# The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread (March 2007)



## GAP (1 Mar 2007)

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

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

*Articles found March 1, 2007*

Salesmen for Afghanistan
Embassy, February 28th, 2007 By Lee Berthiaume
Article Link

Talking about an early Canadian withdrawal from Afghanistan encourages the insurgency and will only drag out the mission as Afghans wonder which side to support. 

That was the message two Canadians, one working for the UN and the other NATO, brought to Ottawa as they testified on Parliament Hill and spoke before a who's-who of Canadian foreign and military policymakers yesterday. 

"The major challenge for all of us today is to show resolve, to show will, and to demonstrate unity of effort," Christopher Alexander, deputy representative of UN secretary-general for Afghanistan, told members of the Standing Committee on National Defence. 

"If we are rushing for the exit, if we are trying to cut things short, if we are flagging in our commitment to achieving the objectives...we will be giving comfort to the enemies of this transition and we will be undermining the achievements and the effort that is underway today to bring stability to Afghanistan." 

Over the past year, Canada's role in Afghanistan has been the subject of heated debate across the country. 

Canada has committed $1.2 billion to reconstruction efforts within the Central Asian country through to 2011, including $200 million announced by the government on Monday. At the same time, about 2,500 Canadian soldiers are operating in Afghanistan, with the government committed to staying until at least 2009. 

While the Conservative government has stood firm on Canada's commitments to Afghanistan, opposition parties have called for everything from a shift away from combat operations towards reconstruction to outright withdrawal. 

With such divisions, there was a perception that Mr. Alexander and NATO spokesman James Appathurai, both of whom will be in Toronto today for more presentations, are in the country to sell the mission's progress. 

"Afghanistan will not succeed unless countries like Canada remain committed," Mr. Alexander said when asked whether he was in Canada to shore up support for the mission. 

"We hope to continue a debate and show people that the past five years...have yielded a result," he added. "And if we're prepared to make more investments, than we will make more progress." 

During their presentation to the defence committee, the two men said the mission will take a long time, with Mr. Alexander citing one study that found insurgencies take on average 14 years to lose and 17 years to win. 
More on link

Family of Korean soldier killed in Afghanistan leaves for Kuwait
SEOUL, March 1 (Yonhap) 
Article Link

South Korea sent a delegation on Thursday to Kuwait to bring back the body of a South Korean soldier killed in a terrorist attack in Afghanistan, officials said.

The delegation included seven family members of Sgt. Yoon Jang-ho, who was killed in a suicide bombing Tuesday, officials said. Yoon's body will arrive at a Seoul airport Friday morning.

Yoon, 27, was among about two dozen people killed in the suicide bombing Tuesday in Bagram, north of Kabul.

The soldier was the first South Korean serviceman killed in an attack while on an overseas assignment since the country fought on the U.S. side during the Vietnam War, which ended in 1975.

The U.S. military transferred Yoon's body to Kuwait Wednesday on a C-17 transport plane and handed it over to South Korean defense officials, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

South Korea has deployed around 200 troops to Afghanistan since 2002 as part of a multinational force occupying the country.
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Afghanistan: UN Monitor Cites 'Rapid Deterioration' As Drugs Spread  
By Breffni O'Rourke (RFE/RL) March 1, 2007 (RFE/RL) 
Article Link

The international body that monitors the implementation of UN antidrug efforts has warned that Afghanistan is failing to make progress on drug control; on the contrary, things are getting worse.

The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) concludes in its annual report that iIlicit opium-poppy cultivation in Afghanistan reached record levels in 2006. 

It adds that, apart from exporting narcotic substances, Afghans are themselves falling victim to drug dependency. 

The INCB also says a full one-third of the Afghan economy is based on the production of narcotics, and that this is contributing inexorably to the corruption gripping the country. 

Message For Kabul  

The Vienna-based board says it is "seriously concerned" at the deterioration in drugs control. It also calls on the government of President Hamid Karzai to urgently address this problem with the help of the international community, particularly donor countries. 

The report says that the production of opium, the raw ingredient of heroin, has grown by almost half in the past year. 

"Illicit opium-poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has reached record levels -- the highest level in history in 2006 -- and this is a main concern of the board," INCB spokeswoman Liqin Zhu tells RFE/RL. 

The opium crop is estimated at a massive 6,100 tons, making Afghanistan by far the largest producer of opium in the world. 

Afghanistan is more than just the source of much of the heroin flooding into North America and Europe. It is itself falling victim to drug consumption. The board says a nationwide survey of drug abuse in Afghanistan in early 2006 revealed that the country has 1 million drug users -- 60,000 of whom are children under the age of 15. 
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Bomb blast in western Afghanistan kills 3 civilians, wounds up to 48
Amir Shah Canadian Press Thursday, March 01, 2007
Article Link

KABUL (AP) - A roadside bomb in western Afghanistan left three civilians dead and 48 wounded, including 10 children, officials said Thursday. 

The blast targeted a passing police vehicle in the city of Farah, killing the civilians, wounding 10 children and dozens of construction workers, said Mohammad Qasem Bayan, the chief of public health department for Farah province. The attack happened in the city centre, near a school, Bayan said. 

The police vehicle was slightly damaged and two officers were also wounded, said Zemeri Bashary, a spokesman for the ministry of interior. 

"It is the work of enemies of Afghanistan," Bashary said, suggesting that resurgent Taliban militants were behind the attack. 

Western Afghanistan has been spared much of the violence rocking the country's south and east, but that area lays on a major route for heroin smuggling into Iran. 

Last week, suspected Taliban militants briefly took over one of the districts of Farah province after police fled the posts. That followed a roadside attack last Sunday on the province's police chief on his return from destroying poppy fields. The police chief was unharmed, but four other officers in the vehicle were killed and two wounded. 

Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium poppy. In 2006, production in the country rose 49 per cent to 6,000 tonnes - enough to make about 600 tonnes of heroin. 
More on link

"No one is doing enough to curb Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan"  
Malaysia Sun Thursday 1st March, 2007  (ANI)
Article Link

Kabul, Mar 1 : British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett has said that no one was doing enough to tackle a Taliban-led insurgency gripping Afghanistan. He said this in reply to a question if Islamabad was doing enough against rebels on its soil.

"I would say in all sincerity that no one is doing enough to tackle the security problems," the Daily Times quoted her as saying while referring to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Britain.

She added: "If we were doing enough then we would have had a great deal more success than we have had so far. It is very important for us to do more together and to cooperate together to tackle these problems because they cause such harm whether it be in Pakistan itself or in Afghanistan." 

Beckett said this while addressing reporters after meeting Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and his Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta.

She had arrived in Kabul on Tuesday after US Vice President Dick Cheney flew out following a visit marred by a suicide attack at Bagram Air Base outside the capital where he had spent the night. At least 20 people, including three foreigners, were killed in the blast
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Pak girds for blowback on Al Qaeda intelligence(Reuters)
1 March 2007 
Article Link

ISLAMABAD - It has been an extraordinarily bloody start to 2007 in Pakistan, and analysts, intelligence officials and ordinary Pakistanis fear it is likely to get worse.

US Vice President Dick Cheney this week asked President Pervez Musharraf to stop Al Qaeda rebuilding in Pakistani tribal lands and stem the flow of Taleban fighters going to Afghanistan for a spring offensive against NATO and Afghan troops.

“The Americans will have said: ‘If we find a camp, either you go in and destroy it, or we do it ourselves’,” said Najam Sethi, editor of the Daily Times.

President George W. Bush is being asked to push Pakistan harder, not just by the American media, the think-tanks, but also by unhappy NATO allies, his own generals, and most recently Democrat lawmakers who want to make aid to Pakistan contingent on counter-terrorism results.

“There’s growing uneasiness, not only among Democrats and not only on Capitol Hill, that things are going in a wrong direction in Pakistan,” Robert Hathaway, director of the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars, said.

Success against Al Qaeda and in Afghanistan depends on Pakistani support.
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Afghanistan: Bomb threat pre-dated Cheney visit
By ASSOCIATED PRESS Mar. 1, 2007 3:03
Article Link

Intelligence reports indicated that the Taliban had the ability to carry out suicide attacks near the main US base in Afghanistan even before a bloody bombing during a visit by US Vice President Dick Cheney, NATO said. 

Col. Tom Collins, the top spokesman for NATO's force in Afghanistan, said suicide bomb cells were present in the capital, Kabul, just 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Bagram Air Base. 

"We know for a fact that there has been recent intelligence to suggest that there was the threat of a bombing in the Bagram area," Collins told reporters Wednesday. "It's clear that there are suicide bomber cells operating in this country. There are some in the city of Kabul."
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Britain sending Warrior missiles to Afghanistan  
Article Link 
  
LONDON: Britain is sending its 70km range missiles to Afghanistan for targeting the Taliban, who are reportedly regrouping for launching a spring offensive. 

Britain also plans to deploy most of its additional troops near the Pakistani border to fight the Taliban who are reported to be regularly crossing into Afghanistan.

The UK used the ‘Warrior’ missiles in both the Gulf wars (1991 and 2003) against Iraqi army and now these are being introduced in Afghanistan for the first time since the war began in 2001 in a bid to punish Taliban, and might target tribal people living along the long Pak-Afghan border.

The Times has quoted Defence sources as saying that the Warrior is a precision weapon to be used to target Taliban positions. The Warrior, which weighs 37 tonnes, is unlikely to be used for protecting long-range patrols besides troops in combat operations.

The extra firepower will be sent to Afghanistan along with 1,400 more troops. The reinforcements will include heavy armour, rockets and additional ground-attack aircraft. Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, told the House of Commons that the extra troops and firepower were needed to support the British force already in the Helmand province, in the south.

Browne said he was forced to take the decision because other Nato partners had failed to offer extra troops. The reinforcements will start arriving in Afghanistan in May for deployment through the early summer. The battle group will consist of the 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh Regiment, formerly known as the Royal Welch Fusiliers.

The list of extra equipment includes Warrior armoured infantry fighting vehicles and multiple-launch rocket systems, which are both being deployed to Afghanistan for the first time. Also included are four more Harrier GR9s, to be used as bombers in a support role for ground troops, and four extra Sea King helicopters. Another C130 Hercules transport aircraft is also being sent.

The extra battle group announced by Browne will increase the size of the British military presence in Afghanistan to 7,700. This level will be maintained, under present planning assumptions, until 2009. 
More on link

NATO off course, report concludes
GLORIA GALLOWAY  From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Article Link

OTTAWA — A former Canadian ambassador to NATO says the war in Afghanistan cannot be won militarily and it will require negotiation with the Taliban to bring an end to the conflict.

Gordon Smith, who was Canada's NATO ambassador between 1985 and 1990, and a team of experts from across Canada will release a report tomorrow that says the current NATO policies are not on course to achieve the objectives of peace and stability in the country, "even within a period of 10 years."

Dr. Smith, who is also a former deputy minister of Foreign Affairs and is now director of the Centre for Global Studies at the University of Victoria, says recent announcements that will bring NATO's troop complement in Afghanistan to 37,000 will have little impact.

"One of the experts that we asked about how many troops would be needed for a military victory said, 'Oh, maybe half a million.' So adding a couple of thousand is wonderful but it doesn't do anything."
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (1 Mar 2007)

TALIBAN LEADER MULLAH DADULLAH
The Star of Afghanistan's Jihad

_Spiegel Online_, March 1, by Matthias Gebauer in Peshawar, Pakistan
http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,469172,00.html



> If Osama bin Laden likes being in the global spotlight, he's likely a bit depressed in his hideout these days. The leader of the al-Qaida terrorist organization hasn't made an appearance on the evening news for quite some time. What's more, the Taliban no longer need bin Laden as a figurehead. Western intelligence agencies warn that the Taliban now have "their own star" in their struggle against Western soldiers and the Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai. The new nightmare from the Hindu Kush Mountains is called Mullah Dadullah. He sports a pitch black beard, always wears a military jacket and these days, he is omnipresent in the media...
> 
> Western intelligence agencies believe the Taliban have used the winter to thoroughly tighten their organizational structure. Some Taliban commanders are even reporting that Taliban leader Mullah Omar -- who disappeared from the scene entirely for years -- is once again writing letters to his supporters, congratulating successful commanders and the parents of suicide bombers and reminding militants of their "Islamic duties" via audio recordings. For years, one-eyed Omar had disappeared without a trace -- likely afraid of being tracked down by the CIA.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (1 Mar 2007)

It's not unthinkable to bring the Taliban inside the tent
_Globe and Mail_,  March 1, 2007, By GORDON SMITH 
http://www.rbcinvest.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/LAC/20070301/COAFGHAN01/Comment/comment/comment/2/2/4/



> Anyone who thinks the issue is simply one of supporting our troops in Afghanistan as they fight bravely to bring peace to that unfortunate country doesn't get it. Nor does someone who thinks our military ought to leave now, or even in 2009, with Canada turning its focus to development assistance.
> 
> I have nothing but admiration for our troops. As a behind-the-scenes drafter of a defence white paper and a former ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, I know the military and am proud of the great job it is doing.
> 
> ...



Let's talk about timelines
_The Torch_, March 1, by Babbling Brooks
http://toyoufromfailinghands.blogspot.com/2007/03/lets-talk-about-timelines.html



> Gotta love straight-up news stories, written without a hint of misplaced editorializing...or blog post written without a hint of sarcasm...
> 
> ...the CF didn't wait until Attaran and Koring started fishing with abuse allegations a month ago, or when Amnesty International raised another complaint a week ago. _They were talking with Abdul Quadar Noorzai, of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission in Kandahar last summer_...
> 
> ...



The March 1 CP story leading to the above:

Afghan agency to monitor Canadian transfers of detainees
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/03/01/hrc-watchdog-070301.html

Mark
Ottawa









Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (2 Mar 2007)

Taliban leader 'captured' in Pakistan
Associated Press, March 2, 2007
http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,,2025332,00.html



> Pakistani security forces have captured the former Taliban defence minister, intelligence officials said today, in what would be the highest-ranking leader to be arrested since 2001.
> 
> A Taliban spokesman denied as "rumour" the arrest of Mullah Obaidullah Akhund, who is regarded as one of the two top deputies of Taliban supreme leader, Mullah Omar.
> 
> ...



Though the names are very similar, this fellow does not appear be the Taliban "star", Mullah Dadullah, covered in the _Spiegel_ piece above.
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/58137/post-535072.html#msg535072

Whose full name is "Mullah Dadullah Akhund".
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13531827/site/newsweek/



> The star is Mullah Dadullah Akhund, a one-legged guerrilla commander in southern Afghanistan who now seems bent on matching or exceeding Zarqawi's ugly reputation.



Two Talibs with very similar names:
http://news-buzz.info/a/top-taliban-leader-killed-in-airstrike-u-s-says



> Osmani was described by Collins as ranking just below the most senior echelon of Taliban leadership, sharing the senior field command with two other figures, military strategist Mullah Obaidullah Akhund and Mullah Dadullah Akhund, who is noted for his ferocious battle tactics.



Mark 
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (3 Mar 2007)

NATO Short on Troops in Afghanistan
AP, March 3
http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2007/03/03/ap/washington/d8nkdt401.txt



> Signs of a new spring offensive by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan have begun to emerge, but NATO commanders are still short more than 1,000 combat troops, despite repeated requests to allied nations, the top commander said Friday.
> 
> U.S. Gen. John Craddock told reporters that while the allies are winning more battles with insurgents, they are losing the counter-narcotics war, and more work and greater coordination is needed in the reconstruction effort.
> 
> ...



US Navy: aircraft carrier for Afghanistan, not Iran
DPA, March 3
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/36249.html



> The second US aircraft carrier that arrived near the Gulf in late February is focusing its operations on supporting coalition ground forces in Afghanistan and is not targeting Iran, its top commanders said. The nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier USS John C Stennis had entered the Bahrain-based US Navy 5th Fleet area of responsibility on February 19, taking position in the northern Arabian Sea...
> 
> The deployment of the Stennis alongside the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower had fuelled speculation that the US was planning to attack Iran, a claim that top US Naval officials in the region have refuted repeatedly.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (4 Mar 2007)

*Articles found 4 March, 2007*

Afghan civilians caught in crossfire
RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press
Article Link

JALALABAD, Afghanistan — U.S. Marine Special Forces fleeing a militant ambush opened fire on civilians on a busy highway in eastern Afghanistan, wounded Afghans said. 

Officials say up to 16 people were killed and 34 wounded in the violence.

A suicide car bomber hit the American convoy with an explosives-packed minivan, said Noor Agha Zawok, the spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province.

Militant gunmen then fired from several directions, the U.S. military said. The coalition forces returned fire, the military said.
More on link

Pakistan seizes one of Taliban's top three
Arrest signals major move for regime under diplomatic pressure to crack down on insurgents 
GRAEME SMITH From Friday's Globe and Mail
Article Link

Pakistan's security forces have arrested a top Taliban commander, signalling a major loss for the movement's leadership and a significant move by a regime under intense diplomatic pressure to crack down on the insurgents.

Mullah Obaidullah Akhund, the Taliban's former defence minister, is considered one of the Taliban's three most senior figures. Pakistani sources told Reuters and The New York Times Thursday night that he was arrested on Monday, the same day that U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney visited Islamabad to push for help against the Taliban.

Mr. Akhund reputedly continued to serve as a trusted confidant of the insurgents' supreme leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar. According to Taliban interviewed recently in Quetta, Mr. Akhund was responsible for trying to buy more advanced shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles than the old Russian Strela-2M models now carried by the insurgents.

It's the first time that Pakistan has openly taken action against a leader of the Taliban, which enjoyed strong backing from the Pakistani government when the radical religious movement conquered most of Afghanistan in 1996.
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Pakistan denies U.S. military's border claims
American official says forces can pursue Taliban across Afghan frontier, but Foreign Ministry disagrees
By Munir Ahmad ASSOCIATED PRESS
Article Link

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan vehemently denied Saturday the U.S. military's claim that coalition forces in Afghanistan have the authority to pursue Taliban fleeing across the border into Pakistani territory.

"There is no authorization for hot pursuit of terrorists into our territory," Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad, spokesman for the Pakistan Army, said Saturday. "Whatever actions are needed to fight terrorism, we are taking them."

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry rejected an assertion by Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, chief operations officer for the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, that his forces routinely fire on and pursue Taliban into Pakistan.

"No foreign forces are allowed to cross into our territorial border," said Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam. "Pakistan and United States are partners in the war on terror -- not adversaries."
More on link

Top commander: Afghanistan needs reconstruction and more forces for security         
Written by pub  Sunday, 04 March 2007  
Article Link

      WASHINGTON, March 3, (APP): The top commander of international forces in Afghanistan has observed that security and stability in the country have a linkage with reconstruction and economic growth and said greater coordination between Pakistan and Afghanistan is essential to check cross-border movement of militants. 

Army Gen. Bantz J. Craddock, NATO’s supreme allied commander for Europe, who has the ultimate responsibility for international forces in Afghanistan, said the country is making progress but many challenges remain.         

Craddock spoke of international reconstruction and security efforts and underlined the need for “greater control of the border areas with Pakistan and greater cooperation and coordination between Pakistan and Afghanistan” for NATO control and overall success. 

Referring to two million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan, he said they are a source of Taliban fighters. 

“There are 2 million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan, and they are a great source of Taliban fighters because they don’t have any choice,” he said, according to a Pentagon press service. 
More on link

Pakistani terror policy alleged
UPDATED: 2007-03-04 01:32:25 MST By AP
Article Link

Afghan minister says neighbour continues to support Taliban
  
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghanistan's foreign minister told members of the legislature neighbouring Pakistan uses terror as its foreign policy and it once occupied almost 90% of Afghanistan, a reference to Afghanistan's former Taliban rule. 

Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta said the world is rewarding Pakistan with aid packages, even though it supports Taliban fighters. 

"Pakistan shouldn't use terror as its foreign policy," he said yesterday. "I wish that the international community wouldn't give rewards to countries that are supporting the Taliban." 

Afghan officials frequently accuse Pakistani leaders of harbouring Taliban fighters and commanders. Pakistan's government insists it does all it can to fight terrorism. 

Pakistan intelligence officials said one of the Taliban's top leaders -- Mullah Obaidullah Akhund -- was arrested in the Pakistani city Quetta last Monday, the highest-ranking Afghan militant to be captured since the fall of the hardline regime in 2001. 
More on link

Taliban destroys NATO military vehicle in S. Afghanistan  
Sunday March 04, 2007 (0406 PST)
Article Link

KABUL: Some Taliban militants destroyed a vehicle of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force ( ISAF) in Helmand province of southern Afghanistan on Friday, a local senior police officer told Xinhua on Saturday. 
"Some Taliban insurgents ambushed an ISAF convoy and damaged one vehicle in Nadali district," Isa Khan said. There were no casualties of the attacked ISAF soldiers, who are from Britain, and Taliban militants, he added. 

Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi confirmed the ambush, saying the Taliban caused some damage to ISAF vehicles. Over 5,000 British soldiers are deployed as part of ISAF in Helmand, known for its gigantic opium product and rampant insurgency.
More on link

]Article Link

Shopkeeper beheaded in Khost  
Sunday March 04, 2007 (0406 PST)


KHOST CITY: Armed men, suspected to be the anti-government Taliban, kidnapped and beheaded a shopkeeper in Alisher district of the southeastern Khost province. 
Wazir Badsha, a provincial police official, said the retailer was kidnapped by gunmen while on way to his house. His headless body was found in the area this morning, said the officer. 

No one has so far claimed responsibility for the dastardly act. Meanwhile, a police officer wounded when their patrol came under attack from Taliban fighters near Babrak police station last night. 

The fighting lasted for one hour. Police said they arrested two of the attackers. Condition of the injured police officer is stated to be stable
More on link


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## GAP (5 Mar 2007)

*Articles found March 5, 2007*

NATO air strike hits Afghan house, killing civilians, officials say
AMIR SHAH Associated Press
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan — A NATO air strike hit a house during a firefight between western troops and militants, killing nine Afghans who lived there, Afghan officials said Monday.

Militants overnight fired on a NATO base in Kapisa province, just north of Kabul, and when soldiers returned fire, they hit a home, killing five women, three boys and a man, said Sayad Mohammad Dawood Hashimmi, Kapisa deputy governor.

Maj. William Mitchell, a U.S. military spokesman, said officials were looking into the incident. The NATO base in Kapisa is staffed by U.S. forces.

A deputy Interior Ministry spokesman also said nine civilians had been killed. He asked not to be identified because the ministry hadn't yet prepared a statement.
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Canadian food aid vital to Afghanistan drought victims, war refugees  
14:36 on March 4, 2007, EST.
Article Link

SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan (CP) - His weathered face pinched by hunger, farmer Amir Jan squats on his haunches, patiently waiting in line to receive his pay for three weeks of back-breaking work digging sand out of irrigation canals. 

When his name is called, Jan is given a 50-kilogram sack of wheat, a bag of dried peas, a container of cooking oil and some salt - all courtesy of the Canadian taxpayer. 

Hard wages for hard labour in one of the most desperate regions of Afghanistan. 

"We have nothing because of the drought. Last year there was no harvest," Jan said through an interpreter inside a mud-walled UN compound patrolled by Afghan National Police armed with AK-47s. 

The compound is only six kilometres from the Pakistan border and a mountainous hinterland that is home to Taliban training camps. 

But Jan, one of an estimated 340,000 drought victims, war refugees and displaced people in Kandahar province, doesn't want to talk about the Taliban. 

"This is only enough food here to help feed my family for nine or 10 days," he said Sunday. "We need wells for irrigation." 

The Canadian International Development Agency will spend $4.9 million this year on emergency food assistance to vulnerable families in Kandahar province through UN programs such as Food for Work. 
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Soldiers with mental illnesses return to combat
Updated Mon. Mar. 5 2007 8:06 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

Canadian soldiers suffering from mental illness -- including depression and operational stress injuries such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) -- are still being sent to Afghanistan, according to a report.

Canadian Forces' chief psychiatrist, Col. Randy Boddam, who is currently in Afghanistan, told The Globe and Mail that the military is addressing the issue head on. 

"Let's acknowledge it (mental illness), let's bring it out of the shadows and get people in so they get treatment sooner, and be employable and living their lives the best they can," he said. 
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Where does Al Qaeda stand now?
Experts say the terrorist network has rebuilt in Pakistan with inexperienced leaders and murky goals.
By Peter Grier | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor 
Article Link

WASHINGTON - Hidden in the harsh terrain of Pakistan's tribal lands near the Afghan border, Al Qaeda's senior leaders have quietly been rebuilding their terrorist network – including lines of command to cells in other nations. 

This resurgence does not mean the group has regained its old strength, say US intelligence officials and outside experts. Al Qaeda's top levels are now filled with inexperienced commanders, and its new camps can train only a fraction of the recruits the pre-2001 infrastructure in Afghanistan could handle. 

Al Qaeda's goals also remain murky. It is not clear whether the organization has a specific plan to strike within the United States or whether it considers Europe, or Iraq, more important in its war to impose its vision of Islam on the Middle East. 
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Winning Afghan hearts mired in corruption, civilian deaths
POSTED: 0202 GMT (1002 HKT), March 4, 2007 
Article Link

SPIRWAN, Afghanistan (AP) -- Abdullah Shah and his son made a pilgrimage to the holy Muslim city of Mecca this January, courtesy of the Afghan government. President Hamid Karzai himself arranged the trip to Saudi Arabia.

The invitation came after Shah's wife, two daughters and three other sons were killed by a wayward NATO bomb in Lagarnai, a village near here in southern Afghanistan.

Shah, in his 70s and wearing the white turban of a religious man, accepted the trip, but not the message.

Before the deaths, "I wasn't with the Taliban and I wasn't with the government," he said. "But, I tell you, now I am Talib."

In the sixth winter since the U.S.-led ouster of the Taliban government, the radical Islamists are making a comeback. Their bold confidence was apparent last week, when a suicide bomber killed 23 outside an air base during Vice President Dick Cheney's visit there.

There are many factors. But citizens like Shah, the Afghan government and key NATO commanders agree on this: The use of force is sometimes excessive and errant. In Afghanistan's tribal society, a single death -- no matter if NATO labels it "enemy" -- can create scores of sworn foes. And NATO, like the Taliban, has killed hundreds.
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As Afghan Troops Build Capacity, Decisive Battles Loom
By Tim Kilbride American Forces Press Service
Article Link

WASHINGTON, March 2, 2007 – The anticipated spring offensive may mark the beginning of the end for the Taliban in Afghanistan, a military official told bloggers and online journalists in a conference call yesterday. 
“If the Taliban do not make it through this offensive, we feel that by next year they’ll have limited access to Afghanistan,” Army Col. David B. Enyeart, deputy commander of Task Force Phoenix V, said. 

Enyeart, whose soldiers oversee training of the Afghan forces, said coalition officials fully expect a surge in Taliban and insurgent attacks in time with the country’s spring thaw. 

“We know there’s going to be a spring offensive,” he said. “There always is.” 

Enyeart characterized the upcoming battles as a key fight. “We believe that this offensive is going to be probably the worst one they’ve had here in quite a while,” he said. 

However, Enyeart noted, the country’s security forces are in a better position than ever to face the threat, thanks to increased recruiting numbers, solid training and a strong sense of national identity among the Afghan forces. 

Enyeart compared the current Afghan National Army with what he observed during his last tour of Afghanistan in 2002. “The Afghan National Army itself is growing not only in size, but it seems that they’re growing smarter in the way they do things,” he said. 
More on link


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## GAP (6 Mar 2007)

*Articles found 6 March, 2007*

Canadian reservist killed in non-combat shooting
Updated Tue. Mar. 6 2007 3:39 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

A Canadian soldier was killed in a non-combat shooting in Afghanistan, CTV News has confirmed. 

A government source told CTV News that the soldier was Cpl. Kevin Megeney, a reservist from Stellarton, N.S. 

There has been no official confirmation of details surrounding the incident, but there are reports that Megeney, 25, was killed in an accidental shooting. 

Canadian reporters in Kandahar were in a military-ordered lockdown and were unable to immediately provide any information related to the report. 

Megeney's sister, Lisa, told the Canadian Press that her younger brother was apparently in his tent when he was shot. 

"It was friendly fire, that's all I know," she told CP as military officials briefed the family on the incident, which occurred sometime before noon. 

Megeney has been in Afghanistan since Dec. 8 as part of the militia with the Nova Scotia Highlanders. 

Lisa Megeney said her brother was excited to be going to the war-torn country, despite fears amongst family members that he might be injured. 

"He said that he was going to help people," she said. "He wanted to turn things around, so the Afghanis could live like we live.... He took so much pride in it." 

News of the incident broke as the Canadian military is expected to announce that a large group of reservists from Western Canada will be deployed to Afghanistan to compensate for a troop shortfall. 
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Coalition forces launch anti-Taliban offensive
Updated Tue. Mar. 6 2007 3:09 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
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Canadian troops are part of a British-led offensive that launched Tuesday in an effort to drive out Taliban extremists and improve the "quality of life" for people in a volatile region in southern Afghanistan. 

A force of more than 200 Canadian soldiers from the Royal Canadian Regiment are part of Operation Achilles, which will eventually involve 4,500 NATO and 1,000 Afghan soldiers. 

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) says the troops will sweep northern Helmand province, targetting the Taliban as well as foreign terrorists and drug warlords. 

"Our first manoeuvre elements reached their positions earlier today," Maj.-Gen. Ton van Loon, commander of regional command south, said in a release. 

"It signifies the beginning of a planned offensive to bring security to northern Helmand and set the conditions for meaningful development that will fundamentally improve the quality of life for Afghans in the area." 

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is calling Achilles the largest multi-national force ever fielded in a single operation. 

As part of the effort, the Canadian soldiers will be tasked with setting up a blocking position in the Maywand district inside the northwestern border of Kandahar province. 
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Taliban claims kidnapping of Briton, 2 Afghans in southern Afghanistan
The Associated PressPublished: March 6, 2007
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan: Britain was looking into reports Tuesday that a British man has been kidnapped in the volatile south of Afghanistan, officials said, as the Taliban claimed to have captured a Briton and two Afghans.

A Taliban spokesman claimed the hard-line militia had detained the Briton — whom he did not name — and two Afghans as they traveled together by vehicle Monday in Nad Ali district of Helmand province.

"Taliban higher authorities" will decide what to do with them, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, who claims to speak for the Taliban told The Associated Press by satellite phone from an undisclosed location. "We are investigating whether they are British spies."

He identified the Afghans as Sayed Agha and Ajmal. He gave only one name for the second Afghan.

Ahmadi claimed the Briton had used to work for the Italian newspaper La Repubblica in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, but had been living with British forces in Helmand and gathering information for them while pretending to be a journalist.
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 Singapore to join NewZealand in Afghanistan
05 Mar 2007
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Defence Minister Phil Goff welcomed the announcement today by Singapore Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean that Singaporean Armed Forces (SAF) personnel will join New Zealand's Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Afghanistan. 

"I had the opportunity to discuss a possible Singapore contribution to our PRT during the visit to New Zealand earlier this year by Singapore's Second Minister of Defence, Dr Eng. I am very pleased at their decision to contribute to humanitarian and reconstruction projects as part of the New Zealand PRT", said Mr Goff. 

"We worked together well with the SAF in East Timor when they joined New Zealand troops there from May 2001 to November 2002. We also have a close relationship as partners under the Five Power Defence Arrangements, training and exercising together. 

"This decision to deploy with us in Bamiyan will further strengthen our good defence relationship. 

"The SAF will undertake two humanitarian reconstruction projects, establishing a dental clinic at the provincial hospital and working on the construction and repair of bridges in the province. 

"A five person SAF dental team will bring in specialist equipment and establish the dental clinic. The Singaporean team will operate the clinic and provide training for local Afghans to enable them to eventually take over and run the clinic. 

"The second project will see five SAF engineers work alongside New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) engineers and local contractors on the ongoing construction and maintenance of bridges in the province. 

"The SAF commitment will increase and enhance the considerable contribution the New Zealand PRT makes to the province. In the end, stability and security in Afghanistan will be achieved if we can ensure that through development we can improve the lives of the people. Singapore's assistance will help us achieve further improvement in the well-being of the people of Bamiyan", said Mr Goff. 
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Law & Order Kandahar
Canadians training Afghan police first have to teach them to read and write -- and keep them alive
Graham Thomson, The Edmonton Journal  Published: Monday, March 05, 2007 
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - They travel in armed mobs, steal at will and intimidate the people. Yet nobody calls the police to complain.

Why? Because it's the police who are accused of doing the armed robbery and bullying.

While the Afghan National Army is widely respected, the Afghan national police force is widely abhorred.

Police in Afghanistan are underpaid, undertrained and under attack from a wide range of insurgents, including Taliban fighters and drug lords. To earn extra money to support their families, officers routinely shake down local residents at checkpoints. They've even been implicated in a bank robbery.

But the force is far from hopeless, says RCMP Staff Sgt. Al McCambridge, who's one of a handful of Canadian civilian police officers here as trainers.

"There's no question there are levels of corruption throughout Afghanistan, not just with the police," says McCambridge, whose home is Inuvik, N.W.T. "But I think for us to combat that, we have to make the police professional."

Building a professional police force in Afghanistan is a daunting task. At the very core of the problem for McCambridge and everyone here trying to improve conditions is the frustrating reality that most Afghans are illiterate. How does a police officer conduct an investigation when he can't read and write?
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Canadians in battle against frustration and skepticism
Reconstruction teams work against uncertain deadline to build trust before Taliban regroup
Graham Thomson, The Edmonton Journal Published: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 
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NASERAN, Afghanistan -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper wasn't thinking of this dusty little village in Kandahar province when he announced $200 million in extra aid to Afghanistan this week.

But this is where some of that money might very well end up. Or villages like it all over Afghanistan -- forgotten clusters of crumbling walls and weather-beaten faces that have seen foreign fighters come and go over decades of conflict.

There are 40 families in Naseran who live in homes made from the same lifeless mud that barely supports their meagre crops of corn and onions. They have no electricity, little money and an uncertain supply of water.

The only thing in abundance here is frustration and skepticism, the only bumper crop disaffection with authority. In pockets like these the Taliban flourish.

The Canadians hope to change that.

On Monday, they arrived in this village for the first time, a creeping convoy of them in full battle gear buttoned up inside armoured vehicles looking very much like they expected to be ambushed at any moment.

The villagers were just as wary, remaining inside their walled compounds until the Canadians dismounted and, with interpreters at their side, urged the people to come out and talk. Tell us what needs to be done here, said the Canadians.

A few curious people came out, and then more, and finally the dam burst as locals surrounded the Canadians.

"Water and power are the priorities," said village elder Abdul Shukor. "We have no pool of power."

There's not much the Canadians can do about connecting the village to the power grid. But they can do something about water.

"I'm looking for something I can do fast, I can do right away," said Capt. Bob Wheeler.
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He'd go back in a heartbeat
One year after an Afghan teen buried an axe deep into his head, Capt. Trevor Greene is very much alive
Graham Thomson, The Edmonton Journal  Saturday, March 03, 2007 
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - You might not remember his name.

But you surely remember what happened to him.

One year ago this weekend Capt. Trevor Greene was hit in the head by a crazed Afghan wielding an axe in an attack that horrified Canadians for its sheer viciousness and brutality.

His shaken colleagues, who shot the attacker dead on the spot, thought Greene was done for. Indeed, the blow was probably deep and deadly enough to kill most people, but not Greene.

Astonishingly he survived the attack and today is most assuredly alive.

And he has a message for Canadians: "Despite being clobbered in the head with a Taliban axe, I would go back in a heartbeat to finish off the mission."

It is a message that manages to convey humour, optimism and determination, which pretty much sums up the man and the traits that have seen him come so far since the attack. He is still in Vancouver General Hospital, still confined to a bed and wheelchair, still struggling through endless sessions of physical rehabilitation.

But he is getting better.
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Stalled convoy a sitting duck
Traffic jams can terrify you in Taliban territory
Graham Thomson, The Edmonton Journal Friday, March 02, 2007 
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Journal columnist Graham Thomson reports from Afghanistan.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - For sheer gut-wrenching anxiety and outright fear, forget the rocket attacks or foot patrols "outside the wire."

Just sit in a military convoy that has ground to a sudden, unexpected halt.

Do it at night when every shadow, every headlight, is a potential Taliban fighter -- and you can feel the tension crawl up your spine like one of this country's notorious camel spiders.

Twice in my first week here I had the misfortune of being in a convoy that was forced to stop, both times at night.

A stalled convoy might sound trivial, but in Afghanistan speed is one of the things that helps keep you alive. A moving target is harder to hit; a halted convoy is a sitting duck.

And when you are sitting in the dark on a road unable to move and the gunner is sweeping his turret back and forth watching cars approaching from the front and rear and the sentry soldiers are calling each other over the radio about suspicious movement on either side, you feel like there might as well be a neon sign flashing overhead: "Aim rocket-propelled grenade here."

My first convoy stopped because a vehicle went off the road. The excited radio chatter mentioned "IED" -- improvised explosive device -- several times. Suddenly, the armour surrounding me seemed too thin, the guns too few, the safety of the base too far away. The only thing substantial was the tension that filled our little universe like a lightning bolt.

The front and tail vehicles immediately blocked the highway and soldiers set up a security "bubble." Traffic began to back up and I could see a long line of headlights in either direction.

The only vehicle that dared come near us was a pickup truck filled with Afghan National Police who helped stop approaching trucks.
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Troops Capture Terrorists in Afghanistan; Rocket Misses Coalition Base
American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, March 6, 2007 
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American and Afghan forces captured five suspected terrorists yesterday during a joint operation in Khowst province, and an enemy rocket missed a coalition base during an attack in Kapisa province the same day, U.S. officials reported. 
Afghan and coalition forces arrested five suspected terrorists, two of whom attempted to flee to a neighboring building, during a joint operation west of Khowst city yesterday evening. The suspects were arrested following a thorough search of the buildings, which also yielded a supply of grenades and armor-piercing rounds. 

U.S. and Afghan authorities had been tipped off about terrorist meetings and activity at the suspected compound in Khowst province. No shots were fired during the operation, and there were no reported injuries or damages. Contraband grenades and ammunition were destroyed at the scene. 

Meanwhile, an undetermined number of enemy forces fired a rocket at a coalition base located near Nijrab, in Kapisa province, late yesterday evening, officials said. The rocket missed the base, and there were no coalition casualties. 

After the rocket attack, enemy forces were observed entering a nearby compound. Coalition forces requested close-air support, and aircraft dropped two 2,000-pound bombs on the enemy position, ending the engagement. There are unconfirmed reports that nine people were killed, officials said. 

“Coalition forces observed two men with AK-47s leaving the scene of the rocket attack and entering the compound,” Lt. Col. David Accetta, a coalition forces spokesman, said. 

“These men knowingly endangered civilians by retreating into a populated area while conducting attacks against coalition forces,” Accetta said. 
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## The Bread Guy (6 Mar 2007)

*ISAF and Afghan Forces launch major operation in the South*
ISAF News release # 2007-149, 6 Ma 07
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (6 March) – At the request of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the International Security Assistance Force and Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) launched Operation Achilles earlier today, an effort concentrated on the northern region of Helmand Province.

“Our first manoeuvre elements reached their positions at approximately 05h00 this morning and at it’s peek, Operation Achilles will eventually involve over 4500 NATO troops and close to 1000 ANSF personnel,” said Major-General Ton van Loon, Commander of Regional Command (South). “This is the largest multi-national combined ANSF and ISAF operation launched to date and it signifies the beginning of a planned offensive to bring security to northern Helmand and set the conditions for meaningful development that will fundamentally improve the quality of life for Afghans in the area,” he added.

Operations will focus on improving security in areas where Taliban extremists, narco-traffickers and other elements are trying to de-stabilize the Government of Afghanistan. We also intend to empower village elders to take charge of their communities as they have been doing so in other parts of southern Afghanistan, without the influence of Taliban extremists.

Though Operation Achilles will initially focus on improving security conditions, its overarching purpose is to assist the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan improve its ability to begin reconstruction and economic development in the area.

“Strategically, our goal is to enable the Afghan Government to begin the Kajaki project. This long term initiative is a huge undertaking and the eventual rehabilitation of the Kajaki multi-purpose dam and power house will improve the water supply for local communities, rehabilitate irrigation systems for farmlands and provide sufficient electrical power for residents, industries and commerce,” added Major-General van Loon.

There is no scheduled end date to this operation. ISAF and ANSF forces will continue to apply pressure to extremist forces and pursue reconstruction and development objectives until they are achieved.



*ISAF and Afghan Forces launch major operation in the South*
ISAF news release # 2007-150, 6 Mar 07
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (6 March) – An ISAF soldier was killed today in Southern Afghanistan during combat operations.  In accordance with NATO policy, ISAF does not release a casualty's nationality prior to the relevant national authority doing so.



*British forces, with Canadian and coalition troops, launch Afghan offensive*
John Cotter, Canadian Press, 6 Mar 07
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British-led forces, supported by Canadian, American and other coalition troops, launched an offensive Tuesday to drive the Taliban out of northern Helmand province.  Operation Achilles will eventually involve 4,500 NATO and 1,000 Afghan soldiers, one of the largest multi-national forces the coalition has fielded in a single operation, the International Security Assistance Force announced. Maj.-Gen. Ton van Loon, commander of regional command south, said troops will sweep northern Helmand of Taliban extremists, foreign terrorists and warlords involved in the opium poppy trade.  "Our first manoeuvre elements reached their positions earlier today," van Loon said.  "It signifies the beginning of a planned offensive to bring security to northern Helmand and set the conditions for meaningful development that will fundamentally improve the quality of life for Afghans in the area." ....



*Canadian, British troops launch Taliban offensive*
Graham Thomson, Can West News, 6 Mar 07
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The long-awaited spring offensive in southern Afghanistan has begun — launched not by the Taliban but by NATO forces.  On Tuesday morning, coalition soldiers led by Britain and supported by Canada kicked off Operation Achilles to target Taliban fighters, foreign terrorists and drug traffickers in Helmand province, to the west of Kandahar province.  Troops began moving into position today and by the time the operation is up to full strength, 4,500 coalition soldiers as well as 1,000 Afghan troops will be involved — making this the largest multi-national operation launched to date in Afghanistan.  Even though Canadians are taking part, Operation Achilles is not a major exercise for Canadian forces.  “This is very much a supporting role,” one military official said of Canada’s participation. Of the 3,100 Canadian troops in Afghanistan, fewer than 10 per cent will be directly involved in the operation.  The soldiers taking part come from the Royal Canadian Regiment based in Gagetown, N.B. Their job will be to act as a screening force in the Maywand district on the border between the two provinces, preventing insurgents and others from escaping from Helmand eastward down Highway 1 towards Kandahar City and Pakistan ....



*NATO launches major southern Afghan offensive*
Reuters, 6 Mar 07
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NATO launched its biggest offensive in Afghanistan since the 2001 war on Tuesday, targeting the Taliban and drug lords as hundreds of people rallied in the east against U.S. soldiers killing civilians.  Operation Achilles, which will eventually involve 4,500 NATO soldiers and 1,000 Afghans, began about dawn in Helmand province -- the opium centre of the world's biggest producer, the head of the alliance's southern command Dutch Major-General Tonne van Loon said in a statement.  The Taliban over-ran the key Helmand town of Musa Qala a month ago, ending a controversial truce, but a NATO spokeswoman said Achilles was not specifically aimed at regaining the town.  "It signifies the beginning of a planned offensive to bring security to northern Helmand and set the conditions for meaningful development that will fundamentally improve the quality of life for Afghans in the area," van Loon said.  NATO has about 33,000 troops in the country, including support personnel.  The open-ended operation is aimed largely at allowing the repair and expansion of the province's Kajaki dam hydroelectric facility ....



*NATO, Afghan forces launch largest combined offensive*
Agence France Presse, 6 Mar 07
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NATO and Afghan forces Tuesday launched their biggest combined offensive, involving up to 5,500 troops, to bring security to the Taliban-plagued southern province of Helmand, the NATO force said.  The operation began at 5:00 am (0030 GMT) and at its peak would involve more than 4,500 NATO troops and close to 1,000 Afghan security force (ANSF) personnel, the International Security Assistance Force said in a statement.  "This is the largest multinational combined ANSF and ISAF operation launched to date and it signifies the beginning of a planned offensive to bring security to northern Helmand," said Major General Ton van Loon, ISAF commander in the south.  Western officials have hinted at an ISAF operation in response to threats by Taliban commanders of a "spring offensive" that they said would unleash a wave of suicide bombings.  The combined push, codenamed Operation Achilles, was launched at the request of the Afghan government, ISAF said.  It would focus on "improving security in areas where Taliban extremists, narco-traffickers and other elements are trying to destabilise the government of Afghanistan," the statement said.  "We also intend to empower village elders to take charge of their communities as they have been doing so in other parts of southern Afghanistan, without the influence of Taliban extremists." ....



*NATO launches southern Afghanistan offensive*
Around 5,500 alliance and Afghan forces will target Taliban in Helmand
Associated Press, via MSNBC, 6 Mar 07
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NATO-led troops launched an offensive against Taliban militants Tuesday in southern Afghanistan’s volatile Helmand province, the alliance said in a statement.  The operation, involving about 5,500 NATO and Afghan troops, was launched at the request of the Afghan government and will focus on northern Helmand, the statement said.  This is NATO’s largest operation in the country so far and will target Taliban militants and drug traffickers, the statement said ....



*NATO-Led Soldier Dies in Afghanistan as Combined Mission Begins*
Robin Stringer, Bloomberg news service, 6 Mar 07
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A soldier from the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan was killed today as the NATO-led troops and Afghan units began their largest combined operation in the country.  The soldier died in southern Afghanistan, ISAF said in an e- mailed statement without providing further details. The combined offensive is taking place in the southern province of Helmand, the force commanded by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said in a statement earlier today.  More than 4,500 NATO-led personnel and almost 1,000 Afghans will be involved in the operation at its peak, ISAF said in the statement. The Taliban, ousted from power in 2001, has increased attacks on civilians, Afghan and ISAF forces in the past year. The Islamist movement threatened to step up attacks on foreigners when spring weather arrives in the mountainous country ....



*NATO launches biggest Afghan offensive*
United Press International, 6 Mar 07
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NATO announced Tuesday it had launched its largest joint offensive, involving some 5,500 troops, in Afghanistan against Taliban insurgents.  In a release, Dutch Maj. Gen. Ton van Loon, the NATO commander, said the push came at the request of Afghani President Hamid Karzai's government and involved the violent northern Helmand Province.  Van Loon said the offensive called Operation Achilles will involve 4,500 NATO troops and 1,000 Afghan forces and target Taliban fighters and drug traffickers in the poppy-growing regions.  "We also intend to empower village elders to take charge of their communities as they have been doing so in other parts of southern Afghanistan, without the influence of Taliban extremists," the release said ....



*Nato in major anti-Taleban drive*
BBC Online, 6 Mar 07
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Nato and Afghan forces have begun what they say is their largest offensive against the Taleban in the south.  Operation Achilles will eventually involve more than 4,500 Nato troops and nearly 1,000 Afghan soldiers in Helmand province, the alliance says.  Most of the Nato troops will be British, with US, Dutch and Canadian troops also taking part.  Last month Helmand's governor said up to 700 insurgents had crossed to fight British forces.  The operation began at 5am local time (0030 GMT) and will focus on the northern part of Helmand, said officials ....



*NATO Occupation Forces Launch Offensive on Southern Afghanistan, Soldier and Policeman Killed*
Al Jazeera rewrite of Associated Press, 6 Mar 07
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NATO occupation forces launched an offensive against Taliban-led Afghani resistance fighters in a southern Afghan province where hundreds of resistance fighters have massed in recent months. One NATO occupation soldier was killed Tuesday in combat in the south.  The operation, which will eventually involve 4,500 NATO occupation troops and 1,000 Afghan soldiers, was launched Monday and will focus on the northern region of Helmand province, Col. Tom Collins, the spokesman for NATO occupation forces (dubbed International Security Assistance Force), said Tuesday.  Dubbed Operation Achilles, the offensive is NATO's largest-ever in the country. But it will involve only half the number of soldiers that fought in a U.S. offensive in the same region just nine months ago, when some 11,000 U.S.-led troops attacked fighters in northern Helmand province during Operation Mountain Thrust ....


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## GAP (8 Mar 2007)

*Articles found March 8, 2007*


Parachute failure destroys NATO's re-supply equipment in S. Afghanistan  
March 08, 2007          
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A parachute's failure disrupted ISAF 's re-supply elements in the troubled Helmand province in southern Afghanistan Wednesday, said a statement of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Thursday. 

"On Wednesday night, forces were conducting a re-supply operation near Now Zad in northern Helmand province when a parachute failed to open," the statement said, adding "Small elements of the re-supply equipment exploded on impact and ignited into flames." 

It also added that there were further explosions this morning as ISAF troops deliberately destroyed dangerous equipment. 

Nevertheless, the military alliance in the statement rejected militants' involvement in the incident. There was no insurgent involvement and there were no ISAF casualties or ISAF vehicles damaged by the accident, said the statement. 

The incident has taken place amid fighting as ISAF and Afghan troops launched a major offensive against Taliban fighters in northern Helmand on Tuesday. 
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Gov.-Gen. on first visit to Afghanistan
Graham Thomson, Edmonton Journal Published: Thursday, March 08, 2007
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KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- In a trip designed to send a signal of hope to the women of Afghanistan, Governor-General Michaelle Jean has arrived in Kabul on International Women’s Day.

For security reasons, her trip was kept secret until she stepped off her airplane in Kabul Thursday morning.

She will be meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai today before speaking to a group of leading Afghan women.
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Nato's military credibility on the line  
7. March 2007, 16:02 Telegraph (UK) 
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 With the launch of Operation Achilles, the long-running Nato campaign to subjugate the Taliban in Afghanistan is entering the critical phase that will ultimately determine whether the alliance is successful in bringing stability to a country that has known nothing but warfare for nearly three decades. 

This ambitious military offensive represents the opening salvo in what for the past 30 years has become Afghanistan's annual fighting season, and the stakes have never been higher. 

Nato's whole military credibility rests on its ability to deal with a baggy-trousered force whose forebears in the bloody Afghan wars of the 19th century made life decidedly uncomfortable for an army of foreign interlopers - in that instance British red coats. 

Nato commanders, of course, argue that the presence of the multi-national force is broadly welcomed by Afghans who are desperate for some semblance of normality to take root in their war-ravaged country. 

But the Nato mission is as much aimed at protecting Europe and America from further terrorist attacks as providing the Afghan government with the opportunity to re-establish its authority over a country traditionally riven by tribal and ethnic conflicts. 

And with the number of allied fatalities rising by the day - the death of the Royal Marine in the north of Helmand province yesterday brings the British death toll alone to 51 - and the Taliban proving determined fighters, it is no understatement to say that the fate of the Nato mission, despite its overwhelming technical superiority, still hangs in the balance. 

Certainly if Nato is to be judged by the aims it set itself when it assumed control of military operations last year, there is still much that needs to be done. Its main goal of preventing the Taliban from re-establishing its power base in southern Afghanistan, remains elusive. 
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Severe winter causes more pneumonia child deaths  
Thursday March 08, 2007 (0644 PST)
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KABUL: Doctors in Afghanistan say that a particularly cold winter this year has increased the number of children dying of pneumonia. 
Thousands of children contract the respiratory illness every winter in Afghanistan, where difficult living conditions and inadequate medical care can make it a fatal illness. 

In February, at least 50 children reportedly died of pneumonia at Herat provincial hospital, while in the eastern province of Nangarhar, there were 28 deaths. 

Despite measures such as an early warning system and attempts at civic education and improving facilities, doctors at both hospitals said that child mortality from pneumonia increased this year because of the cold weather and the increased snow it brought. 

Zia Gul's four-day-old daughter Parastu contracted pneumonia in the cold, windy room of their house in the Koshko Robatsangi district in Herat province. 

"We are very poor people and cannot afford enough wood for the stove," Gul said. "My room also does not have proper windows and doors, allowing the cold wind to come in. I tried keeping her warm with two or three blankets but she fell sick." 
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5 suspected militants nabbed in eastern Afghanistan  
Thursday March 08, 2007 (0644 PST)
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KABUL: U.S.-led coalition troops detained five suspected militants during an operation in eastern Afghanistan, a coalition said in a statement Wednesday. 
The men were arrested Monday in a building in the eastern city of Khost, but the coalition did not provide details on the suspects' identities. 

The five were suspected of involvement in anti-government activities and "known terrorist groups," the coalition said, without elaborating. 

The troops uncovered a cache of grenades and armor-piercing rounds during their search, the statement said. 

There were no shots fired and no injuries during the raid, it said.
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More Afghan detainees to be released from Guantanamo  
Thursday March 08, 2007 (0644 PST)
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 NEW YORK: The US is in process of releasing more Afghan detainees from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Last week, the Pentagon had release two Afghan detainees. 
A Defense Department spokesman told Pajhwok Afghan News that these Afghans are part of the 85 detainees at the Guantanamo Bay, who are now scheduled to be released in the coming months. 

More Afghan detainees are being released, he said. 

However, the spokesman refused to give the number of Afghan detainees who are now at the Guantanamo Bay and those who are being released in due course. We do not reveal these numbers, he said. 

The officials said that at the peak of 770 detainees at Guantanamo Bay, some 100 were from Afghanistan. Most of these detainees have been returned home, he said. 

Transfer of these detainees is according to a decision taken by the US President George Bush and the Afghanistan President, Hamid Karzai, in May 2005. 
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NATO targets Taliban buildup  
Thursday March 08, 2007 (0644 PST)
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 KABUL: In its largest offensive yet, thousands of NATO troops moved Tuesday into the mountains of southern Afghanistan where hundreds of hardcore Taliban insurgents hold sway - an operation in the world's biggest opium-producing region aimed at winning over a population long supportive of militant fighters. 
Comprising 4,500 NATO and 1,000 Afghan troops, Operation Achilles marks the start of NATO's major spring military action, said Col. Tom Collins, spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force. 

NATO hopes it can establish security among a population now harboring Taliban militants, foreign fighters and drug traffickers, and rid the region of its shadow Taliban government. That would allow President Hamid Karzai's administration to make its first move into a lawless region overflowing with the poppies funding the Taliban insurgency
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Five more officials held on corruption charges  
Thursday March 08, 2007 (0644 PST)
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 KABUL: Office of the attorney General informed about five more government employees arrested for corruption charges. 
Secretary to the Attorney General, Ahmad Samir Samimi, told Pajhwok Afghan news that the five people belonged to Herat, Ghor, Logar and capital Kabul who were accused of corruption and bribery charges. 

Without disclosing the names of the detained officials, Samimi said deputy head of the mili bus enterprises was apprehended for embezzlement of 350.000 rupees and 16000$. He said head of the petroleum and liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) department head was arrested for misappropriating of over one million US dollars. 

Similarly, Administrative chief of Logar education department was arrested for misusing 18000 afghanis, he said, former civil prosecutor of Herat province was detained for releasing accused people, he said. 
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Afghans, not foreigners, to inaugurate projects  
Thursday March 08, 2007 (0644 PST)
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 NEW YORK: Inauguration of roads, a school or a developmental work by the military officials of the US or other international forces in Afghanistan could soon be a thing of the past. 
It is the elected representatives of the Afghanistan who would be seen performing this duty cutting ribbons or inaugurating new projects and thus taking credit for the massive developmental works which is now being done with international assistance. 

This is part of our effort to let the Afghan Government develop its own ability to speak on behalf of its people, Gregory Sullivan, Director of the Office of Press and Public Diplomacy for South and Central Asian Affairs, told Pajhwok Afghan News in an interview. 

Afghans do not want to hear about their development form the British or the US. They would like to hear this from their own government and own representative, he said. 
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Bulgaria to increase peacekeeping troops in Afghanistan: DM  
Wednesday March 07, 2007 (0254 PST)
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SOFIA: The Bulgarian government will agree to send another batch of troops to Afghanistan in the summer, Defence Minister Veselin Bliznakov said. Bliznakov told a military award ceremony that about 200 troops are scheduled to be sent to defend the airport in the city of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan in mid-summer. 
The defence minister said the government will make a final decision on the matter in the next few days. The government can dispatch the troops without the approval of parliament because the action is part of NATO's deployment. 

Bliznakov said it will be safe for Bulgarian troops to take charge of the security inside the airport while security outside is in the hands of the British troops. Bulgaria first sent peacekeeping troops to Afghanistan in February 2002. It now has 82 soldiers in Afghanistan. 
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Canadian Aid Distributed in Afghanistan  
Tuesday March 06, 2007 (0520 PST)
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 KABUL: Canadian food was distributed to thousands of drought victims and war refugees in southern Afghanistan. 
In exchange for the food, the farmers must clear sand from clogged irrigation canals. 

The United Nations World Food Program distributed wheat, peas, cooking oil and salt to hungry farmers in Spin Boldak near the Pakistan border. 

The Canadian International Development Agency will spend $4.9 million this year on emergency food assistance to vulnerable families in Kandahar province.
End

Afghanistan Tenders for Nationwide CDMA Network 
Tuesday March 06, 2007 (0520 PST)
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 KABUL: Afghanistan's telecoms regulator has issued a tender for a CDMA based mobile network, as well as a landline operator tender. The Ministry of Communications says that it plans to re-configure and re-orient the existing CDMA and Fixed Line Networks. The first CDMA based fully Mobile Pre-paid Voice and Data Network of Afghanistan is to cover all 34 Provinces in Afghanistan, and the second Network covering 6 Provinces would offer Fixed Line based Voice and Data Services, in addition to CDMA based Mobile services. 
The second network, to be deployed in 6 Provinces would offer Fixed Line based Voice and Data Services, in addition to CDMA based Mobile services. In Fixed Line Network, Pre-paid Service would be given by inducting F-IN Platforms and Data Services would be offered through DSLs and ADSLs, after installing Data Cards in such Fixed Line Switches. Fixed Line Subscribers would be offered broadband Data Services through DSL and ADSL Equipment. In addition, PDSNs will be required at Kandahar, Heraat and Mazaar. At Kabul, the existing PDSN will be utilized. 

The Ministry of Communications says that it has built the Telecom Infrastructure in all the 34 Provinces of the Country during last 3 years. CDMA based Networks and the Fixed Line Networks have been built and made operational for both Voice and Data Services. 31 Switches are operational now with a built up capacity of 225,000 CDMA Lines and 101,400 Fixed Lines. NOC has been built at Kabul. There are 85 BTSs deployed now throughout the Country providing CDMA Services. 
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Canadian colonel in Somalia affair gets prestigious military role
Last Updated: Thursday, March 8, 2007 | 12:37 AM ET CBC News 
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A Canadian colonel who was implicated in the 1993 Somalia scandal has been asked to lead one of the military's most prestigious missions in Afghanistan, CBC News has learned.

Col. Serge Labbe will take over command of Canada's Strategic Advisory Team in Kabul. The unit of 15 officers works closely with the government of Afghanistan to help with national planning.

Labbe will take over his new role later this year.

Col. Mike Capstick, a former leader of the team, said Labbe will be well suited to the role.

"He's very, very bright, very experienced," Capstick told CBC News. "He has a very good understanding of the strategic level in Afghanistan."

Labbe's career has been marked by his ties to the Somalia affair.
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'Taliban commander' says Italian journalist a spy  
7. March 2007, 16:00 
Article Link

AFP - A voice recording of a man claiming to be top Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah has said an Italian journalist captured by the militants has confessed to spying for the British military. 

The voice in the recording, received by an AFP correspondent Wednesday, gives the Italian's name as Daniel and identifies two Afghans captured with him, accusing them of telling the British military about Taliban hideouts. 

He said the Taliban, which has previously executed captives accused of being spies, had not yet decided what to do with the three. 

La Repubblica correspondent Daniele Mastrogiacomo has been missing in southern Afghanistan for three days and the Italian embassy in Kabul said Wednesday it feared he had been captured, in line with Taliban claims. 

The recording was e-mailed to an AFP correspondent in Pakistan by a colleague who said he had been called by the man in it, who identified himself as Dadullah. Its veracity could not be confirmed. 

"They were working with the British," the man says in the Pashtu language. "Their confession is that, 'The British told us to interview Taliban and then let us know their locations so we can bomb them.'" 

"They were spying for the British under the name of journalists." 

He names the journalist's father and mother and then gives the names of the Afghans with him, their fathers and their street addresses. The information could not immediately be verified. 
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (8 Mar 2007)

Exclusive: Warlord splits with Taliban
AP, March 8
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070308/ap_on_re_as/pakistan_hekmatyar;_ylt=AtPQ5ooKQETB_RF.ZQBOxY7MWM0F



> Fugitive Afghan rebel leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar told The Associated Press that his forces have ended cooperation with the Taliban and suggested that he was open to talks with embattled President Hamid Karzai. In a video response to questions submitted by AP, Hekmatyar said that his group contacted Taliban leaders in 2003 and agreed to wage a joint jihad, or holy war, against American troops.
> ADVERTISEMENT
> 
> "The jihad went into high gear but later it gradually went down as certain elements among the Taliban rejected the idea of a joint struggle against the aggressor," Hekmatyar said in the video, which was received Thursday. Hekmatyar wore glasses and a black turban as he spoke in front of a plain white wall at an undisclosed location.
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (9 Mar 2007)

*Articles found March 9, 2007*

O'Connor issues about-face on detainees
Defence Minister acknowledges Canada is not informed on the treatment and transfer of detainees it apprehends in Afghanistan 
ALEX DOBROTA Globe and Mail Update
Article Link

OTTAWA — Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor, in an about-face from earlier comments, acknowledged Thursday that the International Committee of the Red Cross does not inform Canada of the treatment of detainees captured by Canadian troops and transferred to Afghan authorities.

In a terse statement released to The Globe and Mail Thursday evening, Mr. O'Connor said: "It was my understanding that the ICRC could share information concerning detainee treatment with Canada.

"I have recently learned that they would, in fact, provide this information to the detaining nation, in this case Afghanistan."

Those comments contradict several assurances Mr. O'Connor made in the House of Commons. In May, Mr. O'Connor told MPs that the Red Cross would report any detainee abuse to Canadian authorities.
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Commando is fourth British soldier to die in Afghanistan in a week
Article Link

A BRITISH soldier was killed in a grenade attack on his base in southern Afghanistan yesterday. 

The serviceman, from 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, died in hospital after the attack in Sangin, in Helmand province. 

He was the 52nd British serviceman to die in the country since the start of operations in November 2001. He was also the fourth British serviceman to lose his life in Afghanistan in less than a week. 

The dead soldier's regiment provides close support fire for the Royal Marines of 3 Commando Brigade
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Taliban kills 4 pro-gov't militias in S. Afghanistan           
Article Link

Taliban insurgents killed four pro-government tribal militias in Afghanistan's southern province Helmand on Thursday, a local senior police officer told Xinhua. 

"Some insurgents ambushed a group of pro-government militias in Sangin district in the morning, killing four of them," said Isan Khan. 

Khan said he did not have information of casualties of Taliban rebels. 

About 4,500 NATO troops and 1,000 Afghan soldiers launched the ever biggest offensive dubbed Operation Achilles against Taliban militants on Tuesday in northern Helmand, which covers Sangin district
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Jean pays tribute to female troops in Afghanistan
Updated Thu. Mar. 8 2007 4:57 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

To help mark International Women's Day, Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean paid homage to Canada's female military presence in Afghanistan on Thursday. 

Jean reiterated to troops the importance of telling their stories in order to put a human face on the war. 

"The more we do that, the more people will understand the value of your mission here, and how important it is, every action you are taking here at great risk,'' she said. 

The commander-in-chief told the packed crowd at Canada House -- a place where soldiers go to relax while on duty -- how proud she was of their continuing efforts. 

After her speech, Jean jokingly called on male troops to get down on their knees and honour their female comrades. 

The men urged the women soldiers in attendance to join Jean at the front of the room for a photo opportunity. The soldiers jumped and jostled at the chance to share a smile with their commander-in-chief. 

"This just shows that women are part of the Canadian Forces and that we are here doing the same job as the men,'' Master Warrant Officer Mary-Ann Barnes of Barrie, Ont. said. 
More on link

German aid worker killed in Afghanistan
 March 8, 2007 at 11:11 PM 
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan, March 8 (UPI) -- The German aid group Deutsche Welthungerhilfe said that one of its staff members was shot dead in Afghanistan Thursday morning.

The German national was traveling in a two-vehicle convoy in the Sar-i-Pul region in the northern part of the country with Afghan aid workers when the group was stopped by two armed men, Deutsche Welle reported. 

The gunmen berated the Afghans for working with foreigners and then forced them to leave the vehicles. They heard shots and, when they returned to the vehicles, they found their German convoy mortally wounded.

The slain aid worker was in Afghanistan on a short-term assignment to inspect building sites. Welthungerhilfe is involved in rebuilding bridges, schools and hospitals, especially in northern and eastern Afghanistan
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Afghanistan Women's Day Only a Dream
Associated Press March 8, 2007 CBNNews.com - KABUL, Afghanistan
Article Link

Wives, daughters and widows in Afghanistan are finding it hard to celebrate International Women's Day today. 

That's because millions of them remain the victims of abuse. Afghan women have made progress in education and politics since the U.S. ousted the Taliban after 9/11 for harboring al-Qaeda. 

But officials estimate that at least half the women are still victims of forced marriage. And a third have been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused. Rarely is anyone prosecuted. 

But the government and women's rights organizations are trying to make some changes. Groups are starting programs to cut down on forced marriage and child marriage and to help victims of rape and violence. 
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Afghan copper lode a key to renewal?  
Where miners blaze a trail, other businesses may follow 
ANDY HOFFMAN From Friday's Globe and Mail
Article Link

TORONTO — Were it anywhere else in the world, its mineral riches would surely have been tapped long ago, yet millions of tonnes of copper in the Aynak deposit sit untouched. 

The wealth underground has been shielded from exploitation by activity on the surface: foreign invasion, civil war, terrorism, occupation.

Aynak is in Afghanistan, a place known more for land mines than copper mines.

But the Afghan government is now trying to change all that, launching an ambitious campaign to woo foreign mining companies, despite the violence that persists in much of the country.
More on link


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## GAP (10 Mar 2007)

*Articles found 10 February, 2007*

Timely Communications Thwart Taliban Movement to Pakistan
American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, March 9, 2007 –
Article Link

 Pakistani, Afghan and U.S. troops teamed up to stop a group of Taliban insurgents from crossing the border from Afghanistan into Pakistan during a March 7 incident, officials said. 
Pakistani border forces reported that an insurgent vehicle was attempting to enter Pakistan from an area where Afghan and U.S. soldiers were attacked near the Afghan village of Shkin, in Paktika province. 

Afghan and U.S. forces responded with two 105 mm artillery rounds, resulting in a direct hit on the insurgents’ vehicle. Secondary explosions were observed, leading the force to conclude that the vehicle was loaded with munitions to be used in further attacks against Afghan citizens and Afghan and coalition forces. 

There were no reported injuries to Afghan citizens or troops or coalition forces during this engagement. Coalition officials said the strike illustrates effective coordination between Afghan and Pakistani border forces. 

“The combined operations to ensure security of the border region demonstrates the Afghan government and coalition’s ability to respond to and take action against insurgent fighters who attempt to terrorize Afghans in Paktika province,” said Lt. Col. David Accetta, a coalition spokesman. “Through our combined effort we will continue to increase security and eliminate Taliban insurgents who threaten Islamic Republic of Afghanistan objectives.” 

All operations were conducted inside Afghanistan in direct coordination with Pakistani forces nearby, officials said. 

In other Afghanistan news, Taliban insurgents near Deh Rawood in the Oruzgan province ambushed a small group of Afghan civilians March 7, officials said. 
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Soldiers in Afghanistan smitten by Jean's charms
Graham Thomson, CanWest News Service; Edmonton Journal
Published: Saturday, March 10, 2007
Article Link

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- To soldiers in a war zone, she is a rock star.

And it's not because of the natty clothes or the entourage or even the private aircraft, although there has to be a certain cachet when you show up in a C-130 Hercules with your own close-protection team of machinegun-toting commandos.

She is charming, funny, charismatic and their commander in chief - and Canadian soldiers serving Afghanistan are simply enchanted by Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean. When she'd make a speech, they'd cram together in whatever space was available and afterwards would politely jostle each other for a chance to chat or snap a quick photo.

They beamed when she donned body armour and a helmet for a helicopter ride to Camp Nathan Smith, where the Canada's Provincial Reconstruction Team is based. And they were tickled when she sat in an RG-31 armoured vehicle and worked a remote-control machine gun turret.

"She is a bit of a darling, if I can say, for the troops," said Lt.-Col. Rod Matheson. "Her being here is an outstanding thing for the soldiers to feel and to know about. Not all of them will see her, unfortunately. But just knowing that she's here and knowing that she's rubbed elbows with a number of them is good enough for the boys."
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Body of Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan back in Canada
Canadian Press Friday, March 09, 2007
Article Link

CFB TRENTON, Ont. (CP) - Another Canadian soldier who lost his life serving in Afghanistan is back in Canada. 

A C-130 Herculese aircraft carrying the body of Cpl. Kevin Megeney, of Stellarton, N.S., has touched down at CFB Trenton in eastern Ontario. A flag-draped casket containing Megeney's remains was placed aboard the aircraft Wednesday night in Kandahar for the long flight home. 

Megeney, a reservist and member of the base-security platoon, was shot in the chest in his tent on Tuesday evening and died 20 minutes later in hospital. 

A newspaper report Friday cited an anonymous source who said Megeney was shot by a fellow soldier. 
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New Front in Afghanistan
By Col. David Hunt
Article Link

While we have angst about the "surge" in Iraq, or if the Democrats will have the leverage to pull the plug, or we download pictures of the latest train wreck of a human being on the Internet, or comment on how cold it is, there is still a war on in Afghanistan and it just kicked up a notch this week.

Operation Achilles is the name the military has given to this new offensive in southern Afghanistan. We have great guys from the 10th Mountain Division, the 82nd Airborne Division and Special Operations-types up to their eyeballs in sand, in addition to the Taliban fighters. NATO is running this show, but we have a four-star general named Dan McNeill commanding.

I know this guy because we served together. He is a good man and this is his second tour there. The British, as always, are also with us, using their great Royal Marines in the fight.
More on link


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## GAP (11 Mar 2007)

*Articles found 11 February, 2007*

O'Connor to meet with Afghan rights commission
Updated Sun. Mar. 11 2007 11:48 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor is in Kandahar for a visit with Canadian troops and to meet with the Afghan Human Rights Commission. 

Earlier this month, Canada finalized a deal with the commission to monitor the treatement of Taliban detainees handed over to the government of Afghanistan. 

The cooperative effort came just days after news broke that three Afghan prisoners who are considered key witnesses in a probe into allegations of abuse by Canadian soldiers disappeared. 

The disappearance evoked strong criticism of Canada's prisoner handover agreement. 

O'Connor was also criticized for claiming that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) monitored the treatment of the detainees and that they would report back to Canadian officials if anything was wrong. 

The ICRC denied the claims saying they would never tell Ottawa about any abuses. 

Simon Schorno, a spokesman for the ICRC, told The Globe and Mail that the ICRC can only make known its assessments or interventions to the government whose facilities it is visiting. Under its own charter, the ICRC is not allowed to disclose findings to third parties. 

Operation Achilles  

Coalition forces involved in Operation Achilles are slowly making progress against the Taliban in Afghanistan, a NATO spokesman said Sunday. 

Squadron Leader Dave Marsh said British commandos backed by NATO air strikes have taken out Taliban strongholds south of Lashkargah -- in the northern Helmand province. 
More on link

New militant video demands German, Austria pullout from Afghanistan
Sunday, March 11, 2007 at 11:30
Article Link

Cairo (dpa) - A group believed to be affiliated with the al-Qaeda terror network and calling itself "The Voice of the Caliphate" has warned that Germany and Austria will face militant attack unless they start withdrawing their troops from Afghanistan. 

The warning came in a new video broadcast posted on the Internet. 

"(We say) to the German government that Germany is a country with a strong economy and until recently it was a safe country, so why lose all this for (US President George W) Bush and his gang?" said the masked speaker. 

"Why let your interests, which are spread over the entire world, be in danger?" he added. The speaker sent a similar message to Austria, saying that it was "one of the safest countries in the world." 

"But in case of security threats, Austria will be on the list of targets of the mujahideen (militants) and this will change," he said. 

Germany has around 3,000 troops serving with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, while Austria has five officers stationed in the war-ravaged country. 

On Friday, however, the German parliament approved the deployment of six Tornado reconnaissance warplanes to Afghanistan to assist NATO forces in their ground offensive against Islamist Taliban rebels. 
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Taliban kills eight police in ambush in Afghanistan  
Mar 11, 2007, 12:07 GMT 
Article Link

Kabul - Suspected Taliban militants killed eight policemen in an ambush in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province, while two Taliban were killed and four were wounded in a separate incident in the same region, officials said on Sunday. 

The eight police were killed when their vehicle was ambushed late Saturday in Kandahar's Arghistan district, provincial police chief Esmatullah Alizai said. 

In the adjoining province of Zabul, Taliban militants attacked a police patrol on the highway between Kabul and Kandahar on Saturday night, said Gholab Shah Alikhail, provincial spokesman for the governor of Zabul. 

He said that two Taliban were killed and another four were wounded in the attack, one of whom was arrested by the police. 

The attack came five days after NATO-led forces launched a massive operation code-named Achilles in southern Helmand province to rid the area of the Taliban. 
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GPS-guided artillery shell fielded in Kuwait
By Kris Osborn - Staff writer Saturday Mar 10, 2007 6:40:04 EST
Article Link
   
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The Excalibur, a first-of-its-kind Global Positioning System-guided artillery shell, is on its way to Kuwait for deployment in Iraq, according to U.S. Army officials with Picatinny Arsenal, N.J.

Under development for eight years by Raytheon and three years by Raytheon and BAE Systems, Excalibur will be deployed after official results from recent final-stage testing.

In a late November U.S. Army test at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., 13 of 14 Excalibur rounds fired up to 24 kilometers away hit within 10 meters of their targets — an unprecedented circular error probable for cannon artillery, Raytheon program official Everett Tackett said here at the Association of the United States Army’s Institute of Land Warfare Winter Symposium. Conventional artillery has a CEP of about 70 to 100 meters at 10 kilometers, 200 to 300 meters at 30 kilometers.

Tackett said the shells were fired from gun barrels pointed as much as 15 degrees away from the target, testing their ability to steer themselves in flight.

“The rounds totally changed course, adjusting their ballistic trajectory toward the target,” he said.
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Followers Mark bin Laden's 50th Birthday
By MAGGIE MICHAEL Sunday, March 11, 2007
Article Link

CAIRO, Egypt - Followers of Osama bin Laden flooded Islamic Web sites with pledges of allegiance, videos and pictures Saturday to mark the al-Qaida leader's 50th birthday, reflecting his importance as a militant symbol even though he has not shown his face for years.

One user, going by the name Abu Yacoub, posted an old picture of bin Laden wearing a helmet and khaki military uniform while carrying a two-way radio in a deserted area, possibly from his fight in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union two decades ago.

"Osama bin Laden turns 50. God protect our leader, our Sheik Osama bin Laden. God reward him for his words and actions," Abu Yacoub wrote on a Web site commonly used by insurgents.

Another message titled the "Manhattan invasion" featured old footage of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States and the wills of the men who hijacked the planes. Another follower posted a poem of dedication to bin Laden.
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Italy asks for proof that reporter kidnapped in Afghanistan is alive  
By: RAHIM FAIEZ - Associated Press 
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan -- The militants who kidnapped an Italian reporter must prove he is still alive before any negotiations for his release can begin, Italy's ambassador to Afghanistan said Saturday.

Taliban insurgents claim they kidnapped Daniele Mastrogiacomo, a reporter with Italian daily La Repubblica, on Monday along with two Afghans as they traveled together by vehicle in Nad Ali district of Helmand province.

"We do hope that people who hold Daniele (are) ready to start a dialogue based on one simple point, the proof that these people ... they hold the hostage in their hands and that they can provide the proof of life of Daniele," said Ettore Francesco Sequi.


Sequi said there is no proof that recent statements attributed to the Taliban even come from anyone linked to the kidnapping.
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U.S. Military Defends Deleting AP Images from Afghanistan  
Published: March 10, 2007 10:20 AM ET 
Article Link

ISLAMABAD The U.S. military asserted that an American soldier was justified in erasing journalists’ footage of the aftermath of a suicide bombing and shooting in Afghanistan last week, saying publication could have compromised a military investigation and led to false public conclusions.

The comments came March 9 in response to an Associated Press protest that a U.S. soldier had forced two freelance journalists working for the U.S.-based news agency to delete photos and video at the scene of violence March 4 in Barikaw, eastern Afghanistan. At least eight Afghans were killed and 34 wounded.

“Investigative integrity is one circumstance when civil and military authorities will reluctantly exercise the right to control what a journalist is permitted to document,” Col. Victor Petrenko, chief of staff to the top U.S. commander in eastern Afghanistan, said in a letter March 9.

He added that photographs or video taken by “untrained people” might “capture visual details that are not as they originally were.”

The Associated Press disputed the assertions.

“That is not a reasonable justification for erasing images from our cameras,” said AP Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll in New York. “AP’s journalists in Afghanistan are trained, accredited professionals working at an appropriate distance from the bombing scene. In democratic societies, legitimate journalists are allowed to work without having their equipment seized and their images deleted
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Do your fair share in Afghanistan, Nato told  
LONDON
Article Link

Britain’s Nato allies who refuse to fight in Afghanistan were accused of causing "huge resentment" and a sense of betrayal among UK forces. 

With four British soldiers killed within the last week, and the Taliban expected to launch a Spring offensive, senior military figures have called for Nato forces to contribute more or risk fracturing the alliance. 

The 60-year-old coalition has come under pressure as countries such as Britain, America and Canada continue to shoulder the burden of the fighting, while others such as Germany and France have held their troops back. 

Commanders are angry that despite pleas for reinforcements or to have "operational caveats" removed, some countries are still not heeding their requests. 

Tony Blair failed to win a pledge of more fighting troops after he called for European allies to commit to a "maximum collective effort" during a summit in Brussels. 

The example of German troops not being allowed to operate at night is one of many caveats that have infuriated Britain’s military leaders. 

Lord Inge, who was head of the Armed Forces during the 1990s, told The Daily Telegraph that the limitations were making the alliance ineffective. 

"When you go on an operation as complex and dangerous as this, where some Nato nations are not playing a full part, it makes the job of a commander much more difficult if he cannot use half the troops. It breaks a fundamental military principle." 

Lord Inge added that there was now "huge resentment" among troops who were putting their lives on the line when "others are not". 

He said: "It also undermines Nato’s credibility in the long term if it cannot respond to operational challenges such as this." 

Nato had to be prepared for a "very long haul" of up to 20 years’ fighting, he added. 
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Native American trackers to hunt bin Laden
March 12, 2007 
Article Link

WASHINGTON: An elite group of Native American trackers is joining the hunt for terrorists crossing Afghanistan's borders.
The unit, the Shadow Wolves, was recruited from several tribes, including the Navajo, Sioux, Lakota and Apache. It is being sent to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to pass on ancestral sign-reading skills to local border units. 
In recent years, members of the Shadow Wolves have mainly tracked smugglers along the US border with Mexico. 

But the Taliban's resurgence in Afghanistan and the US military's failure to hunt down Osama bin Laden - still at large on his 50th birthday on Saturday - has prompted the Pentagon to requisition them. 

US Defence Secretary Robert M.Gates said last month: "If I were Osama bin Laden, I'd keep looking over my shoulder." 

The Pentagon has been alarmed at the ease with which Taliban and al-Qa'ida fighters have been slipping in and out of Afghanistan. Defence officials are convinced their movements can be curtailed by the Shadow Wolves. 

The unit has earned international respect for its tracking skills in the Arizona desert. It was founded in the early 1970s to curb the flow of marijuana into the US from Mexico and has since tracked people-smugglers across hundreds of square kilometres of the Tohono O'odham tribal reservation, southwest of Tucson. 

Harold Thompson, a Navajo Indian, and Gary Ortega, from the Tohono reservation, are experts at "cutting sign", the traditional Indian method of finding and following minute clues from a barren landscape. They can detect twigs snapped by passing humans or hair snagged on a branch and tell how long a sliver of food may have lain in the dirt.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (11 Mar 2007)

British troops prepare for decisive Afghan battle
Clashes in Helmand have already cost the lives of six Royal Marines. But they are simply clearing the way for a bloodier struggle to come 
_The Independent_, March 11
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article2347520.ece



> Britain is suffering its heaviest combat losses for several months as Nato seeks to forestall a Taliban offensive in southern Afghanistan and prepare the way for what is expected to be the decisive battle for control of the country.
> 
> The death of Warrant Officer Michael Smith in a grenade attack on Thursday brought the number of British deaths in Afghanistan to six since Operation Achilles, an effort to clear Taliban fighters from northern Helmand province, was launched last month. Some 5,500 troops, mainly British, are confronting hundreds of insurgents said to have infiltrated from across the Pakistani border.
> 
> ...



Additional Troop Increase Approved
President Agrees To Send 8,200 More To Iraq, Afghanistan
_Washington Post_, March 11
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/10/AR2007031001397.html



> ...He also decided to send a 3,500-member brigade to Afghanistan to *accelerate training of local forces* [emphasis added], doubling his previous troop increase to fight a resurgent Taliban...
> 
> ...aides released a letter he signed Friday night aboard Air Force One as he flew to Uruguay from Brazil, asking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for $3.2 billion in emergency funding to pay for the additional units. He proposed cuts in other spending to offset the cost...
> 
> For Afghanistan, it would fund Bush's decision announced last month to extend a temporary increase of 3,200 U.S. troops there "for the foreseeable future." It would also pay for an additional 3,500-member training brigade, a move that was not previously announced...



A useful Feb. 22 AP story:

Afghan army’s progress slow
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=f322fde5-e698-4067-9766-c244b3bc586f&k=95539


> ...
> Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak told The Associated Press that a goal of 70,000 Afghan soldiers has been pushed forward to December 2008 from 2011, and it is hoped to have 46,000 in place by April...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (12 Mar 2007)

*Articles found March 12, 2007*

Dead soldier's dad seeks answers
Told virtually nothing seven months after apparent accidental shooting 
Mon Mar 12 2007 By Alison Auld
Article Link

HALIFAX -- The Winnipeg father of a Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan seven months ago in an apparent accidental shooting says the military has told the family virtually nothing about his death, leaving them frustrated and pleading with Defence officials for details. 
Up until this past January, Ben Walsh knew only that his son, Master Cpl. Jeffrey Walsh, had been killed when a gun went off during a routine patrol somewhere outside Kandahar on Aug. 9. 

The father of three young children was based at Canadian Forces Base Shilo near Brandon. 

Walsh said he repeatedly asked military officials probing the case to answer questions that tormented the family in the weeks after they were told of the death. 

In particular, Walsh wanted to know three things: if his son had been shot twice, as he had heard; whether he was in or outside the vehicle; and whether the shot came from outside his military jeep. 

For each query, the military's National Investigation Service, which was looking into the incident, said they could not reveal any more information.    
"They have no concern about the families of fallen soldiers," Walsh said in an interview. 

"They don't know how to deal with the families. It's terrible I have to bang on doors to get information, even (to) tell me that my son is dead. They should be treating families, especially grieving families, with a little bit of compassion and concern and they're not." 
More on link

2 suspected Taliban killed, 1 NATO soldier wounded in southern Afghanistan
Canadian Press Monday, March 12, 2007
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) - NATO and Afghan troops clashed with suspected Taliban insurgents today in southern Afghanistan shortly before calling in an air strike on a compound that left two militants dead. 

A spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force, Squadron Leader Dave Marsh, says the clash started when militants opened fired and lobbed mortars toward NATO and Afghan troops in the Gereshk district of Helmand province. 

Meanwhile, during a search operation in neighbouring Kandahar province, Afghan troops arrested a high-level co-ordinator of suicide attacks in Panjwayi district. 

Mullah Mohammad Wali organized suicide attacks in Kandahar and worked for the Taliban. 

More on link

O'Connor meets with Afghan rights commission
Updated Mon. Mar. 12 2007 6:51 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor met with the head of the Afghan Human Rights Commission on Monday in an attempt to defuse a controversy over the treatment of battlefield detainees. 

"He has even gone to an Afghan prison today to personally see the conditions that some of the detainees would be put in," said CTV's Tom Clark in Afghanistan. 


O'Connor also held extensive meetings with Canadian staff in an effort to fully understand how the prisoner transfer process works, said Clark. 

Meanwhile, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier made a surprise visit to Kandahar on Monday and will join up with O'Connor. 

The pair will tour the frontlines of Canada's mission in the region, said Clark. 

Earlier this month, Canada finalized a deal with the Afghanistan Human Rights Commission to monitor the treatment of Taliban detainees handed over by Canadian troops to the government of Afghanistan. 

"I want to look the man in the eyes and I want to be confirmed that they are going to do what they say they are going to do," O'Connor said Sunday of his meeting with the commission head in Kandahar. "I just want an assurance from him that they will monitor and inform us of any abuses." 

The co-operative effort was announced just days after news broke that three Afghan prisoners who are considered key witnesses in a probe into allegations of abuse by Canadian soldiers disappeared. 

The disappearance evoked strong criticism of Canada's prisoner handover agreement. 
More on link

Tom Clark's Afghanistan Blog
Updated Sun. Mar. 11 2007 6:22 PM ET Tom Clark, CTV News
Article Link

Sunday March 11: I took last night off from this space, because I got my snout into some beer. Two beers to be precise, but after a month of enforced abstinence, they tasted awfully good and didn't encourage good work habits.

Let me quickly point out that the beers were officially legal last night by order of the very people who make it officially illegal all other nights. The Canadian military in Kandahar is dry, and as I am embedded with them, I get to share this peculiar lifestyle. 

But last night, General Timothy Grant let 'er rip, and threw a barbecue for his headquarters staff (and nine grateful but grubby reporters) that included two beers per person. I believe food was involved too.

The NATO base is in many ways a model of propriety gone a little strange. There's no drinking allowed, no fraternization permitted, even among married couples, for heaven's sake, but here's the twist: everyone is armed to the teeth. It's like living with a morally upstanding street gang.

It's a city of more than ten thousand, without any discernable crime rate, poverty, or even grumpiness. Most people here are relentlessly polite, which may just be a logical reaction to everybody carrying a gun, but I think most of them mean it anyway. 

Demographically, this is how a city should be; lots and lots of young people to cater to a very small number of older people. And just when you might be getting tired of seeing the same old faces, the entire population changes just like that, replaced by a new crop of non drinking, non fraternizing, polite, gun toting, smiling faces.

Having two beers in the midst of this does in fact seem a bit out of place. 

Maybe three might be better.
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Elite Native American unit tracks down bin Laden in Afghanistan       
Monday, 12 March 2007  
Article Link

An elite group of Native American, dubbed the Shadow Wolves, is joining the hunt for al-Qaeda's leader Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, according to the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS.
The unit, the Shadow Wolves, was recruited from several tribes, including the Navajo, Sioux, Lakota and Apache. It is being sent to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to pass on ancestral sign-reading skills to local border units.
In recent years, members of the Shadow Wolves have mainly tracked smugglers along the US border with Mexico.
The unit has earned international respect for its tracking skills in the Arizona desert. It was founded in the early 1970s to curb the flow of marijuana into the US from Mexico and has since tracked people-smugglers across hundreds of square kilometres of the Tohono O'odham tribal reservation, southwest of Tucson.
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Gen. Hillier visits Afghanistan, says he doesn’t regret detainee agreement
Updated at 6:23 AM KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) 
Article Link

 Canada’s chief of defence staff is paying a visit to Afghanistan. 
Gen. Rick Hillier told reporters in Kandahar today that he doesn’t regret reaching an agreement to hand detainees over to the Afghan authorities. 
Human rights groups have criticized the policy, which doesn’t let Canada have any say in the prisoners’ treatment once they’re in Afghan custody. 

Hillier’s visit comes a day after Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor arrived in the war-torn country. 

He’s set to meet with the leader of Afghanistan’s human rights commission. 

O’Connor says he wants to ensure the group is able to keep track of how the detainees are treated once they’re handed over to the Afghan government.    
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Treatment of British soldiers injured in Afghanistan, Iraq draws criticism  
Associated Press 3/12/2007
Article Link

LONDON - Wounded British troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are receiving inadequate medical treatment similar to that reported by American veterans, relatives and British media reported Sunday.

Families of the wounded British soldiers have also complained about widespread mental health problems among veterans, with some suggesting that health services in both Britain and the U.S. have been stretched by lack of planning for the conflict.

British Defense Secretary Des Browne said Sunday that an investigation had begun into the treatment of 18-year-old Jamie Cooper, the youngest British soldier wounded in Iraq. He was badly injured in November when a mortar bomb exploded in the southern city of Basra.

The soldier's older brother, Stephen Cooper, said his family was angry over the medical treatment offered to his brother and others. In a letter to hospital executives quoted by The Observer newspaper, the family complained that Cooper had spent a night lying in his own feces after hospital staff failed to carry out checks and had contracted a potentially deadly infection.

"The families of all the soldiers just want to make sure that they are guaranteed better treatment," Stephen Cooper said.
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Kiwi troops in Afghanistan for another year  
Tuesday, 13 Mar 2007  
Article Link

New Zealand troops will stay in Afghanistan another year and could stay past 2008 as the rebuilding of the fragile nation continues. 

A frigate is also again being deployed to the Arabian Gulf to take part in operations there. 

Prime Minister Helen Clark and Defence Minister Phil Goff today said Cabinet had confirmed New Zealand's contribution in Afghanistan would be rolled over another year until September 2008 at a cost of around $30 million. 

This commitment includes: 

a 120-personnel Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in the Bamyan province; 

two personnel based with the British contingent to help train the Afghan National Army; 

up to five officers to serve with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) headquarters; 

four police officers to help train the Afghan National Police. 
A frigate would also join the Maritime Interdiction Operation in the Arabian Gulf for just over a month during the middle of 2008. This leg would be added to a planned deployment to the South/South East Asia region. 

New Zealand would also send two health personnel to the Multinational Medical Unit at Kandahar Airport. 

Mr Goff said New Zealand troops had been in Bamyan for 3½ years and he was "proud" of the work they had done there. The frigates Te Mana and Te Kaha have been deployed to the Gulf previously. 
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Afghanistan president signs war crimes amnesty bill into law  
Caitlin Price at 2:32 PM ET Sunday, March 11, 2007
Article Link

  
[JURIST] A revised version of a controversial bill granting amnesty to groups that allegedly committed war crimes [JURIST news archive] was signed into law Saturday by Afghan President Hamid Karzai [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] after being approved [JURIST report] earlier in the day by the Afghan parliament, which includes many former militia leaders. The resolution bars the state from independently prosecuting individuals for war crimes absent accusation from an alleged victim. It also extends immunity to all groups involved in pre-2002 conflicts, as opposed to only leaders of various factions alleged to have committed war crimes during the 1980s resistance against Soviet forces and war crimes committed during the country's civil war [CNN backgrounder]. The Taliban and other human rights violators active before the establishment of the December 2001 Interim Administration in Afghanistan are protected under the bill. Critics say the law may violate Afghanistan's constitution [text] as well as certain international human rights treaties. MPs opposing the bill reportedly were threatened by former militiamen in the national assembly.
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## GAP (13 Mar 2007)

*Articles found March 13, 2007*


Damage control
 TheStar.com March 13, 2007 James Travers
Article Link

A single thread connects most of Canada's missteps in Afghanistan: Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier

Canada's see-no-evil handling of Afghan prisoners is more than a national embarrassment. It's also a pressing reminder that an ugly little war is exposing this Conservative government and its Liberal predecessor as at least naïve and arguably negligent.

Gordon O'Connor's surprise visit to Kabul and Kandahar this week is pure and simple damage control. Having glossed over the fact that Canada effectively washed its hands of PoWs, the defence minister is now trying to restore public confidence that prisoners will be treated as the Geneva Convention requires and self-interest demands.

But the problem runs deeper than a defence minister so superficially briefed that he either didn't understand the agreement with Afghanistan or misled Parliament that the International Red Cross is monitoring detainees and reporting any abuse to Ottawa. 

O'Connor's loose grip of what's happening in Afghanistan is symptomatic of governments that put Canadians in harm's way without fully defining the mission, analyzing limitations on success or limiting the risks.

Harsh as that sounds, the record is worse.

Liberals dithered so long in shifting the mission from north to south that more decisive allies grabbed the safer reconstruction projects while Canada was left to go toe-to-toe with the Taliban.

It's just as revealing – if easier to forgive – that neither the military nor its political masters forecast the fierceness of the fighting or that major battles would require Cold War weapons left at home.

Conservatives are guilty of reckless haste and playing partisan politics. In successfully dividing Liberals by extending the mission to 2009, Prime Minister Stephen Harper failed to extract from NATO, Pakistan and the Afghan government any of the admittedly hard-to-get commitments necessary to give the troops a fighting chance.

Each administration has a defence. 

A less dangerous than predicted maiden tour in Kabul made the military overconfident and helped convince Liberals that it was possible to get in and out of Kandahar without heavy casualties.
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Suicide bomber kills three in Afghanistan
Updated Tue. Mar. 13 2007 6:44 AM ET Associated Press
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- A suicide bomber crossed the border from Pakistan into southern Afghanistan on Tuesday and blew himself up in a crowded pedestrian area, killing three civilians and wounding eight, police said. 

The man was standing with luggage in a line of people waiting to be checked by border police when he detonated his bomb, in the town of Waish, about 460 metres inside Afghanistan's Kandahar province, said Gen. Abdul Raziq Khan, the border security police in charge. 

Khan said there were no casualties among the police. 

Meanwhile in two related attacks in Helmand province, troops shot a suicide bomber who tried to enter an Afghan army recruitment centre, about 45 minutes after a roadside bomb went off near a NATO convoy, police said. 

Troops standing guard opened fire on the bomber, who had explosives hidden beneath his clothes, after he tried to enter the recruitment centre in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah and failed to heed their warnings to stop. 
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Army father relieved by charges in son's death
Updated Mon. Mar. 12 2007 11:03 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

A Regina father is relieved that charges have been laid in connection with the death of his son in Afghanistan, even as he expressed compassion for the soldier charged.

"I cannot hold any bad feelings against the young lad that did this to my son. It's not going to bring him back," Ben Walsh, father of Master Cpl. Jeffrey Scott Walsh, told CTV Regina on Monday.

He was commenting on the arrest of Master Cpl. Robbie Fraser, a close friend of Jeffrey Walsh. He expressed sympathy for what Fraser and his family must be going through.

The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (NIS) charged Fraser -- of the 2nd Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, based in Shilo, Man. -- with one count of manslaughter and one count of negligent performance of duty. 

"After taking a look at all the evidence that was gathered, the forensic, legal analysis, manslaughter and neglect performance of duty were deemed to be the appropriate charges," said Lt.-Col. William Garrick, commanding officer of the NIS.
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Ex-Liberal MP Wajid Khan visits Central Asia
Updated Mon. Mar. 12 2007 11:43 AM ET Canadian Press
Article Link

OTTAWA -- Wajid Khan, the former Liberal MP who bolted to the Conservative government after working as an adviser to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, is in Central Asia this week. 

Khan, whose last trip on Harper's behalf was made while still serving as a Liberal MP, is visiting Pakistan and Afghanistan until Wednesday. Khan, a former pilot in Pakistan's air force, is Harper's special adviser on the Middle East and Central Asia. 

He has refused to appear before a Commons committee to discuss the findings of his last trip - a $13,000, 19-day tour of Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia in September. 

Khan's report on that expedition has never been made public and the Prime Minister's Office has said it will remain confidential
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Ottawa's Afghan duty
 TheStar.com - opinion - Ottawa's Afghan duty 
March 13, 2007 
Article Link

Canadian troops in Afghanistan have had to step in more than once to prevent our Afghan allies from executing captured Taliban fighters on the spot. So it is no surprise that Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor got off to a rocky start yesterday on a trip to Kandahar to hold officials accountable for treating prisoners humanely once they are captured by our troops and handed over.

O'Connor is in Afghanistan to tamp down concern that Canada's 2,500 troops risk violating the Geneva accords by putting prisoners in peril.

But even as O'Connor sought official Afghan reassurances to the contrary, Abdul Noorzai, who heads the Independent Human Rights Commission and knows of cases where prisoners have been tortured, yesterday cancelled a planned meeting with the minister. 

This was an embarrassing setback to efforts by O'Connor to reassure Canadians that prisoners' rights are respected. All evidence suggests otherwise. The Canadian military is belatedly probing allegations that our forces handed over 18 detainees knowing they would be abused, and beat three prisoners. 

And O'Connor has been embarrassed in Parliament, after wrongly insisting the Red Cross could be relied upon to notify us if prisoners are abused. In fact, the Red Cross deals only with Afghan officials. We do not necessarily know where our former prisoners are and whether they are in good health, are still in detention or have been set free.

While Prime Minister Stephen Harper has insisted that Ottawa has "a firm agreement" to ensure that we do not become a party to torture or worse, we have no way of telling whether the Afghans are living up to their end. That makes no sense.
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West must deal with Pakistan
 TheStar.com - opinion - West must deal with Pakistan 
March 13, 2007 Benazir Bhutto
Article Link

Last month President George Bush told Pakistan's Gen. Pervez Musharraf he must be more aggressive in hunting down Al Qaeda and the Taliban along his country's border with Afghanistan. During his recent visit to Islamabad, vice-president Dick Cheney echoed the claim that Al Qaeda members were training in Pakistan's tribal areas and called on Musharraf to shut down their operations. And Britain also expressed concern recently about suspected terrorist safe havens.

Clearly, the pressure is on. Western leaders are finally beginning to recognize that Musharraf's regime has been unsuccessful in taming the Taliban, which has regrouped in the tribal areas of Pakistan while the military regime has given up trying to establish order on the Afghan border. 

At the same time, the regime has strategically chosen to help the U.S. when international criticism of the terrorists' presence becomes strident. 

The arrest of Mullah Obaidullah Akhund, a top Taliban strategist, by Pakistani authorities late last month is a case in point. The timing, right on the heels of American and British pleas for renewed toughness, is too convenient. Akhund was arrested solely to keep Western governments at bay.

There are other political calculations in all of this. For too long, the international perception has been that Musharraf's regime is the only thing standing between the West and nuclear-armed fundamentalists. Nothing could be further from the truth. Islamic parties have never garnered more than 13 per cent in any free parliamentary elections in Pakistan. 

The notion of Musharraf's regime as the only non-Islamist option is disingenuous and the worst type of fearmongering.
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Study: Thousands of veterans return with mental illness
POSTED: 0728 GMT (1528 HKT), March 13, 2007 
Article Link

SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) -- Nearly a third of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who received care from Veterans Affairs between 2001 and 2005 were diagnosed with mental health or psychosocial ills, a study published Monday has concluded.

The study was published in the March 12 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine and carried out by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and the San Francisco VA Medical Center.

They looked at data from 103,788 veterans; about 13 percent of them women, 54 percent under age 30, nearly a third minorities and nearly half veterans of the National Guard or Reserves.

Of the total, 32,010 (31 percent) were diagnosed with mental health and/or psychosocial problems, including 25,658 who received mental health diagnoses. More than half (56 percent) were diagnosed with two or more disorders. (Watch how the wars are blamed for an "epidemic" of mental disorders )

Post-traumatic stress disorder was the most common disorder, with the 13,205 veterans who got the diagnosis accounting for more than half (52 percent) of mental health diagnoses. 

Post-traumatic stress disorder, an anxiety disorder that can occur after the experience or witnessing of a traumatic event, can lead to depression, substance abuse, problems of memory and cognition, and other problems of physical and mental health.

Others included anxiety disorder (24 percent), adjustment disorder (24 percent), depression (20 percent) and substance abuse disorder (20 percent).

Of all veterans of Iraq or Afghanistan who sought VA services, post-traumatic stress disorder affected 13 percent, the study said
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## GAP (14 Mar 2007)

*Articles found March 14, 2007*

Kabul copes with lots of people, little water
Afghans see a possible livelihood in the city, despite its crumbling infrastructure.
By Mark Sappenfield | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Page 1 of 3
Article Link

Monitor photographer Andy Nelson on respecting culture in Afghanistan. (0:53)KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - This is a city under siege, not from the Taliban, but from itself. 

Kabul is home to 3.4 million people but has no public sewage system. Piped city water reaches only 18 percent of people. Daily power cuts last from dawn until 4 p.m. in the winter – longer in the summer. 

Once renowned for green gardens and quirky bazaars, Kabul is sinking under the weight of its own citizens. More than a million migrants have flooded into the capital city since the 2001 fall of the Taliban, seeking a job and a better life in the big city. 

In all, the population of Kabul has nearly doubled in seven years, straining a metropolis still riddled by the bullet holes and bombed-out roofs of many years of civil war. 

Larger than the next 10 largest Afghan cities combined, Kabul estimates its most basic needs require $55 million this year; its budget is $4.5 million. Residents complain, but they cope. Despite the smell of sewage and mile-long walks to get drinking water, Kabul finds ways to function. 

Yet more than five years after the international community pledged to help rebuild this tattered capital, the hard work has hardly even begun. 

"Thirty years ago, everything seemed to work here, but there were not the population pressures we see now," says Pushpa Pathak, an adviser to the Kabul Municipality. "And since then, there has only been destruction, not construction." 

Thirty years ago, Kabul was a charming city of 750,000 that drew hippies and exotic travelers to its quiet streets lined with pines and poplars. By 1999, however, the population had hit 1.8 million, and from 1999 to 2004, the city grew at a rate of 15 percent a year, according to World Bank estimates. 
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Failing Canada's fallen
 TheStar.com - opinion - Failing Canada's fallen 
March 14, 2007 
Article Link

How long must the families of fallen Canadian troops wait to find out how their loved ones die in the field?

Far too long, in the view of one man who lost his son.

Canada's military police "certainly have a lot to learn in dealing with ... grieving families," says Ben Walsh, a retired Mountie whose son Master Cpl. Jeffrey Scott Walsh was shot and killed last Aug. 8.

While negligence was suspected from the start, the military's National Investigation Service took seven months to complete its probe, which resulted in another soldier being charged this week with manslaughter and negligent performance of duty. The military says this was a "complex" case. And police probes must be thorough. 

Even so, how can it take seven months to get to the bottom of one soldier shooting another in a truck? 

During all that time the Walsh family was kept in the dark, they say, despite appeals to Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier and the Provost Marshal's office to be updated.

That flatly contradicts the NIS commander, who says the family got "regular updates."

Walsh now says he hopes the family of Cpl. Kevin Megeney, shot and killed last week, does not face the same long wait for an explanation.

Indeed. Canada's 2,500 troops in Afghanistan are risking their lives for this country. When they fall, the military should promptly share what information they have with the families, in confidence if necessary. And probes should not drag on endlessly.
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NATO troops continue to target Taliban leaders in Afghanistan  
March 14, 2007   
Article Link

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) would continue to attack Taliban leaders in Afghanistan, an ISAF spokesman told a press conference on Wednesday. 

"We will continue to target known Taliban extremist leaders, the enemies of peace, in order to drive them out," said Tom Collins, the spokesman. 

He made these remarks amid the ongoing insurgency in southern Afghanistan. 

About 4,500 ISAF and 1,000 Afghan troops launched a major operation dubbed as Operation Achilles in the southern Helmand province last Tuesday against Taliban militants. 

Collins said Mullah Jamaludin, a senior Taliban commander in Garmsir district of Helmand province, was killed by NATO troops recently. 

The Taliban claimed 2,000 suicide bombers would launch a bloody spring offensive against foreign troops in this country. 

More than 400 people, mostly militants, have been killed this year in Afghanistan. 

Source: Xinhua 
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Suicide Bomber Kills 4 in Afghanistan
The Associated Press Wednesday, March 14, 2007; 7:42 AM
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A suicide bomber on foot blew himself up near a police convoy in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing four civilians and wounding three policemen, police said.

The officers were patrolling in the city of Khost when the attacker struck, said deputy provincial police chief Mohammad Zaman. The commander of the patrol unit was among the wounded police
End

3 suicide bombers strike in Afghanistan
By Mirwais Afghan, Reuters  |  March 14, 2007
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Three Taliban suicide bombers killed themselves and two people and wounded a dozen others yesterday in separate attacks in southern Afghanistan, officials said.

The Taliban have stepped up operations in their old heartland ahead of an anticipated spring offensive against government and Western forces. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for all three attacks.

Meanwhile, NATO said a senior Taliban commander, Mullah Jamaluddin, was killed with several of his followers in a ground assault and air strike in Helmand last week.

"Jamaluddin was a violent Taliban extremist commander responsible for regular attacks" the Garmsir district, NATO said in a statement.

In Spin Boldak, a town on the Pakistani border, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a police checkpost yesterday, killing a policeman and a bystander.

"The man entered from the Pakistani side and blew himself up as police tried to search him," said Abdul Razzaq, chief of the border security force in the area. He said eight people were wounded.

Two suicide bombers killed themselves in Lashkar Gah, capital of the southern province of Helmand. One attacker targeted a NATO convoy, but wounded two Afghan bystanders, said Helmand deputy police chief, Mohammad Isa Iftikhari.
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UN envoy to Afghanistan says Pakistan cooperating in checking cross-border movement         
Written by pub Wednesday, 14 March 2007  
Article Link

     NEW YORK, Mar 14 (APP): The outgoing American ambassador to Afghanistan, Ronald Neumann, says that Pakistan is cooperating in dealing with the Taliban infiltration across the Pak-Afghan border. 
     "We are getting more cooperation, and I think we need more cooperation," he was quoted by The New York Times as telling a small group of journalists in Kabul on Tuesday. 
  
     The American ambassador said he did not see the Taliban as the big threat it appeared to represent a year or two ago, and that he was leaving feeling reasonably optimistic about the state of the insurgency and the country's progress. 
  
     "We spent a lot of last year worrying about this year," he was further quoted as saying. "We will certainly face hard fighting in the south," he said, but I am going away feeling reasonably optimistic
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Near miss for Australian journalists in Afghanistan  
AM - Wednesday, 14 March , 2007  08:20:00 Reporter: Brendan Trembath
Article Link


TONY EASTLEY: Australian reporters and Defence Force personnel have had a near miss on a helicopter flight over Taliban country in southern Afghanistan.

They didn't know how close they came to disaster until they reviewed a video of the flight taken by a cameraman onboard.

The tape shows what appears to be a rocket-propelled grenade arcing into the sky right behind the helicopter.

Brendan Trembath spoke to SBS reporter Karen Middleton, who was onboard the flight.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: Normally SBS political reporter Karen Middleton shadows the Prime Minister and other politicians. But this week she's been with the troops in southern Afghanistan, and taking a few more risks than usual - flying at more than 300 kilometres an hour in a rocking and rolling helicopter.

KAREN MIDDLETON: We had to wear body armour. Of course, the troops who travel in these things are always wearing it and the media group, there were six of us, and a navy officer travelling with us.

BRENDAN TREMBATH: She knew it would be a wild ride, but did not expect it might have been her last.

KAREN MIDDLETON: We were heading from Tarin Kowt up to Kandahar. What turned out to have happened is that a ... it seemed like rocket-propelled grenade was fired at our helicopter.

It missed, luckily. It looks like it missed by about 20 metres. Nobody on the aircraft actually saw it happen, and it seems that nobody in the Chinook behind us saw it happen either, that was an American Chinook that was travelling with us, and we had a third aircraft, an American Apache that was flying behind.
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Holding Jirgas to facilitate peace in Afghanistan  
March 14, 2007          
Article Link

Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Tuesday the process of holding Jirgas will facilitate peace and stability in Afghanistan and contribute towards better understanding between Pakistan and Afghanistan. 

Aziz was talking to the members of Pakistan and Afghan Jirga Commissions in Islamabad who had concluded a two-day discussion about holding traditional tribal jirgas to contain violence in the tribal areas straddling their borders, according to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan. 

Pir Said Ahmad Gilani, Chairman of the Afghan Jirga Commission, led a 12-member Afghan delegation in the meeting held on March 13- 14, while the five-strong Pakistani team was headed by Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, who is chairman of the Pakistani Jirga Commission. 

Aziz said Tuesday that terrorism and extremism is a common threat faced by Pakistan and Afghanistan and requires a common response. 

The holding of Jirga will build bridges and the people of the two countries will be able to work collectively to solve the challenges faced by them, he added. 

The prime minister said Pakistan is committed to the process of engagement with Afghanistan at all levels, and a strong vibrant Afghanistan is in the interest of Pakistan and the region. 

He emphasized the need to improve the atmosphere and build more trust between Pakistan and Afghanistan to meet the challenges faced by the two countries more effectively. 
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O'Connor meets with human rights group director
Updated Wed. Mar. 14 2007 7:57 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

After meeting with the head of an Afghan human rights commission charged with monitoring the fate of Afghan detainees handed to local authorities, Canada's defence minister says he's reasonably confident the group is up to the task. 

Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor met Wednesday with Abdul Noorzai, the regional director of the Afghanistan Human Rights Commission at a holding centre at the Kandahar base. 

O'Connor, who arrived in Afghanistan on the weekend, was reportedly supposed to meet with Noorzai on Monday, but the meeting was cancelled without explanation about an hour before it was supposed to take place. 

Noorzai did not speak to media representatives after the meeting, but he has said the commission has limited resources and faces challenges such as security concerns and a small staff. He also said his inspectors sometimes have trouble actually getting into prison facilities. 

After the Wednesday meeting, O'Connor said Canada will work with the commission to assist in transporting prisoners and ensuring the group has access to them while they are under detention. 

"The minister did say he will give the human rights commission resources, some help to be able to go out and follow prisoners who are taken by Canadian soldiers when they are handed over to the Afghans," said CTV's Paul Workman, reporting from Kandahar. 

"And that's really the worry here, Canada just doesn't know what happens to these prisoners after they are handed over," Workman told CTV's Canada AM.

Canada's prisoner handover agreement, signed in 2005, does not include provisions for the Canadians to monitor the treatment of detainees after they are handed over. 
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## GAP (15 Mar 2007)

*Articles found March 15, 2007*

Making Every Bomb Count in Afghanistan
March 15, 2007
Article Link

In 2005, the U.S. Air Force dropped 176 bombs and missiles in Afghanistan. Last year, they dropped ten times as many. Some 3,000 Taliban fighters were killed by these bombs. Because all the attacks used missiles or smart bombs, very few civilians were killed (fewer than a hundred.) So few civilians were killed that, whenever there were civilian deaths, the Taliban press officers jumped all over it as an example of American atrocities against the Afghan people, and because such deaths happened so rarely, they caught peoples attention.

While much of that increase in bomb use came from the increased activity of the Taliban, a lot of the new bombing opportunities came from better intelligence. The air force and army (both American and NATO) deployed better electronic sensors. There were more UAVs all around. The ground forces used superior scouting and reconnaissance techniques to find an elusive enemy. But there was also a lot of help from Afghan civilians. The Taliban made a major mistake by going after the schools (burning down over a hundred of them, and otherwise shutting down more than twice as many.) Many otherwise pro-Taliban Afghans wanted the schools to stay open, and the anger at the anti-school effort, brought in a lot of tips. The Taliban were not so elusive with all those villagers informing on them. 
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Suicide attack in Afghanistan kills at least 5, wounds 38
By Rahim Faiez, The Associated Press 3/15/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan - A suicide bomber struck near a police convoy in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing five people and wounding 38 in the latest in a growing wave of Iraq-style attacks. 
The attacker, described as a young man wearing a Muslim prayer cap, detonated his explosives as the last in a column of police vehicles passed in front of a bank in Khost, a city near the Pakistani border, officials and witnesses said. 

Four civilians and a policeman were killed, according to Gul Mohammadin Mohammadi, the provincial health chief. Nine of the 38 wounded were policemen, he said. Twelve of the injured were in critical condition. 

Suicide attacks have become a key weapon for Taliban insurgents who made 2006 the bloodiest year in Afghanistan since U.S. forces drove the hard-line regime from power in late 2001. The tactic has put NATO and U.S. troops on edge, resulting in a string of deadly shootings of civilians. 

In the latest incident, NATO said its forces in Kandahar fired at a truck that came too close to their convoy Wednesday, killing the driver. 

Afghan and Western officials have pleaded with foreign forces to use caution to prevent civilian casualties. NATO and U.S.-led coalition 
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UP TO 335 ADDITIONAL TROOPS FROM BULGARIA COULD BE SENT TO AFGHANISTAN
09:19 Thu 15 Mar 2007
Article Link

Courtesy of nato.intThe government has the political will to increase the number of Bulgarian soldiers taking part in peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan, Defence Minister Vesselin Bliznakov.

On March 14 the Cabinet examined Bliznakov’s proposal for further participation in International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

Up to 335 additional troops could be sent to Afghanistan, in case the proposal received approval.

According to plans Bulgarian troops will operate in Kabul under Italian command. They will be responsible for ensuring safe environment for the provision of humanitarian aid. Bulgarian soldiers will be responsible for surveillance and for the training of Afghanistan’s army.

The mission is to begin in May.

Up to 200 Bulgarian soldiers will be responsible for the security of the Kandahar airport since the beginning of July. 

Romanian troops are responsible for the Kandahar airport and have been maintaining its security for one year. Their mission ends in June.

Bulgaria takes part in ISAF since February 2002. At the moment 85 Bulgarian medics and soldiers take part in peacekeeping missions. 
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Video shows Italian journalist abducted in Afghanistan
Thu, 15 Mar 2007 06:57:18  
Article Link

 A video obtained by an Italian humanitarian group shows an Italian journalist - kidnapped in Afghanistan some 10 days ago - asking for help, the group and media said Wednesday. 

The aid group, Emergency, which helped to release the abducted Italian photographer Gabriele Torsello in Afghanistan last year, said in a statement it had obtained a video showing abducted Daniele Mastrogiacomo. 

Ansa news agency meanwhile broadcast some of the tape and reported that the journalist had urged the Italian government to help release him. 

"I am Daniele Mastrogiacomo. It is March 12. It is eight o'clock in the morning in Afghanistan. I'm doing well. I am convinced that everything will end well," the La Repubblica journalist said on the film. 

Italian news channel Sky TG 24 broadcast a still shot from the tape showing 52-year-old Mastrogiacomo with a drawn face and his head covered with a checkered Afghan headscarf. 
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Positive Change in Afghanistan  
Daniel Proussalidis Wednesday, March 14, 2007 
Article Link

Canada's chief of defence staff is sounding optimistic about the military's effort to bring stability to the Panjwaii District west of Kandahar City, Afghanistan. 

General Rick Hillier says thousands of families are moving back to the area. 

"They are confident that they can now come home and that there's a hope they can now get on with a normal life that would like to live. Our soldiers are still there to help them. We're not over the hump completely yet, obviously.'' 

But, General Hillier adds that he's seen a positive change. 
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Commentary: Afghanistan's opium tango
By ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE UPI Editor at Large WASHINGTON, March 14 (UPI)
Article Link

Sixty percent of Afghanistan's 30 million people are under 20 -- without the foggiest notion of what democracy stands for. Thirty-seven countries are involved in normalization and reconstruction -- with different agendas; some 2,000 non-governmental organizations (out of an estimated 25,000 worldwide) are now represented in Afghanistan. A former Afghan minister, speaking privately, said, "They spend over half their time coordinating among themselves... The Afghan tango is now known as one step forward, and three steps backward."

The Shiite suburbs of Kabul are now under the control of Iranian or pro-Iranian agents. The capital city has mushroomed from 400,000 at the time of 9/11 to 2 million today. Some 500,000 acres of public land was seized and sold for the benefit of the entrenched bureaucracy. To control this vast country of 30 million would require several hundred thousand troops. The U.S. and allied-trained Afghan army numbers 20,000 instead of the 35,000 projected by now.


The consensus forged in the heady days of liberation in December 2001 is broken. Fear of the B-52 bombers is gone. And today's Afghanistan is totally insecure, so much so that it has already been promoted to the ranks of failed states -- except for an all-pervasive opium culture that keeps Afghanistan from sinking into total chaos. 


The illicit opium poppy industry is, according to a former minister in President Hamid Karzai's government, "a pyramid structure. If ever there were a management prize for the perfect supply chain," it would go to what generates from one half to two-thirds of Afghan GDP. He said there are "25 mafia dons at the top of the pyramid who control the key power levers. The Interior Ministry is owned by the drug industry." In Helmand province (40% of the country's opium production), Taliban fighters protect poppy farmers from eradication efforts, and extract millions of dollars for their services.


Managing relationships with the United States, NATO, the European Union, Iran, India and Pakistan, Russia and China is beyond the capabilities of the Karzai government. The game of nations is played below the president's radar screen. The U.S. is hoping to diversify Afghanistan's regional relationships by coaxing Gulf states to become stakeholders; but the "Gulfies" are otherwise engaged by the uncertainties of the Iraq war and Iran's nuclear ambitions.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (15 Mar 2007)

A _Washington Post_ article on Helmand province that does not once mention British troops :rage::

Emerging Epicenter In the Afghan War
NATO Aims to Loosen Taliban's Grip in Helmand
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/14/AR2007031402285.html

Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (16 Mar 2007)

*Articles found March 16, 2007*

Two more suspects arrested in beating of Afghanistan war hero
The Canadian Press Published: Thursday, March 15, 2007
Article Link

MORRISBURG, Ont. — Two more men are facing charges after a highly decorated soldier was beaten at a bar in Morrisburg in eastern Ontario.

Master Cpl. Collin Fitzgerald was awarded a Medal of Military Valour last month for his heroic actions in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan.

On Saturday, he was attacked in the bar by four men, who had also allegedly taunted him about his war hero status.
Fitzgerald suffered a badly broken foot and several facial injuries.

Police have charged 22-year old Ian Tait and 19-year old Jeremy Stewart with assault.

Twenty-one-year-old Travis Baldwin was arrested earlier in connection with the assault and police continue to seek a fourth suspect
More on link

DND doubts watchdog's role in Afghan abuse probe
OLIVER MOORE From Friday's Globe and Mail
Article Link

The Department of National Defence says it doesn't believe a military watchdog has jurisdiction to look into a complaint about the handover of prisoners in Afghanistan.

The dispute may end up in a court showdown between DND and the Military Police Complaints Commission. If DND refuses to co-operate in its investigation, the commission says, it may be forced to hold public hearings.

In a letter, DND says it is set to seek a judicial review, but has given chairman Peter Tinsley until Monday to explain why the commission accepted the complaint from two civil-liberties groups.

The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association and Amnesty International Canada lodged the complaint last month, arguing military police are typically the last Canadians to have custody of prisoners before they are given over to Afghan authorities. The groups said troops handed prisoners over to Afghan authorities, even though they should have known Afghan police and the security directorate "routinely tortures prisoners." 

More on link

PM considering increasing Afghanistan troop commitment   
The World Today - Friday, 16 March , 2007  12:10:00 Reporter: Louise Willis
Article Link

ELEANOR HALL: Australians are being warned to brace for casualties if the Federal Government does increase Australian troops numbers in Afghanistan.

The Prime Minister used a surprise visit to Kabul overnight to reveal he's considering increasing Australia's troop commitment, with speculation that 450 extra soldiers could be sent.

Mr Howard won't confirm the plans, or give a figure, but the move is reportedly under consideration by Cabinet's National Security Committee.

But while there is bipartisan support for the extra troops, Labor leader Kevin Rudd says Afghanistan is extremely dangerous. And security analysts are already warning about the increased risk of Australian casualties.

Louise Willis has our report.

LOUISE WILLIS: It's beginning to warm up in Afghanistan, both the weather and the fighting. 

NATO-led (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) forces in the country are preparing for a major spring offensive by the Taliban and that may prompt Australia to boost its already 500-strong troop commitment to the country.

JOHN HOWARD: We are looking at the possibility of some increase in our commitment to Afghanistan. You asked me about Iraq, we announced recently an increase of military trainers for Iraq, and we have no plans to, certainly have no plans to reduce our commitment and we are planning a modest increase in military trainers. 

We think, in the case of both countries and both operations, providing as much training as possible to the Iraqi forces, both the army and also the police, and also providing training assistance to the National Army of Afghanistan, we think in both cases that is an extremely valuable commitment.
More on link

Afghanistan Says 5 Police Mistakenly Killed By Coalition Forces
Friday, March 16, 2007
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan —  U.S.-led coalition forces mistakenly killed five Afghan police in a clash in a southern province, the government said Friday.

The police were manning a checkpoint in Gereshk district, Helmand province when the clash broke out Thursday evening, said Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary.

"Coalition forces mistakenly opened fire on police," Bashary said. "Unfortunately five policemen were killed."

A high-ranking Afghan delegation was sent to the area to investigate, Bashary said. He could not provide further details of how the friendly fire broke out.

U.S. military officials were not immediately available to comment on the matter.

The clash came as NATO-led forces pressed on with their largest operation yet in Afghanistan, trying to secure a region of Helmand province — a stronghold for resurgent Taliban militants.

Lt. Col. Angela Billings, a spokeswoman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Kabul, said their troops were not involved in the clash. 
More on link

Funeral today for soldier killed in Afghanistan
Updated Fri. Mar. 16 2007 8:07 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

Hundreds of soldiers will be in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, today for the full military funeral of Cpl. Kevin Megeney -- killed in Afghanistan in what the military is calling an "accidental shooting." 

Megeney, 25, was killed in his tent at the Canadian base in Kandahar on March 6 by a gunshot wound to the chest. He died 20 minutes later from the wound. 

"The funeral today will be about celebrating Kevin's life not just as a soldier but as a friend and family member," Megeney's cousin, Brian MacLeod, told Canada AM on Friday. 

He said there will be about 100 family members at the funeral. 

"The family has been coping quite well ... There's been a lot of grieving but also a lot of reflection and thinking about those happy times with Kevin," said MacLeod. 

He described his cousin as someone with "a great sense of humour" who was "not a leader of the pack but very influential in any group he was ever a part of." 

"Kevin honestly thought that he could make a difference by contributing to his country through service in the army through the reserves and he wanted to do his part in Afghanistan to try to help bring peace throughout the world," said MacLeod. 

Local residents are also honouring Megeney with a yellow ribbon campaign. 
More on link

No easy way out for Prodi on Afghanistan
Friday, 16 March, 2007, 01:47 PM Doha Time By Phil Stewart
Article Link

ROME: Italy is paying a higher political price than other Nato partners for keeping troops in Afghanistan, but analysts say the cost of withdrawal would be even greater for Rome and its closest allies.
Prime Minister Romano Prodi, already forced to resign briefly last month over foreign policy, including the Afghan mission, still faces major tests on the peacekeeping issue.
The Taliban are piling pressure on Prodi by holding an Italian reporter hostage and demanding Rome withdraw its forces. Closer to home, leftist senators who oppose the mission will vote this month on a bill financing Italy’s 1,900 troops there.
Keeping troops in Afghanistan may seem unnecessary given that Italy has a smaller contingent than even the Netherlands and operates in the safer, western sector of the country.
But military strategists and political analysts say any meaningful pullout would ostracise Italy from its allies abroad and anger moderates at home.
From a military perspective, the size of Italy’s contingent belies its strategic importance, they say. Withdrawal would leave a gaping hole in an already understaffed force so far unable to defeat the Taliban.
More on link

What’s wrong with Afghanistan’s suicide bombers?
March 15, 2007
Article Link

Afghanistan has seen a precipitous rise in suicide bombings (from 25 in 2005 to 136 in 2006) but they have failed to cause many fatalities among their targets: foreign and international security forces. And while they may have achieved their goal of impeding the goals of Karzai's government and its international backers, these tactics are earning the Taliban enmity among the people whose support they most need. 

So conclude Brian Glyn Williams and Cathy Young of the Jamestown Foundation, who recently conducted a five month study on 158 documented suicide bombings in Afghanistan from 2001-2007. One of their conclusions is that despite surface similarities with Iraq, “the suicide bombing campaign in Afghanistan has its own specific dynamics.” MORE 


When you glance at the statistics, one thing is evident: suicide bombings in Afghanistan have had a shockingly low rate of success. During the first seven weeks of 2007 there were 22 attempted bombings (punctuating Mullah Hayat Khan’s claim that they Taliban has deployed 2,000 suicide bombers to make 2007 "the bloodiest year" in Afghanistan.) However, in 16 of these 22 cases the only fatality of the explosion was the suicide bomber himself, and in another two cases, the perpetrator was shot even before detonating his bomb. 

The three “successful” attacks killed two policemen and eight civilians (Jan 23), three policemen (Feb 4), and 23 people, including several coalition soldiers. Such “numbers hardly compare to Iraq where suicide bombers often carry out synchronized attacks that regularly kill anywhere from 60 to 130 people.” And the eighteen failed attacks “translate to 19 Taliban suicide bombers for one Afghan policeman, hardly an inspiring kill ratio for would-be-suicide bombers.” 
More on link

Howard pays surprise visit to Afghanistan  
Web posted at: 3/16/2007 8:58:22
Article Link

KABUL • Australian Prime Minister John Howard said during a surprise trip to Afghanistan yesterday that his government may send more troops to combat Taleban militants in the insurgency-hit country. 

Howard visited Australian troops stationed in Tirin Kot, the capital of the volatile southern province of Uruzgan, and later met Afghan President Hamid Karzai. 

“We are looking at the possibility of some increase in our commitment to Afghanistan,” Howard told a news conference, without giving details. Australia, an ally in the US-led “war on terror”, already has 550 troops in Afghanistan. 

He ruled out any corresponding decrease of Australian troops in Iraq. Howard also reaffirmed Australia’s commitment to Karzai’s government as it takes on Taleban-led militants who have waged a bloody insurgency since their ouster by US-led troops in late 2001. 

“We remain committed as a nation to assisting Afghanistan in resisting terrorism, in resisting the Taleban forces,” he said.Howard acknowledged the challenging task ahead for Nato and Afghan troops. Last year was the deadliest in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taleban, with around 4,000 people killed. 

The Islamist movement has promised to launch a spring offensive as the harsh Afghan winter comes to an end. 
More on link

Self-immolation by Afghan women rising
By Alisa Tang, Associated Press Writer  |  March 15, 2007
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan --One woman committed suicide by setting herself ablaze after her father-in-law tried to rape her. Another set herself on fire because her brothers would not let her marry, preferring that she remain their servant at home. Yet another told her mother before she died that her husband beat her daily.

Testimony gathered by the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission documents how life for many Afghan women remains so bleak that some choose a horrific and painful death instead.

The group interviewed about 800 Afghans whose sisters, daughters and daughters-in-law have killed themselves by self-immolation to escape domestic abuse, forced marriage and other misogynistic social customs.

The report and anecdotal evidence from other rights workers suggests the phenomenon is growing, with desperate women sometimes mimicking what they have seen reported on TV.

"It's really a big problem in Afghanistan," said Nabila Wafiq, who has researched the issue for the aid group Medica Mondiale, which has interviewed women who survived their self-immolation attempts.

"When we asked most people why they committed self-immolation, they said that when they take pills, they don't die, but when they commit self-immolation they believe they will die, 100 percent."

Reports from Herat, in western Afghanistan, show about 90 women set fire to themselves last year there and more than 70 percent died. Afghanistan's poor health system can do little for the badly burned.

The commission report, released last week, covers Badghis, Herat, Farah, Nimroz and Kandahar, provinces that media and other reports suggest are the worst affected. However, women's rights advocates suspect that self-immolation is a nationwide problem.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (16 Mar 2007)

French Rafale Heading to Afghanistan (Title in print edition: "Call to Combat")
AW&ST, March 12
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=awst&id=news/aw031207p2.xml&headline=French%20Rafale%20Heading%20to%20Afghanistan



> French Rafale strike fighters will be operational in Afghanistan within days, after undergoing a crash course to integrate precision-guided bombs and other wartime enhancements.
> 
> Both the French air force and navy are participating in the surge of combat capability, aimed at bolstering NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (16 Mar 2007)

German Soldiers Contest Tornado Mission in Afghanistan
Deutsche Welle, March 16
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2387099,00.html



> A group of German soldiers are contesting the military's decision to send Tornado jets to Afghanistan to carry out surveillance missions for NATO, the defense ministry confirmed on Friday.
> 
> Officers have published a letter in the online newspaper Netzeitung accusing Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung of misleading the country about the mandate of the mission.
> 
> ...



Taliban fleeing NATO forces, more offensives coming, top U.S. general says
CP, March 16
http://www.recorder.ca/cp/World/070316/w031635A.html



> The top NATO general in Afghanistan said Friday the alliance's latest offensive is the first of a "rolling series" of operations against Taliban insurgents, some of whom have been fleeing western forces in the south.
> 
> U.S. Gen. Dan McNeill, commander of the 36,000-strong NATO-led force in Afghanistan, said western troops were exchanging fire with Taliban fighters "in a number of areas" in southern Afghanistan but that many militants were fleeing the 5,500 NATO and Afghan soldiers participating in Operation Achilles...
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## Bigmac (17 Mar 2007)

> Child killed in suicide attack targeting Canadian military in Afghanistan
> NOOR KHAN
> 
> 
> ...


http://www.recorder.ca/cp/World/070317/w031703A.html

    I always hate to hear that innocent children were killed or injured in the conflict. Condolences.

    Speedy recovery to the soldiers injured.


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## GAP (18 Mar 2007)

*Articles found 18 February, 2007*



Italian journalist freed in Afghanistan: report 
Mar 18, 2007, 10:55 GMT 
Article Link

Rome/Kabul - Italian journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo was released by his kidnappers in Afghanistan, after being held hostage by Taliban insurgents for two weeks, reports said Sunday. 

A Taliban spokesman was quoted by the Italian news agency Ansa as saying that the 52-year-old journalist for Le Repubblica had been freed. 

The foreign ministry in Rome has not yet confirmed the report. 

Afghan President Hamid Karzai promised to free two detained Taliban spokesmen in exchange for Mastrogiacomo's release, Italian media reported. 

Earlier in the day, a Taliban spokesman had announced that the journalist and his interpreter would be freed soon. 

Mastrogiacomo and his two Afghan guides were abducted on March 4 in the Nad Ali district of Helmand and accused of spying for foreign forces. 

Italian newspapers reported Sunday that the contacts between Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and Afghan President Hamid Karzai had been 'decisive' in bringing about progress in the case. 

The Taliban had demanded that the Italian government should begin talks to withdraw its about 1900 soldiers in Afghanistan. 
More on link

Afghanistan's silent plague of AIDS 
By Carlotta Gall Sunday, March 18, 2007 
Article Link

KABUL: Sitting and eating quietly on his father's lap, the 18-month-old boy was oblivious to the infection running through his veins.

But his father, a burly farmer, now a widower and father of four, knew only too well. It was the same one that killed his wife, the boy's mother, four months ago. The man started to cry.

"When my wife died, I thought, well, it is from God, but at least I have him," he said. "Then I learned he is sick too. I asked if there is medicine and the doctors said no. They said, 'Just trust in God.'"

Long cloistered by two decades of war and then the strict Islamic rule of the Taliban, Afghanistan was for many years shielded from the worst ravages of the AIDS pandemic. Not anymore.

HIV and AIDS have quietly arrived in this land of a thousand calamities. Still, little is known of the disease in Afghanistan. It remains almost completely underground, shrouded in ignorance and stigma as the government struggles with the help of U.S. and NATO forces to rebuild the country amid a new offensive by Taliban insurgents
More on link

Mom: military seduces young  
2007-03-18 By IAN FAIRCLOUGH Valley Bureau 
Article Link

WOLFVILLE — The military is seducing impressionable youth into service in the Armed Forces, says the mother of a Canadian soldier in Afghanistan. 

Andria Hill-Lehr says youth of all ages are being led to join the military before they have the ability to think critically.

She said Forces’ advertisements, shown at movie theatres, target teens. She also said the cadet program starts as young as age 12 and puts youth in touch with military life. 

"We’ve used words like brainwashing and indoctrination and they’ve lost their emphasis," she said. Now she uses the word seduction. The Wolfville mom spoke on the issue at a Voice of Women for Peace rally in Halifax last month and she is writing a book for Pottersfield Press, a Halifax County publishing company.

She said teens who become involved in cadets, the reserves and the regular forces are being taught to follow when they should be learning to lead and to think for themselves.
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1,400 artifacts of Afghanistan's museum in exile in Switzerland return to Kabul  
the associated press Tucson, Arizona | Published: 03.18.2007
Article Link

 Afghanistan (AP) — More than 1,400 artifacts — protected from looters and the Taliban since 1999 at a museum-in-exile in Switzerland — were returned to the National Museum of Afghanistan on Saturday. 
The collection, which includes a piece from a foundation stone that was "touched by Alexander the Great" and several items thousands of years old, was assembled in Switzerland by Afghans who wanted to save their cultural heritage after decades of war. 

More on link

UN worker injured in ambush in Afghanistan
Mar 18, 2007, 8:03 GMT 
Article Link

Kabul - A UN mine-clearing worker was wounded during an ambush in the Kapisa province north of Kabul, the US-led coalition forces said Sunday. 

Afghan and coalition forces were also hit with rocket-propelled grenade, machine gun and small-arms fire while travelling in the opposite direction as the UN vehicle in the Tag Ab district Saturday, a statement said. 

It did not state the nationality of the wounded worker. 

The coalition also rejected a claim posted on a Taliban insurgent website that one of its helicopters had been shot down in the eastern Nuristan province Friday. 
End

Australian Soldiers Wounded In Afghanistan
March 17, 2007 10:11 p.m. EST Richard Bowden - All Headline News Staff Writer
Article Link

Kandahar, Afghanistan (AHN) - Three Australian soldiers have been wounded in a rocket attack at Kandahar airfield in southern Afghanistan today according to a report from the Australian news agency Australian Associated Press (AAP). 

The three received minor injuries when an enemy rocket hit their accommodation quarters at the airfield but will return to active duties after treatment according to a statement released by the Australian Defense Department. 

The rocket attack caused minor damage though most of the impact was absorbed by a purpose-built barrier system, the statement said. The soldiers are amongst 550 Australian military serving in the country. 

Prime Minister John Howard, who paid a surprise visit to Afghanistan this week, has said he is considering sending a further contingent of Australian troops to combat recently resurgent Taliban forces. 
end


Taliban chop drivers' noses, ears in Afghanistan
Reuters Sunday, March 18, 2007; 3:15 AM
Article Link

ASADABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Taliban guerrillas chopped noses and ears of at least five truck drivers in eastern Afghanistan as punishment for transporting supplies to U.S.-led troops, officials and residents said on Sunday.

The drivers were part of a convoy headed for a coalition military base when they were attacked in the province of Nuristan on Saturday.
The number of drivers who had their noses and ears cut varies, it is between five and eight," Ghulamullah, the police chief of Nuristan who uses only one name, said citing locals and officials in the area.

Several trucks were destroyed in the attack.

Ousted from power in 2001 in a U.S.-led invasion, the Taliban have launched what they call a holy war against Western troops and the government in Kabul.

The militants have in the past killed a number of drivers for supplying goods and fuel to the troops.
More on link

Afghanistan: NATO Commander Discusses Challenges  
March 16, 2007 (RFE/RL) Saturday, March 17, 2007
Article Link

 Less than two weeks ago, NATO and Afghan forces launched a massive offensive to stabilize Helmand Province. The man who is four months into the job of overseeing the NATO mission in Afghanistan, General John Craddock, the supreme allied commander of NATO forces in Europe, spoke to RFE/RL correspondent Heather Maher.

RFE/RL: Reports from Afghanistan are that as civilian deaths and injuries mount, popular support for the Taliban is increasing, because local populations are turning to the Taliban for protection. The Taliban is now firmly in control of three districts in Helmand Province. How is NATO attempting to counter this? 

John Craddock: I think the first thing that ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] is doing is telling the truth, and that may be a rare commodity. The fact is you will see reports of operations that ISAF has conducted that have resulted in the loss of noncombatant life, many of those are patently false, they are not true. 
More on link

NZ troops set for return to war in Afghanistan  
By ANTHONY HUBBARD and JOHN STEPHENSON - Sunday Star Times | Sunday, 18 March 2007
Article Link

New Zealand SAS troops are to return to Afghanistan within two months to help in the increasingly dangerous and controversial war with the Taliban and Al Qaeda. 

Military sources say a contingent of the elite SAS will return to Afghanistan, perhaps as early as next month. Previous contingents have numbered between 40 and 65. 

But former SAS troopers have told the Sunday Star-Times soldiers who had served there were worried about the conduct of some US and Australian special forces. 

The New Zealand SAS's last round of duty in Afghanistan ended in November 2005. 

Defence Minister Phil Goff says the government has "no plans at present" to send the SAS back, but will not rule it out. 

Prime Minister Helen Clark may be saving the announcement for her meeting with president George Bush in the White House on Wednesday. Last week she announced that New Zealand's 120-strong provincial reconstruction team would remain in Bamiyan province in Afghanistan for another year. 

Sources say some New Zealand SAS soldiers were concerned about the "trigger-happy" attitude of American and Australian special forces in Afghanistan. One former SAS soldier told the Sunday Star- Times that colleagues who had served in Afghanistan were unhappy with some American troops whose conduct was "nothing but murder". 

Another former SAS soldier said there had been concern about the systematic killing by coalition snipers of Afghanis seen carrying weapons, but who did not pose a threat. 

"A guy comes out of the town with an AK (47) in his hand, maybe he's the goatherd or whatever, and `bang'. The (New Zealand) chaps weren't happy with that." 
More on link


Afghanistan: Kabul's Relations With Its Other Neighbor, Iran  
By Amin Tarzi March 16, 2007 (RFE/RL) 
Article Link

The Afghan government and ordinary Afghans are quick to say that most of the destabilizing factors in their country have a foreign origin -- and Pakistan is most likely to be blamed.

But recently, more attention is being paid to the possibility that Afghanistan's neighbor to the west -- Iran -- may also be pursuing its own agenda in Afghanistan to the detriment of Kabul. 

Iran and Pakistan became actively involved in the internal affairs of Afghanistan during the mujahedin's resistance against Soviet forces and the subsequent communist regimes from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. 

Pakistani Involvement 

Both countries also became host to millions of Afghan refugees. During the jihad period -- as the anticommunist resistance is referred to by Afghans -- Pakistan hosted and manipulated the mostly Sunni Muslim and Pashtun mujahedin groups, while Iran managed the mostly Shi'ite Muslim groups. 
Not causing trouble does not mean that Iran lacks the ability to do so, if such a policy would suit Tehran's dealings with the West.


With the collapse of the communist government of President Najibullah in 1992, the Pakistani-backed groups initially took control of most levers of power. 

Gradually, however, Iran, and -- even less obviously, India and the Russian Federation -- cultivated their own relations with new clients to oppose the domination of Pakistan over the future of Afghanistan. 

With the advent of the Taliban phenomenon in 1994, Tehran began not only to actively support the loose grouping of former mujahedin parties and communist strongmen -- the United Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (popularly known as the Northern Alliance) -- but also gave refuge to Pakistan's one-time favorite Afghan client, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, as a potential card to be played. 
More on link

A clouded atmosphere of hurt and hostility
jfriesen, today at 10:11 AM EDT
Article Link

On a day when swirling dust seemed to block out the sun, I sat down in a quiet room in Kandahar city with a mullah recently returned from Quetta, Pakistan, home to many of the Taliban’s top leadership.

The mullah, who sat cross-legged and sipped a soft drink, said he doesn’t support the Taliban, but he doesn’t like the foreigners either. British, American, Canadian – they are all Harijan (foreign) to him. He has never travelled abroad, he said, so how is he supposed to tell the difference? 

The mullah had been speaking with a man who is tailor to the Taliban in Quetta. The Taliban are feeling harassed lately, he said. The CIA and the Pakistani ISI are hunting them and the Taliban have had to change their appearance to blend in. Men who grew their beards for decades have shaved them off and gone with close-cropped Pakistani-style haircuts, he said. They don’t move around much, but stay in safe houses and plot the wider scope of the Afghan war.

He brought with him Taliban videos that we sat and watched. They showed Mullah Dadullah, a feared military commander who is now reportedly number three in the Taliban hierarchy, flanked by men carrying RPGs, speaking before a flag-waving crowd. He was welcoming recruits of suicide bombers, perhaps one or two hundred (although they claimed 2,000) who sat before him with their bowed heads cloaked in black. The mullah exhorted them to fight against the unbelievers. 

The video also showed Taliban attacks on NATO convoys, and the brutal, bloody execution of soldiers from the Afghan National Army. It was unpleasant to watch, but the local Afghans in the room were quite interested. They spent a great deal of time trying to deduce where Mullah Dadullah’s speech took place. It must be Pakistan, they said. Probably Waziristan, judging by the countryside. They blame the Pakistani government for most of Afghanistan’s woes. Pakistan doesn't want to see a strong and stable Afghanistan, they said, because it fears a Pashtun independence movement.
End

Teams train at Bragg for Afghanistan reconstruction work
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. 
Article Link

Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Gordon Phillips is getting ready for a job on the ground.

He's set to command a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan. The teams work with local governments to coordinate rebuilding efforts.

Building relationships with local leaders is key.

Recently the team trained at Fort Bragg. Phillips led his team into a make-believe village. The members looked a at a clinic and provided medical care after a fictional earthquake.

Provincial Reconstruction Teams also work in Iraq. Their number is set to double there in the wake of the Bush administration's new strategy.
end

Maybe Layton was right about Afghanistan
 TheStar.com -  March 17, 2007 Thomas Walkom
Peace deal with the Taliban only way out, analyst says
Article Link

When New Democratic Party chief Jack Layton suggested last fall that talking to the Taliban might bring peace to Afghanistan, he was laughed out of court.

The major newspapers dismissed him as either naive or reprehensible. The Conservative government was contemptuous, as were the Liberals.

They called him Taliban Jack.

Eventually, Layton stopped talking about negotiating with the Taliban. Which is ironic, given that the idea is now gaining credibility among those who travel in more established circles.

Indeed, the latest figure to call for a political settlement to the Afghan conflict is a pillar of the Ottawa establishment. Gordon Smith, now director of the Centre for Global Studies at the University of Victoria, is Canada's former ambassador to NATO and a former deputy minister of foreign affairs. His Canada in Afghanistan: Is it Working? was done for the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute, a Calgary think-tank that is not known for being squishy on matters military.

Unlike Layton, Smith does not say Canada should pull its troops out of Afghanistan. Quite the contrary. He writes that Canadian troops should remain there past 2009 as part of the NATO-led force.

But he also writes that the current NATO strategy of trying to defeat the Taliban militarily cannot work.

"We do not believe that the Taliban can be defeated or eliminated as a political entity in any meaningful time frame by Western armies using military measures," he says.

The reasons for this are fourfold. First, the Taliban are still the dominant force among Pashtuns in Afghanistan's south, where Canadian troops are operating. NATO bête noire Mullah Omar "remains unchallenged as leader of the Taliban," Smith writes. "There is no alternative representing Pashtun interests who has more clout than he."
More on link


Afghanistan: the task gets tougher  
Saturday, 17 March 2007  
Article Link

PRIME Minister John Howard never tires of trumpeting his claim to be the true custodian of Australia's national security to the point where pictures of him rubbing shoulders with Australian Defence Force soldiers are now a familiar staple of newspapers, particularly around federal elections. He has again boarded the Hercules this week for a fleeting visit to Afghanistan and the region to both thank the men and women of the ADF for their efforts in what are, without doubt, two of the more dangerous theatres of conflict in the world today.
After addressing about 150 troops in the southern Afghan town of Tarin Kowt, Howard flew to Kabul for talks with President Hamid Karzai to discuss the potential for boosting troop numbers there. With another Taliban and al-Qaeda offensive forecast for this northern spring, there is little likelihood that Karzai will be playing down the need for extra troops. Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd is unequivocal that Howard should be sympathetic to "any reasonable request for additional resources" suggesting that on this issue, the ALP and the Coalition are as one (unlike Iraq where the ALP has committed to bringing home Australia's combat troops).

As perilous as the situation is in Afghanistan, cynics might argue that Howard's visit there has as much to do with pushing his national security credentials ahead of the election later this year as it does with viewing first-hand the existential threats facing Karzai's Government. 

It's thought Howard might announce a doubling of military personnel to Afghanistan to about 1000, including a detachment of Special Air Service troops. If so, Rudd is unlikely to demur. The bipartisan support suggests both leaders are well aware that international efforts to free Afghanistan from the tyranny of the Taliban, al-Qaeda, warlords and ethnic rivalries have gone backwards in the past year
More on link

Bulgaria okays larger contingent in Afghanistan  
March 17, 2007 
Article Link

The Bulgarian government adopted a decision on Friday to increase the Bulgarian military presence in Afghanistan by 335 personnel, reported BTA news agency, citing the Government Information Service. 

Up to 200 soldiers will be committed for the first time to guard the internal perimeter of Kandahar Airport, and a 120-member company will be sent to the capital airport, plus 15 staff officers. 

The commitment of these contingents will bring the total number of Bulgarian peacekeeping contingent in Afghanistan to some 400. 

The whole troops are expected to be sent off by July. 

Bulgaria sent its first one-year-mandate rotation of contingent to Afghanistan in 2002, said the agency. 
end

Afghanistan faces challenges from within, says Shaukat Aziz
Article Link

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Friday that the challenges Afghanistan faced were indigenous and required a holistic approach to win the hearts and minds of Afghans.

He told a NATO parliamentary delegation at PM’s House that the causes and solutions of the Afghan problem lay in Afghanistan and that Pakistan would continue helping the Afghan government for peace and stability.

He said a stable and peaceful Afghanistan was in Pakistan’s strategic, economic and political interest and that Pakistan would lose if Afghanistan got destabilised. The PM said a stable Afghanistan could help Pakistan open avenues of cooperation and forge energy, trade and transportation links with Central Asia.

He said all stakeholders in Afghanistan needed to be recognised and involved in finding a settlement of the Afghan problem. Aziz said Pakistan was of the view that a Marshall Plan type approach needed to be adopted in Afghanistan to speed up the process of reconstruction and to bring about meaningful improvement in the lives of the Afghan people.
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RUSSIA RETURNING TO AFGHANISTAN WITH NOT-SO-SOFT POWER  
By Vladimir Socor Friday, March 16, 2007 
Article Link

Russian power is returning to Afghanistan in military and security terms, albeit without a military presence on the ground, at least for now. Moscow is using the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) as a thin cover.

On March 9 through 13, a CSTO Working Group on Afghanistan held talks in Kabul with senior officials of the Afghan Ministries of Defense, Internal Affairs, Foreign Affairs, and other security and civilian government departments. The Russian-led delegation proposed to institute regular contacts with Afghanistan’s military, security, and law-enforcement agencies and invited Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak to Moscow. The delegation offered assistance to Afghanistan to build its army, security agencies, and border protection units and to combat “terrorism” and the drugs trade. Specific proposals include delivering arms and military equipment and training Afghan military and border-troop officers as well as “special services” personnel. In the civilian sphere, Russia and the CSTO are offering “help in establishing the organs of executive government both at the central level and in the regions” (Interfax, RIA-Novosti, Itar-Tass, March 12, 13).

Although such assistance could only be initiated politically and supplied in practice by Russia, the official reporting presents it as an initiative of the CSTO’s Central Asian member countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan). The delegation held meetings with these countries’ embassies in Kabul. There were apparently no working meetings with Western representatives there.
More on link


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## GAP (19 Mar 2007)

*Articles found March 19, 2007*

Dutch military chief opposes extension to mission in Afghanistan  
Friday March 16, 2007 (0443 PST)
Article Link

NETHERLAND: Dutch troops in Afghanistan should return home after their mandate expires in a year's time, Dutch Commander of the Armed Forces Dick Berlijn has told Dutch newspaper the Algemeen Dagblad. 
Berlijn said Dutch troops' mission in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan must be taken over at that time by another NATO country, the newspaper reported. 

The remarks ran contrary to the United States' repeated calls in recent months for more troops contributions to Afghanistan from NATO allies. Up to now only Britain has agreed to send reinforcements to the Asian country. 

The Netherlands has about 2,200 troops in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. Along with Britain, Canada and the United States, the Netherlands has been responsible for southern Afghanistan since last August. 

Berlijn said that bringing the troops back after their two-year mission is completed will avoid excessive pressure on the military
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O’Connor can’t be that blind
By SCOTT TAYLOR On Target
Article Link

OVER THE PAST few weeks, Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor has been facing an increasing barrage of questions concerning the Canadian military’s handling of Afghan detainees. 

Initially, O’Connor had deflected the responsibility for the continued monitoring of apprehended Taliban suspects to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

We were told that prisoners captured by Canadian soldiers were transferred to Afghan security forces at the earliest possible opportunity and from that point forward, the Red Cross would ensure the physical well-being and oversee the legal proceedings of the accused Afghans and inform Canada of any wrongdoing.

This all sounded well and good until the Red Cross publicly contradicted O’Connor by saying that its agency has traditionally not informed third parties, such as the Canadian government, once detainees were in the possession of another government. 

When it became obvious that Canadian officials were not quite sure what happened to Afghan prisoners after our forces relinquished control, O’Connor flew to Kandahar to sort matters out for himself.

The purpose of the hastily organized unannounced visit to Afghanistan was so that O’Connor could meet face-to-face with the head of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, Abdul Qadar Noorzai. It is now Noorzai’s organization the Canadian government will trust to ensure that any abuses inflicted upon our ex-prisoners will be dealt with by the Afghan authorities.

However, by their own admission, the commission has limited resources, little clout with the local police and only eight staff members to monitor Afghanistan’s southern provinces. For example, it was noted the commission have no access to Uruzgan, north of Kandahar province, because it is too dangerous to visit. 
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Afghani asks for better weapons
Mon Mar 19 2007 By John Cotter
Article Link 

MA'SUM GHAR, Afghanistan -- One of Afghanistan's top field commanders wants Canada to provide his troops with better weapons to fight the Taliban. 
For the past year, Lt.-Col. Shereen Shah Kohbandi's 2nd Kandak (battalion) has been roaring into battle in Ford Ranger pickup trucks while their Canadian brothers-in-arms ride in heavily armoured LAV-3s and RG-31s. 

While some of the Rangers are mounted with Soviet-era heavy machine-guns, the "Built Ford Tough" slogan used by the automaker provides little protection against Taliban rocket-propelled grenades or roadside bombs. 

"We have nothing. We have no strong weapons," Kohbandi told The Canadian Press inside his mud-brick compound through an interpreter. 

"I have good officers and soldiers -- brave. For four years they have fought in Uruzgan, Kandahar and Helmand. The best thing that we need are weapons." 

Earlier this month, one of Kohbandi's officers died when his Ranger was destroyed by a landmine. Eight other 
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Taliban extends deadline on Italian journalist  
Sunday March 18, 2007 (0230 PST)
Article Link

KABUL: Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan have extended a deadline to execute a kidnapped Italian journalist by three days to Monday. 
A spokesman says the extension is to give Rome more time to respond to their demands. 

Italy appealed for more time after the Taliban rebels said they had killed an Afghan driver abducted along with La Repubblica reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo. 

The Taliban want Italy to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan and are also insisting on the release of one of their spokesmen, captured in January.
end

2 police killed, U.N. deminer wounded in Afghan violence  
Monday March 19, 2007 (0916 PST)
Article Link

 KABUL: A two-hour clash between suspected Taliban militants and police left two officers dead in western Afghanistan, a spokesman said Sunday. 
The Taliban attacked the highway police checkpoint Saturday night in the Bakwa district of Farah province, and two police were killed in the subsequent gun battle, said Baryalai Khan, spokesman of the provincial police chief. 

Separately, a U.N. mine-clearing worker was wounded by suspected Taliban militants during an ambush on Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces north of Kabul, the coalition said Sunday. 

The militants fired rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns at Afghan and coalition forces on Saturday in the Tag Ab district of Kapisa province, said a statement from the coalition. 

No Afghan or coalition forces were wounded or killed in the attack, it said. 

A U.N. vehicle carrying the mine-clearing worker, which was traveling separately from the convoy in the opposite direction on the same road, was hit in the attack. 
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Afghan police seize over 100kg of heroin  
Monday March 19, 2007 (0916 PST)
Article Link

KABUL: Afghan authorities said they had seized and destroyed more than 100kg of heroin and a large quantity of chemicals used in drug making in southern Helmand province. 
The anti narcotics force captured the drugs including 1,000kg of chemicals used in making heroin from Dishu district as part of an ongoing crackdown on the nation's drug trade, the interior ministry said. 

"It's a significant seizure. The drugs were destroyed in the area," it said in a statement. 

The seizure comes less than a week after the anti-narcotics force - an internationally-backed commando unit - captured hundreds of kilograms of opium and heroin along with notebooks with guidelines for suicide bombers in Helmand. 

The insurgency plagued province is Afghanistan's top drug producing region. Experts say illicit drugs are funding the insurgency run mainly by Taleban loyalists. 

The insurgency launched months after the 2001 toppling of the Taleban includes Iraq-style suicide bombings. Afghanistan saw some 140 suicide bombings in 2006 which killed hundreds of people most of them civilians. 

Afghanistan produces 92 per cent of the world's opium, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Most of it is smuggled across the underpoliced borders with Pakistan and Iran from where it is believed to be taken to Europe
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Suicide attack on US embassy convoy in Afghanistan 
Monday March 19, 2007 (1350 PST)
Article Link

KABUL: A suicide attacker drove an explosives-filled car into a US embassy convoy in Afghanistan's capital city Kabul on Monday, wounding some embassy staff and at least one child, officials said.

The attack on the road to the eastern city of Jalalabad was the first suicide bombing inside Kabul this year, after several deadly blasts last year blamed on Taliban insurgents.

"There was a vehicle-borne IED (improvised explosive device) that struck a US embassy convoy on Jalalabad Road," embassy spokesman Joe Mellot told AFP.

"There were some injuries, including one seriously injured who has been evacuated for treatment."

Ambassador Ronald Neumann was not in the convoy, he said. An investigator at the scene and an eyewitness told AFP they had seen one child being taken to hospital by ambulance.

Foreign troops sealed off the road, often used by US troops travelling to the main US coalition base at Bagram outside the capital and also the route to various military bases on the outskirts of Kabul.

An AFP correspondent could see a vehicle in flames and a damaged bullet-proof, four-by-four vehicle of they type used by diplomatic missions and foreign forces in Afghanistan.
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BearingPoint Lands Afghanistan Project
By David Hubler Special to the Washington Post Monday, March 19, 2007; Page D04
Article Link

BearingPoint of McLean has won a five-year, $218.6 million contract from the Agency for International Development to help modernize and upgrade ministerial, private-sector and educational services in Afghanistan.

The Afghans Building Capacity Program contract is one of USAID's largest individual awards for economic reform and private-sector development since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

BearingPoint will work with USAID and the Afghan government to train government, public-sector and education officials in performing essential tasks such as budget preparation and disbursement, interagency coordination and human resources. Graduate programs set up at Afghan universities will give middle managers the opportunity to earn advanced degrees.

Mid-level managers and officials in Kabul and the provinces will receive on-the-job training, individual coaching and classroom instruction, said Pat Bryski, managing director of BearingPoint's emerging markets practice and head of the financial and private-sector development program in Afghanistan.
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Another sign the Democrats will leave Afghanistan if given the chance
Monday, March 19, 2007 Posted by D.J. McGuire on March 19, 2007 in International Affairs 
Article Link

It's been about two weeks since I made my assertion that the Democratic Party, if its won the White House in 2008, would pull the nation out of Afghanistan. One of my reasons was that only 56% of Americans supported the Afghanistan war in a Washington Post poll I cited.

Today, CNN released its own poll, reaffirming my point that support for the liberation of Afghanistan is dangerously weak (emphasis added):

Support for the war in Afghanistan also has seen a considerable decline as 88 percent of those polled in 2001 said they were behind the conflict. This month's poll indicates that support lingers around 53 percent.

As I opined earlier, something tells me the 47% that do not support the war doesn't include a whole lot of Republicans. The rest of my arguments, about the nature of the Democratic Party, the weakness of support for the mission around the world, the Pakistan factor, and the opportunity to blame President Bush for it all, are as true today as when I wrote it two weeks ago.

The 2008 election will not only determine the fate of Iraq (and BTW, it continues to improve over there, as Iraq the Model is noting), but the fate of the entire WBK War (a.k.a. the War on Terror). The terrorists and their allies - up to and including Communist China - are watching. This could be our most important election since 1864.
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Standing guard against a grim, invisible enemy in Afghanistan
Depression and combat stress can strike like a bullet, but Canadian troops have help
JOE FRIESEN 
Article Link

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN -- Colonel Randy Boddam stole headlines earlier this month when he said Canada was deploying soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder to Afghanistan. But in four months as a military psychiatrist in Afghanistan, he has treated more patients for combat-related stress than PTSD, which is only the fourth most common mental illness in the military.

Canadian soldiers are nearly twice as likely to suffer from depression and nearly 40 per cent more likely to suffer from panic disorder than the general population. And while he has seen a slightly greater incidence of combat stress in Kandahar, the bulk of his work has been treating depression and anxiety disorders.

"There's something about the Canadian Forces. Is that a factor of attraction, is that part of the work environment? What is it? We don't know," said Dr. Boddam, the Canadian Forces' chief psychiatrist.

"Certainly some of this has been brought on by the stress of combat and operations."
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Merkel and Karzai: No backing down on course
19 March 2007
Article Link

Berlin (dpa) - Pakistan's relationship with Afghanistan was a central focus of talks in Berlin Monday between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

'We touched on the issue of cooperation with Pakistan, because this relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan is of crucial importance for the future of Afghanistan,' Merkel said.

She highlighted 'the extent to which there is a commitment by Pakistan for a peaceful future.'

The German government spoke 'very much the same language' to the governments of both Pakistan and Afghanistan, she said.

Karzai noted the precarious security situation in the south of the country, where the NATO-led International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) is engaged in combat operations against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

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## GAP (20 Mar 2007)

*Articles found March 20, 2007*


Italian hospital's head arrested in Afghanistan
Reuters Tuesday, March 20, 2007; 4:48 AM
Article Link

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Security forces arrested an Afghan hospital head on Tuesday after hundreds of people protested to demand information about the executed driver of kidnapped Italian reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo.

Rahamatullah Hanafi was arrested outside the Italian charity hospital in the southern town of Lashkar Gah, where the journalist was housed for the night after his release by the Taliban who had kidnapped him two weeks ago.

Reasons for his arrest were not immediately known.

But it came hours after hundreds of family and friends of the executed driver, Syed Agha, blockaded the emergency hospital, demanding to know what happened to the dead man.

They chanted "Death to Rahamatullah!," and said they would not let Mastrogiacomo be driven away for a flight to Kabul until he met them to say what had happened to his driver.

Mastrogiacomo spent the night in the hospital after being freed by the Taliban following almost two weeks in captivity, accused of spying and threatened with execution himself
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Bribery, corruption pervasive in Afghanistan, survey says
Tue Mar 20 2007 By Rahim Faiez
Article Link

KABUL -- Bribery and corruption are pervasive in Afghanistan's current government, according to a survey released Monday that said most Afghans believe their leaders are more corrupt than the Soviet-backed government in the 1980s or the Taliban-run government in the 1990s. 
About 60 per cent of respondents said the current administration is more corrupt than any other in the past two decades, said the report by Integrity Watch Afghanistan, an independent group. 

"Over the last five years, corruption has soared to levels not seen in previous administrations," it said. 

Money "can buy government appointments, bypass justice or evade police," while the government is "unable or unwilling to seriously tackle corruption," it said. The group said it interviewed 1,258 Afghans for the study. 

The courts and the Interior Ministry were highlighted as the most corrupt institutions. The group's executive director, Lorenzo Delesgues, pointed to weak law enforcement as a main reason for corruption and bribery. 

"Corruption has undermined the legitimacy of the state," Delesgues told a news conference.    
The group, which conducted the survey in 13 provinces, said 93 per cent of the respondents believed that bribes had to be paid for more than half of public services and administrative work. The report said impunity and unaccountability of civil servants underpinned corruption. 
End

Pakistani sentenced to death for killing lawmaker
Tue, 20 Mar 2007 12:57:08  
Article Link

 A Pakistani court has sentenced a cleric to death for shooting dead a female minister for not wearing a veil. 

Mohammad Sarwar was convicted and sentenced at the court in the city of Gujranwala, a month after he gunned down Zilla Huma Usman, the social welfare minister for Punjab province at a public meeting, AFP reported. 

"Judge Tariq Iftikhar has sentenced Sarwar to death on two counts, one for the murder of Zilla Huma and the other for spreading terrorism by the action," said court official, Amjad Ali. Sawar was also ordered to pay a fine of 200,000 rupees ($3,333). 

The cleric told police after the murder on February 20 that he killed Usman because she was not wearing Islamic dress and that he opposed the involvement of women in politics. 

The cleric was arrested in 2003 after confessing to the murder of four prostitutes, but was released due to a lack of evidence. 
End

Warning: This sounds like propaganda
U.S. chopper crashes in Afghanistan
Tue, 20 Mar 2007 09:41:37  
Article Link

 Taliban insurgents have reported the crash of a U.S helicopter in the Nuristan province of eastern Afghanistan. 

A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mojahid, said in an interview with local media on Monday that the helicopter crashed over Kamdesh city, killing all passengers on board, IRIB reported. 

U.S. military forces have issued a press release denying they have any information about a possible helicopter crash in the area. 
End

Afghan Extremists Killed During Coalition Operation  
American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, March 20, 2007 
Article Link

Three suspected extremists were killed after firing at Afghan and coalition forces during an operation in Afghanistan’s Helmand province today, officials said. 
The primary target of the operation was a known Taliban leader and facilitator of suicide bombers, believed to have controlled as many as 200 fighters in the area. 

In addition to ordering assassinations of Afghan government officials, the militant leader is believed to have helped move suicide attackers into Helmand province by way of Kandahar and other nearby cities, military officials reported. There have been several recent attacks on Afghan and coalition forces in the area, including improvised explosive devices and small-arms fire. 

The combined Afghan-coalition force responded to numerous shots from within the target compound. There were no injuries to any of the women and children in the compound, and there were no Afghan or coalition casualties in the operation, officials said. 

Additionally, a motorcycle driven by an Afghan detonated a pressure-plate bomb, killing its operator on a highway southwest of Kandahar yesterday, military officials reported. 

Afghan National Police immediately took control of the situation, secured the site, and prevented any other injuries to Afghans. No coalition members were injured during the attack. 
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Kidnapped Reporter: I Witnessed Beheading
ROME, March 19, 2007
Article Link

(AP) An Italian journalist held for two weeks in Afghanistan said after his release Monday that he saw his captors cut off the head of one of the two Afghans kidnapped with him and thought he would be next to die. 

In an interview with RAI Tg3 News, Daniele Mastrogiacomo described a harrowing experience. "I saw him be decapitated," he said. 

He said the kidnappers threw the Afghan to his knees and suffocated him in the sand as they cut his head off. 

"Then they wiped the knife on his clothes. I was shaking. Obviously I thought 'it's my turn now,"' Mastrogiacomo said. 

Mastrogiacomo said he was struck in his back and head with an AK-47 during his capture, but was not hurt at any other time. "If they needed a blanket, they gave me one too. If there was bread to share, they shared it with me, so that was not a problem," he said. 

The fate of the other Afghan who had been with the journalist was not immediately known. 

In an earlier audio posted on the Web site of his newspaper, La Repubblica, Mastrogiacomo said he slept in 15 different prisons that were "as small as sheep pens." His hands and feet were chained, and he was made to walk for miles in the desert, he said. 

Mastrogiacomo said knowledge of the support of his colleagues and countrymen gave him strength. 

"I knew that Italy was supporting me, and that was the only comfort in the most desperate moments, when I feared I was going to be killed at anytime soon," he said. "This is the most beautiful moment of my life." 

Mastrogiacomo, 52, who had worked for the newspaper in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and elsewhere since 2002, was kidnapped March 5 along with the two Afghans while traveling in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province. Taliban insurgents claimed responsibility. 

The journalist arrived Monday at a hospital in Lashkar Gah, in southern Afghanistan, where the Italian-led aid group Emergency is based, Italian Premier Romano Prodi said. 
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AFGHANISTAN: Floods and avalanches kill dozens and displace hundreds  
20 Mar 2007 12:25:27 GMT Source: IRIN
Article Link

KABUL, 20 March (IRIN) - More than 50 people have been killed and hundreds displaced because of heavy rainfall, avalanches and floods over the past few days in Afghanistan's southern and south-western provinces, officials say. 

In Uruzgan, Helmand, Badghis and Ghor provinces, more than 500 houses were destroyed or damaged by floods. 

In the most recent incident, an avalanche in the Murgab area of central Ghor killed 16 people and injured 25, Mohammad Asif, a provincial official, told IRIN on Tuesday. 

In another incident on Monday, floods killed more than 30 people in Ghor's neighbouring province of Uruzgan, where officials have urged the United Nations and international relief organisations to provide humanitarian assistance. 

Qayom Qayomi, a spokesman for the governor of Uruzgan, said hundreds of people affected by floods were now stranded in Dehraoud and Charcheno districts. 

"For the time being we cannot access the affected areas and provide assistance. Roads are destroyed and we do not have helicopters to deliver aid," Qayomi said. 

In the neighbouring Helmand and Badghis provinces, at least 12 people, including several women and children, died in flash rains and floods. 
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AFGHANISTAN: UNHCR increases cash grant for repatriation
20 Mar 2007 13:37:55 GMT Source: IRIN
Article Link

KABUL, 20 March 2007 (IRIN) - Afghan refugees living in Iran and Pakistan will receive a six-fold increase in cash grants upon their return to Afghanistan, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). 

"We want to support the reintegration of Afghan returnees in their country by paying them more," Nadir Farhad, a UNHCR spokesman in Kabul, told IRIN. 

Each Afghan national who returns to Afghanistan in 2007 will receive US $100. This is in addition to transportation assistance which the UN agency provides to repatriating individuals. 

UNCHR began its Afghan voluntary repatriation programme in 2002 following the ousting of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The agency has since helped 3.7 million Afghans repatriate - the single largest repatriation operation in the organisation's 55-year history. A further one million refugees returned to Afghanistan without assistance. 

More than two million Afghan refugees currently live in Pakistan and about 900,000 stay in Iran. 

UNHCR plans to assist about 250,000 Afghans who want to voluntarily repatriate in 2007, a significant slump in numbers from the post-Taliban period of 2002 and 2003 when more than one million returned. 

Insecurity in the south and south-eastern parts of Afghanistan coupled with limited socio-economical opportunities has slowed the repatriation pace. 
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Israeli drones fly over Iraq, Afghanistan  
Tue, 20 Mar 2007 02:04:08  
Article Link

 Pilotless planes small enough for a single soldier to carry and operate are gathering intelligence for U.S.-led forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Israeli manufacturer said Monday. 

Elbit Systems, one of Israel's leading defense electronics companies, said its little "Skylark" can cover an area within a range of 10 kilometers day or night. It is about 2 meters long with a wingspan of nearly 2.5 meters, AP reported. 

"Skylark is operational and is currently deployed in Israel, Iraq and Afghanistan," the statement said. 

Lt. Col. Matthew McLaughlin of CENTCOM, the American command that handles Iraq and Afghanistan, said the military "would not confirm the use of the drone," but is always looking for aircrafts with such capabilities. 

The U.S. relies heavily on pilotless planes of all shapes and sizes for surveillance, launching missiles and other missions in the region. 
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Taliban support rising in Afghanistan: study
Updated Mon. Mar. 19 2007 8:02 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

Canadian troops are facing another challenge in Afghanistan as Taliban support among civilians has rocketed to nearly 27 per cent. 

The findings stem from a large-scale survey conducted this month by Brussels-based thinktank Senlis Council. The organization polled 17,000 Afghan men in the Canadian-controlled areas of Kandahar province and in neighbouring British and U.S.-controlled regions of Helmand and Nangarhar. 

Surveyors said the real figure is likely higher than the 27 per cent figure, since some respondents were probably hesitant of admitting support for the Taliban to a Westerner. 

The men polled said they were disillusioned with the NATO military effort. 

"Afghanis in southern Afghanistan are increasingly prepared to admit their support for the Taliban, and the belief that the government and the international community will not be able to defeat the Taliban is widespread in the southern provinces," the report concludes. 

Only 19 per cent of Afghan civilians felt that international troops were helping them personally -- with only 6.5 per cent in regions where U.S. soldiers were in control. 

"The widespread perception of locals is that the international community is not helping to improve their lives," says the report. 
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## GAP (21 Mar 2007)

*Articles found March 21, 2007*

Canadian injured on patrol in Afghanistan
Updated Tue. Mar. 20 2007 3:29 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

A Canadian soldier in Afghanistan suffered "non-life-threatening injuries" Tuesday when an explosives-detection dog set off a roadside bomb, said the Canadian Forces. 

The dog was killed by the blast, Canadian Forces spokesperson Lt. (Navy) John Nethercott told reporters, and the dog's handler was "very seriously injured." 

Nethercott would not disclose the handler's nationality, but he said the dog team is from a foreign company -- American Canine -- subcontracted by the Canadian Forces to support Joint Task Force Afghanistan operations. 

The soldier and handler were transported by helicopter to hospital at the Kandahar Airfield military base for treatment. "The next of kin of both the soldier and the dog handler have been notified," Nethercott said. 

The chain of events began earlier in the day when a Canadian Coyote reconnaissance, while on a routine patrol near Ahmadkhan -- a village west of Kandahar City -- struck and detonated an IED (improvised explosive device). 

"It was an armoured vehicle but the explosion was big enough to disable the vehicle," reported CTV's Paul Workman in Kandahar. 

No one was injured in that explosion. But the team of bomb-sniffing dogs was brought in to search for other explosives on the road while they readied to return the vehicle to the Kandahar base. During the course of that search, one of the dogs detonated another bomb. 

The Canadian soldier has not been identified but is from the Second Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment. 

Workman reports that dog teams are used every day to assist soldiers, to search for hidden bombs. 

Nethercott said the team today was "conducting dismounted route clearance to get to the location of this earlier strike'' when the second explosion happened." 
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Afghan troops learning to become modern army
Updated Tue. Mar. 20 2007 1:37 PM ET Canadian Press
Article Link

PANJWAII, Afghanistan -- "Come on, spread it out,'' Warrant Officer Chuck Graham says as a platoon of Afghan National Army troops and their Canadian advisers begin a patrol. 

There are reports that up to 12 Taliban insurgents are operating in nearby villages and fields. 

ANA troops, backed by a handful of Canadians such as Graham, have been sweeping the area for weeks, speaking with village elders and farmers, showing them with their presence that the Panjwaii district is Afghan government turf. 

The Canadians are members of the Observer Mentor Liaison Team. They hang back, allowing the Afghan platoon commander and his men to make the decisions -- to take the lead. 

A bearded machine-gunner is out in front, his crisp new camouflage body armour criss-crossed with belts of oily bullets for his old Soviet-era weapon. 

Troops armed with battered AK-47s, some held together with red duct tape, scan the flanks as the column slowly snakes its way by ramshackle shops and into a labyrinth of back alleys, open sewers and mud-brick compounds. 

A soldier, his eyes gleaming above a black scarf tied around his face, brings up the rear toting a rocket- propelled grenade launcher. 

Villagers sit impassively but stare hard. 

"Right now their formations and movements are being well executed, but their spacing is too tight for this area,'' says Master Warrant Officer Wayne Bartlett as he follows closely behind, keeping an eye out for trouble. 
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U.N. calls for increased support in Afghanistan  
1:15 AM 
Article Link

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The top U.N. envoy to Afghanistan said Tuesday the international community must step up efforts to help develop the war-ravaged country, improve security and eradicate the drug trade in order to counter a Taliban resurgence.

"To be candid, international participation needs to improve," Tom Koenigs, the U.N.'s special representative to Afghanistan, told an open meeting of the U.N. Security Council.

"I am counting on the support of the council to make the Afghanistan National Development Strategy work," he said, referring to the Afghan government's overarching plan for rebuilding the country. "It will only deliver results if everyone contributes to the process."

Afghanistan's U.N. Ambassador Zahir Tanin echoed the call for international aid, saying his country has received "far less assistance from the donor community in comparison to other post-conflict countries."

Tanin said reconstruction projects and basic services should be expanded throughout Afghanistan and more attention should be paid to the "inextricable link between development and security."

The Bush administration has said it would ask Congress for $10.6 billion for training Afghan security forces and reconstruction. The U.S has given $14.2 billion in aid to Afghanistan since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion that toppled the Taliban government.

Afghanistan has seen a surge in violence over the past year as supporters of the former Taliban regime have increased suicide and roadside bombings, particularly in the volatile south.
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UN Head Says Taliban Emboldened In Afghanistan   
March 21, 2007 
Article Link

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said despite mounting losses, the insurgency in Afghanistan appears "emboldened by their strategic successes."

In a report to the Security Council, he said insurgents continue to mount widespread roadblocks on the key road connecting Kabul, Kandahar, and Herat and to target senior public officials and community leaders. 

Ban said the September 2006 peace agreement between Pakistan and the local Taliban of North Waziristan did not prevent the tribal area from being used as a staging ground for attacks on Afghanistan.

Ban said a record number of 77 suicide attacks were recorded in the last six months, up from 53 over the previous six months, with most directed against foreign military convoys.

Many attacks appear to have been financed from abroad, he said in the report.
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Italian reporter leaves Afghanistan
21st March 2007, 3:53 WST 
Article Link

An Italian journalist, freed after being held hostage, has left Afghanistan for home after facing protests from the relatives and friends of his driver who was beheaded by the Taliban kidnappers.

La Repubblica reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo left Kabul for Rome around 8pm (0230 AEDT) in an Italian government aircraft, Italy's ambassador to Afghanistan, Ettore Francesco Sequi, told Reuters.

The reporter had earlier been expected to stop over in the Afghan capital and address a news conference. But he was brought from the southern town of Lashkar Gah and flown straight out of Kabul airport, without any reason being given.

Mastrogiacomo's departure marked the end of a dramatic day in which protesters blockaded an Afghan hospital where he was staying, demanding details of the death of his driver, Syed Agha.

More than 200 relatives and friends of Agha protested outside the Italian-run emergency hospital in Lashkar Gah, the capital of southern Helmand province, demanding to talk with the Italian, who was kidnapped by the Taliban two weeks ago.

His translator, Ajmal Nakshbandi, is still being held.

Mastrogiacomo, accused by the Taliban of spying for British troops, described in his paper how he was forced to watch Agha be killed.

"I can still see it now," he said. "I get off my knees. Four young men grab the driver and shove his face into the sand. They cut his throat and continue until they have cut his whole head.
More on link

Landslides kill 31 in Pakistan's Kashmir  
Updated Wed. Mar. 21 2007 6:18 AM ET Associated Press
Article Link

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan -- Heavy rains triggered landslides that buried three homes in Pakistan's portion of Kashmir, leaving 31 people dead, officials said Wednesday. 

At least 21 people died when a landslide hit two homes Tuesday in Doba Sayedan, a remote village in the mountainous Himalayan territory, said Maj. Farooq Nasir, an army spokesman in the regional capital, Muzaffarabad. 

Ten members of one family died when their home collapsed under a landslide in Bagh, a town further south, police officer Mohammed Liaqat said. 

Villagers had pulled 15 injured people from the rubble in Doba Sayedan and were digging for seven others feared trapped under the debris, officials said. 
More on link

1 killed as US Embassy convoy attacked in Afghanistan
Article Link


KABUL: A suicide car bomber ended months of relative calm in the Afghan capital by exploding his car next to a US Embassy convoy, killing an Afghan teenager and wounding five embassy security personnel on a notoriously dangerous stretch of road. 

The suicide blast y, the first in Kabul since December, propelled one of the armored SUVs across Jalalabad Road, which sees more bombings and rocket attacks than any other area in the capital. 

The two other US vehicles were also damaged, and flames shot through the wreckage of the suicide car bomb. 

A 15-year-old Afghan on the side of the road was killed, said Hasib Arian, the district police chief. 

Five US Embassy security personnel were wounded, one seriously, said Col. Tom Collins, the spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force. The US ambassador, Ronald Neumann, was not in the convoy, said embassy spokesman Joe Mellott. 

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, said in a phone call to The Associated Press that a Taliban militant from Khost province carried out the attack. 
More on link


Iraq, Afghanistan Limit Army Preparedness
Wednesday March 21, 2007 (0310 PST) WASHINGTON
Article Link

 U.S. troop and supply demands in Iraq and Afghanistan limit the military's ability to engage in another conflict, Pentagon officials told the U.S. Congress. 
"The readiness continues to decline of our next-to-deploy forces," the Army's vice chief of staff, Gen. Richard A. Cody told the House Armed Services Committee's readiness panel last week, The Washington Post reported. "And those forces, by the way, are ... also your strategic reserve." 

Cody described the U.S. Army units' level of readiness as "stark." 

The Post said that when Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace was asked by a House panel last month whether he was comfortable with Army unit preparedness, he replied, "No ... I am not comfortable." 

"You take a lap around the globe -- you could start any place: Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Venezuela, Colombia, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, North Korea, back around to Pakistan, and I probably missed a few. There's no dearth of challenges out there for our armed forces," Pace said, the newspaper reported.
End


----------



## MarkOttawa (21 Mar 2007)

Afghan-based UK troops 'have changed tactics'
_Daily Telegraph_, March 21
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/20/ndefence120.xml



> British forces in Afghanistan have switched tactics to counter a new wave of Taliban bombings and suicide attacks, a senior commander has said.
> 
> The Chief of Joint Operations, Lieutenant General Nick Houghton, said that they were now deliberately targeting key Taliban leaders in an attempt to drive a wedge between them and ordinary Afghans.
> 
> ...



UN right on Afghanistan
Canada: Reconstruction: 'We cannot lose sight of millions outside capital'
CanWest News Service, March 21
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=ff292917-9fd5-4712-8a37-5cef67678c13



> Canada signalled yesterday the United Nations is on the right track with its approach to the reconstruction of Afghanistan, saying in a statement before the UN Security Council that a new focus on political and economic development in the country's provinces offers the best hope for long-term stability.
> 
> "We cannot lose sight of the millions who live outside the capital," John McNee, Canada's ambassador to the UN, told Council members as they prepared to renew the international mandate for the UN's Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for another 12 months.
> 
> ...



Mark 
Ottawa


----------



## The Bread Guy (22 Mar 2007)

Hansard, House of Commons, 21 Mar 07

Right Hon. Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, CPC):  Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence has provided a clear explanation to the House of Commons. As the member knows, this government was at the time operating under an agreement signed by the previous government. We have since entered into a new arrangement with the Independent Afghan Human Rights Commission.  I can understand the passion that the Leader of the Opposition and members of his party feel for Taliban prisoners. I just wish occasionally they would show the same passion for Canadian soldiers.

(....)

More Hansard

Hon. Stéphane Dion (Leader of the Opposition, Lib.):  Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister made two shocking statements. First, he said that the government does not care about human rights and, second, that the official opposition does not care about Canadian soldiers.  The Prime Minister must understand that he has insulted the entire Parliament with his statement and he should apologize. 

Right Hon. Stephen Harper (Prime Minister, CPC):  Mr. Speaker, I said absolutely no such thing. What I clearly said was that the government does care about this issue, which is precisely why the Minister of National Defence, upon learning the information he learned, acted to correct the situation. We will continue to monitor the situation to ensure we make progress.  The only other point I want to make is that I would like to see more support in the House of Commons from all sides for our Canadian men and women in uniform. I think Canadians expect that from parliamentarians in every party. They have not been getting it and they deserve it ....


*Liberals' 'passion' is with Taliban, PM says*
Accuses Opposition of caring for enemy more than troops
Daniel Leblanc, Globe & Mail, 22 Mar 07
Article link

Prime Minister Stephen Harper accused the Liberals yesterday of caring more about Afghan insurgents than Canadian troops and refused to apologize for the latest in a series of hard-hitting attacks against his political opponents.  "I can understand the passion that the Leader of the Opposition and members of his party feel for Taliban prisoners. I just wish occasionally they would show the same passion for Canadian soldiers," Mr. Harper told the House of Commons to a standing ovation from his caucus.  Mr. Harper's comments were reminiscent of his allegations last month that the Liberals are "soft on terrorism" and refused to extend anti-terrorism measures in order to protect the family of a Liberal MP. They came two days after the minority Conservative government released a well-received budget and with the possibility of a spring election still in the air ....


*Harper accuses Liberals of being sympathetic to the Taliban*
Mike Blanchfield, CanWest News Service, 21 Mar 07
Article link

Prime Minister Stephen Harper accused the Liberals of showing "passion" for the Taliban and not supporting Canadian troops Wednesday during a bitter exchange in the House of Commons after Grit Leader Stephane Dion called for the resignation of Defence Minister Gordon O’Connor.  "I can understand that the leader of the Opposition and members of his party feel for Taliban prisoners. I just wish occasionally they’d show the same passion for Canadian soldiers," Harper said in the House of Commons.  Dion immediately called on the prime minister to apologize for the remarks ....


*Liberals furious at Harper's Taliban accusation*
CBC Online, 21 Mar 07
Article link

Prime Minister Stephen Harper went into attack mode in the House of Commons on Wednesday, accusing the Liberals of caring more about Taliban prisoners than Canadian troops.  The attack came during Question Period, as the Liberals called for the resignation of Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor over the erroneous information he provided to the government two weeks ago.  O'Connor incorrectly told the House of Commons that the Red Cross would keep Canada informed about the condition of prisoners handed over to Afghan officials by Canadian soldiers. On Monday, O'Connor apologized, admitting that the Red Cross has no obligation to report to Canada and must only keep Afghanistan informed ....


*Liberals furious over Harper's Taliban remarks*
CTV.ca, 21 Mar 07
Article link

Prime Minister Stephen Harper played hardball partisan politics again, saying Liberal MPs care more about Taliban prisoners than Canadian soldiers.  "I can understand the passion that the leader of the Opposition and members of his party feel for Taliban prisoners," Harper said Wednesday during Parliament's question period.  "I just wish occasionally they would show the same passion for Canadian soldiers."  As his MPs jeered the prime minister's remarks, Liberal Leader Stephane Dion called the statement shocking and asked for an apology.  He didn't get one.  "I would like to see more support in the House of Commons from all sides for Canadian men and women in uniform," Harper said.  "I think Canadians expect that from parliamentarians in every party. They have not been getting it, and they deserve it." ....



*Top military officers off base on detainee file*
Minister given questionable information on safeguards for prisoners, papers show
Jeff Esau, Globe & Mail, 22 Mar 07
Article link

Beleaguered Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor wasn't the only person at National Defence who was off base regarding detainee follow-up in Afghanistan. A gaggle of senior military officers and top civilian departmental officials also seem to have had it wrong, and they repeatedly drafted responses for Mr. O'Connor to deliver to Parliament, documents show.  On Monday, the minister apologized to Parliament for "providing inaccurate information" about prisoner safeguards in Afghanistan. As minister, he said, he took "full responsibility" for repeatedly asserting that the International Committee of the Red Cross would tell Canada of any detainee abuse or torture once captives were handed over to Afghan authorities.  The ICRC never tells third parties about its inspections and monitoring of prisoners, and reports back only to the government holding the captives. That principle has been central to its role for nearly 150 years and is crucial to its ability to deal confidentially with all parties to a conflict.  But according to documents entitled Advice for the Minister and made public under the access to information law, a high-level group of half a dozen senior policy, legal and parliamentary advisers told the minister to imply that the ICRC would inform Canada if detainees it handed to Afghanistan were mistreated.  The group, led by assistant deputy minister for policy Vincent Rigby, first advised Mr. O'Connor last May that "if pressed" in the Commons with questions about detainee follow-up, he should respond by saying: "If the ICRC advised us of some problems with transferred detainees, we would discuss the issue with the government of Afghanistan." ....


*Fumbling Afghan file*
Editorial, Halifax Chronicle-Herald, 22 Mar 07
Article link

HOW does a minister of national defence get a high-profile piece of information related to a controversial subject dead wrong – not just briefly, but for 10 months?  Gordon O’Connor conveniently chose federal budget rollout day on Monday – when he, like all politicians, knew media attention would be on the financial numbers – to publicly apologize to Parliament for repeatedly misstating the role of the International Committee of the Red Cross in monitoring treatment of Afghan detainees handed to local authorities by Canadian troops ....



*NATO attacks kill 38 Taliban*
Reuters (UK), 22 Mar 07
Article link

NATO-led forces killed 38 Taliban guerrillas in two separate attacks in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, a provincial police official said.  Backed by air support, the attacks targeted insurgent hideouts in two areas in Girishk district of Helmand province, the main drug producing region of Afghanistan, world's leading producer of heroin, the district police chief said ....



*Italy confirms 5 Taliban were released in swap for reporter*
JASON STRAZIUSO, Associated Press, 22 Mar 07
Article link

Italy's deputy foreign affairs minister, Ugo Intini, confirmed Wednesday that the Afghan government released five Taliban prisoners to win the freedom of a reporter kidnapped in lawless Helmand province.  Daniele Mastrogiacomo, who writes for Italy's La Repubblica newspaper, was freed Monday after two weeks in captivity. His Afghan driver, who was also seized, was beheaded, and the fate of his translator is not known.  Though the Afghan government called the swap "an exceptional case," the deal was sharply criticized.  "When we create situations where you can buy the freedom of Taliban fighters when you catch a journalist, in short term there will be no journalists anymore," Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said during a visit to Kabul on Wednesday.  Joe Mellott, the spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan, said: "The U.S. does not make concessions to terrorist demands. End of story." ....


*International protests over deal with Taliban for journalist*
Agence France Presse, 22 Mar 07
Article link

The United States, Britain and the Netherlands have all criticised a prisoner release deal made with the Taliban by Italy and Afghanistan to secure the release of an Italian journalist.  The United States has complained to Italy over the exchange of several members of the Afghan militia in exchange for Daniele Mastrogiacomo, who was freed on Monday in southern Afghanistan, a US official in Washington said.  The United States, Britain and the Netherlands -- who all have troops fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan -- all said that handing over Taliban fighters sent the wrong message to hostage-takers.  "The UK has serious concerns about the implications of releasing Taliban in return for hostages," a spokeswoman for Britain's Foreign Office told AFP. "This sends the wrong signal to prospective hostage-takers."  In Washington, a US official speaking on condition of anonymity, said the swap increased the risk of similar kidnappings of
NATO and Afghan troops.  "Although we are pleased with the release of the Italian journalist, Mr Mastrogiacomo, we do have some concerns about the circumstances surrounding his release," the official said ....



*Pakistani Taliban commanders negotiating ceasefire*
Agence France Presse, 22 Mar 07
Article link

Pakistani Taliban commanders tried Thursday to negotiate a ceasefire between tribesmen and foreign Al-Qaeda militants after fierce battles left 114 people dead, officials said.  Intermittent heavy weapons fire continued Thursday in the rugged South Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan, after a brief truce the previous night to allow the tribesmen and their Uzbek opponents to bury the dead.  The Pakistani government says the clashes, which broke out on Monday, show that its efforts to get Taliban-sympathising tribesmen to expel foreign extremists are working.  However intelligence officials said that the "jirga" or tribal council overseeing the negotiations included Baitullah Mahsud, a Taliban chief wanted in connection with a string of suicide bombings in Pakistan earlier this year.  Another member of the "jirga" or tribal council running the talks is Sirajuddin Haqqani, son of former minister in Afghanistan's 1996-2001 Taliban regime, Jalaluddin Haqqani ....


*‘Waziristan deal unrelated to Afghan violence’, says Ambassador Munir Akram*
South Asia Terrorism Portal, 22 Mar 07
Article link

Pakistan Ambassador to United States Munir Akram told the United Nations (UN) Security Council on March 20 that there was no proven direct co-relation of an increase in incidents inside Afghanistan with the conclusion of the North Waziristan agreement signed by the Pakistani Government with tribal leaders, Daily Times reported. He told the council during a debate on the situation in Afghanistan that Pakistan was pursuing a comprehensive strategy to promote peace and progress in its frontier regions, and this involved military, political, economic and administrative components. The objective of this strategy is to win the hearts and minds of the local population and isolate the militants from the moderates ....


----------



## GAP (22 Mar 2007)

*Articles found March 22, 2007*

Top military officers off base on detainee file
Minister given questionable information on safeguards for prisoners, papers show
JEFF ESAU Special to The Globe and Mail
Article Link

OTTAWA -- Beleaguered Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor wasn't the only person at National Defence who was off base regarding detainee follow-up in Afghanistan. A gaggle of senior military officers and top civilian departmental officials also seem to have had it wrong, and they repeatedly drafted responses for Mr. O'Connor to deliver to Parliament, documents show.

On Monday, the minister apologized to Parliament for "providing inaccurate information" about prisoner safeguards in Afghanistan. As minister, he said, he took "full responsibility" for repeatedly asserting that the International Committee of the Red Cross would tell Canada of any detainee abuse or torture once captives were handed over to Afghan authorities.

The ICRC never tells third parties about its inspections and monitoring of prisoners, and reports back only to the government holding the captives. That principle has been central to its role for nearly 150 years and is crucial to its ability to deal confidentially with all parties to a conflict.

But according to documents entitled Advice for the Minister and made public under the access to information law, a high-level group of half a dozen senior policy, legal and parliamentary advisers told the minister to imply that the ICRC would inform Canada if detainees it handed to Afghanistan were mistreated.
More on link

The fight to win Kajaki dam  
Control of area believed crucial in bid to win Afghans' hearts and minds 
JOE FRIESEN From Thursday's Globe and Mail
Article Link

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — The Kajaki dam sits near the head of the Great Helmand River, surrounded by picturesque mountains and the most fertile land in Afghanistan. It's one of the country's only strategic infrastructure sites and the centrepiece of Operation Achilles, the large-scale NATO offensive launched two weeks ago.

For several weeks, British Royal Marine commandos have waged a fierce campaign for control of the area around the dam. They aim to create a 10-kilometre safe zone that would allow engineers breathing space to begin work on the dam's refurbishment. But the battle for Kajaki has been slow and difficult.

Four British soldiers have died since the fighting began at the beginning of March, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization still has not achieved its goal and work on the dam has stalled.

NATO says British forces have won the high ground in the area, giving them a significant strategic advantage. They have been clearing Taliban positions, blowing up arms caches and slowly gaining ground, they say. Coalition forces have also encircled most of northern Helmand, with Canadians from the Royal Canadian Regiment on the eastern edge of that movement.
More on link

NATO evacuates 600 in Afghanistan floods
Article Link

KABUL: NATO-led troops used helicopters to evacuate some 600 stranded villagers in southern Afghanistan after their homes were destroyed by widespread flooding, the alliance says. 

Despite poor weather and persistent rainfall, Dutch and American helicopters managed to land and rescue people in the border regions between the southern provinces of Helmand and Uruzgan, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said in a statement."In some cases, ISAF had to persuade frightened people to accept being hoisted out of danger," the statement said. 

The rescue operation happened at the time when NATO is conducting its largest ever offensive in southern Afghanistan, aimed at winning over a population long supportive of militant fighters. 

The UN mission to Afghanistan together with the government have prepared food, tents, tarpaulins and blankets for an estimated 400 affected families, said Aleem Siddique, a UN spokesman. 
More on link

Waziristan jihadis wage war on each other
By Syed Saleem Shahzad 
Article Link

The present bloody infighting between al-Qaeda and Pakistani Taliban in Pakistan's Waziristan tribal areas is likely to end in reconciliation between the two groups that will mark the beginning of the Taliban's major Afghan offensive. 

Well-placed sources maintain that the chief commander of the Taliban in South Wazirstan, Baitullah Mehsud, was in Afghanistan's Helmand province when the fighting, in which scores have died this week, erupted. He immediately rushed to South Waziristan on the orders of Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah. 

He put his foot down, and the fighting has now eased. A new protocol is imminent, under which all parties will agree to fight in Afghanistan and not inside Pakistan. 

How did this internecine strife in South Waziristan evolve? Is it just a battle between foreign militants and Pakistani Taliban - a clash of interests - or is it a blessing in disguise for the Taliban and a serious problem for the US-led forces in Afghanistan
More on link

US-led coalition forces arrest 8 suspected Taliban in Afghanistan
Mar 22, 2007, 8:55 GMT 
Article Link

Kabul - Afghan and US-led coalition forces arrested eight suspected Taliban in separate raids in Afghanistan on Thursday, the US military said. 

Five suspected Taliban were arrested by joint forces during an operation at a compound near Asadabad the capital city of eastern Konar province early Thursday, US military said in a statement. 

The operation targeted extremist facilitators suspected of helping militant fighters enter Konar province from Bajaur Agency in neighbouring Pakistan, the statement said, adding that 'credible information led the combined force to the compound.' 

Meanwhile, the joint forces arrested another suspected Taliban in the neighbouring province of Khost after the Afghan and coalition forces recovered a weapons cache including several AK-47s, hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenades and materials used for detonating explosives, the statement said. 

In a separate raid by the Afghan and coalition forces in volatile southern Helmand province, two other Taliban militants were arrested after credible information led the combined forces to the compound, the statement said. 

No shots were fired and there were no injuries reported as a result of the three operations that all took place on Thursday morning. 
More on link

Taliban says it attacked Blackwater convoy in Afghanistan
 By BILL SIZEMORE, The Virginian-Pilot © March 22, 2007 | Last updated 10:05 PM Mar. 21 
Article Link

The Taliban is claiming responsibility for a suicide car-bomb attack on a Blackwater USA diplomatic convoy Monday in Kabul, Afghanistan. 

A 15-year-old Afghan bystander was killed and five security guards wounded, one seriously. 

Tommy Cullinan, 27, of Irmo, S.C., was scheduled to be flown Wednesday to a military hospital in Germany for treatment of leg injuries, his mother, Harriet Cullinan, told The State newspaper of Columbia, S.C.

Cullinan said her son, a former Marine, was commander of a convoy of three armored Chevrolet Suburbans caught in the attack. The blast knocked the engine of the vehicle into the passenger compartment, shattering his leg, she said.

Blackwater, a Moyock, N.C.-based private military company, provides security for U.S. diplomatic personnel. A company spokeswoman confirmed that the incident involved a Blackwater convoy.

A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone call to The Associated Press. It was the first such attack in Kabul since December. The U.S. Embassy closed down as a result and sent out a warning to Americans living in the area, the AP reported.
More on link

EDITORIAL: Is the anti-Al Qaeda policy working?
Article Link

In clashes that are said to have taken place between the Uzbek foreigners and the tribal men of South Waziristan, around 40 people were killed on Tuesday, the dead (33) being mostly foreigners. The clashes took place after local tribesmen and foreign militants began to disagree over the law and order situation. Both blamed each other for the increasing crime rate and deaths in the area. The tribesmen were said to be pro-government. Heavy rocket and mortar fire was exchanged for two days, taking toll of some children too who came in the crossfire. Mullah Nazir, backing President Pervez Musharraf’s policy of getting the foreigners out of the Tribal Areas, ordered the Uzbek militia of warlord Tahir Yuldashev to disarm. After that the battle started. There were rumours that the clash took place after an Arab belonging to Al Qaeda was killed by the Uzbeks.

Tahir Yuldashev is the leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), which arose in the Uzbek-Tajik region in the mid-1990s and was hunted out of Central Asia by President Karimov of Uzbekistan after three unsuccessful terrorist attempts on his life by IMU. Tahir Yuldashev was accompanied by another firebrand Uzbek Islamist, Juma Namangani, who was killed somewhere in Afghanistan after the IMU was accepted by the Taliban as their protégées.

The IMU trained in Al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and the organisation became closely aligned with the Arabs. After 2001, the IMU warriors fled into Pakistan’s Tribal Areas from Afghanistan and were given the wherewithal to live safely among the Pakistani tribes on payment of money. Over a long period the government kept announcing that the Uzbeks were in South Waziristan but the religious opposition and the government in the NWFP kept denying it. The government claimed killing the Uzbeks many times but failed to present any proof to convince the people of Pakistan. The press was kept away from the region altogether and couldn’t give evidence one way or the other.
More on link


----------



## GAP (23 Mar 2007)

*Articles found March 23, 2007*

Eight Suspects Captured in Afghanistan; Weapons Cache Found
American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, March 22, 2007
Article Link

Coalition forces in Afghanistan captured eight suspected terrorists and discovered a weapons cache today. 
Afghan forces, with coalition advisors, captured five suspected extremists during an operation this morning at a compound near Asadabad in Konar province. 

The operation targeted extremist facilitators suspected of helping militant fighters enter Konar province from Bajaur Agency in neighboring Pakistan, military officials said. 

Nearby Afghan National Police members also arrived on scene shortly after the operation began. To prevent possible misunderstanding between police and military forces mixing in the compound, and due to the military nature of the targets, Afghan military personnel retained control of the operation. No shots were fired, and there were no injuries reported as a result of the operation. 

During an operation this morning near Gereshk in Helmand province, Afghan and coalition forces detained two suspected extremists. 

These arrests were the latest in a string of successful operations by Afghan and coalition forces targeting known militant groups in the area, primarily members of the ousted Taliban regime. 

Elsewhere in Afghanistan today, Afghan and coalition forces arrested one person at a compound in Khost province after uncovering a small weapons cache and other contraband items. 
More on link

American Medical Humanitarian Organization Helps in Fight to Reduce Afghanistan's High Maternal and Infant Mortality Rates
Contact: Mike Schwager, 954-423-4414 HARRISBURG, Penn., Mar. 23 /Christian Newswire/ 
Article Link

CURE International, an American Christian medical humanitarian organization, which for the last two years has been administering care to Afghanistan's neediest children and families, is now helping to reduce maternal and infant deaths in that country, one of the highest in the world. 

Every day, 44 Afghan women die giving birth. The most significant constraints toward improving maternal health have been women's unmet needs for skilled delivery care, and inadequate access to comprehensive emergency obstetric care arising out of the inadequate number of qualified female staff and equipped facilities.

In addition, the infant mortality rate in Afghanistan is 165 per 1,000 live births, compared to only 7 per 1,000 in the USA; and child mortality before age 5 is 257 deaths per 1,000, compared to 8 per 1,000 in the USA. 

CURE International, based in Lemoyne, Pennsylvania (near Harrisburg) has treated more than 120,000 patients in Afghanistan since early in 2005. CURE provides general practice and OB/GYN care and specializes in the orthopedic rehabilitation of children with disabilities. It has also instituted an OB/GYN medical training and treatment fellowship program, qualifying Afghan doctors with the most modern obstetric and gynecological knowledge and techniques.

The non-profit provides First World medical care and the training of doctors who are nationals in their own country - for the benefit of disabled and needy children in the hardest places of the world void of modern medicine or medical practitioners. 

Dr. Jacqui Hill, Medical Director of the CURE Kabul International Hospital, says CURE's OB/GYN medical training and treatment fellowship program "is the finest in Afghanistan by far." Dr. Hill said that "there is a great hunger by doctors in Afghanistan for the knowledge and skills of the West, and we are training and inspiring the Afghans with precious knowledge that can be passed onto others." 
More on link

Two new helicopters handed over to Air Force  
Friday March 23, 2007 (0526 PST)
Article Link

KABUL: Two new helicopters purchased by the United States were formally handed over to the Air Force. 
Ahmad Yousaf Nooristani, deputy defence minister, received the helicopters at Kabul airport. The two choppers will be used by President Karzai for provincial visits, Nooristani said. 

The Russian-made helicopters are equipped with wireless communication, TV and armored plates and were bought from the Czech Republic for $ 5 million. 

Nooristani added that the helicopters are part of the US support to strengthen the Afghan Air Force. 

Washington has promised to provide 12 transport and combat helicopters to Afghanistan by the end of 2007. 
More on link

CIDA contradicts Ottawa on funding Afghan monitor
PAUL KORING  From Friday's Globe and Mail
Article Link

Canada has not funded the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission for years, despite the government's insistence that it plays a vital role in safeguarding captives transferred by Canada to Afghanistan's notorious prisons.

The detainee issue has already ensnared Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor in its coils -- he was forced to apologize in the House on Monday for misleading MPs on the issue -- and now the question of funding is further complicating the Conservatives' story.

Government House Leader Peter Van Loan said Monday, that "the government of Canada has funded the Independent Human Rights Commission to the amount of $1-million."

Mr. Van Loan did not mention that the $1-million was given five years ago by the previous Liberal government.

"No new money has been issued to AIHRC by CIDA" since 2002, Greg Scott, a spokesman for the Canadian International Development Agency, said in an e-mailed reply to The Globe and Mail.

On Monday, Mr. Van Loan and Mr. O'Connor were keen to explain that the AIHRC could monitor detainees, thus meeting Canada's obligations under international law to make sure they weren't abused, tortured or killed in Afghan custody. 

Mr. O'Connor had just apologized to Parliament for misleading MPs about the role of the International Committee of the Red Cross in informing Canada about the fate of transferred prisoners.

During a raucous Question Period, as Mr. Van Loan defended both Mr. O'Connor and the arrangements with the AIHRC, he made no mention that the $1-million was old money.
More on link

President announces special remission in sentence of prisoners  
Article Link

ISLAMABAD: President General Pervez Musharraf on the advice of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has announced special remission in sentences of prisoners throughout Pakistan Jails on the occasion of Pakistan Day 23rd March 2007. 

According to a press release issued by Ministry of Interior, President General Pervez Musharraf in exercise of his prerogative under Article 45 of the constitutions of Islamic Republic of Pakistan has grant special remission of 90 days to the prisoners convicted for life imprisonment accept those convicted for murder, espionage, anti-state activities, sectarians, Zina, robbery, dacoity, kidnapping/abduction and terrorists acts. 

While special remission for 45 days to all other convicts except the condemned prisoners and also except those aforementioned. 

Similarly, total remission to male and female prisoners who are 65 years of age and 60 years of age respectively or above and have undergone at least 1/3rd of their substantive sentence of imprisonment, except those involved in culpable homicide and those involved in terrorist acts, as defined in the anti Terrorism Ordinance 1999. 
More on link

Q&A

General Rick Hillier on the Canadian mission in Afghanistan
Globe and Mail Update Update Thursday, March 22, 2007
Article Link

General Rick Hillier has answered your questions (see below). Due to reasons beyond our control, Gen. Hillier was not able to provide answers last week as expected. We apologize for the delay and appreciate your patience. The reader response to this Q&A was phenomenal. Many questions were submitted after the cutoff. 

There is no shortage of news coming out of Afghanistan and the Canadian Forces mission there.

Canada has about 2,500 armed forces personnel on the ground, referred to as Joint Task Force Afghanistan, joining troops from 36 other nations.

The UN-sanctioned mission seeks to rebuild a democratic, self-sufficient society in Afghanistan. Canada's role is to provide security, support the Afghan National Security Forces, strengthen governance, extend the Afghan government's authority in the south of the country, and to support economic recovery programs and Canadian humanitarian organizations.
More on link

Britons Say Troops in Afghanistan Are Useless
March 23, 2007  (Angus Reid Global Monitor) 
Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
Article Link

A majority of people in Britain would like their country’s soldiers currently deployed in Afghanistan to be brought home soon, according to a poll by YouGov released by the Sunday Times. 53 per cent of respondents believe the troops are serving no useful purpose and should be withdrawn. 

Conversely, 30 per cent of respondents consider British soldiers should stay in Afghanistan until the job is done, and 16 per cent are undecided.

Afghanistan has been the main battleground in the war on terrorism. The conflict began in October 2001, after the Taliban regime refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, prime suspect in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked and crashed four airplanes on Sept. 11, 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people.

Britain committed troops to both the war on terrorism in Afghanistan and the U.S.-led coalition effort in Iraq. At least 538 soldiers—including 52 Britons—have died in the war on terrorism, either in support of the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom or as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

This week, British chancellor of the exchequer Gordon Brown announced that the new budget will allocate an additional $170 million U.S. to the country’s security forces to fight terrorism locally and abroad. The sum will bring the total annual spending of different British agencies working on this matter to about $4.4 billion U.S. The number doubles the amount of resources allocated to Britain’s security services before the 9/11 attacks.

Brown also pledged an extra $785 million U.S. to the ongoing efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Britain has spent almost $10 billion U.S. in the Iraq war since it started in 2003, and about $4 billion U.S. in its commitment in Afghanistan.
More on link

''Pakistan's Strategic Goals and the Deteriorating Situation in Afghanistan''
23 March 2007
Article Link

 Pakistan is reeling under a host of problems and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf seems unable to tackle them. With this, the frustration in the West is rising along with skepticism about Pakistan's role in Afghanistan. The president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, has been openly blaming Pakistan for the deteriorating security environment in his country. A few months ago, the BBC acquired a paper written by a senior official at the Defense Academy run by the U.K. Ministry of Defense. The paper alleges that Pakistan's intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (I.S.I.), has been indirectly supporting the Taliban. The paper continues to argue that Pakistan's promotion of terrorism cannot be tackled unless the I.S.I. is dismantled and Pakistan moves away from the rule of the military. 

While the Bush administration continues to support Pakistan's government publicly, during a recent trip to Islamabad U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney invoked the U.S. Congress' growing frustration with Pakistan by underlining the Democratic Party's threat to make aid conditional on a crackdown of Islamic militants in Pakistan's tribal areas, which are located on the border with Afghanistan. 
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More suicide bombers enter Afghanistan 
By SAM DOLNICK, Associated Press Writer Tue Mar 20, 11:19 PM ET 
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UNITED NATIONS - Suicide bombers are crossing the border from Pakistan into Afghanistan with increasing frequency, launching attacks directed against foreign military convoys with funding from abroad, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report to the Security Council on Tuesday. 

The September 2006 peace agreement between Pakistan and pro-Taliban fighters in that country‘s North Waziristan region did not prevent the border area from being used as a staging ground for attacks on Afghanistan, Ban said. Instead, the agreement led to a 50 percent increase in security incidents involving insurgents in Afghanistan‘s Khost province and a 70 percent increase in Paktika province — both on the border — between September and November, he said. 

"Many attacks appear to have been financed from abroad," he said in the report. 
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Al-Qa'ida allies killed by tribesmen in Pakistan 
By Justin Huggler, Asia Correspondent  Published: 23 March 2007 
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More than 100 people have been killed in fighting near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan over the past four days. Most of the dead are believed to be foreign militants allied to al-Qa'ida. But this time it is not the Pakistani military which is fighting them, but local tribesmen. 

The clashes have been so fierce that a traditional truce was declared yesterday to let both sides collect the bodies of their dead.

The fighting could not have come at a better time for Pakistan, just weeks after the US Vice-President, Dick Cheney, flew into Islamabad to tell President Pervez Musharraf he had to do more against al-Qa'ida in the Afghan border region. Local reports suggest the Pakistani army is covertly supporting the tribesmen with artillery fire.

But this is not a simple battle between pro-Pakistan government forces and al-Qa'ida allies, but an internecine war between different factions in the loose alliance of al-Qa'ida, Taliban and local tribesmen that exists in the lawless areas along the border with Afghanistan. The tribesmen are known locally as Taliban, and although they are not directly linked to the Afghan Taliban, they are believed to have a close relationship, and allow the Afghan insurgents to launch cross-border operations from their territory.
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EC contributes 4.75 million to assist Afghans in Afghanistan, Pakistan  
Friday March 23, 2007 (0500 PST)
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KABUL/ISLAMABAD: The European Commission (EC) contributed amount of 4.75 million (over US$6.3 million) to support the UN refugee agency`s work in Afghanistan and Pakistan this year. 

Earlier this week, the Directorate-General for the European Commission`s Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) in Brussels signed two agreements confirming its support to one of UNHCR`s largest operations in the world. 

This includes 4 million to assist returnees, internally displaced people and women at risk in Afghanistan, and 750,000 to facilitate the voluntary repatriation of Afghans from Pakistan in 2007. 

"Despite the relative improvement in the political situation in Afghanistan, the absolute level of needs remains high and requires a continued humanitarian engagement," said Louis Michel, the Commissioner in charge of Development and Humanitarian Aid. 
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Afghanistan: UN Issues Sharp Warning On Poppy Cultivation
UNITED NATIONS, March 22, 2007 (RFE/RL) 
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Antonio Maria Costa, the executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, said in New York that opium-poppy production is decreasing or being eliminated in some provinces, but increasing in others. 
But Costa said the production in southern Afghanistan is "out of control," and this huge increase is likely to offset the success fighting poppy cultivation in the north and central parts of the country.

Costa, speaking on March 21, says the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan's southern provinces is playing an active role in the increase of the poppy growth and opium trade.

So far this year some 8,000 hectares of poppy fields have been eradicated. This is double the figure for the first quarter of 2006.

Uneven Results  

But Costa says that recently a new trend began to emerge in opium cultivation in Afghanistan.

"The evidence which we provided to the Security Council points to a new and potentially promising development in Afghanistan, namely the fact that in the country now we see a divergent trend between the central-northern part of the country, [a decrease] on the one hand, and southern part of the country, [an increase]," Costa said.

In its 2006 report, the UN identified a total of 166,000 hectares of poppy fields in Afghanistan. Costa said that in 2006 six Afghan provinces were declared "opium free." And he expects by June that several more of Afghanistan's 35 provinces will also be declared "opium free."
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Dozens of Taliban, 7 police killed in southern Afghanistan
Mar 23, 2007, 9:31 GMT 
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Kabul - At least 69 Taliban and seven policemen were killed and when Afghan forces launched an offensive against a Taliban hideout in southern Helmand province, a Defence Ministry spokesman said on Friday. 

   The operation, conducted solely by Afghan military forces in the districts of Nadali, Gerishk and Lashkargah, started on Thursday morning and left 69 Taliban militants killed, spokesman Zahir Azimi told reporters in a press conference. 

   Azimi said 49 bodies of Taliban fighters were recovered from battlefields while the rest were taken by the militants as they were fleeing the areas. 

   He said that seven Afghan policemen were killed and 19 Afghan security forces were wounded in the gun-battle. 

Afghan army and police forces arrested 17 armed Taliban, three of whom were injured during the firefight, Azimi said, adding that forces also seized more than 60 weapons, including 50 AK-47s from the dead militants. 

Azimi said that the operation was still ongoing in the three villages captured from the Taliban on Thursday. Operation Nauroz, which means 'New Year' in Dari (one of Afghanistan's two formal languages), will conclude its mission on Friday, he added. 
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McNeill man prepares for Afghanistan battle 
By Teresa Bird Gazette staff Mar 22 2007 
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PORT McNEILL – Warrant Officer John Beddows spent a year trying to talk himself out of going to Afghanistan, but the death of a comrade inspired him to sign up. 

Beddows is an engineer for B.C. Timber Sales at the Ministry of Forests office in Port McNeill, where he has worked since 1994. But he is also a reservist with the 5th Field Regiment Royal Canadian Artillery in Nanaimo. He has served as a reservist since 1999, but also served with the regular armed forces for 12 years with the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. 

“There have been frequent calls for reservists for Bosnia and all over the world, but I didn’t have the opportunity to go,” says Beddows, who served in Cyprus during his regular service. “About two years ago they started asking for reservists to go to Afghanistan and some members of my regiment went.” 

But one of them didn’t come back. Last year, Bombardier Miles Mansell was killed in Afghanistan. 

“I had already submitted my name to go on tour but it wasn’t coming together well,” says Beddows. “Then last fall the call came again for reservists and this time they guaranteed deployment. I had spent a year trying to talk myself out of it, but when the call came for 500 reservists I thought about it, talked it over with my wife and decided to go. Miles’ death sort of inspired me and watching others from the regiment go, I thought this is the time for me.” 

But Beddows says it really comes down to more than that. 

“The most compelling reason I’m going is I feel that we as Canadians have made a promise to Afghanistan to help them in a very dark time. I believe in that mission. I believe we are doing a good job with NATO.” 

At the end of this month, Beddows will head to the Canadian Forces Base at Shilo, Manitoba for training. In February 2008 he will be deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan for a six-month tour. 

Beddows believes his part in the fighting is important to the future of Afghanistan. 
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Afghan, Canadian troops celebrate Afghanistan's New Year
March 21, 2007 By JOHN COTTER
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MAISUM GHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - Wasn't that a party. Afghan soldiers and their Canadian advisers briefly put down their weapons on Wednesday to celebrate Afghanistan's New Year's Day with tribal music, traditional dancing and a feast of freshly slaughtered lamb. 

Preparations began early with Afghan and Canadian troops squatting on the floor of a mud-brick cookhouse, adding rice, potatoes, spices and meat into iron cauldrons bubbling over fires. 

Wood smoke mingled with the tangy scent of the food was soon wafting over the camp shared by the Observer Mentor Liaison Team and an Afghan "kandak," or infantry battalion. 

"It's all part of the program. Live, fight and prepare food together," said Master Warrant Officer Wayne Bartlett, the team's sergeant major, as he peeled potatoes in the ash-filled cookhouse. 

"Every soldier has to fight on a full stomach." 

Bartlett and the other 64 members of the team are helping train the Afghan soldiers into a modern army, capable of conducting and planning long-term military operations on their own. 

New Year's in Afghanistan falls on the first day of spring, a time of hope and renewal as parched grapevines and fields begin to blossom with sprigs of green. 

Afghans, who have large extended families, usually celebrate together by going on picnics. 

For the soldiers of 2 Kandak, the extended family this year is their comrades in the battalion, who have been deliberately recruited from different parts of the country. It's part of a plan to foster loyalty to the central government instead of to their traditional tribes. 

"I wanted to be with my family on this day but I'm here," a young soldier named Matulha from Kunar province said through an interpreter. "I miss them." 
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## MarkOttawa (23 Mar 2007)

Taliban flourishes in 'power vacuum'
UN expert says NATO must shore up Afghan government to succeed
_Ottawa Citizen_, March 23
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=1bf70ebb-de78-448a-b186-e3db35b1c5f7



> Canada and its allies in Afghanistan have "completely underestimated" the importance of building strong and effective local government institutions, and will not defeat the Taliban until they do so, said Tom Koenigs, the United Nations' most senior official in Afghanistan.
> 
> "We have made mistakes, and we shouldn't repeat them," Mr. Koenigs said this week in Washington. "We have completely underestimated the challenge of governance in the southern provinces. The resurgence of the Taliban there was only possible because there was a power vacuum."
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## The Bread Guy (24 Mar 2007)

*Kandahar sitting on fence as coalition, Taliban fight: Canadian officer*
John Cotter, Canadian Press, 23 Mar 07
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The vast majority of people in Kandahar province remain sitting on the fence as coalition forces and the Taliban slug it out, Canada's battle group commander in Afghanistan says.  Lt.-Col. Rob Walker said Friday the Afghan people are waiting to see if the coalition can get rid of the insurgents and whether the international community can deliver promised aid before they will openly support the Afghan government.  "They can't put themselves at risk because if you overtly support the government you could be killed," said Walker of the Gagetown, N.B.-based 2 Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment.  "Eighty per cent of the people are just sitting there and want to get on with their daily lives."  Walker said the high number of uncommitted Afghans doesn't mean there is growing support for the Taliban. In fact, there is evidence to suggest the insurgency is starting to lose steam, he said.  Since Operation Achilles began almost three weeks ago to clear Taliban out of northern Helmand province, insurgents have only fought a few stand-up battles with coalition forces - including some minor skirmishes with Canadian troops in the Kandahar region.  Instead, the Taliban have resorted to what the military calls "asymmetrical attacks" - suicide bombers, roadside bombs and shoot-and-skoot tactics ....



*SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS MANDATE OF UNITED NATIONS MISSION IN AFGHANISTAN UNTIL 23 MARCH 2008, UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTING RESOLUTION 1746 (2007)*
United Nations news release, 23 Mar 07
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Stressing the central role that the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) continues to play in promoting peace and stability in the nascent democracy, the Security Council this morning extended the Mission’s mandate for one year, until 23 March 2008.  By its unanimous adoption of resolution 1746 (2007), which followed a debate on Afghanistan held on 20 March (see Press Release SC/8972), the Council also stressed UNAMA’s role in promoting a more coherent international engagement in the country, supporting regional cooperation in the context of the Afghanistan Compact, promoting humanitarian coordination and contributing to human rights protection and promotion, including monitoring the situation of civilians in armed conflict.  The Council called on all Afghan parties and groups to engage in an inclusive political dialogue, within the framework of the Afghan Constitution and Afghan-led reconciliation programmes, and in the social development of the country, stressing the importance of those factors to enhancing security and stability.  In that regard, the Council also stressed the importance of the Government’s ongoing national reconciliation process and encouraged the full and timely implementation of the Action Plan on Peace, Justice and Reconciliation .....


*Security Council extends UN mission in Afghanistan*
UN News Centre, 23 Mar 07
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The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) by another year, welcoming the mission’s recently expanded presence in the provinces and voicing concern at the harm caused by the production and trafficking of opium.  In a resolution adopted unanimously, the Council also urged the Afghan Government and members of the international community to do more to implement the Afghanistan Compact, five-year UN-backed blueprint launched early last year which sets benchmarks for certain security, governance and development goals.  The resolution stresses the importance of meeting the benchmarks, particularly those focused on “the cross-cutting issue of counter-narcotics,” and calls for accelerated reform in the justice sector as called for in the Compact ....


*Security Council extends UN mission in Afghanistan one year*
Agence France Presse, 24 Mar 07
Article link

The UN Security Council unanimously extended the mandate of the UN assistance mission in
Afghanistan (UNAMA) by a year and hailed its expanded presence in the provinces.  The 15-member body endorsed a resolution that also stressed UNAMA's role in promoting "a more coherent international engagement" in support of Afghanistan, which is facing mounting insecurity due to a resurgent Taliban-led insurgency.  The Council extended the mission's mandate through March 23, 2008, and welcomed UNAMA's "expanded presence in the provinces, through regional and provincial offices, which support efforts to coordinate and implement the country's economic reconstruction blueprint." ....



*Symposium hears Afghan aid leaving rural areas behind*
Mike Blanchfield, CanWest News Service, 23 Mar 07
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Southern Afghanistan is being left behind when it comes to Canadian efforts to reconstruct the war-torn country because aid workers dare not confront the "traumatic" lack of safety in rural areas, a leading U.S. academic said Friday.  "There is reconstruction around the city, Kandahar City, and then in places like Panjwaii and Zahari District," Seth Jones, a political scientist with the Washington-based Rand Corporation, told a major symposium on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  "There is nothing, virtually nothing, that goes on anywhere else in the province. In other words, governance has not reached the rural areas of the south," he told the symposium, sponsored by the Centre for Security and Defence Studies at Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. "The key point here is that basic government services have not reached most of the rural areas in Afghanistan." ....



*Afghan irked by squabble*
Edmonton Sun, 23 Mar 07
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The latest round of name-calling in the Commons over Afghanistan may be "good for a laugh," but it doesn't do anything to help suffering Afghan citizens, an Afghan-Canadian said yesterday.  "They're just trading insults. They're not addressing the real problems with the mission," said Abdul Alami, a local Afghan with family living in Kandahar.  On Wednesday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper fired back at Liberal opponents asking questions about whether Afghan detainees captured by Canadian troops had been tortured by their Afghan jailers.  "I can understand the passion that the Leader of the Opposition and members of his party feel for Taliban prisoners," he said during a heated Question Period exchange. "I just wish occasionally they would show the same passion for Canadian soldiers." ....



*Marine Unit Ordered Out of Afghanistan*
Robert Burns, Associated Press, 23 Mar 07
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Marines accused of shooting and killing civilians after a suicide bombing in Afghanistan are under U.S. investigation, and their entire unit has been ordered to leave the country, officials said Friday.  Army Maj. Gen. Francis H. Kearney III, head of Special Operations Command Central, ordered the unit of about 120 Marines out of Afghanistan and initiated an investigation into the March 4 incident, said Lt. Col. Lou Leto, spokesman at Kearney's command headquarters in Tampa, Fla.  It is highly unusual for any combat unit, either special operations or conventional, to have its mission cut short.  A spokesman for the Marine unit, Maj. Cliff Gilmore, said it is in the process of leaving Afghanistan, but he declined to provide details on the timing and new location, citing a need for security ....


*Inquiry opens into whether U.S. forces killed 10 Afghans*
David S. Cloud, International Herald Tribune, 24 Mar 07
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A formal investigation has begun into whether marines in eastern Afghanistan killed civilians after a suicide bombing near their convoy on March 4, U.S. Marine Corps officials said Friday.  As many as 10 Afghans were reportedly killed and 34 wounded in the incident in Nangarhar Province.  U.S. military officials said shortly afterward that the civilians had been caught in cross-fire between the marines and insurgents who opened fire after the attack.  But hundreds of Afghans protested afterward, with some witnesses saying that the marines had fired on bystanders and civilian vehicles after the bombing and that there had been no cross-fire. President Hamid Karzai condemned the marines' actions at the time.  Major General Francis Kearney 3rd of the Army, commander of Special Operations troops in the Middle East and Central Asia, opened the investigation and ordered the marines involved to remain in Afghanistan until it is complete, a spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Lou Leto, said ....


*Marine unit under investigation for Afghan deaths ordered home*
Agence France Presse, 24 Mar 07
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A Marine Corps special operations unit has been ordered out of Afghanistan amid an investigation into a March 4 incident in which the US soldiers allegedly fired on civilians, marine spokesmen said.  At least eight civilians were killed and 35 wounded after a US military convoy was ambushed by a suicide bomber in Nangahar province, prompting the US forces to open fire.  The Afghan government charged that the civilians were killed by US gunfire, prompting a US military investigation.  Members of the unit who are still required for questioning in the ongoing investigation will remain in Afghanistan, said Lieutenant Colonel Lew Leto, a marine spokesman, on Friday.  But the rest of their 120-member company is being redeployed out of Afghanistan and will rejoin the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit elsewhere in the region, he said ....

*Marines expelled from Afghanistan after retaliating against civilians*
Rowan Scarborough, Washington Examiner, 24 Mar 07
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A top American general has expelled a U.S. Marine special operations company from Afghanistan for the way the men responded to an ambush on March 4, Marine sources said. Maj. Cliff Gilmore, a spokesman for Marine Special Operations Command, confirmed to The Examiner that the company of 120 Marines are being sentto Kuwait.  He said the decision followed an ambush on the company's convoy by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device. A second Marine source said the Marines retaliated, and some civilians were killed.  No Marine was killed in the attack. One received minor injuries.  The action brought an abrupt end to what promised to be a historic deployment. The unit sailed in January from Camp Lejeune, N.C., as the first Marine Corps special operations company sent overseas. The Corps joined U.S. Special Operations Command a year ago.  The company had been in Afghanistan for only a few weeks in what was supposed to be a six-month tour.  A Marine officer assigned to special operations said that commanders took the extraordinary step of expelling the unit after they consulted with Afghan Prime Minister Hamid Karzai.  "The unit responded to the ambush and the local population perceptions of that response have damaged the relationship between the local population and the Marine special operations company," Gilmore said ....



*Report Faults Officers in Tillman Case*
Associated Press, via Military.com, 24 Mar 07
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Nine officers, including up to four generals, should be held accountable for missteps in the aftermath of the friendly fire death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman in Afghanistan, a Pentagon investigation will recommend.  Senior defense officials said Friday the Defense Department inspector general will cite a range of errors and inappropriate conduct as the military probed the former football star's death on the battlefront in 2004, said one defense official.  The official, who like the others requested anonymity because the Army has not publicly released the information, said it appears senior military leaders may not have had all the facts or worked hard enough to get the facts of what happened on April 22, 2004, when Tillman was killed by members of his own platoon.  Dozens of Soldiers - those immediately around Tillman at the scene of the shooting, his immediate superiors and high-ranking officers at a command post nearby - knew within minutes or hours that his death was fratricide ....


*Nine Officers Faulted for Missteps After Pat Tillman's Death*
Michael David Smith, AOL Sports, 23 Mar 07
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CBS News is reporting that nine officers, including four generals, will be cited by the Pentagon for failing to follow regulations and using poor judgement in keeping the truth about Pat Tillman's death from his family. Tillman, a Cardinals safety, was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004.  The Army will decide what if any action to take against the nine officers. Several soldiers have previously been punished in connection with Tillman's death. Punishments have ranged from verbal reprimands to expulsion from the Rangers.  Tillman's mother said today that she had not been informed of the Pentagon's finding. She and other members of the Tillman family have been critical of the Pentagon's handling of Pat's death ....


*Tillman Inquiry Finds Errors, Official Says*
DAVID S. CLOUD, New York Times, 24 Mar 07
Article link

A Pentagon investigation into the death by friendly fire of Cpl. Pat Tillman in Afghanistan will make recommendations that nine officers, including four generals, be held responsible for mistakes in the way the incident was handled and disclosed, a defense official said.  The Pentagon’s inspector general, in a report expected to be released Monday, has found a series of errors, including violations of regulations and poor judgment by the officers in the aftermath of the 2004 shooting death of Corporal Tillman, the official said.  The exact nature of the inspector general’s findings, which were first described by CBS News, and the identities of the officers involved could not be learned. The official was given anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the findings.  Corporal Tillman, a professional football player, enlisted in the Army after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, spurning a lucrative new contract with the Arizona Cardinals. His death on a craggy stretch of land in southeastern Afghanistan was originally attributed to enemy fire.  The report, by acting Pentagon Inspector General Thomas F. Gimble, also concludes that the Army failed to take adequate steps to gather the facts about the shooting of death of Corporal Tillman, the official said. He added that the inspector general report does not recommend specific punishments for the officers, whose identities could not be learned.  The Army, which requested the inspector general report last year, said in a statement that it “plans to take appropriate action after receiving the Inspector General’s report.” ....


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## The Bread Guy (25 Mar 2007)

*Canadians, Afghans on joint show-of-force mission *
Graham Thomson, CanWest News Service, 24 Mar 07
Article link

Under cover of darkness, with the moon a mere sliver in the night sky, Canadians launched a new operation in southern Afghanistan this weekend.  More than 200 troops teamed up with a large contingent of Afghan Army soldiers to swoop down on the Zhari district of Kandahar province in a meticulously planned exercise designed to drive out the remnants of the Taliban and bring some desperately needed security to the troubled region.  It is called Operation Marguerite. And you didn’t know about it until now. Not because it’s top secret but because the operation hasn’t grabbed the news media’s attention.  Marguerite is a discreet and modest operation, unlike her cousin Medusa, which saw Canadians fight a bloody conventional battle with the Taliban last summer and fall.  The objective of Operation Marguerite is to move through the district in a show of force, meet with local villagers, engage any Taliban who stand and fight — and when the area is deemed secure, set up a new police check point ....



*Operation takes place in Babaji in support of Op ACHILLES*
ISAF news release # 2007-222, 23 Mar 07
Article link

(On March 22) at approximately 6 a.m., Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) supported by ISAF troops launched a series of deliberate operations in the general area of Babaji, along the Helmand River, north of Lashkar Gah.  This operation falls within the framework of Operation Achilles launched on 6 March.  The ANSF manoeuvre element, consisting of several company sized groups, launched this series of attacks on Taliban extremist strongholds in the area. ANSF continue to push through the area today, supported by ISAF troops from Task Force Helmand providing flank protection, close air support and medical support.  “The scale of this ANSF led operation is a clear sign that the ANSF have greatly increased their capacity over the months,” said Maj Gen Ton van Loon, commander of Regional Command South. “We are working closely with the ANSF on this operation and ISAF is paying particular attention to ensuring that all efforts are made to reduce collateral damage given Taliban extremist tactics are to hide within the general population,” he added.  This particular component of Operation Achilles is being conducted to put pressure on Taliban extremists, foreign terrorists and their narco-trafficking criminal associates that continue to operate within the general population in the communities north of Lashkar Gah ....



*NATO soldiers injured in roadside blast*
Pajhwok Afghan News, 23 Mar 07
Article link

Two NATO soldiers were wounded and their vehicle damaged in a roadside bomb attack in Gilan district of the southern Ghazni province, officials said on Friday.  The explosion took place when a military vehicle hit a roadside landmine last evening, chief of Gilan district Dad Mohammad told Pajhwok.  Mohammad said the NATO soldiers were returning to their base after conducting a search operation in Sapidar village. Mostly US soldiers are operating in Gilan district under the NATO command.  The district chief said the soldiers received minor injuries, while their vehicle was partially damaged in the blast.  However, Taliban claimed the vehicle was fully destroyed and all the soldiers, traveling in it, had been killed. Mulla Dawood, calling himself Taliban commander in the area, said the vehicle was blown up with a remote-controlled bomb ....



*Conflicting claims about Helmand fighting*
Pajhwok Afgan News, 23 Mar 07
Article link

Afghan security forces in the southern Helmand province claimed eliminating 60 Taliban in two days of search operation and fighting.  General Mohyuddin, commander of the 4th brigade of the 205 Atal Military Corps in the southern region, told journalists on Friday the two-day operation was concluded today.  Of the 60 dead, the commander said, bodies of 50 had been found on the sites of clashes in the area. He said Taliban had shifted their injured colleagues to the Deh Adam Khan area.  The operation was conducted in parts of the provincial capital of Lashkargah and Grishk district. On Thursday, the government claimed killing 40 militants in fighting.  Mohyuddin also rejected as baseless Taliban claims regarding occupation of some areas. This was baseless propaganda, said the officer.  He admitted injuries to only six soldiers in the operation. On Thursday, a police officer in Grishk Amanullah Khan said six soldiers had been killed ....


*TRIBAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES SLOW DOWN SECURITY OPERATIONS IN HELMAND*
Fajer-e Omid, AfghanWire.com, 17 Mar 07
Article link

....  The Afghan defence minister told reporters in Kabul that that Operation Achilles was progressing slowly. He reasoned that tribal and political issues had caused the slow progress of operations but he did not elaborate as to what sort of tribal and political issues were involved to slow the progress of operations. Perhaps the defence minister meant that some tribal and political issues were being discussed to persuade the Taliban to peacefully leave the districts because in the past the Afghan government had also declared that it wanted to retake Musa Qala district by means of negotiation.  Analysts say that if theoretically the Taliban leave the district, then where will they go? It is clear that they will go to the neighbouring countries. Is this the solution? No, not at all. The solution is that the Taliban should put down their weapons and surrender to the government, analysts say. Anyhow, the Taliban have threatened that they will begin massive military attacks in the spring.


*The Taleb’s Tale*
A Helmand man tells the story of why he was press-ganged by the Taleban in the months before 9/11, and how he got away
Afghan Recovery Report, 21 Mar 07
Article link

I joined the Taleban because I fell in love. I was just 18, and although I was born in Helmand, I’d spent my whole life in Pakistan.  Afghanistan in those years was too dangerous; there was so much fighting, first with the Russians, later among the warlords. So my father sent us to Peshawar, where I went to school. He and his brothers stayed on in Lashkar Gah, the administrative centre of Helmand, where they ran shops.  In early 2001, when the Taleban were still in power, I came back for a visit. It was the first time I’d been to Afghanistan since I was a baby.  On my first day back, I was in my father’s shop when I met a girl.  I am a simple man – what did I know of these things? In Peshawar it was different; we studied with girls, and they did not wear burqas.  Now here was a girl whose face I could not see, yet she gave me a letter and told me she loved me ....



*Govt satsified with reconstruction process*
Pajhwok Afghan News, 22 Mar 07
Article link

Despite the challenging obstacle of terrorism, which impedes reconstruction efforts in the country, in the past year there have been many great improvements made in reconstruction around the country, the annual report released by the President's Press Office said Saturday.  This information, compiled from various government organ reports, cited the reconstruction ventures completed or undertaken by different governmental organs in different provinces across the country.  According to the report the revenue from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs MOFA, reached 300 million afghanis, which signifies a 100% increase compared to 2005.  Vocational training for some 40,000 women in 28 provinces, aimed to support the women economically and the facilitation of educational facilities to another 15,000, were cited as the major achievements of the Women's Affairs ministry (WAM), in the past year ....



*Central/South Asia: U.S. Official Sees Progress In Volatile Region*
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 23 Mar 07
Article link

RFE/RL: How does the United States plan to face the Taliban's much-publicized plan of increased attacks during this coming spring? Is the Taliban winning the psychological war?

Richard Boucher: I think the first thing to remember is that we've got a basic process under way in Afghanistan that's working well, and that's extending government -- helping the army of Afghanistan get out and bring services and benefits to the people of the country. And that's actually going well. And we're better set in those terms this year than we were last year to face the renewal of fighting in the springtime.  And the Taliban have been threatening a lot of things, including suicide bombings, which is horrible. But frankly they've failed to take towns and cities and territory, and this is what they resort to: killing school kids and policemen and government officials and ordinary citizens in the marketplaces.  In the end, I think this process is under way, and the government's extending itself, and the Taliban is frankly under pressure from all sides, including from Pakistan, and that's how we're going to face it. We're going to face it by giving the people of Afghanistan the safety and the justice and the opportunity that they want ....



*Deal with Taliban dented govt's image: Analysts*
Pajhwok Afghan News, 23 Mar 07
Article link

Voicing concern over the 'secret deal' with Taliban for the release of the Italian journalist, analysts say such compromises may pose serious threat to the restoration of peace in the country.  The government had agreed to set free five senior Taliban members in exchange for the safe release of Italian journalist Danielle Mastrogiacomo, who was kidnapped in Helmand province on March 4.  Political analyst and official of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission Mohammad Qasim Akhgar said the deal was tantamount to giving concessions to Taliban.  "The government created a big problem for itself by entering into such a deal with the Taliban," said Akhgar, who believed it would encourage the militants to continue their kidnapping spree ....


*Taleban Voice New Demands for Driver’s Body*
The nightmare is not yet over for the families of the Afghan driver and translator who were kidnapped along with an Italian journalist in Helmand
Afghan Recovery Report, 21 Mar 07
Article link

The Taleban have demanded the release of another commander in exchange for the body of Sayed Agha, the driver who was killed when the Taleban took him hostage along with Italian journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo in Helmand.  After Mastrogiacomo was released earlier this week, the guest house in the provincial capital Lashgar Gah where he was housed before leaving for home was the scene of protests by Afghans complaining about their government’s seeming lack of concern for the local men who had also been kidnapped ....  When the Taleban made it known they had killed Sayed Agha, three family members went to retrieve his body from Garmseer, a town about two and a half hours’ drive south of Lashkar Gah. On their way back they were detained by Taleban, and only released through the mediation of a group of elders.  Family members told IWPR that Sayed Agha’s body was still being held in Garmseer.  Meanwhile, the fate of Ajmal Naqshbandi, the 23-year-old translator who accompanied Mastrogiacomo, is still unclear. His brother, Munir Naqshbandi, told IWPR that the family had no information other than Mastrogiacomo’s account of the release. The Italian journalist told them that Ajmal had been freed on March 18, at the same time as Mastrogiacomo himself, but that the two were sent off in separate cars ....



*Australia to boost troops to Afghanistan*
News.com.au, 25 Mar 07
Article link

AUSTRALIA was likely to send a special forces task group to Afghanistan to counter an expected offensive by Taliban rebels, Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said today.  Dr Nelson, who had said last month that Australia was considering plans to double its deployment in Afghanistan to about 1000, said on Channel 9 that the Government had completed a study on troop levels.  "We believe there is a need, we think that the Taliban will be mounting a very strong offensive shortly," he said.  "If we do re-deploy, and I think it's likely that we will, it will be a special forces task group," he said.  Dr Nelson said he would soon consult US Secretary for Defence Robert Gates, British Defence Minister Des Brown and other defence ministers with forces in Afghanistan ....


*Australian special forces likely to head to Afghanistan*
Agence France Presse, 25 Mar 07
Article link

Australia is close to committing special forces soldiers to Afghanistan to counter an expected Taliban spring offensive, Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said Sunday.  Nelson said it was likely that elite Special Air Services (SAS) troops would be sent to southern Uruzgan province, a former stronghold of the fundamentalist Taliban regime.  "We believe there is a need. We think that the Taliban will be mounting a very strong offensive shortly," he told Australian television.  "We are very close to making a decision about it."  Canberra, which currently has 400 soldiers in the Central Asian nation, pulled a 200-strong SAS contingent out of Afghanistan in September ....


*Afghanistan troops*
Sky News Australia Online, 25 Mar 07
Article link

Defence Minister Brendan Nelson says Australia is preparing to send a special forces task group to Afghanistan, amid fears the Taliban is about to mount a major offensive.  Australian special forces were withdrawn from Afghanistan in September last year.  550 troops are currently there, 370 of them as part of a reconstruction force, but Afghanistan wants Australia to send special forces back in.  He says a study has been carried out to determine whether more Australian troops are necessary and the Government thinks there is a need for extra forces ....


*Troops boost to Afghanistan likely*
thewest.com.au, 25 Mar 07
Article link

Australia is preparing to send a special forces task group to Afghanistan amid fears the Taliban is about to mount a major offensive.  Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said a small scoping group sent to Afghanistan last week had determined that a larger commitment would be needed to curtail a resurgent Taliban.  "We have had a scoping study done to look at whether we should increase our numbers in regions beyond the 400 we have got," Dr Nelson told the Nine Network.  "We believe there is a need, we think that the Taliban will be mounting a very strong offensive shortly."  Dr Nelson said he has spoken to defence chief Angus Houston and the likely re-deployment would be a special forces task group.  "We believe we have satisfied and settled the commander control arrangements that are necessary for us to do." ....



*Pak official: Repatriation of Afghans without registration cards to end on April 15*
Xinhua, via www.chinaview.cn, 25 Mar 07
Article link

The voluntary repatriation of Afghans without Proof of Registration (PoR) cards would end on April 15 across Pakistan, officials said on Sunday.  The Afghans have been given a period of six weeks to repatriate with assistance averaging 100 U.S. dollars per person starting on March 1, an official was quoted as saying by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.  Accordingly, Afghans who did not register in the recent registration exercise conducted by the Pakistani government have been advised to avail this opportunity.  "After this period, Afghans without PoR cards will be subject to the laws of the land," the official said.  Assisted repatriation for registered Afghans with PoR cards will start on April 16 till November 15 this year under new return modalities linked to the PoR card.  More than 2.15 million Afghans were registered in the government registration exercise that was carried out from October 2006 to Feb. 15, 2007 ....


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## a_majoor (25 Mar 2007)

From Canada Conservative:

http://canadaconservative.blogspot.com/2007/03/were-winning-afghan-hearts-and-minds.html



> *We're Winning Afghan Hearts and Minds*
> Listening to the news on CBC Radio this morning, I heard this little report... I'm still looking for the web report... "15 Canadian soldiers came under attack by insurgents this morning in Afghanistan... the Canadian soldiers were assisted in repelling the attackers when local villiagers came to their rescue."
> 
> I don't know about you, but that makes it sound like the hearts and minds are well on their way to being won.
> ...


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## GAP (26 Mar 2007)

*Articles found March 26, 2007*

Coming spring a concern for Canadians in AfghanistanLush spring canopy provides cover for Taliban  
By CP March 26, 2007  SANGSAR, Afghanistan 
Article Link

The greening of the Arghandab River valley is a time of hope for Afghan farmers but a time of concern for troops of the Royal Canadian Regiment battle group. 

The hot spring sun is starting to transform stark brown fields and vineyards into a lush canopy that will soon provide cover for the Taliban. 

Major David Quick said Afghans have told the Canadians to expect more insurgent activity. 

From sandbagged observation posts on the rocky heights of Mah’ Sum Ghar to patrols in Zhari district to the mobile armoured column operating in Maywand, Canadian troops are watching. 

At the same time, the battle group is trying hard to win over people to the government of Afghanistan and undermine any community support for the insurgents. 

A new Afghan police post has been built near Sangsar in the heart of Zhari’s opium poppy growing area and more checkpoints are planned 
More on link

Canadians deal with increased roadside bombs, rocket attacks in Afghanistan
John Cotter Canadian Press Sunday, March 25, 2007
Article Link

GHUNDY GHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - With a loud thud, a roadside bomb erupts beneath a Coyote armoured vehicle in clear site of Canadian troops dug in on a dusty, sunbaked hill overlooking green poppy fields. 

"I-E-D!" soldiers shout as they point toward a cloud of greasy blackish-grey smoke rising from the improvised explosive device just over a kilometre away. 

Members of the battle group's reconnaissance squadron fall silent until radios crackle with word that their comrades are safe. 

The bomb blew one of the Coyote's eight wheels off. 

"Starting about a week ago we have been finding IEDs on all the roads around here pretty much every single day," said Maj. Steve Graham of the Royal Canadian Dragoons. 

"The fact there has been a spike of IEDs tells me that the places we are going and things we have been doing are starting to hit closer to the areas the Taliban have been working in." 

Roadside bombs, random rocket attacks and suicide bombers are the main dangers Canadian troops face so far this year in their efforts to bring security to Kandahar province. 

The pitched battles in the Panjwaii area last summer, where Canadian and Afghan forces along with NATO air power killed hundreds of Taliban, have forced the insurgency underground. 

Graham, whose force is lodged deep in a dangerous part of Zhari district, said their goal is to help the Afghan army and police stabilize the area. 

The squadron conducts presence patrols and meets with village elders in the lush agricultural zone between the main highway and the Arghandab river - the main watercourse in the parched province. 

The idea is that the show of force and the friendly diplomacy will help win the people over into supporting the Afghan government. 
More on link

Canadians launch new operation
Modest exercise aims to drive the Taliban from Zhari district 
Sun Mar 25 2007 By Graham Thomson Canwest news service
Lt.-Col. Wayne Eyre (right) patrols with Afghan army soldiers during Operation Marguerite in Afghanistan.  
Article Link  

FORWARD OPERATING BASE GUNDY GHAR, Afghanistan -- Under cover of darkness, with the moon a mere sliver in the night sky, Canadians launched a new operation in southern Afghanistan this weekend. 
More than 200 troops teamed up with a large contingent of Afghan army soldiers to swoop down on the Zhari district of Kandahar province in a meticulously planned exercise designed to drive out the remnants of the Taliban and bring some desperately needed security to the troubled region. 

It is called Operation Marguerite. And you didn't know about it until now. Not because it's top secret, but because the operation hasn't grabbed the news media's attention. 

Marguerite is a discreet and modest operation, unlike her cousin Medusa, which saw Canadians fight a bloody conventional battle with the Taliban last summer and fall. 

The objective of Operation Marguerite is to move through the district in a show of force, meet with local villagers, engage any Taliban who stand and fight -- and when the area is deemed secure, set up a new police checkpoint. 

The backbone of the operation is Charlie Company from the 3rd Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in Edmonton. For them, it is a typical operation and for anyone tagging along as an observer it offers a glimpse into the day-to-day life of soldiers in a war zone where the fighting is unconventional and "asymmetrical." That's the military's way of describing suicide bombings, land mines and improvised explosive devices.    
By the end of the first day, Operation Marguerite will bump up against all three. 

The objective of the operation is simple enough, but as an observer you quickly realize nothing in Afghanistan is simple. 
More on link

Forces Thwart Insurgent Attack in Afghanistan
American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, March 25, 2007 
Article Link

 American and Afghan forces killed 12 insurgents yesterday during a firefight near Fire Base Tillman in Paktika province, Afghanistan, officials said. 
The insurgents attempted to attack the fire base located along the Afghanistan and Pakistan border, officials said, but they were detected and came under small-arms fire from pro-government Afghan and U.S. troops. Coalition forces also called in aviation and artillery support against the insurgents. 

Two coalition soldiers and two pro-government Afghan troops received minor injuries. Coalition forces’ injuries were minor and did not require medical evacuation. One Afghan soldier was medically evacuated for treatment at a coalition medical treatment facility and is expected to fully recover from his wound. 

“As the continued efforts of the military and civil leaders on both sides of the border takes a toll on (the) insurgents’ freedom of movement, they will continue to become more desperate as the people work with the military and other leaders to rid themselves of these criminals,” said Army Maj. Donald A. Korpi, a spokesman for the Task Force Fury. 
More on link

Afghan emerald miners see no sparkle in foreign investment
Article Link

KHENJ: Outside Kabul, where the city's cosmopolitan character dissipates into tribal communities cloistered by high mountain passes, "foreign" and "investment" are fighting words. There is a deeply rooted sense that foreigners have come to Afghanistan only for conquest, and that foreign investment is just a form of economic imperialism. 

High on the slopes of the mountains that encompass this narrow valley, the men of Panjshir have long burrowed into the granite in search of emeralds. There are few trappings of modernization - a drill here, a head lamp there. In Khenj, miners gather in the center of town every Saturday to take the three-hour trek several thousand feet straight up to the high shoulders of the Hindu Kush. They stay for the entire week, living in stone huts and returning to town only for Friday prayers, to sell what little they find, and to see their families. 

Yet Mohammad Feda says he doesn't want foreign companies here - even if they could bring paved roads and regular salaries. "They will cheat us, and nothing else," he says, sitting in the dim light of Khenj's one restaurant on a Friday afternoon. 

His colleagues nod. "We will not let them come here," says Hayatallah Asadi, his expression stony beneath a furry black hat. 

Lacking the stability needed for businesses to take root, Afghanistan has instead developed an informal economy of traders, merchants, smugglers, and middlemen. "The conflict went on so long that it created a conflict-based economy, and that becomes hard to change even after the conflict ends," says William Byrd, an analyst at the World Bank. 

But Khenj's district chief has higher hopes. Some 55 percent of Panjshiris have moved elsewhere because there is little arable land, no factories, and no border for trade, he says. 

Sitting on a wide, ankle-high platform in a general store that appears to double as a district headquarters, he presents a regal figure, calm and wise. Unmistakably, Mr. Sayed is proud, but his words betray some desperation. 
More on link

Afghan border security put on high alert 
Monday March 26, 2007 (1029 PST)
Article Link

KABUL: Afghan Security forces have been put on high alert in Patika province to stop infiltration of armed militants from Pakistan. 
The Afghan official alleged that armed militant enter from Pakistan and return to the country after carrying out subversive activities in Afghanistan, Radio Mashed reported. 

Pakistan Government says it has deployed more than 80,000 troops at borders with Afghanistan to check entry of armed militants
end

Strength of Afghan forces will reach 64,000 this year: Spokesman  
Monday March 26, 2007 (1029 PST)
Article Link

KABUL: Spokesman of the Interior Ministry has said that the current strength of the forces would be increased to 46,000 thus year which would reach 64,000. 
Addressing a press conference, he said that number of Afghan forces is increasing day by day. Afghan and foreign forces supported to people who were facing problems in many provinces due to floods. 

He added that starting operation in Helmand at the beginning of this year have given a good message
end

End graft, strengthen borders to run drug cartels out of business?  
Saturday March 24, 2007 (0400 PST)
Article Link

KABUL: Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), has said that corruption must be stamped out and borders strengthened to run emerging Afghan drug cartels out of business. 
Most of the Afghan opium is exported either to Iran or Pakistan, said the UN officer, who described the region for drug traffickers as a new "golden triangle" of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Briefing journalists at the UN headquarters, he called for strengthened relations among the three countries to stem illicit drug trafficking. 

The UN official, who briefed the Security Council on his agency's latest report on opium cultivation in Afghanistan, called corruption the "major lubricant" facilitating both the cultivation and trading of opium. Acknowledging the financial incentives for harvesting illicit drugs, the director said: 

"Robbing a bank is much more profitable than working for a bank." In this connection, he asked for provision of alternative livelihood for farmers engaged in opium production
More on link

Over 18,000 unregistered Afghans repatriate as deadline nears 
Saturday March 24, 2007 (0400 PST)
Article Link

ISLAMABAD: ? More than 18,000 Afghans have returned home from Pakistan since this year's voluntary repatriation season to Afghanistan started on March 1. This comes amid increased checks at the voluntary repatriation centres (VRCs) to prevent abuse of the system. 
The Afghans who repatriated thus far are those who did not register in the recent registration exercise and thus do not have Proof of Registration (PoR) cards. The Pakistan government has given this group a period of six weeks to repatriate with assistance averaging $100 per person, starting on March 1 and ending on April 15. 

After this period, Afghans without PoR cards will be subject to the laws of the land, said the authorities. 
end


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## GAP (27 Mar 2007)

*Articles found March 27, 2007*

Two Canadian soldiers injured after Taliban attack
Updated Tue. Mar. 27 2007 6:32 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

Two Canadian soldiers were injured in Afghanistan after their convoy was ambushed west of Kandahar City, in the Zhari district. 

The soldiers were travelling in a small convoy of LAV 3 light armoured vehicles just east of Patrol Base Wilson when Taliban fighters began launching rocket-propelled grenades. 

The platoon, from the Royal Canadian Regiment battle group, drove through the attack and returned fire. 

However, the convoy later drove over a roadside bomb which blew four tires off the LAV. 

The military has not released the names or conditions of the wounded soldiers. No other details are available. 

Roadside bombs, random rocket attacks and suicide bombers are the most common dangers facing troops as they struggle to bring security to the Kandahar province.

The coalition battles in the Panjwaii last summer killed hundreds of Taliban and forced the insurgency underground.
End

Afghans want more cash for lost farmland
Canadian sergeant besieged with requests wherever she goes
Graham Thomson The Edmonton Journal Monday, March 26, 2007
Article Link

ZHARI DISTRICT, Afghanistan - It would seem money can't buy happiness, not even in a dirt-poor country like Afghanistan.

One month after Canadians paid Afghan farmers $1 million in compensation for land bulldozed to make a combat road, some are not at all happy. They say they weren't paid enough or were cheated by fellow land owners or were left off the list altogether.

Now, whenever there's a tribal meeting involving Canadian soldiers, the disgruntled farmers seek out the one person they think can help them get more money -- Sgt. Nicky Bascon.

They flock around her like seagulls after a fishing boat, an alien experience in a patriarchal society where women are treated as second-class citizens and are rarely allowed outside the home.

And yet here is a woman who wields great power and influence over their lives -- and curiously they don't seem to mind. The farmers know her well because it was Bascon who handed out the compensation payments last month in a day-long meeting.
More on link

Afghan hearts and minds refuse to be won  
Tuesday March 27, 2007 (0303 PST)
Article Link

KABUL: Troops fighting in Afghanistan are meeting resistance not only from the Taliban, but from the people they are there to support. 
In the dustbowl settlement of Ghowrak in Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan, a senior Allied delegation, lead by a British colonel, flies in on a hearts-and-minds mission to halt the leaching of support for the Allied mission. 

"I'd say that was an artillery shell," said Col Simon Marr, of the 1st Bn Fusiliers, as the distinctive crump of high explosives reverberated across the scorched plateau. 

It was good preparation for the verbal attack his delegation was to endure. "You do not need to be here in town," said Ghowrak's headman, Haji Pasha. "With your soldiers standing looking over us, watching our women and driving their vehicles destroying our land. Go into the hills to find the Taliban, don't disturb us." 

Far from being enticed into repudiating the Taliban, elders lined up to complain about the foreign troops in their midst and, more bitterly, the lack of assistance from the Afghan government. 

"Why are we not with you?" asks another villager rhetorically. "Why are we not thanking you for our security? Why should we do anything at at all for our government when it does nothing to help us? 

"Please do something for us but do it in Kandahar to make our government give to us not to themselves." 
More on link

Investigators find no criminal negligence in death of football star in Afghanistan
Published: Monday, March 26, 2007 | 5:25 PM ET Canadian Press
Article Link


SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - U.S. military investigators looking into the friendly fire death of former professional football star Pat Tillman found no criminal negligence but are recommending that nine officers, including a three-star general, be held accountable for missteps in the aftermath of the his shooting, government officials told The Associated Press.

The findings, due to be released later Monday, end twin inquiries into whether criminal acts were committed by the soldiers who opened fire on Tillman in Afghanistan, and whether the government covered up the circumstances of the army ranger's death.

Among other things, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said previously that investigators would determine whether any of Tillman's fellow soldiers were "firing a weapon when they should not have been."

A government official who was briefed on the findings of that investigation said Monday that acting Defense Department Insp.-Gen. Thomas Gimble found no instance of criminal negligence. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the Pentagon had not yet publicly released its findings.

The other inquiry looked at everything that happened after Tillman's April 2004 death. Senior defence officials told The Associated Press, also on condition of anonymity, that investigators would recommend that nine officers, including up to four generals, be held accountable for their missteps,
More on link

21 Taliban militants killed in Afghanistan 
March 27, 2007         
Article Link

Twenty-one Taliban insurgents and two policemen were killed in two clashes in central Afghanistan, the government said on Monday. 

Some Taliban militants ambushed a convoy in Andar district of Ghazni province on Monday, which was transporting logistics to foreign troops, killing one Afghan driver and setting on fire two vehicles, provincial police chief Alisha Ahamazi told Xinhua. 

Policemen rushed to the site and fought the militants, killing six and wounding seven, he said, adding 23 suspected militants were captured. 

On another clash, the Interior Ministry said in a statement that Taliban insurgents attacked the administrative building in Jalarez district of Wardak province on Sunday night. 

The police exchanged fire with the militants, killing 15 and injuring 10, the statement said. 
More on link

Wana militants vow to fight in Afghanistan  
Article Link

WANA: Tribal militants praised by the government for a bloody assault on foreign fighters in Pakistan said on Monday they would continue to go to Afghanistan to fight foreign forces. 

The government hailed the last week’s bloodletting in South Waziristan as a sign that local tribes would evict foreign militants without the involvement of Pakistani forces. A spokesman for the Pakistani military described them as “patriots”. 

However, the tribal militia told reporters that they had not turned against the foreigners for the government’s sake. 

“We will continue our jihad (in Afghanistan) if that is against America, the Russians, British or India as long as we have souls in our bodies,” Haji Sharif, an aide to to Maulvi Nazir, told reporters in Wana. 

Nazir’s representatives escorted reporters to the area, where sympathies for the Taliban run high and which is generally off-limits to outside journalists. Sharif said “Our activities across the border have been affected by our crisis with the Uzbeks. We have enemies in our home,” he said. ap
More on link

Italian Senate to vote on whether to keep troops in Afghanistan  
The Associated Press  Monday, March 26, 2007 
Article Link

ROME: Italy's center-left government faces a crucial vote Tuesday in the Senate on whether to keep the country's troops in Afghanistan.

It is a decision that comes amid increasing violence there and controversy back in Rome over the release of an Italian hostage kidnapped in Afghanistan.

The Senate vote is expected Tuesday evening. The lower house gave its backing to the measure — which provides financial coverage to all missions abroad — earlier this month.

Italy has about 2,000 troops in Afghanistan, deployed between Kabul and Herat, far from the more restive south of the country. But a series of small incidents involving the Italians and reports of heavy fighting elsewhere in the country are heightening concerns in Italy over the security of the troops.
More on link

20,000 FLOOD VICTIMS IN AFGHANISTAN NEED FOOD AND EMERGENCY AID
UNITED NATIONS - / www.MaximsNews.com, UN/ - 26 March 2007 
Article Link

Some 20,000 people are victims of floods across Afghanistan and relief efforts are being stepped up to nearly 4,000 families. 

“A huge effort is taking place by UN agencies, including UNICEF (UN Children’s Fund), the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) with the Government and provincial authorities to ensure that essential humanitarian relief supplies reach the affected populations,” said UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) spokesman Aleem Siddique at a news briefing in Kabul. 

The WFP already pre-positioned 350,000 tons of mixed foods in five different locations for distribution to the most vulnerable families. 

UNICEF trucks are carrying essential food, medicine, warm clothing for children and shelter material.
More on link

Suicide bomber attacks police station in southern Afghanistan, 4 police killed
The Associated PressPublished: March 27, 2007
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan: A suicide bomber on foot disguised in an army uniform blew himself up outside a police station in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing four policemen and wounding at least one, a police chief said.

The bomber, who was wearing an Afghan National Army uniform, tried to enter the police headquarters in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, before being challenged by police at the gate, said Ghulam Nabi Mulakhail, the province's police chief.

The bomber, who tried to use the official entrance into the building, told the guards he needed to see the police chief before guards asked to search him, he said.

"That is when he exploded himself," Mulakhail said.

Initially, Abdul Manan Khan, another police official, said the blast wounded at least seven policemen and civilians. Mulakhail, however, said no civilians were hurt.
More on link

Pakistanis near Afghanistan sign pact
By HABIBULLAH KHAN ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER March 27, 2007 · Last updated 4:41 a.m. PT
Article Link

KHAR, Pakistan -- Pakistanis living along the Afghan border have signed a third peace deal with the government promising not to shelter foreign militants, residents and officials said Tuesday.

The agreement was signed Monday in the Bajur region of Pakistan's mountainous border zone. Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, escaped a U.S. missile strike in Bajur last year.

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has sought accords across the semiautonomous, tribal region after a series of bloody military operations failed to catch al-Qaida's top leadership or prevent Taliban militants fighting in Afghanistan from finding sanctuary there.

Malik Abdul Aziz, head of Bajur's tribal council, said the latest agreement was signed during a ceremony on Monday attended by about 700 tribal elders and government officials near the main town of Khar.

"After hectic efforts and talks with the local Taliban, we have signed a peace deal with the government to help it fight terrorism," Aziz told The Associated Press. "Local Taliban have assured us that they will not shelter foreign militants in their areas, and they are also part of a written agreement."

Pakistanis routinely refer to tribal militants, who are suspected of aiding their ethnic Pashtun brethren fighting in Afghanistan, as "local Taliban."
More on link

Afghanistan taking back madrassas: Education minister 
Tuesday March 27, 2007 (0303 PST)
Article Link

 KABUL: Afghanistan`s government is setting up its own madrassas, or religious schools, to counter the Taliban`s use of education as a "weapon of terrorism," Education Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar says. 

The first will be established in two months, with one eventually to open in each of Afghanistan`s 34 provinces, the minister said in an interview with AFP. 

"The enemies of democracy in this country, the enemies of stability in this part of the world, are actually using education as a weapon of terrorism. They have established for some time now across the border hate madrassas," he said. 

Afghans from poor backgrounds who are enrolled into these free boarding schools are ripe for recruitment into the Taliban insurgency. 

"They teach them hate and they teach them the kind of things that have no consistency with our religion. 

"And as a result they get suicide bombers recruited from these madrassas and they get Taliban fighters from these madrassas," said the 39-year-old minister, one of the youngest in President Hamid Karzai`s cabinet.
More on link

Britain boosts spending to fight Afghan drugs trade  
Tuesday March 27, 2007 (0303 PST)
Article Link

KABUL: The British attorney general announced ?9mn ($18mn) in funding for efforts to put Afghan drug traffickers behind bars, saying 90% of heroin in Britain was from Afghanistan. 
Lord Goldsmith toured a compound of Afghanistan's criminal justice task force where he met officials involved in prosecuting drug traffickers and saw stashes of heroin and opium seized by authorities. 

"Drugs are one of the gravest threats to the long-term security, development and government of Afghanistan," the attorney general told reporters. Afghanistan is the world's top producer of opium, the raw ingredient of heroin. 

The government, which says drugs are funding the Taliban-led insurgency, is working with several countries to try to end the trade by rounding up those involved and persuading farmers to grow other less lucrative crops. 
More on link

First wool, animal skin plant inaugurated in Herat  
Tuesday March 27, 2007 (0303 PST)
Article Link

HERAT CITY: The first plant for the processing and sorting of animal skins and wool, was inaugurated in Herat Industrial Park. 
The project, costing $2 million, is a joint Sino-Afghan investment venture. The plant is called Afghan Mekaw and has been built in Herat industrial park. 

Azim Aqa, Head of the plant, told Pajhwok Afghan News that the facility would be used to process the skin and prepare it for leather, besides washing and cleaning the animal skins and examining the quality of the hide. 

He added that most of the processes are electronic and the goal is to provide better quality and to reduce wastage of animal skins. 

He said the factory was built on 3.5 acres of land, currently employs 100 people and has the capacity to process 10,000 skins a day. 

He said skins from all provinces would be imported and if needed, hides from Iran and Turkmenistan could also be imported. 
More on link

Prisoners protest maltreatment in Baghlan jail 
Tuesday March 27, 2007 (0303 PST)
Article Link

PUL-E-KHUMRI: Prisoners in the Baghlan jail staged a protest to complain against maltreatment, appalling accommodation and delay in their trial procedures. 
Officials say the protest ended after they reached an agreement with prisoners, but locals claim the matter had not yet been resolved and that the protest was continuing. 

Lt. Gen Abdul Rahman Saidkhel, told Pajhwok Afghan News that over 200 prisoners charged with different crimes had begun a protest the day before, against maltreatment, delay in trail procedures and poor living conditions, but that it ended after they reached an agreement later in the day. 

Shukria Asil, a member of the Provincial Council, who visited the jail along with the special delegation to assess the condition of the prisoners, said they talked with the prisoners and accepted their demands about faster trial procedure and maltreatment, after which the protest was called off. 

She said the demands would be referred to the concerned officials, so that their trials could commence expeditiously. However Muhammad Zubair, a relative of one of the prisoners, said the protest was still going on. 
More on link

 Restore power supply or leave the province?  
Tuesday March 27, 2007 (0303 PST)
Article Link

BAMYAN CITY: Governor of the central Bamyan province Habiba Sarabi has warned head of the energy and power department to restore power supply or leave the province. 
According to residents, power supply to the city is suspended for the previous three weeks prompting a barrage of complaints from people. 

The country's sole female governor conveyed the terse message during a meeting called to review complaints of people regarding the long suspension of power supply. 

The governor said she had called the concerned officials to the general meeting and informed them about the concerns of the government and the people. She said the director had been told to leave the province if his department failed to restore power supply within three weeks. 

Contacted for comments, head of the department engineer Ikramuddin said electricity had been cut off due to the huge expenses. He said the more expenses and less number of consumers forced them to stop the power supply. However, residents say the director does not know his job.
End


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## GAP (28 Mar 2007)

*Articles found March 28, 2007*

The greening of Arghandab valley
March 26, 2007 By JOHN COTTER
Article Link

SANGSAR, Afghanistan (CP) - The greening of the Arghandab River valley is a time of hope for Afghan farmers but a time of concern for troops of the Royal Canadian Regiment battle group. 

The hot spring sun is starting to transform stark brown fields and vineyards into a lush canopy in southern Afghanistan. 

Every blossoming vine and tree will soon provide cover for the Taliban, allowing insurgents to move more freely, to plant more roadside bombs or to launch attacks. 

"Every local we have spoken to while patrolling, every Afghan National Security Force individual that we have worked with have said the time is coming," said Maj. David Quick of India company. 

"They have said 'standby.' Now that the foliage is coming up we have had some increased activity in the area such as IEDs and sporadic fire." IED is the acronym for improvised explosive device, or roadside bomb. 

Being able to see the enemy is vitally important to the Gagetown, N.B.-based battle group, which has 1,200 troops covering a huge region of Kandahar province. 

From sandbagged observation posts on the rocky heights of Mah' Sum Ghar and Sperwin Ghar to patrols in Zhari district, and all the way west to the mobile armoured column operating around Maywand, Canadian troops are watching for Taliban. 

At the same time, the battle group is trying hard to win over local people to the government of Afghanistan and undermine any community support for the insurgents. 

Thanks to improved security, damaged irrigation canals and schools have been repaired. 
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JTF2 scopes trained on Taliban elite
Elite commandos 'in demand,' says Gen. Hillier after speech
Mike Blanchfield The Ottawa Citizen Wednesday, March 28, 2007
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Canada's ultra secretive JTF2 special forces commandos are becoming "tools of choice" in targeting top Taliban leaders in Afghanistan, the country's top soldier said yesterday.

Gen. Rick Hillier, chief of defence staff, spoke briefly on the operations of the Canadian Forces elite commando unit during an address to the Canadian Club of Ottawa.

"Our special forces are the tools of choice. They are in incredible demand. Our special forces are world class," Gen. Hillier told a luncheon gathering of several hundred.

In the past two years, Gen. Hillier said, JTF2 has been "growing their capacity" to conduct operations on Canadian soil "when needed" and also abroad, specifically Afghanistan.

"They have had significant impact in Afghanistan helping Afghans rebuild their country," Gen. Hillier said in a 45-minute speech in which he quickly singled out the unit for the work it is doing in Afghanistan before he moved on to other topics.

Asked after the speech to expand on the role of JTF2, Gen. Hillier indicated that the unit has taken the fight against the Taliban and anti-western insurgency in southern Afghanistan directly to its top leaders
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Hillier predicts renewed attacks
JOHN WARD Canadian Press
Article Link

OTTAWA — Spring in Afghanistan will see Canadian soldiers facing renewed attacks by suicide bombers and roadside booby traps, Canada's Chief of the Defence Staff warns.

Gen. Rick Hillier acknowledged yesterday that Taliban insurgents will step up their attacks as the weather warms. But he rejected the notion of a Taliban spring "offensive."

"I don't think that's really the kind of terminology which describes what the Taliban will try to do and is indeed trying to do now," he told reporters after a speech yesterday to the Canadian Club.

"We know we're going to have a surge of the Taliban, that's without question. They are going to try to do things during the campaign season, the better-weather season, that they could not do during the winter months."
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Taleban Target Helmand's Capital
By IWPR trainees in Helmand (ARR No. 248, 27-Mar-07)
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Over the past weeks, Lashkar Gah has become increasingly unstable, with bombs and murder almost daily fare. Now, for the first time in Helmand, the Taleban have killed a woman.

It has been a bad few days in Helmand’s capital, with a high-profile kidnapping and murder followed by a suicide bomb at police headquarters. Residents say the Taleban are becoming more and more visible in Lashkar Gah, and enjoy support among some segments of the population.

On March 27, a suicide bomber dressed in army uniform attempted to assassinate the chief of police. 

“A man dressed as an Afghan National Army soldier came to police headquarters saying he needed to file an application for a passport,” said police chief Nabijan Mullahkhel. “He was targeting me, but the police stopped him at the gate checkpoint. So he blew himself up, killing four police and injuring two more.”

Another police official confirmed the incident, saying that a police commander was among the dead. He added that in addition to police, two civilians were wounded in the explosion.

The blast could be heard throughout the centre of Lashkar Gah, and was followed by rapid gunfire. Local residents say the police were shooting into the air to discourage crowds of onlookers from gathering at the site.

A high-ranking Taleban commander in Helmand took responsibility for the blast, although his estimate of the casualties differed from that given by police.

“We killed a lot of police, and injured many more,” said the commander, who did not want to be named.
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David Hicks terror profits blocked
By Nick Butterly March 28, 2007 12:00
Article Link

THE Federal Government is set to block self-confessed terrorist David Hicks from making millions of dollars selling his story.

Attorney-General Philip Ruddock hinted today any move by Hicks to profit from a book or other media deal would likely by blocked by federal proceeds of crime laws. 

Mr Ruddock also said state and federal governments would be unable to alter any sentence US authorities handed down to David Hicks if he was returned to Australia. 

However, the attorney-general confirmed Australia would have a say on the conditions under which Hicks served out his sentence if he were returned under a prisoner transfer deal. 

Meanwhile, DDavid Hicks will make a full admission of his activities in Afghanistan following his guilty plea, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today.

The guilty plea by Hicks at a US military commission hearing in Guantanamo Bay will lead to a full admission of what he did in Afghanistan, Mr Downer said.
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Detainees' suit against Rumsfeld dismissed
By Bloomberg News Article Last Updated: 03/28/2007 12:45:40 AM MDT
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Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has won dismissal of a lawsuit against him and three Army officers filed by nine people from Iraq and Afghanistan who claim they were tortured at U.S. military prisons. 

U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan in Washington said Tuesday that the officials are entitled to immunity from claims of international-law violations. Those who sued can't claim protection from the Constitution's Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment because they haven't been convicted of a crime, the judge said. He also expressed reluctance to intervene in military affairs. 

"Military discipline and morale surely would be eroded by the spectacle of high-ranking military officials being hauled into our own courts to defend against our enemies' legal challenges," the judge's opinion said. 

Hogan also dismissed the suit against retired Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, former Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski and Col. Tho mas Pappas. 

The former detainees - civilians who weren't designated as enemy combatants - claimed they were tortured in U.S military prisons in Afghanistan and Iraq, including Abu Ghraib, where mistreatment of prisoners was disclosed in 2004. All were released from custody after being held for as long as a year without being charged with a crime, the judge's opinion said. 
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Militant commander arrested in E Afghanistan  
Wednesday March 28, 2007 (0502 PST)
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KABUL: Afghan and the U.S.-led coalition forces arrested a regional militant commander in Kunar province of eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, a coalition statement said. 
The operation was carried out at a compound near Asadabad, the provincial capital, the statement said, adding the militant commander had connections to improvised-explosive device attacks and facilitating the movement of foreign fighters into Kunar province. 

Also on Tuesday, Afghan and coalition troops arrested four Afghan males and uncovered weapons at a compound near Jalalabad, capital of the eastern Nangarhar province, the military said. 

Credible information linked to multiple attacks in Jalalabad led the combined forces to the compound, where they discovered rocket-propelled grenades and propellant, it added. 
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Tracking the Taliban keeps Canadian troops busy  
Wednesday March 28, 2007 (0502 PST)
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GHUNDY GHAR: In the heart of Taliban country, two Canadian armoured vehicles belt along a road that cuts through green fields of opium that are strangely deserted. 
Then, an explosion. A cloud of dust enveloped one of the vehicles. "Hey... another one," shouted Captain Steve Graham, watching the bomb blast from his post at the top of a sandy hill in Ghundy Ghar, 40 kilometres (25 miles) southwest of Kandahar city. 

Further on a handful of labourers tended to their fields of opium, perhaps protected by the Taliban, as though nothing happened. 

The vehicle was damaged but there were no casualties. Last year the Canadian military lost 36 troops serving with NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). 

This is the area where the Taliban picked up arms in the early 1990s. Today it is deeply embroiled in an insurgency launched after the extremists were driven from government in 2001. 

"In this area every day we face bombs, remote-controlled or booby-trapped, not to mention suicide attacks and rocket fire," said Canadian battalion commander Colonel Robert Walker, visiting 250 of his soldiers taking part in Operation Achilles, launched three weeks ago. 
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House GOP protests drug czar for Afghanistan
By SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, March 27 (UPI) - UPI Homeland and National Security Editor
Article Link

 Republicans in Congress are angry at the Bush administration's choice of a State Department official to fill a new post to oversee U.S. efforts against drug smuggling and corruption in Afghanistan. 

"It's putting the fox in charge of the chicken coop," said one senior House GOP staffer. 

A little-noticed announcement from the White House last week named Thomas Schweich to the new job: coordinator for counter-narcotics and justice reform in Afghanistan. 

The announcement said that Schweich, who currently oversees part of the Afghan drug portfolio as the principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement at the State Department, would be granted the personal rank of ambassador in the new post. 

White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore told United Press International that the ambassador rank was a technical appointment "necessary for him to hold negotiations with foreign countries" in the new post and was not Senate confirmable. 
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Direct from Afghanistan - Blog
by :: Lt(N) Desmond James
Article Link

My job here 
Posted by: des_james 03/21/2007 03:16PM
This image is of the Van Doos and a soccer game they organized for local kids. The Van Doos, on their spare time, built a soccer pitch for the local kids. The photo was taken by a Van Doo.

I guess I have never explained what I actually do here in Kandahar.

I am a Public Affairs Officer with the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kandahar. I work both inside and outside Camp Nathan Smith, also known as "outside the wire." 

I spend some amount of my time in convoys going from place to place, taking reporters to events they want to see, and myself learning about Afghanistan. I am also a soldier. I watch the back of reporters as they go about their work because they can't do that as well as their job.

My job is to try and get factual reporting on the PRT. As I work in the PRT, that means showing journalists (local, Canadian, and international) PRT operations and work. Journalists speak to Afghans along the way to get their views. I don't edit, screen, or approve any work they do unless it concerns operational security. If it does, I screen things to ensure we aren't endangering our soldiers or Afghans.

Some days are more difficult than others depending on the amount of journalists on a convoy or at an event. Trying to get 3 media outlets the stories they want within a time limit for them is challenging. I have to be quick on my feet and know who is the best person to answer a question they may have.
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Afghanistan: Tightening Grip on Media  
March 27, 2007, 12:08PM By ALISA TANG Associated Press Writer 
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KABUL, Afghanistan — Political talk show host Razaq Mamoon never held back with the cameras rolling. He railed at former warlords now in government and accused Afghanistan's Parliament of being a den of war criminals and drug smugglers.

Not surprisingly, he caught the attention of government leaders.

"I started receiving messages from them: 'We don't know who you're with or who you're against. You attack everybody,'" Mamoon said.

His employer, Tolo TV, came under intense pressure from government ministers, and soon Mamoon was fired, he said. His popular round-table news program "Gaftmon" _ or "Hardtalk" _ was yanked from the air.

Hailed as a major success of five years of democracy-building, media freedom in Afghanistan is under increasing pressures, including a proposed law that would cripple media rights, and threats and physical abuse of journalists by government and military officials.

"Effectively we've moved from an open media environment to a state-controlled media environment, which is a considerable turnaround from the direction media was heading in Afghanistan up until 2005-06," said Adrian Edwards, spokesman of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

The Afghan media has changed radically since Taliban times, when there were no television stations and only a handful of newspapers that were completely state-controlled. There was just one Taliban radio station _ broadcasting news and religious poetry but no music.

Now there are more than 40 private radio stations, seven TV networks, and more than 350 newspapers and magazines registered with the information ministry. Afghan TV broadcasts everything from breaking news to cooking shows and the local version of "American Idol."

But critics say the new legislation, expected to be debated in Parliament within weeks, is an ominous sign that Afghanistan's experiment with open media is on borrowed time.
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Uzbek Fighters in Pakistan Reportedly Return to Afghanistan
By John C.k. Daly Pakistani Tribal Leaders 
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Since the fighting between local militants and foreign guerrillas began in South Waziristan's capital of Wana and its suburban areas on March 18, more than 160 people have been killed in the violence (Pakistan Times, March 24). The action may well have been generated by internal Pakistani political concerns since it follows the March 12 unrest generated by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's decision to suspend the chief justice of the Supreme Court, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, for alleged abuses of office. International pressure may have also been involved, as the conflict erupted following the February 26 visit to Islamabad by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney who reportedly castigated Musharraf for Pakistan's lack of vigorous progress in its anti-terrorist campaigns in the tribal regions bordering Afghanistan. Many analysts believe that the violence is the direct result of the government's attempt to prove to Washington that it is serious in clamping down on militant activity in the border regions along the Afghan frontier. There is also the possibility that Pakistan may be pushing the problem of foreign militants out of its territory and into Afghanistan.

Pakistani security officials said that the fighting began after pro-Taliban tribesmen discovered the corpse of Saiful Adil, an Arab fighter, who tribesmen suspected of having been murdered by Uzbek militants. "Maulavi Nazir supports the Arabs and suspected that the Uzbeks had murdered Adil," Pakistani officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said (Geo TV, March 22). MNA Maulana Mirajuddin, leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl from South Waziristan, subsequently said that the majority of Ahmadzai Wazir tribes had "withdrawn the hospitality" granted to foreign militants since they crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan in November 2001 in the wake of U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom (Daily Times, March 25). The conflict erupted following reports on March 8 of the capture of Tahir Yuldashev, co-founder of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), who fled to the mountainous Waziristan region following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in November 2001 (Geo TV, March 7). Where Yuldashev may have been captured is uncertain, as Kyrgyzstan's Habar news agency placed the arrest in Afghanistan (Habar, March 8). On March 9, Pakistani Foreign Ministry Press Secretary Vahid Arshad denounced the rumors of Yuldashev's arrest as false (Ferghana.ru, March 9).

Pakistani army units in the area stayed largely out of the war zone, according to one source, only observing the conflict through binoculars. Islamabad was not unhappy with the outbreak of conflict in southern Waziristan; an official of Pakistan's Ministry of Internal Affairs said, "the current shooting means that the local elders finally quarreled with the foreign cutthroats. Without the support of the Pashtuns, the 'Taliban' will not last long" (Arba.ru, March 23). It appears likely that Islamabad helped instigate the conflict between the Pashtuns and the foreign Muslim extremists based in Waziristan. Earlier this year, Pakistan's special services reportedly began to negotiate with the local Pashtun elders, promising that troops would only carry out operations against foreign Islamists. In return, Islamabad told the elders to offer the Uzbeks the option of either returning to Uzbekistan to continue their struggle with Karimov, or to lay down their weapons.
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## GAP (29 Mar 2007)

*Articles found March 29, 2007*

Taliban demands Karzai swap prisoners for Afghans
Updated Wed. Mar. 28 2007 1:43 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

The Taliban have kidnapped six Afghan medical workers in another attempt to exploit President Hamid Karzai's government into releasing more prisoners. 

"The latest is that the Taliban are demanding that two of their prisoners in the Kandahar jail be released," said CTV's Paul Workman from Kandahar. 

Contact has been made with the Taliban and with the prisoners, Workman said, but no deadline has been set for demands to be met. 

The request comes after Karzai approved the release of five Taliban prisoners in exchange for Italian journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo. 

"It's a very difficult issue for Afghan President Hamid Karzai," said Workman. 

"The precedent was set last week by releasing the Italian so the question for the Afghans is: 'Is the life of an Italian journalist worth more than the life of six Afghans who are now being held by the Taliban?'" asked Workman. 

The Afghan workers -- a doctor, nurse, midwife, pharmacist and two drivers -- were on their way home from a refugee camp last night when they were grabbed. 

"Everybody predicted that by giving into the Taliban in the first place it was really an invitation to them to take more hostages," said Workman. 
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Security issues hinder aid agencies in Afghanistan
Updated Wed. Mar. 28 2007 1:59 PM ET Canadian Press
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Security concerns are making it difficult for aid agencies to help thousands of families who have been displaced by fighting and drought in southern Afghanistan.

A United Nations spokeswoman in Geneva estimates that almost 5,000 families have been displaced in Helmand province, where NATO and Afghan troops have been battling the Taliban for months.

The difficulties for relief agency can be seen in neighbouring Kandahar province, where five members of an Afghan medical team have been kidnapped by insurgents near a refugee camp.

A senior Afghan official says the Taliban have threatened to kill members of the team unless the government releases insurgent prisoners.

The UN estimates that 15,000 families were displaced last summer during intense fighting between Canadian forces and the Taliban in the Panjwaii and Zhari districts.

The UN says most of those people have returned to their homes, but some have not because of fear and security concerns.
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Taliban demands release of prisoners in exchange for kidnapped health workers
The Associated PressPublished: March 29, 2007
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan: Militants in southern Afghanistan demanded the release Thursday of Taliban prisoners in exchange for four Afghan health workers and a driver kidnapped by the hardline militia this week.

A doctor, three nurses and a driver were kidnapped on Tuesday while driving back from a refugee camp in Kandahar province, where they administered vaccines and other treatment, said Esmatullah Alizai, the provincial police chief.

By kidnapping health-workers, the Taliban deny Afghans the chance to be treated, Alizai said.

A Taliban commander, Mullah Tur Jan, told The Associated Press by phone that the militants "want some of our prisoners to be released in exchange for these medics."

Jan did not say how many prisoners the Taliban wanted released. He said the five Afghans were safe.
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Afghanistan to join SAARC : Food bank, regional university on summit agenda  
[ 2007-3-29 ]  By Khagendra Bhattarai KATHMANDU, Mar. 28
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Upcoming 14th SAARC Summit being held in New Delhi on April 3-4 would ratify proposals on establishing regional food bank and a South Asian University, while a joint declaration would formalise entry of Afghanistan as the eighth member of SAARC, Foreign Ministry sources said Wednesday.

The Summit meeting agenda would also particularly consider on the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) and relaxing of visa policy between the member countries. Other major agendas include controlling terrorism and bolstering connectivity among the member states.

The member countries have already exercised and agreed on the three major issues in the ministerial and secretary level talks earlier and a meeting of the state heads would formalise them during the Summit meeting. 

The proposed regional food bank would be established to meet the growing pressure on food security in the region. "The food bank will come into operation to meet the exigencies during calamities so that the SAARC member states could immediately tackle the crisis," the source said.

Once the deal is finalised, the food bank will start initially with a reserve of 241,580 tons of food grain, which would be gradually increased. 

According to the proposal, India will contribute 153,200 tons of food grain while Pakistan and Bangladesh 40,000 tons each, Sri Lanka and Nepal 4,000 tons each, Maldives 200 tons and Bhutan 180 tons of food grain. 
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Hicks set to give evidence on Friday
March 29, 2007 - 2:59PM
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David Hicks is expected to speak publicly for the first time on Friday about his life with terrorists in Afghanistan.

The US military commission hearings that will sentence Hicks for providing material support for terrorism will begin at Guantanamo Bay on Friday morning (11pm Friday AEST), officials announced.

Hicks faces a maximum of life in prison, but is expected to receive a lighter sentence in return for pleading guilty, with any sentence likely to be served in a South Australian jail.

The 31-year-old Adelaide man could be handed a short sentence or even be set free, after Australia asked that any punishment take into account the five years he has already spent in custody.
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New tactic for British troops in Afghanistan  
Article Link


KABUL: In the most violent part of Afghanistan British marines are now changing their tactics in the fight against the Taliban. 

Based in Helmand Province, Britain’s new military tactic involves fast and mobile armoured convoys and patrols designed to enter the Taliban’s backyard provoking them into fighting. 

British forces then hope to defeat the Taliban with their heavier firepower. 

The idea is to get away from fixed bases that attract Taliban attacks. 

The Afghanistan national police are also involved in the fight to remove the Taliban despite often being accused of corruption and being without the necessary equipment. 

It is believed around a quarter of the local population support the Taliban, with poverty often driving people into their hands.
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Two soldiers hurt in Afghan traffic
Graham Thomson, CanWest News Service Published: Monday, March 26, 2007
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan 
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The chaotic traffic in Kandahar province has left another two Canadian soldiers injured. 

They were riding in a LAV-3 armoured vehicle about 20 kilometres west of Kandahar City on Monday when they collided with what is known locally as a “jingle truck” - a transport truck that is decorated with vibrant colours and metal ornaments.

“During the accident the turret of the light armoured vehicle was forcibly swung around pinning one soldier and injuring another,” said military spokesman Maj. Dale MacEachern
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Canucks hurt in convoy attack
March 27, 2007 By JOHN COTTER
Article Link

SPERWIN GHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - A Canadian convoy was fired on with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms, then hit by a suicide car bomb as it moved through "ambush alley" in southern Afghanistan. Two Canadians were injured, military officials said Tuesday. 

The attack happened as Canadian troops are bracing for more attacks with the arrival of warmer weather. Spring foliage transforming the barren Afghan landscape also provides cover for insurgents lying in ambush. 

The Canadian two soldiers were wounded when the blast from the suicide bomb damaged their LAV-3 armoured vehicle Monday night, minutes after the convoy fought through a Taliban ambush. 

The convoy of three LAV-3s had come under fire by rocket-propelled grenades and small arms a few kilometres east of Patrol Base Wilson in Zhari district, officials said. The suicide bombing happened on the outskirts of Kandahar city, in an area commonly known as ambush alley. 

Capt. Matt Allen, commander of the convoy, had nothing but praise for the way his soldiers, members of the Royal Canadian Regiment battle group, responded to the Taliban attacks. 

"They were brilliant, their performance was outstanding," Allen told The Canadian Press as tired troops unloaded a LAV-3 that had four tires destroyed in the attack
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Bomber targets Afghan intelligence chief
March 28, 2007 By RAHIM FAIEZ
Article Link

An Afghan man, right, sells books as others chat together in the background at a market in Kabul. A NATO airstrike hit a house during a firefight between Western troops and militants. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) 
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - A suicide bomber trying to blend in with street beggars exploded himself near a top intelligence official in a crowded part of the capital early Wednesday, killing four people and wounding 12, police said. 

The bomber apparently targeted the investigations chief of Afghanistan' intelligence service, said deputy police chief Gen. Zulmay Khan. The explosion went off near Kabul's main market place, killing four people and injuring 12, Afghanistan's intelligence service said. No members of the intelligence service were hurt or killed, officials said. 

The attack's apparent target, Kamulladeen Khan Echekzai, is a powerful Afghan elder from the southern city of Kandahar, the Taliban's former power base when it ruled Afghanistan from 1996-2001. 

An intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of agency rules, said authorities believe Echekzai was targeted because he knows details of top Taliban leaders suspected of operating from Pakistan. 

The attack in Kabul came one day after a suicide bomber on foot disguised in an army uniform blew himself up outside a police station in Helmand province, killing four police. 
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Avalanche in northern Afghanistan kills 12
Article Link

Kabul - At least 12 people were killed and 12 more wounded when their houses were buried by avalanches in northern Badakhshan province, the Interior Ministry said Thursday. 

A police team was sent to Raghistan district to help extract the people from under the destroyed houses and snow, the ministry said in a statement. It said the wounded were taken to provincial hospital. 

This year Afghanistan has been experiencing greater rains and snowfalls after six years of severe drought that badly damaged the plantations in the country and caused animal deaths. 

The rain has caused severe flooding and mudslides in various parts of the country, leaving at least a dozen of people dead in the past fortnight through out the country. 

The UN mission in Afghanistan said Monday that its officials and the Afghan government had assisted over 20,000 people affected by the floods, while UN World Food Programme provided 350,000 tons of food to distribute to vulnerable families. 
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The perils of sniffing out safety on Afghan roads
JOE FRIESEN From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Article Link

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — Sergeant Sheldon Herritt stared through his ballistic glasses at the ground ahead. Something wasn't right.

An expert in roadside-bomb detection, he had been summoned to the scene of a Canadian convoy stuck on a stretch of road in Panjwai. A few hours earlier, a Coyote surveillance vehicle had struck a mine and gone off the road. The soldiers were trying to recover it, but they had to ensure there weren't more mines in the way. It was painstakingly slow, and in three hours they still hadn't reached the Coyote.

Sgt. Herritt turned to the soldiers massed behind him and called for a bomb-sniffing dog. He had worked with dogs in the past, always with success. But he had never met this crew before, a U.S. handler and his German shepherd. They worked for American K-9, a private company hired by the Canadian military to do dangerous work.

Sgt. Herritt brought the man and dog forward to the site, then pushed everyone else 20 metres back.
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Military sets up video-phone link to Afghanistan
Updated Wed. Mar. 28 2007 6:41 PM ET Canadian Press
Article Link

HALIFAX -- It's hard to have an intimate conversation with the ones you love when a roomful of reporters, half a dozen television cameras and a forest of microphones are recording every whispered syllable. 

But Warrant Officer Chris Saunders, who is posted to Afghanistan, and his wife Lori back home in Halifax with their five-week-old son, gamely gave it a try Wednesday. 

The couple helped showcase a new real-time video-teleconferencing link the military says will allow families to stay in closer touch with those serving overseas. 

As Chris sat in a small, humid booth thousands of kilometres away in Kandahar, Lori sat on a couch at the Military Family Resource Centre in Halifax, gently rocked a sleeping, blissfully oblivious Liam in her lap. 

"I can see everybody," Chris said as a black-and-white image of the young soldier sprang to life on a video screen about three metres away from his wife. 

"Hi honey, how are you? How are things?" Lori asked tentatively, mindful of the audience of reporters and military officials in the room. 

After a few moments of awkward silence, shy greetings and small talk about the weather, they finally plunged in, mostly responding to questions posed by the media. 

The Canadian soldier was home for his son's birth last month but has seen him only in e-mailed photos for a couple of weeks. 

"I can't believe how much he's grown. He's so much longer," said Saunders, whose platoon is charged with base security in Kandahar
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## GAP (30 Mar 2007)

*Articles found March 30, 2007*

1 NATO soldier killed, 3 wounded in eastern Afghanistan
By Associated Press Friday, March 30, 2007 - Updated: 07:00 AM EST
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan - A NATO soldier was killed and three wounded during an operation in eastern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said Friday. 

    Four wounded soldiers were evacuated to a medical facility after the operation Thursday evening, where one died of his wounds, the military said. The three others are in stable condition. 

    The military did not specify the soldiers’ nationalities or where the operation occurred. The majority of soldiers operating in eastern Afghanistan are American. 

    The death brings to at least 22 the number of U.S. or NATO soldiers who have died in Afghanistan this year, including at least 11 U.S. soldiers and five British.
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Brown surprises troops in Afghanistan  
Mark Oliver and agencies  Friday March 30, 2007 Guardian Unlimited 
Article Link

Gordon Brown made a surprise visit to "listen" to British troops in Afghanistan today and promised they would have the "vital equipment" they needed, including new helicopters. 
The chancellor met troops in Camp Bastion, the main British base in the volatile southern Helmand province, where British troops have been involved in often intense fighting with the Taliban. 

Mr Brown confirmed that six new Merlin helicopters are being bought from the Danish government and eight Chinook helicopters would be refitted at a total cost of around £230m. The Chinooks have been mothballed since 2001.

British commanders have, in the past, criticised the resources made available in Afghanistan, particularly the numbers of helicopters. There have also been reports of troops being low on ammunition and living in harsh conditions.

Mr Brown, who announced an extra £400m for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in his budget earlier this month, said it was vital to ensure British forces were properly equipped.

On his first visit to the country, he said: "I am here today to listen to our troops. I want to thank them and pay tribute to the work they have been doing to help the Afghan people build a secure and democratic nation." 
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Hanging in there
Mar 29th 2007 | ROME From The Economist print edition
Article Link


The government survives—and stirs a debate on responses to kidnappers 

ROMANO PRODI'S shaky centre-left government this week laid to rest, at least for now, the issue that almost caused it to collapse last month. On March 27th the upper-house Senate voted to keep paying for Italian troops abroad. Some 2,000 are in Afghanistan, where Italy's engagement is a source of anguished misgiving for the radical and pacifist left. Mr Prodi can no longer count on a majority in the Senate; in February a rebellion by two far-left senators, prompted by Afghanistan, almost brought his government down.

AFP

A freedom fag for MastrogiacomoThis week, Mr Prodi won a majority thanks to support from unelected life senators and from rebels within the centre-right opposition. That made the outcome more damaging to the main opposition leader, Silvio Berlusconi. Mr Berlusconi saw the vote as a chance to defeat the government, but others on the right felt they could not refuse support for Italian troops. They included a member of Mr Berlusconi's own party and all 20 senators from the Union of Christian Democrats (UDC), the third-biggest party in the centre-right alliance that lost the election in April 2006.

With one former UDC senator having already deserted to the centre-left, there is speculation that the party could become a semi-detached backer of Mr Prodi. The UDC's leader, Pier Ferdinando Casini, has ruled this out. But he appeared to leave open the possibility of joining a rejigged coalition, arguing that Italy needs a more stable government. Unfortunately, the UDC, whose power base is in the south, is notoriously chary of the liberal economic reforms that Italy also needs.

Since the lower house had already approved an identical motion on funding, Italy's contribution to the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan is assured for another year. Yet the ripples caused by Italy's anguish over Afghanistan continue to spread—and this week lapped at NATO itself. NATO's secretary-general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, said that he would begin talks over forming a common response to hostage-taking. His initiative seems to have been prompted by Italy's handling of the March 4th kidnapping by the Taliban of an Italian journalist, Daniele Mastrogiacomo.
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Afghanistan's airline on brink of collapse
By Jason Straziuso The Associated Press
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan's national airline could be days from collapse due to corruption, mismanagement and a crippling airplane lease that has drowned the struggling airline in debt.

The government is scrambling to court investors to privatize up to 75 percent of state-owned Ariana Afghan Airlines, and is tallying its assets in case the company is liquidated.

The collapse of the 52-year-old airline, which survived the Taliban regime despite international sanctions, would be a potent symbol of failure by the administration of President Hamid Karzai and would reinforce growing perceptions of corruption and incompetence.

"If Ariana collapses, it will be a very heavy blow for people's trust in government," said Ziauddin Zia, deputy commerce minister.

Afghanistan would lose 50 percent of its international flight capacity. Ariana is blacklisted from flying to European Union countries because of safety concerns; it mostly flies to the United Arab Emirates, India and Turkey. U.S. Embassy and United Nations employees are also banned from flying on the airline due to safety concerns.

Ariana's former maintenance director said the airline's safety department issues licenses and certifications to mechanics and pilots in exchange for bribes.

Yousuf Sultani, who left his post in February and now lives in the United States, also said Ariana has 500 people on its maintenance department payroll but that only 30 work.

Afghanistan's transportation minister, Niamatullah Ehsan Jawid, acknowledged the airline is beset by corruption that prevents it from turning a profit. Ariana employs 1,800 people but operates only seven planes
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Lighter sentence sought for detainee in terrorism case
March 30, 2007
Article Link

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- The prosecution will seek a sentence of "substantially less" than 20 years for Australian David Hicks, a Guantanamo detainee who pleaded guilty to a terrorism-related charge this week, the chief prosecutor for the military tribunals said Thursday.
   
The prosecutor, Air Force Col. Morris Davis, previously said he would ask for a sentence of about 20 years, on par with the punishment for Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh, an American.
Hicks, a 31-year-old Muslim convert accused of joining al-Qaida during the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, pleaded guilty Monday to providing material support for terrorism. Under a prisoner-exchange agreement between the U.S. and Australia, he will serve his sentence in his home country.
Hicks is set to appear before a military judge today to enter his guilty plea under oath. His attorneys had said their client was considering a plea deal to end his five-year imprisonment at Guantanamo.
Hicks is accused of attending terrorist training camps in Afghanistan in early 2001 and of reporting to an al-Qaida commander after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He is not accused of fighting U.S. or coalition forces.
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Pakistan: Crackdown threatens Central Asia
When the Pakistani government withdraws, the militants come in and take control
Thursday, March 29, 2007By RFE/RL    
Article Link

While reports say that more than 150 people have been killed this month in Waziristan in fighting between Uzbek militants and local tribesmen, it is difficult to obtain precise information on events in an area where the Pakistani government has almost no presence and exerts little influence.

The Pakistani government is calling the fierce fighting in its South Waziristan tribal area between local tribesmen and foreign militants a successful example of Islamabad's controversial policies there.

But not everyone is convinced the Pakistani government's version of events in Waziristan is the whole story. And in Afghanistan and the neighboring Central Asian countries, the fighting in Waziristan is of great concern as it could soon affect the security situations in those countries.

Government Agreement Backfires

"The government has very little control [in Waziristan] now," Pakistani journalist Haroun Rashid explains. "For two or three years, the Pakistani military has been staging operations in that area against Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants, but they did not succeed so they then resorted to [an] agreement -- and they have reached two agreements in [South Waziristan] with the main two tribes. After that the Pakistani government just withdrew...and [wherever] the vacuum was the militants came in and they took control."
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## GAP (30 Mar 2007)

*More Articles found 30 February, 2007*

Canadian chaplains lend a hand in Afghanistan
Updated Fri. Mar. 30 2007 4:43 PM ET Canadian Press
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- From jokingly advising Wiccan soldiers to keep their clothes on when celebrating the spring equinox to coaxing troops to talk about the trauma of surviving a roadside bomb, Canadian Forces chaplains are in Afghanistan for everyone. 

Maj. Malcolm Berry smiles as he recalls being approached on the NATO base in Kandahar a few weeks ago by a group of soldiers of the Wiccan faith -- a neo-pagan religion strongly tied to nature. 

"They wanted to welcome the spring in a ceremony where they are very thankful to Mother Earth and the new moon with pagan prayers,'' said Berry, the senior chaplain for Task Force Afghanistan. 

"We had no difficulty with that. We just didn't want them to do it `sky-clad' (naked) in this environment because it would be too dangerous.'' 

The six Wiccans -- a Canadian and five Americans -- were invited to hold their service outside the Christian fellowship centre. 
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Pakistan fights near Afghanistan kill 52  
Updated Fri. Mar. 30 2007 11:05 AM ET Associated Press
Article Link

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Fighting between local and foreign militants near the Afghan border killed 52 people Friday, a senior official said, a flare-up in a conflict that has pitted Pakistanis against suspected al Qaeda-linked extremists. 

Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said 45 Uzbek militants and seven tribesmen died in battles in South Waziristan, a lawless region used as a rear base by Taliban militants fighting in Afghanistan and where the United States fears that al Qaeda is regrouping. 

Sherpao told The Associated Press that the latest deaths bring to 213 the number of people killed since the fighting began last week, including 177 Uzbeks and their local allies. 

The minister said the conflict intensified Friday after foreigners failed to comply with an ultimatum from tribal elders to leave their territory. Security officials said tribal militias had fired rockets at the hideouts of the foreigners in several locations. 

An aide to Maulvi Nazir, the leader of the purportedly pro-government side in the conflict, said earlier Friday that they had killed 35 Uzbeks and lost 10 of their own men. He said both sides were using heavy weapons. The aide, who spoke to AP by telephone, asked for anonymity to prevent enemies from identifying him. 
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## MarkOttawa (31 Mar 2007)

Romanians Securing Vital Afghan Highway
_Guardian Unlimited_, March 31
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6522542,00.html



> HIGHWAY 1, Afghanistan (AP) - The Romanian soldier quietly makes the sign of the cross, then thrusts his rifle through the narrow slit of an armored vehicle as it rolls toward one of the most vital - and dangerous - highways in Afghanistan.
> 
> As night falls, machine gunners constantly rotate their turrets and searchlights on the four patrol vehicles and rake the passing countryside for possible ambush sites amid rocky outcrops, mud-brick farm houses and orchards of blossoming almond trees.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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