The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread January 2009
- Thread starter GAP
- Start date
- Status
Articles found January 1, 2009
Canada's face in Afghanistan doesn't fully show its diversity
CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD Globe and Mail January 1, 2009 at 7:48 AM EST
Article Link
It's a simple enough question, posed in a note this week from a reader who asked it first in a recent letter to the editor of the Vancouver Sun, which chose not to run it.
"It was heartbreaking in the Dec. 6 Sun to see the faces - so young, once so alive - of the 100 Canadians who have given their lives for their country, fighting in Afghanistan," he wrote.
"If a picture of 100 Canadians was taken today, you could count on it being politically correct, with our multiculturalism front and centre. But our multiculturalism was nowhere to be seen in the photos of our fallen.
"Does anybody have an answer for this?"
Since he first wrote the letter, six more Canadians have died in service to Canada, the bodies of the three most recent casualties - Private Michael Freeman of the 3rd Battalion, the Royal Canadian Regiment; Sergeant Gregory John Kruse, from 2 Combat Engineer Regiment, and Warrant Officer Gaétan Roberge, a Van Doo attached to the 2nd Battalion, The Irish Regiment of Canada - arriving back in Canada only two days ago.
These three have much in common with their fellow fallen. They were killed, as so many others have been, by an improvised explosive device, or IED. They were young; the average age of the Canadian soldier killed in Kandahar is 28.6 years.
And they were white men, as were all but five of the 106 Canadian soldiers who have died in Afghanistan - the exceptions (though I suspect they might have quarrelled with such a distinction and may not have "self-identified" as such) Trooper Michael Hayakaze, a Japanese-Canadian; WO Hani Massouh, who was Egyptian by birth though raised in Canada and an experienced veteran of the Canadian Forces; two black Canadians, Pte. Mark Graham and Corporal Ainsworth Dyer, and one woman, Captain Nichola Goddard.
More on link
Forces probe death of Taliban insurgent
JANE ARMSTRONG From Thursday's Globe and Mail December 31, 2008 at 9:34 PM EST
Article Link
KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — Canadian military investigators are probing allegations of “inappropriate conduct” in the death of a Taliban insurgent last fall, but little else has been made public.
Reading from a written statement, Colonel Jamie Cade, deputy commander of NATO forces in Kandahar, told reporters that he was made aware of the allegations on Dec. 27. Investigators want to know if “proper reporting procedures were followed,” he said.
Col. Cade refused to answer questions about the matter.
The incident occurred Oct. 19 in Helmand province, directly west of Kandahar province where most Canadian Forces are deployed.
Canadian officials would not comment on the circumstances of the insurgent's death, nor how Canadian Forces may have come to be involved in an incident in Helmand, which is largely the responsibility of British forces.
“I think the Canadian military should be answering a few more questions here – immediately,” said lawyer Paul Champ, a human-rights specialist.
Mr. Champ is best known for leading a legal bid by Amnesty International to extend Canadian human-rights protections to Afghan detainees handed over by Canadian troops to Afghan security forces.
“The Canadian military, to instill the confidence of Canadians, should provide a few more details surrounding these allegations,” he said.
The probe is being conducted by the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, an independent military police unit with a mandate to investigate “serious and sensitive” matters relating to National Defence property, its employees and Canadian Forces personnel.
The NIS was formed after one of the darkest chapters in the history of the Canadian military: the 1993 Somalia affair, in which members of the Canadian Airborne Regiment brutally beat to death a Somali teenager.
More on link
Five dead in suspected US missile strike in Pakistan
9 hours ago
Article Link
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) — A suspected US missile strike on Thursday killed at least five Taliban militants in a tribal area in northwest Pakistan known as a extremist stronghold, local officials said.
The strike was the latest targeting Taliban and Al-Qaeda operatives in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan -- most said to have been launched by CIA drones -- that have raised tensions between Washington and Islamabad.
A local security official told AFP that an unmanned CIA aircraft had fired three missiles in the Karikot area of South Waziristan -- the same spot where eight suspected militants were killed in a US drone strike 10 days ago.
One of the missiles struck a vehicle, killing five people inside, another security official said, adding those killed were known Taliban militants.
The other two missiles hit a hilltop house that was a known militant hideout in the area, but it was empty at the time of the strike, the officials said.
One militant was also wounded, they added.
"We rushed out of our homes," said resident Zar Wali, adding that locals had been panicked by the powerful explosions.
More on link
Afghan soldiers destroy 3 bomb-making compounds, kill bomber: ANA
1 day ago
Article Link
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Afghan National Army soldiers destroyed three suspected bomb-making compounds and killed a person believed to be planting roadside bombs during a recent operation, a senior ANA commander said Wednesday.
The mission was planned and executed by the Afghan army under the tutelage of Canadian military mentors, Col. Ahmad Habibi told reporters Wednesday at Kandahar Airfield.
Habibi said two of the compounds were located in the town of Senjaray and one was in Maywand district, about 75 kilometres west of Kandahar city.
He said Afghan soldiers found a cache of weapons at the compounds, including rockets, machine guns, bomb wires, explosives and bomb-making instructions.
The troops also found a car laden with 56 sacks of powder - believed to be used for making bombs - along with seven barrels of acid, Habibi said.
"The enemy is very ruthless," he said through a translator.
Last week, the Canadian military said coalition forces killed 11 Taliban militants, including the leader of a bomb-making cell, during a raid in Maywand.
More on link
Taliban militants kill 'US spy' in Pakistan: official
1 day ago
Article Link
MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (AFP) — Taliban militants executed a man in a restive Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border after accusing him of spying for the United States, an official said Wednesday.
The bullet-riddled body of 28-year-old Mohammad Nawaz was found dumped on a roadside on Wednesday in the town of Mir Ali in North Waziristan, a local police official said.
Nawaz had been kidnapped in November after a US missile strike near Mir Ali town killed some local and foreign militants.
A note found near his body said Nawaz had been "found guilty of spying for the US," the official said, requesting anonymity.
Militants have killed dozens of local tribesmen and Afghan refugees on charges of spying, mainly for the Pakistani government or US forces operating across the border in Afghanistan.
More on link
UK military: British marine dies in Afghanistan
The Associated Press Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Article Link
LONDON: Britain's military says one of its marines has been killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan.
The British Ministry of Defense says a member of the country's 45 Commando Royal Marines was killed by an explosion Wednesday afternoon in the Sangin district of Afghanistan's restive Helmand province.
More on link
Canada's face in Afghanistan doesn't fully show its diversity
CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD Globe and Mail January 1, 2009 at 7:48 AM EST
Article Link
It's a simple enough question, posed in a note this week from a reader who asked it first in a recent letter to the editor of the Vancouver Sun, which chose not to run it.
"It was heartbreaking in the Dec. 6 Sun to see the faces - so young, once so alive - of the 100 Canadians who have given their lives for their country, fighting in Afghanistan," he wrote.
"If a picture of 100 Canadians was taken today, you could count on it being politically correct, with our multiculturalism front and centre. But our multiculturalism was nowhere to be seen in the photos of our fallen.
"Does anybody have an answer for this?"
Since he first wrote the letter, six more Canadians have died in service to Canada, the bodies of the three most recent casualties - Private Michael Freeman of the 3rd Battalion, the Royal Canadian Regiment; Sergeant Gregory John Kruse, from 2 Combat Engineer Regiment, and Warrant Officer Gaétan Roberge, a Van Doo attached to the 2nd Battalion, The Irish Regiment of Canada - arriving back in Canada only two days ago.
These three have much in common with their fellow fallen. They were killed, as so many others have been, by an improvised explosive device, or IED. They were young; the average age of the Canadian soldier killed in Kandahar is 28.6 years.
And they were white men, as were all but five of the 106 Canadian soldiers who have died in Afghanistan - the exceptions (though I suspect they might have quarrelled with such a distinction and may not have "self-identified" as such) Trooper Michael Hayakaze, a Japanese-Canadian; WO Hani Massouh, who was Egyptian by birth though raised in Canada and an experienced veteran of the Canadian Forces; two black Canadians, Pte. Mark Graham and Corporal Ainsworth Dyer, and one woman, Captain Nichola Goddard.
More on link
Forces probe death of Taliban insurgent
JANE ARMSTRONG From Thursday's Globe and Mail December 31, 2008 at 9:34 PM EST
Article Link
KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — Canadian military investigators are probing allegations of “inappropriate conduct” in the death of a Taliban insurgent last fall, but little else has been made public.
Reading from a written statement, Colonel Jamie Cade, deputy commander of NATO forces in Kandahar, told reporters that he was made aware of the allegations on Dec. 27. Investigators want to know if “proper reporting procedures were followed,” he said.
Col. Cade refused to answer questions about the matter.
The incident occurred Oct. 19 in Helmand province, directly west of Kandahar province where most Canadian Forces are deployed.
Canadian officials would not comment on the circumstances of the insurgent's death, nor how Canadian Forces may have come to be involved in an incident in Helmand, which is largely the responsibility of British forces.
“I think the Canadian military should be answering a few more questions here – immediately,” said lawyer Paul Champ, a human-rights specialist.
Mr. Champ is best known for leading a legal bid by Amnesty International to extend Canadian human-rights protections to Afghan detainees handed over by Canadian troops to Afghan security forces.
“The Canadian military, to instill the confidence of Canadians, should provide a few more details surrounding these allegations,” he said.
The probe is being conducted by the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, an independent military police unit with a mandate to investigate “serious and sensitive” matters relating to National Defence property, its employees and Canadian Forces personnel.
The NIS was formed after one of the darkest chapters in the history of the Canadian military: the 1993 Somalia affair, in which members of the Canadian Airborne Regiment brutally beat to death a Somali teenager.
More on link
Five dead in suspected US missile strike in Pakistan
9 hours ago
Article Link
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) — A suspected US missile strike on Thursday killed at least five Taliban militants in a tribal area in northwest Pakistan known as a extremist stronghold, local officials said.
The strike was the latest targeting Taliban and Al-Qaeda operatives in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan -- most said to have been launched by CIA drones -- that have raised tensions between Washington and Islamabad.
A local security official told AFP that an unmanned CIA aircraft had fired three missiles in the Karikot area of South Waziristan -- the same spot where eight suspected militants were killed in a US drone strike 10 days ago.
One of the missiles struck a vehicle, killing five people inside, another security official said, adding those killed were known Taliban militants.
The other two missiles hit a hilltop house that was a known militant hideout in the area, but it was empty at the time of the strike, the officials said.
One militant was also wounded, they added.
"We rushed out of our homes," said resident Zar Wali, adding that locals had been panicked by the powerful explosions.
More on link
Afghan soldiers destroy 3 bomb-making compounds, kill bomber: ANA
1 day ago
Article Link
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Afghan National Army soldiers destroyed three suspected bomb-making compounds and killed a person believed to be planting roadside bombs during a recent operation, a senior ANA commander said Wednesday.
The mission was planned and executed by the Afghan army under the tutelage of Canadian military mentors, Col. Ahmad Habibi told reporters Wednesday at Kandahar Airfield.
Habibi said two of the compounds were located in the town of Senjaray and one was in Maywand district, about 75 kilometres west of Kandahar city.
He said Afghan soldiers found a cache of weapons at the compounds, including rockets, machine guns, bomb wires, explosives and bomb-making instructions.
The troops also found a car laden with 56 sacks of powder - believed to be used for making bombs - along with seven barrels of acid, Habibi said.
"The enemy is very ruthless," he said through a translator.
Last week, the Canadian military said coalition forces killed 11 Taliban militants, including the leader of a bomb-making cell, during a raid in Maywand.
More on link
Taliban militants kill 'US spy' in Pakistan: official
1 day ago
Article Link
MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (AFP) — Taliban militants executed a man in a restive Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border after accusing him of spying for the United States, an official said Wednesday.
The bullet-riddled body of 28-year-old Mohammad Nawaz was found dumped on a roadside on Wednesday in the town of Mir Ali in North Waziristan, a local police official said.
Nawaz had been kidnapped in November after a US missile strike near Mir Ali town killed some local and foreign militants.
A note found near his body said Nawaz had been "found guilty of spying for the US," the official said, requesting anonymity.
Militants have killed dozens of local tribesmen and Afghan refugees on charges of spying, mainly for the Pakistani government or US forces operating across the border in Afghanistan.
More on link
UK military: British marine dies in Afghanistan
The Associated Press Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Article Link
LONDON: Britain's military says one of its marines has been killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan.
The British Ministry of Defense says a member of the country's 45 Commando Royal Marines was killed by an explosion Wednesday afternoon in the Sangin district of Afghanistan's restive Helmand province.
More on link
Articles found January 2, 2009
Canada shopping for radar warning system
By David PuglieseJanuary 1, 2009
Article Link
The Canadian Forces is looking to spend at least $50 million on a new radar system to warn troops about incoming rockets and mortar bombs.
The army is looking for a radar that has a range of up to 30 kilometres and can be quickly set up by several soldiers.
The army spent $33 million on an earlier attempt that produced only mixed results.
For its 2003-2004 Afghanistan mission, the Canadian military had leased from Sweden a radar dubbed 'Arthur,' but soldiers complained it had mis-identified friendly aircraft and electrical power lines as incoming enemy rockets. Out of 3,200 incidents the radar identified as enemy fire, only two could be confirmed as real, according to a report filed by Canadian military personnel.
At the time the army shelved plans to purchase what were known as counter-bombardment radars, citing the concern the technology was not developed enough to make their use practical. It decided to wait until the U.S. military figured out what it would do in terms of such technology.
But now the Canadian army has revived its plan to purchase such radars. A contract for a new system is expected sometime in 2010 but it is unclear whether the equipment would be delivered in time to protect Canadian troops in Afghanistan.
More on link
Can't recall 'inappropriate conduct' during Taliban fight: Afghan general
21 hours ago
Article Link
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — An Afghan army general who was on hand for October's bloody battle of Lashkar Gah said Thursday he has heard none of the allegations of "inappropriate conduct" surrounding the death of a presumed Taliban insurgent.
Afghan National Army troops killed so many Taliban fighters during the defence of Helmand province's capital city two months ago, it's impossible to say how they all died, Gen. Sher Muhammad Zazai said in an interview.
Afghan and NATO officials claimed at least 100 Taliban died in the three days of fighting, in which insurgents mounted a three-pronged attack on the city that ended Oct. 18.
"I don't know of any inappropriate way that Taliban were killed," Zazai said through an interpreter.
"So many were killed, I don't remember the exact way they were (all) killed."
The major crimes unit of Canada's military police is investigating a death that took place "on or about" Oct. 19 in Helmand - the day after the Lashkar Gah seige came to an end.
The deputy commander of NATO forces in Kandahar province, Col. Jamie Cade, said he learned Dec. 27 of the allegations. Few details have been released
More on link
US readying south Afghan surge against Taliban
By JASON STRAZIUSO and RAHIM FAIEZ – 12 hours ago
Article Link
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan's southern rim, the Taliban's spiritual birthplace and the country's most violent region, has for the past two years been the domain of British, Canadian and Dutch soldiers.
That's about to change.
In what amounts to an Afghan version of the surge in Iraq, the U.S. is preparing to pour at least 20,000 extra troops into the south, augmenting 12,500 NATO soldiers who have proved too few to cope with a Taliban insurgency that is fiercer than NATO leaders expected.
New construction at Kandahar Air Field foreshadows the upcoming infusion of American power. Runways and housing are being built, along with two new U.S. outposts in Taliban-held regions of Kandahar province.
And in the past month the south has been the focus of visiting U.S. and other dignitaries — Sen. John McCain, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, U.S. congressional delegations and leaders from NATO headquarters in Europe.
For the first time since NATO took over the country in 2006, an experienced U.S. general, Brig. Gen. John Nicholson, is assigned to the south.
More on link
Canada shopping for radar warning system
By David PuglieseJanuary 1, 2009
Article Link
The Canadian Forces is looking to spend at least $50 million on a new radar system to warn troops about incoming rockets and mortar bombs.
The army is looking for a radar that has a range of up to 30 kilometres and can be quickly set up by several soldiers.
The army spent $33 million on an earlier attempt that produced only mixed results.
For its 2003-2004 Afghanistan mission, the Canadian military had leased from Sweden a radar dubbed 'Arthur,' but soldiers complained it had mis-identified friendly aircraft and electrical power lines as incoming enemy rockets. Out of 3,200 incidents the radar identified as enemy fire, only two could be confirmed as real, according to a report filed by Canadian military personnel.
At the time the army shelved plans to purchase what were known as counter-bombardment radars, citing the concern the technology was not developed enough to make their use practical. It decided to wait until the U.S. military figured out what it would do in terms of such technology.
But now the Canadian army has revived its plan to purchase such radars. A contract for a new system is expected sometime in 2010 but it is unclear whether the equipment would be delivered in time to protect Canadian troops in Afghanistan.
More on link
Can't recall 'inappropriate conduct' during Taliban fight: Afghan general
21 hours ago
Article Link
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — An Afghan army general who was on hand for October's bloody battle of Lashkar Gah said Thursday he has heard none of the allegations of "inappropriate conduct" surrounding the death of a presumed Taliban insurgent.
Afghan National Army troops killed so many Taliban fighters during the defence of Helmand province's capital city two months ago, it's impossible to say how they all died, Gen. Sher Muhammad Zazai said in an interview.
Afghan and NATO officials claimed at least 100 Taliban died in the three days of fighting, in which insurgents mounted a three-pronged attack on the city that ended Oct. 18.
"I don't know of any inappropriate way that Taliban were killed," Zazai said through an interpreter.
"So many were killed, I don't remember the exact way they were (all) killed."
The major crimes unit of Canada's military police is investigating a death that took place "on or about" Oct. 19 in Helmand - the day after the Lashkar Gah seige came to an end.
The deputy commander of NATO forces in Kandahar province, Col. Jamie Cade, said he learned Dec. 27 of the allegations. Few details have been released
More on link
US readying south Afghan surge against Taliban
By JASON STRAZIUSO and RAHIM FAIEZ – 12 hours ago
Article Link
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan's southern rim, the Taliban's spiritual birthplace and the country's most violent region, has for the past two years been the domain of British, Canadian and Dutch soldiers.
That's about to change.
In what amounts to an Afghan version of the surge in Iraq, the U.S. is preparing to pour at least 20,000 extra troops into the south, augmenting 12,500 NATO soldiers who have proved too few to cope with a Taliban insurgency that is fiercer than NATO leaders expected.
New construction at Kandahar Air Field foreshadows the upcoming infusion of American power. Runways and housing are being built, along with two new U.S. outposts in Taliban-held regions of Kandahar province.
And in the past month the south has been the focus of visiting U.S. and other dignitaries — Sen. John McCain, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, U.S. congressional delegations and leaders from NATO headquarters in Europe.
For the first time since NATO took over the country in 2006, an experienced U.S. general, Brig. Gen. John Nicholson, is assigned to the south.
More on link
George Wallace
Army.ca Dinosaur
- Reaction score
- 223
- Points
- 710
Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act: Article LINK
Their final journey together
A soldier must bring his fallen friend home: 'This is going to be hard'
By JOE WARMINGTON
Wounded Master Cpl. Hugh Brennan has spent this New Year's in his hotel room waiting for the phone to ring.
When it does he will travel one more time with Pte. Michael Freeman, his close friend killed in the line of duty Dec. 26, for the final leg of his journey home to Peterborough.
"At some point the coroner is going to call," Brennan said in an interview last night. "I don't know when."
In Toronto, he waits and licks his physical, psychological and emotional wounds received as he was sitting beside Freeman when he was killed in Afghanistan.
An autopsy has to be conducted on the 28-year-old who died after being blown up by an improvised explosive device on Boxing Day near the Canadian Armed Forces base near Kandahar. He is one of 104 Canadian soldiers to die in Afghanistan and one of nine in the month of December.
And to think, less than a week ago Brennan and Freeman, and all of the rest of the LAV (light armoured vehicle) team of 3rd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment's 5 Platoon based in Petawawa, were celebrating Christmas.
The next day it was back to work. Nine Canadian soldiers climbed into the LAV and headed out on patrol.
"We stopped for lunch at the forward operating base," recalled Brennan, who grew up in Belleville and whose parents now live in Napanee. "Then we headed back out and at 12:45 it happened."
The blast was severe.
"I saw yellow smoke and smelled diesel," said Brennan. "Then I saw and felt rocks hitting me in the face. It was happening fast but it felt like it was going on for 10 minutes."
The badly damaged LAV ended up on its side. "For me it felt like getting punched in the face," he said. "We were hit really hard."
When the dust literally settled, one by one the crew tried to get out of the vehicle.
"Because of my pack I was stuck," he said.
Seated next to Freeman, he was looking to try to get him out. He then he heard the words that have been ringing in his ears ever since.
"Somebody yelled, 'Mike's gone. You have to get out because the vehicle is on fire.'"
At that point "one of the guys pulled me out." He saw some of the crew "lying on the ground" and the "crew commander administering first aid."
Brennan's back was badly twisted and he received several deep puncture wounds. "What really surprised me was how calm everyone was," said Brennan, who is on his second tour in Afghanistan. "We had to get something done and we did it."
Several needed medical attention but will recover. Freeman took the brunt of the blast.
"It is always in the back of our minds," he said of IED's.
But you learn to live with it. "We all know if it happens, it happens," he said.
It happened to them.
And even though they rationalize it, the last few days, being with him when he died and then being the one who escorts him home, has been devastating for the 25-year-old Brennan, who is on pain medication.
"I don't know if it has hit me yet," he said of his friend's death. "The hardest part is I have not seen his family yet. That is going to be hard."
That will happen when the coroner releases Freeman's body. Brennan will travel with him to Peterborough where there will be a funeral on Monday.
He said he is bringing home one special soldier. And one special person. "He was an extremely hard worker and one of the best drivers I have ever known," said Brennan of his pal. "When we would bitch and complain he would just laugh about it."
Nothing fazed him. He was the capable driver who always knew what to do and when to do it.
"I gave him the name Chewy -- as in Chewbacca from Star Wars," said Brennan, for the first time in our interview offering a short chuckle.
"He called me Han Solo," he said. "I would say punch it Chewy and then we would take off (in the LAV)."
Away from battle and patrols, Freeman was an interesting young man who had a young, kind, adventurous and generous spirit. "His dad sent him his golf clubs and he has his own driving range near our tent," said Brennan. "When he would hit balls, the local kids would run out and get them. He would always pay them with candy and food. He was priceless. He was like everybody's crazy brother. He was a real character."
The Canadian soldiers enjoy the Afghan people -- which makes it so difficult to accept that some of the population wants them dead. But, he said, it is the minority. "I have seen the positive," Brennan said of the work Canadians have achieved there. "I believe a good percentage does appreciate that but some are on the fence and those are the ones we have to (convince)."
Until they do, they are deadly. "The insurgents have no chance in a firefight. We would take them out every time, so using the IED's is their only chance," he said. "They are getting pretty good at it."
The military investigates every death and wherever possible eradicates those responsible and destroys their laboratories. As far as appropriate retribution toward those who killed Freeman and two others the next day, his response was "use one's imagination."
The fact those in combat zones are at constant risk does not deter them. They are a close-knit unit, who would all dive in front of a bullet to save each other. "Watching the guys say goodbye to him in Kandahar was really hard," he said.
But witnessing the outpouring of emotion on the Highway of Heroes trek from CFB Trenton to Toronto Tuesday, solidified for him that a country is behind them. "I don't think there has been a moment in my life when I was prouder to be a Canadian," said Brennan, who limped over to the crowd and shook the hands and hugged supporters as he arrived in Toronto. "It was special and breathtaking."
He said he had heard of the Highway of Heroes but didn't realize it would be like that. He plans to tell his fellow soldiers when he gets back to the war. "Once I am healed up I am going to go back overseas," he said, adding Pte. Freeman would have done that if he had lived and it was someone else who died. "I don't want to leave my section shorthanded."
Before he can get back to help, there's a phone call and a funeral that have to happen first.
More on link
Their final journey together
A soldier must bring his fallen friend home: 'This is going to be hard'
By JOE WARMINGTON
Wounded Master Cpl. Hugh Brennan has spent this New Year's in his hotel room waiting for the phone to ring.
When it does he will travel one more time with Pte. Michael Freeman, his close friend killed in the line of duty Dec. 26, for the final leg of his journey home to Peterborough.
"At some point the coroner is going to call," Brennan said in an interview last night. "I don't know when."
In Toronto, he waits and licks his physical, psychological and emotional wounds received as he was sitting beside Freeman when he was killed in Afghanistan.
An autopsy has to be conducted on the 28-year-old who died after being blown up by an improvised explosive device on Boxing Day near the Canadian Armed Forces base near Kandahar. He is one of 104 Canadian soldiers to die in Afghanistan and one of nine in the month of December.
And to think, less than a week ago Brennan and Freeman, and all of the rest of the LAV (light armoured vehicle) team of 3rd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment's 5 Platoon based in Petawawa, were celebrating Christmas.
The next day it was back to work. Nine Canadian soldiers climbed into the LAV and headed out on patrol.
"We stopped for lunch at the forward operating base," recalled Brennan, who grew up in Belleville and whose parents now live in Napanee. "Then we headed back out and at 12:45 it happened."
The blast was severe.
"I saw yellow smoke and smelled diesel," said Brennan. "Then I saw and felt rocks hitting me in the face. It was happening fast but it felt like it was going on for 10 minutes."
The badly damaged LAV ended up on its side. "For me it felt like getting punched in the face," he said. "We were hit really hard."
When the dust literally settled, one by one the crew tried to get out of the vehicle.
"Because of my pack I was stuck," he said.
Seated next to Freeman, he was looking to try to get him out. He then he heard the words that have been ringing in his ears ever since.
"Somebody yelled, 'Mike's gone. You have to get out because the vehicle is on fire.'"
At that point "one of the guys pulled me out." He saw some of the crew "lying on the ground" and the "crew commander administering first aid."
Brennan's back was badly twisted and he received several deep puncture wounds. "What really surprised me was how calm everyone was," said Brennan, who is on his second tour in Afghanistan. "We had to get something done and we did it."
Several needed medical attention but will recover. Freeman took the brunt of the blast.
"It is always in the back of our minds," he said of IED's.
But you learn to live with it. "We all know if it happens, it happens," he said.
It happened to them.
And even though they rationalize it, the last few days, being with him when he died and then being the one who escorts him home, has been devastating for the 25-year-old Brennan, who is on pain medication.
"I don't know if it has hit me yet," he said of his friend's death. "The hardest part is I have not seen his family yet. That is going to be hard."
That will happen when the coroner releases Freeman's body. Brennan will travel with him to Peterborough where there will be a funeral on Monday.
He said he is bringing home one special soldier. And one special person. "He was an extremely hard worker and one of the best drivers I have ever known," said Brennan of his pal. "When we would bitch and complain he would just laugh about it."
Nothing fazed him. He was the capable driver who always knew what to do and when to do it.
"I gave him the name Chewy -- as in Chewbacca from Star Wars," said Brennan, for the first time in our interview offering a short chuckle.
"He called me Han Solo," he said. "I would say punch it Chewy and then we would take off (in the LAV)."
Away from battle and patrols, Freeman was an interesting young man who had a young, kind, adventurous and generous spirit. "His dad sent him his golf clubs and he has his own driving range near our tent," said Brennan. "When he would hit balls, the local kids would run out and get them. He would always pay them with candy and food. He was priceless. He was like everybody's crazy brother. He was a real character."
The Canadian soldiers enjoy the Afghan people -- which makes it so difficult to accept that some of the population wants them dead. But, he said, it is the minority. "I have seen the positive," Brennan said of the work Canadians have achieved there. "I believe a good percentage does appreciate that but some are on the fence and those are the ones we have to (convince)."
Until they do, they are deadly. "The insurgents have no chance in a firefight. We would take them out every time, so using the IED's is their only chance," he said. "They are getting pretty good at it."
The military investigates every death and wherever possible eradicates those responsible and destroys their laboratories. As far as appropriate retribution toward those who killed Freeman and two others the next day, his response was "use one's imagination."
The fact those in combat zones are at constant risk does not deter them. They are a close-knit unit, who would all dive in front of a bullet to save each other. "Watching the guys say goodbye to him in Kandahar was really hard," he said.
But witnessing the outpouring of emotion on the Highway of Heroes trek from CFB Trenton to Toronto Tuesday, solidified for him that a country is behind them. "I don't think there has been a moment in my life when I was prouder to be a Canadian," said Brennan, who limped over to the crowd and shook the hands and hugged supporters as he arrived in Toronto. "It was special and breathtaking."
He said he had heard of the Highway of Heroes but didn't realize it would be like that. He plans to tell his fellow soldiers when he gets back to the war. "Once I am healed up I am going to go back overseas," he said, adding Pte. Freeman would have done that if he had lived and it was someone else who died. "I don't want to leave my section shorthanded."
Before he can get back to help, there's a phone call and a funeral that have to happen first.
More on link
Female Afghan police officers brave death threats
Updated Sun. Jan. 4 2009 10:02 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link
Less than four months after gunmen assassinated the highest-ranking female police officer in Afghanistan, members of the unit she founded are trying to continue her mission despite death threats.
Two men murdered Lt.-Col. Malalai Kakar in Kandahar last September, as she made her way to work in Kandahar. Until then, she had survived numerous assassination attempts from militants opposed to her fight for gender equality, and she had personally killed three would-be attackers.
The unit primarily investigates crimes against women, along with crimes committed by women. Kakar's successor, who can only be identified as Parwana, told CTV News that the other members are constantly being threatened.
"All of us female cops get lots of death threats," Parwana, the team's lead investigator, said through an interpreter. "We now hide our faces in public. It's the only way we can protect ourselves."
Over the past few months, the Taliban has carried out several dozen targeted killings. A spokesperson proudly boasted of having workers in Kandahar city making lists of those employed by the government.
Parwana, a single mother because her husband was gunned down, said she and her officers are trying to adjust to the difficult reality.
She told CTV News she's not afraid to die, but wants to stay alive as long as possible to help her country.
More on link
Updated Sun. Jan. 4 2009 10:02 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link
Less than four months after gunmen assassinated the highest-ranking female police officer in Afghanistan, members of the unit she founded are trying to continue her mission despite death threats.
Two men murdered Lt.-Col. Malalai Kakar in Kandahar last September, as she made her way to work in Kandahar. Until then, she had survived numerous assassination attempts from militants opposed to her fight for gender equality, and she had personally killed three would-be attackers.
The unit primarily investigates crimes against women, along with crimes committed by women. Kakar's successor, who can only be identified as Parwana, told CTV News that the other members are constantly being threatened.
"All of us female cops get lots of death threats," Parwana, the team's lead investigator, said through an interpreter. "We now hide our faces in public. It's the only way we can protect ourselves."
Over the past few months, the Taliban has carried out several dozen targeted killings. A spokesperson proudly boasted of having workers in Kandahar city making lists of those employed by the government.
Parwana, a single mother because her husband was gunned down, said she and her officers are trying to adjust to the difficult reality.
She told CTV News she's not afraid to die, but wants to stay alive as long as possible to help her country.
More on link
Articles found January 5, 2009
Taliban whopper: claim 5,220 foreign troops killed
By JASON STRAZIUSO and RAHIM FAIEZ – 2 hours ago
Article Link
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban has long exaggerated its military successes, but its recent claim that it killed more than 5,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan last year may be the militia's most startling yet.
The Taliban said last week on its Web site that it killed 5,220 U.S. and NATO troops in 2008 — an exaggerated figure nearly 20 times the official death toll.
The insurgents also said they downed 31 aircraft last year. Its fighters destroyed 2,818 NATO and Afghan vehicles and killed 7,552 Afghan soldiers and police, according to a statement from a spokesman.
The true damage inflicted on U.S. and NATO fighters over the last year has been "repeatedly hidden by the enemy and they have controlled the media by using money, power and their lies," the statement said.
NATO and its member countries announce all troop deaths, providing names, ages and hometowns and how the soldiers were killed. According to an Associated Press tally based on those announcements, 286 foreign forces died last year in Afghanistan, including 151 American and 51 British.
Though the death toll was highly exaggerated, the Taliban have had increased success recently. Violence in Afghanistan has spiked in the last two years, and Taliban militants now control wide swaths of countryside. In response, the U.S. is planning to pour up to 30,000 more troops into the country this year.
The insurgents' exaggerations are designed to boost morale inside the Taliban and to attract financing from donors sympathetic to their cause, a U.S. military official and a Taliban expert said.
"They put out this propaganda in order to raise capital to continue their operations," said Col. Jerry O'Hara, a U.S. military spokesman.
Vahid Mojdeh, the author of a book on the Taliban who continues to study the militia, said the exaggerated claims help the insurgents recruit new fighters
More on link
Soldier's case 'doesn't smell right'
Allison Hanes And David ********, Canwest News Service Published: Monday, January 05, 2009
Article Link
The parents of Captain Robert Semrau, the first Canadian Forces soldier charged with second-degree murder in the death of a presumed Afghan insurgent, expressed thanks yesterday for the outpouring of support for their son since the startling news of the arrest broke on New Year's Eve.
In a telephone conversation with the National Post from their home in Camrose, Alta., Don and Jean Semrau said they cannot comment at this time given the sensitive nature of their son's predicament, but indicated they hope to release a statement in the coming days.
However, Mr. Semrau acknowledged a Facebook site that has sprung up in support of his son. It voices both disbelief at the murder charge and confidence he will be cleared.
"We're getting very good support right now," the father said.
"We thank you for your support," Mrs. Semrau added, before the couple politely ended the call.
From Vancouver, Capt. Semrau's only sibling said he is distraught over the serious charge hanging over his brother, but his family is pulling together in a circle of silence, reluctant to interfere in an unprecedented criminal investigation for Canada's military in Afghanistan.
More on link
'Taleban kill three for spying'
Article Link
Suspected Taleban militants have killed three men in north-west Pakistan after accusing them of spying for the United States, police say.
The bodies were found on a road near Miranshah, the main town in the North Waziristan region.
The lawless region is known to be a hub of Taleban and al-Qaeda militants.
Militants have killed dozens of local tribesmen and Afghan refugees for allegedly spying for US forces in Afghanistan or for Pakistan.
Drone attacks
Two of those shot dead in North Waziristan are reported to be Afghans. The other was Pakistani.
One of the victims, aged 25, had been kidnapped several days earlier.
Notes found near the bodies said they had been found guilty of spying for the United States forces in Afghanistan.
The BBC's Charles Haviland in Islamabad says there are many instances of militant insurgency close to the Afghan border. Some have a sectarian dimension, others are linked to revenge issues if local people have tried to take action against the Taleban and others are connected with insurgents' growing attempts to introduce Sharia law.
More on link
Australian killed in Afghanistan
Article Link
Eight Australian soldiers have died in Afghanistan since 2001
An Australian soldier has been killed in Afghanistan by a Taleban rocket attack, the Australian Defence Department says.
The soldier, who was not named, was killed instantly when a rocket exploded in a compound in Afghanistan's southern province of Uruzgan.
A group of Australian soldiers was stationed at an Afghan base there.
The casualty was the eighth suffered by Australian forces in Afghanistan since their deployment there in 2001.
The soldier had been in the country only a few weeks.
"Fighting in the war in Afghanistan continues as an important part of the fight against terrorism, the fight against al-Qaeda," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told reporters in Sydney.
"It's also part and parcel of our obligation to our allies and friends, given that this war in Afghanistan began following the terrorist attack on September 11 by al Qaida, resulting in the murder of thousands of innocent civilians."
More on link
Taliban whopper: claim 5,220 foreign troops killed
By JASON STRAZIUSO and RAHIM FAIEZ – 2 hours ago
Article Link
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban has long exaggerated its military successes, but its recent claim that it killed more than 5,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan last year may be the militia's most startling yet.
The Taliban said last week on its Web site that it killed 5,220 U.S. and NATO troops in 2008 — an exaggerated figure nearly 20 times the official death toll.
The insurgents also said they downed 31 aircraft last year. Its fighters destroyed 2,818 NATO and Afghan vehicles and killed 7,552 Afghan soldiers and police, according to a statement from a spokesman.
The true damage inflicted on U.S. and NATO fighters over the last year has been "repeatedly hidden by the enemy and they have controlled the media by using money, power and their lies," the statement said.
NATO and its member countries announce all troop deaths, providing names, ages and hometowns and how the soldiers were killed. According to an Associated Press tally based on those announcements, 286 foreign forces died last year in Afghanistan, including 151 American and 51 British.
Though the death toll was highly exaggerated, the Taliban have had increased success recently. Violence in Afghanistan has spiked in the last two years, and Taliban militants now control wide swaths of countryside. In response, the U.S. is planning to pour up to 30,000 more troops into the country this year.
The insurgents' exaggerations are designed to boost morale inside the Taliban and to attract financing from donors sympathetic to their cause, a U.S. military official and a Taliban expert said.
"They put out this propaganda in order to raise capital to continue their operations," said Col. Jerry O'Hara, a U.S. military spokesman.
Vahid Mojdeh, the author of a book on the Taliban who continues to study the militia, said the exaggerated claims help the insurgents recruit new fighters
More on link
Soldier's case 'doesn't smell right'
Allison Hanes And David ********, Canwest News Service Published: Monday, January 05, 2009
Article Link
The parents of Captain Robert Semrau, the first Canadian Forces soldier charged with second-degree murder in the death of a presumed Afghan insurgent, expressed thanks yesterday for the outpouring of support for their son since the startling news of the arrest broke on New Year's Eve.
In a telephone conversation with the National Post from their home in Camrose, Alta., Don and Jean Semrau said they cannot comment at this time given the sensitive nature of their son's predicament, but indicated they hope to release a statement in the coming days.
However, Mr. Semrau acknowledged a Facebook site that has sprung up in support of his son. It voices both disbelief at the murder charge and confidence he will be cleared.
"We're getting very good support right now," the father said.
"We thank you for your support," Mrs. Semrau added, before the couple politely ended the call.
From Vancouver, Capt. Semrau's only sibling said he is distraught over the serious charge hanging over his brother, but his family is pulling together in a circle of silence, reluctant to interfere in an unprecedented criminal investigation for Canada's military in Afghanistan.
More on link
'Taleban kill three for spying'
Article Link
Suspected Taleban militants have killed three men in north-west Pakistan after accusing them of spying for the United States, police say.
The bodies were found on a road near Miranshah, the main town in the North Waziristan region.
The lawless region is known to be a hub of Taleban and al-Qaeda militants.
Militants have killed dozens of local tribesmen and Afghan refugees for allegedly spying for US forces in Afghanistan or for Pakistan.
Drone attacks
Two of those shot dead in North Waziristan are reported to be Afghans. The other was Pakistani.
One of the victims, aged 25, had been kidnapped several days earlier.
Notes found near the bodies said they had been found guilty of spying for the United States forces in Afghanistan.
The BBC's Charles Haviland in Islamabad says there are many instances of militant insurgency close to the Afghan border. Some have a sectarian dimension, others are linked to revenge issues if local people have tried to take action against the Taleban and others are connected with insurgents' growing attempts to introduce Sharia law.
More on link
Australian killed in Afghanistan
Article Link
Eight Australian soldiers have died in Afghanistan since 2001
An Australian soldier has been killed in Afghanistan by a Taleban rocket attack, the Australian Defence Department says.
The soldier, who was not named, was killed instantly when a rocket exploded in a compound in Afghanistan's southern province of Uruzgan.
A group of Australian soldiers was stationed at an Afghan base there.
The casualty was the eighth suffered by Australian forces in Afghanistan since their deployment there in 2001.
The soldier had been in the country only a few weeks.
"Fighting in the war in Afghanistan continues as an important part of the fight against terrorism, the fight against al-Qaeda," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told reporters in Sydney.
"It's also part and parcel of our obligation to our allies and friends, given that this war in Afghanistan began following the terrorist attack on September 11 by al Qaida, resulting in the murder of thousands of innocent civilians."
More on link
- Reaction score
- 147
- Points
- 710
ARTICLES FOUND JAN. 6
Taliban claims of success appear exaggerated
Globe and Mail (via AP), Jan. 6
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090106.WORLDREPORT06-2/TPStory/TPInternational/Asia/
Taliban whopper: claim 5,220 foreign troops killed (repeat for effect)
AP, Jan. 5
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i6X8dy4ninriVvSqn7KQdCwIPOswD95HDEB00
The Afghan Quagmire
NY Times, Jan. 5, by Bob Herbert
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/opinion/06herbert.html?ref=todayspaper
Mark
Ottawa
Taliban claims of success appear exaggerated
Globe and Mail (via AP), Jan. 6
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090106.WORLDREPORT06-2/TPStory/TPInternational/Asia/
Taliban whopper: claim 5,220 foreign troops killed (repeat for effect)
AP, Jan. 5
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i6X8dy4ninriVvSqn7KQdCwIPOswD95HDEB00
The Afghan Quagmire
NY Times, Jan. 5, by Bob Herbert
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/opinion/06herbert.html?ref=todayspaper
Mark
Ottawa
Articles found January 7, 2009
U.S. says troops kill 32 insurgents in Afghanistan
Wed Jan 7, 2009 2:42am EST KABUL
Article Link
U.S.-led coalition forces killed 32 insurgents in fighting that erupted in a village in eastern Afghanistan following a raid on a hideout of bomb-makers, the U.S. military said on Wednesday.
Violence has surged in recent years in Afghanistan since the Taliban, ousted in a U.S.-led invasion in 2001, regrouped in 2005 for driving out the foreign troops and to topple the Western-backed government of President Hamid Karzai.
Tuesday's operation was in a village of Laghman province and targeted a Taliban roadside bomb cell responsible for numerous attacks throughout the region, the U.S. military said in a statement.
"During the operation, as many as 75 armed militants exited their compounds and attempted to converge on the force. Shooting from rooftops and alleyways, the militants engaged Coalition forces with small-arms fire in the village," it said.
"Coalition forces killed 32 armed insurgents including one female, detained one suspected militant, and destroyed two large caches of weapons, explosives and roadside bomb materials during an operation," it added.
It did not mention any troop or civilian casualties in the operation.
More on link
What price Russian cooperation on Afghanistan?
Myra MacDonal January 6th, 2009
Article Link
According to the Washington Post, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates sees opportunities for the United States to cooperate with Russia on Afghanistan. The newspaper says Gates, a longtime Russia analyst during his years with the CIA, sees Moscow as less of a threat than do many inside and outside the U.S. military establishment. ”Russia is very worried about the drugs coming out of Afghanistan and has been supportive in terms of providing alternative routes for Europeans in particular to get equipment and supplies into Afghanistan,” it quoted him as saying.
The story is interesting in the context of the United States searching for new supply lines through Central Asia into Afghanistan as an alternative to Pakistan before it sends in thousands more troops. “The plan to open new paths through Central Asia reflects an American-led effort to seek out a more reliable alternative to the route from Pakistan through the strategic Khyber Pass,” the New York Times said.
More on link
Obama seen making more aggressive effort on terror
By ROBERT BURNS – 17 hours ago
Article Link
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Barack Obama apparently plans a more aggressive approach than the Bush administration to helping friendly nations get better at fighting terrorism within their own borders, the State Department's top counterterrorism official said Tuesday.
Dell L. Dailey, who has led the counterterrorism office at State since June 2007, told reporters that he is encouraged by what he has seen and heard in multiple meetings with Obama's transition team.
"We do see the Obama administration being much, much more aggressive than maybe even their campaign actions indicated," Dailey said, stressing that he was referring to wider and deeper U.S. engagement with other countries to counter terrorist threats rather than unilateral U.S. military action.
Dailey also said Bush administration efforts to undermine Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network have paid dividends, leaving the organization's leaders isolated and diminished, if still able to avoid U.S. capture.
"We chopped off their arms in doing that, we chopped off their communications, we chopped off their funding to do that, we've gone after their leadership and curtailed them in taking away training sites," he said.
More on link
Militants kill cleric, 3 police in S Afghanistan
www.chinaview.cn 2009-01-06 19:15:49
Article Link
KABUL, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Three policemen and one cleric were killed by militants in two separate clashes in Taliban former stronghold Kandahar, officials said Tuesday.
In the first attack occurred in Dand district on Monday, militants raided a police checkpoint killing three police constables and injuring another, police chief in southern region Ghulam Ali Wahdat told Xinhua.
The militants in a similar incident of same day gunned down a prayer leader of a mosque in Kandahar city.
"It was Monday evening when two armed men entered the mosque and shot the cleric dead," provincial administration spokesman Zalmai Ayubi told Xinhua.
He also added that the attackers made their good escape.
Taliban fighters who often target government interests have yet to make comment.
More on link
U.S. says troops kill 32 insurgents in Afghanistan
Wed Jan 7, 2009 2:42am EST KABUL
Article Link
U.S.-led coalition forces killed 32 insurgents in fighting that erupted in a village in eastern Afghanistan following a raid on a hideout of bomb-makers, the U.S. military said on Wednesday.
Violence has surged in recent years in Afghanistan since the Taliban, ousted in a U.S.-led invasion in 2001, regrouped in 2005 for driving out the foreign troops and to topple the Western-backed government of President Hamid Karzai.
Tuesday's operation was in a village of Laghman province and targeted a Taliban roadside bomb cell responsible for numerous attacks throughout the region, the U.S. military said in a statement.
"During the operation, as many as 75 armed militants exited their compounds and attempted to converge on the force. Shooting from rooftops and alleyways, the militants engaged Coalition forces with small-arms fire in the village," it said.
"Coalition forces killed 32 armed insurgents including one female, detained one suspected militant, and destroyed two large caches of weapons, explosives and roadside bomb materials during an operation," it added.
It did not mention any troop or civilian casualties in the operation.
More on link
What price Russian cooperation on Afghanistan?
Myra MacDonal January 6th, 2009
Article Link
According to the Washington Post, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates sees opportunities for the United States to cooperate with Russia on Afghanistan. The newspaper says Gates, a longtime Russia analyst during his years with the CIA, sees Moscow as less of a threat than do many inside and outside the U.S. military establishment. ”Russia is very worried about the drugs coming out of Afghanistan and has been supportive in terms of providing alternative routes for Europeans in particular to get equipment and supplies into Afghanistan,” it quoted him as saying.
The story is interesting in the context of the United States searching for new supply lines through Central Asia into Afghanistan as an alternative to Pakistan before it sends in thousands more troops. “The plan to open new paths through Central Asia reflects an American-led effort to seek out a more reliable alternative to the route from Pakistan through the strategic Khyber Pass,” the New York Times said.
More on link
Obama seen making more aggressive effort on terror
By ROBERT BURNS – 17 hours ago
Article Link
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Barack Obama apparently plans a more aggressive approach than the Bush administration to helping friendly nations get better at fighting terrorism within their own borders, the State Department's top counterterrorism official said Tuesday.
Dell L. Dailey, who has led the counterterrorism office at State since June 2007, told reporters that he is encouraged by what he has seen and heard in multiple meetings with Obama's transition team.
"We do see the Obama administration being much, much more aggressive than maybe even their campaign actions indicated," Dailey said, stressing that he was referring to wider and deeper U.S. engagement with other countries to counter terrorist threats rather than unilateral U.S. military action.
Dailey also said Bush administration efforts to undermine Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network have paid dividends, leaving the organization's leaders isolated and diminished, if still able to avoid U.S. capture.
"We chopped off their arms in doing that, we chopped off their communications, we chopped off their funding to do that, we've gone after their leadership and curtailed them in taking away training sites," he said.
More on link
Militants kill cleric, 3 police in S Afghanistan
www.chinaview.cn 2009-01-06 19:15:49
Article Link
KABUL, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Three policemen and one cleric were killed by militants in two separate clashes in Taliban former stronghold Kandahar, officials said Tuesday.
In the first attack occurred in Dand district on Monday, militants raided a police checkpoint killing three police constables and injuring another, police chief in southern region Ghulam Ali Wahdat told Xinhua.
The militants in a similar incident of same day gunned down a prayer leader of a mosque in Kandahar city.
"It was Monday evening when two armed men entered the mosque and shot the cleric dead," provincial administration spokesman Zalmai Ayubi told Xinhua.
He also added that the attackers made their good escape.
Taliban fighters who often target government interests have yet to make comment.
More on link
- Reaction score
- 147
- Points
- 710
ARTICLES FOUND JAN. 9
Petraeus: Afghan, Pakistan Problems Are Really One
AP, Jan. 9
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/01/09/washington/AP-US-Afghanistan.html?_r=1
Officials: says talks on alternate supply routes to Afghanistan in advanced stage
AP, Jan. 8
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-eu-nato-afghanistan,0,4051099.story
Surging in Afghanistan?
Media round-up from the Conference of Defence Associations, Jan. 9
http://www.cdaforumcad.ca/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1231524031
Mark
Ottawa
Petraeus: Afghan, Pakistan Problems Are Really One
AP, Jan. 9
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/01/09/washington/AP-US-Afghanistan.html?_r=1
Officials: says talks on alternate supply routes to Afghanistan in advanced stage
AP, Jan. 8
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-eu-nato-afghanistan,0,4051099.story
Surging in Afghanistan?
Media round-up from the Conference of Defence Associations, Jan. 9
http://www.cdaforumcad.ca/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1231524031
Mark
Ottawa
- Reaction score
- 147
- Points
- 710
ARTICLES FOUND JAN. 10
Canadian choppers start flying over Afghanistan
CTV, Jan. 9
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090109/afghan_helicopters_090109/20090109?hub=CTVNewsAt11
NATO chief says more support needed in Afghanistan
AP, Jan. 10
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090110.wafghan0110/BNStory/Afghanistan/home
NATO Fears European Pull-Out From Afghanistan
Deutsche Welle, Jan. 10
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,3933770,00.html
Winning in Afghanistan
Creating Effective Afghan Security Forces
CSIS (the American one), by Anthony Cordesman and David Kasten and Adam Mausner
http://www.csis.org/component/option,com_csis_pubs/task,view/id,5165/
The Worst Pakistan Nightmare for Obama
NY Times Magazine, January 8, by David Sanger (long article)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/magazine/11pakistan-t.html
Mark
Ottawa
Canadian choppers start flying over Afghanistan
CTV, Jan. 9
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090109/afghan_helicopters_090109/20090109?hub=CTVNewsAt11
NATO chief says more support needed in Afghanistan
AP, Jan. 10
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090110.wafghan0110/BNStory/Afghanistan/home
NATO Fears European Pull-Out From Afghanistan
Deutsche Welle, Jan. 10
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,3933770,00.html
Winning in Afghanistan
Creating Effective Afghan Security Forces
CSIS (the American one), by Anthony Cordesman and David Kasten and Adam Mausner
http://www.csis.org/component/option,com_csis_pubs/task,view/id,5165/
The Worst Pakistan Nightmare for Obama
NY Times Magazine, January 8, by David Sanger (long article)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/magazine/11pakistan-t.html
Mark
Ottawa
Articles found January 11, 2009
NATO: Key insurgent commander killed in S Afghanistan
www.chinaview.cn 2009-01-11 22:50:35
Article Link
KABUL, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- A significant insurgent commander was killed in Baluchi Valley of southern Afghanistan by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) in a joint operation, according to a statement of the alliance issued here on Sunday.
The joint operation targeted the senior insurgent commander, Mullah Abdul Rasheed, who was responsible for the deaths of several ISAF soldiers in recent months, the statement said.
"Following receipt of positive identification and all necessary approvals, ISAF executed a precision air strike against Rasheed," it added.
"The death of Mullah Abdul Rasheed is a significant achievement for ISAF," said Brigadier General Richard Blanchette, ISAF Spokesperson, adding "we have disrupted the ability of insurgents to conduct operations in Oruzgan Province, making the area a safer place for ISAF forces and local Afghan citizens."
More on link
Pakistan NW Frontier Corps attacked
Article Link
At least 40 fighters have been killed in an attack on an army base in northwestern Pakistan.
Hundreds of fighters stormed the Mohammad Ghat military camp in the Mohmand agency north of Peshawar, close to the Afghanistan border, before dawn on Sunday.
A military official says the attack on the Frontier Corps began at 2am local time (2100 GMT), and that at least 10 security personnel had been killed, six more injured. More than 25 remain missing.
The official said most of the force of about 600 came from Afghanistan and were joined by local Taliban fighters.
More on link
New top diplomat in Kandahar sworn-in
Canwest News ServiceJanuary 10, 2009
Article Link
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — Canada’s new top diplomat in Kandahar has been sworn-in on the heels of grim predictions that the war in Afghanistan is about to get bloodier.
Ken Lewis was sworn-in at a ceremony Saturday on the Kandahar airfield as about 75 people watched. He replaces Elissa Golberg, 35, who held the post for 11 months.
“I would like to pay tribute to the 29 Canadian forces colleagues who died during my time in theatre,” the Montreal native said Saturday. “The insurgents believe they could intimidate Afghans who want a better future for their country and they want to undermine our commitment, well they are sorely mistaken. We will maintain the momentum.”
Golberg leaves the post amid grim predictions of an intensified campaign of violence by Taliban insurgents over the coming year.
More on link
Australian military denies timetable set for Afghan withdrawal
7 hours ago
Article Link
SYDNEY (AFP) — The Australian military Sunday said there was no deadline for its troops to leave southern Afghanistan, after it was reported that the force had planned for soldiers to be withdrawn by 2012.
National news agency AAP reported that under Operations Plan 2012, Afghan forces would take over the role assumed by Australian soldiers in the southern province of Uruzgan, formerly a Taliban stronghold.
But the Australian Defence Force (ADF) Sunday said this outline was a planning document and not a deadline for the force to leave.
"Let me make this point clear -- there is no timeline for the withdrawal of Australian troops from Afghanistan," Chief of Joint Operations, Lieutenant General Mark Evans said.
"That is a matter for the Australian government to decide."
"Op Plan 2012 is a tactical planning document that allows the Australian Defence Force to set benchmarks for the conduct of its operations in Afghanistan."
More on link
Canadian choppers start flying over Afghanistan
Updated Fri. Jan. 9 2009 10:33 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link
Canadian helicopter pilots have begun flying training missions over Afghanistan, practicing tactical manoeuvres, tricky landings and flying through enemy fire -- all scenarios they are likely to face when transporting troops in the coming months.
It is part of a new strategy, as recommended by the Manley report, to prioritize the air transport of Canadian troops and to get them off deadly Afghan roads where they are exposed to improvised explosive devices and other bombing threats.
In total, more than half of the Canadian casualties suffered in Afghanistan have resulted from roadside bombs -- including the 10 soldiers killed since the start of December.
The Canadians have been asking for these machines for years.
Before the arrival of these helicopters, when Joint Task Force (Afghanistan) Air Wing was launched last month, the Canadian Forces often had to beg or borrow similar machines from the U.S. and Britain.
More on link
US general sees Afghan money crunch
Fri, 09 Jan 2009 23:13:50 GMT
Article Link
US Army Commander, General Bantz J. Craddock
NATO's top commander US Gen. John Craddock has said that global financial crisis could force more US allies to pull out of Afghanistan.
Speaking to the press in Washington on Friday, Craddock said that it was getting hard for some of the US allies to keep their forces in Afghanistan after the financial meltdown last year.
"We are going to have some hard times ahead," adding that the financial crisis "is going to impact on the ability of nations to stay in operations, which is probably the most expensive."
At least two nations, Canada and the Netherlands, have signaled that they will leave by 2011, which means the US and other allies will have to cover the costs.
"The unknown unknown is who else is going to pull out quickly. We do not know that. It's like in Iraq, when nations pulled out without telling anyone ahead time; it's a terrible situation," Craddock told reporters.
Washington plans to send an additional 30,000 US troops to Afghanistan, nearly doubling US force levels currently operating there from 32,000 troops.
More on link
NATO: Key insurgent commander killed in S Afghanistan
www.chinaview.cn 2009-01-11 22:50:35
Article Link
KABUL, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- A significant insurgent commander was killed in Baluchi Valley of southern Afghanistan by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) in a joint operation, according to a statement of the alliance issued here on Sunday.
The joint operation targeted the senior insurgent commander, Mullah Abdul Rasheed, who was responsible for the deaths of several ISAF soldiers in recent months, the statement said.
"Following receipt of positive identification and all necessary approvals, ISAF executed a precision air strike against Rasheed," it added.
"The death of Mullah Abdul Rasheed is a significant achievement for ISAF," said Brigadier General Richard Blanchette, ISAF Spokesperson, adding "we have disrupted the ability of insurgents to conduct operations in Oruzgan Province, making the area a safer place for ISAF forces and local Afghan citizens."
More on link
Pakistan NW Frontier Corps attacked
Article Link
At least 40 fighters have been killed in an attack on an army base in northwestern Pakistan.
Hundreds of fighters stormed the Mohammad Ghat military camp in the Mohmand agency north of Peshawar, close to the Afghanistan border, before dawn on Sunday.
A military official says the attack on the Frontier Corps began at 2am local time (2100 GMT), and that at least 10 security personnel had been killed, six more injured. More than 25 remain missing.
The official said most of the force of about 600 came from Afghanistan and were joined by local Taliban fighters.
More on link
New top diplomat in Kandahar sworn-in
Canwest News ServiceJanuary 10, 2009
Article Link
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — Canada’s new top diplomat in Kandahar has been sworn-in on the heels of grim predictions that the war in Afghanistan is about to get bloodier.
Ken Lewis was sworn-in at a ceremony Saturday on the Kandahar airfield as about 75 people watched. He replaces Elissa Golberg, 35, who held the post for 11 months.
“I would like to pay tribute to the 29 Canadian forces colleagues who died during my time in theatre,” the Montreal native said Saturday. “The insurgents believe they could intimidate Afghans who want a better future for their country and they want to undermine our commitment, well they are sorely mistaken. We will maintain the momentum.”
Golberg leaves the post amid grim predictions of an intensified campaign of violence by Taliban insurgents over the coming year.
More on link
Australian military denies timetable set for Afghan withdrawal
7 hours ago
Article Link
SYDNEY (AFP) — The Australian military Sunday said there was no deadline for its troops to leave southern Afghanistan, after it was reported that the force had planned for soldiers to be withdrawn by 2012.
National news agency AAP reported that under Operations Plan 2012, Afghan forces would take over the role assumed by Australian soldiers in the southern province of Uruzgan, formerly a Taliban stronghold.
But the Australian Defence Force (ADF) Sunday said this outline was a planning document and not a deadline for the force to leave.
"Let me make this point clear -- there is no timeline for the withdrawal of Australian troops from Afghanistan," Chief of Joint Operations, Lieutenant General Mark Evans said.
"That is a matter for the Australian government to decide."
"Op Plan 2012 is a tactical planning document that allows the Australian Defence Force to set benchmarks for the conduct of its operations in Afghanistan."
More on link
Canadian choppers start flying over Afghanistan
Updated Fri. Jan. 9 2009 10:33 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Article Link
Canadian helicopter pilots have begun flying training missions over Afghanistan, practicing tactical manoeuvres, tricky landings and flying through enemy fire -- all scenarios they are likely to face when transporting troops in the coming months.
It is part of a new strategy, as recommended by the Manley report, to prioritize the air transport of Canadian troops and to get them off deadly Afghan roads where they are exposed to improvised explosive devices and other bombing threats.
In total, more than half of the Canadian casualties suffered in Afghanistan have resulted from roadside bombs -- including the 10 soldiers killed since the start of December.
The Canadians have been asking for these machines for years.
Before the arrival of these helicopters, when Joint Task Force (Afghanistan) Air Wing was launched last month, the Canadian Forces often had to beg or borrow similar machines from the U.S. and Britain.
More on link
US general sees Afghan money crunch
Fri, 09 Jan 2009 23:13:50 GMT
Article Link
US Army Commander, General Bantz J. Craddock
NATO's top commander US Gen. John Craddock has said that global financial crisis could force more US allies to pull out of Afghanistan.
Speaking to the press in Washington on Friday, Craddock said that it was getting hard for some of the US allies to keep their forces in Afghanistan after the financial meltdown last year.
"We are going to have some hard times ahead," adding that the financial crisis "is going to impact on the ability of nations to stay in operations, which is probably the most expensive."
At least two nations, Canada and the Netherlands, have signaled that they will leave by 2011, which means the US and other allies will have to cover the costs.
"The unknown unknown is who else is going to pull out quickly. We do not know that. It's like in Iraq, when nations pulled out without telling anyone ahead time; it's a terrible situation," Craddock told reporters.
Washington plans to send an additional 30,000 US troops to Afghanistan, nearly doubling US force levels currently operating there from 32,000 troops.
More on link
- Reaction score
- 147
- Points
- 710
Behind the lines with the Taliban
A Times writer joins Taliban fighters in an especially dangerous part of Afghanistan. The men appear to have no fear of troops, and prove to be gracious hosts. (long story)
LA Times, Jan. 11
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghan-taliban11-2009jan11,0,7946082.story
Mark
Ottawa
A Times writer joins Taliban fighters in an especially dangerous part of Afghanistan. The men appear to have no fear of troops, and prove to be gracious hosts. (long story)
LA Times, Jan. 11
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghan-taliban11-2009jan11,0,7946082.story
Mark
Ottawa
- Reaction score
- 147
- Points
- 710
ARTICLES FOUND JAN. 12
SNC Lavalin to lead $50M Afghan dam repair project
CTV, Jan. 11
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090111/dam_repair_090111/20090111?hub=CTVNewsAt11
Canada, U.S. should leave Afghanistan: expert
CTV, Jan. 11
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090111/afghan_colonel_090111/20090111?hub=Canada
Troops not leaving Afghanistan by 2012: Fitzgibbon
ABC News (Australia), Jan. 12
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/12/2463641.htm
U.S.-Funded Intelligence Center Struggles in Khyber Region
Washington Post, Jan. 12
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/11/AR2009011102236.html
Karzai and Singh discuss security
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has met India's PM Manmohan Singh in Delhi, with regional security the key issue.
BBC, Jan. 12
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7823459.stm
Inexplicable Wealth of Afghan Elite Sows Bitterness
In One of the World's Poorest Nations, Myriad Tales of Official Corruption
Washington Post, Jan. 12
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/11/AR2009011102038.html?hpid=artslot
Mark
Ottawa
SNC Lavalin to lead $50M Afghan dam repair project
CTV, Jan. 11
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090111/dam_repair_090111/20090111?hub=CTVNewsAt11
Canada, U.S. should leave Afghanistan: expert
CTV, Jan. 11
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090111/afghan_colonel_090111/20090111?hub=Canada
Troops not leaving Afghanistan by 2012: Fitzgibbon
ABC News (Australia), Jan. 12
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/12/2463641.htm
U.S.-Funded Intelligence Center Struggles in Khyber Region
Washington Post, Jan. 12
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/11/AR2009011102236.html
Karzai and Singh discuss security
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has met India's PM Manmohan Singh in Delhi, with regional security the key issue.
BBC, Jan. 12
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7823459.stm
Inexplicable Wealth of Afghan Elite Sows Bitterness
In One of the World's Poorest Nations, Myriad Tales of Official Corruption
Washington Post, Jan. 12
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/11/AR2009011102038.html?hpid=artslot
Mark
Ottawa
Articles found January 13, 2009
Attacks renewed on Nato supplies
Article Link
A Nato supply depot in north-west Pakistan has been attacked by suspected militants, the first such raid since a major army offensive against them.
Several rockets were fired at the terminal on the outskirts of Peshawar, damaging a number of trucks.
Last month authorities suspended the supply route in an offensive involving ground troops, helicopters and tanks.
The route carries about 75% of the supplies needed by the US and Nato forces in Afghanistan.
Alternative routes
A senior police officer, Fida Mohammad, told Agence France-Presse news agency: "The militants fired six rockets on a Nato terminal during the night. One truck was hit and it caught fire, while three other vehicles suffered minor damage."
More on link
Afghan Conflict Will Be Reviewed
Obama Sees Troops As Buying Time, Not Turning Tide
By Karen DeYoung Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, January 13, 2009; Page A01
Article Link
President-elect Barack Obama intends to sign off on Pentagon plans to send up to 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, but the incoming administration does not anticipate that the Iraq-like "surge" of forces will significantly change the direction of a conflict that has steadily deteriorated over the past seven years.
Instead, Obama's national security team expects that the new deployments, which will nearly double the current U.S. force of 32,000 (alongside an equal number of non-U.S. NATO troops), will help buy enough time for the new administration to reappraise the entire Afghanistan war effort and develop a comprehensive new strategy for what Obama has called the "central front on terror."
With conditions on the ground worsening by nearly every yardstick last year -- including record levels of extremist attacks and U.S. casualties, and the expansion of the conflict across Pakistan and into India -- Obama's campaign pledge to "finish the job" in Afghanistan with more troops, money and diplomacy has encountered the daunting reality of a job that has barely begun.
More on link
Insurgents increasingly targeting aid workers, says Oda
21 hours ago
Article Link
KABUL, Afghanistan — Terrorists in Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and other volatile countries are targeting aid workers and other civilians, a tactical shift that heightens the risk to those delivering humanitarian assistance in some of the world's hot spots, says Canada's minister of international co-operation.
Bev Oda, whose ministry encapsulates the Canadian International Development Agency, or CIDA, was in the Afghan capital of Kabul to unveil a new memorial to Canadian civilians who have died in the battle-ravaged country.
She cited a recent rash of incidents, including attacks on humanitarian vehicles in Zimbabwe and the kidnappings of aid workers and diplomats elsewhere, as proof that insurgents are evolving in a frightening new direction - one that hasn't been seen before in the ongoing war on terror.
"I think this whole terrorist insurgency, the way they operate, is changing and they're evolving. It's something new," Oda said.
"It's not just Afghanistan. Unfortunately, the evolution says there's a higher threat for civilians who do work in foreign countries and, particularly, hostile countries. But it hasn't, I think, diminished our determination."
More on link
Attacks renewed on Nato supplies
Article Link
A Nato supply depot in north-west Pakistan has been attacked by suspected militants, the first such raid since a major army offensive against them.
Several rockets were fired at the terminal on the outskirts of Peshawar, damaging a number of trucks.
Last month authorities suspended the supply route in an offensive involving ground troops, helicopters and tanks.
The route carries about 75% of the supplies needed by the US and Nato forces in Afghanistan.
Alternative routes
A senior police officer, Fida Mohammad, told Agence France-Presse news agency: "The militants fired six rockets on a Nato terminal during the night. One truck was hit and it caught fire, while three other vehicles suffered minor damage."
More on link
Afghan Conflict Will Be Reviewed
Obama Sees Troops As Buying Time, Not Turning Tide
By Karen DeYoung Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, January 13, 2009; Page A01
Article Link
President-elect Barack Obama intends to sign off on Pentagon plans to send up to 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, but the incoming administration does not anticipate that the Iraq-like "surge" of forces will significantly change the direction of a conflict that has steadily deteriorated over the past seven years.
Instead, Obama's national security team expects that the new deployments, which will nearly double the current U.S. force of 32,000 (alongside an equal number of non-U.S. NATO troops), will help buy enough time for the new administration to reappraise the entire Afghanistan war effort and develop a comprehensive new strategy for what Obama has called the "central front on terror."
With conditions on the ground worsening by nearly every yardstick last year -- including record levels of extremist attacks and U.S. casualties, and the expansion of the conflict across Pakistan and into India -- Obama's campaign pledge to "finish the job" in Afghanistan with more troops, money and diplomacy has encountered the daunting reality of a job that has barely begun.
More on link
Insurgents increasingly targeting aid workers, says Oda
21 hours ago
Article Link
KABUL, Afghanistan — Terrorists in Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and other volatile countries are targeting aid workers and other civilians, a tactical shift that heightens the risk to those delivering humanitarian assistance in some of the world's hot spots, says Canada's minister of international co-operation.
Bev Oda, whose ministry encapsulates the Canadian International Development Agency, or CIDA, was in the Afghan capital of Kabul to unveil a new memorial to Canadian civilians who have died in the battle-ravaged country.
She cited a recent rash of incidents, including attacks on humanitarian vehicles in Zimbabwe and the kidnappings of aid workers and diplomats elsewhere, as proof that insurgents are evolving in a frightening new direction - one that hasn't been seen before in the ongoing war on terror.
"I think this whole terrorist insurgency, the way they operate, is changing and they're evolving. It's something new," Oda said.
"It's not just Afghanistan. Unfortunately, the evolution says there's a higher threat for civilians who do work in foreign countries and, particularly, hostile countries. But it hasn't, I think, diminished our determination."
More on link
- Reaction score
- 147
- Points
- 710
U.S. Construction in Afghanistan Sign of Long Commitment
Washington Post, Jan. 13
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/12/AR2009011203015.html
How US tries to limit civilian deaths in Afghanistan
A record number of US troops – and Afghan civilians – died in 2008. Frustration mounts over fighting Taliban insurgents among villagers.
CS Monitor, Jan. 13
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0113/p07s03-wosc.html
Mark
Ottawa
Washington Post, Jan. 13
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/12/AR2009011203015.html
How US tries to limit civilian deaths in Afghanistan
A record number of US troops – and Afghan civilians – died in 2008. Frustration mounts over fighting Taliban insurgents among villagers.
CS Monitor, Jan. 13
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0113/p07s03-wosc.html
Mark
Ottawa
Articles found January 14, 2009
Afghan girl, 14, in critical condition after razor-blade abortion
JANE ARMSTRONG From Wednesday's Globe and Mail January 14, 2009 at 5:23 AM EST
Article Link
KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — In a country where many crimes against women are still swept under the rug, the case of a 14-year-old girl whose baby was allegedly aborted by her mother and brother using a razor blade has outraged doctors and human-rights workers.
The girl is in critical condition in a hospital at a U.S. military base after, officials said, her brother and mother lured her into a backyard shed, used a razor to cut her abdomen and removed the fetus.
The girl, who lived in a village in the central Afghanistan province of Bamiyan, was five months pregnant and said she was raped last year by a construction worker.
The pair stitched the wound with a needle and thread, according to Afghan police and doctors. They then buried the fetus. After four days, the girl developed a dangerous infection and her father took her to a nearby hospital, claiming she'd been bitten by a dog in the abdomen.
More on link
Canada Renews Financial Aid to Afghanistan
Tuesday January 13, 2009 (1930 PST)
Article Link
Quqnoos)-UN Special Representative Kai Eide on Tuesday praised the Government of Canada for a new 14 million Canadian dollar (US$11.5 million) contribution towards Afghanistan’s humanitarian needs this winter, on top of its existing programmes for national and local development.
Speaking at a news conference in Kabul, alongside Minister of Agriculture Muhammad Asif Rahimi and Canada’s Minister for International Cooperation Beverley Oda, Special Representative Eide said that such assistance was essential.
The contribution announced on Tuesday will go towards addressing urgent winter relief needs, including for the many people currently without sufficient food or livestock feed.
Eide added that a joint Humanitarian Action Plan involving the Government and Donors and covering some $600 million in relief projects would be launched within weeks.
More on link
Military judges' impartiality challenged
Published: Jan. 13, 2009
Article Link
SYDNEY, Nova Scotia, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Lawyers representing a Canadian soldier accused of killing a comrade in Afghanistan have challenged the impartiality of military judges.
The manslaughter trial of Cpl. Matthew Wilcox is under way in Sydney, Nova Scotia, and defense attorney Maj. Stephen Turner is seeking to have the trial terminated based on the system in which judges don't have tenure, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
Military judges are appointed to 5-year terms and must seek reappointment, which Turner said makes them susceptible to "looking over their shoulder" out of concern of their jobs, the CBC said.
Wilcox is charged in the shooting death of a tent mate and fellow reservist at Kandahar Airfield in March 2007. In addition to manslaughter, he also faces charges of criminal negligence causing death and negligent performance of duty. If convicted, he could face a life prison sentence, the report said.
Initially investigators ruled the shooting accidental, but Wilcox was charged seven months later.
Turner told the CBC it wasn't known when the judge would rule on his motion to terminate the trial.
End
Afghan girl, 14, in critical condition after razor-blade abortion
JANE ARMSTRONG From Wednesday's Globe and Mail January 14, 2009 at 5:23 AM EST
Article Link
KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — In a country where many crimes against women are still swept under the rug, the case of a 14-year-old girl whose baby was allegedly aborted by her mother and brother using a razor blade has outraged doctors and human-rights workers.
The girl is in critical condition in a hospital at a U.S. military base after, officials said, her brother and mother lured her into a backyard shed, used a razor to cut her abdomen and removed the fetus.
The girl, who lived in a village in the central Afghanistan province of Bamiyan, was five months pregnant and said she was raped last year by a construction worker.
The pair stitched the wound with a needle and thread, according to Afghan police and doctors. They then buried the fetus. After four days, the girl developed a dangerous infection and her father took her to a nearby hospital, claiming she'd been bitten by a dog in the abdomen.
More on link
Canada Renews Financial Aid to Afghanistan
Tuesday January 13, 2009 (1930 PST)
Article Link
Quqnoos)-UN Special Representative Kai Eide on Tuesday praised the Government of Canada for a new 14 million Canadian dollar (US$11.5 million) contribution towards Afghanistan’s humanitarian needs this winter, on top of its existing programmes for national and local development.
Speaking at a news conference in Kabul, alongside Minister of Agriculture Muhammad Asif Rahimi and Canada’s Minister for International Cooperation Beverley Oda, Special Representative Eide said that such assistance was essential.
The contribution announced on Tuesday will go towards addressing urgent winter relief needs, including for the many people currently without sufficient food or livestock feed.
Eide added that a joint Humanitarian Action Plan involving the Government and Donors and covering some $600 million in relief projects would be launched within weeks.
More on link
Military judges' impartiality challenged
Published: Jan. 13, 2009
Article Link
SYDNEY, Nova Scotia, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Lawyers representing a Canadian soldier accused of killing a comrade in Afghanistan have challenged the impartiality of military judges.
The manslaughter trial of Cpl. Matthew Wilcox is under way in Sydney, Nova Scotia, and defense attorney Maj. Stephen Turner is seeking to have the trial terminated based on the system in which judges don't have tenure, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
Military judges are appointed to 5-year terms and must seek reappointment, which Turner said makes them susceptible to "looking over their shoulder" out of concern of their jobs, the CBC said.
Wilcox is charged in the shooting death of a tent mate and fellow reservist at Kandahar Airfield in March 2007. In addition to manslaughter, he also faces charges of criminal negligence causing death and negligent performance of duty. If convicted, he could face a life prison sentence, the report said.
Initially investigators ruled the shooting accidental, but Wilcox was charged seven months later.
Turner told the CBC it wasn't known when the judge would rule on his motion to terminate the trial.
End
- Reaction score
- 22
- Points
- 430
Dozens dead from militants' attack in Pakistan
CNN, Mon January 12, 2009
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Hundreds of militants, believed to be foreign fighters,
launched attacks on various military check posts in Pakistan's border with Afghanistan
Saturday night and early Sunday morning, military officials said.
The ensuing fighting left 40 militants and six Pakistan soldiers dead, said military
spokesman Gen. Athar Abbas. "This is one of the largest attacks we have seen,"
Abbas said.
The attacks occurred at checkposts and military camps in the Mohmand agency, part
of the lawless Federally Administered Tribal Areas where U.S. and Pakistani officials
have reported a presence of militants.
Abbas said the fighters crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan, and used rocket
launchers and machine guns in their attacks. They have since been repelled, he said.
Pakistan and Afghanistan share a porous 1,500-mile border.
Don't Miss
* Deadly Sunni-Shia clashes in Pakistan
In recent months, Afghan officials have blamed militants operating from havens in the
lawless tribal regions of Pakistan of sneaking into their country and attacking security
personnel.
Pakistan has repeatedly denied involvement and bristled at the accusation, saying that
Afghan lawmakers were making allegations without proof.
Abbas' Sunday comments reverse those allegations, with Pakistan now blaming militants
from Afghanistan attacking inside its soil.
CNN, Mon January 12, 2009
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Hundreds of militants, believed to be foreign fighters,
launched attacks on various military check posts in Pakistan's border with Afghanistan
Saturday night and early Sunday morning, military officials said.
The ensuing fighting left 40 militants and six Pakistan soldiers dead, said military
spokesman Gen. Athar Abbas. "This is one of the largest attacks we have seen,"
Abbas said.
The attacks occurred at checkposts and military camps in the Mohmand agency, part
of the lawless Federally Administered Tribal Areas where U.S. and Pakistani officials
have reported a presence of militants.
Abbas said the fighters crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan, and used rocket
launchers and machine guns in their attacks. They have since been repelled, he said.
Pakistan and Afghanistan share a porous 1,500-mile border.
Don't Miss
* Deadly Sunni-Shia clashes in Pakistan
In recent months, Afghan officials have blamed militants operating from havens in the
lawless tribal regions of Pakistan of sneaking into their country and attacking security
personnel.
Pakistan has repeatedly denied involvement and bristled at the accusation, saying that
Afghan lawmakers were making allegations without proof.
Abbas' Sunday comments reverse those allegations, with Pakistan now blaming militants
from Afghanistan attacking inside its soil.
Articles found January 15, 2009
Top Afghan army general killed in chopper crash
Updated Thu. Jan. 15 2009 8:04 AM ET The Associated Press
Article Link
KABUL, Afghanistan -- A top Afghan army general was killed Thursday in a helicopter crash in western Afghanistan, and two British troops died in a blast in the country's south, officials said.
Gen. Fazaludin Sayar was one of the Afghan army's four regional commanders, in charge of the entire west of the country.
His Mi-17 helicopter hit bad weather in the morning and went down in the Adraskan district of Herat province, the ministry said in a statement. All 12 others aboard were also killed, the statement said. The helicopter had been headed to neighboring Farah province.
All of the bodies were brought to Herat, the provincial capital, said Rauf Ahmadi, a police spokesman.
More on link
UK troops killed in Afghanistan
Article Link
Their deaths take the number of UK forces to die in Afghanistan to 141
Two British servicemen have been killed in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.
A soldier from 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery and a marine from 45 Commando Royal Marines were killed by an explosion in Helmand Province.
They were part of an operation against enemy forces on Wednesday night.
Their deaths take the number of British forces to die since the start of operations in October 2001 to 141. Next of kin have been informed.
The operation took place north-east of Gereshk in central Helmand.
Spokeswoman for Task Force Helmand, Cdr Paula Rowe, said: "The tragic loss of these two brave servicemen is a bitter blow to Task Force Helmand.
More on link
John Hutton says Europeans are 'freeloading' on Britain and US in Afghanistan
European members of Nato are "freeloading" on the military sacrifice and commitment of countries like Britain and the United States, John Hutton, the Defence Secretary will say.
By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent 15 Jan 2009
Article Link
In an escalation of British criticism of Nato members' uneven contributions to the mission in Afghanistan, Mr Hutton will warn that the failure of countries like France, Germany and Italy to send more troops will undermine European relations with Barack Obama's US administration.
"Freeloading on the back of US military security is not an option if we wish to be equal partners in this transatlantic alliance," Mr Hutton will say, pointedly telling European allies: "Anyone who wants to benefit from collective security must be prepared to share the ultimate price."
In a speech to European and American security experts and diplomats at the Wilton Park conference centre in Sussex, Mr Hutton will suggest that the reticence of some Nato members has left a small group of countries including Britain, the US and Canada to do an unfair share of the fighting and dying in Afghanistan.
He will say: "It isn't good enough to always look to the US for political, financial and military cover. And this imbalance will not be addressed by parcelling up Nato tasks - the 'hard' military ones for the US and a few others and the 'soft' diplomatic ones for the majority of Europeans."
More on link
Afghan soldiers pick up US weapons
1 day ago
Article Link
CAMP HERO, Afghanistan (AFP) — Having already fought against the Taliban in his two years in the Afghan army, Gul Mohammad has little trouble picking up the tricks of his new American-issue automatic weapon.
What concerns the young soldier is whether he will be able to rely on the weapon when it counts, as he has done so often before with its Russian equivalent, a Kalashnikov AK-47, favoured in central Asia for decades.
"The worst thing for a soldier would be if his gun were to fail in the middle of a battle," says Mohammad, speaking during a break in weapons training at the base of his 205 Atal (Hero) army corps in southern Kandahar province.
The corps numbers about 20,000 soldiers drawn from across the country to fight the fierce Taliban in their heartland -- the four provinces of the rugged south, one of the most intense battlefields of the extremist insurgency.
In a hangar at Camp Hero, 50-60 troops have been split into small groups, each with a former US Marine or army soldier introducing them to M-16 rifles and M-249 light machine guns, standard-issue weapons in most NATO countries.
After driving out the Taliban regime in late 2001, the United States started to build Afghanistan a new army to replace the illegal militia forces loyal to regional warlords who were ruling the country from different power bases
More on link
Top Afghan army general killed in chopper crash
Updated Thu. Jan. 15 2009 8:04 AM ET The Associated Press
Article Link
KABUL, Afghanistan -- A top Afghan army general was killed Thursday in a helicopter crash in western Afghanistan, and two British troops died in a blast in the country's south, officials said.
Gen. Fazaludin Sayar was one of the Afghan army's four regional commanders, in charge of the entire west of the country.
His Mi-17 helicopter hit bad weather in the morning and went down in the Adraskan district of Herat province, the ministry said in a statement. All 12 others aboard were also killed, the statement said. The helicopter had been headed to neighboring Farah province.
All of the bodies were brought to Herat, the provincial capital, said Rauf Ahmadi, a police spokesman.
More on link
UK troops killed in Afghanistan
Article Link
Their deaths take the number of UK forces to die in Afghanistan to 141
Two British servicemen have been killed in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.
A soldier from 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery and a marine from 45 Commando Royal Marines were killed by an explosion in Helmand Province.
They were part of an operation against enemy forces on Wednesday night.
Their deaths take the number of British forces to die since the start of operations in October 2001 to 141. Next of kin have been informed.
The operation took place north-east of Gereshk in central Helmand.
Spokeswoman for Task Force Helmand, Cdr Paula Rowe, said: "The tragic loss of these two brave servicemen is a bitter blow to Task Force Helmand.
More on link
John Hutton says Europeans are 'freeloading' on Britain and US in Afghanistan
European members of Nato are "freeloading" on the military sacrifice and commitment of countries like Britain and the United States, John Hutton, the Defence Secretary will say.
By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent 15 Jan 2009
Article Link
In an escalation of British criticism of Nato members' uneven contributions to the mission in Afghanistan, Mr Hutton will warn that the failure of countries like France, Germany and Italy to send more troops will undermine European relations with Barack Obama's US administration.
"Freeloading on the back of US military security is not an option if we wish to be equal partners in this transatlantic alliance," Mr Hutton will say, pointedly telling European allies: "Anyone who wants to benefit from collective security must be prepared to share the ultimate price."
In a speech to European and American security experts and diplomats at the Wilton Park conference centre in Sussex, Mr Hutton will suggest that the reticence of some Nato members has left a small group of countries including Britain, the US and Canada to do an unfair share of the fighting and dying in Afghanistan.
He will say: "It isn't good enough to always look to the US for political, financial and military cover. And this imbalance will not be addressed by parcelling up Nato tasks - the 'hard' military ones for the US and a few others and the 'soft' diplomatic ones for the majority of Europeans."
More on link
Afghan soldiers pick up US weapons
1 day ago
Article Link
CAMP HERO, Afghanistan (AFP) — Having already fought against the Taliban in his two years in the Afghan army, Gul Mohammad has little trouble picking up the tricks of his new American-issue automatic weapon.
What concerns the young soldier is whether he will be able to rely on the weapon when it counts, as he has done so often before with its Russian equivalent, a Kalashnikov AK-47, favoured in central Asia for decades.
"The worst thing for a soldier would be if his gun were to fail in the middle of a battle," says Mohammad, speaking during a break in weapons training at the base of his 205 Atal (Hero) army corps in southern Kandahar province.
The corps numbers about 20,000 soldiers drawn from across the country to fight the fierce Taliban in their heartland -- the four provinces of the rugged south, one of the most intense battlefields of the extremist insurgency.
In a hangar at Camp Hero, 50-60 troops have been split into small groups, each with a former US Marine or army soldier introducing them to M-16 rifles and M-249 light machine guns, standard-issue weapons in most NATO countries.
After driving out the Taliban regime in late 2001, the United States started to build Afghanistan a new army to replace the illegal militia forces loyal to regional warlords who were ruling the country from different power bases
More on link
- Status
