# The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread (June 2007)



## GAP (1 Jun 2007)

*The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread (June 2007)* 

News only - commentary elsewhere, please.
Thanks for helping this "news only" thread system work!

*Articles found May 1, 2007*

Canadian soldier killed in helicopter believed his photography job was safe
CHRIS MORRIS Canadian Press May 31, 2007 at 3:49 PM EDT
Article Link

CFB GAGETOWN — A Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan when a helicopter was apparently shot down thought his work as a military photographer was one of the safest jobs in a war zone, his commander at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown said Thursday.

Col. Ryan Jestin said he spoke to Master Cpl. Darrell Jason Priede about two weeks ago in Afghanistan, where the 30-year-old combat photographer had been stationed for about one month.

“He told me he thought he had one of the safest jobs in Afghanistan,” Col. Jestin told reporters at the New Brunswick base. “So, there you go.”

The military cameraman, born in Burlington, Ont., and raised in British Columbia, died along with five Americans and a Briton when the CH-47 Chinook they were flying in was apparently shot down Wednesday west of Kandahar.
More on link

NATO Mission in Afghanistan Will Continue Without Canada  
Josh Pringle  Thursday, May 31, 2007 
Article Link

Canada's top military commander at NATO suggests the mission in Afghanistan will continue with or without the Canadian military. 

General Ray Henault says NATO is looking at what needs to be done before troops can safely leave the war-torn country.

Henault told a Commons committee that the alliance isn't looking for end dates. 

But Henault says if Canada does decide to pull out of Kandahar in 2009, NATO will look for another nation to go in. 

Henault adds NATO planners are looking ahead to see which country might take over the combat role in southern Afghanistan should Canada depart. 
More on link

Land in Afghanistan donated to mine victims, UN reports       
Article Link
  
      UNITED NATIONS, June 1 (APP): Land in Afghanistan that is now free of mines has been donated to the workers who were injured while clearing those deadly weapons from the area, the UN said Friday. 
      Giving the land to 87 individuals, Mohammad Housain Anwary, the Governor of the province of Herat, said he wanted to honour the important work of the deminers in Afghanistan, the UN Mine Action Centre there (UNMACA), reported. 
  
      "Demining is really a continuation of Jihad," he said. "Jihad doesn't only mean fighting and having weapons. It means supporting human beings, stability and development." 
  
      The 87 deminers, who were all wounded in the Herat region during mine clearance activities, have since returned to their homes, but most are unemployed and face challenging living conditions, according to UNMACA, which oversees mine action on behalf of the Government of Afghanistan. 
  
      "These deminers are really worthy of appreciation. Demining is the best support to the country," said Mohammad Sediq, the UNMACA Chief of Operations. "It is our duty to look after them, especially ones who have become the victims of mines. We thank Governor Anwary, and we hope this action will be followed by other government authorities as a positive example throughout the country." 

  
      Two weeks ago, Rahmatullah Rahmat, the Governor of the province of Paktia, donated land to 26 deminers who were the victims of mine accidents in Paktia.  

      The Mine Action Programme for Afghanistan (MAPA), an umbrella organization comprised of partners that are coordinated by UNMACA, has cleared more than 1 billion square meters throughout Afghanistan since 1989, destroying more than 323,000 anti-personnel mines, more than 18,500 anti-tank mines and almost seven million pieces of unexploded ordnance. 
More on link


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## GAP (1 Jun 2007)

Is Iran supplying weapons to the Taliban?
June 01, 2007 at 10:30 am EDT By Tom A. Peter | csmonitor.com 
Article Link

Coalition forces in Afghanistan have intercepted Iranian weapons crossing the border, but Iran denies supplying their longtime enemy. 

The discovery of Iranian-made weaponry in Afghanistan has led US and British officials to accuse Iran of arming the Taliban militias now battling US and coalition forces. The find raises new and troubling questions about the state of American-Iranian relations. 

CNN reported that the weapons, which were seized by coalition forces as they were smuggled across the Iranian-Afghan border, include types that have been used effectively against US troops in Iraq. 

Coalition officials in Afghanistan said they have intercepted Iranian-made AK-47s, C-4 plastic explosives and mortars. One explosively-formed penetrator bomb (EFP) that was found can pierce American armor, a NATO official said. 

The EFP is similar to the weaponry the United States says Iran has provided to militants in Iraq, but the NATO official said the weapon has not been traced directly to the Iranian regime. 

Iranian officials have denied the allegations, while outside experts speculate that Iranian splinter groups are more likely candidates than the Iranian government. Dealing arms to the Taliban would be a step outside the norm for Iran. In 1998, Iran nearly went to war with Afghanistan, then controlled by the Taliban regime, after it killed eight Iranian diplomats and a journalist. Additionally, the Taliban, a Sunni organization, has traditionally avoided dealing with Shiites. Iran is a predominately Shiite nation and seeks support mostly from other Sunnis. 

Since America's 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, Iran has played an active role in thwarting the Taliban, reports McClatchy. 

U.S. officials and independent experts don't think that Iran wants the Taliban returned to power.

Iran quietly supported the U.S.-led ouster of the Taliban in 2001, has poured some $200 million into reconstruction projects in Afghanistan and is profiting from brisk cross-border commerce. It also has been cooperating closely in other areas, including fighting trafficking in Afghanistan's record-high opium production
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (2 Jun 2007)

Taliban's new top commander vows to liberate Afghanistan from 'American slavery'
AP, June 2
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/02/asia/AS-GEN-Pakistan-Taliban.php



> QUETTA, Pakistan: A man described as the Taliban's new top field commander has vowed to liberate Afghanistan from "American slavery," a pro-Taliban cleric said Saturday.
> 
> Dadullah Mansoor made the remarks in an audiotape played Friday at a rally at Killi Nalai, a village about 75 kilometers (45 miles) west of Quetta near the Afghan border, said Abdul Sattar Chishti, the cleric who organized the event.
> 
> ...



Our forgotten war
_Daily Telegraph_, June 2
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/02/wafg02.xml



> [The long article starts with several paras describing combat.] In one year, the Afghanistan war has claimed the lives of 51 British soldiers - the latest this week. But as our forces secretly begin their biggest ever offensive, morale is at an all-time low. Thomas Harding, the only journalist with the troops [!?!], delivers an exclusive despatch
> 
> ..."A lot of friends back home don't understand what's going on here or what we are doing."
> 
> ...



Taliban feel the pressure in northern Helmand
UK MoD _defence news_, June 2
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/TalibanFeelThePressureInNorthernHelmand.htm



> The UK-led Operation Lastay Kulang, which has been continuing in northern Helmand Province, has succeeded in squeezing the Taliban in the north and south of the Upper Sangin valley into isolated pockets.
> 
> The operation is being jointly conducted by the Afghan National Security Force (ANSF) and NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), commanded by the UK-led Task Force Helmand. *As well as UK troops Estonian forces and America air divisions are also involved* [emphasis added].
> 
> ...



Another soldier down, Atlantic area’s Afghan malaise up
_ChronicleHerald.ca_, June 2
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Opinion/839128.html



> ANOTHER Atlantic Canadian casualty in Afghanistan. Master Cpl. Darrell Priede, a military photographer, had a photography business in Oromocto, the community near Base Gagetown that has taken too many of these hits. So has Atlantic Canada, where we supply a disproportionate percentage of Canadian troops, which in turn have been taking a disproportionate percentage of the casualties.
> 
> Canada has some five per cent of the NATO contingent, but our 56 fatalities account for about a quarter of the total in the year and a half since we moved into Kandahar.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## a_majoor (2 Jun 2007)

Another person who neither knows or understands history:



> In the end, one ray of hope for Afghanistan, as for the world, is that the whole Bush government – not just Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz – will eventually be gone and a new start made, assuming that the world isn’t embroiled in a bunch of new wars by then.



President Bush was the "new start", and set in motion a process (which Kirkhill has expounded on in the Chaos in Dar-al-Islam: Signs of Success? thread http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/62508.0.html) which is now akin to toppling domino's; the brittle authoritarian and theocratic regimes have reached their limits (already stressed out by globalization, demographic changes, the Internet revolution and the rise of new regional powers in China and India) and no longer have the ability to find solutions to the problems that face their counties, nor are they able to deflect the blame to Western powers to the extent they were able to before.

We are at war and will be for years to come, fighting the dangerous radical groups that are formed during times of turmoil like Dar-al-Islam is facing now, while stabilizing and rebuilding behind the shield of our fighting forces. The picture is clear for those who choose to look, unfortunately people like the opinion writer for the Chronicle Herald choose not to look or see....


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## midget-boyd91 (2 Jun 2007)

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070602/afghan_bomb_070602/20070602?hub=TopStories
Ctv.ca



> New bomb alarms NATO officials in Afghanistan
> 
> Updated Sat. Jun. 2 2007 7:22 PM ET
> 
> ...


MORE ON LINK


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## MarkOttawa (4 Jun 2007)

Comments misleading about Afghan war
_Ottawa Citizen_, June 4, letter by Alain Pellerin



> Re: For sale: one very bad war, May 25.
> http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/opinion/story.html?id=1407bd14-f8d2-488c-b4f7-0ba9f12131ed
> [full text subscriber only]
> 
> ...



Pentagon chief visits Afghanistan
Reuters, June 3
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/B333852.htm



> KABUL, Afghanistan, June 3 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Afghanistan on Sunday and said security and development were improving despite rising Taliban violence, but he was concerned about preserving those gains.
> 
> "I think actually things are slowly, cautiously headed in the right direction," Gates told reporters en route to Kabul. "I'm concerned to keep it moving that way."
> 
> ...



Regarding the bolded bit, see this May 24 Reuters story:

UN should lead Afghanistan peace effort-Britain
http://uk.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUKN24378191._CH_.242020070524



> ...
> "An overarching campaign plan is required to develop all these disparate strands together. It has to be a strategic plan, not just a military plan," he  [UK Defence Secretary Des Browne] said.
> 
> "The international community then needs ... to coordinate resources, ensuring coherence in what we do ... And this needs leadership. And in my view ... there is no organization better placed than the UN to take that role."..



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (4 Jun 2007)

*Articles found June 4, 2007*


Allies honour slain Canadian military photographer
Canadian Press June 1, 2007 at 5:12 PM EDT
Article Link

Kandahar — Master Cpl. Darrell Priede saw the work of international troops in Afghanistan through the lens of a camera, never far behind fellow soldiers when they're fighting insurgents or helping civilians.

But on Friday night, the task of documenting one of the harshest realities for soldiers in this dusty country fell to others as hundreds of coalition troops lined the tarmac at Kandahar Airfield to pay tribute to the Canadian military photographer before his body began the long journey home.

It was the second time in less than a week that the skirl of bagpipes floated through the hot, dry air of Afghanistan; the second time eight soldiers strained under the emotion and weight of their fallen comrade, chanting “in, out, in, out” to time the steps they took to ease the coffin into the belly of the Hercules transport plane.

Master Cpl. Matthew McCully's remains completed the journey earlier this week; he stepped on a landmine a week ago.
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We hear two stories on Afghanistan
By James Travers Toronto Star Ottawa (Jun 2, 2007) 
Article Link

At his most gung-ho, Peter MacKay makes Afghanistan sound like a future Club Med. Along with the prime minister, the foreign affairs minister measures progress there in numbers of schools opened, kilometres of roads paved and refugees returning home.

When they aren't lying, statistics are compelling. They dot the trend lines that chart success and failure.

Precise and persistently repeated, MacKay's are persuasive. Or at least they would be if academics, ginger groups and critics didn't from time to time offer their own equally finely parsed anecdotal evidence.

This week it's the Senlis Council. In a report and in parliamentary testimony, the credible research group warned that Afghanistan development is so slow that it jeopardizes the hearts-and-minds military mission and recommended that the Canadian International Development Agency be stripped of its mandate.

So who in the name of holy hyperbole should Canadians believe? Should they trust insiders with everything to lose or outsiders who have something to gain, even if it's no more sinister than focusing public attention on a policy issue of indisputable importance?
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Fighter for Afghanistan's powerless refuses to be silenced  
Virginia Haussegger 02 June 2007 
Article Link

FOR once and it will only be once I was relieved to see women fully covered in burqas. With no eyes, no face and no body, they were rendered invisible as people. No longer individuals, they instead looked like a pack of walking blue tents. And that's just as well. 
I abhor the burqa. But in the war against women being waged by Islamic fundamentalists it provides a useful armour. It hides a woman's identity and veils her anger. No wonder more and more women need to wear it. 

And no wonder the brave women who took to the streets of Kabul in protest on Wednesday donned the faceless blue burqas to hide beneath. Women who speak out are in increasing danger. In Afghanistan they won't be tolerated, as that nation's youngest member of parliament has just found out.

Malalai Joya has been suspended from the Afghanistan parliament, possibly until 2009 when the parliamentary term ends. She may also face court proceedings. Her crime was simply to criticise the parliament and her fellow parliamentarians.

Canberrans will remember Malalai as the diminutive 28-year-old woman who visited here in March, to mark International Women's Day. As the guest of UNIFEM she addressed more than 800 men and women. Before she took to the stage I was anxious the audience might be disappointed. Malalai was so short, the lectern so big, her voice so soft, her accent strong and her speech rapid. On top of all that, I knew she was feeling sick. After a spellbinding half hour, Malalai concluded with her big dark eyes sweeping the room and a simple, "so I thank you my friends". The applause was deafening, people shot to their feet and around me women were wiping away tears. 
More on link

27 militants killed in Afghanistan fighting
Article Link

KABUL: Clashes involving NATO and Afghan troops against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan killed 27 militants, two civilians, one NATO soldier and one member of Afghan police, officials said on Friday.

A soldier from NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was killed and three wounded in eastern Afghanistan, ISAF said in a statement, reported the Associated Press. 

In the southern fight, NATO troops as well as Afghan police and soldiers, battled Taliban fighters in the Zhari district of Kandahar province for three hours, leaving 20 Taliban dead, said Khairuddin Khan, Zhari district chief. A Taliban commander called Mullah Naqibullah was among those killed, Khan said. Neither NATO nor Afghan forces suffered any casualties, he added. ISAF’s press office said it had no immediate information about the clash. 

In the east, Taliban fighters attacked the home of a police official in Zurmat district of Paktia province late on Thursday, said Ghulam Dastagir, deputy provincial police chief. Police reinforcements were called in, sparking a battle that left six Taliban dead and seven injured, he added. Five rockets were fired from the top of a mountain in Kunar province, hitting several civilian homes and killing two women, said provincial police chief Abdul Jalal Jalal. Five more civilians were injured. In Khost province, small bombs exploded before dawn on Friday outside the houses of six government officials and a man working as a translator for the US military, said Wazir Pacha, a police spokesman. No one was hurt. 
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AFGHANISTAN BRIEFS
The Associated Press Mon, Jun. 04, 2007
Article Link

Boat sinks; about 60 fighters, civilians die

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A boat sank while crossing a river in Afghanistan's most dangerous province, killing about 60 Taliban fighters and civilians, officials said. The boat sank Saturday as it was crossing the Helmand River, which snakes through southern Helmand province, the world's leading opium poppy region and the site of fierce battles the last several months. Hundreds of Taliban insurgents are believed to be in Helmand. The Afghan army was investigating to see how many Taliban insurgents and civilians were on board, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. It did not say what caused the boat to sink.

-- The Associated Press 

2 NATO members killed in ambush

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Suspected militants ambushed a NATO convoy in eastern Afghanistan, killing two members of the alliance and wounding seven troops, while 15 suspected militants were killed by police, officials said Sunday. The convoy was attacked Saturday with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said. It said a service member and a translator were killed. The ISAF statement did not give details about the location of the attack or the nationalities of the casualties. Militant attacks and military operations have escalated this spring, mostly in the country's south and east.

-- The Associated Press 
More on link



Iranian Weapons Found in Afghanistan
By ROBERT BURNS 06.04.07, 5:58 AM ET
Article Link

Iranian weapons have begun flowing into Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday, but he and Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed involvement by Tehran cannot yet be proved.

Gates told a news conference at the presidential palace that he and Karzai had discussed the Iranian weapons issue.

"There have been indications over the past few months of weapons coming in from Iran," Gates said. "We do not have any information about whether the government of Iran is supporting this, is behind it, or whether it's smuggling, or exactly what's behind it."

The Iranian weapons are being supplied to the Taliban insurgents, he said, adding that some may also be headed to criminals involved in Afghanistan's drug trade. Gates did not specify what types of weapons were involved.
More on link

Prince bound for Afghanistan
British newspaper reports Harry headed for duty in war zone despite having Iraq tour nixed 
By TARINA WHITE, SUN MEDIA
Article Link

Prince Harry will serve a tour of duty in war-torn Afghanistan this summer following training at a southern Alberta army base, a British newspaper reports. 

Plans have been finalized for Harry -- who flew into Calgary last Wednesday to join British soldiers at CFB Suffield near Medicine Hat -- to fulfil his ambition of serving in a war zone, according to the Observer newspaper. 

Details of which regiment he will accompany will not be made public, but his likely brief tour will be to help train the Afghan army in the country's notorious Helmand province, according to British defence officials. 

The Calgary Sun revealed Saturday that Harry, an armoured reconnaissance troop leader with the British Army's elite Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry, is at CFB Suffield. 

Suffield is the largest Commonwealth training base, where Canadian and British troops prepare for missions in Afghanistan and elsewhere. 

The 22-year-old prince was due to be deployed in Iraq this month before it was deemed too dangerous, both for him and his fellow soldiers. 
More on link

Harry could be barred from Afghanistan, too  
03.06.07 
Article Link

Prince Harry's hopes of seeing active service as an Army officer in Afghanistan are in doubt amid mounting concern over casualty levels among British troops.

In addition to two deaths in the last week, Army sources have revealed that a single infantry battalion recently saw around a dozen of its soldiers airlifted back to Britain suffering critical injuries within a three-week period.

In addition, other soldiers suffered less serious battlefield wounds treated at field hospitals.

Insiders say the intensity of fighting against the Taliban has risen markedly in recent weeks, as Nato forces try to drive the insurgents out of key areas across Helmand Province where most UK forces are located.

The head of the Army General Sir Richard Dannatt announced last month that he was cancelling Prince Harry's planned deployment to southern Iraq at the last minute, due to fears that his presence would attract more attacks from insurgents and put his fellow-soldiers in greater danger.
More on link

NATO soldier, civilian interpreter killed in E. Afghanistan  
Article Link

KABUL: A soldier of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and an ISAF civilian interpreter were killed in eastern Afghanistan, an ISAF statement said Sunday. 

The fatalities occurred when an ISAF convoy was ambushed by militants on Saturday, the statement said, adding seven other ISAF soldiers were wounded by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. 

The wounded have been medically evacuated to ISAF medical facilities, and their conditions are unknown at this time although none are considered life threatening, according to the statement. 

The brief statement did not say which province the incident occurred. 

Meanwhile, in accordance with NATO policy, ISAF does not release a casualty’s nationality prior to the relevant national authority doing so. 
More on link


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## GAP (5 Jun 2007)

*Articles found June 5, 2007*

Though soldiers too, military photographers see a different Afghanistan
STEPHANIE LEVITZ Published Sunday June 3rd, 2007 
Article Link

The click of a rifle's trigger can change the world in an instant, but it's the click of the military photographer's camera that makes it instant history.

Though the modern military is filled with amateur photographers in the form of soldiers carrying pocket-sized cameras, just over 200 of them are officially tasked with documenting the work of Canada's armed forces across the world as image techinians. 

In the digital age, it's a changing role. Where once photographs had to be shipped by mail from the war front to the home front, the Internet and satellite communications have made the transmission of images almost instantaneous, and the public's appetite is growing. 

"It has put an increased demand on a very small trade to maximize their efficiency through technology and skill," said Lt.-Cmdr. Kent Penney, the head of Combat Camera for the Canadian military. 

"This small little trade is critical to all military missions." 

Military photographers exist to document every aspect of the work of Canada's troops, from search and rescue missions to barbecues. They also fill intelligence and technical functions. 

The role of Combat Camera teams, Penney explained, is to be the virtual window on Canada's military. He and his team of two cameramen arrived in Afghanistan last week only to learn hours later that one of their own had been killed. 
More on link

AFGHANISTAN: ICRC asked to run hospital for war victims
05 Jun 2007 13:05:14 GMT Source: IRIN
Article Link

More  KABUL, 5 June 2007 (IRIN) - The government of Afghanistan has called on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to manage a medical facility for conflict victims in Helmand Province, officials have confirmed. 

The request comes more than a month after the 150-bed Emergency hospital was closed down in the southern insurgency-hit province. 

"We have asked the ICRC, which is supporting a hospital in neighbouring Kandahar Province, to run Emergency hospital in Helmand Province," Abdullah Fahim, a spokesman for Afghanistan's Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), told IRIN in Kabul. 

The Italian NGO, called Emergency, which set up three hospitals of the same name in the Afghan capital, Kabul, and two other provinces, pulled out of the country in late April after one of its local staff was arrested on charges of collusion with the Taliban. 

"We have received the government's request and will make a decision about whether to expand our medical services once we have conducted a medical assessment of the hospital in Lashkargah [capital of Helmand Province]," said Michael O'Brien, an ICRC official in Afghanistan. 

According to O'Brien, such an expansion of ICRC's medical assistance to Helmand - where many aid and development organisations, including the UN, face security restrictions - would be consistent with the organisation's humanitarian mandate. 

Emergency hospitals were first established in Afghanistan in 1999. In addition to its well-equipped medical facility in Kabul, Emergency ran two similar centres in the northern Panjshir and southern Helmand provinces. Up to 28 other first aid posts were also managed by the Italian NGO across the country
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Report: Prince Harry's deployment to Afghanistan now in doubt  
UPI News Service, 06/04/2007 
Article Link

Mounting concern over the number of British casualties has cast doubt Prince Harry will see active service as an army officer in Afghanistan.

British military officials reported increased fighting against the Taliban during the recent weeks as NATO forces try to push insurgents from key areas in the Helmand Provence where British troops are located, the Daily Mail reported Monday.

Last month, British Gen. Richard Dannatt canceled the prince's planned deployment to southern Iraq because of fears that his presence would draw more attacks and put soldiers under his command in greater danger.

As an alternative, the 22-year-old second lieutenant was to be sent on a low-profile trip to Afghanistan during the summer for assignments such as training Afghan security forces, the British newspaper said. However, the increased violence in the province raised questions over whether Prince Harry would be safe.
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President Of Afghanistan Embraces Iran
By PETER SPIEGEL Los Angeles Times June 5, 2007
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan — President Karzai gave Iran his full embrace yesterday, saying it has been his country's "very close friend," even as American officials meeting with him here repeated their accusation that Iranian-made weapons were flowing to Taliban fighters.

Mr. Karzai made the remarks at a joint news conference following a meeting with Defense Secretary Gates, who was in Afghanistan for nearly 24 hours to meet with American commanders and Afghan officials. Mr. Gates said he raised the issue of the Iranian munitions in his meeting with Mr. Karzai, but he acknowledged that there was no evidence the Iranian government was behind the alleged shipments.

When asked whether he believed Tehran, which has been mostly a benign presence in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban, had decided to change course and support its former foes, Mr. Karzai gave an impassioned backing for the Iranian government. He called it a force for good inside Afghanistan.

" Iran and Afghanistan have never been as friendly as they are today," Mr. Karzai said. "In the past five years, Iran has been contributing to Afghanistan's reconstruction, and in the past five years, Afghanistan has been Iran's very close friend."
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'24 Taliban killed' in Afghanistan battle
Last Updated: 05/06/2007  08:20
Article Link

A gun battle and airstrikes killed an estimated 24 Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan, the US-led coalition said today. 

Taliban fighters attacked Afghan and coalition troops with rockets and gunfire yesterday in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province, sparking a four-hour battle. 

Fighter aircraft bombed three enemy positions, a coalition statement said. 

Elsewhere, roadside bombs killed two Afghan soldiers and wounded five others in southern Afghanistan yesterday. Also yesterday, a roadside bomb injured two soldiers in the eastern province of Khost. 
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Guantanamo Judges Dismiss Charges for Bin Laden Aide (Update4)  
By Ed Johnson June 5 (Bloomberg) 
Article Link

U.S. military judges at Guantanamo Bay dismissed terrorism charges against Osama bin Laden's former driver and a Canadian detainee accused of killing an American soldier, challenging the government's new tribunal process. 

Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni accused of chauffeuring the al-Qaeda leader, and Omar Khadr, who was aged 15 when he was captured in Afghanistan in 2002, were due to be tried by a military commission at the U.S. naval base in Cuba. 

In both cases, the judges ruled yesterday they had no jurisdiction to proceed with trials as the two men weren't classified as ``unlawful enemy combatants'' as required by legislation passed by Congress last year, Defense Department spokesman Jeffrey Gordon said by e-mail. The rulings won't affect the continued detention of Khadr and Hamdan and prosecutors were granted 72 hours to consider appealing, he added. 

There are about 385 suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay, according to the Pentagon. The rulings yesterday are a further setback to President George W. Bush's attempts to try suspects in the war on terrorism and prompted calls by defense lawyers and human rights campaigners for the military commission process to be scrapped. 

`Opportunities for Appeal' 

``We certainly disagree with the ruling,'' White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said in Prague, where Bush is beginning a weeklong European trip. The Department of Defense ``is taking a look at their opportunities for appeal.'' 

The administration views the ruling as one based on a technicality rather than on the merits of the case ``and I think others agree,'' she said. 
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More than 20 suspected Taliban drown while crossing river in southern Afghanistan
June 05, 2007 08:23 EDT
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Between 20 and 30 Taliban fighters have drowned in Afghanistan's Helmand province after security forces sank their boat.

Officials say the Taliban were trying to cross the Helmand River to flee Afghan and foreign troops. It's the second such incident in a week.

On Friday, a makeshift boat carrying Taliban fighters sank while fleeing a battle. It's estimated 60 militants died.

The coalition also says an attack by Taliban fighters on U-S and Afghan forces sparked a four-hour battle yesterday in Kandahar province.

Airstrikes were called in and three Taliban positions were bombed. The coalition estimates "two dozen enemy fighters" were killed.
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Death benefit unlikely to change: minister
GLORIA GALLOWAY  June 5, 2007
Article Link

OTTAWA -- The father of a young man killed last year in Afghanistan received a letter from the Prime Minister yesterday to say to the Conservative government will respond to his concerns about possible inequities in the military death benefit.

But Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson, one of the ministers who was handed Lincoln Dinning's complaint, said he does not foresee any changes being made to the benefit because he does not believe it is unfair.

Mr. Dinning wrote to Prime Minister Stephen Harper in April to point out that families of married soldiers who are killed in action are entitled to a payment of $250,000 that is not available to the families of single members of the forces, such as his son Matthew.

The benefit is meant "to help re-establish the family - widows, widowers and dependent children - following the death of a loved one," Mr. Thompson explained
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Afghan minister wants Canada to extend mission
MURRAY CAMPBELL  From Tuesday's Globe and Mail June 5, 2007 at 9:08 AM EDT
Article Link

Kandahar, Afghanistan — The official spearheading Afghanistan's redevelopment says that if Canada ends its mission here in 2009 it will be leaving a job only half done.

Rural Rehabilitation Minister Mohammad Ehsan Zia said yesterday that the lives of ordinary Afghans are slowly improving, but called on the international community to show a bit of patience. He likened the country to someone trying to run while still tying his shoelaces.

Asked whether Canada should extend its mission beyond the February, 2009, deadline in place, the minister replied, "Our expectation is that the international community and the Canadian government and the Canadian people who have endured sacrifices and casualties in Afghanistan should not leave the job half done." 
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Afghanistan embraces the Internet
Outlawed by Taliban; Pornography popular in cyber cafes
Tom Blackwell, National Post Published: Monday, June 04, 2007
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - At the Internet cafes popping up around this once culturally oppressed city, the computer cubicles usually have little doors that Web surfers can shut behind them.

The reason is simple, says Abdul Qader, a former Toronto resident and owner of one Internet cafe.

In the birthplace of the Taliban, which barred people from so much as listening to the radio or taking photographs, most of the cafes' male Muslim patrons are visiting Web sites best viewed in private.

"The young generation use it for the sex," Mr. Qader concedes with a chuckle. "I think the word 'sex' is used here more than anywhere else in the world."

Despite the city's reputation for piety, he maintains, the interest in pornography should come as no surprise. This is, after all, a land where extra-marital relations are virtually a capital offence, and only the most daring woman exposes her chin for all to see.

"We are a sexually deprived nation," states Mr. Qader, who spent a few years as a refugee in Canada in the mid-1990s. "At 25 years, a husband cannot even see his wife ? This is a basic human, psychological need. Especially the young ones, they are curious about how it is."

Even so, Mr. Qader admits, his own business has made the "ethical" decision to have no privacy doors on its computer kiosks.

Internet cafes started emerging here a year or two ago, and are still a phenomenon primarily of the young and educated.
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## MarkOttawa (5 Jun 2007)

A Confident Sarkozy Talks Foreign Policy
_NY Times_, June 5
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/05/world/europe/05france.html?_r=1&oref=slogin



> ...
> On Afghanistan, where the Bush administration wants France and other troop-contributing countries to do more, not less, Mr. Sarkozy reiterated his campaign pledge that French troops would not remain there indefinitely, adding that he intended to raise the issue when he met with Mr. Bush.
> 
> “We do not have the mission to stay there forever, but to leave now would show a lack of unity with our allies,” Mr. Sarkozy said. He said it was essential to find a solution “between the two extremes,” and *most important, to carry out the “gigantic job” of training the Afghan Army* [emphasis added]...



Buying Afghan poppies no solution
National Post, June 05 (letter)
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/editorialsletters/story.html?id=5894311e-9591-4841-8412-0c562d1ed78d



> Re: Let's Buy Afghanistan's Poppies, editorial, June 4.
> http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/editorialsletters/story.html?id=4004de6e-106b-4559-b61e-e33a78ab40a7
> 
> Before we rush to buy up the Afghanistan opium poppy crop, some fact-checking might be in order. The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) of the United Nations predicts that world demand in 2007 for medical opiates will be about 420 tonnes of morphine equivalent. The INCB predicts legal production to be 362 tonnes, leaving a deficit of about 58 tonnes. However, the inventory controlled by the INCB amounts to 689 tonnes: 12 times the estimated 2007 shortfall.
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (6 Jun 2007)

*Articles found June 6, 2007*

MILNEWS.ca  CANinKandahar  
An Excellent source for News regarding Canadians and ISAF in Afghanistan
Website Link

Afghanistan: Taliban says killed doctor, threatens more bloodshed  
Wed. June 06, 2007 11:54 am.- By Bonny Apunyu. 
Article Link

(SomaliNet) After the Afghan government failed to hand over the body of Taliban’s top military commander Mullah Dadullah, the Taliban said it beheaded an Afghan doctor on Tuesday and warned of more bloodshed. 

At the weekend the extremist insurgent movement had threatened to execute the doctor and three male nurses, who were captured in late March, if the corpse was not handed over on Tuesday morning. 

Taliban spokesperson Shohabudin Atal told reporters that “We had told the government to hand over the body of Dadullah. Since they didn't hand us the body, we beheaded one of the doctors named Abdul Khalil." 

Atal said there was no independent confirmation of the Taliban claim to have killed the doctor. "We'll kill the rest of them unless the government contacts us over the issue." 

Meanwhile, Mullah Dadullah, said to have been the Taliban's top military strategist, was killed about three weeks ago in the armed forces' biggest success against the movement. 
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French Prime Minister Says No Plan To Leave Afghanistan  
 French and German forces patrol near Kabul last month 
(epa) June 6, 2007 
Article Link

 French Prime Minister Francois Fillon says France has no plans to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan.

After meeting in Paris with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Fillon said France will remain faithful to its commitments and allies in Afghanistan. He said, however, that France wants its force in Afghanistan to become more efficient, and to help ensure the training of the Afghan Army.

Speculation that France could reduce its 1,100-strong deployment with NATO forces was raised after new President Nicolas Sarkozy said he saw no long-term role for French troops in Afghanistan.
End

Aust troops face substantial threat in Afghanistan: NATO General  
The World Today - Wednesday, 6 June , 2007  12:36:00 Reporter: Michael Rowland
Article Link

ELEANOR HALL: The NATO General who's just ended his command of Afghanistan's volatile south says Australian troops based there face substantial risks from the Taliban.

Dutch Major General Ton van Loon says although the Taliban have been driven out of large parts of the south, they still pose a danger to Coalition troops, and especially to the Special Forces roaming the region.

General van Loon though is optimistic about the long-term security outlook for the country.

He spoke to our Washington Correspondent, Michael Rowland.

TON VAN LOON: I think, on the longer-term perspective, I think we are making big progress. We are on the upward slope. The Taliban has a structure which could actually claim to own large areas in the south, claimed last year that they would attack Kandahar city itself, claimed to own, for instance, the entire northern part of Helmand. That's no longer the case. 

The Taliban cannot own large areas anymore. They have been solidly defeated and certainly the famous spring offensive which they claimed they would launch, it didn't take place. We took the initiative. ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) has clearly got the initiative in the south, so the situation is improving. 

MICHAEL ROWLAND: Is it too early to say though that the Taliban is therefore on the run?
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Two NATO soldiers killed in clashes with Taliban
Updated Wed. Jun. 6 2007 6:43 AM ET Associated Press
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Two NATO soldiers died battling militants in southern Afghanistan Wednesday, while U.S.-led and Afghan troops backed by airstrikes killed two militants and detained nine others, officials said. 


The two soldiers from NATO's International Security Assistance force died in "separate engagements with enemy fighters," an ISAF statement said. ISAF did not release other details such as the soldiers' nationalities or where the combat took place. 

In the central province of Uruzgan, militants attacked U.S.-led troops and Afghan forces in the Khas Uruzgan district on Tuesday, a statement from the U.S.-led coalition said. 

The guerrillas retreated into a compound that was later bombed by coalition aircraft, the statement said. 

Two suspected militants were found dead after the clash and nine "enemy fighters" were detained, it said. Troops also recovered weapons and ammunition from the compound. 
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Nine foreign troopers injured in Khost, Kandahar
Article Link

KANDAHAR CITY, June 4 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Eight soldiers of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were wounded in a clash with Taliban in Shah Walikot district of the southern Kandahar province.

Separately, a Coalition soldier and an Afghan interpreter were injured in an explosion in the southeastern Khost province Monday afternoon. 

An official at the NATO's press office in Kandahar told Pajhwok several Taliban fighters had also been killed and injured in the fighting. However, he would not give the exact number. 

The official, requesting anonymity, said eight NATO soldiers had suffered slight injuries. The clash erupted when the rebels ambushed a NATO patrol in the area.

Giving a different account of the incident, Taliban spokesman Qari Yousaf Ahmadi said 28 ANA soldiers were killed and their five vehicles were destroyed in the attack in Shah Walikot district.   

One fighter had received injuries in exchange of fire with the security forces, said Ahmadi, whose claim was outrightly rejected by local officials. 
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62 uplift projects to be executed in restive south
Article Link


KANDAHAR CITY/HERAT CITY, June 4 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Minister for Rural Rehabilitation and Development Muhammad Ehsan Zia Monday announced 62 uplift projects - costing over $4million - would be launched soon in violence-torn southern provinces. 

Ehsan Zia told a news conference at the Governors House in Kandahar City the uplift plans would be executed in the southern zone with the financial support of the Canadian government. Twenty-eight projects will be implemented in Kandahar, 14 in Helmand, as many in Zabul, six in Uruzgan and three in Nimroz.

Under the projects, mosques, schools, health clinics, roads and protective spurs would be constructed and clean drinking water made available to residents, the minister said, promising thousands of people would benefit from them. 

He recalled previous uplift projects were successfully completed because of all-out support from community development councils. Zia informed Canada had granted $18 million 
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Afghan anti-drug fund languishes
Steven Edwards, CanWest News Service Published: Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Article Link

UNITED NATIONS -- Back in February, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced to great fanfare that his government would substantially increase its funding for Afghan reconstruction and development. A big portion of that new money, Harper said, was earmarked for anti-drug programs including a fund to be spent by the Afghan government. 

It now emerges the Afghan bureaucracy is so cumbersome that almost US$42.3-million that Canada and other donors have given to the so-called Counter Narcotics Trust Fund since its 2005 launch is languishing in bank accounts, unused.

Britain, the chief donor to the fund, is so alarmed that it has "turned off the [money] tap."
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Afghanistan To Trade Dead Taliban Leader's Body For Kidnapped Hostages
June 5, 2007 6:56 p.m. EST Matthew Borghese - AHN News Writer
Article Link


Kabul, Afghanistan (AHN) - The Afghan government has agreed to make a trade with the remnants of the Taliban, exchanging the body of commander Mullah Dadullah for the release of five hostages. 

Dadullah was killed in March and NATO leaders say the former commander was responsible for bombings, beheadings and kidnappings. The five hostages, a doctor, three nurses and their driver, all male, were abducted in Kandahar. 

The Afghan government will turn the body over to a designated member of Dadullah's family, yet there is no word on when and where the hostages will be released. 

The agreement was approved by President Hamid Karzai himself, after the government in Kabul turned down a previous offer to release living Taliban combatants in custody. 

However, according to the BBC's Charles Haviland in Kabul, the Taliban have not guaranteed to free any of the hostages even if the body is returned.
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## CdnArtyWife (6 Jun 2007)

Two female journalists killed in Afghanistan
Updated Wed. Jun. 6 2007 11:31 AM ET
Associated Press
Article Link


KABUL, Afghanistan -- Two female journalists in Afghanistan have been gunned down in separate attacks.

The owner of Peace Radio in northern Parwan province was shot seven times by pistol and automatic rifle fire.

Her 8-year-old son witnessed the slaying inside the family's house. 

A few days earlier, a newsreader for a private television station was killed in Kabul.

Police say gunmen shot her several times in the back. 

Women have become active in Afghanistan's independent media since the Taliban's ouster in 2001. 

But they still remain a minority among journalists.

Some of more conservative elements of Afghan society have not taken well to women's newfound freedoms.


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## GAP (7 Jun 2007)

*Articles found June 7, 2007*

Cdn. troops adapt to fast-changing Afghanistan
June 6, 2007  By STEPHANIE LEVITZ
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - Canadian troops in Afghanistan are adapting to a rapidly-changing environment that came as a surprise as battle zones expanded and the enemy sought cover among civilians, the deputy Canadian commander said Wednesday. 

Col. Mike Cessford said traditional planning for a well-organized enemy dissolved as soldiers adjusted to a dynamic reality in Afghanistan that has challenged the way the Canadian military usually works. 

As a result, military decisions are being made much quicker. The brass is "getting it" when it comes to the realities on the ground, he said. 

There has been a "sea-change" in the way Canadian troops operate as they fight elusive insurgents who cloaked among civilians in cities and towns. 

"What changed for us is we found ourselves absolutely involved not so much in a quasi-regular conflict against well-trained and well-prepared enemy forces, we found ourselves actually conducting operations amongst the people ... we were very surprised how dynamically and dramatically things evolved." 

The Canadians were also surprised by the "far wider" expanse of area that they have to work in, as well as the encouraging development in the capability of Afghan security forces, Cessford told reporters in a blunt assessment of the situation. 

Cessford insisted the Canadian Forces are getting the desired results, forcing the Taliban to fight for survival. 

"There are peaks and valleys, but we are seeing that we are maintaining pressure," Cessford said. 

"Does that mean the places have been cleaned of the Taliban? Absolutely not." 

"But it does mean that their ability to group, their ability to plan, their ability to develop capability to inflict significant harm on us is reduced. They are focused on survival as opposed to offensive operations, and we are having an impact." 

Cessford said more often than not Canadian troops are "taking the fight" to insurgents. 

That's paved the way for increased development aid efforts, Cessford said, pointing to polio vaccinations campaigns and education as two growing areas of activity. 

Bubbles of resistance popping up further afield are an indication that heavy fighting in the Panjwaii district and around Kandahar City last fall have forced insurgents out of heavily-populated areas, he said. 

This allows the troops to move into areas that haven't traditionally seen a strong Canadian presence. 
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Taliban in Kandahar off balance, colonel says
MURRAY CAMPBELL From Thursday's Globe and Mail June 7, 2007 at 4:35 AM EDT
Article Link

Previous intensive gun battles, coupled with relentless Canadian patrols, cited for leaving fighters disorganized and dispersed 

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — Canadian forces have dramatically reduced the ability of the Taliban to mount a massive offensive, the deputy commander of the Canadian mission in Afghanistan says.

Insurgents can still inflict damage, Colonel Mike Cessford said yesterday, but they have lost a home base from which to launch large-scale attacks. 

They are also finding it difficult to move through the countryside because of regular Canadian patrols, he added.

Acknowledging that predictions are "dangerous," Col. Cessford gave his assessment of the current military situation in Afghanistan in a wide-ranging 55-minute briefing with Canadian reporters at Kandahar Air Field. It marked one of the few times since the current rotation of troops arrived in February that a senior officer has publicly put into context the skirmishes in which Canadian soldiers routinely participate.
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German minister foresees approval for Army to stay in Afghanistan
Jun 7, 2007, 10:35 GMT 
Article Link

Kunduz, Afghanistan - German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung said Thursday that he was optimistic that parliament in October would extend the Army's mandate to operate in Afghanistan despite growing doubts among the German public about the Afghan deployment. 

In the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, 'there is widespread awareness that the terrorists must not be successful but that stabilization and peaceful development must proceed in this country,' Jung said on a visit to German troops in northern Afghanistan. 
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U.S. House puts conditions on Afghan aid
Wed Jun 6, 2007 7:21PM EDT By Susan Cornwell
Article Link

U.S. lawmakers voted on Wednesday to bar U.S. government aid to areas of Afghanistan where officials are engaged in the drug trade or helping insurgents, brushing aside Bush administration protests against such conditions.

The U.S. House of Representatives also required that the Bush administration report to Congress on the reported flow of Iranian arms into Afghanistan, and lawmakers voiced concerns that Iran might be aligning with Taliban insurgents to destabilize the Afghan government.

The requirements were laid down in bipartisan legislation approving $6.4 billion in economic and development aid for Afghanistan through fiscal year 2010. Lawmakers were renewing a five-year-old law funneling assistance to the country as part of efforts to combat Taliban fighters.

But the bill, approved 406-10, must still pass the Senate, where similar legislation is being discussed.

"We cannot allow a resurgence of the Taliban. If we do, al Qaeda will once again be able to use Afghanistan as a state-sponsored launching pad for terror," said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos, a California Democrat.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, the committee's ranking Republican who co-sponsored the bill with Lantos, defended the emphasis on developing a counter-narcotics strategy -- including barring U.S. aid to areas of Afghanistan where senior officials are found to be engaging in drug trade or helping the insurgents.
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What others are saying
Originally published June 7, 2007
Article Link

What should be done with Omar Khadr? Twenty years old, Khadr has been held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba since 2002 for a crime he is alleged to have committed when he was 15, an age at which under international law he is considered to have been a child soldier.

On Monday, two U.S. military commissions in separate decisions dismissed charges against Mr. Khadr and a second prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay, on the ground that the process the Bush administration set up does not comply with the new U.S. Military Commissions Act, passed by Congress last fall to correct the failings of a previous law.

Even before Monday's trial, the U.S. said it was unlikely it would release Mr. Khadr, or any other detainee. Waiting while the U.S. sorts out its military tribunal rules could prove time-consuming. The appeal process, to which prosecutors vowed on Monday to apply, does not yet exist.

The United States has had five years to set up a judicial process that would meet minimal tests of common sense, not to say international standards. Its failure to find a solution is lamentable. The one positive sign is that U.S. courts, including the much-maligned military tribunals, have twice rejected processes as unconstitutional or illegal.

So, the question remains what should be done with Omar Khadr, one of four sons of a notorious al-Qaida fighter, Ahmed Said Khadr, who was killed in a battle with the Pakistan army in 2003.

The best option would be to send him home to Canada. As a Canadian citizen, he has human rights that his country has failed to defend adequately. He has yet to be tried in a recognized court of law, a gap Canada could fill. We could use a security certificate to keep tabs on the young man once he is transferred from Guantanamo Bay.

A second, less attractive option would be to request that the United States send him to the site of the alleged crime, Afghanistan. But Afghanistan's reputation for justice is not on a par with ours. On balance, the best place for him is here, whatever Canadians might feel about his family and their views.
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Owner of Peace Radio station in Afghanistan is shot dead in front of her son
Last updated at 18:07pm on 6th June 2007
Article Link

An Afghan radio station owner has been gunned down in northern Afghanistan, the second death of a female reporter in a week. 

Two NATO soldiers have also been killed battling militants in southern Afghanistan. 

Zakia Zaki, owner and manager of Peace Radio, was gunned down in front of her eight-year-old son inside her home in northern Parwan province. 
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UK soldier felled in Afghanistan  
Wednesday, 06 Jun 2007 20:10 
Article Link

The majority of British troops in Afghanistan are deployed in the country's south 

A British soldier has been killed in southern Afghanistan during a Taliban raid, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.

The soldier, from First Battalion the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters, was killed at 06:45 local time (03:15 BST) in volatile Helmand province.

He is the 59th UK soldier to be killed in Afghanistan since US-led coalition forces toppled the Taliban regime in 2001.

The MoD said that the soldier, expected to be identified tomorrow, was killed 8km north-east of the town of Gereshk when the company he was travelling with was attacked by Taliban militants.

He was flown to Camp Bastion to receive medical treatment but doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.

Earlier today Nato said two of its soldiers had been killed in the south of the war-torn country in separate incidents. The second soldier who died today is not British, but his nationality is yet to be released.

"Our thoughts are with the family and friends of these two soldiers who died while trying to ensure a brighter future for Afghanistan," said the International Security Assistance Force's (Isaf) regional command south spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Michael Smith.
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Four detainees allege they were abused
ALAN FREEMAN From Thursday's Globe and Mail June 6, 2007 at 10:02 PM EDT
Article Link

OTTAWA — Four Afghan detainees have complained to Canadian authorities since February that they allegedly suffered abuse after Canadian troops handed them over to Afghan authorities, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay.

“They are serious allegations and they were received directly by Canadian officials during visits we had sought,” Mr. MacKay told reporters. The detainees are not accusing Canadian soldiers of wrongdoing, but are saying the mistreatment took place after they were handed over to Afghan officials.

Mr. MacKay said Afghan authorities are investigating the allegations under the new agreement signed by Canada on the treatment of detainees transferred to Afghan jails. The allegations come from detainees in Kabul and Kandahar.

Speaking after a meeting of the House of Commons Committee on National Defence, which heard from five government ministers on the Afghan mission, Mr. MacKay said that under the new agreement, Canadian officials have made five separate visits to Afghan jails and received full co-operation from the authorities.

“We have notified the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and the Red Cross to do their necessary checks and follow-ups and this process is now well under way,” he said.

Public Security Minister Stockwell Day said the four prisoners making the allegations showed no visible signs of abuse and cautioned that the Taliban and al-Qaeda have been coached to allege mistreatment when they are asked.

Last month, the Canadian government reached a new agreement with Afghanistan allowing for unfettered access to detainees transferred by Canadian troops after allegations of abuse by 30 detainees were reported by The Globe and Mail. There are also separate Canadian investigations under way into three earlier cases of possible abuse of prisoners by Canadian soldiers.
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Afghanistan steps up poppy field eradication  
Saturday June 02, 2007 (0111 PST)
Article Link

 KABUL: Afghanistan has stepped up its efforts to eradicate poppy crops in 2007 after producing a record amount of the key ingredient for heroin production last year, a senior United Nations (UN) official says. 
Officials have destroyed some 25,000 hectares of opium poppy fields so far this year, compared to 15,000 hectares during all of 2006, Andrea Mancini says, the project coordinator of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in central Asia. 

He told a gathering of lawmakers from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) member states held in Funchal on Portugal's Madeira Island that "eradication is working". 

Some 165,000 hectares were under poppy cultivation in 2006, a 59 per cent increase from the previous year, according to the UN drugs office. 

Afghanistan accounts for more than 90 per cent of the world's heroin supply and officials say a big portion of the over $US3 billion ($A3.66 billion) generated each year from the trade of the drug helps finance the Taliban insurgency.
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Norway opens new military base in Afghanistan 
Thursday June 07, 2007 (0912 PST)
Article Link

 OSLO; Defence Minister Anne-Grete Stroem-Erichsen has opened a new maximum security base at Meymaneh i Northern Afghanistan. It is the first time that Norway has built a military base abroad. 
The camp was opened less than two weeks after an attack on the ISAF forces killed a Finnish soldier and wounded three Norwegians. 

The old camp was located in the centre of Meymaneh, and was difficult to defend. The new base is located just outside the town. 

The Norwegian Defence Minister pointed out that the construction of the camp had meant jobs for 350 local workers. She also underlined that the camp would be turned over to the Afghan government when the Norwegian troops leave.
End

U.S. needs Kyrgyz base to fight Taliban: Gates 
Wednesday June 06, 2007 (1005 PST)
Article Link

 BISHKEK: U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Tuesday Washington's agreement to use a military air base in Kyrgyzstan was necessary to support the war in Afghanistan. 
Last month Kyrgyz lawmakers urged the government to evict U.S. troops from the base which is an important hard currency earner for the impoverished Central Asian state. 

I think what's important for the people of Kyrgyzstan to understand is that our use of Manas (Air Force Base) is in support of a larger war on terrorism in which Kyrgyzstan is an ally of virtually every other nation on earth," Gates said. 

"We are all working to try and prevent a resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan and our use of Manas is one way in which Kyrgyzstan can play a very important and constructive role in cooperation with many other nations, just not the United States," he told reporters after meeting Kyrgyzstan's minister of defense. 

The United States has about 1,200 U.S. troops in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyz officials have demanded Washington pay more for the use of the base.
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US wants terrorist hideouts in border areas eliminated  
Wednesday June 06, 2007 (1005 PST)
Article Link

KABUL: The US ambassador to Afghanistan has underlined the imperative of eliminating terrorist hideouts in the inhospitable mountainous terrain straddling the 2400-kilometre Durand Line. 
William Wood told Afghan journalists here that the existence of terrorists' sanctuaries and their support from abroad was a serious problem. 

Although Pakistan did not support the menace, he alleged, terrorists had training facilities and weapon supply sources in that country. 

"As long as these centres are not eliminated, terrorists will continue to exist despite the fact that they are on the run because of joint operations by Afghan and international forces," said the ambassador. 

The diplomat, without naming any country shipping weapons to Taliban, did not rule out Iran's links with the insurgents in Afghanistan. 
More on link


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## GAP (8 Jun 2007)

*Articles found June 8, 2007*

Afghanistan: The Winnable War  
By Michael Fumento  Published 6/8/2007 12:09:21 AM 
Article Link

 "This war is winnable." I can't say how often during my recent embed in the southern Afghanistan Province of Zabul, just north and east of Kandahar, I heard officers and noncoms say that. Implicit is that it's also losable; but what they really mean is winnable in comparison to Iraq.

Strange but true that Afghanistan -- with four major ethnic groups, two official languages, and almost countless lesser languages -- is far more of a proud, united nation than Iraq. They have Sunni and Shia, but their differences are just an excuse for a chat over chai tea. Further, while it's way too early to say if the Iraqi "surge" is working, the much-anticipated massive Taliban spring offensive in Afghanistan has thus far proved more a trickle than a deluge.

Still, as I note in my article "The Other War" in the June 11 Weekly Standard, it would be a mistake to assume time is on our side. Afghans seem to be losing patience with the war effort, and while that may not help the Taliban (over 90 percent of Afghans dislike them), it can certainly hinder President Hamid Karzai in his efforts to keep the warlords at bay. It's warlords, not sectarianism, that pose the internal threat.

The most threatening is General Abdul Rashid Dostum, a major Northern Alliance leader against the Taliban. But before that, he fought on the side of the Soviets and the Communist government. Probably to undercut the government, which has essentially excluded him, he (announced in May that he can raise an army and drive out the Taliban in six months.

Further, despite major setbacks this year, including the May 13 killing of Mullah Dadullah, a butcher frequently called "the military mastermind of the Taliban insurgency" whose headquarters were in Zabul, there have been increasing calls for negotiating with "moderate Taliban." This includes the Afghan senate itself , which has grown weary of the Taliban tactic of hiding their forces among civilians to cause the deaths of innocents from U.S. and NATO fire. Yet the enemy itself insists "moderate Taliban" is oxymoronic.

I've only visited parts of Iraq on three occasions and part of Afghanistan, but I've seen enough to know that while the Iraq effort is awash with money but lacking in men, the war in Afghanistan is being fought on a shoestring in terms of both. There will be about 155,000 U.S. troops in Iraq when the buildup is complete, but there are only about 27,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, a country larger in both geography and population.
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A city reborn: Five years in Herat  
Article Link

The city of Herat in western Afghanistan has experienced five years of relative calm since the fall of the Taleban, compared to the turmoil of the south. 
But it still faces many challenges and these provide an insight into the life of a typical Afghan city. 

Dr Qadir Assemy, a native Herati, considers whether the last five years have restored Herat's fortunes. 

HERAT'S PAST 

The violent history of Afghanistan has not left Herat untouched. 

I was born in a village outside Herat in 1973. By the time I was two my family had fled for neighbouring Iran because of revolution and civil war. 

I was 19 when I returned to Herat. Most of the houses were collapsed and we had to stay in small, old compounds. 

Despite civil war, I managed to get through Herat Medical School. 

But the situation changed dramatically when the Taleban swept up from the south. In my culture anyone called a "Taleb" is a deprived, poor man with nowhere to stay but a mosque. For us, talking about a Taleban who could lead a society or capture a city like Kandahar sounded unbelievable. 
And then we came to realise that these people were not the Taleban in the way we always understood it. Overnight, we were told the Taleban were going to take Herat. Overnight, everything changed. 

Schools were banned for girls, there was no media, no television, music, western clothes - I could not wear jeans anymore. We had to grow beards and my female classmates, teachers and lecturers were not there anymore. 

I do not believe that Europeans have lived like this; to have an illiterate guy stop you at a checkpoint and hurt you for having a tape in your vehicle or asking why your beard is not appropriately long is awful. 

Health of the city 

Providing medical care under the Taleban was not easy. The hospital that I later helped to run, was only a tiny clinic at that time. 

No male doctors were allowed to work in the female wards. There were only two female doctors so women waited for ages to get proper care. 

There were so many challenges. A doctor and a nurse who set up a private clinic were punished by the Taleban by being tied to a tree outside the hospital. The doctor was a very old man. 

When violence was rife wounded people from the opposition to the Taleban came to the hospital. Then the special forces would come to get them. Later, their dead bodies would be hanging from trees. 

Many good doctors left to set up shops in the bazaar. 
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U.S. Iraq-Afghanistan Nominee Supports Local Solutions
07 June 2007
Article Link

Lute says local solutions more enduring than those imposed from outside

Washington – Problems in the Middle East and South Asia cannot be solved by military might alone, and an American-only solution will not succeed, says President Bush’s nominee to oversee daily coordination of government action in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“We can’t look at Iraq and Afghanistan and the problems there without seeing them through the lens of the region in which they exist,” Lieutenant General Douglas Lute told a Senate committee June 7, adding that progress in both countries is still uneven.

Lute appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee for the first time since his nomination by President Bush.  (See related article.)

If confirmed, the three-star Army general would have a role in ordering missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a say in decisions on funding and troop levels.

Lute said no one is satisfied with the status quo in Iraq, with progress unfolding too slowly.  In the complex operating environment, he said, efforts to fix one problem often expose new challenges.  Early results since President Bush ordered a shift in course in January are mixed, according to his assessment.  (See related article.)
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US House of Reps approves US$6.4 bln grant for Afghanistan
Article Link

Washington (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - The US House of Representatives has approved US$6.4 billion in development assistance for Afghanistan with an expected cut on aid to local governments with ties to drug dealers, criminals or terrorists. 

Under the new legislation, the US will provide US$6.4 billion in development and economic aid to Afghanistan for the fiscal years 2008 to 2010. 

The bill, passed by a 406-10 vote, will authorise US$2.1 billion in humanitarian, economic and military assistance programmes for budget year 2008, which begins October 1. The remaining US$4 billion will be spent through 2010.
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Police die in Afghanistan blasts  
Article Link

At least two policemen have been killed in Afghanistan by a bomb which blew up their patrol vehicle in the province of Kandahar, police say. 
They say that two others were injured in the roadside blast near the Pakistani border. 

Another policeman was killed on Thursday in neighbouring Zabul province, police say. 

Kandahar has seen an increasing number of attacks by the Taleban. No group has so far said it carried out the blasts. 

Kandahar military spokesman Gen Abdul Raziq told the BBC that the roadside bomb went off on Thursday in the Shoar district of Kandahar, 100km east of Kandahar city. 

He said that nine Taleban members were killed in subsequent fighting, including two commanders. 

However the Taleban says that 13 policemen were killed in the encounter.
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U.S. deaths in Afghanistan, region
June 7, 2007, 9:09PM By The Associated Press
Article Link

As of Thursday, June 7, 2007, at least 333 members of the U.S. military have died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. The department last updated its figures June 2, 2007.

Of those, the military reports 212 were killed by hostile action.

Outside the Afghan region, the Defense Department reports 62 more members of the U.S. military died in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Of those, two were the result of hostile action. The military lists these other locations as: Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba; Djibouti; Eritrea; Jordan; Kenya; Kyrgyzstan; Philippines; Seychelles; Sudan; Tajikistan; Turkey and Yemen.

There were also four CIA officer deaths and one military civilian death.
More on link


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## The Bread Guy (9 Jun 2007)

*FAST Update Afghanistan: Trends in conflict and cooperation Apr - May 2007*
Swiss Peace Foundation, 31 May 07
Report (.pdf, 2 pg.)

(....)

*Security*

“Operation Achilles” by NATO and Afghan security forces in the Helmand province in the south has
continued. The operation primarily aims at re-establishing government control in this poppy-rich area. The Taliban and NATO/Afghan troops have engaged in traditional, positional warfare in various districts in
the Helmand (e.g. under the British-led operation “Silicon” in Sangin), Zabul, Kapisa, Kandahar and Ghazni provinces. Apart from reports of large numbers of insurgents being killed, it is difficult to assess to what extent NATO and the Afghan security forces have managed to re-capture territory from the Taliban. Some Taliban withdrawal in these areas might be due to the fact that poppy is being harvested in April – and not because of a military victory by international forces. The international forces’ supremacy on the battlefield
seems to primarily depend on air strikes – which inherently carry the risk of higher casualties among the civilian population. The Taliban, on the other hand, have continued “psychological warfare” (suicide bombing, ambushes, roadside bombs) primarily in urban areas, often targeting Afghan security forces, government officials and international troops.  Frequently civilians die in these attacks. The Taliban, moreover, seek to divert international troops engaged in the south by attacking them in the more peaceful north. On 19 May, a suicide bomber killed nine persons, including three German soldiers in a crowded market in Kunduz. On 23 May, a Finnish solider was killed in a blast in the Faryab province. Such attacks – coupled with kidnappings - fuel domestic demands in the targeted countries for withdrawal of their troops. It is not a coincidence, that these targeted countries are often in the process of reevaluating their engagement in Afghanistan (e.g. the French during the presidential elections, the Italians prior to the
prolongation of its troop presence in Afghanistan, etc.) ....

The two French aid workers kidnapped by the Taliban in the Nimroz province at the beginning of April were released by the Taliban on 28 April and 11 May respectively. It is not clear what the exact circumstances of their release were; in earlier statements, the Taliban had made their release conditional upon the withdrawal of French troops and the release of imprisoned militants. The three kidnapped Afghan colleagues of the French aid workers were also released on 27 May, while the fate of five Afghan medical staff kidnapped on 27 March still remains uncertain (although one person has reportedly been executed). On 17 April, five people traveling in a UN vehicle were killed in a roadside bombing in Kandahar; four of the five dead were Nepalese. On 8 May, another local employee of UNHCR was shot dead by unknown men in Kandahar.  

The killings of numerous civilians by international forces, such as in Herat (49 civilians killed on 27 and 29
April; source: UN), Helmand, Nangarhar, Kandahar and other places have sparked popular protest in several parts of the county. The high death toll among civilians was also criticized by Karzai, the UN and even NATO/ISAF when the deaths were caused by the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). The civilian deaths not only fuel resentment against international troops but also further undermine the credibility of the Karzai government. Thousands of civilians have also been displaced due to the fighting between the Taliban and international/national forces in wartorn areas. According to Associated Press counts, 1800 people have been killed in insurgency related violence so far this year, including 135 civilians killed each by international forces and the Taliban. According to UN figures, 320-380 civilians have been killed by the Taliban and government/international forces in the first four months of 2007.  Compared to the figures of Human Rights Watch from last year, these new figures suggest an increase in civilian casualties of around 40%. In a statement on 29 May, Taliban chief Mullah Omar called for the establishment of an independent body to investigate civilian casualties in Afghanistan.

A few nations pledged to increase their troops in Afghanistan: Australia (from 550 to around 1000 until next year), Denmark (up to 600), Poland (additional 1000 troops), Bulgaria (up to 400) and, surprisingly, Italy (another 145 soldiers). Many other countries have resisted calls for troop reinforcements.

*Outlook*

The situation in Afghanistan is expected to deteriorate. Apart from continued military engagement by both the Taliban and international/national forces, the real struggle seems to evolve around the perception of which side is winning within the ordinary population, and which side can create an air of legitimacy and power – a struggle the Taliban are handling very skillfully and presently, with more success than the internationals. The creation of the UNF – as brittle as it might be - is indicative of the former Northern Alliance member’s endeavors to secure power in their respective areas of control in a post-Karzai Afghanistan. Relations with Pakistan will remain tense and new fighting along the border might erupt.


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## MarkOttawa (10 Jun 2007)

Canadians forsaking us: officer
Force is 'canary in a coal mine,' afforded least protection and suffering highest casualties
CanWest News Service, June 10
http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=022cfc76-4aba-46e5-b3ef-4ed2dad212bd



> ZHARI DISTRICT CENTRE, Afghanistan - On the dusty front lines of Canada's latest battle with the Taliban, Abdul Hakim is smarting, and not just from the suicide bomber who blew up inches away from him.
> 
> The commander of a beleaguered Afghan National Police detachment in Kandahar province's Zhari district is becoming increasingly frustrated with the Canadian Forces in the area. The foreign soldiers, he charges, have repeatedly ignored police calls for help in fighting the insurgents and overlooked tips on where to find and destroy Taliban nests.
> 
> ...



Taliban attacks hinder development efforts
CTV.ca, June 9
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070608/afghanistan_development_070608/20070609?hub=World



> Canadian Forces strategists believe development rather than combat will ultimately defeat the Taliban.
> 
> But constant attacks by the Islamist insurgents continue to disrupt progress and threaten to rupture the support of the Afghan people.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## Roy Harding (10 Jun 2007)

I'm not sure this is entirely the correct thread for this - more of a human interest story:

From the Victoria Times-Colonist, 10 Jun 07:  http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=df5710b9-3824-4fac-810f-434c257f7c52&k=25690


> From grad to dad, half a world away
> 
> ‘That was a great speech,’ says Patrick O’Hara, chief petty officer second class. Posted in Kandahar, he watched his son Shawn give a preview of his valedictory speech to Colwood students.
> 
> ...



More on link:  http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=df5710b9-3824-4fac-810f-434c257f7c52&k=25690


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## GAP (11 Jun 2007)

*Articles found June 11, 2007*

The Kinga of our troops' pinupsMore popular than Playboy, soldiers say  
By SARAH GREEN, TORONTO SUN June 11, 2007 
Article Link

Picture below
Pinup girl Kinga Ilyes is a favourite with Canadian troops after appearing on the cover of Maclean's magazine. (dave Thomas/Sun Media) 
Canada's troops prefer brains over booty. 

Toronto's Kinga Ilyes, a University of Western Ontario graduate who was featured on the cover of Maclean's university student issue in April, has become the pinup of choice for Canadian troops in Afghanistan. 

The photo shows a serious-looking Ilyles, 24, dressed in the student uniform of a sweater and jeans in a university classroom. 

But in a letter to Maclean's, a Kandahar-based sergeant said soldiers were drawn to Ilyes' "natural beauty" over the plastic images found in Playboy and other magazines. 

"The amazing thing is looking at Playboy or some other such magazine just does not excite anymore seeing as how it is all rather superficial and very overdone," Sgt. Chris Karigiannis, of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment wrote. 

'SEXINESS' 

"The very refreshing image on your cover, given this girl's natural beauty and incredible sexiness, had most of us in agreement that she is the best pinup in our collection. Who would have thought that our most impressive female photo would come from Maclean's?" 

The soldiers' reaction to the magazine cover caught Ilyes, a human resources manager at Abercrombie and Fitch who graduated from university two years ago, by surprise. 
More on link

High-tech bomb found in Afghanistan raises concerns
Monday, June 11, 2007. 11:09pm (AEST)
Article Link

A sophisticated bomb similar to types used by insurgents in Iraq has been found in the Afghan capital, Kabul. 

The device, known as a shaped charge, can penetrate tank armour. 

A spokeswoman for the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, Colonel Maria Carl, says it is a worrying development.

"We actually have had two events in which we have recovered these so called EFP's or shaped charges," she said.

"The first one, however, was not really very sophisticated, it was actually quite crude. 

"The more recent one was a little bit more sophisticated and we're concerned about any threat it posed to our forces and also to civilians."
End

Karzai survives assassination attempt by Taliban
POSTED: 2:06 p.m. EDT, June 10, 2007 
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Taliban militants fired rockets near President Hamid Karzai in an apparent assassination attempt in central Afghanistan on Sunday, but the missiles fell far from their target and no one was hurt, officials and witnesses said.

The assassination bid was one among a spate of attacks that killed at least 66 people, mostly militants, over the weekend in restive Afghanistan.

Karzai was giving a speech to the elders and residents of Andar district in Ghazni province when rockets were fired nearby, said Ali Shah Ahmadzai, provincial police chief. No one was hurt, he said.

Witnesses said they heard between three and six rockets, but the Taliban claimed it fired off 12.

The rockets missed their target, with two of them landing some 220 yards (200 meters) away from the crowd, said Arif Yaqoubi, a local reporter attending the event.

"Please sit down," Karzai told a nervous crowd under a tent in a school yard. "Don't be scared. Nothing is happening."
More on link

British know they have more battles to fight in Afghanistan, and more men to lose  
By Terri Judd in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan Published: 10 June 2007 
Article Link

Through the billowing fog of fine sand and dust blown up by the Chinook's rotor blades, the four figures suddenly appeared, carrying the body bag of their friend, Lance Corporal Paul Sandford. 

As they placed him down in the helicopter and turned to run back to the fighting, one paused momentarily, bent down and gently squeezed his shoulder, a silent, final goodbye.

Yesterday, the men who fought alongside "Sandy", as he was known to them, were left devastated by the loss of one of the company's best-loved characters. "He was a small guy in stature, but he had a heart of gold and the roar of a lion," said Lance Corporal Gavin Shelton, 28, best man at his comrade's wedding just a year ago. "He would do anything for anybody, and that is basically how he died."

L/Cpl Sandford, 23, from Nottingham, was the 59th British soldier to die in Afghanistan since fighting broke out in 2001. The young man was killed on Wednesday after a battle in the Upper Gereshk Valley in Helmand Province. An accomplished boxer who had already done one tour in Afghanistan, he was described as an intelligent, courageous and confident soldier.
More on link

Soldier on leave from Afghanistan injured in fatal crash
Last Updated: Friday, June 8, 2007 | 4:27 PM AT  CBC News 
Article Link

Military officials confirm a soldier from CFB Gagetown, and on leave from a tour in Afghanistan, was involved in a fatal accident in P.E.I. Thursday evening.

A 29-year-old woman, a passenger in the soldier's car, died in the crash in Hartsville in central Queens County.

The soldier, a 28-year-old male, was driving north on Route 13 crossing Route 225. At about 8:20 p.m., said RCMP, the car collided with an SUV driving west on Route 225.

"What I can tell you is both the man and the woman were here on a few days' vacation. The name of the woman is not being released at this time but the woman was a 29-year-old female from Oromocto, N.B.," said RCMP Sgt. Dave Thibeau.

"At this point we're still trying to make sure that all the next of kin have been notified. The 28-year-old man is presently at the Moncton Hospital with critical and life-threatening injuries."

The soldier was treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown before being transported to Moncton for further treatment. He is said to have head and internal injuries.
More on link

Afghan Civilians Aid Police, Coalition
American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, June 10, 2007 
Article Link

A tip from citizens led Afghan National Police, along with coalition forces, to a munitions cache 15 kilometers southeast of Chamkani in Afghanistan’s Paktya province yesterday, military officials said. 
Afghan village elders informed Chamkani police of a possible improvised explosive device facilitator operating in the area. Police located and searched the suspect’s compound, where they discovered an underground tunnel containing 30 Afghan National Police uniforms, more than 30 improvised explosive devices, 25 mortar rounds, 18 rocket-propelled grenade rounds and four RPG launchers. All serviceable munitions were recovered, but the IED facilitator was not found. 

Elsewhere yesterday, Afghan and coalition forces conducted an operation in the Shahjoy and Nawa districts in Zabul province that erupted into a firefight resulting in several al Qaeda and Taliban fighters killed and five militants detained. 

Credible intelligence led the forces to two separate compounds suspected of housing several al Qaeda and Taliban fighters, officials said. The joint force approached the compounds and immediately began taking small-arms, machine-gun and rocket-propelled grenade fire from a nearby hillside. A two-hour firefight followed, with Afghan and coalition forces defeating the enemy forces and securing the area. 

No civilians were injured in the operation. 
More on link


----------



## GAP (12 Jun 2007)

*Articles found June 12, 2007*

*Canadian soldier killed by roadside bomb*
Updated Mon. Jun. 11 2007 11:46 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

A Canadian soldier is dead and two others injured after their vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on Monday. 

The slain soldier was identified as Trooper Darryl Caswell, 25, of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, based in CFB Petawawa 

"Trooper Caswell, a young Canadian, a great Canadian, died serving Canada and the people of Afghanistan," Col. Mike Cessford, deputy commander of Canadian forces in the country, said from Kandahar. 

The two wounded soldiers sustained non-life threatening injuries and are receiving medical treatment. 

"I have visited both soldiers. They are in good shape, they are doing fine, and they should be back to duty soon," said Cessford. 

The group was part of a re-supplying mission to Canadian troops in a forward operating base in Kharghiz district, as part of Operation Adalat. 

Their vehicle triggered a bomb 40 kilometres north of Kandahar, an area described by officials as having a high concentration of Taliban militants. 

"Our priority at this time is to ensure our wounded receive the best possible care, and that Trooper Caswell is repatriated home to his family in the most dignified and respectful manner possible," said Cessford. 
More on link

Majority want Afghan mission over by 2009: poll
Updated Mon. Jun. 11 2007 6:12 PM ET Associated Press
Article Link

OTTAWA -- The vast majority of Canadians want this country's military mission in Afghanistan to end as scheduled in 2009, according to a new poll.

The survey by Decima Research, released Monday to The Canadian Press, found that two-thirds of respondents want Canadian troops to come home when the current mandate from Parliament expires in February 2009.

Only 26 per cent of respondents believed the military mission should be extended "if that is necessary to complete our goals there.''

The results of the poll, conducted May 31 to June 4, were released as Prime Minister Stephen Harper discussed an extension to the mission with his Dutch counterpart in Ottawa.

Harper has repeatedly hinted that Canadian troops may have to stay on in Afghanistan's troubled southern provinces beyond February 2009 in order to ensure stability.
More on link

Lalani says he's keeping close eye on detainees
By STEPHANIE LEVITZ
Article Link   

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - Canada's top diplomat in Afghanistan said Monday he will keep a close watch on the progress of an Afghan investigation into new allegations that detainees captured by Canadians and handed over to Afghan authorities have been tortured. 

Canadian Ambassador Arif Lalani said a credible investigation will take time but he will be speaking with the Afghan government regularly to check on progress. 

"We've moved very quickly. I expect the Afghan government to move equally quickly," Lalani said during a briefing with Canadian reporters in Kandahar. 

The fresh allegations surfaced during a visit by Canadian authorities to Afghan prisons as part of a new agreement signed May 3. 
More on link

Illegal arms fuelling anarchy in Helmand  
Monday June 11, 2007 (1219 PST)
Article Link

LASHKARGAH: Possession of illegal arms and their open display is one of the main reasons behind the prevailing lawlessness in the southern province of Helmand, people believe. 
Although opium cultivation, presence of drug mafia and large number of anti-government elements are also the main hurdles in bringing peace to the restive province, residents say presence of illegal arms with civilians is the major contributor in deteriorating security in the region. 

Several districts, like Kajaki, Sangin, Musa Qala and Greshk of the province have been scene to clashes between government, NATO troops and the Taliban militants since the beginning of the current Afghan year
More on link

Harper hopes Dutch will extend Afghanistan mission
Updated Mon. Jun. 11 2007 5:20 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

Prime Minister Stephen Harper met Monday with his Dutch counterpart, who is facing a familiar debate on whether to extend his country's Afghanistan mission. 

But while Canada has committed its troops to remain in the ravaged country until February 2009, the Netherlands' mission ends this August. 

Harper said he hoped the Netherlands would renew its commitment to Afghanistan. 

"I obviously will not pressure the prime minister in public, but just to say that we have valued tremendously the cooperation with the Netherlands in southern Afghanistan," Harper told reporters. 

"They're a tremendous partner for Canada." 

Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said he recognized the important of bringing stability to Afghanistan. 
More on link

Nearly half of military contracts had no competition, report finds
Use of such sole-source deals on the rise, think-tank warns
David ********, The Ottawa Citizen Published: Monday, June 11, 2007
Article Link

Forty per cent of military contracts awarded over the last year were done so without any type of competition among companies and the use of such sole-source deals is on the rise, according to a report to be released today.

Using data provided by Public Works and Government Services Canada, the study also found that the percentage of defence spending on such non-competitive contracts has also more than doubled in a two- year period.

The study by the left-leaning Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives outlines information about signed contracts and does not include the $17 billion in new military equipment spending announced last year by the Conservative government.
More on link

Anti-war letters mailed to Quebec soldiers
Updated Mon. Jun. 11 2007 4:52 PM ET Canadian Press
Article Link

MONTREAL -- Some of the Quebec soldiers facing deployment to Afghanistan later this year will be waking up this week to find opposition to the war right on their doorsteps. 

The first of about 3,000 letters mailed by antiwar protesters are expected to start showing up in neighbourhoods around the military base in Valcartier, Que., home to the Royal 22nd Regiment. 

More than 2,000 Van Doos, as they're known, are scheduled to depart for Afghanistan beginning in August. 

"You can refuse to participate in this war,'' says the missive, mailed last week by four Quebec-based antiwar groups. 
More on link

U.S. strike kills 7 Afghan police
POSTED: 7:48 a.m. EDT, June 12, 2007 
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Afghan police mistakenly thought U.S. troops on a nighttime mission were Taliban fighters and opened fire on them, prompting U.S. forces to return fire and call in attack aircraft, killing seven Afghan police, officials said Tuesday.

U.S.-led coalition and Afghan troops, meanwhile, killed more than 24 suspected Taliban fighters during an eight-hour battle in southern Afghanistan on Monday, the coalition said.

President Hamid Karzai's spokesman labeled the shooting at a remote police checkpoint in the eastern province of Nangarhar "a tragic incident" caused by a lack of communication.

"The police forces were not aware of the coalition's operation," said spokesman Karim Rahimi. "The police checkpoint in the area thought that they were the enemy, so police opened fire on the coalition, and then the coalition thought that the enemies were firing on them, so they returned fire back."

The commander at the post, Esanullah, who goes by one name, said U.S. gunfire and helicopter rockets killed seven policemen and wounded four.

Maj. Chris Belcher, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, said a combined coalition-Afghan force was ambushed by small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades from two sides while on the way to conduct an operation against a suspected Taliban safe house.

"Afghan and coalition forces took incoming fire and they responded to it," Belcher said. The forces called in air support, he said.

A policeman at the remote checkpoint said police called out for the U.S. forces to cease their attack.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (12 Jun 2007)

Afghanistan: Insecurity spreads amid escalating conflict
Reuters AlertNet, June 12
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/220224/4daa09ed73f8e25a565e028ad6441870.htm



> Source: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) - Switzerland
> _Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone._
> 
> _Geneva / Kabul (ICRC) – “The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is worse now than it was a year ago,” said Pierre Krähenbühl, director of operations of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), speaking in Geneva today._
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## The Bread Guy (13 Jun 2007)

*Afghanistan: Insecurity spreads amid escalating conflict*
International Committee of the Red Cross, News release 07/75, 12 Jun 07
Article link

Geneva / Kabul (ICRC) – “The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is worse now than it was a year ago,” said Pierre Krähenbühl, director of operations of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), speaking in Geneva today.

“Civilians suffer horribly from mounting threats to their security, such as increasing numbers of roadside bombs and suicide attacks, and regular aerial bombing raids. They also lack access to basic services. It is incredibly difficult for ordinary Afghans to lead a normal life.”

Since 2006 the conflict pitting Afghan and international forces against the armed opposition has significantly intensified in the south and east of the country and is spreading to the north and west. The result has been a growing number of civilian casualties.

In an ever-more polarized context such as Afghanistan, it has become increasingly challenging to carry out humanitarian work outside major cities. The ICRC maintains a structured and transparent dialogue with all parties to the conflict – the Afghan authorities, international forces and the armed opposition – to promote acceptance of and respect for its independent and neutral humanitarian action and to obtain better security guarantees and access to conflict victims throughout the country.

According to Krähenbühl, “there has been a steady deterioration of medical services in Afghanistan’s remote areas, where important needs are still unmet. The civilians most in need are also the most difficult to reach.”

While development work is crucial to the future of Afghanistan, the persistence of armed conflict means that many civilians remain in dire need of emergency assistance. Against this worrying backdrop, the ICRC and the Afghan Red Crescent Society are stepping up their efforts to protect and assist the most vulnerable, in particular by actively helping local medical facilities to cope with the increasing number of war-wounded in the south and east. In addition, the ICRC is visiting more and more persons detained by the Afghan authorities or international forces in connection with the armed conflict – 2,424 over the past year – in order to ensure that they are being treated humanely and in accordance with international law.

In the south of the country, where armed hostilities regularly occur, the local population is suffering greatly. Thousands of people have fled their homes and are continuing to move in search of safer areas. The general lack of security affects people living in rural and urban areas alike.

“Life here is hardly bearable,” said 29-year-old Khateera, whose family of six had to migrate to a relative’s house. “We had no way of earning a living, and when my uncle kicked us out of the house we had no shelter. In winter, one of my family died because of the cold.”

The fact that 2007 marks the 20th year of the ICRC’s uninterrupted presence in Afghanistan is a telling indication of the immense and unending suffering of the Afghan people over decades of successive conflicts.

Read also the (6 Jun 07) interview with Reto Stocker, ICRC's Head of Delegation in Kabul.



Message from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, on the death of Trooper Darryl Caswell, June 12, 2007

“My husband Jean-Daniel Lafond and I were saddened to learn of the death of Trooper Darryl Caswell, yesterday in Afghanistan.  Alongside their NATO Force partners, Canadian Forces units are tirelessly doing their utmost to establish security and stability in Afghanistan, despite the many dangers they face. These women and men care deeply about helping to improve the living conditions of the Afghan population, to build infrastructure and to bring about an economic recovery. The sacrifices they make in the name of this ideal deserve our greatest respect.  Our thoughts go out to the friends and family of Trooper Darryl Caswell, as well as to his comrades, who are feeling this loss deeply. Please accept our sincere condolences and know that we are thinking of you.  We also wish a prompt recovery to the soldiers wounded during this incident.” 



Statement by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the death of Trooper Darryl Caswell, June 12, 2007

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement on the death of Trooper Darryl Caswell:

“On behalf of all Canadians, I would like to extend my condolences to the family and friends of Trooper Darryl Caswell.  Our thoughts are with them during this difficult time.  Trooper Caswell was killed while working to improve the security and stability in the northern region of the Kandahar province.  He was part of an operation aimed at extending the influence of the Government of Afghanistan. He and his fellow soldiers were facilitating reconstruction and development.  Without security there can be no development in Afghanistan, and thanks to soldiers like Trooper Caswell, we are making significant progress.  He has left a valuable legacy and we will be forever grateful for the ultimate sacrifice he has made for our country.”



Statement by the Minister of National Defence on the Death of Trooper Darryl Caswell, NR–07.051, June 12, 2007

OTTAWA - The Honourable Gordon O'Connor, Minister of National Defence, issued the following statement today on the death of Trooper Darryl Caswell:

“I extend my heartfelt sympathy to the family and friends of Trooper Darryl Caswell who was killed in Afghanistan yesterday. Our thoughts and prayers go out to them at this time of loss.

This brave soldier and his comrades were conducting a re-supply mission when the incident occurred.  Their convoy was operating in support of ongoing security efforts being conducted jointly between our forces, Afghan security forces and our international allies.  These efforts in the northern region of Kandahar province are aimed at helping to create the conditions necessary to allow reconstruction and development efforts to proceed at a faster pace. 

The Taliban have consistently demonstrated their disregard for peace and improvements to the quality of life for those Afghan citizens that desire peace.

We are making a difference and the Government of Canada stands proudly with our soldiers, sailors, airmen and airwomen as they strive to protect Canadians, our interests and our values. 

-30-

Trooper Caswell was a member of The Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD), based at Petawawa, Ontario.


----------



## GAP (13 Jun 2007)

*Articles found June 13, 2007*

Warning issued over deadly route
Road too risky for troops 
Wed Jun 13 2007 By Tom Blackwell
Article Link   

SHAHWALI KOT, Afghanistan -- A vehicle commander who watched as a roadside bomb killed a young army driver says he warned his bosses days ago that the route where the blast took place is too dangerous and should not be used by Canadian troops. 
The dirt track to a remote base for U.S. and Canadian forces is full of narrow ravines and high points on either side that would be perfect for Taliban ambushes, said Master Cpl. Richard Breen. 

In fact, in a report on his last convoy there, Breen urged higher ups to stop trucking supplies into the base and fly them by helicopter instead. 

"Maybe now they'll take a look at it," he said a day after the death of Trooper Darryl Caswell, driver of the lead vehicle in Monday's convoy. "I've been telling them the road isn't fit. They'll have a hard time getting me back on that road." 

Caswell, 25, from Bracebridge, Ont., was driving a Coyote armoured car when it hit what appears to have been a powerful mine. Two other crew members suffered non-life threatening injuries. 

A member of the Royal Canadian Dragoon's reconnaissance squadron, he was the 57th Canadian to die by accident or enemy attack in Afghanistan since 2002. 
More on link

Improvised bombs have deadly impact on Canadians in Afghanistan
Stephanie Levitz Canadian Press Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - As yet another roadside bomb claimed the life of a Canadian soldier, military leaders in Afghanistan say they are doing all they can to mitigate the effects of these crude explosive devices.

But the bombs, responsible for the deaths of almost one-third of the 57 Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan, are throwing up deadly roadblocks to Canada's push for security throughout Kandahar province.

Trooper Darryl Caswell, 25, died Monday in the lead vehicle of an elephantine supply convoy plodding its way toward Canadian troops fighting alongside the Afghan National Army and coalition forces in a northern district of Kandahar province.

Part of a reconnaissance squadron, Caswell was riding in a Coyote armoured vehicle when it struck the improvised explosive device - known by its acronym IED - on a dusty secondary road en route to Khakriz district, about 40 kilometres north of Kandahar City.
More on link

AFGHANISTAN: Police casualties high due to lack of training, equipment  
12 Jun 2007 15:15:01 GMT Source: IRIN
Article Link


KABUL, 12 June 2007 (IRIN) - Under-equipped and poorly trained Afghan police are paying a high price in their fight against an intensifying armed insurgency. 

In the last three months alone, over 210 police officers have been killed and 330 wounded, according to Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior (MoI). In such circumstances it is difficult for humanitarian aid workers to feel secure as they go about their jobs. 

Afghanistan has one of the highest police casualty rates in the world, Zemarai Bashari, a spokesman for MoI, told IRIN in Kabul, on 12 June. 

A large number of attacks on police occur in the volatile south and southeast of the country where Taliban insurgents have been hindering rebuilding and development efforts and have indiscriminately used force against whomever they perceive as an enemy. 
More on link

Friendly fire kills seven in Afghanistan  
By GRIFF WITTE AND JAVED HAMDARD | Washington Post June 12, 2007 
Article Link

Coalition forces, police mistake each other for insurgents

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — U.S.-led forces killed seven Afghan police officers and injured four others during a firefight that broke out after each side mistook the other for a group of insurgents, Afghan officials said Tuesday.

The battle, which occurred overnight Monday, began when Afghan police officers manning a checkpoint saw an approaching contingent of U.S. soldiers, misidentified them as Taliban and opened fire, said Karim Rahimi, spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

The incident took place in a remote, mountainous area of Nangahar province in Afghanistan’s east. It ended with a U.S. helicopter attacking the police post.

Rahimi, speaking at a news conference in Kabul, blamed the incident on poor coordination between Afghan and international forces, a common concern of Karzai’s government
More on link

Dozens of Taliban reported wounded or killed in southern Afghanistan  
The Associated Press Tuesday, June 12, 2007 
Article Link

 KABUL, Afghanistan: A battle in southern Afghanistan killed or wounded dozens of militants, the Afghan Ministry of Defense said Wednesday.

The ministry said the joint Afghan-NATO operation took place in Helmand province on Tuesday, though a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force said he had no information to confirm such a battle.

The ministry also said 15 "terrorists" had been captured and three killed in the last 24 hours. It released no other details.

In Zabul province, Taliban fighters attacked a police checkpoint overnight, sparking a battle that left three of the militants dead, said Mohammad Younif, the chief of Mizan district.

Violence has spiked in Afghanistan in recent weeks. More than 2,300 people have died in insurgency-related violence this year, according to an Associated Press count based on U.S., NATO and Afghan figures.

The battle in the south came one day after Afghan police and U.S.-led forces apparently mistook each other for the enemy, sparking a nighttime friendly fire battle that left eight of the Afghans dead.

President Hamid Karzai's office labeled the deaths "a tragic incident" caused by a lack of cooperation and communication.

U.S. officials have said they are wary of telling Afghan forces about nighttime raids by U.S. Special Forces, the kind of operation apparently being conducted early Tuesday, out of fear the target might be tipped off.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (13 Jun 2007)

U.S.: Iran sending weapons to Taliban
AP, June 12
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070612/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_taliban_7



> A senior U.S. diplomat accused Iran on Tuesday of transferring weapons to Taliban insurgents in
> Afghanistan — the most direct comments yet on the issue by a ranking American official.
> 
> Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, speaking to reporters in Paris, said Iran was funding insurrections across the Middle East — and "Iran is now even transferring arms to the Taliban in Afghanistan."
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (14 Jun 2007)

*Articles found June 14, 2007*

Troops still waiting on helicopters
By DANIEL LEBLANC AND GRAEME SMITH  Thursday, June 14, 2007 – Page A8 
Article Link

OTTAWA, KANDAHAR -- No relief is in sight for Canadian troops in Afghanistan who are hankering for more helicopters to fly them over the country's deadly roads.

As it stands, soldiers in Afghanistan rely on U.S. and Dutch helicopters to travel to forward operating bases, but officials acknowledged yesterday that there is a "high demand and a limited supply" of coalition aircraft in the country.

The next possible option for Canadian troops would have been the delivery of 28 Sikorsky maritime patrol helicopters. Federal documents show that in late 2005, the federal government changed its contract with Sikorsky to ensure that the new Cyclones - replacements for the aging Sea Kings - could be transformed into troop carriers with 22 seats.

However, a Sikorsky official said yesterday that the fleet of Cyclones will not be suited to transport troops in hot and high-altitude regions such as Afghanistan, where dozens of Canadian soldiers have died on the roads.

"If you really want to employ it in that environment predominantly, you probably want to look at giving it more capability," said Lloyd Noseworthy of Sikorsky.

"You could upgrade the engine, more powerful engines, and you could upgrade the rotor system, through a more lift-capable rotor system."

In addition to the Cyclones, the Canadian government is buying transport Chinook helicopters, but they are not scheduled to be delivered for duty in Afghanistan until 2011 or 2012.

This week, Trooper Darryl Caswell died when his Coyote vehicle hit a roadside bomb on a dangerous road.
More on link

'Dramatic' Taliban resurgence detailed
By ALAN FREEMAN  Thursday, June 14, 2007 – Page A1 
Article Link

OTTAWA -- An analysis of the situation in Afghanistan last fall prepared for top levels of the Canadian government warned that the country was becoming "two Afghanistans" with the situation in the fractious South and West continuing to deteriorate and the position of President Hamid Karzai "weakening to a new low."

This grim assessment of Afghan reality was prepared last November by the International Assessment Staff of the Privy Council Office, which effectively acts as Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government department.

A series of heavily censored documents prepared by the PCO were obtained by The Globe and Mail after Access to Information requests by information expert Jeff Esau.

The briefing notes, with the author's name, were apparently intended for Gregory Fyffe, executive director of the 60-strong assessment unit, and were prepared after Canadian NATO troops based in Kandahar in the volatile southern region had suffered several bloody months of combat.

"The Taliban resurgence has been dramatic," stated a document dated Nov. 9, 2006. 

It describes how the faltering insurgency was given a huge boost by support from sources in Pakistan, the Gulf states and "Jihadi-minded groups and individuals."
More on link

Death of Canadian stoking speculation in Pakistani media
A Pakistani daily reports that the woman may have been pregnant when she died
By OMAR EL AKKAD  Thursday, June 14, 2007 – Page A15 
Article Link

The death of a Canadian businesswoman in a Pakistani minister's house last week is fuelling a speculation frenzy, as one major Pakistani newspaper reported yesterday that Kafila Siddiqui may have been two months pregnant at the time of her death.

Citing unnamed "sources," the Pakistani daily Dawn printed rumours that the 39-year-old was pregnant when she died. But the paper added that police could not confirm anything until an examiner's report was completed.

The pregnancy rumour is just the latest in a string of speculations that have surrounded the high-profile case. In the past week, rumours have also swirled about everything from Ms. Siddiqui's financial situation to her relationship with Muhammad Shahid Jamil Qureshi, who, until his resignation Monday, was Pakistan's minister of state for communication.

Another Pakistani media outlet reported yesterday that Mr. Qureshi had applied for - and received - "bail before arrest," a form of anticipatory bail prevalent in the Pakistani legal system. However, those reports could not be independently confirmed.

Ms. Siddiqui was living in the same Islamabad house as Mr. Qureshi at the time of her death late last week. Her relatives say Mr. Qureshi was holding Ms. Siddiqui captive in the home for several months. Mr. Qureshi, who faces charges of "wrongful confinement," denies those allegations, saying that financial stress and pressure exerted by her own family is what caused Ms. Siddiqui's death.
More on link

Air force to beef up its helicopters
 TheStar.com June 14, 2007 Bruce Campion-Smith OTTAWA BUREAU
Article Link

Existing Griffons will be refitted with machine guns, rockets until gunships arrive

OTTAWA–Canada's air force wants to buy a fleet of gunship helicopters to protect its new transport choppers as they haul troops and equipment in enemy zones.

But until these new attack choppers arrive, the air force plans to outfit its existing Griffon helicopters with machine guns and rockets to do the job.

The danger facing the big transport helicopters was driven home last month when insurgents downed a U.S. Chinook chopper in Afghanistan, killing all seven people onboard, including a Canadian military photographer.

"We have officially recognized that there is a requirement to have a helicopter that would accompany the medium- to heavy-lift helicopter ... in a battlefield type environment," said air force spokesperson Capt. Jim Hutcheson.

Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor last summer unveiled the Conservatives' $4.7 billion plan to buy 16 medium-to-heavy lift helicopters, likely the Boeing Chinook.

While the twin-rotor Chinooks will have their own anti-missile gear and other defensive aids, air force officials say they're still too valuable an asset to fly around a battlefield unguarded.

The Chinooks are about the size of a transport truck and can haul more than 30 soldiers.

"They're obviously an attractive target and you want to do everything you can to protect it and its occupants," Hutcheson said.
More on link

Hundreds gather to bid farewell to slain Canadian soldier in Afghanistan
Canadian Press Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - Slain Canadian soldier Trooper Darryl Caswell is on his way home. 

International troops lined the tarmac tonight at Kanadhar Airfield to honour the 25-year-old. The pain of his loss was clear in the eyes of his fellow soldiers, who tightly gripped his casket and each other as they slowly marched toward the Hercules aircraft that brings fallen soldiers back to Canada. 

Major Malcolm Berry remembers Caswell as a pratical joker with a "great sense of ha-ha" and says his influence and standards will live on for all who knew and loved him. 
More on link

UAE security guard goes missing in Afghanistan
(AFP) 13 June 2007 
Article Link

ABU DHABI - An Emirati security guard working with a United Arab Emirates humanitarian mission in Afghanistan has gone missing there, a UAE official said on Wednesday.

‘A member of a security team in charge of a UAE humanitarian mission in Afghanistan has been reported missing,’ the official said, without saying when and where he disappeared.

The official said the man was an Emirati, but did not give his name. He promised a fuller statement later in the day.

He was speaking following rumours that a doctor from the UAE had gone missing in the Sangin district of the volatile southern Helmand province.

The official said the mission was involved in the building of a field hospital, schools and mosques in Afghanistan.

Earlier Wednesday, the US-led coalition said it was investigating reports that a soldier was missing in Afghanistan, as the Taleban claimed to have captured a foreign trooper.

Taleban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi said the movement had captured a foreign soldier in uniform in Sangin on Tuesday.

‘One NATO force soldier with a uniform and gun was captured by our mujahedeen (holy warriors),’ Ahmadi said
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (14 Jun 2007)

Chechen, Arab fighters create insurgent 'sanctuary'
Broad support for Taliban feared in south
_Ottawa Citizen_, June 14
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=503f4d66-9bb7-4729-8592-907f00bcb724



> Chechen and Arab fighters have flooded into the latest hotspot for Taliban activity in southern Afghanistan, helping turn it into an insurgent "sanctuary," a senior Canadian army officer said yesterday.
> 
> Unknown numbers of foreign militants have infiltrated the Shahwali Kot district north of Kandahar City in recent weeks, said Lt.-Col. Rob Walker, who commands the Canadian battle group.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## midget-boyd91 (14 Jun 2007)

Keep up the good work, and keep safe.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C06%5C15%5Cstory_15-6-2007_pg7_63



> ISAF kills 27 Taliban in Afghanistan
> 
> KABUL: Afghan and coalition soldiers killed 27 militants in southern Afghanistan as part of new operations to defeat a Taliban-led insurgency, the government and the US-led International Security Assistant Force said on Thursday.
> 
> ...


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## GAP (15 Jun 2007)

Explosion hits Canadian convoy in Afghanistan, no soldiers injured
Canadian Press Friday, June 15, 2007
Article Link. 

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Witnesses to an attack on a Canadian convoy in Afghanistan today say the explosion was the work of a suicide bomber.

No Canadians were injured in the blast, which sent an unspecified number of Afghans to hospital.

A Canadian military official in Kandahar says the cause of the explosion has not yet been determined, saying only that it's an improvised explosive device.

Suicide attacks can fall under that category.

The convoy was coming into Kandahar city from the Zhari and Panjwaii districts to the west when the bomb went off.
More on link


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## GAP (15 Jun 2007)

Small contingent of soldiers from Quebec active in Afghanistan since December
Stephanie Levitz Canadian Press Friday, June 15, 2007
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - They sing and tell jokes over their vehicle intercoms, but since they landed eight months ago there's been a lot of hard work and little play for the small company of Canadian soldiers from Quebec who are already in Afghanistan. 

Though much is being made of the 2,000 soldiers from Valcartier, Que. arriving in August, a hardy band of 156 have been in Kandahar since December. And watching the attention bestowed on those about to arrive hasn't been easy for them. 

"It's a bit of frustration from the French guys, to be honest," said Maj. Richard Collin, the commanding officer of C Company of the Royal 22nd Regiment, known as the Van Doos. 

"They know when the next (rotation) is going to arrive there's going to be coverage all over the news in Quebec, and they'll say: 'I was there for nine months - I did that'." 

The coverage is already happening in Canada. 

There was the anti-war letter campaign last week asking the upcoming rotation to refuse to serve in Afghanistan. Then came word that military officials are planning a major public relations blitz to shore up public support. 

It won't matter, said Capt. Michel Tousignant, 32, who commands a platoon of Canadian soldiers protecting the Provincial Reconstruction Team base in Kandahar city. 

"It doesn't matter if it's a big group or a little group, the media gets tired easily," he said. 

"If there is nothing extraordinary, like deaths, wounds or combat, immediately they aren't interested." 

That rankles for the troops of "Crazy Company," as it's known, as the majority of their efforts have centred around what Tousignant calls the "less sexy" side of Canada's work in Afghanistan. 

The 200-plus people at the PRT were hamstrung by a risky environment delaying development efforts before the Van Doos arrived to provide convoy protection and camp security. 

Eight months later, the soldiers say they are extremely proud of what the security they've provided has accomplished. 

Tousignant rattled off a list: a school in Sperwan Gar, canals, irrigation channels - all things that have helped win the support of Afghans and ensure stability. 

But he admits it wasn't a job he was trained to do at first. 
More on link


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## GAP (16 Jun 2007)

*Articles found June 16, 2007*

British paper: Troops in Afghanistan lack equipment
(Agencies) Updated: 2007-06-16 14:26 
Article Link

A British newspaper charged Saturday that the country's troops in Afghanistan were suffering severe shortages of equipment, but the defence ministry said the soldiers had the tools to accomplish their mission. 


The Daily Telegraph newspaper said that just half of the Apache helicopter gunships were working and only 70 percent of the Chinook transport helicopters were available. 

But the Ministry of Defence insisted that British forces, who are mostly based in the restive southern Helmand province fighting insurgents, had the helicopters required for the job. 


British soldiers in Afghanistan. A British newspaper charged that the country's troops in Afghanistan were suffering severe shortages of equipment, but the defence ministry said the soldiers had the tools to accomplish their mission.[AFP]

One garrison was down to its last 200 mortar rounds because there were no helicopters to supply it, the broadsheet said. 

Meanwhile just 16 of 96 promised new armoured vehicles have been delivered, engineers were travelling in lightly-armed trucks while transporting high explosives and some soldiers had bought their own binoculars to replace Army sights, it said. 

British troops had to borrow a truck from the small Estonian contingent, said the newspaper. 

Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged in October that commanders on the ground in Afghanistan would be provided with whatever equipment they thought was necessary in order to take on the Taliban. 

The MoD acknowledged that helicopters were crucial in the fight against Taliban rebels and said that more were on the way to Afghanistan. 

"Our military commanders have the helicopters required to provide combat and medical support for our troops in combat," a spokeswoman said. 

"These helicopters have proved vital to the success of our operation in Afghanistan which is why we are spending 230 million pounds (455 million dollars, 340 million euros) making 14 additional aircraft for deployment over the next two years. 
More on link

US convoy targeted by suicide bomber in Afghanistan
Associated Press - June 16, 2007 5:23 AM ET 
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Officials in Afghanistan now say it was an American convoy, not a NATO convoy, that was targeted by a suicide bomber today.

They report at least four civilians were killed in the blast. And a soldier killed one civilian when he opened fire on a crowd after the attack.

A US spokesman says the convoy had US contract workers and military personnel.

The attack in western Kabul damaged one military vehicle and seven civilian vehicles. At least five people were wounded.

It's not clear yet whether any of the casualties are Americans.
More on link

Ten dead in Afghanistan car bombing
Associated Press - June 15, 2007 6:23 PM ET 
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - At least ten people have been killed in southern Afghanistan in the suicide car bombing of a NATO convoy.

The dead include five children, four Afghan men and a Dutch soldier.

Another member of the coalition was killed in eastern Afghanistan.

Officials say a fresh wave of violence has also left more than 24 militants dead.

Purported Taliban spokesmen have warned civilians to stay away from military convoys, but suicide bombings commonly kill or wound far more civilians than the intended military targets.
More on link

NATO Soldier Killed in Afghanistan   
Article Link
  
KABUL, Afghanistan, June 15--A soldier with the US-led occupation died of wounds suffered in combat in eastern Afghanistan Friday, the force said.

The killing took to 82 the number of foreign troops killed in the country this year.

The occupation said in a statement that its forces were engaged in combat operations in Paktika province when the service-member sustained the fatal wound.

The occupation includes about 13,000 US soldiers and a few hundred troops from other nations.

Most of the foreign soldiers who have been killed in Afghanistan this year were US nationals and died in combat.

Meanwhile, an attacker rammed his car into a NATO convoy in southern Afghanistan Friday, killing five children and wounding five adults including two soldiers, an official said.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (17 Jun 2007)

Des soldats francophones frustrés de ne pas se battre
Presse Canadienne, June 16
http://www.matin.qc.ca/articles/20070616180033/des_soldats_francophones_frustres_pas_battre.html



> Des soldats francophones de l'Armée canadienne étaient un peu frustrés de participer à une mission de reconstruction et auraient préféré combattre à leur arrivée en Afghanistan, d'après le major Richard Collin.
> 
> Selon le commandant de la compagnie force protection, les jeunes recrutés par les Forces canadiennes ont été attirés par des publicités télévisées montrant des scènes de combat. En entrevue à la Presse Canadienne, le major Collin a ajouté que les soldats ont été entraînés au combat et que leur plus gros défi a été de s'adapter à ce rôle plus passif.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (18 Jun 2007)

*Articles found June 18, 2007*

Canadians to step up training
 TheStar.com - June 18, 2007  Stephanie Levitz CANADIAN PRESS
Article Link

Hillier visits Kandahar, outlines strategy for the months ahead with focus on strengthening Afghan security forces


KANDAHAR, Afghanistan–With Canada's top military brass feeling comfortable with their tactics on the ground in Afghanistan, Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier said his first priority now is to bolster the country's national security forces.

Hillier and the top leadership of the Canadian forces met over the weekend in Kandahar for discussions on the state of Canada's military efforts in Afghanistan as the clock ticks toward the February 2009 deadline for the mission.

"What we said is: `What can we do right now, we've still got a long way to go in the present mandate, as you know more than 18 months here, and we can accomplish a heck of a lot in that time frame,'" he said yesterday.

"Our focus was how much can we actually accomplish and put our shoulder behind, so that's what we focused on, what are we doing right now, summer, fall, early winter to put the Afghan security forces specifically in a much better position."

Hillier arrived in Kandahar on Friday night, forcing him to miss the repatriation ceremony in Trenton, Ont., that night for Trooper Darryl Caswell, killed earlier last week by a roadside bomb. The general apologized for missing the ceremony and expressed his condolences to Caswell's family 

Two full battalions of Afghan National Army soldiers are already at work in Afghanistan, and a third is set to graduate in July.

It's a marked improvement from this time last year, Hillier said, when the strength of the Afghan National Army was virtually zero.

He said he is heartened by what he is hearing from Canadian soldiers who work with and train the Afghan troops. 

"My soldiers told me when I was here ... in early May and back in March, this battalion is doing extremely well," he said.

"What they said was `Hey sir, it's like looking in a mirror to see us doing our own skills and drills. These guys are good.'"

Hillier said in order to nurture a national security force that can maintain the stability desperately needed by Afghanistan, more work is needed.

The military plans to step up training, including assigning more soldiers from existing Canadian battle groups to work with new army grads and procuring better equipment for the soldiers.

Though the capacity of the Afghan National Army is growing, the Afghan National Police, lags behind, Hillier concedes.

The police have become the target of increased insurgent attacks in recent weeks, and yesterday a bomb ripped through a police bus in Kabul, killing some 35 people.

"What the Taliban realize is perhaps that they have (a) short window that until the police get more capable, get better trained, better leadership, better equipment, better supported overall, that they are perhaps the weaker of the security forces around and there is an opportunity to attack them and occasionally have some success.

"What we want to do is close that window as quickly as possible."
More on link

35 Killed, 52 Wounded in Afghanistan Bomb Attack
Written for the web by Jason Kobely, Internet News Producer   
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- At least 35 people are dead and more than 50 wounded in Afghanistan's deadliest insurgent attack since the U.S.-led invasion of 2001.

An enormous blast destroyed a bus full of police instructors at Kabul's busiest transportation hub.

A self-described Taliban spokesman told The Associated Press the attack was carried out by a Taliban suicide bomber.

It was the fifth suicide attack in Afghanistan in three days, part of a sharp spike in violence around the country.

President Hamid Karzai said the "enemies of Afghanistan" are trying to stop the development of Afghan security forces.

Also Sunday, a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan killed three members of the U.S.-led coalition and an Afghan interpreter. The soldiers' nationalities were not released, but most in the coalition are American.
More on link


SURGEON SLAMS ARMY CARE
By Rupert Hamer Defence Correspondent 17/06/2007 
Article Link

EXCLUSIVE George Cross hero Cpl Mark Wright was left to bleed to death in a minefield Our Army medics use anti-tank choppers instead of properly kitted air ambulances FIGHTING FOR OUR TROOPS

A SENIOR Army surgeon says British troops are dying needlessly because the standard of medical care in battle is WORSE than 40 years ago.

Lieutenant Colonel Paul Parker reveals that wounded US soldiers in Vietnam in the 1960s were treated more quickly than our own injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In an explosive indictment of the shortages and cutbacks hitting medical units, he describes how a "painfully slow" air-ambulance service leads to the deaths of wounded soldiers who might otherwise live.

George Cross hero Corporal Mark Wright, 27, died last September in Afghanistan's Helmand Province after he was left with a bleeding artery in a minefield for six hours.

Senior military sources say the para's injuries should not have been life-threatening, had he been rescued within two hours. An MoD inquiry is investigating.

Sources say a "number" of soldiers have died because of the length of time it took to get a helicopter to them. In the disturbing official report seen by the Sunday Mirror, Lt Colonel Parker tells how:

Some soldiers have to wait seven hours before they are airlifted to hospital in Afghanistan - in Vietnam the time was an average 25 minutes.
More on link

Can the war in Afghanistan be won?  
Article Link

The BBC begins a week of in-depth coverage of Afghanistan by asking its World Affairs editor, John Simpson, to consider if the Afghan government and the West can win the war against the Taleban. 

The Taleban have new confidence and new tactics, and their campaign against the government and its Nato backers has been increasingly successful since the beginning of this year. 

In the east of the country, around Jalalabad, suicide bombings have become such frequent occurrences that the road from there to Kabul is now known as "the Baghdad road". 

I have been coming to Jalalabad since 1989, but for the first time in my experience we needed a police escort to drive around there. In the countryside near the town, they urged us not to get out of our vehicle when we stopped, despite the intense heat. 

"There are spies everywhere," the police explained. 

The police themselves are a major target for the Taleban and al-Qaeda guerrillas who operate here now. 

Outside the main police headquarters in the town, a senior policeman ran out and ordered us to stop filming in case our presence attracted the attentions of a suicide bomber. 

There have been several attacks there, and an unexploded rocket is still lodged in a tree in front of the building. 

Terror tactics 

Until the end of last year, Jalalabad was relatively quiet. Now it is becoming a battleground. 

Along part of the length of the so-called "Baghdad Road", local people point out the places where American soldiers fired at passers-by a few weeks ago, after an attempted suicide bombing. 

The soldiers claimed they had come under small-arms fire from the side of the road. 

The local authorities later apologised and paid compensation for the deaths. 
More on link

Blair feared US would 'nuke' AfghanistanFrom correspondents in London
June 18, 2007 12:03pm Article from: Agence France
Article Link


BRITAIN joined the US in ousting the Taliban in 2001 because it feared America would "nuke the sh-t" out of Afghanistan, the former British ambassador to Washington has reportedly said on a TV documentary.
In comments published in advance in the Daily Mirror tabloid today, Christopher Meyer said fear explained why Prime Minister Tony Blair chose to stand with US President George W. Bush in his decision to invade Afghanistan in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks - to temper his aggressive battle plans. 

"Blair's real concern was that there would be quote unquote 'a knee-jerk reaction' by the Americans ... they would go thundering off and nuke the shit out of the place without thinking straight," Mr Meyer reportedly told the documentary, according to the Mirror. 
More on link

Afghanistan hopes to eradicate polio in two years  
Article Link

KUALA LUMPUR: Afghanistan has set itself a target to eradicate the deadly poliomyelitis virus within two years with the support of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) member states, Afghan Health Minister Muhammed Amin Fatimi said here. 

About 7.4 million children in Afghanistan needed to be immunized against polio and education programs on polio immunization is also needed, as few families know about vaccination, fearing the vaccine might cause harm, said Muhammed Amin on the KL-OIC Health Ministerial Conference 2007 held in Malaysia. 

In order for a country to be considered polio-free, there must be no new reported cases for two years. Afghanistan reported two cases this year. 

"Decades of war also affected our health care system. However, after the collapse of the Taliban regime, the new government developed a National Health Policy, which has been implemented very successfully for the good of the Afghan people", Muhammed Amin said, according to the report by Malaysian national news agency Bernama. 
More on link

Coalition airstrike kills 7 kids in Afghanistan  
Article Link 

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — U.S.-led coalition jets bombed a compound suspected of housing al-Qaeda militants in eastern Afghanistan, killing seven children and several militants, while clashes in the south left dozens more suspected insurgents dead, officials said Monday.
The airstrike occurred Sunday in Paktika province, hours after a suicide bomber hit a police academy bus in Kabul, killing at least 35 people, the deadliest insurgent attack in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.

The jets targeted a compound that also contained a mosque and a madrassa, or Islamic school, in the Zarghun Shah district, in an operation backed by Afghan troops.

A coalition statement said "nefarious activity was occurring at the site." Spokesman Maj. Chris Belcher, a coalition spokesma, accused al-Qaeda of using "the protective status of a mosque, as well as innocent civilians, to shield themselves."

Early reports indicated seven children at the madrassa and "several militants" were killed, and two militants detained, the statement said.
More on link

EU police mission in Afghanistan starts
Article Link

The EU police mission to Afghanistan - EUPOL AFGHANISTAN - starts today. 

It will be launched at a ceremony in Kabul on Sunday, 17 June. 

The mission, which is led by Brigadier General Friedrich Eichele, aims at contributing to the establishment of sustainable and effective civilian policing arrangements that will ensure appropriate interaction with the wider criminal justice system under Afghan ownership and in accordance with international standards. 

It will work closely with Afghan police officers, helping them to make practical arrangements for security and law enforcement in their areas of responsibility, and achieving tangible benefits for the Afghan communities protected by these policing arrangements. 

To this end it will monitor, mentor, advise and train at the level of the Afghan Ministry of Interior, regions and provinces. 

It will also work towards a joint overall strategy of the international community in police reform. 
More on link


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## GAP (18 Jun 2007)

There's grounds for hope in Afghanistan
CRAIG CHARNEY AND ISOBEL COLEMAN Special to Globe and Mail Update
June 18, 2007 at 12:58 AM EDT
Article Link

As the Taliban and NATO spring offensives grind on, many people's perceptions of Afghanistan are pessimistic. Some say our Western efforts have changed nothing, so we will fail: The ongoing abuses against women, corruption, and warlordism are opening the door to the Taliban. Others say unless we change nothing, we will fail: Steps towards gender equality and democracy are disturbing a male-dominated, ultra-conservative society and reviving Taliban support.

These perspectives miss the real grounds for hope in Afghanistan: Afghans themselves are changing their society, with Afghan women playing a leading role. Despite the Taliban's military revival, Afghan women have won broad support for their rights to study, work, and vote, largely gained since the Taliban's 2001 ouster, and overwhelmingly reject their former oppressors. But, at the same time, Afghans are struggling to reconcile many of their Islamic traditions with the modern world, as the case of women also shows.

The stereotype of a tribal society resistant to all change does injustice to most Afghans, who want a society very different from that which the Taliban imposed. But applying unrealistic yardsticks to Afghanistan leaves us unable to see important changes taking place there. If we are to respect the Afghans' reform consensus, we must support the incremental progress under way and accept their limits to change.

Surprising as it may seem, grassroots support for women's rights — the antithesis of Taliban policy — is widespread in Afghanistan today. An ABC News survey of 1,036 Afghans last October found that 80 per cent accept women as members of parliament; 70 per cent of both sexes agree women should be able to work outside their home; and 88 per cent of the population supports education for girls. This is a sea-change from 20 years ago, when sending girls to Soviet-run schools generated widespread resistance. Indeed, opposition to girls' education under the Soviet occupation was a rallying cry of the mujahadeen. Now, polls show that Afghans see lack of education as Afghan women's biggest problem and the rights to work and study as women's most important gains since the Taliban's fall. Nor are women's rights merely theoretical: 43 per cent of Afghan girls are in school now and one woman in seven has a job — while under the Taliban, females had little place in school or the workplace. Some 60 per cent of women also voted in the 2004 presidential election, and women won 26 per cent of parliamentary seats in 2005.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (18 Jun 2007)

Taliban fighters back in caves of Tora Bora
_Daily Telegraph_, July 18
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=B4AZHMTIGVHDTQFIQMFSFFOAVCBQ0IV0?xml=/news/2007/06/18/wafghan218.xml



> Insurgents backed by al-Qa'eda have opened a new "front" on the eastern border of Afghanistan, re-occupying the Tora Bora cave complex from which Osama bin Laden escaped the closing net of US forces in 2001.
> 
> The "Tora Bora Front", as Taliban propaganda calls it, borders the province of Nangahar and has been active for about three weeks. The complex of deep caves, which proved impervious to US bombing in 2001, sits on an infiltration route from the Spin Ghar mountains between Nangahar province and Pakistan's lawless Tribal Areas, where bin Laden is still thought to be hiding.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (19 Jun 2007)

Taleban capture Afghan district
The Taleban say they took the district after days of fighting
Taleban rebels have captured a district in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar after days of fierce fighting. 
BBC, June 19
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6766495.stm



> Afghan forces say they pulled out of Myanishen district as a tactical move.
> 
> Correspondents say the militants have taken a number of districts over the past couple of years but have managed to keep control of only one.
> 
> ...



Taliban fighters seize south Afghan area
AP, June 19
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070619/ap_on_re_as/afghanistan;_ylt=Al34y2OsLIAMDJcFkgHqFiV34T0D



> Taliban militants overran a district in southern Afghanistan and are pushing for control of another key area, sparking fierce clashes with NATO and Afghan forces that have left more than 100 people dead over three days, officials said Tuesday.
> 
> Hundreds of Taliban fighters launched raids on police posts near the strategic town of Chora in Uruzgan province Saturday, forcing NATO, backed by fighter jets, to respond. Fighting was continuing Tuesday, and some officials reported there have been dozens of civilian casualties.
> 
> ...



Dozens Die In NATO's Offensive in Afghanistan
_Washington Post_, June 19
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/18/AR2007061800305.html


> ...
> Violence has been sharply rising in Afghanistan in recent weeks. Much of the fighting has occurred in Kandahar and Helmand provinces, which had largely slipped out of government control over the past couple of years.
> 
> [NATO forces spokesman, U.S. Army Maj. John] Thomas said the fighting in neighboring Uruzgan *reflects a decision by NATO commanders to expand the battlefield. The NATO-led force, he said, "is choosing to go into an area to establish control. Before, the insurgents might have been left alone because it wasn't a focus* [emphasis added]."
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


----------



## GAP (19 Jun 2007)

*Articles found June 19, 2007*

Dubai sentences B.C. man to prison on drugs charges
Updated Tue. Jun. 19 2007 7:38 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

A Vancouver man, who advised Afghan farmers on alternatives to poppy cultivation, was sentenced to four years in prison on Tuesday for smuggling and drug possession.

Bert Tatham, 35, was arrested April 23 during a layover at Dubai International Airport.

Authorities said they found him with 0.6 grams of hashish and two poppy bulbs.

Tatham pleaded not guilty during an arraignment last week.

On Tuesday, the judge told Tatham he must serve his full sentence in the United Arab Emirates Gulf country and then be deported from the Gulf country, which is known for its "zero tolerance" policy on narcotics. 

When Tatham was arrested, he was on his way to Canada from the Afghan city of Kandahar.

According to media reports, Tatham worked as a consultant for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, but his father rejected those suggestions, saying this wasn't true.
More on link

Afghan officials: Over 100 killed in southern battle
POSTED: 0602 GMT (1402 HKT), June 19, 2007 
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) -- More than 100 people, including militants, civilians and police, have been killed in three days of fierce clashes between NATO and the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, Afghan officials said Monday.

To the east, U.S.-led coalition jets bombed a suspected al Qaeda compound, killing seven boys and several fighters.

Afghanistan has seen a spike in violence the last several days, leading to a mounting number of civilian casualties that are sapping support for foreign troops and the government of President Hamid Karzai.

Even though a majority of civilian deaths is caused by attacks initiated by the Taliban, Afghan anger over civilian casualties is often directed toward U.S. and NATO-led troops. Such killings have prompted Afghan authorities to plead repeatedly for international forces to work more closely with Afghans.

In the southern province Uruzgan, the Taliban have launched what appears to be their biggest offensive of the year, forcing NATO troops to respond. They also have taken over a district in neighboring Kandahar, a police official said.

Dutch military officials said hundreds of Taliban fighters attacked police posts near the strategic town of Chora on Saturday, sparking a battle that officials said was continuing. The attack appeared to be a change in strategy by the insurgents, who had been relying on an increasing number of suicide and roadside bombings this year.
More on link

Police official says armed men crossed into Afghanistan from Iran       
Tuesday, 19 June 2007  
Article Link
Herat, Afghanistan (DPA) - More than 20 armed men crossed the border from Iran into Afghanistan and entered an Afghan town, an Afghan police commander said in the first such blunt claim by a high-ranking Afghan official. 

Colonel Rahmatullah Safi - police commander in the three western provinces of Farah, Badghis and Herat - said that according to intelligence information, the group of armed militants crossed the border Monday in Farah's Anardara district. 


'Two pickup trucks with over 20 armed people riding in them crossed the border from Iran to Afghanistan,' Safi told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in his Border Police headquarters, 15 kilometres outside Herat city. 

He said that according to the intelligence information, the men were heading toward the Zirkoh area in Farah province, which has been the site of escalating militant activity in recent months. 

Safi said the police did not have the opportunity to track down the vehicles but said he had informed President Hamid Karzai and international forces in the country. 

'I can say with certainty, that the vehicles came from Iranian soil, and if they came from Iran with ammunitions and explosives, of course, they are supported by the Iranian government,' Safi said. 

'If the Iranian border forces really want to stop them, they can,' he added. 'They have one outpost every five to 10 killometres.' 
More on link

Iraqi-Style Attacks Emerge in Afghanistan
By Anna Mulrine Posted 6/18/07
Article Link

KABUL—A rush-hour attack in a crowded section of Kabul has reignited concerns here about what the U.S. military calls TTPs—tactics, techniques, and procedures—migrating from Iraq to the streets of Afghanistan. The bus bombing on Sunday, which killed at least 35 people and wounded some 52 bystanders, targeted Afghan police trainees on their way to work.

It is thought to be the most lethal attack in the country since the fall of the Taliban, which claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing shortly afterward. (On Monday, police reported detaining a suspect in the Kabul bus bombing after he was caught filming the aftermath of the deadly suicide blast.)

The Taliban has stepped up its use of so-called asymmetric means of attack, using greater numbers of suicide bombers and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), according to Gen. Dan McNeill, the American commander of the International Security Assistance Force. It is a development, he tells U.S. News, that the military anticipated since ISAF efforts began early this year to pre-empt a Taliban spring offensive—an offensive that largely failed to materialize.
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Pentagon sends decks of archeological cards to troops in Iraq, Afghanistan
Pauline Jelinek Canadian Press Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Article Link

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon is sending another deck of playing cards to troops in Iraq, this time showing some of the country's most precious archeological sites instead of the most-wanted people. 

Some 40,000 new decks of playing cards will be sent to troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Laurie Rush, an archeologist at Fort Drum in New York, says it's part of an awareness program to encourage troops to help preserve the heritage of those countries. 

It's aimed at making troops aware they shouldn't pick up and bring home artifacts and also to avoid causing damage to sites. 

In one incident after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, U.S. troops built a helicopter pad on the ruins of Babylon and filled their sandbags with archeological fragments from the ancient city. 

Each card in the deck shows an artifact or site or gives a tip on how to help preserve antiquities. 
More on link

Canada, allies, won't win war in Afghanistan before 2009 deadline: Commons study
Mike Blanchfield Ottawa Citizen Monday, June 18, 2007
Article Link

OTTAWA - Parliament should immediately debate whether the Canadian Forces commitment to Afghanistan should be extended beyond February 2009, says a Commons defence committee study released Monday. 

The all-party committee also said more needs to be done to ensure aid and reconstruction dollars are delivered in a more timely manner to Afghans, especially after some particularly heavy fighting last year. 

"None of the witnesses who appeared before the committee expected the military problem in Afghanistan to be solved by February 2009," states the report, the result of a 13-month study of a controversial mission, which has divided Canadians and claimed the lives of 57 soldiers and one diplomat.

"Some spoke of decades; some spoke of generations; but all spoke of a long-term commitment. This raises the question of whether the mission mandate ought to be extended or not."

The committee recommended the government hold a debate "without delay" to give Canadians "an accurate and up-to-date understanding" of the mission and its "decision-making" around the February 2009 deadline.

That date has been a bone of contention among the four federal parties. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has strongly suggested the mission will have to be extended beyond 2009 and has criticized the opposition for calling for arbitrary withdrawal dates.

Moreover, the Forces top commander in Afghanistan recently said the military is making contingency plans beyond 2009
More on link

Norwegian patrol in Afghanistan attacked, one injured  
Tuesday June 19, 2007 (0105 PST)
Article Link

KABUL: A Norwegian unit on patrol in Meymana in Northern Afghanistan was attacked during the night, and one Norwegian officer was slightly injured, the Central Defence Command reports. 
At midnight local time a group of men approached the Norwegian patrol in the dark. They were challenged by the Norwegian guard post, and thy then opened fire on the Norwegian unit, press spokesman John Inge Oegland says to NRK. 

The Norwegian unit returned the fire, and withdrew to a safer position when they had regained control of the situation. 
More on link


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## GAP (19 Jun 2007)

Canadian at gate of Kandahar base sift friend from foe among visitors
June 18, 2007  By STEPHANIE LEVITZ
Article Link 

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - Canadian soldiers who have been manning a key entrance to the main coalition base at Kandahar Airfield say they have learned a lot from the 1,500 Afghans who pass through the gates each day. 

And they've taught them a few things too. 

"We found that they've been working with us so long, we've been adapting some of their culture, they've been taking a lot of ours too," said Cpl. Justin Smith, 22, from Windsor, N.S. 

"A lot of our mannerisms they've been picking up, like giving us the thumbs up. They are a lot more tolerant than most people think." 

The cultural connection happens against the unlikely backdrop of gun towers and rolls of barbed wire near Entry Control Point Three - ECP3 in military parlance. 

It is the entry point for every person and item coming into Kandahar Airfield, home base for thousands of soldiers from around the world fighting insurgents in Afghanistan. 

This platoon of Canadians have manned ECP3 through the hail, heat and dust of the last seven months. Now they are just under a week shy of completing their tour of duty in Kandahar. 

More than 300 trucks rumble and belch their way each day through bomb-sniffing dogs and a giant X-ray machine before their cargo - from building supplies to Whoppers for the Burger King on base - is allowed in. 
More on link

Police seize car laden with explosives in Kandahar
June 18, 2007 By A.R. KHAN
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - Hours before a deadly suicide bombing wrecked a bus in Kabul, Afghan police in Kandahar city seized a car with what officials said was enough explosives to level a city block. 

A police commander for District Five in Kandahar was awarded a commendation by Canadian officials on Monday for his work in thwarting the suicide attack. 

Police had stopped the car early Sunday morning and discovered 14 rockets and two cans of gasoline inside. The car was stopped in a residential area just inside the city gates. 

An explosive ordinance disposal team from Canada's Provincial Reconstruction Team base in Kandahar City was called in to deal with the materials. 

"I know that we did a great job, (but) it is not enough. We have to do more and more," said Mohammad Essa, the police commander for District Five. 

"I am glad that we are going to save the lives of innocent civilians and we will be trying to save their lives in the future as well. We don't have to lose courage." 

The Afghan National Police are the weaker link in the chain of national security forces building around Afghanistan. But Cpl. Barry Pitcher with the RCMP-led civilian police team at the PRT said Sunday's bust showed their capabilities are improving. 

"We are glad that the public was not hurt by these explosives," Pitcher said.
More on link


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## GAP (20 Jun 2007)

*Articles found June 20, 2007*

Three NATO soldiers killed in Afghanistan blast
Updated Wed. Jun. 20 2007 8:20 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

Three NATO soldiers have been killed by an explosion in southern Afghanistan.

They were travelling in a vehicle when it was struck by an improvised explosive device, according to alliance officials cited by The Associated Press.

The nationalities of the three killed soldiers have not yet been released, pending notification of next of kin.

In other violence, officials said earlier Wednesday that gunmen fired on people praying in a mosque in eastern Afghanistan, killing three. 

The attack took place in Ismail Kheil, a village in Khost province. Two armed men entered the mosque, opening fire and killing three and wounding a fourth, according to Wazir Pacha, a Zabul province police chief who spoke to AP.

The attackers fled the scene and police are still unsure of the motive for the shooting.

In another attack, militants ambushed a United Nations convoy on the main highway between Kabul and Kandahar. The strike left two Afghan guards dead, and a third wounded. Two UN vehicles were damaged in the attack, Jailani Khan, a highway police chief for Zabul told AP.

And in the southern Kandahar province, Afghan police clashed with militants, retaking control of Miya Nishin district. One day earlier, militants overran the district. But just hours after police re-established control on Wednesday, the insurgents once again took over the district, said Esmatullah Alizai, a provincial police officer.
More on link

Missiles kill at least 20 near Pakistan-Afghan border
 TheStar.com June 19, 2007 MIRAN SHAH, Pakistan
Article Link

A suspected missile attack on a militant hideout in a remote area of northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border killed more than 20 insurgents, security officials said.

Several militants were also wounded Tuesday when three missiles allegedly fired from Afghanistan destroyed a training facility, housed in a big mud-brick seminary, in the border village Mami Rogha, 40 kilometres west of Miran Shah, the main town in North Waziristan, two intelligence officials said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity.

Pakistan army spokesman Maj.-Gen. Waheed Arshad claimed, however, that the explosions were caused when bombs the militants were making at an isolated compound exploded accidentally. He said more than 20 were killed.

"According to the information I have received from military sources, the blast happened when these militants were making bombs," he said Tuesday, without elaborating.

One local intelligence official said between 20 and 25 militants were killed when three missiles hit the hideout.

"We have received reports that the missiles came from Afghanistan," said the official, without offering any evidence to back up his claim.

Another Pakistani intelligence official in Islamabad, who also requested anonymity, said the compound was about three kilometres inside Pakistan and is surrounded by thick forests.

He said nearly three-dozen militants were sitting in an open area of a madrassa, or Islamic seminary, when the attack happened but could not confirm exactly who fired the missiles, although both officials claimed the missiles came from Afghanistan.

The U.S. military in Afghanistan said it had no reports of missiles being fired across the border.

"I am not aware of any reports of any missiles being fired from Afghanistan into Pakistan," said Lt.-Col. David Accetta, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan.
More on link
Taliban threat to Canada just a stunt, officials say
Video a desperation tactic, Day says as he pledges to stop suicide bombers at the border 
COLIN FREEZE From Wednesday's Globe and Mail June 20, 2007 at 4:40 AM EDT
Article Link

A Taliban commander's pledge to send hundreds of suicide bombers to Canada and other Western countries is a disturbing but highly implausible publicity stunt, say top security officials who are struggling to deal with threats already present in Canada.

ABC News obtained footage this week of a reputed Taliban graduation ceremony. In it, a top commander lines up about 300 young training-camp graduates. Then he announces plans to send them on missions to the United States, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom in retaliation for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's presence in Afghanistan.

Yesterday, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day called the video a desperation tactic. "The Taliban are aware that our troops cannot be intimidated ... so they are trying, through public-relations means, to worry the hearts of Canadians at home," he told reporters. 

He added that while he takes threats seriously, he feels confident that intelligence and border officials could stop any suicide bombers. "Canadians can sleep well at night knowing that we have very effective security capabilities." 
More on link

Aid won't work without arms
 TheStar.com June 20, 2007 
Article Link

A report on the murder of a Canadian aid worker in Afghanistan last summer should give serious pause for reflection to Canadians who think this country's combat role there should be ended and replaced by aid and reconstruction work.

Mike Frastacky, a Vancouver carpenter, was building a school in northern Afghanistan when he was hauled from his bed, tied up and shot after a terrorist leader gave the order, "Kill the infidel."

A report on the incident by Afghan security investigators reveals that his death was a planned, political murder rather than a random act of violence. He was killed because he was doing reconstruction.

This is the threat that every aid and reconstruction worker lives with, and their situation seems likely to become more dangerous as the Taliban becomes more violent in its efforts to regain power.

On Sunday, a massive explosion ripped through a busy street in Kabul, killing dozens of Afghan civilians and police and wounding many more. The terrorists vow to continue such attacks on aid workers and civilians on a "daily" basis.

These events emphasize the importance of a continued combat role for Canada and its NATO allies in the Afghan war. They also emphasize the reality that without the continued effort to take the war to the Taliban, aid and reconstruction will be impossibly dangerous. Indeed, they would become pointless because abandoning the war means handing Afghanistan back to a Taliban dictatorship.

Maintaining Canada's will to fight that war, however, is certain to grow more difficult as casualties mount. Already, 56 Canadian soldiers have died in the war and the Taliban's campaign is becoming more violent as it grows more desperate. As casualties rise, political and public pressure to disengage from Afghanistan is likely to increase in Canada.

There are indications that the terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan are experiencing difficulty in finding recruits among Afghans themselves and have been replenishing their ranks with Chechens, Uzbeks and Arabs. That may be an extension of the war, but it is not one that should discourage Canada. It is more importantly a sign that war against terror there is working, that Canadian combat troops are slowly succeeding in making Afghanistan safer so aid workers such as Mr. Frastacky can eventually do their jobs without fear.
More on link



Afghan police leave district claimed by Taleban  
Wednesday June 20, 2007 (0807 PST)
Article Link

 KANDAHAR: Police have pulled out of a district in southern Afghanistan, a provincial police chief said Tuesday, as the Taleban claimed to have captured the area following days of fighting. 
The police exit from the mountainous Myanishen district in the southern province of Kandahar was a "tactical withdrawal," police chief Esmatalluh Alizai said. 

A Taleban spokesman said the group had captured the district headquarters and government equipment, such as vehicles, after about three days of fighting. 

"The fighting started two to three days ago," spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi said according to Khaleej times. "The police had been surrounded for about two days. Last night the Taleban captured the district and some equipment." 

Ahmadi said the police had suffered casualties but this was rejected by the police chief. 
More on link

Afghan women treated "like a piece of meat"  
Wednesday June 20, 2007 (0807 PST)
Article Link

KANDAHAR They may no longer run the government, but southern Afghanistan`s influential religious leaders continue to make life painfully hard for women, says Kandahar`s new director of women`s affairs. 

Preaching a false brand of Islam, the mullahs are helping prop up a culture that treats female members like "a piece of meat," Runa Tareen said in an outspoken interview. 

She acknowledged that women in Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban, have made some progress since the Islamist regime fell, especially in terms of winning renewed access to education and jobs. 

However, forced marriages, unchecked domestic abuse and restrictive dress codes are still common, largely because of age-old customs and what she called false messages emerging from the area`s mosques. 

"Everybody listens to the mullah because the mullah is the only person that everyone respects. He knows the Koran, he knows Islam," Ms. Tareen said. 

"It is up to the religious people to tell families what Islam provides for women`s rights " But, unfortunately, they are not teaching people respect for women." 

She is nothing if not brave. Simply by occupying the government-appointed post, let alone chastising the powerful religious establishment, she has put herself in harm`s way.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (21 Jun 2007)

A 'Secret' Weapon in the War Against Terror?
William Arkin, _Washington Post_, June 20
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/earlywarning/2007/06/a_new_weapon_in_the_war_agains.html



> Are U.S. forces employing a new weapon in the war against terrorism? And if so, why are they keeping it a secret?
> 
> A huge explosion yesterday in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan reportedly killed numerous foreign fighters and civilians. On Sunday, seven children were reported killed in an attack in eastern Afghanistan in an unsuccessful attack on an Al Qaeda commander.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (21 Jun 2007)

*Articles found June 21, 2007*

Roadside bomb kills 3 Canadians in unarmoured military vehicle in Afghanistan
Stephanie Levitz Canadian Press Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Article Link

MASUM GAR, Afghanistan (CP) - Three Canadians were killed Wednesday when their open-top all-terrain military vehicle hit a roadside bomb while moving through the Afghan countryside near a forward military base west of Kandahar. 

The fatalities bring the Canadian military death toll in Afghanistan to 60 since 2002. Brig.-Gen. Tim Grant, top commander of the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan, said the unarmoured vehicle carrying the three was "moving from one compound to another" when the deadly explosion happened. 

"It's less than a kilometre between the two checkpoints," Grant told reporters in the main coalition base at Kandahar Airfield. 

"A determined enemy was clearly able to penetrate the defences and the observation in the area to plant this device." 

Asked whether it was a judgment error to use an unarmoured vehicle in hostile territory, Grant replied: "No. This is an unfortunate accident." 

"The vehicle was appropriate to the task at hand and the terrain they were travelling in." 

But Grant added: "We will review our procedures and if we determine that we need to change them, then we will do so." 
More on link


Coalition forces rescue 2 hostages in E. Afghanistan  
June 21, 2007          
Article Link

The U.S.-led coalition forces rescued two hostages from Taliban and al-Qaeda militants in eastern Afghanistan early Thursday, a coalition statement said. 

Coalition forces conducted raids against two compounds in Zaghun Shah district of Paktika province after receiving information that three local residents were abducted by militants, the statement said. 

One of the hostages was found being held at a compound, while another was taken away by his captors to another location, according to the statement. 

Coalition forces chased down the captors, freed the hostage and detained the captors, it said, adding the third hostage was killed by militants 24 hours ago. 

The statement did not tell the identities of the hostages, and why the militants abducted them. 

Eight militants were detained and will be questioned as to their identities and participation in militant activities, the statement said. 
More on link

Afghanistan Sees More Deadly Fighting
 Jun 20, 2007 12:03 pm US/Central (CBS News) KABUL, Afghanistan
Article Link

 NATO-led and Afghan troops clashed with militants in southern Afghanistan and called in air strikes, killing 21 suspected Taliban, an Afghan official said.

The militants were killed during a six-hour battle in Kandahar province's Zhari district, said district chief Khairudin Achakzai. The bodies were left on the battlefield, he said.

Earlier Wednesday, three NATO troops died when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb, while gunmen opened fire on people praying in a mosque in eastern Afghanistan, killing three and wounding four others, officials said.

Assailants also ambushed a convoy belonging to U.N.'s Office for Project Services on the main Kabul-Kandahar highway, killing two Afghan guards, wounding another and damaging two vehicles, said Jailani Khan, highway police chief for Zabul province.
More on link

'UK presence in Afghanistan needed for decades'
20 Jun, 2007 l 1954 hrs ISTlPTI
Article Link

LONDON: Painting a realistic picture, British Ambassador to Afghanistan Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles has said the UK's presence in Afghanistan needs to go on for decades to help rebuild the war-ravaged country. 

"The task of standing up a government of Afghanistan that is sustainable is going to take a very long time," he said in a programme. "I wouldn't say my picture is gloomy, I would say it's realistic," he said, adding, "It's a marathon rather than a sprint. We should be thinking in terms of decades." 

He said that the Afghan people wanted the UK presence to help resist the Taleban and develop the country. Extra diplomatic staff are being deployed to Afghanistan this year. "The message we are getting, the message I had only last week down in Helmand from the people of the villages there, was, 'please protect us from the Taleban'," Sir Sherard said. 
More on link

Miller relents, city keeps support-the-troops decal
 TheStar.com June 21, 2007 Donovan Vincent City hall bureau
Article Link

Facing a firestorm of protest across the nation, coupled with the deaths of three Canadian soldiers yesterday in Afghanistan, Toronto reversed course and will allow ribbon-shaped decals supporting this country's troops to remain on fire trucks and ambulances.

Mayor David Miller brought forward a motion yesterday to continue the ribbon campaign. That was just a day after he said it was "appropriate" the decals come off in September as originally scheduled. 

He had also pointed out that to many, the ribbon symbolizes a "very controversial military operation." 

"The biggest single thing for me was the deaths of the three members of the military this morning,'' Miller told reporters yesterday, adding he had "reflected'' on that before changing his mind.

Council voted 39-0 to extend the Support our Troops campaign, with the proviso it refer to "all Canadian troops" – a change from Councillor Frances Nunziata's initial call to extend the campaign as long as Canada is at war in Afghanistan.
More on link


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## GAP (21 Jun 2007)

UN halts food deliveries to southern Afghanistan over attacks, looting  
The Associated Press Thursday, June 21, 2007 
Article Link

 KABUL, Afghanistan: The U.N. World Food Program has halted aid deliveries in Afghanistan's most volatile provinces after 85 of its trucks were attacked, set ablaze or looted this past year by Taliban insurgents and thieves, an official said Thursday.

The world body suspended shipments from Pakistan through the violence-plagued south and west about four weeks ago, Richard Corsino, WFP's director in Afghanistan, told The Associated Press.

"The biggest thing we're concerned about is if we can't resume, and we can't meet our obligations," Corsino said in an interview in the Afghan capital.

He said he expected WFP to run out of food for its programs in the next few weeks in the seven southern and western provinces where shipments have been halted.

WFP does not expect people to starve or migrate because of the halted food deliveries, but they may be forced to sell their possessions to get by, Corsino said.

"The people we're trying to reach with this food are 'food insecure' or vulnerable people. It makes what is already a difficult life that much more difficult," he said.

WFP lost about 600 tons of wheat and cooking oil worth US$400,000 (€300,000) in 25 incidents since June 2006, including 13 in the past three months, compared to no incidents in the first half of 2006, Corsino said.

In one incident, a Taliban leader signed a paper and jotted down his satellite phone number for the truck driver before looting a shipment. In another, it was clear that the trucker had colluded in the theft, Corsino said.

"People regard our food as a gift to the country, and it's not owned by anyone," Corsino said, describing the looters' mentality. He said his staff called the satellite phone number, and the man on the line identified himself as a Taliban member and acknowledged carrying out the heist.

The shipments are made in unmarked, contracted trucks, but are still hit by thieves more frequently than commercial goods, Corsino said. Truckers are demanding 25 percent more pay, partly because a new WFP policy holds them accountable for losses.
More on link


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## GAP (21 Jun 2007)

NATO soldier killed day after loss of 3 Canadians
Updated Thu. Jun. 21 2007 8:35 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

A NATO soldier was killed Thursday in eastern Afghanistan, just one day after three Canadian soldiers died when their unarmoured vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device in the south. 

NATO said two soldiers were taken to hospital after hitting a landmine. One of them later died.

Troops from the U.S.-led coalition and the Afghan army are involved in an operation against "an important group of enemies'' in Paktika province, said the province's governor.

The nationality of the soldier was not released but most of NATO's soldiers in the east are American. 

The incident follows the death of three Canadians killed near Kandahar Wednesday when the open-topped, unarmoured vehicle they were travelling in was struck by an improvised explosive device. 

"Canada has occupied and protected this area for about a year now and it's considered fairly safe," CTV's South Asia Bureau Chief Paul Workman said Thursday from Kandahar.

"The Canadians have a system of defence, they have night vision ability and yet Taliban fighters were able to sneak in somehow, plant a bomb, and blow up a very easy target."
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (21 Jun 2007)

Troops take out 15 Taliban
_Toronto Sun_, June 21
http://torontosun.com/News/World/2007/06/21/4277719-sun.html



> MASUM GAR -- Canadian and Afghan soldiers killed 15 Taliban in a four-hour running battle yesterday in southern Kandahar province, military officials said.
> 
> Two Canadians and three members of the Afghan National Army suffered minor injuries in the clash. Details were not available.
> 
> ...



Taleban 'shifting focus to Kabul'
BBC, June 21
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6224900.stm



> The Taleban in Afghanistan are changing their tactics to mount more attacks on the capital, Kabul, a spokesman for the militant group has told the BBC.
> 
> The spokesman, Zabiyullah Mujahed, said *Taleban were recovering after Nato had infiltrated the group and killed some of its leaders* [emphasis added].
> 
> ...



NATO's secretary-general would like Canada to stay in Afghanistan beyond 2009
CP, June 21
http://www.recorder.ca/cp/National/070621/n062121A.html



> The secretary-general of NATO says he hopes Canada's troop commitment to Afghanistan won't end in 2009.
> 
> Japp de Hoop Scheffer said today in Montreal that it's important that all 26 allies involved in the Afghan conflict carry on their missions.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (22 Jun 2007)

Articles found June 22, 2007

NATO airstrikes, clashes kill 25 Afghans 
AP, June 22
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070622/afghan_civilians_070622/20070622?hub=TopStories



> Taliban militants attacked police posts in southern Afghanistan, triggering NATO airstrikes that left 25 civilians dead, including three infants and the local mullah, a senior police officer said Friday.
> 
> NATO said its overnight bombardment killed most of a group of 30 insurgents and blamed them for the deaths of any innocents, saying they had launched "irresponsible" attacks from civilian homes.
> 
> ...



PM: No Afghanistan extension without consensus
CP, June 22
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070622/afghanistan_harper_070622/20070622?hub=Canada



> Not only does Prime Minister Stephen Harper want to see parliamentarians agree on the country's future role in Afghanistan, he wants all Canadians to be on-side.
> 
> At an end-of-session news conference, Harper said he'd an seek all-party agreement in the House of Commons to extend the deployment of troops beyond the existing February 2009 deadline.
> 
> ...



Think you're good? Try Afghanistan
Weeds, rocks, hard mud and barbed wire make it one giant hazard
Reuters, June 22
http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=2b4878c0-c1b3-4c43-a259-2662b66d4870



> Golfers who tee-off at the Kabul Golf Course don't have to worry about their balls landing in the traditional golf hazards of sand bunkers and ponds.
> 
> They don't need to -- the Afghan capital's only golf course is one giant hazard.
> 
> ...



More here:

Extreme Golf with an Attitude
http://www.kabulgolfclub.com/

Compare:
http://www.yellowknifegolf.com/default.aspx

Mark
Ottawa


----------



## GAP (23 Jun 2007)

*Articles found June 23, 2007*

Canada PM: Consensus needed to extend Afghan mission
POSTED: 3:08 p.m. EDT, June 22, 2007 
Article Link

TORONTO, Ontario (AP) -- Canada's military mission in Afghanistan will not be extended beyond 2009 without a consensus in the country and the Parliament, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday.

Harper's comments come a day after NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, speaking at an international conference in Montreal, Quebec, had voiced his hopes that Canada would maintain its troop contingent in the war-ravaged country beyond the 2009 deadline.

"The mission that we've extended ends in February 2009. I will want to see some degree of consensus among Canadians about how we move forward after that. I would hope that the view of Canadians is not to simply abandon Afghanistan," Harper said.

"I think there's some expectation that there would be a new role after February 2009 but obviously those decisions have yet to be taken."

Harper repeatedly has hinted that the country's 2,500 troops in Afghanistan may have to stay beyond their mandate. But domestic pressure is mounting against the mission because of a rising death toll and reports that the troops might be accomplices in the torture of Taliban prisoners by Afghan authorities.

Sixty Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan since 2002, including three killed Wednesday when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb while on a resupply mission.

Opposition lawmakers have been pushing for a troop withdrawal, and critics have pointed out that the Canadian troops, along with those from the United States and Britain, are the only ones from NATO countries who are fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan's most violent areas in the south.
More on link

Afghanistan role puts Germany in cross hairs of terrorists  
Web posted at: 6/23/2007 8:46:55 Source ::: AFP 
Article Link

BERLIN • German authorities said yesterday they had stepped up security measures in response to a greater threat of attacks at home and abroad due to the country's military involvement in Afghanistan. 

"The federal security authorities are in a state of heightened vigilance and have taken additional measures" to prevent an attack, including increased border checks, a spokesman for the interior ministry told a regular government news conference. 

He said Berlin believed the deployment of 3,000 German soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan had put the country in the sights of militants. 

The spokesman said the assumption that Britain and the United States had a much greater threat of attacks because of their involvement in Iraq had given way to an increased focus on Afghanistan by Islamic militants. 

He said German authorities were paying particular attention to people travelling to or from Afghanistan or Pakistan. 

Deputy government spokesman Thomas Steg stressed at the same press conference that there were no indications of a "concrete threat" of an attack in Germany. 
More on link


Al-Qaida takes a hit...Insurgents hit in Afghanistan...Charleston remembers
Jun 22 2007 10:03PM Associated Press
Article Link

BAQOUBA, Iraq (AP) The U-S military says it's taken another bite out of al-Qaida in Iraq. U-S helicopters killed 17 suspected al-Qaida gunmen trying to sneak past a checkpoint north of Baqouba (bah-KOO'-bah). The battle is part of an offensive to weaken the grip of insurgents in Diyala (dee-YAH'-lah) province.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE THUNDER, Afghanistan (AP) The military says NATO and U-S-led coalition forces killed about 60 insurgents today along the border with Pakistan. And local officials in southern Afghanistan reported that a NATO airstrike killed 25 civilians. NATO accuses Taliban fighters of provoking the strike.
More on link

Some detainees to go to Afghanistan
By MATTHEW LEE The Associated Press Posted on Sat, Jun. 23, 2007
Article Link

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. is helping expand a prison in Afghanistan to take some detainees from Guantanamo Bay.

President Bush has made closing the prison in Cuba a priority, but the Afghan site is not meant to be a substitute, the White House said Friday.

Deputy press secretary Dana Perino said Bush's top aides are in active discussions about closing Guantanamo. Senior officials, meanwhile, have told The Associated Press that a consensus is building on how to do it, including sending some high-value suspects to military facilities in the U.S. where they could be prosecuted.

Officials say the administration is split, with Vice President Dick Cheney's office and the Justice Department vehemently opposed to any proposal that would bring detainees to U.S. soil, where they would be afforded more legal rights and might pose a threat.

The U.S. has announced plans to release about 80 of the approximately 375 detainees remaining in Guantanamo and hopes to transfer several dozen Afghans back to Afghanistan in the near future.

Washington is helping the Afghan government build a high-security wing at Pul-e-Charki prison complex just outside Kabul. The wing has 330 cells and can hold up to 660 people, according to Afghan officials.
More on link

Insecurity jeopardizing WFP food aid deliveries in western Afghanistan
WFP may have to suspend distribution to some of Afghanistan's poorest, most vulnerable families
WFP.org - June 23, 2007
Article Link

Kabul, 22 June 2007 - The United Nations World Food Programme today warned that continuing security problems are hampering operations in some parts of Afghanistan, especially in the west of the country where food stocks are running short and thousands of the most vulnerable people may soon see critical food supplies curtailed or interrupted.

“WFP has been unable to move food to the western region of Afghanistan for four weeks due to insecurity,” said Rick Corsino, Country Director for WFP Afghanistan. 

“Unless we can resume movement along the southern ring road soon, we will run out of food in the west in the coming weeks, and will have to reduce or suspend distributions to many of the poor families, children and internally displaced people living in those areas.” 

“We continue to work with Government authorities at central, provincial and district level, as well as our own transporters, to enable deliveries to resume, hopefully as soon as possible” Corsino added.
More on link

Air raid in Afghanistan kills civilians  
Reuters | Saturday, 23 June 2007
Article Link

Hussien Andiwal said the raid took place as part of an operation against Taliban fighters by foreign forces and Afghan troops. 

A spokesman for the US military said he had no immediate comment on the incident, but Nato – which runs a separate force under overall US command – said it carried out the air strike after alliance forces came under attack by insurgents. 

"We are concerned about reports that some civilians may have lost their lives during this attack," said Lieutenant-Colonel Mike Smith, a Nato spokesman. 

"However, it must be noted that it was insurgents who initiated this attack, and in choosing to conduct such attacks in this location and at the time, the risk to civilians was probably deliberate." 

The strike occurred in Girishk district of Helmand, a long-time bastion for the Taliban and the leading drug producing province of Afghanistan, the world's major heroin supplier. 

"Nine women and three children have been killed in one family in the bombardment," Andiwal said. 

He later said 25 civilians had been killed in the raid as several houses in another part of the small village were also hit. 
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (23 Jun 2007)

Dozens of militants killed in Afghan south
Reuters, June 23
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=985522007



> Dozens of militants were killed in southern and eastern Afghanistan overnight in clashes with U.S.-led foreign troops and Afghan forces, officials said on Saturday.
> 
> Afghan President Hamid Karzai, meanwhile, called for greater care by foreign forces engaging insurgents after a spate of civilian deaths.
> 
> ...



Afghanistan's future awash in uncertainty
_Calgary Herald_, by Don Martin, June 23
http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=a1c51b96-6c14-4161-bd46-1fb68a0071b1



> The dark arts of the Afghan insurgency changed when the Taliban planted a pair of powerful anti-tank mines that killed three Canadian soldiers instantly, admits the battle group commander.
> 
> Col. Rob Walker has a reputation for blunt talk, and even he's not sure what exactly to make of his enemy after the safest spot in his quietest district, smack-dab between two soldier-manned checkpoints, exploded into a bloodbath during a routine morning delivery run.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (23 Jun 2007)

Civilian casualties soaring
_Globe and Mail_, by Graeme Smith, June 23
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070623.AFGHANCASUALTIES23/TPStory/Front



> Dozens of villagers were reported dead in the latest air strike in southern Afghanistan yesterday, pushing estimates of civilians killed by foreign troops to a level that observers describe as "alarming."
> 
> Afghan police said overnight bombing in Helmand province left 25 villagers dead, which by one count would mean at least 250 civilians have died by accident this year under fire from international forces and their Afghan allies.
> 
> ...



From this April:

Afghanistan: Civilians Bear Cost of Escalating Insurgent Attacks
Rising Civilian Death Toll Points to Taliban, Hezb-e Islami War Crimes
Human Right Watch, April 16
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/04/16/afghan15688.htm

Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (24 Jun 2007)

*Articles found June 24, 2007*

Taliban announce return to Panjwai district
Updated Sat. Jun. 23 2007 5:07 PM ET Paul Workman, CTV South Asia Bureau Chief
Article Link

KANDAHAR -- We heard the news early in the day. Three more Canadian soldiers had been killed by a roadside bomb, but it was many hours before the families had all been notified and we were given the details of what happened. 

They were riding in a dune buggy. 

Or, "a green golf cart, with a big bin in the back," as Battle Group Commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Rob Walker described it. In reality, it's called an M-Gator and it's made by John Deere. 

One of the soldiers, Sergeant Cristos Karigiannis, was a qualified U.S. army ranger, an avid paratrooper, and in the words of his battalion commander, "exactly the type of soldier that we look up to." 

Extremely talented. Very personable. Very fit. 

"He was the epitome of a Canadian non-commissioned officer. He led from the front. He wouldn't let his soldiers do anything that he wouldn't do first." 

So what was he doing driving through a combat zone in an open dune buggy, with two other soldiers? 

Was it a security lapse? Over confidence? 

The answer reflects the day-to-day challenges and danger that Canadian troops face in Afghanistan, and the calculated decisions that officers have to make. 

The three soldiers were delivering supplies, probably water and rations between two checkpoints, in an area that Canadians had tamed last summer and considered relatively secure. In fact, it was the only place in the entire Canadian zone considered safe enough to use such an exposed vehicle on re-supply missions.
More on link

60 Taliban fighters killed in Afghanistan: NATO  
Sunday June 24, 2007 (0925 PST)
Article Link

PAKTIKA: NATO and U.S.-led coalition forces killed about 60 insurgents Friday night along the border with Pakistan, the military said on Saturday, while local officials in the south reported that a NATO airstrike killed 25 civilians. 
NATO accused Taliban fighters of provoking the strike that reportedly killed the civilians, including three infants and nine women. 

In the border violence, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said about 60 insurgents attempted to attack Afghan and ISAF forces in the Bermel district of Paktika province. The insurgents fired on aircraft, and NATO and U.S.-led coalition forces returned fire, killing about 60 fighters, an ISAF statement said. The ISAF said there were no casualties on its side. 

The ISAF statement, issued early Saturday morning at this forward operating base, said it was the "largest formation observed since Jan. 10 maneuvering in this area." In January, U.S. forces said they had killed around 130 of 180 insurgents crossing the border. 

The allegations of the civilian deaths come amid a new surge of criticism over such killings during attacks by foreign forces -- a debate that underlines how the five-year-old war against insurgents is also a struggle for hearts and minds among long-suffering Afghans and voters in NATO nations. 

President Hamid Karzai and others have long complained that civilian losses in NATO or U.S.-led operations are undermining the effort to stabilize Afghanistan. 
More on link

Many killed as Afghanistan-based coalition rockets hit Pakistan's tribal area  
June 24, 2007          
Article Link

An air strike by the U.S.-led coalition in Afghan-Pakistani border area on Saturday killed many people located in Pakistani tribal areas, the military and local reports said. 

The military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad has confirmed that some shells landed in Pakistani territory in North Waziristan, killing nine people. 

Pakistan has lodged strong protest with coalition forces in Afghanistan and sought explanation and in preliminary explanation, the spokesman said, adding that the coalition forces clarified that the attack was not intentional. 

According to the spokesman, there had been overnight clashes between coalition forces and Taliban in Afghanistan's Paktika province and some rockets fell in the border area of Shawal in North Waziristan. 

In another development, coalition planes dropped bombs in the border areas of South Waziristan tribal region, killing 20 people and injuring 40 others, according to private Geo Television. 
End

In Afghanistan, Soldier Dies After Vehicle Rolls Over Mine
Article Link

A NATO vehicle rolled over a mine in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, triggering a blast that killed one soldier, the 90th foreign military fatality in a year of surging violence.

The United Nations, meanwhile, said it had suspended shipments of food aid to seven volatile provinces after 85 of its trucks were attacked, set ablaze or looted in the past year by Taliban insurgents and thieves.

Fighting is intensifying, especially in the country's south, as militants engage in daily battles with foreign and Afghan troops trying to support the embattled government of President Hamid Karzai.

The NATO soldier died after his vehicle struck a pressure-plated mine in Andar district of Ghazni province, military officials said. Four were wounded, including three treated at the scene for minor injuries, a NATO statement said.

The nationalities of the casualties were not released, though most of the NATO soldiers in the area are American
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (24 Jun 2007)

U.S., NATO See Surge in Afghan Deaths
AP, June 24
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/06/24/ap3851757.html



> *U.S.-led coalition and NATO forces fighting insurgents in Afghanistan have killed at least 203 civilians so far this year - surpassing the 178 civilians killed in militant attacks* [emphasis added] according to an Associated Press tally.
> 
> Insurgency attacks and military operations have surged in recent weeks, and in the past 10 days, more than 90 civilians have been killed by airstrikes and artillery fire targeting Taliban insurgents, said President Hamid Karzai...
> 
> ...



Blood & dust: On the front line with British troops in Afghanistan
_Independent on Sunday_, June 24
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article2701303.ece



> In this exclusive report for the IoS, Terri Judd goes on patrol with the Grenadiers, Hussars, Staffords and Dragoons who form Britain's Brigade Reconnaissance Force in Helmand province
> 
> Our long column of open-top armoured Land Rovers and Pinzgauers, bristling with machine guns, moved through the impenetrable darkness of a moonless desert in the far south of Afghanistan. All lights were extinguished, all conversations in whispers.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (25 Jun 2007)

*Articles found June 25, 2007*

Board won't probe claims of Afghan abuse
Updated Mon. Jun. 25 2007 8:51 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

The board of inquiry handling the military probe into Canada's handling of Afghan prisoners won't look into whether detainees were tortured or abused in custody, according to a report.

The investigation will only cover up to when Canadian soldiers release prisoners to Afghan authorities, a spokesman for the board wrote in a response to The Globe and Mail.

The scope of the investigation also excludes Canada's new monitoring arrangements with Afghan officials. The board said the probe's mandate limits its ability to dig any deeper. 

Canada's ambassador to Afghanistan, Arif Lalani, told Canada AM he's waiting for the results of the Afghan government's investigation into allegations of prisoner abuse -- and he's confident he'll get reliable results. 

"I trust the Afghan government. They have done investigations previously, and they have taken action on those investigations," Lalani said. 

He also said the Canadian military is taking full advantage of new arrangements, made in May with the Afghan government, that allow them to keep a closer eye on detainees. 

"We're doing regular monitoring, both in Kandahar and in Kabul, and we have had all of the access that is stipulated in our arrangement," Lalani said. 
More on link


Over 1,500 militants killed in Afghanistan in 4 months  
Monday June 25, 2007 (1027 PST)
Article Link

KABUL: Afghan and international forces killed more than 1,500 Taliban militants over the past four months, Interior Ministry said in a statement the other day. 
Afghan police and soldiers, together with foreign troops, have carried out 79 operations since March and killed 1,554 rebels, the statement said. 

During the period, over 500 militants including 34 foreign nationals and 23 would-be suicide bombers were detained, it added. 

More than 700 rebels were injured and a large number of arms and ammunitions including 1,466 small weapons were recovered from the battlefields, according to the statement. 
More on link

Taleban radio station back on air  
Monday June 25, 2007 (1027 PST)
Article Link

KABUL: A pirate Taleban radio station, Voice of Shariat, or Islamic law, has begun broadcasting again, reports from south-eastern Afghanistan say. 
A Taleban spokesman said a half-hour programme was broadcast the other night and would now be broadcast daily. The broadcast had a message from the fugitive Taleban leader, Mullah Omar, Koranic verses and criticised the presence of foreign press. The station closed six years ago with the fall of the Taleban regime. 

Local people said the station could be heard in parts of four south-eastern provinces - Paktika, Paktia, Khost and Ghazni. 
More on link


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## GAP (25 Jun 2007)

Two Estonians killed in Afghanistan
Jun 25, 2007 By TBT staff
Article Link

President Toomas Hendrik Ilves urged Estonians to lower their flags to half mast on June 23.Two Estonian soldiers were killed in a missile attack in Afghanistan on June 23 - the nation’s first casualties in the NATO-led mission.

The two men, members of the Estonian mine clearance team, were attacked with a 107 mm missile during their lunch break in the Sangin Valley in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan.

Sgt. Kalle Torn, 24, the assistant commander of the ordnance disposal team, and Jn. Sgt. Jako Karuks, 33, the driver of the team, were named as the deceased. 

Four other soldiers sustained injuries in the same attack and remain in medical care at Camp Bastion.

Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who began an official visit to the United States on June 24, called on the nation to lower its flags to half mast.

"Kalle Torn and Jako Karuks as well as their wounded companions were not just soldiers but mine clearance specialists whose duty it was to clear Afghanistan, ridden by decades of war, from deadly explosives planted into its soil," the president said. 

"This shows how difficult and dangerous our struggle is together with Afghans for a peaceful Afghanistan. This shows that we have no right to break this mission.”

Estonia also lost two soldiers in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

“All of them are men who wanted to make the world a better place," the president said. 

"I will lower the flag to half staff at my home in mourning of the Estonian soldiers killed in Afghanistan on Victory Day and ask all my countrymen to do the same.”
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (25 Jun 2007)

Taliban slowly adopting modern technology
_ChronicleHerald.ca_, June 25, by Scott Taylor
http://thechronicleherald.ca/print_article.html?story=843517

LAST TUESDAY, the Taliban made public a videotape of what was reportedly a graduation ceremony for a new class of suicide bombers. The footage showed a couple of dozen masked "graduates" wearing black turbans and waving little white flags.

Addressing the graduating class of ’07 was Mansoor Dadullah, the brother of recently slain Taliban military commander Mullah Dadullah. Brandishing a Kalashnikov assault rifle, Principal Mansoor urged the would-be suicide bombers to spread terror outside of Afghanistan and to target western countries, including Canada...

...What made this year’s annual graduation ceremony more newsworthy was that the Taliban seemed to have discovered the magical magnetic power of video to the western media...

It seems that someone in the Taliban organization, perhaps with the assistance of their worldlier al-Qaida allies, has twigged to the importance of television images in spreading fear via the western media. It doesn’t have to be a logical threat; it just has to look menacing, and mentioning countries by name as specific targets guarantees coverage...

Another message conveyed by Principal Mansoor in his graduation address was that some of these "pupils" were in fact foreign students who had come from western countries (like Canada) to take this training in Afghanistan...

...if Canadians were left with the impression that dozens of masked suicide bombers are heading our way in droves, they can be forgiven. That was the Taliban’s intention, and *our media obligingly helped them achieve their goal* [emphasis added].

Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (26 Jun 2007)

Afghan boy outwits Taliban
6-year-old says militants tried to trick him into suicide bombing against U.S. troops
Jun 26, 2007 04:30 AM Jason Straziuso Associated Press
Article Link

FORWARD OPERATING BASE THUNDER, Afghanistan–The story of a 6-year-old Afghan boy who says he thwarted an effort by Taliban militants to trick him into being a suicide bomber provoked tears and anger at a meeting of tribal leaders.

The account from Juma Gul, a dirt-caked child who collects scrap metal for money, left American soldiers dumbfounded that a youngster could be sent on such a mission. Afghan troops crowded around the boy to call him a hero.

Though the Taliban dismissed the story as propaganda, at a time when U.S. and NATO forces are under increasing criticism over civilian casualties, both Afghan tribal elders and U.S. military officers said his dramatic account convinced them. 

Juma said that sometime last month Taliban fighters forced him to wear a vest they said would spray out flowers when he touched a button. He said they told him that when he saw American soldiers, "throw your body at them."

The militants cornered Juma in a Taliban-controlled district in the southern Ghazni province. Their target was an impoverished youngster being raised by an older sister, but one who proved too street-smart for their plan.

"When they first put the vest on my body I didn't know what to think, but then I felt the bomb," Juma said, eating lamb and rice after being introduced to the elders at this joint U.S.-Afghan base in Ghazni. "After I figured out it was a bomb, I went to the Afghan soldiers for help.''

While Juma's story could not be independently verified, local leaders backed his account. The U.S. and NATO military missions also said they believed Juma's story.

Abdul Rahim Deciwal, chief administrator for Juma's village, Athul, brought him and an older brother, Dad Gul, to a weekend meeting between Afghan elders and U.S. Army Col. Martin Schweitzer.
More on link


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## GAP (26 Jun 2007)

*Articles found June 26, 2007*

Living a lie over Afghanistan 
By Jordan Michael Smith Tue, June 26, 2007 
Article Link
  

The controversy over the proposed (but ultimately unsuccessful) removal of ribbon-shaped decals from Toronto city vehicles showing support for Canadian troops in Afghanistan underscores how unpopular this war is becoming. 

Canada wants out. That's the message of a June 10 poll by Decima Research. Only 1 in 4 Canucks believe Canada should stay in Afghanistan longer than February 2009, even if "that is necessary to complete our goals there." Sixty-seven percent think "we need to do our best to accomplish progress in Afghanistan but that we must stick to the deadline and get our troops out." 

The poll also shows that most Canadians think we're doing a good job rebuilding Afghanistan, but that we're not doing such a good job of battling terrorism. 

Let's get something straight here. The real internationalists are those who want to stay in Afghanistan. They believe Canada, as a wealthy, safe country, should continue to rebuild a nation that has been marred by civil war, even if that means Canada suffers casualties. Such casualties, they think, are outweighed by the number of Afghan lives Canada is saving. 

No benefit  

The isolationists, the ones who are only concerned with Canada's immediate interests, are among the ones who want out. Remember that most Canadians think Afghanistan is being rebuilt, they just don't think Canada is benefiting. 

I don't doubt that among those who think we should leave are those who think Canada is just killing Afghans and not helping the country, though the poll shows they're in the minority. But they are wrong. 

A Johns Hopkins University study shows the mortality rate in Afghanistan has decreased to the point where 40,000 babies per year have been saved since the Taliban was toppled. 

Liberal Leader Stephane Dion in April, in the House: "As long as our NATO allies believe Canada's commitment in Kandahar to be open-ended, they will never prepare for our departure ... Canadians do not want an open-ended war ... By February 2009, we will have served the people of (Afghanistan) for seven years ...We will have served them in a full combat role for three years, in the most dangerous part of the country." 

There are many ways to interpret Dion's ideas, but internationalism is not one of them. 

Internationalism is not 'we will help you for a while' or 'we will help you as long as we don't take casualties.' It is, 'we will do whatever we can to help you beat the Taliban.' It is looking at the cost/benefit of us being in Afghanistan. And there is simply no way one can think the number of civilians we kill is too big a cost for the benefit of saving 40,000 babies a year. 

Abandonment  

If Canadians want a change in strategy, focusing less on military measures, that's one thing. It happens to be the position I hold -- every civilian we kill makes things harder, and the Americans, especially, rely on air strikes far too often. 

But abandoning Afghanistan is not a change in strategy; it's an abandonment of strategy. Canadians want to leave because they are uncomfortable taking casualties in a foreign country with slow, hard-to-measure progress. 

If Canadians don't want to take the internationalist position, they should at least be honest with themselves. Canadians want to look after themselves. They shouldn't fancy themselves humanitarians for abandoning Afghanistan to a medieval theocracy. That we can be both internationalists and isolationists is impossible. It's a lie, and one for which I want no part. 

www.jordanmichaelsmith.com 
End

Serving coffee in Kandahar  
By JOE WARMINGTON June 25, 2007 
Article Link

She has had the rare honour of serving her country at the same time as serving those who serve. 

And Julie Brown, amongst many other brave civilians who have done a tour in Afghanistan, is a special kind of war veteran. 

"It was life changing," said Brown, who has been back from Kandahar just one week after six months of working in the famous Tim Hortons franchise at the Kandahar Airfield. "I was so proud to be able to do my part to help these fine men and women who sacrifice so much." 

The 34-year-old Cookstown mother of two sacrificed as well. 

For six months she put herself in harm's way to take the job at the Tim's in a war zone. 

"My kids wanted me to do it," she said. "And I really wanted to do my part." 

"We are so proud of her," her boyfriend, Ed Knox, said. "We were fully behind her decision right from the beginning." 

She had a call to service. 

"But not everybody can join the military and be a soldier," Brown said. "This was what I could do." 

She had worked as an assistant manager at a Tim Hortons in Newmarket for seven years and knew the ropes. But it did not prepare her for what would go on in Kandahar. 
More on link

Taliban's deadly new tacticNATO says insurgents launch attacks, then run to hide behind civilians  
By ALISA TANG, AP June 25, 2007 
Article Link

KABUL — Taliban fighters attack American or NATO forces in populated areas, then retreat to civilian homes. Western forces respond with massive firepower or an air strike. 

That increasingly common pattern of clashes has led to a climbing number of civilian deaths and rising anger among Afghan officials and ordinary people. While militants killed 178 civilians in attacks through June 23, western forces killed 203, according to an Associated Press count based on figures from Afghan and international officials. 

Exact counts are nearly impossible in the chaos of war. Separate figures from the United Nations and an umbrella organization of Afghan and international aid groups show that, through May 31, the number of civilians killed by international forces was roughly equal to those killed by insurgents. 

What is clear is the political fallout: President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly pleaded with foreign troops to exercise caution and work more closely with Afghan forces, who might be able to minimize civilian casualties because of their knowledge of the terrain. On Saturday, he denounced the Taliban for killing civilians but directed most of his anger at foreign forces for being careless and viewing Afghan lives as “cheap.” 

“Afghan life is not cheap and it should not be treated as such,” Karzai said. 

NATO defends its right to fire on anyone who fires at its troops first, noting that it is not intentionally targeting civilians, as the Taliban sometimes does. The U.S.-led coalition suggested that many civilians reportedly killed by international troops may in fact have been killed by insurgents. 

But such arguments fail to address the growing Afghan anger, said Michael Shaikh, a researcher for Human Rights Watch in Afghanistan.More on link

Afghans resist camp closure, forced return to Afghanistan
Article Link

* Many claim to be Pakistanis and demand their homes be spared

JUNGLE PIR ALIZAI: Afghans living in the Jungle Pir Alizai refugee camp are resisting the government’s enforced closure of the camp because many are reluctant to return to a country at war while others claim they are Pakistanis. 

The authorities want to shut down the refugee camp and send its residents to Afghanistan, because they say the camp is infested with militants, guns and drugs. The camp in southwest Pakistan was first setup in 1979 during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and according to the government has lately become a haven for the Taliban. It is one of four such camps scheduled for closure this year. 

The UN refugee agency, which is running a voluntary repatriation programme for Afghans, refused to help the camp in 2005 after its lost its “humanitarian value”, an agency official said. “It could no longer be considered, by UNHCR standards, a humanitarian camp. There was trafficking of arms, drugs and miscreants were living there,” said the official.

However, the closure of the camp is facing resistance. Many Afghans say they don’t want to return to a country at war, while other inhabitants say they are not even Afghans, but Pakistanis – and they have the identification to prove it. One resident, Ahmedullah, has spent his entire life as a refugee in Pakistan and says he desperately wants to go him. But the war is preventing him from returning. “Give us peace and we will go home,” he said. 

Abdul Ghani, 65, said many people had been killed, including hundreds of Taliban militants, by NATO forces in his home region of Panjwai, in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar. 
More on link

Afghanistan's poppy crop could yield more than 2006's record haul, UN says  
The Associated Press Monday, June 25, 2007 
Article Link

 KABUL, Afghanistan: Afghanistan's poppy crop this year could yield even more opium than last year's record harvest because of favorable weather conditions, a United Nations official said Monday.

Afghanistan's opium crop grew 59 percent in 2006 to 407,000 acres, yielding a record crop of 6,100 tons, enough to make 610 tons of heroin — 90 percent of the world's supply, according to the U.N.

"The yield is likely to go up because of the good weather conditions we've had for all agriculture in this country, so I fear that we will be faced with the same amount as last year, perhaps even a little bit more," said Christina Gynna Oguz, the representative in Afghanistan for the U.N.'s Office on Drugs and Crime.

Western and Afghan officials say they expect a similar crop this year.

Oguz said there are close links between Taliban insurgents and criminal networks that deal in drugs. A significant portion of the profits from the US$3.1 billion trade is thought to flow to Taliban fighters, who tax and protect poppy farmers and drug runners.

Oguz said Afghanistan is producing more heroin and morphine than last year because there are more active labs inside the country that are importing chemicals from European countries and China.

She said by flying over opium-producing areas at night, you "would see a lot of small fires in the mountains" from heroin labs.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (26 Jun 2007)

Afghan police battle seemingly insurmountable odds 
Don Martin, CanWest News Service, June 26
http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=8215cac2-3ec6-4872-abee-e000805c0f12



> CAMP NATHAN SMITH, Kandahar -- The Afghan police captain sat dabbing sweat off his forehead in his sauna-like office while negotiating with Canadian soldiers and police constables who were melting in full battle dress. It was hell -- and not just because the ripped curtain behind his desk failed to block out the blinding sunlight in Sunday's 48-degree heat.
> 
> This is enforcement Hades, a pathetic display of tool-less Afghan officers flailing and failing to enforce law in a lawless land.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (28 Jun 2007)

*Articles found June 28, 2007*

Use of air power in Afghanistan unlikely to change: NATO
Article Link

KABUL: NATO’s force in Afghanistan said Wednesday it did not plan to change its use of air power against the Taliban, despite criticism about the number of civilian deaths.

“We are looking closely at our air operations, but it would not be something we would be looking to change at this point,” International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Maria Carl told reporters. This was “mostly from the standpoint that air offers us the opportunity to cover a lot more (of) that ground that we can’t do with a limited number of troops at that moment,” she said.

President Hamid Karzai on Saturday accused the NATO-led ISAF force and separate US-led coalition of killing about 90 civilians this month, most of them in air operations. Civilian casualties were not acceptable, he said. Carl said civilian deaths almost always occurred because insurgents attacked from “a heavy residential area or from a building in which they have held civilians as shields.”
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U.S. Army awards billion-dollar contracts for logistics support in Iraq, Afghanistan  
The Associated Press Wednesday, June 27, 2007 WASHINGTON: 
Article Link

The U.S. Army awarded $5 billion (€3.72 billion) contracts to three defense companies to provide food and shelter to U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait.

Falls Church, Virginia-based DynCorp International Inc., Houston-based KBR Inc., and Irving, Texas-based Fluor Corp. were selected by the Pentagon to provide a range of logistics and support services for one year to U.S. and allied forces during combat and peacekeeping operations.

One of the losing bidders was IAP Worldwide Services Inc., which is owned by New York hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management LP and led by former executives of Kellogg, Brown and Root.

KBR has been the prime contractor on the deal since December 2001. The company was formerly a division of Halliburton Co., which was once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney.

Some members of the U.S. Congress have repeatedly alleged that the Houston-based company has abused the terms of its service contract and defrauded the government. The allegations against KBR include billing the government for millions of undelivered meals, overstating labor costs and using government funds to buy unneeded vehicles. KBR has said it routinely provides information requested by the federal government.

The contract was previously held by DynCorp from 1997 through 2001.
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Estonian President Affirms Role as Western Ally
Article Link

PRESS RELEASE -  Washington, D.C., June 28, 2007 - Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves affirmed his country's role as a Western ally on many fronts in an exclusive interview with the Voice of America (VOA). During the on-camera interview topics ranged from Estonia sending troops into Iraq and Afghanistan, questions of cyber security, and relations with Russia. 

Discussing Estonia's memberships in NATO and the European Union and the potential complications in relations with Russia, President Ilves stated, "we are Western Allies". Then he continued, "...there are people who basically don't think that Eastern Europeans should have the same rights and freedoms as Western Europeans. I think it's a spurious argument."

Asked about Estonia's role in Afghanistan and Iraq, President Ilves commented that it is the duty of NATO democracies to support one another and said, "We are there because it's the right thing to do."
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Women Journalists Still At Risk in Afghanistan  
Thursday June 28, 2007 (0804 PST)
Article Link

 KABUL: Over the past three years, ten women, mostly journalists have been murdered in Afghanistan. Their crime; obtaining an education, employment, and criticizing Taliban insurgents. 
While the NATO-led forces are continuing their fight in combating the remnants of the Taliban, insurgents still kill journalists and women across the country. 

In a statement given to the Associated Press, Farida Nekzad, a journalist whose colleague was recently murdered in Afghanistan, discusses fears about being a female journalist in a country in which women have only recently been allowed to leave their home. She received a threat only moments after attending the funeral of her friend. 

"'Daughter of America! We will kill you, just like we killed her,'" she quoted the man on the phone as saying as she stood near the maimed body of Zakia Zaki, the owner of a radio station north of Kabul. 
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Two Western security workers killed in Afghan blast
By Sayed Salahudin Reuters Thursday, June 28, 2007; 5:01 AM
Article Link

KABUL (Reuters) - Two Western security guards were killed when their convoy was attacked by a suicide car bomber in the Afghan capital on Thursday, police officials and witnesses said.

The Taliban, who are fighting foreign troops and the Afghan government, claimed responsibility for the attack on a road leading east out of the city.

The interior ministry said two people were killed and eight wounded in the attack but did not identify the victims. Police officials and witnesses, however, said the dead were two Western security workers.

Their armored vehicle was destroyed and another disabled in the attack.

Foreign troops swiftly cordoned off the blast site, near a NATO facility.

Kabul has been the scene of several Taliban suicide attacks this year including one that killed more than 20 policemen in the heart of the city on June 17.
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Afghanistan must not rush to WTO membership -Oxfam
28 Jun 2007 05:13:44 GMT Source: Reuters
Article Link

By David Fox

KABUL, June 28 (Reuters) - Afghanistan, seeking membership in the World Trade Organisation by 2010, risks undermining efforts to rebuild its shattered economy unless it treads more cautiously, the international aid group Oxfam said on Thursday.

In a major report, the group said that instead of opening new markets for Afghanistan's exports, WTO membership could herald a flood of cheap imports that will stifle attempts to resurrect the manufacturing sector.

"Liberalising the Afghan economy too soon could undermine vital efforts to reduce poverty and suffering," said Matt Waldman, Oxfam's policy and advocacy adviser in the country.

"The accession process should reflect the development needs of Afghanistan, not the demands of existing members."

Afghanistan's economy is in ruins following decades of conflict, and despite massive amounts of aid since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001, the country remains one of the world's poorest.

It trawls the bottom of virtually every economic indicator list, with a GDP per capita of just $315, life expectancy at 46.4 years, 70 percent of the population living below the poverty line and official unemployment at a conservative 30 percent, according to U.N. and World Bank figures.
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Majority of Poles oppose Afghanistan mission
Jun 26, 2007, 12:15 GMT 
Article Link

Warsaw - Nearly 80 per cent of Poles oppose the deployment of some 1,100 Polish troops as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, according to an opinion poll published Tuesday. 

Seventy-eight per cent of respondents opposed the dangerous mission, compared to only 17 per cent who voiced support, the independent Warsaw-based CBOS pollsters found. 

A 71-per-cent majority of Poles also doubt the presence of NATO forces in Afghanistan will bring peace to the country. 
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AFGHANISTAN: Demand for narcotics outstrips available treatment for drug addicts
26 Jun 2007 13:20:06 GMT Source: IRIN

_Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone_.
Article Link

 KABUL, 26 June 2007 (IRIN) - For Hedayatullha, 35, Kabul is the only place to treat his heroin addiction. A fellow addict who underwent treatment at Kabul's Nejat Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) told him that it was one of the very few places able to help him. 

"He [the treated addict] encouraged me to come here [to Kabul] to get rid of my addiction," Hedayatullha told IRIN. 

Leaving his wife and five children behind in Urozgan Province, he headed north to Kabul. It took him four days to reach his destination. 

He said he had been taking heroin and hashish for over 13 years and begged the hospital to treat him. However, the NRC said it had no beds available. 

"We have only 10 beds, but the number of addicts who should be hospitalised is very, very high," said Tariq Suliman, the NRC director. 

About two dozen drug addicts visit this small rehabilitation centre each day to get free treatment and help. 

UN report on drugs  

The World Drug Report 2007, a study by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released on 26 June, said there had been "significant and positive changes" in narcotics production and use almost everywhere in the world
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## MarkOttawa (28 Jun 2007)

A counter-insurgency in trouble
Fatal errors in Afghanistan (Shared in accordance with the "fair dealing" provisions, Section 29, of the Copyright Act.)
_The Economist_, June 21
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9366272



> Too few soldiers and too much bombing from the air is damaging the American-led campaign
> 
> PERHAPS it is carelessness or perhaps it is just a spell of bad luck. Either way, the spate of Afghan civilian deaths caused by Western forces is as dangerous as the most callous of Taliban suicide-bombs.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (28 Jun 2007)

Staying in Afghanistan no problem: Hillier
Military head puts one aspect of debate to rest
CP, June 28
http://ottsun.canoe.ca/News/Afghan/2007/06/28/4297598.html



> Canada’s top soldier says the country’s military is more than capable of handling an extension of its mission in Afghanistan.
> 
> Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier says that critics and observers who say the Canadian military will be out of breath when the mission is scheduled to end in 2009 are wrong.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (30 Jun 2007)

*Articles found June 30, 2007*

Quiet courage beyond media glare
 TheStar.com June 29, 2007 Sheila Dabu Living Reporter
Article Link

If all Canadians ever hear or see about Afghanistan are stories of suicide bombings and despair, journalists Jane McElhone and Khorshied Samad say it's time to look through a different lens.

At the June opening of "Voices on the Rise: Afghan Women Making the News" at Alliance Française de Toronto on Spadina Rd., co-curators McElhone and Samad unveiled 44 photographs of Afghan women journalists, politicians and human rights activists. 

These are the women playing leading roles in the reconstruction of Afghanistan, but their efforts are hidden from the glare of the media spotlight, the co-curators say.

The photo exhibit, which features the work of Afghan, Canadian and international photojournalists, will be up until Thursday.

It moves to the Toronto Public Library's City Hall Branch on July 9, where it will hang until the end of August. 

"Women who work in media, who have microphones, pens and cameras to make documentaries or take photographs, they are documenting women's lives," says Canadian journalist and international media development specialist McElhone. "But it's also women politicians and women who are fighting for human rights for women, to change the lives of women, who are using media to get those stories told as well."

McElhone, a former CBC journalist, was based in Kabul for two and a half years. She met Samad, then Kabul bureau chief for Fox News, while working with Afghan women journalists. Samad is now married to Afghanistan's ambassador to Canada.

"I think Canadians need to get a more balanced picture presented to them. I think the media have not been doing a good job on that," Samad says. "They're focused on the negative stories, the easy headlines."

The exhibit includes photographs of prominent Afghan radio journalist Zakia Zaki, who was murdered this month. Three years ago, Zaki started Peace Radio, thought to be the first independent radio station in the country. According to local reports, she was shot seven times while she and her six children were sleeping in their home.

In one of the photos, Zaki sits in a room at radio Sohl, holding a pencil, as her husband looks on. The photo beside it is of Zaki's funeral: Veiled women, some so overcome with grief they cover their mouths with their hands as they cry. The body of the journalist lies covered in a white cloth strewn with flowers. 
More on link

U.S., Afghan Troops Seize 16 Suspected Taliban in Raid
American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, June 29, 2007 
Article Link

 Afghan and U.S. forces today detained 16 militants during a raid on an alleged Taliban compound and began an offensive to clear the Taliban from the Helman Riverâ€™s western bank. 
In Nangarhar provinceâ€™s Sherzad district, coalition forces acted on credible intelligence that led to three separate compounds. The compounds were suspected of harboring Taliban and foreign fighters who had previously targeted Afghan and coalition forces. 

Taliban forces inside two of the compounds attempted to engage coalition forces as they approached. Coalition troops fired on the militants, killing the assailants and quickly securing the compounds. 

The anti-insurgent forces searched the compounds and found rocket-propelled grenade launchers and several grenades, which were removed to a safe distance and destroyed. 

No civilians were injured in the operations. 

The detainees will be questioned as to their identities and involvement in militant activities. 

Elements of the 205th Afghan National Army Corps, advised by coalition forces, began a new operation to clear the Taliban on the western bank of the Helmand River today. 
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Australia committed long term to Afghanistan -Downer
30 Jun 2007 10:17:28 GMT
Article Link

By David Fox

KABUL, June 30 (Reuters) - Australia is committed to remaining part of an international military force in Afghanistan for as long as necessary, Alexander Downer, Australia's foreign minister, said during an unannounced visit on Saturday.

Australia currently has nearly 1,000 troops serving with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) for Afghanistan after doubling the contingent last month.

"The relationship with Afghanistan... for us is a strong one," Downer told a news conference in Kabul.

"We very strongly support not just the military efforts made against the Taliban but (also) the efforts being made for reconstruction and development cooperation."

A sizeable portion of the Australian contingent is made up of special forces and most operate in southern Uruzgan province, where a resurgent Taliban and soaring opium production have made security very fragile.

"The Taliban should be very wary of tangling with our special forces in Uruzugan," Downer said. "They are an extremely highly trained, well-equipped professional force. I think the Taliban are learning that." Downer, who earlier held talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, defended foreign forces against criticism too many civilians were being killed in anti-Taliban operations.
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Rain inundates more areas in cyclone-hit Pakistan
Sat Jun 30, 2007 4:17 PM IST 
Article Link

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Unrelenting rains are hampering Pakistani rescuers' efforts to provide relief to a million people hit by a cyclone, as more areas in the country's southwest are inundated, officials said on Saturday.

The onset of the rainy season has brought severe weather to much of South Asia, killing more than 500 people in storms and floods in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan over the past week.

Hardest-hit has been Pakistan.

A cyclone struck southwestern Baluchistan province on Tuesday, three days after a storm battered the nation's biggest city, Karachi, killing around 250 people.

The death toll from the cyclone and flooding in Baluchistan has risen to about 80 after 17 people were swept away by flooding caused by heavy rains in Khuzdar district on Friday night.

"Many houses have either been collapsed or washed away in the area," Tariq Ayub, provincial home secretary, told Reuters.

He said communication systems had been badly damaged, causing problems in assessing scale of losses.

"We estimate around 1,000,000 to 1,200,000 people have been affected."
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"We're Falling Behind in Our Commitment to Afghanistan"  
Article Link

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  Germany's deployment in Afghanistan may be further extended later this year 
In an interview with DW-TV, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke about the need to step up efforts to rebuild Afghanistan, settle the future of Kosovo and heal tensions with Poland.

Mr Steinmeier, the German parliament will be asked to extend the mandate for the Afghanistan mission in autumn. There are rumors in the Social Democratic Party (SPD) that you might not get the majority you need.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier
In my judgment there are no rumors. There is a discussion about it and that is necessary. In contrast to many other countries that are engaged in Afghanistan, the continuation of our involvement there requires not only the support of the German public but also of the German parliament. We have to win that support, and I am confident that in the autumn, we will reach the necessary decisions. 

Many of your Social Democrat colleagues criticize the US-led operation "Enduring Freedom" because many civilians are being killed. Wouldn't it be better for Germany to withdraw from this part of the mission?
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Expert verifies alleged Padilla form was document for al-Qaida recruits  
The Associated Press Friday, June 29, 2007 
Article Link

MIAMI: A prosecution terrorism expert testified Friday that a form purportedly filled out by Jose Padilla was identical to those used by al-Qaida for recruits to its premier al-Farooq training camp in Afghanistan.

Donning rubber gloves in court to handle the sensitive document, expert Rohan Gunaratna said it was similar to dozens of others he has examined in his al-Qaida research. The form, which contains Padilla's fingerprints, was among about 100 in a blue binder recovered by the CIA in Afghanistan in late 2001.

"Al-Qaida kept meticulous records," Gunaratna testified in the terrorism support trial of Padilla and two co-defendants. "It was for a person to go for training."

Defense lawyers have suggested that any support provided by the defendants for Muslim causes was mainly for relief and humanitarian purposes, not violent Islamic jihad. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley asked Gunaratna about the purpose of the al-Qaida camps, particularly al-Farooq located outside the city of Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan.

"These camps were not for relief, were they?" Shipley asked.

"No, they trained people to kill," replied Gunaratna, author of numerous books about al-Qaida and global terrorism and head of the Singapore-based International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research.
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