Armed Contractors in Firing Line
18 June 2010
, Asia Times Online, 18 June 2010
EXCERPT: "A US Congress commission is to consider whether private contractors such as Xe Services, formerly known as Blackwater, should be allowed to continue to provide armed security for convoys, diplomatic and other personnel, and military bases and other facilities in Afghanistan and Iraq. The bi-partisan commission will over two days cross-examine 14 witnesses from academia,...
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Afghanistan Pins Hopes on Dams for Power and Crops
18 June 2010
Afghanistan Pins Hopes on Dams for Power and Crops, Reuters, 18 June 2010
EXCERPT: "Afghanistan will ask the international community to invest in a $12 billion dam construction programme in an attempt to raise power generation to boost irrigation, its economy minister said on Friday. Landlocked Afghanistan has had historical disputes with its central and south Asian neighbours over the flow of water from mountain rivers which irrigate...
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Germany's Ex-Defense Officials Skeptical of Success
18 June 2010
Germany's Mission in Afghanistan: Ex-Defense Officials Skeptical of Success, Spiegel Online, 18 June 2010
EXCERPT: "The belief that things will end well in Afghanistan is dwindling in Germany. An increasing number of security experts recommend an orderly withdrawal and even those who were involved in sending the Bundeswehr on the mission are now voicing doubts about ultimate success. Former Defense Minister Peter Struck, the man who once...
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War Zone Corruption Allegations Up Sharply
18 June 2010
War Zone Corruption Allegations Up Sharply, USA Today, 18 June 2010
EXCERPT: "The U.S. government, which is pressing Iraqi and Afghan leaders to get tough on internal corruption, is doing the same in its ranks. Cases of suspected fraud and other wrongdoing by U.S. troops and contractors overseeing reconstruction and relief projects in Iraq and Afghanistan are up dramatically. James Burch, the Defense Department's deputy inspector...
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