NATO Scraps Kandahar Assault due to Weak Afghan Leadership
04 May 2010
U.S. Scraps Assault due to Weak Afghan Partnership, Reuters Canada, 4 May 2010
EXCERPT: "NATO commanders scrapped a helicopter assault by hundreds of U.S. and Afghan troops last week because the Afghans weren't able to take charge, a U.S. military officer familiar with the planning said. The decision to cancel the assault, designed to prepare the ground for the biggest offensive of the nearly nine-year-old war, has frustrated U.S....
Read the post »
Karzai to Seek Obama's Approval for Peace Deals
04 May 2010
, The Washington Post, 3 May 2010
EXCERPT: "The most meaningful part of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's visit to Washington next week may end up being talks about talks. Karzai's advisers say one of his main goals for the May 12 meeting is winning President Obama's support for negotiating with insurgent leaders, and for a Kabul peace conference that has been...
Read the post »
German Troops Battle Growing Northern Insurgency
04 May 2010
German Troops Face Pitched Battles in Afghanistan as Insurgency Spreads, Times Online, 3 May 2010
EXCERPT: "German troops are fighting the first pitched battles witnessed by the Bundeswehr since 1945 in the face of a growing Taleban insurgency in the north of Afghanistan. Security has deteriorated in areas such as Badghis province in the northwest, Kunduz, Baghlan and some parts of Takhar and Badakhshan provinces. [...] What is alarming...
Read the post »
NATO to Reward "Courageous Restraint" in Civilian Killings
04 May 2010
, The Associated Press, 4 May 2010
EXCERPT: "NATO commanders are weighing a new way to reduce civilian casualties in Afghanistan: recognizing soldiers for 'courageous restraint' if they avoid using force that could endanger innocent lives. The concept comes as the coalition continues to struggle with the problem of civilian casualties despite repeated warnings from the top...
Read the post »