A recent report by Peter Bergen and Katherine Tiedemann of the New America Foundation provides a detailed examination of the “secret” U.S. drone war in Pakistan. The report, Year of the Drone: Analysis of US Drone Strikes in Pakistan, 2004-2010, looks in particular at the civilian cost of the drone strikes. Estimates of the number […]
Tag Archives: Taliban
850 additional German troops to be deployed to Afghanistan
As promised by German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the recent London Conference on Afghanistan, the German cabinet has approved the deployment 850 additional German soldiers to Afghanistan (“The German cabinet approves deployment of an extra 850 soldiers to Afghanistan,” Deutsche-Welle, 9 February 2010). The increase, which still has to be approved by the Bundestag (the lower house […]
Situation in Afghanistan improves; Taliban desperate
2010 “‘After a difficult year in 2009, we now see a new momentum in 2010 and it has already started,’ [NATO Secretary-General Anders] Fogh Rasmussen said Friday.” (Slobodan Lekic, “NATO Chief: Situation improving in Afghanistan after tough year,” Canadian Press, 5 February 2010) 2009 “The insurgents are desperate and they are employing desperate tactics.” Brigadier […]
London Conference "welcomes" negotiations with Taliban
On January 28th, the London Conference convened to discuss the future of Afghanistan. The two main initiatives discussed by the more than 60 foreign ministers in attendance were a proposal for the gradual transfer of security responsibility to Afghanistan and, more controversially, an Afghan government plan to open negotiations with “moderate” elements of the Taliban. […]
NATO to seek negotiated end to Afghan war?
The NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan “is considering a plan to end the war by entering power-sharing negotiations with Taliban leaders and former fighters,” the Globe and Mail reports (Doug Saunders, NATO weighs Taliban truce in plans for Afghan peace, 25 January 2010). The paper says that “the scenario of a negotiated peace and a joint […]
Civilian deaths increase in Afghanistan
According to the United Nations, 2009 was the deadliest year for civilians in Afghanistan since the ouster of the Taliban government in 2001. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan’s Annual Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, 2009 reports that at least 2412 Afghan civilians died as a result of the war last […]