Mar 8, 2011
[Editors' note: As part of Sojourners campaign to end the war in Afghanistan, we will run a weekly Afghanistan news digest to educate our readers about the latest news and developments related to the war, the U.S. military's strategy, and the people impacted by our decisions. Read more about our campaign at www.sojo.net/afghanistan.]
- Gen. David Petraeus apologizes for deaths of 9 Afghan children. "An angry new dispute over civilian casualties erupted Wednesday, with Afghan officials asserting that nine children gathering firewood on a mountainside were killed by an American bombardment in a troubled eastern province."
- Gates: U.S. has done 'lousy job' listening to concerns of Afghanistan leader. "When Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai raises concerns privately with U.S. officials, his American counterparts do not always listen, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday."
- U.S. expects Afghan Taliban will launch spring campaign to regain lost ground. "American military officials in Afghanistan expect that the Taliban will mount a spring campaign to regain ground lost to U.S. troops last year and use suicide bombing teams to strike at those associated with the Afghan government or coalition forces."
- In Afghanistan, U.S. shifts strategy on women's rights as it eyes wider priorities. "The removal of specific women's rights requirements, which also took place in a $600 million municipal government program awarded last year, reflects a shift in USAID's approach in Afghanistan. Instead of setting ambitious goals to improve the status of Afghan women, the agency is tilting toward more attainable measures."
- Check out the work of Canadian photographer Louie Palu who has been photographing the conflict in Afghanistan for the past five years. Five years in Afghanistan.
- Ten years after the destruction of Bamiyan's Buddha statues, the British Museum's Afghanistan exhibition recalls Afghanistan's rich heritage, too often forgotten in this persistent war. Afghanistan's surviving treasures.
Hannah Lythe is policy and outreach associate at Sojourners.
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