tagged w/ us collateral damage
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Al Jazeera reports that despite Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's campaign promise to no longer award military contracts to Blackwater --the now renamed notorious security contractor-- the US state department has recently awarded the company another lucrative contract.Al Jazeera reports that despite Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's campaign... more
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Blackwater Worldwide tried for two years to secure lucrative defense business in Southern Sudan while the country was under U.S. economic sanctions. The Obama administration, however, has decided for now not to bring criminal charges against Blackwater.Blackwater Worldwide tried for two years to secure lucrative defense business in... more
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The CIA has hired Xe Services, the private security firm formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide, to guard its facilities in Afghanistan and elsewhere. The firm has been fighting off prosecution and lawsuits since an incident in 2007 in Baghdad, when its guards allegedly killed 17 unarmed civilians and wounded 24. Since then, the company has been accused of murder, distribution of controlled substances, tax evasion, child prostitution, weapons smuggling and defrauding the government.The CIA has hired Xe Services, the private security firm formerly known as Blackwater... more
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Website Raw Story reports that the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who helped break the story that detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq were being tortured by their US jailers is now saying that American soldiers are executing prisoners in Afghanistan.Website Raw Story reports that the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who helped break... more
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A civilian was shot dead in eastern Afghanistan last week after police fired at thousands of villagers protesting against NATO raids which they say killed 11 civilians.A civilian was shot dead in eastern Afghanistan last week after police fired at... more
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Although it's just beginning, the U.S.-led effort to pacify the Taliban's spiritual capital in southern Afghanistan already appears to be faltering.
Key military operations have been delayed until the fall, efforts to improve local government are having little impact and a Taliban assassination campaign has brought a sense of dread to Kandahar's streets.Although it's just beginning, the U.S.-led effort to pacify the Taliban's... more
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The US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, who was boasting of military progress only three months ago, confessed last week that "nobody is winning".The US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, who was boasting... more
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An independent government report raises new questions about the likelihood of success for President Barack Obama's Afghanistan policy, which nearly doubles the number of U.S. troops there.
The report, by the Government Accountability Office, found that despite the boost in U.S. troops, the Taliban remain a resilient fighting force, and it suggests many factors remain in place that will allow the Taliban to survive U.S. efforts to eradicate them.An independent government report raises new questions about the likelihood of success... more
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Afghanistan’s drug and corruption economy of $5.3 billion in 2009 was more than the $4.4 billion earmarked in 2010 for running the government and financing the development budget.Afghanistan’s drug and corruption economy of $5.3 billion in 2009 was more than... more
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Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry says that civilian casualties there are on the rise as U.S. and NATO reinforcements stream into the country as part of a military buildup to combat the resurgent Taliban.Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry says that civilian casualties there are on the... more
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US Special Forces raided the home of a prominent Afghan Minister of Parliament, killing one of her relatives in an operation that provoked public protests this past week.US Special Forces raided the home of a prominent Afghan Minister of Parliament,... more
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Insurgents killed the vice mayor of the southern Afghan city of Kandahar as he prayed at a mosque last week. Meanwhile, a NATO convoy in Khost province, on the border with Pakistan, fired on a vehicle carrying four boys aged between 13 and 18 who were driving home from a volleyball game.Insurgents killed the vice mayor of the southern Afghan city of Kandahar as he prayed... more
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