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22-year old with history of domestic abuse reportedly was awarded $300m Pentagon contract to supply

The Pentagon entrusted a 22-year old previously arrested for domestic violence and having a forged driving licence to be the main supplier of ammunition to Afghan forces at the height of the battle against a resurgent Taliban, it was reported today. AEY, essentially a one-man operation based in an unmarked office in Miami Beach, was awarded a contract worth $300m to supply the Afghan army and police in January last year. The New York Times broke this story earlier today after a lengthy investigation. AEY's president, Efraim Diversoli, 22, supplied stock that was 40 years old and rotting packing material. The vice president of the company was a masseuse.

Afghan suicide blast kills 80

A suicide bombing at an outdoor dogfighting competition killed 80 people and wounded scores more Sunday, an Afghan governor said, in what appeared to be the deadliest terror attack in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

Taliban Push Poppy Production to a Record Again

Mr. Wood said the current American programs for eradication, interdiction and alternative livelihoods should be intensified, but he added that spraying poppy crops with herbicide remained a possibility. Afghan and British officials have opposed spraying, saying it would drive farmers into the arms of the Taliban.

35 killed in Afghan bus blast

An enormous bomb ripped through a police academy bus at Kabul s busiest transportation hub Sunday, killing at least 35 people in the deadliest insurgent attack in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. The Taliban claimed responsibility.

Taliban Leader Confirms Bin Laden is Alive and Well

Following are excerpts from an interview with Taliban Military Commander Mullah Dadallah, which aired by Al-Jazeera TV on April 30, 2007. Interviewer: Let's move to the issue of Bin Laden, who has not appeared in the media for over a year. How do you, in the Afghan Taliban movement, view his disappearance? Is it true, as has been reported, that he may be dead? Or do you have information that he is alive? Mullah Dadallah: Allah be praised, he is alive, and we have information about him. All

Taliban kill six Afghan securitymen

Suspected Taliban fighters have killed five members of Afghanistan's intelligence service after they blew up the men's car on Monday in Nuristan, a province in the east of the country.

Taliban kill kidnapped Afghan journalist

Tolo, a private TV channel, reported a claim by Shahbuddin Atal, a purported spokesman for Taliban regional commander south Mullah Dadullah, that the militants beheaded Naqshbandi after the government failed to release two Taliban commanders. The report was not independently confirmed.

Dutch Soldiers Stress Restraint in Afghanistan

In case you missed it earlier today...The NYT led with an in depth look at Dutch soldiers taking a different strategic approach of winning hearts and minds in Afghanistan. They contrast this with the U.S. approach of regular military raids. "We're not here to fight the Taliban...we're here to make them irrelevant," says one Dutch soldier. It's begs the question whether this administration's hunger for violence is just not only costly but ineffective as well.

IntelligentaIndigena: Taliban claims kidnapping of French nationals: Web

Afghanistan's Taliban Islamist rebels claimed responsibility on Thursday for kidnapping of two French nationals and three Afghans in the southwest of the country.

Taliban Capture More Aid Workers as Hostages in Afghanistan

Why turn their backs on a good thing? Italy negotiated the release of Taliban prisoners to get their journalist back.

Australian Detainee's Life of Wandering Ends With Plea Deal

Earlier, the media reported this as a success of Guantanamo Bay's secret proceedings, but read this story between the lines. This alleged Taliban recruit is going back to Australia where his conviction may be overturned by his home court. It doesn't appear he did much wrong other than get caught up with the wrong sorts of folks and having poor judgement. The Guantanamo Bay prison is going to be one of the sad chapters of American history. It's clear his confession was forced...

The Worrying Case of an Ambitious Afghan Journalist

The CPJ has issued three calls for Naqshbandi's release in the past week, asking journalists and news organizations on Friday to pressure Hamid Karzai's government to work toward securing Naqshbandi's freedom. But those calls have had "less and less impact," said Dietz, who is frustrated that "Ajmal's just about disappearing from the Western media radar screen, and it's a great concern of ours, because people like him are really incredibly important...

U.S. Slams Italy's Deal With Taliban to Free Journalist

Allies not on board - negotiate with Taliban: Daniele Mastrogiacomo, who writes for Italy's La Repubblica newspaper, was freed Monday after two weeks in captivity. He had been seized in southern Helmand province with his Afghan driver, who was beheaded, and his translator, whose whereabouts are unknown. Though the Afghan government called the swap "an exceptional case," the deal was sharply criticized.

U.S. Senate majority leader calls for efforts to bring Taliban into Afghan government

"You need to bring them into a more transparent type of government," Frist said during a brief visit to a U.S. and Romanian military base in the southern Taliban stronghold of Qalat. "And if that's accomplished we'll be successful." He said the only way to win in places like Qalat is to "assimilate people who call themselves Taliban into a larger, more representative government." "Approaching counterinsurgency by winning hearts and minds will ultimately be the answer," Frist said. "Military versus insurgency one-to-one doesn't sound like it can be won. It sounds to me ... that the Taliban is everywhere."

British troops in secret truce with the Taliban

It has now been agreed the troops will quietly pull out of Musa Qala in return for the Taliban doing the same. The compound is one of four district government offices in the Helmand province that are being guarded by British troops. Although soldiers on the ground may welcome the agreement, it is likely to raise new questions about troop deployment. Last month Sir Richard Dannatt, the new head of the British Army, warned that soldiers in Afghanistan were fighting at the limit of their capacity and could only just cope with the demands.