Bharat Rakshak

sanjaykumar wrote:Afghan Hindus

Thanks Rony, they are gorgeous(look like my ethnic group ).
Very moving.

Sanjay M wrote:The real test of wills will be proven by whether or not the US dares to reduce aid to Pakistan. If the US can't even do that, then they've no chance at all of effecting any change in Pakistani support for Taliban.

2007: Suicide Bombings…or Suicide?

An analysis of the Taliban's 2007 suicide campaign makes some of these differences glaringly obvious. At first blush, this year's statistics seem to support the notion that suicide bombers are ramping up their attacks in an effort to cause as much Iraqi-style carnage as possible. While it is only seven weeks into the new year, there have already been 22 suicide bombings (or attempts) in Afghanistan. This seems to be a fulfillment of Mullah Hayat Khan's promise to use 2,000 suicide bombers to make 2007 "the bloodiest year" in Afghanistan (al-Jazeera, January 27). Yet a deeper analysis of the suicide bombing attacks carried out since January 1 reveals an altogether different picture.

Astoundingly, of the 22 attacks carried out this year, in 16 cases the only fatality has been the suicide bomber himself. In the 17th case, the suicide bomber succeeded in killing himself and one policeman. In two other cases, the suicide bomber was arrested or shot. This translates to 19 Taliban suicide bombers for one Afghan policeman, hardly an inspiring kill ratio for would-be-suicide bombers. In most of these cases, the suicide bombers attacked foreign convoys on foot or in cars and were unable to inflict casualties on their targets. Typically, the suicide bombers' explosives went off prematurely or their bombs failed to kill coalition troops driving in heavily armored vehicles.

In only three of the 22 cases for 2007 were there notable fatalities. In the first successful case, a suicide bomber killed two Afghan policemen and eight civilians (Camp Salerno, Khost, January 23). In the second case, three policemen were killed (Zherai District, Khost, February 4). In the third case, the February 27 attack on Bagram Air Base while Cheney was visiting, the bomber succeeded in killing 15-23 people (including two to three coalition soldiers). Such numbers hardly compare to Iraq where suicide bombers often carry out synchronized attacks that regularly kill anywhere from 60 to 130 people. Such uninspiring statistics beg the question: what are Afghanistan's suicide bombers doing wrong?

Taliban "Hard Targeting"

While the low death statistics certainly speak to the Taliban bombers' general ineptitude, part of the answer also lies in their targeting patterns which differ from those in Iraq. Iraqi suicide bombers from such jihadi groups as Ansar al-Sunnah and al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia frequently seek to inflict high casualty rates by attacking soft targets, such as crowded markets. Their objective is to cause as much bloodshed as possible, incite sectarian violence and destroy U.S. efforts to construct civil society in Iraq. Afghan suicide bombers, on the other hand, appear to have different objectives and have focused almost exclusively on hard targets (government, police, military). In 2007, for example, the Taliban have attacked foreign or Afghan military/police targets in 16 of their 22 bombings (in three cases the target was undetermined).

This in-depth analysis of 158 Afghan suicide bombings since 2001 shows that this is no anomaly and demonstrates an important point: in only eight of the 158 suicide attacks from 2001-2007 did civilians appear to be the direct target of Afghan bombers. Further scrutiny of these eight civilian attacks reveals an important fact. In two of these instances, the Taliban apologized for inflicting civilian casualties and in one case a Taliban spokesmen actually denied involvement. In four other cases the suicide bombers seem to have been targeting passing military convoys or governmental representatives in crowds; therefore, the high civilian casualties appear to have been unintended "collateral damage." In only two instances were civilians clearly the target of Afghan suicide bombers.

These findings tell us volumes about the Taliban's overall strategy in employing suicide bombing as a tactic. Far from imitating Iraqi insurgent tactics, the Taliban are trying to avoid losing the battle for the hearts and minds of the Afghan people by needlessly killing civilians.

Long-Term Taliban Strategy

While more targeted than the Iraqi suicide bombing campaign, the Taliban suicide bombing operations nonetheless share one key objective with their Iraqi counterparts: to disrupt the local "infidel proxy" government's efforts to bring security to contested provinces. In Iraq, this translates to fighting the Maliki government for Anbar Province. In Afghanistan, it means fighting the Karzai government for Paktia, Paktika, Khost, Helmand and, most importantly, Kandahar, the spiritual capital of the Taliban. Kandahar has been the scene of the greatest number of suicide bombings and is the key to understanding Taliban strategy. The Taliban movement sprang from Kandahar by offering the war weary Kandahari Pashtuns the one thing the mujahideen could not: security. While actively contesting the Karzai government for control of its natal territory, the current Taliban leadership does not want to be seen as destroying the local tribes' sense of security. The Taliban Shura knows from its own past experience that this would drive those Pashtun tribes sitting on the fence into the arms of the Karzai government.

For this reason, the Taliban merely aim to deprive the Karzai government and its International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) sponsors of their ability to offer the people security. The Taliban know all too well that NATO-backed efforts to lay roads, build schools, drill wells and outlaw banditry represent the greatest threat to their movement. For this reason, they have commenced an insurgent campaign which aims to disrupt ISAF's efforts to stabilize the south and bring security to the people.

Nothing in the Taliban/al-Qaeda arsenal seems to have been as effective as a shock weapon against the militarily superior Afghan National Army and ISAF/U.S. troops as suicide bombers. One cannot overestimate the psychological damage that this asymmetric tactic has had on ISAF troops who have handily bested their Taliban opponents in pitched battles. After Canadian ISAF troops delivering candy to children were targeted for suicide attacks, their skittish patrols began to attach speakers to their vehicles warning Afghans in Pashto to stay away. In a couple of instances, ISAF troops that have been targeted by suicide bombers have subsequently overreacted and shot innocent Afghan bystanders. Dutch ISAF troops, for example, have refused to be deployed in areas where suicide bombing is prevalent.

On many levels, the suicide bombing campaign does seem to have been successful. It has disrupted the coalition's efforts to interact with local populations and to win the race to bring security to contested provinces.

Yet the Taliban are clearly playing a dangerous game, and this author's findings back up the Pentagon's claim that as many as 84% of the victims of suicide bombings in Afghanistan are civilians [1].

In several instances, Afghan suicide bombers have attacked foreign military convoys and succeeded in killing more than a dozen civilians and only one or two soldiers [2]. On other occasions, suicide bombers have killed or wounded innocent bystanders in mosques, hospitals, restaurants, or waiting for visas to partake in the Hajj. In the recent attack on Bagram Air Base, the vast majority of victims were once again civilians, and hundreds came to mourn their deaths. Not surprisingly, this has caused widespread resentment and protests in several Afghan cities.
Even in the best of circumstances, suicide bombing is not a precise technique and Afghanistan's feckless bombers seem far better at killing themselves and Afghan civilians than foreign troops. Far more coalition troops in Afghanistan have died from IEDs, gunfire, RPG attacks and other conventional methods than they have from suicide bombs. One Afghan study of the bloody 2006 campaign has found that suicide bombings in that year took 212 civilian lives, while leading to the death of only 12 foreign soldiers [3].

Conclusion

In light of the above, it seems clear that the Taliban will continue to employ suicide bombings in the upcoming year as a disruptive shock tactic. While the Taliban may get the occasional public relations coup, as in the seemingly coincidental attack on Bagram while Cheney was visiting, the main victims will continue to be the very people the Taliban are trying to win over, along with the suicide bombers themselves. As coalition troops continue to use close air support and superior artillery firepower to flush Taliban insurgents out of provinces like Kandahar, the real contest for the hearts and minds of the local population for 2007 may well hinge on the competing sides' "collateral damage" statistics.

A good example of India's growing influence in Afghanistan can be seen from the fact that in an Afghan TV show inspired by the US TV show American Idol, candidates sing Hindi songs despite the requirement to sing Afghan songs! Today, India is an exemplary example to follow for young Afghans thanks to the close cultural ties between the two nations. Since the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, Afghanistan has become a playground for both the countries applying different methods to expand their influence here. But Pakistan's accusation that the Afghan government is pro-Indian is baseless.

The activities of the two governments determine their influence in the country. Measuring the impact of their respective long-term policies over Afghan people, one finds that India is increasingly being looked upon as a friend, while Pakistan's image has suffered, even among those Afghans who were given shelter as refugees in Pakistan over long years of the country's turbulent history.

The Indian policy has always striven for close ties with the Afghan government regardless of the colour or contours of the political power in Kabul. And this policy has been in place over three decades of internal conflicts in Afghanistan. Pakistan, on the other hand, has always pursued a scantily hidden agenda to dominate Afghanistan through puppet and subservient governments in Kabul.

It got directly involved in the Afghan internal conflict by providing military support to its Afghan surrogates, namely Gulbudin Hekmatyar (leader of Hezb Islami) and the Taliban movement. Since the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1989 till September 2001, Pakistan has been a major regional player shaping the destiny of Afghanistan. General Zia-ul-Haq, a former Pakistan President, wanted to create a confederation of the two countries, with Pakistan being the dominant economic and political player.

In order to succeed with that policy, Pakistan's military authorities ordered the militant Gulbudin Hekmatyar to paralyse life in Kabul with deadly rocket attacks after the fall of the Afghan Communist regime in 1992. The aim was to force people to flee from Kabul, forcing major embassies and foreign offices to shut down. But when this objective did not materialise, the Pakistani establishment dumped Hekmatyar, and turned its military and financial support in the direction of the extremist movement of the Taliban, and helped it to overthrow the government in Kabul. The destruction and misery that Pakistan imposed on Afghans will be scrutinised by Afghanistan's future generation.

A friend in need

As opposed to Pakistan, India has never interfered directly in Afghanistan's internal affairs and conflicts. Unlike Pakistan, India's paramilitary forces have never been involved in the killing of innocent Afghans nor has it ever financed and encouraged foreign fighters to destroy Afghanistan's economic infrastructure and cultural heritage. In the eyes of Afghans, Pakistan is to be blamed for the destruction of the giant Buddha statutes in Bamiyan, which were considered a common cultural heritage for the whole region and indeed the world.

Since the collapse of the Taliban regime in 2001, India has been an active and major contributor in Afghanistan's reconstruction projects. The Indian presence and economic assistance are much appreciated by Afghans. Despite having millions of poor and needy people, India has generously donated resources to assist the Afghan people. Indian doctors help to run clinics in Afghanistan and thousands of Afghan students are offered scholarships to study in Indian universities. Wealthy Afghans prefer sending their children to India, rather than Pakistan, for education.

Through its troubled history Afghanistan has seen bloodshed and destruction as horrific as or worse than the current one, and survived as a very poor, but very proud, nation. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan destroyed the country, killed and disabled millions of people and forced more than five million into exile. Yet Afghans do not hate Russians because it was the ruling Soviet government that ordered the invasion of their country.

Similarly, they know that Pakistani people are not behind the misdeeds of their government. But they are furious with Pakistan because they never expected that a neighbouring Muslim country could inflict such misery upon them. In fact, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the assistance that Pakistan had provided to more than three million Afghans refugees created a unique opportunity for Pakistan to expand its influence in Afghanistan through peaceful means such as peace brokering, economic development, cultural exchange. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Pakistan got a new opportunity; it could have collaborated with the NATO forces to stabilise the country, helped block the infiltration of militant groups across the border into Afghanistan, and participated in the rebuilding of Afghanistan. Yet Pakistan's military authorities only created further resentment among the majority of Afghans by maintaining their rigid and ill-conceived Afghan policy and supporting the Afghan insurgent groups.

Afghans can distinguish between countries that stand up as friends and help stabilise their country, and those that try to destabilise it. In its present political and economic condition, Afghanistan cannot afford hostility with its neighbours. The Afghan people have always wanted close economic and cultural ties with all of their neighbouring countries.

Cultural ties

The majority of Afghans watch Bollywood movies and listen to Indian music as a unique source of entertainment. If all private and public Afghan TV channels and radio stations broadcast Indian films, TV serials and music, it is because there is a demand for these programmes. Indian TV serials have become a must-watch for the majority of the people. For instance, men negotiate with the Imams in the mosques to alter the evening prayer time so that they don't miss their favourite serials!

What would Afghans watch on Pakistan's TV channels or listen to on its radio? The news from Pakistan is depressing and fearsome for them. They hear about the imminent offensives of the Taliban from their bases in Pakistan, they worry about the next wave of suicide bombers indoctrinated in Pakistani madrassas, and they're shocked at the fatwas (religious rulings) given by Pakistani religious figures to legitimise the killing of innocent Afghans.

In addition, some graduates of Pakistani madrassas accuse young Afghans of committing apostasy by dedicating their time learning about the lives of Bollywood stars rather than concentrate on the teachings of their own religion. That Afghans prefer Indian schools or colleges to those in Pakistan should alarm Pakistani authorities.

Afghanistan's young generation formulates its impressions on Pakistan based on the images it receives from TV screens. Instead of being unduly concerned about India's growing economic and cultural influence in Afghanistan, if Pakistan wants to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people it should reconsider its policy in Afghanistan.

(The writer is the Middle East Policy Analyst for the International Affairs Forum. He served as an aide to the late Ahmad Shah Massoud, Afghanistan's former defence minister.)

Tilak wrote:Indian `idol' in Afghanistan
Haroun Mir

What would Afghans watch on Pakistan's TV channels or listen to on its radio? The news from Pakistan is depressing and fearsome for them. They hear about the imminent offensives of the Taliban from their bases in Pakistan, they worry about the next wave of suicide bombers indoctrinated in Pakistani madrassas, and they're shocked at the fatwas (religious rulings) given by Pakistani religious figures to legitimise the killing of innocent Afghans.

Lalmohan wrote:

Tilak wrote:Indian `idol' in Afghanistan
Haroun Mir

What would Afghans watch on Pakistan's TV channels or listen to on its radio? The news from Pakistan is depressing and fearsome for them. They hear about the imminent offensives of the Taliban from their bases in Pakistan, they worry about the next wave of suicide bombers indoctrinated in Pakistani madrassas, and they're shocked at the fatwas (religious rulings) given by Pakistani religious figures to legitimise the killing of innocent Afghans.

those of you who monitor the urdu press... does this phenomenon show up there too? this has the ring of "us and them" about it...

The Indian Air Force's Air Warrior Symphony Orchestra (ASWO) is set to teach military tunes and perhaps some Hindustani compositions to Afghanistan's armed forces.

The Orchestra will provide training to 10 Afghan officers for six months on developing basic skills like reading notations, playing instruments and even selecting the right kind of instruments.

"The Afghanistan government had requested its Indian counterpart to train some of its armed forces officers," ASWO Director Pramod Kumar Jena said.

The Afghan officers will be trained at Jalahalli in Bangalore, where the ASWO is based.

vsudhir wrote: The writer of that column was a close aide of Ahmed shah Massoud - 'Lion of Panjshir' - leader of the Northern alliance of non-pushto folk, a good friend of India and bitter pak enemy. That little factoid alone serves to explain a lot about the column's contents. I for one would take the claims made here with salt (though reluctantly). There's little evidence that Afghan's Pakhtoon majority hates the talibs and the Pak govt with near anywhere as much distaste as the author here potrays.

/JMT. Etc

Suicide bombers are crossing the border from Pakistan into Afghanistan with increasing frequency, launching attacks directed against foreign military convoys with funding from abroad, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report to the Security Council on Tuesday.

The September 2006 peace agreement between Pakistan and pro-Taliban fighters in that country‘s North Waziristan region did not prevent the border area from being used as a staging ground for attacks on Afghanistan, Ban said. Instead, the agreement led to a 50 percent increase in security incidents involving insurgents in Afghanistan‘s Khost province and a 70 percent increase in Paktika province — both on the border — between September and November, he said.

"Many attacks appear to have been financed from abroad (ed: read TSP)," he said in the report.

Raju wrote:PRC are observers, just like EU, US, Japan.

Lone discordant voices can be isolated/changed when more members of the Islamic world take membership. The King of Oman has been a long friend of India's.

ramana wrote:My thought was based on Curzonian doctrine. Eventually China not PRC has to be part of SAARC.

· Local force blames Uzbeks for rise in crime
· Assassination may have triggered wave of violence

Clashes between Pakistani tribesmen and foreign fighters in the tribal belt close to the Afghan border intensified sharply yesterday, bringing the official toll from two weeks of fighting to more than 250.

The bloodshed was centred on a cluster of villages near Wana, the main town in South Waziristan tribal agency, where hundreds of heavily armed Pashtun tribesmen are trying to expel more than 1,000 mostly Uzbek fighters from the area.

Two days ago tribesmen sounded the traditional drums of war to muster a "Lashkar" - a tribal fighting force. Since then 50 Uzbeks, 10 tribesmen and one Pakistani soldier have died, according to local officials. However, like much from Waziristan - a remote and dangerous area from where most reporters have left - the information could not be verified.

Article continues
The Uzbeks fled to Waziristan after the fall of the Taliban in late 2001. They are led by Tahir Yuldashev, an Islamist who was close to Osama bin Laden. Initially they were welcomed by conservative tribesmen who shared their ideas about "jihad" against foreign forces. But their popularity sharply waned as they became enmeshed in local rivalries and were blamed for rising crime and brutal assassinations of pro-government elders and other enemies.

According to some reports the current fighting was triggered by the assassination some weeks ago of a respected Arab fighter also sheltering in Waziristan.

The Pakistani government claims the revolt is proof that local tribesmen are finally turning against the al-Qaida-linked foreigners, whose presence has long been a bone of contention with the US. The interior minister, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, said more than 200 local fighters had joined the "Lashkar". But analysts say the reality is much more complex.

The anti-Uzbek forces are led by Maulvi Nazir, a young local commander believed to be coordinating Taliban attacks across the border in Afghanistan. The Uzbeks, estimated to number 1,000-2,000, also have supporters, notably from another sub-clan feuding with Maulvi Nazir.

Pakistan's pro-Taliban religious parties have tried to quell the violence. Last week a delegation to Waziristan brokered a temporary ceasefire, hoping to persuade the Uzbeks to disarm. But the violence of recent days means they may have little choice but to fight or die.

The Uzbeks are viewed with increasing animosity in Waziristan. Although a small number have integrated into the tight-knit society - marrying local women and learning the Pashto language - most are considered little better than criminals.

The Uzbeks have been blamed for a rise in kidnappings, car theft and targeted killings. Pakistani military commanders say they found ***** and evidence that the Uzbeks were eating pork during raids on their hideouts in spring 2005.

A Pakistani military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they could also be involved in human trafficking. The wife of a killed Uzbek fighter told military interrogators that she had been forcibly abducted from her home in Uzbekistan, he said. The woman pleaded not to be sent home and her children were eventually adopted by a Pakistani military family.

The army insists it is not taking part in the fighting but said it will respond if its bases come under fire. Four soldiers were killed by rocket fire at the weekend.

Reflecting their growing bilateral relations, Indian government named a road on Thursday in the national capital after the slain Afghan war hero, Ahmad Shah Massoud, the first such honour extended to a leader from that country.

Gerard wrote:Road diplomacy: India names street after Afghan war hero

Reflecting their growing bilateral relations, Indian government named a road on Thursday in the national capital after the slain Afghan war hero, Ahmad Shah Massoud, the first such honour extended to a leader from that country.

A U.S. Army brigade commander in Afghanistan today told the families of 69 civilians who were killed or wounded by members of an elite Marine special forces unit in March that he is "deeply, deeply ashamed" about the incident, describing the series of shootings along a main civilian thoroughfare as a "terrible, terrible mistake."

Gerard wrote:US aircrews show Taliban no mercy

But for now, the American airmen are not losing any sleep over it. "When you are on top of the enemy you look, shoot and it's, 'You die, you die, you die'," Lt Denton said.

"The odds are on our side. I really enjoy it. I told my wife, if I could come home every night then this would be the perfect job."