Kabul 'safer for children' than UK cities: NATO envoy and Peace progress

Found this in the Telegraph newspaper recently:


Safety of kids in Kabul


Children may be safer in Kabul than in London or Glasgow, according to Mark Sedwill, former British ambassador to Afghanistan and now NATO's top civilian representative there.

Sedwill’s comments that "The children are probably safer here than they would be in London, New York or Glasgow or many other cities," were made on the BBC children's television news program Newsround.

Sedwill added that there are "very few of those bombs," meaning landmines and other explosives that may harm children, in Kabul and other major Afghan cities.

"Most children can go about their lives in safety. It's a very family-orientated society. So, it is a little bit like a city of villages," he added


Pentagon Report Cites Gains in Afghanistan 
New York Times, November 23, 2010

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/world/asia/24military.html


In findings that mirror recent statements from Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top American and NATO commander in Afghanistan, a Pentagon report to Congress this month titled “Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan,” the sixth in a series that the Pentagon is required to submit twice a year, said that there were signs of progress in security, governance and development in “operational priority areas.” It covers the period from April 1 to Sept. 30 this year.

The report also said that the growth and development of the Afghan security forces “are among Afghanistan’s most promising areas of progress,” and that the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police met their target numbers for expansion three months before a deadline of Oct. 31 this year.

On the negative side, the report cited Pakistan’s reluctance to go after insurgents operating from havens on its border with Afghanistan. The report said that while it recognized the “tremendous effort” Pakistan was making against some insurgents inside its country, “insurgent safe havens along the border will remain the primary problem to achieving a secure and stable Afghanistan.”