The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread February 2009
- Thread starter GAP
- Start date
Articles found February 1, 2009
New Afghan Security Unit to Police Dangerous Areas
By VOA News 01 February 2009
Article Link
Afghanistan's interior minister says plans are underway to form a U.S.-funded community program that will provide security in areas threatened by Taliban fighters.
Mohammad Hanif Atmar says the paramilitary-style force will use the same weapons as Afghan police, and will be assigned to protect schools, highways and other government institutions. He refused to say where the unit will operate, citing security concerns.
Atmar also says the security force will be under the command of the Interior Ministry, noting it is not a regional militia. He says the U.S. military in Afghanistan is supportive of the program.
In other news, International aid group, Oxfam, says the United States must shift its policy in Afghanistan to avert a humanitarian crisis in the country.
More on link
Further drops likely in Afghan opium production: survey
2 hours ago
Article Link
KABUL (AFP) — Opium production in Afghanistan is expected to decline again this year, largely because of falling prices in a saturated market and a drought, according to a UN and Afghan government survey released Sunday.
But the lucrative crop, of which Afghanistan is the source of more than 90 percent of the world's supply, could bounce back if deteriorating security is not checked, the Opium Winter Assessment warned.
The impoverished country's massive trade in the drug, much of which is turned into heroin inside its borders, puts millions of dollars into the coffers of extremist insurgents and feeds rampant government corruption.
Wiping out the crop has been a key component of international efforts to stabilise and build Afghanistan -- called a "narco state" by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001.
"Overall, the cultivation of opium in Afghanistan is likely to decrease in 2009," said the report, citing surveys of 484 villages across the country over December and January.
More on link
Iran police kill 10 drugs smugglers in east-report
Sat Jan 31, 2009 2:18pm GMT
Article Link
TEHRAN, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Police have killed 10 drugs smugglers in clashes in eastern Iran and seized more than 1,000 kgs of narcotics in the past three days, the official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday.
It quoted the head of police in Khorasan Razavi province, which borders Afghanistan, Hamid Fahimirad, as saying the clashes happened around the town of Taybad.
Iran's eastern border with Afghanistan and Pakistan is a busy smuggling route for drugs and other contraband. Security forces often clash with smugglers in the area
end
Suicide bomber hits foreign forces in Kabul
Sun Feb 1, 2009 6:25pm IST
Article Link
KABUL (Reuters) - A Taliban suicide car bomber hit a convoy of foreign troops on the outskirts of the Afghan capital on Sunday, wounding two Afghan civilians and slightly injuring a French soldier, officials said.
The attack took place on Kabul's western edge near a bridge where Italian troops and a Turkish diplomatic convoy have been attacked by Taliban insurgents in the past 18 months.
Two Afghan civilians were wounded, the Interior Ministry said, while a spokesman for NATO-led forces said a French soldier received minor injuries in the blast.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack
More on link
Afghanistan to found auxiliary police
www.chinaview.cn 2009-01-31 20:38:00
Article Link
KABUL, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Afghan Interior Ministry, in efforts to further stabilize security and ensure law and order in the war-torn country, has decided to form auxiliary police soon, Minister for Interior Mohammad Hanif Atmar said Saturday.
Describing it as "Public Protection Police", he said "the new police force after formation would provide security for highways, schools, health clinics and public institutions."
Nevertheless, the minister did not specify the strength of the proposed force, but added that preliminary work for its formation had already begun and its strength could be up to 20,000 depending on situation.
The minister made this announcement amid increase in the rate of militancy, robbery and criminal activities in parts of the country mostly in the militancy-plagued southern region.
In addition to increasing Taliban-linked insurgency, the war-weary Afghans have been suffering from robbery, kidnapping for ransom and other types of criminal activities.
More on link
Afghan vote delayed over harsh winter, not violence
Updated Fri. Jan. 30 2009 8:06 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link
It wasn't security concerns that prompted Afghan officials to delay upcoming presidential elections, but rather the harsh winter that has rendered many parts of the country inaccessible, says the governor of Kandahar province.
Speaking to Canada AM from Ottawa, Gov. Tooryalai Wesa dismissed reports that ongoing Taliban violence prompted the delay.
The election -- only the second time Afghans will participate in a democratic process to choose their president -- has been moved from late April to Aug. 20.
"The reason for postponing the election is not the insurgency, the security situation. It is because of the severe winter we're having here in Afghanistan. Some of the places are very difficult to reach here in the country because of snow and heavy rain," the governor told CTV's Canada AM
More on link
New Afghan Security Unit to Police Dangerous Areas
By VOA News 01 February 2009
Article Link
Afghanistan's interior minister says plans are underway to form a U.S.-funded community program that will provide security in areas threatened by Taliban fighters.
Mohammad Hanif Atmar says the paramilitary-style force will use the same weapons as Afghan police, and will be assigned to protect schools, highways and other government institutions. He refused to say where the unit will operate, citing security concerns.
Atmar also says the security force will be under the command of the Interior Ministry, noting it is not a regional militia. He says the U.S. military in Afghanistan is supportive of the program.
In other news, International aid group, Oxfam, says the United States must shift its policy in Afghanistan to avert a humanitarian crisis in the country.
More on link
Further drops likely in Afghan opium production: survey
2 hours ago
Article Link
KABUL (AFP) — Opium production in Afghanistan is expected to decline again this year, largely because of falling prices in a saturated market and a drought, according to a UN and Afghan government survey released Sunday.
But the lucrative crop, of which Afghanistan is the source of more than 90 percent of the world's supply, could bounce back if deteriorating security is not checked, the Opium Winter Assessment warned.
The impoverished country's massive trade in the drug, much of which is turned into heroin inside its borders, puts millions of dollars into the coffers of extremist insurgents and feeds rampant government corruption.
Wiping out the crop has been a key component of international efforts to stabilise and build Afghanistan -- called a "narco state" by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001.
"Overall, the cultivation of opium in Afghanistan is likely to decrease in 2009," said the report, citing surveys of 484 villages across the country over December and January.
More on link
Iran police kill 10 drugs smugglers in east-report
Sat Jan 31, 2009 2:18pm GMT
Article Link
TEHRAN, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Police have killed 10 drugs smugglers in clashes in eastern Iran and seized more than 1,000 kgs of narcotics in the past three days, the official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday.
It quoted the head of police in Khorasan Razavi province, which borders Afghanistan, Hamid Fahimirad, as saying the clashes happened around the town of Taybad.
Iran's eastern border with Afghanistan and Pakistan is a busy smuggling route for drugs and other contraband. Security forces often clash with smugglers in the area
end
Suicide bomber hits foreign forces in Kabul
Sun Feb 1, 2009 6:25pm IST
Article Link
KABUL (Reuters) - A Taliban suicide car bomber hit a convoy of foreign troops on the outskirts of the Afghan capital on Sunday, wounding two Afghan civilians and slightly injuring a French soldier, officials said.
The attack took place on Kabul's western edge near a bridge where Italian troops and a Turkish diplomatic convoy have been attacked by Taliban insurgents in the past 18 months.
Two Afghan civilians were wounded, the Interior Ministry said, while a spokesman for NATO-led forces said a French soldier received minor injuries in the blast.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack
More on link
Afghanistan to found auxiliary police
www.chinaview.cn 2009-01-31 20:38:00
Article Link
KABUL, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Afghan Interior Ministry, in efforts to further stabilize security and ensure law and order in the war-torn country, has decided to form auxiliary police soon, Minister for Interior Mohammad Hanif Atmar said Saturday.
Describing it as "Public Protection Police", he said "the new police force after formation would provide security for highways, schools, health clinics and public institutions."
Nevertheless, the minister did not specify the strength of the proposed force, but added that preliminary work for its formation had already begun and its strength could be up to 20,000 depending on situation.
The minister made this announcement amid increase in the rate of militancy, robbery and criminal activities in parts of the country mostly in the militancy-plagued southern region.
In addition to increasing Taliban-linked insurgency, the war-weary Afghans have been suffering from robbery, kidnapping for ransom and other types of criminal activities.
More on link
Afghan vote delayed over harsh winter, not violence
Updated Fri. Jan. 30 2009 8:06 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link
It wasn't security concerns that prompted Afghan officials to delay upcoming presidential elections, but rather the harsh winter that has rendered many parts of the country inaccessible, says the governor of Kandahar province.
Speaking to Canada AM from Ottawa, Gov. Tooryalai Wesa dismissed reports that ongoing Taliban violence prompted the delay.
The election -- only the second time Afghans will participate in a democratic process to choose their president -- has been moved from late April to Aug. 20.
"The reason for postponing the election is not the insurgency, the security situation. It is because of the severe winter we're having here in Afghanistan. Some of the places are very difficult to reach here in the country because of snow and heavy rain," the governor told CTV's Canada AM
More on link
- Reaction score
- 147
- Points
- 710
New air wing offers troops safer passage
Edmonton-based chopper squadron gets soldiers off dangerous roads, increases surveillance
Edmonton Journal, Feb. 1
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/wing+offers+troops+safer+passage/1241336/story.html
Weight of Combat Gear Is Taking Toll
The Loads Are Contributing to Injuries That Are Keeping Some Troops on the Sidelines
Washington Post, Feb. 1
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/31/AR2009013101717.html
Mark
Ottawa
Edmonton-based chopper squadron gets soldiers off dangerous roads, increases surveillance
Edmonton Journal, Feb. 1
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/wing+offers+troops+safer+passage/1241336/story.html
Weight of Combat Gear Is Taking Toll
The Loads Are Contributing to Injuries That Are Keeping Some Troops on the Sidelines
Washington Post, Feb. 1
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/31/AR2009013101717.html
Mark
Ottawa
- Reaction score
- 147
- Points
- 710
ARTICLES FOUND FEB. 2
Pakistani forces regain control of region in Swat
The Long War Journal, Feb. 1, by Bill Roggio
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/02/pakistani_forces_reg.php
Mark
Ottawa
Pakistani forces regain control of region in Swat
The Long War Journal, Feb. 1, by Bill Roggio
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/02/pakistani_forces_reg.php
Mark
Ottawa
- Reaction score
- 105
- Points
- 830
Not sure if this is the right place.
Bridge bombed on supply route for Afghan mission
Last Updated: Tuesday, February 3, 2009 | 9:19 AM ET CBC News
The bombing of a 10-metre iron bridge about 25 kilometres northwest of Peshawar early Tuesday was the latest in a series on the Khyber Pass by insurgents seeking to hamper the U.S.-led mission against the Taliban. (Mohammad Sajjad/Associated Press)
A major supply link for NATO forces in Afghanistan has been temporarily severed after militants bombed a bridge in northwest Pakistan, government officials said Tuesday.
Militants bombed the 10-metre iron bridge in the Khyber Pass, about 25 kilometres northwest of the city of Peshawar, early Tuesday, said Hidayat Ullah. An estimated 75 per cent of supplies for international forces in Afghanistan — including U.S. and Canadian soldiers — travel through the Khyber Pass.
"Militants blew up the bridge and it's going to take some time to fix it," another government official, Rahat Gul, told Reuters.
He could not say how long access to the bridge would be cut off.
A NATO spokesperson said shipments through the route will be halted "for the time being," but international forces in Afghanistan were in no danger of running out of food or other supplies.
Army looks for other routes
The latest attack continues a militant strategy to squeeze supply lines for Western forces in Afghanistan. The U.S. army has had to look for alternate routes in response to militant pummelling of the road between Peshawar and Pakistan. The route had previously closed twice, albeit briefly, since September.
It was not immediately clear whether supply convoys could bypass the destroyed bridge and still reach Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Pakistani security forces, using artillery and helicopter gunships, killed at least 35 Islamist militants overnight in Swat Valley, an area in the northwest known to be overrun by insurgents, Pakistan's military said in a statement.
There is no way of being able to independently verify the casualties, as the Swat region is now considered too dangerous for reporters to visit.
Swat was once a popular tourist destination, but in the past couple of years has become a haven for militants. The state responded with force, but residents say militants increasingly hold sway.
With files from the Associated Press
Bridge bombed on supply route for Afghan mission
Last Updated: Tuesday, February 3, 2009 | 9:19 AM ET CBC News
The bombing of a 10-metre iron bridge about 25 kilometres northwest of Peshawar early Tuesday was the latest in a series on the Khyber Pass by insurgents seeking to hamper the U.S.-led mission against the Taliban. (Mohammad Sajjad/Associated Press)
A major supply link for NATO forces in Afghanistan has been temporarily severed after militants bombed a bridge in northwest Pakistan, government officials said Tuesday.
Militants bombed the 10-metre iron bridge in the Khyber Pass, about 25 kilometres northwest of the city of Peshawar, early Tuesday, said Hidayat Ullah. An estimated 75 per cent of supplies for international forces in Afghanistan — including U.S. and Canadian soldiers — travel through the Khyber Pass.
"Militants blew up the bridge and it's going to take some time to fix it," another government official, Rahat Gul, told Reuters.
He could not say how long access to the bridge would be cut off.
A NATO spokesperson said shipments through the route will be halted "for the time being," but international forces in Afghanistan were in no danger of running out of food or other supplies.
Army looks for other routes
The latest attack continues a militant strategy to squeeze supply lines for Western forces in Afghanistan. The U.S. army has had to look for alternate routes in response to militant pummelling of the road between Peshawar and Pakistan. The route had previously closed twice, albeit briefly, since September.
It was not immediately clear whether supply convoys could bypass the destroyed bridge and still reach Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Pakistani security forces, using artillery and helicopter gunships, killed at least 35 Islamist militants overnight in Swat Valley, an area in the northwest known to be overrun by insurgents, Pakistan's military said in a statement.
There is no way of being able to independently verify the casualties, as the Swat region is now considered too dangerous for reporters to visit.
Swat was once a popular tourist destination, but in the past couple of years has become a haven for militants. The state responded with force, but residents say militants increasingly hold sway.
With files from the Associated Press
- Reaction score
- 105
- Points
- 830
Canadian troops could soon target Afghan drug trade: top soldier
Last Updated: Tuesday, February 3, 2009 | 10:05 AM ET CBC News
Canadian soldiers participating in the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan could soon be ordered to hunt down drug lords and attack the country's poppy trade, which is inextricably linked to the Taliban insurgency, Canada's top general says.
So far, Canadian soldiers have not been involved in anti-drug operations in Afghanistan, but that could change, said Walter Natynczyk, Canada's chief of defence staff.
"We haven't yet," Natynczyk told CBC News. "We're still waiting for NATO to come out with their guidance."
As the CBC first reported Saturday, NATO nations are embroiled in a tense debate over whether attacking drug lords is a war crime.
An initial order to go after the drug trade issued by NATO's military commander was rejected by officers on the ground in Afghanistan because the NATO order failed to distinguish between drug traffickers and those who directly support the Taliban, the CBC's James Cudmore reported.
But Natynczyk said the ties between the drug trade and the insurgency are too strong to dismiss any longer, as profits or product often end up directly in the hands of fighters.
"Most times that we have operations, our soldiers, sailors and airmen have found drugs right there with Taliban," he said. "So the nexus between drugs and terror is very, very strong."
Canada is waiting for NATO's top commander to issue an order authorizing the attacks, Natynczyk said.
"It's a legal question, absolutely," he said.
International law forbids nations from using military force against civilian targets, even if they're criminals. But drug traffickers with links to the insurgency could be a legitimate target.
The order is being reviewed after some European countries claimed the NATO order went too far, saying it could expose troops to allegations of war crimes.
Once NATO has made up its mind, the Canadian government will review the order, before deciding whether Canadian soldiers should follow it, Natynczyk said.
With files from James Cudmore
Last Updated: Tuesday, February 3, 2009 | 10:05 AM ET CBC News
Canadian soldiers participating in the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan could soon be ordered to hunt down drug lords and attack the country's poppy trade, which is inextricably linked to the Taliban insurgency, Canada's top general says.
So far, Canadian soldiers have not been involved in anti-drug operations in Afghanistan, but that could change, said Walter Natynczyk, Canada's chief of defence staff.
"We haven't yet," Natynczyk told CBC News. "We're still waiting for NATO to come out with their guidance."
As the CBC first reported Saturday, NATO nations are embroiled in a tense debate over whether attacking drug lords is a war crime.
An initial order to go after the drug trade issued by NATO's military commander was rejected by officers on the ground in Afghanistan because the NATO order failed to distinguish between drug traffickers and those who directly support the Taliban, the CBC's James Cudmore reported.
But Natynczyk said the ties between the drug trade and the insurgency are too strong to dismiss any longer, as profits or product often end up directly in the hands of fighters.
"Most times that we have operations, our soldiers, sailors and airmen have found drugs right there with Taliban," he said. "So the nexus between drugs and terror is very, very strong."
Canada is waiting for NATO's top commander to issue an order authorizing the attacks, Natynczyk said.
"It's a legal question, absolutely," he said.
International law forbids nations from using military force against civilian targets, even if they're criminals. But drug traffickers with links to the insurgency could be a legitimate target.
The order is being reviewed after some European countries claimed the NATO order went too far, saying it could expose troops to allegations of war crimes.
Once NATO has made up its mind, the Canadian government will review the order, before deciding whether Canadian soldiers should follow it, Natynczyk said.
With files from James Cudmore
- Reaction score
- 7,450
- Points
- 1,360
...and as reported in Der Spiegel three days earlier (28 Jan) , and on which ISAF commented on two days earlier (29 Jan).
Articles found February 3, 2009
Three Canadian women flying over Afghan skies
Updated Mon. Feb. 2 2009 10:02 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link
It may come as a surprise to know that only three Canadian women are flying Griffon helicopters in combat missions over Afghan skies.
Even more surprising is that these soldiers are among the first female helicopter pilots to ever serve in combat roles for the Canadian forces.
Pilot Tressa Olson is one of these three Canadian soldiers. But she doesn't like being identified by her gender.
"I don't like to be singled out as a female," Olson told CTV News.
"And I don't think it's necessarily a big deal to be a female here."
But it took a long time for the women of the Canadian Forces to get the respect that they deserve.
For generations, women were not allowed to serve in combat roles when they joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. They were told it was too dangerous to get near the front lines.
It wasn't until 1981 that the Canadian Forces allowed women to pilot military choppers.
Today, only three women are flying combat missions over Afghanistan, providing aerial cover for their fellow soldiers and ferrying their colleagues to and from the battlefield.
And they are among the best in the Canadian Forces.
One of the women says that even over her career, she has seen significant changes.
Capt. Andie Gallagher said she remembers when the air force used to be much more close-minded towards women in their ranks.
"The number of those dinosaurs, if you will, that are around now are few and far between from what they were only seven years ago when I got my wings," Gallagher told CTV News.
"And seven years from now, it's going to be even more different."
More on link
Secret Report Urges New Afghanistan Policy
Politico: Pentagon Will Recommend U.S. Focus On Stabilizing Region, Eliminating Insurgency, Rather Than Boosting Democracy
Feb. 3, 2009
Article Link
(The Politico) The Pentagon's top military officers are recommending to President Barack Obama that he shift U.S. strategy in Afghanistan - to focus on ensuring regional stability and eliminating Taliban and al Qaeda safe havens in Pakistan, rather than on achieving lasting democracy and a thriving Afghan economy, officials said.
The recommendations to narrow U.S. goals are contained in a classified report by the Joint Chiefs of Staff that is likely to be shown soon to Obama as part of a review of Afghanistan strategy announced by the new administration.
Obama is expected to announce later this week his decision on a request for additional forces from the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. David McKiernan. Several officials said they expected the president to approve sending three additional combat brigades to Afghanistan, totaling roughly 10,000 to 12,000 troops.
But a decision by Obama about whether to approve a more far-reaching shift in U.S. objectives in Afghanistan will be made later as part of the strategy review, the officials said. In addition to the Joint Chiefs, Obama will hear recommendations from Gen. David Petraeus, in charge of U.S. Central Command, and from Richard Holbrooke, Obama's civilian envoy to Afghanistan. The review is not expected to be completed for several months.
As he weighs his options, Obama will have to balance his calls during the campaign for intensified effort in Afghanistan against recent warnings by some of his senior advisers, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, of the dangers of getting deeply engaged in a place that has a long and bloody history of resisting foreign occupations.
Obama has indicated in recent weeks that he favors the idea of setting limited objectives, including ensuring that Afghanistan "cannot be used as a base to launch attacks against the United States." He cited the need for "more effective military action" while warning of Afghan hostility to foreign troops. His "number one goal" is to stop al Qaeda, he said.
More on link
'I'm a field man'
By Richard Bulliet Published: February 3, 2009
Article Link
The news broke Monday about the kidnapping of John Solecki, the top UN official in Pakistan's Baluchistan Province. When I heard the news, I could not help but think back to earlier moments in John's career. He had been a student of mine in Columbia College, and I got to know him even better when he worked for a master's degree in the School of International and Public Affairs. We became good friends, and in those days I remember him often wondering about the kind of career he might have.
Then he started working with refugees, first on a contract basis and then for the United Nations High Commission on Refugees. A few years later he told me he had found his calling. "I'm a field man," he said. Working with refugees in the field is what he does best. He is imperturbable. He soothes the feelings of people in distress. They know without his having to say it that he is doing his best to help them. And he does help them.
Though his career path has pushed him toward being an administrator, he seems to always end up in the field again and again. John has brought aid and comfort to people in the Gaza Strip, the Saudi-Iraqi border, Kurdistan, Egypt, and finally Quetta in Pakistan. The next stop is supposed to be Kabul, Afghanistan. He is looking forward to that: John goes where the refugees are.
Why would anyone kidnap a man who has spent his entire career serving the needs of people in distress under the auspices of the United Nations? He is an American citizen, but he doesn't work for or represent the United States government. John has been moving from one chaotic region to another, not as a soldier or a military contractor, but rather, as a "field man" for the world's desperate refugees. The refugee camp is his beat, not the field of battle. He does not travel with a bodyguard or shun populated areas.
More on link
Pakistani militants cut off key NATO supply line to Afghanistan
The attack highlights the need for alternative routes.
By Liam Stack posted February 03, 2009 at 10:10 am EST
Article Link
Islamist militants in Pakistan blew up a bridge through the mountainous Khyber Pass early on Tuesday, severing a key supply route for US and NATO troops in Afghanistan. Periodic attacks on the route have pushed the international forces to seek alternative ones outside Pakistan.
All traffic on the bridge has come to a halt, The Press Trust of India reports, including dozens of supply trucks bound for US and NATO forces.
The bridge connects Peshawar, the largest city in the Northwest Frontier Province, with the Khyber Pass, the primary route into Afghanistan.
Militants have harassed NATO supply lines in northwest Pakistan for several months, conducting ambushes on convoys and attacking truck depots in Peshawar itself, according to the news service. It says Tuesday's bridge attack may be a result of increased security at supply depots.
The Associated Press reports that the bridge is about 15 miles northwest of Peshawar.
A NATO spokesman in Afghanistan confirmed that supplies along the route had been halted "for the time being," but stressed the alliance was in no danger of running out of food, equipment or fuel....
It was not immediately clear whether supply convoys could reach Afghanistan through alternative routes in the region, nor how long it would take to rebuild it.
The Khyber Pass is one of two routes into Afghanistan from Pakistan, according to Reuters. The other connects the Pakistani province of Baluchistan with the southern Afghan city of Kandahar.
While the military provides few specifics of its supply operation, observers believe most of the supplies travel through the Khyber Pass, says Reuters.
The U.S. military and NATO have not given details of the supplies they get via Pakistan or a breakdown of how much comes on the two routes. The U.S. Defense Department says the U.S. military sends 75 percent of supplies for the Afghan war through or over Pakistan, including 40 percent of fuel.
Pakistani customs officials say under normal circumstances about 300 trucks with Western force supplies travel through the Khyber Pass crossing at Torkham every day, compared with about 100 through the Chaman crossing.
With the US planning to expand its Afghan operations, Tuesday's bridge attack highlights the need for secure supply routes. US planners say they are actively looking for routes that avoid Pakistan's volatile border areas.
More on link
Upset with West, is Karzai turning east?
Tue Feb 3, 2009 12:32pm By Sayed Salahuddin - Analysis
Article Link
KABUL (Reuters) - Frustrated with some of his Western allies, in particular the United States, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has begun to reach out to Afghanistan's giant northern neighbour Russia.
U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged to make Afghanistan his top foreign policy priority and will be unlikely to give Karzai an easy ride, having accused him in the past of failing to get "out of the bunker" and rule effectively.
Karzai, once the darling of the West, is no longer assured of the unwavering support he enjoyed from former President George W. Bush, and European leaders have joined the chorus continually calling for good governance -- more implied criticism of Karzai.
"When Karzai sees his former allies are not in power and the rest criticise him, instead of helping him, then he looks for new allies," said Shukriya Barakzai, a prominent parliamentarian.
The new allies, she said, were led by Russia, and included neighbours Iran and China who have economic interests in Afghanistan, but also reservations about the presence of foreign troops.
Russian diplomats have said the West was making the same mistakes the Soviet Union made during its ill-fated 10-year occupation of Afghanistan.
On the eve of President Barack Obama's inauguration, Karzai's office released a statement saying Moscow had accepted his request for providing defence aid to Afghanistan.
More on link
Security peddlers eye Afghan windfall
By David Isenberg
Article Link
As the President Barack Obama administration in the United States grapples with what to do about Afghanistan, one thing is certain; it is good news for the private military and security industry. As the United States sends more troops there they will be accompanied by an increase in private contractors.
The US military expects to send three additional combat brigades - between 10,000 and 12,000 troops - to Afghanistan between late spring and midsummer.
More troops means more supplies, which means more trucks and tankers carrying weapons, food, fuel, and construction materials to build barracks and support structures are needed, driven in
from Pakistan or Central Asian countries like Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, or even Russia. As these are favored targets of the Taliban the military needs to hire protection services from private security firms, as it does not have enough forces to guard them all.
But it is not clear whether even private security firms will be capable of providing sufficient protection. Roadside bombs have become the primary threat to forces in Afghanistan. The number of incidents involving "improvised explosive devices”, or IEDs, rose 33% in 2008 from a year earlier, and the number of casualties caused by these roadside bombs increased by the same amount, according to statistics compiled by the US-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
More on link
Three Canadian women flying over Afghan skies
Updated Mon. Feb. 2 2009 10:02 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link
It may come as a surprise to know that only three Canadian women are flying Griffon helicopters in combat missions over Afghan skies.
Even more surprising is that these soldiers are among the first female helicopter pilots to ever serve in combat roles for the Canadian forces.
Pilot Tressa Olson is one of these three Canadian soldiers. But she doesn't like being identified by her gender.
"I don't like to be singled out as a female," Olson told CTV News.
"And I don't think it's necessarily a big deal to be a female here."
But it took a long time for the women of the Canadian Forces to get the respect that they deserve.
For generations, women were not allowed to serve in combat roles when they joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. They were told it was too dangerous to get near the front lines.
It wasn't until 1981 that the Canadian Forces allowed women to pilot military choppers.
Today, only three women are flying combat missions over Afghanistan, providing aerial cover for their fellow soldiers and ferrying their colleagues to and from the battlefield.
And they are among the best in the Canadian Forces.
One of the women says that even over her career, she has seen significant changes.
Capt. Andie Gallagher said she remembers when the air force used to be much more close-minded towards women in their ranks.
"The number of those dinosaurs, if you will, that are around now are few and far between from what they were only seven years ago when I got my wings," Gallagher told CTV News.
"And seven years from now, it's going to be even more different."
More on link
Secret Report Urges New Afghanistan Policy
Politico: Pentagon Will Recommend U.S. Focus On Stabilizing Region, Eliminating Insurgency, Rather Than Boosting Democracy
Feb. 3, 2009
Article Link
(The Politico) The Pentagon's top military officers are recommending to President Barack Obama that he shift U.S. strategy in Afghanistan - to focus on ensuring regional stability and eliminating Taliban and al Qaeda safe havens in Pakistan, rather than on achieving lasting democracy and a thriving Afghan economy, officials said.
The recommendations to narrow U.S. goals are contained in a classified report by the Joint Chiefs of Staff that is likely to be shown soon to Obama as part of a review of Afghanistan strategy announced by the new administration.
Obama is expected to announce later this week his decision on a request for additional forces from the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. David McKiernan. Several officials said they expected the president to approve sending three additional combat brigades to Afghanistan, totaling roughly 10,000 to 12,000 troops.
But a decision by Obama about whether to approve a more far-reaching shift in U.S. objectives in Afghanistan will be made later as part of the strategy review, the officials said. In addition to the Joint Chiefs, Obama will hear recommendations from Gen. David Petraeus, in charge of U.S. Central Command, and from Richard Holbrooke, Obama's civilian envoy to Afghanistan. The review is not expected to be completed for several months.
As he weighs his options, Obama will have to balance his calls during the campaign for intensified effort in Afghanistan against recent warnings by some of his senior advisers, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, of the dangers of getting deeply engaged in a place that has a long and bloody history of resisting foreign occupations.
Obama has indicated in recent weeks that he favors the idea of setting limited objectives, including ensuring that Afghanistan "cannot be used as a base to launch attacks against the United States." He cited the need for "more effective military action" while warning of Afghan hostility to foreign troops. His "number one goal" is to stop al Qaeda, he said.
More on link
'I'm a field man'
By Richard Bulliet Published: February 3, 2009
Article Link
The news broke Monday about the kidnapping of John Solecki, the top UN official in Pakistan's Baluchistan Province. When I heard the news, I could not help but think back to earlier moments in John's career. He had been a student of mine in Columbia College, and I got to know him even better when he worked for a master's degree in the School of International and Public Affairs. We became good friends, and in those days I remember him often wondering about the kind of career he might have.
Then he started working with refugees, first on a contract basis and then for the United Nations High Commission on Refugees. A few years later he told me he had found his calling. "I'm a field man," he said. Working with refugees in the field is what he does best. He is imperturbable. He soothes the feelings of people in distress. They know without his having to say it that he is doing his best to help them. And he does help them.
Though his career path has pushed him toward being an administrator, he seems to always end up in the field again and again. John has brought aid and comfort to people in the Gaza Strip, the Saudi-Iraqi border, Kurdistan, Egypt, and finally Quetta in Pakistan. The next stop is supposed to be Kabul, Afghanistan. He is looking forward to that: John goes where the refugees are.
Why would anyone kidnap a man who has spent his entire career serving the needs of people in distress under the auspices of the United Nations? He is an American citizen, but he doesn't work for or represent the United States government. John has been moving from one chaotic region to another, not as a soldier or a military contractor, but rather, as a "field man" for the world's desperate refugees. The refugee camp is his beat, not the field of battle. He does not travel with a bodyguard or shun populated areas.
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Pakistani militants cut off key NATO supply line to Afghanistan
The attack highlights the need for alternative routes.
By Liam Stack posted February 03, 2009 at 10:10 am EST
Article Link
Islamist militants in Pakistan blew up a bridge through the mountainous Khyber Pass early on Tuesday, severing a key supply route for US and NATO troops in Afghanistan. Periodic attacks on the route have pushed the international forces to seek alternative ones outside Pakistan.
All traffic on the bridge has come to a halt, The Press Trust of India reports, including dozens of supply trucks bound for US and NATO forces.
The bridge connects Peshawar, the largest city in the Northwest Frontier Province, with the Khyber Pass, the primary route into Afghanistan.
Militants have harassed NATO supply lines in northwest Pakistan for several months, conducting ambushes on convoys and attacking truck depots in Peshawar itself, according to the news service. It says Tuesday's bridge attack may be a result of increased security at supply depots.
The Associated Press reports that the bridge is about 15 miles northwest of Peshawar.
A NATO spokesman in Afghanistan confirmed that supplies along the route had been halted "for the time being," but stressed the alliance was in no danger of running out of food, equipment or fuel....
It was not immediately clear whether supply convoys could reach Afghanistan through alternative routes in the region, nor how long it would take to rebuild it.
The Khyber Pass is one of two routes into Afghanistan from Pakistan, according to Reuters. The other connects the Pakistani province of Baluchistan with the southern Afghan city of Kandahar.
While the military provides few specifics of its supply operation, observers believe most of the supplies travel through the Khyber Pass, says Reuters.
The U.S. military and NATO have not given details of the supplies they get via Pakistan or a breakdown of how much comes on the two routes. The U.S. Defense Department says the U.S. military sends 75 percent of supplies for the Afghan war through or over Pakistan, including 40 percent of fuel.
Pakistani customs officials say under normal circumstances about 300 trucks with Western force supplies travel through the Khyber Pass crossing at Torkham every day, compared with about 100 through the Chaman crossing.
With the US planning to expand its Afghan operations, Tuesday's bridge attack highlights the need for secure supply routes. US planners say they are actively looking for routes that avoid Pakistan's volatile border areas.
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Upset with West, is Karzai turning east?
Tue Feb 3, 2009 12:32pm By Sayed Salahuddin - Analysis
Article Link
KABUL (Reuters) - Frustrated with some of his Western allies, in particular the United States, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has begun to reach out to Afghanistan's giant northern neighbour Russia.
U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged to make Afghanistan his top foreign policy priority and will be unlikely to give Karzai an easy ride, having accused him in the past of failing to get "out of the bunker" and rule effectively.
Karzai, once the darling of the West, is no longer assured of the unwavering support he enjoyed from former President George W. Bush, and European leaders have joined the chorus continually calling for good governance -- more implied criticism of Karzai.
"When Karzai sees his former allies are not in power and the rest criticise him, instead of helping him, then he looks for new allies," said Shukriya Barakzai, a prominent parliamentarian.
The new allies, she said, were led by Russia, and included neighbours Iran and China who have economic interests in Afghanistan, but also reservations about the presence of foreign troops.
Russian diplomats have said the West was making the same mistakes the Soviet Union made during its ill-fated 10-year occupation of Afghanistan.
On the eve of President Barack Obama's inauguration, Karzai's office released a statement saying Moscow had accepted his request for providing defence aid to Afghanistan.
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Security peddlers eye Afghan windfall
By David Isenberg
Article Link
As the President Barack Obama administration in the United States grapples with what to do about Afghanistan, one thing is certain; it is good news for the private military and security industry. As the United States sends more troops there they will be accompanied by an increase in private contractors.
The US military expects to send three additional combat brigades - between 10,000 and 12,000 troops - to Afghanistan between late spring and midsummer.
More troops means more supplies, which means more trucks and tankers carrying weapons, food, fuel, and construction materials to build barracks and support structures are needed, driven in
from Pakistan or Central Asian countries like Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, or even Russia. As these are favored targets of the Taliban the military needs to hire protection services from private security firms, as it does not have enough forces to guard them all.
But it is not clear whether even private security firms will be capable of providing sufficient protection. Roadside bombs have become the primary threat to forces in Afghanistan. The number of incidents involving "improvised explosive devices”, or IEDs, rose 33% in 2008 from a year earlier, and the number of casualties caused by these roadside bombs increased by the same amount, according to statistics compiled by the US-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
More on link
- Reaction score
- 147
- Points
- 710
Canuck helicopter team adds vital eye in the sky
Edmonton Sun, Feb. 3
Griffon helicopter crews make history over Kandahar
Air Force News Room, Feb. 2
http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/site/newsroom/news_e.asp?cat=114&id=7695
Mark
Ottawa
Edmonton Sun, Feb. 3
Griffon helicopter crews make history over Kandahar
Air Force News Room, Feb. 2
http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/site/newsroom/news_e.asp?cat=114&id=7695
Mark
Ottawa
- Reaction score
- 147
- Points
- 710
ARTICLES FOUND FEB. 4
Plans Emerge for New Troop Deployments to Afghanistan (good map at link)
Wall St. Journal, Feb.4
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123370741624945711.html
Obama Seeks Narrower Focus in Afghan War
Situation Is Much Worse Than New Administration Realized and Will Take Time to Address
Washington Post, Feb. 4
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/03/AR2009020302858.html?hpid=topnews
With attacks on Afghan supply lines in Pakistan, US turns to Uzbekistan
US rebuilds ties with Central Asian nation to secure new military supply routes.
CS Monitor, Feb. 4
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0204/p04s01-wogn.html
UN: 2,100 civilians killed in Afghanistan in 2008
Reuters, Feb. 3
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE5123KR20090203
Mark
Ottawa
Plans Emerge for New Troop Deployments to Afghanistan (good map at link)
Wall St. Journal, Feb.4
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123370741624945711.html
Obama Seeks Narrower Focus in Afghan War
Situation Is Much Worse Than New Administration Realized and Will Take Time to Address
Washington Post, Feb. 4
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/03/AR2009020302858.html?hpid=topnews
With attacks on Afghan supply lines in Pakistan, US turns to Uzbekistan
US rebuilds ties with Central Asian nation to secure new military supply routes.
CS Monitor, Feb. 4
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0204/p04s01-wogn.html
UN: 2,100 civilians killed in Afghanistan in 2008
Reuters, Feb. 3
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE5123KR20090203
Mark
Ottawa
- Reaction score
- 1,567
- Points
- 940
Article found Feb 4, 2009.
Canadian troops troll gas stations for fuel, info
Article Link
ZHARI DISTRICT, Afghanistan — Canadians soldiers spent the day Wednesday visiting all the gas stations on a major thoroughfare in Zhari District, west of Kandahar City.
If gas stations seem an odd target for a military patrol, it's because the Taliban have been known to use them for staging operations during the summer fighting months. The gas stations — particularly the abandoned ones — are recognizable, offer ample space to gather and provide easy cover for insurgents.
The problem is, the Canadians don't know much about the stations — who owns them, what they're called and whether the Taliban or Afghan National Army extorts them for fuel.
So, Wednesday's mission was simple — buy some gas, get some information.
Afghan gas stations are a far cry from those in Canada. They feature dilapidated old pumps that may not work and, instead of an inside cash register, they tend to have a collection of men outside who explain the price.
More on link
Canadian troops troll gas stations for fuel, info
Article Link
ZHARI DISTRICT, Afghanistan — Canadians soldiers spent the day Wednesday visiting all the gas stations on a major thoroughfare in Zhari District, west of Kandahar City.
If gas stations seem an odd target for a military patrol, it's because the Taliban have been known to use them for staging operations during the summer fighting months. The gas stations — particularly the abandoned ones — are recognizable, offer ample space to gather and provide easy cover for insurgents.
The problem is, the Canadians don't know much about the stations — who owns them, what they're called and whether the Taliban or Afghan National Army extorts them for fuel.
So, Wednesday's mission was simple — buy some gas, get some information.
Afghan gas stations are a far cry from those in Canada. They feature dilapidated old pumps that may not work and, instead of an inside cash register, they tend to have a collection of men outside who explain the price.
More on link
- Reaction score
- 2
- Points
- 410
Suicide bombing ring is brought down in Afghanistan, officials say
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghan-suicide-bombers4-2009feb04,0,5200378.story
Afghan authorities say 17 men in an alleged bombing cell have been arrested. The group is thought to be allied with Pakistani militants and to have received aid from the Pakistan spy agency ISI.
By M. Karim Faiez and Laura King
February 4, 2009
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghan-suicide-bombers4-2009feb04,0,5200378.story
Afghan authorities say 17 men in an alleged bombing cell have been arrested. The group is thought to be allied with Pakistani militants and to have received aid from the Pakistan spy agency ISI.
By M. Karim Faiez and Laura King
February 4, 2009
- Reaction score
- 147
- Points
- 710
Afghanistan: focusing the lens
Conference of Defence Associations' media round-up, Feb. 5
http://www.cdaforumcad.ca/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1233863965
GENERAL CRADDOCK'S CONTENTIOUS ORDER
Time May Be Short for NATO High Commander
Spiegel Online, Feb. 5
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,605780,00.html
Mark
Ottawa
Conference of Defence Associations' media round-up, Feb. 5
http://www.cdaforumcad.ca/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1233863965
GENERAL CRADDOCK'S CONTENTIOUS ORDER
Time May Be Short for NATO High Commander
Spiegel Online, Feb. 5
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,605780,00.html
Mark
Ottawa
Articles found February 5, 2009
A Canadian Combat First
February 5, 2009
Article Link
This year Canadian troops have, for the first time, flown in a Canadian helicopter in a combat zone. Two CH-146 helicopters flew soldiers to a Canadian base in Afghanistan. The last time Canadian troops were in large scale combat, during the Korean War (1950-53), there were few helicopters available (the first use of helicopters in combat had occurred in 1945), and they were all American.
Canada has established its own little air force in Afghanistan. The Canadian Air Wing will have, by this Summer, six leased Russian made Mi-8 transport helicopters, six newly purchased U.S. CH-47 transport helicopters and eight Canadian made CH-146 armed transports to escort the larger choppers. The Wing will have about 450 personnel to support the twenty helicopters and some UAVs.
A primary function of the choppers will be to keep Canadian troops off the roads, where half the casualties have been suffered because of roadside bombs. Previous to the establishment of the Wing, the 2,500 Canadian troops had much less access to helicopter transport than their American or NATO allies fighting in the south. This is the first time, since the Korean War (1950-53) that Canadian forces have established an Air Wing in a combat zone.
More on link
Canadian troops pump gas station owners for info.
By Archie McLean, Canwest News ServiceFebruary 4, 2009
Article Link
ZHARI DISTRICT, Afghanistan - Canadians soldiers spent the day Wednesday visiting all the gas stations on a major thoroughfare in Zhari District, west of Kandahar City.
If gas stations seem an odd target for a military patrol, it's because the Taliban have been known to use them for staging operations during the summer fighting months. The gas stations - particularly the abandoned ones - are recognizable, offer ample space to gather and provide easy cover for insurgents.
The problem is, the Canadians don't know much about the stations - who owns them, what they're called and whether the Taliban or Afghan National Army extorts them for fuel.
So, Wednesday's mission was simple - buy some gas, get some information.
Afghan gas stations are a far cry from those in Canada. They feature dilapidated old pumps that may not work and, instead of an inside cash register, they tend to have a collection of men outside who explain the price.
Three light armoured vehicles pull up to the first station and the soldiers spill outside. The owner is leery of the Canadian presence, explaining through an interpreter that the military vehicles and soldiers scare his customers away. It is a sentiment that is echoed several times during the day.
At first he refuses to sell them diesel at all because he is afraid of being seen collaborating with the military. After Lieut. Jeff Lloyd, the platoon commander, explains he only wants 10 litres in a jerry can, the owner relents.
More on link
U.S. Searches for Alternative to Kyrgyz Base
By ELISABETH BUMILLER and ELLEN BARRY Published: February 5, 2009
Article Link
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration scrambled Wednesday to come up with an alternative to a crucial United States air base in Central Asia, used to supply the growing military operation in Afghanistan, after the president of Kyrgyzstan ordered the American base in his country closed.
Defense and State Department officials said they had concluded that Russia had pressed Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic, to expel the Americans. Russia has promised not to impede the American-led fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan, but has also sought to push United States forces out of bases it began leasing in Central Asia in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The Kyrgyz Parliament planned to vote next week on a measure that would close the base at Manas, a major air hub for troops and cargo. Loss of the base would present a significant problem for the Obama administration as it deploys as many as 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan over the next two years. Taliban attacks have made another prime supply route to Afghanistan — an overland pass through Pakistan — highly unreliable.
More on link
Feds block inquiry into transfer of Afghan prisoners.
By Mike Blanchfield, Canwest News ServiceFebruary 4, 2009
Article Link
OTTAWA - Less than two weeks before it was to begin hearing evidence from witnesses into Canada's handling of detainees in Afghanistan, the government has again blocked the inquiry of the Military Police Complaints Commission.
Commission chair Peter Tinsley, who had planned to begin full-scale public hearings on Feb. 17, issued the indefinite adjournment order this week after the Justice Department filed a motion in Federal Court calling for the inquiry to be stayed.
The commission has criticized the government for not co-operating with its inquiry, launched after a complaint by Amnesty International Canada and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, which alleges military members allowed Afghan detainees to be transferred to local authorities with due consideration they would face torture.
Paul Champ, the Ottawa lawyer for Amnesty International, said it's clear the federal government is trying to kill the inquiry.
``They don't want any of the Canadian Forces officers, or military police, or Department of Foreign Affairs officials, getting on a stand where there's television cameras and newspaper reporters to say what they've seen done and heard in Afghanistan with respect to detainees,'' said Champ.
More on link
Taliban burns 10 trucks on Afghanistan-Pakistan supply route
By Zulfiqar Ali and Laura King February 5, 2009
Article Link
Reporting from Istanbul, Turkey, and Peshawar, Pakistan -- A day after blowing up a crucial land bridge, Taliban militants torched 10 supply trucks returning from Afghanistan to Pakistan on Wednesday, underscoring the insurgents' dominance of the main route used to transport supplies to Afghan-based U.S. and NATO troops.
Months of disruptions on the route from the Pakistani port of Karachi through the historic Khyber Pass have forced NATO and American military authorities to look for other transit options. About three-quarters of the supplies for Western forces in Afghanistan -- mainly food and fuel -- are ferried through Pakistan by contractors, usually poorly paid, semiliterate truckers. Many now refuse to drive the route because of the danger.
More on link
A Canadian Combat First
February 5, 2009
Article Link
This year Canadian troops have, for the first time, flown in a Canadian helicopter in a combat zone. Two CH-146 helicopters flew soldiers to a Canadian base in Afghanistan. The last time Canadian troops were in large scale combat, during the Korean War (1950-53), there were few helicopters available (the first use of helicopters in combat had occurred in 1945), and they were all American.
Canada has established its own little air force in Afghanistan. The Canadian Air Wing will have, by this Summer, six leased Russian made Mi-8 transport helicopters, six newly purchased U.S. CH-47 transport helicopters and eight Canadian made CH-146 armed transports to escort the larger choppers. The Wing will have about 450 personnel to support the twenty helicopters and some UAVs.
A primary function of the choppers will be to keep Canadian troops off the roads, where half the casualties have been suffered because of roadside bombs. Previous to the establishment of the Wing, the 2,500 Canadian troops had much less access to helicopter transport than their American or NATO allies fighting in the south. This is the first time, since the Korean War (1950-53) that Canadian forces have established an Air Wing in a combat zone.
More on link
Canadian troops pump gas station owners for info.
By Archie McLean, Canwest News ServiceFebruary 4, 2009
Article Link
ZHARI DISTRICT, Afghanistan - Canadians soldiers spent the day Wednesday visiting all the gas stations on a major thoroughfare in Zhari District, west of Kandahar City.
If gas stations seem an odd target for a military patrol, it's because the Taliban have been known to use them for staging operations during the summer fighting months. The gas stations - particularly the abandoned ones - are recognizable, offer ample space to gather and provide easy cover for insurgents.
The problem is, the Canadians don't know much about the stations - who owns them, what they're called and whether the Taliban or Afghan National Army extorts them for fuel.
So, Wednesday's mission was simple - buy some gas, get some information.
Afghan gas stations are a far cry from those in Canada. They feature dilapidated old pumps that may not work and, instead of an inside cash register, they tend to have a collection of men outside who explain the price.
Three light armoured vehicles pull up to the first station and the soldiers spill outside. The owner is leery of the Canadian presence, explaining through an interpreter that the military vehicles and soldiers scare his customers away. It is a sentiment that is echoed several times during the day.
At first he refuses to sell them diesel at all because he is afraid of being seen collaborating with the military. After Lieut. Jeff Lloyd, the platoon commander, explains he only wants 10 litres in a jerry can, the owner relents.
More on link
U.S. Searches for Alternative to Kyrgyz Base
By ELISABETH BUMILLER and ELLEN BARRY Published: February 5, 2009
Article Link
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration scrambled Wednesday to come up with an alternative to a crucial United States air base in Central Asia, used to supply the growing military operation in Afghanistan, after the president of Kyrgyzstan ordered the American base in his country closed.
Defense and State Department officials said they had concluded that Russia had pressed Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic, to expel the Americans. Russia has promised not to impede the American-led fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan, but has also sought to push United States forces out of bases it began leasing in Central Asia in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The Kyrgyz Parliament planned to vote next week on a measure that would close the base at Manas, a major air hub for troops and cargo. Loss of the base would present a significant problem for the Obama administration as it deploys as many as 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan over the next two years. Taliban attacks have made another prime supply route to Afghanistan — an overland pass through Pakistan — highly unreliable.
More on link
Feds block inquiry into transfer of Afghan prisoners.
By Mike Blanchfield, Canwest News ServiceFebruary 4, 2009
Article Link
OTTAWA - Less than two weeks before it was to begin hearing evidence from witnesses into Canada's handling of detainees in Afghanistan, the government has again blocked the inquiry of the Military Police Complaints Commission.
Commission chair Peter Tinsley, who had planned to begin full-scale public hearings on Feb. 17, issued the indefinite adjournment order this week after the Justice Department filed a motion in Federal Court calling for the inquiry to be stayed.
The commission has criticized the government for not co-operating with its inquiry, launched after a complaint by Amnesty International Canada and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, which alleges military members allowed Afghan detainees to be transferred to local authorities with due consideration they would face torture.
Paul Champ, the Ottawa lawyer for Amnesty International, said it's clear the federal government is trying to kill the inquiry.
``They don't want any of the Canadian Forces officers, or military police, or Department of Foreign Affairs officials, getting on a stand where there's television cameras and newspaper reporters to say what they've seen done and heard in Afghanistan with respect to detainees,'' said Champ.
More on link
Taliban burns 10 trucks on Afghanistan-Pakistan supply route
By Zulfiqar Ali and Laura King February 5, 2009
Article Link
Reporting from Istanbul, Turkey, and Peshawar, Pakistan -- A day after blowing up a crucial land bridge, Taliban militants torched 10 supply trucks returning from Afghanistan to Pakistan on Wednesday, underscoring the insurgents' dominance of the main route used to transport supplies to Afghan-based U.S. and NATO troops.
Months of disruptions on the route from the Pakistani port of Karachi through the historic Khyber Pass have forced NATO and American military authorities to look for other transit options. About three-quarters of the supplies for Western forces in Afghanistan -- mainly food and fuel -- are ferried through Pakistan by contractors, usually poorly paid, semiliterate truckers. Many now refuse to drive the route because of the danger.
More on link
Articles found February 6, 2009
Tajikistan ready to help US with Afghanistan supplies
7 hours ago
Article Link
DUSHANBE (AFP) — Tajikistan said Friday it was ready to allow US and NATO supplies for Afghanistan to transit its territory, after neighbouring Kyrgyzstan ordered the closure of a vital American airbase.
The decision by the Kyrgyz government to shut down the Manas airbase has troubled Washington, which had used the facility as a vital route for flying in supplies for coalition forces in Afghanistan.
Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon said after meeting the US ambassador that his country was ready to allow supplies including construction materials, medicines, fuel and water to transit its soil by road.
"Tajikistan is ready to offer the United States and NATO countries help with the transit of humanitarian and commercial supplies to Afghanistan," he said in a statement.
He said the supplies would be of a non-military nature and should be not just for the benefit of coalition forces.
"They should be destined not only for the military but it is also important they are used for the reconstruction of Afghanistan," he added.
US ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson said the transit would take place by land and would employ a new bridge over the Panj river funded by Washington that opened in August 2007 and links the south of Tajikistan with Afghanistan
More on link
Russia to help U.S. deliver cargo to Afghanistan
Article Link
MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Russia will assist the U.S. in the transit of non-military cargo to Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday.
An overturned truck on the bridge in Khyber, Pakistan, destroyed by militants.
Lavrov said on Russian television that his country intends to cooperate to help get vital cargo to NATO troops in Afghanistan.
The United States had asked to transport the cargo through Russian territory to Afghanistan, Lavrov said.
In recent days, the United States has faced setbacks in its ability to resupply troops.
Kyrgyzstan decided to close a U.S. military base used as a route for troops and supplies to Afghanistan.
And Pakistan officials confirmed Friday a key bridge in Khyber was blown up Tuesday on the supply route from Peshawar to Afghanistan.
The attack suspended NATO supply lines between the countries and prompted authorities to look for alternate supply routes for supply trucks and traffic.
On Friday, a suicide attack near the same bridge injured seven people. On Wednesday, suspected militants fired rockets on NATO trucks in Khyber, one of seven semiautonomous tribal agencies along the Afghan border.
More on link
2 Afghans face death over translation of Quran
By HEIDI VOGT – 12 hours ago
Article Link
KABUL (AP) — No one knows who brought the book to the mosque, or at least no one dares say.
The pocket-size translation of the Quran has already landed six men in prison in Afghanistan and left two of them begging judges to spare their lives. They're accused of modifying the Quran and their fate could be decided Sunday in court.
The trial illustrates what critics call the undue influence of hardline clerics in Afghanistan, a major hurdle as the country tries to establish a lawful society amid war and militant violence.
The book appeared among gifts left for the cleric at a major Kabul mosque after Friday prayers in September 2007. It was a translation of the Quran into one of Afghanistan's languages, with a note giving permission to reprint the text as long as it was distributed for free.
Some of the men of the mosque said the book would be useful to Afghans who didn't know Arabic, so they took up a collection for printing. The mosque's cleric asked Ahmad Ghaws Zalmai, a longtime friend, to get the books printed.
But as some of the 1,000 copies made their way to conservative Muslim clerics in Kabul, whispers began, then an outcry.
More on link
Tajikistan ready to help US with Afghanistan supplies
7 hours ago
Article Link
DUSHANBE (AFP) — Tajikistan said Friday it was ready to allow US and NATO supplies for Afghanistan to transit its territory, after neighbouring Kyrgyzstan ordered the closure of a vital American airbase.
The decision by the Kyrgyz government to shut down the Manas airbase has troubled Washington, which had used the facility as a vital route for flying in supplies for coalition forces in Afghanistan.
Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon said after meeting the US ambassador that his country was ready to allow supplies including construction materials, medicines, fuel and water to transit its soil by road.
"Tajikistan is ready to offer the United States and NATO countries help with the transit of humanitarian and commercial supplies to Afghanistan," he said in a statement.
He said the supplies would be of a non-military nature and should be not just for the benefit of coalition forces.
"They should be destined not only for the military but it is also important they are used for the reconstruction of Afghanistan," he added.
US ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson said the transit would take place by land and would employ a new bridge over the Panj river funded by Washington that opened in August 2007 and links the south of Tajikistan with Afghanistan
More on link
Russia to help U.S. deliver cargo to Afghanistan
Article Link
MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Russia will assist the U.S. in the transit of non-military cargo to Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday.
An overturned truck on the bridge in Khyber, Pakistan, destroyed by militants.
Lavrov said on Russian television that his country intends to cooperate to help get vital cargo to NATO troops in Afghanistan.
The United States had asked to transport the cargo through Russian territory to Afghanistan, Lavrov said.
In recent days, the United States has faced setbacks in its ability to resupply troops.
Kyrgyzstan decided to close a U.S. military base used as a route for troops and supplies to Afghanistan.
And Pakistan officials confirmed Friday a key bridge in Khyber was blown up Tuesday on the supply route from Peshawar to Afghanistan.
The attack suspended NATO supply lines between the countries and prompted authorities to look for alternate supply routes for supply trucks and traffic.
On Friday, a suicide attack near the same bridge injured seven people. On Wednesday, suspected militants fired rockets on NATO trucks in Khyber, one of seven semiautonomous tribal agencies along the Afghan border.
More on link
2 Afghans face death over translation of Quran
By HEIDI VOGT – 12 hours ago
Article Link
KABUL (AP) — No one knows who brought the book to the mosque, or at least no one dares say.
The pocket-size translation of the Quran has already landed six men in prison in Afghanistan and left two of them begging judges to spare their lives. They're accused of modifying the Quran and their fate could be decided Sunday in court.
The trial illustrates what critics call the undue influence of hardline clerics in Afghanistan, a major hurdle as the country tries to establish a lawful society amid war and militant violence.
The book appeared among gifts left for the cleric at a major Kabul mosque after Friday prayers in September 2007. It was a translation of the Quran into one of Afghanistan's languages, with a note giving permission to reprint the text as long as it was distributed for free.
Some of the men of the mosque said the book would be useful to Afghans who didn't know Arabic, so they took up a collection for printing. The mosque's cleric asked Ahmad Ghaws Zalmai, a longtime friend, to get the books printed.
But as some of the 1,000 copies made their way to conservative Muslim clerics in Kabul, whispers began, then an outcry.
More on link
Articles found February 11, 2009
Talking, rather than fighting, in Afghanistan
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Article Link
President Obama held his first prime-time news conference Tuesday night. When questioned on Afghanistan, he replied, "This is going to be a big challenge." He also was asked whether he would change the Pentagon policy banning the filming and photographing of the flag-draped coffins of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said he was reviewing it. The journalist who asked the question also pointed out that it was Joe Biden several years ago who accused the Bush administration of suppressing the images to avoid public furor over the deaths of U.S. service members. Now Vice President Biden predicts a surge in U.S. troops in Afghanistan will mean more U.S. casualties: "I hate to say it, but yes, I think there will be. There will be an uptick."
Meanwhile, the Associated Press recently cited a classified report drafted by the Joint Chiefs of Staff recommending a shift in strategy from democracy-building in Afghanistan to attacking alleged Taliban and al Qaeda strongholds along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
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Russia says may offer aircraft for Afghan transit
Wed Feb 11, 2009 11:11am GMT
Article Link
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia could offer its military aircraft to help supply NATO-led soldiers fighting Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.
The Kremlin views Afghanistan as an area where Russian interests coincide with those of the United States, despite fierce disagreements on other issues.
When asked about ways to improve ties with the United States under new President Barack Obama, Lavrov said Russia was ready for close and wide cooperation on Afghanistan.
"Non-military transit has already been granted as part of our agreements with NATO and the United States very recently received our agreement... for delivery of their cargoes for the needs of the international forces," Lavrov said.
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If Obama asks us to stay in Afghanistan, can we refuse?
For years, Canada has been asking others to step up to the plate
L. IAN MACDONALD, The Gazette Published: 13 hours ago
Article Link
Under beware of what you wish for, Canada has long asked the United States and other NATO partners to step up their commitments to the mission in Afghanistan.
Welcome Barack Obama, who wants to double the U.S. commitment to 60,000 troops on the ground there. The problem for Canada is that after asking for reinforcements as a condition of prolonging our stay there for another two years, Stephen Harper announced during last fall's campaign that we would be leaving the country in 2011.
So, while a liberal Democrat makes one campaign promise to shift the military focus from Iraq to Afghanistan, and even to Pakistan, a Conservative Canadian leader is saying we've done our part and are leaving the neighbourhood. Huh?
More on link
Canada defends rising Afghan costs as crisis bites
Tue Feb 10, 2009 2:47am EST By David Ljunggren
Article Link
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay said on Monday that the rising cost of the country's military mission in Afghanistan was worth the expense, even though the economic crisis is starting to bite hard.
Skeptical opposition legislators grilled MacKay over why, at a time of big budget deficits and soaring unemployment, Ottawa was pouring billions of dollars into a combat mission that critics say shows few signs of success.
Last October, Parliament's budgetary officer said the mission could cost C$18 billion ($15 billion) if Canada's 2,700 troops stayed until the end of 2011 as planned.
"Afghanistan was the largest exporter of terror in our lifetime so our efforts there to bring about some semblance of security and democracy continue to be a very worthy cause," MacKay told reporters.
"Now that's costly. A military mission by its very nature is expensive ... but we are making gains," he said after testifying to Parliament's defense committee.
So far, 108 Canadian soldiers have died in Afghanistan, where Taliban insurgents are making gains. Senior western officials openly admit the NATO mission is in trouble.
Late last month Canada's Conservative government, under pressure to tackle the deepening economic crisis, unveiled a stimulus laden budget that will rack up a deficit of C$64 billion over the next two fiscal years.
MacKay, who went to the committee to explain why he was requesting an extra C$441 million for the Afghan mission, faced some tough questions from opposition parliamentarians.
More on link
US grappling with Canada's exit from Afghanistan
By LARA JAKES – 19 hours ago Article Link
OTTAWA (AP) — Two weeks before Christmas, Canadian Master Cpl. Mike Trauner lay near death after a mortar exploded while he was on patrol in Afghanistan. He lost one leg below the knee, the other just above the knee, and his hand remains swollen with embedded shrapnel.
Trauner said he would like to be deployed again, yet it's doubtful that the 29-year-old from Sudbury, Ontario, will return to Afghanistan — and not because of his injuries. The Canadian government plans to withdraw its combat troops by 2011, feeling the loss of more than 100 troops killed in Afghanistan since 2001. About 2,500 serve there now.
The looming absence of one of its closest allies has left the United States grappling with how to eliminate terror threats and government corruption in Afghanistan with its own troops already stretched thin from years in Iraq.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, the top U.S. military officer, paid homage to Canada's fallen and praised the nation's Afghanistan mission during a daylong visit to Ottawa on Tuesday.
Mullen called Canadian combat forces in Afghanistan "absolutely critical" but said the issue of their withdrawal did not come up during his meetings.
More on link
Talking, rather than fighting, in Afghanistan
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Article Link
President Obama held his first prime-time news conference Tuesday night. When questioned on Afghanistan, he replied, "This is going to be a big challenge." He also was asked whether he would change the Pentagon policy banning the filming and photographing of the flag-draped coffins of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said he was reviewing it. The journalist who asked the question also pointed out that it was Joe Biden several years ago who accused the Bush administration of suppressing the images to avoid public furor over the deaths of U.S. service members. Now Vice President Biden predicts a surge in U.S. troops in Afghanistan will mean more U.S. casualties: "I hate to say it, but yes, I think there will be. There will be an uptick."
Meanwhile, the Associated Press recently cited a classified report drafted by the Joint Chiefs of Staff recommending a shift in strategy from democracy-building in Afghanistan to attacking alleged Taliban and al Qaeda strongholds along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
More on link
Russia says may offer aircraft for Afghan transit
Wed Feb 11, 2009 11:11am GMT
Article Link
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia could offer its military aircraft to help supply NATO-led soldiers fighting Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.
The Kremlin views Afghanistan as an area where Russian interests coincide with those of the United States, despite fierce disagreements on other issues.
When asked about ways to improve ties with the United States under new President Barack Obama, Lavrov said Russia was ready for close and wide cooperation on Afghanistan.
"Non-military transit has already been granted as part of our agreements with NATO and the United States very recently received our agreement... for delivery of their cargoes for the needs of the international forces," Lavrov said.
More on link
If Obama asks us to stay in Afghanistan, can we refuse?
For years, Canada has been asking others to step up to the plate
L. IAN MACDONALD, The Gazette Published: 13 hours ago
Article Link
Under beware of what you wish for, Canada has long asked the United States and other NATO partners to step up their commitments to the mission in Afghanistan.
Welcome Barack Obama, who wants to double the U.S. commitment to 60,000 troops on the ground there. The problem for Canada is that after asking for reinforcements as a condition of prolonging our stay there for another two years, Stephen Harper announced during last fall's campaign that we would be leaving the country in 2011.
So, while a liberal Democrat makes one campaign promise to shift the military focus from Iraq to Afghanistan, and even to Pakistan, a Conservative Canadian leader is saying we've done our part and are leaving the neighbourhood. Huh?
More on link
Canada defends rising Afghan costs as crisis bites
Tue Feb 10, 2009 2:47am EST By David Ljunggren
Article Link
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay said on Monday that the rising cost of the country's military mission in Afghanistan was worth the expense, even though the economic crisis is starting to bite hard.
Skeptical opposition legislators grilled MacKay over why, at a time of big budget deficits and soaring unemployment, Ottawa was pouring billions of dollars into a combat mission that critics say shows few signs of success.
Last October, Parliament's budgetary officer said the mission could cost C$18 billion ($15 billion) if Canada's 2,700 troops stayed until the end of 2011 as planned.
"Afghanistan was the largest exporter of terror in our lifetime so our efforts there to bring about some semblance of security and democracy continue to be a very worthy cause," MacKay told reporters.
"Now that's costly. A military mission by its very nature is expensive ... but we are making gains," he said after testifying to Parliament's defense committee.
So far, 108 Canadian soldiers have died in Afghanistan, where Taliban insurgents are making gains. Senior western officials openly admit the NATO mission is in trouble.
Late last month Canada's Conservative government, under pressure to tackle the deepening economic crisis, unveiled a stimulus laden budget that will rack up a deficit of C$64 billion over the next two fiscal years.
MacKay, who went to the committee to explain why he was requesting an extra C$441 million for the Afghan mission, faced some tough questions from opposition parliamentarians.
More on link
US grappling with Canada's exit from Afghanistan
By LARA JAKES – 19 hours ago Article Link
OTTAWA (AP) — Two weeks before Christmas, Canadian Master Cpl. Mike Trauner lay near death after a mortar exploded while he was on patrol in Afghanistan. He lost one leg below the knee, the other just above the knee, and his hand remains swollen with embedded shrapnel.
Trauner said he would like to be deployed again, yet it's doubtful that the 29-year-old from Sudbury, Ontario, will return to Afghanistan — and not because of his injuries. The Canadian government plans to withdraw its combat troops by 2011, feeling the loss of more than 100 troops killed in Afghanistan since 2001. About 2,500 serve there now.
The looming absence of one of its closest allies has left the United States grappling with how to eliminate terror threats and government corruption in Afghanistan with its own troops already stretched thin from years in Iraq.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, the top U.S. military officer, paid homage to Canada's fallen and praised the nation's Afghanistan mission during a daylong visit to Ottawa on Tuesday.
Mullen called Canadian combat forces in Afghanistan "absolutely critical" but said the issue of their withdrawal did not come up during his meetings.
More on link
Articles found February 13, 2009
children killed during Australian operation in Afghanistan
By Richard A. Oppel Jr. and; Published: February 13, 2009
Article Link
Five children were killed in predawn fighting Thursday between Australian special operations troops and Taliban guerrillas in south-central Afghanistan, the latest incident of rising civilian casualties that have hurt support for American and NATO troops here.
The skirmish, which occurred in darkness in a village called Sarmorghab in Oruzgan Province, north of Kandahar, was condemned by the provincial governor, Assadullah Hamdam, who said it would have a "negative effect." He also said provincial officials had already pleaded with troops not to carry out raids where civilians are present.
The deaths come amid a growing chorus of complaints about civilian casualties from Afghan officials, including President Hamid Karzai, as well as new fears that plans to add as many as 30,000 more American troops will only lead to more such fatalities.
Afghan leaders will press their case over the next few days with Richard Holbrooke, the Obama administration's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Holbrooke, who arrived in Afghanistan on Thursday after visiting Pakistan, is expected to meet with Karzai and perhaps a dozen other senior Afghan political leaders and parliamentarians, as well as with United Nations and American and NATO officials.
A statement by the Australian military about the Oruzgan deaths said the Australian troops began shooting after they were attacked by Taliban insurgents. "A number of people have been killed and wounded during this incident," the statement said. In addition to the five children, a "suspected insurgent" was killed and two children and two civilians were also wounded. None of the Australian troops were hurt.
More on link
Army doc, 74, soldiers on toward 3rd tour overseas
By RUSS BYNUM – 6 hours ago Article Link
FORT BENNING, Ga. (AP) — Dr. John Burson balked when a skeptical Army staffer asked him to undergo a three-day physical exam to make sure he was fit to deploy as a field surgeon to Afghanistan.
"Look, I'm training to run a half-marathon," replied Burson, 74, a retired lieutenant colonel. "You come down and check to see if I can make it."
Burson won the debate and was declared fit for duty. The ear, nose and throat specialist from northwest Georgia wrapped up a weeklong training course this week at Fort Benning before his scheduled deployment Friday for a 90-day rotation with a unit of the 101st Airborne Division.
The first of two stints in Iraq proved unforgettable back in 2005, he said. Burson was among several doctors assigned to keep watch over an imprisoned Saddam Hussein.
The fallen dictator, who was three years younger than Burson, told him: "I'm glad they sent me one with gray hair this time."
Several of Burson's uncles and cousins enlisted during World War II, inspiring him to seek an Army officer's commission in the 1950s. But it would be five decades before he went to war.
More on link
NATO green-lights attacking Afghan drug operations with Taliban links
23 hours ago Article Link
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — NATO has ironed out its legal concerns and formally issued orders to treat Afghan drug lords who fuel the violent Taliban insurgency as legitimate military targets.
Bombing narcotics shipments, arresting drug barons and blowing up opium processing labs with a verifiable link to militants is now a key priority - one that senior commanders and political leaders of the military alliance are confident will not violate international law.
"This discussion within the chain of command is now complete and the orders issued," James Appathurai, a spokesman for NATO's secretary general, said Thursday in an email to The Canadian Press.
Appathurai said NATO lawyers have reviewed the new policy, which requires that any case against Afghan drug dealers be proven through intelligence.
"The orders require the demonstration of a link between the narcotics facilities and facilitators, and the insurgency."
The formal issuing of the order clears the way for stepped-up operations to begin "within days," said other senior military officials.
More on link
British to play smaller role as US troops fight ‘losing battle’
Article Link
Britain's military is to be handed a significantly diminished role on the front line in southern Afghanistan when President Obama completes a strategic review of a war that US officials say is in danger of being lost.
Mr Obama is preparing to make his first key deployment as US Commander-in-Chief over the next few days, with reports suggesting that he may send between 3,500 and 7,000 additional troops to Afghanistan.
The Americans are to build two huge new bases in the south. One will be one on the Helmand border with Kandahar at Maiwand - a place famous as the site of the destruction of a British army during the Second Afghan War of 1881. The other will be in Zabul, a province now largely controlled by the Taleban and criminal gangs.
Commanders have requested a surge of up to 30,000 soldiers, but the President is said to be carefully weighing up his options and the capacity of Nato allies before making a decision next month.
More on link
children killed during Australian operation in Afghanistan
By Richard A. Oppel Jr. and; Published: February 13, 2009
Article Link
Five children were killed in predawn fighting Thursday between Australian special operations troops and Taliban guerrillas in south-central Afghanistan, the latest incident of rising civilian casualties that have hurt support for American and NATO troops here.
The skirmish, which occurred in darkness in a village called Sarmorghab in Oruzgan Province, north of Kandahar, was condemned by the provincial governor, Assadullah Hamdam, who said it would have a "negative effect." He also said provincial officials had already pleaded with troops not to carry out raids where civilians are present.
The deaths come amid a growing chorus of complaints about civilian casualties from Afghan officials, including President Hamid Karzai, as well as new fears that plans to add as many as 30,000 more American troops will only lead to more such fatalities.
Afghan leaders will press their case over the next few days with Richard Holbrooke, the Obama administration's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Holbrooke, who arrived in Afghanistan on Thursday after visiting Pakistan, is expected to meet with Karzai and perhaps a dozen other senior Afghan political leaders and parliamentarians, as well as with United Nations and American and NATO officials.
A statement by the Australian military about the Oruzgan deaths said the Australian troops began shooting after they were attacked by Taliban insurgents. "A number of people have been killed and wounded during this incident," the statement said. In addition to the five children, a "suspected insurgent" was killed and two children and two civilians were also wounded. None of the Australian troops were hurt.
More on link
Army doc, 74, soldiers on toward 3rd tour overseas
By RUSS BYNUM – 6 hours ago Article Link
FORT BENNING, Ga. (AP) — Dr. John Burson balked when a skeptical Army staffer asked him to undergo a three-day physical exam to make sure he was fit to deploy as a field surgeon to Afghanistan.
"Look, I'm training to run a half-marathon," replied Burson, 74, a retired lieutenant colonel. "You come down and check to see if I can make it."
Burson won the debate and was declared fit for duty. The ear, nose and throat specialist from northwest Georgia wrapped up a weeklong training course this week at Fort Benning before his scheduled deployment Friday for a 90-day rotation with a unit of the 101st Airborne Division.
The first of two stints in Iraq proved unforgettable back in 2005, he said. Burson was among several doctors assigned to keep watch over an imprisoned Saddam Hussein.
The fallen dictator, who was three years younger than Burson, told him: "I'm glad they sent me one with gray hair this time."
Several of Burson's uncles and cousins enlisted during World War II, inspiring him to seek an Army officer's commission in the 1950s. But it would be five decades before he went to war.
More on link
NATO green-lights attacking Afghan drug operations with Taliban links
23 hours ago Article Link
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — NATO has ironed out its legal concerns and formally issued orders to treat Afghan drug lords who fuel the violent Taliban insurgency as legitimate military targets.
Bombing narcotics shipments, arresting drug barons and blowing up opium processing labs with a verifiable link to militants is now a key priority - one that senior commanders and political leaders of the military alliance are confident will not violate international law.
"This discussion within the chain of command is now complete and the orders issued," James Appathurai, a spokesman for NATO's secretary general, said Thursday in an email to The Canadian Press.
Appathurai said NATO lawyers have reviewed the new policy, which requires that any case against Afghan drug dealers be proven through intelligence.
"The orders require the demonstration of a link between the narcotics facilities and facilitators, and the insurgency."
The formal issuing of the order clears the way for stepped-up operations to begin "within days," said other senior military officials.
More on link
British to play smaller role as US troops fight ‘losing battle’
Article Link
Britain's military is to be handed a significantly diminished role on the front line in southern Afghanistan when President Obama completes a strategic review of a war that US officials say is in danger of being lost.
Mr Obama is preparing to make his first key deployment as US Commander-in-Chief over the next few days, with reports suggesting that he may send between 3,500 and 7,000 additional troops to Afghanistan.
The Americans are to build two huge new bases in the south. One will be one on the Helmand border with Kandahar at Maiwand - a place famous as the site of the destruction of a British army during the Second Afghan War of 1881. The other will be in Zabul, a province now largely controlled by the Taleban and criminal gangs.
Commanders have requested a surge of up to 30,000 soldiers, but the President is said to be carefully weighing up his options and the capacity of Nato allies before making a decision next month.
More on link
- Reaction score
- 147
- Points
- 710
A bloody day in Kabul
Amid a terrifying Taliban attack, I got a first-hand view of the progress made by Afghan security forces
Ottawa Citizen, Feb. 13, by Nipa Banerjee
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/bloody+Kabul/1284211/story.html
Feinstein comment on U.S. drones likely to embarrass Pakistan
The Predator planes that launch missile strikes against militants are based in Pakistan, the senator says. That suggests a much deeper relationship with the U.S. than Islamabad would like to admit.
LA Times, Feb. 13
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-uspakistan13-2009feb13,0,4776260.story
Mark
Ottawa
Amid a terrifying Taliban attack, I got a first-hand view of the progress made by Afghan security forces
Ottawa Citizen, Feb. 13, by Nipa Banerjee
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/bloody+Kabul/1284211/story.html
Feinstein comment on U.S. drones likely to embarrass Pakistan
The Predator planes that launch missile strikes against militants are based in Pakistan, the senator says. That suggests a much deeper relationship with the U.S. than Islamabad would like to admit.
LA Times, Feb. 13
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-uspakistan13-2009feb13,0,4776260.story
Mark
Ottawa
- Reaction score
- 147
- Points
- 710
Afghanistan: shadows and bombs
Conference of Defence Associations' media round-up, Feb. 13
http://www.cdaforumcad.ca/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1234557908
Mark
Ottawa
Conference of Defence Associations' media round-up, Feb. 13
http://www.cdaforumcad.ca/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1234557908
Mark
Ottawa
Articles found February 15, 2009
Obama's men in Afghanistan
Misconceptions in the new administration could set back progress in the fight against the opium economy
THOMAS SCHWEICH From Saturday's Globe and Mail February 14, 2009 at 12:00 AM EST
Article Link
Earlier this month, the United Nations released a report predicting a decline in opium cultivation in Afghanistan for the second year in a row. Because Afghan heroin funds the insurgency, corrupts the government and interferes with legitimate agricultural programs, this was good news for everyone. Four years ago, farmers grew poppies in all 34 of Afghanistan's provinces. Three years ago there were six poppy-free provinces; two years ago, there were 13; last year, there were 18; and experts predict that 22 of the 34 will likely be poppy-free this year. Nationwide, poppy cultivation was down 19 per cent last year, and it will likely fall even more this year, prompting the top UN diplomat in Afghanistan to say a few days ago, "This year could be a turning point" in the war against Afghan heroin.
As one of the U.S officials who developed and co-ordinated the counternarcotics strategy currently in effect, I felt heartened, but only a little. We — the international community and the Afghans — should have done a lot better. We have not delivered an effective counternarcotics campaign in two insurgency-ridden southern provinces — Helmand and Kandahar — the source of more than three-quarters of the heroin produced on Earth. The principal culprits are the Taliban, who protect their fields aggressively (killing dozens of Afghan narcotics police each year), and corrupt Afghan officials, many of whom come from these two provinces, and need the support of powerful drug lords in upcoming elections.
Outside Afghanistan, there are, regrettably, two other reasons we could not make inroads in Helmand and Kandahar: Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and Lieutenant-General Karl Eikenberry. U.S. President Barack Obama has just chosen Mr. Holbrooke, a former Clinton administration official, as his special representative in the region, and Lt.-Gen. Eikenberry as his ambassador to Afghanistan. We all wish them well, but, if they are to succeed, they need to get their facts straight, establish clearer lines of authority, and avoid the increasing militarization of civilian projects.
More on link
Canadian soldier injured in Afghan bomb attack
By Darah Hansen, Vancouver SunJanuary 19, 2009
Article Link
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — A Canadian soldier remains in hospital with serious injuries following a roadside bomb attack Monday morning.
Military authorities said the soldier was on foot patrol with the Afghan security forces in the IED-prone Panjwaii district, about 23 kilometres west of Kandahar City, when the explosion occurred.
The soldier was flown by helicopter to the military hospital at Kandahar Airfield where his condition was listed Monday evening as "fair."
Authorities said the soldier's identity will not be released due to privacy concerns. His family has been notified of the incident.
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Pakistani militants free Chinese engineer
Sun Feb 15, 2009 2:23am EST (Adds details, Chinese embassy statement, background) By Kamran Haider
Article Link
ISLAMABAD, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Pakistani Taliban militants have freed a Chinese telecommunications engineer after holding him captive for more than five months, a spokesman for the militants and Chinese officials said on Sunday.
Long Xiaowei had been freed as a "goodwill gesture" to the Chinese people, said Muslim Khan, a spokesman for the militants in the northwestern Swat Valley.
"He has been released. He's fine," Khan said.
Security has deteriorated sharply in Pakistan since August, with troops battling Islamic militants in various parts of the northwest as well as along the border with Afghanistan.
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Afghan cop a rarity in force rife with corruption
By Archie McLean , Canwest News Service February 14, 2009
Article Link
ZHARI DISTRICT, Afghanistan -- The line of cars on the dusty Afghan road is growing longer. It's the equivalent of morning rush hour here and villagers are becoming impatient with the delay of their shopping trips.
Muhammed Khan and his police officers - on patrol in Taliban territory with Canadian soldiers - don't panic. They calmly and methodically search each vehicle, patting down the men and checking the cargo for explosives or other suspicious material. Running a vehicle checkpoint may be a simple task for a professional police force, but this is the Afghan National Police, an organization that is often, and rightly, criticized here for incompetence, drug use and corruption.
Khan's unit is the exception. He strictly enforces a no-drug-use policy and has no patience for corruption. His Canadian mentors say if the fledgling force had more commanders like Khan, their job would be redundant.
"We wouldn't need to be here," says Master-Cpl. Gary O'Brien. "These guys are more seasoned than some of our soldiers."
Khan and his officers have proven themselves time and again to the Canadian soldiers, including in numerous firefights, some as long as five or six hours.
More on link
US supplies via Russia to start soon
By JIM HEINTZArticle Link
MOSCOW (AP) — The shipment of U.S. military supplies for Afghanistan through Russia will begin soon, news agencies quoted Russia's foreign minister as saying Saturday.
"The transit will take place literally within days," Sergey Lavrov told TV Tsentr, according to the Interfax, ITAR-Tass and RIA-Novosti agencies.
Foreign Ministry officials could not be reached for comment late Saturday, and the reports did not say whether the supplies would transit Russia by land or air. However, Russia announced last week that it would allow U.S. shipments of non-lethal military supplies to Afghanistan.
Supply routes to Afghanistan for the U.S.-led international military operation have become an increasingly critical issue in recent months amid growing militant attacks on the land routes through Pakistan that carry about 75 percent of U.S. supplies.
The U.S. plans to send around 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan this year.
Concerns rose further this month when Kyrgyzstan's president announced that the Central Asian country intends to evict a U.S. military base that is an important transit point for Afghanistan-bound troops and supplies. The base also is home to tanker planes that refuel military aircraft over Afghanistan.
More on link
'Pashtunistan' holds key to Obama mission
Jason Burke in London, Yama Omid in Kabul, Paul Harris in Washington, Saeed Shah in Islamabad and Gethin Chamberlain in Delhi
The Observer, Sunday 15 February 2009
Article Link
The mountainous borderlands where Afghanistan meets Pakistan have been described as a Grand Central Station for Islamic terrorists, a place where militants come and go and the Taliban trains its fighters. Now Barack Obama has made solving the 'Af-Pak' question a top priority. But could the battle to tame the Pashtun heartland become his Vietnam?
Article history
Relaxing one evening last week at the Cuckoo's Cafe, a rooftop restaurant in the heart of the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, Barack Obama's special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan seemed on the point of causing a major incident.
As ever in the region, there had been no warning. The weather was just right, a warm late winter evening. The view was even better - unmarred by the security subtly positioned on surrounding buildings. From his table, Richard Holbrooke, 67, the diplomat charged with calming what fellow members of the administration call the most dangerous place in the world, looked out over the giant Badshahi mosque and the imposing Lahore Fort, both more than 300 years old. Carefully invited politicians, writers, human rights activists and journalists from Lahore's liberal elite chatted at tables around him.
It was not that Holbrooke did not enjoy the barbecued spicy kebabs, Lahore's speciality, it was just he had one special request. He wanted daal, the plain lentil curry that is the humblest dish in South Asia. For such a distinguished guest, none had been prepared. "The bulldozer", credited with negotiating an end to the war in the Balkans in the 1990s, usually gets his way and this time was no exception. Daal was soon on its way.
Tonight Holbrooke will land at the Palam air force base, adjacent to the main civilian airport in New Delhi. It will be the last stop on a journey that has led the diplomat across the broad swathe of territory stretching from central Afghanistan to Pakistan's Indus river. Call it the central front of the global "war on terror", the fulcrum of the "arc of crisis", Pashtunistan or simply, in the most recent neologism, "AfPak", no one doubts that this is the biggest foreign policy headache for Obama's new team.
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Is U.S. repeating mistakes Soviet regime made in Afghanistan?
By JONATHAN S. LANDAY McClatchy Newspapers
Article Link
Twenty years to the day after the last Soviet soldier left Afghanistan, Dastagir Arizad ticked off grievances against President Hamid Karzai and the United States that are disturbingly reminiscent of Moscow's humiliating defeat.
"Day by day, we see the Karzai government failing. The Americans are also failing," said Arizad, 40, as he huddled against the cold in the stall where he sells ropes and plastic hoses. "People are not feeling safe. Their lives are not secure. Their daughters are not safe. Their land is not secure. The Karzai government is corrupt."
"The problems we are having are made by the Americans. The Americans should review their policies," he said Saturday. "They should not support the people who are in power."
As Arizad spoke, President Barack Obama's special envoy, Richard Holbrooke, was holding his first talks with Karzai in the presidential palace nearby amid mounting U.S.-Afghanistan tensions fueled by mutual recriminations over the growing Taliban insurgency.
Some Afghan experts are worried that the United States and its NATO allies are making some of the same mistakes that helped the Taliban's forerunners defeat the Soviet Union after a decade-long occupation that bled the Kremlin treasury, demoralized Moscow's military and contributed to the Soviet Union's collapse.
Among the mistakes, these experts said, are relying too heavily on military force, inflicting too many civilian casualties, concentrating too much power in Kabul and tolerating pervasive government corruption.
More on link
Obama's men in Afghanistan
Misconceptions in the new administration could set back progress in the fight against the opium economy
THOMAS SCHWEICH From Saturday's Globe and Mail February 14, 2009 at 12:00 AM EST
Article Link
Earlier this month, the United Nations released a report predicting a decline in opium cultivation in Afghanistan for the second year in a row. Because Afghan heroin funds the insurgency, corrupts the government and interferes with legitimate agricultural programs, this was good news for everyone. Four years ago, farmers grew poppies in all 34 of Afghanistan's provinces. Three years ago there were six poppy-free provinces; two years ago, there were 13; last year, there were 18; and experts predict that 22 of the 34 will likely be poppy-free this year. Nationwide, poppy cultivation was down 19 per cent last year, and it will likely fall even more this year, prompting the top UN diplomat in Afghanistan to say a few days ago, "This year could be a turning point" in the war against Afghan heroin.
As one of the U.S officials who developed and co-ordinated the counternarcotics strategy currently in effect, I felt heartened, but only a little. We — the international community and the Afghans — should have done a lot better. We have not delivered an effective counternarcotics campaign in two insurgency-ridden southern provinces — Helmand and Kandahar — the source of more than three-quarters of the heroin produced on Earth. The principal culprits are the Taliban, who protect their fields aggressively (killing dozens of Afghan narcotics police each year), and corrupt Afghan officials, many of whom come from these two provinces, and need the support of powerful drug lords in upcoming elections.
Outside Afghanistan, there are, regrettably, two other reasons we could not make inroads in Helmand and Kandahar: Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and Lieutenant-General Karl Eikenberry. U.S. President Barack Obama has just chosen Mr. Holbrooke, a former Clinton administration official, as his special representative in the region, and Lt.-Gen. Eikenberry as his ambassador to Afghanistan. We all wish them well, but, if they are to succeed, they need to get their facts straight, establish clearer lines of authority, and avoid the increasing militarization of civilian projects.
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Canadian soldier injured in Afghan bomb attack
By Darah Hansen, Vancouver SunJanuary 19, 2009
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KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — A Canadian soldier remains in hospital with serious injuries following a roadside bomb attack Monday morning.
Military authorities said the soldier was on foot patrol with the Afghan security forces in the IED-prone Panjwaii district, about 23 kilometres west of Kandahar City, when the explosion occurred.
The soldier was flown by helicopter to the military hospital at Kandahar Airfield where his condition was listed Monday evening as "fair."
Authorities said the soldier's identity will not be released due to privacy concerns. His family has been notified of the incident.
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Pakistani militants free Chinese engineer
Sun Feb 15, 2009 2:23am EST (Adds details, Chinese embassy statement, background) By Kamran Haider
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ISLAMABAD, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Pakistani Taliban militants have freed a Chinese telecommunications engineer after holding him captive for more than five months, a spokesman for the militants and Chinese officials said on Sunday.
Long Xiaowei had been freed as a "goodwill gesture" to the Chinese people, said Muslim Khan, a spokesman for the militants in the northwestern Swat Valley.
"He has been released. He's fine," Khan said.
Security has deteriorated sharply in Pakistan since August, with troops battling Islamic militants in various parts of the northwest as well as along the border with Afghanistan.
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Afghan cop a rarity in force rife with corruption
By Archie McLean , Canwest News Service February 14, 2009
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ZHARI DISTRICT, Afghanistan -- The line of cars on the dusty Afghan road is growing longer. It's the equivalent of morning rush hour here and villagers are becoming impatient with the delay of their shopping trips.
Muhammed Khan and his police officers - on patrol in Taliban territory with Canadian soldiers - don't panic. They calmly and methodically search each vehicle, patting down the men and checking the cargo for explosives or other suspicious material. Running a vehicle checkpoint may be a simple task for a professional police force, but this is the Afghan National Police, an organization that is often, and rightly, criticized here for incompetence, drug use and corruption.
Khan's unit is the exception. He strictly enforces a no-drug-use policy and has no patience for corruption. His Canadian mentors say if the fledgling force had more commanders like Khan, their job would be redundant.
"We wouldn't need to be here," says Master-Cpl. Gary O'Brien. "These guys are more seasoned than some of our soldiers."
Khan and his officers have proven themselves time and again to the Canadian soldiers, including in numerous firefights, some as long as five or six hours.
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US supplies via Russia to start soon
By JIM HEINTZArticle Link
MOSCOW (AP) — The shipment of U.S. military supplies for Afghanistan through Russia will begin soon, news agencies quoted Russia's foreign minister as saying Saturday.
"The transit will take place literally within days," Sergey Lavrov told TV Tsentr, according to the Interfax, ITAR-Tass and RIA-Novosti agencies.
Foreign Ministry officials could not be reached for comment late Saturday, and the reports did not say whether the supplies would transit Russia by land or air. However, Russia announced last week that it would allow U.S. shipments of non-lethal military supplies to Afghanistan.
Supply routes to Afghanistan for the U.S.-led international military operation have become an increasingly critical issue in recent months amid growing militant attacks on the land routes through Pakistan that carry about 75 percent of U.S. supplies.
The U.S. plans to send around 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan this year.
Concerns rose further this month when Kyrgyzstan's president announced that the Central Asian country intends to evict a U.S. military base that is an important transit point for Afghanistan-bound troops and supplies. The base also is home to tanker planes that refuel military aircraft over Afghanistan.
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'Pashtunistan' holds key to Obama mission
Jason Burke in London, Yama Omid in Kabul, Paul Harris in Washington, Saeed Shah in Islamabad and Gethin Chamberlain in Delhi
The Observer, Sunday 15 February 2009
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The mountainous borderlands where Afghanistan meets Pakistan have been described as a Grand Central Station for Islamic terrorists, a place where militants come and go and the Taliban trains its fighters. Now Barack Obama has made solving the 'Af-Pak' question a top priority. But could the battle to tame the Pashtun heartland become his Vietnam?
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Relaxing one evening last week at the Cuckoo's Cafe, a rooftop restaurant in the heart of the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, Barack Obama's special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan seemed on the point of causing a major incident.
As ever in the region, there had been no warning. The weather was just right, a warm late winter evening. The view was even better - unmarred by the security subtly positioned on surrounding buildings. From his table, Richard Holbrooke, 67, the diplomat charged with calming what fellow members of the administration call the most dangerous place in the world, looked out over the giant Badshahi mosque and the imposing Lahore Fort, both more than 300 years old. Carefully invited politicians, writers, human rights activists and journalists from Lahore's liberal elite chatted at tables around him.
It was not that Holbrooke did not enjoy the barbecued spicy kebabs, Lahore's speciality, it was just he had one special request. He wanted daal, the plain lentil curry that is the humblest dish in South Asia. For such a distinguished guest, none had been prepared. "The bulldozer", credited with negotiating an end to the war in the Balkans in the 1990s, usually gets his way and this time was no exception. Daal was soon on its way.
Tonight Holbrooke will land at the Palam air force base, adjacent to the main civilian airport in New Delhi. It will be the last stop on a journey that has led the diplomat across the broad swathe of territory stretching from central Afghanistan to Pakistan's Indus river. Call it the central front of the global "war on terror", the fulcrum of the "arc of crisis", Pashtunistan or simply, in the most recent neologism, "AfPak", no one doubts that this is the biggest foreign policy headache for Obama's new team.
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Is U.S. repeating mistakes Soviet regime made in Afghanistan?
By JONATHAN S. LANDAY McClatchy Newspapers
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Twenty years to the day after the last Soviet soldier left Afghanistan, Dastagir Arizad ticked off grievances against President Hamid Karzai and the United States that are disturbingly reminiscent of Moscow's humiliating defeat.
"Day by day, we see the Karzai government failing. The Americans are also failing," said Arizad, 40, as he huddled against the cold in the stall where he sells ropes and plastic hoses. "People are not feeling safe. Their lives are not secure. Their daughters are not safe. Their land is not secure. The Karzai government is corrupt."
"The problems we are having are made by the Americans. The Americans should review their policies," he said Saturday. "They should not support the people who are in power."
As Arizad spoke, President Barack Obama's special envoy, Richard Holbrooke, was holding his first talks with Karzai in the presidential palace nearby amid mounting U.S.-Afghanistan tensions fueled by mutual recriminations over the growing Taliban insurgency.
Some Afghan experts are worried that the United States and its NATO allies are making some of the same mistakes that helped the Taliban's forerunners defeat the Soviet Union after a decade-long occupation that bled the Kremlin treasury, demoralized Moscow's military and contributed to the Soviet Union's collapse.
Among the mistakes, these experts said, are relying too heavily on military force, inflicting too many civilian casualties, concentrating too much power in Kabul and tolerating pervasive government corruption.
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