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Afghan Offensive Is New War Model |
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Written by Wahdat
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Saturday, 13 February 2010 03:44 |
 Bokhdi News Agency _ KABUL, Afghanistan — For all the fighting that lies ahead over the next several days, no one doubts that the American and Afghan troops swarming into the Taliban redoubt of Marja will ultimately clear it of insurgents.
And that is when the real test will begin.
For much of the past eight years, American and NATO forces have mounted other large military operations to clear towns and cities of Taliban insurgents. And then, almost invariably, they have cleared out, never leaving behind enough soldiers or police officers to hold the place on their own. |
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Top UN Envoy warns Defence Ministers against over-militarization in Afghanistan |
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Written by Wahdat
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Saturday, 13 February 2010 03:40 |
Bokhdi News Agency - 5 February 2010 - The Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Kai Eide, today warned against the dangers of a “development where the military – out of impatience with the civilian components of Afghan institutions and international structures – takes on more of the civilian tasks.”
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General was speaking at the NATO Defence MinistersConference in Istanbul where he urged caution with such an approach.
Excerpts: “We had a successful London Conference last week – more so than was expected in light of the
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Charlie Wilson, Texas Congressman Linked to Foreign Intrigue, Dies at 76 |
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Written by Wahdat
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Saturday, 13 February 2010 03:30 |
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Bokhdi News Agency _ Charlie Wilson, a 12-term Texas congressman who was best known for his playboy ways until he masterminded a covert effort to funnel billions of dollars in arms to Afghan rebels fighting the Soviets in the 1980s, died Wednesday in Lufkin, Tex. He was 76.
Jack Gorden Jr., the mayor of Lufkin, confirmed the death. Memorial Medical Center-Lufkin said the preliminary cause of death was cardiopulmonary arrest. Mr. Wilson had a heart transplant in 2007.
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Afghanistan: Peace talks with the Taliban's Gulbuddin Hekmatyar |
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Written by Wahdat
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Saturday, 13 February 2010 03:28 |
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Bokhdi NewsAgency Kabul_ — Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, one of Afghanistan' s most brutal Islamist warlords, is holding tentative peace talks with the government of Afghanistan that could cause a split in the Taliban-led insurgency, Afghan politicians in Kabul said Wednesday.
The terms that Hekmatyar has outlined are softer than those proposed by the Taliban, who've demanded that U.S. and other foreign troops must leave Afghanistan before peace talks can begin. Hekmatyar would allow international forces to remain in the country for 18 months.
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Marines push 'The Breacher' against Taliban lines |
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Written by Wahdat
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Saturday, 13 February 2010 03:20 |
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Bokhdi News Agency _ That's the nickname given by the crew to one of the 72-ton, 40-foot (12-meter)-long Assault Breacher Vehicles. Fitted with a plow and nearly 7,000 pounds (3,175 kilograms) of explosives, the Breachers, as they are commonly known, are the Marines Corps' answer to the deadliest threat facing NATO troops in Afghanistan: thousands of land mines and roadside bombs, or improvised explosive devices, that litter the Afghan landscape.
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President Karzai Orders Govt Agencies to Re-open Salang Pass |
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Written by Wahdat
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Thursday, 11 February 2010 09:13 |
 Bokhdi News Agency , Kabul _ Arg. Palace: President Hamid Karzai expressed grief over the dead of a number of passengers who were killed in avalanches triggered by heavy snows in Salang Pass and ordered relevant authorities to make every effort possible for a quick reopening of the tunnel and provide help to those in need.
Avalanches in the mountain pass of Salang have killed and injured many people and left hundreds stranded.
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Afghanistan: President Gorbachev got it wrong |
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Written by Wahdat
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Thursday, 11 February 2010 09:05 |
 Letter to New York Times eidtor by M. Ashraf HaidariBokhdi News Agency, Washington DC. In “Soviet Lessons from Afghanistan” President Mikhail Gorbachev makes a number of misassumptions about Afghanistan today. Soviet experience has no applicability to the present Afghan situation. While the Soviet invasion and occupation of Afghanistan were outright rejected and resisted by the Afghan people throughout 1980s, Afghans overwhelmingly welcomed the liberation of our country from the dark forces of terrorism and extremism in 2001; recent polls indicate that more than 70% of Afghans continue supporting international military and civilian presence in Afghanistan. And, indeed, we can regain the lost ground by delivering on the basic expectations of the Afghan people: protection from violent extremism, a livelihood, and the rule of law. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 11 February 2010 09:20 )
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Toll Grows in Afghan Avalanche |
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Written by Wahdat
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Thursday, 11 February 2010 08:56 |
 Bokhdi News Agency _ SALANG PASS, Afghanistan — Rescuers atop this treacherous mountain pass dug through piles of snow on Wednesday to extract more bodies from cars, buses and trucks buried in snow as the death toll from possibly the worst series of avalanches in Afghanistan’s history climbed to 166. Officials are predicting that they will find more victims.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 11 February 2010 09:06 )
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Afghanistan says ready if thousands flee assault |
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Written by Wahdat
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Thursday, 11 February 2010 08:37 |
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Bokhdi News Agency_ Afghanistan is ready to feed thousands if they flee a major assault by NATO troops, but officials hope fighting will be limited and civilians can safely stay home, President Hamid Karzai's spokesman said.
NATO forces, led by thousands of U.S. Marines, are massing for an attack on Marjah, billed as the last big Taliban stronghold in Helmand, Afghanistan' s most violent province and heartland of its opium industry.
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AFGHANISTAN: Concerns over emergency health care in Helmand offensive |
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Written by Wahdat
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Thursday, 11 February 2010 08:24 |
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Bokhdi News Agency - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has voiced concern about access to health care for conflict-affected people in Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan, where a much-publicized offensive by thousands of Afghan and foreign forces is under way.
ICRC said the intensification of conflict could adversely affect the already limited health services in Helmand.
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U.S. Eyes Sanctions on Revolutionary Guards to Curb Iran’s Nuclear Plans |
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Written by Wahdat
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Wednesday, 10 February 2010 04:03 |
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Bokhdi news Agency — The Obama administration is working on a series of sanctions that would take aim at the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of Iran, publicly singling out the organization’s vast array of companies, banks and other entities in an effort to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Senior White House officials described what they said would be a “systematic” effort to drive a wedge between the Iranian population and the Revolutionary Guards, which the West says is responsible for running Iran’s nuclear program and has a record of supporting militant Islamist organizations and cracking down on antigovernment protesters.
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Pakistan Is Said to Pursue Role in Afghan Talks |
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Written by Wahdat
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Wednesday, 10 February 2010 04:00 |
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Bokhdi News Agency _ ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan has told the United States it wants a central role in resolving the Afghan war and has offered to mediate with Taliban factions who use its territory and have long served as its allies, American and Pakistani officials said.
The offer, aimed at preserving Pakistan’s influence in Afghanistan once the Americans leave, could both help and hurt American interests as Washington debates reconciling with the Taliban.
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Iran Nuclear Plans Start New Calls for Sanctions |
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Written by Wahdat
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Tuesday, 09 February 2010 04:12 |
 Bokhdi News Agency— Iran told the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency on Monday that it would begin enriching its stockpile of uranium for use in a medical reactor, prompting officials from the United States, France and Russia to call for stronger sanctions against Tehran.
Late Monday in Vienna, the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that it had received a letter from Iran declaring its intent to begin enriching uranium up to 20 percent. The agency’s statement gave no date for starting the enrichment, though Tehran said that might come as early as Tuesday.
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President Karzai Outlines Security Plans in Munich Conference |
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Written by Wahdat
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Tuesday, 09 February 2010 04:10 |
 Bokhdi News Agency_ President Hamid Karzai outlined Sunday his plans for the next five years during a security conference in the German city of Munich.
Speaking at the last day of the Conference dedicated for talks on Afghanistan, President Karzai briefed participants on his plans for peace, reconciliation and reintegration and the need for broader regional cooperation. The President said the goal in providing security for the government of Afghanistan was that afghan security forces can grow capable of taking lead and ownership in all military operations and to be capable of defending their country and protecting their nation. |
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President Karzai Orders Immediate Probe into Civilian Killing at Police Shooting |
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Written by Wahdat
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Tuesday, 09 February 2010 04:07 |
 Bokhdi News Agency _ Arg. Palace; President Hamid Karzai ordered immediate investigation into the shooting by a patrol police unit in which seven civilians were killed in Spin Boldak district of southern province of Kandahar.
After learning on the incident, the President, who is currently on a visit to Germany for the Munich Security Conference said he was deeply saddened by the incident and ordered relevant security agencies to conduct an immediate probe.
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President Karzai Attends Munich Security Conference |
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Written by Wahdat
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Tuesday, 09 February 2010 04:04 |
 Bokhdi News Agency _ The 46th Munich Security Conference opened on Friday with presence by President Hamid Karzai in the German city of Munich. The conference is attended by about 300 high-level officials covering themes from Afghanistan, Middle East stability to global energy security, arms control, world power shifting and NATO's new strategy.
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For Kremlin, an Election in Ukraine Cuts Two Ways |
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Written by Wahdat
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Tuesday, 09 February 2010 04:02 |
 Bokhdi News Agency_ KIEV, Ukraine — The apparent victory of Russia’s preferred candidate in the Ukrainian presidential race may be a relief to Vladimir V. Putin, who has long sought to discredit his neighbor’s raucous democracy and its drift to the West.
But it comes with a catch: the election won by the candidate, Viktor F. Yanukovich, was highly competitive, unpredictable and relatively fair — just the kind of major contest that has not been held in Russia since Mr. Putin, the prime minister, consolidated power.
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Obama Challenges Terrorism Critics |
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Written by Wahdat
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Monday, 08 February 2010 05:24 |
 Bokhdi News Agency — The White House pushed back Sunday against Republican criticism of its approach to terrorism, calling it “not anchored in reality” as a national security debate that was largely muted in recent years roared back to center stage with an angry intensity.
After a week of sustained attacks led by former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska and a host of Congressional Republicans, President Obama and his aides argued that they were handling terror suspects much as the previous administration did, dismissing Republican complaints as politically motivated. |
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Iran’s President Moves Ahead on Uranium Processing |
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Written by Wahdat
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Monday, 08 February 2010 05:17 |
Bokhdi News Agency _ Iran’s president ordered his atomic scientists on Sunday to begin enriching their stockpile of uranium in order to power a medical reactor, a move that accelerated Iran’s brinkmanship over its nuclear program by moving the country closer to producing weapons-grade fuel.
The order by the president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was the latest in a series of contradictory signals from Iran about its intentions regarding the country’s uranium stockpile, one of the most contentious issues between Tehran and the West, which suspects the country is seeking to build a nuclear weapon. |
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Afghans Don’t Let a White-Knuckle Highway Slow Them Down |
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Written by Wahdat
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Monday, 08 February 2010 05:08 |
 Bokhdi News Agency Afghanistan — Even in a nation beset by war and suicide bombings, you would be hard-pressed to find anything as reliably terrifying as the national highway through the Kabul Gorge.
The 40-mile stretch, a breathtaking chasm of mountains and cliffs between Kabul and Jalalabad, claims so many lives so regularly that most people stopped counting long ago. Cars flip and flatten. Trucks soar to the valley floor. Buses play chicken; buses collide.
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Bokhdi News Agenc-MARJA, Afghanistan — Thousands of American, Afghan and British troops attacked the watery Taliban fortress of Marja early Saturday, moving by land and through the air to destroy the insurgency’s largest haven and begin a campaign to reassert the dominance of the Afghan government across a large arc of southern Afghanistan.
