Taliban Reject Karzai's Peace Council as "Failed"
30 September 2010
Taliban Reject Karzai's Peace Council as "Failed", Reuters, 30 September 2010
EXCERPT: "The Taliban have rejected Afghan President Hamid Karzai's latest bid to move toward peace talks, dubbing a High Peace Council 'failed and impractical' and denying that senior Taliban leaders were in contact with Kabul. Karzai's government on Tuesday named the members of the council, approved by a peace jirga, or traditional...
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Pakistan Cuts NATO Supply Line After Helicopter Strike
30 September 2010
Pakistan Cuts NATO Supply Line After Helicopter Strike, BBC News, 30 September 2010
EXCERPT: "Pakistan has blocked one of two vital supply routes for US and Nato troops in Afghanistan, officials say. The move comes after three Pakistani soldiers were killed in a Nato helicopter attack near the border. The BBC's M Ilyas Khan says it is not clear whether the closure is in retaliation for the attack. But the blockade, if it...
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Afghanistan Opium Survey 2010
30 September 2010
, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 30 September 2010
EXCERPT: "The total opium poppy cultivation estimated for Afghanistan in 2010 did not change from 2009 and remained at 123,000 hectares. Ninety eight per cent of the total cultivation took place in nine provinces in the Southern and Western regions5, including the most insecure provinces in the country. This further substantiates the link...
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With Afghan Elections Over, Time to Refocus on Peace and Development: UN
30 September 2010
With Afghan Elections Over, Time to Refocus on Peace and Development: UN, UN News Centre, 29 September 2010
EXCERPT: "With a series of important political events having taken place this year, it is now time for Afghanistan and its partners to focus on the road ahead in ensuring peace and development for the country, a top United Nations official said today. Briefing the Security Council, Staffan de Mistura noted that it has been a crucial...
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In Afghanistan, Pipe Dreams of Peace
29 September 2010
, Global Post, 29 September 2010
EXCERPT: "Two rather startling developments have come out of Afghanistan over the past week, one almost overlooked by the international media, the other causing a small sensation. But together they represent at least a small glimmer of light in what has been a depressingly dark landscape. First in prominence was the surprise announcement by the top U.S. and NATO commander...
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Plan to Convert Taliban, Create Defense Force Has Promise and Peril
29 September 2010
Plan to Convert Taliban, Create Defense Force Has Promise and Peril, Stars and Stripes, 29 September 2010
EXCERPT: "For the last few years, the 30 or so men camped along a stream in this idyllic village of walled orchards lived as armed bands here have lived for decades, if not centuries. They roamed and robbed and raided. They collected 'taxes' for protection, and kidnapped for ransom. Occasionally, NATO and local security...
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Afghanistan: Limited Progress on Maternal Health
29 September 2010
Afghanistan: Limited Progress on Maternal Health, IRIN News, 29 September 2010
EXCERPT: "Almost a decade of donor funded health projects has resulted in a marginal reduction in maternal and child mortality, according to new estimates set out in a UN report on maternal health. Maternal deaths have fallen from 1,600 per 100,000 live births in 2001 to 1,400 in 2010, still the second highest in the world. The infant mortality rate...
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Australian Troops To Be Charged Over Afghan Deaths
29 September 2010
, AFP, 29 September 2010
EXCERPT: "Three Australian soldiers will face charges including manslaughter over a raid in Afghanistan that left five children dead, Australia's chief military prosecutor said on Monday. The court action follows an operation in February last year to clear a compound in Uruzgan province where Australian forces believed a Taliban leader was hiding. Director of Military...
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Suicide Bomber Kills Afghan Deputy Governor
28 September 2010
, AFP, 28 September 2010
EXCERPT: "A suicide attacker on an explosives-laden motorcycle on Tuesday killed a deputy Afghan governor and up to five other people in a direct attack on his vehicle, officials said. Mohammad Kazim Allahyar, deputy governor for the troubled southern province of Ghazni, was on his way to his office when the bomber struck. 'The deputy governor has been martyred. His...
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US Kills Al Qaeda's Leader for Afghanistan and Pakistan in Predator Strike: Report
28 September 2010
US Kills Al Qaeda's Leader for Afghanistan and Pakistan in Predator Strike: Report, The Long War Journal, 28 September 2010
EXCERPT: "Unconfirmed reports from Pakistan indicate the US has killed al Qaeda's newly appointed leader of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Sheikh Fateh al Masri, the leader of Qaedat al Jihad fi Khorasan, or the base of the jihad in the Khorasan, was killed in a recent Predator strike, Pakistani intelligence officials told...
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