The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread June 2009

[Yrys]

Same subject :

Times Reporter Escapes Taliban After 7 Months, NY Times

David Rohde, a New York Times reporter who was kidnapped by the Taliban,
escaped Friday night and made his way to freedom after more than seven
months of captivity in the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
...
Mr. Rohde told his wife, Kristen Mulvihill, that Mr. Ludin joined him in climbing
over the wall of a compound where they were being held in the North Waziristan
region of Pakistan. They made their way to a nearby Pakistani Frontier Corps
base and on Saturday they were flown to the American military base in Bagram,
Afghanistan.

“They just walked over the wall of the compound,” Ms. Mulvihill said.
...


US reporter flees Afghan captors, BBC News

A US journalist kidnapped by the Afghan Taliban last year has managed to escape
from the compound where he was being held, the New York Times says. The
newspaper says its reporter, David Rohde, scaled the wall of the compound with
an Afghan journalist who was kidnapped with him last November.

The pair were being held in Pakistan's North Waziristan region and were helped
to escape by a Pakistani army scout.

The White House said the whole of the US was "very pleased" he had escaped.

Spokesman Robert Gibbs said the escape "marks the end of a long and difficult
ordeal".

 

[ENGINEERS WIFE]

2 GIs die in attack on U.S. base in Afghanistan
Rare rocket strike on Bagram north of Kabul wounds six, officials say


updated 7:40 a.m. MT, Sun., June 21, 2009
KABUL - A rare rocket attack on the main U.S. base in Afghanistan early Sunday killed two U.S. troops and wounded six other Americans, including two civilians, officials said.

Bagram Air Base, which lies 25 miles northeast of Kabul, is surrounded by high mountains and long stretches of desert from which militants could fire rockets. But such attacks, particularly lethal ones, are relatively rare.

Two U.S. troops died and six Americans were wounded, including four military personnel and two civilians, said Lt. Cmdr. Christine Sidenstricker, a U.S. military spokeswoman.

The top government official in Bagram, Kabir Ahmad, said several rockets were fired at the base early Sunday. A spokesman with NATO's International Security Assistance Force said that three rounds landed inside Bagram and one landed outside. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't the office's top spokesman.

The wounded personnel were taken to the main hospital on Bagram for treatment. ISAF said it wasn't known if any Afghan civilians living near the base were harmed in the attack.

It wasn't immediately clear if New York Times reporter David S. Rohde was at Bagram on Sunday when the rockets hit.

Rohde escaped from kidnappers in Pakistan on Friday after more than seven months in captivity and was flown to Bagram on Saturday. Embassy officials then gave him an emergency passport and FBI officials were watching him, a U.S. official said Sunday on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for the rocket attack. Mujahid also said the Taliban had no involvement in the kidnapping of Rohde and didn't know anything about his escape.

In February 2007, a suicide bomb attack outside Bagram killed 23 people while then-Vice President Dick Cheney was at the base. The attacker never tried to penetrate even the first of several U.S.-manned security checkpoints, instead detonating his explosives among a group of Afghan workers outside the base. The Taliban claimed responsibility.


Bagram is a sprawling Soviet-era base that houses thousands of troops, mostly from the 82nd Airborne Division. Most forces there are American, but many other countries also have troops at the base.

Activity at Bagram is high 24 hours a day, with jets and helicopters taking off at all hours. The base has expanded greatly the last several years and sits next to many houses and the village of Bagram itself.

The two deaths bring to at least 80 the number of U.S. forces killed in Afghanistan this year, a record pace. Last year 151 troops died in Afghanistan.

President Barack Obama ordered 21,000 additional troops to the country this year to fight an increasingly violent Taliban insurgency. There are now about 56,000 U.S. troops in the country, a record number.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31468640/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

 

[GAP]

Articles found June 23, 2009

Afghanistan: Coalition troops launch massive assault on Taliban
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Coalition troops launched a massive assault on a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan and were able to push militants out of some areas they had controlled, they said Coalition said in a statement.

About 500 troops were involved in the operation, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force announced Tuesday.

Coalition used more than 25 aircraft to drop hundreds of troops into the area at about midnight June 19
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German troops die in Afghanistan  
  Article Link

Germany has about 3,700 German troops in Afghanistan

Three German soldiers have been killed during a clash with insurgents in Afghanistan, the German defence ministry has said.

The soldiers were on a joint operation with Afghan forces when the attack took place near the northern city of Kunduz, a ministry spokesman said.

The German military base in Kunduz is a frequent target of attacks.

Some 3,700 German troops are serving in Afghanistan with Nato's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

In 2008, the deteriorating security situation in northern Afghanistan prompted Chancellor Angela Merkel's government to increase the number of German troops in the country to up to 4,400 by the end of this year.
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Kyrgyzstan Allows Limited U.S. Access
Article Link

MOSCOW— Kyrgyzstan, which four months ago said it would close an American air base central to the NATO mission in Afghanistan, appeared Tuesday to partially reverse its decision.

The government, after heavy lobbying by American officials, reached a tentative arrangement that would allow the American military to have a limited presence at the Manas air base.

Kyrgyz officials said the United States could use the base in Central Asia as a transit center to supply NATO forces in Afghanistan. Official details of the agreement were not immediately available, but it appeared that the United States had sharply increased the rent that it paid to avoid complete closure.

In February, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev gave the United States six months to vacate the Manas airbase, which has been used since 2001 as a refueling stop and transit hub for about 15,000 troops and 500 tons of cargo a month headed for Afghanistan.

Manas has become a focal point in the struggle between the United States and Russia for influence in the countries of the former Soviet Union, an area that Moscow considers a privileged zone of influence. Russia is widely believed to have pressured the Kyrgyz government to expel American forces from the base in exchange for billions of dollars in aid.
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[GAP]

Taliban commander shot dead by own guard: report
Updated Tue. Jun. 23 2009 10:57 AM ET The Associated Press
Article Link

ISLAMABAD -- A Taliban faction leader who was seen as the chief rival to the militant group's Pakistani head was fatally shot Tuesday, reportedly by one of his own guards.

The attack on Qari Zainuddin appeared to be a sign that divisions within the Taliban have broken into the open as they come under military assault. The army is clearing out militants from the Swat Valley and has been pounding strongholds of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in the South Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan in apparent preparation for a major offensive.

Also Tuesday, suspected U.S. missiles hit a suspected Taliban training centre, then more missiles hit an evening funeral procession for some of those killed in the earlier strikes, officials and witnesses said. Nine people were killed and several more wounded.

At least seven people were killed when three suspected U.S. missiles hit the training centre in the village of Najmarai in the Makeen area of South Waziristan, said two intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to media.

Hours later, four more missiles blasted into a funeral procession for some of those killed in the earlier strike, killing two.

"I saw three drones, they dropped bombs," said Sohail Mehsud, a resident of Makeen, which is the home district of Baitullah Mehsud. "The missiles did not hit the procession precisely. Had it been the case, it would have a big loss."

Dozens of such strikes have been carried out in the tribal regions over the last year. U.S. officials concede they have been using drone-fired missiles to target suspected militants in Pakistan, but they do not comment on individual strikes.

Zainuddin was gunned down in the nearby town of Dera Ismail Khan. He had emerged as Mehsud's chief rival and had criticized the militant leader over attacks that killed civilians.

Dr. Mahmood Khan Bitani told The Associated Press that he pronounced Zainuddin dead on arrival at a local hospital with gunshot wounds to the head and chest.

Baz Mohammad, an aide to the militant leader who also was wounded, said a guard barged into a room at Zainuddin's compound after morning prayers and opened fire. He accused Mehsud of being behind the attack.
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[GAP]

Articles found June 24, 2009

Court martial for accused Canadian set to start.
Canwest News ServiceJune 23, 2009
  Article Link

HALIFAX - Testimony is expected to begin Wednesday in the court martial of Corp. Matthew Wilcox, the Glace Bay, N.S. man accused in the shooting death of a Canadian soldier in Afghanistan.

Wilcox, 23, faces charges of manslaughter, criminal negligence causing death and negligent performance of duty in relation to the 2007 death of Corp. Kevin Megeney, 25, of Stellarton, N.S.

Megeney volunteered to go to Afghanistan as part of the militia with the 1st Battalion Nova Scotia Highlanders.

He was killed in March 2007 while the two were alone in a barracks tent at Kandahar Airfield.

The court martial is being held at the Victoria Park Garrison in Sydney, N.S. , and is expected to last several weeks.
end

With ping-pong and puns, soldiers stay sane in Afghanistan
Article Link

The marine brushing his teeth at the basin next to me was carrying his M-16 cross chest on his back. The gun stared right at my limbs. I rinsed my face and as I looked up, another soldier appeared to my right. He raised his arm to brush his teeth and his revolver peeked out of the case under his arm. I thought to myself, Where else in the world could I be rinsing my face in the presence of two no-bulls**t guys armed with weapons, and still be able to get out alive?

Call me stupid, but I might very well be on the safest place on earth right now.

At the base, it’s easy to witness a life far from the war. Sure, there are faces overrun by emotions — some who’ve lost their friends, some who’d just landed in a bizarre desert so far from home and some who’d seen it all and were ready to face it all. But these same fingers that are ready to pull the trigger are also seen scrolling their iPods, playing fussball, holding a non-alcoholic Beck’s or even swinging away their guitars.

Like any other profession, the soldiers here make it clear that to produce results, you have to stay sane. If anything is different, it’s how they choose to absorb that sanity.
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Afghanistan Attack Leaves Three German Soldiers Dead in Kunduz
By Patrick Donahue June 23 (Bloomberg)
Article Link

Three German soldiers were killed in an attack in northern Afghanistan, underscoring the spread of the Taliban insurgency to parts of the country that had once been relatively peaceful.

The incident today near the city of Kunduz is under investigation, the German Foreign Ministry said in an e-mailed statement.

“I condemn the cowardly attack that led to these deaths in the sharpest terms,” Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in the statement.

Germany has the third-largest contingent in the NATO-led force in Afghanistan, with about 3,380 troops.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization today undertook a major airborne assault against a Taliban stronghold in the southern province of Helmand.

The operation involved 500 British soldiers supported by a dozen Chinook helicopters, gun ships, Harrier warplanes and drone aircraft. Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson, a NATO spokesman, said U.S. forces aided in the assault.
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Parents Watch Marine Son Escape Battle
Article Link

COLLINGDALE, Pa. - A local marine was caught in a firefight in Afghanistan.

Half a world away in Delaware County, his family and friends watched in disbelief as a terrifying scene unfolded.

It's not often a family sees first-hand the danger their loved one faces on the battlefield.

Fox 29's Robin Taylor has the story from our partners at the Delaware County Times to explain how it happened this time.

Footage from the battlefield usually involves unnamed troops, but in this case, an Associated Press reporter and photographer and a television news cameraman were traveling with a Delaware County marine during a battle in Afghanistan.

The video looks like a war movie. Only this firefight is real, and it involves a local marine cheating death on the battlefield.

Officer John Daly, Jr. was walking down an alley when the Taliban opened fire. Bullets whiz past the marines' heads as Daly barks out orders. ("Turn the Vic north. Angle the Vic north.")

Thee scenes were posted by the Associated Press. Photos went to newspapers worldwide. Daly's parents saw the battle on the Internet and were relieved that their son was okay.

"I know he was okay. I was a little scared but I know he was okay,and that was good for me. But to see what they actually do is unbelievable,” says mother Jean Petersen.

"It scared the heck out of me because I know he has another six months or so to go,” says John Daly Sr.

The 39-year-old Collingdale native has spent the past 20 years in uniform, fighting in Iraq and now Afghanistan. Back home, his mother's house is covered with patriotic signs showing the pride she has in her son.

"How can you not be proud of somebody who loves what he does? Who loves his country?" asks Petersen.
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[GAP]

Articles found June 25, 2009

In Afghanistan, Iranian truck drivers dispute election and debate crackdown
By PHILIP SMUCKER McClatchy Newspapers
Article Link

HERAT, Afghanistan -- Amid the tire irons and crow bars in a disabled Russian armored personnel carrier-turned Afghan tea house, Iranian truck drivers Wednesday debated allegations that their government rigged Iran's June 12 presidential elections - and whether it did so by the thousands or by the millions.

"Of course, the government controls the media - that is how they rose to power," snapped Jaffar, 59, a driver from Mashad, a major city in western Iran. "You can drive north to south in this country, and you are free. Our government would never cheat us out of an election."

As Jaffar spoke, however, Maruche, 29, a Sunni Muslim truck driver from near Torbat e-Jam in eastern Iran, asked the older driver: "How can you say there was no cheating?"

The young man stormed out of the teahouse, but he invited a McClatchy Newspapers reporter to sit with him in the cab of his truck. He said that on Tuesday new anti-government demonstrations had rocked the city of Isfahan, where his trucking company is based, and he spoke angrily of what he said had happened in his village on election day.

"The election center was controlled by the government," he said. "We saw that with our own eyes. I know about the ballot stuffing because my uncle is a police officer and was a supervisor in the polling station. He saw one man in the polling station put 100 ballots into a box."

"No one can dare protest this in our village or they will simply disappear," Maruche added.

Similar allegations of ballot stuffing have been made elsewhere in Iran, and the Iranian government has admitted that in 50 cities, there were more votes than there were registered voters.

For several hours, Iranian truck drivers in Herat told similar tales of voting irregularities, but the government crackdown sparked the most debate. Some drivers defended the government, calling the demonstrators "hooligans and criminals" who deserved punishment, while others defended them. Several drivers blamed their nation's unrest on foreign powers, singling out the United States as a key meddler in Iranian affairs.
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British troops 'clear Taliban stronghold'
8 hours ago
Article Link

KABUL (AFP) — Troops conducting one of the British military's largest operations in Afghanistan have cleared a Taliban stronghold in the south and are encouraging villagers to return, an officer said Thursday.

About 12 British and US Chinook helicopters dropped 350 British troops into the Babaji area of the southern province of Helmand at midnight Friday, in the largest British-led air assault operation in Afghanistan.

"The operation continues to be successful and we are now encouraging the locals to return to the area to benefit from the improved security and freedom from Taliban control," British Lieutenant Colonel Nick Richardson told AFP.

Babaji is about 12 kilometres (eight miles) north of Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand -- a vast desert province that shares a porous border with Pakistan across which militants are said to enter the Afghan insurgency.
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US Senate approves sweeping Pakistan aid package
By Olivier Knox – 18 hours ago
Article Link

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US Senate approved a bill to triple civilian US aid to Pakistan, a bid to cement a long-term partnership to defeat Islamist fighters who threaten the nuclear-armed ally's stability.

Lawmakers unanimously approved the plan to provide 7.5 billion dollars in humanitarian and economic aid over five years and recommend that level for another five years, while tying US military aid to progress against extremists.

"This legislation marks an important step toward sustained economic and political cooperation with Pakistan," said Senator Richard Lugar, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The House of Representatives passed its version of the legislation in mid-June, and the two chambers must now work out and approve a compromise bill before President Barack Obama can sign the measure into law.

"Pakistan is facing a critical moment," Democratic Senator John Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who crafted the bill with Lugar, said after lawmakers agreed to approve it without dissent.
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Afghan Leader Outmaneuvers Election Rivals
By DEXTER FILKINS
Article Link

KABUL, Afghanistan — With a nationwide election only weeks away, the paradox of President Hamid Karzai has never seemed more apparent: he is at once deeply unpopular and likely to win.

Mr. Karzai, who has led Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, is blamed by many for the failures that have plagued the American-led mission here in the past eight years, from the resurgence of the Taliban to the explosion of the poppy trade.

Yet at the same time, Mr. Karzai enjoys a commanding lead in the race for the presidency, to be decided in a nationwide election on Aug. 20. Since the beginning of the year, Mr. Karzai has deftly outmaneuvered a once formidable array of opponents, either securing their backing or relegating them to the status of long shots.

Those two facts — Mr. Karzai’s unpopularity and the likelihood of his victory — have cast a pall of resignation over the presidential campaign here, with many Afghans preparing themselves for another five years of a leader they feel they already know too well.

The danger, Mr. Karzai’s opponents and other leading Afghans say, is a kind of national demoralization, which will discourage Afghans from voting and dash hopes for substantial progress once the election is over.
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White House threatens veto over F-22 jet fighters
ShareThisBy RICHARD LARDNER  Associated Press Writer  Jun. 24, 2009
Article Link

WASHINGTON -- Preparing for a possible showdown with Congress, the White House on Wednesday threatened to veto legislation authorizing a $680 billion military budget if it contains money for jet fighters the Pentagon doesn't want.

In a statement, the White House Office of Management and Budget said the $369 million that a House committee added to the bill as a downpayment for 12 additional F-22 fighters runs counter to the "collective judgment" of the military's top leaders.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants to end production of the radar-evading F-22 after 187 aircraft have been built. Last week, in a preview of the White House's veto threat, Gates called the funding boost a "big problem."

Gates has pointed to the F-22, which has not been used in Iraq and Afghanistan, as an example of a Cold War-era weapon that doesn't fit well into 21st century warfare against terrorist groups and other elusive threats.

But the F-22, built by Lockheed Martin Corp., has broad support on Capitol Hill. The primary manufacturing plant is in Georgia, but key parts of the plane are also made in Texas and California. Lawmakers have pointed to the instability around the world as a reason for keeping the jet program alive. Continued production also means jobs in areas hit hard by a weak economy.

The F-22 is a twin-engine jet the Air Force would use for air-to-air combat missions. Service officials say the aircraft can dominate wide swaths of airspace, a critical capability in areas that ground forces can't quickly get to. Each aircraft costs about $140 million.
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[GAP]

Articles found June 26, 2009

Meeting Punjab's police and bombers
Article Link

While the Pakistani military is targeting the Taliban on several fronts, a police crackdown is getting results in the country's most populous province, Punjab.

A number of Taliban cells have been broken up, and key figures have been arrested - including a self-confessed bomb-maker and a would-be suicide bomber.

The BBC's Pakistan correspondent Orla Guerin has been talking to the police and the bombers.

The big breakthrough came with the arrest of the man in the burka.

He had thought the loose garment would conceal his deadly cargo of explosives and a suicide vest. But he was found when police searched a public bus in the city of Mianwali in north-west Punjab.

An officer accidentally touched him - his hand connecting with a hard surface. That was the end of the bomber's mission. And it could have been the end for the arresting officers.

If our commander tells us to blow up our own parents we'll do it. We never spare anyone.

Unseen offensive 
The area's police chief, Akbar Nasir Khan, came to the scene to disarm the bomber himself.
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5th Brigade troops begin deploying to Afghanistan
Stryker brigade combat team marks occasion with parade before family and friends on Watkins Field
Don Kramer/Northwest Guardian 06/25/09 
Article Link

The six battalions and cavalry squadron that make up 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division formed on Watkins Field June 19, signaling the end of preparations for war by “the most advanced ground combat formation in history,” according to their commander.

Executive Officer and Commander of Troops, Maj. James Dooghan, reported to the brigade commander to start a ceremony devoid of many of the formal trappings typical of deployments. The nearly 4,000 Soldiers stood at parade rest to hear messages of encouragement from Brigade Commander Col. Harry D. Tunnell IV and I Corps Deputy Commanding General Brig. Gen. Jeff W. Mathis III.

Tunnell highlighted the multiple transitions the day represented: after two and a half years of preparation, training was done; the rear-detachment assumed command responsibility; the brigade was departing; and for individuals, their evolution from Soldiers to warriors was complete – the same personal transitions made by countless American Soldiers of the past.

“The war against today’s Islamic totalitarian enemy is no different,” Tunnell said. “It requires the same kind of men and women with the same steel that have served America’s cause of freedom for generations. It is an awe-inspiring thought when one realizes that such devoted men and women make up the team that stands in formation today.
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New community-based strategy wins support of U.S. commander
By Craig Pearson, Canwest News ServiceJune 25, 2009
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DEH-E-BAGH, Afghanistan — Two days after Canada unveiled a village-by-village pilot project to beat the Taliban through community improvement, the top coalition commander in Afghanistan visited the village and suggested other countries should follow suit.


"The Canadians have done an amazing job here," U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal said Thursday after meeting with Canadian officials and stepping into the mud-hut village of Deh-e-Bagh. "We can think of every imaginative way to protect the people, and sometimes that takes military force. But we should also help them grow — help them grow government, help them grow development.


"So I think this is the way to go."


Representatives from the Canadian International Development Agency, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Canadian Forces have been providing Deh-e-Bagh with security and development for several weeks.
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[GAP]

Articles found June 29, 2009

Pakistan Rejects Talks With Militants, Says Army Taking Action
By Paul Tighe and Farhan Sharif
Article Link

June 29 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said there will be no talks with militants as the army is taking decisive action against terrorists in the tribal region and in the Swat Valley.

“Our army is fighting very efficiently against cowardly people,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan cited Gilani as saying in Lahore yesterday. It’s not the time for dialogue with terrorists and extremists, he said.

The army is engaged in a guerrilla fight, not a conventional war, Gilani said. “Elements who are against Pakistan are terrorists,” he said.

Pakistan’s army is now engaging Taliban forces in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas bordering Afghanistan after an offensive that began in April in nearby Swat. The U.S. is pressing Pakistan to tackle Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters operating in the region and President Barack Obama has said an aid package to Pakistan worth $1.5 billion a year is conditional on the government fighting extremists.

Twelve soldiers were killed in the North Waziristan tribal area yesterday when their convoy was hit by a explosive device, APP reported, citing the military.
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Nato and Russia to resume security ties
By James Blitz in London  Last updated: June 29 2009 03:00
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Nato and Russia took an important step towards the resumption of dialogue at the weekend, agreeing to re-establish military ties and discuss greater co-operation over counter-terrorism, Afghanistan and nuclear proliferation.

In a move that marks the final break with the "no business as usual" policy imposed by the US-led -alliance after last year's Georgian war , foreign ministers from the two sides meeting in Corfu agreed to resume formal co-operation on a range of security threats.

The accord is the latest attempt by the US and Russia to "reset" their relationship after Barack Obama's election in the US. It paves the way for Mr Obama's visit to Moscow next month, during which he will discuss arms control, Afghanistan and Iran with Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president.

US officials have made it clear that they regardthe Nato-Russia meeting as a critical test of whether Moscow is interested in improving its relationship with western powers.
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Gunbattle rages in Afghan police HQ 
  Article Link

A provincial police chief is among 10 people reportedly killed in a gun fight with US-trained Afghan troops inside a Kandahar police headquarters.

The head of the criminal department and eight other officers were also  killed,  according to Ahmad Wali Karzai, the head of the area's provincial council.

Monday's clash reportedly happened as troops tried to remove a prisoner from the prosecutor's office.

'Extraordinary scenes'

Al Jazeera's David Chater, reporting from the capital Kabul, said: "The head of the provincial council in Kandahar, President Karzai's brother, said the Afghan security forces  -  we believe it was the special forces under the control of the Americans in Kandahar  - were stopped by the police and their vehicle taken.
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Britain to continue poppy eradication in Afghanistan despite US reversal
Britain will continue to fund the destruction of opium fields in Afghanistan despite the United States condemning poppy eradication as a waste of money.
By Ben Farmer in Kabul  Published: 3:39PM BST 28 Jun 2009
Article Link

The British Government said destroying poppy fields remained a key deterrent to growers and one of the "seven pillars" of its anti-opium strategy in Helmand province, just a day after Richard Holbrooke, the US envoy to Afghanistan, said that destroying the crop only drove poor farmers to join the insurgency.

In a reversal of policy, he said the United States would stop funding poppy eradication and instead concentrate on encouraging farmers to grow alternative crops.

The Afghan government backed Britain's stance and defended its previous efforts, which relied heavily on ripping up or flattening poppy plants, as "perfect".

General Khodaidad, Afghan minister for counter narcotics, said his strategy had been "the right path".

"We are happy with our strategy and we are working according to our strategy. I don't see any deficiencies in our strategy, our strategy is perfect, our strategy is good."
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Iraq lessons learned, US Marines turn to Afghanistan
Sun Jun 28, 2009 10:12am EDT  By Peter Graff
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DESERT OF DEATH, Afghanistan, June 28 (Reuters) - After five years coping with the most dangerous province in Iraq, the U.S. Marines have been given their next assignment: the most dangerous province in Afghanistan.

But this time around, they say they will talk a little more and shoot a little less.

"We spent so much time in Iraq learning from our mistakes," said Corporal Mahmoud Awada, a 21-year-old Lebanese-American Marine from Utah, who spent the second half of 2007 and early 2008 in Anbar west of Baghdad.

"We learned that we can't just go around kicking down doors because that won't work. In Iraq, what really helped us win over there, make the situation better, was gaining the trust of the people, becoming friends with them."

The Marines that have arrived in recent weeks in Afghanistan's wild southern Helmand province are a different force from the Marines who blasted their way into Anbar.
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Taliban contemptuous of large Canadian offensive
By Colin Perkel, THE CANADIAN PRESS Last Updated: 28th June 2009, 12:24pm
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Defiant Taliban heaped scorn on Canada’s recent anti-insurgent operation in the village of Salavat, calling the impact on their operations minimal and claiming immediate retaliation for the offensive.

Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, the Taliban’s spokesman for the south, was contemptuous of the military’s delighted summation of the two-day incursion into the village in the Panjwaii district of southern Afghanistan.

“They are most welcome with these kinds of operations,” Ahmadi said by telephone.

“This kind of operation affects our strategy very positively, because even more people came to join us.”

Ten days ago, hundreds of Canadian soldiers along with Afghan forces invaded the village of 1,500 amid firm intelligence the insurgents were using two compounds.

Salavat has been dubbed one corner of Panjwaii’s “Taliban Triangle,” a known hub of insurgent activity and movement.

While soldiers found no sign of insurgents themselves after smashing their way into the two compounds, a thorough search of the village did turn up enough explosives and electronics for about a dozen roadside bombs, along with a few weapons. One man was arrested.

The action was one of the first big counter-moves by the Canadians as the “fighting season” got into full swing with escalating violence throughout the region ahead of next month’s national elections.

Battlegroup commander, Lt.-Col. Jocelyn Paul, called the operation a big success in putting a damper on the ability of insurgents to move about and mount their own attacks.

Ahmadi shrugged that off.
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U.S. officials look to influence Canada to stay in Afghanistan
By Murray Brewster, THE CANADIAN PRESS  28th June 2009, 12:30pm
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OTTAWA — Obama Democrats have quietly sounded out power-brokers in Ottawa looking for advice on how to convince war-weary Canadians to keep military forces in Afghanistan after 2011.

Conscious of the deep political and public opposition to extending the mission further, American officials — political and military — are struggling to understand those concerns and identify the right arguments to make to the Harper government to “keep Canadian boots on the ground,” said defence sources.

The U.S. has not formally — or even informally — requested Ottawa extend the deployment of 2,850 combat troops, trainers and aircrew in volatile and bloody Kandahar, where 120 soldiers and one diplomat have died over seven years.

The questions being asked are meant to lay the groundwork for a potential request, which the administration could make late this year or in early 2010, said one source familiar with the process.

It’s unclear whether the U.S. would ask Canada to stay on in Kandahar or elsewhere in the country.

The sophisticated, below-the-radar project reflects Washington’s new approach to dealing with allies, and marks a sharp departure from the days when former U.S. president George W. Bush declared: “You’re either with us or against us in the fight against terror.”

The informal exercise comes as no surprise to seasoned diplomats, who say Canada’s self-imposed pull-out deadline of 2011, and a Dutch plan to withdraw its troops in July next year, complicate America’s long-term strategy in the region.

President Barak Obama has made it clear Afghanistan is the central front in the war against al-Qaida and terrorism.

Any discussion of Canadian involvement beyond 2011 will likely make Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s minority government squirm because there’s no appetite for extending such a costly war.
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[MarkOttawa]

ARTICLES FOUND JUNE 30

Canada firm on Afghan deadline
CP, June 30
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/658873

The Canadian government shot down suggestions it might be arm-twisted by the Obama White House into extending its Afghanistan mission beyond 2011.

There are signs the U.S. government is preparing a diplomatic push to get Canada to stay.

But Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon told a news conference Tuesday that he has not yet received that kind of pressure, and suggested that any such effort would be futile.

"Let me be perfectly clear: Canada is abiding by the motion that was adopted in our Parliament," Cannon said.

"Our position is perfectly clear – we are not going beyond 2011."

Parliament voted last year to set 2011 as an end date, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper has repeatedly said he's not interested in an open-ended military commitment to Afghanistan...

On the KC shooting
Flit, June 29
http://www.snappingturtle.net/flit/archives/2009_06_29.html#006458

There are some conclusions one certainly shouldn't jump to when evaluating today's reports of the killing of the Kandahar Chief of Police in a gunfight.

One would be that there's anything unusual about this...

Kandahar Police Chief Killed and…
Ghosts of Alexander, June 29
http://easterncampaign.wordpress.com/2009/06/29/kandahar-police-chief-killed-and/

[Note: I'm following a breaking story over a one-day news cycle, to see how it breaks, and how good/bad a job is done doing so. I won't edit incorrect info as news comes in, as that is sort of the point: to see how incorrect the info is. I'll do an analysis later this week.]..

“The Final Straw?” Slaying of Kandahar Police Chief Might Be Sympton of Intractable Problem
Registan, June 29
http://www.registan.net/index.php/2009/06/29/the-final-straw-slaying-of-kandahar-police-chief-might-be-sympton-of-intractable-problem/

...The gist is: earlier today a group of gunmen broke into a government office building and grabbed a man being held there by the authorities; in the gunfight that ensued, the chief of police and eight other policemen were killed...

Shootout in Kandahar City
The Canada-Afghanistan Blog, June 29
http://canada-afghanistan.blogspot.com/2009/06/shootout-in-kandahar-city.html

The Kandahar City police chief, Matiullah Qati, was killed today in a gun battle. After a series of confusing initial reports, it seems that a group of contracted Afghan security guards attempted to snatch back one of their guys who had been arrested. The police chief was called in, somebody got trigger-happy, and all hell broke loose.

Assuming these are the facts, it's another reminder of the extraordinary danger a police officer in Afghanistan faces every day. I can't imagine the courage it takes to face down a squad of heavily-armed men demanding the release of a guy you have no personal stake in protecting--just the merit of doing your job responsibly...

Mark
Ottawa

 

[GAP]

Articles found June 30, 2009

Oshkosh Wins $1.06 Billion Blast-Proof Truck Contract
By Edmond Lococo, Tony Capaccio and Gopal Ratnam
Article Link

June 30 (Bloomberg) -- Oshkosh Corp. won a $1.06 billion contract to build all-terrain trucks that would protect troops in Afghanistan from roadside bombs. Shares of the company, which said it may share production, surged in late New York trading.

The contract is for 2,244 vehicles, the U.S. Defense Department said on its Web site today. Oshkosh beat a joint venture between Force Protection Inc. and General Dynamics Corp., as well as entries from BAE Systems Plc, and Navistar International Corp., the largest maker of blast-proof trucks for the U.S. military.

Oshkosh said it is willing to share production of the trucks, which are designed to offer increased maneuverability on Afghanistan’s undeveloped roads and still offer protection comparable to the Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected Vehicles, or MRAPs, used in Iraq. The new trucks are MRAP All-Terrain Vehicles, or M-ATVs.

“We can meet the requirements, everything on the schedule and exceed the expectations of the customer,” Chief Executive Officer Robert Bohn said in an interview. Even so, at the Pentagon’s request, Oshkosh will talk to the losing bidders “to see if they have any interest in subcontracting some of this work or building some components in case we need it.”
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Taliban scrap peace deal in Pakistan tribal area
By RASOOL DAWAR – 10 hours ago
Article Link

MIR ALI, Pakistan (AP) — Taliban militants in a tribal region bordering Afghanistan say they have pulled out of a peace deal with the government, raising the prospect of wider unrest as the Pakistani army extends its efforts to eliminate insurgents.

The militants in North Waziristan blamed continuing U.S. missile strikes and army offensives against the Taliban for their decision, which was announced in the wake of a Taliban ambush that killed 16 soldiers.

Separately, a car bombing Tuesday struck trucks taking supplies to Western troops in Afghanistan, killing four people in Pakistan's southwest, police said. No one claimed responsibility for the explosion in Baluchistan province, but militants have frequently targeted supply trucks for U.S. and NATO troops that travel through Pakistani territory.

Government leaders and Taliban representatives reached the North Waziristan peace accord in February 2008, but few details have been released about it.

U.S. officials have criticized peace deals with militants or tribes representing them in the border region, saying they allow the insurgents to gain strength. The agreement in North Waziristan had appeared to keep things relatively peaceful there — calmer than in neighboring South Waziristan, where the army is preparing for a major offensive aimed at Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud.

The deal was struck with a Taliban faction led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur.
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Romania to increase troops in Afghanistan 
www.chinaview.cn  2009-07-01 03:21:51   
  Article Link

    BUCHAREST, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Romania will increase the number of its soldiers in Afghanistan while cutting significantly its forces in Iraq, President Traian Basescu said on Tuesday.

    "We will reduce our participation in the operation theaters, with the total number of militaries to be cut from 2,067, as it was in 2009, down to 1,667, as it was planned for 2010," the Romanian head of state told a press conference after a meeting of the Supreme Council for Country Defense (CSAT).

    He explained that Romania's mission in Iraq was completed, with only 20 out of the current 520 Romanian troops to continue to stay in Iraq. They will no longer be part of the multinational force's structures, but will only participate in the training of the Iraqi army, under the NATO training mission.

    "Our participation in the multinational force will become zero on July 1 this year and will stay zero next year too," Basescu said.
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Russia to allow US military supplies to Afghanistan
Article Link

Moscow, June 30: Russia is ready to allow air and land transit of US military supplies to the American troops in Afghanistan and an agreement to this effect could be signed during President Barak Obama's visit here next week.

The deal could involve daily flights of US planes over Russia with military cargo, in addition to just railway shipments of non-lethal supplies Moscow currently allows, the Kommersant daily reported today quoting sources "close to NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer".

Such a move will give a boost to Obama's efforts to intensify the campaign against the Taliban at a time when instability in Pakistan has threatened the other main transit route into Afghanistan -- from the south.
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