The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread April 2009
- Thread starter GAP
- Start date
Articles found April 1, 2009
Canada expresses outrage over Afghan women's law
Updated Tue. Mar. 31 2009 7:35 PM ET The Canadian Press
Article Link
OTTAWA -- Canadian officials contacted the Afghan government Tuesday to express concern about controversial new legislation that would reportedly allow men to rape their wives.
The Canadian government reacted with outrage following reports that the Karzai administration has approved a wide-ranging family law for the country's Shia minority.
Various reports say the legislation would make it illegal for Shia women to refuse their husbands sex, leave the house without their permission, or have custody of children.
Canadian officials contacted the office of President Hamid Karzai, and Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon spoke to two Afghan cabinet ministers Tuesday seeking clarification.
Karzai's office has so far refused to comment on the legislation, which has been criticized by some Afghan parliamentarians and a UN women's agency but has not yet been published.
More on link
The US Military’s March 2009 Fuel Contracts
Article Link
Fuel is a big issue to the US military.
While there are some contracts issued throughout the year, the US military typically issues large sets of contracts over concentrated periods. In March 2006, for instance, DID covered over $3 billion in contracts issued within a week. The Defense Energy Support Center estimates that the US military paid more than $10 billion for over 130 million barrels of fuel in 2006, compared to $6.7 billion for 144.8 million barrels in 2004. No wonder energy conservation is on the Pentagon’s agenda, while DARPA researches alternative fuels for B-52 bombers.
It would appear to be that time of year again. Here are all of the American military’s fuel contracts for March 2009, along with descriptions of key fuel types and explanations of the contract language. The final tally was $5,693,595,745 – plus any economic price adjustments, a term we explain below….
Key Fuel Types
The March 2007 contracts aren;t specific, but “fuel” can encompass a number of different products. For your information, here are some of the key fuel types involved, beyond contracts for straight diesel fuel. Information in this section is taken from the US Coast Guard’s Propulsion Fuel Guide, and the US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine. Both documents are in PDF format.
JP-5 (also known as F-44) & JP-8. is procured to MIL-DTL-5624T. JP-5 is a very clean burning fuel with very strict quality requirements – especially its limit of water and particulate content. Gas turbine maintenance (particularly when associated with combustor cans) is reduced when burning JP-5. It is used in US Navy aircraft, and has a high flash point, which means it doesn’t vaporize until it reaches about 130 degrees Fahrenheit or so. This makes it ideally suited for storage aboard ship where low flammability is desired. JP-5 is also inherently stable; it does not form oxygenated sludge, and because it’s an aviation fuel it includes a Fuel System Icing Inhibitor (FSII) additive. The downsides are threefold. JP-5 tends to be more expensive. Its energy content is lower than F-76 type fuel, which means lower mileage efficiency; and it may have lower viscosity and/or lubricity characteristics, which can cause extra wear in diesel engine injection pumps.
More on link
Suspected drone attacks kills 8 in Pakistan
Article Link
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- A suspected U.S. missile strike killed eight people in in the violence-plagued tribal region in northwestern Pakistan Wednesday, a local political official said.
The strike occurred in the Orakzai Agency, one of seven regions that make up the Federally Administered Tribal Areas along the border with Afghanistan. Pakistani and U.S. officials have reported a presence of militants in the region.
The official, Basir Orakzai, said some victims of the attack were trapped under rubble.
It is the first suspected U.S. missile strike in the Orakzai Agency, based on a CNN tally.
The U.S-led coalition and NATO -- based in Afghanistan -- have been seeking a way to effectively battle militants who are launching attacks from the swath of tribal areas along the border.
They have become frustrated with Islamabad over the years, saying it is not being proactive enough against militants -- a claim Pakistan denies.
The United States is the only country operating in the region known to have the capability to launch missiles from drones, which are controlled remotely.
More on link
10 die in attack on Afghan government building
NOOR KHAN Associated Press April 1, 2009 at 6:21 AM EDT
Article Link
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Three suicide bombers disguised in army uniforms stormed a government office in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday after a fourth detonated a car bomb, officials said. At least 10 people — including the four assailants — died.
The co-ordinated assault in Kandahar city underscored a new tactic by Afghan militants to launch multidirectional attacks against government offices. It mirrored a February attack in Kabul, where militants assaulted three government buildings simultaneously, killing 20.
Wednesday's attack on Kandahar's provincial council office killed five civilians and a police officer, said Zemeri Bashary, the Interior Ministry's spokesman.
The assault began just before noon, when a suicide bomber in a vehicle full of explosives blew himself up at the gates of the council office, opening the way for three other attackers in Afghan army uniforms to storm the building, said Ahmad Wali Karzai, the head of the council and President Hamid Karzai's brother.
More on link
Australian Special Forces Kill Taliban Commander in Afghanistan
By Michael Heath
Article Link
April 1 (Bloomberg) -- Australian special forces killed a senior Taliban insurgent involved in organizing suicide attacks and training foreign fighters in Afghanistan, the Department of Defence said today.
Mullah Abdul Bari coordinated bomb attacks on international and Afghan forces in the southern province of Uruzgan, the department said in a statement. Bari was killed in a recent operation by Australian and Afghan National Army troops, it said, without elaborating.
“His weapons of choice were roadside bombs and suicide bombers, and his death means that Taliban insurgents operating in the region have lost one of their key facilitators,” Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Mark Evans said.
More on link
Canada expresses outrage over Afghan women's law
Updated Tue. Mar. 31 2009 7:35 PM ET The Canadian Press
Article Link
OTTAWA -- Canadian officials contacted the Afghan government Tuesday to express concern about controversial new legislation that would reportedly allow men to rape their wives.
The Canadian government reacted with outrage following reports that the Karzai administration has approved a wide-ranging family law for the country's Shia minority.
Various reports say the legislation would make it illegal for Shia women to refuse their husbands sex, leave the house without their permission, or have custody of children.
Canadian officials contacted the office of President Hamid Karzai, and Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon spoke to two Afghan cabinet ministers Tuesday seeking clarification.
Karzai's office has so far refused to comment on the legislation, which has been criticized by some Afghan parliamentarians and a UN women's agency but has not yet been published.
More on link
The US Military’s March 2009 Fuel Contracts
Article Link
Fuel is a big issue to the US military.
While there are some contracts issued throughout the year, the US military typically issues large sets of contracts over concentrated periods. In March 2006, for instance, DID covered over $3 billion in contracts issued within a week. The Defense Energy Support Center estimates that the US military paid more than $10 billion for over 130 million barrels of fuel in 2006, compared to $6.7 billion for 144.8 million barrels in 2004. No wonder energy conservation is on the Pentagon’s agenda, while DARPA researches alternative fuels for B-52 bombers.
It would appear to be that time of year again. Here are all of the American military’s fuel contracts for March 2009, along with descriptions of key fuel types and explanations of the contract language. The final tally was $5,693,595,745 – plus any economic price adjustments, a term we explain below….
Key Fuel Types
The March 2007 contracts aren;t specific, but “fuel” can encompass a number of different products. For your information, here are some of the key fuel types involved, beyond contracts for straight diesel fuel. Information in this section is taken from the US Coast Guard’s Propulsion Fuel Guide, and the US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine. Both documents are in PDF format.
JP-5 (also known as F-44) & JP-8. is procured to MIL-DTL-5624T. JP-5 is a very clean burning fuel with very strict quality requirements – especially its limit of water and particulate content. Gas turbine maintenance (particularly when associated with combustor cans) is reduced when burning JP-5. It is used in US Navy aircraft, and has a high flash point, which means it doesn’t vaporize until it reaches about 130 degrees Fahrenheit or so. This makes it ideally suited for storage aboard ship where low flammability is desired. JP-5 is also inherently stable; it does not form oxygenated sludge, and because it’s an aviation fuel it includes a Fuel System Icing Inhibitor (FSII) additive. The downsides are threefold. JP-5 tends to be more expensive. Its energy content is lower than F-76 type fuel, which means lower mileage efficiency; and it may have lower viscosity and/or lubricity characteristics, which can cause extra wear in diesel engine injection pumps.
More on link
Suspected drone attacks kills 8 in Pakistan
Article Link
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- A suspected U.S. missile strike killed eight people in in the violence-plagued tribal region in northwestern Pakistan Wednesday, a local political official said.
The strike occurred in the Orakzai Agency, one of seven regions that make up the Federally Administered Tribal Areas along the border with Afghanistan. Pakistani and U.S. officials have reported a presence of militants in the region.
The official, Basir Orakzai, said some victims of the attack were trapped under rubble.
It is the first suspected U.S. missile strike in the Orakzai Agency, based on a CNN tally.
The U.S-led coalition and NATO -- based in Afghanistan -- have been seeking a way to effectively battle militants who are launching attacks from the swath of tribal areas along the border.
They have become frustrated with Islamabad over the years, saying it is not being proactive enough against militants -- a claim Pakistan denies.
The United States is the only country operating in the region known to have the capability to launch missiles from drones, which are controlled remotely.
More on link
10 die in attack on Afghan government building
NOOR KHAN Associated Press April 1, 2009 at 6:21 AM EDT
Article Link
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Three suicide bombers disguised in army uniforms stormed a government office in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday after a fourth detonated a car bomb, officials said. At least 10 people — including the four assailants — died.
The co-ordinated assault in Kandahar city underscored a new tactic by Afghan militants to launch multidirectional attacks against government offices. It mirrored a February attack in Kabul, where militants assaulted three government buildings simultaneously, killing 20.
Wednesday's attack on Kandahar's provincial council office killed five civilians and a police officer, said Zemeri Bashary, the Interior Ministry's spokesman.
The assault began just before noon, when a suicide bomber in a vehicle full of explosives blew himself up at the gates of the council office, opening the way for three other attackers in Afghan army uniforms to storm the building, said Ahmad Wali Karzai, the head of the council and President Hamid Karzai's brother.
More on link
Australian Special Forces Kill Taliban Commander in Afghanistan
By Michael Heath
Article Link
April 1 (Bloomberg) -- Australian special forces killed a senior Taliban insurgent involved in organizing suicide attacks and training foreign fighters in Afghanistan, the Department of Defence said today.
Mullah Abdul Bari coordinated bomb attacks on international and Afghan forces in the southern province of Uruzgan, the department said in a statement. Bari was killed in a recent operation by Australian and Afghan National Army troops, it said, without elaborating.
“His weapons of choice were roadside bombs and suicide bombers, and his death means that Taliban insurgents operating in the region have lost one of their key facilitators,” Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Mark Evans said.
More on link
- Reaction score
- 147
- Points
- 710
US surge troops see highway as road to freedom in Afghanistan
The Times, April 1
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6011860.ece
Afghan-Pakistani border plan wins leaders’ nod
CP, April 1
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Canada/1114423.html
Pakistani Taliban says it carried out deadly assault on Lahore academy
Irish Times, April 1
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2009/0401/1224243794521.html
Mark
Ottawa
The Times, April 1
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6011860.ece
Afghan-Pakistani border plan wins leaders’ nod
CP, April 1
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Canada/1114423.html
Pakistani Taliban says it carried out deadly assault on Lahore academy
Irish Times, April 1
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2009/0401/1224243794521.html
Mark
Ottawa
Articles found April 2, 2009
FACTBOX-Security developments in Afghanistan
Thu Apr 2, 2009 6:00am
Article Link
Following are security developments in Afghanistan at 1000 GMT on Thursday:
HELMAND - Afghan troops, advised by U.S.-led coalition forces, called in an airstrike which killed 20 militants after an ambush in Kajaki district, 475 km (295 miles) southwest of Kabul, on Wednesday, the U.S. military said.
BADGHIS - Sixteen road workers were kidnapped in Ghormach district, 510 km (315 miles) northwest of Kabul, the Interior Ministry said. (Compiled by Jon Hemming; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
end
Militants Storm Government Office in Afghanistan, Killing 13
Article Link
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Five suicide bombers stormed a government office in Kandahar on Wednesday morning, killing 13 people, including two provincial government officials, and wounding 14.
One militant detonated a car bomb at the entrance gate of the provincial council office, as the others stormed the compound with assault rifles and hand grenades. Seven civilians and six police officers were killed in the 20-minute gun battle, which ended when two of the militants blew themselves up in the main hall, said the provincial police chief, Matiullah Qati.
More on link
U.S. Weighs Putting 70,000 Troops in Afghanistan
APRIL 1, 2009, 11:14 P.M. ET By YOCHI J. DREAZEN
Article Link
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is weighing whether to deploy 10,000 more troops to Afghanistan but lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are questioning an increased commitment and seeking specific measures of progress against the deteriorating conditions in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
When President Obama took office, the U.S. had about 38,000 troops in Afghanistan. The White House has announced plans to send 21,000 reinforcements in coming months, increasing the tally to almost 60,000.
Mr. Obama will decide this fall whether to order 10,000 more troops to Afghanistan next year, senior Pentagon officials told a Senate panel Wednesday, bringing the total to almost 70,000.
More on link
Nato snubbed over request for 4,000 troops in Afghanistan
Michael Evans, Defence Editor and David Charter in Brussels April 2, 2009
Article Link
Nato leaders meeting at the 60th anniversary summit of the alliance face humiliation unless they can persuade members to send 4,000 extra troops to southern Afghanistan for the four-month period of the elections due on August 20.
An urgent military request for two more infantry battalions and the logistic support units to go with them was made months ago but so far no Nato government has come forward with offers.
Britain is expected to provide extra transport and logistic back-up for the election period but other countries with troops in the south, such as Canada and Denmark, are being urged to prop up security measures.
The focus at the summit will be on meeting the appeal by General John Craddock, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, for up to 4,000 troops for the south.
More on link
Top US Commander says Sustained Commitment Needed in Afghanistan
By Deborah Tate Capitol Hill 01 April 2009
Article Link
The commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, General David Petraeus, told a congressional committee Wednesday that success in Afghanistan would require a sustained, substantial commitment. But some lawmakers expressed skepticism over how progress could be measured in Afghanistan and whether Pakistan is really committed to fighting extremists on its border with Afghanistan.
General Petraeus cautioned that there would be no quick victory in Afghanistan. He said Islamic insurgents are a growing threat not only to Afghanistan, but to neighboring Pakistan.
"The extremists that have established sanctuary in the rugged border areas not only contribute to the deterioration of security in eastern and southern Afghanistan, they also pose an ever more serious threat to Pakistan's very existence," Petraeus said.
More on link
FACTBOX-Security developments in Afghanistan
Thu Apr 2, 2009 6:00am
Article Link
Following are security developments in Afghanistan at 1000 GMT on Thursday:
HELMAND - Afghan troops, advised by U.S.-led coalition forces, called in an airstrike which killed 20 militants after an ambush in Kajaki district, 475 km (295 miles) southwest of Kabul, on Wednesday, the U.S. military said.
BADGHIS - Sixteen road workers were kidnapped in Ghormach district, 510 km (315 miles) northwest of Kabul, the Interior Ministry said. (Compiled by Jon Hemming; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
end
Militants Storm Government Office in Afghanistan, Killing 13
Article Link
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Five suicide bombers stormed a government office in Kandahar on Wednesday morning, killing 13 people, including two provincial government officials, and wounding 14.
One militant detonated a car bomb at the entrance gate of the provincial council office, as the others stormed the compound with assault rifles and hand grenades. Seven civilians and six police officers were killed in the 20-minute gun battle, which ended when two of the militants blew themselves up in the main hall, said the provincial police chief, Matiullah Qati.
More on link
U.S. Weighs Putting 70,000 Troops in Afghanistan
APRIL 1, 2009, 11:14 P.M. ET By YOCHI J. DREAZEN
Article Link
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is weighing whether to deploy 10,000 more troops to Afghanistan but lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are questioning an increased commitment and seeking specific measures of progress against the deteriorating conditions in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
When President Obama took office, the U.S. had about 38,000 troops in Afghanistan. The White House has announced plans to send 21,000 reinforcements in coming months, increasing the tally to almost 60,000.
Mr. Obama will decide this fall whether to order 10,000 more troops to Afghanistan next year, senior Pentagon officials told a Senate panel Wednesday, bringing the total to almost 70,000.
More on link
Nato snubbed over request for 4,000 troops in Afghanistan
Michael Evans, Defence Editor and David Charter in Brussels April 2, 2009
Article Link
Nato leaders meeting at the 60th anniversary summit of the alliance face humiliation unless they can persuade members to send 4,000 extra troops to southern Afghanistan for the four-month period of the elections due on August 20.
An urgent military request for two more infantry battalions and the logistic support units to go with them was made months ago but so far no Nato government has come forward with offers.
Britain is expected to provide extra transport and logistic back-up for the election period but other countries with troops in the south, such as Canada and Denmark, are being urged to prop up security measures.
The focus at the summit will be on meeting the appeal by General John Craddock, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, for up to 4,000 troops for the south.
More on link
Top US Commander says Sustained Commitment Needed in Afghanistan
By Deborah Tate Capitol Hill 01 April 2009
Article Link
The commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, General David Petraeus, told a congressional committee Wednesday that success in Afghanistan would require a sustained, substantial commitment. But some lawmakers expressed skepticism over how progress could be measured in Afghanistan and whether Pakistan is really committed to fighting extremists on its border with Afghanistan.
General Petraeus cautioned that there would be no quick victory in Afghanistan. He said Islamic insurgents are a growing threat not only to Afghanistan, but to neighboring Pakistan.
"The extremists that have established sanctuary in the rugged border areas not only contribute to the deterioration of security in eastern and southern Afghanistan, they also pose an ever more serious threat to Pakistan's very existence," Petraeus said.
More on link
Obama ends Pak veto over India in Afghanistan
Lalit K Jha Washington, Apr 2 (PTI)
Article Link
President Barack Obama has ended years of "veto power" wielded by Pakistan in Afghanistan over India's active involvement in the country post-Taliban, a US expert on South Asia has said.
Because of Pakistan's stiff resistance and opposition to involve India in any way in Afghanistan that the Bush Administration was literally prevented to take any move to include New Delhi as part of its regional strategy on Afghanistan, Deepa Ollapally, Associate Director of George Washington University's Sigur Center for Asian Studies, said in a Congressional testimony on Afghanistan.
"So far, the US Government has refrained from including India in regional political efforts in Afghanistan, basically bending to Pakistan's sentiments. India has obviously not been happy with this state of affairs, but it has pushed ahead with development assistance instead," she said in her testimony before the National Security and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
"The new plan that was announced (by Obama) on Friday (March 27), which will include an international contact group which will have India involved, I think is a step in the right direction," she said. PTI
More on link
Lalit K Jha Washington, Apr 2 (PTI)
Article Link
President Barack Obama has ended years of "veto power" wielded by Pakistan in Afghanistan over India's active involvement in the country post-Taliban, a US expert on South Asia has said.
Because of Pakistan's stiff resistance and opposition to involve India in any way in Afghanistan that the Bush Administration was literally prevented to take any move to include New Delhi as part of its regional strategy on Afghanistan, Deepa Ollapally, Associate Director of George Washington University's Sigur Center for Asian Studies, said in a Congressional testimony on Afghanistan.
"So far, the US Government has refrained from including India in regional political efforts in Afghanistan, basically bending to Pakistan's sentiments. India has obviously not been happy with this state of affairs, but it has pushed ahead with development assistance instead," she said in her testimony before the National Security and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
"The new plan that was announced (by Obama) on Friday (March 27), which will include an international contact group which will have India involved, I think is a step in the right direction," she said. PTI
More on link
- Reaction score
- 147
- Points
- 710
ARTICLES FOUND APRIL 3
Afghanistan, anniversaries, and strategy
Conference of Defence Associations' media round-up
http://www.cdaforumcad.ca/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1238770043
Mark
Ottawa
Afghanistan, anniversaries, and strategy
Conference of Defence Associations' media round-up
http://www.cdaforumcad.ca/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1238770043
Mark
Ottawa
Articles found April 4, 2009
Sailor in spy case gets maximum 10-year sentence
By Terry Frieden Justice Producer
Article Link
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A former U.S. Navy sailor who provided al Qaeda supporters secret information about planned ship movements received a maximum 10-year prison sentence, the Justice Department announced Friday.
The former sailor, Hassan Abu-Jihaad, was convicted in 2008 of disclosing secrets on ship movements to potentially enable an attack similar to one carried out against the destroyer USS Cole, which killed 17 U.S. sailors.
A federal jury heard the case in Connecticut, which is home to a Web hosting company that included Web sites of a London, England-based organization that allegedly supported acts of terrorism.
Prosecutors presented evidence at trial that Abu-Jihaad praised Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, and praised the attack on the USS Cole as a "martyrdom operation."
U.S. District Court Judge Mark Kravitz in New Haven granted prosecutors' request for the longest possible sentence of 10 years in prison.
"We are pleased that the court imposed the maximum prison term allowed under the law," said Acting U.S. Attorney for Connecticut Nora Dannehy
end
Obama Says 5,000 More NATO Troops Will Be Sent to Afghanistan
By Hans Nichols and Edwin Chen
Article Link
April 4 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama announced that NATO countries will send an additional 5,000 non-combat troops and trainers to Afghanistan as a “concrete commitment” to the revised Afghan strategy announced last week.
“I am pleased that our NATO allies pledged their strong and unanimous support for our new strategy,” Obama said at a press conference at the conclusion of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Strasbourg, France.
“This effort can’t be America’s alone,” he said. “We’ve started to match real resources to achieve our goals.”
The new troops will be used to train the Afghan National Army and police and to help secure the country in preparation for its August elections. Along with an additional $500 million for reconstruction, the new troops “indicate the seriousness of purpose” that the 28 members of the alliance bring to the Afghan conflict, Obama said.
Obama came to the two-day summit on the Rhine River bearing the new strategic plan for Afghanistan he outlined on March 27. The plan calls for more U.S. troops, establishes benchmarks for improving Afghanistan’s governance and focuses more aid and attention on neighboring Pakistan. The U.S. will send 21,000 more troops to Afghanistan as part of the new strategy.
More on link
Defending women’s rights in Afghanistan and Pakistan
April 4th, 2009
Article Link
Barely had President Barack Obama outlined a new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan meant to narrow the focus to eliminating the threat from al Qaeda and its Islamist allies, before the U.S.-led campaign ran into what was always going to be one of its biggest problems in limiting its goals. What does it do about the rights of women in the region?
The treatment of women has dominated the headlines this week after Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed a new law for the minority Shi’ite population which both the United States and the United Nations said could undermine women’s rights. Karzai has promised a review of the law, while also complaining it was misinterpreted by Western journalists.
In Pakistan, video footage has been circulated of Taliban militants flogging a teenage girl in the Swat valley, where the government concluded a peace deal with the Taliban in February. The graphic and disturbing video, which has been posted on YouTube, has outraged many Pakistanis and the flogging was condemned by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani as shameful. There have been contradictory reports of exactly when and why the girl was punished, although Dawn newspaper quoted a witness as saying she was flogged two weeks ago for refusing a marriage proposal
More on link
Pakistanis find 43 dead in truck from Afghanistan
Sat Apr 4, 2009 7:18pm BST
Article Link
QUETTA, Pakistan, April 4 - Pakistani police found on Saturday 43 dead bodies and dozens of other people, many of them unconscious, crammed inside a shipping container on a truck from Afghanistan, an official and police said.
The truck had apparently been driven in to Pakistan by human smugglers aiming to take the people to Iran, said government official Naseem Lari.
"The truck came from Spin Boldak and was bound for Iran," Lari said, referring to an Afghan border town opposite the southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan.
"We've got 43 dead confirmed and many more unconscious," he said.
The truck carrying the container had been left at a truck stop on the outskirts of the city of Quetta and police had been alerted after passers-by heard cries for help, said police official Abid Jadoon.
Jadoon said about 100 people in total were in the container and the dead had suffocated in its tightly sealed interior.
More on link
NATO Leaders Agree on Secretary-General, Afghanistan
By VOA News 04 April 2009
Article Link
Leaders of the 28 NATO countries have named Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen as the new Alliance secretary-general and agreed on a common policy toward Afghanistan.
NATO's outgoing Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer announced the accord on his successor, noting that Turkey dropped its objections to Mr. Rasmussen.
He also said the leaders, meeting in Strasbourg, agreed to send additional forces, including those expected to help train Afghan units. He said the new troops will also assist the Afghans in preparing for elections scheduled for later this year.
More on link
'Deadly air strike' in Pakistan
Article Link
A suspected US missile strike in north-west Pakistan, the second drone attack in four days, has killed 13 people.
Local officials in North Waziristan, near the Afghan border, said the dead included women and children as well as militants - some of them foreigners.
But a Taleban spokesman denied this, saying all those killed were civilians.
The US military does not routinely confirm drone attacks, but US forces in Afghanistan are believed to be the only ones in the region with the capability.
Pakistan is critical of drone use because, it says, civilians are often killed, fuelling support for militants.
Retaliation threatened
Local administration officials say the missiles destroyed part of a house owned by a school teacher in a village near the region's main town of Miranshah.
A number of foreign militants were among those killed in the strike at 0300 local (2200 Friday), security officials said.
More on link
Uzbekistan allows supplies for Afghanistan
Article Link
WASHINGTON, April 4 (UPI) -- Uzbekistan agreed Friday to allow the United States to use it as a transit point for the shipment of "non-lethal" supplies to Afghanistan.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the agreement between the two countries covers rail and road transport as well as air, the Novosti news agency reported. Supplies that would be allowed include food, medical equipment and construction supplies but not weapons or ammunition.
Kyrgyzstan announced in February it was closing the Mamas air base, which had been a U.S. supply route. Whitman said talks with the country are still under way.
Ukraine said Thursday it would allow shipments for Afghanistan.
The ground route through Pakistan has become more difficult because of the Taliban resurgence along the border with Afghanistan.
More on link
Sailor in spy case gets maximum 10-year sentence
By Terry Frieden Justice Producer
Article Link
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A former U.S. Navy sailor who provided al Qaeda supporters secret information about planned ship movements received a maximum 10-year prison sentence, the Justice Department announced Friday.
The former sailor, Hassan Abu-Jihaad, was convicted in 2008 of disclosing secrets on ship movements to potentially enable an attack similar to one carried out against the destroyer USS Cole, which killed 17 U.S. sailors.
A federal jury heard the case in Connecticut, which is home to a Web hosting company that included Web sites of a London, England-based organization that allegedly supported acts of terrorism.
Prosecutors presented evidence at trial that Abu-Jihaad praised Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda, and praised the attack on the USS Cole as a "martyrdom operation."
U.S. District Court Judge Mark Kravitz in New Haven granted prosecutors' request for the longest possible sentence of 10 years in prison.
"We are pleased that the court imposed the maximum prison term allowed under the law," said Acting U.S. Attorney for Connecticut Nora Dannehy
end
Obama Says 5,000 More NATO Troops Will Be Sent to Afghanistan
By Hans Nichols and Edwin Chen
Article Link
April 4 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama announced that NATO countries will send an additional 5,000 non-combat troops and trainers to Afghanistan as a “concrete commitment” to the revised Afghan strategy announced last week.
“I am pleased that our NATO allies pledged their strong and unanimous support for our new strategy,” Obama said at a press conference at the conclusion of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Strasbourg, France.
“This effort can’t be America’s alone,” he said. “We’ve started to match real resources to achieve our goals.”
The new troops will be used to train the Afghan National Army and police and to help secure the country in preparation for its August elections. Along with an additional $500 million for reconstruction, the new troops “indicate the seriousness of purpose” that the 28 members of the alliance bring to the Afghan conflict, Obama said.
Obama came to the two-day summit on the Rhine River bearing the new strategic plan for Afghanistan he outlined on March 27. The plan calls for more U.S. troops, establishes benchmarks for improving Afghanistan’s governance and focuses more aid and attention on neighboring Pakistan. The U.S. will send 21,000 more troops to Afghanistan as part of the new strategy.
More on link
Defending women’s rights in Afghanistan and Pakistan
April 4th, 2009
Article Link
Barely had President Barack Obama outlined a new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan meant to narrow the focus to eliminating the threat from al Qaeda and its Islamist allies, before the U.S.-led campaign ran into what was always going to be one of its biggest problems in limiting its goals. What does it do about the rights of women in the region?
The treatment of women has dominated the headlines this week after Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed a new law for the minority Shi’ite population which both the United States and the United Nations said could undermine women’s rights. Karzai has promised a review of the law, while also complaining it was misinterpreted by Western journalists.
In Pakistan, video footage has been circulated of Taliban militants flogging a teenage girl in the Swat valley, where the government concluded a peace deal with the Taliban in February. The graphic and disturbing video, which has been posted on YouTube, has outraged many Pakistanis and the flogging was condemned by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani as shameful. There have been contradictory reports of exactly when and why the girl was punished, although Dawn newspaper quoted a witness as saying she was flogged two weeks ago for refusing a marriage proposal
More on link
Pakistanis find 43 dead in truck from Afghanistan
Sat Apr 4, 2009 7:18pm BST
Article Link
QUETTA, Pakistan, April 4 - Pakistani police found on Saturday 43 dead bodies and dozens of other people, many of them unconscious, crammed inside a shipping container on a truck from Afghanistan, an official and police said.
The truck had apparently been driven in to Pakistan by human smugglers aiming to take the people to Iran, said government official Naseem Lari.
"The truck came from Spin Boldak and was bound for Iran," Lari said, referring to an Afghan border town opposite the southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan.
"We've got 43 dead confirmed and many more unconscious," he said.
The truck carrying the container had been left at a truck stop on the outskirts of the city of Quetta and police had been alerted after passers-by heard cries for help, said police official Abid Jadoon.
Jadoon said about 100 people in total were in the container and the dead had suffocated in its tightly sealed interior.
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NATO Leaders Agree on Secretary-General, Afghanistan
By VOA News 04 April 2009
Article Link
Leaders of the 28 NATO countries have named Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen as the new Alliance secretary-general and agreed on a common policy toward Afghanistan.
NATO's outgoing Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer announced the accord on his successor, noting that Turkey dropped its objections to Mr. Rasmussen.
He also said the leaders, meeting in Strasbourg, agreed to send additional forces, including those expected to help train Afghan units. He said the new troops will also assist the Afghans in preparing for elections scheduled for later this year.
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'Deadly air strike' in Pakistan
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A suspected US missile strike in north-west Pakistan, the second drone attack in four days, has killed 13 people.
Local officials in North Waziristan, near the Afghan border, said the dead included women and children as well as militants - some of them foreigners.
But a Taleban spokesman denied this, saying all those killed were civilians.
The US military does not routinely confirm drone attacks, but US forces in Afghanistan are believed to be the only ones in the region with the capability.
Pakistan is critical of drone use because, it says, civilians are often killed, fuelling support for militants.
Retaliation threatened
Local administration officials say the missiles destroyed part of a house owned by a school teacher in a village near the region's main town of Miranshah.
A number of foreign militants were among those killed in the strike at 0300 local (2200 Friday), security officials said.
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Uzbekistan allows supplies for Afghanistan
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WASHINGTON, April 4 (UPI) -- Uzbekistan agreed Friday to allow the United States to use it as a transit point for the shipment of "non-lethal" supplies to Afghanistan.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the agreement between the two countries covers rail and road transport as well as air, the Novosti news agency reported. Supplies that would be allowed include food, medical equipment and construction supplies but not weapons or ammunition.
Kyrgyzstan announced in February it was closing the Mamas air base, which had been a U.S. supply route. Whitman said talks with the country are still under way.
Ukraine said Thursday it would allow shipments for Afghanistan.
The ground route through Pakistan has become more difficult because of the Taliban resurgence along the border with Afghanistan.
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George Wallace
Army.ca Dinosaur
- Reaction score
- 223
- Points
- 710
Articles found April 5, 2009
Suicide bomber kills 22 at Shia mosque in Pakistan
With files from the Associated Press
Article Link
At least 22 people were killed Sunday after a suicide bomber detonated explosives at the entrance to a Shia mosque in northeast Pakistan, officials said.
CBC News
As many as 50 others were injured in the blast in Chakwal, 80 kilometres south of the capital, Islamabad.
The attack came a day after eight paramilitary soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing in Islamabad and a week after a commando-style attack against a police academy in Lahore that left 12 people dead, including seven police officers.
No one claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack on the mosque, but Pakistan's frequent sectarian violence has been dominated by Sunni militant attacks on minority Shias.
Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud claimed credit for both the police academy attack and Saturday's bombing in the capital, saying they were carried out in retaliation for U.S. drone air strikes against militants in Pakistan near the Afghan border.
end
More on link
Suicide bomber kills 22 at Shia mosque in Pakistan
With files from the Associated Press
Article Link
At least 22 people were killed Sunday after a suicide bomber detonated explosives at the entrance to a Shia mosque in northeast Pakistan, officials said.
CBC News
As many as 50 others were injured in the blast in Chakwal, 80 kilometres south of the capital, Islamabad.
The attack came a day after eight paramilitary soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing in Islamabad and a week after a commando-style attack against a police academy in Lahore that left 12 people dead, including seven police officers.
No one claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack on the mosque, but Pakistan's frequent sectarian violence has been dominated by Sunni militant attacks on minority Shias.
Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud claimed credit for both the police academy attack and Saturday's bombing in the capital, saying they were carried out in retaliation for U.S. drone air strikes against militants in Pakistan near the Afghan border.
end
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Articles found April 6, 2009
Media allowed to witness return of war casualty
By RANDALL CHASE – 10 hours ago
Article Link
DOVER, Del. (AP) — The military says the wife of an airman whose remains are being returned to the U.S. in a ceremony the media will be allowed to witness will be among those meeting the plane.
Family members gave their permission for the media to be at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. It will be the first such opportunity since the Obama administration overturned an 18-year ban on news coverage of returning war dead.
An eight-person team will bring the flag-draped coffin with the remains of Air Force staff Sgt. Philip Myers off the 747 after a chaplain says a prayer.
The Department of Defense says Myers of Hopewell, Va., was killed April 4 in Afghanistan.
The military says Myers' wife will not talk to the pre
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'Pakistan repatriates bodies of Afghan migrants'
4 hours ago
Article Link
QUETTA, Pakistan (AFP) — The bodies of 45 Afghans who suffocated to death in a human smugglers' container in southwestern Pakistan were being driven back to Afghanistan Monday for burial, officials said.
A truck container stuffed with around 110 people was found Saturday about 20 kilometres (15 miles) south of Quetta, capital of oil and gas rich Baluchistan province bordering Afghanistan and Iran, police said.
Officials believed the truck was bound for Iran.
Funeral prayers were offered in the city's Bolan Hospital by a Muslim cleric and attended by about 100 doctors, hospital staff and local people.
Private Pakistani charity the Edhi trust put the bodies in 45 wooden coffins for transportation across the border to the Afghan town of Spin Boldak in southern Kandahar province.
Afghan consul general Daud Mohsini said Pakistani
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Freed UN official at US base in Afghanistan
Web posted at: 4/6/2009 1:14:26 Source ::: AFP
Article Link
KABUL: An American UN official freed overnight after being kidnapped in Pakistan two months ago was yesterday at the main US military base in neighbouring Afghanistan, the military said. The media office at the base at Bagram, about 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of Kabul, confirmed that UN refugee agency (UNHCR) official John Solecki was at the large complex but could give no details.
UN and US officials in the capital could not comment.
Solecki, UNHCR head in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Baluchistan, was freed unharmed early yesterday after being snatched at gunpoint in Quetta on February 2. His driver was killed during the abduction.
UN spokeswoman in Pakistan Jennifer Pagonis said that a priority was to give Solecki medical treatment. A shadowy organisation called the Baluchistan Liberation United Front had claimed the kidnapping and threatened to kill the UN official unless the government freed more than 1,100 prisoners.
end
Media allowed to witness return of war casualty
By RANDALL CHASE – 10 hours ago
Article Link
DOVER, Del. (AP) — The military says the wife of an airman whose remains are being returned to the U.S. in a ceremony the media will be allowed to witness will be among those meeting the plane.
Family members gave their permission for the media to be at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. It will be the first such opportunity since the Obama administration overturned an 18-year ban on news coverage of returning war dead.
An eight-person team will bring the flag-draped coffin with the remains of Air Force staff Sgt. Philip Myers off the 747 after a chaplain says a prayer.
The Department of Defense says Myers of Hopewell, Va., was killed April 4 in Afghanistan.
The military says Myers' wife will not talk to the pre
More on link
'Pakistan repatriates bodies of Afghan migrants'
4 hours ago
Article Link
QUETTA, Pakistan (AFP) — The bodies of 45 Afghans who suffocated to death in a human smugglers' container in southwestern Pakistan were being driven back to Afghanistan Monday for burial, officials said.
A truck container stuffed with around 110 people was found Saturday about 20 kilometres (15 miles) south of Quetta, capital of oil and gas rich Baluchistan province bordering Afghanistan and Iran, police said.
Officials believed the truck was bound for Iran.
Funeral prayers were offered in the city's Bolan Hospital by a Muslim cleric and attended by about 100 doctors, hospital staff and local people.
Private Pakistani charity the Edhi trust put the bodies in 45 wooden coffins for transportation across the border to the Afghan town of Spin Boldak in southern Kandahar province.
Afghan consul general Daud Mohsini said Pakistani
More on link
Freed UN official at US base in Afghanistan
Web posted at: 4/6/2009 1:14:26 Source ::: AFP
Article Link
KABUL: An American UN official freed overnight after being kidnapped in Pakistan two months ago was yesterday at the main US military base in neighbouring Afghanistan, the military said. The media office at the base at Bagram, about 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of Kabul, confirmed that UN refugee agency (UNHCR) official John Solecki was at the large complex but could give no details.
UN and US officials in the capital could not comment.
Solecki, UNHCR head in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Baluchistan, was freed unharmed early yesterday after being snatched at gunpoint in Quetta on February 2. His driver was killed during the abduction.
UN spokeswoman in Pakistan Jennifer Pagonis said that a priority was to give Solecki medical treatment. A shadowy organisation called the Baluchistan Liberation United Front had claimed the kidnapping and threatened to kill the UN official unless the government freed more than 1,100 prisoners.
end
Edmonton tank squadron to handle Canada's biggest guns in Afghanistan
Some of new squadron's Leopard tanks are 20 tonnes heavier than old model
By Ryan Cormier, The Edmonton JournalApril 6, 2009 7:11 AM
Article Link
A new, younger tank squadron from the Edmonton Garrison will soon be in charge of the biggest guns in Afghanistan.
Eighty-two members of Lord Strathcona's Horse C squadron will operate Canada's 35 Leopard tanks from now through October.
It is a less experienced squadron, with only 24 personnel with previous tour experience, a total of 62 deployments. The last squadron had 260 previous deployments. Thirty-five members of the squadron have less than three years experience.
Maj. John Cochrane will lead and isn't bothered by the youth of his squadron.
"There's no doubt in my mind the guys are ready to go," he says. "There are a lot more junior guys coming in. They bring a lot of enthusiasm."
Cochrane hopes the natural flow of the army -- the old teach the young and the young inspire the old -- balances the lack of experience.
Canadian tanks have been in Afghanistan since 2007 and a Lord Strathcona's Horse squadron has been with them each day. When one leaves, another arrives.
Roughly 35 tanks are waiting for them. Some are Leopard 1 C2s and others are the newer-model Leopard 2A6M.
The latter are 20 tonnes heavier and are better armoured.
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Canadian air force to map Afghanistan
By Matthew Fisher, Canwest News serviceApril 6, 2009
Article Link
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — The Canadian air force is to digitally map southern Afghanistan and especially the province of Kandahar for NATO and Afghan pilots and ground troops fighting the Taliban and al-Qaida.
An Aurora reconnaissance aircraft with highly sophisticated sensors is to be dispatched to the region in the coming weeks to undertake what will be a major mapmaking project, according to Lt.-Gen. Michel Gauthier, who is responsible for all Canadian forces overseas.
"The aim is to have the best situational awareness we can have," Gauthier said in an interview during his last visit to Afghanistan before leaving his position as commander of CEFCOM next month. "This superimposes a layer to do with the physical battle space that allows us to understand the operating environment."
The state-of-the-art mapping project is to be "focused on the south and principally Kandahar and, of course, we will share it with anybody who will be operating with us," the general said.
Parts of Afghanistan have very poor maps that are old and out of date, which has sometimes been a concern for battle commanders here trying to plan operations.
"There is a need for us to have an up-to-date digital picture of the ground in Afghanistan and a smart young sergeant mapper, which is to an old term that no longer applies because we use 21st-century technology, urged us to bring this technology into operations in order to provide a digital map view of the terrain in Afghanistan. "
Auroras last served in the area during the winter of 2001-02 when they supported maritime reconnaissance operations for half a dozen Canadian warships which were rushed to the Arabian Sea after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S..
The Aurora crews that will be flying over southern Afghanistan will be from bases in Nova Scotia and British Columbia.
They join Chinook and Griffon helicopters and crews that have been flying here in support of Canadian and other NATO forces since early this year. The other element of the Canadian air wing in Afghanistan, which numbers about 490 men and women, are technicians who help operate unmanned aerial surveillance drones that have been leased from an Israeli defence company.
end
Some of new squadron's Leopard tanks are 20 tonnes heavier than old model
By Ryan Cormier, The Edmonton JournalApril 6, 2009 7:11 AM
Article Link
A new, younger tank squadron from the Edmonton Garrison will soon be in charge of the biggest guns in Afghanistan.
Eighty-two members of Lord Strathcona's Horse C squadron will operate Canada's 35 Leopard tanks from now through October.
It is a less experienced squadron, with only 24 personnel with previous tour experience, a total of 62 deployments. The last squadron had 260 previous deployments. Thirty-five members of the squadron have less than three years experience.
Maj. John Cochrane will lead and isn't bothered by the youth of his squadron.
"There's no doubt in my mind the guys are ready to go," he says. "There are a lot more junior guys coming in. They bring a lot of enthusiasm."
Cochrane hopes the natural flow of the army -- the old teach the young and the young inspire the old -- balances the lack of experience.
Canadian tanks have been in Afghanistan since 2007 and a Lord Strathcona's Horse squadron has been with them each day. When one leaves, another arrives.
Roughly 35 tanks are waiting for them. Some are Leopard 1 C2s and others are the newer-model Leopard 2A6M.
The latter are 20 tonnes heavier and are better armoured.
More on link
Canadian air force to map Afghanistan
By Matthew Fisher, Canwest News serviceApril 6, 2009
Article Link
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — The Canadian air force is to digitally map southern Afghanistan and especially the province of Kandahar for NATO and Afghan pilots and ground troops fighting the Taliban and al-Qaida.
An Aurora reconnaissance aircraft with highly sophisticated sensors is to be dispatched to the region in the coming weeks to undertake what will be a major mapmaking project, according to Lt.-Gen. Michel Gauthier, who is responsible for all Canadian forces overseas.
"The aim is to have the best situational awareness we can have," Gauthier said in an interview during his last visit to Afghanistan before leaving his position as commander of CEFCOM next month. "This superimposes a layer to do with the physical battle space that allows us to understand the operating environment."
The state-of-the-art mapping project is to be "focused on the south and principally Kandahar and, of course, we will share it with anybody who will be operating with us," the general said.
Parts of Afghanistan have very poor maps that are old and out of date, which has sometimes been a concern for battle commanders here trying to plan operations.
"There is a need for us to have an up-to-date digital picture of the ground in Afghanistan and a smart young sergeant mapper, which is to an old term that no longer applies because we use 21st-century technology, urged us to bring this technology into operations in order to provide a digital map view of the terrain in Afghanistan. "
Auroras last served in the area during the winter of 2001-02 when they supported maritime reconnaissance operations for half a dozen Canadian warships which were rushed to the Arabian Sea after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S..
The Aurora crews that will be flying over southern Afghanistan will be from bases in Nova Scotia and British Columbia.
They join Chinook and Griffon helicopters and crews that have been flying here in support of Canadian and other NATO forces since early this year. The other element of the Canadian air wing in Afghanistan, which numbers about 490 men and women, are technicians who help operate unmanned aerial surveillance drones that have been leased from an Israeli defence company.
end
Articles found April 7, 2009
Romanian soldier killed by roadside bomb in Afghanistan
By ASSOCIATED PRESS Apr 7, 2009 12:06 BUCHAREST, Romania
Article Link
The Defense Ministry says a Romanian officer has been killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.
Four Romanian soldiers were wounded in the explosion.
A ministry statement says Capt. Iuliu-Vasile Unguras was killed Tuesday morning when the vehicle he was in drove over an improvised bomb. The soldiers were on a patrol mission on the road from Kandahar to Kabul.
The incident happened 20 kilometers northeast of Qalat. The injured were taken to military hospitals in Lagman and Kandahar.
Unguras's death comes days after another Romanian soldier was killed in Afghanistan. He is the he 11th Romanian to die in Afghanistan.
end
Dutch soldier killed in Afghanistan
www.chinaview.cn 2009-04-07 19:29:49
Article Link
BRUSSELS, April 7 (Xinhua) -- A Dutch soldier was killed and five others wounded in a missile attack on the Dutch camp in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan on Monday, Dutch daily De Volkskrant reported Tuesday.
This brought total Dutch fatalities to 19 since the country deployed troops in southern Afghanistan in 2006.
The soldier killed, 20-year-old Azdin Chadli, had only been in Uruzgan for a week. The five wounded soldiers are aged between 19 and 24. They are said to be in a stable condition.
Camp Holland was attacked with four missiles at around 18:15 local time (1345 GMT), probably by the Taliban, according to the Dutch Defense Ministry.
One rocket landed in the center of the camp where the Dutch victims were hit. A second missile hit the nearby Afghan army base, slightly injuring two Afghan soldiers. Two other missiles missed their target.
More on link
Heroic German shepherd dog sniffs out landmines for Canadian troops
23 hours ago
Article Link
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — There's little doubt among the soldiers keeping watch over the Arghandab valley that Koma is man's best friend.
Koma, a German shepherd trained to sniff out explosives, recently alerted a security team about an improvised explosive device, or IED, buried right where they intended to deploy to scan the area for Taliban insurgents.
Mujibraman Riassi, who is Koma's master, speaks with pride of the four-year-old canine.
"My dog found the mine in the ground and that's why I think - and the Canadians believe - that she's a hero," Riassi said as he stood near the van where the dog rested in its cage after its shift. "She's a good dog."
Recently, a four-member team of soldiers in an armoured vehicle were tasked to protect a work site where Afghan labourers were paving an eight-kilometre stretch of road in the impoverished region.
The road links two forward bases and is critical to civilian and military travel in the valley.
They planned to set up their observation post in the heights above the road in the lush agricultural region to get a clear view of the area.
The spot was checked by explosives specialists and a dog team and something didn't sit right with Koma, who was drawn to a certain spot.
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Afghanistan: Attack Misses Merkel
By NICHOLAS KULISH Published: April 6, 2009
Article Link
Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany made a surprise visit to troops in Afghanistan on Monday but left about 20 minutes before a rocket attack on the base in Kunduz, according to a statement released by the German government. The attack failed and none of the 700 German soldiers stationed there were wounded, the government said. The German Web site Spiegel Online reported that a Taliban spokesman called it “a targeted attack against Angela Merkel.” Germany has roughly 3,800 troops in Afghanistan as part of the NATO mission there, and plans to send an additional 600 ahead of presidential elections in August.
More on link
Romanian soldier killed by roadside bomb in Afghanistan
By ASSOCIATED PRESS Apr 7, 2009 12:06 BUCHAREST, Romania
Article Link
The Defense Ministry says a Romanian officer has been killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.
Four Romanian soldiers were wounded in the explosion.
A ministry statement says Capt. Iuliu-Vasile Unguras was killed Tuesday morning when the vehicle he was in drove over an improvised bomb. The soldiers were on a patrol mission on the road from Kandahar to Kabul.
The incident happened 20 kilometers northeast of Qalat. The injured were taken to military hospitals in Lagman and Kandahar.
Unguras's death comes days after another Romanian soldier was killed in Afghanistan. He is the he 11th Romanian to die in Afghanistan.
end
Dutch soldier killed in Afghanistan
www.chinaview.cn 2009-04-07 19:29:49
Article Link
BRUSSELS, April 7 (Xinhua) -- A Dutch soldier was killed and five others wounded in a missile attack on the Dutch camp in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan on Monday, Dutch daily De Volkskrant reported Tuesday.
This brought total Dutch fatalities to 19 since the country deployed troops in southern Afghanistan in 2006.
The soldier killed, 20-year-old Azdin Chadli, had only been in Uruzgan for a week. The five wounded soldiers are aged between 19 and 24. They are said to be in a stable condition.
Camp Holland was attacked with four missiles at around 18:15 local time (1345 GMT), probably by the Taliban, according to the Dutch Defense Ministry.
One rocket landed in the center of the camp where the Dutch victims were hit. A second missile hit the nearby Afghan army base, slightly injuring two Afghan soldiers. Two other missiles missed their target.
More on link
Heroic German shepherd dog sniffs out landmines for Canadian troops
23 hours ago
Article Link
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — There's little doubt among the soldiers keeping watch over the Arghandab valley that Koma is man's best friend.
Koma, a German shepherd trained to sniff out explosives, recently alerted a security team about an improvised explosive device, or IED, buried right where they intended to deploy to scan the area for Taliban insurgents.
Mujibraman Riassi, who is Koma's master, speaks with pride of the four-year-old canine.
"My dog found the mine in the ground and that's why I think - and the Canadians believe - that she's a hero," Riassi said as he stood near the van where the dog rested in its cage after its shift. "She's a good dog."
Recently, a four-member team of soldiers in an armoured vehicle were tasked to protect a work site where Afghan labourers were paving an eight-kilometre stretch of road in the impoverished region.
The road links two forward bases and is critical to civilian and military travel in the valley.
They planned to set up their observation post in the heights above the road in the lush agricultural region to get a clear view of the area.
The spot was checked by explosives specialists and a dog team and something didn't sit right with Koma, who was drawn to a certain spot.
More on link
Afghanistan: Attack Misses Merkel
By NICHOLAS KULISH Published: April 6, 2009
Article Link
Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany made a surprise visit to troops in Afghanistan on Monday but left about 20 minutes before a rocket attack on the base in Kunduz, according to a statement released by the German government. The attack failed and none of the 700 German soldiers stationed there were wounded, the government said. The German Web site Spiegel Online reported that a Taliban spokesman called it “a targeted attack against Angela Merkel.” Germany has roughly 3,800 troops in Afghanistan as part of the NATO mission there, and plans to send an additional 600 ahead of presidential elections in August.
More on link
Articles found April 8, 2009
US seeks greater role for India in Afghanistan
Article Link
New Delhi (IANS): The US on Wednesday sought a greater role for India in Afghanistan, at the same time saying it wouldn't pressurise New Delhi on its ties with Pakistan.
“What happens in Afghanistan depends on Pakistan. They are deeply inter related... It's in the national security interest of all three (India, Pakistan and the US) to work together,” said Richard Holbrooke, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
He was speaking to reporters here after he and Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the US, met Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon. Mullen separately held talks with Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta.
More on link
Chopper-aid to Afghanistan
Article Link
ISTANBUL - Turkey may send 19 Russian utility helicopters to the fledgling Afghan military as part of an increased commitment to Afghanistan, according to an official source. Turkey acquired the Mi-17 helicopters from Russia in the 1990s. They are presently in the inventory of the Gendarmerie Command.
U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged a larger military and civilian commitment to Afghanistan.
He has warned of major setbacks for the West's security if the insurgency is allowed to grow further. Obama has also urged NATO allies, including Turkey, to do more for Afghanistan, and received agreement from Turkish leaders when he met with them in Ankara on Monday, the source said.
Turkey primarily wishes to provide civilian-related help to the war-torn country. But the 19 helicopters would be a fairly large military contribution to the Afghan air force, which uses many Russian-made aircraft. The Turkish military also may send new trainers to help the Afghan army, the source said.
More on link
Canada Orders Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Operations
Article Link
GATINEAU, Quebec: The Minister of Public Works and Government Services, the Honourable Christian Paradis, and the Minister of National Defence and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway, the Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay, as well as the Minister of Industry, the Honourable Tony Clement, today announced that the Government of Canada has awarded a contract to Insitu Inc. of Bingen, Washington, USA, to provide small unmanned aerial vehicle (SUAV) services to support the Canadian Forces.
“As a result of a fair, open and transparent competition, we now have a contract to provide SUAV services that our Canadian Forces will be able to use in Afghanistan and beyond,” said Minister Paradis. “We moved quickly last summer to meet our short-term needs,” he added. “This procurement will not only add to the SUAV fleet for our Forces, but will provide best value for Canadian taxpayers while stimulating our economy.”
“The Canadian Forces’ UAV capability directly contributes to the safety and protection of our troops deployed on operations,” added Minister MacKay. “The awarding of this contract will help ensure that the men and women of the Canadian Forces are provided with the necessary support to sustain this important capability in current operations in Afghanistan, and into the future.”
As part of the Request for Proposal, Insitu Inc. must provide 100 percent industrial and regional benefits. This means that Insitu Inc. will boost the Canadian economy by generating one dollar of economic activity in Canada for every dollar it receives from the contract.
More on link
US seeks greater role for India in Afghanistan
Article Link
New Delhi (IANS): The US on Wednesday sought a greater role for India in Afghanistan, at the same time saying it wouldn't pressurise New Delhi on its ties with Pakistan.
“What happens in Afghanistan depends on Pakistan. They are deeply inter related... It's in the national security interest of all three (India, Pakistan and the US) to work together,” said Richard Holbrooke, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
He was speaking to reporters here after he and Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the US, met Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon. Mullen separately held talks with Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta.
More on link
Chopper-aid to Afghanistan
Article Link
ISTANBUL - Turkey may send 19 Russian utility helicopters to the fledgling Afghan military as part of an increased commitment to Afghanistan, according to an official source. Turkey acquired the Mi-17 helicopters from Russia in the 1990s. They are presently in the inventory of the Gendarmerie Command.
U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged a larger military and civilian commitment to Afghanistan.
He has warned of major setbacks for the West's security if the insurgency is allowed to grow further. Obama has also urged NATO allies, including Turkey, to do more for Afghanistan, and received agreement from Turkish leaders when he met with them in Ankara on Monday, the source said.
Turkey primarily wishes to provide civilian-related help to the war-torn country. But the 19 helicopters would be a fairly large military contribution to the Afghan air force, which uses many Russian-made aircraft. The Turkish military also may send new trainers to help the Afghan army, the source said.
More on link
Canada Orders Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Operations
Article Link
GATINEAU, Quebec: The Minister of Public Works and Government Services, the Honourable Christian Paradis, and the Minister of National Defence and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway, the Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay, as well as the Minister of Industry, the Honourable Tony Clement, today announced that the Government of Canada has awarded a contract to Insitu Inc. of Bingen, Washington, USA, to provide small unmanned aerial vehicle (SUAV) services to support the Canadian Forces.
“As a result of a fair, open and transparent competition, we now have a contract to provide SUAV services that our Canadian Forces will be able to use in Afghanistan and beyond,” said Minister Paradis. “We moved quickly last summer to meet our short-term needs,” he added. “This procurement will not only add to the SUAV fleet for our Forces, but will provide best value for Canadian taxpayers while stimulating our economy.”
“The Canadian Forces’ UAV capability directly contributes to the safety and protection of our troops deployed on operations,” added Minister MacKay. “The awarding of this contract will help ensure that the men and women of the Canadian Forces are provided with the necessary support to sustain this important capability in current operations in Afghanistan, and into the future.”
As part of the Request for Proposal, Insitu Inc. must provide 100 percent industrial and regional benefits. This means that Insitu Inc. will boost the Canadian economy by generating one dollar of economic activity in Canada for every dollar it receives from the contract.
More on link
Articles found April 9, 2009
Marital law saps Canadian support for Afghan mission
Updated Wed. Apr. 8 2009 4:45 PM ET The Canadian Press
Article Link
OTTAWA -- Canadians' tepid support for the combat mission in Afghanistan would turn icy should the Afghan government proceed with a law allowing marital rape, a new poll suggests.
A proposed family law code for Afghanistan's Shia minority would make it illegal for women to refuse to have sex with their husbands, and would require that they get approval from a male relative to leave the house.
A survey by The Canadian Press Harris-Decima suggests 40 per cent of Canadians support the Canadian military mission in Afghanistan. But should the family law code be enacted, the poll suggests opposition to the mission would rise to roughly 75 per cent.
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No U.S. drones over Pakistan's Baluchistan: Zardari
Thu Apr 9, 2009 8:39am
Article Link
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The United States will not extend attacks on militants by pilotless drone aircraft to Pakistan's southwestern province of Baluchistan, President Asif Ali Zardari said in an interview broadcast on Thursday.
The United States and Pakistan do not see eye to eye on strategy to fight al Qaeda and Taliban militants, Pakistan said this week during a visit by senior U.S. officials, with the drone strikes a major point of dispute.
The New York Times reported last month that the United States might expand the area of its strikes from northwestern Pakistan to Baluchistan province, which borders violent southern Afghanistan.
But Zardari, speaking after this week's visit by U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke and Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that would not happen.
"In Baluchistan, they have assured us they will not be using drones," Zardari said in an interview with Dunya television.
Pakistan is crucial to U.S. efforts to stabilize Afghanistan, where a Taliban insurgency has intensified. Surging militant violence in nuclear-armed Pakistan has also raised fears about its prospects.
The United States has since last year stepped up strikes on militants in strongholds on the Pakistani side of the Afghan border by pilotless drones, mostly in the Waziristan region.
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Returning troops getting tested for brain injuries
By KRISTIN M. HALL – 1 hour ago
Article Link
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — Every soldier who's gone to war in the past year paused before leaving to take a brain test — basic math, matching numbers and symbols and identifying patterns to measure response time and accuracy. Now that some of these troops have returned, they're taking a fresh round of tests, all part of a broad effort by the military to better treat head injuries.
The Department of Defense is also deploying some unusual weapons for treating the injuries, including paint guns and motion-sensitive video games integrated into therapy at new trauma centers around the country.
More than 150,000 service members from the Marines, Air Force, Army and Navy have undergone the testing that became mandatory last year. Those who suffer a concussion or similar head injury will get a follow-up test.
The 101st Airborne Division is the only division going a step further and testing all soldiers again over the last few months as they have been returning to Fort Campbell from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The tests alone can't diagnose traumatic brain injuries, the signature injury of the wars, potentially crippling and sometimes hard to detect damage from blows that can include an exploding roadside bomb, a mortar blast or a vehicle crash.
But they help doctors zero in on which mental functions are damaged and the best way to treat that by comparing an individual soldier's brain function before and after the injury.
More on link
Article Link
Suicide bomber kills 5, wounds 17 in Afghanistan
By NOOR KHAN – 2 hours ago
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bomber attacked a police drug eradication unit in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing five people and wounding 17 others, an official said. The Taliban claimed responsibility.
The attacker struck the patrol in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, a major drug-producing area, said Kamal Uddin, the deputy provincial police chief.
The members of the force were traveling in a convoy of vehicles headed for nearby districts to eradicate poppies at the time of the blast, Uddin said.
Five people — two police officers and three civilians — were killed in the blast, said Daud Ahmadi, the spokesman for the provincial governor. The blast also wounded four policemen and 13 civilians, Ahmadi said.
Two police vehicles and three shops were damaged in the explosion, Uddin said. He initially reported four dead policemen, but the casualty figures were later revised by Ahmadi.
A spokesman for the Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast in a phone call to an Associated Press reporter in southern Afghanistan.
In a statement, the Interior Ministry blamed "the narcotics mafia" for the attack.
Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium, the main ingredient in heroin. The Afghan opium trade accounts for 90 percent of worldwide production. The U.N. estimated last year that up to $500 million from the illegal drug trade flows to Taliban fighters and criminal groups.
More on link
Dutch Recognize the Limits of Their Afghan Approach
By INDIRA LAKSHMANAN Bloomberg News
Article Link
THE HAGUE - As President Barack Obama tries to change the course of the war in Afghanistan, the Dutch Army's gains there against the Taliban have captured the attention of his advisers. Temper your enthusiasm, say the Dutch.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton praised the Netherlands-led mission last week as an inspiration for the mix of military muscle and economic development at the heart of Mr. Obama's new strategy. But officials in The Hague say the formula their forces have used to stabilize the south-central province of Uruzgan might not work across the rest of the country.
Though ''elements of what we're doing can be copied, replicated in other provinces,'' it is impossible to use the model where violent extremists are more numerous and hard-core, says Peter Mollema, a former top Dutch diplomat in Afghanistan. Mr. Mollema and his military counterpart were invited to Washington two months ago to brief Gen. David H. Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command, and administration officials. ''We told them yes, we think civil-military cooperation is essential,'' Mr. Mollema says. ''But this is a slow and incremental process, and there is no magic wand.''
The Dutch have focused on winning over and protecting the local population rather than seeking out the enemy, and transferring decision-making and responsibility for security and development to residents, the Afghan Army and the police. With improved public safety, men who formed militias or allied with the Taliban for protection have a reason to lay down their arms, the Dutch say.
''We tell them, 'If you want a well, we deliver the shovels, but you dig it yourselves,''' said Lt. Bart Noordzij during a break from a recent training exercise in central Holland that included role-playing outreach to local tribes. ''If you want to run a shop, we'll make sure you get education in how to run a shop, but you have to open it yourself.''
More on link
Quake hits Afghanistan, no word on casualties
Thu Apr 9, 2009 2:22am EDT
Article Link
KABUL, April 9 (Reuters) - An earthquake shook the Afghan capital Kabul on Thursday, witnesses and officials said.
Officials at the government's anti-disaster management department said they were checking for damage and casualties but had no details on the size or epicentre of the quake.
Earthquakes in Afghanistan are mainly concentrated in the northeast, which is hit by an average of four quakes with a magnitude of five or more each year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
More on link
Marital law saps Canadian support for Afghan mission
Updated Wed. Apr. 8 2009 4:45 PM ET The Canadian Press
Article Link
OTTAWA -- Canadians' tepid support for the combat mission in Afghanistan would turn icy should the Afghan government proceed with a law allowing marital rape, a new poll suggests.
A proposed family law code for Afghanistan's Shia minority would make it illegal for women to refuse to have sex with their husbands, and would require that they get approval from a male relative to leave the house.
A survey by The Canadian Press Harris-Decima suggests 40 per cent of Canadians support the Canadian military mission in Afghanistan. But should the family law code be enacted, the poll suggests opposition to the mission would rise to roughly 75 per cent.
More on link
No U.S. drones over Pakistan's Baluchistan: Zardari
Thu Apr 9, 2009 8:39am
Article Link
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The United States will not extend attacks on militants by pilotless drone aircraft to Pakistan's southwestern province of Baluchistan, President Asif Ali Zardari said in an interview broadcast on Thursday.
The United States and Pakistan do not see eye to eye on strategy to fight al Qaeda and Taliban militants, Pakistan said this week during a visit by senior U.S. officials, with the drone strikes a major point of dispute.
The New York Times reported last month that the United States might expand the area of its strikes from northwestern Pakistan to Baluchistan province, which borders violent southern Afghanistan.
But Zardari, speaking after this week's visit by U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke and Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that would not happen.
"In Baluchistan, they have assured us they will not be using drones," Zardari said in an interview with Dunya television.
Pakistan is crucial to U.S. efforts to stabilize Afghanistan, where a Taliban insurgency has intensified. Surging militant violence in nuclear-armed Pakistan has also raised fears about its prospects.
The United States has since last year stepped up strikes on militants in strongholds on the Pakistani side of the Afghan border by pilotless drones, mostly in the Waziristan region.
More on link
Returning troops getting tested for brain injuries
By KRISTIN M. HALL – 1 hour ago
Article Link
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — Every soldier who's gone to war in the past year paused before leaving to take a brain test — basic math, matching numbers and symbols and identifying patterns to measure response time and accuracy. Now that some of these troops have returned, they're taking a fresh round of tests, all part of a broad effort by the military to better treat head injuries.
The Department of Defense is also deploying some unusual weapons for treating the injuries, including paint guns and motion-sensitive video games integrated into therapy at new trauma centers around the country.
More than 150,000 service members from the Marines, Air Force, Army and Navy have undergone the testing that became mandatory last year. Those who suffer a concussion or similar head injury will get a follow-up test.
The 101st Airborne Division is the only division going a step further and testing all soldiers again over the last few months as they have been returning to Fort Campbell from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The tests alone can't diagnose traumatic brain injuries, the signature injury of the wars, potentially crippling and sometimes hard to detect damage from blows that can include an exploding roadside bomb, a mortar blast or a vehicle crash.
But they help doctors zero in on which mental functions are damaged and the best way to treat that by comparing an individual soldier's brain function before and after the injury.
More on link
Article Link
Suicide bomber kills 5, wounds 17 in Afghanistan
By NOOR KHAN – 2 hours ago
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bomber attacked a police drug eradication unit in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing five people and wounding 17 others, an official said. The Taliban claimed responsibility.
The attacker struck the patrol in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, a major drug-producing area, said Kamal Uddin, the deputy provincial police chief.
The members of the force were traveling in a convoy of vehicles headed for nearby districts to eradicate poppies at the time of the blast, Uddin said.
Five people — two police officers and three civilians — were killed in the blast, said Daud Ahmadi, the spokesman for the provincial governor. The blast also wounded four policemen and 13 civilians, Ahmadi said.
Two police vehicles and three shops were damaged in the explosion, Uddin said. He initially reported four dead policemen, but the casualty figures were later revised by Ahmadi.
A spokesman for the Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast in a phone call to an Associated Press reporter in southern Afghanistan.
In a statement, the Interior Ministry blamed "the narcotics mafia" for the attack.
Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium, the main ingredient in heroin. The Afghan opium trade accounts for 90 percent of worldwide production. The U.N. estimated last year that up to $500 million from the illegal drug trade flows to Taliban fighters and criminal groups.
More on link
Dutch Recognize the Limits of Their Afghan Approach
By INDIRA LAKSHMANAN Bloomberg News
Article Link
THE HAGUE - As President Barack Obama tries to change the course of the war in Afghanistan, the Dutch Army's gains there against the Taliban have captured the attention of his advisers. Temper your enthusiasm, say the Dutch.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton praised the Netherlands-led mission last week as an inspiration for the mix of military muscle and economic development at the heart of Mr. Obama's new strategy. But officials in The Hague say the formula their forces have used to stabilize the south-central province of Uruzgan might not work across the rest of the country.
Though ''elements of what we're doing can be copied, replicated in other provinces,'' it is impossible to use the model where violent extremists are more numerous and hard-core, says Peter Mollema, a former top Dutch diplomat in Afghanistan. Mr. Mollema and his military counterpart were invited to Washington two months ago to brief Gen. David H. Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command, and administration officials. ''We told them yes, we think civil-military cooperation is essential,'' Mr. Mollema says. ''But this is a slow and incremental process, and there is no magic wand.''
The Dutch have focused on winning over and protecting the local population rather than seeking out the enemy, and transferring decision-making and responsibility for security and development to residents, the Afghan Army and the police. With improved public safety, men who formed militias or allied with the Taliban for protection have a reason to lay down their arms, the Dutch say.
''We tell them, 'If you want a well, we deliver the shovels, but you dig it yourselves,''' said Lt. Bart Noordzij during a break from a recent training exercise in central Holland that included role-playing outreach to local tribes. ''If you want to run a shop, we'll make sure you get education in how to run a shop, but you have to open it yourself.''
More on link
Quake hits Afghanistan, no word on casualties
Thu Apr 9, 2009 2:22am EDT
Article Link
KABUL, April 9 (Reuters) - An earthquake shook the Afghan capital Kabul on Thursday, witnesses and officials said.
Officials at the government's anti-disaster management department said they were checking for damage and casualties but had no details on the size or epicentre of the quake.
Earthquakes in Afghanistan are mainly concentrated in the northeast, which is hit by an average of four quakes with a magnitude of five or more each year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
More on link
- Reaction score
- 147
- Points
- 710
More Drone Attacks in Pakistan Planned
NY Times, April 6 [emphasis added]
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/world/asia/07drone.html?ref=world
Mark
Ottawa
NY Times, April 6 [emphasis added]
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/world/asia/07drone.html?ref=world
Mark
Ottawa
- Reaction score
- 147
- Points
- 710
Afghanistan: dangerous times, tipping points
Conference of Defence Associations' media round-up, April 9
http://www.cdaforumcad.ca/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1239289037
Two snippets:
Diplomatic Surge: Can Obama's Team Tame the Taliban?
Time, April 9
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1890262,00.html
In the War Against Militants, U.S. and Pakistan Remain at Odds (usual copyright disclaimer)
Time, April 8
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1890199,00.html
Mark
Ottawa
Conference of Defence Associations' media round-up, April 9
http://www.cdaforumcad.ca/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1239289037
Two snippets:
Diplomatic Surge: Can Obama's Team Tame the Taliban?
Time, April 9
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1890262,00.html
In the War Against Militants, U.S. and Pakistan Remain at Odds (usual copyright disclaimer)
Time, April 8
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1890199,00.html
Mark
Ottawa
- Reaction score
- 147
- Points
- 710
ARTICLES FOUND APRIL 10
A Short Fuse in Pakistan (usual copyright disclaimer)
Washington Post, April 10, by David Igatius
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/09/AR2009040903505.html
Mark
Ottawa
A Short Fuse in Pakistan (usual copyright disclaimer)
Washington Post, April 10, by David Igatius
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/09/AR2009040903505.html
Mark
Ottawa
- Reaction score
- 147
- Points
- 710
ARTICLES FOUND APRIL 11
U.S. Looks to Expand India Ties
Wall St. Journal, April 8
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123919429771401043.html
Mark
Ottawa
U.S. Looks to Expand India Ties
Wall St. Journal, April 8
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123919429771401043.html
Mark
Ottawa
George Wallace
Army.ca Dinosaur
- Reaction score
- 223
- Points
- 710
ARTICLES FOUND APRIL 12
Female legislator gunned down in Kandahar city
LINK
A female provincial government official in Afghanistan who worked hard for women's rights was gunned down on Sunday during a weekend of violence that has rocked the south of the country.
12/04/2009 10:35:59 PM
CTV.ca News Staff
Sitara Achakzai died when gunmen ambushed her outside her home in Kandahar city before driving away, according to Matiullah Khan Qateh, Kandahar province's chief of police.
Four men on motorcycles drove up to the house and shot Achakzai as she exited her car, Qateh said.
Qari Yousef Ahmedi, a Taliban spokesperson, claimed responsibility for the killing.
Achakzai spent the years of Taliban rule in Afghanistan living outside the country. She lived in Germany for at least 20 years and was a dual Afghan-German citizen.
She returned to Afghanistan to work for women's rights, according to Shahida Bibi of the Kandahar Women's Association.
Achakzai was a member of Kandahar's provincial council and was a vocal proponent of women working outside the home, Bibi said.
According to Bibi, Achakzai also encouraged other women to join the fight for equal rights.
Achakzai is said to have family living in Toronto.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Ron Hoffman, Canadian Ambassador to Afghanistan, condemned the death and said that "Canada stands by those who promote and support human rights, including women's rights, in Afghanistan.
"Today's act of violence is especially heinous and the perpetrators of this cowardly act must be brought to justice."
Weekend violence
The killing punctuated a weekend of violence in southern Afghanistan.
On Saturday, Afghan soldiers and police killed 22 militants during an evening gun battle in nearby Zabul province, according to Afghanistan's Interior Ministry.
A ministry statement said that militants attacked an Afghan army convoy before local police jumped in to help.
In a separate statement, the U.S. military said that Afghan and coalition troops killed four militants in the Shinkay district of Zabul province.
It was not immediately clear if the two statements referred to the same incident.
The U.S. statement said guns and rocket-propelled grenades were fired at soldiers while they were on patrol in Shinkay.
The troops returned fire before calling in for air support.
Four bodies were brought to the district police station, according to provincial police chief Abdul Rahman Furjung, but locals said they found other dead bodies in the area.
Furjung also said that 22 militants died in the incident.
Neither statement reported civilian casualties or injuries among Afghan army or coalition troops.
In another Saturday incident, a would-be suicide bomber was killed when he tried to enter a police station in Helmand province.
The Interior Ministry reported that police shot the man, which caused his explosives to detonate, before he entered the station.
No one else was killed in the incident.
On Friday, NATO forces said they killed 18 insurgents in Kunar province.
With files from The Associated Press
More on LINK
Female legislator gunned down in Kandahar city
LINK
A female provincial government official in Afghanistan who worked hard for women's rights was gunned down on Sunday during a weekend of violence that has rocked the south of the country.
12/04/2009 10:35:59 PM
CTV.ca News Staff
Sitara Achakzai died when gunmen ambushed her outside her home in Kandahar city before driving away, according to Matiullah Khan Qateh, Kandahar province's chief of police.
Four men on motorcycles drove up to the house and shot Achakzai as she exited her car, Qateh said.
Qari Yousef Ahmedi, a Taliban spokesperson, claimed responsibility for the killing.
Achakzai spent the years of Taliban rule in Afghanistan living outside the country. She lived in Germany for at least 20 years and was a dual Afghan-German citizen.
She returned to Afghanistan to work for women's rights, according to Shahida Bibi of the Kandahar Women's Association.
Achakzai was a member of Kandahar's provincial council and was a vocal proponent of women working outside the home, Bibi said.
According to Bibi, Achakzai also encouraged other women to join the fight for equal rights.
Achakzai is said to have family living in Toronto.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Ron Hoffman, Canadian Ambassador to Afghanistan, condemned the death and said that "Canada stands by those who promote and support human rights, including women's rights, in Afghanistan.
"Today's act of violence is especially heinous and the perpetrators of this cowardly act must be brought to justice."
Weekend violence
The killing punctuated a weekend of violence in southern Afghanistan.
On Saturday, Afghan soldiers and police killed 22 militants during an evening gun battle in nearby Zabul province, according to Afghanistan's Interior Ministry.
A ministry statement said that militants attacked an Afghan army convoy before local police jumped in to help.
In a separate statement, the U.S. military said that Afghan and coalition troops killed four militants in the Shinkay district of Zabul province.
It was not immediately clear if the two statements referred to the same incident.
The U.S. statement said guns and rocket-propelled grenades were fired at soldiers while they were on patrol in Shinkay.
The troops returned fire before calling in for air support.
Four bodies were brought to the district police station, according to provincial police chief Abdul Rahman Furjung, but locals said they found other dead bodies in the area.
Furjung also said that 22 militants died in the incident.
Neither statement reported civilian casualties or injuries among Afghan army or coalition troops.
In another Saturday incident, a would-be suicide bomber was killed when he tried to enter a police station in Helmand province.
The Interior Ministry reported that police shot the man, which caused his explosives to detonate, before he entered the station.
No one else was killed in the incident.
On Friday, NATO forces said they killed 18 insurgents in Kunar province.
With files from The Associated Press
More on LINK
- Reaction score
- 27
- Points
- 560
ARTICLE POST APRIL 12
Sensing that Afghanistan had long been neglected in Washington, some soldiers
had taken to calling the conflict "the welfare war." There is now an expectation
that the military could begin to break the stalemate.
1 picture of ten
In Afghanistan, Soldiers Bridge 2 Stages of War
DANGALEEK, Afghanistan — First Lt. C. Carter Cheek stood in the Afghan rain. His patrol had climbed
a switchback road leading to the Taliban-dominated village of Wanat, the location of the bloodiest
battle for American forces in Afghanistan since 2005.Enemy spotters looked down from higher ridges,
using hand-held radios to relay word of the American advance. “Basically from here north, it’s game
on,” Lieutenant Cheek said. If the platoon moved farther toward Wanat, it would probably be
ambushed, he said.
Lieutenant Cheek, 25, is a platoon leader for Company C of the First Battalion, 26th Infantry. In nine
months in one of Afghanistan’s more violent areas, the company has been a witness to a subtly
changing war. The company arrived after a ferocious battle and in a climate of political uncertainty
about the degree of commitment to the war. But it has since been issued heavier fighting vehicles,
seen another battalion reinforce its efforts in the region and fought what is essentially a holding
mission to prepare for a large influx of American troops that President Obama has ordered to
Afghanistan later this year.
This spring, as the pace of fighting has increased with warming weather, there have not been enough
American soldiers here to clear Wanat of the insurgents openly living there. But there is a sense that
soon the military could be able to break the stalemate of what some soldiers, sensing that Afghanistan
had long been neglected in Washington, had taken to calling “the welfare war.”
Afghanistan has long been a land of invisible but broadly understood boundaries. If you go here, it will
be friendly. If you go there, you will be attacked. There are places where almost no outsiders go at all.
With more military units expected, the many dangerous seams outside of the control of the Afghan
government, like the Taliban-run area around Wanat, could in time have a regular American presence
or a fixed outpost, several of the company and battalion’s officers said. And then, patrol by patrol, the
Taliban could be undermined, and the complicated geography of informal boundaries could be eroded.
These changing expectations have made the soldiers now on the ground a bridge from the older war to
a fight that stands to become more invigorated, and hopeful, albeit perhaps more bloody as American
units push into longstanding Taliban sanctuaries.
Company C, with its roughly 120 infantrymen, arrived in Afghanistan last July and was assigned to
patrol a series of steep-sided valleys and cascading streams that feed the Pech River in Kunar
Province, just west of the border with Pakistan. As the company packed for a yearlong tour, attention
at the Pentagon was turning back to Afghanistan after years of focusing on Iraq. Signs of Taliban
boldness were evident everywhere.
The local insurgents in Kunar, augmented by foreign fighters, had been hardened by years of guerrilla
war against top American divisions. They were skilled at ambushing patrols from ridges over the
roads, and they had built a sprawling network of spotters, caves and intelligence sources that made
them difficult to surprise or to fight on American terms. They had also studied their foe. Over time
they had shifted to using heavy bombs — 20 to 25 pounds of homemade explosives packed into large
pots or plastic ice chests buried in the dirt roads. The bombs were large enough to blow apart an
armored Humvee in one case, and in general they have become even larger recently, officers said.
The Taliban’s local strength was made clear on July 13, as Lieutenant Cheek’s platoon was flying from
Fort Hood, Tex., to Afghanistan, prepared to move into Wanat. A large Taliban force attacked an
American and Afghan patrol base in the village. Nine Americans were killed and 27 were wounded.
Afghan police officers were implicated in the attack. The Army left the village. It has yet to return.
Capt. James C. Stultz, 28, the company commander, recalled the sense of seriousness as the soldiers
grasped the work ahead. “It was an eye-opener to hear what kind of fighting was going on,” he said.
“Especially because, you know, this was the welfare war. You never heard about the fighting in
Afghanistan.” Some of the company’s soldiers were surprised by their mission as well. “I never thought
in a million years I’d be walking the mountains of Afghanistan,” said Cpl. Stephen J. Butler, 20, a team
leader in the company’s Third Platoon who enlisted immediately after graduating from high school in
2006 and expected to be sent to Iraq.
But with the decline of violence in Iraq and arrival of the Obama administration, there have been signs
that priorities have shifted in the Pentagon to improve the infantry’s prospects here. By late last year,
Company C was issued new and heavily armored vehicles, known as MRAPs, which are much more
resistant to rocket-propelled grenades and roadside bombs. The vehicles allow the soldiers to plan
more dangerous missions with less risk.
And by early this year, a battalion from the 10th Mountain Division had arrived and taken positions
along the Pakistani border. The battalion’s deployment meant the size of the operations areas for other
units shrunk. Company C is now responsible for two-thirds of the area it patrolled last year. The area
is still too large for the company to cover fully. Three valleys — the upper Waygul, the Watapor and
the lower Chapa Dara — remain almost untouched by American presence, as do many side canyons off
the Pech River.
But new construction is visible on a string of small American bases between Kabul and the Pakistani
border. The officers said the infrastructure will house many of the 21,000 additional American soldiers
due to arrive later this year and will serve as an on-ramp for fresh combat forces to flow into the field
and fill many current gaps. The additional soldiers will bring the total American troop deployment in
Afghanistan to about 60,000.
What the soldiers do not know is whether more troops will translate to local popular support. In some
areas within the gaps, the military says, villagers have asked for more American presence. In others,
including around Wanat, villagers have bluntly told the American military that its presence is not
wanted.
For now, as signs of buildup accumulate, Company C has concentrated its patrols on the Pech and
lower Waygul Valleys. The Pech Valley is exceptionally narrow — a jagged slot through the mountains
that in places is only 700 or 800 yards wide. With snowmelt and spring rainfall leading to an early crop
of wheat, the river’s terraced banks make a stripe of vivid green against the mountain slopes.
The villages vary from tolerant of the Americans to quietly hostile. On six recent patrols along the
ridges and roads, many children waved. A few raised their middle fingers as soldiers passed by. A few
others threw stones. Last week, as the company’s Second Platoon returned from a patrol, a rock
slammed into the ballistic glass beside the head of the platoon’s forward observer, Pfc. Matthew C.
Boyd. “Man, he pegged my window,” he said, chuckling at first, then swearing.
Stones are a small part of it. In one village, the soldiers found an old woman carrying an assault rifle
under her shawl; in another, they found a 12-year-old boy with a rocket-propelled grenade.
Company C has a history of engaging in intense fighting. It suffered 13 combat deaths in its last
15-month tour in Iraq, in 2006 and 2007. Nine months into its first rotation in Afghanistan, the
company has been in 97 firefights and three roadside bomb attacks; roughly one in six of the
company’s soldiers have been wounded by bullets or shrapnel, six seriously enough to be sent home.
Sensing that Afghanistan had long been neglected in Washington, some soldiers
had taken to calling the conflict "the welfare war." There is now an expectation
that the military could begin to break the stalemate.
1 picture of ten
In Afghanistan, Soldiers Bridge 2 Stages of War
DANGALEEK, Afghanistan — First Lt. C. Carter Cheek stood in the Afghan rain. His patrol had climbed
a switchback road leading to the Taliban-dominated village of Wanat, the location of the bloodiest
battle for American forces in Afghanistan since 2005.Enemy spotters looked down from higher ridges,
using hand-held radios to relay word of the American advance. “Basically from here north, it’s game
on,” Lieutenant Cheek said. If the platoon moved farther toward Wanat, it would probably be
ambushed, he said.
Lieutenant Cheek, 25, is a platoon leader for Company C of the First Battalion, 26th Infantry. In nine
months in one of Afghanistan’s more violent areas, the company has been a witness to a subtly
changing war. The company arrived after a ferocious battle and in a climate of political uncertainty
about the degree of commitment to the war. But it has since been issued heavier fighting vehicles,
seen another battalion reinforce its efforts in the region and fought what is essentially a holding
mission to prepare for a large influx of American troops that President Obama has ordered to
Afghanistan later this year.
This spring, as the pace of fighting has increased with warming weather, there have not been enough
American soldiers here to clear Wanat of the insurgents openly living there. But there is a sense that
soon the military could be able to break the stalemate of what some soldiers, sensing that Afghanistan
had long been neglected in Washington, had taken to calling “the welfare war.”
Afghanistan has long been a land of invisible but broadly understood boundaries. If you go here, it will
be friendly. If you go there, you will be attacked. There are places where almost no outsiders go at all.
With more military units expected, the many dangerous seams outside of the control of the Afghan
government, like the Taliban-run area around Wanat, could in time have a regular American presence
or a fixed outpost, several of the company and battalion’s officers said. And then, patrol by patrol, the
Taliban could be undermined, and the complicated geography of informal boundaries could be eroded.
These changing expectations have made the soldiers now on the ground a bridge from the older war to
a fight that stands to become more invigorated, and hopeful, albeit perhaps more bloody as American
units push into longstanding Taliban sanctuaries.
Company C, with its roughly 120 infantrymen, arrived in Afghanistan last July and was assigned to
patrol a series of steep-sided valleys and cascading streams that feed the Pech River in Kunar
Province, just west of the border with Pakistan. As the company packed for a yearlong tour, attention
at the Pentagon was turning back to Afghanistan after years of focusing on Iraq. Signs of Taliban
boldness were evident everywhere.
The local insurgents in Kunar, augmented by foreign fighters, had been hardened by years of guerrilla
war against top American divisions. They were skilled at ambushing patrols from ridges over the
roads, and they had built a sprawling network of spotters, caves and intelligence sources that made
them difficult to surprise or to fight on American terms. They had also studied their foe. Over time
they had shifted to using heavy bombs — 20 to 25 pounds of homemade explosives packed into large
pots or plastic ice chests buried in the dirt roads. The bombs were large enough to blow apart an
armored Humvee in one case, and in general they have become even larger recently, officers said.
The Taliban’s local strength was made clear on July 13, as Lieutenant Cheek’s platoon was flying from
Fort Hood, Tex., to Afghanistan, prepared to move into Wanat. A large Taliban force attacked an
American and Afghan patrol base in the village. Nine Americans were killed and 27 were wounded.
Afghan police officers were implicated in the attack. The Army left the village. It has yet to return.
Capt. James C. Stultz, 28, the company commander, recalled the sense of seriousness as the soldiers
grasped the work ahead. “It was an eye-opener to hear what kind of fighting was going on,” he said.
“Especially because, you know, this was the welfare war. You never heard about the fighting in
Afghanistan.” Some of the company’s soldiers were surprised by their mission as well. “I never thought
in a million years I’d be walking the mountains of Afghanistan,” said Cpl. Stephen J. Butler, 20, a team
leader in the company’s Third Platoon who enlisted immediately after graduating from high school in
2006 and expected to be sent to Iraq.
But with the decline of violence in Iraq and arrival of the Obama administration, there have been signs
that priorities have shifted in the Pentagon to improve the infantry’s prospects here. By late last year,
Company C was issued new and heavily armored vehicles, known as MRAPs, which are much more
resistant to rocket-propelled grenades and roadside bombs. The vehicles allow the soldiers to plan
more dangerous missions with less risk.
And by early this year, a battalion from the 10th Mountain Division had arrived and taken positions
along the Pakistani border. The battalion’s deployment meant the size of the operations areas for other
units shrunk. Company C is now responsible for two-thirds of the area it patrolled last year. The area
is still too large for the company to cover fully. Three valleys — the upper Waygul, the Watapor and
the lower Chapa Dara — remain almost untouched by American presence, as do many side canyons off
the Pech River.
But new construction is visible on a string of small American bases between Kabul and the Pakistani
border. The officers said the infrastructure will house many of the 21,000 additional American soldiers
due to arrive later this year and will serve as an on-ramp for fresh combat forces to flow into the field
and fill many current gaps. The additional soldiers will bring the total American troop deployment in
Afghanistan to about 60,000.
What the soldiers do not know is whether more troops will translate to local popular support. In some
areas within the gaps, the military says, villagers have asked for more American presence. In others,
including around Wanat, villagers have bluntly told the American military that its presence is not
wanted.
For now, as signs of buildup accumulate, Company C has concentrated its patrols on the Pech and
lower Waygul Valleys. The Pech Valley is exceptionally narrow — a jagged slot through the mountains
that in places is only 700 or 800 yards wide. With snowmelt and spring rainfall leading to an early crop
of wheat, the river’s terraced banks make a stripe of vivid green against the mountain slopes.
The villages vary from tolerant of the Americans to quietly hostile. On six recent patrols along the
ridges and roads, many children waved. A few raised their middle fingers as soldiers passed by. A few
others threw stones. Last week, as the company’s Second Platoon returned from a patrol, a rock
slammed into the ballistic glass beside the head of the platoon’s forward observer, Pfc. Matthew C.
Boyd. “Man, he pegged my window,” he said, chuckling at first, then swearing.
Stones are a small part of it. In one village, the soldiers found an old woman carrying an assault rifle
under her shawl; in another, they found a 12-year-old boy with a rocket-propelled grenade.
Company C has a history of engaging in intense fighting. It suffered 13 combat deaths in its last
15-month tour in Iraq, in 2006 and 2007. Nine months into its first rotation in Afghanistan, the
company has been in 97 firefights and three roadside bomb attacks; roughly one in six of the
company’s soldiers have been wounded by bullets or shrapnel, six seriously enough to be sent home.
- Reaction score
- 27
- Points
- 560
ARTICLE POST APRIL 11
Allies Ponder How to Plan Elections in Afghanistan
The American military dropped bombs on April 3 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan,
where the Taliban could disrupt an election.
KABUL, Afghanistan — Inside the office of the Afghan interior minister is a map showing that nearly
half the country is a danger zone. Ten of Afghanistan’s 364 districts are colored black, meaning they
are under Taliban control, and 156 are colored to indicate high risk.
Southern Afghanistan is largely under Taliban control.
The map raises a difficult question: How, in such an environment, can Afghanistan hold countrywide
presidential elections in less than five months? The election, plus votes for provincial council seats,
has become a prime focus of discussion, according to Richard C. Holbrooke, the special envoy to
Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who visited
Kabul last Sunday.
For now, Afghan officials and their American and NATO allies say they are absolutely determined
to go ahead with the elections, scheduled for Aug. 20. Canceling or postponing them not only would
be a significant recognition of how badly the war is going, but also would throw the country into a
political and constitutional crisis.
At the same time, there is increasing concern that, even if NATO and Afghan forces can establish
enough security in enough places, the vote will be so badly compromised that its credibility will
be called into question, and with it the legitimacy of the current and future Afghan governments.
Taliban insurgents have such a strong grip on such a broad area — in particular the southern
provinces of Kandahar, Helmand, Oruzgan and Zabul — that even with the anticipated arrival
of an additional 30,000 American troops this year, the elections will not take place in some areas,
several Western and Afghan officials in Kabul said.
“There will certainly be some districts where it will be difficult to have elections, especially parts
of Helmand Province,” said Christopher Alexander, a deputy head of the United Nations Assistance
Mission in Afghanistan. “But the vast majority of districts, all but 8 or 10, took part in voter
registration and are expected to take part in elections,” he added.
In interviews, some Afghans were less sure. They predicted that people were so disaffected by
the war and the insecurity and the lack of progress from the government that many would not
vote. Opposition candidates, meanwhile, are already expressing concern about fraud and are
pointing to widespread irregularities in the voter registration.
The recently appointed interior minister, Hanif Atmar, readily acknowledges the herculean challenge
of getting his underpaid, poorly trained police force in shape to provide security for the elections.
Additional NATO troops and the added American forces will be deployed with Afghan security forces
to the high-risk areas, he said, meaning virtually everywhere south of the capital, Kabul, in a country
of mountains and deserts. Afghan forces will handle the safer northern areas largely on their own,
he said. But beyond providing security for elections, the American, NATO and Afghan security forces
also have a broader mission: to stem the insurgency, which has sharply escalated in scale and
casualties every year since 2006.
Some Western officials in Afghanistan warn that the extra American and NATO forces are too little,
too late to change the military stalemate that exists across southern Afghanistan, and that all the
military effort will be spent in securing the elections.
Admiral Mullen said that would not be the case. “I am convinced that the additional military capability
will certainly start to allow us to turn the tide” in the war, the admiral said during his visit.
While election officials say voter registration has been successful, people in the south say Afghans,
including Taliban members, were motivated to register less by any real interest in voting than by
the fact that voter cards would ease their travel through government checkpoints. “People cannot
even travel to their homes,” said Abdul Rahim, 32, a landowner from Oruzgan Province, who
moved his family to the provincial capital, Tirin Kot, to escape the fighting. “It’s beyond imagination
that they will take part in the election.”
Whether the Taliban will try to sabotage the vote is not yet clear. In their statements, Taliban
spokesmen say they oppose the presidential elections as a system imposed by foreigners. But
in previous years the Taliban have held back from large-scale disruption of elections, partly
because of pressure from their mentors in Pakistan, and partly, analysts say, so as not to
alienate the people, who are their base of support.
Nevertheless, the Taliban will be determined to respond to any influx of new American forces.
Recent attacks by insurgents and Al Qaeda have indicated a growing sophistication and ambition,
including spectacular bombings and wave attacks by multiple gunmen on government buildings.
Those are likely to continue, Afghan officials said.
The strength of the insurgency and the distrust of the Afghan government is rapidly causing a
collapse of authority in the many regions, warned a former foreign minister, Dr. Abdullah, who
is expected to be named as the candidate for the main opposition movement, the National Front,
which represents a broad bloc of largely northern tribes.
Dr. Abdullah, who uses one name, said the situation would continue to deteriorate under President
Hamid Karzai, leaving an even more difficult task for the next president.
Mr. Karzai’s administration has grown increasingly unpopular and is seen as corrupt and ineffective
as the war has engulfed half the country. There is a growing yearning among Afghans for a change.
But diplomats say Mr. Karzai remains the strongest contender, not least because the opposition is
divided and may split any vote against him. Also, the most likely contenders may not be an
improvement, some warn. “Beware what you wish for,” said one diplomat, who requested anonymity
to avoid the impression of interfering in Afghanistan’s election politics.
The National Front continues to question Mr. Karzai’s legitimacy after a Supreme Court decision that
allowed him to extend his term past its constitutional end on May 21 because the presidential election
was delayed. The court will let him stay in office until a new president is sworn in, and in a close race,
that could include a second round of voting in October.
Almost all the known candidates complain of fears that Mr. Karzai will use government resources to
his advantage in the campaign. “We can say straight off that 600,000 to 800,000 votes will be stolen,”
said Ashraf Ghani, a former finance minister and a prospective candidate. Mr. Ghani called for a
commission to monitor the election commission and one to monitor the president’s use of government
resources and institutions.
But Mr. Karzai’s opponents say the groundswell of dissatisfaction among the public and the desire for
change may be enough to dislodge him, if the election is fair. “Everybody is complaining, everybody
is concerned, and everybody is unhappy with the situation,” said Nasrullah Baryalai Arsalai, who is
from a prominent family in eastern Afghanistan and recently announced his candidacy. “But a free
vote makes me think it is possible.”
Taimoor Shah contributed reporting from Kandahar, Afghanistan, and Abdul Waheed Wafa from Kabul.
Allies Ponder How to Plan Elections in Afghanistan
The American military dropped bombs on April 3 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan,
where the Taliban could disrupt an election.
KABUL, Afghanistan — Inside the office of the Afghan interior minister is a map showing that nearly
half the country is a danger zone. Ten of Afghanistan’s 364 districts are colored black, meaning they
are under Taliban control, and 156 are colored to indicate high risk.
Southern Afghanistan is largely under Taliban control.
The map raises a difficult question: How, in such an environment, can Afghanistan hold countrywide
presidential elections in less than five months? The election, plus votes for provincial council seats,
has become a prime focus of discussion, according to Richard C. Holbrooke, the special envoy to
Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who visited
Kabul last Sunday.
For now, Afghan officials and their American and NATO allies say they are absolutely determined
to go ahead with the elections, scheduled for Aug. 20. Canceling or postponing them not only would
be a significant recognition of how badly the war is going, but also would throw the country into a
political and constitutional crisis.
At the same time, there is increasing concern that, even if NATO and Afghan forces can establish
enough security in enough places, the vote will be so badly compromised that its credibility will
be called into question, and with it the legitimacy of the current and future Afghan governments.
Taliban insurgents have such a strong grip on such a broad area — in particular the southern
provinces of Kandahar, Helmand, Oruzgan and Zabul — that even with the anticipated arrival
of an additional 30,000 American troops this year, the elections will not take place in some areas,
several Western and Afghan officials in Kabul said.
“There will certainly be some districts where it will be difficult to have elections, especially parts
of Helmand Province,” said Christopher Alexander, a deputy head of the United Nations Assistance
Mission in Afghanistan. “But the vast majority of districts, all but 8 or 10, took part in voter
registration and are expected to take part in elections,” he added.
In interviews, some Afghans were less sure. They predicted that people were so disaffected by
the war and the insecurity and the lack of progress from the government that many would not
vote. Opposition candidates, meanwhile, are already expressing concern about fraud and are
pointing to widespread irregularities in the voter registration.
The recently appointed interior minister, Hanif Atmar, readily acknowledges the herculean challenge
of getting his underpaid, poorly trained police force in shape to provide security for the elections.
Additional NATO troops and the added American forces will be deployed with Afghan security forces
to the high-risk areas, he said, meaning virtually everywhere south of the capital, Kabul, in a country
of mountains and deserts. Afghan forces will handle the safer northern areas largely on their own,
he said. But beyond providing security for elections, the American, NATO and Afghan security forces
also have a broader mission: to stem the insurgency, which has sharply escalated in scale and
casualties every year since 2006.
Some Western officials in Afghanistan warn that the extra American and NATO forces are too little,
too late to change the military stalemate that exists across southern Afghanistan, and that all the
military effort will be spent in securing the elections.
Admiral Mullen said that would not be the case. “I am convinced that the additional military capability
will certainly start to allow us to turn the tide” in the war, the admiral said during his visit.
While election officials say voter registration has been successful, people in the south say Afghans,
including Taliban members, were motivated to register less by any real interest in voting than by
the fact that voter cards would ease their travel through government checkpoints. “People cannot
even travel to their homes,” said Abdul Rahim, 32, a landowner from Oruzgan Province, who
moved his family to the provincial capital, Tirin Kot, to escape the fighting. “It’s beyond imagination
that they will take part in the election.”
Whether the Taliban will try to sabotage the vote is not yet clear. In their statements, Taliban
spokesmen say they oppose the presidential elections as a system imposed by foreigners. But
in previous years the Taliban have held back from large-scale disruption of elections, partly
because of pressure from their mentors in Pakistan, and partly, analysts say, so as not to
alienate the people, who are their base of support.
Nevertheless, the Taliban will be determined to respond to any influx of new American forces.
Recent attacks by insurgents and Al Qaeda have indicated a growing sophistication and ambition,
including spectacular bombings and wave attacks by multiple gunmen on government buildings.
Those are likely to continue, Afghan officials said.
The strength of the insurgency and the distrust of the Afghan government is rapidly causing a
collapse of authority in the many regions, warned a former foreign minister, Dr. Abdullah, who
is expected to be named as the candidate for the main opposition movement, the National Front,
which represents a broad bloc of largely northern tribes.
Dr. Abdullah, who uses one name, said the situation would continue to deteriorate under President
Hamid Karzai, leaving an even more difficult task for the next president.
Mr. Karzai’s administration has grown increasingly unpopular and is seen as corrupt and ineffective
as the war has engulfed half the country. There is a growing yearning among Afghans for a change.
But diplomats say Mr. Karzai remains the strongest contender, not least because the opposition is
divided and may split any vote against him. Also, the most likely contenders may not be an
improvement, some warn. “Beware what you wish for,” said one diplomat, who requested anonymity
to avoid the impression of interfering in Afghanistan’s election politics.
The National Front continues to question Mr. Karzai’s legitimacy after a Supreme Court decision that
allowed him to extend his term past its constitutional end on May 21 because the presidential election
was delayed. The court will let him stay in office until a new president is sworn in, and in a close race,
that could include a second round of voting in October.
Almost all the known candidates complain of fears that Mr. Karzai will use government resources to
his advantage in the campaign. “We can say straight off that 600,000 to 800,000 votes will be stolen,”
said Ashraf Ghani, a former finance minister and a prospective candidate. Mr. Ghani called for a
commission to monitor the election commission and one to monitor the president’s use of government
resources and institutions.
But Mr. Karzai’s opponents say the groundswell of dissatisfaction among the public and the desire for
change may be enough to dislodge him, if the election is fair. “Everybody is complaining, everybody
is concerned, and everybody is unhappy with the situation,” said Nasrullah Baryalai Arsalai, who is
from a prominent family in eastern Afghanistan and recently announced his candidacy. “But a free
vote makes me think it is possible.”
Taimoor Shah contributed reporting from Kandahar, Afghanistan, and Abdul Waheed Wafa from Kabul.
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