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WikiLeaks to continue releasing Afghan war files: Assange
by Sam Reeves – Fri Aug 13, 5:00 am ET
LONDON (AFP) – WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange insisted Thursday the whistleblower website still planned to release its final batch of US military files on the Afghan war, despite American demands it hold back.
Pentagon Cautions WikiLeaks Over 'New Documents'
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 13, 2010
The Pentagon has told WikiLeaks it would be the "height of irresponsibility" if it went through with a new threat to publish outstanding documents it had on the Afghan war.
Gun battle in Afghan capital kills 10: witnesses
KABUL, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- A gun battle between Hazara and Kuchi ethnic groups in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Friday claimed at least 10 lives, witnesses said.
Anti-U.S. protest over civilian killings
BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- Hundreds of villagers chanting anti-US slogans have protested in eastern Afghanistan over the killing of three villagers. Locals say US forces shot-dead the innocent men, but NATO insists they were suspected insurgents killed in self-defense.
Defense chief Gates orders review of Marines' role
Acknowledging concerns among current and former Marines that the Corps has evolved into another ground combat force, the Defense secretary aims to define the service's future path.
Los Angeles Times By David S. Cloud August 12, 2010
Reporting from San Francisco - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is ordering a review of the future role of the Marine Corps amid " anxiety" that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had turned the service into a "second land army."
Upcoming Afghan elections "on track," challenges remain: UN envoy
UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- A top UN envoy on Thursday said "operationally and logistically" the process for Afghanistan' s upcoming legislative elections in September is "on track," UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters here.
Afghan Clerics Seek Return to Strict Islamic Law
Reuters By Sayed Salahuddin 12/08/2010
KABUL - Afghanistan's largest gathering of clerics, who met to discuss reconciliation with the Taliban, has called for the revival of strict Islamic law as the country seeks ways to win militants away from a growing insurgency.
Presence of U.S. troops on Pakistani soils brings controversy
By Syed Moazzam Hashmi, Yangtze Yan
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Round-the-clock diligent relief and rescue efforts have further enhanced U.S. military's image in the country, though the entry of 1,000 U.S. marines to join hands in relief operations have presented a scenario with both repercussions and opportunities, local analysts say.
New intelligence on Iran antiaircraft missiles in Afghanistan
Washington Post (blog) By Jeff Stein August 12, 2010
An intelligence report recently delivered to the NDS, Afghanistan’s domestic intelligence agency, says that Iran has supplied fresh batteries for some three dozen shoulder-fired SA-7 missiles stockpiled by Taliban forces in Kandahar, in anticipation of a U.S. attack.
Foreigners Boost Insurgency in Eastern Afghanistan
The Associated Press By Frozan Rahmani 08/12/2010
JALALABAD - As the spotlight of the Afghan war focuses on the south, insurgent activity is increasing in parts of the east, with Arab and other foreign fighters linked to al-Qaida infiltrating across the rugged mountains with the help of Pakistani militants, Afghan and U.S. officials say.
Pakistan floods: an emergency for the West
Unless we act decisively, large parts of flood-stricken Pakistan will be taken over by the Taliban, writes Ahmed Rashid.
Telegraph.co.uk By Ahmed Rashid 12 Aug 2010
Pakistan's floods have not just devastated the lives of millions of people, they now present an unparalleled national security challenge for the country, the region and the international community. Lest anyone under-estimate the scale of the disaster, all four of Pakistan's wars with India combined did not cause such damage.
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WikiLeaks to continue releasing Afghan war files: Assange
by Sam Reeves – Fri Aug 13, 5:00 am ET
LONDON (AFP) – WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange insisted Thursday the whistleblower website still planned to release its final batch of US military files on the Afghan war, despite American demands it hold back.
Speaking via video link to an audience in London, Assange said the site was preparing to release the final 15,000 classified files, the remaining documents from a huge cache which were published last month.
"We are about 7,000 reports in," he said, without giving a date when the files would be released.
Asked whether the website would press ahead with the release, he responded: "Absolutely."
His comments came despite renewed pressure from the Pentagon to withhold the material, and harsh criticism from media freedom group Reporters without Borders, which accused the site of "incredible irresponsibility."
Speaking during a debate at the Frontline Club in the British capital, Assange said that WikiLeaks had received "no assistance, despite repeated requests, from the White House or the Pentagon".
The Pentagon last week demanded WikiLeaks "do the right thing" and return around 70,000 classified US military documents on Afghanistan it released in late July.
It also urged the website to halt plans for any future releases.
In a statement Thursday, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said the "only responsible course of action for them is to immediately remove all the stolen documents from their website and expunge all classified material from their computers."
Morrell said additional publications would be "the height of irresponsibility" and "would compound a mistake that has already put far too many lives at risk."
The files contained a string of damaging claims, including allegations that Pakistani spies met directly with the Taliban and that deaths of innocent civilians at the hands of international forces were covered up.
But the documents also included the names of some Afghan informants, prompting claims that the leaks have endangered lives.
In an open letter to Assange, Reporters with Borders said it "regrets the incredible irresponsibility you showed when posting your article 'Afghan War Diary 2004 - 2010' on the WikiLeaks website on 25 July."
The group said WikiLeaks had in the past played a useful role by making public information that exposed violations of human rights committed in the name of the US "war against terror."
"But revealing the identity of hundreds of people who collaborated with the coalition in Afghanistan is highly dangerous.
"It would not be hard for the Taliban and other armed groups to use these documents to draw up a list of people for targeting in deadly revenge attacks," it said.
Last week, Morrell said the Defense Department was seeking the return of all versions of documents "obtained directly or indirectly" from Pentagon databases or records.
He said the Pentagon was aware there was other information in WikiLeaks' possession that "has not been pushed into the public domain yet."
"We hope this message will help convince them not to publish," he added.
Assange, 39, an Australian former hacker and computer programmer, has previously said he believed the publication would help focus public debate on the war in Afghanistan and on possible atrocities by US-led forces.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, both said the publication had endangered locals providing information to US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan.
The Pentagon and the Federal Bureau of Investigation swiftly launched an investigation into the case when it came to light July 25.
Daniel Schmitt, a WikiLeaks spokesman in Germany, previously told US news website The Daily Beast that the site wanted to open a line of communication with the Pentagon to review another 15,000 classified reports, in order to "make redactions so they can be safely published."
The Pentagon however has insisted it never received any such request from WikiLeaks.
The site, which styles itself as "the first intelligence agency of the people," was founded in December 2006 and invited would-be whistleblowers from around the world to make anonymous contributions.
WikiLeaks has never identified the source of the Afghan files but suspicion has fallen on Bradley Manning, a US Army intelligence analyst under arrest for allegedly leaking video of a 2007 US Apache helicopter strike in Baghdad in which civilians died.
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Pentagon Cautions WikiLeaks Over 'New Documents'
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty August 13, 2010
The Pentagon has told WikiLeaks it would be the "height of irresponsibility" if it went through with a new threat to publish outstanding documents it had on the Afghan war.
Amid news reports that WikiLeaks plans to soon release about 15,000 documents it had held back last month, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell repeated a U.S. demand for the whistleblower site to expunge all classified material from the Internet and return the material it had to the U.S. government.
WikiLeaks caused uproar when it published more than 70,000 documents last month, at a time when U.S. public and congressional support for the nine-year war in Afghanistan is flagging.
International organizations including Amnesty International and the International Crisis Group have appealed to WikiLeaks to censor the names of Afghans who have worked with government or foreign forces in Afghanistan and would therefore be targets of retaliation by militants.
The media freedom group Reporters Without Borders said WikiLeaks is showing "incredible irresponsibility" in posting the documents.
compiled from agency reports
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Gun battle in Afghan capital kills 10: witnesses
KABUL, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- A gun battle between Hazara and Kuchi ethnic groups in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Friday claimed at least 10 lives, witnesses said.
The clash started at noon and was underway at the moment.
Xinhua reporter heard gunshots near the spot in the westside of the city, but the police cordoned off the scene and rejected to offer any information.
Witnesses said over 10 people from the Kuchi group have been killed.
Kuchi people, which live a nomading life around the country, have for many times been involved in conflicts with other ethnic groups, most of which over land disputes.
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Anti-U.S. protest over civilian killings
BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- Hundreds of villagers chanting anti-US slogans have protested in eastern Afghanistan over the killing of three villagers. Locals say US forces shot-dead the innocent men, but NATO insists they were suspected insurgents killed in self-defense.
Early Thursday morning, villagers started to gather in the main market of Sayed Abad to protest against the alleged civilian killings.
The men blocked the main highway going through the area and burned two trucks belonging to Afghan private security contractors.
A protester said, "They martyred three students and detained five others. All of them were civilians. Local people are devastated by this incident. Everyone says we do not want Americans in Afghanistan."
Thursday's raid happened before dawn in Wardak Province's Sayed Abad district, a Taliban-dominated area where Afghan police only patrol with tight security.
Witnesses say American troops stormed into a family's house and shot-dead three young brothers, before taking their father into custody.
NATO called the men "suspected insurgents" and a spokesman said they drew weapons and pointed them at coalition troops.
Police are investigating those allegations, but could not yet confirm anything.
According to a UN report, in the first six months of this year, 386 civilians were killed by NATO or Afghan government forces.
The UN also says insurgent groups were responsible for 76 percent of civilian deaths and injuries in the first half of 2010.
The Taliban has issued a statement decrying the UN report.
(Source: cntv.cn)
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Defense chief Gates orders review of Marines' role
Acknowledging concerns among current and former Marines that the Corps has evolved into another ground combat force, the Defense secretary aims to define the service's future path.
Los Angeles Times By David S. Cloud August 12, 2010
Reporting from San Francisco - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is ordering a review of the future role of the Marine Corps amid " anxiety" that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had turned the service into a "second land army."
The review would seek to define a 21st century combat mission for the Marines that is distinct from the Army's, because the Marines "do not want to be, nor does America need" another ground combat force, Gates said in prepared remarks for a speech at Marines' Memorial Theatre in San Francisco on Thursday to a group that included retired Marines and foreign policy experts.
Gates is on a two-day trip to California. He met with sailors onboard the destroyer Higgins on Thursday and plans to attend a training ceremony for Navy Seals on Friday.
In ordering the Pentagon review, Gates was deepening a long-running debate about the role of the Marine Corps, including whether one of its main missions — amphibious assaults against fortified coastlines — has become obsolete because of the changing nature of warfare and advances in precision weaponry.
Gates is seeking $100 billion in budget savings from the military services and Pentagon bureaucracies, though he intends to invest the money in weapons programs. Given the unwavering support for the Marines in Congress, there is little chance the service would be eliminated or see its budget significantly reduced.
Gates noted that anxiety about the future of the Marines stems from the "perception that they have become too heavy, too removed from their expeditionary roots."
In a question-and-answer session with sailors aboard the Higgins earlier in the day, Gates said, "I think they've gotten too big," and he predicted that the service would shrink in coming years.
Such statements only intensify worries among serving and retired Marines about the future. But Gates sought to reassure his audience that he continued to see a major future role for the service.
The review will be conducted by Gen. James F. Amos, the incoming Marine commandant, and by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus. The Marines are a component of the Navy Department.
The review, Gates said, would make recommendations about what "expeditionary forces in readiness would look like." It "should not lose sight of the Marines' greatest strengths," he said, including "a broad portfolio of capabilities" and its adaptability.
"The Marines' unique ability to project combat capability from the sea under uncertain conditions — forces quickly able to protect and sustain themselves — is a capability that America has needed in this past decade and will require in the future," he added.
Like all the services, the Marine Corps has been forced in Iraq and Afghanistan to undertake counterinsurgency warfare, experiences that Gates said "well position" the Corps for the types of wars the U.S. is likely to face in the near future.
But as the demands on the Marines have grown, so have its size and its approach to warfare.
Marines have found themselves in long, difficult deployments in the toughest parts of Iraq and Afghanistan. The number of Marines has grown from 175,000 to more than 200,000, another departure from its historical role as a small, elite force trained to move quickly and strike hard. There are currently 20,000 Marines in Afghanistan's Helmand province.
Gates said he did not want to preempt the review's findings, but he noted that "it is proper to ask whether large-scale amphibious assault landings" are feasible because advances in anti-ship missiles would require troop-carrying ships to remain "25, 40 or even 60 miles" away from shore.
david.cloud@latimes.com
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Upcoming Afghan elections "on track," challenges remain: UN envoy
UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- A top UN envoy on Thursday said "operationally and logistically" the process for Afghanistan' s upcoming legislative elections in September is "on track," UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters here.
With only 37 days until Afghans head to the polls, Staffan de Mistura, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's special representative for Afghanistan, highlighted the challenges ahead, Nesirky said at a news briefing here.
De Mistura called upon the Afghan security forces to show heightened vigilance over the coming two months.
"We have already seen widespread intimidation with regard to female candidates, the killing of three candidates and other violence directed against a number of other candidates. This is unacceptable," said De Mistura in a statement.
"We all know that security challenges will be a significant obstacle and we must ensure that poor security in parts of the country is not used to manipulate the votes of the people," de Mistura said.
Meanwhile, the special representative noted that the UN agrees with the Independent Election Commission (IEC) in Afghanistan on the need to make the list of polling stations by Aug. 18.
"Making the list public, one month in advance of the elections, is essential for the transparency of the electoral process," quoted Nesirky.
Calling on all Afghan voters to make an informed vote on the Sept. 18, De Mistura said their vote is the final decision maker in determining the country's future.
Preparations have been under way for the elections, slated to be held on 18 September. The ballot papers arrived in the country last week and campaigning by the large number of candidates has recently stepped up.
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Afghan Clerics Seek Return to Strict Islamic Law
Reuters By Sayed Salahuddin 12/08/2010
KABUL - Afghanistan's largest gathering of clerics, who met to discuss reconciliation with the Taliban, has called for the revival of strict Islamic law as the country seeks ways to win militants away from a growing insurgency.
About 350 of the Islamic clerics, or ulema, met for three days this week, the meeting ending with a declaration calling on President Hamid Karzai to enact sharia, or Islamic law, including punishments such as stonings, lashing, amputation and execution.
"The lack of implementation of sharia hodud (punishment) has cast a negative impact on the peace process," said a 10-point resolution issued after the meeting.
"We the ulema and preachers of Afghanistan ... earnestly ask the government not to spare any efforts in the implementation of sharia hodud."
The resolution, seen by Reuters, was sent to Karzai's government.
The ulema have a long-standing and deep influence in traditionally conservative Afghanistan and have often stepped in to back uprisings or been used to bolster past governments.
The head of a government council of religious leaders, separate to the gathering this week, has been asked to find ways to make peace with the Taliban after almost 10 years of war since the militants were ousted by U.S.-backed Afghan forces.
The head of that government council, Mawlavi Qiyamuddin Kashaf, attended the meeting of clerics and scholars this week, which included representatives from both the majority Sunni Muslim sect and minority Shi'ites.
"This (gathering) was very new for the peace efforts and the biggest yet. They will go and preach for peace in their respective regions," Kashaf told Reuters on Thursday.
However, there has so far been no reaction from Karzai's government to the council's resolution.
After years of conflict in Afghanistan, Karzai has sought to soften perceptions of his deeply religious country through programs such as moderate Islamic schools.
But at the same time he has been pushing reconciliation with the Taliban as violence continues to rise, raising concerns among some of his backers in the West.
Karzai called a major tribal "peace gathering" in June to win support for his plan to offer an amnesty, cash and job incentives to Taliban foot soldiers while arranging asylum for top figures in a second country and getting their names struck off a U.N. and U.S. blacklist.
NOTORIOUS
The Taliban were notorious for their harsh punishment of offenders during their rule from 1996 to 2001 and staged public stonings, floggings, amputations and executions.
In a reminder of their harsh rule, a woman received dozens of lashes before she was publicly executed by a Taliban commander in a remote district of northwest Badghis province this week, officials have said.
The clerics' resolution also urged foreign forces, who number more than 140,000, to stop unnecessary air strikes and searching of Afghans' homes.
While military deaths have reached record proportions this year, Afghan civilians bear the brunt of the conflict and civilian casualties have long been an irritant been Karzai's government and its backers in the West.
Such concerns have led to a tightening of tactical directives twice in the past year, under the former head of NATO and U.S. forces, General Stanley McChrystal, and his successor General David Petraeus in June.
The council also pushed for a crackdown against corruption -- one of the major Western complaints against Karzai's government -- and social immorality and "cultural invasion."
The latter two are indirect references to the airing of immodest Indian and Western songs and films by the growing number of private cable and satellite television networks in Afghanistan. Such entertainment was banned under the Taliban.
(Editing by Paul Tait)
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Presence of U.S. troops on Pakistani soils brings controversy
By Syed Moazzam Hashmi, Yangtze Yan
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Round-the-clock diligent relief and rescue efforts have further enhanced U.S. military's image in the country, though the entry of 1,000 U.S. marines to join hands in relief operations have presented a scenario with both repercussions and opportunities, local analysts say.
"We trust U.S. Army. It's helping us and can never leave us alone," Al'lan Fakir Jr., a famous folk singer told media on Friday at the site of heavily flooded River Indus in southern Sindh province.
However, despite the favorable sentiments, the presence of U.S. troops might jeopardize the rising positive image of U.S relief aid and assistance. Although, they are here for a good job, it can certainly create image complications, local watchers believe.
Some 60,000 dedicated troops of Pakistani military are involved in relief and rescue operations across the flood hit country where over 1,300 people have lost lives during the past couple of weeks of heavy monsoon rains and floods. Some 15 million have been affected including six million children and some 7.22 million homes damaged, according to UN reports.
The United Nations chief Ban Ki-Moon who will be visiting Pakistan on a day-long trip on Saturday has appealed the world to contribute 460 million dollars to meet the challenges posed by floods.
"The natural calamity has provided the United States with the best excuse to step onto the Pakistani soil," a foreign journalist touring the flood affected areas in the northwest commented on anonymity in the backdrop of rising anti-American sentiment.
USS Peleliu, a helicopter borne amphibious assault ship moored in open waters off the coast of southern port city of Karachi with 19 "multi-purpose" helicopters and 1,000 marines set to operate in partnership with Pakistani military throughout the country's flood affected areas.
With the U.S. assistance, Pakistan had come to recognize the Taliban threat from within, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gate's recently stated in Tampa, Florida while indicating a "dramatic" improvement in military relations with Pakistan.
The U.S. has told Pakistan to keep pressure on radical militant groups operating close to Afghan border, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.
"American administration might be interested in hitting the two birds with the same stone," said Arshi Saleem, Senior Research Analyst at the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) in Islamabad.
"Winning hearts and minds and relief work, and taking care of militants," she added.
Interestingly, Taliban and some other disbanded militant outfits including Lashkar-e-Taiba are also participating in the badly needed relief work in the affected areas of rugged northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the insurgent militants fighting a war against Pakistani troops in the troubled tribal areas of Pakistan along Afghanistan border have conditionally offered 20 million dollars for relief work urging Pakistan to stop taking aid from the West.
Taliban can even possibly increase the amount of monetary assistance, or could retaliate in case of an expected rejection and increasing presence of U.S. troops. Though they have been avoiding confrontation and have significantly reduced subversion over the past couple of weeks, analysts observe.
In a society soaked with conspiracy theories, presence of U.S. troops along with significant Pakistani military force in relief and rescue operations, the current development of the presence of U.S. troops possess all the possibility of being portrayed negatively, they add.
Pakistan has long been resisting U.S. proposals of conducting surgical strikes or covert operations by its troops in northwest tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, especially when the United States operated drone strikes have attracted severe criticism for killing significantly high number of civilians in the attacks, both by Pakistani people and the international organizations including the United Nations.
"There is a possibility of info-leaks leading to big arrests since militants are operating openly doing relief work," said Arshi Saleem, an Afghan affairs and counterterrorism expert. "We might hear some big names arrested," he said.
It is quite possible that both entities militants and the troops might ignore each other and focus on their "image building" agenda through relief work. However, with the beefing up of U.S. military' s physical presence, the possibility of friction with militants cannot be ruled out, analysts believe.
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New intelligence on Iran antiaircraft missiles in Afghanistan
Washington Post (blog) By Jeff Stein August 12, 2010
An intelligence report recently delivered to the NDS, Afghanistan’s domestic intelligence agency, says that Iran has supplied fresh batteries for some three dozen shoulder-fired SA-7 missiles stockpiled by Taliban forces in Kandahar, in anticipation of a U.S. attack.
Although uncorroborated, the June 25 report from a human intelligence asset fits with information from other sources that the Taliban has obtained Iranian-made SA-7’s and other, older shoulder-fired missiles, including U.S.-made Stingers left over from the mujaheddin’s CIA-backed war against the Soviet Red Army.
But the rebels' use of the missiles has been hampered by a lack of batteries, multiple sources say, as well as fears of a rapid counterstrike by U.S. drones.
“The real issue" with SA-7s "is battery life,” said a retired former top U.S. military intelligence official in Afghanistan.
“There are three parts to the system: the shoulder grip/sighting mechanism, the rocket in tube and the battery. Batteries are the weak link.”
A former senior CIA operations officer echoed a similar theme, independently.
"They have a bunch of U.S. Stingers left over from the mujaheddin time. But the batteries are dead,” said the former officer, who is under contract to supply intelligence about al-Qaeda and the Taliban to the Pentagon. “The Iranians are trying to get or manufacture new batteries.”
“Iran has provided about three dozen new, Iranian-made, shoulder-fired AA rockets” to the Taliban, the former CIA officer added, “and they are in Helmand and Kandahar now, but being held in reserve for the ‘big battle’ that never seems to come.”
The onset of the Ramadan fast has postponed any coalition forces attack another month, he said.
The spy's June 25 report to Afghanistan’s NDS intelligence agency said, “Maolavi Mohibullah on 25 June 2010 returned from Iran via Kamdai to Garmeshk, carrying 15 fresh batteries for the Iranian made SAM-7s already in Taliban hands.”
Mohibullah was not identified, nor was the name of the agent who supplied the report, a copy of which was made available to SpyTalk by a Western intelligence source.
Any reports linking Iran to the Afghan conflict must be viewed with caution. A previous intelligence report, surfaced by WikiLeaks, describing a 2005 missile-buying mission to North Korea by rebel leader Gulbiddin Hekmatyar and a senior aide to Osama bin Laden, is now suspected of having been fabricated by elements in Washington or elsewhere who wanted to implicate Iran in the Afghan insurgency.
Nevertheless, maintained the former CIA officer, “During the anti-Soviet war, Iran was very open in supporting Shi’a mujaheddin units” in Afghanistan. “The current relations between Afghan Shi’a and Iran, especially those Shi’a in Kandahar, is a story waiting to be told. In short, it is an Iranian ‘fifth column’ representing Iranian interests. We all know about Pak meddling via the ISI, but Iranian meddling via the [Revolutionary Guard] is a story yet to be told.”
A CIA paramilitary operator who recently departed Afghanistan said he “would not discount" the report on the batteries.
But he added that Taliban commanders would be reluctant to deploy the missiles until it could be proven they could be used effectively -- and with impunity.
“If it does happen,” he said, “it will not be part of a protracted campaign but more of a ‘one off’ ”
“Once they turn on that system,” he added, “we are able to track it.”
And quickly.
“It depends on what asset is above -- satellites or drones,” he said, “but suffice to say, as we head into a certain area we have these assets on standby.”
“They also have to do the risk analysis on the system as well,” he continued. “We call it ‘fire and forget’ -- for them it’s ‘fire and watch out,’ as we smoke the ground they were standing on .
“Additionally, we see [shoulder-fired missiles] as a tactical weapon, but for them it’s a strategic weapon requiring constant commo and people watching as they try to take down a helo or a fast-mover. Quite simply stated, we can ID the signature once they go ‘hot.’ I am not stating that you will not see them used. However it does not play into the greater picture [of the Taliban’s guerrilla war strategy],” he said.
In addition, coalition aircraft also have effective anti-missile capabilities on board now, he added.
In July 2007 there were news reports of a U.S. C-130 transport plane evading a missile.
"The C-130 attacked in Nimroz was flying at 11,000 feet at the time of the attack, which is within the 1.5- to 3.4-mile range of a shoulder-launched missile system such as the SAM-7," said the London Telegraph.
U.S. military intelligence spent lavishly in 2002-2003 to buy up old Soviet-made missiles, which can be easily obtained in black-market arms bazaars in Afghanistan and Pakistan, said the retired MI official.
“The [truck-mounted] SA-3 was considered the holy grail,” he said.
Likewise, the CIA sought to buy back the Stingers it supplied to Islamic rebel forces in the 1980s. But it failed to get more than half of them, said the intelligence sources, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity so they could speak freely.
“We bought back about 150, leaving 150 unaccounted for,” said the former CIA operations officer. “By now, they would all be unserviceable because of the short battery life -- about one year. And because the battery is Stinger-unique, and no one else has Stingers, [there’s] no real source for new batteries other than US Army, which is not selling.”
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Foreigners Boost Insurgency in Eastern Afghanistan
The Associated Press By Frozan Rahmani 08/12/2010
JALALABAD - As the spotlight of the Afghan war focuses on the south, insurgent activity is increasing in parts of the east, with Arab and other foreign fighters linked to al-Qaida infiltrating across the rugged mountains with the help of Pakistani militants, Afghan and U.S. officials say.
Security in eastern Afghanistan is critical because the region includes the capital, Kabul, which the insurgents have sought to surround and isolate from the rest of the country. The east also borders Pakistan, where al-Qaida's leaders fled after the 2001 U.S.-led invasion drove the Taliban from power.
Gen. Mohammed Zaman Mahmoodzai, head of Afghanistan's border security force, told The Associated Press that infiltration by al-Qaida-linked militants has been increasing in his area since March.
"One out of three are Arabs," he said, coming mostly from Pakistan's Bajaur and Mohmand tribal areas where the Pakistan military is battling Pakistani Taliban insurgents.
The advent of spring makes it easier to move through mountain passes into Afghanistan, though Mahmoodzai believes the influx of Arabs has been greater than can be explained by seasonal trends.
A NATO official said he thought Mahmooodzai's estimate of Arab infiltration was high but acknowledged that activity by foreign fighters was running "a little more than average" in the east. He said most of them were believed to be Pakistanis, Chechens and Tajiks although it was difficult to determine their origins.
He spoke on condition of anonymity because the information is sensitive.
In some cases, militants enter the country through legal crossing points such as Torkham, 35 miles east of Jalalabad. Mahmoodzai said the infiltrators carry fake passports and visas provided by Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based group that India blames for the 2008 attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai that left 166 people dead.
"We know it is Lashkar-e-Taiba because we have sources inside the Afghan Taliban," Mahmoodzai said. "They said the Arabs are coming here through Lashkar-e-Taiba."
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Pakistan floods: an emergency for the West
Unless we act decisively, large parts of flood-stricken Pakistan will be taken over by the Taliban, writes Ahmed Rashid.
Telegraph.co.uk By Ahmed Rashid 12 Aug 2010
Pakistan's floods have not just devastated the lives of millions of people, they now present an unparalleled national security challenge for the country, the region and the international community. Lest anyone under-estimate the scale of the disaster, all four of Pakistan's wars with India combined did not cause such damage.
It has become clear this week that, unless major aid is forthcoming immediately and international diplomatic effort is applied to improving Pakistan's relations with India, social and ethnic tensions will rise and there will be food riots. Large parts of the country that are now cut off will be taken over by the Pakistani Taliban and affiliated extremist groups, and governance will collapse. The risk is that Pakistan will become what many have long predicted – a failed state with nuclear weapons, although we are a long way off from that yet.
The heavy rain and floods have devastated the poorest and least literate areas of the country, where extremists and separatist movements thrive. Central Punjab – the country's richest region, where incomes and literacy are double those of other areas – has escaped the disaster. The resentment felt towards Punjab by ethnic groups in the smaller provinces is thus likely to increase.
In Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa (KP), formerly the North Western Frontier Province, where both the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban are based, millions of people have lost their homes and are on the move – this just a few months after many of them had returned home after successful military offensives against militants in the Swat valley. Now every single bridge in the Swat valley has been destroyed and the roads washed away.
Across the province, hundreds of miles of electricity pylons and gas lines have been ripped out, power stations have been flooded, and at least half of the livestock and standing crops have been destroyed. All of this will dramatically loosen the state's control over outlying areas, in particular those bordering Afghanistan, which could be captured quickly by local Taliban.
The poverty-stricken plains of southern Punjab and northern Sind, another major recruitment centre for extremists, have also been drowned. Millions of acres of crops have been destroyed and villages washed away. Joblessness and helplessness will lead to more young men joining the militants, who are propagating the idea that the floods are God's wrath against the government.
In Balochistan, the country's poorest region, which is beset with a separatist insurgency as well as hosting Afghan Taliban bases, flash floods and heavy rain have destroyed infrastructure and the below-subsistence economy. Baloch separatists are already blaming the government for poor relief efforts and urging a stepped-up struggle for independence.
And the floods have not stopped the rampant violence in the country. The Pakistani Taliban continue to carry out suicide bombings and assassinations and have vowed to wipe out the Awami National Party which governs KP province. The Taliban are now threatening to prevent Pakistani non-governmental organisations from carrying out relief work, while allowing militant groups who have set up their own relief camps to expand. In Balochistan, separatist violence goes on, while in Karachi, inter-ethnic killings have continued, with more than 100 murders in the past four weeks.
More than 60,000 Pakistani troops, many of whom were recently fighting the Taliban in KP, and virtually the entire helicopter fleet of the army, are now involved in flood relief. For months to come the army is unlikely to be in a position even to hold the areas along the Afghan border that it has won back from the militants.
That means the war in Afghanistan is about to become even more bloody. US and Nato efforts to secure southern Afghanistan – and new US troop deployments expected this month in eastern Afghanistan – will be affected, as more militants come across the border. The Taliban see the floods as a huge opportunity for recruitment in Pakistan, rather than a disaster.
Moreover, the truly catastrophic long-term destruction is to infrastructure and communications, and that will badly affect any campaign by the Pakistan army against the Taliban for years to come. Terrorists who have used border regions for training and contact with al-Qaeda will find it even easier to do so with the collapse of governance.
With the chronic shortage of foodstuffs and the beginning of the fasting month of Ramadan, food prices have doubled or even tripled, which is likely to lead to acute social tensions. Vegetables are becoming scarce and the lack of livestock is already creating serious shortages of meat and milk for children.
So far, the international aid response, apart from American and British contributions, has been next to pathetic, something for which the US Special Envoy for the region, Richard Holbrooke, has publicly castigated America's allies. Britain has "earmarked", in the FCO's phrase, up to £31.3 million, while the US is providing some $71 million and has sent 19 heavy lift helicopters.
The proceeds of the Kerry-Lugar Bill, which sanctioned $1.5 billion a year for five years for development projects in the civilian sector in Pakistan, are now likely to be diverted to flood relief. It is helpful that such money is available, but vital development projects on which the money should have been spent will now be halted.
Donations from the European Union, Nato countries and especially the Islamic world have been negligible, prompting international aid organisations such as Oxfam to complain of the lack of response. The UN appeal for $459 million to cover immediate relief for the next 90 days is so far not even half fulfilled.
Once there is sufficient humanitarian relief, the most urgent need is for donors to deliver project assistance to rebuild bridges and restore power and roads, particularly in the strategic KP province. The government's ineffectiveness and lack of response so far has been much criticised, but the reality is that Pakistan's coffers are empty and the country is entirely dependent for economic survival on a long-term $11.3 billion loan from the IMF.
India has failed to respond to the crisis and there remains bitter animosity between the two countries, particularly because India blames the current uprising in Indian Kashmir on Pakistan – even though Indian commentators admit that it is more indigenous than Pakistan-instigated.
Help is needed for the two countries to sort out their acute differences over their common river systems, the building of new dams on both sides of the border and the need to allow Indian relief goods, as well as cheaper food and construction materials, to enter Pakistan easily. International agencies would find it much simpler and cheaper to buy such goods from India rather than shipping them in from further afield.
None of this is going to be possible unless there are international diplomatic efforts to get the two rivals to talk to one another. India should understand that it does not further its own national security to have a destitute Pakistan on its borders.
Finally, the crisis adds urgency to the need for the US and Nato to open talks with the Afghan Taliban. A huge influx of Pakistani Taliban into Afghanistan, recruiting thousands more fighters from flood-affected Pakistan as they go, would seriously undermine the Afghan government and Nato.
The floods are more than a natural disaster: they herald a potential regional catastrophe that has to be met with far more determination, generosity and diplomacy than the West has shown so far.
Ahmed Rashid's latest book is 'Descent into Chaos: the United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia' (Viking). A revised edition of his best-selling 'Taliban' has been reissued by IB Tauris
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