Af-Pak -> Pak-Af Watch

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 19 Mar 2009 07:04

CSIS :: Mar 16, 2009 :: The Afghan-Pakistan Conflict: US Strategic Options in Afghanistan

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 19 Mar 2009 07:08

The Afghan-Pakistan War: The Rising Threat: 2002-2008 (136 pages)

The Future Challenge of the Iraq and Afghan-Pakistan Wars

WINNING IN AFGHANISTAN: CREATING EFFECTIVE AFGHAN SECURITY FORCES (176 pages)

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 19 Mar 2009 07:11

U.S. mulls counter-insurgency push in Afghanistan

'Civilian Surge' Part of New Afghan Plan

vsudhir · Post by **vsudhir** » 19 Mar 2009 08:41

There are no good Taliban, cautions India

As it prepares to participate in two international conferences on Afghanistan, India on Wednesday cautioned against treating any section of Taliban as "good", in an apparent message to the US which has expressed readiness to hold talks with "moderate" militia.

Maintaining that it would be unwise to negotiate with Taliban and leave people to their mercy, sources here said efforts should instead be made to strengthen the age-old tribal structures which are still intact in Afghanistan.

The situation in Afghanistan, over which world concerns are growing because of resurgence of Taliban, will be discussed at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Moscow on March 27 and a conference in The Hague later this month.

India is expected to be represented by the Prime Minister's Special Envoy S K Lambah at the SCO meeting. Some high-ranking official will also be attending The Hague meet.

At these meetings, India will present its prescription for stabilisation of Afghanistan, which would include giving thrust to developmental initiatives besides military and security components in creating a zone of peace.

India feels that efforts should be made to create 'secure areas' and promote developmental activities in such areas, a process that would alienate the Taliban.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 19 Mar 2009 17:50

Just a friendly suggestion.We have several threads on Pak and Afghanistan,do we seriously need another,as the same issues are being debated and discussed in the TSP thread and the one on Afghanistan,which is also overflowing into other threads? One understands the aim though,as there is much fluidity in the territory that encompasses Af-Pak,with Swat being handed over to the Talibs,the US's war on terror being waged both from Afghan and Paki soil,with more attacks in Pak on the anvil and the merging of anti-US/Karzai fundamentalist Taliban forces.The Q is if this thread is merged with another,should it be the Afghan thread or the Pak TSP thread,or should the other threads dealing with the same issues be merged into this one?!

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 19 Mar 2009 21:20

Philip as was stated in first post this is to collect the news items only. All discussions in the respective threads. But folks dont follow the logic.

Thanks, ramana

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 19 Mar 2009 22:46

Pakistan Accused of Link to Kabul Attacks

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 20 Mar 2009 03:43

Mar 19, 2009 :: Zaranj-Dilaram highway shifts Afghan transit from Karachi harbor to Chabahar in Iran

Iranian Ambassador to Kabul, Feda Hussian Maliki, said Iran will provide business facilities to the Afghan merchants.

Zaranj-Dilaram highway has been constructed by the Indian government over the past six years.

Nearly 130 Afghan cops and 11 Indian engineers have been killed in Taliban ambushes and attacks, during the implementation of the project.

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 20 Mar 2009 03:54

The Motives Behind Afghan PeaceTalks

British and Saudi vested interests behind possible deal, says Haroun Mir

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 20 Mar 2009 04:00

2008:

Great games (opinion)

Pakistan profits from Afghan insurgency

Tilak · Post by **Tilak** » 20 Mar 2009 09:28

http://www.jihadistannow.com/ [A website that tracks Pa-e-khanastan]

Another good Source :
Long War Journal

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 21 Mar 2009 03:54

Obama and Israeli Leader Make Taped Appeals to Iran

Invoking art, history and “the common humanity that binds us,” President Obama offered a “new day” in America’s relationship with Iran, using a videotaped message released on the Internet to make an unusual appeal directly to Iranians for a shift away from decades of confrontation.

The Israeli president, Shimon Peres, issued an audio statement on Friday appealing to “the noble Iranian people on behalf of the ancient Jewish people.”

James B · Post by **James B** » 21 Mar 2009 19:52

Two blasts kill 7 Afghans, 1 policeman

Two separate blasts in eastern Afghanistan killed seven civilians and one policeman Saturday, officials said.

James B · Post by **James B** » 21 Mar 2009 20:01

Holbrooke says U.S. plans major Afghan police boost

President Barack Obama plans a significant increase in the size of the Afghan police force, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke said on Saturday.

Holbrooke said an initial plan by the Obama administration to help boost the ranks of the Afghan police force from 78,000 to 82,000 over the next three to four years was now regarded as too little.

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 21 Mar 2009 20:22

Allies 'Out Of Troops' In Afghan South

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 21 Mar 2009 20:24

Iran's supreme leader dismisses Obama overtures

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 21 Mar 2009 20:44

British-US officials talking Pakistan, Afghanistan

US, Afghan Military Kill 33 Militants in Afghanistan

Behind the Afghan Strategy

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 21 Mar 2009 20:46

China and Russia Welcome Iran, India, Pakistan and Mongolia into Shanghai Cooperation Organization

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 21 Mar 2009 20:48

Republicans need to help Obama on Afghanistan

The Obama administration must be close to finishing its "Af-Pak" policy review, because it started leaking all over this week. Much of what seems to be taking shape is promising, and if true, deserves support from the loyal opposition.

In addition to the 17,000 additional U.S. forces already announced, there now looks to be this: a major expansion of the Afghan National Army; a significant civilian surge to build up Embassy Kabul, staff up the PRTs, and improve coordination with international donors; a regional diplomatic initiative, including Iran, to reinvest Afghanistan's neighbors as stakeholders in its stability; more material support for Pakistan's civilian government, but also a tougher line on terrorist sanctuaries, including perhaps the expansion of U.S. direct action into Quetta, where the DIA has said the Taliban's senior leadership is openly operating.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 21 Mar 2009 23:57

Blood in the Streets of Kabul -Taliban Is Signaling Obama It's Time for US Troops to Leave

Hiten · Post by **Hiten** » 22 Mar 2009 17:10

Reuters - ANALYSIS-Analysts see need for U.S. talks with Taliban

James B · Post by **James B** » 22 Mar 2009 17:50

Hunting down the Taliban in Nevada

Squadron Leader Steve Smith is one of a new generation of British warriors who commute to combat. They are engaging the enemy not from Kabul nor from Kandahar, but via joysticks and computer screens more than 8,000 miles away, at Creech air force base, deep in the Nevada desert. Smith’s job is to pilot what British and American commanders are calling “the most effective weapon against Al-Qaeda” — the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned drone.

The growing strategic importance of drones was highlighted last week when the CIA recommended that the military increase its use of them in Pakistan to combat the mounting insurgency threat. With a 66ft wingspan, the remote-controlled Reaper can stay airborne for 22 hours unseen and unheard at an altitude of 21,000ft — the only thing limiting its air time is fuel.

For the most part, the “hunter-killer” Reaper is used to survey an area, relaying video images back to mission command to help ground troops understand their surroundings. As its name suggests, though, this drone can also engage the enemy. The Reaper can carry an awesome payload: up to four Hellfire missiles and two 500lb Paveway II bombs, all laser-guided. When the order comes from a troop commander on the ground — “Cleared hot” — the pilots in Nevada pull the trigger.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 22 Mar 2009 20:21

Tehran's help sought on Afghanistan

A senior State Department official confirmed Washington was interested in gaining US access to a strategic route that crosses Iranian territory and was already being used by some of Tehran's allies.

India has built a road between the Afghan cities of Delaram and Zaranj, which is on the border with Iran, to provide supplies and commercial goods to Afghanistan without going through its arch-enemy Pakistan.

The Iranians "already provide a route for Indian assistance and some other supplies that go up to Afghanistan", the senior US official said. The route from Chabahar links with the Indian road.

Iran had indicated in recent months "there were some NATO countries that might even provide supplies through that route", the official said.

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 22 Mar 2009 22:59

Rethink Afghanistan

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 23 Mar 2009 14:17

karzai being dumped by the US!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/ma ... ass-karzai

US will appoint Afghan 'prime minister' to bypass Hamid KarzaiWhite House plans new executive role to challenge corrupt government in Kabul
Julian Borger in Brussels and Ewen MacAskill in Washington

The US and its European allies are preparing to plant a high-profile figure in the heart of the Kabul government in a direct challenge to the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, the Guardian has learned.

Anurag · Post by **Anurag** » 24 Mar 2009 01:33

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/vi ... x?id=13153

India's 'Great Game' in Afghanistan

For the first time ever a team from the Indian Army will be training the Afghan National Army (ANA). The team is heading to Kabul in the next few months. The decision, which has huge strategic implications, will certainly irritate Islamabad.

The above recent news confirms this dated news from IndiaDefence

Indian Army To Train Afghanistan, Uzbekistan Armed Forces 24/4/07
http://www.india-defence.com/reports-3080

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 25 Mar 2009 12:06

U.S. Weighs Sharif as Partner in Pakistan

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 25 Mar 2009 12:24

From a Carrier, Another View of America’s Air War in Afghanistan

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 26 Mar 2009 07:05

Expert Lauds Obama's Afghanistan Approach

Latest and interesting.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 26 Mar 2009 07:42

FPA's Great Decison's 2009 site on Af-Pak

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 26 Mar 2009 07:44

Afghan Strikes by Taliban Get Pakistan Help, U.S. Aides Say

In a sign of just how resigned Western officials are to the ties, the British government has sent several dispatches to Islamabad in recent months asking that the ISI use its strategy meetings with the Taliban to persuade its commanders to scale back violence in Afghanistan before the August presidential election there, according to one official.

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 26 Mar 2009 17:55

The way out of the Afghan quagmire

In the context of the conference on the future of Afghanistan coming up in The Hague on March 31, an assessment of some of the ground realities, including those pertaining to Pakistan.

Ameet · Post by **Ameet** » 27 Mar 2009 03:23

Obama to add more troops to Afghanistan on top of the 17K already approved

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090326/ap_ ... fghanistan

Highlights:

Concerned about the faltering war in Afghanistan, President Barack Obama plans to dispatch thousands more military and civilian trainers on top of the 17,000 fresh combat troops he's already ordered, people familiar with the forthcoming plan said Thursday.

Obama also will call for increasing aid to neighboring Pakistan as long as its leaders confront militants in the border region. The president plans to lay out his revamped strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan on Friday.

Several sources told The Associated Press the strategy includes 20 recommendations for countering a persistent insurgency that spans the two countries' border, including sending 4,000 military trainers to try to increase the size of the Afghan army.

The plan also broaches dramatically increasing the size of Afghanistan's security forces. Several defense officials said that could entail doubling the Afghan security force to almost 400,000.

The plan strongly backs legislation by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Richard Lugar, R-Ind., that would triple humanitarian aid to $1.5 billion to Pakistan for five years. The bill had been proposed last year by now Vice President Joe Biden.

Kerry, who took over for Biden as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, said he also supports placing conditions on military aid to Pakistan. Biden's original bill threatened to cut military funding for Islamabad unless the government did more to fight Taliban forces.

Kerry said he planned to introduce next week an updated version of the measure that would slightly increase the $1.5 billion.

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 27 Mar 2009 07:34

Obama to Set Benchmarks in Fight Against Militants

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 27 Mar 2009 18:47

Obama adviser: Intel lacking in Afghanistan

(Because they relied on Pakistan!!!)

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 27 Mar 2009 18:48

Iran to send envoy to U.S.-backed Afghanistan summit

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 27 Mar 2009 19:02

US announces $10 million reward for Mehsud and Haqqani

NRao · Post by **NRao** » 27 Mar 2009 21:52

Obama Unveils Afghan Plan to Add Troops and Set Goals

In strikingly ominous tones, Mr. Obama warned — just as President George W. Bush did repeatedly over the years — of intelligence estimates that al Qaeda “is actively planning attacks on the U.S. homeland from its safe haven in Pakistan.”

“The situation is increasingly perilous,” he told government officials, top military officers and diplomats in remarks at the White House.

Setting benchmarks for Pakistan could be particularly difficult. For years, the United States has simply paid bills submitted by the Pakistani government for counterterrorism operations, even during truces when its military was not involved in counterterrorism. Pakistan has resisted linking its aid to specific performance criteria and officials acknowledged that developing those criteria could be problematic.

sum · Post by **sum** » 27 Mar 2009 22:06

Deleted...

Lalmohan · Post by **Lalmohan** » 27 Mar 2009 22:19

Deleted....