The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread August 2008

[GAP]

Articles found August 12, 2008

Insurgents attack outpost in Panjwaii killing 90th Canadian soldier
August 11, 2008 Tobi Cohen, THE CANADIAN PRESS The Canadian Press, 2008
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A burly "mountain of a man" nicknamed the Friendly Giant became the second Canadian combat death in three days when insurgents attacked a remote outpost in the Panjwaii district of Kandahar province on Monday.

Master Cpl. Erin Doyle was the 90th Canadian soldier to die since the Afghan mission began in 2002.

Chief Warrant Officer Chris White, who knew Doyle for five years, described the 200 Ib man as a "barrel-chested kind of guy, the kind you'd "like to sit down and have a beer with."

A second soldier was seriously injured in Monday's attack and taken to the multinational hospital at Kandahar Airfield for treatment.

As many as 10 insurgents targeted the small base just before 6 a.m., taskforce commander Brig.-Gen. Denis Thompson said.

Canadian soldiers returned fire and called for artillery and air support, he said, adding several of them were killed, others were injured, however, none were detained.
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14 killed in attack on Pakistan military truck
RIAZ KHAN Associated Press August 12, 2008 at 5:07 AM EDT
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PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN — A roadside bomb hit a Pakistan air force truck in a northwestern city Tuesday, killing as many as 14 people, including a 5-year-old girl, as the military pounded insurgent positions in a nearby tribal region.

The blast hit the vehicle on a bridge on the outskirts of Peshawar, provincial police Chief Malik Naveed Khan said. The truck was travelling between the city and the nearby air force base in Badaber.

Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said al-Qaeda-linked militants were likely behind the attack. He said Pakistan had been taking action against Taliban militants, but did not say whether Tuesday's attack could be a response to recent military operations in the region.

“It is our firm resolve that we will root out terrorism from Pakistan, and all of our security agencies are working together to achieve this goal,” he told The Associated Press.

The powerful explosion tore a large hole in the bridge, reducing the Mazda truck to a smouldering wreck. The site was littered with debris, blood and also the mangled wreckage of a motorcycle.

A crowd of bystanders gathered at the scene as victims were ferried away in ambulances. Firefighters hosed down the blackened carcass of the truck, and air force investigators gathered evidence.

An AP Television News cameraman at the scene said he saw at least 12 dead bodies and about a dozen wounded people. He said the victims included civilians.

There were varying accounts of the toll.

Provincial government spokesman Mian Iftikhar Hussain said 14 people were killed in all, mostly air force personnel, and more than 12 people were wounded.

Police chief Khan said 11 military personnel had died, but air force officials said they had yet to confirm that information.
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Two NATO soldiers, six militants killed in Afghanistan
Aug 12, 2008, 10:07 GMT  Article Link

Kabul - A Canadian and a Latvian soldier serving in NATO forces were killed in separate attacks in Afghanistan while the Afghan Defence Ministry said Tuesday that its soldiers killed six insurgents and arrested a Pakistani militant.

A Canadian soldier was killed and another wounded Monday when militants attacks them with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms' fire while they were protecting their outpost in the Panjwayi district of the southern province of Kandahar, the Canadian defence ministry said in a statement.

The latest death brought the number of Canadian forces killed in Afghanistan since their deployment there in 2002 to 90.

A Latvian soldier was killed and three were wounded Monday in a roadside bombing in Maimana, the provincial capital of the northern province of Faryab, the military said in a statement.

Afghan police said two Norwegian soldiers were wounded in the attack.

The explosion was triggered by a remote-controlled device and wounded 13 Afghan civilians, police said.
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Community Partners Help Mothers and Babies in Afghanistan
Donation Helps UNICEF Deliver Essential Services to Khairkhana Hospital
Last update: 11:17 a.m. EDT Aug. 11, 2008
Article Link

TORONTO, ONTARIO, Aug 11, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- UNICEF today thanked the North York General Hospital Foundation, The Canadian International Development Agency, Canada Company and the Toronto Garrison Officers Ball for their generous contribution to help women and children in Afghanistan. The funds raised will help expectant mothers and newborns get the health care they need at the Khairkhana Hospital in Kabul Province.
"Women and children in Afghanistan are especially vulnerable right now, and there is an urgent need for more supplies and training in hospitals to ensure that expectant mothers can safely give birth to healthy babies," said Nigel Fisher, President & CEO, UNICEF Canada. "The funds raised at the Garrison Ball will go a long way in helping UNICEF deliver critical healthcare services to women in Khairkhana."
This year's Ball, held at The Sheraton Centre Hotel in Toronto in February, raised $250,000 towards reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. "We are extremely pleased to be working with UNICEF on this important initiative," said Blake Goldring, Chair of Canada Company and Honorary Colonel of The Royal Regiment of Canada. "The partnership between civilians, CIDA and UNICEF is highly significant and demonstrates a uniquely Canadian approach to helping the Afghan people."
Currently, Khairkhana Hospital, in Kabul Province, services approximately one million people. The quality of care in the hospital is poor and the facilities very basic. One of the most significant problems for the hospital is the need for obstetric and newborn care training for personnel and medical supplies for the maternity and pediatric wards. Funds raised at the Garrison Ball will be used by UNICEF to provide maternity and pediatric wards with new equipment and supplies. Funds will also be used to train doctors and nurses in emergency obstetric and newborn care. It is estimated that these improvements will reduce the number of deaths due to childbirth complications by 20 per cent in just one year.
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[GAP]

British soldier killed by Taliban suicide bomber in Afghanistan
A Taliban suicide bomber has killed a British soldier travelling in a convoy in the Afghan capital of Kabul.
By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent Last Updated: 5:32PM BST 12 Aug 2008
Article Link

The soldier, who has not yet been named, was travelling in a fleet of Nato vehicles when his vehicle was deliberately rammed by the bomber driving a car, the Ministry of Defence confirmed.

He was taken to a military hospital with two other seriously wounded British soldiers but later died of his wounds following the attack at 4pm local time on Monday. The dead serviceman was from 16 Signal Regiment.

The British mission in Afghanistan has now suffered 28 fatalities this year compared to 42 for the whole of last year and 39 in 2006. The total British death toll now stands at 115.

The Nato convoy was travelling on the main road on Kabul's eastern outskirts when the device was detonated also killing three civilians and wounding 12 others.

"I turned my head and saw a big burst of fire next to my car," said Ahmed Shakeb, 22, who witnessed the attack. "I saw that the convoy was British."

A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahed, claimed responsibility for the blast, and said a man named Aminullah from the eastern Khost province blew himself up. The claim could not be independently verified.

In a statement, the MoD said: "It is with deep regret that we must announce that a soldier from 16 Signal Regiment has died in a suicide attack.

"The three British soldiers were evacuated to a military hospital where one of them sadly died from his wounds. Our thoughts and condolences are with his family, friends and comrades."

It added that next of kin had been informed.
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DynCorp International wins more Afghanistan work
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
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DynCorp International Inc., with hundreds of construction and training projects in Iraq and Afghanistan, has won another $40 million construction contract from the Army Corps of Engineers.

The contract is for continued work on new garrison facilities for the Afghan National Army in Jalalabad, and includes a clinic, fire station, barracks and underground facilities. The contract is an expansion of a Jalalabad project first awarded to DynCorp in 2007.

Earlier this month, the Falls Church-based contractor won a $317 million State Department contract to help train police in Afghanistan.

In addition to training and construction jobs in Iraq and Afghanistan, DynCorp also provides translation services to the Army.

DynCorp’s (NYSE: DCP) fiscal first quarter earnings rose 47 percent to $18 million. Quarterly revenue reached $717 million, up 31 percent from a year ago.
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[GAP]

Articles found August 13, 2008

Two Canadians killed in Afghan ambush
Aid agency pulls out after three workers, driver killed
Scott Deveau and Linda Nguyen, Canwest News Service Published: Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Article Link

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Two female Canadian aid workers were gunned down by insurgents in the Logar province of Afghanistan Wednesday in a brazen daylight attack that left another American colleague and their Afghan driver dead. The women were volunteers with the New York-based International Rescue Committee and have been identified as a Canadian, a Canadian-British dual citizen, and a Trinidadian-American dual citizen.

Their Afghan driver had also been working with the international aid group. A second Afghan driver was wounded during the attack and is in hospital.

The women were in Afghanistan working in volunteer programs that focused on children's education, according to agency spokeswoman Melissa Winkler.

No identities have been released.

"At this moment, we're still in the process of contacting their families; we're not issuing any details about them just yet," Winkler said Wednesday from New York.

A person claiming to be a Taliban spokesman took credit for the attack, saying it was done in retaliation for the on-going NATO-led mission in Afghanistan. 

"We don't value their aid projects and we don't think they are working for the progress of our country," said Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid in telephone interview.

The Taliban ambush occurred at about 11:30 a.m. local time. Two vehicles carrying the workers were travelling on a 100-kilometre stretch of road between Gardiz and Kabul in a clearly marked vehicle when they came under fire, the aid organization said in a statement.

"We are stunned and profoundly saddened by this tragic loss," said George Rupp, president of the IRC. "These extraordinary individuals were deeply committed to aiding the people of Afghanistan, especially the children who have seen so much strife.  Words are inadequate to express our sympathy for the families and loved ones of the victims and our devoted team of humanitarian aid workers in Afghanistan."
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Canadian troops get better care overseas: report
Updated Wed. Aug. 13 2008 9:11 AM CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link

Inconsistent care across the country means wounded Canadian soldiers returning from overseas may not be getting the most effective care, according to a senate report.

The senate committee on national security and defence finds that care for soldiers on the ground at Kandahar Air Field and at transitional facilities such as the one in Landstuhl, Germany is exceptional. There is, however, a greater challenge with the long term care that is needed from the Canadian health care system once soldiers return home.

"We think our troops are being well-served if they have the misfortune of being wounded in terms of evacuation and immediate medical care," Liberal Senator Colin Kenny, chair of the senate committee on national security and defence, told CTV's Canada AM on Wednesday. However, he added, "we're unhappy with what happens when you come home, and that's a much larger problem."

"It has to do with the uneven nature of medicare in Canada and how some provinces seem to excel at it and other provinces don't provide the same quality of it."

Canadian Gulf War veteran Sean Bruyea told CTV's Canada AM the regional discrepancies are a longstanding problem, one that was compounded by the closure of the National Defence Medical Center, which set a national standard of care for soldiers.
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Missiles Target Pakistani Militants Near Afghan Border
By VOA News 13 August 2008 
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Pakistani security officials say a missile strike has killed at least nine people at a militant training camp near the border with Afghanistan.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, claim four missiles - launched from the Afghan side of the border - targeted the camp in Baghar, in South Waziristan on Tuesday.  They say foreign fighters were present at the time of the attack.

The U.S. military has launched similar attacks in the past but denies any involvement.  Spokesman Lieutenant Nathan Perry said Wednesday he had "no reports" of any incidents along the border.

Also today, gunmen shot and killed a militant leader in the northwestern Khyber tribal region.

Officials say the gunmen burst into the headquarters of a group called the "Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" and opened fire, killing Haji Namdar. 
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Canadian troops help net drugs, weapons
Ongoing operation also yields bomb supplies
By TOBI COHEN, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Article Link
 
ZHARI DISTRICT, Afghanistan -- Coalition troops have seized a large quantity of weapons, bomb-making materials and drugs during an ongoing operation in Maywand district west of Kandahar City, Canadian military officials said yesterday.

The joint operation, which has involved Afghan forces as well as U.S. and British troops, is aimed at disrupting insurgent activity in the area of Band-E-Timor.

The area is considered a "logistical hub" that was feeding insurgent fighters, supplies and cash into both Helmand and Kandahar provinces.

Military official said the latest operation is likely to have an effect on the Zhari and Panjwayi Districts, where much of the fighting between insurgents and Canadian troops is taking place.

"We knew that if we could get in there for a prolonged period we would be able to cause disruption that would ripple through and assist in other areas," Maj. Fraser Auld said. "We know ... we took them by surprise ... Any insurgents in the area that did manage to get out had to do so in a hurry because they left exploitable material behind."

He was referring to "a large find of IED components, homemade explosives - a large quantity of that was found and destroyed in place."

IED is the acronym for improvised explosive device, which has proven to be deadly against coalition troops.

While Canadian troops have not detained any suspected insurgents, it's not clear whether other coalition forces did.
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[GAP]

Articles found August 14, 2008

Pakistani Woman Allegedly Carried List of NYC Terror Targets
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Article Link

NEW YORK —  An MIT-educated Pakistani woman charged with trying to kill U.S. agents and military officers in Afghanistan allegedly carried a list of New York City targets -- including the Statue of Liberty, Times Square and the subway system, NY1.com reported on Wednesday.

Aafia Siddiqui was stopped on July 17 outside a government building in central Afghanistan's Ghazni province, according to a criminal complaint. Police searched her handbag and discovered documents containing recipes for explosives and chemical weapons and describing "various landmarks in the United States, including New York City," according to the complaint.

Siddiqui, 36, once identified as a possible Al Qaeda associate, was extradited to New York last week to face charges she tried to kill U.S. agents and military officers during an Afghanistan interrogation, federal prosecutors said. During the confrontation she was shot in the torso.
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Pakistan bomb hits military truck; at least 14 dead
August 13, 2008
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The attack just outside Peshawar is blamed on Islamic militants, and a Taliban spokesman threatens more attacks.
By Laura King, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN -- At least 14 people were killed Tuesday in the roadside bombing of a Pakistani military truck, an attack authorities blamed on Islamic militants.

The powerful blast occurred just outside Peshawar, the nearest large city to a tribal area along the border with Afghanistan that has been raked by fighting for nearly a week.
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135,000 flee Pakistan clashes: officials
Article Link

Around 135,000 residents have fled a Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan to escape clashes between troops and Taliban militants that have left scores dead, officials said.

The officials said that up to half of the population of some villages in the troubled Bajaur tribal district had moved, although militants were stopping people from leaving some areas.

"We have around 135,000 people who have left their homes there," the additional chief secretary for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Habibullah Khan said.

"We have directed officials in adjoining districts to provide shelter, food and health care to the migrating families. We are setting up more camps to help these people just like refugees," he said.

Witnesses said that thousands of families had arrived in Shabqadar, a small town adjoining the tribal belt. Local residents and welfare groups were raising funds and cooking food for them, they said.
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Afghan blast kills three soldiers  
  Article Link

The casualty rates in Afghanistan for foreign forces is rising
Three US-led coalition soldiers have been killed by an explosion while on foot patrol in southern Afghanistan, the US military has said.

The coalition has not released the identities or nationalities of the dead and has not said where exactly the blast took place.

Most coalition troops are American but Britain, Canada, Holland, France and Denmark all have forces in the south.

Southern Afghanistan is the centre of the Taleban-led insurgency.

Correspondents say more than 3,200 people have died in violence countrywide so far this year - of whom 161 have been foreign troops.

On Wednesday, a Canadian soldier became the the 90th soldier to die since Canada's mission there began in 2002.
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West trying to get Musharraf to resign before impeachment
SAEED SHAH From Thursday's Globe and Mail August 14, 2008 at 4:46 AM EDT
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ISLAMABAD — Western diplomats are trying to arrange an exit from office for Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, a staunch anti-terrorism ally, before he suffers the disgrace of impeachment, according to Pakistani officials.

There are strong rumours that Mr. Musharraf will soon bow to pressure to quit. He has suffered a collapse in support, as three of Pakistan's four provincial parliaments have now passed resolutions, with overwhelming backing, declaring him unfit for office. The fourth province is expected to follow shortly.

The provincial votes were symbolic but, early next week, the formal prosecution will begin with an impeachment motion in parliament. It is clear that the governing coalition now has the two-thirds majority needed to impeach Mr. Musharraf. Government insiders said that if he wants to quit, he must do so before parliament starts the impeachment proceedings, leaving him only a few days.

U.S. and British diplomats have sought to persuade the coalition government that impeachment would further undermine the security and political situation in crisis-racked Pakistan and they should instead offer him a "graceful exit" with immunity from prosecution, Pakistani officials said.

"We're being told that it's not going to bring more stability to have a long trial. And that it is in the interests of stability for him to exit," a senior coalition politician said.
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[GAP]

Afghanistan blast kills 3 soldiers in U.S.-led coalition
Last Updated: Thursday, August 14, 2008 | 11:04
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An explosion killed three members of the U.S.-led coalition on foot patrol in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, the coalition said.

The coalition did not release the soldiers' nationalities or the location of the attack, but a military official at Kandahar Airfield told CBC News there were no Canadians among the casualties.

The countries with the most troops in southern Afghanistan are Britain, Canada, the United States and the Netherlands. France and Denmark also have forces in the south.

So far this year, 15 Canadian soldiers, 93 U.S. soldiers and 29 British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan.American forces make up the vast majority of the coalition. The 40-nation NATO-led force operates under a separate command. Canada has about 2,500 soldiers as part of the NATO-led force, most of them based in the southern province of Kandahar.

A record number of U.S. and NATO troops are in Afghanistan — about 65,000 — exposing more soldiers than ever to increasingly lethal Taliban bombings and ambushes. The number of foreign troops in the country was estimated at 36,000 in early 2007.

The last three months have been the deadliest for international troops in Afghanistan since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.

Ninety Canadian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since 2002. Fighting and roadside bombings this year have killed 15 Canadian soldiers, 93 U.S. soldiers and 29 British soldiers.

Most of the 23 aid workers killed in Afghanistan in the first eight months of 2008 were Afghans, although the deadly ambush on Wednesday of three Western women working for the International Rescue Commission in August was the worst single attack on foreigners in several years.
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[greentoblue]

Taliban Ambush Kills 10 French Soldiers/US Base Repels Attack of Suicide Bombers: "insurgents mounted their most serious attacks in six years of fighting, one a complex attack with multiple suicide bombers on an American military base on Monday night, and another by some 100 insurgents on French forces in a district east of the capital, killing 10 French soldiers and wounding 21 others, military officials said Tuesday."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/20/world/asia/20afghan.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

RIP to the Fallen.

 

[greentoblue]

British Troops Kill Afghan Civilians: "British troops accidentally killed four civilians and wounded three others with rockets during an operation against Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan, Nato and British officials said last night."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/british-troops-kill-afghan-civilians-900795.html

 

[MarkOttawa]

ARTICLES FOUND AUGUST 21

Six dead in fresh Afghan attack
BBC, August 21
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7573827.stm

Six Nato soldiers have been killed in new violence in Afghanistan, days after a deadly Taleban attack on French troops in the country, officials say.

Three of the dead are Canadians, bringing to 93 the number of Canadian soldiers killed there since it sent troops to the war-torn country in 2002.

Wednesday's deaths are the worst one-day toll for Canadians since last year when six soldiers died in an explosion.

The other three dead were Poles killed on Thursday in the province of Ghazni.

The three Canadians died when a roadside bomb went off in southern Afghanistan, a Canadian army spokesman said.

"I don't know that the Taleban are getting stronger. What I'd say is they're much more aggressive this fighting season than they've been in the past," Brig Gen Denis Thompson said.

"The difference is they're not holding any of the ground they're attacking us on."

There are 2,500 Canadians based in the south as part of Nato's mission to fight the Taleban.

See a breakdown of the Isaf deployment
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7573827.stm#map

A fourth soldier was reported injured in the attack.

The three Polish soldiers died in Ghazni province, in the centre of Afghanistan. They were members of Warsaw's contingent in the country and were killed by an improvised explosive device, Polish news agency PAP said....

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has meanwhile flown to Afghanistan.

Mr Brown, who made the surprise stop en route to Beijing for the closing ceremony of the Olympics, visited British troops at their main base in Helmand province.

He then moved on to Kabul for talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

His visit comes at a time where there has been an upsurge in deadly violence around the country...

Afghanistan: August tension (latest Conference of Defence Associations media round-up--also some material on Georgia/Russia).
http://www.cdaforumcad.ca/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1219345334

Note this statistical profile of the CF:
http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/75-001-XIE/2008107/pdf/10657-en.pdf

Pentagon Plans to Send More Than 12,000 Additional Troops to Afghanistan
The U.S. commander there, in an exclusive interview, calls for a further buildup to counter the Taliban
US News & World Report, August 19
http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/iraq/2008/08/19/pentagon-plans-to-send-more-than-12000-additional-troops-to-afghanistan.html

The Pentagon will be sending 12,000 to 15,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan, possibly as soon as the end of this year, with planning underway for a further force buildup in 2009.

A request by Gen. David McKiernan, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, for three U.S. brigades with support staff has been approved. "Now that means we just need to figure out a way to get them there," adds a senior defense official.

The troops are slated to arrive earlier than has been previously discussed, on the heels of the deadliest months for American forces in Afghanistan since the war began.

The first wave of soldiers will be a U.S. Army brigade from the 10th Mountain Division, according to a senior military official. This brigade is scheduled to ship out between November and January, while two other brigades are likely to arrive "sometime in the spring or summer of next year," the official adds.

And there may be even more to come. "I've also asked for some additional forces on top of that for the current fight," says McKiernan, who wants to bolster the 101st Airborne Division in Regional Command East, which has been rocked by recent insurgent attacks. In July, nine U.S. troops were killed by insurgents who overran a combat outpost on the Kunar border of eastern Afghanistan. This week, militants tried but failed to overrun a base in Khost, just a few miles from the border, launching waves of attacks just before midnight on Monday.

Finding those particular troops to supplement the 101st, however, depends on conditions and troop levels in Iraq, adds McKiernan, who took over the NATO command in June. "That's really a zero-sum decision."

He disputes the notion that the three brigades on the way represent a troop "surge" for Afghanistan, predicting the need for an extended involvement of a larger force. "I've certainly said that we need more security capabilities," he says. "But I would not use the term 'surge,' because I think we need a sustained presence."

Both major U.S. presidential candidates have called for putting a greater military emphasis on Afghanistan, and it now appears that whoever wins the election will inherit a growing war already...

AFGHANISTAN: Marines ready to go if ordered.
LA Times blog, August 20
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2008/08/when-the-pentag.html

When the Pentagon rushed 3,200 Marines to Afghanistan in the spring, the orders were clear: the mission would be for seven months, no longer, and the Marines would not be replaced once their deployment was finished.

But with the Taliban, possibly in alliance with Al Qaeda, resurging, plans have changed. First, the stay of the Marines from Twentynine Palms, Calif., and Camp Lejeune, N.C., was extended for 30 days, pushing their arrival back home to late November.

Now there are growing indications that a different Marine unit, possibly including troops and equipment from several Marine bases, will replace the 2nd battalion, 7th regiment from Twentynine Palms and/or the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit from Camp Lejeune.

In Iraq, Maj. Gen. John Kelly, the top Marine commander, appears on the verge of suggesting a significant drawdown of forces there, freeing troops for Afghanistan. He has already redeployed eight helicopters and Marines to fly and maintain them to Afghanistan.

On Tuesday, Lt. Col. Rick Hall, commander of the Two-Seven, told reporters by telephone that he hopes that a replacement force is ready to continue the work his Marines have done in disrupting the Taliban and mentoring the Afghan National Police. The 30-day extension, he said, will allow a better transition.

Thirteen troops and an interpreter from the Two-Seven have been killed. Dozens more have been wounded. Not to send a replacement unit would be a major disappointment to his Marines, Hall said.

"I think it would be quite a blow to all of us," he said.

The Marine Corps has tweaked training at its desert and mountain sites to be more "Afghanistan-centric." Hall said he sends back "lessons-learned" virtually every day so they can be incorporated into training, particularly on how to work with the Afghans.

"We know we've made a difference in the lives of these people," Hall said. "We've given them a sense of liberty."

Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland, commander of the Marine Forces Central Command, with authority for Iraq and Afghanistan, said in a separate interview that no decision has been made on whether to replace Hall's troops or those from Camp Lejeune.

But if the commander-in-chief and Defense secretary want a Marine replacement for Afghanistan, what is called a Marine air-ground task force -- infantry plus aircraft squadrons -- could be quickly assembled, Helland said.

"Absolutely," he said.

--Tony Perry, at Camp Pendleton

US general warns of security gap when Marines leave Afghanistan [But note interview was last week.]
AFP, August 21
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080820/pl_afp/afghanistaniraqusmilitarymarines

Security gains made in southern Afghanistan could suffer if US Marines are pulled out later this year without replacements, the head of the Marine Corps has warned.

General James Conway, the Marine Corps commandant, said the US Marines will be unable to provide more forces until there is a significant draw down of their numbers in Iraq.

No firm plan has been made regarding who will replace the 2,200 Marines in the southern Afghanistan when their tours end in November, Conway told AFP.

Conway made the remarks last week in an interview with a reporter who traveled with him on a visit to Afghanistan, where 3,500 Marines have been deployed, and to Iraq, where 24,000 Marines are stationed.

"Our experience has been -- and it's drawn principally from Iraq -- (that) when you are in an area for a while, people will eventually come to trust you, they rely on your security, they will give you intelligence and expect you to continue to provide that security," said Conway on a stop at the Marine base outside the Iraqi city of Fallujah.

"If you leave those people, the method of the Taliban or of the Al-Qaeda is to come in and exact a punishment," he said.

His warning comes amid rising violence in eastern Afghanistan and around Kabul. The Marines have been credited with helping keep the Taliban forces at bay in southern and western Afghanistan since arriving in March.

Conway cautioned that pulling out without a replacement would make it more difficult for Marines -- or any military force -- when they returned...

Conway noted that the Marine battalion based in Farah province is responsible for 6,178 square kilometers (16,000 square miles) of territory.

"That's a huge area of responsibility. We can't nearly be every place we need to be in sufficient strength to manage that," he said.

Mark
Ottawa

 

[CougarKing]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26326466

Taliban bombs kill 59 at Pakistan arms site
Suicide attackers target workers as post-Musharraf political turmoil grows
The Associated Press
updated 8:27 a.m. PT, Thurs., Aug. 21, 2008
WAH, Pakistan - Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at the gates of Pakistan's main weapons complex Thursday, killing 59 people and dashing hopes for an end to turmoil following Pervez Musharraf's ouster as president.

A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack, one of the bloodiest yet in Pakistan's intensifying war with insurgent groups that are also destabilizing Afghanistan.
The bombers struck at two different gates just as workers were leaving the sprawling arms facility in Wah, a garrison city 20 miles west of Islamabad.

Rana Tanveer, who was working at a bank about 200 yards from one of the gates where a bomber struck, said he was among the first to reach the scene.

"All around the gate I saw blood and human flesh. People helped the injured and took them in their cars and even on motorbikes to the hospital," he told The Associated Press. "Seven or eight people were already dead and another 10 people were breathing their last."

Tanvir Lodhi, a spokesman for Pakistan Ordnance Factories, said 59 people were killed. Mohammed Azhar, a hospital official, said 70 others were wounded.

Pakistani forces are involved in an escalating battle with Islamic extremists in two nearby regions of the country's violence-plagued northwest, despite government efforts to negotiate peace with extremist groups.

Future attacks vowed
Maulvi Umar, a spokesman for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, a militant umbrella group, said the suicide bombings were revenge for airstrikes in Bajur, a militant stronghold near the Afghan border.

Umar said militants would carry out similar attacks in other major cities, including Islamabad and the southern port metropolis of Karachi, unless the military halts its operations.

"Only innocent people die when the Pakistan army carries out airstrikes in Bajur or Swat," he said, referring to a mountain valley where the army has vowed to clear out militants who have kidnapped and killed police and troops and burned girls' schools.

"If the army is really fond of fighting, it should send ground forces to see how we fight," Umar told AP by telephone from an undisclosed location.

Regional police Chief Nasir Durrani said the bomber struck as workers were streaming out after a shift change at the weapons complex, Pakistan's largest.

Durrani said experts would try to reconstruct the bombers' faces to try to identify them.

'Why was he punished?'
At the hospital, relatives searched frantically for loved ones as doctors worked to save those most seriously injured.

A young man who gave his name as Mohammad Asif stood wailing after identifying the lifeless body of his 60-year-old father in an ambulance.

"He was a humble man ... What wrong did he do to anyone? Why was he punished? These cruel people have taken away the great shadow of my father," Asif said.


The bombers managed to enter the town undetected, but did not penetrate the tightly controlled weapons complex, which houses about a dozen factories.

According to the army, the factories produce rifles, machine guns and ammunition as well as grenades, and tank and artillery shells. Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said the perimeter is guarded by a dedicated paramilitary force.

Experts have suggested that facilities related to Pakistan's secretive nuclear weapons program are located in the Wah area, possibly including a uranium enrichment plant. Abbas insisted the complex attacked on Thursday was producing only conventional weapons.


Pakistan's ruling coalition government, made up of traditional rivals who were united primarily in their determination to force Musharraf from office, also appeared veering toward collapse.

The two main parties have been unable to bridge key differences, like whether judges fired by the one-time military ruler should be quickly reinstated and who should succeed him as president.

Musharraf, who had been a key supporter of the U.S. war on terrorism, resigned Monday to dodge the humiliation of impeachment following nearly nine years in power.

The coalition government, meanwhile, has resumed debate over how to restore dozens of Supreme Court judges Musharraf fired last year to avoid legal challenges to his rule.

The maneuver deepened his unpopularity, propelling his rivals to victory in parliamentary elections five months ago, and turned the judges into controversial political figures.

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's party threatened Thursday to leave the ruling coalition unless the judges were quickly reinstated and the coalition's biggest bloc, the Pakistan People's Party, appeared to be lining up smaller parties to keep control of parliament in case that happened.

"The future of this coalition is linked to the restoration of judges," Sharif's spokesman Sadiqul Farooq told The Associated Press. "If the judges are not restored, we will prefer to sit on opposition benches."

Sharif wants to restore the all the justices, who could help him if he decides to seek revenge against Musharraf, who ousted the former premier in a 1999 coup, jailed him and then banished him to exile in Saudi Arabia.

Corruption cases
But Asif Ali Zardari, the leader of the Pakistan People's Party, is less enthusiastic. He has accused former chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry of being too political.

Analysts say he also may be worried the former chief justice would revive corruption cases against him or facilitate legal action against Musharraf — a destabilizing move sure to dismay the country's Western backers, especially the United States.

The People's Party said Thursday it was committed to restoring the judges but that it had other priorities as well, including improving the lives of ordinary Pakistanis who are struggling with chronic food and fuel shortages.

"We hope the coalition will not break," Farzana Raja, the ruling party's spokeswoman, told Pakistani Waqt news channel.

The coalition also must seek agreement on a candidate for the presidency. The new leader must be elected by lawmakers by mid-September.


© 2008 The Associated Press.

 

[MarkOttawa]

ARTICLES FOUND AUGUST 22

Army chief: We cannot beat the Taliban without reinforcements
Troop numbers in Afghanistan must increase to contain the surge in violence, says the commander of British forces in Helmand.
The Independent, August 22

Troop numbers in Afghanistan must increase to contain the surge in violence, says the commander of British forces in Helmand.

In an interview with The Independent ahead of Gordon Brown's visit to the province yesterday, Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith said: "We are probably still on a growth trajectory before we get to the stage when the UK presence can begin to thin out." The commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade estimated it would be up to five years before Britain could consider dropping troop numbers.

Senior military officers are reported to have held preliminary talks on increasing British soldiers in Afghanistan from 8,000 to 12,000 [emphasis added] – a dramatic difference from the 3,300 initially expected to hold the ground when the UK force took over Helmand in 2006. The boost in numbers ties in with suggestions that troop levels in Iraq be scaled back.

Senior Nato commanders are said to be "screaming out" for more boots on the ground in Afghanistan...

The Prime Minister, during a fleeting visit to Afghanistan en route to the Olympics in Beijing, met Brigadier Carleton-Smith and the governor of Helmand, Gulab Mangal, before flying to Kabul to hold talks with President Hamid Karzai.

Mr Brown was not drawn on troop levels but likened the soldiers' courage and dedication to the Olympic medallists. "You make our country proud every day of the week and every week of the year," said the Prime Minister. "You are truly the heroes of our country."

At a joint news conference with Mr Karzai, Mr Brown insisted that coalition forces were gaining ground [?] despite a vicious summer offensive...

[Brigadier Carleton-Smith] said the key to British withdrawal from Helmand was a strong local army, police and government. In one year, the number of Afghan National Army forces in Helmand has increased from 2,500 to 4,300 and while Nato troops remain the leading force, they are increasingly working alongside local soldiers. The Afghan army has 70,000 troops with plans to build the force up to 122,000 – but it lacks armour, air power and medical support.

Brigadier Carleton-Smith concluded: "Armies have never controlled Afghanistan. There has always been a political settlement."

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

Italian Defense Ministry Assessing UAV Strategy
Aviation Week & Space Technology, August 18 (text subsriber only)
http://www.aviationnow.com/search/AvnowSearchResult.do?reference=xml/awst_xml/2008/08/18/AW_08_18_2008_p40-73998.xml&query=italy+uavs

Italy plans to procure a small batch of Predator B medium-altitude endurance UAVs, but is struggling to define how to meet its longer-term unmanned reconnaissance needs...

...a battle is playing out within the defense ministry that mirrors what has transpired in the Pentagon: an argument between those wanting to gradually build UAV expertise against those wanting to use the systems as soon as possible to meet urgent warfighting demands. The military’s joint operational command wants the new UAVs to be deployed to Afghanistan quickly, with Italian air force officials preferring a slower approach, keeping the Predator Bs at home and continuing to use the Predator As for operational missions, according to defense ministry insiders.

Some Predator As were first employed in Iraq and now are in Afghanistan [emphasis added]. Italy is discussing how to help meet the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s call for more intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets; options include deploying all Predator As or sending four to six reconnaissance Tornadoes overseas. Unlike the German Tornados operating in Afghanistan, Italy would send an advanced real-time system in the form of the Rafael RecceLite pod. Italy also wants to add Link-16 data links to the interdiction bombers to better pass targeting data—those trials are due in September.

Beyond the Tornados, Italy may use its Predator As more broadly; it has four now and is adding two to its inventory. They are fitted with basic electro-optical/infrared payloads. The newer Predator As will be of the U.S. Air Force standard, slightly different than those Italy now operates. The latter will be upgraded to have a common fleet and to ease maintenance and interoperability with the U.S. The first is already in the upgrade pipeline after suffering a mishap. A second Predator A operating in Afghanistan also suffered damage on landing after a malfunction.

Although the U.S. has been using Predators extensively in an armed role, for Italy that has not been the case. Arming UAVs is a politically-sensitive issue, as it is in several other European countries. Germany, which is considering purchasing Predator Bs or Heron-TPs, is staying away from arming the drones [emphasis added].

In the past, Italian defense ministry officials had to promise legislators the Predators would be unarmed. Since the conservative parties have regained control of the government, the sensitivity of the issue has abated. The military, however, is waiting for an informal green light before seeking approval to arm Predators. The question then becomes what weapon to use. Italy does not have Hellfire missiles, one of the main weapons used by Predators; Italy uses the TOW anti-tank missile and soon will field Rafael Spike-LRs. However, it also has GBU-12s in inventory, which have also been employed from Predators...

Mark
Ottawa

 

[GAP]

Articles found August 23 , 2008

Combat engineer the riskiest job in military, say experts
Tiffany Crawford ,  Canwest News Service Published: Friday, August 22, 2008
Article Link

OTTAWA - Within Canada's military there is a tight-knit and uniquely qualified group whose motto is Ubique, which means "everywhere."

Stretched thin over many different areas - doing anything from dismantling explosives in war zones to building bridges and schools - this group of combat engineers is so essential that losing even one of its number leaves a gaping rift, say military experts.

And three were killed this week in Afghanistan: Sgt. Shawn Eades, Cpl. Dustin Roy Robert Joseph Wasden and Sapper Stephan John Stock, were part of a combat engineer reconnaissance team doing work on a route that was to be used for a future operation.

All three were with Edmonton's 12 Field Squadron, 1 Combat Engineer Regiment and were killed Wednesday when their convoy hit a roadside bomb outside Kandahar City.

"The combat engineer reconnaissance team is an exceptionally well-trained group so any losses are significant ones," said Wesley Wark, a professor of military history at the University of Toronto.

"They are the trained soldiers who you don't want to lose," he said.

The unofficial motto for the Edmonton engineers is "first in, last out."

For more than 100 years, the traditional role of the Canadian combat engineer has also carried the highest risk. It's a job that often involves the soldiers getting down on their hands and knees, looking for mines, booby traps and bombs to destroy.

Experts say they are critical in Afghanistan, where their main goal is to ensure the movement of troops and aid workers. Their task is to establish law, order and aid in a nation struggling to break free of drug lords and violence.

Their path is a dangerous one, strewn with roadside bombs planted by the Taliban.

"Our engineers are some of the most important soldiers in our task force because they are the guys that go out and disarm that stuff and shut it down," said Lee Windsor, deputy director for the Gregg Centre for the Study of War and Society at the University of New Brunswick.

But the toll is high. The deaths of Eades, Wasden and Stock, who were honoured at a ramp ceremony in Kandahar on Friday, brought the number of Canadian soldiers killed while serving in Afghanistan to 93. Of those, 44 were killed by improved explosive devices. And five of the 93 were combat engineers.

In a statement Friday, Wasden's family said he loved being a soldier, but "he loved being an engineer even more."
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New navy supply ships too costly, government says
Ottawa cancels plans to replace aging vessels, buy 12 coast guard patrol ships
Last Updated: Saturday, August 23, 2008 | 12:24 AM ET The Canadian Press
Article Link

The Conservative government has quietly scuttled the navy's $2.9-billion project to replace its aging supply ships, saying bids from the shipbuilding industry were "significantly" higher than the money set aside for the program.

It has also cancelled a tender call for the purchase of 12 mid-shore patrol ships for the coast guard.

The decisions were announced in a statement issued Friday night by Public Works Minister Christian Paradis.

"These vessels are a key priority of the government of Canada," Paradis said in the release.

"However, the government must ensure that Canadian taxpayers receive the best value for their money."

Both National Defence and the Fisheries and Oceans Department are considering "the next steps," Paradis added.

The decision to halt the Joint Support Ship project is a major blow to a navy that is already struggling to keep its existing 1960s vintage replenishment ships — HMCS Preserver and Protecteur — in the water.
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Canadian soldiers need all clear to fight for a chance at winning
Nigel Hannaford, Calgary Herald Published: Saturday, August 23, 2008
Article Link

It is a voice from the dead, telling Canadians how easy it is for the Taliban to make the weapons with which they kill Canadian soldiers.

Priddis freelance documentary filmmaker Garth Pritchard chokes up. On the screen is footage he took four years ago of Sgt. Shawn Eades, then a master-corporal, today one of the fallen on Afghanistan's high and dusty plain.

Eades is standing in the middle of an Afghan bomb factory. In a very matter-of-fact way, he describes contraptions.

"This is a detonator. They took a Bic pen, melted the end, some powder, a few wires. Join the contacts. Saw blades. They make a pressure plate for a mine from this."

He lifts a rag covering a cart like a table cloth. It's the kind of cart Afghan peasants use to take produce to market. Installed beneath is a crude rocket launcher, barely more than a piece of four-inch dryer exhaust pipe.

It's the kind of weapon the Taliban use when they want to attack a Canadian patrol in an Afghan market, and don't care how many of their compatriots they blow up in the process. Or sometimes, they just fill a car with explosive -- like the February day when 30 innocent Afghan shoppers were killed in an attack on a Canadian patrol.

"I lost a friend," Pritchard says of Eades. "He was the best, a true professional."
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Cheers greet Calgary colonel
Sarah McGinnis, Calgary Herald Published: Saturday, August 23, 2008
Article Link

Hours after soldiers in Edmonton gathered to mourn the loss of another three comrades, Col. James Gludo's plane touched down to a tearful reunion after 13 months in Afghanistan.

Behind the joyful hugs of family and his military colleagues at the Calgary airport was an understanding of the conflicting emotions produced by Canada's role overseas.

"We just lost three guys, so this is bitter sweet," Gludo said. "I'm home, but they're not going to be able to make it themselves."

Edmonton-based combat engineers Sgt. Shawn Eades, Cpl. Dustin Wasden and Sapper Stephan Stock were killed Wednesday when their convoy hit a roadside bomb outside Kandahar City. Ninety-three Canadian soldiers have been killed serving in Afghanistan.

The ceremony that marked Gludo's return Friday was markedly different from 380 days earlier when he quietly boarded a plane for Afghanistan with only his wife Cathy and son Kyle to wave goodbye.

Weekly e-mails and too-short calls on a crackling satellite phone were previously his family's only lifeline to their soldier.
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Rockets, guile and the lessons of history: the Taleban besiege Kabul
August 23, 2008
Article Link

The lorry drivers who bring the Pepsi and petrol for Nato troops in Kabul have their own way of calculating the Taleban's progress towards the Afghan capital: they simply count the lorries destroyed on the main roads.

By that measure, and many others, this looks increasingly like a city under siege as the Taleban start to disrupt supply routes, mimicking tactics used against the British in 1841 and the Soviets two decades ago.

Abdul Hamid, 35, was ferrying Nato supplies from the Pakistani border last month when Taleban fighters appeared on the rocks above and aimed their rocket-launchers at him, 40miles (65km) east of Kabul. “They just missed me but hit the two trucks behind,” he said. “This road used to be safe, but in the last month they've been attacking more and more.”

The road from Kabul to Kandahar is even more treacherous, according to other drivers. “If the Afghan Army isn't there, a fly cannot pass,” said Bashir, a lorry owner, pointing to the scorched shells of three vehicles he retrieved from a Taleban raid on the Kandahar road last week. Of 60 lorries, 13 were destroyed, he said. “Why can't the Americans stop this?”
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NATO forces in Afghanistan fire rockets at militants inside Pakistan
South Asia News Aug 22, 2008, 14:52 GMT  Article Link

Kabul - NATO forces coordinating with the Pakistan military fired artillery at militants who were preparing to attack a NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) base in eastern Afghanistan, ISAF said on Friday.

Pakistani military confirmed to NATO forces that the militants were preparing to fire rockets at a military base in Paktika province, which is close to the porous border, ISAF said in a statement.

ISAF forces 'gained positive identification of the insurgents' and fired 'multiple artillery rounds' into Pakistan on Thursday night, it said.

'Pakistan military officials called for two batteries of fire and informed ISAF forces that they would engage any insurgents attempting to flee,' the statement said.

Pakistan military personnel confirmed that the insurgents were heavily armed, the statement said, adding, 'Pakistani officers relayed that all rounds were on target, with no civilian casualties.'

Afghan officials have repeatedly accused the Pakistani government of not doing enough to clamp down on militants, whom they claim have safe havens in tribal areas of Pakistan.
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Pakistani PM says no talks with militants who kill poor
Article Link

ISLAMABAD (AFP) — Pakistani Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani Saturday said his government would not negotiate with militants but would tackle the poverty and unemployment at the root of the unrest which has claimed hundreds of lives.

Pakistan is experiencing a renewed wave of suicide attacks in response to its ongoing military operations against Taliban militants active in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

"We will not negotiate with those who are attacking you, who are attacking the poor people," Gilani told reporters at a hospital in the nearby town of Wah after visiting the victims of a twin suicide attack.

The Taliban suicide bombing at Pakistan's biggest weapons factory on Thursday, the deadliest ever attack on a Pakistani military site, killed at least 64 people and wounded 70 others.

"They attack the poor labourers. They want to snatch their livelihoods. We strongly condemn such attacks against poor people," Gilani said and added that such attacks gave the country a bad name.

He said the government would leave the door to negotiations open for those tribes who separate themselves from the militants and would also talk to those rebels who surrender their weapons.

"Our tribesmen are patriotic people and we will negotiate with those tribes who isolate themselves from the militants," the premier said.

He said that the government was addressing the root cause of militancy and suicide attacks, identifying poverty, unemployment and lack of basic healthcare and education facilities as the main reasons behind the unrest.
More on link

 

[MarkOttawa]

ARTICLES FOUND AUGUST 25

French general sees overconfidence in Afghan deaths
Reuters, August 25
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080825.wafghanfrance0825/BNStory/Afghanistan/home

Overconfidence was probably a factor in the incident that led to the deaths of 10 French soldiers in an ambush in Afghanistan, the French commander in the region was quoted as saying on Monday.

“In the past two weeks we had largely secured the zone but you have to be frank, we were guilty of overconfidence,” General Michel Stollsteiner told the daily newspaper Le Parisien.

“We were surprised instead of surprising our adversary,” said Gen. Stollsteiner, commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force in the Kabul region since Aug. 5.

Ten soldiers were killed and 21 wounded in the ambush in a rugged mountain region some 60 kilometres from the capital Kabul, the worst French military loss in 25 years and the heaviest allied combat loss in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion.

French commanders have said they will go through what happened in the ambush to try to draw lessons for the future and President Nicolas Sarkozy has promised the families of the dead soldiers they would be kept fully informed...

Defence Minister Herve Morin and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner will appear before a parliamentary committee on Tuesday to answer questions and the National Assembly will vote at the end of September on whether to keep French troops in the region.

Mr. Kouchner said the military effort alone would not succeed in bringing stability to the region.

“I am sure ... that the military strategy, which has been indispensable initially, will not be enough,” he told France Inter radio.

“We need what is called ‘Afghanization', that's to say to pass responsibilities, all responsibilities, as quickly as possible to the Afghans.”

Mark
Ottawa

 

[GAP]

Articles found August 25, 2008

FACTBOX-Security developments in Afghanistan
Sat Aug 23, 2008 8:25pm IST 
Article Link

Aug 23 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Afghanistan at 1425 GMT on Saturday:

*denotes new or updated item

HERAT - Hundreds of people demonstrated in Shindand district of western Herat province on Saturday, after U.S.-led coalition forces carried out an air strike in the district on Friday.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the strike his government says killed 76 civilians. The U.S. military says only armed Taliban militants were killed in Friday's attack.

Investigations into the incident have been launched by the Afghan government and the U.S. military.

KANDAHAR - A roadside bomb killed 10 civilians in Shah Wali Kot district of southern Kandahar province, provincial police chief Matiullah said.

*BADGHIS - A bomb attached to a motorbike in the western province of Badghis exploded on Saturday, killing three civilians and wounding six more, the provincial governor Mohammad Ashraf Naseri said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

KHOST - A roadside bomb killed three civilians in Tani district of eastern Khost province, district police chief Guldad said.

LOGAR - Taliban insurgents attacked two police vehicles in Logar province, southeast of Kabul, taking four police hostage, the provincial police chief said. (Compiled by Jonathon Burch; Editing by Mary Gabriel)
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Canadian military claims victory in major Afghan offensive
Scott Deveau, Canwest News Service Published: Sunday, August 24
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Coalition forces and the Afghan National Army say they have struck a "major blow" against insurgents operating in Afghanistan's volatile Zhari district, west of Kandahar City.

In what is being hailed as the biggest show of force this year in the Taliban stronghold, Canadian and Afghan forces pushed through the central part of Zhari, battling with insurgents and confiscating weapons caches and a "significant amount" of materials used for building improvised explosive devices.

The three-day campaign, code-named Op Timis Preem, kicked off Thursday morning with a pre-emptive early-morning air strike on a known insurgent command-and-control centre in western Pashmul.
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Fighting the Taliban: What it's really like
Last week, yet more members of Western forces were killed in Afghanistan. In a new book, Sunday Telegraph defence correspondent Sean Rayment, a former Army officer, describes the horrors of war faced by British soldiers.
Last Updated: 11:01AM BST 24 Aug 2008
Article Link

The whispered words "Moving in five minutes" ripple along the column of soldiers standing in the dust of the Helmand desert. Tense faces are illuminated beneath a moonlit sky. After hours of waiting, we are setting off to hunt down the Taliban in the Green Zone, a lush green strip that borders the Helmand river and the most dangerous part of Afghanistan.

The soldiers call it Bandit Country, and for good reason. This is where the Taliban hold sway.

It is one in the morning and, despite a cool breeze, I'm sweating beneath my helmet and body armour. There's a delay but we are not told why. The 120 soldiers who are about to march out on the operation check and re-check their weapons and equipment for a final time. Rifle, bayonet, ammunition, hand grenades, tourniquet, morphine, field dressing, water, rations, spare socks – almost everything the modern British soldier needs for fighting in Helmand. The other thing is luck.

Another message floats along the column of soldiers: "Prepare to move." I look down the line and see young faces illuminated by the glow of cigarettes being sucked for the final time. Others are hauling their impossibly heavy packs on to their backs. There is a flurry of activity and then, without ceremony, we move silently beyond the walls of Patrol Base Inkerman. After 20 minutes we stop in a small hamlet and a soldier crawls towards me and whispers: "If we get ambushed and you find yourself in the killing zone, stick with me." I ask him what he means by "the killing zone". "It's the area of ground in an ambush where you have the greatest chance of being killed. If you're in it, you're in the s**t." He then smiles and says: "And if I'm dead, you're probably f****d."
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Our troops can't abandon cry for freedom in Afghanistan
The Province Published: Sunday, August 24, 2008
Article Link

Letter writer James Charles accomplishes nothing with his comments about pulling our troops out of Afghanistan because it is a hopeless cause.

Our troops are fighting as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. Put the emphasis on "freedom." All the terrorists involved in the 9/11 cowardly attack were trained in Afghanistan. These camps no longer exist and, since 9/11, we have had no further attacks.

Was Afghanistan not once home to Osama Bin Laden? He hides somewhere, like a rat.

Our troops are in Afghanistan because the Afghan people want them there. Children can now go to school and women can even serve in the police force.

The local Afghan economy has more than doubled and the country now has an army trained by our soldiers.

If the Taliban fought like our soldiers, this war would be over. Instead they use cowardly tactics.

My son, Pte. Terry John Street, came home from Afghanistan in a metal coffin draped with the Canadian flag.

He served the country he loved so much and he believed in his mission.

Freedom does come with a huge price, and I have earned the right to post these comments.

Stand behind your troops and enjoy your freedom.
More on link

NATO-chartered helicopter crashes in Afghanistan
Sun Aug 24, 2008 4:08pm IST
Article Link

KABUL (Reuters) - A NATO-chartered helicopter crashed on Sunday in Afghanistan's eastern province of Kunar near the border with Pakistan, causing one death, a spokesman for the alliance said.

The civilian helicopter crashed soon after taking off from a military base in an area of the rugged province, the spokesman said, ruling out any hostile action.

He had no details about the type of the helicopter, number of people on board or identity of the casualties.

NATO in a statement said the helicopter was an Mi-8 supply helicopter, contracted by the alliance's International Security Assistance Forces.

It was forced to make an emergency landing shortly after takeoff from an ISAF base, the statement said, but did not say what caused the problem.

"One person on board the aircraft died and three were wounded during the incident," it added without elaborating on the nationality of the casualties.
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Pakistan rejects truce offer by militants in tribal area: official
Article Link

KHAR (AFP) — Pakistan on Sunday rejected a ceasefire offered by Taliban militants in a troubled tribal region near the Afghan border as troops killed seven rebel fighters, officials said.

The militants in the Bajaur region offered a unilateral ceasefire as a two-week-old military operation left some 500 people dead.

"We have directed our militants to stop attacks against the government and security forces in Bajaur from today," Maulvi Omar, spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (Taliban Movement), told AFP.

The decision has been taken following talks with tribal elders, he said in a telephone call from unknown location.

"The jirga (elders' council) insisted that Taliban should stop fighting in the interest of the people of Bajaur."

The jirga has "assured" that troops will also suspend shelling and bombing raids in the area, he said.
More on link

6 Canadian soldiers, 2 journalists injured in Afghan roadside attack
Last Updated: Sunday, August 24, 2008
Article Link

A roadside bomb hit an armoured vehicle in Afghanistan on Sunday, injuring six Canadian soldiers and two journalists, the military said.

One soldier was seriously injured in the attack in the Panjwaii district, west of Kandahar city, which occurred at about 11:30 a.m. local time on Sunday, the military said.

Five other soldiers and the two journalists suffered minor injuries. They were treated and released.

The seriously wounded soldier was flown by helicopter to the military hospital at Kandahar Airfield, where he remains in serious condition, the military said.

The Canadian Forces said it does not name soldiers who are wounded. The journalists are Tobi Cohen of the Canadian Press and Scott Deveau of the National Post. Both are in good condition and have returned to work, the military said.

The armoured vehicle was part of a combat logistics patrol, which are regular convoys used to move supplies and troops from various bases in Kandahar province, the military said.
More on link

 

[The Bread Guy]

Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
26 Aug 08

The following material comes directly from web pages carrying statements attributed to the Taliban or Taliban spokespersons.  Sharing the material here neither confirms nor endorses any of the content - this is shared for information only.


"1 tank of  Canadian destroyed near Kandahar city"

Today morning 26-08-2008 at approximately 9:10 am local time , Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,  with remote controlled landmine blew up a military tank of Canadian occupation army when it was travelling in Panjwali area of Kandahar city. In the  explosion the tank was completely destroyed and 6 occupation terrorists were killed. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf

"In explosion 6 Canadian  Killed in Kandahar"

Tuesday  morning 26-08-2008, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmines blew up a patroling unit of  of Canadian army in Damna Kjkar area of Shahwalikot district of Kandahar province. In explosin 6 soldiers terrorists were killed and a number wounded.. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf

"9 Canadian soldiers killed, 5 oil tankers of invaders destroyed in Kandahar"

Monday morning 25-08-2008, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, ambushed a supplying convoy of American occupation army and its puppet police who were providing security for the convoy which was travelling on Kandahar Herat highway  Ashegho area of Zhari district of Kandahar province. In the attack 5 oil tankers of American occupation  and 2 military vehicles of  puppet army  were destroyed in which 17 puppet soldiers were killed and their arms were mujahideen booty.

Also in Lako khil area of same district in  ambush 9 Canadian soldiers were killed.Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf

"4 military vehicles of puppet army destroyed in Kandahar"

Yesterday afternoon 25-08-2008, Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, ambushed a supplying convoy of American occupation army and its puppet police who were providing security for the convoy which was travelling on Kandahar Herat highway  Hozi Madat area of Zhari district of Kandahar province. In the attack 4 military vehicles of  puppet army  were destroyed in which 19 puppet soldiers were killed and their arms were mujahideen booty.Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf

"1 vehicle of  puppet police  blew up in Helmand"

Today 24-08-2008 at approximately 11am local,Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmine blew up a vehicle of puppet police on Lashkagah Kandahar road in Wazer Manda area  of Nahri Saraj district of Helmand province. The landmine completely destroyed the vehicle and  13 puppet terrorists in it were killed or wounded. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf

"1 tank of British occupation blew up in Helmand"

Tuesday 26-08-2008,approximitly 7:30am local Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmine blew up a tank of British occupation army when it was traveling  in Merza Crasin area of Nadali district of Helmand province. In the explosion the tank was completely destroyed and 4 the invader terrorists in it were killed or wounded. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf

"2 tanks of American invaders destroyed in Zabul"

Monday morning 25-08-2008,Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmines blew up 2tanks of American occupation army convoys when they were traveling  in Segan area of Mizana district of Zabul province. In the explosion the tanks were completely destroyed and all the invader terrorists in it were killed. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf

 

[GAP]

Articles found August 25, 2008

Danish soldier killed in Afghanistan
(08-25 23:43)
Article Link

A Danish soldier serving with the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan was killed on Monday when his tank drove over an improvised explosive device, the Danish military said.

The soldier was seriously injured in the blast and was evacuated by helicopter to a field hospital at Camp Bastion in southwestern Afghanistan where he died, the statement said.

The death brings to 16 the number of Danish troops killed in Afghanistan since it deployed soldiers there for NATO's International Security Assistance Force in 2001 - one of the highest per-capita death tolls among coalition forces.

Denmark currently has some 700 troops in the country, most of whom are stationed in the southwestern Helmand province under British command.
More on link

SMALL GAINS IN AFGHANISTAN
Canadian Forces in Afghanistan juggle their combat, peacekeeping, humanitarian aid roles
Scott Deveau ,  Canwest News Service Published: Monday, August 25, 2008
Article Link

NAMARDZI, Afghanistan - On a blazing hot summer day in the Zhari district of Kandahar last week, three tribal elders from the little village of Namardzi collected under the shade of a tree to conduct a shura - or town meeting - with Canadian Forces mentors and their Afghan counterparts.

Most of the other locals had already fled the village the day before after an air strike levelled a compound where insurgents were holed up in a gunfight with Afghan National Army forces.

The strike, which broke up a wedding ceremony in a nearby compound, marked the beginning of a three-day campaign through the heart of the Taliban stronghold west of Kandahar City.

The Canadian Forces' operational mentor liaison team, or OMLT (pronounced omelette around here), was tasked with the usual training of their Afghan counterparts during the mission. It also was there to help support them in guarding the western flank of the Zhari district while the battle group mowed through the centre of it, confiscating weapon caches, improvised explosive materials, and other Taliban communication equipment along the way.

But none of this mattered to the elders in Namardzi that day. They have seen enough conflict in the past three decades in Afghanistan to be bothered by a few bombs.

They were concerned about their animals and their crops - and they wanted to know when their families could come back to the village.

But before the shura could even begin, insurgents began lobbing mortars at the village, forcing the troops to rush to the nearest post where they engaged in an hour-long firefight. By the time they returned, the elders were gone.

The Canadian Forces often refer to the conflict in Afghanistan as a "three-block war," where soldiers juggle their combat role with peacekeeping and administrating humanitarian aid.
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Two Afghan-bound NATO vehicles torched in Pakistan: police
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KARACHI (AFP) — Suspected militants in the Pakistani port city of Karachi torched two armoured vehicles destined for NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, police said Monday.

The vehicles were parked outside the Karachi port when unidentified assailants set them on fire, destroying one and damaging the other, senior police officer Iqbal Mehmood told AFP.

The consignment was to be transported to southern Afghanistan via the Chaman border in Pakistan's Baluchistan province.

But a truck drivers' strike in Karachi had held up delivery of the vehicles, which were loaded on a trailer, for the past three days.

"A group of unknown people set the vehicles on fire near the Karachi Port, which totally burnt one vehicle while another was damaged," Mehmood said. "We are investigating whether any extremist group is behind it."

Authorities stepped up security of Afghanistan-bound NATO consignments after the incident, he said.
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Taliban outlawed in wake of suicide bombings
By Farhan Bokhari in Islamabad Published: August 26 2008 03:00
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Pakistan yesterday banned the Taliban movement in a symbolic gesture that evoked a mix of support and criticism.

The ban followed last Thursday's twin suicide attacks at an arms factory in Wah, 30km north of Islamabad, which killed 67 people and injured more than 100.

Local media reports quoted a representative of the Taliban later claiming responsibility for the attacks, which he said were in retaliation for military action in the tribal region along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.

"This [Taliban] organisation is a terrorist organisation and created mayhem against public life," said Rehman Malik, adviser to the prime minister and the de facto interior minister, while announcing the ban.

Some observers criticised the move. "What is the meaning of this ban?" asked Irfan Siddiqui, a prominent newspaper columnist. "As far as I can tell, it is just meaningless. How do you ban something which doesn't exist legally? The Taliban movement have never been formally registered so how do you ban them?"
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Japanese aid worker seized in Afghanistan
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KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Gunmen Tuesday seized a Japanese aid worker and his driver in eastern Afghanistan, officials said.

The pair, working for an organization building schools in the area, were pulled rom their car in Nangarhar province, said Hazarat Ali, a lawmaker who represents the area.

Security forces have been deployed to the area to track down the gunmen, but locals have already surrounded a mountain where they think the abductors are holed up, provincial police chief Ghafour Khan said.

Kazuya Ito, 31, works for the Japan-based aid group, Peshawar-Kai. The group runs hospitals and clinics in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, according to its Web site.
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Canada to finance Kandahar training centre
GLORIA GALLOWAY Globe and Mail Update August 26, 2008 at 10:18 AM EDT
Article Link

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Defence Minister Peter MacKay spent two days this week speaking to Afghan and Canadian officials in Kandahar where he announced that Canada will pay for the establishment of a military training centre in Afghan capital of Kabul.

Mr. MacKay, who arrived Monday with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, said the new Staff and Language Training Centre, which will cost $16-million, will be used to upgrade the skills of junior officers in the Afghan National Army.

The Afghan security forces need to be enhanced so they can “walk on their own, defend their own sovereignty and borders, have the ability to repel the threats of the Taliban that continue to plague this country, (and) have the ability to work interoperably with NATO forces, which again will figure prominently in the training,” Mr. MacKay told reporters during a brief press conference at the Kandahar Air Field.

“All of this leads to the ability for Afghanistan to establish that necessary security so we can get on with the important humanitarian and reconstruction work that will lead to a more prosperous and safe country.”
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Canada following the rules, MacKay tells Afghans
Minister's statement comes after deadly coalition strike
Scott Deveau ,  Canwest News Service Published: Tuesday, August 26, 2008
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KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Defence Minister Peter MacKay assured the Afghan government Tuesday that Canadian troops are following the rules of engagement in Afghanistan as concern mounts over the number of civilian deaths in that country after a U.S.-led coalition air strike killed at least 90 Afghans - mostly women and children - last week.

"I can assure you we take all precautions and all rules of engagement are followed," MacKay said during a two-day whirlwind visit to Afghanistan, along with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty.

"We have tremendous confidence and faith in our leadership here in Afghanistan," he added.
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Helmand bucks Afghanistan trend with rise in opium production, says UN
Opium survey finds production down by 19% across country, but cultivation in Helmand has tripled since 2002
Samira Shackle guardian.co.uk, Tuesday August 26 2008 17:41 BST
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Opium production in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, where British troops are engaged in an intense struggle against insurgents, has reached record-breaking levels, a United Nations report found today.

Helmand bucked the the national trend, which showed land under opium production down by 19%, and revealed an increase of 1% on a year ago. The region, where Gordon Brown visited British troops last week, now accounts for two-thirds of all opium poppies in Afghanistan.

Antonio Maria Costa, the executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, said that "if Helmand were a country, it would once again be the world's biggest producer of illicit drugs". Opium cultivation in the province has more than tripled since 2002, and large swaths of land have been reclaimed for the sole purpose of growing poppies.

The Afghanistan Opium Survey 2008 found the number of opium-free provinces rose from 13 to 18. The UN attributed this to good local governance, and drought, which affected poppy growth in the north.

"The opium flood waters in Afghanistan have started to recede. This year, the historic high-water mark of 193,000 hectares of opium cultivated in 2007 has dropped by 19% to 157,000 hectares," said Costa.
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In the army you become accustomed to the fact that there are varying degrees of suck
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'All of the sudden the Earth opened up and spat us out'

Posted: August 25, 2008, 1:30 AM by Ronald Nurwisah, Afghanistan

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — My mother always says I live my life with a noose around my neck and a horseshoe up my ass, but I've never felt both being tugged so hard in different directions as I did Sunday.

I was travelling back to Kandahar Air Field in a supply convoy in the Panjwaii district with eight others, including Canadian Press reporter Tobi Cohen, who was celebrating her 30th birthday, when our vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device.

There were six other vehicles in our convoy, but it was our armoured personnel vehicle, which is typically used to transport troops, that was targeted by the Taliban in this strike.

We were coming back from a major operation in the Zhari district of Kandahar, where the Canadian and Afghan forces led a three-day campaign into the centre of the Taliban stronghold, fighting insurgents and confiscating large weapons caches, IED materials, and Taliban communications equipment along the way.

During the mission I was embedded with the Canadian mentor program for the Afghan National Army — or the OMLT (pronounced omlet), as it's known here, which is short for operational mentor liaison team.

The head of the mentoring program, Maj. Bob Ritchie gave me a bit of advice during the three days I spent embedded with the Canadian Forces and their Afghan counterparts in the field.

"When you're in the army," he said, "you become accustomed to the fact that there are varying degrees of suck. When you think something can't get any worse, you can always find something that sucks more, and you probably will."

After spending three days without a shower, eating only rations, using a plastic bag as a toilet, and living in a mud hut with six other guys and their stinky feet, I thought I'd hit rock bottom and was looking forward to my bed at the base and my desk to write at.
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DynCorp awarded $18.1 million contract for latest construction project in Afghanistan
August 26, 2008: 01:28 PM EST
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NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Government contractor DynCorp International Inc. said Tuesday it has been awarded an $18.1 million contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a construction project in Afghanistan.

The company will build facilities for the Afghanistan National Civil Order Police in the country's Helmand province, including offices, living and operational facilities, motor pool guard towers and a perimeter wall for 305 police personnel with the Patrol Unit Brigade Headquarters and Patrol Battalion.

The construction project, to be completed within 360 days, is the latest in a series managed by DynCorp in Afghanistan.
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[The Bread Guy]

Taliban Propaganda Watch (RC South)
27 Aug 08

The following material comes directly from web pages carrying statements attributed to the Taliban or Taliban spokespersons.  Posting of this material neither confirms nor endorses any of its content - it is shared for information only.


"1 tank of  Canadian destroyed near Kandahar city"

Today morning 26-08-2008 at approximately 9:10 am local time , Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,  with remote controlled landmine blew up a military tank of Canadian occupation army when it was travelling in Panjwali area of Kandahar city. In the  explosion the tank was completely destroyed and 6 occupation terrorists were killed. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf

"2 vehicles of  puppet police destroyed in Helmand"

Today 24-08-2008 at approximately 11am local,Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, with remote controlled landmine blew up a vehicle of puppet police on Lashkagah Kandahar road in Wazer Manda area  of Nahri Saraj district of Helmand province. The landmine completely destroyed the vehicle and  13 puppet terrorists in it were killed or wounded. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf

"Why did I take arms against the United States? - Former Northern Alliance Commander"

.... The more I thought the more I was convinced that these people do not desire power or money. They are not terrorists I thought. They are not a threat to peace of the world. Spilling blood is not their aim. Their aims are noble and higher. They are true to their words and firm in their characters. When I compared myself with them I realized that I was totally opposite to them.....(more on link)

"These are pictures of the Islaamic youth in Afghanistan .... these Mujaahideen are from Uzbekistan"

....Here, you are witnessing the future of Islaam’s glory and pride.  These children have understood the aayah better than we adults have .... (photos available on link)

 

[GAP]

Articles found August. 27, 2008

‘NATO transit to Afghanistan can be barred’
Article Link

LONDON/MOSCOW: The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) should not be able to use Russian routes to transit supplies and equipment to Afghanistan because Russia has suspended military co-operation with the Western alliance, said Moscow’s Ambassador to Kabul Zamir Kabulov in an interview published on Tuesday.

Speaking to The Times from the Afghan capital, Kabulov said increased tensions between Russia and the West over Moscow’s recent assault on Georgia could lead Moscow to review other such agreements.

Meanwhile, Russia’s NATO envoy Dmitry Rogozin said Moscow did not plan to suspend NATO’s use of Russian land routes to transit non-military supplies and equipment to the alliance’s troops in Afghanistan. “We do not plan to halt overland transport to Afghanistan,” Rogozin told journalists in Moscow, but listed numerous areas of co-operation with NATO that would be frozen. afp
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Russia: agreements with NATO over Afghanistan not affected by Georgia crisis
50 minutes ago
Article Link

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Moscow and the West may be at loggerheads over Georgia, but it's business as usual when it comes to using Russian territory to supply NATO troops in Afghanistan.

That was the word at a news conference Wednesday from Russia's top military envoy to NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

Col. Andrey Zhukov says the Kremlin's decision to freeze military co-operation does not extend to an agreement that allows the transport of non-lethal supplies overland through Russia to the NATO-led force in Afghanistan.

The alliance is not yet making use of last April's agreement - signed by former Russian president Vladimir Putin - because it has yet to strike similar transit deals with the Central Asian countries between Russia and the Afghan border.

Zhukov also told reporters that a 2006 deal under which NATO countries lease transport planes from private companies in Russia and Ukraine is also unaffected.

NATO has used that deal to fill shortfalls in large cargo planes that have hampered the Afghan mission.

"We do not have any intention of getting involved in the commercial activities of this private company," Zhukov said.
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Weather cuts Afghanistan opium production: UN
Updated August 27,
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The United Nations says opium production in Afghanistan has dropped for the first time since 2001.

However, the UN warns that may have more to do with the weather than international efforts to cut the drug crop.

Afghanistan broke all records and produced 93 per cent of the world's opium in 2007.

This year, 157,000 hectares grew the opium poppy, down 36,000 on the previous year.

While growing is signicantly down, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime says production is down by only 6 per cent - with 7,700 tonnes produced this year
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Japanese Aid Worker Is Found Dead in Afghanistan, AFP Reports
By Taku KatoAug. 27 (Bloomberg)
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A Japanese aid worker who was kidnapped yesterday in eastern Afghanistan was found dead, Agence France-Presse reported.

Kazuya Ito, 31, was found with several bullet wounds, AFP said, citing Kuz Kunar district governor Malim Mashouq.

Ito was kidnapped while he was heading out to make an inspection of an irrigation project built by his employer, Peshawar-kai, an aid group, the report said.
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Curfew imposed in NW Pakistan after militant attack
Wed 27 Aug 2008, 5:18 GMT  By Hafiz Wazir
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WANA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities imposed a curfew in the main town of a violence-plagued region near Afghanistan on Wednesday after militants attacked a military post, as violence hit several other points across the country.

Militant violence has increased in nuclear-armed Pakistan over recent weeks while ruling coalition parties have been distracted by infighting and the resignation last week of staunch U.S. ally Pervez Musharraf as president.

Political and security problems have undermined investor confidence and sent financial markets sliding as authorities struggle to control rising inflation and widening twin deficits.

Militants in the South Waziristan region attacked a military post east of the region's main town of Wana on Tuesday night. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The government responded by imposing a curfew.
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Afghanistan: Kandahar school receives year's worth of supplies
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KABUL, Afghanistan - ISAF soldiers and members of Kandahar city's Skills Generation gave a year's worth of school supplies to both students and their teachers at the Afghan National Army camp's Sayd Pacha School August 26.

The school supplies were purchased with donated money from the soldiers' families in Canada. The project started after a few Canadian soldiers, responsible for training and mentoring the ANA at Camp Hero, began working with Sayd Pacha School's principal, Mohammad Issa, and regularly visited the school to spend time with the students.

"It was a great opportunity for people at home to feel like they are doing something tangible to support what their loved ones are doing here," said Major Jim Short, chaplain for Task Force Kandahar's Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team. "Apart from the things that make us very different, we all want the opportunity for our children to be educated."

To ensure the school supplies are evenly distributed throughout the school year, Canadian soldiers handed over the project to the Afghan organization Skills Generation. Skills Generation's mandate is to help Kandahar schools receive adequate school supplies and textbooks for teachers and students by working closely with the Ministry of Education to improve Kandahar province's school system.
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[dapaterson]

New York Times  26 Aug 08

Taliban Gain New Foothold in Afghan City After Attack

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — The Taliban bomber calmly parked a white fuel tanker near the prison gates of this city one evening in June, then jumped down from the cab and let out a laugh. Prison guards fired on the bomber as he ran off, but they missed, instead killing the son of a local shopkeeper, Muhammad Daoud, who watched the scene unfold from across the street.Seconds later, the Taliban fired a rocket-propelled grenade into the tanker, setting off an explosion that killed the prison guards, destroyed nearby buildings, and opened a breach in the prison walls as wide as a highway. Nearly 900 prisoners escaped, 350 of them members of the Taliban, in one of the worst security lapses in Afghanistan in the six years since the United States intervention here.

The prison break, on June 13, was a spectacular propaganda coup for the Taliban not only in freeing their comrades and flaunting their strength, but also in exposing the catastrophic weakness of the Afghan government, its army and the police, as well as the international forces trying to secure Kandahar.

In the weeks since the prison break, security has further deteriorated in this southern Afghan city, once the de facto capital of the Taliban, that has become a renewed front line in the battle against the radical Islamist movement. The failure of the American-backed Afghan government to protect Kandahar has rippled across the rest of the country and complicated the task of NATO forces, which have suffered more deaths here this year than at any time since the 2001 invasion.

Full article at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/world/asia/27kandahar.html?hp=&pagewanted=all

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Poppy cultivation decreased by 19% with more than half of the country gaining poppy free status (Press Release)

 
The Joint Ministry of Counter Narcotics and UNODC Annual Opium Survey Report indicate a 19% reduction in cultivation level this year (153,000 ha), compared to last year’s 193,000 ha. Meanwhile, poppy free provinces have been increased from 13 to 18 provinces.

“This is a remarkable achievement, which is achieved as a result of extensive efforts by the Government supported by international community.” said General Khodaidad, Minister of Counter Narcotics of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan at a joint press conference with Antonio Maria Costa Executive Director of the UNODC.

He further added that it shows that where there is good governance, rule of law and security, the government's National Drugs Control Strategy is working. The gains we have made are threatened by high food prices and severe drought affecting 26 provinces.

So, the government, supported by the international community, must act swiftly to help those experiencing hardship and sustain this achievement over the coming years. General Khodaidad praised the role of Ulema, community elders; local administration and parliament members during the pre-planting campaign, without their strong support the Government would not have been able to achieve success in reduction of poppy cultivation year.

He added that this year the pre-planting campaign and other measures will be continued in all affected provinces in an attempt to maintain the poppy free status and further reduce poppy cultivation in the coming years.

In the current year of 2008 more than 77 police officer lost their valuable life’s including on Ground verification surveyor and more than 100 more police officers were injured in combating Counter Narcotics Efforts. , the Minister of counter Narcotics praised their services and said that there sacrifice who bring honor and prestige to our country which is removing the drug problem for Afghanistan will always be remembered.

http://www.mcn.gov.af/press_release3.html


Afghan bombing drives allies apart

By Alastair Leithead
BBC News, Kabul 


It was the early hours of Friday morning when US and Afghan troops moved in to Azizabad, a village in western Afghanistan close to the Iranian border.

Their target was described as a "key Taleban leader" and after receiving intelligence reports of his whereabouts, the troops attacked.

What happened next in the Shindand district of Herat province has driven a wedge between President Hamid Karzai and American forces, between the United Nations and Nato, and has threatened to change the way international troops do business in Afghanistan.

There are two interpretations of what happened that night and as yet no indisputable evidence either way.

The US military called it a "successful operation" and up until 24 hours later still "remained confident" no civilians had been killed.

Troops under Operation Enduring Freedom, the counter-terrorist arm of US activities in Afghanistan, working outside of Nato's command and remit, were satisfied those killed had been insurgents - one of them an important target.

But the other interpretation is that up to 90 civilians died - more than half of them children - after false intelligence was deliberately given by a rival tribe and a funeral wake was bombed killing many innocent people.
Anti-American feeling

That view is shared by President Karzai and his cabinet, the Afghan defence and interior ministries, tribal elders, members of parliament, Herat's police chief, the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and now the United Nations.


"We found convincing evidence, based on the testimony of eyewitnesses and others, that some 90 civilians were killed, including 60 children," said a statement from the UN Special Representative for Afghanistan. "This is a matter of grave concern to the United Nations," Kai Eide's statement went on, describing how the name, age and gender of the victims had been collected and "the destruction from aerial bombardment was clearly evident".

It is a strongly worded and scathing report aimed at US forces and based on interviews with local people.

Shindand is a fiercely tribal area and there have been claims by local people of a large number of civilian casualties in the past which have turned out to be exaggerated. But there have been a number of separate delegations sent to investigate and their findings all match up.

Every night for the past week the state-run national television station has been running stories showing strong anti-American feeling among Afghan people.

Hearts and minds

The US are "investigating", but privately they are sticking to their story, labelling reports of civilian casualties as "Taleban propaganda".

There has been no official comment on when the inquiry results will be released, but an investigation into a wedding party bombed by mistake in the eastern Nangahar province by US forces in July has still not been made public.


A fierce row is now going with the Afghan government and within the international community.
The lack of a body count or clear evidence one way or the other has created a stand-off which is destabilising the West's relationship with the Afghan government.

Killing innocent people by accident in a counter-insurgency campaign is not only tragic, but is hugely detrimental to the objective - to win, not lose, hearts and minds.

President Karzai knows how seriously the issue of civilian casualties is taken among Afghan people, and is keen to distance himself from such incidents, which he knows will affect his popularity ahead of next year's election.

After a cabinet meeting the government announced it would hold serious talks to renegotiate the terms of the international presence in the country.

"The presence of the international community in Afghanistan should be re-regulated based on bilateral agreements," a statement said, adding that limits should be placed on military forces and "air strikes on civilian targets, unilateral searches of homes and illegal detentions must be stopped immediately".

What exactly happened at the Shindand operation is dominating the debate between the Afghan government and the international community, but at the same time insurgents are killing aid workers and innocent people every day - and it is not possible to hold them accountable for their actions.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7584464.stm