Afghanistan News Center

Afghanistan News September 2, 2010: Today's headlines.....

Kabul Bank braces for run on deposits after doubts
By Deb Riechmann And Rahim Faiez, Associated Press Writers – Thu Sep 2, 12:46 am ET
KABUL, Afghanistan – Managers of Afghanistan's largest bank braced for a run on deposits Thursday, a day after nervous customers showed up in droves to take out their money following the resignation of two top executives allegations of mismanagement and unorthodox lending practices.

Worried Afghans withdraw Kabul Bank deposits
By David Nakamuraand Andrew Higgins Washington Post Staff Writers Thursday, September 2, 2010; 8:03 AM
KABUL - With Afghans clamoring to pull their cash from their nation's biggest bank, the United States risks a politically perilous decision: whether to step in to help shore up a wobbly bank critical not only to Afghanistan's economy but also to the battle against the Taliban.

Afghanistan Official Tries to Ease Depositors’ Worries About Troubled Bank
By DEXTER FILKINS The New York Times September 2, 2010
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s top bank official tried Wednesday to calm fears of a meltdown at one of the country’s largest financial institutions, while scores of Afghans lined up to empty their accounts and found the bank reluctant to comply.

Gates in Afghanistan to meet with Karzai, Petraeus
By Anne Gearan, Ap National Security Writer – Thu Sep 2, 7:24 am ET
KABUL, Afghanistan – U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Afghanistan's capital Thursday for meetings with President Hamid Karzai and top NATO commander Gen. David Petraeus.

Troops in Afghanistan thwart attack on combat outpost
By the CNN Wire Staff September 2, 2010
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Coalition troops in southeastern Afghanistan fought off insurgents after a failed assault on a combat outpost on Thursday, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said.

Petraeus: Reconciliation with senior Taliban holds promise
By the CNN Wire Staff September 2, 2010
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. military man in Afghanistan, said initial approaches to some Taliban members as part of a reconciliation initiative have shown promise and could help resolve the conflict in the country.

Marine general says Taliban drug trade faltering
By Anne Flaherty, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON – A Marine two-star general says the Taliban is experiencing a serious cash flow problem after losing an estimated half of its annual revenue from the drug trade in southern Afghanistan.

Pakistani Taliban designated a terrorist group by US
Listing the Pakistani Taliban as a terrorist group lets the US expand its campaign against the organization, which said it trained the attempted Times Square bomber and has vowed more attacks in the US.
By Tom A. Peter, Correspondent / September 2, 2010 The Christian Science Monitor
Amman, Jordan - The US has officially classified Tehreek-e-Taliban – better known as the Pakistani Taliban – as a terrorist organization, a move that will allow it to expand its campaign against the militant group beyond CIA drone strikes, the State Department announced Wednesday.

10 killed in NATO airstrike in Afghanistan
From Matiullah Mati, CNN September 2, 2010
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Ten parliamentary campaign workers were killed in a NATO airstrike in northeastern Afghanistan on Thursday, a provincial official said.

4 Taliban killed, suicide vests seized in southern Afghan province
GHAZNI, Afghanistan, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Afghan security forces raided Taliban hideouts in southern Ghanzi province killing four insurgents, provincial police chief Dilawar Zazai said Thursday.

NATO air raids kill civilians in Afghan: Afghan gov't
KABUL, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Afghan government accused NATO-led troops of using airpower and killing civilians in northeast Takhar province on Thursday and denounced it. "President Hamid Karzai condemns air strikes that claimed the lives of civilians in Takhar province today," a statement released by Presidential Palace said.

Near Kandahar, the Prize Is an Empty Town
New York Times By TAIMOOR SHAH and ROD NORDLAND September 1, 2010
MEHLAJAT, Afghanistan - When the governor of Kandahar Province came to this town, freshly liberated on Sunday from the Taliban, his armed entourage appeared to outnumber what was left of the population.

U.S. charges Pakistani Taliban leader in CIA killings
Thu Sep 2, 5:37 am ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. prosecutors have charged the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud, in the plot that killed seven CIA employees at an American base in Afghanistan last December, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.

Karzai in panic as graft probe closes in
Global Post By Jean MacKenzie 01/09/2010
An FBI-backed anti-corruption team has struck too close for the Afghan president's comfort.
Editor's note: Afghanistan's central bank moved to shore up confidence in the country's biggest financial institution Wednesday, taking over the Kabul Bank after its top executives resigned amid allegations of mismanagement and corruption. Kabul Bank belongs in part to the brother of President Hamid Karzai

Afghan Financial System Computerised
September 2, 2010 Tolo news
The financial system of the Afghan government is equipped with modern computer systems
The Afghan Treasure Department of the Ministry of Finance says after the department is equipped with the modern computerised system, all the salary payments and expenditures of government employees will be done through computers and the information will be carried to the ministry in Kabul in a very short time.

Can Iraq Lessons Learned Work In Afghanistan?
by Rachel Martin September 2, 2010 NPR
The U.S. has officially ended its combat mission in Iraq, while tens of thousands of extra U.S. troops deployed to Afghanistan are moving into place — and so are their top leaders.

As U.S. deaths in Afghanistan rise, military families grow critical
Some families of service members killed in the war say the rules of engagement protect Afghan civilians at the expense of American troops. U.S. combat tolls have peaked this summer.
Los Angeles Times By David Zucchino September 2, 2010
Reporting from Queensbury, N.Y. - Bill and Beverly Osborn still can't bring themselves to erase the phone message from their son Ben. He had called from Afghanistan in June to assure them that he was safe. Four days later, he was killed in a Taliban ambush.

Pakistan: A precarious position
Financial Times By James Lamont and Farhan Bokhari September 1 2010
All hands to the pump: a boy helps his father reuild their flood-damaged house in Muzaffargarh, part of Pakistan’s Punjab province. The deluge affected more than 17m people nationwide