Counterinsurgency Literature Reviewed, Prevailing Wisdom Questioned
29 May 2008
Michael Fitzsimmons, 'Hard Hearts and Open Minds? Governance, Identity and the Intellectual Foundations of Counterinsurgency Strategy', Journal of Strategic Studies, Volume 31, Issue 3 June 2008, pages 337 - 365
ABSTRACT: "The premise of most Western thinking on counterinsurgency is that success depends on establishing a perception of legitimacy among local populations. The path to legitimacy is often seen as the improvement of governance...
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Costs of Withdrawal Major Factor in War Support-Study
29 May 2008
Patricia L. Sullivan, 'Sustaining the Fight: A Cross-Sectional Time-Series Analysis of Public Support for Ongoing Military Interventions', Conflict Management and Peace Science, Volume 25, Issue 2 June 2008, pages 112-135
EXCERPT: "The results of this analysis suggest that public concern about the costs of withdrawing from a conflict can be a more important determinant of willingness to persevere than sensitivity to the costs of war...
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Insurgent Attacks Still Up in Afghanistan's East
28 May 2008
Barnett Rubin, '', Informed Comment, 28 May 2008
EXCERPT: "The level of attacks initiated by Taliban and other anti-government forces continues to exceed last year's, despite the vaunted successes of US COIN [counterinsurgency] efforts. One of the main explanations for the level of violence is a significant increase in infiltration from Pakistan's Tribal Areas, which are directly adjacent...
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The Taliban: An Organizational Analysis
28 May 2008
Major Shahid Afsar, Major Chris Samples, Major Thomas Wood, 'The Taliban: An Organizational Analysis', Military Review, May-June 2008
ABSTRACT: Despite their quick overthrow in 2002 by a small coalition of U.S. forces and anti-Taliban groups, the Taliban has not gone away. In fact, today, in the face of thousands of and troops, a growing , and a popularly elected government, the movement's influence...
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The Business of Opium in Afghanistan
28 May 2008
Siri Nyrop, '' Voice of America, 27 May 2008
EXCERPT: "Afghanistan supplies virtually all of the world's illegal opium. Last year, the country's drug trade was a $4-billion business, half of which alone was produced in the south where the fighting against the Taliban insurgency is the fiercest. Getting Afghanistan to rid itself of poppy is a pillar of U.S. policy there, because...
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Kabul to Decide on National Census
28 May 2008
Katerine O'Neill, 'Census Would Provide Barometer of Safety', The Globe and Mail, 29 May 2008
EXCERPT: "The international community will receive a mini-report card on how safe Afghanistan really is when the war-torn country decides soon whether to go ahead with a long-promised census this summer. The ruling, expected as early as next month, should be a major indicator as to how successful NATO has been in bringing security and order to...
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Health Clinic Destroyed in Khost; Taliban Blamed
28 May 2008
'', Xinhua, 28 May 2008
Anti-government militants set ablaze a clinic in Afghanistan's eastern Khost province early Wednesday, a police officer said. Armed militants set on fire a clinic in the outskirts of Khost city, the capital of Khost province, and destroyed it. [...] The clinic was providing health service to some 40,000 locals. No group or individual has claimed responsibility,...
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One Year On, EU Police Training Program Shows Little Progress
28 May 2008
Judy Dempsey, '', International Herald Tribune, 28 May 2008
EXCERPT: "The 27 countries of the have more than two million police officers. But even after much cajoling and shaming by the United States and NATO, they have still managed to muster only 150 to send to Afghanistan to train a new of 16,000. Afghanistan's police force is in dire need of consistent...
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Australian Infantry Frustrated With Non-Combat Roles
27 May 2008
"Australian infantry soldiers are ashamed of their low-risk missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and are scorned by troops of other nations, two seasoned officers charged in comments published Tuesday." (. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the head of the Australian Army, Lieutenant-General Peter Leahy "acknowledged that morale has suffered as the infantry has shifted to increasingly low-risk, non-combat roles in Afghanistan...
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Rise in Suicides Among Afghan Women Profiled
27 May 2008
Mandy Clark, 'Alarming Rise of Suicides Among Afghan Women,' Voice of America, 27 May 2008
EXCERPT: "Greater freedom for the women of Afghanistan was one of the promises of the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. U.S. and Afghan officials say there have been significant improvements, noting that some two million women and girls are now attending school, something that was forbidden under the extremist Taliban government. But despite Western efforts,...
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