Articles found 3 Sept 2006
Original report by CTV
3 Cdns. killed in Afghanistan offensive: report
Updated Sun. Sep. 3 2006 9:50 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060902/nato_casualties_060903/20060903?hub=TopStories
At least three Canadian soldiers serving with NATO forces were killed during a major offensive in the volatile district of southern Afghanistan on Sunday.
"Three Canadian soldiers have been killed and six wounded in the fighting," Afghan Defence Ministry spokesperson Zahir Azimiaid told Reuters news agency on Sunday.
Azimiaid added that up to 89 insurgents had been killed in fighting, following a major air and ground offensive by NATO and Afghan forces in Kandahar province that began Saturday.
Earlier, International Security Assistance Force spokesperson Maj. Scott Lundy confirmed there have been casualties, but would not say how many were killed, or what their nationalities are.
He said the operation in the Panjwaii district includes Canadian, British and American troops.
Afghan defence officials also said an uncertain number of civilians are dead after two days of fighting in the region.
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Over 200 Taliban die in Afghan offensive: NATO
Sun Sep 3, 2006 2:48pm ET By Sayed Salahuddin
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-09-03T184805Z_01_ISL68390_RTRUKOC_0_US-AFGHAN-VIOLENCE.xml
KABUL (Reuters) - A major NATO offensive killed more than 200 Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan and four NATO soldiers died in Sunday's fighting, the organization said.
NATO also lost 14 British military personnel, who died when a Royal Air Force Nimrod MR2 spyplane crashed on Saturday while the alliance and Afghan forces mounted Operation Medusa in Panjwai district of Kandahar province.
Hundreds of troops, backed by warplanes and helicopter gunships, were involved in the offensive on the area, southwest of Kandahar city, that has been a center of Taliban resistance.
"Reports indicate that more than 200 Taliban fighters have been killed since Operation MEDUSA began early Saturday morning," a statement by NATO said, adding Afghan forces captured more than 80 other Taliban.
Four NATO soldiers were killed during Sunday's operations and seven others were wounded, the statement said, without elaborating on the nationalities of the victims.
Earlier, an Afghan defense ministry spokesman said three Canadian soldiers with the NATO force were killed in the battle.
The operation was the biggest by NATO since it took over command of the southern region on July 31 from U.S.-led coalition forces, Major Scott Lundy, a spokesman for the alliance, said.
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89 Taliban militants killed in Afghanistan
Posted by admin on 2006/9/3 13:46:25 Kabul, Sep 3 (Xinhua)
http://www.teluguportal.net/modules/news/article.php?storyid=12220
Eighty-nine Taliban militants were killed in the past 24 hours in the southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan, a defence ministry spokesman said Sunday.
The militants were killed in Panjwai and Jalai districts in Operation MEDUSA, which was launched on Saturday by around 2,000 troops of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Afghan forces, said Zahir Azimi.
Earlier, ISAF spokesman Luke Knittig told a press conference that around 20 Taliban insurgents had been killed in the operation.
An ISAF statement said the operation, which is the largest since it took command in southern Afghanistan on July 31, aims to drive Taliban fighters out of Panjwai district to set conditions for reconstruction and development.
A considerable amount of ground has been gained by ISAF and Afghan forces in the district, the statement indicated, adding that "a significant number of suspected insurgents were detained" by the Afghan police.
A British reconnaissance plane of ISAF crashed near Panjwai on Saturday, killing all 14 soldiers on board.
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Cdn. troops launch offensive into Taliban hotbed
Updated Sat. Sep. 2 2006 11:30 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060813/cdn_offensive_060902/20060902?hub=TopStories
Canadian troops suffered no casualties as they swept into a Taliban hotbed west of Kandahar on Saturday, but a nearby plane crash killed 14 British soldiers.
Canadian combat units, along with other NATO and Afghan forces, have launched a major offensive against insurgents in the violent Panjwai district. The mission is dubbed Operation Medusa.
"It's in an area where Canadian troops have taken casualties," said CTV's Matt McClure on Saturday from Kandahar, ". . . and where they've also been involved in heavy battles trying to take this territory early this year."
Canadian battle group commander, Col. Omer Lavoie, told CTV News that his soldiers have gained the upper hand against the militants despite meeting some resistance.
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O'Connor denies wanting Cdn. troops in Pakistan
Updated Sat. Sep. 2 2006 11:28 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060831/afghan_oconnor_060902/20060902?hub=TopStories
Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor has denied suggesting Canadian troops should be stationed in Pakistan, claiming his comments were misunderstood.
"Media reports today have misreported comments I made while visiting with the government of Pakistan," said O'Connor in a press release issued Saturday.
"At no time did I advocate, suggest or imply I favoured stand-alone Canadian troop deployment in Pakistan."
O'Connor spoke with military officials in Pakistan during a trip to the region, and later summed up the meetings with a reporter from The Associated Press of Pakistan. During the interview, he allegedly said he wanted Canadian soldiers in the country.
"Among other things, I suggested that some Pakistan officers be stationed with our troops in Kandahar and Canadian troops be stationed on the Pakistan side," the Globe and Mail quoted him as saying. "This will assist in information gathering and intelligence sharing on both sides of the border."
But O'Connor said the quote was taken out of context and he did not condone the deployment of troops in Pakistan.
"What I said was that Canada needs to engage with Pakistan as part of our security and reconstruction mission in Afghanistan," said O'Connor.
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Canadians lead latest offensive into Taliban stronghold
Canadian Press Globe & Mail article on same action
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060903.woffensive0903/BNStory/Front/home
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Families grieve Afghanistan tragedy
Press Association Sunday September 3, 2006 7:58 AM
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-6055356,00.html
The families of 14 British service personnel killed when a Nato Nimrod MR2 aircraft crashed in southern Afghanistan are coming to terms with their loss.
The reconnaissance aircraft was thought to have suffered a technical fault at 4pm local time (12.30pm BST) on Saturday, 12 miles west of Kandahar.
A spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said enemy action had been discounted.
Among those who perished were 12 RAF service personnel, a Royal Marine and an Army soldier.
The crash caused the biggest single loss of British troops in Afghanistan or Iraq since the war on terror began in November 2001.
ISAF spokesman Major Luke Knittig said the aircraft - acting in a support role - had made an emergency call shortly before it disappeared. Coalition helicopters were seen flying to the scene.
Haji Eisamuddin, a local tribal elder, described how the wreckage of the plane burned in an open field.
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British soldier dies in Afghanistan after insurgent attack on barracks
3 September 2006 09:14 By Anne Penketh, Diplomatic Editor
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article1269453.ece
A British soldier was killed and another badly wounded yesterday when their platoon's house was attacked by insurgents in southern Afghanistan where the Army is facing a determined assault by the Taliban.
The soldiers were not immediately identified, but it was the second death of a British soldier in southern Afghanistan in four days, and the seventh since the start of August.
The attack took place in Musa Qala, in the north of Helmand province, where 4,000 British soldiers have been deployed as part of a Nato-led security force. The Taliban have allied themselves with the local drugs mafia into a potent armed opposition which has spread its influence throughout south and eastern Afghanistan, terrorising farmers who have been reluctant to swap their poppy growing for alternative crops.
Helmand is at the heart of the heroin industry, and this year's opium harvest is expected to show a strong increase in a UN report to be published today.
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Afghanistan offensive 'kills 20'
Sunday, 03 Sep 2006 12:34
http://www.inthenews.co.uk/news/news/defence/afghanistan-offensive-kills-20-$449268.htm
Around 20 Taliban fighters have already died in the coalition forces' latest Afghanistan offensive, Nato have claimed.
Known as Operation Medusa, the offensive is an attempt to clear out the area surrounding the town of Panjwayi in the southern province of Afghanistan of resistance fighters.
Coalition forces operating in the offensive had a "special emphasis on driving out the insurgents so Afghans in Panjwayi district can return to their homes and orchards that sustained their livelihoods," a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.
The area has been one of the worst for peacekeeping troops, with casualties mounting and suicide bombers continuing to maim and kill. Twenty died in August when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a market in the centre of Panjawayi.
The operation was being provided with reconnaissance by British Nimrod MR2 flights, including that which crashed yesterday killing 14 military personnel.
British casualties have continued to mount in the troubled south of the country, especially in the notorious Helmand province to the west of Kandahar.
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NATO forces defuse mines in car, bicycle in southern Afghanistan, police say
The Associated Press September 3, 2006
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/03/asia/AS_GEN_Afghan_Mines_Found.php
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan NATO forces defused four mines found Sunday in a car and on a bicycle parked along a busy road in Kandahar in Afghanistan's volatile south, police said, amid an upsurge in Taliban attacks.
Police found three mines in an unoccupied Toyota car and one on a bicycle, then informed NATO forces, who defused them, area police officer Jan Agha said.
Authorities are searching for suspects, he said. The incident occurred amid the deadliest spate of militant attacks and fighting in Afghanistan since a U.S.-led invasion ousted the Taliban regime nearly five years ago.
Most of the violence has been in southern Afghanistan, where Kandahar is a major city.
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan NATO forces defused four mines found Sunday in a car and on a bicycle parked along a busy road in Kandahar in Afghanistan's volatile south, police said, amid an upsurge in Taliban attacks.
Police found three mines in an unoccupied Toyota car and one on a bicycle, then informed NATO forces, who defused them, area police officer Jan Agha said.
Authorities are searching for suspects, he said. The incident occurred amid the deadliest spate of militant attacks and fighting in Afghanistan since a U.S.-led invasion ousted the Taliban regime nearly five years ago.
Most of the violence has been in southern Afghanistan, where Kandahar is a major city.
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Miss Afghanistan taken off ramp at Fashion Week
New Delhi, Sept 3. (UNI):
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/009200609031411.htm
India's biggest fashion event denied permission to Miss Afghanistan Vida Samadzai, whose bikini walk at the Miss Earth pageant three years ago earned her expulsion from her country, to walk on the ramp at a show inspired by her courageous life.
Samadzai, who was the lead model of Bangalore-based Deepika Govind, was told to get off the ramp a few minutes before the show at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week last evening, according to fashion industry sources.
An official of the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) told the designer that the US-based model would not be allowed to walk, the sources said.
Govind's latest collection was inspired by the story of Samadzai, who is torn between her homeland, family and her own individual rights.
The FDCI stopped the model as she was not holding a valid work permit issued by the Home Ministry to take part in the fashion week, the sources said adding the apex body of fashion designers in the country had, however, allowed two foreign male models to walk the ramp earlier in the event.
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Taliban Suffer Serious Losses In NATO Operation in Afghanistan
3 September 2006 | 10:39 | FOCUS News Agency
http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n95174
Kabul. NATO forces and the Afghan army carried out a large-scale land and air operation against Taliban positions on Saturday, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy, Reuters reported citing a statement of NATO. The operation was held in Kandahar province.
On Saturday a plane of the British Air Forces taking part in the NATO mission crashed in southern Afghanistan killing 14 British servicemen. NATO confirmed that the crash was caused by a technical problem. The taliban, however, said they had downed the plane.
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District police chief, 3 guards killed in west Afghanistan
September 03, 2006 People's Daily Online
http://english.people.com.cn/200609/04/eng20060904_299157.html
Suspected Taliban insurgents gunned down a district police chief and his three bodyguards in the relatively peaceful Nimroz province in west Afghanistan, provincial governor Ghulam Dastgir Azad said Saturday.
"Juma Khan, the district chief of Khashrod district, was on his way to Dularam when came under militants' attack on Friday as a result he and his three bodyguards were killed," Azad told Xinhua.
Three militants were also killed in fire exchange between the two sides, he added.
He put the attack on the enemies of peace a term used against Taliban-led insurgents.
More than 1,900 have been killed in Taliban-linked militancy since January this year in the post-Taliban Afghanistan.
Source: Xinhua
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Afghanistan: Western allies grow weary of Pakistan support for Taliban
From the Globe and Mail: Saturday 2 September 2006
http://www.judeoscope.ca/breve.php3?id_breve=2508
As the Taliban insurgency grows in southern Afghanistan, so do suspicions about Pakistan’s role in the war. Afghans tend to blame their old nemesis for everything wrong in their country, but their accusations about the Taliban finding money, shelter, weapons and fighters on the other side of the border are getting more specific these days. Mr. Safullah (Maywand district leader) rhymed off the names of Taliban leaders living in neighbourhoods and compounds around Quetta, in west-central Pakistan, and complained bitterly that his men can’t hunt insurgents in those havens.
The frustration of such front-line commanders has been percolating upward in recent months, through the ranks of foreign soldiers, NATO officials, and Western diplomats. During a visit to Islamabad yesterday, Canada’s Defence Minister praised Pakistan’s assistance but pressed for more. “In my ideal world, they could do even better because that way our troops will be safe,” said Gordon O’Connor, who was on a tour this week through Afghanistan and Pakistan.
And diplomats say that each NATO soldier killed by a Taliban bomb or ambush adds weight to an emerging consensus among Western allies, roughly mirroring the conclusion of the battle-scarred Afghan commander: Something must change inside Pakistan, quickly.
(...)
Analysts often point to the deep historical ties between Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency, which helped nurture the Taliban in the early 1990s, giving them support that helped the movement grow from a religious backlash against corrupt warlords into a theocracy that dominated most of the country.
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Stoffer, Layton agree to disagree on Afghanistan mission
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA | Sunday September 3, 2006
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/525802.html
Nova Scotia MP Peter Stoffer is at odds with his party leader’s stance on Afghanistan.
NDP Leader Jack Layton said Thursday that Canada should pull its troops out of Afghanistan by February, arguing the mission is not associated with any "comprehensive strategy to achieve peace."
But Mr. Stoffer doesn’t share that view.
"I think just to ask for a pullout right now may be a bit early," the Sackville-Eastern Shore MP said Friday.
Parliamentarians need to work together and with the international community to come up with a plan for the future of Afghanistan, he said.
"You just can’t say, ‘Well, we’re going to stay in Afghanistan for two more years’ without a plan. And I don’t think you can say, ‘We’ll pull out right away or in February’ without a plan. I think both elements of that discussion should be more comprehensive in their approach."
Mr. Stoffer seemed comfortable opposing Mr. Layton’s view, even as more than 1,500 delegates prepared for an NDP policy convention next week in Quebec City.
"It’s not the first time I’ve disagreed with the leader on a particular subject," he said.
Mr. Stoffer’s opinion on the Afghanistan mission is shared by the father of a soldier killed there
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District chief killed by militants in S. Afghanistan
September 02, 2006
http://english.people.com.cn/200609/02/eng20060902_299137.html
Suspected Taliban militants killed a district chief in the central Ghazni province of Afghanistan, an official told Xinhua Saturday.
Some Taliban suspects Friday ambushed a vehicle carrying Habibullah Khan, Muqur district chief, who was on his way from the district to Ghazni city, the provincial capital, said Abudul Ali Fakuri, the spokesman for Ghazni province.
The district chief was killed in the ambush, and his two bodyguards were injured, Fakuri added.
Ghazni police chief Tafseer Khan said some policemen rushed to the spot, but the militants had fled.
A search for the attackers is under way, but so far no one has been arrested.
Ghazni province has witnessed quite a few attacks on Afghan officials and the U.S.-led coalition forces over the past four months.
Afghanistan is suffering from a rise of Taliban-linked insurgence this year, during which over 1,900 people, mostly Taliban rebels, have been killed.
Source: Xinhua
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Afghan drug fight has failed: US
By Our Correspondent WASHINGTON, Sept 1
http://www.dawn.com/2006/09/02/top17.htm
The US-backed strategy to fight Afghanistan’s massive drug trade has failed and the country is expected to have a bumper opium crop this year, the US State Department said on Friday.
It is a real source of concern not only for the Afghans but the international community, the departments spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters in Washington.
At a separate briefing, also at the State Department, Thomas Schweich, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for international narcotics, conceded that opium cultivation in Afghanistan is expected to hit record levels this year.
The trade in illicit drug was preventing Afghanistan from getting on its feet and developing an economy that can plug in to the modern world, said Mr McCormack.
Western officials in Afghanistan are forecasting a possible 40 per cent increase this year in land under opium poppy cultivation, despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent in counter-narcotics efforts. Afghanistan produces more than 90 percent of the world’s opium and heroin supply.
I’m not here to put a happy face on this situation. I’m not going to say anything is truly working,” Mr Schweich said. It’s not a catastrophic failure, but it’s no success either. It needs refinement and it needs improvement.”
Mr Schweich did not have specifics on how much opium production numbers would likely rise in an upcoming report by the UN anti-drug agency. But he said US officials were prepared for a significant increase.
The high numbers, he said, were partly a reflection of a drug strategy that was only started last year. Funds for farmers to pursue livelihoods other than poppy production were distributed in a ‘spotty manner, he said.
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Iraq & Afghanistan: Warning of A Serious Crisis Ahead
by Swaraaj Chauhan
http://www.themoderatevoice.com/posts/1157176294.shtml
If this is not another moment of crisis in American history then what would be.
Here is the fighting/intelligence arm of the American nation virtually informing the lawmakers of the USA the futility of continuing the war in Iraq. Yet another report from the Associated Press highlights the failure of the U.S.-backed strategy to fight Afghanistan's massive drug trade.
The Pentagon - the nerve centre of the United States Department of Defense charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the military - has without mincing words informed the Congress of the near futility of the Iraq war. And this is not the first time!!! Tragically, the warnings are falling on deaf ears.
If you read the Pentagon report carefully you would find that while it is pointing at the dangers inherent in staying on in Iraq, the Bush administration seems to have 'forced' the Army Commanders to increase the number of troops in Iraq.
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Extremists Damage Afghan School; Multiple Bombs Discovered
American Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, Sep. 1, 2006
http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=669
Extremists severely damaged a co-ed school in Afghanistan’s Paktika province today with a makeshift bomb, U.S. military officials reported.
The munition caused major damage to the roof and most of the inside of the Malekshay School, whose grand-opening ceremony was scheduled for next week. No one was in the school at the time of the explosion.
Afghan National Police secured the area and are investigating the incident. A coalition explosive ordnance disposal team was sent to investigate the site.
“This is one more extremist attack on the education system in Afghanistan,” said Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick, Combined Joint Task Force 76 spokesman. “They recognize that knowledge is power and would prefer the general public remain ignorant so they can't challenge their oppressive ways. We will continue to support and strengthen educational opportunities for all Afghans so that they may be empowered to improve their own lives and the future of their country.”
In other news from Afghanistan, a chain of four makeshift bombs was discovered and destroyed by coalition forces in Paktika province yesterday.
The first bomb was discovered on the side of a road, and a U.S. explosive ordnance disposal team examined the device and detonated it in place, revealing three more bombs, which had been placed 10 to 15 feet apart in the middle of the road. Those bombs were also destroyed in place.
“Coalition forces have once again neutralized the threat of roadside bombs in Afghanistan,” Fitzpatrick said. “An increasing number of improvised explosive devices are being discovered by coalition forces or turned in to Afghan security forces before they can be used to harm others.”
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MoD names killed British troops
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/5310718.stm
The Ministry of Defence has named the 14 UK military personnel who died when their plane crashed in Afghanistan.
The RAF Nimrod MR2 crashed on Saturday, killing 12 air personnel from 120 Squadron based at RAF Kinloss in Moray, Scotland, a Royal Marine and a soldier.
Wing Commander Martin Cannard, of 120 Squadron, said the victims were "great guys" and it was a "profound loss".
An inquiry has begun to find out why the reconnaissance aircraft came down. A technical fault has been blamed.
The dead are honoured
The 12 RAF personnel were named on Sunday evening as: Flight Lt Steven Johnson, Flt Lt Leigh Anthony Mitchelmore, Flt Lt Gareth Rodney Nicholas, Flt Lt Allan James Squires, Flt Lt Steven Swarbrick, Flt Sgt Gary Wayne Andrews, Flt Sgt Stephen Beattie, Flt Sgt Gerard Martin Bell and Flt Sgt Adrian Davis.
Also named were Sergeant Benjamin James Knight, Sgt John Joseph Langton and Sgt Gary Paul Quilliam.
The soldier who died was Lance Corporal Oliver Simon Dicketts from the Parachute Regiment and the Royal Marine was named as Joseph David Windall.
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Afghan leaders discuss plans for future in Khost Province
By Air Force Master Sgt. David Byron CJTF-76 public affairs Sept. 1, 2006
http://www.cfc-a.centcom.mil/Features/2006/09-September/Afghan%20leaders%20discuss%20plans%20for%20future%20in%20Khost%20Province.htm
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Officials from the Afghan central and provincial governments, along with Coalition forces participated in a Shura in Khowst City on Aug. 24.
A Shura is a council meeting of area leaders. The Khowst meeting included Arsala Jamal, the provincial governor, and provincial line directors and council members from throughout Khost Province.
Also attending were Eshan Zia, Afghanistan’s minister of rural rehabilitation and development, and Canadian Brig. Gen. Daniel Pepin, Combined Joint Task Force-76 deputy commanding general for effects.
“This was not a Coalition-driven meeting,” said Pepin. “We simply provided support and guidance to make it happen.”
The meeting’s primary purpose was to demonstrate the central government’s support for Governor Jamal. This included discussing the governor’s plans and priorities for reconstruction and the effective use of the Provincial Development Council. The event demonstrated cooperation between the different levels of government.
Zia reinforced the central government’s support and commitment to Jamal’s future plans for the province.
Discussions were productive and Shura members were supportive of the new governor and his vision for Khost, said those in attendance.
Pepin reiterated to those in attendance that the Coalition is not the only organization that can bring about reconstruction. He explained that various levels of Afghan government and several non-governmental organizations truly want to assist in fostering progress in the region.
“The PRT can facilitate bringing these organizations together for the betterment of the province,” Pepin said. “But the Coalition can only support, not carry out, these plans.”
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NCE helps Afghan women get to school
Aug. 29, 2006 By Army Sgt. Mayra Kennedy 345th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
http://www.cfc-a.centcom.mil/Features/2006/08-August/NCE%20helps%20Afghan%20women%20get%20to%20school.htm
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – The U.S. National Command Element here donated two mini-vans to the Albironi Institute of Information and Technology on Aug. 16, only weeks after a needs assessment of the school was made by the 405th Civil Affairs unit.
Army Col. R-Stephen Williams, 207th Infantry Brigade and NCE commander from the Alaska National Guard, along with members of the NCE staff delivered the mini-vans.
Williams explained that after completing a review on the Albironi institute, he was anxious to help out right away.
"We went to the school and spoke to the education minister and decided that it would be great to provide them with school materials and equipment," said Williams, from Chugiak, Alaska. "We found they needed some type of transportation to drive the women around, mainly for security. We thought, if we can get them two vehicles, the school could pick them up in areas where there may be a security concern.”
These vehicles will provide safe and reliable transportation to the school for the women; enabling them to get the education they seek. Presently, the institute instructs girls from age six to women in their 40s.
"There are many brave women here putting themselves out there who realize that there are opportunities for them," he said. “It was pretty exciting to see these women who have never had the opportunity to get an education during the Taliban regime to try to learn English, read and write and work on computers.”
The NCE also donated school supplies and two stationary bikes for the students at the Albironi institute. Williams commented that in addition to the transportation issue, women at the institute expressed their interest in getting in shape and being healthy.
"The women wanted to have a gym so they could get in shape,” he said. “They sounded just like American women.”
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Afghanistan Suicide Bombings Take Mostly Civilian Toll
American Forces Press Service KABUL, Afghanistan, Sep. 3, 2006
http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=678
Civilians make up more than 84 percent of the people killed by suicide bombers throughout Afghanistan this year, military officials here reported today.
As of Aug. 12, officials at Combined Forces Command Afghanistan said, 105 out of the 124 people killed by suicide bombers were civilians.
During that period, five coalition servicemembers were killed, while 14 Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police were killed. The other 105 suicide-bombing fatalities were innocent civilians, officials said.
“This is what the Taliban extremists offer the people of Afghanistan – death and destruction,” said Army Col. Thomas Collins, coalition forces spokesman. “These suicide bombers place no value on human life and continue to threaten the safety of the Afghan people. They hide behind the mask of being devout, but nowhere in the Koran does it say the killing of innocent civilians is justified.”
Collins said that Taliban extremists purposely inflict death and destruction on their own people and show no remorse for their actions. “Their blatant disregard for human life cannot be justified under any circumstance,” he said.
(From a Combined Forces Command Afghanistan news release.)
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