Security Conditions across Provinces Deteriorating: Report
25 January 2011
, The Afghanistan NGO Safety Office, December 2010
EXCERPT: "Consistent with the five year trend (above) attacks by armed opposition groups continue to rise. This year they were 64% higher than 2009, the highest inter-annual growth rate we have recorded (see inset graph above). If averaged, the total of 12,244 armed operations (mostly small arms ambushes, below right) represents roughly 33 attacks...
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Karzai Visits Russia Seeking Security Training, Business Partnerships, Irks US
25 January 2011
Karzai Visit to Russia Irks US, Al Jazeera, 20 January 2011
EXCERPT: "Hamid Karzai, the president of Afghanistan, has arrived in Russia to discuss relations between the two former foes, including possible military agreements for Moscow to supply equipment and training. If successful, the agreements would mark the biggest Russian involvement in Afghanistan since the end of the Soviet invasion of the country more than 30 years ago. Karzai...
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Afghan Security Plan "at Risk" as Projects "Seriously behind Schedule": US Official
25 January 2011
, AFP, 25 January 2011
EXCERPT: "A major US plan to build outposts for Afghan forces has been dogged by delays and shoddy management, jeopardizing plans to bolster the country's army and police, a top official said Monday. The stark warning came from the outgoing inspector general for reconstruction in Afghanistan, Arnold Fields, who said the base-building effort was well off-course...
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UN, EU, and US Welcome Afghan Parliament Deal
25 January 2011
, The Associated Press, 24 January 2011
EXCERPT: "The United Nations and the U.S. government on Tuesday welcomed a deal between Afghanistan's president and elected parliamentarians that will allow the legislature to convene without further delay. They were the first international endorsements of the deal hammered out over the past three days between a president who seemed intent on rejecting the...
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Afghanistan Beyond the Fog of Nation Building: Giving Economic Strategy a Chance
25 January 2011
, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program, 1 January 2011
EXCERPT: "The American public's mood regarding Afghanistan is grim and that of most experts darker still. The editors of Foreign Affairs summarized a recent lead article as offering insights on how the U.S. can 'escape' from Afghanistan, as if a quick Houdini maneuver...
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