US-AFGHANISTAN: “New” Bagram Rules More of the Same?

Human rights activists and legal experts reacted swiftly Monday to disclosures that the U.S. government is planning to introduce new measures it claims would give inmates at Afghanistan's notorious Bagram prison more opportunities to challenge their detention.

AFGHANISTAN: More Civilian Deaths Unless U.S.-NATO Peace Keep

Each month since U.S. President Barack Obama has taken office, Afghanistan has seen a growing number of civilian and military deaths - a spiral of violence which has served to destabilise a nation already struggling to recover from its previous three decades of war.

POLITICS-US: Obama Struggles to Regain Early Momentum

The United States Congress returns to work Tuesday after a turbulent summer recess that has raised doubts over President Barack Obama's ability to face down domestic opposition from Republicans and enforce party cohesion on issues ranging from healthcare reform to troop commitments in the increasingly unpopular war in Afghanistan.

POLITICS-US: Gates Sells Afghan Strategy Amid Growing Unease

U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Michael Mullen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) remained tight-lipped about the contents of a confidential report on the future of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan in a wide-ranging Pentagon briefing on Thursday.

AFGHANISTAN: Best Left Alone for Democracy to Grow

If the numerous foreign diplomats, envoys and super envoys assigned to Afghanistan really want to help the country, the best thing they can do during these vote counting and election-fraud investigation days and maybe weeks ahead is to go on vacation.

POLITICS: Taliban’s Tank-Killing Bombs Came from U.S., Not Iran

In support of the official U.S. assertion that Iran is arming its sworn enemy, the Taliban, the head of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Dennis Blair, has cited a statement by a Taliban commander last year attributing military success against NATO forces to Iranian military assistance.

/CORRECTED REPEAT*/AFGHANISTAN: Poll Fraud Probe Will Decide Runoff

Partial results in Afghanistan's presidential polls tend to favour President Hamid Karzai with Abdullah Abdullah, former foreign minister, trailing in second place. Kabul lawmaker Ramazan Basherdost who is at third place, seems to have garnered more votes than former World Bank economist, Dr. Ashraf Ghani.

KYRGYZSTAN: A New Great Game Begins

A U.S. base located just 40km from a Russian base - it can happen in Kyrgyzstan, a new focal point in the great geopolitics of Central Asia where China and Turkey are beginning to show their cards as well.

POLITICS-US: Prominent Conservative Calls for Afghanistan Pullout

A prominent right-wing political pundit has called for the U.S. to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, the latest sign of a growing disenchantment with the war in the U.S.

POLITICS-US: Afghan Elections Reveal Growing Doubts About War*

Washington continues to wait on results from last week's elections in Afghanistan, but few analysts here expect the outcome to provide much of a boost to the U.S.-backed campaign against the Taliban, regardless of who wins.

RIGHTS-US: CIA Probe Should Go Farther, Groups Say

Attorney General Eric Holder's decision Monday to investigate whether interrogators from the Central Intelligence Agency or its contractors violated any federal laws in applying "enhanced interrogation techniques" to detainees in U.S. custody overseas triggered immediate criticism from human rights advocates and appeared to widen the partisan divide between Republicans and Democrats.

RIGHTS-US: Justice to Probe Detainee Abuses

The issue of detainee interrogation and abuse – lately eclipsed by the debate over U.S. health care reform – bubbled back to the surface Monday in a number of headline-making developments.

POLITICS: “Cautious Optimism” In U.S. About Afghan Elections

Security and diplomacy experts here are calling Thursday's polls in Afghanistan relatively successful, though they caution that the ultimate success of the elections in terms of security and legitimacy is yet to be seen.

AFGHANISTAN: Stolen Land and Political Power

Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission says that in the last seven months they have received 12 complaints about stolen land. The complaints cover the map, ranging from Wardak, Panjsher and Kapisa, to Parwan and Kabul.

AFGHANISTAN: Near-Epidemic of Land and Home Theft

Afghans are queuing up Thursday to vote in an election that could give President Hamid Karzai a second term. Still, many among them could be wondering if democracy is working for the majority of people.

AFGHANISTAN: Karzai and Warlords Mount Massive Vote Fraud Scheme

Afghanistan's presidential election has long been viewed by U.S. officials as a key to conferring legitimacy on the Afghan government, but Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his powerful warlord allies have planned to commit large-scale electoral fraud that could have the opposite effect.

BOOKS-US: Soldiers Who Just Say No

Six months into Barack Obama's presidency, the U.S. public's display of antiwar sentiment has faded to barely a whisper.

AFGHANISTAN-US: Military Translators Risk Low Pay, Death

Murtaza "Jimmy" Farukhi was killed while on patrol with the U.S. Marine Corps on Sep. 9, 2008, at the age of 23. He was not a soldier, but a local translator employed by Columbus, Ohio-based Mission Essential Personnel (MEP).

AFGHANISTAN-US: Govt Withholds Information About Bagram Detainees

The U.S. government continues to withhold even the most basic information about prisoners in the Bagram detention facility in Afghanistan, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a New York-based legal rights organisation.

GERMANY: Opposition Builds Up Over Afghanistan

German writers and philosophers have begun to condemn military intervention in Afghanistan as an "invasion", a "mistake", and a "delusion".

AFGHANISTAN: Holbrooke Heralds US Engagement Pre-Election

Facing a worsening security situation in Afghanistan, as well as rapidly approaching elections in that country, the Obama Administration is touting a new, broad approach to winning the fight against insurgent groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan.