The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread August 2008

[GAP]

The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread August 2008              

News only - commentary elsewhere, please.
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Articles found August 1, 2008

Al-Qaeda Commander Says Bagram Escapee Killed in Air Strike
By Ed Johnson Aug. 1 (Bloomberg)
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One of four al-Qaeda militants who escaped from a U.S. prison in Afghanistan three years ago was killed in an air strike, the terrorist network said in a statement, according to a U.S.-based intelligence group.

Abu Abdallah al-Shami and some of his ``mujahedeen companions were targeted in an American air raid,'' IntelCenter, based in Alexandria, Virginia, cited senior al-Qaeda leader Mustafa Abu al-Yazid as saying. ``God had destined for him to become a martyr.'' The statement didn't provide further details of the strike.

Abu Yahya al-Libi is the last militant who escaped from the jail near the Afghan capital, Kabul, in July 2005 to remain free, according to IntelCenter, which provides counterterrorism intelligence support to the U.S., British, Australian and Canadian armed forces.

In 2006, Omar al-Farouq was killed by British forces in Iraq and Abu Nasir al-Qahtani was captured by coalition troops in Afghanistan, said IntelCenter, which monitors extremist Web sites.

Al-Libi is al-Qaeda's highest profile member, releasing more video messages and written statements on the Internet than any other ``jihadi'' figure, it said.
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Helicopters to keep troops off dangerous roads in Afghanistan
Published Friday August 1st, 2008
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The arrival early next year of six CH-47-D Chinook transport helicopters for use by Canadian troops in Afghanistan will ensure that the current and future needs of soldiers will be met, says the commander-designate of Joint Task Force Afghanistan.

Brig.-Gen. Jon Vance, who will assume control of the mission in February, said the helicopters, which will help keep Canadian troops off dangerous roads, should be in theatre at that time.

"The helicopters (will) provide, obviously, mobility," Vance said. "They provide a way to move our people more quickly to trouble spots."

Vance, the former commander of The Second Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (2RCR) at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, said the Chinooks will also improve surveillance by enhancing the ability of troops to better observe what is going on in their area of operation.

The federal government is spending $375 million to acquire six heavy-lift Chinooks from the U.S. Army. They are designed to transport artillery, troops, ammunition, fuel and supplies within military theatres of operation.

Until those choppers are in place, the Department of National Defence will lease up to eight Russian-built helicopters to ferry supplies around the battlefield in Afghanistan and lessen the chances of encountering roadside bombs. Improvised explosive devices have taken a toll on Canadian troops who have been forced to frequently travel dangerous roads.

Dean Black, a retired lieutenant-colonel and former commander of the 403 Tactical Helicopter Squadron at Gagetown, said the Chinooks can move a lot of troops, supplies and artillery pieces quickly.

"Helicopter travel can certainly make things a lot easier," said Black, now the executive director of the Air Force Association of Canada. "It's one of the few helicopters that's able to operate in that kind of a demanding environment from a density altitude perspective."

Black said the military once owned seven Chinooks. They were purchased in the early 1970s and sold in the mid-1990s.
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NATO says 4 soldiers killed in Afghanistan
The Associated PressPublished: August 1, 2008
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KABUL, Afghanistan: NATO says four soldiers and one civilian were killed in a roadside blast in eastern Afghanistan, bringing the death toll of the military alliance's troops to five for the day.

It was a bloody start to the month in what has already been a deadly year for U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan.

Four of the NATO soldiers and the civilian died in Kunar province Friday. The fifth death, reported earlier, also occurred Friday in Khost, another eastern province.

The alliance did not release the nationalities of the soldiers. However, most of the troops in the area are American.
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[MarkOttawa]

Pakistanis Aided Attack in Kabul, U.S. Officials Say
NY Times, August 1
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/01/world/asia/01pstan.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin

American intelligence agencies have concluded that members of Pakistan’s powerful spy service helped plan the deadly July 7 bombing of India’s embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, according to United States government officials.

The conclusion was based on intercepted communications between Pakistani intelligence officers and militants who carried out the attack, the officials said, providing the clearest evidence to date that Pakistani intelligence officers are actively undermining American efforts to combat militants in the region.

The American officials also said there was new information showing that members of the Pakistani intelligence service were increasingly providing militants with details about the American campaign against them, in some cases allowing militants to avoid American missile strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas...

Pakistan denies ISI behind Indian embassy attack
AP, August 1
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/5919313.html

Pakistan's government said Friday it needs to purge Taliban sympathizers from the country's main intelligence agency but angrily denied a report that the agency helped plan a bombing that killed at least 41 in Afghanistan.

The New York Times reported that American intelligence agencies have concluded that members of Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence were involved in the July 7 attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul.

The report cited unnamed U.S. government officials. It said the conclusion was based on intercepted communications between Pakistani intelligence officers and militants who carried out the attack.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Sadiq described the report as "total rubbish," saying there was no evidence of ISI involvement.

"The foreign newspapers keep writing such things against ISI, and we reject these allegations," he said by telephone from a summit of South Asian leaders in Sri Lanka.

Government spokeswoman Sherry Rehman also said there was "no proof" of ISI involvement in the bombing.

However, she said that there were "probably" individuals in the ISI working against official policy — the first acknowledgment from Pakistan's new government that Taliban sympathizers may lurk in the agency [emphasis added].

Authorities "need to identify these people and weed them out," Rehman said...

India, Afghanistan behind unrest, says Pakistan
The Hindu, August 1
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/01/stories/2008080155461400.htm

Pakistan has hit out at India and Afghanistan for the troubles in its north-western frontier tribal areas and pulled up Afghanistan for a bomb blast outside its consulate in the western Afghan city of Herat on Thursday; three people outside the consulate were injured.

A Foreign Ministry statement said, “Pakistan holds the government of Afghanistan responsible for the safety and security of its personnel in its embassy in Kabul and consulates in Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad and Mazar-i-Sharif.” Afghanistan’s Ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to “convey the grave concerns” of the Pakistan government.

The Ministry said it hoped Kabul would take its responsibility of protecting Pakistani nationals posted to the country’s diplomatic missions in Afghanistan “seriously.” The explosion came three weeks after a bomb attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul, in which four Indians, including a diplomat and the defence attaché, were among 60 people killed. Thursday’s explosions came as the Indian and Pakistani Foreign Ministers were about to meet on the sidelines of the SAARC Summit in Colombo to discuss the deteriorating bilateral relations in the wake of the Kabul attack, for which New Delhi blamed the ISI.

Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have also escalated since then, with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai also accusing the ISI of terrorist attacks in his country, including the attack on the Indian embassy.

With the U.S. joining in the accusations — the CIA was reported to have presented Pakistan with evidence of its hand in the Kabul attack — Pakistan chose Washington as the venue to reiterate the charge that India and Afghanistan were both involved in “trying to destabilise” the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

Rehman Malik, who functions as Pakistan’s Interior Minister, and an important member of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s entourage to the U.S., said on Wednesday the “time has come for us to reveal the facts and tell the world how outside forces are creating troubles in Pakistan.”..

Karzai to visit India
Indo-Asian News Service, July 31
http://www.hindustantimes.com/storypage/storypage.aspx?sectionName=&id=1ab857a1-026f-45c7-9ecc-3d3a441f2cb8&MatchID1=4736&TeamID1=8&TeamID2=6&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1194&MatchID2=4727&TeamID3=2&TeamID4=3&MatchType2=1&SeriesID2=1191&PrimaryID=4736&Headline=Karzai+to+visit+India&strParent=strParentID

Afghan President Hamid Karzai will pay a state visit to India Aug 4 on his way home from a South Asian summit in Sri Lanka, it was announced in New Delhi on Thursday.

Accompanying the president during the daylong trip will be Foreign Affairs Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta and the National Security Advisor.

President Pratibha Patil will host a banquet for her counterpart. Karzai will then hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, external affairs ministry spokesperson Navtej Sarna told reporters.

Sarna gave no details, but Karzai and Manmohan Singh are expected to discuss bilateral and other issues...

Karzai's trip comes amid mounting worries in both India and Afghanistan about the growing activities of the Taliban militia, which many feel continues to enjoy the backing of the Pakistani intelligence establishment...

Gates: US Not Ready to Send More Troops to Afghanistan
VOA, July 31
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-07-31-voa52.cfm

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says there is still no plan to send additional U.S. combat troops to Afghanistan, even though he has said he would like to do so "sooner rather than later." VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

Two weeks ago, Secretary Gates said officials were "working very hard" to figure out which additional U.S. combat forces could be sent to Afghanistan to deal with increased violence during the current summer fighting season. At a news conference on Thursday, he said no such forces have yet been identified, but he did not rule out getting additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan before the fighting season ends.

"I'm just saying that we're still working through it and I haven't received any recommendations yet from the chiefs [of the military services] or from the Central Command commander," he said.

Secretary Gates did confirm that a small number of U.S. troops may be deployed to Afghanistan in the coming weeks to work in particular specialties, such as disposing of explosives and helping with civilian development and governance projects.

"The numbers are not significant. At most, a couple of hundred, maybe," he said.

For a larger force of combat troops, Secretary Gates is waiting to see a formal recommendation from military leaders [emphasis added]. And he says any major deployment to Afghanistan will have to await recommendations on future troop levels in Iraq, which are expected in September.

Earlier in the week, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell indicated that while there is concern about increased violence in Afghanistan, officials do not see the situation as "desperately urgent."..

Mark
Ottawa

 

[GAP]

Articles found August 3, 2008

Outside the wire, into a war
By: Joe Bryksa  Updated: August 3 at 07:33 AM CDT
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Print Article E-mail Article ShareThisARGHDAB DISTRICT, Afghanistan -- With a large contingent from Winnipeg's Fort Garry Horse Reserve unit, I witnessed first-hand what it is like to go "outside the wire" into Arghdab District. It's a war zone.

Slipping on my battle helmet and steel-plated body armour, I joined five Canadian soldiers in one of many military vehicles that were part of a heavily-armed guard protecting a convoy of supply trucks on their way to NATO forward operating bases.

Inside a Canadian RG-31 armoured vehicle, we left the comforts of the well-protected Kandahar Airfield compound and headed toward outlying areas past Kandahar City. Strapped in by a five-point harness, squished alongside some of our country's finest soldiers, I quickly learned how they cope with the dangers they face everyday in Afghanistan.

We were the lead vehicle in a long line of trucks and military vehicles as we rolled down the highway. When our driver saw vehicles coming towards us on the highway, he would drive straight at them, forcing them to pull over so our fleet could pass safely.

This is a survival technique, since suicide bombers here have been known to drive close to military vehicles and detonate explosives. More than cars and trucks are suspect, as there have been instances of explosives on motorcycles and bicycles.

And if that is not enough stress, there's also the threat of Taliban ambush attacks and the well-known improvised explosive devices. There are many culverts on the highways in Afghanistan and each one could carry a deadly load of explosives.
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Wanted: thick-skinned, patient civil servants for Afghan posting
Graham Thomson, Canwest News Service Published: Saturday, August 02, 2008
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- The latest Canadian casualty in Afghanistan isn't a soldier and wasn't wounded in an enemy attack.

She is Canada's most senior civil servant in Kandahar who took a tumble while visiting a Canadian forward operating base and badly broke her ankle.

Now, Elissa Golberg, 35, hobbles her way on crutches into armoured vehicles and across military compounds, determined to complete her 11-month-long tour that's just about halfway done.

Her dogged persistence has become almost symbolic of Canada's little-known bureaucratic mission in Kandahar that is, according to Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson, "struggling" to attract civil servants to one of the most dangerous postings in the world.

"Where are we weak?" asked Emerson rhetorically on his whirlwind visit to Afghanistan in July. "I think one of the issues that we are struggling with, and I'm sure we'll overcome it, is ensuring that we can attract and excite enough Canadian public servants to come over here."

In one of the monumental aspects of the Canadian mission, civil servants are trying to build an Afghan bureaucracy - everything from the basics of a justice system to a municipal government to a functioning police force - as part of Canada's "exit strategy" to allow Afghans to run their own affairs.

While Emerson used his trip to announce an additional 200 troops for the military mission, the bureaucratic mission is quietly preparing for a surge of its own - doubling the number of Canadian civil servants in Kandahar City from 30 to 60 by Christmas.

Golberg says there are enough volunteers to fill this year's spots but the challenge is finding enough in the future willing to take on a 12-month deployment to a war zone that has not only claimed the lives of 88 Canadians soldiers but also one Canadian civil servant: diplomat Glyn Berry, who was killed by a suicide bomber in 2006.

As if the posting isn't tough enough, the preparation itself is an ordeal.

"You want to make sure that they start to take language training, that they can speak Pashto when they come out and that takes time," says Golberg. "You want to make sure that they're getting a good enough basis on the Afghan file before they come out. You want to make sure they get their hostile environment training. There's all of these things that we've been learning over the course of the last two years that we're now trying to put into practice and we want to do that on a sustained basis. So, that's the challenge."

An unfailing optimism would also seem to be a prerequisite.
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Aid workers freed in Afghanistan 
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Two French aid workers kidnapped in central Afghanistan last month have been freed, their employers have said.

French aid organisation Action Against Hunger said the two were apparently in good health, and would be flown home as soon as possible.

In a statement on its website, the group thanked the French and Afghan authorities for their support.

The pair, who have not been named, were seized at gunpoint on 18 July from their house in Daykundi province.

The kidnappers tied up guards before breaking in and escaping with the aid workers in waiting vehicles.

At the time, the governor of Daykundi, which is about 300km (190 miles) west of Kabul, said that the pair were kidnapped by "enemies of the Afghan government".

Two French relief workers from another humanitarian group, Terre d'Enfance, were abducted last year and held for weeks before being set free.
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Taliban militants kidnap district chief in E Afghanistan 
www.chinaview.cn  2008-08-02 14:21:27   
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    KABUL, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Mohammed Ghias Haqmal, the district chief of Marawar district in eastern Afghanistan's Kunar province, was kidnapped by Taliban militants on Friday night, Shafiq Hamdam who works for the international troops in east Afghanistan told Xinhua.

    Meanwhile, the purported Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahaid claimed responsibly for that abduction.

    Shafig Hamdam also said that an attack on a logistic convoy in east Afghanistan on Friday left one civilian dead and wounded three others including one Afghan soldier.

    Kunar, the eastern frontier province of Afghanistan suffered several conflicts and violence on Friday while a roadside bomb struck a U.S.-led Coalition vehicle in Sauki district and left four foreign soldiers dead.

    "The incident occurred in Sauki district Friday evening when a convoy of the Coalition forces passing the area. Aas a result, four soldiers and their Afghan colleague were killed," Hamdam told Xinhua.
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[MarkOttawa]

In Afghanistan even our successes are failures
Sunday Telegraph, August 3
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/08/03/do0306.xml

The British Army is rightly proud of the new road that runs through Musa Qala's teeming bazaar. After all, they built it - or, more accurately, it was built by the Afghans and paid for with British taxpayers' money.

Having just spent three weeks embedded with British troops in Helmand, I can report that, by Afghan standards, the road is pretty impressive. It is relatively straight and flat and, I was assured, has transformed the lives of many among the local population.

Quite what the bazaar's shopkeepers think of it, however, I do not know. On the occasion that I entered, flanked by soldiers from the Royal Irish Regiment, it was simply too dangerous to stop and chat.

The very real threat posed by suicide bombers put interacting with the locals off the agenda, even though the soldiers were supposed to be on a "reassurance" patrol. The tension was tangible, the atmosphere threatening and deeply unpleasant. As far as the soldiers were concerned, they were in enemy territory.

But Musa Qala is supposed to be secure. It is supposed to be the model town from which insurgents have been cleansed and where even the local governor, Mullah Saalam, is a reconciled former member of the Taliban.

Put simply, Musa Qala is sold to us as the future; it is supposed to offer hope. So what has gone wrong?..

Does failure beckon? In recent weeks both Barack Obama and Gordon Brown have promised to make Afghanistan the main focus of "the war on terror". But Afghanistan need more than words. It needs deeds, and it needs them now.

As the Fighting Swells in Afghanistan, So Does a Refugee Camp in Its Capital
NY Times, August 3, by Carlotta Gall
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/world/asia/03afghan.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin

KABUL, Afghanistan — On a piece of barren land on the western edge of this capital, a refugee camp is steadily swelling as families displaced by the heavy bombardment in southern Afghanistan arrive in batches.

The growing numbers reaching Kabul are a sign of the deepening of the conflict between NATO and American forces and the Taliban in the south and of the feeling among the population that there will be no end soon. Families who fled the fighting around their homes in Helmand Province one or two years ago and sought temporary shelter around two southern provincial capitals, Lashkar Gah and Kandahar, said they had moved to Kabul because of growing insecurity across the south.

“If there was security in the south, why would we come here?” said Abdullah Khan, 50, who lost his father, uncle and a female relative in the bombing of their home last year. “We will stay here, even for 10 years, until the bombardment ends.”

Sixty-one families from just one southern district — Kajaki, in northern Helmand Province — arrived in Kabul in late July. A representative for those families, Khair Muhammad, 27, said that a major jailbreak last month that freed hundreds of Taliban prisoners was the latest sign of the deteriorating security. “Do you know, the Taliban entered Kandahar city and broke into the prison?” he said. “Do you think that is security?”

The United Nations refugee agency has registered 450 families from Helmand Province at the camp — approximately 3,000 people. But that is only a part of the overall refugee picture. An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 people have been displaced by the insurgency in the south, but the numbers fluctuate as some have been able to return home when the fighting moves elsewhere.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has warned that the displaced who have reached the cities represent only the tip of the iceberg, and many others are trapped by violence in remote areas without assistance.

Many of the families who have arrived in Kabul have suffered traumatic losses and injuries, and they say that they are pessimistic about the future.

“The Taliban are getting stronger,” said Muhammad Younus, a farm worker who abandoned his village after his father, brother and uncle were killed in an airstrike two years ago. “There were armored vehicles on the hill and they were firing. There was a heavy bombardment, and planes bombed, too,” he said. “They did not differentiate between the guilty and not guilty.”

He, like many of the displaced people, complained that villagers found themselves trapped between Taliban fighters, who used the villages for cover to attack foreign forces, and NATO and American forces, which would often call in airstrikes on village compounds where civilians were living...

Mark
Ottawa

 

[GAP]

Articles found August 4, 2008

One dead as roadside bomb hits military convoy near Kabul
Another person wounded; victims thought to be American
Last Updated: Sunday, August 3, 2008
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A roadside bomb struck a military vehicle Sunday on the outskirts the Afghan capital, killing one person and wounding another.

A U.S. military official confirmed the casualties but did not specify their nationalities.

However, a district police chief, Bariyalay Khan, said the vehicle was part of a convoy carrying Americans.

The blast happened on the eastern outskirts of Kabul on a road leading to a police training centre, he said.

Canadian troops in Afghanistan are concentrated in the province of Kandahar in the south.

Najib Rahman, another police official at the scene of the blast, said an American helicopter landed to pick up the wounded while another hovered overhead.

Militants regularly use roadside bombs to attack Afghan and foreign troops in the country, where forces of the former Taliban government are fighting the current regime and its NATO allies.
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The delicate task of playing both sides in Pakistan
SAEED SHAH  From Saturday's Globe and Mail August 2, 2008 at 9:19 AM EDT
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ISLAMABAD — For a covert spy agency, Pakistan's Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence has been attracting a lot of attention. It's been rebuked by the U.S. government for failing to curb terrorism, accused in The New York Times of involvement in an international bombing, and targeted by the government it's supposed to serve — first for increased oversight, and now for a purge of its more extremist elements.

After years of denials, Pakistan admitted yesterday for the first time what others have been saying: There are "probably" still agents of Inter-Services Intelligence who are sympathetic to the Taliban and "act on their own in ways that are not in convergence" with Pakistan's interests or policies, Pakistani government minister Sherry Rehman said. "We need to identify these people and weed them out."

Anyone who has tracked the history of the ISI knows this is not a revelation, but a half truth. It's not individuals in the ISI that are rogue and working with the Taliban, but the ISI itself. The ISI, and the Pakistani army it serves, don't want to see the United States, and the government of Hamid Karzai, win in Afghanistan because they believe it would fatally undermine Pakistan's own national security, analysts say. The army does not trust U.S. intentions in the region, and it does not trust the Karzai government, which is close to India, Pakistan's giant and hostile neighbour.

"Nobody in Pakistan wants to see America win," said Hameed Gul, a retired general who is the most infamous former director-general of the ISI. "That would spell danger to Pakistan in the long run. They, America, want to make us subservient to India."
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Afghan bar association means country closer to fair justice system: advocates
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KABUL, Afghanistan — Political prisoners turned over to Afghan forces by Canadian troops may now have another ace in their pockets when it comes to fair treatment.

In fact, all 10,000 prisoners languishing in Afghan prisons, many of whom ended up there under dubious circumstances, are a step closer to a fairer justice system, advocates say, after the country established its first bar association last week.

Seldom taken seriously by judges, prosecutors, police and prison guards who, in many cases don't understand their role, defence lawyers have frequently been brushed off or tossed out of courtrooms.

A massive shortage of them also means the majority of accused persons don't even get legal representation despite the fact it is a basic right under Afghanistan's constitution that was adopted in January 2004.

Up until now, defence lawyers have had to register with Afghanistan's Ministry of Justice in order to practice.
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Keep Afghanistan expectations realistic, says departing ambassador
Graham Thomson ,  Canwest News Service Published: Sunday, August 03, 2008
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Calling Afghanistan the most underdeveloped country in which he has ever worked, Canada's ambassador here says Canadians "should be realistic" about how much progress can be achieved before Canada's combat mission in Kandahar province ends in 2011.

"What is hard for Canadians to understand, as it is for the public in the rest of the Western countries, is just how big the development task is here," said Arif Lalani, who is packing his bags to leave the country after a 15-month posting in Kabul. "This is an extremely underdeveloped country. It's the most underdeveloped country I have worked in. And it has had 30 years of war."

Lalani's comments in a telephone interview reflect a lowering of expectations by the federal government on what Canada can do to improve the situation in an impoverished country where insurgent-led violence has increased over the past year.
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New lawyers' group may help Afghan political prisoners
By TOBI COHEN, THE CANADIAN PRESS
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KABUL -- Political prisoners turned over to Afghan forces by Canadian troops may now have another ace in their pockets when it comes to fair treatment.

In fact, all 10,000 prisoners languishing in Afghan prisons, many of whom ended up there under dubious circumstances, are a step closer to a fairer justice system, advocates say, after the country established its first bar association last week.

Seldom taken seriously by judges, prosecutors, police and prison guards who, in many cases, don't understand their role, defence lawyers have frequently been brushed off or tossed out of court.

A widespread shortage also means most accused persons don't even get legal representation despite the fact it is a basic right under Afghanistan's constitution.

Up until now, defence lawyers have had to register with Afghanistan's ministry of justice in order to practise.

Since many Afghans are mistrustful of their government, which they often view as corrupt, the creation of an independent professional oversight body was imperative, said Alex Wilks, a legal specialist with the International Bar Association, which has been helping to set up the bar for the last four years.
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Labbé promotion a strange act for Hillier
By SCOTT TAYLOR On Target Mon. Aug 4 - 5:55 AM
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ON WEDNESDAY, July 2, I attended the change of command ceremony in Ottawa that marked the passing of the torch from Gen. Rick Hillier to Canada’s new chief of defence staff, Gen. Walter Natynczyk. As the dignitaries were piped down the red carpet to take their seats in the VIP bleachers, I spotted a familiar face. Strolling on his own, chest bulging with medals, was none other than Col. Serge Labbé.

Most in attendance took no notice of Labbé, and the majority of the crowd had no idea of this officer’s past.

Having closely followed his career since he commanded the ill-fated mission to Somalia in 1992-93, I recognized the controversial colonel instantly.

His present posting is that of commander of the strategic advisory team based in Kabul that was established to help build capability within President Hamid Karzai’s Afghan government.
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11 suspected Taliban insurgents killed in S Afghanistan  
www.chinaview.cn  2008-08-04 21:23:55 
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    KABUL, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan National Army (ANA) in three operations launched on Sunday in southern Afghanistan's Uruzgan province eliminated 11 suspected Taliban insurgents, said a statement of the Interior Ministry released here on Monday.

    "The ANA launched the operations targeting the anti-government militants in three separate districts of Charchinu, Chura and TrinKot in Uruzgan province," the statement said, "clashes left 11 militants including three commanders dead and five police wounded."

    One car, three motor bikes, three machine guns and two mines were also captured from the militants, it added.

    In another incident, two persons were killed in Afghanistan's eastern Paktia province as a suicide bomber blew himself up Monday morning, provincial governor Mohammad Akram Khapalwak said.

    "It took place inside a mosque in Urgon district when police identified a terrorist and he blew himself up killing two worshipers," Khapalwak told Xinhua
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Czechs plan to deploy more troops in Afghanistan
The Associated Press Monday, August 4, 2008
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PRAGUE, Czech Republic: The Czech Defense Ministry says it plans to increase the number of its troops in Afghanistan by about 200 next year.

Ministry spokesman Jan Pejsek says the number of Czech troops serving in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force could reach some 600 in 2009.

Pejsek said Monday the plan needs full government approval in September or October. Parliament also needs to approve the deployment.

The Czech parliament approved the deployment of up to 415 Czech servicemen in NATO's peacekeeping force in Afghanistan this year.

A separate unit of 100 elite troops should continue to serve next year in Afghanistan with the U.S.-led operation against al-Qaida and Taliban fighters, Pejsek said.
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FACTBOX-Security developments in Afghanistan
Mon Aug 4, 2008
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Aug 4 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Afghanistan reported until 0800 GMT on Monday:

* denotes new or updated items

* HELMAND - Afghan and NATO forces killed 17 insurgents in a joint operation which finished on Sunday in southern Helmand province, the defence ministry said on Monday, adding two Afghan soldiers were wounded.

* PAKTIKA - An explosion at a mosque killed the Imam and another man on Monday in southeastern Paktika, a provincial official said. The cause of the blast was being investigated.

* MAIDAN WARDAK - Insurgents killed an army officer and wounded two more in an ambush in Maidan Wardak, west of Kabul, the defence ministry.

* GHAZNI - Taliban insurgents killed a district police chief and four other policemen and wounded seven in an attack in Zana Khan, Ghazni province on Sunday, a security officer in the province said. A group of men complained to the governor about what it said was the killing of five civilians and arrest of three others in a raid by foreign forces in another area of Ghazni overnight.

BAGHLAN - U.S.-led coalition forces killed several militants and detained one during an operation to target militants in the Tala Wa Barf district of the northern Baghlan province on Sunday, a U.S. military statement said.

PAKTIA - Taliban rebels killed three Afghan police officers and seized their vehicle in the eastern province of Paktia on Sunday, a provincial spokesman said on Monday. (Compiled by Hamid Shalizi; Editing by David Fox)
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Burning poppy crops  not the solution to Afghanistan's poppy crisis: Emerson
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For once I must agree with Emerson. The U.S. likes to tear up or use herbicide to eradicate opium poppies claiming with some justification that sale of opium helps to finance the Taliban.
However, it also helps finance the Karzai government and the warlords that are part of the supposedly democratic government that we are supposed to be protecting.
Some even on the left have the idealistic view that we can help promote a good clean drug free Afghanistan. Right we can help the Yanks yank out all those horrible poppies. Well at least the Conservatives aren't idiotic enough to buy into that vision. This policy of course would be imposed upon the Afghans against their will. That seems not to matter somehow. It is all for their own good.
What such a policy will do will be to recruit more to the Taliban cause and probably even an understanding between the government and the insurgents that they will do everything possible to stop the process. By the way there is no poppy crisis in Afghanistan. The crisis is in the minds of foreigners. Opium poppies for Afghans are a huge cash cow. Destroying the poppy crops would bring a real crisis.
Note the not very subtle criticism of Karzai in this article and note that the U.S. is becoming impatient with him. The real problem with Karzai is that he is not a good enough puppet. He even complains of U.S. bombing that kills civilians. The U.S. is already grooming the next Afghan president Zalmay Khalilzad a faithful servant of the Bush administration.
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RAF helicopter rescue teams to be sent to Afghanistan
Rachel Williams The Guardian, Monday August 4 2008
Article Link

One in five of the RAF's search and rescue helicopter crews are to be cut so they can be sent to help British troops in Afghanistan in an attempt to reduce the number of soldiers killed by roadside bombs.

A significant proportion of the 114 British personnel to die in the country were killed by mines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and suicide bombs directed at servicemen and -women travelling by land. It is also hoped sending extra support to Helmand province, in southern Afghanistan, will relieve the strain on helicopter pilots working there.

The move will see the number of crews available at Britain's six RAF search and rescue stations reduced from five to four, leading to fears that their ability to respond to an emergency anywhere in the UK within an hour will be threatened.

Search and rescue teams answer more than 1,000 call-outs a year to incidents varying from stranded hill walkers to floods such as those in Cornwall, in 2004. They work alongside four coastguard and two Royal Navy teams, meaning nowhere in Britain is more than an hour's flight away, or 90 minutes at night.

An MoD spokesman said: "The RAF search and rescue teams are the most dedicated and professional in the world. They provide at least one committed standby helicopter at six bases throughout the UK able to respond within 15 minutes.
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[MarkOttawa]

Ragtag Taliban Show Tenacity in Afghanistan
NY Times, August 4, by Carlotta Gall
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/04/world/asia/04taliban.html?ref=todayspaper

KABUL, Afghanistan — Six years after being driven from power, the Taliban are demonstrating a resilience and a ferocity that are raising alarm here, in Washington and in other NATO capitals, and engendering a fresh round of soul-searching over how a relatively ragtag insurgency has managed to keep the world’s most powerful armies at bay.

The mounting toll inflicted by the insurgents, including nine American soldiers killed in a single attack last month, has turned Afghanistan into a deadlier battlefield than Iraq and refocused the attention of America’s military commanders and its presidential contenders on the Afghan war.

But the objectives of the war have become increasingly uncertain in a conflict where Taliban leaders say they do not feel the need to control territory, at least for now, or to outfight American and NATO forces to defeat them — only to outlast them in a region that is in any case their home.

The Taliban’s tenacity, military officials and analysts say, reflects their success in maintaining a cohesive leadership since being driven from power in Afghanistan, their ability to attract a continuous stream of recruits and their advantage in having a haven across the border in Pakistan.

While the Taliban enjoy such a sanctuary, they will be very hard to beat, military officials say, and American officials have stepped up pressure on Pakistan in recent weeks to take more action against the Taliban and other militants there. That included a visit last month by a top official of the Central Intelligence Agency who, American officials say, confronted senior Pakistani leaders about ties between the country’s powerful spy service and militants operating in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

Pakistani officials say those ties, which stretch back decades, have been broken. But there is no doubt that the Taliban continue to use Pakistan to train, recruit, regroup and resupply their insurgency.

The advantage of that haven in Pakistan, even beyond the lawless tribal realms, has allowed the Taliban leadership to exercise uninterrupted control of its insurgency through the same clique of mullahs and military commanders who ran Afghanistan as a theocracy and harbored Osama bin Laden until they were driven from power in December 2001...

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

ARTICLES FOUND AUGUST 5

Manmohan, Karzai vow to keep up fight against terror
Times of India, August 5
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Unfazed_by_Kabul_terror_India_announces_fresh_aid_for_Afghanistan/rssarticleshow/3324848.cms

NEW DELHI: Terrorism, as expected, took centrestage in the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai on Monday with both leaders not mincing words in denouncing the menace. Singh, in fact, described the recent bombing outside the Indian embassy in Kabul as an attack on the friendship between India and Afghanistan. While Singh said that the two countries would not allow terrorism to stand in their way, Karzai stated that Afghanistan would back India “resolutely” in fighting the menace of terrorism.

Almost as if to prove the point, Singh also announced a fresh aid of $450 million for Afghanistan saying that the money would be utilized for carrying out ongoing as well as forthcoming projects in the country. However, sources said most of the money was likely to be pumped into technology, education and culture and not infrastructure...

Karzai flew into Delhi on Sunday evening from Colombo where he had gone to attend the Saarc summit. While the two sides agreed with each other on terrorism, there was significantly no announcement of any cooperation between them on defence and security. Experts believe that this is largely because the US is not likely to entertain any such pact as it will give Pakistan, which is still looked upon by the Americans as an ally in fighting terrorism, an opportunity to raise a hue and cry [emphasis added].

Pakistani PM Yousuf Raza Gilani, in fact, said in Colombo that his meeting with Karzai had helped in reducing tension with Afghanistan as also in "dispelling apprehensions and misunderstandings" between the two countries. Gilani also said that he and Singh had expressed the desire to solve all bilateral disputes in their meeting. Clearly, US would not want Pakistan driven up the wall at this juncture. Singh also announced the completion of a crucial infrastructure project in western Afghanistan — the road from Zaranj to Delaram — and said that it would be handed over shortly to the Afghan government. "The road is a symbol of our cooperation with Afghanistan and a tribute to the precious Indian and Afghan lives that were lost in making this project a reality," Singh said.

On his part, Karzai said the two countries had no option but to remain united against terrorism.

"Afghanistan and India indeed share the interests of peace and stability in the two countries, in the region, and in the larger world. India and Afghanistan are facing the challenges of terrorism, of cold-blooded, brutal murderous activity in our two countries. And we recognise that the two countries and the world at large have no option but to be united in fighting the menace of terrorism as it affects us and affects the international community," Karzai said.

Mark
Ottawa

 

[GAP]

Articles found August 5, 2008

Strict security, growing costs impede major military purchase
U.S. limiting exports to Canada over espionage fears, files show
DANIEL LEBLANC From Tuesday's Globe and Mail August 5, 2008 at 3:48 AM EDT
Article Link

OTTAWA — Ottawa is facing an uphill battle to carry out a promised purchase of $17-billion in new military equipment because of stringent U.S. security rules and ballooning costs caused by a series of delays, newly released documents show.

According to Foreign Affairs briefing notes, the government is blaming U.S. security measures that limit the export of military technology to Canada, as American authorities fear some Canadian workers will engage in espionage.

In addition, documents from National Defence show the government will either have to pay an extra $300-million in "overrun cost" to purchase a fleet of 16 Chinook helicopters, or settle for less equipment.

The Harper government announced in 2006 that it was purchasing three new fleets of aircraft, three new ships and hundreds of new trucks for the Canadian Forces. However, only one new fleet of planes - the giant Boeing C-17s - is operational, while another fleet of Hercules C130J cargo planes is on order.
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The Marines from Twentynine Palms, assigned to train the Afghan National Police, have had their seven-month deployment extended by 30 days.
Article Link

The 1,250 Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Regiment, were expected to return home in early November. But Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, at the urging of senior military leaders, has extended their mission.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited with the 2/7 last month at its base in Helmand province, praising the Marines but noting that the training is hampered by rampant corruption among the Afghan police.

The extension of the 2/7 comes a month after a similar decision was made concerning the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit from Camp Lejeune, N.C.

It's no secret that U.S. civilian and military leaders are frustrated with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for not providing more troops for the fight against the resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan.

"Some of our allies do not want to fight, or they impose caveats on where, when and how their forces may be used," Gates wrote recently in a widely distributed memo.

NATO countries, Gates noted, have two million troops -- not counting the U.S.

"Yet we struggle to sustain a deployment of less than 30,000 non-U.S. forces in Afghanistan," Gates wrote in the same memo, "and we are forced to scrounge for a handful of helicopters."

Along with extending the 2/7, Gates also approved sending additional
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Missing Pakistani woman arrested in Afghanistan
Article Link

New York (PTI): A Pakistani woman, who mysteriously disappeared from Karachi five years back, having alleged links with the Al Qaeda, has been arrested on charges of attempted murder and assault of US soldiers and FBI agents working in Afghanistan.

36-year old Aafia Saddiqui, a neuroscientist trained in US, who was arrested here after being brought from Afghanistan last evening, will be produced before a court on Wednesday, South District of New York Attorney Michael J Garcia said. If convicted, she could get prison sentence of 20 years on each of the two charges.

Saddiqui, who studied at the Brandeis University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had disappeared from her house while visiting her parents at Karachi along with her three children, evoking allegations from her family members and human rights group that she was being illegally detained.

American officials, on the other hand alleged that the woman aroused suspicion while she was loitering outside Ghazni Governor's compound in Afghanistan on July 17 this year.
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Collateral damage
Afghan civilian casualties jeopardize Canada's reputation and role
By PETER WORTHINGTON
Article Link
 
Even though everyone knows accidental deaths happen in war (and peace), the deaths of children are especially gruesome.

And so it is with the deaths of two children, ages four and two, killed when Canadian soldiers near Kandahar City fired on a vehicle that was speeding towards them, the driver ignoring gestures to pull over.

From what is known, it's hard to fault the soldiers, who really had no choice, given the history of that part of Afghanistan. Every day life-and-death decisions have to be made against a Taliban enemy that doesn't hesitate to kill Afghan civilians, who are pawns in their holy war to regain power.

Although Afghanistan is a country where killing is common, the deaths of these children will further undermine the already precarious Canadian mission.

On the overall Afghanistan mission, the new reality appears to be that, more and more, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is adopting the role of commander-in-chief -- dabbling in decisions better left to the military on the ground.

Micromanaging has always been a complaint about Harper. It was predictable and perhaps inevitable that he'd be unable to resist second-guessing on Afghanistan.

When Gen. Rick Hillier was chief of defence staff, it often seemed he was at odds with the PM.

Hillier was quick with opinions and assessments, which many in the media (mis)interpreted as Hillier dictating policy, which it wasn't. It was his view, based on knowledge and experienc
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[GAP]

Tensions over drug trade bubble to the surface
Recent meeting at Canadian embassy with impatient U.S. envoy left Afghan politicians feeling bitter and insulted
GRAEME SMITH  August 5, 2008
Article Link

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN -- Long-simmering tensions between the Afghan government and its Western supporters over the opium trade have broken out into angry confrontations behind closed doors recently, including a stormy recent meeting at the Canadian embassy.

Accounts vary about exactly what happened when U.S. Ambassador William Wood sat down with his Canadian counterpart and a gathering of Kandahar's political leaders on July 12, but five sources who attended the session described it as a strong sign of rising U.S. impatience with the local government's stand on drugs.

Afghan politicians also expressed bitterness after the meeting, saying they felt insulted by the U.S. envoy and complaining that an argument over opium smuggling had, ironically, broken down a discussion about the kind of agricultural policy that might encourage farmers to grow legal crops instead of narcotics.

Afghanistan's flourishing opium trade has ranked among the most contentious issues between the Kabul government and its backers in recent years, but the disagreements have rarely surfaced in public. One of the strongest recent statements came from former U.S. counternarcotics official Thomas Schweich, who published an article in The New York Times Magazine accusing President Hamid Karzai of obstructing drug-control efforts and saying that senior government officials are corrupted by opium money. The Afghan President vehemently rejected the claims.
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[GAP]

Articles found August 6, 2008

Afghanistan diaries of a medic
Article Link

Part 1: Getting to Kandahar — the hard way
Posted 8/1/2008 , Updated 8/1/2008 in Afghanistan diaries of a medic
By Dr. Ray Wiss Special to The Star Call me Murphy. Whatever could have gone wrong with this trip, did go wrong. My departing flight from Canada was [...]

  Part 2: Getting used to the routine of war
Posted 8/1/2008 in Afghanistan diaries of a medic
By Dr. Ray Wiss Special to The Star Nov 17: Ramp ceremony A very bad day. By the time you read this, the deaths of Master Corporal Nicholas [...]

Part 3: It’s sad that we can’t treat all Afghans
Posted 8/1/2008 in Afghanistan diaries of a medic
By Dr. Ray Wiss Special to The Star Dec. 1, 2007: A tragic dichotomy I have added up the cost of all the vehicles, the artillery and the [...]

Part 4: Road trips no fun if you’re dodging IEDs
Posted 8/1/2008 in Afghanistan diaries of a medic
By Dr. Ray Wiss Special to The Star Dec. 18, 2007: on the road This was my last day at Forward Operating Base Lynx. Although it was initially planned [...]

Part 5: Leaving the front, but feeling melancholy
Posted 8/1/2008 in Afghanistan diaries of a medic
By Dr. Ray Wiss Special to The Star Jan. 12, 2008: Last day at the FOB So that’s it. My orders just came through. The senior medic I [...]

Part 6: Bringing modern medicine to war-torn Afghanistan
Posted 8/1/2008 in Afghanistan diaries of a medic
By Dr. Ray Wiss Special to The Star Jan. 30, 2008: Emergency department echo — Kandahar In one of the very first entries, I mentioned the physicians here [...]

Part 7: On the way home
Posted 8/5/2008 in Afghanistan diaries of a medic
Feb 3, 2008: Leaving Kandahar Airfield With the schedule for Hercules aircraft leaving Kandahar Airfield being highly variable, I was quite pleased to find out that [...]
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[GAP]

Articles found August 7, 2008

Canadians getting ready to fly Chinooks
Matthew Fisher, Canwest News Service  Published: Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Article Link

FORT RUCKER, Ala. -- The first Canadians slated to fly helicopter combat missions in Afghanistan have been secretly training for duty since last March at an army base in Alabama.

"We are going to save a lot of lives and directly affect combat operations," said Lieutenant-Colonel Roger Gagnon of Hawkesbury, Ont. The officer, who leads a group of pilots and flight engineers training here, spoke for the first time this week about their pending deployment to Kandahar, where they are to fly six CH-47D Chinooks leased from the U.S. military.

Sending Chinooks to Afghanistan meets one of the major recommendations made by the John Manley advisory panel on the Afghan mission and subsequently approved by Parliament.

An official announcement about the Chinook deployment, which is to cost $375-million, and of the dispatch of new unmanned reconnaissance drones to Afghanistan, which was also recommended by the panel, is to be made on Thursday at CFB St. Hubert, near Montreal, by Defence Minister Peter MacKay.

The Chinooks and the drones are part of a dramatic buildup that will at least double Canada's current combat capability in Kandahar by next spring.

Other elements to meet growing threats in Afghanistan's hotly contested southeastern province are expected to include armed Canadian Griffon escort helicopters, which according to sources in Ottawa could be flying in Afghanistan as soon as this fall, and a U.S. infantry battalion, which is expected to be placed under Canadian command by next spring at the latest.
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Ottawa set to announce helicopter, UAV lease for Afghan mission
Article Link

OTTAWA — The Tory government is set to announce the lease of helicopters and unmanned survelliance planes for the Canadian military in Afghanistan.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Public Works Minister Christian Paradis will be in the Montreal area to outline the lease of up to eight Soviet-style Mi-8 helicopters to transport battlefield supplies in Kandahar.

It is an interim measure until the Defence Department completes the $375 million purchase of six American-made CH-47-D Chinook helicopters, which will be able to transport both troops and equipment.

Securing helicopter transport was a principal condition of the Manley commission report last winter and a key caveat of Parliament's extension of the combat mission until 2011.

The Conservative government was given until February 2009 to come up with the helicopters and a flight of unmanned surveillance planes.

The announcement will also include details of a contract, possibly worth $100 million, to lease a flight of uninhabited aerial vehicles - or UAVs - from MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. and Israeli Air Industries Ltd.
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Roadside bombs now less sophisticated, more vexing
By LOLITA C. BALDOR
Article Link

WASHINGTON (AP) — An Army official says roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan have gotten less sophisticated and as a result harder for troops to find or avoid.

And while the number of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, found and troops injured or killed have plummeted in Iraq, they spiked recently in Afghanistan. That trend reflects the escalating combat in Afghanistan.

The head of the military's counter-IED organization — Army Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz — says that in late spring, the number of IED incidents peaked at about 200 a month in Afghanistan.
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Bin Laden's driver guilty in first war on terror trial
07 August 2008 By Mike Mela
Article Link

OSAMA bin Laden's former driver has been convicted of supporting terrorism in the first war crimes trial at Guantanamo Bay.
A Pentagon-selected military jury deliberated for about eight hours over three days before returning the verdict yesterday.

Salim Hamdan held his head in his hands and wept when a navy captain on the jury read the decision. Hamdan, who is from Yemen, faces life behind bars.
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General Barry McCaffery's Report On Afghanistan - "2009 Will Be The Year of Decision
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Article Link

Gen Barry McCaffery (ret) is currently serving as adjunct Professor of International Relations at West Point. He has previously issued overviews of the war in Iraq at various critical junctures that proved to be highly accurate. He has now visited Afghanistan and issued a report on the situation in that country, including therein his assessment that the next year will be the most critical period of this war.
__________________________________________________________

This from Gen. McCaffery:

4. THE BOTTOM LINE: SIX ASSERTIONS.

 

[MarkOttawa]

French troops deployed to southern Afghanistan
AP, August 7
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080807.wfranceafghan0807/BNStory/Afghanistan/home

Hundreds of French troops have been deployed to train and mentor Afghan security forces in a key southern province wracked by the Taliban-led insurgency, NATO said Thursday. Eight Taliban militants were also killed in the south, authorities said.

The troops travelled in 94 vehicles from Kandahar to Uruzgan province Wednesday in what was one of the largest ground military convoys in southern Afghanistan in years, the military alliance said in a statement.

NATO did not provide the exact number of troops deployed, and officials would not specify whether they were being relocated from other areas in Afghanistan or were new to the country.

But France has about 1,500 troops in Afghanistan, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy has pledged to send 700 more soldiers by the end of the year to help NATO-led forces...

Troops that conduct training of the Afghan forces form the core of an alliance strategy that envisages embedding small teams of foreign soldiers with Afghan troops.

Southern Afghanistan remains the centre of the Taliban-led insurgency, and alliance commanders have complained over the years that not all NATO nations are ready to join the fight against the resurgent Taliban...

There is a shortfall of about 2,300 foreign troops to meet the training needs, said Lt. Col. Christian Kubik, a spokesman for the U.S. troops who train Afghan police and soldiers.

“If we increase the pace of training we are going to need more,” Lt. Col. Kubik said.

The Afghan National Army is scheduled to reach a strength of 70,000 soldiers by the end of this year, with an ultimate goal of 80,000 soldiers. Those numbers will likely go up to 120,000 by 2011, according to Afghan and U.S. officials [emphasis added]...

Call to extend Dutch Uruzgan mission
Radio Nederlands, July 29
http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/region/netherlands/080729-dutch-uruzgan-mission

The issue of Dutch deployment as part of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan is in the news once again. NATO's outgoing Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan, Maurits Jochems, expects the Afghan government and NATO members will ask the Netherlands to extend its mission in Afghanistan beyond 2010. He says the Afghan army will need more time before it can operate without foreign military assistance.

Speaking unofficially, Mr Jochems described the build-up of the Afghan army as a success story. He says it has increased in strength from 7,000 troops several years ago to more than 50,000 today. However, he does not expect it to be operating throughout the country before 2012, when there will be an estimated 122,000 Afghan troops available [emphasis added]. Even then, he believes NATO air support will still be needed. While praising the bravery of ordinary Afghan soldiers, he did have some criticism of the army's organisation and leadership.

Opposition MP criticises remarks
Dutch opposition MP Hans van Baalen has criticised Mr Jochems' remarks. He argues that

"parliament agreed to the extension on condition that deployment would end in 2010. At that date, Dutch soldiers must be withdrawn".

He is urging the Dutch government to send NATO an unequivocal message to this effect.

The extension of the mission from the original pullout date of August 2008 was sold to the Dutch people mainly on the strength of the reconstruction work to be achieved as part of deployment. In late 2007, opinion polls were already indicating that a majority of people in the Netherlands no longer supported the deployment of Dutch soldiers in Afghanistan. Surprisingly, it was the lack of success of the mission, rather than the 16 Dutch soldiers who have died in Afghanistan, which appeared to be the deciding factor in turning public opinion against deployment.

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

Afghanistan: strategies and shifts
Conference of Defence Associations round-up, August 7
http://www.cdaforumcad.ca/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1218129199

Mark
Ottawa

 

[GAP]

NATO aircraft crashes in E. Afghanistan 
www.chinaview.cn  2008-08-07 18:18:22
Article Link

    KABUL, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- An aircraft belonging to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) crashed Thursday in eastern Afghan province of Paktika, an ISAF statement released here said.

    "The aircraft, a Shadow reconnaissance vehicle, was unarmed and the wreckage has been located," the statement said.

    "It landed on open ground without making contact with people or property," it said, "The cause of the crash is under investigation."

    Neither Taliban nor independent sources were available to make comment.

    The eastern frontier Afghan provinces adjoining Pakistan have witnessed the surge of Taliban attacks on international and Afghan troops during past weeks when the anti-government militants continue to demonstrate their strength through suicide and roadside bombings.
More on link

 

[GAP]

Articles found August 8, 2008

MDA awarded Afghanistan spy plane contract
Gordon Hamilton, Vancouver Sun Published: Friday, August 08, 2008
Article Link

Richmond-based MacDonald Detwiler and Associates was awarded a contract Thursday to provide unmanned surveillance aircraft for Canadian troops fighting in Afghanistan.

The contract, $95 million for two years with an option to extend it for a third year for an additional $35 million, was one of a number of contracts announced Thursday as part of Ottawa's commitment to strengthen Canadian forces.

The spy aircraft are designed to fly 10,000 metres above the areas where Canadian soldiers are operating, well out of the range of ground fire, and provide military intelligence to field commanders on the ground.

MDA's main role, besides providing the aircraft, is to operate them and provide the data they collect to the soldiers. The company is providing a complete package, including services, to the military, David Hargreaves, a vice-president within MDA's Information Systems group, said.

"The purpose is surveillance," Hargreaves said. "Whatever operation they happen to be doing, by having this aircraft above this operation, they can essentially monitor everything in the area. The data is in real time so the commanders at the front line will be able to see a much better view of the whole area around them."

Hargreaves said MDA is to provide a number of the sophisticated spy aircraft, operate and service them in Afghanistan by February 2009. The unmanned aerial vehicles, called UAVs, are being built by Israel Aerospace Industries through a partnership with MDA.
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Volatile Zhari district to see more development work along with soldiering
Article Link

ZHARI DISTRICT, Afghanistan — Canada is boosting its development and diplomacy efforts in what is perhaps Kandahar province's most volatile district.

A new Joint District Co-ordination Centre in Zhari district will soon be staffed by a member of the Canadian-led Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team.

"We have people coming out here on a periodic basis but starting late August, early September, we'll have a political and development officer out here," said Elissa Golberg, Canada's top civilian official in the area.

Goldberg was at Thursday's official opening of the centre, which has been operating informally for about six months.

There are currently two Canadian civilian police officers mentoring Zhari's Afghan police chief at the centre, she said.

The centre also serves as a 911 call centre, not altogether unlike the emergency dispatch system familiar to Canadians. It gets as many as 15 calls a week from local citizens seeking to warn troops about suspected improvised explosive devices.

The centre has been primarily staffed by members of the Canadian army's Operational Mentor and Liaison Team which works with Afghan soldiers.

In fact, because of the lack of security in Zhari, much of the development work that has been going on there has been delivered by Canadian Forces Civilian-Military Co-operation teams, or CIMIC.

Few, if any, non-governmental organizations have been willing to work in the area.
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Seven policemen, 24 Taliban killed in Afghanistan
7 Aug 2008, 2208 hrs IST,AGENCIES Article Link

KABUL: Seven Afghan policemen and 24 Taliban fighters were killed in a series of clashes in Afghanistan, officials said on Thursday.

Seven police officers were killed when Taliban attacked their post in Safian village in Lashkargah, the capital of the southern Helmand province, on Wednesday night, Daoud Ahmadi, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said.

The spokesman added that they suspected a policeman, who went missing after the attack, to have had connections with Taliban militants as the officers died without showing any signs of resistance.

Ten Taliban fighters were killed on Wednesday in the Marja district of Helmand during an operation by Afghan security forces, backed by international troops.

Afghan security forces also killed eight Taliban rebels and wounded seven in an operation in the Zherai district of the southern Kandahar province on Wednesday, the interior ministry said in a statement.
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Is the Afghanistan-Pakistan Border Becoming a Free-Fire Zone?
Richard Weitz  07 Aug 2008 World Politics Review Exclusive
Article Link

In recent months, Pakistan's new leaders have been insisting that U.S. forces were not conducting covert operations against al-Qaeda and Taliban militants inside Pakistan and that their government would never allow such missions. They have insisted that Pakistani regular troops and paramilitary forces could adequately deal with the insurgents and any high-value terrorist targets.

According to a variety of sources, however, U.S. military forces, though not permanently based in Pakistan, continue to conduct military attacks from Afghanistan against al-Qaeda and Taliban targets in Pakistan's loosely governed northwestern territories.

On July 9, U.S. Gen. David D. McKiernan, the commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, said that American and Afghan forces deployed along the Afghan-Pakistani frontier had come under increasing mortar and rocket attacks from neighboring Pakistan. The general presumed this was because they thought their being on Pakistani territory gave them some kind of sanctuary. However, McKiernan argued they were mistaken because "we do return those fires."
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More troops may be sent to Afghanistan, hints Des Browne
More troops may be sent to Afghanistan to help fight the Taliban, the Defence Secretary has hinted.
By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent 08 Aug 2008
Article Link

Military chiefs have been in discussion to almost double troop numbers in Afghanistan, the Daily Telegraph understands. Senior military officers have held preliminary talks about troop strenght and believe increasing numbers up to approximately 14,000 from the current 8,200 may be necessary to defeat the Taliban.

During a trip to the frontline in Helmand province yesterday Des Browne said he already agreed on three occasions to military requests for increases. Mr Browne, who is the first senior politician to visit the volatile front line in Sangin town where 10 British troops have been killed since June, said British forces were making progress in Afghanistan, but acknowledged it had come at a "high price".

He said: "The force level that we have in Afghanistan is one that was placed there on advice to do the job that we want it to do.

"And I have, twice or three times now, increased that force level. I am willing to do that if that's the military advice."

He denied that the force in Iraq would be reduced in order to release numbers for Afghanistan. "We are not doing that to release additional troops to Afghanistan," he told BBC Radio 4.
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Soldiers wounded as Canada launches new facility in Afghanistan
Last Updated: Thursday, August 7, 2008
Article Link

A firefight in southern Kandahar left six Canadian soldiers with minor injuries on Friday.

The battle between soldiers and insurgents erupted in Zhari district west of Kandahar city. Local fighters attacked the Canadian soldiers after the vehicle they were riding in struck an improvised explosive device, forcing the soldiers on to the road.

A helicopter transported the injured to a hospital at Kandahar Airfield, where the soldiers were treated for minor injuries and released.

The skirmish occurred the same day Canada launched a new Joint District Co-ordination Centre in Zhari district, a multi-purpose facility meant to connect coalition troops, Afghan security forces and local citizens.

The battle between Canadian troops and insurgents could be heard in the distance during the official opening for the centre, which has been operating for about six months. Two Canadian civilian police officers are already mentoring Zhari's Afghan police chief there, according to Canada's top civilian official in Kandahar, Elissa Golberg.

"We have people coming out here on a periodic basis but starting late August, early September, we'll have a political and development officer out here," Golberg said.

While members of the Canadian army will work onsite with Afghan soldiers, the facility also serves as a 911 call centre similar to those operating in Canada. An interpreter will relay messages called in by local residents to Canadian troops, who will then send Afghan or coalition forces to investigate.
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Canadian troops help net drugs, weapons in operation in southern Afghanistan
Article Link

Zhari District, Afghanistan — Canadian military officials say troops have seized a large quantity of weapons, bomb-making materials and drugs during an ongoing operation in Maywand District, west of Kandahar City.

The joint operation, which involved Afghan forces as well as U.S. and British troops, is aimed at disrupting insurgent activity. Capt. Chris Quinlan says it was also an opportunity to bridge ties with local elders in an underserviced area of the province.

Maj. Fraser Auld adds the insurgents were taken by surprise by the sweep.

Officials say no insurgents were captured during the operation.
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Coalition troops kill women, child
Article Link

US-led coalition troops "inadvertently" killed four women and a child in a gun battle in central Afghanistan that also left several militants dead, the force said today.

Troops were "threatened'' by militants during an operation yesterday in Ghazni province aimed at a Taliban militant alleged to be coordinating foreign rebels in Afghanistan, it said in a statement.

"As coalition forces approached a compound, they were threatened by several armed militants.

"The force responded with small-arms fire, killing the militants and inadvertently killing four women and a child located with them,'' it said.

Several alleged militants were killed and three detained, the coalition said.

"The coalition regrets the death of these non-combatants,'' spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Rumi Nielson-Green said in the statement.

"We are planning to conduct a full and thorough investigation.''

There has been a series of incidents in the past weeks in which civilians have been killed in international military action against Taliban and other insurgents trying to bring down the Western-backed government.
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[GAP]

Articles found July 9, 2008

Canadian Soldier Killed in Afghanistan
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, Aug 09, 2008
Article Link

A Canadian soldier died of his injuries following an engagement involving coalition forces, insurgents and security personnel from a civilian convoy in the Zharey District around 9 a.m. (Kandahar time) today. An investigation is being conducted to determine the details surrounding this incident and further information will be made public as it becomes available.
The fallen soldier is Master Corporal Joshua Brian Roberts of the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, based in Shilo, Manitoba.
First aid was administered to MCpl Roberts immediately following the incident. He was evacuated by helicopter to Kandahar Air Field's Role 3 Multi-National Medical Facility, but sadly was pronounced dead upon arrival.
All members of Task Force Kandahar are thinking of the family and friends of our fallen comrade during this time of sorrow. The dedication and sacrifice of soldiers like MCpl Roberts are helping to make a difference in the lives of countless Afghan citizens.
We will continue with our mission as we remember the life of MCpl Roberts. We remain committed to improving security and stability in Kandahar Province and working together with local Afghans to achieve peace and prosperity for their country.
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British commanders call for more troops to stave off Taliban victory
Michael Smith August 10, 2008
Article Link

Senior British commanders are to warn ministers that unless thousands more troops are sent to Afghanistan the Taliban will win back control of the country.

They are recommending a rapid reduction in the 4,000 troops in Iraq so that more can go to Afghanistan. American and British commanders in Afghanistan want an Iraq-style surge “within months” to fend off a Taliban victory before next year’s presidential election there.

One senior officer said the Taliban were now operating in areas where they had not been since the allied invasion in 2001.

“Unless the West commits serious numbers of extra troops soon, we are looking at a Taliban victory,” another officer said.
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US to integrate command of its forces in Afstan, assist major increase in Afghan Army size
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Article Link

Sectretary of Defense Gates is making some decisions. But no significant US troop increase until next year--so when will that American battalion be deployed to Kandahar? Will it still come from US forces in the east as was originally surmised?

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will endorse a $20 billion plan to substantially increase the size of Afghanistan’s army and will also restructure the military command of American and NATO forces in response to the growing Taliban threat, senior Pentagon and military officials said Thursday.

Taken together, the two decisions are an acknowledgment of shortcomings that continue to hinder NATO- and American-led operations in Afghanistan. With the war in Iraq still an obstacle to any immediate American troop increase in Afghanistan, the plan was described by officials as an attempt to increase allied and Afghan capabilities in advance of deploying the additional American brigades that Mr. Gates and his commanders agree are necessary.

The additional American troops are unlikely to be available until next year [emphasis added].

Under a plan initially proposed by the Afghan government and now endorsed by Mr. Gates, the Afghan National Army will nearly double in size over the next five years, to more than 120,000 active-duty troops.

Such a large increase would not be possible without American funds, which will pay for trainers and for equipment, food and housing for Afghan forces. But Pentagon officials said that Mr. Gates would seek contributions from allies to help
underwrite the $20 billion cost over five years.
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Afghanistan's army takes shape
Today's military looks very different from the ragged force of three years ago
The Economist
Article Link

"There is zero trust in the government, but the Afghan National Army is our only hope. They behave well with the people and are stronger than the Taliban." That was the pithy assessment of one tribal elder trudging back towards Arghandab district near Kandahar, the day after the largest operation so far by the fledgling Afghan army. It had taken just 24 hours from the first appearance of Taliban fighters for over 1,000 Afghan troops to deploy and drive them out of Arghandab.

After a slow start the Afghan National Army (ANA) is at last emerging as a credible fighting force. In 2007 $7.4 billion went into training and equipping it and the police. Every week now, a "kandak" (a 650-man battalion) finishes training and takes to the field. The army will reach its initial target of 80,000 early next year. On Aug. 5 the first formal transfer of authority to Afghan forces took place, for the Kabul area.

The army looks very different from the ragged force of three years ago, when units sent to the south were losing 30 per cent of their men through desertion. Desertion rates in Helmand are now only seven per cent; about half of all soldiers re-enlist. They are better equipped, too, with body armour, M-16 assault rifles and the latest model of Humvee armoured vehicle.
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Henderson conquers military training
'God almighty. Surely they don't expect us to descend from that on ropes?'
Gord Henderson, The Windsor Star Published: Friday, August 08, 2008
Article Link

CAMP PETAWAWA - Watching young men and women preparing to risk their lives in a battle zone shouldn't be half this much fun.

That guilty thought crossed my mind as I whooped like an adrenaline-crazed 10-year-old after leaping into thin air from a paratroop training tower and then rocketing, Superman style, across a football-sized field while dangling from a cable line.

For several dozen business and professional people (and a handful of media) flown in from cities across Ontario, including Windsor, the whirlwind "Executrek" to the sprawling army base in the rolling, pine-clad hills of the upper Ottawa Valley was a lark, a Walter Mitty adventure and a welcome escape from the confines of the office.
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Keeping in touch
Gloria Galloway, August 8, 2008 at 4:06 PM EDT Article Link

One of the best things that has happened to soldiers of any stripe post the Second World War  is the Internet.

My sleeping tent is directly across a gravel lane from what is known in these parts as Old Canada House (and yes there is a New Canada House on the other side of this sprawling air force base.)

Old Canada House, like its larger and less quaint successor, is a place where soldiers can gather any time of day, but most particularly in the pleasant warmth of the Afghanistan evening. They can watch movies together or sit around picnic tables drinking near beer.

But many of them, perhaps even a majority, sit alone with their laptops.
The military has installed a WIFI zone that extends for about a hundred metres in and around the Canadian sleeping tents.

That means soldiers can connect at Old Canada House or even while sitting on the lawn chairs outside their canvas living quarters.

They read their Facebook pages and catch up on e-mails from loved ones. They can share pictures with folks back home. And they can chat in real time with their wives, husbands, kids and parents.

I wandered by Old Canada House tonight (after spraying some an air freshener, which I purchased at the American general store, on the moldy carpets in my own tent) and was mildly heartened that these Canadians who must spend six months away from their families have this means of keeping in touch.

It must make the separation just a little easier to bear.
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[geo]

Taliban’s ideology not selling well in tribal belt along border, says survey

The Peninsula - World News
Web posted at: 8/10/2008
Source: Internews
ISLAMABAD

A majority of the people in Pakistan’s turbulent seven tribal areas bordering Afghanistan support girls’ education and are against the ideas and actions of Taliban as well as of the military, shows a survey released here.

Contrary to the general perception, the non-scientific survey by the Islamabad-based Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) has found that 95 percent of the tribal people are for female education.

It was non-scientific in the sense that tribal traditions limited the number of the respondents in the survey to a little over 1,000 in a population of over three million of Fata.

A similar survey commissioned by the British High Commission in Pakistan in April had come to the same conclusions that the perception that the tribal society was falling to Taliban was an exaggeration.

Ninety-two percent of the respondents believed that the Taliban leaders, including Maulana Fazlullah of Swat, did not represent true Islam. Only six percent thought that the Taliban were trying to enforce Sharia in the country.

However, 94 percent of the tribesmen said the Taliban’s way was not the right way and the same percentage disapproved of the use of arms by them in their cause. While 86 percent considered the Taliban activities damaging to Pakistan, 11 percent believed they were no threat to the country’s interests.

Similarly 86 percent of the respondents disapproved of the Taliban smashing up CD shops against 13 percent who supported the action.

While releasing the survey Farrukh Saleem, Executive Director of the CRSS, told report era that the survey was conducted at a time when the appointment of Gen Petraeus as head of the US Central Command (Centcom) signaled a major shift in the US policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan. It symbolised that America’s focus was shifting from Iraq to Afghanistan.

Seventy-four percent replied that there were no foreigners in the tribal areas at that time, while 21 percent said that there were indeed foreigners militants present in the area.

In order to confirm the presence of foreign militants in South Waziristan, he said, the respondents were asked whether the foreigners present in the tribal areas paid good rents to local people for occupying their houses.

Half of the respondents believed they were not paying good rents while 34 percent thought it was good rent. In North Waziristan, the opinion was equally divided -45 percent on rents being good or not good.



Pakistan troops withdraw from Taliban stronghold

After days of heavy fighting, and with eight soldiers dead, the army stops the campaign in Bajaur. Fighting also erupts in nearby North-West Frontier Province.

LA Times - World News
By Zulfiqar Ali and Laura King, Special to The Times
August 10, 2008
PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN

Pakistani security forces pulled out of a Taliban stronghold near the border with Afghanistan after three days of fierce fighting that left at least eight troops dead and dozens missing, local and military officials said Saturday.

The confrontation came against a backdrop of renewed political turmoil in Pakistan. The government announced Thursday that it would seek to impeach President Pervez Musharraf, who first came to power in a military coup. Parliament is scheduled to convene Monday, but the impeachment process against Musharraf, a longtime U.S. ally, could take weeks.

The fighting in the tribal region of Bajaur was the most serious combat of its kind in the area, with government forces using tanks, fighter jets and attack helicopters to try to subdue the militants. Local sources said the insurgents had captured at least two armored vehicles and large caches of ammunition.

The confrontation took place outside Khar, the main regional town in the Bajaur region. Witnesses said the area was littered with bodies and burned vehicles.

Pakistani authorities said they believed the militants had suffered heavy casualties, but did not provide an estimate.

A spokesman for Pakistan's Taliban movement said that as many as 100 Pakistani paramilitary troops had been killed and about three dozen captured. Pakistani officials acknowledged that 55 troops were missing.

The fighting erupted four days ago when security forces moved into the area. At one point, about 200 soldiers were surrounded by the militants and cut off from their supply lines.

At the same time, insurgents in the Swat Valley, about 100 miles north of the capital, Islamabad, targeted security forces in an adjacent district. Swat lies outside the tribal areas, in North-West Frontier Province, but has seen on-and-off fighting for months, despite a truce in May between the government and a local militant commander.

Insurgents stormed a police post late Friday in the Buner district, bordering Swat, and killed eight police officers. Dozens of militants reportedly took part in the attack, some approaching the police post disguised as women in all-enveloping burkas.



UK denies money to wounded Afghans

MoD condemned over its 'scandalous' failure to compensate innocent casualties of air strikes

Guardian Unlimited - UK News
Mark Townsend
The Observer
Sunday August 10 2008

Defence officials are refusing to compensate the families of hundreds of Afghans killed, wounded or left homeless in fighting involving British troops.

Despite pledges to reduce collateral damage in Afghanistan, the number of legal claims lodged by Afghan civilians against the British government has grown more than five-fold during the past 12 months to almost 1,300, suggesting a dramatic increase in the number of innocent victims.

Yet of the 1,289 claims filed, just 397 have been settled, new government figures reveal. In addition, less than £150,000 in compensation has been paid to civilians injured or killed during fighting involving British soldiers in Helmand province. The UK government is currently spending almost £400,000 a day on military operations in the country.

Last night, human rights groups condemned the stance of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on compensating innocent victims as 'scandalous', claiming the majority of alleged victims are being denied payments.

The Observer has also learnt that Britain is refusing to support an international compensation scheme set up to help Afghan civilians caught up in the conflict.

Sarah Holewinski, of the international monitoring group Human Rights Watch (HRW), said: 'The UK has no systematic way of compensating civilians when they're harmed. This means some Afghans get help while others don't. The calculus behind who gets paid and who doesn't is known only to the MoD and the commanders on the ground.

'For all the money being put into military operations, it's scandalous they are not offering some of those affected even a modicum of support.'

The death toll of Afghan civilians remains one of the most contentious aspects of the conflict. The Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, on whose mandate 8,000 British troops are currently fighting the Taliban, has said that no civilian casualty is acceptable. Yet a new report compiled by a former senior Pentagon official will this week reveal a sharp upsurge in Afghan civilian casualties over the past two months.

The HRW report reveals new casualty data based on military records, hospital admissions and on-the-ground testimonies. It says that civilian deaths from US- or Nato-led operations almost doubled during last year to at least 434, with another 200 killed in the crossfire during fighting between Taliban fighters and international forces.

So far this year, at least 173 innocent Afghans have been killed in Nato and US operations. Of these, 119 died during US air strikes, a number involving British troops, and 54 from fighting on the ground. Civilian casualties for the whole of 2006 were 230.

'We have huge concerns, especially over the number of casualties from air strikes,' said Marc Garlasco, a former air strike commander for the Pentagon who left after becoming disillusioned with the number of innocent victims in Afghanistan and who is the author of this week's HRW report. He said the casualty figures must be viewed as extremely conservative with the total representing the 'bare minimum'.

The figures will be of deep concern to the MoD because British troops in Helmand routinely call in US air strikes when they come under fire. They will also pose fresh questions for Nato, under whose banner the British are fighting in southern Afghanistan. Last year, the international security body promised to review military tactics in the country following warnings from Afghan politicians that the number of civilian deaths risked provoking a major backlash.

Contained in the report are internal US Air Force figures that reveal that 300 tons of bombs were dropped on Afghanistan during June and July alone - the same as the amount dropped on the country during the whole of 2006.

The growing frequency of US air strikes coincides with a spate of recent reports detailing civilian casualties, including a US air strike in Nangarhar province last month that killed 47 guests attending a wedding party.

Meanwhile, human rights groups have condemned support for Nato's humanitarian relief fund, created in 2006 to help civilians affected by the fighting.

So far, just nine countries out of 26, including Estonia, Iceland and the US, have voluntarily contributed funds.

In addition, The Observer has learnt that Britain is refusing to donate funds to a separate US humanitarian aid programme that provides long-term assistance for civilians caught up in the fighting. 'We've tried to get the UK to donate to this program; again, a no-go,' said Holewinski.

According to the HRW report, 837 innocent Afghans have been killed by Nato- or US-led operations since 2006. Of these, 556 were killed by US air strikes, many during American counter-terrorism operations, which have a less rigid set of rules of engagement compared to Nato operations.

However, analysts point to the difficulties in distinguishing civilians from combatants, the use of human shields by the Taliban and also the fact that the insurgency has killed more than twice as many civilians as the international forces have.

An MoD spokesman said: 'The UK provides compensation to individuals for events in which UK troops are involved. The UK military carry out detailed planning and use precision weapons when targeting enemy strongholds. Sadly, even with all these measures, there is still a risk of civilian casualties: particularly given Taliban preference for basing themselves in public buildings.'

Concern also surrounds the size of payments given by the British to Afghan civilian victims, with relatively modest payments calculated on the local cost of living. Last month, the MoD paid almost £3m to an Iraqi family for the death of a civilian in custody in Basra five years ago.

 

[GAP]

Articles found August 11, 2008

Militants in Pakistan behead 2 accused spies
By HABIB KHAN
Article Link

KHAR, Pakistan (AP) — Militants beheaded two men in a Pakistani tribal area near the border with Afghanistan, accusing them of spying for the U.S. and Pakistan, a witness said Monday.

The bodies of the two men were found early Monday about 12 miles north of Khar, the main town in the Bajur tribal area, said Fawad Khan, an area resident.

Khan said a note found near the bodies accused the men of spying.

Bajur is the focus of an ongoing paramilitary offensive that officials say has killed at least 100 militants and nine troops.

Militants in the tribal regions have routinely killed people they accuse of spying for the U.S. and Pakistan. The U.S. has urged Pakistan to crack down on insurgents in the tribal areas, which are considered havens for militants who stage attacks in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, in Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province, one man was killed and another was wounded by a bomb near the gate of a private clinic, said Khurshid Khan, a city police officer.

Khan said the men were suspected of planting the bomb when it went off Monday, but it was unclear why they may have been targeting the facility.
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US coalition kills 25 militants, 8 Afghan hostages
By RAHIM FAIEZ – 2 hours ago
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A series of clashes and an airstrike in southern Afghanistan killed 25 militants and eight civilians held hostage by insurgents, the U.S.-led coalition said in a statement Monday.

Militants ambushed the coalition and Afghan troops along a road in the southern province of Uruzgan on Sunday, triggering gunbattles during which militants moved into a compound and took 11 civilians hostage, the statement said.

"Coalition troops called in close-air support to engage the militants hiding in the structure. They did not have knowledge of noncombatants in the buildings at that time," the coalition statement said.

As a result, eight civilians were killed and three were wounded, the coalition said. The wounded civilians were taken to a coalition base for treatment.

U.S. 1st Lt. Nathan Perry, a coalition spokesman, said three civilian hostages survived the airstrike in Khas Uruzgan district, including an infant, a man in his 40s and a woman in her 20s.

Juma Gul Himat, the provincial police chief, said six civilians — one child and five men — were killed and three others were wounded in the strike. He could not immediately explain why the coalition said eight civilians were killed.
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Military probes soldier's death as colleagues say farewell
GLORIA GALLOWAY AND KATHERINE O'NEILL From Monday's Globe and Mail August 11, 2008 at 4:24 AM EDT
Article Link

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN, and EDMONTON — The head of the military task force in Afghanistan says private security companies are essential to the international fight against the Taliban, even as the body of an infantryman who may have been killed by a mercenary guard is being flown back to Canada.

Master Corporal Josh Roberts, of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Battle Group based in Shilo, Man., and a man described by his commander as "a soldier's soldier," was fatally wounded during a firefight in the perilous Zhari district west of Kandahar city Saturday morning.

His fiancée, Lise Malenfant of Prince Albert, Sask., is eight months pregnant with a son they had decided to name Meyer.

MCpl. Roberts was gunned down in the turret of his light armoured vehicle after his battle group engaged in an early-morning firefight with the Taliban in a farming area off a main road in the Zhari district. A civilian convoy that was escorted by the private security company passed along the road at about the same time.
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Taliban commander captured in Afghanistan
Sunday, 10 August 2008 11:15
Article Link

Australian soldiers have captured a key Taliban commander in southern Afghanistan.

The Defence Department said that elite Australian troops in Uruzgan had last week taken in Mullah Bari Ghul.

They believe he is a central figure in extremist attacks in the region

Defence chiefs said Mullah Bari Ghul organised money, equipment and foreign fighters for extremist operations in Uruzgan and acted as shadow governor authorising attacks across the region.

Brigadier Brian Dawson said Mullah Bari Ghul was also ultimately responsible for the 13 July suicide bomber attack in the Deh Rawood bazaar that killed 21 Afghans and injured a further 12.

Brigadier Dawson said the capture of Bari Ghul, who was also involved in coordinating the actions of individual insurgency cells, would likely have an immediate impact on militant activity in the region.
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Afghanistan expects road link with China 
www.chinaview.cn  2008-08-10 19:07:51 
  Article Link

    KABUL, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Sunday that Afghanistan is interested in building a road in Wakhanto connect with China.

    Karzai said this after returning home from Beijing.

    Karzai, who attended the inaugural ceremony of Olympic Games on Aug. 8 in Beijing, added that he exchanged views with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao during his visit and briefed him about the willingness of Afghans on constructing the road.

    Wakhan corridor in the mountainous Pamir area connects Afghanistan's northeastern Badakhshan province to China's Xingjian Uygur Autonomous Region.

    Linking Afghanistan with China through road in Wakhan would enhance trade and economic activities in the region, the President said.
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Canadian medics in Zhari treat Afghans involved in roadside blast
Article Link

ZHARI DISTRICT, Afghanistan — Three migrant grape pickers were killed and five injured when their vehicle drove over an improvised explosive device.

The incident happened early Sunday in the volatile Zhari district of Kandahar province, where Canadian troops are based.

The survivors made their way to a nearby Canadian forward operating base, where medics treated and stabilized them.

Two were taken to the Mirwais civilian hospital in Kandahar city while three others were treated at the base.

The men, in their 20s, suffered injuries including a broken jaw and head wounds. They later airlifted to a military hospital.

Canadian medics at the base find themselves treating Afghans involved in everything from bomb blasts to car accidents on a weekly basis.
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Pakistani forces bomb houses near Afghan border
By HABIB KHAN –
Article Link

KHAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani forces bombed dozens of houses in a tribal region near the Afghan border Sunday, officials and witnesses said, in a military offensive that comes amid U.S. pressure for Pakistan to crack down on militants.

Days of clashes have reportedly killed at least 100 insurgents and nine paramilitary troops in the area, an insurgent stronghold considered a possible hiding place for al-Qaida leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri.

Details have been scarce about the military offensive in Bajur.

Sardar Khan, a local police official, said two spells of aerial bombing destroyed about 40 houses in several villages. He said bombs also struck a school occupied by Taliban fighters in Loi Sam, a village that has been a key focus of the fighting.

Two area residents, Sher Zamin and Attaullah Khan, said army planes and helicopters dropped bombs and shells, apparently on suspected Taliban positions.

Meanwhile, an Associated Press reporter in Khar, the main town in Bajur, saw Taliban militants patrolling and staking out positions on roads with rocket launchers, heavy machine guns and, in some places, anti-aircraft guns.
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[GAP]

Australian soldiers injured in Afghanistan
Article Link

Two Australian soldiers have been injured in Afghanistan after their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in the Oruzgan Province.

The Defence Department says one of the officers was seriously injured.

It says the both are getting specialist medical care after problems with the first attempt at flying them out of the region.

The first helicopter was damaged on landing and a third soldier on board suffered slight injuries.

A second medical helicopter couldn't take off due to bad weather, but a third helicopter successfully took the men to a nearby medical centre.
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Rape allegations force Afghan gov't crackdown
By HEIDI VOGT – 1 hour ago
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Ali Khan braved death threats and public scorn to out the powerful men he accuses of gang-raping his 12-year-old niece.

Now he says it is up to Afghanistan's president to prove he can prosecute her assailants and their warlord protectors in the country's north, where President Hamid Karzai's government holds little sway.

Rape — a crime long hidden in Afghanistan by victims fearing a life of scorn — is getting a public airing in this conservative Islamic country. In recent weeks, several outraged families have appeared on nightly news shows, demanding justice while sharing heartbreaking stories of sexual assaults on teenage daughters.

Government officials say at least five rapes have been reported in the past four months, though they and women's rights groups say any reported statistics likely fall far short of reality.

The Interior Ministry has announced a crackdown on sexual assault, one of the first times the government has acknowledged a problem long dealt with as privately as possible. On Sunday, President Hamid Karzai called for rapists to face "the country's most severe punishment."

After families appeared on TV, Karzai met with Khan and another man whose daughter was raped in Sari Pul. The president promised punishment as he "hugged my niece and said she was also his daughter and cried," Khan said.

But it could prove a formidable task for Karzai, whose government has little influence outside the capital. In northern provinces like Sari Pul, warlords command private armies and well-connected criminals regularly bribe their way out of prison.
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[The Bread Guy]

Shared with the usual disclaimer - highlights are mine.....

Death of Canadian soldier highlights chaotic security situation in southern Afghanistan
Drew Brown , Stars and Stripes, 11 Aug 08
Article link

MAIWAND, Afghanistan —The shooting death of a Canadian soldier this weekend provides a grim example of how chaotic the security situation can often be in southern Afghanistan.

The soldier was mortally wounded Saturday morning in Kandahar province when Afghan private security guards opened fire indiscriminately after Taliban insurgents attacked a nearby group of Canadian troops, according to coalition military officers.

The shooting occurred in the Spin Beer district of Kandahar province, about 20 miles west of Kandahar city, said Maj. Corey Frederickson, part of a Canadian advisory team that trains and mentors the Afghan army in Maiwand district, about 45 miles west of Kandahar.

According to a statement issued late Saturday by the Canadian Defense Ministry, the soldier was transported by helicopter to Kandahar Airfield but died on the way.

The Canadian Defense Ministry identified the soldier as Master Cpl. Joshua Brian Roberts. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based in Shilo, Manitoba.

The apparent friendly-fire incident underscores the confusing nature of the fragile security situation in southern Afghanistan, where Taliban guerrillas have become resurgent in the past two years.

An array of coalition forces are training Afghan army and police as a frontline defense against the Taliban, but they are spread thin. The situation is further complicated by a mishmash of poorly-disciplined, but heavily-armed private security guards that have official Afghan and coalition sanction, but which often operate with little oversight or control.

As with the situation in Iraq in recent years, the proliferation of private security guards illustrates just how few coalition troops and Afghan security forces are available to meet all of the myriad security demands in the country.

Private guards are often used to protect road construction crews and food and fuel convoys, but they are also targeted frequently by the Taliban, and in a country awash in guns and violence, the results of having private gunmen operating in the same areas as coalition and Afghan security forces can sometimes be tragic.

Details on how the shooting occurred are still unclear. But according to coalition military officers, a convoy that included groups from two different security companies — Compass and USPI — was traveling the main highway west of Kandahar when they passed a group of Canadian soldiers engaged in a firefight with Taliban fighters in the Spin Beer district.

Apparently thinking they were under fire as well, the convoy of private security guards also opened fire.

"Their normal contact drill is that as soon as they get hit with something, then it’s 360, open up on anything that moves," Frederickson said. "We think that’s probably what happened."

After the shooting occurred, the private security convoy continued west on Route 1 from Spin Beer district until they were stopped by Afghan security forces and their Canadian and U.S. military advisers in Maiwand district, about 20 miles away.

When questioned by Canadian and U.S. military officers, several of the Afghan security guards freely admitted to opening fire on what they thought were Taliban fighters. But when informed that a Canadian soldier had been wounded, their stories began to change, and many never claimed to have fired at all. Some of the security guards blamed the Afghan army for the incident.

After threatening to arrest the whole lot for lying, in the end there was little that the Canadian and American officers could do, except take the names and mobile phone numbers of the Afghans in charge of the convoy and the names of the suspected shooters. Frederickson said that an investigation by Canadian military police would probably occur.

Twelve members of the Compass security convoy were also found to be wearing Afghan police uniforms, which Afghan police confiscated, along with three Soviet-made 82 mm recoilless rifles, said Maj. Kevin Reilly, team chief for a group of U.S. advisers that trains and mentors the Afghan police in Maiwand district.

Reilly said the uniforms and recoilless rifles were confiscated because it was illegal for Afghan private security guards to possess them. The only weapons that Afghan private security guards are allowed to possess are machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47 rifles, he said.

Reilly said coalition forces frequently encounter the private security convoys on the roads of Afghanistan and that usually the encounters pass without incident.

"They wave and you wave, and you kind of pass each other in the wind," he said.

Stars and Stripes reporter Michael Gisick contributed to this report.