# The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread September 2008



## The Bread Guy (1 Sep 2008)

*The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread 
September 2008*             

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

*ARTICLES FOUND 1 SEPT 08*

*800 U.S. troops in Kandahar just the start, MacKay says*
GLORIA GALLOWAY AND HEATHER SCOFFIELD, Globe and Mail, 1 Sept 08
Article link

The arrival of 800 U.S soldiers alongside Canadian forces in Kandahar is just the start of an increase in NATO's presence in the dangerous Afghan province, Defence Minister Peter MacKay said yesterday.  The top Canadian soldier in Afghanistan announced Saturday that the 800-strong U.S. battalion has officially joined his own forces, almost doubling the number of foot soldiers on the ground in the province that is under Canadian command.  "We're expecting, based on just anecdotal reporting, that there may in fact be more [U.S. troops] coming," Mr. MacKay said yesterday. "In the meantime, we're requesting that all NATO countries consider sending personnel, military equipment or civilian aid workers. So this is an open and ongoing invitation to other NATO-allied countries to provide support to Kandahar."  The addition of the U.S. troops in the region, with the possibility of more on the way, will free up some Canadian resources to enhance security in the area, train Afghan forces and shift some of their focus to redevelopment, Mr. MacKay said ....


*Ongoing Operation in Afghan Province Kills 220 Enemy Fighters*
American Forces Press Service, 31 Aug 08
Article link

Afghan and coalition forces have killed more than 220 militants during operations in Afghanistan’s Helmand province since Aug. 25, military officials reported.  Attacked repeatedly by militants with small-arms and heavy-weapons fire during multiple engagements, the Afghan and coalition soldiers have responded with small-arms fire, heavy weapons and close-air support, eliminating the militant threats, officials said.  Operations in the area have led to the discovery and destruction of multiple weapons caches containing ammonium nitrate, 107 mm rockets, motorcycles, 60 mm mortar rounds, pipe bombs, machine guns, rifles and small-arms ammunition. Several fortified fighting positions also have been destroyed.  No Afghan or coalition forces servicemembers have been killed during the operations, officials said ....

*Factory workers take up Taliban arms*
Jobless workers join the insurgents in the troubled south, factory head says
Parwiz Shamal, quqnoos.com, 1 Sept 08
Article link

A LARGE number of jobless factory workers have joined the Taliban in the southern province of Kandahar, the head of the factory said.  More than 2,000 men were employed by the textile factory, but now only 30 workers remain to guard the disused building, which was forced to close because of the ongoing insurgency in the south.  Head of the factory, Muhammad Muhsin, said: "The factory workers were sacked. We know that most of the workers have now joined the Taliban or have turned into criminals."  Some of the former factory workers have blamed the government for failing to create job opportunities for the people.  One of the citizens in Kandahar said: "The government can rehabilitate the factory and can rescue the people from unemployment, if it wants."  Another citizen said: "The government gives no money to re-build the factory. About 5,000 people would have jobs if the factory started functioning." 

*Insurgents torment villagers in Helmand*
ISAF news release #2008-448, 1 Sept 08
News release link

ISAF units in Helmand provided medical care to several civilians who came to ISAF installations for treatment of blast and fragmentation wounds August 31.  More than 20 wounded civilians arrived at two ISAF bases. ISAF immediately treated those with the most severe injuries, and those with minor injuries received money for taxis to local hospitals or to Lashkar Gah.  One treated civilian said his village, Sarevan Qal’eh, was attacked the evening of Aug. 30. Insurgents ransacked three compounds and killed three women and an unspecified number of children. He then reported that the insurgents had shot him in both kneecaps before fleeing. He believed that the insurgents attacked his village because some villagers had been seen talking with ISAF troops in the last week ....



*Civilian worker has only praise for soldiers*
Edmonton woman found it tough to leave Afghanistan, because troops still there fighting
Trish Audette, Edmonton Journal, 1 Sept 08
Article link

A white-robed man carrying a clutch of helium-filled balloons as he walked along a street in Kabul, Afghanistan, was a symbol of promise for Michelle Joljart.  In a corner of the world where she had come to expect and anticipate midnight rocket attacks and sand in her teeth, the Edmonton woman knew to keep a keen eye out for the unusual, for the potentially dangerous.  "It's like a fairy tale," the Edmonton woman says of the Afghan capital.  "It's alive, the whole city's alive. The stalls are out, there's children playing ball. There's women walking to the market."  Kabul is what Kandahar City can be one day, but she expects its transformation will take years.  For 71/2 months this year, the 38-year-old civilian was employed by the government as support staff for troops in Afghanistan .....



*ISAF soldiers help injured Afghans in Sangin*
ISAF news release #2008-446, 31 Aug 08
News release link

At approximately 8:00 a.m. today a number of injured civilians presented themselves to ISAF Forces in the Sangin district of Helmand province.  ISAF soldiers provided medical treatment to them and assisted with their evacuation to medical facilities around Helmand and Kandahar. The cause of their injuries is unknown at this time. Further details will be released in due course.  ISAF works to bring security and stability to Afghanistan and will provide medical assistance to its people whenever possible.

*Insurgents plan to make false claim of civilian deaths*
ISAF news release #2008-447, 31 Aug 08
News release link

SAF can confirm that following an earlier report of its forces having given medical assistance to injured civilians in the Sangin district of Helmand province yesterday it has received information, from a reliable source, that insurgents are planning to make a propaganda claim that international military forces have killed up to 70 civilians in the same area.  ISAF has had no reports that would substantiate a claim such as this.  There have been no reports other than of those injured, the cause of which remains unknown at this time.  ISAF and Coalition forces take all claims of civilian casualties and deaths extremely seriously and are currently establishing the facts relating to the injured civilians.....

*‘500 civilians killed, injured in Afghanistan’*
Pak Tribune, 1 Sept 08
Article link

At least 500 civilians were killed or wounded during the five-day US-led troops` ground and air operation in the Sangin district of Helmand province, a member of Afghanistan`s parliament said on Sunday.  "Foreign forces have been conducting operation in Sarwan Qala area of Sangin district for the last five days in which artillery and aircraft are being used," Dad Muhammad Khan, member of Wolesi Jirga (lower house of parliament), told Afghan Islamic Press ....



*Estonia Helps Helmand Province Central Hospital in Afghanistan with Close to 3 Million*
Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs news release, 1 Sept 08
News release link

The Foreign Ministry is supporting Bost Hospital, the central hospital of Helmand province in Afghanistan, in the acquisition of medical supplies with 2,943,213 kroons (188,000 EUR, CAN $293,000). The sum was allocated from the Foreign Ministry’s budget for development and humanitarian aid ....  Within the framework of the non-profit organisation Mondo’s project, a medical oxygen delivery system will be obtained for the hospital, along with transportable medical oxygen tubing and medical supplies such as an autoclave, gurneys, wheelchairs, aspirators, throat masks, sterilisers, splints, crutches, and an ultrasound machine ....



*Afghan commission says U.S. troops fired on first*
Associated Press, 1 Sept 08
Article link

An Afghan army commander said that U.S. and Afghan troops were fired on first from a village where a government investigative commission says scores of civilians were killed, according to a report released Sunday.  The chief of staff for the army's Herat corps told the head of the government's investigative commission that shots were fired early Aug. 22 from Azizabad at U.S. and Afghan troops. The troops had gone to the village on a raid.  But the report, released by the office of President Hamid Karzai, did not specify who fired the shots.  "When the ANA (Afghan army) and coalition troops got close to the village, firing started after the ANA unit stopped, and the coalition forces conducted the operation in the village," the report said ....

*AMBUSHED FRENCH TROOPS FACED LARGE REBEL FORCE: OFFICERS*
Tocqueville Connection, 1 Sept 08
Article link

French soldiers ambushed in Afghanistan last month were confronted by about 170 heavily-armed rebels who were better organised than usual, officers involved in the firefight told AFP.  Ten Frenchmen, most of them from an elite paratroop unit, were killed and 21 others wounded in the August 18 clash on a rocky mountaintop overlooking the Uzbeen valley, 65 kilometres (40 miles) east of Kabul.  The ambush, the deadliest ground battle for foreign forces since the fall of the Taliban in 2001 and the worst French military loss in 25 years, prompted a public outcry in France, with some calling for an immediate troop withdrawal.  The attack "took us by surprise," said Sebastien, a 37-year-old troop commander whose full name cannot be used for security reasons.  "Until then, rebels mostly attacked with groups of 30 to 50 men, with only 20 of them actually taking part in the fighting," he said.  "But this time, they had regrouped and coordinated forces," he added, putting the total enemy forces at 170, broken up into different groups ....



*Pakistan stops its offensives for Ramadan*
Zarar Khan, Associated Press via The Guardian (UK), 1 Sept 08
Article link

Pakistan said yesterday it was suspending a military operation against insurgents in the tribal region for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.  A Taliban spokesman welcomed the decision to halt the strikes in the Bajur tribal region, a rumoured hide-out of Osama bin Laden, but government and military officials warned that any provocation by insurgents in the area would prompt immediate retaliation.  Despite not committing to a formal end to the operation against insurgents, interior minister Rehman Malik said people displaced from Bajur could return to the region "without any fear". He said the suspension would take effect today, but army spokesman Major Murad Khan said the military had already halted its activities ....

*Pakistani Taliban vow to strike during Ramadan*
Reuters, 31 Aug 08
Article link

Pakistani Taliban will continue attacks during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, rejecting a government announcement it would halt military actions in the northwest, a Taliban spokesman said on Sunday.  Violence has surged in Pakistan in recent weeks with the military battling al Qaeda- and Taliban-linked fighters in three different parts of the northwest.  The militants have responded with suicide and remotely detonated bomb attacks on the security forces and civilian targets ....

*Taliban divided over ceasefire*
Daily Times (PAK), 1 Sept 08
Article link

The Taliban were divided on Sunday in their response to the government’s decision to suspend the military operation against them during Ramazan.  “It’s a joke. It isn’t a matter of holy or unholy. All months are holy. If they want to end fighting, it should be permanent,” Muslim Khan, Taliban spokesman in Swat, told Reuters. In an apparent act of defiance, the Taliban bombed the abandoned house of PML-Q leader Haroonur Rashid.  But TTP spokesman Maulvi Omar welcomed the government’s offer and said his group would release six soldiers. A complete ceasefire was observed in Dara Adam Khel on Sunday.



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## The Bread Guy (1 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
011851EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban or Taliban spokespersons.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*

"Insurgents plan to make false claim of civilian deaths"


> Follow up to ISAF News Release 446 dated 31 August 2008.  ISAF can confirm that following an earlier report of its forces having given medical assistance to injured civilians in the Sangin district of Helmand province yesterday (31 Aug 08) it has received information, from a reliable source, that insurgents are planning to make a propaganda claim that international military forces have killed up to 70 civilians in the same area.  ISAF has had no reports that would substantiate a claim such as this.  There have been no reports other than of those injured, the cause of which remains unknown at this time.  ISAF and Coalition forces take all claims of civilian casualties and deaths extremely seriously and are currently establishing the facts relating to the injured civilians.  ISAF condemns the use of the plight of innocent civilians for propaganda gain by insurgents.   This will not deter ISAF from carrying out its mission of helping the Afghan people to build self-sustaining peace, security and democracy.



"ISAF soldiers help injured Afghans in Sangin"


> At approximately 8:00 a.m. today (31 Aug 08) a number of injured civilians presented themselves to ISAF Forces in the Sangin district of Helmand province.  ISAF soldiers provided medical treatment to them and assisted with their evacuation to medical facilities around Helmand and Kandahar. The cause of their injuries is unknown at this time. Further details will be released in due course.  ISAF works to bring security and stability to Afghanistan and will provide medical assistance to its people whenever possible.



" ‘500 civilians killed, injured in Afghanistan’ "


> At least 500 civilians were killed or wounded during the five-day US-led troops` ground and air operation in the Sangin district of Helmand province, a member of Afghanistan`s parliament said on Sunday.  "Foreign forces have been conducting operation in Sarwan Qala area of Sangin district for the last five days in which artillery and aircraft are being used," Dad Muhammad Khan, member of Wolesi Jirga (lower house of parliament), told Afghan Islamic Press.  "The dead and injured were lying in the area and there is no one to shift the injured. Yesterday, I raised the issue in the parliament but the government has done nothing so far," he said ....



"Attacked on base of  Canadian occupation in Kandahra"


> Mondai afternoon 01-09-2008 at approximately 02-15pm,Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with heavy weapons attacked American occupation base in Mushan area of Panjwai district of Kandahar  province. In attack which was lasted for half hour in which the base was damaged and a vehicle was torched but the casualties of enemy was not reported.  Also Sunday afternoon in same area mujahideen of Islamic Emirate ambushed a tank of same invaders in which the tank was destroyed and 9 invaders soldiers on it were killed or wounded.Reported by Zabihuallah Mujahid



"1 tanks of American invaders destroyed in Zabul"


> Sunday noon 01-09-2008 at approximately 02:15pm local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan blew up  1 tank of a  convoy  of American occupation in Shamolzo district  of Zabul province.  In attack 1 tank of invaders  army was completely destroyed and 4 invaders in its were killed. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf



"1 checkpoint of puppet army demolished in Helmand"


> Sunday afternoon 31-08-2008 at approximately 6:10 pm local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with heavy and light weapons attacked puppet police checkpoints in Spin Masjid area of Grishk district of Helmand province. In attack the checkpoint was demolished 7 puppet police were killed 2 vehicles and the arms of killed soldiers were mujahideen booty.   Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf





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## GAP (2 Sep 2008)

*Articles found September 2, 2008*

Britain delivers turbine in Afghan rebel stronghold
Tue Sep 2, 2008 By Luke Baker
Article Link

KAJAKI DAM, Afghanistan (Reuters) - British troops backed by special forces completed one of the largest logistical operations of the 7-year Afghan conflict on Tuesday, delivering a 200-tonne turbine to a remote Taliban-dominated region.

The huge turbine, which promises to deliver power across south Afghanistan once running, was carried by a 100-vehicle convoy that inched its way across Taliban territory for five days to reach a hydroelectric dam on the Kajaki reservoir.

It faced frequent attacks during the journey, soldiers accompanying it said, with an estimated 250 Taliban killed along the way as the sensitive load, flanked by helicopters and heavy armour, snaked 160 km (100 miles) north from Kandahar.

Engineers who carved a route through dry rivers and mountain passes said it was the largest clearance operation undertaken by British forces since World War Two. To keep it secret, media were barred from reporting on the mission until it was complete.

"It was a huge achievement," said Lieutenant-Colonel Dave Wilson, the commanding officer of the 23 Engineer Regiment. "It was carried out through some of the most heavily mined areas of Afghanistan."

U.S. and British special forces teams were dropped ahead of the convoy to sweep through villages along the treacherous Helmand river valley, "sanitising" Taliban strongholds to allow the convoy safe passage, military sources said.

While medics had prepared for casualties, commanders said there was only one wounded among the British, American, Canadian and Australian troops who took part in the operation -- a British soldier was crushed when a trailer collapsed on him.

On Tuesday, British opposition leader David Cameron arrived in the Helmand region on a private visit to meet troops of the 2 Para, military sources said. The 2 Paras have suffered heavy casualties in recent months
More on link

Suicide bomber hits troop convoy in Afghanistan  
Indo-Asian News Service Saturday, August 30, 2008 
Article Link

A convoy of the international troops was hit by a suicide car bomber Saturday morning in Paghman district near the Afghan capital in Kabul, said a police official, adding that there was no immediate report of casualties.

The blast occurred at around 11 a.m. in the Kabul-Kandahar highway where the suicide bomber drove a jeep laden with explosives into the patrol convoy of international troops and blew up the vehicle, Ayub Salangi, police chief of Kabul province, said.

"The explosion killed nobody but the suicide bomber himself," Salangi said.

Meanwhile, purported Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed claimed his group was responsible for the suicide bombing, saying at least 10 international and Afghan soldiers were killed.
More on link

Ceasefire in Pakistan's tribal region may let militants regroup
By SAEED SHAH McClatchy Newspapers
Article Link

The Pakistani government has called off a military assault on Islamic extremists based in its tribal border area with Afghanistan, an offensive which had appeared to bolster relations with Washington.

The operation was "suspended" at midnight Sunday local time to mark Ramadan, the month of fasting for Muslims. However, some detected political motives for ending the attack on Taliban and al Qaeda fighters in Bajaur, part of the tribal territory. The fighting was not popular and led to a humanitarian crisis as some 300,000 locals fled.

"The militant network was in danger but this (ceasefire) will give them time to regroup," said Khadim Hussain, coordinator of Aryana Institute for Regional Research and Advocacy, an independent think-tank based in Peshawar. "I think this has got to do with the presidential election and getting support for (Asif) Zardari."

Zardari, head of the Pakistan People's Party, which heads the coalition government, is seeking the presidency, a post which will be filled by the vote of the members of Parliament on Sept. 6.

Islamist political parties have been highly critical of the Bajaur operation, seeing it as an American-influenced policy. The presidential election was triggered by the resignation of former Washington favorite Pervez Musharraf last month.

Fazlur Rehman, leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, a hard-line religious party, called Sunday for foreign troops to pull out of Afghanistan and for Pakistani soldiers to leave the tribal territory. Rehman Malik, the Interior Ministry chief went Sunday to see Qazi Hussain Ahmed, the leader of another religious party, Jamaat-e-Islami party, where he seemed to get a frosty reception.
More on link

Canadian troops dish back-to-school gear to eager children in Kandahar
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — In just about every village in Kandahar, from the impoverished mud huts that rise right out of Zhari's desert and the lush farming communities of the Arghandab, to the urban oases of Kandahar City and the marijuana and poppy plantations deep in the heart of Taliban country, you will find swarms of children with outstretched arms engaged in some sort of game of charades.

They are pretending to write on the palms of their hands, although many are illiterate and have never even stepped inside a classroom. Still, it is a sign to foreigners that they are quite eager to learn and want nothing more than a note pad or pen to be tossed their way.

While children across Canada casually fill their parents' shopping carts with the latest back-to-school gear, Afghan children consider these small tokens precious treasures.

Seeing education as a sign of hope for the country, battle-weary Canadian soldiers are willing to oblige. Just last week, a Canadian soldier returning from a three-day operation began lobbing notepads across an irrigation ditch from his moving armoured vehicle.
More on link

Canadian-designed makeshift tourniquet aimed at saving Afghan lives  
Monday, September 01, 2008
Article Link

The Canadian Press: Canadian-designed makeshift tourniquet aimed at saving Afghan lives: "KANDAHAR"Afghanistan — Canadian Forces medical mentors are hoping a simple contraption they've created will help save the lives of seriously injured Afghan soldiers and police officers who are dying in large numbers compared to coalition troops, often because they haven't got the tools needed to handle a medical emergency.

It all started in February, just weeks after the latest batch of Canadian troops arrived in Kandahar. An Afghan soldier accidentally set off a rocket-propelled grenade inside a bunker at a base in Zhari district while cleaning his weapon following a patrol.

Three of the four soldiers who died that day bled out because they didn't have tourniquets, a simple device used to cut off circulation to an injured limb, effectively stopping the bleeding.

While tourniquets are controversial, even in western countries, as they can lead to loss of limb if kept on too long, they're considered essential on the battlefield.

"I was pretty pissed off about it," said Capt. Mike McBride, a member of Canada's Operational Mentor and Liaison Team who is helping to train Afghan medics as well as infantrymen in tactical first aid.

"Most of us are carrying two, three, four (tourniquets) with us in our kit. These poor guys didn't have any. They had a rifle and there was no way for them to make an expedient tourniquet. It just wasn't in their training."

By the time Canadian soldiers arrived on scene there was little they could do.

"Massive injuries like that, it doesn't take long for someone to bleed out," McBride said.

Following the incident, McBride's medical team looked into the cost of acquiring Canadian army-issued tourniquets, enough for the brigade of 3,900 plus training stock, but at $33 apiece, they had to come up with a less expensive alternative.

"Nobody was going to come up with (the money). We decided to design our own and see if we could get them manufactured in Kandahar City," he said.
More on link

Australian government defends troops who kept Taliban suspects in dog pen
Article Link

SYDNEY, Australia — Australia's defence minister has rejected criticism of his country's special forces troops for briefly detaining suspected Taliban captives in a dog pen.

Dogs are considered impure by observant Muslims and the report has outraged the head of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils. Australian Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon confirmed Tuesday that four suspected insurgents arrested by special forces soldiers last April had been held for 24 hours in a compound occasionally used to house dogs.

But Fitzgibbon defended the soldiers' actions, saying the soldiers were far from their base and that detainees were held in the most secure place available.

He also said it was misleading to characterize the holding facility as a dog pen.

He says he has been told that it was a walled compound that has been used for a variety of purposes, including to hold dogs from time to time.

The revelation about the dog pen follows complaints by an Afghan soldier about mistreatment of the detainees, who were held in southern Uruzgan province following a battle with Taliban fighters.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (2 Sep 2008)

Pakistan links Taliban to al-Qaeda, vows to get tough
Recent suicide bombings 'rude awakening' for Islamabad, intelligence official says
_Globe and Mail_, Sept. 2
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080902.wpakistan02/BNStory/Afghanistan/home



> Pakistan's top security official declared yesterday that the country's Taliban militants are the "new face of al-Qaeda," in a move that linked the country's struggle against extremism directly to Washington's "war on terror."
> 
> In the past, Pakistan has been heavily criticized for rejecting evidence that al-Qaeda was largely based in the country and denying that the tribal territory was used as a haven for Afghan insurgents.
> 
> ...



Selling the Taliban
Wall St. Journal, Sept. 2
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122029043393787615.html?mod=djemEditorialPage



> In the West, assumptions about Afghanistan too often seem premised on the idea that the Taliban are "men in caves," raising questions about why thousands of international troops cannot quickly defeat them.
> 
> However, an insurgency is at its heart a battle of wills and staying power, not of military might. Insurgents in Afghanistan appreciate this and have created a sophisticated propaganda operation that both targets what is seen as weakening support back in foreign capitals and seeks to mold perceptions among the Afghan population.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (2 Sep 2008)

British soldiers kill 200 Taliban in Afghan dam operation
A major secret British operation to boost the economy in Afghanistan's Helmand province has been completed after a force of 5,000 troops fought for a week to drive a huge dam turbine through Taliban lines.
Daily Telegraph, Sept. 2
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/onthefrontline/2668595/British-soldiers-kill-200-Taliban-in-Afghan-dam-operation.html



> British commanders estimate that more than 200 Taliban were killed as they tried to prevent the convoy of 100 vehicles from getting the machinery to Kajaki hydroelectric dam where it will provide a significant increase in energy for up to two million Afghans.
> 
> The operation has been described as the biggest of its kind since the Second World War.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## The Bread Guy (2 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
022026EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*



"2 vehicle of  puppet army  blew up in (Kandahar)"


> Tuesday noon 02-09-2008 at approximately 10:30 am local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmines blew up 2 vehicles of puppet army in Yaro Kariz area of Boldak district  of Kandahar province. The landmines completely destroyed the vehicles and  7 puppet terrorists in it were killed few wounded. Reported by Qari Yousuf Ahmadi



"3 British terrorists killed 2 wounded in Helmand"


> Tuesday morning 02-09-08 at 9:15 am local time, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, ambushed a foot patrolling units of British occupation  army and their puppets in Mermanddab area of Grishk district of Helmand province. In the the attack 3 British terrorists were killed and 2 were wounded and their arms were booty Mujahideen . Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf





"Nato Murders an Afghan Family of Four"


> Hundreds of protesters blocked a road in Kabul on Monday accusing U.S.-led troops of killing three members of a family, including two children, in a raid in the city, residents and witnesses said.  NATO and U.S. military officials could not be reached for comment on the allegation, the latest in a string of incidents that have angered Afghans and caused a split between the Afghan government and foreign troops.  Residents said U.S.-led troops carried out a pre-dawn raid in Hud Kheil area in the eastern quarter of Kabul, killing Noorullah and two of his sons, one of whom was eight months old ....



"ISAF not involved in Kabul incident September 1"


> After an extensive investigation, ISAF reports that neither it nor the U.S.-led coalition’s forces were conducting any offensive operations in Kabul the evening of August 31.  A protest September 1 in Kabul followed claims that international forces attacked a family during the evening killing a man and two children.  ISAF offers its condolences to the families and the community affected by these deaths.  After thoroughly checking with all ISAF and U.S.-led coalition forces, none were involved in such an operation.





"ISAF, coalition reject claims of 500 civilians killed"


> ISAF and the U.S.-led coalition reject claims that its forces have killed 500 civilians in the Sarwan Qala area of Sangin district, Helmand, in the past week.  The claims were reported in some media outlets September 1.  ISAF can account fully for its units and aircraft, none of which were used against civilians in the Sarwan Qala area. Therefore, ISAF refutes any such claim of mass civilian casualties.  ISAF is aware that U.S.-led coalition forces have issued a recent news release indicating that Afghan and coalition forces have killed more than 220 insurgents in ongoing operations in the Sangin Valley area of Helmand. It is possible that the claim of civilian casualties is being confused with known insurgent fatalities from the ongoing operations.



"US troops are committing war crimes"


> AN AFGHAN human rights organisation has accused the United States army of committing war crimes in Afghanistan.  The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) said on Tuesday that, according to their own investigations, civilians are killed in most operations conducted by US forces.  AIHRC expressed strong concern about the death of innocent Afghans during military operations and urged those responsible for the killings to face trial.  "According to our investigations, 98% of civilian casualties caused by the coalition forces in Afghanistan are intentional," the head of the AIHRC, Lal Gul, said.  "The actions of the coalition forces, especially the American forces, are not only against the human rights laws, but are considered war crimes. Therefore, these forces have committed war crimes in Afghanistan," he said ....



"Selling the Taliban"


> In the West, assumptions about Afghanistan too often seem premised on the idea that the Taliban are "men in caves," raising questions about why thousands of international troops cannot quickly defeat them.  However, an insurgency is at its heart a battle of wills and staying power, not of military might. Insurgents in Afghanistan appreciate this and have created a sophisticated propaganda operation that both targets what is seen as weakening support back in foreign capitals and seeks to mold perceptions among the Afghan population .... (more on link)


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## GAP (2 Sep 2008)

Taking 'baby steps' in the PR race to win the confidence of Kandahar
GLORIA GALLOWAY September 2, 2008
Article Link

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN -- The kid on the bike just would not stop.

A foot patrol of Canadian troops arrived at a dusty crossroad in one of the many small villages that make up Kandahar city. The soldiers in the lead raised their hands, palms outward, to warn approaching Afghans to stay put.

Most complied. The wizened old men in their turbans, the wide-eyed children, the teenage boys who were helping to reconstruct a nearby home - they all held their distance.

But the kid on the bike in a billowing green shalwar kameez just didn't get it. The closer he got to the convoy, the louder the soldiers shouted. Finally, in exasperation, one of the Canadians lifted his gun from his shoulder.

An explosion of a single shot pierced the quiet morning and a puff of camel coloured dirt plumed in the narrowing ground between the military men and the bicycle.

The message was received. The boy stopped his bike. Everybody stood silent for a moment. And then, as if there had been no gun fire at all, they returned to what they had been doing.

The faces of the villagers registered no anger that the troops had resorted to force. None appeared afraid. In what seemed like seconds, the smiles returned to the children's faces.

And the boy sheepishly submitted to a body search.

Gunfire and pat-downs are routine for the citizens of Kandahar. 

"We always explain why things like this happen," said Sergeant John Dawson of Winnipeg, one of two members of the Civil Military Co-operation team who were travelling with the patrol to do public relations work on behalf of the local Afghan government.

But the Kandaharis know that almost anyone in their city can pose a threat. Men with wheelbarrows, old men on scooters, young boys in flowing robes - all have been used by the Taliban as suicide bombers. And they know the Canadian soldiers are targets.

"We explain that the insurgents are cowards," Sgt. Dawson said. They use innocents to carry out their attacks. The people of Kandahar "understand they have to keep away from us."

Which makes the PR work of soldiers like Sgt. Dawson and team leader, Captain Tylere Couture of Campbell River, B.C., all that much more difficult.

But, several times a week, Canadian patrols move cautiously along the dirt roads of this city, side-stepping the open sewers, keeping a careful eye on dark doorways and high earthen walls that provide opportunity for an ambush.

Most times they are accompanied by members of the Afghan National Police who are learning that public security forces are meant to uphold the law rather than provide money-making opportunities for uniformed criminals.

But on this patrol early one Sunday morning, the ANP did not show up. 

There are many things that could have accounted for their absence, explained one of the Canadian police mentors who is helping train them. The force could have been stretched too thin, or they might not have had gas for their vehicle.

But, even without their Afghan colleagues, the military foot patrols go on because it is important to reinforce the notion that the government and its allies, the Canadians, are not afraid to walk the streets of this city. And it's important to spread the word that the local elected officials, as imperfect as they may be, are better friends of the Kandaharis than the Taliban.

"There is no one thing that we do here that is going to magically change the situation overnight," Sgt. Dawson said. Everything is "baby steps." Still, he said, he has observed a big difference in the Afghan attitude toward the Canadian patrols over the past three months. 

Which apparently makes the risk worthwhile. Twice in three hours the soldiers are stopped by the sounds of nearby gunfire. Once they are halted by an explosion.

Then they move on.

At the village of Gachkhanay, a Kandahar suburb, Sgt. Dawson approaches an old man keeping watch over his tiny, mud-walled store. The man invites Sgt. Dawson to sit down and have a cup of tea.
More on link


----------



## George Wallace (3 Sep 2008)

*Soldier off to Afghanistan -again*

Link to Article

The Kingston Whig Standard

Soldier off to Afghanistan -again
Master Cpl. Paul O'Brien believes in the mission as he readies for his fourth tour
Posted By JORDAN PRESS WHIG-STANDARD STAFF WRITER

Master Cpl. Paul O'Brien's voice is level as he talks about his coming tour of duty in Afghanistan. 

"There's still a sense of anticipation, but you kind of get into thinking ahead," said O'Brien, who has been there three times already. 

"In a sense, in my head, I'm already there." 

O'Brien departs tomorrow for the grueling 18-hour trek from Canada to Kandahar. When he arrives in Afghanistan, he'll represent a changing aspect in the Canadian Forces. 

As more soldiers return for tours in Afghanistan, they no longer become students of the issues in the area, but teachers to those arriving for the first time. 

It was something O'Brien didn't have when he was with the first Canadian battle group to enter the Afghan capital of Kabul. 

He'll serve this tour at the group headquarters at Kandahar Airfield, headquarters for Canada's force in Afghanistan. 

"Instead of being out on the ground, I'll be ... receiving information and providing advice and direction to the guys out there," O'Brien said. 

There are about 2,500 Canadians serving in Afghanistan, according to the Department of National Defence, with some having served five tours in the war zone. 

One of those five-tour soldiers was Sgt. Shawn Eades, a 33-year-old who was killed Aug. 20 by a roadside bomb and became the 93rd Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan. 

O'Brien says that he watches the news, hears the headlines about the violence and Canadian fatalities. His wife, Beth, tries to avoid hearing or watching news about the Afghan mission.

"My own opinion is the level of violence has increased, not because they're getting stronger," he says, referring to the Taliban, "but because they're getting desperate." 

It's a message he'll try to convey to the other five men in his group that is heading overseas this week, all of them on their first tour in Afghanistan. 

Like other soldiers that are heading to Afghanistan, there are the little things O'Brien must take care of before leaving, including paperwork such as wills and powers of attorney. And then there are the big things, like explaining to his 10-year-old daughter why daddy has to go away again. 

His answer to her questions? Daddy has to go help and he needs to go to Afghanistan to do it. "It takes away some of the sting," he says. 

When he last went to Afghanistan in 2006, O'Brien wrote about his experiences for the Whig-Standard and explained why he was willing to go again. 

"There are different reasons, of course, but I suppose the true reason ... is that I truly believe that what Canada as a country is doing to help in Afghanistan is working. 

"I'm not going to debate the merits of that statement; that's for others who get paid a lot more than me to figure out. It's just what I believe." 

O'Brien hopes his fourth tour will be his last, but his opinion hasn't changed. 

"It's still a good mission," O'Brien says. "If we're not doing it, who's going to do it?"

Article ID# 1182623


----------



## MarkOttawa (3 Sep 2008)

U.S. Rejects Claims of Afghan Deaths
Military Probe Discounts U.N. Finding of 90 Civilians Killed, Says Only 5 Died
_Washington Post_, Sept. 3
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/02/AR2008090201411.html



> ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Sept. 2 -- U.S. military officials on Tuesday flatly rejected claims by the United Nations and the Afghan government that a U.S. airstrike in western Afghanistan two weeks ago killed at least 90 Afghan civilians, saying that a complete investigation into the incident found that only five civilians were killed.
> 
> A review of video footage and photos, and an analysis of burial sites after the strike in Azizabad village in Herat province in the early morning of Aug. 22, found that 30 to 35 Taliban insurgents and five civilian relatives of a Taliban commander died in the attack, according to a summary of the findings released Tuesday. Two other civilians were injured, it said.
> 
> Interviews with 30 American and Afghan participants in the military operation further reinforced the conclusion that the incident's toll was considerably lower than those suggested by eyewitnesses, the summary said...



Pakistan rulers in the cross-hairs 
BBC, Sept. 3
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7596554.stm



> The failed attempt on the life of Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani highlights one fact more than anything.
> 
> It shows again how close Pakistan's leadership live to the consequences of their decisions, especially when it comes to the "war on terror".
> 
> ...



Taliban claims responsibility for firing at PM motorcade in Pakistan 
Xinhua, Sept. 3
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/04/content_9765959.htm



> Pakistan's Taliban Wednesday claimed responsibility for firing at the motorcade of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani.
> 
> Local TV channels reported that Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan claimed responsibility for the attack on the Prime Minister's motorcade. Khan was quoted as saying that suck attacks would be carried out on government leaders in future.
> 
> ...



TV changes Afghan reality
Fledgling businesses, including at least two run by women, show viewers the entrepreneurial spirit hasn't been dimmed by three decades of war, writes Jonathon Burch in Kabul.
Reuters, Sept, 3 (in _Ottawa Citizen_ *Business section*)
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/bustech/story.html?id=b875f68c-66cd-40fb-a6d6-15bfa9f5bcaf



> A reality TV show broadcast in Afghanistan has encouraged Afghans to start their own enterprises, stirring entrepreneurial spirit in a country that has been ravaged by three decades of war.
> 
> The program, Fikr wa Talash, (Dream and Achieve), is loosely based on the popular Dragons Den series, in which contestants pitch their business ideas to a panel of tycoons in return for cash for their companies.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


----------



## The Bread Guy (3 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
032020EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*


"12 Canadian invaders soldiers Killed in Kandahar"


> Wednesday morning   03-09-2008 at approximately 9 am local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmines blew up a patrolling unit of Canadian invaders army in Ashegho area of Zhari district of Kandahar province. In explosion 12 soldiers terrorists were killed and 5 wounded.. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf



"1 tank of Canadian destroyed in Kandahar"


> Wednesday morning 03-09-2008 at approximately 7:10 am local time, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,with remote controlled landmine blew up a military tank of Canadian occupation army when it was travelling in bazaar of Mewad district of Kandahar province. In the  explosion the tank was completely destroyed and 4 occupation terrorists were killed. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf



"3 tanks of Enemy destroyed 12 American killed in Helmand"


> Wednesday morning  03-09-2008 ,in Zargho Kala area of Nadali district of Helmand province, an attack of NATO  occupation army and its puppet army was defeated as the enemies made efforts  in trying to enter a area which is controlled by the Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate. In the attack a firefight started which lasted still 11 am, during which 3 tanks were destroyed 12 invaders were killed few wounded and the  enemies were defeated.Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf



"Heavy firefight continued in Helmand"


> Wednesday morning  03-09-2008 ,in Zargho Kala area of Nadali district of Helmand province, an attack of NATO  occupation army and its puppet army was defeated as the enemies made efforts  in trying to enter a area which is controlled by the Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate. In the attack a firefight started which lasted still this time, during which 2 tanks were destroyed 9 invaders were killed few wounded and the  enemies were defeated.Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf



"11 Australian special forces troops killed in Uruzgan"


> Tuesday night 02-09-2008, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,  ambushed a  convoy of Australian special forces in center of Khas Uruzgan district of Uruzgan province . In attack 3 tanks were  destroyed, 11 Australian terrorists in its were killed, few were wounded and their arms were  Mujahideen booty.Reported by Zabihullah Mujahid



"PAKISTAN:  Outlawed Taliban Have Free Run of Media"


> Taliban factions in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and tribal areas have been outlawed and their accounts frozen by the Pakistan government. But that has not in the least bit altered their presence in the media.... (more on link)


----------



## The Bread Guy (4 Sep 2008)

Articles found 4 Sept 08

*Andrew Paul Grenon, Chadwick James Horn and Michael James Alexander Seggie, R.I.P.*

NATO Statement - CF Statement - Governor General's Statement - PM's Statement - Minister of National Defence's Statement - Commander, Task Force Kandahar's Statement

CF News Service - Canadian Press - more - CanWest/National Post - more - Globe & Mail - more - more -Toronto Star - more - Toronto Sun/Canoe.ca - Calgary Sun - Winnipeg Sun - Windsor Star - CTV.ca - CBC.ca - Associated Press, via MSNBC - Reuters - Agence France Presse - more - Quuqnos.com (AFG)

_- edited to add NATO statement -_


----------



## The Bread Guy (4 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
041246EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message - .pdf of interview text available on request via PM

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*


"An interview to the spokesman of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan  Qari Yusuf Ahmadi"


> Mr. Qari Yusuf Ahmadi! Our native homeland and troubled Muslim nation has been faced to different troubles of war within past three tens, unfortunately, it continuous till now, Taliban have been launched armed resistance since 2001, you are as official spokesman of Taliban. Without doubt that the people have large number of questions regarding you, I am as a Muslim and an Afghan having questions about Taliban, please let me to hear you answers of some questions, I am asking as an independent Afghan for the information of readers of an independent news agency about your activities, have you great patience and endurance, starting the first question....



Selected Highlights:

*Trying to drive wedge between coalition partners?*


> ...if we look to the background of enemy how often they deceived during fighting, they repeatedly bombarded their coalition forces, a few years a go a dozen of Canadian forces were killed by the air force of Americans also crush down their helicopters because of the matter of weather or weak direction.  If it all means supporting with Taliban, Americans kill dozen of Canadians, holding of funerals of coalition forces by helicopters, if it is supporting with us, then there is no need for the martyrdom attacks or martyring of dozens of Taliban ....



*We'll try to be more careful about killing civilians*


> ...."For example, a Mujahid target a specified enemy before to reach the enemy the explosion take place", while he pray in the mosque because of a technical reason, it never be means that he mentions of an attack in mosque. But it seldom carries out, now mostly thought to keep the way of these kinds of attacks. In the future, it will not be happened, the possibility of innocent killing will end....



*It's only really a SUICIDE bombing if they're depressed*


> ....Who is not under the covered missionary of western, virtual Ulama (religious scholars) will never call it prohibited, actually it is martyrdom attacks. Yes, there are different opinions about using and the places. Great and independent Ulama of Islamic world never refract it nor regard it a suicide attack.  Who blow up himself because of mental trouble or sadness, aims it as a suicide, like always happen in Europe and America it calls Haram (prohibited) Muslims never do it and worth sadness in the life of this world....



*We've never TOLD anyone to burn down schools...*


> ....The enemy struggle to accuse Taliban by every kinds of propaganda, if it was right as the enemy claim so, there will not be any schools in out of cities, if anyone took act of his own emotion it should not be related to Taliban- they should get investigation about it.  No one of our spokesman and commander has response this
> kind of events till now; we are related which we openly get responsible of that.  Neither our central policy mentioned this kind of acts nor our leadership has admitted to anyone, if any education process fill down it will be the naturally effects of the war not our target and strategy.  And we are not silent about that, but the current media
> always interpret our reports on the contrary, interpret our positive reports to the negative words and did not give us the right of defense. Yes, we have some observations about the syllabus of education but we do not solve on this way....



*Where the NGO's should be doing more of what we want*


> ....If they actually have sympathy to our poor people so, NGO's of a province should contribute its a year salaries on the poor people of this province, the poor will be finished in this province, if they try this experience in a year they will know about the basic of the aids, the situation will better. But they never do that because they do not want to give aids as directly poor people, therefore, it is not the objection of local people. Other important problem is- the general acts of NGO's are not independent, majority of the foreign organizations act as the not independent, majority of the foreign organizations act as the B team of the foreign occupations, most of the NGO's directly supported
> by some occupation countries or connected to their embassies, work for them as intelligence.( For example, an ignorant person perhaps considers P.R.T as a general NGO's) but actually that NGO's works with American forces- like this some organizations which were worked in Iraq many years ago, now work in Afghanistan....



*Osama's fine - thanks for asking*


> ...All praise be to Allah, the Leader of Islamic Emirate Ameerul Muameneen is fine, he leads the current resistance right now, as you sometimes hear his messages in media. Shaikh Usama issues videos in his own sound almost every month, as both we are watch it....


----------



## GAP (4 Sep 2008)

*Articles found September 4, 2008*

France shocked by images of war   
By Emma Jane Kirby BBC News, Paris  
Article Link

Staring out from a glossy eight-page spread in the latest edition of the magazine Paris Match, several Taleban fighters show off their trophies of war. 

The loss of the 10 soldiers in Afghanistan shocked France 

Guns, walkie-talkies and even a wrist-watch are photographed - all spoils taken from the 10 French soldiers they killed in an ambush last month. 

Accompanying the pictures is a long interview with the Taleban leader who calls himself Commander Farouki. 

He claims they were tipped off about the French mission in their area and were able to prepare an ambush with 140 highly trained insurgents. 

"If night hadn't fallen we'd have killed every one of the soldiers," he boasts. 

He denies reports that other French paratroopers were captured and tortured but warns that every single French soldier found on Afghan soil will be killed. 

Propaganda  

On French radio today, Defence Minister Herve Morin criticised Paris Match for peddling Taleban propaganda. 

"Should we really be doing the Taleban's propaganda for them?" he asked. 

"The Taleban have understood perfectly that Western public opinion is probably the Achilles' heel of the international community present in Afghanistan." 

A diplomat from the foreign ministry said it was the responsibility of the media to decide what they covered and how they did it, but added: "The reactions of the families of the servicemen speak for themselves". 

"We can only imagine the pain that they felt when they saw these pictures, as well as that of the comrades of these men who are still in Afghanistan." 
More on link

Development through combat  
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Article Link

Quite a story; what might M. Dion think (even the Chinese seem to have been onside--and see especially the last several links)?

British commanders estimate that more than 200 Taliban were killed as they tried to prevent the convoy of 100 vehicles from getting the machinery to Kajaki hydroelectric dam where it will provide a significant increase in energy for up to two million Afghans. 

The operation has been described as the biggest of its kind since the Second World War. 

For the last five days the force has fought through the heart of Taliban territory to push through the 220 tonne turbine and other equipment that included a 90 tonne crane to lift it into place. 

With a third turbine fixed at Kajaki it will mean that the extra electricity could double the irrigation output allowing farmers to plant two crops of wheat a year. With a dramatic rise in world wheat prices this could crucially mean that it becomes more profitable than producing opium which would deprive the Taliban of a major source of revenue. 
More on link

Wounded Australian soldier in Afghanistan 'improving'
Updated September 4, 2008 11:07:21
Article Link

Australia's defence minister, Joel Fitzgibbon, says the condition of an Australian solider critically wounded in Afghanistan is improving.

Nine Australian Special Forces soldiers were wounded after being ambushed by Taliban fighters in Oruzgan Province. 

Mr Fitzgibbon says the soldier with life threatening wounds is stable enough to be transported to Germany for further medical treatment.

"Things are on the improve but we do remain concerned about the most critically injured and our thoughts and prayers, of course, remain with him," Mr Fitzgibbon said.
More on link

Sarkozy warns that Pakistan also at stake in Afghan campaign
Article Link

DAMASCUS (AFP) — France's President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday that pulling out of Afghanistan, where 10 French troops were killed by the Taliban last month, would amount to abandoning nuclear-armed Pakistan.

"If we abandon Afghanistan we will be abandoning Pakistan, which doesn't need that. I want to remind you of one thing: that Pakistan has the nuclear bomb," he told reporters before winding up a visit to the Syrian capital.

"I want to say to the French that my conviction has not changed," he said.

A Taliban ambush followed by intense fighting in the Sarobi district near the Afghan capital Kabul on August 18 and 19 left 10 French soldiers dead and 21 wounded.

The attack prompted a public outcry in France, with some calling for the immediate withdrawal of the 3,000 French troops serving in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.

"If almost all democracies are down there, if (US presidential candidate) Barack Obama has made the presence in Afghanistan the centrepiece of his election campaign... he must have a good reason," Sarkozy said.

"Our soldiers, by fighting terrorists down there, are protecting us here. We must understand that terrorism is a global movement
More on link


----------



## MarkOttawa (4 Sep 2008)

Taliban inflicts worst toll on Diggers since Vietnam
_The Australian_, Sept. 4
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24290891-2702,00.html



> AN Australian special forces soldier is fighting for his life after a Taliban ambush in Afghanistan in which eight others were wounded - the highest number of injuries suffered by Diggers in a single battle since the Vietnam War.
> 
> An unknown number of Taliban fighters was also killed in the clash in Oruzgan province.
> 
> ...



Mass Attack on French Paratroopers Heralds New Taliban Tactics
The Jamestown Foundation, Sept. 2
http://www.jamestown.org/news_details.php?news_id=346



> Conflicting accounts of a Taliban ambush of an elite French military unit in the Surubi district of Kabul Province on August 18 have raised new concerns about the future of France’s politically unpopular deployment in Afghanistan. Ten soldiers were killed and 21 wounded in one of the largest Taliban operations since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. The French troops were part of a fresh group of 700 soldiers committed by French president Nicolas Sarkozy to join over 2,000 French troops under International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) command. When the new French troops arrived they relieved two American battalions in the Kapisa region, a strategically important district near Kabul (France 24, July 25). A French officer described the French troops involved in the ambush as “experienced” and “combat-capable” (Le Figaro, August 20). Nevertheless, the Taliban made a political statement by targeting the new additions to the French ISAF contingent. The proximity of a major Taliban operation to Kabul has alarmed many within the capital, who point out that previous attacks within Kabul’s security belt have heralded the eventual fall of the city to insurgent forces (Cheragh [Kabul], August 21).
> 
> On August 18, 30 soldiers of the 8ème Régiment Parachutiste d’Infanterie de Marine (8th RPIMa – Airborne Infantry) and another 30 from the Régiment de Marche du Tchad (RMT) were tasked with reconnoitering the Uzbeen valley route between the Tagab district of Kapisa and the Surubi district of Kabul provinces. They were joined by two sections of Afghan troops and a unit of American Special Forces. Most of the French were carried in Armored Vanguard Vehicles (Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé – VAB), armored personnel carriers built by GIAT Industries.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


----------



## GAP (5 Sep 2008)

*Articles found September 5, 2008*

Inside the Taliban's deadly ambush
Using heaviest weapons in their arsenal, a specially recruited squad lay in wait for Canadians near site of fearsome 2006 battle 
GRAEME SMITH From Friday's Globe and Mail September 5, 2008 at 3:00 AM EDT
Article Link

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — The ambush that killed three Canadians this week was a carefully planned trap, using an elite team of Taliban fighters and the insurgents' most powerful weapon to strike in a symbolic location near the scene of Canada's bloodiest battles of the mission.

This detailed account of the attack, from a well-informed Afghan government official in Kandahar with strong Taliban contacts, suggests the insurgents were frighteningly organized for the Sept. 3 ambush.

While some parts of his story were confirmed by military sources, other information could not be checked.

The official said the attack was planned by Mullah Mohibullah, an insurgent leader who also serves as chief judge for the parallel Taliban legal system in a cluster of villages known as Nalgham, about 35 kilometres west of Kandahar city.

It is not known whether any senior insurgents ordered Mr. Mohibullah to organize the attack, but he is a long-time friend of Mullah Obaidullah, the former defence minister for the Taliban regime, who has been repeatedly arrested by Pakistan but who is now believed to be living freely in the borderlands and is one of the Taliban's leading figures in the southern insurgency.

Instead of relying on his own men for the attack, Mr. Mohibullah apparently circulated a request among Taliban groups in the region, asking each of them to donate two or three of their best fighters and equip them for a dangerous mission.
More on link

Outraged parliament wants border raids repulsed
By Raja Asghar
Article Link

ISLAMABAD, Sept 4: Outraged by the deadly first known ground assault into Pakistan’s tribal belt by US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan, both houses of parliament on Thursday unanimously asked the government to take measures to “repel such attacks in the future with full force”.

After fiery debates over Wednesday’s pre-dawn helicopter-borne raid that reportedly killed at least 20 people in a village in South Waziristan agency, the demand was made in a resolution passed unanimously by the National Assembly and the Senate separately that also wanted the government to tell the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in Afghanistan that such violations were “bound to force fundamental changes of foreign policy” by a key ally in the so-called war on terrorism.

This was the strongest-worded joint stance to date by both treasury and opposition benches in Pakistan’s parliament over any of the numerous alleged violations of the Pakistani territory by the coalition forces hunting Al Qaeda and Taliban militants and came at a sensitive time two days before the presidential election.

“The house calls upon the government of Pakistan to take all necessary measures to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country and repel such attacks in the future with full force,” the resolution said about what Pakistan says was the coalition forces’ first ground assault into the area after three helicopters brought troops to a village near the well-known militant stronghold of Angoor Adda to target some houses.

Both Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the National Assembly and leader of house Raza Rabbani in the Senate said in their prepared remarks before tabling the resolution in their respective chambers that the attacks “constitutes a serious escalation in the series of actions by the Isaf/coalition forces on Pakistani territory”.
More on link

Development work in Afghanistan cannot wait for complete security
The Kajaki hydroelectric project has the potential to transform the south of the country, says Des Brown MP
 The Guardian, Friday September 5 2008 
Article Link

leader (Power projection, September 4) was wrong to suggest that the Kajaki hydroelectric project is merely a symbol. If it were only that, we would never have sent our people on such a risky mission. The truth is that this plant has the potential to have enormous practical benefit for the local Afghans.

Not only will it, in your own words, once installed, "provide power and perhaps some prosperity to southern Afghanistan". It also has the potential to double the area that can be irrigated - and hence, in effect, the area of arable land - south of the dam. 

You are right to acknowledge that "as a feat of logistics, this was incredible. As a symbol of western commitment to Afghanistan, it was indisputable." Despite that, you argue that it would be preferable for us to be pursuing smaller projects, like solar power. But this is a false choice. There is no reason why we cannot do both. That is why alongside a major endeavour like the Kajaki scheme, the UK-led provincial reconstruction team is already implementing small-scale stabilisation projects. These include improving electrical distribution in Gereshk, installing water towers and a distribution system in Musa Qala and rebuilding the Bazaar in Garmsir. 

I have been to Kajaki, and I am fully aware of how much remains to be done, both to get the turbine up and running, and then to build and secure the power lines, before the people of Helmand and Kandahar start seeing the benefits. As your news report on the same issue (British forces thwart Taliban to deliver turbine. But will it be worth the effort?, September 4) said, "it will be at least two years before the electricity it generates reaches the 1.8 million intended beneficiaries". But in my view that only strengthens the case for starting now, building on the achievements of our forces in establishing a degree of security in the area. Indeed this is what the British government has been doing for over two years, military and civilians working together to provide the secure environment necessary for stabilisation, reconstruction and development to take place.

We cannot afford to wait for complete security to be established before development begins. The need to combine the two is one of the challenges of Afghanistan, which both we and NGOs are grappling with to support the Afghan government. If any of your readers are in Manchester for the Labour party conference, I invite them to come along to the event where I, representatives from Oxfam and others will be discussing this, and join the debate.

Finally, you are too cynical about American motives. USAid is currently pouring hundreds of millions of pounds of aid into southern Afghanistan each year, on a wide range of projects including not just the Kajaki dam but also, for example, the agricultural park in Lashkar Gah, which could help restart Afghanistan's agricultural export industry. Helping this desperately poor country recover from decades of war and conflict will demand a great deal of money and effort from the whole international community, and the generosity of the American people, Congress and government should not be so lightly dismissed.
More on link

U.S. Troops in Iraq Staying Put; No New Forces for Afghanistan in '08]
By Noah Shachtman September 05, 2008 
Article Link

Violence in Iraq has dropped to its lowest levels since the start of the war; in Afghanistan, the killing and chaos is metastasizing. But, for now at least, U.S. troops levels will stay pretty much the same in both countries. 

"Pentagon leaders have recommended to President Bush that the United States make no further troop reductions in Iraq this year," the Washington Post reports.

The plan, delivered this week, calls for delaying additional drawdowns until late January or early February -- after the Bush administration has left office. At that point, up to 7,500 of the approximately 146,000 troops in Iraq could be withdrawn, depending on conditions on the ground there.

The troop increases in Afghanistan would be similarly modest. "Under the proposal, an Army brigade and a Marine battalion would be sent to Afghanistan by early next year, adding about 4,500 troops to American forces there," the New York Times reports.  That contradicts a story we passed along a couple of weeks ago, from U.S. News, that the Pentagon was ready to send an extra 12,000 to 15,000 more soldiers and marines to Afghanistan. 

Both papers portray the plan as a victory for General David Petraeus, who has advocated a go-slow approach in Iraq. 

Petraeus cited several areas of ongoing concern, including the postponement of provincial elections initially scheduled for this month, the disputed status of the northern city of Kirkuk, lingering ethno-sectarian conflicts, and questions surrounding the future of a local security force known as the Sons of Iraq.
More on link


----------



## The Bread Guy (5 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
051150EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*


"21 Canadian invaders soldiers Killed in Kandahar"


> Thursday 04-09-2008, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmines blew up 6 tanks of Canadian invaders army convoy on Ghorak and Mewand road  in Karizo and Garmok areas Mewand district of Kandahar province. In explosion 6 tanks were destroyed 21 soldiers terrorists were killed and few wounded.. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf




"Destroying two vehicles of the enemy in Kandahar" (Google English) - Original in Arabic


> Destroying two vehicles of the enemy in Kandahar
> Dawn Mujahid Islamic Emirate in the nine o'clock this morning a truck and a car kind of hip to the enemy in the region of Shiga on the road to Kandahar, Herat rapid Directorate buttons mandate Kandahar by mines planted.  Arabs destroyed in the blast, which killed five soldiers interns.
> Continental Yusuf Ahmadi




"Attak on military convoy, killed eight Australian soldiers in Tarin Kot"(Google English) - Original in Arabic


> Australians killed eight soldiers in Arosjan
> Suffered a military convoy of Australian troops attacked Mujahideen Islamic Emirate in one of noon today near the center of Trenkot mandate Arosjan.  The report, the attack which lasted for one hour Astraleyen killed seven soldiers and wounded several other Basabatz. Then the enemy air raids in the area, but thanks to God not affected by the Mujahideen.
> Continental Yusuf Ahmadi




"Why are independent media and human rights silent over the massacre of civilians?"


> ....Islamic Emirate reminds all Afghans and all Muslims around the world, that they should never forget the historical abhorrence and enmity which the American arrogant crusaders military and its allies have unleashed on Afghanistan, under the disguise of building few km’s of roads and buildings....


----------



## MarkOttawa (5 Sep 2008)

Afghanistan, Russia & other returns of fall (media round-up)
Conference of Defence Associations, Sept. 5
http://www.cdaforumcad.ca/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1220640031/

Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (7 Sep 2008)

ARTICLE FOUND SEPT. 6

U.S. needs more troops in Afghanistan, commander says
_LA Times_, Sept. 6
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-troops6-2008sep06,0,6269807.story



> A top commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan ["Army Gen. Jeffrey J. Schloesser, who took command of American-controlled eastern Afghanistan in April"] said Friday that he needed thousands of additional troops to combat violence along the border with Pakistan, a requirement that appears to be at odds with recommendations from Army Gen. David H. Petraeus on future troop levels in Iraq.
> 
> Because of strains on the military, plans to boost the number of troops in Afghanistan depend on reducing the force in Iraq. Petraeus' plan, which President Bush is expected to approve Tuesday in an appearance at the National Defense University, would slow the reduction of combat troops in Iraq, freeing up only one full Army combat brigade for redeployment to Afghanistan. That move would not happen until early next year.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


----------



## The Bread Guy (7 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
071420EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*


Taliban's Version of Double Suicide Bomber Attack on Kandahar Police Station


> Martyrdom Operations destroyed 27 puppet police officers killed in Kandahar
> Sunday afternoon 07-09-2008, 2 courageous Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Qari Muhammad wali and Abdul mateen of same province side "Allahu Akbar" and rammed themselves inside the police headquarter of Kandahar city, in which 6 rangers vehicles were completely destroyed and 27 puppet police officers were killed 43 wounded. the headquarter was damaged. We ask Allah to accept our brother among martyrs in Eelleyeen (high rank in the paradise). All praise and gratitude are due to Allah. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf




"2 vehicle of puppet army blew up in Kandahar"


> Sunday noon 07-09-2008 at approximately 11:30 am local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmines blew up a vehicles of puppet army in Loi Kariz area of Boldak district of Kandahar province. The landmines completely destroyed the vehicles and 6 puppet terrorists in it were killed .
> Also in Khaki Chopan area of Mewand district of Kandahar province Mujahideen with a remote controlled landmine blew up a vehicle of puppet army in which the vehicle was completely destroyed and 5 puppet soldiers in it were killed. Reported by Qari Yousuf Ahmadi




"9 puppet police were killed in Helmand"


> Saturday evening 07-09-2008 at approximately 6 pm local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, ambushed a vehicle of puppet police in Chahai Injer area of Lashker Gah city capital of Helmand province. In attack the vehicle was completely destroyed and 9 puppet terrorists in it were killed and their arms were mujahideen booty . Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf




"A tank of Australian invaders blew up in Uruzgan"


> Sunday afternoon 07-09-2008,at approximately 3:15 pm local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmine blew up a tank of American occupation army in Darwishan Nawa area near Taren Kot capital of Uruzgan province. In the explosion the tank was completely destroyed and 5 the invader terrorists in it were killed. Reported by Zabihullah Mujahid


----------



## The Bread Guy (7 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
071750EDT Sept 08*

NOTICE:  Links in previous versions of Taliban Propaganda Watch (TPW) may not work because the web site hosting English translation of Taliban statements no longer works.  TPW postings will resume shortly when an alternate English language site is located.  Thanks for your patience.


----------



## GAP (7 Sep 2008)

Suicide bombers strike Kandahar police HQ
Updated Sun. Sep. 7 2008 7:31 AM ET The Associated Press
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Officials say two suicide attackers detonated their bombs inside the police headquarters in Afghanistan's second-largest city Sunday, killing at least two police and wounding 37 people.

The two bombers targeted Gen. Abdul Raziq, a border police commander, two police officers at the scene in Kandahar said. The blasts went off within a minute of each other, one on a ground floor and one on an upper floor, officials said.

The governor's spokesman, Najib Pervaiz, said two police were killed and 29 police and eight civilians were wounded. He said 16 of the wounded were in critical condition.

Karim Agha, a police officer wounded in the attack, said the bomber wanted to get close to Gen. Raziq, but his guards stopped him. After that, Agha said, he didn't know what happened because he went unconscious.

One high-ranking officer, who asked not to be identified because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media, said six police were killed and 13 wounded, including Raziq. It wasn't immediately possible to reconcile the different figures.

Canadian troops and Afghan soldiers surrounded the police headquarters shortly after the explosions.
More on link

Deaths in Afghanistan could hurt Tory campaign
Updated Sun. Sep. 7 2008 2:21 PM ET The Canadian Press OTTAWA -- The enemy has a vote. 
Article Link

It was a favourite phrase of now retired Gen. Rick Hillier, one of Canada's most quotable military commanders. 

His well-worn expression was meant to illustrate the violent unpredictability of the Taliban and how insurgent attacks could disrupt the best-laid military and development plans. 

But it could take on a more significant meaning as the country embarks on the first federal election campaign since 1945 with Canadian troops at war. 

Hillier, arguably the Conservative government's most articulate spokesman for the Kandahar mission, always followed his warning with reassurance that the military does everything possible to "make sure that vote can't be exercised very often." 

But preventing the Taliban from influencing Canadian voters this fall may be easier said than done, a military historian warns. 

Desmond Morton, a professor at McGill University, says Prime Minister Stephen Harper is wrong if he thinks Afghanistan has been neutralized as political issue. 

"The Conservatives want a quiet month -- or two -- to have their campaign, but I don't think anyone will say that out loud to you," said Morton, who informally advised former Tory prime minister Brian Mulroney on military matters. 
More on link


----------



## GAP (8 Sep 2008)

Afghans unearth 19-metre Buddha statue, relics
SAYED SALAHUDDIN Reuters September 8, 2008 at 5:08 AM EDT
Article Link

KABUL — Archaeologists have discovered a 19-metre Buddha statue along with scores of other historical relics in central Afghanistan near the ruins of giant statues destroyed by the Taliban seven years ago.

The team was searching for a giant sleeping Buddha believed to have been seen by a Chinese pilgrim centuries ago when it came upon the relics in the central province of Bamiyan, an official said on Monday.

“In total, 89 relics such as coins, ceramics and a 19 metres statue have been unearthed,” Mohammad Zia Afshar, adviser in the information and culture ministry, told Reuters.

He said the idol, in sleeping posture, was badly damaged. The other relics dated back to the Bacterian era and from Islamic and Buddhist civilizations.

Lying on the old Silk Road and linking West with the East, Bamiyan was once a thriving Buddhist centre where monks lived in caves. In 2001 the Taliban blew up two giant standing Buddha statues carved into a cliff face saying they were offensive to Islam, despite appeals worldwide.

Later that year U.S.-led and Afghan forces toppled the Taliban government, and work has begun to restore the biggest of the two destroyed statues, once the tallest standing Buddha in the world. The mammoth task is expected to take a decade.

The latest discovery has raised hopes of finding a 300-metre-long Buddha statue that according to an ancient Chinese pilgrim is lying in Bamiyan, Mr. Afshar said.

Afghanistan has suffered decades of foreign interventions and civil war, and many of its historical relics, belonging to various civilizations, have been destroyed or looted.

Scientists said in April that they had found conclusive evidence the world's first ever oil paintings were in caves near the two destroyed giant statues of Buddha in Bamiyan, hundreds of years before oil paint was used in Europe.

Samples from paintings dated to the 7th century AD, they said. Paintings found in 12 of the 50 caves were created using oil paints, possibly from walnut or poppy, according to the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF).

It was not until the 13th century that oil was added to paints in Europe and oil paint was not widely used in Europe till the early 15th century.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (8 Sep 2008)

More Diggers wanted for Afghanistan
The Australian, Sept. 8
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24309831-2702,00.html



> General David McKiernan has asked Washington to boost US troop numbers with the addition of an extra brigade-size combat force, beyond an already flagged 10,000 increase in the US military presence.
> 
> He also wants a commensurate commitment from America's NATO allies and coalition partners, including Australia.
> 
> ...



Pakistan reopens supply lines to Western forces
Reuters, Sept. 8
http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINISL6605120080908



> Pakistan has reopened supply lines to Western forces in Afghanistan, after the road through the Khyber Pass was blocked on Saturday, days after a raid by U.S. commandos on a Pakistani village, a minister said on Monday.
> 
> Rehman Malik, the top Interior Ministry official, said the road was unblocked after a few hours, and traffic had only been halted for security reasons, although the country's defence minister had earlier said the action was taken in response to violations of Pakistani territory by Western forces.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


----------



## GAP (8 Sep 2008)

*Articles found September 8, 2008*

Afghanistan toll will mount unless new strategy is found  
By SCOTT TAYLOR On Target Mon. Sep 8 - 5:40 AM
Article Link

THE TALIBAN attack in Kandahar last Wednesday that killed three Canadian soldiers and wounded another five is a shocking example of how brazen the insurgents have become in southern Afghanistan.

This attack was not just another roadside bomb but rather a bold ambush by as many as 40 Taliban fighters. It is also believed that the insurgents used a powerful anti-tank weapon, possibly an 82-millimetre recoilless rifle, to penetrate the Canadian light armoured vehicle. 

Since the fall of 2006, after the Taliban suffered enormous casualties during NATO’s Operation Medusa, the insurgents have been capable of mounting only pinprick attacks using suicide bombers and improvised explosive devices. Although such tactics continue to kill our soldiers, NATO commanders insisted that the Taliban’s fighting capability had been greatly diminished. 

The latest fatalities, including the death of an infantryman in Panjwaii district on Sunday, bring the Canadian death toll in Afghanistan to 97 soldiers and one diplomat, with at least 750 injured. 

As we approach the seventh anniversary of the U.S.-led intervention in Afghanistan, even the most wilfully blind can no longer deny that the security situation is spiralling out of control.

Large-scale terrorist attacks have rocked Kabul several times this year, and 10 French soldiers were killed in an ambush just outside the Afghan capital last month. In July, a battalion-sized force of insurgents practically overran an American outpost in southern Afghanistan. That bloody battle left nine U.S. soldiers dead and 15 wounded.
More on link

A big, red show of support for Canadian troops in Afghanistan
September 08, 2008 Greg Mercer RECORD STAFF NEW HAMBURG
Article Link

This time next week, Private Brad Dickin will be leaving for a place very different than this green soccer field.

So he considered it a send-off, of sorts, as he stood in his crisp beige uniform among a sea of people in red.

Dickin, 23, was one of two soldiers who joined a crowd of hundreds of civilians yesterday hoping to send a message of support to Canadian troops in Afghanistan.

As a helicopter flew overhead, the crowd formed the shape of a giant ribbon and unfurled a banner. They sang the national anthem and waved as a photographer hundreds of metres above snapped away, documenting their gathering for the soldiers overseas.

"I feel bad being here, doing this, when I've got friends over there," said Dickin, who is leaving Monday for a six-month-tour of duty in Afghanistan with 2,500 soldiers from CFB Petawawa.

"But this means a lot to me . . . the worse it gets over there, it's great to see people still support us."

Dickin spoke on a day the military confirmed the death of the 97th Canadian soldier since the Afghan mission began in 2002 -- Sgt. Scott Shipway, who was killed when his armoured vehicle struck a roadside bomb outside Kandahar.
More on link

U.S. Strikes Taliban Stronghold in Pakistan
By Shaiq Hussain Special to The Washington Post Monday, September 8, 2008; 9:53 AM 
Article Link

ISLAMABAD, Sept. 8 -- At least 20 people were killed and 25 others injured Monday after several missiles fired by unmanned U.S. Predator drones hit a religious school and the house of a powerful Taliban commander in northwest Pakistan, near the border of Afghanistan, according to witnesses and a Pakistani security official. 

The missile strike occurred around 10:30 a.m. in the small village of Dande Darpa Khel in the tribal area of North Waziristan. Bashirullah, a resident of the village who like many ethnic Pashtuns only uses one name, said two Predator drones fired six missiles at a religious seminary school run by top Taliban commander Jalaluddin Haqqani. The intense, rapid-fire bombing raid also destroyed Haqqani's nearby home and several other houses, Bashirullah said. 

A Pakistani security official in North Waziristan confirmed local villagers' accounts of the attack, saying that the Taliban commander's supporters immediately cordoned off the area around the bombsite and barred anyone from entering. He said that Haqqani and his son, Sirajuddin -- a leading Taliban fighter -- were not in any of the targeted buildings when the missiles struck. 
More on link

Would-be suicide bomber arrested in Pakistan
Article Link

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — A 16-year-old boy wearing a suicide bomber jacket and carrying a hand grenade was arrested Monday in an army cantonment area in Pakistan's troubled northwest, police said.

Senior police officer Akhtar Ali Shah said the youth was taken into custody Monday morning about 30 miles east of Peshawar, site of a suicide bombing Saturday that killed 35 people.

"Swift action by the police yielded the arrest of the boy, who was brought into the cantonment area by accomplices who are being traced," Shah said.

He said the boy was being interrogated by a joint team of senior investigators from the police and security agencies. He would not speculate on the possible target but said the army's supply corps is located in the area.

In recent weeks, the Pakistani Taliban have said they were to blame for a string of suicide bombings in revenge for military offensives in the northwest region that borders Afghanistan. One attack killed nearly 70 people at a major weapons factory.

A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for Saturday's suicide attack on a police checkpoint on the edge of Peshawar, killing seven police officers and 28 other people. He speculated the driver of the explosives-packed pickup truck feared being discovered at the checkpoint and decided to detonate.
More on link

Infantry could help SAS in Afghanistan
Samantha Maiden, Online political editor | September 08, 2008 
Article Link

DEFENCE Minister Joel Fitzgibbon will consider sending Australian infantry into combat roles in Afghanistan to ease the burden on the elite SAS unit.

In the wake of a warning in The Australian today from NATO's new top commander in Afghanistan that the international coalition is "struggling to win" and about 15,000 more troops are needed, Mr Fitzgibbon said he would not be increasing troop numbers in the region. 

However, he would not rule out using infantry in combat roles, for the first time since the Vietnam War. 

"It is true that our Special Operations Task group - that is, our special forces people - have had to sustain rotations for a long, long time now," he told ABC Radio today. 

"We'll constantly look at how we can take the pressure off our special forces by constantly reviewing and potentially reconfiguring our commitment." 

Mr Fitzgibbon said the unrest on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border continued to be a problem. 

"We've got to deal with those north-west border regions which are becoming a breeding ground for al-Qa'ida and other insurgent groups, who can too easily make their way across the border into Afghanistan to do their bad work," he said. 

"So there are a number of variables and how we deal with each of those variables will determine how long we're there." 

General David McKiernan told The Australian's Patrick Walters that he believes the Taliban-led insurgency will never win, with the vast majority of Afghans not wanting a return to a government led by extremists 

"That said, however, we are struggling to win,” he said. 
More on link

Conservative MP Laurie Hawn thinks Taliban may target Canadian soldiers to impact election
By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA
  Article Link
  
Canadian soldiers could be targeted by the Taliban as a political ploy, Conservative MP Laurie Hawn said, as news broke that the 97th soldier has been killed in Afghanistan. 

“The Taliban know we’re having an election and they’re not just targeting Canadian soldiers, they’re targeting the Canadian public opinion. That’s just the way they operate,” said Hawn, a former fighter pilot and MP for Edmonton-Centre. 

Just hours after Prime Minister Stephen Harper pulled the plug on parliament and called an election, news filtered out of Afghanistan that Sgt. Prescott Shipway, a soldier based out of Shilo, Man., had been killed when his armoured vehicle struck a roadside bomb in the Panjwaii district. 

The timing could have been coincidental but Hawn believes the Taliban know the election has been called and they could step up attacks. 

“The Taliban are very sensitive politically. They know what’s going on and they think they can disrupt things by being more active.” 

Looking at polls, the war has been an issue with Canadians but it hasn’t been considered one of the voting public’s top issues. 
More on link

Berlin pays $20,000 for Afghan deaths
Published Date: September 07, 2008 
Article Link

BERLIN: Germany paid 20,000 dollars in compensation to relatives of a woman and two children shot dead last week at a checkpoint manned by its soldiers in northern Afghanistan, a report said yesterday. The weekly Der Spiegel, in the report to appear in its next edition out Monday, said two payments had been made by German army officers, initially of 5,000 dollars, with the remainder being handed over on Friday.

A tribal chief in Kundu who received the cash remarked that "the problem with the Germans" was now settled, Der Spiegel added. A German military spokesman in Potsdam, near Berlin contacted by AFP refused to comment yesterday. On Wednesday defense ministry spokesman Christian Dienst said the payment of compensation and an apology for the previous Thursday's incident had prevented the family launching a "vendetta" against German soldiers in revenge.

The measures led to a significant calming of the situation among the Pashtun clan concerned and leads to an improvement in security for German soldiers on the ground," he said. He refused to say how much money had been paid. Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung also made a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Tuesday to pay his respects to the relatives.

German and NATO forces said that the three were killed after both German and Afghan troops opened fire on a vehicle that had failed to stop at a checkpoint even after warning shots had been fired. It was one of a recent string of incidents that analysts say are damaging the reputation of the almost 70,000 international troops as well as the Afghan government, which need the backing of the local population if they want to beat a Taleban-led insurgency.
More on link

'Beggar' suicide blast, other attacks kill 21 in Afghanistan
Article Link

HERAT, Afghanistan (AFP) — A Taliban suicide bomber dressed as a beggar blew up an Afghan government building Saturday, killing six people, as two NATO soldiers and a dozen other people died in more unrest, officials said.

The disguised bomber gunned down a security guard and then detonated explosives at the government offices, with two state prosecutors among his victims, Nimroz provincial governor Ghulam Dastgir Azad said.

The blast brought down the single-storey building in the town of Zaranj on the southwestern border with Iran, the governor told AFP.

"We have recovered so far six bodies," he said. The dead were provincial attorney Anwar Shah Khan, his 20-year-old son, his deputy and three civilians, Azad said.

"The whole building has collapsed. There might be more casualties," he added.

A spokesman for the rebel Taliban movement said the bomber was a member of the militia, which has dramatically stepped up attacks this year.

There has been a wave of suicide blasts in Afghanistan in the past three years, most of them claimed by Taliban extremists who are waging an insurgency against the US-backed government in Kabul.
More on link


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## The Bread Guy (8 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
081140EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban, or analysis thereof.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*


"9 Canadian invaders soldiers Killed in Kandahar"


> Monday morning   08-09-2008 at approximately 8:10 am local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmines blew up a patrolling unit of Canadian invaders army in Lako Khil area of Zhari district of Kandahar province. In explosion 9 soldiers terrorists were killed and few wounded.. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf




"2 vehicle of puppet army blew up in Kandahar"


> Sunday noon 07-09-2008 at approximately 11:30 am local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmines blew up a vehicles of puppet army in Loi Kariz area of Boldak district of Kandahar province.  The landmines completely destroyed the vehicles and 6 puppet terrorists in it were killed.  Also in Khaki Chopan area of Mewand district of Kandahar province Mujahideen with a remote controlled landmine blew up a vehicle of puppet army in which the vehicle was completely destroyed and 5 puppet soldiers in it were killed. Reported by Qari Yousuf Ahmadi




"In Martyrdom Operations 10 intelligence officers killed in Zabul"


> Sunday evening 07-09-2008, A courageous Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,Muhammad Hashema side   "Allahu Akbar" and open fire on Puppet intelligence officers  inside the intelligence office in Qalat city  capital of Zabul province,  in which 10 puppet officers were killed few wounded.. We ask Allah to accept our brother among martyrs in Eelleyeen (high rank in the paradise). All praise and gratitude are due to Allah.  Reported by  Qari Muhammad Yousuf




"4 vehicle of  puppet army in Zabul"


> Monday morning 08-09-2008 at approximately 9:30 am local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmines blew up 2 ehicles of puppet army  on Kabul Kandahr highway in Ghashi area of Shari Sapa district  of Kandahar province. The landmines completely destroyed the vehicles and  6 puppet terrorists in it were killed , Also in same time mujahideen attacked on same convoy and 2 more vehicles were damaged in which 10 more soldiers were killed.   Reported by Qari Yousuf Ahmadi




"Outspun by the Taliban"


> The Afghan air is thick with dangerous munitions. Compared with Iraq, more than twice as many combat sorties are flown. But as the Afghanistan conflict becomes more a war of information and propaganda, the words, graphs and data produced on both sides can be as lethal as the rockets and missiles dropped on the Taliban.
> 
> Inevitably, the information business is hazy. The US with its allies and the Taliban both seek to influence public opinion, either across the steppes of Central Asia or in the sitting rooms of the 40 nations that comprise the US and NATO-led forces in Afghanistan.
> 
> But analysts dissecting their media efforts find the battle for hearts and minds is poised precariously. On the ground in Afghanistan and across the border in Pakistan, the Taliban and their allies are winning analysts' plaudits for the efficiency and effectiveness of a propaganda machine that increasingly keeps locals sitting on the fence in conflict-prone areas of the country .... (more on link)


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## MarkOttawa (8 Sep 2008)

Marines hand ex-Taliban stronghold to Afghans
Reuters, Sept. 8
http://news.yahoo.com/story/nm/20080908/ts_nm/afghan_marines_dc



> U.S. Marines handed over control of a former Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan to the Afghan army and their British mentors on Monday after killing more than 400 militants in a four-month operation, the NATO-led force said.
> 
> The northern part of Garmsir district in Helmand province, known as the snake's head for its appearance on a map, served as a transit and logistics hub for Taliban fighters.
> 
> ...



Germany Discovers a War in Afghanistan (long article)
_Spiegel Online_, Sept. 8
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,577023,00.html



> For years, Germans have preferred to see their country's presence in Afghanistan as armed development assistance. That myth is now becoming more difficult to maintain as the violence spreads to the north where the Germans are based...
> 
> Kunduz, of all places, is where the Germans and the rest of the world had hoped to prove that the war against terrorism could also be waged with peaceful means. It is a place where German soldiers could have been mistaken for aid workers, if it weren't for their weapons -- where men in camouflage built schools, delivered supplies to hospitals and dug wells, while their NATO allies in the country's south and west waged a brutal and costly war.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (9 Sep 2008)

ARTICLES FOUND SEPT. 9

U.S. to Pull 8,000 Troops From Iraq Early in ’09
_NY Times_, Sept. 8
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/09/world/middleeast/09prexy.html?ref=todayspaper



> President Bush has accepted the recommendation of his senior civilian and military advisers to reduce the number of American troops in Iraq by 8,000 in the early months of next year.
> 
> The reduction will begin with a Marine Corps battalion set to leave this fall from Anbar Province, once the center of the antigovernment insurgency.
> 
> ...



Nato tightens rules of engagement to limit further civilian casualties in Aghanistan
_The Guardian_, Sept. 9
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/09/nato.afghanistan



> Nato has issued new military rules of engagement in Afghanistan in an attempt to limit civilian deaths, after the air strike last month which reportedly killed 90 people, including 60 children, it emerged yesterday.
> 
> The orders were issued by General David McKiernan, the Nato commander in Afghanistan, who also asked the US central command to reopen an inquiry into the air strike in the western district of Shindand, as video footage surfaced showing the bodies of child victims.
> 
> ...



U.S. Team to Reinvestigate Deadly Strike In Afghanistan
_Washington Post_, Sept. 9
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/08/AR2008090800633.html



> The U.S. Central Command will send a senior team, headed by a general and including a legal affairs officer, to reinvestigate a U.S. air attack last month that U.N. and Afghan officials say killed 90 civilians, amid mounting public outrage in Afghanistan and evidence that conflicts with the military's initial version of events.
> 
> The U.S. decision to again probe the Aug. 21 attack in Azizabad, near the western city of Herat, came at the urging of Gen. David D. McKiernan, the top NATO commander in Afghanistan. McKiernan said he was prompted by "emerging evidence" that threw into question the finding of a U.S. investigation that five to seven civilians died. McKiernan had earlier said he concurred with that finding.
> 
> ...



Deadly airstrike on school set up by bin Laden friend, Jalal-uddin Haqqani
_The Times_, Sept. 9
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4710041.ece



> At least 20 people were killed yesterday when US missiles struck an Islamic school founded by a friend of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan's lawless tribal region near the Afghan border.
> 
> The attack by unmanned American drone aircraft was the third aimed at militant leaders and their hideouts just inside Pakistani territory. Officials and residents of the village of Dande Darba Khel in North Waziristan said that two drones fired three missiles, which also hit houses close to the Islamic seminary, killing three women and two children.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


----------



## GAP (9 Sep 2008)

*Articles found September 9, 2008*

US's 'good' war hits Pakistan hard
By Syed Saleem Shahzad 
Article Link

KARACHI - Seven years after the United States led the invasion of Afghanistan in search of al-Qaeda and to topple the Taliban government, US President George W Bush has added neighboring Pakistan to the list of countries that are "a major 'war on terror' battleground", while also announcing a "quiet surge" of troops into Afghanistan. 

Bush, in remarks prepared for delivery to the US National Defense University and released by the White House late on Monday, said Afghanistan, Iraq and now Pakistan "pose unique challenges for our country" in the worldwide conflict against terror and that it is in Pakistan's interests to "defeat terrorists and extremists". 

What Bush didn't spell out is that it is also in the US's interests
More on link

Bush to send more troops to Afghanistan
Posted Tue Sep 9, 2008 10:12am AEST Updated 11 hours 18 minutes ago 
Article Link

US President George W Bush is preparing to announce that more American troops will be sent to Afghanistan in the next few months.

Mr Bush will use a speech to the National Defence University in Washington to announce that a Marines battalion scheduled to go to Iraq in November will instead be deployed to Afghanistan, while around 8,000 American troops will be withdrawn from Iraq.

The improving security situation in Iraq following last year's military surge has given Mr Bush the chance to announce a slow, limited drawdown of some of the 146,000 US soldiers currently in Iraq.

Acting on the advice of his generals, Mr Bush will set out a plan to pull a total of 8,000 troops from Iraq by mid-February, without being replaced.

Just as significant, some of the units that were due to go to Iraq will now be deployed to Afghanistan instead, in a sign of the growing concern in the White House about the resurgence of the Taliban.

A US Marines battalion will be sent to Afghanistan in November followed by an Army brigade in January, totalling 4,500 troops.
More on link

Taliban leader is targeted in Pakistan
Last update: September 8, 2008 - 9:23 PM
Article Link

U.S. forces made an apparently unsuccessful attempt Monday to assassinate a Taliban commander who sometimes shelters in Pakistan's tribal areas, witnesses and military officials said. Missiles from a suspected U.S. drone aircraft struck a compound in North Waziristan, just across the border from Afghanistan, killing at least nine people, the reports said.

The targeted village, Dande Darba Khel, contains a compound associated with the Haqqani clan, which has been blamed for a number of attacks in Afghanistan
More on link

The Land Of A Thousand Scams  
Monday, September 8, 2008
Article Link

September 7, 2008: Rumors that Afghan president Karzai is on the drug gangs payroll has become more obvious, as he pushes for getting veto power over U.S. and NATO military operations. This came to a head recently, because of a battle in western Afghanistan two weeks ago. There, a U.S./Afghan raid on a village was met with fire from several dozen Taliban who had taken shelter there. Smart bombs were used, the U.S. and Afghan troops went in to search the ruins for Taliban documents and to count the bodies. There were 25 Taliban and five civilians dead. After the troops left, the Taliban began pushing the story that 70, or more, civilians, including fifty children, were killed. The number constantly changed. The reason was that, since the Moslem custom is to bury the dead immediately, and forbid exhuming bodies for any kind of examination, you can pull off this kind of scam if you have the locals terrified into keeping quiet. Then there's the "compensation" scam angle. Foreign troops will pay thousands of dollars (often over $5,000) in compensation for loss, per civilian killed during military operations. So Afghans have an incentive to claim as many dead as they can get away with. Afghan culture puts a premium on scamming foreigners. Any Afghan who doesn't try to hustle an outsider is looked down on. It's the ancient "us versus them" mentality, which applies even of the outsider is helping you. Afghans were quick to pick up on how all this plays in the West, and have learned how to manipulate foreign journalists and NGOs (who are often adjuncts of Western media).

President Karzai knows of these scams and how Afghans regard foreigners, but he is under pressure to get the military heat off the drug gangs. Foreign troops, particularly British and Canadian, have done lots of damage to heroin production in Helmand province (where most Afghan heroin is produced), and the gangs are putting pressure on the senior Afghan officials on the payroll to do something. Karzai was told by his top military commander in the west, and the local commando commander, that the claim of 50 dead children was a scam, and Karzai reacted by relieving the two men and ordering them to Kabul for questioning. Kabul is not a safe place for those who oppose the drug gangs, as judge who could not be bribed was recently murdered there, as he was in the midst of dealing with drug cases.
More on link

Bad UAVs Will Not Go Away Quietly
September 9, 2008
Article Link

 Canada's decision, to replace its French Sperwer UAVs with Israeli Herons and Skylarks, has upset many Canadian politicians. That's because the military is apparently going to withdraw the Sperwer from service. Canada has spent over a quarter billion dollars on Sperwer in the past five years, and politicians are upset over wasted money. 

The new 1.1 ton Herons can stay in the air for over 40 hours at a time and carry some 500 pounds of cameras and other sensors. According to the military, the Herons will give Canadian troops in Afghanistan better support than the Sperwer UAVs they had been using. 

Canada had earlier bought 21 of the Sperwers, including ten second hand ones obtained from Denmark two years ago (the Danes were unhappy with Sperwer, which should have told the Canadians something.). France, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark, Greece and Canada had all used the French built Sperwer UAV, which got its first heavy use during Balkan peacekeeping missions in the 1990s. Afghanistan was another story. 

The Canadians used their Sperwers heavily in Afghanistan, and have paid to improve the Sperwer flight control software, to make the UAV more stable when landing under windy conditions. It's often windy in Afghanistan. Still, troops were envious of superior UAV types they saw in use by other nations. 

The $2.6 million Sperwer LE (Long Endurance) weighs 772 pounds, carries a 110 pound payload, is 12 feet long and has an endurance of 12 hours. Sperwer can operate up to 200 kilometers from its ground control unit. But the Sperwer uses a noisy engine (think lawnmower) and flies low enough to be heard. This has not proved to be a problem, as the people below, if they are Taliban, either start shooting at the UAV, or try to run away. The Canadian troops have come to depend on their Sperwers, and many would rather have more of them, than another, newer, UAV. The troops have learned that operator experience is a major factor in UAV success, and much of that would be lost if they switched a new model. But the brass believe that the higher flying (out of range of small arms) Heron is easier to operate, and more reliable. 
More on link

Three US-led soldiers, 28 rebels killed in Afghanistan
Article Link

KABUL (AFP) — Three US-led soldiers and an Afghan working with them were killed in a bomb blast in Afghanistan Tuesday as government officials reported that 28 rebels, some of them foreigners, were killed in air strikes.

The soldiers were killed in the east of Afghanistan, the US-led coalition said. It did not give the nationalities of the troops but most international soldiers in the east are US nationals.

"Three coalition service members and one local-national contractor were killed today during an IED (improvised explosive device) attack in eastern Afghanistan," the coalition said in a statement that gave no further details.

The new deaths take to 201 the number of international soldiers to lose their lives in Afghanistan this year, according to an AFP tally based on official statements.

Most died in a wave of insurgent unrest, particularly bomb blasts.

An Afghan soldier was meanwhile killed by a remote-controlled bomb that had been fixed to a bicycle in the southern city of Kandahar, the defence ministry said.

"One military policeman in the vehicle was martyred and two others were wounded," spokesman Mohammad Zahir Azimi told AFP.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (9 Sep 2008)

Anti-rebel attacks needed in Pakistan: Afghan foreign minister 
AFP, Sept. 8
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080908/wl_sthasia_afp/afghanistanpakistanunrestgermany



> Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta said Monday the battle against insurgents in his country must be taken to its "breeding ground" in neighbouring Pakistan.
> 
> Spanta, speaking in Berlin after talks with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said "the geographical approach" to stamping out unrest in his country must be broadened.
> 
> ...



Karzai attends Pakistan swearing in
_Financial Times_, Sept. 9
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/81633192-7e72-11dd-b1af-000077b07658.html



> Pakistan’s newly elected president Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan president Hamid Karzai appeared together on Tuesday in a rare show of solidarity between leaders of the two countries central to Washington’s war on terror.
> 
> Mr Karzai’s appearance in Islamabad as the most senior foreign dignitary to attend Mr Zardari’s oath taking ceremony, was in sharp contrast to his popular image in Pakistan as a foe of Islamabad.
> 
> ...



Right at the Edge
NY Times Sunday Magazine (long article), Sept. 5
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/magazine/07pakistan-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine&oref=slogin



> I: The Border Incident
> 
> Late in the afternoon of June 10, during a firefight with Taliban militants along the Afghan-Pakistani border, American soldiers called in airstrikes to beat back the attack. The firefight was taking place right on the border itself, known in military jargon as the “zero line.” Afghanistan was on one side, and the remote Pakistani region known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, or FATA, was on the other. The stretch of border was guarded by three Pakistani military posts.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## The Bread Guy (9 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
092100EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban, or analysis thereof.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*


Taliban urges next Canadian prime minister to pull troops out of Afghanistan


> The Taliban say they know that an election campaign is underway in Canada and that's why they have stepped up attacks against Canadians in Afghanistan.  Taliban spokesman Qari Muhammad Yussef said Tuesday the insurgent movement wants Canada's next prime minister to pull Canadian troops out of Afghanistan.  "Yes, I know that the election is being held in Canada. That is why our attacks on Canadians are increased," Yussef said through a translator.  "One of the Canadian soldiers, who has won a medal as well, was killed in our recent attacks  .... My suggestion for the next prime minister is to withdraw Canadians from Afghanistan," he said, adding Canada needs to stop following U.S. foreign policy .... (more on link)




"A vehicle of  puppet police  blew up in Helmand"


> Tuesday noon -09-09-2008 at approximately 11:10 am local , Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmine blew up 1 vehicle of puppet police on  in Norzo area of Grishek district of Helmand province. The landmine completely destroyed the vehicle and  8 puppet terrorists in it were killed . Reported by Zabihullah Mujahid





_- edited to add Canadian Press story -_


----------



## GAP (10 Sep 2008)

*Articles found September 10, 2008*

Taliban on target  
Our election that is (via Danjanou):
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- The Taliban say they know that an election campaign is underway in Canada and that's why they have stepped up attacks against Canadians in Afghanistan.

Taliban spokesman Qari Muhammad Yussef said Tuesday the insurgent movement wants Canada's next prime minister to pull Canadian troops out of Afghanistan.

"Yes, I know that the election is being held in Canada. That is why our attacks on Canadians are increased," Yussef said through a translator.

"One of the Canadian soldiers, who has won a medal as well, was killed in our recent attacks."

Sgt. Scott Shipway died Sunday when his armoured vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in the volatile Panjwaii district of Kandahar.
More on link

Australia in Afghanistan 'for the long haul'
10/09/2008 12:47:00 PM
Article Link

The war in Afghanistan presents some significant challenges, but Australia is in "for the long haul", Foreign Minister Stephen Smith says.
Mr Smith told a meeting of business leaders in India that Australia remained particularly concerned about the level of extremism in the border regions between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"Modern international terrorism is very mobile, and from Afghanistan it can move north to Europe, or to the south and east into Southeast Asia," Mr Smith said in a speech to the Confederation of Indian Industries in Chennai.

"We are particularly concerned about militancy and extremism in Pakistan's border areas with Afghanistan, which have a direct and deleterious effect on Afghanistan and the 1,100 Australian troops serving there."

The work being carried out by Australian troops in Afghanistan was dangerous, but essential, Mr Smith said.
More on link

Canada's Record and Compensation Policy for Afghan Civilian Casualties  
By Jeff Davis September 10th, 2008
Article Link

For the first time, the Department of National Defence has released the total number of civilians killed and injured by Canadian troops in Afghanistan, as well as details on compensation for victims. 

According to DND officials, Canadian soldiers have killed 10 Afghan civilians and wounded 30 more since the Canadian involvement in Afghanistan began in 2001. While dates were provided, the department would not give any further information, such as the name or age of the victims or locations of the incidents ending in death. 

According to officials with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in Kabul, there were 1,500 alleged civilian casualties in 2007. In the first five months of 2008, some 698 civilian deaths were recorded by UNAMA, representing an increase of 62 percent over the 431 non-combatant deaths recorded in the same period in 2007. 

DND spokespeople told Embassy that investigations are conducted following all violent incidents that end in the death of an Afghan civilian by Canadian forces. 
More on link

 coalition soldiers killed in Afghanistan  
Article Link

Kabul—Three US-led soldiers and an Afghan working with them were killed in a bomb blast in Afghanistan Tuesday as government officials reported that 28 rebels, some of them foreigners, were killed in air strikes.

The soldiers were killed in the east of Afghanistan, the US-led coalition said. It did not give the nationalities of the troops but most international soldiers in the east are US nationals.

“Three coalition service members and one local-national contractor were killed today during an IED (improvised explosive device) attack in eastern Afghanistan,” the coalition said in a statement that gave no further details.

The new deaths take to 201 the number of international soldiers to lose their lives in Afghanistan this year, according to AFP tally based on official statements.

Most died in a wave of insurgent unrest, particularly bomb blasts.

An Afghan soldier was meanwhile killed by a remote-controlled bomb that had been fixed to a bicycle in the southern city of Kandahar, the defence ministry said. “One military policeman in the vehicle was martyred and two others were wounded,” spokesman Mohammad Zahir Azimi told AFP.
More on link

Taliban's IED attacks are effective - but a weapon of last resort
Kandahar seeing more strikes with makeshift bombs
SCOTT DEVEAU, Canwest News Service Published: 7 hours ago
Article Link

The blast from an improvised explosive device that claimed the life of yet another Canadian soldier on the weekend has become an all-too-familiar sound for the troops fighting the Taliban-led insurgency here in Kandahar.

Their security patrols and supply convoys encounter makeshift roadside bombs on an almost daily basis. The military reports only those IED strikes that result in a casualty, like the one that killed Sgt. Scott Shipway of Saskatoon on Sunday.

Many more go unreported, however, because the soldiers are only wounded in the blasts.
More on link

Welcome awes troops
Tweed students greet soldiers with waving flags, excited screams
Posted By STEPHEN PETRICK, THE INTELLIGENCER
Article Link

Master Warrant Officer Marc Cloutier called it "awesome." 

Capt. Brian Wright said it was "fantastic." 

Cpls. Justin Rulton and Paul Rodgers were so stunned they didn't know what to say. 

The troops from CFB Petawawa headed for CFB Trenton, had no idea they would receive a hero's welcome as they stopped for coffee in this Centre Hastings village, en route to a flight to Afghanistan. 

Schoolchildren wearing red and waving Canadian flags screamed wildly as about 40 troops got off a bus at a Highway 37 Tim Hortons at the village's north end Monday morning. 

The troops wandered in, bought coffee, then went back out to mingle with the crowd, which was made up of two classrooms from St. Carthagh Catholic School in Tweed and about a dozen other village residents. 

Rulton and Rodgers, both originally from Hamilton, struggled to find words as they posed for photos with students. 

"I think it's great," Rulton said, amid a mosh pit of students, with a large coffee in his hand. "It's good that kids are aware of what's going on." 

Rodgers said the greeting lifted the spirits of troops who were still feeling sombre about leaving their families in Petawawa about two hours earlier. 

"We just got off the bus feeling sad because we just left our families and girlfriends. To see all of them (the children) here cheers us up." 
More on link


----------



## The Bread Guy (10 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
101845EDT Sept 08*

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*


"6 Canadian invaders soldiers Killed in Kandahar"


> Wednesday morning 10-09-2008 at approximately 9:10 am local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmines blew up a patrolling unit of Canadian invaders army in Char Kochi area of Zhari district of Kandahar province. In explosion 6 soldiers terrorists were killed and 5 wounded.. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf



"20 puppet soldiers killed in Kandahar"


> Wednesday morning 10-09-2008 at approximately 8 am local , Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, ambushed a convoy of puppet army in Hozi Madat area of Zhari district of Kandahar province. In the attack 3 pick up vehicles were destroyed  13 puppet soldiers were killed  few wounded their arms were mujahideen booty.  Also today morning 10-09-2008 at approximately 8:30 am local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with heavy and light weapons attacked puppet police patrol in Lako Khil area of same district. In attack the base 7 puppet police killed,their arms  were Mujahideen booty.Reported by Qari Muhmmad Yousuf



"18 puppet police killed in Helmand"


> Tuesday evening 09-09-2008 at approximately 7:20 pm local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with heavy and light weapons attacked puppet police base in Spen Masjed area of Grishek district of Helmand province. In attack the base was demolished ,12 puppet police killed . their arms  were Mujahideen booty.  Also Wednesday morning 09-09-2008 at approximately 6:15 am local , Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, ambushed a convoy of puppet army in Nari Seraj area of same district. In the attack 2 vehicles were destroyed  6 puppet soldiers were killed  few wounded their arms were mujahideen booty. Reported by Qari Muhmmad Yousuf



"Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan military operations 09-09-2008"


> Mujahideen operations against the enemies of Islam terrorists in Afghanistan are reported to Theunjustmedia.com by the official Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan spokesmen Qari Muhammad Yousuf and Zabihuallah Mujahid by e-mails ... (More on link)


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## MarkOttawa (11 Sep 2008)

ARTICLES FOUND SEPT. 11

Top Military Officer Urges Major Change in Afghanistan Strategy
_Washington Post_, Sept. 11
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/10/AR2008091001396.html



> The nation's top military officer issued a blunt assessment yesterday of the war in Afghanistan and called for an overhaul in U.S. strategy there, warning that thousands more U.S. troops as well as greater U.S. military involvement across the border in Pakistan's tribal areas are needed to battle an intensifying insurgency.
> 
> "I am not convinced that we're winning it in Afghanistan," Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House Armed Services Committee yesterday. But, he added, "I'm convinced we can."..
> 
> ...



Bush Said to Give Orders Allowing Raids in Pakistan 
_NY Times_, Sept. 10
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/11/washington/11policy.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin



> President Bush secretly approved orders in July that for the first time allow American Special Operations forces to carry out ground assaults inside Pakistan without the prior approval of the Pakistani government, according to senior American officials.
> 
> The classified orders signal a watershed for the Bush administration after nearly seven years of trying to work with Pakistan to combat the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and after months of high-level stalemate about how to challenge the militants’ increasingly secure base in Pakistan’s tribal areas.
> 
> ...



Pakistan’s Military Chief Criticizes U.S. Over a Raid 
_NY Times_, Sept. 10
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/11/world/asia/11pstan.html?ref=todayspaper



> In an unusually strong statement criticizing the United States for sending commandos into Pakistan to fight the Taliban and Al Qaeda, the chief of the Pakistani Army said Wednesday that his forces would not tolerate such incursions and would defend the country’s sovereignty “at all costs.”
> 
> “No external force is allowed to conduct operations inside Pakistan,” the military chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, said in what amounted to a direct rebuff to the United States by the Pakistanis, who are regarded by the Bush administration as an ally in the campaign against terrorism.
> 
> ...



Karzai backs U.S. strategy on militants in Pakistan 
Reuters, Sept. 11
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080911/ts_nm/afghan_strategy_dc



> Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday backed a proposed U.S. strategy that would involve hitting al Qaeda and Taliban militants in neighboring Pakistan, saying he had been calling for a changed approach for years.
> 
> "Change of strategy is essential," Karzai told a news conference. "It means that we go to those areas which are the training bases and havens of (terrorists) and we jointly go there and remove and destroy them."
> 
> ...



Britain and NATO struggle for Afghanistan numbers
Reuters, Sept. 10
http://in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews/idINIndia-35413720080910



> Two-and-a-half years into an operation to secure vast desert reaches of Afghanistan from the Taliban, British commanders quietly admit they are seriously undermanned.
> 
> While the official line is that Prime Minister Gordon Brown must decide if more troops are needed, officers on the ground in the southern Afghan province of Helmand concede privately that they do not have enough men or helicopters to seize and hold the territory they oversee.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


----------



## GAP (11 Sep 2008)

*Articles found September 11, 2008   *

British soldier killed in Afghanistan
September 11, 2008
Article Link

A British soldier has been killed in an explosion in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, it was announced today. 

The unidentified soldier, from the Royal Logistic Corps, was on a routine patrol near Musa Qala yesterday when he was caught in the blast. The cause of the explosion is being investigated. 

Lieutenant Colonel David Reynolds, a spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: "This soldier's death will have a lasting impact on his family and friends as well as those who served alongside him. We will ensure that he is never forgotten." 

The soldier becomes the 118th military serviceman to die as a result of violence or accidents in Afghanistan since the Taleban government was toppled in 2001. 
More on link

Canadian and Afghan forces fight off insurgent attack on painstaking road project
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Canadian and Afghan troops successfully pushed back a group of insurgents who attacked a road construction project Wednesday in the Panjwaii district of Kandahar.

Military officials say eight insurgents attacked the paving crew with light weapons and rocket-propelled grenades.

Afghan troops and their Canadian mentors were providing security to the project at the time and quickly began clearing the insurgents out of the area.

A coalition attack helicopter was also called in to support the operation. No casualties are reported.

The road paving initiative in the volatile region began some seven months ago but so far Afghan contractors, who use archaic methods of construction, have managed to pave a mere 800 metres.

Military officials say the 20-kilometre paving initiative is expected to take until the end of the Canadian mission in 2011.

Yet Canadian Forces spokesman Maj. Jay Janzen said road construction is key to reducing attacks by improvised explosive devices, which have been responsible for more than half of all Canadian soldier deaths since the mission began in 2002.

"Paving makes it harder to put IEDs on the route," Janzen said, adding it "will also be good for the economy" as it will facilitate the transport of goods from the city to the outlying areas.

Employing local workers is also believed to be a good way of keeping them busy and from siding with the insurgency. 
More on link

Suicide bomber kills 2 civilians in Afghanistan  
The Associated Press  Thursday, September 11, 2008 
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan: A suicide bomber attacked a private security company's convoy in Afghanistan's second largest city Thursday, killing two civilians and wounding four other people, a police officer said. A British soldier was also killed in the south.

The bomber rammed his vehicle into the convoy in Kandahar city, said police officer Mohammad Shoaib.

Two civilians were killed and four other people, including two foreigners inside one of the vehicles, were wounded, Shoaib said. The bomber also died.

Taliban militants regularly use suicide bombings against Afghan and foreign troops in the country, but the majority of the victims have been civilians.
More on link

Report: Bush Gave Permission for US Raids on Pakistan  
By VOA News 11 September 2008
  Article Link

A U.S. newspaper is reporting that President George Bush gave secret orders in July authorizing U.S. armed forces to carry out ground assaults in Pakistan without seeking approval from Pakistan's government. 

The New York Times newspaper quotes senior U.S. officials who said the military will notify Pakistan's government when it conducts raids, but will not seek its permission.

The officials, who insisted on remaining anonymous, said the orders are part of a broader push to assert U.S. control over the Afghan-Pakistani border, considered a stronghold for the Taliban and al-Qaida.

Pakistan's army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, criticized Wednesday a recent series of suspected U.S. raids in Pakistan, vowing to defend the country's sovereignty "at all costs." Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani Thursday said the army chief's statement reflects government views.

In related news, the chief of the U.S. military says his new strategy for the war in Afghanistan will tackle what he calls the "common insurgency" in the tribal areas on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani border.
More on link

Afghan mission enters election fray
Harper reaffirms plan for withdrawal; Statement comes as U.S. military brass call for more soldiers
Robert Sibley, The Ottawa Citizen; with files from Canwest News Service; Reuters and The Washington Post
Published: Thursday, September 11, 2008
Article Link

The Afghan war surged to the election frontline as Conservative leader Stephen Harper yesterday reiterated his government's intention to pull most of Canada's soldiers out of Afghanistan in three years.

"We're planning for the withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan in 2011," he said while campaigning in Toronto on the eve of the seventh anniversary of the terrorist strikes on the United States. "I don't want to say we won't have a single troop there, because obviously we would aid in some technical capacities. But at that point, the mission as we've known it, we intend to end.
More on link

Most troops will be home by 2011: PM
Withdrawal; Afghans should then be able to handle 'lion's share' of security
Andrew Mayeda, Canwest News Service  Published: Thursday, September 11, 2008
Article Link

TORONTO - A Conservative government would withdraw the bulk of Canadian troops from Afghanistan in 2011, Stephen Harper said yesterday.

"We're planning for the withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan in 2011. We've been very clear about that," the Prime Minsiter told reporters over breakfast.

"I don't want to say we won't have a single troop there, because obviously we would aid in some technical capacities. But, at that point, the mission as we've known it, we intend to end."

In May, Parliament passed a resolution that Canada would continue until July, 2011, its military presence in the volatile southern province of Kandahar, where most of Canada's roughly 2,500 troops in Afghanistan are based.

The question of what Canada would do after that date has loomed large over the election.
More on link

MILITARY: North Carolina unit likely to get Afghanistan assignment
Marine Corps readying official announcement for fall deployment
By MARK WALKER - Staff Writer | Wednesday, September 10, 2008 5:34 PM PDT
Article Link

A North Carolina-based Marine battalion is expected to fill a fall assignment to Afghanistan as part of an overall increase in U.S. forces in that country.

An official announcement naming the battalion should come any day, according to a Marine Corps spokesman at the Pentagon.

The troops are widely believed to be a contingent of Marines from North Carolina's Camp Lejeune, whose previously announced deployment to Iraq in about six weeks will shift to Afghanistan.

There have been no large-scale Iraq or Afghanistan assignments announced for locally based troops for the rest of this year or next.

President Bush's decision to send an approximately 1,000-member battalion to Afghanistan answered commanders' requests that a Marine contingent placed there in April be replaced when those forces complete their assignment in November.

Bush also said he was ordering an approximately 3,500-troop Army brigade to Afghanistan early next year.
More on link

Afghanistan's army to double to 134,000: UN
Article Link

KABUL (AFP) — The Afghan government and its international partners agreed Wednesday to expand the national army to 134,000 soldiers, almost double its current strength, the United Nations said.

The decision, already announced by the US military last week, was adopted at a meeting in Kabul of the Afghan government and its partners, including the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

It comes as the country battles a wave of violence by Taliban-led insurgents and other Islamic factions that has put Afghanistan on the frontline of the US-led "war on terror."

"This increase is a huge step towards ensuring the Afghan government has the number of soldiers it needs and that it can gradually take over the responsibility for the security of the country," UNAMA chief Kai Eide said.

"We all know that ensuring security for all Afghans is of paramount importance," Eide said in a statement.

The Afghan army, which was destroyed during the civil war of the 1990s which was followed by the 1996-2001 rule of the Taliban, is being trained and equipped with international help and has reached about 80,000.

It is projected to reach 134,000 within three years and is needed to tackle the insurgent threat with the help of a NATO-led deployment, defence ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi told AFP.
More on link


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## The Bread Guy (11 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
111925EDT Sept 08*

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*


"5 puppet soldiers killed in Kandahar"


> Tuesday noon 11-09-2008 at approximately 12:10 am local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmines blew up 1 vehicles of puppet army in Khaki chopan area of Mewand district of Kandahar province. The landmines completely destroyed the vehicles and 5 puppet terrorists in it were killed few wounded. Reported by Qari Yousuf Ahmadi




"Martyrdom Operation destroyed 2 vehicles of foreigner invaders in Kandahar "


> Thursday noon 11-09-2008, a courageous Mujahid of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Abdul Hakem said "Allahu Akbar" and rammed his booby-trapped car into a convoy of foreigner invaders in Kabul Dorahi area of Kandahar city, in which 2 vehicles were completely destroyed and 8 foreigner terrorists were killed few wounded.. We ask Allah to accept our brother among martyrs in Eelleyeen (high rank in the paradise). All praise and gratitude are due to Allah. After invaders army open fire on civilians in which a number of civilians were martyred. Reported by Qari Yousuf Ahmadi




"Does Karzai really have the sovereignty of the country?"


> To days ago, Karzai has untruthly declared again that he must demand investigation about martyrdom of 150 innocent people in Shendand -district of Heart-, he added: "I have authority over the country, the foreign forces do not have ability in this country", he has emotionally explain in the meeting of Fateha (praying for the dead) that he must demand about this event, get action and punish its factors.   Since 2001, It is not the early time that masters of Karzai bombard innocent Afghan people in the country -like the calamity of Shendand- but tens of times martyred the innocent people in their cruelty bombards, killed undefended people, also he appointed different inspector delegations, looked the destroyed families by his own eyes in the past but it has not got result till now.
> .... (more on link)


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## GAP (12 Sep 2008)

*Articles found September 12, 2008*

'No quick fix' for Afghan security forces
Scott Deveau ,  Canwest News Service Published: Thursday, September 11, 2008
Article Link

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Yet another suicide bomber rammed a car full of explosives into a convoy transporting private security guards Thursday afternoon in Kandahar City, wiping out whatever slim semblance of security remained in the former Taliban stronghold.

Two civilians were killed in the blast that targeted the Texas-based U.S. Protections and Investigations security firm. Another four were injured, including two USPI guards.

It was the second time in less than a week - and the third time in as many months - the insurgency has seriously undermined the Afghan National Security Forces' efforts to bring some stability to Afghanistan's second-largest city.

Last Sunday, two suicide bombers detonated their devices inside the police headquarters here, killing two officers and injuring 29 others, including eight civilians in the process.

The first, and arguably the biggest, attack, however, occurred on June 13 when insurgents blew the front gate off of the city's Sarpoza prison with a truck-load of explosives in the now infamous incident that spilled roughly 900 inmates - more than 400 suspected Taliban - into the streets.

While the civilian deaths do nothing to help the Taliban's cause, the aftermath of these attacks achieve the goal of breeding uncertainty around the forces abilities. 
More on link

British PM backs Australia's Afghan commitment
By Europe correspondent Emma Alberici Posted Fri Sep 12, 2008 6:41am AEST 
Article Link

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says he is happy with Australia's contribution to the war effort in Afghanistan and its decision not to boost troop numbers.

Mr Brown said he was not disappointed by Australia's decision despite the new NATO leader in Afghanistan this week calling for allied countries to send 15,000 more soldiers.

The Defence Department says Australia has around 1,000 troops currently in Afghanistan, including special forces, a reconstruction task force, and artillery gunners.

Mr Brown's comments came after the death of another British soldier in Afghanistan - the 118th British national killed there since 2001
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Young Canadian diplomats fight to defend Afghan mission
Peter O'Neil ,  Canwest News Service Published: Thursday, September 11, 2008
Article Link

PARIS - Three young Canadian diplomats are on the front line of a fierce political battle to defend the Afghanistan counter-insurgency and reconstruction mission, which has been pummelled over the summer by a string of Taliban military and propaganda coups.

United Nations senior Afghanistan political adviser Chris Alexander and North Atlantic Treaty Organization spokesman James Appathurai - who met as 13-year-old schoolboys in Toronto - and their friend, Arif Lalani, who just left his post as Canada's ambassador in Kabul, are all high-profile mission defenders in the Canadian and international media.

The trio acknowledge the job is getting more challenging.
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Harper has done our soldiers - and their sacrifices - a disservice
From Friday's Globe and Mail September 11, 2008 at 11:01 PM EDT
Article Link

TORONTO — The Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan is worsening, with increasing support from across the border in Pakistan. Every objective report from onsite journalists, government officials, think tanks, the U.S. military and academic studies confirms the discouraging trend.

As a result, both candidates for the U.S. presidency are on record recommending additional troops be deployed there. The Bush administration has committed more than 3,000 troops, some of which are being deployed in Kandahar to help Canadian forces in that turbulent province.

The Canadian Parliament, in a resolution negotiated principally between the government and the Liberal Opposition, decreed that the country's military mission end in 2011. But one parliament's decision doesn't necessarily bind another's, and who knows how the situation will evolve between now and 2011.

These are among the reasons why Prime Minister's Stephen Harper's declaration this week that Canada would withdraw its military forces from Kandahar by 2011 merely restated an existing position, but also foreclosed any possibility of change, even if he wins a majority government.
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Stephen Harper's Afghan retreat
National Post  Published: Friday, September 12, 2008
Article Link

During a campaign stop in Toronto yesterday, Stephen Harper promised that a Conservative government would pull Canadian troops out of Afghanistan by 2011. At that point "the mission as we've known it, we intend to end," Mr. Harper said. "I think our goal has to be, after six years, to see the government of Afghanistan able to carry the lion's share of responsibility for its own security."

We could not disagree more. The Canadian mission in Afghanistan, an important part of the U. S.-led coalition there, is vital to our security. The battle against Taliban insurgents who continue to terrorize Afghans is a war we can ill afford to lose.

Setting an official pull-out date is, therefore, the last thing we should do. What is needed in Afghanistan is a surge much like the American troop buildup in Iraq that has changed the tenor of that war and brought relative piece to a region that, only one year ago, was still a haven for terrorist activities.

There are not nearly enough troops on the ground in Afghanistan right now: Just 70,000 Western soldiers are deployed there -- about half the number currently in Iraq. With so little manpower, coalition forces are unable to do much to significantly uproot the Taliban. Certainly, troops have had some success moving from one place to the next and briefly ridding towns of Taliban fighters. But because of the paucity of soldiers, as soon as the good guys leave to fight another Taliban pocket, the bad guys simply sneak back in and retake those areas. It is a vicious cycle.

With more troops, coalition forces would be able to continue the current plan of attack with one crucial addition: There would be enough men to remain in each conquered spot, to ensure that the Taliban do not return as quickly as they have been driven out.
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## MarkOttawa (12 Sep 2008)

Afghanistan and other primetime issues 
Conference of Defence Associations, Sept. 12 (media round-up)
http://www.cdaforumcad.ca/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1221247032

Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (13 Sep 2008)

ARTICLES FOUND SEPT. 13

Higher-tech Predators targeting Pakistan
The U.S. drone aircraft involved in strikes against Taliban and Al Qaeda militants across the border have enhanced tracking ability.
_LA Times_, Sept. 12
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-pakistan12-2008sep12,0,3916230.story



> As part of an escalating offensive against extremist targets in Pakistan, the United States is deploying Predator aircraft equipped with sophisticated new surveillance systems that were instrumental in crippling the insurgency in Iraq, according to U.S. military and intelligence officials.
> 
> The use of the specially equipped drones comes amid a fundamental shift in U.S. strategy in the area. After years of deferring to Pakistani authorities, the Bush administration is turning toward unilateral American military operations -- a gambit that could increase pressure on Islamic militants but risks alienating a country that has been a key counter-terrorism ally.
> 
> ...



An Afghan 'October surprise'?
New technology used in Iraq and Afghanistan to hunt down and kill terrorists may inject itself into the presidential race.
_LA Times_, Sept. 13, by Tim Rutten
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-rutten13-2008sep13,0,1586694.column



> Friday, The Times' Greg Miller and Julian E. Barnes reported that the United States has escalated its war against Al Qaeda and its Taliban allies by "deploying Predator aircraft equipped with sophisticated new surveillance systems that were instrumental in crippling the insurgency in Iraq."
> 
> It's a story whose significance may extend well beyond the benighted hills and valleys of Pakistan's violent Pashtun hinterlands and onto the hustings of our current presidential campaign. Coupled with Thursday's report in the New York Times that President Bush has signed a secret order permitting Afghanistan-based U.S. special operations forces to cross into Pakistan without Islamabad's permission, the odds of an "October surprise" that could influence the general election have risen appreciably.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (13 Sep 2008)

*Articles found Sept 13, 2008*

  New batch of Canadian mentors to begin training Afghan soldiers
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — A larger team of Canadian Forces mentors are arriving in Afghanistan with plans to step up the training of Afghan soldiers in a variety of combat specialties, the new commander said Saturday following an evening change of command ceremony.

Col. Joseph Shipley has officially assumed command of the Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (OMLT) as members of the fifth rotation of troops in Afghanistan wrap up their tour and head home.

His 250-strong sixth rotation of troops from Petawawa, Ont., will, for the first time, have complete coverage of all the Afghan army brigade's capabilities - including its artillery, engineering and reconnaissance companies, he said.

Up until now, Afghan forces have largely relied on the coalition for support in such areas.

"What we have to do is we have to take them so they're not just fighting in partnership with coalition forces but that they're doing it by themselves," he said.

"That they have the ability to sustain their own operations in the field and be able to bring in all the enablers that they need that they're relying on the coalition for right now."

It's a "significant step," he said, that won't be completed over the next six months. His rotation's job will be to "sow the seeds" for the future.
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 Pakistan pursues diplomacy with US on border raids
By PAUL ALEXANDER 
Article Link

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan's government eased its rhetoric Saturday against unilateral U.S. attacks on militant havens near the Afghan border, saying it hopes quiet diplomacy will persuade Washington that the raids only inflame sentiment against leaders of both countries.

Defense Minister Ahmad Mukhtar claimed Washington already has agreed to curtail its military activities against militants in Pakistan, although a missile strike Friday killed at least 12 people.

Most U.S. cross-border activity has been limited to missiles fired by unmanned drone aircraft. But in a Sept. 3 attack, helicopter-borne U.S. ground forces were used in an operation that killed at least 15, an escalation of U.S. military force.

"As far as my information, we have taken it up at the highest level with the State Department and Pentagon," Mukhtar said in an apparent reference to the U.S. using ground forces.
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 Insurgent fire killed Saskatoon soldier: investigators
Article Link

Investigators looking into last month's death of a Canadian soldier in Afghanistan's Zhari district have concluded he was killed by insurgent fire.

Master Cpl. Josh Roberts of the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based in Shilo, Man., was shot during a confusing gun battle between coalition forces and insurgents on Aug. 9.

There was speculation at the time that he might have been shot accidentally by an Afghan security contractor.

Military officials said Saturday that personnel from the firm Compass Integrated Security Solutions were in the area, but were not responsible for Roberts' death.

The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service based its conclusion on physical evidence, witness interviews, and an analysis by military police investigators.

Troops were engaging a group of about 15 insurgents along a rugged tract of farmland when the incident occurred.

Roberts, the 89th Canadian soldier to die in the Afghanistan mission, was shot in his armoured vehicle during the operation.
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 Soldiers. In a Conservative Party press release. Being taken wildly out of context to attack the NDP.
By Kady O'Malley September 13th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Posted to: Capital Read, Inside the Queensway 
Article Link

As headlines go, it’s not quite as bad as “The NDP caucus supports child pornography”, but it’s getting close.

From a release issued by the Tories earlier today:
JACK LAYTON INSULTS TROOPS

NDP Leader Jack Layton made the disturbing suggestion yesterday that coalition troops are targeting and recklessly killing Afghan civilians. These unacceptable comments are sadly in keeping with previous remarks by Layton and other NDP members.

First off, I like the “sadly” — yeah, guys - you were so upset, you could barely find the strength to fire off a press release. But what did that virulently anti-military Jack Layton actually say?

· Yesterday in Newfoundland Layton said the following about Canadian troops: “This horrific practice of coming in with planes and strafing villages and having civilians killed, it’s turning the civilians against the mission,” (CBC Newsworld, September 12, 2008).

Not surprisingly, the Tories don’t provide the context for the quote, but given the fact that Canadian soldiers are not, have not, and - as far as I know - will not ever be involved in aerial bombing runs, it seems pretty clear that Layton is referring to the missions that have been carried out almost exclusively by the American contingent of the NATO coalition - which have also come in for heavy criticism from the Afghanistan government, most recently in the aftermath of a US-led raid that reportedly left as many as 90 civilians dead. 

In an interview in April, Mr. Karzai warned that civilian casualties were undermining the fight against terrorism, and he questioned, as many Afghans do, why Afghan villagers were under attack when the militants’ training camps in Pakistan were left untouched. 

“The war against terrorism is not in Afghan villages,” he said. “The war against terrorism is elsewhere, and that’s where the war should go.”

Will “HARMID KARZAI INSULTS TROOPS” headline the next edition of “Just the Facts”? That could get interesting. Meanwhile, the release goes on:
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## GAP (14 Sep 2008)

*Articles found Sept 14, 2008*

 Pakistan sends fighter jets to tribal region   
 www.chinaview.cn  2008-09-13 20:10:29   Special report: Pakistani Situation     
Article Link

    ISLAMABAD, Sept.13 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan Air Force (PAF) on Saturday sent its fighter aircraft to the northwestern tribal region as the U.S.-led coalition forces are increasing cross-border raids, local media reported. 

    The fighter jets conducted flights in North Waziristan tribal region, News Network International (NNI) news agency said. 

    At least 12 people were killed in North Waziristan in a suspected U.S. missile attack on Friday. 

    The coalition forces are increasing their missile and drone attacks on targets inside Pakistan in recent month, blaming Pakistan's local Taliban for rising insurgency in Afghanistan. 

    Reports said that U.S. President George W. Bush has authorized U.S. raids against militants inside Pakistan without prior approval from the country
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 Pressure mounts on India to send troops to Afghanistan
14 Sep 2008
Article Link


NEW DELHI: India is resisting renewed pressure from the West to send its troops into Afghanistan to boost the coalition troops there. This is increasing as coalition forces are coming under severe fire in southern Afghanistan from a resurgent Taliban most of whom are getting trained and armed in Pakistan. 

India is not about to enter this particular cauldron because its troops would fan the flames in a way that no others would do. They would draw fire from Pakistanis and India would be sucked into a battle, which would have huge implications for its internal security. 

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet Pakistan's new president, Asif Ali Zardari, in New York at the UN General Assembly. India is ready to resume dealings with Pakistan, but believes Pakistan's internal instability would be preventing it from doing so. 
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 Two UN officials killed in Afghanistan
September 14th, 2008 
Article Link

Kabul, Sep 14 (Xinhua) Two people were killed and 15 injured when a car bomb hit a convoy of vehicles belonging to UN aid agencies in southern Afghanistan’s Kandahar province Sunday morning, the provincial police said.”The incident took place on Kandahar-Spinboldak highway at 9.30 a.m. when a man driving an explosives-laden car blew it up next to the convoy, killing two on the spot and wounding 15 others including one police personnel,” police chief Matihullah Khan told reporters. 

“Except the police constable, all the victims are civilians,” he added. 

He said that one of the vehicles bearing the UN logo was hit in the blast two of its occupants, both doctors, were killed on the spot. 

Khan did not say which UN agency the car belonged to.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the the attack but Khan blamed it on Taliban terrorists.
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 Another US drone strike kills 14 in N Waziristan
Article Link

MIRANSHAH: A missile from a suspected United States drone killed 14 people when it hit a house in the outskirts of Miranshah in North Waziristan tribal area on Friday.

It was the fourth such strike in a week.

The pre-dawn strike destroyed the house and 14 people were killed, an official told Reuters, adding that another 14 people were wounded.

Al Badar terrorist group: The men were believed to be terrorists, locals said, adding that the house hit in the Tol Khel area had been rented by an Afghan terrorist organisation, Al Badar, and was being used as an office. 

Army confirms: “We confirm a missile attack at around 5.30 in the morning (on Thursday) ... We have informed the government,” said military spokesman Major Murad Khan.

Khan gave no more details but security officials in the region said 14 people had been killed and about 12 wounded.

Residents said two missiles were fired at a former government school where terrorists and their families were living.
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 Focus on the 'stans: Afghanistan and Pakistan are keys to U.S. security
Tribune Editorial Article Last Updated: 09/12/2008 07:51:44 PM MDT
Article Link

In tandem with his announcement that he would withdraw 8,000 troops from Iraq, President Bush said he will send an additional 4,500 soldiers to Afghanistan. That's too few too late, but he's got the right idea. 
    The United States took its eye off the ball early in 2002 when the Bush administration began its ill-conceived, ill-planned preparations to invade Iraq. But America's real enemies, Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida organization that committed the attacks of 9/11, were in Afghanistan or the lawless tribal areas of neighboring Pakistan, not Iraq. 
    Seven years later, the United States still is paying for diverting its gaze. U.S. forces have not seen bin Laden since he eluded U.S. surrogate forces during the battle of Tora Bora in December 2001. He is believed to be hiding in the mountains that straddle the Afghan-Pakistani border. 
    In the meantime, conditions in Afghanistan have deteriorated. The government of Hamid Karzai has limited control of the countryside outside the capital, Kabul, and reinvigorated insurgents, including the Taliban, now are killing more American soldiers in Afghanistan than are dying in Iraq. 
    Compared to about 140,000 U.S. troops now in Iraq, there are about 16,000 in Afghanistan, complemented by 40,000 NATO troops. However, these forces are stretched extremely thin, particularly as they try, unsuccessfully, to provide security in a vast, mountainous country and secure its long border with Pakistan
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Three-phase American plan to capture Al Qaeda leaders
By Anwar Iqbal and Masood Haider
Article Link

WASHINGTON, Sept 13: The Bush administration has approved a three-phase plan to capture top Al Qaeda leaders and has increased military strikes inside Pakistan to achieve this target, a media report said on Saturday.

“The plan represents an 11th-hour effort to hammer Al Qaeda until the Bush administration leaves office,” reported National Public Radio.

NPR is America’s largest and most respect radio network which provides news to 797 radio stations across the country.

According to it, the raid by helicopter-borne US Special Operations forces in Pakistan last week was not an isolated incident but part of this three-phase plan approved by President Bush.

The plan calls for a much more aggressive military campaign and authorises US forces in Afghanistan to take part in operations inside Fata.

“Definitely, the gloves have come off,” a US official who has been briefed on the plan told NPR. “This was only phase 1 of three phases.”
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 British army suffers third casualty in a week in Afghanistan: MoD
Article Link

LONDON (AFP) — A British soldier has been killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan, becoming the third British casualty there in a week, the Ministry of Defence said on Sunday.

The serviceman, from 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, was killed while on a routine patrol near Kajaki in the restive Helmand province on Saturday.

He was not immediately named, but his next of kin have been informed.

He is the second soldier from the regiment to die in Afghanistan in the space of 48 hours, after Private Jason Lee Rawstron, 23, was killed in a firefight with Taliban extremists in Helmand on Friday.

Gaz O'Donnell, a 40-year-old father of four, was killed in Afghanistan on Wednesday as he tried to defuse an explosive device set by the Taliban.

The deaths bring to 120 the number of British soldiers who have died in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion in late 2001 that ousted the Taliban from power in Kabul.
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## MarkOttawa (14 Sep 2008)

New batch of Canadian mentors to begin training Afghan soldiers
CP, Sept. 13
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2008/09/13/pf-6757526.html



> KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A larger team of Canadian Forces mentors are arriving in Afghanistan with plans to step up the training of Afghan soldiers in a variety of combat specialties, the new commander said Saturday following an evening change of command ceremony.
> 
> Col. Joseph Shipley has officially assumed command of the Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (OMLT) as members of the fifth rotation of troops in Afghanistan wrap up their tour and head home.
> 
> ...



With White House Push, U.S. Arms Sales Jump 
NY Times, Sept. 13
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/washington/14arms.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=todayspaper


> ...
> Over the past three years, the United States government, separately, has agreed to buy more than $10 billion in military equipment and weapons on behalf of Afghanistan, according to Defense Department records, including M-16 rifles and *C-27 military transport aircraft* [emphasis added]...



Mark
Ottawa


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## The Bread Guy (15 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
150730EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban, or analysis thereof.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*


"Martyrdom Operation 8 foreigner invaders in Kandahar "


> Sunday morning 14-09-2008 at approximately 10:15 am local , a courageous Mujahid of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Abdul Salam said "Allahu Akbar" and rammed his booby-trapped car into a convoy of foreigner invaders in Zanjber area of of Boldak district of Kandahahar province, in which 2 vehicles were completely destroyed and 8 foreigner terrorists  were killed  few wounded.. We ask Allah to accept our brother among martyrs in Eelleyeen (high rank in the paradise). All praise and gratitude are due to Allah.Reported by Qari Yousuf Ahmadi



"11 puppet  police killed in Kandahar"


> Saturday midnight 13-09-2008 at approximately 12:00 am local , Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, ambushed a patrolling unit  of puppet police in Lao Wiala area of KAndhar city. In the attack 11 puppet soldiers were killed few wounded and their arms were mujahideen booty.Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf


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## MarkOttawa (15 Sep 2008)

ARTICLES FOUND SEPT. 15

Petraeus: more than troops needed in Afghanistan
AP, Sept. 15
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080915/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_petraeus



> U.S. Gen. David Petraeus said Sunday that experience in Iraq shows it will take political and economic progress as well as military action to tackle increased violence in Afghanistan.
> 
> "You don't kill or capture your way out of an industrial strength insurgency," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
> 
> ...



Afghanistan Is in Its Worst Shape Since 2001, European Diplomat Says 
NY Times, Sept. 14
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/world/asia/15kabul.html?ref=todayspaper



> One of the most experienced Western envoys in Afghanistan said Sunday that conditions there had become the worst since 2001. He urged a concerted American and foreign response, even before a new American administration took office, to avoid “a very hot winter for all of us.”
> 
> The envoy, Francesc Vendrell, a Spanish diplomat with eight years’ experience in Afghanistan, especially criticized the growing number of civilian deaths in attacks by American and international forces.
> 
> ...



In The Guardian: Lauryn Oates Patiently Explains The Folly Of Taliban-Appeasing 
Terry Glavin, Sept. 14 [links at post]
http://transmontanus.blogspot.com/2008/09/in-guardian-lauryn-oates-explains-why.html



> In a debate between the Guardianista (and my occasional correspondent) Conor Foley and Lauryn Oates (one of my co-founders with the Canada Afghanistan Solidarity Committee), Conor attempted to make the same case that serves as the basis of the New Democratic Party's entire Afghanistan policy. Of course Lauryn won, but the debate vividly illustrates how the Let's-Talk-With-The-Taliban approach collapses like a house of cards the instant it's subjected to proper scrutiny.
> 
> Here are the best bits:
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (15 Sep 2008)

*Articles found September 15, 2008*

U.S. choppers turned back by gunfire from Pakistan
ZEESHAN HAIDER Reuters September 15, 2008 at 6:26 AM EDT
Article Link

ISLAMABAD — Gunfire from Pakistan forced U.S. military helicopters to turn back to Afghanistan after they crossed into Pakistani territory in the early hours of Monday, Pakistani security officials said.

The incident took place near Angor Adda, a village in the tribal region of South Waziristan where U.S. commandos in helicopters raided a suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban camp earlier this month.

"The U.S. choppers came into Pakistan by just 100 to 150 metres at Angor Adda. Even then our troops did not spare them, opened fire on them and they turned away," said one security official.

Pakistan is a crucial U.S. ally in its war on terrorism, and its support is key to the success of Western forces trying to stabilize Afghanistan. But Washington has become impatient over Islamabad's response to the threat from al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters in Pakistan's tribal regions on the border.
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Taliban attacks kill Afghan doctors, police
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- The Taliban has claimed responsibility for two separate attacks in Afghanistan over the weekend that killed doctors and police officers.

A suicide bomber in a vehicle attacked a United Nations convoy in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan Sunday, killing two Afghan doctors.

The blast in the main market of Spin Boldak district also wounded three Afghan officials and 12 civilians, said Matiullah Khan, the province's police chief.

The doctors were conducting a health survey in the district, police said.

The Taliban, in a statement posted on their Web site, said one of their members carried out the attack.
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US firm ambushed in Afghanistan, 23 killed
Article Link

KABUL: At least 23 people were killed when Taliban ambushed a United States security firm convoy in southwestern Afghanistan on Friday. Provincial officials said it was the second attack on the firm in recent days. Provincial Police Chief Khalilullah Rahmani said 15 of the dead were Taliban killed in the fighting that broke out following the ambush. 

Rahmani said US Protection and Investigations, a firm involved in escorting supplies for coalition forces, also suffered casualties, but gave no details. “The Taliban attacked the convoy with machineguns. Four vehicles were set on fire,” said a provincial official requesting anonymity. He said four Afghan guards and four civilians had been killed in the ambush that took place when the convoy was passing through Bakwa district in Farah province. Another convoy of the security firm had been attacked on Thursday in Kandahar city. Two people had been killed in the attack. In another incident, the US military said coalition forces had killed more than 10 Taliban and had detained two more during operations in eastern Afghanistan targeting the network of Taliban commander Jalaluddin Haqqani. 
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AFGHANISTAN: Two more Navy SEALs die 'taking the fight to the enemy'
Article Link

By institutional culture, the Navy SEALs don't let out much information about their combat missions. But recent death announcements suggest the SEALs are playing a major role in the increasing battle against the resurgent Taliban and their allies in Afghanistan.

On Sept. 3, the SEALs announced the death of Petty Officer 1st Class Joshua Harris, who drowned during a combat operation in Afghanistan.

And on Saturday, the SEALs announced the deaths of Senior Chief Petty Officer John Wayne Marcum (pictured above) and Chief Petty Officer-select Jason Richard Freiwald (pictured below). Both died Friday of wounds incurred a day earlier during a firefight with "heavily armed militants."

Marcum, 34, was from Flushing, Mich.; Freiwald, 30, from Armada, Mich. Both were decorated veterans from previous combat tours and were attached to a SEAL unit in Virginia when they deployed to Afghanistan. Each is survived by a wife and daughter.

"They died while taking the fight to the enemy, going in harm's way with the selflessness that resonated in their character and  made them giants among men," said Capt. Scott Moore, commanding officer of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group.
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Quispamsis native works at Tim Hortons in Kandahar, gets taste of Afghan life
ANDREW MCGILLIGAN Canadaeast News Service
Article Link

SAINT JOHN - Stepping off the plane at Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan was similar to waking up and cooking for Quispamsis resident Tim Thompson.


He describes having the sunlight hit his face as blinding, just like turning on the lights in the morning after a good night's rest. Then there's the heat. Thompson compared it to opening the oven door and having the heat wash over his face.

"Your first instinct is to get a bottle of ice water FAST," wrote Thompson in an e-mail to Canadaeast News Service. "The temperature is very hot, but eventually you become climatized to the point where the eating facilities are kept at a constant 32 degrees -- which actually feels cool."

Thompson is in Afghanistan not as a soldier, but as a worker in the Tim Hortons restaurant located at the airfield. The 21-year-old is a veteran of the coffee franchise as he worked for the company during high school -- he graduated from Kennebecasis Valley High School in 2005 -- and again while attending New Brunswick Community College in Miramichi. Thompson is currently on leave from studying criminology at St. Thomas University.

He'd been interested in working in Afghanistan for a while and when a friend got a job in the country, Thompson decided it was time to apply for a position through the Canadian Forces Personnel Support Agencies website.

He had a phone interview and received confirmation he was one of 100 applicants out of 2,300 chosen to attend a two-week training course at Canadian Forces Base Kingston. Three days after the training session, he received a call giving him a tentative start date.

He left home on June 4 and arrived at Kandahar Airfield on June 7. He said the opportunity is a chance to determine if a military career is in his future.
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Afghanistan governor killed in explosion  
Saturday, 13 Sep 2008 12:32 
Article Link

The attack took place in the village of Paghman, west of Kabul Printer friendly version The governor of Afghanistan's Logar province and three others have been killed in an explosion near his home.

Abdullah Wardak, a former cabinet minister, his two bodyguards and the driver of the vehicle all died when the car was hit by a roadside explosion in the village of Paghman, west of the country's capital Kabul.

The AFP news agency reports that the Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack. 

Speaking about the death of the top official in the provincial government, Kabul police chief General Alishah Paktiawal said: "It was a remote-controlled bomb. This is the work of terrorism, the terrorists who want to kill Afghanistan's people," he said.

In September 2006, another high-profile politician, governor of eastern Paktia province Hakim Taniwal was also killed in an attack claimed by the Taliban.
More on link


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## The Bread Guy (16 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
160750EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban, or analysis thereof.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*


"Taliban cheer Harper's pledge to withdraw troops by 2011"


> "It's a step that will help save Canadian civilians and soldiers," said Mullah Jalil Akhund about the Conservative election promise. "We want foreign troops out of our country, and those that insist on staying, we will carry on fighting.".... (more on link)




"The Afghan War Will Be Won And Lost On Media Propaganda"


> "....all we'll hear about from our national media are the constant failures of this mission, the killing of civilians, and our inability to oust the Taliban from their mountainous caverns. One is always quick to hear about the mistakes....." (more on link)





" 4 supplying truck of  American destroyed  in Kandahar"


> Today afternoon 15-09-2008 at approximately 5 pm local  , Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, ambushed a supplying convoy of American occupation army and its puppet police who were providing security for the convoy  which was travelling on Kandahar Herat highway in Sangber area of Mewand district of Kandahar province. In the attack 4 supplying vehicles which were carried weapons to  American base were destroyed.    Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf




" 3 oil tankers of  American invaders destroyed in Helmand"


> Today afternoon 15-09-2008, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, ambushed a supplying convoy of American occupation army and its puppet police who were providing security for the convoy  which was travelling  in Mermandab area of Grishk district of Helmand province. In the attack 3 oil tankers of American occupation army  were destroyed and one mujahideen booty. Also Mujahideen with a remote controlled landmine blew up a vehicle of puppet police in which the vehicle was destroyed and 7 police in it were killed. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf




"1 tank of Australian invaders blew up  in  Uruzgan"


> Tuesday noon 16-09-2008 at approximately 11:15am local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,with remote controlled landmine blew up a military tank of Astrlian occupation army when it was travelling Njben area near TarenKot city of Uruzgan province. In the  explosion the tank was completely destroyed and 4 occupation terrorists in it were killed.Reported by Qari Muhammad Yoisuf


----------



## GAP (16 Sep 2008)

*Articles found September 16, 2008*

Patrick Cockburn: The US strategy for Afghanistan won't work
Covert operations only succeed when they have strong local allies who want outside support
Monday, 15 September 2008 
Article Link

Covert action is frequently a substitute for policy," was an aphorism first coined by the former director of the CIA Richard Helms. Its truth is exemplified by the decision of President Bush in July to secretly give orders that US special forces will in future carry out raids against ground targets inside Pakistan, without getting the approval of the Pakistani government. 

Mr Bush's order is fraught with peril for the US and Nato forces in Afghanistan. In one respect, it is a recognition at long last by Mr Bush that the Taliban and their al-Qa'ida allies could not stay in business without the backing of Pakistan. This is hardly surprising, since it was Pakistani military intelligence which largely created them in the first place. 

It was always absurd for the White House and the Pentagon to pour praise on the former Pakistani leader General Pervez Musharraf as their greater ally against terrorism, despite the clearest evidence that it was the Pakistani army which has been keeping the Taliban going since 2001.

True to Helms's nostrum, Mr Bush has not adopted a new policy, but is resorting to covert operations, the political disadvantages of which are obvious, and military benefits dubious. A good example of this is the first of these operations undertaken under the new dispensation. On 3 September, two dozen US Navy Seals were helicoptered in to South Waziristan in Pakistan, where they attacked a compound, aided by an AC-130 gunship. When they retreated, they said they had killed many al-Qa'ida fighters, though a senior Pakistani official later said that the true casualty figures were four Taliban and al-Qa'ida "foot soldiers" and 16 civilians, including women and children.
More on link

Taliban strike UN aid workers, RCMP training in Kandahar  
Article Link

As the cowardly taliban show us once again they are attacking and killing the Doctors and other Staffers who   DO NOT CARRY ARMS  and are in Afghanistan simply to give aid to the poor.

The deliberate killing of UN workers is more despicable than one can imagine.

Our prayers and condolences to the three British Soldiers also killed this past week,as well as to their families,loved ones, and brothers in arms. God Bless them one and all.

This article is from the ISAF news with regard to the great job our mounties are doing in Afghanistan
More on link

MacKay staunch defender of troops — sometimes  
By SCOTT TAYLOR On Target Mon. Sep 15 - 5:40 AM
Article Link

ON SUNDAY, Sept. 5, after the formality of meeting with Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean to request that she dissolve Parliament, Prime Minister Stephen Harper told the assembled press corps at Rideau Hall that he expected this election campaign to become a battleground of personal attack ads.

Not waiting to retain the moral high ground, the Conservative party struck first with an Internet parody of federal Liberal Leader Stephane Dion being crapped on repeatedly by a puffin. 

In a more local effort, Defence Minister Peter MacKay took aim a week ago Sunday at Halifax West NDP candidate Tamara Lorincz, going so far as to suggest that party leader Jack Layton "should pull that woman’s nomination papers."

What set MacKay ablaze was an incident that occurred the previous Friday outside the DEFSEC Atlantic trade show at Halifax’s Cunard Centre. In addition to being an NDP candidate, Lorincz is a founding member of the Halifax Peace Coalition. 

This organization staged a small vigil in protest against U.S. defence companies that were exhibiting at DEFSEC. According to published accounts and confirmed by Lorincz, when a carload of senior brass drove by, Lorincz shouted: "This is a racket and it should be shut down. We need a peace economy, not a military economy."

MacKay was not present at this encounter, but when he read those words in a news report the following day, he told reporters, he "felt physically ill" and that it was "one of the most disgusting things I’ve heard in a long time." In fact, MacKay went so far as to claim that Lorincz’s comments render her "unfit for public office."

In the interest of full disclosure, I must state that I have known Lorincz for the past five years, and I consider her a personal friend. On a number of occasions, I have accepted her invitation to participate in presentations sponsored by the Halifax Peace Coalition. 

While I have some fundamental ideological differences with her, I have always known Lorincz to be well-informed on defence issues and eager to examine all sides of any contentious topic.
More on link

Afghanistan's provincial governor killed in bomb blast  
9/13/2008 4:14 AM ET 
Article Link

The governor of Afghanistan's southern Logar province and three of his bodyguards have been killed as the car in which they were traveling was blown up by a roadside bomb near the capital Kabul, reports quoting the interior ministry said.

Afghan police blamed the bombing on the "enemies of Afghanistan," a term often used by them to describe Taliban militants.

Abullah Wardak, who is also a former minister, was nearing his home at Logar Saturday morning, when the bomb was remotely detonated. Logar is situated about 40 kilometers south of Kabul city. 
More on link

Progress in Afghanistan gets rockier
By James Kitfield National Journal September 15, 2008 HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan 
Article Link

 The CH-47 helicopter carrying Gen. John Craddock and his aides banks sharply, and the machine gunner positioned by the open rear door strains in his harness. The kaleidoscope below rolls from the verdant greens of the Helmand River basin to brown scrublands and then the bleached-white desert. Soon, the CH-47's shadow is joined by those of a Marine Cobra gunship and an armed Huey helicopter. They are escorting the supreme commander of the NATO alliance into one of the most isolated outposts in the global war on terrorism. It is the very heart of Taliban territory.
The helicopters touch down in a stinging swirl of sand and dust at Forward Operating Base Dwyer. The compound is little more than an encirclement of concrete barriers and concertina wire serving as a firebase and ground-combat headquarters for the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit in Helmand province. Craddock emerges from the chopper to shake hands with marines clad in full body armor, their faces dripping with sweat. They seek relief from the 120-degree heat in the shade of their lean-tos. Inside the mess tent, where visitors are briefed, dust chokes the air.
Isolated and forlorn, FOB Dwyer sits west of the crossroads town of Garmsir. Though life may be miserable on this flat patch of land, the location has this to recommend it: unobstructed fields of fire separate it from the Taliban insurgents who are using rocket-propelled grenades, suicide bombers, and massed infantry in increasingly bold attacks on U.S. and NATO outposts and bases. At FOB Dwyer, there is no sneaking up on Lt. Col. Anthony Henderson and the rest of the men of 1st Battalion, 6th Marines.
The soldiers of the U.S. Army's 503rd Infantry Regiment were not so lucky. On the night of July 13, an estimated 200 Taliban insurgents nearly overran their outpost in mountainous east Afghanistan; the assault left nine U.S. paratroopers dead and many more wounded. On August 18, Camp Salerno near the Pakistan border repulsed an attack by as many as 10 suicide bombers backed by infantry. On the same day, a force of approximately 100 Taliban insurgents ambushed an elite French-led reconnaissance patrol, killing 10 paratroopers. It was the deadliest day for French troops in 25 years.
More on link

Afghan war costs could be thorny election issue
Mike Blanchfield, Canwest News Service Published: Monday, September 15, 2008
Article Link

OTTAWA - Canada's new parliamentary budget officer says federal politicians, including those in the opposition, should be told the overall cost of the six-year war in Afghanistan.

In an interview with Global National, Kevin Page says he is nearing the end of a special probe that tallies Canada's military involvement in Afghanistan. However, he said that he believes all-party consent is required to allow him to release the report during a federal election campaign.

Page, who was appointed in March, had hoped to release a preliminary estimate on the cost of keeping Canada's 2,500 troops in Afghanistan this month, when the House of Commons was due to reconvene.

But Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision to call a federal election has effectively delayed the release of that figure.

"Certainly for parliamentarians and opposition, they have an important oversight role. They should know what those costs are ... It would be important to get the kind of transparency we need going forward," Page told Global News.

Releasing that figure now, during a federal election campaign, could be a thorny issue. 

The mission in Afghanistan has had a low profile during the first nine days of the federal campaign, but if the cost of the war were revealed, it could cause headaches for the governing Conservatives, as well as the opposition Liberals, who originally committed Canadian troops to Kandahar while they were in power in 2005.
More on link

Afghanistan frees son of alleged ally of Al Qaeda
From the Associated Press September 16, 2008
Article Link

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN -- Afghanistan freed a 12-year-old boy and sent him to his family in Pakistan, two months after it says he was detained with his mother, who is suspected of links to Al Qaeda and faces charges in New York.

Officials say the boy, Ali Hassan, and his mother, Aafia Siddiqui, were detained outside the governor's house in Afghanistan's Ghazni province in July. The American-educated Pakistani woman was then handed over to U.S. custody and flown to New York.

A U.S. indictment alleges that during Siddiqui's interrogation in Ghazni, she picked up a rifle and fired at U.S. soldiers and FBI agents.

A spokesman for Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry, Sultan Ahmed Baheen, said Ali was a dual American-Pakistani citizen because he was born in the United States.
More on link

Father of children accidentally shot by Canadians faces Taliban threats
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — The father of two children accidentally killed by Canadian troops in Afghanistan says he's been forced to flee his home in the Panjwaii district after being threatened by the Taliban.

Ruzi Mohammed says he was threatened by insurgents for speaking with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Canadians from the Provincial Reconstruction Team about compensation for the mistaken shooting last July.

Now jobless and living in a small rented house in Kandahar city for 4,000 afghanis, or US$80 a month, the frustrated 31-year-old said he's still anxiously awaiting compensation.

"Karzai said 'Sorry' on behalf of Canadians and promised me that he will send me to pilgrimage and provide me a house in Kandahar city, but I'm still waiting for that," he said.

"Canadians promised me compensation but I'm not sure what the amount is."

Told it could take four weeks for the cash to flow, Mohammed said he needs it now.

"lf Canadians will not support me now, I am compelled to join the Taliban and to take revenge for my two innocent children," he said.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (16 Sep 2008)

The Liberals blew it on the Afghanistan file
_Vancouver Sun_, Sept. 16, by Barbara Jaffe
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/columnists/story.html?id=be869db4-81b0-4ea1-8a5e-e4636aa902e4


> ...
> Afghanistan could have been a defining issue for Liberals. They had a winning position on it that was in keeping with the views of a majority of Canadians.
> 
> Dion reasoned that Canada had done its share in the dangerous Kandahar region since July 2005, that it was time to move troops to a more stable region where they could focus on reconstruction and development work. Some 2,500 soldiers now are in Kandahar.
> ...



Willing To Win in Afghanistan?
_Washington Post_, Sept, 16, by Anne Applebaum
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/15/AR2008091502470.html?wpisrc=newsletter



> URUZGAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- From the top of Cemetery Hill, just outside town, the village of Chura looks like a thin green ribbon winding along the bottom of a narrow valley. To the east, the west and the north are dry, uninhabitable mountains. To the south, through a gap in the mountains, it is just possible to see the next narrow valley.
> 
> For the Dutch captain whose soldiers graciously invited me along on their patrol up that hill, this geography means a great deal. The green valley of Chura, he explains, is "secure": That means that when his Charlie Tiger Company patrols the one-street bazaar, nobody shoots at the soldiers. It also means that the Dutch "provincial reconstruction team" -- NATO's name for troops who deliver aid, and the central focus of the Netherland's mission here -- can keep up their work on Chura's small health clinic, bring better seeds to Chura's farmers, build Chura's schools. During the patrol, villagers come out to shake hands with the reconstruction team leader who is walking with us and to ask the medic for advice. Children put their thumbs up and shout "Alles Gut," the rough Dutch equivalent of "okay."
> 
> ...


  

Mark 
Ottawa


----------



## GAP (17 Sep 2008)

*Articles found September 17, 2008*

Pakistan Army will retaliate against U.S. attacks
The announcement comes at a time when the US is taking a more aggressive stance toward the rising insurgency along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. 
By David Montero from the September 18, 2008 edition
Article Link

Further escalating a diplomatic row, Pakistan's Army says it will fire on US troops and drones that attempt to penetrate Pakistani territory in pursuit of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. The heightened tension drew Pentagon officials to Islamabad and Kabul to calm rattled nerves. 

"We reserve the right to retaliate for any aggression in self-defense and to protect our territory, civilians and soldiers," Major Murad Khan, a Pakistani military spokesman said, referring to US attacks on Pakistani soil, according to Bloomberg. The major added that "soldiers have instructions" to stop border violations. 

That call was echoed by both Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani as well as the newly inaugurated president, Asif Ali Zadari. But both men urged a diplomatic solution, according to the Daily Times, a leading English-language daily in Pakistan. 

"We do not jump to conclusions and will solve the issue through talks," said Mr. Gilani.


Moving quickly to de-escalate the flap, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, arrived on an unannounced visit to Islamabad on Tuesday, The New York Times reports. 

The visit by the chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, came as an uproar continued to grow in Pakistan about the incursion on Sept. 3, which severely strained relations between the United States and Pakistan, its top Muslim ally in the war against terrorism. The visit also coincided with conflicting accounts about a possible second American raid on Monday.... 

A Pakistani military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, said the army reserved the right to use force to defend the country and its people, but he said there was "no change in policy." 

Asked what the Pakistan military would do if there was a future incursion by American troops, he said: "There is a big if involved. We will see to it when such a situation arises." 

The Christian Science Monitor recently reported that the US is adopting a more aggressive stance toward the escalating insurgency along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. 

The increased frequency of American strikes suggests that the US believes it must ramp up operations on both sides of the border as a stopgap. The Washington Post reported Wednesday that the number of missile attacks in Pakistan has jumped from three in 2007 to 11 so far this year. 
More on link

WHO says Afghan polio campaign to go ahead despite killings 
Article Link

GENEVA (AFP) — The World Health Organisation said Wednesday that a polio vaccination campaign in southern Afghanistan would go ahead despite the killing of two doctors in a suicide attack claimed by the Taliban.

"Today, the country and Kandahar team has finally decided to continue the campaign to take forward the mission of polio eradication for which our two colleagues sacrificed their lives," Kabul-based WHO official Tahir Mir said.

The WHO had said on Tuesday that the campaign targeting 1.2 million children under five in Afghanistan's southern regions, due to start on September 21, had been cancelled following the attack.

But Mir said on Wednesday that the WHO's staff in Afghanistan are "totally committed to this noble cause and do not feel defeated due to this recent sabotage activity."

The campaign "will be carried out in all the planned areas on the scheduled dates, September 21-23," he added.

Two Afghan doctors working for the WHO were killed in a suicide car bombing in southeastern Afghanistan Sunday that was claimed by the Taliban.

The WHO said earlier this week that a similar campaign in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar, Kunar and Laghman was still likely to go ahead, as were future campaigns in the south in October and November. 
More on link

France says European defence neglect hurting Afghanistan
Article Link

CANBERRA (AFP) — French Defence Minister Herve Morin on Wednesday said years of under-investment in defence by European countries was to blame for a critical shortage of international forces in Afghanistan.

Morin warned during a visit to Australia that the world could not afford to lose the increasingly brutal conflict in Afghanistan and urged nations involved to stay the course to avoid a greater threat of terror.

"Europe, apart from France and Britain, decided a long time ago to disarm. They have not provided enough money for their defence and their security," he told reporters after talks with Australian Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon.

"Most European countries have decided to leave their defence up to NATO," he said when asked whether he agreed with Australia's view that some nations in the continent were not pulling their weight in the escalating Afghan conflict.

"This weakness of Europe is also evident in Afghanistan," he said.

Morin, who visited Afghanistan last week after the deaths of 10 French soldiers, invited Fitzgibbon to accompany him and German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung there in early December.
More on link

Who wants to scare people on their way to the polls?  
By COLIN KENNY Wed. Sep 17 - 6:09 AM
Article Link

IF YOU are one of those Canadians who believe that all human conflict is stupid and that military and police spending just drain money from far more worthy causes, this election campaign is for you.

You can be pretty sure that when you tune in to the national debates, no journalist will ask questions about Canadian security and defence, even though there are plenty of questions to be asked of all parties – including the incumbent Conservatives.

Given that any national government’s primary job is the physical protection of its citizens, you would think that defence and security would be important issues. But they are largely ignored. The votes lie elsewhere.

Here are a few relevant questions that journalists and debate moderators should ask, but won’t. (If any of these questions intrigue you, you might consider keeping them handy in case a politician knocks on your door.)

Everybody knows that the Great Lakes are a haven to smugglers and porous to would-be terrorists. The U.S. Coast Guard patrols the lakes with 2,200 officers and Canada does it with 14 Mounties. Make sense?

Everybody knows that Canada’s ports are riddled with criminal activity, but only a handful of Mounties are delegated to police them. Overall, the Senate Committee on Security and Defence estimates the Mounties are short-staffed by more than 5,000 officers (the committee’s most recent report on Emergency Preparedness argues for 5,300-6,500 new RCMP officers), yet the current government’s commitment to hiring new police across Canada doesn’t mention the Mounties. Make sense?
More on link

 US coalition troops killed in Afghanistan
By FISNIK ABRASHI
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A roadside blast Wednesday in eastern Afghanistan killed four U.S. coalition soldiers and an Afghan, the coalition said.

It did not identify the nationalities of all the victims, but the majority of troops in eastern Afghanistan are American.

U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan in 2008 have already surpassed the record 111 deaths the U.S. suffered last year, as insurgent attacks have increased.

The number of attacks on U.S. forces in eastern Afghanistan has risen by around 30 percent this year compared with 2007, U.S. military officials say.

The coalition did not say where the Wednesday attack took place or provide any other details.

The deaths came the same day U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates held meetings in Kabul with President Hamid Karzai and other officials.

The mountainous eastern region borders Pakistan's tribal areas, where militants train, recruit and arm, and where Afghan and U.S. officials allege that al-Qaida has managed to reconstitute itself after being driven out of Afghanistan following the 2001 invasion that ousted the Taliban from power.
More on link

US commander holds Pakistan talks   
  Article Link

Adm Mullen wants new tactics to help beat the Taleban 
America's top military commander, Adm Michael Mullen, has met Pakistani officials to discuss operations along the troubled border with Afghanistan. 

Adm Mullen met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani "to defuse tension", the state news agency APP said. Army chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani was also present. 

The visit comes after Pakistan's army said it would not tolerate incursions. 

Tension has been rising in Pakistan over an increase in US attacks along the border with Afghanistan. 

'Comprehensive strategy' 

Adm Mullen arrived on his unannounced visit to Islamabad on Tuesday evening and met Prime Minister Gilani on Wednesday. 

The men discussed "measures to defuse tension between the two countries, following a spate of air and ground violations along the Pakistan-Afghan border", APP said. 
More on link

Tories Well Placed to Take Military Votes  
Experts say equipment purchases, reassurances of importance are key to gaining soldiers' support. 
By Jeff Davis
Article Link

After being elected to office in January 2006, the Conservatives came out strong and bought the military plenty of expensive and much-needed equipment. Even more important, they reassured Canada's airmen, soldiers and sailors of the important role they play in Canadian society. 

Now, despite extending the Afghan mission till 2011, military watchers say, soldiers are not unhappy with the government and predict they will continue to vote Conservative this time around. 

"I would suggest that most of the members of the Canadian Forces would probably vote Conservative in this election," said retired colonel Alain Pellerin, executive director of the Conference of Defence Associations. "I think the message from the current Conservative government probably resonates more with the troops." 

In the last election, the Conservatives succeeded in winning many ridings that are home to soldiers and their families. There are some 62,000 registered military voters in Canada. 

Embassy examined the top 10 ridings in which military ballots were cast in the last election. Nine of these ridings contain major military bases. The Conservatives won five of the top ten, the Liberals three, the Bloc Québécois two and one went to independent Quebec MP André Arthur. 

Canadian military historian and senior research fellow with the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute Jack Granatstein expected similar results this time around. 

"I suspect [the military vote] will stay heavily Conservative," he said. "They essentially gave the Afghan force everything it could possibly want, except for helicopters. My guess is that the Tories have earned the vote." 

In the same vein, the executive director of the Royal Canadian Military Institute, retired colonel Chris Corrigan, said the Conservatives should net the soldier vote for the "very obvious reason that they have rebuilt the military." 
More on link


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## The Bread Guy (17 Sep 2008)

*Harper says Yes to release of Afghan war cost report*
Martin O'Hanlon, The Canadian Press, 17 Sept 08
Article link 

Stephen Harper has given his blessing to the release of a report on the cost of the Afghan war - a document that could sway Conservative fortunes in the vital electoral battleground of Quebec, where the mission is highly unpopular.

Parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page has tallied the full cost of the mission - past and future - and said he would like to release it. But he was worried about interfering with the federal election and asked for all-party consent.

All opposition parties gave their blessing Tuesday, and the prime minister agreed Wednesday.

The minority Conservative government has estimated the cost of the six-year mission at under $8 billion. If the new figures are much higher, it could be bad news for Harper ....

More on link


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## The Bread Guy (17 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
171435EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban, or analysis thereof.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*


"1 intelligence  officer killed in  Kandahar"


> Tuesday night 16-09-2008 at approximately 11:20 pm local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, in a guerilla attack killed a puppet intelligence   officer Torjan in Kabul Drwaza area of Kandahar city. In attack  the arm of killed officer was mujahideen booty.Reported by Qari Yousuf Ahmadi




"1 tank of British invaders blew up in Helmand"


> Wednesday morning 17-09-2008 at approximately 6:35am local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,with remote controlled landmine blew up a military tank of British occupation army when it was travelling in Baspand area of Marja district of Helman province. In the  explosion the tank was completely destroyed and 5 occupation terrorists in it were killed. Reported by Zabihullah Mujahid




"17 puppet  police killed in  Helmand"


> Wednesday morning 17-09-2008 at approximately 9:30 am local , Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with a remote controlled landmine blew up a patrolling unit  of puppet police in Nahri Saraj area of Grishek district of Helmand province. In the explosion  17 puppet soldiers were killed few wounded .Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf


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## The Bread Guy (18 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
180710EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban, or analysis thereof.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*


Weekly commentary:  "The frightened battalions in Iraq, what will be brought  to Afghanistan?"  
*NOTE:  The earlier post containing just this item has been removed, but I'm sharing it here again so you still have access to it.*


> .... If Bush and his allies want to withdraw the frightened forces form Iraq, plan sending to Afghanistan, and struggle to sophisticate their anti-Islam policy there, we think it is nothing without an untrue propaganda to cover up the true historical defeat and implement their false propaganda through the extreme media, because if Bush have got any victory by these frightened troops in Iraq, heard anything without gradually defeats, ironical and disgrace in the past five years then how Bush think of victory from these forces in Afghanistan.  .... (more on link)





"Two explosions in Kandahar have led to victims among enemies" (GoogEng)" - Original in Arabic


> In the two explosions carried out by independent Mujahid Islamic Emirate morning 17-9-2008 at soldiers in the internal areas of the Directorate Meondboulayh Kandahar, the expectations of those killed and wounded in enemy ranks.
> Testimonies news that the first explosion happened at a car of the army's kind of hip PE in ten o'clock in the market Directorate, which Asafaran destroying the car, killing five soldiers.   The second carried out in ten o'clock also on the type of car Saraf of Assaker house in the Kach Juppin Directorate itself on the road to Kandahar, Herat resulted in the destruction of the car and also killed five soldiers and wounding two others severely injured.  After two explosions cordoned off the area by the enemy, and they were sustain losses in the guise Center Directorate.




"10 supplying truck of American destroyed in Kandahar"


> Wednesday afternoon 17-09-2008 at approximately 2:20 pm local  , Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, ambushed a supplying convoy of American occupation army and its puppet police who were providing security for the convoy  which was travelling on Kandahar Herat highway in Sanzari area of Zhari district of Kandahar province. In the attack 10 supplying vehicles which were carried weapons to  American bases and 4 vehicles of puppet army were destroyed and 11 puppet police in its were killed.Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf




"2 tanks of Australian invaders destroyed in Uruzgan"


> Wednesday17-09-2008 at approximately 3:30pm local ,Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmines blew up 2 tanks of Australian occupation army convoys when they were traveling  in Sana Ghond area of near Tharen Kot city capital of Uruzga province. In the explosions the tanks were completely destroyed and 7 the invader terrorists in it were killed and few wounded.  Also Wednesday evening 17-09-2008 at approximately 7:10 pm local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmines blew up a patrolling unit of Holandian invaders army in Najben area of same city. In explosion 4 soldiers terrorists were killed and few wounded.. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf




"Battle with puppet army in Zabul"  (GoogEng) - Original in Arabic


> The occurrence of deaths and casualties in enemy ranks in the balance and Arngab mandate Zabul
> Continental / Yusuf Ahmadi
> According to details, destroyed the car of the type of customer Rnger Army at 10:20 am today in a battle 17-9-2008 direct face-to-face between the Mujahidin and the Islamic Emirate Assaker puppet army, in the Directorate of Shikan balance the state Zabul., Killing seven soldiers And injuring another number.  In the battle which lasted for one hour, Athens was also the Taliban, mujahideen weapons of the dead sheep.  In the context of an independent, yesterday morning, targeting tanks of the enemy occupier Bar grenades in a similar battle in the field of the directorate Arngab mandate itself, killing seven soldiers and wounded five others severely wounded.  Thank God in these battles did not suffer any damage to the Mujahideen.




"Embed With the Taliban"


> .... The film maker Mehran Bozorgnia travels south from the Afghan capital Kabul to Taliban regional headquarters near Kandahar ....


----------



## MarkOttawa (18 Sep 2008)

ARTICLES FOUND SEPT. 18

Nato must transform to beat Taliban - Browne
_The Guardian_, Sept. 18
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/18/nato.afghanistan



> Britain is engaged in a "generational struggle" to defeat the Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan, Des Browne, the defence secretary, warned yesterday.
> 
> Speaking to the Guardian before a meeting of Nato defence ministers in London today, he called for an "honest discussion" about the problems facing the alliance, notably its inability to deploy adequate forces and failure to invest in needed equipment, and the need to "transform" Nato. It was the most successful military alliance the world had ever seen, he said. But it was set up to fight the cold war-type conflicts rather than the expeditionary type operations currently being fought in Afghanistan, and that was something the 26 defence ministers needed to address.
> 
> ...



US seeking sole command of Nato's war against the Taliban
Western allies risk public backlash if Washington commands troops
_The Independent_, Sept. 18
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/us-seeking-sole-command-of-natos-war-against-the-taliban-934256.html



> The Bush administration is pushing for sweeping changes to the military command structure in Afghanistan, so that the head of international forces would report directly to US Central Command instead of Nato.
> 
> The changes would have huge repercussions for Nato, whose officials have stated that Afghanistan is a "defining moment" for the organisation's ability to conduct large-scale operations abroad.
> 
> ...



Gates: US reviewing its Afghanistan war strategy 
AP, Sept. 18
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-EU-Gates.html



> The Bush administration is looking at possible changes in its war strategy in Afghanistan in light of rising levels of violence and an increasingly complex insurgent threat, Defense Secretary Robert Gates acknowledged Thursday.
> 
> ''You have an overall approach, an overall strategy, but you adjust it continually based on the circumstances that you find,'' Gates said in an interview with a group of reporters at a London hotel. ''We did that in Iraq. We made a change in strategy in Iraq and we are going to continue to look at the situation in Afghanistan.''
> 
> ...



New breed of Taliban replaces old guard
Money and a hatred of foreigners are motivating a new generation of Afghan fighters
_Daily Telegraph_, Sept. 17
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/2971811/New-breed-of-Taliban-replaces-old-guard.html



> Mehran Bozorgnia, a cameraman working for Channel 4 News, spent time with the Taliban in Kandahar in southern Afghanistan to discover this new breed...
> 
> ...there was no evidence here of hordes crossing the frontier from Pakistan. To a man they were Afghan. The sole foreigner, Aftab Panjabi, a former Pakistan Army officer, took a dozen Talibs through the art of firing an AK47 accurately.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


----------



## MarkOttawa (18 Sep 2008)

(More from a longer version of the AP story above)

Gates Says U.S. Is Reviewing Afghanistan Strategy
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,424483,00.html


> ...
> Gates also told reporters that he believes Britain intends to add more troops in Afghanistan, but he offered no numbers and said he was not sure the government here had made a final decision.



Mark
Ottawa


----------



## greentoblue (18 Sep 2008)

Fog of war and all that but a setback all the same....
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/three-civilians-killed-in-botched-raid/2008/09/18/1221331074591.html

AUSTRALIAN special forces troops in Afghanistan have accidentally killed a district governor and two of his bodyguards in a botched raid that will pose a further setback to the battle against the Taliban insurgency.


----------



## The Bread Guy (19 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
190615EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban, or analysis thereof.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*

Taliban Denies Responsibility for Killing of K'Har Infrastructure Deputy (GoogEng) - Original in Arabic


> Taliban kills not consider Mohammed Agha
> Continental / Yusuf Ahmadi
> Strongly denied the official spokesman of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in his speech this morning 13-9-2008 page with the Principality by Mujahideen Islamic Emirate in the killing of Haji Mohammad Agha consideration, assistant chief presidency electricity and water in the state of Kandahar.  He said: mentioned did not kill the Taliban.  The Assistant Chief of the presidency of electricity and water Kandahar / consideration Mohammed Agha, was killed yesterday by unidentified persons in an attack by surprise when he was mentioned heading towards the mosque for prayer.




"Killed local commander and 5 soldiers in Uruzgan" (GoogEng) - Original in Arabic


> With a local commander killed five soldiers in an explosion mandate Arosjan
> Continental / Yusuf Ahmadi
> Mujahid Islamic Emirate killed at 9:00 am today (1892008) local commander of the Army's (came) with five soldiers from his security detail, when his car exploded by the Mujahedeen charge after dominating from the village (Susan) near the city centre Trenkot mandate Arosjan.  The explosion destroyed an enemy vehicle, killing five soldiers with the commander.  As a result strong explosion scattered members of soldiers in the distance of half a kilometre from the scene of the explosion.


----------



## GAP (19 Sep 2008)

Afghan killed when Canadian troops fire on vehicle
Updated Fri. Sep. 19 2008 6:20 AM ET The Canadian Press
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Canadian soldiers have fired on a civilian vehicle that was driving toward a military convoy Thursday evening, killing one of the occupants. 

Military officials say soldiers were travelling through Kandahar City at about 8:30 p.m. when a civilian truck began to drive toward their convoy. 

Neither signals to head off, nor a warning shot was obeyed, and two subsequent shots finally stopped the truck. 

An investigation revealed that one of the occupants was killed. 

The shooting is under investigation by Canadian and Afghan officials. 

Civilian deaths caused by NATO forces are a growing concern among Afghans. 

More on link


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## The Bread Guy (19 Sep 2008)

*Escalation of Force in Kandahar province*
ISAF news release PR# 2008-490, 19 Sept 08
News release link

At approximately 8.30p.m. 18 September an ISAF convoy was approached, head on, by a jingle truck in the vicinity of Kandahar City.

The vehicle failed to respond to warning signals, of flashing lights and vehicle horn, and failed to stop. Following approved escalation of force procedures, one warning shot was fired, the vehicle still failed to stop. A further two shots were fired directly at the vehicle, killing one civilian.

No further details are available at this time as the incident is being investigated.

ISAF soldiers are trained to take appropriate steps to minimize civilian casualties, whilst at the same time taking action to protect themselves when threatened. Incidents such as this are very regrettable, and our thoughts are with the families and friends of the casualty. 

ISAF runs frequent public service announcements and advertising campaigns aimed at keeping the local population informed about the need to maintain a safe distance from ISAF convoys as they travel throughout the region.


----------



## MarkOttawa (19 Sep 2008)

ARTICLES FOUND SEPT. 19

'No plans' to boost Afghan troops
BBC, Sept 19
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7624830.stm



> Defence Secretary Des Browne has said he has "no plans" to announce more British troops for Afghanistan, after reports they could be increased.
> 
> He told the BBC he had made it clear in June that troops numbers would increase by 230 to more than 8,000 next spring.
> 
> ...



U.S. military advisors may soon head to Pakistan
The U.S. and Pakistan have cleared remaining obstacles, so the long-delayed team may arrive within weeks, Joint Chiefs Chairman Michael Mullen says.
_LA Times_, Sept. 18
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mullen19-2008sep19,0,2298512.story



> A long-delayed plan to send dozens of U.S. military advisors to Pakistan to train its army in counterinsurgency could begin in a matter of weeks under a new agreement on a training base, according to the top U.S. military officer.
> 
> Washington for months has urged the Pakistani military to accept the training team. Pakistan has resisted, asking for additional weaponry and equipment some U.S. officials believe is best suited for its standoff with regional rival India.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


----------



## MarkOttawa (19 Sep 2008)

Afghanistan: master and commander
Conference of Defence Associations media round-up, Sept 19
http://www.cdaforumcad.ca/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1221850705

Mark
Ottawa


----------



## The Bread Guy (20 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
201000EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban, or analysis thereof.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*

"2 tanks of Canadian invaders destroyed in Kandahar"


> Saturday morning 20-09-2008 at approximately 9:15am local time, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmines blew up 2 tanks of Canadian occupation army convoys when they were traveling  in on Kandahar Herat highway in Kolak area of Zhari district of Kandahar province. In the explosions the tanks were completely destroyed and 7 the invader terrorists in it were killed.  Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf




"1 vehicle of  puppet army  blew up in   Kandahar"


> Friday morning 19-09-2008 at approximately 9:30 am local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmines blew up a vehicles of puppet army in Qahla Jaded area of Kandahar city. The landmines completely destroyed the vehicles and  7 puppet terrorists in it were killed .  Reported by Qari Yousuf Ahmadi




"1 tank of Australian invaders destroyed in Uruzgan"


> Saturday 20-09-2008 at approximately 7:10am local ,Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmine blew up 1 tank of Australian occupation army convoys when they were traveling  in Sana Najben area near Tharen Kot city capital of Uruzga province. In the explosions the tank was completely destroyed and 3 the invader terrorists in it were killed .Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf


----------



## GAP (20 Sep 2008)

*Articles found Sept 20, 2008*

 Australian troops kill ex-police chief - official  
Friday September 19, 2008 (1726 PST)
Article Link

AUSTRALIAN troops have accidently shot dead a former provincial police chief in the southern province of Uruzgan, senior police officials said. 
Australian troops surrounded a house suspected of harbouring Taliban militants on Wednesday evening, the province`s police chief said. 

He said the troops were unaware that the ex-police chief, Mullah Rozi Khan, was inside the house when they launched their attack. 

"The international troops surrounded a suspected house and Mullah Rozi Khan, without contacting the troops, was going there to solve the problem," head of the province’s criminal division, Gulab Khan, said. 

"Khan and two of his bodyguards were killed in the firefight," he said. Two other bodyguards were injured in the skirmish. 

Khan had left his police role to take over as head of the province`s Chora district. 

President Karzai condemned the killing. 
More on link

 25 out of 38 kidnapped security forces men freed 
Monday September 15, 2008 (2219 PST)
Article Link

Twenty five security men, out of 38 taken hostage 50 days ago, have been released by the kidnappers. Media sources reported that 25 security men out of total 38, which were kidnapped 50 days back from Dewly check post during security forces operation. 
Meanwhile, a group of militants attacked a security post in Sarpasani area, which was repulsed by the forces through counter action and the attackers fled from the scene. 

Curfew has been imposed in the entire district including tehsil Kabal from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm. 

Moreover, peace jirga in district Dir has announced that the houses of those persons will be demolished, who will offer shelter to the militants. 
More on link

 Canada told to expect push on Afghan role
Pressure to stay longer likely whatever election result, NATO chief says
September 20, 2008 Mitch Potter Europe Bureau
Article Link

LONDON–Canada can expect continuing pressure to play a longer-term role in Afghanistan regardless of the federal election's outcome, the head of NATO said yesterday.

Speaking at the close of an informal two-day summit of alliance defence ministers in London, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer hesitated when asked for reaction to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's campaign pledge to end Canada's combat role in the embattled southern province of Kandahar in 2011.

"What (I) should never do is enter a debate that is part of an election campaign in Canada," he told the Toronto Star, noting his rank demands political neutrality.

"But nobody should be surprised if I, as NATO secretary general, will go on calling on all the allies to do as much as they can in Afghanistan."

De Hoop Scheffer, who has repeatedly acknowledged the disproportionate burden borne by the Canadian mission in Afghanistan, made the comments after two days of meetings covering a range of NATO concerns, from Afghanistan to the chilly contretemps with Russia over Georgia and other former Soviet satellites.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay, who was campaigning in Canada yesterday, sent subordinates to London on his behalf. The Canadian delegation kept a low profile, avoiding contact with reporters.

With so little daylight shining between the Afghanistan policies of the Conservative and Liberal parties, the issue now may seem almost quarantined from electoral politics. Yet with or without Canada, it will not be going away anytime soon, given that the number of U.S. forces on the ground is expected to be increased significantly.
More on link

 Ambitious Afghan anti-polio effort proceeds despite slayings
Scott Deveau ,  Canwest News Service Published: Friday, September 19, 2008
Article Link

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - When a suicide bomber slammed his car full of explosives into a World Health Organization convoy last weekend, he robbed two of the aid organization's most prominent Afghan doctors of their lives.

He did not, however, steal their legacy.

Drs. Shamsul Kakar and Mamoon Taheri, veterans of the WHO's fight against polio in southern Afghanistan, died last Sunday with their driver in the attack at Spin Boldak, near the Pakistani border with Kandahar province.
More on link

 2,800 Pakistan Families Flee To Afghanistan: Minister
Friday, September 19, 2008
Article Link

KABUL:About 2,800 Pakistani families have crossed the border into northeastern Afghanistan over the past two months to escape fighting between extremists and security forces, an official said on Friday.

The families, which could number up to 20 people each, were mostly living with relatives just across the border in the mountainous northeastern province of Kunar, Afghan deputy refugees’ minister Abdul Qader Ahadi told AFP.

“They escaped from fighting between Pakistani Taliban and the Pakistan government,” Ahadi told AFP without being able to give a number of individual refugees. Most were women and children, he said.

The families, from tribes which straddle the porous border, had mostly gone to the Shigal, Marawara and Dangam areas opposite Pakistan’s Bajaur region, the minister said. “They are not permanent and will leave,” he said.

Some emergency assistance had been delivered through the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian organisations and more assistance was being planned, Ahadi said.

Pakistanis fleeing clashes on their side of the border last year crossed over into Afghanistan’s Khost area, opposite North Waziristan, but later returned to their homes, he said.
More on link

 Bomb kills 5 at Pakistani religious school
By ABDUL SATTAR – 1 day ago 
Article Link

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A bomb exploded Friday at a religious school that police said was affiliated with a pro-Taliban political party, killing five people and wounding 10 more.

Television footage showed a gaping hole in the rough mud wall around the seminary near the southwestern city of Quetta and one partly demolished adjacent room.

Police said the blast occurred in the wrecked room but didn't indicate if it was an attack or if the bomb had been kept there. One witness claimed it was caused by a suicide bomber.

Quetta, the intrigue-filled capital of Baluchistan province, has a rich cast of violent groups.

The city is considered a hub for Taliban militants fighting in neighboring Afghanistan. It has a history of sectarian violence. The province is also the scene of a low-level insurgency waged by ethnic Baluch nationalists seeking more autonomy.
More on link

 Pakistan orders troops to open fire if US raids
By STEPHEN GRAHAM – 4 days ago 
Article Link

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan's military has ordered its forces to open fire if U.S. troops launch another air or ground raid across the Afghan border, an army spokesman said Tuesday.

The orders, which come in response to a highly unusual Sept. 3 ground attack by U.S. commandos, are certain to heighten tensions between Washington and a key ally against terrorism. Although the ground attack was rare, there have been repeated reports of U.S. drone aircraft striking militant targets, most recently on Sept. 12.

Pakistani officials warn that stepped-up cross-border raids will accomplish little while fueling violent religious extremism in nuclear-armed Pakistan. Some complain that the country is a scapegoat for the failure to stabilize Afghanistan.

Pakistan's civilian leaders, who have taken a hard line against Islamic militants since forcing Pervez Musharraf to resign as president last month, have insisted that Pakistan must resolve the dispute with Washington through diplomatic channels.

However, army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas told The Associated Press that after U.S. helicopters ferried troops into a militant stronghold in the South Waziristan tribal region, the military told field commanders to prevent any similar raids.
More on link


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## The Bread Guy (21 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
210710EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban, or analysis thereof.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*


Taliban "declaration about International Peace Day" (English) - .pdf permalink - Original, with Arabic at the bottom - .pdf permalink 


> ...    As the enemies of mankind and the anti-human plans are well known, in this day they call themselves as the human protectors, so it perhaps that the International Peace Day is a cheating plan of 0ppressed nations.  In spite of this, if NATO and US forces and their Afghan Allies aspire stop the war without any cheating plan and respect the International Peace Day. Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) will also declare order of defance position. (more on link)




"Taliban agree to drop weapons for day of peace " (quqnoos.com) 


> .... "If the United States, NATO and their allies are sincerely observing the Peace Day, and with no betrayal and trick announce a day of truce, so the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will order its mujahideen to hold defensive positions on peace day," the militant group said in a statement ....




"Afghan Taliban back UN anti-polio drive, Peace Day: spokesman" (Agence France-Presse)


> "In respect for the international Peace Day, Taliban have issued a declaration that we are in a defensive position and we will cease attacks," a spokesman for the group, Yousuf Ahmadi, told AFP ....  "If NATO and America and their followers respect this day for real, and avoid tricks and announce the ceasefire from the depth of their heart, the (Taliban) will also instruct to its own mujahedeen (holy warriors) to take the defensive position on this day," the statement said.  Ahmadi also said Taliban would "cooperate" with a three-day UN polio vaccination campaign due to start in volatile parts of the country on Sunday.  Vaccinators must however "keep in contact" with Taliban in areas they visit to make sure they were safe, he said ....




"NATO to halt Afghan operations for Peace Day" (Associated Press) 


> .... A Taliban spokesman identifying himself as Qari Yousef Ahmadi told The Associated Press on Saturday that the Taliban supports the idea of Peace Day. Ahmadi said Taliban attacks are only a means of self-defense.  "We wanted peace in the past, we want peace now and we want peace in the future," he said. "We are defending ourselves. The invaders are in our country, launching operations against us. Now that the Afghan government and their foreign allies are requesting peace for one day, that is nothing, one day, but of course we are respecting it." ....





"Five Canadian Soldiers Killed In Kandahar As Taliban Continue Heavy Strikes"


> Five Canadian soldiers were killed and a tank destroyed on (12 Sept 08) morning in Kandahar when Mujahideen of  Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan detonated remote-controlled landmines on a Canadian tank as it was patrolling in the Daman district of Kandahar province. Accodring to the report by Taliban spokesman Qari Yusuf, the tank was completely demolished and all five soldiers onboard were killed.  Qari Yusuf also reported that on Thursday, Taliban Mujahideen ambush an Afghan army convoy in Lashker Gah, the capital of Helmand province. Three vehicles were destroyed in the attack and sixteen Afghan army soldiers were killed and several others were wounded according to the report. The Mujahideen confiscated the weapons as booty ....


----------



## GAP (21 Sep 2008)

*Articles found Sept 21, 2008*

 French soldiers unprepared for Taliban ambush: report  ]
Article Link

Graphic Map of the battle

A secret NATO review obtained by The Globe and Mail shows that the French who were killed in August did not have enough bullets, radios and other equipment. By contrast, the insurgents were dangerously well prepared 
GRAEME SMITH From Saturday's Globe and Mail September 20, 2008 at 1:11 AM EDT

It was mid-afternoon when a tribal elder invited a U.S. military commander for a quiet chat in a garden. His village was surrounded by foreign troops, hunting around the mountain valley in search of infiltrators from Pakistan rumoured to be lurking in the barren hills.

Thirty soldiers from a French airborne platoon wandered farthest from the village, exploring a steep slope covered with rocks and scrubby vegetation under a high ridge.

That hill would soon become a killing ground, scene of the deadliest ambush against international forces since 2001, and the latest troubling sign that the insurgents are mastering the art of guerrilla war.

A NATO report on the incident obtained by The Globe and Mail provides the most in-depth account so far of an attack on Aug. 18 that shook the countries involved in the increasingly bloody campaign. The NATO report, marked “secret,” reveals woefully unprepared French troops surprised by well-armed insurgents in a valley east of Kabul. Ten soldiers were killed, the report concludes, but the other soldiers were lucky to escape without more deaths.
More on link

 Battle to be won or lost in Bajaur
By Ismail Khan
Article Link

THE battle in the Bajaur Agency has not only become a tipping-point for Pakistan’s internal security, it can also have a deep impact on the country’s status as a key US ally in the war against terrorism. In the second week of August, the operation started haltingly to prevent what looked like the imminent fall of Bajaur’s regional headquarters, Khaar, to the militants.

Having suffered initial reversals, the operation is now on at full throttle. It has created a surrender-or-die situation for the militants and a now-or-never moment for the country’s security forces.

Predictably, the militants are using everything they have to hold their ground. Government and security officials say that they are baffled by the resilience and stiff resistance offered by the battle-hardened fighters, by their tactics and the sophistication of their weapons and communications systems.

“They have good weaponry and a better communication system (than ours),” said a senior official. “Even the sniper rifles they use are better than some of ours. Their tactics are mind-boggling and they have defences that would take us days to build. It does not look as though we are fighting a rag-tag militia; they are fighting like an organised force.”

More worryingly, the Bajaur battleground has attracted militants from other tribal regions and from across the border, from Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar province. It has long been known that there are foreign militants in Bajaur, but their numbers have always been thought to be small. Now, their ranks are swelling, catching by surprise many veterans in the civil-military establishment. This supply line from Kunar to Bajaur has, however, eased the pressure in Afghanistan. Western diplomatic sources acknowledge that the level of violence in Kunar has dropped appreciably since the launch of the operation in Bajaur, indicating a planning and operational linkage that overlaps the Durand Line.

Realising how crucial and critical the Bajaur operation is — and the massive impact it can have on restive neighbouring tribal regions — the army has lined up tremendous resources to make quick headway.

Concern for backlash

Government and security sources say that so far the operation is going well. However, there are concerns that rising numbers of civilian casualties in a lengthening conflict may cause public and political backlash, and undermine the national support needed to succeed in Bajaur. The Jamaat-i-Islami, for one — which has a strong political base in Bajaur and has had close ties with Gulbadin Hekmatyar’s Hizb-i-Islami (which operates in Kunar) — has already launched a campaign against the operation.

For now, government and security officials are staying put and are determined to take the battle to what they call “its logical conclusion”.

To gauge the seriousness of this operation a brigade of the Pakistan Army has, for perhaps the first time, been placed under the command of the recently-posted Inspector General of Frontier Corps, Maj-Gen Tariq Khan, to ensure the unity of command and effectiveness.

The security forces are relieved by much-needed words of praise from an otherwise sceptical and suspicious American administration regarding the action in Bajaur. On Thursday, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates told reporters in Kabul that the US was “encouraged” by the security forces’ operation in Bajaur.

At home, meanwhile, important members of the political leadership have stopped expressing misgivings about the establishment’s intentions in terms of dealing with militancy; they acknowledge that this operation is for real.

“There is a change in their approach,” said a senior politician from the NWFP. “They seem serious. As to what caused this change of mind, we really have no idea.”
More on link

 Republican VP candidate Palin to meet Afghanistan's Karzai
Article Link

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Republican presidential candidate John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin will meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai next week in New York, a McCain campaign spokesman said Saturday.

Karzai will be in New York with leaders from around the world to participate in the United Nations General Assembly meeting.

McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds confirmed the meeting.

Palin, the 44-year-old first time governor of Alaska, is seen as a novice in the key area of foreign policy -- especially when measured against her Democratic counterpart Joseph Biden, with 36 years' experience on the Senate foreign affairs committee.

Palin got her first passport in 2007 when she traveled to visit Alaska National Guard -- of which she is commander in chief -- in Kuwait and Germany
More on link

 At least 100 Afghan officials poisoned 
September 21, 2008 - 9:37PM
Article Link

At least 100 Afghan policemen and government officials, including a deputy provincial governor, were poisoned after eating their evening meal, officials say.

A man claiming to be from the Taliban said he had carried out the mass poisoning but NATO's military force, which offered medical treatment, said it was believed to be a straightforward case of food poisoning.

About 100 men fell ill in the eastern province of Nuristan late on Saturday after eating iftar, the evening meal that breaks a day of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, deputy provincial governor Abdul Halim told AFP.

They had all eaten food prepared in the kitchen of the governor which feeds some provincial authorities and police who guard the compound.

"After we had our iftar, about 100 people felt really ill," he said. Many had fainted.

Halim said he had also taken ill but had recovered by Sunday. The provincial police chief was however still being treated in a clinic, he said.

The source of the poisoning appeared to have been the bread but it was being investigated.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (22 Sep 2008)

ARTICLES FOUND SEPT. 22

New base beefs up Afghanistan presence 
_Stars and Stripes_ (Mideast edition), Sept. 22
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=57560



> MAIWAND DISTRICT, Afghanistan — U.S. forces are beefing up their presence in southern Afghanistan, building a new base and joining a Canadian task force in an effort to stem a rising tide of violence in the heartland of the Taliban insurgency.
> 
> The construction of Forward Operating Base Ramrod, about 50 miles west of Kandahar, the former stronghold of the fundamentalist movement, puts the newly-deployed 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment in an area that has seen a sharp rise in attacks.
> 
> ...



(Via Moby Media Updates)
http://mobygroup.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=449&Itemid=58

Mark
Ottawa


----------



## GAP (22 Sep 2008)

*Articles found September 22, 2008*

Pakistani troops reportedly fire on US helicopters
By ISHTIAQ MAHSUD 
Article Link

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani troops and tribesmen opened fire on two U.S. helicopters that crossed into the country from neighboring Afghanistan, intelligence officials said Monday.

The helicopters did not return fire and re-entered Afghan airspace without landing, the officials said.

Pakistan's army and the U.S. military in Afghanistan said they had no information on the reported incursion late Sunday, which will likely add to tensions between Islamabad and Washington.

A spate of suspected U.S. missile strikes into Pakistan's border region and a raid by U.S. commandos said to have killed 15 people have angered and embarrassed Pakistani leaders while signaling Washington's impatience with Pakistani efforts to clear out militant havens.
More on link

Labourers abducted in Afghanistan  
Article Link

At least 140 civilian labourers have been abducted in south-west Afghanistan by suspected Taleban insurgents, local officials say. 

Farah province governor Rohul Amin said the workers, who had been constructing army barracks, were seized from three buses on Sunday. 

Mr Amin said negotiations were continuing to secure their release. 

Kidnappings are frequently carried out in Afghanistan but this would be the largest mass abduction so far. 

The workers and their drivers were kidnapped in the Bara Boluk area, close to the Iranian border, as they were travelling to Herat, said Mr Amin. 

"Negotiations are under way by elders to release the innocent workers. We want to solve this issue peacefully without involving the military," he said. 

An army spokesman said the group were still being held but other Afghan officials said they had since been released. 
More on link

Afghan diplomat abducted in Pakistan
Gunmen fire at car, kills driver
Kamran Haider, Reuters Published: Monday, September 22, 2008
Article Link

ISLAMABAD - Gunmen kidnapped an Afghan diplomat in the Pakistani city of Peshawar on Monday, police said, underscoring worsening security in the nuclear-armed country two days after a suicide bomber killed 53 people.

British Airways said it had suspended flights to Pakistan because of security fears after the Saturday evening truck-bomb attack on Islamabad's Marriott Hotel.

The Czech ambassador and at least three other foreigners were among those killed in the blast, Islamabad's worst bomb attack, which wounded 266 people and which security officials said bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda.
More on link

France to decide on continuing mission in Afghanistan
Last Updated: Monday, September 22, 2008 CBC News 
Article Link

The French government was expected to vote Monday morning on whether it should keep its troops in Afghanistan.

The vote comes after 10 French soldiers were killed in an ambush outside Kabul on Aug. 18, one of the worst attacks on foreign troops in Afghanistan.

The killings reportedly shocked France.

The soldiers' funerals received widespread media attention and a memorial ceremony was held in Paris on Aug. 21.
More on link

Roadside bombing kills 6 civilians in S. Afghanistan   
 www.chinaview.cn  2008-09-22 18:23:29    KABUL, Sept. 22 (Xinhua)
Article Link

A civilian vehicle hit an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) Monday morning in southern Afghan province of Uruzgan, leaving at least six people dead and four more injured, said a statement from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). 

    It occurred at around 9:00 a.m.(0430 GMT) when the vehicle with all civilians on board was struck by an IED near Trin Kot district, the capital of Uruzgan province, the statement said. 

    "Six civilians, including one child, were killed and four wounded in the explosion," it said. 

    "ISAF troops immediately responded, provided medical assistance and evacuated the injured to ISAF clinics for further medical treatment," it added. 

    No one or individuals have yet to claim responsibility. 
More on link

U.S. frees Afghan fixer after 10-month detention he describes as 'hell'
GRAEME SMITH  September 22, 2008
Article Link

KABUL -- In the U.S. military cells where he saw daylight only once a week, where he says they broke his ribs with beatings, his captors gave him a nickname: "the Canadian reporter."

His formal designation was a detainee number: 3370. Last night, after almost a year in custody, the 22-year-old settled into a king-sized bed at the best hotel in Kabul with a big smile and started to regain his true names: Javed Yazamy, the name on his business card, or Jawed Ahmad, as he's known to friends. Most importantly, he wants to rebuild his career and the working name that made him famous among Canadian journalists: Jojo, a name synonymous with some of the best coverage of breaking stories during his time as cameraman for CTV News in Kandahar.

It's not clear why U.S. authorities let Mr. Ahmad walk free yesterday. 
More on link

Petawawa battle group takes over Afghan mission
New commander says main goal is to help Afghans make country secure
Scott Deveau, Canwest News Service Published: Monday, September 22, 2008
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - After battling through one of the fiercest fighting seasons on record, the Canadian Forces officially handed the mission over to a new battle group during a small ceremony at Kandahar Air Field yesterday morning.

The sense of relief was tangible in the air for members of the second battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry battle group based in Shilo, Man., who have been through more than most as the fighting season progressed.

The remaining few Patricias still on the ground will head home over the next two weeks as their replacements from the third battalion Royal Canadian Regiment of Petawawa take over the mission in Kandahar province.
More on link

Combat Camera: 800 US Troops Arrive in Southern Afghanistan  
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Article Link

More on link

Villagers in Afghanistan flee from Taliban
Refugees set up tent camps as fighting rises in the south
Jason Motlagh Monday, September 22, 2008 
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan | Bringing down his shovel with a dull thud, Wakhil Malik Muhammad broke ground on another home away from home. 

Heavy fighting across southern Afghanistan over the past two years has forced thousands of families to flee backcountry villages caught between the firepower of coalition forces and a resurgent Taliban. 

At a time when the Bush administration is re-evaluating its entire strategy in Afghanistan, a steady stream of Afghans from the Taliban-controlled south is flocking to a mud-baked refugee camp on the western edge of the capital. 

"Every day we were living in fear, so we finally left," said Mr. Muhammad, a native of Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, who first migrated to neighboring Uruzgan province with his wife and two daughters before coming to Kabul a month ago. "It is better to die by choice than to wait for a bomb." 

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Thursday that Washington is considering changing its war strategy in Afghanistan in light of rising levels of violence, an increasingly complex insurgent threat and concern over civilian deaths from U.S. air strikes. 
More on link

Pakistan's contradictory faces
In a country rife with extremism I saw civilized culture and a triumphant human spirit.
By Teri Rizvi from the September 22, 2008 edition
Article Link

Lahore, Pakistan - Pakistan is a country where militants in the idyllic Swat Valley have torched more than 130 girls' schools. Where dozens of suicide bombings (including a major one in the capital Saturday) – and the assassination of Benazir Bhutto – have rocked civilian life. Where suspected spies are publicly executed and women have very little freedom near the Taliban-infested border with Afghanistan. 

It's also a country where my niece and I can don sweat pants and T-shirts and hit the treadmill at the gym. It's an upscale coed health club where men wear shorts, treadmills are outfitted with TV screens, and the trainer brings you ice water – a custom so civilized that it should be adopted worldwide. 

In my first journey back to my husband's homeland in three summers, I was struck by these contradictory faces of Pakistan. An armed security guard stoically stood watch inside the gate of our family's home in Lahore, a bustling city near the border of India. 
More on link

Guns mostly fall silent in Afghanistan on Peace Day
September 21, 2008 11:24 EDT
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- The U.N. says guns have been silent across most of Afghanistan today, though reports of two incidents are marring International Peace Day.

Officials in southern Afghanistan say two security guards have been killed by Taliban militants at a road construction site. Fighting also continues in the western province of Herat, where a battle began with a militant attack yesterday. Eleven police were killed in the attack.

But elsewhere in the cournty the cease-fire agreement appears to be holding. The United States, NATO, the Afghan government and the Taliban have all pledged to halt attacks.
More on link


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## The Bread Guy (22 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
222020EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban, or analysis thereof.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*


"Capture convoy with foodstuffs for the British invaders in Helmend" (GoogEng) - Original in Arabic


> Mujahideen Gnamwa trucks near Tamoilleten of Hkurjah
> Qari / Yousuf Ahmadi
> The mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate of sheep at 11:15 noon today 22-9-2008 trucks loaded with food in the area near the eye of the Hkurjah the capital of Helmand, when they were carrying such materials to the occupied status of forces located in the English department Jermser the state itself.  At the beginning of the attack by security troops chose to flee towards the convoy, the mujahideen Vgnm trucks from the convoy, in the absence of the possibility of transfer to a safe place they Bahrachma.




"9 puppet police killed in Uruzgan"


> Monday morning 22-09-2008 at approximately 7:10 am local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmines blew up a truck vehicles of puppet police in Sar MArghab area near Tharen Kot city capital of Uruzan province. The landmines completely destroyed the vehicles and  9 puppet terrorists in it were killed .  Reported by Qari Yousuf Ahmadi




"21 puppet police killed   in Nemroz"


> Sunday night 21-09-2008 at approximately 3:20 am local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with heavy and light weapons attacked puppet police checkpoints in Sharno area of Zaranj city capital of Nemroz  province. In attack the checkpoints were demolished ,21 puppet police  were killed a few vehicles were destroyed. the arms  of Killed soldiers were Mujahideen booty.  Reported by Zabihullah Mujahid





_- edited to add first item - _


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## GAP (23 Sep 2008)

Kandahar district chief is killed  
Article Link

A roadside bomb has killed an Afghan district chief and a police official in the southern Kandahar province. 

The attack took place when the district chief of Registan, Amir Mohammad, was driving home with police official Assadullah, police said. 

Four of their guards have been wounded. Taleban insurgents have claimed responsibility for the attack. 

Kandahar is a key battleground of the Taleban insurgency where Afghan and foreign troops are fighting the rebels. 

The bomb struck a vehicle carrying the officials in Registan district late on Monday, news agency Associated Press quoted police chief Matiullah Khan as saying. 

"They are both killed and four of their guards were wounded," he said. 
More on link


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## The Bread Guy (23 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
230735EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban, or analysis thereof.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*


"(P)uppet district governor killed in   Kandahar"


> Monday morning 22-09-2008 at approximately 7:20 pm local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmines blew up a a vehicle  of puppet district governor of Registan district of Kandahar province in Wata Ghaz area of Boldak city. The landmines completely destroyed the vehicles and  and governor among 5 puppet terrorists in it were killed .  Reported by Qari Yousuf Ahmadi


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## MarkOttawa (23 Sep 2008)

SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ASSISTANCE FORCE IN AFGHANISTAN FOR ONE YEAR, SEEKS REINFORCEMENTS TO BOOST SECURITY
UN Department of Public Information, Sept. 22
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2008/sc9450.doc.htm



> Recognizing the need to curb the Taliban resurgence and the narcotics trade while minimizing civilian casualties in Afghanistan, the Security Council today decided to extend the authorization of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in that country for 12 months.
> 
> According to resolution 1833 (2008), passed unanimously under the binding Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, the extension would apply for one year beyond 13 October 2008, when the present authorization was set to expire.  In the resolution, the 15-member body also called on Member States to contribute personnel, equipment and other resources to ISAF and to the related Trust Fund.
> 
> ...



Bush Administration Reviews Its Afghanistan Policy, Exposing Points of Contention 
_NY Times_, Sept. 22
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/washington/23policy.html?ref=todayspaper



> Four months before President Bush leaves office, his top civilian and military aides are conducting four major new reviews of the war strategy and overall mission in Afghanistan, which have exposed internal fissures over American troop levels, how billions of aid dollars are spent, and how to cope with a deteriorating security situation in neighboring Pakistan.
> 
> The most ambitious of the assessments, run by the White House, begins in earnest this week with a series of high-level meetings, administration officials said. Officials have been directed to produce detailed recommendations within about two weeks for Mr. Bush’s most senior advisers on a broad range of security, counterterrorism, political and development issues. Many of the dozen aides interviewed for this article spoke on condition of anonymity because the reviews are continuing.
> 
> ...



Gates: Building Afghan forces is biggest challenge
AP, Sept, 23
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iWxiu65iLP4CvDJ7BEsBOx-u_vdwD93C9H600



> The biggest challenge in Afghanistan is building reliable and capable Afghan security forces, and U.S. commanders still have too few troops to do the job, Defense Secretary Robert Gates says.
> 
> Saying that violence will continue in Afghanistan until insurgents' safe havens in Pakistan are eliminated, Gates said it is crucial for the U.S. to maintain a strong relationship with Islamabad's fledgling government.
> 
> ...



U.S., Afghans and Pakistanis Consider Joint Military Force
_Washington Post_, Sept, 23
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/22/AR2008092203036.html



> Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United States are discussing the creation of a joint military force to attack insurgent sanctuaries on both sides of the rugged Afghan-Pakistani border, a senior Afghan official said yesterday.
> 
> Afghan Defense Minister Rahim Wardak said he had proposed the idea and it was discussed last month at a meeting of military officers from the three countries that focused on the border problem.
> 
> ...



UK 'has uphill task in Afghanistan'
Press Association, Sept, 22
http://news.uk.msn.com/Article.aspx?cp-documentid=9722944



> British soldiers in Afghanistan face a "long uphill task" and progress in the country could take years to achieve, Defence Secretary Des Browne has warned.
> 
> Mr Browne said the military was making a "positive difference" in the country despite facing a "difficult and dangerous" task.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


----------



## GAP (23 Sep 2008)

*Articles found September 23, 2008*

‘Hot Winter’ of Fighting Expected in Afghanistan
Intelligence Shows Taliban Plans to Launch Offensive Amid Extreme Weather
 By Spencer Ackerman 9/23/08 8:24 AM 
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan — Since Afghans took up arms against the Soviet occupation in 1979, insurgency in war-torn Afghanistan has followed a cyclical pattern. The spring and the summer are for fighting. The winter — which, particularly along the mountainous, porous eastern border with Pakistan, can feature six-foot snowbanks — is for regrouping. Until, perhaps, now.

U.S. military officials are warning that intelligence now indicates that the Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan plans to launch major operations this winter. While those officials publicly claim they’re prepared for a winter offensive, it would place U.S. counterinsurgency efforts in unfamiliar territory, with little precedent to guide them. It would likely entail a major escalation of insurgent aggression to cap off what has already been the bloodiest year for the U.S. military in the seven-year war.
More on link

Sarkozy Wins Approval for French Role In Afghanistan
By Edward Cody Washington Post Foreign Service  Tuesday, September 23, 2008; Page A16 
Article Link

PARIS, Sept. 22 -- The French government won parliamentary backing Monday for its domestically unpopular military involvement in Afghanistan. Accused of following an unwise policy dictated by Washington, however, it fell far short of the national consensus sought by President Nicolas Sarkozy. 

The vote in the National Assembly, 343 to 210, authorized Sarkozy to keep France's 3,000-member military contingent alongside U.S. and other international forces in Afghanistan as the Bush administration reviews its strategy and considers sending reinforcements to counter a surge in Taliban attacks. But a sharp debate that preceded the balloting also put on vivid display the public unease over what opposition legislators called a poorly thought-out commitment without an exit strategy, in a faraway and little-understood land. 

"You give the French people the perspective of a limitless continuation of a failed strategy," said the opposition Socialist Party's parliamentary leader, Jean-Marc Ayrault. He added: "We no longer accept the drift we see at work in Afghanistan. We are slipping into a war of occupation that has no limits, neither in duration nor in objectives." 
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (23 Sep 2008)

U.S. has no more troops for Afghan war until spring 
Reuters, Sept.23
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080923/ts_nm/us_afghan_usa_gates



> The United States will not have enough forces available to meet a request for more troops from NATO's top commander in Afghanistan until next spring at the earliest, the U.S. defense chief said on Tuesday.
> 
> "Without changing deployment patterns, without changing length of tours, we do not have the forces to send three additional brigade combat teams to Afghanistan at this point," Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## The Bread Guy (24 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
240653EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban, or analysis thereof.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*


"The occupation forces & International Day of Peace!!" - .pdf permalink


> ....  We openly say "in every country whereas the war fire has been spread and the nations destroy in, how is it possible to bring the peace. If US, UK and their allies give up from these sufferings and really bring the peace to these countries, there is no doubt that there will be virtual peace and security, the rug of barbarism will be collected the human will began comfortable life from the start.  In fact that is US and its allies fighting everywhere, support the militants and spread seed of war ..... (more on links)


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## MarkOttawa (24 Sep 2008)

ARTICLES FOUND SEPT. 24

British Airways suspends flights to Pakistan indefinitely
British Airways has suspended all flights to Pakistan indefinitely after the bomb blast there that killed 53 people.
_Daily Telegraph_, Sept. 23
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/3065252/British-Airways-suspends-flights-to-Pakistan-indefinitely.html



> BA normally operates six flights a week between London and the Pakistan capital Islamabad.
> 
> The city was the scene of a huge bomb attack which left more than 53 people dead and injured around 250 people including six British citizens.
> 
> ...



The Smart Money in Afghanistan
Washington Post, Sept. 24, by Anne Applebaum
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/23/AR2008092302324.html



> The scene is a small textile factory in a new industrial park on the outskirts of Kabul; the characters are an Afghan businessman, his American partner and a USAID official, the latter straight out of central casting: flustered, important, accompanied by gun-wielding bodyguards. She speaks of the U.S. Agency for International Development's plans for "small and medium-sized enterprise development," lauds the USAID-funded industrial park and alludes to the "$5.4 billion" the agency has spent in Afghanistan since 2002. She hands out an expensive-looking, glossy USAID brochure that describes, among other things, the goal of our meeting: "to show international media opinion leaders that progress is being made in economic growth in Afghanistan."
> 
> Unfortunately, the factory is half-empty that day: Prices for fuel and other inputs are so high in Kabul that no textile business can compete with those in India or Pakistan. The factory depends on Afghan army uniform orders, which come in irregularly. So does the fabric to make them, since the customs bureaucracy is still plagued by corruption and inefficiency. When the USAID official starts listing the assistance given to the Afghan customs service -- this includes training for officials, construction of border posts, even gifts of uniforms -- the American partner shrugs, unimpressed. "It would be good to move forwards instead of backwards," she says. "There's never any follow-through." Afterward, the Afghan businessman confides that he has been robbed by the police. It isn't the Taliban that Afghan entrepreneurs fear; it is their own government, corrupted by international money and now infiltrated by criminal networks, too.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


----------



## GAP (24 Sep 2008)

*Articles found September 24, 2008*

US drone crashes in northwest Pakistan
Article Link

A suspected US pilotless drone has crashed in the northwestern Pakistani region of South Waziristan after a spate of missile attacks by unmanned US aircraft in Pakistan strained ties between both countries.

Pakistan has said US missile attacks and one US ground assault are a violation of its sovereignty and the army has vowed to defend Pakistani territory.

President Asif Ali Zardari met US President George W. Bush in New York yesterday and spoke strongly about protecting Pakistani sovereignty, Mr Bush said.

Pakistani news channels said early today that a US-operated drone had come down near the border village of Angor Adda, where US commandos launched a raid on September 3.

The Pakistani military confirmed that a pilotless aircraft had come down but did not identify it as American. However, other countries with forces in Afghanistan have not been known to operate drones over Pakistani territory.

"A surveillance unmanned aerial vehicle while flying over Pak-Afghan border yesterday night crash landed, on this side of the border ... apparently due to malfunctioning," the army said in a statement.

"The wreckage ... has been recovered."

Residents and Pakistani security officials have reported troops firing on US helicopters in recent days, forcing them to turn back to Afghanistan. US officials have dismissed the reports claiming no helicopters had taken fire
More on link

Pakistan Wants U.S. Intelligence to Aid Fight Against Militants  
By Paul Tighe
Article Link

Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. should provide intelligence to help Pakistan's security forces fight pro- Taliban militants in the tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, Information Minister Sherry Rehman said. 

Pakistan wants ``actionable intelligence and we will act upon it,'' the official Associated Press of Pakistan cited Rehman as saying in New York where she is attending the United Nations General Assembly with President Asif Ali Zardari. 

The Pakistani leader will use his address this week to outline the critical situation the country is facing trying to combat extremists, Rehman said. A suicide bomb attack killed 53 people at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad on Sept. 20. 

Pakistan's anti-terrorism operations have created tensions with the U.S., which says the government isn't doing enough to combat al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters based on the Pakistani side of the border with Afghanistan. Zardari has made clear Pakistan objects to the U.S. carrying out unilateral military strikes inside Pakistani territory in pursuit of terrorists. 

Zardari warned in his first speech to Parliament on Sept. 20 that his country won't tolerate the violation of its sovereignty and territory. 
More on link


A US-NATO War In Pakistan? – An Anatomy of the Current Crisis
Published on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 by CommonDreams.org by Alan Nasser
Article Link

On Saturday evening, the Marriott hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, one of the city’s two most luxurious hotels, located near the presidential office, the parliament building, and a host of foreign embassies, was devastated by a bomb blast that left fifty three dead, including the Czech ambassador and two U.S. Defense Department officials.

The recent background to this latest in a series of increasingly sophisticated and bold insurgent strikes is revealing: since September 3, the U.S. has launched ground incursions and six missile attacks in Pakistan’s border regions. The U.S.-NATO aim is to cripple supporters along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border supportive of the anti-occupation resistance in Afghanistan.

The destruction of the Marriott was the latest response to Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari’s complicity with Washington in the military assaults on the perceived center of insurgent support in Pakistan, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), including the North-West Frontier Provinces (NWFP). Just hours before the Marriott blast Zardari told the country’s parliament that he is determined to free Pakistan from “the shackles of terrorism.”

This pledge confirmed Zardari’s determination to continue to order the Pakistani military, an institution harboring more than a few sympathers with the insurgents, to launch assaults on suspected insurgent -”terrorist”- strongholds. It is common knowledge that this policy is a response to pressure from Washington.
More on link

Palin Adviser On Karzai, Uribe, and Kissinger Meetings
by Shushannah Walshe 
Article Link

NEW YORK—Sarah Palin’s Foreign Policy adviser, Stephen Biegun met with the press to give more details on Palin’s meetings today with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, and Former Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger.

Biegun also revealed that the Alaska Governor began her day with a two-hour briefing with Admiral Mike McConnell, the Director of National Intelligence and several of his staff members.

Due to security concerns, he did not give many details, but said it was an “excellent briefing” and that it was a standard briefing that all three of the other candidates are offered.

Biegun said that in all three separate meetings with Karzai, Uribe, and Kissinger that they spoke about “energy securities as a national security issue.”

In her meeting with Karzai, they spoke about the resurgence of violence in Afghanistan, rights for women in his country, and defeating the Taliban, “In President Karzai’s meeting they discussed the security situation in Afghanistan. They discussed the need for more US troops,” Biegun said, “They discussed what we can do together to bring increased prosperity and stability to Afghanistan and president Karzai emphatically asked governor Palin to convey in any opportunity she had to the American people the deep gratitude of Afghanistan for all the American people and the American military have done for that country.”
More on link

Welcome home, Princess Pats
National Post  Published: Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Article Link

The second battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (2PPCLI) have returned home from Afghanistan. Theirs was a particularly brutal tour. Even by the standard Canadian troops have witnessed since setting up operations in the violent Kandahar region nearly three years ago, 2PPCLI and its affiliated regiments suffered heavy casualties and faced more violence from the Taliban. Canadians should be proud of their service and grateful for their sacrifice.

The Afghanistan mission has introduced new terms into the Canadian vocabulary, such as IED. Many Canadians may not be able to tell you those three letters stand for improvised explosive

device, but they know an IED is typically a roadside bomb detonated remotely by insurgents who, once they have pressed the button, scurry out of the area. At least four of the nine members of 2PPCLI killed in Afghanistan were the victims of IEDs.

In all, 17 Canadians were killed while on Afghan duty during 2PPCLI's six months in charge of our mission as our troops faced a newly rearmed and emboldened terrorist threat. Eight combat engineers, field ambulance operators and infantrymen from other units temporarily attached to the 2PPCLI battle group also died.
More on link

US military releases Afghan journalist
By FISNIK ABRASHI – 2 days ago 
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The U.S. military said Monday that it has freed an Afghan journalist held as an "enemy combatant" at the main American base in Afghanistan.

Jawed Ahmad, who was working for CTV, a Canadian television network, was handed over to Afghan authorities Sunday, said Capt. Christian Patterson, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition.

Ahmad, 22, was detained Oct. 26, 2007, at a NATO base near the southern city of Kandahar. He was later transferred to a detention center at the U.S. military base at Bagram, north of Kabul.

Patterson said Ahmad was no longer considered a threat.

Ahmad was accused of having contact with Taliban leaders, including possessing their phone numbers and video footage of them, according to a complaint filed by Ahmad's lawyers earlier this year in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia.

After designating him an "unlawful enemy combatant" earlier this year, the U.S. military insisted Ahmad was not arrested because of his work as a journalist. However, it never spelled out the reasons for his incarceration.

Rights campaigners compared Ahmad's case to that of Bilal Hussein, an Associated Press photographer who spent more than two years in U.S. military custody in Iraq. Hussein initially was accused of working with Iraqi insurgents but was released in April after Iraqi judges closed his case. 
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (24 Sep 2008)

HEADSCARVES AND KALASHNIKOVS
The Women of the Kabul Police Academy 
_Spiegel Online_, Sept. 24
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,580158,00.html



> Of the over 1,600 cadets at the Kabul Police Academy, only 10 are women. They are breaking traditions and taking considerable personal risk.Yet it is still almost impossible to find female officers patrolling the streets -- many are still stuck in desk jobs...
> 
> Ten women, together with about 1,600 male students, are currently undergoing training here to become police officers. They are part of the one-third of all students destined to become higher-ranking officers. For these young women, this means attending the academy for three years.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


----------



## Colin Parkinson (24 Sep 2008)

Iran to build cars in Afghanistan
Payvand News, Iran
09/23/2008
By 
[Printer Friendly Version]

Iran's ambassador to Kabul says an assembly line for the manufacture of Iranian-designed cars will soon launch production in Afghanistan. 

"The negotiations to install the production line for the Iran Khodro Company in Afghanistan have started," said Fada Hossein Maleki to a group of Iranians living in the country. 

Iran Khodro Group (IKCO) manufactures various vehicle models in seven countries across the globe. 

The production capacity of these plants is a total 225,000 vehicles per year. "The Iranian government supports companies who are ready to invest in Afghanistan," Maleki said. 

Iran's envoy added that the construction of an Iranian tractor assembly line in Afghanistan will soon be complete. 

Iran Khodro is the largest carmaker in the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa regions with an annual production of more than one million vehicles, including cars, trucks and buses. 

The Managing Director of Iran-Khodro, Manouchehr Manteqi, recently said that the company has plans to export 600,000 cars and $10 billion worth of products by 2016. 

"To achieve this goal, we have decided to double our exports," Manteqi said. 
http://www.e-ariana.com/ariana/eariana.nsf/allDocs/83456E0D81E652FF872574CD006A1AEB?OpenDocument

NATO troops must take on Afghan drugs trade: commander
AFP
09/24/2008
By 
[Printer Friendly Version]

KABUL — Senior NATO commander General John Craddock called for alliance troops to step up the fight against Afghanistan's drugs trade as he ended a three-day visit to the country Wednesday, his office said.

Craddock, the alliance's Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, was in Afghanistan for an "operational update" and to meet troops in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), it said in a statement.

"As an interim measure I've asked for expanded authority from NATO to permit ISAF attack of drug laboratories and drug trafficking facilities -- not the farmers," Craddock was cited as saying during his trip.

Afghanistan produces around 90 percent of the world's illegal opium, much of which is turned into heroin inside the country and exported to Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.

The United Nations says some of the profits from the lucrative trade fund an extremist insurgency as farmers are often obliged to pay a 10 percent tax to the strongmen in their areas, whether it be Taliban or corrupt officials.

Craddock stressed he was not talking about ISAF troops becoming involved in government-led attempts to wipe out opium poppy fields.

Eradication efforts have cost the lives of at least 65 Afghan soldiers and police this year, according to the Afghan government.

However if soldiers could destroy facilities used to turn opium into heroin, traffickers would be hurt the most and militants and corrupt officials would be deprived their cut of the trade, Craddock said.

He stated that a kilo (2.2 pounds) of opium was worth about 100 dollars, while the same amount of heroin was around 3,500 dollars.

Craddock also challenged concerns from some of the nearly 40 nations with troops in ISAF, whom he did not identify, that an increased counternarcotics role could result in more ferocious attacks on NATO forces.

"This is a totally specious argument," he said.

"What's more ferocious than IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and suicide bombs? If we do this, we'll cut the legs out from under them because they won't have the money to pay the bomb makers and buy the materials to attack us."

Craddock said he was optimistic the North Atlantic Council, NATO's governing body, would approve his request because ISAF's troops were "being killed because of the money being generated from this industry."

"As a commander I can't let this continue without doing everything I can to stop it. This is the best measure we can give our forces for the best opportunity to come home safe and sound," he said.

The UN-mandated ISAF, currently at about 50,000 troops, already helps Afghan counternarcotics forces, including with some air support and medical evacuation if they come under attack.

The head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria Costa, last week called for ISAF to target the drugs labs.

"The international forces could destroy these laboratories within 24 hours," he told reporters at a breakfast meeting in Paris.

NATO should "disrupt the supply chain" by attacking drug convoys and markets as well as clamping down on the import of chemicals used to make opium, he said, criticising the reluctance of "European countries" to tackle the problem.

http://www.e-ariana.com/ariana/eariana.nsf/allDocs/CA837C78CD8CC086872574CE006C78E2?OpenDocument


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## The Bread Guy (25 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
250745EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban, or analysis thereof.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*

"Local leader of goverment killed in Kandahar"(GoogEng) - "Original in Arabic"


> Commander killed in Kandahar
> Qari / Yousuf Ahmadi
> Killed a local leader of the management process called / Haji Baja at 01:20 noon today 24-9-2008 in a surprise attack by the Mujahideen in the Islamic Emirate of Kandahar city, when he was on his way to his home.  A resident of the Directorate of Dnd state itself.  The week before an intelligence officer killed (Torjan) inside the city gate in the intersection of a similar attack in Kabul by the mujahideen.




"1 vehicle of Puppet police blew up in Kandahar"


> Wednesday evening 24-09-2008 at approximately 7:30pm local Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmines blew up a vehicles of puppet police in Hotghar area of Boldak district of Kandahahar province. The landmines completely destroyed the vehicles and  4 puppet terrorists in it were killed .Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf




"A tank of Australian invaders blew up in Uruzgan"


> Tuesday  afternoon 23-09-2008, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,with remote controlled landmine blew up a tank of Austrlian occupation army when it was travelling in Snanoghoni area near Tharenkot city capital of Uruzgan province. In the  explosion the tank was completely destroyed and 4 Australian occupation terrorists in it were killed. Reported by Qari Yousuf Ahmadi




"Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan military operations against the kafirs, munafiqs and the worshippers of Idols .... 24-09-2008"


> In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
> All Praise and thanks are due to Allah, the Lord of all that exists and may peace and prayers be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, companions in entirety ....  (more on link)


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## GAP (25 Sep 2008)

*Articles found September 25, 2008*

Bomb Attacks Target Afghan Police  
By VOA News  25 September 2008
  Article Link

Afghan officials say militants have targeted police forces in two separate attacks that left three people dead in the southern province of Kandahar.

They say in one attack, a civilian died Thursday, when a bomb fixed to a bicycle exploded near a bus carrying police trainers in Kandahar city.

In a separate attack Wednesday, two policemen were killed when a remote-controlled bomb blew up their vehicle in Spin Boldak district.

Afghan security forces and international troops have been battling Taliban militants since U.S.-led forces pushed the Taliban from power in 2001.

U.S. officials say the Bush administration is reviewing its military strategy in Afghanistan, just four months before President George Bush leaves office.
More on link

AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN: Bajaur residents flee fighting  
ISLAMABAD, 25 September 2008 (IRIN)
Article Link

 As fighting in Pakistan's northern areas intensifies, about 2,800 families from the tribal area of Bajaur are reported to have crossed into neighbouring Afghanistan. 

Most are believed to be based in the Kunar province of Afghanistan, along Pakistan's western border. 

AFP quoted Afghanistan's deputy refugees minister, Abdul Qader Ahadi, as confirming they had entered Afghanistan after "they escaped fighting between Pakistani Taliban and the security forces". 

He told the news agency most were women and children. Each family comprises about 20 people on average. 

Pakistan's autonomous Human Rights Commission (HRCP) this month put the number of people displaced by conflict in Bajaur, Swat, Waziristan and other northern areas at 700,000. 

HRCP said those people had been forced to flee areas along the Pakistani-Afghan border due to US bombings targeting militants and from other areas due to Pakistan security forces fighting militants. 

HRCP has estimated at least 2,000 civilian deaths over the past year due to conflict. 
More on link

Senator decries Afghanistan absence
National security issue missing from election race
Gwendolyn Richards, Calgary Herald Published: Thursday, September 25, 2008
Article Link

The lack of discussion about national security and the ongoing role of Canadian troops in Afghanistan is discouraging, says a senator on the standing committee for national security and defence.

Debate over the issue was effectively removed when Prime Minister Stephen Harper said earlier this month Canadian troops will withdraw from a combat role in Afghanistan in 2011, Liberal Senator Colin Kenny said at a meeting Wednesday with the Herald editorial board.

"It is just as though it (the issue) doesn't exist," he said. "There's not a single candidate talking about it."
More on link

Happy homecoming for Edmonton soldiers
By KEVIN CRUSH, SUN MEDIA 
Article Link

About 85 soldiers returned home last night after a six-month tour of duty in wartorn Afghanistan.

To a homecoming of family and friends, the soldiers arrived at the Edmonton Garrison gymnasium around 9 p.m.

The homecoming is a continuation of the return to Canada of about 1,000 soldiers from Edmonton and another 1,200 from Shilo, Man.

Members of the 1st and 3rd battalions of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) tank squadron, 1 Combat Engineer Regiment, as well as reservists and soldiers from Shilo, were deployed to Afghanistan beginning last February.

The units saw a resurgence in activity from Taliban fighters with a deadly summer that brought the number of Canadian soldiers who have died in Afghanistan to 97
More on link

Tim's already double, doubles soldiers' spirits
By EARL MCRAE, OTTAWA SUN
Article Link

Look, Tim Hortons loves our soldiers, it isn't saying it's a bad idea, just that the notion from some who haven't seen the petition and its preamble -- but are hearing second hand about the idea -- that the coffee king started it, and will go ahead with it, is wrongly skewed information. 

"Yes," says Rachel Douglas, director of public affairs for Tim Hortons, welcoming the opportunity to clear up the misconception, "I have seen this online petition and it does not originate from Tim Hortons." 

When it comes to supporting our soldiers, including our fighting/rebuilding men and women in Afghanistan, Tim Hortons has nothing to apologize for. 

Its record shines. 
More on link

Half of Canadians want reduction in Tory military spending: poll
STEVEN CHASE Exclusive to Globe and Mail Update September 24, 2008 at 5:34 PM EDT
Article Link

WINNIPEG — Half of Canadians want to scale back the Harper Conservatives' plan to boost military spending by $490-billion over two decades, a new poll suggests.

By comparison, 27 per cent of those surveyed favour continuing with the plan and 11.2 per cent want to enrich it further.

The findings by Nanos Research reveal an apparent undercurrent of dissatisfaction with Tory intentions to hike the defence budget – unease that has so far received scant attention during the federal election campaign.

The polling, conducted for the Rideau Institute, an advocacy group that opposes Canada's participation in the Afghanistan war, found that 51.8 per cent of Canadians surveyed agreed that the next federal government should “reduce its planned spending on purchasing new equipment and the war.”
More on link

Freed Afghan journalist blames Canadian forces for ordeal
Tom Blackwell, Canwest News Service Published: Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - The Afghan journalist who was freed this week after almost a year in an American jail on undefined terrorism allegations charged Wednesday that his hellish ordeal was as much the fault of Canadian Forces as those of the U.S.

Citing comments from his U.S. captors, Jawed Yazamy (called  Jawed Ahmad by the Americans) said he believes it was Canada that tipped off U.S. troops to arrest him in October 2007 while he was working for CTV News as a translator and reporter.

Alleging he was beaten and otherwise mistreated, he said he's determined to win justice and compensation from the Canadian and U.S. governments.

"They (Canadians) informed the Americans: 'He's a threat.' . . . I don't know why they did it," Yazamy said in an interview. "I will fight for justice from Canada till my last breath. What happened to me was unbelievable."

His allegations receive some backing from a fascinating affidavit - obtained by Canwest News Service on Wednesday - filed by a colleague at CTV, who described how Canadian soldiers voiced suspicions about the young journalist more than a year ago, and how U.S. troops once held the two of them at gunpoint, threatening to shoot them on the spot.

Known by many westerners here simply as "JoJo," Yazamy is one of the most dogged Afghan journalists who work for Canadian news organizations as "fixers," performing both translation and actual reporting.

He often interviewed Taliban representatives, over the phone and in person, a practice he says may have raised the suspicion of the foreign troops. Having earlier worked for U.S. Special Forces as an interpreter, he was also one of the few fixers allowed to enter Kandahar Air Field, and one of the rare Afghans of any sort seen to be walking freely through the huge NATO base.

Yazamy was scooped up by U.S. forces last October with little explanation, other than he was accused of being an "enemy combatant," then released Sunday with equally little fanfare.
More on link


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## GAP (26 Sep 2008)

*Articles found September 26, 2008*

Canadians help poor Afghans celebrate Eid
Updated Fri. Sep. 26 2008 9:07 AM ET The Canadian Press
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan are celebrating an Islamic custom by giving food packages and gifts to 200 poor families to help them celebrate Eid, the festival marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. 

But they're finding out that in Afghanistan, even giving charity can be complicated. 

Some recipients said others were selected to receive the gifts because they were well-connected with local officials. 

Others said the supplies should be given out regularly, not just before Eid. 

And while the lucky ones lined up to receive food that could last up to a week, at least another 100 waited outside the gates of Camp Nathan Smith, hoping some of the flour, oil and tea would be left over for them. 

Still, without the Canadian gifts, many grateful recipients say they would have been begging on the streets for food at a time when most Afghans are celebrating the end of a month of fasting and reflection. 
More on link

Canadian Forces urged his arrest, Afghan says
The Canadian Press September 25, 2008
Article Link

Kandahar -- An Afghan freelance journalist recently freed after spending 11 months in a U.S. military prison says he was arrested at the suggestion of the Canadian Forces.

Javed Yazamy said: "It was Canadians who told them I was a risk."

A Canadian military spokesman say the forces are aware of Mr. Yazamy's accusations and are looking for more information into what happened.
More on link

Pakistan vows to retake tribal region in 3 months  
The Associated Press Friday, September 26, 2008 
Article Link

KHAR, Pakistan: Pakistan will regain control of a restive tribal region bordering Afghanistan within "two to three months," a top general said during an assessment of a major offensive there against al-Qaida and Taliban militants.

Maj. Gen. Tariq Khan told reporters on an army-organized trip to the northwestern Bajur region that troops had killed between 500 and 800 militants and wounded 2,000 others since the offensive began in early August.

Some 63 troops have died and 212 were wounded, he said.

As many as 5,000 militants were believed to be fighting there and still control key areas, said Khan of the paramilitary Frontier Corps.

Still, he predicted the military would retake Bajur "within two or three months."

The U.S. has praised the offensive in Bajur, which is part of a semiautonomous tribal belt where Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida and Taliban militants are rumored to be hiding.

Military officials paraded 10 blindfolded and handcuffed men said to be Taliban fighters arrested during the operation before the reporters who joined the trip.

Pakistan's top military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, told The Associated Press in a recent interview that the militants had established a virtual mini-state in Bajur as well as a "mega-sanctuary" for insurgents attacking foreign and government troops in Afghanistan.

He said militants control the main road leading into the tribal area, have converted schools into Islamic courts and have imposed taxes on timber and marble, the region's two main industries.
More on link

French diplomat: Europeans waiting out Bush  
The Associated Press Thursday, September 25, 2008 
Article Link

NEW YORK: France's top diplomat said Thursday that many European nations have decided to wait out the Bush administration, hoping their "hesitation" will win more favorable deals on a host of the world's problems.

"There is a feel of people want to wait, certainly a bit," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said, referring to the U.S. election in November. U.S. President George W. Bush will step down in January, replaced by Republican John McCain or Democrat Barack Obama.

"Look, if we are talking about Georgia, if we are talking about Afghanistan, if we are talking about Iraq, yes, there is a sort of feeling, expecting, or wondering if one of the candidates or the eventual new administration, new president, will follow the same line," said Kouchner, whose country holds the rotating European Union presidency.

"And in Afghanistan this is obvious. Will it be possible to change, reverse the actual movement by sending new troops or not? Because Mr. Obama says so," he said. "From Iraq to Afghanistan ... 25 of the 27 European countries are involved in the Afghanistan battle. So, yes, certainly there is a sort of, not anxiety, but hesitation."

Kouchner also said the global financial crisis is making many of the U.N.'s anti-poverty "Millenium Development Goals" unrealistic. He spoke to reporters at a roundtable breakfast in a hotel across the street from the U.N. General Assembly's annual ministerial session.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (26 Sep 2008)

Pakistan and Afghanistan Unite Against Terrorism 
_Wall St. Journal_, Sept. 26, by HUSAIN HAQQANI and SAID T. JAWAD
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122238726795877141.html?mod=googlenews_wsj



> President Hamid Karzai and the new democratically elected president of Pakistan, Mr. Asif Ali Zardari, are firmly committed to fighting terrorism in a united front, as common allies of the United States and victims of terrorism. As part of this struggle, we need to find new ways to deny terrorists the opportunity to capitalize on abject poverty that engulfs the tribal regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
> 
> This is crucial: People who are well fed are not desperate. People who have confidence in public education do not turn toward political madrassas to educate their children. People who have good jobs do not shelter terrorists. In other words, prosperity is one of the most important predictors of political stability, which in turn is the single most critical element in the containment of fanaticism and terrorism.
> 
> ...



Afghanistan, Pakistan and security...
Conference of Defence Associations' media-roundup, Sept. 26
http://www.cdaforumcad.ca/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1222447882/

Mark
Ottawa


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## The Bread Guy (26 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
262215EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban, or analysis thereof.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*

"(D)estruction supply convoy (5 trucks, 13 soldiers) in Kandahar" (GoogEng) - Original in Arabic


> The destruction of a convoy of five trucks logistical state of Kandahar
> Qari / Yousuf Ahmadi
> The mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate attacked this morning (26-9-2008) on a convoy of logistics to the enemy in the "Snzeri" on the highway of Herat, Kandahar, Kandahar, the mandate of the Directorate of buttons, leaving destruction (5) logistics trucks.  After the attack the battle directly engaged with the enemy lasting until the age now where it destroyed two vehicles in which (2) of the type Serf killed thirteen (13) soldiers and wounded many others.  During the attack a number of trucks overturned provisions of the severity of turmoil in the region.  During the battle the enemy shelling the area, killing two of the martyrdom of two people and members of the Taliban.  The highway of Herat, Kandahar highway remained deadlocked throughout the day after a severe battle.




"6 soldiers killed in ambush in Zabul" (GoogEng) - Original in Arabic


> Six soldiers killed by an ambush in Zabul province
> Qari / Yousuf Ahmadi
> The mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate killed at 1:15 p.m. today (26-9-2008), six soldiers of the army in an ambush in the customer area, "Osmanzi" Invade State Department and Zabul.  According to the report, during the attack destroyed a car Ranger of the enemy completely, killing all inside.  The sheep weapons mujahideen soldiers dead and another military missions.  According to another report on the status of the mujahideen attacked the Directorate light and heavy weapons, but had no information on enemy losses of life.


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## MarkOttawa (27 Sep 2008)

ARTICLES FOUND SEPT. 27

NATO Hopes to Undercut Taliban With 'Surge' of Projects
_Washington Post,_ Sept. 27
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/26/AR2008092603452.html



> KABUL -- NATO alliance troops facing ever more aggressive Taliban insurgents are planning a winter "development surge" of civil works projects in eastern Afghanistan designed to win over tribes in regions near the Pakistan border and to prevent their sons from joining the Taliban's ranks, according to military officials here.
> 
> At the same time, troops will keep up armed pressure with a winter offensive that seeks to get a head start on blunting the Taliban's traditional spring fighting season.
> 
> ...



Extra British troops for Afghanistan ruled out
The expected reinforcement of troops into Afghanistan has been ruled out despite American suggestions that the force would be increased, according to senior British military sources.
_Daily Telegraph_, Sept. 27
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/3087473/Extra-British-troops-for-Afghanistan-ruled-out.html



> A senior military official has said there was "no intention by the UK to transfer forces from Iraq to Afghanistan" when the British finally withdrew from Basra next year.
> 
> The news comes after a request for an extra 4,000 troops made this week by the British commander in Helmand, Brig Mark Carleton-Smith.
> 
> ...



Pakistan 'kills 1,000 militants'
BBC, Sept. 26
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7638157.stm



> Pakistani troops have killed 1,000 Islamist militants in a huge offensive in the Bajaur tribal district over the last month, the army says.
> 
> It says that it will regain control of the region from Taleban and al-Qaeda militants within the next three months.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## MarkOttawa (27 Sep 2008)

Pakistan's New Leader Denies Firefight as Mullen Confirms It
_Washington Post_, Sept. 27
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/26/AR2008092602435.html



> NEW YORK, Sept. 26 -- Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday denied that American and Pakistani forces exchanged fire along the Afghanistan border this week, even as the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff acknowledged that the two sides engaged in a brief firefight.
> 
> Zardari told The Washington Post in an interview Friday that Pakistani border forces shot warning flares Thursday at two U.S. helicopters that he believes inadvertently crossed into Pakistani territory from Afghanistan. He said there was no gunfire exchanged between the two sides.
> 
> ...



Italian air force deploys C-27J Spartans to Afghanistan 
_Flight International_, Sept. 19
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/09/19/316069/picture-italian-air-force-deploys-c-27j-spartans-to-afghanistan.html



> Two Alenia Aeronautica C-27J Spartan tactical transports from the Italian air force's 46th Airlift Brigade left Pisa air base on 12 September for Herat in south-west Afghanistan, where they will join Italy's contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.
> 
> One aircraft will be used to provide intra-theatre airlift, replacing a Herat-based Lockheed Martin C-130J, while the other will act as a reserve asset. The Spartans are equipped with a self-protection suite comprising laser, missile and radar warning systems, chaff and flare dispensers, and ballistic protection for the cockpit, loadmaster stations and vital aircraft systems.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## The Bread Guy (27 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
272015EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban, or analysis thereof.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*


"A helicopter of American occupation shot down in Kandahar"


> Thursday afternoon 26-09-2008 at approximately 6:10 pm local time, mujahedeen of Islamic Emirate shot down an  American invaders helicopter with anti-aircraft rocket in Bandi Temor area of Mewand district of Kandahar province, in which 25  the American terrorists on board were killed, the copter was shot down when it was patrolling in the area. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf




"A vehicle of puppet army blew up in Kandahar" (GoogEng) - Original in Arabic


> Destroying a car of Afghan soldiers in an improvised explosive device customers Meond
> Qari / Yousuf Ahmadi
> The mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate detonated at 9:15 a.m. (2792008) Army pick a customer when an improvised explosive device enemy vehicle was in transit on the highway between Kandahar, Herat and the status of the Directorate of Meond junction Hkurjah state of Kandahar.  The blast destroyed a car and killing the enemy six (6) soldiers and wounded two others.  After the explosion fill the enemy through Herat, Kandahar highway in traffic, soldiers were Aladuszah Center Directorate.




"Killed 6 police officers in Kandahar sity" (GoogEng)" - Original in Arabic


> Explosion in Kandahar city killed six police officers
> Qari / Yousuf Ahmadi
> Killed at 10:15 a.m. (2792008) six police personnel for the management of the client when a mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate Ranger-type vehicle hit an explosive device near the house, "Haji" all in the "bridge Seman" in Kandahar.  According to the report, the explosion destroyed a car enemy, killing six (6) in which two policemen.  After the explosion killed two policemen to the security command in this state, and the car is still burned in the region.  According to the news of mujahideen was killed yesterday evening a member of the Department intelligence called the client (TAGorg), with one of his bodyguards, with poisoning in the home first and then killed.




"9 british soldiers killed, destroyed enemy tanks in Sangin, Helmend" (GoogEng) - Original in Arabic


> Dead and injured in England Sngen
> Qari / Yousuf Ahmadi
> The dead and wounded among the troops occupied in English at 07:30 this morning while filling 27-9-2008 mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate of attack, and forced them to retreat, both in the Saravan Sngen state Department of Helmand.  Reported killing nine enemy soldiers, were killed and several others injured.  Destroyed a number of enemy tanks, and debris still remained at the scene.


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## MarkOttawa (28 Sep 2008)

ARTICLES FOUND SEPT. 28

What a Surge Can't Solve in Afghanistan
_Washington Post_, Sept. 28, by David Ignatius
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/26/AR2008092603266.html



> If there was one foreign policy issue on which Barack Obama and John McCain agreed during Friday night's debate, it was that the United States should send more troops to Afghanistan. The bipartisan enthusiasm for this surge is so strong that there has been relatively little discussion of whether this strategy makes sense.
> 
> So here's a skeptical look at the issue, drawn from conversations during a visit to Afghanistan this month with Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Rather than more troops, the real game-changer in Afghanistan may be Gates's plan to spend an extra $1.3 billion on surveillance technology to find and destroy the leadership of the insurgency...
> 
> ...



Revealed: secret Taliban peace bid
Saudis are sponsoring a peace dialogue involving a former senior member of the hardline group
_The Observer_, Sept. 28
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/28/afghanistan.defence



> The Taliban have been engaged in secret talks about ending the conflict in Afghanistan in a wide-ranging 'peace process' sponsored by Saudi Arabia and supported by Britain, The Observer can reveal.
> 
> The unprecedented negotiations involve a senior former member of the hardline Islamist movement travelling between Kabul, the bases of the Taliban senior leadership in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and European capitals. Britain has provided logistic and diplomatic support for the talks - despite official statements that negotiations can be held only with Taliban who are ready to renounce, or have renounced, violence.
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


----------



## The Bread Guy (28 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
281845EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban, or analysis thereof.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*

Taliban Denies UK Media Reports of Talks Between Taliban, Saudis


> .... The media reports abut the peace process' between Taliban and kabul sponsored by Saudi Arabia and supported by Britain is untrue.  or that the unprecedented talks" involved a senior ex-Taliban member traveling between Kabul, the bases of the Taliban senior leadership in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia all of that was baseless.  The ex_member of Taliban which were surrender or under surveillance they were not delegacy of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.  The enemy is using this propaganda campaign,is at it again with its distortion to engaged Muslim in order to weaken the Muslims .... (more on link)




Taliban Claims Responsibility for Shooting of Senior Female Police Officer (and Son) in Kandahar


> Saturday evening 27-09-2008 at approximately 6:23pm local Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmines blew up a vehicles of puppet police officer Naik Muhammad in Semano Pol area  of Kandahar city . The landmines completely destroyed the vehicles and officer among 3 puppet terrorists in it were killed.  Also Sunday morning 7:45 am local time mujahedeen attacked vehicle of Women police chief of Kandahar province in Chawni area of Kandahar city.  in attack Malali Kakar among her son were killed.Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf




"1 vehicle of Puppet police blew up in Kandahar"


> Sunday morning 27-09-2008 at approximately 10:23am local Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmines blew up a vehicles of puppet police in Lwawiala area of of Kandahar cit . The landmines completely destroyed the vehicles and  6 puppet terrorists in it were killed .Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf




"12  supplying truck of British destroyed 14 booty  in Helmand"


> Sunday night 28-09-2008 at approximately 1:20 am local  , Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, ambushed a supplying convoy of British occupation army and its puppet police who were providing security for the convoy  which was travelling on Kandahar Helmand road in NahriSarage area of Grishik district of Helmand province. In the attack 12 supplying vehicles which were carried weapons to  American bases and 2 vehicles of puppet army were destroyed and 14 puppet police in its were killed, 5 arrested and 14 supplying vehicles were mujahideen booty.Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf




"2 checkpoints of puppet police demolished in Uruzgan/Shabrghan"


> Saturday  night 27-09-2008 at approximately 11:20 pm local, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with heavy and light weapons attacked puppet police checkpoint in Matakhan area of Tarenkot city capital of Urzga province. In attack the checkpoint was captured ,3 puppet police  were killed . their arms  were Mujahedeen booty.  Also in last night mujahedeen attacked on police check point near Shabrghan city in attack the post was demolished, puppet police fled and their arms were mujahedeen booty.Reported by Zabihullah Mujahid


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## George Wallace (28 Sep 2008)

Taliban assassinate top Afghan female police officer    (Link in Title)

28/09/2008 8:25:56 PM  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*The highest-ranking female police officer in Afghanistan was gunned down Sunday in Kandahar City as the Taliban finally made good on their threats to assassinate her. * 


CTV.ca News Staff 


Lt.-Col. Malalai Kakar, Kandahar's first female police detective, was shot and killed by two assassins as she was making her way to work. 

The attack occurred just before 9 a.m as her 18-year-old son was driving her to her police station. He was badly injured in the attack. 

The Taliban was quick to take credit for her murder. 

The mother of six was well-known in Afghanistan for her courage and toughness. 

Kakar, 41, faced numerous threats on her life. In a previous assassination attempt, she shot and killed three of her would-be assassins. 

In a country where most women won't step outside without a burka, Kakar was a rare exception. She was considered a trailblazer and was interviewed often by foreign journalists. 

She was driven to be a police officer and at the age of 14 joined the police academy, following in her father's and brothers' footsteps. 

When the Taliban came to power, crushing women's rights, she fled to Pakistan. She returned after the Taliban government fell. 

Upon her return, Kakar quickly climbed the ranks of Kandahar City's police force to become deputy commander. 

She headed a unit that specialized in crimes against women -- even though she was never allowed to drive a police vehicle. 

But her work drew the attention of the Taliban, and she began receiving threatening phone calls - even though she changed her number often. 

While she wore a regular police uniform at work, she would only venture out into the market beneath a burka, to avoid being recognized. 

Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan Ron Hoffman called Kakar "a beacon of hope for women in democratic and free Afghanistan". 

"Mrs. Malalai was well known for her staunch support of women in the Afghan National Police, and of the role of women in Kandahar society at large," he said. 

The European Union also released a statement saying it was "appalled by the brutal targeting" of Kakar. 

"Any murder of a police officer is to be condemned, but the killing of a female officer whose service was not only to her country, but to Afghan women, to whom Ms. Kakar served as an example, is particularly abhorrent," the EU said. 

There are more than 20 female police officer in Kandahar and about 250 in Afghanistan. 

With a report from CTV's Paul Workman in Afghanistan


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## GAP (29 Sep 2008)

*Articles found September 29, 2008*

Article Link

More on link

What will Canada do about Pakistan, asks Hueglin  
Article Link

Pakistan is being invaded by American troops. One possible result is action that will cut off the supplies flowing through Pakistan that sustain the military activities of the Americans and their allies. 

The Government of Canada has been saying "me too" to American initiatives. Supporting American anti-missile bases in Poland on the Russian borders; recognizing the independence of Kosovo against UN resolutions; backing the Americans in seeking to have Georgia become a member of NATO; echoing the U.S. position that Georgia was correct in invading South Ossetia and Russia wrong in intervening. 

Pashtun tribal chiefs in the attacked areas have met and have stated, "If America doesn't stop attacks in tribal areas, we will prepare a lashkar [army] to attack U.S. forces in Afghanistan," and as well, "We will also seek support from the tribal elders in Afghanistan to fight jointly against America." 

The 40 million members of the Pashtun tribes are in continuing feuds among themselves. They act together only when threatened by external forces. Should the Americans persist in their policy of attacking Afghanistan's tribal areas and if the tribes that have been neutral take action, be assured there will be no differentiation made between Canadian and American Forces. 
More on link

Rebels attack provincial chief in southern Afghanistan; 4 bodyguards killed
Article Link

KABUL — Authorities say gunmen targeting a provincial council chief in southern Afghanistan missed their intended victim but killed four of his bodyguards.

The target of the attack late Sunday in the southern city of Kandahar was Mohammad Hashim, the provincial council chief in neighbouring Zabul province.

A council spokeswoman says the attack sparked a clash between Hashim's bodyguards and the insurgents in which four bodyguards were killed.

Meanwhile, a local official in Andar, in Ghazni province, claimed a targeted air strike there killed a Taliban leader as well as three other people.

But the U.S. coalition said it had no reports that its forces carried out any operations in Andar. 
More on link

MacKenzie’s war on NATO continues in second memoir  
By SCOTT TAYLOR On Target Mon. Sep 29 - 6:11 AM
Article Link

ONE OF my tasks last week was to read and review the new autobiography by retired major-general Lewis MacKenzie, entitled Soldiers Made Me Look Good: A Life in the Shadow of War.

I have known MacKenzie since we first met in Croatia in 1992, and we have covered a lot of the same ground in war zones around the world over the past 16 years. As such, a lot of this book covered familiar territory for me and given that MacKenzie is a natural storyteller, it was an enjoyable read.

Since this is his second memoir with the same publisher, MacKenzie had to deliberately break Soldiers into two parts so as not to overlap the stories told in his 1993 No. 1 bestseller, Peacekeeper: The Road to Sarajevo. In the first section we learn what made little Lewis tick and how a rural Nova Scotian, son of a non-commissioned officer, became an up-and-coming infantry officer in Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.

A short segue chapter bridges the violent days when the eyes of the world watched the UN under siege in Sarajevo and the tough-talking Canadian general became a household name. The second portion of Soldiers deals with MacKenzie’s subsequent post-military career as a correspondent, documentary maker, race-car driver, media analyst and occasional freelance envoy. 

Having never bought into the western media’s demonization of the Serbian people during the violent breakup of the former Yugoslavia, MacKenzie was a vocal critic of NATO’s 78-day air bombardment of Serbia in 1999. I shared that opinion and like MacKenzie, I ventured inside embattled Serbia to report on the suffering caused by the NATO bombing. In Soldiers, MacKenzie chastises the Harper government for its March 2008 decision to recognize the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo. I have often voiced the same argument and applaud MacKenzie for sticking to his principles on this issue.
More on link

Pakistani Tribesmen Join With Army to Fight Taliban Insurgents  
By Khalid Qayum Sept. 29 (Bloomberg)
Article Link

Pakistani tribesmen are assisting the military in its eight-week campaign against Taliban insurgents in regions bordering Afghanistan, army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said. 

The ``success in this operation was directly linked with popular support,'' Kayani, who met with troops in the Bajaur tribal area where the fighting occurred, said in a statement issued late yesterday. ``Local tribesmen have risen against miscreants and are fully supporting the army.'' 

Pakistani security forces have killed more than 1,000 militants including key al-Qaeda leaders since starting an offensive in Bajaur, the News newspaper reported Sept. 27, citing General Tariq Khan, inspector-general of the Frontier Corps. 

Pakistan has rejected criticism by the U.S. and NATO that it is failing to control pro-Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters using bases in border areas to carry out attacks inside Afghanistan. 

President Asif Ali Zardari said in New York last week that unilateral U.S. air strikes and ground assaults inside his country were undermining efforts to control extremists in tribal areas and vowed to defend his country's sovereignty. 
More on link

Troops in Afghanistan to get 600 new armoured vehicles
Richard Norton-Taylor The Guardian, Monday September 29 2008 
Article Link

Hard-pressed and vulnerable British troops in Afghanistan will be supplied with 600 new armoured vehicles under a £500m deal agreed between the Ministry of Defence and the Treasury, government sources said yesterday.

The new troop carriers should enable the phasing out of the lightly armoured "Snatch" Land Rovers in which more than 30 British soldiers have been killed over the past five years in southern Afghanistan.

The Land Rovers, first used in Northern Ireland, protect troops from small arms fire but provide little protection against roadside bombs, which have been increasingly deployed by the Taliban and other insurgents. "We want to get to a point where we do not have to use the Land Rovers," a defence source said. Defence officials have defended the Land Rovers in the past, saying that they can travel relatively fast over rough ground and are more appropriate for "hearts and minds" missions.

Corporal Sarah Bryant, the first British female soldier killed in Afghanistan, and three SAS reservists died in June when their Land Rover was destroyed by a landmine. Susan Smith, whose son Phillip Hewett died in Iraq in 2005, has taken an action for damages against the MoD alleging "failures" over the use of the vehicles. 

Under an agreement which Des Browne, the defence secretary, has been pushing for some time, the Treasury will pay £400m of the cost for the new carriers, with the MoD paying the remaining £100m from its own overstretched budget. Military commanders hope most of the 600 promised vehicles will be delivered to Afghanistan by next spring.

They will include Mastiffs, a version of American Cougars adapted for the army by a Coventry-based company, about a hundred smaller but heavily-armed 4x4 Jackal patrol vehicles, and a number of lighter vehicles to replace the existing fleet of Viking personnel carriers.

An MoD spokesman said it was "constantly looking to improve the equipment provided to its forces on the frontline". However, ministers and military commanders have made no secret of their frustration over the length of time it has taken. Part of the problem has been the severe pressure on the defence budget as billions of pounds have been committed to long-term projects, such as aircraft carriers and Eurofighter/Typhoon fast jets, of little relevance to the conflict in Afghanistan.
More on link

Gunmen kidnap Polish engineer in Pakistan
28 Sep 2008, 1540 hrs IST,REUTERS
Article Link

ISLAMABAD: Gunmen kidnapped a Polish engineer in Pakistan on Sunday after shooting dead his Pakistani driver, body guard and translator, a senior pol 
ice official said. 

The engineer is an employee of the Polish oil company Geofizyka Krakow, the Polish Foreign Ministry said, and was visiting one of the company's sites near Attock city, about 65 km (40 miles) west of the capital, Islamabad. 

"The criminals came in white car at around 6:45am(0045 GMT) and first they killed his Pakistani assistants and then whisked him away to an unknown place," said police officer Kazim Ali. 

Ali said it was not known if the kidnappers were criminals or Islamist militants. Kidnap for ransom is relatively common in Pakistan though foreigners are not often targets. 

Militants also occasionally take foreigners hostage. Two Chinese telecommunications engineers were kidnapped in the northwest in late August and a spokesman for Pakistani Taliban said the militants were holding the pair. 

Afghanistan's top diplomat in Pakistan, ambassador-designate Abdul Khaliq Farahi, was kidnapped this month in the northwestern city of Peshawar after gunmen ambushed his vehicle and killed his driver. 
More on link

'Rich people' took Canadian handouts to Afghans
Troops passed out free food to mark Ramadan -- to those with invitations
Tom Blackwell, Canwest News Service Published: Saturday, September 27, 2008
Article Link

KANDAHAR CITY, Afghanistan -- Just outside the razor-wired gates of Canada's reconstruction team headquarters here, close to 100 Afghan men, women and children waited patiently Friday in the searing heat.

They showed up in hopes of benefiting from what was happening inside. Most went home empty-handed.

Behind the compound walls, Canadian troops passed out bundles of food to a lucky few in what has become an annual gesture to mark the end of Ramadan, a time when the affluent are supposed to give to those less fortunate.

Seven years after the Taliban's downfall and almost three since Canadians arrived in Kandahar, however, the need seems more acute than ever.

Some of the 200 families invited to receive the gift package said ballooning food costs and a still-decrepit economy had left them destitute.

"Due to the rising prices, life is getting worse rather than better," said Meheraban, 25, who has four children and no job. Like many Afghans, he goes by just one name. "It's very expensive and poor people can hardly afford to buy these things."

A 100-kilogram bag of flour now costs 5,000 afghanis, about $100, up from 2,000 afghanis just a year ago, he said. With Eid, the celebration at the end of the holy month, about to begin, his family would likely be forced to panhandle if not for the Canadian gift, said Meheraban.

Yet, it seems the Forces' gesture could not escape other realities of Afghanistan. Meheraban complained that many of those who arrived for the gifts were not actually impoverished, but had used their influence with local administrators to snag invitations.
More on link


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## GAP (29 Sep 2008)

Moving Out
In the summer of 2006, a Canadian army patrol in the Panjwayi region of Afghanistan stumbled upon a large group of Taliban fighters. In a series of excerpts this week, the Post's Chris Wattie documents the deadly battle that ensued
Chris Wattie, National Post  Published: Monday, September 29, 2008
Article Link

Captain Marty Dupuis was never supposed to be LAV (Light Armoured Vehicle) captain of Charlie Company -- the third in command and the officer who controlled the LAVs when the rest of the company dismounted to fight on foot --let alone be left in command for the first full-scale battle of the deployment. The affable dark-haired francophone from Ajax, Ont., had been slotted into the company at the last minute after his predecessor had been posted to another job in Kandahar Air Field (KAF), "a stroke of luck," he was fond of saying, that saved him from the boredom of a staff job at headquarters or worse, back at the regiment's home base in Edmonton.

The 27 year old was just four years out of Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont., when he landed in Afghanistan on his first overseas deployment, and was only temporarily in command when orders came down for Charlie Company to "kit up" and prepare for action. Major Bill Fletcher had just left on his mid-deployment leave and his second-in-command, Captain Ryan Jurkowski, was still en route back from his own leave. When he got his orders to move, Dupuis swallowed hard and began issuing instructions to move two of his three platoons out of KAF. He sent Number 8 Platoon, including Sergeant Mike Denine, to get the details of the mission while he prepared Number 9 Platoon to leave with him and a troop of engineers, moving directly from the air base to the Panjwayi area. Charlie's third platoon, Number 7, would remain in KAF as the quick-reaction force, ready to move up at a moment's notice.

Charlie was the clean-up hitter for Operation Bravo Guardian, Lieutenant-Colonel Hope's plan to clear out a suspected nest of Taliban in a cluster of villages at Nalgham, in the heart of the Panjwayi area. Bravo Company, equipped with only the lightly armoured G Wagon jeeps, was to sweep through the collection of small villages from the south, accompanied by Charlie's 8 Platoon to add heavy punch to their advance. The LAVs and troops with Dupuis were to wait to the north of the triangular clutch of villages, ready to block the Taliban's retreat and, it was hoped, catch them in the open as they fled Bravo Company's attack.
More on link

Passchendaele to screen for Canadian troops in Kandahar  
 Paul Gross' epic film to be screened in Canada House at Kandahar Airfield  prior to October 17th release
  EMBARGOED UNTIL: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 12:01 AM
Article Link

    OTTAWA, Sept. 30 /CNW/ - Today, at the Ottawa premiere of the epic war
film PASSCHENDAELE, writer, director, star Paul Gross announced that the film
will be presented at a special advance screening for Canadian troops stationed
in Kandahar prior to its national theatrical release on Friday, October 17th.
The screening in Kandahar is scheduled for Friday, October 3rd.
    "It has taken an uncommonly long time to bring this movie to the big
screen but we are finally able to present it to the Canadian public and in
some small way pay homage to the sacrifice of our forefathers in the Great War
of 1914-1918," says Gross. "It seems fitting that the troops who today so
valiantly serve our country are among the first to see it."
    In making the film, a group of soldiers from the Canadian Armed Forces
participated as background actors. To add to the authenticity, the soldiers
choreographed the battle scenes themselves, and then camped out on set in lieu
of staying at hotels provided by the production. They named their camp "Camp
Hornberg" in honour of Corporal Nathan Hornberg, a 24-year-old mechanic from
the King's Own Calgary Regiment, who was killed while serving in Afghanistan.
    Today's Ottawa screening launches a national PASSCHENDAELE tour,
incorporating stops in Winnipeg (Oct. 2), Halifax (Oct. 6), Montreal (Oct. 7),
Quebec City (Oct. 8), Edmonton (Oct. 9), Calgary (Oct. 15) and Vancouver (Oct.
16). Gross will introduce the film across the country appearing with fellow
actors Caroline Dhavernas, Joe Dinicol and Meredith Bailey in several cities.
In addition to eager fans and moviegoers, government officials, war veterans
and other military personnel will be in attendance at all exclusive premieres.
    PASSCHENDAELE had its world premiere on September 4, 2008 as the opening
night gala at the Toronto International Film Festival. It will be released
across Canada by Alliance Films on October 17th.
    The website for the film is www.passchendaelethemovie.com
    Set during the height of the First World War, PASSCHENDAELE tells the
story of Sergeant Michael Dunne (Paul Gross), a soldier who is brutally
wounded in France and returns to Calgary emotionally and physically scarred.
While in the military hospital in Calgary, he meets Sarah (Caroline
Dhavernas), a mysterious and attractive nurse with whom he develops a
passionate love. When Sarah's younger asthmatic brother David (Joe Dinicol)
signs up to fight in Europe, Michael feels compelled to return to protect him.
Like thousands of Canadians, Michael and David are sent to fight in the third
battle of Ypres, a battle against impossible odds, commonly known as
"Passchendaele". It is a story of passion, courage and dedication, showing the
heroism of those that fought in battle, and the ones that loved them.
    Starring Paul Gross (Due South, Men With Brooms, Slings & Arrows) and
Caroline Dhavernas (Breach, Hollywoodland), PASSCHENDAELE is written and
directed by Paul Gross, produced by Niv Fichman, Rhombus Media; Frank
Siracusa, Whizbang Films; and Francis Damberger, Damberger Film And Cattle
Company.
    The project was made possible by the generous support of the Alberta
Government, Telefilm Canada, The Dominion Institute, The Movie Network, Movie
Central, The Harold Greenberg Fund and the Canwest MediaWorks. The production
also received generous support from numerous private investors as well as
sponsorship from CIBC and The 10th Battalion Calgary Highlanders Association.
More on link


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## GAP (29 Sep 2008)

Canadian soldiers feel the economic pain of Afghans High food costs
Tom Blackwell, National Post  Published: Saturday, September 27, 2008
Article Link

KANDAHAR CITY, AFGHANISTAN - Just outside the razor-wired gates of Canada's reconstruction team headquarters here, close to 100 Afghan men, women and children waited patiently yesterday in the searing heat.

They showed up in hopes of benefiting from what was happening inside. Most went home empty-handed.

Behind the compound walls, Canadian troops passed out bundles of food to a lucky few in what has become an annual gesture to mark the end of Ramadan, a time when the affluent are supposed to give to those less fortunate.

Yet seven years after the Taliban's downfall and almost three since Canadians arrived in Kandahar, the need seems more acute than ever.

Some of the 200 families invited to receive the gift package said ballooning food costs and a still-decrepit economy had left them destitute.

"Due to the rising prices, life is getting worse rather than better," said Meheraban, 25, who has four children and no job. Like many Afghans, he goes by just one name. "It's very expensive and poor people can hardly afford to buy these things."

A 100-kilogram bag of flour now costs 5,000 Afghanis, about $100, up from 2,000 Afghanis just a year ago, he said. With Eid, the celebration at the end of the holy month, about to begin, his family would likely be forced to panhandle if not for the Canadian gift, Meheraban said.

Yet, it seems the Forces' gesture could not escape other realities of Afghanistan. Meheraban complained that many of those who arrived for the gifts were not actually impoverished, but had used their influence with local administrators to snag invitations.

"Most of the people coming here today were rich people."
More on link

Kandahar governor says 2011 pullout 'leaves us in the lurch'
Tom Blackwell, National Post  Published: Monday, September 29, 2008
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- As he readies for a possible Taliban offensive this week with "dozens" of suicide bombers, the new governor of Kandahar province is urging Canadian politicians to rethink the planned 2011 pullout of troops.

In his first full interview with western media since taking over the job last month, Rahmatullah Raufi also described some "worrisome" new trends in insurgent tactics. The Taliban are planting more roadside bombs inside densely populated Kandahar city itself -- rather than in rural areas -- and increasingly targeting government, UN and NGO officials with threats and assassination, he told the National Post.

Mr. Raufi praised Canada's efforts so far and said a multi-year Canadian plan of action for the province could bring about a "huge" improvement. 

He politely suggested, however, that withdrawing all troops in less than three years is unwise, given the still-turbulent state of security.

"For Canadians, maybe that is worthwhile for their country," said the governor, a former Afghan National Army general with a reflective, grandfatherly demeanour. "But for Afghanistan, for us, it is not good to say that Canadians should pull out ... It is better not to leave us in the lurch."

In fact, Mr. Raufi said the province needs about 1,500 more foreign troops -- or for Canada to speed up the pace of its counter-insurgency and reconstruction efforts.

At the same time, he also proposed working through influential tribal elders to try to convince Taliban fighters to enter peace negotiations.
More on link

Weak government allows Taleban to prosper in Afghanistan
The collapse of security in Helmand owes as much to government failings as to any military actionTom Coghlan in Lashkar Gar 
Article Link

The wild-eyed policemen were high on opium, harassing locals and demanding bribes from drivers on the road so recently built at the expense of the British taxpayer. 

“I might as well shoot myself in the head,” said one officer, jaw slack and eyes unfocused, as he leant on his Kalashnikov. “We have no life, no salary, and no respect from the people.” 

His tattered uniform flapping, he added, with apparent self-loathing: “It is true what people say: the police are the robbers round here.” 

The scene illustrated the central problem facing the UK in Helmand province, where 8,000 British troops are trying to impose order. British counter-insurgency doctrine has a single, central objective: to deliver security to the people. Without this, the Taleban and the raft of other challenges cannot be met. 
More on link

Researcher says Afghanistan is in disarray  
TAYLOR MITCHELL  The Moose Jaw Times Herald
Article Link

On Sunday afternoon, a forum was held at the Moose Jaw Public Library about Afghanistan. 
     Besides the candidates for Palliser speaking at the event, the main speaker was John Warnock who is the author of A Failed State: The U.S. and Canada in Afghanistan.
     Warnock spoke about what was going on in Afghanistan and what the Caanadian and American governments have been saying. 
    “Before doing my research, I did not know much about what was going on in Afghanistan,” said Warnock. 
    Since doing his research Warnock said he has acquired a lot of knowledge about the war in the East. 
    Warnock said he learned that the U.S. has been in Afghanistan in a massive way since 1979. Almost all the reasons for the U.S. being there have to do with oil, he said. 
    “Oil in the Middle East is vital to their existence.”
    What it all comes down to is the Afghans having no say in what happens to their country, said Warnock. Currently there is a complete failure of the economy. 
    He added the country doesn’t have a tax program, 40 per cent of the people are unemployed, the average income is $350 a year and 42 per cent are living in extreme poverty with less than $120 a year. 
    In the past year, there has been a major crop failure and a famine has swept across the country. 
     Warnock said that the number of casualties has increased. There has been a greater reliance on missiles, planes, helicopters, etc., killing civilians and destroying villages. 
    It is hard for Canadians to find out what is going on in Afghanistan politics because there is no coverage on it, he said.
     Green party Palliser candidate, Larissa Shasko said she believes Canada should be in Afghanistan strictly as peacekeepers, nothing else. Shasko thinks Canada needs to get out of Afghanistan because we are there for the wrong reasons. We need to start supporting the Afghanistan democratic system.
     Conservative candidate Ray Boughen had a different view on the troops serving in Afghanistan. 
More on link

UPDATE 1-Militants pouring in from Afghanistan: Pakistan
Mon Sep 29, 2008 7:42pm IST By Zeeshan Haider
Article Link

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Militants battling Pakistani forces are getting weapons and reinforcements from Afghanistan, security officials said on Monday, vowing no let-up in their offensive in the northwest.

Government forces launched an offensive in the Bajaur region on the Afghan border in August after years of complaints from U.S. and Afghan officials that Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan were getting help from Pakistani border areas such as Bajaur.

Now the tables have turned and the militants locked in heavy fighting with Pakistani forces are getting help from the Afghan side of the border, officials said.

"The Pakistan-Afghan border is porous and is now causing trouble for us in Bajaur," a senior security source in the military told a news briefing.

"Now movement is taking place to Pakistan from Afghanistan," said the official, who along with a colleague at the briefing, declined to be identified.

The officials did not blame the Afghan government for sending militants across the border but called on Kabul and U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan forces to stop the flow.
More on link

Caffeine injection
Legion fundraiser brings Tim Hortons to Canadian troops in Afghanistan
September 29, 2008 Vik Kirsch Mercury Staff GUELPH
Article Link

Gord Odell is fed up with war. A Second World War veteran who served as an army non-commissioned officer in Europe, he saw enough devastation to last a lifetime.

"I've had enough," Odell said Saturday as he staffed a local Royal Canadian Legion booth in the Stone Road Mall.

The Legion was raising money over the weekend to give Canadian soldiers Tim Hortons coffee breaks. Afghanistan's Kandahar Airfield has a Tim Hortons on the base.

Odell's thoughts turned to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's vow to withdraw Canadian troops from the fighting by 2011.

"I support bringing them home by 2011," Odell said. "They'll have done their jobs by then. It's time for somebody else to take over."

With the Canadian death toll approaching 100, Legion member Ken Sleeper said while 2011 isn't too far away, he'd prefer a shorter wait.

While the troops are doing "some good," Sleeper said any benefit to the indigenous population is "at the cost of -- the lives of -- our own people."

"We've now lost 97 troops so far, and that's not good," he said, adding that's a high death ratio, even by Second World War comparisons.

Legion member Amber Holman also doesn't want to wait until 2011 and risk seeing the death count rise any further.

"It would be nice for them to come home sooner," Holman said.

But Legion member Roy Wakefield doesn't want a set deadline.

"They're there for a mission," said Wakefield, a former commissioned officer with the sea cadets. He added he'd only support a date of 2011 "if they can get that mission over with by then.
More on link


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## MarkOttawa (30 Sep 2008)

ARTICLES FOUND SEPT. 30

Afghan mission a stealth topic
_Toronto Star_, Sept. 30, by Martin Regg Cohn 
http://www.thestar.com/FederalElection/article/508518



> Afghanistan is our most ambitious, most dangerous and most expensive foreign policy and defence venture in decades.
> 
> Yet our normally voluble politicians have taken a vow of silence; and the media are mum. Afghanistan is not even a sleeper issue in this campaign; it's a stealth topic, just like the last election.
> 
> ...



Kandahar governor urges Canada to rethink 2011 withdrawal
The province needs about 1,500 more foreign troops, Rahmatullah Raufi says
Canwest News, Sept. 30
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=155bfbef-e76b-4950-bf33-e03604e3fb59



> As he readies for a possible Taliban offensive this week with "dozens" of suicide bombers, the new governor of Kandahar province is urging Canadian politicians to rethink the planned 2011 pullout of troops.
> 
> In his first full interview with western media since taking over the job last month, Rahmatullah Raufi also described some "worrisome" new trends in insurgent tactics.
> 
> ...



Karzai asks Saudi Arabia to help deal with Taliban
AP, Sept. 30
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080930/karzai_taliban_080930/20080930?hub=World



> Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday he has asked the king of Saudi Arabia to help facilitate peace talks with the Taliban in order to bring an end to the Afghan conflict.
> 
> Karzai said there has not yet been any negotiations, only requests for help. But he said that Afghan officials have traveled to both Saudi Arabia and to Pakistan in hopes of ending the conflict.
> 
> ...



Pakistan Picks New Chief For Intelligence Agency
_Washington Post_, Sept. 30
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/29/AR2008092903065.html



> The Pakistani government has selected a new chief for its powerful intelligence service, the ISI, replacing a figure the Bush administration has long suspected of ties to Taliban extremists and other militant groups in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area.
> 
> An army statement released late yesterday announced the appointment of Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha to the ISI post, according to the Associated Press. Pasha, said to be close to army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani, will replace Lt. Gen. Nadeem Taj, who was chosen for the post by retired Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the former Pakistani president.
> 
> ...




General David Petraeus applies pressure for more Nato troops in Afghanistan
The American military commander Gen David Petraeus stepped up the pressure for extra troops to fight in Afghanistan after British commanders ruled out reinforcements.
_Daily Telegraph_, Sept. 29
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/onthefrontline/3104420/General-David-Petraeus-applies-pressure-for-more-Nato-troops-in-Afghanistan.html



> Speaking after talks with the Prime Minister, the American military chief bluntly called on Nato countries to contribute more to the Afghan campaign at a time when the Taliban are resurgent.
> 
> Gen Petraeus said it was up to Nato member states to reinforce Afghanistan. "Now it is up to national capitals and the alliance to determine how to generate the additional force," he said. "I think it is up to the coalition how to source the forces."
> 
> ...



Mark
Ottawa


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## GAP (30 Sep 2008)

*Articles found September 30, 2008*

Afghanistan: Officer Kills U.S. Soldier  
By JOHN F. BURNS Published: September 29, 2008 
Article Link

An Afghan police officer opened fire on United States soldiers in a police station south of Kabul on Sunday, killing one of the soldiers, an American official said Monday. The American troops fired back, killing the police officer. A NATO statement said a joint NATO-Afghan patrol in Paktia Province, which had escaped without injury from a roadside bomb and small-arms fire, had arrested seven civilians who tested positive for explosives residue. The patrol took the suspects to the police station. There, NATO said, “an altercation” ensued. 
More on link

Pakistan replaces chief of powerful spy agency
Article Link

ISLAMABAD (AFP) — Pakistan has replaced the head of its powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in an apparent bid to clean up the military spy agency amid western claims that it secretly backs the Taliban.

Lieutenant General Ahmed Shujaa Pasha, formerly head of military operations, was appointed director general of the ISI late Monday, a terse military statement announced. He replaces Lieutenant General Nadeem Taj.

The move was part of a major shake-up of the army's top brass after US, Afghan and Indian officials alleged in recent months that the shadowy organisation was complicit in the Taliban insurgency wracking the region.

Pasha is widely considered to be a close aide to Pakistani military chief Ashfaq Kayani, who ran the ISI until October last year. Taj, his predecessor, was a key lieutenant of former president Pervez Musharraf.

The army insisted the 14 new appointments announced on Monday were routine.

"These were the changes due over a period of time. This is how the system works in the army," chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP.
More on link


Canadian, U.S. soldiers compare armies  
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes European edition, Tuesday, September 30, 2008 
Article Link

HOHENFELS, Germany — When Canadian soldiers deploy to Afghanistan they usually go for only six months and get a hefty bonus for being there.

That’s something U.S. soldiers, who recently had their deployment times cut from 15 to 12 months, were quick to discover during this month’s Cooperative Spirit exercise at Hohenfels’ Joint Multinational Readiness Center.

Comparing pay and service conditions is something soldiers from different armies usually do when they are involved in multinational operations. And this month’s exercise involving soldiers from the U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand was a good chance to do just that.

Canadian Cpl. Rob Hovey, 25, of Miramichi, New Brunswick, said, based on his conversations with U.S. soldiers, he believes his army has the best pay and conditions.

"I’ve talked to a few Americans," said Hovey, who got back from Afghanistan in August last year. "The sense I’ve got so far is that our terms of service and the benefits we get when we go overseas are better. My first time overseas I got $2,400 to $3,000 (Canadian dollars) a month." 

Canadian dollars were trading slightly higher than U.S. dollars on Monday. But Hovey said he didn’t join the Army for the money.

"It was more of a family tradition," he said.
More on link


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## The Bread Guy (30 Sep 2008)

*Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
300935EDT Sept 08*
.pdf version attached at bottom of message

*NOTE:  The following material is from web pages and forums carrying statements attributed to the Taliban, Taliban spokespersons or supporters of the Taliban, or analysis thereof.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.  When material translated into English is not available, Google Translate is used to translate the original (indicated by "GoogEng") - this is only a machine translation, NOT an official one.*


"Ameer Al-Mu’meneen  Mullah Mohammad Omar Mujahid about the pleasure of  Eid al-Fitr" (includes offer to Coalition forces to leave) (Official English version) - Original in Arabic


> ....  If you show your intension of withdrawing your forces, we once again will show our principal by give you a safe way out, in order to show that we never harm any one .... (more on link)




"Puppet Deputy governor of Zabul killed in Kandahar" - Alternate version in English


> Sunday night 28-09-2008 at approximately 10:13 pm local time, Mujahideen of  Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,  attacked puppet deputy governor of Zabul province, Muhammad Hasham Khan in Khwajak Baba area of Kandahar city. In the attack deputy governor and 3 puppet police terrorists were killed. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf


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## MarkOttawa (1 Oct 2008)

Oops, didn't notice Oct. thread.  Deleted.

Mark
Ottawa


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