Just in case:

1) UN: Civilian Casualties Rising Sharply in Afghanistan

The United Nations said on Tuesday the number of civilians killed or wounded in Afghanistan has risen sharply, up by 31 percent during the first half of this year. In a new report, it laid most of the blame for the surge in violence on members of the Taliban and other insurgents, saying they are responsible for 76 percent of civilians killed or wounded in the increasingly bloody conflict.

In the first six month of this year, the U.N. said war-related incidents have killed nearly 1,300 Afghans and wounded 2,000 others. Speaking at a news conference in Kabul, U.N. representative for Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, called the 31 percent rise in civilian casualties unfortunate.

“We are very concerned about the future because the human cost of this conflict is being paid too heavily by civilian Afghans,” he said. “And that’s why this report is a wake-up call.”..

The U.N. envoy said NATO and Afghan forces have caused 12 percent of the civilian casualties this year, a significant drop compared to last year [emphasis added]. The decline is attributed to a tactical directive issued by the former commander of U.S and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, who ordered that air strikes be limited. Most civilian deaths and injuries caused by NATO and Afghan forces involving the aerial bombardment of suspected targets and night raids by international forces…

2) Afghan troops reach 240,000 goal early

NATO has reached its goal of expanding the size of Afghanistan’s army and police to 240,000 three months ahead of schedule, achieving a key measurement that will be used to gauge progress in the war.

The size and quality of Afghan security forces will be a central part of a review that the White House will be conducting in December to measure the effectiveness of its strategy of emphasizing protecting civilians in Afghanistan.

The improved recruitment and retention follow a pay raise and improvements in a payroll system. NATO has also increased the number of trainers dedicated to working with Afghan soldiers…

The quality of the recruits is also improving, according to statistics. A year ago, only about 25% of the soldiers graduating from basic training passed a weapon-qualification test. Today, between 90% and 95% pass the test, said Jack Kem, deputy director of the NATO Training Mission in Afghanistan.

The size of the Afghan army has increased to 134,000 soldiers, up from about 97,000 in November, according to NATO. The police are at 109,000 now, up from about 95,000 in November.

The plan is to increase the size of the forces further in the coming year…

Update: The Globe and Mail’s stinking agenda at work, story by Paul Koring in Washington, D.C.:

Afghan death tolls at record high
Civilian casualty rate up 30 per cent over 2009

Afghans are being are being killed in record numbers, despite a new fighting strategy unveiled by U.S. President Barack Obama’s generals and designed to protect the civilian population by sending more than 100,000 U.S. troops to battle a raging Taliban insurgency.

Death tolls gathered for a mid-year United Nations report paint a grim picture of worsening violence – even before the summer’s fighting season reached full fury. Ordinary Afghans were being killed in droves, with a casualty rate soaring by more than 30 per cent over 2009…

But this key fact is not, er, reported until the eleventh paragraph, why might that be?

While the Taliban and other anti-Kabul insurgents were deemed responsible for three-quarters of the nearly 1,300 civilians killed and nearly 2,000 others injured, the overall impression remains of rising violence in a nation less safe.

Some newspaper. More on Mr Koring, agenda-pusher-in-chief:

Afghan detainees: What, no quote from Ardent Amir?

Upperdate thought: Examples of the agenda: “raging Taliban insurgency”, “grim picture of worsening violence”, “full fury”, “killed in droves”, “casualty rate soaring”.  And that’s just the first two sentences.  Now what do you think most readers will–are intended to–conclude?

Mark
Ottawa