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April 2, 2007 


Lack of jobs hurting Afghan war on Taliban
By Terry Friel Mon Apr 2, 12:19 AM ET
TIRIN KOT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - The new, white Australian-built Trade Training School of Tirin Kot is spotless, pristine -- and tucked safely away behind blast walls in the middle of a massive military camp in southern  Afghanistan.

With machinegun practice in the background and helicopters training overhead, it is at once a symbol of the progress being made despite the worst fighting since the Taliban were ousted in 2001 and the long way still to go to bring peace.

At the opening ceremony, a local mullah and the mayor at once complained of security and praised the school for offering young men hope and an alternative to joining the Taliban.

NATO, U.S. commanders and Afghan leaders agree without economic progress, without reconstruction and without new jobs the Taliban insurgency cannot be defeated. Poverty is driving people into the arms of the Taliban.

"Most of these people are now people who are completely idle," said government adviser and former minister Hamidullah Tarzi. "There are miles and miles of nothing to do.

"Look at the embassies -- so many people are waiting there to get a visa. And they know that when they go to  Iran they will be given third-class treatment. They will be given nothing almost, just very, very low paid, ill-treated. But still it shows the desperation.

"More social work has to be done, and this itself would be a catalyst toward improving the whole conditions. There won't be much desire for violence. Slowly it will lessen and lessen to a degree where it could be controllable."

"BREAKING POINT"
Afghanistan's jobless rate is about 40 percent. Many more are underemployed -- working only a few hours a week or seasonally.

"While the Afghan economy and private sector continues to grow, many ordinary Afghans are frustrated with their economic situation," the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a recent report "Breaking Point."

"They suffer from unsteady employment and economic insecurity, and are turning to illicit and illegal activity, such as corruption and (opium) poppy production, to meet immediate needs.

"The Taliban has become an alternative source of employment, recruiting the jobless as foot soldiers in the insurgency."

Most days, long queues of men wait outside the Iranian and Pakistani embassies in Kabul, waiting patiently for work visas.

In other parts of the city and around the country, knots of men gather at determined locations waiting for day work as labourers, hoping to be picked out of the crowd by employers.

These men often go the entire winter without work because construction stops. When they do work, they earn around $2 a day.

"A TOTAL LIE"
"The government gave us good news that they will provide us a job and a house, that is why we returned," said 25-year-old Zamira, who returned from Iran, as she waited for work with husband Hussein Ali, 35, at a Kabul roundabout.

"But now there is no job and no house.

"Life is very difficult because there is no job to feed our family. A labourer works three months a year and earns 150 Afghanis ($3) a day -- what can he buy with it? Flour, oil or other things that we need for living? We are 13 people."

Zamira weaves carpets to help feed the family.

"Life is miserable," added her husband. The kids are weaving carpet -- they cannot go to school, they cannot study.

"Even the carpet money is not enough. what happened to the aid that the international community donated? Where has the aid gone? We haven't seen anything, it is a total lie."

(Additional reporting by Yousuf Azimy)
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13 suspected Taliban killed
By NOOR KHAN, Associated Press Writer
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Clashes and an airstrike in southern  Afghanistan killed 13 suspected Taliban militants and three police, officials said Monday.

The three police died Monday when militants attacked a checkpoint on the road linking the southern town of Kandahar with Spin Boldak on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, said Esmatullah Alizai, Kandahar province's police chief.

A  NATO airstrike, meanwhile, targeted a compound housing Taliban militants in Shahjoy district of Zabul province on Sunday, killing seven suspected militants inside, said Ubaidallah Khan, the district's police chief.

Also Sunday, NATO-led troops and police clashed with suspected Taliban militants in Kandahar's Zhari district, leaving six militants dead, Alizai said.

Police recovered the militants' bodies and their weapons, he said. There were no NATO or police casualties in that clash.

Afghanistan's south is the center of the Taliban insurgency. Last month, NATO-led troops launched their biggest offensive yet in the region aimed at winning over the local population and targeting militants and their supply routes.

Afghan and NATO officials say they expect violence to increase this spring and summer. Last year, Taliban militants set off a record number of suicide and roadside bombs.

Afghan intelligence officers, meanwhile, detained three Pakistanis and one Afghan man in eastern Nangarhar province, alleging they were preparing suicide attacks inside Afghanistan, an intelligence officer said on Monday, on customary condition of anonymity.

The four were carrying 130 kilograms of explosives, 12 fuses and an AK-47 assault rifle, and were detained on Thursday, shortly after crossing into Afghanistan from Pakistan, official said.
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Associated Press reporter Amir Shah contributed to this report from Kabul.
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Taliban deploy thousands of suicide bombers: commander
By Saeed Ali Achakzai
SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Thousands of Taliban suicide bombers have been deployed across  Afghanistan to attack Western troops and the government, the group's military chief said on Monday.

Following last year's violence, the worst since the Taliban's ouster in 2001, this year is regarded as the crunch period both for the Taliban and U.S.-led Western troops.

Speaking to Reuters by satellite phone from an undisclosed location, Mullah Dadullah, the Taliban's military head, said the Islamic guerrillas had the ability and the weapons to fight foreign troops for a long time.

"We have sent thousands of Taliban suicide bombers to all Afghan cities for attacks on foreign troops and their Afghan puppets," Dadullah said.

"And we will turn our motherland into the graveyard of the U.S forces and their families should wait for their dead bodies. The Taliban's war is only for the freedom of Afghanistan from the enemies of Muslims."

Afghan defense ministry spokesman Zahir Azimi dismissed Dadullah's comments as psychological tactics.

"We have two types of war; face-to-face war and psychological war. The Taliban have suicide bombers, but there is no doubt that they are exaggerating the numbers and use it as a psychological tool," he said.

Suicide attacks, copied from militants in  Iraq, increased dramatically in 2006. On Sunday, a suicide attack on an Afghan army convoy in the eastern province of Laghman killed nine people, including children and two troops.

After taking serious losses last year confronting  NATO forces in conventional pitched battles, the Taliban are returning to traditional guerrilla tactics, especially suicide bombings.

The Taliban and their Islamic allies, including al Qaeda, are mostly active in southern and eastern regions bordering Pakistan.

Close to 4,000 people, nearly a quarter of them civilians, but also including around 170 Western soldiers, hundreds of militants, Afghan troops and dozens of aid workers were killed in fighting last year.

U.S.-led forces overthrew the Taliban's Islamist government after its leadership refused to hand over  Osama bin Laden following the September 11 attacks on the United States.

The Afghan government says Taliban's elusive leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, and his senior aides live in Pakistan, the key Taliban supporter until September 11.

Islamabad concedes rebels cross the border, but denies supporting the Taliban or that rebel leaders are on its territory. Dadullah said Omar and the Taliban leadership were in Afghanistan.

(With additional reporting and writing by Sayed Salahuddin)
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New leadership is seen on rise within Al Qaeda
By Mark Mazzetti Monday, April 2, 2007 The New York Times
WASHINGTON: As Al Qaeda rebuilds in Pakistan's tribal areas, a new generation of leaders has emerged under Osama bin Laden to cement control over the network's operations, according to American intelligence and counterterrorism officials.

The new leaders rose from within the organization after the death or capture of the operatives that built Al Qaeda before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, leading to surprise and dismay within United States intelligence agencies about the group's ability to rebound from an American-led offensive.

It has been known that American officials were focusing on a band of Al Qaeda training camps in Pakistan's remote mountains, but a clearer picture is emerging about those who are running the camps and thought to be involved in plotting attacks.

American, European and Pakistani authorities have for months been piecing together a picture of the new leadership, based in part on evidence-gathering during terrorism investigations in the past two years. Particularly important have been interrogations of suspects and material evidence connected to a plot British and American investigators said they averted last summer to destroy multiple commercial airlines after takeoff from London.

Intelligence officials also have learned new information about Al Qaeda's structure through intercepted communications between operatives in Pakistan's tribal areas, although officials said the group has a complex network of human couriers to evade electronic eavesdropping.

The investigation into the airline plot has led officials to conclude that an Egyptian paramilitary commander called Abu Ubaidah al-Masri was the Qaeda operative in Pakistan orchestrating the attack, officials said.

Masri, a veteran of the wars in Afghanistan, is believed to travel frequently over the rugged border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. He was long thought to be in charge of militia operations in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan, but he emerged as one of Al Qaeda's senior operatives after the death of Abu Hamza Rabia, another Egyptian who was killed by a missile strike in Pakistan in 2005.

The evidence officials said was accumulating about Masri and a handful of other Qaeda figures has led to a reassessment within the American intelligence community about the strength of the group's core in Pakistan's tribal areas, and its role in some of the most significant terrorism plots of the past two years, including the airline plot and the suicide attacks in London in July 2005 that killed 56.

Although the core leadership was weakened in the counterterrorism campaign begun after the Sept. 11 attacks, intelligence officials now believe it was not as crippling as once thought.

That reassessment has brought new urgency to joint Pakistani and American intelligence operations in Pakistan and strengthened officials' belief that dismantling Al Qaeda's infrastructure there could disrupt nascent large-scale terrorist plots that may already be under way.

In February, the deputy CIA director, Stephen Kappes, accompanied Vice President Dick Cheney to Islamabad to present General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president, with intelligence on Al Qaeda's growing abilities and to develop a strategy to strike at training camps.

Officials from several American intelligence agencies interviewed for this article agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity because the Qaeda assessments are classified.

Many American officials have said in recent years that the roles of Bin Laden and his lieutenants in Pakistan's remote mountains have diminished with the growing prominence of the organization's branch in Iraq, Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, and with the emergence of regional terrorism networks and so-called home-grown cells.

That view, in part, led the CIA in late 2005 to disband Alec Station, the unit that for a decade was devoted to hunting Bin Laden and his closest advisers, and to reassign analysts within the agency's Counterterrorist Center to focus on Al Qaeda's expanding reach.

Officials say they believe that, in contrast with the somewhat hierarchical structure of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan before Sept. 11, the group's leadership is now more diffuse, with several planning hubs working autonomously and not reliant on constant contact with Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri, his deputy.

Much is still not known about the backgrounds of the new Qaeda leaders; some have adopted noms de guerre. Officials and outside analysts said they tend to be in their mid-30s and have years of battlefield experience fighting in places like Afghanistan and Chechnya. They are more diverse than the earlier group of leaders, which was made up largely of battle-hardened Egyptian operatives. American officials said the new cadre includes several Pakistani and North African operatives.

Experts say they still see Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia as largely independent of Al Qaeda's hub in Pakistan but that they believe the fighting in Iraq will produce future Qaeda leaders.

"The jihadis returning from Iraq are far more capable than the mujahedeen who fought the Soviets ever were," said Robert Richer, who was associate director of operations in 2004 and 2005 for the CIA "They have been fighting the best military in the world, with the best technology and tactics."

Officials said other operatives believed to be plotting internationally are Khalid Habib, a Moroccan, and Abdul Hadi al-Iraqi. Iraqi, a Kurd who served in Saddam Hussein's army, moved to Afghanistan to fight Soviet occupiers. Officials believe that he was dispatched to Iraq by Bin Laden to deal with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whose terrorist group allied with Bin Laden. It took the name Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia before Zarqawi was killed in an American bombing in June of last year. American officials say they believe that Iraqi is now back operating inside of Pakistan.

American officials say they still know little about how operatives communicate with Bin Laden and Zawahri.

"There has to be some kind of communication up the line, we just don't see it," one senior intelligence official said.

American counterterrorism officials said they did not believe that any one figure had taken over the role once held by Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the operations chief who was arrested in Pakistan in 2003 and is being held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

During a recent legal hearing, Mohammed claimed responsibility for planning dozens of attacks over more than a decade.

One reason that Mohammed proved so valuable to Al Qaeda was his experience as a college student in the United States, which allowed him to train several Sept. 11 hijackers to assimilate into American society.

American officials said the seeming elevation of a California-born operative named Adam Gadahn to a more prominent role might be an effort to replicate Mohammed's experience.

Gadahn has appeared on several Qaeda videos in recent years. The United States offers a $1 million reward for information leading to his capture. But American officials are divided about how important a role he plays, or whether top Qaeda leaders are merely using him for propaganda.

Officials are also divided and somewhat puzzled about Iran's role in pursuing Qaeda figures.

Intelligence officials say they believe that the Iranian government has in some cases been quite active in the hunt and has put under house arrest a number of top operatives who fled from Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks, including the Egyptian operations chief Saif al-Adel and Saad bin Laden, one of the Qaeda leader's sons.

But officials say they believe that several other important Qaeda figures may be operating in Iran, including an Egyptian known as Abu Jihad al-Masri and a Libyan explosives expert named Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, who is thought to travel between Iran and Pakistan's tribal areas.

Top American officials said that, despite the damage to the structure of Al Qaeda after the Sept. 11 attacks, concern is still high that the group is determined to attack globally.

"We have been very concerned that over time the leaders of Al Qaeda would try to rebuild a chain of command and an organizational structure," said Robert Mueller III, director of the F.B.I, in a statement provided for this article.

Mueller said Al Qaeda was clearly committed to carrying out "major complex operations." Some experts who have studied the group since its inception said American officials had in the past too readily assumed that Al Qaeda's decision to wait long periods of time between attacks was a sign of weakness.

"To say that Al Qaeda was out of business simply because they have not attacked in the U.S. is whistling past the graveyard," said Michael Scheuer, a former head of the Bin Laden tracking unit at the CIA "Al Qaeda is still humming along, and with a new generation of leaders."

Car Bomb Kills 3 Children

KABUL, Afghanistan: A suicide car bomb hit an Afghan Army convoy in the eastern province of Laghman on Sunday, killing at least three children playing nearby and a mullah from a local mosque, Afghan officials said. Thirteen people were wounded, including eight soldiers, the Defense Ministry said.

The attack occurred in a bazaar in Mehtarlam, the provincial capital. The convoy was passing the market, carrying food for the army.
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Pakistan harboring Taliban Mullah Omar, Karzai tells US daily
Sun Apr 1, 6:25 PM ET
NEW YORK (AFP) - Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai in an interview published Sunday accused Pakistan's intelligence agencies of sheltering fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.

Karzai said Omar, who has been on the run since being toppled by a US-led coalition some five years ago, is being harbored in the Pakistani city of Quetta.

"We have solid, clear information indicating that," he told the New York Times.

"And I'm sorry I cannot be silent about this, as much as our friends in Pakistan may not like my saying that," he said.

Omar headed the 1996-2001 Taliban regime that sheltered Al-Qaeda. His government was overthrown in a US-led invasion weeks after the September 11, 2001 attacks when it failed to hand over Al-Qaeda leaders wanted for the strikes.

Karzai also blamed Islamabad for a resurgence of violence along their common border.

"We have almost daily reports of suicide bombers coming from there," he told the newspaper.

"If we have better cooperation from Pakistan, a great many of these cross-border crossings would stop."

Pakistan and  Afghanistan each have accused the other of allowing Taliban remnants to flourish within its borders since the group was overthrown.

The Afghanistan leader also chided the West for having chosen to battle the Taliban in Afghan villages, instead of preventing Pakistan from financing and sheltering the fundamentalist group.

"Rather than concentrating on the sources of terror, on the financiers of terror, on the trainers of terror, (we focused) rather heavily on going about in Afghan villages, where there was no terrorism, where there was the result of terrorism, yes but not the roots of it, not the springboard of it," he said.
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Britain agrees to consider discussions with Iran on ways of avoiding disputes over contested waters
The Associated Press Sunday, April 1, 2007
LONDON: Britain has agreed to consider discussing with Tehran ways of avoiding disputes over contested waters in the Persian Gulf, an official said Monday, as Iran state-run radio cited what it called "positive changes" in the British position.

Government ministers were attending a meeting of Britain's COBRA crisis committee over the 15 British sailors and marines held since March 23.

They were detained by Iranian forces while patrolling for smugglers near the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab, a waterway that has long been a disputed dividing line between Iraq and Iran.

Tehran says the crew was in Iranian waters. Britain insists its troops were in Iraqi waters working under a U.N. mandate.

In a letter sent in response to a note from Iranian officials, Britain agreed to consider discussing how to avoid such situations in the future, said a British official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations. But Britain is not "negotiating" with Iran and it wants the release to be unconditional, the official said.

Discussions on avoiding disputes were part of normal diplomatic talks, said a Foreign Office official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government policy.

Britain's response — most of which has been kept secret — may have prompted Iran's state-run radio to claim there had been a positive change in Britain's diplomatic stance. Iran has previously demanded an apology from Britain as a condition for the sailors' release.

Video footage has shown four of the crew saying they were captured in Iranian waters, including footage Sunday in which two of the sailors used maps to show the alleged location where they were seized. Iran has said the others have also confessed.

"The Iranians know our position, they know that stage-managed TV appearances are not going to affect our position," Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesman said on condition of anonymity in line with government policy. "They know we have strong international support."

Last week, Britain suspended all other diplomatic contacts, freezing work to support trade missions and the issuing of visas to Iranian diplomats.

In Tehran on Sunday, about 200 students threw rocks and firecrackers at the British Embassy on Sunday, calling for the expulsion of ambassador Geoffrey Adams.

The protesters chanted "death to Britain" and "death to America" as they hurled stones into the embassy's courtyard. Britain's Foreign Office said nobody was hurt and there had been no damage to the compound.

In London, a handful of demonstrators protested outside the Iranian Embassy, waving placards saying "Let them go, Iran" and "Honk for the hostages."

The Muslim Council of Britain, the country's largest Islamic umbrella group, said it has written the Iranian ambassador in London asking that the crew be freed.
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AFGHANISTAN: Over 80 killed and thousands displaced by floods and avalanches
KABUL, 1 April 2007 (IRIN) - KABUL, 1 April 2007 (IRIN) - Flash floods and avalanches have killed 83 people and damaged hundreds of houses across a third of Afghanistan's provinces, officials say.

The government of Afghanistan has declared humanitarian emergencies in 13 of its 34 provinces and has requested urgent assistance from the international community.

"The current scale of the disaster is beyond our capacity and we face difficulty in providing assistance to the affected people," conceded Karim Khalili, Afghanistan's second vice president and head of the National Emergency Committee (NEC).

Heavy rains, aggravated by rapidly melting winter snows, have caused destructive flooding across Afghanistan since early March. Floods have hit the capital, Kabul, and cut off major highways, hampering relief efforts.

On Saturday, 14 people were killed and 12 others injured as flood waters washed two districts in the central province of Dai Kundi, confirmed Abdul Matin Adrak, chairman of Afghanistan's Department for Disaster Preparedness (DDP).

In Kunar province, in the east of Afghanistan, 13 people have been killed and more than 1,100 houses damaged by floods, according to the governor of Kunar, Haji Shalizai Deedar.

"We are facing a humanitarian crisis," Deedar told IRIN, adding "hundreds of families need urgent assistance."

Elsewhere in Shiwa and Zebak districts of Badakhshan province in the northeast, avalanches and floods have killed 13 and wounded three.

According to the governor of Badakhshan, Munshi Abdul Majid, "11 more people are missing and 10 others are trapped by an avalanche."

Officials in Kabul say the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force assisted in the evacuation of hundreds of families in Parwan, Kunar and Urozgan provinces.

In the west of Afghanistan, six people have been killed and up to 1,700 houses destroyed in the Gulran and Chusht districts of Herat province, the director of the Afghan Red Crescent Society in Herat, Noor-u-Din Ahmadi, confirmed.

Flooding has also hit the national capital, Kabul. On Friday and Saturday heavy rains caused the Kabul River to burst its banks, destroying tens of houses and displacing some 1,100 families, officials say.

"Hundreds of houses, including some of the most populated areas in Kabul city, could be damaged, if heavy rainfall continues in the coming days," warned Engineer Yusuf Pashtoon, Afghanistan's Minister for Urban Development.

Other provinces affected by flooding include Panjshir, Kapisa and Khost.

Besides human casualties, tens of thousands of hectares of agricultural land have been damaged in many parts of the impoverished country just as crops are due to be planted. Hundreds of families have also lost livestock.

UN agencies and other relief organisations have already delivered foodstuffs, blankets, medicine and tents to many affected Afghan families while scaled-up operations are planned.

However, damaged roads, rugged terrain and insecurity have impeded the humanitarian response and many flood-affected people have received no assistance yet.

Afghan government officials accept shortcomings in the relief operations, but point to logistical obstacles.

"Over 300km of roads have been destroyed throughout the country," said Adrak from DDP "and we are working to find alternative routes for traffic."

The main Salang highway that connects Kabul with provinces in the north has been closed to traffic since Saturday when flood waters destroyed parts of the road.

Flash floods also washed away an important bridge in the south of Kabul province causing traffic problems between the capital and provinces in the south.
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'Walking dead' cross line into Afghanistan to kill
By Philip Smucker THE WASHINGTON TIMES April 2, 2007
KHOST, Afghanistan -- Gazing out at the wheat fields, a haggard police chief pointed to the distant goat paths leading from Pakistan's territory of North Waziristan. Known here as "Osama bin Laden's children" or "the walking dead," nearly two dozen suicide bombers entered Khost province over those paths in the past year.

"The only thing left of them after they are done is two feet and a lot of skin," said Maj. Bismullah, a local police chief who, like many Afghans, uses only one name. "If we get a finger, we have to send it to Kabul to analyze the prints."

Orphaned by war and schooled in anti-American religious madrassas, the bombers often smile for a final video testament in Pakistan before walking or riding to their deaths in Afghanistan. As new explosives technology and tactics from the war in Iraq arrive in this remote corner of South Asia, suicide bombing attacks in the past 12 months have more than quadrupled from fewer than half a dozen in the previous year.

At least some of the bombers cross the border with a blessing from Ayman al-Zawahri, bin Laden's bespectacled ideological lieutenant, said Lutfullah Mashal, a senior intelligence official with Afghanistan's National Security Council.

Afghan and U.S. officials say the bombers are trained in Waziristan, a tribal-administered border region of Pakistan. Several weeks of reporting along the rugged border suggests that al Qaeda and its affiliates are regrouping with charitable funds from Gulf Arab states, assistance from rogue elements of Pakistan's intelligence services and profits from the heroin trade.

Pakistan, which sanctioned U.S. bombing raids on suspected al Qaeda hide-outs last year, has all but retreated from its effort to fight the Taliban and al Qaeda in border areas, say Western diplomats.

Instead, it has signed peace deals last year leaving enforcement of local security to pro-Taliban elders in North and South Waziristan. A similar deal was concluded last week for the similarly lawless Bajaur district farther north.

Mr. Mashal criticized Pakistan's embattled President Pervez Musharraf for signing the latest deal. After the signing, Taliban leaders warned Pakistani security forces and U.S. forces to "avoid interference" in their internal affairs.

In sunny Khost province, where the governor's guards stand at attention with fresh flowers in their hair, the spate of suicide bombings has altered shopping habits and angered residents.

Suicide bombing was unheard of during the long war against Soviet forces in the 1980s, when locals prided themselves on their skill in shooting down Soviet helicopters, rows of which still line the edge of the airport here.

As elsewhere in the Islamic world, al Qaeda is usually a facilitator of terrorism, rarely the direct instigator. Bin Laden's operatives exploit anti-American sentiment within home-grown Islamist groups and dispatch young men over the mountains toward martyrdom.

Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders in nearby Pakistani community of Miram Shah, mimicking similar martyrdom celebrations in the West Bank and parts of the Arab world, throw lavish parties for the families of the suicide bombers.

U.S. soldiers in the 82nd Airborne Division have trained in advance of their deployment to spot suicide bombers, said the unit's combat operations chief in Khost, Lt. Col. Scott Custer. "We look for gestures in their eyes," he said.

Col. Custer said it was "not blind luck" when a young U.S. sergeant last month spotted a bomber disguised as a surgeon when he arrived at a dedication ceremony for the recently renovated Khost hospital.

"He spotted his nervousness and shouted for him to halt," said the colonel, who witnessed the attack.

The Afghans had time to scatter and the sergeant, later rewarded for his bravery, tackled the bomber and shot him once through the leg before retreating as several U.S. officers riddled the bomber with bullets.

In his death throes, the bomber was able to clasp his hands together and detonate his explosives, causing minor injuries to the tackler and bystanders.

Afghan and U.S. officials now think an accomplice dropped off the suicide vest at the hospital before the ceremony.
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General: Pakistani border deal fails
By Jim Michaels, USA TODAY
CASTEAU, Belgium — Pakistan's decision to hand control of a remote region along the Afghan border to tribal leaders has failed, leaving foreign fighters there free to train and recruit militants, NATO's top military commander said.
"It hasn't worked since it went into effect" in September, U.S. Army Gen. John Craddock told USA TODAY. "That's why we think it should be ended."

Craddock said he based his criticism on regular aerial monitoring of the mountainous Waziristan region and observations by troops on the ground. NATO directs most of the allied forces in Afghanistan.

Last fall, the Pakistani government and militant groups tied to al-Qaeda agreed to a deal in which the Pakistani military would stop attacking foreign fighters in North Waziristan. In exchange, the militants would stop their attacks in Afghanistan. A similar agreement had earlier been made for South Waziristan.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf made the deals as he tried to juggle support for the United States with the affinity many Pakistanis have for militant Islamic groups.

The Bush administration has "strongly encouraged the Pakistanis to ensure the agreement supports the counterterrorism efforts of the United States, Pakistan and Afghanistan and denies a safe haven to al-Qaeda and the Taliban," National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Sunday. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the agreement "needs some work" but shouldn't be abandoned.

Waziristan has been an obstacle in Afghanistan, where Craddock said U.S. and NATO forces are making progress. Last fall NATO took full control of the allied effort, which now has 36,000 troops, including 15,000 Americans.

Coalition aircraft have increased their attacks on Taliban forces, Air Force records show. In 2005, coalition aircraft dropped bombs on enemy forces 176 times. Last year they did so 1,770 times.

"Now we are there with a persistent presence," said Air Force Lt. Gen. Gary North, commander of Central Air Forces, which oversees the air war in Afghanistan.

Contributing: David Jackson in Washington and Richard Wolf in McLean, Va.
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Video shows attack on U.S. Afghan camp
Sun Apr 1, 11:23 PM ET Associated Press
CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida released a video Sunday showing what it said was militants launching an attack against a U.S. military camp in  Afghanistan.

The authenticity of the video could not be immediately verified, but the tape appeared on a Web site commonly used by Islamist militants and carried the logo of al-Qaida's As-Sahab media production wing.

Al-Qaida said the tape, which was about four minutes long, was part of a series of videos that the terror network has released to show that its insurgents are continuing to fight U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

The video clip was titled "Holocaust of the Americans in the land of Khorasan, the Islamic emirate." Khorasan, a name from the Persian empire, is the militant word for Afghanistan.

The video carried a subtitle that read "A heroic operation against an American center in Kunar." It showed four bearded young fighters wearing traditional Afghani clothing and ammunition vests, carrying machine guns as they walked down a single-track trail road hugging the mountainside.

The video also showed small arms fire breaking out after several blasts hit the camp. The video gave the date of the alleged attack, using the Islamic calendar, as late last year.

The fighters launched their attack from the mountain on what looked like a camp in a valley that al-Qaida said in the tape was a U.S. camping site in Kunar.

Kunar, which is about a mile from the Pakistani border, is one of Afghanistan's remote forested regions and believed to be a hideout of al-Qaida leader  Osama bin Laden. The region is also known to be a volatile and lawless province.
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German Tornado aircraft leave for Afghanistan mission 
Mon, 02 Apr 2007 10:01:01 GMT | Author : DPA via EARTHtimes.org
Jagel, Germany - Germany sent a unit of Tornado warplanes to Afghanistan on Monday where they will conduct surveillance operations for NATO ground forces fighting the Taliban. Germany Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung was on hand to see off six aircraft when they departed from their base at Jagel in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein. Another four planes left earlier in the morning.

The planes will make refuelling stops on the Italian island of Sardinia and the United Arab Emirates before reaching their final destination in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif on Thursday.

 
Jung spoke of a "a demanding task" facing the aircrews in their task of providing support to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

The final hurdle to the deployment was cleared on Friday when Germany's Federal Constitutional Court refused to grant a temporary injunction stopping the planes from leaving.

The German parliament earlier this month voted to send the reconnaissance jets to Afghanistan but the mandate explicitly precludes German participation in combat missions.

The opposition Left Party claimed that parliament had acted inappropriately in authorizing the deployment and asked Germany's top court to intervene. A formal hearing is set for April 18.

Germany currently has around 3,000 troops stationed with the ISAF as part of Provincial Reconstruction Teams building up infrastructure, schools and other institutions.

Most are deployed in the relatively peaceful north, away from the volatile southern region where NATO troops recently launched an offensive against remnants of the ousted Taliban regime.

Of the 10 Tornados which left Germany on Monday, two will return to their home base after the refuelling stop in Italy and another two will fly back from the United Arab Emirates.

The deployment is controversial in Germany where many people feel the country could be drawn into an increasingly bitter conflict in southern Afghanistan.

Because the Tornados will be relaying coordinates for potential bombing targets, some legislators have expressed fears Germany could become a party to attacks that result in civilian deaths.
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MPs make surprise visit to Afghanistan
Mon. Apr. 2 2007 7:56 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff
Three MPs, including Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day, made a surprise visit to Afghanistan Monday on a trip that is expected to focus on ways to improve the Afghan National Police.

Day is accompanied by Treasury Board President Vic Toews and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Trade Helena Guergis.

"The ministers' portfolios all have interest in Afghanistan," said CTV's Paul Workman from Kandahar Air Field.

Workman said Day will use the trip to discuss ways to help build up the numbers and competence of the Afghan National Police -- a unit that has been plagued by corruption.

"We're told he's going to be here talking about policing and there will likely be an announcement for increased funding for police in Afghanistan," said Workman.

"There may be more money to bring over RCMP officers for training."

Workman said building up the police force is essential to bettering the security in the region.

"The other two ministers will be dealing with issues in their portfolios -- meetings with World Bank officials in Kabul for example," said Workman.

The ministers will also visit the Provincial Reconstruction Team in downtown Kandahar, confirmed Workman.

As usual, a large team has been compiled to ensure the safety of the ministers.

"Security is always a big concern when you have ministers visiting a base like this," said Workman.

Workman said there is also a period of increased Taliban activity to worry about.

"One Taliban leader promised this morning that there would be 5,000 suicide bombers available in the next while."

The visit comes as clashes and an air strike in southern Afghanistan killed 13 suspected Taliban militants and three police.
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Losing the war in Afghanistan
By Robert I. Rotberg  |  April 2, 2007 Boston Globe, MA
THE UNITED States and NATO are about to lose the war in Afghanistan to an insurgent, revived Taliban. Deprived of sufficient firepower and soldiers, Allied forces are failing to hunt down and contain the Taliban, especially in the southern part of the country. Moreover, the crucial battle for Pashtun hearts and minds is also about to be lost. Only the rapid provision of security, roads, electricity, and educational and health services can counter the appeal of the renewed and reinvigorated Taliban. Urgently required are more troops for security and more funds for rebuilding essential services.

Narco-trafficking is fueling the Taliban, and fat profits from poppies and opium are partially responsible for the militants' resurgence . Indeed, Afghanistan is supplying about 90 percent of the world's opium and nearly all of the heroin that ends up in Europe. A recent study by the UN Office for Drugs and Crime forecasts a record crop of poppies this year, on top of last year's bumper harvest.

To undercut the ability of the Taliban to purchase arms, pay soldiers, and buy the support of villagers, the United States and NATO need to break the back of the drug trade in and out of Afghanistan. However, reliance on eradication -- the current weapon of choice -- is foolish and wasteful. Uprooting crops and spraying have both had limited local effect. What is needed is a radically new, incentive-based method to provide better incomes to farmers from substitute crops.

Many Afghan officials have urged farmers to grow saffron or almonds instead of poppies. But the only viable substitute crop is wheat, an Afghan staple. Sometimes it is in short supply, too. If the West would guarantee above-market prices for wheat over 10 years, and establish a transparent method to buy unlimited quantities of wheat from Afghan farmers through an official marketing system, it is likely that Afghan farmers would gradually switch from poppies to wheat. And they could eat any wheat that becomes surplus. Furthermore, guaranteeing a high price for wheat would probably cost less than the billions devoted to eradication. It would also put more money than from poppies directly into the pockets of farmers and, simultaneously, cut out middlemen and traffickers.

Inventing such a scheme is the only way to undercut the appeal of the Taliban. Extirpating its troops by conventional military means will remain impossible without curtailing the flow of men and materiel from Taliban support bases in Pakistan. It is not yet clear that the Pakistani intelligence services are ready to cripple the Taliban in that way. NATO has too few troops and too little good intelligence to do so itself without Pakistan's help or without limitations on the Taliban's supply of cash through narcotics.

In many civil wars, winning the trust and cooperation of the beleaguered civil population is essential. In Afghanistan the American-backed government of President Hamid Karzai has much too little progress to report. Seventy percent of all Afghan businesses still run generators so they can operate for a few hours a day. There is little centrally generated electricity, potable water is scarce, the road network is still potholed and poor, jobs are scarce, educational opportunity remains limited, and health facilities are spartan. Most of all, the countryside and the cities are increasingly insecure.

It is true that credible elections have been held and that parliament, representing the entire country, has often curtailed the power of the executive. It is true that parts of Kabul are booming, thanks to international activity. It is also true that sections of northern Afghanistan are peaceful, and responding well to the earnest efforts of NATO missions.

But the more populous, Pashtun-dominated south is more and more at war. That is the consuming challenge for NATO and American forces. Those forces need to show that they can stifle the narcotics trade, prevent Talibani movement across the Pakistani border, and oust the Taliban from strongholds in southern provinces. Most of all, they must begin to win the trust and cooperation of citizens through lasting good works and by showing that NATO forces are in the south to stay. No Afghan believes that they are.

Winning in Afghanistan is a tall order. It will rely on major Afghan government and donor support, a concerted battle over drugs, and a clear demonstration to Afghan villagers that NATO will win. Otherwise, the Taliban will play upon people's fears and gain strength in a clash of wills with a weakened NATO.

Robert I. Rotberg is director of the Program on Intrastate Conflict in the Kennedy School of Government and president of the World Peace Foundation.
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Afghanistan's Eastern Front
Along the Pakistani border, al Qaeda and Taliban fighters take their best shots
By Philip G. Smucker U.S. News & World Report. April 2, 2007
KUNAR PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN—Sprawling on a rug in his embattled police station near the Kunar River, Police Chief Mohammed Youssuf eagerly boots up his laptop computer. Images appear on the screen—a Kalashnikov assault rifle firing wildly at enemies shooting back from hiding places in the craggy mountainside—along with a soundtrack that has the rapid clack-clack-clack gunfire punctuating a stream of shouted obscenities. Two U.S. soldiers crawl through underbrush toward an enemy position behind a cleft in the rocks. Overhead, two Apache helicopters spin in circles as they fire machine-gun volleys against the insurgents and, finally, unleash a Hellfire missile, which hits with a burst of smoke and flying rocks.

This is no video game. Youssuf, 33, recorded these scenes during a recent battle in which he fired off his rifle with one hand while gripping his video cam in the other. In the eight-hour fight, which followed an attack on a U.S. supply convoy, American and Afghan forces killed four suspected al Qaeda militants and captured a fifth. A dozen others escaped back across the border to their refuge in Pakistan.

As mountain snows melt and wildflowers bloom, Afghanistan's future depends in no small part on what happens along an ill-defined border, the Durand Line, which separates Afghanistan and Pakistan. A month of reporting along the mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan indicates that despite a growing ability of Afghans to govern themselves and an expanding NATO-led peacemaking force, the enemy is steadily gaining strength. Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and their various affiliates are poised to strike against what little stability this war-wracked country has achieved in the past five years. By most accounts, including from sources inside Pakistan, the al Qaeda and Taliban redoubts are flourishing just across the border, beyond the permitted reach of forces in Afghanistan. From the vantage point on the Afghan side of the border, there is little to show that Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's declared crackdown on militants and claimed pacification amounts to much.

Goat paths. In Khost and Kunar provinces, there are five major mountain passes that link Pashtun tribesmen across the line. But there are also dozens of buzrao, or goat paths, that humans on foot, dirt bike, or donkey can navigate night and day. As more Taliban and hard-core al Qaeda types filter in to mount guerrilla attacks, hundreds of fresh U.S. forces deploy and disperse into small fire bases along the frontier. Although they are embedding with what commanders say are improving Afghan police and Army units, the U.S. troops are also exposed as targets.

In Kunar and Nuristan provinces, troops from the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division are poised for a tough spring. They say they've created a "magnet for the bad guys" in the Korungal Valley, whose boulder-strewn mountainsides provide ideal terrain for insurgents because of the myriad hiding places and escape routes. "We've cleared them out once, and now they are coming back for a fight," says Lt. Col. Christopher Cavoli.

If Afghanistan is slipping toward an abyss, as many residents on the border insist, U.S. commanders don't see it that way. "I don't have any fears," says Lt. Col. Scott Custer of the 82nd Airborne Division, whose great-great uncle was the famous George Custer, who lost his life at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. "I'm sure we can get the job done militarily."

Across the border from Custer and his 82nd Airborne forces in Khost is what one government official refers to as "Suicide Inc., an al Qaeda and Taliban joint venture" based near the extremist stronghold of Miram Shah, Pakistan. Several loosely affiliated suicide cells send more and more young men into battle strapped with increasingly potent explosives. Suicide attacks increased sixfold in 2006 to 150, spiking after a September "peace deal" between Pakistan's Musharaf and leaders in the country's tribal areas, where Taliban and al Qaeda interests still hold sway. Senior Afghan intelligence personnel and U.S. officers believe that terror tactics seen in Iraq are fast "migrating" here. A new report to the U.N. Security Council states that suicide bombers attacking Afghanistan, usually with foreign funding, have been "emboldened by their strategic successes, rather than disheartened by tactical failures."

A local religious leader in Khost refers to the bombers as Osama bin Laden's "bastard children." Mothers and fathers lost to war, they have been schooled to kill in Pakistan's anti-American madrasahs, or religious schools. At least some of them are being pushed across the border with a nod and a blessing from Egyptian Ayman al Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's wizened and bespectacled ideological lieutenant, say Afghan intelligence officials.

Al Qaeda also has cells inside Afghanistan—more precisely in Kunar province, which adjoins Pakistan's Bajaur tribal district where U.S. missiles targeted Zawahiri last year. Another Egyptian is ensconced in the Korungal Valley highlands, where 16 U.S. Special Forces on a mission to assist four Navy SEALs perished after being shot down in their M-47 Chinook transport helicopter in June.

"Abu Ikhlas, the Egyptian, was my student during the war against the Russians," says Mullah Nakibullah, a soft-spoken imam, who commanded hundreds of jihadis in the war against the Russians and now supports the Afghan government. "He is about 35 years old now and very ill tempered, but he is a good bomb and gun maker."

As elsewhere in the Islamic world, al Qaeda is mostly a facilitator. Bin Laden's experts channel and direct anti-American sentiment within disparate, home-grown Islamic groups and launch young men down the "buzrao" toward martyrdom.

Prisoners. Inside the medieval confines of the Tarta Beg fortress in Khost, several recently captured insurgents are on display. Clad in a prison gown, Hassan Khan, handcuffed to his first cousin, claimed he had been "forced to transport guns and shoot" at an Afghan police post by men with foreign accents. "They escaped, but we were arrested," he said, while eating a freshly plucked Pakistani tangerine. "We are all al Qaeda."

An American officer, Lt. Robert Marshall, who monitors guerrilla engagements in Khost and helps call in U.S. air support, says, "We talk to al Qaeda and the Taliban all the time over our shortwaves. They can also hear the Afghan comms [communications], and so they know when we are on the way and they take off."

Terrorist harassment comes in many forms. Last month, militants intercepted supply trucks headed to a remote U.S. base in Kunar province and systematically chopped off noses and ears from six drivers. A recent set of posters on display in mosques and on roadsides in the Khost region warned Afghans who collaborate with the U.S. infidels "one last chance" to leave their jobs and save their lives.

Taliban and al Qaeda tactics, including attacks and kidnappings, appear to have had in impact in the wheat fields just outside of Khost. "We can't talk against the Taliban anymore in front of our own people," said Mir Ahmed Shah, an Afghan criminal investigator along the border in the Gurbuz district of Khost. "We are confused as to what the U.S.A. is doing here. Now the Taliban move freely, especially in the last two months."

Other Afghan citizens and politicians believe that a broader Afghan conflict is inevitable in lieu of a peace process that currently has little international backing. And despite the U.S. military's contention that it is putting the Afghans in charge, the real voice and money behind the scenes is—for many Afghans—still that of a foreign occupier.

Government radio stations have been offered a base and funding inside the blast walls of American military compounds. While this has enabled the stations to boost their broadcasting range, it has undercut their credibility with Afghans, says Zahid Shah Angar, director of the independent "Peace Message Radio" in Khost. "They don't report the truth anymore, especially if the U.S. forces get bad intelligence and kill someone accidentally."

Philip Smucker is author of Al Qaeda's Great Escape: The Military and the Media on Terror's Trail (Potomac Books, 2004).

This story appears in the April 9, 2007 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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SAARC: India hails Afghanistan's entry
OneWorld.net, UK
When Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai shares the table with other SAARC leaders in Delhi this week, India knows it is a crucial development for the regional grouping.

Not only does it mean greater connectivity to central Asia, New Delhi also believes Kabul's induction is an important strategic move.

Afghanistan's entry into SAARC comes at a critical time for the country as it faces a huge upsurge in violence, thanks to a resurgent Taliban violence for which Kabul directly points the finger at Islamabad.

Key issues

Terrorism will figure prominently at the talks, but for India there is another key agenda: getting transit rights through Pakistan to trade with Afghanistan.

"Afghanistan's entry is very important. It links us to central Asia. A critical issue for us will be facilitating transit and trade and expansion of trade," said Pranab Mukherjee, External Affairs Minister.

So far, Islamabad has resisted the move largely to keep India's influence in Afghanistan at bay. The denial of trasnsit rights to New Delhi makes Pakistan, Afghanistan's biggest trading partner.

President Karzai is equally keen for these transit rights, which will give a huge boost to the war torn country's economy.

But like nearly every other agreement at SAARC, the question is whether the member countries can put their political differences aside. 
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Tourist centre to be established in Kabul
Makia Monir
KABUL, Apr 1 (Pajhwok Afghan News): A tourist centre will be established for promotion of tourism as well as provision of information to foreign visitors in Kabul.

Ghulam Nabi Farahi, Deputy Minister for Information and Culture, said establishment of the centre was one of the main steps towards promotion of tourism in the country.

Without mentioning a time period for the establishment of the centre, he said students would be taught subjects on tourism promotion in the proposed centre.

Farahi said tourist services, hotel management and subjects about Afghan culture, customs and society will be taught by local experts and teachers in this centre. Students will be give admission after qualifying a test, said Farahi.

According to Farahi, two million tourists used to visit Afghanistan each year before the war. "We are hopeful establishment of the centre and other tourist-friendly measures will boost the number of foreign tourists."

The Ministry of Information and Culture had allocated $2 million for the establishment of the tourist centre, he informed. The number of tourists visiting Afghanistan has increased by 25 per cent over the past two years.

The central province of Bamyan, eastern Nuristan and the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif have scenic and historical importance for tourists. The deputy minister said those areas would be developed this year to attract more tourists in the country.
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Foreign ministers meet before South Asian summit
The Associated Press Sunday, April 1, 2007
NEW DELHI: The foreign ministers of eight South Asian nations met Monday to prepare for a regional summit this week at which terrorism is expected to be a key topic.

The ministers will recommend to their leaders that they issue a "very strong statement against terrorism," Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said earlier.

The foreign ministers are to set the agenda for the summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, or SAARC, being held in India on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The agenda items are expected to include cooperation against terrorism, the establishment of a South Asian university and a regional food bank, and implementation of a regional free trade agreement.

Terrorism affects most SAARC countries. India and Sri Lanka have been battling armed insurgencies for decades, while officials in Afghanistan say Taliban militants are orchestrating attacks from Pakistani territory, a charge Pakistan denies.

Afghanistan is joining SAARC as a new member this year, joining India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives.

Member countries earlier ratified a SAARC Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism, and agreed on an additional protocol in 2004 about action against financing of terrorism.

Representatives from China, Japan, South Korea, the United States and the European Union will attend the summit's opening and closing sessions and some meetings as observers.

SAARC officials also have cleared the way for Iran's admission as an observer, and that proposal now awaits the approval of the foreign ministers and leaders.

SAARC was set up in 1985 to promote economic cooperation. Progress, however, has been slow because of rivalry between India and Pakistan.

The South Asian region is home to one fifth of the world's population and has some of the world's poorest people.
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10 dead as Pakistan tribal battles rage
Mon Apr 2, 1:53 AM ET
WANA, Pakistan (AFP) - Pakistani tribesmen and foreign Al-Qaeda militants traded rocket and heavy weapons fire in a tribal area bordering  Afghanistan, leaving 10 people dead, officials and witnesses said.

Fierce battles were fought between pro-government tribesmen and militants on Sunday near Wana, the main town of the lawless South Waziristan district where more than 200 people have died in fighting in the past two weeks, they said.

The clashes since late Saturday killed five foreign fighters and five local tribesmen, while troops also shelled militants' positions, they said.

Militants stormed a house of local journalist Din Mohammed near Sheen Warsak, killing his father and 15-year-old brother, while three attackers died when tribesmen fought back, relatives said.

Mohammed, who works for regional newspapers, is known for his links with pro-government tribesmen whom he had put in touch with journalists from other cities, they said.

The militants took four hostages but it was not immediately known whether Mohammed was amongst them, they said.

Another three local tribesmen and two Al-Qaeda linked militants were killed in separate clashes, also in Sheen Warsak, security officials said.

Al-Qaeda linked militants are holding some 36 local tribesmen, while two Uzbek women and a foreign militant were captured by pro-government tribesmen, officials said.

Meanwhile, commander Mullah Nazir called a meeting of local tribes for Monday to enlist up to 300 armed men as the fighting escalates, according to a resident who heard announcements from mosques' loudspeakers.

The fighting comes as President Pervez Musharraf, a key US ally, faces international pressure to get tough on extremists who have regrouped in Pakistan's tribal-run regions since 2001.

Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao told AFP late Friday that 56 people were killed on Thursday and Friday, 45 of them foreigners, as fighting "intensified after peace talks failed."

Last week the government said clashes in South Waziristan left 160 people dead, again mostly Chechens and Uzbeks. Local sources put the toll lower but the figures could not be independently verified.

Officials say Pakistani troops were not involved in the fighting which was triggered on March 19 after foreign militants "misused" traditional tribal hospitality by killing local people and trying to seize their land.

Hundreds of foreign militants took shelter in the area after the fall of Taliban regime in US-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001.
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'Kabul Beauty School' offers inspiration for women
By Rachael Mason Gwinnett Daily Post (Georgia, USA) April 1, 2007
In 2002, Deborah Rodriguez, a hairdresser from Michigan, went to Afghanistan as a disaster relief volunteer. Though she was prepared to do emergency work, she soon found out that her salon skills were in high demand.

Many of the city's beauty shops had been closed during the rule of the Taliban, so other Westerners in the country had been having a hard time finding a place to get a haircut. As Rodriguez began offering salon services, she discovered that beauty rituals were of extreme importance to Afghan women. She began working with a new school that was founded to help teach Afghan women how to run their own salons.

The author decided to stay in Kabul and lives there with her husband, who is Afghan. In her candid memoir, "Kabul Beauty School: An American Goes Behind the Veil" (Random House, $24.95), Rodriguez details her life in Afghanistan.

In the book, Rodriguez is very open about her experiences. "I'm a hairdresser, so I have the common trait of being outgoing and chatty," she said during a recent interview conducted via e-mail.

While writing, she was careful to protect the identities of the women mentioned in the book, however.

"The women in the book were very keen on being able to tell their stories with the understanding that no one would find out who they are," Rodriguez said.

She hopes her book will show Americans that life in Afghanistan is more than what's shown on television.

"Outside of the violence you see on the news, the Afghan people are very poetic, they love dancing and music. Even though the women are veiled, they care for themselves and are very beautiful," Rodriguez said.

While living in Kabul, she has learned a lot about the women's perceptions of beauty there.

"In the Arab and central Asian countries they pay way more attention to their hair, clothes and faces - they are so well groomed, they put American women to shame," Rodriguez said. "They get their hair done for a party, they get their eyebrows groomed every week, they see Americans as plain. Beauty shops in the Middle East and central Asia are hubs for women; their beauty regimen has been going on for centuries."

When Rodriguez first visited Afghanistan, she didn't plan to stay there - or write a book. She began splitting her time between Kabul and her home in Holland, Mich. While in Afghanistan, she would send long e-mails to her friends and salon customers back in the United States.

After sending them, Rodriguez really didn't think about these e-mails again, but one of her friends had kept them all. "She gave them to me and my mom in a book format as a gift. I had forgotten about some of the things that had happened and was so glad she had saved these long, endless e-mails," Rodriguez said.

Her friend then encouraged Rodriguez to start keeping a journal. Rodriguez began writing daily and ended up with hundreds of pages of stories. While working on her book, she had a hard time deciding what should be included. "There always seems to be some sort of drama each day," she said.
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British ministers visit Helmand
KANDAHAR CITY, Mar 31 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Two senior British officials visited the southern Helmand province to meet their country's troops and discuss security and reconstruction with the provincial government.

Helmand Governor Asadullah Wafa told Pajhwok Afghan News British Defence Secretary Des Browne and Finance Secretary Gordon Brown visited the province on Friday.

He said the two ministers assured of their country's support for the Helmand province. They also met their country's troops stationed in Helmand as part of the NATO counter-insurgency operations.

The two ministers arrived in Kabul on Friday. They flew to Helmand province the same day, said the governor.

The governor said the ministers discussed security and reconstruction with him. They also assured of roads construction besides other rebuilding activities in the province.

Around 6,000 British troops are stationed in Helmand. They are also leading the provincial reconstruction team (PRT) in that province.
Samad Rohani
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Exhibition of Afghan artifacts an instant hit
NEW YORK, Mar 31 (Pajhwok Afghan News): An exhibition-cum-sale of Afghan artifacts, handcrafted jewelry, home dcor and accessories at the popular Pangea Artisan Market & Caf in Washington has become an instant hit.

The organisers were taken for a pleasant surprise when they had an unusually large turnout for this exclusive event on March 29.

"This shows, how much popular Afghan artifacts is and its commercial potential," Samira Atasa of Artizan Sarai, told Pajhwok Afghan News. 

A commercial endeavor of four Afghan-American sisters, Artizan Sarai launched a special collection of Afghan artifacts christened "Elements of Change" at Pangea Artisan Market and Caf.

The event spread over couple of hours Thursday evening attracted a large number of officials from State Department, policy makers, diplomats and non-profit organisations.

"Lot of people purchased our products. This is very encouraging and motivating too," said Samira Atasa, marketing and creative director of Artisan Sarai.

She hoped the initiative launched in association with Pangea Artisan Market and Caf would yield new orders for Afghan artifacts, this resulting in generating revenue resources for the poor artisans in Afghanistan. "This would have a direct impact on the women of Afghanistan," she believed.
Lalit K. Jha
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A bomb burned his body, but not this 6-year-old Afghan boy's spirit
By HELEN ERIKSEN Houston Chronicle March 30, 2007
He's a charmer with a smile that can melt any heart. He loves fast cars, pretty girls, chicken nuggets. And when he grows up, he's going to be a firefighter.

To that extent, at least, Mohammed Fahim Ishaq is a somewhat typical 6-year-old. But that is where the similarity ends.

Not only is he a child of war, he's a casualty of it, maimed by fire and separated by thousands of miles from his family.

Shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the boy who goes by Fahim was asleep in his crib in his house in a small village in Afghanistan when the bombing started. An explosion set his house on fire. His face was badly burned, and he lost his left hand.

He very nearly lost his life. But despite the severity of his injuries, Fahim has not lost his spirit.

Now living temporarily in Katy while he is treated at Shriners Hospitals for Children-Galveston, Fahim has won the hearts of scores of people — from the couple that has taken him in to teachers at his school and members of the local mosque.

He has made friends with kindergarten classmates, learned English and made other adjustments to live in the United States. And in the back of the minds of everyone he has touched is the knowledge that when his treatment is completed, Fahim will return to his family in Kabul.

Lesley and Ibrahim Mojaddedi, who have grown children and grandchildren, have stepped up before to take in war-injured victims while they undergo treatment. This time, with Fahim, they say it's different.

They say it will be heartbreaking to see Fahim leave once his treatment is completed. Yet they understand and support his imminent return to his family in Afghanistan.

"He's the kind of child that when you see him he brings out the good in people," said Ibrahim Mojaddedi, a native of Afghanistan. "He has touched our lives and everyone else he meets."

Lesley Mojaddedi, who has never spoken with Fahim's mother, said she tries hard not to think about his leaving and there is an internal struggle between her head and her heart.

"I know that materially, medically and socially, life is better for him here," she said. "But ... I have to remember he's someone else's son and he belongs with them."

A long recovery

It is not clear whose bomb caused the fire at Fahim's house in the small village of Najwa — the U.S. military's or the Taliban's. What is known is that Fahim's grandfather rescued the gravely injured boy while other family members got out safely.

He was treated by Red Cross doctors who performed an emergency tracheotomy and provided other lifesaving medical care. Afterward, the agency arranged for him to be treated for a year in Rome, where he received skin grafts and underwent surgeries to help him eat and breathe better before returning to Afghanistan.

It was Glenn Sarka, an American working on a government project in Afghanistan, who helped bring Fahim to the United States. Sarka, who met the blue-eyed boy and his father on the crowded streets of Kabul in 2004, also arranged treatment at Shriners and helped the youngster's family connect with the Katy couple.

In November 2004, Shriners agreed to accept Fahim as a patient and treat him free. Sarka helped organize fundraising to pay for passage to the U.S. for Fahim and his father, Mohammad Ishaq. His father lived in the Katy area for several months while Fahim received treatment. The father then returned to the family in Afghanistan.

Doctors say Fahim could be treated here up to 12 years when his free treatment runs out. His reconstructive surgeries are expected to take many years to complete, and other procedures, which will make dramatic improvements to his looks, cannot be performed until he is much older.

Fahim understands that restoration will be a long, painful journey, but he does not complain about his treatment, and he looks forward to hospital visits.

"Well, I guess I got my wish to come here, and I'm getting my face better," Fahim said.

Fahim's father said during a recent phone call that the family misses him but is willing to suffer his absence for however long it takes to see him get the care he needs to heal.

As with most of the 30 million people who live in Afghanistan, life for the Ishaq family is difficult. Fahim's family includes his mother, father, three brothers and a sister. They live in Kabul, where there is grinding poverty and a shortage of basics such as jobs, shelter, schools and medical clinics.

The family does not have a car, permanent electricity or even a home telephone. Mohammad Ishaq lacks a formal education and finds work as an unskilled laborer.

It's difficult to connect with the family by telephone, and the signals are often poor. However, Fahim looks forward to the calls, and his family members are eager to learn about progress in his treatment.

Fahim has experienced difficulty bonding with his own family because of the lengthy separations.

For this reason, the child is uncertain about his relationship with the Mojaddedi couple. He understands that he is not their son but then wonders precisely what relation he is to them.

"I tell him he is my sunshine — not my son — but my only sunshine," Lesley Mojaddedi said. "I'm more like a grandmother to him. Life is too short, and I treasure every moment with him."

A local favorite

Fahim has picked up a slight New York accent from Lesley Mojaddedi, a native New Yorker. In that dialect, he says, "I have to learn English so I can know everything."

The Katy couple, in their mid-50s, describes Fahim's coming into their lives as a turning point and say that God sent him to them for a reason.

"He could have been accepted anywhere (for treatment)," said Lesley Mojaddedi, who converted to Islam from Judaism when she got married. "His destiny was to be here with us."

Ibrahim Mojaddedi, a real estate agent, takes Fahim to his doctor appointments, sometimes staying overnight in Galveston as the child recovers from surgeries. Fahim, who also requires significant regular health care, does not have health or dental insurance to cover costs for those treatments and medication.

On the way to the hospital, Fahim likes to visit with people who work in nearby stores — friends he had made since he began treatment at Shriners.

Greeters at the local Wal-Mart give him extra happy-face stickers, and Randalls presented Shriners with a check for $1,000 when the firm honored Lesley Mojaddedi as a community hero for providing Fahim a nurturing home.

Visits to the Mojaddedi home in Katy reveal that Fahim has earned a special place in the family. A quick snack before bedtime in the living room one night drew disapproval from the family's 27-year-old son, who thinks his parents allow the child to get away with too much.

Each Sunday, Fahim attends Islamic school at the Bear Creek Masjid in the Katy area, where he learns Farsi and studies the Quran.

Everyone's coping

Fahim is full of wide-eyed curiosity. His favorite movie is Disney's Cars. He deeply admires his young, blond kindergarten teacher, Kelly Mannion, who he also says is "very pretty."

His grin lights up a room. He shows off a lot of teeth because his mouth was damaged in the fire. But the scarring does nothing to detract from his charm.

He wore a protective mask to school until a few weeks ago. Some students were initially apprehensive about his looks, but those fears quickly faded because of the boy's warm personality and explanations from Mannion about his injuries. She also showed the class pictures of Fahim in preparation for his arrival when school started.

His guardians do whatever they can to help Fahim cope with some of his differences, such as combing his hair over a portion of his head that does not grow hair because of his burned scalp.

In spite of his challenges and all the surgeries he has endured, Mannion said Fahim is a fighter and he comes to school each day eager to learn.

"Fahim pushes himself to do everything the other children do, and I let him, including playing on the monkey bars," she said.

Mannion said being around Fahim is helping the other students grow as individuals. As they see Fahim confront his challenges, it helps them better understand people with disabilities, she said.

"Sometimes when he comes in after having surgeries they just ask him questions and he answers them and that's the end of it," Mannion said. "They look beyond the physical."

Fahim was recently fitted with an artificial hand, but he is not very enthusiastic about wearing it to school, because his classmates stare at it.

Mannion said just as the pupils watch Fahim's transformation, they also wonder whether his scars will disappear entirely one day.

"I told them that he's here now and the doctors are working with him trying to help him heal."

A group of staff at the school recently gave Fahim a prayer blanket. The blanket has little pieces of yarn that are tied as a prayer is said for each crisis he endures.

On March 21, Fahim celebrated his sixth birthday at school with his classmates. They sang Happy Birthday to him and shared cupcakes, and Mannion gave him a special birthday sticker and a card.

"Everyone gave him a high-five and a hug," she said. "It is amazing how 5- and 6-year-olds realize how special he really is."

Blossoming through treatment

Doctors at Shriners, who will treat Fahim until he turns 18, are painstakingly reconstructing his face, with each surgery marking an improvement to his appearance.

Fahim's nose and lips were badly damaged. His eyelids were burned, leaving his eye sockets partially exposed. He could not close his eyes for the past four years.

Robert McCauley, chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Shriners, started treating Fahim last April. He said he has performed four surgeries and 17 procedures since then. The treatments have helped bring Fahim's lips closer together and enabled him to close his eyes.

McCauley also said he restored the space between the boy's lip and nose where he experienced a significant loss of tissue. But Fahim still has some difficulty eating and must drink through a straw, plus he still has trouble speaking words that require clasping his lips.

"We temporarily lengthened his nose and opened it, but he still has tissue missing," he said. "When he is older, we will perform formal reconstructive surgery."

Later, a tissue expander will be placed on his scalp to create more hair-bearing skin and to create a formal hairline. His neck skin will be expanded to resurface the lower two-thirds of his face to get rid of most of his scars.

His next surgery to correct overlying tissue on the medial part of his nose is scheduled for May 30. McCauley said the procedure would help Fahim open and close his eyes even better.

McCauley said Fahim's personality is blossoming as he undergoes treatment and he notices the changes in his appearance.

"He even sings when he comes to the clinic," McCauley said.
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Afghan chamber to organise Congressional forum
Lalit K. Jha
NEW YORK, Mar 30 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce has decided to organise two Congressional forums to prioritise the developmental needs of Afghanistan and impress upon the policy and law makers to spend more on developmental projects.

First of the Congressional forum scheduled for April 14 would be held inside the Capitol Hill and attended by key senators, policy makers, top officials of the Bush administration and influential members of the business community.

It would deliberate on "Reassessing Priorities for US Funding in Afghanistan," while the second Congressional forum scheduled for May would discuss "Security and Economic Development." This is for the first time that Afghan-American Chamber is organising a meeting of Congressmen.

"We feel the urgent need for it, as much of the US fund to Afghanistan is being spent on security issues, while development comes second in list of priorities," Atiq Panjshiri, president and CEO of the chamber told Pajhwok Afghan News. Chamber is the apex body of Afghans and American companies doing business in Afghanistan.

Referring to the latest US funding of $11.8 billion now, Panjshiri, said the issue before them was how to increase the share of money for civilian purposes to take care of developmental needs.

"Funding priorities and mechanisms for distribution are important considerations in ensuring aid effectiveness, especially in the strategy to reduce poppy production and winning hearts and minds," he said.
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