Taleban Defectors "are Rejoining Insurgency"
22 April 2010
Taleban Defectors "are Rejoining Insurgency", Times Online, 22 April 2010
EXCERPT: "Almost a quarter of the low-ranking Taleban commanders lured out of the insurgency in southern Afghanistan have rejoined the fight because of broken government promises and paltry rewards, a scathing report on reintegration claims. Nato plans to spend more than $1 billion (?648 million) over the next five years tempting Taleban foot soldiers to lay down...
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Merkel Tries to Beat Back Opposition to Afghanistan
22 April 2010
, The New York Times, 22 April 2010
EXCERPT: "Faced with solid pubic opposition against the war in Afghanistan, Chancellor Angela Merkel told legislators Thursday that German troops were not yet going to withdraw from the country, but would remain there to prevent the spread of international terrorism. 'We cannot expect our soldiers to be brave if we lack the courage to do what we decided,'...
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Afghan Parliament a Check on Karzai's Authority
22 April 2010
, The Washington Post, 22 April 2010
EXCERPT: "The Afghan parliament, long a bastion of dysfunction and docility, has emerged this spring as a robust check on President Hamid Karzai's power, giving the United States an unlikely ally as it tries to persuade the government here to clean up its act. Although the United States and the parliament do not appear to be directly...
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Poppy Eradication Pits Russia vs. NATO
22 April 2010
In Afghanistan, Poppy Eradication Pits Russia vs. NATO, World Politics Review, 20 April 2010
EXCERPT: "Russian officials have recently accused U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan of 'conniving with drug producers' and urged the coalition to pursue aggressive aerial eradication operations against Afghanistan's opium poppy crops. Despite having spent over $1 billion on counternarcotics programs in Afghanistan since 2002, including...
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