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Taliban kills 26 in deadly assault on Kabul
by Waheedullah Massoud
KABUL (AFP) – Taliban militants launched suicide bomb and gun attacks Wednesday on three Afghan government buildings, killing at least 26 people, in one of the most daring assaults on the capital to date.
Deadly attacks hit Afghan capital
Wednesday, 11 February 2009 BBC News
Suicide attackers and gunmen have targeted three government buildings in the Afghan capital, Kabul, leaving at least 19 people dead, officials say.
More US troops needed 'soon' in Afghanistan: Mullen
by Dan De Luce – Wed Feb 11, 12:59 am ET
OTTAWA (AFP) – Top US military officer Admiral Mike Mullen said on Tuesday more American troops were needed in Afghanistan as soon as possible to hold territory where insurgents have been routed.
Obama choice on troops for Afghanistan due in days
By David Morgan – Tue Feb 10, 6:02 pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama is expected to decide within days how many extra U.S. troops to send to Afghanistan, the U.S. defense chief said on Tuesday.
Ex-CIA official to chair Afghanistan-Pakistan review
Tue Feb 10, 2:45 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama has named a former CIA official to chair a review of US policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan before a NATO summit in April, the White House said Tuesday.
Obama team works to overhaul Afghanistan-Pakistan policy
The president is likely to decide on the details of a U.S. troop increase in Afghanistan in the coming days, Gates says.
By Julian E. Barnes Los Angeles Times February 11, 2009
Reporting from Washington -- The Obama administration plans to complete its overhaul of U.S. policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan by April, before a crucial NATO summit, the White House said Tuesday in announcing the new head of its review.
Q+A - What can Obama do about Afghanistan and Pakistan?
Reuters via Yahoo! UK & Ireland News - Feb 11 2:28 AM
President Barack Obama's point man, Richard Holbrooke, is seeing up close the scale and complexity of his task to overhaul U.S. policies in Afghanistan and Pakistan as he tours the region. Holbrooke
Russia Offers US More Help On Afghanistan But Demands Respect
MOSCOW (AFP)--Russia is ready to give more help supplying Western operations in Afghanistan but only on the basis of full respect from North Atlantic Treaty Organization members, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.
Assault uncovers Taliban weapons
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- British Royal Marines uncovered a major stockpile of weapons during a recent raid on a suspected Taliban compound in Afghanistan's volatile Kandahar province.
Strengthening Afghan forces a priority: Dutch PM
Tue Feb 10, 2:12 pm ET
KABUL (AFP) – Strengthening the Afghan army and police is a priority for The Netherlands, Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said Tuesday after talks with President Hamid Karzai.
Afghan, US ties strong: Karzai
Tue Feb 10, 2:13 pm ET
KABUL, Feb 10, 2009 (AFP) – Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday that relations between Kabul and Washington were strong but admitted there was some "light wrestling" between them, especially over civilian casualties.
French officer, Afghan translator killed in ambush
11 Feb 2009 13:34:21 GMT By Sophie Hardach
PARIS, Feb 11 (Reuters) - A French officer and an Afghan interpreter were killed in an ambush south of Kabul on Wednesday, an army official said, in a reminder of the risks facing the NATO mission amid a debate over troop reinforcements.
Afghan recovery report: Northerners leaving in droves
Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) 10 Feb 2009
Thousands flee poverty, unemployment and drought – with many heading for Iran.
By Shah Reza Munshizada in Maimana (ARR No. 312, 10-Feb-09)
It is early morning in the Maimana city bus station, and crowds of young men are waiting to board buses that will take them far away.
Afghanistan: Irrigation efficiency - drip by drip
KABUL, 10 February 2009 (IRIN) - A simple water-saving system will be made available at low cost to Afghan farmers in the near future to help them efficiently irrigate farmland and boost yields.
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Taliban kills 26 in deadly assault on Kabul
by Waheedullah Massoud
KABUL (AFP) – Taliban militants launched suicide bomb and gun attacks Wednesday on three Afghan government buildings, killing at least 26 people, in one of the most daring assaults on the capital to date.
The defence ministry said eight suicide attackers also died in the near-simultaneous strikes on the prisons directorate, and justice and education ministries -- the deadliest insurgent attacks in Afghanistan so far this year.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, told AFP in a telephone call that 16 suicide attackers had entered the Afghan capital and would carry out a wave of strikes, as the violence sowed panic across the city.
"So far we have registered 26 people killed and 55 wounded," health ministry spokesman Abdullah Fahim said by mid-afternoon. Most were civilians, he said.
Of the eight attackers killed, three managed to blow themselves up and five were shot dead, officials said.
Witnesses of the attack on the justice ministry, which is close to the presidential palace in the heart of the capital, said several gunmen burst into the building and opened fire on security guards.
Some of the gunmen managed to run up several floors of the building, shooting as they went, they said.
Terrified ministry employees jumped from the windows of the four-storey building, while others locked themselves in their offices as heavy exchanges of gunfire continued for several hours, witnesses said.
Five would-be suicide attackers were killed inside the building, the defence ministry said. A witness said at least one was strapped with explosives.
"I saw several of them running into the ministry after a gunfight with police guards at the entrance, right next to the kitchen," said a cook, Juma Khan.
"One of them was shot by the security guards. Three of my colleagues were martyred. I saw their bodies," he said, describing the three as a cleaner, a cook and a painter.
As the dramatic assault unfolded, two suicide attackers also struck the prisons directorate in the north of the city, witnesses and officials said.
"I first heard gun shots," a resident of a nearby house, Mia Agha, told AFP.
"I saw a guy around 18 or 20 years old who was hiding behind this vehicle and police were firing at him. He had a pistol and was firing back.
"At one point he pulled a wire from his sleeve and then a blast took place with huge fire and thick smoke. After some minutes a second blast took place at the entrance to the building."
Agha said he saw many dead and wounded. The interior ministry media office said "four to five" civilians were killed there as well as a policeman.
The area was splashed with blood and body parts, the reporter said.
Another suicide attacker was shot dead in front of the education ministry, an interior ministry official told AFP. "His explosives detonated but it has not caused casualties," an interior ministry official said.
The Taliban spokesman, Mujahid, told AFP that some of the suicide attackers dispatched to the city were awaiting orders.
"The attack at the ministry of justice and the directorate of prisons was revenge for mistreatment of Taliban prisoners," he said.
The attacks caused widespread panic with people from the provinces calling residents to find out what had happened, witnesses said. Security groups warned people to avoid moving about in the city.
The top international military commander in Afghanistan, US General David McKiernan, said the assaults showed the "barbaric" face of the Taliban.
The attacks came as new US President Barack Obama considers a plan to double the number of US troops fighting against a widening Taliban-led insurgency which now stands at about 37,000.
Richard Holbrooke, the new US envoy to the region, was in Pakistan on Wednesday as part of efforts to conduct a comprehensive US policy review as Washington hopes to turn around the battle against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
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Deadly attacks hit Afghan capital
Wednesday, 11 February 2009 BBC News
Suicide attackers and gunmen have targeted three government buildings in the Afghan capital, Kabul, leaving at least 19 people dead, officials say.
In one attack, two suicide bombers detonated explosives at an office responsible for prisons in the north of the capital.
Attackers also targeted the justice ministry and education ministry in the centre of the city.
The Taleban have said they carried out the attacks.
A spokesman said they were in response to the treatment of Taleban prisoners in Afghan jails.
More than 50 people are reported injured, officials say.
The attacks come in the week the new US envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, is expected to visit Kabul.
The international forces in Afghanistan condemned the attacks as "callous and indiscriminate".
Taleban warning
Seven attackers took part in Wednesday's co-ordinated assault.
Four gunmen tried to enter the justice ministry. Two were killed outside but the others managed to get in, the BBC's Ian Pannell in Kabul reports.
At one point the justice minister was locked inside his office under armed protection. He told the BBC he was safe but was unable to leave.
The two attackers who entered the building were killed in a gunfight.
A senior source said a number of police officers had also been killed.
There was constant gunfire as police scaled the building with ladders to enter through windows.
Student Assadullah Jagdalak was inside the justice ministry and said he hid under a table when he heard shooting outside the building.
"Security guards started shooting and then the attackers responded by killing other security guards. One got inside the building and started shooting, one guy got upstairs," he said.
A number of people were also killed and injured in the attack on the prisoner affairs department.
In the third incident, the attacker tried and failed to get inside the education ministry and set off an explosive belt after being shot.
Salim Hayran, who works at the ministry, told the BBC: "After I heard the firing I could see from my window people running and the security guards everywhere."
The commander of Nato's International Security Assistance Force, Gen David McKiernan, condemned the attacks.
"Once again the Taleban have displayed that they have no respect for Afghan citizens or any desire to see a peaceful future in Afghanistan," he said.
Our correspondent says there had been a warning that the Taleban were planning a high-profile attack.
He says the attack follows a number of similar assaults last year and comes at a time when President Hamid Karzai is offering to sit down and start peace talks with the Taleban.
The incident comes after US military chief Adm Mike Mullen said more American troops were needed urgently in Afghanistan.
US President Barack Obama is expected to announce soon how many extra US troops could be sent to Afghanistan, and has called for Nato reinforcements.
Mr Holbrooke is expected in Kabul later this week, after his visit to Pakistan.
Before he left for the region, he said Afghanistan would be "much tougher" to solve than Iraq and that he had "never seen anything like the mess we have inherited".
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More US troops needed 'soon' in Afghanistan: Mullen
by Dan De Luce – Wed Feb 11, 12:59 am ET
OTTAWA (AFP) – Top US military officer Admiral Mike Mullen said on Tuesday more American troops were needed in Afghanistan as soon as possible to hold territory where insurgents have been routed.
Mullen told a news conference it was up to President Barack Obama to decide when to deploy additional troops to Afghanistan, but he said time was of the essence at what he called a critical period for the country.
During a visit to the Canadian capital to discuss the Afghan war among other issues, Mullen was asked about the possible reinforcement of the US mission as requested by the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan.
"The general had this request out for many months and those working through the request recognise that the sooner the better with respect to this," Mullen said.
He said 2009 was a crucial moment with elections scheduled later in the year and an increasingly violent insurgency in the south and east of the country.
"I'm hopeful that we can get them there as soon as absolutely possible, but, again, that's a decision for the president of the United States, not for me."
He said more US troops were needed to allow for development and aid projects to go ahead as insurgents were often moving back into areas where NATO forces had previously pushed them out.
"It's got to be enough forces to be able not just to clear, but we've got to have enough forces in there to hold, which we haven't had in the past," the US admiral said.
His Canadian counterpart, General Walter Natynczyk, agreed.
He said his country was looking "forward to the reinforcement of US forces in theatre to enable us to continue not only to secure an area and do the build, but then to hold, something that we've had a challenge with the lack of forces on the ground."
Mullen's comments came as the Obama administration reviews US strategy in Afghanistan in the face of an emboldened Taliban insurgency and plans to possibly double the 36,000-strongly US force there.
The Afghan mission is a sensitive issue in Canada, where the government has committed to stay in the country only to the end of 2011 after a political deal.
More than 100 Canadians have died in Afghanistan since the start of its mission in 2002, with the toll rising after Canadian troops deployed to the country's volatile south in 2006.
US officials have suggested that Washington would like to see Ottawa extend its mission but Canadian ministers and military officers have insisted the deadline is firm.
Mullen told reporters he had made no request for Canada to remain in Afghanistan beyond 2011, saying Washington would not interfere with Canada's decision.
He added the United States would make adjustments as necessary if the Canadian forces depart as planned.
More than 400 Canadians have been wounded in Afghanistan from 2002 to 2008, and Admiral Mullen on Monday met some of those injured in combat in the Taliban-dominated south.
Among them was Corporal Michael Trauner, 29, who lost both legs and suffered serious injuries to his left hand in December when an improvised explosive detonated while he was on patrol west of Kandahar.
The explosion threw him 20 feet into the air, he told reporters after meeting the US admiral.
An American Blackhawk helicopter evacuated him minutes later and he was treated by a US and Canadian medical team in Afghanistan and later in Germany. His heart stopped twice but he was revived both times, doctors told him later.
"So far I have had eight surgeries in total, three of them on my hand," said Trauner, of the Royal Canadian Regiment.
Doctors are still taking shrapnel out of his shattered left hand, which suffered 25 separate fractures.
Trauner said he believed strongly in the mission in Afghanistan and planned to stay in the Canadian armed forces even if he could no longer serve in combat.
"If we don't do the job, who would?" he said.
Canada has about 2,750 soldiers serving among the nearly 70,000 international troops in Afghanistan under NATO and US command.
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Obama choice on troops for Afghanistan due in days
By David Morgan – Tue Feb 10, 6:02 pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama is expected to decide within days how many extra U.S. troops to send to Afghanistan, the U.S. defense chief said on Tuesday.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates also suggested the initial deployment could be as small as one combat brigade, as the Obama administration moves to complete its review of Afghan strategy before NATO holds its next summit on April 2.
"The president will have several options in front of him and I think he will make those decisions probably in the course of the next few days," Gates told reporters at a Pentagon briefing.
Up to now, Obama had been widely expected to announce the deployment of three combat units encompassing up to 17,000 U.S. forces as part of a plan to nearly double the U.S. military presence to about 60,000 troops over the next 12 to 18 months.
U.S. military planners have considered sending two Army combat brigades, each with about 3,500 soldiers, and a larger Marine task force that could number close to 10,000 troops.
But Pentagon officials have sounded a more cautious note in recent days, amid signs that the Obama White House would devote more time to deliberation over the new president's first major deployment of U.S. forces overseas.
"It seems to me a thoughtful and deliberative approach to that decision is entirely appropriate," Gates said.
There are currently 37,000 U.S. forces in the country as part of a western military presence of about 70,000 troops.
Extra troops are needed to reverse an intensifying Afghan insurgency, particularly in the South where commanders say Western troops are in a stalemate against the Taliban.
The need for extra troops is likely to grow with the approach of the spring fighting season in April and May. A combat brigade with no experience in Afghanistan would need up to three months of training before deployment, Pentagon officials said.
"There is a realization that some decisions have to be made before the strategic review is completed," Gates said. "If only because if he does decide to send at least an additional brigade combat team -- even just one -- the next one to go would need to be notified pretty quickly."
U.S. ability to build up its military presence in Afghanistan depends heavily on the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, where 146,000 U.S. troops remain on duty.
Gates said the Obama administration has not yet begun to review alternative plans for Iraq that officials say include 23-month, 19-month and 16-month timeline options for drawing down forces.
"I expect that review to take place fairly soon," Gates said. "The situation on the ground in Iraq allows us to make the next series of decisions with respect to Afghanistan with greater flexibility."
Gates declined to rule out increases beyond the 60,000-troop mark but warned that too large a Western military presence in Afghanistan could backfire on U.S. interests.
"There is no cap," he said. "I would be deeply skeptical about further troop deployments beyond that."
On Monday, Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he did not foresee the U.S. troop increase going beyond the extra forces requested by U.S. Army General David McKiernan, the NATO commander in Afghanistan.
"Time is moving on and so in terms of being able to respond to the needs that we have on the ground, I'm hopeful that we can get them there as soon as absolutely possible," Mullen said on Tuesday during a visit to Ottawa, Canada.
"Sooner the better," he added.
(Additional reporting by Andrew Gray in Ottawa; Editing by Bill Trott)
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Ex-CIA official to chair Afghanistan-Pakistan review
Tue Feb 10, 2:45 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama has named a former CIA official to chair a review of US policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan before a NATO summit in April, the White House said Tuesday.
Bruce Riedel, an expert who is now a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution, will lead the inter-agency review of policy for a turbulent region that Obama has called the "central front" against Al-Qaeda.
Two other heavyweights will co-chair the review: Richard Holbrooke, the special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, and Michele Flournoy, undersecretary of defense for policy.
The announcement was made by White House press secretary Robert Gibbs to reporters traveling with Obama to Fort Myers, Florida.
Holbrooke was in Islamabad on Tuesday meeting with Pakistani leaders who proposed a comprehensive policy review but also urged Washington to reconsider its use of missile attacks on suspected insurgents in tribal areas.
In his first White House press conference on Monday, Obama warned that the United States would not allow Al-Qaeda to operate "with impunity."
"My bottom line is that we cannot allow Al-Qaeda to operate, we cannot have safe havens in that region. And we're going to have to work both smartly and with consistency," Obama said.
The US military, meanwhile, has drawn up plans for the deployment of additional troops to Afghanistan but is awaiting the go ahead as the administration weighs its options.
Riedel, who will report to Obama and National Security Adviser Jim Jones, is supposed to complete the review before a NATO summit April 3-4 in Strasbourg, France and Khel, Germany.
That would position Obama to lay down the new US line in his first meeting as president with the allies.
They have been reluctant to respond to US calls for more allied troops and resources for Afghanistan, despite warnings by senior US officials of a long and difficult struggle against a resurgent Taliban.
"What is required in my view is new ideas, better coordination within the US government, better coordination with our NATO allies and other concerned countries, and the time to get it right," Holbrooke told allies Sunday at a security conference in Munich.
In tapping Riedel to chair the review, Obama turned to a veteran CIA officer with a wealth of experience in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
During a 29-year career in intelligence, Riedel served as an advisor to three presidents on Middle Eastern and South Asian affairs.
He was senior director for Near East affairs on the National Security Council from 1997 to 2002, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Near East and South Asian affairs from 1995 to 1997, and National Intelligence Officer for Near East and South Asian Affairs at the National Intelligence Council from 1993 to 1995.
Flournoy, the Pentagon's number three official, conducted major strategy reviews in previous stints at the Defense Department during Bill Clinton's administration.
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Obama team works to overhaul Afghanistan-Pakistan policy
The president is likely to decide on the details of a U.S. troop increase in Afghanistan in the coming days, Gates says.
By Julian E. Barnes Los Angeles Times February 11, 2009
Reporting from Washington -- The Obama administration plans to complete its overhaul of U.S. policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan by April, before a crucial NATO summit, the White House said Tuesday in announcing the new head of its review.
Before the reassessment is complete, President Obama is likely to decide on the details of a U.S. troop increase in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said.
"The president will have several options in front of him, and I think he will make those decisions probably in the course of the next few days," Gates said.
Stepping up its efforts in the region, the administration announced that Bruce Riedel, a former CIA official and harsh critic of former President Bush's handling of the conflict in Afghanistan, will chair the White House review.
Now a scholar at the Brookings Institution, Riedel will report to Obama and to retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones Jr., the national security advisor. The White House review is one of several underway in the administration.
Riedel's assignment is to bring together the various strategy proposals.
Riedel last month accused Bush of a "halfhearted effort" in Afghanistan, and he supports plans to send additional troops, warning that both Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan are in a perilous state.
He also has urged stepped-up road construction and economic development, a position that could be at odds with recent Pentagon thinking. Gates has urged more modest U.S. goals in Afghanistan.
Government officials outside the White House have expressed frustration with the Afghanistan policy planning, saying the administration's early efforts seemed disorganized.
Richard Holbrooke, special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, head of the Central Command, and Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have all worked on reviews. Riedel will guide the White House assessment, said an administration official, speaking about internal discussions on condition of anonymity.
"This is the review, it has a framework, it has a chair, it has a time frame," the administration official said. "It has wheels on it now."
Riedel will work with Holbrooke and Michele Flournoy, undersecretary of Defense for policy. Officials said the overhaul must be finished by April, when Obama attends a NATO summit in Europe commemorating the 60th anniversary of the alliance.
Obama offered a hint of his likely policy at a news conference Monday, saying a key goal would be eliminating havens in Afghanistan and Pakistan in which the Taliban and other extremist groups operate.
U.S. commanders have said they could send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan this year, nearly doubling the American contingent.
Gates has said that two brigades could be ready to go to Afghanistan by spring and a third by summer.
Riedel, in writings and interviews, has said southern Afghanistan is in chaos and the Taliban is encroaching on Kabul, the capital.
He has called Pakistan "the most dangerous country" in the world because it has nuclear weapons, allows havens for extremists and is a battleground for forces of "reactionary Islamic extremism."
Some military leaders have suggested talks with moderate Taliban groups, but Riedel has been skeptical about efforts at political compromise.
"Until you break that sense of confidence and momentum, I don't think you are going to see any serious willingness on the part of the Taliban to want to negotiate," Riedel, a National Security Council official during the Clinton administration, said in a recent interview with the Council on Foreign Relations.
But Riedel's colleagues at Brookings said he was unlikely to ruffle feathers as he tries to bring the various strategy proposals together.
"He is not an at-odds guy. He is not a combative person," said Melissa Skolfield, vice president of communications at Brookings. "He is by nature a fact-finding, conciliatory expert."
julian.barnes@latimes.com
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Q+A - What can Obama do about Afghanistan and Pakistan?
Reuters via Yahoo! UK & Ireland News - Feb 11 2:28 AM
President Barack Obama's point man, Richard Holbrooke, is seeing up close the scale and complexity of his task to overhaul U.S. policies in Afghanistan and Pakistan as he tours the region. Holbrooke, in Pakistan until Thursday before going to Afghanistan and India, is expected to redefine objectives and present a new strategy at a NATO summit on April 2. Skip related content
The emphasis Obama has placed on pacifying Afghanistan and liquidating the al Qaeda threat in Pakistan has moved the region to centre stage among U.S. foreign policy challenges.
WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS IN AFGHANISTAN?
The Taliban insurgency has gained strength and levels of violence have shot up more than seven years after U.S.-backed forces vanquished the Islamist militia.
The best business to be in is drug-running. The country could become a narco-state. Governance is poor, corruption is rife, and five years after his election, President Hamid Karzai has been unable to show his people substantive improvement in their lives.
It's not just his fault. The West has poured billions of dollars into Afghanistan, and it does not all pass through the Afghan government.
Yet, with a presidential election due in August, the Obama administration is looking critically at Karzai, and has to decide whether to extend support further. There is speculation that it may be weighing alternatives to Karzai.
Obama is boosting the number of troops in Afghanistan, and the so-called surge is expected to result in a virtual doubling over the next 18 months to more than 60,000.
The United States faces problems getting NATO partners to pledge more troops to a war that to many seems unwinnable.
U.S. policymakers know there is no military solution to Afghanistan, there has to be better work on socio-economic development, and ultimately there will have to be some kind of reconciliation with the Taliban. The difficulty is finding the Taliban moderates who have enough influence to count.
AND PAKISTAN?
Pakistan's help is needed militarily and logistically to support the West's mission in Afghanistan, and its help in intelligence is crucial to eradicating al Qaeda.
But its government is weak, its economy is living from one IMF loan disbursement to the next, and its powerful military believes Pakistan's own security concerns have been ill-served by following a U.S. agenda since 2001.
Not only has Islamist militancy spread across the northwest, but rival India has regained influence in Kabul, raising the spectre of encirclement in the Pakistani military mind.
There are strong suspicions among allies and rivals that Pakistani intelligence has covertly maintained support for the Afghan Taliban and militant groups that, though focussed on fighting India, are sympathetic to the global jihadi cause.
Add to that almost nationwide distaste for the alliance with the United States, made worse by reports of civilian casualties whenever U.S. missile attacks are launched on militant targets in Pakistani tribal areas.
Longer term, there are fears for the stability of Pakistan, a nuclear weapons state, a hiding place for al Qaeda and recruiting ground for global jihadi causes.
The United States realises the dangers. A bill promises $15 billion (10 billion pounds) over five years for Pakistan and a further $7.5 billion over the subsequent fives years, with a focus on development rather than military support.
But Pakistan's military wants more equipment, particularly helicopters, for counter-insurgency warfare, and it wants the United States to pay heed to Pakistan's security concerns regarding India and Afghanistan.
WHY INVOLVE INDIA?
India might be asking the same question. But it is the biggest regional power.
Some analysts that the Obama team has listened to have advocated trying to persuade India to reach a settlement with Pakistan over Kashmir.
They say this would remove one cause of militancy in the region, and secondly allow Pakistan to focus in fighting al Qaeda and the Taliban on its western border without fear of insecurity on its eastern border.
India has always resisted outside meddling in what it sees as an internal matter and a bilateral dispute. It has no confidence that a settlement in Kashmir would stop Pakistani-based jihadis attacking Indian cities.
Officials suspect Pakistani intelligence agents had ties with the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group it blames for carrying out the attack on Mumbai that resulted in the slaughter of 179 people.
Pakistan should show good faith by bringing those involved to justice before expecting India to revive a five-year-old peace process on "pause" after the attack on Mumbai, Indian officials say.
Holbrooke is likely to be told not to link Kashmir with Afghanistan as India has its own security concerns, analysts say.
(Editing by Alex Richardson)
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Russia Offers US More Help On Afghanistan But Demands Respect
MOSCOW (AFP)--Russia is ready to give more help supplying Western operations in Afghanistan but only on the basis of full respect from North Atlantic Treaty Organization members, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.
Lavrov reiterated that Moscow had already given the U.S. a "positive answer," enabling non-military supplies to transit through Russia to Afghanistan.
"Additional steps are also possible. In April-May last year, we discussed with NATO colleagues agreement on using Russian military aviation for sending supplies for the International Security Assistance Force," in Afghanistan, said Lavrov.
"Other agreements could also be possible. What's important is that relations between Russia and NATO return to a normal course," he said, referring to Western condemnation of last year's Russian military thrust into Georgia.
"Relations need to be repaired and we're ready for that, but normalizing them is possible only by returning to the source, to the principles" of the founding documents of the NATO-Russia Council, a consultative body, he said.
"There it's written very clearly that we participate in the Russia-NATO Council on a national basis and not on a 26-versus one basis or 26 plus one, but as 27 members, and that we respect the principles of the indivisibility of security - that the security of one cannot be secured at the expense of another, " he said.
The U.S. has been seeking new supply routes through the former Soviet Union as it steps up operations in Afghanistan in the face of a deteriorating security situation in its other main conduit through Pakistan.
Both Russia and the U.S. have declared willingness to improve their ties following the election of U.S. President Barack Obama.
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Assault uncovers Taliban weapons
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- British Royal Marines uncovered a major stockpile of weapons during a recent raid on a suspected Taliban compound in Afghanistan's volatile Kandahar province.
The British 42 Commando Group conducted a raid targeting the Taliban compound, along with troops from Afghanistan, Canada and the United States. Officials say the Marines flew in on Chinook helicopters and attacked the facility located in the Zhari-Panjwayi district of Kandahar province, the British Ministry of Defense said.
During the rapid helicopter assault troops uncovered a weapons cache that contained AK-47 automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, anti-personnel mines and material to construct improvised explosive devices, among other lethal threats. Despite a growing Taliban insurgency, officials say International Security Assistance Forces are having an impact on the region.
"This was a deliberately bold and targeted operation, aimed at degrading the insurgent's capability in the area," Maj. Neil Willson, 42 Commando Group chief of staff, said in a statement.
"As ever, the speed and agility of the air maneuver and the thoroughness of the Marines' searching techniques proved a robust recipe for success. We dictate the pace of operations in this area, and the insurgent knows this."
Officials say the weapons uncovered were destroyed.
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Strengthening Afghan forces a priority: Dutch PM
Tue Feb 10, 2:12 pm ET
KABUL (AFP) – Strengthening the Afghan army and police is a priority for The Netherlands, Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said Tuesday after talks with President Hamid Karzai.
The Netherlands is an important contributor to a 55,000-strong NATO-led military force that is here to help the government defeat a Taliban-led insurgency and bring stability and reconstruction to the war-shattered country.
Balkenende and Karzai told reporters they had discussed several issues facing Afghanistan in talks on the second day of the Dutch leader's unannounced visit to the country, where his government has sent about 1,650 troops.
This included the need for a regional approach to solving Afghanistan's problems, such as the presence of foreign militants on Afghan soil, the drugs trade and government corruption, Balkenende said.
"Building up the Afghan police and the army is one of the main priorities of our citizens," he said.
There is a renewed focus this year on boosting the Afghan security forces so they can take on insurgents, with many European nations reluctant to commit more troops even as the United States is set to double its contribution.
Karzai thanked Balkenende for his country's help and lives "sacrificed" for the Afghan cause.
"The Netherlands and the people of the Netherlands have been helping Afghanistan for the last eight years very selflessly and with a very immense dedication," he said.
"They have not only given the precious taxpayers' money of The Netherlands to Afghanistan ... but The Netherlands has already sacrificed the lives of its precious sons and daughters in Afghanistan."
Balkenende said that 18 Dutch soldiers had been killed in the country.
More than 1,000 foreign troops, most of them Western, have lost their lives in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion in late 2001 that drove the Taliban regime from power.
Many of the Dutch troops are deployed in insurgent hotspots in the south, notably Uruzgan province. They are due to end their mission in 2010.
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Afghan, US ties strong: Karzai
Tue Feb 10, 2:13 pm ET
KABUL, Feb 10, 2009 (AFP) – Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday that relations between Kabul and Washington were strong but admitted there was some "light wrestling" between them, especially over civilian casualties.
Karzai, facing re-election this year as criticism of his administration mounts, last week pointed to "serious tensions" with his US allies over the number of civilians being killed in military operations against insurgents.
Asked about this at a press conference, Karzai said: "The fundamentals of our relations are strong, the partnership is strong and it will continue as a strong partnership towards the future."
"The only issue is our concerns on civilian casualties and on the arrests of Afghans and searches of homes (by foreign troops)," he said.
Karzai has in recent months stepped up demands that international troops here to fight Taliban and other militants avoid attacks on Afghan villages, which often cause civilian casualties, and intrusive home searches.
He has long urged the United States, which maintains the main foreign military presence in Afghanistan, to focus its "war on terror" on militant sanctuaries across the border in Pakistan.
"Light wrestling has started between us," Karzai joked, adding though that the issues would be settled and "we will continue our journey with them."
Karzai was elected in Afghanistan's first ever presidential election in 2004 with US backing but this support appears to have cooled.
US President Barack Obama, who has vowed a new focus on Afghanistan this year, said Monday that Kabul's "national government seems very detached from what's going on in the surrounding community."
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French officer, Afghan translator killed in ambush
11 Feb 2009 13:34:21 GMT By Sophie Hardach
PARIS, Feb 11 (Reuters) - A French officer and an Afghan interpreter were killed in an ambush south of Kabul on Wednesday, an army official said, in a reminder of the risks facing the NATO mission amid a debate over troop reinforcements.
Another French soldier was seriously wounded in the double ambush, in which French and Afghan soldiers were hit by a mine explosion and were then attacked by insurgents, armed forces spokesman Christophe Prazuck said.
The incident brings France's death toll in Afghanistan to 26. More than 1,000 foreign soldiers have died since the beginning of the conflict in 2001.
President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his condolences and reiterated his support for the mission.
"(The president) condemned this blind violence and expressed France's determination to continue to work for the restoration of peace in Afghanistan," his office said in the statement.
U.S. President Barack Obama is likely to ask his European NATO partners to increase troop levels and help the United States fight a growing Taliban insurgency, but politicians here are wary of angering voters.
France's last major loss in Afghanistan, an ambush last August in which 10 soldiers died, unleashed a storm of protests and raised questions about its role in the unpopular war.
The French unit was on patrol together with Afghan soldiers in Logar province, south of Kabul, Prazuck said. He could not give any details about the attackers.
France has 2,800 troops in Afghanistan, making one of the top contributors to foreign forces fighting the Taliban, after the United States, Britain and Germany.
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Afghan recovery report: Northerners leaving in droves
Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) 10 Feb 2009
Thousands flee poverty, unemployment and drought – with many heading for Iran.
By Shah Reza Munshizada in Maimana (ARR No. 312, 10-Feb-09)
It is early morning in the Maimana city bus station, and crowds of young men are waiting to board buses that will take them far away.
Yuldash Mohammad, 27, stows his bags under the seat of a bus leaving for Balkh province, but his ultimate destination is Iran.
"I am a farmer," he told IWPR. "I sold my bull and my farming equipment, and I am going to Iran. There I hope to find work and make money to send to my family."
His farm, he said, was all but barren due to the recent drought.
"What else can I do?" he sighed. "My children are hungry. We cannot find any work here, so I have to leave so that my family can survive."
Ezatullah, who runs the bus station, told IWPR that his business has boomed. "Everyday, seven to eight buses, each with 50 passengers, leave for Balkh province," he said. "Most of these people are going on to Iran."
Afghanistan has seen wave after wave of its citizens leave over the decades, fleeing the successive wars and conflicts in the country. Many had returned following the fall of the Taleban, but now economic and climatic conditions are forcing them to depart again.
There are currently about one million Afghan refugees in Iran and two million in Pakistan. Both countries are encouraging the Afghans to return home; Iran, especially, has undertaken harsh measures in recent years to force the refugees to leave.
But the buses continue to roll out of Maimana, the capital of Faryab.
Faryab is a remote province situated in northern Afghanistan, where agriculture is the main source of income. Farmers rely on natural sources – rain and snow – to water their lands. There are no irrigation canals or other artificial means of getting water to their crops.
A severe drought which has plagued the north this past year has driven many farmers to ruin. The government, although concerned by the exodus, lacks the resources to help.
"Poverty, high prices and drought are driving the young people away, but we cannot help them," said Mohammad Osman Murid, head of Faryab's department of refugees and returnees. "People, especially young people, are leaving for Iran in groups."
According to Osman, more than 16,000 young men have departed in the past year. The statistics, he added, might be misleading: the actual number was likely to be far higher, as it's hard to keep check on the migration.
Local officials say that this year's exodus is unprecedented and extremely worrying.
Provincial Governor Abdul Haq Shafaq traces the problem to the drought, and the resulting hunger among Faryab's inhabitants, nearly 65,000 of whom are suffering real deprivation due to the lack of rainfall.
"The government has distributed 9,700 tonnes of wheat to those affected by the drought," he said. "In addition, the Red Cross, Norway and the European Union have also provided assistance to these people. But still, not even 20 per cent of (the drought-stricken) have been covered."
Humaira, 50, supports nine members of her family in Maimana. Since the drought, she cannot feed them adequately, and has to beg bread from her neighbours.
"I have sent two of my young sons and my son-in-law to Iran to work and send us money so that we can feed ourselves and the children," she said. "I have not heard from them yet nor has the government provided any assistance to us."
The governor said that he lacks the resources to help everyone.
"More than two million people live in this province," he said. "Helping all of those affected would require more resources."
The international community and the central government should intervene to avert a humanitarian crisis, he insisted.
The problem is spreading to neighboring provinces. Officials in Samangan province announced in December that they were facing famine in their area.
Economic analysts blame the government for a failure of vision.
"A lack of a proper economic strategy by the government over the past seven years has caused the unemployment crisis," said Abdul Wahed Wahidi, deputy head of the economics faculty at Balkh University.
But Aziza, the head of Faryab's department of labour and social affairs, disagrees.
"The governor has done his utmost to create job opportunities," she told IWPR. "But there are many more people looking for work than we had planned."
According to Aziza, the department has found work for 3,459 people so far and has given vocational trainings to 1,082 others.
"The government does not have the resources to do more," she said. "Civil society and private organisations should employ these people so that they do not leave the country."
Sayed Zainuddin Abidi, a professor of higher education in Faryab province and a social affairs analyst, is very concerned about the loss of the younger generation.
"The migration of young Afghans has negative economic, social and political impact on the country," he said.
Sayed Alauddin, a young man who was recently expelled from Iran, blames the government of President Hamed Karzai for his misfortune.
"If there were jobs and factories in our country, why would we leave go to Iran?" he asked. "Afghans are punished, first by God, who has sent this drought, then by the warlords in Karzai's government, who have built themselves luxury palaces. They never care about the poor people of Afghanistan."
Shah Reza Munshizada is a journalist from Maimana.
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Afghanistan: Irrigation efficiency - drip by drip
KABUL, 10 February 2009 (IRIN) - A simple water-saving system will be made available at low cost to Afghan farmers in the near future to help them efficiently irrigate farmland and boost yields.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has allocated US$1.5 to introduce the system in Afghanistan.
"Hydroflumes save all of the water that normally transits through secondary earth canals where up to 30 percent is lost through seepage and line theft," Loren Staddard, director of USAID's alternative development and agriculture project in Kabul, told IRIN.
The system is designed to increase domestic crop production through the efficient distribution of water to crops alone - not weeds and wasteland, and can be hooked up to canals or deep wells.
Afghanistan has lost much of its irrigation infrastructure in armed conflicts over the past three decades. Recurrent natural disasters, mostly drought, have also caused extensive damage to agriculture, the prime source of income for most Afghans.
"Scarcity of water is our biggest problem," said Amanullah, a farmer in southern Kandahar Province.
The country lost 80 percent of its rain-fed agriculture because of a severe drought in 2008 and many farming households were pushed into acute food insecurity as a result.
What is a hydroflume?
It is a collapsible plastic tube - available in different sizes - with holes at set intervals to feed water to furrows.
It prevents water loss, directly irrigates targeted crops and avoids watering non-fertile soil.
The flume - sometimes called a drip irrigation system - is also easy to use. It can be rolled out at the end of the field, perpendicular to the furrows and can be rolled up again like a giant fire hose and kept for future use.
It is not clear where USAID intends to source the hydroflumes, but information on how they work and pictures can be accessed via the website of an Iranian manufacturer/distributor. http://www.alibaba.com/member/xakhari.html (Picture http://www.alibaba.com/productshowimg/xakhari-12040474-11208734/Hydroflume.html)
"It requires a turnout box for the canal water to flow into, largely to provide a place to mount to a pipe fitting to connect the fluming [collapsible plastic tube] to the water source canal," Staddard said.
Can farmers afford it?
USAID has currently set up different kinds of hydroflume for demonstration and training purposes at the Agriculture Ministry's Badam Bagh research centre in Kabul.
Prices per metre of the system vary from US$1-5 depending on the size and strength of the flume.
"USAID will invest about $1.5 million in this technology, helping to make it commercially and sustainably available for the small, medium and large farmers of Afghanistan," Staddard said.
Officials at the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) said the technology could improve productivity, but how rural farming communities access and use it will be a challenge.
"Most of our farmers are illiterate and uneasy about using new technology," Pir Mohammad Aziz, deputy irrigation minister of the MAIL, told IRIN.
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