Full Version: Afghanistan
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NS.
QUOTE
AFGHANISTAN is sliding ever further into conflict with more than half of the country affected and several regions out of reach of humanitarian aid, a senior international Red Cross official warned today.
"The conflict is clearly spreading and in certain areas also intensifying," said Reto Stocker, head of the Afghan delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
"Today, more than half of Afghanistan is mildly to very strongly affected by the conflict," he said.
Increasing numbers of people are being displaced from their homes as a result of the conflict between the Afghan government and international allies one one side, and the Islamist Taliban militia on the other.
Mr Stocker said that security was so bad that many parts of the country are "no-go areas" for aid workers.
"There are lots of districts that have not seen for a prolonged period of time representatives of national or international NGOs", including the United Nations and the ICRC, he said....
"The conflict is clearly spreading and in certain areas also intensifying," said Reto Stocker, head of the Afghan delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
"Today, more than half of Afghanistan is mildly to very strongly affected by the conflict," he said.
Increasing numbers of people are being displaced from their homes as a result of the conflict between the Afghan government and international allies one one side, and the Islamist Taliban militia on the other.
Mr Stocker said that security was so bad that many parts of the country are "no-go areas" for aid workers.
"There are lots of districts that have not seen for a prolonged period of time representatives of national or international NGOs", including the United Nations and the ICRC, he said....
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,2...6-23109,00.html
Ain't it just.
all courtesy of the American taxpayer
Not enough of that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/AL...-aX35CsJfsQ7tKQ
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
QUOTE
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Heavy fighting in Afghanistan killed at least 75 people as the Muslim holy month Ramadan began, including 45 suspected Taliban militants who died in air strikes and Afghan army gunfire, officials said.
In the southern province Uruzgan, insurgents attacked a joint Afghan army and U.S.-led coalition patrol with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire Wednesday, the coalition said in a statement.
Afghan soldiers "cleared" Taliban fighters from firing positions within the village Aduzay, while attack aircraft destroyed some fighting positions, it said. The coalition said more than 45 Taliban were killed.
Fighting has increased dramatically in the last several weeks in Afghanistan, with more than 300 suspected Taliban fighters killed since late August, the U.S.-led coalition said.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force said insurgents increased attacks during Ramadan last year and the same may happen this year.
In fighting elsewhere in the country, an Afghan-NATO patrol discovered and defused three roadside bombs Wednesday in the Zhari district of Kandahar province and shortly after was ambushed by Taliban fighters. A helicopter gunship joined the ensuing battle, which left 12 militants dead, said Syed Agha Saqib, the provincial police chief said Thursday....
In the southern province Uruzgan, insurgents attacked a joint Afghan army and U.S.-led coalition patrol with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire Wednesday, the coalition said in a statement.
Afghan soldiers "cleared" Taliban fighters from firing positions within the village Aduzay, while attack aircraft destroyed some fighting positions, it said. The coalition said more than 45 Taliban were killed.
Fighting has increased dramatically in the last several weeks in Afghanistan, with more than 300 suspected Taliban fighters killed since late August, the U.S.-led coalition said.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force said insurgents increased attacks during Ramadan last year and the same may happen this year.
In fighting elsewhere in the country, an Afghan-NATO patrol discovered and defused three roadside bombs Wednesday in the Zhari district of Kandahar province and shortly after was ambushed by Taliban fighters. A helicopter gunship joined the ensuing battle, which left 12 militants dead, said Syed Agha Saqib, the provincial police chief said Thursday....
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/AL...-aX35CsJfsQ7tKQ
QUOTE
There have been more military clashes in southern Afghanistan between Afghan and international security forces and Taleban insurgents.
It has been announced that a British soldier was killed in Helmand province on Monday.
The Afghan defence ministry says 14 Taleban were killed in two separate clashes elsewhere in the province.
Police also say that a Taleban leader who kidnapped 23 South Koreans in July has been killed in a US air strike.
There is no independent confirmation of the claim.
A British soldier serving with the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) was killed after an explosion hit his army truck in the Gereshk district of Helmand province.
The Ministry of Defence in London says he was taking part in a routine logistics convoy.
Elsewhere in Helmand, Afghan officials say nine Taleban insurgents planning an ambush were killed in an American air strike, while five others died when they attacked Afghan and US-led forces.
The latest fighting comes as the United Nations in Afghanistan is mounting a big public campaign to promote International Peace Day later this week.
The head of the UN mission here has called for a complete cessation of violence on 21 September, while the World Health Organisation and the UN Children's Fund have appealed for three days of calm.
They want to vaccinate children across the south of the country against polio.
Posters promoting International Peace Day have appeared around the capital Kabul.
But military clashes have become routine here and several thousand people have been killed during the course of this year.
It has been announced that a British soldier was killed in Helmand province on Monday.
The Afghan defence ministry says 14 Taleban were killed in two separate clashes elsewhere in the province.
Police also say that a Taleban leader who kidnapped 23 South Koreans in July has been killed in a US air strike.
There is no independent confirmation of the claim.
A British soldier serving with the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) was killed after an explosion hit his army truck in the Gereshk district of Helmand province.
The Ministry of Defence in London says he was taking part in a routine logistics convoy.
Elsewhere in Helmand, Afghan officials say nine Taleban insurgents planning an ambush were killed in an American air strike, while five others died when they attacked Afghan and US-led forces.
The latest fighting comes as the United Nations in Afghanistan is mounting a big public campaign to promote International Peace Day later this week.
The head of the UN mission here has called for a complete cessation of violence on 21 September, while the World Health Organisation and the UN Children's Fund have appealed for three days of calm.
They want to vaccinate children across the south of the country against polio.
Posters promoting International Peace Day have appeared around the capital Kabul.
But military clashes have become routine here and several thousand people have been killed during the course of this year.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7000876.stm
C&R News Video: Lara Logan looks at “success” in Afghanistan
QUOTE
Thank the higher being of your choice for journalists like Lara Logan. While Katie Couric stays in the Green Zone and with heavily guarded escorts through a security-cleared market, Logan goes in and slogs through bio-hazardous waste and shows us exactly how much “success” our tax dollars have bought in Afghanistan.
QUOTE(Innocent @ Sep 19 2007, 08:49 PM) [snapback]329601[/snapback]
I am sorry, but that piece was a bit too "skewed", IMHO. For example, two preemies sharing oxygen is significantly better than two already dead preemies.
I would consider this piece part over-critical and unbalanced.
QUOTE
HEART: A Taliban attack on a police post in western Afghanistan sparked a battle that left at least 20 militants and four police dead, a provincial governor said on Thursday.[s]
Dozens of fighters attacked a police position in Badghis province Wednesday, setting off a three-hour gunfight, governor Mohammad Ashraf Nasiri told AFP.
“Twenty militants were killed and nine militants were wounded in the fighting,” he said. Four police were also killed.
Western Afghanistan is relatively peaceful compared to the insurgency-hit south and southeast of the country, where militant attacks are an almost daily routine.
But Bala Murghab district, the scene of the latest attack, has seen a spike in violence in the past months.
Seven Afghan soldiers and 20 militants were killed in a battle there last month that was sparked when Taliban militants ambushed an Afghan and NATO army convoy. Taliban insurgents have waged a bloody insurgency since their ouster from power in late 2001 by the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, which has claimed thousands of lives so far.
In another incident related to the insurgency, a suicide bomber on a bicycle blew himself up on Thursday in the southern province of Ghazni, provincial police chief Alishah Ahmadzai said.
His target was an Afghan army truck, and a soldier was severely wounded. Elsewhere Afghan soldiers carried out anoperation in Wardak province in which three “enemies” were killed and nine wounded and arrested, police said....
Dozens of fighters attacked a police position in Badghis province Wednesday, setting off a three-hour gunfight, governor Mohammad Ashraf Nasiri told AFP.
“Twenty militants were killed and nine militants were wounded in the fighting,” he said. Four police were also killed.
Western Afghanistan is relatively peaceful compared to the insurgency-hit south and southeast of the country, where militant attacks are an almost daily routine.
But Bala Murghab district, the scene of the latest attack, has seen a spike in violence in the past months.
Seven Afghan soldiers and 20 militants were killed in a battle there last month that was sparked when Taliban militants ambushed an Afghan and NATO army convoy. Taliban insurgents have waged a bloody insurgency since their ouster from power in late 2001 by the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, which has claimed thousands of lives so far.
In another incident related to the insurgency, a suicide bomber on a bicycle blew himself up on Thursday in the southern province of Ghazni, provincial police chief Alishah Ahmadzai said.
His target was an Afghan army truck, and a soldier was severely wounded. Elsewhere Afghan soldiers carried out anoperation in Wardak province in which three “enemies” were killed and nine wounded and arrested, police said....
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?p...21-9-2007_pg7_5
QUOTE(Nomarchy @ Sep 20 2007, 01:22 PM) [snapback]329702[/snapback]
I am sorry, but that piece was a bit too "skewed", IMHO. For example, two preemies sharing oxygen is significantly better than two already dead preemies.
I would consider this piece part over-critical and unbalanced.
Interesting. It seemed pretty bad - only enough power to operate one oxygen machine at a time, burying medical waste in the back, sterilizing medical equipment in a pressure cooker on a hot plate on the floor, etc. - but then I don't know what it was like before. I sure wouldn't want to be treated with that primitive level of service.
do try to get shot somewhere else
QUOTE
Islamabad - Pro-Taliban militants released Friday 26 of around 240 troops captured over three weeks ago in Pakistan's restive tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, officials said.
The troops have returned to their base in Wana, the main city of tribal district South Waziristan, army spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said.
The release was secured by tribal mediators, who held a series of negotiations with the rebels from Mehsud tribe after they surrounded and disarmed seven officers and 233 soldiers on August 30.
'They (the militants) have said they will release the rest of over 200 soldiers only in exchange for their 30 comrades in government custody,' negotiator Akhtar Mehsud Gul told the Geo news channel.
The militants have also demanded the complete withdrawal of troops from the tribal areas, which according to Washington and Kabul are safe-havens for al-Qaeda and Taliban warriors launching cross border attacks on international forces in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has deployed more than 90,000 troops to control the insurgents, who have killed over 100 security personnel in tribal areas and neighbouring North-West Frontier Province in retaliatory attacks since military stormed in Islamabad's radical Red Mosque early July.
The talks for the release of more than 200 hostages will recommence after some response from the government on militant demands, Gul said.
The troops have returned to their base in Wana, the main city of tribal district South Waziristan, army spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said.
The release was secured by tribal mediators, who held a series of negotiations with the rebels from Mehsud tribe after they surrounded and disarmed seven officers and 233 soldiers on August 30.
'They (the militants) have said they will release the rest of over 200 soldiers only in exchange for their 30 comrades in government custody,' negotiator Akhtar Mehsud Gul told the Geo news channel.
The militants have also demanded the complete withdrawal of troops from the tribal areas, which according to Washington and Kabul are safe-havens for al-Qaeda and Taliban warriors launching cross border attacks on international forces in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has deployed more than 90,000 troops to control the insurgents, who have killed over 100 security personnel in tribal areas and neighbouring North-West Frontier Province in retaliatory attacks since military stormed in Islamabad's radical Red Mosque early July.
The talks for the release of more than 200 hostages will recommence after some response from the government on militant demands, Gul said.
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/southas...h-west_Pakistan
QUOTE(hunin @ Sep 21 2007, 05:23 PM) [snapback]329992[/snapback]
Islamabad - Pro-Taliban militants released Friday 26 of around 240 troops captured over three weeks ago in Pakistan's restive tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, officials said.
The troops have returned to their base in Wana, the main city of tribal district South Waziristan, army spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said.
The release was secured by tribal mediators, who held a series of negotiations with the rebels from Mehsud tribe after they surrounded and disarmed seven officers and 233 soldiers on August 30.
That's a lot of Pakistani troops to be captured. Must be some tribe.
'They (the militants) have said they will release the rest of over 200 soldiers only in exchange for their 30 comrades in government custody,' negotiator Akhtar Mehsud Gul told the Geo news channel.
The militants have also demanded the complete withdrawal of troops from the tribal areas, which according to Washington and Kabul are safe-havens for al-Qaeda and Taliban warriors launching cross border attacks on international forces in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has deployed more than 90,000 troops to control the insurgents, who have killed over 100 security personnel in tribal areas and neighbouring North-West Frontier Province in retaliatory attacks since military stormed in Islamabad's radical Red Mosque early July.
I watched the Paki ambassador on c-span the other night. He was frustrated by how little our pols and media know of and appreciate the resources that the Paks have provided, and understandably so.
The talks for the release of more than 200 hostages will recommence after some response from the government on militant demands, Gul said.
PAK claimed they found their troops at the end of August. Just stuck in the mud.
QUOTE(hunin @ Sep 21 2007, 05:46 PM) [snapback]329995[/snapback]
PAK claimed they found their troops at the end of August. Just stuck in the mud.
One big mud hole I suppose.
QUOTE(SpaceCowboy @ Sep 21 2007, 05:49 PM) [snapback]329997[/snapback]
One big mud hole I suppose.
Maybe Pakistani for mud is Mehsud.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Flash from the past.
QUOTE
September 15, 2001
....KWAME HOLMAN: For the first time, the President himself said suspicion centers on Osama bin Laden.
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: There is no question he is what we would call a prime suspect. And if he thinks he can hide and run from the United States and our allies, he will be sorely mistaken....
....KWAME HOLMAN: For the first time, the President himself said suspicion centers on Osama bin Laden.
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: There is no question he is what we would call a prime suspect. And if he thinks he can hide and run from the United States and our allies, he will be sorely mistaken....
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/terrorism/j...ponds_9-15.html
In point of fact, lack of staying the course, Bushie.
Lest we forget.
QUOTE
KABUL (AFP) — A French soldier died in a suicide blast in Kabul and around 40 Taliban rebels were killed elsewhere Friday as hundreds of Afghans rallied for an end to violence on the UN's International Day of Peace.
An Afghan official said meanwhile that six civilians had been killed earlier in the week in an airstrike by NATO-led forces against the Islamic extremist fighters.
Thursday was also a day of bloodshed, with a Dutch soldier and three dozen Taliban killed in the insurgency-torn south.
The Al-Qaeda-linked Taliban movement claimed responsibility for the Kabul suicide attack, the first inside the barricaded capital in three weeks.
The French military, which has around 1,000 soldiers in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance force (ISAF), confirmed that its soldiers were struck while on patrol and that one died.
Eight Afghan civilians were injured in the blast, ISAF said.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his condolences to all the victims, adding in a statement that he was "more determined than ever to continue the fight against terrorism."
Around 168 international soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan this year -- the bloodiest since the insurgent Taliban were removed from government in late 2001. France has lost 12 troops since deploying to the country.
One side of the armoured vehicle struck by the blast was damaged but the car that carried the bomb was completely destroyed, reduced to a heap of blackened metal....
An Afghan official said meanwhile that six civilians had been killed earlier in the week in an airstrike by NATO-led forces against the Islamic extremist fighters.
Thursday was also a day of bloodshed, with a Dutch soldier and three dozen Taliban killed in the insurgency-torn south.
The Al-Qaeda-linked Taliban movement claimed responsibility for the Kabul suicide attack, the first inside the barricaded capital in three weeks.
The French military, which has around 1,000 soldiers in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance force (ISAF), confirmed that its soldiers were struck while on patrol and that one died.
Eight Afghan civilians were injured in the blast, ISAF said.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his condolences to all the victims, adding in a statement that he was "more determined than ever to continue the fight against terrorism."
Around 168 international soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan this year -- the bloodiest since the insurgent Taliban were removed from government in late 2001. France has lost 12 troops since deploying to the country.
One side of the armoured vehicle struck by the blast was damaged but the car that carried the bomb was completely destroyed, reduced to a heap of blackened metal....
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5inPLtm...J71Ar2l6M0Jqg_Q
QUOTE
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Italy's Defense Ministry said Sunday that two Italian military personnel were missing in Afghanistan, and police in the country's west said they were searching for the pair.
In northeastern Afghanistan, meanwhile, NATO helicopters fired on a group of suspected insurgents, killing four and wounding 12 others in what may have been a case of mistaken identity, the alliance said Sunday.
The Italian Defense Ministry said that contact had not been established with the two missing military personnel for several hours, that their families had been notified and that an investigation was under way.
The two Italians, their driver and a translator drove through a police checkpoint in the Shindand district of Herat province on Saturday, and they have not had any contact with anyone since, said Gen. Ali Khan Hassanzada, chief of police criminal investigations in western Afghanistan.
Hassanzada said it was not yet known if the four had been kidnapped.
``We can say they are missing in the Shindand district of Herat province since yesterday,'' Hassanzada said. ``We have launched an investigation in the area.''...
In northeastern Afghanistan, meanwhile, NATO helicopters fired on a group of suspected insurgents, killing four and wounding 12 others in what may have been a case of mistaken identity, the alliance said Sunday.
The Italian Defense Ministry said that contact had not been established with the two missing military personnel for several hours, that their families had been notified and that an investigation was under way.
The two Italians, their driver and a translator drove through a police checkpoint in the Shindand district of Herat province on Saturday, and they have not had any contact with anyone since, said Gen. Ali Khan Hassanzada, chief of police criminal investigations in western Afghanistan.
Hassanzada said it was not yet known if the four had been kidnapped.
``We can say they are missing in the Shindand district of Herat province since yesterday,'' Hassanzada said. ``We have launched an investigation in the area.''...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/stor...6942374,00.html
Not good.
There's a CNN special on current day Afghanistan on now in my time zone which focuses on the status of women under the Taliban and now. FWIW.
I'm sure CNN can find plenty of bad news. Afghanistan is a century behind the rest of Islam, which is about 4 centuries behind us.
QUOTE(Brian_Lambchops @ Sep 23 2007, 01:11 PM) [snapback]330487[/snapback]
I'm sure CNN can find plenty of bad news. Afghanistan is a century behind the rest of Islam, which is about 4 centuries behind us.
Well, it is CNN, but there were signs of hope. As you say, the problem is their culture, of which the Taleban was an extreme version. I did notice that the crew had no problems in traveling to some fairly remote areas, and that people were going about their business without apparent fear of bombs and the like.
Even when things are getting better bad things may happen. If you look at this thread it seems to make the argument that only bad things are happening, but look how far behind their society is starting.
QUOTE(SpaceCowboy @ Sep 23 2007, 12:09 PM) 
Not good.
Sometimes miracles happen.
QUOTE
HERAT, Afghanistan (AFP) — Elite commandos freed two kidnapped Italian soldiers Monday in an operation that left both troops wounded and up to nine of their captors dead, officials said.
But in a blow to multinational forces, two Spanish soldiers were killed in a bomb blast hours later in the same western province, Farah, which has seen a recent upsurge in Taliban-linked violence.
A crack team of British and Italian soldiers staged a dawn raid Monday that rescued the Italian troopers, "informed" sources told Italy's ANSA news agency.
The soldiers had gone missing two days earlier in neighbouring Herat province with their Afghan interpreter and driver.
The International Security Assistance Force said separately that its troops had intercepted the hostages and their kidnappers early on Monday.
"In the ensuing firefight the two Italian hostages were wounded, one of them seriously," ISAF said in a statement.
"All the kidnappers were killed," it said, adding that there were either eight or nine abductors.
In an address to parliament, Italian Defence Minister Arturo Parisi said nine kidnappers had been killed in the raid, as well as one of the two Afghans held with the Italians.
The other kidnapped Afghan was wounded, he said, but stressed that no civilians were injured in the firefight.
Parisi also said the two soldiers were members of military intelligence.
An Italian diplomat in Kabul said it was not clear who had abducted the men, while Parisi told public television that an "an independent group" appeared to be responsible.
Police said the men were guerrillas from the Islamic extremist Taliban, which has waged a bloody insurgency since being toppled from government by US-led forces in late 2001.
A Taliban commander named Mullah Abdul Hamid took the Italians from near Herat's Shindand district to Farah province, the police chief of criminal investigations for western Afghanistan, Ali Khan Husseinzada, told AFP.
Another police official, citing intelligence reports, said the Taliban were trying to take them southwards to their stronghold in Helmand province, Afghanistan's most volatile region.
But the main Taliban spokesman, Yousuf Ahmadi, said he knew nothing about the kidnapping of the Italians. The militia has been behind several abductions, including of 23 South Koreans in July.....
But in a blow to multinational forces, two Spanish soldiers were killed in a bomb blast hours later in the same western province, Farah, which has seen a recent upsurge in Taliban-linked violence.
A crack team of British and Italian soldiers staged a dawn raid Monday that rescued the Italian troopers, "informed" sources told Italy's ANSA news agency.
The soldiers had gone missing two days earlier in neighbouring Herat province with their Afghan interpreter and driver.
The International Security Assistance Force said separately that its troops had intercepted the hostages and their kidnappers early on Monday.
"In the ensuing firefight the two Italian hostages were wounded, one of them seriously," ISAF said in a statement.
"All the kidnappers were killed," it said, adding that there were either eight or nine abductors.
In an address to parliament, Italian Defence Minister Arturo Parisi said nine kidnappers had been killed in the raid, as well as one of the two Afghans held with the Italians.
The other kidnapped Afghan was wounded, he said, but stressed that no civilians were injured in the firefight.
Parisi also said the two soldiers were members of military intelligence.
An Italian diplomat in Kabul said it was not clear who had abducted the men, while Parisi told public television that an "an independent group" appeared to be responsible.
Police said the men were guerrillas from the Islamic extremist Taliban, which has waged a bloody insurgency since being toppled from government by US-led forces in late 2001.
A Taliban commander named Mullah Abdul Hamid took the Italians from near Herat's Shindand district to Farah province, the police chief of criminal investigations for western Afghanistan, Ali Khan Husseinzada, told AFP.
Another police official, citing intelligence reports, said the Taliban were trying to take them southwards to their stronghold in Helmand province, Afghanistan's most volatile region.
But the main Taliban spokesman, Yousuf Ahmadi, said he knew nothing about the kidnapping of the Italians. The militia has been behind several abductions, including of 23 South Koreans in July.....
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ielxl_...y5tC_TC7Zp8sanA
Glad to see them get the troops back.
Doin' fine! Success right around th' corner.
Bush touts progress in Afghanistan
By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer 23 minutes ago
NEW YORK - President Bush said Wednesday that Afghanistan is becoming a safer, more stable country, thanks to the efforts of President Hamid Karzai.
"Mr. President, you've got strong friends here," Bush told Karzai after they met for about an hour at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel here. "I expect progress and you expect progress, and I appreciate the report you have given me today."
The two leaders made no direct mention of Afghanistan's soaring drug trade, the unsuccessful search for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden or the resurgence of the Taliban.
Bush sought to remind the American public why U.S. forces are still in Afghanistan, site of a war that is often overshadowed by the one in Iraq.
"It's in our security interests that this democracy flourish, because if freedom takes place in Afghanistan, it will set an example of what's possible in other parts of the broader Middle East," Bush said.
He and Karzai discussed drug-fighting operations, the battle against al-Qaida and the Taliban and the development of energy using Afghanistan's natural resources.
Karzai returned the focus to the liberation of his people, which he said is overlooked these days.
"I don't know if you feel it in the United States, but we feel it so immensely in Afghanistan," Karzai said.
"Afghanistan has indeed made progress," Karzai insisted, citing improvements in basic services such as roads and education.
Yet persistent security troubles have undermined Afghanistan's stability.
Afghan opium poppy cultivation has hit a record high this year, fueled by Taliban militants and corrupt officials in Karzai's government, a U.N. report found last month. The country produces nearly all the world's opium, and Taliban insurgents are profiting.
Also, Afghanistan remains in a fight for basic security, a constant threat to its growth as a new democracy. Karzai is pledging to work hard on peace talks with the Taliban to draw the insurgents and their supporters "back to the fold," as he put it this week.
The United States has more than 20,000 troops in Afghanistan. Aides say it is natural for Bush to meet Karzai to review progress, but no single issue prompted their sit-down.
Bush, in New York for the annual gathering of the U.N. General Assembly, made only brief mention of the war in Afghanistan during his speech to world leaders Tuesday. He said the people of Afghanistan — and Iraq and Lebanon — were in a deadly fight for survival.
Bush also pivoted to his domestic agenda before wrapping up three days in New York.
He touted new national test scores as evidence that the No Child Left Behind Act, his signature education law, is working and deserving of renewal by Congress.
"My call to the Congress is, don't water down this good law," Bush said Wednesday. "Don't go backward when it comes to educational excellence."
This man is unbelievable. Literally.
The new national test results, released Tuesday, show elementary and middle schoolers posted solid gains in math. The students made more modest improvements in reading, however.
Bush met with Joel Klein, chancellor of New York City's school system, which has won the nation's top prize for urban districts. The district garnered the honor chiefly for reducing achievements gaps among poor and minority kids, a key educational goal for Bush.
The president intends to miss no chance to talk up the No Child Left Behind law, which is up for renewal in Congress. Many lawmakers say it is too narrow and punitive.
Bush, accompanied Klein and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, surrounded himself with about two dozen public school children. Several of them seemed stunned by the attention.
Before leaving town, Bush spoke at a private fundraiser for the Republican National Committee.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070926/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush
Bush touts progress in Afghanistan
By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer 23 minutes ago
NEW YORK - President Bush said Wednesday that Afghanistan is becoming a safer, more stable country, thanks to the efforts of President Hamid Karzai.
"Mr. President, you've got strong friends here," Bush told Karzai after they met for about an hour at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel here. "I expect progress and you expect progress, and I appreciate the report you have given me today."
The two leaders made no direct mention of Afghanistan's soaring drug trade, the unsuccessful search for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden or the resurgence of the Taliban.
Bush sought to remind the American public why U.S. forces are still in Afghanistan, site of a war that is often overshadowed by the one in Iraq.
"It's in our security interests that this democracy flourish, because if freedom takes place in Afghanistan, it will set an example of what's possible in other parts of the broader Middle East," Bush said.
He and Karzai discussed drug-fighting operations, the battle against al-Qaida and the Taliban and the development of energy using Afghanistan's natural resources.
Karzai returned the focus to the liberation of his people, which he said is overlooked these days.
"I don't know if you feel it in the United States, but we feel it so immensely in Afghanistan," Karzai said.
"Afghanistan has indeed made progress," Karzai insisted, citing improvements in basic services such as roads and education.
Yet persistent security troubles have undermined Afghanistan's stability.
Afghan opium poppy cultivation has hit a record high this year, fueled by Taliban militants and corrupt officials in Karzai's government, a U.N. report found last month. The country produces nearly all the world's opium, and Taliban insurgents are profiting.
Also, Afghanistan remains in a fight for basic security, a constant threat to its growth as a new democracy. Karzai is pledging to work hard on peace talks with the Taliban to draw the insurgents and their supporters "back to the fold," as he put it this week.
The United States has more than 20,000 troops in Afghanistan. Aides say it is natural for Bush to meet Karzai to review progress, but no single issue prompted their sit-down.
Bush, in New York for the annual gathering of the U.N. General Assembly, made only brief mention of the war in Afghanistan during his speech to world leaders Tuesday. He said the people of Afghanistan — and Iraq and Lebanon — were in a deadly fight for survival.
Bush also pivoted to his domestic agenda before wrapping up three days in New York.
He touted new national test scores as evidence that the No Child Left Behind Act, his signature education law, is working and deserving of renewal by Congress.
"My call to the Congress is, don't water down this good law," Bush said Wednesday. "Don't go backward when it comes to educational excellence."
This man is unbelievable. Literally.
The new national test results, released Tuesday, show elementary and middle schoolers posted solid gains in math. The students made more modest improvements in reading, however.
Bush met with Joel Klein, chancellor of New York City's school system, which has won the nation's top prize for urban districts. The district garnered the honor chiefly for reducing achievements gaps among poor and minority kids, a key educational goal for Bush.
The president intends to miss no chance to talk up the No Child Left Behind law, which is up for renewal in Congress. Many lawmakers say it is too narrow and punitive.
Bush, accompanied Klein and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, surrounded himself with about two dozen public school children. Several of them seemed stunned by the attention.
Before leaving town, Bush spoke at a private fundraiser for the Republican National Committee.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070926/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush
Afghan clashes kill '160 Taleban'
US soldier in Afghanistan
The US-led coalition force in Afghanistan says that more than 160 Taleban fighters have been killed in two days of fighting in the south.
They say that more than 100 insurgents were killed in Helmand province, and at least 65 in neighbouring Uruzgan. One coalition soldier died, US forces said.
The Taleban denied the figures, which could not be independently verified.
Villagers said there had been a large number of civilian deaths from aerial bombardments in both provinces.
The latest violence comes as Afghan President Hamid Karzai is in New York to address the UN General Assembly.
He has been under intense pressure over the high number of civilian casualties and has repeatedly called for Western troops to exercise more care.
Violence has soared in Afghanistan and more than 3,000 people have been killed this year as Afghan and foreign forces battle Taleban fighters.
A statement issued by the coalition in relation to the Helmand violence said a combined force of the Afghan army and the coalition was patrolling near Musa Qala - a village formerly occupied by British troops but held by the Taleban for nearly a year.
Several dozen insurgents attacked the convoy from trenches and compounds and continued reinforcing their positions, the statement added.
Subsequent coalition air strikes killed more than 100 rebels, while one coalition soldier died, US forces said. The US-led coalition said the targets had been identified as Taleban positions.
The Taleban, meanwhile, gave very different figures - they said three of their fighters and 20 foreign and Afghan army forces had died.
(more) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7013595.stm
US soldier in Afghanistan
The US-led coalition force in Afghanistan says that more than 160 Taleban fighters have been killed in two days of fighting in the south.
They say that more than 100 insurgents were killed in Helmand province, and at least 65 in neighbouring Uruzgan. One coalition soldier died, US forces said.
The Taleban denied the figures, which could not be independently verified.
Villagers said there had been a large number of civilian deaths from aerial bombardments in both provinces.
The latest violence comes as Afghan President Hamid Karzai is in New York to address the UN General Assembly.
He has been under intense pressure over the high number of civilian casualties and has repeatedly called for Western troops to exercise more care.
Violence has soared in Afghanistan and more than 3,000 people have been killed this year as Afghan and foreign forces battle Taleban fighters.
A statement issued by the coalition in relation to the Helmand violence said a combined force of the Afghan army and the coalition was patrolling near Musa Qala - a village formerly occupied by British troops but held by the Taleban for nearly a year.
Several dozen insurgents attacked the convoy from trenches and compounds and continued reinforcing their positions, the statement added.
Subsequent coalition air strikes killed more than 100 rebels, while one coalition soldier died, US forces said. The US-led coalition said the targets had been identified as Taleban positions.
The Taleban, meanwhile, gave very different figures - they said three of their fighters and 20 foreign and Afghan army forces had died.
(more) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7013595.stm
That's a lot of casualties. Hopefully they were also some of the opium/heroin druglord's men.
Kabul Bob.
QUOTE
The Taleban, meanwhile, gave very different figures - they said three of their fighters and 20 foreign and Afghan army forces had died.
Kabul Bob.
QUOTE(Davis 2.0 @ Sep 26 2007, 10:16 PM)
That's a lot of casualties. Hopefully they were also some of the opium/heroin druglord's men.
Let's hope.
The Taliban are some particularly nasty and expendable fanatics. 160 isn't nearly enough.
QUOTE
Bin Laden may have just escaped U.S. forces
August mission in Tora Bora almost snared 'high value target'
Did U.S. just miss bin Laden?
Sept. 26: U.S. forces attacked Tora Bora in August amid signs Osama bin Laden was near. NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski reports.
By Justin Balding, Adam Ciralsky, Jim Miklaszewski and Robert Windrem
NBC News
Updated: 7:07 p.m. CT Sept 26, 2007
A little more than a month ago, with the anniversary of Sept. 11 approaching and fears of a new al Qaeda attack rising, some U.S. intelligence and military analysts thought they had found one of the world’s two most wanted men just where they last saw them six years ago.
For three days and nights — between Aug. 14 and 16 — U.S. and Afghanistan forces pounded the mountain caves in Tora Bora, the same caves where Osama Bin Laden had hidden out and then fled in late 2001 after U.S. forces drove al Qaeda out of Afghanistan cities. Ultimately, however, U.S. forces failed to find Bin Laden or his deputy, Ayman al Zawahiri, even though their attacks left dozens of al Qaeda and Taliban dead.
(more) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21000298/
August mission in Tora Bora almost snared 'high value target'
Did U.S. just miss bin Laden?
Sept. 26: U.S. forces attacked Tora Bora in August amid signs Osama bin Laden was near. NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski reports.
By Justin Balding, Adam Ciralsky, Jim Miklaszewski and Robert Windrem
NBC News
Updated: 7:07 p.m. CT Sept 26, 2007
A little more than a month ago, with the anniversary of Sept. 11 approaching and fears of a new al Qaeda attack rising, some U.S. intelligence and military analysts thought they had found one of the world’s two most wanted men just where they last saw them six years ago.
For three days and nights — between Aug. 14 and 16 — U.S. and Afghanistan forces pounded the mountain caves in Tora Bora, the same caves where Osama Bin Laden had hidden out and then fled in late 2001 after U.S. forces drove al Qaeda out of Afghanistan cities. Ultimately, however, U.S. forces failed to find Bin Laden or his deputy, Ayman al Zawahiri, even though their attacks left dozens of al Qaeda and Taliban dead.
QUOTE(SpaceCowboy @ Sep 25 2007, 07:23 PM)
Glad to see them get the troops back.
There had to be some serious inside-man intel for it to turn out so relatively well.
That's a good thang as well.
QUOTE(SpaceCowboy @ Sep 27 2007, 04:38 PM)
Deja vu.
QUOTE
Still, some in the special operations and intelligence community are telling NBC News that there was a lack of coordination particularly in the choice of support troops. But with intelligence limited on who was there, no one is willing to say that the lack of key units permitted Bin Laden or Zawahiri to escape. ...
The military operation included "several hundred" U.S. and Afghan ground forces, say officials. Elements from the 82nd Airborne blocked off escape routes through the mountains on the Afghanistan side of the border, while helicopters inserted U.S. Navy Seals at night. The Seals pinpointed enemy positions and called in air strikes; the 82nd came in and "mopped up."
On the other side of the border, a senior Pakistani official says the U.S. military helped thousands of Pakistani forces — including their elite commando units — set up a blockade to sweep up any al Qaeda fleeing Afghanistan....
The military operation included "several hundred" U.S. and Afghan ground forces, say officials. Elements from the 82nd Airborne blocked off escape routes through the mountains on the Afghanistan side of the border, while helicopters inserted U.S. Navy Seals at night. The Seals pinpointed enemy positions and called in air strikes; the 82nd came in and "mopped up."
On the other side of the border, a senior Pakistani official says the U.S. military helped thousands of Pakistani forces — including their elite commando units — set up a blockade to sweep up any al Qaeda fleeing Afghanistan....
The later, the weakest link methinks.
QUOTE(SpaceCowboy @ Sep 26 2007, 09:44 PM)
Afghan clashes kill '160 Taleban'....
The Taleban, meanwhile, gave very different figures - they said three of their fighters and 20 foreign and Afghan army forces had died.
(more) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7013595.stm
The Taleban, meanwhile, gave very different figures - they said three of their fighters and 20 foreign and Afghan army forces had died.
(more) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7013595.stm
Body count in the eye of the beholder?
The number is likely somewhere in between, yes?
QUOTE(hunin @ Sep 27 2007, 06:39 PM)
Deja vu.
Point taken.
QUOTE(Davis 2.0 @ Sep 26 2007, 08:20 PM)
The Taliban are some particularly nasty and expendable fanatics. 160 isn't nearly enough.
Warmonger.
Right war monger.
If you're going to monger at all, that's the better.
If you're going to monger at all, that's the better.
Taliban? Sure. Al Queda? Definitely.
Anonymous Iraqis who aren't either? Not even a close call.
Anonymous Iraqis who aren't either? Not even a close call.
QUOTE
KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 29 — A suicide bomber wearing an Afghan military uniform approached a bus full of Afghan soldiers on their way to work early today and detonated a belt of explosives concealed beneath his clothes, officials said. The explosion transformed the vehicle into a smoldering husk of twisted steel and killed at least 27 people, including civilians, making it one of the deadliest suicide bombings in Afghanistan this year, officials said.
The early-morning blast was so powerful that it peeled the sides off the bus, catapulted a huge piece of the vehicle into a park across the street and shattered windows in shops and homes around the neighborhood.
Numerous people were wounded in the attack, including day laborers who had gathered nearby in the hope of finding work, according to a statement issued by the Interior Ministry. Some of the laborers were also among the dead, the statement said, though the exact number was not yet known.
Neighborhood residents and shop owners described a deafening blast followed by bedlam as bloody survivors stumbled around screaming for help. Ghulam Jelani, 48, the owner of a bakery no more than 100 yards from the attack, said he was toiling in his kitchen when the explosion occurred.
“I went outside and there was a lot of dust and I couldn’t see anything,” he recalled. “After five minutes I could finally see the bus.”
Initially there were conflicting accounts from officials on the scene about whether the bomber had made it onto the bus. But the Interior Ministry clarified later in the morning that the bomber had detonated himself on the street....
Early this month, the United Nations said that in the first eight months of the year, Afghanistan had suffered a 69 percent increase in suicide bombings over the same period last year.
There have already been 100 bombings this year, killing at least 290 people, according to Afghan and international officials. A record 123 were carried out in 2006, inflicting some 305 deaths.
In the last large-scale suicide bombing in Afghanistan, at least one bomber blew himself up on Sept. 10 in a crowded market in the south, killing at least 26 Afghans, half of them civilians. The last large suicide bombing in the capital occurred in June when a suicide attacker boarded a bus carrying Afghan police trainers and detonated himself, killing 24 people and wounding 35 others.
A former Taliban commander told United Nations investigators that half of all suicide bombers had been foreigners and that “almost all undergo some form of training and preparation in madrasas based in Pakistan,” according to a United Nations report released earlier this month.
“Over 80 percent of suicide attackers pass through recruitment, training facilities or safe houses in North or South Waziristan en route to their targets inside Afghanistan,” the report added....
The early-morning blast was so powerful that it peeled the sides off the bus, catapulted a huge piece of the vehicle into a park across the street and shattered windows in shops and homes around the neighborhood.
Numerous people were wounded in the attack, including day laborers who had gathered nearby in the hope of finding work, according to a statement issued by the Interior Ministry. Some of the laborers were also among the dead, the statement said, though the exact number was not yet known.
Neighborhood residents and shop owners described a deafening blast followed by bedlam as bloody survivors stumbled around screaming for help. Ghulam Jelani, 48, the owner of a bakery no more than 100 yards from the attack, said he was toiling in his kitchen when the explosion occurred.
“I went outside and there was a lot of dust and I couldn’t see anything,” he recalled. “After five minutes I could finally see the bus.”
Initially there were conflicting accounts from officials on the scene about whether the bomber had made it onto the bus. But the Interior Ministry clarified later in the morning that the bomber had detonated himself on the street....
Early this month, the United Nations said that in the first eight months of the year, Afghanistan had suffered a 69 percent increase in suicide bombings over the same period last year.
There have already been 100 bombings this year, killing at least 290 people, according to Afghan and international officials. A record 123 were carried out in 2006, inflicting some 305 deaths.
In the last large-scale suicide bombing in Afghanistan, at least one bomber blew himself up on Sept. 10 in a crowded market in the south, killing at least 26 Afghans, half of them civilians. The last large suicide bombing in the capital occurred in June when a suicide attacker boarded a bus carrying Afghan police trainers and detonated himself, killing 24 people and wounding 35 others.
A former Taliban commander told United Nations investigators that half of all suicide bombers had been foreigners and that “almost all undergo some form of training and preparation in madrasas based in Pakistan,” according to a United Nations report released earlier this month.
“Over 80 percent of suicide attackers pass through recruitment, training facilities or safe houses in North or South Waziristan en route to their targets inside Afghanistan,” the report added....
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/29/world/as...amp;oref=slogin
The latest news is that Karzai is seeking a meeting with the Taliban. I dunno, seems that last assassination effort at the Stadium near to de-balled him.
<blockquote>Strengthening a call for negotiations he has made with increasing frequency in recent weeks, Karzai said he was willing to meet with the reclusive leader Mullah Omar and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former prime minister and factional warlord leader.
"If I find their address, there is no need for them to come to me, I'll personally go there and get in touch with them," Karzai said.
Karzai said he has contacts with Taliban militants through tribal elders but that there are no direct and open government communication channels with the fighters.
"If a group of Taliban or a number of Taliban come to me and say, 'President, we want a department in this or in that ministry or we want a position as deputy minister ... and we don't want to fight anymore,' ... If there will be a demand and a request like that to me, I will accept it because I want conflicts and fighting to end in Afghanistan," Karzai said.
"I wish there would be a demand as easy as this. I wish that they would want a position in the government. I will give them a position," he said.</blockquote>
How did all that work out for Najibullah?
<blockquote>Strengthening a call for negotiations he has made with increasing frequency in recent weeks, Karzai said he was willing to meet with the reclusive leader Mullah Omar and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former prime minister and factional warlord leader.
"If I find their address, there is no need for them to come to me, I'll personally go there and get in touch with them," Karzai said.
Karzai said he has contacts with Taliban militants through tribal elders but that there are no direct and open government communication channels with the fighters.
"If a group of Taliban or a number of Taliban come to me and say, 'President, we want a department in this or in that ministry or we want a position as deputy minister ... and we don't want to fight anymore,' ... If there will be a demand and a request like that to me, I will accept it because I want conflicts and fighting to end in Afghanistan," Karzai said.
"I wish there would be a demand as easy as this. I wish that they would want a position in the government. I will give them a position," he said.</blockquote>
How did all that work out for Najibullah?
Degaussed:
Not well.
That said, Karzai's facing a growing Taliban. Has to think out of the box.
QUOTE(Valdron @ Sep 29 2007, 02:01 PM)
The latest news is that Karzai is seeking a meeting with the Taliban. I dunno, seems that last assassination effort at the Stadium near to de-balled him.
How did all that work out for Najibullah?
QUOTE
Strengthening a call for negotiations he has made with increasing frequency in recent weeks, Karzai said he was willing to meet with the reclusive leader Mullah Omar and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former prime minister and factional warlord leader.
"If I find their address, there is no need for them to come to me, I'll personally go there and get in touch with them," Karzai said.
Karzai said he has contacts with Taliban militants through tribal elders but that there are no direct and open government communication channels with the fighters.
"If a group of Taliban or a number of Taliban come to me and say, 'President, we want a department in this or in that ministry or we want a position as deputy minister ... and we don't want to fight anymore,' ... If there will be a demand and a request like that to me, I will accept it because I want conflicts and fighting to end in Afghanistan," Karzai said.
"I wish there would be a demand as easy as this. I wish that they would want a position in the government. I will give them a position," he said
"If I find their address, there is no need for them to come to me, I'll personally go there and get in touch with them," Karzai said.
Karzai said he has contacts with Taliban militants through tribal elders but that there are no direct and open government communication channels with the fighters.
"If a group of Taliban or a number of Taliban come to me and say, 'President, we want a department in this or in that ministry or we want a position as deputy minister ... and we don't want to fight anymore,' ... If there will be a demand and a request like that to me, I will accept it because I want conflicts and fighting to end in Afghanistan," Karzai said.
"I wish there would be a demand as easy as this. I wish that they would want a position in the government. I will give them a position," he said
How did all that work out for Najibullah?
Not well.
That said, Karzai's facing a growing Taliban. Has to think out of the box.
If Karzai were an American politician running for re-election, the following would appear in an attack ad:
Karzai: "because I want conflicts and fighting . . ."
Can we trust him?
Karzai: "because I want conflicts and fighting . . ."
Can we trust him?
A good way to split the enemy is to offer some of them something. You don't have to offer enough to turn them all, just to get some on your side and cast doubts on the rest. Maybe some of the Taliban is sane enough to want city living and safety.
When it comes down to it, you can't trust any of those farkers.
QUOTE(Brian_Lambchops @ Sep 29 2007, 11:26 PM)
A good way to split the enemy is to offer some of them something. You don't have to offer enough to turn them all, just to get some on your side and cast doubts on the rest. Maybe some of the Taliban is sane enough to want city living and safety.
You don't know Afghans very well.
Wanna know what happened with Najibullah?
Three years after the Russians pulled out, long after his government had fallen, long after the President and the Finance Minister of the new government had gone to war with their private armies, long after Kabul had fallen for the second or third time... someone remembered him.
So the Mujahedeen burst into the Red Cross refugee camp where he was staying, dragged him out, castrated him publicly, and hung him from a lamppost with his genitals stuffed in his mouth.
That's going to be Karzai, unless he's smart enough to know when to run.
QUOTE(Nomarchy @ Sep 29 2007, 06:07 PM)
If Karzai were an American politician running for re-election, the following would appear in an attack ad:
Karzai: "because I want conflicts and fighting . . ."
Can we trust him?
Karzai: "because I want conflicts and fighting . . ."
Can we trust him?
Likely not.
Who do we trust more?
Who do they?
QUOTE(hunin @ Sep 30 2007, 12:25 AM)
Likely not.
Sure you can trust Karzai. As much as you can trust anyone in a tribal culture where treachery is imbibed with mother's milk. In Karzai's case, he's got a long history of association with American interests. He was an oil company rep during the Taliban days. He's got no army and no force of his own, his entire budget, and all his security, including personal security, comes from the United States. Without America backing him, the warlords would eat him for breakfast and the Taliban would chew on the leftovers.
The fact that Karzai is trying to talk to the Taliban is a sign of how bad off things are, and that he's looking for a way to save his own skin. Sign o the times.
Wait for when he goes to New Delhi for a state visit, and keeps finding reasons not to come back to Kabul.
QUOTE(Valdron @ Sep 29 2007, 07:33 PM)
Sure you can trust Karzai. As much as you can trust anyone in a tribal culture where treachery is imbibed with mother's milk.
Most of the Dems think the answer is more negotiating. How the hell do you trust anyone who says up front they don't have to negotiate fairly with infidels?
QUOTE(Arturo_Vandelay @ Sep 30 2007, 02:47 AM)
Most of the Dems think the answer is more negotiating. How the hell do you trust anyone who says up front they don't have to negotiate fairly with infidels?
Bush says that? Where did he say that? Do you have a quote? A link? I'm skeptical. I don't think that Bush would use a word like infidel. You might simply be repeating muslim propaganda.
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