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Depends on who you listen to: Obama v The Red Cross

Listen to Obama today and the message is that things are pretty well OK and on track in Afghanistan.

On the other hand, the International Red Cross has a different take, as The Age reports:

"Security in Afghanistan has deteriorated to its worst point since the overthrow of the Taliban nine years ago and is preventing aid groups from reaching victims, the International Committee of the Red Cross says.

''The sheer fact the ICRC has organised a press conference is an expression of us being extremely concerned of yet another year of fighting with dramatic consequences for an ever-growing number of people in … almost the entire country,'' said Reto Stocker, the head of the Red Cross in Kabul.

By every measure that the Red Cross tracks, the situation has worsened for civilian casualties, internal displacement and healthcare - all of it ''against the background of a proliferation of armed actors'', Mr Stocker said."

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