Only Political Settlement with Taliban Can Bring Real Stability: Rashid
16 March 2011
"Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of US military forces in Afghanistan, asserted during a recent US Senate hearing that American troops had made sufficient progress against Islamic militants to proceed with a plan to hand over responsibility for security to the Afghan government by 2014. A leading expert on Afghan affairs warns, however, that officials in Kabul are woefully unprepared, and unless there are drastic changes made in US policy soon,...
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ISAF Suspends Ground Commander, Investigates Civilian Deaths in Kunar
16 March 2011
"The NATO-led force in Afghanistan said on Wednesday it was investigating yet another air strike that had apparently gone wrong, this time killing two children, and had suspended one of its commanders and grounded a helicopter crew. Civilian casualties caused by foreign troops are a major source of tension between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Western allies. They also anger Afghans, complicating efforts to win their support for a war that...
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Inquest into Death of British Soldier Resumes
16 March 2011
"A British soldier was shot dead seconds after leading his team from a helicopter during a 'risky' special forces mission to rescue a journalist kidnapped by the Taliban, an inquest has heard. Corporal John Harrison, from the Parachute Regiment, suffered a fatal head wound during the attempt to free the reporter Stephen Farrell, who has dual British/Irish citizenship. Farrell was rescued but Sultan Munadi, an Afghan interpreter working alongside...
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New Panjwaii Governor Praises Stability in Canadian Secured Area
16 March 2011
"In a surprisingly glowing assessment of the district where Canadian troops are concentrated, the new governor of Panjwaii, in southern Afghanistan, has declared the area '100 per cent secure' from insurgents. 'We have peace and stability in Panjwaii,' Haji Fazluddin Agha said Tuesday, referring to the region southwest of Kandahar City. 'I can say Panjwaii is now 100 per cent secure. We have government presence and influence all over the district,...
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