Taliban Capitalize on Afghan Logging Ban
09 April 2010
Taliban Capitalize on Afghan Logging Ban, The Wall Street Journal, 9 April 2010
EXCERPT: "Giant piles of prime timber line the roadsides along the Kunar River valley. The cut wood, worth tens of millions of dollars, has been slowly rotting away since 2006, when President Hamid Karzai banned logging and lumber sales in Afghanistan. The decree was designed to preserve the nation's dwindling forests. But, American military commanders and...
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Merkel Defends Afghan Policy at Soldiers' Memorial
09 April 2010
Merkel Defends Afghan Policy at Soldiers' Memorial, Deutsche Welle, 9 April 2010
EXCERPT: "Chancellor Angela Merkel said three German soldiers killed on Good Friday in a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan had paid "the highest price a soldier can pay," but defended her government's Afghan policy, saying it was protecting Germans against terrorist attacks. 'Our troops perform their service and fight in Afghanistan because we want to prevent terrorists...
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Afghan Anger At US Casualty Payments
09 April 2010
, Eurasia Review, 9 April 2010
EXCERPT: "An ad hoc system of payments by the United States military primarily to victims of its Helmand operations has enraged Afghans who feel a price has been put on their lives. Existence of payment guidelines for commanders in the field regarding civilian casualties was first reported by western media in February and quickly picked up by their Afghan counterparts. According...
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US Faults Independence of Afghan Audit Office
09 April 2010
, The Washington Post, 9 April 2010
EXCERPT: "Afghanistan's lead audit body lacks the independence needed to track billions of dollars in public and foreign funds while President Hamid Karzai's office actively meddles, a U.S. report said on Friday. The Obama administration sees pervasive corruption as a big threat to stabilizing Afghanistan and insists that Karzai should tackle graft in his...
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