Afghanistan's human rights progress has been thwarted by armed conflict, censorship, abuse of power, and violence against women, according to a report delivered March 5 to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. The report notes that violence against women such as rape, "honor killings," forced marriage, and slavery remain widespread. "Violence is tolerated or condoned within the family and community, within traditional and religious leadership circles as well as the formal and informal justice system," said Pillay. "In this regard the Afghan Government has failed to adequately protect the rights of women despite constitutional guarantees."

Leon Panetta, in his first press interview as CIA director, told reporters at Langley Feb. 25 that President Barack Obama will continue the global war on terrorism. "We are going to continue to pursue, we are going to continue to bring pressure, we are going to continue a very aggressive effort to go after terrorists, to go after [Osama] bin Laden, until we bring them to justice," Panetta said. "That is a fundamental mission that we are committed to here." (Reuters, Feb. 25)

Two missiles fired March 1 from a US drone killed at least eight militants in the Sora Rogha area of South Waziristan, a tribal region controlled by the Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud. The dead reportedly include four Arab militants, a Pakistani intelligence official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. (NYT, March 1)

Five people were killed March 2 in a suicide attack on a girls' school in Pishin district of Pakistan's conflicted Baluchistan region. At least 12 were injured in the attack, which took place as Maulana Mohammed Khan Shirani, leader of the Jamiat-e-Ulemae Islam (JUI) political party, arrived to attend a function. Witnesses said the bomber was a teenaged man, who detonated his explosives after being stopped by security guards. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Maulana Shirani is a prominent opponent of Pakistani Taliban. (AKI, Italy; Gulf Times, Qatar, March 2)

A US Green Beret was found not guilty at court-martial Feb. 25 of murder and mutilating a dead body in connection with the March 2008 killing of an Afghan man near Hyderabad, Afghanistan. Army Special Forces Master Sgt. Joseph Newell of the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) was charged last September in connection with the death, which occurred after a driver whom Newell had stopped for questioning lunged, prompting Newell to shoot him twice. The military jury deliberated for about four hours before returning its verdict. (Jurist, Feb. 26)

A US Army Special Forces soldier facing court-martial proceedings over the killing of an Afghan civilian in March 2008 has admitted to killing the man but argued during opening statements Feb. 19 that the act was committed in self defense. Master Sgt. Robert Newell of the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) was arraigned and charged with killing the unidentified Afghan and mutilating the corpse by cutting off an ear. Military prosecutors allege that the killing was premeditated, and that the civilian posed no threat to Newell.

A suicide bomber killed at least 28 and injured dozens Feb. 20 in Dera Ismail Khan, a town in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province—the latest in an escalating series of attacks aimed at the country's Shi'ite minority. The attack targeted the funeral procession for Sher Zeman, a Shi'ite leader who was gunned down in the city the day before. The blast sparked hours of rioting in which furious crowds torched shops, homes and cars. The army was called in and the town placed under curfew. (Daily Times, Pakistan, Feb. 21)

Gen. David D. McKiernan, top US commander in Afghanistan, said Feb. 18 that the heightened troop levels that President Barack Obama ordered for the country could remain in place for up to five years. Speaking at a Pentagon press conference a day after Obama ordered 17,000 additional troops to the country, said that the build-up "is not a temporary force uplift." He said the build-up would "need to be sustained for some period of time," and that he was looking at "the next three to four or five years." (NYT, Feb. 19)