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Karzai
Former UN envoy criticizes Taliban arrests
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The UN’s former envoy to Afghanistan, Kai Eide, has strongly criticized Pakistan’s recent arrest of high-ranking Taliban leaders. Eide told the BBC the arrests had completely stopped a channel of secret communications with the UN. Pakistani officials insist the arrests were not an attempt to spoil talks. Jason Margolis reports. Download MP3
Richard Holbrooke on the fight against the Taliban
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For years Pakistan’s northwest has been plagued by Islamist violence fueled by anger over the war in Afghanistan and Islamabad’s alliance with Washington. A Pakistani military offensive that began in October against the Pakistani Taliban spurred attacks that killed more than 600 people. Marco Werman talks with Washington’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, about US policy in the region. Download MP3(Photo: Martha Stewart/Harvard’s Institute of Politics)
Is the Afghan Army ready for prime time?
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Afghan President Hamid Karzai has condemned the bombings in Kabul which killed up to nine Indians, a Frenchman and an Italian as a terrorist attack. The Taliban said they carried out the attacks. The assault comes as NATO and Afghan forces continue ‘Operation Moshtarak’ to combat the Taliban in the south of the country. Reporter Ben Gilbert looks at the battle readiness of the Afghan troops. Download MP3 (Photo: Ben Gilbert) Afghanistan conference
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Afghan forces will begin taking control of security in some of the country’s provinces by the end of 2010, a key summit on its future has pledged. In a statement at the end of the one-day meeting, delegates said the process would be complete within five years. The summit encouraged more contributions but gave no firm figures. Marco Werman talks with Afghanistan’s finance minister Omar Zakhilwal, who attended the London conference. Download MP3 (Photo: Anthony Devlin/AFP/Getty Images)
Multiple Taliban attacks in Afghanistan
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Taliban gunmen and suicide bombers have attacked buildings in the heart of the Afghan capital, Kabul, setting off explosions and sparking gun battles. Fighting erupted near the Serena Hotel and the presidential palace, although Afghan President Karzai says security has now been restored. The Taliban said 20 of its fighters took part in the attack. The World’s Matthew Bell reports on the implications of the brazen Taliban attack. Download MP3
Afghan poll hints at growing optimism
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Most Afghans are increasingly optimistic about the state of their country, a poll commissioned by the BBC, ABC News and Germany’s ARD shows. Of more than 1,500 Afghans questioned, 70% said they believed Afghanistan was going in the right direction – a big jump from 40% a year ago. Jeb Sharp talks with the BBC’s Mark Dummett in Kabul. Download MP3 (Photo: Deshakalyan Chowdhury/AFP/Getty Images)
Afghan dam project in peril
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Kajaki Dam project in Southern Afghanistan is a symbol of US involvement in the country going back to the 1950s. In recent years, the project has been a priority for international development efforts, but the Taliban insurgency has put the success of the dam at risk. Washington’s foreign aid agency USAID has now put the Kajaki project on hold amid security concerns. Matthew Bell has the story. Download MP3
Fighting the Afghan insurgency
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The commander of foreign troops in Afghanistan, US Army General Stanley McChrystal, says the American military now understands counterinsurgency better than it ever has, and has made it a centerpiece of the new Afghanistan strategy. Reporter Ben Gilbert has been embedded with American forces in Afghanistan. On today’s show he is taking a look at how the counterinsurgency doctrine is being implemented on the ground in Afghanistan. Download MP3 (Photo: Tauseef Mustafa/AFP/Getty Images)General McChrystal in Afghanistan hearing
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The United States will reverse Taliban momentum within a year and accomplish its mission in Afghanistan, but it will be “undeniably difficult” and costly, the top American commander there has said. Appearing in Congress, General Stanley McChrystal warned the mission would fail without more troops and praised President Obama’s decision to deploy 30,000 additional forces. Katy Clark reports. Download MP3 (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)Pakistan’s reaction to Obama speech
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President Obama said one of the three pillars to success in Afghanistan was Pakistan. Many in Pakistan have reacted negatively to that. The official reaction in Pakistan has been somewhat muted, but the press is speaking out strongly against the President’s new plan. The World’s Jason Margolis reports. Download MP3
President Obama’s Afghanistan plan
Special coverage of President Obama’s speech on The World:
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President Barack Obama has ordered 30,000 more US troops to Afghanistan but warned America would begin to withdraw its military forces by 2011. World security was at stake, Mr Obama said in his address to the nation at West Point, calling for more allied troops. Download MP3
Kandahar update
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President Obama is to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan and deploy them within six months, US officials have said. Commanders on the ground want the reinforcements concentrated in Taliban strongholds in southern Afghanistan, including Kandahar and Helmand, the group’s opium-producing heartland. Ben Gilbert is reporting from an American base in Kandahar Province. Download MP3 (Photo of Marines in Helmand by Manpreet Romana/AFP/Getty Images)
The situation in Kandahar
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President Obama will officially unveil his new orders for the US military in Afghanistan tomorrow night at the US Military Academy at West Point, New York. You can be certain the President’s speech will be closely watched at the military base in Kandahar. That’s Afghanistan’s second largest city and militants have been making gains in the area. Reporter Ben Gilbert is there. Download MP3
A view of Kabul
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Download MP3Anchor Marco Werman speaks with reporter Ben Gilbert, in Kabul, Afghanistan, about his first impressions of the city, and how it compares to Baghdad.
Building up the Afghan forces
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President Obama says he would announce the long-awaited decision on sending more US troops to Afghanistan “shortly”. Afghan President Karzai recently said the strength of Afghan security forces had to be bolstered and the role of international forces reduced. The World’s Katy Clark reports on how capable the Afghan forces are. Download MP3 (Photo: David Quillen/AFP/Getty Images) 
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