An internally displaced girl, fleeing military operations in Buner, holds her sister at a UNHCR camp (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) in Takht Bai , about 150 km (85 miles) north west of Pakistan’s capital Islamabad May 9, 2009. The struggle in the scenic northwestern Swat Valley, which has caused an exodus of refugees fleeing the violence, has become a test of Pakistan’s resolve to fight a growing Taliban insurgency that has alarmed the United States. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood (PAKIST

Gunships and planes strike Pakistan Taliban in Swat

Reuters — AlertNet | May 09, 2009 | By Junaid Khan

MINGORA, Pakistan, May 9 (Reuters) – Pakistani helicopter gunships and warplanes hit Taliban positions in the militants’ Swat Valley stronghold on Saturday, while a curfew prevented civilians from fleeing the fighting. The struggle in the northwestern valley 130 km (80 miles) from Islamabad has become a test of Pakistan’s resolve to fight a growing insurgency that has alarmed the West. read more

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Despite a reduced poppy harvest, Afghanistan still produces more than 90% of the world’s heroin. (Paula Bronstein, Getty Images)

NATO troops drafted for anti-drug war

Heroin Trade; Take action against operations tied to insurgency Tom Blackwell, National Post Published: Monday, November 17, 2008

Daily Grunge Report

Timeinc.net

Operation enduring disaster

19/11/2008 04:19:00 PM GMT, Aljazerra — Obama would be foolish to imagine that Petraeus can work a miracle cure in Afghanistan. The cancer has spread too far and is affecting US troops as well. If the American media chose to interview active-duty soldiers in Afghanistan (on promise of anonymity), they might get a more accurate picture of what is happening inside the U.S. Army there.

Daily Grunge Report

A destroyed building in Mogadishu, Somalia. (Shashank Bengali / MCT)

Islamists poised to seize Somalia again in setback to U.S.

By Shashank Bengali | McClatchy Newspapers NAIROBI, Kenya — Al Shabaab, a radical Islamist group that U.S. officials say is tied to al Qaida, has methodically seized much of southern Somalia and is poised to take the capital, Mogadishu, as the country’s internationally backed government nears collapse.

Daily Grunge Report

Despite a reduced poppy harvest, Afghanistan still produces more than 90% of the world’s heroin. (Paula Bronstein, Getty Images)

NATO troops drafted for anti-drug war

Heroin Trade; Take action against operations tied to insurgency Tom Blackwell, National Post Published: Monday, November 17, 2008

Daily Grunge Report

Casualties have been high in areas near the Buner Valley. (Map courtesy NY Times)

As Taliban Overwhelm Police, Pakistanis Hit Back

By JANE PERLEZ and PIR ZUBAIR SHAH Published: November 1, 2008 SHALBANDI, Pakistan — On a rainy Friday evening in early August, six Taliban fighters attacked a police post in a village in Buner, a quiet farming valley just outside Pakistan’s lawless tribal region.

Daily Grunge Report

Supporters of an Islamic students group Islami Jamiat Talaba burn a U.S. flag during a rally to condemn U.S. strikes in Pakistani tribal areas along Afghanistan border, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008 in Lahore, Pakistan. Pakistan is backing off suggestions it might confront U.S. troops making raids into its territory in search of Islamic militants, saying Saturday it will deal diplomatically with Washington over the stepped-up tactics. ( AP Photo by K.M. Chaudary)

Pakistan orders troops to open fire if US raids

By STEPHEN GRAHAM – 10 hours ago ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s military has ordered its forces to open fire if U.S. troops launch another air or ground raid across the Afghan border, an army spokesman said Tuesday. The orders, which come in response to a highly unusual Sept. 3 ground attack by U.S. commandos, are certain to heighten tensions between Washington and a key ally against terrorism. Although the ground attack was rare, there have been repeated reports of U.S. drone aircraft striking militant targets, most recently on Sept. 12.

*** ‘Please look at the public reaction to this kind of adventure or incursion,’ Abbas said. ‘The army is also an extension of the public and you can only satisfy the public when you match your words with your actions.’ …