Taliban target NATO convoy in Afghanistan

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natoPress TV / September 24, 2017

Taliban militants have targeted a military convoy of Danish NATO forces in the Afghan capital of Kabul. There have been no reports of casualties among the foreign forces but at least three civilians have sustained injuries.

Afghan officials said the incident took place early on Sunday when a bomber attacked a NATO convoy in the fifth district of Kabul.

“Around 11:02 am, a suicide car bomber detonated himself, targeted a convoy of foreign forces near Afshar neighborhood of Kabul city,” Najib Danish, the interior ministry spokesman, told AFP. “Unfortunately as a result of the attack, three Afghan civilians were wounded.”

The Afghan Tolo News television channel and Reuters, however, put the number of civilian casualties at five.

Captain William Salvin, a spokesman for the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan, confirmed the attack on the military convoy and said that there had been no victims among the servicemen.

In a message posted on Twitter, the Taliban claimed to have killed and injured up to 16 American soldiers in Sunday’s bomb attack.

More than 16 years after a US-led invasion of Afghanistan, security remains fragile. The US-led forces transferred security responsibilities to Afghan forces in 2014, although some 13,000 NATO soldiers, most of them from the US, are still stationed in Afghanistan.

The Taliban, which ruled the country before the 2001 invasion, are reportedly overrunning territory in the south and north.

The Takfiri terrorist group Daesh has also recently emerged in Afghanistan.

US President Donald Trump has allowed the deployment of another 4,000 US troops in Afghanistan and has repeatedly urged other NATO members to contribute more.

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US training mission in Afghanistan failure from onset: SIGAR

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sigarPress TV
September 23,  2017

An American government watchdog has found several serious flaws in the fifteen-year-old US training mission in Afghanistan that has ultimately designed a force unable to provide security in the Asian country.

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) issued a 283-page report, which concluded that the mission was a failure from the onset.

The report outlined several key problems with the Pentagon mission, which was plagued by a failure to understand the full “complexities and scale of the mission.”

The SIGAR report explained that Washington has failed to help Afghanistan in building proper security forces that could protect the country from “internal and external threats and prevent the country from becoming a terrorist safe haven.”

“Providing advanced Western weapons and management systems to a largely illiterate and uneducated force without appropriate training and institutional infrastructure created long-term dependencies, required increased US fiscal support, and extended sustainability timelines,” it added.

Among other key problems listed in the report was that US authorities had no initial plans to construct any security institutions.

The establishment of the national army and police was “ultimately undermined” by “partnerships with independent militias,” it found.

The SIGAR report further said that American and NATO instructors sent to the Afghanistan were themselves undertrained and undermanned. SIGAR inspector general John Sopko said that one US officer watched TV shows “to learn what he should teach.”

At one point, according to the report, training for police officials used Power Point slides from US and NATO operations in the Balkans.

“Such cut-and-paste activities, lifted from one country and slapped onto another like a decal, are not likely to boost the prospects for overall success,” Sopko said.

“In eastern Afghanistan, we met a US Army helicopter pilot assigned to teach policing,” he said.

More than 100,000 Afghan police were trained by US Army pilots, infantry officers, and civilian contractors, according to the report.

The mission, which still continues, has cost the US some $70 billion since 2002, according to SIGAR, which said Washington is still spending more than $4 billion a year.

The report, however, warned that tens of billions of dollars could be wasted unless changes are made in the training of local security forces.

The US started sending its troops to Afghanistan about 16 years ago to defeat the Taliban terrorists. The combat operations against the Taliban officially ended in 2014, but more than 8,000 US Special Forces still remain in the country.

US President Donald Trump, who repeatedly called for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan during the administration of former president Barack Obama, modified his stance during his 2016 presidential campaign. Last month, he even decided to send more than 3,000 extra troops to the country.

Sixteen years after the US-led invasion in to the country, which ousted the Taliban terrorist group, security is still deteriorating. While the  Afghan government only controls half of the country, the Taliban has made significant gains and is said to control more territory now than at any other time.

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Herat Man Arrested After Throwing Shoes At Hekmatyar

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Gulbuddin Hekmatyar

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar

Tolo News: Ulema council members said using a mosque for political campaigns was unacceptable and that mosques were to be used only for praying. The young man who threw his shoes at Hizb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar in Herat on Friday, during an event at a mosque, was arrested by security forces on Saturday. Click here to read more (external link).

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SIGAR report puts Afghan security deficiencies in focus

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afghan_securityAl Jazeera: Trump and Ghani hold talks in New York as report says US approach to Afghanistan lacked ‘whole of government approach’. Deficiencies in Afghanistan’s security forces, including the military and police, are getting renewed attention as the US administration considers sending more than 3,000 additional troops to the country.  Click here to read more (external link).

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Pakistan’s New Leader Criticizes U.S. Policy While Praising China In UN Speech

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Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
September 22, 2017

Pakistan’s new prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, in his first address before the UN General Assembly, rejected the new U.S. war strategy in neighboring Afghanistan while praising China’s growing economic role in the region.

An important component of the White House’s recently unveiled strategy to try to win the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan is a threat to withdraw aid and other support for Pakistan if Islamabad does not shut down what U.S. officials say are Afghan Taliban “safe havens” on its territory.

“Taliban ‘safe havens’ are located not in Pakistan, but in the large tracts of territory controlled by the Taliban in Afghanistan,” Abassi said on September 21, repeating Islamabad’s warning that Pakistani was “not prepared to be anyone’s scapegoat.”

Abassi said Islamabad was ready to work with Kabul to “end all cross-border attacks,” and it will continue pursuing its domestic war against terrorists, which he claimed had “cleared out tribal areas of almost all militant groups” at the cost of thousands of civilian and military lives.

“What Pakistan is not prepared to do is to fight the Afghan war on Pakistan’s soil. Nor can we endorse any failed strategy that will prolong and intensify the suffering of the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan,” he said.

“Apart from the people of Afghanistan, Pakistan and its people have suffered the most from four decades of foreign intervention and civil wars in Afghanistan,” he said. “These wars have blighted our country with the flow of extremists and terrorists, guns and drugs as well as an influx of millions of refugees.”

“Having suffered and sacrificed so much,” he said, “it is especially galling for Pakistan to be blamed for the military or political stalemate in Afghanistan.”

Abassi asserted that neither side of the Afghan conflict will be able to win the war through military might, making peace negotiations the only way to end the 16-year conflict.

“No one desires peace in Afghanistan more than Pakistan,” he said, noting that his country currently hosts over 3 million refugees from Afghanistan.

While criticizing White House policies in his speech without specifically naming the United States or U.S. President Donald Trump, Abassi spoke with warmth about China’s leader and Beijing’s growing role fostering economic growth in his country and the South Asian region.

“The vision of shared growth spelled out in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road initiative offers a solid path to prosperity and a model of South-South cooperation worthy of emulation,” he said.

“Pakistan’s economy has recorded a remarkable revival in the past four years. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will further contribute to our economic upsurge,” he said.

“This will expand exponentially as the Pakistan-China partnership extends beyond energy and transportation to many other sectors,” he said. “Pakistan’s integration into the Eurasian Belt and Road network will provide a firm foundation for Pakistan’s rapid economic development.”

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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Afghanistan Beats Uzbekistan 4-2 In Ashgabat Futsal Match

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sports

Tolo News: Afghanistan’s National Futsal Team beat Uzbekistan 4-2 in their third match in the fifth Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat on Wednesday.  Uzbekistan, a fierce opponent, had been listed as among the top two winners at last year’s games.  Afghanistan will play the United Arab Emirates on Friday in the last of their group match.  The Afghan squad has so far beaten China 6-1 and Maldives 6-1. Click here to read more (external link).

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Pakistan Wants ‘Zero’ Political or Military Role for India in Afghanistan

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Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi

VOA News
September 21, 2017

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has vowed to remain engaged with the United States in fighting regional terrorism and stabilizing Afghanistan, but said “any political or military” role for its archenemy India in the war-torn country will be unacceptable for Islamabad.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi made the remarks late Wednesday during a public talk at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

While outlining his long-awaited “new strategy” for the Afghan war and South Asia last month, U.S. President Donald Trump advocated for a greater role for New Delhi in Afghanistan despite Islamabad’s long running objection.

“If they [India] want to do economic assistance, that’s their prerogative, but there’s no — we don’t accept or see any role politically or militarily for India in Afghanistan,” Abbasi asserted. “I think it will just complicate the situation and it will not resolve anything,” warned the Pakistani prime minister.

Islamabad alleges the Indian intelligence agency is partnering with Afghan security institutions to fund and plot terrorist attacks against Pakistan through fugitive anti-state militants.

Kabul and New Delhi deny the charges.

Abbasi-Pence meeting

Pakistani officials said Abbasi also raised his country’s objections over India’s proposed role in his talks with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

The meeting was the highest contact between Washington and Islamabad since Trump announced his “new strategy” in his August 21 speech. He accused Pakistan of harboring terrorists staging deadly attacks against American forces in Afghanistan despite receiving billions of U.S. dollars in financial assistance.

In a Twitter post after the meeting, Pence said he reiterated President Trump’s “belief” that “Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with our effort” in the region.”

While speaking at the Council, Prime Minister Abbasi repeated Pakistan’s resolve to promote a peaceful settlement to the Afghan conflict, saying Pakistani security forces have destroyed all sanctuaries on its soil that were allegedly being used to wage cross-border attacks.

“This perception that there are sanctuaries is absolutely not correct… We have destroyed the sanctuaries. And today the cross-border incursions, if they happen, are from Afghanistan into Pakistan to attack our forces,” Abbasi asserted.

Ghani calls for ‘comprehensive’ dialogue 

Speaking separately at the Asia Society in New York hours earlier on Wednesday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani suggested Pakistan was not doing enough to counter terrorism and prevent Taliban insurgents from using Pakistani sanctuaries to plot terrorism against his country.

Ghani reiterated his offer of a “comprehensive” dialogue to Pakistani leaders for resolving the differences and promoting peace. He praised President Trump’s policy for Islamabad to become a “responsible stakeholder” in the fight against terrorism.

The Afghan leader has been insisting on having a peace dialogue with Pakistan he believes will eventually end the Taliban insurgency in his country.

Pakistani leaders dismiss those assertions and maintain Kabul needs to initiate talks with insurgents under an “Afghan owned and Afghan-led” peace process and Islamabad will make all possible efforts to facilitate it.

Singling out Pakistan by Kabul and Washington for the Afghan crisis is an attempt, say officials in Islamabad, to divert attention from security and political “failures” in Afghanistan.

“It is a unique opportunity for the leadership of Pakistan to discuss with us the legacy of the past in a determination not to repeat the past but to overcome the past,” said the Afghan president.

“So, here is the opportunity. If Pakistan does not take this opportunity I think they will pay a hard price,” Ghani warned but did not elaborate.

US stance

President Trump also has warned that Washington will not remain silent if Islamabad does not move against the alleged terrorist sanctuaries.

Kabul says Islamabad supports the Islamist Taliban and its partner, the dreaded Haqqani network, in a bid to influence Afghan affairs to counter India’s growing role in the war-shattered country.

Afghan leaders, however, dismiss as unfounded Pakistani concerns about India’s growing ties with Afghanistan and maintain no one will be allowed to use their territory against any country.

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Afghanistan’s Ghani Welcomes New U.S. ‘Resolve’ To Win War In UN Address

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Ghani (left) and Trump (right)

Ghani (left) and Trump (right)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

September 20, 2017

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has said he welcomes U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed resolve to win the war against the Taliban and called his country “the front lines” in the global war against terrorism in a speech before the United Nations.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly on September 19, Ghani also appealed to neighboring Pakistan to engage in a “comprehensive state-to-state dialogue of peace, security, and regional cooperation leading to prosperity.”

“There are over 20 international terrorist groups with an imposed presence on Afghan soil. The future of Afghanistan matters because we are on the front lines of the global effort to eradicate the threat of terrorism,” he said.

“Though we may be on the front lines, the threat knows no boundaries. For terrorist groups who are harbored in the region, an attack in Kabul and an attack in Brussels, Paris, Barcelona, London, or anywhere else are equal victories,” he said.

“President Trump’s new strategy includes the disruption and denial of sanctuary to terrorists whose motives know no boundaries,” he said.

“We welcome this strategy, which has now set us on a pathway to certainty. The Afghan people have looked to the United States for this type of resolve for years,” Ghani said.

“The strategy consolidates all instruments of American power, conveying a message that the Taliban and their backers cannot win militarily. Only through political settlement can we achieve enduring peace,” he said.

Ghani called on the Taliban, Pakistan, and all other neighbors and parties to the conflict to join negotiations aimed at forging peace.

“The Afghan government has proven that we are committed to peace…as demonstrated by the peace agreement with Hezb-i Islami,” he said.

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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Afghan Air Force Receives First U.S.-Made Black Hawk Helicopters

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helicopterRadio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
September 19, 2017

The Afghan Air Force (AAF) has received its first U.S.-made UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters as part of a planned replacement of its aging fleet of Russian-made helicopters.

“The first Afghan Air Force UH-60s arrived today at Kandahar Air Field” in southern Afghanistan, the NATO-led Resolute Support mission said in a statement posted on Facebook late on September 18.

“The AAF is transitioning from the Mi-17 to the UH-60 as part of recapitalization efforts to modernize the helicopter fleet,” it added.

Reports say the United States plans to supply as many as 159 refurbished Black Hawks to Afghanistan in the coming years to replace Afghanistan’s Soviet-era Mi-17s, whose age makes them increasingly difficult to maintain.

Bolstering the Afghan Air Force is a central part of President Ashraf Ghani’s four-year road map to improve the country’s security forces as the government is struggling to beat back insurgents in the wake of the exit of most NATO forces in 2014.

A U.S. report found earlier this year that the Taliban controls or contests control of about 40 percent of the country, and security forces are also fighting against militants affiliated with the extremist group Islamic State (IS).

More U.S. Troops On Way

Also on September 19, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said most of the 3,000 additional troops the United States is deploying to Afghanistan are on their way.

Mattis told Pentagon reporters that he didn’t want to give precise numbers but said he was sending “over 3,000” troops to Afghanistan, where they will bolster the approximately 11,000 American forces already there.

“Most of them are on their way or under orders now, and I’d prefer not to give any more information that helps the enemy,” he added.

U.S. President Donald Trump last month announced a new Afghanistan strategy he said was aimed at defeating the Taliban after nearly 16 years of war.

Defense officials say the president’s new strategy for Afghanistan will try to repeat the success of U.S. efforts over the past two years to strengthen Iraqi security forces against the Islamic State group with better training, logistical support, and the battlefield backup of U.S. artillery, and air strikes on enemy positions.

The United States is also pressing for NATO partners to increase their own troop levels in Afghanistan.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, dpa, and RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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