Tajikistan Hunts for Elusive Islamic Militant
19 October 2010
, The Associated Press via the Washington Post, 19 October 2010
EXCERPT: "They call him Tajikistan's Osama bin Laden. In the wild mountains east of the capital Dushanbe, thousands of soldiers are on the hunt for a man authorities say is masterminding a plot to turn this impoverished and unstable country on Afghanistan's northern border into a haven for Islamic terrorists. Tajikistan...
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US Looks to Grass-roots Efforts to Stem Corruption
19 October 2010
, The Washington Post, 17 October 2010
EXCERPT: "Stung by a series of setbacks in their efforts to fight corruption in Afghanistan, U.S. officials have begun putting more stock in grass-roots approaches. While graft in top political circles has long angered Afghans, many say routine corruption such as bribery and malfeasance by local officials does even more...
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Dangerous Liaisons with the Afghan Taliban: The Feasibility and Risks of Negotiations
19 October 2010
[pdf], United States Insitute of Peace via the Human Security Gateway, October 2010
EXCERPT: "This report is based on six months of field research between January and June 2010, funded by the U.S. Institute of Peace and Canadian Global Peace and Security Fund. The research involved separate, in-depth interviews with eighty individuals, mainly in Kabul...
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Private Security Firms Protecting Embassies, Military Bases Allowed to Stay
19 October 2010
, AFP, 19 October 2010
EXCERPT: "The Afghan government Sunday rolled back its plan to disband all private security firms, declaring that those protecting embassies and military bases could maintain those operations in the country. President Hamid Karzai's office said firms 'providing security for embassies, transport of diplomats, diplomatic residences, international...
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Bin Laden, Deputy Hiding in NW Pakistan: NATO Official
19 October 2010
NATO Official: Bin Laden, Deputy Hiding in Northwest Pakistan, CNN, 18 October 2010
EXCERPT: "Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri are believed to be hiding close to each other in houses in northwest Pakistan, but are not together, a senior NATO official said. 'Nobody in al Qaeda is living in a cave,' said the official, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the intelligence matters involved. ...
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Taliban Influence Grows in North
19 October 2010
Taliban Influence Grows in North, The Wall Street Journal, 18 October 2010
EXCERPT: "The Taliban's influence in northern Afghanistan has expanded in recent months from a few hotspots to much of the region, as insurgents respond to the U.S.-led coalition's surge in the south by seizing new ground in areas once considered secure. Taliban militants stop traffic nightly at checkpoints on the road from Kabul to Uzbekistan, just outside...
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