28 Feb10
OP Moshtarak: "Markets open as consolidation of Operation MOSHTARAK continues" - "Marja just a rehearsal for Kandahar" - Blogger: "Marja was a success, now on to Kandahar"
CAN Detainee Handling Fracas: Letter to the Editor: "Military exercised due diligence" - "Questions remain on Afghan prisoners"
Latest Fallen Brit Engineer, Rifleman and RAF Regiment Member Identified
Taliban Sensing Weakness in NATO? - More
Blog Watch: Taliban Playing Nicer (NOT)
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): More Taliban Moshtarak Claims; Taliban Version of Kabul Attacks
"NATO, Pakistan sharing tactical plans: US official"
"Russia blames Nato for heroin surge from Afghanistan"
27 Feb10
"NATO's Canadian-led brigade in Kandahar will soon launch a public information blitz so that civilians will know well in advance about what may be the key offensive of the eight-year war." - More - Humanitarian Prep Under Way As Well
CAN Condemns Assassination of Kandahar Official
CAN Condemns Kabul Suicide Attacks - MILNEWS.ca: "Taliban Kills Civilians on Muhammad’s Birthday"
OP Moshtarak: "What we don’t know is how effective the 1,500 Afghan police to be posted to Marjah will be"
What Some Folks are Telling Analyst/Journalist in Zabul
Head of UK Army: "Britain will remain "militarily engaged" in Afghanistan for another five years"
Taliban 2i/c Nabbed: Taliban Bad Boy Captures="something of a breather" for ISAF Troops
Talkin' to the Taliban: "The Taliban should be in jail, not sharing power"
26 Feb10
"Officials in Kandahar province are stockpiling tents, medical supplies and foodstuffs ahead of the next major military offensive in southern Afghanistan."
MSNBC News Report from Olympics: "It may come as a surprise, but roughly 3,000 troops from the "true north" are fighting in the volatile Kandahar region, often on the front lines."
"Ottawa pledges to quickly resume Afghan detainee hearings"
More on CAN DefMin's Worries About Karzai's Seizure of Election Body
At Least 18 Killed in Kabul Guest House Suicide Attacks - More - more - more - NATO Condemns Attack - On Mohammed's Birthday, No Less
OP Moshtarak: "Afghans set out their plans for Nad Ali" - AFPS: "Afghan Meeting in Marja Attracts 200 Residents" - AFPS: "Marja Operations Move Toward ‘Holding’ Phase" - Twenty Taliban Killed during Op Moshtarak from Own IEDs Blowing Up?
Taliban 2i/c Nabbed: PAK High Court Says No Extradition for Baradar
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): Tiny Crack in Taliban Messaging? - More - Taliban Claims IED Blast near KAF, "dozens" of Americans Killed in Helmand
25 Feb10
Canadian Civilians at Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team Awaiting Word Who's Protecting Them Once CF Leaves - Canada’s Post-2011 Mission: “Survey Says” and “We’re REALLY Outta Here” - More - "It is ... more than a little disconcerting to find we're already being judged so critically on our final act, the exit, while the key drama still lies ahead — the coming campaign for Kandahar."
"(CF) JAG memo to top brass in 2007 said all reports of detainee torture must be investigated"
CAN DefMin Expresses Concerns About Karzai Taking Over Election Commission
"Questions linger after air strike on civilian convoy in Afghanistan"
Christian Science Monitor: "Half of Afghanistan Taliban leadership arrested in Pakistan"
Mullah Omar's 2 i/c Nabbed: "Was the Taliban's Captured No. 2 on the Outs with Mullah Omar?" - AFG: PAK to Hand Over Baradar - Long War Journal: Baradar to Afghanistan? Not so fast
OP Moshtarak: Taliban Spokesperson Claims +380 NATO Casualties in OP Moshtarak So Far (Scribd.com) - AFG Pres Office: Government Offices Reopen in Marjah - ISAF 24 Feb 10 Update - AP: "Afghan government claims Taliban stronghold" - Reuters: "Long-term Afghan Taliban resistance seen in Marjah" - "Bike Bomb Kills 7 Near Fight With Taliban for Town of Marjah, Afghanistan" - More - BBC Q&A: Helmand's head of council for tribal elders - "Literally tens of thousands of people have been uprooted from their homes and livelihood in the area of Marjah" - Marjah Really DOES Exist - BBC: Q&A w/AFG Reporter in Marjah
"Issue 1 of ISAF's new, monthly counterinsurgency magazine, COIN Common Sense"
"UN official urges steps to prevent child deaths in conflict" - News Conference - More
"NATO issues directive restricting night raids"
RAF Regiment Soldier Killed in K'Har Explosion - More - ISAF Planner: NLD Exit "unlikely to affect Afghan mission"
Talkin' to the Taliban: Warlord Says Talking to the Taliban Will Lead to the Bad Old Civil War Days - "Any Afghan talks would start secretly - expert" - "Q+A - How any talks with the Taliban might play out" - "U.S. grapples with Afghan reconciliation"
NATO Exploring RUS "Arms Assistance" for AFG
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): Taliban Claims Responsibility for K'Har Official Assassination; Attacks in Helmand, Uruzgan Alleged
24 Feb10
CAN TF Commander: "Although the publicity-heavy military strategy NATO adopted ahead of its ongoing offensive in Helmand province allowed the Taliban time to plant “hundreds” of makeshift bombs that are slowing troop progress, a similar operation planned in Canadian-led Kandahar province will largely use the same tactic"
Toronto Reservist Part of Next ROTO Getting Ready in U.S. - Sault Ste. Marie Reservists Deploying Soon
Angus Reid Poll: Canadians Split Down the Middle on Afghanistan Mission Support - Complete Poll (PDF)
Kandahar Provincial Official Gunned Down - More
Blog Watch: More from BruceR on Uruzgan Civvy Cas Strike
"Among allied forces fighting in Afghanistan, few countries have deployed a bigger share of their armed forces than Denmark, and fewer still have taken higher levels of casualties. But the small Scandinavian country is emerging as an unlikely example of how to maintain public support for the war."
"Karzai moves to control election watchdog" - "Canada Troubled Over Reported Revisions to Afghan Electoral Law" - More - more - more
OP Moshtarak: "Helmand benchmark for Afghan COIN" - Latest Moshtarak Claims by Taliban - AP: "NATO holds key Marjah roads, but hard battle ahead" - Stabilization Projects Going in Nad Ali
23 Feb10
Next ROTO Prepares to Leave Haiti to Prep to Head to AFG
Deputy Director Corrections Canada Team in K'Har Heading Home
More on Coming "Next Stop, Kandahar" Offensive
OP Moshtarak: "Afghan bike bombing kills seven: official" - Musa Qala a Bit Quieter? - Logistical Convoy Routes Opening Up - "Operations in Helmand province are the first stage of a broader offensive to change the course of the fight in Afghanistan, Defense Department leaders told the Senate Armed Services Committee" - "Afghan official who will govern Marja pays first visit, makes plea to residents" - Taliban Claim Dozens Killed, 9 Tanks Destroyed in Helmand - "Taliban tries kinder, gentler tactics in Marjah" (For Now) - " 'You cannot have security without good governance' "
NATO Looking for More Trainers for AFG - More
Blog Watch: "Until we crack down on corruption at all levels, REALLY crack down, then we are all wasting our time here" - Prisoner Rules Make it Hard to Get Useful Intelligence - More on Int Analyst Calling for Mo' Air in NY Times
More on Uruzgan/Daikondi Air Strike Civvy Cas - "Optimism persists despite Afghan airstrike" - UNAMA "Deeply Saddened" - McChrystal "Saddened"
US Up to 1K Cas in AFG - "Australia warns it can’t replace Dutch in Afghan province" - "Taliban Defeat The Dutch"
Talkin' to the Taliban: UN Uber-Envoy Says Taliban Could Stop Attacking Schools, Clinics to Show Good Faith - More - Time to Talk to Omar?
"Analysts: Afghan Taliban Links to al-Qaida Murky"
"The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, will be visiting Afghanistan from 20 to 26 February at the invitation of the Government." - "Afghan Boys Face Sexual Enslavement" - More
22 Feb10
"Approaching fight for Kandahar may be crucial stage in Afghanistan war - Current Nato push seen as 'confidence builder' "
Commander CAN Helicopter Force AFG Speaks to The Torch from K'Har
"Easily made bombs a complex problem for foreign troops" - "Military scientists scour vehicle debris to help save soldiers' lives"
Opinion: "Canada's military pullout will be a relief, after so much sacrifice. But Canada's aid should continue, generously, to honour that sacrifice and our vow not to abandon the Afghan people."
If In Doubt, Report on Ball Hockey in Kandahar - More - more
Two ISAF Troops Killed in Southern AFG
Reports of Air Strike Allegedly Hitting Civvies in Either Uruzgan or Daikondi - More - ISAF Statement - AFG Cabinet Pissed
Mullah Omar's 2 i/c Nabbed in Pakistan: "Baradar’s lips sealed, US wants him shifted to Afghan prison"
OP Moshtarak: AP: "Taliban mounting tough fight in Marjah" - IRN Press Agency: "Helmand elders want US-led forces out" - Another One Month Estimate to Get the Job Done - "One week in Helmand: Does the U.S. have the initiative?" - The Times (UK): "Tackling opium is key to successful operation in Marjah, analysts say" - NY Times: "General Calls Marja Push ‘Initial Salvo’ in Long Battle" - "Marja: not going too well" (1) - "Marja: not going too well, 2: the ANA performance"
"The prime minister of the Netherlands has confirmed that his country is likely to end its involvement in the Afgan war as planned." - "Dutch Afghanistan pullout to start in August" - More
Talkin' to the Taliban: :"Hamid Karzai's rival warns him not to cut deals with Taliban"
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): Cdns Alleged Killed in Kharkiz IED Blast; +70 Claimed Killed in Helmand
21 Feb10
One of Canada's War Wounded Wants to Head Back Downrange - More - more
30 Days Around Afghanistan Blog: Canadian EODist at Work - Talking to a Canadian OMLT-eer
Mullah Omar's 2 i/c Nabbed in Pakistan: CIA Seeks Baradar’s Transfer to Bagram
OP Moshtarak: ISAF Update - More Taliban Claims of ISAF Cas (+50) in OP Moshtarak - Brit Officer and NCO Killed - VOA: "NATO Says Operation Moshtarak is Making Progress" - Al Jazeera: "Afghanistan offensive easing off " - Michael Yon: "The operation is in no way led by Afghans. NATO is a platform used by remora members to hitch rides on mostly US/UK influence/efforts" - AP: "Marines converge on Taliban holdouts in Marjah" - Washington Post: "In Marja, it's war the old-fashioned way" - LA Times/Telegraph: "Struggle to hold fast in Helmand" - "New Civilian Death Claims in Helmand Sweep" - "Operation Moshtarak battlefield diary: Fighting to build bridges" - "What might the Afghan approach to gaining a foothold in Marjah look like? How might the landowners, merchants and farmers, civil administrators, leaders of the Afghan National Army (ANA), local police, local fighters, and allies of the Taliban interact with one another?"
"Dutch PM: troops to leave Afghanistan as planned" - More
Talkin' to the Taliban: "Taliban reject renewed Karzai call for peace"
20 Feb10
"Countering IEDs before they kill Canadians"
OP Moshtarak - Big Push in Helmand: RC-South Update - "President Karzai Chairs Security Meeting to Discuss Marjah Operation" - "Killer of five British soldiers was 'within a whisker' of arrest"
"Metallica in Helmand": What the Troops are Listening To Downrange
Mullah Omar's 2 i/c Nabbed in Pakistan: ."Mullah Baradar: a journey from Kandahar to Karachi "
Three Americans Killed in Zhari Blast - IED Planter Nabbed in Kandahar
Would an AFG Conscript Army Help?
NLD Gov't Falls Due to AFG Mission - More
"Russia blasts NATO drugs policy in Afghanistan at OSCE meeting"
19 Feb10
"Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon says he is concerned by reports that Afghanistan's election laws could be in for significant changes."
Mullah Omar's 2 i/c Nabbed in Pakistan: PAK Says It Won't Transfer Omar's Sidekick to USA - "Next in Line: Mullah Abdul Qayum Zakir?" - More - "Pakistan’s move against the Afghan Taleban could mark a decisive strategic shift. But the West should not count on it"
OP Moshtarak - Big Push in Helmand: "The United Nations will not be involved in NATO's reconstruction plans for Marjah, the target of an ongoing military offensive" - "What Will Success Look Like in Operation Moshtarak?" - "Soldier from 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards killed in Afghanistan" - "Soldier from 1st Battalion Scots Guards killed in Afghanistan" - Taliban Claim 40+ American Casualties in OP Moshtarak; Latest Moshtarak Statement - General Messenger's Update - Christian Science Monitor: "In Marjah, Afghanistan, allied offensive going well so far" - Reuters: "NATO may need 30 days to secure Taliban stronghold" - "Why The U.S. Has Already Lost"
Opinion: NY Times Op-Ed Calls for More Air Support in AFG - "Makes a lot of sense--but the politics, both Afghan and international, involving civilian deaths are effectively insurmountable" - "In the long term passing up the tactical advantage of superior air power has the strategic benefit of increasing public support for the ISAF presence." - "You must make a case for why air strikes are a more effective counterinsurgency tool than troop-on-insurgent engagements—something this op-ed does not do."
Taliban Anti-air OSINT: 3 x "Anti-Aircraft Weapons" Nabbed in Helmand
"The Dutch cabinet is set for a head-on collision ... as it meets in the midst of a crisis about continued involvement in the war in Afghanistan."
Talkin' to the Taliban: "Afghanistan's tribal leaders say they are the key to brokering a truce with the Taliban."
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): Taliban Claims 3 Cdns Killed in Zhari IED Blast - Taliban Claim 40+ American Casualties in OP Moshtarak; Latest Moshtarak Statement
18 Feb10
How Canada's Wounded are Being Treated
"Canada should make a concerted effort to block any attempt by Afghan President Hamid Karzai to strike a backroom peace deal with the Taliban, says Abdullah Abdullah, Afghanistan's main opposition leader."
Mullah Omar's 2 i/c Reportedly Nabbed in Pakistan: White House Pleased - Yet Another Taliban Denial of Baradar's Kidnapping - "Apparently Pakistan is miffed that they've been left out of negotiations with the Taliban, and they want back in. Getting Baradar out of the picture might have simply been a chess move on their part to eliminate someone they didn't have any control over." - "The arrest in Pakistan of a top Afghan Taliban commander should bolster Pakistan's position as it manoeuvres to play a leading role in any Afghan peace process, but probably does not signal a fundamental Pakistani policy shift."
OP Moshtarak - Big Push in Helmand: NATO Says Taliban's Running Out of Ammo - More Taliban Claims from OP Moshtarak in Helmand - Washington Post: "Taliban resistance slows coalition forces" - One Man's "Resistance" is Another's "Methodical Advance"
Fixing Bridges in Zabul
OSINT Taliban Anti-Air/SAM Info: Taliban Claims UAV Shoot Down in Khost
Talkin' to the Taliban: "Afghan, Taliban Envoys Met For Talks In Maldives"
17 Feb10
RC-South's Canadian Planning Boss: CF Troops to be "Tip of Spear" in Coming Kandahar Offensive - More
Mullah Omar's 2 i/c Nabbed in Pakistan: PAK Army Confirms Arrest - "Arrest of Taliban Chief May Be Crucial for Pakistanis" - Taliban Spox: "Whoever has made this propaganda, it is totally false… With this sort of propaganda they want to affect the heart of Muslims. I assure all Muslims in Afghanistan and abroad that Mullah Brader has not been arrested, he is in Afghanistan." - "Taliban leader's arrest a new blow to insurgents" - "Baradar: Why Now?" - What's This Mean About PAK Int, Intentions? - Could Nabbed Shadow Governor of Helmand be Grassing on Taliban Leadership in PAK? - "What his capture means for the day-to-day and strategic activities of the Taliban is unclear, though it could be game-changing. On the other hand, the Taliban has weathered the death of senior, effective, influential figures before" - "Ironically, Baradur's place will likely be inherited by Abdul Qayum Zakir, a Taliban fighter first captured back in Mazar in the very early days of 2001 and released from Guantanamo to Afghan custody in late 2007" - "Next in Line: Mullah Abdul Qayum Zakir?" - Analyst via Twitter: "it's a pretty seismic event .... doesn't bode well for 'negotiations'. A big retaliatory attack to come in Kabul or in south in next few days" - "The arrest .... proves that Taliban leaders indeed use sanctuaries inside Pakistan, including Karachi"
OP Moshtarak - Big Push in Helmand: Taliban Using Human Shields in Helmand - Helmand Elders Call for Protection from Taliban During Push - AFG DefMin Calls on Defeated Taliban to Come Into the Tent - UK MoD: "Progress achieved in asserting Afghan governance in central Helmand" - Reuters: "Military phase will give way to political outreach" - Al Jazeera English: "US claims Afghan offensive progress" - Latest Taliban statements about and claims of Allied casualties in OP Moshtarak - "Kingsman Sean Dawson killed in Afghanistan" - "Sapper Guy Mellors killed in Afghanistan" - "Three Civilians Accidentally Killed During Operation Moshtarak" - Governor of Helmand province .... urging military commanders to be "much more careful" about civilian casualties
OSINT Taliban/Anti-Air: Chinook allegedly shot down in Helmand, alleged Stinger arms dealer blown up in PAK
Six AUS Troops Wounded in AFG Since 1 Jan 10
Canada Asks US Not to Use Evidence Given to Canadian Officials in Khadr Boy's Prosecution - Khadr's Defence Counsel Objects
Talkin' to the Taliban: Analyst Shares Street Talk from AFG About Talkin' to Taliban
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): More Translation Woes (But not for Taliban Specifically)
16 Feb10
Joshua Caleb Baker, R.I.P.: He's Home - More - more - more - more
OP Moshtarak - Big Push in Helmand: CAN, US Troops Help Keep AFG Child Alive - Brit Soldier Killed by Gunfire in Musa Qala - Identified - Brit Counter-IED Sapper Killed in Sangin Blast - NATO SecGen Regrets ISAF Rocket Civvy Cas - McClatchy Wire Service: Taliban Holding Hostages when Hit by Rockets? - More Civvy Cas Alleged - AFG Public Health Says Polio Vaccination Push Delayed by Moshtarak - Latest Taliban Moshtarak Statements - The Guardian (UK): Taliban "Capital" Subdued - Registan.net Still Unimpressed with Reporter Backgrounding, Info - AAP News: "Almost Subdued" - NY Times: Fewer Taliban, but Heavy Fighting - BBC: "Taliban 'forced from strongholds' " - AP: Taliban Steps Up Counterattacks - Al Jazz English: Offensive Meeting Resistance - Worries from Evacuees
Taliban's Military Commander Reportedly Nabbed in Pakistan: Associated Press - Reuters - AFP - DPA - New York Times - Wall Street Journal - Bloomberg - Some Taliban Claim He Was Captured in Helmand - "Taliban strategist was seen as future negotiator" - BBC Profile - Taliban Denies Capture - "Implications of Mulla Baradar’s Arrest" - MILNEWS.ca: Last Statement Says Taliban Couldn't Be Bought - Registan.net: "There is a chance this is the opening stage of a gambit to force Mullah Omar to the negotiating table."
"Court martial of Canadian soldier over Afghan death to open March 15"
"Canadians in Afghanistan raise more than $12K to help victims of Haiti quake" - More
"Civilians Accidentally Killed in Kandahar" - More - more
15 Feb10
Joshua Caleb Baker, R.I.P.: Arriving Home Today - More
Senior CAN Engineer Officer in AFG Highlighted by BBC
Big Push in Helmand: Lucky CAN Soldier Stops Bullet to Forehead with Helmand - More Taliban Claims from OP Mosharak in Helmand - UK Identifies 13 Feb 10 Fallen - UK 6 RIFLES Soldier Fallen - NATO: 12 Civilians Killed in Missile Strike Accident - More - more - AFPS: Clearing Phase Continues - NY Times Says Insurgents Fleeing - BBC: Bad Guys Fleeing, IED's Slowing Progress - AP: Snipers Holding Up Progress - CNN: "Scattered Resistance" - Registan.net on How Campaign Reporting Is Far from Consistent - Brits Nail Bomb-Making Factory - "Anti-war campaigners have dismissed the latest military onslaught in Afghanistan as a "propaganda ploy" and reiterated their demand for the immediate withdrawal of all troops from the country." - Chair of Joint Chiefs: Moshtarak "began well but its completion is difficult to predict" - Tough Part Yet to Begin?
"Dozens of Canadian soldiers say they suffered mild traumatic brain injuries while serving in Afghanistan, according to the first data collected by the military on what's been called a signature injury of the conflict."
Bomb-making, Judicial Bad Guys Nabbed in Kandahar Raids
Talkin' to the Taliban: "Why Taliban Reintegration and Reconciliation is the Right Move" - "Many believe the road to (Afghanistan's) stability and security will inevitably run through Pakistan--and to the Taliban"
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): Taliban Warns US to Learn History on Anniversary of Soviet Withdrawal from Afghanistan (Voice of Jihad English - Text at non-terrorist blog)
14 Feb10
Joshua Caleb Baker, R.I.P.: On His Way Home - More - more - Family Statement - Commander-in-Chief Message - Prime Minister Statement - Minister of National Defence Statement
Big Push in Helmand: UK MoD: "Initial key objectives of Op Moshtarak achieved" - First ISAF Update - Into Day Two - More - Taliban Shoots Back at AFG Flag Raising - UK Grenadier Guard Killed - GrenGuard Identified - Could Ridding Area of Taliban Drug Dealers Open Up Market for Others? - Registan.net's "Covering the Coverage" - Wire Service Reporter Considers Heliborne Assault "Surprise Tactic"?
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): More OP Moshtarak "News", 19 Americans Claimed Killed in Alleged K'Har Suicide Attack - More
Why "Cyber Vigilantes" Are Not On When They Disrupt Jihadi Web Sites - More
13 Feb10
Joshua Caleb Baker, R.I.P.: DND Statement - More - Army.ca Condolences Thread - MILNEWS.ca Page
Big Push in Helmand: And They're Off! - ISAF Joint Command Statement Highlighting Who's at the Party - UK MoD Statement - More - more - more - Canadian Helicopters Part of Heliborne Assault Wave - Brit Sapper Officer's Pep Talk Before Crossing Start Line - BBC Podcast of Reporter in ISAF HQ - Taliban Say They Still Control Marjah - More - What the Taliban is Saying in Pashto about the Push (More in English below)
"Taliban sub-commander, IED and high explosives expert and suspected insurgent" Nabbed in Arghandab Building Search
Three Uruzgan IED Attacks Wound Two Aussie Troops
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): Moshtarak Claims; Attacks Also Claimed in Kandahar, Uruzgan and Zabul
12 Feb10
Wounded Getting High Tech Help in Ottawa - More
Big Push in Helmand: Institute for the Study of War Backgrounder on OP Moshtatak - "US and Afghan troops ring Taliban stronghold" - "Afghans warned off Taliban ahead of offensive" - "Tribal elders seek NATO assurances of protection" - Remember Kajaki Dam Op? - "The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has voiced concern about access to health care for conflict-affected people in Helmand"
Opinion: "Measuring operational success "
"Soldier from Coldstream Guards killed in Afghanistan"
Talkin' to the Taliban: "Unless people are protected against the kind of assault carried out on the Argandab and intimidation in Helmand, they will not be able to turn their back on the insurgency." - Meanwhile, Hekmatyar Offers Terms - More - "Afghanistan quietly brings into force Taliban amnesty law" - "Maybe we should try calling up our Taliban and try talking to them, they might respond in Shakespearian Middle English, but that’s nothing expert negotiators like Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman shouldn’t be able to circumvent."
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): Main Web Pages, Forums Down (But Not All of Them) - Reports of Alleged Brit Cas in Helmand
"How the Taliban pressed bin Laden"
McChrystal in PAK Discussing Border Security
11 Feb10
AFG General Mourns Loss of Canadians, Too
Big Push in Helmand: Taliban Spokesperson: "I can say at this point that we'll be using tactics we deployed in the Nawa and Khanishin operations .... It will be mostly hit-and-run and roadside bomb attacks" - "Afghanistan civilians aren't taking the hint"
"On Afghanistan's Highway One, the US military strategy to prevent roadside bombs is killing civilians."
Khadr Boy Headed to Military Tribunal - More
"Soldier's murder case adjourned after lawyer fails in bid to broaden jury pool" - More
Flooding in RC-South Kills At Least 15 People, 1,000 Heads if Livestock
ISAF Boss in AFG Shutting Down Some Base Exchanges around AFG
UK SAS Credited with 50 Bad Guy Boss Kills - NLD Considering Smaller, Training Role in Uruzgan - More - Text of NATO Request in .html and PDF formats
Opinion: Time for a Debate on CAN's Future in AFG - "Go to the hinterlands of Afghanistan, where life is more like the 14th century then the 21st, and ask yourself what is more important to the poor Afghan: roads and a prosperity he has never known or the sanctity of his very soul that is guarded for him by the mullah that we ignore at our peril." - "A sham unity government is not the recipe for stability but rather a guarantee for protracted conflict."
Talkin' to the Taliban: Analysts Skeptical about Talkin' to the Taliban - Think Tank Paper "Negotiating with the Taliban: toward a solution for the Afghan conflict"
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): More Losses Claimed in Helmand
PAK Police Official: "When asked about the presence of the Afghan Taliban's shura in Quetta, Javed Bukhari said such reports were baseless and far from reality."
10 Feb10
Big Push in Helmand: "U.S. forces, backed up by Afghan army troops and their Canadian trainers, began a preliminary operation Tuesday in advance of an expected offensive to take the largest Taliban-controlled town in southern Afghanistan." - More - "Whatever happens in Marja, Afghan civilians will suffer" - Folks Getting Tired of Having to Leave Home (Again) - Here's How the Taliban is "Helping" the People - Red Cross Beefing Up Medical Support with Helmand Push
Opinion: "Sleepwalking into Afghanistan was the federal government's first mistake. Sleepwalking out of it will only compound the error."
More on Taliban's Alleged New Non-Detectable IED (And How the Taliban Named It) - So, Which Is It, Taliban, Fight or Hide?
"NATO frustration as Afghan police flunk drug tests" - "Soviet-Era Brass Take Command Again In Alliance of Former Battlefield Rivals"
Latest 1 SCOTS Fallen Identified - Fallen Engineer Warrant Officer Identified - Brit Report: Camp Bastion Medical Facilities Approaching Capacity, UK Hospitals Under "Increasing Pressure" - AUS Special Ops Talk to Elders - More on NLD Mulling Future Options in AFG - More - Inquiry Finds AFG Civilian Threw Himself in Front of AUS Vehicle in October 2009 Incident
Talkin' to the Taliban: Terry Glavin: "Surrender by any other name" - "Talking to the Taliban: Buying peace perilous idea"
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): US, Brit Tanks Allegedly Blasted in Marjah, Helmand
"Pakistan Is Said to Pursue Role in Afghan Talks With U.S."
9 Feb10
The Fight Up Close in Zhari - More
Big Push in Helmand: "Canadian general is British commander's 'eyes and ears ' in Helmand" - So, Which Is it Taliban: Stand and Fight, or Hide? - NATO Warns Civvies to Keep Their Heads Down - ISAF Statement - Registan.Net Calls on MSM to Give the REST of the Story - More on Karzai's Reintegration Plan
"Governor of Kandahar hosts a shura to discuss education system"
NLD Cabinet to Consider Options in Response to NATO Asking It to Stay - More - AUS, AFG Forces Meet with Elders in Uruzgan
More on Amnesty Int'l Seeing the Taliban for What is Is
Talkin' to the Taliban: PAK Army Officer Training in US Explains Why It's Important to Talk to Taliban
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): KAF Allegedly Rocketed; 13 AFG, Brit, US Troops Allegedly Killed in Helmand
8 Feb10
Big Push in Helmand: AFG Villagers Say Taliban Getting Ready - Big Pre-Sell of Push = Chance for Taliban to Give it Up - "Planned Afghan assault to send 'strong signal': McChrystal" - Brit Commander: We'll Hold What We Capture
Helmand "diversifies into heroin as crop price falls"
"Battle to electrify Kandahar shows Afghan dilemma" - "Special faith-based loans helping Kandahar's poor to prosper" - "With 108 schools in his province crumbling and out of use, Kandahar Governor Tooryalai Wesa has a long wish list."
"Two soldiers from 1 SCOTS killed in Afghanistan" - More - more
Karzai Considering Military Conscription
Talkin' to the Taliban: "US denies 'direct Taliban contact' " - UK DefMin Tells NATO "Don't Wait for Taliban Unconditional Surrender to Talk" - All Things CT Blog on DefMin Comments - BruceR on Taliban Saying "No Talks": "So long as the Afghan army is still seen by the insurgents as a joke, this will be their position" - Editorial: "What kind of message does it send if those Afghans who chose the path of violence reap greater rewards than those who remained peaceful?"
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): Taliban "Claim o' Allied Casualties" Surge Out of Helmand
7 Feb10
CAN TF Kandahar Commander on Surge: "The bottleneck will be the Afghan capacity to handle all the (mil, civilian) resources coming in." - FYI, Here's the US Military Public Affairs Version of the Mission Mentioned in This Story
Big Push in Helmand: It Could Involve Canadian Troops (Mentoring AFG Troops in the Fight) - Special Forces Paving the Way for Big Push - The Fallujah Comparison Again - McChrystal: "The success of a planned major U.S.-Afghan offensive in the south depends on how quickly troops and civilian development workers can get public services up and running once the Taliban have been driven away"
U.S. Military Public Affairs Staff Profile Canadians Helping in the Air: "Canadian Airmen Support Airborne Warning and Control in Southwest Asia" - "Canadian Forces Officer, Sudbury Native, Serves As Mission Crew Commander With Southwest Asia Unit" - "Canadian Forces Captain, Collingwood Native, Directs Air Battle Space for Southwest Asia AWACS Missions"
Calgary Man, Rejected for CF, Fights as Officer with UK
Stars & Stripes Picks Up the "Hockey in Kandahar" Meme
Helmand Poochie Wins Poochie VC
Karzai Calls for End to All Civvy Casualties, "Parallel Activities" by NGOs, UN and Agencies - More - Meanwhile, Looking Into AFG Border Cops Shooting Civilians - And Car Bomb Kills Four Cops, Two Civilians in Kandahar - "Taliban make children plant IEDs to thwart Army snipers"
Talkin' to the Taliban: Statement on Taliban page says they want to talk, BUT... - Opinion: "Women's rights would face challenges in a Western peace deal with the Taliban"
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): 20 ISAF, AFG Troops Claimed Killed in Helmand; Rockets on KAF
6 Feb10
Families of Some of Canada's Fallen Visit AFG to Remember, Mourn
James Hayward Arnal, 1983-2008, R.I.P.: Bomb-sniffing Poochie Fallen Soldier's Legacy
Big Push in Helmand: How Canadian Chinooks are Doing Their Part - Alleged Taliban Commander in Helmand Says He's Good to Go - "Afghans in Marjah have a drug trade to defend" - "Thousands of civilians flee Afghan region as Nato plans onslaught"
IRN Media: Taliban Claim New Undetectable IED Now in Action - VOJ Pashto Statement (PDF at scribd.com) - Reporter Michael Yon: Binary Compound Detonation?
U.S. Troops Hoping to Court Mullah Omar’s Father-in-law in Arghandab? - More - more
AFG Police Accused of Killing Seven Boys Collecting Firewood at Night in Spin Boldak - More
"The U.S. is waging war against both the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban and al Qaida warriors. Are they all the same?"
Talkin' to the Taliban: Talk of the Shape of a Road Map for Negotiations, Mediation? - "(Taliban) pragmatists do not expect to renounce jihad but to redefine it. They will not surrender but they hope that the Taliban movement might be rehabilitated as a moral Islamic force inside the Afghan political system."
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): Taliban Claims 5 Cdns, 1 Bomb Dog Killed in Alleged Zhari Blast - Brits, Americans Claimed Killed in Helmand
5 Feb10
Big Push in Helmand: NATO Copying Canadians? - Taliban Selling it Up Too - UK MoD Statement - More - Twitter Feed on OP Moshtarak
CF Seeking Publication Ban on Some Parts of Officer's Murder Trial - Court Martial Back At It Next Week
Opinion: "2010 may be the last hurrah for (Canada's) military in the field, before another drought sets in."
PAK Tribesmen Killed in Spin Boldak Dispute Returned to PAK
NATO SecGen: "Afghanistan "to stand on its own feet" from 2010"
McChrystal: "The situation is serious, but I think we have made significant progress in setting the conditions in 2009" - Registan.net: Not So Fast - More
Three Killed as Motorcycle Bombs Lashkar Gah Dog Fight - More - more - ISAF Pissed
Another Aussie Injured in 30 Jan 10 IED Blast in Uruzgan - Brit Cook Keeps Helmand Troops Going on Spam When Supplies Interrupted
Talkin' to the Taliban: AFG Tribal Affairs Minister: "The Afghan government backs a U.S. military scheme to plough aid money toward tribes who organise against the Taliban, but wants more of the cash routed through Kabul"
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): London Conference Reax; 24 Allies Claimed Killed in Alleged Helmand, Uruzgan and Zabul Attacks - Reuters on Taliban's London Conference Statement
4 Feb10
CAN Chief of Def Staff: "Protecting reputation during withdrawal from Afghan mission will be a top priority"
Ronald Kevin Megeney, R.I.P.: "A report on the improper use of weapons by Canadian Forces reservists has been delayed by several months due to the length of transcripts from a court martial into the fatal shooting of a Canadian soldier in Afghanistan."
CAN Gov't Not Asking for Khadr Boy Back
Mandatory "Hockey in Kandahar" Story
Big Push in Helmand: From Hint to Announcement - More - more - more
Hoping for Help from Someone Nasty in Arghandab?
Unnamed NATO Int Officer: "The potential exists for thousands more insurgents in Afghanistan because they already have training bases and there is no shortage of would-be fighters, weapons or money"
"For some kids in Kandahar city, labour is the only life they know" - "Girls in Kandahar city brave threat of violence to learn job skills"
"Afghan ambassador upbraids Liberals' Ignatieff: we're no crooks"
Aid agencies in southern Afghanistan urged not to pay Taliban protection money
UK RAF counter-IED team prepare for first Afghan deployment - More
CAN Detainee Handling Fracas: "Liberals blame government, not soldiers, in detainee dispute"
Talkin' to the Taliban: "Afghan's Karzai cancels talks with Saudi leaders to talk about talkin' to Taliban" - Asia Times: Taliban'll Talk if Surge Halted? - US Reportedly Pressing Karzai to Call for BIG Concessions from Taliban Before Talking - It's Not About Bribing Taliban, It's About a "Political Process" - NATO SecGen: Reintegration =/= Bribe the Tribes - "We musk ask how any deal will keep the faith with brave Afghan men and women who have put their wish for better country on the line by supporting our troops, the democratic process and new security forces."
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): 15 Troops, 2 Poochies, 1 Translator Claimed Killed in Alleged Helmand, Zabul Attacks
3 Feb10
CAN Needs to Decide on Pulling Vandoos Out of HTI to Prep for AFG
CAN Troops Support AFG Police OP Tazi Kandahar
CAN Cutting NGO Demining Money?
CAN Detainee Handling Fracas: Conservatives Accuse Liberals of Questioning the Actions of CAN Troops in Latest MP Flyer
More on CAN Troops Helping Train AFG Security Forces on IEDs
Pentagon: "About 18,000 of the 30,000 additional U.S. troops authorized by President Barack Obama for Afghanistan to arrive by late spring, laying the ground for a major push to reverse Taliban gains."
NATO SecGen: Need more military trainers; London plan good, but implementation by AFG, int'l community needed - Meanwhile, PAK Says It Can Help Train AFG Troops
US Chief of Joint Chiefs on Taliban: "A growing influence in most of Afghanistan's provinces (but) It's better than it's ever been and we're just a few months into it"
Blog Watch: "What we most certainly DON’T need, is a further creep of political power into the hands of the military who, we must remember, only come with a limited toolbox and set of resources to respond to different kinds of problems"
Three AFG Troops Killed, Two AFG, One AUS Troops Wounded in Uruzgan Blasts - Radio Nad-e-Ali On The Air (Thanks to Brit Military Help)
Talkin' to the Taliban: SAU Says They'll Mediate IF Taliban Clearly Breaks Away from AQ - AUS ForMin: "There is a qualitative difference between a hardcore Al Qaeda associated terrorist and someone who sees no alternative road for themselves and their family due to current circumstances in Afghanistan."
More on How Connected (Or Not) AQ is to the Taliban
Profile of Taliban Propaganda Tactics
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): TPW RC-South: Taliban Claim Ten Dutch Tps Killed in Alleged Attacks in Uruzgan, Zabul
US Reportedly Exploring AFG Resupply Route Through China
2 Feb10
CAN TF Commander Plans "Rings" of Security Around Kandahar City
Former TF Commander: They Haven't Died in Vain
CAN Custom Agents Helping Train AFG Border Guards
Canadian Officer Charged with Murder to be Tried in Quebec, Not Kandahar
CAN Detainee Handling Fracas: "The commander of Canadian Forces Base Gagetown has been named to a military board of inquiry tasked with examining an incident involving an Afghan detainee."
Sun Media Cherry Picks Incidents on Decompression Stop in Cyprus
Bashing "60 Minutes" Weekend Piece on SF in Afghanistan: Former CF OMLT'eer BruceR - Registan's Joshua Foust - Free Range International's babatim
Big Explosive Fertilizer Find in Kandahar - "Very Close Friend" of AFG Pres Killed in Kandahar
AUS DefMin Making "last-ditch attempt this week to persuade his Dutch counterpart that the Netherlands should not pull all its troops out of Afghanistan" - New Military, Civilian Bosses for NLD's Task Force Uruzgan (Google English from Dutch) - NLD Civil Leader of Task Force Uruzgan Prepares to Rotate Out
Taliban’s Collateral Damage Compensation Policy Revealed - Taliban Using Pigeons, Smoke Signals for Comms
Talkin' to the Taliban: BruceR on Why Would They Bother to Talk Now? - Opinion: "Unseasonably communicative military commanders may weaken the Afghan insurgents' incentives to make peace." - "Whatever cards Karzai holds, and no matter who would have the winning hand at a table with the Taliban, this just isn't a game that Afghan's women's rights leaders are interested in playing." - "Well-placed Taliban and diplomatic sources": “On the basis of past experiences, such initiatives never succeeded”
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): Canadian Tank Allegedly Destroyed with Six Killed
1 Feb10
CAN TF Commander: "An influx of foreign fighters into southern Afghanistan to fight alongside the Taliban is backfiring on the insurgents by alienating the region's biggest ethnic group"
CAN Envoy to AFG: New Security Levels to be Decided After CAN Troops Leave?
"Hope dim, but labourers still gather daily in Kandahar for crack at meagre wage"
US Soldier Killed in Southern AFG Blast
"The (UK) shadow defence secretary, suggested German money should subsidise British forces in Afghanistan, as he called for reform of the 60-year-old Nato military alliance."
Talkin' to the Taliban: On Talking to the Taliban, Handshakes and Deniability - "Revamped negotiating style with Taliban insurgents (may) undermine the international community's political and military missions"
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): Protest in Helmand Over Intercept of Vehicles with Coffins; ISAF, AFG Casualties Claimed in Alleged Attacks in Kandahar, Helmand
31 Jan 10
Associated Press: "Bolstered by the U.S. troop surge, the commander of Canadian forces in Afghanistan said Saturday he believes the allied coalition can cripple the Taliban in the country's volatile south by summer but not before hard fighting."
Racist Poster on PowerPoint Command Presentation = Bn Commander, CSM Dumped
"Marines pressing Afghan army to take larger security role"
Bad Boy Nabbed in Shah Wali Kot - More
Talkin' to the Taliban: Canadian Ambassador: Careful You Don't Shut Anyone Out in Talking to Taliban - Karzai Wants Talliban to Drop "You Leave, We Talk" Condition for Talks - More on Taliban Saying Talk of Dubai Talks "Rumours" - Another Taliban Spokesperson Says Nobody Talked to West - "Like previous failed attempts to negotiate, it remains unclear who from the Taliban is at the table, and whether they have their leader's blessing" - TUR Foreign Minister Quoted Saying "A peace deal between Afghanistan’s government and parts of the Taliban will not end the worldwide threat from al-Qaeda" - Meanwhile, Those Who've Crossed Over Not All Getting Fair Shake
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): Taliban's Version of Lashkar Gah Arracks; 21 ISAF Troops, 14 AFG Troops Alleged Killed in Attacks in Helmand, Uruzgan and Zabul
"Malaysia hopes the Organisation of The Islamic Conference (OIC) can play a greater role in ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan."
30 Jan 10
"U.S. adds more troops to Canada-led Afghan battle group"
CAN Chief of Land Staff: "Olympics, Haiti won't affect Afghan deployment"
"Afghan security forces reacted quickly today to contain an insurgent attack on the Afghan National Army's Sharwali Barracks on the western edge of Lashkar Gah" - More - more - more
"Donors will provide around $2.6 billion to finance development in Afghanistan through a World Bank-administered reconstruction fund over the next three financial years"
Blog Watch: Macleans Bloggers Credit Jack Layton for Suggesting Talking to the Taliban Here and Here - Brian Platt: "What Layton was blatantly and openly calling for was the removal of international soldiers by way of cutting a deal with senior Taliban members" - Terry Glavin: "Layton's NDP had broken with every serious political party in the western hemisphere by adopting as its core Afghanistan policy: Support Our Troops, Bring 'em home." - Adrian MacNair: "“Kudos” to Jack Layton? Why not commend the Taliban for their hard work during these past nine years as well?" - All I Can Add is a Graphic
Talkin' to the Taliban: Taliban calls word of Dubai talks with UN envoy "baseless and unfounded propaganda" (Statement at non-terrorist site) - More - more - more - more - Meanwhile, Saudis Allegedly Mediating - AQ "would face pressure from Afghan deal-making" - PAK Int Officer: Mullah Omar Aching to Dump AQ
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): 26 Afghan tps alleged killed in Lashkar Gah violence, 5 civvy cas claimed in Helmand
29 Jan 10
"Brigadier-General Daniel Ménard, the country's top commander in Afghanistan, is poised to launch a new offensive ahead of this spring's fighting season"
1 Jan 10, MILNEWS.ca: CF Looking Into Mental Readiness for Deployment Screening - 28 Jan 10, National Post: "Soldiers heading to gruelling assignments may have to meet mental checklist" - Small Wars Journal Discussion
CF "needs to monitor post-combat suicides, panel told"
"Afghanistan looking to burnish image of boys in blue by going after crooked cops"
The London Conference: Official List o' Big Outcomes - Official Communique - Big Takeaways Were Talking to the Taliban to Reconcile, Reintegrate (More) as Part of the Big Exit Plan - NATO SecGen: We'll Stay Until AFG is Secure - Karzai Already Inviting Taliban to Big Meeting After UN Uber-Envoy Reportedly Met with Taliban Bosses in Dubai - What Pakistan and Saudi Arabia (More) Are Willing to Do to Help - US Already Looking at Who Might be Let Into the Tent - UK Def Secretary: "It will have to be done" even at a time of "continuing losses" - Taliban Response: "I cannot say a word regarding these peace talks. The Taliban leadership will soon decide whether to take part."
Canada Putting Money into Counter-Narcotics Work, but Holding Back to Decide on Contributing to Taliban Reintegration/Reconciliation (More) - CAN Foreign Minister's Speaking Notes
CAN Detainee Handling Fracas: "Military wants answers about why key torture report was hidden"
Big Taliban Attack on Lashkar Gah Barracks, Gov't Buildings - More - more - more - more - List of Lnks to Taliban's Version of Events (In Arabic)
Ratting on the Taliban a Hard Sell in Zhari
US Soldier Killed by IED Strike in South
Weapon Cache Nabbed in Panjwai Compound Search - Remember ISAF Troops Discovering Burned Korans in Helmand Last Week? Here's Who May Have Done It
Blog Watch: Adrian MacNair Shares About Fertilizer Woes, and Amnesty International Joining the Taliban Human Rights Pile On Too Late
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): Brit, Dutch, US, Aussie & Afghans claimed killed in atks across RC-S
UN Development Official: Are PRT's Doing Too Much instead of Gov't in Afghanistan?
28 Jan 10
US NATO Envoy to CAN, NLD: Please don’t go
Next ROTO in U.S. Preparing to Head Downrange
Former CAN TF Cdr: "Canada is on its way to achieving its goals in Afghan -istan and will be able to leave in 2011 with its head held high"
Canada Will Only Support Reintegration Plan ""if the fighters disarmed and renounced violence and terrorism" (More below under "Talkin' to the Taliban") - "Bribing insurgent commanders to switch sides is just one step toward making a deal in Afghanistan"
"(Canada's) shrinking influence becomes evident as other nations commit more ideas, funds and troops" - "We must not waste the sacrifices made by our soldiers -- there is much we can do to help Afghanistan post-2011"
Liberals Suggest "a special envoy to lead Canadian efforts to work on governance, on a reconciliation process and a post-2011 future in Afghanistan" - Is One Necessary? - No, I Mean Really? - I Don't Think So
CAN Detainee Handling Fracas: "Afghan whistleblower to have legal fees paid: Foreign Affairs" - More - "Afghan detainees hearings to resume in March"
Some Farmers Pissed at Fertilizer Ban - More on Which Fertilizer Goes Boom
"NATO struggling to fulfill commitments for more troops in Afghanistan"
Blog Watch: LOADS More Information on Arghandab, Bosses Being Relieved of Command (h/t to Mark at the Torch for drawing the eye) - More - CAN Officer at US Army/USMC COIN Centre Blog: Finding Root Cause of Insurgency Confusing - Former CAN TF Commander Says It's Not Easy Communicating COIN Success - "The Taliban Don't Want Our Money .... They want to own Afghanistan and they will continue to kill as many of the locals as they deem necessary in order to get what they want."
Taliban on London Conference (Link to Voice of Jihad English; PDF at non-terrorist site here): "There was vast media propaganda campaign prior to the holding of the said conferences accompanied by extravagant outlays and expenditure but they were not fruitful as to the issue of the Afghans."
Talkin' to the Taliban: "Taliban talks and Groundhog Day" - More on Security Council Removing Five From AQ/Taliban Blacklist - List of Those Removed - Taliban Say Those Taken Off List Not Taliban Anymore - Taliban Calls Reintegration Plans "Trick" - Amnesty International and Women Worry About Rights if Taliban Comes Into the Tent - It's About Time Groups Picked on the Right Culprits - What One Brit Official Says "Reconciliation" and "Reintegration" Means - UN Uber-Envoy Says "'Unsavoury characters' need to be involved" - BIG Money Needed
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): Taliban Alleges 9 Canadians Killed in Zhari - More on Taliban Denying Online Fundraising
Grenade Attack on Trailers Carrying Vehicles Bound for Kandahar in Karachi
27 Jan 10
UK Ambassador New NATO Senior Civilian Representative for Afghanistan
Blog Watch: MILNEWS.ca on Taliban Denying Any Internet-Based Fundraising - Registan.net on "What to Look for at the London Conference"
Talkin' to the Taliban: UN's AQ/Taliban Sanctions Committee Says Some Taliban Now Off List - What the List Looks Like Now - RUS Says They Won't Block List Changes - MILNEWS.ca: Still Big Stumbling Blocks to Talks - More - "Afghanistan's neighbours back move to talk peace with Taleban" - More - Organization of Islamic Conference Statement
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): AFG Cop Surrender Alleged in Helmand, Attacks Claimed in Zabul, Nimroz
26 Jan 10
Canadian Officer Charged with Murder Wants Court Martial in Kandahar or Petawawa - More - more - What to Wear?
Former OMLT'eer on What's Wrong with Canadian Program to Fast Track Immigration of Afghan Fixers
CAN Detainee Handling Fracas: Ottawa Not Covering Legal Bills of Former Diplomat - More - more
CAN DefMin: "Military can carry workload in Afghanistan, Haiti and Vancouver (Olympics)"
"Canadian-trained police seen as key to Afghan recovery" - Meanwhile, AFG Creating New Rules to Keep Private Security Contractors from Poaching Trained AFG Cops - "EU police mission in Afghanistan still understaffed"
"Statement on the Postponing of Afghan Parliamentary Elections by H.E. William Crosbie, Canada’s Ambassador to Afghanistan"
Opinion: "It is time partisanship be suspended so the decisions can be made to give Canada's efforts in Afghanistan the best chance of enduring success beyond the troops' return."
More on US Battalion Commander, Senior Bn NCO Being Relieved of Command
"Kandahar not burning but Afghans fear more troops will bring more blood " - In Spite of Permission Letters from Taliban, Polio Vaccinations Still Hard Sell in Kandahar, Helmand
IED Cell Leader, Insurgents Nabbed in Helmand Compound Search
UK 3 RIFLES Soldier Killed in Sangin IED Attack - Four Afghan Cops Shot Dead in Lashkar Gah
Talkin' to the Taliban: "Taliban 'buy out' fund to cost hundreds of millions" - More on Proposed Truce
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): 4 ISAF Tanks "likely to be Canadian" claimed destroyed in 4 alleged blasts in K'Har
NATO SecGen: "NATO and ISAF is not an occupation force. We will stay as long as it takes to finish our job, but our ultimate goal is to hand over responsibility to the Afghan people."
"NATO Envisions Many More Years in Afghanistan" - "Afghanistan will take longer than Iraq: Petraeus"
25 Jan 10
"Special immigration program for Afghans working for Canada still not running" - MILNEWS.ca: Why Isn't This Happening Faster?
Murder Trial of Canadian Officer Charged with Killing Wounded Taliban Begins Today: CTV.ca - Canadian Press - CBC.ca
Canada OK with Postponing AFG Parliamentary Vote - More - more
Northern AFG Warlord Wants Canadian Government to Spend Their Money in His Backyard, Not Kandahar
Rockets Strike KAF, Injures Bulgarian Troops During DefMin Visit: NY Times - Novinite.com - The Sofia Echo - Focus Information Agency
Blog Watch: Registan.net on Being Careful About Who You Bribe
IED Planter in Sangin Killed
"UK troops may spend five more years in Helmand"
Talkin' to the Taliban: UN Uber-Envoy Calls for Some Taliban to be Removed from UN Sanction List - Maybe He Believes This Guy? - "Talks With Taliban Loom Over Pakistani-Afghan Summit" - "McChrystal focuses on peace with Taliban: report" - More
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): "Top-level US officer" claimed killed in Helmand Shura IED Attack
24 Jan 10
"U.S. and Canadian forces are rushing to train a police force capable of blunting a Taliban comeback in Kandahar" - "Afghan army must almost double in size"
6 Jan 10: Canadian Gov't Announces Work by Canadian Heart Specialist - 23 Jan 10: Canadian Media Catch Up - More
Two American Troops Killed in Southern Afghanistan IED Blast - Latest Brit 4 RIFLES Fallen Identified
UK Director of Special Forces Calls for 1,000 More Operators for the Fight - Lotsa Poochies Downrange (Not Enough Dog Food?)
IED Planter Killed in Sangin - Arms Cache Found in Arghandab - Explosives Cache Destroyed in Garmsir - Bad Boys Nabbed in Kandahar, Helmand & Zabul; Bad Guys Mortar Helmand Mosque - "New police post opens in Uruzgan"
"Afghanistan on Sunday postponed parliamentary elections until September due to a lack of funding from donor nations after widespread fraud in last year's presidential poll."
Taliban Kill Civilians with Helmand Market IED
Overview of Taliban's Shadow Government
Talkin' to the Taliban: "Afghan president Hamid Karzai urges West to buy off the Taliban" - "Talks with Taliban underpin Afghan strategy"
Taliban Propaganda Watch (all links to non-terrorist web pages): Religious Area Allegedly Raided by US Forces; ISAF, AFG Cas Claimed in Helmand, Zabul - "How Different is the Taliban, Really, from What it Hates?"
"Events in Khost point to a serious, evolving and increasingly interconnected Al Qaida/Taliban intelligence network"
"Talibs blow up fuel tanker in Pakistan"
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