training received by Corporal Sarah Bryant ? the first female British casualty of the Afghan conflict ? and three SAS reservists was 'not as good as it should...
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Detainee Torture Risk Raised in 2005: Diplomat
10 March 2010
Afghan Detainee Torture Risk Raised in 2005: Diplomat, CBC News, 10 March 2010
EXCERPT: "A Canadian diplomat with extensive experience in Afghanistan says she raised the possibility that detainees transferred from Canadian to Afghan custody were at risk of torture back in 2005, but her concerns were ignored. In an exclusive interview with CBC News, Eillen Olexiuk, who arrived in Afghanistan in 2002 and was second in command at the...
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Systemic Failures May Give Blackwater Another Afghan Contract
10 March 2010
, The Washington Independent, 8 March 2010
EXCERPT: "By March 24, the private security corporation formerly known as Blackwater ? last seen in Afghanistan shooting civilians and stealing weapons intended for the Afghan police ? may win a new Defense Department contract to train the Afghan police. And nearly no one in the government wants to own up to how it could happen. Interviews...
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