Canada in Afghanistan: Charting a New Course to Complete the Mission
30 May 2007
In a new policy paper, the Senlis Council has called on the Canadian government to overhaul its strategy in Afghanistan. Citing the failure of the current strategy's development component, the Council recommends that the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) be relieved of its responsibility for coordinating developments efforts in Afghanistan. In its place, a Special Envoy should be appointed to coordinate development, aid and counter-narcotics...
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2007 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report
21 May 2007
The U.S. State Department's examines the different attempts to curb Afghanistan’s narcotics industry. Despite a number of efforts, little or no progress has been made in areas such as law enforcement, corruption, and drug cultivation and transit. Consequently, Afghanistan is still the world’s largest producer of opium in 2006, and its poppy crop industry increased by more than 60% in that year....
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Canadian Troops in Afghanistan
15 May 2007
The report on by the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defense assesses the present challenges and opportunities for a successful Canadian campaign. The report takes into account a number of different obstacles complicating Canada’s operations in the province of Kandahar, including geography, culture, economic and social factors, corruption and collateral damage, to name a few. The Committee believes...
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Afghanistan on the Brink: Where Do We Go From Here?
11 May 2007
In hearings before the U.S. House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee on February 15, 2007, several experts were invited to provide recommendations for U.S. policy in Afghanistan.
According to , the security situation in Afghanistan is rapidly deteriorating as a result of a growing threat from insurgents fuelled by the narcotics trade. The counter-narcotics programs of the Afghan government and its international...
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Insurgency Assessment for Afghanistan
10 May 2007
Barnett R
The Senlis Council’s latest Insurgency Assessment for Afghanistan looks at extensive field work...
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From Bonn to London: Governance Challenges and the Future of Statebuilding in Afghanistan
08 May 2007
Barnett R
Barnett R. Rubin and Humayun Hamidzada, “From Bonn to London: Governance Challenges and the Future of Statebuilding...
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Narcotics and Armed Conflict: Interaction and Implications
01 May 2007
In his article “”, Svante E. Cornell analyses the dynamics and mechanisms of interaction between narcotics and conflict. In general, Cornell argues that armed conflict tends to increase present drug cultivation by limiting the reach of state law enforcement in certain territorial areas. It follows that, over time, insurgent groups become progressively more involved in the drug trade,...
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01 May 2007
In “Securing Afghanistan’s Border”, Amin Saikal summarizes the troublesome history of Afghanistan’s border, particularly along the Durand Line – the section of the border that begins on the northeast and extends southwest across to where Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran intersect. The article assesses the political complexities of the border issue, as well as the impact different players, such as Pakistan, al-Qaeda, and the Taliban, have had on deteriorating...
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