Toward Reconciliation In Afghanistan
31 March 2009
Michael O'Hanlon, 'Toward Reconciliation In Afghanistan', Brookings Institution / The Washington Quarterly, 31 March 2009
EXCERPT: "How can we make sense of where the United States is in Afghanistan today? A poor country, wracked by 30 years of civil war, finds itself at the mercy of insurgents, terrorists, and narco-traffickers. NATO's economy-of-force operation there has attempted to help build a nation with very few resources....
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Poppies Pose Dilemma
31 March 2009
'Afghanistan's Poppies Pose Dilemma', USA Today, 31 March 2009
EXCERPT: "President Obama's new strategy for Afghanistan calls for continuing the destruction of poppy fields, although experts and his top envoy to the region have called the practice counterproductive. Richard Holbrooke, the administration's coordinator of Afghanistan policy, said this month that eradicating the opium poppy fields is 'wasteful...
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Karzai Offers Deal To Non-Al-Qaida Taliban
31 March 2009
'', The Associated Press, 31 March 2009
EXCERPT: "Afghan President Hamid Karzai and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton offered an olive branch Tuesday to Taliban fighters who reject al-Qaida and pressed an international conference for help in strengthening Afghanistan's security forces. Sitting around a horseshoe-shaped table, Clinton said most of the Taliban fighters...
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New Law Detrimental To Women's Rights
31 March 2009
'"Worse Than The Taliban" - New Law Rolls Back Rights For Afghan Women', The Guardian, 31 March 2009
EXCERPT: "Hamid Karzai has been accused of trying to win votes in Afghanistan's presidential election by backing a law the UN says legalizes rape within marriage and bans wives from stepping outside their homes without their husbands' permission. The Afghan president signed the law earlier this month, despite...
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ICRC Concerned Over Civilian Toll Of Conflict
30 March 2009
'', Swissinfo, 30 March 2009
EXCERPT: "More ordinary Afghans and Pakistanis will bear the brunt of a likely escalation in the war in Afghanistan this year, says a top Red Cross official. The warning comes on the eve of a United Nations conference on Afghanistan in the Netherlands on Tuesday and just days after US President Barack Obama outlined a new strategy for fighting Taliban...
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Troops Needed For "Foreseeable Future": NATO
30 March 2009
'Troops Needed In Afghanistan For "Foreseeable Future": NATO', Irish Times, 30 March 2009
EXCERPT: "International forces should not expect to withdraw from Afghanistan in the near future, Nato Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said today, days after the launch of a new US strategy for the country. 'In my opinion, it is necessary to stay in Afghanistan for the foreseeable future,' he told reporters in Brussels,...
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Court Favors Karzai Term Until Election
30 March 2009
'', The New York Times, 29 March 2009
EXCERPT: "The Afghan Supreme Court said Sunday that President Hamid Karzai may lawfully remain in power until presidential elections in August, saying that it was in the national interest to maintain stability and continuity of government. The opinion, which is not binding, was the latest step in a constitutional wrangle between Mr. Karzai and his...
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White Paper: US Policy Toward Afghanistan and Pakistan
30 March 2009
'White Paper Of The Interagency Policy Group's Report On U.S. Policy Toward Afghanistan And Pakistan', World Security Network, 29 March 2009
EXCERPT: "The United States has a vital national security interest in addressing the current and potential security threats posed by extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Pakistan, al Qaeda and other groups of jihadist terrorists are planning new terror attacks. Their targets remain...
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"Widespread" Arbitrary Detention In Afghanistan: UN
27 March 2009
'UN Slams "Widespread" Arbitrary Detention In Afghanistan', The Daily Star, 27 March 2009
EXCERPT: "The United Nations yesterday criticised arbitrary detention in Afghanistan as widespread and unacceptable, calling for an immediate review in order to protect rights. The findings were presented in a report by the chief human rights officer of the UN mission in Afghanistan, Norah Niland, after more than 18 months spent...
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Decision On Manas Base Unchanged
27 March 2009
'Kyrgyzstan Says Position On U.S. Military Presence Unchanged', RIA Novosti, 27 March 2009
EXCERPT: "A spokesman for Kyrgyzstan's president rejected on Friday reports that the country is considering allowing U.S. troops to remain at the Manas airbase. Earlier on Friday, a high-ranking source in the U.S. administration said the United States had received an offer from Kyrgyzstan to continue negotiations on maintaining...
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