AFGHANISTAN & PAKISTAN :

Christian Science Monitor, 23 Jun 11, by Issam Ahmed
How serious are Pakistan's latest moves to purge its military of extremists?
'Recent arrests of military officials suggest that the Pakistani Army is intensifying its hunt for key officers with possible links to outlawed militant outfits such as Hizb ut-Tahrir.'

Christian Science Monitor, 22 Jun 11, by Tom A. Peter
What Afghans think about President Obama's troop drawdown
'Many Afghans have mixed feelings about tonight's announcement from President Obama that the US will begin drawing down the levels of troops in Afghanistan.'

Christian Science Monitor, 22 Jun 11, by Owais Tohid
Are Pakistan's Taliban using children as weapons?
'A 9-year-old girl says she was kidnapped in Pakistan by Taliban with the intent of forcing her to be a suicide bomber. She escaped, but her experience raises concerns about the use of children by militants.'

Christian Science Monitor, 20 Jun 11, by Tom A. Peter
Ambassador Eikenberry's pushback against Karzai: Will it make a difference?
'US Ambassador Karl Eikenberry responded sharply to criticism of the US by Afghan President Karzai. His unusually tart remarks come amid growing pressure in the US to bring troops home.'

New York Times, 23 Jun 11, by Alissa J. Rubin
Karzai Welcomes Withdrawal, but Many Afghans Are Wary
'... even as many senior Afghan officials echoed the president in supporting the withdrawal, local leaders and ordinary people expressed fears of civil war, renewed Taliban encroachments and even government collapse.'

New York Times 'At War', 22 Jun 11, by Rod Nordland
NATO Allies Have a Head Start on Afghan Withdrawal
'NATO has a total of 140,000 troops in Afghanistan, about 100,000 of them Americans.'

New York Times, 22 Jun 11
Timeline: Major Events in the Afghanistan War
'The United States has been militarily involved in Afghanistan since 2001, when it led an invasion after the Sept. 11 attacks by Al Qaeda. The group had been given safe haven in the country by the Taliban, the extremist Islamic group that had seized control in 1996 after years of civil war.'

Washington Post, 07 Jun 11, by Karen DeYoung
Afghan nation-building programs not sustainable, report says
'The hugely expensive U.S. attempt at nation-building in Afghanistan has had only limited success and may not survive an American withdrawal, according to the findings of a two-year congressional investigation to be released Wednesday.'

Newsweek, 15 May 11, by Ron Moreau
The Taliban After Bin Laden
'The plan is to undo the Americans’ recent gains with the fiercest spring offensive ever—and that seems to be just fine with Pakistan’s ISI.'

Bloomberg, 24 May 11, by Haris Anwar, Khurrum Anis and James Rupert
Taliban Strike Raises Concerns Over Safety of Pakistan’s Nuclear Weapons
'The Taliban’s success in penetrating a Pakistan airbase and destroying some of the country’s newest surveillance planes has heightened concern that the military is unable to guard its own assets, including nuclear weapons.'

BBC News, 23 May 11
Pakistan: Troops 'end attack on Mehran naval air base'
'Pakistani troops are said to be mopping up at a naval base in Karachi after a deadly militant raid, which has revived fears about military security.'

Christian Science Monitor, 19 May 11, by Ben Arnoldy
With Al Qaeda weakened, US warns about other Pakistani terror groups
'While these groups have links with Al Qaeda, the bigger danger to the US is their ability to trigger a major crisis for nuclear-armed Pakistan, including a war with India.'

Washington Post, 27 Apr 11, by Joshua Partlow
Pakistan asks Afghanistan to distance itself from United States, Afghan officials say
'[Pakistan’s prime minister] Gillani read to President Hamid Karzai from a paper outlining Pakistan’s view that the U.S. military strategy had no prospect for success, that its troops antagonized the region and that the Afghan government should avoid any agreement that allows long-term U.S. military bases in Afghanistan, according to the Afghans.'

Christian Science Monitor, 25 Apr 11, by Tom A. Peter
Taliban tunnel frees Kandahar prisoners, in blow to NATO and Afghan forces
'The Taliban tunneled into Kandahar’s main prison and freed more than 470 prisoners. The security breach has further undermined Afghan faith in the government.'

New York Times, 26 Apr 11, by Taimoor Shah and Alissa J. Rubin
Taliban Prison Break May Lead to Military and Political Setback
'The audacious Taliban prison break on Monday that freed nearly 500 fighters from southern Afghanistan’s largest prison suggested that the insurgents remained formidable and wily opponents despite recent setbacks.'

New York Times, 13 Apr 11, by Eric Schmitt
New C.I.A. Drone Attack Draws Rebuke From Pakistan
'C.I.A. drones fired two missiles at militants in Pakistan’s tribal areas on Wednesday, two days after Pakistan’s spy chief threatened to curtail the drone strikes and demanded more information about the Central Intelligence Agency’s operations there.'

New York Times, 08 Mar 11, by C.J. Chivers
Putting Afghan Plan Into Action Proves Difficult
'If the American-led fight against the Taliban was once a contest for influence in well-known and conventionally defined areas ... today it has become something else. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the United States military has settled into a campaign for scattered villages and bits of terrain that few people beyond their immediate environs have heard of.'

Christian Science Monitor, 07 Mar 11, by Tom A. Peter
Why is Robert Gates making a surprise visit to Afghanistan?
'US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates arrived Monday in Afghanistan. The visit is expected to shape decisions about the gradual US troop drawdown slated to begin this summer.'

Washington Post, 31 Jan 11, by Karen DeYoung
New estimates put Pakistan's nuclear arsenal at more than 100
'The Pakistanis have significantly accelerated productionof uranium and plutonium for bombs and developed new weapons to deliver them. After years of approximate weapons parity, experts said, Pakistan has now edged ahead of India, its nuclear-armed rival.'

See Afghanistan and Pakistan archive for past stories.