February 14:
As U.S. and NATO forces attempt to regain the initiative against the Taliban in Afghanistan, the list of civilian casualties is on the rise – an alarming 40 percent increase since 2007, according to UN estimates. Stars and Stripes reports that, as a way of curtailing civilian deaths in the country, Coalition forces are now inviting more Afghan participation in planning and executing military operations to combat the Taliban.
[Editor's Note: According to the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan, civilian deaths stood at 2,118 for last year - "the highest of any year since the end of major hostilities which resulted in the demise of the Taliban regime at the end of 2001." U.S. military deaths, meanwhile, have hit 595 - 439 of them as a result of "hostile action."]
February 15:
The Coalition’s struggle in Afghanistan is conjuring up memories of a similar conflict there a quarter-century ago. U.S. and Afghan analysts see the parallels between the West's current strategy in the war-torn state and that of the Soviet Union there during the 1980s as an indication of impending failure, reports the International Herald Tribune. Former mujahideen leader and ex-president Burhanuddin Rabbani has warned that “[t]here have already been some mistakes during military operations and the mistakes are continually being repeated. This is the same mistake the Soviets made.”
February 18:
The Pakistani government has reached a truce of sorts with Islamic leaders in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Reuters reports. Under the deal, Islamabad would acquiesce to the installation of sharia law in the Swat Valley as a way of diluting the appeal of the Taliban there. "After successful negotiations... all un-Islamic laws related to the judicial system, those against the Koran and Sunnah, would be subject to cancellation and considered null and void," the Province's Information Minister, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, has confirmed. The move has generated fears among Western observers that Pakistan has adopted a softer line toward Islamic militancy within its borders.
February 19:
Shortly after U.S. officials inadvertently acknowledged that Predator drones conducting air strikes inside Pakistan were launched from within Pakistani territory, new evidence has surfaced confirming the remark. The Times of London reports images from as early as three years ago captured on Google Earth show three drones on the ground at Pakistan’s Shamsi airbase. U.S. Special Forces initially used the Shamsi location during the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001; however, since 2006, Islamabad and Washington have consistently denied the use of Pakistani bases to launch drones.
February 20:
Just days after Pakistan’s government agreed to impose sharia law in the Swat Valley as part of its efforts to quell unrest in the region, the Taliban has issued its own conditions for peace. According to Adnkronos International, a Taliban tribal council has demanded the release of detained Taliban militants and the removal of 10,000 Pakistani troops from the region as a precondition for peace negotiations. The Taliban leaders have also requested reparations for damages resulting from Pakistani Army activity. If the Pakistani government does not concede to Taliban leader Fazlullah’s demands, the Italian news agency reports, peace negotiations may falter, resulting in widespread violence. Major cities throughout Pakistan, including Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore, have placed their security forces on high alert in anticipation of the possibility.
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