Afghanistan News June 2, 2004

June 2, 2004

Blast kills top Afghan police official
By Dawood Wafa Tuesday June 1, 2:58 PM
JALALABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A senior police official has been killed in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad when a bomb attached to his office chair exploded, doctors say.

Haji Ajab Shah was killed at the police headquarters of the city, the capital of Nangarhar province, as the workday began.

"His body is in the morgue," said a doctor at the hospital to which Shah was taken.

The attack on Tuesday was the latest incident in a wave of violence in the run-up to landmark elections in September, most of which has been blamed on remnants of the ousted Taliban regime and their Islamic militant allies including al Qaeda.

The explosive device was triggered minutes after Shah sat down, a security official said, adding that the blast blew holes in his head and one shoulder. An aide to Shah was also wounded.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the security official said he could not rule out the involvement of police in the incident, though it was too early to say who was behind the attack.

"We are trying to find out how this happened, who did it and why," he told Reuters.

Jalalabad, which is 130 km (81 miles) east of Kabul, has been hit by a series of blasts targeting government offices and Western aid agencies, but few have caused in serious casualties.

CONCERNS AHEAD OF VOTE
Most of the violence in Afghanistan, which has claimed more than 700 lives since August, has been concentrated in the south and east of the country, traditional strongholds of the Taliban movement before its ouster by U.S.-led forces late in 2001.

Four U.S. soldiers from a special forces unit were killed when their vehicle hit a landmine in the southern province of Zabul on Saturday, one of the worst single losses to American troops in Afghanistan in the last two years.

There are 20,000 soldiers in the U.S.-led force hunting Taliban and al Qaeda guerrillas and a further 6,500 international peacekeepers patrolling Kabul.

Taliban fighters have called a "jihad", or holy war, on foreign and Afghan soldiers and aid organisations, and have vowed to disrupt elections that they dismiss as a "drama" staged by the Americans to legitimise the regime they support.

Claiming to speak for the Taliban, Abdul Latif Hakimi said on Monday presidential candidates would be prime targets of attacks in coming months.

"The Taliban have carried out extensive planning to destroy this election drama," he said, by satellite telephone.

"Our prime targets will be candidates participating in the next presidential elections, and (President) Hamid Karzai will be the first target."

No other Taliban representatives could be immediately contacted to corroborate his claim.

Violence has also been linked to tribal rivalries and the illicit drug trade rampant in parts of the south and east close to the border with Pakistan.

Afghanistan's Karzai to attend Central Asian summit
BEIJING, June 1 (AFP) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai will attend a summit among China, Russia and four Central Asian states later this month, with the war on terror high on the agenda, a ranking Chinese official said Tuesday.

Karzai will take part in the fourth summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), an anti-terror and trade group, at the invitation Of host nation Uzbekistan, according to Assistant Foreign Minister Li Hui.

'Afghanistan is a very important country in Central and South Asia,' he said. 'Every member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is paying a lot of attention to the situation in Afghanistan.'

The summit, on June 16 and 17, will also mark the formal establishment of an SCO counter-terrorism center in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent, he said. While Karzai will be present at the Tashkent talks, it is not yet on The organization's agenda to consider Afghanistan, a key focus of anti-terrorist efforts, as a regular member, Li said.

'The issue of Afghan membership has not been discussed yet, and Afghanistan has not yet proposed it,' said Li. Karzai will participate as a guest, not an observer, but formal rules for giving countries observer status are expected to be passed at the meeting, he said.

The SCO had extended an invitation to both Karzai and Mongolian President Natsagiin Bagabandi to attend the Tashkent summit, but Mongolia had not shown any interest as of Tuesday, according to Li.

'An invitation was extended to Mongolia,' he said. 'But as far as I know, Mongolia hasn't answered yet.' SCO, which includes China and Russia and the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, was formally established in 2001.

It grew out of efforts in the 1990s to strengthen confidence-building measures in the border regions and fight regional terrorism, religious extremism and separatism.

China, which shares 7,000 kilometers (4,400 miles) of border with other SCO member states, sees the organization as vital in its efforts to combat separatism, especially in its northwestern, mostly Muslim region of Xinjiang.

The first years of the SCO as a formal organization have coincided with growing American presence in Central Asia in the wake of the September 11 attacks and the war in Afghanistan.

But Li said he did not see the organization as a counterweight to the United States in a region that has been of vital strategic interest for centuries.

'There is no such thing as counter-balancing US influence,' said Vice Foreign Minister Li. 'There's no need for it, and it wouldn't conform with the principles of the organization.'

China's Hu, Afghanistan's Karzai to discuss anti-terrorism at Central Asian summit
Associated Press Tuesday June 1, 1:35 PM
Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, will hold talks on fighting terrorism at a meeting of Central Asian leaders next week, China's government said Tuesday.

Karzai will attend the gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, as the first outside leader invited to a meeting of the six-nation group, said Li Hui, a deputy Chinese foreign minister.

The group, formed to fight terrorism and Islamic extremism, also includes Russia and the Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

In a one-on-one meeting, Hu and Karzai "will discuss matters of security and anti-terrorism," Li said at a news briefing. "They might also discuss anti-drug activities."

Li wouldn't give details, but China claims that Islamic separatists in its northwest received training in Afghan camps run by the former Taliban government allied with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.

China has cultivated close ties with Afghanistan since the overthrow of the Taliban by U.S. forces in late 2001.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was formed in 1996 but did little until after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Since then, members have stepped up security cooperation, holding joint military exercises and opening an anti-terrorism training center in March in Tashkent.

The group has no plans to invite Afghanistan to join but is preparing a structure to let other nations become observers, Li said.

Hu will attend the Tashkent meeting as part of a four-nation trip that also includes stops in Romania, Hungary and Poland, where he will make the first visit by a Chinese head of state.

Hu will deliver speeches to the parliaments of Romania and Uzbekistan, Li said.

Afghanistan And Greater Middle East Initiative To Top Nato Summit Agenda
Anadolu Agency: 6/1/2004 TurkishPress.com
ANKARA - Afghanistan and Greater Middle East Initiative would be high on the agenda of NATO summit to be held in Istanbul, Turkey between June 28 and 29, sources said on Tuesday.

Diplomatic sources said that the agenda had not become clear yet but Afghanistan and Greater Middle East Initiative were expected to top the agenda.

The same sources said that participating countries might set and approve NATO's general strategy towards Afghanistan.

The diplomatic sources agreed that participating countries might focus on ensuring stability around Afghanistan.

The same sources stated that delegates might discuss possible role of the Alliance in the elections expected to be held in Afghanistan in September and possible contribution of countries to expand NATO's presence in this country.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai and NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan Hikmet Cetin are expected to attend the summit.

Another important issue to be discussed at the summit is Greater Middle East Initiative. Diplomatic sources said that some important meetings like G-8, European Union (EU) summit and U.S.-EU summit would be held since the NATO summit in order to shape up the project, adding that Istanbul Summit would be the last meeting of its kind.

Diplomatic sources stated that what kind of a security role NATO would take in the project had not yet been clear.

The same sources pointed out that what kind of a cooperation the regional countries and NATO could make was expected to be discussed in Istanbul.

Diplomatic sources stated that it had not yet been clear whether Iraq would be discussed at the summit. They said that developments in Iraq could be debated and a statement might be released.

Afghan Official Says U.S. Forces Kill Six Taliban
Tue Jun 1, 6:23 AM ET
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - U.S.-led troops killed six members of Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime in a raid on Tuesday in the southern province of Zabul, a provincial military official said.

The six Taliban were killed in a surprise attack by U.S.-led soldiers in the Sori district of Zabul province, division commander Nimatullah Tokhi told Reuters from Qalat, the provincial capital.

Four U.S. soldiers from a special forces unit were killed when their vehicle hit a mine in Zabul province on Saturday.

"We had tipped the Americans off about the presence of Taliban and they went and killed them," Tokhi said, adding that U.S. forces apparently suffered no casualties in the gunbattle that followed the attack.

Zabul used to be a stronghold of the Taliban, overthrown by U.S.-led forces in late 2001.

The province bordering Pakistan has been the scene of mounting attacks by suspected Taliban guerrillas in recent months, mainly against Afghan troops.

Neither the U.S. military, which leads some 20,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, nor members of the Taliban could be contacted immediately for comment on the incident.

More than 700 people have been killed in a spate of violence mostly across southern and eastern Afghanistan since last August in attacks largely attributed to Taliban remnants and their Islamic militant allies.

The violence is of particular concern in the run-up to landmark elections in September.

U.S. Braced for More Attacks Ahead of Afghan Vote
Tue Jun 1,12:30 PM ET
KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. forces are braced for more attacks by Taliban and al Qaeda fighters as Afghanistan heads for its first ever direct elections in September, the commander of U.S. troops in the country said Tuesday.

Attacks on foreign and Afghan troops have accelerated as members of the ousted Taliban and their allies seek to disrupt a vote they dismiss as a "drama" designed to legitimize the U.S.-backed government in Kabul.

"We should be absolutely clear-eyed about the terrorists' aims," Lieutenant-General David Barno said.

"As the September elections approach, we can expect to see additional attempts by remnants of the Taliban and al Qaeda to disrupt and undermine Afghanistan's democratic process," he told a news briefing in Kabul.

Saturday, four members of a U.S. special operations unit were killed when an explosive device hit their vehicle in the southern province of Zabul, one of the highest losses in one incident since U.S. forces helped topple the Taliban in 2001.

On the same day, in the southern province of Helmand, seven government soldiers and four suspected Taliban were killed in coordinated attacks on official targets. A bomb killed a senior police officer Tuesday in the eastern city of Jalalabad.

Barno said some of the worst-affected areas of Afghanistan were Zabul and the neighboring province of Uruzgan.

About 2,000 U.S. Marines have been deployed temporarily to crush the insurgents in Uruzgan and civilian-military teams set up in the capitals of both provinces.

Barno leads a 17-nation force of 20,000 mainly U.S. troops hunting Taliban and al Qaeda fighters who are most active in the south and east of the country. More than 700 people have died in violence since August, most of it militant-related.

"JIHAD" TARGETS KARZAI
Militants have called a "jihad," or holy war, on foreign and Afghan troops and aid groups and vow to disrupt the elections.

Abdul Latif Hakimi, saying he speaks for the Taliban, said Monday presidential candidates, primarily the incumbent, Hamid Karzai, would be targets of attacks in coming months.

Karzai has long complained insurgents have free rein to launch raids from neighboring Pakistan. Islamabad denies that, saying it has handed hundreds of militant suspects over to U.S. custody.

A Pakistani operation to round up al Qaeda fighters and their local tribal allies in March left dozens of troops dead and not a single senior militant figure caught or killed.

Pakistan has since tried to strike a political deal with foreign fighters in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, but none has yet given himself up.

Despite U.S. military doubts about a political solution to what it sees as a major security threat, officials have publicly supported Pakistan, a key ally in the "war on terror."

When asked whether U.S. forces would try and cross into Pakistan in pursuit of militant suspects, Barno replied:

"I've got confidence that the Pakistani military is fully capable of conducting military ops (operations) on their side of the border.

"I know the Pakistanis have been developing their military plans for this area and I think time will tell here in the next couple of weeks how they decide to implement those plans."

World to see fabled Bactrian gold
Tuesday June 1, 7:05 PM By Mike Collett-White
KABUL (Reuters) - The world could soon catch a glimpse of Afghanistan's fabled Bactrian gold, as preparations get underway to exhibit some of the 20,000 or so pieces that make up the country's most important ancient treasure trove.

Dates and locations have yet to be finalised but the United States, France, Germany, Japan and Greece, are among countries interested in hosting the 2,000-year-old haul that has miraculously remained in tact despite years of war and upheaval.

While other important archaeological sites are plundered or have been ruined by war, the Bactrian gold discovered by a Soviet team just before the Red Army invasion of 1979 has had a number of narrow escapes, adding to its allure and mystery.

"When the process of inventory is done, we will decide," said Culture and Information Minister Sayed Makhdoom Raheen.

"We will sit down with the Americans, the Germans, French and Japanese and make a joint decision on arranging a tour," he told Reuters.

The favourites to host the collection first are the Americans and French, and Raheen hopes interest in the treasure found near the northern town of Shiberghan will generate funds to build museums and combat looting.

"This ministry is in need of much," he said, rubbing weary eyes. "I want to spend the money on new museums. We used to have museums in the provinces, and now we have none."

Plans are underway to build a museum in Bamiyan, home to giant Buddhas cut into cliffs which were blown up by the Taliban in 2001. It was an act of destruction that shocked the world and exposed the hardline Islamic militia's intolerance.

A new museum may also be built in Kabul, where the Bactrian gold will eventually be kept.

MORE THAN GOLD
Raheen is aware that a series of exhibitions could be vital to supporting his ministry, but there is plenty more on his mind.

"My mind is busy with many other sites and historical objects. The main problem is looting of those sites by warlords and the international mafia; even now hundreds of pieces are going out of the country."

An Afghan official who viewed the Bactrian gold recently in an underground vault in the heavily guarded presidential palace in Kabul described the pieces he saw, including an intricately designed belt and a gold broach, as "priceless".

Hardly anyone sees the collection, and those who do are searched by armed U.S. mercenaries hired by Washington to protect President Hamid Karzai.

The paranoia is understandable.

Retreating Soviet forces left behind the Bactrian treasure. So did the Taliban, according to several accounts, despite desperate efforts to access the vault as U.S. bombers pounded Kabul on the eve of the regime's demise in November, 2001.

Many assumed the gold had disappeared forever, but it was discovered intact after the vault was finally opened in August for the first time in 14 years.

Raheen said there were 20,600 gold pieces in the collection. The trove was from a nomad burial site in what was once Bactria, lying between the Hindu Kush mountains and the Amu Darya river, also known as the Oxus.

The coins, necklaces set with gems, belts, medallions and crowns have never been seen outside Afghanistan.

But while curators pitch for a part in what promises to be a glittering roadshow, Raheen has other things on his mind.

"We recently established a 500-man guard with the Interior Ministry," he said, referring to a force set up to protect what is left of Afghanistan's heritage. "It took me a year to get this far. But it is not mobilised yet; we need cars and equipment."

Afghanistan has its first official AIDS deaths
By Sayed Salahuddin Tuesday June 1, 2:28 PM
KABUL (Reuters) - The deaths of an Afghan man and two of his children marked the first official fatalities from the AIDS virus in deeply conservative Afghanistan, a health ministry official said on Tuesday.

A 45-year-old man along with his six-month-old son and two-year-old daughter died recently in a Kabul hospital where they were being treated for AIDS, said Dr Naqibullah Safi, the head of the ministry's HIV department.

Safi did not identify the man. The wife of the victim was alive, he said.

"The man had been suffering from AIDS for the past seven years or so," Safi told Reuters, adding that the deaths were the first official AIDS fatalities registered with the ministry.

He said between 200 and 300 men and women were registered as AIDS sufferers in Afghanistan.

But he said the real number of sufferers would be far higher, because many Afghans with HIV or AIDS would avoid talking about it publicly.

Safi linked AIDS cases in Afghanistan to drug abuse as well as sex. There was little awareness in the war-shattered country about the disease and how it spreads, he said.

Most affected people appear to have contracted AIDS from Afghans who had lived abroad as refugees but who have returned home in their millions since late 2001.

The risk of HIV/AIDS increased after the hardline Islamic Taliban regime was toppled nearly three years ago, as drug abuse spreads in the world's largest source of heroin and new freedoms appear in cities, including prostitution.

The ousted Taliban would publicly lash or stone to death adulterers, including women, and the harsh interpretation of Islamic sharia law appears to have curbed promiscuity and slowed the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

President Hamid Karzai's U.S.-backed government has come under fire from some Islamists for failing to clamp down on brothels that have opened in the capital.

UN warning on Afghanistan opium
By Andrew North BBC correspondent in Herat Tuesday, 1 June, 2004, 18:36 GMT 19:36 UK

The head of the United Nations drugs control agency has told the BBC that efforts to tackle Afghanistan's growing drugs trade are failing.

Antonio Maria Costa said that the country would face a dangerous future if it was not brought under control.

According to Mr Costa, up to 90% of the opium from Afghanistan's poppy fields is turned into heroin inside the country's borders.

Most of the heroin consumed in Britain originates from Afghanistan.

'More serious problem'

The executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime has warned about the threat from the Afghan drugs trade before.

But on his latest visit to the country Antonio Maria Costa said the problem was getting ever more serious, despite international efforts - led by Britain - to tackle it.

Some drug profits may be going to terrorists, and although it is officially illegal, opium production is growing more widely than ever.

Poverty among farmers is often seen as one of the causes.

Mr Costa accepts it plays a role, but he says there are more important factors.

"The problem is becoming ever more serious," he said.

"Cultivation is spreading and eradication measures undertaken by the government are not succeeding.

"Corruption is widespread and it is a major lubricant for trafficking and illegal activities such as money-laundering."

But many of the police commanders Mr Costa met over the past few days said they did not have the resources or the manpower to fight the drugs traffickers.

That is why Mr Costa is calling for a reappraisal of the way the Afghan authorities and their international backers deal with the problem.

NATO takes over running of Kabul airport from Germany
KABUL, June 1 (AFP) - NATO formally took command of Kabul's military airport Tuesday when Germany ended more than two years in charge by handing over control to Icelandic troops.

A lifeline for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, The military component of Kabul international airport will now be managed by soldiers from some 24 nations under the command of the Icelandic personnel.

'Today marks more than a change of command, it marks... the start of a truly international force here,' deputy commander of the peacekeeping force, German Major General Wolfgang Korte said.

The German air force took command of the airport in February 2002 and since then has presided over the movements of some 26,500 military personel, 25,000 tonnes of equipment and more than 42,000 aircraft.

Iceland Foreign Minister Halldor Asgrimsson said his country had sent 17 personnel and they would work in the airport with about 300 troops from other nations.

'Iceland is a very small nation of 290,000 people,' he told a press conference after the ceremony. 'We are the only member of NATO without an army.'

'It's the biggest responsibility we have undertaken since we became a member of NATO.' Iceland has previously managed Pristina airport in Kosovo under a multinational force.

Asgrimsson said his troops would work to train Afghan firefighters and air traffic controllers so the airport's command could pass to local hands. He said Iceland would command the airport for at least one year and 'probably two.'

'But we hope that we can hand over this airport to Afghanistan as soon as possible,' he said. NATO commands more than 6,400 peacekeepers stationed mainly in Kabul but also in the northern city of Kunduz and is under pressure to extend the force around the country ahead of elections slated for September.

"President not to make alliance in elections"
Xinhua 06/01/2004
KABUL - Afghan President Hamid Karzai would not make any alliance to win the upcoming general elections, his spokesman Jawed Ludin said Tuesday. "The President several times in the past clarified that the coalition governments in the last years failed to deliver," he told journalists at a news briefing here.

Ludin made this comment amid increasing informal contacts between government and leaders of Islamist groups or Jihadi parties since early last month. However, Ludin confirmed meeting between President Karzai and the former Jihadi leaders including fundamentalist figure Rasoul Sayaf and the soft-spoken ex-president Burhanudin Rabbani in the capital city last week.

The subject of the meeting, he added, was not to make alliance but rather to reach understanding for the larger interest of the nation. The President, however, would welcome any positive proposals and steps that can help boost electoral process and stabilize the country, Ludin added. "Jihadi leaders presented a series of proposals to the President which is under considerations," added the presidential spokesman without giving further details.

According to report leaking from Jihadi's camp, former Mujahidin leaders have conditioned their support to Karzai's candidacy on the fact that he should sanction key posts in the next elected setup to the Jihadi groups.

Sayaf, as per report has been proposed as Chief Justice and Rabbani as speaker of Walasi Jirga or national assembly. "It is the right of the people to elect speaker of national assembly while it is too premature to talk about the chief justiceof the country," the presidential spokesman stressed.

The first-ever presidential and parliamentary election in the post-Taliban in which the incumbent President Hamid Karzai is a potential candidate has been rescheduled for next September.

Karzai can't win elections without Mujahideen's support: Rabbani
PNS 06/01/2004
KABUL - The Jamiat-e-Islami chief, Buhanuddin Rabbani has said that said the incumbent Afghan president, Hamid Karzai would not be able to win the forthcoming presidential elections without the support of the former Mujahideen.
Referring to the ongoing talks in Kabul between Hamid Karzai and a number of former Mujahideen leaders, groups and commanders on the post-elections composition of the government, Mr Rabbani said that he has put forth some conditions to Mr. Karzai and if he accept these conditions, they would support his candidature for the presidential polls.

Mr. Rabbani made these observations at a meeting of Jamiat-e-Islami in Kabul, according to BBC reports.

Nearly four hundred Jamiat-e-Islami men have assembled in Kabul to devise strategy in the prevailing condition and announce new polices. Seat reserved in the meeting for defence Minister, Muhammad Qaseem Faheem, Education Minister, Muhammad Younas Qanooni and Foreign Minister, Dr .Abdullah Abdullah remained empty.

Instead of the scheduled agenda, most of the participants spoke about the past deeds of the Mujahaideen particularly Jamiat-e-Islami and Mujahideen's participation and their role in the future Afghan Government.

The JI chief, Burhaunddin Rabbain was expected to announce his party's policies in his speech but he largely concentrated on common issued like Islam and democracy.

However, his remarks about the latest negotiations between president Hamid Karzai and the leaders and commanders of the former Mujahideen were of great importance.

According to him, more than twenty conditions have been submitted to President Hamid Karzai in return of their support to his candidature in the forthcoming presidential elections.

The important conditions are considerable share to the Mujahideen in the next government and respect to the Islamic value.

Mr. Rabbani said that Mr. Karzai would not be able to win the elections without their support. He added that he thinks, they enjoy popular support and if the United Front does not back any candidate, no one would be able to win the pools.

Mr. Rabbani said that he would announce his final stance after President Karzai accepts all of their condition.

It is pertinent to note that a number of observers and common youths consider the latest agreement between President Karzai and former Mujahideen leader as an attempt for the formation of another interim government in Afghanistan through undemocratic means. They said if pre-bargaining is made, then what is the need of elections?

Globecomm Systems Awarded Contract from the Ministry of Communication, Islamic Transitional State of Afghanistan Valued at $14.7 Million
June 01, 2004 01:45 PM US Eastern Timezone
HAUPPAUGE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 1, 2004--Globecomm Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:GCOM), a global provider of end-to-end satellite-based communications solutions, today announced that the Company has been awarded a contract valued at $14.7 million from the Ministry of Communication, Islamic Transitional State of Afghanistan to design, deliver, install and maintain a modern hybrid broadband communications network. The contract is scheduled to begin immediately, and will be implemented and significantly completed within the Company's fiscal year ending June 30, 2005. The contract is fully funded through the World Bank.

The network will provide voice, data, Internet and video conferencing services to 38 ministries within the capital of Kabul and 31 provincial capitals throughout Afghanistan and provide an international gateway to the global Internet and Public Switch Telephone Network utilizing a combination of satellite communication links, microwave, wireless links and fiber connections. The contract also includes continuing maintenance and operations services, as well as supplying the related satellite capacity. Upon completion, the ministries and capitals throughout Afghanistan will be fully interconnected with a robust 21st century telecommunications solution bringing together the most modern technologies available in the marketplace.

David Hershberg, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Globecomm Systems Inc., said, "This is the very first nationwide communications project in Afghanistan, which Globecomm has been awarded in a very competitive tender. As a Company, we are proud to have been selected to work on this critical project, allowing the Company to demonstrate Globecomm's full suite of capabilities. The Internet has had an unparalleled impact on society, and this is most amplified by bringing under-served nations into the modern era by allowing full access to the world. Interconnecting the ministries and capitals of Afghanistan with a modern 21st century telecommunications network will enable the government to communicate more effectively internally throughout the country, as well as with the rest of the world. During the economic downturn, Globecomm spent significant time and resources developing all the necessary capabilities required to design, build, implement, and maintain hybrid telecommunications solutions on a 24 by 7 basis, making the Company uniquely qualified for such a complex project." Mr. Hershberg continued, "As a result of the magnitude and nature of this contract award, coupled with the further potential in the region, Globecomm will be establishing a representative office in Kabul to maintain our presence in this very important region."

About Globecomm Systems

Globecomm Systems Inc. is an end-to-end satellite-based communications solutions provider. The Company's core business provides end-to-end value-added satellite-based communications solutions. This business supplies ground segment systems and networks for satellite-based communications, including hardware and software to support a wide range of satellite systems. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, NetSat Express, Inc., provides end-to-end satellite-based Internet solutions, including network connectivity, broadband connectivity to end users, Internet connectivity, intranet extension, media distribution and other network services on a global basis. Both Globecomm Systems' and NetSat Express' customers include communication service providers, multinational corporations, Internet Service Providers, content providers and government entities.

Based in Hauppauge, New York, Globecomm Systems also maintains offices in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

Certain of the statements contained in this press release may be deemed forward-looking statements. Such statements, and other matters addressed in this press release, involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements and matters include risks and other factors detailed, from time to time, in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, the Company's Annual Reports on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which the Company urges investors to consider.

Number of Iraq, Afghanistan misconduct cases climb to at least 91: US
Wednesday June 2, 4:23 AM AFP
The number of cases of misconduct by US soldiers against detainees and civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan now numbers at least 91, and is likely higher, an army official said.

The new figure is nearly double the 49 cases of abuse disclosed two weeks ago by senior Pentagon officials.

It is a blow to the administration's efforts to portray the highly publicized abuse cases at Abu Ghraib prison as an isolated case.

US commanders have opened 91 investigations into misconduct by US soldiers against detainees and civilians, an army official said, confirming a report on the higher number by The Washington Post.

But the official cautioned that that tally was about two weeks old, and the army's Criminal Investigation Command was still gathering information on the outstanding investigations.

It was "likely" that the total was higher, the official said, noting that cases were difficult to track because commanders can conduct investigations without reporting them up the chain of command.

Senior army officials on May 22 told reporters that 37 death cases and 16 assault cases have been investigated since August of 2002. Of the death cases, only nine were under active investigation.

The latest numbers do not appear to include any new deaths, but rather more assault cases than previouly reported and cases of alleged theft by soldiers.

The Post said they included 18 cases of soldiers accused of stealing jewelry, money or other property from civilians, and 40 cases of assault in which civilians or detainees were kicked or beaten, or weapons were fired to frighten them.

Most cases -- 49 -- involved incidents outside detention centers.

The newspaper cited a senior army official as saying the assault cases led to 14 courts martial and seven instances in which non-judicial punishment was meted out.

Only one homicide has resulted in disciplinary action: a soldier was demoted and discharged for shooting a prisoner who was throwing stones at him.

Eight other suspected homicides are under active investigation and a ninth has been turned over to the Justice Department because it involved a CIA contract employee.

Meanwhile, an investigation into the role of military intelligence at Abu Ghraib continues under the army's deputy chief of staff for intelligence, Major General George Fay.

Fay is to submit his report to Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, the commander of US forces in Iraq, no later than June 15, a second army official said.

So far, only seven military police guards have been charged in the abuses at Abu Ghraib which were documented in hundreds of photographs and video clips that showed prisoners being sexually humiliated and physically tormented.

Most of the guards have alleged they were urged by military intelligence interrogators to soften up the prisoners, who were supposed to enjoy Geneva Convention protections against inhumane and degrading treatment.

A key question is whether more aggressive interrogation techniques used on al-Qaeda suspects in Afghanistan and at a detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba were imported to Iraq.

The abuses occurred between October and December after a visit by Major General Geoffrey Miller, who was then the commander of the Guantanamo detention center and is now in charge of US-run prisons in Iraq.

Miller was sent to Iraq to see how to improve intelligence collection from detainees, and recommended closer coordination between military intelligence and military police to set conditions for successful interrogations at Abu Ghraib.

The New York Times reported over the weekend that interrogation teams were sent from Guantanamo to Iraq and played a central role in training military intelligence interrogators at Abu Ghraib during the period when the abuses occurred.

U.S. Vows to Act if Afghan Prison Review Finds Fault
Tue Jun 1,10:37 AM ET By Mike Collett-White
KABUL (Reuters) - The U.S. military vowed on Tuesday to take immediate but unspecified action if a sweeping review of its treatment of detainees at the secretive network of prisons in Afghanistan revealed wrongdoing.

Lieutenant-General David Barno, who commands a 20,000-strong mainly American force hunting Taliban and al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan, launched the probe last month after allegations of abuse were made by former detainees.

At least three detainees have also died while in U.S. custody. An inquiry into two deaths at the main U.S. detention facility at Bagram, north of Kabul, remains open 18 months after the young men died having suffered "blunt force injuries."

Barno told reporters Tuesday that Brigadier-General Charles Jacoby, who is conducting the review, is visiting 19 holding centers scattered across the country and the central jail at Bagram. He is due to report his findings by mid-June.

"I intend to take rapid action on any areas of concern which he (Jacoby) identifies," Barno told a news briefing in Kabul.

"I continue to expect that all of our forces will treat every detainee here with dignity and respect throughout our processes, while maintaining the necessary operation security for our soldiers," he added.

The prison abuse scandal at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad has put the U.S. military in Afghanistan under pressure to answer charges of abuse and homicide at its jails.

The same military intelligence unit that oversaw interrogations at Bagram when the two detainees died there was also involved in questioning at Abu Ghraib.

Human Rights Watch has called abuse of detainees in Afghanistan "systemic," and criticized an American decision not to grant suspected Islamic militants prisoner-of-war status that would give them rights under the Geneva Conventions.

REVIEW AND INVESTIGATIONS
As well as the "top-to-bottom" review, two separate investigations have been launched into specific allegations, including by a former police officer who said he was beaten and sexually abused during 40 or so days in U.S. detention.

The U.S. army's criminal investigations division is also conducting a probe into the deaths in December 2002 of two young Afghans at Bagram.

A third fatality, at a holding center in Asadabad near the Pakistani border in June 2003, has been confirmed, but little is known about the circumstances leading up to the death.

Barno said intelligence the United States received from interrogations was invaluable in terms of identifying suspected Taliban and al Qaeda members and protecting forces on the ground.

"All of the preliminary reports we're getting back...is that the intelligence is extremely useful...to follow up on other targets and also to safeguard coalition soldiers out there on the battlefield every day," he said, before adding:

"Regardless of any intelligence value, we'll tell you without any hesitation, without any qualification, intelligence procedures have got to be done in accordance with the approved standards."

He said the main findings of Jacoby's review would be made public, but that specific techniques could be kept secret to avoid playing into the hands of the "enemy."

Barno is to decide this week whether to grant the International Committee of the Red Cross access to the U.S. holding center in Kandahar. The ICRC, which made a request more than two weeks ago, currently only visits Bagram.

There are nearly 400 detainees at U.S. detention facilities in Afghanistan, and some 2,000 militant suspects in total have been incarcerated since the collapse of the Taliban in late 2001.

Afghan police raid begins with knock on door, ends with invitation for tea
Tue Jun 1, 9:24 PM ET STEPHEN THORNE Canadian Press via Yahoo! News
KABUL (CP) - It was an Afghan police raid, Canadian-style, beginning with a polite knock on the door and ending with an invitation for tea at 3 a.m.

It was part of a massive sweep by more than 300 Canadian troops and dozens of Kabul City Police overnight Tuesday night aimed at disrupting criminal activity in the Afghan capital.

Para Company, 3rd Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment was patrolling its sector when word came from local residents that criminals were living in a nearby compound, complete with armed guards.

Under the silvery light of a full moon, paratroopers and city police armed with AK-476 assault rifles fanned out swiftly and silently, moving in stages, one element instinctively filling another's as each moved forward.

They quickly surrounded the high-walled adobe fort.

Even with the reassuring sound of helicopter blades and whir of an unmanned spy plane overhead, the eight-metre-high walls, riddled with damage from previous battles, were an imposing sight.

Gun ports could be seen along the ramparts and in the badly pocked towers at each corner. There were no guards.

And while dogs barked and paratroopers swept the area, their rifles bristling in every direction, the veteran police chief who said he'd been doing this for 24 years, walked right up to the door with two of his officers and knocked.

It took a while but one of the residents finally answered and was promptly told he was surrounded, not only from around but from above.

There was no argument and no resistance. The door swung open and KCP officers, along with a handful of paratroopers highly trained in close urban warfare, rushed inside.

A dog stood atop one of the towers, barking, barking, barking. A soldier pointed his rifle at the animal, his infrared light marking a red dot on the dog's forehead. He didn't fire.

Inside were five men, two women and several children. The men were huddled in the middle of a courtyard beside a gas lamp and two horses.

Their expressions were grim as flashlights cast scattered beams throughout buildings inside the compound. Police and soldiers were searching for weapons and contraband. Two had left a short while ago, the men told them.

The huddled men were either innocent or the luckiest criminals in Kabul, a city of many. All the searchers could find was a single shotgun - no contraband.

The police chief expressed his regrets, explained the purpose of their actions and prepared to leave.

The men who had knelt so sullenly were suddenly, joyously relieved. They posed proudly with their shotgun and invited the Afghan police and the Canadian soldiers to stay for tea - an Afghan tradition, even at 3 a.m.

The formerly uninvited guests politely declined and disappeared the way they came, back across fields, through gullies, around walls to their vehicles and back to the streets.

"It was a good thing that we did," said the chief. "It sends a message. People know we are willing to enter their homes to fight crime."

Police officer killed in Kabul
Xinhua 05/31/2004
KABUL - A low-ranking police officer was killed as unidentified gunmen attacked his car in the capital citylast night, a spokesman of Interior Ministry said Monday. "Unknown attackers sprayed bullets on a Toyota car in Khairkhana district around 9:30 pm last night killing a policeman Nasir on the spot," Lutfullah Mashal told Xinhua on telephone.

He declined to give more details, saying investigation was going on. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack and Kabul police has yet to point finger at any groups or individuals.
In a similar incident early last month, unknown armed men killed two policemen in Dashti Barchi west of the capital city of Kabul.

The latest incident took place amid beefed up security in the Afghan capital as the police aided by International Security Assistance Force for Afghanistan (ISAF) have been hunting the suspected terrorists in the city. Afghan police with the support of ISAF detrained 37 terrorism suspects from in and around the capital last Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

Bomb defused in girls school in Afghan capital
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) A homemade bomb was left atop a wall at a girls school in the Afghan capital but was defused by intelligence agents before it could explode, police said Tuesday.

The bomb, comprising 1.2 kilograms (2.5 pounds) of explosives packed into a pressure cooker, was discovered before classes Monday morning, said Khalil Aminzada, Kabul's deputy police chief.

``We stopped the students from entering, and the intelligence service cut the wires'' to make the bomb safe, Aminzada said.

He blamed ``the enemies of the country'' for the incident, but gave no details. No one was arrested.

Several girls schools have been burned or ransacked across Afghanistan in recent months in incidents blamed on Islamic conservatives opposed to female education.

The government has reversed Taliban-era rules that barred girls and women from education and work, and more than 4 million students enrolled in schools this year more than ever before including one-third of the country's girls.

Afghan Olympic team preps for Athens games on Lesvos, Greece
Kyodo (Japan) Tuesday June 1, 1:23 PM
Afghanistan's Olympic team, consisting of five athletes, is training for the August 13-29 Athens Olympic Games on the island of Lesvos, Greece. The team includes Afghanistan's first two female Olympians -- a 100-meter sprinter and a judo wrestler -- and three male competitors in running, wrestling and boxing.

The Afghan Olympic team was last seen at the 1996 games in Atlanta, having been banned from the 2000 games in Sydney because the Taliban regime outlawed women from participating in sport.

With the fall of the regime in 2001 and resultant change of perception of women in sport, the International Olympic Committee has given the Afghan team five "wild cards," allowing the team members to compete in Athens.

Kyodo News met and talked with the Afghan team in Lesvos and attended a morning training session.

Friba Razayee will be the first female Afghan athlete to participate in the Olympics, representing her country in judo in the 72 kilogram category.

"My fighting is not as important to me as is my participation," said Razayee, 18. "I want to show all that Afghan women have a place in sport and set the example for all of them."

Razayee injured her back a few days before arriving in Greece and is undergoing rehabilitation.

"I am hoping within a week I will recover from my injury and continue my training," said Razayee as she proudly showed off her new judo uniform, a present from the Japanese government.

Greek authorities are looking for a partner for Razayee so she can tune up her technique.

Razayee is considered lucky as she fled Afghanistan for Pakistan with her family in 1995 and returned to Kabul in 2002 after the fall of the Taliban.

"Four years ago I was watching the Sydney Olympics on television with my brother and I told him that one day he will see me at the Olympics, and now here I am," Razayee said wearing a big smile.

The other female athelete, Robina Muqimyar, will represent Afghanistan in the 100-meter sprint.

What other professional athletes take for granted, Muqimyar finds a dream.

"Here in Greece they provide us with good shoes and sports wear, excellent track facilities with a starting block for me to train on," said Muqimyar, 17.

Muqimyar accepts that her time is not close to that of the athletes she will face at the Olympics, but says that what she mostly cares about is holding Afghanistan's flag and representing her country.

Bashir Ahmad Rahmati, an energetic 19-year-old, will battle on the wrestling mat in the 55 kg freestyle category and is eager to demonstrate his strength.

"My target is to achieve a good result not only for myself but for the people of Afghanistan," said Rahmati.

Japanese wrestler Kosei Akaishi, who won bronze in Barcelona in 1992 and silver in Los Angeles in 1984, is expected to arrive in Lesvos next week to coach Rahmati through to the Olympics.

"I wish Akaishi to join me as soon as possible," Rahmati said. "I respect him and I am sure he will help me prepare everything so that I can reach my goal."

Basharmal Sultani, 19, will box in the 69 kg category. He narrowly missed out qualifying through an Olympic qualifier tournament.

But Sultani received his Olympic berth taking advantage of one of the five so-called wild cards the IOC handed Afghan. Sultani won the bronze medal in the last Asian Championships.

Both Rahmati and Sultani are on a strict nutritional program their coaches have given them.

Grigoris Kontos, former coach of 200-meter Olympic gold medalist Kostas Kenteris, is coaching the 19-year-old Massoud Azizi for the 100-meter sprint.

"Azizi is trying very hard. He just broke his personal best with 11.3 seconds and our goal is for him to repetitively break his best time until he starts in Athens," said Kontos.

The Afghan team will continue training in Lesvos until June 30. The final stage of their training will bring them to the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki, where they will stay until settling in the Olympic Village in August.

Afghan refugee unlocks key to freedom
Tuesday June 01, 2004 (1304 PST) Pakistan News Tribune
SYDNEY, June 02 (Online): Anwar Sultani still can't believe he has so many friends in Warwick. More than 1800 of them - that's nearly a fifth of the population - signed a petition to keep the 39-year-old Afghan asylum seeker in Queensland.

And it seems to have worked.

After four years of waiting and worrying, Mr Sultani's permanent protection visa came through last week, giving him full Australian residence rights.

He's one of the lucky ones. Of the 8635 mainly Middle Eastern asylum seekers who have applied to the Immigration Department to convert temporary protection visas (TPV) into a lasting right to stay, only 201 have been successful. So far, 991 cases have been rejected, a spokeswoman revealed last night.

Yesterday, Mr Sultani drove from Brisbane to personally thank the people he credits with saving his new life in Australia.

Principal among them is Nancy Murphy, the convenor of the Warwick branch of Amnesty International, who now regards Mr Sultani as a surrogate son.

She and husband Mike spent days collecting signatures for him to stay.

Jenny Morris, his former English teacher, took the petition to choir practice and to work at the local TAFE to drum up support for the campaign.

Sister Margaret Murphy, of the Sisters of Mercy, harnessed the power of prayer from as far afield as Wallangarra, down past Stanthorpe on the border.

"It was a true community effort," Ms Murphy said yesterday.

"I mean, Anwar never gave up, he never stopped working and trying, so how could we?"

The young man himself said yesterday that his fast-improving English still couldn't express the gratitude he felt to the people of Warwick, 160km west of Brisbane, where he worked for 18 months in the meatworks before moving to the city to further his part-time studies.

"I love these people," he said. "They did so much for me."

Mr Sultani is a Hazara, a long-oppressed ethnic minority which was treated even more harshly under the Taliban in Afghanistan. After his family fled their village in the mountain-locked Wordak Province in 1999, an uncle paid people smugglers $US6000 ($8400) to put him on the refugee rat run to Australia. He was on a leaking and overcrowded boat which was intercepted by the navy off Ashmore Reef.

Freed after 11 months' detention at Woomera, Mr Sultani heard on the grapevine there was work at the Warwick meatworks. He pitched up in town in 2002 and one of his first stops was the TAFE, where he met Ms Morris, who in turn put him in touch with Ms Murphy's Amnesty group.

When they realised his TPV was due to expire in October last year, leaving him liable to deportation, they decided to do all they could to help him.

Heroin boom funds Taliban revival
By Rory Callinan in Kandahar The Australian May 31, 2004
AFGHAN authorities fear this year's vast opium harvest will provide a huge narcotics war chest for Taliban and al-Qaeda terrorists who have been squeezed by new financial tracking operations.

The drug money is used to buy everything from satellite phones to ammunition, say officials who predict this year's opium crop will at least match last year's 3600-tonne harvest.

Afghanistan's Counter Narcotics Directorate chief, Mirwais Yasini, says he knows of at least two millionaire drug smugglers in league with Taliban rebels trying to destabilise the country's south. "We know ... the money they make is millions of dollars."

The claims are supported by the Kandahar Governor's spokesman, Khalid Pashtoon.

Pashtoon suspects one of the smugglers is supplying Taliban fighters with ammunition and satellite phones.

The terrorists are also suspected of taking a cut at other levels of opium production.

The head of the United Nations Office of Drug Control, Antonio Maria Costa, believes the smugglers are taxed by the terrorists at a rate of between 13 and 15 per cent of their load.

"Cultivation takes place in the centre of the country and then the opium is moved by convoys slowly towards the border of Iran or Pakistan," says Costa, who was to travel to Afghanistan this week to check on the drug trade.

"Periodically these convoys run into insurgents or paramilitary checkpoints and they are asked for a share."

Afghan authorities last month arrested a graduate of a feared al-Qaeda-linked Pakistani terror group who was farming opium poppies by day and launching pro-Taliban attacks by night.

Mohammed Suhil, 17, was arrested at a checkpoint in the country's dangerous Panjwayi region, which has been the scene of numerous fatal attacks on foreigners, government officials and NGOs.

Australian pilot Mark Burdorf died when his helicopter was sprayed with bullets as it took off from a village in the district in February.

Under the Taliban's ban in 2000, farmers planted only about 8000 hectares of poppies in Afghanistan, producing about 185 tonnes of opium, according to UN figures.

The following year, without Taliban control, 74,000 hectares were planted, producing a massive 3400 tonnes of opium. In 2003, production soared again to 3600 tonnes, with 80,000 hectares planted with poppies.

About 1.7 million Afghanis are involved in farming opium - or 7 per cent of the country's population, the UN says.

Toyota opens first service centre in Kabul
MCU - Kabul
Toyota Corporation of Japan, in a joint venture with Afghan Motors Limited (AML), opened its first service centre in Kabul on Monday.

AML's Chairman, Mr Habib Gulzar, reiterated the group's commitment to Afghanistan in his opening address. AML is set to invest in excess of $5 million in the project which will see four operations established in four major Afghan cities. The service centres will boast S2 accreditation, allowing it to offer world-class Toyota approved service and spare parts.

Minister Sayed Mustafa Kazemi, Afghanistan's Minister of Commerce and Chairman of the High Commission for Investment, welcomed AML's investment in Afghanistan while restating the government's pledge to the private sector. Kazemi also announced a series of new measures by the Ministry of Commerce which will see the eradication of all minor taxes previously imposed by the Ministry.

Companies 'scared to publish' book of Afghan photos: photographer
CBC News 06/01/2004
A photographer who has spent 30 years capturing the landscape and people of Afghanistan says no one will publish his work because of controversy after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"I just had another major book agent give me the same old story," photographer Luke Powell told the Halifax Chronicle-Herald. The American photographer lives part of the year in Liverpool, Nova Scotia.

"Everyone loves it, but they are scared to publish it because no one wants to see how beautiful it really is."

Powell's book Afghan Gold includes work spanning from 1974 to 2003. He blames a general "hands-off" approach to stories about Afghanistan for the continued refusal to publish his work, which has been shown in 112 shows in galleries worldwide.

Powell was first attracted to Afghan culture in the 1970s. "No motor vehicles, no power lines. Everything was homemade and everyone was happy and no one was hungry. It was the most beautiful place," he said.

Even when the Taliban was in power, Powell was welcome to photograph the country. United States officials also invited him back in 2003.

Powell plans to return to photograph Afghanistan in the fall, but in the meantime, his photos are featured at his website.

"We cannot rebuild under the rule of the gun"
Sunday Telegraph, UK 05/31/2004 By Hamida Ghafour
The world witnessed the cruelties of the Taliban regime thanks largely to video footage showing the torture of women - having their hands cut off and being beaten with cables in the markets - that was secretly filmed and smuggled out through the Revolutionary Association of Women in Afghanistan into Pakistan.

Many of the images were captured by Parween, now a 25-year-old university student in Kabul, who was among the millions of Afghans who considered the Coalition to be saviours after the Taliban were ousted in November 2001. Today, Parween is too scared to leave her house. "A lot of the people in the government now are the same fundamentalists who were here during the civil war," she says. "They don't want women to be free and educated and we are still afraid. Life was supposed to be different now."

Life is different now, if not exactly what the millions of Afghans who celebrated the West's intervention had expected in post-Taliban Kabul. On the surface, the locals seem not to bother themselves too much with the horrifying possibility that the extremist militia might one day return: they buy pirate DVDs of the latest Lord of the Rings instalment; and drink a few pints in the Elbow Room, the country's first ever gastro pub; or toast glasses of Tora Bora Breezers, the new vodka cocktail at Kabul's Red Hot & Sizzlin' steak restaurant.

Yet, despite these new freedoms, the Afghans live in fear - and those they fear most are the military commanders and warlords who, alongside the Coalition, overthrew the restrictive regime. It was these "liberators" who were rewarded with cash, guns and powerful positions in the government of President Hamid Karzai, who is struggling to assert his power before the general elections in September.

These days, the most reassuring sight for locals in the Afghan capital are the patrols of the Nato-commanded International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), 6,500 troops including 300 British soldiers from the Green Howards. But as Weeda, a political activist who campaigns for women's rights, says: "If Nato left tomorrow the city would collapse into civil war within 24 hours."

Neil Cossins, an adviser to the UN-run Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission for former Mujahideen, says that the Americans are obsessed with the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban and are prepared to use any resource to that end. "The people called warlords are the ones armed by the Americans to take on the Taliban," Mr Cossins says.

The most powerful warlords in the country, including Abdul Rashid Dostum, Atta Mohammad, General Daoud and Ismael Khan, are reluctant to comply with the order to disarm. By June, 40,000 troops loyal to these leaders were supposed to have surrendered their weapons. So far, only about 6,000 have done so.

Andrew Wilder, the head of the thinktank Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, says: "It's a big failure. We have no hope of rebuilding Afghanistan when the rule of the gun holds sway outside Kabul. In the first six months after November 2001, the warlords wouldn't have thumbed their noses. But now they know America has problems in Iraq and feel they don't have to listen."

There is even less inclination to comply, given that the 13,500- strong Coalition deployment is busy hunting Osama bin Laden and the remnants of al-Qaeda and the Taliban along the south and eastern borders of Pakistan. Afghans, particularly in these south and eastern provinces, are now caught in the middle of a battle waged by the Americans and extremist insurgents. Freelance terrorists crossing the Pakistani border offer up to $1,000 for locals to kill a Westerner and, in the remote villages where there is no work, there are many willing volunteers to the cause.

Government targets, the fledgling Afghan National Army and the Coalition are under daily attack. As a result, aid workers have fled many parts of the country. The American army is stepping into the void to provide basic infrastructure, spending pounds 22 million on projects such as wells, schools and roads, albeit in exchange for information on Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters.

Meanwhile, the Afghan people are viewing the autumn elections as a mere sideshow as they try to rebuild their lives. More than four million children, including one million girls, are attending school, the highest enrolment rate in the country's history. But many parents are increasingly too scared to send their children to school because of a dramatic rise in child kidnapping. In such a volatile climate of fear, there is virtually no judicial system: the police are afraid to make arrests, judges lack the constitution to prosecute or are being bribed by commanders.

One Kabul resident, whose two female cousins were kidnapped earlier this month, said a warlord living just north of Kabul has demanded $10,000 for their release. "The police are scared because the commander is too powerful," he says. "How many people in this country have that kind of money? We can't even tell Isaf because they don't investigate. What is the point of having them here?"