Afghanistan

KABUL  – Drug cultivation is expected to fall slightly in Afghanistan this year as lower opium prices and higher wheat prices encourage some farmers to switch crops, the United Nations said on Sunday. Afghanistan is locked in a vicious circle where drug production helps fund Taliban militants and increases official …

WASHINGTON  – Defense Secretary Robert Gates will give President Barack Obama his formal recommendation on new U.S. troop deployments to Afghanistan within days, the Pentagon said on Thursday. “I would think in the coming days the secretary hopes to be able to present the president with his recommendation,” said Pentagon …

WASHINGTON  – Sending thousands more troops to Afghanistan enjoys broad U.S. political support, from President Barack Obama on down, but some analysts — both in and outside government — are not convinced by the plans. They question whether extra soldiers and Marines will be able to stabilize the country and …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Military action is no good prescription for Afghanistan’s problems, Iranian deputy foreign minister for European affairs said on Wednesday. In his speech at the Greek Institute for International Studies, Mehdi Safari underlined that the foreign forces should withdraw from Afghanistan, and said that drug cultivation has grown extremely …

TEHRAN (FNA)- Unidentified gunmen in Afghanistan abducted an Iranian man in the western province of Heart on Wednesday. The Iranian man was kidnapped in Ghourian near an Iranian company which does construction work in Afghanistan. There are no reports yet of the identity of kidnappers and the police are investigating …

KABUL  – Afghanistan on Thursday announced presidential elections for August 20, hoping a U.S. troop surge will improve security at a time when violence is at the highest levels since the 2001 overthrow of the Taliban. President Hamid Karzai has strongly hinted he will run for re-election saying he still …

BRUSSELS  – NATO said Thursday it was pleased an election date had been announced in Afghanistan and said it would give the alliance enough time to deploy sufficient reinforcements to help protect the vote. Afghanistan said Thursday it would hold presidential polls on August 20, only the second time the …

WASHINGTON  – President Barack Obama will press Afghan President Hamid Karzai to extend government control beyond the capital and fight corruption in a new U.S. policy that will have a “significant non-military component,” a White House official said on Wednesday. The White House is conducting a review of all aspects …

BRUSSELS  – NATO-led forces killed nearly 100 civilians in operations against militants in Afghanistan last year, the alliance said on Wednesday, while blaming insurgents for the deaths of 10 times that number. Civilian casualties have eroded public support for President Hamid Karzai’s government and foreign troops backing it. It has …

PRAGUE  – The European Union said on Wednesday it would invite Iran to a conference on Afghanistan. Calls have grown in the international community to engage Iran in both regional diplomacy and in direct talks on Tehran’s nuclear program. EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the planned conference would …