"Afghan Women Are Still Oppressed": Karzai
08 March 2011
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has admitted that "Women are still oppressed" in the country. Addressing a women's gathering at a Kabul school marking International Women's Day, Karzai said Afghan women continue to be preys of violence and oppression even after a decade of the fall of the Taliban regime. He added that if someone denies that Women are still oppressed, "it is a lie." He sought help from Islamic leaders and tribal elders to promote non-violence...
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Gates Notes "Dramatic Turnaround" in Sangin; US in Position for July Pullout
08 March 2011
The US claims its marines have managed to subdue the notoriously violent Sangin district in Afghanistan within five months of their arrival, a goal that eluded British forces for four years. The Helmand hotspot, which turned into a death trap for British forces, was described on Tuesday by US defence secretary Robert Gates as perhaps the most dangerous place in the world. He praised the marines for having brought about "a dramatic turnaround" in...
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US Raids Take Out 900 Taliban Leaders; Militants Struggle to Find Replacements
08 March 2011
U.S.-led military forces have captured or killed more than 900 Taliban leaders in the past 10 months, making it harder for the insurgency to maintain its offensive capabilities, according to the U.S. military in Afghanistan. "We are getting indications that the (insurgency) is struggling to find replacements for leaders," said Maj. Sunset Belinsky of the International Security Assistance Force, which oversees coalition military operations in Afghanistan....
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ISAF Lessons Learned: A German Perspective
08 March 2011
Germany has followed the comprehensive approach for the NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) area of operations in Afghanistan, providing counterinsurgency support primarily for security, economic aid, and social development. The author, commander of the Bundeswehr Operations Command in Potsdam, Germany, provides a German perspective of lessons learned from the ISAF mission. To be effective, counterinsurgency requires comprehensive...
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Baghlan Locals Divided over the Role of Local Police (ALP)
08 March 2011
[Afghanistan Analysts Network] AAN returns to the story of the local police (ALP) of Baghlan and particularly the group of Hezb-e Islami fighters who, supported by the US Special Forces, had reconciled and become local police in summer 2010, and were decimated in a Taleban attack in September. Some locals have accused this group of committing crimes. Others however claim they were heroically protected by them. AAN’s Gran Hewad unpacks this...
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