Afghanistan News & Discussion

[Rishi]

[Sanjay M]

Afghanistan Then and Now



Paghman Gardens in 1967 (left) and 2007 (right)

[putnanja]

Pakistan, US and the Afghanistan quagmire

Pakistan, US and the Afghanistan quagmire

G. PARTHASARATHY

The use of radical Islamic groups to achieve strategic objectives in Afghanistan and India is the cornerstone of the Pakistan army’s strategy. Its primary aim is to force India out of projects in Afghanistan. But India has to show that it is not deterred by threats of terrorist violence, says G. PARTHASARATHY.

With the United States and NATO forces in Afghanistan now coming under increasing attack from Taliban fighters comfortably based across the border in Baluchistan and the federally administered tribal areas (FATA) of Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP), the contradictions in the national aims of the US, on the one hand, and its client state Pakistan, on the other, are coming into sharp focus.

These contradictions are being extensively documented, both by western writers such as Adrian Levy and Catherine Scott Clark and by such courageous Pakistanis as Shuja Nawaz, Ahmed Rashid and Amir Mir, who are alarmed at the looming disaster the ambitious army establishment is leading the country into.

The roots of the present US-Pakistan tensions lie in the alliance that was forged by the Reagan Administration with Gen Zia-ul-Haq in the 1980s, under which Zia and the ISI received virtually unlimited military and economic assistance to bleed and oust Soviet forces from Afghanistan.

With no accounting or accountability, the ISI used the aid thus provided to arm and train rabidly fundamentalist forces, both in Afghanistan and in Pakistan. Gen Zia’s strategic aim was to create “a pro-Pakistan Islamic Government in Kabul, to be followed by the Islamisation of Central Asia. In military parlance, this was Pakistan’s strategy to secure “strategic depth” in relation to India”.

This strategy found use when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan and jihadis from groups such as the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and the Jaish-e-Mohammed were trained in Afghanistan, with its rulers aiding and abetting the hijackers of IC-814 in 1999.

Shuja Nawaz has revealed that he was told by the then ISI Chief Lt. Gen Ziauddin that when the ISI approached the Taliban “President” Mullah Mohammad Rabbani in 1999, asking for 20,000 to 30,000 volunteers to wage Jihad in Kashmir, Rabbani smilingly said he was willing to offer even half a million Afghan jihadis for jihad in Kashmir to the ISI.
Training the Taliban

It was largely due to American military bungling that, following the American backed takeover of Kabul by the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance in 2001, the Taliban leadership led by Mullah Omar fled to Quetta, while its military commanders like Jalaluddin Haqqani along with Osama bin Laden escaped into FATA. Gen Musharraf, often described by Americans as their “best bet,” then took over at his duplicitous best.

While he pretended to be a staunch ally in America’s “War on Terror,” he secretly set up an elaborate network of former ISI officers to regroup, rearm and train the Taliban on Pakistan soil. The Pakistan army establishment was just not willing to end support for the Taliban, or groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, which had been cosmetically “banned” by Gen Musharraf.

Use of radical Islamic groups to achieve strategic objectives in Afghanistan and India remains the cornerstone of the strategic culture of the Pakistan army, irrespective of whether power is wielded by a fundamentalist like Gen Zia-ul-Haq, or an ostensible “moderate” like Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.

Pakistan, thus, has the unique, though dubious distinction of being the only country in the world that has used radical Islamic groups to “bleed” two superpowers in Afghanistan — the Soviet Union and now the US.

The duplicity of Gen Musharraf and his fellow Generals in ostensibly co-operating with the US, while providing a safe haven to the Taliban has had disastrous consequences for Afghanistan, Pakistan and the US. Twenty-eight US soldiers were killed in Afghanistan in June 2008, the largest number in any one month since 2001.
Dysfunctional situation

President Bush said on July 15 that the US would work with Afghanistan’s intelligence services to “get to the bottom” of allegations by President Karzai of Pakistan promoting terrorism in Afghanistan, including in an attempt to assassinate him and in the attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul.

Echoing what President Bush had said earlier Senator Obama proclaimed: “If another attack on our homeland comes it will likely come from the same region where 9/11 was planned.” He added: “We must make it clear that if Pakistan cannot or will not act, we will take out high-value terrorist targets like bin Laden if we have them in our sights”.

These warnings were personally conveyed bluntly when Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Pakistan.

An enraged President Karzai has repeatedly warned Pakistan of retaliatory and punitive action, calling Pakistan’s military and ISI the “world’s biggest terrorists”. Within Pakistan, virtually the entire NWFP stands Talibanised, with barber shops, video parlours, music, cinemas and girls’ schools forcibly shut down.

The Provincial Government led by the moderate Awami National Party has set up “defence committees” at district level against a complete Taliban takeover. Even in provincial towns in Punjab such as Bahawalpur, jihadis like Maulana Masood Azhar of the Jaish-e-Mohammed spit venom vowing jihad against India, Israel, and US in Afghanistan.

In early June, some 300 fighters from various jihadi groups met secretly at a venue not far from the Army’s Headquarters in Rawalpindi. They vowed to set aside differences and commit more fighters to Afghanistan. Toor Gul, a representative of Kashmir’s Hizb-ul-Mujahideen proclaimed that the message from the Rawalpindi meeting was that “Jihad in Kashmir is still continuing, but is not the most important one right now”.

In these circumstances, American and NATO officials are saying the situation in Pakistan is “dysfunctional” with radical Islamic groups now challenging the writ of the State.
Pakistan’s client state

The attacks on the Indian Embassy in Kabul and on Indian nationals in Southern Afghanistan are an inevitable consequence of the Pakistan army’s determination to convert Afghanistan into a client state for “strategic depth” against India. Can this situation change soon? Tragically, the answer is ‘No”.

As Ahmed Rashid notes in his classic book Descent into Chaos, on Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia: “The Pakistan army has to put to rest its notion of a centralised state based solely on defence against India and an expansionist Islamist strategic military doctrine carried out at the expense of democracy. Musharraf deliberately raised the profile of jihadi groups to make himself more useful to the US”.

There is nothing to suggest that Gen Kayani or the dominant military elite have the vision, will or inclination to change the disastrous course the army adopted for Pakistan from the days of Gen Zia ul Haq.

There are around 3,500 Indian nationals now living in Afghanistan, working in areas ranging from education and health to information technology, communications and electrical power generation and transmission. There have been around 30 mortar attacks recently on Indian personnel, particularly those building a road linking landlocked Afghanistan with the Iranian port of Chahbahar.

Pakistan’s primary aim is to force out India from constructing this road, the construction of which will result in Afghanistan no longer being dependent on Pakistan for access to the sea. India has to show the will, resilience and determination to succeed in this road project to demonstrate that it is not deterred by threats of terrorist violence.
(The author is a former High Commissioner to Pakistan.)

[Avinash R]

Afghanistan seeks India's coop to strengthen local governance
New Delhi | Wednesday, Jul 23 2008 IST

Afghanistan has sought India's cooperation in strengthening its local governance.

An Afghan delegation, led by Director General, Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) and Minister, Government of Afghanistan, Jelani Popal today met Union Minister for Panchayati Raj Mani Shankar Aiyar.

During the meeting, Mr Jelani Popal said he had sought assistance from bodies like the Indian Institute of Public Adminsitration(IIPA), Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) and Institute of Social Sciences (ISS) and that they have drafted an MoU for mutual cooperation for local governance and capacity building of the representatives of local governance as well as officials of various departments with these institutions. They have also sought assistance from these institutes for developing their resource centre and also to draft their policy document as well as legislation for the local governance. The Minister of Panchayati Raj suggested that in addition to the visit of this delegation to IIPA, PRIA and ISS, the members of the delegation should also visit NIRD, Hyderabad and also SIRD, Mysore and KILA, Thrissur, Kerala. They may also visit Palaghat Zilla Prishad of Kerala to have a first-hand experience of the local self-governance in Kerala. During this discussion, emphasis was also laid on capacity building of women representatives in Afghanistan and for taking up gender related projects. Speaking about his visit, Mr Popal said he had sought cooperation in areas related to strengthening of representative bodies in Afghanistan like training of trainers, comprehensive technical package and learning from the Indian experience. Mr Popal also said he was extremely impressed with the participation of women in local governance in India. Mr Aiyar said the Joint Working Group and a Joint Forum on local governance between India and Afghanistan will subsequently meet in September and October to take the matter further. The delegation, which is in India on an exposure visit on Local Self Governance, consists of Director of Provincial and Local Councils Relations and Coordination Department, IDLG, Syed Qutubuddin Roydar, Director of Capacity Building, IDLG Ehsan Hemat, Governor of Paktia Province, Juma Khan Hamdard, MP Abrahim Malek Zada, MP Sultanat Kohi and Provincial Council Member, Fazel Hadee Muslimyar.

The meeting of the Afghanistan delegation with the Mr Aiyar is in pursuance of the MoU signed between India's Minister of Panchayati Raj and the Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, Afghanistan at Kabul on May 17.

The Afghan Delegation visited the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) on July 21 and had detailed discussion on a draft MoU which can be signed between the IIPA and IDLG. The team also visited PRIA and ISS on July 22 and exchanged views with PRIA and ISS and extent of support they can get from these Institutions. Earlier, during the visit of Afghanistan's Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, Ehsan Zia, a meeting was organized with the Panchayat Representatives and Research Institutions/NGOs. These institutions agreed to provide assistance to Government of Afghanistan as per their requirement. The matter has already been taken up with these institutions to send their willingness for providing experts and other technical assistance. The formal reply has been received from PRIA to provide experts to Government of Afghanistan. However, in principle, other institutes such as IIPA, ISS, RLEK, RGNIYD and IRMA have agreed to support Government of Afghanistan in their respective fields.

[RajeshA]

India's Afghan projects face threat

[arun]

X Post.

After “Rogue” Pakistani Nuclear Scientist, “Rogue” Pakistani Intelligence Operative we will now have “Rogue” Pakistani Diplomat enters the lexicon of giving Pakistan a free pass.

Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security says Pakistani diplomat based at Pakistan’s Kandahar Consulate gave "orders and money" to Mullah Rahmatullah, a Taliban terrorist :

Afghanistan accusing Pakistan of aiding insurgents

The Associated Press
Wednesday, August 6, 2008

KABUL, Afghanistan: Afghanistan's spy agency alleged on Wednesday that a member of Pakistan's consulate in the country's south helped a Taliban commander in his attempts to weaken the government. …………….

Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security said in a statement that a diplomat at the consulate in the southern Kandahar province gave "orders and money" to Mullah Rahmatullah, a Taliban militant in the region.

Rahmatullah was captured by Afghan intelligence agents on Tuesday in Kandahar city, and the information linking the official with the militants was gleaned during the questioning, the NDS said in a statement, which did not name the diplomat. …………..

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Sadiq declined to comment, saying he had not seen the report.

Rahmatullah was responsible for kidnappings of influential elders in the province, extortion, "guerrilla attacks and some other terroristic activities," the statement said. ………….


"After the arrest, Mullah Rahmatullah confessed to his crimes and said he received orders and money for all terroristic activities and for the kidnappings from one of the members of Pakistan's consulate in Kandahar," the statement said ………..

AP via IHT

[Gerard]

It must be very painful for the AP to report this... like passing a kidney stone.

Afghanistan — and, reportedly, the United States — believe Pakistan's powerful spy service, the Inter-Services Intelligence, orchestrated the July 7 bombing outside India's Embassy in Kabul that killed over 60 people, in an effort to undermine growing ties between the two countries.

[ShauryaT]

Send troops to Afghanistan

A significant Indian military presence in Afghanistan will alter the geo-strategic landscape in the extended neighbourhood, by expanding India’s power projection in Central Asia. The Pakistani establishment will be compelled to divert its energies from their eastern to their northern borders. India can counter cross-border terrorism effectively only if it has the capacity to strategically ratchet up pressure either of Pakistan’s fronts.

[Ameet]

ISI intelligence helping Taliban in Afghanistan - NATO General

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080811/wl ... unrestnato

[Avinash R]

88 die in Afghan violence; police deploy in Kabul

KABUL, Afghanistan - Scores of police manned checkpoints around Afghanistan's capital Sunday after authorities ordered more than 7,000 officers to secure Kabul ahead of the country's Independence Day, an indication of how militants pose a growing threat to the capital.
ADVERTISEMENT

The rest of the country saw a surge in violence. Officials said several clashes in Afghanistan's south and east killed 73 Taliban fighters and five private security guards, while a roadside blast killed 10 policemen.

The Interior Ministry said the beefed-up police force in the capital would search buildings as well as cars to "create an environment of trust and prevent any disruptive actions by the enemy."

The security increase comes a day before the country celebrates the 89th anniversary of its independence from Britain. Any breach of security during the celebration would be an embarrassment for President Hamid Karzai's government.

In April, gunmen fired on Karzai at a military parade in Kabul, killing three people, including a lawmaker.

Ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said more than 5,000 extra police had been drafted for what he described as the biggest operation of its kind in Kabul since 2001, when U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban government.

Teams of police stopped vehicles at checkpoints around the city. Kabul so far has been spared the drumbeat of violence that has afflicted other parts of the country, though it suffered spectacular bomb attacks this year against an international hotel and the Indian Embassy.

Bashary declined to discuss whether officials are worried that militants are now at the city's gates.

However, a string of recent high-profile attacks indicate how the resurgent Taliban and other militant groups have gained a foothold in neighboring provinces.

In an ambush last week, insurgents wielding assault riffles gunned down three female aid workers about an hour's drive south of Kabul.

To the west, insurgents have been regularly attacking U.S.-led coalition and NATO supply convoys, burning fuel trucks and killing NATO and coalition soldiers. To the east, the Tag Ab valley of Kapisa province has become the scene of near-daily clashes and airstrikes by the U.S.-led military coalition.

Afghan and NATO officials insist that the nearly seven-year effort to bring stability to Afghanistan is progressing.

However, the security operation in Kabul is the second time this year that authorities have taken extraordinary measures to reassure Afghans that the Taliban are not able to assail a major city.

In June, Afghan and NATO commanders scrambled thousands of troops to clear militants from a strategic valley within striking distance of Kandahar, Afghanistan's main southern city.

Overall, insurgent attacks jumped by 50 percent in the first half of 2008, according to recent data from the Afghanistan NGO Safety Office, a Kabul-based group that advises relief groups on security.

More than 3,200 people — mostly militants — have been killed in insurgency-related violence this year, according to an Associated Press count based on figures from Western and Afghan officials.

Most of the violence still takes place in the south and east, where Taliban sympathies run strongest and militant bases in neighboring Pakistan are closer at hand.

In the latest violence:

• Zabul Deputy Gov. Gulab Shah Alikheil said 32 Taliban fighters and five private security guards died during a four-hour battle Sunday. Alikheil said the militants ambushed a NATO supply convoy escorted by private security, sparking the battle. Afghan army soldiers responded to the ambush, the reason the Taliban toll was so high.

• In Kandahar province, a roadside blast killed 10 police officers on patrol Saturday, said Matiullah Khan, the provincial police chief. Khan blamed the Taliban. Militants have increased their attacks against Afghan police, who are often poorly equipped and poorly trained. More than 1,000 police died in insurgent attacks last year.

• Taliban insurgents attacked police checkpoints in Nad Ali district of southern Helmand province Friday, sparking clashes that killed 23 militants, the Interior Ministry said Sunday. Four police were wounded and 13 other militants were detained, it said.

• Afghan and foreign troops clashed with militants Saturday in a mountainous area of Zabul province, killing seven militants, said district chief Fazel Bari.

• In eastern Paktika province, police clashed with militants Saturday in Shwak district, killing four other insurgents, said Ruhulla Samon, spokesman for the provincial governor. Three police were wounded. Afghan and foreign troops clashed with insurgents in the same area on Thursday, killing seven militants, the Defense Ministry said.

[ramana]

August 18th is Afghan Indiependence Day? Independence from whom?

[Gerard]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_Independence_Day
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Rawalpindi

[ramana]

Thanks Gerard. BTW I found some Great Game links at the link!

[Avinash R]

New tactic in afghanistan, multiple suicide bombers attacking US bases and then getting into an encounter. similar tactic was used by Zarqawi in iraq against US bases.

Suicide bombers attack US base in Afghanstan
1 hour, 24 minutes ago

KABUL, Afghanistan - Suicide bombers tried unsuccessfully to storm a U.S. military base near Afghanistan-Pakistan border in a daring attack on a major American installation, officials said Tuesday.

Six insurgents detonated their vests after being surrounded.

The attack came a day after a suicide bomb outside the same base killed 10 civilians and wounded 13 others. The fighting was still going on early Tuesday, said U.S. coalition spokesman 1st Lt. Nathan Perry. There have been no American deaths, he said.

The militants failed to gain entry to Camp Salerno in Khost city after launching waves of attacks just before midnight on Monday, said Arsallah Jamal, the governor of Khost. The base is just a few miles from Pakistan's border.

Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, the Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman, said Afghan soldiers, aided by U.S. troops, chased and surrounded a group of insurgents, and that six militants blew themselves up when cornered. Seven other militants died in those explosions and a rolling gun battle, he said.

"(The Afghan National Army) is saying that anytime we get close to them, they detonate themselves," Jamal said.

At least 13 insurgents and two Afghan civilians died in the attack, officials said. Five Afghan soldiers were wounded in the fighting, Azimi said.

The Taliban appeared to confirm the account. Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said 15 militants had been dispatched for the attack on Salerno. Seven blew themselves up and eight returned to a Taliban safehouse, he said.

Jamal said the bodies of at least two dead militants were outside the checkpoint leading to the base's airport, both of whom had on vests packed with explosives, Jamal said. It wasn't clear if those militants were among the dead in Azimi's count.

Militants have long targeted U.S. bases with suicide bombers, but coordinated attacks on such a major base are rare.

The attack comes a day after the top U.S. general in the region, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey J. Schloesser, issued a rare public warning that militants planned to attack civilian, military and government targets during the celebration of Independence Day on Monday.

More than 3,400 people — mostly militants — have been killed in insurgency-related violence this year, according to an Associated Press count based on figures from Western and Afghan officials.

[Vivek_A]

Troops find stash of advanced rocket grenades in Afghanistan

ROCKET CACHE FOUND
By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan have discovered a rare cache of sophisticated weapons designed to kill troops with a lethal spray of ball bearings, according to a report confirmed by military officials.

Troops uncovered 89 anti-personnel rocket-propelled grenades after their patrol was fired on by insurgents in late June, according to the Triton Report. The Pentagon uses the report, produced by the British firm HMS, for information on global terrorist attacks.

The report notes that Shiite insurgents in Iraq have been photographed carrying similar weapons. They are known as Type 69 airburst, anti-personnel rockets. The rockets are designed to hit the ground near troops, bounce 6 feet and explode, killing those within 15 yards with a shower of 800 ball bearings.

In Afghanistan, the weapons were seized in Khost province, which borders Pakistan. Insurgents plan and launch attacks from havens in Pakistan.

The weapons are rarely found in Afghanistan, said Army Capt. Christian Patterson, a military spokesman there. Their presence, he said, has not changed enemy tactics or how U.S. and Afghan forces pursue insurgents. He said he could not speculate about who supplied the weapons to insurgents.(DUH icon)

[Gerard]

10 French soldiers die in Afghan battle

[Avinash R]

Troops find stash of advanced rocket grenades in Afghanistan
..They are known as Type 69 airburst, anti-personnel rockets. The rockets are designed to hit the ground near troops, bounce 6 feet and explode, killing those within 15 yards with a shower of 800 ball bearings.
..The weapons are rarely found in Afghanistan, said Army Capt. Christian Patterson, a military spokesman there.

quick google of Type 69 airburst, anti-personnel rockets and first site is a chinese defense forum.
checking wikipedia reveals this.

The Type 69 85mm rocket propelled grenade (RPG), made by Norinco, is a Chinese copy of the famous RPG-7 developed by the Soviet Union.

previously washingtontimes report said that taliban was receiving weapons including anti-aircraft missiles from china and now this. is china playing the great game by arming taliban and using it as an proxy to bleed america?

[ramana]

It depends on year of mfg of the ordnance. If its old stuff it could be dismissed as recycled stuff. If its recent origin then there could be something to it. Even then it could be TSP supplying the stuff on their own.

I thought it strange that the first report did not idenitfy country of origin. Suppresso veri, suggesto Falci.

[shyamd]

Good news

India completes key trade road in Afghanistan

KABUL, August 07, 2008 (AFP) - India has almost completed a key road linking Afghanistan to Iranian sea ports despite Taliban attacks that claimed more than 100 lives in two years, the deputy public works minister said.
The 217-kilometre (134-mile) route connects a nearly completed ring road around Afghanistan to the Iranian port cities of Bandar-i-Abas and Chabahar, the official told AFP.

Eight Indian engineers and more than 100 Afghan workers were killed in Taliban attacks since the construction of the road began more than two years ago, said Minister Wali Mohammad Rasouli.

There were a few sections of route that had to be touched up before a handing over ceremony was held in a few weeks, he said.

Landlocked Afghanistan relies mostly on Pakistan's port of Karachi for goods arriving by sea, including supplies for the nearly 70,000 international soldiers helping to fight a Taliban-led insurgency.

The road was initially budgeted at 80 million dollars but is reported to have cost 185 million dollars, in part because of the high security risks of operating in southern Afghanistan.

The route, already open to traffic, is a welcome alternative, since goods can sometimes be held up on alternate routes from Pakistan, where they are also often subjected to high taxes, Rasouli said.

"The new road is very important for us," he said. "Now we have an alternative road to use when Pakistan creates problems and obstacles for our traders on their ports."

Islamabad also does not allow goods from India -- its enemy -- to transit through Pakistan into Afghanistan.

Kabul has a good relationship with New Delhi, one of the main financers of its efforts to rebuild from decades of war although it has not sent troops to join the international military effort against the resurgent Taliban.

However its ties with Islamabad are strained, notably over the unrest.

Kabul alleges that elements in Pakistan, including its government, are supporting the Taliban. Islamabad was one of only three countries that recognised the 1996-2001 Taliban regime.

Pakistani military chief in Afghanistan

11 hours ago

KABUL (AFP) — Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Kayani travelled to Kabul on Tuesday for talks with Afghan and NATO officials on cooperation against Islamic militants, a Pakistani military statement said.

The meeting of the so-called tripartite commission between Afghanistan, Pakistan and NATO came amid tensions over Islamabad's alleged failure to crack down on Taliban and Al-Qaeda rebels in its tribal border regions.

Ten French NATO soldiers were killed in a Taliban ambush near Kabul overnight.

Kayani met with US General David D. McKiernan, commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, and General Bismillah Khan, the Afghan army's chief of general staff.

"The meeting reviewed the security situation in areas along the Pak-Afghan border," the statement said.

"They showed satisfaction at the existing level of cooperation and reiterated their resolve and commitment to contribute towards peace and security in this volatile region," it added.

The meeting also came a day after the resignation of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, a key ally in the US-led "war on terror" who handed over the reins of the army to Kayani in November.

A security official said Kayani's visit to Kabul was "already planned" before Musharraf stepped down.

Kabul recently accused Pakistan's military-run intelligence service of masterminding the July bombing of the Indian embassy in the Afghan capital, in which around 60 people were killed.

Pakistan denied the accusations, which were also made by India.

The two countries have been at loggerheads for the last two years over Islamabad's alleged failure to tackle Taliban militants based in its tribal border regions.

[raji]

Good news

India completes key trade road in Afghanistan

KABUL, August 07, 2008 (AFP) - India has almost completed a key road linking Afghanistan to Iranian sea ports despite Taliban attacks that claimed more than 100 lives in two years, the deputy public works minister said.
The 217-kilometre (134-mile) route connects a nearly completed ring road around Afghanistan to the Iranian port cities of Bandar-i-Abas and Chabahar, the official told AFP.

Eight Indian engineers and more than 100 Afghan workers were killed in Taliban attacks since the construction of the road began more than two years ago, said Minister Wali Mohammad Rasouli.

There were a few sections of route that had to be touched up before a handing over ceremony was held in a few weeks, he said.

Landlocked Afghanistan relies mostly on Pakistan's port of Karachi for goods arriving by sea, including supplies for the nearly 70,000 international soldiers helping to fight a Taliban-led insurgency.

The road was initially budgeted at 80 million dollars but is reported to have cost 185 million dollars, in part because of the high security risks of operating in southern Afghanistan.

The route, already open to traffic, is a welcome alternative, since goods can sometimes be held up on alternate routes from Pakistan, where they are also often subjected to high taxes, Rasouli said.

"The new road is very important for us," he said. "Now we have an alternative road to use when Pakistan creates problems and obstacles for our traders on their ports."

Islamabad also does not allow goods from India -- its enemy -- to transit through Pakistan into Afghanistan.

Kabul has a good relationship with New Delhi, one of the main financers of its efforts to rebuild from decades of war although it has not sent troops to join the international military effort against the resurgent Taliban.

However its ties with Islamabad are strained, notably over the unrest.

Kabul alleges that elements in Pakistan, including its government, are supporting the Taliban. Islamabad was one of only three countries that recognised the 1996-2001 Taliban regime.

India will do well to do the following:

a. Karzai is already a defacto Indian ally. His personal hatred for Pakis exceed even our own. It is in Indian interest to perpetuate Karzai in power.

b. To keep him in power, India has to ensure that Karzai remains popular among the people of Afghanistan. This can be accomplished by a) India continuing to embark on infra-structure and humanitarian projects in Afghanistan, b) India should ensure that the Afghan people at the grass roots level are fully aware of India's involvement and assistance in these projects, c) Indian government should ensure (countrary to its own instincts !), that Karzai, his family and his government do not indulge in corruption and poppy trading, d) If karzai and his people need money, which they would, being south asian politicians and also up for re-election, India should set aside a covert fund of a billion dollars or two for Karzai's political party and personal use of the entire Karzai government, so that they can be totally free of corruption within Afghanistan and thus retain their popularity........this is important as there are whispers of corruption in Karzai government which is undermining his popularity among Afghan people, which in turn is playin in the hands of the Taliban and Pakiban

India has been lucky to an extent to get this "strategic depth" in Afghanistan that it has now. India should recognize it as such, and do all that is possible including points mentioned by me in the previous paragraph to retain, perpetuate and strengthen this strategic depth.........the covert fund of a couple of billion for Karzai, if it can keep him honest in Afghanistan, would be the most lethal weapon against Pak and the cheapest bang for buck we can get in our fight against Islamic terror

[Kati]

What the Afghans think

http://in.reuters.com/articlePrint?arti ... 6520080820

Afghans doubt U.S. intentions - state newspaper

Wed Aug 20, 2008 2:21pm IST
By Sayed Salahuddin

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghans believe the United States knows about al Qaeda bases in Pakistan, but does not hit them because it wants an unstable Afghanistan to justify its presence for wider regional goals, a state newspaper said on Wednesday.

While many Afghans have vented such thoughts for some time, it was the first time a state newspaper which generally reflects the government's view has expressed them, and may point to a souring of relations between Afghanistan and its biggest backer.

Ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan, both major U.S. allies in its war against Islamic militants, have hit new lows with the Afghan government accusing Pakistan of funding and training Taliban and al Qaeda fighters for cross-border attacks.

Nearly seven years after U.S.-led and Afghan forces overthrew the Taliban government for refusing to hand over al Qaeda leaders behind the Sept. 11 attacks, the heads of the militant groups are still at large and are thought to be hiding in Pakistan.

With more than 70,000 mainly Western troops based in Afghanistan, many Afghans believe the United States and its allies are deliberately not doing enough to halt the threat.

The United States always said it would attack the militants wherever they were, but in reality it has not done so, the state-run Anis daily said.

"The Afghan people have long doubted such claims of foreigners, especially of Britain and America, and their trust about crushing al Qaeda and terrorism has fallen," Anis said.

"The people have the right to think that there is something in the wind," it said. "No one believes stability and peace will be restored to Afghanistan until the training and equipping sites of the Taliban are closed."

U.S. unmanned aircraft have made a number of air strikes on militant leaders inside Pakistan's border region in recent years, but Western analysts say Washington fears large-scale attacks would anger Pakistanis and weaken the government there.

But Anis said Afghans believe Washington wants to keep Afghanistan unstable in order to justify the presence of its troops due to Afghanistan's geographical location bordering Iran and central Asia's rich oil- and gas-producing nations.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been increasingly critical of his Western backers in recent months, saying air strikes against Taliban insurgents have achieved nothing but the deaths of Afghan civilians.

Many in the West and the international community meanwhile have bemoaned Karzai's lack of action against corrupt and inept state officials who undermine efforts to rebuild the country.

Western leaders have set no timetable for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, saying an eventual pull-out depends on when Afghan forces are capable of standing on their own feet.

[raji]

What the Afghans think

http://in.reuters.com/articlePrint?arti ... 6520080820

Afghans doubt U.S. intentions - state newspaper

Wed Aug 20, 2008 2:21pm IST
By Sayed Salahuddin

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghans believe the United States knows about al Qaeda bases in Pakistan, but does not hit them because it wants an unstable Afghanistan to justify its presence for wider regional goals, a state newspaper said on Wednesday.

While many Afghans have vented such thoughts for some time, it was the first time a state newspaper which generally reflects the government's view has expressed them, and may point to a souring of relations between Afghanistan and its biggest backer.

Ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan, both major U.S. allies in its war against Islamic militants, have hit new lows with the Afghan government accusing Pakistan of funding and training Taliban and al Qaeda fighters for cross-border attacks.

Nearly seven years after U.S.-led and Afghan forces overthrew the Taliban government for refusing to hand over al Qaeda leaders behind the Sept. 11 attacks, the heads of the militant groups are still at large and are thought to be hiding in Pakistan.

With more than 70,000 mainly Western troops based in Afghanistan, many Afghans believe the United States and its allies are deliberately not doing enough to halt the threat.

The United States always said it would attack the militants wherever they were, but in reality it has not done so, the state-run Anis daily said.

"The Afghan people have long doubted such claims of foreigners, especially of Britain and America, and their trust about crushing al Qaeda and terrorism has fallen," Anis said.

"The people have the right to think that there is something in the wind," it said. "No one believes stability and peace will be restored to Afghanistan until the training and equipping sites of the Taliban are closed."

U.S. unmanned aircraft have made a number of air strikes on militant leaders inside Pakistan's border region in recent years, but Western analysts say Washington fears large-scale attacks would anger Pakistanis and weaken the government there.

But Anis said Afghans believe Washington wants to keep Afghanistan unstable in order to justify the presence of its troops due to Afghanistan's geographical location bordering Iran and central Asia's rich oil- and gas-producing nations.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been increasingly critical of his Western backers in recent months, saying air strikes against Taliban insurgents have achieved nothing but the deaths of Afghan civilians.

Many in the West and the international community meanwhile have bemoaned Karzai's lack of action against corrupt and inept state officials who undermine efforts to rebuild the country.

Western leaders have set no timetable for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, saying an eventual pull-out depends on when Afghan forces are capable of standing on their own feet.

This is Paki misinformation. Conspiracy theorists in India who believe this are the biggest fools alive. Think who this will help. If the Afghan people start believing this, they will not support American presence, causing the Americans to leave. Who will benefit from the Americans leaving ?

American elite today are reluctant fighters in Afghanistan. They have no stomach to stay there permanently. They are trapped there because they havent caught Osama Bin Laden yet and the American public opinion will not let them leave without vengeance for 9-11. My fear is the opposite. Once Bin laden is caught or even dies a natural death, Americans may use that as an excuse and gradually withdraw, causing a vaccum right for Pak to fill.......you think India could ever step in and fill the vaccum if Americans leave.........American presence in Afghanistan is the best thing that happened to India since independence and the longer the stay the better it is for us........

[Avinash R]

US coalition: 30 militants killed in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan - U.S.-led coalition troops killed more than 30 insurgents in a battle in eastern Afghanistan while three Polish soldiers serving with NATO forces died in a roadside blast elsewhere, officials said Thursday.

Lutfullah Mashal, the governor of Laghman province, said coalition bombs targeted fighters fleeing the valley where an attack killed 10 French soldiers on Monday.

Wednesday's bombing on the border of Laghman and Kabul provinces wasn't directly in retaliation for the ambush, Mashal said. The militants targeted in this attack had been involved in "repeated attacks on the highways. They burned tankers repeatedly," he said.

Monday's massive Taliban ambush near Kabul killed 10 French paratroopers and wounded 21 others. It was the deadliest ground attack by insurgents on foreign troops in the country since the U.S. invasion in 2001.

A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, Capt. Scott Miller, said the bombing was in the same area as the French attack but "it wasn't a retaliation."

"I think it goes to show there's a lot of bad guys out there," Miller said.

The coalition said 200 civilians fled the area before the airstrike. More than 30 militants were killed and one militant was wounded and taken for treatment after the clash, it said.

Afghan officials said about 20 civilians were wounded in the fighting. Mashal said it wasn't clear if the coalition bombs wounded the Afghans or if Taliban fighters had.

Abdullah Fahim, spokesman for the provincial health ministry, said 21 civilians were wounded, including eight women, eight men, and five children. Laghman deputy police chief Najibullah Hotak said one civilian had died in the fight and that 20 were wounded.

The three Polish soldiers died Wednesday when a roadside bomb exploded in the central province of Ghazni, said Polish Defense Ministry spokesman Jacek Poplawski. A fourth soldier was wounded in the blast.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy flew to Kabul on Wednesday to pledge continued support for a war which has become bloodier and more difficult each year since the Taliban's ouster.

"A part of the world's freedom is at stake here. This is where the fight against terrorism is being waged," Sarkozy said.

Meanwhile, French Defense Minister Herve Morin responded to a Le Monde newspaper report citing survivors of the ambush that it took hours for backup to arrive, and that French troops were hit by friendly fire from NATO planes.

Morin said on RTL radio that reinforcements were sent within about 20 minutes of the ambush and there were no signs of French casualties from friendly fire.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown also was in Afghanistan Thursday, stopping over on his way to the Olympic Games in China. He told British troops in the southern province of Helmand they were preventing terror attacks at home by fighting Taliban insurgents. Brown then flew to Kabul for meetings with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

NATO and Afghan officials blame the surging violence in part on the ease with which militants can cross from safe havens in Pakistan's ungoverned tribal areas.

On Wednesday evening, missiles destroyed a compound in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal region which Pakistani intelligence officials said was frequented by foreign militants.

Between five and 10 people were believed killed, though their identities were not immediately known, the officials said.

It was also unclear who carried out the attack, though similar attacks in the past by U.S. drone aircraft have killed senior al-Qaida and Taliban leaders. Capt. Christian Patterson, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan, said the coalition did not fire missiles into Pakistan on Wednesday.

Militants are also engaged with Pakistani security forces in at least two regions on that side of the border. Hundreds have reportedly died and tens of thousands have been displaced in that fighting in recent weeks.

Western officials complain that Pakistan is not putting enough pressure on militants in the tribal areas. The Afghan government also has accused Pakistan's spy agencies of secretly supporting the Taliban.

Pakistan denies the charges and insists army troops deployed in the border region as well as peace deals struck by the government with tribal leaders are helping control militancy.

This year is on course to become the deadliest yet for the international forces in Afghanistan. Some 178 foreign troops, including nearly 100 Americans, have died this year, according to an Associated Press count. In all of 2007, 222 international troops died.

In all, more than 3,400 people — mostly militants — have been killed in insurgency-related violence this year, according to figures from Western and Afghan officials.

[Philip]

This is one region of the world,where the interests of the most unlikely parties all converge.The US/NATO,Russia,India and China too are almost unanimous that Afghanistan must be rid of the Taliban/AlQ and from returning to being under control of the Taliban and becoming the international HQ of global Islamist terrorism.That the HQ of such terrorism has shifted to the new S.Asian state of "Terroristan",the lawless,ungovernable NWFP of Pak,is another fact.From this region,in total safety,except from US UCAVs and the occasional Pak army raid,the Islamic fundamentalists take refuge,administer and execute their diabolic acts in the region and beyond.The central HQ that coordinates the mass of the moveemnt is in Islamabad at ISI HQ! However,the chaos in pak at the moment is producing surprises each day,with the latest Taliban attack at Wah and the highest death toll ever for such an attack in Pak.

The US/NATO want a permanent foothold in the region.That cannot be denied.There is well founded suspicion that the continuing Taliban attacks and success is serving as an excuse for the US to remain here,where it can destabilise Iran from the backdoor (already numerous reports have come out of US agents operating inside Iran who have sneaked in from Afghanistan),as well as serving as a launch pad for future operations in China.The rise of Islamist extremist activity in China is no coincidence.During the Cold War,the US planned to install in Lanka a VOA station meant to disseminate anti-Soviet propaganda and instigate the Islamic republics of the Soviet Union to revolt.Brezhnev's folly in intervening in Afghanistan gave the US the excuse needed to openly arm,fund and train Islamic terror through the likes of Osama & Co.The VOA station exists still,operating on Lanka's western seaboard,close to India as well .That the CIA does not have close ties to some Islamist extremists,whom it turns off and on at will,is well known.Its relationship with the ISI is so close that these two outfits at times work against their own governments' interests.

However,the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban is abhorrent to the US.The Taliban will not work under US control.It remembers from the past how the Taliban leadership reneged on the deal made with US oil companies (brokered in Texas) to allow a pipeline to run through Afghanistan from Central Asia,through Pak to the Arabian Sea,thus by-passing Russia.The Georgian crisis is also due to the US/NATO nations who destabilised Georgia turning that country into a western satellite through the puppet leader Saakashvili and established another pipeline for the same purpose.Karzai is only the man of the moment.When it comes to dumping him,like Musharraf,the US will not bat an eyelid.Equally important as supporting Karzai is that of stiffening the spine of the ordinary Afghans and the local chieftains in resisting the Taliban in their spheres of control,other than Kabul, the domus of Karzai.The Indian built road to Iran is a great achievement and should also remind us that good relations with Iran is absolutely essential for us to prevent Pak from acquring Afghanistan once again by default through the Taliban.

Difficulties for NATO.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 05431.html

Army chief: We cannot beat the Taliban without reinforcements

By Terri Judd in Lashkar Gah
Friday, 22 August 2008
Leading article: This mission remains far from accomplished

Troop numbers in Afghanistan must increase to contain the surge in violence, says the commander of British forces in Helmand.

In an interview with The Independent ahead of Gordon Brown's visit to the province yesterday, Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith said: "We are probably still on a growth trajectory before we get to the stage when the UK presence can begin to thin out." The commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade estimated it would be up to five years before Britain could consider dropping troop numbers.

Senior military officers are reported to have held preliminary talks on increasing British soldiers in Afghanistan from 8,000 to 12,000 – a dramatic difference from the 3,300 initially expected to hold the ground when the UK force took over Helmand in 2006. The boost in numbers ties in with suggestions that troop levels in Iraq be scaled back.

Senior Nato commanders are said to be "screaming out" for more boots on the ground in Afghanistan.

Two thirds of the way through its tour, 16 Air Assault Brigade has experienced the predicted summer surge in violence. The resignation of Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has led to fears that Islamist groups in the country will take advantage of the ensuing turmoil to step up attacks in Afghanistan.

Brigadier Carleton-Smith, who has been in charge during a tour which has cost 24 servicemen and one woman their lives, said he expected the British would at least maintain such high force levels for three to five years. "One of the characteristics of counter-insurgency, unlike conventional war, is the more successful you are in the short term, the more troops you require," he said. "The more ground and the more people you become responsible for, the more troops you need.

"I could use more helicopters – any tactical operational commander could. But there is no point in thinking that aviation is going to make a strategic difference."

The Prime Minister, during a fleeting visit to Afghanistan en route to the Olympics in Beijing, met Brigadier Carleton-Smith and the governor of Helmand, Gulab Mangal, before flying to Kabul to hold talks with President Hamid Karzai.

Mr Brown was not drawn on troop levels but likened the soldiers' courage and dedication to the Olympic medallists. "You make our country proud every day of the week and every week of the year," said the Prime Minister. "You are truly the heroes of our country."

At a joint news conference with Mr Karzai, Mr Brown insisted that coalition forces were gaining ground despite a vicious summer offensive.

Brigadier Carleton-Smith said he remained "cautiously optimistic", citing the now symbolic town of Musa Qala and the southern frontline post of Garmsir as two key "centres of gravity" which have been taken from the Taliban. "They [the Taliban fighters] are recognised for what they are – a brutal, criminally orientated terrorist organisation with no interest in the Afghan population," he said. "The local population is overwhelmingly hostile to the Taliban. The Taliban is quite tactically resilient but it is not joined up at the strategic level."

He said the key to British withdrawal from Helmand was a strong local army, police and government. In one year, the number of Afghan National Army forces in Helmand has increased from 2,500 to 4,300 and while Nato troops remain the leading force, they are increasingly working alongside local soldiers. The Afghan army has 70,000 troops with plans to build the force up to 122,000 – but it lacks armour, air power and medical support.

Brigadier Carleton-Smith concluded: "Armies have never controlled Afghanistan. There has always been a political settlement."

[ranganathan]

No matter how many troops the pathetic NATO throws into afghanistan, if they piss off russia its game over. . High time Putin squeezes there balls by cutting off land access through russia. Now with mushy gone and FATA in doldrums US and NATO are in absolutely no position to mess with russia.

[Kati]

In fact, unkil is pressing paki establishments to reduce violence in Afghanistan.
As one of the ways out, pakis, with cya's blessing, are going overboard to
increase tension in kashmir so that some of the jihadists can be sent to kashmir.
The recent spike in violence in kashmir is due to this arrangement.

[shaardula]

the road india built. why it is important...

google maps link with markups showing roads (opens in your browser).

road india built is the one that connects the kabul-kandahar-herat road at delaram to iranian border at Zaranj.

India has braved the 7/7 Kabul embassy blast and held on to complete the strategic Afghanistan road linking Zaranj on the Iran border to Delaram in its north-east.

this gives access to bandar abbas and chabahar, which is right next to gwadar.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chabahar_Free_Zone

Chabahar is the closest and best access point of Iran to the Indian Ocean.
Growing commercial sector located at free trade area with high potentiality to turn to a place that would connect business growth centers in south Asia (India) and Middle East (Dubai) to central Asian and Afghanistan market. Government plan to link Chabahar free trade area to Iran's main rail network which is connected to central Asia and Afghanistan would provide more capability for Chabahar to foster faster logistics sector that is a basic to achieve better position comparing to its competitor (Pakistani port of Gwadar)
Chabahar Port a symbol of the new India Iran strategic alliance

India is helping develop the Chabahar port and that would give it access to the oil and gas resources in Iran and the Central Asian states, in this it is competing with the Chinese which is building the Gwadar port, in Pakistani Baluchistan.

Iran plans to use Chabahar for transhipment to Afghanistan and Central Asia while reserving the port of Bandar Abbas as a major hub mainly for trade with Russia and Europe.

India, Iran and Afghanistan have signed an agreement to give Indian goods, heading for Central Asia and Afghanistan, preferential treatment and tariff reductions at Chabahar

Work on the Chabahar-Melak-Zaranj-Dilaram route from Iran to Afghanistan is in progress. Iran is with Indian aid upgrading the Chabahar-Melak road and constructing a bridge on the route to Zaranj. India's BRO is laying the 213-kilometer Zaranj-Dilaram road. It is a part of its USD 750 million aid package to Afghanistan.

The advantages that Chabahar has compared to Gwadar are the the greater political stability and security of the Iranian hinterland and the hositlity and mistrust that the Pakistani Baluchis hold against the Punjabi dominated Pakistani Federal government. The Baluchis consider Sino-Pak initiative at Gwadar as a strategy from Islamabad to deny the province its deserved share of development pie. They also look with suspicion on the settlement of more and more non-Baluchis in the port area.

The Chabahar port project is Iran's chance to end its US sponsored economic isolation and benefit form the resurgent Indian economy. Along with Bandar Abbas, Chabahar is the Iranian entrepot on the North - South corridor. A strategic partnership between India, Iran and Russia to establish a multi-modal transport link connecting Mumbai with St. Petersburg. Providing Europe and the former Soviet republics of Central Asia access to Asia and vice-versa.

bandar abbas

Bandar Abbas serves as a major shipping point for mostly imports, and has a long history of trade with India.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandar_Abbas

[shaardula]

the road in geo-political perspective...
old article but perhaps still relevant....
http://www.ifpa.org/publications/archiv ... pter4p.htm

In formulating its foreign policy, Pakistan's primary concerns are a reflection of its history and domestic situation. Of utmost concern is the Indian threat and the status of Kashmir (the K in Pakistan's name). Secondly, Pakistan is looking for commercial development opportunities, but its major prospect for commercial growth lies in opening a trade route to Central Asia which can only be accessed via Afghanistan. In seeking to become Central Asia's conduit to the world, Pakistan is entering into direct competition with Iran, which is also seeking this role. At the same time, Pakistan has long hoped to develop closer relations with other Islamic states, to include Iran. As will be briefly described, much of Pakistan's security policies flow from these factors.

Iran. In the early 1990s, key Pakistani elements entertained hopes of establishing a strategic alliance with Iran and other regional Islamic states to offset an expected tilt of the United States toward India.11 As a further incentive, Pakistan is concerned about the growing level of Hindu nationalism in India. While in pursuit of a strategic alignment with other Islamic states, the Pakistani Chief of the Army Staff, General Beg, became a great admirer of Iran's implementation of Islamic rule and subsequently got well out in front of the political process in promoting a strategic-military alliance with Iran.12 As will be discussed later, this relationship probably included the transfer of sensitive information (and perhaps equipment) related to nuclear weapon development.

As the 90s unfolded, however, relations between Pakistan and Iran began to become somewhat strained:

Pakistani officials began to suspect that Iran (the only Islamic state with a Shiite majority) was involved in agitating Pakistan's Shia community, thus feeding the growing unrest among its Shiite population;13

Relations between Iran and India warmed, including formal cooperative arrangements between those two states to open trade routes through Iran to the Central Asian republics. This agreement put those states into direct competition with Pakistan for the role of providing the Central Asian outlet to the sea;

Iran has long been uncomfortable with Pakistan's pro-American orientation. The strain between Iran and Pakistan appears to be exacerbating Iran's unhappiness with Pakistani-American ties as Iranian commentators increasingly claim that Pakistan acts as a conduit into the region for American foreign policy; and the development of events in Afghanistan placed Pakistan and Iran on opposite sides of the political fence. The Afghanistan situation included Indian, Iranian, and Russian cooperation with the Rabbani government of Afghanistan, raising the prospect that Pakistan was being surrounded by unfriendly states.

Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a key element in the relationships among Iran, Pakistan and, to some extent, India. The main elements of concern are trade with Central Asia and influence in those states. Pakistan is staking its commercial future in Central Asia on a Tashkent-Karachi transportation link and the enterprise of its businessmen.14 Although Pakistan undoubtedly would enjoy having access to Central Asia via Afghanistan's main road that runs north from Kabul, in 1994 it explored and proved the feasibility of using the alternative western Afghanistan route to the north through Herat to Turkmenistan.15 Pakistan hopes to repair and open this 550-mile road network. See Figure 4-8.

[Avinash R]

Afghan president: 70 civilians died in US attack

By JASON STRAZIUSO, Associated Press Writer 35 minutes ago

KABUL, Afghanistan - The U.S.-led coalition said Saturday that it would investigate allegations that civilians died during a battle between its troops and militants in western Afghanistan.

Coalition officials said Thursday's strikes in Herat province killed 30 militants, including a Taliban leader. But Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior said that 76 civilians were killed in the clash.

President Hamid Karzai on Saturday condemned the operation, saying it hadn't been coordinated with local security officials in Azizabad village. He said "at least 70 innocent civilians, most of them women and children" were killed.

However, American officials say U.S. and Afghan soldiers investigated the site of the bombing afterward and know the exact number of militants killed.

"Obviously there's allegations and a disconnect here. The sooner we can get that cleared up and get it official, the better off we'll all be," U.S. coalition spokesman 1st Lt. Nathan Perry said. "We had people on the ground."

The Interior Ministry's claim also contradicted the Afghan Ministry of Defense's version of the battle. Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi said 25 militants and five civilians were killed in the attack.

Karzai said in a statement that the Afghan government would soon announce "necessary measures" to prevent civilian casualties in the future.

He has long demanded that U.S. and NATO officials take care to not harm civilians during their military operations, an issue that undermines the Afghan government and causes great anger in Afghan villages.

The competing claims by the U.S. coalition and the two Afghan ministries were impossible to verify because of the remote and dangerous location of the battle site.

Complicating the matter, Afghan officials are known to exaggerate civilian death claims for political payback, to qualify for more compensation money from the U.S. or because of pressure from the Taliban.

U.S. military spokeswoman Lt. Col. Rumi Nielson-Green said a thorough assessment was done after the battle and the coalition knows it killed 30 militants, including a high-ranking Taliban leader.

"We stand by our account and our reports and what we know, and I can't reconcile why (the Interior Ministry) would have a different figure," Nielson-Green said.

The operation was launched after an intelligence report that a Taliban commander, Mullah Siddiq, was inside a compound presiding over a meeting of militants, said Azimi, the Defense Ministry spokesman.

Siddiq was one of those killed during the raid, Azimi said.

More than 3,400 people — mostly militants — have been killed in insurgency-related violence this year, according to figures from Western and Afghan officials.

[shyamd]

Bihar cop rushed to Afghanistan

25 Aug 2008, 0448 hrs IST, Gyan Prakash,TNN
PATNA: A Bihar cadre IPS officer of 1974 batch, Ranjit Sinha, who is currently ADG, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), has been selected by the ministry of home affairs (MHA) to lead a contingent of police personnel to Afghanistan to take stock of the security profile of the embassy and consulate general office there. Sinha is leaving for Afghanistan on Monday morning.

Apart from strengthening security of Indian embassy in Kabul, Sinha will also visit the office of the consulate general in Kandhar, Jalalabad, Herat and Harare Sharif to oversee the security arrangements there.

Sources in Delhi told TOI that the MHA decided to rush the ADG to Afghanistan following intelligence input that after the departure of Parvez Musharaf from the post of Pakistan President, militants may step up their offensive against the Indian mission in Afghanistan.

Earlier, Sinha had visited Afghanistan to oversee security arrangements provided to Border Road Organisation (BRO) engaged in constructing strategically important roads connecting Zarang in Iran to Dalaram in Afghanistan which will provide access to India via sea route in Iran.

About 400 ITBP personnel are at present engaged in providing security cover to Indian establishments in Afghanistan, sources added. Sinha had also visited Kabul along with foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon in the aftermath of bomb attack on Indian embassy in Kabul on July 7, 2008, in which two diplomats and two ITBP personnel were killed.

Now in the backdrop of intelligence information, the MHA has planned upgrading men and material profile deployed in Afghanistan. Talking to TOI, Sinha confirmed his proposed visit to Afghanistan. During his stay, Sinha will oversee the security arrangements, besides assessing the situation there to see whether more ITBP men and material are required there. He will return to Delhi after his week-long stay there on August 31.

[ramana]

This kind of details are not needed to be publicized. Second time this is happening in so many weeks.

[Philip]

Cretins and morons of the MEA or whatever dept./ministry is in charge.Do the Israelis even notify the world of the movements of their officials let alone their names and backgrounds?

Meanwhile,the US once again has increased the recruitment of jehadis by another asinine bombing of civilians,this time killing 89.The utter indifference of the US to such blatant irresponsible warfare is condemnable in the strongest terms.All over the Middle East,wherever the US is engaged in war,it cares little for the lives of civilians.How many US servicmen have been censured or brought to trial for their war crimes? Even those who tortured innocents at Abu Ghraib were let off,especially the "starred" generals responsible for the policy of torture and rendition.How the US hopes to win the hearts and minds of the people of the region beats me.The ripples of such indiscriminate bombings reach Pak too,further alienating the Islamic street.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... 601497.ece

89 Afghan civilians die in 'tragic' US air strike
(Str/Reuters)
An Afghan woman who lost family members weeps after air strikes on Friday in Azizabad district of Shindand

Jeremy Page in Kabul
President Karzai accused Afghan and US led coalition forces yesterday of killing at least 89 civilians in an attack in the western province of Herat in what could be one of the worst cases of “collateral damage” in Afghanistan since 2001.

The US military said that 25 militants and five civilians, including two children, were killed in the ground attack and airstrike on Friday, and added that it was investigating reports of further noncombatant casualties.

An Afghan minister who visited the area put the civilian death toll at 90, a human rights group at the scene estimated it at 78 and the Interior Ministry reported 76 noncombatants dead, including 50 children.

A statement from President Karzai said: “In the tragic air strike and irresponsible and imprecise military operation in Azizabad village. . . more than 89 of our innocent countrymen, including women and children, were martyred.” Humayun Hamidzada, a spokesman for Mr Karzai, told The Times: “President Karzai strongly condemns this and has ordered a thorough investigation.” The President had dismissed General Jalandar Shah Behnam, the Afghan National Army general in charge of western Afghanistan, as well as a major in charge of Afghan commandos, he said.

Civilian casualties, especially from airstrikes, are among the main causes of friction between President Karzai and his Western backers — and fuel public antipathy towards both. Almost 700 civilians were killed in the first six months of this year, 255 of them by Afghan government and international troops, and the rest by Taleban militants, according to the UN.

Friday’s attack involved USled coalition forces, which mainly hunt al-Qaeda, as opposed to the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force, which is mainly fighting the Taleban and has stricter rules of engagement. A coalition spokesman told The Times that the operation was led by Afghan National Army commandos with air and ground support from the coalition, including a US C130 gunship overhead.

The coalition forces were trying to detain Mullah Siddiq, a mid-level Taleban commander in the area, who was presiding over a gathering of militants in the district of Shindad, said First Lieutenant Nathan Perry. They were ambushed as they approached the target and pursued their assailants back to the compound, before calling in an airstrike from the C130, Lieutenant Perry said. Afghan and foreign troops on the ground checked the battlefield afterwards and reported initially that 30 militants had been killed, including Mullah Siddiq, without any civilian deaths, he said. However, later on Friday they reported five civilian deaths — three women and two children believed to be Mullah Siddiq’s family.

The attacks sparked angry protests on Saturday from locals, who set fire to a police vehicle and waved banners reading “Death to America”. Local officials said many of the dead had gathered to mark the 40th day since the killing of a militia commander.

A council of religious leaders for western Afghanistan demanded yesterday that those behind the attack be put on trial and said it would call a demonstration in Herat today. It said in a statement: “Once again the enemies of Islam have stained their hands with the blood of innocent people. We, the Muslim nation, will not accept their apologies this time.”

Have your say

So how's the battle for hearts and minds going? The US must be the most hated nation in the world by a country mile.

Andrew Milner, Karuizawa, Japan

[putnanja]

Big tender soon for Afghan projects

Big tender soon for Afghan projects

BY RAMESH RAMACHANDRAN

NEW DELHI

Aug. 24: India will soon award contracts for construction of the new Afghan Parliament building and India’s new chancery in Kabul. The Union Cabinet is expected to clear this in a fortnight or so, sources said.

Work on the new chancery, which will take 18 months to complete, will be taken up on a priority basis. The Parliament building will take longer, about 30 months.

A boundary wall is coming up at the Parliament building site. The design and architectural plan is ready, and the Central Public Works Department, the lead consultant, is awaiting award of the contract.

The Parliament building will have two chambers: Wolesi Jirga (House of People) and Meshrano Jirga (House of Elders), a library and other facilities. India had committed over $50 million, but delays have led to cost overruns. The project was mired in uncertainty after security concerns discouraged companies from bidding, and the CPWD had to extend its deadline for inviting tenders.

New Delhi decided to relocate to a new, more secure location after the July 7 suicide car bomb attack on its Kabul embassy, which claimed the lives of defence attaché Brig. Ravi Datt Mehta, diplomat Vadapalli Venkateswara Rao, two ITBP personnel and an Afghan working for long at the mission.

The contract for the new Parliament building will be awarded three years after the late Zahir Shah, former Afghan King, laid its foundation stone on August 29, 2005 in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

"The roots of a plant are being laid that will, through your nurturing and care, grow into a sturdy Panja Chinar (tree) of democracy. Representation is the very essence of democracy. This edifice, when it is built, will be the very heart of democracy in Afghanistan," Dr Manmohan Singh had said on that occasion in Kabul.

[Philip]

Daring British operation in Afghanistan,defeating Taliban attacks.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... =12&page=2

Triumph for British forces in Boy's Own-style Kajaki mission
(Richard Pohle/The Times)
British soldiers on top of the Kajaki Dam in Helmand province, Afghanistan

Exclusive: Jeremy Page, in Kajaki
British forces completed one of their most complex and daring operations since the Second World War early this morning when they delivered a giant turbine to the Kajaki hydroelectric dam in Afghanistan's insurgency-racked southern province of Helmand.

A convoy of 100 vehicles, protected by 5,000 troops and dozens of attack helicopters and fighter jets, drove the turbine and other equipment, weighing about 220 tonnes, for five days across 100 miles of hostile territory.

The Times was granted exclusive access as it arrived at about 2.30am today, edging through British forces' Camp Zeebrugge at Kajaki in a huge cloud of dust as helicopters circled overhead and several mortars were heard landing in the distance.

About 2,000 US and Canadian forces protected the convoy for the first 50 miles of its journey from the southern city of Kandahar, but 3,000 British troops handled the perilous final leg through known Taleban strongholds.

Taleban strike at Afghan aid project
At the front line: Royal Marines take on Taleban

The Kajaki dam
The Battle of Kajaki

"It's been pretty exciting and emotional at times," said Corporal Barry Guthrie, 29, from Stirling, who drove one of the nine 36-wheeler lorries carrying the equipment all the way from Kandahar to Kajaki.

"All the way we were expecting to get whacked, but it never happened," he told The Times, as the turbine, transformers and other equipment were unloaded with a 90-tonne crane, also brought in by the convoy.

The Taleban repeatedly attacked the forces protecting the convoy, but were overwhelmed and lost more than 200 men, according to British officials. Nato forces reported only one injury — a British soldier whose pelvis was crushed under a vehicle.

It was British troops' biggest "route clearance" operation since the Second World War, according to Lieutenant-Colonel Dave Wilson of the 23rd Engineer Regiment, who oversaw the clearing of mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from the route.

It was also their biggest operation since they deployed in Afghanistan as part of a US-led invasion that toppled the Taleban government to punish it for shielding Osama bin Laden in late 2001. And it represents a turning point in Afghanistan's biggest reconstruction project — the restoration of the Kajaki dam — amid growing public frustration at the slow pace of development since then.

"This is a significant military operation which demonstrates that our strategy of delivering civil effect is making progress in southern Afghanistan," said Lieutenant-Colonel David Reynolds, spokesman for British forces in Helmand.

"Ultimately success in Afghanistan is about more than defeating the Taleban or the absence of fighting. It's also about creating jobs, security and economic development."

Nato commanders argued initially that the operation should not take place in late August — the climax of the Taleban's fighting season — but during the annual spring poppy harvest when militant activity usually calms down. But they came under pressure from US government officials keen to show progress in Afghanistan before the presidential election in order to secure funding lines, according to sources in Kabul.


The 330ft dam was built in 1953 to provide electricity and irrigation for two million people living downstream on the Helmand River, but it fell into disrepair after the Soviet Union withdrew its troops in 1989.

America began to restore it in 2004, promising to repair its two existing turbines and install a third to generate a combined total of 53MW of power for the two provinces of Kandahar and Helmand — now at the centre of the insurgency and the opium trade.

One turbine was fixed in 2005, but the $100 million project ground to a halt after British troops began defending Kajaki in 2006 and found themselves encircled by the Taleban to such an extent that they could be supplied only by air.

As the insurgency intensified and spread to other parts of Afghanistan over the past two years, Kajaki became the most potent symbol of the international community's failure to live up to its pledges to re-build the country.

The Kajaki dam
The Battle of Kajaki
"It is essential for us to . . . get the turbine in," said the Governor of Helmand, Gulab Mangal, shortly before the operation began.

"I met [President] Karzai recently with the British and America ambassadors. I asked them, 'If Kajaki was situated anywhere else in the country would you have left it so long to...get the turbine in?' They were unable to answer."

British officers running the operation told The Times that their biggest obstacle was security, because the road to Kajaki — Highway 611 — was largely controlled by the Taleban and was riddled with IEDs and Soviet-era mines.

So they sent a "Pathfinder" reconnaissance team to find a new route through the desert — codenamed Harriet — while appearing to make preparations along Highway 611, according to Lieutenant-Colonel Rufus MacNeil, who oversaw the engineering and logistics of the operation.

The cargo was covered in metal sheeting to disguise it as normal containers, which were covered in posters displaying verses from the Koran.

And troops also faced a massive logistical challenge in transporting the cargo, which was so heavy that it had to be carried on six British and three Canadian 34-tonne heavy equipment transporters (HETs).

The HETs are designed to carry tanks on flat tarmac roads and they repeatedly blew their tyres or damaged their hydraulic systems as they crossed the Afghan desert, slowing the convoy down to about 2mph for much of the route.

Engineers at the dam now hope to repair the second 16MW turbine in the next three or four months, and to install the third one, which has a capacity of 18.6 MW, by June or July of next year.

It could be at least two years before residents of Helmand and Kandahar start to receive power from the dam because new transmission lines have to be laid.

Insiders point out that much of the Kajaki dam's existing power output is already controlled and taxed by the Taleban as it travels though districts held by the insurgents. The installation of a third turbine is thus unlikely to undermine Taleban authority in the short term.

British commanders also admitted that they did not have enough troops to prevent the Taleban from re-establishing control of the road to Kajaki after the operation was finished.

"We don't have the troop density," said Lieutenant-Colonel James Learmont, commanding officer of 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, who delivered the firepower for the convoy. "On the other hand, the Taleban have lost face, so it could be difficult for them to come back."

[Philip]

The British are the masters of deceit

<This golden age of military deception owed much to one man's appetite for subterfuge. Winston Churchill looked back with pride on the web of deceit that had helped to win the war. “Tangle within tangle, plot and counter-plot, ruse and treachery, cross and double-cross, true agent, false agent, double agent, gold and steel, the bomb, the dagger and the firing party, were interwoven in many a texture so intricate as to be incredible and yet true.” >

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/commen ... 662940.ece

The British are the masters of deceit
From bamboozling the Nazis in the war to fooling the Taleban this week, nobody lies better than those famous stiff upper lips
Ben Macintyre

No weapon is more effective in war than the lie. No one has deployed military deception, over the years, more effectively than the British. And there are few better examples of the successful British War Lie than Operation Kajaki, the transportation of a giant turbine through 100 miles of hostile Afghan territory carried out by British troops this week.

That operation relied in part on a very simple, very old and very effective ruse: we pointed one way, and then went the other.

For weeks, military engineers have been seen working on Highway 611, the most obvious route from Kandahar to Kijaki, preparing the road and clearing explosive devices. In the end, the convoy took a completely different path across the desert, mapped out by a secret reconnaissance team and codenamed Harriet. While the Taleban waited on Route 611, the main convoy trundled safely along Harriet while a decoy column of Danish troops took the main road.

That deception is only the latest chapter in a long and noble history of military con artistry. As Nicholas Rankin writes in his forthcoming book Churchill's Wizards: The British Genius for Deception: “The British enjoy deceiving their enemies [and] acting is a long-established area of British talent.”

We like to pride ourselves on playing with a straight bat and a stiff upper lip, yet concealment is also part of the British character, allied to a natural love of theatre. When the British put their minds to lying for King, Queen and Country, nobody does it better.

The First World War brought numerous stratagems for fooling the enemy - camouflage, snipers hidden in fake trees, booby-trapped corpses and so on - but military deception truly came of age in the Second World War, when bamboozling the Nazis was elevated to an art form by a vast secret army of deceivers.

Victory was won by force of arms, but it was also a triumph for eavesdropping, forgery, fraud and mendacity of the highest order. British agents spread false rumours and propaganda, technicians created bogus wireless traffic from non-existent armies, engineers assembled dummy tanks and airfields for invasions that never took place.

The Nazis sent over waves of spies, all of whom were intercepted (the one known exception being the delightfully named Engelbertus Fukken, a Dutch agent who shot himself in an air raid shelter when he ran out of cash). Offered a choice between execution and co-operation, many understandably agreed to act as double agents, sending false information back to Germany.

This golden age of military deception owed much to one man's appetite for subterfuge. Winston Churchill looked back with pride on the web of deceit that had helped to win the war. “Tangle within tangle, plot and counter-plot, ruse and treachery, cross and double-cross, true agent, false agent, double agent, gold and steel, the bomb, the dagger and the firing party, were interwoven in many a texture so intricate as to be incredible and yet true.”

Military men are not always natural lateral thinkers; Britain's secret war was fought with a remarkable array of academics, artists, scientists, lawyers and, in significant numbers, novelists and would-be novelists. The unit within MI5 responsible for running double agents included an industrialist, an historian, an artist, a poet and a circus owner.

A few major British deceptions were revealed after the war, such as Operation Mincemeat, the brilliant tactical coup that convinced Hitler the Allies would invade Greece in 1943, rather than Sicily, by planting a corpse with false papers on a Spanish beach. Echoing this week's successful operation in Afghanistan was Operation Fortitude, the astonishingly elaborate ruse to persuade the Nazis that the D-Day landing would target the Pas-de-Calais rather than Normandy.

Many of the practitioners of British deception remain largely unknown and unsung, such as Sefton Delmer, the journalist who masterminded black propaganda, and the gadget-maker Charles Fraser-Smith, the “Q” of wartime Britain. Fraser-Smith's greatest contribution to the war, in my view, was garlic-flavoured chocolate, which secret agents could chew while parachuting into occupied France to ensure their breath smelt convincingly French on arrival.

The most remarkable wartime conjuror was, in fact, a conjuror, Jasper Maskelyne, a magician and inventor who founded the “Magic Gang” with the aim of baffling the enemy by artifice. Maskelyne's gang built fake submarines, trucks and planes, concealed part of the Suez Canal from the air with giant mirrors and, most famously, deployed 2,000 dummy tanks in the North African desert before the Battle of El Alamein.

The sheer scale of British wartime deception is still emerging. Just last week MI5 released documents in which spy chiefs discussed using pigeons to spread false rumours before D-Day: the War Office intelligence section had noted that only 10 per cent of pigeons dropped into occupied France ever came back, most having presumably fallen into enemy hands. If enough pigeons could be dropped in the Pas-de-Calais, this might reinforce the mistaken impression that the landings would take place there.

Britain's success in the darker arts of war was kept secret for many years, in part because the information might be of use to future enemies, but also because skilled dishonesty is not a trait we like to see in ourselves, however vital in time of war.

Force wins wars, but so do subtle lies, an area of warfare at which we have long excelled, but seldom celebrated. Anyone can deceive, but it takes a peculiarly British cast of mind to realise the tactical advantage to be won by garlic chocolate, a lost homing pigeon or filling in the potholes on the road to Kajaki.

PS:More details on the operation here.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... ation.html

British soldiers kill 200 Taliban in Afghan dam operation
A major secret British operation to boost the economy in Afghanistan's Helmand province has been completed after a force of 5,000 troops fought for a week to drive a huge dam turbine through Taliban lines.

[NRao]

Philipsji,

It would be nic eif you could put the articles in quotes. Either click on the Quote button and place the text with the HTML stuff, or, highlight the text and click on teh quote button.

thx.

[NRao]

Wash Post :: U.S., Afghan Troops Kill 20 in Pakistan

Wow.

By Candace Rondeaux
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, September 3, 2008; 10:16 AM

ISLAMABAD, Sept. 3 -- At least 20 people were killed in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday after U.S. and Afghan troops crossed from Afghanistan to pursue Taliban insurgents in an early morning attack that marked the first known instance in which U.S. forces conducted an operation on Pakistani soil since the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan began, according to witnesses and a Pakistani official.

The United States has conducted occasional air and artillery strikes against insurgents lodged across the border in Pakistani territory, and "hot pursuit" rules provide some room for U.S. troops to maneuver in the midst of battle. But the arrival of three U.S. helicopters in the village of Musa Nika, clearly inside the Pakistani border, drew a sharp response from Pakistani officials.

"We strongly object to the incursion of ISAF troops on Pakistani territory," said Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, chief spokesman for the Pakistani military, referring to the International Security Assistance Force, the coalition of U.S. and other NATO troops that has been battling the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan since 2001.

A U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan referred requests for comment on the incident to U.S. Central Command headquarters in Tampa. A CENTCOM spokesman reached by phone in Tampa on Wednesday declined to comment.

Many details of the incident remain unclear, including the number of ground troops and helicopters involved, and whether U.S. troops were among those that left the helicopters and conducted a ground operation in the village. Pakistani military officials said two helicopters landed at Musa Nika, while villagers said there were three.

According to Pakistani military and other sources, the attack began a little after 3 a.m. when three U.S. army helicopters carrying American and Afghan troops landed in Musa Nika in the Pakistani tribal area of South Waziristan. According to a Pakistani security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly on the incident, several of the troops then left the helicopters and launched a ground assault on three houses where Taliban fighters were believed to be hiding.

One of the homes belonged to a villager named Pao Jan Ahmedzai Wazir, a local tribesman, said Anwar Shah, a resident of a neighboring village. Several women and children who were inside Wazir's house and two other homes nearby were killed when U.S. and Afghan troops opened fire on the buildings. "The situation there is very terrible. People are trying to take out the dead bodies," Shah said.

Maj. Murad Khan, a spokesman for the Pakistani military, said Pakistani authorities have verified that an attack took place in South Waziristan a little before 4 a.m. But he could not confirm whether U.S. troops were involved until an investigation into the incident is complete.

Khan said that coalition troops in Afghanistan are generally barred from crossing into Pakistan's tribal areas. "We don't allow foreign troops to operate in our area. Our troops are quite capable of handling the militants on our side," Khan said.

The attack in Musa Nika comes amid debate over the rules of operation along the area between Afghanistan and Pakistan. In recent months, U.S. officials have intensified pressure on Pakistan to clamp down on Taliban insurgents and al-Qaeda fighters sheltering in areas along the 1,500-mile-long border.

Owais Ghani, governor of Pakistan's North-West Frontier province, immediately condemned the attack in Musa Nika, saying that several women and children had been killed in the skirmish. Ghani called the cross-border incursion a "direct assault on Pakistan's sovereignty" and demanded a response from Pakistan's military.

The Pakistani military appears to have acceded recently to U.S. pressures to step up attacks on extremists in its border areas, launching major offensives on Taliban and al-Qaeda strongholds in two of the country's Federally Administered Tribal Areas within the past two months.

Yet analysts here in Pakistan's capital say the incursion into South Waziristan could augur a new strategic turn aimed at cutting off an insurgency that threatens to engulf large swaths of Pakistan and reverse any gains made by U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Last week, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, held a secret meeting with Pakistani Gen. Ashfaq Kayani aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean in the wake of several devastating setbacks for Western and Afghan forces in Afghanistan.

U.S. and Pakistani officials have released few details about discussions at the high-level meeting, which was also attended by Gen. David D. McKiernan, NATO's top commander in Afghanistan. But a senior Pakistani military official with knowledge of the meeting said that talks between Mullen and Kayani focused in large part on the threat to coalition forces in Afghanistan emanating from insurgents operating inside Pakistan's borders. The Pakistani military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said the meeting touched on a possible agreement to allow U.S. Special Forces to begin ground operations in Pakistan's tribal areas.

Abbas denied reports of any agreement for U.S. troops to operate inside Pakistani territory.

A NATO spokesman in Afghanistan said foreign forces are generally prohibited from mounting cross border attacks into Pakistan. The spokesman, who only gave his name as Sgt. Yates, said NATO forces occasionally employ artillery or aerial missiles to target insurgents who attack coalition troops from Pakistani territory, but the rules of engagement are very carefully proscribed. "Our area of operations stops at the border. We don't go over the border period," Yates said.

[putnanja]

Afghan situation worsening, US checks with India, region

Afghan situation worsening, US checks with India, region
Pranab Dhal Samanta
Posted online: Thursday, September 04, 2008 at 2338 hrs Print Email
Antony to meet Rice, Gates next week

New Delhi, September 3: The first ground attack into Pakistan territory by NATO troops in Afghanistan may have prompted the attack on Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s motorcade on Wednesday but sources said it is only the start of a stepped-up effort to strike at the “roots” of growing insurgency in Afghanistan.

Reason: The security situation in Afghanistan is assessed to be the worst ever since the Taliban’s ouster in 2001. UN official reports state that Taliban is now effective in 36 of the 376 districts which the Afghan Government cannot access. The average number of incidents per month increased to 566 in 2007 compared to 425 in 2006.

Over the last two months, alarm bells have been ringing across world capitals about the Taliban resurgence, especially in provinces around Kabul like Logar and Wardak. The last report with the UN Security Council in July admits that the “highest number of security incidents since the overthrow of the Taliban regime in 2001 was in May 2008”. It is learnt that the numbers have grown to around 800 in July-August.

According to assessments shared with India, violence is up by 40 per cent across Afghanistan and by 70 per cent in its southern and eastern parts. Provinces such as Kandahar and Nimroz that were in the “high-risk” security category have now been moved into a new category called “extreme risk/hostile environment.”

A worried United States is holding frantic consultations with regional partners, including India. The security situation in Afghanistan figures high on the agenda of Defence Minister A K Antony’s visit to US next week. He will be holding meetings with US counterpart Robert Gates, National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

While Washington is still not in favour of involving India directly in security matters owing to Pakistan’s sensitivities, it has not been averse to New Delhi playing a larger background role. During the recent visit of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai to India, both countries had a serious conversation on expanding security cooperation.

Indian agencies have reported that a large number of Arab and Chechen militant groups have also established themselves in Afghanistan and along the Pak-Afghan border. From the Indian standpoint, its mission and consulates are under the highest threat since they were set up. After the attack on the mission in Kabul, ITBP forces are being placed at all Indian assets in Afghanistan.

[Philip]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/se ... tidalpower

British forces thwart Taliban to deliver turbine. But will it be worth the effort?Power project to aid local villagers still faces big obstacles after
epic journey through hostile territory

[Avinash R]

Afghans fed up with government, US
By KATHY GANNON, Associated Press Writer Fri Sep 5, 7:10 PM ET

GHANI KHIEL, Afghanistan - The bearded, turbaned men gather beneath a large, leafy tree in rural eastern Nangarhar province. When Malik Mohammed speaks on their behalf, his voice is soft but his words are harsh. Mohammed makes it clear that the tribal chiefs have lost all faith in both their own government and the foreign soldiers in their country.

Such disillusionment is widespread in Afghanistan, feeding an insurgency that has killed 195 foreign soldiers so far this year, 105 of them Americans.

"This is our land. We are afraid to send our sons out the door for fear the American troops will pick them up," says Mohammed, who was chosen by the others to represent them. "Daily we have headaches from the troops. We are fed up. Our government is weak and corrupt and the American soldiers have learned nothing."

A strong sense of frustration echoed through dozens of interviews by The Associated Press with Afghan villagers, police, government officials, tribal elders and Taliban who left and rejoined the religious movement. The interviews ranged from the capital, Kabul, to the rural regions near the border with Pakistan.

The overwhelming result: Ordinary Afghans are deeply bitter about American and NATO forces because of errant bombs, heavy-handed searches and seizures and a sense that the foreigners do not understand their culture. They are equally fed up with what they see as seven years of corruption and incompetence in a U.S.-backed government that has largely failed to deliver on development.

Even with more foreign troops, Afghanistan is now less secure.

"It certainly is a mess. Security is the worst that it has been for years. Corruption is out of control. It impacts every single Afghan," says Doug Wankel, a burly 62-year-old American who coordinated Washington's anti-drug policy in Afghanistan from 2004 until 2007 and is now back as a security consultant. "What people have to understand is that what ordinary Afghans think really does matter."

The fear and fury is evident among the neighbors at Akhtar Mohammed's walled home deep within Nangarhar province, reached by a dirt road along a dirty brown canal. A dozen men lie on traditional rope beds beneath a thatched roof. Some wear the full-bodied beard of the devout, with a clean-shaven upper lip. Others have dyed their gray beards a flaming orange with henna to show that they have made the pilgrimage to the holy site of Mecca.

They live barely an hour's drive from an errant bombing last month that hit a wedding party and killed about 50 people. Khiel Shah says his home was raided two months earlier, and troops killed his nephew, a high school student.

An old man sits by moaning, "No, no, they weren't Taliban. They were going to the bathroom. They weren't even carrying guns."

Villagers want to know why people who give false information are not arrested, and they say American soldiers still can't sift the good intelligence from the bad.

"But now this is seven years. I am hopeless. They haven't learned until now," says Akhtar Mohammed.

NATO's top Gen. David D. McKiernan blames civilian deaths on insurgents who hide among the population. But the problem could also be one of strategy, says Robert Oakley, a former U.S. ambassador and National Security Council staff member.

"There is a contradiction between wanting to minimize Afghan civilian casualties and minimizing U.S. military casualties," he says. "For the former, we should go on the ground. For the latter, go in from the air."

An air strike in Herat province about two weeks ago killed dozens of people. A U.S. investigation concluded that most were Taliban, but the Afghan government and the United Nations say up to 90 civilians died, including children.

Villagers say the U.S. does not understand how complex alliances, violence and even drugs play out in their culture. The eyes of elderly Malik Bakhtiar well with tears as he recalls his brother's arrest by U.S. troops for apparently running a drug laboratory in his home. In certain regions of Afghanistan, people grow opium for their livelihood.

"They don't understand us," Bakhtiar says. "Every house has a gun. Every house has opium."

Inside the walled compound of the Independent Human Rights Commission in Kabul, workers are knee-deep in statistics that measure the dissatisfaction of Afghans. An army of workers crisscrossed 33 of the country's 34 provinces and took the opinions of 15,200 people, mostly in rural areas. The survey has not been released, but Ahmad Nader Nadery, the commissioner, gave The AP a preview.

The survey, done annually for the past three years, shows a steady deterioration in the social and economic stability of Afghans, Nadery says. Average debt last year was $1,000 and is now 20 percent higher. And up to 73 percent of Afghans say they cannot go to the government for help unless they have money or power.

"Elders say when they go to government officials, they face humiliation," Nadery says in his cramped ground floor office.

Najib, a policeman who asks not to be identified beyond his first name for fear of losing his job, reflects the general anger.

Since he joined Afghanistan's police force in 2001, he has been mistakenly bombed by a U.S. airplane that killed seven of his colleagues. He has paid bribes to government officials, he says, and taken bribes to balance his books. He recalls watching a friend buy a police job for $2,000, and notes that posts with better opportunities for bribery are available for upward of $10,000.

Corruption has made it easier for the Taliban to infiltrate police ranks and carry out lethal attacks, according to Najib.

"The president is crying, but nothing has changed," says Najib, who still walks with a limp from the U.S. bombing. "People are unhappy, and more and more it will become difficult for the Americans and good for the Taliban. These people (U.S. troops) are not making one mistake, but they are making one thousand mistakes and they are killing many people."

In an exclusive interview with the AP, President Hamid Karzai said the mistakes of troops are seriously undermining his government. But he also spoke candidly about what he described as his failure and gave a frank assessment of his track record, as he prepares to run for re-election next year. He said he had achieved some but not all of his goals for Afghanistan.

"Afghanistan does not have a properly functioning government yet," he said. "With regard to corruption, it's a deeper problem, it's an Afghan problem. It's the problem of an inefficient government machinery. ... It's a problem of so much money coming into Afghanistan, it's a problem of the international presence."

It is now so dangerous outside the capital that Afghans are afraid to travel hundreds of miles of newly-paved roads, and most international aid groups have forbidden their staff to do so altogether. Truck drivers who have no choice often say thieves and thieving police are a bigger worry than the Taliban.

"An Afghan trucker put it succinctly: 'Forget the Taliban, our biggest problems are with the police,'" says Seth Jones, an analyst with the U.S.-based RAND Corporation and author of a report on the rise of Afghanistan's insurgency.

Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashery puts the corruption level at barely 20 percent of the force, and says efforts are being made to tackle it. But many Afghans think otherwise.

Kidnappings in Kabul are in the double digits this year, according to the attorney general's office, and Afghans suspect police involvement. Most are for ransom rather than because of politics.

In the meantime, the Taliban is advancing.

Moiabullah, a black-bearded Taliban from the troubled province of Ghazni, fled to Iran after the Taliban collapsed in 2001 but returned several months ago.

"People are fed up with this government," he says. "No one is working honestly. If you provide a good life, factory or jobs, of course no one will follow Mullah Omar (the Taliban leader)."

Out at the heavily fortified, sprawling U.S. military base at Bagram, north of Kabul, Brig. Gen. Mark Milley says the Taliban and al-Qaida are enemy number one, and corruption is enemy number two. But he claims the troops are inching forward in bringing security to the country.

"The western forces, international forces, Americans in particular are the most disciplined in our use of deadly force," says Milley, the deputy commanding general of operations. "We think we are succeeding."

Back at the tribal council, or shura, in Nangarhar, the eldest of the elders disagrees.

"It is a shame for them," says Abdul Samad, a tall, lanky man in his seventies with a silver beard on his gaunt face. "It was a good opportunity after the Taliban. But it is gone."