Middle East Public date: 24.08.2017 23:12:18

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28 Jan 2011

Supermarket Explosion in Kabul Kills at Least 8

An explosion on Friday afternoon in a Kabul supermarket frequented by foreigners killed at least eight people, including at least three foreign women, according to Gen. Ayoub Salangi, the Kabul Province police chief.
An explosion on Friday afternoon in a Kabul supermarket frequented by foreigners killed at least eight people, including...
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19 Jan 2011

Karzai Postpones Seating Parliament, Deepening Crisis

President Hamid Karzai ordered a month s delay in seating a new Parliament on Wednesday, heightening a constitutional crisis that threatens to fuel bitter infighting and potentially even violence among the country s rival factions.
President Hamid Karzai ordered a month s delay in seating a new Parliament on Wednesday, heightening a constitutional...

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11 Jan 2011

Sodomy and Sufism in Afgaynistan

Social scientists attached to the Second Marine Battalion in Afghanistan last year circulated a startling report on Pashtun sociology, in the form of a human terrain report on male sexuality among America's Afghan allies. The document, made available by military sources, is not classified, just disturbing. Don't ask, don't tell doesn't begin to qualify the problem. These are things you didn't want to know, and regret having heard. The marines got their money's worth from their Human Terrain adjuncts, but the report might have considered whether male pedophilia in Afghanistan has a religious dimension as well as a cultural one. I will explain why below.
Social scientists attached to the Second Marine Battalion in Afghanistan last year circulated a startling report on...
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11 Jan 2011

Afghan hope is gone

At the end of each year, the anniversary of the Soviet invasion passes quietly in Afghanistan. There is little in the way of a public commemoration, just the occasional radio show on the subject or a TV debate between ex-government officials and the mujahideen they once fought.
At the end of each year, the anniversary of the Soviet invasion passes quietly in Afghanistan. There is little in the...
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8 Jan 2011

In Afghan War, More Equipment Helps Raise Survival Rate of Wounded

Intensified fighting and a larger troop presence in Afghanistan in 2010 led to the highest American combat casualties yet in the war, as the number of troops wounded by bullets, shrapnel and bombs approached that of the bloodiest periods of the war in Iraq.
Intensified fighting and a larger troop presence in Afghanistan in 2010 led to the highest American combat casualties...

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5 Jan 2011

How Afghanistan became a NATO war

The official line of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the NATO command in Afghanistan, is that the war against Afghan insurgents is vital to the security of all the countries providing troops there. In fact, however, NATO was given a central role in Afghanistan because of the influence of US officials concerned with the alliance, according to a US military officer who was in a position to observe the decision-making process. "NATO's role in Afghanistan is more about NATO than it is about Afghanistan," said an officer, who insisted on anonymity because of the political sensitivity of the subject.
The official line of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the NATO command in Afghanistan, is that the...
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2 Jan 2011

Merkel Government Split ahead of Mandate Vote

Most in Germany would like to see their troops return home from Afghanistan as soon as possible -- and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has adopted the position as his own. But many in the government of Chancellor Merkel disagree and Westerwelle has powerful detractors.
Most in Germany would like to see their troops return home from Afghanistan as soon as possible -- and Foreign Minister...

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30 Dec 2010

Hundreds of Detainees Disappearing

The Obama administration is expressing alarm over reports that thousands of political separatists and captured Taliban insurgents have disappeared into the hands of Pakistan s police and security forces, and that some may have been tortured or killed.
The Obama administration is expressing alarm over reports that thousands of political separatists and captured Taliban...
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27 Dec 2010

Afghanistan – The Top 10 Myths of 2010

A recent National Intelligence Estimate by 16 intelligence agencies found no progress. It warned that large swathes of the country were at risk of falling to the Taliban and that they still had safe havens in Pakistan, with the Pakistani government complicit. The UN says there were over 6000 civilian casualties of war in Afghanistan in the first 10 months of 2010, a 20% increase over the same period in 2009.
A recent National Intelligence Estimate by 16 intelligence agencies found no progress. It warned that large swathes of...

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27 Dec 2010

Haqqani Network Quelled, at Least Temporarily, by Raids

The deadliest group of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan has not conducted a complex large-scale attack in the capital city of Kabul for seven months, its momentum stymied as elite American-led commandos have escalated raids against the militants bomb makers and logisticians.
The deadliest group of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan has not conducted a complex large-scale attack in the capital...
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25 Dec 2010

Pakistan bomb attack kills dozens

At least 40 people have been killed and some 80 others injured after a suspected suicide bomber attacked a crowd of people receiving food aid in northwest Pakistan. Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said that the incident took place on Saturday morning at a World Food Programme (WFP) distribution centre in the area of Bajaur.
At least 40 people have been killed and some 80 others injured after a suspected suicide bomber attacked a crowd of...

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24 Dec 2010

North Pakistan clashes ‘leave 27 dead

At least three soldiers and 24 militants have been killed in a series of clashes in a tribal region of north-western Pakistan, officials have said. The battles erupted after about 150 Taliban attacked five paramilitary Frontier Corps checkpoints in and around Baidnami in the Mohmand Agency, one official told the AFP news agency.
At least three soldiers and 24 militants have been killed in a series of clashes in a tribal region of north-western...
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17 Dec 2010

Review of President Obama’s Afghanistan Strategy Sees July Troop Withdrawals Despite Perils

A review of President Obama s strategy for the war in Afghanistan concludes that American forces can begin withdrawing on schedule in July, despite finding uneven signs of progress in the year since the president announced the deployment of an additional 30,000 troops, according to a summary made public Thursday.
A review of President Obama s strategy for the war in Afghanistan concludes that American forces can begin withdrawing...
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16 Dec 2010

Report Shows How Pakistan Still Bedevils Obama

President Obama is still looking for leverage to compel Pakistan to shutter the haven for terrorists that has let al Qaeda leadership and a vigorous Taliban survive.
President Obama is still looking for leverage to compel Pakistan to shutter the haven for terrorists that has let al...

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16 Dec 2010

Obama Never Mind Afghanistan, It’s All About The Drones

One year and 30,000 new troops later, Afghanistan is peripheral to the Afghanistan war. According to the Obama administration s review of its strategy, it s official: this a U.S. drone war in Pakistan with a big, big U.S. troop component next door.
One year and 30,000 new troops later, Afghanistan is peripheral to the Afghanistan war. According to the Obama...
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16 Dec 2010

Yearly Price Tab for Afghan Forces: $6 Billion, Indefinitely

Want a good measurement of “NATO’s enduring commitment” to Afghanistan even after combat forces depart? The Afghan soldiers and cops NATO trains to secure the country are going to need $6 billion from international donors every year to keep operating. Right now, the plan is to build up a force of 305,000 soldiers and police by [...]
Want a good measurement of “NATO’s enduring commitment” to Afghanistan even after combat forces depart? The Afghan...
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13 Dec 2010

Afghan Bombs Kill, Wound 3,800 Troops in 2010

How dangerous have the Taliban’s crude, cheap homemade bombs become? One awful measure came Sunday, when they drove a van full of explosives into a military base in southern Afghanistan, killing six U.S. soldiers. Another is this: The jury-rigged bombs have killed and wounded about a thousand more allied troops this year than in 2009. Later [...]
How dangerous have the Taliban’s crude, cheap homemade bombs become? One awful measure came Sunday, when they drove a...

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5 Dec 2010

Pakistan ‘We are part of the solution in Afghanistan’

Pakistan s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani couldn't have been more blunt when he said a few weeks ago that: "Nothing can happen in Afghan peace talks with the Taliban without us. We are part of the solution. We are not part of the problem." For some in Afghanistan, however, Pakistan is a part of the problem blocking any attempt to find a political solution to the conflict that doesn't secure its strategic interests at home.
Pakistan s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani couldn't have been more blunt when he said a few weeks ago that: "Nothing...
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24 Nov 2010

The Great Game Imposter

And we wonder why we haven t found Osama bin Laden. Though we re pouring billions into intelligence in Afghanistan, we can t even tell the difference between a no-name faker and a senior member of the Taliban. The tragedy of Afghanistan has descended into farce. In the sort of scene that would have entertained millions if Billy Wilder had made a movie of Kipling s Kim, it turns out that Afghan and NATO leaders have been negotiating for months with an imposter pretending to be a top Taliban commander - even as Gen. David Petraeus was assuring reporters that there were promising overtures to President Hamid Karzai from the Taliban about ending the war.
And we wonder why we haven t found Osama bin Laden. Though we re pouring billions into intelligence in Afghanistan, we...
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16 Nov 2010

Despite Gains, Night Raids Split U.S. and Karzai

For the United States, a recent tripling in the number of night raids by Special Operations forces to capture or kill Afghan insurgents has begun to put heavy pressure on the Taliban and change the momentum in the war in Afghanistan. For President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, the raids cause civilian casualties and are a rising political liability, so much so that he is now loudly insisting that the Americans stop the practice.
For the United States, a recent tripling in the number of night raids by Special Operations forces to capture or kill...

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15 Nov 2010

Karzai official dismisses talk of U.S., Afghan rift

President Hamid Karzai's critique of U.S. military strategy in Afghanistan over the weekend was not intended as a vote of no-confidence in Gen. David H. Petraeus, but rather was a sign of a "maturing partnership" in which both sides are willing to speak frankly, Karzai's spokesman said Monday.
President Hamid Karzai's critique of U.S. military strategy in Afghanistan over the weekend was not intended as a vote...

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14 Nov 2010

Karzai wants U.S. to reduce military operations in Afghanistan

President Hamid Karzai said on Saturday that the United States must reduce the visibility and intensity of its military operations in Afghanistan and end the increased U.S. Special Operations forces night raids that aggravate Afghans and could exacerbate the Taliban insurgency. In an interview with The Washington Post, Karzai said that he wanted American troops off the roads and out of Afghan homes and that the long-term presence of so many foreign soldiers would only worsen the war. His comments placed him at odds with U.S. commander Gen. David H. Petraeus, who has made capture-and-kill missions a central component of his counterinsurgency strategy, and who claims the 30,000 new troops have made substantial progress in beating back the insurgency.
President Hamid Karzai said on Saturday that the United States must reduce the visibility and intensity of its military...

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25 Oct 2010

Karzai Rails Against America in Diatribe

President Hamid Karzai accused the United States on Monday of exporting killing to Afghanistan by giving contracts to private security companies. It was the latest chapter of a bitter battle between the president and his allies in the war against the Taliban that has taken on an increasingly anti-Western tone.
President Hamid Karzai accused the United States on Monday of exporting killing to Afghanistan by giving contracts to...

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25 Oct 2010

Afghan Leader Admits His Office Gets Cash From Iran

President Hamid Karzai acknowledged Monday that his chief of staff had taken money from the Iranian government, confirming a report in The New York Times. He said the cash was used to pay for presidential expenses.
President Hamid Karzai acknowledged Monday that his chief of staff had taken money from the Iranian government,...

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15 Oct 2010

Afghan detainees claim US abuse

Former US military prisoners in Afghanistan have said that they were abused in a secret prison on Bagram airbase as recently as this year, raising fears that detainee mistreatment has continued despite an overhaul of US detention operations in the country. The abuse - which includes exposure to extreme temperatures, lack of adequate food and bedding, lack of natural light and interference with religious duties - is alleged to have occurred at a secret "screening" facility on the military base north of Kabul.
Former US military prisoners in Afghanistan have said that they were abused in a secret prison on Bagram airbase as...

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8 Oct 2010

Afghan Governor Is Killed in Blast at Mosque

A bomb blasted through a mosque in the capital of Takhar Province in northern Afghanistan, killing the governor of a neighboring province as he attended Friday Prayer and at least 12 other worshippers, said a spokesman for the provincial governor.
A bomb blasted through a mosque in the capital of Takhar Province in northern Afghanistan, killing the governor of a...

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8 Oct 2010

Inquiry Finds Guards at U.S. Bases Are Tied to Taliban

Afghan private security forces with ties to the Taliban, criminal networks and Iranian intelligence have been hired to guard American military bases in Afghanistan, exposing United States soldiers to surprise attack and confounding the fight against insurgents, according to a Senate investigation.
Afghan private security forces with ties to the Taliban, criminal networks and Iranian intelligence have been hired to...

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25 Sep 2010

The CIA-Trained Teams Going into Pakistan

The CIA has relied on Lilley, part of a constellation of agency bases across Afghanistan, as a hub to train and deploy a well-armed 3,000-member Afghan paramilitary force collectively known as Counterterrorism Pursuit Teams. In addition to being used for surveillance, raids and combat operations in Afghanistan, the teams are crucial to the United States' secret war in Pakistan, according to current and former U.S. officials.
The CIA has relied on Lilley, part of a constellation of agency bases across Afghanistan, as a hub to train and deploy a...
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25 Sep 2010

Widespread Fraud Seen in Latest Afghan Elections

Evidence is mounting that fraud in last weekend s parliamentary election was so widespread that it could affect the results in a third of provinces, calling into question the credibility of a vote that was an important test of the American and Afghan effort to build a stable and legitimate government.
Evidence is mounting that fraud in last weekend s parliamentary election was so widespread that it could affect the...
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18 Sep 2010

Afghan Vote Marked by Light Turnout and Violence

MARJA, Afghanistan -The first voter here was Muhammad Akbar, 22, who dipped his finger in the indelible purple ink, collected his ballot and had just stepped into the cardboard box that serves as a voting booth when gunfire broke out. The Taliban had vowed to disrupt Afghanistan s parliamentary election and sought to make good on that promise throughout the country on Saturday. At least 10 people were killed, scores of polling stations were attacked and hundreds of them apparently never opened.
MARJA, Afghanistan -The first voter here was Muhammad Akbar, 22, who dipped his finger in the indelible purple ink,...

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17 Sep 2010

From Bad to Worse in the North

I returned to Northern Afghanistan in April to document for Foreign Policy the implacable spread of the Taliban in the region (the dispatches I wrote were recently published as an ebook, Waiting for the Taliban); I left the region in May. At the time, the Taliban were terrorizing travelers in Kunduz and Baghlan provinces, along the main route that NATO uses to bring in supplies from Tajikistan; launching swift attacks on government forces in Takhar Province; and flagging down traffic at impromptu checkpoints on the ancient roads of Balkh.
I returned to Northern Afghanistan in April to document for Foreign Policy the implacable spread of the Taliban in the...
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17 Sep 2010

Once Wary, Obama Relies on Petraeus in Afghanistan

Come December, when the president intends to assess his Afghan strategy, he will be able to claim tangible successes, General Petraeus predicted by secure video hookup from Kabul, according to administration officials. The general said that the American military would have substantially enlarged the "oil spot" - military jargon for secure area - around Kabul. It will have expanded American control farther outside of Kandahar, the Taliban heartland. And, the aides recalled, the general said the military would have reintegrated a significant number of former Taliban fighters in the south.
Come December, when the president intends to assess his Afghan strategy, he will be able to claim tangible successes,...

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13 Sep 2010

Petraeus spin on roadside bombs bellied

General David Petraeus claimed limited success this week in the war within a war over the Taliban's planting of roadside bombs, but official Pentagon data show the Taliban clearly winning that war by planting more bombs and killing many more United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) troops since the troop surge began in early 2010.
General David Petraeus claimed limited success this week in the war within a war over the Taliban's planting of roadside...
2 Sep 2010

Petraeus: Hooks line and sinker

In an effort to introduce a story of "progress" into media coverage, General David Petraeus' command claimed last week that the Taliban are suffering from reduced morale in Marjah and elsewhere, despite evidence that the population of Marjah still believes the Taliban control that district.
In an effort to introduce a story of "progress" into media coverage, General David Petraeus' command claimed last week...

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2 Sep 2010

The degree zero of culture

Like the handful of Western correspondents immersed in Talibanistan 10 years ago, a long time before 9/11, I was dying to meet the one-eyed legend Mullah Omar. Fat chance; he was more mysterious than The Shadow, even in Kandahar. He had only been to Kabul twice - and left in a hurry. His three wives still lived in Singesar, his native village, a dusty basket of mud-hut compounds where no girls had ever been to school - after all there was no school; only Omar's own madrassa, little else than a tent with a soiled floor filled with mattresses for the pupils.
Like the handful of Western correspondents immersed in Talibanistan 10 years ago, a long time before 9/11, I was dying...

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26 Aug 2010

US wars: People vs Generals

While the Obama administration continues to affirm its intention to withdraw US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the US' military presence in the Muslim world is actually expanding and this is exacerbating tensions and inflaming animosities. Barack Obama's promise to open a new page with the Muslim world on the basis of mutual respect and interests - supplemented and enforced by the use of soft rather than hard power - now rings hollow. This is most evident in the withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq and the corresponding surge in Afghanistan - an exercise in redeploying military forces, not extracting them.
While the Obama administration continues to affirm its intention to withdraw US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the...
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26 Aug 2010

Key Karzai Aide in Corruption Inquiry Is Linked to C.I.A.

KABUL, Afghanistan - The aide to President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan at the center of a politically sensitive corruption investigation is being paid by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to Afghan and American officials.
KABUL, Afghanistan - The aide to President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan at the center of a politically sensitive...

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23 Aug 2010

Pakistanis Tell of Motive in Taliban Leader’s Arrest

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - When American and Pakistani agents captured Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban s operational commander, in the chaotic port city of Karachi last January, both countries hailed the arrest as a breakthrough in their often difficult partnership in fighting terrorism. But the arrest of Mr. Baradar, the second-ranking Taliban leader after Mullah Muhammad Omar, came with a beguiling twist: both American and Pakistani officials claimed that Mr. Baradar s capture had been a lucky break. It was only days later, the officials said, that they finally figured out who they had. Now, seven months later, Pakistani officials are telling a very different story. They say they set out to capture Mr. Baradar, and used the C.I.A. to help them do it, because they wanted to shut down secret peace talks that Mr. Baradar had been conducting with the Afghan government that excluded Pakistan, the Taliban s longtime backer.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - When American and Pakistani agents captured Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban s operational...

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16 Aug 2010

Karzai bans private security firms

Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has given private security firms working in Afghanistan four months to end their operations. Karzai has repeatedly called for banning private security companies, saying they undermine government security forces. "Today the president is going to issue a four-month deadline for the dissolution of private security companies," Waheed Omer, Karzai's spokesman, said on Monday.
Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has given private security firms working in Afghanistan four months to end their...
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12 Aug 2010

Showcase Afghan Army Mission Turns Into Debacle

KABUL, Afghanistan An ambitious military operation that Afghan officials had expected to be a sign of their growing military capacity instead turned into an embarrassment, with Taliban fighters battering an Afghan battalion in a remote eastern area until NATO sent in French and American rescue teams.
KABUL, Afghanistan An ambitious military operation that Afghan officials had expected to be a sign of their growing...

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12 Aug 2010

Medics Killed In Afghan Ambush

KABUL (Reuters) - Eight foreign medical workers and two Afghans shot by unidentified gunmen were likely killed in an "opportunistic ambush," the international Christian aid organization for which they worked said on Thursday. The International Assistance Mission (IAM) has disputed the Taliban's claim of responsibility for the killings in Badakhshan province in Afghanistan's remote northeast last week. The Taliban quickly said it had killed the foreigners -- six Americans, a Briton and a German -- accusing them of promoting Christianity. Another militant Islamist group, Hezb-i-Islami, also said it had killed them.
KABUL (Reuters) - Eight foreign medical workers and two Afghans shot by unidentified gunmen were likely killed in an...

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10 Aug 2010

Afghan civilian casualties up 31%, UN says

The number of civilians killed or injured in Afghanistan has jumped 31%, despite a fall in the number of casualties caused by Nato-led forces. More than 1,200 civilians were killed in the first six months of 2010 and another 1,997 civilians were injured, the latest UN six-monthly report shows. The Taliban and other insurgents were responsible for 76% of the casualties, up from 53% last year.
The number of civilians killed or injured in Afghanistan has jumped 31%, despite a fall in the number of casualties...

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2 Aug 2010

Kiss This War Goodbye

IT was on a Sunday morning, June 13, 1971, that The Times published its first installment of the Pentagon Papers. Few readers may have been more excited than a circle of aspiring undergraduate journalists who d worked at The Harvard Crimson. Though the identity of The Times s source wouldn t eke out for several days, we knew the whistle-blower had to be Daniel Ellsberg, an intense research fellow at M.I.T. and former Robert McNamara acolyte who d become an antiwar activist around Boston. We recognized the papers contents, as reported in The Times, because we d heard the war stories from the loquacious Ellsberg himself.
IT was on a Sunday morning, June 13, 1971, that The Times published its first installment of the Pentagon Papers. Few...
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28 Jul 2010

Document leak part of U.S. plot, says Pakistani ex-general with ties to Taliban

RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN -- From the deluge of leaked military documents published Sunday, a former Pakistani spy chief emerged as a chilling personification of his nation's alleged duplicity in the Afghan war -- an erstwhile U.S. ally turned Taliban tutor. Now planted squarely in the cross hairs, retired Lt. Gen. Hamid Gul seems little short of delighted. In an interview Tuesday, Gul dismissed the accusations against him as "fiction" and described the documents' release as the start of a White House plot. It will end, he posited, with an early U.S. pullout from Afghanistan -- thus proving Gul, an unabashed advocate of the Afghan insurgency, right. President Obama "is a very good chess player. . . . He says, 'I don't want to carry the historic blame of having orchestrated the defeat of America, their humiliation in Afghanistan,' " said Gul, 74, adding that the plot incorporates a troop surge that Obama knows will fail. "It doesn't sell to a professional man like me."
RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN -- From the deluge of leaked military documents published Sunday, a former Pakistani spy chief...
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26 Jul 2010

Excerpts Leaked US Afghan war records

Leaked US military records on the war in Afghanistan, which were posted on the Wikileaks website as the Afghan War Diary, are a classified - and previously unreported - daily rundown of incidents of violence and criminality in Afghanistan. The documents offer a snapshot of the grim reality of conditions on the ground in Afghanistan and the challenges facing troops operating there.
Leaked US military records on the war in Afghanistan, which were posted on the Wikileaks website as the Afghan War...
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24 Jul 2010

2 Americans Are Abducted Near Kabul

KABUL, Afghanistan - Taliban militants kidnapped two American service members who were driving a civilian vehicle in a particularly dangerous region of Logar Province south of Kabul on Friday, according to officials and local residents.
KABUL, Afghanistan - Taliban militants kidnapped two American service members who were driving a civilian vehicle in a...

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22 Jul 2010

Second Shooting in Month Casts Doubt on Afghan Forces

KABUL, (AP) - The second shooting of Western troops by one of their Afghan counterparts this month has highlighted the potential hazards of a push to speedily expand Afghanistan's army and police forces in the next few years. On Tuesday, an Afghan army sergeant opened fire at an army base in northern Afghanistan, killing two American civilian trainers before being shot dead. That followed an attack in the south on July 13, when a soldier killed three British troopers, including the company commander, with gunfire and a rocket-propelled grenade in the dead of night.
KABUL, (AP) - The second shooting of Western troops by one of their Afghan counterparts this month has highlighted...
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20 Jul 2010

In Afghanistan, a Threat of Plunder

THE news that Afghanistan has $1 trillion in unmined mineral deposits has been met with some pessimism. Now, it is said, the country will be transformed from its present condition into the next Congo, whose new wealth from gold, copper and other minerals has brought mainly corruption and violence. Indeed, security in Afghanistan could easily deteriorate as a result of the discoveries, as it has not only in Congo but also in Nigeria (rich in oil) and Sierra Leone (diamonds). Afghanistan s huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and lithium and other metals could end up financing more tribal and ideological warfare. Greed might stoke violence among the combatants, and attract more Afghans to fight. Consider how in Sierra Leone diamonds enabled the Revolutionary United Front to evolve from a protest movement into a lethal diamonds racket.
THE news that Afghanistan has $1 trillion in unmined mineral deposits has been met with some pessimism. Now, it is said,...

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20 Jul 2010

Karzai calls for Afghan security control by 2014

Afghan leader Hamid Karzai has opened an international conference in Kabul, renewing a call for his country to control its own security by 2014. Afghanistan had not yet achieved good governance, he admitted, adding its allies faced 'a vicious common enemy'.
Afghan leader Hamid Karzai has opened an international conference in Kabul, renewing a call for his country to control...
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19 Jul 2010

Kabul set for historic international conference

Some 70 countries are set to attend a historic conference in the Afghan capital Kabul amid some of the deadliest violence of the war. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is among those due to join Tuesday's one-day talks on Afghanistan's future. They expect to hear President Hamid Karzai call for greater control over foreign aid for reconstruction. But Afghanistan's key foreign backers are also seeking assurances as they plan to withdraw troops.
Some 70 countries are set to attend a historic conference in the Afghan capital Kabul amid some of the deadliest...

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19 Jul 2010

Taliban call to kill collaborators

Mullah Omar, the leader of the Afghan Taliban, has reportedly issued a new directive in which he calls on his fighters to capture and kill any Afghan working for foreign forces. Nato said they stumbled upon the five-point directive after intercepting a letter that the Taliban chief wrote to his field commanders.
Mullah Omar, the leader of the Afghan Taliban, has reportedly issued a new directive in which he calls on his fighters...

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7 Jul 2010

NATO Airstrike Accidentally Kills Afghan Troops

KABUL In a devastating case of 'friendly fire,' NATO pilots who apparently did not know that Afghan soldiers had laid a trap for Taliban militants on the ground beneath them bombed the soldiers as they lay in wait, killing at least five, Afghan officials said.
KABUL In a devastating case of 'friendly fire,' NATO pilots who apparently did not know that Afghan soldiers had laid a...

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14 Jun 2010

U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.
WASHINGTON The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond...

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8 Jun 2010

Wali Karzai A Deal We Should Refuse by Kelley B. Vlahos

Known as the "King of Kandahar," Karzai has an iron grip on every political and commercial enterprise in southern Afghanistan. Though he vehemently denies much of it, numerous reports have him pegged as the godfather who lets nothing trucks carrying supplies, private security guards, property transactions, even opium shipments, and the secret police move until he gets a cut. He s been accused of taking over local law enforcement, stealing land for his cronies, stuffing ballot boxes for his brother, and disappearing his political enemies.
Known as the "King of Kandahar," Karzai has an iron grip on every political and commercial enterprise in southern...
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6 Jun 2010

Taliban fighters reject peace offer

Taliban fighters in the remote eastern Afghan province of Nuristan have rejected calls to hold peace talks with the government. Delegates at the recently concluded peace conference in Kabul - locally called a jirga - asked the government to hold talks with the Taliban.
Taliban fighters in the remote eastern Afghan province of Nuristan have rejected calls to hold peace talks with the...
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6 Jun 2010

Afghan officials resign over attack

Afghanistan's interior minister and the head of the intelligence service have resigned over Wednesday's attack on a peace conference. Hamid Karzai, the president of Afghanistan, accepted the resignations on Sunday.
Afghanistan's interior minister and the head of the intelligence service have resigned over Wednesday's attack on a...
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2 Jun 2010

Taliban Attacks Shake Afghan Peace Gathering

KABUL, Afghanistan - As rockets landed nearby and suicide attackers detonated explosives, President Hamid Karzai opened a national consultative peace assembly on Wednesday morning with the goal of winning popular backing for his plan to persuade Taliban and insurgent foot soldiers to stop fighting.
KABUL, Afghanistan - As rockets landed nearby and suicide attackers detonated explosives, President Hamid Karzai opened...

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30 May 2010

How US Handles Afghanistan’s Civilian Deaths Blame the Button-Pushers

If US commanders or, for that matter, President Obama really wanted to be up front and above board on this issue - given our supposed campaign for hearts and minds in this conflict - they would say: Civilians die in war zones. They die from being caught up in the fight, even though they take no part in it. Civilians die from our tactics of unmanned planes firing missiles in this conflict. That is regrettable, but that is war.
If US commanders or, for that matter, President Obama really wanted to be up front and above board on this issue -...

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26 May 2010

Running out of options in Afghanistan

A rising tide of violence against foreign troops stationed in Afghanistan and those who work with them has convinced Robert Grenier, the ex-CIA agent, that the country is moving towards a bleak future.
A rising tide of violence against foreign troops stationed in Afghanistan and those who work with them has convinced...

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18 May 2010

Kabul suicide car bombing ‘kills at least seven’

At least seven people have been killed and 29 injured in a suicide car bomb attack targeting a Nato convoy in the Afghan capital, Kabul, police say. The attack took place at the Darulaman crossroads, close to the parliament and other government buildings.
At least seven people have been killed and 29 injured in a suicide car bomb attack targeting a Nato convoy in the Afghan...
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29 Apr 2010

US cautious on Afghan progress

The Afghan president enjoys little support in "strategically important" areas of the country, a US defence department report has concluded just weeks before Hamid Karzai is due to visit Washington. In what the Pentagon called a "sober" assessment of its progress in Afghanistan, it concluded on Wednesday that violence was up nearly 90 per cent on levels the previous year.
The Afghan president enjoys little support in "strategically important" areas of the country, a US defence department...

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29 Apr 2010

Taliban militants ‘reappear’ in Swat valley

Taliban militants have resumed targeted killings of local leaders in Pakistan's troubled Swat valley, officials have told the BBC. Pakistan's army declared the Swat valley free of militants after carrying out an anti-Taliban operation in 2009. A Pakistani army spokesman said three people had died in attacks over the last 10 days. Local journalists say that seven have died in 15 days.
Taliban militants have resumed targeted killings of local leaders in Pakistan's troubled Swat valley, officials have...

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26 Apr 2010

Elite U.S. Units Step Up Effort in Afghan City Before Attack

Small bands of elite American Special Operations forces have been operating with increased intensity for several weeks in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan s largest city, picking up or picking off insurgent leaders to weaken the Taliban in advance of major operations, senior administration and military officials say. The looming battle for the spiritual home of the Taliban is shaping up as the pivotal test of President Obama s Afghanistan strategy, including how much the United States can count on the country s leaders and military for support, and whether a possible increase in civilian casualties from heavy fighting will compromise a strategy that depends on winning over the Afghan people.
Small bands of elite American Special Operations forces have been operating with increased intensity for several weeks...
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23 Apr 2010

Nato discusses Afghan exit

Nato leaders have met to discuss their exit strategy for the war in Afghanistan, stating that they are on track to reduce their involvement in the country next year.
Nato leaders have met to discuss their exit strategy for the war in Afghanistan, stating that they are on track to...
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12 Apr 2010

U.S. Troops Fire on Bus in Afghanistan, Killing Civilians

KABUL, Afghanistan American troops raked a large passenger bus with gunfire near Kandahar on Monday morning, killing as many as five civilians and wounding 18 and sparking anger in a city where winning over Afghan support is considered pivotal to the war effort.
KABUL, Afghanistan American troops raked a large passenger bus with gunfire near Kandahar on Monday morning, killing as...

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5 Apr 2010

Karzai’s China-Iran dalliance riles Obama

Concern that Afghan President Hamid Karzai is steadily disengaging Afghanistan from the grip of the United States and seeking friendships with China and Iran prompted President Barack Obama's flying visit to Kabul on Sunday. What alarms Washington most is that China's position on Afghan national reconciliation fits Karzai's political agenda and also accords with Iran's interests.
Concern that Afghan President Hamid Karzai is steadily disengaging Afghanistan from the grip of the United States and...
5 Apr 2010

Hidden costs of US’s drone reliance

The United States' expansion of unmanned aircraft strikes in Pakistan has inflicted severe damage on the Pakistani Taliban. But drones have been less effective in Afghanistan. There, evidence shows that while drone strikes wear down the will of insurgents, they also give policymakers the illusion of quick, seemingly costless success
The United States' expansion of unmanned aircraft strikes in Pakistan has inflicted severe damage on the Pakistani...
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5 Apr 2010

The opium wars in Afghanistan

From its roots in the CIA's covert battle against Soviet occupation in the 1970s, through decades of war that fertilized it, poppy cultivation has transformed Afghanistan into an opium-dependent state supplying 90% of the world's heroin. Support for a return to traditional agriculture can break the stranglehold - and be cheaper in every way than a military solution.
From its roots in the CIA's covert battle against Soviet occupation in the 1970s, through decades of war that fertilized...
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5 Apr 2010

The alienation of Hamid Karzai

Now US President Barack Obama has plunged into the cesspool of AfPak diplomacy, he should make it a point to understand why Hamid Karzai feels so alienated. Since the US tried to oust him, the Afghan president has become deeply disillusioned, frustrated that the Americans are either too naive to comprehend that he has little choice but to seek reconciliation with the Taliban or are pursuing a hidden geopolitical agenda.
Now US President Barack Obama has plunged into the cesspool of AfPak diplomacy, he should make it a point to understand...
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5 Apr 2010

U.S. Consulate in Pakistan Is Attacked by Militants

PESHAWAR, Pakistan Militants mounted an assault against the United States Consulate in this northern Pakistani city on Monday, using a powerful bomb and rocket launchers in a multipronged attack, said a senior Pakistani intelligence officer.
PESHAWAR, Pakistan Militants mounted an assault against the United States Consulate in this northern Pakistani city on...

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5 Apr 2010

Drones Batter Al Qaeda and Its Allies Within Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan A stepped-up campaign of American drone strikes over the past three months has battered Al Qaeda and its Pakistani and Afghan brethren in the tribal area of North Waziristan, according to a mid-ranking militant and supporters of the government there.
PESHAWAR, Pakistan A stepped-up campaign of American drone strikes over the past three months has battered Al Qaeda and...

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21 Mar 2010

Afghan Cops Make Big Problem for … Afghans

Poor marksmanship is the least of it. Worse, crooked Afghan cops supply much of the ammunition used by the Taliban, according to Saleh Mohammed, an insurgent commander in Helmand province. The bullets and rocket-propelled grenades sold by the cops are cheaper and of better quality than the ammo at local markets, he says. It's easy for local cops to concoct credible excuses for using so much ammunition, especially because their supervisors try to avoid areas where the Taliban are active. Mohammed says local police sometimes even stage fake firefights so that if higher-ups question their outsize orders for ammo, villagers will say they've heard fighting.
Poor marksmanship is the least of it. Worse, crooked Afghan cops supply much of the ammunition used by the Taliban,...

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16 Mar 2010

McChrystal Brings Most Special Operations Under His Control

KABUL, Afghanistan Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top American commander in Afghanistan, has brought most American Special Operations forces under his direct control for the first time, out of concern over continued civilian casualties and disorganization among units in the field.
KABUL, Afghanistan Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top American commander in Afghanistan, has brought most American...

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7 Mar 2010

Pakistan arrests al-Qaeda spokesman

Pakistani intelligence officers have arrested Adam Gadahn, the American-born al-Qaeda spokesman, in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, according to government officials.
Pakistani intelligence officers have arrested Adam Gadahn, the American-born al-Qaeda spokesman, in the southern...

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7 Mar 2010

Karzai gets an earful in town seized from Taliban

MARJAH, Afghanistan Elders in a former Taliban stronghold berated and challenged Afghanistan's president Sunday, delivering a litany of complaints about government corruption and NATO's military operations on the Afghan leader's first visit to Marjah.
MARJAH, Afghanistan Elders in a former Taliban stronghold berated and challenged Afghanistan's president Sunday,...

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3 Mar 2010

Mullahs help promote birth control in Afghanistan

Some mullahs in Afghanistan are distributing condoms. Others are quoting the Quran to encourage longer breaks between births. Health experts say contraception is starting to catch on in a country with the world's second highest maternal death rate.
Some mullahs in Afghanistan are distributing condoms. Others are quoting the Quran to encourage longer breaks between...
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26 Feb 2010

Guesthouses Used by Foreigners in Kabul Hit in Deadly Attacks

KABUL, Afghanistan- A complex suicide and car-bomb attack in the heart of Kabul on Friday showed the continued ability of the Taliban to stage sophisticated operations in the heavily guarded capital, with the aim of undermining international support for the Afghan war.
KABUL, Afghanistan- A complex suicide and car-bomb attack in the heart of Kabul on Friday showed the continued ability...

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26 Feb 2010

Influx of refugees worries Tajiks

Life in Tajikistan, although fairly stable and calm compared with neighbouring Afghanistan, is not easy - especially for Afghan refugees fleeing war in their country. Tajikistan - the poorest state in the Soviet bloc still struggling to overcome the effects of a civil war in which 100,000 people were killed 10 years ago - is ill equipped to accommodate the influx.
Life in Tajikistan, although fairly stable and calm compared with neighbouring Afghanistan, is not easy - especially for...
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23 Feb 2010

Pakistani Reports Capture of Taliban Leader

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan In another blow to the Taliban senior leadership, Pakistani authorities have captured Mullah Abdul Kabir, a member of the group s inner circle and a leading military commander against American forces in eastern Afghanistan, according to a Pakistani intelligence official.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan In another blow to the Taliban senior leadership, Pakistani authorities have captured Mullah Abdul...
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22 Feb 2010

Nato raid ‘kills Afghan civilians’

Aghanistan government officials say at least 33 civilians have been killed by a Nato air attack on a convoy of vehicles in Uruzgan, a province in the country's south.
Aghanistan government officials say at least 33 civilians have been killed by a Nato air attack on a convoy of vehicles...

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20 Feb 2010

Military Analysis – Afghan Push Went Beyond Traditional Military Goals

WASHINGTON Before 10,000 troops marched through central Helmand Province to wrest control of a small Afghan town from a few hundred entrenched Taliban fighters, American officials did something more typical of political than military campaigns: they took some polls.
WASHINGTON Before 10,000 troops marched through central Helmand Province to wrest control of a small Afghan town from a...
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19 Feb 2010

US Marines airdropped into Taliban-held territory

MARJAH, Afghanistan Elite Marine recon teams were dropped behind Taliban lines by helicopter Friday as the U.S.-led force escalated operations to break resistance in the besieged insurgent stronghold of Marjah. As the major NATO offensive entered its seventh day, about two dozen Marines were inserted before dawn into an area where skilled Taliban marksmen are known to operate, an officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.
MARJAH, Afghanistan Elite Marine recon teams were dropped behind Taliban lines by helicopter Friday as the U.S.-led...
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16 Feb 2010

Half of Town’s Taliban Flee or Are Killed, Allies Say

NAD ALI, Afghanistan As heavy fighting in the insurgent stronghold of Marja carried into its third day, the number of Taliban fighters in the area has dropped by about half, American and Afghan commanders said Monday.
NAD ALI, Afghanistan As heavy fighting in the insurgent stronghold of Marja carried into its third day, the number of...
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