Views Improve Sharply in Afghanistan, Though Criticisms of the U.S. Stay High
Hopes for a brighter future have soared in Afghanistan, bolstered by a broad rally in support for the country's re-elected president, improved development efforts and economic gains. Blame on the United States and NATO for violence has eased – but their overall ratings remain weak. In one key shift, the latest poll by ABC News, the BBC and ARD German TV finds that sharply more Afghans now see the Taliban as the main source of their country's strife, while many fewer blame the United States or its allies – significant progress in a central aim of the new commander of U.S. and NATO forces, Gen. Stanley McChrystal.
ABC News/BBC/ARD Afghanistan Poll – Note on Methodology
This survey was conducted for ABC News, the BBC and ARD by the Afghan Center for Socio-Economic and Opinion Research (ACSOR) in Kabul, a subsidiary of D3 Systems Inc. in Vienna, VA, USA. Interviews were conducted in person, in Dari or Pashto, among a random national sample of 1,534 Afghan adults Dec. 11-23, 2009.
Senator: Pakistan army may go to North Waziristan
A senator who's just visited Pakistan says Pakistan's military may be considering a move into the militant stronghold of North Waziristan.
Privatized War, and Its Price
A federal judge in Washington, Ricardo Urbina, has provided another compelling argument against the outsourcing of war to gunslingers from the private sector. In throwing out charges against Blackwater agents who killed 17 Iraqis in Baghdad’s Nisour Square in September 2007, Judge Urbina highlighted the government’s inability to hold mercenaries accountable for crimes they commit.
Iraq hostage Peter Moore tells Met Police of capture
The IT expert from Lincoln's account of his capture in Iraq in 2007 is likely to be crucial to inquiries into the murder of three of his bodyguards.
Yemen’s President Says Government Is Willing to Talk to Disarmed Qaeda Fighters
Yemen’s government is “determined to stand up to the challenges” of Al Qaeda, but will be willing to talk to any Qaeda follower who “renounces violence and terrorism,” said the country’s president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, in an interview broadcast late Saturday night.
Petraeus Rules Out Sending U.S. Troops to Yemen
Gen. David Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command, ruled out sending U.S. troops to Yemen, where the al Qaeda affiliate that has claimed responsibility for the attempted Christmas Day airline bombing is based.
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