2010 in Afghanistan
Encyclopedia
See also: 2008 in Afghanistan
2008 in Afghanistan
See also: 2007 in Afghanistan, other events of 2008, 2009 in Afghanistan and Timeline of the War in Afghanistan .Events from the year 2008 in Afghanistan-February:...

, other events of 2010, 2009 in Afghanistan
2009 in Afghanistan
See also: 2008 in Afghanistan, other events of 2009, 2010 in Afghanistan and Timeline of the War in Afghanistan .Events from the year 2009 in Afghanistan-January:...

 and Timeline of the War in Afghanistan (2001-present)
Timeline of the War in Afghanistan (2001-present)
The following items form a partial timeline of the War in Afghanistan. For events prior to October 7, 2001, see 2001 in Afghanistan-2001:*October 7: : the United States, supported by Britain, begins its attack on Afghanistan, launching bombs and cruise missiles against Taliban military and...

.

Events from the year 2010 in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...


January

  • On January 28, 2010, an International Conference on Afghanistan
    International Conference on Afghanistan (2010)
    On January 28, 2010, an International Conference on Afghanistan was held at Lancaster House in London, where members of the international community discussed the further progress on the Petersberg agreement from 2001 on the democratization of Afghanistan after the ousting of the Taliban regime...

    was held at Lancaster House
    Lancaster House
    Lancaster House is a mansion in the St. James's district in the West End of London. It is close to St. James's Palace and much of the site was once part of the palace complex...

     in London
    London
    London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

    , where members of the international community discussed the further progress on the Petersberg agreement from 2001 on the democratization of Afghanistan
    Afghanistan
    Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

     after the ousting of the Taliban regime. The one-day conference, hosted by the United Kingdom
    United Kingdom
    The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

    , the United Nations
    United Nations
    The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

    , and the Afghan government, meant to chart a new course for the future of Afghanistan and brought together foreign ministers and senior representatives from more than 70 countries and international organizations.
  • Also in late January, 2010, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner
    Bernard Kouchner
    Bernard Kouchner is a French politician, diplomat, and doctor. He is co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières and Médecins du Monde...

     explained that France will not send any more combat troops to Afghanistan, reinforcing his country's opposition to joining the U.S.-led surge there.

February

  • The Khataba raid
    Khataba raid
    The Khataba raid was an incident in the War in Afghanistan in which five civilians, including two pregnant women and a teenage girl, were killed by U.S. forces on February 12, 2010. All were shot when U.S. Special Forces raided a house in Khataba village, outside the city of Gardez, where dozens of...

     refers to the killing of five innocent civilians including two pregnant women and a teenage girl when US special forces raided their house on February 12.
  • The Uruzgan helicopter attack
    Uruzgan helicopter attack
    Uruzgan helicopter attack refers to the killing of a large number of Afghan civilians including four women and one child, another 12 were wounded...

     refers to the killing of a large number of Afghan
    Afghanistan
    Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

     civilians including four women and one child
    Child
    Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...

    . The attack took place on February 21, 2010 near the border between Uruzgan
    Oruzgan Province
    Orūzgān or Urōzgān , also spelled Uruzgan or Rōzgān , is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the center of the country, though the area is culturally and tribally linked to Kandahar in the south. Its capital is Tarin Kowt...

     and Daykundi province when special operation troops helicopter
    Helicopter
    A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

    s attacked three minibuses with "airborne weapons".

March

  • On 12 March 2010 Route Trident
    Route Trident
    Route Trident was built by the British Army's Royal Engineers in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The construction of the road was codenamed Operation Lar Jarowel by the Ministry of Defence...

    , a new road built by the British Army and Afghan workers in Helmand province
    Helmand Province
    Helmand is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the southwest of the country. Its capital is Lashkar Gah. The Helmand River flows through the mainly desert region, providing water for irrigation....

     officially opens to traffic.

April

  • President Hamid Karzai
    Hamid Karzai
    Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...

     pledged that tribal leaders would be consulted before any coalition push to oust the Taliban from Kandahar
    Kandahar
    Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...

    , their spiritual home in southern Afghanistan.
  • Insurgents in Afghanistan think last year was their most successful year of operations since 2002, according to a new Pentagon
    The Pentagon
    The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...

     report, but US officials are increasingly confident because of the surge of American troops and believe that insurgent perceptions of their own strength will begin to change, too.
  • A magnitude 5.3 earthquake
    Earthquake
    An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...

     struck in mountains north of Afghanistan
    Afghanistan
    Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

    's capital
    Kabul
    Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...

    , killing at least seven people and injuring 30, officials said.

May

The Taliban announced an increased offensive during spring and launched several attacks against International Security Assistance Force
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...

s (ISAF) and Afghan government forces. Attacks included a car bomb against a NATO convoy in Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...

 which killed 18 people including six NATO soldiers and separate attacks against two of the largest ISAF bases in Afghanistan, Bagram
Bagram Air Base
Bagram Airfield, also referred to as Bagram Air Base, is a militarized airport and housing complex that is located next to the ancient city of Bagram, southeast of Charikar in Parwan province of Afghanistan. The base is run by a US Army division headed by a major general. A large part of the base,...

 and Kandahar Air Bases.

June

  • General Stanley McChrystal is forced to resign after a controversial Rolling Stone
    Rolling Stone
    Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

     magazine article. He was replaced by David Petraeus
    David Petraeus
    David Howell Petraeus is the current Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, sworn in on September 6, 2011. Prior to his assuming the directorship of the CIA, Petraeus was a four-star general serving over 37 years in the United States Army. His last assignments in the Army were as commander...

    .

  • On June 10, at least 40 civilians were killed in a suicide bomb attack at a wedding in the Arghandab District
    Arghandab District
    Arghandab is a district in the central part of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. It borders Panjwai and Khakrez districts to the west, Shah Wali Kot District to the north and east and Kandahar District to the east and south....

     of southern Kandahar Province
    Kandahar Province
    Kandahar or Qandahar is one of the largest of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is located in southern Afghanistan, between Helmand, Oruzgan and Zabul provinces. Its capital is the city of Kandahar, which is located on the Arghandab River. The province has a population of nearly...

    . Afghan authorities accused the Taliban, but they denied involvement in the attack.

July

international Conference on Afghanistan Kabul, 20 July 2010 .
Government of Afghanistan will bring together representatives of more than 70 partner countries, international and regional organizations and financial institutions to deliberate and endorse an Afghan Government-led plan for improved development, governance, and stability. The International Conference on Afghanistan, the first of its kind in Kabul, will mark the culmination of several months of intensive study and rigorous policy debate on Government priorities implemented through national programs, to deliver on the key goals of economic growth and job creation. Building on commitments made at the recent international London Conference, the conference aims to support a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan. It will be opened by H.E. President Hamid Karzai, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, and co-chaired by Foreign Minister Rassoul and UN Special Representative Staffan de Mistura.

August

  • A Christian charity said it had no plans to leave Afghanistan despite the murders of 10 members of its medical aid team and repeated that the organization does not attempt to convert Muslims to Christianity
    Christianity
    Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

    . The 10 members - six Americans, two Afghans, one Briton and a German - were gunned down after they were accosted by gunmen after finishing a two-week mission providing medical care to impoverished villagers in Nuristan province. The Taliban claimed responsibility and alleged the group were spies and tried to convert Muslims.
  • Jobless rural
    Rural
    Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...

     youth are the focus of a new Afghan security plan designed to help defeat Taliban insurgents mostly in the south, east and southeast of the country. The government, which already has about 200,000 national police (ANP
    Afghan National Police
    The Afghan National Police - ANP - is the primary national police force in Afghanistan. It serves as a single law enforcement agency all across the country. The Afghan police force was first created with the establishment of the Afghan nation in the early 18th century...

    ) and army personnel at its disposal, says it also needs local combatants to help fight Taliban insurgency.
  • Mohammed Zia Salehi
    Mohammed Zia Salehi
    Mohammed Zia Salehi is the chief of administration for the National Security Council in Afghanistan.According to an Aug. 25, 2010 New York Times article citing "officials in Kabul and Washington," Salehi is on the payroll of the Central Intelligence Agency...

    , an aide to President Hamid Karzai
    Hamid Karzai
    Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...

     and the chief of administration for the country's National Security Council, appears to have been on the Central Intelligence Agency
    Central Intelligence Agency
    The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...

    's payroll for many years. It is unclear exactly what Mr. Salehi does in exchange for his money, whether providing information to the spy agency, advancing American views inside the presidential palace, or both.

September

  • The Afghan parliamentary election, 2010
    Afghan parliamentary election, 2010
    The Afghan parliamentary election, 2010 to elect members of the Wolesi Jirga took place on 18 September 2010. The Afghan Independent Election Commission - established in accordance with the article 156 of the Constitution of Afghanistan for the purpose of organizing and supervising all elections in...

    to elect members of the Wolesi Jirga took place on 18 September 2010. Final results were not expected until at least October. The Afghan Independent Election Commission - established in accordance with the article 156 of the Constitution of Afghanistan
    Constitution of Afghanistan
    The Constitution of Afghanistan is the supreme law of the state Afghanistan, which serves as the legal framework between the Afghan government and the Afghan citizens...

     for the purpose of organizing and supervising all elections in the country - postponed the poll from its original date of 22 May to September 18.
  • The number of U.S. and NATO air strikes over Afghanistan has spiked since General David Petraeus
    David Petraeus
    David Howell Petraeus is the current Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, sworn in on September 6, 2011. Prior to his assuming the directorship of the CIA, Petraeus was a four-star general serving over 37 years in the United States Army. His last assignments in the Army were as commander...

     replaced General Stanley McCrystal. U.S. Air Force statistics show a 172 percent increase, with 700 separate missions flown in September 2010. At the same time the ICRC reports that the number of War casualties in a Kandahar
    Kandahar
    Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...

     hospital are "hitting record highs". Mirwais Regional Hospital
    Mirwais Hospital
    The Mirwais Hospital is a hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan. It is named after Mirwais Hotak, who is known in the area as Mirwais Neeka . It along with a hospital in Quetta are the only advance medical facilities in the area....

     had nearly 1,000 new patients with weapon-related injuries in August and September, what was double the figure a year earlier. Reto Stocker, the Red Cross chief in Kabul
    Kabul
    Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...

    , said the casualties being seen at Mirwais hospital were only "the tip of the iceberg". Georgette Gagnon, Director of Human Rights for United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) announced that casualties inflicted on ordinary people in northern Afghanistan over the past six months this year has doubled compared to the same period last year, the casualties increased especially among children with an increase of 55 percent.

October

  • A US soldier is in custody following the death of a Taliban prisoner from apparent gunshot wounds.
  • France
    France
    The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

     denies any connection between its decision to remove troops from Afghanistan
    Afghanistan
    Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

     in 2011 and Osama bin Laden
    Osama bin Laden
    Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...

    's pledge to attack French troops.

November

  • US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton defended US strategy in Afghanistan after Afghan President Hamid Karzai
    Hamid Karzai
    Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...

     called on Washington to reduce its military footprint and Taliban leaders ruled out peace talks.
  • Meanwhile, the NATO Summit in Lisbon
    2010 Lisbon summit
    The 2010 Lisbon summit was a meeting of the heads of state and heads of government of NATO held in Lisbon, Portugal, on 19 and 20 November 2010....

     will mark a turning point in the prosecution of the war in Afghanistan as it lays out a roadmap to end combat operations by 2014, top U.S. envoy to the region Richard Holbrooke
    Richard Holbrooke
    Richard Charles Albert Holbrooke was an American diplomat, magazine editor, author, professor, Peace Corps official, and investment banker....

     said. Hamid Karzai
    Hamid Karzai
    Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...

     addressed the summit, saying that he wants NATO to return control of the country by the end of 2014. Before the summit, British Prime Minister
    Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
    The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...

     David Cameron
    David Cameron
    David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....

     said that the "NATO Summit in Lisbon is set to mark the starting point for passing responsibility for security progressively to Afghan forces." While meeting with Karzai, the members agreed to a gradual phase-out of combat operations until 2014. After that date, NATO states would continue to contribute to training and advising the Afghan National Army
    Afghan National Army
    The Afghan National Army is a service branch of the military of Afghanistan, which is currently trained by the coalition forces to ultimately take the role in land-based military operations in Afghanistan. , the Afghan National Army is divided into seven regional Corps. The strength of the Afghan...

    . Secretary-General Rasmussen said "we will launch the process by which the Afghan government will take leadership for security throughout the country, district by district." Though the members set the 2014 target date, many have already stated that their withdrawals will take place outside of any NATO decision.
  • Ahead of the summit, seven NATO troops died after attacks in Afghanistan on November 14, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force
    International Security Assistance Force
    The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...

     (ISAF) said—the deadliest day for NATO forces in Afghanistan since October 14, when 7 NATO troops were killed. There have been 34 coalition casualties in Afghanistan so far this month, according to a CNN
    CNN
    Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

     count. The losses came as Afghan troops and ISAF wrapped up a four-day operation in the Pech River valley of volatile Kunar Province
    Kunar Province
    Kunar is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. Its capital is Asadabad. It is one of the four "N2KL" provinces...

    , not far from the Pakistan
    Pakistan
    Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

     border, which may have killed more than 40 insurgents.
  • Afghanistan's election commission disqualified 21 candidates from the September 18 parliamentary elections
    Afghan parliamentary election, 2010
    The Afghan parliamentary election, 2010 to elect members of the Wolesi Jirga took place on 18 September 2010. The Afghan Independent Election Commission - established in accordance with the article 156 of the Constitution of Afghanistan for the purpose of organizing and supervising all elections in...

     for alleged fraudulent activities, a spokesman said. 19 of the candidates were winning or leading their races, according to partial election results, while two others had failed to win seats.

December

  • Afghanistan's election commission, defying President Hamid Karzai
    Hamid Karzai
    Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...

    , certified the final tally from Sept. 18 elections
    Afghan parliamentary election, 2010
    The Afghan parliamentary election, 2010 to elect members of the Wolesi Jirga took place on 18 September 2010. The Afghan Independent Election Commission - established in accordance with the article 156 of the Constitution of Afghanistan for the purpose of organizing and supervising all elections in...

     with a controversial decision to give all 11 seats in Ghazni Province
    Ghazni Province
    Ghazni is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. Babur records in his Babur-Nama that Ghazni is also known as Zabulistan It is in the east of the country. Its capital is Ghazni City...

    , where Taliban kept the Pashtun
    Pashtun people
    Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...

     majority from the polls, to members of the ethnic Hazara minority. The Afghan attorney general declared the publication of election results illegitimate and opened a criminal probe against officials at both election commissions (Afghan and international), accusing them of accepting bribes and falsifying vote tallies.

  • US President Barack Obama
    Barack Obama
    Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

     made a surprise visit to Afghanistan and told cheering US troops that they are succeeding in their vital mission fighting terrorism. But after he flew in secrecy for 14 hours, foul weather kept him from a meeting in Kabul
    Kabul
    Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...

     to address frayed relations with President Hamid Karzai
    Hamid Karzai
    Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...

    . Just days later, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
    Robert Gates
    Dr. Robert Michael Gates is a retired civil servant and university president who served as the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011. Prior to this, Gates served for 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, and under President George H. W....

     made a surprise visit to Afghanistan to meet with officials and American troops on the same day British
    United Kingdom
    The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

     Prime Minister David Cameron
    David Cameron
    David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....

     was traveling there.

  • U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Catherine Bragg
    Catherine Bragg
    Catherine Bragg currently serves as Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs...

     said some 7.4 million Afghans were living with hunger and fear of starvation
    Starvation
    Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy, nutrient and vitamin intake. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death...

     and one in five children die before the age of five. Afghanistan ranks 155th out of 169 countries on the U.N. Human Development Index
    Human Development Index
    The Human Development Index is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of "human development" and separate "very high human development", "high human development", "medium human development", and "low human development" countries...

     and civilian casualties are at their worst levels since 2001 with now 150,000 foreign troops present. An exclusive Channel 4 News
    Channel 4 News
    Channel 4 News is the news division of British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since the broadcaster's launch in 1982.-Channel 4 News:...

     investigation has found that the number of war wounded civilians and children falling victim to the fighting has increased dramatically in southern Afghanistan.

  • A nationwide poll by international news outlets showed drops since 2009 in Afghans' confidence in the future of their country and the ability of US and Coalition forces to protect them; they also appear more willing to negotiate with the Taliban. However, in Helmand Province
    Helmand Province
    Helmand is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the southwest of the country. Its capital is Lashkar Gah. The Helmand River flows through the mainly desert region, providing water for irrigation....

     where US Marines have conducted intense counterinsurgency operations, and Kandahar Province
    Kandahar Province
    Kandahar or Qandahar is one of the largest of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is located in southern Afghanistan, between Helmand, Oruzgan and Zabul provinces. Its capital is the city of Kandahar, which is located on the Arghandab River. The province has a population of nearly...

    , residents said aspects of security and living conditions had improved significantly.

  • Sgt. Robert Stevens pleaded guilty for firing at unarmed Afghan civilians as part of a plea bargain. He was sentenced to 9 months in exchange for testifying against 11 US army soldiers, of who five face murder charges for allegedly killing Afghan civilians at random and keeping bones and skulls as trophies.

  • U.S. President Barack Obama
    Barack Obama
    Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

     released a strategy assessment of the war that says U.S. troops are making gains, but serious threats remain and there will likely be several more years of U.S. involvement. The review also says that U.S. military operations have disrupted the Pakistan
    Pakistan
    Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

    -based al-Qaida terrorist network and halted Taliban momentum in the south, but the Afghan government hasn't proved it can take over cleared areas, nor has Pakistan done enough to eliminate al-Qaida and Taliban havens. Critics said the assessment appeared to be an attempt to postpone decisions on the pace of U.S. troop withdrawals until next year, and with U.S. public support for the war at record lows the president and his aides seemed to emphasize their reduced goals.

  • As 2010 ends, the inauguration of a new Parliament in just weeks threatens to worsen ethnic tensions and instability and to drive an important part of President Hamid Karzai
    Hamid Karzai
    Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...

    ’s political base into the arms of the insurgency, Afghans and foreign officials warn. Insecurity, disaffection and fraud, particularly in the south, left the country’s largest and most important ethnic group, the Pashtun
    Pashtun people
    Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...

    s, with sharply reduced representation, and the disputed results have pushed the country to the brink of a constitutional crisis. Meanwhile, a roadside bomb blew up next to a minibus in the Lashkar Gah-Sangin
    Sangin
    Sangin is a town in Helmand province of Afghanistan, with population of approximately 14,000 people. It is located on in the valley of the Helmand River at 888 m altitude, 95 km to the north-east of Lashkar Gah. Sangin is notorious as one of the central locations of the opium trade in the...

     district in Helmand province on the main road running from the city of Kandahar
    Kandahar
    Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...

     to Herat
    Herat
    Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...

    , killing at least 14 civilians, officials said. A spokesman for the Helmand governor's office said four were wounded in the blast and the dead included women and children. President Hamid Karzai
    Hamid Karzai
    Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...

     condemned the bombing as a "bloodthirsty" attack, saying the explosive was "planted by the enemy of the Afghan people." NATO described the incident as a "despicable attack" aimed at civilians.

Casualties in 2010

  • With 711 Operation Enduring Freedom and International Security Assistance Force
    International Security Assistance Force
    The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...

     (ISAF) deaths, 2010 has been the deadliest year for foreign military troops since the U.S. invasion in 2001, continuing the trend that has occurred every year since 2003. In 2010, improvised explosive device
    Improvised explosive device
    An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...

     (IED) attacks in Afghanistan wounded 3,366 U.S. soldiers, which is nearly 60% of the total IED-wounded since the start of the war. Of the 711 foreign soldiers killed in 2010, 630 were killed in action. 368 of those were killed by IEDs, which is around 36% of the total IED-killed since the start of the war to date.

  • The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) recorded 1,271 Afghan civilian deaths in the American-led war in the first half of 2010. It attributed 920 Afghan civilian deaths as having been caused by anti-government elements in the first half of 2010, representing 72% of the total for that period, and 223 Afghan civilian deaths as having been caused by international-led military forces in the first half of 2010, representing 18% of the total for that period. In 128 (10%) of the deaths, UNAMA was unable to clearly attribute the cause to any one side.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK