 |
||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serving you since 1998 | ||||||||||||
|
|
Kazakhstan helps out US on Afghanistan
by Dana Rysmukhamedova
ASTANA (AFP) – Kazakhstan on Monday became the latest nation to offer its territory for the transit of supplies to coalition troops in Afghanistan, following Kyrgyzstan's shock decision to shut a key US airbase.
British ambassador to Afghanistan given new role
By GREGORY KATZ, Associated Press Writer
LONDON – Britain's controversial ambassador to Afghanistan, Sherard Cowper-Coles, was named Monday as Britain's special envoy to that country and Pakistan.
US Clinton:Pushed For Special Envoy For Pakistan, Afghanistan
WASHINGTON (AFP)--Secretary of State Hillary Clinton opted for a special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan after having witnessed the bad blood between the countries' leaders, she said in an interview released Monday.
Poll: US, allies, Kabul government losing ground
By Barry Schweid, Ap Diplomatic Writer – Mon Feb 9, 7:37 am ET
WASHINGTON – Support for the Kabul government and the United States and European troops trying to bolster it against insurgents is plummeting among the Afghan people, a new poll reports.
U.S. envoy in Pakistan on quest for Afghan stability
By Robert Birsel
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – U.S. envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke arrived in Islamabad on Monday on his first visit to the region to draw up a strategy to stabilize Afghanistan and eradicate Islamist militancy.
US general pushes France for help in Afghanistan
The Associated Press Monday, February 9, 2009
PARIS: Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, was meeting senior French officials Monday amid signs that France is reluctant to commit more troops to Afghanistan and wants a political solution to achieve stability.
UN appreciates fixing date for holding Afghan presidential polls
People's Daily - Feb 09 6:35 AM
Alain Le Roy, the United Nations under Secretary General for Peace Keeping Operations, on Monday expressed his support to postponing Afghan presidential elections and fixing the date for the polls.
Afghan king's shrine neglected as city modernizes
By Hamid Shalizi – Mon Feb 9, 8:26 am ET
JALALABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) – Jalalabad in east Afghanistan has new asphalt roads, traffic lights and a public park, but some residents say it is at the expense of historical treasures such as the tomb of an Afghan king and national hero.
Taliban kill Afghan 'spy': local official
Mon Feb 9, 1:40 am ET
MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (AFP) – Taliban militants shot dead an abducted Afghan in Pakistan's lawless northwest tribal region, accusing him of spying for the United States, an official said Monday.
Afghan leader praises better ties with Pakistan
By George Jahn And David Rising, Associated Press Writers – Sun Feb 8, 9:00 am ET
MUNICH – Afghan President Hamid Karzai called cross-border terrorism one of the greatest threats confronting his country and said improved ties with Pakistan were helping to combat the problem.
Europe listens cautiously to Obama agenda
Biden opens a door on Iran, but presses allies on Afghanistan.
The Christian Science Monitor By Robert Marquand February 9, 2009 edition
MUNICH, GErmany - Stressing partnership and cooperation, Vice President Joe Biden opened a new chapter in American foreign affairs at a major conference of allies in Germany, offering talks with Iran and a bid to "reboot" troubled Russian relations.
Afghan bride confronts missing major
By Moska Najib BBC News, Delhi
Early morning prayers at Hazrat Nizammudin, a sufi shrine in the Indian capital, Delhi.
Polish FM vows to hunt down Taliban killers of hostage
WARSAW (AFP) – Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski on Monday denounced the execution of a Polish hostage by the Pakistani Taliban and vowed to hunt down his killers.
Back to Top
Kazakhstan helps out US on Afghanistan
by Dana Rysmukhamedova
ASTANA (AFP) – Kazakhstan on Monday became the latest nation to offer its territory for the transit of supplies to coalition troops in Afghanistan, following Kyrgyzstan's shock decision to shut a key US airbase.
"Kazakhstan has given its consent to the transit of cargo by land for the logistical material for the US contingent in Afghanistan," Kazakh foreign ministry spokesman Yerzhan Ashikbayev told reporters.
"We will work out the technical and commercial parameters with the US side separately," Ashikbayev said.
"We are only talking about non-military materials," he emphasized.
The announcement from Kazakhstan comes days after Kyrgyzstan's government ordered the closure of a US airbase that serves as a vital supply route for US and NATO troops in Afghanistan.
The administration of US President Barack Obama has made Afghanistan a top priority and has pressed hard to secure overland transit agreements from Russia and Central Asian nations amid security problems on the Pakistan route.
But Bishkek's announcement of the base's closure marked a major setback for the United States and NATO. Top officials, including new US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have voiced deep regret over its plan.
However, besides Kazakhstan, other states have now lined up to offer their support to the Western military alliance.
Tajikistan also said last week it was ready to allow US and NATO supplies for Afghanistan, including construction materials, medicines, fuel and water, to transit its soil by road.
Even Russia -- deeply suspicious of US presence on former Soviet territory -- has said it will agree to a US request to allow the transit of supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan once Washington details what goods require transit.
A Kyrgyz parliamentary committee on Monday moved a step closer to endorsing the government plan to close the US air base, officials said.
The parliamentary committee for security and defence voted unanimously to shut down the base and will now pass the matter on to a full parliamentary vote to take place on Thursday.
"This committee supports the government's offer to cancel the agreements with the United States regarding the presence of troops at the airbase at Manas," said the committee's spokeswoman Leila Sydykova.
The US military base at Manas, Kyrgyzstan -- used by coalition forces to support tens of thousands of troops in neighbouring Afghanistan -- is considered vital to the ongoing fight there.
Operated by about 1,000 troops, the Manas base was established to support coalition forces fighting to oust the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.
The closure was announced last week, after the Kremlin announced 330 million dollars (255 million euros) in aid and debt relief as well as a loan worth two billion dollars for the impoverished central Asian state.
Kyrgyzstan has denied the decision to close the base was connected to the loans from Moscow.
Back to Top
Back to Top
British ambassador to Afghanistan given new role
By GREGORY KATZ, Associated Press Writer
LONDON – Britain's controversial ambassador to Afghanistan, Sherard Cowper-Coles, was named Monday as Britain's special envoy to that country and Pakistan.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman, Michael Ellam, said Cowper-Coles would work in tandem with Richard Holbrooke, the new U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan named by President Barack Obama, who wants to substantially increase the U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan to combat the resurgent Taliban. Holbrooke also helped broker the Dayton peace agreement that ended the war in Bosnia.
Cowper-Coles and Holbrooke will work "to build consensus and support for the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan," a spokeswoman for Britain's Foreign Office said on condition of anonymity in line with department policy.
"Holbrooke's appointment is a welcome signal of the new importance the U.S. attaches to the regional dimension," the spokeswoman said.
Both the U.S. and the U.K. have decided to use special envoys to address complex problems that involve both Afghanistan and Pakistan, including the tribal areas inside Pakistan that are used as a haven by Islamic extremists.
The Foreign Office spokeswoman denied that Cowper-Coles had been removed from his ambassadorial post. The French Le Canard Enchaine published last fall what it said was a leaked diplomatic cable saying Cowper-Coles believed the military campaign in Afghanistan was doomed to failure.
"He's not being sacked, and he has an excellent relationship with the Afghan government," the spokeswoman said.
The newspaper quoted Cowper-Coles as saying "the American strategy is destined to fail" in Afghanistan and the presence of foreign troops was "part of the problem, not the solution."
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Monday that the Taliban's use of terrorist tactics has created a "strategic stalemate" in parts of Afghanistan.
He acknowledged the Taliban had been effective in "spreading insecurity" in some areas of the country and called for the Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai to crack down on corruption.
______
Associated Press Writers David Stringer in London and Jason Straziuso in Kabul contributed to this report
Back to Top
Back to Top
US Clinton:Pushed For Special Envoy For Pakistan, Afghanistan
WASHINGTON (AFP)--Secretary of State Hillary Clinton opted for a special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan after having witnessed the bad blood between the countries' leaders, she said in an interview released Monday.
In the interview with The New York Times, Clinton added she knew immediately that Richard Holbrooke, the architect of the 1995 Bonsia peace pact, was right for the job when President Barack Obama approached her to be the chief U.S. diplomat.
In 2007, on a visit to Afghanistan and Pakistan as a senator, Clinton said she and fellow legislators saw the tension between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pervez Musharraf, who was Pakistan's president at the time.
"And it was clear to me that there was a great deal of animosity that could lead to problems between them, and with us as well, in what we were attempting to do," Clinton said in the interview released by the State Department.
"I had a long conversation with both President Karzai and President Musharraf, where each complained at length about the other, and it raised alarm bells in my mind," Clinton recalled.
Among the challenges facing U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan are Islamist militants who launch attacks into Afghanistan from across the border in Pakistan.
Clinton said that upon returning to Washington she urged the White House to consider appointing an envoy to "interact with the leaders in the two countries, " but the idea was never taken up.
When Obama approached her to become secretary of state after he won the presidential election in November, Clinton said she recommended the idea of the special envoy and for Holbrooke to fill the position.
"Richard represents the kind of robust, persistent, determined diplomacy that the president intends to pursue, and that I'm honored to help him fulfill," Clinton said.
She said she admired deeply Holbrooke's "ability to shoulder the most vexing and difficult challenges" while he served in the administration of her husband, president Bill Clinton.
"And he does bring relentless focus and energy. He can wear you out, but it is necessary to keep everybody, you know, on point about what we're trying to achieve," she said.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Poll: US, allies, Kabul government losing ground
By Barry Schweid, Ap Diplomatic Writer – Mon Feb 9, 7:37 am ET
WASHINGTON – Support for the Kabul government and the United States and European troops trying to bolster it against insurgents is plummeting among the Afghan people, a new poll reports.
The decline is striking particularly in the last year, the poll shows, even as the Obama administration and NATO allies weigh moves to strengthen forces in the struggle with Taliban and other radical groups.
President Barack Obama has assigned high priority to the conflict and the administration is weighing whether to send another 30,000 U.S. troops there, almost doubling the 32,000 present.
His election, however, does not appear to hold much promise among the Afghan people: Two in 10 think he will make things better for the Afghan people and nearly as many think he will make things worse. The rest either expect no change or are waiting to see.
The poll, conducted by ABC News, the BBC and ARD German TV found, for instance, that the number of Afghans who say their country is headed in the right direction has dropped from 77 percent in 1995 to 40 percent now. That new and lower level is the first time less than half the Afghans polled were found to approve.
On top of that decline, while 83 percent of Afghans expressed a favorable opinion of the United States in 2005, just 47 percent feel that way now.
There was an 18 percent drop this year alone, according to polling results.
Other negative findings include:
• While 68 percent of Afghans polled in 2005 credited the United States with a good performance, the new approval figure is just 32 percent, a drop of more than half.
• NATO, which is allied with the United States, has the support of only 37 percent of Afghans, the poll showed.
• As for the central government in Kabul, while 83 percent of Afghans approved of President Hamid Karzai and 80 percent of the government in 2005, when the polling began, that support has slid to 52 per cent for Karzai and 49 percent for the government.
• There is strong complaint about U.S. and NATO air strikes, with 79 percent of Afghans saying they are unacceptable, that the risk to civilians outweighs the value in fighting insurgents.
The poll was based on in-person interviews with a random national sample of 1,534 Afghan adults from Dec. 30, 2008 to Jan. 12, 2009. Field work was done by the Afghan Center for Socio-Economic and Opinion Research in Kabul. The interviews were conducted by 176 interviewers in 34 supervised teams and the results have a 2.5-point error margin.
Back to Top
Back to Top
U.S. envoy in Pakistan on quest for Afghan stability
By Robert Birsel
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – U.S. envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke arrived in Islamabad on Monday on his first visit to the region to draw up a strategy to stabilize Afghanistan and eradicate Islamist militancy.
More than seven years after a U.S.-led invasion ousted the ruling Taliban, peace in Afghanistan appears as elusive as ever and al Qaeda militants based on the Afghan-Pakistan border still pose a grave danger to the United States and its allies.
Holbrooke, a former ambassador to the United Nations who negotiated the 1995 peace agreement that ended the Bosnian war, is due to meet Pakistani leaders on Tuesday.
He will later visit Afghanistan and India.
"We hope that our discussions would give him the perspective which we have, from Islamabad, on issues facing Afghanistan, Pakistan and our region as a whole," said Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit.
Inexperienced in South Asia, the veteran diplomat with a reputation as a tough negotiator is arriving in the region at a time of flux.
Elections are due in India by early May, and in Afghanistan in August, while relations between Islamabad and New Delhi are tense following an attack by Pakistani militants on the Indian city of Mumbai two months ago that killed 179 people.
With Afghanistan in the grip of the worst violence since the Taliban was toppled from power in late 2001, the U.S. military has drawn up plans that would almost double the number of U.S. troops there to about 60,000.
But Vice President Joe Biden told a security summit in Munich on Saturday that "no strategy ... can succeed without Pakistan." Holbrooke told the same conference that bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan would be much tougher than in Iraq.
BORDER SANCTUARIES
Persuading Pakistan to do more to eliminate militant sanctuaries in its fiercely independent ethnic Pashtun tribal lands bordering Afghanistan will be crucial.
The Pakistani military has suffered heavy casualties fighting a guerrilla war in those areas over the past few years, and insecurity has increased. Militancy has spread across the northwest and bombs in cities have become common.
Regardless of the internal threat, there are lingering doubts, particularly in Afghanistan, India and among Western critics, about Pakistan's commitment to fighting the Taliban.
Pakistan had backed the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in the mid-1990s and only abandoned support for the militia under U.S. pressure in 2001. Some analysts believe the Pakistani military still regards the Taliban as long-term "assets."
Pakistan is deeply suspicious of growing Indian influence in Afghanistan and fears encirclement.
Some analysts have argued that ending decades of hostility between India and Pakistan by resolving their core dispute over the Kashmir region would allow Pakistan to turn its full attention to the militants on the Afghan border.
But India is dead set against any outside interference in Muslim-majority Kashmir, where Muslim militants have been battling Indian forces since 1989 with Pakistani help.
Holbrooke's mandate was carefully drawn to avoid any suggestion that he would mediate between the nuclear-armed neighbors, who have fought two of their three wars since independence in 1947 over Kashmir.
Nevertheless, Pakistan will argue that Kashmir is key.
"The Kashmir dispute has to be resolved fairly and peacefully," said Basit. "Unless it is resolved, you can't really have viable stability in South Asia."
Britain on Monday appointed its ambassador to Afghanistan, Sherard Cowper-Coles, as a special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, following the U.S. approach in dealing with the two countries.
(Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Back to Top
Back to Top
US general pushes France for help in Afghanistan
The Associated Press Monday, February 9, 2009
PARIS: Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, was meeting senior French officials Monday amid signs that France is reluctant to commit more troops to Afghanistan and wants a political solution to achieve stability.
Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told Petraeus that France's priority was to pursue both military and civilian policy to achieve stability in Afghanistan.
Petraeus was to meet later Monday with French Defense Minister Herve Morin, who has signaled that more French troops will not be forthcoming at a time when the United States is seeking reinforcements from other countries.
Morin said in various radio and newspaper interviews since Sunday that France already had made a considerable effort toward stability in Afghanistan and would not add more troops to the 3,300 French soldiers already there.
President Barack Obama and the head of NATO have urged European allies to send reinforcements to Afghanistan. The United States is expected to deploy up to 30,000 more American troops there this year, doubling the number already there.
Morin, in an interview published with the Le Monde daily Monday, was quoted as saying the country needs more than just troops.
"Concerning this country, the response cannot only be military. A global approach consisting of improving governments and finding institutions that fit the country are required," Morin said.
Back to Top
Back to Top
UN appreciates fixing date for holding Afghan presidential polls
People's Daily - Feb 09 6:35 AM
Alain Le Roy, the United Nations under Secretary General for Peace Keeping Operations, on Monday expressed his support to postponing Afghan presidential elections and fixing the date for the polls.
"We appreciate that date has been fixed by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)," he told journalists at a press conference here.
The UN official described the upcoming election as "very important" for the war-torn nation and added that "could bring more stability to the country."
In the meantime, the UN dignitary termed security as a challenge in 2009 and calling on all sides including military and political forces to work together to strengthen stability in this militancy-plagued country.
IEC earlier this month postponed holding the Presidential and Provincial Councils' polls and set Aug. 20 for the elections.
This is the second presidential election since the fall of Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon during his visit to Afghanistan days ago also admitted the security challenges and stressed that the peace issue in Afghanistan would remain key priority for the UN in 2009.
Source:Xinhua
Back to Top
Back to Top
Afghan king's shrine neglected as city modernizes
By Hamid Shalizi – Mon Feb 9, 8:26 am ET
JALALABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) – Jalalabad in east Afghanistan has new asphalt roads, traffic lights and a public park, but some residents say it is at the expense of historical treasures such as the tomb of an Afghan king and national hero.
The shrine of Amanullah Khan, one of Afghanistan's last monarchs and credited with liberating the country from British involvement in 1919, is in a large marble plaza, covered by a dome roof held up by blue columns in the heart of Jalalabad.
But his memorial has not been afforded the usual dignity expected of a revered king, as it is used as a trading spot for the city's firewood sellers and pakora makers, while others defecate on the footpath a few feet away.
"I think the garden shrine should look better as an entertainment site but we can't do the additional work ... it will lose its authenticity," Awrang Sameem, head of the cultural department of Nangarhar province, told Reuters.
Amanullah died in exile in Switzerland in 1960 after abdicating in 1929. He is buried at the shrine, alongside his wife, Soraya Tarzi, and his father whom he helped assassinate.
Amanullah is often described by Afghans as a modernizer inspired by his wife to improve women's rights in a deeply conservative society, but traditional Afghans who viewed his reforms as too Western rebelled against him.
"I agree the site should look greener and Afghan people have a great responsibility to respect their hero," Sameem said.
Some passersby outside the Bagh-e Amir Shaheed, which means garden of the martyred emir or king, had little knowledge of Amanullah.
"I don't know anything about Amanullah Khan or his family," said Sayed Jan, a young boy from neighboring Kunar province, adding with a laugh that he had just come to use the garden as a toilet.
The older generation who remember Amanullah seem to have more knowledge of the man and bemoan the shrine's run-down state.
"He was one of the biggest and most respected figures in Afghan history who had a great role in Afghanistan's independence ... but the government has not paid attention to make his graveyard a historical site," said an elderly man who was reading Amanullah's epitaph.
Almost three decades of war in Afghanistan have led to the neglect or destruction of many cultural and historical sites.
The capital city Kabul is dotted with palaces and dilapidated historical buildings derelict from war and neglect.
The Taliban did not have a policy of restoring heritage sites, and destroyed those deemed un-Islamic, such as two Fifth Century sandstone Buddhas in north Afghanistan demolished in 2001.
"Amanullah Khan brought us independence but we are still victimized by the hands of foreign troops. His struggle to bring victory has gone wasted," a nearby shopkeeper said.
Nearly 70,000 troops from 41 nations are currently engaged in fierce fighting to counter a growing Taliban insurgency.
For some, the most important thing for Jalalabad is security and peace, not the ornate memorial of a long-gone leader.
"Cultural sites are the second or third priority for the government, we need security jobs and secure lives," a government employee Shereen Khan said.
(Editing by Golnar Motevalli and Jerry Norton)
Back to Top
Back to Top
Taliban kill Afghan 'spy': local official
Mon Feb 9, 1:40 am ET
MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (AFP) – Taliban militants shot dead an abducted Afghan in Pakistan's lawless northwest tribal region, accusing him of spying for the United States, an official said Monday.
The bullet-riddled body of 30-year-old Islam-ud-din was found dumped by the road in the Sheratalla area, 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Miranshah, the main town in the troubled North Waziristan region, near the Afghan border.
"Islam, who was kidnapped two weeks ago, had multiple bullet wounds on his body," local police official Mehboob Khan told AFP.
A note found on the body said he was "spying for the US," the official said.
Islamist militants weekly kidnap and kill tribesmen, accusing them of spying for the Pakistani government or for US forces, who are battling to quell a Taliban-led insurgency across the border in Afghanistan.
Pakistan's rugged tribal regions have been wracked by violence since becoming a stronghold for hundreds of Taliban and Al-Qaeda rebels who fled across the border to escape the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Afghan leader praises better ties with Pakistan
By George Jahn And David Rising, Associated Press Writers – Sun Feb 8, 9:00 am ET
MUNICH – Afghan President Hamid Karzai called cross-border terrorism one of the greatest threats confronting his country and said improved ties with Pakistan were helping to combat the problem.
Speaking Sunday to a gathering of world leaders and top security officials, Karzai praised new U.S. administration's more regional approach to fighting terror and welcomed President Barack Obama's appointment of Richard Holbrooke as a special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan.
"Security can ... not come to Afghanistan, or to the region, or to the international community without better coordination with our neighbors," Karzai said.
He also repeated his call to integrate moderate Taliban back into Afghan society, inviting them to participate in fall elections.
"We will invite all of those Taliban who are not part of al-Qaida, who are not part of terrorist networks, who want to return to their country, who want to live by the constitution of Afghanistan, who want to have a normal life, to come back to their country," Karzai said.
For his part, Holbrooke described the Afghan campaign as "one theater of war straddling an ill-defined border."
"We have to think of it that way and not distinguish between the two," he said.
Violence in both Pakistan and Afghanistan has risen steadily since U.S.-led forces drove the Taliban from power in Afghanistan in 2001. Many militants fled to Pakistan's border regions, where they have established bases and continue to attack U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Pakistan's new government, elected last year, appears keener to crack down on Taliban bases on its side of the border used by extremists — a commitment welcomed by both Afghanistan and the United States.
The extremists are also blamed for a surge in suicide attacks on Western, government and military targets within Pakistan, including last year's devastating blast at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.
"Our neighbors are suffering with us," Karzai said, citing the November terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, as well as the violence in Pakistan.
But, he said Afghanistan's diplomatic ties with its neighbors are getting stronger.
"There is greater understanding with Afghanistan and its neighbors in the region," Karzai said, a message reinforced by Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Quershi, who spoke of a "new era of understanding and cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan."
Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, Obama's national security adviser, said that was news he was "very happy" to hear.
"Working relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan ... have to be effective if we're going to solve this problem," Jones said. "We've learned over time that problems in Afghanistan are not just uniquely confined to one country — it's a regional problem set."
The U.S. has been pushing for allies to send more troops to the region — a theme struck forcefully at Sunday's closing session by British Defense Minister John Hutton.
"(NATO cannot) consistently ... look to the Americans for all the heavy lifting," he said, adding other alliance members "should be looking to do more."
"Combat roles right now are ... the most precious contribution to the campaign," he said. "We kid ourselves if we imagine that other contributions right now are of the same value."
But German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung stuck to Berlin's contention that there should be added focus on civil reconstruction.
"There will be no development without security, but without development we won't have security either," Jung said. "We won't win with military alone."
To this end, he said Germany was increasing its commitment to train Afghan police forces and was stepping up reconstruction aid.
Jung said Germany thought the number of troops in Afghanistan was sufficient, given NATO's roughly 55,000 forces there and the fact that Washington was preparing to double American troops to about 60,000.
NATO's top official chastised European nations on Saturday for refusing to commit more troops to Afghanistan, in comments that appeared directed at Germany and France.
Back to Top
Back to Top
Europe listens cautiously to Obama agenda
Biden opens a door on Iran, but presses allies on Afghanistan.
The Christian Science Monitor By Robert Marquand February 9, 2009 edition
MUNICH, GErmany - Stressing partnership and cooperation, Vice President Joe Biden opened a new chapter in American foreign affairs at a major conference of allies in Germany, offering talks with Iran and a bid to "reboot" troubled Russian relations.
But members of the White House foreign-policy team, including national security adviser Gen. James Jones, also issued an appeal to move urgently on Afghanistan, which General Jones says is "not simply an American problem, but an international problem."
The double-edged message was received with deep appreciation – and soberness. The new US president is well-liked in Europe, but support is weak for sending combat troops to Afghanistan. The issue could be deeply divisive; but for now, the Hotel Bayerischer Hof, where the summit was held, at times felt like a diplomatic lovefest.
France is rejoining NATO, German and French relations have come out of a funk, and Russia reacted warmly to US promises to take a fresh approach to relations with Moscow – despite President Obama's intentions to continue pursuing a controversial missile shield in Eastern Europe.
Speaking Saturday to an audience of top European leaders, including German chancellor Angela Merkel, French president Nicolas Sarkozy, and leaders of NATO, Mr. Biden said that the US would not act alone overseas, would not sacrifice its values for its security, and would address climate change. He spoke of a "new tone – rooted in partnerships that is not a luxury, but a necessity."
On Sunday, however, Gen. Jones told representatives of nations that have troops in Afghanistan that the current approach to the eight-year war "doesn't match the urgency required," and implied the Obama team was not going to sit on its hands. In coming months, a revamped National Security Agency will be in a "continuous and rapid consultation" with allies on Afghanistan solutions, to reshape NATO to be more proactive at a "crossroads of history.... we cannot afford failure."
A certain "Obama factor" was behind much of the reaction here. "If someone from the Bush team told us this, we would immediately disagree," said Jochen Bittner, a columnist for Germany's Die Zeit newspaper, "it would be rejected. But this is different. We have to listen."
John Kornblum, businessman and the former US ambassador to Germany, says the Munich summit is about "a righting of relations with Europe." The US delegation, he says, "said all the right things. I wouldn't underestimate how beaten up the Europeans have felt, diplomatically."
The Munich summit has been convened annually since the 1970s, when most of the discussion centered on arms control. In recent years, the forum has highlighted political tensions, as in 2003 when German foreign minister Joschka Fischer and US defense chief Donald Rumsfeld clashed over whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. In 2007, Russia's Vladimir Putin outlined a new, more assertive position on Russia's neighbors, and vehemently opposed NATO expansion. Last year, the US delegation walked out during a talk by Iranian head of parliament Ali Larijani.
This year, Mr. Larijani spoke without a walkout – though he was conspicuously absent during Biden's speech. While Larijani detailed years of Iranian grievances: a double-standard on nuclear accession by the West, and the travails of the people of Gaza in the recent war there – considered a requirement for a domestic audience in Iran – his speech was also studded with clear openings to the new American administration, saying that it was time to "build bridges."
Robert Hunter, former US ambassador to NATO, pointed out that the delegation from Tehran was far larger than expected and that the Europeans were finding "some enthusiasm in Larijani's statements, like the one that there is a 'golden opportunity for the United States' at this moment."
Regarding Russia, Biden affirmed an effort to take up the Start 2 arms-control talks that expire this year. He said it is "time to press the reset button" on Russia-US relations," but added that the Obama team would not agree with Russia on everything and "will not recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states." The two regions of Georgia were recognized by Moscow after the war in Georgia last summer, and Moscow is said to be eyeing Abkhazia as a warm-water port.
Last week, Russia offered more than $2 billion in economic blandishments to persuade Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to order the closure of the US airbase at Manas, a major staging point for supplies to Afghanistan and the last remaining American outpost in former Soviet Central Asia.
"The message here speaks directly to the state of US-Russia relations," says Andrey Fedorov, political project director of the nongovernmental Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, a Moscow think tank. "We want to support the NATO mission in Afghanistan, and we have many common goals. But the US needs to understand that they must negotiate with Russia if they want to establish an alternative supply route to Afghanistan through former Soviet territory."
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said his country was eager "to start anew," with the US, but he offered no immediate concessions on contentious issues. "It is not an Oriental bazaar," Mr. Ivanov said in a news conference Sunday, "And we do not trade the way people do in the bazaars."
Ivanov also repeated Moscow's plans to install Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad if the US pushes forward on an antiballistic missile shield. President Obama has said he would continue to pursue the shield, which is meant to protect against possible missiles from Iran, if the system proves reliable. Ivanov suggested a joint effort using Russian radar.
US officials privately said that the Munich summit is simply an opening up, a getting-to-know-the-allies moment, and that the Obama administration is just getting started with a number of 60-day policy reviews. More specifics and even conclusions are expected in April at a NATO 60th anniversary summit.
Ulrike Guérot, of the European Council of Foreign Relations in Berlin says: "This seems a new 'can-do' administration and they want to cooperate with Russia. Biden is saying Russia is not nice, but we need to work with them. It is a new kind of language, and people were just basking in it."
Leading up to the April meeting, US officials are expected to make stronger pushes for more troops and equipment for Afghanistan – requests that could very well reduce Obama's glimmer in Europe. For now, though, leaders here are happy to hear the new president's message of cooperation, says Ralf Fuecks, head of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Berlin.
"The main signal of the meeting here is good will," he says. "You can just feel it in the room, you can feel the relief, and it is a feeling that hasn't been here for some time. We want to be spoken to as partners. But that doesn't mean Europeans will be willing to offer at lot more troops for Afghanistan."
Back to Top
Back to Top
Afghan bride confronts missing major
By Moska Najib BBC News, Delhi
Early morning prayers at Hazrat Nizammudin, a sufi shrine in the Indian capital, Delhi.
In the main hall of the onion-shaped dome people are milling around, their hands clasped in prayer.
Men entering the shrine pay their respects as women huddle outside, peering in.
Sitting by a pillar and praying is 20-year-old Sabra Ahmadzai. She left her home, Afghanistan, for the first time in November of last year.
Along with personal belongings which included copies of her wedding video and marriage certificate, she boarded a flight to India to confront the man she says is her missing husband - a doctor in the Indian Army.
Taboo
Ms Ahmadzai was working as a Hindi translator in a hospital in Kabul where she met her husband, Maj Chandrashekhar Pant.
She is now pursuing a case of bigamy.
"We were together for about 15 days when he was transferred back to India," she says.
"He promised to return with his parents and left. In six months he only called me three times, and in his last call he told me Sabra you are young and you can marry again - I have two kids and a wife from before."
In Afghanistan marrying a foreigner is still taboo.
But Ms Ahmadzai said that she decided to go ahead after he converted to Islam and after receiving the consent of her family and relatives.
Dressed in a white gown and holding hands, her wedding video shows the couple walking down the aisle, cutting their wedding cake and performing the ceremonial rituals of an Islamic marriage.
Ms Ahmadzai says she waited for two years for her husband to return but the talk in the neighbourhood of her abandonment became unbearable.
'Three options'
"People would often ask me why hasn't your husband returned? Does he even call you? I was quite upset by all this, so I decided to come to India and confront him."
Having travelled two days on a local bus to the small hill town of Pithoragarh in the Himalayas, Ms Ahmadzai met Maj Pant on the hallway of the local hospital.
She says he was taken aback by her unexpected visit to his hometown.
"I told him I will give you three options and you can choose what suits you best," she said.
"When a girl marries she lives in her husband's house, so either you let me live with your family here in India, or you and your family come with me to Afghanistan. And if you are not happy with either of these choices, then at least come to Afghanistan and divorce me in front of the same cleric and the same people."
Ms Ahmadzai - who has now been in India for more than six weeks - is grateful for the support of local students and non-government organisations (NGOs).
With their help, she has already registered a complaint with the police. Her lawyer, Ravindra Garia, says they have a solid case against the major.
"Sabra is here, there are video CDs of her marriage and she has a wedding certificate which is a documentary proof that this marriage actually took place," he says.
However, according to the local police, Maj Pant has said his picture in the wedding video has been fabricated.
"Chandrashekhar Pant denies that any marriage ceremony has taken place and believes that these photographs are actually cut and paste," Police superintendent of Pithoragarh, PS Rawat told the BBC.
'Disciplinary action'
While an inquiry is in progress, the Indian Army Chief, Deepak Kapoor, says action will only be taken if the major is found guilty.
The bride has thanked all who have helped her in Delhi
"If an inquiry reveals that an army man is at fault, he is automatically liable to appropriate disciplinary action and it will be immediately taken. The army does not believe in the philosophy of shielding a perpetrator of any kind of irregularity, corruption or crime," he said.
Gen Kapoor says the army has done its own investigation and has found a certain "dichotomy" between army records and what Ms Ahmadzai claims in her complaint to the police.
"The dichotomy stems from the fact that her so-called marriage took place in December. As per our records and according to the details of the officer on the mission to Afghanistan, he was there from January to November. So there is a basic dichotomy in what the FIR (First Information Report) has said and what the officer has done when he was detailed there," Gen Kapoor said.
Meanwhile, for Sabra Ahmadzai this is a battle that must be fought - even if it takes many years.
"I have learnt that you should not marry outside your community," she says, "and if you do then you should inquire and be careful."
As she walks out of the shrine into the winding lanes of Nizamuddin, she talks of returning to Afghanistan and opening an NGO that will help other Afghan women from being exploited in these difficult times her country is facing.
"This fight is not just for me," she says while nibbling on prayer sweets and rose petals, "but for people who are facing similar situations and they must fight it out."
Back to Top
Back to Top
Polish FM vows to hunt down Taliban killers of hostage
WARSAW (AFP) – Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski on Monday denounced the execution of a Polish hostage by the Pakistani Taliban and vowed to hunt down his killers.
Pakistan's umbrella Taliban group released a video of the execution of hostage Piotr Stanczak on Sunday.
"The cassette of the execution, this bestial execution, is authentic and unfortunately it confirms the worst," Sikorski told reporters.
"Now we can no longer save our compatriot, we are going to try to punish his killers," he added.
"After consultation with the justice minister, we are issuing arrest warrants to arrest the men suspected of having committed this crime."
A Taliban spokesman said over the weekend its men had decapitated Stanczak because the Pakistani authorities had refused to free detained insurgents.
Deputy foreign minister Jacek Najder told Polish broadcasters Monday that Poland would call on Pakistan to return the body of the first Polish hostage to die since Warsaw sided with Washington in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.
Stanczak, 42, was working in Pakistan for a Polish energy company when he was seized in the volatile northwest of the country on September 28. His abductors killed his driver and his bodyguard.
Most Polish broadcasters showed only a still image from the video.
Stanczak was the father of a 13-year-old son.
"Never in Poland have we had such a situation," said Jacek Cichocki, security adviser to Prime Minister Donald Tusk. "We see films about citizens from other countries -- Americans, British -- but not Poles."
He added: "The hostagetakers initially wanted the release of 60 Islamist fighters held in Pakistan. Then they brought down the number, and ended by demanding the release of no more than four detainees."
The killer of US journalist Daniel Pearl, slain after he was kidnapped in 2002 in Pakistan, was among those whose release was sought, Polish officials said.
Back to Top
Disclaimer:
This news site is mostly a compilation of publicly accessible articles
on the Web in the form of a link or saved news item. The news articles
and commentaries/editorials are protected under international copyright
laws. All credit goes to the original respective source(s).