tagged w/ AfPak war
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After intensive pressure from the Obama administration, Pakistan launched a military offensive against Taliban militants in their country’s North West Frontier Province. As a result of Pakistan’s military campaign, hundreds of thousands of people remain homeless.After intensive pressure from the Obama administration, Pakistan launched a military... more
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"Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has temporarily shut down Parliament until March, after the close of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The move shuts down all parliamentary committees, including a probe into whether Canadian troops turned over Afghan prisoners to Afghan authorities to be tortured. Liberal House leader Ralph Goodale accused Harper of padlocking Parliament and shutting down democracy. Goodale said, “Three times in three years and twice within one year, the Prime Minister takes this extraordinary step to muzzle Parliament. This time it’s a cover-up of what the Conservatives knew, and when they knew it, about torture in Afghanistan."
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/12/31/headlines
(Scroll down at the link... above is a photo of Stephen Harper with Obama)"Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has temporarily shut down Parliament... more
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Two Afghan teenagers held in U.S. detention north of Kabul this year said they were beaten by American guards, photographed naked, deprived of sleep and held in solitary confinement in concrete cells for at least two weeks while undergoing daily interrogation in Bagram's "black prison." The site has continued to operate under the terms of an executive order that Obama signed soon after taking office, which forced the closure of secret prisons run by the CIA but not those run by Special Operations forces.Two Afghan teenagers held in U.S. detention north of Kabul this year said they were... more
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After months of debate and deliberation, President Obama announced more troops are being sent to Afghanistan in a major escalation of the war there. However, recent polls show 57 percent of the public opposes the war while only 39 percent favor it.
According to media watchdog group, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting, though a clear majority of US citizens are against the war, during this long debate, the voices of opposition have been systematically marginalized in the mainstream news media.After months of debate and deliberation, President Obama announced more troops are... more
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This past week the governor of Afghanistan's Kandahar province survived a bomb attack on his motorcade. Kandahar is Afghanistan's second largest city and is likely to be one of the main destinations for additional US troops that President Obama has promised to send to the country in his latest escalation of the war there.This past week the governor of Afghanistan's Kandahar province survived a bomb... more
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Indonesian authorities opened fire on a boat crammed full of Afghan asylum seekers, wounding two, after demanding a bribe the Afghans could not afford to pay, one of the asylum seekers says.Indonesian authorities opened fire on a boat crammed full of Afghan asylum seekers,... more
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A new law signed by President Obama last month now allows the US Defense Secretary to block the release of photos depicting the abuse of detainees in U.S. custody overseas. This past week, Robert Gates put this new power to work for the first time.A new law signed by President Obama last month now allows the US Defense Secretary to... more
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The controversial Bagram airbase in Afghanistan has been undergoing extensive expansion and renovation. The base is home to a prison, which is often referred to as the other Guantanamo for housing hundreds of detainees who have no charges filed against them, no due process rights, and many of whose identities remain a secret.The controversial Bagram airbase in Afghanistan has been undergoing extensive... more
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In an unexpected act of dissent at a critical moment, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan has warned in classified cables against any further buildup of American forces in the country, according to senior U.S. officials. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, a retired Army general and former commander of U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan, says that additional troops would be unwise because of the corruption and ineffectiveness of the Afghan government.In an unexpected act of dissent at a critical moment, the U.S. ambassador to... more
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US Foreign Service officer Matthew Hoh has become the first US official known to resign in protest over the Afghan war. Hoh, a former Marine Corps captain with combat experience in Iraq, has come to believe the war fuels the insurgency there.US Foreign Service officer Matthew Hoh has become the first US official known to... more
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The New York Times reported this past week that Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president and a suspected player in the country’s booming illegal opium trade, gets regular payments from the CIA, and has for much of the past eight years, according to current and former US officials.The New York Times reported this past week that Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the... more
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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was met with hostile opposition during her recent visit to Pakistan. Prominent women and tribesmen, students and journalists alike delivered the same message: Pakistanis aren't ready to endorse friendship with the United States despite an eight-year-old anti-terrorism alliance between the countries and a multi-billion-dollar new U.S. aid package.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was met with hostile opposition during her recent... more
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A U.N. rights investigator says the United States must demonstrate that it is not randomly killing people in violation of international law through its use of unmanned drones on the Afghan border.A U.N. rights investigator says the United States must demonstrate that it is not... more
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Leading human rights group Amnesty International is saying civilians trying to flee the conflict zone in South Waziristan may be suffering collective punishment at the hands of the Pakistan army, and some have been banned from major roads.Leading human rights group Amnesty International is saying civilians trying to flee... more
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CIA Director Leon Panetta was in San Francisco defending the U.S. policy of targeted assassinations in the war on terror last week.CIA Director Leon Panetta was in San Francisco defending the U.S. policy of targeted... more
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Police in Afghanistan opened fire on protesters in Kabul over two days of tense anti-United States demonstrations outside the country's parliament. A furious mob of about 1,000 people, resentful of a US-led occupation and war that has lasted eight years, burned an effigy of President Obama, while others chanted Death to America and tried to storm the parliament.Police in Afghanistan opened fire on protesters in Kabul over two days of tense... more
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