Afghanistan News & Discussion

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vijaykarthik
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by vijaykarthik »

Looks like there is trouble brewing in Af. Some split in the govt, thanks to the unintelligent intelligence cooperation deal. If Ghani doesn't get a few results quickly, there might be a lot of public backlash stored for him.

The Tajiks and the Northern Alliance aren't going to like this even a bit. It does look like US and Af govt might not mind the Taliban coming into the South and claiming / governing a few of the provinces in the South! Waiting to see how the Tajiks and NA will react.

Though the Taliban spring offense has begun, its not moving at a frentic pace for the Af forces to be extremely worried... but the Taliban's are surely giving the armed forces a run for their money.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by Tuvaluan »

http://www.tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/ ... g-contract

India getting out of Afghanisthan now that the ISI is in control of the Afghan intelligence apparatus, which is obviously bad for business in general and more so for Indian businesses. A slide back to the pre-9/11 days of mayhem and chaos with the ISI running Afghanisthan once more.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by NRao »

Complete circle. :rotfl:

what a waste of time and effort and funds .....................

As Taliban Advance, Afghanistan Reluctantly Recruits Militias

We are where we were before 9/11.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by pankajs »

Omar Samad ‏@OmSamad 14h14 hours ago

Deadly attacks foiled in Kabul, 16 tons of explosives seized - http://goo.gl/alerts/bxzM
Abdul Hai Kakar @haikakar

Ashraf Ghani's letter to Pakistan demanding 7 practical steps.by @sid_abu http://gandhara.rferl.mobi/a/27044658.html
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by partha »

Tuvaluan wrote:http://www.tolonews.com/en/afghanistan/ ... g-contract

India getting out of Afghanisthan now that the ISI is in control of the Afghan intelligence apparatus, which is obviously bad for business in general and more so for Indian businesses. A slide back to the pre-9/11 days of mayhem and chaos with the ISI running Afghanisthan once more.
India has issued a denial. It looks like GoI deliberately floated the rumor as a message to Afghanistan in response to reports of a ISI-NDS deal.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/worl ... 408359.cms
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

pankajs wrote:Ashraf Ghani's letter to Pakistan demanding 7 practical steps.by @sid_abu http://gandhara.rferl.mobi/a/27044658.html
I don't feel sorry for anyone who has not understood Pakistan after being in a position to deal with it or for any country that feels that somehow Pakistani hostility and bad behaviour could be turned around. Ghani and his government did both. Ghani, individually and his country, institutionally.

Ghani's apparent demands (one does not know if these are true) would be easily pooh-poohed by a wily Pakistan which has standard replies for all those. Let's see how Pakistan would tackle his seven demands.

Demand 1: "Islamabad should issue an official declaration condemning the launch of the Taliban [spring] offensive"
Pakistan would respond by saying that this is an internal Afghan problem and it has no such control over Taliban.
It would further say that all it was doing was to nudge the Taliban to have talks with Kabul.

Demand 2: "directive to deny sanctuary for the Afghan Taliban"
Pakistan would simply say that the 2700 Km long border was porous and it would be impossible to man every inch of that. They would also claim that they only extend moral, political and diplomatic support for the Taliban cause and nothing more. They would also say that the bad Taliban and their Chief Mullah FM Radio Fazlullah was operating out of Kunar and the ANA/NDS must capture them and hand them over to Pakistan.

Demand 3: "placing Quetta and Peshawar shura (the Taliban leadership council) members under house arrest and initiating legal proceedings against them for threatening security of friendly states"
The perfidious PA/ISI would say that they have no idea of where the Taliban leadership were hiding. They would demand Kabul to give more details regarding the address where they were hiding.

Demand 4: "agree to an exchange of prisoners, deny Taliban combatants medical treatment inside Pakistan, and limit the sale of fertilizers and electrical switches that can be used in detonating improvised explosive devices (IEDs)"
Pakistan would say that Pakistan is the biggest victim of violence and no country can demand it do more. Fertilizers and switches are essential items and their sale cannot be limited especially in an agriculture-based society. On exchange of prisoners, it would seek [never-ending] talks to arrive at a comprehensive extradition treaty.

The article does not mention what the other three demands are.

In short, Ghani deserves the tight spot in which he would soon be cornered.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by RamaY »

NRao wrote:Complete circle. :rotfl:

what a waste of time and effort and funds .....................

As Taliban Advance, Afghanistan Reluctantly Recruits Militias

We are where we were before 9/11.
Said so here: http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... 5#p1848515

And it is a good thing!
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by vijaykarthik »

Pak currently cant even control its own good Taliban now. I wonder who tried to do a suicide blast a few days back near the cricket stadium.

Zimbabwe is perhaps the only team that could be arm twisted to come to Pak... in about say 2 years? And they were able to hear the blast while they were inside playing. Its a huge surprise that they are staying back [none less than Tony Irish also reckons the same]. They will be happy to hurry the hell out once the last match happens.

So much for Pakistan and her internal security. Its absolutely broken. Always was. But this again happening during intl cricket match, which by itself has come after an extremely long time in a cricket crazy nation, is a clear sign of how bad things are.

Oh, and the govt and security apparatus first said its a cylinder blast and then improved the version to make it look like a electric transformer blast.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by RoyG »

All that money for schools, hospitals, electricity, and road infra down the toilet. Most of Afghanistan is going to be gobbled up in no time. NA and all these other potato heads in the country will hold onto some land here but they will be useless. Welcome back pre-9/11.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by vijaykarthik »

The sad thing is that the US desperately wanted Ghani to win. For a long time, a lot of people in BRF didn't hear of him, isn't it. the west ensured that the bugger won the votes by blatant cheating and delaying facts. Not even by *just* illogical rigging. I remember a few places where votes counted for Ghani were close to 97% of total pop in a few areas - areas where children, citizens below 18 and / or infirm etc amounted to about 12-17%.

The West concerns will obviously have been influenced by the Pakis and perhaps the Chinese. This is turning out a bit like SL now [who are also moving in closer to China all over again]
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by Tuvaluan »

vijaykarthik wrote: the west ensured that the bugger won the votes by blatant cheating and delaying facts. Not even by *just* illogical rigging.
vkji, I think the rigging was a bit more sophisticated than usual -- the whole two phase voting was that brainchild of US, which wanted karzai and his crowd out because they would not sign the BSA. The US ensured that the election was held in two phases, when one would have sufficed, and allowed enough time between the first and second phases to manipulate the outcome. I recall many folks here puzzled about the unnecessarily long and drawn out elections in Afghanisthan -- but as we now know, it was the US that want the Pakis, i.e., ISI and the "good taliban" back in control (or at least able to create trouble) in Afghanisthan before they withdrew.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by vijaykarthik »

Something, finally, to cheer about: In Farah, the Taliban has succeeded in driving out the IS types [at least the ones that touted support of / for IS ideology].

PS: not much to greatly cheer about, but in an unequal fight between 2 contemptible & moronic factions, the *gentler* one has succeeded. At least for now.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by arun »

X Posted from the “Indo-UK News and Discussion - April 2013” thread.

Indrani Bagchi reports that the UK is actively involved in fostering intelligence sharing arrangement between Afghanistan and Pakistan which is not in keeping India’s interest.

India must bluntly inform the UK that playing the “Great Game” in Afghanistan is no longer a British option:

India suspects British backing of Pak-Afghan intel cooperation
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

vijaykarthik wrote:Something, finally, to cheer about: In Farah, the Taliban has succeeded in driving out the IS types [at least the ones that touted support of / for IS ideology].

PS: not much to greatly cheer about, but in an unequal fight between 2 contemptible & moronic factions, the *gentler* one has succeeded. At least for now.
Both are equally bad for us. I would have been happier had the ANA killed those IS types. In fact, the success of the 'good Taliban' (we should extend the Pakistani nomenclature to Afghanistan also because the blurring of the boundary among these jihadi islamist types) in the far western Farah province bordering Iran is bad news. Already the eastern provinces are well controlled by the 'good Taliban' and their associated Haqqani-type warlords, the south & south-east such as Helmand and Kandahar provinces have always been Taliban strongholds. the latest spring-offensive has seen the 'good Taliban' consolidate gains in the North as well and now this incident in the East!

My guess is that over a period of time, the fight will evolve into one between the 'bad Taliban', IS on the one side and the 'good Taliban', Al Qaeda backed by Pakistan and China on the other side. Countries like Afghanistan itself, India and Iran will have to fight both.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by member_25399 »

arun wrote:X Posted from the “Indo-UK News and Discussion - April 2013” thread.

Indrani Bagchi reports that the UK is actively involved in fostering intelligence sharing arrangement between Afghanistan and Pakistan which is not in keeping India’s interest.

India must bluntly inform the UK that playing the “Great Game” in Afghanistan is no longer a British option:

India suspects British backing of Pak-Afghan intel cooperation
What does UK have to gain from it ?
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by Pratyush »

^^^

Don't always look at what some one gains from an act. Also look at who will be prevented from gaining by this act. The motivations will become clear.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by schinnas »

It is likely part of the agreement that Unkil might have made with Pukis for a honorable exit from Af-Pak. For various reasons (including some burnt bridges and trust issues with Afghans) See eye eaa might have outsourced this to their loyal poodle the UK who are still clinging on to the notion of them being a player in the world stage!
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by ramana »

CNN: Afghan war casualties around 150000 since2001


Looks like lot of nonsense. The UB war casualties algorithm calculated a lot more.

(CNN)—Tuesday's militant attack on a group of aid workers in Afghanistan, resulting in nine deaths, is yet another instance of the enormous toll of the ongoing violence in the region.

A new study from the Costs of War project at Brown University estimates 149,000 war-related deaths, with an additional 162,000 serious injuries, in Afghanistan and Pakistan since 2001. And even these numbers don't tell the whole story, which includes significant destruction of infrastructure, displacement of people, and indirect deaths from malnutrition and disease.

Civilian casualties have been particularly high, according to the report, totaling around 26,270 deaths in Afghanistan and 21,500 in Pakistan. The study says that most of the civilian casualties in Afghanistan are caused by militant groups, but the number caused by Afghan and international forces has been increasing since 2012.
:eek:

{This implies 149K - 47K equals 102K were combat soldiers!!! Taliban did not have so many soldiers.}

The current conflict in Afghanistan dates from 2001. The ruling power at the time, the Taliban, were toppled by a U.S.-led coalition in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States. Even though the extremist regime was formally overthrown, it never stopped its insurgency in an effort to regain control.

The turmoil in Pakistan, which has its own Taliban and al Qaeda factions, has become more closely related to that of Afghanistan, with refugees and anti-government militants crossing borders. "It is important for policy makers and others to view the effects and implications of these wars together, because they are so interconnected," said Neta Crawford, the author of the Brown study.

The international community has worked with local organizations to address the crisis in both countries. One notable example was the start of the Basic Package of Health Services in Afghanistan in 2003, which substantially increased access to health care. But Crawford says that such efforts will need to be long-term: "The indirect health effects of war persist beyond the end of fighting. Both Afghanistan and Pakistan will continue to need an infusion of aid for public health after these wars end."



The Costs of War project at Brown's Watson Institute is interdisciplinary, drawing from the resources of economics, law, political science and other fields. Its report uses data from international agencies such as the United Nations and the Red Cross.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by vijaykarthik »

If the going rate for a Taliban militant is a reasonably able bodied man [one eyed, 2 limbs in working condition, big beard and a tool], sure most of us are militants. Sometimes twice the rate. Because in a few cases 4 active limbs, 2 eyes etc.

I wonder which freaks give these think tanks money to publish such absolutely disgusting material and also put it out in the media as worthy news.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by ramana »

Brown Uty an Ivy League Uty in Rhode Island.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

There’s trouble brewing to our west - G.Parthasarathy, Business Line
Over the past quarter of a century, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, India has successfully fashioned a new and innovative approach of economic integration with the fast-growing economies of East and South-East Asia.

As a ‘dialogue partner’, our economy is now substantially integrated with the economies of the 10 members of Asean, extending eastwards from Myanmar to Vietnam.

We have ‘comprehensive economic partnerships’ with the ‘tiger economies’ of Japan and South Korea. Our economic ties with the 21st century superpower, China, are set to grow. As a member of the East Asia Summit, India participates actively in fashioning new security dynamics for the entire Indo-Pacific Region, extending from its shores to the Pacific shores of the US.

Difficult terrain


National Security Adviser Ajit Doval recently spelt out the security challenges that India faces across both its eastern and western land and maritime borders. Describing the challenges posed by China, Doval noted that we have a long border with a “difficult terrain”.

He slammed China for its border claims in Arunachal Pradesh, while stressing the importance of maintaining peace and tranquillity on our eastern borders. India is fashioning a diplomatic strategy to counter Chinese ‘assertiveness’, marked by closer ties with China’s maritime neighbours, ranging from Japan to Vietnam and Myanmar.

These moves are reinforced by consultations with the US to build a stable balance of power along and beyond our eastern frontiers. There can, however, be no substitute for defence modernisation while upgrading infrastructure on our eastern borders.

While the framework for enhanced security and cooperation on and beyond our eastern borders is taking shape, the same cannot, unfortunately, be said of developments across and beyond our western borders. Ajit Doval warned of security challenges flowing from the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. It is clear that President Obama’s withdrawal plans are coupled with moves to establish a de facto Washington-Beijing-Rawalpindi axis, which seeks to ‘accommodate’ the Taliban, giving it control of substantial parts of south eastern Afghanistan. This plan also involves substantial arms transfers by the US to Pakistan, including F-16 fighters, potent air-to-air missiles, jet trainers and armoured personnel carriers.

Moreover, while the Americans may pay lip service on bringing the likes of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi to justice, they will really not do anything that discomfits Pakistan’s de facto rulers — its army establishment. It would be naïve for India to expect effective American support in confronting ISI-sponsored terrorism.


Impact on equations

The political uncertainty in the AfPak corridor bordering India has been accompanied by the entire ‘Greater West Asia’, from Iran to Algeria, being torn apart by civil wars, sectarian violence and Persian-Arab rivalries. The impending US-Iran nuclear deal has sent shock waves through the Arab world, particularly in the oil-rich monarchies of the Gulf Cooperation Council. It could change power equations, in much the way that the Nixon-Mao rapprochement did in the 1970s.

The angst in Saudi Arabia is evident in the manner in which the normally cautious Saudis have hit out militarily at Yemen, ostensibly because of growing Iranian influence. This is a miscalculation, for which Saudi Arabia will pay a high price.

The Americans did precious little to back their long-term allies, the Gulf monarchies, in their intervention in Yemen. Saudi Arabia was dumped even by its Islamic brethren such as Pakistan and Egypt. American client states in the Arab world appear to have not realised that after becoming the world’s largest oil producer and being set to become a major exported of natural gas, the US is really no longer too concerned about the fate of Arab ruling elites. India cannot, however, remain sanguine about these developments.

Over 70 per cent of our oil imports come from this region where 6 million Indians, who remit back $45 billion annually, live.

Moreover, the real epicentre of Shia-Sunni tensions is Iraq, which has the potential to re-emerge as a major partner. Peace in Iraq are crucial for regional stability and energy security. New Delhi has, therefore, to embark on new and imaginative diplomatic initiatives with the Gulf Arab monarchies, Iraq and Iran.

The ISIL now controls half of Syria and virtually the entire Syrian-Iraqi border. It rules Mosul and the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud. It also recently seized control of Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s Sunni-dominated Anbar province. What is shocking is the ineptitude of the American-equipped and Shia-dominated Iraqi army, which has appeared incapable of fighting, unless backed by Iranian-trained Iraqi Shia militia. The Iraqi army has to be made inclusive and professionalised in order to take on the ISIL effectively. The Iraqi government is widely perceived as being insensitive to the sentiments and aspirations of the minority Sunnis.

Towards a new approach

The ISIL and the Taliban share much in common. The barbarism that marked Taliban rule was evident from their wantonly blowing up ancient Buddha statues in the Bamiyan Valley in 2001. The Taliban foreign minister, Mullah Muttawakil, justified this barbaric destruction, proclaiming they were merely following the Islamic edicts of iconoclasm! The Taliban required Hindus and Sikhs to wear identity labels on their clothing.

The ISIL went one step further. Captured non-Muslims are treated as slaves and their women abducted and outraged. In Mosul and the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud, the ISIL bulldozed architectural treasures, monuments and museums with the assertion that Prophet Mohammed destroyed such idols with his own hands when he entered Mecca.

The Taliban, which colluded with the hijackers of IC 814, have repeatedly attacked Indians and Indian diplomatic and consular establishments in Afghanistan. There is no reason to believe they will change when, courtesy the Obama administration, the Xi Jinping dispensation, the ISI led by Gen Rizwan Akhtar and Afghan president Ashraf Ghani, they seize control of territory in Afghanistan, as the ISIL is doing in Iraq and Syria. ISIL has been described as “the most explosive Islamic movement the modern world has seen”. Is Mullah Omar’s Taliban any different? Should we not formulate a comprehensive ‘Act West’ approach to address these serious issues across and beyond our western frontiers?

The writer is a former High Commissioner to Pakistan
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by Falijee »

Sleeping with the enemy by Vikram Sood

A Former Intelligence Chief's Take on the Recent Developments in Afghanistan
It has been evident that Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani is moving closer to Pakistan. Yet the announcement of an MOU between the two countries’ intelligence agencies was a surprise to many, including his own deputy, Dr Abdullah Abdullah who learnt of this from former President Hamid Karzai. The National Directorate of Security (NDS) and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) signed a memorandum of understanding (May 18) to “jointly fight terrorism” and “enemy espionage agencies”. The agreement would allow ISI to probe terrorist suspects in Afghan detention.
Pakistan’s singular goal has been to dominate Afghanistan and keep India out. It now seeks to keep that country’s intelligence agency under its control. It sees a vacuum in Afghanistan with the Americans leaving and preoccupied with the turmoil in West Asia, the Taliban on the ascendant with the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) unable to handle the situation, and with China now increasingly involved in the dialogue with the Taliban.
There are now three strands to Pakistan’s strategy. One, to keep the pressure on Afghanistan through increased Taliban terrorist attacks; two, take over the dialogue process with the help of China, and; three, tie all this up with an ISI-NDS deal.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

Falijee wrote:Sleeping with the enemy by Vikram Sood
There are now three strands to Pakistan’s strategy. One, to keep the pressure on Afghanistan through increased Taliban terrorist attacks; two, take over the dialogue process with the help of China, and; three, tie all this up with an ISI-NDS deal.
And, all that to conquer India. Let's remember the root cause always.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by arun »

X Posted from the “Pakistani Role In Global Terrorism” thread.

Afghanistan’s Intelligence Agency, National Directorate of Security, reveals that they have arrested two Mohammadden Terrorists with links to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for the attack on the Park Palace Hotel and Guesthouse in Kabul which killed besides others, 4 fellow Indians and was believed to have targeted our man in Afghanistan, Ambassador Amar Sinha, who was to attend a concert at that hotel.

Two with Pakistani terror ties held in Afghan hotel attack that killed 14
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by Falijee »

‘Secret letter’ reveals Afghan pressure on Pakistan
ISLAMABAD:
Officials at the Presidential Palace in Kabul recently leaked contents of President Ashraf Ghani’s ‘secret letter’ to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, demanding the “arrest of Taliban leaders in Pakistan”.

Taking their usual stance, Pakistani officials insist they are unaware of any such letter.
Comment: But, then is Badmash in the loop on the Afghan file ?
A senior Pakistani official, dealing with Afghan affairs, told The Express Tribune “certain elements across the border are opposed to an improved relationship”. He especially mentioned Hamid Karzai and his close aides, saying they have “created obstacles” for his successor to normalise ties with Pakistan.
Comment : But, then does Ghani know 'everything ' on any Pak-US secret understanding to ensure smooth withdrawal of US forces ?
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by SaiK »

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 522070.cms

so the britbasturds are boldy started to phucking around now.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by Tuvaluan »

It is not like the brits and their masters the USA ever stopped with the marauding in Afghanisthan -- this is nothing new. US and UK seem to be determined to keep afghanistan in turmoil as a nuisance factor and a guard against India ever making it to central asia.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by vijaykarthik »

^ Its a redux of Mackinder.

Who rules the heartland commands the world-island.

Also the reason why China will be thwarted in its attempts to control the region by belt / road too.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by vijaykarthik »

Now we have attacks on Faryab province. It borders Turkmenistan, is mountainous and a remote location.

Queer.

Is the Taliban trying to capture territory and establish bases in the remote lands? Badakshan, Faryab. Sure looks like a pattern. Or is it not one?
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by vijaykarthik »

Does this even make sense. Liars.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/iran-b ... =rss&rss=1
KABUL — When Abdullah, a Taliban commander in central Afghanistan, needs more rifles and ammunition, he turns to the same people who pay his $580-a-month salary: his Iranian sponsors.

“Iran supplies us with whatever we need,” he said.

Afghan and Western officials say Tehran has quietly increased its supply of weapons, ammunition and funding to the Taliban, and is now recruiting and training their fighters, posing a new threat to Afghanistan’s fragile security.




Iran’s strategy in backing the Taliban is twofold, these officials say: countering U.S. influence in the region and providing a counterweight to Islamic State’s move into the Taliban’s territory in Afghanistan.

The Taliban’s aggressive military push and the new momentum toward peace negotiations between them and Kabul also raises the possibility that some of their members could eventually return to power.

“Iran is betting on the re-emergence of the Taliban,” said a Western diplomat. “They are uncertain about where Afghanistan is heading right now, so they are hedging their bets.”

Habib Khan Totakhil in Kabul and Felicia Schwartz in Washington contributed to this article.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by vijaykarthik »

to me its more like the Americans don't mind the Talibans setting up a base in S Af and its in their / Paki interests and Sino centric shameless analysts don't mind it. But if it can be diverted in such a way that its all the Shia Muslims fault, why not try it.

Depraved logic and morals, this position is. I cant see any cogent argument that convinces me that the Iranians will actually talk with Taliban to counter the IS. They will rather talk with Karzai / Abdullah^2 to counter the idiots. I am sure there are enough warlords with Karzai and Abdullah^2 to depend on than the Talibans.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by Samudragupta »

Iran generally plays with both the sides; It makes perfect sense for the Iranians to create a counter force to the Paki sponsored mercenaries to wield its own influence across the Hindukush...but the more important q is do Iran have the necessary resources in its stable after investing heavily in Iraq and Syria?
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by pankajs »

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/worl ... 652987.cms
Taliban kill 20 police officers in attack in Afghanistan
KANDAHAR: An Afghan official says at least 20 police officers have been killed after militants ambushed checkpoints in the country's volatile southern Helmand province.

Mohammad Ismail Hotak, the head of the province's joint coordination of police and military operations, said Saturday the ambushes late Friday night hit checkpoints in the Musa Qala district, long a Taliban stronghold.

He says the attack wounded 10 police officers and that the Taliban also seemed to have suffered high casualties.

He says the battle is ongoing and reinforcements have been sent from other districts.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by Varoon Shekhar »

Tuvaluan wrote:It is not like the brits and their masters the USA ever stopped with the marauding in Afghanisthan -- this is nothing new. US and UK seem to be determined to keep afghanistan in turmoil as a nuisance factor and a guard against India ever making it to central asia.
That's very interesting, and quite possible. Why are they accepting/less opposed to China being in Central Asia in a big way? Far more so than India currently. Is it because they simply feel they cannot block China, whereas they can limit India? Or is it something else- they can accept China because China is part of the oligarchy/oligopoly, of which they themselves belong, whereas India is a newcomer, which can upset the whole applecart of oligarchy? Or is the reasoning even cruder- they actually have, if not own, huge or significant stakes in those Chinese entities that are involved economically in CA, whereas India will more likely 'go it alone', with less Western/Anglo-American benefit?

I have always maintained, without using sophisticated language or citing rigorously researched publications, that there is a section of the elite and powerful in the West, that dislikes India, and actually prefers China. And that's because China is quite happy and content to be part of the oligarchy that dominates the world economically. The aversion to India is not just because of what India is internally, but because of what India will encourage if its influence grows. India would desire to see the end of the oligarchy, and the emergence of very independent minded, sophisticated, self respecting, economically and technologically developed countries in CA, Africa and SE Asia. Whereas the Western elites and China, intend those countries to be resource providers and captive markets, with only minimal independent economic development.

But hey, it's just a theory.
svinayak
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by svinayak »

Varoon Shekhar wrote: I have always maintained, without using sophisticated language or citing rigorously researched publications, that there is a section of the elite and powerful in the West, that dislikes India, and actually prefers China. And that's because China is quite happy and content to be part of the oligarchy that dominates the world economically. The aversion to India is not just because of what India is internally, but because of what India will encourage if its influence grows. India would desire to see the end of the oligarchy, and the emergence of very independent minded, sophisticated, self respecting, economically and technologically developed countries in CA, Africa and SE Asia. Whereas the Western elites and China, intend those countries to be resource providers and captive markets, with only minimal independent economic development.

But hey, it's just a theory.
It is not a theory but close to reality. They dont know what they will get with unknown future.
They prefer known dogs to uncertainty.
Falijee
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by Falijee »

Senior Afghan Taliban leader killed in Peshawar
ISLAMABAD:
Senior Afghan Taliban leader, Maulvi Mir Ahmad Gul Hashmi, was shot dead in Peshawar on Monday, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.

Hashmi, the Taliban shadow governor for Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province was critically injured during firing in Peshawar, and later succumbed to his injuries, the spokesperson said.
Although, the spokesperson did not mention the place where Maulvi Gul had come under attack, a Taliban source told The Express Tribune that he was killed in Peshawar.
Comment: Ghani translates words into action ?
SSridhar
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

vijaykarthik wrote:Now we have attacks on Faryab province. It borders Turkmenistan, is mountainous and a remote location.

Queer.

Is the Taliban trying to capture territory and establish bases in the remote lands? Badakshan, Faryab. Sure looks like a pattern. Or is it not one?
One of the aims of the 2015 Spring Offensive is to expand space (lebensraum). This serves two purposes. One is that it gives them a position of strength in negotiations with Kabul. The other is, of course, to stop the spread of IS. The Taliban and the Pakistani Army are afraid of the IS as the latter will deprive them of their traditional space and approach. The IS is very bad news for the Paki Army.

BTW, Badakhshan gives access to China's Xinjiang through the Wakhan Corridor.

Added Later: See the next post.
SSridhar
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

Taliban warn IS leader not to interfere in Afghanistan - DAWN
The Taliban on Tuesday warned the leader of the self-styled Islamic State group against waging a parallel insurgency in Afghanistan, after a string of defections and reported clashes with militants loyal to Islamic State (IS).

The Middle Eastern group, also known by its Arabic acronym Daesh, has never formally acknowledged having a presence in Afghanistan but fears are growing that the group is making inroads in the country.

In a letter addressed to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Taliban insisted that “jihad (holy war) against the Americans and their allies must be conducted under one flag and one leadership”.

“The Islamic Emirate (Taliban) does not consider the multiplicity of jihadi ranks beneficial either for jihad or for Muslims,” said the letter signed by the Taliban deputy leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor.

“Your decisions taken from a distance will result in (the IS) losing support of religious scholars, mujahideen... and in order to defend its achievements the Islamic Emirate will be forced to react,” it added.

The letter, published on the Taliban website in Pashto, Urdu, Arabic and Dari, did not elaborate on its threat.

The Taliban have seen defections in recent months— with some insurgents apparently adopting the IS flag to rebrand themselves as a more lethal force as Nato troops depart.

The two groups, which espouse different ideological strains of Sunni Islam, are believed to be arrayed against each other in Afghanistan's restive south, with clashes frequently reported.

Last week, local media reported pitched battles between the Taliban and supporters of IS in eastern Afghanistan, with casualties reported on both sides.

General John Campbell, the commander of Nato forces in the country, last month said the IS group was recruiting fighters in Afghanistan but they were not yet operational.

There have been fears of IS group making inroads in Afghanistan since US-led Nato forces ended their combat mission late last year, after 13 years of fighting the Taliban.

In February, a Nato drone strike killed Mullah Abdul Rauf Khadim, a former Taliban commander and Guantanamo detainee with suspected links to IS, in the volatile southern province of Helmand.

And in March Hafiz Waheed, a successor to Khadim, was killed along with nine others in the Sangin district of Helmand, according to the Afghan defence ministry.

It is not known whether the men had the official sanction of IS, which announced its presence in South Asia a year ago.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by Samudragupta »

The defacto conflict between AQ and IS seems to be heating up in Khorasan... AT is just the slideshow for ISI.....btw the official position of ISIS is to kill Mullah Umar in the Khorasan province... :D
Falijee
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by Falijee »

Spy Game in Afghanistan
The MoU between the espionage agencies of Afghanistan and Pakistan is a case of the latter showing India the finger, never mind that it flies in the face of history and logic
President Ghani is entitled to snub India if he assesses it to be in Afghanistan’s interests. He did announce well in advance that his country would not be making the purchase of military equipment from India that his predecessor had so ardently pursued. He then took his own time showing up in New Delhi after kowtowing in Beijing and Islamabad. He went one step further when he called on the Pakistan Army chief in the latter’s office in Rawalpindi. This was a practical decision, one supposes, for it only underscored the obvious about who calls the shots in Pakistan (apart front the terrorists). But to sign a deal with your tormentor must be listed as a daft decision, and so early in his tenure. Conceivably, he must have been cajoled into taking this step by the Americans who, anxious to quit Afghanistan, wanted all the loose ends tied up and Pakistan’s wishes met before they left.
Karzai made several attempts to convince India that Afghanistan needed weapons and training of its armed forces by India for the inevitable resurgence of the Taliban after the American exit. But we were just too scared of upsetting the US and annoying Pakistan. So we hemmed and hawed. We left Karzai in the lurch and refused to behave like a regional power with regional interests. Ghani came to power and seemed to be doing us a favour by visiting six months later. He was snubbing us. Or being told to do so.
Ghani is beholden to America and fears Pakistan. His predecessor was eased out the moment he tried to be independent and became critical of both the US and Pakistan. He was too much of an impediment regarding negotiations with Pakistan-sponsored nominees from the Taliban. He wanted to be closer to India. This did not suit Pakistan and the US. And, after 15 years in Afghanistan, the US is quite comfortable with leaving a country that is militarily ill-equipped, undertrained and underpaid.
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