Afghanistan News March 3, 2005

March 3, 2005

Afghan Leader Names First Female Governor
Wed Mar 2, 6:12 PM ET World - AP Asia
KABUL, Afghanistan - President Hamid Karzai appointed Afghanistan's first female provincial governor, an official said Wednesday, a step toward reviving women's rights trampled by the former hardline Taliban government.

Habiba Sarobi, a former women's minister, becomes governor of central Bamiyan province, Interior Ministry spokesman Latfullah Mashal said. "It has been approved by the president's office today," he said.

"Today is a very good day for me," Sarobi said. "It is another important step toward women's rights in Afghanistan."

She said she would meet senior officials in the coming days to discuss when she would take up her post in the heart of the Hindu Kush mountains.

Millions of women and girls have returned to work and school since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001. Equality before the law is embedded in a new constitution, and some women have abandoned the head-to-toe public veiling that was mandatory under the tough Islamic regime.

Seats are also reserved for women in the two-chamber parliament to be installed by elections this year.

However, conservative custom still confines most rural women to the home, and health services to alleviate high levels of maternal and infant mortality are being extended only slowly. Karzai has also been criticized for including only three women in his nearly 30-member Cabinet.

Italian troops start arriving in western Afghanistan as NATO mission expands
Associated Press / March 2, 2005
Italian soldiers have begun arriving in western Afghanistan under plans for NATO troops to gradually relieve U.S. forces across the country, an alliance commander said Wednesday.

Italy is taking over a base in the main western city of Herat from the United States. Spain and Lithuania are to set up new bases in adjoining Badghis and Ghor provinces, while an existing U.S. outpost in Farah will also come under NATO control.

An advance party of Italian soldiers has "already started coming in," said Lt. Gen. Ethem Erdagi, the Turkish commander of the International Security Assistance Force which has supported Afghanistan's feeble government since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

NATO officials said several dozen Italians were in Herat, and Erdagi said the takeover of the region should be complete by June. The international force, currently under NATO command, expanded across northern Afghanistan from the capital, Kabul, the first stage in a plan to supplant the U.S.-dominated combat force across the country.

NATO planners are working on how they might take over the south of the country, where militants continue to attack Afghan and U.S. troops, and eventually the east, too. But it remains unclear whether NATO troops will maintain the aggressive operations of American forces.

The expansion into the west will bring hundreds of extra troops into the currently 9,000-strong force. Erdagi said at a news conference that he was "very optimistic" about the security situation in Afghanistan, but said more reinforcements would come in ahead of the election, which is expected to be held during the summer or autumn.

UK attempt to eradicate Afghan opium fails
Alan Travis, home affairs editor Wednesday March 2, 2005 The Guardian
Afghanistan is on the verge of becoming a "narcotic state" with its biggest annual crop of opium since the overthrow of the Taliban, the United Nations drug control board warns today.
The International Narcotics Control Board reports that the opium crop in Afghanistan - which is the source of more than 90% of the heroin sold on Britain's streets - reached a bumper 4,200 tonnes, up 800 tonnes on the previous year.

The rise is a blow to Tony Blair who told the Labour party conference in 2000 that the war against the Taliban was an opportunity to eradicate the poppy harvest which is the source of three-quarters of all the world's heroin.

The INCB report says that Britain has the highest heroin seizure rate in Europe and the third highest number of heroin addicts.

The publication of the UN report also coincides with Home Office figures showing that the cocaine and crack culture is reaching record levels in England and Wales. The figures show the number of class A drug offences, including those involving heroin and cocaine, rose by 5% to 35,610 in 2003.

Hamid Ghodse, the INCB's president, said the British-led attempt to persuade Afghan farmers to grow other cash crops had failed. In 2003 farmers grew 3,600 tonnes of opium poppies in 17 out of the 28 districts of Afghanistan. Now it has spread to all 28 districts, with the area under cultivation increasing last year from 80,000 hectares (200,000 acres) to 130,000 hectares. The INCB said this compared with only 165 tonnes grown during the brutally enforced ban by the Taliban on opium production.

"The Afghanistan government needs to do something very serious, very quickly," said Professor Ghodse. "If it is not going to be a narcotics state, which is a risk, then Afghanistan needs to do very urgent action in eradication and alternative development."

Although opium prices fell considerably between 2003 and 2004 they remain above $100 (£52) a kg - far higher than any other cash crop - and a crucial source of finance for the private armies of the drug warlords in Afghanistan.

The crop eradication programme is supported by a British-led international consortium, and tries to persuade farmers to grow alternative crops through negotiation. But it is now believed to be under pressure from the American administration which wants to adopt a forced crop eradication programme similar to that seen in Colombia in the last five years.

The UN report also warns of an alarming spread in HIV/Aids among injecting drug users in eastern Europe, Russia and central Europe with an estimated 4 million people now believed to be infected.

Britain's former deputy drug tsar Mike Trace said yesterday there would be an alarming US-led attempt next week at the UN's annual commission on narcotic drugs meeting in Vienna to rule out the use of needle exchange and other programmes to deal with the growing epidemic.

Needle exchange schemes have been used in Britain since the 1980s to ensure one of the lowest rates of HIV infection among heroin injectors in Europe. Mr Trace, now a spokesman for the International Drug Policy Consortium, said governments that provided practical help, such as free access to clean syringes, could achieve significant reductions in the level of HIV infections.

But he said the US was consciously trying to tie aid to "moral lines in the sand" and would not endorse needle exchanges or heroin substitution programmes.

Britain and the rest of the EU are expected to criticise the move in Vienna next week but a vote to withdraw support from needle exchange programmes would send a damaging signal to the governments of the former Soviet Union.

Rights Groups Dismayed by Afghan Strongman's Post
Wed Mar 2,12:05 PM ET By David Brunnstrom
KABUL (Reuters) - Human rights groups reacted with dismay Wednesday to Afghan President Hamid Karzai's decision to appoint a controversial regional strongman implicated in numerous rights abuses as his personal military chief of staff.

General Abdul Rashid Dostum, who finished fourth in October presidential elections, was named chief of staff to the commander in chief -- a post held by Karzai -- Tuesday, despite calls by rights groups for the president to sideline warlords.

John Sifton, representative for Afghanistan for Human Rights Watch, told Reuters Dostum had "been implicated in countless human rights abuses in the last quarter of a century."

Sifton said most of the main commanders and political faction leaders implicated in past crimes were officials in Karzai's new government, serving in high-level positions in the police, military intelligence and even as presidential advisers.

Amnesty International's Afghanistan researcher Nazia Hussain said Karzai's election win had given him the opportunity to create a climate respectful of human rights and accountability.

"A government which contains individuals suspected of having committed serious human rights abuses is a step backwards and in fact risks entrenching past abusers in power and setting back progress in creating a culture of accountability," she said.

Sifton said officials with records of past abuses and a penchant for solving political issues through force usually caused instability. "Most Afghans want the factional commanders like Dostum to be held accountable for their crimes," he said.

POWERS UNCLEAR
It remains unclear how much power Dostum will wield in his new post, as the Defense Ministry said General Bismillah Khan would continued to serve as chief of staff of the army.

Karzai's spokesman Jawed Ludin declined to discuss accusations of rights violations by Dostum Tuesday.

"That's a completely separate discussion, and I think that's for the future," he said. "But as things stand, everyone in Afghanistan has the right to basically fulfil their responsibilities and be given an opportunity to do so."

Dostum had served as a military adviser in Karzai's previous interim administration, but relations have often been strained.

After Karzai came to power following the Taliban's overthrow by U.S.-led forces in 2001, Dostum's fighters threatened his attempts to bring stability by clashing repeatedly with rival ethnic Tajiks.

And last April, Karzai had to send the army to restore order after Dostum's federalist militiamen invaded a northern province.

In naming Dostum to his post, Karzai will have had his eye on parliamentary polls expected later this year and will have taken into account the general's considerable popularity in his native ethnic Uzbek heartlands of northern Afghanistan.

In January, Dostum narrowly escaped injury when a suicide bomber blew himself up and wounded more than 20 people in his home town of Shiberghan. The Taliban said the attack was in retaliation for Dostum's killing of their fighters in 2001.

Dostum's forces were accused of letting hundreds of Taliban prisoners suffocate to death in transport containers after their capture in 2001, a charge Dostum has denied.

DNA samples of 72 victims of Afghan plane crash to be sent to Italy for testing
Thursday March 3, 4:52 PM AP
DNA samples of dozens of bodies retrieved from the wreckage of an Afghan airliner that crashed a month ago, killing all 108 people on board, will be sent to Italy for testing to help identify the remains, officials said Thursday.

Afghan and foreign troops have so far recovered 73 bodies from the crash site of the Boeing 737 plane that struck a snow-covered peak about 30 kilometers (20 miles) east of the capital Kabul on a domestic flight Feb. 3.

Ahmad Zia Aftali, the Afghan army's medical director, said that so far 15 bodies have been identified from their appearance and belongings. They include nine Afghans, four Americans, one Italian and one Russian.

He said DNA analysis would be required to identify the other bodies found so far. Italian forensic experts have also taken DNA samples from relatives of victims.

The Italians will leave Afghanistan on Saturday with samples from 72 of the victims and will conduct tests in Italy.

"We are waiting for the DNA tests. Whenever the Italian team sends us the results, we will be ready to deliver more bodies to their families," Aftali told reporters.

Maj. Carlo Maria Oddo, the chief of the Italian team, said he expected the results in "one to two weeks."

So far, just 11 sets of remains have been returned to grieving relatives.

A six-strong team of Turkish military doctors arrived in Afghanistan this week to help in the identification of the bodies.

Nine Turks were among more than 20 foreigners on board the downed plane, operated by the private Afghan carrier Kam Air on a domestic flight. There were also six Americans, four Russians and three Italians.

American investigators have joined the effort to find out why the plane crashed in what was Afghanistan's worst air disaster.

The plane went down in a blizzard after bad weather prevented the pilot landing at Kabul airport on a flight from the western city of Herat. The data recorder has been recovered, but the voice recorder has yet to be located.

KABUL - JAPAN GIVES ALMOST 30 MILLION DOLLARS EXTRA TO ASSURE THE SUCCESS OF AFGHANISTAN'S NEW BEGINNINGS PROGRAMME
Embassy of Japan
The Japanese Ambassador to Afghanistan, Mr Norihiro Okuda, and the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme, Ms Ameerah Haq, will formally sign documents on Thursday to provide an additional 28.8 million dollars to Afghanistan's New Beginnings Programme. The ceremony will be observed by the Minister of Defence for Afghanistan, Rahim Wardak, and senior officials of ANBP.

ANBP has been disarming members of the Afghan Military Forces since October 2003 and helping them to make the transition back to normal civilian life. To date, ANBP has processed more than 42 thousand AMF soldiers and successfully supported their efforts to become productive citizens of Afghanistan.

The reintegration of former AMF soldiers is seen as one of the most important measures to ensure continued peace and stability in Afghanistan. The new funding brings Japan's total contribution to the UN backed Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration programme to more than 90 million dollars.

A contradiction over the parliamentary election date draws doubt on the independence of the electoral commission
By Mohammad Younus Mehrin
KABUL, Mar. 01, (Pajhwok Afghan News) -- The presidential spokesman in Kabul said Tuesday the first post-Taliban parliamentary elections will take place soon, contrary to the independent election commission who insist on postponing the elections.

"The government's view is to hold the elections as soon as possible," Karzai's spokesman, Javid Ludin, told a press conference Tuesday. According to the Afghan electoral law, a date for the parliamentary election should be announced 90 days before the election. And the elections are still scheduled for the month of Saur which ends on 21st of May. But it is less than 90 days ahead of the scheduled date.

However, Bismillah Bismil, head of the independent electoral commission for the parliamentary elections, speaking to Pajhwok on Monday 28th stood by his earlier words and said the parliamentary elections will be put off. But said the exact date for the elections is to be decided in two days time.

The difference of positions between the government and the electoral commission has sparked doubts among political parties and analysts regarding the independence of the commission. They fear the commission has come under pressure from Karzai’s government.

A similar doubt was conveyed regarding the independence of the electoral commission which organized the October 9th presidential elections, last year.

Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, an independent presidential candidate who ranked third in the October elections, said suspending the parliamentary elections is acceptable and could also be justified, only for technical reasons.

"If political gains are sought by the delay it will imply that neither the government nor the electoral commission have the authority or the right to specify a date for the elections."

Mohaqiq criticized the ongoing political situation in the country. "The movements by President Karzai show that he is not interested in seeing democracy and the rule of law imposed in the country." And further, the electoral law also says that the constituencies must be specified 110 days before the elections.

The leader of the Harakat-e-Islami party, Sayed Mohammed Ali Javid said the electoral commission is appointed by the Afghan government, and delaying the election will jeopardizes the norms of democracy. "Delaying the elections makes the government illegitimate," Javid said.

Ghulam Faroq Najrabi, another independent candidate, said the disparity between the government and the election commission, puts under scrutiny the independence of the electoral commission and the contradictory remarks by the government and the electoral commission demonstrates this.

Afghan government has list of drug trade officials: minister
Thu Mar 3, 4:13 AM ET South Asia - AFP
KABUL (AFP) - Afghanistan's government has a list of officials involved in the country's burgeoning narcotics trade but does not have enough evidence to arrest them, Interior Minister Ali Ahmed Jalali said.

Afghan anti-drugs officials had earlier said that governors, police chiefs and senior government figures have links with the opium industry, which now accounts for 87 percent of the world's supply, according to UN figures.

"We have this list and so does the international community. But the issue is we still don't have enough evidence and documents acceptable for a court," he told reporters in Kabul when asked if the government knew who was involved.

The UN International Narcotics Control Board warned Wednesday that Afghanistan was in danger of becoming a narco-state after the country's opium production soared to near-record levels in 2004.

"In most countries, security authorities know who are behind the drug smuggling, but proving that and accusing the person are difficult," Jalali added.

President Hamid Karzai dropped former defence minister Mashal Mohammed Qasim Fahim from the government in December after pressure from the world community, which believed Fahim was involved in the drugs trade, diplomats have told AFP.

Karzai has promised to wage a "holy war" on the drugs trade blighting the country's chances of reconstruction.

However, Jalali added that publishing a list of people suspected of profiting from the opium trade would be counterproductive because Afghanistan's legal system was still not robust enough to handle prosecutions.

After almost a quarter-century of war, Afghanistan's legal system is shattered with almost no secure jail facilities or well-trained judges.

4 Taliban held in Afghanistan
Daily Times, Pakistan
KABUL: Afghan security forces arrested four ranking members of the Taliban in the southeast region, Defence Ministry spokesman Zahir Azimi said on Wednesday.

Azimi said, “The arrested men are well-known Taliban members.” The men, identified as Mullah Nazir, Raqib Akhund, Ubidullah and Nader were arrested in Charchino district of the southeastern Uruzgan province last week, he said.

Ubidullah, who like Nader uses only one name, was not the same Ubidullah who served as the Taliban’s defence minister before they were toppled, said Azimi. afp

Delhi puts a dent in Karzai's dreams
Asia Times Online / March 2, 2005 By Sudha Ramachandran
BANGALORE - Afghan President Hamid Karzai's three-day visit to India last week saw the two sides firming up several deals boosting bilateral cooperation. However, Karzai's enthusiasm for Indian involvement in an oil pipeline project seems to have not been reciprocated in equal measure by India.

Karzai's visit to New Delhi was his third since the fall of the Taliban and the first since his election in October last year as Afghanistan's president. Relations between India and Afghanistan plunged to an all-time low during the years of Taliban rule, when Delhi was a key supporter of the Northern Alliance. Over the past three years, Delhi has built a strong presence in Afghanistan and bilateral relations have improved dramatically.

India has participated in a big way in Afghanistan's reconstruction, having committed to a total of US$400 million as assistance to the war-ravaged country over the 2002-2008 period. This puts India among the top six contributors to Afghanistan's reconstruction.

Of this assistance, India has committed $84 million for the upgradation and reconstruction of the 213 kilometer Zaranj-Delaram road. The road is the result of an Afghanistan-India-Iran project that envisages development of trade with Central Asia. The route will take goods from the Iranian port of Chabahar to Afghanistan and other Central Asian countries.

Another $80 million has been set aside for the construction of the Salma Dam power project in Herat province. India is also funding the construction of a new parliament building in Afghanistan. Among the projects that India has taken up are the reconstruction of the Habibia School in Kabul - the alma mater of the ruling elite and the influential in this country, a major power transmission project to alleviate Kabul's severe power problems, supply of airplanes for civil aviation and buses for public transport and the repair of a famous mosque in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif.

India is involved in training Afghanistan's bureaucrats, judges and lawyers, and police personnel. It has sent scores of doctors and engineers to work in Afghanistan, to train and rebuild this country. An information technology specialist has been deputed to the Afghan government.

India's policy in Afghanistan is aimed at not only winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people but also ensuring that anti-India elements (the Taliban and Pakistan) are kept out of Afghanistan's power structure. An official in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) says that "India sees Afghanistan as a springboard to the realization of its long-term economic, energy and security interests in the Central Asian region".

During Karzai's trip to India, more steps were taken to consolidate bilateral ties. Two accords on enhancing cooperation in civil aviation and media and information were signed. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the field of civil aviation is aimed at building capacity and strengthening the institutional structure of Afghanistan's civil aviation sector. It includes training in areas of airport management, air traffic control, navigational aids etc, including safety and maintenance of aircraft. The MoU on cooperation in the field of media and information calls for greater interaction between the media and radio and television organizations of the two countries.

But despite the small but significant steps that were taken during Karzai's trip, the Afghan president might have gone home a slightly disappointed man. He was hoping to convince Delhi to look favorably at a $3.3 billion pipeline project that envisages piping gas across roughly 900 miles from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan and Pakistan and on to India.

Delhi's involvement in the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP) pipeline project is essential for its economic viability. The pipeline project could contribute significantly to Afghanistan's economy.

While India has been keen to push ahead with the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline project - provided Islamabad will ensure security of the pipeline - it has not shown similar enthusiasm for the TAP pipeline, as it believes that this might not make economic sense for India. There are sections in India who are warning that problems with regard to the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline project are likely to surface soon. "The growing tensions between America and Iran in the second Bush administration would suggest inevitable US opposition to the project," points out C Raja Mohan, a professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.

However, India's MEA has more misgivings about the feasibility of the TAP pipeline. It has serious doubts over whether Turkmenistan has sufficient gas reserves to dedicate to this pipeline. Estimates of the potential of the Turkmen gas fields vary considerably. While some believe it could perhaps possess the world's fourth largest supply of gas, others peg the production potential much lower.

A report in the Indian Express, a national English daily, points out that "Turkmenistan's gas production last year was 58 billion cubic meters [bcm], of which 35 bcm was exported to Ukraine and smaller volumes to Iran and Russia. About 11 bcm was used for domestic consumption." The report goes on to argue that while Turkmenistan would increase its production to about 120 bcm by 2007, it has committed to supply Russia with large amounts of gas. "In fact, nearly 70 bcm of the projected 120 bcm is believed to be contractually committed to Gazprom," the report said.

The MEA has drawn the attention of India's Petroleum Ministry to the fact that if India takes into account Turkmenistan's commitments to Russia, Ukraine and Iran as well as its own domestic needs, "there will be little available for further export". India is therefore concerned that the amount of Turkmen gas that it can avail might not be enough to justify its investment in the project.

An official in the MEA told Asia Times Online, "Pouring money into the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline doesn't make economic sense for India. The returns are not adequate. India investing in it will make the project economically viable but not for India."

The MEA official said that India is still looking into the matter and that a proper assessment of the project and of an Asian Development Bank report on it will have to be made before India makes its decision. Until then, India's response will be "non-committal and cautious".

The TAP pipeline project needs India's involvement to be economically viable and India will join in only if it is convinced that the rate of return on it is adequate to justify its investment and that there is more for it in the pipeline than goodwill alone. India's decision on the project hinges on simple economics. Afghanistan's pipeline dreams seem a long way off from being fulfilled.

Sudha Ramachandran is an independent journalist/researcher based in Bangalore.

India sets tough terms for Pakistan Iran gas line
NEW DELHI: India will impose tough conditions on Iran for guaranteed supply of natural gas through a proposed pipeline running across Pakistani territory, Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said on Tuesday.

“The project developers have to cover the risk of the project for the Pakistan segment of the pipeline by securing adequate financial and sovereign guarantees as well as necessary insurance cover,” Aiyar told parliament. “The responsibility for all this will rest with the Iranian side and the project developers. There would be adequate ‘supply or pay’ conditions for ensuring security of natural gas supply for India,” he said.

The project may be completed by 2011 subject to resolution of various issues, he said. “Security of gas supplies through Pakistan territory is a major concern in the development of Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project,” Aiyar said. He said supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) should to be available as a back up.

“To provide additional security, gas storage facilities in India as well as short-term LNG supplies are proposed to be built into the project structure,” he said. Aiyar said Iran would deal with Islamabad separately for the pipeline’s route across Pakistan. Reuters

Church group welcomes Afghan native to speak
by Rebecca McClay Staff Writer Gazette.Net - Mar 02 9:19 PM
An Afghan native last weekend shocked local church parishioners with details of women suffering human rights violations in Afghanistan.

Fahima Vorgetts shared stories of women burned in self-ignited fires and women imprisoned for speaking with men outside their homes at an Afghan feast Saturday in St. Paul Lutheran Church's banquet hall. Vorgetts, who lives in the Annapolis area, recently completed humanitarian missions to the Third World country.

"Women still cannot go to school and are forced to marry at 9 years old. Families are selling their children," said Vorgetts, dressed in a maroon shawl and gold-trimmed aqua dress dotted with mirror jewels. "There are women in jail because they were running away from forced marriages."

A member of Women for Afghan Women, Vorgetts gave the speech and sold handmade Afghan items, from embroidered shirts to dark wool rugs, to raise money for her next trip in April. She had purchased the merchandise in September from Afghan villagers, who receive a portion of the profits.

The evening, a second annual event at the church, began with a potluck Afghan feast of dozens of dishes of spicy rice and chicken. In crock pots and casserole dishes, entrees ranged from kosher meat kabobs to milky pistachio custard.

"The beauty of this is here we are in Jefferson, learning about different cultures, discovering people just like ourselves," said St. Paul Lutheran Pastor Virginia Price as she filed through the buffet table.

Parishioners piled plates with curry dumplings, thick pitas and rice pilaf with nuts and raisins and sipped hot tea before Vorgetts' speech. For many, it was their first taste of Afghan cuisine.

"I had no idea what I was getting," said Don Vollmer of Jefferson, who sampled several dishes with his family. His wife, Evelyn Vollmer, this year coordinated the feast.

For the past two years, St. Paul church has sponsored a refugee family from Pakistan, a country that borders Afghanistan and shares many of its cultural traditions. The church has collected more than $30,000 to fund housing, health insurance and other basic needs for the family of seven Frederick residents, who requested anonymity.

The refugee family includes a mother who speaks little English and her preteen and teenage children, who earn money by cleaning the church. They made several dishes for the feast and were welcomed Saturday by parishioners.

During second helpings and dessert, Vorgetts, surrounded by photos of burka-clad women writing on chalkboards, detailed the plight of Afghan women and reviewed her mission work.

"Thank you for listening when no one wants to listen anymore," Vorgetts said.

Now an American citizen, Vorgetts was born and raised in

Afghanistan. She attended Kabul University where she earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry. She moved to Europe for several years and then to the United States, where she settled near Annapolis.

With her husband, Vorgetts owns Aaryana Imports, a shop that sells carpet and jewelry from the Middle East.

Women for Afghan Women is a New-York based organization that promotes women's rights and raises funds for reconstruction of Afghan communities.

With Women for Afghan Women, Vorgetts twice per year travels to Afghanistan -- "destroyed from A to Z," she said -- after she has collected about $40,000 in donations to construct wells, schools and sustainable farms. She teaches villagers to raise goats and chickens to meet basic life needs and to embroider shirts to earn profits. Her mirror-studded aqua dress, she said, was custom-made for her by students to whom she had taught the craft.

"I've dedicated my life to this cause and I will do it to the last breath," Vorgetts said.

Following the speech, many church parishioners purchased items such as silver jewelry for about $60, Afghan rugs for about $150, or hand-sewn shirts for about $30.

Jefferson residents Kathleen and Conell Balagot donated cash after Vorgetts' speech, which they said struck an emotional chord.

"The part that got to me was what happens to the children," said Kathleen Balagot. "It just makes you ill."

Iranian commander says 190,000 US troops a target if Iran attacked
March 2, 2005
TEHRAN (AFP) - The head of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards has warned that 190,000 US troops stationed close to the Islamic republic could be targetted if Iran were attacked.

"More than 190,000 members of American forces are scattered in Afghanistan and Iraq. If the US carries out its threats against Iran, they nust know that all these forces will be within our reach," Yahya Rahim Safavi told the ultra-hardline Ya Lessarat newspaper.

"The US and the Zionist regime (Israel) do not have the power to confront us and we will hand them bone-breaking blows," Safavi said, adding that "Iraq is getting more unsafe everyday for America" anyway.

He also warned that if "the Zionist regime had a satanic thought and attacked Iran, we would not leave one point safe in the entire Zionist territory".

The United States and Israel both accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, and have not ruled out military options to prevent the clerical regime of acquiring the bomb.

Bin Laden is not in Afghanistan: Afghan diplomat
Daily Times - Mar 02 1:47 PM
KARACHI: The Afghan consul general in Karachi, Abdul Muqtader Frozanfar, said on Wednesday that none of the Al Qaeda leaders, including its frontline leaders Osama bin Laden, his deputy Ayman Al-Zawahiri and their Taliban ally Mullah Omar were present in Afghanistan.

"We are sure that none of them is present on our soil and I should tell you that so far nobody knows their whereabouts," he told reporters at the sidelines of a two-day international workshop on "The challenge of rebuilding Afghanistan" that begun at a local hotel. The workshop was jointly organised by the Karachi University’s international relations department in collaboration with Germany’s Islamabad-based Hanns Seidel Foundation.

On the role of the Taliban, he said Taliban's rule in Afghanistan had become history and they would never regain power. But, he said, the present Afghan government was trying to get the “moderate Taliban” along to rebuild the war-torn country.

"Our (Afghan) government is in touch with the moderate Taliban and it is trying to convince them for playing a role in the country's rebuilding,” he said.

He termed the rebuilding of Afghanistan a major challenge for the Karzai administration, saying that the task needed more international aid, especially for health and education sectors. He termed warlord Abdur Rasheed Dostum’s appointment as chief of the Afghan National Army a part of the Karzai administration’s effort to bring stability in the war-ravaged country. staff report