Registan (blog), 25 April 2012 Oliver Lough does something very useful: without dismissing it altogether, he looks at TAF’s polling in Afghanistan and puts his finger on the point which is valid for all polls in Afghanistan: ‘Just make sure to keep in mind, as you leaf through all of those pleasing percentages, of the […]
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Washington Post, 24 April 2012 Another heart-breaking story about a good intentioned (female) US soldier who failed with her private form of aid.
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The Age, 22 April 2012 Australian newspapers report about a TLO report assessing the situation at the eve of the country’s troops’ withdrawal that has been censored by the country’s authorities that originally had commissioned it. Among other, it states that Taliban still control almost half of the Afghan province where Australian forces operate, and […]
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Gawker (blog), 20 April 2012 Although it is not clear whether all the details in the article are accurate, the case provides a fascinating taste of the murky world of ‘information operations’ and their unaccountable contractors.
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Tolo News, 19 April 2012 The Kabul-based private TV station reports about a rare civil society-organised pro-peace demonstration in Herat, although not giving the number of participants.
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Global Post, 19 April 2012 Louise Arbour, president of the International Crisis Group and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, urges the UN to replace the US as the lead peace negotiator in Afghanistan: ‘The Security Council should adopt a resolution to appoint a team of negotiators and an individual to lead it as […]
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The Telegraph, 16 April 2012 Article points to the possibility of corruption, internal disputes, disciplinary measures and nervousness within the Taleban ranks, based on the internal ‘arrest’ of three high-ranking commanders.
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The Washington Post, 14 April 2012 Another interesting contractor: The US Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) on Feb. 1 approved a $330 million five-month extension on a five-year contract that now totals $2.3 billion: It provides more than 8,000 interpreters working for US forces at 200 sites in Afghanistan. The company’s name is Mission […]
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AP, 12 April 2012 Now the McRaven Plan: The AP has learned details of a plan developed by the head of US special operations ‘that would replace thousands of US troops with small special operations teams paired with Afghans to help an inexperienced Afghan force withstand a Taliban onslaught as U.S. troops withdraw’. According to […]
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New York Times, 11 April 2012 Helmand Taleban support farmers against poppy eradication.
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Der Spiegel (online), 3 April 2012 How NATO and the US will need Russia and the Central Asian Republics to be able to pull out of Afghanistan.
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IWPR, 1 April 2012 Helmand locals say foreign and Afghan troops take over their houses and land without permission or compensation.
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