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U.S. resetting its relationship with Karzai

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Rajiv Chandrasekaran - Nov. 20 (News Report) - When a team of senior U.S. officials led by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton entered the presidential palace in Kabul on Wednesday for a dinner meeting, they had little indication of what Afghan President Hamid Karzai planned to discuss, or whether questions about corruption and governance...

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Court rejects David Miliband bid to suppress CIA evidence

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - By Richard Norton-Taylor - Nov. 20 (News) - • Sixth damning ruling in Binyam Mohamed case • Foreign secretary?s claims of security risk dismissed The high court today flatly rejected claims by David Miliband, the foreign secretary, that releasing evidence of the CIA?s inhuman and unlawful treatment of UK resident Binyam Mohamed would harm Britain?s relations with the US by giving away intelligence secrets. Evidence that the foreign secretary also wants to suppress is believed to reveal what British intelligence officers knew about Mohamed?s treatment. Mohamed, 31, an Ethiopian, says he was tortured in Pakistan, Morocco, Afghanistan, and Guantánamo Bay. In the sixth in a string of damning rulings, the high court accused Miliband of wanting to suppress information about CIA activities even though details had already been disclosed by the Obama administration. Dismissing Miliband?s claims, Lord Justice Thomas and Mr Justice Lloyd Jones insisted they were not trying to give away "American secrets". They said: "Of itself, the treatment ...

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In Obama's China trip, stark contrast with past

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Andrew Higgins, Anne E. Kornblut - Nov. 18 (News Analysis) - The changes reflect not so much a policy shift by a new administration in Washington as a dramatic and much bigger change in the power dynamic, particularly in economics, over the past decade -- a change that has been the central undercurrent of Obama's swing through China this week.

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Green groups split on Danish idea

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Politico - By Eamon Javers - Nov. 17 (News Report) - U.S. environmental groups are split over how to respond to the Obama administration’s decision to go along with a Danish proposal not to push for a binding global climate agreement at a United Nations conference in Copenhagen next month. The global environmental group Greenpeace blasted the move, calling it a sop to President Barack Obama’s political vulnerability. “Danish Prime Minister [Lars Lokke] Rasmussen has become complicit in a U.S. so-called deal which would put Obama’s political difficulties ahead of the survival of the world’s most vulnerable countries,” said Kaisa Kosonen, climate policy adviser for Greenpeace International.

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Toxic munitions 'may be cause' of baby deaths and deformities in Fallujah

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Independent - By David Randall - Nov. 16 (News Report) - Evidence was growing this weekend that babies born in the Iraqi city of Fallujah – scene in 2004 of one of the few set-piece battles of the invasion – are exhibiting high rates of mortality and birth defects.

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CIA says it gets its money's worth from Pakistani spy agency

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Los Angeles Times - By Greg Miller - Nov. 15 (News Report) - The CIA has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to Pakistan's intelligence service since the Sept. 11 attacks, accounting for as much as one-third of the foreign spy agency's annual budget, current and former U.S. officials say.

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Russian Deal on Afghan Supply Route Not Done Yet

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Peter Baker - Nov. 14 (News Report) - When he met President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia in April, President Obama sought to open an important new supply corridor for Afghanistan by flying American troops and weapons through Russian airspace. Visiting Moscow in July, he sealed a deal for as many as 4,500 flights a year, in what he called a “substantial contribution” to the war and a sign of improving relations with Russia.

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Britain rules out climate treaty at summit

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Independent - By Michael McCarthy - Nov. 06 (News Report) - Although there are various stumbling blocks, there is no doubt that the continued lack of a serious American offer on cutting its greenhouse gas emissions and providing climate finance for the developing nations – the bill which might provide them is stuck in the US Senate – is the principle obstacle to progress. "Copenhagen is one of the most important meetings in human history. But the politicians seem determined to blow it," said Joss Garman, climate campaigner for Greenpeace.

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We broke the law, admits CIA agent convicted of rendition

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Independent - By David Usborne - Nov. 06 (News Report) - In an interview earlier this year with an Italian newspaper, Mr Lady was candid about the seizure of the cleric. "Of course it was an illegal operation," the newspaper quoted him. "But that's our job. We're at war against terrorism".

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Karzai win complicates White House strategy for Afghanistan

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Scott Wilson - Nov. 02 (News Analysis) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai's election by default Monday confirms at least a week earlier than expected that the Obama administration will continue for the foreseeable future to have the same mercurial partner in Afghanistan.

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Karzai Declared President As Election Runoff Canceled

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Time - By Aryn Baker - Nov. 02 (News Analysis) - If the Obama Administration had hoped that pressuring President Hamid Karzai into accepting a runoff election would strengthen the legitimacy of the resulting Afghan government, those hopes have now been dashed. Karzai has been declared the elected President of Afghanistan by election-poll officials, after they scrapped the planned second round of the vote. Independent Election Commission chairman Azizullah Lodin announced that Karzai was the victor during a news conference in Kabul on Monday. "We declare Hamid Karzai, which got the majority of votes in the first round and is the only candidate for the second round of the election in Afghanistan in 2009 ... is the elected President of Afghanistan," said Lodin. He went on to explain that the second round on Nov. 7 had been canceled to save money, for security reasons and to prevent further delays which could damage Afghanistan both politically and economically.

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Afghanistan election: Karzai win spurs plans to improve governance

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Christian Science Monitor - By Ben Arnoldy - Nov. 02 (News Report) - The Afghan elections have officially ended, and President Hamid Karzai will hold on to his office for five more years, the election commission declared Monday after rival Abdullah Abdullah dropped out of the race. The fraud-ridden saga has diminished the stature of both Mr. Karzai and the international community in Kabul, and the result brings no mandate but instead raises further proposals for forcing more government accountability.

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Karzai declared Afghan president, run-off scrapped

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Reuters - By Golnar Motevalli - Nov. 02 (News Report) - Afghanistan's election commission declared Hamid Karzai elected as president on Monday after it called off a runoff following the withdrawal of his only rival. The run-off, called after the first round in August was marred by widespread fraud, was to have been held on November 7.

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Karzai's Challenger Drops Out Of Afghan Runoff

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0700

All Things Considered - By Jacki Lyden, Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson - Nov. 01 (News) - The challenger to Afghan President Hamid Karzai in the upcoming runoff in Afghanistan has announced he will not take part in the race. That leaves next Saturday's election in jeopardy, as well as a vacuum in Afghan leadership that President Obama can ill afford as he decides whether to send more troops to the war-torn country. Guest host Jacki Lyden speaks with NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson about Dr. Abdullah Abdullah's withdrawal.

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Abdullah pulls out of Afghan vote

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0700

BBC News - Nov. 01 (News) - President Hamid Karzai's rival in the second round of the Afghan presidential election says he will not take part in the poll.

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Afghan officials unveil plans for runoff

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Los Angeles Times - By Alexandra Zavis - Oct. 30 (News Report) - Afghan election officials said Thursday that they would increase the number of voting centers for next week's presidential runoff election, disregarding U.N. advice to open fewer sites to prevent the rampant fraud that characterized the first round of balloting.

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Iran Delivers Response to U.N. Nuclear Watchdog

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By David Sanger, Steven Erlanger, Robert F. Worth - Oct. 29 (News Report) - Iran will not retreat “one iota” on its nuclear rights, but is ready to cooperate on issues regarding atomic fuel, power plants and technology, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday.

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Karzai Brother on CIA Payroll

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

CBS News - By Bill Plante - Oct. 28 (News Report) - The New York Times reports that the brother of Afghanistan's President Karzai, an alleged opium smuggler and war profiteer, has been taking money from the CIA.

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Official resigns over Afghan war

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Karen DeYoung - Oct. 27 (Special Report) - A former Marine Corps captain with combat experience in Iraq, Hoh had also served in uniform at the Pentagon, and as a civilian in Iraq and at the State Department. By July, he was the senior U.S. civilian in Zabul province, a Taliban hotbed. But last

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Church of Scientology Convicted of Fraud in France

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Associated Press - Oct. 27 (News Report) - The court convicted the Church of Scientology's French office, its library and six of its leaders of organized fraud. Investigators said the group pressured members into paying large sums of money for questionable financial gain and used ''commercial harassment'' against recruits.

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Iraqi searches for brothers in ancient cemetery

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Associated Press - By Sameer N. Yacoub , Bushra Juhi - Oct. 27 (News Report) - Nobody knows just how many Iraqis went missing during the sectarian warfare that tore the country apart. But at least 17,477 unidentified bodies have been found since May 2005, according to an Associated Press tally based on reports from morgue and police officials. That figure is only a minimum. Many Iraqis were afraid to report loved ones missing, and many more people may be buried in still-undiscovered mass grave

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Islamabad dismayed by 'dithering' US

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Asia Times - By Zahid U Kramet - Oct. 22 (News Analysis) - As White House officials continue to debate the call of the United States' military chief in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, for an additional force of 40,000 to win the war against Taliban insurgents in the Afghanistan-Pakistan war theater, the overall impression in Pakistan is that rather than any decisive victory, the US and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are now looking for a face-saving exit to leave Pakistan to face the brunt of the fallout - once again.

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Karzai agrees to runoff

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Joshua Partlow, Karen DeYoung - Oct. 20 (Breaking News) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday that he accepted a finding of widespread fraud in the August presidential elections and endorsed a runoff vote scheduled for Nov. 7.

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US, Pakistan agree to disagree on Waziristan offensive

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Christian Science Monitor - By Issam Ahmed - Oct. 19 (News Analysis) - "As the Pakistani Army continues its massive offensive against the Taliban's base in South Waziristan, top US officials including CENTCOM chief David Petraeus and Sen. John Kerry (D) of Massachusetts, are meeting with military and civilian leaders here. While the Army's action is in line with US encouragement to rout out the militants, key differences appear to remain between the US and Pakistan on how to tackle the insurgency".

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White House seeks to explain its hesitations on Afghanistan

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Times - By Jenny Booth - Oct. 18 (News Report) - President Obama will not decide whether to sanction a troop surge for Afghanistan until the issue of whether the country has a credible government has been settled, the White House Chief of Staff said today. Rahm Emanuel said that the question of

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