US President-elect Barack Obama in his Nov. 16 appearance on 60 Minutes was asked by interviewer Steve Kroft: “Can you give us some sense of when you might start redeployments out of Iraq?” His answer stated fairly explicitly that his… Read moreObama: out of Iraq, into Afghanistan?
Jill McGivering in a Nov. 12 report for the BBC, “Rough justice for Afghan women inmates,” visits Afghanistan’s dismal Lashkar Gah prison in Helmand, revealing that women and teenage girls continue to be incarcerated for lengthy terms in harsh conditions… Read moreRough justice for women in post-Taliban Afghanistan
The anti-terrorist NEFA Foundation Nov. 13 reports a new statement from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban) addressed to US President-elect Barack Obama. The statement says that “the overwhelming victory of Barrack Obama [sic]…reveals the collective willingness of American… Read moreTaliban to Obama: pull out now
At least 12 people were killed in a missile strike apparently carried out by a US drone in Pakistan’s Tribal Areas. The raid is believed to have killed neo-Taliban fighters, five of them foreigners, Pakistani officials said. The attack targeted… Read moreUS bombs Pakistan —again
The Afghan government accused US forces of killing up to 14 security guards for a construction company in the eastern province of Khost Nov. 10. The US says the victims were militants who were carrying rocket-propelled grenades and opened fire… Read moreAfghanistan: US kills 14 security guards
Pakistan security officials say a suspected US missile strike into the North Waziristan region killed ten people Nov. 7. Reports indicate most of the militants killed were “foreigners.” The strike is said to have targeted an al-Qaeda training center in… Read moreUS bombs Pakistan —again?
The US military said Nov. 5 that it will investigate a report that an air-strike hit a wedding party in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, killing dozens of civilians and prompting new protests from President Hamid Karzai. “We cannot… Read moreUS to investigate air-strike on Afghan wedding party
More than 20 people were killed in two apparent US missile strikes in northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border Oct. 31. An al-Qaeda leader identified as Abu Kasha or Abu Akash, previously believed to be in Iraq, was reported killed… Read moreUS bombs Pakistan —again?
Australia has ordered an investigation into claims that up to 20 Afghan asylum-seekers were killed by the Taliban after being forcibly returned to their country. A TV documentary reports that those who died were among 400 Afghan asylum-seekers denied entry… Read moreAfghanistan: repatriated refugees killed by Taliban
Suspected US drones fired missiles into an alleged Taliban compound near Wana village in Pakistan’s South Waziristan, killing at least seven people, local security officials said Oct. 26. There was no immediate confirmation of the strike from Pakistan’s military or… Read moreUS bombs Pakistan —again?
The death sentence of Afghan journalism student Sayad Parwaz Kambaksh was reduced Oct. 21 to 20 years imprisonment by an Afghan appeals court. Kambaksh was sentenced to death in January for distributing papers questioning gender roles under Islam. In May,… Read moreAfghan journalist gets 20 years for blasphemy
Pakistan’s parliament held a heated debate Oct. 20 on how to fight the Islamist militants in the northwest, who are now extending their reach to suicide attacks in the capital. Calls for dialogue with the Taliban, punctuated by opposition to… Read morePakistan: cleric offers peace for sharia
