This Year, Contractor Deaths Exceed Military Ones in Iraq and Afghanistan by Pro Publica:

More private contractors than soldiers were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan in recent months, the first time in history that corporate casualties have outweighed military losses on America’s battlefields.

More than 250 civilians working under U.S. contracts ( Read more... )

‘Negotiation’ is a dirty word in Afghanistan, it implies weakness. Well, not only in Afghanistan, but in Central Asia in general, as well as in Caucasus and Middle East. That's why Azerbaijani Turks’ aggressiveness grows day by day, though they were beaten by Armenians in Karabakh war. The more you negotiate, the less they respect you.

Add as ( Read more... )

• NATO Admits U.S. Forces Killed Innocent Pregnant Women in Afghanistan [Read]
• General Stanley McChrystal Admits U.S. Troops are Killing Innocent Afghans at Checkpoints: «We have shot an amazing number of people, but to my knowledge, none has ever proven to be a threat» [Read]
• Video footage from a US Apache helicopter in 2007, showing Reuters ( Read more... )

It's funny to compare this pathetic whinning of today's "pragmatists" with their we've-got-nothing-to-talk-about-with-that-Taliban-beasts attitude just 5 years ago.

LONDON - When NATO defense ministers meet in Budapest on Thursday, they will face a worsening situation in Afghanistan and vexing questions about whether the war can be won ( Read more... )

Looks like the the "bubble gum for kids + bombs for their parents + heroin for export" instant happiness formula didn't work out.

Moving in darkness before dawn Sunday, some 200 fighters surrounded the newly built base in a remote area near the Pakistan border without being spotted by the troops inside, said Gen. Mohammad Qasim Jangalbagh, the ( Read more... )