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U.S. trucking contracts funded Taliban, source says
By David Ariosto, CNN July 25, 2011
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A U.S. military task force has discovered that part of a $2.16 billion transportation contract was diverted through a murky network of subcontractors and into the hands of a group of Afghan power-brokers, criminals and Taliban insurgents, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.
U.S. Ambassador Says No Permanent U.S. Bases In Afghanistan
July 25, 2011 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Newly appointed U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker has been seeking to ease concerns among Afghans -- as well as authorities in neighboring countries -- about Washington's long-term intentions in Afghanistan.
New U.S. envoy to Afghanistan: No rush for the exits
By Deb Riechmann Associated Press Monday, July 25, 2011
KABUL, Afghanistan — The new U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan said Monday that the United States is not rushing to leave the country and cautioned that what happens in the months ahead will have far-reaching effects across the globe.
Eikenberry leaves Afghanistan amid concerns for its future
Washington Post By Joshua Partlow Monday, July 25, 2011
KABUL - Karl W. Eikenberry spent half of America’s decade at war serving in Afghanistan. Three tours — two as a general, one as ambassador — ended last week without brass bands or fanfare as Eikenberry took his seat next to his wife, Ching, on a Safi Airways commercial flight bound for Dubai.
Jalalabad airport attacked by militants
By David Ariosto, CNN July 25, 2011
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A group of militants Monday attacked Jalalabad airport in eastern Afghanistan, lobbing grenades at the airport's main gate, according to Ahmad Zai Abdulzai, Nangarhar provincial spokesman.
NATO Helicopter Crashes in Eastern Afghanistan
July 25, 2011 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
A helicopter from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has crashed in eastern Afghanistan, but the ISAF said all passengers and crew members were safe.
4 civilians killed in Afghan Wardak province
KABUL, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Four Afghan civilians were killed in Wardak province, 35 km west of capital city of Kabul, NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a press release on Monday.
Small peace dividends in southern Afghanistan
By Jason Gutierrez (AFP) – July 25, 2011
ARGHANDAB VALLEY, Afghanistan — Lieutenant Chris Choi receives a mix of stares and scowls as he shakes hands with curious Afghans on their way to prayer in the restive Arghandab district of southern Kandahar.
Urgent need to tackle human trafficking
KABUL, 25 July 2011 (IRIN) - Afghanistan should develop mechanisms to raise awareness about the dangers of human trafficking, support victims and prosecute perpetrators, say rights activists.
Afghanistan faces uphill battle not to slide back into Taliban rule
Toronto Sun By Peter Worthington Monday, July 25, 2011
It may well be a sign of what the future holds for Afghanistan.
Amid media and political hoopla about combat troops pulling out or cutting back in Afghanistan, killing is already underway. Assassinations and murder.
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U.S. trucking contracts funded Taliban, source says
By David Ariosto, CNN July 25, 2011
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A U.S. military task force has discovered that part of a $2.16 billion transportation contract was diverted through a murky network of subcontractors and into the hands of a group of Afghan power-brokers, criminals and Taliban insurgents, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.
Roughly $600 million of the contract had been spent before authorities were alerted to the scandal, the source said, citing an internal report.
Only part of that money, however, is believed to have been diverted to "nefarious elements," the source added.
A Pentagon official told CNN the full $2.16 billion contract covered the movement and transportation of 70% of the material needed for U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Officials were first alerted to the possibility of a scandal in June 2010, after a Congressional inquiry prompted the creation of a joint task force to investigate potential criminal dealings surrounding U.S. contracts.
The group gathered financial reports, prime and subcontract documents and other negotiations from between 2009 and 2010, prompting authorities to make major changes in their existing contract award and accounting system.
But much of the damage had already be done.
"There were indications dollars were flowing to criminals or to the enemy," sad the Pentagon official, who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on the record but who has direct knowledge of the U.S. assessment.
The official said it appears some of the payments were given for truckers to be assured of safe passage through insurgent areas of Afghanistan. As has happened in other instances, trucking contractors paid off local drivers who then turned around and paid local security forces, who in turn paid insurgents in their areas.
The year-long investigation uncovered "nefarious" conduct in at least four of eight trucking companies the U.S. government uses to deliver food and supplies to soldiers and civilians in forward operating bases and other U.S. installations across Afghanistan.
The internal document -- which was first reported by The Washington Post -- identified the firms as either exclusively Afghan or as joint ventures with international companies.
CNN reporting comes from an independent source, familiar with the contents of the report.
The companies were later identified as "high-risk" firms, having subcontracted out to smaller entities without sufficient accounting measures, the source said.
In one instance, $7.4 million was transferred into the bank account of a "low-level police officer."
After a series of transactions, including multiple withdraws, officials then traced $3.3 million in weapons, explosives and cash transfers "to the enemy," the source said.
An small army of intelligence analysts, law enforcement officers, lawyers, auditors and forensic accountants mapped out an interlocking network of trucking contractors, and their dealings with dozens of subcontractors.
Some were only "profiteering," the source said, likely without a clear understanding of where some of the funds delivered.
The contract program, called Host Nation Trucking -- which expires in September -- has since been replaced by a more stringent system that requires up to 40 different contractors -- an effort to reduce overall reliance on a single firm.
The new program is also meant to tighten accounting measures of second and third party vendors, an area various groups had previously been able to exploit, the source said.
"When you have the extent of corruption we may have seen with these contracts, that's clearly not acceptable and they have to change the way they are doing business," Lisa Curtis, a senior fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, told CNN.
"But ... it's unrealistic to think something like this would not happen given the influence of the Taliban, the fact that they are intimidating the population every day," Curtis added.
Government officials are currently pursuing corrective actions against the trucking firms, including suspensions and limits on work, though all eight companies still remain on the U.S. payroll.
CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr contributed to this report.
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U.S. Ambassador Says No Permanent U.S. Bases In Afghanistan
July 25, 2011 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Newly appointed U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker has been seeking to ease concerns among Afghans -- as well as authorities in neighboring countries -- about Washington's long-term intentions in Afghanistan.
Speaking shortly after he was sworn in at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul on July 25, Crocker told reporters that the United States wants its troops to leave Afghanistan as soon as Afghan security forces are able to defend the country themselves.
"We have no interest in permanent bases in Afghanistan," he said. "The president has said it, the secretaries of state and defense have said it and I repeat it here. We will stay as long as we need to and not one day more."
U.S. forces last week handed over security responsibilities to Afghan troops in seven parts of the country as Washington begins to draw down troop levels by pulling out its surge forces.
All 150,000 NATO-led combat troops are scheduled to be out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014 provided the security situation there allows for their withdrawal.
As Crocker takes on the job as Washington's top diplomat in Kabul, the United States is in the middle of negotiations with the Afghan government on a deal to define the long-term U.S. role in Afghanistan beyond 2014.
It remains unclear whether the so-called "strategic partnership" agreement between Kabul and Washington would explicitly refer to possible U.S. military bases in Afghanistan beyond 2014.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said the possibility of long-term U.S. bases at places like the Bagram Air Field, north of Kabul, can only be addressed once peace has been achieved.
In an apparent nod to Afghanistan's powerful and wary neighbors, Pakistan and Iran, Crocker also maintained that the United States has "no interest in using Afghanistan as a platform to project influence into neighboring countries."
"Our sole interest is in Afghanistan's security and sustainable stability, and ensuring it will never again become a haven for international terrorism that poses a threat to the international community," he said.
Some Continued Military Support Expected
Afghanistan has complex relationships with Pakistan and Iran, who see the country as vital to their own security and fear U.S. efforts to undermine their influence there. Both China and Russia also are wary of U.S. ambitions in the region.
But despite billions of dollars being spent to help build up the Afghan security forces, the problems they face -- from illiteracy to corruption -- mean both Afghans and foreigners expect some kind of continued military support beyond 2014, even if foreign troops are no longer in the country as combat troops.
Analysts say the United States also may want to keep smaller forward operations bases in Afghanistan for attacks on targets within Pakistan's lawless tribal areas which are thought to pose a terrorist threat. It was from such a base that U.S. Special Forces launched the raid that killed Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan earlier this year.
It was Crocker who reopened the U.S. embassy in Kabul in 2001 after the Taliban was ousted by U.S.-backed Afghan forces for harboring Al-Qaeda militants, including bin Laden.
Crocker also has served as U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Kuwait and Lebanon. Ambassadors are normally sworn in by the Secretary of State in Washington, but Crocker instead chose to have the ceremony conducted in Kabul by a junior Foreign Service member.
compiled from news agency reports
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New U.S. envoy to Afghanistan: No rush for the exits
By Deb Riechmann Associated Press Monday, July 25, 2011
KABUL, Afghanistan — The new U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan said Monday that the United States is not rushing to leave the country and cautioned that what happens in the months ahead will have far-reaching effects across the globe.
Ryan Crocker takes over as America's top diplomat in Afghanistan as President Barack Obama begins withdrawing some of the 33,000 American reinforcements he sent in December 2009 as part of an effort to reverse the Taliban's momentum. Some Republican lawmakers called the withdrawal plan too risky, saying it did not leave enough coalition troops in the country to deal a decisive blow to the insurgency.
Speaking after being sworn in at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Crocker tried to allay Afghan fears about Obama's plan to bring 10,000 U.S. troops home by year's end, as many as 23,000 more by September 2012 and a formal end to the combat mission by the end of 2014.
"We must proceed carefully," he said. "There will be no rush for the exits. The way we do this in the months ahead will have consequences far beyond Afghanistan and far in the future."
He said the U.S. was wrong to withdraw support from Afghanistan in the early 1990s, but stressed the U.S. had no interest in having permanent bases in the nation.
Many Afghans felt abandoned by the U.S. after 1989, when the Soviet Union withdrew its army from Afghanistan and U.S. support to mujahedeen fighters battling the Soviets dried up. Afghanistan then sank into years of brutal civil war, which was followed by the rise of the Taliban, al-Qaida's use of Afghanistan as a sanctuary and the Sept. 11 attacks.
"The coming year will be critical in setting the right glide path," Crocker told hundreds of embassy employees, diplomats and military leaders gathered outdoors in a red tent where a light breeze tempered the morning heat.
Crocker, who has held top diplomatic postings in Iraq, Pakistan, Kuwait, Syria and Lebanon, submitted his credentials to Afghan President Hamid Karzai in a ceremony at the presidential palace later Monday.
He came out of retirement to replace Karl Eikenberry, who left Afghanistan earlier this month.
Crocker has served in Afghanistan before, reopening the U.S. Embassy in Kabul in 2002, after the fall of the Taliban. He also helped bury a piece of the World Trade Center, which was toppled during the Sept. 11 attacks, at the base of a flagpole on the embassy grounds.
"We will never forget and 10 years on, I'm here to join all of you in doing our utmost to ensure that such an attack never happens again," said Crocker, who recalled being in New York on Sept. 11 and watching the twin towers collapse.
He acknowledged that many citizens of troop-contributing nations, including the United States, were weary of the war.
"My answer to that is to remind those who say 'We should be done' of the incalculable, long-term effects and costs of getting it wrong" in Afghanistan, he said. "We owe nothing less to the next generation of Afghans, Americans and others not to repeat the mistakes of 20 years ago."
He said it also was imperative to allay the fears of Afghans who believe that the gradual transfer of security responsibility to Afghan forces means the international community is ready to make a hasty retreat. In recent days, Afghan security forces have taken the lead for securing seven areas of the nation. By 2014, they are to be in charge across the country, allowing foreign combat troops to either leave or take on supportive roles.
"Beyond 2014 — even when Afghans have transitioned to a full security lead — I'm confident that we and the international community will be in a position to work with Afghanistan to prevent any forcible return of the Taliban to power," he said. "Those days are gone."
The Taliban on Monday claimed they shot down a U.S.-led coalition helicopter that crashed in eastern Afghanistan. The coalition said it was investigating the cause of the crash.
NATO said rescue forces came under fire from insurgents but safely moved all crew and passengers to a nearby base by early morning.
Kunar provincial spokesman Safiullah Wasifullah Wasify said the helicopter went down before dawn in Kunar's remote mountainous Chapa Dara district. He said that his report showed it was shot down by a rocket.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said that troops were dropping out of the helicopter for an assault on militant fighters when the helicopter was targeted.
In the west, meanwhile, an Italian paratrooper was killed in an insurgent attack and two wounded Monday, officials said. Forty-one Italian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since the country first sent troops in 2004.
The latest death brings to 44 the number of international service members killed in Afghanistan this month.
Also Monday, Britain's Defense Ministry said five children were injured Saturday when an Apache helicopter opened fire on suspected insurgents in southern Helmand province.
Officials said insurgents had been positively identified, and the five children were in an adjoining field. The children were being treated at a coalition medical facility.
The British Defense Ministry said it was reviewing the incident and the provincial government was being kept informed.
• Associated Press writer Amir Shah contributed to this report from Kabul, Afghanistan.
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Eikenberry leaves Afghanistan amid concerns for its future
Washington Post By Joshua Partlow Monday, July 25, 2011
KABUL - Karl W. Eikenberry spent half of America’s decade at war serving in Afghanistan. Three tours — two as a general, one as ambassador — ended last week without brass bands or fanfare as Eikenberry took his seat next to his wife, Ching, on a Safi Airways commercial flight bound for Dubai.
With his departure, the United States loses a diplomat with varied experience in Afghanistan and a prominent voice of skepticism about the nation’s deepening involvement in the war. While his tenure was hampered by moments of tension with the U.S. military and trouble with President Hamid Karzai, his early warnings that the Afghan government’s failings could jeopardize the mission have proved more prescient over time.
“When it comes to your reporting and your analysis, you’ve got to call it like you see it,” Eikenberry said in an interview, recalling his message to his staff: “Don’t feel under pressure to always say the glass is half-full when it might be near empty.”
Veteran diplomat Ryan C. Crocker takes over as the new ambassador Monday — Marine Gen. John Allen assumed the military command recently from Army Gen. David H. Petraeus — and the two inherit Afghan partners who are wary and scarred by numerous policy battles with the United States. There is a sense of cautious optimism among Karzai’s aides that a fresh chapter could begin.
“We had massive disagreements,” recalled Shaida Mohammad Abdali, the deputy national security adviser and a close aide to Karzai. “We hope this new team will bring a change in the approach of the United States towards Afghanistan.”
The Afghan government’s halting steps to build institutions, fight corruption, deliver services and satisfy its people remained one of Eikenberry’s chief concerns as he left his post and headed to Stanford University. Without reform, and with fewer American troops and money to provide security and catalyze the economy, he worried the government could lose the grip on local factions and militias that have a history of brutal civil war.
“There has to be more commitment to institution-building of the state, there has to be more commitment to accountability of the government,” Eikenberry said. “It requires more political will at the center than we currently have. It alienates the people.”
The ability of Taliban leaders to operate safely from Pakistan also puts at risk the Obama administration’s plan for transition to Afghan control, he said. Without change in Pakistan, the Taliban will remain strong and replenish its ranks, and peace talks “may not look as appealing to them if they know they have sanctuary.”
Within the embassy, Eikenberry is admired as a penetrating strategic thinker with a sincere affection for Afghans and an earnest desire to help their country. He has visited all 34 provinces. He’s escaped mortar rounds in Nurestan, rockets in Wardak, and a rocket-propelled grenade that landed 50 yards away during last year’s peace conference in Kabul. His long tenure and travels have made him widely known among Afghans, who eagerly greet him on the street.
He has been a relentless questioner, probing everyone from governors to their servants about the war — while being careful to avoid sending small signals that the United States was dictating to the Afghans.
Last week, he stopped to query a hamburger vendor in a popular Kabul garden. The vendor explained that his country is wracked by war and poverty and ruled by a worthless government that “calls Pakistan our friend and the Taliban our brothers.” With such a foundation, he said, any building would crumble.
“You get very consistent answers when you get around the country,” Eikenberry said as he walked away. “Very consistent.”
Outspoken skeptic
The North Carolina native and West Point graduate spent the bulk of his military career focused on China and East Asia before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, which took the lives of people just two offices away from his in the Pentagon. He was sent to Afghanistan in 2002 to oversee the formation of the post-Taliban Afghan army, and returned for a second tour as the top U.S. military commander.
By the time Eikenberry had retired as a three-star general and returned as U.S. ambassador in April 2009, the Taliban had resurged to an alarming degree. During the Obama administration’s debate over sending tens of thousands of additional U.S. troops, Eikenberry warned in cables that a costly troop buildup would make the Afghan government more dependent on the United States and that Karzai was “not an adequate strategic partner.”
His leaked assessment upset Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, who felt blindsided by the sentiments, according to his aides. After McChrystal was fired, repairing the civilian-military rift became paramount. Eikenberry said his reorganization of the staff gave civilians a more prominent voice in decision-making. Other civilian colleagues said they believed Eikenberry’s desire for a close collaboration with the military made the embassy too accommodating to their demands.
As the leader of a civilian mission that more than tripled during his tenure, growing to more than 1,200 people, he supported the strategy chosen by President Obama and believed the troops would improve security where they were deployed. But in meetings Eikenberry was clear about his “skepticism about both the capacity and motivation of our partners,” said one U.S. official who worked in Kabul. “I think with the military, it’s not in their DNA to publicly admit how real the risks of failure are. And Eikenberry’s very blunt. He’s very honest.”
Eikenberry’s critics, including some U.S. military officials, contend the embassy did not move quickly or decisively enough to support the military’s security gains with development and governance assistance at the local level. The dismantling of Taliban strongholds, particularly in southern Afghanistan, these critics say, has progressed far enough that now the civilian effort can take more precedence. “His skepticism, I think, is proven wrong,” said a senior Western official. “Afghanistan is not the same place it was in 2009.”
‘A moral obligation’
Many of the same problems remain. One of Eikenberry’s toughest was Karzai. Even more than the cables, the fraught 2009 presidential election — Karzai accused the United States of trying to make him lose — inflicted wounds that did not heal and weakened Eikenberry’s influence, according to U.S. and Afghan officials.
During battles over the fate of private security companies, corruption scandals such as Kabul Bank, and Karzai’s calls to end NATO night raids and airstrikes, the United States often chose to avoid public confrontation with Karzai for fear of worsening the situation. A rare exception came recently, from Eikenberry. After Karzai made a speech in which he likened U.S. troops to an occupying army, having previously ordered all airstrikes on Afghan homes to cease, Eikenberry delivered an impassioned response at Herat University.
“At the point your leaders believe that we are doing more harm than good, when we reach a point that we feel our soldiers and civilians are being asked to sacrifice without a just cause, and our generous aid programs dismissed as totally ineffective and the source of all corruption,” Eikenberry said, “the American people will ask for our forces to come home.”
It was a rare public rebuke from an American official — one borne of his experience as both a soldier and a civilian. At some point, he later said, “I have a moral obligation to speak out.”
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Jalalabad airport attacked by militants
By David Ariosto, CNN July 25, 2011
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A group of militants Monday attacked Jalalabad airport in eastern Afghanistan, lobbing grenades at the airport's main gate, according to Ahmad Zai Abdulzai, Nangarhar provincial spokesman.
The attack prompted airport security guards to open fire, causing the attackers to scatter, he said.
The fighting has ended, officials said, and a search for the attackers is under way. There are no reports of casualties.
Last year, a group of suicide bombers attacked an area near the airport.
The airport is reportedly used infrequently by United Nations officials.
CNN's Fazel Reshad contributed to this report.
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NATO Helicopter Crashes in Eastern Afghanistan
July 25, 2011 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
A helicopter from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has crashed in eastern Afghanistan, but the ISAF said all passengers and crew members were safe.
The incident occurred before dawn on July 25 in Kunar Province's remote mountainous Chapa Dara district. An ISAF spokesman said the cause of the crash is being investigated and that ISAF has not ruled out the possibility the helicopter was shot down by insurgent fire.
Taliban insurgents claimed they had shot the craft down.
compiled from agency reports
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4 civilians killed in Afghan Wardak province
KABUL, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Four Afghan civilians were killed in Wardak province, 35 km west of capital city of Kabul, NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a press release on Monday.
"We are aware of an incident in Sayyidabad when a coalition patrol struck an improvised explosive device (IED) while conducting a road clearance operation in Sayyidabad district, Wardak province. One civilian was killed and several coalition members were injured," said a press release issued by ISAF here without giving the exact date of the incident.
An exchange of fire between ISAF forces and insurgents followed the IED blast that led to three more civilians being killed and one civilian injured, according to the press release.
"At this stage it is unclear how the civilians in the small arms fire incident were killed." the press release further said.
Earlier on Monday, ISAF confirmed a coalition airstrike, originally targeting insurgents, left five children injured in Nahr-e-Saraj district of Helmand province with Lashkar Gah as its capital 555 km south of Kabul on Saturday.
The number of civilian casualties has been soaring in the militancy-plagued Afghanistan as a total of 1,462 Afghan civilians have been killed in the first half of 2011 which indicates a 15 percent rise in non-combatants' deaths compared with the same period in 2010, according to the United Nations mid-year report released in Kabul on July 14.
The UN report attributed 80 percent of the civilian deaths in the first six months of this year to the attacks of Taliban insurgents and other armed groups opposing the Afghan government.
Another 14 percent of the deaths were attributed to Afghan and NATO-led forces and 6 percent were unattributed.
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Small peace dividends in southern Afghanistan
By Jason Gutierrez (AFP) – July 25, 2011
ARGHANDAB VALLEY, Afghanistan — Lieutenant Chris Choi receives a mix of stares and scowls as he shakes hands with curious Afghans on their way to prayer in the restive Arghandab district of southern Kandahar.
But he says the mere presence of the turbaned men walking through heavy traffic to the Haji Baba Wali shrine is a sign of progress stemming from the brittle peace in an area that was once a key Taliban supply route.
Nearby, half-dressed children dart in and out of the murky canal waters that help irrigate fertile pomegranate fields.
Such scenes would not have been possible a year ago, when the Arghandab valley resembled a chessboard of American forces vying with the Taliban for control of Afghanistan's southern heartlands.
"Last year we could not go out to the farms and could not sell our produce, but now you can see people are here," said fruit vendor Shafih Ullah, 20.
For decades, the Taliban wielded influence over the district's 70,000-plus residents spread across 70 villages until a surge of US troops was ordered last summer, pushing the insurgents to the fringes of the valley.
Now, despite the loss and injury of many men during intense battles, soldiers say there are signs of the "fragile" gains cited by General David Petraeus as he left his position as top US commander in the war last week.
US forces are trying to speed up "hearts and minds" development work and train up their Afghan counterparts to ensure that the district does not return to Taliban control as foreign forces begin to leave for home.
All 33,000 US surge troops ordered into Afghanistan in late 2009 to quell the insurgency largely focused in the southern region are due to leave by the end of 2012, with the entire combat mission due to end by the end of 2014.
"The instruction for us was to be here, but not to disrupt the flow of the local community and economy," said Choi, of 1st Battalion 67th Armoured Regiment, overseeing the counter-insurgency work in the valley.
"But you can't let your guard down."
Improvised explosive devices or IEDs, the most common cause of death and injury for foreign forces and civilians in the war, remain a problem for the troops, with several bomb-making cells still at work in some nearby villages.
A military map peppered with red dots indicates that the Taliban still hold sway in some areas.
"But overall, when you look at the entire Arghandab, you have a 50 percent reduction in activity from last year," said Choi's commander, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Simmering, referring to non-IED-related insurgent attacks.
The priority now, he says, is maintaining security while empowering local leaders to effectively govern and ensure there are no disputes that could be exploited by the local Taliban.
But high-profile assassinations including the killing of the president's brother Ahmed Wali Karzai, known as the "king of Kandahar", nearly two weeks ago, and the murder of Arghandab's provincial police chief in April, threaten progress.
And some villagers blame the US forces for bringing danger with them.
"If they weren't here, we would feel better. They went to our villages in the first place, and that was why they were attacked by the Taliban," said 24-year-old Moh Bullah.
Soldiers and villagers agree that critical to the future of the farming district, just north of the volatile city of Kandahar, will be the strength of local Afghan forces.
"If our own government can give us an army that can really stand up on its own and protect us, then there will be no problem when they (the Americans) leave. But I am not too sure about their capabilities now," said fruit vendor Shafih Ullah.
Simmering said some problems were inevitable as the NATO-led mission winds down.
"As we pull back, will there be a spike in violence? Yes, there may be but that does not mean that everything will fall apart," he said.
"You have to let the Afghans fail sometimes and let them settle their own problems, otherwise learning will not take place. We just have to be close enough to ensure that they do not fail catastrophically."
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Urgent need to tackle human trafficking
KABUL, 25 July 2011 (IRIN) - Afghanistan should develop mechanisms to raise awareness about the dangers of human trafficking, support victims and prosecute perpetrators, say rights activists.
"We see it as an alarming problem because a huge number of women and children are vulnerable to trafficking in the country,” Hussain Nussrat, child rights programme coordinator with the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), said. “The victims are exploited both inside and outside the country for forced labour, prostitution, drug selling and many more illegal activities.”
Most victims, according to a July AIHRC report, are women and children who lack parental care, live in poverty or are forced into early marriage. The report was based on a study covering victims of trafficking, family members and the public in 20 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.
Most of those trafficked were girls who had been married before reaching the legal age of marriage, the report said. About 81 percent got married before 18, of whom about 50 percent were married when they were under 15. About 29 percent were forced into marriage after being raped, kidnapped, harassed or exposed to violence, said the report which identified 1,889 cases of trafficking in women and children.
Afghanistan, according to the US Department of State’s 2011 trafficking report, is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking.
Sixty percent of those trafficked were inside Afghanistan while 40 percent were taken to Iran, Pakistan and a few other countries. In Iran most trafficked persons are boys who are addicted to drugs, do hard work on farms and factories, or are sexually exploited. In Pakistan women and girls are forced to weave carpets and to engage in sex work, AIHRC said.
"Generally due to the conservative, male-dominated society, women and girls are more the victims of trafficking than boys," Nussrat told IRIN in Kabul.
Gulnaz*, 18, was forced to marry the man who raped her, who was also addicted to drugs, when she was only 15. Then she was taken to Iran and forced into commercial sex work to make money for her husband.
“He used to beat me up very badly every day besides forcing me to make money for him,” Gulnaz was quoted as saying in the AIHRC report. “After a year or so he sold me to an Iranian drug seller for a huge amount of money before my family found out about it in Afghanistan and my mother came to Iran to rescue me."
Key findings
According to the report, more than half of the victims had been deprived of parental support; nearly 17 percent were housewives, and 7 percent beggars, street children.
More than half of the victims’ families had no stable income, while a third of victims were trafficked after being tricked. Most victims were abused and exploited by the traffickers during and after the transfer operation.
Among boys taken to Iran, 70 percent ended up in domestic work or agriculture, and 6 percent reported involvement in sex work. In Pakistan 30 percent of the girls are sexually exploited. Interestingly, 40 percent did not want to return home citing insecurity, fear of losing their life and prestige, unemployment, poverty and political instability.
Most perpetrators are not prosecuted. According to the report, only 17 percent of respondents reported the arrest of a perpetrator, while only 13 percent knew of a perpetrator who had been punished. Those involved include local powerful people, domestic and international organized groups, the Taliban and opposition groups.
“We are deeply concerned about the findings of the report," Nussrat said, especially because poverty is still widespread, ongoing conflict is leaving children without parents and early/forced marriages are still practised widely.
According to the International Labour Organization, more than 12 million people are trafficked each year worldwide. An estimated 70 percent of those trafficked are females under 25.
*not her real name
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Afghanistan faces uphill battle not to slide back into Taliban rule
Toronto Sun By Peter Worthington Monday, July 25, 2011
It may well be a sign of what the future holds for Afghanistan.
Amid media and political hoopla about combat troops pulling out or cutting back in Afghanistan, killing is already underway. Assassinations and murder.
It’s not encouraging for those who hoped — gambled, really — investing men, time, patience and money in developing an effective Afghan National Army (ANA) and police force might save the existing regime from sliding back into Taliban control.
Canada assigned excellent combat soldiers — officers and non-commissioned ranks — to teach, instruct, guide and mentor Afghan troops into being more effective as soldiers.
There have never been doubts about Afghans as fighters — but soldiering is different.
It is knowing when to fight, when not to fight and how to position yourself so when you have to fight, the odds favour you.
There are now more ANA troops than there are NATO and allied troops in the country.
Despite the gesture of turning over one of Afghanistan’s quieter provinces (Bamiyan) to full ANA and government control instead of NATO, it’s uncertain whether that will succeed.
No sooner had publicity been generated about Canadian fighting troops moving out of Kandahar and returning to Canada than President Hamid Karzai’s brother was assassinated.
Wali Ahmed Karzai, a former restaurant proprietor in Chicago when the Soviets occupied Afghanistan, was widely reputed to be a crook and deeply involved in the illicit poppy trade.
He was also one of the more capable leaders in Afghanistan — not for nothing was he known as the “King of Kandahar.”
Shortly after his assassination, a senior aide and key adviser to President Karzai was assassinated in his Kabul home — Jan Mohammad Khan.
“A personal blow to Karzai,” according to Al Jazeera.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for both murders, as they did for the killing of seven police officers in southern Afghanistan when Gen. David Petraeus was turning over his command to Gen. John Allen, prior to taking up his new post as CIA director.
At the CIA, Petraeus replaces Leon Panetta who, for some inscrutable reason, is the new U.S. defence secretary, replacing Robert Gates.
Last week, Afghan police in Kandahar raided a Taliban house and three officers were killed. But at least it showed resolve in trying to blunt the resurgence of Taliban terrorists.
Meanwhile, optimistic words keep coming out of Ottawa and Washington about Afghanistan’s prospects — words that tend to be refuted by Taliban deeds and the realities of that lonely, land-locked country.
For all the millions spent on Afghanistan, and hopes invested in advancing even a modicum of human rights, respect and education — especially for girls and women — improvement is marginal.
Generations to evolve
We in the developed world tend to forget the “democratic” rights we view as a human right took generations and hundreds of years to evolve. Yet we hope for something similar to emerge in Afghanistan after a decade of war. It’s simply not realistic.
And yet as Canada’s “combat” soldiers depart, they leave a country better than it was and with more prospects than when they first arrived. Instead of warlords ruling, there is now a central government (sort of) and the beginnings of a national army and police force.
Which is why the Taliban are so intent at destroying the new infrastructure before it takes hold. Difficult times ahead.
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