Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Key in Afghanistan: Economy, Not Military

By Bob Woodward
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan -- National security adviser James L. Jones told U.S. military commanders here last week that the Obama administration wants to hold troop levels here flat for now, and focus instead on carrying out the previously approved strategy of increased economic development,... (The Washington Post)

Monday, June 29, 2009

Deadly Ambush Could Indicate Threat to Pakistan's Army

By Joshua Partlow
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 29 -- The Pakistani military is at war with the Taliban, but the ambush that killed 16 soldiers in the tribal region of North Waziristan on Sunday was still somewhat unexpected. (The Washington Post)

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Taliban Losses Are No Sure Gain for Pakistanis

By JANE PERLEZ and PIR ZUBAIR SHAH The Pakistani military has claimed success in the Swat Valley, but the stability may be threatened by the militants' decision to flee, possibly to return later. (The New York Times)

Friday, June 26, 2009

Pakistani violence spreads to Kashmir

By Abu Arqam Naqash
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) - Two soldiers were killed on Friday in the first suicide bombing in Pakistani Kashmir, while three people were killed and seven wounded in two bomb blasts in a militant-infested areas near the Afghan border. (The Washington Post)

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Suicide bomber kills 2 troops in Pakistani Kashmir

By RYAN LUCAS
ISLAMABAD -- Officials say a suicide bomber has killed at least two soldiers in the Pakistani part of Kashmir. (The Washington Post)

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Senate votes to triple non-defense aid to Pakistan

By JIM ABRAMS
WASHINGTON -- The Senate voted Wednesday to triple nonmilitary aid to Pakistan in hopes of bolstering economic and political stability there and to help change the negative attitudes of many Pakistanis toward America. (The Washington Post)

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Pakistan's Plans for New Fight Stir Concern

By Pamela Constable
CAMP JALOZAI, Pakistan -- As they bake in a sea of plastic tents under the relentless sun, families displaced by the recent army campaign against Taliban forces in the Swat Valley have a single, burning question about the Pakistani government's plans for a far more ambitious military assault against... (The Washington Post)

Monday, June 22, 2009

Pakistan's Victory Described as a Gift to a Nation

By HUW RICHARDS The Pakistan captain, Younis Khan, retired from the format after leading his country over Sri Lanka for one of its greatest cricket victories. (The New York Times)

Sunday, June 21, 2009

With a Plan and a Rope, Captives Fled From Taliban

By ADAM B. ELLICK An Afghan journalist who was held captive by the Taliban along with a New York Times reporter revealed the details of their nighttime escape. (The New York Times)

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Times Reporter Escapes Taliban After 7 Months

By THE NEW YORK TIMES David Rohde, a New York Times reporter who was kidnapped by the Taliban, escaped Friday night and made his way to freedom after more than seven months of captivity. (The New York Times)

Friday, June 19, 2009

The Saturday Profile: Corruption Crusader Aims for Afghan Presidency

By ADAM B. ELLICK Ramazan Bashardost, a radical independent who has attacked corruption, could play a Ralph Nader-like spoiler role for President Hamid Karzai in the coming presidential elections. (The New York Times)

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Pakistan's 'Invisible Refugees' Burden Cities

By SABRINA TAVERNISE Most of the nearly three million Pakistanis who have fled fighting with the Taliban live unseen in houses and schools, according to aid agencies. (The New York Times)

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Cleric's Slaying Signifies a Shift

By Pamela Constable
LAHORE, Pakistan, June 16 -- The modest office where Sarfraz Naeemi kept his library and received visitors seeking spiritual guidance is now a charred hole. The floor is strewn with burned pages, glass shards and ball bearings from a young suicide bomber's lethal vest. (The Washington Post)

Monday, June 15, 2009

Pakistan Vows to Extend Fight

By SALMAN MASOOD and SABRINA TAVERNISE In an effort to boost troop and public morale, the nation's powerful army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani flew over the Swat valley where troops have engaged in an offensive against militants. (The New York Times)

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Pakistani Military Launches Airstrikes on Taliban Strongholds

By SABRINA TAVERNISE and PIR ZUBAIR SHAH The military ordered the attacks after the Taliban claimed responsibility for the recent suicide bombings of a luxury hotel and two mosques. (The New York Times)

Friday, June 12, 2009

Suicide bombers strike Pakistan mosque, seminary

By BABAR DOGAR
LAHORE, Pakistan -- Friday prayers had just ended when the suicide bomber walked into the seminary office of a popular anti-Taliban cleric and detonated his explosives. (The Washington Post)

Pakistan's Next Fight? Don't Go There.

By Nicholas Schmidle
Two years ago, my wife and I vacationed in Pakistan's Swat Valley. We spent an afternoon sightseeing in the hills, visiting stupas in the dense pine forests and carvings of the Buddha etched into sheer granite cliffs, remnants of the Buddhist civilization that had thrived in the valley for... (The Washington Post)

Thursday, June 11, 2009

U.S. Commander in Afghanistan Is Given More Leeway

By THOM SHANKER and ERIC SCHMITT Gen. Stanley McChrystal has a wide berth to pick a dream team of subordinates as he moves to carry out a new strategy for combating the Taliban. (The New York Times)

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

U.S. envoy says Pakistan shows new vigor in fight

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan said on Wednesday he had noticed a dramatic change in Pakistan's attitude toward fighting Islamist extremists during his visit there last week. (The Washington Post)

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Truck Bomb Kills 11, Injures Dozens At Pakistani Hotel

By Griff Witte
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 9 -- A massive truck bomb exploded outside a luxury hotel in northwestern Pakistan's provincial capital Tuesday night, killing 11 people and injuring at least 50, officials said. The attack marked the latest salvo by insurgents who have vowed to avenge an army offensive ... (The Washington Post)

Monday, June 8, 2009

Pakistanis attack Taliban over mosque bombing

By RIAZ KHAN
PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Pakistani tribesmen seeking revenge for a deadly mosque bombing attacked militant strongholds for a third day Monday, while the country's Taliban leader faced rare denunciation from within insurgent ranks. (The Washington Post)

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Erratic Afghan Forces Pose Challenge to U.S. Goals

By C. J. CHIVERS The Obama administration has put a priority on expanding the size and abilities of Afghanistan's security forces. (The New York Times)

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Pakistan health care crumbles with refugee influx

By KATHY GANNON
DAGAR, Pakistan -- She doesn't have a name yet. Born five weeks too early, she came into this world at the end of a painful six-hour drive on a creaky old bus that passed through a battlefield before arriving at the hospital. There was no electricity and not enough fuel for an incubator to feed... (The Washington Post)

Friday, June 5, 2009

Pakistan Says Tide Has Turned in Swat; Refugees Not So Sure

By Karen DeYoung
SWABI, Pakistan, June 4 -- Pakistan's army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani, declared Thursday that the tide had "decisively turned" in the military's battle against Taliban extremists in the Swat Valley, but displaced Pakistanis in a sprawling tent city here said it was still unsafe for them to return... (The Washington Post)

Seeking a Way Between Two Worlds

By Michelle Boorstein
Many had just entered high school in the days after the Sept. 11 attacks and now, eight years later, they are leaving college and choosing their path in life. Young Muslims in the Washington area are part of a generation that appears markedly different from their parents in career choices, assimi... (The Washington Post)

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Taliban Stir Rising Anger of Pakistanis

By SABRINA TAVERNISE After months of televised cruelties, broken promises and attacks, there is a growing sense that many Pakistanis are turning against the Taliban. (The New York Times)

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Obama Seeks More Aid For Displaced Pakistanis

By Karen DeYoung
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 3 -- President Obama has asked Congress for an additional $200 million in emergency aid for 3 million Pakistanis displaced by their government's ongoing military offensive against Taliban extremists, U.S. envoy Richard C. Holbrooke said Wednesday. (The Washington Post)

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Pakistan Releases Mumbai Suspect

By Griff Witte and Rama Lakshmi
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 2 -- A Pakistani court on Tuesday ordered the immediate release of the founder of a banned militant group that is thought to be behind last year's terrorist attacks in Mumbai. (The New York Times)

U.S. Report Finds Airstrike Errors in Afghan Deaths

By ERIC SCHMITT and THOM SHANKER U.S. personnel made major errors in carrying out airstrikes that killed dozens of Afghan civilians, a military investigation has concluded. (The Washington Post)

Monday, June 1, 2009

Pakistani Villagers Come to the Aid of Refugees

By Griff Witte
MADHEY BABA, Pakistan, June 1 -- When Khalil ul-Rahman's houseguests arrived in this northwestern Pakistani village, they brought with them the clothes on their backs, two cows and little else. (The Washington Post)