Articles found March 30, 2007
1 NATO soldier killed, 3 wounded in eastern Afghanistan
By Associated Press Friday, March 30, 2007 - Updated: 07:00 AM EST
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KABUL, Afghanistan - A NATO soldier was killed and three wounded during an operation in eastern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said Friday.
Four wounded soldiers were evacuated to a medical facility after the operation Thursday evening, where one died of his wounds, the military said. The three others are in stable condition.
The military did not specify the soldiers’ nationalities or where the operation occurred. The majority of soldiers operating in eastern Afghanistan are American.
The death brings to at least 22 the number of U.S. or NATO soldiers who have died in Afghanistan this year, including at least 11 U.S. soldiers and five British.
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Brown surprises troops in Afghanistan
Mark Oliver and agencies Friday March 30, 2007 Guardian Unlimited
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Gordon Brown made a surprise visit to "listen" to British troops in Afghanistan today and promised they would have the "vital equipment" they needed, including new helicopters.
The chancellor met troops in Camp Bastion, the main British base in the volatile southern Helmand province, where British troops have been involved in often intense fighting with the Taliban.
Mr Brown confirmed that six new Merlin helicopters are being bought from the Danish government and eight Chinook helicopters would be refitted at a total cost of around £230m. The Chinooks have been mothballed since 2001.
British commanders have, in the past, criticised the resources made available in Afghanistan, particularly the numbers of helicopters. There have also been reports of troops being low on ammunition and living in harsh conditions.
Mr Brown, who announced an extra £400m for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in his budget earlier this month, said it was vital to ensure British forces were properly equipped.
On his first visit to the country, he said: "I am here today to listen to our troops. I want to thank them and pay tribute to the work they have been doing to help the Afghan people build a secure and democratic nation."
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Hanging in there
Mar 29th 2007 | ROME From The Economist print edition
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The government survives—and stirs a debate on responses to kidnappers
ROMANO PRODI'S shaky centre-left government this week laid to rest, at least for now, the issue that almost caused it to collapse last month. On March 27th the upper-house Senate voted to keep paying for Italian troops abroad. Some 2,000 are in Afghanistan, where Italy's engagement is a source of anguished misgiving for the radical and pacifist left. Mr Prodi can no longer count on a majority in the Senate; in February a rebellion by two far-left senators, prompted by Afghanistan, almost brought his government down.
AFP
A freedom fag for MastrogiacomoThis week, Mr Prodi won a majority thanks to support from unelected life senators and from rebels within the centre-right opposition. That made the outcome more damaging to the main opposition leader, Silvio Berlusconi. Mr Berlusconi saw the vote as a chance to defeat the government, but others on the right felt they could not refuse support for Italian troops. They included a member of Mr Berlusconi's own party and all 20 senators from the Union of Christian Democrats (UDC), the third-biggest party in the centre-right alliance that lost the election in April 2006.
With one former UDC senator having already deserted to the centre-left, there is speculation that the party could become a semi-detached backer of Mr Prodi. The UDC's leader, Pier Ferdinando Casini, has ruled this out. But he appeared to leave open the possibility of joining a rejigged coalition, arguing that Italy needs a more stable government. Unfortunately, the UDC, whose power base is in the south, is notoriously chary of the liberal economic reforms that Italy also needs.
Since the lower house had already approved an identical motion on funding, Italy's contribution to the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan is assured for another year. Yet the ripples caused by Italy's anguish over Afghanistan continue to spread—and this week lapped at NATO itself. NATO's secretary-general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, said that he would begin talks over forming a common response to hostage-taking. His initiative seems to have been prompted by Italy's handling of the March 4th kidnapping by the Taliban of an Italian journalist, Daniele Mastrogiacomo.
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Afghanistan's airline on brink of collapse
By Jason Straziuso The Associated Press
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KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan's national airline could be days from collapse due to corruption, mismanagement and a crippling airplane lease that has drowned the struggling airline in debt.
The government is scrambling to court investors to privatize up to 75 percent of state-owned Ariana Afghan Airlines, and is tallying its assets in case the company is liquidated.
The collapse of the 52-year-old airline, which survived the Taliban regime despite international sanctions, would be a potent symbol of failure by the administration of President Hamid Karzai and would reinforce growing perceptions of corruption and incompetence.
"If Ariana collapses, it will be a very heavy blow for people's trust in government," said Ziauddin Zia, deputy commerce minister.
Afghanistan would lose 50 percent of its international flight capacity. Ariana is blacklisted from flying to European Union countries because of safety concerns; it mostly flies to the United Arab Emirates, India and Turkey. U.S. Embassy and United Nations employees are also banned from flying on the airline due to safety concerns.
Ariana's former maintenance director said the airline's safety department issues licenses and certifications to mechanics and pilots in exchange for bribes.
Yousuf Sultani, who left his post in February and now lives in the United States, also said Ariana has 500 people on its maintenance department payroll but that only 30 work.
Afghanistan's transportation minister, Niamatullah Ehsan Jawid, acknowledged the airline is beset by corruption that prevents it from turning a profit. Ariana employs 1,800 people but operates only seven planes
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Lighter sentence sought for detainee in terrorism case
March 30, 2007
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GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- The prosecution will seek a sentence of "substantially less" than 20 years for Australian David Hicks, a Guantanamo detainee who pleaded guilty to a terrorism-related charge this week, the chief prosecutor for the military tribunals said Thursday.
The prosecutor, Air Force Col. Morris Davis, previously said he would ask for a sentence of about 20 years, on par with the punishment for Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh, an American.
Hicks, a 31-year-old Muslim convert accused of joining al-Qaida during the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, pleaded guilty Monday to providing material support for terrorism. Under a prisoner-exchange agreement between the U.S. and Australia, he will serve his sentence in his home country.
Hicks is set to appear before a military judge today to enter his guilty plea under oath. His attorneys had said their client was considering a plea deal to end his five-year imprisonment at Guantanamo.
Hicks is accused of attending terrorist training camps in Afghanistan in early 2001 and of reporting to an al-Qaida commander after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He is not accused of fighting U.S. or coalition forces.
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Pakistan: Crackdown threatens Central Asia
When the Pakistani government withdraws, the militants come in and take control
Thursday, March 29, 2007By RFE/RL
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While reports say that more than 150 people have been killed this month in Waziristan in fighting between Uzbek militants and local tribesmen, it is difficult to obtain precise information on events in an area where the Pakistani government has almost no presence and exerts little influence.
The Pakistani government is calling the fierce fighting in its South Waziristan tribal area between local tribesmen and foreign militants a successful example of Islamabad's controversial policies there.
But not everyone is convinced the Pakistani government's version of events in Waziristan is the whole story. And in Afghanistan and the neighboring Central Asian countries, the fighting in Waziristan is of great concern as it could soon affect the security situations in those countries.
Government Agreement Backfires
"The government has very little control [in Waziristan] now," Pakistani journalist Haroun Rashid explains. "For two or three years, the Pakistani military has been staging operations in that area against Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants, but they did not succeed so they then resorted to [an] agreement -- and they have reached two agreements in [South Waziristan] with the main two tribes. After that the Pakistani government just withdrew...and [wherever] the vacuum was the militants came in and they took control."
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1 NATO soldier killed, 3 wounded in eastern Afghanistan
By Associated Press Friday, March 30, 2007 - Updated: 07:00 AM EST
Article Link
KABUL, Afghanistan - A NATO soldier was killed and three wounded during an operation in eastern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said Friday.
Four wounded soldiers were evacuated to a medical facility after the operation Thursday evening, where one died of his wounds, the military said. The three others are in stable condition.
The military did not specify the soldiers’ nationalities or where the operation occurred. The majority of soldiers operating in eastern Afghanistan are American.
The death brings to at least 22 the number of U.S. or NATO soldiers who have died in Afghanistan this year, including at least 11 U.S. soldiers and five British.
More on link
Brown surprises troops in Afghanistan
Mark Oliver and agencies Friday March 30, 2007 Guardian Unlimited
Article Link
Gordon Brown made a surprise visit to "listen" to British troops in Afghanistan today and promised they would have the "vital equipment" they needed, including new helicopters.
The chancellor met troops in Camp Bastion, the main British base in the volatile southern Helmand province, where British troops have been involved in often intense fighting with the Taliban.
Mr Brown confirmed that six new Merlin helicopters are being bought from the Danish government and eight Chinook helicopters would be refitted at a total cost of around £230m. The Chinooks have been mothballed since 2001.
British commanders have, in the past, criticised the resources made available in Afghanistan, particularly the numbers of helicopters. There have also been reports of troops being low on ammunition and living in harsh conditions.
Mr Brown, who announced an extra £400m for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in his budget earlier this month, said it was vital to ensure British forces were properly equipped.
On his first visit to the country, he said: "I am here today to listen to our troops. I want to thank them and pay tribute to the work they have been doing to help the Afghan people build a secure and democratic nation."
More on link
Hanging in there
Mar 29th 2007 | ROME From The Economist print edition
Article Link
The government survives—and stirs a debate on responses to kidnappers
ROMANO PRODI'S shaky centre-left government this week laid to rest, at least for now, the issue that almost caused it to collapse last month. On March 27th the upper-house Senate voted to keep paying for Italian troops abroad. Some 2,000 are in Afghanistan, where Italy's engagement is a source of anguished misgiving for the radical and pacifist left. Mr Prodi can no longer count on a majority in the Senate; in February a rebellion by two far-left senators, prompted by Afghanistan, almost brought his government down.
AFP
A freedom fag for MastrogiacomoThis week, Mr Prodi won a majority thanks to support from unelected life senators and from rebels within the centre-right opposition. That made the outcome more damaging to the main opposition leader, Silvio Berlusconi. Mr Berlusconi saw the vote as a chance to defeat the government, but others on the right felt they could not refuse support for Italian troops. They included a member of Mr Berlusconi's own party and all 20 senators from the Union of Christian Democrats (UDC), the third-biggest party in the centre-right alliance that lost the election in April 2006.
With one former UDC senator having already deserted to the centre-left, there is speculation that the party could become a semi-detached backer of Mr Prodi. The UDC's leader, Pier Ferdinando Casini, has ruled this out. But he appeared to leave open the possibility of joining a rejigged coalition, arguing that Italy needs a more stable government. Unfortunately, the UDC, whose power base is in the south, is notoriously chary of the liberal economic reforms that Italy also needs.
Since the lower house had already approved an identical motion on funding, Italy's contribution to the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan is assured for another year. Yet the ripples caused by Italy's anguish over Afghanistan continue to spread—and this week lapped at NATO itself. NATO's secretary-general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, said that he would begin talks over forming a common response to hostage-taking. His initiative seems to have been prompted by Italy's handling of the March 4th kidnapping by the Taliban of an Italian journalist, Daniele Mastrogiacomo.
More on link
Afghanistan's airline on brink of collapse
By Jason Straziuso The Associated Press
Article Link
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan's national airline could be days from collapse due to corruption, mismanagement and a crippling airplane lease that has drowned the struggling airline in debt.
The government is scrambling to court investors to privatize up to 75 percent of state-owned Ariana Afghan Airlines, and is tallying its assets in case the company is liquidated.
The collapse of the 52-year-old airline, which survived the Taliban regime despite international sanctions, would be a potent symbol of failure by the administration of President Hamid Karzai and would reinforce growing perceptions of corruption and incompetence.
"If Ariana collapses, it will be a very heavy blow for people's trust in government," said Ziauddin Zia, deputy commerce minister.
Afghanistan would lose 50 percent of its international flight capacity. Ariana is blacklisted from flying to European Union countries because of safety concerns; it mostly flies to the United Arab Emirates, India and Turkey. U.S. Embassy and United Nations employees are also banned from flying on the airline due to safety concerns.
Ariana's former maintenance director said the airline's safety department issues licenses and certifications to mechanics and pilots in exchange for bribes.
Yousuf Sultani, who left his post in February and now lives in the United States, also said Ariana has 500 people on its maintenance department payroll but that only 30 work.
Afghanistan's transportation minister, Niamatullah Ehsan Jawid, acknowledged the airline is beset by corruption that prevents it from turning a profit. Ariana employs 1,800 people but operates only seven planes
More on link
Lighter sentence sought for detainee in terrorism case
March 30, 2007
Article Link
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- The prosecution will seek a sentence of "substantially less" than 20 years for Australian David Hicks, a Guantanamo detainee who pleaded guilty to a terrorism-related charge this week, the chief prosecutor for the military tribunals said Thursday.
The prosecutor, Air Force Col. Morris Davis, previously said he would ask for a sentence of about 20 years, on par with the punishment for Taliban fighter John Walker Lindh, an American.
Hicks, a 31-year-old Muslim convert accused of joining al-Qaida during the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, pleaded guilty Monday to providing material support for terrorism. Under a prisoner-exchange agreement between the U.S. and Australia, he will serve his sentence in his home country.
Hicks is set to appear before a military judge today to enter his guilty plea under oath. His attorneys had said their client was considering a plea deal to end his five-year imprisonment at Guantanamo.
Hicks is accused of attending terrorist training camps in Afghanistan in early 2001 and of reporting to an al-Qaida commander after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He is not accused of fighting U.S. or coalition forces.
More on link
Pakistan: Crackdown threatens Central Asia
When the Pakistani government withdraws, the militants come in and take control
Thursday, March 29, 2007By RFE/RL
Article Link
While reports say that more than 150 people have been killed this month in Waziristan in fighting between Uzbek militants and local tribesmen, it is difficult to obtain precise information on events in an area where the Pakistani government has almost no presence and exerts little influence.
The Pakistani government is calling the fierce fighting in its South Waziristan tribal area between local tribesmen and foreign militants a successful example of Islamabad's controversial policies there.
But not everyone is convinced the Pakistani government's version of events in Waziristan is the whole story. And in Afghanistan and the neighboring Central Asian countries, the fighting in Waziristan is of great concern as it could soon affect the security situations in those countries.
Government Agreement Backfires
"The government has very little control [in Waziristan] now," Pakistani journalist Haroun Rashid explains. "For two or three years, the Pakistani military has been staging operations in that area against Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants, but they did not succeed so they then resorted to [an] agreement -- and they have reached two agreements in [South Waziristan] with the main two tribes. After that the Pakistani government just withdrew...and [wherever] the vacuum was the militants came in and they took control."
More on link
