UN: Afghan opium production down Opium production has dropped significantly in Afghanistan, in large part because of a plant infection in the country’s war-torn south, a U.N. report said on Thursday. “This is good news but there is no room for false optimism; the market may again become lucrative for poppy-crop growers so we have […]
Tag Archives: afghanistan
Karzai Remarks Risk US-Afghan Rift
AP Analysis: Karzai Remarks Risk US-Afghan Rift President Hamid Karzai’s startling threat to join the Taliban if foreigners don’t stop meddling in Afghanistan and his strident criticism of the West’s role have worsened relations with Washington at a time when the U.S. military wants closer cooperation ahead of a potentially decisive offensive this summer. Karzai […]
Obama’s Strategy for Troops, Forces in Afghanistan
It has taken President Obama three months to reach the decision on Afghanistan that he’ll share with the nation Tuesday night, because there are no easy solutions. His chosen path will win applause from some quarters but boos from others
Can the U.S. Woo Afghanistan Taliban to Switch Sides?
While much of the focus on Tuesday’s unveiling of President Obama’s revamped Afghanistan strategy will be on the number of U.S. troops he’s expected to send, that decision is really a sideshow to the critical battle now under way on the ground.
Can a ‘Loyalty Oath’ Ensure the Allegiance of Afghans?
Earlier this month, Lieut.
Was Fort Hood Shooter Inspired by a Radical Imam?
Was the Army psychiatrist who is the main suspect in last week’s Fort Hood shooting massacre a disaffected loner who simply snapped on the eve of a deployment to Afghanistan? Or was Major Nidal Malik Hasan a Muslim extremist whose rampage was inspired by terrorist groups overseas
Hasan’s Therapy: Could "Secondary Trauma" Have Driven Him to Shooting?
As an army psychiatrist treating soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, Major Nidal Malik Hasan had a front row seat on the brutal toll of war. It is too early to know exactly what may have triggered his murderous shooting rampage Thursday at Fort Hood — Hasan is accused of killing 12 people and wounding 32 others before he was wounded by a police officer — but it is not uncommon for therapists treating soldiers with Post Trumatic Stress Disorder to be swept up in a patient’s displays of war-related paranoia, helplessness and fury.
Taliban leader rejects U.S. attempts to lure away fighters with money
A top Taliban political leader delivered a message Friday to President Obama, calling his attempt to lure away Taliban fighters with money “an old weapon that has failed already.” Obama meets Friday with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who will tell the U.S. leader how a large deployment to Afghanistan would affect the military
U.N. chief urges more security for staff in Afghanistan
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon is calling for additional security for U.N. staff in Afghanistan, citing a “dramatically escalated threat” due to the world body’s support for that nation’s electoral process
Strong earthquake strikes Afghanistan
A strong earthquake struck the Hindu Kush region of eastern Afghanistan Thursday, but the U.S. Geological Survey said it had no reports of damage or injuries.