# The Sandbox and  Areas Reports Thread (July 2006)



## GAP (1 Jul 2006)

Engineers Move Mountains to Improve Afghan Roads 

SHINKAY, Afghanistan, June 29, 2006 

http://www.defendamerica.mil/articles/june2006/a062906ms5.html

Some of the reconstruction going on we hear little or nothing about.


Kandahar: Canada, U.S. troops hurt

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/07/01/afghan.attacks.reut/index.html


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## The Bread Guy (1 Jul 2006)

News on MBdr Bounyarat Tanaphon Makthepharak, injured in 30 Jun 06 rocket attack on Kandahar Airfield
Google News Search "Makthepharak", most recent first
http://tinyurl.com/ezulm

Where you can post best wishes/thoughts
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/46582.0.html

---

''Canada in Kandahar: No Peace to Keep - A Case Study of the Military Coalitions in Southern Afghanistan''
The Senlis Council, released 26 Jun 06

http://www.senliscouncil.net/modules/publications/013_publication

''Canadian troops and Afghan civilians are paying with their lives for Canada's adherence to the US government's failing military and counter-narcotics policies in Kandahar. The US-led counter-terrorist operations and militaristic poppy eradication strategies have triggered a new war with the Taliban and other insurgent groups, and are causing countless civilian deaths. ''

Report (2MB .pdf)
http://www.senliscouncil.net/modules/publications/013_publication/documents/Kandahar_Report_June_2006

---


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## The Bread Guy (1 Jul 2006)

http://www.cp.org/premium/ONLINE/member/elxn_en/060701/p070101A.html

Canadian Press, 1 Jul 06
"With barbecued burgers, beer and big smiles, troops of the Princess Patricia's battle group refused to allow a Taliban rocket attack to ruin their Canada Day.  Only hours after the rocket exploded in a tent complex on the Kandahar base, wounding 10 people including two of their own, Canadian soldiers were making the most of their one-day holiday under a roasting 55-degree C sun.  Troops put away their grimy combat uniforms for awhile and donned shorts, T-shirts and red Canada ball caps. One woman walked around draped in a Canadian flag....  As their comrades were having fun, troops from B Company, 1 Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, crawled into their armoured vehicles and rolled outside the wire on patrol for Taliban.  Inside the base hospital, Sgt. Kevin Colwill, Makthepharak's section leader, spent Canada Day watching over his wounded buddy. It was hard to see his friend lying sedated in bed with intravenous lines running out from his battered body.  "He couldn't hear me. I still had a chance to see him and say what I had to say," said Colwill, a reservist with the Brockville Rifles.  "Our hopes and prayers are with him. But everyone's chins are up. We realize we still have five months here on our tour. We want to do our jobs like Mac would want us to do." "


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## GAP (2 Jul 2006)

Older, but relevant piece of information:
Losing the war on Afghan drugs 
By Andrew North 
BBC News, Lashkar Gah, Helmand 
Sunday, 4 December 2005,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4493596.stm
"Of course we're growing poppy this year," said the district chief. "The government, the foreigners - they promised us help if we stopped. But where is it?" 


Two British soldiers killed in Afghanistan attack
Updated Sun. Jul. 2 2006 8:35 AM ET
Associated Press

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060702/britons_killed_afghanistan_060702/20060702?hub=World

Two British soldiers and an Afghan interpreter were killed when their base came under attack in southern Afghanistan, the military said Sunday. Afghan forces killed 11 militants in a separate attack in the same area.

Fear of UK backlash on Afghan war 
Jason Burke in Kabul
Sunday July 2, 2006
The Observer 
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1810735,00.html

Britain's military chiefs believe the public is not ready for the inevitable casualties of renewed fighting with the Taliban

also from  American Forces Press Service - Sunday, July 02, 2006 12:12 PM
Officials Announce New Casualties,

Two coalition servicemembers were killed in Afghanistan today, two U.S. servicemembers died yesterday in what officials described as noncombat incidents, and the Defense Department has identified previously announced casualties in the global war on terror.

A coalition patrol supporting Operation Mountain Thrust became involved in a small-arms and rocket-propelled-grenade firefight with enemy extremists today in the Sangin district of Afghanistan's Helmand province, resulting in the death of two coalition members and a coalition interpreter.

Four wounded coalition members were evacuated by air to a nearby coalition hospital for treatment. They were reported to be in stable condition.

Combined Forces Command Afghanistan, as a matter of policy, does not provide the nationality of its casualties in its initial announcements.

"This is a tragic loss," said a coalition spokesman, quoted in the news release announcing the incident. "These troops paid the ultimate price for freedom, giving their lives so that others might live in a nation free of tyranny and oppression. Our prayers go out to the families of the deceased, and our thoughts are with those that were wounded in this attack."


Coalition in Afghanistan Rejects Reports on Civilian Casualties
American Forces Press Service

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, July 2, 2006 - News reports published June 30 that claimed coalition forces fired rockets in Afghanistan's Kunar province, allegedly killing a school headmaster and injuring two others, are false, military officials here said today.

A Combined Forces Command Afghanistan statement said the three people noted in news articles are, in fact, Taliban extremists responsible for conducting attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

According to the statement, three extremists attacked a coalition patrol on a road in the province's Pech district June 29, and the soldiers responded with small-arms and mortar fire, all positively observed by coalition forces. The three extremists fled in a blue Hilux truck.

Later, a blue Hilux truck was reported to have delivered three men with gunshot wounds to the Asadabad hospital. One extremist died of his wounds. The other two were taken into custody by coalition forces and are being treated for their wounds in a coalition hospital.

The man who died was identified as Sayeed Alam, the nephew of a known Taliban commander in the Pech valley. Alam is known to be a member of a cell that plants roadside bombs, officials said. The wounded were also identified as known Taliban extremists. Their names are not being released for security reasons, officials said.

"These three men were without a doubt Taliban extremists and not innocent civilians," said Army Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick, Combined Joint Task Force 76 spokesman. "Coalition forces make every effort to protect Afghan civilians and limit the possibility of civilian casualties. The coalition is improving the lives of Afghan people through reconstruction projects and civil and medical assistance visits to villages. The Taliban's only purpose is to stop progress and instill fear and intimidation."

(From a Combined Forces Command Afghanistan news release.)
Related Sites:
Combined Forces Command Afghanistan [http://www.cfc-a.centcom.mil/]

Combined Joint Task Force 76 [http://cjtf76.army.mil/main.html]
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK,
the official website of the U.S. Department of Defense, at
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060702_5561.html.


We'll beat you again, Afghans warn British  

Declan Walsh in Maiwand
Monday June 26, 2006
The Guardian 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,,1806030,00.html

Many great armies have rolled through Maiwand. Over the centuries Persians, Moghuls and Russians have traversed the ramshackle hamlet on the sunbaked plains of western Kandahar. But nobody has forgotten the British

excerpt: One quarter of the town's 60 police had been killed in the past three months, he complained, yet Canadian soldiers based in Kandahar, 40 miles east, had done little to help. "They show up maybe once a week, promising vehicles and ammunition but bringing nothing," he said. "Now we take their words like a joke."

Afghan history's warning to UK troops  
By Paul Danahar 
BBC South Asia bureau editor 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4926628.stm
The British have made some disastrous decisions in Afghanistan - one led to one of the worst massacres in the UK's military history.


Distempered days  

Growing Taliban violence, drug-smuggling, corruption and deteriorating foreign relations are eroding Afghan president Hamid Karzai's authority, writes Declan Walsh 
Wednesday June 28, 2006 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,,1807806,00.html


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## The Bread Guy (2 Jul 2006)

*Brits Want Mo' Troops, Assets in Country*

Times of London; Telegraph; Sunday Mirror; Islamic Republic News Agency, 1-2 Jul 06

''BRITAIN’S top generals appealed for the deployment of more planes and helicopters to Afghanistan yesterday, amid deepening alarm over the predicament of British troops there. Sources close to Tony Blair said that he now considered the situation in Afghanistan to be “very dangerous”, and believed that the West had failed to grasp just how high the stakes are. ''

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2251664,00.html
http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0607014360173158.htm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&xml=/news/2006/07/02/nafg02.xml
http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=17321864%26method=full%26siteid=62484%26headline=top%2dbrass%2dwant%2dmore%2dinfantry%2d-name_page.html
http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=17320888%26method=full%26siteid=62484%26headline=%2d%2dand%2dmore%2dtroops%2dare%2dgoing%2din-name_page.html

Graphic of Recent Brit Punch-Ups
http://images.thetimes.co.uk/TGD/picture/0,,315955,00.jpg


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## GAP (2 Jul 2006)

Pilot Killed as Coalition Helicopter Crashes in Afghanistan
American Forces Press Service
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, July 2, 2006 - One crewman was killed and another was injured today when a coalition AH-64 Apache attack helicopter crashed shortly after takeoff from Kandahar Airfield in southern Afghanistan, military officials reported.

Officials said enemy action has been ruled out as a possible cause for the crash, which occurred at about 8:30 p.m. Afghanistan time, noon Eastern Daylight Time. The injured crewman was taken to the airfield's military hospital. No report was immediately available on his condition.

Aircraft were responding to a reported rocket attack against Kandahar Airfield when the Apache went down, officials said. No injuries were reported from the rocket attack, the second in three days. A rocket attack at the airfield June 30 left 10 people injured.

The cause of the crash will be investigated, officials said, but enemy fire has been ruled out as a cause for the aircraft's loss.

"We deeply regret the death of our superb pilot tonight," said Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, commander of Combined Joint Task Force 76. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and fellow aviators of our dedicated soldier who lost his life tonight executing a mission he believed in. His sacrifice will not be forgotten.

"We are thankful for the rapid response of our joint team who rescued our injured pilot," the general continued. "His rescue was heroic and responsive. We are determined never to leave a fallen comrade, and our well trained force demonstrated that tonight."

(From a Combined Forces Command Afghanistan news release.)



Related Sites:

Combined Forces Command Afghanistan [http://www.cfc-a.centcom.mil/]

Combined Joint Task Force 76 [http://cjtf76.army.mil/main.html]

AH-64 Apache [http://www.army.mil/fact_files_site/apache/index.html]


Related Article:

Rocket Hits Kandahar Airfield; Enemy Continues to Target Civilians [http://www.dod.mil/news/Jul2006/20060702_5562.html]

Is Pakistan ready for democracy in '07
from the June 30, 2006 edition
By David Montero | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor 
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0630/p07s02-wosc.html

Q&A: US abuses in Afghan jails  
 Sunday, 22 May, 2005
The United States has come under intense pressure over new details of the alleged abuse of prisoners by its soldiers in US-run detention centres in Afghanistan. 
BBC News examines the background to the allegations - and the US investigation into them.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4570941.stm

In graphics: Harsh realities - Life in Afghanistan  Basic Info - Interesting Stuff

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/afghanistan_elections/html/1.stm


Afghanistan's turbulent history
Friday, 8 October, 2004
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1569826.stm

Afghanistan's descent into conflict and instability in recent times began with the overthrow of the king in 1973


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## GAP (3 Jul 2006)

U.S. soldiers kill 20 'militants' in Afghanistan
Updated Mon. Jul. 3 2006 7:37 AM ET
Associated Press
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060703/us_afghanistan_060703/20060703?hub=World

U.S. soldiers battled insurgents who ambushed a military convoy in southern Afghanistan, killing up to 20 militants, the coalition said Monday. 


Pakistani rally demands female students wear head scarves
Associated Press
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060703.whijab0703/BNStory/International/home

ISLAMABAD — More than 200 women rallied in the Pakistani capital Monday, demanding the government make it mandatory for female students to wear Islamic head scarves, or hijab, in schools and colleges.


Afghanistan's new militant alliances 
By Paul Danahar 
BBC South Asia bureau editor 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4915692.stm
Afghan warlords have often formed unusual alliances in times of conflict, but even by their standards holding a war council in the presence of a clearly giddy beauty queen dressed in a pink jump suit and answering to the name of Snowflake was hardly standard fare.


Generals think again in Taliban onslaught  

· 'Spent force' has now killed five British soldiers
· Insurgents' suicidal tactics in face of west's firepower 
Declan Walsh in Islamabad
Monday July 3, 2006
The Guardian 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/military/story/0,,1811441,00.html


Report: Al Qaeda using Iraq as terrorist training ground
Insurgents in Afghanistan found to have trained in Iraq
posted July 3, 2006 at 10:30 a.m.
British lawmakers say Al Qaeda also sees Iraq as propaganda tool.
By Tom Regan  | csmonitor.com
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0703/dailyUpdate.html?s=mesdu


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## The Bread Guy (3 Jul 2006)

*Afghans warn Brits:  We Did it Once, We'll Do It To You Again*
Mail & Guardian Online, 3 Jul 06

''Many great armies have rolled through Maiwand. Over the centuries Persians, Moghuls and Russians have traversed the ramshackle hamlet on the sun-baked plains of western Kandahar. But nobody has forgotten the British.''

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=276056&area=/insight/insight__international/
http://www.gnn.tv/articles/2391/Afghanistan_the_Ghost_of_Kim


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## GAP (3 Jul 2006)

Canada to buy Elbit Systems UAV
The Canadian Army will use the Skylark 2 UAV for operations in Afghanistan.
Amnon Barzilai 26 Jun 06   13:07
http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000106124&fid=942

also for information on the UAV

Elbit Systems Adds New UAV System To Skylark Family
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Elbit_Systems_Adds_New_UAV_System_To_Skylark_Family.html
The Skylark-II (pictured) Close Range Tactical UAV can perform day, night and adverse weather observation, data collection and target marking at mission ranges exceeding 50 kilometers. 
by Staff Writers
Haifa, Israel (SPX) Jun 13, 2006
Elbit Systems has introduced a new UAV system - the Skylark II. Integrating technologies developed for the man-packed Skylark I mini UAV system and Hermes tactical UAV systems, the Skylark II is a close range class tactical UAV system providing advanced, high performance ISTAR capabilities


Suicide bombing near Kandahar governor's residence
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2006/06/14/1631752-ap.html
 July 3, 2006 
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - An Afghan National Police officer was killed and six other officers were wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up near the governor of Khandahar's residence


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## The Bread Guy (3 Jul 2006)

Shared in accordance with the "fair dealing" provisions, Section 29, of the Copyright Act - http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca/info/act-e.html#rid-33409

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/03/world/asia/03cnd-afghan.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

*Coalition Sees Taliban Targeting Afghan Translators * 
CARLOTTA GALL and RUHULLAH KHAPALWAK, New York Times, July 3, 2006

''KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, July 3 — Coalition troops are reviewing security procedures after the deaths of at least 10 Afghans working as translators for the American-led coalition in the last month, a military spokesman said.  Some of the translators have been accompanying foreign troops and have been killed during combat operations, but others seem to have been directly targeted by Taliban insurgents for working for the coalition led by the United States, colleagues said . . . A spokesman for the coalition forces in southern Afghanistan, Maj. Quentin Innis, said it was not clear if the translators were targeted specifically because of their work, but coalition officials were worried about the trend. "It is a concern for us when any Afghans get killed," he said. "We are looking at how we can step up security."  ''

_Follow-up to Brits Seeking More Assets:  _ 
*UK MoD Says They'll Send if Asked...*
http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxnews&articleid=5699682&subject=general&action=article
Interactive Investor online, 3 Jul 06

''Britain said it would send extra troops and aircraft to southern Afghanistan if military chiefs asked for help, after clashes with Taliban rebels left five soldiers dead in just three weeks.  The pledge came as Brigadier Ed Butler, the commander of British forces in Afghanistan, revealed that he had requested extra equipment for his troops . . . On Afghanistan, *Blair's official spokesman told reporters: "If extra resources are needed, extra resources will be found, but that's first and foremost a matter for military assessment and for military commanders to decide, not for politicians to decide."* ''

*...it's just that nobody's "asked" yet*
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060703/wl_uk_afp/britainafghanistanmilitaryunrestpolitics
Agence France Presse, 3 Jul 06

''Commanders in Afghanistan have not yet requested extra troops or helicopters, a junior defence minister has said, while pledging that such a demand would be studied immediately if made in the future.  Tom Watson, who works under Defence Secretary Des Browne, dismissed media reports that a request for more manpower and aircraft had already been lodged to help Britain's new deployment in the restive southern province of Helmand.''


*Also, UK MoD says mission not fuzzy:*
http://news.viewlondon.co.uk/MoD_defends_Afghan_deployment_17270516.html
news.viewlondon.co.uk, 3 Jul 06

''The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has insisted that British troops in Afghanistan are not operating under the aegis of a "confused" mission.  Defence minister Tom Watson brushed off criticisms from the Conservatives that parliament had been misled about the terms of engagement which justified the sending of British troops to Afghanistan.''


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## The Bread Guy (3 Jul 2006)

Shared in accordance with the "fair dealing" provisions, Section 29, of the Copyright Act - http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca/info/act-e.html#rid-33409

*'Grunts in the mist': anthropologist studies Canadian soldiers in the field*
John Cotter, Canadian Press, 3 Jul 06
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/07/03/1666186-cp.html

''Canadian soldiers on patrol who have been studied by anthropologist Anne Irwin have jokingly described her work as watching "grunts in the mist."  The tiny, grey-haired University of Calgary professor has spent years in dangerous places with front line troops less than half her age to observe how they construct their identities as warriors.  Now Irwin's research has taken her to Taliban country with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry where she is watching how soldiers bolster their identities by sharing their battlefield experiences through storytelling with their peers . . . "These are tough, hard guys who people think of as being very one-dimensional. I guess what really strikes me is how much they really care for each other. How they can just pick themselves up and keep going."


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## The Bread Guy (3 Jul 2006)

*Schoolteacher, 14 Taliban killed in Kunar, Nuristan...*
http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=20643
Pajhwok Afghan News, 30 Jun 06

''Firing by the US-led coalition forces in the eastern Kunar province killed a school headmaster and injured two locals in the Watapur district last night.  Separately, 14 militants have been killed as the coalition forces attacked their hideout in the Kamdesh district of the eastern Nuristan province on Friday, said a statement released from the US Bagram base.  A coalition patrol tracked a band of 14 militants traveling with Ak-47 assault rifles and rocket propelled grenades. The coalition forces attacked them as they reached their safe house, destroying two buildings in the compound, said the statement.  Afghan National Army (ANA) and coalition forces seized the compound and identified 14 dead enemy combatants. No ANA, coalition or civilian were injured in the attack.''

*...or was a teacher REALLY killed?*
Centcom news release, 2 Jul 06
http://tinyurl.com/o6dge

''News reports published June 30 that claimed Coalition forces fired rockets in Watapur, Pech District, Kunar Province , allegedly killing a school headmaster and injuring two others are false.  The three individuals noted in news articles are, in fact, Taliban extremists responsible for conducting attacks against Afghan and Coalition forces.  A Coalition patrol was attacked by three extremists on a road in the Pech District on June 29.  Coalition forces responded with small arms and mortar fire, all positively observed by Coalition forces.  The three extremists fled in a blue Hilux truck....''


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## GAP (4 Jul 2006)

Militants ambush and kill five Afghan labourers
Updated Tue. Jul. 4 2006 6:16 AM ET
Associated Press
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060704/afghan_labourers_060704/20060704?hub=World
 or
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2006/03/18/1494432-ap.html
KABUL -- Militants ambushed and fatally shot five Afghan labourers and wounded another as they brought construction wood to a U.S. military base in eastern Afghanistan,

The comedy of translation  
Afghanistan diary, June 27, 2006
http://www.cbc.ca/news/reportsfromabroad/common/20060627.html

Afghanistan set to have record opium crop
By Rachel Morarjee in Kabul
Published: July 4 2006 13:26 | Last updated: July 4 2006 13:26
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/cc6c18fc-0b56-11db-b97f-0000779e2340.html

Afghanistan is set to produce its largest ever opium crop, with the biggest increase in Helmand province where British troops are engaged in bitter combat with the Taliban, western officials said.

Afghan 'Starbucks' proves a hit   
By Abdul Hai Kakar 
BBC News, Kandahar  

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5109336.stm
The coffee shop is a meeting place for young people 
A coffee shop called Starbucks bang in the middle of Kandahar is hardly something one takes in one's stride


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## GAP (4 Jul 2006)

Back to the future in Kabul
 
   By Sanjoy Majumder 
BBC News Online, Kabul  
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3013850.stm

Social life has been transformed with the passing of the Taleban  
It is a busy evening at the Lal Thai, a new Thai restaurant in the Afghan capital, Kabul. 


Deal to return Afghan refugees
By Sanjoy Majumder 
BBC correspondent in Kabul  
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2994660.stm

The UN refugee agency and the governments of Iran and Afghanistan have signed an agreement to help repatriate Afghan refugees in Iran over the next two years.  

Afghan police 'abusing rights'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2843217.stm

The police force was destroyed by years of war 
Afghanistan's police force is in urgent need of reform to end "increasingly widespread" corruption, beatings and torture by officers, according to Amnesty International

Afghanistan's gun culture challenge
Kylie Morris 
BBC News in Afghanistan  
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2788167.stm
Efforts are being made to disarm local militias 

Of all the challenges facing the new Afghanistan, taking away the guns is the greatest. As long as armed militias continue to exist, they threaten the authority of the central government of Hamid Karzai, and all attempts to create a new national army.


 U.S. military probing soldier's death in Afghanistan; possible friendly fire  
16:20:20 EDT Jul 1, 2006 
http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/060701/w070140.html

KABUL (AP) - The U.S. military on Saturday said it is investigating the death of a soldier in eastern Afghanistan as a possible "friendly fire incident." 


Soldiers now U.S. citizens in AfghanistanTuesday, July 4, 2006 · Last updated 6:09 a.m. PT
By TINI TRAN    ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1104AP_Afghan_Soldier_Citizens.html
BAGRAM, Afghanistan -- They were soldiers from 21 different countries. But at the end of a short ceremony Tuesday at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, they pledged allegiance to only one: the United States

Pakistan says Taliban are regrouping in Afghanistan
Jul 4, 2006, 12:04 GMT 
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/southasia/article_1177864.php/Pakistan_says_Taliban_are_regrouping_in_Afghanistan

 The Taliban are regrouping in neighbouring Afghanistan in nexus with nationalist forces, said Pakistan's Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Tuesday.


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## GAP (4 Jul 2006)

Blair Promises U.K. Troops in Afghanistan  `Anything They Need'  
July 4 (Bloomberg)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=avBzOwhSc1Xk&refer=canada

Prime Minister Tony Blair promised British troops in Afghanistan ``anything they need'' to help combat insurgent attacks after two soldiers were killed there this week. 

British troops facing air supply crisis in Afghanistan  
By Tom Coghlan in Kabul 
Published: 05 July 2006 
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article1160963.ece

British forces in Afghanistan are facing a supply crisis because nearly half of their helicopter transport fleet is unable to fly in daylight hours due to the searing Helmand heat. 

Philip Hensher: History repeats itself in Afghanistan  
Published: 05 July 2006 
http://comment.independent.co.uk/columnists_a_l/philip_hensher/article1160938.ece

The war in Afghanistan has been surrounded by such evasions and rewritings that, you have to conclude, no one has any idea what the aim is any longer. I seem to be the only person to remember that when the troops went in, in 2001, the primary aim was not to topple the Taliban but to extract the leaders of al-Qa'ida. When that proved unsuccessful, the primary aim was declared always to have been to get rid of an oppressive regime. 

Very quickly, the war was claimed to have been a great success. We were asked to believe that the entire country was now united after the liberation, the Taliban decisively defeated, when, in fact, it had mostly disappeared. The world's attention turned elsewhere, and Afghanistan, we were told, was now OK.

New trucks on the way for UK Armed Forces
4 Jul 06 
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/EquipmentAndLogistics/NewTrucksOnTheWayForUkArmedForces.htm

The UK's Armed Forces will get an extra 2,000 trucks under a deal announced on 29 June by Defence Procurement Minister, Lord Drayson


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## The Bread Guy (4 Jul 2006)

*Canadian troops skirmish with Taliban near Kandahar; soldier hurt in accident *  
Canadian Press, 4 Jul 06
http://www.cp.org/premium/ONLINE/member/elxn_en/060704/p070403A.html
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/07/04/1667965-cp.html
A column of Canadian vehicles powered through a Taliban ambush west of Kandahar, killing and wounding an undetermined number of insurgents, military officials say.  The troops were called out of a forward patrol base Monday night to help an Afghan National Police post that was under attack. As the Canadian vehicles rumbled down Highway 1, they came under intense fire from Taliban fighters. 
---

*U.S. Giving Afghans $2B Worth of Weaponry *  
Associated Press, 3-4 Jul 06
http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/07/03/ap2856211.html
At the ceremony in Kabul, Maj. Gen. Robert Durbin said the military donation was in addition to the more than $2 billion the United States has already committed for military equipment and facilities to Afghanistan.  "The equipment on display today represents an additional $2 billion that the U.S. alone will provide ... to continue with the equipping and building of the proper facilities and (to) continue to enhance the Afghan National Army to build toward the 70,000 force," he said.  Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said about 200 Humvees and 2,000 assault rifles - the first part of the donation - will be arriving by year's end. The $2 billion also covers the building of a national military command center. 
---

*British troops facing air supply crisis in Afghanistan *  
Tom Coghlan, Independent (UK) online, 5 Jul 06
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article1160963.ece
British forces in Afghanistan are facing a supply crisis because nearly half of their helicopter transport fleet is unable to fly in daylight hours due to the searing Helmand heat.  The 3,300 British troops in the south rely on six Chinook and four Lynx aircraft for all transport and supply. The extreme heat and thin, rising air of the Helmand desert has limited the Lynx, an attack and utility helicopter, to use between dusk and dawn, when temperatures fall to acceptable levels, military sources confirmed.
---

*Doubts over Blair's 'blank cheque' to defeat the Taleban*
Philip Webster, Michael Evans and David Charter,Times (UK) Online, 5 Jul 06
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2256711,00.html
The sources insisted that Britain’s contribution to the operation was driven, not by military needs, but by Treasury requirements. Other senior military sources said that the offer from the Prime Minister was also unrealistic for practical reasons. “We have two major operations running, in Iraq and Afghanistan. There would be serious problems if troop levels in Afghanistan had to be increased significantly,” one said.
---

*The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11*  
Congressional Research Service report, June 14, 2006 (.pdf)
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33110.pdf
... Of the $437 billion likely to be appropriated through FY2006, CRS estimates that Iraq will receive about $319 billion (73%), OEF $88 billion (20%), and enhanced base security about $26 billion (6%), with about $4 billion that cannot be allocated based on available information (1%)...
---

*Domestic Factors Driving the Taliban Insurgency*
Waliullah Rahmani, Jamestown Foundation Terrorism Monitor, 29 Jun 06
http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2370049
Four years after the fall of the Taliban, insurgent violence has been steadily increasing across Afghanistan. This new wave of violence comes amidst Kabul's attempted peace process, and points to the seriousness of the security situation in the country . . . Furthermore, insurgent tactics have grown more dangerous, with Taliban fighters grouping in larger contingents. 
---

*Allegations Reinforce Values of Those Serving Honorably, Pace Says*
John D. Banusiewicz, American Forces Press Service, 4 Jul 06
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060704_5578.html
Allegations of wrongdoing by some U.S. servicemembers serving in Iraq reinforce the values of those who serve with honor, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today.  In Independence Day appearances on morning news programs, Marine Gen. Peter Pace was asked for his reaction to a former soldier being arrested in North Carolina yesterday and charged with rape and murder, as well as other recent allegations being investigated. 

---
*Pakistan-U.S. Relations*
Congressional Research Service report, June 21, 2006 (.pdf)
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33498.pdf
A stable, democratic, economically thriving Pakistan is considered vital to U.S. interests. U.S. concerns regarding Pakistan include regional terrorism; Pakistan-Afghanistan relations; weapons proliferation; the ongoing Kashmir problem and Pakistan-India tensions; human rights protection; and economic development.
---


----------



## GAP (5 Jul 2006)

Workers shot in Afghanistan 
July 5, 2006  By AP
http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/World/2006/07/05/1669006-sun.html

Five Afghan labourers were fatally shot on their way to a U.S. military base in eastern Afghanistan Monday. 

The attack on the labourers happened as they travelled in a truck delivering construction wood to a U.S. military base, officials said. 

Bomb blasts in Afghan capital 
kill one, wound nearly 50 
July 5, 2006   by Waheedullah Massoud 
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060705/wl_afp/afghanistanunrestblast

Bombs ripped into two government buses in the Afghan capital Kabul during the morning rush hour, killing one person and wounding nearly 50 others, most of them army officers. 

The blasts caused by explosives packed into carts followed two on Tuesday in tightly guarded Kabul, which is normally relatively immune from the Taliban-linked violence blighting the south of the country.

Soldiers better off fighting
Peacekeeping too passive for peace of mind, says psychiatrist
By CHRIS LAMBIE Staff Reporter
July 5, 2006.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/514286.html

Fighting war might be easier on the head than peacekeeping, says a Halifax military psychiatrist who recently returned from Afghanistan.

Canadian troops are now involved in combat operations in the volatile southern province of Kandahar.

"In some ways, combat is psychologically better for people, for soldiers, because you’re not as helpless as you are as a peacekeeper," said Maj. Rakesh Jetly, the psychiatrist in charge of the Canadian Forces Trauma Centre in Halifax

An invisible enemy plagues Canadian troops  
Afghanistan diary, June 13, 2006
More from David Common
http://www.cbc.ca/news/reportsfromabroad/common/20060613.html

Canadian soldiers on the international mission to Afghanistan face one problem that bedevils them constantly – but rarely makes it into the public eye. 

We've all heard about the regular rocket attacks on their main base in the southern city of Kandahar, the suicide bombers in the towns, improvised bombs on the roads and the omnipresent dust that covers the land, finding its way into everything. 

But the troops must also cope with an invisible enemy – an oppressive heat. In fact, at one point in time, the hottest recorded temperature on the planet wasn't that far from the base that Canadians now call home.

Ultrasound to treat war wounds  
By Paul Rincon 
Science reporter, BBC News  
Wednesday, 28 June 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5106598.stm

The technology could potentially save lives on the battlefield 
The US military plans a portable device that uses focused sound waves to treat troops bleeding internally from wounds sustained on the battlefield. 

Ultrasound can seal ruptured blood vessels deep within the body without the need for risky surgery. 


Taliban leader who renounced insurgency is dead
Updated Wed. Jul. 5 2006 9:32 AM ET
Canadian Press
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060629/mullah_ibrahim_060705/20060705?hub=World

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- A Taliban leader who thanked God and Canadians before renouncing the insurgents a few weeks ago has died.

Mullah Ibrahim had lost a leg and suffered from jaundice and other diseases when he changed sides.

Afghan officials said he died of natural causes Tuesday and was buried Wednesday.


----------



## GAP (5 Jul 2006)

Key Afghan players: Who's who   

Tuesday, 4 July 2006,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3706370.stm

BBC News profiles some of the most influential figures in the struggle to shape Afghanistan's future.  


Kazakh president forms coalition   
By Natalia Antelava 
BBC News, Almaty  
Tuesday, 4 July 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5145932.stm

President Nazarbayev has ruled Kazakhstan for nearly 17 years 

Two main political parties of Kazakhstan, Central Asia's oil rich and most powerful nation, merged on Tuesday to create a mighty ruling coalition. 


Country profile: Kazakhstan   
A little known neighbour of Afghanistan
 Wednesday, 28 June 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1298071.stm

A huge country covering a territory equivalent to the whole of Western Europe, Kazakhstan has vast mineral resources and enormous economic potential.  

STATE-SPONSORED TERRORISM
Afghanistan
Country profile  Population: 25,838,797 (July 2000 Estimate) 
Area Total: 652,000 km2 
Area Land: 652,000 km2 
Coast Line: 800 km 
Capital: Kabul  
  Climate: arid to semiarid; cold winters and hot summers  
  Languages: Pashtu, Afghan Persian, Turkic Languages, 30 minor languages 
http://www.terrorismfiles.org/countries/afghanistan.html

Islamic extremists from around the world--including North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Central, South, and Southeast Asia--continue to use Afghanistan as a training ground and base of operations for their worldwide terrorist activities. The Taliban, which controll most Afghan territory, permit the operation of training and indoctrination facilities for non-Afghans and provide logistics support to members of various terrorist organizations and mujahidin, including those waging jihads (holy wars) in Central Asia, Chechnya, and Kashmir


----------



## GAP (5 Jul 2006)

TERRORIST ORGANISATIONS
al-Qa'ida (Al-Qaeda)   
  http://www.terrorismfiles.org/organisations/al_qaida.html
Other Names
al Qaeda
Al-Qaida
"the Base"
the Islamic Army
the World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders
the Islamic Army for the Liberation of the Holy Places
the Usama Bin Laden Network
the Usama Bin Laden Organization
Islamic Salvation Foundation
The Group for the Preservation of the Holy Sites

Description
Established by Usama Bin Ladin in the late 1980s to bring together Arabs who fought in Afghanistan against the Soviet invasion. Helped finance, recruit, transport, and train Sunni Islamic extremists for the Afghan resistance. Current goal is to establish a pan-Islamic Caliphate throughout the world by working with allied Islamic extremist groups to overthrow regimes it deems "non-Islamic" and expelling Westerners and non-Muslims from Muslim countries. Issued statement under banner of "the World Islamic Front for Jihad Against the Jews and Crusaders" in February 1998, saying it was the duty of all Muslims to kill US citizens--civilian or military--and their allies everywhere.
More information on this and other terror organizations on link

New Afghan Road Offers Gateway to Optimism
American Forces Press Service
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, July 5, 2006
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060705_5589.html

The U.S. Agency for International Development has started a $16 million road project that extends from the center of Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley and will eventually connect the valley to southern markets in Charikar and Kabul.  

Older stuff, but interesting

Pakistan spy agency accused of arming Taliban in secret  
By David Wastell in Washington
(Filed: 09/12/2001)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=DDKEBS55TNFEJQFIQMFSFGGAVCBQ0IV0?xml=/news/2001/12/09/wpak09.xml

PAKISTAN'S military intelligence agency channelled arms and ammunition secretly to the Taliban for at least a month after President Musharraf declared support for Washington in the war on terrorism, it was reported yesterday.

Military advisers and officers from the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency also helped to strengthen Taliban defences around Kandahar, the regime's southern stronghold, and gave tactical advice, according to Western and Pakistani officials quoted in the New York Times.

On at least two occasions known to Western officials, Pakistani border guards at a checkpoint on the Khyber Pass waved on lorry convoys bound for Afghanistan.


----------



## GAP (5 Jul 2006)

Hard Times for Hamid Karzai
Official corruption and continuing economic woes are mounting for Afghanistan's former great hope 
By ARYN BAKER 
Posted Wednesday, Jul. 05, 2006
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1210287,00.html
It has been a rough couple of weeks for President Hamid Karzai. When a traffic accident caused by a U.S. army vehicle on May 29 sparked a riot in Kabul, protesters called for the president's head along with the ouster of foreign troops. Things haven't improved since. Anti-narcotics agencies are predicting the largest harvest of opium ever; the Taliban is at its strongest since it was ousted from power in 2001; and official corruption is at an all time high. Five explosions rocked Kabul in the past two days, killing one and wounding early 50. Is the golden boy once feted around the world as Afghanistan's great hope losing his shine? 

Yet another flight from violence
Repatriated Afghans who fled Russians now flee from Canadian-Taliban fighting 
GRAEME SMITH - Wednesday, Jul. 05, 2006
From Monday's Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060703.wxafghan03a/BNStory/Afghanistan/home

KAG KHANA, AFGHANISTAN — Lali is too young to remember the first time his family fled Afghanistan. The 12-year-old was only a toddler when his parents packed their meagre belongings and left their farm southwest of Kandahar city.

In those days, they were running from the Russians and the mujahedeen. Now they're repeating their trek across the blasted landscape, this time trying to escape the Canadians and the Taliban.

"There was bombing everywhere," Lali said. "The younger children were crying. So we came here."


----------



## GAP (5 Jul 2006)

Edmonton-based troops want Stanley Cup to visit Afghanistan    
Matthew Fisher, CanWest News Service
Published: Monday, June 19, 2006 
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/archives/story.html?id=caf2f6cb-b941-43df-8156-36c5c19ae02b

If the Stanley Cup is headed to Edmonton this week for a victory parade, could one of the storied trophy's next stops after that be 10,500 kilometres away in this baking dustbowl in the Afghan desert?


Taliban insurgents as relentless as Afghanistan's summer heat
Matthew Fisher, CanWest News Service
Published: Wednesday, July 05, 2006 
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan 
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=22972319-7e7d-4e29-ac73-d7231918481c&k=33103

The temperature was 51 C in the shade Tuesday, according to the red and white Maple Leaf thermometer on the wall outside the Canadian Forces office that books soldiers' leave to cooler climates.

According to U.S. Army helicopter pilots who have to know such things to load their choppers properly, the temperature on the tarmac was 58.5 C.

It has been that way during the day for several weeks now.

For the sake of 1 Battalion, the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, everyone is hoping the latest rumour de jour is true. It holds that the Taliban's annual spring offensive wilts a little during July and August and insurgent attacks rise again in September and October as temperatures drift back into the 40s C.

However, there has been little evidence that the Taliban has been melting away. Some fervid followers of one-eyed Mullah Omar had the crack parachute regiment back on their heels in neighbouring Helmand province over the weekend, brazenly attacking a British base.

In a skirmish Tuesday in northern Kandahar province, a Canadian reconnaissance platoon from Alpha Company engaged about a dozen Taliban fighters, killing one and wounding another who was brought to the Kandahar Airfield for treatment.

A short time later, in the same area, an armoured Mercedes G-Wagon, towing a trailer, tipped on its side. One soldier from Alpha Company suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries and was being treated at the military hospital.

More on link

British soldier dies in Afghanistan 
Press Association       Wednesday July 5, 2006 4:48 PM


A British soldier has been killed while on patrol in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said.

Members of the 3 Para Battle Group were on patrol in Sangin town, in the southern province of Helmand, when they came under attack from suspected Taliban forces.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-5932123,00.html


----------



## GAP (5 Jul 2006)

Italy to stay in Afghanistan despite political problems 
UPDATED: 08:52, July 05, 2006         
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/05/eng20060705_280045.html

Italian Defense Minister Arturo Parisi reiterated on Tuesday that the government intended to keep Italian soldiers in Afghanistan despite the tensions this position caused in its parliamentary majority. 

Seven center-left senators, from communist and Green parties, have said they will vote against a measure refinancing the Afghanistan mission when it comes to the floor later this month. 

Unless they relent, this means Romano Prodi's government would be without a majority in the Senate on a key foreign policy issue. In the upper house the center left has only two seats more than the opposition. 

Sixth soldier killed in Afghanistan
By Con Coughlin, Defence and Security Editor
(Filed: 06/07/2006)   telegraph-uk
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/07/06/wafg06.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/07/06/ixnews.html

Another British soldier was killed in the Afghan province of Helmand yesterday when his patrol was attacked by Taliban insurgents.

Coalition soldier, 12 Taliban die in Afghanistan
July 06, 2006, 11:45
http://www.sabcnews.com/world/the_middle_east/0,2172,130709,00.html

Gunmen attacked a patrol of US-led soldiers in eastern Afghanistan killing one member of the force, the latest foreign soldier to die in the bloodiest phase of Afghan violence since 2001. The US military said the patrol came under small-arms fire in Paktika province, on the border with Pakistan, today.

Mistakes of Iraq are being replicated in Afghan battle
GAVIN CORDON   Mon 3 Jul 2006 - The Scotsman
http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=966322006

BRITISH troops are facing a "worrying" deterioration in the security situation across two fronts in their fight against international terrorism, MPs warned yesterday. 

The cross-party Commons foreign affairs committee said conditions in both Afghanistan and Iraq had worsened in recent weeks.


----------



## The Bread Guy (5 Jul 2006)

*Afghanistan set to have record opium crop*
Pakistan Tribune, 6 Jul 06
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149012

Afghanistan is set to produce its largest ever opium crop, with the biggest increase in Helmand province where British troops are engaged in bitter combat with the Taliban, western officials said. 
The $1bn campaign to eradicate the crop has been "an absolute disaster", a top western counter-narcotics official said ...
---

*Afghanistan burns over 40 tons of narcotics*
People's Daily Online, 6 Jul 06
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200607/06/eng20060706_280403.html
Associated Press, 5 Jul 06
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060705/ap_on_re_as/afghan_narcotics

The Afghan government as part of its efforts to eliminate illegal drug in the country burned more than 40 tons of narcotics at a ceremony held here on Wednesday.  The narcotics include 4.1 tons of heroin, 12 tons of opium and 24 tons of hashish.  Speaking on the occasion Counter Narcotics Minister Habibullah Qaderi expressed the Afghan government's firm determination to get the country rid of the drug menace ...
---

*Dutch forces on their way to Afghanistan*
The Scotsman online, 5 Jul 06
http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=978632006
Radio Netherlands, 5 Jul 06
http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/ned060705

The Dutch army yesterday dispatched the first 100 soldiers of the 1,400 it will contribute to a NATO-led force in the province of Uruzgan, in southern Afghanistan, during the next two years.

Dutch Def Ministry Page on TF Uruzgan (in Dutch only)
http://www.mindef.nl/missies/afghanistan/index.aspx
Dutch Army page on TF Uruzgan (in Dutch only)
http://www.landmacht.nl/missies/huidige_missies/Afghanistan/index.aspx
---

*UN Condemns Kabul Blasts*
United Nations News Service, 5 Jul 06
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54411&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN

The United Nations special envoy to Afghanistan has condemned a series of roadside bomb blasts in the Afghan capital Kabul on Tuesday and Wednesday that killed one person and injured at least 50 others.  The explosions, which appear to have been directed against government institutions and staff, served no purpose other than to terrorise and kill or maim ordinary citizens, Tom Koenigs, Special Representative of United Nations Secretary-General to Afghanistan, said on Wednesday in Kabul ...
---

*PAK PM:  Afghan Stability in Pakistan's Interest*
Lisa Schlein, Voice of America News, 5 Jul 06
http://voanews.com/english/2006-07-05-voa41.cfm

Pakistan's prime minister, Shaukat Aziz, rejects accusations that his country is not doing enough to prevent Taleban forces from crossing the border into Afghanistan. He told a group of journalists in Geneva that stability in Afghanistan is in Pakistan's interests and his government is doing what it can to improve security and help the Afghan people. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva, where Mr. Aziz attended a U.N. Economic and Social Council meeting...
---

*Osama Not Hiding in Kazakhstan*
United Press International, 5 Jul 06
http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20060705-122647-8069r

Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is not hiding out in Kazakhstan, a Kazakh politician with security service ties said Wednesday. Tokhtarkhan Nurakhmetov, a Kazakh MP and member of the Parliamentary Committee on International Affairs, was responding to a recent statement by Richard Clarke, the former U.S. National Coordinator for Counterterrorism. Clarke stated recently that bin Laden was in one of the five former Soviet republics of Central Asia. However, Nurakhmetov told Regnum news agency Wednesday that bin Laden was not in Kazakhstan. "I hear this for the first time. Still, I am absolutely sure of what I am saying." ...

*He's Apparently Not in PAK...*
TV New Zealand, 5 Jul 06
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411366/776157

Reports that Osama bin Laden is hiding along the rugged Afghanistan-Pakistan border are purely speculative and nobody hunting the al Qaeda chief knows where he is, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Wednesday.  "Nobody has any idea where this gentleman is, because if they did, they would use all their resources to go after the individual and try to capture him," Aziz told journalists....

*...or in Kyrgystan, either*
Interfax News Agency, 5 Jul 06
http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/0/28.html?id_issue=11548012

Kyrgyzstan's law enforcement and security officials have no information that Osama bin Laden may be in Kyrgyzstan, the Kyrgyzstan's president's press service told Interfax.  However, the "security structures do not exclude the possibility of Osama bin Laden appearing in this region," it said.....

*Shucks, We Just Don't Know Where He Is!*
Yahoo News, 5 Jul 06
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/05072006/140/don-t-know-bin-laden.html

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's trail has gone cold and nobody hunting him knows where he is, according to Pakistan's Prime Minister. Shaukat Aziz said reports that the terror chief is hiding along the rugged border between his country and Afghanistan are purely speculative. Mt Aziz told journalists: "Nobody has any idea where this gentleman is, because if they did, they would use all their resources to go after the individual and try to capture him." ...
---


----------



## GAP (6 Jul 2006)

It's déjà vu in Afghanistan
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
By PHILIP HENSHER - GUEST COLUMNIST
Thursday, July 6, 2006
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/276522_afghan06.html

The war in Afghanistan has been surrounded by such evasions and rewritings that you have to conclude no one has any idea what the aim is any longer.

I seem to be the only person to remember that when the troops went in in 2001, the primary aim was not to topple the Taliban but to extract the leaders of al-Qaida. When that proved unsuccessful, the primary aim was declared always to have been to get rid of an oppressive regime. 

Very quickly, the war was claimed to have been a great success. We were asked to believe that the entire country was now united after the liberation, the Taliban decisively defeated, when, in fact, it had mostly disappeared. The world's attention turned elsewhere, and Afghanistan, we were told, was now OK.

Conference on Afghanistan peace ends, calls for further int'l support
July 6, 2006  Japan National News
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/international/news/20060706p2g00m0in003000c.html

An international conference on the consolidation of peace in Afghanistan ended here Wednesday with participants agreeing on the need for continued self-help efforts by the nation and long-term partnership and support by the international community.

The conference, cochaired by Japan, Afghanistan and the United Nations, was the second such meeting held in Tokyo. It was attended by Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso, visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and representatives from 53 states and 15 international organizations.

In the cochairs' summary released after the conference, participants evaluated such achievements as the political process, economic reconstruction, and security sector reform in the nation-building process over the past four and a half years.

The summary, however, pointed out that in view of the tense security situation, "the achievements made in Afghanistan have not yet been consolidated sufficiently for the nation-building process to be considered self-sustaining."  More on link


India sending troops to Afghanistan: Pakistani media
July 6, 2006     India e-news
http://indiaenews.com/2006-07/13922-india-sending-troops-afghanistan-pakistani-media.htm

Islamabad - The Pakistani media has claimed that India wants to send peacekeeping troops to Afghanistan and blamed Islamabad for not doing anything to prevent the move.

Pakistan should not allow a situation when it faces Indian troops on both the eastern and the western fronts, the media reports warn.

According to The News, India is supposed to be contemplating sending troops for peacekeeping at the instance of the US and the European Union. The daily, in a front-page report, said there are ’serious discussions in New Delhi’ on the subject

Coalition soldier killed in Afghanistan
Ireland On-Line
06/07/2006 - 16:25:38 
http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=188221012&p=y88zzy7y8

Militants opened fire on a US-led coalition patrol in eastern Afghanistan, killing one soldier, the coalition said today.

A 10-year-old Afghan girl was also wounded in yesterday’s attack in Gayan District of Paktika province, the coalition said in a statement. She had undergone surgery at a military clinic and was in stable condition.

The statement did not identify the dead soldier or give a nationality. It said the soldier was killed when a patrol received “small arms fire from a group of extremists”.


Afghan, coalition forces kill 10 militants
By ASSOCIATED PRESS - Jul. 6, 2006 9
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1150885931655&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull           

Afghan and US-led coalition forces killed 10 suspected militants in southern Afghanistan during several operations aimed at flushing out Taliban forces, officials said Thursday. 

In the Sori district of southern Zabul province Wednesday night, coalition and Afghan security forces launched operations near Mt. Zubaida, killing three suspected Taliban fighters and arresting four others, according to provincial Police Chief Noor Mohammad Paktin. 

Four other militants were killed and six arrested during search operations in Shingai district, he said. 

In addition, Afghan forces and police were attacked by militants, who killed one Afghan soldier and wounded three other soldiers, Paktin said. During the clash, three insurgents were also killed, he said.

Coalition Forces Kill 35 Extremists in Afghanistan
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 6, 2006 
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060706_5592.html

Coalition forces killed 35 Taliban extremists at a compound in the village of Ghach Zar, Afghanistan, July 4 as part of Operation Mountain Thrust. 
No injuries to coalition forces or noncombatants were observed during the strike, military officials said. 

Several of the extremists killed were Taliban leaders who planned and conducted multiple attacks against Afghan government officials and coalition forces, officials said. 

Operation Mountain Thrust is part of an ongoing campaign to disrupt enemy forces, interdict safe havens, extend the reach of the Afghan government, and facilitate good governance, reconstruction and humanitarian assistance. 

(From a Combined Forces Command Afghanistan press release.) 
 Related Site:
Combined Forces Command Afghanistan


Afghanistan burns 40 tons of narcotics  
July 06, 2006 
People's Daily News
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/06/print20060706_280581.html

Soldiers of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) watch the destruction of narcotics on the outskirts of Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, July 5, 2006. Afghan government burned 40 tons of narcotics including 4.1 tons of heroin, 12 tons of opium and 24 tons of hashish on July 5. (Xinhua) 


Minister calls for urgent reinforcement in Afghanistan  
David Fickling and agencies - Guardian Unlimited 
Thursday July 6, 2006
http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,,1814354,00.html

Defence secretary Des Browne announced today that more British troops could be sent to trouble-torn southern Afghanistan, as a British soldier killed yesterday by Taliban fighters was named for the first time.
Mr Browne told parliament that the government was considering sending in fresh forces "as a matter of urgency".

On Monday Brigadier Ed Butler, in charge of the British troops, said that he had asked for extra force "to take account of the changing circumstances".

British troops patrolling the restive southern province of Helmand have found themselves in the middle of a fierce insurgency by Taliban fighters, and six British soldiers have been killed in the province's Sangin valley in the past month.


----------



## GAP (6 Jul 2006)

Soft Targets
By Bill Roggio
Posted: 6 July 2006
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2006/06/soft_targets.php
Another interesting article by Bill Roggio  

Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan: As Coalition and Afghan forces press on with Operation Mountain Thrust in southeastern Afghanistan, the fighting in the Zari and Panjwai has abated. Lieutenant Colonel Ian Hope, the Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, has stated the offensive operations have now shifted towards joint security patrols between Canadian and Afghan police and army units. "We know from our report that any large Taliban groups have withdrawn... there must be a permanent presence, particularly by Afghan National Authorities, particularly ANP and ANA, supported by Coalition soldiers. Coalition soldiers will remain present in those two district (Zari and Panjwai) for some time. They are there now and they will stay,” said Lt.Col. Hope.

More on Link

Three Days of Operation Mountain Thrust in Kandahar
By Bill Roggio
June 14, 2006 01:10 PM 
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2006/06/three_days_of_operation_mounta.php
  
An audio recording of a press conference with Colonel Chris Vernon on Operation Mountain Thrust is also available.

Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan: On Saturday night, Charlie Company from the 1st Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry moved from Forward Operating Base Martello to the "430 compound", a small, austere ANP base infested with large ants and adorned with a well in the center. The Canadian soldiers took advantage of the rare running water to wash up from the dust bowl at FOB Martello. The Afghan National Police guarded the soldiers from Charlie Company as they slept, packed into the mud-walled compound.




600 more infantry to help Paras under Taleban attack
By Michael Evans, Defence Editor
The Times -  July 07, 2006 
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2259935,00.html 

SIX HUNDRED more infantry troops are to be sent to southern Afghanistan as urgent reinforcements after a month of Taleban attacks in which six British soldiers were killed.


----------



## The Bread Guy (6 Jul 2006)

*More troops will go to Afghanistan*
Neil Tweedie, Telegraph (GBR), 7 Jul 06
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/07/07/wafg07.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/07/07/ixnews.html

Britain is to reinforce its military contingent in southern Afghanistan following the deaths of six
troops in clashes with the Taliban and other armed groups over the last month.  Des Browne, 
the Defence Secretary, said he was considering what reinforcements to send as a "matter of 
urgency" after being advised that they were necessary following fierce fighting in the lawless 
province of Helmand, a centre of resurgent Taliban activity....

*Opinion:  Brits, NATO Need to Stand Firm in Afghanistan*
Gerard Baker, Real Clear Politics, 6 Jul 06
http://news.yahoo.com/s/realclearpolitics/20060706/cm_rcp/british_soldiers_flirting_with

When it was decided last year that Nato forces would take over from American troops in 
one of the more dangerous parts of Afghanistan, US leaders held their breath.  There have
long been doubts in Washington about the willingness of Europeans to put themselves in 
harm's way in the war on terrorism. Though Nato countries have been supplying the bulk
of the military presence in Afghanistan for three years now, most of their operations have
been of the low-intensity sort....

---
*Bush thanks Canada for help in Afghanistan*
People's Daily Online (CHN), 7 Jul 06
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200607/07/eng20060707_280738.html

U.S. President George W. Bush, at a joint press conference with visiting Canadian Prime 
Minister Stephen Harper on Thursday, thanked Canada for its help in Afghanistan and the
war on terror.  "I thank the prime minister and the Canadian people for their involvement
in Afghanistan," Bush said.  "And I do want to thank the families of those soldiers who are
in Afghanistan ... The soldiers are doing fantastic work," Bush said.  For his part, Harper 
hailed the close relations between Canada and the United States.  "The U.S. and Canada
have very close relations. We have talked about several international and bilateral issues.
We share values and goals that are common, and we have greatest trade relationship in 
the history of the world," he said.  Harper, who was elected in January, arrived in 
Washington on Wednesday for his first official visit to the United States.  The Canadian
government has decided to beef up and extend its mission of Canadian troops in 
Afghanistan to 2009.  (Xinhua)
---

*Sixth British soldier killed as Taleban lay siege to base*
Tim Albone, Michael Evans, Times Online (GBR), 6 Jul 06
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2258088,00.html

A BRITISH paratrooper was killed yesterday as his unit struggled to lift what amounted
to a siege of their base in the heart of Taleban country in southern Afghanistan.  He 
was the sixth soldier to die in just over three weeks in the Sangin Valley, Helmand province.
The fighting raged for hours and was so fierce that reinforcements from 3 Para, arriving by 
Chinook helicopter, had to be turned back because of intense gunfire...

*Eight British soldiers battle with 1,200 Taleban at 'Camp Incoming'*
Tim Albone, Times Online (GBR), 7 Jul 06
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2259756,00.html

THE view from the tiny British outpost above the town of Tangye in northern Helmand 
province was picture perfect.  A river snaked its way through a gorge, the sun shimmered
off the water and beyond the town of mud-brick houses lay the blue waters of the Kajaki 
reservoir.  But the illusion of calm was shattered by gunfire at 9.00am yesterday. “It’s a bit
early for playtime,” quipped Sergeant-Major Karl Brennan, 35, a barrel-chested Yorkshireman,
as he and his seven collegues rushed to the perimeter wall.  Through their gunsights they 
could see Taleban fighters attacking the last town in the district still loyal to the Kabul 
Goverment....
---

*Afghan minister chides Pakistan on security*
BARRY SCHWEID, Associated Press, 6 Jul 06
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060706/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_afghanistan

Afghanistan's foreign minister, (in Washington, D.C.) for talks with top Bush administration
officials, complained Thursday that Pakistan was doing an inadequate job in countering 
terrorism.  Between high-level meetings, Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, also acknowledged 
weakness in his own government in Kabul, particularly Afghan security forces, for the 
surge in Taliban attacks, especially in the south....
---

_*Same Stuff, Different Shading...*_

*President Bush answers questions from downrange...*
Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes, 5 Jul 06
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=38408

President Bush has met hundreds of families of fallen soldiers, but he has yet to attend
a servicemember’s funeral, he said Tuesday.  “Because which funeral do you go to? In 
my judgment, I think if I go to one I should go to all. How do you honor one person but 
not another?” he said.  The appropriate way to express his appreciation to the family 
members of fallen troops is to meet with them in private, he said....

*.....President Bush Has Yet To Attend One Military Funeral*
Matthew Borghese, All Headline News, 6 Jul 06
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7004136976

The Commander in Chief, U.S. President George Bush, has yet to attend one military 
funeral for any of the soldiers who have died in the War on Terror in Iraq, Afghanistan,
or elsewhere.  The President, however, has met with hundreds of families of fallen 
soldiers, explaining, "Which funeral do you go to? In my judgment, I think if I go to 
one I should go to all. How do you honor one person but not another?" ...
---

*World Bank pledges $90m to Afghanistan*
Zainab Mohammadi, Pajhwok Afghan News, 5 Jul 06
http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=20910

World Bank Wednesday pledged $90 million grant for Afghanistan in fields of water,
irrigation, gardening, livestock and mines.  Representative of World Bank singed an 
accord with Ministries of Finance, Agriculture and Irrigation and Urban Development
and Mines. On this occasion, Finance Minister Anwarulhaq Ahadi said $40 million of 
the total grant would be spent on water irrigation, $20 million on gardening and 
livestock and $30 on mines. Germany would provide $24 million for irrigation sector
in near future, he said, adding Japan would provide $10 million for gardening....
---


----------



## GAP (7 Jul 2006)

One coalition soldier, five Taliban militants killed in S. Afghanistan  
July 07, 2006         People's Daily Online
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/07/eng20060707_281036.html

One coalition soldier and five Taliban militants were killed in a conflict in the troubled Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, Griffith Miller, a spokesman of coalition forces, said Friday. 

"One coalition soldier was killed and another injured as the enemies opened fire on a patrol team in Baghran district yesterday afternoon. The coalition forces returned fire, killing five enemies," Miller told a group of journalists in Kandahar. 

The injured soldier had been taken to Kandahar's coalition hospital for treatment, he said. 
more on link


Afghanistan: A war Democrats can win   
James P. Rubin The New York Times
Published: July 7, 2006
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/07/opinion/edrubin.php

LONDON In 2003, the Bush administration left the war in Afghanistan unfinished and moved on to overthrow Saddam Hussein. This grand diversion of military, intelligence and diplomatic resources not only jeopardized success in Afghanistan but also initiated the collapse of international support and respect for the United States.

As we approach the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, American and NATO forces are fighting a resurgent Taliban. Leaders like Mullah Muhammad Omar remain at large, and Osama bin Laden emerges regularly to threaten the West and inspire his followers.

It is true that Afghanistan has taken historic steps toward democracy. President Hamid Karzai is doing his best to unify the country, and there has been no insurgency comparable to the one in Iraq.

But Afghanistan is hardly the shining example to the Muslim world that George Bush and Tony Blair promised.

more on link


LEFT-WING OF UNION CONSIDERS WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN
Special service by AGI on behalf of the Italian Prime Minister's office
http://www.agi.it/english/news.pl?doc=200607071200-1068-RT1-CRO-0-NF11&page=0&id=agionline-eng.oggitalia


(AGI) - Rome, Jul 7 - Amid the ongoing debate on the re-financing of Italian missions abroad, the left-wing of the Union is considering the opportunity to put forward an amendment providing for the withdrawal of Italian troops currently involved in the 'Enduring Freedom' mission in Afghanistan 
more on link

ADB Loans $40 Million to Afghanistan  
© 2006 The Associated Press -   July 7 2006
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4030352.html

MANILA, Philippines — To help Afghanistan expand its mobile phone services, the Asian Development Bank said Friday it will provide a loan of $40 million loan and guarantees of up to $15 million.

The lending institution said the funds will help Roshan, one of the two mobile phone operators in the country majority owned by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development and partly financed by an ADB private sector loan, to provide near countrywide coverage and a network upgrade.
more on link

Afghan Villagers Capture Extremist; Two Afghans Injured by IED
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 7, 2006
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060707_5599.html

Villagers captured an extremist who threw a grenade into a mosque in the village of Showbi in the Tere Zayi district of Afghanistan's Khost province today during prayer, military officials reported. 
The grenade injured three men, including the mullah, who were taken to the coalition hospital in Khost for treatment. 

The villagers chased the assailant down and captured him, then notified coalition forces. Afghan police took the assailant into custody
More on Link

History repeats in Afghanistan
There should be no surprise at local resistance - it is in their blood, writes Ben Macintyre
July 08, 2006 - The Australian News
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19721272-2703,00.html

ON January 13, 1842, a lookout on the walls of Jalalabad fort spotted a lone horseman weaving towards the British outpost on a dying horse.
Part of the rider's skull had been removed by an Afghan sword; his life had been saved only by the copy of Blackwood's Magazine that he had stuffed into his hat to stave off the intense cold. The magazine blunted the blow. 

This was William Brydon, the sole survivor of a 16,000-strong force that had left Kabul a week earlier, only to be massacred in the mountain passes by rebellious Afghan tribesmen. 

Confidence lags in Afghanistan as violence rises
By David R. Sands
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
July 7, 2006 
http://washingtontimes.com/world/20060706-111854-7864r.htm

Islamist terrorism in Afghanistan is on the rise, aided by foreign support and by the struggles of the government in Kabul to deliver on promises of security and development, the nation's foreign minister said yesterday. 
    "The confidence of our people in the government to protect them, especially in our southern provinces, is not strong," Rangin Dadfar Spanta said during a luncheon interview with editors and reporters at The Washington Times
more on link


Newsweek Sorely Off-Base on Afghanistan Report  
by Noah Carolan ( mcnoah [at] earthlink.net ) 
Thursday Jul 6th, 2006 6:03 PM 
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/07/06/18285992.php


A critique of a recent Newsweek article on the internal violence in southern Afghanistan that highlights Taliban attacks on public gradeschool. Due to Newsweek's apparent refusal to look beyond the most immediate symptoms of the Afghan conflict, the journalists have ended up with a terribly innaccurate report of politics and civilian life which ignores the past 27 years of foreign military intervention and oppression. 
Newsweek recently printed a article titled "A War on Schoolgirls" (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13392086/site/newsweek/) covering incidents of the Taliban torching grade schools and using other kinds of foul intimidation tactics against civilians attending or involved with public schools throughout Afghanistan's Southern region. This piece conveys the incredible willingness among Afghani civilians to risk their lives for the opportunity to pursue an education, however, important historical facts are overlooked by the journalists entirely discrediting the article. 
More on Link

AFGHANISTAN: WOMEN ASSIGNED AS WOULD-BE SUICIDE BOMBERS
Karachi, 7 July (AKI) - (Syed Saleem Shahzad) - 
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.318758962&par=0

Suicide bombings appear to be taking root as a form of militant warfare in Afghanistan, with a group of women at the forefront of the expansion of the use in the country of the bloody, largely Iraq-imported technique. The women - numbering around 70 - include widows of Arab and Uzbek fighters killed in clashes with the US military in Afghanistan or with Pakistani forces, sources in Pakistan's North Waziristan region have told Adnkronos International (AKI). 

North and South Waziristan which are being used by Taliban and al-Qaeda militants to mount attacks into neighbouring Afghanistan, have recently become a haven for militants, the sources said.
MORE ON LINK


----------



## MarkOttawa (7 Jul 2006)

600 more infantry to help Paras under Taleban attack (Just to add to GAP's comment above.)
The Times, July 07, 2006
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2259935,00.html

'SIX HUNDRED more infantry troops are to be sent to southern Afghanistan as urgent reinforcements after a month of Taleban attacks in which six British soldiers were killed.

The deployment will double the number of combat troops in Afghanistan at a time of growing alarm over the role of British forces in the lawless Helmand province, where resurgent Taleban fighters threaten to outgun and outnumber coalition troops...

Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, told the Commons that he had received a request for more troops and was giving it urgent consideration. An announcement is expected next week. He is also expected to send out more helicopters.

The Times understands that the 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment, on standby, should be deployed by the end of this month.

Elements of the regiment are already serving in southern Afghanistan, attached to the 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment battle group, and have been involved in firefights with the Taleban.

The 600 soldiers of the Royal Irish Regiment will double the number of combat troops in Afghanistan. At present the 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, part of 16 Air Assault Brigade, based in Helmand province, is the only full combat unit available to take on the Taleban...'  

Mark
Ottawa


----------



## GAP (7 Jul 2006)

Canadian soldier cleared in Afghan's death
Friday, July 7, 2006 Posted: 1807 GMT (0207 HKT) 
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/07/07/canada.afghan.ap/index.html


OTTAWA, Canada (AP) -- Military police say a Canadian soldier who shot and killed a civilian at a Kandahar, Afghanistan, checkpoint acted lawfully and will not face charges.

Drastically conflicting accounts of the March 14 death of Nasrat Ali Hassan came from the soldier involved in the shooting and the family of the victim.

Hassan's widow and son say he received no warning to stop before a Canadian soldier fired shots at the motorized rickshaw he was riding in as he approached a checkpoint.
More on Link


Pakistan to receive F-16 fighters in next two years: Durrani 
Saturday July 08, 2006 (0206 PST) -  Pakistan News 
http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149219 

 WASHINGTON: Pakistan envoy in United States Mehmood Durrani has said Pakistan will start to receive US F-16 fighter jets delivery within next two years. 
Pakistan would also get other weapon systems, ships and defence equipment from United States, he said while talking to a private news channel
 More on link

Eight coalition soldiers wounded, six Taliban killed in Afghanistan
Jul 8, 2006, 12:00 GMT 
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/southasia/article_1179061.php/Eight_coalition_soldiers_wounded_six_Taliban_killed_in_Afghanistan

Kabul - At least six Taliban rebels were killed and seven coalition troops were wounded in separate firefights in southern Afghanistan, a coalition forces spokeswoman said on Saturday. 

'Coalition forces have been involved in numerous firefights in the Pashmol area of Panjwayee district of Kandahar province this morning,' Captain Julie Roberge, coalition spokeswoman in southern Kandahar province, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. 

She said that 'the fighting started at around 1:00am Saturday morning, and during the fighting which is still ongoing, three coalition soldiers and one national army soldier were wounded.' 

Afghanistan is no one's war
Media Monitors Network
by John Chuckman  --  Friday July 07 2006
http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/32238

"There is no reason to feel hopeful or idealistic about anyone’s role in Afghanistan. Afghanistan and Iraq are neither wars in the traditional sense nor humanitarian projects. They are foreign occupations of people who do not want to occupied. The idea that you can successfully occupy a hostile land into peace remains a delusion of consultants on big expense accounts in Washington. Just ask Israel nearly four decades after the Six Day War." 

A summary of events leading to the invasion of Afghanistan is helpful.  More on Link

Confidence lags in Afghanistan as violence rises  
Pak Tribune      Saturday July 08, 2006 (0131 PST)
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149201

WASHINGTON: Islamist terrorism in Afghanistan is on the rise, aided by foreign support and by the struggles of the government in Kabul to deliver on promises of security and development, the nation’s foreign minister. 
"The confidence of our people in the government to protect them, especially in our southern provinces, is not strong," Rangin Dadfar Spanta said during a luncheon interview with editors and reporters at The Washington Times. 

s This year has seen some of the bloodiest fighting in Afghanistan since a U.S.-led coalition ousted the militant Taliban regime in 2001, including a string of bombings in Kabul this week that killed one person and wounded about 60 others.   More on link

Time grows short for Afghan project
 CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD -  7 July 2006  -  Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060706.wxblatchford06a/BNStory/Afghanistan/home
Entire Text printed, as Globe & Mail tend to lock articles by Christie after a day or two.

KABUL — Of all the dispiriting indicators available these days about Afghanistan, perhaps none is as telling as the number recited this week by Rakesh Sood, the handsome Indian ambassador here.

Mr. Sood was sitting in his office in the Shahr-e-naw district of Kabul in a building that the embassy evacuated in 1996 when the city fell to the Taliban. The Talibs promptly occupied it, of course, and set about trashing the joint, as was, and remains, their thuggish wont.

We were talking about what is increasingly acknowledged here as the shrinking window of opportunity that exists for this country to get back on its feet
"The attention span of the international community," Mr. Sood was saying, "is not infinite. They will start losing interest, or put a better way, Afghanistan will no longer be able to attract the same level of financial and political support it has been able to do in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005." He paused a minute, then said, "I'm told that this year, in the first six months, 125 schools have been attacked, 75 of which were burned. And of course many teachers have been threatened and some killed: How do you encourage a family to send their kids to school?"

These figures, which Mr. Sood later attributed to the United Nations, are so troubling because they illustrate what former Canadian ambassador Chris Alexander calls "a nihilism to the Taliban that is really disturbing and dangerous, and those who are ideologically committed to that cause do need to be fought, wherever they are. . . . If the Taliban are in this world, still a fighting force in the border regions, if they're able to project their values, their nihilism, into the streets of London, aircraft crashing into buildings and so forth, then what other reason do you have an army for?"

But most of those seen as "supporting" the Taliban, or probably more accurately at worst turning a blind eye to their operations, aren't fellow ideologues, but rather this country's most vulnerable people -- the poorest of those in rural villages, the most uneducated, the least connected with the Afghan national government, itself sorely troubled and home to former tribal warlords identified as suspected war criminals by the Afghanistan Justice Project, an independent research organization devoted to documenting war crimes by all parties, local and foreign, during the past 30 years.

Throughout its report of last fall and in particular in a section called Lessons Not Learned -- an ironic reference to the "lessons learned" practices of Western armies -- the Justice Project named names and pointed fingers within and without the country.

If three decades of almost constant fighting, war and insurgency has seen Afghans develop an admirably rich capacity for survival, it has also left them one of the world's most impoverished and illiterate nations, with a peculiar and pervasive culture of violence.

As one Afghan official told me recently, and this is a man who desperately wants the government of President Hamid Karzai to work, the trauma to many Afghans is such that, "We can be bought [by warlords]. We can be brainwashed [by the Taliban]. Ordinary people are living lives without dignity. We are a society in shock, our leadership is paralyzed, the country is paralyzed."

It is these ordinary people, he says, who are regularly forced to pay bribes in the course of their daily lives -- to get a driver's licence, to sell a house -- and who see in positions of authority ranging from local police chiefs to district administrators to government ministers some of the same faces they personally know committed atrocities during one or another of Afghanistan's various wars (and the Justice Project says there were atrocities committed by all parties) or are part of the opium drug mob or those who at minimum have gained their jobs and influence by nepotism.

"These people should be punished," the official said furiously. "But at the least, they should not be promoted and rewarded and that is what has happened. Their networks are established; they are now out of control. The control of the Afghan government is now limited to the palace, not even to Kabul."

This official does not completely despair. He believes there remains time for Afghanistan, particularly if Mr. Karzai can be persuaded by the international community, nations flooding this country with money for development and security, to clean house. But the remaining window, he says, is small, perhaps a matter of three to six months, and the trends -- "assassinations, schools being burned," bombings even in the capital, such as the blasts in central Kabul that have rocked the capital the past two days when pushcarts packed with explosives blew up -- are worrisome.

He doesn't believe the majority of Afghans actively support the Taliban, but he suspects that more of them have given up overtly resisting them, and instead sit on the fence, waiting to see which side prevails.

As Mr. Alexander, now a deputy special representative of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Afghanistan, says: "Even in the south where the Taliban card is being played and they're pushing as hard as they can, they don't have constituency.

"The best they can hope for is a few tribes so hard done by for five years, they're willing to turn to any alternative, some alliance of convenience with the drug traders, and then after that they're reduced to their usual practice of intimidation and hardball . . . The opposition to them isn't marginal, it's the consensus still in the country."

Mr. Alexander says, "Afghanistan created the Taliban, yes, but it is also inoculated against the Taliban in important ways, because they lived under them, and keep in mind that when the Taliban fought, year after year through northern Afghanistan because they never brought peace to this country, they had to recruit. They had to go back to the tribes of the Taliban commanders of the south and say to the districts, 'You have to each give us 50,' and it wasn't 50 out of patriotic duty, it was 50 or else we don't give you money or we throw your tribal elders in jail or whatever. It was a real tyranny, and they richly qualify for the title of terrorists which they have been given, not just in rhetoric by President Karzai and the international community, but in law, by the UN Security Council."

As bleak as the picture is, Mr. Alexander, and the Afghan official, and ambassador Sood remain optimistic. As Mr. Sood said, "It's not a question of optimism. One doesn't have the luxury of feeling optimistic or pessimistic about it. We have to make it work. The consequences otherwise are much too serious to contemplate."

Mr. Sood says there are still old safes in the building that the Taliban tried their best to destroy, but could not. "They've been bashed around, through fire, bashed and smashed, so God knows if the combinations still work."

Not a bad metaphor, in fact, for the state of Afghanistan, circa July, 2006.

cblatchford@globeandmail.com


----------



## The Bread Guy (7 Jul 2006)

_*More on CF Troops Cleared of Wrongdoing in Checkpoint Shooting*_

*No Charges in Checkpoint-Shooting Death*
Canadian Forces news release, CFNIS/SNEFC (Int’l) 2006-05, July 7, 2006
http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/newsroom/view_news_e.asp?id=1979

The military police investigation into the March 14 checkpoint-shooting death of a local 
Afghan man in Kandahar has determined that the Canadian Forces (CF) soldier involved
acted lawfully and that no criminal or services charges will be laid.

The CF National Investigation Service (NIS), the military’s independent military police 
unit responsible for serious and sensitive matters, has completed a thorough 
investigation of the incident and found the use of force employed to be appropriate 
considering the circumstances, rules of engagement, and risks faced by Canadian 
soldiers at the time. 

The investigation was completed by the NIS detachment in Kandahar, in cooperation 
with the Afghan National Police and with assistance from Ottawa-based investigators.
The results of the investigation will be shared with the chain of command to assist in 
its operational review of the incident.  

The NIS is an independent military police unit with a mandate to investigate serious 
and sensitive matters in relation to National Defence property, DND employees and 
CF personnel serving in Canada and around the world. 

*Canadian soldier won't face charges in Afghan civilian's death - investigators  * 
Murray Brewster, Canadian Press, 7Jul 06
http://www.cp.org/premium/ONLINE/member/elxn_en/060707/p070725A.html

A Canadian soldier who shot and killed an Afghan civilian at a shadow-draped checkpoint
in Kandahar was formally cleared of any wrongdoing Friday by military investigators.  The 
decision not to charge or discipline the unidentified soldier came four months after the 
victim's family offered a drastically different account of what happened that night. A military 
police report, which was not released publicly as initially promised, concluded the soldier 
acted lawfully, even though investigators were unable to talk to a principle witness, or 
examine the vehicle involved.  The report concluded the soldier observed the proper 
procedures and rules of engagement ...

*Canadian soldier cleared over checkpoint death*
Ireland Online, 7 Jul 06
http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=188362918&p=y883636z4

Military police today said a Canadian soldier who shot and killed an Afghan civilian 
at a checkpoint in Kandahar acted lawfully and will not face charges.  The soldier 
involved in the shooting and the victim’s family provided drastically conflicting 
accounts of the death of Nasrat Ali Hassan on March 14 at the checkpoint in the 
southern Afghan city.  Hassan’s widow and son say he received no warning to 
stop before a Canadian soldier fired several shots at the motorised rickshaw he 
was riding in as he approached the checkpoint.  Canadian commanders rejected 
that claim....


*Probe clears Canadian soldier in Afghan's death*
CBC Online, 7 Jul 06
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/07/07/afghan-shooting.html

A military police investigation has concluded that a Canadian soldier who shot and 
killed an Afghan civilian at a Kandahar checkpoint acted lawfully and will not face 
charges.   Nasrat Ali Hassan was one of six passengers in a three-wheeled motorized
taxi that military officials say came too close to Canadian military vehicles....


----------



## GAP (8 Jul 2006)

Two Canadian soldiers wounded 
Canadian Press  -   Saturday, July 08, 2006 
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=2f26dbcc-a344-4c8a-8faf-836c82bbaf0d&k=21893


KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Two Canadian soldiers have been wounded, one seriously, in a firefight with Taliban west of Kandahar City. 

Military officials say both troops were evacuated to hospital at the coalition base in Kandahar. 

Neither has been identified. 

The seriously injured soldier is to be airlifted to Germany for more extensive treatment. 

The troops were part of a sweep through an area of villages and farms that have been the scene of numerous clashes with insurgents over the past two months. 

More on Link


----------



## GAP (8 Jul 2006)

Spanish soldier killed in Afghanistan
South Asia News -  Jul 8, 2006, 18:34 GMT 
 http://news.monstersandcritics.com/southasia/article_1179163.php/Spanish_soldier_killed_in_Afghanistan
       or 
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=43864

Madrid - A Spanish soldier was killed and four injured Saturday in an explosion near Farah in western Afghanistan, the Defence Ministry said in Madrid. 

The victim was identified as Peruvian paratrooper Jorge Arnaldo Hernandez. The others were reported to have been slightly injured. 

The explosion occurred 16 kilometres east of Farah at 1840 local time when an ISAF patrol hit an improvised explosive device, sources said. 
More on Link


2 soldiers wounded in Afghanistan
Jul. 8, 2006. 02:59 PM
JOHN COTTER  -  CANADIAN PRESS
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1152360067036&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&t=TS_Home

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Two Canadian soldiers were wounded Saturday, one seriously, during a fierce firefight with Taliban insurgents west of Kandahar City.
The troops were hit during a sweep through an area of villages and farms that have been the scene of numerous clashes with insurgents over the last two months, said Maj. Mark Theriault, a Canadian Forces spokesman.
More on Link

ALSO THIS:

Two Canadian soldiers wounded, one critically, during Afghanistan firefight  
CanWest News Service - National Post
Sunday, July 09, 2006 - Matthew Fisher
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=2287316a-029d-46ce-b854-6b857a9deac1&k=12044

ZHAREI/PANJWEI, Afghanistan -- For the 30th time since the Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry Battle Group arrived in the southern Afghan theatre four months ago, a critically injured soldier was to be rushed 5,100 kilometres by air ambulance to a U.S. Army combat hospital in Germany for specialized medical care


U.S. Military Deaths in Afghanistan  
By The Associated Press , 07.08.2006, 07:23 PM 
http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/07/08/ap2865794.html

As of July 8, 2006, at least 254 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. 

Of those, the military reports 153 were killed by hostile action. 
More on Link


Winning in Afghanistan means telling home truths  
The Observer  -  Sunday July 9, 2006
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1816416,00.html

The battle in Afghanistan is one that must not be lost. It is a fight to stop the country becoming a base for international terrorism, to show that democracy can be built in one of the most inhospitable countries in the world, to sustain the battered credibility of the entire international community. Victory, however, will not be easy and will require much clever diplomacy, military will, deft handling of Afghan politics and, above all, a far greater commitment than the West has so far shown
More on link


Troops leaving 'barn' in Afghanistan
Sun, Jul. 09, 2006   BY BRIAN Mc DEARMON - Staff Writer - Ledger-Enquirer
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/local/14997134.htm

Unit to have hospital three times the size of the current facility

The soldiers of the 14th Combat Support Hospital in Afghanistan will be leaving "the barn" next month and moving into their new hospital.

Of course, they don't keep animals there. The barn is the affectionate name the Fort Benning unit has given the plywood facility at Bagram Airfield, in Eastern Afghanistan.

The 250 soldiers of the 14th Combat Support Hospital left for Afghanistan in January to treat coalition forces, including Afghan police and soldiers. However, the unit, which will return home in January, routinely sees civilians involved in traffic accidents or with life-threatening diseases, such as tuberculosis, which cannot be treated elsewhere.

"For the last 30 years, frankly, the country has been suppressed when it comes to development. As a result they're behind on technology and procedures," Col. Jeffrey Haun, commander of the Combat Support Hospital told local reporters Friday in a telephone interview from Afghanistan.

Afghan 'Starbucks' proves a hit   
By Abdul Hai Kakar -  BBC News, Kandahar  
Monday, 3 July 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5109336.stm

A coffee shop called Starbucks bang in the middle of Kandahar is hardly something one takes in one's stride. 
Before we go any further let's be clear - it is no relation of the US-based international chain of the same name. 

Kandahar's coffee shop may not have the crisp decor and skinny lattes which are regulation fare for Starbucks the world over. 

But customers in the southern Afghan city say it is a welcome diversion from dusty, narrow streets, haywire traffic and conservative views. 
More on Link


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## GAP (9 Jul 2006)

AFGHAN COPS TIP OFF REBEL TALIBAN  
9 July 2006  Sunday Mirror
http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=17350697&method=full&siteid=62484&headline=afghan-cops-tip-off-rebel-taliban--name_page.html

TALIBAN rebels in Afghanistan are being tipped off about British troop movements by corrupt police. 

Senior commanders also fear Taliban guerrillas have infiltrated police units to find out details of British operations. 

The warnings come after Private Damien Jackson, 19, became the sixth British soldier to be killed in Afghanistan in a month. The paratrooper was killed in a Taliban ambush in Helmand province on Wednesday. 

A senior military source said: "We are being attacked day after day and are certain the Taliban are being fed information. The attacks have been so precise they can only come from people with inside knowledge - like the police we're trying to help." 

-AT least 400 family and friends said a tearful farewell yesterday to Lance Corporal Jabron Hashmi, 24, of Birmingham, who died in a grenade attack in Afghanistan - the first British Muslim killed in the War on Terror. 
More on Link

Sikhs quitting Afghanistan
By Rajeshree Sisodia in Kabul  -  Al Jazeera Net
Sunday 09 July 2006, 14:05 Makka Time, 11:05 GMT   

After living in Afghanistan for more than two centuries, economic hardship is pushing many in the country's dwindling Sikh community to emigrate to India, their spiritual homeland.


Gurdyal Singh appears no different from any other Afghan man, complete with his black-as-coal beard and an immaculately tied scarlet turban. 

But the 40-year-old father-of-four chuckles as he clears up the mistaken belief that he is a Muslim
More on Link


British military allows beards for troops in Afghanistan
UK News -  Jul 9, 2006, 13:59 GMT 
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/uk/article_1179289.php/British_military_allows_beards_for_troops_in_Afghanistan

London - The British military will allow its soldiers in Afghanistan to grow full beards, according to reports Sunday quoting the Defence Ministry in London. 

A ministry spokesman said the move was an effort by the British military to increase 'understanding' in the country by assuming local custom, the Mail on Sunday reported. 

'Our men in the field are growing their beards because the Afghan soldiers think it is respectful,' the ministry spokesman was quoted as saying. 

Soldiers not in close proximity with local Afghans however will be required to maintain British military regulations, which allow a maximum hair growth of a well-trimmed moustache. 
More on link

Shilo-based soldier wounded in Afghan firefight
Sun Jul 9 2006  Winnipeg Free Press
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscriber/canada/story/3585193p-4143286c.html

A Canadian Forces Base Shilo infantry soldier was one of two Canadians wounded during a fierce firefight with Taliban insurgents yesterday. 
Cpl. Christopher Klodt was seriously injured at 10:30 a.m. yesterday about 30 kilometres west of Kandahar City, Canadian Forces spokeswoman Capt. Holly Apostoliuk told the Brandon Sun yesterday evening. 


Bosnia's leftover guns: Sell, give, destroy?
By Beth Kampschror | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor 
July 10, 2006 edition
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0710/p12s01-woeu.html

The US wants to give the weapons to Afghan forces after previous sales to Iraq went missing.
SARAJEVO, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA – What's been called the biggest arms transfer since World War II - the shipping of leftover weapons from Bosnia's 1992-1995 war to combat zones in the Middle East and elsewhere - may not have come to an end, despite a year-old moratorium on Bosnian arms sales. 
As a UN conference on small arms wrapped up last week, key policymakers reviewed the UN's 2001 action program to end the illegal arms trade, but were unable to come up with a final document or recommendations. 
More on Link


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## The Bread Guy (9 Jul 2006)

*Reservist from Thunder Bay, Ontario Killed in Kandahar Firefight*
Compiled by Tony Prudori, editor, MILNEWS - Military News for Canadians. 9 Jul 06

https://milnewstbay.pbwiki.com/Boneca

A Canadian soldier was killed today during an engagement with Taliban insurgents approximately 25 kilometres west of Kandahar. The incident occurred at approximately 8:30 a.m. Kandahar time (12:00 a.m. EDT). Killed was Corporal Anthony Joseph Boneca who was serving with Task Force Afghanistan as part of the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (1 PPCLI) Battle Group. Cpl. Boneca was a member of the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment, which is based in Thunder Bay, Ontario; his next-of-kin have been notified. Cpl. Boneca was evacuated by helicopter to the coalition medical facility at Kandahar Airfield where he was pronounced dead. (. . .) Cpl. Boneca's unit was operating in Zjarey district as part of Operation Zahar, which means "Sword" in Pashto. Operation Zahar is a joint Afghan National Army/Coalition security operation aimed at removing the Taliban threat to Afghan citizens in the region west of Kandahar City while strengthening the Afghan Government's authority in the area....


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## The Bread Guy (9 Jul 2006)

.pdf version of this report is available at:
https://milnewstbay.pbwiki.com/f/MEDSUMREP%202006-03.pdf

According to military and media accounts as of 091850EDT Jul 06, Cpl. Anthony Joseph Boneca was killed during a firefight with Taliban insurgents approximately 25 kilometres west of Kandahar. The incident occurred at approximately 090830 Jul 06 Kandahar time (090000EDT Jul 06) while Canadian infantry attacked on foot and LAV III light-armoured vehicles.   One reporter near the scene said, “He died in an ambush just about 200 metres away from where our patrol was . . .  (when) several patrollers were trying to conduct a sweep through a village called Pashmol.”  Media reports indicate Cpl. Boneca was shot in the chest just above his bullet-proof vest from the roof of a mud-baked compound used to dry grapes by a Taliban gunman as the 21-year-old reservist tried to enter the building in the village of Pashmol, in Zhari District, Kandahar Province in southwestern Afghanistan.  Cpl. Boneca was evacuated by helicopter to a military hospital at Kandahar Airfield where he was pronounced dead.

After Boneca’s death, U.S. aircraft -- including a remotely controlled Predator, Apache AH-64 attack helicopters and A-10 Warthogs -- reportedly fired Hellfire missiles, and dropped other ordnance on the compound. Howitzers of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery were also called upon to shell the area.

Media reports indicate Cpl. Boneca was a part-time soldier with the a reservist who joined Thunder Bay’s Lake Superior Scottish Regiment (LSSR) out of high school four years ago.  A internet search indicates an Anthony Boneca received a Lieutenant Governor’s Community Volunteer Award for Students in 2003 while attending St. Ignatius High School.  Media reports quoting family members indicate Cpl. Boneca had previously done tours that included guard duty in the United Arab Emirates, as well as several trips to Kabul before he arrived in southern Afghanistan in February 2006. 

Cpl. Boneca was serving with Task Force Afghanistan as part of the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (1 PPCLI) Battle Group. The unit Cpl. Boneca was working with was operating in Zhari District as part of Operation Zahar, which means "Sword" in Pashto. Operation Zahar is a joint Afghan National Army/Coalition security operation aimed at removing the Taliban threat west of Kandahar City while strengthening the Afghan Government's authority in the area.

Unconfirmed reports on a bulletin board indicate the commanding officer of the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment went to the family's home at approximately 090300EDT Jul 06 to inform them of Cpl. Boneca's death.  As of 091845EDT Jul 06, the main family spokespeople quoted in media accounts were Elizabeth and William Babe, an aunt and uncle of Cpl. Boneca.  A CBC Radio story aired during the 6pm EDT national news on 9 Jul 06 produced by a Thunder Bay reporter included a brief quote from Boneca's father.  William Babe is quoted in the same CBC story indicating that Cpl. Boneca was going to leave the military when he returned from Afghanistan because of some dissatisfaction.  Babe cited, "things he'd seen, and things he'd had to do, and didn't want to."  Other media accounts indicate he was eager to return home following a recent two-week vacation with his partner in Italy and Greece.

As of 091923EDT Jul 06, a ramp ceremony was planned for the morning of 10 Jul 06, but funeral arrangements were still not available.
----

Links for more details:

*"1 Cdn soldier dead, 2 more injured in Afghanistan."  *  CTV News online, 9 Jul 06, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/ppj5f .

*“Canadian soldier dies in Kandahar .”*  BBC News Online, 9 Jul 06, viewed at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5162566.stm?ls .

*“Canadian soldier killed in Afghan battle.”  *  ninemsn.com.au news (Australia), 9 Jul 06,. viewed at http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=112921&print=true . 

*“Canadian soldier killed in Afghan battle.”  *  Reuters news wire, 9 Jul 06, viewed at
http://tinyurl.com/nabwd . 

*"Canadian Soldier killed in Afghanistan."  *  Canadian Forces news release, CEFCOM NR-06.011, 9 Jul 06, viewed at http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/newsroom/view_news_e.asp?id=1980 .

Cotter, John.  *“Canadian soldier based in Thunder Bay, Ont., killed in Afghanistan firefight.”   * Canadian Press, 9 Jul 06, viewed at http://www.recorder.ca/cp/National/060709/n070937A.html .

Cotter, John.  *"Canadian soldier based in Thunder Bay, Ont., killed in Afghanistan fire fight."*  Canada.com, 9 Jul 06, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/o8cyc.

Fisher, Matthew.  *“Cdn reservist dies in Taliban firefight.”   * CanWest News Service, 9 Jul 06, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/pha5w .

Harper, Stephen.  *"Statement by the Prime Minister on the passing of Corporal Anthony Joseph Boneca."*  Prime Minister of Canada's web page, 9 Jul 06, viewed at http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?category=3&id=1240 . 

Jean, Michaelle.  *"Message from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, on the death of Corporal Anthony Joseph Boneca."   * Governor General of Canada web page, 9 Jul 06, viewed at http://www.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=4818 .

Khan, Noor.  *“Canadian, 15 Taliban Killed in Afghanistan.”  *  Associated Press, 9 Jul 06, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/nw84m .

O'Connor, Gordon. * "Statement by the Minister of National Defence on the passing of Corporal Anthony Joseph Boneca."  *  Canadian Forces web page, 9 Jul 06, viewed at http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/newsroom/view_news_e.asp?id=1981 .


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## GAP (10 Jul 2006)

Another excellent article from Christie Blatchford, this time on the fire fight that
Corporal Anthony Boneca was injured in.

Canadian dies in Afghan battle

Soldiers engaged in lethal two-day game of cat-and-mouse with Taliban fighters 

CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD 
From Monday 10 July 2006 -  Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060710.wxafghanblatch10/BNStory/National/?cid=al_gam_nletter_newsUp

PASHMUL, AFGHANISTAN — It was about 6 a.m. local time Sunday when Corporal Tony Boneca and the rest of the 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry first filed through the maze of lush grape fields of the Panjwei district west of Kandahar.
More on Link


Canadians adapt to war's reality. . .
CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD -  POSTED ON 07/07/06  -  Globe & Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com//servlet/story/LAC.20060707.AFGHAN07/TPStory/Front

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN -- At the Tim Hortons at Kandahar Air Field, the enormous oven that is the main coalition base in southern Afghanistan, a small group of young men were having a morning coffee yesterday.

They looked much like any other group of 20-somethings -- a little leaner perhaps, a little more tanned -- but they are rare birds indeed.

Warriors from the peaceable kingdom of Canada, they are some of the boys of 7 Platoon, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

In recent months, like the rest of the 800-strong Canadian battle group here, they have had in spades what the euphemism-loving military calls TICs, short for Troops in Combat, or "contact."
More on link

U.S.: 40 Taliban killed in south Afghanistan
15 reportedly killed a day earlier, part of Operation Mountain Thrust
10 July 2006 - MSNBC News Services
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13798276/

KABUL, Afghanistan - U.S. and Afghan government forces attacked an insurgent stronghold in the southern province of Uruzgan on Monday, killing more than 40 of them, the U.S. military said.

One member of the Afghan security forces was killed and three members of the U.S.-led coalition force were wounded in the attack, the U.S. military said in a statement.

Some 10,000 U.S., Canadian, British and Afghan forces have deployed across southern Afghanistan as part of Operation Mountain Thrust in a bid to loosen the Taliban’s hold on the region. At least 20 coalition troops have been killed in combat across Afghanistan since the offensive started in May, according to an Associated Press tally based on coalition figures. Most of the fatalities have been in the south.

Afghanistan reels under bumper harvests  
By Jason Motlagh -  South Asia  -    Jul 11, 2006  Asia Times
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/HG11Df01.html

Afghanistan boasts two bumper crops this season, and both could be lethal to the already fledgling authority of its government. 
Western officials expect the largest-ever opium crop in the face of a toothless US$1 billion eradication campaign. And contrary to earlier pronouncements by military officials, the Taliban are gaining steam in the volatile southern provinces, where fighting has raged at levels not seen since the US-led invasion that toppled the al-Qaeda-allied Islamic fundamentalist movement five years ago. 

Forty thousand tons of narcotics were burned last week at a ceremony in Kabul to show the state's determination to stamp out illegal drugs that now account for nearly half of its gross domestic product. This came just one week after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a five-hour pit stop for a meeting with President Hamid Karzai to affirm Washington's full support of his efforts to steer reconstruction and defeat a reconstituted Taliban.   more on link

Pak helps rebuild highway to Afghanistan
Monday, July 10, 2006  -  THE TIMES OF INDIA
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1721951.cms

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has helped neighbour Afghanistan rebuild the 75-km Torkham-Jalalabad highway at a cost of Rs 2 billion ($33 million) and says it has completed 95 percent of the task two months before deadline. 

Although there are many entry points, this highway, which was but a rundown road, is the key entry from Afghanistan to Pakistan via the Khyber Pass and witnesses daily movement of goods and travellers
More on link

TV-rapped Pakistan may ease rape laws
Sunday, July 09, 2006  -  THE TIMES OF INDIA
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1719361.cms

ISLAMABAD: The young audience fell into confused silence and then buzzed with whispers after Mir Ibrahim Rahman announced that there was no difference between an apple and an orange. 

Rahman, 28, chief executive of the immensely popular Geo TV network, was speaking last Sunday at a youth conference in Rawalpindi. 

His absurd statement, he immediately made clear, was meant to illustrate the failings of a set of Islamic decrees known collectively as the Hudood Ordinance. 

The laws, introduced in 1979 and criticized internationally since, include a clause stating that to prove rape, a woman must have at least four male witnesses. If the woman fails to provide proof, she herself faces the charge of adultery. 
More on link


Pak troops kill 21 rebels in Baluchistan
Sunday, July 09, 2006  -  THE TIMES OF INDIA
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1719100.cms 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan security forces on Sunday killed 21 tribal rebels and wounded 15 others while targeting their hideouts in the south-west province of Baluchistan, a government spokesman said here. 

Those killed were said to be supporters of Baloch tribal leader Nawab Akbar Bugti, who is leading a revolt from his hideout in the province. 

"Several tribesmen have surrendered and more have contacted the government and offered cooperation," spokesman Raziq Bugti said claiming that seven camps of anti-government tribesmen had been eliminated. 

He said that security forces are continuing search operations in Sangseela area of Dera Bugti district against the camps of anti-government tribesmen.  More on link

Backing away from Afghanistan no option: UNBy Robert Birsel  -  Reuters
Monday, July 10, 2006; 7:02 AM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/10/AR2006071000232.html

KABUL (Reuters) - The international community underestimated the ability of the Taliban to recover from their 2001 defeat and the world should now respond by stepping up support for Afghanistan, the United Nations said on Monday.

An announcement by Britain expected on Monday that it will send more troops was "excellent news" and other countries should increase help, whether military, political or financial, the U.N. secretary-general's special representative said. "These are difficult times for Afghanistan. These are difficult times for the south, but backing away is not an option," the special representative for Afghanistan, Tom Koenigs, told a news conference
More on link


Pak lost 2,700 men in Kargil war: Sharif
Thursday, July 06, 2006 -  THE TIMES OF INDIA
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1711896.cms

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Army lost 2,700 military personnel in the Kargil conflict, far higher than its casualties during the 1965 and 1971 wars with India, former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif has said in his memoirs. 

Giving his account of the 1999 conflict in the book "Ghadaar Kaun? Nawaz Sharif Ki Kahani, Unki Zubani", Sharif said the casualties suffered by the Army were so extensive that an entire brigade of the Northern Light Infantry based in the Pakistan-controlled Northern Areas was wiped out. Sharif reiterated his contention that Gen Pervez Musharraf, the then Army chief, had not taken him into confidence on the situation in Kargil and that he learnt the details from his Indian counterpart, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. 
More on link


U.S. assures full support to Afghanistan: Afghan FM  
July 10, 2006  Peoples Daily Online
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/10/eng20060710_281444.html     

The United States of America has repeated its firm commitment to continue support the post-war Afghanistan on a long-term basis, a statement of Afghanistan's foreign ministry issued at the conclusion of Afghan foreign minister's tour to Washington said Sunday. 

"During his talks with the U.S. officials the Afghan foreign minister Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta was assured of Washington's firm support to Afghanistan," the press release noted. 


2 militants killed, 9 wounded in Afghanistan  
July 10, 2006 -   Source: Xinhua ( Peoples Daily Online)
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/10/eng20060710_281721.html
         
Firefights between anti-government militants and law enforcing agencies left two militants dead and 11 others, including two police, injured in the south and southeast Afghanistan on Sunday night, said authorities on Monday. 

"Nine enemies fighters and two police were injured in a clash erupted in Wardak province last night," Yusuf Stanikzai, spokesman of Interior ministry, told Xinhua. 

All the nine injured militants had been arrested and taken to hospital, where five of them are in critical condition, he said. 

Another two militants have been killed in Andar district of southern Ghazni province on Sunday, a military commander in the province Abdul Wadoud confirmed to Xinhua. 

Taliban-linked insurgency has claimed the lives of more than 1, 000 people including more than 50 foreign soldiers since beginning of this year. 

Afghan family awaits payout
Monday July 10, 2006  -  The Chronicle Herald
By JOHN COTTER The Canadian Press
http://thechronicleherald.ca/World/515313.html


KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — The family of an Afghan civilian fatally shot by a Canadian soldier at a vehicle checkpoint has heard nothing about a federal report that cleared the soldier of any wrongdoing and says it still has not received any compensation.

"No one told us, we are not aware of that," said Farid Ahmed, 23, Hassan’s eldest son, through an interpreter.

"Our father was innocent and he was killed. He left a wife and children behind and a lot of memories. It is my request for Canadians to please do something for us. We can’t survive easily."
More on link

Top UN envoy in Afghanistan asks for more anti-terrorism support
Jul 10, 2006, 12:23 GMT South Asia News
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/southasia/article_1179496.php/Top_UN_envoy_in_Afghanistan_asks_for_more_anti-terrorism_support

Kabul - The top UN envoy in Afghanistan Monday called on international community to provide more financial, military, and political support to fight the stubborn insurgency inside the country and to eliminate safe havens for terrorists outside. 

'Since we have logistical bases of the insurgency outside of the country, it is certainly necessary to (address the issue diplomatically),' Tom Koenigs, special representative of the Secretary General in the Afghanistan, told reporters in a press conference. 'The havens of the terrorists and insurgents outside of the country have to be equally addressed as they have to be addressed inside of the country.' 
More on link

UK to send more troops to Afghanistan  Update
Matthew Tempest, political correspondent
Monday July 10, 2006 - Guardian Unlimited 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,,1817126,00.html?gusrc=rss

Nearly 900 extra military personnel will be deployed to Afghanistan in the wake of the deaths of six British soldiers in the past month, the government announced today.
It will increase the size of the UK taskforce in the southern Helmand province to around 4,500 by October, from the current level of 3,600.

Additional support helicopters - probably Chinooks and Lynxs - will also be made available, the defence secretary, Des Browne, told MPs in an emergency statement on the state of Afghanistan.

Rumsfeld: Afghanistan Drug Trade May Help Fuel Taliban Resurgence 
Monday, July 10, 2006  -  Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,202787,00.html  

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan  — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Monday a flourishing drug trade in Afghanistan may be helping fuel a Taliban resurgence, potentially undermining the young Afghan democracy.

"I do worry that the funds that come from the sale of those products could conceivably end up adversely affecting the democratic process in the country," he told reporters accompanying him on an overnight flight from Washington.

"I also think anytime there is that much money floating around and you have people like the Taliban that it gives them an opportunity to fund their efforts in various ways," he added in the interview.

U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 to oust the radical Taliban regime, and although the country now has a democratically elected government the Taliban have made been making a comeback.

Rumsfeld said there is U.S. intelligence information indicating that the Taliban have taken a share of drug profits in exchange for providing protection. He did not offer specifics or elaborate
More on link

Coalition Forces Kill 40 Taliban in Afghan Raid   
Monday, July 10, 2006 - FOXNEWS.COM HOME 
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,202744,00.html

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces killed more than 40 suspected Taliban militants in raid on a compound in southern Afghanistan on Monday, a coalition spokesman said. 

One Afghan army soldier was killed and three coalition troops wounded in the fighting near Tarin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan province, 110 miles north of Kandahar, said Sgt. Chris Miller.

The coalition soldiers were in stable condition, he said, declining to give their identities or nationalities. It wasn't immediately clear if there had been airstrikes and if the coalition had recovered the bodies of the dead militants.

The fighting follows heavy clashes in neighboring Kandahar province over the weekend that killed at least 19 militants and a Canadian coalition soldier
More on link

Afghans barred from seeking compensation from Canada
Canadian Press - Globe & Mail - 4:36 PM EDT ON 10/07/06 
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060710.wafghanliable0710/BNStory/Front

Afghan civilians who are accidentally injured or killed, or whose property is damaged by Canadian soldiers have no legal right to compensation under an undisclosed arrangement signed by the two countries last year.

Instead, restitution to mostly dirt-poor villagers depends upon an obscure claims process that would provide payments under “moral considerations,” say heavily censored documents obtained by The Canadian Press under access to information laws.

In the course of combat operations, “Canadian personnel will not be liable for any damages to private or government property,” said a briefing note prepared for Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor on the accidental shooting of a civilian last March in Kandahar
More on link


Taliban use beheadings and beatings to keep Afghanistan's schools closed  
By Tom Coghlan in Kabul -  Published: 11 July 2006 
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article1171369.ece

The letter pinned overnight to the wall of the mosque in Kandahar was succinct. "Girls going to school need to be careful for their safety. If we put acid on their faces or they are murdered then the blame will be on their parents." 

Today the local school stands empty, victim of what amounts to a Taliban war on knowledge. The liberal wind of change that swept the country in 2001 is being reversed. By the conservative estimate of the Afghan President Hamid Karzai, 100,000 students have been terrorised out of schools in the past year. The number is certainly far higher and many teachers have been murdered, some beheaded.

In the province of Zabul a teacher and female MP, Toor Peikai, said yesterday: "There are 47 schools in my province but only three are open." Only one teaches girls. It is 200 metres from a large US military base in the provincial capital.

Across the south, schools burn during the night. According to a bleak report released by Human Rights Watch today at least 200 have been destroyed in the past year and half. Their blackened shells, many of them new buildings constructed with foreign aid money, are visible from the ever more dangerous road south to Kandahar.

The fate of the mixed-sex Sheikh Zai Middle School, on the outskirts of a community in the mountains of Maruf district is sadly not atypical. A local witness told Human Rights Watch what happened when the Taliban came: "They went to each class, took out their long knives .... locked the children in two rooms, where the children were severely beaten with sticks and asked, 'will you come to school now?'"

The six teachers later told residents what happened to them. They were taken out of school and blindfolded, then they were continually hit and were taken to nearby mountains on foot.

All six were separated and nobody knew where the other was. The Taliban asked them individually, "Why are you working for Mr Bush and Karzai?" They said, "We are educating our children with books -we know nothing about Bush or Karzai, we are just educating our children." After that they were beaten and let go.

The beatings were sufficiently serious that they remain handicapped. One of them had his leg broken and he cannot walk or work. One of the others still has problems with his hand and cannot use it.

The headmaster was later targeted. He was beaten with a gun butt and later shot in the thigh.

This summer, across the south of Afghanistan, the Taliban have returned. They boast the same medieval world vision but their numbers are unprecedented, their weapons abundant, and their coffers full of money from wealthy Pakistani and Gulf State patrons and from the proceeds of drug trafficking.

And what was, until this year, characterised as an increasingly vicious "low-level insurgency" has become a war. A palpable terror grips the south of the country, where overstretched Western forces battle an enemy that melts in and out of the local populace at will, and anyone associated with the foreigners or the central government is a target for violent reprisals.

Faced with collapsing security and insurgents who are flowing back and forth from safe havens in the tribal areas of Pakistan, the Western forces in the south are resorting to more extreme measures.

Yesterday, Operation Mountain Thrust, the 11,000-strong coalition offensive in the south, claimed to have killed another 40 insurgents in a strike on a house in Uruzgan. The two months since the start of Mountain Thrust have seen more than 600 killed in the south, the vast majority of them Taliban fighters.

But increasingly figures within both the Afghan government and international community are questioning whether killing such huge numbers of people is quelling the insurgency or simply fuelling popular resentment.

"It is not acceptable that in all this fighting, Afghans are dying," an exasperated and increasingly unpopular Hamid Karzai said in June. "In the past three to four weeks, 500 to 600 Afghans were killed. Even if they are Taliban, they are sons of this land."

In May, the coalition dropped bombs in Afghanistan on no fewer than 750 occasions, more than the ordnance dropped in Iraq. On Sunday night, bombs were again lighting up the sky, amid a dull rumble in Ghazni province. 

The letter pinned overnight to the wall of the mosque in Kandahar was succinct. "Girls going to school need to be careful for their safety. If we put acid on their faces or they are murdered then the blame will be on their parents." 

Today the local school stands empty, victim of what amounts to a Taliban war on knowledge. The liberal wind of change that swept the country in 2001 is being reversed. By the conservative estimate of the Afghan President Hamid Karzai, 100,000 students have been terrorised out of schools in the past year. The number is certainly far higher and many teachers have been murdered, some beheaded.
more on link



A ruthless enemy, a hostile population and 50C heat  
By Thomas Coghlan in Musa Qala, Helmand and Justin Huggler 
10 July 2006  The Independent
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article1168220.ece

In Musa Qala, on the front line of the Taliban insurgency against British troops in southern Afghanistan, a pick-up truck packed with heavily armed men roared up the main street. They were just 50 yards from the local district governor's house, a building pitted by bullet and rocket-propelled-grenade strikes, where British commanders were meeting tribal elders. 

The gunmen in the pick-up were wearing black robes and large black or white turbans, common tribal dress in Helmand - but also the uniform of the Taliban. Who were they? A terrified local shopkeeper replied: "They could be the governor's militia, or they could be Taliban. We can't tell the difference. But you should leave right now."
more on link




Our duty to Afghanistan  
10 July 2006 19:21 - The Independent
http://comment.independent.co.uk/leading_articles/article1168165.ece

Afghanistan is not Iraq. The military intervention to overthrow the Taliban was sanctioned by the United Nations and supported by almost all the nations of the world, including Muslim ones. There were concerns about the means, which relied heavily on bombing from the air and on Northern Alliance warlords on the ground, but the ends were just. This newspaper does not share, therefore, the common conflation of the situation in Afghanistan with that in Iraq. Even in Iraq, where outside intervention was unjustified, we hold to the "china shop" principle set out by Colin Powell, the former US Secretary of State: "You break it, you own it." Even in Iraq, we accept that Britain and the US have an obligation to keep their troops there for as long as the democratic Iraqi government wants them there. 

If that is so in Iraq, how much stronger the obligation is in Afghanistan, where the democratic government is so much more soundly based. In that deployment, Tony Blair has been criticised on two diametrically opposed grounds. One, that British forces have no right to be there at all. The other, that he has betrayed his promise to the Afghan people to stand by them because he and the Americans were distracted by the needless war in Iraq. We stand firmly in the second camp. Our criticism of the Nato deployment in Afghanistan is that, as it has not been consistent enough, the Taliban were allowed to regroup. More troops and more engineers should have been deployed five years ago. Instead, US and British attention, troops and resources were drained from Afghanistan by the invasion of Iraq. The fact that, as we report today, Mr Blair has now agreed to reinforce the Helmand deployment is an inevitable consequence of that earlier failure. Commentary



James Fergusson: Of course they hate us in Helmand. They are fighting a war we started 157 years ago  
The British are simply outriders of the Great Satan  
Published: 09 July 2006 
http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article1168160.ece

There are many unanswered questions surrounding Britain's increasingly fraught deployment to southern Afghanistan, though none as urgent as this one: why us? The fierce opposition to our military presence in the region - six British soldiers dead in three weeks - was initially described by a Ministry of Defence spokesman as "unexpected". Des Browne, the Secretary of State for Defence, has since admitted that Britain's military presence has "energised the Taliban". 

Yet this response was entirely predictable. The British are not perceived as a "neutral" force in Afghanistan, and nor have they been since before the days of the Raj. Afghans call the Brits "feringhee" - a derogatory term imported from India, where it is applied to Europeans in general. In Afghanistan, it is reserved exclusively for the British. That is the measure of the singular relationship between our nations. The decision to invite Britain to inaugurate Nato's hearts-and-minds mission to Helmand province - and Britain's decision to accept - was madness. Almost any other of Nato's 26 member nations would have been a better choice


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## The Bread Guy (10 Jul 2006)

More details on the death of Cpl. Anthony Joseph Boneca, excerpted from Media Summary Report 2006-03.02, http://milnewstbay.pbwiki.com/f/MEDSUMREP 2006-03.02.pdf :

"The Battle
The unit Cpl. Boneca was working with was part of Operation Zahar (Pashtu for "Sword"). Operation Zahar was a joint Afghan National Army/Coalition security operation aimed at removing the Taliban threat west of Kandahar City, while strengthening the Afghan Government's authority in the area.  Media reports indicate three companies of PPCLI troops, as well as engineers and other members of the Afghan National Army (ANA) 205th Corps and their American trainers, were involved in the engagement.  A PPCLI company commander is quoted saying the operation was a, “division main effort,” suggesting it would receive priority in any calls for fire.

Although Canadian troops had engaged Taliban forces in the area at least five times in the past few months, previous skirmishes resulted in some Canadian injuries, but no major, protracted exchanges of fire.  In contrast, one Canadian military spokesperson described this engagement as, “pretty intense, and there has been a number of firefights.”  One theory for the heavier-than-usual fighting on the weekend is because Coalition forces had cut off usual escape routes, and were deployed in larger numbers than usual.

The force came under fire in maze-like grape orchards while carrying out a sweep of the village of Pashmul.  One reporter called the repeated exchanges between Coalition and Taliban forces in the area, “a lethal cat-and-mouse game.”  The reporter, monitoring radio traffic of the battle from Alpha and Bravo Companies, reported that she’d heard indications of RPG attacks, small-arms fire, “women and children fleeing,” and a group of Canadians being “pinned down in a trench” coming under RPG fire, and harrassing fire from grape orchards in the area.

The Canadians and ANA reportedly assaulted the a mud-walled house (reportedly a mud-baked compound used to dry grapes) in Pashmul three times, but were forced to withdraw each time.  Two Taliban were reportedly on the roof, probably located in a small hut on the roof with good coverage of the surrounding “low walls of the grape fields and adjacent small huts”. 

Cpl. Boneca was reportedly shot at approximately 0830 local time (100001EDT Jul 06) as he headed up the stairs of one of three mud-walled compounds by one of two men on the roof.  Media reports indicate Cpl. Boneca was shot in the neck just above the ceramic plate of his bullet-proof vest, “the bullet tearing downward through his body.”  After being shot, Cpl. Boneca was carried to a medical aid point by colleagues on a black rubber sheet, reportedly with an airway already inserted to assist breathing.  On arrival to at the medical aid point, the medic reportedly said there were no vital signs.  After evacuation via helicopter, Cpl. Boneca was pronounced dead in a military medical facility at Kandahar airfield.

After Boneca’s death, various other assets - including artillery from the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, Predator UAVs, Apache AH-64 attack helicopters, A-10 Warthogs - dropped other ordnance on the compound.  Troops on the scene reportedly tossed in grenades, and called in snipers to provide covering fire as well.  

When an embedded reporter left the site at approximately 1500 local time (100600EDT Jul 06), one of the Taliban on the roof was reportedly wounded but still firing at Coalition troops.  While numbers of enemy dead were not publicly available, media reports indicate one Taliban suspect was arrested, and one “critically injured” suspect was flown to Kandahar for treatment."

Sources:
*“Afghan, Coalition Forces Capture Two Suspected Taliban in Panjwayi District.”   *   US Central Command news release #06-05-02PP, 25 May 06, viewed at  http://tinyurl.com/zmt4g .

Blatchford, Christie.  *“Cat and mouse Afghan fight claimed Canadian soldier's life.”   * Globe & Mail online, 10 Jul 06, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/h8ckw .

Brown, Sarah Elizabeth.  *“City soldier dies in battle.”   * Chronicle-Journal online, 10 Jul 06, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/hnt5f .

Cotter, John.  *“Reservist went down fighting.”*  Canadian Press, 10 Jul 06, viewed in Ottawa Sun online at http://tinyurl.com/k6y5p . 

Fisher, Matthew.  *“Reservist killed in Afghanistan.”  *  CanWest News Services, 10 Jul 06, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/gn4rj .

*“Panjwayi Afghans receive medical, humanitarian care.”  *  US Central Command news release # 06-06-07P, 7 Jun 06, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/hnytj .

Rankin, Jim.  *“Slain soldier felt `misled':  Patrols ran long, rations fell short, friend's dad says.”   * Toronto Star, 10 Jul 06, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/k542q .

Rankin, Jim.  *“Their Only Child Dies.”  *  Hamilton Spectator, 10 Jul 06, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/fbfe2 .

Rusk, James. * “Soldier 'always had a smile on his face'.”*  Globe & Mail online, 10 Jul 06, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/f6tw7 .

*"Suspected Taliban Captured; Three Civilians Killed, Three Injured.”*  American Forces Press Service, 25 May 06, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/e75zd .


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## J.J (10 Jul 2006)

CP) - A total of 18 Canadians - 17 soldiers and one diplomat - have been killed in Afghanistan since 2002. Following is a list of the Canadian deaths: 

2006 


July 9 


Cpl. Anthony Joseph Boneca, 21, a reservist from the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment based in Thunder Bay, Ont., killed in a firefight near the village of Pashmol west of Kandahar City. 


May 17 


Capt. Nichola Goddard, an artillery officer based in Shila, Man., with 1st Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, killed in a Taliban ambush during a battle in the Panjwai region. She was first Canadian woman to be killed in action while serving in a combat role. 


April 22 


Cpl. Matthew Dinning of Richmond Hill, Ont., stationed with 2nd Canadian Mechanized Brigade in Petawawa, Ont.; Bombardier Myles Mansell of Victoria, Lieut. William Turner of Toronto, stationed in Edmonton and Cpl. Randy Payne, born in Lahr, Germany, stationed at CFB Wainright, Alta., all killed when their G-Wagon patrol vehicle was destroyed by a roadside bomb near Gumbad, north of Kandahar. 


March 29 


Pte. Robert Costall of Edmonton, a machine-gunner killed in a firefight with the Taliban insurgents in Sangin district of Helmand province, north of Kandahar. 


March 2 


Cpl. Paul Davis of Bridgewater, N.S., and Master Cpl. Timothy Wilson of Grande Prairie, Alta., 


killed when their armoured vehicle ran off the road in the Kandahar area. 


Jan. 15 


Glyn Berry, a British-born Canadian diplomat who had served with the Foreign Affairs Department since 1977, killed in a suicide bombing near Kandahar. 


2005 


Nov. 24 


Pte. Braun Scott Woodfield, born in Victoria and raised in Eastern Passage, N.S., killed when his armoured rolled over near Kandahar. 

2004 

Jan. 27 

Cpl. Jamie Brendan Murphy, 26, of Conception Harbour, Nfld., killed in suicide bombing while on patrol near Kabul. 

2003 

Oct. 2 

Sgt. Robert Alan Short, 42, of Fredericton, and Cpl. Robbie Christopher Beerenfenger, 29, of Ottawa, killed in a roadside bombing southwest of Kabul. 

2002 

April 18 (April 17 in Canada) 

Sgt. Marc D. Leger, 29, of Lancaster, Ont., Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, 24, of Montreal, Pte. Richard Green, 21, of Mill Cove, N.S., and Pte. Nathan Smith, 27, of Tatamagouche, N.S., all killed when when a U.S. F-16 fighter mistakenly bombed the Canadians, who were on a pre-dawn training exercise. Eight other Canadians were wounded in the friendly-fire incident. 

To our fallen comrades


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## tomahawk6 (10 Jul 2006)

http://www.cfc-a.centcom.mil/News%20Release/2006/07-July/Coalition%20Soldier%20killed%20during%20operations%20in%20Kandahar.htm

COMBINED FORCES COMMAND – AFGHANISTAN 
COALITION PRESS INFORMATION CENTER 
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN 
APO AE 09356 
http://www.cfc-a.centcom.mil 


News Desk: 070-223-758 
Press Center: 070-276-545 
Kabul-Presscenter@cfc-a.centcom.mil 



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

July 9, 2006 

Release # 060709-02 



Coalition Soldier killed during operations in Kandahar 



BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – A Coalition Soldier died from wounds sustained during a firefight this morning with extremists near the Panjwayi District of Kandahar Province.

The soldier was operating as part of Operation Zahar, a joint Afghan and Coalition mission to restore stability to the region and set conditions to reinforce the extension of the government’s reach.

“We deeply regret the loss of our fellow comrade who died so that others may live in peace,” said Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force - 76.  “He died serving his country and fighting tyranny and repression.  His sacrifice will not be forgotten.”


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## cplcaldwell (10 Jul 2006)

_Ahh, the good old Toronto Star, read this, but only before you eat lunch and after taking a valium...note the style in which the piece is written, start off with the bad news, salt with third party reports, use as many snippets from as many sources to build one's thesis, cast deeply veiled aspersions on the individual and the institutions, publish at a time calculated to generate the most sensation, then finish, well down in the article with enough feel-good so as to provide plausibility to the 'balanced story' concept.

Wasn't this one of the institutions arguing a few weeks ago for access to the tarmac at Trenton so that the Nation could pay "proper respect to a fallen hero"_

*Slain soldier felt `misled'*
*Patrols ran long, rations fell short, friend's dad says*

_Man considered talking of suicide to get discharged_
Jul. 10, 2006. 11:07 AM
JIM RANKIN
STAFF REPORTER


A Canadian soldier killed yesterday in Afghanistan was so unhappy with his mission, he had asked an army priest if talk of suicide would get him discharged, says his girlfriend's father.

Cpl. Anthony Boneca, 21, didn't feel suicidal "but he went to the priest to see if he could get out that way," said Larry DeCorte. "He hated it over there. He was misled as to what was going to be there when he got there, and what he would be doing. He was very mad about it."

As a reservist, Boneca did not expect to be called upon for heavy duty, said DeCorte, adding Boneca had complained of a long-range patrol that was supposed to last seven days, but stretched into three weeks. The week's worth of food he left with had to be stretched as well.

"They'd have to cut the rations, or they'd run out of water," said DeCorte. "They'd have no food or water by the end of it."

Boneca's second tour, said DeCorte, was completely different from the first. "Nothing was good about this one."

DeCorte said Boneca had fractured an ankle but was kept on a patrol in the mountains for a week before he got back to have it looked at.

Boneca, a reservist from Thunder Bay serving with a regiment attached to the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry battle group, was involved in a firefight with Taliban insurgents, west of Kandahar airfield, when he was fatally wounded at 8:30 yesterday morning Afghanistan time — midnight in Thunder Bay.

Shirley and Tony Boneca were told of their son's death by an army padre and a commander who came to their Thunder Bay home at 3:30 a.m. yesterday. Their only child had just three weeks left on his second tour in Afghanistan.

"This is so hard to do," Elizabeth Babe, Boneca's aunt, said from the family home yesterday. "He was coming home in 20 days. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about a wonderful boy. I've known him all of his life, as short as it has been."

According to the Department of National Defence, Boneca's unit was engaged in a fight about 25 kilometres west of Kandahar airfield. The unit was part of Operation Zahar (sword in Pashto), a joint Afghan/coalition effort to take out Taliban in the area. Boneca was flown by helicopter to a medical facility at Kandahar airfield, where he was pronounced dead.

A few hours after Boneca was hit, two other Canadian soldiers were wounded in action in the battle. They were flown to hospital at the international coalition base. Their injuries were described as non-life threatening. Two other Canadians were wounded Saturday, one seriously, in a firefight in the same general area. None of their names has been released.

Boneca is the country's 17th military casualty in Afghanistan since 2002.

"We really do have to admire his professionalism and his heroic efforts to help out people less fortunate than ours," said Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, the Canadian commander on the multinational brigade in Kandahar. "Our hearts and prayers go out to his family and friends."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement: "Our prayers are with the loved ones of Cpl. Boneca in these difficult times and we stand proudly as a nation knowing that his sacrifice was not in vain; that he laid down his life for the safety of citizens in both Canada and Afghanistan."

He leaves his parents, six aunts and two uncles, many cousins, family in Portugal, and his girlfriend, Megan DeCorte, 19.

Larry DeCorte said Boneca and his daughter planned to marry. There was no set date because Boneca had wanted to ask him in person for permission.

"He was the love of her life, and they were planning on a life together right after he got home," DeCorte said. "We loved him. The whole family here loved him. He is the kind of kid that, when you have daughters, you want your daughter to find."

Boneca was born and raised in Thunder Bay. He graduated a few years ago from St. Ignatius Catholic Secondary School, where he quarterbacked the Falcons, the school's football team, with great enthusiasm if not always across the goal line.

"He was always one of the ones where you'd have to repeat yourself about 30 times for instructions," chuckled Barry Quarrell, a vice-principal at St. Ignatius who coached the team when Boneca was there. "He'd always forget the plays. He'd say, `Give me a piece of paper, give me a book, write it on my forehead.' 

"I just knew what kind of soldier he was," said Quarrell, "because he was dedicated at whatever he did, and I know that he loves what he did."

Boneca got his first taste of the military four years ago when he signed up as a reservist with the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment, based in his hometown. The infantry unit has a motto of Inter Pericula Intrepidi, Latin for fearless in the face of danger.

"He didn't really have any goal for when he finished high school," said his aunt. "He sort of knew he wasn't ready to go to college or university.

"He liked military strategy, military games, and stuff like that. So I guess that just followed naturally. I guess he figured it would be something to try, and when he did go into the reserves, he really, really, loved it. He made a lot of friends."

Boneca emailed friends last week: "It's so hot here now you can barely handle it. I know you're all watching the news and know what's going on here, but don't worry, I'll be okay."

Coalition troops will pay tribute to Boneca today. Funeral details have not been finalized. Plans were being made yesterday to bring his body home.


With files from Canadian Press
*Reproduced under the Fair Dealings Provisions of the Copyright Act. Pt III, Sect 29, RSC*


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## The Bread Guy (10 Jul 2006)

Shared in accordance with the "fair dealing" provisions, Section 29, of the Copyright Act - http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca/info/act-e.html#rid-334

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=3cd903a5-ce4a-4af9-b2b3-c1ad7c6e9d8d&k=4348

*Defence minister brushes aside accusations that fallen reservist was ill-trained*
Chinta Puxley, Canadian Press, 10 Jul 06

TORONTO (CP) - Angry accusations that reservist Cpl. Anthony Boneca was "misled" by the military about Canada's role in Afghanistan and ill-trained for the combat role that claimed his life were brushed aside Monday by the Conservative government. 

_*Family and friends of the 21-year-old soldier, who died Sunday in a firefight west of Kandahar City, said Boneca was so desperate to return home he contemplated telling an army priest he was suicidal in the hopes of being discharged.*_ "He expected to be on patrol, not fighting a war for someone else," said Larry DeCourte, father of Boneca's girlfriend Megan. 

"He wasn't ready for that," he said. 

Boneca, a reservist with the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment based in Thunder Bay, Ont., whose tour of duty was to end in three weeks, didn't have the proper training to engage the enemy, added DeCourte. 

While Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor said he wouldn't contest what Boneca told his friends and family, he added that he "would be surprised if people are misled" about the hazards of the Afghan mission. 

"Everybody has to take equal risks," O'Connor told a news conference in Winnipeg. 

"Once you're in and committed, you don't get a choice about what you do and don't do. This is the military." 

_*As for the claim that Boneca would have been ill-prepared to face the enemy, O'Connor noted that reservists - who make up 10 and 15 per cent of the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan - are treated as regular soldiers. * _ 

"(Reservists) receive the same training, the same protective equipment... There is no difference." 

_*O'Connor stressed that any reservist who "didn't want to go to Afghanistan, wouldn't be sent," but once deployed they are not sent home without good reason. * _ 

The moral of the troops remains high despite Boneca's death, he said. 

"Morale of the troops in Afghanistan is literally fantastic, as it is back here in Canada." 

_*DeCourte, in a telephone interview from Thunder Bay, accused the military of "glorifying" the mission and said Boneca had recently become "disillusioned" with Canada's role in the conflict. * _ 

He said it was Boneca's second tour in Afghanistan, but that the mission was very different from his last - guarding a post in Kabul. 

DeCourte said Boneca - who he described as a "fantastic person," and a "proud" reservist and Canadian - recently became more and more desperate to leave. 

"He wanted to get on with his life," said DeCourte, who added his daughter had been given a promise ring by Boneca. 

"It wasn't happening fast enough for him. I guess it didn't happen fast enough for him." 

_*DeCourte said Boneca's death should serve as a warning to anyone contemplating serving in Afghanistan. 

"They've got to know they may not come home." * _ 

The comments come after Boneca's uncle, William Babe, said his nephew was demoralized and told his family that the mission was "not like you see on TV." 

(NB) _*A Canadian Forces official answered all calls to the Boneca home on Monday and said the family was requesting privacy. All questions were referred to a public affairs official, who in turn would not comment on how the family is coping. * _ 

Hundreds of Canadian, American, British, Romanian, French and Dutch troops watched quietly Monday at the main coalition base in Kandahar as Boneca's body was loaded onto an aircraft. 

A repatriation ceremony was scheduled for Wednesday, most likely at CFB Trenton in Ontario, said military spokeswoman Lt. Morgan Bailey. 

Funeral arrangements had not yet been made. 

It was not known Monday whether the repatriation ceremony will be open to the media. 

A spokesman with the Prime Minister's office said the policy regarding media coverage has not changed since the beginning of the year, when reporters were banned from the base as four fallen soldiers were returned from Afghanistan. 

In that case, one of the families of the deceased objected to having the media on the base which prompted the ban. 

Bailey said the Canadian Forces have not received any formal directives regarding the policy but said "the wishes of the family are definitely going to play a more important role."


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## The Bread Guy (11 Jul 2006)

*Rumsfeld Wary of Taliban Afghan Resurgence*
Robert Burns, Associated Press, 11 Jul 06, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/mexqr

The rise of Taliban resistance in southern Afghanistan reflects the weakness of the 
government more than a strengthening of the fundamentalist movement that once 
sheltered Osama bin Laden, the top U.S. commander here said Tuesday.  "The areas
that the Taliban is operating in are areas that the government of Afghanistan has not 
heretofore had the strength and had the presence," Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry told 
reporters before boarding a plane to fly here with Defense Secretary Donald H. 
Rumsfeld from Dushanbe, Tajikistan...

*Rumsfeld Seeks to Curb Afghan Drug Trade*
Robert Burns, Associated Press, 11 Jul 06, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/qhln2

The Taliban will be defeated in Afghanistan although cross-border movement of 
militants is continuing, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Tuesday.  
Rumsfeld also called on Europe to provide a ``master plan'' to Afghanistan to help 
curb its massive drug trade, which has seen heroin flood Europe and Russia.  At a 
joint news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Rumsfeld said militants
"don't want to see a country like Afghanistan have a successful democracy. They 
won't succeed." ...

*U.S. committed to Afghan success, Rumsfeld says*
Kristin Roberts, Reuters, 11 Jul 06, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/nkx59

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld reaffirmed U.S. support for Afghanistan on 
Tuesday and said more had to be done to stop cross-border violence as American-led
troops killed about 30 militants in an attack.  Rumsfeld was the second senior U.S. 
official to visit Afghanistan in two weeks as the government and international forces
grapple with the most intense Taliban violence since the Islamists were ousted from
power in 2001....

*Rumsfeld in Afghanistan amid Taliban resurgence*
Agence France Presse, 11 Jul 06, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/qzzqy

US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has arrived in Kabul for talks with President 
Hamid Karzai amid a resurgence of Taliban violence that is challenging NATO's 
expansion into Afghanistan's troubled south.  Rumsfeld's arrival came as a spokeswoman
for the US-led coalition in the violence-wracked central Asian country announced that at 
least 30 Taliban militants had been killed in an early morning air strike in Helmand province....

*Half of all UK special forces set for Afghanistan*
IAN BRUCE and MICHAEL SETTLE, The Herald (UK), 10 Jul 06, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/s3gnj

More than half of Britain's special forces are to be committed to Afghanistan to help curb 
the growing threat of Taliban insurgents.  Monday, Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, is
due to announce reinforcements for the British garrison in Afghanistan to provide an 
additional infantry battlegroup believed to be based on 1st battalion, the Royal Irish 
Regiment.  Additionally, about 200 troopers from the SAS and the Royal Marines' 
Special Boat Service are being sent to Helmand province to spearhead the offensive
in the strategic Sangin Valley....

*Taliban vow attacks on British reinforcements *
Reuters, 11 Jul 06, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/r7eva

Afghanistan's Taliban said on Tuesday they would greet British reinforcements heading
to the southern province of Helmand with ferocious attacks.  Britain announced on Monday
it would send 900 more troops and additional helicopters to southern Afghanistan, where 
a force meant as the spearhead of a NATO peace mission has faced fierce Taliban resistance.
"We will greet more British troops in Helmand with fresh attacks," Taliban commander Mullah 
Hayat Khan told Reuters by telephone....

*UN concerned at deteriorating security*
UN News Centre, 10 Jul 06, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/lpr79

The United Nations’ top envoy to Afghanistan has expressed concern at the deteriorating 
security situation in the south and called for more development work as well as further 
military and diplomatic intervention to curb the growing threat of insurgency in the country.
“These are difficult times for Afghanistan. They are difficult times for the south but backing 
away is not an option,” Tom Koenigs, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative to 
Afghanistan told reporters on Monday in the capital, Kabul....


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## GAP (11 Jul 2006)

Rumsfeld arrives in Kabul as 30 Taleban killed in Helmand
By Times Online and agencies - July 11, 2006 
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2264608,00.html  

US-led forces hunting a Taleban commander have killed an estimated 30 Taleban militia in an overnight raid on a hide-out in southern Afghanistan, the US military said today.

The raid came shortly before Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary, arrived on an unannounced visit to Kabul, where he expressed confidence that the Taleban would be defeated.

The US military said yesterday that more than 40 Taleban fighters were killed when an American warplane bombed another Taleban hideout in the southern province of Urzugan. 

Afghans wounded in the raid claimed, however, that many women and children were also killed after Taleban fighters overran their villages and took refuge in their houses. More on link

Violence in Southern Afghanistan Poses Complex Challenge
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060711_5625.html

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 11, 2006 – Violence in southern Afghanistan is caused not just by militant extremists, but also by regional issues such as a lack of governance, the U.S. general in charge of coalition troops in Afghanistan said today. 
The Afghan government has not traditionally had strength and presence in certain provinces in southern Afghanistan, so the Taliban can easily gain strength, Army Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, commander of Combined Forces Command Afghanistan, told reporters in Tajikistan before boarding a flight here with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.  More on link


Soldiers 'were mutilated by mob' after firefight
By Tim Albone At Camp Bastion, Helmand Province 
The Times July 11, 2006  
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2264245,00.html 

AFGHAN soldiers serving with coalition forces were mutilated and killed by a mob that included women and children, a British officer said yesterday. 

Major Dougie Mckay, second-in-command of 7 Para Royal Horse Artillery, said that the men were killed near a British base along with two French soldiers. The incident had horrifying parallels with Rudyard Kipling’s poem The Young British Soldier, written more than a century ago. 

The mutilated soldiers were among Afghan forces escorting a French unit a few miles from the British base at Tangye. One French vehicle took a wrong turn and came into “heavy combat” with Taleban fighters. Two French special forces soldiers and 14 Afghan escorts were killed. 

Major Mckay is part of the Operation, Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT) training Afghan troops. He said: “Whether they were killed by rocket-propelled grenades or small-arms fire before or after they were mutilated we may never find out. They were very badly mutilated. They had their ears, noses and genitals cut off. Women and, allegedly, children were taking part.” 
More on Link

Skilled Afghans return home with hopes for a prosperous Afghanistan
11 Jul 2006 15:24:28 GMT - Source: UNHCR
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/UNHCR/e8ae1f873c985daf08324102feb54b54.htm

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, July 11 (UNHCR) – For many Afghans in Pakistan, the dream of returning to their homeland never dies. Among them is 26-year-old Abdul Qadeer, who wants to go back to Afghanistan with more than a truckload of belongings accumulated in his 22 years of exile.

"I am pursuing a master's degree in zoology from the university in Peshawar, after which I would like to enrol myself for a doctorate degree," said Qadeer. "My desire is based upon the understanding that Afghanistan today needs more skilled and educated men to make it a prosperous country."

Qadeer's wife, two children, father and elder brother were among 70 families that left Peshawar on Tuesday, pushing this year's UNHCR-facilitated voluntary repatriation of Afghans from Pakistan past the 100,000 mark. They include many skilled workers bringing their expertise back to rebuild their homeland.

Among this year's returnees are 15,278 domestic workers, 1,248 carpet weavers, 357 people in the education sector, 325 engineers and 115 from the medical profession. Others in the skilled category include legal practitioners, masons, plumbers, drivers, and agricultural and office workers – offering a variety of much-needed expertise to help rebuild Afghanistan.
More on Link


Reconstruction Team Molds Afghan Police  
Airmen train local police in ethics, riot control, vehicle and personal searches. 
By Capt. Gerardo Gonzalez - Mehtar Lam Provincial Reconstruction Team 
http://www.defendamerica.mil/articles/jul2006/a070706ms3.html

FORWARD OPERATING BASE MEHTAR LAM, Afghanistan, July 7, 2006 — The Mehtar Lam Provincial Reconstruction Team is helping to rebuild Afghanistan by sharpening the skills of local police through a 10-day course taught here by security forces airmen. 

The monthly Police Training and Assistance Team law enforcement class is designed to introduce members of the Afghan National Police to new tactics and review previously learned procedures to conduct more effective policing. More on Link





US asks Pakistan to work with Afghanistan
By Arun Kumar, Indo-Asian News Service
Washington, July 11 (IANS)
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/41264.php/US_asks_Pakistan_to_work_with_Afghanistan

 The United States has asked Pakistan to resolve its differences with Kabul and work together along with America to curb terrorism in southern Afghanistan and help the war-torn nation realise its full economic potential 
More on Link




He was 'misled'
But the Tory government brushes aside accusations from Cpl. Anthony Boneca's friends and family.
By CHINTA PUXLEY, CP  -  Tue, July 11, 2006
http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/National/2006/07/11/1678530-sun.html

TORONTO -- Angry accusations that reservist Cpl. Anthony Boneca was "misled" by the military about Canada's role in Afghanistan and ill-trained for the combat role that claimed his life were brushed aside yesterday by the Conservative government  More on Link

Bush hopes Italy to keep troops in Afghanistan: report
Reuters -  Tuesday, July 11, 2006; 5:20 AM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/11/AR2006071100051.html

MILAN (Reuters) - President Bush said in an interview published on Tuesday he hoped Italy would keep its troops in Afghanistan to help rebuild the country.

"Certainly. It's a new democracy," he was quoted as saying in the daily Il Sole 24 Ore, when asked if he hoped Italian soldiers would stay in Afghanistan.
More on Link

Afghanistan — when will we ever learn?  
 The Times -  July 11, 2006
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,59-2263932,00.html 

Sir, It seems that Britain has not learnt any lessons from history, not so much from the three Afghan wars that we lost, but from the most recent war the Afghans fought against the Russians. 
I worked in Afghanistan and lived with the Afghans in the early 1990s. By that I mean I have eaten with them, slept with them, drunk out of the same glass and eaten yoghurt from the same spoon as them, even shared fleas with them. 

I have great admiration for the British servicemen but I think they are in a no-win situation. They are fighting on the Afghans’ home ground. There are Pashtun people on both sides of a very porous border with Pakistan, which after all is only a line drawn by Europeans on a map, and cuts across the tribal areas. The Afghans do not like foreign soldiers on their soil. 
More on link 

U.S. Leaders: NATO Transition a Victory for Afghanistan  
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA - American Forces Press Service
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060711_5623.html

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 11, 2006 – The transition of security responsibilities in southern Afghanistan to NATO will be positive for Afghanistan and enable U.S. forces to expand their focus on the counterinsurgency movement there, the top U.S. general here said today. 
NATO International Security Assistance Forces have been operating in Afghanistan since 2003, gradually increasing their role, but the move into southern Afghanistan will put them into an active counterinsurgency fight, Army Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, commander of Combined Forces Command Afghanistan, told reporters in Tajikistan before boarding a plane for Kabul with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. 
More on link 


Grenade attack on Canadian troops wounds 3 Afghan police  
UPDATED: 15:43, July 02, 2006 
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/02/eng20060702_279330.html

A hand grenade attack on the Canadian troops in southern Kandahar province Saturday night missed the target and wounded three Afghan police guarding the base, an official of the Canadian troops said Sunday. 

"Anti-government militants threw a grenade on the Canadian PRT (Provincial Reconstruction Team) compound in Kandahar city last night injuring three police guards," Capitan Julianne Robert told newsmen. 

The attack came amid increasing insecurity incidents in the southern region as two rockets attacks on Kandahar airport, the main base of the U.S.-led coalition forces in south Afghanistan, wounded 10 foreign soldiers including two Canadian soldiers. 

Over 900 people including some 45 foreign soldiers have been killed in Taliban-linked militancy in the post-Taliban central Asian state over the past six months. 

Source: Xinhua 

Kabul to Qalat
By Bill Roggio
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2006/06/kabul_to_qalat.php
  
After arriving back in Kabul on a U.S. Air Force military C-130 transport from Kandahar, I met up with my friend Tim Lynch, the Afghanistan country manager for World Security Initiatives, a private contracting firm. WSI is located off of Jalalabad road, the main artery between Kabul and the eastern city of Jalalabad. The road is a rough ride and heavily populated with construction companies. Like most places in Afghanistan, the ride is always adventurous.

Tim had some business to conduct in the city of Qalat, so I tagged along for the ride. Qalat is the provincial capital of Zabul, and lies about 300 miles south of Kabul, 125 miles northeast of Kandahar. The Kabul-Kandahar road is a well paved two lane highway that runs though the wide plains between two mountain ranges. This is the same plain the armies of Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and the British Empire marched to Kabul during their conquests of Afghanistan. 

The valley region from Kabul to Kandahar is a hot, arid plain seeded with small farming villages along the wadis as the farmers seek to maximize their access to the scarce water. Green bursts pop up in the desert, and farmers grow almonds, dates, grapes and a host of fruits and vegetables. Golden wheat fields edge the highway, and shepherds guide their flocks of sheep, oxen, goats mules and camels seemingly into the middle of nowhere. The terrain provides perfect cover for the Taliban.
More on link 

July 11, 2006 edition
After TV series, Pakistan rethinks rape, sex laws
By Ashraf Khan | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor 
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0711/p01s03-wosc.html

KARACHI, PAKISTAN – More than 1,000 female prisoners are expected to be released this week on bail in Pakistan following a decision by President Pervez Musharraf to review a controversial set of laws affecting women. 
Many of the female inmates are awaiting trial for violations under the Hudood Ordinances, which stipulate harsh penalties for extramarital sex. The laws require a woman who claims that she was raped to produce four pious male witnesses. Otherwise, she stands to be charged with adultery - an offense that can carry a death sentence by stoning. The ordinances have also been used as a weapon against women who defy marriage choices made by their families. 

President Musharraf promised five years ago to amend the Hudood Ordinances, only to backtrack in the face of opposition from hard-line Islamic groups. However, a groundbreaking television series has taken the issue to a wider set of religious authorities. The overall verdict of this unprecedented public debate - that the laws are not rooted in the Koran - appears to be giving Musharraf the cover needed to consider changes. 
More on link 

Backstory: A burqa's-eye view
A cellphone camera squeezed between nose and mesh captures a woman's blurry view from behind the veil.
By Sara Terry | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor July 11, 2006
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0711/p20s01-wosc.html

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – As odd as it may sound, I thought that a burqa might be the answer to my problems. Here on a five-week assignment to shoot photos for a humanitarian organization, I was dismayed to realize that I wasn't going to be able to move freely. There was a standing threat against Western women working for aid organizations - prime targets for kidnapping and sale to the Taliban. Understandably enough, the organization restricted my movements, rarely allowing me out on the street unless I was in a car - and never allowing me to go anywhere alone. 
My exasperation grew as I discovered that even when I could go out, I couldn't take a step without being the center of attention. It wasn't unfriendly attention; I actually never felt unsafe or threatened. It's just that wherever I went, everyone watched me. Heads swiveled the moment I stepped out of the car. People were curious about the presence of a foreigner, and even more so when I held up my camera. In other words, the pictures I love to make - street scenes and moments of gesture and interaction between people, all taken as if I'd had gone unnoticed - were impossible. 
More on link


Combat in Southeastern Afghanistan; Mullah Dadullah not captured
By Bill Roggio  
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2006/05/combat_in_southeastern_afghani.php

The fighting in southeastern Afghanistan continues as Coalition and Afghan forces press into previously unpatroled Taliban strongholds. Over the weekend clashes occurred in Kandahar, Helmand and Ghazni provinces. These provinces have been the scene of the majority of the fighting over the past few months.

Five "key senior Taliban leaders"
(as of yet unnamed) were killed during Coalition air strikes "on an isolated insurgent training facility" near the town of Qal’a Sak, which is on the Pakistani border in the south of Helmand province. Coalition forces followed up the air strikes with a raid, confirmed the targets were destroyed, and discovered an IED factory. Up to fifty Taliban are estimated to have been killed in a seperate air strike in the Kajaki district of Helmand. The BBC's Alastair Leithead provides an update on last week's fighting in Musa Qala, where an Afghan police patrol was ambushed by a large Taliban force, and beaten back after Afghan and British reinforcements were called as reinforcements. 
More on link

Ceasefire first major step in restoring peace in Waziristan: Aurakzai  
Tuesday July 11, 2006 (0221 PST) Pak Times
http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149492

PESHAWAR: The NWFP Governor Lt. Gen. (R) Ali Muhammad Jan Aurakzai has said that ceasefire was the first major step towards restoration of permanent peace in Waziristan, saying "a lot more is to come as we are addressing every aspect of the issue and moving forward gradually and cautiously." 
He expressed these views while presiding over a high level conference held at the Governor’s House here on Monday, which besides the head and reps. of various law enforcing agencies was also attended by the Chief Secretary Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi, Secretary FATA Muhammad Shahzad Arbab and Secretary to Governor Arbab Muhammad Arif
More on link

26 prisoners released in Kandahar 
Tuesday July 11, 2006 (0112 PST)
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149482

 KANDAHAR CITY: As many as 126 people, detained by the security agencies for their alleged involvement in anti-government activities, were set free in the southern Kandahar province. 
Of them, 100 were those arrested during raids in different areas Friday night. 

The remaining 26, including a Pakistani national, were arrested by police and military for their alleged links with Taliban. They were under detention for longer period. 

Haji Jalal Agha Lalai, head of the National Reconciliation Commission in Kandahar, told news agency in Kabul the 26 people, who were under detention for their alleged links with Taliban, were set free after an agreement singed by provincial Governor Asadullah Khalid and central chief of the National Reconciliation Commission Sibghatullah Mujaddedi last week
More on link

Elders, ulema for elimination of corruption in Wardak  
Sunday July 09, 2006 (0121 PST) Pak Times
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149298

MAIDAN SHAHR: Officials and national leaders reviewed development projects, security measures and administrative corruption in a meeting held in Shahr, capital of the central Maidan Wardak province. 
National leaders, members of the parliament and provincial councils, provincial officials and district chiefs attended the meeting. The participants emphasized on elimination of administrative corruption, enhancing uplift schemes and ensuring security in the country. 

Officials and elders are holding such meetings following directives of the President Hamid Karzai to promote reconstruction projects and security in the country. 

Advisor to parliamentary ministry Zarshah Qazi Zada told Pajhwok Afghan News that they discussed problems of the masses including security, uplift projects with representatives of the people.
More on link

322 schools to be constructed in five months: Minister 
Saturday July 08, 2006 (0131 PST) Pak Times
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149205

KABUL: Minister for Education Muhammad Hanif Atmar has said that 322 schools across the country will get buildings during the next five months. 
Speaking at a news conference, Atmar said in this regard, the ministry would sign contracts with construction companies within a month. 

He said the World Bank and some other donors were paying $16 million for the projects. 

Of the 322 schools, 72 would to be built in Kabul, said the minister, who added more than 200,000 students would be enrolled in the newly-constructed schools. 

The minister also announced that they would soon start a reform programme in the ministry under which key positions would be filled purely on merit basis. All eligible candidates could apply for those slots and the best of them would be appointed against the posts. 
More on link

Reconstruction Team Developing Ties With Afghan Province
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service  July 11, 2006 
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060711_5631.html

QALAT, Afghanistan,– U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld today called the provincial reconstruction team here a shining example of how the teams develop relationships with the local Afghan government. 
When the coalition began using provincial reconstruction teams in Afghanistan, officials were constantly evaluating their work to see if they were worth the time and money put into them, Rumsfeld said after meeting with Zabul province Governor Del Bar Jan Arman. After seeing the team here at work today, Rumsfeld said he's convinced they're well worth the effort they require. 
More on link

Afghan MP says family shot in misfire  
Sunday July 09, 2006 (0121 PST) Pak Times
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149295

KABUL: A member of the Afghan parliament said US-led troops mistakenly fired on a car carrying members of his family, killing one and wounding four. 
The US-led coalition denied its troops were responsible for the shooting of the politician’s family in the southern province of Uruzgan. 

In a separate incident, insurgents ambushed US-led troops in the southern province of Helmand, killing one and wounding another, the US military said. Sixty-four foreign soldiers have been killed this year in Afghan combat or accidents on patrol. 

US forces have mounted big offensives in eastern and southern Afghanistan in recent weeks in response to the most intense Taliban attacks since the hardline Islamists were ousted from power in 2001
More on link

Finding the ’right stuff’ in Afghanistan  
Tuesday July 11, 2006 (0112 PST)  Pak Times
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149480

KABUL: In the war on terror, success should be measured by the absence of killing and the spread of prosperity. 
Recently in Afghanistan, the upsurge in Taliban activity has sparked concerns over the dearth of development with the imminent expansion of the NATO-led 36-nation International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to the volatile southern and eastern regions currently under American command. 

Nevertheless, the British general in charge, David Richards, is buoyant: "I have the right men and women under my command, an excellent and productive partnership with the government of Afghanistan, and, increasingly with key elements of the rest of the international community. Building on the American experience, we are all getting our act together. A focused strategy is being put in place. It is the right stuff
More on link

Rumsfeld Talking about the Air bases in Tajikistan

Media Availability with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld en route to Tajikistan
July 9, 2006 
http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2006/tr20060709-13419.html

 SEC. RUMSFELD:  We're on the record talking about Tajikistan and Afghanistan, and we'll talk about Iraq after we leave Afghanistan probably.  Tajikistan is an important Central Asian country.  We have been developing our military-to-military relationship with them for a number of years now.  I guess this is my third visit there, and I've met with the president and senior Tajikistan officials in Washington on a number of occasions as well.  We have been assisting them with some activities on their border, some counter-narcotics activities.  We have a gas-and-go arrangement with them and over-flight.  They've been very cooperative with the global war on terror and helpful since almost the beginning.
More on link

 Afghanistan's unruly province   
Tuesday, 11 July 2006,   BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5168768.stm

Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand is fast turning out to be one of the country's most dangerous, with almost daily clashes between militants and foreign and Afghan troops. 
More than 3,000 British troops have been deployed there since May, as part of a strengthened Nato force in the south aimed at tackling the twin threats of a resurgent Taleban and the country's drug trade. 

Helmand, with rocky mountains in the north and desert in the south, shares an open border with Pakistan and is said to produce nearly 20% of Afghanistan's opium crop. 

In short, it is the world's leading opium poppy growing region. 

The last time British troops were deployed in Helmand was in the 19th Century, and they left after two disastrous wars. 
More on link


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## tomahawk6 (11 Jul 2006)

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060711_5623.html

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 11, 2006 – The transition of security responsibilities in southern Afghanistan to NATO will be positive for Afghanistan and enable U.S. forces to expand their focus on the counterinsurgency movement there, the top U.S. general here said today. 

NATO International Security Assistance Forces have been operating in Afghanistan since 2003, gradually increasing their role, but the move into southern Afghanistan will put them into an active counterinsurgency fight, Army Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, commander of Combined Forces Command Afghanistan, told reporters in Tajikistan before boarding a plane for Kabul with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. 

Many of the forces operating in southern Afghanistan are under coalition authority, so the most notable change when NATO takes over will be at the senior leadership level, Eikenberry said. He noted that NATO will bring more presence and capability to the area in terms of troops as well as budget. 

"NATO is bringing an extraordinary amount of capability into southern Afghanistan," he said. 

Rumsfeld said in a July 9 interview during his flight to Central Asia that one purpose of his visit here is to help acclimate the Afghan government to NATO's increased involvement. This is the first time NATO has operated outside its treaty area and outside Europe, so it is a new experience for everyone involved, he added. 

Rumsfeld is meeting here with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Cabinet, as well as U.S. military leaders, to help smooth that transition. 

As the transition moves forward, the U.S. military will play a dual role. It will continue to make a large contribution to NATO forces in the south, while still maintaining a counterterrorism strike force in Afghanistan, Eikenberry said. The U.S. will contribute combat forces, helicopters and logistics support to NATO forces, he said, making it by far the largest contributing force in NATO. 

"Beyond our NATO role, the U.S. will maintain what we've had on the ground since 2001 -- a very robust, very capable, U.S.-led counterterrorist strike force capable of going anywhere in Afghanistan any time as needed to attack and defeat al Qaeda and its associated movements," he said. 

The U.S. military will also still play a leading role in developing the Afghan National Army, and a supporting role in forming the Afghan National Police, Eikenberry said. As NATO takes more responsibility, its security forces will play a larger role in this area also, he noted. 

The NATO transition in Afghanistan is currently in the third stage, Eikenberry said. During the fourth and final stage, NATO will expand across the entire country. Conditions for this final stage are still being defined, he said.


----------



## GAP (11 Jul 2006)

Media barred from attending soldier's repatriation
Updated Tue. Jul. 11 2006 9:36 AM ET - CTV.ca News Staff
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060710/canada_soldier_boneca_060711/20060711?hub=TopStories

The family of the soldier who was slain in a firefight in Afghanistan has decided to bar media from the repatriation ceremony this week, National Defence officials said Tuesday.

"The direct question was asked to family on whether or not they wanted or desired media presence, and they declined," National Defence Spokesperson Lt. (N) Morgan Bailey told CTV.ca on Tuesday morning. more on link

Slain soldier's father says son 'loved the army'
CTV.ca News Staff
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060710/canada_soldier_boneca_060711/20060711?hub=TopStories

The father of the Canadian soldier slain in a firefight in Afghanistan has denied media reports that his son felt ill-equipped and "hated" his military mission.

Antonio Boneca, father of Corporal Anthony Boneca, said his son "knew what he was getting into" and "loved being in the Army."

"In all my conversations with my son, there was never any mention of him not being well enough or fit enough to carry out his military duties," Boneca said in a statement released Tuesday
more on link


FATHER OF CORPORAL BONECA ISSUES STATEMENT
July 11, 2006  Media Statement  -  Land Force Western Area
http://www.army.dnd.ca/LFWA_HQ/Documents/2006/MA/MA-Boneca_Statement_Jul06.pdf

THUNDER BAY, Ont. – Mr. Antonio Boneca, father of Corporal Anthony Boneca, who was killed
in battle on July 9, 2006, while serving in Afghanistan wishes to issue the following statement:
Our prid e was in our son before and after he became a professional soldier. He was a giving person.
He was a leader. He was the kind of person who was always joking and liked to make others around
him happy. Anthony was the first to volunteer in any situation.
My son volunteered to go to Afghanistan. Anthony knew what he was getting into. He loved being in
the Army and my wife, Shirley and I, supported our son whole-heartedly. In all my conversations with
my son, there was never any mention of him not being well enough or fit enough to carry out his military
duties.
Recent media reports state that my son may not have been prepared. His conversations with my family
and me indicated he was well aware of the dangers around him and was committed to the test he had
taken on. Anthony knew he was part of a group that stuck together to do what they were sent to do.
He said it was difficult to cope with the weather, the sand, and the situation the young children endured.
He was proud to make a difference in their lives and said he wished these children could live like we do
in Canada. Certainly, Anthony wanted to come home, but I ask what soldier wouldn’t in that situation?
There is no question about the extent of his military training. I know he was well prepared for what he
was sent to do.
Please respect my family’s request for privacy during our time of grief.


Three days of fierce, bloody war  
CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD From Tuesday's Globe and Mail 11 July 2006
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060711.wxafghan11/BNStory/Afghanistan/home

I'd been following Cpl. Mooney around like a bad smell. But in the battle that killed Cpl. Boneca, I lost sight of him. 

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — Corporal Keith Mooney sat hunched in his wheelchair on the tarmac at Kandahar Air Field yesterday, his blond head bent, his sweet face contorted as he tried not to cry.

The body of the young man he knew only a little and then only to tease -- I forget what he said it was about but it would have been in the way soldiers relentlessly rag on one another, gentle, funny and profane all at once -- was being carried up the ramp into the belly of a green-grey Hercules aircraft to head home to Canada.

Just hours after Cpl. Tony Boneca was killed Sunday morning while clearing a mud compound in Panjwei district west of Kandahar City, Cpl. Mooney himself was hit and wounded, perhaps by enemy fire, although he remains unconvinced of that, perhaps by the secondary explosion of a Taliban weapons cache that blew up when a bomb was dropped in a mud-walled maze of grape fields where for three long days ending yesterday Canadians fought in the sort of sustained and vicious battle Cpl. Mooney calls "a shitshow."
more on link

Christie Blatchford on Canada's mission in Afghanistan
Globe and Mail Update 11 July 2006
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060710.wlivekandahar0711/BNStory/specialComment/home

Globe columnist Christie Blatchford was on patrol with Canadian Forces in Afghanistan over the weekend when Corporal Tony Boneca was killed in a fight with Taliban insurgents near Pasmul
more on link

Canadian soldier remembered as an 'angel of a person'
Canadian Press - Globe & Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060709.wslainsoldier0709/BNStory/Front/Politics/?cid=al_gam_nletter_thehill

Toronto — A Canadian killed in Afghanistan is remembered by family and friends as a outgoing, intelligent soldier who loved his girlfriend and was devoted to his work in the military.

Cpl. Anthony Boneca, 21, a reservist from the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment in Thunder Bay, Ont., died of injuries received in a firefight west of Kandahar City on Saturday, three weeks before he was to return to Canada.more on link

All soldiers disillusioned at times, says slain Canadian soldier's commander
July 11, 2006 Canoe News
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/07/11/1679369-cp.html

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - The deputy commander of Canadian troops in Afghanistan says all soldiers in battle become disillusioned at one time or another. 

Maj. Todd Strickland, second-in-command of Canada's battle group in Kandahar, was commenting on criticism of the Afghan mission attributed to Cpl. Anthony Boneca, killed in a firefight Sunday
.more on link

Body begins journey home
Canadian Press - Globe & Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060709.wsoldier0710/BNStory

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — The body of a young Canadian soldier killed in a firefight was headed home after a sombre and almost silent ramp ceremony on Monday.

Hundreds of Canadian, American, British, Romanian, French and Dutch troops lined the runway at the coalition base and watched silently as Corporal Anthony Boneca's flag draped casket was loaded onto an aircraft just after sunrise.

Only the sobs from a soldier wounded in the same firefight broke the silence


Canadian soldiers fined
By KATHLEEN HARRIS, OTTAWA BUREAU, SUN MEDIA
July 11, 2006 
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/07/11/1679155-sun.html

OTTAWA -- Fourteen Canadian soldiers posted in Afghanistan were fined for being careless with their weapons in the past 18 months, according to documents from the department of national defence. 

Records of disciplinary proceedings obtained by the Sun through access to information show charges relate to improperly securing rifles, leaving guns unattended or allowing a weapon to accidentally fire. Fines ranged from $400 to $1,400. All cases were dealt with by summary trial instead of court martial
more on link


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## The Bread Guy (11 Jul 2006)

http://www.news.gc.ca/cfmx/view/en/index.jsp?articleid=226879

*Repatriation of the Remains of Corporal Anthony Boneca*


MA 06-08 - July 11, 2006

OTTAWA -The remains of Corporal Anthony Boneca, killed in Afghanistan on July 9, are scheduled to arrive at Canadian Forces Base Trenton in Ontario on July 12 at 7:00 pm. Cpl Boneca was killed during a firefight with insurgents approximately 25 kilometres west of Kandahar, Afghanistan.

The Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, the Minister of National Defence, The Honourable Gordon O’Connor, Chief of the Defence Staff, Gen. Rick Hillier and Maj.-Gen. Marc Lessard, Assistant Chief of Land Staff will be present to pay their respects.

At the request of the next of kin, a photo opportunity will be provided to the media on the Trenton tarmac. No interviews will be granted by the family.

-30-

NOTE TO THE EDITOR:
For the repatriation ceremony and flight information updates, contact Captain Nicole Meszaros, 8 Wing Public Affairs Officer at (613) 392-2811 ex 2041 or mobile at (613) 391-5233 or at meszaros.nl@forces.gc.ca

All media are asked to direct their interview requests for the family of Cpl Boneca to Katie McLaughlin, Media Relations Officer for Land Forces Western Area at (780) 973-1942 or by e-mail McLaughlin.KL@forces.gc.ca.

Details of the funeral are not available at this time but will be released at a future date.

For more information on Canadian Forces activities in Afghanistan, please visit the Department of National Defence website www.forces.gc.ca


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## The Bread Guy (11 Jul 2006)

_*Here's what was sent out.....*_

*“Father of Corporal Boneca Issues Statement.”  *  Land Forces Western Area 
news release, 11 Jul 06, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/n3h95 .

THUNDER BAY, Ont. – Mr. Antonio Boneca, father of Corporal Anthony Boneca, who was killed
in battle on July 9, 2006, while serving in Afghanistan wishes to issue the following statement:
Our prid e was in our son before and after he became a professional soldier. He was a giving person.
He was a leader. He was the kind of person who was always joking and liked to make others around
him happy. Anthony was the first to volunteer in any situation.

My son volunteered to go to Afghanistan. Anthony knew what he was getting into. He loved being in
the Army and my wife, Shirley and I, supported our son whole-heartedly. In all my conversations with
my son, there was never any mention of him not being well enough or fit enough to carry out his military
duties.

Recent media reports state that my son may not have been prepared. His conversations with my family
and me indicated he was well aware of the dangers around him and was committed to the test he had
taken on. Anthony knew he was part of a group that stuck together to do what they were sent to do.

He said it was difficult to cope with the weather, the sand, and the situation the young children endured.
He was proud to make a difference in their lives and said he wished these children could live like we do
in Canada. Certainly, Anthony wanted to come home, but I ask what soldier wouldn’t in that situation?
There is no question about the extent of his military training. I know he was well prepared for what he
was sent to do.

Please respect my family’s request for privacy during our time of grief.

-30-

_*....and Here's What the Media Wrote*_

Hammond, Michael. * “Father of fallen soldier denies son was unhappy in Afghanistan.”   * Canadian Press, 11 Jul 06, viewed at http://tinyurl.com/rb8zp .

The father of the soldier killed in Afghanistan earlier this week denies his son was ill-prepared for his dangerous tour of duty, contradicting claims from some of the soldier's friends. 

Cpl. Anthony Boneca's father Antonio said his son "loved being in the army" and was aware of the situation he was facing. 

"In all my conversations with my son, there was never any mention of him not being well enough or fit enough to carry out his military duties," Boneca's father said. 

"He said it was difficult to cope with the weather, the sand, and the situation the young children endured (but) he was proud to make a difference in their lives and said he wished these children could live like we do in Canada." 

Boneca's father disputed reports that suggested his son felt he was poorly prepared for his second stint in Afghanistan. 

Boneca, 21, was killed earlier this week in a fierce battle with the Taliban near Kandahar City. 

Boneca's girlfriend Megan DeCorte and his best friend Dylan Bulloch have said that he was deeply unhappy in Afghanistan and did not feel prepared. 

With some minor exceptions, most of the media has been barred from covering Boneca's memorial service when his body returns to Canada Wednesday. 

Following a directive from the Conservative government, the Canadian Forces will prevent the media from covering the memorial service even though some senior officers have expressed concerns with the policy. The decision over media coverage is now left to the family of the deceased. 

The Boneca family asked that the service be kept "as private as possible," said Lieut. Morgan Bailey. 

Some allowances will be made for photographs and visual images to be taken when Boneca's body is brought to CFB Trenton. That flight is expected to arrive at 7 p.m. EDT. 

(...)


----------



## GAP (12 Jul 2006)

Suicide bomber attacks U-S convoy in Afghanistan, marketplace bombing  
Lufkin KTRE 9 TV   12 July 2006
http://www.ktre.com/Global/story.asp?S=5139300&nav=2FH5

KABUL, Afghanistan Two U-S soldiers have been wounded in a suicide car bomb attack on their convoy in eastern Afghanistan.

A local official says a boy playing nearby was killed and three other children were wounded. He says injuries to the soldiers are not serious.

In southern Afghanistan, a bomb planted in a fruit cart blew up in a crowded marketplace today, killing two people and wounding eight others. That attack happened less than a mile from the Pakistan border. MORE ON LINK

'Grief is its own barometer'
CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD Globe & Mail 12 July 2006
http://www.theglobeandmail.com//servlet/story/LAC.20060712.AFGHAN12/TPStory/National/columnists

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN -- As is common now in the modern world, the debate about Corporal Tony Boneca's death and what it might or might not say about the Canadian mission to Afghanistan began before the young man's body arrived home.

Before the Hercules aircraft carrying his casket ever touched Canadian soil, the man who one day might have become Cpl. Boneca's father-in-law was confessing some of the 21-year-old's most intimate fears to the Toronto Star; some of his e-mails home were published in the Ottawa Citizen; and stay-at-home columnists and others who deign to notice the Canadian Forces only when the death of a fine soldier can be used to further one political cause or another were doing so, while simultaneously protesting that of course they support the troops, it's this damn business of sending them off to kill other folks that offends.
More on link

HRW: Afghanistan education attacks rising
7/12/2006 9:51:00 AM -0400  
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060712-094420-1851r

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 12 (UPI) -- Rising violence by the Taliban and other armed groups in Afghanistan are causing schools to shut down, Human Rights Watch has said. 

The organization's report, "Lessons in Terror: Attacks on Education in Afghanistan," said in 204 documented incidents schools for girls were hit particularly hard, leaving nearly one-third of the country's districts without a single girls' school. 

"Schools are being shut down by bombs and threats, denying another generation of Afghan girls an education and the chance for a better life," said Zama Coursen-Neff, co-author of the report. "Attacks on schools by the Taliban and other groups that are intended to terrorize the civilian population are war crimes and jeopardize Afghanistan's future."  
More on Link

Death of a soldier
Lorrie Goldstein Wed, July 12, 2006  Toronto Sun
http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Goldstein_Lorrie/2006/07/12/1680303.html

While we in the media are good at questioning everyone else's ethics, the death of a young Canadian soldier amid conflicting reports about whether he wanted to be in Afghanistan raises issues we need to face. 

First, how should we treat the combat death of Cpl. Anthony Boneca, 21, compared to the other 16 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat who have died there, and who have all been portrayed as doing what they loved? 
More on Link

EU: Afghanistan needs help to meet challenges   
12 July 2006   
http://www.noticias.info/asp/aspComunicados.asp?nid=200505&src=0
  
Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dafar Spanta called for a fresh injection of international funding to boost his country's development, when he spoke to members of the EP Development and Foreign Affairs Committees on Tuesday. "Without aid from the international community, we cannot deal with the titanic tasks ahead", he said.

Fighting terrorism and drug trafficking and restoring the authority of the state have been, according to Mr Dafar Spanta, the three challenges facing Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001. "Our first challenge is the fight against terrorism, which is undergoing a revival, especially in the south of the country", he said. The causes are to be found outside the country, where the sources of funding and training are located.

Reservists ready for anything in Afghanistan  
By Paul Choi   The Hamilton Spectator   (Jul 12, 2006) 
http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1152654614960&call_pageid=1020420665036&col=1014656511815

Hamilton reservists preparing to head to Afghanistan next month say they're well trained and ready for possible combat, despite being shaken by the death of 21-year-old fellow reservist Corporal Anthony Boneca.
More on Link


Soldier son calls to say he's OK
Mon, July 10, 2006  Edmonton Sun
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Canada/2006/07/10/1676816-sun.html

Having a son serving in Afghanistan is less stressful if you've already served in the military yourself - news of battle casualties overseas is a little easier to brace for. 

And it's even easier to sleep if your son joined the military after retiring from a career as a bare-knuckle boxing champion and an ultimate fighter. 

But there was still a split second when William Nairne feared the worst when his phone rang at midnight Saturday in Winnipeg. 

"I'd just heard a soldier had been killed and two others injured in Afghanistan," Nairne told the Sun yesterday. 

"I had the fleeting thought - oh no, this is the call - but it was him, and he was OK." 
More on Link

Nation building in Afghanistan
The London Free Press  12 July 2006
http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/Opinion/Editorials/2006/07/10/1676648.html

Let's hope there was more truth than spin in Lt.-Col. Ian Hope's claim last week that Canadian soldiers had made enough progress in Afghanistan's Kandahar province to enable reconstruction work to take root. 

The commander of the Canadian battle group said the Taliban "are on the defensive" in Kandahar, enabling the international community to plan new clinics and roads. 

Large donors such as the United States Agency for International Development and the World Bank have promised help, as have rich countries such as the United Arab Emirates. 

If Hope is right, that is good news on two fronts. Canadians prize the role of their troops as peacekeepers and nation-builders, a role that has given way to combat since they were redeployed to Kandahar. Fighting the Taliban is necessary, but we would all like to see more building. 
More on Link

Defence secretary announces enhanced force package for Afghanistan  
Wednesday July 12, 2006 (2324 PST) Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149677

LONDON: The number of UK Forces personnel in Afghanistan will rise from around 3,600 to 4,500 by the autumn, following changes to the package of forces announced by Defence Secretary Des Browne. 
The changes are in response to a request by UK commanders for additional forces, so that they can secure early advances in the North of Helmand, whilst also being able to make progress in the centre of the province. The additional forces, drawn from all three Armed Services, will contribute to the same mission as before: rebuilding Afghanistan, strengthening its Government, security forces and legal system, and tackling its desperate poverty. 

In a statement to the House, Defence Secretary Des Browne emphasised that UK Forces were not waging a narcotics war, for example destroying poppy fields - they were helping to create the conditions of security and development in which the narcotics industry would be weakened, and eventually driven out by the Afghans themselves.
More on link

Troops in Afghanistan to work on infrastructure: UK 
Wednesday July 12, 2006 (2324 PST) Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149675

WASHINGTON: U.K. Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said most additional British forces being sent to Afghanistan will work on infrastructure and other projects designed to improve the daily lives of Afghans. 
Beckett commented during a joint press briefing with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice after a meeting at the U.S. State Department. Rice was to host a dinner in Beckett’s honor. 

Beckett said her government’s decision to include infrastructure experts among the additional 900 Afghanistan-bound troops reflects a recognition that provision of "concrete deliverables" to Afghans is sorely needed. 
More on link

Afghanistan an eye-opener for Wis. guardsmen
By Meg Jones     Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   July 12, 2006
http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1946828.php

GHAZNI, Afghanistan — One of the first things an American police officer notices in this country is that there are no drunken drivers.

There are also basically no traffic laws, no motor vehicle regulations, no Bill of Rights barring unlawful search and seizure, no legal recourse for victims in auto accidents and no Miranda warnings.
More on link


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## GAP (13 Jul 2006)

Reports found for Thursday 13 July 2006

Putin lashes out at West's Afghan role
GRAEME SMITH From Wednesday 12 July 2006 Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060712.wxrussia12/BNStory/International/

MOSCOW — 

The West's decision to fund Islamist guerrillas against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan has backfired two decades later, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday, setting an uncompromising tone as he prepared to welcome leaders for Group of Eight talks.

This weekend's summit in St. Petersburg has focused attention on Russia, with some Western politicians asking why Mr. Putin deserves the honour of hosting the world's major democratic leaders when he is neither democratic nor presiding over a leading economy.
More on Link


Up close and personal with the enemy
CPL. BRIAN SANDERS:CBC News Viewpoint  July 12, 2006 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_sanders/20060712.html

Well, my search is finally over. I have found nowhere, a place where the population at present is 35. 
About eight hours north of Kandahar airfield is a little place that is deep in the mountains. It's a place where few Coalition forces have explored. It features rough mountain terrain that is riddled with tunnels and is an excellent hiding place for Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents. 

Through the valleys of the mountains small streams flow, offering life to apple trees and the occasional poppy field — some of Afghanistan’s popular resources. This fertile terrain also makes it easy to bury landmines and other improvised explosive devices. 

A promise of a five-day operation has now turned into 14 days of harsh living. Burning barrels fill the air with an odd smell — diesel fuel mixed with human waste.
More on Link


Firefight, air raid leave 19 militants dead in S. Afghanistan  
July 13, 2006 People's Daily Online
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/13/eng20060713_282744.html

Firefight and air raids left 19 suspected militants dead in the volatile Helmand province in south Afghanistan on Wednesday, Hajii Mohiudin Khan, the spokesman of the provincial government said Thursday. 

"A large number of Taliban insurgents stormed Nazad district yesterday at 10:00 a.m. (0530 GMT). During the firefighting with police, seven militants were killed and two police were wounded," Khan told Xinhua. 

In retaliation, the coalition forces conducted air strikes, killing 12 militants on the spot, Khan said. 

On the other hand, a parliamentarian from Helmand province Hajji Dad Mohammad Khan claimed that the air strikes left 80 militants and civilians dead, which was rejected by the coalition. 
More on Link

Afghanistan needs huge army: minister
Thu, July 13, 2006  Winnipeg Sun
http://winnipegsun.com/News/World/2006/07/13/1682011-sun.html

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghanistan's army cannot secure the country without at least 150,000 troops -- more than five times what it has today, the country's defence minister said yesterday. 

A plan to increase the army from 27,000 troops to 70,000 is inadequate and the U.S.-led coalition should divert funds from its own operations to make it more ambitious, Abdul Rahim Wardak said. 

TALIBAN-LED VIOLENCE 

Wardak said he believes a 70,000-strong Afghan army cannot put down a recent surge of Taliban-led violence and protect the country from outside threats. 

"The minimum number we can survive on within this complex, strategic environment ... (is) 150,000 to 200,000, which should also be well-trained and equipped, with mobility and firepower and logistical and training institutions," Wardak said during an interview in his Kabul office. 
More on Link


Afghanistan: Legislator Assails Coalition On Civilian Casualties  
By Ron Synovitz    Thursday, July 13, 2006    Radio Free Europe
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/07/8B8D5321-6F14-4C3D-863D-E70D62D1FDC0.html

An Afghan member of parliament is contesting claims by the U.S.-led coalition about battle casualties in his home province of Oruzgan. Lawmaker Haji Abdul Khaliq Mujahid says the killing of innocent civilians by coalition air strikes in southern Afghanistan is going unreported. U.S. military officials say they have killed dozens of suspected Taliban fighters in Oruzgan in the past week but have no information about civilian casualties there. An Afghan human rights official says at least 600 of the 1,100 violent deaths in southern Afghanistan this year have been civilians killed by terrorists or coalition attacks.
More on Link


AFGHANISTAN, OPPOSITION IN FAVOUR AND GCT REACH UNITY
http://www.agi.it/english/news.pl?doc=200607122038-1303-RT1-CRO-0-NF11&page=0&id=agionline-eng.oggitalia
Italy (AGI) - Rome, July 12, 2006

The Unione reached an agreement on the financing decree for the Italian missions abroad and, in particular, for the peace-keeping mission in Afghanistan

Airmen handle missions big and small in Afghanistan
by Master Sgt. Orville F. Desjarlais Jr. -  SOPnewswire  13 July 2006
http://www.thesop.org/index.php?id=1621

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- Tech. Sgt. William Long likes a challenge, but a couple weeks ago, one challenge seemed insurmountable. 

Air Force officials notified an Airman deployed to a remote forward operating base that his wife was gravely ill. The Air Force placed him on emergency leave, and then tried to figure a way to get him from the Afghan frontier to the United States. 
More on Link

 Afghanistan: Foreign Minister Attacks Pakistani Support For 'Terrorism'  
By Ahto Lobjakas  Tuesday, July 11, 2006  Radio Free Europe
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/07/f45f52b0-d594-4b1a-a2f5-2dc829b681de.html

Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta used an appearance before the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee in Brussels today to appeal for greater international support. Spanta identified intensified insurgent attacks -- mainly in the south of the country -- as the main danger. He also made it clear Kabul thinks Pakistan is behind what he described as "terrorists" bent on destroying his country.
BRUSSELS, July 11, 2006 (RFE/RL) --  More on link


Afghanistan: Suicide attack on convoy kills child
By ASSOCIATED PRESS   KABUL, Afghanistan   Thursday, July 13, 2006 
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1150885978313&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

A suicide attacker in a car detonated a bomb near a US military convoy in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing a boy who was playing nearby and wounding three other children, a provincial governor said. 

Two American soldiers were slightly wounded in the attack, said Khost provincial Gov. Merajuddin Patan. The bomber also died. 

Patan said the wounded children were in stable condition. 
More on link

Cpl. Brian Sanders - A Soldier's Diary from Afghanistan
http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_sanders/


Cpl. Brian Sanders joined the Canadian Forces 11 years ago while he was in college. Shortly after, he decided to become a full-time soldier and joined the Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) regiment. The 29-year-old native of Strathroy, Ont., has served in Kosovo and Bosnia. He is currently on duty in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he drives an armoured ambulance. 

Other articles by Cpl. Brian Sanders
Up close and personal with the enemy
http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_sanders/

June 21, 2006
Not enough help for everyone in Afghanistanhttp://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_sanders/20060621.html  


May 18, 2006
A holiday from war
http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_sanders/20060518.html

April 3, 2006
Where the streets have no name … or ruleshttp://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_sanders/20060403.html

March 13, 2006
Hoping for a good day with Sarah by my sidehttp://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_sanders/20060313.html
More on link

NATO commander: West's mistakes let Taliban return
13 Jul 2006 16:27:56 GMT   Source: Reuters
By Peter Graff
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L13856628.htm

The West is to blame for the resurgence of the Taliban because it sent too few troops to Afghanistan, but an expanding NATO peace force will now turn the tide, the force's commander said on Thursday.

British Lieutenant General David Richards, commander of the multinational force that is due to take control in the dangerous south within weeks, acknowledged fighting has been tougher than hoped, but predicted success as his troops win hearts and minds.

"Although we always knew we were going to have to fight to secure an environment in which reconstruction and development could take place, clearly we are having to look more closely at the way we go about it," he told Britain's Sky News.
More on link

Cdn troops engage Taliban in intense battles
Matthew Fisher 
CanWest News Service 






Canadian troops during a firefight in Afghanistan (Pool video image) 
Tuesday, July 11, 2006  CanWest News Service
http://www.canada.com/globaltv/national/story.html?id=016bb69d-c750-4ca1-959b-51aa01d62e74# 

ZHAREI/PANJWEI, Afghanistan — The most intense fighting Canadian troops have been part of since the civil wars in Cyprus or the Korean War involved virtually the entire 1st Battalion Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry and the big guns of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, as well as U.S. fighter jets, attack helicopters and armed airborne drones. 
More on link

It is about the Oil !!   

Once mocked, new Caspian oil pipeline looks smart now
ASSOCIATED PRESS   POSTED ON 13/07/06
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060713.RTICKERMAIN13/TPStory/TPBusiness/Asia/


Almost a decade ago, former U.S. president Bill Clinton threw his weight behind a multibillion-dollar pipeline designed to bring the oil riches of the Caspian Sea to the West, bypassing Russia and tapping a source of crude outside the unstable Middle East.

Critics derided the proposed 1,770-kilometre, $3.9-billion (U.S.) pipeline -- snaking through Azerbaijan, the mountains of Georgia and northern Turkey before hitting the Mediterranean coast -- as too expensive and too difficult to build.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (13 Jul 2006)

July 13, Reuters:

NATO commander: West's mistakes let Taliban return
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L13856628.htm

Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (14 Jul 2006)

Stories found on Friday 14 July 2006

Afghan Security Forces Making Strides, Addressing Problems
By Jim Garamone   American Forces Press Service   Friday July 14, 2006 
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060713_5649.html

WASHINGTON, July 13, 2006 – Afghan security forces are making tremendous strides, but challenges remain, the lead U.S. trainer for the force said today.  
More on link


Kandahar Tim Horton's fresh out of doughnuts
Updated Fri. Jul. 14 2006 9:14 AM ET  Canadian Press
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060714/afghanistan_hortons_060714/20060714?hub=TopStories

Canada's soldiers in Kandahar say they can live with the oppressive heat, dust and exhaustion of fighting Taliban. 

But they draw the line when they lose their doughnuts. 

The Tim Horton's restaurant that opened at the Kandahar Air Field before Canada Day ran out of doughnuts on Thursday. 

By Friday, the Timbits were gone, too. 

9 Suspected Taliban Killed in Afghanistan
By NOOR KHAN  The Associated Press   Friday, July 14, 2006
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/14/AR2006071400581.html

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces killed nine militants after suspected Taliban fighters attacked two army checkpoints in the latest fighting to rock southern Afghanistan, an Afghan official said Friday.

Six militants were wounded in three hours of clashes but escaped, and one other militant was arrested, said Mohammed Zahir Khan, chief of Khas Uruzgan district in southern Uruzgan province, where the fighting erupted late Thursday.
More on link


Vulnerability of Taliban Terror Tactics  
July 14, 2006:  StrategyPage
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htterr/articles/20060714.aspx

 In Afghanistan, Islamic terrorists are attempting to use the threat of retribution to coerce both Afghans, and some NATO countries, to cede control of southern Afghanistan. These are the same tactics used by the Taliban to maintain control of the country in the years prior to the American invasion in late 2001. The Taliban methods are simple. They tell villagers (or NATO countries) that they will kill anyone who cooperates with the government or foreign troops. The Taliban always say they have loyalists in the village who will report to them if anyone disobeys. In many southern villages, the Taliban do have fans who will act as informers. As long as the Taliban gunmen return to the villages periodically (every few months will do it, and hitting one village will get the message to nearby ones), the villagers will obey. 
More on Link

Soldiers back home after year in Afghanistan
By GWEN TIETGEN / Lincoln Journal Star    Friday July 14, 2006 
http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2006/07/14/local/doc44b6ff71ad7a0868110497.txt 

Col. Ronald Schrock tried to explain the difference between his year in Afghanistan and two other deployments in Germany and Honduras.

“It’s such a basket case of a country,” Schrock said. “They’ve been at war for 30 years.”

He and about 35 other Nebraska Army National Guard soldiers returned to Nebraska Thursday, greeting about 350 to 400 anxious loved ones at Lincoln’s National Guard air base.
More on Link

NI troops bound for Afghanistan  
Thursday July 13, 2006 Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149782

London: Two platoons of the Royal Irish Regiment are among the 900 extra troops to be sent to Afghanistan. 
The detachment of about 60 RIR soldiers will provide additional protection at the British HQ of Camp Bastion in the Helmand province. 

Defence Secretary Des Browne told MPs the reinforcements would boost troop levels in Aghanistan to 4,500. 
More on Link

British troops facing air supply crisis in Afghanistan  
Thursday July 06, 2006 Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149015

KABUL: British forces in Afghanistan are facing a supply crisis because nearly half of their helicopter transport fleet is unable to fly in daylight hours due to the searing Helmand heat. 
The 3,300 British troops in the south rely on six Chinook and four Lynx aircraft for all transport and supply. The extreme heat and thin, rising air of the Helmand desert has limited the Lynx, an attack and utility helicopter, to use between dusk and dawn, when temperatures fall to acceptable levels, military sources confirmed. 

Captain Drew Gibson, the British military spokesman with the Helmand force, declined to comment on the Lynx problems, citing "operational reasons". 
More on Link

19 Taliban militants killed in Afghanistan 
Kandahar, July 13 (AP):  The Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/003200607131240.htm

 Coalition and Afghan forces killed at least 19 Taliban after some 200 militants surrounded a police headquarters in southern Afghanistan, the Governor's spokesman said today. 

Taliban militants, driving four-wheel-drive vehicles, poured into the Helmand provincial town of Nawzad around midday yesterday and set up positions around a police compound where Afghan soldiers and police, along with coalition forces, were based, Ghulam Muhiddin said. 
More on Link



Prodi's coalition at risk over Afghanistan  
Friday 14 July 2006 
http://www.jurnalo.com/index.php?id=34&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=317&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=26&cHash=d1c41040d9

The survival of Romano Prodi's centre-left governing coalition is at stake in an upcoming parliamentary vote on Italy's Afghanistan mission.
On July 25, the senate is scheduled to vote on the renewal of funding of Italy's 1,800 soldiers participating in the Nato-led mission in Afghanistan. 

Prodi sees the extension of the mission as a way of showing that Italy is a reliable Nato ally, despite the inclusion of communists and pacifists in his government
More on link

Italy to stay in Afghanistan despite political problems  
Thursday July 06, 2006 Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149014

ROME: Italian Defense Minister Arturo Parisi reiterated that the government intended to keep Italian soldiers in Afghanistan despite the tensions this position caused in its parliamentary majority. 
Seven center-left senators, from communist and Green parties, have said they will vote against a measure refinancing the Afghanistan mission when it comes to the floor later this month. 

Unless they relent, this means Romano Prodi’s government would be without a majority in the Senate on a key foreign policy issue. In the upper house the center left has only two seats more than the opposition. 
More on link

Prominent Pakistani cleric, relative killed in suicide car bombing in Karachi
Friday, July 14th, 2006 Brandon Sun
http://www.brandonsun.com/story.php?story_id=26466

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) - A suicide car bomber killed a prominent Shiite Muslim cleric and one of his relatives in this southern Pakistan city on Friday, police said. 

Allama Hassan Turabi had narrowly escaped an attempt on his life in April, and his killing will raise sectarian tensions in Karachi, which has often been the site of clashes between rival Shiite and Sunni Muslims. 

Turabi was the leader of a Shiite party, Islamic Tehreek Pakistan. He also was chief of the southern province of Sindh for Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal or United Action Forum, a hardline religious coalition. 

ArmorGroup firm as Afghanistan helps decrease dependence on Iraq   
Thursday 13 July 2006  
http://www.citywire.co.uk/News/NewsArticle.aspx?VersionID=83562&MenuKey=News.Home 

Specialist security company ArmorGroup has seen particularly strong growth from its activities in Afghanistan and the oil and gas industry in Nigeria, which is good news for those hoping it would diversify away from reliance on Iraq.

Shares (ARG) are up 4.5p at 73p, valuing the business at £39 million.

ArmorGroup provides protective security services such as guarding embassies and oil rigs and training police and security personnel. Naturally its services have been much in demand in Iraq, which led the percentage of business from the region last year to rise as high as 60% of turnover. 
More on link


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## The Bread Guy (15 Jul 2006)

_*Big push on....*_

*Canadians out in full force for their biggest Afghan combat operation to date  * 
Canadian Press, 15 Jul 06
http://www.recorder.ca/cp/National/060715/n071501A.html

Canadian and other coalition troops are conducting a massive assault operation in southern Afghanistan.  The combined ground and air assault began early this morning in the Sangin district of Helmand province, west of Kandahar.  That's where a Canadian soldier was killed in late March and an Afghan police and military outpost was attacked just two days ago.  Canadian coalition spokesman Major Scott Lundy says 10 Taliban have been killed as the operation continues.  Intelligence sources suggest as many as 400 Taliban could be in the area, but have so far eluded coalition forces . . . 


*U.S., Afghan troops kill 10 Taliban in Afghan clash*
Reuters (UK), 15 Jul 06
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL200736.htm

U.S.-led and Afghan government troops killed 10 Taliban insurgents in an attack on Saturday, the latest clash in the bloodiest phase of violence in Afghanistan since 2001.  U.S.-led coalition troops have responded to a resurgent Taliban across the south with a heavy offensive before a NATO peacekeeping force takes over at the end of the month.  "Coalition forces, supported by Afghan and coalition ground forces, conducted a night-time air assault into Sangin and killed 10 enemy extremists," the U.S.-led force said in a statement . . . 


*UK troops take Taleban stronghold *  
BBC News Online, 15 Jul 06
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5183052.stm

Three hundred soldiers - backed by hundreds of American and Canadian troops - have taken control of Sangin in the southern province of Helmand. Six British troops have been killed in or near the town in recent weeks . . . 


*British troops capture key Afghan town*
Telegraph Online, 15 Jul 06
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/07/15/uafg.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/07/15/ixnews.html

Hundreds of British troops have been involved in a major operation to secure a town in southern Afghanistan from the Taliban.  An Army spokesman said that nearly 1,000 British soldiers - including some in support roles - were involved in the operation in Sangin.  Two British troops were injured but both are expected to make a full recovery . . . 


*UK troops bid to secure Afghan town*
Daily Express (UK), 15 Jul 06
http://express.lineone.net/news_detail_pa.html?sku=11529655803115571-H3

Hundreds of British troops were involved in a major operation to secure the town of Sangin in southern Afghanistan from the Taliban.  An Army spokesman in Afghanistan said that about 300 British troops were present on the ground in the town, which has been the scene of a number of British deaths in recent weeks . . . 


*Dozens of militants killed in Afghanistan *  
NOOR KHAN, Associated Press, 15 Jul 06
http://www.localnewsleader.com/olberlin/stories/index.php?action=fullnews&id=202961

Coalition and Afghan forces killed more than 40 militants in clashes across southern Afghanistan on Saturday, according to the U.S. military. Skirmishes between coalition and Taliban militants raged throughout the southern Uruzgan province Friday into Saturday, with battlefield estimates indicating that 31 insurgents were killed in and around the Chora district, said Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick . . . .


*Forces launch big attack in Afghan south*
Reuters, 15 Jul 06
http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/international/ticker/detail/Forces_launch_big_attack_in_Afghan_south.html?siteSect=143&sid=6897487&cKey=1152968870000

U.S., British and Canadian troops launched a pre-dawn offensive against Taliban guerrillas in Afghanistan on Saturday, taking control of a southern district from militants and their drug-gang allies.  The attack was part of a big offensive foreign troops have launched in response to the most intense phase of violence by a resurgent Taliban across the south.  The surge in violence comes as a NATO peacekeeping force prepares to take over in the south from a U.S.-led coalition force at the end of the month . . . .


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## GAP (15 Jul 2006)

Articles found July 15, 2006   
ps: I try not to duplicate articles posted by others here, but sometimes I DO foul up  

Watching the Right Game in Afghanistan  
July 15, 2006  -  Strategy Page
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htwin/articles/20060715.aspx

The current Taliban offensive in Afghanistan has attracted a lot of media attention. It's also generated a lot of confusing punditry about who is winning, and losing. The Taliban is losing. Although they came on stronger this year, that's got more to do with tribal politics across the border in Pakistan, and Arab money, than for any growth in Taliban support among Afghans. Several thousand armed Taliban are running around southern Afghanistan, full or part time. Facing them are two divisions of foreigners (one American, the other NATO), and twice as many Afghan police and soldiers. That's over 80,000 troops. So it's not surprising that the Taliban have lost ten men for each Afghan or Coalition solider that dies in combat. The Taliban try to spin all this as some kind of victory, or prelude to a victory. But what the Taliban won't admit is that this is tribal politics writ large. It's a battle between the old ways, which have made Afghanistan the poorest, and most unsafe, nation in Central Asia, and the new. The Taliban don't much like education, the Internet, women in school and foreigners in general. Most Afghans disagree with the Taliban, but when you have a violent, determined minority to deal with, there will be casualties.
More on Link


It was the single-biggest Coalition operation in Afghanistan in three years.
Major military operation fails to find Taliban targets
CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD -  Globe and Mail Update
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060715.wblatch0715/BNStory/Afghanistan/home

KANDAHAR — Six hundred Canadian soldiers, working with U.S. infantry, early this morning put the squeeze on a Taliban stronghold in the badlands of Helmand Province so that British paratroopers could storm several compounds. 

The raid took place about 150 kilometres northwest of Kandahar in two pockets of the volatile Sangin area, not far from where earlier this spring Canadian Private Robert Costall was killed at remote Forward Operating Base Robinson.

Before dawn, Alpha and Charlie Companies of the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry moved into the area from the south, with U.S. troops of the 10th Mountain Division doing the same from the north, as the Coalition converged most of its military assets in southern Afghanistan on a handful of mud-walled compounds for what a senior Canadian army official called "one brief, shining moment."
More on link


CTV Video of Afghanistan Fighting  
Contributed by Cee from thread:  
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/47189/post-412337/topicseen.html#new
Here are some youtube links:

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyT9njQKEUA

Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-6ARAOzeiQ

Part3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRN8Fl7DgOM

Part4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBiHxf-mTp0

Canadian Forces air dropping supplies for first time in half-century  
Ethan Baron and Ben O'Hara, CanWest News Service  -  Saturday, July 15, 2006 
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=c3c34324-b027-4226-8d52-5f0d4606f2a7&k=77065

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- For the first time since the Korean War, Canadian Forces in Afghanistan are parachuting supplies to support combat troops.

The same type of airplane that on Monday carried the body of fallen Canadian soldier Cpl. Anthony Boneca home has been put into service dropping ammunition, food, water, razor wire and sandbags to coalition soldiers on combat missions.

"It was a historic day for the air force. We completed the first air drop for tactical resupply since the Korean war," said Capt. Aidan Costelloe of 436 Squadron, 8 Wing, based in Trenton, Ont.
More on link


14 militants killed, 17 held across Afghanistan  
Kandahar, July. 15 (AP): 
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/003200607151327.htm

Afghan soldiers killed 14 militants and arrested 17 others in clashes across the country, officials said Saturday. 

Militants attacked an Afghan army convoy patrolling late Friday in southern Zabul province's Shinkay district, sparking a gunbattle that killed four Taliban, said local army commander Razzaq Khan. Soldiers detained one Taliban and there were no army casualties. 

Eight ``enemies of Afghanistan,'' a term used to describe the Taliban, were also killed by Afghan soldiers Thursday in southern Helmand province's Sangin district, a Defense Ministry statement said. 

In neighboring Uruzgan province, Afghan soldiers also killed two male ``foreigners'' wearing burkas and detained five Taliban in the Dihrawud district on Friday, the statement said. The nationalities of the slain foreigners were unclear. 

Troops arrested five militants in northern Afghanistan's Balkh province, another five in Paktika to the southeast and one in the western region of Herat, the statement added. 

Canadians find link between Taliban, drug trade during furious firefight  
Ethan Baron, CanWest News Service  -  Saturday, July 15, 2006 
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=34814976-7f4f-40f3-870e-a25c0f427920&k=97691

HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- Canadian soldiers have seized an estimated $3 million in opium from a mud-walled Taliban compound after an outnumbered Canadian reconnaissance patrol held off more than two dozen fighters until additional firepower arrived.

"It confirms what we knew but hadn't seen -- Ethe physical evidence that there is a direct connection between Taliban activities and the drug trade here," said Lt.-Col. Ian Hope, commander of the Canadian battlegroup in southern Afghanistan.

"The Taliban is funded in large part by the opium trade."
More on link



Woman official killed  
15 July 2006 The Hindu -  Mr. Khogiani  — Xinhua 
http://www.hindu.com/2006/07/15/stories/2006071503781600.htm

KABUL: An Afghan woman official has been killed in central Afghanistan by Taliban militants, the Afghan National TV reported on Thursday night. Zahra, the first female official murdered after the Taliban regime collapsed in 2001, was working in the refugee department in Ghazni province. She was kidnapped two days ago and her body was found on Thursday, provincial police chief Tafser Khan Khogiani was quoted as saying by the TV. The Taliban, which banned women from educational institutions and work, has claimed responsibility. "The enemy of peace just wants to deprive women of their rights," 

Rebels killed in Afghanistan
Saturday 15 July 2006, al Jazeera Net
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/840286CB-8BF2-43B8-BE0A-E6DC566D2141.htm


The clashes come amid stepped up US-led military efforts to crush armed extremists, primarily the Taliban, behind an insurgency in Afghanistan.

Afghan army and coalition forces attacked around 40 rebels on Thursday and Friday in the southern Uruzgan province "in an effort to disrupt and deny enemy operations in those areas," a coalition statement said.
More on link

 A Liberal Rant about Canada and Afghanistan -A good read, if only to see the fuzzy logic they use

The folly of Afghanistan and the Pearsonian solution
Friday, July 14 2006 @ 02:15 PM MDT 

Contributed by: robertjb
http://www.vivelecanada.ca/article.php/2006071321154476

Even though Pearson looked like a bookish banker with the disposition of your favorite uncle he was a man of action and fierce integrity, unafraid to “piss” on presidential rugs.

As individuals and nations we sometimes forget who we are and where we are from. Canada’s present role in Afghanistan is miscast and futile. We should invoke the Pearsonian tradition and seek more peaceful and viable solutions.
More on Link


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## Fraser.g (15 Jul 2006)

In an attempt not to duplicate I will simply supply a link recommended by a CIMIC Friend from the last tour.
On checking it out, it looks pretty comprehensive and covers news from all contingents in theater, not only Canada, US, and Brit.

http://www.afghannews.net/


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## MarkOttawa (15 Jul 2006)

> U.S., British and Canadian troops launched a pre-dawn offensive...


http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/international/ticker/detail/Forces_launch_big_attack_in_Afghan_south.html?siteSect=143&sid=6897487&cKey=1152968870000

Makes me think of other days.  Proudly.

Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (16 Jul 2006)

Articles found on 16 July 2006

Rocket attack hits Canadian base in Kandahar, Afghanistan; no one injured 
Canadian Press  Saturday, July 15, 2006  
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=133a6bee-c083-47c2-886e-9f43b53d01c6&k=81206

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - The military base Canadian soldiers call home in Afghanistan has come under another rocket attack. 

Two rockets were fired on the Kandahar Airfield late this evening, local time. 

No one was injured by the blasts. 

It's the second time in a week that the base has come under fire, and the fifth attack since June 30 when two Canadians were injured by rockets. 

Today's attack came as most of Canada's combat soldiers were outside the base, taking part in a massive assault operation about 150 kilometres west of Kandahar. 

The airfield is home to about 1,900 Canadian soldiers, along with thousands more from other countries. 


Helicopter shortage puts our troops at risk 
what Charles told MoD six months ago 
By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent - 16/07/2006
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/07/16/wafg16.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/07/16/ixnews.html

The Prince of Wales voiced concerns about the lack of helicopters available to British troops in Afghanistan six months ago.

Prince Charles, who is Colonel in Chief of the Parachute Regiment, is said to be "dismayed" that soldiers' lives are being put at risk because of a lack of military resources.
More on link

U.S. company lays groundwork for Afghan telecommunications  
Sunday July 16, 2006 (0106 PST) Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149964

WASHINGTON: Afghanistan’s fledgling Ministry of Communications now is "connected," thanks to a U.S. telecommunications firm that has set up a satellite network in the country. 
Globecomm Systems Inc. (GSI), headquartered in Hauppauge, New York, has completed a government communications network that connects the 38 ministries in the Afghan capital Kabul to the 34 provincial capitals. 
More on link

New religious police in Afghanistan  
Sunday July 16, 2006 (0106 PST) Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149965

KABUL: The Department for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, which is the formal name for the religious police who enforced strict, conservative Islamic law during the 1990’s, is being reinstated by President Karzai’s government, according to Afghan officials. 
Although crackdowns on forms of expression deemed un-Islamic have generally come from the courts, and although conservative Islamists are currently the main block in Parliament, this initiative came from the President’s recently approved Cabinet. 

Coming on the heels of this, it’s not hard to imagine what sorts of vice the department will be seeking to prevent. It does not look to be as conservative as what we saw under the Taliban.

Festive, defiant spirit on base in Kandahar  
Monday July 03, 2006 (0941 PST) Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=148749

KANDAHAR: Just hours after a Taliban rocket attack on their base, the Princess Patricia’s battle group tried hard to make the most of their one-day Canada Day holiday yesterday with beer, burgers, a barbecue and red Canada ball caps. 
Under a 55C sun, troops donned shorts and T-shirts as makeshift teams squared off to play volleyball in the desert sand. Others took part in a 10-kilometre run for the Children’s Wish Foundation. 
More on Link

Major military operation fails to find Taliban targets
It was the single-biggest Coalition operation in Afghanistan in three years. 
CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD Globe and Mail Update
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060715.wblatch0715/BNStory/Afghanistan/home

KANDAHAR — Six hundred Canadian soldiers, working with U.S. infantry, early this morning put the squeeze on a Taliban stronghold in the badlands of Helmand Province so that British paratroopers could storm several compounds. 

The raid took place about 150 kilometres northwest of Kandahar in two pockets of the volatile Sangin area, not far from where earlier this spring Canadian Private Robert Costall was killed at remote Forward Operating Base Robinson.

Before dawn, Alpha and Charlie Companies of the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry moved into the area from the south, with U.S. troops of the 10th Mountain Division doing the same from the north, as the Coalition converged most of its military assets in southern Afghanistan on a handful of mud-walled compounds for what a senior Canadian army official called "one brief, shining moment."
More on Link

Bin Laden's driver on road to freedom
CHRIS STEPHEN -   Scotland on Sunday - Sun 16 Jul 2006
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1034082006&format=print

WHEN they come to write the history of the War on Terror, few names will loom larger than that of Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni orphan who, through a combination of extraordinary circumstances, has twice stymied George Bush. 

The first time came six years ago when, working for al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, he whisked Osama bin Laden to safety shortly before a US missile strike destroyed his mountain hideout. 

And last week he did it again. After beating Bush in a historic court judgment, the US administration has announced a dramatic change in policy which could signal the end of the Guantanamo Bay prison. 

In December 2001, I journeyed to the remote Afghan village of Bin Hassar, 30 miles south of Kabul, after it fell to US-backed Northern Alliance forces. 

Late one night, Bin Laden and his entourage arrived, with the al-Qaeda leader taking a corner bedroom. US intelligence picked up on the arrival, possibly alerted by the electronic 'bloom' from his satellite phone. In the early hours of the morning a US missile, probably from a high-flying drone, was fired, tearing through the old stone farmhouse. 

But Bin Laden had already left, driven south to his mountain redoubt by Hamdan. 

The al-Qaeda leader has not been seen since, and is rumoured to be sheltering on the Afghan-Pakistan border. But Hamdan was not so lucky. Two weeks later he was arrested and handed over to the United States, joining more than 600 prisoners at the new Guantanamo Bay detention facility
More on Link

Two injured as UK troops launch major swoop on Afghan town
JOHN BINGHAM - Scotland on Sunday - Sun 16 Jul 2006

HUNDREDS of British troops were yesterday involved in a major operation to secure the town of Sangin in southern Afghanistan from the Taliban. 

An army spokesman in Afghanistan said about 300 British troops were present on the ground in the town, which has been the scene of a number of British deaths in recent weeks. 
More on Link

Heroin lab workers suffering from different diseases  
Sunday July 16, 2006  Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149966

KABUL: About 2,500 people, who used to work in heroin laboratories, have now developed various lethal diseases, officials said. 
Dr Abdullah Wardak, official in the public health ministry, said the workers included both male and female were brought for treatment to his clinic after destroying the heroin laboratories. 

Many of the victims were suffering from skin, stomach, liver, asthma, blood deficiency, mental weakness and diarrhea problems, he said. Drugs were resulting in negative long-term and short terms impacts, he added. 

18-year-old Nilofar, one of the patient, who was suffering from complex diseases and was currently under detention in Kabul police headquarters, said, she developed these diseases for working in heroin lab in the eastern Nangarhar province. 

She said her 16-year-old sister was also working with her in the heroin lab. Nilofar said she could recognize the site of the lab where they were being taken in a tented glasses vehicle. 
More on Link

NATO’s crisis in Afghanistan  
Sunday July 16, 2006  Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149963 

WASHINGTON: The United States handed over primary responsibility for peacekeeping in Afghanistan to NATO. It seemed like a good idea at the time. 
However, now the policy has fallen apart and presented the alliance with its greatest crisis in a quarter-century. 

For NATO’s forces in Afghanistan are no longer peacekeepers. They are being forced to defend themselves as warriors. And they lack the numbers, the air power and the logistical support to even defend themselves adequately. 
More on Link 

Afghanistan is no place for quitters  
Sunday July 16, 2006 Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149962

KABUL: Thousands of young uniformed men and women from 37 countries -- NATO nations and our partner countries -- are putting their lives on the line in Afghanistan. 
The Taliban, drug lords and common criminals have all stepped up attacks on our troops, the Afghan government, and ordinary Afghan men, women and children. And all with one aim: to drive us away, and put the clock back to 2001. 

Five years is not long enough to have forgotten how much of a threat Afghanistan was then. Under the Taliban, the country was the home and training ground of al-Qaeda, the launch pad for multiple, mass terror attacks in Africa and, of course, 9/11 in the United States. We cannot afford to let Afghanistan become, again, that kind of direct threat to us.
More on Link 

 Extremists fail with IEDs  
Sunday July 16, 2006  Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149961

BAGRAM AIRFIELD: Coalition forces captured an extremist after he pre-detonated an improvised explosive device he was attempting to place in the Day Chopan District of Zabul Province. 
The would-be bomber succeeded only in severely injuring his own leg when his IED prematurely exploded during his attempt to place it in the road. Coalition forces transported the insurgent to a Coalition medical facility for treatment after being captured. 
More on Link 


Construction of district HQs completed in Zabul  
Saturday July 15, 2006  Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149872

KANDAHAR CITY: Construction of Shamalzy district headquarters worth $135,000 was completed in the southern Zabul province, officials said. 
Gulab Shah Alikhel, spokesman for governor, told news agency in Kabul that US-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in the province funded the project. 

He said PRT had pledged them construction of other projects in the region. Wazir Mohammad, head of Shamalzy district, told news agency in Kabul the newly-built office had 23 rooms, 2 salons and other parts. Earlier, he said they were working in madhouse and were confronted with many problems. 

In a separate incident on July 14, a suicide bomber killed himself and injured an Afghan National Policeman in the Tere Zayi District of Khost Province. 

The suicide bomber’s suspicious activity caught the attention of alert ANP conducting a mounted patrol. The bomber detonated the explosive vest he was wearing, killing himself and injuring one ANP officer. 
More on Link 


Afghan army displays leadership under fire, U.S. general says  
Saturday July 15, 2006 Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149868

WASHINGTON: One of the main challenges for Afghan security forces is to fill all of its ranks with effective leaders, says U.S. Army Major General Robert Durbin. 
This will take time as Afghan National Army and police reforms are implemented, Durbin told reporters at the Pentagon. 

Speaking as the commander of the Combined Security Transition Command in Afghanistan, he said it is important for the Afghan Army to identify recruits who have "the right character traits and characteristics of good leaders". 
More on Link 

Afghans get frustrated with rising violence  
Thursday July 13, 2006  Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=149786

KABUL: An upsurge in insurgent violence in Afghanistan and deepening public frustration is eating away at domestic support for internationally-backed President Hamid Karzai, analysts say. 
Five years after the fall of the hardline Taliban government, the insurgency is only more bloody and is undermining the authority of Karzai`s government which is propped up by international funds and security forces. 

The May 29 riots that shook Kabul pointed to growing frustration, with some of the demonstrators chanting "Death to Karzai" and attacking images of him. 
More on Link 

Afghanistan: New players, old mistakes

Afghanistan: New players, old mistakes
  
Four invasions in less than two centuries -- all doomed to failure -- and no lessons taken to heart
By Gwynne Dyer - Independant   (Jul 15, 2006)  
http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1152913813558&call_pageid=1126519607402&col=1126519607416

1839, 1878, 1979, 2001: Four foreign invasions of Afghanistan in less than 200 years. The first two were British, and unashamedly imperialist. The third was Soviet, and the invaders said they were there to defend socialism and help Afghanistan become a modern, prosperous state.

The last was American, and the invaders said they were there to bring democracy and help Afghanistan become a modern, prosperous state. But all four invasions were doomed to fail (although the last still has some time to run).
More on Link 


Extremists intensify war on schools in Afghanistan
July 14, 2006, 11:25PM - By PAUL GARWOOD - Associated Press 
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/4048621.html

Groups object to educating girls and the teaching of secular subjects

PORIAT, AFGHANISTAN - For 14-year-old Mohammed Salam, his tent school was about all this mud-brick farming village had going for it. That was until suspected Taliban militants burned it to the ground.

"Now we are taught underneath trees," the teenager said as he and other students took exams in a cluster of trees near the place their school stood before it was destroyed more than a month ago.


Goals for mission needed, says Kenny
Sunday July 16, 2006 Chronicle Herald, Halifax
Canada must gauge victory in Afghanistan security official
By CHRIS LAMBIE Staff Reporter
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Metro/516503.html

Canada needs to decide what constitutes "victory" in Afghanistan,  says the head of the Senate’s national security committee.  

"I think Canadians are owed that and I think the troops are owed that," Colin Kenny said during a recent stop in Halifax. 

"I don’t really care what the metrics are, whether it’s how many girls are in school or how many wells you’ve dug or how long has it been since there’s been a political murder or is there a functioning press there that doesn’t appear to be manipulated by somebody."

The Commons narrowly voted in May to extend Canada’s mission in Afghanistan an additional two years, until February 2009. 
More on Link 

Soldier's Son Helps Afghan Kids
July 16, 2006  ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/TenWays/story?id=2188710&WNT=true

By DAVID KERLEY

GAITHERSBURG, Md., July 13, 2006 — An entrepreneurial Boy Scout is sending 69 boxes of clothes to Afghanistan, in a project inspired by his father's deployment to the war-torn region. 

Nick Shawen was looking to earn himself a spot as an Eagle Scout and decided to begin a clothing drive after receiving e-mails from his father, an Army doctor working with civilians in Afghanistan. 

His mother, Linda Shawen, said they learned of children coming into the hospital and losing their belongings. "They had to cut the clothes off because, you know, they were completely damaged," she said. "So when they left they had nothing to wear."
More on Link


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## The Bread Guy (16 Jul 2006)

*Helicopter shortage puts (Brit) troops at risk - what Charles told MoD six months ago *  
Sean Rayment, Telegraph (UK), 16 Jul 06

The Prince of Wales voiced concerns about the lack of helicopters available to British troops in Afghanistan six months ago.  Prince Charles, who is Colonel in Chief of the Parachute Regiment, is said to be "dismayed" that soldiers' lives are being put at risk because of a lack of military resources.  Sources close to the prince said that he first raised the issue of helicopter shortages with John Reid, the former defence secretary shortly after it was announced that 3,600 British troops would be sent to Afghanistan . . . . 


*Paras storm town to lift siege by Taliban*
Christina Lamb and Tahir Luddin, Times Online (UK), 16 Jul 06

BRITISH forces yesterday launched their biggest offensive yet in southern Afghanistan to relieve soldiers under siege in the Taliban stronghold of Sangin. Three hundred members of 3rd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, took part in the dawn raid, which started with Apache helicopter gunships securing a landing area so that five Chinooks could fly in troops . . . .


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## Scoobie Newbie (16 Jul 2006)

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060712/afghanistan_assault_060715/20060715?hub=TopStories

Cdn. troops join massive operation in Afghanistan
Updated Sat. Jul. 15 2006 11:50 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Canadian soldiers have joined the largest coalition effort thus far to root out hundreds of suspected Taliban fighters, focusing on a key insurgent stronghold in southern Afghanistan. 


The operation is the largest to date in "Operation Mountain Thrust," and involves about 5,000 U.S., British and Canadian troops. 


The aim is to attack about 400 Taliban guerrillas believed to be operating in the Sangin district of Helmand province, west of Kandahar. 


CTV's Steve Chao said the Sangin area is a challenging war zone. There are many mud-walled buildings in maze-like communities, which have to be searched with caution. 


"They have to be very careful about the civilian population," Chao told CTV Newsnet. "There was a great deal of concern that the Taliban would be using people as human shields, though there's no word that this is happening so far." 


Chao, who was out with Canadian soldiers during a 60-hour firefight near Pashmul last weekend, said one officer told him that fighting the Taliban is "like punching flies -- you punch them and they come back again." 


Sangin is the area where a Canadian soldier was killed last March. 


Canadian coalition spokesman Major Scott Lundy told The Canadian Press that 10 Taliban have been killed in a brief battle, as this weekend's operation continues. 


The joint Canadian-American-British mission is also the largest combat operation of its kind since the Korean War. It's led by Brig. Gen. David Fraser, a Canadian who is commander of coalition forces in southern Afghanistan. 


About 600 Canadian soldiers are assigned to the operation, and Chao says they've been fighting in 50 degree Celcius heat in recent months. Many are exhausted and are counting the days until they can go home. 


Rocket hits coalition base, no reported casualties 


Meanwhile, another rocket struck the coalition base in Kandahar, where Canadian troops are based. 


The rocket hit the base Saturday, though there were no reported casualties. 


It is one of about 30 rockets that have struck the base in the past few months, said Chao, reporting from the scene. 


"At least one rocket landed on the Kandar airbase. We outrselves could hear the whistle of the rocket as it flew over our heads and landed just a few hundred metres from where we are," Chao told CTV Newsnet. 


"We could see a cloud of smoke and dust rise up from where the rocket landed. We ourselves ran over to the site but we were told no one has been injured in the attack." 


Chao said the numerous attacks in recent months are difficult to guard against. 


"There are so many areas the Taliban or insurgents can fire the rockets from, so it's just another example of how difficult it is to police the outside cordoned area." 


He said the base covers several square kilometres. 


The attack marks the second time in one week that the base has been targeted. It is the fifth such attack since June 30 when two Canadians were injured by rockets. 


With files from CTV's Steve Chao in Kandahar and The Canadian Press


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## The Bread Guy (16 Jul 2006)

*More Taliban reported killed, captured, as Canadians continue Afghan assault*
Terry Pedwell, Canadian Press, 16 Jul 06
http://www.recorder.ca/cp/National/060716/n071611A.html

Facing ambushes and small pockets of resistance, Canadian soldiers continued fighting Sunday as a major coalition offensive continued in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province.  Nearly 5,000 coalition forces, including about 600 Canadians, were involved in the operation west of Kandahar, along with soldiers from the Afghan National Army and Afghan police.  In two separate battles late Saturday afternoon, the coalition troops suffered no casualties, but killed at least 35 Taliban fighters, wounded more than 20 others and captured more than a dozen insurgents, according to Helmand's provincial police chief . . . 


*UK troops attacked in Afghanistan*
BBC News, 16 Jul 06
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5186000.stm

British troops say they have come under fire from Taleban fighters hiding in a hospital in southern Afghanistan.  A military statement said forces in Helmand province defending a government compound were under sustained attack . . . .


*Paras' Revenge:  10 Taliban killed as troops retake the Valley of Death*
Rupert Hamer, Sunday Mirror (UK), 16 Jul 06
http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=17391464%26method=full%26siteid=62484%26headline=paras%2d%2drevenge%2d-name_page.html

BRITISH paratroopers yesterday blitzed hundreds of Taliban fighters as they stormed a desert valley where six comrades died.  Apache helicopter gunships swept into the terror stronghold of Sangin before dawn, killing 10 insurgents.  Three hundred frontline troops were then airlifted to reclaim the valley in Chinook helicopters during the biggest battle in lawless Helmand province . . . .


*U.S. Vows to Continue Anti-Taliban Blitz*
Paul Garwood, Associated Press, 16 Jul 06
http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2006/07/16/ap/international/d8it9uu01.txt

There is no end in sight for a massive anti-Taliban offensive in southern Afghanistan, which must continue until local authorities gain control of the insurgent-dominated region, the U.S.-led coalition said Sunday.  More than 10,000 soldiers have fanned out across southern mountain ranges, desert plains and opium fields to crush the Taliban in Operation Mountain Thrust, the largest military operation in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled the Taliban regime in late 2001 . . . .


*MEN WEARING BURKAS SHOOT AFGHAN CIVILIANS *  
CFC Afghanistan, 16 Jul 06
http://tinyurl.com/hwefn

Two Afghan civilians were killed and one civilian injured in a drive-by shooting July 15 in Zambar in Khowst Province.  The attack was conducted by three individuals disguised as women who were wearing burkas and driving in a Toyota Corolla.  The Afghan civilians were from the village of Aber Khel and acquaintances of the Zambar Afghan National Police chief.   “This was a senseless attack on Afghan civilians,” said Col. Thomas Collins, Coalition spokesperson.  “For extremists to dress like women and kill innocent civilians, shows the lengths the extremists will go to threaten the safety of the Afghan people. The Coalition remains committed to putting an end to such senseless violence and those who would commit these atrocities.” 


*Afghan official: Slain woman was not connected to coalition *  
Stars & Stripes, 17 Jul 06
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=38679

A woman whose body was found dumped south of Kabul, Afghanistan, did not associate with coalition forces, contrary to what a Taliban spokesman says, Afghan officials said Sunday.  Zahra Madadi, 23, worked with the Refugees and Returnee Affairs Department and attended school at night, officials said during a news conference.  Madadi was kidnapped by Taliban followers on July 11 and her body was found south of the city of Ghazni, which is southwest of Kabul, on July 13 . . . .


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## GAP (17 Jul 2006)

Afghanistan helicopter use ‘rationed’  
IAN BRUCE, Defence Correspondent July 17 2006  The Herald
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/65995.html
       
British commanders in Afghanistan are having to ration helicopter missions in support of ground troops because of a "cost neutral" policy imposed by the Treasury.
Although the Helmand task force has been given the go-ahead to increase flying hours for its helicopter force, it has been ordered not to exceed the overall operational budget, according to military sources.
That sets a ceiling on flying hours, fuel consumption and the use of scarce spare parts. 
The result is that senior officers are forced to limit support flights to deliberate operations", such as Saturday's assault on the Taliban sanctuary of Sangin, rather than vital resupply missions to outposts in remote forward positions.
Food, water and ammunition are now to be taken to the "platoon house" outposts by road convoys vulnerable to insurgent ambush and booby-traps.
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Absence from his men adds salt to his wounds  
CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD  Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060714.wafghan14/BNStory/Afghanistan/home

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — The last time I saw Captain John Croucher, the big lug was standing in the moonlight outside the patrol house at Gumbad north of Kandahar, talking about the improvised explosive device, or IED, strike that had exploded between two vehicles in his convoy.

Capt. Croucher was but four cars away, and even so felt the percussion, and the shock, and saw the enormous crater left behind.

But, as he said then with considerable pride, that day he left with 38 guys, and with 38 he returned to the mud-walled compound that Alpha Company of the 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry then called home.
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Envoy says Canadian soldiers 'in eye of storm'
Updated Sun. Jul. 16 2006  CTV News
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060712/QP_afghanistan_060716/20060716?hub=Canada


Canadian soldiers in have faced intensifying Taliban aggression on their mission in southern Afghanistan. But the UN envoy in Kabul, says the troops are directly "in the eye of storm" and most of the country is relatively calm. 

What we're seeing now is an intense effort to root out the remaining militants near Kandahar. Christopher Alexander told CTV's Question Period.  "The resources devoted to countering the insurgency are much greater now." 
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Originally posted by - Mark Ottawa regarding CTV's Question Period
thead http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/47452/post-413161/topicseen.html#new

Don't expect the media to abandon Mr Staples.  He was on CTV's Question Period July 16, with Lew Mackenzie and David Bercuson, discussing Afstan.  Craig Oliver did everything he could to call the mission into question.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/HTMLTemplate?tf=/ctv/mar/video/new_player.html&cf=ctv/mar/ctv.cfg&hub=QPeriod&video_link_high=mms://ctvbroadcast.ctv.ca/video/2006/07/14/ctvvideologger3_152871435_1152888700_691kbps.wmv&video_link_low=mms://ctvbroadcast.ctv.ca/
video/2006/07/14/ctvvideologger3_152871434_1152888303_218kbps.wmv&
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There was also an interview with Chris Alexander, UN official in Afstan and former Canadian diplomat, in which Mr Alexander did a very good job of explaining and supporting international action there.
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ctvbroadcast.ctv.ca/video/2006/07/14/ctvvideologger3_152871434_1152888303_218kbps.wmv&clip_start=00:03:42.45&clip_end=00:09:17.92&clip_caption=CTV's%20Question%20Period:%20Chris%20Alexander%20in%20Kabul&clip_id=ctvnews.20060714.00154000-00154370-clip1&subhub=video&no_ads=&sortdate=20060712&slug=QP_afghanistan_060716&archive=CTVNews#ctvnews.20060714.00154000-00154370-clip1



Afghanistan: Poppy and the Taliban   
 Monday, July 17, 2006 -  The Trumpet
http://www.thetrumpet.com/?page=article&id=2374

  
The media keep Americans abreast of the military and political melee that is Iraq. Most Americans, however, know little about the chaos unraveling in a nation about 1,000 miles east of Bagdad: Afghanistan. This nation, home of the Taliban,
 is the largest source of heroin in the world, and is evolving into one of America’s worst geopolitical nightmares.

Reporting on the rapid deterioration of Afghanistan, a July 11 Asia Times article detailed the close connection between the resurging strength of the bin Laden-loving Taliban and the booming poppy industry:

Afghanistan boasts two bumper crops this season, and both could be lethal to the already fledgling authority of its government. Western officials expect the largest-ever opium crop …. And contrary to earlier pronouncements by military officials, 
the Taliban are gaining steam in the volatile southern provinces, where fighting has raged at levels not seen since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled the al-Qaeda-allied Islamic fundamentalist movement five years ago. 
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Internship program sends volunteers to Afghanistan  
Monday, July 17, 2006 - Daily Evergreen
KENDRA PANG - CONTRIBUTING WRITER   
http://www.dailyevergreen.com/disp_story.php?storyId=18273
  
A WSU internship program will give volunteers a chance to help rebuild higher education in war-torn Afghanistan. 
The Center to Bridge the Digital Divide is offering the paid internship in Kabul, Afghanistan. The program will allow volunteers to work with students and professors at Kabul University and other area schools to help rebuild their systems. 

“Volunteers will be tutoring in subject areas to students at Kabul University,” said Ryan Sain, deputy director of global networks at CBDD. “Quality tutors are needed to assist students and professors with English speaking skills and content. 
We are training Afghans to replace all of our interns with Afghans in hopes that the university system will be fully run by Afghans within a year.” 
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Afghan, Coalition Members Conduct Medical Clinics
American Forces Press Service    WASHINGTON, July 17, 2006 
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060717_5670.html

More than 1,000 villagers in the Panjwayi and Zharey districts of Afghanistan received medical treatment and humanitarian assistance from Afghan and coalition personnel at clinics during the past weekend, military officials reported. 
A group of medical professionals from Kandahar hospitals, the Afghan National Army and the coalition spent July 15 at a school next to the Panjwayi District Centre at Bazaar-e-Panjwayi. They conducted another medical clinic in Zharey district on July 16. 

The group provided basic medical treatment to local people and livestock, dispensed medicine, and handed out food and other humanitarian supplies. 

During the two days, medical personnel treated 1,028 people; veterinarians saw 18 animals; and tons of humanitarian supplies were distributed to villagers. 
More on link


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## GAP (17 Jul 2006)

Coalition soldier killed in Afghanistan  
 17 Jul 2006 Source: ITN 
http://www.channel4.com/news/content/news-storypage.jsp?id=596121

A coalition soldier has been killed and 11 others wounded in heavy fighting with the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. 

Foreign troops operating in Tarin Kot district of Uruzgan province came under heavy fire after attacking and destroying a truck which insurgents were loading with mortar equipment, the US led coalition said in a statement. 

The nationality of the dead soldier and of those wounded have not yet been released. 


Daily Violence Is Now Routine in Afghanistan  
By Benjamin Sand Islamabad   17 July 2006  VOICE OF AMERICA
http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-07-17-voa13.cfm

Coalition forces in southeastern Afghanistan killed four suspected al-Qaida extremists Sunday, and a day later a suicide bomb blast in Helmand province has destroyed a local government office and killed three people. Isolated but continuous acts of violence have become a striking part of daily life in Afghanistan.

Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Yousef Stanezai says the suicide bombing gutted the local justice department office in Lashkar Gah, capital of the southern province of Helmand. "The explosion collapsed the building and caused the killing of three persons and wounded eight," said Stanezai. Witnesses say the dead and wounded had to be dug from beneath the building's rubble.
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Twelve dead in Afghanistan; terrorist suspect seized (2nd Roundup)
Jul 17, 2006,  
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/southasia/article_1181813.php/Twelve_dead_in_Afghanistan_terrorist_suspect_seized__2nd_Roundup_

Kabul - At least 12 people died Monday in clashes in Afghanistan, including a high-ranking justice official, four Afghan and coalition soldiers and four suspected fighters with the al-Qaeda terrorist network. 

A suspected local terrorist leader, Amir Gul Hassanyar, was also detained over the weekend in the northern province of Kunduz, where a large weapons cache was also seized. 

The Taliban-led insurgency has been rigorously intensifying in the southern provinces, where NATO forces are due to take over the command of the southern region from US-led coalition forces by end of this month. On Sunday, more than three dozen people were killed, including 27 Taliban militants. 


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Maintaining order in Afghanistan   
Analysis   By Alastair Leithead, in Helmand   BBC News  17 July 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5188092.stm

The fighting in southern Afghanistan has been fierce and unrelenting, with British soldiers not just repelling fire, but battling for their lives against a determined enemy. 

Clashes have consistently raged for hours in the desert heat - the UK forces have used everything from air strikes and artillery shells to hand grenades. 

Soldiers only use hand grenades when their enemy is just metres away. 
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2 justice officials killed in Afghanistan
By AMIR SHAH Associated Press Writer  The Associated Press - July 17, 2006
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4051746.html

KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide attacker killed two top justice officials and a third employee in their southern provincial office on Monday, while coalition troops killed four al-Qaida suspects in the east, officials said.

A grenade was thrown into a wedding party in southeastern Khost province late Sunday, killing one man and wounding 16, while Taliban militants blew up an empty boys' high school in neighboring Paktika province, police said.
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Taleban 'energised' by UK troops   
Saturday, 8 July 2006 - BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5160256.stm

Six Britons have died in the Helmand province in the last month 
The presence of British troops in Afghanistan has "energised" the Taleban, the defence secretary says. 
Des Browne said the "scale and nature" of the opposition became clear when UK troops were first deployed to Helmand. 
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Heavy Fighting in Afghanistan; 100 Taliban Members killed  
Written by The Media Line Staff Monday, July 17, 2006 
http://themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=14406
  
As fighting continues between the American-led coalition in Afghanistan and the Islamist forces of the Taliban, reports indicate that Taliban has lost some 100 fighters since last Thursday. 

During Monday's battles in the southern province of Helmand, 37 Taliban fighters were killed and 22 were wounded. 
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Taleban will be broken by year-end: Afghan minister
(Reuters) 17 July 2006 -  Khaleej Times Online 
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2006/July/subcontinent_July589.xml&section=subcontinent

SINGAPORE - NATO and Afghan forces will be able to break the back of Taleban resistance in southern Afghanistan before the end of this year, the country’s defence minister said in an interview published on Monday.

General Rahim Abdul Rahim Wardak told the Financial Times in Kabul Afghan intelligence had learned that the Taleban’s command and control structure was fragmenting due to heavy losses and many mid-ranking commanders were fleeing to safety in Pakistan.

“I think that in the next two or three months there will be some major changes,” Wardak said, predicting that by November Taleban militants would have lost steam
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Afghanistan: Tactics and techniques   
Tuesday, 11 July 2006  BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/5147832.stm

International forces in Afghanistan are facing mounting security problems. The Taleban - ousted from Kabul in the 2001 US-led invasion - have regrouped over the last couple of years, and are now a resurgent force in the south and east of the country. 
Although there are no reliable estimates of their current manpower, Taleban tactics are nothing new. 

Their fighters follow exactly the same principles of low-level guerrilla warfare as the mujahideen fighters who inflicted heavy losses on the Soviet army which occupied Afghanistan from 1979-89. 
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4 al-Qaida suspects killed, 3 captured in southeastern Afghanistan Canadian Press
Published: Monday, July 17, 2006 
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=6ee89163-66d8-459e-8842-92eaf5bf7166&k=48538

KABUL (AP) - Coalition forces killed four al-Qaida suspects and captured three others in southeastern Afghanistan on Monday, while a roadside bomb killed three Afghan soldiers in the south, officials said. 

Suspected Taliban militants also blew up a boy's high school in the southeast early Monday, but there were no casualties, a provincial official said. Coalition soldiers raided a terrorist hideout near the village of Pelan Kheyl in Khost province, which borders Pakistan, hunting an al-Qaida operational leader, a U.S. military statement said. 

Four suspected al-Qaida members were killed in the raid, but it was unclear whether the target was among them. Three other al-Qaida members were arrested and a weapons cache was destroyed, the statement said. The nationalities of the killed and detained suspects were unclear. 
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Bomber Kills 4 in Afghanistan; Coalition Forces Clash With Taliban  
By REUTERS  Published: July 17, 2006 New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/17/world/asia/17afghan.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, July 16 (Reuters) — A suicide bomber struck outside a government building in Afghanistan on Sunday, killing three civilians and an Afghan soldier, as the American-led coalition pushed on with a big offensive in the volatile south
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U.S. Reaches Deal With Kyrgyzstan for Continued Use of Air Base 
By THOM SHANKER - Published: July 15, 2006 - 
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/15/world/asia/15military.html

WASHINGTON, July 14 — The United States and Kyrgyzstan signed an agreement on Friday to allow American and coalition military aircraft to continue using a Kyrgyz air base to support operations in Afghanistan, government officials said.

The Kyrgyz government had threatened to evict American and coalition airplanes — mostly refueling and transport craft — from the base, at Manas, if the United States did not sign an agreement to pay higher rent and service fees.

An official statement issued in Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic, announcing the resolution of the issue did not say how much the United States would pay for continued use of the base.

“The United States will compensate equitably the Kyrgyz government and Kyrgyz businesses for goods, services and other support of U.S. operations,” Sean McCormack, the State Department spokesman, said on Friday.

He said the United States expected More on link

UK troops attacked in Afghanistan   
16 July 2006, 23:02 GMT 00:02 UK   BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5186000.stm

British troops took fire from Taleban fighters hiding in a hospital 
British troops say they have come under fire from Taleban fighters hiding in a hospital in southern Afghanistan. 
A military statement said forces in Helmand province defending a government compound were under sustained attack. 
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Extra UK troops arrive in Kabul   
BBC News Thursday, 13 July 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5177608.stm

The first of 1,000 additional UK troops to be sent to the lawless Helmand province in Afghanistan have arrived in the country. 
More than 3,000 British troops have been deployed to Afghanistan since May. The current deployment will boost numbers to 4,500. 

They are there to combat the resurgent Taleban, the drug trade, and help reconstruction efforts. 

It comes after six UK soldiers were killed in Helmand in the past month. 

The 1,000 troops are primarily made up of infantry and engineers and are part of a strengthened Nato force. 
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Mortar attacks becoming routine for troops in Afghanistan  
Some use humor to cope with life in combat zone 
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes, Monday, July 17, 2006
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=38678

Leo Shane III / Stars & Stripes 
Staff Sgt. James Hilton, left, and Sgt. 1st Class Leslie Zaricor, both of the Army’s 1st Battalion, 210th Aviation Regiment, chat beside bunkers near their barracks the day after two mortar rounds struck Kandahar Airfield. Troops here say the attacks are becoming more annoying than frightening.

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — The first thing Sgt. Ken Moore did when he heard the two mortar rounds slam into camp was sprint for his unit’s bunker. 

Once he got there, he wished he had remembered his PlayStation
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Dr. Spanta wants good ties with Pakistan amid war on terror  
Monday July 17, 2006 Pak Tribune
http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=150037

KABUL: Afghan Foreign Minister Dr. Rangeen Dadfar Spanta has stressed the need of good ties with Pakistan in war on terror and joint stance and common language between the EU, America and other countries. 
He expressed these views while talking in a press conference after his arrival from US here on Saturday. 

He reported that he had discussed Afghanistan problems; terrorism and the elements involved in terrorism with US officials and EU leaders and that they had a complete harmony of views on these issues. 

He underscored that the US officials back Karzai’s government because the actual problem of Afghanistan is the maintenance of corrupt-free government where the human rights especially women rights are valued and law is obeyed. 
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Cost of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to top $500 billion in 2007  
Thursday June 29, 2006 Pak Tribune
http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=148346

KABUL: The costs of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq wil pass the $500 billion mark next year, says a Congressional Research Service report, the National Journal’s CONGRESS DAILY has reported today. 
The Congressional Research Service is a non-partisan arm of Congress. Excerpts from the registration restricted article follow:. 

The overall cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other global anti-terror operations since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks will top $500 billion next year, according to congressional estimates and expectations of future funding. 

The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service said in a report that through the current fiscal year ending Sept. 30, the government will have spent $437 billion on overseas military and foreign aid funding. That includes the latest supplemental spending bill signed into law this month, which provided $69 billion for the war effort. 
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Iranian manufactured tractors to capture Afghanistan's market 
Kabul, July 16, IRNA Islamic Republic News Agency - Iran
http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0607166192193923.htm

Iran-Afghanistan-Tractors 
A Iranian economic delegation arrived here Sunday in Kabul to conduct market survey for large-scale sales of Iranian manufactured tractors. 

Representative from Iran's Tractor Manufacturing Company Darband Azar told reporters that the Iranian economic delegation is to meet officials from Afghan ministries of commerce, agriculture and finance to pave the way for export of Iranian made tractors to Afghanistan. 

In the first phase of such contract, some 2,000 tractors are to be exported to Afghanistan on an installment basis, he said. 

Most Afghan farmers use traditional equipment and tools which do not meet the demand of ever increasing population in the country. 
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AFGHANISTAN: Drought leaves thousands destitute
17-07-2006 - KALAT, (IRIN) - Muslim News
http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/news/news.php?article=11381

Hundreds of families in southern Afghanistan have been displaced by a drought. 

Abdul Ahad, 40, said it had forced him out of his village in the Seyourray district of the southern province of Zabul. He lost his cattle, wheat and grapes when his village well ran dry four months ago. 

"Everything I planted there is now dead due to the harsh drought this year," Ahad, a father-of-six, said on Sunday from Kalat city, capital of Zabul province, where he and his destitute family had just arrived. 

He said that he desperately needed help to feed his malnourished family and to find somewhere to live. 
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Pakistan: US set to notify on F-16 deal
29-06-2006 - Muslim News
http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/news/news.php?article=11278

WASHINGTON, Dawn: The US administration plans to officially notify the Congress within 24 hours of its intention to sell F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, according to official sources. 

They told Dawn once the notification was issued, the Congress would have 30 days to reject the offer but if it failed to do so, the deal would be considered endorsed. 

On March 25, 2005, the US announced a dramatic shift in its arms sale policy to South Asia by unveiling plans to sell F-16 aircraft to Pakistan. 

Pakistan has been frustrated for years in its desire to buy new F-16s for its air force, which already has 32 aircraft of older models. 

The US Congress cancelled a sale of about two dozen F-16s to Pakistan in 1,990 because of differences over Islamabad’s nuclear programme. 

But Washington began to reconsider Islamabad’s request for the fighter jets after the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attack when Pakistan became a key ally in the US-led war against terrorism. 
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Afghanistan must never become Britain’s Vietnam  
Monday 17th July, 2006 -  Arabic News
http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php?id=100032

LONDON: The two excellent articles by Brian Brady highlight the total failure of the government and the Ministry of Defence to appreciate the real needs of the army in Afghanistan to conduct the campaign against the Taliban (’Cabinet rift as more troops set to fight Taliban’, ’Fighting a losing battle’, July 9). 

Yet again senior generals in the MoD have weakly agreed to reduce the number of infantry battalions in the army when the one crucial element so desperately needed in Afghanistan is to have infantry soldiers on the ground. The Army Board must be bitterly regretting cutting four badly needed battalions from the army establishment. 

Neither the government nor the generals seem prepared to take any account of the history of warfare in Afghanistan. Britain suffered terrible defeats at the hands of local tribesmen in the past and the recent experiences of Russian forces should surely have given the generals a clear signal that this was going to be a deployment that was going to be taxing in the extreme. 
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Coalition Didn't Kill Afghan Non-combatants
American Forces Press Service - Jul. 17, 2006
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060716_5662.html

WASHINGTON, July 16, 2006 – Assessments from Helmand Province, Afghanistan, do not conclude that non-combatants were killed as a result of operations against extremists on July 12, according to coalition officials. 
Extremists likely fabricated reports of civilian deaths as a propaganda ploy to discredit coalition forces and the government of Afghanistan, officials said today. 

"We take great care to prevent and minimize any damage to property or injury to law-abiding citizens," said Col. Tom Collins, a coalition spokesman for Combined Forces Command Afghanistan. "We will continue in our operations to defeat those who attempt to impose their will upon the local population through intimidation and fear. 

"We also call on the citizens of Helmand to cooperate with the coalition to defeat extremists who offer nothing for the betterment of the people," Collins continued. "Until such time as a sufficiently safe and secure environment is established in Helmand province, development prospects will remain limited and the population's quality of life will remain low." 
More on link

Coalition Forces Kill Terrorists, Strike Taliban Commander  
American Forces Press Service - Jul. 17, 2006
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060717_5672.html

WASHINGTON, July 17, 2006 – Coalition forces in Afghanistan had a long string of successes against terrorists during the last two days, military officials reported. They killed four suspected terrorists today, attacked the safe house of a known Taliban commander last night, thwarted a terrorist attack from a hospital yesterday, and confiscated a large weapons cache yesterday. 
Coalition forces killed four suspected al Qaeda terrorists, detained three suspected al Qaeda terrorists and destroyed a weapons cache during an early morning raid today in Kwost province near the village of Pelan Kheyl. The operation was to capture or kill an al Qaeda operational leader who is a significant threat to Afghan and coalition forces in the Khowst province, officials said. 

Elsewhere, Afghan and coalition forces attacked the safe house of a known Taliban commander in the Sangin district of Helmand province last night. A variety of intelligence assets identified the extremist's location before the compound was attacked with joint fire and the building destroyed, officials said. The commander's name will be withheld for security reasons until his death is confirmed, officials said. 
More on link

Taliban Extremist Kills Five; 22 Wounded in Suicide Blast  
American Forces Press Service   July 17, 2006
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060717_5671.html

WASHINGTON, July 17, 2006 – A suicide bomb attack in the Gardez district Afghanistan's of Paktia province killed five people and wounded up to 22 others, mostly innocent civilians, yesterday, military officials reported. 
An extremist armed with a suicide vest detonated his explosives as an Afghan National Army patrol approached. One Afghan soldier and four Afghan civilians were killed in the blast. Two Afghan soldiers and up to 20 more innocent Afghan civilians were wounded by the explosion and transported to a local hospital for treatment. Several vehicles and structures also were damaged. 

A coalition quick reaction force and explosive ordnance disposal team responded to the scene to help investigate and secure the site. 
More on link


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## tomahawk6 (17 Jul 2006)

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060716_5662.html

Officials: Coalition Didn't Kill Afghan Non-combatants
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 16, 2006 – Assessments from Helmand Province, Afghanistan, do not conclude that non-combatants were killed as a result of operations against extremists on July 12, according to coalition officials. 

Extremists likely fabricated reports of civilian deaths as a propaganda ploy to discredit coalition forces and the government of Afghanistan, officials said today. 

"We take great care to prevent and minimize any damage to property or injury to law-abiding citizens," said Col. Tom Collins, a coalition spokesman for Combined Forces Command Afghanistan. "We will continue in our operations to defeat those who attempt to impose their will upon the local population through intimidation and fear. 

"We also call on the citizens of Helmand to cooperate with the coalition to defeat extremists who offer nothing for the betterment of the people," Collins continued. "Until such time as a sufficiently safe and secure environment is established in Helmand province, development prospects will remain limited and the population's quality of life will remain low." 

On July 12, 20 extremists engaged a coalition patrol with rocket-propelled grenades and machine-gun fire in and around the village of Sharageh in Helmand province, needlessly putting innocent civilians in danger, officials said. Close-air support was available but not employed due to the possibility of endangering innocent Afghan civilians. 

It is a common extremist tactic to fight without regard for civilian lives, and to mix in with and operate around civilians. Extremists do this knowing coalition forces will use extraordinary restraint to prevent injury to innocent civilians, officials said. 

For example, on July 13 in Uruzgan province near the district of Khas Uruzgan, ANA and coalition forces repelled an attack by 20 enemy fighters with small-arms fire, killing one extremist. The joint patrols took precautions to avoid harm to Afghan civilians during the operation, and there were no reports of Afghan civilian injuries. 

Coalition forces have had a presence in the Nowzad district since mid-May, working alongside the Afghan National Police to protect the district's center in assisting the provincial government in providing security. The coalition forces have come under repeated attack from extremists. 

During engagements in the last 16 days, the coalition has reported 22 attacks, including 13 incidents of small-arms fire, 13 incidents of heavy machine-gun fire, 48 incidents in which rocket-propelled grenades were used, 40 in which mortar rounds were used and five sniper attacks. 

In response to the ferocity of these attacks, air support was called in on six occasions, officials said. Ordnance was dropped against identified locations from which extremists were firing at coalition forces and no munitions missed their targets. 

In one strike, the coalition did hit a building used as a former school that had been closed by the Taliban. This building was empty for some time and extremists were using it as a position to launch mortar attacks, officials said. 

Other areas targeted in the July 12 operation also were clear of civilians after days of fighting between coalition forces and extremists. One ANP member was wounded during the operations. 

The coalition expects extremists to continue to level accusations of civilian deaths against the coalition as a propaganda ploy, officials said. Although the coalition takes every allegation seriously, extremist spokespeople fabricate claims on a near-daily basis, they said. 

Officials urged media representatives to be skeptical about such reports and to validate claims with the coalition or Afghan government officials before reporting on them. 

Coalition forces take extreme precautions to limit the chance of civilian casualties. But officials said that as long as the enemy chooses to fight in or near civilians, the possibility of civilians being endangered will exist.


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## GAP (17 Jul 2006)

Canadians extend Afghan push
TERRY PEDWELL Canadian Press 18/07/06  Globe & Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060718.wafghan0718/BNStory/Afghanistan/home

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Canadian soldiers, worn and exhausted from five days of continuous battles and sleeping in desert sand, aren't letting up the fight in Afghanistan's Helmand province.

The Canadians — roughly 600 of them — have wrapped up their part in Operation Mountain Thrust, designed to hunt down Taliban insurgents in a wide area west of Kandahar.

But now, with word that Taliban forces have overtaken two towns in Helmand, the Canadians are staying in the field.

The U.S.-led military forces have confirmed the Taliban capture of the two southern towns, and it has vowed "decisive action" to reclaim them.
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Canada will need to keep fighting, ISAF commander says
TERRY PEDWELL Canadian Press  Globe & Mail 18 July 2006
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060713.wcanafgh0713/BNStory

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Canadian soldiers will likely have to endure more bloody battles with Taliban militants, even after next month's takeover of the volatile Kandahar region by NATO forces, the commander of ISAF operations in Afghanistan says.

ISAF, the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, hopes to take control of the country's south by the beginning of August from a U.S.-led coalition that has launched increasingly deadly offensives against insurgents in the area.

It is hoped the expanded NATO-led force will be able to place more of an emphasis on reconstruction efforts than on offensive military operations.
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Taliban seize 2 towns, police flee
Tuesday, July 18, 2006  CNN
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/07/17/afghanistan.taliban.ap/index.html

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Taliban militants have seized two towns in tumultuous southern Afghanistan, forcing police and government officials to flee, officials said Monday.

The Taliban operate freely in large areas of southern Afghanistan and police presence there often is virtually nonexistent, but insurgents only were known to have completely seized one town since their hard-line regime was toppled by U.S. forces in 2001.

They were quickly driven out of that town, Chora, in Uruzgan province.
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Vice and virtue are two words to fear in Afghanistan  
Tuesday July 18, 2006  By Tom Coghlan - New Zealand Herald
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10391711

The Afghan Government has alarmed human rights groups by approving a plan to introduce a religious watchdog similarly named to the body the Taleban used to enforce its extremism.

The proposal to revive the Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, which came from the country's Ulema council of clerics, has been passed by the Cabinet of President Hamid Karzai and will now go before the Afghan Parliament.

"Our concern is that the department doesn't turn into an instrument for politically oppressing critical voices and vulnerable groups under the guise of protecting virtues," said Human Rights Watch's Sam Zia Zarifi.
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Afghanistan Engineer District links provinces to districts  
Tuesday July 18, 2006 (0218 PST) Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=150147

KABUL: If there’s a road to success in Afghanistan, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Afghanistan Engineer District commander says it’s not only building physical roads, but it’s also connecting the provincial governments to the people through overall infrastructure improvements. 
AED is supporting the international community’s effort to rebuild Afghanistan by concentrating at the provincial and district level, said Col. Christopher J. Toomey, AED commander and staff engineer for Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan, or CFC-A. 

Established in 2004, AED’s programs and projects have spent more than $1.8 billion on a variety of projects such as roads, bridges, ANA facilities, power and water infrastructure, Toomey told reporters here during a CFC-A sponsored “media roundtable.” 
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India, Afghanistan browbeating Pakistan on US behest: Akram Zaki  
Tuesday July 18, 2006   Pak Tribune
http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=150138

ISLAMABAD: India and Afghanistan are browbeating Pakistan on behest of the United States, said former foreign secretary Akram Zaki. 
"New Delhi is taking advantage of our foreign policy as we ourselves are being subjected to terrorism. All Indian allegations are concocted and groundless," Akram Zaki expressed these views in his chat with a group of journalists here Monday. 

"We demonstrated flexibility to India beyond limitations, which the latter took advantage of. We have offered everything demanded by New Delhi but when the matter reach to take decision on Kashmir, then the Indian government used to employ means tactics or started leveling allegations on Pakistan," he said.  
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Burqa fashion - that little number for all occasions  
Tuesday July 11, 2006 New Zealand Herald
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/location/story.cfm?l_id=12&ObjectID=10390639

KABUL - Fashion is the new fashion in Afghanistan, it seems, with two designers holding the first catwalk display in the country for decades.

Models glided down the runway in new takes traditional garb - burqas included - to mark the semi-historic event in front of expatriates and well-heeled Afghans at a luxury hotel amid the rubble and poverty of the capital.

All of the models, however, were expatriate women, highlighting that attitudes to Afghan women have a long way to go until Kabul replaces Paris as the capital of de rigueur.

The organisers said they did not want to court controversy in what is a deeply conservative Muslim country by having Afghan models.
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Searing heat new enemy in Helmand  
Thursday July 6, 2006 By Tom Coghlan New Zealand Herald
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/location/story.cfm?l_id=12&objectid=10389894

KABUL - British forces in Afghanistan are facing an air supply crisis because nearly half of their helicopter transport fleet is unable to fly during the day due to the searing Helmand heat

The 3300 British troops in the south of Afghanistan rely on a total of six Chinook and four Lynx helicopters for all their transport and supply needs. But military sources have confirmed that the Lynx, an attack and utility helicopter, is adversely affected by the extreme heat and thin, rising air of the Helmand desert, and has been limited to use between dusk and dawn only when the extreme temperatures fall to acceptable levels.

The British military spokesman with the Helmand force, Captain Drew Gibson, declined to comment on Lynx's problems, citing "operational reasons" and Lieutenant Rob Hunt, the British military spokesman in Kabul, defended the limitations.
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U.N.: Afghans at risk from drought
2.5 million people endangered, international organization says
Tuesday, July 18, 2006 -   CNN
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/07/18/afghanistan.drought.ap/index.html

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- The Afghan government will launch an appeal to raise funds for drought-affected areas in north and west Afghanistan, U.N. officials said Monday.

Areas of Afghanistan are regularly gripped by drought, which has hampered various agricultural harvests, particularly wheat, across this impoverished Central Asian nation.

"The north and northwest have been directly affected by drought and poor wheat harvests," Serge Verniau, country representative for the Food and Agriculture Organization, told reporters in the capital, Kabul.
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Afghan troops to deploy in southern town
Tue. Jul. 18 2006  CTV News -Associated Press
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060712/afghan_troops_060718/20060718?hub=World

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghan troops on Tuesday prepared to deploy to a town in southern Afghanistan that one official said had been overrun by Pakistani militants. 

Between 300 and 400 Afghan soldiers were heading to the southern town of Garmser, near the Pakistani border, said Amir Mohammed Akhunzada, the deputy governor of Helmand province.

"Our soldiers are going to Garmser with the support of the coalition to take it back from the Taliban," he said.

In Kabul, Deputy Interior Minister Abdul Malik Sidiqi accused Pakistan-based Islamic groups Lashkar-e-Tayyaba -- an outlawed militant organization -- and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam -- a pro-Taliban political party -- of taking over Garmser.

Sidiqi said a second Helmand town that had been overrun by militants -- Naway-i-Barakzayi -- was reclaimed by government forces late Monday.
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AFGHANISTAN: INCREASING PRESSURE WITHIN THE UNION
(AGI) - Rome, July 17 
http://www.agi.it/english/news.pl?doc=200607172040-1270-RT1-CRO-0-NF82&page=0&id=agionline-eng.italyonline

Prime minister Prodi's approval of the proposal to deploy UN troops to the Middle East was welcomed by several representatives of the ruling majority. Nevertheless, the centre-left is still focusing its attention on the upcoming vote on the re-financing of the Italian mission in Afghanistan. The tension was still high today when the decree was first being discussed in the lower house due to the fierce opposition of some representatives of the radical left. "I don't fear any friction" said Prodi from St. Petersburg, "I hope that decisions will be taken unanimously
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US-led coalition offensive in southern Afghanistan disrupts Taliban network  
The Associated Press (apwire) -  2006-07-18 OhmyNews  
http://english.ohmynews.com/ArticleView/article_view.asp?no=305973&rel_no=1

A massive anti-insurgent operation in southern Afghanistan has ''seriously disrupted'' the Taliban network operating in the region, the U.S. military said Tuesday, although militants chased police out of two towns.

Operation Mountain Thrust, which was launched in earnest in June, involves more than 10,000 U.S., British, Canadian and Afghan soldiers trying to crush Taliban militants operating in four southern provinces.

''Afghan and coalition forces have killed numerous low and midlevel commanders that the senior Taliban leadership rely on to intimidate villages, threaten elders and lead small bands of extremists to conduct attacks on Afghan and Coalition forces,'' U.S. spokesman Lt. Col.PaulFitzpatrick said in a statement
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Taliban fighters seize 2 districts, but lose 1   
Agence France-Presse, The Associated Press July 18, 2006
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/18/news/afghan.php

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan Taliban militants had control of at least one district in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, but were beaten back after briefly taking control of another, Afghan officials said.

The U.S.-led coalition in southern Afghanistan said that it was aware of the claims but could not confirm them, and stated that a massive anti-insurgent operation in southern Afghanistan had "seriously disrupted" the Taliban network operating in the region.

"Afghan and coalition forces have killed numerous low- and mid-level commanders that the senior Taliban leadership rely on to intimidate villages, threaten elders and lead small bands of extremists to conduct attacks on Afghan and coalition forces," a U.S. spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Paul Fitzpatrick, said in a statement.

The coalition said the offensive had been most effective in the northern reaches of Helmand Province, including Sangin, Musa Qala and Baghran districts. 
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Afghanistan Has Come Far Since 2001 `Liberation,'  Rumsfeld Says 
July 18 (Bloomberg) -- 
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=atzzkkkT__8o&refer=us

Afghanistan has made substantial progress since the overthrow of the Taliban regime in 2001, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in a letter addressed to the Afghan people. 

``It is sometimes easier to see the progress made from a distance,'' Rumsfeld said in the letter posted today on the Web site of the Combined Forces Command - Afghanistan. ``It is clear to most outside observers that Afghanistan has come far since its liberation in 2001.'' 

Rumsfeld, who visited Afghanistan last week, said the U.S. remains committed to the country's success. His letter was sent to Afghan newspaper editors, the military command said. 

Afghanistan has experienced increasing violence as Taliban forces respond to the U.S.-led coalition and the Afghan army expanding operations in southern and eastern provinces. Taliban fighters took control of two towns in the southern province of Helmand in recent days, the Associated Press reported. 
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Germany-Afghanistan-Security  
July 18, IRNA 
http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0607182783152629.htm

Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung departed Berlin on Tuesday to visit German troops based in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif, news reports said. 

Jung who has repeatedly expressed concern over the worsening security situation in Afghanistan, plans to tour the unsafe region. 
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Taleban threatens major offensive in Afghanistan
(AFP)  18 July 2006 
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2006/July/subcontinent_July641.xml&section=subcontinent

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Taleban militants vowed on Tuesday to intensify their insurgency with fresh attacks and suicide bombings, saying they would shortly take control of southern Afghanistan.

“During these operations which will begin today or tomorrow, we’ll take most of the districts in southern and south-central Afghanistan,” purported Taleban spokesman Mohammad Hanif told AFP.

The threat came as the Afghan government confirmed that the rebels had forced government forces out of at least one district in the troubled southern province of Helmand late Monday.
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## GAP (18 Jul 2006)

Warrior Mentality Persists in Afghanistan  
July 19, 2006  strategypage.com
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htinf/articles/20060719.aspx

The Afghan Army is having a hard time losing old habits. The average Afghan soldier is tough and enjoys a fight, and has successfully undergone modern infantry training. But too many of them still think like warriors, not soldiers. For example, a recent fire fight, involving 20-30 Taliban and platoon of Afghans, demonstrated this. The Afghans wanted to charge right into the Taliban, despite the fact that they'd received some pretty good training in fire and movement tactics. Fortunately the advisor with them got them to apply their training. The Taliban force was routed, with no casualties of the Afghan soldiers. 
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Canadian base in Afghanistan hit by rocket as Taliban threatens more violence 
Terry Pedwell, Canadian Press    Wednesday, July 19, 2006 
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=a9d89010-a1c1-4f79-92a9-200442fbc1aa&k=77710

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - The Kandahar Air Field, where Canadian soldiers are based, came under rocket attack again Wednesday as the Taliban threatened escalated attacks against foreign forces in Afghanistan. 

It was the second attack in less than four days and the sixth attack since the end of June, when two Canadians were injured. 

A coalition soldier was injured in Wednesday's attack when a single rocket slammed into the base. 
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Canadian troops occupy Taliban-burned school and hospital  
Ethan Baron, CanWest News Service; Vancouver Province -  Wednesday, July 19, 2006
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=f0fb10ec-e18c-4c5b-a0cd-1c06602a3748&k=91172

HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Canadian troops braced for rocket attacks Tuesday after occupying a United Nations-built school and hospital that the Taliban had burned and vandalized.

An estimated 30 to 50 Taliban chased off about 40 Afghan national police from the small village of Nawa, located 100 kilometres southwest of Kandahar, on Monday evening.

Villagers told Canadian soldiers the Taliban burned the school in the evening, held a prayer and left.When the Taliban are in the area, they sleep in hidden spots among the orchards, villagers said.

When the Canadian A Company arrived Tuesday afternoon with several platoons of U.S. soldiers, books and chairs were still smouldering in a number of school rooms, and shards of smashed window glass crunched beneath the soldiers' boots.
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Extremists Use Holy Sites For Attacks, Hit Civilian Targets
American Forces Press Service   July 19, 2006 
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060719_5690.html

WASHINGTON,– Extremists in Afghanistan attacked coalition forces from a religious site yesterday, and targeted several civilian areas this week, including a bridge, a school and a wedding party, military officials in Afghanistan reported. 
Extremists began firing on coalition forces in the village of Nowzad in Helmand province yesterday. The sniper fire came from the direction of a religious shrine. There were no reported injuries to coalition forces or damage to equipment. 

In a separate incident in Kandahar province, a supply convoy received small-arms fire from a nearby mosque. While there were no casualties in this incident, this act by the extremists is against the Geneva Convention, officials said. 

"To use religious buildings as hiding places and to fire from them is a clear message that the extremists use religion only when it is in their best interests," said Army Col. Thomas Collins, coalition spokesman. "The extremists place no value on human life and continue to threaten the safety of the Afghan people. The extremists today, for example, said they were 'holy warriors.' What kind of 'holy warrior' uses a shrine as a firing position? The extremists abuse the word 'mujahedin.' They are, in fact, 'mufsidun,' corrupt people who seek nothing but inflicting harm on the Afghan people." 
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Afghan, Coalition Forces Enter Southern Villages
American Forces Press Service  July 19, 2006 
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060719_5688.html

Afghan and coalition forces reasserted authority in two villages reported to be under Taliban control in the Helmand province of southern Afghanistan, military officials reported. 
The combined forces moved into the village of Narwa in the Nawa Barakzayee district yesterday, meeting no resistance and finding no Taliban extremists. There were no indications of damage or violence as the village was secured. 

Although media sources had reported the Taliban was in control of Narwa, village elders said a group of Taliban had been in the village, but had since left the area well before Afghan and coalition forces arrived. The extremists had damaged the police station and a school, and many school books were destroyed. The fleeing Taliban left two caches of mines and rocket-propelled grenades behind. 

A separate task force of Afghan and coalition forces occupied the district center of Garmser early this morning. The combined task force defeated enemy resistance overnight outside of Garmser, and waited to occupy after first light to prevent confusion within the village that might jeopardize the safety of civilians. More on link

Two Task Force Warrior soldiers killed in Afghanistan  
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes  July 19, 2006
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=38730

FORWARD OPERATING BASE LAGMAN, Afghanistan — From March until Sunday, members of Task Force Warrior operated in regions with some of the heaviest concentration of Taliban fighters without losing a single servicemember in combat.

In the past two days, they’ve lost two.

On Sunday, a soldier was killed in a firefight as he relieved troops standing guard at an outpost in the Deh Chopan district of Zabul province.

On Monday, a soldier from Company B was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade during an ambush that occurred while his unit cleared a riverbed in Tarin Kot district in nearby Uruzgan province.

Maj. Rafael Paredes, executive officer for the task force, said six other soldiers were wounded in the attack, two severely. U.S. officials reported that five other servicemembers received minor injuries.
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Afghanistan another fine mess 
JEFFREY SIMPSON From Wednesday's Globe and Mail  19/07/06
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060719.wxcosimp19/BNStory/National/home

With Israeli bombs blasting Lebanon and dozens of daily killings defining Iraq's civil strife, it's easy to forget Afghanistan, except when a Canadian gets killed and our media blanket the story.

Just now, however, about 600 Canadians are fighting with U.S., British and Afghan soldiers in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan.

Within that province, they have concentrated in the Sangin region; there are as many soldiers and police officers as there are residents.

They aren't having much success, according to news reports, in finding the Taliban and their allies, despite considerable military efforts. While Canada and its allies hunt for the Taliban in this area, the Taliban have captured two other Helmand towns, Garmser and Nawa-i-Barakzayi.
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Troops’ turn to speak: 
Most believe conditions in Afghanistan have improved  
By Joseph Giordono, Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, Wednesday, July 19, 2006
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=38714

Just over 60 percent of troops who responded to a Stars and Stripes survey in Afghanistan said current conditions in the country had improved compared to when they first arrived there, while 37 percent said conditions were the same. 

Only two percent of those who responded said conditions had grown worse during their deployment
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DoD Identifies Army Casualty  
July 18, 2006  
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2006/nr-13476.html

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom

 Sgt. Robert P. Kassin, 29, of Las Vegas, Nev., died on July 16 at Larzab Base, Afghanistan, when his platoon encountered enemy forces small arms fire during combat operations.  Kassin was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.

Europe must expect more casualties in Afghanistan-EU
By David Brunnstrom   Wed 19 Jul 2006 The Scotsman
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1051052006

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europeans must be ready for more losses and a long struggle as NATO takes over the fight against Taliban militants in southern Afghanistan, the EU special representative to the country said on Wednesday.
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Coalition reclaims second town from Taliban
AMIR SHAH Associated Press 19 July 2006 Globe & Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060719.w2afghan0718/BNStory/Afghanistan/home

KABUL — Afghan and coalition soldiers reclaimed the second of two southern towns Wednesday that had been overrun in recent days by the Taliban, Afghan and U.S. officials said. A purported Taliban statement threatened "severe" action in coming days.

Hundreds of ground forces battled Taliban fighters before entering the Helmand provincial town of Garmser, which had been captured by insurgents on Sunday, said General Rahmatullah Roufi, the Afghan army commander in the country's south.

“Our troops launched an attack on Garmser and thank God we captured it,” Gen. Roufi told The Associated Press. He declined to provide details.
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One coalition soldier killed, 11 wounded in S. Afghanistan  
July 18, 2006 People's Daily Online
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/18/eng20060718_284304.html  

One coalition soldier was killed and 11 others injured during a fierce battle against Taliban militants in the southern Uruzgan province of Afghanistan, coalition forces said in a press release on Tuesday. 

During the battle on Monday in Tarin Kowt district, capital of the province, coalition troops attacked and destroyed a truck which extremists were loading with mortar equipment, it said. 

The attack was followed by a heavy engagement with Taliban fighters and assessments of their casualties were yet to be reported. 

All coalition casualties were medically evacuated to a coalition hospital in Tarin Kowt, while the killed soldier's nationality has not been announced. 

Afghanistan has suffered from a rise of Taliban-linked violence this year, during which over 1,100 people, mostly Taliban militants, have been killed. 

About 60 foreign troops, most of whom are U.S. soldiers, also lost their lives in this war-weary country in the same period. 

Afghanistan: Proposal To Create Morality Department Causes Concern  
By Golnaz Esfandiari 19 July 2006 Radio Free Europe
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/07/e945ff89-0fe4-4a15-b524-16fc67682466.html

A proposal to create a Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice has caused worry and fear among Afghans and human rights groups. They warn that the plan reminds them of the Taliban's Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, which forcefully imposed religious and moral codes. However, government officials say the new department will not use force to promote Islamic principles in society.


PRAGUE, July 18, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Farid, a student at Kabul University, was once violently beaten and jailed for several days by a Taliban religious patrol because his beard was not long enough.

He tells RFE/RL that the plan to create a Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice reminds him of those "dark days."
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Afghanistan denies Taliban reflection in plan to revive Vice-Virtues Ministry  
18 July 2006  -  K P L C TV
http://www.kplctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5166104&nav=0nqx

KABUL, Afghanistan The Afghan government says it's not harkening back to the brutal Taliban regime but it plans to establish a new Vice and Virtues Ministry.

Human Rights Watch says the plan "raises serious concerns about potential abuse of the rights of women and other vulnerable groups."

But a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai (HAH'-mihd KAHR'-zeye) says Afghan citizens should not be scared because the new ministry won't be like the Taliban's hard-line office.

The spokesman says this new ministry will "take into consideration moral and religious activities to help improve Afghan society."
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Briton indicted on U.S. terror charges
Wednesday, July 19, 2006  CNN
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/LAW/07/19/terror.indictment.ap/index.html

Web sites raised money for al Qaeda, indictment says

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (AP) -- A British man was indicted Wednesday on charges he helped run terrorism fundraising Web sites, set up terrorists with temporary housing in England and possessed a classified U.S. Navy document revealing troop movements.

Syed Talha Ahsan was arrested at his home in London, England, on a federal indictment in Connecticut charging him with conspiracy to support terrorists and conspiracy to kill or injure people abroad.

Ahsan is accused in the same case as Babar Ahmad, a British computer specialist who was indicted in Connecticut in October 2004. 

Both are accused of running several Web sites including Azzam.com, which investigators say was used to recruit members for the al Qaeda network, Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime and Chechen rebels.
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## The Bread Guy (18 Jul 2006)

*Coalition reclaims town from Taliban *  
AMIR SHAH, The Herald (UK), 19 Jul 06 
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/66171.html

US-led forces yesterday reclaimed the town of Naway-i-Barakzayi in Afghanistan from militants, following its seizure by Taliban operatives the day before. The coalition said yesterday that it would launch operations to reclaim other territory from the Taliban in the south of the country. Militants still hold Garmser, a town of several thousand people.  An official from the International Organisation for Migration said about 4000 Afghans had fled fighting between Taliban and coalition forces in southern Helmand province in recent days . . . .


*One of two 'Taliban-held' Afghan districts freed*
Agence France Presse, 19 Jul 06
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/060718/1/426be.html

Afghan and coalition forces have fought heavy battles to retake two districts in southern Afghanistan captured by Taliban militants, expelling the rebels from one by evening.  The Islamic rebels took over the remote and largely lawless southernmost Garmser and adjoining Naway-i-Barakzayi districts of Helmand province late Monday . . . .

*Afghanistan forces prepare to retake Taliban-held district*
Agence France Presse, 19 Jul 06
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/060718/1/4265x.html

Troops are preparing to retake a district in southern Afghanistan captured by Taliban militants who burnt the national flag, as the rebels warned they would step up their attacks.  The Islamic rebels took over southernmost Garmser district in Helmand province on Monday after days of fighting, the president's office told reporters in the capital, confirming claims by district officials . . . .


*Aid agencies retreat from southern Afghan province*
Reuters (UK), 18 Jul 06
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18072006/325/aid-agencies-retreat-southern-afghan-province.html

Some aid agencies said on Tuesday they had reduced activities in the Afghan province of Helmand over safety concerns, less than a fortnight before NATO is due to take over peacekeeping operations in the south.  Militants and their drug gang allies have launched almost daily attacks against U.S.-led coalition troops in the south in the past six weeks . . . .


*Taleban drives out aid agencies*
Times Online (UK), 19 Jul 06
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2275990,00.html

Aid agencies are preparing to pull out of southern Afghanistan in the face of increased attacks by the Taleban. Abdul Khaliq, of the Bangladeshi aid group BRAC, said the group had evacuated its staff from the province of Helmand while Muhammad Nasir Foshanji, of Mercy Corps, said that the agency had reduced its operations . . . . 


*Afghan, Coalition Forces Take Control of Town Held by Taliban*
Bloomberg wire service (USA), 19 Jul 06
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=aE_OhKoHzX1I&refer=uk

Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces took control of a town briefly held by Taliban fighters in the southern province of Helmand and are advancing on a second controlled by the militia, the U.S. military command said.  Residents of Narwa said a group of Taliban gunmen entered the area three days ago and later left, the Combined Forces Command - Afghanistan said yesterday in a statement. Coalition forces are moving toward the nearby town of Garmser, it said . . . . 


*NATO set to expand Afghan operations*
The Scotsman, 19 Jul 06
http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1046962006

NATO allies have made last-minute offers of more aircraft to ensure the alliance can take over military operations in southern Afghanistan by the end of the month as planned, it was announced yesterday.  The United States' general James Jones, NATO's top commander of operations, had threatened to delay the expansion south if a shortage of helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft and other equipment was not overcome . . . .


*Afghan Insurgents Attack Girls' School* 
UPI Wire, 18 Jul 06
http://www.postchronicle.com/news/breakingnews/article_21229050.shtml

Afghan insurgents attacked a girls' school in the northeast province of Laghman, launching up to five rocket-propelled grenades. . . . 


*British army helicopter fires on Afghan hospital after attack*
Daily Mail, 17 Jul 06
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=396111&in_page_id=1770

A British helicopter launched a precision-guided missile at a hospital in Afghanistan after troops on the ground came under machine-gun fire from the building, the Ministry of Defence announced today.  The attack was authorised only after the ground commander had confirmed that there were no patients or staff present in the hospital, said the MoD . . . .


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## GAP (21 Jul 2006)

Sweat, blood and tears fall on Afghan soil, but after battle, Canadians push to rebuild
21 July, 2006 Globe and Mail  CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD 
http://www.theglobeandmail.com//servlet/story/LAC.20060721.BLATCHFORD21/TPStory/National/columnists

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN -- Warrant Officer Hans Kievith yesterday squinted into the blinding white light of the Afghanistan morning and offered a pragmatic assessment as another 45 of his countrymen boarded a Canadian C-130 Hercules en route to Tarin Kot, where the Dutch have their Provincial Reconstruction Office in volatile Uruzgan province.

Asked how public opinion was back home in the Netherlands, he replied serenely, "Oh, at this moment, it's fine. There's no injured and dead people. That's when it changes . . . it's the same in all the countries."

How right he was.

A recent Strategic Counsel poll taken for The Globe and Mail and CTV News after the death in combat of Corporal Tony Boneca reveals a dramatic weakening of support in Canada for the mission here.

As pollster Timothy Woolstencroft said of the results, "We think that we're peacekeepers, not peacemakers. Canadians haven't really come to understand that we have a combat role." According to Mr. Woolstencroft, Canadians' "sense of wellness" about the mission is being eroded.
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Taliban ambush Canadian troops on patrol in southern Afghanistan
Friday, July 21, 2006    Ottawa Citizen   
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=1d99b42b-dc19-4b3a-9e42-a11f7b60202a&k=66872

Ethan Baron, CanWest News Service
Published: Friday, July 21, 2006 
DARVISHAN, Afghanistan -- Taliban fighters ambushed a Canadian patrol here with rockets and small arms fire Thursday as the soldiers attempted to extend coalition control over the town.

Military brass had ordered the troops, scheduled to return to the Kandahar Airfield Base earlier this week, to stay in the field and secure two government district centres.

One, in Nawa, was secured Tuesday without a fight. The troops' return to base has now been delayed until Saturday as they wait for British forces to take over the operation in Darvishan.

Following the noon-time ambush on Two Platoon, Canadian armoured vehicles and ground troops were sent in from a nearby patrol base.

They immediately came under fire from two Taliban positions. Soldiers crossed a footbridge over a canal, took cover behind a metre-high mud wall, then fired machine guns and assault rifles and launched grenades in the directions of incoming fire.

Five light-armoured vehicles (LAVs) had pulled up onto a road parallel to the mud wall and blasted rapid-fire explosive cannon rounds and vehicle-mounted machine guns at Taliban positions.
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Dutch Commandos Kill 18 in Afghanistan
MIKE CORDER  The Associated Press  Friday, July 21, 2006  Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/21/AR2006072100475.html

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Dutch commandos killed 18 enemy fighters who set up positions in rugged hills overlooking a Dutch camp in southern Afghanistan, the country's military chief said Friday. There were no Dutch casualties during a 10-day mission.

"If we had not done something then our soldiers could have come under fire and the construction of our camp could have been hindered," Gen. Dick Berlijn, commander of the Dutch armed forces, told reporters in The Hague.
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Diggers injured in Afghanistan
20jul06   The Advertiser
http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,19855215%5E1702,00.html

AUSTRALIAN soldiers have received minor injuries during military action in southern Afghanistan.

The Defence Department tonight confirmed Australian soldiers had been injured, but refused to give further details. 

AAP understands three soldiers had to be evacuated for medical treatment after a firefight on July 17.

Australia has 300 troops in Afghanistan, with another a 200-member Provincial Reconstruction Team to be deployed this month.

Australian Special Air Service Regiment troops already have exchanged fire with anti-government forces in Oruzgan province, and defence force chief Angus Houston warned in February of a rising incidence of suicide bombings
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German troops to stay in Afghanistan until peace restored  
Web posted at: 7/20/2006 9:26:50  Source ::: Reuters 
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&subsection=Pakistan+%26+Sub-Continent&month=July2006&file=World_News2006072092650.xml

MAZAR-e-SHARIF • German troops will stay in insurgency-hit Afghanistan until “permanent peace” is established, the German defence minister said yesterday. 

Franz Josef Jung met German troops in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif on the second day of a visit to Afghanistan, which thousands of foreign troops have been helping to secure since the Taleban regime fell in 2001. 

“We have come here to bring permanent peace and unless that is accomplished, we will not leave Afghanistan,” Jung said in response to a reporter’s question. 

Jung also praised the work of the German deployment, which has since last month been commanding the northern region of a Nato-led force that covers the north and the west and is due to move into the south in the coming weeks. 

Germany has about 2,200 troops with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), most of them based in the north. 
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Man killed by dumped bomb in Afghanistan
Thu 20 Jul 2006  The Scotsman
http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1055402006

Afghanistan : An artillery shell dumped in a pile of rubbish exploded in Kabul, killing one Afghan man and wounding two others today, police said. 

The explosion happened in the west of the capital early Thursday and police raced to the scene to investigate the cause, local police chief Zulmay Khan said. 
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World must step up efforts to develop Afghanistan, says NATO chief
Thursday, July 20, 2006   canada.com
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=844f8454-3171-4d0e-8eb0-d9c357f5a154&k=36608

KABUL (AP) - NATO's secretary-general said Thursday the international community must step up efforts to develop war-ravaged Afghanistan. 

"The international community has to lift its game . . . by also showing commitment to the development of Afghanistan," Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said during a press conference with President Hamid Karzai. 

Karzai also urged the international community to do more to stop terror financiers and trainers in and outside Afghanistan. 

Canadian troops in Kandahar and British forces in Helmand, currently working with U.S. troops as part of an anti-terror campaign, have met stiff resistance in outlying areas from insurgents wanting to disrupt their mission there. 
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Soldier from Nevada helped build Afghanistan school
ASSOCIATED PRESS July 20, 2006 
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2006/jul/20/072010208.html

LAS VEGAS (AP) - A southern Nevada soldier killed in Afghanistan sought a second tour of duty and helped build a school in a devastated region as part of an effort "to make things right," his father said. 

Army Sgt. Robert P. Kassin "requested assignment to go back because the primary mission was to rebuild," Robert Joseph Kassin told the Las Vegas Review-Journal Wednesday in a telephone interview from his home in Clovis, N.M. 

Kassin, a retired Air Force avionics technician, said his son was born in Flint, Mich., and lived in Clovis before moving to Las Vegas and enlisting in 1996 during his junior year at a private high school. 
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AFGHANISTAN: PRC'S AMENDMENT MEANINGLESS
Rome, July 19 -  AGI
http://www.agi.it/english/news.pl?doc=200607191745-1203-RT1-CRO-0-NF82&page=0&id=agionline-eng.italyonline

 "We are not participating in the 'Enduring Freedom' mission and, therefore, there is no way we can withdraw from it" said foreign minister Massimo D'Alema, during today's debate in the lower house on the re-financing of Italian missions abroad. Referring to an amendment put forward by some members of the Refounded Communists (prc), the minister explained that Italy is leading "a naval mission called 'Active Behavoir'. 
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Young women keen to join Pakistan army  
Web posted at: 7/21/2006 11:44:37    Source ::: Internews 
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&subsection=Pakistan+%26+Sub%2DContinent&month=July2006&file=World_News20060721114437.xml

MULTAN • Numerous young women have appeared for interviews before the government headquarters recruitment and selection centres across the country, with the commitment to serve the nation as commissioned officers in the Pakistan Army. 

The interviews began in Multan in central Pakistan after the completion of requirements at the recruitment and selection centres at Karachi Rawalpindi and Peshawar. The seven-member GHQ selection board headed by Major General Nazakat Ali Khan will conduct the interviews of the girls at Lahore on July 21. 

About 200 girls from under-developed areas across south Punjab, including former civil divisions of Multan, Bahawalpur and Dera Ghazi Khan, appeared in the preliminary online tests at the Multan recruitment and selection centre. 

Of the 200 applicants, 29 reached the interview stage after successfully passing the preliminary test and the Inter Services Selection Board (ISSB). 
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Hundreds of tribesmen join peace talks  
Web posted at: 7/21/2006 11:44:46  Source ::: REUTERS MIRANSHAH, Pakistan
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&subsection=Pakistan+%26+Sub%2DContinent&month=July2006&file=World_News20060721114446.xml

Hundreds of Pakistani tribesmen held talks yesterday with military and government officials to halt fighting between security forces and Al Qaeda and pro-Taleban militants near the Afghan border. 

The meetings of the tribal jirgas or councils are seen as part of government’s latest strategy to use political means to restore peace in the semi-autonomous tribal belt where hundreds of people have been killed in battles over the past three years. 

Around 300 tribesmen and clerics met with military and civil officials in the restive North Waziristan tribal region and called for talks to end violence. 

“We have been saying all along that this problem cannot be resolved through bullet, but only through negotiations,” Maulana Nek Zaman, a hardline cleric and lawmaker, told the jirga. 

Fakhar-e-Alam Irfan, the top government administrator in North Waziristan, appealed to the tribesmen to support the government’s efforts to restore peace. 
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NATO to double military strength to Afghanistan 
July 21, 2006  People's Daily Online
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/21/eng20060721_285211.html

The visiting secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Jaap De Hoop Scheffer, on Thursday said that the western military alliance would double its troops to Afghanistan. 

"Let me stress again that NATO will double the number of its military, the number of its soldiers," he told journalists at a joint press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. 

He gave this assurance amid an increasing Taliban-linked insurgency in the southern Afghan provinces, where more than 800 people have been killed over the past two months. 

More than 9,000-storng NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is presently serving in Afghanistan to assist Afghan government in ensuring stability in the post-Taliban nation. 

He made these remarks in the backdrop that NATO is going to formally take the command of the U.S.-led coalition forces in the country on July 31 while more than 1,100 people including some 50 foreign soldiers have been killed in the violence in the war-torn country. 
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Interview: Helmand governor says coalition fights "coalition" in S. Afghanistan  
July 21, 2006 People's Daily Online
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/21/eng20060721_285156.html

One coalition, mainly grouping the Afghan government, its troops and coalition forces, is carrying out a life-and-death war against the other "coalition," made up of the Taliban and international drug smugglers, in Afghanistan's southern provinces, Helmand Governor Mohammad Daoud said. 

"Taking Helmand province as an example, Taliban militants there are using their military forces to convoy international narcotics smugglers, and the latter provides money and many weapons for the Taliban," Daoud told Xinhua on Thursday during an exclusive interview by telephone. 

The southern Helmand province, where 3,300 British troops are deployed to fight Taliban insurgents, is famous for vibrant Taliban activities and gigantic poppy cultivation, which accounts for 25 percent of the country's total poppy crop in 2005. 

There is apparent evidence to show the Taliban is involved in drug trafficking, as Afghan and the U.S.-led coalition forces have occasionally said they found opium and drugs after capturing Taliban hideouts. 

In a recent case, coalition soldiers seized 70 kg opium paste, with an estimated value of 3 million U.S. dollars, in a mud-walled Taliban compound in Helmand on July 13. 
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Europe must expect more casualties in Afghanistan-EU
By David Brunnstrom  Wed 19 Jul 2006 The Scotsman
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1051052006

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europeans must be ready for more losses and a long struggle as NATO takes over the fight against Taliban militants in southern Afghanistan, the EU special representative to the country said on Wednesday.
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Most believe conditions in Afghanistan have improved  
By Joseph Giordono, Stars and Stripes  Wednesday, July 19, 2006


Just over 60 percent of troops who responded to a Stars and Stripes survey in Afghanistan said current conditions in the country had improved compared to when they first arrived there, while 37 percent said conditions were the same. 

Only two percent of those who responded said conditions had grown worse during their deployment. 

The results are culled from a readership survey inserted into editions of Stars and Stripes delivered to Afghanistan this past December and February, with responses tallied into March. The survey questions — along with the results — were compiled by Stripes staff and media research experts from MORI Research, a Minneapolis-based firm. 
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Aussie soldiers injured in Afghanistan
July 20, 2006  The Sydney Morning Herald
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/aussie-soldiers-injured-in-afghanistan/2006/07/20/1153166515380.html

Australian soldiers have received minor injuries during military action in southern Afghanistan.

The Defence Department tonight confirmed Australian soldiers had been injured, but refused to give further details.

AAP understands three soldiers had to be evacuated for medical treatment after a firefight on July 17.

Australia has 300 troops in Afghanistan, with another a 200-member Provincial Reconstruction Team to be deployed this month.

Australian Special Air Service Regiment troops already have exchanged fire with anti-government forces in Oruzgan province, and defence force chief Angus Houston warned in February of a rising incidence of suicide bombings
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Musharraf: Taliban gaining power
Pakistan's president calls on Afghanistan to take action
From Syed Mohsin Naqvi  CNN  Friday, July 21, 2006 
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/07/20/afghanistan.omar/index.html

LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) -- Fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar remained in control of his Afghan Islamic militia, which was gaining strength in the south of the country, Pakistan's president said Thursday.

General Pervez Musharraf said the growing strength of the Taliban, which ruled most of Afghanistan from 1996 until the U.S.-led invasion that followed al Qaeda's 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, was having negative effects in Pakistan. 

He demanded that Afghanistan's government take immediate steps to stop the infiltration of fighters across the border, warning that the spread of violence could threaten Pakistan.

In contrast, he said, the leadership of the al Qaeda terrorist network, which the Taliban allowed to operate from its territory before the invasion, was on the run and weak.

Omar, along with al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, escaped U.S. forces when the Taliban fell in December 2001. But U.S. and allied troops continue to battle Taliban fighters in southern and eastern Afghanistan, and Pakistan's efforts to crack down on Islamic militants along the border has provoked resistance to government troops in the tribal regions of northwest Pakistan.
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Coalition base attacked in Afghanistan
From correspondents in Kabul  July 22, 2006 
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,19870471-5006003,00.html

A SOLIDER from the US-led coalition was killed in eastern Afghanistan when a reconstruction team base was hit by mortars and rockets, the coalition said.

The soldier, whose nationality was not released, died before he could be medically evacuated from the base in Paktika province, a coalition spokeswoman said. 
"A group of extremists fired several mortars and rockets at the base in Sharan," Lieutenant Tamara Lawrence said. It not immediately clear how much damage the base had suffered, she said.

The provincial governor, Mohammad Akram Khepelwak, said two rockets were fired at the camp, which was not far from the provincial government headquarters.

Nearly 60 foreign soldiers have been killed by hostile action in Afghanistan this year, which has seen a spike in Taliban attacks and a major new coalition and Afghan operation against the insurgents.

Around half of the dead soldiers have been Americans.

There are around 23,000 US troops in Afghanistan serving with a US-led coalition that helped to topple the Taliban from government in late 2001 and has been here since trying to root out Taliban insurgents and their allies.
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Hundreds of rebels surrender
From correspondents in Quetta  July 21, 2006 
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,19870462-401,00.html

THREE hundred tribal militants surrendered to authorities Friday in southwest Pakistan, where President Pervez Musharraf says an insurgency is dying down, officials said.

Pakistani troops also seized a huge arms cache belonging to the autonomy-seeking rebels, who launch almost daily attacks on security forces and government installations in gas-rich Baluchistan province. 
Four commanders were among the scores of militants who gave themselves up under an amnesty deal at a ceremony in the gas field town of Sui, senior administration official Abdul Samad Lasi said.

Provincial government spokesman Raziq Bugti said more were expected to lay down their weapons in coming days as "people realise they were misled by their Sardars (clan chiefs)."
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## The Bread Guy (21 Jul 2006)

*Taliban got inside info:  Average Afghans working at Kandahar Airfield accused of aiding in rocket attacks*
Canadian Press, via Toronto Sun, 21 Jul 06
http://www.torontosun.com/News/Canada/2006/07/21/1695479-sun.html

Some of the local Afghans who shovel gravel, sweep floors and clean washrooms at Kandahar Airfield were suspected of being Taliban informants following the first in a series of rocket attacks on the base, say heavily censored military combat reports.  Three 107-mm rockets hit the base in southern Afghanistan on the night of March 28, heralding the start of what's become a long string of intermittent assaults . . . . 


*NATO Leadership To Visit Southern Afghanistan* 
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 21 Jul 06
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/7/3F043BF3-35B3-4FC6-881C-13889397D1E2.html

NATO's leadership is expected to continue a visit to Afghanistan today with a visit to the insurgency-troubled south of the country.  Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and NATO's military operations commander, U.S. General James Jones, were scheduled to briefly visit the southern provinces of Kandahar, Oruzgan, and Helmand . . . . 


*Afghanistan: Helmand Battles Cast Doubt On NATO  * 
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 20 Jul 06
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/07/ac3cdddd-bb60-4830-a4a3-47fc4851aef3.html

The Taliban's seizure of two remote districts in the Afghan province of Helmand on July 16 has raised concerns about how well NATO can maintain security in remote parts of the country. Allegations from Kabul that Pakistani groups were involved in the Taliban attack also have rekindled tensions between Kabul and Islamabad . . . . 


*Afghanistan close to anarchy, warns general *  
Richard Norton-Taylor, Guardian Unlimited (UK), 21 Jul 06
http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,,1826303,00.html

The most senior British military commander in Afghanistan today described the situation in the country as "close to anarchy" with feuding foreign agencies and unethical private security companies compounding problems caused by local corruption.  The stark warning came from Lieutenant General David Richards, head of Nato's international security force in Afghanistan, who warned that western forces there were short of equipment and were "running out of time" if they were going to meet the expectations of the Afghan people . . . .


*NATO's top soldier confident about Afghan security*
Mark John, Reuters (UK), 21 Jul 06
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2006-07-21T144827Z_01_ISL310891_RTRUKOC_0_UK-AFGHAN.xml&src=rss

NATO chiefs toured volatile areas of southern Afghanistan on Friday and vowed they were ready to take on a resurgent Taliban, 10 days ahead of the alliance's landmark mission in the country.  Underlining the renewed militant threat, a U.S.-led coalition spokeswoman said a foreign soldier was killed when rockets and mortar rounds hit a coalition compound in the southeastern province of Paktika . . . .


*Afghan Police to Hire Ex-Militia Men?*
Wahidullah Amani, Afghan Recovery Report, Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 20 Jul 06
http://www.iwpr.net/?p=arr&s=f&o=322404&apc_state=henparr

Plans to fill the gaps in Afghanistan’s overstretched police force by hiring local men from southern communities may make sense given the insurgent threat, however some commentators believe the move could given members of illegal armed groups a new lease of life.  The government denies any intention to create a new paramilitary force outside the Afghan National Army, ANA, and Afghan National Police, ANP, but says it needs to recruit local men into the police because it lacks the manpower to cope with rising insurgent violence in the south . . . . 


*Drought leaves thousands destitute* 
IRINnewsews.org (UN), 17 Jul 06
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=54655&SelectRegion=Asia&SelectCountry=AFGHANISTAN

Hundreds of families in southern Afghanistan have been displaced by a drought.  Abdul Ahad, 40, said it had forced him out of his village in the Seyourray district of the southern province of Zabul. He lost his cattle, wheat and grapes when his village well ran dry four months ago.  “Everything I planted there is now dead due to the harsh drought this year,” Ahad, a father-of-six, said on Sunday from Kalat city, capital of Zabul province, where he and his destitute family had just arrived . . . .


*NATO Gears Up for Afghanistan Expansion *  
Constant Brand, Associated Press, via Forbes.com, 21 Jul 06
http://www.forbes.com/business/healthcare/feeds/ap/2006/07/21/ap2896020.html

NATO's top commander said Friday the alliance likely will expand its Afghan mission by year's end to include the entire country, including the lawless east where militants killed a coalition soldier in the latest fighting. The Dutch military said its commandos killed 18 militants in an operation to clear rugged hills near a base for its forces deploying in the insurgency-wracked south, where NATO is preparing to take over the security command by the end of this month . . . .


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## GAP (22 Jul 2006)

News Reports found on July 22, 2006

Afghan blast kills 2 coalition soldiers: report
Updated Sat. Jul. 22 2006 11:32 AM ET   CTV.ca News Staff
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060718/afghanistan_template_060722/20060722?hub=TopStories

Two coalition soldiers have reportedly been killed and eight others wounded after a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle packed with explosives into a coalition vehicle in Kandahar City. 

Eight Afghan civilians were also wounded in the blast. 

Military officials would not confirm the identity of the soldiers. 

"I can confirm that two coalition soldiers were killed and eight wounded in the suicide attack," said coalition spokesman Major Scott Lundy, according to Reuters. 

Meanwhile, six Afghan civilians were killed and 20 wounded in a second blast that occurred about 30 metres from the original attack, said Dawood Ahmadi, a spokesman for the governor of Kandahar, according to The Associated Press. 
More on link

And this is the report from the Globe & Mail on the same incident

Two Canadians wounded in Afghanistan
Associated Press  POSTED AT 10:59 AM EDT ON 22/07/06 Globe & Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060722.wafghansolde0722/BNStory/International/home

Kandahar, Afghanistan — Two Canadian soldiers were wounded when a suicide attacker rammed an explosive laden car into a coalition vehicle in Kandahar City, a local government official said.

Seven civilians were wounded and some may have been killed in a second blast that occurred shortly afterward about 30 metres from the first explosion, said Dawood Ahmadi, a spokesman for the governor of Kandahar.
It was not clear whether the second explosion was caused by a suicide bomber.

The car bomber died in the first the blast, Mr. Ahmadi said.
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The dogs of war
Christie Blatchford  POSTED AT 2:07 AM EDT ON 22/07/06  Globe & Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com//servlet/story/RTGAM.20060722.coblatch22/TPStory/National/columnists

When my baptism of fire came in this tour of Afghanistan, I didn't panic, didn't whimper, didn't freeze. I had only to look after myself, writes 

TARIN KOT, AFGHANISTAN — My late father, a navigator with the Royal Canadian Air Force, never talked about his experiences in the Second World War — he sang about them, in verses from The North Atlantic Squadron and other ditties whose titles are too raw to repeat here.

He had what is usually called a good war: He survived, though he lost colleagues; he made some of the most enduring friendships of his life; he believed with every fibre of his being that the Allies were on the side of right (and there were few reporters in those days muddying the waters by balancing off their stories with quotes from Nazi spokesmen, as happens now with “Taliban spokesmen”); he was a part of history, and though he was far too modest to speak directly of this, he rose to meet the challenge of his generation and, on a personal level, conquered the fear he must have felt every time he flew out over the unforgiving waters of the North Atlantic.
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Green Beret from Fort Worth dies in Afghanistan
July 21, 2006, 10:52PM
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4064442.html

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — A Green Beret based at Fort Bragg died this week when he was shot during a combat reconnaissance patrol in Afghanistan, the Army Special Operations Command said today.

Staff Sgt. Eric Caban, 28, of Fort Worth, died Tuesday after being hit by small arms fire, the military said.
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U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan
July 21, 2006, By The Associated Press
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4064088.html 

As of July 21, 2006, at least 257 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.

Of those, the military reports 158 were killed by hostile action.
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## The Bread Guy (22 Jul 2006)

Initial reports.....

*Two Canadians Killed, Eight Injured in Suicide Car Bomb Attack on Convoy*

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=d0ef7802-2189-4823-a4c9-1e8815ad9fc0&k=56678
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060718/afghanistan_template_060722/20060722?hub=TopStories
http://www.deepikaglobal.com/ENG4_sub.asp?ccode=ENG4&newscode=144266
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_2115.aspx
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/07/22/soldiers.html

Two Canadian soldiers were killed and eight wounded Saturday when their convoy was hit by the first of two suicide bombings near Kandahar City. It was the worst single-day casualty toll yet inflicted on Canadians by the insurgents.  Killed were Cpl. Francisco Gomez, 44, of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton, and Cpl. Jason Patrick Warren, 29, of the Black Watch, the Royal Highland Regiment of Canada, based in Montreal.  "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of Cpl. Gomez and Cpl. Warren," said Col. Tom Putt, deputy commander of Task Force Afghanistan. "We will not forget their sacrifice."  Seven Afghan civilians were killed and 30 injured in the second attack.  In the first blast, a Canadian Forces Bison armoured vehicle was rammed by a car packed with explosives.  The Bison was at the tail end of a convoy of Canadians that was heading back to Kandahar Air Field following a gruelling two weeks of fighting.  The attack happened in the early evening, around 5:30 p.m. local time, some six kilometres west of Kandahar.  Then, about an hour later, a suicide bomber walked into a crowd and detonated a body pack filled with explosives, killing and wounding scores of civilians who had gathered in the area.  Both bombers died in the explosions, officials said.  A purported Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attacks, which came as NATO prepares to take command of the volatile region.   The two Canadians who were killed were transported by road to a coalition outpost, where they were pronounced dead.  The wounded soldiers were airlifted to Kandahar Airfield's multinational hospital.


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## The Bread Guy (22 Jul 2006)

More details of latest CAN deaths, injuries, shared in accordance with the "fair dealing" provisions, Section 29, of the Copyright Act - http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca/info/act-e.html#rid-33409

Reuters
http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-07-22T223752Z_01_ISL280595_RTRIDST_0_CANADA-AFGHAN-VIOLENCE-COL.XML
CanWest News (reporter embedded)
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=d0ef7802-2189-4823-a4c9-1e8815ad9fc0&k=56678
Canadian Press (reporter embedded)
http://www.cp.org/premium/ONLINE/member/elxn_en/060722/p072215A.html
Agence France Presse
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/060722/1/429g9.html
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5205754.stm
Bloomberg wire service
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=acUIrG0wMlEk&refer=canada

Two Canadian soldiers were killed and eight wounded Saturday when their battle-weary convoy was hit by the first of two suicide bombings near Kandahar City.  It was the worst single-day casualty toll yet inflicted on Canadians by insurgents in southern Afghanistan. Killed were Cpl. Francisco Gomez, 44, of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton, and Quebec City native Cpl. Jason Patrick Warren, 29, of the Black Watch, the Royal Highland Regiment of Canada, based in Montreal.  Two of the wounded were from Shilo, Man., and the remainder from Edmonton.  Gomez had been driving the vehicle when the attack occurred . . . . Their Bison armoured vehicle was at the back of a convoy of Canadians that was returning to Kandahar Air Field after two gruelling weeks of sometimes intense fighting in the Kandahar region and in neighbouring Helmand province.  Soldiers who had already arrived at the base were celebrating their return, unaware of what had happened to their comrades. However, their joy quickly turned to sorrow when news of the attack spreading across the camp . . . . 

(...)

Seven Afghan civilians were killed and 30 injured in the second explosion, about 30 metres away from the first blast, witnesses said.  In the first attack, a car packed with explosives blew up directly beside the Canadian Forces Bison, military officials said.  "They likely only had a split second to react," said one soldier who didn't want to be identified.  "There's no way you can stop something like this."  The attack happened in the early evening, around 5:30 p.m. local time (0900 EDT), some five kilometres west of Kandahar.  Witnesses said in the confusion that followed the attack, the Canadians opened fire on a car and people in the area, perhaps in an effort to avoid being struck again.  "One of the vehicles went too close to the convoy," Abdul Rahman said through an interpreter.  "The Canadians just began firing. They shot (at) everybody.  Men, women and children."  

Military officials, however, disputed the claim.  "There was no return fire," said Putt.  "We have absolutely no evidence of that."  About an hour after the first blast, a suicide bomber walked into a crowd and detonated a body pack filled with explosives, killing and wounding scores of civilians who had gathered in the area.  Both bombers died in the explosions, officials said.  A purported Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attacks, which came as NATO prepares to take command of the volatile region.  The two Canadians who were killed were transported by road to a coalition outpost, where they were pronounced dead.  The wounded soldiers were airlifted to Kandahar Airfield's multinational hospital.  Five of the injured were treated and released from hospital and were expected to return to active duty while two others were admitted for observation.  An eighth was taken to a military hospital in Germany for further treatment.  None of their injuries was considered life-threatening.


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## The Bread Guy (23 Jul 2006)

*Latest on Canadians Killed - CAN Cdr Calls IEDAttack "Cowardly"*

Canadian Press
http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/politics/news/shownews.jsp?content=n072302A
Associated Press
http://www.forbes.com/technology/ebusiness/feeds/ap/2006/07/23/ap2897485.html

*'A Canadian success story within a tragedy'*
Christie Blatchford, Globe & Mail, 23 Jul 06
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060723.w2afghansolde0723/BNStory/Afghanistan/home
Just hours after two Canadian soldiers were killed and eight others wounded military convoys were once again rolling in and out of the giant dust bowl that is the Kandahar Air Field base.  Corporals Francisco Gomez and Jason Patrick Warren died last evening in a double-barrelled suicide bombing attack on the western outskirts of Kandahar City just as an enormous convoy of vehicles was returning home to the base after an astonishing 16 days of almost daily combat with the Taliban and insurgents.  "A Canadian success story within a tragedy," is the sorrowful label Canadian Brigadier-General Dave Fraser, who heads the eight-nation Coalition operation in southern Afghanistan, attached to the cruel end of the largest military operation in this country in four years . . . . 


*Taliban Warns Afghans to Stay Away from Foreign Troops*
Reuters, 23 Jul 06
http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-07-23T145804Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-260693-1.xml

Taliban militants warned Afghans on Sunday to keep away from foreign troops as they planned more attacks, a day after a twin suicide strike against a Canadian patrol killed at least five locals.  The threat of more such attacks, made by a Taliban spokesman in a phone call to Reuters, comes a week before the 26-nation NATO alliance takes on security from a U.S.-led force in southern Afghanistan, its most dangerous assignment in its history.  The U.S.-led coalition said Saturday's back-to-back bombings in Kandahar, which also killed two Canadian soldiers and wounded dozens of bystanders, would anger the local population . . . .


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## GAP (23 Jul 2006)

'A Canadian success story within a tragedy' 
CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD Globe and Mail Update 22 July 2006
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060723.w2afghansolde0723/BNStory/Afghanistan/home


Kandahar, Afghanistan — Just hours after two Canadian soldiers were killed and eight others wounded military convoys were once again rolling in and out of the giant dust bowl that is the Kandahar Air Field base.

Corporals Francisco Gomez and Jason Patrick Warren died last evening in a double-barrelled suicide bombing attack on the western outskirts of Kandahar City just as an enormous convoy of vehicles was returning home to the base after an astonishing 16 days of almost daily combat with the Taliban and insurgents.

"A Canadian success story within a tragedy," is the sorrowful label Canadian Brigadier-General Dave Fraser, who heads the eight-nation Coalition operation in southern Afghanistan, attached to the cruel end of the largest military operation in this country in four years.
More on link

Canadians killed in Afghan blastsFrom correspondents in Kandahar 
July 23, 2006 The Australian
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19882245-1702,00.html

Eight people were killed, including two Canadian soldiers, and dozens wounded in a double suicide attack in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar.

The attacks came just over a week before a NATO-led mission takes over security in the south and at a time of the bloodiest phase of an insurgency since coalition forces overthrew the Taliban in 2001. 

Major Scott Lundy, a spokesman for the US-led force, said a suicide car bomber rammed a coalition convoy in the city, a Taliban stronghold, just before sunset. 

Canada said two of its soldiers were killed and eight others wounded as their convoy made its way back to Kandahar Airfield. 

The Department of National Defence named the two dead soldiers as Corporal Francisco Gomez of the Edmonton, Alberta-based Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and Corporal Jason Patrick Warren of the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, based in Montreal. 
more on link

General defends armoured vehicles after deaths in Afghanistan
Last Updated Sun, 23 Jul 2006 11:10:13 EDT  CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/07/23/troop-carrier060723.html

As relatives in Canada await the arrival of the bodies of two slain soldiers, military commanders in Afghanistan are again defending the vehicles supplied to Canadian troops. 
More on link




More troops for Afghanistan likely
July 23, 2006 The Australian
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19882773-1702,00.html

AUSTRALIA is likely to send more troops to Afghanistan to protect engineers about to be deployed to that country, Defence Minister Brendan Nelson says.
Dr Nelson said the Special Operations Task Group already in Afghanistan, which includes elite Special Air Service soldiers, will come home as planned at the end of September. 

But the minister said worsening security in southern Afghanistan may require extra protection for the reconstruction taskforce Australia was about to send to the country.
More on link

Militants kill 4 policemen in S. Afghanistan
July 23, 2006  People's Daily Online
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/23/eng20060723_285908.html        

Taliban-linked militants have killed four policemen in the southern Ghazni province of Afghanistan, provincial police chief said Sunday. 

The enemies raided several police checkpoints in Gilan district on Saturday night, killing four policemen, Tafsil Khan told Xinhua. 

He said another three policemen were missing after the attack, but stopped short of giving more details. 

Taliban militants carried out two suicide attacks in the southern Kandahar province Saturday, killing seven persons including two Canadian troops and injuring 24 others. 

More than 1,100 people, mostly Taliban insurgents, have been killed this year in this central Asian country, which is suffering a rise of violence. 

Source: Xinhua


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## tomahawk6 (23 Jul 2006)

http://www.cfc-a.centcom.mil/News%20Release/2006/07-July/Suicide%20bombers%20attack%20Coalition;%20civilians%20in%20Kandahar%20City%20-%20UPDATE.htm

UPDATED NEWS RELEASE 

Suicide bombers attack Coalition; civilians in Kandahar City 

 KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Updated reports indicate the two suicide bombers who attacked a Coalition vehicle patrol July 22 in Kandahar City, did so in a large crowd of Afghan civilians, killing five innocent Afghans and wounding 32.

Two Coalition soldiers were also killed and eight were wounded when the first suicide attacker detonated a bomb on the Soldiers’ vehicle patrol.

A short time later, a large number of Afghan civilians were wounded when a second suicide bomber, moving on foot, detonated his explosive vest in a crowd that had gathered to look at the initial attack site.

“This horrific incident, executed by brutal Taliban extremists, is a gross act against the people of Afghanistan,” said Maj. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, commander of Combined Joint Task Force – 76. “We grieve for our lost Canadian Soldiers who served so willingly. They were superb teammates and we will always remember their selfless sacrifice. We are honored to have served with them.”

The wounded Coalition soldiers were evacuated to Kandahar Airfield’s multinational hospital, and the wounded Afghan civilians were evacuated by Afghan National Police to a local Afghan hospital for treatment.


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## The Bread Guy (23 Jul 2006)

*Bad Guys Getting Nailed, Nabbed, Too*
AFP - http://sg.news.yahoo.com/060723/1/429q5.html
Times Online (UK) - http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2282732,00.html
Forbes news wire - http://www.forbes.com/technology/feeds/ap/2006/07/23/ap2897690.html

Nato-led British and Afghan troops killed 19 Taleban guerrillas yesterday, a local official said, as militants threatened more suicide attacks.  British soldiers and Afghan forces attacked villages in an operation outside Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand, where Taleban fighters were hiding. Haji Mullah Amir Muhammad Akhundzada, the deputy governor of Helmand, said: “Government and British forces killed 19 Taleban and arrested 17 others, including two Pakistanis, in the attacks.”   Residents said that civilians had also been killed . . . . 


*Some Bad Guys Extradited from PAK to AFG*
Kuwait News Agency, 23 Jul 06
http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=889562

Pakistan Sunday handed over about 58 Taliban militants to Afghan border security Authorities, being rounded in a crackdown launched two weeks back in Southwestern Baluchistan province.  They were handed over to the Afghan authorities under tight security at Pak-Afghan Chamman border, Bashir Ahmed, District Chamman officer, told newsmen . . . .


*AFG Worries About Pace of Rebuilding*
Paul Garwood, Associated Press, 23 Jul 06
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060723/ap_on_re_as/afghanistan_s_two_realities

Laborer Mohammed Asif says the open sewer trickling through his Kabul slum sums up his lot.  "Life is so dirty," the father of two says.  Anger over the slow pace of reconstruction is palpable nearly five years since a U.S.-led invasion force toppled the Taliban.  Signs of progress are everywhere — rising wages, girls attending school, spreading cell phone networks, a new cross-country highway. But then there's the reality of a raging insurgency, weak governance and the extreme poverty faced by millions such as Asif . . . .


*AFG District Int Boss Nabbed for Drugs*
News.com.au, 24 Jul 06
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19889656-38197,00.html

THE intelligence chief of an Afghan district on a major drug trafficking route to Tajikistan has been caught with 33kg of heroin in a government vehicle, an official said today.  The intelligence director of Rustaq district - in northern Takhar province on the border with Tajikistan - was arrested last week, national secret police chief Abdul Wahab Khetab said in the capital, Kabul. "He was carrying 33 kg of heroin in his government-owned vehicle," he said, adding the suspect was being questioned by authorities . . . .


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## Kat Stevens (23 Jul 2006)

"THE intelligence chief of an Afghan district on a major drug trafficking route to Tajikistan has been caught with 33kg of heroin in a government vehicle, an official said today.  The intelligence director of Rustaq district - in northern Takhar province on the border with Tajikistan - was arrested last week, national secret police chief Abdul Wahab Khetab said in the capital, Kabul. "He was carrying 33 kg of heroin in his government-owned vehicle," he said, adding the suspect was being questioned by authorities . . . ."

... while hanging from jumper cables by his thumbs, feet immersed in a tub of water..."   ;D

Edited to add:  The entire first para is quoted from a different poster.  The last sentence was a limp attempt at humour....carry on.


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## The Bread Guy (23 Jul 2006)

*Commanders want to withdraw troops from Afghan outposts*
Tom Coghlan, Sean Rayment, Daily Telegraph (UK), 23 Jul 06
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/07/23/wafg23.xml

British troops are set to be "tactically withdrawn" from isolated military outposts in Afghanistan following a series of sustained attacks from Taliban fighters, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.  The proposed move, described by commanders as a "rebalancing" of British forces, is to allow them to concentrate their force into a smaller area so that vital reconstruction work can begin.  British troops have engaged Taliban fighters on more than 110 occasions since arriving in Helmand two months ago. Most of the attacks, in which six soldiers have died, have taken place close to the military outposts . . . .


*Taliban train snipers on British forces*
Tom Coghlan, Daily Telegraph (UK), 23 Jul 06
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/07/23/wafg123.xml

Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan are training teams of snipers to target British and other coalition troops, a tactic not used previously by the Taliban although employed to great effect by Iraqi insurgents.  The claim comes from a Taliban commander in Kandahar and Helmand provinces, who made the revelation after consultation with a more senior commander . . . .


----------



## GAP (24 Jul 2006)

Articles found on 24 July 2006

Afghan blast injures two coalition soldiers 
(Note: later identified as US soldiers)
Updated Mon. Jul. 24 2006 CTV.ca News Staff
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060724/afghanistan_soldiers_060724/20060724?hub=TopStories
also on this link from The Scotsman
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1072732006
Two coalition soldiers were seriously injured in southern Afghanistan in the latest in what has become a string of insurgent attacks.

The two soldiers were injured as they patrolled Kandahar's infamous Highway One with the Afghan National Army, said Major Scott Lundy.

They came across a vehicle that appeared to be broken down, which detonated as the patrol passed by.

Their injuries have been assessed as non-life threatening.

The nationality of the soldiers was not revealed.

The attack comes just days after a suicide bomber killed two Canadian soldiers along the same dangerous stretch of highway.
More on link

'I know the risk'
Barb Pacholik, The Leader-Post  Published: Monday, July 24, 2006 
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=9c1051f6-25e7-4de1-9d9b-8dc8eb882b1e&k=65572

Amid Afghanistan's death and stifling dust, reservist says he's doing his generation's duty

Despite the loss of two more Canadian soldiers on the weekend and his own close brush with a bomb, a Regina area reservist says he has no second thoughts about volunteering to serve in Afghanistan.

"I know the risk," Jim Sinclair said in a telephone interview Sunday from Kandahar, Afghanistan. One day earlier, two Canadian soldiers were killed by a car bomb just west of that city as a convoy of soldiers returned to their base. Sinclair was part of the convoy, but was amongst a group that arrived before the blast.

"If this means the world's going to get better and my life is taken to better my niece's and nephews' lives down the road, then so be it," Sinclair said firmly. "When it's your time, it's your time."

The 36-year-old Regina Beach bachelor said he'd rather die "honourably . . . trying to accomplish something."

"At the end of the day, no soldier wants to go to do this kind of work. But it's got to be done. Every generation has a part to play in global stability. This is my generation," he said.
More on link

'Me fine. Still alive,' Corporal Jason Warren wrote from Afghanistan this spring.
 Yesterday, funeral plans were made for him and Cpl. Francisco Gomez. Both died Saturday.
TU THANH HA AND DAVE EBNER 
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060724.AFGHANSOLDIERS24/TPStory/National

MONTREAL AND CALGARY -- Though a reservist, Corporal Jason Warren had volunteered for a six-month tour in Kandahar. He died Saturday, just two weeks short of leaving the combat zone for a week of decompressing in Cyprus before heading home to Canada.

"Hey people that still know me. How's it going? Me fine. Still alive," he wrote from Kandahar this spring in a posting on the website of Montreal's Black Watch regiment, his reserve unit. "Well, we'll see after the 2 week dismounted patrol."

A skirl of bagpipes rose briefly yesterday, but it was mostly the hard slap of military boots resounding on the Black Watch armoury floor that could be heard as eight of Cpl. Warren's regimental friends rehearsed being his pallbearers.

"He was so close to coming home . . . He knew the dangers he was getting into and he knew the territory," Master Corporal Mathew Snoddon said during a break. 
More on link






Cameron pays surprise visit to Afghanistan
(Filed: 24/07/2006) The Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/07/24/ucameron.xml

David Cameron has arrived in Afghanistan on a surprise trip to visit British troops in the country.

He was flown by Ministry of Defence jet to the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar this morning. His arrival was kept secret for security reasons.

Mr Cameron said his first visit to troops stationed overseas since becoming Conservative leader would be devoted to "listening, learning and showing our support for what is being done."
More on link

Besieged Gurkhas saved from Taliban by US air strike  
By Sean Rayment  (Filed: 16/07/2006) The Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=OFFTZOVXP3SC3QFIQMGSFGGAVCBQWIV0?xml=/news/2006/07/16/wafg116.xml

British commanders were forced to order a United States air strike against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan to prevent a military base being overrun, writes Sean Rayment.

American aircraft dropped two 500lb bombs in the raid on Wednesday, destroying a school and shops and, according to unverified reports, leaving between 25 and 200 people dead. 

Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, yesterday called for an investigation into the strike
More on link

Afghan Development Continues Amid Violent, Indiscriminate Attacks
American Forces Press Service
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060723_5726.html

WASHINGTON, July 23, 2006 – Coalition forces continue to aid and develop Afghanistan, even as they fight back terrorist extremists who are determined to stop progress, U.S. military officials reported today. 
Aid and reconstruction efforts include a rebuilt mosque in the Paktya province and medial and humanitarian aid to hundreds of Afghan villagers in the Kandahar province, said Combined Forces Command spokesman Army Col. Thomas Collins. 

The refurbished mosque, he noted, was a joint effort by the Afghan government and coalition forces; it took three months and $16,000 to complete. The project had been identified by the people of the Zormat district as "something they needed for their people," Collins said. A ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the mosque's completion on July 20. 

Also last week, a cooperative medical assistance team provided preventive health care to more than 230 Afghan villagers and some 450 children in the Kandahar province. All children under the age of 5, Collins said, were given de-worming medication. A second medical assistance team, he added, is en route to villages in the Uruzgan province. 
More on link

Violence sweeps across Afghanistan
Monday 24 July 2006, 12:36 Makka Time, 9:36 GMT    Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/294ED38F-0BBE-42DF-8F94-51C730C731A1.htm

Hundreds of Taliban fighters firing rocket-propelled grenades have attacked a district headquarters in southwestern Afghanistan, killing three policemen and wounding seven.


The attack comes amid of a flurry of suicide attacks, roadside bombings and shootings that have claimed lives across the country.

About 400 Taliban fighters in 35 trucks arrived in Bakwa, a town in southwestern Farah province, late Sunday and launched a heavy assault on the district police and administration headquarters.

The fighters fled back towards neighbouring Helmand province after a five-hour battle, carrying an unknown number of casualties with them.

Also in Farah, four suspected suicide attackers riding on two explosive-laden motorbikes were killed after they were challenged by police as they drove through the provincial capital late Sunday, said Gen. Sayed Aga Saqib, provincial police chief.
More on link

Afghan forces kill 19 Taliban  
Monday 24 July 2006, 3:53 Makka Time, 0:53 GMT   Al Jazeera

Afghan forces killed 19 suspected Taliban rebels on Sunday as they traded rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire with insurgents in volatile southern Afghanistan.


The fighting in the southern province of Helmand took place 15 km (nine miles) south of Lashkar Gah, as police hunted Taliban militants, said Mullah Amir Mohammed Akhundza, the provincial deputy governor, who led the operation.



Nineteen bodies of militants were recovered, and 17 other suspected Taliban were caught, including two Pakistanis, he said. Hundreds of policemen were involved in the clashes that started early Sunday, said Ghulam Nabi Malakhail, Helmand police chief. Two policemen were wounded.



Afghanistan is experiencing its worst spate of violence since late 2001, when the Taliban regime was overthrown in a US-led invasion. More than 800 people, mostly militants, have died nationwide since mid-May.
More on link

FACTBOX-Timeline for NATO operations in Afghanistan
24 Jul 2006 11:12:51 GMT  Source: Reuters  
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L24685509.htm

July 24 (Reuters) - The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is due to expand military operations into southern Afghanistan in coming days, launching what could be NATO's toughest ground combat mission in its history.

Here is a chronology of NATO's presence in the country.

2001

Oct. 7 - U.S.-led forces begin bombing Afghanistan to root out Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda group, which carried out the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, and its Taliban protectors. Washington does not take up NATO's offer of help, concerned the consensus-based alliance would slow it down.
2003     More on link

ANALYSIS-Afghan NATO mission will test European resolve
24 Jul 2006 11:02:16 GMT Source: Reuters
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L24258379.htm

 By Mark John

BRUSSELS, July 24 (Reuters) - NATO faces an uphill battle to bring security to violent southern Afghanistan and analysts question whether the transatlantic alliance is fully prepared for what will be the first true ground war in its history.

The handover of military operations there from the U.S.-led coalition to NATO scheduled around July 31 will bring European soldiers into the thick of a battle against hardened al Qaeda and Taliban insurgents fighting in their heartlands.

Doubts remain over whether Europe's leaders have committed enough troops or understand what those soldiers will encounter on the ground, and whether they will pull out if rising casualties fracture delicate public support for the mission.

"It's do-able, but it's a matter of addressing the issue head-on," said analyst Michael Williams at London-based thinktank the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).
More on link


Afghanistan Reconstruction
 Source: Reuters
http://www.alertnet.org/db/crisisprofiles/AF_REC.htm?v=at_a_glance

Afghanistan is struggling to recover from more than a quarter-century of conflict, with violence still raging in the south and southeast. It is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world and home to a booming narcotics trade. 
Six million fled during the conflict 
600 children die every day 
Around 35,000 foreign troops

Billions of dollars have poured into rebuilding Afghanistan since the fall of the hardline Taliban regime in 2001. But many Afghans are frustrated at the pace of reconstruction efforts, which have been dogged by security problems and allegations of corruption and mismanagement. 

The Taliban were toppled by U.S. and mujahideen forces in 2001 after they refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. 

Remnants of the Taliban fighting to oust thousands of foreign troops and Afghanistan's new western-backed government have stepped up a campaign of bomb attacks, ambushes and raids during 2006. Security officials also blame land disputes, banditry, the drugs trade and clan feuds for rising violence.
More on link

Two more suicide attacks in Afghanistan
24 Jul 2006 13:12:15 GMT  Source: Reuters
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL305339.htm

By Mirwais Afghan

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, July 24 (Reuters) - Two suicide bombers targeted Afghan and U.S.-led coalition troops in Afghanistan on Monday, amid a wave of such attacks before NATO takes over security in the country's violent south.

Two coalition troops and one Afghan army soldier were wounded. The identities of the foreign troops were not given.

One bomber detonated explosives in a vehicle as a coalition convoy passed outside the southern city of Kandahar, where Canadian troops form the bulk of coalition forces.

In the second attack, a motorcycle bomber blew himself up in the western province of Farah, a forces statement said. Police and Afghan soldiers came under small arms fire from militants as they approached the scene and one Afghan soldier was wounded.

The attacks come just two days after twin suicide attacks killed seven people in Kandahar, a stronghold of Taliban militants and one of six provinces which will come under NATO control on July 31.

Violence has risen steeply in Afghanistan in recent months particularly in the south where hundreds of militants and civilians have been killed, as well as more than 20 foreign soldiers. Militants on Monday also attacked a police station in Farah, firing off hundreds of rocket-propelled grenades before retreating, and killed two local employees of international aid agency World Vision, in neighbouring Ghor province
More on link

PHO helps in reconstruction of Afghanistan
21 Jul 2006 11:32:00 GMT  Source: Polish Humanitarian Organisation  
Website: http://www.pah.org.pl
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/polhumorg/115348224963.htm


 Providing formal and non-formal education for children, youth and adults are among the biggest challenges facing Afghanistan today. Since opening its mission in Afghanistan in June 2002, Polish Humanitarian Organization has realized a number of humanitarian projects aimed mainly in education sector. Some of the projects are still in progress and more are being planned. 

In December 2004 PHO launched second, extended edition of artistic and vocational courses for children. The project involves cultural diversity workshop, courses of traditional Afghan music, arts, calligraphy, learning about multicultural world and human rights as well as vocational trainings, for instance hairdressing. It concerns two orphanages from Kabul: Allahuddin i Tahiye Maskan. 135 children will take part in mentioned activities throughout the year 2006. This project is being realized thanks to grants from Polish Teacher's Union. 

In co-operation with Shams Women Need and Help Organisation, PHO has organized and successfully evaluates music classes for Afghan girls. During the lessons school-aged girls, under the supervision of professionally trained teachers, learn to play the traditional Afghan instruments, tabla and harmonium. The aim of that project was to revitalize Afghan tradition and culture. 
More on link

Third GSM Network Launches in Afghanistan
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/18423.php
Third GSM Network Launches in Afghanistan

At the weekend, a third GSM operator named Areeba launched its services in Afghanistan. At a press conference, organized by this purpose in Ministry of Communications, His Excellency Eng. Amirzai Sangin Minister of Communications, Mr. Tawfiq Ramadan Director of Areeba Afghanistan and some other officials of Areeba attended the conference. His Excellency Minister of Communications made an inaugural call on the phone to the Director of Communications in Mazar launched Areeba's services in Afghanistan.
More on link

Canadians scorn 'cowardly' Taliban attacks
Last Updated Sun, 23 Jul 2006 23:44:00 EDT CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/07/23/omez-warren.html

Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan are saddened by the loss of two of their number on Saturday, but pleased with their military success and angry at the Taliban attackers.

 The bodies of Cpl. Jason Warren, top, and Cpl. Francisco Gomez are expected to be returned to Canada on Tuesday. (Department of National Defence) Corporals Francisco Gomez and Jason Warren were killed when a suicide bomber blew up a car packed with explosives beside their Bison armoured vehicle as they returned to Kandahar airfield after two weeks hunting Taliban militants.
More on link

‘Afghanistan Found Me’An interview with journalist and activist Sonali Kolhatkar
by Julie Sabatier 
http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/3421

TNS Interview: Sonali Kolhatkar is a journalist and also the co-director of the Afghan Women’s Mission, a group that helps raise funds for schools, orphanages and other program led by Afghan women.
Sonali Kolhatkar is co-director of the Afghan Women's Mission, a group that helps raise funds for schools, orphanages and other program led by Afghan women. She also hosts the popular radio show Uprising on Pacifica Radio's KPFK in Los Angeles. Kolhatkar was trained as an astronomer, but made a career shift six years ago to writing, radio and activism. Reporter Julie Sabatier interviewed Kolhatkar for The NewStandard last week.

TNS: You've done work in so many different activist campaigns, from Free Mumia to the anti-WTO movement. How did you decide to focus so much time and energy on the women of Afghanistan? 

SK: In a way, Afghanistan found me. I got a chain e-mail in 2000 about the Taliban's mistreatment of Afghan women. I started doing research and found the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA). I was so inspired by these women, and I went down the street to a coffee shop and just cried and wondered if I was wasting my time working for [California Institute of Technology] and NASA. I contacted RAWA and asked them, 'What can I do? How can I help?' They said they needed a legal way for people to make donations from the US.
More on link

Is Al Qaeda setting up shop in Kashmir?
By Scott Baldauf | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor 42 July 2006
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0718/p06s02-wosc.html

SRINAGAR, INDIAN KASHMIR – Last Wednesday, barely 18 hours after the railway blasts in Mumbai (Bombay) that claimed some 200 lives, a mysterious caller phoned up local journalist Rashid Rahi to praise the attacks and to proclaim the arrival of a new militant group, Jammu and Kashmir Al Qaeda. 
With its call for Indian Muslims to join the struggle for "complete liberation and dominance of the religion of Islam," the caller hinted darkly of a heightened confrontation with America's chief ally in South Asia, India. 
More on link


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## GAP (25 Jul 2006)

Two slain soldiers begin journey home
Canadian Press Globe & Mail 25 July 2006
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060725.w2soldiers0725/BNStory/Afghanistan/home

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — Hundreds of Canadian and other coalition soldiers in Afghanistan bid a tearful farewell early Tuesday to two fallen comrades.

A lone bagpiper played as the bodies of Corporal Francisco Gomez of Edmonton and Corporal Jason Warren from Montreal were gently carried from two Canadian Forces Light Armoured Vehicles onto a C-130 Hercules at Kandahar Air Field.

Tears streamed down the face of Bombardier Ryan Shudra, a reservist from the 20th Field Regiment, based in Red Deer, Alta, as he carried Cpl. Warren's Tam O'Shanter behind his flag-draped coffin.

Bombardier Shudra was one of eight soldiers injured Saturday when Cpl. Warren and Cpl. Gomez were killed in a suicide attack.
More on link

Intense clashes with Taliban temper troops' steely spirit 
CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD  Globe and Mail 25 July 2006
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060724.wblatchfordmain24/BNStory/Afghanistan/home

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — War, the British singer Edwin Starr barked three decades ago in a song that became a pop hit at the tail end of the peace-loving Sixties, "What is it good for?" Mr. Starr's answer was, "Absolutely nothing."

There is a group of about 600 Canadian soldiers who have just emerged from weeks of battle who might beg to differ -- not that war is good, not that it cannot smash your spirit as surely as it can your body, but that it can also be instructive, formative, important.

Two days ago, war had Lieutenant-Colonel John Conrad, the gentle commander of the National Support Element, which is the military's moniker for the logistical folks who keep the whole machine humming, doing the only kind thing he could do for a dead comrade.

Lt.-Col. Conrad was loading a body bag for the first time in his life.
More on link

Australian troops headed to dangerous Uruzgan province in Afghanistan  
The World Today - Tuesday, 25 July , 2006  12:34:00  Reporter: Josie Taylor
http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1696503.htm


ELEANOR HALL: Already in Afghanistan, Australian troops are heading straight for an area described as one of the most dangerous in the world.

About 240 Australian soldiers and engineers will soon go into the Uruzgan province, in Afghanistan's volatile south, to help rebuild infrastructure.

But one security adviser working in the region has told The World Today that he believes the troops will be too busy ensuring their own safety to help with reconstruction.

The security adviser, who says he can't give his full name for legal reasons, says it's becoming more and more dangerous in the region and that already many aid projects have shut down.

He is speaking here to reporter Josie Taylor.

SECURITY ADVISER: A lot of programs have shut recently, or are ineffective. A lot of the implementing partners of larger agencies have got limited projects at the moment, purely through the security in the region... is not permissible.

JOSIE TAYLOR: And how... what's your description of the security in the region at the moment, or particularly in Afghanistan and southern Afghanistan?

SECURITY ADVISER: The security since Ramadan, which is sort of October last year, has been progressively getting worse, and it started in districts several hundred kilometres out from regional centres, city centres such as Kandahar and Lashkar Gah, and during the last six to eight months, progressively the fighting has been moving closer and closer into the city. 
 More on link

Army personnel leave for Afghanistan
July 25, 2006 - 5:29PM FairFax Digital
http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Army-personnel-leave-for-Afghanistan/2006/07/25/1153746847571.html

A group of 34 Australian army personnel left for Afghanistan on Tuesday to relieve troops who have been stationed in the war-ravaged country since February.

The group, a mix of air crew and helicopter specialists from the army's 5th Aviation Regiment in Townsville, will replace soldiers operating and maintaining two Australian CH-47D Chinooks, defence said in a statement.

About 110 Australian personnel fly and maintain the Chinooks from a base in southern Afghanistan, providing medical evacuation, air mobility and logistical support to coalition troops in the area.

The relieved troops will return to Australia later this week.

Australia's commitment of the two helicopters is due to end in April 2007.

In recent weeks there has been a surge in violence between resurgent Taliban-led rebels and Afghan and foreign troops as NATO prepares to take over command of security operations in the hardline militia's former southern heartland.
End



Bomb hits Kabul taxi as Afghan violence kills 10, including coalition soldier
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA | Tuesday July 25, 2006  The Cronicle Herald
http://thechronicleherald.ca/World/9001498.html

KABUL (AP) -- A roadside bomb along a busy Kabul road killed two Afghans on Tuesday as fighting in the eastern provinces left a U.S.-led coalition soldier and seven suspected Taliban dead, officials said. 

The Afghan government, meanwhile, launched an urgent appeal for $76.4 million US to tackle an ``imminent food crisis'' caused by prolonged drought, particularly in the north and northwest of the country.

The bomb in Kabul -- the latest in a series of blasts that have rattled nerves in the capital -- killed a man and a woman riding in a taxi, and wounded four others, said Faiz Ahmad Hotaq, a police official.

In the eastern Kunar province, a coalition soldier, whose nationality was not disclosed, was killed Monday in firefight with militants, a coalition statement said.

Seven militants were also killed in Paktika province in clashes with coalition soldiers, it said. One coalition soldier was slightly wounded.

Violence has escalated sharply in Afghanistan this year, as Taliban-led rebels have stepped up attacks, particularly in their former southern heartland, drawing a tough response from Afghan and foreign forces.
More on Link




Lady Luck has been shining on us

Canadian soldiers, thankful for good fortune in battle, mourn men lost to suicide attack
By TERRY PEDWELL The Canadian Press The Chronicle Herald
http://thechronicleherald.ca/World/517357.html

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Kirk Gallinger isn’t sure yet how to describe to his wife the hell he’s witnessed in the past few weeks.

She might have some idea already, having read, watched or heard the news of how Canadian soldiers spent 17 days hunting down Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan.

But his wife, Crystal, doesn’t really "know," says Maj. Gallinger, who commanded the 1st Batallion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry’s Alpha Company through some of the most intense battles Canadians have seen since the Korean War.

"My wife has no clue," Gallinger says of the things he’s done in Afghanistan. "My wife has been watching a bit of the news, (but) I haven’t been telling her the extent to which we’ve been involved in the operations."

He surmises that perhaps video of some of the battles will help.

"I’ve got some interesting footage."

Soldiers from the Canadian Forces Combat Camera unit, along with a number of reporters, were with the troops during many of the altercations they’ve faced since heading out on Operation Mountain Thrust on July 4. Some startling images have been recorded.
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Mideast force unlikely Canadian military stretched to maximum in Afghanistan
25 July 2006 The Chronicle Herald
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Canada/517228.html

OTTAWA — The Canadian military is already stretched so thin in Afghanistan that it’s unlikely to contribute much — if anything — to any peacekeeping force on the Lebanon-Israel border, say military, diplomatic and academic experts.

But even if Ottawa had the resources, many analysts say there are good reasons to avoid a troop commitment in the Middle East.

"It’s only our fight if all other alternatives have been exhausted," says Norman Spector, a former chief of staff to Brian Mulroney and ambassador to Israel.

Spector contended Monday that it makes more sense to hand the lead in pacifying Lebanon to former colonial powers like Britain and France, who have a greater strategic interest in the region. They could be supplemented by Germany, Italy and other European partners in NATO.
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One man and his search dog
25 Jul 06  Defence News UK
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/OneManAndHisSearchDog.htm

Anyone who reads a newspaper or watches television is more than aware of the UK's involvement in Southern Afghanistan and the 3,000 plus British troops that are deployed there. But not many are aware of the military working dogs that are doing their bit to restore peace and security in Afghanistan.
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Soldiers beat the heat to run Afghan marathon
24 Jul 06  Defence News UK
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/PeopleInDefence/SoldiersBeatTheHeatToRunAfghanMarathon.htm

Soldiers based in Afghanistan have been braving searing 50-plus degree temperatures to run a marathon aimed at raising money for needy children in the country.

Teams of troops based at Lashkar Gah, in Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan, including those from Colchester-based 16 Air Assault Brigade, ran 26 miles around the camp on Friday 21 July 2006 to help raise money for Aschiana, a charity which helps street children in Kabul.

Due to the intense heat, the teams of six split the marathon, which equates to 50 laps of the camp, into smaller more manageable chunks of about ten laps each. They also began the run at 5am local time (approximately 8.30am UK time) to avoid the hottest time of day.

Defence Secretary orders new vehicles for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan
25 Jul 06   Defence News UK
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/DefenceSecretaryOrdersNewVehiclesForTroopsInIraqAndAfghanistan.htm

Defence Secretary, Des Browne, has unveiled a package of new equipment to help protect UK Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan following an armoured vehicles review

This will include: the purchase of around 100 additional Pinzgauer 'Vector' for Afghanistan, on top of the 66 already on contract, with deliveries to begin early in 2007; the provision, for Iraq, of around 70 uparmoured and upgraded FV430 troop carriers, in addition to the 54 already on contract, with deliveries starting late this year and building up to a mechanised infantry battlegroup by Spring 2007; and the acquisition of around 100 of a new medium weight vehicle, 'Cougar', which is manufactured by Force Protection Incorporated of Charleston, South Carolina, and is expected to be delivered to Iraq and Afghanistan in batches over the next six month rotation, with an effective capability in place in Iraq by the end of the year.
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Afghan violence kills 10, including coalition soldier
FISNIK ABRASHI  Associated Press  Globe & Mail 25 July 2006
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060725.wkabul0725/BNStory/International/?cid=al_gam_nletter_newsUp

KABUL — A roadside bomb along a busy Kabul road killed two Afghans on Tuesday as fighting in the eastern provinces left a U.S.-led coalition soldier and seven suspected Taliban dead, officials said.

The Afghan government, meanwhile, launched an urgent appeal for $76.4 million (U.S.) to tackle an “imminent food crisis” caused by prolonged drought, particularly in the north and northwest of the country.

The bomb in Kabul — the latest in a series of blasts that have rattled nerves in the capital — killed a man and a woman riding in a taxi, and wounded four others, said Faiz Ahmad Hotaq, a police official.

Afghanistan, UN Launch New Appeal to Help Fight Looming Food Crisis  
By Benjamin Sand   Islamabad   25 July 2006  Voice of America
http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-07-25-voa19.cfm

Afghanistan is seeking nearly $80 million to help fight "an imminent food crisis" caused by widespread drought. The aid appeal, issued with the United Nations, says more than two and a half million people could be affected by the drought and crop failures. 

The Afghan government and United Nations kicked off the $76 million appeal Tuesday morning in Kabul.

The U.N.'s deputy special representative to Afghanistan, Christopher Alexander, said that millions of farmers throughout Afghanistan are facing a large shortfall in their wheat harvest due to the drought.

"It's not just a question of lack of rain," he said. "It's a question of livelihoods being in jeopardy. So this is a human crisis, these are real, acute, basic needs that need to be addressed."

Droughts are common in Afghanistan but Alexander says this year it is particularly harsh.
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Pro-Taleban Militants in Pakistan Free Four Soldiers, Extend Cease-fire by a Month  
By VOA News 23 July 2006
http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-07-23-voa7.cfm  

Pakistani officials say pro-Taleban militants in a semi-autonomous tribal region bordering Afghanistan have freed four soldiers taken hostage in April and extended a cease-fire by another month.

The move came a day after Pakistan released 32 men who had been in jail from five months to two years on suspicion of involvement in attacks on security forces in North Waziristan. 

In June, the militants called a month-long cease-fire to give time for tribal elders to broker a settlement to end the bloodshed in the region. 

The rebels also had a number of demands, including the withdrawal of army troops from new checkpoints and replacing them with tribal police, and the release of tribesmen detained during military operations.
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Afghanistan worries drought may boost drug trade
25 Jul 2006 12:07:44 GMT  Source: Reuters
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL270300.htm


By Zeeshan Haider

KABUL, July 25 (Reuters) - The Afghan government and the United Nations on Tuesday appealed for over $76 million in aid to combat impending drought, warning that farmers could start growing opium poppies to avoid hunger.

Afghanistan produces around 90 percent of the world's opium and the United Nations fears cultivation levels of poppy are back on the rise after production decreased in the immediate aftermath of the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.

Vice President Karim Khalili warned that poor farmers might resort to cultivating less water-intensive poppy if the international community does not help them combat drought.

"The first negative impact of the drought is that farmers might be forced to illegally cultivate poppy if production (of other crops) falls sharply," he said.

"If there is hunger, then it is natural that they will resort to this (cultivation)."

Security analysts say money made from selling opium helps pay for the insurgency by Taliban militants, which is at its worst since 2001.

Much of the insurgency is focused in strife-stricken southern region, which is also home to the country's main poppy-growing provinces.

Afghanistan is the world's largest heroin-producing and trafficking country, and latest figures show illicit opium production accounts for roughly a third of the country's total economy.

The United Nations said Afghanistan is set to face acute food shortages in the coming months due to inadequate rainfall in April and May, especially in the rain-fed areas.

It is estimated the drought will affect up to an additional 2.5 million people living in mostly rain-fed areas. Some 6.5 million people are already seasonally or chronically food insecure.
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Afghan reconstruction  
Source: Reuters
http://www.alertnet.org/db/crisisprofiles/AF_REC.htm?v=at_a_glance

Afghanistan is struggling to recover from more than a quarter-century of conflict, with violence still raging in the south and southeast. It is one of the most heavily mined countries in the world and home to a booming narcotics trade. 
Six million fled during the conflict 
600 children die every day 
Around 35,000 foreign troops

Billions of dollars have poured into rebuilding Afghanistan since the fall of the hardline Taliban regime in 2001. But many Afghans are frustrated at the pace of reconstruction efforts, which have been dogged by security problems and allegations of corruption and mismanagement. 

The Taliban were toppled by U.S. and mujahideen forces in 2001 after they refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. 

Remnants of the Taliban fighting to oust thousands of foreign troops and Afghanistan's new western-backed government have stepped up a campaign of bomb attacks, ambushes and raids during 2006. Security officials also blame land disputes, banditry, the drugs trade and clan feuds for rising violence. 

But there is some good news. Millions of former refugees have streamed back, the judiciary and army are being reconstituted and roads and hospitals rebuilt. Women, who were barred from education and jobs during the Taliban years, are now allowed to vote and some have won seats in parliament. 

key facts
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Violence rises in Afghanistan
Edmonton Sun 25 July 2006
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/World/2006/07/25/1701237-sun.html

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- The violence in Afghanistan intensified yesterday as Canada prepared to send two of its fallen home. 

In the south, just east of Kandahar, two international coalition soldiers were seriously hurt when a van packed with explosives detonated as their patrol was driving past. 

Two days earlier, two Canadian soldiers - Cpl. Francisco Gomez of Edmonton and Cpl. Jason Warren of Montreal - died after a suicide bomber drove his car beside their Bison armoured vehicle, and triggered an explosion. 

BODIES RETURN TODAY 

The bodies of Warren and Gomez were to be returned to Canada today, following a ceremony at the Kandahar Air Field. 
More on link



Afghanistan Suicide Bomber Kills Girl in Kabul, Military Says  
25 July 2006 Bloomberg.com
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=aWWRDOWzcZlk&refer=canada

July 25 (Bloomberg) -- An Afghan girl was killed and three civilians were wounded today when a suicide bomber detonated explosives in the capital, Kabul, the U.S. military said. 

``This is truly a despicable act,'' coalition spokesman Thomas Collins said in an e-mailed statement. ``A family has been ruined and the dreams of an innocent little girl are lost forever.'' Afghan and police and coalition forces are investigating the blast, the military said. 

In two other statements, the U.S. military said a coalition soldier and seven insurgents were killed yesterday in separate clashes in eastern Afghanistan. 

The U.S.-led coalition has faced increasing violence as it seeks to extend the influence of President Hamid Karzai's central government from Kabul into more remote eastern and southern parts of Afghanistan. Hundreds of insurgents have been killed by the military since operations expanded in April and May. 
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Coalition soldier killed in Afghanistan fighting
25/07/2006 - 10:15:07 Ireland Online
http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=190122976&p=y9xyz368z

Fighting in eastern Afghanistan left one US-led coalition soldier and seven suspected Taliban dead, the coalition said today.

The soldier, whose nationality was not disclosed, was killed yesterday during an action against militants in Pech district of eastern Kunar province, a coalition statement said.

The seven militants died yesterday in the Barmal district of Paktika province, in a clash with coalition soldiers, the statement said.

The firefight involved some 45 militants who attacked a coalition patrol with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms, the military said. One coalition soldier was slightly wounded in the clash.
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Germany promises more aid to Afghanistan  
July 25, 2006 People's Daily Online         
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/25/eng20060725_286379.html

Germany would keep its promise to provide Afghanistan with 80 million euros (about 100 million dollars) this year to help the war-torn country, a German minister said on Monday. 

German Economic Cooperation and Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul made the remarks after meeting visiting Afghan Finance Minister Anwar ul-Hag Ahadi in Berlin. 

Germany, the fourth largest donor after the U.S., Japan and Britain, would stand by Afghanistan, Wieczorek-Zeul said, adding that a key part of the aid will be used in improving energy supplies of Afghanistan. 

Earlier this year, at the London conference on Afghanistan, Germany pledged 80 million euros in aid each year until 2010. 

Germany has about 2,700 troops in Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Recently ISAF troops had been attacked by suicide bombers. 

Wieczorek-Zeul noted that Germany would not reduce its aid to Afghanistan at "these difficult times." 

Source: Xinhua 
End


Guns and poppies: The coming anarchy in Afghanistan
by Michael Stickings The Moderate Voice 
http://www.themoderatevoice.com/posts/1153757053.shtml


Remember Afghanistan? I won't blame you if you don't. It's hard to see it through the fog of war in Iraq and Lebanon, not to mention through the fall-out of nuclear crisis in Iran and North Korea. Not so long ago, Afghanistan was the focus of much of our attention. After 9/11, the U.S. went in and routed the al Qaeda-friendly Taliban, or at least sent Osama bin Laden, Mullah Omar, and their supporters scurrying into the mountains and across the border into Pakistan, a short war of revenge that was neither lost nor entirely won.

And yet there was optimism. In his 2002 State of the Union address, President Bush said this:
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B.C. man building school killed in Afghanistan
Last Updated: Tuesday, July 25, 2006 CBC News 
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2006/07/25/bc-carpenter.html

A Vancouver carpenter has been killed in northern Afghanistan, where he had been completing construction of a school he had been working on for the past four years.

Mike Frastacky, 56, was shot to death on Sunday in a home he was staying at in the town of Nahrin.

His sister, Luba Frastacky of Toronto, told CBC Radio on Tuesday that Canadian Foreign Affairs officials said her brother was shot three times in the head.

She said he knew it was particularly dangerous in northern Afghanistan this summer, and that there was talk of a $10,000 bounty being offered for the death of a Westerner.

She said her brother, who had been there since mid-June, had planned to cut this year's visit short because of the danger.
More on link


----------



## GAP (26 Jul 2006)

Articles found on 26 July 2006

EDITORIAL: Soldier sacrifices
26 July 2006 Edmonton Sun
http://www.edmontonsun.com/Comment/Commentary/2006/07/26/1702474.html

The deaths of Cpl. Francisco Gomez, a 44-year-old member of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in Edmonton, and Quebec City native Cpl. Jason Patrick Warren, 29, of the Black Watch, the Royal Highland Regiment of Canada, in a suicide bombing last weekend in Afghanistan brings the death toll for the dangerous mission to 20: 19 soldiers and one diplomat. 

If those numbers make you uncomfortable, good. We hope they do. 

Because if people are uneasy with those statistics it means they still care, one way or another. It means they're either gutted by the fact that our soldiers have to pay such a high price in order to try to bring stability to a wartorn region as part of the war on terror, or they're outraged at how our soldiers' lives are being sacrificed for a futile cause. 

As our readers know, we completely support the Armed Forces' mission in Afghanistan. And it grieves us whenever we at the Sun get the notification that another soldier has died, because we know all too well by now that these aren't automatons programmed to go into the Afghanistan mountains to kill. They're flesh and blood human beings with families back here in Canada - spouses, parents, children - who are suffering the worst kind of grief imaginable.
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*Wrong thread, but still a Canadian who deserves mention*   

Gov't confirms Canadian soldier killed at UN post  
26/07/2006 4:55:51 PM  CTV.ca News Staff 

The PMO has identified Maj. Paeta Hess-von Kruedener as the Canadian Forces soldier killed in an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon Tuesday.

Major Paeta Hess-von Kruedener, in South Lebanon in March, with one of the Mouktars of a Druze village called 'Bourhoz'  

Maj. Paeta Hess-von Kruedener, a member of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, died when a bomb directly hit the UN observer base in the town of Khiyam near the eastern end of the border with Israel. 

Hess-von Kruedener had completed nine months of his one-year tour of duty with the UN in Lebanon. He was an infantry officer with 20 years service, and had done four earlier operational tours (in Cyprus, twice in Bosnia, and Congo). 

He was the lone Canadian Forces observer in southern Lebanon, and was assigned to report on ceasefire violations with the Observer Group Lebanon (OGL). His group, Team Sierra, was based 10 kilometres to the north of the Israel-Lebanon-Syria border. 

On July 18, he provided CTV.ca with an update of his mission via e-mail. He said a great deal of fighting was taking place near his post. 
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Injured in Afghanistan  
By Christine van Reeuwyk  Esquimalt News  Jul 26 2006 
http://www.esquimaltnews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=10&cat=23&id=696063&more=


Wounded reservist recounts his tale 

Master Cpl. Kai Hesser sat stunned amid a cloud of smoke and vehicle remains. 

It was about 8 a.m. on June 21, a hot, dusty day in Kandahar, Afghanistan when a bomb tore through the light armoured vehicle carrying Hesser and his comrades. 

“We were just driving along and the next thing I knew I was covered in smoke and dust,” Hesser said. “I was sitting in the carrier and said, ‘What the hell was that?’” 

Hesser recalled his plight after touching down at Victoria International Airport July 19. 

Hesser, 29, refused a wheelchair, and opted instead to gently hop his way into the camera-laden press conference with the aid of crutches. 

“It’s good to be home,” he said. “It’s not a great environment there; it’s hot, humid, the food is not good. It’s good to be home.” 

Hesser, originally from Nanaimo but a native of Victoria for the past two years, spent nearly three weeks in a hospital in Kandahar before returning to Canada July 9. He was in hospital in Edmonton undergoing more tests and X-rays before returning to Victoria. 

The 10-year reserve veteran suffered a severe fracture to his left ankle, a blood clot in his left leg and fractures to his hip and right knee. 

“There are times I have to use my arms to help move my legs,” Hesser admitted. 

Two others were injured in the blast: Hesser said he’s spoken to both and they appear all right. 

“It’s good to be home” was a running theme for Hesser during the press conference, though he said he wouldn’t hesitate to go back overseas. 

Major Joel Anderson, Hesser’s commanding officer, greeted Hesser at the airport. 

“He strikes me as someone who wants to get back to activity as soon as possible,” Anderson said. 

He regaled the press with the story of Hesser refusing a wheelchair in Edmonton, followed by his refusal of a wheelchair in Victoria, and the fact that Hesser wanted to gather his own luggage from the baggage carousel. 

“That’s the nature of our soldiers,” Anderson said. 

Hesser was just one part of the Canadian military presence in Afghanistan. Canadian soldiers are conducting operations in northern Kandahar province as part of Operation Mountain Thrust. 

“I do appreciate the support that we get from a lot of the people,” Hesser said. “They may not support the mission ... but they certainly support us and that’s a really good thing, especially for the guys over there ... it’s a rough environment.” 

He credits the light armoured vehicle for saving his life. 
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Aust soldiers injured in Afghanistan
Wednesday, July 26, 2006. 2:16pm 
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200607/s1697528.htm

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has revealed that six Australian soldiers from the Special Air Services (SAS) were injured earlier this month in a skirmish in Afghanistan.

The soldiers were in the country's south when the group was injured by anti-coalition militia.

They were evacuated to a medical facility, but the ADF says only one has returned to Australia for further treatment.

In a special briefing in Canberra, Brigadier Gus Gilmore said, despite the injuries, the Australian soldiers were involved in a highly successful engagement.

"As a result of the operation six Australian special forces soldiers received minor wounds," he said.

"All soldiers were provided with immediate first aid and five soldiers were subsequently evacuated to a coalition medical facility for further treatment, the sixth wounded soldier was assessed by medical personnel and remained in the field."

Brig Gilmore also announced that Australian soldiers based in the Iraqi province of Al Muthanna have fired shots for the first time.
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NATO approves Afghanistan security expansion
Updated Wed. Jul. 26 2006 10:15 AM ET   Associated Press
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060718/nato_afghanistan_060726/20060726?hub=World

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- NATO countries have approved expansion of their 18,000-member security force to volatile southern Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday. 

NATO spokesman James Appathurai said the alliance's top military commander, U.S. Gen. James Jones, would now start to initiate orders to take over the southern region from the current U.S.-led coalition troops around the end of July. 

Canada, a NATO member, currently has about 2,200 soldiers on the ground in the south.
End



Plane crashes in Afghanistan, casualties not known
Wed Jul 26, 2006 Reuters
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-07-26T131511Z_01_ISL317256_RTRUKOC_0_US-AFGHAN-CRASH.xml&archived=False

KABUL (Reuters) - An unidentified plane crashed in southeastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties, Afghan officials told Reuters.

The plane had taken off from southeastern province of Khost, where the U.S.-led coalition forces have a base, before crashing in a nearby province, they said.

A spokesman for the coalition forces in Kabul confirmed the crash, but said he had no details.
End

7 Taliban Killed in Southern Afghanistan  
The Associated Press  By FISNIK ABRASHI July 26, 2006 
http://www.topix.net/content/ap/3553734836107826531915146322290443872833

U.S.-led coalition troops killed seven suspected Taliban militants in southern Afghanistan, and Australia announced on Wednesday that six of its special forces soldiers were wounded in the same area earlier this month.

Authorities in northern Afghanistan questioned four Afghans in connection with the killing of a Canadian reconstruction worker, whose bullet-ridden body was found earlier this week.

The top European envoy to Afghanistan said the U.S.-led war on terror has been too focused on al-Qaida.

'I think perhaps they were too single-minded on one objective without seeing the broader picture, perhaps not realizing that it was not simply a matter of al-Qaida that had produced the Taliban,' said Francesc Vendrell, special EU representative for Afghanistan. 'But the Taliban had come to power because of bad governance that had happened in Afghanistan between 1992 and 1996.'

Vendrell said that by next month, there would be 18,000 NATO troops in all of Afghanistan, along with a similar number of U.S. forces _ the highest foreign military presence in the post-Taliban period.
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Hundreds of Taliban Assault Police Post  
The Associated Press  By AMIR SHAH  July 24, 2006  
http://www.topix.net/content/ap/3677670799319699886540932818491551580347?threadid=TA9TVV4744GO6MN9

Hundreds of Taliban fighters firing rocket-propelled grenades on Monday attacked a district headquarters in southwestern Afghanistan, killing three police and wounding seven, amid of a flurry of suicide attacks, roadside bombings and shootings that claimed lives across the country.

A car bomb seriously wounded two U.S.-led coalition soldiers near Kandahar, and in another incident, four suspected suicide attackers riding two motorcycles died in a confrontation with Afghan police. In the west, gunmen killed two Afghans working for international aid agency World Vision who had been delivering medicine.

It was the latest in a bloody wave of violence between resurgent Taliban-led rebels and Afghan and foreign troops, and comes as NATO-led forces prepare to take over command of security operations in the hard-line militia's former southern heartland.

The heaviest fighting took place in Bakwa, a town in southwestern Farah province, which has been spared from the worst of the recent violence that has claimed more than 800 lives, mostly militants, since mid-May.
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Canadian shot to death in northern Afghanistan 
July 26, 2006  People's Daily Online          
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/26/eng20060726_286892.html

A Canadian carpenter who had spent the last four summers in northern Afghanistan building a school was killed Sunday while working there. 

Mike Frastacky, 56, was shot to death in a house in the town of Nahrin in the province of Baghlan, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported Tuesday. 

Frastacky's sister said her brother began the project after he took a trek to Nahrin five years ago and found the community needs a school. 

He paid for the project with his own money and by collecting small donations from friends and family. Putting his carpentry skills to use, he began building a school for 600 students complete with a library, playground and well providing fresh water. 

The sister said Frastacky did the project because "he loved the Afghan people and wanted to spend some time other than building homes for Vancouver millionaires." 

Source: Xinhua  END


Area firms ponder Afghanistan
Asian nation promotes its business opportunities - Ben Rand - Staff writer - (July 26, 2006) 
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060726/BUSINESS/607260365/1001

Given the events of the last five years, the notion of investing in Afghanistan may seem strange to some small to medium-sized business owners.

Since 2001, the Asian country has become a principal focus in the war on terror, marked by the U.S.-led invasion to rout out the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Progress toward a democracy, though steady, has been overshadowed by media reports of conflict. 

But Afghanistan is very much open for business — and a safe and inviting place to be, a representative of the government of Afghanistan told a Rochester audience on Tuesday. 

The country's economy has been growing 20 percent a year and is expected to grow at a 10 percent rate in each of the next three years, said Khaleda Atta, commercial attaché for the embassy of Afghanistan in Washington, D.C. 

"There are very viable business opportunities for many businesses," Atta said at a luncheon meeting of the International Resource Group, a Rochester-based nonprofit that focuses on educating businesses about foreign investment. 

The opportunities are rapidly expanding beyond the typical needs of reconstruction to include energy, telecommunications, water and waste management, civil aviation and consumer goods, Atta said. 

The country has attracted substantial investments in and around Kabul, including a high-rise hotel and a $25 million Coca-Cola bottling plant. About 70 U.S. companies have obtained their investment licenses in Afghanistan, with plans for $75 million in investment. 

Sharon L. Badenhop, president of USA East Associates Inc. and a founder of the IRG who invited Atta, said she was struck by the notion that Rochester businesses produce what Afghanistan needs. 

That Afghanistan is open for business is surprising but makes sense, said Eduardo Navarro, president of EIC Electronics of Rochester. "It's interesting to see it, and why not?" Navarro said. 

BRAND@DemocratandChronicle.com  



Seven Taliban militants killed, 6 soldiers wounded in Afghanistan  
Kabul, July 26 (AP): The Hindu News Update Service
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/003200607261440.htm

The US-led coalition troops killed seven suspected Taliban militants in southern Afghanistan as Australia announced today that six of its special forces soldiers were wounded in the same area earlier this month. 

Authorities in northern Afghanistan today questioned four Afghans in connection with the killing of a Canadian reconstruction worker, whose bullet-ridden body was found earlier this week. 

Gunmen today also killed an Afghan worker and wounded three others who had been helping build a road to a US led coalition base in the south of the country. 

Violence has escalated sharply in Afghanistan this year as Taliban-led rebels have stepped up attacks, particularly in their former southern heartland, drawing a tough response from Afghan and foreign forces. 

Militants attacked a coalition patrol with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns yesterday, prompting soldiers to respond with heavy machine-gun fire and kill seven insurgents in southern Helmand province's Garmser district, a coalition statement said. There were no military causalities. 

Separately, six Australian special forces soldiers have been wounded during heavy fighting in mid-July in southern Afghanistan, said Brig. Gus Gilmore, spokesman for the Australian Defense Force. He would not disclose the exact location or time of the incident. 

Gilmore said the soldiers were taking part in a military operation. One of the six soldiers has returned to Australia for treatment, while the others suffered minor wounds.


----------



## MarkOttawa (26 Jul 2006)

NATO approves expanding security force to southern Afghanistan
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/26072006/2/world-nato-approves-expanding-security-force-southern-afghanistan.html

"BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - NATO countries have approved expansion of their 18,000-member security force to volatile southern Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday.

NATO spokesman James Appathurai said the alliance's top military commander, U.S. Gen. James Jones, would now start to initiate orders to take over the southern region from the current U.S.-led coalition troops around the end of July.

Canada, a NATO member, currently has about 2,200 soldiers on the ground in the south."

Mark
Ottawa


----------



## GAP (27 Jul 2006)

Articles found 27 July 2006

Cdn. soldiers' remains to arrive home Thursday
Updated Thu. Jul. 27 2006 10:44 AM ET  CTV.ca News Staff
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060718/soldiers_repatriation_060726/20060727?hub=Canada

The bodies of two Canadian soldiers killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan will arrive back on Canadian soil Thursday. 

Francisco Gomez, 44, based in Edmonton, and Cpl. Jason Patrick Warren, 29, based in Montreal, were killed on July 22 when their coalition convoy was rammed by a suicide bomber near Kandahar City. 

Afghanistan's hidden war   
Thursday, 27 July 2006, 14:31 GMT 15:31 UK  BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5220514.stm


The scale of the fighting in southern Afghanistan has dramatically increased over the past few months. 
But there is another war going on at a much more local level, targeting government infrastructure across the country. Local politicians, police chiefs and judges are being assassinated, and schools are being closed due to intimidation or being burned to the ground, as Alastair Leithead reports. 

The notes were left at night, pinned to trees outside the school - they were addressed to the head teacher. 

"We know who you are," they said. 

"We know you are involved in girls' education. Unless you stop we will kill your daughters and we will kill your family." 

The principal had received many of these warnings, but it didn't stop him keeping the school open. 

He pinned up his reply on the same trees: "Do whatever you have to do and we will do what we have to do," it read. 

A few days later the school was hit by three rockets, and explosives were planted around the outside of the building. 

This happened a few weeks ago - in Wardak, a province neighbouring Kabul. 
More on link


Pace Visits Afghanistan, Calls Taliban 'Tactical Problem'
By Jim Garamone  American Forces Press Service  KABUL, Afghanistan, July 27, 2006 
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060727_5770.html

The Taliban is a tactical problem for the coalition in Afghanistan, but the coalition is a strategic problem for the Taliban, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here today.  

Marine Gen. Peter Pace is in Afghanistan to meet with Afghan, coalition and NATO officials. 

Fighting in Afghanistan is concentrated in the country's south, the area the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force is due to take over in the next few days. More Taliban are "presenting themselves on the battlefield then there have been," Pace told reporters traveling with him. But Afghan and coalition forces have dealt the Taliban some heavy blows, he added. 

The Taliban has not reconstituted since being routed by U.S.-led coalition forces following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. However, coalition officials in Kabul said, the group has "more robust" command and control and more weapons than in the recent past. 
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Eight other Canadian soldiers were wounded in the strike. 
More on link

Ready and raring to go - 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines prepare for Afghanistan (AUDIO)
26 Jul 06 - Australian Defence News
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/ReadyAndRaringToGo3CommandoBrigadeRoyalMarinesPrepareForAfghanistanaudio.htm


Deploying to Afghanistan in September 2006, 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines were joined at Salisbury plain on Tuesday 25 July 2006 by the Minister of the Armed Forces, Adam Ingram to watch their final preparations.

3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines will replace 16 Air Assault Brigade in Afghanistan  as they end their six month deployment.

The deployment will add to existing military contributions from the UK and 35 other nations as part of a NATO drive to create safe space for reconstruction following decades of war in the country.

As part of their Final Mission Rehearsal Exercise the Brigade also worked with other Government Departments and Afghan Nationals. This tested all aspects of the future deployment from internal security to the role of the Provincial Reconstruction teams and the Operational Mentoring and Liaison teams. 
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Two Dutch die as helicopter crashes in Afghanistan   
 27 July 2006  AMSTERDAM 
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=19&story_id=31834&name=Two+Dutch+die+as+helicopter+crashes+in+Afghanistan

The Netherlands has suffered its first casualties in Afghanistan days before its military mission officially becomes active.

Afghan border police found several bodies at the scene of the crash in a mountainous area in the eastern province of Paktia, a senior police officer said on Thursday. 

The Russian-made civilian Mi-8 helicopter, operated by a logistics firm, Tryco, crashed between 22 and 25 miles north-east of Khost city on Wednesday. It is believed 16 people were on board.  A search for the crash site was called off late on Wednesday due to the poor weather conditions and failing light.
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Coalition Forces Respond to Afghan Helicopter Crash
American Forces Press Service - BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, July 27, 2006
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060727_5764.html


Coalition forces from Combined Joint Task Force 76 responded to a helicopter crash that killed at least a dozen people yesterday in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan's Paktia province, military officials here reported. 
A Russian-made Mi 8 helicopter, owned by the Afghan government, crashed in the Qalandar Mountains near the Khost border. Initial reports indicate between 12 and 16 people were killed, officials said. 

A logistics company ferrying supplies and fuel from Kabul to Khost airport operated the helicopter. 

The coalition first sent an aviation search-and-rescue team to find the crash and offer recovery assistance, but extreme weather conditions prevented the crew from landing. A ground-force quick-reaction team then hiked up the mountain, led by an Afghan guide. 

"We made every effort to quickly reach the downed aircraft with hopes of saving some or all of the passengers and crew," said Maj. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, CJTF 76 commander. "Unfortunately, there were no survivors. Our condolences go out to the friends and families of the victims." 
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Unmanned Aircraft Give Military Added Capability
By Steven Donald Smith  American Forces Press Service  WASHINGTON, July 26, 2006
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060726_5762.html

The instant feedback of information supplied by unmanned aerial vehicles is bringing immediate "value added" to U.S. military operations, the Joint Staff's director for strategic plans and policy explained yesterday. 
"UAVs have become such an important tool for our decision makers -- operational battlefield decision makers and strategic decision makers," Air Force Lt. Gen. Victor E. "Gene" Renuart Jr. said in a Pentagon Channel interview. "They have become an accepted part of our inventory." 

Unmanned aerial vehicles are remotely piloted or self-piloted aircraft that can carry cameras, sensors and communications equipment that provide an integrated system of intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance. The vehicles also provide valuable battle-damage assessment and are used to track high-value targets. Some even carry weapons. 

The Predator and Global Hawk are the two most prominent UAV systems.
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UNSC reaffirms support for Afghanistan
[ 27 Jul, 2006 1137hrs ISTPTI ]  RSS Feeds
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1818559.cms

UNITED NATIONS: Expressing concern over the worsening violence in Afghanistan, the United Nations Security Council has reaffirmed its support for the Government and the armed forces of the war-ravaged country as they battle an 'insurgency' that seeks to restore life under the Taliban. 

In a statement, the UNSC also expressed its support for the work of the International Security Assistance Force and Operation Enduring Freedom troops in working alongside Afghan forces. 

"They (the members) recognize once again the inter-connected nature of the challenges in Afghanistan and reaffirm that sustainable progress on security, governance and development, as well as on the cross-cutting issue of counter-narcotics is mutually reinforcing and welcome the continuing effort of the Afghan Government and international community to address these challenges," the statement said. 
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AFGHANISTAN: Drug abuse on the rise in Helmand
27 Jul 2006 10:35:36 GMT Source: IRIN
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/9cf1b2a62066169c226cd19077f467bc.htm

LASHKAR GAH, 27 July (IRIN) - Halima's drug addiction started with a toothache. "Some of my relatives told me to put a piece of opium in my mouth to relieve the pain. After a while I soon became addicted to this evil," the 30-year-old mother-of-four said as she sat in a long queue of women waiting for treatment at a drug addiction clinic in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand.

Helmand, the largest opium-producing province in a country that produces nearly 90 percent of the world's illicit opium, has seen a steady increase in addiction.

"It [opium] made me so weak and sluggish," mother-of-six Jamila, 35, said. "Even my children have become fed up with me so I decided to end this misery and seek treatment at this clinic. The doctors here are so kind and helpful and their medicine has changed my whole perspective on life." 

The 20-bed clinic, founded in June by the Welfare Association for Development of Afghanistan (WADAN), an NGO in Lashkar Gah, is struggling to cope with the demand. And with beds reserved for male addicts, the centre has no choice but to treat the growing number of female addicts in their homes.

"We treat patients here for one month and after that we provide them with vocational training such as tailoring and carpentry to enable them to support their families," Dr Raoudatullah Zia, provincial head of the WADAN clinic, told IRIN. 

Lying in his bed at the clinic, Hazrat Mohammad, 23, an opium addict for 10 years, blamed unemployment for his addiction. 
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ANALYSIS-Pakistan haunted by Taliban question as NATO deploys
27 Jul 2006 09:12:21 GMT Source: Reuters
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP41202.htm

By Simon Cameron-Moore

ISLAMABAD, July 27 (Reuters) - Almost five years after thousands of Taliban fighters fled Afghanistan to escape a U.S.-led invasion, Pakistan is still unable to shake off suspicions that it is allowing them to operate from its soil.

Just as India is losing patience with Pakistan's failure to act more forcefully against numerous anti-Indian Islamic militant groups, Afghanistan, the United States and other NATO powers have been telling Islamabad to get tougher with the Taliban.

"There is little doubt that top Taliban commanders find sanctuary within Pakistan and opportunity to plan and launch operations," Marvin G. Weinbaum, a former analyst with the State Department's intelligence bureau, wrote in a study published by the United States Institute of Peace last month.

"Islamabad's efforts to check extremism and prevent the infiltration of anti-(Afghan) regime insurgents are accurately described as inconsistent, incomplete and at times insincere."

The deployment of NATO forces in southern Afghanistan during the worst phase of the Taliban insurgency, with 1,700 killed so far this year, has once again put Pakistan's role under scrutiny.

Whenever President Pervez Musharraf comes under pressure over the Taliban he points to three things; difficult terrain on the long frontier, inadequate attempts to control the insurgency on the Afghan side, and the hundreds of casualties the Pakistan army has suffered since deploying 80,000 troops in the border areas
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Pakistan urged to probe 7 reporters' deaths
27 Jul 2006 10:18:22 GMT  Source: Reuters
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL10321.htm

 ISLAMABAD, July 27 (Reuters)- An international press freedom group on Thursday asked Pakistan to investigate the deaths of seven Pakistani journalists as vigorously as it did the slaying of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002.

Officials of the New York based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) made the demand during a visit to Pakistan in the wake of the execution-style killing last month of a Pakistani journalist, Hayatullah Khan, in North Waziristan.

"This case deserves as full an investigation as the Pakistani government was able to put together for an American journalist," said Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia Programme Coordinator at a press conference.

Pakistan moved swiftly, under intense U.S. pressure, to catch militants involved in Pearl's murder in Karachi while he was on assignment on a story on al Qaeda for the Asian Wall Street Journal.

The CPJ believes the deaths of seven Pakistani journalists since 2002 have received less attention than they deserve, while the case of Pearl, whose beheading was videotaped by his killers, became a cause celebre in the international media.

Pearl's story is being turned into a movie, titled "A Mighty Heart" based on a book written by his widow. The film, produced by Brad Pitt, will star Angelina Jolie.

Hayatullah Khan was abducted last year after reporting that an al-Qaeda commander, Abu Hamza Rabia, had been killed by a U.S missile strike, contradicting the Pakistan government's account that Rabia died in a blast caused by explosives stored in the house he was hiding in.
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Lewisburg native dies in battle in Afghanistan
By AILENE TORRES  Staff Writer  Thursday, 07/27/06
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060727/NEWS01/607270408/1006/NEWS01

Soldier wanted to join FBI after military

In a final e-mail to a female friend, David Hierholzer, a Lewisburg native, offered his life's philosophy:

"Life is a fatal adventure; it can only have one ending. So why not make it as far-ranging and as free as possible?"
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NI troops bound for Afghanistan  
Thursday, 27 July 2006, 05:42 GMT 06:42 UK  - BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/5218874.stm

About 60 soldiers from the first battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment are being sent to Afghanistan this week. 
The latest deployment brings the total number of Royal Irish soldiers serving in Afghanistan to 100. 

The soldiers are set to travel to the Helmand province on Friday. 

They will serve with the Parachute Regiment, as part of the 16 Air Assault Brigade. The reinforcement follows the deaths of six soldiers in Afghanistan. 

The soldiers' commanding officer, Colonel Michael McGovern, said he was under no illusions about the dangers his men would face. 

The RIR battalion is one of the most experienced units in the British army, having recently toured Iraq, Kosovo and Sierra Leone. 

Earlier this month, two platoons of the Royal Irish Regiment were among 900 extra troops to be sent to Afghanistan. 

The detachment of RIR soldiers will provide additional protection at the British HQ of Camp Bastion in Helmand
End

Prodi Government's Survival Could Hinge on Afghanistan Vote  
 Jul 27 11:15 Bloomberg.com
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aJ7WgcM0pBzg&refer=home

July 27 (Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Romano Prodi may stake the survival of his two-month old government on a vote in the Senate today to extend funding for Italy's soldiers in Afghanistan. 

Prodi has authorized the use of a confidence vote, which means his government collapses if he loses, as a way of pressuring dissenting allies to support the measure. Prodi has just a two-vote majority, without accounting for as many as seven votes from honorary life senators. The debate started at 9 a.m. and a final decision on imposing a confidence vote will be taken at 11 a.m., news agency Ansa reported. 

Prodi's narrow win in the April elections and tensions within his eight-party coalition, which includes both communists and Christian Democrats, pose a constant threat to the survival of his government. Provided today's vote goes his way, Prodi will face an even tougher fight after August, when he tries to pass as much as 20 billion euros ($26 billion) in deficit- reduction measures as part of the 2007 budget. 
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Taliban forces suffering big losses in Afghanistan
AFP AND THE GUARDIAN , KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN AND LONDON Thursday, Jul 27, 2006,Page 5 
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2006/07/27/2003320612

Gunmen shot dead a road worker subcontracted to a US project in southern Afghanistan yesterday, police said, while coalition troops killed eight attackers in separate incidents.
Three other road builders were wounded when their vehicle came under fire in southern Zabul Province as they were driving to work, the provincial police chief said.

He blamed the attack on "enemies of Afghanistan" -- a term used by the government to refer to remnants of the Taliban regime toppled from power in 2001 and now waging a deadly insurgency.
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22 Taliban killed in Afghanistan fighting
July 26, 2006, 10:09PM  By MATTHEW PENNINGTON Associated Press Writer 
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4075000.html

KABUL, Afghanistan — Fighting in southern Afghanistan killed 22 suspected Taliban militants, officials said Wednesday, as NATO nations approved expanding the alliance's peacekeeping force into the region.

The top U.N. envoy in Afghanistan, Tom Koenigs, said a Taliban insurgency in five provinces of southern Afghanistan is being fueled by international terrorist networks, foreign money and a porous border which the Pakistani government does not control
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Canada 'right' to be in Afghanistan, says Bill Clinton
CanWest News Service   Published: Wednesday, July 26, 2006 
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=6206ceb5-d3f8-46fe-b8e9-bc1f5a4817a1&k=16355

Halifax — Canada is "absolutely" right to be fighting in Afghanistan, and the consequence of abandoning the war against the Taliban will turn out to be far more serious than the continued loss of Canadian lives if we stay, says Bill Clinton, the former United States President.

"I think your people have done an astounding job there," he said during a speech Wednesday night inside a hockey stadium in downtown Halifax.

Clinton acknowledged the war in Afghanistan is "becoming less popular" in Canada, partly because of the stream of dead and injured Canadian soldiers coming home from Kandahar. "But you can’t go there without casualties," he said.

If Canada and other NATO nations pull their armies out, he said, "the price we’ll pay in the long run — including the lives of our military personnel —would be greater. As awful as this is, it’s not nearly as awful as things would become if we left."

Clinton was brought to Halifax Wednesday by Frank McKenna, the former New Brunswick premier and former Canadian ambassador to Washington.
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Afghanistan: Security Council voices fear on violence as UN envoy talks of insurgency
UN News Service 26 July 2006
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=19316&Cr=afghan&Cr1=

26 July 2006 – Expressing concern over the worsening violence in Afghanistan, the Security Council today reaffirmed its support for the Government and the armed forces as they battle what the top United Nations envoy to the impoverished nation called an “insurgency” that seeks to restore life under the Taliban.

The Council also expressed its support for the work of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Operation Enduring Freedom troops in working alongside Afghan forces, according to a statement read to the press by Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sablière of France, its President for July.

“They recognise once again the inter-connected nature of the challenges in Afghanistan and reaffirm that sustainable progress on security, governance and development, as well as on the cross-cutting issue of counter-narcotics is mutually reinforcing, and welcome the continuing effort of the Afghan Government and international community to address these challenges,” the statement said.
More on link

Photo gallery:
On patrol in Afghanistan  
Text and photos by Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, Thursday, July 27, 2006
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=38921

FORWARD OPERATING BASE LARZAB, Afghanistan — Even if it’s dirty and hot and hard to get to, it’s still home for U.S. troops.

Troops in the 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry’s 3rd Platoon have been stationed at this remote base for more than a week, patrolling the rugged mountainsides and sweating under the hot Afghanistan sun.

They say they’ve grown rather fond of the region, despite the toll even a short walk up and down the hilly terrain takes on them.

The area has been problematic for coalition and Afghan forces. On July 16, a U.S. soldier was killed in a firefight a few miles from the base, and Taliban are still known to be operating in the nearby mountains.

But U.S. officials say they have made progress in the area, where Taliban militants once roamed freely.
Caption for Picture at bottom of page


> Canadian soldiers accompanying the U.S. troops pass through a poppy field less than a mile from Forward Operating Base Larzab. Officials say most of the locals claim the crops are grown for "personal use," but most grown in the area are done so on large fields, capable of producing a significant amount of narcotics.


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INTERVIEW-Afghanistan needs more troops, says envoy to U.S.
26 Jul 2006 23:43:36 GMT  Source: Reuters
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N26192319.htm

By Michelle Nichols

NEW YORK, July 26 (Reuters) - Afghanistan needs more mobile foreign troops as it suffers its bloodiest phase in nearly five years, with militants gearing up to test NATO-led forces, the country's ambassador to the United States said on Wednesday.

Said T. Jawad said Afghanistan had come a long way since it became the front line for the war on terrorism when U.S.-led forces ousted the ruling Taliban and began to root out Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda group, blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks.

"But we are not out of the woods," Jawad told Reuters ahead of a speech to New York's Afghan community on Thursday. "We are facing challenges. Afghan people are determined to win this war, but we are facing some serious bumps on the road."

"What we need is to have more mobile and agile international forces to respond very quickly to the daily attacks of terrorists," he said, adding that more investment was also needed in the reconstruction of the country.
More on link

Coalition Forces Kill Extremists in Afghanistan
American Forces Press Service  - WASHINGTON, July 27, 2006
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jul2006/20060727_5767.html

Coalition forces killed 10 insurgents in separate operations in Afghanistan July 25 and today, U.S. military officials in Afghanistan reported. 
Coalition forces killed three extremists today following a failed ambush on a civilian convoy in the Zhari district of Kandahar province. The extremists attacked from a compound as the convoy moved west on Highway 1 near the Zhari District Center at around 8:30 a.m. Intelligence sources confirmed the location of the enemy compound, and coalition forces killed three enemy fighters with artillery fire. 

"The coalition is working with our Afghan partners to drive Taliban extremists from southern Afghanistan and create a safe and secure environment to facilitate reconstruction and extend the reach of the central government," Army Col. Thomas Collins, a coalition spokesman, said. 

Elsewhere, a coalition patrol killed seven extremists July 25 after the enemy fighters attacked coalition forces in the Garmser district of Helmand province. There were no coalition casualties in the fight. The coalition unit received small-arms, rocket-propelled grenade, machine gun and sniper fire from a group of extremists. The coalition force returned fire, killing five insurgents. 
More on link

20 Taliban militants killed in S. Afghanistan  
July 27, 2006 People's Daily Online         
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/27/eng20060727_287068.html

Twenty Taliban insurgents were killed in the southern Helmand province of Afghanistan in the past two days, officials told Xinhua Wednesday. 

Ten Taliban militants were killed in Garmser district as they attacked a police convoy at 6:00 a.m. Wednesday, said Mohammad Rasoul, district police chief. 

Another three Taliban fighters were injured in the fire exchange, he added. 

Mohammad Nabi Mullahkhil, Helmand provincial police chief, said 10 Taliban insurgents were killed in Musa Qala district by Afghan and coalition troops on Tuesday. 

Another 15 insurgents were injured in the conflict, he said, adding there were no casualties of Afghan and coalition forces. 
More on link


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## GAP (28 Jul 2006)

*Articles found 28 July 2006*


Police arrest 13 suspected Taliban in southern Afghanistan, retrieve weapons
Friday, July 28, 2006 Winnipeg Free Press
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/story/3612314p-4175691c.html

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — Police arrested 13 suspected Taliban militants in Afghanistan’s volatile south on Friday as they were driving in two cars, police said. 
The militants were arrested in the Garmser district of the southern Helmand province, after police surrounded the vehicles they were travelling in, said Ghulam Rasool, Garmser’s chief of police. There was no clash between police and the militants, he said. 

The authorities also retrieved 13 AK-47 assault rifles, heavy machine guns and eight rocket-propelled grenade launchers from the cars, Rasool said. 

Southern Afghanistan, where NATO-led forces are to take over command of security at the end of this month, has seen the worst fighting since the U.S.-led invasion in late 2001 that toppled the Taliban regime for hosting Osama bin Laden.    
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Taliban-era ministry of morality revived
TIM ALBONE Globe and Mail  28 July 2006
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060728.wxafghans28/BNStory/International/home

KABUL — The cabinet of Afghan President Hamid Karzai has approved a request by religious clerics to reinstate the notorious vice-and-virtue department despite protests from human-rights groups and female politicians.

During the Taliban era, members of the vice-and-virtue department patrolled the streets, beating and arresting men if their beards were too short and women if they were out without a male relative. They were also responsible for banning many sports, the taking of photographs, the playing of music and the education of girls.

It is stressed by Afghan officials that the new department -- which has yet to be approved by parliament --will be different from the old Taliban-era ministry and will instead employ appointed religious police going into mosques to rally against activities such as drinking, drug abuse and prostitution.

However, critics are alarmed by the choice of name. The Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice was one of the cruellest departments in the Taliban regime, and news that a department with the same name has been approved by Hamid Karzai will shock Afghanistan's Western backers.
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Troops 'face increasing danger' in Afghanistan
By Josie Taylor for AM  Friday, July 28, 2006. 9:19am (AEST)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200607/s1699239.htm

An Australian security adviser working in Afghanistan says Australian troops heading for the troubled country will face a worsening security situation.

The Federal Government is expected to send a further 100 soldiers to join the 240 troops, who are already helping with reconstruction efforts.

Security adviser David - who for legal reasons cannot give his full name - says the Taliban and insurgents are now moving freely throughout southern provinces such as Uruzgan, where the Australian soldiers are expected to be sent.

He says the decision to send more troops is a positive thing for security in the region and the Australian soldiers already serving in Afghanistan.

"The environment changes regularly but the more presence on the ground, the greater foothold you have on the ground, the less likely you are to get involved in major incidents," he said.

At the end of July NATO takes command of foreign troops, including the Australian troops, in the southern provinces.
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4 policemen killed in S. Afghanistan  
UPDATED: 08:05, July 28, 2006 People's Daily Online
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/28/eng20060728_287364.html

Militants killed four policeman in Afghanistan's southern province Kandahar on Thursday, a local police officer said. 

Four policemen were killed as the militants attacked their vehicle in Jalai district at around 11:00 a.m. (0630 GMT), the official in Kandahar told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. 

He said another policeman was killed as militants targeted his vehicle in Loya Wala area in Kandahar city Wednesday night. 

Also on Wednesday, a UN helicopter crashed in the east Paktia province, killing all 16 persons aboard including two Dutch soldiers. 

Taliban militants have reportedly claimed responsibility for the accident, saying their fighters shot down the chopper. 

Taliban-linked militancy has been on a rise in this country over the past six months. More than 800 people, mostly Taliban militants, have been killed in the past two months. 

Source: Xinhua 
end

US to provide $20m for resolving food shortage  
Wednesday July 26, 2006 (0257 PST) Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?150432

KABUL: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will provide $20 million for the World Food Program (WFP) to resolve shortage of food in Afghanistan. 
A statement issued here stated 28,000 tons of food would be bought with the fund of USAID. The food stuff would include wheat, cooking oil and edible. 

Earlier, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that 2.5 Afghans were facing food shortage due to drought. 

FAO had asked International community to help in resolving the problem. People of 13 provinces of the country were facing food problem due to little rain and hot weather. Agriculture officials estimated they would get 4.4 million tons of wheat, but they only got 3.71 million tons of wheat. 

Following the decrease in the wheat harvest, ministry officials said 1.2 million tons of food should come into Afghanistan through private sector and foreign donations to 0maintain internal requirements. Japan has also recently provided 3 million to WFP to ensure and maintain food for the Afghan people. 
End.

Taliban turn up heat for NATO mission in Afghan south  
Wednesday July 26, 2006 (0257 PST)
http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?150431

KABUL: Three months ago, Britain`s then defense minister said NATO-led troops were determined to reconstruct and leave southern Afghanistan without firing a shot. 
Since then hundreds of people have been killed in attacks, hit-and-run raids and suicide bombings by Taliban guerrillas and their Islamic allies in what has been the most intense period of insurgency since the Taliban were removed from power in 2001. 

Lieutenant-General David Richards, the British NATO commander set to take over responsibility for the south on July 31, conceded last week that NATO probably didn`t know what it was getting into when it agreed to the mission two years ago. 

Any notion that the Taliban would be less motivated to fight NATO forces than U.S.-led forces was misplaced, analysts say
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Afghan president condemns slaying of world vision aid workers  
Wednesday July 26, 2006 (0257 PST) Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?150430

KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned as a "despicable act of terrorism" the slaying of two Afghan workers for aid agency World Vision who were shot by unknown gunmen in the west of the country. 
"The enemies of Afghanistan, at the instructions of foreigners, kill those who are providing health care to the poorest communities throughout the country," Karzai said in a statement. 

Authorities have yet to identify the gunmen who shot an Afghan doctor and a driver for the international Christian relief and development organization on Sunday after they delivered medicines to the town of Charsada in Ghor province -- a rare attack in a relatively stable region. 

"This despicable act of terrorism was aimed at depriving the people of Afghanistan of their right to health care," Karzai said. 

He did not identify the "foreigners" allegedly responsible. 
More on link

Back Afghan opium legalization, Tories urge Cameron  
Wednesday July 26, 2006 (0257 PST) Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?150429

London: Senior Conservative MPs are urging David Cameron to push for the licensing of legal opium farming in Afghanistan as he pays a surprise visit to the country, Guardian Unlimited has learned. 
Opposition whip Tobias Ellwood said that the lives of British troops in the south of the country were being endangered because of the coalition`s insistence on eradicating opium crops, which are often the sole means of livelihood for impoverished families in the region. 

Six British soldiers have died in Helmand province over the past six weeks, most in the former opium market town of Sangin where they are fighting a fierce insurgency of Taliban warlords who have gained the support of local farmers. 

"The poppy crops are the elephant in the room of the Afghan problem. We`re in complete denial of the power that the crops have on the nation as a whole, and the tactics of eradication are simply not working," Mr Ellwood told Guardian Unlimited. 
More on link

Germany promises more aid to Afghanistan  
Wednesday July 26, 2006 (0257 PST) Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?150428

Berlin: Germany would keep its promise to provide Afghanistan with 80 million euros (about 100 million dollars) this year to help the war-torn country, a German minister said. 
German Economic Cooperation and Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul made the remarks after meeting visiting Afghan Finance Minister Anwar ul-Hag Ahadi in Berlin. 

Germany, the fourth largest donor after the U.S., Japan and Britain, would stand by Afghanistan, Wieczorek-Zeul said, adding that a key part of the aid will be used in improving energy supplies of Afghanistan. 

Earlier this year, at the London conference on Afghanistan, Germany pledged 80 million euros in aid each year until 2010. 

Germany has about 2,700 troops in Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Recently ISAF troops had been attacked by suicide bombers
More on link

Pace: Taliban Can't Take Back Afghanistan
By FISNIK ABRASHI  The Associated Press   Friday, July 28, 2006; 6:53 AM The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/28/AR2006072800250.html

KABUL, Afghanistan -- The resurgent Taliban militia poses a tactical problem for the U.S.-led coalition but it cannot not take over Afghanistan again, a top U.S. general said.

Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, was visiting Afghanistan ahead of NATO's takeover of security operations in southern provinces, where Taliban insurgents have stepped up attacks against U.S.-led coalition forces.
More on link

Balkh gets first unit of trained counter-narcotics police  
Wednesday July 26, 2006 (0257 PST) Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?150427

MAZAR-I-SHARIF: The first unit of the newly trained counter-narcotics police started operation in the northern Balkh province. The policemen have undergone two months of professional training under British trainers. 
Sayed Hasan Ali Karimi, chief of the counter-narcotics police, informed about the importance of the training. 

Karimi said the 20-member unit would be deployed at the entrance and exit points in the province. "We have got modern equipments and will keep vigil on suspected vehicles and individuals." 

After the central capital Kabul, Balkh is the first among provinces to get the unit of the newly-trained counter-narcotics police force, which also had one female member. 

Shah Sultan, the female constable in the unit, said they had been trained how to carry out search and check passengers. "With the help of tools we have got and the training obtained, the police can easily detect drug in vehicles," she said. 

An officer of counter-narcotics police Major Faiz Muhammad hoped the new unit would help curb drug smuggling. He said: "We have the personnel but lack of proper equipments stopped us from curbing smuggling." 
More on Link

First satellite earth station launched  
Wednesday July 26, 2006 (0257 PST) Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?150425

KABUL: The Ministry of Communications launched the first satellite earth station in the Mehtab Qala area of this central capital. 
The newly-established station has 7.3-metre satellite dish to enable television stations to air their broadcasts in a better way. 

The station was inaugurated by Minister for Communications Amirzai Sangin in the Mehtab Qala area of this central capital. 

The project has been funded by the World Bank (WB) by providing $3.6 million under the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF). 

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said the newly-launched facility will improve transfer of television, internet and fax signals. He said communication companies and television channels could use the facility after entering an agreement with the ministry. 

The ministry will use the earth satellite for expanding its communication services to districts across the country. Four private telecommunication companies are presently operational in Afghanistan. 
More on Link.

New radar system for troops in Afghanistan  
Thursday July 20, 2006 (0212 PST) Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?150365

LONDON: RADAR technology developed for the RAF will be rushed into service three years early to combat terrorists operating across the borders in Iraq and Afghanistan, defence sources revealed. 
The Astor surveillance system will be used to scan hundreds of miles of desert and mountains to pinpoint insurgents smuggling guns, bombs, drugs and fighters. 

As the Taliban campaign grows in intensity in Helmand province, Afghanistan, where almost 4,000 British troops are based, the new system’s ability to pick out lorries and cars from hundreds of miles away will stop reinforcements. 

Astor (Airborne Stand Off Radar) will also be pressed into operation to spy on Iraq’s border with Iran, where it is believed insurgents assemble car bombs before driving them to Basra and Baghdad. 

"What other system could provide you with such border policing?’’ a senior military source said yesterday. "It is one of the things that they are crying out for in theatre. 
More on Link.

Taleban seizes control of two districts as 40 villagers kidnapped near border 
Wednesday July 19, 2006 (0302 PST) Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?150272

KHOST: Taleban forces have taken control of two southern Afghan districts from local forces. 
Scores of Taleban fighters entered the southern Helmand town of Garmser, bordering Pakistan, and surrounded a police compound, forcing a small security force contingent to escape as the insurgents took control. 

An Afghan government official said Taleban forces were now "moving freely" around the district. 

A large number of Taleban militants entered the town of Naway-i-Barakzayi, north of Garmser, and fought a brief battle with police before they also fled the area. 

Captain Drew Gibson, a British military spokesman, confirmed enemy activity in both areas but declined to elaborate. 

More than 3,000 British soldiers are deploying in Helmand to take over security control from United States forces. 

In a separate incident in Khost province, unidentified gunmen kidnapped 40 men from a village near the border with Pakistan overnight after a brief clash in which two women were wounded
More on Link

PRT rejects any links with executed ’prostitute’  
Tuesday July 18, 2006 (0218 PST) Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?150153

GHAZNI CITY: The US-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) based in Ghazni city, capital of the southern Ghazni province rejected any link with Afghan girl executed by Taliban fighters for alleged illicit relations with PRT and local officials. 
Body of Zahra Madadi, 23, was found in Noghi village, 15 kilometres south of Ghazni city. The deceased was doing part-time job with the Refugees and Returnees Affairs Department in the morning and was studying in class 11th in the evening. Earlier, Taliban claimed responsibility for killing the girl saying she was involved in immoral acts with American forces in the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) and local officials. 

Flanked by the provincial police chief Tafsir Khan Khogyani, PRT commander in Ghazni Palaten Housen told a joint news conference that they did not know Zahra and had no links with her. 

He said they were in Afghanistan for recuperating security and reconstruction, not for other things. Khogyani said they had arrested one person allegedly involved in the incident and had started investigation of him. 

Earlier, he also confirmed that Zahra might have been killed for prostitution charges. She was the sister of provincial council member Arifa Madadi. 
More on Link

Taliban could exploit hunger as drought brings more misery  
Tuesday July 18, 2006 (0218 PST) Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?150152

KABUL: Millions of Afghans are facing hunger after drought destroyed much of the wheat crop, and a resurgent Taliban are likely to take advantage of the misery to bolster their insurgency, Afghan and foreign officials said. 
The spring rains failed in many parts of the country this year just as the government and international military forces are struggling with the bloodiest phase of Taliban violence since 2001. 

Afghanistan’s harvest of rain-fed wheat is about half what it was last year and up to 2.4 million more Afghans are facing hunger as a result, agriculture and aid officials said. 

Afghanistan had been expecting a cereals deficit of 500,000 tonnes this year but the shortfall has more than doubled. "There is a deficit of 1.2 million tonnes this year regarding the cereal crop," an Agriculture Ministry official said. 

"The weather has hit 50 to 70 percent of the rain-fed crop," said the official, who declined to be identified. 
More on Link

Editorial:It's Time to Get Real About Opium in Afghanistan  
7/28/06 David Borden, Executive Director, 7/28/06 
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/446/get_real_about_afghan_opium.shtml
  
I wouldn't say that many countries are truly rational about drug policy yet, but some of them have more people, in more prominent positions, who have gotten there. When they do, it tends to transcend traditional political boundaries -- for example, Conservative party leader David Cameron in Great Britain, who suggested legalization during the run-up to his selection for the post, and others in his party who asked him this week to support a licensing scheme for Afghan opium as opposed to the current regime of total prohibition and sporadic and ineffective eradication efforts. 

What some of the Tories are saying is that it's unrealistic to think we can be effective against an industry that makes up 50% of the struggling nation's economy, that when eradication efforts happen, they drive farmers into the Taliban's corner and seem correlated with outbreaks of violence, that instituting a legal opium crop (which could be used and is actually somewhat needed for the legal medical market) would reduce the illicit market and deal a blow to evil-doers by bringing the money above-board and reducing their access to it. 
More on Link

Three from Georgia killed in Afghanistan crash
The Associated Press - ATLANTA   Friday, July 28, 2006 
http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=78247

The wife of a civilian contractor in Afghanistan and their two daughters were among those killed in a helicopter crash that claimed 16 lives, family members said Thursday.

Darlene Moulder, 55, and daughters Bryn, 21, and Caroline, 17, of Atlanta were on their way to meet with Stuart Moulder and then go on a family vacation, his sister, Carol Dallas, told WAGA-TV.

She said Stuart Moulder had called her earlier Thursday after the Russian-made Mi-8 helicopter _ owned by the Afghan government and operated by a private company _ crashed about 25 miles northeast of Khost city Wednesday en route from the capital, Kabul.
More on Link

Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan set up trilateral panel  
Friday, July 28, 2006 

Tehran, July 28: Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan will soon establish a cultural co-operation commission, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has announced. 

On his return from a visit to Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, where he had gone to attend the Dushanbe Summit, Ahmadinejad said, "the heads of the commission will be cabinet ministers from the three countries and it will be convened twice annually at ministerial and once at summit level." 

Six co-operation documents in the fields of economics and culture were signed during the trilateral summit. 

The first meeting of the commission will be convened within the next two months in Kabul. 

Describing the meeting of the presidents of three countries in Dushanbe as "an important part of his trip", Ahmadinejad said the three countries have plenty of cultural commonalties. 
More on Link

Bodies Found at Copter Crash Site in Afghanistan
From the Associated Press  July 28, 2006 L A Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghan28jul28,1,6077874.story?coll=la-headlines-world&ctrack=1&cset=true

KABUL, Afghanistan — U.S. and Afghan troops hiked across rugged terrain Thursday to reach the wreckage of a civilian helicopter that crashed in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, killing up to 16 people, including at least two Americans. 

A purported Taliban spokesman claimed that the rebels had shot down the chopper, but a military official said bad weather probably caused the crash. 
More on Link

New Round of Troops Prepare to Oust Taliban from Afghanistan
http://www.thinkandask.com/2006/072806-troops.html

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will take over military operations from the United States in southern Afghanistan just as August 2006 arrives. Twenty-six member states approved sending nearly 8,000 additional troops to southern Afghanistan in what would become the largest combat operation in 57-years for NATO. The number of ground troops will swell to more than 18,000 to date. Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said NATO troops will not fail. 

James Appathurai, a spokesman for NATO, said the increase in troops shows NATO's commitment to Afghanistan. "They can defend themselves aggressively and if necessary preemptively. But their mission is not simply to go out and hunt the terrorist leadership." Appathurai said terrorist cleanup was the role of the United States and its allies positioned in Afghanistan since early October 2001. 

The Taliban, once thought eliminated by the United States under Operation Enduring Freedom in November 2001, has once again taken hold in southern Afghanistan with increased violence resulting in a death toll of 1,700 civilians from January through July 2006 alone. Military casualties to date stand at 417, with the number of military deaths so far on track in 2006 to become the operation's deadliest year. 

Military personnel presently in Afghanistan from Great Britain, Canada, and the Netherlands would fall under NATO command 31 July 2006. 
More on Link



More on Link


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## MarkOttawa (28 Jul 2006)

Royal Canadian Regiment replacing the Patricias
Ethan Baron, The Ottawa Citizen; with files from The Associated Press
Published: Friday, July 28, 2006
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=e998c6f4-f25c-4a87-b450-79b0b24b61d3

Marathon solider takes command
Tb News Source [Thunder Bay]
Web Posted: 7/27/2006 2:00:55 PM
http://www.tbsource.com/localnews/index.asp?cid=84992

Mark 
Ottawa


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## Scoobie Newbie (28 Jul 2006)

Mark could you post the Ottawa Citizen report.


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## MarkOttawa (28 Jul 2006)

Quagmire: here it is, reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act:
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=e998c6f4-f25c-4a87-b450-79b0b24b61d3

'KABUL - Relief for the 2,300 war-weary Canadians who have battled the Taliban in Afghanistan for the past six months begins today as another deployment of troops gets under way in earnest.

About 50 replacement soldiers have already arrived, but the main rotation begins today and will take about a month to complete, said Canadian military spokesman Maj. Marc Theriault.

"It's spread over a month so we can maintain our capacity," Maj. Theriault said.

As soldiers arrive at the main base at the Kandahar Airfield, they will be paired up with soldiers whose jobs they will be taking over, to learn by their sides.

"It's amazing the experience that these people have developed in the last six months, and that's what we don't want to lose," Maj. Theriault said.

For Gunner Maricel Mercado, who works on the crew firing Canada's large 155-millimetre artillery, the six months has been a process of assimilation into the predominantly male culture of fighting troops.

"The first week of the tour, I had my own tent," said Gunner Mercado from Shilo, Man. "I had privacy. In the end, everyone's just sharing one tent. It's like they're my brothers."

Soldiers from the Royal Canadian Regiment will make up the bulk of the troops replacing the soldiers serving now, who come mostly from the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

Eleven Canadian soldiers, including two whose bodies returned home yesterday, and a Canadian diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan this year.

Overall command of the Canadian forces in southern Afghanistan will also change, moving from the U.S.-led Coalition Forces Command to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force on Monday.

Meanwhile, American and Afghan troops hiked through rugged terrain yesterday to reach the wreckage of a civilian helicopter that crashed in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, killing up to 16 people, including at least two Americans.

A purported Taliban spokesman claimed the rebels shot down the chopper, but a military official said it probably crashed by accident in bad weather.

The Russian-made Mi-8 helicopter crashed about 40 kilometres northeast of Khost city Wednesday.'

Mark
Ottawa


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## Scoobie Newbie (28 Jul 2006)

Thanks.


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## GAP (30 Jul 2006)

*Articles found 29th & 30th July, 2006*

Canadians toughen border security in Afghanistan
Updated Sun. Jul. 30 2006 10:34 PM ET   CTV.ca News Staff
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060718/afghanistan_border_060730/20060730?hub=TopStories

Canadians have begun what may be one of their riskiest missions yet in Afghanistan: opening a new front on the border with Pakistan, in order to stem the tide of insurgents and suicide bombers feeding the ranks of the Taliban. 

The lawless region right across the border is also where the Taliban leadership, including al Qaeda's Osama Bin Laden, is believed to be hiding. 

Coalition troops have been engaged in active combat in southern Afghanistan in recent months because of an escalation of attacks by Taliban fighters and their supporters. Violence in the region has reached its worst level since 2001. 

Coalition forces say they have killed 620 insurgents in the latest offensive against the Taliban. Nineteen coalition troops have died, including three Canadians. 
More on link




Canadians attacked west of Kandahar; no injuries
Updated Sun. Jul. 30 2006 12:36 PM ET  Canadian Press
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060729/afghanistan_mission_060730/20060730?hub=TopStories

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Canadian soldiers came under attack today west of Kandahar. 


The attack took place close to where Canada's combat troops have encountered heavy fighting with Taliban forces over the past few weeks. 


Insurgents launched a mortar round at the Canadians in an area known as Forward Operating Base Wilson. 

No one was injured in the attack. 

The base is where many of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry's B Company have been stationed. 

In the past few days, they have faced numerous rocket and other attacks near southern Afghanistan's infamous Highway One, in an area known as ambush alley.

No return to strict peacekeeping with NATO command in Afghanistan
Canadian Press  Globe & Mail 30 July 2006
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060730.wnato0730/BNStory/International/home

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — The way Canadian soldiers operate in southern Afghanistan under NATO won't differ from how they're working under Operation Enduring Freedom, Canadian military officials said.

NATO will take over command of security operations in areas surrounding Kandahar this week from the U.S.-led coalition.

In the past, Canadians operating under the NATO umbrella in Afghanistan, as part of the International Security Assistance Force — or ISAF — carried out missions that could best be described as peacekeeping.

Under Operation Enduring Freedom, however, they have been heavily involved in dangerous combat missions.
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BATTLE OF PANJAWAI AND BEYOND
30 July 2006 Small Dead Animals
http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/archives/004342.html#c92062
About 1/3 down page

All: This has been passed around my husband's reg't via e-mail--- the writer wanted it passed around------------A good read---------------

BATTLE OF PANJAWAI AND BEYOND

Hey everybody! First off I apologize for the length of this email, as it contains two weeks worth of Afghanistan fun. I am doing well and brutally honest I have enjoyed this last couple of weeks. Seven years of training culminating in 14 action packed days. At first I wasn’t going to write a lot of detail about what happened, because some people might find it upsetting. However, when I got back to Kandahar Air Field (KAF) and read the deplorable media coverage that the largest operation Canadians have been involved in since Korea, I really felt I had to write it all down, to give you all (and hopefully everyone you talk to back in Canada) an appreciation for what we are really doing here in this “state of armed conflict” (lawyers say we can’t use the word “war”, I don’t know what the difference is except for it being far more politically correct.)

We received word while down at our Forward Operating Base (FOB) that we were going to be part of a full out three day (HA HA) Battle Group operation. This was going to be the largest operation Canada had undertaken since the Korean War. When we arrived back in KAF for orders we found out that we were rolling for Pashmul in the Panjawai District of Kandahar province. That was hard for my crew to hear, as that was the same town where Nichola had died and where Bombadier Chris Gauthier (a signaler in the party before I arrived) had been injured in an ambush. Participating in this attack were A, B and C Company (Coy.) Groups, both troops of artillery from A Battery, an Engineer squadron, two Companies of Afghan National Army (plus all of their attached American Embedded Training Teams – ETT), as well as a huge lineup of American and British Fixed and Rotary wing aircraft. Additionally, we had elements of the 2/87 US Infantry and 3 Para from the UK conducting blocks to prevent the enemy from escaping. From an Artillery perspective beyond the two gun troops (each equipped with 2 x155mm Howitzers and 4 x 81mm mortars) we had three Forward Observation Officers (FOO) and their parties as well as the Battery Commander and his party going in on the attack.
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Soldiers off to Afghanistan
Sun, July 30, 2006  Ottawa Sun
http://ottsun.canoe.ca/News/National/2006/07/30/1710141-sun.html

Contingent will provide medical care, supplies

CFB TRENTON -- Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor shook the hands of 113 soldiers yesterday as they departed on a half-year tour of duty in Afghanistan. 

Within about a month, about 2,000 soldiers will have left for Kandahar on rotation deployments as part of Task Force Afghanistan. 

Yesterday's contingent, largely drawn from the 1st Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment battle group based in CFB Petawawa, will serve there for six months and be engaged in providing medical care and various supplies. 

Capt. Dan Madryga of Kingston said supplies include "anything from food to bullets. Anything they need to survive while they're over there." 

Sgt. Darryl Eckhardt wasn't nervous about the mission and didn't expect life in Afghanistan to be much different than Canada. 
More on Link

Southern Afghanistan will be crowded for a few weeks  
2-4 gets word it will move out as soon as NATO moves in 
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes Mideast edition, Sunday, July 30, 2006 
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=39000


FORWARD OPERATING BASE LAGMAN, Afghanistan — After weeks of uncertainty, the 1,000-plus troops from 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment in southern Afghanistan finally know what their future holds.

At least for the next few months. After that, it’s still a lot of question marks.

Battalion commanders received word last week that troops will move out of the southern part of the country in the next few weeks, as NATO forces take over security and nation-building operations in the region.

The 2-4 will shift its operations to the east to assist the 3rd Brigade, according to Lt. Col. Frank Sturek, commander of Task Force Warrior. That assignment will last until at least Thanksgiving.
More on link

Web extra: 30 Taliban killed in Afghanistan as NATO readies for command in south
By Matthew Pennington  Sunday, July 30, 2006 
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscriber/world/story/3613971p-4178007c.html 

KABUL (AP) — U.S.-led coalition forces and Afghan police killed 20 suspected Taliban in the latest fighting to hit southern Afghanistan, as NATO prepared Sunday to take command in the insurgency-wracked region. 
Afghan forces also killed six Taliban in southeastern Paktika province, Afghan officials said. 

On Monday, the U.S. anti-terror coalition is to formally hand over control of security operations to a NATO-led force that has deployed about 8,000 mostly British, Canadian and Dutch troops into the south. 

The deployment has coincided with the deadliest upsurge in fighting since U.S.-backed forces ousted the Taliban regime in late 2001 for hosting Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in America. 

On a visit to Afghanistan on Sunday, French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said many Taliban fighters were crossing from Pakistan to stage attacks. 

“We need real co-operation from Pakistan, but it seems very difficult for them. The border is a very difficult region and we ask Pakistan to make some more effort to control it,” she told reporters in Kabul.    
Afghan soldiers and police killed six Taliban fighters and captured eight Sunday during a clash in southeastern Paktika province’s Waza Khwa district, said Said Jamal, spokesman for the provincial governor. No further details were available. 

On Saturday, a joint force of coalition and Afghan troops killed 20 suspected Taliban militants who had attempted an ambush in Shahidi Hassas district of Uruzgan province, a coalition statement said. There were no casualties among coalition or Afghan forces, it said. 

In Kandahar province, three militants blew themselves up Saturday as they laid an explosive on a road in the Arghistan district, said Daoud Ahmadi, a spokesman for the provincial governor. 
Then early Sunday, another suspected Taliban died when a landmine he was planting on a highway in Shah Wali Kot district north of Kandahar city exploded, Ahmadi said. 

Taliban-led fighters have escalated roadside bombings and suicide attacks this year, and have also mounted brazen attacks on several small towns and district police stations — a tactic rarely seen in the previous four years. 

International forces, backed by the Afghan army, have meted out a tough response. 

Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman Gen. Zahir Azimi said a 50-day operation dubbed Mountain Thrust has resulted in the deaths of at least 613 suspected militants. Some 87 others were wounded and about 300 arrested, while between 13 and 16 civilians had also died, he said. 

British Lt. Gen. David Richards, commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, said Saturday that Operation Mountain Thrust would wind down as NATO takes over in the south, but its force will “keep up the tempo” of operations against insurgents. NATO brings a new strategy to dealing with the Taliban rebellion: establishing bases rather than chasing militants, and is hoping to win the support of local people by creating secure zones where development can take place. 

But questions remain whether they can quell the violence enough to allow aid workers to get to work in a lawless and impoverished region, where about a quarter of Afghanistan’s huge opium crop is grown, and the narcotics trade fuels the insurgency. 

Azimi dismissed concern that there would not be enough troops on the ground. He said the Afghan army would maintain three brigades of about 3,000 troops each in the southern provinces of Kandahar, Helmand and Zabul, supporting the NATO forces. 


More on link






NATO faces test in Afghanistan
By Matthew Pennington - Posted on Sun, Jul. 30, 2006 - Associated Press
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/15157740.htm

KABUL, Afghanistan - Southern Afghanistan, homeland of the Taliban and hub of the global heroin trade, is spinning out of control.

Islamic militants are launching suicide attacks, corrupt authorities are undermining the central government, and a disgruntled population is hooked on growing opium.

On Monday, fixing Afghanistan's biggest problem area falls to NATO, the Western military alliance. It promises to be the toughest combat mission in NATO's 57-year history, and a stern test for a powerful force with surprisingly little experience in fighting.

``A lot of different forces are coalescing to drive the coalition out,'' said Joanna Nathan, an analyst with the International Crisis Group. ``It's not just Taliban. It's a complex alliance of people who don't want to see the rule of law in Afghanistan.''

The future of Afghanistan as a Western-style democracy could ride on the success or failure of the 8,000 mostly British, Dutch and Canadian forces that have moved into the southern region. Five years after U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban regime that hosted Al-Qaida, the country is in danger of again becoming an international terrorist haven.

And with the Arab-Israeli conflict raging and Iraq mired in daily violence, failure in Afghanistan would leave the West in disarray on three of its main battlegrounds in the war on terror.
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NATO Council green-lights Afghanistan expansion  
Sunday July 30, 2006 (0212 PST) Pak Tribune
http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?151057

KABUL: The North Atlantic Council gave final authorization for the NATO-led mission to expand its area of operations to six additional provinces in the south of Afghanistan, boosting NATO’s presence and role in the country. 
The decision follows consultations with non-NATO countries that are contributing troops to the mission. 

NATO will now assist the Government of Afghanistan in providing security across approximately 75% of Afghanistan’s territory. 

"This is NATO delivering on its commitment to Afghanistan," said NATO Spokesman James Appathurai. 

The decision will be implemented following the issuance of an Activation Order for the Transfer of Authority by General James L. Jones, NATO’s top operational commander. This is expected for Monday, 31 July. 

On that day, NATO will take command of four additional Provincial Reconstruction Teams -in Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan and Zabul provinces - bringing the total number of NATO-led Provincial Reconstruction Teams to 13. 
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Coalition Forces Kill Dozens of Militants in Afghanistan  
Sunday, July 30, 2006 Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,206268,00.html

KABUL, Afghanistan  — U.S.-led coalition forces and Afghan police killed 20 suspected Taliban in the latest fighting to hit southern Afghanistan, as NATO on Sunday prepared to take command in the insurgency-wracked region. 

Afghan forces also killed six militants in southeastern Paktika province, an Afghan official said.

On Monday, the U.S. anti-terror coalition is to formally hand over control of security operations to a NATO-led force that has deployed about 8,000 mostly British, Canadian and Dutch troops in the south.
More on  Link



50-day operation kills 613 militants in Afghanistan    
www.chinaview.cn 2006-07-30 16:21:54  
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-07/30/content_4895511.htm

    KABUL, July 30 (Xinhua) -- More than 600 Taliban-linked militants have been killed and 300 others made captive since a huge anti-Taliban operation was launched in post-Taliban Afghanistan 50 days ago, the Defense Ministry spokesman Zahir Azimi said Sunday. 

    "It has a merit to mention that 613 enemies of Afghans have been killed, 87 others injured and 300 more arrested since the launching of Operation Mountain Thrust 50 days ago," Azimi told a press conference here. 

    Involving some 11,000 Afghan and the U.S-led coalition forces and covering the volatile southern provinces, the operation will be eventually closed down with the change of command from the U.S. military to NATO on July 31. 

    The British commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) David Richard will formally assume the command of the fighting forces in south Afghanistan on Monday to continue hunting down insurgents, the spokesman said. 

    But he declined to disclose the casualties of Afghan and the coalition forces during the course. 
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Four Suspected Al-Qaida Men Held In Afghanistan
July 29, 2006 9:00 a.m. ESTSom Patidar - All Headline News Staff Writer
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7004370054

Kabul, Afghanistan (AHN) - Coalition forces captured four suspected al-Qaida operatives in a raid on their hideout in eastern region of Afghanistan, Saturday.

The US military said in a statement that there were no causalities on either side during the operation conducted in Kalay village in eastern province of Afghanistan.

The statement further said the purpose of the operation was to capture al-Qaida operatives who have been involved in the planning of attacks against Afghan and coalition forces in eastern Afghanistan.

Coalition forces also seized two AK-47 assault rifles and a briefcase with extremist-related documents from the hideout of the insurgents
End


Pakistan approves rail links to China, Afghanistan
By Indo Asian News Service - Islamabad, July 30 (IANS) 
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/46905.php/Pakistan_approves_rail_links_to_China_Afghanistan

President Pervez Musharraf has approved a railway link to cover an 80-km route from Havelian to Kashgar in China and another to link Chaman with Spin Boldak in Afghanistan. 
More on Link

VP calls for investment of Iranian firms in Afghanistan
 Herat, July 30, IRNA  Afghanistan-Iran-Saeedlou 
http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-237/0607308759105814.htm

Vice-President for Executive Affairs Ali Saeedlou said here Saturday that Afghanistan's development and stability was important for Iran and called for more investment by Iranian firms in the neighboring country. 

Saeedlou, who arrived in the western Afghan city of Herat Saturday heading a delegation, made the call during the inaugural ceremony of two development projects in Afghanistan. 

Pointing to participation of Iranian firms in development projects in Afghanistan, he said Iranian companies can invest in various sectors such as housing, road construction, telecommunication as well as production and transfer of electricity. 

Saeedlou called on Afghan experts living abroad to return to Afghanistan to help reconstruct their home country. 

He said Afghan refugees, during their stay in Iran, have received necessary training in scientific, technical and working fields. 

"Currently, our Muslim neighbor needs the experiences of this workforce and grounds are prepared here to make use of these experts in different areas," he added. 
More on Link


Afghanistan: US forces arrest al-Qaida activists
By ASSOCIATED PRESS Jul. 30, 2006 5:44 KABUL, Afghanistan Jerusalem Post
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1153292029603&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull           

US-led coalition forces arrested four suspected al-Qaida operatives in eastern Afghanistan and coalition forces and Afghan police killed or wounded 38 Taliban operatives on Saturday, officials said. 

The latest violence came as a senior NATO official said a major operation to crush Taliban fighters in the south was moving to a close. 

US-led coalition and Afghan forces attacked a compound in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing 20 suspected Taliban operatives, a coalition statement said. 

The joint force killed the suspected operatives after they attempted an ambush in the Shahidi Hassas district of southern Uruzgan province, the statement said. 

There were no casualities among coalition or Afghan forces, it said.
End

Success of Afghanistan campaign a miserable contrast to failure in Iraq  
By Fraser Nelson  30 July 2006 
http://www.thebusinessonline.com/Stories.aspx?Success%20of%20Afghanistan%20campaign%20a%20miserable%20contrast%20to%20failure%20in%20Iraq&StoryID=71DBA139-9F27-43F2-81F2-421DD8B0A767&SectionID=CE32B1D2-7454-418B-A470-41A635475378

RUSH hour in Kabul is best avoided. The booming Afghan economy has packed the road with cars, but made the streets safe enough to walk in and created an environment where émigrés return home to set up business. It is a model of what Iraq should have been like, and the difference can be explained simply: in Afghanistan, we are learning from the occupation, but in Iraq we are not.

Since the Taleban was deposed in 2001, the Afghan economy has doubled in size, along with the average salary, and primary school enrolment is up fivefold. What little polling is possible shows 98% of Afghans say the country is moving in the right direction (compared with 35% of Iraqis, most of whom live in the Shi’ite south). The remaining battle in Afghanistan is to introduce order to its lawless regions.

Iraq, meanwhile, is now in Yugoslav-style ethnic conflict. A Shi’ite morgue recently took delivery of 70 headless bodies, and Sunni clerics are being killed. More civilians have died in Iraq than Lebanon in the past three weeks, but slaughter has become commonplace so warrants few headlines. Oil production, the economic lifeline, is still not up to its paltry level under UN sanctions. The mission has never seemed more daunting, and peace never so distant
More on Link


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## GAP (31 Jul 2006)

*Articles found 31 July 2006*

Insurgents fire grenades at Canadian troops
Updated Mon. Jul. 31 2006 6:43 AM ET  Canadian Press
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060718/canada_fighting_afghan_060731/20060731?hub=World

PASHMUL, Afghanistan -- Canada's soldiers in southern Afghanistan continued to face Taliban fighters Monday as coalition forces were handed over to NATO control. 

Along an area of Highway One west of Kandahar known as "ambush alley," insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades and used small arms outside a mosque just metres away from a small Canadian base. 

It was unclear what the attackers were aiming at, but soldiers from the Shilo, Manitoba-based B Company of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry responded quickly, spraying the insurgents with machine gun fire. 

There were no injuries on the Canadian side and a patrol sent out to take on the attackers directly was unable to find any injured Taliban. 

Attacks in the area, about 30 kilometres west of Kandahar, have been occurring more frequently in recent weeks, says company commander Maj. Nick Grimshaw. 

"It's become daily now," Grimshaw said. 

"There is an incident every day, whether it's responding to an IED (improvised explosive device) on the highway, or a mortar round coming in, or an actual ambush, it is now to the point where it is on a regular basis - something every day." 
More on link



A model project to help soldiers
Kits being sent to troops serving in Afghanistan
By PAUL EVEREST HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA | Monday July 31, 2006
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Metro/518974.html

When it all began, Gary Porter’s goal was to collect between 300 and 500 model kits for Canadian soldiers and their allies serving overseas. With under a month remaining before the kits get shipped out, he’s confident he’s reached that goal, and then some.

"We’re probably over 500 but I don’t have an official number," the 43-year-old teacher said from his home in Lower Sackville. He says there are mountains of model kits, plus four big unopened boxes containing more, stored throughout his house. 

All of them will be heading to places such as Afghanistan through Mr. Porter’s brain-child project, Kits for Kandahar, which kicked off in May through the efforts of the Halifax Military Modelling Group. Mr. Porter is a member of that group. 

People and businesses from across the globe have gotten in on the campaign, Mr. Porter said, with donors coming from all walks of life.

"We’ve got everyone from little kids who did extra chores who dropped off a kit to a man whose son just came back from a seven-month stint in Iraq, and he sent us at least a thousand dollars worth of kits."

And there’s more to come.
More on Link

Canadians toughen border security in Afghanistan
Updated Sun. Jul. 30 2006 11:32 PM ET  CTV.ca News Staff
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060718/afghanistan_border_060730/20060730?hub=TopStories

Canadians have begun what may be one of their riskiest missions yet in Afghanistan: opening a new front on the border with Pakistan, in order to stem the tide of insurgents and suicide bombers feeding the ranks of the Taliban. 


The lawless region right across the border is also where the Taliban leadership, including al Qaeda's Osama Bin Laden, is believed to be hiding. 


Coalition troops have been engaged in active combat in southern Afghanistan in recent months because of an escalation of attacks by Taliban fighters and their supporters. Violence in the region has reached its worst level since 2001. 


Coalition forces say they have killed 620 insurgents in the latest offensive against the Taliban. Nineteen coalition troops have died, including three Canadians. 

Overall, 19 Canadian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since 2002. 

To stem this deadly tide of attackers, Canadian commanders have sent troops to patrol the volatile border regions. 
More on link

Eight killed in blast at mosque in eastern Afghanistan
July 31, 2006 7:18 AM  Fox News
http://www.fox23news.com/news/world/story.aspx?content_id=F15CE6A6-E267-49B3-8851-215223D63549


KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Eight deaths are reported after a bomb planted in a car exploded today outside a mosque in eastern Afghanistan. 

The blast occurred during a memorial service for a mujahedeen (moo-jah-hih-DEEN') commander, and also wounded 16 people. 

The provincial police chief says the bomb was planted in a car used by police to drive to the mosque to attend the service. Five policemen inside the vehicle were killed. 

A hospital official says eight bodies were brought in, including those of three children and some bodyguards of the provincial governor. It's not yet clear whether the bodyguards were the same as the five dead policemen. 
More on link

Mideast, Afghanistan underlie Tory slip in polls
Norma Greenaway, CanWest News Service  Published: Monday, July 31, 2006 
http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/story.html?id=0a9e15bb-ec4e-4418-bbf8-0f268537d9ef

OTTAWA -- Support for Stephen Harper's Conservative government has dipped -- especially in the critical battlegrounds of Quebec, B.C. and Atlantic Canada -- likely pushed by discomfort with the prime minister's policies in Afghanistan and the Middle East, a new poll suggests.

The Ipsos Reid survey, conducted for CanWest newspapers and Global National, says national support for the Conservatives has dropped to 39 per cent, a decline of four points since May.

Pollster John Wright says the new data, including an approval rating of 60 per cent for Harper, suggests the party is still in good shape. The Conservatives, which won 36 per cent of the vote in the federal election in January, would, however, likely still be stuck in minority-government territory if an election were held now, he said.

The national tally puts the Conservatives well ahead of the Liberals at 27 per cent, and the NDP at 17 per cent.
More on link

Afghanistan Geography
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107264.html

Afghanistan, approximately the size of Texas, is bordered on the north by Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, on the extreme northeast by China, on the east and south by Pakistan, and by Iran on the west. The country is split east to west by the Hindu Kush mountain range, rising in the east to heights of 24,000 ft (7,315 m). With the exception of the southwest, most of the country is covered by high snow-capped mountains and is traversed by deep valleys.
More on link

Nato takes on Afghanistan mission
Monday 31 July 2006, 10:36 Makka Time, 7:36 GMT   Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/BA0BB581-7DA9-4EF1-BBF5-0F49C50A9FD0.htm

Nato has taken over command of security operations in southern Afghanistan in what is considered to be the most dangerous mission in its 57-year history.

Nato's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has already been operating in western and northern Afghanistan and in the capital, Kabul.

But Monday's transfer of power from the US-led coalition brings about 8,000 British, Canadian, Dutch and US troops under ISAF command in six volatile southern provinces.

ISAF commander, British Lieutenant General David Richards, said in a statement, "NATO is here for the long-term, for as long as the government  and people of Afghanistan require our assistance."
More on link

Situation In Afghanistan 'Improving,' France Says  
DUSHANBE, July 31, 2006 (RFE/RL)  Radio Free Europe
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/07/63AE4729-DB93-41ED-905D-DFB1DFE676DE.html

France's Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie, who is on a visit to Tajikistan, today said that the overall security situation in neighboring Afghanistan is improving, although she voiced concerns about the situation in Kabul and the south of the country.


Alliot-Marie said the former Taliban ruling militia had changed their tactics in recent months, using more sophisticated weapons and entering Afghanistan from neighboring Pakistan "in greater numbers".    

France has been using a Tajik air base for operations in Afghanistan since 2001. France currently has an estimated 400- strong military contingent in Tajikistan.
End

France Boosts Military Presence In Tajikistan 
May 11, 2006  Radio Free Europe

France is set to deploy three fighter jets to Tajikistan and double its troop levels there in support of operations by the antiterrorist coalition in Afghanistan.


Reports say the Mirage-2000 jetfighters will arrive next week. French military personnel in Tajikistan will more than double to 350. 

The jets replace six that were withdrawn in November 2005. 

The United States and other coalition members support Afghan operations from a base in neighboring Kyrgyzstan
More on link

Nato to control south Afghanistan  
Monday , 31 July 2006  Turkish Weekly
http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=35690

Nato forces are taking control of military operations in southern Afghanistan from the US-led coalition which overthrew the Taleban in 2001. 
The south - the traditional heartland of the Taleban - has recently been at the centre of intense fighting, and hundreds of people have been killed.

This is the first land deployment outside Europe for the Nato forces led by the UK and Canada. 

Separately, a bomb blast has killed at least eight people in east Afghanistan. 

The handover in the south will double the number of troops in the region. 

International troop numbers have been building up in southern Afghanistan for months, ahead of the Nato expansion into the south. 
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (31 Jul 2006)

1) Some stuff on ROEs, PRTs:

Canadian troops now under NATO control in Afghanistan
_National Post_, July 31

'KABUL, Afghanistan -- A British general moved to quell fears about rules of engagement as NATO prepared to assume command of Canada's troops in southern Afghanistan Monday.

Instead of reporting to American military officials, Canadian Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, who is head of multinational forces in Regional Command South, will answer to British Gen. David Richards, leader of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

Canadian combat soldiers had worried that under NATO they would operate under stricter rules of engagement preventing them from defending themselves properly, and that they might be prosecuted under international law if they responded to a threat in a way permitted by Canada, but forbidden by NATO.

Richards said the NATO Rules of Engagement (ROE), agreed to by the troop-contributing nations, are adequate.

"Originally, I think many people worried about ROE, and constraining our freedom of action and our ability to mount and conduct a sound military operation," Richards said.

"The ROE given me and the whole force are more than sufficient to enable Canadian troops and any other ISAF troops to not only defend themselves robustly, but to take pre-emptive military action should intelligence or other indications suggest that is what's required."

ISAF's engagement rules are the toughest NATO has created yet, an ISAF official said.

Although troops from the multi-national force avoid civilian casualties, some "collateral damage" may be unavoidable because insurgents blend in with the populace, Richards said.

"From amongst the people come these very determined and pretty brutal guys, and sometimes I fear it's not possible (to prevent civilian casualties)," he added.

Of the 8,000 ISAF troops in southern Afghanistan including the 2,300 Canadians about two-thirds will be combat soldiers, Richards said.

"There will be no reduction in the tempo of operations in the south," Richards said.

The coalition's Operation Mountain Thrust has come to an end, Richards said, and it will be replaced by ISAF-commanded manoeuvres.

In Mountain Thrust during July, Canadian troops fought a bloody battle in Pangiwayi, just west of Kandahar, which cost the life of Cpl. Anthony Boneca, who was shot July 9 just above the breastplate of his body armour. For about two weeks in July, the troops engaged in 36 firefights, most of them after coming into Helmand Province to support British operations.

As the Canadian soldiers returned to base July 22, a suicide bomber attacked the tail end of the convoy, killing Cpl. Jason Patrick Warren, 29, and Cpl. Francisco Gomez, 44.

Canadian officers believe they caused more than 100 casualties during the operation. Canadian troops fought the Taliban, militias supported by the Taliban, and other fighters not linked to the Taliban who were protecting opium poppy-growing areas and stockpiles of the drug.

Richards said he will task Fraser with military operations geared toward rebuilding war-shattered southern Afghanistan. "He's now got to create more opportunities for reconstruction and development."

ISAF will not eradicate the lucrative poppy industry, but will support the Afghan government's eradication efforts as needed, through such measures as transporting eradication teams, and rescuing them if they run into trouble, said Canadian Brig.-Gen. Daniel Pepin.

"We have to synchronize from an international community perspective, the effort, so we don't just eradicate, because if we do that we create a ripple effect, some poor farmer won't have enough money to pass the winter," Pepin said.

Minimizing economic disruption from a diminished opium trade requires the creation of an alternative livelihood for poppy farmers, said Canada's ambassador to Afghanistan, David Sproule.

Canada is spending $18 million over four years in Kandahar Province on the drug problem, focusing heavily on helping poppy farmers switch to crops such as dried fruit, pomegranates, and nuts, Sproule said.

A $39-million Canadian micro-loan program intended to help Afghans in Kandahar Province develop small businesses over the next four years has 160,000 clients, including such entrepreneurs as soap-makers and seamstresses.

"It's providing the economic wherewithal to E get out of poppy," Sproule said.

Enabling women to enter the marketplace is another primary goal of the program, Sproule said.

"Canada's actively trying to promote the role of women in Afghanistan," Sproule said.

Afghanistan is Canada's largest aid recipient, receiving $100 million a year with that funding to continue to 2011 on projects that include involvement with the Afghan government.

The Canadian Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kandahar has about 30 projects on the books in various stages. So far the team has built national police stations and delivered vehicles to them, along with digging wells, bridges over culverts, and some roads, Lt.-Col. Simon Hetherington said.

The PRT work focuses on highly visible quick-impact projects, Sproule said.

"What we want to do is to get across to the average Kandahari and the average Afghan that their life is improving and that their government, with the support of the international community, is making a positive difference in their lives," Sproule said.

Corruption at every level of government undermines effectiveness of aid programs, as money is siphoned off.

"It is rampant here, it's endemic," said Col. Mike Capstick, commander of the Canadian Strategic Advisory Team helping the government learn and execute proper governance.

Representatives of foreign governments are mentoring ministry officials and workers to prevent and identify corruption, and they conduct spot checks on aid projects to ensure money isn't being misappropriated.'

2) More in this CP story:

No return to strict peacekeeping with NATO command in Afghanistan
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060730.wnato0730/BNStory/International/home

3) At least French rations are the worst!

Soldiers in Afghanistan growing tired of 'rats': If army marches on stomach, Canadians in field have bunions
_Ottawa Citizen_, July 30

'KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — When the going gets tough, the tough trade rations. After weeks in the field, Canadian combat and support troops become sick to death of their packaged rations.

The "rats," as they are known, come in brown paper sacks packed with tear-open boxes and pouches.

Soldiers eat rations for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

And while the Canadians appreciate their coalition counterparts for their roles in the multi-national force, they are deeply grateful for what comes out of their ration boxes: something other than the same old chow.

"Whoever made that enchilada is a god," says Cpl. Brian Gibson, who prefers the U.S. "meals ready to eat," or MREs, to the Canadian "individual meal packages," or IMPs.

"You don't get as much, but you eat everything in it."

Eating everything is important for the troops working far away from the hot, all-you-can-eat meals at the coalition's Kandahar Air Field base, with its fresh fruits and salads, plus steak and lobster on Saturdays.

Many of the soldiers who spend weeks "outside the wire" lose 10 to 15 kilograms.

In the flaming garbage pits at Canadian patrol bases in the mountains and deserts, unopened pouches sizzle and pop, tossed in by troops who can no longer stomach sliced-pears in syrup, and creamy pea soup.

While the American rations may provide alternative eating for hungry Canadians, the variety only goes so far: the MREs are not differentiated for breakfast, lunch and dinner. That Country Captain Chicken may taste fine for supper, but it's a different story when it's tossed into your lap for breakfast.

The MREs do, however, contain a high-tech heating bag, into which a sealed entree is placed, along with some water, which comes to a near-immediate boil when a chemical packet is dropped in.

Canadian troops carry a water-heating unit, but seldom have time to use it.

Their freeze-dried rice, if it's not consigned to the trash fire, is eaten al dente.

"A lot of times we'll just dump water in the rice to soften it up, then we just end up pouring it in the meal," says Private Jody Salway. "It's like eating sand, crunch, crunch, crunch."

A comment card comes in each ration pack, but Salway is convinced the manufacturer never reads them.

"Whenever you find a ration you like, guaranteed in the next little while it's going to disappear," Salway says. "Chicken rice casserole: I haven't seen that one since battle school."

At a British patrol base in Helmand province, Canadian troops set up their encampment on the fringes of the British and other coalition forces for two nights, after the Brits had run short on rations while under fire virtually every day and night for two weeks.

Each evening the Canadians spent at the base, the same British soldier came by with some none-too-hearty U.K. ration packs, hoping to make a trade.

Cpl. Shawn Hofman has little love for the measly British meals, but he felt sorry for the food-deprived paratrooper. "They don't get re-supplied that often. They were freakin' eating scraps," Hofman says.

Hofman traded three Canadian meal packages for one three-meal British package that's supposed to supply all the days' meals but is about the size of one Canadian ration pack.

"Their rations suck," Hofman says.

But it's a country renowned for its cuisine that sends its troops to war with the least-appetizing meals, according to Cpl. Wes Spencer.

"The worst rations are the French rations," Spencer says. "I wouldn't give it to the Taliban — I'm sure there's a law somewhere in the Geneva Convention against slowly poisoning the enemy."

For the coalition's interpreters, known as 'terps, platoon sections carry halal rations specially made for Muslims.

Some of the interpreters will eat non-halal rations that don't contain forbidden foodstuffs, so Canadian soldiers are occasionally treated to lamb and chicken and beef dishes that smell like MREs and IRPs, but taste quite different.

"I love the halals," says Salway, who has just appropriated a case of them from the back of a re-supply truck, even though his section's interpreter is a Pentecostal from Hollywood.

"I can play the 'terp card."'

Mark
Ottawa


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