# The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread November 2009



## GAP (31 Oct 2009)

*The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread November 2009  *               

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


----------



## GAP (1 Nov 2009)

*Articles found November 1, 2009*

 Afghanistan’s Abdullah Withdraws From Presidential Run-Off Vote 
Article Link

 Abdullah Abdullah, former Afghan foreign minister, said he will withdraw from the Nov. 7 presidential run-off election against Hamid Karzai.

“Afghan people deserve a better election,” Abdullah said in a televised address broadcast live by CNN. Addressing supporters in the capital, Kabul, he said a transparent election was not possible. Abdullah called on his supporters not to boycott the runoff, the Associated Press reported.

A partial recount, backed by the United Nations, of the Aug. 20 vote found more than 1 million ballots, most of them for Karzai, were suspect, putting his tally below the more than 50 percent needed to win the first round triggering a run-off.

Allegations of voting fraud have complicated President Barack Obama’s decision on whether to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan beyond the extra 21,000 he approved earlier this year. About 68,000 troops are in Afghanistan today, the administration’s current goal, according to Pentagon data. 
end

  UK soldier dies in Afghan blast
Article Link

A British soldier has been killed in an explosion in Afghanistan's Helmand Province, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

The man, from the Royal Logistic Corps, died on Saturday afternoon, near Sangin. Next of kin have been informed.

His death brings the total number of UK military personnel killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 224.

A spokesman for Task Force Helmand said he would be "missed by us, his comrades, but... not be forgotten." 
More on link

 Former Manitoban carries a torch
Flies to Iceland to take Olympic symbol to B.C.
By: Lindor Reynolds 31/10/2009 
Article Link

As the Olympic torch winged its way to Victoria Friday, a former Manitoban was sitting in the pilot's seat.

Capt. Garrett Lawless, 37, was chosen to be the person responsible for the torch's safe arrival.

He said it was a thrill and an honour.

"As for how I was chosen, well as much as I would love to say that it is because I am the single greatest pilot in the nation, that is unfortunately far from true," he said in an email from Iceland, where he and his crew were waiting for the plane from Athens to arrive.

"We in the CF (Canadian Forces) are so busy right now that missions are generally handed out to whatever aircrew happen to be available for them. Right now we are rotating the troops out of Afghanistan who have finished their tour and replenishing those troops with fresh units."

He said it was the luck of the draw he pulled the assignment he calls "the mission of the decade."

Lawless and I met several years ago on a resupply mission to Alert. The Canadian Forces fly in twice a year to supply the remote base with everything from fuel to food. He was gregarious and extremely professional.
More on link

 South Korea Says It Plans Afghanistan Deployment 
Article Linkhttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/world/asia/01troops.html?_r=1
By CHOE SANG-HUN October 31, 2009

SEOUL, South Korea — The South Korean government announced plans on Friday to send troops and police officers to Afghanistan to help protect its aid workers.

The plans, if approved by Parliament, will reinstate a South Korean military presence in Afghanistan two years after the country withdrew its 200 troops from there. The 2007 pullout followed a hostage crisis in which the Taliban killed 2 of 23 kidnapped Christian aid volunteers from South Korea while demanding a troop withdrawal.

A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, Moon Tae-young, did not say how many troops and police officers South Korea wanted to dispatch. But a mass-circulation daily, Chosun Ilbo, quoting unnamed government sources, said the plans called for deploying 300 soldiers and police officers early next year.

South Korea also plans to expand a reconstruction team now helping to rebuild Afghanistan to 130 to 150 workers, the report said. Currently there are 25 government-assigned aid workers in hospitals and job-training centers in Afghanistan.

“Our troops will not engage in battles except for the security of our workers and for self-defense,” Mr. Moon said. 
More on link


----------



## CougarKing (1 Nov 2009)

> *French military effort in Afghanistan earning respect of U.S. troops *
> 
> TAGAB VALLEY, Afghanistan – After several years of enduring Americans’ scorn for sitting out the Iraq campaign, the French military is going toe-to-toe with the Taliban, shedding blood and proving a worthy partner in Afghanistan, U.S. officers say.
> 
> ...


----------



## MarkOttawa (2 Nov 2009)

ARTICLES FOUND NOV. 2

Already the main Afghan war hub, Bagram is growing
AP, Nov. 2
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/01/AR2009110101342.html



> BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan -- Seen from a tiny village on a recent moonless night, the sprawling U.S. base three miles to the north looks more like a medium-size city than a military facility in a war zone.
> 
> Bagram Air Field, as the base is formally known, is the largest U.S. military hub of the war in Afghanistan and is home to some 24,000 military personnel and civilian contractors. Yet it is continuing to grow to keep up with the requirements of an escalating war and troop increases.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


----------



## GAP (4 Nov 2009)

*Articles found November 4, 2009*

 5 British soldiers shot dead in Afghanistan
November 4, 2009
Article Link

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Five British soldiers were killed and six others were wounded when an Afghan National Police officer opened fire on them, military officials said Wednesday.

The attack happened Tuesday afternoon in the Nad-e'Ali District of Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, Britain's Ministry of Defence said Wednesday. All the soldiers died of gunshot wounds sustained in the attack.

Initial reports show that the Afghan policeman initiated the fire on the soldiers, a ministry spokesman told CNN.

The soldiers had been living and working at an Afghan National Police checkpoint just outside Nad-e'Ali for the past two weeks, mentoring the policemen there, said Lt. Col. David Wakefield, a spokesman for Task Force Helmand.

An initial assessment of the attack shows that "an individual Afghan National policeman, possibly acting in conjunction with ... another, started firing inside the checkpoint before fleeing the scene," Wakefield said.
More on link

Key role of 'Red Caps' in Afghanistan
Article Link

The deaths of five British soldiers at the hands of a "rogue" Afghan policeman in Helmand Province have focused attention on the role British service personnel play in training local police in war and post-conflict areas.

Two of the soldiers who were killed were from the Royal Military Police (RMP), while the others were from the Grenadier Guards.

Training the Afghan police as well as the Afghan army is a key element of the Nato strategy in Afghanistan and the RMP, or "Red Caps", are at the centre of the British military's contribution to this goal.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said the RMP played an "important role" in Afghanistan assisting with police mentoring.

Initially this would involve "lower level military skills" such as basic weapons handling and awareness in the field, he said.
More on link

 Militants kill Pakistan women teachers: officials
(AFP) – 6 hours ago
Article Link

KHAR, Pakistan — Two women school teachers were killed Wednesday when armed Islamist militants ambushed their car in Pakistan's troubled tribal region bordering Afghanistan, local officials said.

The women were travelling from the school they taught at in Khar -- the main town in the northwestern tribal district of Bajaur -- when insurgents bearing automatic weapons sprayed the vehicle with bullets.

"Two women teachers were killed and two men were injured in the firing by militants," administration official Adalat Khan told AFP. Tribal police confirmed the incident.

Islamist insurgents who oppose the education of girls have bombed and destroyed hundreds of northwestern schools in recent years.

Militants have recently stepped up activity in Bajaur, one of Pakistan's seven semi-autonomous tribal districts straddling the Afghan border, which are considered a stronghold of Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked extremists.

Officials warned that the Taliban and their allies were increasing attacks in areas such as Bajaur to divert attention away from South Waziristan, the Taliban bastion where the military is conducting a major ground offensive.
More on link

 How Canada does counterinsurgency
Article Link

Gloria Galloway

Kabul — From Wednesday's Globe and Mail Published on Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009 9:04PM EST Last updated on Wednesday, Nov. 04, 2009 6:55AM EST

An uncomfortable awakening has occurred among coalition forces in Afghanistan – after so much time and dollars and lives lost, they realize they have been fighting this war all wrong.

As a result, the coalition countries, including Canada, have indicated a willingness to follow U.S. General Stanley McChrystal, the head of the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) in Afghanistan, as he changes the strategy from a classic “stability operation” to one of counterinsurgency.

That means looking at the engagement not as a military mission to eradicate the Taliban, but as an effort to gain the support and assistance of the local population in suppressing the insurgency. It means providing a spectrum of security, good governance and development – and giving the Afghans a reason to prefer what is offered by the government in Kabul to what is being held out by the Taliban.

“The force structure we had in here might have been good enough post-2002 if we had an organized, comprehensive approach,” U.S. Colonel John Aglogia, the director of the Counterinsurgency Training Centre for NATO forces, said in a recent interview with The Globe and Mail.
More on link

 New battle tanks hobbled by glitches and lack of spares: auditor general
By Murray Brewster (CP) – 20 hours ago
Article Link

OTTAWA — The Canadian army was forced to park some its new battle tanks in Afghanistan soon after they arrived because of technical glitches, says Auditor General Sheila Fraser.

In order to get the Leopard 2 A6M tanks back in the field, mechanics scrambled to strip parts off other armoured vehicles in the war zone and off tanks meant for training, said Fraser's latest report, released Tuesday.

Her office examined more than $1 billion in urgent purchases for the war in Afghanistan.

"Our audit found that soon after deployment, a portion of the new tank fleet could not be used due to equipment failure," says the report.

"The problem was compounded by a shortage of spare parts. While normally considered a last resort, Task Force Afghanistan almost immediately began taking parts from tanks on site in Afghanistan and from tanks National Defence had bought for troops training in Canada in order to make the necessary repairs."

A series of fierce battles and increasingly bigger roadside bombs forced the army to deploy a squadron of old Leopard 1 tanks to Kandahar in the fall of 2006, but commanders quickly found their age and lack of air conditioning in the desert to a liability.
More on link

 Pakistan Hasn’t Taken Taliban Redoubts: Ex-Commander
By Anwar Shakir and James Rupert
Article Link

Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan’s capture of Taliban- controlled towns in South Waziristan may have limited strategic value unless soldiers pursue militants into their mountainous hideouts, said a former special forces commander.

“Infantry forces are moving along the main roads and not up into the side valleys,” ex-army brigadier Javed Hussain said in a telephone interview from Islamabad. With winter snows only weeks away, the offensive has stuck to three highways, he said.

Troops are engaged in street-to-street fighting in Ladha, the military said today, and 30 militants had been killed in the last 24 hours in the region. The army had cleared a major part of Sararogha in one of the battle zone’s three main valleys, it said in its latest report on the 19-day-old campaign.

Soldiers are trying to take control of the South Waziristan homeland of the Mehsuds, an ethnic Pashtun tribe that supplies the core of the largest Taliban force, about 10,000 fighters. 
More on link


----------



## MarkOttawa (5 Nov 2009)

ARTICLES FOUND NOV. 5

Estonian troops boost NATO forces
Deployment 10 percent of full military
_Washington Times_, Nov. 5
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/05/estonian-troops-boost-nato-forces/



> MASOOD, Afghanistan
> 
> The bursts of automatic weapons fire caught them in an open field. There was no cover. They hugged the earth, shot back at Taliban gunmen they could see and slowly extricated themselves as a second squad of infantrymen farther back in an orchard laid down covering fire with rifles and shoulder-fired rockets.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


----------



## GAP (6 Nov 2009)

*Articles found November 6, 2009*

NATO Soldiers Missing as Taliban Reports Recovery of Two Bodies
By ALISSA J. RUBIN  November 7, 2009
Article Link

KABUL — Two NATO soldiers are missing in western Afghanistan, and an intensive search mission is under way, a spokesman for the international forces announced here Friday, as a Taliban spokesman said fighters had recovered the bodies of two drowned soldiers.

The soldiers were on a routine resupply mission on Nov. 4, but did not return as expected. When soldiers are missing, the concern is that they have either been captured or killed.

“We continue exhaustive search and rescue operations to locate our missing service members. We are doing everything we can to find them,” said Capt. Jane Campbell of the United States Navy, a spokeswoman for the international forces. Another spokesman for the international forces declined to give further details.

The Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, speaking by telephone, told the Reuters new agency that the bodies of the drowned soldiers had been recovered on Wednesday in the western Badghis Province.

Reuters also reported that the province’s police chief, Abdul Jabar, said the two were Americans and that they had drowned during a gunbattle
More on link

Germany Admits Errors In Deadly Afghan Bombing
By REUTERS  November 6, 2009
Article Link

BERLIN (Reuters) - German troops made mistakes but acted appropriately when they ordered an air strike on two fuel trucks in Afghanistan that killed dozens of civilians, Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said on Friday.

In his first comments on the September 4 attack, Guttenberg backed up the German army's initial assessment of a confidential NATO investigation into the attack on Taliban fighters.

"Given the overall threat assessment, the air strike was militarily appropriate," Guttenberg said after briefing parliamentary floor leaders on the NATO report.

"There were procedural errors, certain shortcomings in training, and questions were raised about the rules of engagement," the conservative minister added. "But even if there had been none, an air strike would have been necessary."
More on link

 Powerful Afghan Governor Challenges President
Defiant Former Warlord With Popular Backing and Armed Supporters Demands a Say for Karzai's Defeated Rival Abdullah
By YAROSLAV TROFIMOV 
Article Link

MAZAR-E-SHARIF, Afghanistan -- An escalating quarrel between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and a powerful governor is stoking fears of bloodshed in one of the country's more peaceful and prosperous provinces.

During this year's presidential election, Balkh Gov. Atta Mohammad Noor was alone among Afghanistan's 34 governors -- all of whom were appointed by Mr. Karzai -- to openly back challenger Abdullah Abdullah.

Mr. Karzai's victory last week, declared by an election commission after months of controversy, has Mr. Atta steaming, and tensions rising over the prospect that Kabul will try to reassert central authority in this province of two million people.

"Karzai is a thief of people's votes. Democracy has been buried in Afghanistan. He's not a lawful president," Mr. Atta said in an interview in his vast rococo-styled office, as turbaned supplicants lined up to petition for his help in resolving court cases and disputes with local authorities.
More on link

 Canadian police mentors in Kandahar unshaken after attack on British soldiers
By Jonathan Montpetit (CP) – 1 day ago
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — The shocking deaths of five British soldiers at the hands of an Afghan National Police officer said to have been working with the Taliban appears to have done little to shake the confidence Canadian police mentors have in their local charges.

Tuesday's incident in Helmand province, in which an ANP officer opened fire on his British trainers as they relaxed following a patrol, has sent shock waves through a NATO mission that's dependent on mentoring local police forces and exposed the potential vulnerability of Canadian soldiers who are involved in similar training efforts.

It wasn't the first time an Afghan police officer has gone rogue, either: two American soldiers were killed last fall in two separate incidents involving Afghan policemen who opened fire on U.S. troops.

But what happened in Helmand is unlikely to alter the relationship between Afghan police and their Canadian mentors, said Capt. Jason Quilliam, Canada's lead adviser on mentoring issues at the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kandahar city.
More on link


----------



## MarkOttawa (6 Nov 2009)

John Faulkner rules out sending more troops to war in Afghanistan 
_The Australian_, Nov. 5
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/john-faulkner-rules-out-sending-more-troops-to-war-in-afghanistan/story-e6frgczf-1225794716051



> DEFENCE Minister John Faulkner has reaffirmed that Australia's military commitment to the war in Afghanistan is "about right," as US President Barack Obama weighs up a recommendation to send 40,000 extra troops.
> 
> Senator Faulkner said today the Obama administration appreciated the Rudd Government's decision to boost forces by 40 per cent boost to 1550 in April.
> 
> ...


.

Mark
Ottawa


----------



## old medic (8 Nov 2009)

Some Canadian troops 'Adrenaline junkies'
By Bill Graveland, THE CANADIAN PRESS
7th November 2009



> JELAWAR, Afghanistan - There's a breed of Canadian troops who are in a league of their own - adrenaline junkies who feed off the energy they get from embracing the world's most perilous jobs.
> 
> In war-wracked Afghanistan, Canadian soldiers risk life and limb on a daily basis. But some of them are specialists in jobs considered dangerous even by Canadian military standards, and go way beyond a simple trip beyond the safety of Kandahar Airfield's barbed-wire fences.
> 
> Some of the busiest are members of the explosive ordnance disposal unit, also known as the bomb squad - the men and women whose principal job it is to defuse and disarm the countless improvised explosive devices and land mines that litter the Afghan countryside. .....



Continues at link:
http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/canada/2009/11/07/11670796-cp.html


----------



## The Bread Guy (9 Nov 2009)

Shared in accordance with the "fair dealing" provisions, Section 29, of the _Copyright Act._

*The uneasy ride of Canada's tankers in Afghanistan*
The dust, the dirt, the attacks, the roadside bombs just part of a day's work for Edmontonbased Lord Strathcona's Horse as they go about their duties
Ryan Cormier, Edmonton Journal, 8 Nov 09
Article link

In the land of guns that is Afghanistan, members of the Edmonton-based Lord Strathcona's Horse have the biggest ones around.

For six sweltering months, the 82 Edmontonbased soldiers of C Squadron operated the only tanks in southern Afghanistan. On bomb-littered roads absent of any traffic rules, the Strathcona's drove their 70-tonne machines on nearly 250 missions.

Their tanks were damaged with hidden bombs numerous times, with three major incidents, severely injuring two soldiers, but they suffered no casualties during the entire tour.

From April to October, four members wrote about their experiences for The Journal-- squadron commander Maj. John Cochrane, 40, originally from Toronto; Trooper Cory Rogers, a 21-year-old from St. Albert on his first tour; reservist Sgt. Shawn Alexander, 33, of Edmonton; and crew commander Sgt. Gregor Moon, 35, of Keswick, Ont., now a veteran of four international tours.

All four had a different role in Afghanistan. All four came home with different perspectives on a mission in which they risked their lives while getting decidedly mixed signals from the Afghan people themselves, everything from happy thumbs-up gestures to rocks and vegetables thrown at them, not to mention attacks from the Taliban.

Based at the Masum Gar forward operating base in the Panjwaii district of Kandahar province, the soldiers were constantly working. The base, nestled in hills outside of the town of Bazar-e-Panjwaii, is one of the busiest hubs of the war. Strathcona tankers are always in the area, and the local roads and fields have seen many Canadian deaths.

The greatest threat of the region are improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, that insurgents plant on the roads to disable coalition vehicles. While nothing else in the country stands up to a bomb like a Canadian tank, there are no smooth rides in Afghanistan.

Twice in six months, Trooper Cory Rogers manned a tank hit by a roadside bomb powerful enough to lift the tank, equipment and crew off the newly cratered ground.

The first time, the third-year soldier was shocked. The second time, he was enraged. Both times, he walked away.

"You hear the boom, and all the dust on the tank around you, it's just everywhere, it's inside your mouth," he says. "Your rifle, papers, anything that might be on the tank, it's all in the air. It's really disorienting. Then it all crashes back down to the ground and you're thrown sideways, maybe upside-down. There's the smell of explosives and dust, kind of a diesel, chemical smell. They'll put over 100 litres of homemade explosives in there, sometimes. It just bursts out of the ground."

As the loader of a four-man crew, Rogers loads shells and rounds while in battle. His position requires him to stand out from the top of the tank, his upper body exposed.

Immediately after the first strike, in April 2009, Rogers had burning lungs and little idea what had happened as a daze settled over him. From his loader position at the top of the tank, he was shaken, but unhurt. Below, the crew's gunner, Roger's friend, had both his legs pulverized below the knee as the massive shock wave came through the floor.

Among screams of agony, Rogers pulled him out as smoke filled the tank and billowed above. Once out, Rogers picked up the injured soldier's rifle and reminded him to watch for incoming insurgents.

At the head of the column, Sgt. Gregor Moon, crew commander of the lead tank, glanced back to assess the situation. Every instinct wanted to stare at what happened, he says, but the convoy was then vulnerable and he had to watch for a triggerman and possible followup attacks. First in line, Moon's tank has massive rollers on the front designed to set off an IED and protect the vehicle.

"We're actually lucky if it's my vehicle that hits it, more often than not, it's not the first vehicle," he says. The tanks behind him lack the rollers that absorb most of a bomb blast and protect those inside.

Further back along the convoy, Maj. John Cochrane, waited tensely for word.

"How do you describe it? The first thing is the big, massive pause, waiting for confirmation of the status of the crew. It seems that the world almost comes to a dead stop, waiting for information to come back. That's the hardest part. That's very, very hard on the guys. Their first instinct is to run forward and try to rescue the others. You can't do that."

After the second time, in August, Trooper Rogers knew what had happened and it ticked him off. "I was so pissed about getting hit again, that the first thing I did was grab my rifle. I was in the state of mind that I'm going to pop the guy who did this."

That chance never came, as minutes later, the small-arms fire and mortars that often follow a disabling strike on a Canadian vehicle started to rain down. This time, the crew managed to walk away. Still, two separate strikes left Rogers with a twist in his gut that lasted the rest of his first tour.

"I definitely had that feeling, you know, in my stomach a lot more after that," he says. "Just looking at the road all the time. Could it be here?Could it be there?I don't think anything really prepares you for it."

Although the Strathconca's prepared for nearly a year before they deployed, there is no training that can simulate the effect of a roadside bomb.

The Leopard tanks the Canadian Forces have in Afghanistan are between 40 and 70 tonnes of weaponry and threat that the Taliban cannot equal. A mix of intimidation, mobility and precision, a Leopard can hit a two-metre target from a kilometre away. Waist-high rounds travel that distance in less than a second.

Taliban fighters don't show themselves to the tankers from Edmonton, preferring shoot-and-hide tactics. They lay IEDs, perhaps setting them off by remote from the safety of cover. The shoot over mud walls, or from behind the occasional treeline.

"You feel invincible, but you know you're not," says Sgt. Moon, who returned to Canada with the rest of C Squadron in October. "You know you're the biggest gun out there right now. You want them to take little shots, bring whatever you have to us, and we'll give whatever we have back. You're Goliath, they're just Davids."

Occasionally, an insurgent will attempt to fire a rocket-propelled grenade through the side of a tank, with little success. After one IED blast, the Strathcona's were able to put a tank back together in two days. The two Leopard models are not designed to take such hits, but offer the best protection against them.

Leopard tanks, and Lord Strathcona's Horse crews to run them, have been in Afghanistan since 2007. Stationed at Masum Gar, the Strathcona's are busy. In the last six-month rotation, they trundled out for 25 operations and 220 calls for service.

Many of those were to cordon off discoveries of unexploded IEDs, but the tanks are called out for a legion of reasons, such as clearing areas of insurgents, recovering a broke-down vehicle or one mired in mud, showing force or escorting convoys of smaller vehicles and infantry.

Direct conflict with insurgents are rare for Strathcona's, although not unheard of.

"There were the occasional ambushes on the tanks," Cochrane says. Insurgents would fire rocket-propelled grenades, small -arms fire and rockets at the sturdy vehicles, with little success. "We've adapted the tanks to suit the environment we're getting into. We've learned how to employ the tanks so they become a security mechanism as opposed to a consistent offensive weapon. It provides security to locals instead of just an intimidation factor."

However, the calls involving IEDs outnumber all else. Whenever one is reported, following an explosion or the discovery of an odd piece of metal jutting from a road or riverbed, out come the tanks. Roughly 90 per cent of those reports are from the Afghan National Army and Afghan Uniform Police, the two organizations Canadians are responsible for training.

"They kind of have a second sense for it at this point," Cochrane says. "I imagine that living in a country where you have to deal with them on a daily basis, that becomes very much a survival mechanism."

Not just busy on their own, the Strathcona's are also a favourite request from other countries in Afghanistan, like the United States and Britain, who have only wheeled vehicles on the ground. Canadian tanks are admired in Afghanistan.

"The Americans loved having us, just because we were the biggest things out there," Sgt. Moon says. "We did an operation with the Brits, where they were dropped in by air. They loved us because we secured the area before they got there. Other countries frequently ask for our squadron's help."

That international trend should only climb with the recent influx of American soldiers into the country.

While popular and protected, a tanker's life in Afghanistan is not an easy one. The interior of a Leopard is a cramped sauna under the Afghan sun. Gunners slither a claustrophobic trail through armoured walls and shells to their seats. There is no room to stretch once strapped in. Soldiers have to squeeze their helmets through a maze of equipment to reach the lenses that allow them to see outside. If the soldier seated behind the gunner is tall, there will be many knee-to-head collisions.

At Masum Gar, soldiers divided most of their time between camp security and being on-call as part of the quick-reaction force. Even a short convoy outside the base can take days, perhaps a week. At night, the rocket attacks come. Time "to rack," or sleep, is rare.

"I would normally start my day around six in the morning," says Sgt. Shawn Alexander. "I had a rule that I would never take my boots off before nine o'clock at night. Whenever I took my boots off at nine, it was OK. If I took my boots off before nine, something would go wrong or we'd get rocketed."

A busy soldier, many of them say, without the time to brood or be bored, often has higher morale. The faster time flies, the better.

"It was over in the blink of an eye," Maj. Cochrane says. "From the moment we left to the moment we got back, it seems like I got on the chopper the other day."

Of course, whether the days pass quickly or slowly, they pass with suffocating heat in the summer months.

"It's incredible," states Sgt. Moon, who stood out from the tank's roof as crew commander. "We did a run down a riverbed, and it got to 66 degrees. We ran out of water three times. The heat, it doesn't come at you, it comes from inside the vehicle and up through the hatches and into your face. It closes your eyes, it makes you sleepy. You can get so tired, just standing there. I lost about 10 pounds while there."

(....)

_More on link_


----------



## GAP (9 Nov 2009)

*Articles found November 9, 2009*

Troops in Afghanistan fight swine flu amid war
By AMIR SHAH (AP) – 7 hours ago
Article Link


KABUL — Hundreds of Afghan and international troops already battling a rising militant insurgency are facing a new fight — recovering from swine flu, the virus that has left 11 people dead in the country.

The Ministry of Public Health said Monday that 710 of the 779 cases of H1N1 reported since early July have been among Afghan, U.S. and Italian troops. The 11 people who have died from the virus were all Afghans, including one soldier.

Public Health Minister Dr. Mohammad Amin Fatemi said the Afghan National Army reported 390 cases of H1N1 and 320 cases were identified among foreign troops. Most are U.S. forces stationed at Bagram Air Base and Italian soldiers at the military base in Herat in western Afghanistan.

Worried that the flu could spread unabated through a country in its ninth year of war, the government decided earlier this month to close schools and universities for three weeks. Government health officials advised anyone with a fever to stay home from work, and those with mild symptoms to wear a mask in public places. The flu scare has prompted some people to wear blue surgical masks on the streets of the capital.
More on link

 Zakaria: Stop trashing Karzai and help him govern
November 3, 2009
Article Link

President Hamid Karzai was declared the winner of another term in office as Afghanistan's leader Monday, after his opponent in a planned runoff election withdrew.

President Obama called Monday for a "new chapter" of improved governance in Afghanistan now that Karzai's re-election as president is complete. Afghanistan's Independent Electoral Commission announced Karzai's victory Monday after it canceled Saturday's presidential runoff because of the withdrawal of candidate Abdullah Abdullah.

Fareed Zakaria, author and host of "Fareed Zakaria: GPS" spoke to CNN Monday about Karzai's election.

CNN: What do you make of today's developments?

Fareed Zakaria: In a sense, it adds to the drama and tension surrounding the politics of Afghanistan, but it doesn't materially change very much because Abdullah was not going to win. Karzai was going to be the next president of Afghanistan. Imagine there had been a runoff and Karzai had won. We would have been roughly where we are today. The big problem is that it has not rebuilt Hamid Karzai's legitimacy. What he needs right now is not power or position, it's legitimacy.
More on link

 Canuck casualties magnified, mourned     
By PETER WORTHINGTON 9th November 2009
Article Link

 As Remembrance Day approaches, one thing that has changed in Canada with regards to our military is the reverence shown to soldiers who are killed in Afghanistan.

In past wars, and even UN peacekeeping missions, soldiers killed on duty caused little reaction at home. Among friends and relatives, yes, grief and a devastating sense of loss, even futility, was palpable. But not among the media or public.

In WWI and WWI the casualties were horrendous compared to any other war or combat mission involving Canada -- more than 60,000 Canadians killed in WWI,more than40,000 in WWII. These deaths were noted in newspapers, often in agate type as an afterthought at the end of news reports.

The 284 Canadians who died in the Boer War (1899-1902), the 516 in the Korean war (1950-53) and the 116 during 38 years of UN Peacekeeping (1956-94), caused hardly a ripple on the Canadian psyche. Not like today.

An oddity of Afghanistan is that every one of the 133 (at this writing) fatalities is magnified and mourned. When a soldier is killed, there is a week or so of repeated accounts. First, a death by ambush or roadside bomb is headlined. Then there's a memorial service in Kandahar, covered by embedded media. Then the ceremonial flight home.

There's another ceremony when the plane lands at the Trenton. Then the two-hour funeral drive along the Highway of Heroes to Toronto, with people gathered on highway overpasses to honour the dead. Finally the soldier reaches his hometown, where he is buried with due recognition of his dedication and duty. In other words, instead of one unnoticed item in the press, there are repetitive ceremonies, so the single death starts to seem like many deaths. In Canada, we've had six or seven years of soldiers killed in Afghanistan, so the war there begins to seem endless, an unnecessary waste of young Canadian lives in a faraway land anchored in cultural despotism. 
More on link

 Afghanistan Closes Schools Due to Increasing H1N1 Cases     
By Sean Maroney Kabul 08 November 2009
Article Link

The Afghan government has closed the country's schools and universities for most of November in response to an increased number of H1N1 flu cases. Since July, officials have diagnosed nearly 350 people with the virus. There have been a total of 772 confirmed cases, and 10 people have died.

Afghan officials say most of the flu cases have been in Kabul, Parwan and the provinces of Herot, Kandahar, Ningrahar and Bamayan.

Afghanistan's Health Minister Dr. Sayed Mohammad Amin Fatemi says only Afghans so far have died from the virus.

He says the basic reason for the deaths has been because the victims went to treatment centers too late. He says most of the foreigners with the virus have been with the NATO forces, and they were able to start their treatments early, which helped their chances for survival.
More on link

  Fuel convoy hit in eastern Afghanistan     
(AP) – 1 day ago
Article Link

KABUL — An Afghan police official says at least two private security guards have been wounded and two fuel tankers set on fire in eastern Afghanistan when militants attacked a supply convoy for NATO forces.

Provincial police spokesman Ghafor Khan says the two were injured in a battle Sunday near Jalalabad between the enemy combatants and private guards providing security for the convoy. He says other tankers were damaged along the highway, a main supply route between Pakistan and the Afghan capital of Kabul.
More on link

 Afghan police: Corrupt and brutal, and still not fit for purpose    
Nadene Ghouri guardian.co.uk, Friday 6 November 2009
Article Link

With his 9mm Smith and Wesson at the ready, the Afghan police chief strode through the bazaar of rickety wooden stalls, grabbed a hapless shopkeeper by the hair and slapped him across the face three times. One officer hit a man in the knees with his rifle butt.

This was an afternoon raid on shops suspected of selling illegal radio equipment used in the making of IEDs (improvised explosive device). Moments later the contents of all the shops was thrown outside in a large heap of "evidence". As the pile grew it was impossible to tell which items had come from which shop.

Some shopkeepers may have been innocent, others guilty of selling equipment to the Taliban. But the police didn't seem too bothered. They simply arrested everyone. Welcome to policing Kabul-style. Brutal, violent and where truth doesn't necessarily matter.

Last year, I spent a month observing the workings of the Afghan police force for a BBC documentary. I followed their raids and went on the beat with them.

Accused of kidnappings, murders, rapes, extortion and trafficking, and now, the murder of five British troops, the ANP is light years away from what Nato calls "a force fit for purpose".
More on link


----------



## GAP (10 Nov 2009)

*Articles found November 10, 2009*

 Low stockpiles to prevent Canada from responding to Afghan plea for H1N1 vaccine
By Jonathan Montpetit (CP) – 17 hours ago
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Canada is unlikely to dip into its limited supply of H1N1 vaccine to help meet Afghanistan's plea for help to deal with a pandemic that has already claimed 11 lives in the country.

Both civilian and military officials have indicated that Canada's stockpiles of the vaccine are too low to make doses available to Afghan civilians.

There have been 779 confirmed cases of swine flu in Afghanistan since July, when the virus is believed to have spread from a group of four American soldiers at Bagram Air Base.

Of those cases, 320 were identified among foreign troops.

"So far we don't have any preventive vaccines," said Dr Ahmad Farid Raaid, a spokesperson for Afghanistan's Ministry of Public Health.

The ministry is expecting to receive a shipment of 550,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine from World Health Organization donors by next week. It has already shut schools across the country for a three-week period in an effort to stop the virus from spreading.

Most of the cases have been concentrated in Kabul, where an outbreak was recently detected at an Afghan National Army recruiting centre. But cases have also been identified in Parwan, Kandahar and Herat.
More on link

 Japan plans additional $5 billion for Afghanistan
By JAY ALABASTER (AP) – 4 hours ago
Article Link

TOKYO — Japan on Tuesday announced $5 billion in fresh aid to Afghanistan even as it plans to bring home refueling ships supporting U.S.-led forces there. The pledge comes just days before President Barack Obama arrives in Tokyo for talks that are sure to focus on the countries' military alliance.

The announcement appears to be a way for Japan, which is barred from sending troops for combat by its pacifist constitution, to show support for Afghanistan's reconstruction while Obama reviews his options for a new strategy in the conflict.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's government, which wants to put Tokyo's ties with Washington on more equal footing, doesn't plan to extend Japan's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean when it ends in January, partly because it lacks a mandate from the United Nations. Some members of Hatoyama's party also say the mission violates the country's constitution.

Japanese officials said the aid shouldn't be seen as simple replacement for the refueling mission, but aimed at creating jobs and supporting its development.
More on link


----------



## GAP (10 Nov 2009)

Allies Uncover Vast Cache of Bomb Material in Afghanistan
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan —With fertilizer bombs now the most lethal weapons used against American and NATO soldiers in southern Afghanistan, the operation in Kandahar was something close to astonishing.

In a pair of raids on Sunday, Afghan police and American soldiers discovered a half-million pounds of ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer that is used in the overwhelming majority of homemade bombs here. Some 2,000 bomb-making devices like timers and triggers were also found, and 15 Afghans were detained.

With a typical homemade bomb weighing no more than 60 pounds, the seizure of that much fertilizer — more than 10 tractor-trailer loads — removed potentially thousands of bombs from the streets and trails of southern Afghanistan, officials said.

“You can turn a bag of ammonium nitrate into a bomb in a matter hours,” said Col. Mark Lee, who heads NATO’s effort to stop the bombmakers in southern Afghanistan. “This is a great first step.”

The operation in the southern city of Kandahar, which announced Tuesday, is by far the largest of its type. Ammonium nitrate is illegal in Afghanistan; farmers here are allowed to use other types, like urea-based fertilizer, on their crops. Most of the ammonium nitrate fertilizer in Afghanistan is believed to be imported from Pakistan.

Ammonium nitrate has long been used as both a fertilizer and an explosive. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols used a 600-pound ammonium nitrate bomb, mixed with fuel oil, to attack the federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995. The attack killed 168 people.

The seizure in Kandahar came on the heels of a number of initiatives aimed at taking the fertilizer out of the hands of Taliban insurgents. Until this month, Afghan and NATO officials could only seize ammonium nitrate if it was clearly associated with insurgent activity. Now, they can seize it regardless. If the police or soldiers seize ammonium fertilizer from farmers, they are legally obliged to compensate them for it.

On Sunday, Afghan police officers and American soldiers, acting on intelligence, went first to a compound in the southern part of the city and found 1,000 100-pounds bags of ammonium nitrate and 2,000 bomb-making components. They detained 15 people there. They were then led to a second compound a short distance away, where they found 4,000 100-pounds bags of the fertilizer. 
More on link


----------



## old medic (12 Nov 2009)

Five Swedish soldiers injured in Afghanistan
11 Nov 2009
http://www.thelocal.se/23208/20091111/



> Five Swedish soldiers have been injured in an explosion that also claimed the life of a local foreign language interpreter, the Swedish Armed Forces said in a statement on Wednesday.
> 
> The exact extent of the soldiers' injuries is not yet known, but military spokesperson Lena Parkvall was able to provide some details.
> 
> ...




Note - Other online swedish language news sites indicated the wounded are being air-evacuated out by a team from Uppsala University Hospital.  However, I was not able to find an english language version of the story. 


Sweden Makes Demands on Afghanistan
Sweden Radio International
http://www.sr.se/rs/english/



> Continuing with his 2-day visit to Afghanistan, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt says the European Union has strong demands on Afghan President Hamid Karzai - to carry out promised reforms and to make sure that the coming parliamentary elections next summer do not display the catastrophic corruption seen in the recent presidential elections.
> 
> Bildt adds that the eyes of the world are on Afghanistan. He's representing the EU since Sweden is hosting the presidency until the end of the year.
> 
> ...


----------



## old medic (13 Nov 2009)

Brown to ask Nato countries to commit 5,000 more troops to Afghanistan
Prime minister dismisses reports he is planning to talk to the Taliban
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/nov/13/brown-nato-5000-troops-afghanistan


> Gordon Brown today said he was leading a drive to get Britain's non-US coalition partners to commit another 5,000 troops to the Nato operation in Afghanistan.
> 
> In a interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the prime minister also dismissed reports that he was planning to "talk to the Taliban", although he raised the prospect of "mercenaries" fighting for the Taliban being reintegrated into Afghan society.
> 
> ...


----------



## old medic (13 Nov 2009)

Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan -  The Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing outside a major U.S. military base 





> on the outskirts of the capital today that left at least half a dozen people injured.
> Hours after the explosion, the toll remained unclear. Initial reports from emergency workers at the scene said two Afghan nationals were killed, but Afghan hospital officials and police later reported only injuries.


Story continues at link:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-fg-afghan-bombing13-2009nov13,0,7888615.story


Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan, and Peshawar, Pakistan -- A suicide car bomb blast Friday rocked the regional headquarters of Pakistan's intelligence agency in the violence-racked northwest city of Peshawar, killing at least eight people and injuring at least 40 others.



> Intelligence sources said that the explosives-laden vehicle detonated outside the Inter-Services Intelligence office on Khyber Road just before sunrise. Other sources said that the building had collapsed. Thick gray smoke billowed into the sky after the explosion, and Pakistani troops sealed off the area.



Story continues at link:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-fgw-pakistan-bombing13-2009nov13,0,1062573.story


TOKYO (AP) — President Barack Obama said Friday that his decision about how many troops to send to Afghanistan will come soon and he is bent on "getting this right."



> In a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Obama rejected claims that his administration is dithering. The policy must protect America from terrorist networks, Obama said, while also making clear there is no "open-ended commitment" to Afghanistan.



Story continues at link:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-obama,0,4263160.story


Skadad soldat framme i Uppsala    (Wounded soldier arrives in Uppsala) 
http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/artikel_3793493.svd


> En av de två soldater som skadades allvarligast av en bomb i Afghanistan i onsdags har nu anlänt till Uppsala. Enligt Akademiska sjukhuset flögs han till Ärna flygplats och fördes därifrån till sjukhuset med ambulans.
> 
> One of the two soldiers who were injured most serious in a bomb in Afghanistan last Wednesday has now arrived to Uppsala, Sweden. According to the academic hospital he was flown to Ärna airport and thence to the hospital with ambulance.



Gordon Brown downplays corruption and demands Nato back Karzai
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/Afghanistan/article6915417.ece


> Gordon Brown shifted his sights from the issue of corruption in Afghanistan today as he demanded that other Nato countries come forward with thousands more troops.
> 
> The Prime Minister professed his confidence in Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s desire to end corruption and insisted that allied forces operating in Afghanistan could muster an additional 5,000 troops in addition to the US troop surge being debated in Washington.
> 
> ...


Story continued at link


----------



## MarkOttawa (13 Nov 2009)

As Obama ponders Afghanistan, so does Europe
AP, Nov. 12
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j9_7k8qJTNQhlZw3eFUA8mNiiWwAD9BU77802



> President Barack Obama's delay in deciding U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan has found an echo chamber in Europe, where coalition leaders in NATO are weighing whether to send more help or bow to public demands for a speedy exit.
> 
> NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told The Associated Press on Thursday that allied nations have privately pledged more help, but he stopped short of saying that countries would send more troops.
> 
> ...



Barack Obama 'risks Suez-like disaster' in Afghanistan, says key adviser
Leading authority on counter-insurgency fears US is heading for 'irresponsible' fudge on extra troops
_The Guardian_, Nov. 12, by David Kilcullen
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/12/obama-us-troops-afghanistan-kilcullen



> A key adviser to Nato forces warned today that Barack Obama risks a Suez-style debacle in Afghanistan if he fails to deploy enough extra troops and opts instead for a messy compromise.
> 
> David Kilcullen,
> http://www.ewi.info/david-kilcullen-0
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


----------



## GAP (13 Nov 2009)

*Articles found November 13, 2009*

 Obama's Afghanistan plan: the warlord factor
We owe it to our troops and to our Afghan friends to put the very best American and Afghan leaders in the provinces.
By Mark Moyar  November 13, 2009
Article Link

As President Obama decides on a strategy option for Afghanistan, he's said to be mulling over four options, with a province-by-province analysis of local Afghan leaders at his disposal.

Members of his national security team rightly stress that Afghan tribal elders and warlords have allied with the Taliban and other extremists not because of ideology or religion, but for reasons of self-interest. Therefore, those Afghans could be convinced to switch sides if the United States made it worth their while.

Working with Afghan tribal elders and warlords is sometimes characterized as a new approach, but the US has actually pursued it with mixed results since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001. Before Mr. Obama seriously considers going further down that road, he should review those results carefully.

At first, Washington threw in its lot with local warlords who had amassed power and wealth in the 1980s and '90s. Unfortunately, the ceding of provincial administrations and police forces to the warlords proved disastrous in much of the country, as they robbed and raped with alarming frequency. 
More on link

 Germany to send 100 more troops to Afghanistan
November 13, 2009
Article Link

Germany will send 100 more troops to Afghanistan to help with reconstruction efforts in the war-ravaged nation, the defense ministry said Friday.

The troops, to be deployed in mid-January, will join about 4,000 others who are stationed in the northern provinces of Afghanistan, a ministry spokesman said. They are part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

The northern region includes the Kunduz province, which has recently seen a spike in militant activity.

So far, Germany has lost 36 soldiers during its mission in Afghanistan, the ministry spokesman said. He did not give his name, citing policy.
More on link


----------



## MarkOttawa (14 Nov 2009)

ARTICLES FOUND NOV. 14

Russian Deal on Afghan Supply Route Not Done Yet 
_NY Times_, Nov. 13
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/14/world/europe/14flights.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper



> When he met President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia in April, President Obama sought to open an important new supply corridor for Afghanistan by flying American troops and weapons through Russian airspace. Visiting Moscow in July, he sealed a deal for as many as 4,500 flights a year, in what he called a “substantial contribution” to the war and a sign of improving relations with Russia.
> 
> Seven months after the idea was raised and four months after the agreement was signed, the number of American flights that have actually traversed Russian airspace?
> 
> ...



Afghan Insurgency Tests German Troops
Rules of Engagement Limit Soldiers, Raising Tensions With Allies and Questions About Readiness 
_Wall St. Journal_, Nov. 14
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125816541044048085.html



> ...
> While Mr. Obama has sought a greater commitment from NATO allies, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is under pressure to set a timeline for German forces to come home. Germany's mandate expires in December, and lawmakers are likely to approve an extension of the mission. But with a solid majority of Germans are opposed to the country's presence in Afghanistan, Berlin is unlikely to offer a deeper commitment.
> 
> German troops are also limited by their rules of engagement. Last week, German troops remained at a distance as U.S. and Afghan special forces descended on Kunduz, a region ostensibly under German jurisdiction, to fight a major battle to clear out a Taliban stronghold near the German base. Some 130 insurgents, including eight Taliban commanders, were killed in the operation near the Germany's hilltop base, according to NATO officials.
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


----------



## MarkOttawa (16 Nov 2009)

ARTICLES FOUND NOV. 16

French, Afghan troops push into hostile valley
AP, Nov. 15
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hvWEqwq3CrRvaQCmt21MfoYhjZJQD9C06QN82



> TAGAB VALLEY, Afghanistan — Hundreds of French and Afghan troops on Sunday pushed into a hostile valley in eastern Afghanistan where militants launch quick attacks, then disappear into hillside villages. The mission: secure the area for a planned bypass road around the Afghan capital to move supplies from neighboring Pakistan.
> 
> About 700 French troops, joined by 100 Afghan soldiers, moved into the Tagab valley before dawn with more than 100 armored vehicles. U.S. and French attack helicopters roared overhead as insurgent snipers fired from the roofs of houses onto the advancing column of vehicles, according to a reporter for The Associated Press traveling with the French troops.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


----------



## GAP (16 Nov 2009)

*Articles found November 16, 2009*

 Afghanistan to form anti-graft unit as pressure grows
Article Link
By Jonathon Burch Reuters Monday, November 16, 2009; 10:12 AM

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan will form a new anti-corruption unit to investigate high-level graft after widespread criticism and demands from Washington for it to do more amid a wider regional strategy review.

The announcement comes a day after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton bluntly warned that President Hamid Karzai and his government must do better, saying Washington wanted to see tangible evidence of Kabul's fight against rampant corruption.

On Monday, three days before Karzai was due to be sworn in for another five-year term, the government said it would set up a new body to tackle corruption and other crime.

Afghanistan has made similar announcements in the past, although previous efforts have borne little fruit.

"President Hamid Karzai ... has dedicated his five years to fighting corruption," Interior Minister Hanif Atmar, flanked by U.S. ambassador Karl Eikenberry and British ambassador Mark Sedwill, told reporters at a news briefing in Kabul on Monday.

The new anti-corruption unit, part of the Attorney General's department, would be formed to prosecute public corruption cases involving high-level officials and other major crimes, the Interior Ministry said later in a statement. 
More on link

 French forces: Rockets kill 3 at Afghan market
By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU (AP) – 5 hours ago
Article Link

TAGAB VALLEY, Afghanistan — Insurgents fired two rockets Monday into a crowded market northeast of Kabul where the head of French forces in Afghanistan held a meeting with tribal elders. The attack killed three children and wounded 20 other people, the French military said.

Capt. Michel, who can only be identified by his first name according to French military policy, said the attack appeared to have targeted Brig. Gen. Marcel Druart, who met in the marketplace with elders from the Tagab Valley to discuss a major French offensive there.

Druart is the commander of the French La Fayette Task Force in Afghanistan. France has more than 3,000 troops stationed mainly north of Kabul in the Kapisa and Surobi areas.

Two Chinese-made Chicom rockets landed about 12 yards (meters) away from the meeting. The general was not hurt, Michel said.
More on link

 Peshawar Bombing Kills 5, Injures 10 in Pakistan, Edhi Says 
Article Link
By Anwar Shakir Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) 

 A bomb attack in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar today killed five people and left 10 injured, according to the Edhi Foundation that runs the nation’s largest ambulance service.

The blast near a police station in the city, which has been hit by almost daily bombings in the past week, damaged a mosque, Edhi spokesman Mujahid Khan said by telephone.

The attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, Geo Television reported, without providing further details. 
More on link

 Coalition nears turning point in Afghan mission, Cdn military commander says
By Jonathan Montpetit (CP) – 1 day ago
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — The war Brig. Gen. Jonathan Vance found himself fighting was a small one.

Under his command, Canadian troops in Afghanistan reduced their area of operation by more than half. With his over-stretched forces relieved this summer by a surge in American forces, Vance focused on six villages with a combined population of no more than 5,000 people.

But in those villages, Vance claims to have given momentum to a mission that was fast losing ground to insurgents in the field and critics at home.

"I would say we are at a turning point in the mission," Vance told The Canadian Press in the final days of his 10-month tour.

"We are far more aligned and able to resource the challengea I think in terms of direct support to the Afghan population, it's just gotten better and better as our force-ration has improved."
More on link

 U.S. Readies New Facility for Afghan Detainees
By ALISSA J. RUBIN
Article Link

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan — The Obama administration’s effort to remake the notorious American detention system in Afghanistan will take a critical step forward at the end of the month, when detainees move into a new facility on the edge of Bagram Air Base.

The complex, which eventually will be handed over to the Afghan government, is designed to accommodate new review boards, giving detainees a chance to challenge their internment and present evidence of their innocence. Reporters and Afghan and international human rights officials were allowed to tour it on Sunday — an unprecedented level of access since they were not allowed to enter the old prison, which has been in use since shortly after the American invasion in 2001.

The new complex is part of a broader effort to alter America’s detention image, which has been badly tarnished by reports of abusive interrogation techniques, indefinite detentions without trial and inadequate conditions. The revamping is also expected to ease criticism of President Hamid Karzai for allowing the problems to persist.

Afghan and international human rights advocates are watching closely to see if the new review boards can remedy the current system’s shortcomings. 
More on link

 Administration Lowers Bar for Success in Afghanistan War, Seeks Exit Strategy
by  FOXNews.com
Article Link

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the administration has 'no illusions' about the Afghanistan war. Officials say the administration wants to make sure the U.S. commitment in the country is not 'open-ended' as the president drafts a new strategy. 
More on link

 Taliban make gains in Afghanistan's forgotten north
Working with criminal gangs, Taliban are planting roadside bombs and extorting money in Afghanstan's northern provinces.
By Hal Bernton | McClatchy Newspapers from the November 15, 2009 
  Article Link

The insurgents' tactics are familiar. Night letters warn village elders to cooperate or face death. Religious "taxes" must be paid, and fiery sermons in mosques attack the Karzai government and international forces.

The locale is startling, however: Afghanistan's northern Balkh province, which in the years after the fall of the Taliban emerged as one of the most stable – and in its urban hub of Mazar-i-Sharif – most prosperous places in Afghanistan.

The Taliban, often working with criminal gangs, have regained a foothold in four of the province's 14 districts, and in recent months they've stepped up their campaign using roadside bomb attacks and other tactics. Earlier this month, three Afghan police officers in one of the restive districts were killed in a drive-by shooting.

The Taliban's growing presence in northern Afghanistan, near the US and NATO supply routes from the north, poses new challenges for the international forces, which until now have had a small contingent of 520 Swedish and Finnish troops to keep watch over Balkh and three other provinces.

In the first 10 months of this year, there have been 82 significant combat incidents in Balkh, more than triple the number in 2008, and the insurgency may be even more potent next year. 
More on link

  U.S. donates 20 aircrafts to Afghanistan
www.chinaview.cn 2009-11-15 22:43:47 	
Article Link

The United States, as part of its efforts to boost the capacity of the fledgling Afghanistan Air Force, pledged on Sunday to donate 20 aircrafts and of these two C-27 have been handed to Afghanistan.

    The remaining 18 more aircrafts would be handed over to Afghanistan within the next two years.

    Speaking on the occasion, Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak thanked the U.S. for its contribution and stressed for more support, saying Afghanistan wants U.S. and other NATO nations to help strengthen Afghan national forces.

    U.S. Commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) General Stanley McChrystal in his remarks reassured supporting Afghan troops.

    The strength of the national army of post-conflict Afghanistan is currently more than 80,000 troops and it is going to reach 134,000 by 2001.

    Afghanistan at present has an Air Corps with some three dozen Russian-built helicopters and transport planes contributed by U.S. and its allied nations. 
More on link


----------



## MarkOttawa (16 Nov 2009)

Afghanistan: General disarray
Conference of Defence Associations' media round-up. Nov. 16
http://www.cdaforumcad.ca/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1258400911



> ...
> The CDA returns to its readers after a busy hiatus. The Executive Director Colonel (Ret’d) Alain Pellerin and a number of defence stakeholders visited Afghanistan in October. They visited Kabul and Kandahar. Articles by General (Ret’d) Paul Manson and Tom Caldwell after the visit are linked below.
> 
> General (Ret’d) Paul Manson writes on how while Afghanistan is approaching a crossroads, Canadians are sleepwalking towards failure and that it is time for Canadians and the government to “wake up to the reality of Afghanistan.”
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


----------



## GAP (17 Nov 2009)

*Articles found November 17, 2009*

US Army arrests mother who failed to turn up for Afghanistan deployment
 guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 17 November 2009 
Article Link

A 21-year-old single mother serving with the US Army's 3rd Infantry Division is facing a possible court martial because she failed to turn up for deployment to Afghanistan, saying that she could not find anyone to care for her infant son.

Alexis Hutchinson, who serves as an army cook, was meant to have joined her division for a flight to Kabul on 5 November, but failed to show up. She was arrested and temporarily placed in custody while her 10-month-old child Kamani was put into a daycare scheme on her military base in Savannah, Georgia.

Hutchinson denies any suggestion that she was trying to avoid deployment, insisting that she was only acting out of concern for her boy. She had placed him in the care of her mother, Angelique Hughes, in Oakland, California, but after a couple of weeks Hughes found she was overburdened and unable to commit for a whole year looking after him.
More on link

 MoD denies plan to pay off Taliban in Afghanistan
(AFP) – 9 hours ago
Article Link

LONDON — The Ministry of Defence on Tuesday denied a report it was urging troops to buy off potential Taliban recruits in Afghanistan with cash.

The ministry described a newspaper report citing a new army field manual was "simply untrue," although a spokesman said it backed funding "quick-impact" projects to win over local Afghan populations.

The Times said new counter-insurgency guidelines suggested army officers give away enough money to dissuade Afghans from joining the Taliban, who are known to pay about 10 dollars (just under six pounds) a day to recruit local fighters.

"The best weapons to counter insurgents, don?t shoot. In other words, use bags of gold in the short term to change the security dynamics," Major General Paul Newton told the paper as the manual was unveiled on Monday.

"But you don?t just chuck gold at them, this has to be done wisely."

An MoD spokesman said: "Any reference to paying off the Taliban is simply untrue.
More on link

 Korea to Send Troops to Afghanistan Again in Spring
Article Link
By Kim Sue-young Staff Reporter

The government plans to send more civilian reconstruction workers and security forces to Afghanistan in March or April next year, the nation's top diplomat indicated Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said Korea is considering sending the workers to Parwan and Bamiyan provinces near the Afghan capital of Kabul.

Details will be made based on a six-day inspection of sites there by a government team that ended Tuesday, Yu told reporters in Seoul.

Currently, 30 civilians are working for reconstruction at the Bagram airbase, offering vocational programs and police training. 
More on link


 Firefight in Waterpur Valley, Afghanistan
Article Link
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment RSS
Video by Sgt. Justin Puetz
Date Taken: 11.03.2009
Posted: 11.14.2009 02:01
Video Location: Kunar province, AF
B-roll of a U.S. Army Platoon firefight at Qatar Kala, Kunar province in Afghanistan with anti-Afghan forces. Scenes include the platoon firing towards the mountains where the fire was coming from and a helicopter arriving and then taking off. Also see "Night Missions in Kunar Province", "Platoon Leader Conducts Shura in Qatar Kala, Afghanistan", "“Afghan and U.S. Soldiers Talk to Village Elders Near COP Honaker-Miracle” in the package and b-roll sections. Produced by Sgt. Justin Puetz. 


video #1
video #2
video #3

More on link

 Canadian offensive sees little action 
Article Link
Patrick White - Monday, Nov. 16, 2009 

One of the biggest Canadian operations of the entire Afghanistan mission launched this week with barely a shot fired.

More than 1,000 Canadian troops and 200 Afghanistan National Army soldiers surged towards the village of Haji Baba, a known Taliban command post south of Kandahar, on Sunday, encountering a single belligerent insurgent along with a maze of improvised explosive devices.

The lack of resistance has become a Taliban calling-card in recent international operations, often followed by an extended period of heavy IED activity. Canadian Forces expects the Haji Baba mission, titled Operation Hydra, to be no different.

As tanks, armoured vehicles and foot soldiers moved gingerly towards the village, locals actually approached them to ask for a shura, a meeting or consulation in many Muslim countries. The advance halted momentarily for the shura. Afterwards, residents began pointing out IEDs to Canadian and Afghan Forces, according to Canadian Forces Captain Lena Angell.

“That is definitely an important sign for us, that villager are actually coming to our assistance,” she said. 
More on link


----------



## GAP (18 Nov 2009)

*Articles found November 18, 2009*

 Canada spending millions on private security in Afghanistan 
Article Link
Gloria Galloway Globe and Mail  Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009 

Canadian military officers in Afghanistan approve millions of dollars each year for private firms that guard military bases and development projects in the increasingly dangerous Kandahar province.

Defence Department documents obtained under federal Access to Information legislation show that at least $7.78-million was authorized for private security between April, 2008, and June, 2009, by the four senior military officers in Afghanistan who can approve contracts of up to $1-million.

Most countries that are part of the NATO-led coalition against the Taliban employ private firms and militias for routine but dangerous security jobs. In Kandahar, the Canadians have hired private guards to defend key installations such as the headquarters of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kandahar City, and other development efforts.

But they are not without controversy.

A recent report by the Center on International Co-operation in New York, which specifically cites the Canadian military's use of private security, said the absence of effective oversight of the hired guards undermines the credibility and effectiveness of both the Afghan government and the international troops.
More on link

 Drive straight, then shoot straight, for Afghan troops 
Article Link

Patrick White

Kandahar, Afghanistan — From Wednesday's Globe and Mail Published on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009 9:37PM EST Last updated on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009 3:46AM EST

A young Afghan soldier in jungle camouflage goose-steps, Russian style, to the front of the hall. “I serve for my country,” he screams, saluting his commander, a four-star general, who presents him with a certificate.

The soldier, Mujahedullah, thrusts the paper in the air. “With this, I now drive for my country.” The walls echo with his call to arms before he takes a seat alongside his fellow troops.

Afterward he explains his enthusiasm. “I used to drive to drive fast. But the Americans told me to ‘slow down, slow down.' I did and now I am a good driver. I can fight for my country.”

In what must be the world's most patriotic drivers-ed graduation ceremony, 47 Afghan National Army troops received certificates last weekend that verify they can operate a vehicle.

Why the pomp? Traffic accidents kill more Afghan soldiers than AK-47s or improvised explosive devices, according to the International Security Assistance Force responsible for training the ANA and securing the country. Courses such as this may determine the fate of the nation. With some international forces, such as Canada, set to pull out of the country starting in 2011, stability will soon rest in the hands of Afghans.
More on link

 Diplomats told to keep quiet on torture allegations, sources say 
Article Link

Canadian diplomats in Afghanistan were ordered in 2007 to hold back information in their reports to Ottawa about the handling of the prisoners, say defence and foreign affairs sources.

The instruction — issued soon after allegations of torture by Afghan authorities began appearing in public — was aimed at defusing the explosive human-rights controversy, said sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

There was a fear that graphic reports, even in censored form, could be uncovered by opposition parties and the media through access-to-information laws, leading to revelations that would further erode already-tenuous public support.

The controversy was seen as “detracting from the narrative” the Harper government was trying to weave around the mission, said one official.

“It was meant to put on happy face,” he added.

The instruction was passed over the telephone by senior officials in the Privy Council Office and reinforced in follow-up conferences between Ottawa and Kabul, as well Ottawa and Kandahar, sources said.
More on link

 Senator finds post-2011 plans for Afghanistan don't make sense
Article Link

Colin Kenny says unless the Harper government is prepared to commit troops for decades, it should take a pass on nation-building
 By Barbara Yaffe, Vancouver SunNovember 17, 2009

Liberal Senator Colin Kenny is calling on the Harper government to fess up to its plans for engagement in Afghanistan after 2011.

A government website continues to declare: "Canada's aim is to leave Afghanistan to Afghans, in a viable country that is better governed, more peaceful and more secure."

But even as that country remains a train wreck and as Defence Minister Peter MacKay has hinted at development work post-2011, Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Walt Natynczyk last week announced preparations for the withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan in 2011.

Confused? So is Kenny, who has been to Afghanistan three times.

"I see the government saying they plan to do things after that date and I scratch my head because I haven't heard of any plan that makes sense to me, post 2011."

He says he also has learned of Canadian International Development Agency projects planned for the post-2011 period. "I ask, who is going to be there to protect those CIDA workers?"
More on link

 Gilani Tells Tribes Uzbeks, Chechens Back Insurgency (Update1)
Article Link
By Anwar Shakir and Paul Tighe

Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Terrorists from Uzbekistan, Chechnya and Arab nations are involved in the insurgency in Pakistan, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told tribesmen in the northwestern region bordering Afghanistan.

“Uzbeks, Chechens and Arabs have ruined the peace of this area and have to be removed,” Gilani said during a visit to refugee camps in the town of Dera Ismail Khan yesterday.

The prime minister attended a jirga, or council meeting, with Mehsud tribesmen, telling them they were patriotic Pakistanis who had nothing to do with a handful of terrorists, the official Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

Pakistan’s army entered South Waziristan on Oct. 17 in its largest offensive against militants, targeting the forces of the Tehreek-e-Taliban. Pakistan blames the group for 80 percent of terrorist attacks in the country. 
More on link

 Slovakia to add 250 NATO troops to Afghan mission
By RAPHAEL G. SATTER – 18 hours ago
Article Link

LONDON — Slovakia pledged about 250 extra soldiers to the NATO-led force in Afghanistan Tuesday, the first of what British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said would be a series of international reinforcements.

The central European country will double the size of its 246-strong contingent in Afghanistan, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said in a joint statement with Brown following talks in the British capital.

Brown, who has said he is lobbying allies in Europe and elsewhere for as many as 5,000 extra soldiers, welcomed the news and said that more such announcements were on their way.

"We will be approaching other countries and I believe that, including Britain, maybe 10 countries will be prepared to give extra support in Afghanistan," he said.

NATO's Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, in the Scottish city of Edinburgh Tuesday for an address to the group's parliamentary assembly, has so far steered clear of saying how many extra reinforcements the trans-Atlantic alliance was willing to send to Afghanistan.

He told delegates Tuesday that NATO was leaning toward adopting a new counterinsurgency strategy which would include a substantial number of extra troops — but he did not elaborate.
More on link


----------



## MarkOttawa (18 Nov 2009)

Nato chief: quick exit from Afghanistan will unleash 'global jihad'
Withdrawing from Afghanistan too quickly would allow al-Qaeda to return and launch a “global jihad” against the West, the head of Nato has warned.
_Daily Telegraph_, Nov. 17
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/6591552/Nato-chief-quick-exit-from-Afghanistan-will-unleash-global-jihad.html



> Anders Fogh Rasmussen issued his warning just a day after Gordon Brown gave his clearest signal yet that he wants to begin the process of ending Britain’s Afghan mission within months.
> 
> Mr Rasmussen said: “If we were to walk away and turn our backs on Afghanistan, al Qaida would be back in a flash. They would have a sanctuary from which to launch their strategy of global jihad, a strategy that is directed first and foremost against us.
> 
> Anyone who doubts the risk of a premature exit “is not living in the real world," he told a Nato conference in Edinburgh...



Mark
Ottawa


----------



## GAP (19 Nov 2009)

*Articles found November 19, 2009*

New Commander for Joint Task Force Afghanistan
Article Link
 Nov 19, 2009 10:21 ET

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Nov. 19, 2009) - Command of Joint Task Force Afghanistan was transferred from Brigadier-General (BGen) Jonathan Vance to BGen Daniel Menard during a ceremony held today at Kandahar Airfield.

Key Afghan and coalition force leaders attended the change of command that was performed in front of members of the Canadian task force operating in Kandahar Province as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

"BGen Menard is a dedicated soldier with a tremendous amount of experience. I know he looks forward to leading the men and women of Joint Task Force Afghanistan. His team will continue to work with our coalition and Afghan partners and will build on the momentum and achievements of their predecessors," said General Walter Natynczyk, Chief of Defence Staff.

"I intend to follow in the footsteps of previous commanders and move the yardsticks as far forward as possible over the next ten and a half months," said incoming commander, BGen Menard. "Our integrated military-civilian team gives us the breadth and depth of knowledge needed to help Afghans rebuild their country as a stable, democratic and self-sufficient society."
More on link

 South Afghanistan suicide blast kills 10 - police
Thu Nov 19, 2009
Article Link

A suicide bomber detonated a vest packed with explosives in a crowded market in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing 10 civilians and wounding 13, a provincial police chief said.

Uruzgan province police chief Juma Gul Himat said the bomber's vest exploded after he was fired on by troops while trying to attack a convoy of Afghan security forces. A media officer for NATO-led forces confirmed that 10 civilians had been reported killed in a suicide bomb strike in the area.
More on link

 Germany to extend Afghanistan mission another year
By THOMAS RIETIG (AP) – 1 day ago
Article Link

BERLIN — Germany will extend its mission in Afghanistan for another year, the government said Wednesday, despite the growing unpopularity of the war at home.

The decision requires parliamentary approval, which is expected before the current mandate expires in Dec. 13. Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition enjoys a comfortable majority in parliament.

The mission to Afghanistan has become increasingly unpopular with Germans. More than 30 soldiers have been killed as Taliban militants have become more entrenched in the north of the country where German soldiers serve in the NATO-led force.

But the government has not come under significant pressure to pull out. All the main political parties, including most of the opposition, support keeping German troops in the country.

Meanwhile, NATO postponed a meeting at which the allies will pledge reinforcements for its 71,000-strong force in Afghanistan to take into account the latest developments in that country and the outcome of President Barack Obama's strategic review of the war. The U.S. military has another 36,000 soldiers in Afghanistan who serve outside NATO, under independent command.
More on link

 'For Afghans, there is no refuge'
Humanitarian groups' study of 700 civilians reveals shocking pattern of continuing misery
Article Link

For most of her life, the young Afghan woman was fleeing war. But everywhere she went it stalked her.

"She was very quiet and shy, and you could barely hear her speak," said Ashley Jackson of Oxfam. "When the civil war began in the early 1990s, she left Kabul and went to the border. But her son was killed by a rocket attack.

"She went to Pakistan and lived in a refugee settlement, and her daughter was taken by a man who wanted her. When the Taliban fell and the family finally got back to Kabul, her husband was killed.

"For Afghans, there is no refuge."
More on link

 Afghan official said to take bribe for copper deal
By RICHARD LARDNER and PAULINE JELINEK (AP) – 22 hours ago
Article Link

WASHINGTON — A senior Afghan official allegedly took a $20 million bribe to steer a copper mining project to a Chinese company, a glaring example of the claims of corruption clouding the Obama administration's deliberations over expanding the U.S. commitment in Afghanistan.

In Washington, two U.S. officials familiar with intelligence reports said that Afghanistan's minister of mines, Muhammad Ibrahim Adel, allegedly accepted the money soon after the $3 billion contract was awarded in late 2007 to China Metallurgical Group Corp.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. The payment to Adel was apparently made in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, said one of the U.S. officials. Dubai, just a three-hour flight from Kabul, has long been viewed as hub for illicit cash transactions, according to an August report by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The minister has denied having taken any bribes and said the contract went through all legal channels, according to Afghan state television.
More on link


----------



## MarkOttawa (23 Nov 2009)

ARTICLES FOUND NOV. 23

Pricing an Afghanistan troop buildup is no simple calculation
The White House estimate is twice the Pentagon's. Some see politics at play.
_LA Times_, Nov. 23
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-troop-costs23-2009nov23,0,3233273.story



> As President Obama measures the potential burden of a new war strategy in Afghanistan, his administration is struggling to come up with even the most dispassionate of predictions: the actual price tag for the anticipated buildup of troops.
> 
> The calculations so far have produced a sweeping range. The Pentagon publicly estimates it will *cost $500,000 a year for every additional service member sent to the war zone* [emphasis added, see below]. Obama's budget experts size it up at twice that much.
> 
> ...



High Costs Weigh on Troop Debate for Afghan War 
_NY Times_, Nov. 14
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/us/politics/15cost.html



> While President Obama’s decision about sending more troops to Afghanistan is primarily a military one, it also has substantial budget implications that are adding pressure to limit the commitment, senior administration officials say.
> 
> The latest internal government estimates place the cost of adding 40,000 American troops and sharply expanding the Afghan security forces, as favored by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top American and allied commander in Afghanistan, at $40 billion to $54 billion a year, the officials said.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


----------



## GAP (23 Nov 2009)

*Articles found November 23, 2009*

 Pakistan's army attacks militants in northwest
By HUSSAIN AFZAL (AP) – 2 hours ago
Article Link

PARACHINAR, Pakistan — Pakistan's army fought Islamist militants for control of a northwestern district on Monday, killing 18 of them in an escalating campaign against insurgents intent on toppling the U.S.-allied government.

It was the second day of fighting in Shahukhel in Hangu district close to the Afghan border.

Like other parts of the lawless frontier zone, Hangu is home to al-Qaida and Taliban insurgents that launch attacks in Pakistan, as well as in Afghanistan.

Pakistan is under pressure to crack down on militants and has won praise from its Western allies for an ongoing, major operation in the South Waziristan border region. But critics say the army should do more against insurgent groups who use the northwest as a safe haven to attack Western troops in Afghanistan.

Hangu is about 93 miles (150 kilometers) north of South Waziristan.

In Shahukhel, troops backed by artillery and helicopters killed 18 militants on Monday, intelligence officials said on customary condition of anonymity.

Police officer Farid Khan said security forces, including police, had captured much of the area since Sunday.
More on link
 Marines in Afghanistan hear a plea: Don't leave too soon
Others in Helmand would like them to leave immediately. And frustrating to most involved, the work of U.S. forces to instill a sense of security and confidence in the government is going slowly.
By Tony Perry November 23, 2009
Article Link

Reporting from Nawa, Afghanistan -  It was at the end of a recent after-lunch meeting, with the two sides sitting cross-legged on a tattered rug, exchanging pleasantries and enjoying sweet tea and stone-baked bread.

Haji Mohammed Khan, district administrator for Nawa, a government bureaucrat with three decades' experience in war and shaky peace, had something he wanted to ask the Marines, some of whom will soon return to bases in the United States.

"Please," Khan said in a low voice, his sad eyes looking directly at his guests, "don't let us be here alone. You used your young people, your vehicles, your helicopters to help us. Please don't turn around and leave unfinished your business here."
More on link

 Canadian, Afghan forces capture key village
 By Matthew Fisher, Canwest News ServiceNovember 22, 2009
Article Link


KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Canadian and Afghan forces captured a key Taliban-controlled village Saturday in eastern Panjwaii as they continued to expand their control over the approaches to the provincial capital.

Nakhonay, which has long been a Taliban supply point on the way to Kandahar City, was the second village to fall with little violence since Canadian and Afghan forces launched a major combat operation last weekend.

Nearby Hajji Baba was the first community to be taken by coalition forces this week. This happened at the beginning of what has been a slow, deliberate operation that had teams of Canadian combat engineers frequently finding and disarming homemade landmines planted by the Taliban.

``We know that some of the insurgents remain in Hajji Baba and the Nakhonay and it will take time for us to build relationships with locals and determine who is a local national and who is an insurgent,'' the Alberta-based Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry battle group said in a statement.
More on link

 West has just 'one shot' left in Afghanistan
Military efforts must show progress by 2011, say Rick Hillier and John McCain
Article Link

HALIFAX–A decade-long military effort in Afghanistan will be lost if Western forces cannot turn around the deteriorating situation by 2011, Canada's former top soldier says.

Gen. Rick Hillier, the former chief of defence staff, and U.S. Senator John McCain said the NATO coalition must use the months ahead to head off the Taliban's resurgence, help Afghan President Hamid Karzai restore credibility and convince Pakistan to make a serious effort to flush out insurgents hiding across the Afghan border.

"We've got one shot to do it," Hillier said Saturday. "If we haven't changed in 18 months, then we will not change."
More on link

  Algeria acquits 2 former Guantanamo detainees
www.chinaview.cn 2009-11-23 06:09:30 	  	Print
Article Link

    ALGIERS, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Two former Guantanamo prisoners on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist group were acquitted on Sunday in an Algerian criminal court, state APS news agency said.

    The two men alleged that they were "brutally tortured" during their imprisonment in Guantanamo Bay, the report said.

    According to the APS, the two accused went to Germany in the early 1990s when they were engaged in drug trafficking and theft before traveling to Afghanistan.

    They were arrested in Pakistan after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States and transferred to Guantanamo Bay where they were held without trial before being sent home to Algeria last year.

    During the trial, both defendants admitted drug trafficking in Germany but denied being members in a terrorist group in Afghanistan, said the report. 
More on link

US pours millions into anti-Taliban militias in Afghanistan
 Jon Boone in Kabul guardian.co.uk, Sunday 22 November 2009
Article Link

US special forces are supporting anti-Taliban militias in at least 14 areas of Afghanistan as part of a secretive programme that experts warn could fuel long-term instability in the country.

The Community Defence Initiative (CDI) is enthusiastically backed by Stanley McChrystal, the US general commanding Nato forces in Afghanistan, but details about the programme have been held back from non-US alliance members who are likely to strongly protest.

The attempt to create what one official described as "pockets of tribal resistance" to the Taliban involves US special forces embedding themselves with armed groups and even disgruntled insurgents who are then given training and support.

In return for stabilising their local area the militia helps to win development aid for their local communities, although they will not receive arms, a US official said.

Special forces will be able to access money from a US military fund to pay for the projects. The hope is that the militias supplement the Nato and Afghan forces fighting the Taliban. But the prospect of re-empowering militias after billions of international dollars were spent after the US-led invasion in 2001 to disarm illegally armed groups alarms many experts.
More on link


----------



## GAP (24 Nov 2009)

*Articles found November 24, 2009*

 Reader nominee: Rick Hillier
Article Link
Globe and Mail Monday, Nov. 23, 2009 11:31AM EST

As The Globe and Mail moves towards selecting our Nation Builder of the decade in December, we'll also highlight nominations from our readers on who they believe deserves special recognition for making a major contribution to Canadian society over the past decade. Today, we profile Rick Hillier. Tell us who you think should be Nation Builder of the decade

What globeandmail.com readers said:

Blackjack wrote: Rick Hillier has made soldiering an honourable profession after many years of budget cuts and scorn for our armed forces.

Edburr wrote: Rick Hillier was one of the few chiefs of defence staff to become a household name, easily recognizable by many Canadians. In doing so, he brought an appreciation and understanding of the women and men who serve our country domestically and in foreign lands. While not necessarily well liked by all, it would be difficult to argue that he wasn't well respected by most. In my opinion, he kept to the high road and was not seriously derailed by politics.

Barsuazie wrote: The Canadian citizen who made me feel proud to be a Canadian and, at the same time, brought the Canadian Military out of the sad, severely under-funded, under-appreciated and under-equipped force of the unfocused Liberal era is Rick Hillier. What a breath of fresh, invigorating air in our world of Ottawa's grey, boring, infighting “wooliness.” 
More on link

 Opposition aims to block diplomat's testimony on detainee case 
Article Link
Steven Chase and Campbell Clark

Ottawa — From Tuesday's Globe and Mail  Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009 9:39AM EST

A high-ranking Canadian diplomat is jetting back from a Beijing posting to defend his record against allegations that Canada transferred prisoners to certain torture in Afghanistan – but opposition parties may not let him testify.

David Mulroney, currently Canada's ambassador to China, served as the government's point man and chief fixer on Afghanistan until May. He was singled out by Canadian diplomat Richard Colvin during explosive testimony last week as one of the senior officials who tried to contain and suppress his warnings about the torture of Afghan detainees in 2006 and early 2007.

But opposition parties are leery of giving Mr. Mulroney a public platform to beat back Mr. Colvin's charges before they have all the facts in hand.

The NDP, the Liberals and the Bloc Québécois are demanding the Tories release a long list of documents linked to Mr. Colvin's testimony before they allow Mr. Mulroney a public rejoinder. In a minority government, the opposition parties together have a majority of seats on a committee and can control its agenda if they work in concert. 
More on link

 Bomb kills 6 family members in eastern Afghanistan
Article Link
Associated Press Tuesday, November 24, 2009; 7:08 AM

KABUL -- A remote-controlled bomb planted in a water station exploded in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing six members of a family, including four children, authorities and a relative said.

The victims were caught in the blast as they traveled in a car on a shopping trip ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid this weekend, relative Qimat Khan told Associated Press Television at the scene in the eastern province of Khost.

Taher Khan Sabari, deputy provincial governor, said the dead included a 1-year-old boy and 3-year-old girl. The other children were older, he said. 
More on link

Pig proxies root out solutions for soldiers
Article Link
Tests target best ways to treat major injuries
Tom Blackwell, National Post  Published: Monday, November 23, 2009

As research animals standing in for real soldiers over the last decade, they have helped prepare Canadian troops for the potential nightmare of chemical warfare. Now domestic pigs are making the ultimate sacrifice in efforts to improve the treatment of soldiers hurt by more conventional weapons: homemade bomb blasts and other hazards typical of the Afghan battlefield.

A new program at a government lab in Alberta will use swine to study how best to treat massive bleeding from severed limbs; mysterious but lethal crush injuries that produce no obvious cause of death; and blast waves that might be triggering brain injuries without any projectile actually hitting the soldier's head.
More on link

 Afghanistan investigating 5 current and former cabinet members
Article Link
By Joshua Partlow Washington Post Foreign Service Tuesday, November 24, 2009

KABUL -- Afghanistan's attorney general said Monday that his office is investigating five current and former cabinet ministers on allegations including embezzlement and fraud, a sign of growing momentum within the Afghan government to address the widespread corruption that has hobbled President Hamid Karzai's administration. 

Combating corruption has emerged as a top priority here for the Obama administration as Karzai deliberates over appointments to the cabinet and to provincial governor posts for his new term. Despite his pledge last week to force top officials to declare their assets and the announcement of a new anti-corruption unit, many officials are skeptical about Karzai's willingness to remove his allies from power.

The investigations center on two current and three former cabinet ministers, Attorney General Mohammed Ishaq Aloko said in an interview. Although he declined to name them, other Afghan officials said one of the probes is looking at the minister in charge of organizing the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, a trip known as the hajj, which is made by tens of thousands of Afghans each year. 
More on link


----------



## GAP (25 Nov 2009)

*Articles found November 25, 2009*

 Afghanistan war: Why helicopters are critical to US and NATO forces
Helicopters are more important to the US and NATO counterinsurgency campaign in Afghanistan than they were in Iraq. By December, there will be nearly 10 times more choppers in the south than nine months ago.
By Jay Price | McClatchy Newspapers from the November 25, 2009 
Article Link

Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan - In one of the worst chapters of their casualty-marred deployment in Afghanistan, Canadian forces earlier this year lost 10 soldiers in 90 days to improvised bombs on one stretch of highway in Kandahar province.

Then a US Army helicopter crew stalking Taliban insurgents who plant bombs at night spotted a five-man team, watched the insurgents through sophisticated optical gear until it was certain that's what the men were doing and got permission to kill them.

After that, no bombs exploded on that section of road for two months, says Col. Paul W. Bricker, a Michigan native who commands the Fort Bragg, N.C., based 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, the Army helicopter unit for southern and western Afghanistan.

"There are stretches of these roads we have almost shut down to bomb activity, but it requires constant pressure to do that because even though we have a lot of aircraft, we also have a lot of territory to cover," Bricker says.

Choppers are critical to the counterinsurgency campaign that Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, is waging, but until spring there weren't enough of them, and even limited road surveillance gobbles time for choppers.

When Bricker's unit arrived in April, it had five times the number of helicopters of the unit it replaced. Now it's getting dozens more, some of them shifted from Iraq to Afghanistan. 
More on link


President Obama stuck in muck with pledge to 'finish the job' in Afghanistan
BY James Gordon Meek DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU Wednesday, November 25th 2009
Article Link

WASHINGTON - President Obama hinted Tuesday that the cavalry is coming when he boldly stated he intends to "finish the job" in Afghanistan's eight-year war.

But he may live to regret setting such a high bar with his mystery war plan, much like his predecessor George W. Bush did by pledging to nail Osama Bin Laden "dead or alive."

It's almost impossible to imagine any Afghan strategy this President could unveil next week, short of an immediate withdrawal, that will bring peace before he faces American voters again in 2012.

It might even prove impossible to "finish the job" by 2016 if he wins reelection.

"The idea we can wave a magic wand over the place and fix it quickly is not realistic," said Afghanistan analyst Peter Bergen.
More on link

 Hillier to testify in Afghan torture case
By Althia Raj - SUN MEDIA 24th November 2009
Article Link

OTTAWA — Canada’s former top soldier will be in the hot seat Wednesday as a parliamentary committee tries to get to the bottom of allegations Canada was complicit in the rape and torture of Afghan detainees.

Retired Gen. Rick Hillier and retired Lt.-Gen. Michel Gauthier will be grilled by MPs trying to find out what military brass and government officials knew, and when.

Under intense questioning in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday everybody knew there were widespread torture allegations.

“Taliban make allegations in every case,” Harper said. “Whenever Canadian diplomats or Canadian military officials have concrete evidence, have substantial evidence of any kind of abuse, they take appropriate action.”

The committee will also decide Wednesday whether to hear from top diplomat David Mulroney, who requested to appear this week.

Mulroney was fingered by fellow diplomat Richard Colvin as one of the senior officials who instructed him to censor sensitive reports to Ottawa.

Mulroney has travelled back to Ottawa from Beijing, where he is currently serving as Canada’s ambassador to China, to tell his side of the story.

Harper suggested “a large number” of Colvin’s colleagues don’t agree with his opinions.

But opposition MPs say they are not ready to hear from Mulroney just yet. 
More on link


----------



## GAP (26 Nov 2009)

*Articles found November 26, 2009*

  Afghan raid: German general quits
Article Link

Germany's top soldier has resigned over allegations of a cover-up related to a deadly Nato air strike in Afghanistan.

Wolfgang Schneiderhan's move followed reports that key information about the 4 September action was withheld, the defence minister said.

The strike, which was ordered by a German commander, targeted two fuel tankers hijacked by Taliban militants.

But dozens of civilians were also killed in the attack, which happened in the northern province of Kunduz.

Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg told parliament that Gen Schneiderhan had failed to provide proper information about the incident and had "released himself from his duties at his own request".

Another senior Defence Ministry official, Peter Wichert, has also resigned.

The announcement came as Germany's parliament debated whether to extend its military mission in Afghanistan, amid growing domestic opposition to involvement in the conflict.
More on link

 Dutch raised concerns over conditions in 2006
Netherlands suggested a separate facility
Tonda MacCharles Ottawa Bureau Published On Thu Nov 26 2009
Article Link

OTTAWA–The Netherlands government was so troubled in 2006 by prison conditions in southern Afghanistan that it proposed a separate central facility for detainees captured by Dutch, Canadian and British soldiers, according to a memo sent to Canadian government officials, including the foreign affairs minister's office.

According to a copy of a June 2, 2006, email seen by the Star, foreign services officer Richard Colvin outlined concerns about the detainee handling issue and local Kandahar prison conditions as background for and "in light of the intention of the Dutch defence minister to discuss the Netherlands proposal at a meeting of Canada, U.K. and Netherlands defence ministers June 8, 2006.

"The Dutch proposal to build a central detention facility for the southern region in Kandahar reflects the poor quality and severe overcrowding of the prison in Uruzgan," the memo stated. 
More on link

 MacKay's office got Red Cross warnings about Afghan treatment

OTTAWA–Emails sent to then-foreign affairs minister Peter MacKay's office expressed alarm over the treatment of Afghan detainees on behalf of the International Red Cross Committee – the world humanitarian organization entrusted by the United Nations to monitor prisoners of war, the Star has learned.

Copies of emails seen by the Star indicate that as early as 2006, senior diplomat Richard Colvin was conveying distressing information from the most direct and trusted of sources, the Red Cross, relied on by countries that are signatories to the Geneva Conventions
More on link

 U.S. troops to free up Canadians for rebuilding
Article Link
Canadian Forces to focus on ‘reconstruction and development' once additional U.S. soldiers arrive in southern Afghanistan

The coming U.S. troop surge around Kandahar city will liberate Canadian troops to focus more of their energies on development programs and training of local Afghan forces, Canadian government officials and experts said.

U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to lay out his new Afghan strategy next week, sending another 25,000 to 34,000 troops who are expected to be heavily concentrated in Kandahar, where the Canadian Forces are currently operating.

The reinforcements will be politically useful for the Harper government, which is getting ready to pull out of combat operations in Afghanistan in 2011.

“Canada welcomes the arrival of additional troops, especially in the south of the country,” a Canadian official said. “The increased presence in the south has allowed the Canadian Forces to consolidate their efforts in key districts, and to help Canada focus on its priorities, namely reconstruction and development.”
More on link

 Travers: Popular Hillier mounts his defence
Article Link

Ottawa- Rick Hillier is a crowd pleaser. No matter what he's selling – the armed forces, the Afghanistan mission or a new book – his double-double common touch, can-do vigour and Newfoundland blarney reach out to listeners, win approving nods and sustained applause.

More common in U.S. or even South American generals, Hillier's popularity, and the populist drum he beats, make the former chief of defence staff a national phenomenon. Unlike his predecessors, Hillier became a political force that now must be reckoned with in the evolving controversy over alleged abuse of Afghanistan prisoners. 
More on link

 
 Contractor helicopter missing in Afghanistan
By RAHIM FAIEZ (AP) – 5 hours ago
Article Link

KABUL — A helicopter belonging to an international military contractor has disappeared in Afghanistan, officials said Thursday.

The Supreme Global Service Solutions helicopter has been missing since late Tuesday, said NATO spokesman Maj. Steven Coll.

Supreme provides food and logistics services to military bases across Afghanistan. A Kabul representative for the Virginia-based company declined to comment and press officers elsewhere could not be immediately reached.

Police and international military forces were searching for the craft in eastern Logar province's Kharwar district, provincial government spokesman Din Mohammad Darwirsh said. He said they did not have any confirmation of a crash and no wreckage had been located.

"It's missing, but that's all we know right now," Coll said. He confirmed that NATO forces are helping in the search, but said he could not provide information about how many people were aboard the helicopter or their nationalities.
More on link

 Patrols and turkey in Afghan war zone
By DENIS D. GRAY (AP) – 8 hours ago
Article Link

BARAKI-BARAK, Afghanistan — Thanksgiving Day for soldiers in this valley ringed by towering snowy peaks began with a 6-mile (10-kilometer) slog to aid village schools without desks and windows, and promises to end with five, once scrawny local turkeys soldiers have been fattening up for the past month.

"Just another day, another mission," several soldiers said as a 25-man patrol from Able Troop, 3-71 Cavalry Squadron, 10th Mountain Division, set out on a cold morning under brilliantly blue skies.

Others let sentiment seep through their matter-of-fact, stoic shells.

"We're with our family just like we would be at Thanksgiving back home," said Staff Sgt. Ben McKinnon, of New Haven, Connecticut, nodding toward the soldiers around him that have daily shared hardship, suffering and some elation over the past year.

Commander Cpt. Paul Shepard said his unit had a great deal to be thankful for: the squadron has suffered two soldiers killed in action and a number of wounded but none have died in Alpha Troop.
More on link

Torture claim has little impact in Afghanistan: soldiers
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 25, 2009 | 9:51 PM ET Comments17Recommend6
CBC News
Article Link

Allegations that detainees transferred by Canadians to Afghan prisons were likely tortured have had little impact on troops in Afghanistan, say soldiers returning to Ottawa from a tour of duty there.

"We had no issues with detainee transfers," Col. Roch Lacroix, outgoing deputy commander in Afghanistan, said when he arrived at the Ottawa airport Wednesday.
More on link


----------



## GAP (27 Nov 2009)

*Articles found November 27, 2009*


Afghan-Canadian governor of Kandahar survives assassination attempt
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Article Link
  November 27, 2009, EDT.

KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan-Canadian academic who returned to Afghanistan to serve as governor of the volatile Kandahar province narrowly escaped an assassination attempt Friday.

Tooryalai Wesa, who lived in Coquitlam, B.C., before he was appointed to the post late last year, was on his way to a mosque for prayers marking the Muslim holiday of Eid.

Zelmai Ayubi, a spokesman for Wesa, says a remote-controlled roadside bomb detonated as the governor's three-car convoy passed through the centre of Kandahar city.

Ayubi says Wesa's vehicle was damaged in Friday's attack but the governor was not hurt.

Ayubi says one policeman was wounded in the attack.

When Wesa took over last year at the age of 58, he was the third governor of the volatile province in less than a year and he acknowledged the dangers of the job.

He swept to power in the span of a few days after his childhood friend, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, summoned him from his home in British Columbia to Kabul to offer him the job.

Wesa was born and raised in Kandahar, but fled Afghanistan in 1991.

He eventually settled in B.C. with his wife and three daughters and was an agricultural expert at the University of British Columbia.
More on link

 NATO Forces Find Crash Site of Helicopter in Afghanistan
Friday, November 27, 2009
Article Link

NATO says its forces have located the crash site of a helicopter chartered by an international military contractor that was missing in Afghanistan since Monday.

The helicopter had been chartered by Supreme Global Service Solutions for a cargo mission in support of NATO troops.

NATO said in a statement Friday that the crash site of the MI-8 chopper was located in eastern Logar province.

It was unclear if anyone died in the crash or what caused the helicopter to go down.

Supreme offices reached in Dubai refused to immediately comment.
More on link

Soldiers in Afghanistan Enjoy Turkeys They Raised
U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan seeking a slice of home eat Thanksgiving turkeys they raised
By DENIS D. GRAY Associated Press Writer BARAKI-BARAK, Afghanistan November 27, 2009
Article Link

As daylight faded and the winter cold set in, soldiers huddled inside a crude wooden hut to tuck into Thanksgiving turkeys the unit itself had fattened and to give thanks for having survived a year of combat in Afghanistan.

"They become your family and being able to eat together like this, to break bread together is a highlight," said 1st Sgt. Gonzalo Lassally of soldiers from Able Troop, 3-71 Cavalry Squadron sitting down to the traditional turkey plus ham basted in brown sugar and honey, five varieties of pies and nonalcoholic beer. A stack of local flatbread added an Afghan touch.

A much-scaled down version of the feast was helicoptered to a handful of soldiers in an observation post perched on a 6,900-foot (2,100-meter) spur.

"We're thankful for all still being here. We've been lucky, on the lower spectrum when it comes to casualties," said Lassally, a father of three from Deltona, Florida, who has spent four Thanksgivings, three Christmases and "quite a few birthdays" away from home.
More on link

 NATO teams train Afghans on the front line
By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU (AP) – 9 hours ago
Article Link

NAGHLU, Afghanistan — By day, French soldiers fight side by side with Afghans during Taliban attacks. By night, their officers share meals, the French trying to muster haute cuisine from military rations, the Afghans offering steaming piles of mutton stew and rice.

As President Barack Obama prepares to pour up to 35,000 more U.S. troops into Afghanistan, a much smaller contingent of NATO trainers — many of them European — form a crucial part of the strategy to win the war and get foreign troops home.

The 1,500 trainers from 20 countries live with Afghan forces on the front lines. Their goal: to improve the skills of soldiers in the field, part of the effort to build up the army and police so they can control the country on their own.

Afghan and international troops have now become "true partners, working, planning, fighting and living together," Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. military official in Afghanistan, said last Saturday at a ceremony launching a beefed-up NATO training mission. Their work "is the foundation" of U.S.-led efforts in Afghanistan, McChrystal said.

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen urged U.S. allies this week to commit additional forces, particularly for training, in anticipation of Obama's expected decision to send more troops. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that several allied nations will offer a total of 5,000 more troops. The U.S. president plans to announce a revised battle plan for Afghanistan in a major speech on Tuesday.
More on link

 Taliban Open Northern Front in Afghanistan 
Article Link

KUNDUZ, Afghanistan — Far from the heartland of the Taliban insurgency in the south, this once peaceful northern province was one place American and Afghan officials thought they did not have to worry about.

Afghan officials cut the police force here by a third two years ago and again earlier this year. Security was left to a few thousand German peacekeepers. Only one Afghan logistics battalion was stationed here.

But over the last two years the Taliban have steadily staged a resurgence in Kunduz, where they now threaten a vital NATO supply line and employ more sophisticated tactics. In November, residents listened to air raids by NATO forces for five consecutive nights, the first heavy fighting since the Taliban were overthrown eight years ago.

The turnabout vividly demonstrates how security has broken down even in unexpected parts of Afghanistan. It also points to the hard choices facing American, NATO and Afghan officials even if President Obama decides to send more soldiers to Afghanistan, as he is expected to announce next week.
More on link


----------



## mariomike (28 Nov 2009)

"Rocket attacks a daily routine for Canadians: KANDAHAR AIRFIELD — “Hit the deck,” cries Leading Seaman Erik Lindholm as air sirens wail.
Pods of soldiers and civilians drop to the dust-caked ground or scoot into concrete bunkers just before 10 a.m. inside this sprawling desert military base of about 22,000 people.":
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2009/11/28/11964661-sun.html


----------



## Yrys (30 Nov 2009)

I did a search, and didn't find those somewhere else

Articles wrote November 28, 29 2009

Nov 28, Washington post

Troop deployment to begin shortly after Obama's war strategy speech 

KABUL -- Days after President Obama outlines his new war strategy in a speech 
Tuesday, as many as 9,000 Marines will begin deploying to southern Afghanistan 
to renew an assault on a Taliban stronghold that stalled earlier this year amid a 
troop shortage and political pressure from the Afghan government, senior U.S. 
officials said.

The extra Marines -- the first to move into the country as part of Obama's escalation 
of the eight-year-old war -- will double the size of the U.S. force in the southern 
province of Helmand and provide a critical test for Afghan President Hamid Karzai's 
struggling government and Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's counterinsurgency strategy.

"The first troops out of the door are going to be Marines," Gen. James Conway, the 
Corps' top officer, told fellow Marines in Afghanistan on Saturday. "We've been leaning 
forward in anticipation of a decision. And we've got some pretty stiff fighting coming."

The Marines will quickly be followed by about 1,000 U.S. Army trainers, who will deploy 
as early as February to speed the growth of the Afghan National Army and police force, 
military officials said.

The new forces will not start moving until the president formally outlines his new 
strategy in a speech at the United States Military Academy at West Point. The revised 
plan, which faces a war-weary and increasingly skeptical American public, is expected 
to call for 30,000-35,000 new troops in a phased deployment over the next 12 to 18 
months. The first place Obama will look for results is in Helmand -- a Taliban-dominated 
province that has been McChrystal's primary focus for much of this year and the site of 
some of the bloodiest fighting. Earlier this year, about 10,000 Marines moved into the 
area and pushed Taliban fighters out of several major cities there. The Marines then 
began to rebuild the long-absent Afghan government and police forces in the area.
....

Marine commanders have little doubt that the additional 9,000 troops moving into the 
province will push the Taliban out of their remaining sanctuaries in the province. But 
the gains will be transitory if U.S. forces do not build effective local police forces and 
foster a government that is relatively free of corruption and able to provide for the 
Afghan people, U.S. officials said. "This will be a credibility test for the [Afghan] 
government to see if it can deliver," said Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, a spokesman 
for McChrystal.

Already, there is cause for concern. The Afghan government appears likely to commit 
only 60 percent of the troops that Marine and local Afghan commanders estimate that 
they need for the assault, a senior Marine official in Helmand said. That means more 
Marines will probably have to be posted in the city after the initial attack to ensure that 
the Taliban does not return.

"To have American Marines standing on a corner in a key village isn't nearly as effective 
as having an Afghan policeman or Afghan soldier," Conway said.
...



Nov 29

Newly deployed Marines to target Taliban bastion 


KABUL -- Days after President Obama outlines his new war strategy in a speech 
Tuesday, as many as 9,000 Marines will begin final preparations to deploy to 
southern Afghanistan and renew an assault on a Taliban stronghold that slowed 
this year amid a troop shortage and political pressure from the Afghan government, 
senior U.S. officials said.

The extra Marines will be the first to move into the country as part of Obama's 
escalation of the eight-year-old war. They will double the size of the U.S. force 
in the southern province of Helmand and will provide a critical test for Afghan 
President Hamid Karzai's struggling government and Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal's 
counterinsurgency strategy.
...


----------



## GAP (30 Nov 2009)

*Articles found November 30, 2009*

 DiManno: Our rules don't work in Afghanistan
Article Link

My first exposure to Afghan prisoners was in November of 2001, when a dozen or so raggedy-clad and frightened men were put on display outside a primitive jail in Badakhshan by the Northern Alliance.

This was in complete violation of Geneva Protocols that forbid any public parading of detainees scooped up in combat. But nobody was paying attention to such formal rules of conduct; the Alliance, in fact, never would, as they went on to commit far worse acts, including many atrocities, on their gleeful march to Kabul – a seizure of the capital that Washington had vainly attempted to halt.

There's no telling Afghans how they must behave. This should always have been realized and has become painfully evident over the past eight years. If Afghan society had any regard for even the most minimal threshold of human rights, as the West understands them, there would have been no Taliban, no shelter for Al Qaeda, no invasion and, subsequently, no breast-thrashing over unchecked cruelties, corruption run amok and a culture stubbornly resistant to imported ethics.
More on link

 Canadians being watched by insurgents as they seek control of Haji Baba
JONATHAN MONTPETIT November 18, 2009 
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - The Taliban kept to the shadows of Haji Baba on Wednesday as Canadian soldiers trying to seize control of the insurgent stronghold continued to pick up apart its defences.

With the operation entering its fifth day, a high-stakes game of hide-and-seek has emerged between insurgents and Canadian troops and their Afghan counterparts in the small village southwest of Kandahar city.

"We are aware we are being observed by insurgents in the vicinity of Haji Baba, and they are using children as shields," the military said in a statement, which went on to describe how the children would emerge whenever helicopters or tanks arrived near a compound.

"Using children as human shields to protect compounds is a tactic of the Taliban that has been observed on a number of occasions during (the current rotation)."
More on link

January Conference To Decide Afghanistan Exit
 November 29, 2009 Miranda Richardson, Sky News Online
Gordon Brown will host an international conference on January 28, 2010 to decide a timetable for the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan.
Article Link

Afghan President Hamid Karzai will be asked to commit to boosting his country's army, police and local governance, the Prime Minister announced at the Commonwealth summit in Trinidad and Tobago.

Mr Karzai will be required to:

:: Provide 50,000 troops for training over the next year;

:: Improve the capacity of the police force;

:: Recruit governors at regional and district level who are free from corruption and can deliver services to the Afghan people.

Mr Brown said the milestones would create the conditions for control of Afghanistan to be handed over, district by district, to homegrown authorities and for UK troops to come home.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will attend the London conference, along with Mr Karzai and representatives of many of the 43 nations who are involved in the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
More on link

 Whistle-blower Richard Colvin 'driven by what he thinks is right'
Natalie Alcoba, National Post  Published: Friday, November 27, 2009
Article Link

The life of a foreign-service diplomat is usually one of quiet service out of the limelight. It is the elected politicians who give speeches and appear on television.

But Richard Colvin -- and the story he told -- has become the subject of remarkable scrutiny on Parliament Hill, one that has people on all sides of the debate about Afghan detainees speculating about his motivations.

People who know him, though, say he is simply an intelligent, principled man, whose motivation for seeking postings in some of the most perilous corners of the world came from a desire to keep it interesting, and "bear witness."
More on link


----------

