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World Politics Review ; On June 26, at a gathering in Kabul marking World Counter Narcotics Day, the mood was somber. Gone was the positive spin of last year's event, when Afghanistan's minister of counternarcotics, Zarar Ahmad Moqbil, proudly announced that poppy cultivation had been reduced by up to 50 percent and that 23 out of 34 provinces were then free from poppy cultivation. Sadly, the significant decrease in opium production last year has since been attributed to a convergence of environmental and climatic variables (/articles/5577/afghanistans-poppy-blight-could-mean-trouble-for-war-effort) (/articles/5577/afghanistans-poppy-blight-couldmean- trouble-for-war-effort) that devastated the crops late in the season, not to effective counternarcotics measures. According to the United Nations, Afghanistan remains the world's largest producer of illicit opiates and cannabis resin, known as hashish.

The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02634937.2012.647844 ; Periodically, Afghanistan's Taliban leadership formally issues Layeha or 'codes of conduct' for their fighters and supporters. Layeha offer important insights into the Afghan Taliban's objectives, strategies and the psyche/perspective of Taliban leadership. This article presents an analysis of the Taliban's code of conduct and examines what Layeha tell us about Taliban objectives, strategy and organization. Such information would seem particularly important as the United States as well as its coalition allies assess their Afghan operational strategy as well as exit strategy from Afghanistan. This analysis of the Layeha suggests that the Taliban remain most concerned with: chain of command principles preventing the fragmentation of the various Taliban networks; obtaining and maintaining public support by winning 'hearts and minds' of local residents; ensuring enough fighters remain engaged in combat; and galvanizing the perception that the Taliban represent a capable, desirable and fair alternative to the current Afghan political establishment.

CTC Sentinel, August 2010 ; In March 2010, clashes erupted between two of Afghanistan's most important insurgent groups in northern Baghlan Province. A days-long battle between Hizb-i-Islami1 and the Taliban left nearly 60 militants and 20 civilians dead. Hostilities between the two sides flared again in Wardak Province in July, where ongoing clashes killed 28 Taliban fighters, including an important local Taliban commander.

The AfPak Channel, ForeignPolicy.com, March 22, 2011 ; The strategy of having the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) take over the security burden from the U.S. and NATO forces is now a centerpiece of President Obama's Afghanistan policy. But as decision makers continue to push hard for a speedy "Afghanization" of the conflict, serious thought should be given to the current policy paradox of trying to rapidly expand an already unmanageable indigenous military force structure while aggressively pursuing information security organs, namely static militias and various community defense forces.