Barack Obama proposes the US deploy 10,000 more troops to Afghanistan to fight insurgents even as he pledges to remove troops from Iraq, plugging the proposal in a New York Times op-ed, “My Plan for Iraq.” (NYT, July 14) Meanwhile,… Read moreAfghanistan, Pakistan: already at war?
An investigation by Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai has confirmed reports that a US air strike in the Deh Bala district of Nangarhar province July 6 killed 47 members of a wedding party, including the bride. The investigation found that 39… Read moreKarzai confirms US air-strike on wedding party
At least 20 were killed July 12 in fighting between Pakistani security forces and Taliban insurgents following an attack on an army convoy near Zargari, North-West Frontier Province. The violence came during an unannounced, one-day visit to Pakistan by Adm…. Read morePakistan vetoes Pentagon force
A UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter belonging to US-led coalition troops was shot down by small-arms fire south of Afghanistan’s capital Kabul July 2. The crew apparently survived, but Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters… Read moreAfghanistan: the next Iraq?
Islamabad has angrily denied findings by Afghanistan’s intelligence agency that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was the “real schemer and organizer” behind the failed April 27 assassination attempt on President Karzai at a military parade. (Gulf Daily News, June 26) That… Read moreConsensus growing for attack on Pakistan?
NATO forces in Afghanistan shelled insurgent targets in Pakistan in two incidents June 22, following rocket and artillery attacks launched into Khost and Paktika provinces from sanctuaries across the border. Four Afghan civilians were reportedly killed in the insurgents attacks,… Read moreNATO shells Pakistan
Pakistan protested a June 11 US military strike that killed at least 11 soldiers as a “gross violation” of its sovereignty. The Foreign Ministry in Islamabad summoned US Ambassador Anne Patterson to denounce a “senseless use of air power against… Read moreUS bombs Pakistan —again
The US Marine Corps announced it will not bring criminal charges against two officers in command of a unit involved in the shooting deaths of up to 19 civilians near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, last year after a car bomb struck the… Read moreUncertain justice (or none) in Afghanistan, Iraq atrocities
Truce talks between Pakistan’s government and tribal militants may be causing a rise in terror attacks in Afghanistan, NATO spokesman James Appathurai told reporters in Brussels. “The concern is that deals being struck between the Pakistani government and extremist groups… Read morePeace in Pakistan equals war in Afghanistan?
Brendan J. Cassar, chief of UNESCO’s cultural program in Afghanistan, has—for the moment—backed denials by the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) denial that their soldiers damaged remains of the Bamiyan Buddha statues (destroyed by the Taliban seven years ago) by… Read moreAfghanistan: ISAF troops destroy Buddhist artifacts?
In the face of growing violence, NATO is considering ending its rotating command for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. NATO commander Gen. Bantz Craddock of the US said “it would be better if we had one country… Read moreUS to take control of NATO Afghan force?
Baitullah Mahsud, an al-Qaida ally who leads the Taliban in Pakistan, pulled out of a peace deal with the government after it refused to withdraw the army from tribal lands on the Afghan border. Tribal elders in Pakistan’s South Waziristan… Read morePakistan: Taliban leader pulls out of talks
