Afghanistan Update
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23 December
2008
- United States to increase troop numbers for NATO coalition
in 2009
- Tension over troop contributions continues
- NATO allies express uncertainty over legality of counternarcotics
mission
- Insurgent attacks on supply lines escalate along Afghan-Pakistani
border
- U.S. plan to arm militias meets resistance by allies
- Survey reports on expansion of Taliban presence in Afghanistan
- Other news
13 November
2008
- Tension mounts as the United States continues raids into
Pakistan
- Afghanistan condemns friendly-fire deaths; grim milestones
reached
- Afghanistan and Pakistan seek cooperation with tribal
leaders and Taliban; Pakistan to arm militias
- NATO given new mandate to tackle drug trade; Requests
for more forces continue despite public skepticism
- German parliament votes to increase force levels
- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama and Afghanistan; U.S.
General Petraeus takes command, leads review
9 October
2008
- Controversy ignites over prospects for Afghanistan conflict
- United States looking for $20 billion to fund Afghanistan
war; France votes to send reinforcements; and German cabinet
makes plans to send more troops
- Pakistan warns about military action on its soil; suicide
bomb kills more than 50 people
- United Nations says 20,000 fled from Pakistan to avoid
fighting
- Top female Afghan officer gunned down
- United States releases results of follow-up investigation
of August 22 raid
- Afghanistan in the U.S. presidential campaign
18
September 2008
- Video supports claims of more civilian deaths from Azizabad
attack; NATO issues new rules of engagement
- Seven years after U.S.-led invasion, fighting reaches
its most deadly proportions
- U.N. convoy struck in flurry of bomb attacks
- Pakistan elects new President Asif Ali Zardari
- U.S. President Bush announces forces shift to Afghanistan
- Afghanistan in the U.S. presidential campaigns
3
September 2008
- Civilian death toll disputed in raid; more civilians caught
in the cross-fire
- Ambush on French forces; other attacks on military personnel
- French President Sarkozy and U.K. Prime Minister Brown
visit Afghanistan
- Pakistani President Musharraf steps down
- Afghanistan in the U.S. Presidential campaigns
- Opium cultivation significantly decreases, U.N. report
finds
14
August 2008
- Pakistani military launches new offensive against Islamist
militants
- India announces $450 million aid package for Afghanistan
- Gates unveils plan to restructure US military command
and enlarge Afghan National Army
- British commanders say ISAF needs more troops, Czech military
commitment increases
- Hostages released in Afghanistan, IRC halts humanitarian
operations after four aid workers killed
- Osama bin-Laden's driver convicted in war crimes trial
30
July 2008
- U.S. missile strike in Pakistan draws heavy criticism
- Levels of violence remain high throughout Afghanistan
- NATO to send additional troops to Afghanistan's volatile
south
- Germany resistant to increasing troop deployments
- Obama visits Afghanistan
- French aid workers seized in Central Afghanistan
17
July 2008
- Bombing at Indian Embassy and assault on Afghan-NATO outpost
mark heightened violence
- Afghan investigation reports that US airstrike hit wedding
party
- Pakistan ends Khyber operation, urges Afghan cooperation
- Update on US and UK troop commitments; General Craddock:
NATO needs more equipment
- Afghanistan in the US presidential race
- Report warns that millions of refugees and returnees require
additional support
2
July 2008
- International donors pledge over $20 billion in economic
aid
- NATO-Afghan joint offensive forces Taliban retreat after
Kandahar jailbreak
- Pakistan vows to prevent insurgent attacks launched from
within its borders
- Coalition death toll highest since 2001
- Germany, United Kingdom to send additional troops
- U.K. Special Forces find evidence of Iran supplying arms
to Taliban
- Holloway urges negotiations with Taliban
- NATO appoints new commander in Afghanistan; mission is
still "underresourced"
- Border tensions increase over airstrikes, convoy suspension
- Bulgaria and Portugal to withdraw units from Afghanistan;
changes in other European and Japanese commitments
- Tensions rise as food crisis worsens
- Laura Bush visits Afghanistan ahead of 12 June Paris Conference
- British losses reach 100 in Afghanistan conflict
25
April 2008
- NATO forces mistakenly supply arms to Taliban
- Pakistan and Afghanistan agree to resume
joint peace jirga
- U.S. Commander warns of rising violence
in 2008
- Tensions rise over counternarcotics in
S. Afghanistan
- Solana visits Afghanistan ahead of donors
conference
- NATO summit generates additional troop
commitments
- New U.N. envoy vows to improve coordination
- Over 20 militants killed in separate clashes
in S. Afghanistan
- U.S. Army suspends supplier of munitions
to Afghan soldiers
- Western aid to Afghanistan "falling short,"
report says
- Canada votes to extend Afghanistan mission
- U.N. report cites sharp increase in militant
attacks
- 41 Taliban killed during air strike in
S. Afghanistan
- Air strikes raise tensions over civilian
casualties
- NATO and Russia near agreement on Afghan
supply routes
- Canada nears compromise on Afghanistan
mission
- United Nations names new special envoy
to Afghanistan
- Taliban commander and 24 others killed
in protracted firefight
- Opium production fuelling insurgency, State
Department reports
- Canada resumes transfer of prisoners to
Afghan authorities
- Gates urges allies to send more troops
to Afghanistan
- Canada nears compromise on Afghanistan
- Paddy Ashdown calls for overhaul of NATO
strategy
- 140 killed in spate of suicide attacks
in S. Afghanistan
- Pakistan envoy to Kabul missing
- Independent reports paint grim portrait
of progress in Afghanistan
- Pressure mounts as NATO allies weigh troop
commitments
- Top Al-Qaeda commander killed during U.S.
air strike
- Search continues for new U.N. envoy in
Afghanistan
- Afghan-British relations sour over secret
U.K. Taliban plan
- United States to send 3,200 more troops
to Afghanistan
- Gates' comments spark tension among NATO
allies
- Canada weighs redeployment in Afghanistan
- Paddy Ashdown to become new U.N. Envoy
in Afghanistan
- Eight killed in attack at luxury hotel
in Kabul
- Washington considers enhanced role for
U.S. forces to target Al-Qaeda in Pakistan
- Afghan "Peace Convoy" seeks negotiations
with Taliban rebels
- U.S. Marines open "court of inquiry" into
Afghanistan shooting
- U.S. Department of Defense considers sending
more troops to Afghanistan
- NATO General predicts bumper poppy crop
for Afghanistan
- Complications for prison at Bagram military
base
- Senior U.N. and EU officials expelled from
Afghanistan
- Top U.N. envoy expresses concern over Afghan
security
- President Karzai believes Afghanistan will
require foreign troop presence for at least a decade
- US administration still seeking more commitments
from NATO
- Meeting of leaders from Regional Command
South and other political developments
- 20 Taliban fighters killed in southern
Afghanistan; Musa Qala retaken
- Taliban ambush convoy, kill 15 security
guards
- Worries about violence spreading in northern
Afghanistan
- Issue of civilian casualties still dogging
ISAF; survey of other violence
- Visit by NATO's Secretary General amid
pessimistic reports
- Karzai holds out hope for negotiations
with Taliban
- Multilateral and national developments;
Dutch government extends mission
- Over 70 killed in suicide attack in northeastern
Afghanistan
- U.S. and Afghan soldiers ambushed and killed
in Nuristan province; Fighting in Arghandab district winds
down
- Increased Pakistan instability leads to
U.S. contingency planning for Afghanistan
- Amnesty International report accuses NATO-led
force of being complicit in torture; Polish soldiers charged
by military authorities in separate case
- Germany renews Operation Enduring Freedom
commitment; Other political developments
- Taliban enter strategic area near Kandahar
- Significant fighting in Uruzgan, Helmand
and Wardak provinces, other violence; Karzai criticizes
coalition airstrikes
- United Nations reports problems with delivering
food aid
- NATO Defense Ministers bring additional
pledges; Japan's parliament fails to renew refueling mission
- Taliban may be ready to attend formal talks;
"Paris Pact" meeting on drug trade held in Kabul
- U.S. Congressional Budget Office releases
new figures on financial cost of Afghanistan and Iraq wars
- More attacks kill Afghans near Pakistan
border
- Afghan Defense Minister unconvinced of
Iranian involvement in arms supplies
- U.S. Defense Department to alert National
Guard for Afghanistan duty; German Bundestag approves mission
extension even though public opinion down
- Japan 'counter-terrorism' bill supporting
Afghanistan mission moves forward
- Canadian government advises stay until
2011; Prime Minister announces panel to explore future commitment
- Poll shows Afghans want negotiations with
Taliban; Guardian: U.K. government supports Afghan plan
to divide Taliban
- Suicide bombers strike Kabul; Grim statistics
on violence
- Fighting flares on Afghanistan/Pakistan
border; new NATO and Afghan military operation launched
- U.S. Defense Secretary visits United Kingdom;
U.S. generals request new Afghanistan deployment for Marines;
other troop deployment news
- German and four Afghan hostages released
- New program for paying Afghan police forces;
United States raises profile of "Most Wanted"
- Separate investigations into coalition
incidents underway
- Other developments
- Meetings on Afghanistan at the United Nations
in New York
- Coalition and Taliban militia engage in
intense firefights; Dutch General says that Taliban have
become more effective
- More kidnappings; Italian soldiers rescued
- Political developments over troop contributions,
war-funding
- Major operations underway in Helmand province;
suicide attacks and battles flare across the country
- U.N. Security Council renews authorization
of NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
- Dutch seek more allies; German cabinet
supports extension
- Afghan President urges Canadian presence
to continue; U.S. Defense Secretary puts pressure on allies
- Low prospects for negotiations between
Afghan government and Taliban
- Suicide attacks in Afghanistan on the rise
- Afghan President Hamid Karzai repeats calls
for talks with Taliban leaders
- NATO reiterates that it will not take part
in poppy eradication
- Governments under pressure to reassess
their roles in Afghanistan
- NATO's top generals are meeting in Canada;
major focus on Afghanistan
- Updates on U.S. military death toll; ACLU
files lawsuit for more information regarding civilian deaths
- Executive Director of U.N. Office on Drugs
and Crime visits Brussels
- China called on to investigate Taliban-possession
of Chinese-made weapons
- United Nations releases grim report on
opium production
- Insurgent attacks at highest level since
2001 invasion; controversy brews over incursions into Pakistan
- Taliban release South Korean hostages
- Policy decisions on Afghan police training
and force deployments
- Poll results
- U.S.-led forces launch attack in eastern
Afghanistan
- Insurgents suffer heavy losses in south;
suicide car bomb kills 15, wounds 26 in Kandahar
- United Kingdom announces troop increase
while controversy brews over casualty rate
- Taliban terrorist training secrets revealed
- Korean hostage talks stall; German hostage
freed
- ISAF destroys significant weapons cache
- British frontline troops face 1 in 36 chance
of dying on Afghan battlefield
- U.S. injects millions to tackle Afghan
heroin trade
- Musharraf, Karzai meet at tribal peace
jirga
- Taliban free two South Korean women in
ongoing hostage situation
- U.S. air strike in Helmand province reportedly
wounds 18 civilians; NATO bomb to cut civilian injuries
rarely used
- Bush, Karzai meeting on Afghan security
- Korean hostage rescue attempt not ruled
out as Taliban requested protection for hostage negotiations
- Insurgents suffer losses in south; suicide
bombers attack Kandahar
- Second Korean hostage is killed as Taliban
set 'final deadline'
- NATO to employ 'smaller bombs' to avoid
civilian casualties; Taliban fire heat-seeking missile at
U.S. aircraft
- International forces, insurgents suffer
losses during combat in southern and eastern Afghanistan;
suicide bombers attack Kabul, Kondoz
- Political developments and deployment updates
- Negotiations continue to secure the release
of South Korean missionaries; Germans kidnapped by the Taliban
- NATO launches Operation Hammer in Helmand
province; insurgents sustain heavy casualties in engagements
with security forces
- Mohammed Zahir Shah, former king of Afghanistan,
dies aged 92
- Political developments and deployment updates
- Wave of security incidents strikes Afghanistan
on Wednesday
- U.K. investigation finds Afghan mission
being undermined by lack of resources
- 2007 poppy crop surpasses record harvest
of 2006
- Support for Afghan deployment slipping
in Canada
- Political developments and deployment updates
- Southern Afghanistan hit by series of road-side
and suicide bombings
- Conference in Rome addresses development
and reform of Afghan judicial system
- Afghan counter-narcotics minister resigns;
international allies continue disagreement over counter-narcotics
strategy
- German involvement in Afghanistan faces
continued domestic scrutiny
- Deployment updates
- Anger grows with further civilian casualties
in Afghanistan and Pakistan; NATO blames Taliban, accusing
insurgents of "illegal and immoral" actions
- United Nations report indentifies Helmand
as world's largest drug producer, says opium crop may grow
in 2007
- Political developments and deployment updates
- Taliban mount multiple deadly suicide attacks,
gain temporary control of southern Afghan district
- U.S. airstrikes targeting al-Qaeda hit
school in Pakitka, killing seven children
- Claims of Iranian assistance to the Taliban
met with skepticism
- UK Ministry of Defence criticized for equipment
shortages and delays treating injured soldiers
- Deployment updates
- President Karzai survives Taliban assassination
attempt; police general killed
- Former Taliban leader defects to Afghan
government; Jalaluddin Haqqani dead?
- Claims of Iranian support for Taliban escalate;
Iran accuses Britain of supporting terrorism in Afghanistan
- United Nations demands Afghan government
take stronger action against corruption; ICRC urges NATO
to reduce civilian casualties
- Deployment updates
- Gates says Taliban have weapons from Iran;
Afghanistan and Iran remain "good friends" according to
Karzai
- Dutch General describes Taliban as "defeated"
- Afghan military seeks more assistance to
fight Taliban
- More details on Chinook crash in Helmand
- Political developments and deployment updates
- NATO helicopter crashes in southern Afghanistan
- Operation Ambush: Taliban announce beginning
of 'spring offensive'
- Prisoner-swap in March provided opportunity
to target Dadullah, British defense sources reveal
- United Nations asked to take greater role;
will begin tracking civilian casualties
- Political feud leads to bloodshed in Jowzjan
province
- Political developments and deployment updates
- British military officials say Taliban
has Iranian-supplied weapons
- Roadside, suicide bombings hit cities across
Afghanistan
- German casualties spark calls for withdrawal
from opposition parties
- European allies continue criticism of Operation
Enduring Freedom mission; Bush and de Hoop Scheffer press
for more troops
- Political developments and deployment updates
- Taliban's top military commander killed
- Further setbacks in Afghan-Pakistani relations
with deaths at tripartite meeting, border clashes
- Backlash against international forces for
civilian deaths continues, causes rift within the alliance
- Continued calls for negotiations with the
Taliban
- Deployment updates
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