Corruption Threatens Success of International Mission in Afghanistan: Report
16 May 2011
Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), and the Defence and Security Programme at Transparency International UK believe the Afghan transition can be successful. After a round of seminars with over sixty experts and officials from the Governments of Afghanistan, the UK, Germany, NATO, the UN, and other experts on governance and development, they put together the 28 detailed recommendations in the report Afghanistan in...
Read the post »
Fearing Power Vacuum, Russia Cosies Up to Afghanistan
16 May 2011
Still haunted by its own disastrous war in Afghanistan, Russia is tiptoeing back into Kabul's affairs ahead of a gradual withdrawal of NATO troops that could leave a dangerous power vacuum in what was once a traditional sphere of influence. Moscow has refused to send troops to the war, which is becomingly increasingly unpopular as it drags into its 10th year, but it has backed drug raids, and increased support for NATO and local forces. It has also...
Read the post »
Al Qaeda "Cadres" Support Afghan Taliban with "Resources, Technical Skills": US
16 May 2011
Fewer than 100 al Qaeda members remain inside Afghanistan, but they form a core group providing the Afghan Taliban with resources and technical battlefield skills, the second most senior U.S. commander in the country said Monday. U.S. Lieutenant General David Rodriguez also said it was too early to say if the death of Osama bin Laden had had an impact on the Taliban or would affect a gradual U.S. troop drawdown due to begin in July. "We still think...
Read the post »
Recent NATO Night Raids Turn Deadly for Afghan Children, Draw Violent Protests
16 May 2011
Hundreds of Afghans protested on Saturday against the accidental killing of a teenage boy by NATO-led forces in a volatile eastern province, and the district governor said one man was shot dead as police fired at the crowd after it turned violent. District governor Abdul Khaliq Mahroof told Reuters demonstrators had poured into the streets in the Hesarak district of eastern Nangarhar province to denounce the overnight killing of a 15-year-old boy...
Read the post »