Afghanistan War News Updates -- November 17, 2009

Soldiers from 2 Yorks running a vehicle checkpoint with Afghan Police with the hope of apprehending the rogue policeman responsible for the deaths of 5 soldiers last week in the Nad e'Ali district of Helmand province Photo: Heathcliff O'Malley

Afghanistan: Taliban Could Be Bought Off As Part On New Strategy -- The Telegraph

Britain needs to negotiate with the Taliban, offering them money or immunity from prosecution in order to secure peace, according to a new counter-insurgency strategy published by the Ministry of Defence.

The document, Security and Stabilisation: the Military Contribution, brings together counter-insurgency theories from both sides of the Atlantic to set out how the Afghan war could be won.

Aimed at commanders and staff officers, it advises them on ways to win over the enemy and says they should not see negotiation as a sign of weakness.

Read more ....

More News On Afghanistan

Army tells its soldiers to 'bribe' the Taleban -- Times Online
British Army COIN Guidelines in Afghanistan -- Small Wars Journal

'Northern Taliban' threatens Central Asia -- Asia Times
Taliban takeover if troops leave Afghanistan: Abdullah -- AFP
Afghan official: Attack underscores Taliban threat -- Yahoo News/AP
Rockets Kill 10 Civilians in Afghanistan -- Voice of America
Taliban Militants Fire Rockets on Crowded Bazaar Northeast of Kabul -- New York Times
Afghan troops kill 2 Taliban group commanders, detain 6 in N Afghanistan -- People's Daily
FACTBOX-Security developments in Afghanistan, Nov 17 -- Reuters

U.K.’s Brown Calls for Timetable for Withdrawal From Afghanistan -- Wall Street Journal
Brown hints at Afghanistan handover date -- The Age
British P.M. Brown Talks Of Exit Date For Foreign Troops In Afghanistan -- NPR
Brown aims for Afghan withdrawal -- The Globe And Mail
fghanistan 'not war without end' -- BBC
NATO chief confident of big troop increase -- Washington Post

Afghanistan to Form Major Anti-Corruption Unit -- Voice of America
Afghan Leaders Unveil Anti-corruption Measures -- L.A. Times

US Military Deaths in Afghanistan Region at 839 -- New York Times/AP

Commentaries And Analysis

Exit Plan Critical to Afghan Buildup -- Wall Street Journal
FACTBOX: Afghan review marked by divisions among Obama aides -- Reuters
ANALYSIS-Washington leak machine weighs on Afghan review -- Reuters
Exit Plan Critical to Afghan Buildup -- Gerald F. Seib, Wall Street Journal
A Strategy of Exhaustion -- Small Wars Journal
The National Review: Picking Up Afghanistan -- NPR
What If We Fail in Afghanistan? -- Steve Coll, The New Yorker
A war of choice or necessity? -- BBC
Ink Spot Strategy -- New York Times