Stories about Afghanistan from February, 2011
Afghanistan: The price paid by children for the conflict
A UN report testifies that children in Afghanistan have been used both by anti-government elements for suicide bombings and planting explosives, and by the Afghan National Security Forces. It also covers facts of sexual violence committed by armed groups against boys and girls, Nick Fielding says.
Afghanistan: EU police training mission risks failure
Nick Fielding reviews the report from the UK House of Lords, noting that the EU's mission to train local police in Afghanistan risks failure, as only about 285 experts had been sent by member states to train the Afghan police – well short of the 400 requested.
Afghanistan: Taliban and al-Qaeda ‘distinct groups with different goals’
Nick Fielding reviews new book by the Centre on International Cooperation, which says that the Taliban and al-Qaeda remain distinct groups with different goals, ideologies and sources of recruits. The authors insist that understanding this is a key to success in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan: Planning failure puts billions at risk
Nick Fielding reports that, according to an audit by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), $11.4 billion is at risk due to inadequate planning for the construction of nearly 900 Afghanistan National Security Forces (ANSF) facilities.