The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread (September 2007)

[GAP]

The Sandbox and Areas Reports Thread (September 2007)   

News only - commentary elsewhere, please.
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Articles found September 1, 2007

Paratroopers Take Fight to Taliban During Operation Destined Strike
By Sgt. Brandon Aird, USA Special to American Forces Press Service
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WASHINGTON, Sept. 1, 2007 – The tense paratroopers and Afghan National Army soldiers sat in silence surrounded by darkness.

The previous hours were spent huddled together rehearsing the mission, "Destined Strike," which was to be an air-assault into the Taliban's backyard.

The whoop, whoop, whoop sound of the CH-47 "Chinook" helicopter's rotary wings reverberated in the soldiers' ears drowning out all chance of another sound. Some of the soldiers said last minute prayers while others day dreamed of loved ones back home. Squad leaders made last minute checks in the dark.

When the Chinook landed all thoughts came to the task at hand. The soldiers jumped off the noisy helicopter onto a quiet, moon-lit mountain above the Chowkay Valley in Kunar province. The mountain is over 7,000 feet above sea level.

The Taliban's biggest advantage in past fire fights has been their ability to dominate the high ground, but not this time.

Soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team’s 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment and elements of the Afghan National Army’s 2nd Kandak, 201st Corps, conducted Operation Destined Strike August 21-25. The U.S. soldiers were members of the 2nd platoons of the 2nd Battalion’s A, C and D companies.

"We came here to show the local populace that coalition forces aren't afraid to come into the Chowkay Valley," said Army 1st Lt. Kareem F. Hernandez, Company A 2nd Platoon leader.

After the initial insertion, the soldiers pulled security and waited for daybreak. During the night, they searched with night vision devices for 15 individuals spotted earlier near their position by an unmanned aerial vehicle.

Once dawn broke, the U.S. and Afghan soldiers put their gear-laden rucksacks on, and broke trail down the mountain to the first farming village. The village and fields were hand cut out of the mountain side.

Hernandez said he was surprised at the reaction he received from the first villager he encountered.

"It was the first time in this country I had someone admit he knew who the Taliban were. He showed me where they had been coming through to attack us,” Hernandez said. “I've never had that happen before. They always act like they have no clue what I'm talking about."
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Articles found Sept 2 , 2007

Canada spending $29M on IED detectors
By MARTIN OUELLET, CP August 29, 2007
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KANDAHAR -- Now almost powerless against roadside bombs, Canadian soldiers soon will have more protection from specialized vehicles to detect, unearth and neutralize them.

Improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, have become the biggest threat facing Canadian troops in recent months, as Afghan insurgents adapt their tactics.

Now Canada is buying 16 vehicles from the U.S. Army, with deliveries starting in October, for $29.6 million.

"They will be the first vehicles of their kind for the Canadian army," said Brig-Gen. Guy Laroche, Canada's commander in Afghanistan.

Of the 69 Canadian soldiers killed since 2002, more than half -- 38 -- have died as a result of roadside bombs, mines or suicide attacks.

"As we know, most of the casualties that we've had in the past few months have been essentially due to IEDs, so having equipment like that will be great," Laroche said.

Canada is buying six Husky vehicles that can detect mines buried under or at the side of roads, while the five Buffalo vehicles on order will dig them up using extended arms and cameras.

Rounding out the team will be five Cougar vehicles, capable of neutralizing bombs.

The vehicles are expected to make the situation a bit safer.
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Afghan police can't hold areas once ally forces leave
Taliban return to area lost last year
Sept. 1, 2007, 9:49PM By DAVID ROHDE New York Times
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KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN — Over the past six weeks, the Taliban have driven government forces out of roughly half of a strategic area in southern Afghanistan that U.S. and NATO officials declared a success story last fall in their campaign to clear out insurgents and make way for development programs, Afghan officials say.

A year after Canadian and U.S. forces drove hundreds of Taliban fighters from the Panjwai and Zhare districts southwest of Kandahar, the rebels are back and have adopted new tactics. Carrying out guerrilla attacks after NATO troops partly withdrew in July, they overran isolated police posts and are now operating in areas where they can mount attacks on Kandahar, the south's largest city.


Southern stalemate
The setback is part of a bloody stalemate that has occurred between NATO troops and Taliban fighters across southern Afghanistan this summer. NATO and Afghan army soldiers can push the Taliban out of rural areas, but the Afghan police are too weak to hold the territory after the soldiers withdraw. At the same time, the Taliban are unable to take large towns and have generally mounted fewer suicide bomb attacks in southern cities than last summer.
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British war on Afghan drugs 'complete failure': vice-president
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LONDON (AFP) — Britain's battle against the drugs trade in southern Afghanistan has been a total failure, the troubled country's vice-president said Sunday.

The drugs eradication policy is simply too soft and it is time to get tough, Ahmad Zia Massoud wrote in the British weekly newspaper The Sunday Telegraph.

Poppy cultivation was Afghanistan's problem best left for Kabul to sort out, said the younger brother of iconic slain warrior Ahmad Shah Massoud.

"I have no doubt that the efforts of Britain and the international community in fighting the opium trade in Afghanistan are well-intentioned and we are grateful for their support," he wrote.

"But it is now clear that your policy in the south of our country has completely failed.

"Hundreds of millions of pounds have been spent over the last five years, the UK contributing 262 million pounds (528 million dollars), the United States about 1.6 billion dollars.

"Yet United Nations figures show that opium production increased by 34 percent last year and more than doubled in the last two years.

"In Helmand, where the British are based, poppies have spread like a cancer. The province now produces half of Afghanistan's opium."
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British troops hunt the Taliban in Afghanistan
Last Updated: 12:27pm BST 02/09/2007Page 1 of 3
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Defence Correspondent Sean Rayment and photographer Justin Sutcliffe join the men of The Royal Anglian Regiment as they scour the Upper Sangin Valley in Afghanistan.

From the moment we left the compound, the Taliban knew the British were coming.

In the dead of night, spies watched from darkened alleys as the infantry column abandoned the relative safety of Patrol Base Inkerman, one of the most isolated in northern Helmand.

"We know the infidels have left, we are ready for them," one Taliban commander was boasting, Army Intelligence reported.

It was confirmation, if any was needed, that the enemy would stand and fight. In the Sangin Valley they always do.

The troops from the 1st battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment, accompanied by The Sunday Telegraph, were heading into the notorious "Green Zone", a fertile 20-mile strip beside the Helmand River where the opium poppy is grown in abundance, and 350 hardened Taliban fighters regard it as their turf.
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Afghan Police Are Set Back as Taliban Adapt
By DAVID ROHDE September 2, 2007
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Over the past six weeks, the Taliban have driven government forces out of roughly half of a strategic area in southern Afghanistan that American and NATO officials declared a success story last fall in their campaign to clear out insurgents and make way for development programs, Afghan officials say.

A year after Canadian and American forces drove hundreds of Taliban fighters from the area, the Panjwai and Zhare districts southwest of Kandahar, the rebels are back and have adopted new tactics. Carrying out guerrilla attacks after NATO troops partly withdrew in July, they overran isolated police posts and are now operating in areas where they can mount attacks on Kandahar, the south’s largest city.

The setback is part of a bloody stalemate that has occurred between NATO troops and Taliban fighters across southern Afghanistan this summer. NATO and Afghan Army soldiers can push the Taliban out of rural areas, but the Afghan police are too weak to hold the territory after they withdraw. At the same time, the Taliban are unable to take large towns and have generally mounted fewer suicide bomb attacks in southern cities than they did last summer.

The Panjwai and Zhare districts, in particular, highlight the changing nature of the fight in the south. The military operation there in September 2006 was the largest conventional battle in the country since 2002. But this year, the Taliban are avoiding set battles with NATO and instead are attacking the police and stepping up their use of roadside bombs, known as improvised explosive devices or I.E.D.’s.
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Alleged Pakistani bomb-makers detained in Afghanistan
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) — Authorities in Afghanistan said Sunday they had detained four Pakistanis on suspicion of helping insurgents build bombs, as new blasts killed three soldiers and wounded a dozen people.

The alleged militants were seized on Friday in the southern city of Kandahar soon after they arrived from Chaman, a town just across the border in Pakistan, intelligence official Abdul Qayoum Katawazi told AFP.

"On a tip-off we captured four Pakistanis who are experts in making suicide-bombing vests and remote-controlled bombs," Katawazi told AFP.

He would not provide further details, citing an ongoing investigation.

Afghan officials say Taliban insurgents are being aided by extremist circles in Pakistan.

Roadside bombs and Iraq-style suicide explosions have become key tactics for the Al-Qaeda-linked rebels, who have intensified their attacks as part of a bloody insurgency they are waging against the government in Kabul.
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[GAP]

Articles found September 4, 2007

Canadian soldiers sweep Afghan village, hunt for insurgent bomb makers
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) — Canadian soldiers used the cover of darkness early Monday morning to sweep through an Afghan village where they thought enemy insurgents had regained a foothold.

It was a relatively uneventful mission, much to the relief of military officials.

But the mission was an example of what Canadian soldiers are up against in this sunbaked expanse of sand and rock in southern Afghanistan.

Last year at this time, Canada took the lead in a major NATO offensive called Operation Medusa, driving the Taliban out of strategic positions around Kandahar city and the surrounding area.

It was an offensive that cost a dozen Canadian lives.

NATO secured much of the area and later turned it over to Afghan government forces. Now, however, insurgents have returned to several areas previously won by NATO, and Canadian troops have had to sweep the area again.

"The intent was to disrupt IED makers," Capt. Josee Bilodeau, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Forces, said of Monday's mission. "They found nothing, so it was a success."

Improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, are the biggest threats for international troops in Afghanistan.

Of the 70 Canadian soldiers who have died in the war in Afghanistan, 38 were killed by roadside bombs, mines or suicide attacks.

Operation Balye Deweh - which means Operation Light Candle in English - began at 4:30 a.m. Monday morning in the area around Patrol Base Wilson, about 25 kilometres west of Kandahar city. By 7:35 a.m. soldiers had swept through the sleepy village of Makuan without encountering any enemy combatants.

But Zhari district, along with the Panjwaii district to the south, have been traditional Taliban strongholds and the insurgents have made a violent return, launching attacks against NATO forces and civilians alike.
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Taliban back in strategic areas around Kandahar
Richard Foot  CanWest News Service  Monday, September 03, 2007
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OTTAWA -- Taliban insurgents have re-occupied strategically important areas around the city of Kandahar, including ground won by Canadian forces in deadly, hard-fought battles last year, according to a report published Sunday in The New York Times.

"The setback is part of a bloody stalemate that has occurred between NATO troops and Taliban fighters across southern Afghanistan this summer," says the report on the front page of the influential newspaper.

After Canadian troops gained control of Panjwai district last fall, they withdrew from parts of the area and left largely ineffectual Afghan government forces in their place.

This summer, however, insurgents have re-infiltrated the district and overrun police-held bases or checkpoints. In one such attack on Aug. 7, police called for help from Canadian forces but none came for several hours, until after 16 policemen were dead, says the report.
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Justice fails Afghan women 
By  Aunohita Mojumdar in Kabul
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Many female prisoners face rejection by their
families after their release [File: EPA]

Afghanistan is building new jails for women. Though there are only 300 female prisoners now, that number is expected to grow.

While there are no signs of a crime wave, one of the reasons for the increase is an unlikely one.

Lacking in transitional houses for released prisoners, a suggested solution includes using jails as secure places where women can stay until they are reintegrated into society.

By some strange logic, funding for building jails is much easier to come by. But again, half of the women in jail should not be there at all.

Imprisoned for what are loosely described as "moral crimes", these women would qualify as victims rather than criminals under any interpretation of international human rights laws, including those to which Afghanistan is a signatory.

A report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on Afghanistan's female prisoners and their social reintegration drew attention to their dismal condition in a country where women face acute discrimination.

Not only are an estimated half victims themselves, but they are further victimised by the criminal justice process.
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Mortar team to take on Taliban
September 04, 2007
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AN army mortar team will soon deploy to Afghanistan as Australian ground forces take up the fight to Taliban insurgents and better protect patrolling troops.

Defence Minister Brendan Nelson yesterday confirmed a section of 12 men, all mortar specialists, from the 2nd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment would leave for the Australian base at Tarin Kowt in Oruzgan province.

The Afghanistan reinforcements come as British forces pulled out of Basra city this week as part of a final phased handover to Iraqi security forces.

The decision to send mortars followed a request by Australian commanders on the ground for additional firepower to protect the diggers, Dr Nelson said yesterday.

"After consultation with defence chiefs, the Government has authorised the deployment of a 12-man, 81mm mortar section to Afghanistan to support the RTF (Reconstruction Task Force) operations," Dr Nelson said.

"The mortars will provide accurate offensive support for RTF operations and will be employed within the existing rules of engagement to Australian troops in Afghanistan."

The army's M-252 mortar is a highly accurate muzzle-loading high-angle-of-fire weapon, capable of long-range indirect support fire or close-in fire support.

A crew of five is required to operate the weapon, which can fire high explosive or white phosphorous rounds out to a maximum distance of 5.6km for either target marking or to break up an enemy attack.

The heightened security tension follows a warning last week by Dr Nelson to Dutch MPs that any decision to remove their troops from Oruzgan - where they have been providing security for the Australians - could lead to an early Australian withdrawal.

Dr Nelson said yesterday the Dutch were discussing the possibility of finding other NATO partners to replace any troops they withdraw from Tarin Kowt.
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Canada should pull troops from Afghanistan now & lead push for peace:Layton
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TORONTO (CP) — Federal NDP Leader Jack Layton is repeating his call for Canada to safely and securely withdraw its troops from Afghanistan now and take the lead in forging peace talks to end the bloodshed there.

Layton told The Canadian Press on Monday in Toronto where he attended the Labour Day parade that the military mission, which is scheduled to run out in February 2009, isn't accomplishing increased security in Afghanistan.

He said he wants to see Canada take the lead in a comprehensive peace process.

"Canada's voice and reputation as a country that can lead in peace negotiations and discussions should be used here instead of using the approach that emerged from the White House," said Layton.

"That's what should be happening now so that we can work towards a ceasefire so that aid and reconstruction can actually happen, and not be undone shortly after it's been accomplished."
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Tories getting wires crossed, Dion says
CAMPBELL CLARK  From Tuesday's Globe and Mail September 4, 2007 at 4:15 AM EDT
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OTTAWA — The Conservative government is muddying the debate on Afghanistan to assuage public opinion while hiding its true intentions, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion charged yesterday.

The government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper is sending signals and hints to suggest that it does not expect to extend the combat-heavy Kandahar mission past 2009, but refuses to make unequivocal official statements to its allies and Canadians, Mr. Dion argued.

The oft-repeated promise of a vote in Parliament on Canada's future on Afghanistan is particularly confusing because the Harper government will not say what the question will be, or even which side it will take, he said.

"How will they vote on their own vote?" Mr. Dion asked in an interview yesterday. "Why don't they say that today?
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Carter assails Bush for abandoning Afghanistan
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OTTAWA: Former US president Jimmy Carter has criticised George W. Bush for the way he has handled Afghanistan, resulting in resurgence of Taliban militants and record poppy cultivation in the Central Asian country.

The prevailing situation in Afghanistan is one of the proofs of mistakes that America has made in the last few years," said Carter, who was US president when Russians invaded Afghanistan. He was addressing a presidential campaign meeting in Americus, Georgia,.

Sharing the stage with Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards at the Georgia Southwestern State University, Carter said instead of facing head on the Taliban and other terrorists with full force, the Bush administration abandoned Afghanistan and moved troop and money to Iraq. This, he said, was a terrible mistake.

"I fully supported the US invasion of Afghanistan, expecting the government to concentrate there and to remove the Taliban from control of the country and to establish a real democracy in Afghanistan that all the world could have been looking at with pride, Carter remarked.

"Instead, as you know, we abandoned Afghanistan and moved our troops and our emphasis and our money and everything else over into Iraq, he said.
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From north to south, NATO faces mounting challenges across Afghanistan
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MAYMANA, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan police officer leaned over a tray laden with pistachios and cubes of chilled watermelon to make his point to NATO's supreme commander.

"The enemy are attacking with machine guns and rocket launchers, and we can reply only with rifles," complained Col. Sayad Yakub Khan. "We don't have the capacity to respond."

Even in relatively prosperous parts of Afghanistan spared the worst of the violence that has curbed economic development, the mission to reconstruct the war-shattered country faces a raft of problems, nearly six years after the Taliban regime were toppled.

NATO chiefs report progress in combating a resurgent Taliban, yet an ineffective Afghan police force, spiralling drugs production and criticism of the military alliance over rising civilian deaths all present major headaches to the western-backed mission to stabilize the country.

"It's like three-dimensional chess in a dark room, and you have gloves on," is how Gen. John Craddock - the commander of all NATO operations, including the 40,000 allied troops in Afghanistan - described NATO's task during a visit to the country last week.

The discontented Afghan police officer was speaking in northwestern Faryab province, which borders Turkmenistan and is relatively peaceful and prosperous, far from the Taliban's heartlands in the south where NATO units clash daily with the insurgents.

Local officials praise NATO troops for helping open schools, pave roads and boosting the local economy. Yet recent months have seen a resurgence of attacks by insurgents infiltrating from the south. Targets include police posts, alliance troops and local civilians working with international development efforts, officials said.
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Taliban kidnapper killed in clashes: government Suicide attack, clashes kill more than 15 in Afghanistan
The Associated Press  Tuesday, September 4, 2007
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KABUL, Afghanistan: Afghan security forces killed a Taliban commander they alleged Tuesday to be behind the July kidnappings of 23 South Korean church workers. The Taliban denied the claim.

Up to 27 other insurgents were also slain, officials said, while separate suicide attacks killed three police officers.

The Taliban commander, named as Mullah Mateen, was among 16 militants killed in fighting late Monday and early Tuesday in Ghazni province, where the South Koreans were abducted and all but four of them freed last week, said Ghazni Deputy Gov. Kazim Allayar and a senior police officer. Two male hostages were killed, and two others, both female, were released last month.

The Taliban agreed to free the hostages during direct talks with South Korean government representatives that were widely seen as giving political legitimacy to the insurgent movement at a time of surging violence in the country.

South Korean was forced to publicly reiterate a long-standing commitment to withdraw its 200 troops from the country by year's end and promise to prevent Christian missionaries from traveling to the country.

Ghazni has seen several military operations since the release of the hostages, possibly reflecting a desire by the central government to stamp its authority on the rebellious region following the abductions.
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Pakistani Militants Hold Army Troops Hostage
By ISMAIL KHAN and CARLOTTA GALL PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Sept. 3
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Close to 300 Pakistani soldiers and officers have been held captive for four days after they were seized by pro-Taliban militants in a tribal region near the Afghan border without a shot being fired, government officials said Monday.

It was the first time government officials acknowledged that so many men had been captured and that they were being held hostage. The government has asked tribal elders to intercede to seek the release of the soldiers, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the embarrassment the capture has caused the government.

The militants have demanded that the military withdraw from the restive area of South Waziristan and release 15 of their men from government custody.

The capture of the soldiers on Thursday was a serious setback for the Pakistani military in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. It demonstrated the confidence of the militants in South Waziristan, one of seven Pakistani tribal regions that has been described as a virtual Taliban state, where the government has so little control that the military can move only with the consent of the local militants.
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U.S. Chopper Makes Unscheduled Landing; Taliban Attack Thwarted
American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Sept. 4, 2007
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A coalition helicopter made an unscheduled landing in Afghanistan today without injury to its crew or passengers, while Afghan and coalition forces thwarted a Taliban attack near Firebase Anaconda, in Oruzgun province, U.S. officials reported.
The CH-47 Chinook helicopter landed southeast of Khogyani, in Nangarhar province. The crew decided to land the helicopter as part of safe air operations. No injuries to the crew or passengers were reported. There’s no indication the aircraft was fired on by enemy forces or of enemy activity in the area where the helicopter landed, U.S. officials said. The incident is being investigated.

Elsewhere, coalition forces held off Taliban insurgents who fired 82 mm mortars that missed Firebase Anaconda, but impacted near the district center, not far from the coalition base. Afghan and U.S. troops used close-air support to repel the enemy. Ten insurgents, including a Taliban commander, were confirmed killed, officials said.

“The questionable tactics of the extremist Taliban leaders continued today,” said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, a Combined Joint Task Force 82 spokesman. “The indiscriminate firing by the enemies of peace and stability on areas populated with non-combatants highlights their ineptitude and explains why they absorb heavy casualties each time they attack this coalition firebase and its outposts.”

In other Afghanistan operations today, Afghan and coalition forces detained two men in Paktika province. Afghan and coalition forces also killed several suspected militants and wounded another during operations in Ghazni. Three men were detained. One detainee was wounded and treated on site. “Militants who engage our combined forces are fighting a losing battle,” Belcher said.
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Six US-hired militiamen killed in Afghanistan
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ASADABAD, Afghanistan (AFP) — Six Afghan militia fighters hired by US-led forces were killed in a landmine explosion in eastern Afghanistan blamed on Taliban guerillas, officials said Monday.

The six, who were working with coalition forces in the fight against the hardline Islamist movement, were killed late Sunday in Kunar province bordering Pakistan, police commander Abdul Sabour Allahyar said.

"A mine went off under their vehicle," Allahyar said, adding that four other militiamen were wounded in the blast. He blamed the attack on Taliban militants.

Kunar has been hit by a spike in violence which has left nearly 15 civilians dead this week.

In a separate incident in the southern province of Zabul, rebels late Sunday attacked a convoy of civilian trucks supplying foreign military bases, burning at least 16 vehicles, police and witnesses said.

The convoy containing some 50 trucks was travelling from Bagram Airbase, the main US military headquarters just north of Kabul, to the international military airbase in the southern city of Kandahar.
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‘Seoul Offered to Build Hospitals in Afghanistan’
2007 17:10 By Jung Sung-ki Staff Reporter
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South Korea made a promise to the Taliban to build five hospitals in the southwestern region of Afghanistan bordering with Pakistan, in return for the release of 19 Korean hostages, a report said Monday.

The report came amid a flurry of local and foreign news reports that Seoul had paid a huge ransom to the Islamic militant group to save the lives of the Christian missionary team kidnapped July 19, while traveling on a bus from Kabul to southern Kandahar.

Quoting an unidentified government source privy to the hostage crisis, the Munhwa Ilbo newspaper said South Korean negotiators made the verbal promise to build five small hospitals in southern Afghanistan in face-to-face talks with Taliban insurgents. Indonesia guaranteed the deal, it said.

``That (southern) region is governed by pro-Taliban Pashtun tribes, and leaders of tribes asked for the building of hospitals,'' the source was quoted as saying. ``While most Islamic countries were reluctant to be involved in the deal, Indonesia participated in the Korea-Taliban talks as an observer to guarantee the deal.''

The source said Seoul had sent a special envoy to notify the United States of the deal.

Other government officials, however, dismissed the report.

``It is impossible realistically to build hospitals in a region of conflict in another country. I haven't heard that such a deal was made,'' a government officials said, requesting to remain anonymous.

Despite denials by Korean government officials, Korean and foreign news media have raised suspicion about a ransom paid by Seoul to the Taliban.

An informed Afghan source told The Korea Times Sunday that the Taliban had received about $2 million with guarantees made by a third country.

Reuters reported that Seoul paid the Taliban more than $20 million.
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Documents Show Troops Disregarding Rules
By RYAN LENZ  Article Link


New documents released Tuesday regarding crimes committed by U.S. soldiers against civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan detail a troubling pattern of troops failing to understand and follow the rules that govern interrogations and deadly actions.

The documents, released by the American Civil Liberties Union ahead of a lawsuit, total nearly 10,000 pages of courts-martial summaries, transcripts and military investigative reports about 22 incidents. They show repeated examples of soldiers believing they were within the law when they killed local citizens.

The killings include the drowning of a man soldiers pushed from a bridge into the Tigris River as punishment for breaking curfew, and the suffocation during interrogation of a former Iraqi general believed to be helping insurgents.

In the suffocation, soldiers covered the man's head with a sleeping bag, then wrapped his neck with an electrical cord for a "stress position" they insisted was an approved technique.
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What Went Wrong for the Kidnapped?
09-02-2007 18:49 By Emal Pashtunyar Special to Korea Times
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KABUL _ As the 19 Church volunteers have reached Seoul after some 43 days of captivity in the insurgency-wracked Afghanistan, the hostage drama has left one prime question unanswered: Did they have enough knowledge about the situation in Afghanistan, the Afghan society and some red zones in this war-battered country?

Any sane person (foreigner), having little knowledge about the situation in Afghanistan, would never venture into the southern zone without taking an escort.

Furthermore, traveling in a group as large as 23 people with 18 women was the biggest mistake committed by the visitors.

Afghanistan, especially its southern zone, is considered dangerous even for local Afghans who are working with NGOs or the Afghan government. They travel to the southern zone from Kabul by using different ways and means to avoid harm at the hands of the Taliban on the long route from Kabul to Kandahar, which passes through the troubled provinces of Ghazni, Zabul and Helmand.

People, who have knowledge of the situation here, either change their transport at several points while traveling from Kabul to Kandahar or from Kandahar to Kabul; or avoid using public transport and hire private vehicles.

It seems the group of 23 were first-time visitors to Afghanistan and were completely oblivious of the situation here.
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Volleyball Unites Afghans, Americans
By Staff Sgt. Julie Weckerlein, USAF Special to American Forces Press Service
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FORWARD OPERATING BASE MEHTAR LAM, Afghanistan, Sept. 4, 2007 – Afghans and Americans bump, set and spike during weekly rounds of volleyball at this forward operating base in eastern Afghanistan, providing an opportunity for the local citizens to see U.S. airmen and soldiers in a setting different from that outside the wire. 


Air Force and Army provincial reconstruction team members living on and working out of forward operating base Mehtar Lam, located in eastern Afghanistan host a weekly volleyball game for area high school students invited from Laghman province's five districts, Aug. 26, 2007. The volleyball games are designed to give the students a chance to meet and interact with military members in a friendly atmosphere. Photo by Master Sgt. Jim Varhegyi, USAF 
(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

“They get to come here on the base and see us relaxed and in our (physical training) uniforms, a lot different than how we look when we are out on convoy,” said Army Sgt. 1st Class Frank Comer, a civil affairs specialist with the Laghman Provincial Reconstruction Team, who attends every game held in a sand pit here. “They get to see that we, too, enjoy a good game of volleyball.”

The airmen and soldiers are part of the Laghman PRT, which serves as an administrative unit of international aid to the area via reconstruction projects, humanitarian aid delivery, and security backed by national and coalition forces. The PRT engages with key government, military, village and religious leaders while monitoring important political, military and reconstruction development. Team members also make efforts to provide outreach to the citizens they’re helping.

Hence, the volleyball games, the brainchild of Army Staff Sgt. James Miller, another civil affairs specialist with the PRT. During the many convoys through various villages, Miller noticed a familiar trend: the youth were playing volleyball.
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[GAP]

Merkel Says German Afghanistan Aid Will Be Increased (Update1)
By Andreas Cremer Sept. 4 (Bloomberg)
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Germany will increase efforts to help rebuild Afghanistan, Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a speech that failed to address concerns in her ruling coalition on future military commitments to fighting Taliban insurgents.

The Cabinet, meeting in Berlin tomorrow, will discuss ``how to improve civil reconstruction and coordinate differing approaches more effectively,'' Merkel told a congress today of her Christian Democratic Union party in Hanau, near Frankfurt.

The so-called Afghanistan Concept, which is to be approved by Merkel's 16-member Cabinet of Christian and Social Democrat ministers, pledges to raise financial support for the Afghan civil rebuilding program to 125 million euros ($170 million) next year from 100 million euros, a Defense Ministry spokesman said on condition he not be identified.

Germany's ruling coalition parties, while united in backing more reconstruction aid, are split over a possible reduction in the more than 3,000 German military personnel stationed in Afghanistan, most of whom serve as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's forces. Lawmakers facing falling public support for the mission because of growing number of civilian abductions and terror attacks, have to vote in October and November on extending troop mandates.

Social Democrats including Deputy Foreign Minister Gernot Erler have said the government should consider dispatching more staff to train Afghan police and additional troops to protect the trainers. Yet Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung, a Christian Democrat, wants to trim the commitment of troops to the U.S.-led anti-terrorism mission Operation Enduring Freedom
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Canada sending more police trainers to Afghanistan
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OTTAWA (CP) — Canada's ambassador to Afghanistan and senior government officials have offered a barrage of statistics about the military mission there, hoping to shore up flagging support at home.

Arif Lalani said progress is being made toward building a civil society, and said security is improving in Kandahar province, as well as elsewhere throughout southern Afghanistan.

Speaking at a technical briefing in Ottawa via conference call, Lalani brushed aside reports that Canadian troops are battling to retake ground they fought for last year, saying there is always back and forth in a war.

Senior government officials say Canada will be sending 22 more civilian police officers to help train the Afghan National Police, who've been persistent targets of Taliban militants.

A development official highlighted a planned distribution of food aid to Afghans in the coming days, saying he hopes the media will take note of the event, which will take place within 500 metres of Kandahar Airfield.

But the official could not say whether the food is going to refugees or to the Afghan National Army camp, which is within 500 metres of NATO's principal southern base.
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Canadian military too focused on Afghanistan: report
Updated Tue. Sep. 4 2007 12:49 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff
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A new report written by three retired generals says the Canadian military has been too focused on the war in Afghanistan and not enough on other areas.

The report, leaked to the Ottawa Citizen, reportedly calls for greater balance in the military's focus and distribution of resources.

The Citizen says the report was written for Chief of Defence Staff Rick Hillier by three retired generals who were to examine the progress of the military's transformation according to Hillier's plans.

CTV's Steve Chao, reporting from Kandahar, Afghanistan, says the report suggests "Canada's military has very much been focused on the Afghan mission, however they have not been so focused on the homefront."

Canada Command was among four new commands created 18 months ago to look at security threats from abroad and to gather intelligence and support local police forces defending against terrorist threats.

However, "Canada Command has not been given the attention, they've been fighting for resources that the Afghan mission has been getting," Chao says. "So this report suggests that there needs to be more of a balance going on here in terms of resources, in terms of focus, and we'll likely see this in the upcoming months."

An emphasis on recruitment and new equipment was also part of Hillier's initial transformation plan, and along with the Afghan mission, it has also drawn resources away from the military's work at home, the newspaper reports.
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[GAP]

Articles found September 5, 2007

Two NATO soldiers dead in Afghanistan
Last Updated: Wednesday, September 5, 2007 | 8:08 AM ET  CBC News
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Two NATO soldiers were killed and a third was injured while on patrol in southern Afghanistan Wednesday, the alliance said. The soldiers' nationalities were not released.

The three soldiers were members of NATO's International Security Assistance Force, according to a statement released by the alliance. An Afghan interpreter was also injured.

No other details were provided by the alliance, and by policy ISAF will not reveal the nationality the killed soldiers before the relevant national authorities have had a chance to do so.

More than 20 insurgents were killed in air strikes and ground battles Tuesday and Wednesday, the statement also said. It was not clear if these incidents were related to the NATO casualties.

The fighting on Tuesday and Wednesday came after Afghan forces claimed to have killed a Taliban commander involved in the kidnapping of 23 South Korean church workers in central Afghanistan in July.
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Most Canadians back 'poppy for medicine' program: poll
Last Updated: Tuesday, September 4, 2007 | 5:03 PM ET  CBC News
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Eight in 10 Canadians support "poppy for medicine" projects in Afghanistan — programs that involve growing poppies for the manufacturing of opium used to make legal medications, an Ipsos Reid poll suggests.

The poll was conducted on behalf of the Senlis Council, a British think tank.

An Afghan police officer stands guard in poppy fields during a poppy eradication campaign east of Kabul, Afghanistan, on April 11, 2007. Afghanistan produced dramatically more opium in 2006, according to a recent UN report.
(AP) The plan aims to use the opium produced by Afghan farmers for the production of legal medicines, such as morphine and codeine tablets, which are in short supply, according to the Senlis Group.

Currently, Afghan farmers are cultivating poppies to generate much-needed income. However, they're selling them to produce raw opium, which is being sold to make illegal narcotics such as heroin. A recent UN survey found that opium cultivation in Kandahar is up by 26 per cent from 2006.

Under the plan, the legal cultivation and conversion of poppies would occur within Afghan villages and the entire production process, from seed to medicine tablet, would be controlled by the village in collaboration with the UN and international overseers.
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Ambassador optimistic about Canada's work in Afghanistan
ALAN FREEMAN Globe and Mail Update September 4, 2007 at 6:52 PM EDT
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OTTAWA — Seventy hand-pumps, 1,000 wells, 100 reservoirs, 650 kilometres of rehabilitated roads. These were just some of the accomplishments Canadian officials listed Tuesday as they briefed journalists on Canada's mission in Afghanistan.

In the first of what are promised to become monthly technical briefings on the Afghan mission, Canada's Ambassador to Afghanistan, Arif Lalani, and three senior officials who would not be named, painted a uniformly optimistic picture of the military and development situation in the country.

“There's been tremendous progress here,” said Mr. Lalani, adding that governance, security, policing and economic development have all improved. “I'm quite confident that we're going to continue to make progress.”

Only when journalists asked about reports that the Taliban have effectively taken back half of the strategic territory in the Panjwai and Zhari districts that Canadian and other NATO troops seized a year ago did the officials concede that everything may not be going to plan.

One official admitted that while the Afghan National Army is improving, “when we look at the national police, there is still work to be done.” He added that the situation can be difficult in isolated locations, and that it is important to make sure that checkpoints are maintained and supported.

In fact, reports from the front say checkpoints that Canadian forces once manned have been abandoned after being passed to the Afghan police.

Mr. Lalani dismissed concerns about the loss of territory, saying, “There is always a back and forth.” Another official responded that “progress is always measured in time.”

Yet another official said it is recognized that the national police are behind the Afghan army in terms of progress.
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Afghanistan plays down Chinese arms concerns
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* Defence ministry says not aware of any Chinese weapons reaching Taliban

KABUL: Afghanistan’s government played down Tuesday reported concerns about Chinese weapons finding their way to Taliban rebels waging a growing insurgency.

The defence ministry said it did not have evidence of Chinese arms supplied to the Taliban. The president’s office added that if such weapons were in Afghanistan, they were likely coming via groups “known” to support the rebels - a reference to those in neighbouring Pakistan said to aid the insurgents.

The BBC reported Tuesday that Britain had privately complained to Beijing that Chinese-made weapons were being used by the Taliban in Afghanistan, where nearly 7,000 British troops are aiding the fight against the insurgents. The broadcaster said it had been told that on several occasions Chinese arms have been recovered after attacks on British and American troops by Afghan insurgents. It did not name its sources.
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Lawsuit demands US reveal civilian deaths in Iraq, Afghanistan
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WASHINGTON (AFP) — A US civil rights group filed a lawsuit Tuesday demanding the American military release documents about civilians killed by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, accusing the government of trying to hide the human cost of war.

The American Civil Liberties Union's legal move came after a request for documents related to civilian deaths under the country's Freedom of Information laws was rebuffed by the US Navy, the Air Force and Marines. The US Army complied with the ACLU's year-old request.

The group has already released thousands of documents obtained from the army showing compensation claims from families whose loved ones were killed by stray bullets or in traffic accidents in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On Tuesday, the ACLU released thousands of additional documents revealing court martial proceedings and military investigations in cases in which US soldiers were accused -- and often acquitted -- of killing civilians intentionally or through negligence.

In its suit filed in federal court in Washington, the ACLU -- citing the public's legal right to information held by the government -- demands the Pentagon release "all records relating to the killing of civilians by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan since January 1, 2005."
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At least 20 insurgents killed in Afghanistan
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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Two NATO soldiers were killed while on patrol in restive southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, while more than 20 suspected insurgents were reported to have died in coalition airstrikes and ground battles, authorities said.

The fighting on Tuesday and Wednesday came after Afghan forces claimed to have killed a Taliban commander involved in the kidnapping of 23 South Korean church workers in central Afghanistan in July.

Taliban-led militants are waging a bloody resistance campaign against the Western-supported government of President Hamid Karzai, which replaced the hard-line Islamic militia after the U.S. invasion in 2001.

The two dead soldiers were from NATO's International Security Assistance Force, the alliance said in a statement. It said another ISAF soldier and an interpreter were injured but gave no more details, including the soldiers' nationalities.

Afghan and coalition soldiers in Shah Wali Kot district, in southern Kandahar province, came under attack while on patrol Tuesday. They fought back before calling in air support, a coalition statement said.
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Germany eyes long-term role in Afghanistan: document
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BERLIN (AFP) — Germany believes its troops should remain in Afghanistan until the country can take care of its own security needs, according to an internal government document obtained by AFP.

The document was prepared by the defence, foreign, interior and overseas development ministries for the cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of a vote in the German parliament in October.

The parliament is expected to approve a renewal of the mandatefed intense pressure from its NATO partners to send troops to southern Afghanistan where the fighting is most heaviest.

Most German troops are serving within the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) force in the relatively peaceful north of the country and help to train the Afghan police force.

Germany has also sent Tornado reconnaissance planes to help US-led forces hunting the Taliban.

In the five years since it deployed in Afghanistan after the Taliban regime was ousted, Germany has lost 25 soldiers, three police officers and four civilians.
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Canada sending more police trainers to Afghanistan
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OTTAWA (CP) — Canada's ambassador to Afghanistan and senior government officials have offered a barrage of statistics about the military mission there, hoping to shore up flagging support at home.

Arif Lalani said progress is being made toward building a civil society, and said security is improving in Kandahar province, as well as elsewhere throughout southern Afghanistan.

Speaking at a technical briefing in Ottawa via conference call, Lalani brushed aside reports that Canadian troops are battling to retake ground they fought for last year, saying there is always back and forth in a war.

Senior government officials say Canada will be sending 22 more civilian police officers to help train the Afghan National Police, who've been persistent targets of Taliban militants.

A development official highlighted a planned distribution of food aid to Afghans in the coming days, saying he hopes the media will take note of the event, which will take place within 500 metres of Kandahar Airfield.

But the official could not say whether the food is going to refugees or to the Afghan National Army camp, which is within 500 metres of NATO's principal southern base.
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[GAP]

The stink of our failure
By CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD  Wednesday, September 5, 2007 – Page A1
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KANADAHAR, AFGHANISTAN -- I left Kandahar yesterday for the fourth time in 18 months. For the first time, I left filled with shame.

On the micro level, it was because a story that unfolded before a trusty colleague of mine, Steve Chao of CTV, was fresh in my mind. Mr. Chao was at Patrol Base Wilson, a Canadian base in the Taliban heartland of Zhari district, last weekend, and was interviewing a local Afghan National Police chief when, off in the distance, came the telltale smoke of a roadside bomb.

A U.S. private security truck escorting a tanker had been blown up, and its men and the ANP travelling with them were now under fire. The police chief, Colonel Gulam Rasool Aka, impeccably starched and dressed and to all appearances a good policemen (there are more of these than you would think), was on the phone to his guys taking fire. As Mr. Chao watched, a Canadian came out of a command post to ask what was going on. Col. Aka told him and asked if the Canadians could help; the man said, "Keep me informed," and disappeared back into the CP.

For all the problems that bedevil the ANP, and they are legion, not being able to rely on their Canadian allies traditionally has not been one of them.

Now, on this day at least it was, and though there may be good reason why and there's no doubt the Canadians cannot ride to the rescue of the alternately beleaguered and inept ANP every time, it still grated because I remember a time, last year, when Canadians were everyone's go-to boys.

But in a broader way, I left with the stink of failure in my nose.

The Canadian mission in Afghanistan is not failing, though its progress is measured some days in millimetres (my late father had a far better term for such a fine unit) and it is far from perfect.

Like those of the other donor nations whose dollars flood this place, Canada's effort in this country has suffered from a surfeit of good will and a lack of hard-nosed resolve to make funds contingent upon action on the internal corruption that is rife in Afghanistan and the fledgling government of President Hamid Karzai.

Rather, what stuck in my nostrils was a failure of nerve: Canada, I fear, has lost its collective stomach for this exercise. It's too tough, too hard, too damn slow, and the cost - 70 lives down and, as an Ottawa-datelined story I read yesterday jauntily noted, "and counting" - is too great.

The signs are everywhere.

Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion has pledged to quickly bring a motion to the House of Commons formally setting February, 2009, as the day Canada's combat role will end here. The NDP's Jack Layton is still demanding Canadian troops withdraw now, and has added the twist that Canada should take the lead in "peace talks" here.

Since the only group at war with Canada in Afghanistan is the Taliban and the warlords and narco-criminals who are their allies of convenience, I guess Mr. Layton means peace talks with them. Presumably, as the pundits are saying, Mr. Layton considers the Taliban's recent negotiations with South Korea - why, only two of those foolish but innocent hostages were murdered after all - is evidence of their new respectability.

And more tellingly, those in Ottawa skilled at reading the tea leaves of the Stephen Harper government suggest that the Conservatives have lost their appetite for this particular battle.

I hope they are wrong, but in light of what new Defence Minister Peter MacKay was last weekend telling CTV's Question Period, it's hard to remain optimistic. Mr. MacKay said that Canada's NATO allies have been reminded they "cannot count on our troops" after February of 2009, though he was quick to reassure Canadians that "the aid work and the diplomatic effort and presence will extend well beyond that."

Well, that is just a glorious crock.

The critics of this mission like to say there has never been an honest debate about it in Parliament, the suggestion that if only there had been, fighting troops would never have been sent here because the Canadian people always prefer to see their soldiers in peaceable roles. That may or may not be true, but that's certainly what public-opinion polls indicate and it's what Canadian politicians appear to mostly believe.

But if you thought the previous debates were a farce, the coming one may make them look full and forthright.

The truth is that in the south, including Kandahar province, which is the Canadian area of operations, there is barely an aid effort now, and that's with Canadian troops here in force.

That's not because Canadian soldiers haven't tried, or are overarmed mouth-breathers unable to grasp the delicate nuance of reconstruction and development work, the bleating of some NGOs notwithstanding. Soldiers are damned capable, better in my mind than the earnest folks at the aid agencies who claim to know best how to deliver help. And the troops have made a genuine difference in myriad small ways, which is how development really happens on the ground.

But the real aim here is to build the capacity of Afghans - in government, in its institutions such as the army and police and in politicians and district leaders - and that is painfully slow and barely visible work, especially when the good folks keep getting killed off and beheaded by those with whom Mr. Layton would conduct negotiations.

And it can't be done on any real scale until there's what everyone here calls security, by which they really mean someone has to regularly kick the snot out of the Taliban and their allies until they are reduced, as appears to be happening in Kandahar province, to suicide and roadside bombings and fleeting attacks, and eventually fewer of those, too.

That takes soldiers, and soldiers who are willing to fight, and suffer losses, and occasionally emerge with bloody noses. Canadian soldiers, including, most remarkably, the families of those who have died here, remain willing and committed. The Brits and Americans aside, none of Canada's NATO allies have shown much eagerness to step up to the plate, nor has anyone else.

So the truth of it is, if Parliament decides that, as Mr. MacKay put it, "our current configuration," meaning combat troops, will end in early 2009, no one should draw comfort from the promise that "the aid work" will continue merrily on. It won't. Neither is it likely another country will step up to fill the vacuum left by departing Canadian soldiers, and even if one does, they won't be as good at the hard work - of killing and being killed, as well as talking and building - as Canadians are. And Afghanistan will slide deeper into the chaos that as always is on a low boil, burbling within.

That's why I left Kandahar yesterday feeling ashamed. Where failure itself is often honourable, failing to stay the course is not, and that's what's in the air.

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[GAP]

Articles found September 6, 2007

Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan under fire for allegedly failing to support local police and army outposts
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An small controversy may be brewing in Afghanistan after a New York Times report set off a called into question Canada's effectiveness at co-operating with  Afghanistan's armed forces in our mission to bring stability and security to the troubled country. CanWest News Service reporter Mike Blanchfield sums up the hubbub here:

After Sunday's New York Times gave an account of the Aug. 7 incident, Kandahar's provincial police chief Syed Aqa Saqib paid a special visit to Brigadier-General Guy Laroche, the Canadian commander in Afghanistan, because he "feels horribly" that the published report portrayed him as blaming Canadian troops for the deaths of 16 of his officers, said a senior military spokesman.

"The provincial police chief has already been in to see Gen. Laroche because he's obviously concerned about how the article portrayed his comments," said Lieutenant-Colonel Jamie Robertson, a senior Defence Department spokesman.

"He went in to see him about it because it's not accurate at all."

Now, the New York Times story, by David Rhode, here, is a big feature about how the Taliban has regrouped and become resurgent in Southern Afghanistan, areas the Canadian and U.S. forces had cleared as of last year. It's not exactly an untold story, still the section Mr. Saqib would like to back off of is actually a pretty large part of the argument that it's the failure of communication and support between the NATO forces and the Afghan National Police and Army that's failing to contain the new Taliban tactics:

A year after Canadian and American forces drove hundreds of Taliban fighters from the area, the Panjwai and Zhare districts southwest of Kandahar, the rebels are back and have adopted new tactics. Carrying out guerrilla attacks after NATO troops partly withdrew in July, they overran isolated police posts and are now operating in areas where they can mount attacks on Kandahar, the south’s largest city.

The seesaw nature of the conflict is evident here in Kandahar, where the local governor cites a slight drop in suicide bombings in the provincial capital as a sign of progress. But police officials and villagers bitterly complain that Canadian forces abandoned Panjwai and Zhare.

Syed Aqa Saqib, Kandahar’s provincial police chief, said Canadian and Afghan Army forces began withdrawing from four checkpoints and two small bases in Panjwai in early July. The withdrawals coincided with the rotation of Canadian military units serving in Kandahar in August, he said.

The pullback left two Afghan police posts in Panjwai largely unprotected, he said. On Aug. 7, the Taliban attacked the posts simultaneously. For several hours, the police held them off and called for help from Canadian forces, he said, but none arrived. Sixteen policemen were killed.

“The Canadians didn’t support them,” Mr. Saqib said. “Then, we went to collect our dead.”

General Laroche, the Canadian commander, said an Afghan Army unit was immediately sent to aid the police but it returned and asked for Canadian assistance, citing fears of roadside bombs. Canadian troops then arrived as quickly as they could.

Richard Johnson, who sketch-blogged from Kandahar for the National Post for two months this summer, had this first-hand account of what those missions to support local Afghan authorities look like. Written back in July, it featured a patrol into an outpost that had been defended with a high cost in Afghan lives.
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Roadside bomb kills two British soldiers in Afghanistan
Richard Norton-Taylor and Lee GlendinningThursday September 6, 2007 The Guardian
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Two British soldiers were killed yesterday by an improvised bomb in southern Afghanistan. A third British soldier and a civilian interpreter serving with Nato forces were also wounded in the attack, in which 20 suspected insurgents died.
The Ministry of Defence said the men were taking part in a routine patrol in Helmand province when their vehicle was hit at around 9.15am local time.

The soldiers were from the 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters) and were patrolling eight miles north of Lashkar Gah when their vehicle was caught in an explosion. Both soldiers were pronounced dead at the scene. The third soldier and the interpreter were evacuated by helicopter to Camp Bastion for treatment.

The Ministry of Defence said last night that the families of the soldiers had been informed but there would be a 24-hour period of grace before any further information was released.

Lt Col Bridget Rose, a spokeswoman for the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), said it was a "profoundly regrettable incident" and their thoughts were with the family and friends of those who had died.
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Plot designed to increase pressure for Afghanistan pullout
By Judy Dempsey Wednesday, September 5, 2007
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BERLIN: The alleged plot by Islamist militants to carry out "massive bomb attacks" against U.S. and German installations was designed in part to increase pressure for a pullout of German troops from Afghanistan, security experts said Wednesday.

Even though most of Germany's 3,200 troops are based in a relatively peaceful region in the north of Afghanistan - not in the south where NATO military forces are trying to contain an insurgency led by Al Qaeda, the Taliban and other forces - it has not been immune to attacks on its troops or threats against targets in Germany.

"It is not entirely a coincidence that the foiled attacks today are part of a strategy by Al Qaeda," said Thomas Ruttig, an expert on security issues and Afghanistan at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin.

"They want to try to influence the political debate here about the role of the German troops," he said.

Ruttig added that the timing of the plot had been linked to the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington and the coming debate in the Bundestag, or German Parliament, about whether to extend the mandate for troops serving in Afghanistan.
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Over 40 Taliban killed in Afghanistan
Thu Sep 6, 2007 11:51AM BST
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KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces killed more than 40 insurgents in a 12-hour battle in a restive southern province, taking the guerrilla death toll to nearly 200 in a fortnight, the U.S. military said on Thursday.

Suspected Islamist Taliban insurgents ambushed a coalition patrol in villages in Kandahar province's Shah Wali Kot district with small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades, the U.S. military said in a statement.

Kandahar has been the site of repeated clashes in recent months.

"The extremist fighters were visually observed firing on the patrol from compounds located within the villages," the statement said.

"Throughout the engagement, insurgents reinforced their positions with an estimated 150 additional fighters. Coalition aircraft destroyed the positively identified enemy firing positions with precision guided munitions."

The Taliban said they were unaware of any ground fighting in the Shah Wali Kot district on Wednesday, but said they had downed an American helicopter in the area.

"The chopper is completely burnt and everyone on board is dead," Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf said by telephone from an undisclosed location. "Whenever we blow up the Americans they claim such things to confuse the people
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South Koreans Turn Anger at Hostages
By JAE-SOON CHANG – 5 days ago
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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's relief at the release of 19 countrymen held hostage by the Taliban gave way Friday to anger at the victims themselves, members of a Christian church who are being criticized for ignoring warnings against travel to Afghanistan.

Critics said the group's actions forced their government into negotiations with the Islamic militants that damaged the nation's international reputation.

A day after the last hostages were let go, some of the church workers apologized for the trouble caused by their captivity, and a few collapsed when told the militants had slain two male colleagues. One said she secretly kept a diary on the lining of her pants.

With the crisis over, South Koreans turned their focus to what went wrong, who is to blame and what lessons can be drawn from the six-week ordeal. Public anger toward the hostages had been expressed in one form or another from the beginning, and it was rising on Friday.

Scathing comments, written with the cloak of anonymity, flooded Internet message boards. Newspapers published critical editorials.

Most noticeable was the feeling the hostages themselves and the church that sent them to Afghanistan were to blame because they did not heed repeated government warnings to stay away from the volatile Central Asian country. One advisory cited an intelligence report that insurgents were targeting Koreans.
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Germany to focus on reconstruction in Afghanistan
By Hugh Williamson in Berlin
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The German government sought on Wednesday to regain the initiative over its troubled involvement in Afghanistan by increasing aid and promising an even sharper focus on reconstruction work in the warn-torn country.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet pledged to raise development assistance for Afghanistan next year to €125m from €100m this year, and redoubled efforts to encourage greater "Afghan ownership" of reconstruction projects in the country.

The decisions – packaged in a revised government strategy - were seen by analysts as an effort to counter growing political and public opposition to aspects of Germany's military involvement in Afghanistan.
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Harper wants to use APEC as forum on Afghanistan
TheStar.com - September 06, 2007 Tonda MacCharles OTTAWA BUREAU
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Eyes wider international military, development efforts in the region

OTTAWA–With Canada poised to debate what role Canadian troops in Afghanistan should have beyond the mission's February 2009 deadline, Prime Minster Stephen Harper is looking to broaden international military and development efforts in the region at the summit of 21 Asia Pacific leaders this weekend.

"Whether it's at APEC or another forum, there are many ways in which other countries can participate," said a Canadian official, speaking on background.

"Sometimes it's through the provision of additional combat troops. Sometimes it's through medical support, logistical support. Sometimes it's in things like co-ordinating our approach to other governments, like Pakistan."

Australian host Prime Minister John Howard has shifted energy, security and climate change to the top of this year's agenda.

Also top of mind, says Howard, are issues of global security at meetings that include the leaders of Russia, China, South Korea, Japan, the U.S. and Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation.

Harper was to arrive this afternoon for the summit in Sydney.

Details of which bilateral meetings Harper would hold were not released but one senior official said the PM would use the summit as a way "to advance issues of importance fundamental to our collective efforts in Afghanistan."

The Afghanistan file is politically explosive for Harper's minority government, with Canadian casualties rising, Afghan security forces reported to be losing ground to Taliban-backed insurgents, and the fears about Taliban kidnappings of international aid workers.

Rookie Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier last week chided the South Korean government for directly negotiating the release of Christian Korean aid workers who'd been seized as hostages by the Taliban.

"We do not negotiate with terrorists, for any reason. Such negotiations, even if unsuccessful, only lead to further acts of terrorism," said Bernier, who will attend the summit.
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[GAP]

Laroche says Taliban fighting strength sapped
Updated Thu. Sep. 6 2007 5:19 PM ET Canadian Press
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PATROL BASE WILSON, Afghanistan -- More than five years after international forces rolled into Afghanistan, there is much debate about whether or not they're losing ground to a resurgent Taliban.

For Brig-Gen. Guy Laroche, Canada's top commander in Afghanistan, the answer is a firm No.

As his military convoy bumps over a road where Canada lost its first soldier to a roadside bomb, Laroche sweeps his arm toward the far-off mountains.

"There used to be 300 Taliban in this area,'' he said. "Now, they don't have the numbers for a face-to-face fight.''

As his crew keeps a close watch on every bump in the road and every person they pass, Laroche suggests the deadly bombing campaign of the Taliban is their last gasp.

"We'll never completely get rid of the Taliban,'' he said. "This is their home.''

But he said the insurgent force has been severely damaged and left unable to mount an effective fighting force. He suggested that's why the Taliban have resorted to the improvised explosive devices -- including suicide bombings -- that have taken the lives of 38 Canadian soldiers.


Despite the bombs, stability is being restored.


"Now you see families and children who've come back,'' Laroche said as a group of waving small children ran alongside the convoy. "A year ago you didn't see that.''


Meanwhile in Kandahar City, Afghan authorities paraded four suspected Taliban detainees for the media Thursday, claiming the Pakistani natives were would-be suicide bombers.


Although the four deny any plan to blow themselves up, they admitted they easily crossed the border into Afghanistan with jihad -- holy war -- on their mind.

"When Americans captured Afghanistan, we saw they were beating people, killing people, and from that time we had this idea of jihad,'' one of the young men, 24-year-old Mohammed Shohaib, said through an interpreter.

Shohaib said they received 12 days of training in Pakistan, including suicide bombing. Despite the urging of an Afghan official, however, Shohaib said they had no plans to carry out suicide missions.

"We came here to fight with guns, with weapons, not to blow ourselves up,'' he said.

 

[GAP]

Articles found September 7, 2007

Powerful 'grab Afghanistan land'
Thursday September 06, 2007 (2040 PST)
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KABUL: The Afghan urban development minister says land is being appropriated illegally by powerful individuals at a rate of two sq km (0.8 sq miles) a day.

Former military commanders, members of parliament and senior officials are seizing land and then selling it on illegally, says Yousaf Pashthun.

There is a "land mafia" which has stolen 5,000 sq km of land this year.  It is another indication of the extent of corruption and the absence of the rule of law in Afghanistan.

One man, who lives in the northern town of Mazar-i Sharif, told the BBC how an estate that had been in his family for 80 years was taken over by local strongmen.

They drew up false papers, divided the land up into plots and sold it off for private housing, he says.

Although the original owner has taken the case to court, he is not optimistic since the people who stole his land are wealthy and powerful.

The illegal seizure of government-owned land is also making it difficult for the authorities to carry out development schemes and building projects.
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12 Mine Clearing Workers Missing in Afghanistan
By VOA News  06 September 2007 
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Twelve mine clearing workers are missing in eastern Afghanistan.

Authorities said Thursday that the workers of a local demining company disappeared while traveling through Paktia province.

The Reuters news agency quotes a Paktia official as saying insurgents abducted the 12 deminers.

In southern Afghanistan, NATO said two soldiers were killed and several others wounded by two separate bomb attacks Thursday. It gave no other details.
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Canadians let down by NATO in Afghanistan: general
Mike Blanchfield, CanWest News Service Published: Thursday, September 06, 2007
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OTTAWA -- Canadian soldiers and their allies in southern Afghanistan face added risks because some NATO countries are not supplying enough troops and equipment, the head of the alliance's military committee said Thursday.

Gen. Ray Henault, formerly Canada's defence chief, also said some NATO members are making it tougher on their comrades in the south by restricting where their troops can operate. With other countries not deploying soldiers to the front lines in Kandahar and its neighbouring southern provinces, Canada and its Dutch, British and U.S. allies are left to face the toughest fighting and heaviest casualties alone.

"Shortfalls do create additional risks and we try to reduce those as much as possible," Gen. Henault said shortly after he arrived with the 26 chiefs of defence of the alliance for three days of meetings here and in Victoria, "and we also encourage nations to reduce their limitations on troop movements [through] what we call 'caveats.'"
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Canadian general says Taliban fighting strength sapped despite deadly bombs
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PATROL BASE WILSON, Afghanistan (CP) — More than five years after international forces rolled into Afghanistan, there is much debate about whether or not they're losing ground to a resurgent Taliban.

For Brig-Gen. Guy Laroche, Canada's top commander in Afghanistan, the answer is a firm No.

As his military convoy bumps over a road where Canada lost its first soldier to a roadside bomb, Laroche sweeps his arm toward the far-off mountains.

"There used to be 300 Taliban in this area," he said. "Now, they don't have the numbers for a face-to-face fight."

As his crew keeps a close watch on every bump in the road and every person they pass, Laroche suggests the deadly bombing campaign of the Taliban is their last gasp.

"We'll never completely get rid of the Taliban," he said. "This is their home."
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US Army's strategy in Afghanistan: better anthropology
Counterinsurgency efforts focus on better grasping and meeting local needs.
By Scott Peterson | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor  September 7, 2007 edition
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Reporter Scott Peterson talks about a new US Army tactic in its counterinsurgency effort in Afghanistan.Shabak Valley, Afghanistan - Evidence of how far the US Army's counterinsurgency strategy has evolved can be found in the work of a uniformed anthropologist toting a gun in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan. Part of a Human Terrain Team (HHT) – the first ever deployed – she speaks to hundreds of Afghan men and women to learn how they think and what they need.

One discovery that may help limit Taliban recruits in this rough-hewn valley: The area has a preponderance of widows – and their sons, who have to provide care, are forced to stay closer to home, where few jobs can be found. Now, the HHT is identifying ways to tap the textiles and blankets traded through here to create jobs for the women – and free their sons to get work themselves.

"In most circumstances, I am 'third' gender," says Tracy, who can give only her first name. She says that she is not seen as either an Afghan woman or a Western one – because of her uniform. "It has enhanced any ability to talk to [Afghans]. There is a curiosity."

Such insight is the grist of what US forces here see as a smarter counterisurgency. "We're not here just to kill the enemy – we are so far past the kinetic fight," says Lt. Col. Dave Woods, commander of the 4th Squadron 73rd Cavalry. "It is the nonkinetic piece [that matters], to identify their problems, to seed the future here." Nearly six years after US troops toppled the Taliban, the battle is for a presence that will elicit confidence in the Afghan government and its growing security forces. "Operation Khyber," which started Aug. 22, aims for a more effective counterinsurgency – using fewer bullets and more local empowerment.

US commanders have doubled US troop strength in eastern Afghanistan in the past year. They are also fielding the HHT – a "graduate-level counterinsurgency" unit, as one officer puts it – to fine-tune aid and to undermine the intimidating grip of militants in the region.
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Mammoth task to teach Afghanistan to read and write
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KABUL (AFP) — Mahjan, a 40-year-old Afghan woman, says her husband did not want their daughters to leave the house to go to school.

"So, while he was at work, I opened the courtyard of the house to a literacy class so that they, my neighbours and myself can learn to read and write," she says proudly.

For two hours a day for a year, Mahjan and her two teenage daughters have sat on the small patio behind high, old walls in central Kabul with about 20 other students.

They are among the teachers and pupils trying to eat away at Afghanistan's enormous illiteracy rate, which the United Nations' children's group UNICEF puts at 71 percent, with 86 percent of women illiterate.

Thirty years of war in this mountainous country of extreme climatic conditions and a ruined infrastructure has kept Afghanistan on the margins of the world.

This was at no time more evident than during 1996 and 2001, when the country was under the power of the ultra-conservative Taliban, which barred girls and women from going to school.
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Europeans Oppose Attack on Iran, Tire of Afghan War, Poll Says
By James G. Neuger Sept. 6 (Bloomberg)
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Europeans are overwhelmingly against a potential U.S. military attack to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions and are tiring of the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan, a survey showed.

Americans are more willing to contemplate the use of force against Iran and remain in favor of the Afghan war, according to a poll released today by the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Italian foundation Compagnia di San Paolo.

``Europeans are very skittish about the possibility of even maintaining the option of using military force,'' John K. Glenn, director of foreign policy at the German Marshall Fund, said in an interview from Washington.

While blaming President George W. Bush and the Iraq war for much of the foreign-policy discord between the U.S. and Europe, the survey's authors concluded that the gulf is likely to persist after Bush leaves the White House in 2009.
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General says troop shortage is hindering Afghanistan gains
TheStar.com September 07, 2007  Bruce Campion-Smith Ottawa Bureau
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Top NATO officer, a Canadian, says `gaps' are being debated as alliance meets in Ottawa

OTTAWA–A shortage of NATO and Afghan forces on the ground in Afghanistan is hampering efforts to win and hold ground from insurgents, NATO's top military commander says.

Gen. Ray Henault, a Canadian who heads the alliance's military committee, acknowledged the troubles Canadians have faced recently in Kandahar region, where troops are fighting and dying to capture terrain they fought over just a year ago.

"There is every interest in our case to make sure that we consolidate our gains," Henault said.

"We are aware of instances where we have not had sufficient troops in a particular region ... to maintain those gains."

But as top military commanders from the 26 NATO nations prepare to meet in Ottawa and Victoria this week, Henault hinted at the ongoing backroom tensions – and the charge by countries like Canada that they are bearing a disproportionate share of the danger in Kandahar.
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[GAP]

Articles found Sept 9, 2007

2 Canadian soldiers hurt in major Afghanistan offensive
Last Updated: Sunday, September 9, 2007 | 10:16 AM ET
CBC News
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Two Canadian soldiers received minor injuries after a tank struck a roadside bomb Sunday in the second day of a major offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, a military official said.

The incident happened during the second day of Operation Khar Khowhai, or Keeping Goodwill, an offensive being carried out by hundreds of Canadian troops in the Zhari district, west of the city of Kandahar.

Capt. Josée Bilodeau said a Leopard tank that pushes a roller ahead of it to clear roads of bombs struck the device and was slightly damaged.

The soldiers who were walking not far from the vehicle were struck by shrapnel, Bilodeau said.

They received treatment at the Kandahar base and were expected to return to work on Monday, Bilodeau said. She didn't give any further details about the identities of the soldiers.
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No rush on Afghan mission extension vote: Harper
Updated Sun. Sep. 9 2007 7:55 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
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Prime Minister Stephen Harper said there will be no parliamentary vote on Canada's role in Afghanistan unless an opposition party supports his desire to extend the mission after February 2009.

Harper told reporters after the APEC Summit in Sydney, Australia that there is no rush for a debate or vote.

He wants Canada to "finish the job" in Afghanistan.

Canadian troops have been in Afghanistan since late 2001 and began their current assignment in insurgent-ridden Kandahar province in February 2006.

The Liberal Opposition -- which sent Canadian troops to Afghanistan while in government -- wants to introduce a motion early in the fall session of Parliament that will seek a vote to confirm Canada's military mission will end as scheduled.

The Canadian mission had originally been scheduled to end in February 2007, but in May 2006, Parliament voted 149-145 to extend it for another two years.
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Military calls latest Afghan operation a success
Updated Sun. Sep. 9 2007 11:16 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
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Canadian military officials are calling an operation in the Zhari district of Afghanistan's Kandahar province a success, with no major casualties.

Operation Keeping Goodwill involved most of the Canadian battle group, with Afghan troops in the lead and American air power overhead.

The operation lasted about 36 hours. The mission was designed to reassert control over the volatile district, where major clashes have been fought in the past against Taliban insurgents.

"They took hold of this land, but the Afghan police as well as the Afghan army were unable to hold this ground, and the Taliban simply reinfiltrated," CTV's Steve Chao told Question Period on Sunday.

"There's also an understanding that this is what you face in a counterinsurgency. One commander gave this analogy that it's like punching at flies."

Canada wants to hold the ground by training the Afghan police how to keep the area secure, he said, noting there have been problems of corruption within the Afghan police and defections to the Taliban
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Henault says Afghanistan important, but not make-or-break for NATO
Last Updated: Sunday, September 9, 2007 | 7:51 AM PT  The Canadian Press
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NATO's future as a military alliance does not hinge on a successful mission in war-torn Afghanistan, says the Canadian chairman of the organization's high-ranking military committee.

Gen. Ray Henault, a former Canadian chief of defence staff, said on Saturday that success in Afghanistan is NATO's top priority, but it's not holding the organization's future in the balance.

Henault made the comments after NATO meetings in Victoria in response to questions from reporters who suggested defence critics and analysts are saying NATO's future as one of the world's major military organizations hinges on the success of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), an international force of about 30,000 troops in Afghanistan.

"I would say to you that Afghanistan is, as I've already mentioned, a very important part of how we do business and job one, but from our perspective, it's not the make-or-break that perhaps is envisioned by people," Henault said.
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2 British Soldiers Killed Afghanistan
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LONDON (AP) — Two British soldiers were killed in a Taliban attack Saturday in southern Afghanistan and a number of other troops were wounded, Britain's Ministry of Defense said.

Two of the wounded soldiers were in serious condition, the ministry said in a statement.

The soldiers were part of an operation to disrupt Taliban activity south of Garmsir in Helmand province, when their patrol was attacked, the ministry said.

"Sadly the two soldiers were killed during the subsequent heavy fire-fight to repel the enemy and a number of Taliban were also killed," the statement said.

British troops have been engaged in fierce, and increasingly bloody, fighting against the resurgent Taliban in Helmand for the past few months
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Most Afghanistan Suicide Bombers Trained in Pakistan (Update1)
By Ed Johnson
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Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) -- More than 80 percent of suicide bombers staging attacks in Afghanistan are trained, recruited or sheltered in neighboring Pakistan, the United Nations said in a report published today.

Only about half are Afghan nationals, with the remainder coming from Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Arab countries, according to the report, which analyzes suicide attacks in the country since the Taliban regime was ousted in 2001.

Suicide bombings are rising and won't fall ``as long as anti-government elements can rely upon Pakistani territory for the recruitment and training of operatives, for fundraising and safe havens,'' said the report.

Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents are waging a guerrilla war in Afghanistan against the government of President Hamid Karzai, who has blamed Pakistan for failing to stop rebels crossing the mountainous border between the two countries. U.S. intelligence officials said in a report published in July that al-Qaeda has established a haven in Pakistan's tribal regions.
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Australia 'needs Holland' in Afghanistan
September 9, 2007 - 12:24PM
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Australian troops could not remain in Afghanistan in their current position if the Dutch withdrew their forces and no partner nation could be found to replace them, Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said.

Dr Nelson's warning came as defence released video footage of fighting between Australian troops and Taliban insurgents last month.

He said Australia currently had some 700 soldiers operating in Oruzgan province, in south-central Afghanistan, in partnership with the Dutch who had about 1,700 troops.

But the Netherlands is currently debating whether to continue that deployment beyond August next year.

Australian troops are engaged in engineering and reconstruction activities in that area, as are the Dutch. Australia also has a 300-member special forces task group operating in the area.
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[GAP]

Articles found September 10, 2007

Harper wants to 'finish the job' in Afghanistan; against 'rush' into vote
Mike De Souza CanWest News Service Sunday, September 09, 2007
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SYDNEY, Australia -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he doesn't want Parliament to vote on keeping Canada's military troops in Afghanistan until he's certain that the Commons will approve a plan allowing the armed forces to stay until they "finish the job" of restoring peace and security to the war-torn country.

"This mission ends in February 2009 unless Parliament decides otherwise, so there's no necessity to rush into a vote," Harper said on Sunday after concluding a weekend summit of Pacific Rim leaders. "My view is that we should continue with what we are working on now, which is a focus on increased training of Afghan security forces so they can take care of their country's own security problems. I don't know how quickly we'll be able to finish that."

Harper, who is expected to talk about Canada's military mission and the war against terrorism on Tuesday -- the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on America - in a special address to the Australian Parliament, scolded opposition parties for exploiting the issue for political reasons.

"My obvious preference would be that Canada finish the job before it leave," he said. "At the same time, I want to make sure that when we have men and women in uniform, in the field, (and) in a dangerous position that they have the support of their Parliament. I don't think their mission should be a political football in this Parliament, and I think it's irresponsible that it is a political football. So we're not going to put people in that place again."
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Two British Soldiers Killed by Taliban in Afghanistan Battle
By Kitty Donaldson Sept. 9 (Bloomberg)
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Two British soldiers were killed in combat with Taliban forces in Afghanistan yesterday, bringing the total number of U.K. casualties to 78 since the start of the conflict in 2001.

The soldiers were taking part in a pre-planned operation to ``disrupt Taliban activity'' south of Garmsir, southern Helmand province, according to a statement on the defense ministry's Web site. ``Sadly the two soldiers were killed during the subsequent heavy firefight to repel the enemy and a number of Taliban were also killed.''

The two soldiers from the Mercian Regiment have yet to be publicly named, but their next of kin have been informed. A number of other soldiers were also injured in the incident, with two in a serious condition.
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US lobbies Japan over support in Afghanistan
By Andrew Ward in Sydney Published: September 9 2007 17:12
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George W. Bush has urged Japan to continue its support for US military operations in Afghanistan, amid concern in Washington that opposition parties could force an end to Tokyo’s participation.

During talks at the regional Apec summit in Sydney, Mr Bush told Shinzo Abe, Japan’s prime minister, that Japanese tanker ships had an “absolutely essential” role in refuelling coalition vessels in the Indian Ocean.

Jim Jeffrey, US deputy national security adviser, said the US would be “very, very concerned” if Japanese support disappeared, and urged Mr Abe’s opponents to “rethink their position”.

Japanese involvement in the Indian Ocean is authorised by an anti-terror law that expires on November 1. The opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which gained control of Japan’s upper house in July, has vowed to block government efforts to extend it.

“The president urged that the Japanese find a way to continue this very, very important support for our forces,” said Mr Jeffrey. Mr Abe on Sunday suggested he would resign if he could not persuade parliament to agree to the extension.
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Two Canadian Soldiers Injured After Roadside Bomb Explodes In Afghanistan
Sunday September 9, 2007 CityNews.ca Staff
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A roadside bomb exploded next to a tank in Afghanistan on Sunday, slightly wounding two Canadian soldiers who were walking alongside.

The incident happened during the second day of Operation Keeping Goodwill, a new combat offensive launched by troops in the Zhari District, west of Kandahar City.

In a disturbing example of just what these Improvised Explosive Devices are capable of, a Leopard 1 tank with a roller attached to the front struck the bomb and was slightly damaged.

Two soldiers who were on foot on either side of the vehicle were slightly injured, says Capt. Josee Bilodeau.

"Two of them were injured by some shrapnel," says Bilodeau.
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Canadian soldiers, journalist unhurt, but shaken by IED blast in Afghanistan
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ZHARI DISTRICT, Afghanistan (CP) — After choking on the dust in the relentless Afghan heat for the better part of two days, everyone was happy to say goodbye to Ghundy Ghar.

The remote Canadian outpost in the Zhari district of Afghanistan is the reason soldiers have to be tough. A few tarp-covered shelters and three inches of fine dust everywhere, life at Ghundy Ghar is not easy.

The day before, the Van Doo's 3rd Battalion battle group had pushed through on two roads leading to the base, on a mission to help secure an area considered Taliban country.

I spent the night on a cot under the stars, not far from the back of an armoured LAV, my flak jacket and helmet ready to go at the first sound of rocket fire.

The night before, in Masum Ghar, another Canadian forward operating base, a rocket rang in shortly after we pulled in for the night.

Luckily, the rocket wasn't loaded with explosives and the biggest bang was the sound of metal crashing into the rocks behind me.
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EURASIA INSIGHT
AFGHANISTAN: ’BUSH BAZAAR’ OFFERS A TASTE OF WESTERN LIFE
Ron Synovitz and Freshta Jalalzai  Monday, September 10, 2007  A EurasiaNet Partner Post from RFE/RL
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Each day at dawn, 35-year-old Kaka Ajmal travels to a fenced plot of land near Kabul’s presidential palace to set up a small shop under a tarpaulin.

Like other sellers there, Ajmal stores his goods during the night at a warehouse that is watched over by armed security guards. In the morning, he moves it to his stall.

Before the sun has time to warm the ground, dozens of similar traders have transformed the area into what Kabul residents call "Bush Bazaar."

Named after the U.S. president, the market is where Afghans can buy cheaply priced supplies that apparently have been gleaned from foreign military bases.

It is an unplanned economic effect of the foreign military presence in Afghanistan.

The Bush Bazaar is in central Kabul on a road leading to the military bases for most countries in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.
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Fighting for Afghanistan's Kajaki Dam
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TANGYE, Afghanistan (AFP) — Only two shops are open in the once-bustling Tangye bazaar in southern Afghanistan -- one that makes bread and a radio repair place run by a beefy man called Rambo.

The rest of the several hundred small stalls are shuttered or trashed, weathered goods spilled onto the pavement and into the dusty streets of what has become a ghost town.

The surrounding settlements are also deserted, abandoned by residents 18 months ago when fighting between British troops and the extremist Taliban turned the area into a battlefield.

At the heart of this fight is the jewel of this desert region -- a massive reservoir of turquoise-green water called the Kajaki Dam that lies just upstream from Tangye.

British forces, after a hard slog, pushed the Taliban out to a radius of about four kilometres (2.5 miles) from the bazaar.

Inside this secured bubble there is some stability -- enough to allow the district governor to cross the bridge over the Helmand River into Tangye but not enough to encourage families to return from their desert refuges.
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Afghan police open fire during speech by President Hamid Karzai
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KABUL (AP) — Sensing unrest outside a packed stadium, Afghanistan's president abruptly cut short a speech Sunday as police fired shots into the air in an attempt to restrain a crowd trying to enter, officials said.

Shortly after being rushed off the podium, President Hamid Karzai said security in Afghanistan was deteriorating and renewed a call for negotiations with Taliban militants.

The sound of gunfire rang out as Karzai abruptly ended his speech at Kabul's central sports stadium, sending a murmur through the crowd inside and prompting some in the audience to start to flee.

Officials told the crowd to remain calm, and said someone had thrown stones against a metal door.

But Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, a Defence Ministry spokesman, said police fired into the air to prevent a restless crowd outside the stadium from entering. Azimi said the 15,000-person stadium was already full. No injuries were reported.

Karzai had been speaking at a memorial ceremony for anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massood, who was killed in an al-Qaida suicide bombing two days before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.

In his speech, Karzai told the stadium crowd that countries around the world were trying to help Afghanistan govern itself.

"We should use this to complete our desire. What is that desire? Afghanistan standing on its own feet, to feed itself and to secure itself," he said, as shouts and skirmishes could be heard in the background.
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Gitmo Panels Struggle to Assess Facts
By ANDREW O. SELSKY and BEN FOX
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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — After years of indefinite confinement, many detainees at Guantanamo Bay say they feel they may never receive justice, according to transcripts of hearings obtained by The Associated Press. Fewer than one in five of detainees allowed a hearing last year even bothered to show up for it.

The frustrated words of men, some of whom admit to fighting with the Taliban but swear they would go peacefully home if released, illustrate the seething tension at a prison where hundreds are held without charges. The transcripts also underscore that the U.S. allegations against the men are often as difficult to substantiate as they are for the detainees to refute.

Sometimes the allegations alarmed even the panels of military officers charged with determining whether a detainee should be freed.

Rahmatullah Sangaryar stood accused of "planning biological and poison attacks on United States and coalition forces in Kandahar, Afghanistan" and of possessing anthrax powder and a liquid poison.

The Afghan detainee said he was captured only with muddy clothes, possessed no anthrax and never planned such an attack. The officer in charge of the panel seemed to grope for a response.

"Do you know of anyone who would accuse you of such an act? This is so serious," the unidentified officer exclaimed. "I am trying to understand why it is here in front of me, this allegation against you."
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Fighters 'free' Pakistani troops   
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The fighters want the military to be withdrawn from the area and a dozen of their members freed [AFP]

Pro-Taliban fighters have freed more than 260 Pakistani troops who were kidnapped nearly two weeks ago in the tribal region on the border with Afghanistan.

A local intelligence official said the soldiers were handed over to members of a jirga, or tribal council on Monday.

The soldiers were released in Ladha, a village in the South Waziristan tribal area, where they had been abducted by militants on August 30.

Pakistan’s army spokesman said he could not immediately confirm the releases.

However, the freed soldiers were meant to be handed over later on Monday to government officials in Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, a region where al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters are said to operate.

It was not clear where there were any conditions to the soldiers’ release.
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Articles found September 11, 2007

Harper vows continued support for Afghanistan
Tue Sep 11, 2007 2:09 AM EDT By James Grubel
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CANBERRA (Reuters) - Prime Minister Stephen Harper, under fire at home for a troop commitment to Afghanistan that has cost 70 lives, said on Tuesday he would not abandon the country.

"This cause is global and necessary," Harper said in a speech to Australia's parliament on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

"Because as 9-11 showed, if we abandon our fellow human beings to lives of poverty, brutality and ignorance, in today's global village, their misery will eventually and inevitably become our own," said Harper.

Canadians are divided over support for the country's 2,500 troops in Afghanistan and Harper's minority conservative government has said it would not extend the mission beyond February 2009 without a mandate from parliament.

Harper said he hoped Canadians would support their troops remaining in Afghanistan until Afghan forces could look after their own security, rather than aim for an arbitrary deadline to withdraw.

"Canada went into Afghanistan for very real reasons of national security and international security," Harper told a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

"We should work towards that objective, rather than a particular arbitrary time," he said, adding the right thing for Canada to do would be to ensure it did not abandon the people of Afghanistan.
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Suicide attack in Afghanistan, two drivers killed
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) — A suicide car bomb exploded Tuesday near a convoy of trucks supplying NATO military bases in southern Afghanistan, killing at least two drivers, police said.

The attack in Helmand province came a day after another suicide blast killed nearly 30 people in the same area Monday in one of the deadliest attacks since the Taliban launched an insurgency nearly six years ago.

"There was a suicide car bombing against a supply convoy on the highway," Helmand police chief Mohammad Hussain Andiwal told AFP.

The bodies of two drivers had been pulled from the wreckage and seven other civilians were wounded, he said.

The attacker had exploded a bomb-laden passenger car near the convoy, which was supplying NATO military bases in the region. The blast set alight four trucks, Andiwal said.

In Monday's attack, a suicide bomber slammed a bomb-packed rickshaw into a police convoy in the town of Gereshk. Twenty-nine people were killed, half of them civilians and several more of them policemen.
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Dutch PM visits troops in Afghanistan, meets with Karzai
Associated Press , THE JERUSALEM POST  Sep. 11, 2007
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Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende made a surprise visit to Dutch troops in Afghanistan on Tuesday, and was to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the government said.

Balkenende's Cabinet will decide within a few weeks whether to extend Dutch participation in the NATO mission in Afghanistan as the two-year mandate of its 2,000-strong force is set to end in August of next year.

The visit was intended to let Balkenende see the military situation and reconstruction programs before the Cabinet makes its decision, which must then be approved by parliament.
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Embattled Japanese PM takes a political gamble
By Hisane Masaki
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TOKYO - Taking what is widely seen as a highly risky political gamble, embattled Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has apparently staked his job on extending the nation's domestically unpopular support of US-led anti-terrorism operations in Afghanistan, which consists mainly of providing a navy oiler to refuel coalition warships in the Indian Ocean.

The 52-year-old prime minister's bombshell remark, made on the eve of the opening of a key two-month parliamentary session, has
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Iran says 'US weak points' spotted in Iraq, Afghanistan
11/09/2007 10:47 TEHRAN, Sept 11 (AFP)
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The new head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned Washington on Tuesday that Tehran has identified "US weak points" in Iraq and Afghanistan and would give a decisive response to any attack, state broadcasting reported.

"The Revolutionary Guards have identified all the weak points of the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan and based on this have consolidated the defensive capabilities of the country," General Mohammad Ali Jaafari said.

"And if the enemy wants to take any impudent action the Islamic republic will for sure give a decisive and teeth-breaking response," he said.

The United States has never ruled out military action against Tehran over its controversial nuclear programme which Iran insists is peaceful but Washington says is aimed at making nuclear weapons.
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28 killed, 60 wounded in suicide attack in southern Afghanistan
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bomber on a motorized rickshaw detonated explosives Monday in a marketplace in southern Afghanistan, killing 28 people in one of the deadliest bombings since the fall of the Taliban. Children selling chewing gum and cigarettes were among the victims of the blast.

The attacker was apparently targeting a police commander when he detonated his bomb near a taxi stand around 6:30 p.m. in the town of Gereshk in Helmand province, the world's largest poppy-growing region and site of the country's worst violence this year.

Gereshk district chief Abdul Manaf Khan said 28 people were killed, including 13 police officers and 15 civilians. The provincial chief of public health, Enayatullah Ghafari, said the hospital recorded 26 deaths and 60 wounded, though he said some of the dead probably weren't brought to the hospital and the death toll was likely higher.

NATO said 13 people were taken to a NATO-Afghan base for treatment and 45 people to the Gereshk hospital.

Taliban militants have set off a record number of suicide blasts this year - more than 100 through the end of August - but few are as deadly as the Helmand attack. The Taliban typically aim their attacks at international and Afghan military and police forces.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force said the attacker was driving a
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MacKay and Afghanistan ambassador say NATO must succeed or risk 9/11 repeat
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ST. ANDREWS, N.B. (CP) — On the eve of the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Afghanistan's ambassador to Canada cautioned Monday that the world risks more attacks if peace and stability aren't restored in Afghanistan.

MacKay and Ambassador Omar Samad said the price of failure is too high for nations like Canada to consider abandoning Afghanistan before it is ready to defend itself against the forces of terrorism.

"Let's not forget that on 9/11, terrorism came to our shores on this continent," MacKay said following a private address in this New Brunswick resort town to a meeting of ambassadors to Canada.

"So we have to be vigilant and very responsible in continuing to play a role" in Afghanistan.

Samad said Canadians only have to remember what Afghanistan was like when it was abandoned and forgotten by the world in the 1990s.

"It fell into the hands of international terrorists, drug dealers, warlords and al-Qaida," he said. "Do we want Afghanistan to revert and once again become a failed state and become a threat not only to its own people, but to the region and to the world at large?"
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Iraqi Insurgents Threaten to Kill German Hostage, Monitors Say
By Michael Heath Sept. 11 (Bloomberg)
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Iraqi insurgents threatened to kill a German hostage unless the government in Berlin withdraws its troops from Afghanistan, according to a U.S.-based group that monitors extremist Web sites.

A videotape posted yesterday by the Arrows of Righteousness group sets ``a new deadline of 10 days'' for Germany to pull its forces out of Afghanistan or it will kill 20-year-old Sinan Krause, the Intelcenter said in an e-mailed statement. The group freed Krause's mother, Hannelore, in July.

The mother and son were abducted Feb. 6 outside their Baghdad home. Their kidnappers threatened in two previous videos to kill them unless Germany withdraws from Afghanistan.

Germany's 3,000 soldiers in northern Afghanistan are part of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization force working to stabilize the country under President Hamid Karzai.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said in July that Germany won't be blackmailed into withdrawing from Afghanistan. Merkel's predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder, campaigned against the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
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Militants threaten to kill hostage
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CNN) -- Iraqi militants holding a German man hostage demanded Germany's withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan within 10 days to ensure his safety.

The video from the obscure group Swords of Righteousness appeared Monday on the Internet with a threat to kill Sinan Krause if Berlin doesn't comply. The group said it would slit his throat.

Krause and his mother, Hannelore, both appear in the video. They both disappeared in Iraq on February 6, but the group released her in July after 155 days in captivity.

In early March, the group made the same demand, but the deadline passed without incident.

CNN could not independently confirm the video's authenticity.

The same group also appears to have been involved in the kidnapping of four Christian peace activists nearly two years ago. Three of the hostages were released; one was killed.

Germany has about 3,000 troops in northern Afghanistan, a relatively peaceful part of the war-torn country
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Taliban Commander Detained During Afghan Operations
American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2007
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Afghan national police advised by coalition forces detained a Taliban district commander in an operation designed to disrupt insurgent activities in Ghazni province early this morning.
Maulawi Ahmad Jan is known to be extensively involved in coordinating insurgent activities in the province. He has directed bombings and ambush attacks against Afghan and coalition forces throughout the region.

During a search of the commander’s compound, Afghan police discovered a weapons and ammunition cache.

“With Ahmad Jan now detained, Ghazni will be a less dangerous place,” said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, a Combined Joint Task Force 82 spokesman. “Information gained as a result of Ahmad Jan’s capture will undoubtedly result in further interdiction of Taliban fighters and leaders in the area.”
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Canada will not step in to replace Dutch troops
Brendan Nicholson September 12, 2007
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Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in Canberra yesterday that while he would be pleased to see Australian and Canadian troops working together, Canada had no plans to replace the Dutch.

Prime Minister John Howard said he and Mr Harper discussed the involvement of their countries in Afghanistan but no joint operations were planned.

"But we have a lot of respect for the Canadians, and they do for us, and it would not surprise that in the course of discussing things we looked at co-operation," he said.

Australia has close to 1000 military personnel in Oruzgan province in southern Afghanistan and they work closely with a big Dutch force that provides air support from attack helicopters and strong logistical back-up.
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Nearly 200 soldiers kept home from Afghanistan over drug use: report
Tuesday September 11, 2007 (1931 PST)
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KABUL: Nearly 200 Canadian soldiers slated for deployment to Afghanistan have been kept home because they tested positive for drug use, documents show.

Since the military began mandatory drug testing of troops headed for Afghanistan last September, 195 of the 6,800 tested failed the drug test.  CBC News obtained the information through the Access to Information Act.

Of those who failed, the majority tested positive for marijuana, while other tests showed harder drugs, such as cocaine, methamphetamine and amphetamines.

The documents also show dozens of soldiers provided diluted urine samples, something the military views as an attempt to cheat the system.

"It's a particular concern because we are in Afghanistan, they are in a combat situation and they have to make split-second decisions, life or death, and we need them to be able to do that without the influence of illicit drugs," said Canadian Armed Forces Brig.-Gen. Ian Poulter.
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NATO faces fracture in Afghanistan
A Dutch-Canadian withdrawal would be a serious setback for an alliance that will flourish or fade in Afghanistan.
Commentary by Ruben Vroegop for ISN Security Watch (11/09/07)
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Two of NATO's medium powers often lauded for fighting above their weight may soon deliver a knock-out blow to the troubled mission in Afghanistan.

The Dutch and the Canadian governments, faced with slumping approval ratings for their participation, may opt for a troop withdrawal that could have serious consequences for the mission itself, the alliance as a whole and their own international political leverage.

Three interrelated factors have fanned the flames for a military withdrawal in both the Netherlands and Canada. First of all, while both countries have rightfully earned praise for their performance in Afghanistan, Canada especially has suffered disproportionately heavy casualties.

Secondly, as a result of exposure to the graphic media coverage on the conflict, domestic opinion is understandably ever more opposed to making sacrifices while alliance members are seen dragging their heels.

A third point is that western democracies in general share a decreasing tolerance level for suffering casualties in remote areas.

The caveats set by national governments that effectively restrict NATO from optimizing troop deployments are an apt manifestation of military limitation in a post-heroic age. In addition, the persistent "peacekeeping" myth that many Canadians still hold on to as a marker of national identity increasingly clashes with the televised repatriation of combat casualties, thereby further weakening public support.

Should domestic factors trigger a Dutch-Canadian withdrawal, four ensuing consequences will have to be addressed by the alliance.
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[GAP]

Why Canada has to finish the job in Afghanistan
10 Sept 2007
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Prime Minister Stephen Harper is right. We need to finish the job in Afghanistan. But, to be able to do that, the Canadian people need to be told the truth -- that we gave our "word" to finish the job -- not just to February 2009 when our current military commitment ends, but to the end of 2011 when our diplomatic and advisory commitment ends.

If we pull out from the Afghanistan mission before then, as the opposition leaders would have us do, we would be leaving a country and its men, women and children, to certain hopelessness and destruction. And, for that possibility, we can place the blame at the feet of our defeatist and hypocritical opposition leaders.

Remember, it was the Liberals who sent our military to Afghanistan in the first place and it was the Liberals who made a long-term commitment to the U.S., the U.N. and NATO. Yet, day after day we hear Jack Layton, Stephane Dion and Gilles Duceppe talk about bringing the soldiers home. As a result, many Canadians have the impression that we shouldn't be there, that it is simply a matter of choice for us to leave. But, what about our word as a country? Does it not mean anything anymore -- that as soon as things get tough or uncomfortable, we cut and run?

Let's review how we got involved in Afghanistan in the first place. Here is a time line (from CTV)  in brief:

September 11, 2001 -- Terrorists who trained in Afghanistan attacked the U.S.
October 7, 2001 -- Prime Minister Jean Chretien orders the Canadian military to help the U.S. launch attacks in Afghanistan to get rid of the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
October 8, 2001 -- Defence Minister Art Eggleton pledges 2000 troops in the U.S. led campaign.
January 14, 2002 -- Canadian soldiers arrive in Kabul, Afghanistan.
January 25, 2002 -- After the fall of the Taliban, Canada re-establishes diplomatic ties with Kabul.
February 12, 2003 -- Defence Minister John McCallum announces Canada part of UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
February 9, 2004 -- Canada takes command of NATO in Kabul.
June 29, 2005 -- Canadian soldiers begin deploying to Kandahar.
July 29, 2005 -- Prime Minister Paul Martin says Kandahar mission right thing to do.
January 23, 2006 -- Conservatives form minority government who support completing the commitment already made by the former Liberal government.
February 24, 2006 -- Canadian troops start takeover from Americans on the front lines of Kandahar province -- previously agreed to by the Liberal caucus.
Now, over and above the fact that it was the Liberals under both Jean Chretien and Paul Martin who agreed to go to Afghanistan in the first place, Canada is a signatory to the Afghanistan Compact, an agreement that was signed in January 2006 with the United Nations and 60 nations from all parts of the world -- including Canada -- and was for five years to the end of 2011.

Therefore, since that compact was signed by Canada towards the end of the last federal election, it means that the Liberal government of Paul Martin was in complete agreement to the hoped for outcomes. Which is why Canada cannot simply cut and run and why the Canadian people must be told, loud and clear, why we must finish the job in Afghanistan. Because we gave our word that we would do so -- word that came from both Liberal and Conservative politicians and diplomats.

We need to remember that! We also need to remember that this is the country of Vimy Ridge and all the guts and courage that represents.
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[GAP]

How can Canada running from its responsibilities in Afghanistan?
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
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As much as this blog is about economics, it is a vehicle for me rant about issues burning so fierce that I feel a need to seek public criticism.

Now: the Federal Liberals and the Conservatives said that they want to pull Canadian troops out of Afghanistan in February 2009. I am both disappointed and baffled by this development. Both parties weighted the costs and benefit of us entering into Afghanistan just a few years ago: our safety was (is) at risk, our values were (are) at stake, and the answer was (is?) clear. And now is the situation so different that it is almost time to go? This, our political debate, has not gone unnoticed in the world.

This week, I read an article in last Friday's Globe and Mail . Give it a read. I was moved by the praise of Canadian history, our values, and our influence on the world stage. As the article continued, however, it pointed to the fact that Canadian troops are doing most of the heavy lifting: working in the most unstable regions of Afghanistan and that other counties would not put their own troops in areas where Canadians are fighting.

After read a bit more, I was overwhelmed by the following thoughts: (1) Yes! It is terrible that we have lost lives in Afghanistan; (2) Yes! We need more help in the south from other countries and we need better equipment. Yes! Some things do need to change; but is having Canadians in Afghanistan is one of them?

With that, a series of questions fly at me: How can we pull-out of a country that we helped dismantle? Whether you supported the mission or not, don't we now have a responsibility to stay? If we underestimated the cost of battle, does it free us from the consequences of our actions? Maybe I have this wrong, but wasn't the reason Afghanistan became a training group for terrorist in the first place was because people came in, dismantled the place, and then just pulled-out?
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New CFB Squadron ready for Afghanistan mission
Tuesday, September 11, 2007  Stephen Petrick
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The old saying that an army marches on its stomach is a nice way to remember that for every troop on the front line, there are always several more behind them cooking meals, handling laundry and doing all the valuable logistic duties that make a mission possible.

With that in mind, CFB Kingston felt compelled to formally honour its newest squadron, a 75-person crew that will head to Afghanistan in February to make sure the Canadian Forces Kandahar camp runs smoothly.

The RC (S) Sigs Squadron, as it will be called, will be made up of military men and women of different ranks, who will handle all types of duties ranging from tech support to security to laundry.


They will work jointly with troops from Britain and the Netherlands, under the watch of Major General J. G. M. Lessard.

He greeted the troops at a standoff parade at Alpha Drill Hall recently, thanked them for their participation in the mission and told them to be proud of their country’s role in rebuilding Afghanistan.

And if any troops were nervous about embarking on a nine-month mission in a country where 79 Canadians have been killed since 2002 – 26 this year alone – none were showing it openly.

“When you sign the line there’s a little part of you that knows you have to make that commitment,” said Major Robyn Hulan, the officer commanding the squadron. “Everybody shares the enthusiasm for going.”
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[GAP]

Articles found September 12, 2007

Canadian troops in Afghanistan too busy to mark Sept. 11 anniversary
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) — Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan did not stop Tuesday to mark the 6th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

A moment of silence in this war-torn land is hard to come by. Rather, some of Canada's troops were concerned about insurgents bent on celebrating the devastating attack with a deadly mission of their own, just as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan was about to begin.

"Perhaps it means more as far as risk goes," said Pte. Brian Belanger, 23, a soldier from Valcartier, Que.

"Today is a celebration for the Taliban, who might attack a convoy."

However, military officials were hopeful the date wouldn't bring any increase in violence in what has already been one of the most violent years since the Taliban were ousted in 2001.

Lt.-Col. Claude Fournier, chief of operations for the Canadian military in Afghanistan, said Sept. 11, 2001, is of greater significance to al-Qaida than the Taliban.

"Afghanistan is more a Taliban country than it is al-Qaida country, so the reality is we don't encounter many al-Qaida fighters," he said.
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Afghanistan investigating Taliban offer of talks, presidential spokesman says
The Associated Press Tuesday, September 11, 2007
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KABUL, Afghanistan: The Afghan government is investigating a Taliban statement that the militant group might be willing to hold talks with the administration, the president's spokesman said.

"The Afghan government, especially the president himself, has announced several times that the reconciliation doors are open," Humayun Hamidzada, spokesman for President Hamid Karzai, said Tuesday. "We heard the Taliban announcement through the media. We are investigating it."

Karzai repeated Sunday the government's stance that it is willing to hold talks with the hard-line fundamentalists. The next day, Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said the militants would consider negotiations if a formal offer was made.

Taliban fighters sincerely interested in talks to find a "solution for peace" would not be arrested if they came forward, Hamidzada said.

He also said the government had not received a formal offer for talks from the Taliban, and that if one were made, "we will decide about it at that time."

Meanwhile, U.S.-led coalition troops and Afghan forces spotted a group of about 20 Taliban fighters who appeared to be preparing to launch an ambush in southern Zabul province on Tuesday, and ensuing airstrikes killed about 10 of them, the U.S.-led coalition said.

The coalition said more than 245 Taliban fighters have been killed in Zabul and Kandahar provinces since a joint coalition-Afghan operation began in late August.
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Islamic militants tied to bomb plot
German officials say group took responsibility
By David McHugh, Associated Press  |  September 12, 2007
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BERLIN - An Islamic militant group is claiming responsibility for a foiled bomb plot that targeted the US military facility at Ramstein and sought to force Germany to close an air base that supports German troops in Afghanistan, the government said yesterday.

The Interior Ministry, which is responsible for police and internal security, said the Web announcement by the Islamic Jihad Union was being treated as genuine by security officers. Three purported members were arrested Sept. 4 on suspicion of planning bombings in Germany.

The ministry said the attacks were aimed at pressing Germany to close its air base in Termez, Uzbekistan. The base near the Uzbek-Afghan border provides logistical support for some 3,000 German soldiers serving in the international security force in Afghanistan.

German officials previously said the bombings targeted bars and discotheques frequented by Americans as well as airports, but said they weren't sure of the exact targets.

"In an Internet appearance, the Islamic Jihad Union has taken responsibility for the foiled attacks in Germany and addresses the arrests of Sept. 4, 2007," the ministry statement said. "The attacks planned according to this for the end of 2007 were directed against the US air base at Ramstein as well as US and Uzbek consular facilities in Germany."

The group is described by police and prosecutors as an offshoot of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a militant movement that had origins in that Central Asian country. The Islamic Jihad Union has been designated a terrorist organization by the State Department, and German prosecutors say it is characterized by a "profound hatred of US citizens."
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Harper eyeing bigger Australian role in Afghanistan
TheStar.com - September 12, 2007 Tonda MacCharles Ottawa Bureau
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Receives encouraging signals as Howard recognizes `heavy burden' Canada is carrying in Kandahar

CANBERRA, Australia–Canada has received encouraging signals from leaders here on the future of Australia's military commitment in Afghanistan.

The comments came as Prime Minister Stephen Harper ended his visit on a friendly note, and headed home to try to forge a consensus among opposition leaders about extending Canada's military mission beyond February 2009.

In light of that deadline, Australian Prime Minister John Howard was asked by Canadian reporters whether there's a role for Australia – a non-NATO country – in the dangerous southern part of Afghanistan that could help Canada.

"We have a lot of respect for the Canadians, and what they do for us, and it would not surprise that if in the course of discussing things, we looked at the sort of situation that you had in mind," Howard said at a joint news conference with Harper after their hour-long private meeting.

Howard acknowledged the "heavy burden" Canada is carrying in Kandahar province and said Canada and Australia "will continue to talk about our efforts in Afghanistan." He did not rule out some future role, though no "definitive" discussions on a "joint operation or a joint way forward" were held.

Australian Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd, who is surging ahead of Howard in the polls with the country on the brink of a federal election, also pledged support.

Rudd, leader of the Labour party, has said he would re-direct soldiers from Iraq by mid-2008 back into Afghanistan, and left no doubt about his plans to carry through with that if elected.

"Six years on we remain resolute in our commitment to that engagement in Afghanistan and to our common objective of securing the destruction of Osama bin Laden," Rudd told Harper at a luncheon.

Howard's and Rudd's remarks came the same day U.S. Gen. David Petraeus reported that U.S. forces may be able to begin withdrawing some of their numbers, now that Iraqis are shouldering more of the security load.
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Al-Qaeda fights back at Afghan peace bid
By Syed Saleem Shahzad
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KARACHI - Similar to US General David Petraeus' plan of reconciliation with the Iraqi tribal-based national resistance and alienation of al-Qaeda, Washington has a two-pronged approach of political settlement with "reconcilable" insurgents and all-out war on radical extremists in the theater of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

This initiative was given a fillip this week by both the government in Kabul and the Taliban, while al-Qaeda, which stands to lose the
most, is already on the offensive - as in Osama bin Laden's latest video - in a bid to re-energize itself to maintain its support in the Afghan struggle.

A Taliban spokesman on Tuesday responded that they were prepared for talks with Kabul after President Hamid Karzai offered on Sunday to stage negotiations. "Peace cannot be achieved without dialogue," Karzai said.

Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi was quoted in the media as saying, "For the sake of national interests ... we are fully ready for talks with the government." He added that the Taliban had a "limited" number of conditions, but he did not explain further.
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Struggle over bid to extend Japan's role in Afghanistan
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to continue logistical support to coalition forces.
By Tom A. Peter from the September 12, 2007 edition
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Six years after the 9/11 attacks on the United States, Japan's role in Afghanistan is roiling the already struggling administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. On Sunday, Mr. Abe threatened to resign unless the National Diet, Japan's legislative body, agrees to continue Japanese operations in support of US troops.

Since nearly the beginning of the US-led war in Afghanistan, Japan has participated by offering refueling assistance in the Indian Ocean as well as other logistical support. In a March 2007 report by Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the government laid out the nation's accomplishments in Afghanistan.

Japan held the International Conference on Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan in January 2002 (Tokyo Conference). Since then, using approximately US$1.2 billion Official Development Assistance and the Maritime Self-Defense Force's support to Maritime Interdiction Operation (operation to prevent flow of terrorists and arms) in the Indian Ocean as well as other types of aid to the country, Japan has coherently given support to the nation-building of Afghanistan. Japan also held the First and Second Tokyo Conference on Consolidation of Peace in Afghanistan in February 2003 and July 2006.

The maintenance of stability in Afghanistan supports peace and stability in the world as well as the Middle East and Central Asia, further contributing to the eradication and prevention of terrorism in the international community. As a responsible member of the international community, Japan will positively work for the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
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What the increasingly confident Taliban want in exchange for peace
GRAEME SMITH From Wednesday's Globe and Mail September 12, 2007 at 1:38 AM EDT
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — The Taliban and their allies say they are ready to accept President Hamid Karzai's invitation to peace talks, but with tough conditions that show the insurgents' rising confidence about bargaining with the embattled Afghan government.

The Taliban's demands include an immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops and a rewrite of the Afghan constitution, according to interviews The Globe and Mail has conducted with key figures who would be integral to any political settlement.

Hope for negotiations surfaced after Mr. Karzai said on Sunday that he wants to talk with the insurgents - a statement he has made with increasing frequency as the violence rises. But this time, the Taliban took the unusual step of answering the President, issuing a statement on Monday saying they are prepared to meet with him.

Kabul is investigating the Taliban's invitation, a presidential spokesman said yesterday, adding that insurgents who want to negotiate will not be arrested.
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[GAP]

Where are the other 19 Leopard 2 tanks?
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
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I read in the news that our old Leopard C2 tanks were unreliable and that the temperature inside of them, while operated in the course of Afghanistan's summer months, could reach as high as 65 degrees Celsius. Some of the tanks crews would sometimes faint because of the heat. These two problems, plus the need for better IED protection, prompted DND to quickly buy used Leopard 2s from the Dutch. Even when they don’t have air conditioning, these more modern tanks have an electrically driven turret instead of heat producing hydraulic turrets installed on the old Leopard C2s, which considerably reduces the temperature inside the tanks. To speed things up, these newer tanks were purchased without any form of bidding process, because they were needed for the war, and if possible before the summer heat. Then we heard that the Leopards purchased from the Dutch needed some upgrades and wouldn’t be sent to Afghanistan before late 2008, a few months before our mission there ends in February 2009 (unless of course Parliament votes for another extension to the mission, something that becomes less and less likely as time goes by).

Since our new second hand tanks, bought from the Dutch, could not be deployed soon enough (despite the single source purchase), Canada decided to lease or borrow 20 more Leopard 2s from the Germans, tanks that could be sent right away, in time for them to be used during the hot months of summer.

Then on August 16th 2007, in the middle of the summer, the first of those German tanks arrived in Kandahar, aboard a leased An-124. That did not look good at all for two reasons:
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Why the CF-18 is Basically Useless
12 September 2007
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Canada runs a fleet of grey fighting birds called CF-18s ... a sort of baby version of the F-18s currently flying from American aircraft carrier decks. The Canuck birds are pretty, expensive, sleek, but almost useless ... unable to do much more than perform stunts at Canadian air shows. It all comes down to electronics and modern weaponry ... something they don't have ... thanks once again to that most spurious political class of person ... the Canadian Liberal. look:  David Akin takes a closer lookrl=][/url]

Wouldn't it be great if Canada's fighter planes -- the CF-18 -- could be deployed to Afghanistan where they might be able to play a supporting role to the 2,500-odd Canadian troops there? You're right, it would. But, sadly, Canada's CF-18s are shut out of any theatre of war where our allies are are operating because Canada's fighter jets simply don't have the right gear.
End of Article

Taliban Threatens New Operation In Southern Afghanistan
September 12, 2007
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Taliban spokesman Qari Yusef Ahmadi says militants will soon launch an operation in southern Afghanistan led by Mullah Bradar -- a senior Taliban commander who was earlier reported to have been killed.

Ahmadi told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan that the planned offensive in Helmand Province is called Operation Nasrat -- Arabic for "triumph."

Mullah Bradar is thought to be a close relative of supreme Taliban leader Mullah Omar. The Afghan Defense Ministry said in late August that it had killed Mullah Bradar during a joint operation with NATO forces in Helmand Province.

But Counterterrorism Police Chief Abdul Manan Farahi said on September 8 that Bradar's death was not confirmed, and that the Defense Ministry's report may have been mistaken.

Ahmadi's announcement of the operation comes just days after he issued a statement saying the Taliban would be willing to consider negotiations with the Afghan government -- if Kabul made a formal offer. Ahmadi released that statement after Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on September 9 that his government is willing to hold talks with the Taliban.

Karzai's spokesman, Humayun Hamidzada, says authorities in Kabul are investigating Ahmadi's statement and the possibility of negotiations.

Hamidzada said Taliban fighters who are sincerely interested in talks to find a "solution for peace" would not be arrested if they came forward.

But he also said the government has not received a formal offer for talks from the Taliban, and that if one were made, Kabul would decide about it "at that time."
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[GAP]

Articles found September 13, 2007

Harper must come clean on mission
TheStar.com - September 13, 2007 James Travers Ottawa
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Usually clever Stephen Harper is occasionally too clever by half. At those moments the Prime Minister's best policy thinking trips over his worst political instincts and national interest, along with public confidence in his leadership, suffers.

That happened last year when Harper decided against building a parliamentary consensus on extending the Afghanistan mission in favour of driving a wedge between Liberals. Now the spectre of a repeat is rising in the foreplay leading up to next month's throne speech and, perhaps, a late fall election.

For the moment, the Prime Minister is keeping options open with fluid musing about what, if any, role Canada will play in Afghanistan when the current Kandahar mission ends. Ranging freely across the spectrum from staying to finish the job to an orderly retreat, the Conservative position is as confused and confusing as the Liberal response.

But sooner rather than later Ottawa must reveal its post-February 2009 intentions to its allies. And that means Harper faces two decisions: One reframing Canada's commitment to Afghanistan, NATO and the United Nations, another on the wisdom of forcing an election over something as contentious, and uncontrollable, as war.

History makes the second more tempting to forecast than the first. The last time Harper chose between policy consensus and political conflict he threatened an early election if the opposition didn't support keeping troops longer in Afghanistan's violent south.

That confrontation wasn't necessary or prudent. Then interim Liberal leader Bill Graham, a former foreign and defence minister who firmly believed in the mission, was an available partner for a bipartisan agreement. But Harper opted for short-term political advantage that in the longer term perched the Afghanistan albatross squarely on his shoulders.

Once a responsibility inherited from Liberals, the war became Harper's own. Now, with a fall campaign possible, he must neutralize casualties as a ballot-box issue or find a way to torque the mission to Conservative advantage.

Either way, a prime time for Harper to show his hand is Oct. 16, when the government will start a new parliamentary session with fresh and refreshed priorities. Each one will be parsed; none will be as painstakingly decoded as the Tory Afghanistan message.
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Afghanistan can count on German support: Merkel
Thursday, September 13, 2007
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BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday pledged Germany’s full support for peacekeeping in Afghanistan despite opposition from a majority of Germans to one part of the mission.

“I warn against the suggestion that we could leave Operation Enduring Freedom,” Merkel said in a speech to the Bundestag lower house of parliament. “As long as the danger persists, the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) stabilisation mission must continue to be supported by Operation Enduring Freedom.”

While there is broad support to keep about 3,000 German troops in the ISAF force led by NATO, opinion polls show that Germans want their forces to withdraw from the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom. About 200 troops from Germany’s elite KSK unit have a mandate to operate within Operation Enduring Freedom, although they are not currently carrying out missions.

The German parliament is expected this month to approve the extension of the ISAF mission. A new mandate for six German Tornado reconnaissance jets operating in Afghanistan is also expected to be easily passed. But the third mandate, concerning Operation Enduring Freedom, looks set for a rough ride from both the opposition and the Social Democrats, who are partners in Merkel’s coalition government. Merkel said: “We need to prolong all three mandates.”

Meanwhile, the NATO military force in Afghanistan said Wednesday it would not take part the eradication of opium poppy fields, despite calls by UN and the Afghan government for its troops to get involved. The ISAF said however it was supporting the US-backed government in its war on drugs by providing training to Afghan security forces, and sharing information and logistics.
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45 Taliban killed on first day of Ramadan, U.S. coalition says
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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Airstrikes and Afghan army gunfire killed more than 45 suspected Taliban fighters in a clash in a southern province just as the holy month of Ramadan began, the U.S.-led coalition said.

The battle in the southern province of Uruzgan on Wednesday began when insurgents attacked a joint Afghan army and U.S.-led coalition patrol with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire, the coalition said in a statement late Wednesday.

Afghan soldiers "cleared" Taliban fighters from firing positions within the village of Aduzay, while attack aircraft destroyed some fighting positions, it said.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force on Wednesday said insurgents increased attacks during Ramadan last year and that they could do the same this year.

"On the eve of the holy month of Ramadan, the enemies of Afghanistan have shown they will shun peaceful coexistence in favour of attacking government forces," said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, a coalition spokesman. "Fortunately for the citizens of Afghanistan, the ANA (Afghan National Army) is improving their tactics."
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Council approves "Support our troops" stickers on all municipal vehicles
Jake Rupert, The Ottawa Citizen Published: Wednesday, September 12, 2007
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After making it clear they aren't endorsing Canada's role in the war in Afghanistan, city council voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to put "Support our troops" stickers on all municipal vehicles.

By a similar margin, council voted to back the police chief on his plan to put the same stickers on all the force's vehicles.

The moves were put forward in a motion by Rideau-Goulbourn Councillor Glenn Brooks, who was backed by Cumberland Councillor Rob Jellett, the vast majority of councillors and the mayor
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Canada’s liberals are, in fact, dumb bombs
Posted by Joel Johannesen Wednesday, September 12, 2007
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Proving that Canada is far from serious about this war on terror and its own defence and national security, Canada still doesn’t have already years-old, latest generation laser-guided “smart-bomb” technology for its now already aging CF-18 fighter jets, which would enable them to fire ammunition at enemies with pinpoint accuracy and deadly force—something even third-world Iran boasts it can do.  Liberals are in favor of that. 

Why are they in favor of that?  Well for one thing, it’s their fault.  They did this.  But also, as a result of their perfidy, Canada can’t send its fleet of CF-18s to aid our relatively huge effort in Afghanistan—a mission which the liberal-left in Canada hates—to help protect our Canadian troops’ lives and advance our noble mission’s goals there, without that technology.  Readers know I’ve been demanding they do just that since the Liberals begrudgingly started the mission in 2001 following the latest declaration of war against us by Islamist terrorists, on September 11, 2001—and it’s a decision they apparently weren’t any more serious about than their sacred Kyoto Accord with its hilarious targets they had no plan to nor intention of meeting. 

Liberals, who were busy improperly deploying all of the nations’ resources and attention enacting emergency gay “marriage” legislation and redefining the definition of “family” and “marriage” at any cost whatsoever, even while Islamist terrorism was festering in front of their faces and a real war was going on, are still unaware or unwilling to admit or unwilling to come to grips with the fact that Islamist terrorists turned several passenger aircraft into “smart bombs” on that memorable day in 2001.  Note that the terrorists employed this “smart bomb” technology without any squabbling over contracts. 
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Canadian soldiers brace for bombings in Afghanistan as Ramadan begins
Last Updated: Thursday, September 13, 2007 | 8:20 AM ET CBC News
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Canadian soldiers were on alert for an increase in suicide bombings in Afghanistan on Thursday, as the holy month of Ramadan began.

Lt.-Col. Claude Fournier, chief of operations for the Canadian military in Afghanistan, said while most Muslims in the wartorn country will likely spend the holiday with their loved ones, a few may see it as an opportunity to sacrifice themselves in a suicide bombing.

Some believe such an act during Ramadan will send them directly into heaven, the CBC's David Common said from the Canadian military base in Kandahar.

"In that sense, there is concern that there might be an upsurge in the number of suicide bombings," he said.
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[GAP]

Last Afghanistan de-miners freed  
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Gunmen in Afghanistan have now released all 13 members of an Afghan mine clearing team they kidnapped in the eastern province of Paktia.
The head of the de-mining group said the last three men were freed on Thursday morning.

The other 10 had been freed on Monday. Police say no ransom was paid.

It is not clear who the kidnappers were. The Taleban denied having anything to do with the abduction.

Thursday's release was negotiated by local elders.

The BBC's Charles Haviland in Kabul says Afghans are kidnapped far more often than foreigners, sometimes by criminal gangs and sometimes by insurgents.
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