Taliban Leaders Aid Hunt for al Qaeda, Afghans Say
12 May 2011
Senior Afghan officials say some Taliban leaders are offering intelligence about al Qaeda to prove they are serious about peace talks with the Afghan government. [...] Amid suspicions of Pakistani complicity in providing a haven for bin Laden, the claims of Taliban outreach serve to assert Afghan authority in peace efforts and play down the notion that only Pakistan can bring Taliban leaders to the table. The Afghan officials who described the outreach...
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U.S., Pakistan Face a Bloody Afghan Spring with a Bruised Alliance
12 May 2011
As spring fighting season kicks off in Afghanistan between coalition forces and insurgents, the focus is on Pakistan. The discovery of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad raised fresh questions about the country’s role in the insurgency. [...] Pakistan has projected itself as one of the West’s staunchest partners in the war on terror. But the allegiance has created a conundrum for Pakistan, forcing it to target the Taliban and other Islamic...
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NATO Troops Kill Afghan Policeman, Woman in Night Raid
12 May 2011
Afghan and foreign troops shot dead an Afghan policeman and an unarmed young woman during a raid on a compound in eastern Afghanistan overnight, the NATO-led force and Afghan officials said Thursday. The mistaken killing of civilians by foreign troops is a major source of friction between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Western backers, and complicates efforts to win support from ordinary Afghans for an increasingly unpopular war. So-called...
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Britain to Begin Withdrawing Troops this Summer: Cameron
12 May 2011
Following the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, the Prime Minister is increasingly determined to start bringing the Afghan mission to an end. He has told defence chiefs he wants to start the withdrawal this summer, as the US begins to reduce its troop numbers. But British commanders have warned David Cameron that an early exit could jeopardise the counter-insurgency mission, allowing the Taliban to regain territory and popular support. As a...
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Indian PM Pledges $500m to Afghanistan, Supports Reconciliation
12 May 2011
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has pledged a further $500m to Afghanistan over the next six years. Mr Singh made the announcement during talks in Kabul. India is Afghanistan's biggest regional donor and the money is in addition to $1.5bn already promised. The visit comes just over a week after al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden was killed by US commandos in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad. India and Afghanistan share concerns over militant networks...
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