Former UN Afghan envoy reveals contacts with Taliban (EARTHtimes.org)
London – The UN’s former top envoy to Afghanistan revealed for the first time that secret contacts were held with Taliban leaders in Afghanistan….
Pakistan arrests halt U.N. contacts with Taliban (The Washington Times)
KABUL (AP) — The arrests of top Taliban figures in Pakistan abruptly halted secret U.N. contacts with the insurgency at a time when the efforts were gathering momentum, the U.N.’s former envoy to Afghanistan said Friday. Kai Eide, a Norwegian diplomat who just stepped down from the U.N. post here in the Afghan capital, said the discussions that he and others from the U.N. had with senior …
Russians Give Message to U.S. Generals in Afghanistan: Bribe the Taliban (ABC News)
Two Russian veterans of the Soviet Afghan war privately warned General Stanley McChrystal last summer that the key to winning the war would be to pay off the Taliban. The official who wrote up a summary of two meetings between the Russians and U.S. military commanders also wrote that one of the “key take-aways” from the meetings was that extra troops were not the key to victory. Afghanistan …
Playing in in Kabul, Afghanistan (The Record and Herald News)
Afghan boys plays on the destroyed Russian-made tank on the hilltop in Kabul, Afghanistan. There are no current comments at this time. Be the first to post one!
Taliban arrests thwart Afghan talks – ex-U.N. envoy (AlertNet)
Source: Reuters * Former U.N. envoy: Arrests all but stopped Taliban talks * Diplomat says Pakistan may have wanted to disrupt process LONDON, March 18 (Reuters) – The arrests of senior Afghan Taliban members …
Taliban arrests thwart Afghan talks: ex-U.N. envoy (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
The arrests of senior Afghan Taliban members in Pakistan have stopped most talks between the insurgents and U.N. representatives, the former head of the U.N. mission in Afghanistan said in a BBC interview.
Russia, U.S. to step up joint efforts against Afghan drug threat (Russian Information Agency Novosti)
Russia and the United States plan to develop their cooperation in the fight against the drug threat from Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.
IED attacks in Afghanistan more lethal (USA Today)
Attacks on U.S. and allied forces with makeshift bombs in Afghanistan are 50% more lethal than three years ago, reflecting insurgents’ use of more powerful explosives and the increased vulnerability of troops who patrol more on foot than in the past.
Taliban rises again in Kunduz, forcing more U.S. troops toward north (San Jose Mercury News)
This past year has brought such a dramatic Taliban comeback in the northern province of Kunduz in Afghanistan that some of the ongoing troop reinforcements will be shifted to the north of the country, the first significant U.S. deployment to the region since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, U.S. officials say.
Afghanistan: Karzai’s Brother Complicates Kandahar Plans (Time.com via Yahoo! News)
Diplomats, analysts and local notables say the Kandahar governor, Ahmed Wali Karzai, is unlikely to be embraced by the population even if NATO clears out the Taliban
Report: Afghan contractor shot Indiana Marine (Louisville Courier-Journal)
The Marine Corps’ investigation of the February death of an Indiana Marine in Afghanistan concludes that he was fatally shot when an Afghan security contractor fired shots at a group of Marines.
