US Deploys Tanks for First Time, Further Intensifies Fight
19 November 2010
, The Washington Post, 19 November 2010
EXCERPT: "The U.S. military is sending a contingent of heavily armored battle tanks to Afghanistan for the first time in the nine-year war, defense officials said, a shift that signals a further escalation in the aggressive tactics that have been employed by American forces this fall to attack the Taliban. The deployment of...
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NATO Stresses Global Role in New Strategic Concept; Debates Afghan Draw-down
19 November 2010
NATO Stresses Global Role Despite Afghan Trauma, Reuters, 19 November 2010
EXCERPT: "[...] The alliance's Strategic Concept for the coming decade, approved at a summit in Lisbon, confirms the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's core task of defending its territory and its commitment to collective defense of its 28 members. At the same time it stresses the need for NATO to ensure it can continue to mount expeditionary operations...
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Russia Pushes for Greater Cooperation on Counter-Narcotics
19 November 2010
Russia Pushes for CSTO-NATO Cooperation on Counter-Narcotics, EurasiaNet.org, 17 November 2010
EXCERPT: "As Russian President Dmitry Medvedev prepares to make an appearance at the NATO summit taking place November 19-20, Russian officials are pushing for the Alliance to demonstrate a greater spirit of cooperation with Moscow in combating drug production in Afghanistan. In Lisbon, Medvedev is widely expected to press Western leaders for...
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Most Afghans Unaware of Reasons for War, Sceptical of National Forces: Report
19 November 2010
[pdf], International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) via the Human Security Gateway, 19 November 2010
EXCERPT: "Afghanistan Transition: Missing Variables draws on findings from field research interviewing 1,500 Afghan men in October 2010. [...] Of serious concern, 92% of respondents in the south are unaware of the events of 9/11 or that they triggered the current international presence...
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19 November 2010
[pdf], Oxfam International, 19 November 2010
EXCERPT: "Security for the vast majority of Afghans is rapidly deteriorating. As 29 aid organizations working in Afghanistan, we are deeply concerned about the impact of the escalating conflict on civilians. It is likely that increased violence in 2011 will lead to more civilian casualties, continue to fuel displacement, cut...