17/12/07

German may have been kidnapped in Afghanistan-govt
Reuters – USA
BERLIN, Dec 17 (Reuters) – Germany is investigating suggestions that a German national has been kidnapped in Afghanistan, a foreign ministry spokeswoman …
www.reuters.com/article/asiaCrisis/idUSL17217135

Dutch government announces redevelopment aid for Afghanistan
International Herald Tribune – France
… parliament prepared to debate the government’s decision to extend its military mission with the NATO-led force in Afghanistan by two years until 2010. …
www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/17/
europe/EU-GEN-Netherlands-Afghanistan.php

Allies losing Afghanistan war, Australian minister warns: report
AFP –
SYDNEY (AFP) — Australia’s new government has warned NATO and its allies they will lose the war against hardline Taliban forces in Afghanistan unless they …
afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iCU68OStmQP63R8z_0VtqIA1qNkg

US orders review of mission in Afghanistan: report
AFP –
WASHINGTON (AFP) — President George W. Bush’s administration has launched an elaborate review of the US mission in Afghanistan amid fears Taliban and…
afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gSeOBaSwbuKzBIwOQQA2q35lUorQ

25 killed in clashes in Afghanistan
Hindu – Chennai,India
KANDAHAR (AP): A roadside bomb blast killed a family of five in southern Afghanistan on Monday, a police official said. Separately, 20 Taliban fighters died …
www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/003200712171441.htm

Suicide bomber kills 9 Pakistani military recruits
Reuters India – Mumbai,India
Many militants took refuge in remote northwestern area on the Afghan border after US-backed troops ousted the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001. …
in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews/idINIndia-31017920071217

Five civilians killed by land mine in central Afghanistan
Xinhua – China
Over 6000 people have lost their lives in conflicts and Taliban-related insurgency since the beginning of 2007 in Afghanistan.
news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/17/content_7267416.htm

2007 is bloodiest year in Afghanistan insurgency
AFP –
2007 stood out for many things in Afghanistan: the death of the last king, Zahir Shah; a jump in the opium crop to account for 93 percent of the world…
afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gvewGDfuOXju7W1apZ75mpQRj9ag

Suspected terrorist killed in Afghanistan
Xinhua – China
Over 1200 civilians have been killed in Afghanistan’s various violent incidents since the beginning of this year, according to a United Nations figure …
news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/17/content_7267052.htm

Australian prime minister says NATO forces must do more to …
International Herald Tribune – France
AP CANBERRA, Australia: Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd saidMonday it is “critical” that NATO countries do more to stabilize Afghanistan, …
www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/17/
asia/AS-GEN-Australia-Afghanistan.php

Soldier to be charged over accidental Afghanistan shooting
New Zealand Herald – New Zealand
A New Zealand soldier, who shot himself and a colleague when his rifle accidentally discharged in Afghanistan in October, will face charges over the …
www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=32&objectid=10482884

Report: Bush urged to move focus to Afghanistan
Monsters and Critics.com – Glasgow,UK
Washington – Advisors are urging President George W Bush to shift the US military focus to Afghanistan as the Taliban insurgency grows and as a troop surge …
news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/news/article_1
381485.php/Report_Bush_urged_to_move_focus_to_Afghanistan

US reviews Afghanistan mission amid concerns
CNN – USA
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Amid rising concerns about lagging progress in Afghanistan, the top US commander in the region has launched a review of the American …
www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/12/16/us.afghanistan/

Two Taleban commanders killed in Afghanistan: US
Tehran Times – Iran
KABUL (AFP) — The US-led coalition in Afghanistan said that twoleaders of the militant Taleban movement were killed in air strikes on a southern town just …
www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=159373

Fears over superbug from Iraq, Afghanistan
Telegraph.co.uk – United Kingdom
Hospitals could be infected with a new, drug-resistant superbug carried by wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Acinetobacter baumannii is …
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?
xml=/news/2007/12/17/narmy217.xml

Rupert Everett: acting in Hollywood is like living in Afghanistan
Times Online – UK
He claimed that making films in America was “like being in Afghanistan” in other respects too. He said that Hollywood was much easier to negotiate for …
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and
_entertainment/film/article3059835.ece

Family grieve after death in Afghanistan
New Zealand Herald – New Zealand
A New Zealand father of three killed in a road crash while working for a British security firm in Afghanistan was a loving, caring man, his family say. …
www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.
cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10482771

In Afghanistan, It’s About Air Power, Too
Washington Post – United States
As The Post reports today, President Bush is facing pressure to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan. The military is undertaking a strategic review …
blog.washingtonpost.com/earlywarning/2007/12/
in_afghanistan_its_about_air_p.html?nav=rss_blog

Battle victory short term, holding ground key in Afghanistan: Canadian
The Canadian Press –
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – A surprise raid on some 70 sleeping insurgents early Monday in the volatile Zhari-Panjwaii district has been described as a short …
canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeq
M5iMXbv6hsgFCOG9nOszA2THKOMHNQ

Herat police: German man abducted in western Afghanistan
International Herald Tribune – France
Ali Khan Husseinzada, the chief of criminal investigations for western Afghanistan, said the man had been on his way to his home in Herat.…
www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/17/
europe/EU-GEN-Germany-Afghanistan.php

Why Aren’t Democrats Asking: Who Lost Afghanistan?
By Blue Texan
“I said to the Taliban in Afghanistan: Get rid of al Qaeda; see, you’reharboring al Qaeda. Remember this is a place where they trained — alQaeda trained thousands of people in Afghanistan. And the Taliban, I guess, …
firedoglake.com/2007/12/17/why-arent-
democrats-asking-who-lost-afghanistan/

Afghanistan: More aid, more personnel?
By bboyd
Over 2006 and 2007, Senlis, a European-based think tank with offices inOttawa, Kandahar, and Lashkar Gul, has been documenting aid progress in Afghanistan-and saying that it’s been inadequate. In a November2007 report, …
centralasia.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2007/12
/17/afghanistan-more-aid-more-personnel/

some NATO allies dropping the ball in Afghanistan.
WASHINGTON — Deeply concerned about the prospect of failure inAfghanistan, the Bush administration and NATO have begun threetop-to-bottom reviews of the entire mission, from security andcounterterrorism to political consolidation and …
www.israelforum.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=13446

Another Bush Failure: Afghanistan
By katestone
I had previously written that the US is losing Afghanistan to theTaliban. This recent news from the Globe and Mail is yet anotherindication that Bush has paid no attention to the country that trainedand produced Islamic militants …
katestone.wordpress.com/2007/12/1
7/another-bush-failure-afghanistan/

The Problem with the Manley Panel on Afghanistan
By David Eaves
Although I think Canada’s work in Afghanistan should continue (underthe right circumstances) I hope Byers op-ed is widely read. It is themost damaging critique of the Manley inquiry I’ve seen to date. Inshort, it is extremely well …
eaves.ca/2007/12/17/the-problem-
with-the-manley-panel-on-afghanistan/

From Iraq to Afghanistan
Administration officials said the White House could start to debate thefuture of the American military commitment in both Iraq and Afghanistanas early as next month. Some Pentagon officials are urging a furtherdrawdown of forces in …
smallwarsjournal.com/blog/2007/12/from-iraq-to-afghanistan-1/

Afghanistan: we are losing
By Ralph Buttigieg(Ralph Buttigieg)
NEW Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon says the war in Afghanistan willbe lost unless NATO and its close allies change tactics, overhaulingmilitary and civil programs designed to bring stability to the country. …
thewesternlines.blogspot.com/2007/
12/afghanistan-we-are-losing.html

Traveling … and Afghanistan
By Abu Muqawama(Abu Muqawama)
Yesterday, though, Abu Muqawama got an email from a friend and mentor— a noted counterinsurgency expert whose emails demand responses —asking why Abu Muqawama did not tack on any analysis to yesterday’spost on Afghanistan. …
abumuqawama.blogspot.com/2007/
12/traveling-and-afghanistan.html

Ally warns NATO on Afghanistan
By admin
(CNN) — Australia’s new defense minister warned US and NATO alliesover the weekend that they risk losing the war in Afghanistan without asharp shift in military and reconstruction efforts there, according tohis office. …
fairproxy.com/2007/12/17/ally-warns-nato-on-afghanistan/

US reviews Afghanistan mission amid concerns
By admin
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Amid rising concerns about lagging progress inAfghanistan, the top US commander in the region has launched a reviewof the American mission there with a major focus on counterterrorismefforts, a senior US military …
fairproxy.com/2007/12/16/us-reviews-
afghanistan-mission-amid-concerns/

NATO must lift game in Afghanistan: Rudd
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has implored Australia’s NATO partners tolift their game in Afghanistan.
news.sbs.com.au/worldnewsaustralia/afghan
istan_war_needs_new_tactics_govt_137599

Afghanistan review
By Tim Dunlop
Deeply concerned about the prospect of failure in Afghanistan, the Bushadministration and NATO have begun three top-to-bottom reviews of theentire mission, from security and counterterrorism to politicalconsolidation and economic …
blogs.news.com.au/news/blogocracy/index.ph
p/news/comments/afghanistan_review/

Plenty of Blame for Afghanistan : NYT
By Hassan Abbas(Hassan Abbas)
It was not a pretty sight: Defense Secretary Robert Gates, last week,accusing NATO allies of not doing nearly enough in Afghanistan. Butbeyond the finger-pointing, there is a much more serious issue. Unlessthe United States and …
watandost.blogspot.com/2007/12/
plenty-of-blame-for-afghanistan-nyt.html

Australia in Afghanistan: Part II
By ELP(ELP)
“The previous government would have us believe that good progress isbeing made in Afghanistan. The reality is quite a different one,” MrFitzgibbon told The Australian last night soon after returning from themeeting in Edinburgh. …
elpwarpigs.blogspot.com/2007/12/
australia-in-afghanistan-part-ii.html

US Military Orders Review of Coalition Strategy in Afghanistan
The US military is making an assessment of coalition strategy inAfghanistan in an effort to ensure that a recent increase in violencedoes not threaten long-term progress.
www.globalsecurity.org/military/library
/news/2007/12/mil-071216-voa01.htm

US, NATO reviewing approach to Afghanistan
US and NATO officials will conduct three “top-to-bottom reviews” of thecoalition approach in Afghanistan, according to the New York Times. Thereviews will focus on the US military’s…
www.stripes.com/article.asp?section
=104&article=51048&source=rss

NEWS: “Afghanistan has been the forgotten war”
By Paul Woodward
Afghan mission is reviewed as concerns rise By Thom Shanker and StevenLee Myers, New York Times, December 16, 2007 Deeply concerned about theprospect of failure in Afghanistan, the Bush administration and NATOhave begun three …
warincontext.org/2007/12/16/news-
afghanistan-has-been-the-forgotten-war/

Reassessing Afghanistan
By —Blue Girl(—Blue Girl)
“Essentially what’s driving it is that a year ago, we wereregarding Afghanistan as an outstanding success — we establisheddemocracy, we were in control of many parts of the country,” the NATOdiplomat said. “Now we have significant …
bluegirlredmissouri.blogspot.com/2007
/12/reassessing-afghanistan.html