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in.reuters.com - 12/9/2008
Taliban urges Western troops to leave Afghanistan
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By Golnar Motevalli KABUL, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Taliban chief Mullah Mohammad Omar urged Western forces on Sunday to take a "golden opportunity" to leave Afghanistan before thousands of their troops were killed in the Islamist group's renewed insurgency. Omar, believed by Western intelligence to ...

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Informed Comment:  Taliban Spread in Afghanistan; Officials Call for More NATO/ US troops

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latimesblogs.latimes.com - 12/8/2008
Terror, recession, oh, workout fiend Obama's still a smoker
— latimesblogs.latimes.com — While you were watching football this morning and afternoon President-elect Barack Obama had a busy day, though part of it was pre-recorded on Saturday. We have three news videos below, plus the transcript of Obama's Sunday morning interview on ... (more) Terror, recession, oh, workout fiend Obama's still a smoker

Comments vote down Little Green Footballs found this 12/8/2008found this
tnr.com - 12/11/2008
Obama vs. Osama
— tnr.com — Around the time of the November election, John Nagl, a retired Army Colonel, took a helicopter ride across Afghanistan. What he saw below worried him. Nagl, who is 42 with trim brown hair and academic eyeglasses, spent three years in Iraq, including ... (more) Obama vs. Osama

Comments vote down The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan found this 12/11/2008found this
Taliban in 72 Percent of Afghanistan, Think-Tank Says
abcnews.go.com - 12/8/2008
Taliban in 72 Percent of Afghanistan, Think-Tank Says
— abcnews.go.com — KABUL (Reuters) - The Taliban hold a permanent presence in 72 percent of Afghanistan, a think-tank said on Monday, but NATO and the Afghan government rejected the report, saying its figures were not credible. The findings by the International Council ... (more) Taliban in 72 Percent of Afghanistan, Think-Tank Says

Comments vote down Think Progress found this 12/8/2008found this
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Taliban Spread in Afghanistan; Officials Call for More NATO/ US troops
Informed Comment — ... Mullah Omar, the leader of the "old Taliban" based in Quetta in Pakistan, said Monday that the Taliban would respond to further Western troops by escalating violence. ...

Hullabaloo — ... The response to additional troops in the region will clearly be additional violence. This is particularly the case if civilian casualties continue, increasing anger among the local population. The US plan appears to be to ...

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