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Afghan peace conference heads toward Taliban talks
By Kathy Gannon And Amir Shah, Associated Press Writers – Thu Jun 3, 1:44 pm ET
KABUL, Afghanistan – After two days of sometimes acrimonious debate, President Hamid Karzai on Thursday looked likely to win a national peace conference's support for his plan to invite the Taliban to negotiations to try to end Afghanistan's years of war.
Differences remain at Afghan peace conference
By Kathy Gannon And Amir Shah, Associated Press Writers – Thu Jun 3, 7:49 am ET
KABUL, Afghanistan – Hundreds of Afghan leaders held hours of talks Thursday on ways to end the insurgency wracking their country, but remained divided over whether to reach out to Taliban leaders and a host of other issues.
Afghan Peace Conference Continues as Violence Rocks South
June 3, 2010 VOA News
Delegates from across Afghanistan are meeting for a second day in Kabul, pushing ahead with a peace conference to end more than eight years of war.
Afghan jirga seen as 'last hope' for peace
by Sardar Ahmad June 3, 2010
KABUL (AFP) – A high-security meeting of Afghan elders is the country's last hope for making peace and bringing an end to the long war with the Taliban, delegates to the landmark "peace jirga" said Thursday.
US hopes to be 'fully informed' on Taliban reintegration
Thu Jun 3, 6:41 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States wants to be kept "fully informed" about Afghan President Hamid Karzai's efforts to reintegrate the Taliban, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday.
Afghan elders back peace moves with Taliban
By Sayed Salahuddin And Sanjeev Miglani – Thu Jun 3, 10:10 am ET
KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan tribal leaders and other notables agreed at a peace meeting Thursday that an opening had to be made to Taliban insurgents because neither foreign forces nor the Afghan army had been able to ensure security, the deputy head of the conference said.
Afghan Peace Jirga Will Result in No Achievements
June 3, 2010 Quqnoos
Some Afghan analysts believe that the launch of the Afghan Peace Jirga will not produce good results – that it was just a way to kill time
Afghanistan peace jirga's unlikely critics: victims of war crimes
Some 1,500 delegates at Afghanistan’s peace jirga are debating how to reconcile with insurgents. But war crimes victims say their concerns are being buried.
By Aunohita Mojamdar, The Christian Science Monitor Correspondent June 3, 2010 at 10:10 am EDT
Kabul, Afghanistan — As the Afghan government’s peace jirga meets for a second day to discuss how to reconcile with insurgents and end years of violence, an unlikely coalition is lobbying against the effort: victims of previous wars, who say their demands deserve to be heard alongside the belligerents’.
Afghanistan warlord Hekmatyar shuns peace jirga but offers own deal
Afghanistan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and other insurgent leaders have dismissed a three-day peace jirga, or council, in Kabul, which opened Wednesday to rocket attacks and an attempted suicide bombing.
By Anand Gopal, The Christian Science Monitor Correspondent June 2, 2010 at 9:59 am EDT
Kabul, Afghanistan — A leading Afghan insurgent says his group is ready for a peace deal, as more than a thousand delegates gathered in Kabul Wednesday to discuss ways to quell the violence in this war-ravaged country.
Old and the new mingle at Afghan peace jirga
By Sayed Salahuddin
KABUL (Reuters) – A centuries-old Afghan tradition has been given a modern twist as hundreds of tribal elders and other notables gather from around the country to discuss prospects for peace.
Abdullah: Karzai Is Counting on NATO Staying Forever
June 2, 2010 - 6:56pm, by Katya Kumkova Eurasianet
Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Afghanistan's former foreign minister and the man who nearly won the country’s contentious presidential election last fall, says Afghan President Hamid Karzai does not share Washington's sense of urgency to resolve the conflict there.
Afghan forces kill 5 militants, detain 9 including commander: Official
MAIDANSHAR, Afghanistan, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Afghan troops during an operation against Taliban fighters in Wardak province 40 km west of capital city kabul killed five militants and arrested nine others including a commander, an official said Thursday.
Clash leaves five militants dead in S Afghan province
QALAT, Afghanistan, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Gun battle between security forces and Taliban militants left five insurgents dead in Afghanistan's southern Zabul province, spokesman for provincial administration Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar said Thursday.
Taliban still rule half of Orakzai tribal area: report
ISLAMABAD, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Despite the army's claim of the conclusion of the operation in Orakzai tribal area, locals and officials said that more than half of the agency has not been cleared of the Taliban, local media reported Thursday.
UN Criticises CIA Drone Attacks
June 3, 2010 Quqnoos
A UN human rights expert has criticised the US government's covert program using unmanned drones to strike at terrorists inside Pakistan
NATO soldier killed in S. Afghanistan
KABUL, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Continued Taliban-led insurgency has claimed the life of another soldier of NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in south Afghanistan, a press release of the alliance said Thursday.
Afghanistan: All at peace, except for the war
The new government of David Cameron has an opportunity to take fresh stock, it could make a bold decision
The Guardian Editorial Thursday 3 June 2010
The national consultative peace jirga had hardly got going in Kabul yesterday when it was interrupted by the nearby impact of rockets, gunfire and three suicide bombers detonating their belts. President Hamid Karzai called the Taliban "brothers"
More Saudi currency going to Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan, May 31 (UPI) -- More than $1 billion in Saudi Arabian currency has been sent to Afghanistan in the past four years, likely to support terrorism, investigators say.
Report: Largest U.S. embassy can't track supplies worth millions
CNN From Charley Keyes June 2, 2010
Washington - The largest U.S. embassy in the world has very large problems keeping track of vehicles and millions of dollars of other equipment, from cell phones to medical supplies, according to a new State Department Inspector General's report.
Afghan women's invisible struggle for rights
June 3, 2010 BBC News
Afghan women will be represented as tribal elders, religious leaders and members of parliament meet in Kabul for a three-day grand conference known as a loya jirga. But there are fears, as Martin Patience explains, that small gains in women's rights since the days of the Taliban may be lost.
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Afghan peace conference heads toward Taliban talks
By Kathy Gannon And Amir Shah, Associated Press Writers – Thu Jun 3, 1:44 pm ET
KABUL, Afghanistan – After two days of sometimes acrimonious debate, President Hamid Karzai on Thursday looked likely to win a national peace conference's support for his plan to invite the Taliban to negotiations to try to end Afghanistan's years of war.
But delegates differed about exactly what to offer, and to whom, and when. They argued over whether the top leadership should be welcomed to the negotiating table. And some said the three-day jirga, as the conference is known, was too short to achieve a meaningful outcome.
The government says it called together the 1,500 provincial, religious, tribal and other leaders from across the country to advise Karzai on what to try next to end fighting between Taliban insurgents and Afghan forces backed by U.S. and NATO troops.
The president wants to offer rank-and-file insurgents amnesties and other incentives to lay down their arms, and to hold talks with top Taliban leaders if they renounce al-Qaida and vow to uphold the constitution.
Winning the backing of the conference would politically bolster Karzai, increasingly unpopular because of corruption in his government and his fraud-marred re-election last year.
But even winning broad support of jirga delegates would only be a tentative first step toward negotiating an end to the nearly nine year conflict in Afghanistan, where violence is running at record levels despite a surge in U.S. forces.
The Taliban have dismissed the jirga as a "phony reconciliation process" stacked with Karzai's supporters, and suicide bombers launched an attack on the opening session Wednesday, which was thwarted. The Taliban insist there will be no negotiations until all foreign troops leave Afghanistan — a condition that Karzai could not accept.
And while Washington supports overtures to lower-rung insurgents, it is skeptical of a major political initiative with Taliban leaders until militant forces are weakened on the battlefield. U.S.-led NATO troops are preparing a big offensive this summer in the Taliban heartland of Kandahar province that the Obama administration hopes can help turn the war around.
When jirga delegates meet again Friday, they are expected to sign off on a joint statement that is sure to endorse peace. But the details of how to handle reconciliation with the Taliban is likely to be couched only in general terms.
"Everybody agrees with peace, and peace without negotiations is not possible," Hamid Gailani, a powerful lawmaker from the Taliban's heartland province of Kandahar, told The Associated Press after Thursday's round of closed-door meetings.
Qiamuddin Kashaf, the jirga's deputy chairman, said there was support for forming a new ministry or commission that could push the reconciliation process forward.
He said that debate among delegates — who were split into committees of about 50 on Thursday — was sometimes fierce.
Among key points of difference: whether militant leaders should be removed from a U.N. blacklist that freezes assets and bars overseas travel, and whether U.S. bounties on the heads of senior Taliban leaders should be lifted.
Khashaf said some delegates want the United States to release Taliban prisoners who are being held as enemy combatants at military prisons at Bagram in Afghanistan and in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, if there is no evidence they had committed crimes.
"We did not want anyone with strong cases against them released," said delegate Abdul Qader Kuchi from eastern Nangahar province. "We think some of the Taliban should be removed from the blacklist, but not everyone, not those at the very top."
Others said any talks with the Taliban must be predicated on the group guaranteeing to uphold women's rights and other advancements achieved since U.S.-backed forces ousted the Taliban regime after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Haji Shomali, another delegate from Nangahar, said the key to peace is getting Pakistan and Iran — Afghanistan's eastern and western neighbors — to stop fomenting the insurgency.
Afghanistan has long had acrimonious relations with Pakistan in particular, because Taliban leaders are believed to enjoy safe haven there and Kabul accuses Pakistan's main intelligence agency of maintaining ties with insurgents who launch attacks across the border.
Among the latest violence, Afghan forces and Taliban militants clashed Wednesday, killing four civilians in Marjah, a southern district where a major NATO operation in February was meant to reassert government control, Helmand province spokesman Dawood Ahmadi said.
A roadside bombing elsewhere in Helmand killed four other civilians.
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Associated Press Writer Rahim Faiez in Kabul contributed to this report.
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Differences remain at Afghan peace conference
By Kathy Gannon And Amir Shah, Associated Press Writers – Thu Jun 3, 7:49 am ET
KABUL, Afghanistan – Hundreds of Afghan leaders held hours of talks Thursday on ways to end the insurgency wracking their country, but remained divided over whether to reach out to Taliban leaders and a host of other issues.
Discussions meant to guide President Hamid Karzai's next steps toward ending nearly nine years of war ranged from strengthening Islamic law to the role of the United Nations and the tens of thousands of NATO forces in the country, delegates told The Associated Press.
Ethnic and political fissures opened up in committee sessions held Thursday, the second day of the peace conference, or jirga, which is to end Friday.
Some 1,500 religious, tribal, provincial and other leaders invited by the government are to issue a joint statement Friday. It is sure to endorse peace in general terms, but any other details were unclear late Thursday.
Some delegates said the jirga appeared doomed to achieve little.
There was general support for Karzai's desire to offer rank-and-file members of the insurgency amnesty and other incentives to lay down their arms, but delegates were split over the thornier issue of whether the government should negotiate directly with Taliban leaders.
The Taliban have dismissed the jirga as a "phony reconciliation process" stacked with Karzai's supporters. They insist they will not negotiate until all foreign troops leave the country.
The militants underscored their opposition by launching a rocket and suicide bomb attack on the meeting as it opened Wednesday. Two militants were killed and three civilians injured, but no delegates were harmed and the jirga went ahead.
Karzai met with leaders of a Taliban-allied group, Hizb-i-Islami, last March and has repeatedly said Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar should be invited for talks if he accepts the Afghan constitution and renounces al-Qaida.
Kabul lawmaker Syed Hassain Alumi Balkhi was among jirga delegates who agreed, saying, "We have to have direct talks with the leaders or there will be no peace."
Lal Mohammed, a delegate representing about 1.2 million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan, said all Taliban prisoners should be freed "to create an atmosphere for talks." "Unless we can offer them some guarantees, they won't talk peace," he said.
But Gul Agha Pirzada, a delegate from northern Takhar province, wanted no mention of talks with Taliban leaders in the final statement.
"We want peace, but these leaders have killed innocent people and they are with al-Qaida," he said.
Also discussed was whether militant leaders should be removed from a U.N. blacklist — which includes 137 people associated with the Taliban and 258 with al-Qaida — that freezes assets and bars overseas travel. Some delegates want Washington to withdraw rewards it has offered for the capture of senior Taliban leaders. Omar has a $5 million price on his head.
The Obama administration supports overtures to lower-rung insurgents but is skeptical of a major political initiative with Taliban leaders until militant forces are weakened on the battlefield. NATO troops are preparing a big offensive this summer in the Taliban heartland of Kandahar province.
Delegates broke up into groups of 50-60 people Thursday that were to report back at Friday's plenary.
Mohammad Taqi Mubaraz, a delegate from Wardak province south of Kabul, said he told his group that the ethnic Hazara minority to which he belongs was under-represented at the jirga, and that little could be achieved on such a tight schedule.
"Three days is not enough," he said.
Maulvi Khodai Nazir, representing Helmand clerics, said everyone is his group agreed the jirga's final statement should include strong backing for Shariah, or Islamic, law.
Haji Shomali, a delegate from eastern Nangahar province, said the key to peace is getting Pakistan and Iran — Afghanistan's eastern and western neighbors — to stop fomenting the insurgency.
"This fight will not be solved by the jirga," said Shomali, whose province borders Pakistan. "If the U.S. and NATO want their fight to stop then they should work on Pakistan and Iran to stop interfering."
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Associated Press Writer Rahim Faiez contributed to this report.
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Afghan Peace Conference Continues as Violence Rocks South
June 3, 2010 VOA News
Delegates from across Afghanistan are meeting for a second day in Kabul, pushing ahead with a peace conference to end more than eight years of war.
The question of direct talks with Taliban leaders are expected to dominate Thursday's agenda. President Hamid Karzai said during his opening remarks Wednesday that al-Qaida members and those who have killed civilians will not be forgiven.
The gathering's opening was disrupted Wednesday by the sound of loud explosions as Taliban militants fired missiles near the meeting site in western Kabul. The attack took place as Mr. Karzai was giving his opening address to the crowd of nearly 1,600 delegates.
Missiles fell near the huge tent where the "jirga," or assembly, is taking place, but no one was hurt. Officials said security forces killed two would-be bombers who tried to infiltrate the meeting disguised as women.
Organizers say the goal of the peace conference is to reach a consensus for a road map to reconcile with Taliban insurgents and other extremist groups that are attacking the government and U.S. and NATO troops.
But the jirga has been criticized as a publicity stunt organized by President Karzai. His most serious challenger in last year's elections, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah has dimissed the gathering as a public relations exercise and is not attending. Other critics say the delegates were hand-picked by the Afghan government, adding that no active members of insurgent groups are taking part.
Meanwhile, violence continued in southern Helmand province this week, killing at least 8 civilians. An Afghan spokesman said four civilians died after getting caught in a shootout between Afghan security forces and militants in Marjah. A roadside bomb killed another four in Nawzad district.
U.S. troops launched Operation Moshtarak to retake Marjah from militants in February. The mission has pushed some insurgents out of the area, a traditional Taliban stronghold, but last week the top British commander in southern Afghanistan said it could take another three to four months to completely secure Marjah.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
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Afghan jirga seen as 'last hope' for peace
by Sardar Ahmad June 3, 2010
KABUL (AFP) – A high-security meeting of Afghan elders is the country's last hope for making peace and bringing an end to the long war with the Taliban, delegates to the landmark "peace jirga" said Thursday.
Around 1,600 participants, representing Afghanistan's complex mix of tribal, ethnic, political, geographic, religious and gender interests, are attending the jirga, or assembly, in a massive tent in Kabul's southeastern suburbs.
"If we fail to open a window for peace through this jirga we will never be able to open the gate for peace in the future," said Qiamuddin Kashaf, acting head of the Ulema Council of Afghanistan and a deputy chairman of the jirga.
"The delegates are determined to make it a success," he told reporters.
The participants spent Thursday discussing a strategy for how and whom President Hamid Karzai should approach for peace talks in a bid to end almost nine years of a war that has claimed thousands of lives.
Security was tightened after at least five rockets were fired in the direction of the German-built tent that serves as Kabul's national conference hall on Wednesday, two as Karzai was delivering the opening speech.
Authorities said they had shot dead two suicide bombers and captured another who had holed up in an unfinished building close to the jirga venue.
The interior ministry said the attackers were teenagers, but their ability to breach security provided by 12,000 police, army and intelligence officers was seen as an indication of the militants' determination to make their point.
The Taliban say they will not enter into peace negotiations while foreign troops, now numbering 130,000 under US and NATO command, are in the country.
Delegates broke into 28 groups for two sessions of talks, said Sadeq Sadeqi, National Consultative Peace Jirga spokesman.
Each group of 20-40 members has a leader who will present its ideas to the elected jirga chairman, warlord and former president Burhannudin Rabbani, before a final declaration, which organisers say will be delivered on Friday.
While views are mixed among Afghans on the purpose of the jirga -- with one Kabul businessman calling it "pre-cooked" as many attendees were hand-picked by Karzai -- delegates appeared determined to make the meeting worthwhile.
"I think the Taliban are reconcilable. If we want peace we must contact the Taliban," said Mohammad Naseem Faqiri, delegate from eastern Laghman province.
Noting that the Taliban's public condition for talking peace is the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan, he said: "I am sure there are other things they would want in return for peace.
"I don't think foreign forces are a problem even though they say it all the time. We must find out what exactly they want. I think, yes, the Taliban can be easily reconciled. We must be honest."
The UN special representative to Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, told the BBC that "the only solution is a political one" and that the "rules of the game" for reaching peace "will come from the peace jirga".
"This is the year to make it or break it," he said.
Diplomats have said that a broadly-supported agreement would add legitimacy to Karzai's leadership, as his popularity with the Afghan public is low and his government is regarded as corrupt and inept.
His Western backers, particularly the United States and NATO, have expressed support for the jirga as a milestone in Afghanistan's political maturity.
The number of foreign troops is set to peak at 150,000 by August as part of a counter-insurgency strategy designed to boost Afghan government authority in the Taliban's heartland, the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand.
US President Barack Obama has said he wants to start drawing down troops from mid-2011, while the new British government is keen to get out "as soon as possible".
The "peace jirga" was a key platform of Karzai's campaign last year for re-election, as was a pledge that Afghanistan's police and army would take over responsibility for national security by 2014.
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US hopes to be 'fully informed' on Taliban reintegration
Thu Jun 3, 6:41 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States wants to be kept "fully informed" about Afghan President Hamid Karzai's efforts to reintegrate the Taliban, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday.
"There is no military solution to most conflicts. This is not unique in that regard," Clinton told reporters when asked to comment on the landmark Afghan "peace jirga" taking place in Kabul.
"There have to be political decisions that go along with military actions. And we have told President Karzai most recently on his visit that we understand that. And we support his efforts," the chief US diplomat said.
"But of course, we want to be kept fully informed. And we want to be able to work with him," she said.
Clinton recalled the US position, which is cautiously favorable to reintegrating Taliban fighters who renounce Al-Qaeda, abandon violence, and commit to live by the laws of Afghanistan.
"We've been very clear in our approach that we think that there is basis for reintegrating Taliban fighters back into society," she said.
But she added: "This is painstaking work to try to identify those with whom there may be the opportunity for some political reconciliation, and others for whom there is no prospect."
Afghanistan on Wednesday opened a "peace jirga," conference aimed at reaching a national consensus on ending almost nine years of war by advising the president on how to pursue peace talks with Taliban militants.
The talks continued on Thursday.
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Afghan elders back peace moves with Taliban
By Sayed Salahuddin And Sanjeev Miglani – Thu Jun 3, 10:10 am ET
KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan tribal leaders and other notables agreed at a peace meeting Thursday that an opening had to be made to Taliban insurgents because neither foreign forces nor the Afghan army had been able to ensure security, the deputy head of the conference said.
Qiyamuddin Kashaf said nearly 1,600 delegates gathered for a traditional jirga to discuss President Hamid Karzai's peace proposals agreed that the jirga (gathering) was their last chance to bring peace.
"The most important point (among the suggestions) was that this will be our last jirga and if we cannot open the window for peace then we cannot go to the main gate."
The Taliban insurgency is at its most intense since their overthrow in 2001 by U.S.-led coalition forces and they have carried out a series of high profile attacks around the country despite thousands of additional troops deployed by the United States to help stabilize the country.
Wednesday, the Taliban fired rockets and engaged in gunfire with security forces as Afghan President Hamid Karzai launched the peace jirga in the west of the capital. None of the delegates were wounded but the attack showed their ability to strike at a time when security is at the highest levels.
"All agreed that our problem has reached the stage by which we can definitely say that nor the foreign forces and neither our national troops are able to bring peace and security to Afghanistan," said Kashaf, who is also the a member of the ulema council, made up of the country's top religious scholars.
With war escalating more than nine years after the fall of the Taliban despite the presence of some 140,000 Western troops and rising casualties among them, several NATO countries have been hesitant to send soldiers to the battle zones.
The U.S. is also planning to begin scaling down its presence from the middle of next year and several alliance nations have said they will not extend their mission.
Hundreds of delegates reflecting Afghan tribes, politics and geography, deliberated over Karzai's peace proposals in 28 small groups set up to forge a consensus.
They will report back to jirga chairman Burhanuddin Rabani, who is a former president, for adoption of a resolution at the close of the conference Friday.
The peace plan consists of luring Taliban foot soldiers back to the mainstream with cash and job incentives while seeking reconciliation with senior figures by offering them asylum in a Muslim country and striking their names off a UN blacklist.
Several delegates said the authorities must reach out to the top figures in the insurgency rather than focus on low level fighters.
"The removal of Taliban leaders' names from the lists, release of prisoners can lead to creating trust in the negotiators and also ease hostility between the warring sides," said Mohammad Masood Akhundzada, a shrine custodian from the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.
TALIBAN REJECT TALKS
The Taliban have so far scoffed at the idea of talks saying all foreign forces must first leave the country. They have instead announced a spring offensive against the U.S.-led NATO forces and stepped up attacks.
U.S-led NATO forces are expected to launch an operation against them in their spiritual capital of Kandahar in the next few weeks that some believe may force them to reconsider their opposition to talks.
"The jirga is the beginning of the process, not the end of the process. This is a process where all Afghans should be involved because they have suffered for a long time ... because of the cycle of violence," said Masoon Stanakzai, a top adviser to Karzai.
Hundreds of police and security forces have been deployed on the streets surrounding the campus where the conference is taking place and in the hillsides overlooking the tent.
(Editing by David Fox)
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Afghan Peace Jirga Will Result in No Achievements
June 3, 2010 Quqnoos
Some Afghan analysts believe that the launch of the Afghan Peace Jirga will not produce good results – that it was just a way to kill time
Afghan analysts warned that the Afghan government will make the insurgents even more active by holding such conferences.
While accepting the challenges facing the Afghan Consultative Peace Jirga, the Afghan government said it is optimistic in terms of the possible outcomes.
A number of analysts point the finger to President Karzai’s scattered talks in the Afghan peace conference, appointing Burhanedin Rabani, a former Afghan president and participant of the Kabul conference, as the head of the Afghan Jirga.
"The Taliban rejected the idea of the Jirga immediately, and their stance was totally clear. They said these kinds of Jirga will legitimate Afghanistan’s occupation and we refuse it," said an Afghan political analyst, Wahid Mujdea.
On its very first day the Jirga did not point out the conditions set by the anti-government groups, therefore there is no way for an understanding to form between the Afghan government and the insurgents.
"Afghan bodies, Afghan distinguished individuals and our own people have organized the Jirga, and this could be a good achievement. Gaining the backing of the international community is a success," said a deputy spokesman for the Afghan president, Hamid Elmi.
After Abdullah, Afghanistan's most prominent opposition leader, Gen. Abdul Rashid Dustum, President Karzai’s ally in last year’s presidential election, Ata Mohammad Noor, governor of Balkh province, and other influential characters declined to participate in the Afghan peace Jirga, the legitimacy of the Afghan Jirga has come under question, according to reports.
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Afghanistan peace jirga's unlikely critics: victims of war crimes
Some 1,500 delegates at Afghanistan’s peace jirga are debating how to reconcile with insurgents. But war crimes victims say their concerns are being buried.
By Aunohita Mojamdar, The Christian Science Monitor Correspondent June 3, 2010 at 10:10 am EDT
Kabul, Afghanistan — As the Afghan government’s peace jirga meets for a second day to discuss how to reconcile with insurgents and end years of violence, an unlikely coalition is lobbying against the effort: victims of previous wars, who say their demands deserve to be heard alongside the belligerents’.
After hours of discussion Thursday, Afghan tribal elders agreed that this peace meeting had to produce an overture to the Taliban insurgents because NATO and Afghan forces weren't able to bring security to the people.
Victims say that they too want lasting peace for Afghanistan, but argue that it requires accountability, not amnesty. The lack of justice only encourages further violence, they say.
But in a country that’s seen countless factions battle brutally and shift alliances for three decades, they acknowledge that any peace deal is more likely to bury the past than try to assign blame for the suffering and deaths of millions.
Victims’ jirga
Still, surviving family members, along with a coalition of 24 NGOs called the Transitional Justice Coordination Group gathered in Kabul last month ahead of the three-day government jirga, or council, to make their point with a “victim’s jirga.” More than 100 attendees from around the country met for two days, where they recounted personal tragedies and war crimes under various regimes, and visited a suspected mass grave at Pul-e-Charki, on the outskirts of town near the country’s largest prison.
“I am like a butterfly hovering over the grave of my sons… I have a broken heart… my children, my flowers, why did you go away from me?” lamented Taj-e-Nissa, reading a poem she had composed.
The middle-aged woman, who goes by one name, lost two sons, a daughter, father, and brother to rocket attacks during the 1990s civil war as mujahideen factions, having beaten back the Soviet Army, now battled one another for power. During the Taliban era that followed, her husband, accused of opposing the regime, was imprisoned and tortured.
Amnesty law
The war victims’ lobby had hope a few years ago that the government would heed their call – in 2005 it adopted a Transitional Justice Action Plan that called for the acknowledgment of suffering, removal of war crimes perpetrators from senior positions, and documentation of human rights abuses, among other requirements. But it was never implemented and instead expired last year.
In January it came to light that the government had adopted an amnesty law in 2007 and kept it under wraps. The law protects all belligerents, past and present, from prosecution. It passed without much comment from the international community.
“Accountability, not amnesia for past and present crimes is a prerequisite for genuine reconciliation and peace in Afghanistan,” the TJCG said in a statement criticizing the amnesty.
The law prevents virtually all investigation or prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity, rape, and torture, they pointed out. It has no cutoff date, thus allowing armed groups to continue to act with impunity. Though it allows victims to seek prosecution for war crimes, critics point out that individuals cannot realistically take on a warlord.
Two other independent groups – the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) and the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) – have also criticized the law. They point to Afghanistan’s international treaty obligations, which calls for the prosecution of certain serious crimes.
“It is questionable whether measures that ignore the rights of victims, promote impunity and undermine accountability contribute to stability and reconciliation in the long run,” they said in a joint statement in February.
Some survivors, though, recognizing how improbable their call for justice is, say they would settle for simply an acknowledgment of their suffering. Says Arab Shahi, whose brother was tortured to death by government forces under the Soviet regime even though he worked as an official in the Ministry of Education, “We don’t want revenge. We do not want an eye for an eye…. [But] the perpetrators should at least apologize.”
‘Not our reconciliation’
Others, like Engineer Niamat, wish they could find out exactly what happened to their missing relatives.
After his brother disappeared in 1978, Mr. Niamat, a teacher at the police academy, tried desperately to find him. Years later his family learned the brother had been killed, but his body was never found.
Niamat, who lost five other brothers in conflict, gathered last month with dozens of others at the site of the suspected mass grave. For him, that visit held more hope for him than the government’s peace jirga.
Asked about the official gathering, he is dismissive.
“This is the reconciliation of the government,” he says. “This is not our reconciliation.”
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Afghanistan warlord Hekmatyar shuns peace jirga but offers own deal
Afghanistan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and other insurgent leaders have dismissed a three-day peace jirga, or council, in Kabul, which opened Wednesday to rocket attacks and an attempted suicide bombing.
By Anand Gopal, The Christian Science Monitor Correspondent June 2, 2010 at 9:59 am EDT
Kabul, Afghanistan — A leading Afghan insurgent says his group is ready for a peace deal, as more than a thousand delegates gathered in Kabul Wednesday to discuss ways to quell the violence in this war-ravaged country.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of Hizb-i-Islami, one of Afghanistan’s three main insurgent factions, told the Monitor in an e-mail interview that his group decided to open talks with the Afghan government after US President Barack Obama and other Western leaders mentioned the possibility of starting to withdraw troops as early as July 2011.
“They said that the chaos in Afghanistan does not have a military solution. They said they could not defeat the opposition to this regime by fighting,” Mr. Hekmatyar wrote from an undisclosed location. “Because of that, we gave a complete and logical proposal” for peace to the government.
High-ranking officials with Hizb-i-Islami, including the group’s spokesman, verified that the responses were Hekmatyar’s.
The prospects of a deal with Hekmatyar are still far off, given that some of his demands – such as foreign troop withdrawal this year and early elections – are unlikely to be accepted by the US and the Afghan government. And any deal is unlikely to sway the Taliban, the strongest of the insurgent groups, to themselves come to the table.
Still, though smaller than the Taliban, Hizb-i-Islami has an active presence in large parts of the country’s north and east. It has carried out many attacks against Afghan and Western forces, including a 2008 assault near Kabul that killed 10 French soldiers.
Peace jirga attacked
This week’s peace jirga, where nearly 1,600 notable Afghans have assembled to debate strategies for reaching out to insurgents, did not extend invitations to any militant group. In turn, Hizb-i-Islami issued a statement dismissing the meeting because “the participants consist of persons who are state favorites.” A Taliban spokesman also condemned the jirga, calling it a "show" and not a serious initiative.
Indeed, the jirga’s opening was met with attacks – three rockets landed near the area of the meetings, and a gun battle erupted with a suspected suicide bomber as the jirga started.
High-level talks
Contacts between the Hizb-i-Islami and the Afghan government picked up early this year, Afghan officials say. A high-ranking delegation visited Kabul in March – and met with several senior politicians, including President Hamid Karzai. They delivered a 15-point peace plan that included several controversial demands.
The proposal said that foreign troops must begin withdrawing by July and early elections held, according to a copy seen by the Monitor. Some analysts believe that leaders of Hizb-i-Islami, which remains popular among segments of Pashtun society, think they can win such an election.
According to the proposal, the government would continue in its current form after the troops left and the newly elected parliament would review the Constitution.
The group also hints that it would prevent Al Qaeda from operating in the country. “In our proposal, we said that after the foreign troops leave, there will be no foreign fighters in Afghanistan,” Hekmatyar wrote, referring to Al Qaeda, although analysts doubt if he could deliver on such a promise.
Members of the group blame Washington for hamstringing negotiations by demurring on troop withdrawal. “The Americans are not ready for talks. That’s why we continue to fight,” says Haroun Zarghun, a close associate of Hekmatyar’s, speaking on the phone from an undisclosed location.
Prospects for a deal
US officials counter that Hizb-i-Islami has not effectively demonstrated its intent to cut links with Al Qaeda, and that withdrawing forces beginning this summer is premature. Hekmatyar and his group have also been accused of a long list of human rights violations.
Some of the terms may also be unacceptable to the Afghan government. “We do not accept any condition that is against the Afghan constitution,” says Siamak Herawi, a spokesman for the President Karzai. “Elections can only be held every five years, so their proposal [for new elections] is against the constitution and not acceptable.”
Some Western and Afghan officials say they welcome reconciliation with Hizb-i-Islami but are wary of any government role for Hekmatyar, whose forces notoriously shelled Kabul in the 1990s, killing thousands, despite his being prime minister at the time.
Hekmatyar denies any personal aspirations in extending the olive branch. “I just want freedom for my country,” he says. “I don’t want anything for myself, nor have we asked for anything for me or Hizb-i-Islami in our proposal.”
Observers say that Hekmatyar and fellow leaders of the group might be tired of fighting – as one of Afghanistan’s oldest insurgent groups, they have been on the battlefield first against the Russians, then against other Afghan warlords, and now against the Americans, for nearly 30 years.
Some Afghan officials say that the group has hit the extent of its reach – in recent months, it’s fought several turf battles with the Taliban. In the latest blow, in May a prominent Hizb-i-Islami religious cleric was gunned down in eastern Kunar Province, most likely by the Taliban.
Ripple effect?
Even if a peace deal eventually materializes, a major concern is that it would not significantly dampen violence, since the Taliban is the dominant force in most of the country. It is unlikely that Hizb-i-Islami would have the ability to influence the Taliban. “There will be no effect on us if Hizb-i-Islami talks with the government,” says Qari Ziaur Rahman, a prominent Taliban commander who is active in Afghanistan and Pakistan, speaking by phone from Kunar.
“Hizb has not been effective in the last eight years, they haven’t had any major successes in these years,” he adds, hinting at the growing tensions between the two groups.
But others insist that getting the group to lay down its weapons will mark a significant step toward peace. “They are weaker than the Taliban, but they are still quite popular in many areas,” says Wahid Muzjda, a Kabul-based policy analyst. “They can still cause problems. That’s why everyone is taking them seriously.”
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Old and the new mingle at Afghan peace jirga
By Sayed Salahuddin
KABUL (Reuters) – A centuries-old Afghan tradition has been given a modern twist as hundreds of tribal elders and other notables gather from around the country to discuss prospects for peace.
President Hamid Karzai called the ongoing peace "jirga" -- which means "gathering" in the Pashto language -- to win support for proposals he has made to persuade the Taliban to lay down their arms and end a nine-year-old insurgency.
While jirgas are more common among the Pashtun people of the south and east -- and neighboring northwest Pakistan -- grand gatherings, or loya jirgas, have been called throughout history to discuss national affairs that affect Afghanistan's varied tribes and ethnic groups.
The 1,600 delegates gathered this week under a giant marquee in the grounds of the polytechnical college -- jirgas of the past were often held under tents on neutral ground -- are following in a tradition that has taken momentous decisions in Afghanistan's history, such as whether to go to war or sue for peace.
But mixed with the old is all the technology that the 21st century can muster. Journalists from around the world are being kept apart from the gathering in a media center, where TV screens allow them to follow proceedings -- albeit from a fixed camera.
Some delegates are dressed in the same finery their ancestors would have worn two centuries ago, and sport the same style bushy beards, but they've swapped the carbines and knives for mobile phones and cameras -- here at least.
Out-of-towners are being put up at the newly refurbished polytechnic hostels. They've been given new quilts, sheets and pillows, which will be left for the students at the end.
In the fine Afghan tradition, discussions are largely civil affairs, with delegates in the 28 sub-committees between them drinking tens of thousands of cups of green tea taken with homegrown almonds, sugared for those with a sweet tooth.
A new dining hall has been built to hold 2,000 at a time, who tuck into plates of steaming fragrant rice accompanied by roasted lamb or mutton, Afghan staples.
SMOKING BAN
With a nod to the modern, smoking is banned inside the tent, leaving wizened elders gathered in groups outside -- not unlike office workers huddled outside modern city buildings. That's where all the good gossip comes from anyway.
Most of the men wear the traditional pyjama-like shalwar kameez, and show their individuality, or tribal affiliation, with elaborate turbans, some shimmering with silk thread inlay.
Another change from the past is that a fifth of the delegates are women, all wearing scarves and some even make-up.
Such a brazen display in front of strangers would not have been tolerated under the Taliban, the hardline Islamist group with whom the jirga seeks to make peace.
The Taliban were not invited, but they showed their contempt for the proceedings by sending a suicide unit to attack the opening on Wednesday, rockets landing within 100 meters (yards) of the main tent.
Karzai hopes the jirga will endorse his peace proposals, the thrust of which include granting amnesty for Taliban foot soldiers and securing sanctuary for some of their leaders in a friendly Muslim country from where talks could be held.
Journalists have been kept from mingling with the delegates, but those that have been contacted say a hot topic is a timetable for the withdrawal of a growing foreign force that already numbers 150,000 troops -- a subject Karzai would rather they did not add to his proposals.
The Taliban, and other insurgent groups, say they will not talk until all foreign forces have left, but a big question mark hangs over the ability of government security forces to support the current administration should they go.
The United States and other nations involved militarily in Afghanistan are keen to leave, but not if it means the Taliban's al Qaeda allies get an even stronger foothold either side of the shared border with Pakistan.
The jirga is scheduled to end on Friday, but they frequently drag on, with the sub-committees feeding their recommendations to a grand chairman who then delivers a consensual opinion.
(Writing by David Fox; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Alex Richardson)
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Abdullah: Karzai Is Counting on NATO Staying Forever
June 2, 2010 - 6:56pm, by Katya Kumkova Eurasianet
Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Afghanistan's former foreign minister and the man who nearly won the country’s contentious presidential election last fall, says Afghan President Hamid Karzai does not share Washington's sense of urgency to resolve the conflict there.
"I think [Karzai] thinks that you are going to be there forever, for ulterior motives, due [to] strategic goals," Abdullah said during a conversation with Time Magazine columnist Joe Klein at the Asia Society in New York on May 27. "And at the same time it has happened that perhaps he also think[s] that as long as [the US is] there, he will be the president."
Abdullah, who has supported and served Karzai in the past, said the president does not believe in an elected democracy and would rather control the country through appointees. Thus, governors who do not provide services to constituents stay in power – as long as their loyalties lie with Karzai -- and drive civilians towards the Taliban.
“Taliban is the only option for the Pashtun,” Abdullah said, referring to tribes in the impoverished southern provinces of Afghanistan. “And the first thing they’ll ask for from the Taliban is education for their kids – girls and boys,” he added, underscoring the desperation and lack of ideological common ground between Talibs and regular Afghans.
Abdullah is boycotting the Peace Jirga, or council, currently being held in Kabul. He has called the meeting a “PR exercise to show that we are making an effort to reach peace.” Abdullah said he believes that the US and NATO must proceed cautiously with Karzai as a partner.
"We risk the situation that a lot of effort will be made and we will end up with nothing," Abdullah said. "It depends to what degree the US has reached agreement with the Afghan side."
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Afghan forces kill 5 militants, detain 9 including commander: Official
MAIDANSHAR, Afghanistan, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Afghan troops during an operation against Taliban fighters in Wardak province 40 km west of capital city kabul killed five militants and arrested nine others including a commander, an official said Thursday.
"Units of army and police stormed Taliban hideouts in Syedabad district late Wednesday night and during the operation which lasted for couple of hours five rebels were killed and nine others including their commander Mullah Habibullah were captured," spokesman for provincial governor Shahidullah Shahid told Xinhua.
Meantime, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in talks with media via telephone from unknown location rejected the claim, saying no Taliban commander or fighter has been detained in Wardak province over the past one week.
Taliban militants have vowed to speed up activities this year in the post-Taliban Afghanistan.
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Clash leaves five militants dead in S Afghan province
QALAT, Afghanistan, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Gun battle between security forces and Taliban militants left five insurgents dead in Afghanistan's southern Zabul province, spokesman for provincial administration Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar said Thursday.
"Afghan forces raided the hideout of Taliban rebels in Shahjoi district Wednesday night killing five rebels," Rasoulyar told Xinhua.
He did not provide more details. Taliban outfit has yet to make comment.
The militants also targeted a peace conference opened in the capital city Kabul on Wednesday and attended by some 1,600 people including tribal elders, lawmakers and government officials to derail it.
However, security forces after more than two hours gun battle killed two attackers and arrested another, enabling the participants to resume the peace conference.
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Taliban still rule half of Orakzai tribal area: report
ISLAMABAD, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Despite the army's claim of the conclusion of the operation in Orakzai tribal area, locals and officials said that more than half of the agency has not been cleared of the Taliban, local media reported Thursday.
The military has cleared only Lower Orakzai, while the situation in upper and central Orakzai has not changed much, the local newspaper Daily Times quoted residents of Lower and Upper Orakzai as saying.
"The battle is far from over," they added.
A brief statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relation (ISPR) on Tuesday announced "the successful conclusion of operations in the agency."
However, fighting continued in the agency as more clashes were reported on Wednesday, the newspaper said.
Officials said Uzbek and other militants belonging to the "Lal Masjid group" and the Taliban from Swat, Bajaur and Waziristan areas were putting up stiff resistance in Upper Orakzai.
On the other side, they also said the forces had cleared areas bordering Khyber Agency in northern Orakzai, blocking the Taliban' s attempt to zero in on Peshawar, the main city in the northwest, and target supply routes for NATO and American forces in Afghanistan.
Military spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas was quoted as saying that the operation in Orakzai was "almost over", but " stabilization operations may continue."
He said the resistance put up by the Taliban was "quite stiff" and the use of air force was necessary to soften up targets, as it "is hard for ground troops to attack Taliban positions on mountain tops."
Over 1,000 militants have been killed during the past two months in an attempt to clear militancy and terrorism in Orakzai, according to officials.
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UN Criticises CIA Drone Attacks
June 3, 2010 Quqnoos
A UN human rights expert has criticised the US government's covert program using unmanned drones to strike at terrorists inside Pakistan
The attacks are not likely to stop or change, despite the criticism from the UN.
US officials insist the CIA program has been an effective tool to take out insurgents along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, particularly those hidden beyond the reach of the military.
The stepped-up use of drones over the past year has shown no signs of slowing down and was credited earlier this week with the killing inside Pakistan of al-Qaida's third in command.
The Obama administration does not acknowledge the secret program, but one senior US official defended its use Wednesday, saying a careful and rigorous targeting process is used to avoid civilian casualties.
The program, which officials say has killed hundreds of insurgents in dozens of strikes over the past year, has been condemned by critics who say it may constitute illegal assassinations and violate international law.
In a 29-page report released Wednesday, Philip Alston, the independent UN investigator on extrajudicial killings, called on countries to lay out rules for carrying out such strikes.
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NATO soldier killed in S. Afghanistan
KABUL, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Continued Taliban-led insurgency has claimed the life of another soldier of NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in south Afghanistan, a press release of the alliance said Thursday.
"An ISAF service member died as a result of small-arms fire in southern Afghanistan Tuesday," the press release said.
It also did not identify the nationality of the victim, saying, "It is ISAF policy to defer identification procedures for casualties to the relevant national authorities.
More than 220 soldiers of NATO-led forces with majority of them Americans have been killed so far this year in Afghanistan.
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Afghanistan: All at peace, except for the war
The new government of David Cameron has an opportunity to take fresh stock, it could make a bold decision
The Guardian Editorial Thursday 3 June 2010
The national consultative peace jirga had hardly got going in Kabul yesterday when it was interrupted by the nearby impact of rockets, gunfire and three suicide bombers detonating their belts. President Hamid Karzai called the Taliban "brothers" and "dear Talibs" in his speech to the assembly, but the feeling, evidently, was not mutual. Mr Karzai acknowledged their fighting was a reaction to injustices done by local Afghans who had "disturbed them" and by foreign troops. What was missing in this analysis was his government's role in inflaming the insurgency. Why would even the middle-ranking Taliban accept money to reintegrate into Afghan society from the very people whose misdeeds had caused them to fight? The answer to this is the sort of fix Mr Karzai's foreign backers have got used to: avoid the most egregiously corrupt governors by distributing the money locally, through community heads. In other words, Afghan governance is to be improved only by circumventing key parts of the Afghan government.
The military campaign is tying itself in similar knots. The British commander of Nato forces in southern Afghanistan, Major General Nick Carter, can insist as loudly as he likes that command is blind to nationality. The fact is that for the second time in recent memory, an American force has taken over command from a British one that has bitten off more than it can chew. The parallels with Basra's painful memories are real. In both cases, a British force went in undermanned, underequipped, and blithely underinformed. In both theatres of war, British troops fanned out into the hinterland, only to find themselves pinned back in their bases. In Helmand there was no fighting before the British troops were deployed four years ago. Today parts of the province are recovering, such as the capital Lashkar Gah.
But areas like Marjah and Sangin remain bitterly contested. Greater numbers of US troops are encountering much the same difficulties. In the Nad Ali area, there are not enough US or Afghan forces to command the loyalty of local villagers. The Afghan government has not sent enough administrators or police to establish a government. So much for the promise that General Stanley McChrystal made to unpack government from a box. Three months later, he has grown impatient with the operation. The Marjah campaign, which was designed as a blueprint for how the Taliban could be rolled back, has become – in Gen McChrystal's words – a bleeding ulcer of the campaign. There could be bigger wounds yet. The forthcoming operation in Kandahar will not be a battle, we are told. More of a process. But whether troops arrive in this big central Asian city by helicopter or by taxi, the shooting will start, and when it does another major conflagration will have been sparked, another battlefield demarcated.
The new government of David Cameron has an opportunity to take fresh stock. It could decide to simply go with the flow, in the knowledge that US and British troops will be fighting in Afghanistan for years to come. Barack Obama's promise to time-limit his surge has already been shelved. July 2011 is not now the date when US troops will start to be withdrawn. It has become instead the high watermark of the troop surge. Which is a different thing. Much will be made of the fact that some provinces will be returned to the control of the Afghan national army. Pashtuns from the south still only make up around 3% of this army, so that, in the areas that have become the cockpit of this war, there is no possibility of US and British troops handing over control to local forces, unless they are Taliban ones. Or this government could make a bold decision – to withdraw troops from the front, use them to secure Kabul and set themselves the more modest aim of doing the things that work. Not fighting wars they can never win,
but training Afghans to help themselves.
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More Saudi currency going to Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan, May 31 (UPI) -- More than $1 billion in Saudi Arabian currency has been sent to Afghanistan in the past four years, likely to support terrorism, investigators say.
The Times of London quoted members of FinTraca, the Afghan intelligence unit, saying the funds had gone through Pakistan, where they were converted into rupees or dollars.
"We can trace it back as far as an entry point in Waziristan," said Mohammed Mustafa Massoudi, director general of FinTraca in Kabul. "Why would anyone want to put such money into Waziristan? Only one reason -- terrorism."
The flow of cash from Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan has been on the increase and reached the highest rate this year since FinTraca was established in 2006 with U.S. and British help.
Saudi Arabia is an ally in the war on terror, but a U.S. government report last year found private Saudi supporters were the leading source of financing for the Taliban, The Times said.
Most of the cash enters Afghanistan through al-Qaida-dominated territory in the Pakistani tribal area, FinTraca said.
Afghan authorities say insurgents must renounce al-Qaida ties before they will be allowed to become involved in the political process.
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Report: Largest U.S. embassy can't track supplies worth millions
CNN From Charley Keyes June 2, 2010
Washington - The largest U.S. embassy in the world has very large problems keeping track of vehicles and millions of dollars of other equipment, from cell phones to medical supplies, according to a new State Department Inspector General's report.
An audit of the Baghdad, Iraq, embassy found that the rushed move to the new embassy in December 2008 along with security challenges of a war zone are partly to blame for inventory gaps. Add to that the challenge of providing for more than 1,700 employees from the departments of State and Defense and 14 other agencies and the result has been millions of dollars in unaccounted-for supplies.
One glaring problem is tracking down vehicles or even knowing how many the embassy needs, according to the report. There are 1,168 standard and armored vehicles assigned to the embassy but 159 are unaccounted for and an additional 282 don't show up on the official database.
"Motor pool personnel have struggled to ascertain the owners and users of these vehicles to properly inventory them," the report says. "Denying fuel and maintenance to vehicles until they are accounted for may solve this issue."
The inspector general warns too little oversight of medical supplies, especially of controlled substances, such as morphine and oxycodone, risks "a significant vul¬nerability for misuse and fraud."
Millions of dollars of communications gear are improperly tracked, according to the audit. Cell phones that are unassigned still rack up monthly charges, wasting an estimated $286,000 dollars a year.
"Some assigned phones are underused or unused, and extensive charges for overseas calls have been as¬sociated with both assigned and unassigned phones," the report says. The investigators calculated "the embassy could save more than $740,000 by disconnecting unas¬signed and underused phone lines and curtailing international calls."
This isn't the first alarm bell about inventory problems. An earlier inspector general report had warned of looming problems for the embassy in Baghdad..
"Embassy Baghdad does not have adequate control of government personal property," the report from last July said. "The Embassy possesses a large amount of property that has not been received and entered into inventory."
The July report also looked at problems with vehicles, saying there was "no single, accurate motor vehicle inventory" of what were then only 750 vehicles.
Keeping tabs on vehicles also has been a problem for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. A State Department Inspector General's report from February, 2010, found that different lists put the vehicle total at either 144 or 239. That discrepancy of 95 vehicles carried an estimated price tag of $9.5 million. And the Kabul inspection report also said telephone, radio, and computer inventories were not up to date.
In an appendix to the just-released audit, officials of the embassy in Baghdad said progress has been made.
"Post has made great strides in its asset management program since the summer of 2009," the appendix reads. "A complete motor vehicle inventory has been completed and submitted, and our completed property inventory will be submitted shortly. Our cell phone program has undergone an intense review and revision. Post looks forward to providing answers and updates to the final audit report."
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Afghan women's invisible struggle for rights
June 3, 2010 BBC News
Afghan women will be represented as tribal elders, religious leaders and members of parliament meet in Kabul for a three-day grand conference known as a loya jirga. But there are fears, as Martin Patience explains, that small gains in women's rights since the days of the Taliban may be lost.
With her blue burka rolled up above her face, soft tears rolled down the young woman's cheeks.
It was an extraordinary scene, a quiet, tender, and troubling moment.
Because sitting opposite the young women was her father, listening intently as she explained why she had run away to Iran to marry her boyfriend.
They had fallen in love over telephone conversations, she explained, and both decided to elope after three days, having never met.
The father appeared calm. But he also explained to her his predicament. He had agreed that his daughter would marry another man and had paid the dowry.
Now he was strapped for money. Would she mind asking her new husband to stump up the cash?
Hidden world
This scene unfolded as I visited a women's refuge in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif.
It was a glimpse into a hidden world that reporters here - particularly men - almost never see, laying bare the tensions, the heartache, the trauma that afflicts some Afghan women.
I met Hakima, who was forced as a girl into a marriage to pay off a debt. Gita, who ran off with her true love. And Zeba, made to marry her mentally disturbed cousin.
They have been shunned by society, condemned by their families for running away from their abusive marriages.
But the refuge in itself, opened four years ago, is a symbol of progress in Afghanistan, a place where women can gather, a place where they will be protected.
Boxing for rights
Before it was established, many of the women now sheltering behind its walls would probably have been killed for bringing shame on their families.
But slowly Afghanistan is producing a generation determined to fight for their freedoms.
You see young girls going to school, women working in offices and believe it or not, there is even a female Afghan boxing club.
I went to see the women train in a small, dusty gym. Sweat poured from their brows as they pounded punching bags. They were definitely tough.
But while progress has been made, this country remains one of the most conservative on earth.
Afghanistan is very much a man's world. Many of the supposed gains women have made are superficial.
Take women MPs, who make up a quarter of the parliament, as stipulated by the constitution. That means the Afghan parliament is more socially progressive than most European countries.
But representation, one female MP told me, does not equate to power. They may sit in parliament, but their voices are rarely heard.
And when women here talk about women's rights it is more akin to what would be called plain human rights in the West.
They are not arguing for equal pay, for example, or the right to live on their own, to go to a bar, or wear a mini-skirt. It is far more basic than that.
The mantra is - education, access to healthcare, the right to work and (if you are going out on a limb) the right to choose your husband.
Concerns for freedom
Apart from a few high-profile examples, women continue to be left on the margins here.
President Karzai's wife, Zienat, has never been seen in public. He is a Pashtun leader and to do so would bring shame on him and his family.
In the rural areas of the country, where you rarely if ever see women, they are simply shut off from the outside world, socialising only with their husbands, fathers and brothers.
I did meet one woman in the village attending a pottery class.
She was wearing the all-enveloping burka but said that she was lucky that her husband let her come to the class. By Afghan rural standards he was liberal.
There is now concern among some Afghan women, human rights activists and the West that women's rights could be traded away if the Afghan government makes any deal with the Taliban to end the conflict here.
But there is one aspect, one change, that could not be undone, that cannot be taken back. And which will ensure that women continue to make progress.
It is the image many of us have seen on our TVs - young girls, many wearing white hijabs, eagerly reading their textbooks in schools across the country.
Education for girls was effectively banned under the Taliban.
This would be an inspiring sight anywhere in the developing world, but in Afghanistan where schooling has been a right so long denied to half the population, it takes on an added resonance.
It will take time, a generation, perhaps generations, but there is one thing that both men and women agree upon that education for girls will change this society.
It is just that not everyone in Afghanistan thinks that those changes will necessarily be for the better.
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