Thursday, October 29, 2009

Afghanistan War News Updates -- October 29, 2009

French Foreign Legionnaires meet with village elders Sunday morning outside a school in Rodbar, 50 miles east of Kabul. Shortly after the Afghans left, insurgents began firing at the soldiers. Adam Ferguson for The Wall Street Journal

In Afghan Village, French Outreach Yields an Ambush -- Wall Street Journal

Troubled Effort by Legionnaires to Assess Local Allegiances in Area Near Kabul Illustrates Challenges Facing Foreign Troops


RODBAR, Afghanistan -- At 10 a.m. Sunday, a dozen ragged schoolboys, who had been milling around this village's school after a meeting between Western soldiers and local elders, melted away, followed by their white-capped headmaster. Then, 30 seconds after the last boy carried away the blackboard, the ambush began. From crevices in the craggy hills to the north, Afghan insurgents fired machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades at a French Foreign Legion unit that had entered Rodbar earlier in the morning.

The ensuing firefight ended only after attack helicopters and heavy mortars pummeled the mountainsides, finally repelling the rebels beyond the ridgeline.

Read more ....

More News On Afghanistan

Obama considering scaled-down Afghan war plan -- AP
Obama seeks study on local leaders for troop decision -- Washington Post
Study on Afghan leaders to aid Obama troop decision -- Reuters
On Afghanistan, a Decision Comes Slowly -- CBS
The First Draft: Obama Decision Time On Afghanistan? -- Reuters
Commanders prepare to persuade Barack Obama to approve Afghanistan surge -- Times Online

Taliban vow more pre-poll attacks in Afghanistan -- Yahoo News/AFP
US not quitting the region, says White House -- Dawn
U.S. set to pay Taliban members to switch sides -- CNN
Afghan President's Brother Denies CIA Payments -- Voice of America
Reported Ties From CIA to a Karzai Spur Rebukes -- New York Times
The US army's colossal training task -- BBC
Troops already outnumber Taliban 12-1 -- AP
Despite High-Tech Help, Marines Confront IEDs -- NPR

UN staff killed as suicide bombers strike in a bid to wreck Afghan poll -- Times Online
UN re-evaluates Afghan mission after bloody attack -- Yahoo News/AP
5 UN staffers killed in Kabul -- Washington Post
Afghan Attack Puts Aid Programs at Risk -- L.A. Times
UN Chief: Bombing Will Not Deter UN from Afghan Mission -- Voice of America

Afghan Runoff Stirs Concern of Repeat Fraud -- Voice of America
Afghanistan to open more voting centers for runoff -- AP
Afghan election plan criticised as insufficient -- Reuters

Commentaries And Analysis

Did Karzai's Brother Help or Hurt the U.S. in Afghanistan? -- Time Magazine

Obama's paralysis on Afghanistan -- Washington Post
Transcripts of Defeat -- Victor Sebestyen, New York Times
Fewer Troops is Better: Riding Unicorns Over Rainbows -- Captain's Journal
Afghanistan Poll: Good News For The White House, A Split Decision For McChrystal -- The Atlantic
Troop Level in Afghanistan is the Easy Part -- Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times
Counterterrorism Begs for a Strategy -- Richard B. Myers, Washington Times
Barack Obama must face down the ghost of Vietnam -- Times Online
A way out of the Afghan quagmire -- The Guardian
Hamid Karzai: Afghanistan's Diem -- Asia Times

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