UK Special Forces Seize Iranian Rockets in Afghanistan
09 March 2011
British special forces in Afghanistan have intercepted an Iranian shipment of rockets to the Taliban that would have allowed them to double the range of their attacks, western diplomats have said. The rockets were discovered after an intelligence tip-off on 5 February when British special forces and Afghan troops stopped a convoy in Nimruz province, in the south-west of Afghanistan bordering Iran and Pakistan, the officials said. A shoot-out...
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Afghan Civilian Casualties Spike in 2010; Most Deaths Blamed on Insurgents
09 March 2011
Targeted killings of civilians in Afghanistan doubled last year, the United Nations said on Wednesday, as an expanding insurgency strikes at Western efforts to build up the Afghan government and security forces. In an annual report, the United Nations said 2010 marked the most lethal year for noncombatants in the nearly decade-old war, with a 15 percent increase in the number of civilians killed to 2,777 -- continuing a steady rise over the past...
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"Great Disconnect" between Tactical Level Efforts and Strategic Trends
09 March 2011
With the spring thaw approaching, officers and enlisted troops alike say they anticipate another bloody year. And as so-called surge units complete their tours, to be replaced by fresh battalions, many soldiers, now seasoned with Afghan experience, express doubts about the prospects of the larger campaign. The United States military has the manpower and, thus far, the money to occupy the ground that its commanders order it to hold. But common questions...
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Heavy Reliance on Foreign Advisers Raises Doubts about Exit Strategy
09 March 2011
Nearly 300 foreign advisers, most of them Americans, work at Afghanistan's Interior Ministry, and hundreds more work in other government departments, a reliance on foreign expertise that raises doubts about the viability of the West's exit strategy. Afghan President Hamid Karzai will announce later this month his plans for "transition" from heavy international involvement in Afghanistan's governance and security to local control. But the number of...
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HSRP Launches New Conflict Monitors Website
09 March 2011
The launched a new website to host the popular Afghanistan Conflict Monitor and Pakistan Conflict Monitor:
conflictmonitors.org
Building on our strengths—providing busy policy-makers, researchers, and professionals with high quality research and analysis from diverse perspectives—the new Conflict Monitors deliver many improvements:
Interactive charts and maps illustrating trends in violent incidents...
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