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Taliban commander vows bloody 2007 in Afghanistan
Forces in Afghanistan shift focus to Taliban leaders
Afghan gov't recaptures district occupied by Taliban
Former Afghan King Reported Ill
Outside View: Europe's Afghan test
Pakistan's tribal deals aren't working: report
Troops hit for six in cricket match against Afghanistan
Aziz plans crucial visit to Afghanistan
Afghanistan to import Pak-made engines
Complete failure of Musharraf regime on all fronts during 2006: Pak editorial
Latest offensive in southern Afghanistan disrupting Taliban: Canadian general
Blair says Britain must remain committed in Iraq, Afghanistan in 2007
An Afghan follows his heart
Several dead over land dispute in Khost
Taliban commander vows bloody 2007 in Afghanistan
By Saeed Ali Achakzai Tue Jan 2, 5:50 AM ET
SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan (Reuters) - The Taliban will step up attacks on foreign troops in Afghanistan this year and kill anyone who negotiates with the government, a top rebel commander said on Tuesday.
Taliban fighters staged a surprise comeback last year with the bloodiest violence since U.S.-led troops forced them from power in 2001. More than 4,000 people were killed on both sides in 2006 including nearly 170 foreign troops.
Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah said the new year would see more attacks on NATO and U.S. forces.
"Suicide and guerrilla attacks on NATO, American and coalition forces will continue and increase this year. The Taliban will inflict heavy casualties on them," Dadullah told Reuters by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location.
Dadullah did not refer to the death last month of Akhtar Mohammad Osmani, the most senior Taliban commander to be killed by U.S. forces since 2001.
Osmani was killed in a U.S. air strike in the south, and another rebel commander, who declined to be identified, said earlier his death would be a blow to the Taliban.
About 40,000 foreign troops are in Afghanistan, some 32,000 of them under NATO command. They are trying to ensure enough security to enable development projects to get started.
Dadullah said the Taliban had used a winter lull in fighting to draw up new war plans to inflict maximum damage on foreign forces. Afghan fighting traditionally falls off during the bitter winter when snow blocks mountain passes.
"They will soon come to know about the Taliban's strength and war strategy. We will attack with such a force they will have no time to settle," Dadullah said.
The rebel commander ruled out any negotiations while foreign troops were in the country and threatened dire consequences for anyone who did so.
"Those who negotiate in the name of the Taliban will be killed," he said. He did not elaborate.
The government has a reconciliation program aimed at persuading Taliban members to give up their fight and rejoin society but few insurgents have taken up the offer.
Some Afghan politicians have said peace will be impossible unless elements of the Taliban are included in talks.
A Taliban spokesman said last month the rebels might take part in planned tribal councils that Pakistan and Afghanistan aim to hold on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani border.
But other Taliban members quickly denied there was any chance of the insurgents attending the councils. Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar was reported to have denounced the proposed meetings as an American trick in a message last week.
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Forces in Afghanistan shift focus to Taliban leaders
by Sardar Ahmad Tue Jan 2, 1:29 AM ET
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - Military forces battling Taliban-led unrest in Afghanistan are increasingly targeting the insurgency's hardline leaders, believing the foot soldiers can be persuaded to drop the fight.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has been pushing this strategy in earnest since the start of a new operation in the volatile Panjwayi district of the southern province of Kandahar three weeks ago, officials said.
ISAF officials cite as a success the December 19 killing of commander Akhtar Mohammad Osmani, among the top leaders of the Islamist Taliban militia driven from power by a US-led coalition in late 2001.
The shift in focus comes after the bloodiest year of the insurgency: around 4,000 people were killed in 2006, most of them rebels, in some of the fiercest fighting since the Taliban were toppled.
Several ISAF airstrikes in the summer took out scores of fighters at a time, and sometimes civilians.
But "killing big numbers of Taliban is not the way out," a top-ranking NATO general told AFP this week on condition of anonymity.
While the number of Taliban fighters is unclear, they are said to run into several thousand with aggressive recruitment campaigns and fundamentalist madrassas, including in neighbouring Pakistan, providing a steady supply.
ISAF spokesman in Kabul, Major Dominic Whyte, said the new approach was "twin-track".
"That basically means there are some Taliban out there who want the Taliban regime and will not negotiate and they will not stop fighting until they are killed or captured," he said.
ISAF believes other recruits could be persuaded to stop fighting by being shown the hardliners offered "no future", unlike the government and its allies which are pushing development alongside military action, he said.
They included mainly men lured by money, Whyte said. Reports have said Taliban pay around five to 12 dollars a day.
In Panjwayi development projects worth several million dollars are intended to win over such men. ISAF says waverers will also have seen the Taliban is no match for the 37-nation alliance after 1,000 rebels died in a September operation.
ISAF has touted the operation as the Taliban's biggest defeat since 2001, despite steady reinfiltration and continued clashes.
It will not say how many men are at the helm of the insurgency. Whyte said there had been five targeted operations in the past three weeks and all were successful, notably the one that killed Osmani in the southern province of Helmand.
The slain commander, a close associate of Taliban head Mullah Mohammad Omar and Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, was said to be fourth in the ranks of the ousted Taliban leadership and one of the most senior members killed since 2001.
"There's a mixture going on of bringing out the less committed people and getting rid of -- either pushing them out or if necessary using military action against -- the tier one (the leaders)," said ISAF spokesman in Kandahar, Squadron Leader David Marsh.
About 20 low-level Taliban fighters surrendered last week, perhaps a small sign that the message is getting through, he said.
"This is a small indication perhaps things are beginning to split," Marsh told AFP at NATO's base in the southern city, which bears the brunt of the Taliban's regular suicide and roadside bombings.
The fledgling Afghan army has the same approach. "We can't kill all the Taliban," said defence ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi.
"What's best to be done is to get rid of the Taliban leadership and reconcile the rest of them who are just ordinary people that have joined the Taliban under certain situations," he said.
President Hamid Karzai has made regular appeals to this level of Taliban to sign up to a government reconciliation scheme launched in 2004 that offers amnesty if fighters pledge to lay down their arms.
The government said in October more than 2,000 Taliban and other Islamic fighters had taken up the offer, which excludes the uprising's leaders such as Taliban chief Omar.
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Afghan gov't recaptures district occupied by Taliban
People's Daily - Jan 01 5:40 PM
Afghan government repulsed Taliban militants and regained the control of a district in western Farah province Monday, spokesman of Defense Ministry Zahir Azimi said.
"Anti-government militants took over the control of Khak-e- Safid district Sunday but our troops retook it at 5 a.m. this morning,"Azimi told Xinhua.
There were no casualties on either side, he added.
Blaming the absence of police for the fall of the district to militants, Azimi added only five policemen were on duty when the rebels overran Khak-e-Safid.
The takeover occurred during Eid al-Adha holidays.
Eid al-Adha, the biggest annual religious festival, began Saturday and the government employees enjoy three-day holidays.
Taliban also briefly took over the control of two districts in the western Farah and southern Uruzgan provinces a few months ago but lost to the government again.
NATO and Afghan officials predict more insurgency in 2007 but believe it would not undermine the security in the war-ravaged country.
Nearly 4,000 people, mostly militants, were killed in the past year.
Source: Xinhua
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Former Afghan King Reported Ill
January 2, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Mohammad Zahir Shah, the 92-year-old former monarch whose deposal ushered in decades of bloodshed before his credibility furthered a UN-backed renewal plan for Afghanistan in 2001, is reportedly too ill to attend meetings.
Zahir Shah's grandson and spokesman, Mustafa Zahir, told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan that the illness is linked with age.
Zahir Shah remains in bed under the care of doctors.
"We are hoping that he will feel better but at this age it's natural to feel good one day and not so good the next day," Mustafa Zahir said. "I want to assure people not to worry."
Zahir Shah holds no power but was given the symbolic role of "Father of the Nation" after returning from exile in Italy in 2002.
He was king for more than 40 years before being overthrown in a bloodless leftist coup led by a cousin in 1973. [Afghan Historical Chronology]
Zahir Shah's reign (1933-73) is recalled by many Afghans as a period of peace and security. The constitution that he introduced in 1964 is widely regarded as an enlightened effort to usher in reforms that conservative elements fiercely resisted.
(with additional Reuters reports)
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Outside View: Europe's Afghan test
By ROBERT HUNTER UPI Outside View Commentator
WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- On Sept. 12, 2001, the European allies rose as one in support of the United States, struck by terrorists the day before. For the first time in its history, the North Atlantic Council invoked NATO's cardinal commitment, the "all for one" pledge to defend any ally subject to aggression.
European nations were not motivated by sentiment or charity. They knew that at some point, al-Qaida would target them. And they knew that unless they supported America in its hour of need, the United States could hardly be expected to respond if and when Europe again needed the weight of American power. America's cause was, indeed, shared by the Western alliance in common -- strategically, politically and morally.
Five years later, the European allies watch the U.S. debate about Iraq with a mixture of schadenfruede and bemused detachment, but also with a good deal of apprehension and even fear for the impact of possible U.S. failure in Iraq or, worse, a new inward-turning on the part of the American people.
Of course, little has changed in European attitudes towards U.S. involvement in Iraq. The supporting coalition (led by Britain) is as narrow as before. There are no new volunteers for combat roles, and the recent NATO summit in Riga only produced commitments to help train Iraqi security forces -- precious little comfort for the Alliance's beleaguered "indispensable nation."
But like the day after Sept. 11, 2001, there is something Europe needs to do to help America today, not just because the United States is in trouble but because all will share in the consequences of what happens now, for good or ill, in the greater Middle East.
Within the limits of European politics and attitudes, allies can serve their own interests as well as America's by radically stepping up their collective commitment to Afghanistan. Here, there is no ambiguity and there should be no ambivalence.
The United Nations mandated the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. The NATO allies unanimously accepted responsibility for its success. All 26 allies have deployed troops and other security personnel, as have 11 non-NATO countries. All must understand that a resurgent Taliban, ISAF failure, and allied retreat would impose severe penalties. NATO has, in fact, "bet the alliance" in Afghanistan and all the allies helped make that wager.
The good news at the Riga summit was that allied heads of state and government did focus on Afghanistan. The bad news is that they came up far short of what they have to do to reverse declining fortunes. NATO's military commanders gained a paltry number of new troop pledges. Those allies unwilling to face the risks of conflict agreed to modify their so-called "national caveats" that keep them out of harm's way, but only in an emergency, and tactical airlift will still fall far short of basic needs.
Even so, the military shortfall is a small part of the overall problem. Equally consequential are the continuing inadequacies of the Afghan government (about which outsiders ultimately can do little) and severe limitations on the non-military civilian effort that is a sine qua non of Afghanistan's future.
Allies with responsibilities for police training (Germany), fostering a viable judiciary (Italy), and stemming the renewed flood of opium poppy production (Britain) have fallen far short of what they agreed to do. Worse, there is no overall coordination of civilian activities undertaken by governments, international institutions and non-governmental organizations, and far too few resources.
It is a truism that Western drug addicts are putting more hard currency into Afghanistan than Western governments. The best that could be done by NATO at Riga was to adopt a weak French proposal for a "contact group." This is an oft-used device to advise on peace negotiations, but a non-starter for mobilizing resources, pinning responsibility and exercising leadership.
Leadership should be assumed by the European Union. Its members have all the needed resources and skills in governance, education, health, agriculture, and the like. Many have vast experience in so-called "nation building."
The EU has been demanding respect from NATO and the United States for its foreign policy and security ambitions. By assuming a greater role in Afghanistan, Europeans can show Washington that they are prepared to take on serious security responsibilities in the Middle East, not just to kibitz and criticize what the United States is doing in Iraq or not doing in Arab-Israeli peacemaking.
Action won't be cheap; and the Europeans must give authority to a first-class political personality as civilian "supremo" in Afghanistan, working in tandem with ISAF and the Afghan government.
Afghanistan is put up or shut up time for European nations in general and the EU in particular in the greater Middle East. Meeting responsibilities is in their own self-interest and is needed to forestall the first-ever failure by the Western alliance.
--
(Robert E. Hunter is a senior adviser at the Rand Corp., a nonprofit research organization. He was U.S. ambassador to NATO from 1993 to 1998 and recently visited Afghanistan.)
--
(United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.)
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Pakistan's tribal deals aren't working: report
Daily Times Monitor - 1.1.07
LAHORE: In an effort to deal with the growing terrorist and insurgent sanctuary in Pakistan, government officials have negotiated peace deals with local tribal leaders who have agreed to crack down on militants. But this strategy, which has been supported by some in the United States and Europe, is likely to fail, according to a report in the Herald Tribune.
The strategy has already proved ineffective in halting cross-border activity from Pakistan into Afghanistan. And it is likely to strengthen groups such as the Taliban and Al Qaeda by allowing them to regroup, the report says.
The crux of the problem is straightforward. Afghan insurgent and terrorist groups enjoy a sanctuary in Pakistan that starts from snow-capped Chitral in the north, continues southwest along the Afghan-Pakistan border, and extends to dusty Quetta. The tribal areas pose a particular problem because of the weakness of Pakistan's government there, allowing militants to use the areas as a base to rest and train in safety and then infiltrate into Afghanistan, the report adds.
Pakistan's government has negotiated peace deals with pro-Taliban militants in such tribal areas as South and North Waziristan, calling on tribesmen to expel foreign militants and end cross-border attacks into Afghanistan. In return, the Pakistani military promised to end major operations in the areas and pulled most of its soldiers back to military camps.
The logic of the deals seems intuitive. In areas where tribes exert political, military and economic power, the most effective long-term solution is to create incentives for tribal leaders to police their areas. After all, these tribal areas have been ruled indigenously for hundreds of years. And tribes often regard outside forces, including the Pakistani military, as unwelcome foreigners. But there are several problems with this strategy.
First, the tribal deals have failed to curb cross-border activity and undermine the power of the Taliban and other militant groups. NATO officials I have spoken with say insurgents are crossing the border in greater numbers. A former foreign minister, Najmuddin Shaikh, recently acknowledged in a Pakistani newspaper: "There is no doubt that the Waziristan agreement has led to increased Taliban influence."
Second, the strategy rests on a false assumption that tribes actually control these areas. Insurgents and terrorists like the Taliban have increasingly exerted control in some areas. Third, there is no enforcement mechanism if the tribal deals fail to stop militant forces from crossing the border, the report says.
The Pakistani military has conducted combat operations against foreign fighters - especially Central Asians and Arabs - in the tribal areas. But it has refused to arrest or kill middle- and high-level Taliban officials, and has expressed a deep unwillingness to enter the tribal areas again, the report claims. If tribes fail to expel Taliban militants and end cross-border attacks, Pakistani forces must do it. American and NATO officials need to provide a mixture of pressure and incentives to make this happen.
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Troops hit for six in cricket match against Afghanistan
LONDON (AFP) - England getting clobbered in Australia might be understandable, but there will be no special mentions in dispatches for those Royal Marines in Afghanistan who were likewise stuffed by the locals at cricket.
While Australia are the world champions in that most English of sports, Afghanistan is hardly a name that likewise sends shivers up the spine in cricketing circles.
Nonetheless, the British servicemen were trounced by an Afghan National Army team on a helicopter landing strip substituting for a pitch in a festive match Sunday to mark Christmas, New Year and the Muslim festival of Eid.
Members of 45 Commando Group were dismissed for 56 all out and not a single player made a double figure score.
If the British batting was poor, the bowling was no better, as the Afghan side cruised to victory within 12 overs for the loss of two wickets.
Lieutenant Rob Cooper told Britain's domestic Press Association news agency that the Marines were no match for their local counterparts.
"The skill level of the Afghans was brilliant. We soon realised that we were in trouble when they opened the bowling," he said.
"Obviously we were disappointed to lose as badly as we did, but we still managed to enjoy the encounter.
"It certainly provided a good break from the operational work being done on a daily basis out here."
The Marines and Commando Gunners have been training the Afghan Army's 3/205 Brigade for the last three months.
But now it seems like they could do with some training themselves to sort out their batting and bowling.
Britain has deployed around 5,600 service personnel to Afghanistan in total, with around 4,300 of those in the south of the country and 1,300 in the capital, Kabul.
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Aziz plans crucial visit to Afghanistan
Gulf News, United Arab Emirates By Shahid Hussain, Correspondent 02/01/2007 12:00 AM (UAE)
Islamabad: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will visit Afghanistan this week as part of the ongoing effort to mend fences with the country's western neighbour, sources said yesterday.
The two-day visit, likely on Wednesday and Thursday, is expected to focus on strains linked to persistent Afghan government claims of militant activity across the border from Pakistani tribal areas.
A major topic during talks between Aziz and Afghan President Hamid Karzai will certainly be Pakistan's recent decision to mine and fence selected parts of the 2,400km Durand Line frontier to stop any cross-border militant movement.
Opposed
The Islamabad plan has however been strongly opposed by the Afghan government as an attempt to divide people of the border areas, while UN officials have said that the laying of mines may pose serious threat to human lives.
Aziz is expected to discuss the whole range of bilateral relations, which despite an undercurrent of mistrust have seen trade between the two countries rising to around $1.5 billion(Dh5.5 billion) with Islamabad meeting its financial commitments to Afghan reconstruction.
He may try to convince the Afghan leadership that Pakistan was doing everything possible and it was for the Afghan government to deal with what Islamabad believes is an indigenous insurgency.
The sources said that he would impress upon the government in Kabul that greater coordination and intelligence sharing was the need of the hour rather than recourse to incriminations.
Pakistan has all along vowed that a stable and peaceful Afghanistan is in its own interest as well as that of the region. Apart from economic and security considerations, peace and stability in Afghanistan is considered vital for the return of more than two million refugees still living in Pakistan.
Foreign Minister Khurshid M. Kasuri recently visited Kabul where he discussed holding of tribal jirgas or councils to reduce tribal support for Taliban, a plan which is still far from taking off. The visit yielded little results as far as restoration of trust is concerned.
A source said the Pakistani strategy in the tribal areas initiated with the signing of a peace agreement with militants in the North Waziristan border district is also likely to come up at the talks.
Sources said that he would impress upon Kabul that greater coordination and intelligence sharing was the need of the hour rather than recourse to incriminations.
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Afghanistan to import Pak-made engines
The News - International (Pakistan)
LAHORE: Another high-level private sector trade delegation from Afghanistan will visit Lahore after Eid-ul-Azha to import Pakistan- made diesel engines for agricultural purpose.
CEO KAM Engineering Khalid Saeed told APP here on Sunday that the Pakistan-made KAM diesel engines have become very popular in Afghanistan, compared to all brands of those made in India, and are being successfully used for agricultural purposes.
He said the Afghan team will visit the plant and see the engine assembly process, using indigenous technical know how and expertise, which has helped to control the price of the product with minimum overhead expenses.
In their war-torn country, the Afghans are now inclined to bring maximum area under cultivation to meet the ever increasing need for food grains. For this purpose, they need quality agri inputs and implements, and Pakistan-made products offer the guarantee to compete in terms of quality and price, said the firm's director marketing, Sh Amin Akhtar.
Khalid Saeed said we have already sold thousands of engines of different capacity to Afghan brothers on cash payment. He said we are also providing after sale service facility even in Afghanistan.
He said they have also successfully manufactured a mini-truck for agriculture purpose which he added will be much cheaper than all others in open market. He said this truck has been under trial for the last couple of year. He said that although we have given successful demonstration to Minister of State for Agriculture during his visit to plant, it will be marketed soon after its final clearance by our high-level team of technical experts and permission from government.
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Complete failure of Musharraf regime on all fronts during 2006: Pak editorial
DailyIndia.com, FL Lahore, Jan 1 (ANI)
Leave aside achieving anything groundbreaking, the Pakistan government was unable to fulfil even the leftovers of its 2005 agenda, according to an editorial in the Daily Times.
According to the paper, the trouble in Waziristan had become more complicated than ever before, to the extent that General Headquarters, Rawalpindi, even agreed to call off the whole strategy of trying to evict the 'foreigners out'.
The Sept 5 armistice signed between the federal government and the tribal elders, which was hailed by President General Pervez Musharraf as the one having the possibility of bringing everlasting peace to the region, also failed to live up to its expectations.
NATO and Afghan forces accused Pakistan for the resurgence in terrorist violence in Southern and South eastern Afghanistan from sanctuaries inside Pakistani territory.
NATO accused Pakistan of doing nothing to stop the Taliban militants from carrying out insurgent raids into the border Afghan regions.
Pakistan's denials were also not taken seriously.
The other fallout of the deal was the complete Talibanisation of the 'settled' areas of the NWFP.
The Taliban set up its own parallel government in many parts of the agency areas. Some NWFP districts became the fiefdoms of new warlords.
According to the paper, if Waziristan was a thorn for the Musharraf government, then Balochistan was probably a stake that had the potential to literally impale the federal government and lead to eventual disintegration of the country.
First the government pushed in the army to crush the insurgency; then accused the Indian government of fuelling the uprising and lastly assassinated Octogenarian Baloch nationalist leader, Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, in a botched operation.
"In Balochistan, the disaster was almost terminal. It brewed through 2005, but in 2006 the bottom fell when the army went in, saying that the Indians were pumping money into Baloch rebel groups to stoke the uprising. Instead of tasting the benefits of a better revenue collection, Balochistan saw Nawab Akbar Bugti getting killed in a botched operation," the editorial said.
"Thus all chances of getting Balochistan to cooperate on such big futuristic projects as Gwadar and the Iranian Gas Pipeline were lost. Sindh remained adamant on rejecting Kalabagh Dam, and one saw the Sindh Muslim League refusing to side with President Musharraf when the die was cast with an 'announcement date'," the editorial added.
Law and order also remained bad, the paper said, to the extent that "Karachi could hardly govern itself with many battles being fought in the city".
Sectarian violence flared up and the Barelvis were massacred in large numbers in Karachi even as the killing of prominent Shias as Allama Hasan Turabi went on, it added.
Fractures also developed in the ruling party with clear cut polarity between Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, and PML chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain's factions.
Even though the economy was a bit of a plus point under President Musharraf, inherent dangers of living lavishly on low interest rates in 2005 began to loom this year.
Even the State Bank of Pakistan, the country's apex bank, warned of tough times ahead in 2006, the paper said.
"Economic vision didn't extend to opening up with India as the prime minister made free trade with India conditional to Kashmir. In 2006 Pakistan became endangered from both sides, from Afghanistan through the creeping Talibanisation; and from India through non-resolution of long-standing disputes," the paper said.
"The year 2007 is threatened by more disorder, as President Musharraf will most probably get himself elected as president again without letting go of his post of the army chief. Without being a purist about democracy, one can say that this would be a dangerous course to take," it added. (ANI)
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Latest offensive in southern Afghanistan disrupting Taliban: Canadian general
By Bill Graveland
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - The latest and much heralded offensive in southern Afghanistan known as Operation Baaz Tuska has met its main goals despite NATO's inability to engage the Taliban in major combat, a top Canadian general said Tuesday.
Launched amid a great hue and cry more than two weeks ago, the offensive sent a powerful combat team of Canadian troops, tanks and armoured vehicles into the Panjwaii district near the village of Howz-e Madad.
Despite intelligence suggesting there were hundreds of Taliban in the area, there has been little contact with insurgent forces and no significant combat.
Still, Brig.-Gen. Tim Grant, the commander of Canadian troops in Afghanistan, said Tuesday that things were going well.
"Although Canadians have not been involved in close combat, at the end of the day, I'm very happy the objectives of Baaz Tsuka have been reached, that is we have disrupted the Taliban," Grant said.
"We have seen significant evidence that low-level Taliban have simply put down their weapons and run away," he said.
One of the goals of the offensive has been to convince so-called Tier-two Taliban - those that NATO claims fight simply for the relatively good pay being offered by the rebels - to disarm and go back to their villages. That would leave the ideologically committed hardliners, known as Tier-one, on their own.
Grant suggested that the number of hardliners was "in the dozens as opposed to the hundreds," and explained the lack of contact by saying many may have returned to Pakistan.
However, he quickly quashed any notion that the offensive was over or that the Taliban had been defeated.
"There are still hardliners out there," Grant said. "There is no doubt and the operation is not yet over. We will continue to root them out and either capture or kill them."
Grant claimed NATO air strikes had killed a number of senior Taliban commanders, but refused to be pinned down on how many.
"We are not into body counts. In my mind the success is not the number of Taliban that have been killed but the effect we've had on separating the Tier-one from the Tier-two and disrupting the command and control of the Taliban in this part of the province," Grant said.
NATO forces have been securing areas since the launch of the offensive and then installing either Afghan National Police or Afghan National Auxiliary Police.
Eight hundred of the auxiliary officers have now been deployed in Kandahar province said a NATO spokesman.
"At the end of the day there will be 1,300 but so far 800 have been trained," said Maj. Rob Duda, 42, of Windsor, Ont., who is overseeing the training and deployment of the officers.
"The intent for Baaz Tsuka is to transition to a more stable environment," Duda said. "To establish . . . security and allow . . . development to start happening."
"Our soldiers, . . . have gone out and done that clearing out of the Taliban. As they continue to do that, there is certainly going to be more fighting," he said.
An additional 85 members of the auxiliary police have just graduated after receiving two weeks of training and were being deployed in the Panjwaii district, he said.
"They learn some of the stuff you would expect policemen to get, training on the Afghan constitution and the rules of law," Duda said.
"There's also some stuff we wouldn't expect policemen back home to get - basically survival training - very basic military skills training like tactical movement," he added.
The installation of ANAP forces is already working said Grant, who noted many women and children are returning to villages secured by NATO troops.
"Many of the lower-level Taliban realize that NATO is here and that we have really convinced them through our operation that this is not a wise lifestyle they've chosen," Grant said.
"If they have put down their weapons and become part of Afghan society that's a good thing."
Even with Afghan forces providing security and receiving the powerful backing of coalition troops, Grant said he realizes that the Taliban are not going to go away.
"The Taliban have not given up and they will continue to use this area, which has been their traditional home, to continue to conduct operations both here and (in) other parts of the province," he said.
"But their ability to do so has been reduced dramatically," he said.
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Blair says Britain must remain committed in Iraq, Afghanistan in 2007
Jan 2, 2007 08:07 PM
LONDON (AP) -- Prime Minister Tony Blair said Tuesday that his country must carry through its commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007 while he continues a personal quest to revive the peace process in the Middle East.
Most of Blair's New Year's message -- likely his last as prime minister -- was about domestic politics, however, clearly looking beyond his departure and urging his Labour Party to persist with his "New Labour" agenda. Blair has said he will leave office by September, but has not been more specific.
"The threat of global terrorism menaces us as it does other nations," Blair said.
"That is one reason why it is so important that we see through the battles in Iraq and Afghanistan where the British forces show day after day why they are the finest in the world," he said.
"I will keep my commitment to work tirelessly for the restart of the peace process in the Middle East," he added.
Thousands of British soldiers are expected to be withdrawn from Iraq this year as they transfer control of two southern provinces to Iraqi forces, Defense Secretary Des Browne said in November. Some troops are expected to remain longer to train and support Iraqi forces.
Britain has around 7,000 soldiers stationed in southern Iraq, mainly based around the city of Basra. There are around 6,000 troops based in Afghanistan, the majority in the volatile southern province of Helmand, where more than 30 soldiers have been killed since June.
Blair embarked on a Middle East tour last month to try to encourage an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement and cement a foreign policy legacy for himself that goes beyond his role as the chief U.S. ally in Iraq.
Reeling off a list of domestic concerns, including the National Health Service, education, crime and economic stability, Blair said Labour faced "the most difficult time for any government -- nine years into power, midterm in a third term."
After a year of persistently trailing the resurgent Conservative Party in opinion polls, the Labour Party faces the most serious challenge to its authority -- a challenge expected to fall on Treasury chief Gordon Brown, who so far faces no strong opponent in his path to succeeding Blair.
In his own New Year message, opposition Conservative leader David Cameron signaled his intention to annex more of Labour's center-ground territory.
"We must show that, unlike Labour, we will be a party that is for working people, not rich and powerful vested interests," Cameron said.
"With Blair going and Brown coming, we need to prepare ourselves for an onslaught of negative campaigning and the politics of fear and division," Cameron added.
Blair, reflecting fears among some Labour activists that Brown will tilt the government to the left, urged the party not to lose sight of the middle ground.
"This isn't just about policy, though it is certainly about taking the tough decisions that prepare Britain for the future," Blair said.
"It is also about our instincts, our ability to keep the core coalition together: those who need our help to get on the first rungs of the ladder of opportunity; and those who are already there but aspire to do better still."
Article written by Associated Press writer Robert Barr
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An Afghan follows his heart
GRAEME SMITH Globe and Mail (Canada) January 2, 2007
Most young men in Afghanistan can only dream of Turialai Wafa's lifestyle. He survived the collapse of his society, saw stinking corpses in the streets, and got away. About to turn 35, he has a comfortable life in North America: a high-flying job based in Washington and an apartment in Toronto.
Nothing can force him to return to Afghanistan. His business degree, his status as a permanent resident of Canada and his flawless English leave him free to work almost anywhere.
At least, that's what his friends keep telling him, just before they repeat the question Mr. Wafa has heard many times in recent months: Why throw himself back into Afghanistan?
"One friend told me, 'Okay, you want a medal? I'll buy you a medal, but please, don't go back,' " Mr. Wafa said.
But as he prepares to leave his job as an information officer at the World Bank and take a new role as a senior official in Kandahar's provincial government, Mr. Wafa seems almost impatient for the challenge.
Starting January, he will assume two difficult roles. As the chief administrative officer for Kandahar province, Mr. Wafa will lead a shakeup of the stuffy, bureaucratic administrative systems that make Kandahar's government notorious for corruption and inefficiency. At the same time, he will be responsible for co-ordinating the foreign assistance that so often gets wasted when good intentions crash into the reality of Kandahar.
He comes with the kind of credentials that Westerners respect, having spent more than a decade working for the United Nations Development Program and the World Bank. His authority among Afghans, however, will probably depend more on his political connections, and the fact that he's a cousin of the governor, Asadullah Khalid.
Another thing that will be essential for his success in Kandahar, he said, is strong support from Canada.
"I can understand why most people in Canada feel as though they're blindly following the United States into war in Afghanistan," he said on the phone from Washington. "It's their right to interpret the situation like that.
"But this is only looking at the surface of the water, and it's not even the true picture of the surface."
The only honest argument in favour of removing Canada's troops, or reducing their role, is that Canadians can't stomach the casualties, Mr. Wafa said. The other argument, that the foreign troops' presence isn't helpful, only serves to conveniently obscure the likely consequence of a pullout: If the foreign troops leave, the country would fall into bloody chaos.
The conflict in Afghanistan could again become a "forgotten war."
"The whole nation will become the hostage of a bunch of people with designs to use the land as a perfect breeding ground for very evil and terrorist activities."
He continued: "We need the help. If the Canadians pulled out, it would be such a heartbreaker. All the blood, all the effort would be for nothing. It is all about the justification of casualties as opposed to the cause and morality of the whole campaign."
The idea of Afghanistan falling apart isn't an abstract fear for a man who already watched it happen. Born on a cold winter day in January, 1972, Mr. Wafa was raised in an educated middle-class family, and did part of his schooling in India, where his father served as a diplomat.
The city of Kabul that he knew as a teenager is hard to imagine today, a cosmopolitan centre where thousands of students flocked to the private English school he and his two brothers founded.
"When I was going to Kabul University, a skirt or a miniskirt was pretty much normal clothing for the girls," he said. "It was an open society.
"That was something we took for granted. And out of the blue, the whole thing stopped."
What Mr. Wafa calls the "dark ages" of his country started with the overthrow of president Mohammad Najibullah in 1992, as the government was swallowed by the rising disorder that followed the withdrawal of Soviet forces and the neglect by the rest of the world.
His home in Kabul ended up on the front line between warring factions, and the family of six fled to Pakistan with only $100 in their pockets.
"That was the first time I saw dead bodies piled on top of each other, used as trenches, and dogs eating the corpses," Mr. Wafa said.
The brothers re-established their language school, first in Peshawar and then Islamabad, and Mr. Wafa soon got his first job at a United Nations office as a computer specialist.
He started making visits back into Afghanistan, forced by the Taliban regime to apply for a visa for his own country as he travelled on a UN laissez-passer permit.
Mr. Wafa said he set up Afghanistan's first Internet connection in 1999, trying to hide a four-metre satellite antenna in the backyard of a UNDP compound so that the Taliban wouldn't find it suspicious.
At one point, he said, the Taliban declared they would allow the UN to keep its computers, but they would seize and destroy the "televisions" that sat atop the computers, not realizing that the monitors were required.
"You can't imagine the level of ignorance and stupidity we endured," he said.
Despite years of fighting the ignorance and barbarism in his country, Mr. Wafa said he never thought of abandoning the place altogether. If anything, he said, the depth of Afghanistan's need makes it a more compelling place to work.
"I love the country," he said. "I feel a deep sense of compassion for it. When you have a family member who is weak, you help them. That's where the need is, so that's where you must go."
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Several dead over land dispute in Khost
KABUL, Dec 31 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Several people have been killed in fighting over land dispute between a local tribe and Kuchi nomads in Baak district of the southeastern Khost province.
Representatives of the nomads say seven people of them were killed in a clash with Babakarkhel tribe Saturday night. Ahmad Khan, an elder of the Kuchi police at a local check post supported the rival tribe and shot at them during the fighting.
A wide desert surrounded by mounts resided by the nomads since over 10 years has been the issue of conflict between the two sides since long, causing several clashes since beginning this year. Babakarkhel tribe claims they own the land while the nomads make the same claim arguing their settlement in the desert since long.
Ahmad Khan said the police detained on Saturday nine nomads and killed four of them. He added some 300 Kuchi families have fled to the neighboring Sabarai district due to the fighting since Saturday morning.
Another Kuchi man, Dilbar, told Pajhwok Afghan News they left their homes in hurry after fighting erupted and killed seven people on their side.
Casualties are also reported on the local tribe's side.
Zamin Khan, a resident of Baak district, said a rocket fired by the Kuchis hit a home of Babakarkhel people, killing one persona and wounding four others.
He confirmed that nomads were forced to flee their homes, but showed unawareness about their casualties.
A police official in Khost rejected that they have sided with Babakarkhel tribe. Regarding casualties, the official, who did not wish to be named, confirmed death of only one nomad and wounding of four others.
A border force commander in Baak district Gen. Khyal Baz Shirzai said they had already taken heavy weapons from Kuchis, but the tribal men were yet to be disarmed. He said the nomads were oppressed by the local tribe and that the government was trying to reconcile the two sides.
The long-standing Kuchi-Babakarkhel dispute in Baak has claimed 30 lives from the two sides so far.
Abdul Majid Arif
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