Progress made in fight against Taliban, U.S. military says

BY KIM BARKER
Tuesday September 28, 2004
Chicago Tribune

KABUL, Afghanistan - (KRT) - The U.S. military said Monday that it has made significant progress fighting the Taliban in the last week, picking up 10 men who helped run and pay for Taliban missions in southeast Afghanistan and arresting at least five Taliban commanders.

The military also confirmed the death of an insurgent commander once held in the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Abdul Ghaffar, a commander in the Taliban base of central Uruzgan province, was killed with two other rebels in a gunfight Saturday night. Afghan officials said earlier that Ghaffar had rejoined the Taliban insurgency after being released from Guantanamo two years ago.

The U.S. has been pressured internationally to release or charge detainees in Guantanamo. A U.S. military official said the government would be criticized no matter what it does.

The U.S. military hoped the arrests of Taliban commanders would improve safety for the country's first direct presidential election, scheduled for Oct. 9.

Taliban members and other insurgents have vowed to disrupt the election, and in the past week, have stepped up their attacks against coalition troops. Three U.S. soldiers were wounded Saturday when militants attacked their vehicle with rockets and guns near the capital of southeastern Zabul province, the military statement said.

DoD Plans $1 Bn for Afghan Infrastructure

(Source: US Defense Security Cooperation Agency; web-posted Sept. 29, 2004)

On 28 September 2004, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Afghanistan of infrastructure and construction services, technical assistance as well as associated equipment and services. The total value, if all options are exercised, could be as high as $1 billion.

The Government of Afghanistan has requested a possible sale of technical assistance to ensure provision of adequate facilities and infrastructure in support of the recruitment, garrison, training, and operational facilities and infrastructure for the Afghan National Army (ANA).

The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will provide engineering, planning, design, acquisition, contract administration, construction management and other technical services for construction of facilities and infrastructure (repair, rehabilitation, and new construction) in support of the training, bed-down, and operational requirements of the ANA.

The scope of the program includes facilities and infrastructure in support of the ANA Central Corps in Kabul as well as simultaneously building four regional commands currently planned in Gardez, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar-e Sharif. The facilities and infrastructure planned for Central Corps include new temporary vehicle storage facilities, medical clinics, hospital steam plant, security walls, training barracks/facilities, dining facilities, recruit training facilities, training, maintenance and supply buildings, and utilities systems (including heating, water, sewer, and electricity).

The facilities to be provided at each of the four regional brigade locations include barracks, training, maintenance, and storage facilities, medical clinic, communications center, and required utilities (electricity including generation, heat, water, sewer, sewage treatment). Services include supply support, personnel training and training equipment, acquisition of engineer construction equipment, technical assistance to Afghan military engineers, and other technical assistance contractor engineering services and other related elements of logistics support. The estimated cost is $1 billion.

This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country that we hope to help become an important force for political stability and economic progress in South Asia.

The Government of Afghanistan needs these services to support the recruitment, training, bed-down, and operational effectiveness of a military capability to establish security and stability throughout Afghanistan, and to promote the stability and development of a friendly, democratic central government.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not affect the basic military balance in the region.

The USACE is the principal organization that will direct the implementation of the provisions of this program. The USACE will provide services through both in-house personnel and contract services. Contracts will be procured in accordance with Federal Government contracting law and regulations. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

The estimated number of U.S. Government and contractor representatives to be assigned to Afghanistan to implement the provisions of this proposed sale will vary between 15 and 100 representatives. The ultimate number will be determined during the program execution. There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

Germany Extends Army’s Afghan Mission

(Source: Deutsche Welle German radio; issued Sept. 30, 2004)

Germany’s parliament on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a one-year extension of the Bundeswehr’s Afghanistan mandate. The decision comes a day after a grenade attack on a German camp in Kunduz injured five.

A large majority of Social Democrat, Green and opposition conservative Christian Democratic parliaments voted in favor of extending the German armed forces mandate in Afghanistan for another year.

The extension ensures that a maximum number of 2,250 German troops can continue their role in the multi-national ISAF NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kabul and its surroundings as well as their work in two provincial reconstruction teams in Kunduz and Faizabad in northern Afghanistan.

The current mandate of the German troops expires on Oct. 13.

25 Terror Suspects Nabbed in Afghanistan

By AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writer
Sat, Oct 02, 2004

KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan intelligence agents backed by international peacekeepers arrested 25 people allegedly linked to the Taliban and al-Qaida in an early morning raid in eastern Kabul Saturday, a spokesman for the peacekeepers said.

Lt. Cdr. Ken MacKillop said the raid took place between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. in the Policharki district of the capital. He gave no details about what the men were allegedly plotting or whether it was linked to presidential elections on Oct. 9.

MacKillop said nobody was injured in the operation. Afghanistan (news - web sites)'s Intelligence Service had no comment.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the 18,000-strong U.S.-led military coalition warned the historic election was entering a dangerous phase and the Taliban were likely to try to disrupt it, despite all the efforts of Afghan and international security forces.

"We are getting to a more dangerous time," said spokesman Maj. Scott Nelson. "As we get closer to the election we expect to see more activity. We think we've done a good job along with the government of Afghanistan to disrupt a lot of their operations, but it only takes one person with a car bomb to get in there and get lucky and do something."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3635-2004Oct3.html


Reuters
Sunday, October 3, 2004; 9:42 AM

By Sayed Salahuddin

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan guards backed by U.S. helicopter gunships raided a Taliban safe house, killing one man and arresting 15, to prevent attacks during this week's presidential election, officials said on Sunday.

The raid on Saturday night near the town of Spin Boldak came a day after 60 Taliban guerrillas planning to disrupt the election were intercepted nearby as they slipped across the border from Pakistan.

Local Afghan border guard commander Abdul Raziq said his men raided the house after a strafing run by U.S. helicopter gunships. One man was killed and nine were wounded.

In Kabul, the United Nations said the election campaign had been marred by intimidation and official partiality, but it expected the vote to be relatively free and fair.

As the candidates, their supporters and security forces prepared for the Oct. 9 poll, President Hamid Karzai received a boost from one of his predecessors, Burhanuddin Rabbani, who heads the Jamiat-e-Islami, a major Islamic faction.

"In the light of previous agreements, Jamiat emphasizes and announces its support once again for Karzai's candidacy," said Rabbani, president in the mid-1990s after the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan and the ouster of Moscow's protege, Najibullah.

His support was not unexpected since his son-in-law, Ahmad Zia Masood, is Karzai's running mate, but Rabbani reminded the president to abide by agreements with the Jamiat to maintain Islamic values, counter foreign influences and crack down on corruption.

Karzai, one of 18 candidates, has barely campaigned because of security constraints. He escaped an assassination attempt last month in the southeast, blamed on the Taliban -- ousted from power by U.S.-led forces in 2001 for refusing to hand over al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

On Sunday, Karzai left for Berlin to accept an international award. He will return on Monday.

INTIMIDATION

The United Nations, which has made a study of the Afghan political situation along with the local human rights commission, said there were several instances of intimidation and partiality shown to particular candidates by government officials during the campaign.

The U.N. report said local officials in many areas were favoring either Karzai or his main challenger Yunus Qanuni.

"These less positive elements, perhaps inevitable after 25 years of war, are balanced not only by the fact that Afghans now have political choices before them but above all by the overwhelming wish of Afghans to vote and to create a government that represents their concerns," said Filippo Grandi, deputy special U.N. representative in Afghanistan.

"People are very eager to vote," he told reporters, but added: "It's a mixed picture. You are asking me if the environment is entirely free and fair. Of course it is not.

"But in balance people can cast their vote in most areas of the country with a relative degree of freedom and fairness."

Over 10.5 million Afghans have registered to vote. About 300,000 to 500,000 Afghan refugees in Pakistan and another 600,000 in Iran are also eligible to participate.

In Pakistan, 320,000 Afghan refugees shrugged off Taliban threats and registered to vote and more were expected to follow.

Karzai is seen likely to get the most votes, but it is unclear if he will muster the 51 percent needed for an outright win. If no one gets a majority, the top two candidates will contest a runoff election in November.

Karzai, handpicked by Washington for the presidency, is a Pashtun, the country's largest ethnic group and its traditional rulers. Qanuni is a Tajik, from northeastern Afghanistan.

Analysts say voting in the divided and war-torn nation, where no elections have been held since the 1960s, could go mostly along ethnic lines, although Karzai has wide recognition.

But he is also criticized by many for being too pro-Washington. President Bush has cited Afghanistan as a foreign policy success and is a key ally.

U.S. Presses NATO To Take Over Afghan Operations

By JIM MANNION, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, POIANA BRASOV, Romania

The United States on Oct. 13 pressed its NATO allies to begin military planning for possibly taking over command of operations in Afghanistan from U.S. forces as early as next year.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld also was pushing the alliance to put NATO trainers on the ground in Iraq quickly, now that it has agreed on an expanded mission there, U.S. officials said.

U.S. ambassador to NATO Nicholas Burns said Oct. 12 that NATO defense ministers were likely at their informal meeting in Romania on Oct. 13 to instruct their military authorities to report back in February with options on how to merge the NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

"That’s the direction the alliance has been heading for many months now and it will likely be the result of tomorrow’s (Wednesday’s) discussion," Burns had told reporters here.

Germany immediately opposed any merger of U.S. and NATO forces in the volatile central Asian nation, setting the stage at the two-day meeting for another fractious debate over the alliance’s military role outside Europe.

Burns suggested Oct. 12 that U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan could be brought under NATO command quickly once the plans had been drawn up.

"It could be 2005, it could be 2006, it depends on how things go. It really depends on what the military leaders will tell us -- how would you do this, how difficult would it be, on what basis would it be," he said.

But German Defense Minister Peter Struck said NATO’s mandate in Afghanistan was to stabilize the country, not to fight international terrorism.

"Therefore, we are against a merger of the two mandates," he said.

Germany has 2,500 troops in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), making it one of biggest contributors to the 9,000-strong force. Separately, the United States has nearly 20,000 of its own troops in Afghanistan. They are still seeking to pacify the country’s southeastern border regions three years after the fall of the hard-line Islamic Taliban regime after a U.S.-led invasion.

Rumsfeld first floated the idea of having NATO taking over all military operations in Afghanistan in December 2003. But the idea has until now remained in the background while NATO struggles to expand its Afghan peacekeeping operation.

If NATO were to take the lead role in Afghanistan, it would relieve the stress on U.S. forces, which are tied down by the insurgency in Iraq. It also would mark a further expansion of NATO military commitments outside Europe.

But NATO has struggled to come up with the forces for even a modest expansion of the ISAF force.

It completed the first phase of an expansion of the force from Kabul to relatively trouble-free areas in northern Afghanistan just before the country’s Oct. 9 presidential election. But it has so far failed to carry out a planned expansion to the west.

"I know the U.S., Secretary Rumsfeld and others will be pushing for the European allies to put their men, women, materiel, assets into the west to establish these provincial reconstruction teams," Burns said Oct. 12.


DefenseNews.com

But German Defense Minister Peter Struck said NATO’s mandate in Afghanistan was to stabilize the country, not to fight international terrorism.

quote:

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Is this some kind of joke, that's exactly why these so called US allies went with us to Afghanistan, to fight the international war on terror. Getting Al-Queda (an international terrorist organization) was first and foremost. Unbelievable.

quote:

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Originally posted by Tours732:
A Salute to our Troops who are fighting in and around Afghanistan.

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Somewhere scratching their A____. NATO should take over the mission in Afghanistan. The US has done the hard part. They are not holding up their end of the mission as usual.

A bunch of cry babies. The European SOldiers do their duty outstanding. Its the politicians that are refusing to honor their obligation.

Afghanistan is supposed to be a worldwide joint operation. Every country agreed to provided humanitarian relief as well as security.

Where are they????

it did the heart good to see the good people of afganistan voting..it made me proud knowing how they are able to do that..sacrifices made my our men and women in uniform..so that another human being can have freedom..it doesnt get any better than that..the good people of iraq see that too and hope..you know they have got to be talking about it..and more of their freedoms coming if we just stay stedfast and be patient..
and dont pay any attention to the moron twofaced liar kerry
blairs having the same probem with his opponet

quote:

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“Having supported the war, having urged us to go to war, [he] is now trying to capitalize on anti-war sentiment to try to give himself credibility,” Blair said, to loud cheers of support from his own Labour Party lawmakers.

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quote:

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Originally posted by AzB:
blairs having the same probem with his opponet

quote:

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“Having supported the war, having urged us to go to war, [he] is now trying to capitalize on anti-war sentiment to try to give himself credibility,” Blair said, to loud cheers of support from his own Labour Party lawmakers.

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I heard this being played on NPR as I was awakening this morning...Blair really b|tch-slapped his political nemesis on that one!

Turkey To Send 1,800 Troops to Afghanistan

By BURAK EGE BEKDIL, ANKARA

The Turkish military will contribute an additional 1,800 troops to an international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan.

A senior Foreign Ministry official here said Oct. 14 that the troops will join the NATO-led International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan as Turkey takes over command of the force from Eurocorps in February.

“Sending more troops will be part of the task of taking over ISAF’s command,” the official said. “There is an understanding between the military and the government on sending troops to Afghanistan.”

The official said the entire contingent would come from the 3rd Army Corps, stationed in Istanbul.

Currently, 8,000 troops from 36 countries — including 240 from Turkey — comprise the ISAF.

Turkey previously commanded the ISAF for six months in 2002. Created in early 2002 by the United Nations to assist the new Afghan government, ISAF at first was led by individual nations for six-month rotations.

NATO took charge of the operation in August 2003. The five-nation Eurocorps military force began its six-month command Aug. 9 as the NATO-led ISAF expanded for the first time beyond Kabul to several other areas of Afghanistan.

DefenseNews.com

quote:

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Originally posted by bandydoo:
Where is NATO??

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NATO Rejects Single Afghan Command
France, Germany Reject US Plan to Fuse Afghan Commands

(Source: Voice of America; issued Oct. 13, 2004)

France and Germany have turned down a U.S. proposal that the NATO peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan and the bigger U.S.-led force fighting insurgents there be merged into one single command. No way! That was the French and German reaction to the U.S. suggestion that the two Afghan commands be unified.

NATO has about 9,000 troops in Afghanistan who are mainly engaged in peacekeeping and reconstruction work in Kabul, the capital, and some northern provinces. The alliance wants to move into the more troubled western part of the country and is calling on its members to commit troops and equipment for that operation.

The U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom has twice as many troops and is concentrated in Afghanistan’s southeastern provinces, where it is engaged in combat operations against remnants of the Taleban and al-Qaida.

French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie told reporters after the meeting that the two commands have different missions and that it would make no sense to unite them.

She says there is some sense in trying to create synergies between the two forces, but, for France, there is no logic to merging their operations.

Her German colleague Peter Struck also rejected the idea of a fusion of the two commands, saying German troops are in Afghanistan to help stabilize the country and not to fight terrorists.

NATO officials have been touting the idea that the two commands could be brought under one general, but maintain their separate missions. But Ms. Alliot-Marie dismissed even that suggestion, saying it would be counterproductive. She did not explain why.

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer urged the allies to provide NATO’s nascent training mission in Iraq with the instructors and additional personnel it needs so that the operation can be up-and-running by the time Iraqis hold elections next January.

But France reiterated its refusal to take part in the training mission, and German minister Struck backed away from a previous hint that his country might at some unspecified later date provide troops there. He was quickly slapped down by his own government, which has insisted it will not take part in any military operations in Iraq.

The flurry over Afghanistan overshadowed NATO’s announcement that its new rapid response force of 17,000 troops is ready to go into action. The force’s goal is to react to crises around the world in five days time.

2 Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan

God bless you fallen warriors...you're sacrifice will not be forgotten.

So... you mean Blair's opponent is John Kerry too? ;-)

"I supported the war"
"I am against this unjust war"

LOL

I guess every country has a few like him...

I do like how we're trying to pull Europe out of their shell. Maybe it'll pay off in a decade or so ;-)

"Common sense isn't."

quote:

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Originally posted by Gladewalker:
So... you mean Blair's opponent is John Kerry too? ;-)

"I supported the war"
"I am against this unjust war"

LOL

I guess every country has a few like him...

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Do you think France has one that's like the anti-Kerry?

quote:

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I do like how we're trying to pull Europe out of their shell. Maybe it'll pay off in a decade or so ;-)

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It may be too late for some of them...*cough*frogs*cough*.

Digging this one up

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1258-2004Oct27.html

The Associated Press
Wednesday, October 27, 2004; 5:22 AM


KABUL, Afghanistan - A bomb hit a U.S. military convoy in southeastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, injuring three American troops and an Afghan soldier, the military said.

The bomb exploded near the injured soldiers' Humvee near Qalat, the capital of Zabul province, a U.S. military statement said.

Two of the U.S. soldiers were evacuated to the American base at Kandahar for treatment. One had shrapnel injuries and one had a possible concussion. Both were in stable condition, the statement said.

The third American and a soldier from the Afghan National Army were treated at the scene for cuts.

The United States has some 17,000 troops in Afghanistan hunting remnants of the Taliban regime ousted three years ago as well as al-Qaida militants and followers of renegade warlords.

The soldiers come under regular attack in areas including Zabul, a lawless province on the Pakistani border, where U.S. forces say they have killed scores of militants this year.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A520-2004Oct26.html

By STEPHEN GRAHAM
The Associated Press
Tuesday, October 26, 2004; 9:42 PM


KABUL, Afghanistan - More than two weeks after Afghanistan's first presidential election, vote counting wrapped up Tuesday and interim leader Hamid Karzai emerged with a resounding victory.

With his inauguration to a five-year term a month away, the U.S.-backed Karzai already is under pressure to ditch his coalition with powerful warlords and tackle a booming narcotics industry that has become a major economic force in one of the world's poorest nations.

Officials declared the vote count complete Tuesday afternoon, giving some 1,500 weary staff at eight counting centers a well-earned rest in the middle of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan. Investigators were still examining about 100 suspect ballot boxes, but the election's chief technical officer said the count was effectively "over and done."

"It's just these last dribs and drabs to be approved," David Avery told The Associated Press. "It's really nothing that can affect the outcome."

Showing 98.4 percent of the votes counted, the Web site of the U.N.-Afghan election commission said Karzai had 55.5 percent of the votes, 39 points ahead of his closest rival, former Education Minister Yunus Qanooni.

An estimated 8.2 million ballots were cast in the historic vote Oct. 9, a turnout that U.S. and Afghan officials hailed as a nail in the coffin of the former ruling Taliban, whose threats to disrupt the election proved hollow.

Karzai, 47, a member of the Pashtun community, the largest ethnic group in this diverse and often divided country, portrayed himself as the best candidate to weld a unified Afghanistan.

He also promised to double the income of Afghans and pursue a reformist agenda that can finally begin to deliver basic services such as health and education to people impoverished by a quarter-century of fighting.

So far, the country's re-emergence - cities such as Kabul and Kandahar are in the grip of a real estate boom - appears to be founded more on lucrative drug exports than the legal economy.

Under pressure from the United States, Karzai is expected to announce a crackdown on refiners and traffickers who use Afghan opium poppies to supply most of the world's heroin.

"His mind is made up to do something, finally," a Western official who advises the Afghan government on counternarcotics policy said on condition of anonymity. "They know that this government will not survive if they don't take action."

Karzai must deal with the opium traffickers at the same time he grapples with regional leaders who still control much of the country with the help of private militias that have so far escaped a U.N.-sponsored disarmament drive.

Francesc Vendrell, the European Union's special representative, said Karzai took an important step before the election by excluding Defense Minister Mohammed Fahim, a powerful warlord, from his presidential ticket and then sidelining the most influential warlord in western Afghanistan, Ismail Khan.

"He's now got a mandate to have a reformist government," Vendrell told British Broadcasting Corp. radio, adding that the United States and European nations would support his efforts.

Election officials said formal confirmation of Karzai's victory could come by the weekend, when investigations into irregularities were expected to be complete and the election ruled "free and fair."

Karzai would then have until his swearing-in in late November to think about how to reorganize his Cabinet, which now contains a string of former militia leaders who helped the United States drive out the Taliban in late 2001.

Before his victory becomes official, investigators must clear the last of several hundred ballot boxes held back because of allegations of foul play on election day.

Ray Kennedy, deputy chairman of the joint U.N.-Afghan electoral commission, said Tuesday that some ballot boxes were "obviously stuffed" and would probably be disqualified. But he said the problems were not on a scale that could overturn Karzai's majority.

His remarks were an indication that the commission would officially acknowledge some irregularities in its final report - the key condition set by Karzai's closest rival for conceding defeat.

"If the fraud was not so serious, we would accept that Karzai has won," Qanooni's running mate, Taj Mohammed Wardak, told the AP.

"I hope there was not so much fraud so our democracy is safe. If it was serious, then we are sad and it will affect the election result. We will accept the conclusion" of the investigation.

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Associated Press writers Matthew Pennington and Amir Shah contributed to this report.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-10-28-afghan-kidnap_x.htm

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Armed men kidnapped three foreign election workers as they drove in a white sport utility vehicle in the Afghan capital on Thursday, the United Nations and Afghan officials said.
An election official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the victims were all women and were believed to include one Irish citizen and one Croatian.

U.N. spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva confirmed the abductions but declined to identify the victims or give their nationalities.

The motive for the attack was not clear, but Taliban rebels have in the past kidnapped Westerners, and the U.S. Embassy issued a warning earlier this month that abductions might be attempted surrounding the Oct. 9 presidential vote.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1015/p06s01-wosc.html

The Afghan rebels had threatened violence to disrupt Saturday's elections, but failed to deliver.

By Scott Baldauf | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Afghanistan's first ever presidential elections were an unmitigated disaster - if you're a hard-core Taliban fighter.
Far from staying away from the polls, the Afghan voters came out in droves. Instead of being intimidated by threats of violence, villagers walked for miles to the nearest voting station to give democracy a try. Worst of all, from a terrorist's perspective, the Taliban were unable to deliver on their promise to spread election-day mayhem. In fact, it was the calmest day in recent memory.

As the top US commander in Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. David Barno, put it, the Taliban "didn't show."


.......

This was really a major defeat for the taliban and al quaeda.

When there are elections in Iraq, the same will happen there. As well as in other places where we have a Military presence.

Denying the enemy the battlefield. What the Bush Administration and our Military have been doing.

If kerry were to win, all that would stop and the initiative would go to the enemy.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-10-31-afghan-kidnappings_x.htm


KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Militants released a video Sunday showing three frightened foreign U.N. hostages pleading for their released, and threatened to kill them unless United Nations and British troops leave Afghanistan and Muslim prisoners are freed from U.S. jails.
In the tape, the hostages — Annetta Flanigan of Northern Ireland, Filipino diplomat Angelito Nayan and Shqipe Habibi of Kosovo — are shown sitting hunched together against the bare wall of a room in an undisclosed location, answering questions from who is speaking to them in broken English from off camera.

Both women are crying, but the trio look to be healthy and unharmed.

The man repeatedly asks them why they have come to Afghanistan, then asks why America and NATO have sent troops to Afghanistan and Iraq.

I'm sure sKerry will find a way to spin this into his campaign over the next 48 hours.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15406-2004Nov1.html


By NOOR KHAN
The Associated Press
Monday, November 1, 2004; 9:13 AM


KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Afghan soldiers clashed with police in a gunbattle in southern Afghanistan on Monday, leaving several casualties and prompting U.S. forces to step in to restore order, police and witnesses said.

The 90-minute battle started after Afghan National Army troops disarmed police at a checkpoint and a bazaar in Qalat, the capital of Zabul province, said deputy police chief, Jailani Khan.

He insisted the army had no authority to disarm the police. The fighting subsided after U.S. forces arrived and took over security. He said there were some casualties, but he didn't know how many.

A shopkeeper who was reached by telephone from Kandahar said on condition of anonymity that he saw at least three dead bodies.

American helicopters were still circling above the city.

U.S. military spokesman confirmed there had been an incident in Qalat, but gave no details. Afghan army officials were not immediately available to comment.

Zabul is one of the most insecure provinces in the lawless reaches of southern and eastern Afghanistan, and has also been scene of heavy fighting in the past year between coalition forces and Taliban rebels.

The United States is helping to train the new national army, which is meant to gradually replace militia security forces usually loyal to local commanders.

Afghan army soldiers opened fire on provincial militiamen in the area of the Durai bazaar in Kandahar city on Monday morning, killing two of them and injuring one, said Khalid Pashtun, spokesman for the Kandahar governor.

He said the circumstances of that clash weren't yet clear and an investigation was underway.

Also, an ammunition depot at a compound used by Afghan army and U.S. special forces in the city exploded late Sunday, wounding three Afghan soldiers, Pashtun said.

It wasn't clear what caused the blast. No U.S. personnel were reported hurt.

Before the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001, the compound was used by the hardline regime's leader, Mullah Omar.


© 2004 The Associated Press

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15856-2004Nov1.html


By STEPHEN GRAHAM
The Associated Press
Monday, November 1, 2004; 12:27 PM


KABUL, Afghanistan - Militants attacked U.S. troops patrolling in southeastern Afghanistan on Monday, killing one American soldier and wounding two with gunfire and rockets, the military said.

In other violence Monday, Afghan soldiers clashed with police in the southern Zabul province and Afghan troops battled militiamen in the city of Kandahar, killing two, according to local officials.

The American patrol came under fire near Orgun, a town in Paktika province where U.S. troops man a base close to the Pakistani border, spokesman Maj. Mark McCann said.

The two wounded soldiers were rushed to a medical facility at another base in neighboring Khost province, where they were in stable condition, McCann said.

"The patrol received small arms fire and RPG fire," McCann said. "Unfortunately, one U.S. soldier was killed and two wounded."

None of the soldiers was identified.

In Zabul province, Afghan soldiers exchanged fire with police, leaving several casualties and prompting U.S. forces to step in to restore order, police and witnesses said.

The 90-minute gun battle started after Afghan National Army troops disarmed police at a checkpoint and a bazaar in Qalat, the provincial capital, said deputy police chief, Jailani Khan.

He insisted the army had no authority to disarm the police. The fighting subsided after U.S. forces arrived and took over security. He said there were some casualties, but he didn't know how many.

A shopkeeper who was reached by telephone from Kandahar said on condition of anonymity that he saw at least three bodies.

American helicopters were still circling above the city.

U.S. military spokesman confirmed there had been an incident in Qalat, but gave no details. Afghan army officials were not immediately available to comment.

Zabul is one of the most insecure provinces in the lawless reaches of southern and eastern Afghanistan, and has also been scene of heavy fighting in the past year between coalition forces and Taliban rebels.

The United States is helping to train the new national army, which is meant to gradually replace militia security forces usually loyal to local commanders.

In a third incident Monday, Afghan army soldiers opened fire on provincial militiamen in the area of the Durai bazaar in Kandahar city, killing two of them and wounding one, said Khalid Pashtun, spokesman for the Kandahar governor.

He said the circumstances of the clash were still unclear and an investigation was under way.

Also, an ammunition depot at a compound used by Afghan army and U.S. special forces in the city exploded late Sunday, wounding three Afghan soldiers, Pashtun said.

It wasn't clear what caused the blast. No U.S. personnel were reported hurt.

Before the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001, the compound was used by the hardline regime's leader, Mullah Omar.

The latest violence brought to at least 109 the number of U.S. soldiers killed in and around Afghanistan since the launch of Operation Enduring Freedom after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Fifty-eight of the Americans were killed in action, according to a tally on the Web site of the U.S. Department of Defense, while the rest died in accidents.

Most recently, Cpl. Billy Gomez died last Wednesday of injuries from an Oct. 20 bomb attack on his vehicle in the same province as Monday's assault.

An airmen was killed Oct. 20 when his helicopter crashed in western Afghanistan on a mission to evacuate an injured election worker. The military said a technical problem brought down the aircraft.

http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,FL_afghan_110404,00.html


U.S.-led forces killed four suspected militants described as "bad guys" in a pre-dawn raid Thursday on a compound in south-central Afghanistan, a military official said.

The raid was carried out in Deh Rawood, one of the most insurgency-hit districts in Uruzgan province, U.S. military spokesman Major Mark McCann said.

"Four anti-coalition militia were killed and one was wounded," he told AFP.

The injured suspect was detained by the troops.

McCann said the militants "were bad people -- they were not good guys." But he would not elaborate on the reason for the violent raid.

http://www.defendamerica.mil/articles/nov2004/a110504d.html


Coalition medical personnel bring much-needed medical
assistance to refugee camp on the outskirts of Kabul.

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 5, 2004 — Coalition medical personnel of the Kabul Compound Medical Clinic brought much-needed medical care to the residents of Sia Sang Kaita during a recent assistance mission. The town was once a thriving community, but it has now become a ramshackle refugee camp on the outskirts of the Afghan capital.

As coalition members unloaded supplies and set up the mobile clinic in a small courtyard and adjoining brick and mud dwelling, word began to spread that the Americans had come to bring medical aid to the camp. A small crowd soon began to form.

"Most of these people have never seen hospitals or doctors," said U.S. Army Spc. Timothy Laynor, a 25th Infantry Division medic assigned to Kabul Compound. "This is my eighth mission and the third refugee camp I have been in."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-11-07-afghan-un-hostages_x.htm


KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Militants threatening to kill three kidnapped U.N. workers said Sunday they handed over a list of 26 prisoners, some possibly held by the United States at Guantanamo Bay, who they would take in exchange for the hostages.
A purported spokesman for the Taliban splinter group claiming to hold the three foreigners also said it might drop its other demands, which include a U.N. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

...

Won't happen and this should make it clear once and for all that one must never "negotiate" with terrorists. Never.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3995759.stm


The people of one ramshackle village near Khost in eastern Afghanistan were effusive in their thanks to the United States troops.
Their village school had been nothing more than a blackboard in a courtyard.

Then the locally based US forces gave them money for a well-equipped, stone-built school.

Clutching a thick wad of banknotes, the first half of the $12,000 cost, the village teacher spoke earnestly to the US Marine captain in charge of the project.

"Please don't go back to America until the new school is finished," she said. The school was ready in less than a month.

...

Our way IS better. A LOT better. It is plain to see that the NGOs are scared sh.itless because they understand that we have taken over their turf and there is nothing they can do about it.

NATO Chief Affirms Expansion of Security Force in West of Country

(Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; issued Nov. 12, 2004)

NEW YORK --- NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said yesterday that the current situation in Afghanistan makes it logistically viable for the alliance to expand its operations there.

“We have lived up to our promises, and at the moment the signs are good that NATO is going to expand ISAF -- the International Security Assistance Force -- into the west of Afghanistan,” de Hoop Scheffer said. “We have covered the north now with a number of so-called Provincial Reconstruction Teams. We will now go west, setting up what we call a ‘forward support base’ in Herat, and then we want to move counterclockwise to the south and the southeast of Afghanistan, as well.”

De Hoop Scheffer said that NATO’s forces in the country have, in general, been received well by the Afghan people. Asked why NATO, originally created to provide security for Western Europe, is now operating in Afghanistan, the secretary-general said the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 brought about a major shift in NATO policy.

“What is NATO doing in Afghanistan? Defending values at the Hindu Kush in the present day international climate,” Scheffer said. “We have to fight terrorism wherever it emerges. If we don’t do it at the Hindu Kush, it will end up at our doorstep. In other words, this perception gap in the long run must be closed and must be healed -- that is, for NATO’s future, of the utmost importance.”

Another priority for NATO in Afghanistan, he said, will be providing additional security during parliamentary elections, scheduled for April. The secretary-general said that extra NATO battalions will be committed.

De Hoop Scheffer described NATO’s operations in Afghanistan as a “moderate success.” But he warned that without deeper involvement by the international community in the fight against drug production and drug trafficking in Afghanistan, NATO’s ability to ensure the country’s stability will be limited.

Referring to Afghanistan’s neighbors, de Hoop Scheffer underlined the strategic role the Central Asian states play in the fight against terrorism. Having just returned from a trip to Central Asia and the Caucasus, de Hoop Scheffer said he envisions closer cooperation with these states.

“We need, by the way, Central Asian nations, and the Caucasian nations [to] play an important role in supporting the ISAF operation because we need the lines of communication -- to say in military terms -- [and] transit agreements with the Central Asians, to see that we can adequately run the ISAF operation in Afghanistan,” Scheffer said.

De Hoop Scheffer said Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia have all expressed interest in closer cooperation with NATO in its Partnership for Peace program.

“They all want to extend their partnership with NATO. Even Armenia has now applied for the so-called Individual Partnership Action Program, which means that we are going to develop a tailored, Armenia-tailored partnership program with that country, with Yerevan,” Scheffer said. “That goes for the Central Asian nations, as well. So that partnership is developing very well.”

De Hoop Scheffer stressed that Turkey is playing a particularly active role in the Partnership for Peace program.