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Taliban forces escape U.S. offensive in Afghanistan
By Nancy A. Youssef McClatchy Newspapers July 7, 2009
KABUL — Taliban fighters and their commanders have escaped the Marines’ big offensive in Afghanistan’s Helmand province and moved into areas to the west and north, prompting fears that the U.S.
Carville to Advise Karzai Challenger in Afghan Election Contest
Bloomberg By A.R. Lakshmanan 07/06/2009
Democratic strategist James Carville, who ran Bill Clinton's presidential bid in 1992, is helping another challenger: a U.S.-educated rival of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
After the floods, malaria?
KABUL, 7 July 2009 (IRIN) - Stagnant water in flood-affected parts of Afghanistan is the perfect breeding ground for malaria-causing mosquitoes, health specialists warn.
No Money to Campaign: Afghan Hopefuls
www.quqnoos.com Written by Shakeela Abrahimkhil Monday, 06 July 2009
A number of Afghan presidential candidates have not yet launched campaigns despite the period reaches middle
Security developments in Afghanistan
July 7 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Afghanistan at 1300 GMT on Tuesday.
Grenade attack in Afghanistan kills 1, wounds 28
Amir Shah Associated Press Tue Jul 7, 4:57 am ET
KABUL – A hand grenade thrown at a police vehicle in eastern Afghanistan exploded in a crowd Tuesday, killing one civilian and wounding 28 others, officials said, a day after 10 foreign troops died amid escalating violence across the country.
Transcript: Admiral Mike Mullen on 'FNS'
FOXNews Monday, July 06, 2009
The following is a rush transcript of the July 4, 2009, edition of "FOX News Sunday With Chris Wallace." This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
List of New US Military Guidelines in Afghanistan
Associated Press July 6, 2009
The U.S. military made public new guidelines Monday for international forces in Afghanistan in an effort to reduce civilian deaths:
Obama wins Russian support on Afghanistan
by Alexander Osipovich Mon Jul 6, 1:30 pm ET
MOSCOW (AFP) – US President Barack Obama on Monday won Russian support for the war in Afghanistan with a breakthrough agreement allowing a dozen flights a day to transit US troops and weapons over Russian territory.
Chopper Crash in Zabul Kills 3 Foreign Troops
Written by www.quqnoos.com Tuesday, 07 July 2009
Two Canadian and a British soldier were killed Monday in a helicopter crash possibly caused by mechanical failure, officials said
Afghan Couples Marry in Mass Ceremony
Reza Shir Mohammadi Quqnoos July 7, 2009
About 35 Afghan couples were married Monday in Herat province a year after the first-ever Afghan mass marriage initiative
Do you think we're winning?
The Times, UK By Tom Coghlan at the Shamalan Canal, Helmand Province 06/07/2009
The Afghan canal where British soldiers ask: do you think we're winning?
Moonlighting as Afghanistan's musical hope
By Bilal Sarawary BBC News, Kabul Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Latif Nangarharay works eight hours a day as a quality service controller for the London Underground.
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Taliban forces escape U.S. offensive in Afghanistan
By Nancy A. Youssef McClatchy Newspapers July 7, 2009
KABUL — Taliban fighters and their commanders have escaped the Marines’ big offensive in Afghanistan’s Helmand province and moved into areas to the west and north, prompting fears that the U.S. effort has just moved the Taliban problem elsewhere, Afghan defense officials say.
The movement of the Taliban into those areas has prompted complaints from German and Italian commanders, whose troops operate there, and it has prompted questions about whether the United States has enough troops to pursue the Taliban while at the same time carrying out Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s plan to “clear, hold and build” in areas wrested from Taliban control.
Last week, national security adviser James Jones said no additional troops would be sent to Afghanistan this year, even as some NATO nations threaten to draw down their presence. Jones’ comments raised the ire of commanders in Afghanistan, who asked why the administration asked them to conduct a 60-day strategy review if such a major decision already has been made.
Violence is at its highest levels since the Taliban fell in 2001. Even with the addition of 17,500 troops that President Barack Obama has ordered to Afghanistan, commanders fear they won’t have enough troops to clear large swaths of the country and then hold them.
Since the Marines began their offensive Thursday, Taliban fighters have moved to northern Helmand province near Baghran, an area controlled by German forces, and the eastern edge of Farah province, largely under Italy’s control, said Gen. Zahir Azami, the Afghan Ministry of Defense spokesman.
In some cases, Taliban fighters donned burqas and held children’s hands to pass as women to get out of the Helmand River Valley, said Brig. Gen. Mahaiddin Ghori, the Afghan army commander in Helmand. U.S. and Afghan military officers said that in many cases, fighters hurriedly left roadside explosives as they fled, targeting the forces. So far, one U.S. Marine and one Afghan soldier have been killed in the operation, both by explosives.
Afghan defense officials said they believe the Taliban fighters stayed in the country and did not travel to nearby Pakistan, where they often take refuge, because they believe they can wait out the latest operation, even as U.S. officials have stressed that once they clear an area they will stay until the security situation has stabilized.
“They want to carry on fighting. They don’t want to escape during the summer. This is the height of fighting season,” said Azami.
The offensive, called Operation Khanjar, or “Strike of the Sword,” includes roughly 4,000 Marines and 750 Afghan security forces.
Besides clearing one of Afghanistan’s most dangerous provinces, the operation is intended to signal to local residents that the United States intends to stay behind to begin building local governance.
Azami said he had no estimates of how many Taliban fighters moved north and west. Ghori estimated that Helmand had roughly 500 foreign Taliban fighters and another 1,000 Afghan Taliban.
U.S. and NATO officials acknowledged that the Taliban fled Helmand ahead of the Marines. But the officials said they don’t believe the Taliban forces threaten nearby areas. Instead, they feel the Taliban fighters are still contemplating how to respond to the operation. Some believe only a small portion moved west and north.
U.S. officials privately say they have seen less fighting during the one-week offensive than they originally had anticipated. But they stress the operation is in its early stages, adding that they think it will take roughly seven weeks to clear the valley.
“The sense is that many of the Taliban have left but they have not gone very far. They are not abandoning the Helmand River Valley,” said a senior coalition officer who agreed to speak only if he was not identified. “They have seen a lot of forces come and go, but we are not going anywhere.”
More than 90% of Afghanistan’s poppy production comes from Helmand province, making the area a major cash supplier for the Taliban.
McChrystal’s plan for Afghanistan is modeled after the 2007 surge strategy in Iraq, where the United States sent an additional 30,000 troops to secure Baghdad and the surrounding perimeter. At its peak, there were more than 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.
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Carville to Advise Karzai Challenger in Afghan Election Contest
Bloomberg By A.R. Lakshmanan 07/06/2009
Democratic strategist James Carville, who ran Bill Clinton's presidential bid in 1992, is helping another challenger: a U.S.-educated rival of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Carville, who has close ties to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, said his advisory role to former Afghan Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani shouldn't be interpreted as tacit backing by the U.S. for a change of leadership in Afghanistan.
In an interview before leaving for Kabul, Carville said he hadn't discussed his trip with Clinton, and was going for an exploratory visit as a private consultant.
“I don't think anybody would veto me doing this,” said Carville, 64, who said he has worked on campaigns in 18 countries. “I've worked in Israel when Bill Clinton was president. It's what I do.”
Ghani, 60, who has a Ph.D in anthropology from Columbia University in New York and worked at the Washington-based World Bank, is one of 41 Karzai opponents competing in the Aug. 20 elections. Ghani, who became finance minister in 2002, said in an interview with the New York Times in January that he stepped down from that post in 2004 because Afghanistan had been taken over by drug traffickers.
Karzai, 51, came to power with U.S. backing following the ouster of the Taliban in 2001 and has amassed a power base largely through patronage. His government is under increasing criticism at home and abroad for inefficiency and corruption.
Karzai Support
In a poll released last month by the Washington-based International Republican Institute, 31 percent of Afghans said they plan to vote for Karzai, who won with 54 percent in the 2004 election. Former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah was in second place with 7 percent; Ghani came in third with 2 percent in the May 3-16 poll of 3,200 Afghans.
If no candidate wins 50 percent of the vote, a runoff will be held in the fall. The Obama administration has called for free and competitive elections, and hasnâ officially backed any candidate. The administration has said the elections need to be seen as fair by the Afghan people, regardless of the outcome.
Still, many Afghans would interpret the involvement of an American political strategist with close ties to the Democratic establishment “as a deliberate decision by the Obama administration to assist Ghani,” said Kenneth Katzman, an Afghanistan specialist at the Congressional Research Service in Washington.
‘Private Citizen'
Asked if Carville had discussed his work for Ghani with U.S. officials, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said, “Mr. Carville is a private citizen and does not have to vet his travel with the State Department.”
Over the years, Carville has helped numerous foreign candidates, including former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, former Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, and former Brazilian President Fernando Enrique Cardoso.
Karzai's image has suffered in recent years in Washington, where members of Congress and administration officials have questioned his management skills, his dealings with warlords, and alleged criminal links and graft among members of his family. In his first prime-time news conference, on Feb. 9, President Barack Obama said the Karzai government “seems very detached from what's going on.”
Washington Summit
The Obama administration hosted Karzai in May for a summit that brought together officials from Afghanistan, Pakistan and the U.S. The visit was billed as an opportunity to build trust among the three countries, aimed at coordinating the fight against the Taliban.
Karzai came under fire from senators who said he had failed to address their concerns about corruption and poor governance. Senator Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, said Karzai's presentation to senators was “harmful.”
Obama has promised an additional 21,000 troops for Afghanistan this year to ramp up the fight against Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters. The U.S. plans to have at least 60,000 troops on the ground by Election Day, in addition to about 37,000 NATO- led troops.
On a recent trip to Kabul, National Security Adviser James Jones met Karzai and three rivals, including Ghani, saying the U.S. “neither supports nor opposes any legitimate candidate.” U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry has also met several candidates. The gesture has been interpreted as evidence the U.S. isn't backing a particular hopeful, said Lisa Curtis, a South Asia specialist at the Heritage Foundation in Washington.
‘Government Machinery'
“The U.S. wants to demonstrate that the elections should be competitive,” Curtis said. “There are allegations that the Karzai administration is using the tools of government machinery to impact the elections.”
If Afghans believe the election isn't fair, anti-U.S. militias will have an opening for recruitment, Curtis said.
Ghani, who returned from two decades in the U.S. after the fall of the Taliban, initially worked pro bono as an adviser to Karzai. As finance minister, he won praise for establishing a new currency, overhauling budgeting and customs, and promoting rural development through World Bank grants.
He later became a Karzai critic, returning to Washington to establish the Institute of State Effectiveness, a policy institute.
Ghani has praised Obama's strategy for Afghanistan. He advocates persuading low-level Taliban fighters to give up their arms -- a position shared by the Obama administration.
“My prime objective is to oust this corrupt administration through voting and provide shelter and job opportunities for 1 million people,” Ghani told supporters in Kabul last month.
The Taliban have called for an election boycott and have attacked some voter registration centers.
To contact the reporter on this story: Indira Lakshmanan in Washington at ilakshmanan@bloomberg.net
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After the floods, malaria?
KABUL, 7 July 2009 (IRIN) - Stagnant water in flood-affected parts of Afghanistan is the perfect breeding ground for malaria-causing mosquitoes, health specialists warn.
"We anticipate an increase in malaria cases this year," Najibullah Safi, director of the National Malaria and Leishmaniasis Control Programme (NMLCP), told IRIN in Kabul.
"Malaria mosquitoes breed in wet conditions and because we have had ample rainfall this year there will be opportunities for an increase in malaria cases," he said.
January-June floods affected over 21,000 households and caused extensive damage in over 15 of the country's 34 provinces, according to reports by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
At least 14 provinces (in the north, east and south) are highly vulnerable to malaria, especially in summer, officials say.
Afghanistan is considered to have the fourth largest malaria burden [see: http://www.emro.who.int/afghanistan/programmes_malaria.htm] worldwide with an estimated annual incidence of 18 per 1,000 people in 2007, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
"We cannot remedy all the stagnant water pools across the country in order to reduce malaria risks, but local people and municipalities can, and we're calling on them to do so," said Safi.
Progress threatened?
Over the past few years considerable progress has been made in curbing malaria - from 626,839 cases in 2002 to around 467,000 in 2008, according to the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH).
A fall in numbers has also been reported in the first three months of 2009 compared with the same period in 2008: 49,000 patients compared to over 53,000.
Health officials said the distribution of 1.2 million insecticide-treated bednets in 2008 and improved public awareness contributed to the reduction in the number of malaria patients [see: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=79590].
"We are fully prepared to control a possible malaria outbreak," said Safi, adding that over 600,000 insecticide-treated bednets would be distributed in malaria-prone areas this year.
Malaria diagnosis and treatment are freely available at hundreds of public health facilities, covering about 85 percent of the country, according to MoPH.
Donors have given over US$9 million to the NMLCP to enhance malaria preventative measures such as increased public awareness, Safi said.
Malaria affects hundreds of thousands of Afghans every year, but also acts as a major brake on economic development.
With support from international donors the MoPH is aiming to reduce malaria mortality by 90 percent and malaria morbidity by 60 percent by 2013, according to Afghanistan's National Malaria Strategic Plan 2008-2013 [see: http://www.emro.who.int/afghanistan/pdf/nmsp_08_013.pdf].
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No Money to Campaign: Afghan Hopefuls
www.quqnoos.com Written by Shakeela Abrahimkhil Monday, 06 July 2009
A number of Afghan presidential candidates have not yet launched campaigns despite the period reaches middle
A group of the 41 presidential candidates are traced at the corner of tough competitions amongst other candidates who heavily campaign their candidacy.
“I don't have [enough] financial resources to organise rallies and heavily campaign,” said a presidential hopeful, Mohammad Hakim Torsan.
“I am only looking forward to receiving support from the people,” the Afghan politician hoped.
Another presidential candidate, Mohammad Yasin Safi, whose election programmes are also not strongly felt throughout the country, blamed some of his competitors for receiving foreign funds to promote their nomination.
“Those candidates who are campaigning a lot, they have lots of money and also receive foreign donations,” Mr Safi added.
A spokesman for the Afghan Independent Election Commission (IEC), Noor Mohammad Noor, warned the candidates to carry out their campaigns according to ‘regulations'.
“I do not know most of the people who glued their posters in the city, they do not appear in rallies and to do not address people with their future plans,” Mohammad Ali, a 56-year-old Kabul resident said.
Afghan presidential and provincial council elections are slated for August 20 country-wide in which the candidates must stop their campaigns 72 hours before the polling.
Some influential Afghan figures are running in the race including the incumbent Hamid Karzai who seeks a second term in office.
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Security developments in Afghanistan
July 7 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Afghanistan at 1300 GMT on Tuesday.
* denotes new or updated item.
* WESTERN AFGHANISTAN - A U.S. soldier was killed in a bomb attack on a military convoy in western Afghanistan, U.S. forces said in a statement. No other details were available.
FARAH - An Afghan soldier shot dead two employees of the National Directorate of Security in Farah City in western Afghanistan, provincial governor Rohul Amin said. No other details were available.
FARAH - An unidentified gunman killed an official from the province's anti-terrorism police office, Amin said.
KHOST - A grenade attack on a police convoy killed one Afghan civilian and wounded 34, including four policemen, in the eastern province of Khost, said Kochai Nasseri, a spokesman for the provincial governor.
ZABUL - Two Canadians and a Briton were among three soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in the southern province of Zabul on Monday, a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan said. Two Canadians were also injured. The helicopter crashed on takeoff, ISAF said. (Compiled by Golnar Motevalli; Editing by Paul Tait)
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Grenade attack in Afghanistan kills 1, wounds 28
Amir Shah Associated Press Tue Jul 7, 4:57 am ET
KABUL – A hand grenade thrown at a police vehicle in eastern Afghanistan exploded in a crowd Tuesday, killing one civilian and wounding 28 others, officials said, a day after 10 foreign troops died amid escalating violence across the country.
The grenade attack in Khost province targeted policemen passing through the provincial capital, but the victims were mostly civilians, said Tahir Khan Sabari, the provincial deputy governor.
Four police and five children were among those wounded, said Abdul Majid Mangal, the deputy hospital director.
It was not clear who threw the grenade.
The attack happened a day after bombs and bullets killed seven American troops, while three NATO troops died in a helicopter crash in one of the deadliest days for foreign troops in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.
Four of the deaths Monday came in an attack on a team of U.S. military trainers in the relatively peaceful north, said Navy Chief Petty Officer Brian Naranjo, a U.S. military spokesman.
The deaths brought into focus the question of whether the U.S. is committing enough troops to secure a country larger than Iraq in both population and land mass. The Taliban have made a violent comeback after a U.S.-led coalition topped them from power nearly eight years ago.
Obama has ordered 21,000 additional American troops to this country, mainly in the south, where Marines recently launched a major anti-Taliban offensive. The U.S. expects 68,000 troops here by year's end, double last year's total but still half as many as are now in Iraq.
Two Americans were killed in a roadside blast in southern Afghanistan, Naranjo said. Another American soldier died in a firefight with militants in the east, a U.S. military spokesman said. There were no further details on those incidents.
It was the deadliest day for American troops in Afghanistan since July 13, 2008, when 10 soldiers were killed.
Also in the south, two Canadian and a Briton serving with the NATO-led force were killed Monday when their helicopter crashed in Zabul province, said a spokesman for the military alliance, Lt. Commander Chris Hall.
The incident was not caused by insurgent fire, Hall said.
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Transcript: Admiral Mike Mullen on 'FNS'
FOXNews Monday, July 06, 2009
The following is a rush transcript of the July 4, 2009, edition of "FOX News Sunday With Chris Wallace." This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
CHRIS WALLACE, "FOX NEWS SUNDAY" HOST: Joining us now, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen.
Admiral, welcome back to "FOX News Sunday" and happy Fourth of July weekend, sir.
ADMIRAL MIKE MULLEN: Good morning, Chris. Happy Fourth to you.
WALLACE: You join the president in Moscow tomorrow for a summit with Russian leaders. They have now agreed to open their airspace to flights of U.S. troops and weapons over Russia into Afghanistan. How much will that help with the war effort?
MULLEN: Well, any effort in terms of being able to support the kind of logistics effort that is significant is very helpful.
And as we were talking just before we — I came on, I was just in Russia last week, met with my counterpart — the first time that I'd been there to meet with him — to discuss — to renew — move towards renewal of military relationship with the Russians.
And that will be an important part of this summit as well.
WALLACE: Well, I want to pick up on the state of U.S.-Russian relations. Here's what President Obama said this week about the message that he intends to bring to Moscow. Here it is.
OBAMA: The old Cold War approaches to U.S.-Russian relations is outdated — that it's time to move forward in a different direction.
WALLACE: From your meetings, do the Russians agree that the Cold War is over or, as Mr. Obama said about Prime Minister Putin, that they have one foot in the old way of doing business and one foot in the new way?
MULLEN: Well, I've met with my counterpart twice, once in Helsinki several months ago and then again last week. And the indications I get from him are he's anxious to move forward.
We have things in common that we need to work on. Afghanistan — neither country wants to see the Taliban return to Afghanistan. The kind of efforts we share in counterpiracy, counterterrorism, a focus on Iran — and we obviously have areas of difference. I would cite missile defense as certainly a big one.
WALLACE: But do you have a sense that the Cold War is over in their minds or not?
MULLEN: Well, I think — I think they want to move forward. I mean, that's — from my counterpart, certainly, the indication is they do want to move forward, and they want to do it in a way where we look — basically deal with each other from positions of respect. And certainly, that's how I've approached my interaction with him.
WALLACE: You pointed out one of the areas where you're disagreeing, and that's missile defense, and particularly the Russian objection to the setting up of a missile defense system in Eastern Europe.
There's nothing in the Obama budget for that system. Is the president committed to installing it in Eastern Europe, or could he conceivably make a deal with the Russians?
MULLEN: Well, he's directed us to undertake a very extensive review, and that is ongoing and won't be done until this year.
The whole issue of missile defense from my perspective is focused on defense of Europe. Obviously, the Russians see it differently. So I think we've — we're going to have to work our way through that.
I visited Poland as I left Moscow the other day, and certainly they're anxious to see us move forward. And clearly, we've had engagements with Czechoslovakia as well. I think all of that is certainly a part of what will be determined later this year.
WALLACE: But I'm just trying to get a sense — as the president sits down with the Russian president and prime minister, is missile defense in Eastern Europe negotiable?
MULLEN: From my perspective, that's something that President Medvedev and President Obama are going to have to work their way through, and the details of that will be — will obviously be part of the discussions that they undertake later this week.
WALLACE: Speaking of missile defense, the North Koreans fired seven -- seven — missiles...
MULLEN: Right.
WALLACE: ... on Saturday and four missiles on Thursday. What are they up to, Admiral? And do we think that they're still going to launch a long-range missile towards Hawaii?
MULLEN: Well, they certainly still have that potential. These seven missiles that were fired yesterday were relatively short-range. It's similar to what they did in 2006. He's clearly trying to send a message. That said, I think — and it's a clear violation of the United Nations Security Council resolution.
WALLACE: What do you think's the message they're trying to send?
MULLEN: Well, I think that — I mean, the — I believe that the international community has to continue to come together. I think the international community has stayed strong with respect to this Security Council resolution.
WALLACE: But what do you think is the message that the North Koreans...
MULLEN: Well, it's very difficult to figure out exactly what the North Korean leadership is up to. It's not predictable historically. He clearly wants to continue to be belligerent and thumb his nose at the international community.
And beyond that, it's difficult to tell. But it's very destabilizing, potentially.
WALLACE: Admiral, as I just said, 11 missiles fired in three days — is this any time for the president to be cutting missile defense as he does in his new budget?
MULLEN: I'm comfortable. We've worked our way through the missile defense readiness that we need right now, and I'm comfortable with the preparations that we've taken that we can defend our interests very specifically.
Again, I think the long-term future with respect to missile defense will be determined in how we move forward with this review and the various pieces — the Navy piece, the land-based piece, the air side of this — that we put together in the long run.
WALLACE: In Afghanistan, the U.S. has launched a new offensive with 4,000 Marines in Helmand province. How certain are you that this new strategy, which is certainly based on the troop surge in Iraq — that it's one that will work and that they will be able to hold presidential elections in Afghanistan next month?
MULLEN: Well, I'm very comfortable that we have the troop — the troop numbers about right in the south. That offensive just started.
The whole goal of this is to provide security for the people of Afghanistan. They really are the center of gravity. And that leads to an environment that supports elections later this August. That's a big milestone in that country. And we want them to be open and free and fair and be able to provide as much security as we possibly can between now and then.
WALLACE: You talked about troop levels. I want to talk about not just in southern Afghanistan but throughout the country...
MULLEN: Sure.
WALLACE: ... because there seem to be mixed messages this week about our troop level policy for Afghanistan.
National Security Adviser James Jones was quoted this week as telling U.S. commanders they are not to expect any more troops beyond what the president has already promised.
You were quoted the next day as saying the top new commander, General McChrystal, is going to make a review, and he can ask for as many troops as he wants. Admiral, which is it?
MULLEN: I've had — I've had discussions with General Jones, also with the president, and I think we're all committed to making sure we resource this correctly.
President Obama has committed the forces that we've asked this year. General McChrystal, who is the brand-new leader there, is in the middle of an assessment. He'll come back in about 45 days with his assessment in terms of what he needs.
My guidance to him had been, "Tell us what you need, and then come back and we'll work that." And it's guidance that both General Jones and the president understands and support.
I think one of the points is we have to make sure that every single American that is there is one that we absolutely need.
In addition, the commander on the ground has to assess with a new strategy, and he's a — and new leadership — really zero base — not just what's there, but what he needs for the future, and we expect that sometime the end of July or middle of August.
WALLACE: What's the latest about the missing American soldier? Who's holding him? And have they made any demands?
MULLEN: Well, I wouldn't get into any details about that, but — in terms of the kinds of things that could compromise the efforts. Clearly, we've got a full court press on trying to find him. We're doing everything we possibly can. And obviously, it's a very difficult situation, but we're very focused on it.
WALLACE: In our last minutes, I'd like to do, to the degree that you're comfortable with this, a lightning round of quick questions and quick answers.
Vice President Biden has told Iraqi leaders that if that country returns to sectarian violence that the U.S. is likely to end its commitment. Do we mean that?
MULLEN: What I've seen with our troops coming out of the cities in the last week has been very positive. The politics are really critical in Iraq between now and over the next, certainly, months as they look to elections in January.
So I think the message there is clearly that the political leadership in Iraq has to do as much as they possibly can to make sure security is sustained.
WALLACE: But if they were to devolve back into sectarian violence, we are prepared to just wipe our hands of it?
MULLEN: Well, that's a decision, obviously, for the administration, certainly for the president. But we're not there right now, and I don't see the trends — anything at this point leading in that direction.
WALLACE: Given the political repression in Iran in the last few weeks with the election and then the crackdown, the brutal crackdown in some cases, on the protests, do we want to keep trying to engage the Iranian regime?
MULLEN: That's a decision for the president to make. Very clearly, I'm — as everyone was, I'm — and is — troubled by the level of violence and what happened but wouldn't comment extensively on the political events inside a country like this.
But I remain concerned about Iran. On the military side, they still continue to develop nuclear weapons. They still support terrorism. And I think they're a country that we're going to have to deal with.
WALLACE: A report in the Washington Times this week said that you believe that a military strike against Iran would spur Iran's nuclear facilities, would spur a bloody retaliation against U.S. interests in the Middle East and around the world, and that you have come to believe we're going to have to learn to live with an Iranian nuclear weapon. Is that true?
MULLEN: Well, actually, I honestly didn't even — I didn't see that report. I've been one who have been concerned about a strike on Iran for some time because it could be very destabilizing, and it is the unintended consequences of that which aren't predictable.
That said, I think it's very important as we deal with Iran that we don't take any options, including military options, off the table. And that's something that the president is certainly both aware of and he obviously has to make decisions about how he's going to continue to approach Iran.
WALLACE: Which would be more destabilizing, the blowback from a military strike against the nuclear establishment in Iran, or Iran having a nuclear weapon?
MULLEN: I think — I think both outcomes are really, really bad outcomes. And that speaks to the very narrow space that we have to try to resolve this so that neither one of those things occur.
WALLACE: Admiral Mullen, we want to thank you. Thanks for coming in today. Safe travels to Russia later this — later today.
MULLEN: Thank you, Chris.
WALLACE: Coming up, the two House leaders on health care reform and what can be done to kick-start the economy. Back in a moment.
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List of New US Military Guidelines in Afghanistan
Associated Press July 6, 2009
The U.S. military made public new guidelines Monday for international forces in Afghanistan in an effort to reduce civilian deaths:
— Airstrikes must be very limited and authorized but can be used in self-defense if troops' lives are at risk.
— Troops must be accompanied by Afghan forces before they enter residences.
— Troops cannot go into or fire upon mosques or other religious sites. This is already U.S. policy.
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Obama wins Russian support on Afghanistan
by Alexander Osipovich Mon Jul 6, 1:30 pm ET
MOSCOW (AFP) – US President Barack Obama on Monday won Russian support for the war in Afghanistan with a breakthrough agreement allowing a dozen flights a day to transit US troops and weapons over Russian territory.
"This is a substantial contribution by Russia to our international effort," Obama said at a joint press conference at the Kremlin with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Underscoring the deal's strategic value for Russia, Medvedev said: "We value the efforts by the United States and other countries to deal with the terrorist threat that came from and continues to come from Afghan soil."
The deal marks a victory for Obama as he seeks to intensify the faltering campaign against the Taliban and "reset" US-Russian relations that were badly strained under his predecessor, George W. Bush.
It allows the use of Russian airspace for the transit of US troops and weapons. Previously Russia had only allowed the United States to ship non-lethal military supplies across its territory by train.
The need to diversify transit routes into Afghanistan has become more acute in recent months because of instability in Pakistan, which currently serves as the main transit route into the war-torn country.
The agreement was signed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Undersecretary of State William Burns, who was standing in for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as she recuperated from an elbow injury.
A senior US official said that the deal permits up to 4,500 military flights per year -- or about 12 per day -- which can be loaded with troops, firearms, ammunition, military vehicles and spare parts.
The US official said the military flights would not be charged overflight fees and that they would not stop on Russian territory.
The agreement takes effect 60 days from its signing and is good for one year and then may be renewed automatically by mutual consent, the official said.
The official added that the agreement would bring Washington annual savings of 133 million dollars (95 million euros) thanks to quicker transit.
Cooperation on Afghanistan proves that Russia and the United States can get along on some issues despite bitter disputes in recent years, said Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of the journal Russia in Global Affairs.
"This is an issue with which the Americans and the Russians have found a way to improve their relations. It is one of the rare problem where their interests are very close -- indeed, identical," Lukyanov said.
Moscow, which has grim memories of its own war in Afghanistan in the 1980s, views the US military presence there as protecting its southern flank, said independent Russian defence analyst Pavel Felgenhauer.
"Russia is not really a friend of the Taliban. It already has problems with the Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus, and the big risk is that the Islamist menace will infect Central Asia as well," Felgenhauer said.
"There is a consensus in Russia on the fact that the US operation in Afghanistan is lost already, but the longer the Americans stay there, the more they will put off the danger to our borders," he added.
Tens of thousands of international troops are in Afghanistan struggling to put down a tenacious Taliban insurgency.
Since his inauguration in January, Obama has sent thousands more US troops to the country in a bid to crush the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, making the campaign there a central element of his administration's foreign policy.
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Chopper Crash in Zabul Kills 3 Foreign Troops
Written by www.quqnoos.com Tuesday, 07 July 2009
Two Canadian and a British soldier were killed Monday in a helicopter crash possibly caused by mechanical failure, officials said
Three other Canadians were hurt in the crash but their health status including the pilots is reportedly satisfied.
"It has been an extremely difficult week here in Kandahar," Canadian commander Brig Gen Jonathan Vance said early Tuesday.
Canadian military officials dismiss any insurgents' involvement in the crash, suggesting either mechanical failure or human error.
Meanwhile, a Taliban purported spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said the helicopter was shut down by Taliban militants in Zabul,a militants' Web Site quoted him.
Taliban claims they have knocked down seven helicopters of the ‘enemies', a phrase Taliban refers to International and Afghan troops, over the past four days.
“A flight-safety investigation is currently underway to determine the cause of the crash," Vance said.
Gen Vance expressed condolences over the deaths of the two Canadian soldiers what he termed them brave and will be remembered forever.
Zabul province is just outside Kandahar – Canada's main sphere of operations, but the crew was apparently on a transport mission.
At least six Canadian soldiers have been killed over the past one month following a two-month period of relative calm that saw no deaths.
Canada has lost 124 soldiers since the overthrown of the Taliban militants in 2001.
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Afghan Couples Marry in Mass Ceremony
Reza Shir Mohammadi Quqnoos July 7, 2009
About 35 Afghan couples were married Monday in Herat province a year after the first-ever Afghan mass marriage initiative
The Afghan couples were married in western city of Herat at a ceremony attended by around 1,500 guests organised by an Islamic forum.
One of the grooms, 25-year-old Mohammad Jawad, said he had been engaged for more than a year but could not afford a wedding.
Jawad has recently finished his university studies and an amount he has collected would now go for other expenses to build a prosperous future life.
“This is a brilliant chance for both us and we like it,” Jawad added, standing near his wife.
The married couples are mainly from poor communities and could not afford the big costs of a normal Afghan wedding," an organiser of the mass wedding said.
The event’s cost was paid by an individual in Herat who wished to remain anonymous, despite funding such an expensive ceremony.
The organiser said the aim of such mass marriage is to avoid cost effective parties that financially harms the grooms.
Afghan government officials in the western Herat province attended the ceremony and welcomed such initiatives in the traditional Afghan society.
To organize a wedding party in Afghanistan that includes expensive gifts and lavish parties with hundreds of gifts is incredibly costly for the people in the country that the annual income of an individual does not exceed $500 US.
This is the second-ever mass marriage event in the western Herat province following another 50 couples were married last year in a similar ceremony funded by an Islamic charity.
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Do you think we're winning?
The Times, UK By Tom Coghlan at the Shamalan Canal, Helmand Province 06/07/2009
The Afghan canal where British soldiers ask: do you think we're winning?
The Welsh Guardsman was on his stomach with his light machinegun outside Checkpoint 11 when he asked this of the person lying next to him. He listened intently to the open-ended answer and quietly went back to scanning the canal bank for an expected Taleban attack.
A week ago it was just another irrigation channel in a dusty corner of Helmand Province. But seven days of relentless fighting for British troops has turned the Shamalan Canal into a name that is becoming grimly familiar.
Several British soldiers have died on the canal's banks in five days, defending a string of checkpoints thrust about 10 miles straight into the heart of a Taleban-held area northwest of the provincial capital Lashkar Gah. A larger, undisclosed number have been injured. Among the dead is the commander of the Welsh Guards, Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, the most senior British army officer to be killed since the Falklands.
The tempo rarely lets up. Attacks at dawn and dusk are routine. One Welsh Guards company was attacked 15 times in a day.
As night falls there is something reminiscent of the Western Front about the battlefield. From their positions the soldiers watch parachute flares cast shifting shadows until somewhere the silence is broken: the first thump of a Taleban rocket-propelled grenade, the rattle of Kalashnikov fire and then the heavier chatter of British heavy machineguns and SA80s. Red tracer bullets make graceful arcs and occasionally there is the heavier crump of artillery rounds and clattering cannon fire from Apache helicopters.
But why is the fighting so heavy? And is it worth the cost?
The position that the British commanders have chosen to push into is an exposed one. There is a single road running along the canal which is the only line of communication and supply. The Taleban know it and are hitting the road from both sides with as many roadside bombs and ambushes as they can put in place.
For the British armoured vehicle crews who are supplying the forward troops, most drawn from Egypt Squadron, 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, it is particularly gruelling work. With mine detection specialists from a Royal Engineer unit which calls itself “Team Rainbow” they must move sometimes at a snail's pace, sweeping the ground ahead of them for hidden devices.
Such operations, which often come under fire, are exhausting, frustrating and take place every day. To avoid the bombs the British troops have to be efficient, and to some degree lucky, all the time; Taleban bombmakers need to be lucky once.
The Welsh Guards Reconnaissance Platoon has lost almost two thirds of its strength to casualties over the past two months. Many Welsh Guardsmen have fought more firefights than they can remember. Though morale appears solid, some are clearly feeling great strain.
“I just feel cold inside,” one very young soldier said in a quiet moment last week, admitting that the death of his platoon commander some weeks earlier had left his unit grief-stricken. In some firefights, he said with odd detachment, he was finding it increasingly hard not to freeze up, to stay in control of himself.
“Do you think we are winning?” It was a question that was repeated several times by different soldiers, usually away from the hearing of other soldiers. They seemed very certain about the moral case for the war — “we are here to give people a better life,” said Guardsman Craig Jones, 22 — but far from sure of the eventual outcome.
The death of the Welsh Guards commander, Colonel Thornloe, was a particularly awful experience for the unit, which has now lost five men, including a platoon commander and a company commander as well as the commanding officer.
The Welsh Guards is not the first unit to take a battering in Helmand. The Anglians, The Grenadier Guards, 2 Para, 3 Para and 42 Commando are all units to have suffered notably heavily but the concentration of deaths in the Welsh Guards is particularly harsh.
But set against the risks are tactical gains that the British commanders must presumably consider worth the growing cost.
British officers say the canal gives the British forces an effective means of controlling movement into the highly populated areas around Lashkar Gah, the so-called “Green Zone” of irrigated land. The checkpoints act as a block on Taleban movement of men and supplies into those areas ahead of the Afghan presidential elections on August 20. Making sure the elections can be held safely is the primary short-term objective of Nato forces in Helmand.
The operation is a part of a larger and ongoing series of British operations, named “Panchai Palang” (Panther's Claw), designed to methodically take and then hold the territory around Lashkar Gah. Meanwhile, the much larger US operation launched last Thursday, Operation Khanjar, is pushing 4,000 US Marines supported by more than 180 aircraft into the Taleban's lines of supply further south down to the Pakistan border.
The Taleban are likely to play for time. In a message to his fighters intercepted by Afghan intelligence in Helmand last week the commander of Taleban fighters in the province, Mullah Naim Barach, told his followers: “If the pressure becomes too much just store the weapons where you can and collect them again later.” The Taleban fight not to win, but to outlast.
Interviewed six days before his death, Colonel Thorneloe said: “It is a big hit to lose someone but there is an absolute understanding that the mission is vital and that those we've lost wouldn't have wanted to be elsewhere and they would want us to see it through.”
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Moonlighting as Afghanistan's musical hope
By Bilal Sarawary BBC News, Kabul Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Latif Nangarharay works eight hours a day as a quality service controller for the London Underground.
His job is to make sure that trains run on time, stations are kept clean and passengers have a hassle-free journey.
For thousands of London commuters he's just one of the many staff managing their daily commute.
But Mr Nangarharay is no ordinary worker - in fact he's a singing sensation in his home country, Afghanistan.
His lyrics inspire many Afghans. His words - his fans say - offer hope to a country destroyed by 30 years of war. His music encourages fellow Afghans not to lose faith. And his message is a personal one.
Mr Nangarharay fled the Taliban 10 years ago and settled in London.
The 28-year-old says that he too is a child of war and understands exactly how his countrymen feel.
He says that his country's history is what inspires his songs.
"Like everyone else, I left my country and lost family members, so I sing the song. I hate anyone who destroys or kills Afghans, so I urge those who are misled and carry out suicide attacks and kill school children, that this is not the time to pull the trigger," he said.
The ballads of Mr Nangarharay depict Afghanistan's violent past and present.
His latest number - Afghanistan - regularly features on Afghan television and radio channels.
"This song motivates me to hate those who kill with guns," says one Kabul man, Mohammad Gul. "People are sick and tired of war."
Mr Nangarharay says the lyrics of the new song aims to encourage fellow Afghans to move away from the path of violence and strive for a future filled with peace and prosperity.
"I ask those who blow up schools, kill people and carry out attacks to not let people misled them. Don't kill, don't kill your brothers," the singer says.
Musical bond
It is no coincidence that Mr Nangarharay's songs have witnessed high sales in a country where entertainment is largely restricted to Bollywood films and songs.
Music was a key part of Afghan cultural identity and played a crucial role in keeping the ethnically diverse country together until the Taliban took control in the 1990s and banned all forms of it.
Because of his music, Mr Nangarharay has now become one of the most watched, listened to and spoken of figures in Afghanistan - and among millions of Afghans scattered around the world.
About 3,000 people attended his concert in Australia recently - a sign of his growing popularity outside Afghanistan.
One of Mr Nangarharay's songs was written by leading Pashto poet, Babarzai, after a controversial US bombing in the eastern province of Nangarhar.
An Afghan government investigation at the time concluded that 45 women and children and two men had been killed when the US bombed a wedding party in the village of Deh Bala.
"Where there is a wedding procession, or a funeral is taking place - it is no time for pulling the trigger," Babarzai wrote in the song.
For Babarzai, the song represents Afghanistan's sad affiliation with war.
"War is a sad reality of our life. My message is for peace. In the song, I ask for all bombs - roadside, plane, suicide - and those who pull the trigger, to stop," says Babarzai with tears in his eyes.
"People love Mr Nangarharay because he sings with so much passion, dedication and energy," says Babarzai, who is also head of cultural and musical programmes at Shamshad TV.
This analsysis is endorsed by Kabul fruit seller Mohammad Musafir, who listens to Latif Nangarharay's song on the radio.
"I like his song. He has a message for peace. People like music and will listen to him. You need to bring peace with nice words not with guns and tanks," he said.
Pashto poetry is an integral part of Afghan society. Every year there are hundreds of poetry contests across the south, east and south-east of the country.
Poets at these meets castigate corruption, the lack of reconstruction, civilian casualties caused by the international forces, killings by the Taliban and others - and urge people to stop the violence.
According to Latif Nangarharay, his music is addressed to Afghans killing their own.
"My message to them is not to kill children, their countrymen and don't attack our cities and markets with bombs. These young people are misled."
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