SPOTLIGHT: Afghanistan

Reuters/Ahmad Masood - Afghans walk past a shopping centre, burnt after a Taliban attack, in Kabul.
Vanda Felbab-Brown, January 28, 2010
At the International Conference on Afghanistan on January 28, leaders from Afghanistan, the United Kingdom and Japan presented their options for reconciliation with the Taliban. Vanda Felbab-Brown evaluates these developments, arguing that, when it comes to negotiating with the Taliban, the content, costs and benefits of each approach must be measured carefully to reach a successful outcome.
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Afghanistan, Terrorism, International Relations
SPOTLIGHT: Haiti

Reuters - A Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 11 lands aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) to load water jugs to deliver to earthquake victims in Haiti.
Commander Greg Parker, January 21, 2010
The United States has deployed military resources to Haiti to provide aid to victims of the earthquake. With airports shutdown throughout the country, the United States Navy and Marine Corp have staged themselves through a series of ships off the coast. Commander Parker writes that this effort has given a new impetus for considering sea basing in military strategy.
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Haiti, Defense Strategy, Defense, U.S. Department of Defense
SPOTLIGHT: Counternarcotics Policy

Reuters/Abdul Qodus - Afghan farmers work on a poppy field in the Grishk district of Helmand province.
Vanda Felbab-Brown, January 07, 2010
In an essay on the nexus between the narcotics economy and violent conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Vanda Felbab-Brown explores the factors supporting opium production in those countries. Felbab-Brown also offers options for successful counter-narcotics policies and for building an alternative legal economy throughout the struggling region.
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Counternarcotics Policy, Terrorism, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Middle East
SPOTLIGHT: Technology

Reuters/Luke MacGregor - A Royal Marine poses with the Unmanned Vehicle Robot, Testudo, at the launch of the Defence Technology Plan in London.
Peter W. Singer, January 08, 2010
Unmanned systems, including Predator drones and Pakbots, are changing the game for U.S. military in the air and on the battlefield. Yet as the use of these unmanned systems becomes increasingly prevalent, Peter W. Singer writes there has been very little discussion about generating new rules for the use of robotic technology and about the greater implications for the future of warfare.
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Technology, Military Technology, weapons