U.S. Shifts Tactics To Pursue Afghan Drug Traffickers (NPR)
Raids against major drug traffickers in Afghanistan are a revealing window into how U.S. commanders and the Obama administration are trying to cut off the Taliban’s source of millions of dollars from the opium trade. It is a key part of the broader counterinsurgency effort.
Russia urges resumed eradication of Afghan poppies, a Bush policy critics say aided Taliban (Sun-Sentinel)
MOSCOW (AP) Russia is pressing the White House to resurrect the Bush-era policy of large-scale eradication of poppy fields in Afghanistan, an effort that critics say angered Afghan farmers and rallied support for the Taliban but did little to curb the cultivation of opium.
Russia to U.S.: Destroy Afghan poppies (MSNBC)
Russia is pressing the White House to to step up efforts to destroy Afghan poppy cultivation, which Moscow says is partly to blame for a devastating drug problem at home.
Afghanistan: Balkh Governor Trumpets Security Warning for Northern Afghanistan (EurasiaNet)
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR When Afghan President Hamid Karzai appointed General Atta Mohammad Noor as governor of the northern province of Balkh in 2004, the move seemed motivated by a presidential desire to curb the influence of Abdul Rashid Dostum, then the most powerful warlord in Northern Afghanistan.
Gaddafi defends Afghanistan’s Taliban (Sky News Australia)
Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi launched a spirited defense of Afghanistan’s hardline Taliban in a rambling address to the UN General Assembly.
Russia presses US to destroy Afghan poppy crop (KRIS-TV Corpus Christi)
Russia is pressing the White House to resurrect the Bush-era policy of large-scale eradication of poppy fields in Afghanistan, an effort that critics say angered Afghan farmers and rallied support for the Taliban but did…
Taliban local commander killed in W Afghanistan (People’s Daily)
A local Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Latif and his two comrades were killed Tuesday night in a clash with another group of the outfits in Herat province of western Afghanistan, the provincial police chief said Wednesday. “Two group of Taliban encountered each others in Pashtun Zarghon district as they discorded on dividing money which were collected from local people, resultantly three …
Top general denies rift with Obama on Afghan war (San Jose Mercury News)
WASHINGTON The senior American commander in Afghanistan on Wednesday rejected any suggestion that his grim assessment of the war had driven a wedge between the military and the Obama administration, but he warned against taking too long to settle on a final strategy.
Taliban Widen Afghan Attacks From Base in Pakistan (International Herald Tribune)
The Taliban s expansion into regions of Afghanistan over which they once had little influence comes as the Obama administration is reassessing its military strategy in the nation.
Taliban grow stronger in “safe” Afghan north, west (Reuters via Yahoo! UK & Ireland News)
Seventeen-year-old Nowruz was celebrating the Muslim festival of Eid with his father, mother and 11-year-old sister when 50 Taliban gunmen attacked their home with rockets and gunfire and killed him.
Russia presses US to destroy Afghan poppy crop (San Francisco Chronicle)
Russia is pressing the White House to resurrect the Bush-era policy of large-scale eradication of poppy fields in Afghanistan, an effort that critics say angered Afghan farmers and rallied support for the Taliban but did little to curb the cultivation of… Sponsored Topics: Afghanistan – Taliban – Russia – White House – Asia
Killing of Afghan reporter highlights outrages media (ABC Radio Australia)
Afghanistan may be seen as a necessary fight for Australia and its allies, but reporting on the conflict is a dangerous assignment, especially for local reporters.
