Category: Blogs

‘Panetta may have triggered an unseemly rush for the exit’ from Afghanistan

By Clausewitz, the Economist

From Clausewitz, the Economist:  The secret NATO report on the Taliban leaked to the BBC is full of fascinating stuff, but it mostly confirms what was already known rather than shedding new light on the conflict in Afghanistan. The report, called “The State of the Taliban” and based on interrogations with more than 4,000 Taliban […]

Shura Council Elections See Low Turnout and Voter Apathy

By Salem Mostafa Kamel

The High Electoral Commission (HEC) has announced the final results for the first round of Egypt’s Shura Council (upper house) elections. As expected, Islamist parties swept the elections: The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the Salafi Nour Party and independent candidates came ahead in all governorates except in Cairo where two female candidates […]

Top News: 74 Killed in Deadly Soccer Riot

By Mara Revkin

Senior officials in Port Said and the Egyptian football association have been sacked in the wake of riots on February 1 at a football match that killed 74 people. The governor of Port Said resigned, while the city’s director of security and head of investigations were suspended and are now in custody.  DEADLY SOCCER RIOT: […]

Panetta: U.S. plans to end combat missions in Afghanistan in 2013

By Craig Whitlock, the Washington Post

From Craig Whitlock, the Washington Post:  The United States and NATO will seek to end their combat mission in Afghanistan next year and shift to a role of providing support and training to Afghan security forces

Panetta faces tough NATO meeting after budget shift

By David Alexander, Reuters

From David Alexander, Reuters:  The NATO meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday comes a week after [Defense Secretary Leon] Panetta previewed a defense budget that calls for slashing American force numbers in Europe, part of a new U.S. military strategy that puts Asia and the Middle East as top priorities with Europe a lowly […]

NATO Plays Down Report of Collaboration Between Taliban and Pakistan

By Rod Nordland and Declan Walsh, the New York Times

Top News: Brotherhood MPs to Chair Key Parliamentary Committees

By Mara Revkin

Members of the FJP-led Democratic Alliance won in votes for all but two of the committees in the People’s Assembly, led by speaker Saad al-Katatny. Senior Brotherhood leader Essam Al Erian became chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, and chairmanship of the Defence and National Security Committee went to Abbas Mokheimar, a Brotherhood member with […]

French decision to accelerate exit causes some Afghans to question NATO

By Jon Stephenson, McClatchy

From Jon Stephenson, McClatchy:  The announcement by France last week that it would speed up the exit of its troops from Afghanistan has been greeted with a mixture of cynicism, disbelief and concern by politicians here. "It may have a bad impact on other NATO allies," said Shukria Barakzai, an Afghan parliamentarian and chairwoman of […]