The Wall Street Journal reports (Jan 6, 2015) that China is creating a new avenue for Afghan peace talks. The Chinese are hosting a delegation of Afghan Taliban officials.
The Afghan public is becoming increasingly frustrated with the delay in forming the Afghan cabinet. Read more in "Afghan Cabinet Delay Creates Pessimism", Gandhara Blog - Radio Free Europe, January 7, 2015.
A news story about the Train, Advise, and Assist (TAA) effort at Tactical Base Gamberi is provided by Kay Johnson in "Smaller NATO mission has big job to train Afghan army in time", Reuters, January 7, 2015.
A bombing in the city of Jalalabad, Nangarhar province killed a judge who served in the neighboring province of Laghman. The bomb was attached to the judge's car by a passing vehicle (magnetic?). (Gandhara Blog - Radio Free Europe, Jan 7, 2015).
A commentator writes about the newly released movie "American Sniper" - about the Navy SEAL Chris Kyle - and the disconnect that America has with the people who fight in the nation's wars. Read more in "If Only America Cared About Actual Wars as Much as War Movies", Defense One, January 6, 2015.
Jim Michaels, a writer, has penned an article that tells us Afghan women's gains are in jeopardy as U.S. troops leave. (USA Today, Jan 6, 2015).
Six employees of a construction firm were shot dead in northern Baghlan province on Wednesday morning. (Afghanistan Times, Jan 7, 2015).
The house of the District Governor (DGov) of Sayed Abad district in Maidan Wardak province was set on fire by the Taliban on Tuesday, Jan 7th.
Two police officers were wounded in a Taliban suicide attack on a police training center in the eastern Afghan city of Khowst on January 7th. (Gandhara Blog - Radio Free Europe, Jan 7, 2015).
Marines from Camp Lejeune are preparing for their deployment to Afghanistan. The 2nd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company received word of their deployment and have been conducting pre-deployment training. (Marine Corps Times, Jan 6, 2015).
A funny YouTube spoof entitled "Civilians Try Military Food". Video depicts civilians trying MREs. Funny entertainment if you need some time away from work. The civilians express their appreciation for what deployed military members must endure. (3 mins).
An asylum decision has been delayed for an Afghan military officer who skipped his training on Cape Cod, Massachusetts and tried to cross the border to Canada. (Military.com, Jan 6, 2015).
Are "functional physical fitness tests" in the future for the U.S. Army? Could happen. Read more in "Army Looking at New MOS-Specific PT Tests", Military.com, Jan 6, 2015.
EUPOL is beginning its next chapter in supporting the Afghan police by working at the strategic level. The EU mission mandate has been extended until the end of 2016. The new acting head of mission, Pia Stjernvall, provides us with her outlook on the EUPOL mission and its next chapter in Afghanistan in the years 2015-2016. (EUPOL, Jan 7, 2015).
Tolo News (AF) has wrote that the ANA are mounting a massive operation in Sangin district in southern Helmand province. (Jan 7, 2015).
A news report in a British media outlet provides info on the signal intelligence that the British GCHQ provided to its troops during the deployment to Helmand province. The GCHQ was credited with spoiling an attack on Camp Bastion. The GCHQ worked in 10 different secret listening posts in the province during the British deployment timeframe. (Gloucestershire Echo, January 6, 2015).
There has been a boom in counterfeit medicine in Afghanistan. The corruption and lack of border controls has opened the country up to a flood of substandard drugs that put poor, sick Afghans at risk. (The Guardian, January 7, 2015.)
A retired war veteran writes his thoughts about the end of the Afghan War in "The End of America's War in Afghanistan", U.S. Naval Institute, January 6, 2015.
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