Saudis Withdraw from Peace Talks after Taliban Fail to Sever Links to Terrorists
10 November 2010
Saudi Departure a Blow for Taliban Peace Talks, CBS News, 9 November 2010
EXCERPT: "Saudi Arabia's unexpected withdrawal from is role in peace talks between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the Taliban has jeopardized prospects for an early end to the bloody fighting in Afghanistan, senior Western and Arab diplomats in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region tell CBS News. The withdrawal from the talks, announced in a Nov. 7 statement by...
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Army "Misleadingly Optimistic" on the State of War: Ex-diplomat
10 November 2010
Army is "Misleadingly Optimistic" over Afghanistan, Says Ex-diplomat, The Guardian, 9 November 2010
EXCERPT: "Britain's former special envoy to Afghanistan said today that the army was submitting 'misleadingly optimistic' reports on the state of the war and that ministers who questioned them were accused of being 'defeatist or disloyal'. Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, who left the Foreign Office last month after...
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The Battle for Afghanistan: Militancy and Conflict in Kandahar
10 November 2010
[pdf], New America Foundation, 1 November 2010
EXCERPT: "As Afghanistan's cultural and political heartland, Kandahar is a province of key strategic importance for foreign forces, the Afghan government, and the insurgency. A sizable chunk of the Taliban's senior leadership hails from the province, and the cultural and political dynamics of rural Kandahar shape aspects of the...
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Govt Shuts Down 150 Afghan, Foreign Aid Groups
10 November 2010
Afghanistan Shuts Down 150 Afghan, Foreign Aid Groups, Reuters, 9 November 2010
EXCERPT: "Afghanistan has ordered around 150 aid groups, including four foreign organizations, to shut down for failing to submit reports on their projects and finances, a government official said on Tuesday. The ruling by a government-backed commission which monitors aid groups includes 145 domestic organizations and has immediate effect, said a spokesman...
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Investigators Outraged over Decision to Drop Corruption Charges against Karzai's Aide
10 November 2010
, The Washington Post, 10 November 2010
EXCERPT: "A decision this week to drop corruption charges against an aide to President Hamid Karzai has outraged Afghan investigators who participated in the case and could undermine the pursuit of other corruption investigations, according to Afghan officials. One police commander, upset that the attorney general is...
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