Displacement Fears Ahead of Kandahar Operation
31 March 2010
Displacement Fears Ahead of Kandahar Operation, IRIN News, 30 March 2010
EXCERPT: "Mir Ahmad has decided to leave for Pakistan ahead of a much-heralded pro-government Afghan and foreign forces offensive against Taliban insurgents in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar. 'I want to save my family no matter how difficult life could be in Pakistan,' Ahmad told IRIN, adding that he was a refugee in Pakistan during the Soviet...
Read the post »
Afghan Bomb Aims at Anti-Opium Aid
31 March 2010
, The New York Times, 31 March 2010
EXCERPT: "At least 13 Afghans were killed on Wednesday morning when a bomb exploded at a market in an attack aimed at a NATO-backed program to reduce opium cultivation in the restive southern province of Helmand, local authorities said. Most of the victims were farmers and other Afghans lined up to receive fertilizer and seeds from the NATO-backed Food Zone program,...
Read the post »
Human Rights Abuses Contributing to Increased Poverty
31 March 2010
Human Rights Abuses Contributing to Increased Poverty, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR), 31 March 2010
EXCERPT: "Patronage, corruption, impunity and over-emphasis on short-term security issues rather than targeted long-term development are exacerbating the already dire poverty affecting more than two-thirds of all Afghans, according to a report published Tuesday by the office of the UN High Commissioner...
Read the post »
Afghanistan Leads in Hashish Production
31 March 2010
Afghanistan Leads in Hashish Production, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 31 March 2010
EXCERPT: "Afghanistan, the world's biggest producer of opium, is also a major producer of cannabis. These are the findings of the [pdf], the first ever UNODC report on cannabis in Afghanistan, which was released today. The Survey estimates that between 10,000 and 24,000 ha of cannabis plant...
Read the post »
No "Artificial Timetable" for Withdrawal from Afghanistan
30 March 2010
No "Artificial Timetable" for Withdrawal from Afghanistan, The Telegraph, 30 March 2010
EXCERPT: "Bob Ainsworth, the defence secretary, has urged the Government not to set an 'artificial timetable' for withdrawal of British forces from Afghanistan. Both Mr Ainsworth and Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said the success of the mission would determine when British troops return home during a debate at Chatham House...
Read the post »
Afghan Exit Plan Intact Despite Clinton's Plea
30 March 2010
Afghan Exit Plan Intact Despite Clinton's Plea, CTV News, 30 March 2010
EXCERPT: "The government is sticking to its position that the Canadian Forces will not be involved in combat in Afghanistan beyond the end of next year, despite a public plea from the U.S. Secretary of State for Ottawa to extend the military's engagement in the Afghan theatre. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke to CTV's Power Play on Monday...
Read the post »
Striking at Afghanistan Corruption
30 March 2010
Striking at Afghanistan Corruption, Al Jazeera, 30 March 2010
EXCERPT: "The unannounced, whirlwind visit of the US president to Afghanistan this past weekend appeared designed to appeal to multiple audiences, and to deliver multiple messages. Avoiding the effusive praise which is customary in such circumstances, Obama struck a cool and correct tone in public, while apparently delivering a firm message on the need for better performance...
Read the post »
Afghan Offensive in Kandahar to Begin in June: US
30 March 2010
, AFP, 30 March 2010
EXCERPT: "NATO forces will begin their offensive on the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar in June, a US military official said, to regain ground against the fierce insurgency in their spiritual homeland. The offensive in the region 'has already begun,' the official told AFP late Monday on condition of anonymity, saying that in Kandahar 'operations will...
Read the post »
MoD Planning for Surge in Casualties "Falls Short"
29 March 2010
MoD Planning for Surge in Casualties "Falls Short", BBC News, 29 March 2010
EXCERPT: "Insufficient preparations are in place for a 'significant' rise in injured servicemen and women, a cross-party committee of MPs has said. The Public Accounts Committee called on the Ministry of Defence to make better plans in case its facility at Selly Oak, in Birmingham, should become full. Most seriously injured troops go to...
Read the post »
US Deaths Double in Afghanistan
29 March 2010
, The Associated Press, 29 March 2010
EXCERPT: "The number of U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan has roughly doubled in the first three months of 2010 compared to the same period last year as Washington has added tens of thousands of additional soldiers to reverse the Taliban's momentum. Those deaths have been accompanied by a dramatic spike in the number of wounded, with injuries...
Read the post »