Pentagon Calls Taliban 'Resilient,' Says Afghan Insurgency Will Expand

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
27 June 2008

In its first formal report on the situation in Afghanistan, the U.S. Defense Department says the Taliban is "a resilient insurgency" and is expected to expand its challenges to the Afghan government. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon....

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-06-27-voa62.cfm

By Al Pessin
Washington
26 June 2008

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has expressed concern about the continuing ease with which insurgents based in Pakistan are able to cross into Afghanistan, and welcomed the plan the Pakistani government announced Wednesday to try to change the situation. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon....

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-06-26-voa64.cfm

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
27 June 2008
Pakistan's foreign minister, on a visit to India, has urged India to move ahead with a gas pipeline project that will carry gas from Iran to India via Pakistan. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, the visit comes as both countries try to give a boost to a slow-moving peace process....

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-06-27-voa26.cfm

By VOA News
28 June 2008

The Pakistani military has launched a new offensive against Taliban militants near the northern city of Peshawar, prompting a leading Taliban commander to temporarily call off peace talks with the government...

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-06-28-voa2.cfm

By VOA News
01 July 2008

NATO says its forces, in coordination with the Pakistani military, have beaten back a militant attack on a NATO post in Afghanistan.

A statement from NATO's International Security Assistance Force said Tuesday that fighting erupted Monday night in Afghanistan's Khost province....

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-07-01-voa21.cfm

By VOA News
01 July 2008

Pakistani officials say their forces have destroyed a key militant compound in an effort to clear insurgents from the northwestern Khyber tribal district....

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-07-01-voa47.cfm

By VOA News 02 July 2008

A senior U.S. diplomat says Washington supports Pakistan's talks with tribal leaders, but does not approve of negotiations with the country's top Taliban commander....


http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-07-02-voa14.cfm

By Robert Raffaele
Washington
03 July 2008

U.S. President George Bush acknowledged Wednesday that U.S. and NATO troops are in a tough fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan. During a brief appearance before reporters at the White House, he was asked about increased casualties there. He also outlined goals for his final G8 summit. VOA's Robert Raffaele has the story...

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-07-03-voa13.cfm

By Gary Thomas
Washington
08 July 2008

Suicide bombings have risen sharply in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the past year, even in the capital cities. Embassies, hotels, military convoys, and markets have been among the targets of attacks. As VOA Correspondent Gary Thomas reports, lackluster governance and political uncertainty in both Pakistan and Afghanistan are seen as furthering the violence.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-07-08-voa51.cfm

By VOA News 08 July 2008

The U.S. military has moved an aircraft carrier from the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea to further support its operations in Afghanistan...
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-07-08-voa44.cfm

By VOA News
08 July 2008

Afghan officials say they have evidence a foreign intelligence agency was involved in Monday's attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-07-08-voa9.cfm

By VOA News 09 July 2008

Authorities and tribal leaders in northwest Pakistan have reached a peace agreement, after a two-week military operation to clear militants from the area...
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-07-09-voa49.cfm

With the Taliban proving increasingly difficult to defeat militarily, and with the Western coalition reluctant to negotiate with any Taliban or al-Qaeda radicals, an uneasy stalemate has been reached in Afghanistan. Pakistan sees this as an opportunity to regain its position as a key player in the affairs of its neighbor by elevating moderate "sons of the soil" Taliban as the people to negotiate with. This is already happening in Pakistan's tribal areas. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Jul 11, '08)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JG12Df01.html

By VOA News
13 July 2008
Western officials in Kabul say heavy fighting in the mountains of northeastern Afghanistan has killed nine American soldiers and a large number of Taliban militants...
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-07-13-voa26.cfm

By VOA News
17 July 2008
Pakistan disputes U.S. media reports that Washington did not have the coordinates of a Pakistani border checkpoint where 11 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a recent U.S. airstrike...
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-07-17-voa41.cfm