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The Taliban
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Front Page: Nobel Peace Prize Awarded, Dow Falls Below 8,000 at Opening, NATO to Attack Opium Labs
- Nobel Peace Prize Awarded: The 2008 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded this morning to former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari. Chosen from a group of 197 people for his decades of cautious diplomatic work, the Nobel committee says he was picked, “for his important efforts in several continents and over three decades to resolve international conflicts," specifically his work to end South African domination in Namibia.
- Dow Falls Below 8,000 at Opening: Moments after the opening bell this morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell below 8,000 amid news that the global markets are in a selloff. European markets fell more than 10 percent at opening and shares in Asia continued to decline amid fears of a huge global recession.
Front Page: Study Pegs Afghanistan as Crisis, State Ownership of Banks Considered, Zimbabwe's Inflation Hits Extreme High
- Study Pegs Afghanistan Crisis: A report by US intelligence agencies says Afghanistan is in a "downward spiral" and injects doubt over the ability of the Afghan government to overcome the Taliban's influence. The strength of the government has been severely compromised by corruption within Karzai's administration. The conclusions of the report indicate it should have been central to the war on terror, an effort now in need of more international troops.
- State Ownership of Banks Considered: The White House is considering ownership stakes in some US banks as a way of stemming the severe global credit crisis.
Front Page: Congress May Add Stimulus, South Africa's Mbeki Resigns, Militants Kidnap 155 in Afghanistan
- Congress May Add Stimulus: Congress is likely to raise the cost of the $700 billion rescue deal by adding more economic stimulus for taxpayers, according to Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Barney Frank. The cost of the current plan could reach $1 trillion. Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd urged caution this morning and praised Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson as "the right man."
- South Africa's Mbeki Resigns: South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki resigned yesterday after his political party demanded that he step down.
Front Page: 1 Million Cut Off By Floods, China Deports Protesters, Pakistan Bans the Taliban
- 1 Million Cut Off By Floods: In India, more than a million people have been stranded by monsoon-season flooding. Authorities are struggling today to get aid and food to people in the stricken northern state and the government has issued a plea for relief agencies to provide food and shelter. The area's chief minister says, ''It is not a normal flood, but a catastrophe."
Front Page: Worst Afghanistan Toll, Cell Phone Law, Obama to Expand Faith-Based Programs
- Worst Afghanistan Toll: June was the deadliest for foreign troops in Afghanistan since the 2001 fall of the Taliban, and it was the second month in a row where the toll exceeded that in Iraq. At least 45 foreign troops were killed compared with 31 soldier deaths in Iraq. The casualty rate is thought to be tied to the Taliban's aim for headline-grabbing attacks that will promote their growing strength.
Front Page: Attack Threatens Cease-fire, Clinton Back to Work, Germany Sending More Troops
- Attack Threatens Cease-fire: Two Palestinian rockets struck southern Israel moments ago, prompting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office says the week-old cease-fire has been broken. The first rockets fired since the truce hit an open area leaving no injuries. As of yet, there has been no word as to how Israel will react, nor any claims of responsibility.
Front Page: Baghdad Blast Kills 51, Operation Launched Against Taliban, Bush and Offshore Drilling
- Baghdad Blast Kills 51: An enormous car bombing shattered part of a busy marketplace and set a crowded apartment building alight in a heavily Shiite district of Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 51 people and wounding 75. As the blast occurred in the midst of a neighborhood where Sunnis had been savagely driven out, some of locals blamed the displaced Sunnis for the attack. The bombing was the deadliest attack in 3 months.
Karzai Pledges Chase of Prison Break Taliban Into Pakistan
Following a giant prison break over the weekend freeing 1,200 criminals, Afghanistan has threatened to send troops across the border with Pakistan in an effort to hunt down Taliban leadership, who they blame for the explosion and flood of escapees. The threat did not sit well with Pakistan’s prime minister who responded: [we will] "not allow anyone to interfere in our national limits and our affairs.”
Hamid Karzai, the Afghanistan president delivered the bellicose speech giving many in the region pause: “When [the Taliban] cross the territory from Pakistan to come and kill Afghans and kill coalition troops, it exactly gives us the right to go back and do the same.” Afghanistan does not have the ability to send troops into Pakistan without US military and NATO consent, though it seems that friction is increasing along these lines.
The spectacularly bold prison break attack by Taliban forces on a prison near Kandahar Friday evening included two truck bombs, assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades and was thought to be exceptionally planned.
Headline: Taliban Gaining Power and Support
The Taliban is gaining confidence and power that is extending past their traditional stronghold in southern Afghanistan. This resurgence, which so far is limited to the countryside, depends directly on the support of everyday villagers, many of whom are welcoming back the Taliban, despite fresh memories of its strict Islamic law and crushing oppression.
So why do many Afghanis support the Taliban?
On the Newsstand: Afghan Girls Six Years After the Taliban
What great timing! The very day I wrote about the Taliban, Time magazine comes plopping through my door with this amazing piece on girls starting to go to school in Afghanistan now that the Taliban is no longer in power.
Though women are now able to vote, hold positions in parliament, and have jobs in Afghanistan, girls are only slowly coming to school.
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