Afghanistan
Outsourcing in Afghanistan: Who’s protecting our supply lines?
Monthly Archives: June 2010
Pakistan
Security forces killed 20 Taliban fighters in airstrikes in Arakzai. The interior minister said the government is willing to negotiate with the Taliban. A spokesman for the Foreign Office said Indian claims that Pakistan runs training camps for Kashmiri terrorists are baseless.
Afghanistan
Leaving Afghanistan early would betray British loss of life, warns Fox
Iraq
Iraq – Muqtada Sadr’s Mahdi Army militiamen slowly resurface
United States
Counter-terrorism official defends US campaign of targeted killings
Iraq
Killers stalk politicians as Iraq seeks government
Afghanistan
Some Afghan military officers to get training in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan – Civil-military nexus to make media fall in line
Iraq
Insurgents killed five policemen in Kirkuk, Baghdad, Mosul, and Anbar, and a civilian in a suicide attack near Ramadi. Security forces detained five wanted men in Basrah and two al Qaeda operatives near Baghdad.
Somalia
In a videotape titled “The African Crusaders,” Shabaab claimed to be close to controlling all of southern Somalia. More than 20 people were killed over the past two days during fighting in Mogadishu.
Pakistan
Pakistan: Baradar’s extradition to Afghanistan likely to happen
Afghanistan
US and Afghan forces killed eight Taliban fighters who attacked Jalalabad Airfield and seven more in Ghazni. Combines forces also detained a Haqqani Hetwork facilitator and several Taliban fighters in Khost, Kandahar, and Ghazni. The Taliban killed an ISAF soldier in eastern Afghanistan.
United Kingdom
UK: Court quashes troops’ human rights ruling
Afghanistan
Senate confirms Petraeus as Afghan war chief
General P, the ROE, and Pakistan
During his testimony to Congress yesterday, General David Petraeus made a point of directly addressing the problem of the existing Rules of Engagement (ROE). The existing Rules of Engagement were put in place by General Stanley McChrystal, with the intention of reducing civilian casualties. And they appear to have done so; the ROE change has […]
On that Rolling Stone article …
I had the ironic fortune to meet Michael Hastings, the author, on the military side of Kabul International Airport last week on my way to Helmand. We were both cooling our heels waiting for MilAir flights to other parts of the country, and had a couple of hours to chat. Nice guy, and interestingly, he […]
Afghanistan
Afghanistan – A winnable war
United States
Pakistan – Drone attacks should be stopped if unauthorized: Lahore High Court
Russia
A suicide bomber wounded five policemen in an attack near a concert hall in Grozny, the capital of the Chechen Republic. President Ramzan Kadyrov is said to have been in the concert hall at the time of the attack.
Afghanistan
Holder meets with Karzai in Kabul on corruption, governance
Iran
Tehran prepared to execute Kurds accused of collaborating with the PJAK. Iran lifted a restriction on foreign investment in Iranian banks. Iran’s foreign minister said the US, England, and France deserved to lose World Cup.
Taliban attack airbase in eastern Afghanistan
Coalition forces repelled an attack by a small team of Taliban fighters who attempted to storm the base. The attackers included a suicide bomber.
Philippines
Authorities arrested a key Abu Sayyaf suspect for a deadly bombing and firefight in April. Ajid Jalil, alias Ajid Jainul, was arrested after being discharged from the hospital and charged with several counts of murder. The government has convinced the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to drop its bid for independence in Mindanao.
Al Qaeda
Reconciliation efforts with Afghan militants face major obstacle
India
Kashmir – Political steps needed, Army chief tells TOI
Afghanistan
Afghan attorney general says US ambassador pushed for corruption prosecutions
A bizarre take on the rules of engagement
General David Petraeus has said that he will consider changing the rules of engagement in Afghanistan because of concerns that, though they are designed to protect civilians, they end up putting Coalition troops in greater danger. The current, more restrictive, rules of engagement were put in place with the goal of reducing civilian casualties during […]
Bruce Hoffman on the fight against al Qaeda
This is a little late as Hoffman’s article is from April, but his take on the US’ strategy, or lack thereof, to deal with al Qaeda and allied Islamist terror groups, is a must read. There are far too many points made in the article to list here, so read the whole thing. Two items […]
Iraq
A rumor in Baghdad indicates the State of Law and Iraqiya parties may band together to form a government. Insurgents killed an Iraqi Army brigadier and six civilians in bombings in Mosul, Baghdad, and Bayji. Security forces detained 21 wanted men in Basrah and an insurgent in Mosul.
Afghanistan
German Defence Minister questions role of Nato in Afghanistan war