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Obama meets Karzai, vows steadfast Afghan aid
By FISNIK ABRASHI Associated Press / July 20, 2008
KABUL, Afghanistan - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama pledged steadfast aid to Afghanistan in talks Sunday with its Western-backed leader and vowed to pursue the war on terror "with vigor" if elected, an Afghan official said.
Afghans call for new strategy as Obama visits
By Jonathon Burch Sun Jul 20, 6:44 AM ET
KABUL (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has called for more U.S. troops to be sent to Afghanistan, but many in the war-torn country doubt whether more soldiers will help stem the rising tide of violence.
Obama in Afghanistan Amid Doubts About Troop Proposal
Bloomberg By Bill Varner and Julianna Goldman July 19, 2008
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama arrived in Kabul, Afghanistan today to meet military commanders and local officials in a country he wants to make the focus of the U.S. war against terrorism, his campaign said.
French defence minister pledges Afghan support
Sat Jul 19, 10:59 AM ET
KABUL (AFP) - France's defence minister told President Hamid Karzai in talks in Kabul Saturday that his country would stand by Afghanistan, which is battling an extremist insurgency, the president's office said.
Obama has breakfast with troops in Afghan capital
Sun Jul 20, 12:51 AM ET
KABUL, Afghanistan - Barack Obama had breakfast Sunday with U.S. troops in Kabul as part of his visit to Afghanistan.
ANALYSIS-US plays for high stakes on Pakistan-Afghan border
By Zeeshan Haider
PESHAWAR, Pakistan, July 20 (Reuters) - Former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld may not have been shy about projecting U.S. military power, but even he didn't dare send American troops into Pakistan's tribal lands to snatch or kill al Qaeda leaders.
Coalition 'bombs Afghan police'
Sunday, 20 July 2008 BBC News
At least 13 Afghan police and civilians have died in two incidents involving international forces, officials say.
Pakistan troops kill 15 militants in northwest
Sun Jul 20, 5:26 AM ET
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) - Pakistani troops and helicopter gunships killed 15 pro-Taliban militants and captured 60 others while clearing a restive northwestern town near the Afghan border, the military said Sunday.
Afghan authorities search for kidnapped French nationals
Sat Jul 19, 3:47 AM ET
GHAZNI, Afghanistan (AFP) - Authorities were Saturday searching for two French aid workers kidnapped in central Afghanistan, but the Taliban denied capturing them.
Spanta: Pakistan the home of terrorists
Written by www.quqnoos.com Sunday, 20 July 2008
Afghan foreign minister Dr Spanta confirms evidence points to Pakistan for Indian Embassy bombing
In a conference yesterday (Saturday) the foreign minister of Afghanistan Dr Rangin Dadfar Spanta once again accused Pakistan of being directly involved in the Indian Embassy bombing.
Obama trip full of opportunity and risk
His foray to the Middle East and Europe could improve his image on foreign policy -- or validate GOP-fostered doubts.
Los Angeles Times, CA By Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer July 19, 2008
On his trip to the Middle East and Europe, Barack Obama hopes to reassure Americans that he has the foreign-policy expertise to keep the nation safe. Images beamed back from Jerusalem, Berlin and other cities next week will show him
Oil Tanker Attacked In Afghanistan, Killing 7
July 20, 2008
JALALABAD, Afghanistan (AFP)--Gunmen attacked an oil tanker in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, causing a fire that killed the vehicle's driver and six people in a minivan passing by, a provincial official said.
18 Afghans released from US controlled Bagram prison
www.quqnoos.com Written by PAN Sunday, 20 July 2008
NRC helps release further Afghans from US custody, bringing total released from all jails to 739
KABUL National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) on Monday helped release of 18 Afghan prisoners who served from two to four years jail terms in the heavily guarded US cells in Bagram airfield.
U.S.-led Coalition forces rebuffs airstrike inflicting civilian casualties in W Afghanistan
KABUL, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-led Coalition forces in a statement rebuffed reportedly civilian casualties resulted by Coalition airstrike in western Afghan province of Farah on Sunday.
Afghanistan: The 'forgotten' war is back in the spotlight
Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent 19/07/2008
As British troops in Helmand province run out of cups and fresh food, they could be forgiven for thinking their heroic efforts are not appreciated. But thanks to Barack Obama's visit this weekend, Afghanistan is headline news again.
Kabul road blockages anger residents
Written by www.quqnoos.com Saturday, 19 July 2008
Increased security threats in Kabul leads to the closure of key arterial roads and resident complaints
Kabulis are facing increasing problems as a result of the blocking key roads in the heart of the city leading to the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Up to 25% of bottled drinks in Afghanistan not safe
www.quqnoos.com Written by Anwar Hashimi Saturday, 19 July 2008
Ministry of Health says that it has found dangerous strains of E. coli bacteria in a number of bottled drinks in Afghanistan
The Ministry of Health has recently tested a number of drinks in it laboratories and has warned residents that dangerous E. coli bacteria has been found in some of these drinks.
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Obama meets Karzai, vows steadfast Afghan aid
By FISNIK ABRASHI Associated Press / July 20, 2008
KABUL, Afghanistan - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama pledged steadfast aid to Afghanistan in talks Sunday with its Western-backed leader and vowed to pursue the war on terror "with vigor" if elected, an Afghan official said.
On the second day of an international tour designed to burnish his foreign policy credentials, Illinois Sen. Obama and a pair of colleagues held two hours of talks with President Hamid Karzai at his palace in the capital.
Obama has chided Karzai for not doing more to build confidence in his government, which remains weak after the ouster of the Taliban in 2001.
He made no public comment after the meeting, but said in a written statement that his main purpose was to see U.S troops, thank them for their "extraordinary service" and let them know the United States is proud of them.
Obama said he and his colleagues were talking to military and diplomatic leaders, and Afghanistan's leaders about whether the U.S. has the right strategy and resources to defeat the Taliban and al-Qaida.
"Our message to the Afghan government is this: We want a strong partnership based on 'more for more' — more resources from the United States and NATO, and more action from the Afghan government to improve the lives of the Afghan people," Obama and Sens. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., said in a joint statement. "We need a sense of urgency and determination.
"We need urgency because the threat from the Taliban and al-Qaida is growing and we must act; we need determination because it will take time to prevail," they said. "But with the right strategy and the resources to back it up, we will get the job done."
The Afghan presidency said Obama's message was positive.
"Sen. Obama conveyed ... that he is committed to supporting Afghanistan and to continue the war against terrorism with vigor," said Humayun Hamidzada, Karzai's spokesman. He said Democrats and Republicans "are friends of Afghanistan and no matter who wins the U.S. elections, Afghanistan will have a very strong partner in the United States."
Obama has made Afghanistan a centerpiece of his proposed strategy for dealing with terrorism threats. The Illinois senator has said the war in Afghanistan, where Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants are resurgent, deserves more troops and more attention as opposed to the conflict in Iraq. Both Obama and his Republican rival for the presidency, Sen. John McCain, advocate sending more forces to the country.
In an interview broadcast Sunday in the United States, Obama described the situation here as "precarious" and "urgent," and said the U.S. should not wait to begin the planning that would be needed to send in more troops. As troops sent to Iraq as part of the buildup of forces there begin to leave, Obama says one to two brigades should be redirected to Afghanistan to bolster the efforts here.
"The situation is precarious and urgent here in Afghanistan and I believe this has to be our central focus, the central front in our battle against terrorists," Obama told CBS News. "If we wait until the next administration it could be a year before we get those troops on the ground."
While officially part of a congressional delegation on a fact-finding tour that is expected to take him to Iraq, Obama traveled in Afghanistan amid the security accorded a likely Democratic nominee for president rather than a senator from Illinois.
Media access to him was limited, and his itinerary was closely guarded.
Earlier Sunday, he praised U.S. troops during breakfast with soldiers at Camp Eggers, a heavily fortified military base in the city.
"To see young people like this who are doing such excellent work, with so much dedication ... it makes you feel good about the country," Obama said.
"I want to make sure that everybody back home understands how much pride people take in their work here and how much sacrifice people are making. It is outstanding," he said in footage filmed by the military and obtained by The Associated Press.
On Saturday, the delegation received briefings from U.S. commanders and a former Afghan warlord who is now the governor of Nangarhar, a province in eastern Afghanistan where militant attacks are spiraling.
The trip is Obama's first overseas since he secured the Democratic nomination last month. He is scheduled to travel through Europe this week and give a speech on the U.S.-German partnership and trans-Atlantic relations in front of the gold-topped Victory Column, or Siegessaeule, in downtown Berlin.
Obama advocates ending the U.S. combat role in Iraq by withdrawing troops at the rate of one to two brigades a month while increasing the military commitment to Afghanistan. Obama has proposed sending two more combat brigades — about 7,000 troops — to Afghanistan. McCain, who has criticized Obama for not spending more time in the region, also advocates sending more forces to the war-battered country.
U.S. military officials say the number of attacks in eastern Afghanistan, where most of the U.S. forces in the country operate, has increased by 40 percent so far this year compared to the same period last year.
Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, told The Associated Press on Saturday that after intense U.S. assaults there, al-Qaida may be considering shifting focus to its original home base in Afghanistan, where American casualties are recently running higher than in Iraq.
Obama also has expressed weariness with efforts by Afghanistan's neighbor, Pakistan, to go after militants in its territory. That frustration may strike a chord with Karzai, who has accused Pakistan's intelligence service of supporting the Taliban insurgency — a claim Pakistan denies.
But Obama also has chided Karzai and his government, saying it had "not gotten out of the bunker" and helped to organize the country or its political and security institutions.
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Afghans call for new strategy as Obama visits
By Jonathon Burch Sun Jul 20, 6:44 AM ET
KABUL (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has called for more U.S. troops to be sent to Afghanistan, but many in the war-torn country doubt whether more soldiers will help stem the rising tide of violence.
Obama arrived in Afghanistan on Saturday on the first leg of a trip aimed at bolstering his foreign policy credentials ahead of the November 4 U.S. election.
"I don't think decreasing or increasing troop numbers is going to yield a long-term stability here or peace," Matt Waldman, policy adviser to Oxfam International, one of the largest development agencies in Afghanistan, told Reuters.
"I think there are other factors which are more important than that," he said.
Obama has called for sending two more brigades, or about 7,000 U.S. troops, to Afghanistan and shifting from what he called the Bush administration's "single-minded" focus on Iraq.
The United States has some 36,000 troops in Afghanistan, around a quarter of the number in Iraq, but still suffered more killed in Afghanistan than Iraq in both May and June this year.
More effective aid, support for rural development and working on peace and conflict resolution at a local level are the real priorities, Waldman said.
Foreign spending on aid and development is dwarfed by that spent on military operations in Afghanistan. The U.S. military alone now spends some $100 million a day fighting Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, aid agencies say, but spending on aid by all donors since 2001 amounts to only $7 million a day.
"CHANGE STRATEGY"
Many Afghans are growing increasingly frustrated at the slow pace of development, endemic corruption and the inability of Afghan and international security forces to stop the seemingly unending violence that claims many lives every day.
"There have not been any changes to the lives of ordinary Afghans, the visits and presence of foreigners has not changed the lives of poor Afghans," said street vendor Ramazan January
More than six years after U.S.-led and Afghan forces toppled the Taliban for refusing to give up al Qaeda leaders behind the September 11, attacks, there are few signs the insurgency against the Afghan government and foreign troops is weakening.
"The situation is getting worse here, even worse than Iraq. If the U.S. government sends more troops here the violence will increase," said Mohammad Madani, a university student in Kabul.
"For example when we see a group of U.S. soldiers walking here it doesn't make us feel safe. The U.S. government should focus on other needs of Afghans not the military," he said.
The Taliban target foreign and Afghan troops with roadside bombs and suicide attacks, but as much as 80 percent of the victims are civilian passers-by. Nearly 700 civilians were killed in the first six months of this year, the United Nations says.
"Whoever becomes the new president of America must change the American strategy in Afghanistan, the current policy is wrong," said Qari Mohammad Zaman, a Kabul resident.
"They have to work on two things in Afghanistan as a priority: security and the economy. If the new administration focuses on these two elements, I can guarantee that U.S policy will be successful in Afghanistan," he said.
(Editing by Alex Richardson)
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Obama in Afghanistan Amid Doubts About Troop Proposal
Bloomberg By Bill Varner and Julianna Goldman July 19, 2008
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama arrived in Kabul, Afghanistan today to meet military commanders and local officials in a country he wants to make the focus of the U.S. war against terrorism, his campaign said.
Obama is seeking to bolster operations in Afghanistan with at least 7,000 additional soldiers to counter Taliban and al- Qaeda fighters, who have been stepping up attacks against the U.S. and its allies there in recent months.
``I'm looking forward to seeing what the situation on the ground is,'' Obama said yesterday in Washington before boarding his flight, according to a pooled press report. ``I want to, obviously, talk to the commanders and get a sense, both in Afghanistan and in Baghdad of what their biggest concerns are. I'm more interested in listening than doing a lot of talking.''
Obama, 46, today visited Bagram and Jalalabad air bases in Afghanistan and plans to stay overnight at Bagram, CNN reported. The senator is scheduled to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai tomorrow, CNN said. Obama will visit Iraq after Afghanistan.
Some analysts say that, regardless of U.S. troop levels, security in Afghanistan is unlikely to improve much so long as the insurgent sanctuaries in Pakistan remain.
``It's pretty clear the Pakistani military is not confronting the Taliban,'' said Chris Mason, a former U.S. diplomat in Afghanistan who served in the border region. ``I'm not sure that sending in more American troops with no language skills to wander around in the vast Afghan outback is going to improve the situation.''
War Zone
Obama's tour of the war zone is part of a six-day overseas trip aimed at shedding an image of a foreign-policy neophyte that constitutes one of his greatest weaknesses as a candidate, according to a recent ABC-Washington Post poll.
The survey found that voters, by more than a 2 to 1 margin, said presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, 71, has a greater knowledge of the world than Obama. The poll, taken July 10 through July 13, also found that 72 percent of those surveyed said McCain knows enough about world affairs to be president, while 56 percent said so about Obama.
``John McCain has a significant edge on him in terms of world experience,'' said former Defense Secretary William Cohen. ``So there are those who are going to say, `We like Barack Obama, but does he have the kind of experience that John McCain has?'''
In addition to Baghdad, Obama's trip also will include stops in Amman, Israel and the West Bank, Berlin, Paris and London.
Terrorist Attacks
The journey is Obama's first to Afghanistan, where the U.S. led an invasion to topple the Taliban regime following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Since then, Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters have established themselves in rugged mountains along the Pakistani-Afghan border and have used that sanctuary as a base from which to attack U.S. and Afghan forces in Afghanistan.
Senators Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican, and Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island, joined Obama in Washington for the flight that left Andrews Air Force Base at 3:17 p.m. local time yesterday, according to the campaign. Mark Lippert, one of Obama's chief foreign policy advisers, was the only member of his staff traveling with him on the first part of his trip.
Obama made a stop in Kuwait to visit U.S. troops there, his campaign said in an e-mailed statement.
The trip is primarily intended to bolster Obama's foreign policy credentials in the U.S., according to Saad Mohseni, director of the Moby Media Group, Afghanistan's largest multi- media conglomerate. ``That's his vulnerability,'' Mohseni said in a phone interview from Dubai today.
Musharraf
Mohseni said he has been in contact with both presidential campaigns and has been impressed by the number of South Asia experts on Obama's foreign policy team compared with McCain's.
``Afghans appreciate that Obama has been very critical of their government because they are very frustrated right now, but they were particularly impressed that very early in the campaign he was very harsh with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, which drew a rebuke from Musharraf,'' Mohseni said.
Obama said last August that he would be open to ordering U.S. military strikes into Pakistan against al-Qaeda.
``McCain has been critical of the Afghan government too, but Afghans are concerned that he has been very close to Pakistan's military in the past,'' Mohseni said.
Illinois Senator Obama contends that the war in Iraq has strained the U.S. military and diverted resources from the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. He is promising to withdraw most combat forces from Iraq within 16 months of taking office, and calls for sending two additional brigades of about 3,500 soldiers each to Afghanistan.
More Brigades
McCain of Arizona has called for the addition of at least three more brigades in Afghanistan and also this past week said the situation in the country has ``deteriorated.'' McCain opposes Obama's Iraq withdrawal plan and rejects his opponent's contention that a continued American military presence there detracts from the effort in Afghanistan.
``With the right strategy and the right forces, we can succeed in both Iraq and Afghanistan,'' McCain said July 15 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. ``I will turn around the war in Afghanistan, just as we have turned around the war in Iraq, with a comprehensive strategy for victory.''
Afghans who follow U.S. politics support Obama more than McCain because the Democrat has put emphasis on Afghanistan from the start of the presidential campaign, according to Moshtaq Ahmad Qadari, an official at Herat University in western Afghanistan who said he saw reports of both candidates' speeches.
Resources
``Afghans definitely favor Obama because he is more willing to spend military and financial resources here,'' Haroun Mir, founder of the Kabul-based Afghanistan Center for Research and Policy Studies said in an interview in Kabul.
Obama's plan to refocus efforts in Afghanistan by drawing down all combat troops in Iraq is ``disingenuous,'' according to Michael O'Hanlon, a national security specialist at the Brookings Institution in Washington, who said removing three to five brigades from Iraq is adequate for Afghanistan.
``Afghanistan does require you to draw down a little in Iraq, but it doesn't require you to draw down precipitously,'' O'Hanlon said.
Republicans have criticized Obama, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on European Affairs, for failing to hold any hearings on NATO's role in Afghanistan. The alliance has more than 53,000 soldiers there and is responsible for military operations in the southern part of the country, where the Taliban has been especially active.
``There are concerns about the imbalance between some European nations, their level of commitment to the fight in Afghanistan, and caveats these nations place on their forces in theater,'' Republican Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina wrote to Obama this week in urging him to hold hearings.
The U.S. has more than 19,000 soldiers under NATO command in Afghanistan and another 16,000 in a separate counterterrorism force in the eastern part of the country.
As of July 11, 4,119 U.S. military personnel have died in Iraq and 539 in Afghanistan.
To contact the reporters on this story: Bill Varner in Kabul, Afghanistan, at wvarner@bloomberg.net; Julianna Goldman in Washington at jgoldman6@bloomberg.net
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French defence minister pledges Afghan support
Sat Jul 19, 10:59 AM ET
KABUL (AFP) - France's defence minister told President Hamid Karzai in talks in Kabul Saturday that his country would stand by Afghanistan, which is battling an extremist insurgency, the president's office said.
Defence Minister Herve Morin visited Karzai after arriving on a surprise two-day trip to meet French reinforcements deploying to a base near Kabul as part of a NATO-led force battling Taliban and other insurgents.
In their talks, Morin "assured his government stands by the people of Afghanistan," Kazai's office said in a statement.
"The president thanked the French government for supporting Afghanistan in security and reconstruction," it said.
Morin later flew to Kapisa, northeast of Kabul, to meet soldiers from an extra battalion of about 700 soldiers deploying at a base there that also has Afghan and US troops, an AFP reporter said.
France announced reinforcements to NATO's 40-nation International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in April and the soldiers started arriving this month, taking to about 2,000 the number of French soldiers in Afghanistan.
They are due to be in place by the end of next month. Kapisa province, which adjoins Kabul, does not suffer the regular insurgent violence plaguing southern Afghanistan, but has seen some attacks.
Morin told journalists in Kabul that he had come to Afghanistan with a message of solidarity for the reinforcements and to stress that success against insurgents would not come from the military alone.
"Security, governance, development -- these are the three major axes to return peace to Afghanistan," he said at the French embassy.
The minister said the bulk of insurgents in the country were from its neighbouring countries, notably Pakistan.
"It is not a matter of demonising Pakistan but reminding it of its responsibilities," he said.
Pakistan is under international pressure to deal more effectively with Al-Qaeda and other militants who have sanctuaries on its territory, from where they are said to be plotting an international Islamist campaign.
Afghanistan depends on its international allies for help in fighting the extremist insurgency that was launched soon after the Taliban were removed from government in late 2001 by a US-led coalition.
There are nearly 70,000 international soldiers in the country, most of them with ISAF and about 14,000 with the coalition.
About half of the French soldiers in ISAF are in Kabul. Some 170 are in the southern city of Kandahar, where France has stationed six fighter aircraft for air support in efforts against the Taliban.
The French military is also helping to train Afghan army officers and their special forces.
Despite the growing strength of the international military deployments in Afghanistan, the insurgency has grown steadily with suicide bombings and other attacks almost every day.
Morin arrived after two French aid workers were kidnapped from their guest house in the central province of Day Kundi in the early hours of Friday as they were sleeping, their organisation Action Against Hunger said.
The Taliban, who have been involved in a series of kidnappings in Afghanistan, have denied involvement suggesting the kidnappers could be criminal gangs seeking ransom.
Afghan police said Saturday they were searching for the missing pair and did not know who had abducted them.
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Obama has breakfast with troops in Afghan capital
Sun Jul 20, 12:51 AM ET
KABUL, Afghanistan - Barack Obama had breakfast Sunday with U.S. troops in Kabul as part of his visit to Afghanistan.
Military spokesman Lt. Col. Dave Johnson said Obama went to an American base in the Afghan capital to dine with soldiers and sailors there.
The Democratic presidential candidate is part of a congressional delegation expected to meet later in the day with President Hamid Karzai.
Obama has made refocusing U.S. attention on terrorist threats in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan a centerpiece of his campaign for the November presidential election.
He opposed the Iraq war and has proposed sending about 7,000 more troops to Afghanistan.
Obama has also criticized the effectiveness of Karzai and his Western-backed government.
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ANALYSIS-US plays for high stakes on Pakistan-Afghan border
By Zeeshan Haider
PESHAWAR, Pakistan, July 20 (Reuters) - Former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld may not have been shy about projecting U.S. military power, but even he didn't dare send American troops into Pakistan's tribal lands to snatch or kill al Qaeda leaders.
But now Pakistanis fear the U.S. presidential campaign has heated up the foreign policy debate over how to handle the Taliban and al Qaeda threat to a point where American leaders could throw caution to the wind by taking unilateral action.
"If this was a possibility in the past, it's a high possibility now," said a senior security official in the northwestern city of Peshawar, shuddering at the statements coming from the United States.
In 2005, Rumsfeld reportedly aborted a mission to eliminate Ayman al-Zawahri, al Qaeda's second-in-command, because it involved too many troops, chances of success were too uncertain, and the danger of riling the situation in Pakistan was too great.
The risks today may be even greater, with Pakistan going through a precarious transition to civilian-led democracy and tribesmen across the northwest reaching for their guns.
"If Americans hit the Pakistani side, they will make more enemies for themselves," Ayaz Wazir, a former Pakistani ambassador to Kabul, said.
TALIBAN PROTECTION
Mounting casualties among Western troops across the border in Afghanistan have fuelled alarm, as have intelligence assessments that al Qaeda could organise strikes on Western soil having regrouped in the tribal areas under Taliban protection.
The United States is now piling resources into Afghanistan, where the Taliban insurgency is stronger than ever 6½ years after U.S.-backed forces drove the Islamist militia and its al Qaeda guests into the mountains on the Pakistan border.
With Western forces pressing into areas where the militants had ranged, there have been more encounters, more casualties, and more talk of ordering "hot pursuit" into Pakistani territory.
Talat Masood, a former general turned political analyst, said U.S. Congressional hearings, the media and think-tanks were generating the kind of hype that could persuade President George W. Bush to authorise an intensification of air strikes and even limited ground operations in the tribal belt.
"Pakistan must have to take action on its own. It is left with no other option," Masood told Reuters.
An American incursion would be a call to arms for tribesmen who had hitherto shunned the insurgency based in the ethnic Pashtun tribal belt straddling the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and undermine the fledgling civilian, coalition government.
"Anti-American sentiments will rise exponentially," Masood wrote in the Daily Times. "The civilian government would be destabilised and moderate forces will be further marginalised."
TRUST RUNNING LOW
In past week U.S. impatience has been very evident.
There is a perception that the Pakistan army reduced pressure on Taliban groups in the border areas as the new government tried to get tribal elders to persuade the militants to end their war.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has also cast accusations that members of Pakistan's security apparatus are playing a double-game by helping the Taliban insurgency in order to preserve leverage in southern Afghanistan for the day when Western governments pull their forces out.
Bush has said he is "troubled" by al Qaeda's presence in Pakistan and will discuss the matter with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani when they meet in Washington on July 28.
Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke of greater numbers of insurgents and foreign fighters crossing from Pakistan, "unmolested and unhindered" and warned: "This movement has to stop."
Rumsfeld's successor, Defence Secretary Robert Gates repeated that U.S. troops were "ready, willing and able" to help if the Pakistani government asked, but there was "a real need to do something on the Pakistani side of the border".
Analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi doubted whether the United States would act too rashly. "If at all they decide to take action, it will be very, very limited but quite effective action."
But the sense of trepidation in Pakistan that the United States might dispense with diplomatic niceties was reinforced by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's remarks.
"We cannot tolerate a terrorist sanctuary, and as president, I won't," Obama said in a major foreign policy speech.
"We must make it clear that if Pakistan cannot or will not act, we will take out high level terrorist targets like bin Laden if we have them in our sights."
(Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Alex Richardson)
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Coalition 'bombs Afghan police'
Sunday, 20 July 2008 BBC News
At least 13 Afghan police and civilians have died in two incidents involving international forces, officials say.
Four Afghan police and five civilians died in an apparently mistaken air strike by international coalition forces in Farah province.
Separately, the Nato-led Isaf said it had "accidentally" killed at least four civilians in Paktika province.
The incidents are the latest in a series of controversial clashes involving foreign troops.
They come as US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is in Afghanistan as part of an overseas tour.
Mr Obama, who wants to increase US troop levels in Afghanistan, was due to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday.
Mr Karzai has said no civilian casualty is acceptable.
'Mistaken identity'
The BBC's Martin Patience, in Kabul, says there was darkness and much confusion when the Farah province fighting took place in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The police had opened fire on a joint convoy of Afghan national army and foreign troops believing - incorrectly - that they were Taleban fighters.
The deputy governor of Farah province, Younus Rasuli, said the foreign troops had not informed police they were coming.
On hearing the gunfire, a number of locals had rushed to support the police, our correspondent says.
Nato and US coalition officials are investigating the reports.
In Paktika province, Isaf said at least four and possibly as many as seven civilians had been killed when one of its units fired two mortar rounds which landed about 1km from their intended target.
"ISAF deeply regrets this accident, and an investigation as to the exact circumstances of this tragic event is now underway," it said in a statement.
Series of incidents
The issue of civilian casualties at the hands of foreign forces is a hugely sensitive issue in Afghanistan.
In the past, the Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said that no civilian casualty is acceptable.
Last week, local tribal elders claimed dozens of people, including civilians, died in a Nato-led attack in Herat province, though Nato strongly denied this.
Earlier US forces admitted killing eight civilians in Farah province after they were attacked in Bakwa district.
And on 6 July, more than 50 people from an Afghan wedding party were said to have been killed after being bombed by US aircraft in the eastern province of Nangarhar.
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Pakistan troops kill 15 militants in northwest
Sun Jul 20, 5:26 AM ET
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) - Pakistani troops and helicopter gunships killed 15 pro-Taliban militants and captured 60 others while clearing a restive northwestern town near the Afghan border, the military said Sunday.
Authorities launched an offensive in the increasingly troubled district of Hangu on Wednesday after Taliban insurgents occupying the area killed 17 paramilitary troops in an ambush.
Pakistan is under intense pressure from the United States and other Western allies to crack down on Taliban forces on its side of the porous border with Afghanistan.
"The operation is on and 15 militants have been killed so far, while 60 others have been captured," chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP.
"Five of our soldiers have been injured," he said, adding that troops had managed to push militants out of the valley and were now targeting them in the mountains.
Authorities lifted a curfew early Sunday morning and afternoon as troops used artillery against militants in Tora Warai area, west of Hangu, residents said.
Meanwhile, a top Pakistani official warned that White House hopeful Barack Obama's threats of US military action against extremist sanctuaries in Pakistan would undermine Islamabad's new government.
North West Frontier Province (NWFP) governor Owais Ghani told AFP in an interview that any incursion into Pakistan's tribal belt bordering Afghanistan would spark "disastrous" consequences for the whole world.
Obama arrived in Afghanistan on Saturday, where he met US soldiers and was expected later Sunday to have talks with President Hamid Karazi.
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Afghan authorities search for kidnapped French nationals
Sat Jul 19, 3:47 AM ET
GHAZNI, Afghanistan (AFP) - Authorities were Saturday searching for two French aid workers kidnapped in central Afghanistan, but the Taliban denied capturing them.
The Action Against Hunger (Action Contre la Faim) workers were taken from their guest house in the early hours of Friday in the central province of Day Kundi, their Paris-based organisation has said.
"We have no news on their fate," provincial governor Sultan Ali Uruzgani told AFP. "Our security forces have been searching for them."
The interior ministry in the capital Kabul said it did not know who had taken them.
"Day Kundi does not see a strong infiltration of insurgents and terrorists," ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary told AFP.
The Taliban, waging an insurgency against the government of President Hamid Karzai, have been involved in a series of kidnappings in Afghanistan, as have criminal gangs seeking ransom.
A spokesman for the militant group, Zabihullah Mujahed, denied the Taliban had the French nationals.
There are several rebel groups operating in Afghanistan while crime has shot up since the Taliban government was overthrown in a US-led invasion in late 2001 for harbouring Al-Qaeda.
The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the abduction last week of an Afghan senator 70 kilometres (40 miles) outside of Kabul. They have said they would free him in exchange for the release from jail of some of their men.
But they have denied involvement in the kidnapping near the western city of Herat last week of two Turkish nationals working for a construction company.
Afghan police have said a German national abducted near the city in mid-December is believed to have been killed after a ransom was not paid for his release.
Action Against Hunger has projects in Day Kundi, about 300 kilometres east of the capital, to improve access to food and water and sanitation, according to their website. The province is one of the poorest in the country.
The organisation has only 10 expatriate staff in Afghanistan. It suspended its relief operations in the country after the abductions.
A French businessman was kidnapped in Afghanistan in May, apparently by Taliban militants, and released about a month later after a ransom was paid, according to Afghan officials.
Last year, two French humanitarian workers for the Terre D'Enfance (A World For Our Children) relief group were abducted and passed to the Taliban. They were released weeks later amid speculation that a ransom was paid.
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Spanta: Pakistan the home of terrorists
Written by www.quqnoos.com Sunday, 20 July 2008
Afghan foreign minister Dr Spanta confirms evidence points to Pakistan for Indian Embassy bombing
In a conference yesterday (Saturday) the foreign minister of Afghanistan Dr Rangin Dadfar Spanta once again accused Pakistan of being directly involved in the Indian Embassy bombing.
He also stated that most western nations now believe Pakistan to be the home for terrorists.
The conference follows the recent decision of the Afghan government to suspend a number of conferences with Pakistan in protest at Pakistan’s apparent involvement in terrorist related activities on Afghan soil.
While Dr Spanta indicated that suspension of attendance at various conferences does not necessarily mean the cessation of diplomatic relations, he had particularly strong words for Pakistan.
Dr Spanta said that Afghanistan will defend itself like it had done in the past , in particular if its territorial integrity is threatened.
This does not preclude military means of defence, he said. Most at the conference took the reference to be aimed at Pakistan.
Afghanistan will resume its dialogue with Pakistan, according to Dr Spanta, once Pakistan shows its serious about fighting terrorism and putting an end to cross-border infiltration from within Pakistan.
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Obama trip full of opportunity and risk
His foray to the Middle East and Europe could improve his image on foreign policy -- or validate GOP-fostered doubts.
Los Angeles Times, CA By Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer July 19, 2008
On his trip to the Middle East and Europe, Barack Obama hopes to reassure Americans that he has the foreign-policy expertise to keep the nation safe. Images beamed back from Jerusalem, Berlin and other cities next week will show him meeting heads of state with all the formal trappings of summitry.
If the all-but-certain Democratic nominee avoids mistakes, the intense news coverage -- three network anchors will accompany him -- could ease voter doubts.
Republican rival John McCain will be trying to reinforce those doubts as Obama makes his way from Jordan and Israel to Germany, France and Britain. Obama also plans to visit Iraq and Afghanistan soon but has kept the timing secret for security reasons.
Obama's itinerary will require deft navigation of foreign conflicts, a skill that at times has eluded the 46-year-old senator from Illinois. And the slightest stumble could solidify McCain's standing as the candidate voters see as more seasoned in world affairs.
Obama will meet with King Abdullah II of Jordan; the Israeli president, Shimon Peres, and prime minister, Ehud Olmert; and the Palestinian Authority's president, Mahmoud Abbas, and prime minister, Salam Fayyad. In Europe, Obama will confer with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
On Obama's agenda: nuclear threats, terrorism, Iraq, Afghanistan and climate change. "These are issues of vital importance to all concerned," said Susan E. Rice, Obama's senior national security advisor.
Obama will also move to build ties with those out of power. In Britain, he will see David Cameron, the opposition Conservative Party leader; in Israel, he'll see former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who heads the right-wing Likud Party.
Obama's advisors have played down the trip's potential effect on the campaign. They describe the trip as a substantive exchange of ideas with foreign leaders, not a string of events designed to fill a gap in Obama's public profile.
"We really don't view it that way," said David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manager. "Over the course of the campaign, voters have increasingly become comfortable with the notion of Barack Obama as president and commander in chief."
But a recent Washington Post/ABC News survey found that 72% of voters saw McCain as knowledgeable enough about world affairs to be a good president, compared with 56% who had that view of Obama.
A former Navy pilot and prisoner of war in Vietnam, McCain, 71, has traveled extensively during his 26 years in Congress. He has made eight trips to Iraq and four to Afghanistan. In that light, Obama's journey looks like "a smart move," said Ron Kaufman, a Republican strategist. "The biggest problem would be if he didn't do it."
In planning the trip, Obama spoke with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and his staff has been working out details with U.S. embassies in the countries he will visit. Advisors signaled Friday that Obama would take pains not to overstep his role as a candidate.
"There's one president of the United States at any given time, and we will certainly honor and respect that," said Susan Rice, Obama's advisor.
In addition to Susan Rice, advisors traveling with Obama will include Anthony Lake, who was national security advisor under President Clinton; Dennis Ross, a former U.S. envoy in Middle East peace talks; and Richard J. Danzig, Navy secretary under Clinton.
It is common for candidates, especially those with scant Washington experience, to travel overseas to enhance their national-security credentials -- but not this late in a campaign.
In 1992, Democrat Bill Clinton faced a similar situation. Then governor of Arkansas, he was challenging an incumbent steeped in foreign affairs: The first President Bush, fresh from his Persian Gulf War victory, was a former vice president, U.N. ambassador, CIA director and World War II combat pilot. But in the end, said Paul Begala, a Clinton strategist, voters concluded: "He's less experienced than Bush, but he's experienced enough for me."
This week, Obama started running TV ads that trumpet his support of a law to "lock down loose nuclear weapons" and his pledge to fight "cyber- attacks." He also gave speeches on national security, stressing his call for a shift of U.S. military resources from Iraq to Afghanistan.
Obama has at times faltered in trying to prove himself. For a year, he has faced trouble for saying in a debate that he would meet without preconditions with leaders of Iran and other nations hostile to the U.S. His then-rival for the Democratic nomination, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, used the remark to suggest that he would make an unseasoned statesman, an attack McCain has echoed.
And this week, Obama called it "poor phrasing" when he told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee last month that "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided." Palestinian leaders were furious at the comment; he backpedaled the next day.
McCain's campaign has pounced on every Obama misstep and is sure to do so if he makes another one overseas.
"You may start out to demonstrate credibility and competence and end up showing just the opposite," said William A. Galston, a policy advisor in the Clinton White House.
In Kansas City on Thursday, McCain said Obama had shown "incredible naivete" about Iraq and Afghanistan. On Friday, McCain released a TV ad saying Obama "never held a single Senate hearing on Afghanistan," "hasn't been to Iraq in years" and "voted against funding our troops."
Obama's campaign called the ad "patently misleading."
Obama's stops in Israel, Jordan and perhaps the Palestinian territories are fraught with political risk. One of his main audiences back home will be Jewish voters in Florida, a battleground state where critics have sought to raise doubts about his support for Israel.
In Europe, where he is highly popular, Obama plans a speech in Berlin on U.S. relations with allies. He will probably find a warm, even rapturous, reception -- which poses its own challenges. "There's such a thing as being too popular overseas," said Galston, now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. "And that may create some misgivings here at home."
michael.finnegan@latimes.com
Times staff writers Mark Z. Barabak and Nicholas Riccardi contributed to this report.
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Oil Tanker Attacked In Afghanistan, Killing 7
July 20, 2008
JALALABAD, Afghanistan (AFP)--Gunmen attacked an oil tanker in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, causing a fire that killed the vehicle's driver and six people in a minivan passing by, a provincial official said.
The tanker was traveling from Jalalabad to Kabul when it was attacked, Laghman provincial spokesman Abdul Wakil Atak told AFP.
The driver died when the tanker burst into flames, which also engulfed the minivan, killing all six people on board, the spokesman said, blaming the attack on extremist Taliban leading a growing insurgency in the war-ravaged nation.
Taliban and other militants are regularly blamed for attacking vehicles transporting oil and other supplies to international soldiers in Afghanistan via Pakistan.
The insurgency was launched in Afghanistan after the Taliban were removed from government in late 2001 in a U.S.-led invasion.
The number of international troops fighting the insurgency has since risen to nearly 70,000 - about half of them U.S. nationals.
The unrest has grown, too, with some of the bloodiest incidents occurring in recent months, including an attack on a remote outpost last month in which nine U.S. soldiers were killed and 15 wounded.
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18 Afghans released from US controlled Bagram prison
www.quqnoos.com Written by PAN Sunday, 20 July 2008
NRC helps release further Afghans from US custody, bringing total released from all jails to 739
KABUL National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) on Monday helped release of 18 Afghan prisoners who served from two to four years jail terms in the heavily guarded US cells in Bagram airfield.
Speaking at a ceremony here, Said Sharif Yousufi an official in the National Reconciliation Commission said most of the freed afghan nationals, arrested for alleged involvement in disruptive activities and links with terrorist, were residents of Uruzgan, Ghazni, Helmand, Kandahar, Kunar and Laghman provinces.
The commission was trying to help release all the Afghan political prisoners in Bagram, Pul-i-Charkhi and Guantanamo jails, Yousufi added, the commission had managed to release 739 inmates from the mentioned jails.
The freed would be issued certificates to help them be safe and receive no harms from local and foreign security forces in Afghanistan, he added.
He urged the released to help the security and peace in the country and reconstruction efforts in their regions.
Among the released Abdul Rauf a resident of Tirinkot claimed he was arrested for no crime and spent two years in jail without any specific crime he lamented.
"I run a shop in my village the US forces came and took me out of my shop by the name of Talib and carried me to Bagram jail." He claimed.
By the same token Zafar Jan a resident of Kunar claimed he spent two years in jail for having committed no crime, he added, US forces took him out of his house.
The US forces were treating the inmates better than pervious years, the freed prisoners concluded.
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U.S.-led Coalition forces rebuffs airstrike inflicting civilian casualties in W Afghanistan
KABUL, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-led Coalition forces in a statement rebuffed reportedly civilian casualties resulted by Coalition airstrike in western Afghan province of Farah on Sunday.
Afghan National Security and Coalition forces used precision airstrikes to eliminate several militants in Farah province early Sunday morning, the statement said.
"The air strike was called while the militants were in an open area to prevent harm to non-combatants and civilian structures thus no civilians or Coalition forces were harmed in the engagement," it said.
Earlier, police officer Najibullah Popal told Xinhua that air raids carried out by international troops over Saturday night had left policemen dead and injured in Farah province.
"It was late last night when air crafts of international troops mistakenly targeted a police checkpoint in Anardara district killing and wounding a number of our policemen," a senior police officer in the province Najibullah Popal told Xinhua.
Andardara is a district close to Iran border where Taliban militants also several times in the past one year targeted government interests in parts of Farah province.
However, locals of the area put the number of the casualties as high as nine.
Meanwhile, one soldier with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was killed during fighting in eastern Afghan province of Khost on Sunday, said an ISAF statement.
It is ISAF policy to not release the nationality of any casualty prior to the relevant national authority doing so.
NATO have recently enhanced its military strength in the eastern bordering provinces to curb the surge of militancy and violence there.
Militancy and conflicts have left more than 2,300 people including over 700 civilians dead since January this year in Afghanistan.
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Afghanistan: The 'forgotten' war is back in the spotlight
Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent 19/07/2008
As British troops in Helmand province run out of cups and fresh food, they could be forgiven for thinking their heroic efforts are not appreciated. But thanks to Barack Obama's visit this weekend, Afghanistan is headline news again. Sean Rayment in Musa Qala sees the fighting at first hand.
The Taliban watched and waited. As the British soldiers entered the area, the insurgents detonated a massive bomb. The impact was devastating. The blast ripped off the right leg of an 18-year-old soldier, peppering his face and body with shrapnel. Nine other bombs, known as improvised explosive devices (IEDs), exploded almost simultaneously.
The patrol, composed of members of the Royal Irish Regiment and the Afghan National Army, had walked into a "daisy chain" ambush. As the soldiers crawled in the dust towards their wounded colleague, the Taliban raked the area with volley after volley of machine-gun fire.
Back at the British base outside Musa Qala, two miles down the valley, the radio burst into life. "Contact – with casualties. Wait out." The operations room fell silent. It was the message every soldier dreads.
Article continuesadvertisement The severely injured ranger was dragged to safety as the Taliban melted away into the countryside. Tourniquets were used to stem the blood loss and morphine helped to dull the burning pain. Despite the ferocity of the attack, there were no other casualties.
The soldier was rushed back to base, where Capt David Cooper, the battle group doctor, saved his life using techniques not yet practised in civilian hospitals. It later emerged that the young ranger was due to return to the UK for a two-week break, to visit his pregnant girlfriend. Such is the reality of life for British soldiers fighting an increasingly bitter counter-insurgency war on the front line in Helmand province, where 8,000 British troops are based.
Now the forgotten war is getting fresh attention, with Barack Obama arriving in Afghanistan to talk with military commanders and local politicians yesterday. He has recently pledged to increase US troops in Afghanistan by a third if he becomes president, arguing that the country is the real centre for terrorist activity and where the US should concentrate their focus.
In 2006, when the troops first arrived in southern Afghanistan, pitched battles were fought with the Taliban for control of key strategic areas. The losses suffered by the Taliban were unsustainable, so the insurgents changed their tactics and the war turned dirty. Now barely a day seems to pass in Helmand without a soldier being killed or wounded. The IED is the weapon soldiers most fear and its use has soared by more than 400 per cent in the past two months.
In Musa Qala, where The Sunday Telegraph was embedded with Battle Group North West, everyday living for the soldiers is an ordeal. More than 350 men and two women share the base's two showers, and the pore-clogging dust means the troops are rarely clean for long. Fresh food is a rarity and soldiers survive on Army rations. The base is at the end of the logistics chain, so resupplying the force is challenging. Recently the camp ran out of polystyrene cups, reducing soldiers to drinking tea from pudding bowls at mealtimes.
Apart from the Taliban and the IEDs, soldiers in Helmand have to contend with scorpions, camel spiders, malaria and sand flies. Lapses in hygiene can also lead to outbreaks of diarrhoea and vomiting, which can lay waste to dozens of men in a matter of hours. Then there is the cruel heat of the desert, which this month will reach 50C and cause more casualties than the Taliban.
Three hours after the first ambush last Monday, a second foot patrol was involved in another IED attack but, mercifully, there were no casualties. Back at the site of the first attack, the Royal Irish troops began to secure the area. Daisy chain ambushes are still rare in Helmand and bomb disposal experts were flying in to investigate.
As the troops were moving into position, intelligence came through suggesting that the Taliban were massing for an attack 800m to the north. It was clear that the small patrol would need support. Lt Col Nick Borton, the commander of Battle Group North West, quickly formed a plan. A force composed of 260 men, in heavily armoured Mastiff troop carriers and Warrior armoured vehicles, was dispatched to reinforce the Royal Irish patrol two miles up the Musa Qala wadi.
Before the attacks, the patrol had been heading for a Taliban enclave known as "The Garden", where it was believed they had a bomb factory. As often happens in Helmand, setbacks are turned into an opportunity. "We now have a chance to exploit this area," Lt Col Borton said, pointing at a map. "I'm not sure if the Taliban will attack us – they may be put off by our show of force – but I hope they do. Then we can destroy them."
Cpl Gary "Dinger" Bell, a section commander in D Company 5th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland (5 Scots), summed up the feelings of his team when he said: "Who do these people think they are doing this to one of our boys? The gloves are well and truly off now." He added: "I hope the people back home appreciate what we are doing here. That lad has lost his leg at the age of 18. His life has changed for ever, and all for £900 a month."
As the troops pushed forward, I joined the battle group's Quick Reaction Force, which sped across the desert for a rendezvous with the IED disposal team. The pick-up was successfully completed and we had just set off to join the rest of the force when the Taliban attacked. Mortars, rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and gunfire rained down, forcing our convoy to withdraw.
The attack was ferocious and intense. One of the Warriors took a direct hit from an RPG and two soldiers were blown off their feet by mortar rounds. Troops were forced to run for cover as shrapnel sliced through the air.
The Taliban held the advantage for the first 15 minutes, until the British troops located their positions. Capt John Axcell, the fire support team commander, called a strike on one enemy post. An artillery barrage of high explosive fired from three 105mm guns smashed into the Taliban compound. Machine-gun fire from the enemy was snuffed out. To the north, the Warriors and British troops hammered another Taliban position. The battle raged until nightfall. Eight Taliban fighters were killed, including their leader, Commander Malik.
Just before first light our convoy pushed forward again, and this time we managed to link up with the battle group. The patrol pushed deep into the inner sanctum of the Taliban stronghold, but our progress was slowed by the ever-present threat of IEDs.
One of the compounds revealed a treasure trove of bomb-making equipment. Electronic components from mobile phones, videos and MP3 players littered the floor. The bomb factory had been discovered. The evidence was bagged and taken away for investigation by the bomb disposal officer.
Using the patrol's search dog, Max, a labrador trained to sniff out explosives, we pushed up to what the Army calls the Forward Line of Enemy Troops, or Flet. This was about as close as we could get without being in Taliban territory. It was clear that no one wanted to hang around for too long. With the search completed, the patrol withdrew and we pulled back to base.
Musa Qala is a dusty, ramshackle town that has symbolic status for both the British and the Taliban. Back in 2006, when UK troops first arrived in Helmand, soldiers from the Royal Irish Regiment fought bitter battles every day for three months against the Taliban. The fighting took a heavy toll on the Royal Irish; two soldiers died and 12 were injured. But under the terms of a deal, the British withdrew and control of the town was handed back to the locals in October 2006. Within months, it was back in the hands of the Taliban.
The insurgents controlled Musa Qala for over a year, until a cleric known as Mullah Salaam defected from the Taliban and decided to join the Afghan government. This gave Nato the impetus they needed to retake the town and Musa Qala eventually fell to coalition troops last November. The Taliban have been trying to get it back ever since.
In effect, Musa Qala is Afghanistan in microcosm. Reconstruction and development are taking place, but the process is painfully slow; there is governance, but much of it is poor and the officials are corrupt. The immediate area is secure and the threat posed by the Taliban has been reduced significantly. But just two miles beyond the base, the Taliban have freedom of movement and can mount attacks against the British at will. Meanwhile, the Afghans still can't decide which side they should support.
The ever-growing threat posed by suicide bombers has created an additional barrier between the local population and the British troops. It is difficult to gain the confidence of the people when soldiers are forcing them away with the point of a gun.
On Wednesday evening last week, I accompanied a Royal Irish Regiment and Afghan National Army patrol through the Musa Qala bazaar. We had been warned that the Afghan police believed at least three suicide bombers were preparing to mount an attack and everyone was nervous. Just last month, three members of the Parachute Regiment were killed when a suicide bomber attacked a patrol in the Sangin Valley. Two suicide attacks had been staged in Musa Qala in recent weeks and another was clearly on the cards.
The tension in the bazaar was immediately obvious. The local men whispered to each other, while keeping their gaze fixed on the soldiers. It was clear they knew what we were thinking: "Which one is the bomber?" From a side street, a young motorcyclist appeared. The patrol commander, Capt Andrew Shepherd, screamed "Dresh, dresh," the Pashto word for stop, raising his rifle. The motorcyclist skidded to a halt as everyone froze. He looked bemused, then angry, the half-smile slipping from his face.
After 10 minutes we had reached the end of the bazaar and moved into the relative safety of the open countryside. The sense of relief was palpable. It was also patently clear that the hearts and minds of those in the bazaar were far from won.
Just last month Pte Sean Short, 18, had shot a motorcyclist who had ignored repeated warnings to stop and was suspected of being a suicide bomber. The soldier's actions were questioned but found to be faultless and, fortunately, the Afghan survived. "I felt very bad when we discovered he was just a normal civilian, but I had to make a choice," Pte Short said.
The following day a similar incident happened and Pte Short opened fire again, hitting a van driver and his passenger, with minor injuries. Pte Short was questioned for a second time and again was cleared of any wrongdoing. There is little doubt, however, that the local people thought otherwise.
But there has been a form of progress in Musa Qala. When 5 Scots arrived in March, the population was distant and suspicious. Few town elders were prepared to interact with the British troops or the civilians working in the Provincial Reconstruction Team, for fear of retribution by the Taliban.
Today there are weekly security meetings, during which Lt Col Borton listens patiently to the concerns of the governor and his police chief and offers advice. A twice-weekly market in the wadi opposite the base now attracts about 2,000 people.
The controversial governor, Mullah Salaam – who is loved and loathed in equal measure by the British and locals – appears to be responding to the efforts of his British mentors. Privately, some officers described him as "wholly corrupt" and a "bad governor". But Lt Col Borton adopts a more pragmatic view. "Mullah Salaam is what we have got, whether we like it or not. He is not perfect and corruption is part of the way of life here. There is not a single government official who is not lining his own pockets. But we are not trying to create something akin to Wiltshire. This is the Afghan way – we are here to point them in the right direction and, personally, I think it's working."
Under a partially successful "cash for work" scheme, new roads, health clinics and water towers have been built. And in the next few weeks, construction work on four mosques will begin.
But the wily folk of Musa Qala have already seen the British come and go once and it is likely to take more to win them round. As with the rest of the country, Musa Qala urgently needs more troops, resources and money. Time is running out for the British and coalition forces in Afghanistan. Much greater security, reconstruction and governance needs to be delivered sooner rather than later. If there is failure in these crucial areas, Nato's troops will soon be viewed as occupiers rather than liberators, and then the mission will be lost.
As we left The Garden, Sgt Daniel Carter, 28, the commander of 11 platoon D Company, wiped the sweat from his brow and said: "The Taliban will not be happy. We're right in their stomping ground. This is their safe haven."
Will they be back, I ask, as we head to the safety of the armoured vehicles. "Definitely," he says. "They'll return, they always do."
And they did. By six o'clock on Tuesday the Taliban were back, laying ambush with another IED. The bomb detonated prematurely, killing one and injuring another. This time they were not so lucky.
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Kabul road blockages anger residents
Written by www.quqnoos.com Saturday, 19 July 2008
Increased security threats in Kabul leads to the closure of key arterial roads and resident complaints
Kabulis are facing increasing problems as a result of the blocking key roads in the heart of the city leading to the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The blockage has restricted access to various buildings including three hospitals, (Jamhuriat, Malalai Zejantoon and Ali Abad), creating numerous logistical problems for doctors, employees of hospitals and patients.
The situation is so serious that doctors have warned a continuation of the blockage may result in loss of life of patients.
Residents and commuters complain that the police closed off access to the roads about two weeks ago and do not even allow emergency vehicles such as ambulances through these roads to access the various hospitals.
Those wanting to access the hospitals are forced to carry patients using stretchers or on their backs for long distances from the end of the road.
Doctors have claimed that there have already been patients dying on their way to hospital, deaths which could possibly have been avoided.
After the recent suicide bombing of the Indian Embassy on 2 July 2008, the government has blocked a number of key roads for security reasons, including the roads leading to the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This has resulted in traffic jams and complaints from commuters.
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Up to 25% of bottled drinks in Afghanistan not safe
www.quqnoos.com Written by Anwar Hashimi Saturday, 19 July 2008
Ministry of Health says that it has found dangerous strains of E. coli bacteria in a number of bottled drinks in Afghanistan
The Ministry of Health has recently tested a number of drinks in it laboratories and has warned residents that dangerous E. coli bacteria has been found in some of these drinks.
The ministry has tested 192 different kinds of both foreign and domestic bottled drinks, out of which, a staggering 52 had been contaminated with harmful E. coli bacteria. The ministry has indicated that these microbes cause digestive diseases in humans who consume the bacteria.
The ministry has warned that it will take serious action against anyone who disobeys safety standards following the completion of its investigations. “Some people are involved in skullduggery in the market, and these people only think of their own personal profits, not the damage they can cause to society.
The ministry of health will aggressively follow this matter” said Dr Amin Fatimi, the minister for health.
The head of Natural Mineral Water Company, Nasrullah Arsalayee said “The government is not currently able to control all food products in Afghanistan.
We always try to test our water through the ministry of health, and our own laboratories, sometimes three or four times a day.” Taslim Khan, head of the natural mineral water laboratory in Kabul, also reassured the public of the quality of its bottled water. “I assure you that we seriously test our water, and we follow all the international standards.
Our products pass different processes in the laboratory, which are in accordance with according to the world standards.” Although the department for the national standards is responsible for the quality of commercial goods in Afghanistan, the ministry of health has also made centers and groups, which are responsible for protecting the quality of medicines and foods in the country.
Last week, the national standards department had said the department did not have enough money to buy some laboratory equipment required for testing commercial goods.
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