Afghanistan War News Updates — March 8, 2010
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, right, talks with U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry in Kabul Monday. Photo from CNN
KABUL (Reuters) – NATO will amass troops gradually to control the Taliban’s birthplace Kandahar rather than launch one big assault as they did in nearby Helmand last month, the commander of foreign troops in Afghanistan said on Monday.
U.S.
Afghanistan War News Updates — March 7, 2010
The prime minister, Gordon Brown, arrives at the Showal forward operating base in Lashkar Gah, southern Afghanistan. Photograph: Darren Staples/Reuters
Prime minister pledges support to UK troops as senior army figures accuse government of starving MoD of funds for Iraq war
Gordon Brown visited British troops in Afghanistan today and pledged to provide them with all possible support and equipment as he faced criticism from senior military figures over his evidence at the Iraq war inquiry.
Read more ….
British PM Visits Troops in Afghanistan — Voice of America
Gordon Brown visits Afghan troops amid defence row — BBC
At least fifty killed in Taliban clashes — The Independent
Afghan president visits town seized from Taliban — Yahoo News/AP
Marines have won Marjah battle and now fight for hearts and minds — The Telegraph
Afghan Drug Trade Complicates U.S. Task in Marjah — Yahoo News/Time Magazine
SAS in Afghanistan suffers worst losses for 60 years — Times Online
McChrystal orders troops to avoid night raids – Stars And Stripes
Karzai calls on Taliban to stop attacking schools — Reuters
Army launches investigation: Corrupt Afghans stealing millions from aid funds — The Independent
UN envoy says Afghan strategy is too ‘military-driven’ — McClatchy News
Problems with civilian ’surge’ could upset Afghan timetable — McClatchy News
Red Cross Condemns Use of Improvised Mines in Southern Afghanistan — Voice of America
Letting Women Reach Women In Afghan War — New York Times
Ready, aim, hold your fire — Washington Times editorial
Afghanistan War News Updates — March 6, 2010
A U.S. Army soldier searches for enemy movement during Operation Moshtarak in Badula Qulp in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Feb. 19, 2010. Is There A Morale Crisis In The British Army?
Photo: Sir David Richards has said cuts are damaging soldiers’ morale. Photo from Press Association.
THE head of the army has warned that British troops are facing a crisis of deteriorating morale on the home front that risks undermining the war in Afghanistan.
In a confidential draft memo prepared for ministers, General Sir David Richards, chief of the general staff (CGS), said that recent cuts to the defence budget are having a “cumulative and corrosive effect on our soldiers and their families”.
Cuts to housing, shortages of training equipment and even the cancellation of sports events between soldiers’ tours of duty were making them and their families feel “undervalued”, the army chief wrote.
Troops in Afghanistan face defeat at home — Times Online (opinion)
British troop morale at home risk to Afghan effort – Army chief — Reuters
Cuts ‘damaging morale of soldiers’ — Press Association
Leaked Memo: Troops’ Morale Hurt By Cuts — SKY News
My Comment: It is not only the budget cuts that is undermining morale, it is the lack of leadership and willingness to sacrifice from the PM on down ….
Afghanistan War News Updates — February 28, 2010
On a visit to Helmand, the head of the armed forces has said that British troops have performed superbly in Operation Moshtarak, and that the initial phase has gone well.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup was speaking as he flew in to Showal, formerly the heartland of the Taliban’s shadow government.
He said there were still pockets of resistance further south in Marjah, where the Americans have been fighting, and some resistance in Nad Ali, but that levels had eased considerably over the last few days.
Security was tight for Sir Jock’s visit.
Read more ….
Expect major offensive in Kandahar: U.S official — Globe And Mail
In Afghanistan, U.S.
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