US seeks European
funds, troops for Afghanistan
by Patrick Rahir
July 1, 2009
BERLIN (AFP) – Europe must commit more funds and troops to
stabilise Afghanistan after the August presidential elections, the
US envoy to NATO Ivo Daalder said Wednesday.
"The US is doing its part -- Europe and Germany can and should
do more," Daalder told a conference on transatlantic relations in
Berlin.
"Additional troops (sent to Afghanistan to provide security
during the elections) must stay after the elections."
Daalder said the United States estimated 17 billion dollars was
needed to train and equip the Afghan army and two billion dollars
per year to sustain it.
"There is no way Afghanistan can pay for its force," he said,
noting that the Afghan government had taken in about 750 million
dollars in revenues last year.
He said the United States would pay 5.5 billion dollars this
year and 7.5 billion dollars next year but said it was crucial
that Europe make up the difference.
"This is a weakness in our effort that we cannot afford," he
said, adding that more training for Afghan police was also
essential.
Daalder noted that the United States had consulted with
European allies "for two months" in redefining its strategy in
Afghanistan and incorporated several of their demands including a
stronger focus on reconstruction and diplomacy.
He said it was now up to the allies to reciprocate by stepping
up to the plate.
The German government's special envoy to Afghanistan and
Pakistan, Bernd Muetzelburg, acknowledged at the conference that
Europe had a bigger role to play but that financial constraints
made this difficult to realise.
"Obviously the Europeans will have to do more," he said. "In
this financial crisis it is not going to be easy."
Between 8,000 and 10,000 international troops are to join the
around 60,000-strong NATO-led military force in Afghanistan for
August 20 presidential elections, the alliance has said.
NATO recently launched an anti-insurgent drive to dislodge
Taliban militants from their strongholds ahead of the polls.
The insurgency has gained pace in recent weeks, raising fears
for the security of Afghanistan's second ever presidential ballot.
There are about 90,000 foreign troops -- mostly from the United
States -- stationed in Afghanistan to battle the Taliban and help
train Afghan forces.
The polls, for president and provincial councils, are seen as a
test of international efforts to help spread democracy in
Afghanistan, but they come as Taliban-led violence has reached
record highs there.
Thousands of mostly US troops are moving in to provide security
for the elections and to reinforce the turbulent south, a Taliban
stronghold.
In remarks published Wednesday, NATO's outgoing top commander,
General John Craddock, had a few parting shots for Europe as he
formally handed over his post, criticising the continent's
engagement in Afghanistan.
The US general told Germany's Stuttgarter Zeitung that European
leaders often used critical public opinion "as an excuse not to
forge ahead" in hotspots such as Afghanistan.
Taking aim in particular at Germany's mandate in Afghanistan
which places restrictions on the use of military force, Craddock
said: "Unfortunately we have far too many limitations in
Afghanistan," in remarks published in German.
He said the debate over the use of military force was often
driven by opinion polls among voters "regardless of whether they
are informed or not."
Admiral James Stavridis took over from Craddock as head of the
US European Command (EUCOM) at a ceremony Tuesday at its
headquarters in the southwestern German city of Stuttgart attended
by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates.
Obama aide says no more troops to
Afghanistan
Wed Jul 1, 6:32 am ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama's top security
adviser has told U.S. military commanders there are no plans to
send more troops to Afghanistan for now and that the focus instead
will be on economic development and reconstruction, The Washington
Post reported on Tuesday.
National Security Adviser James Jones delivered that message
last week in Afghanistan, where Marine Brigadier General Lawrence
Nicholson hinted he could use more "thousands more" troops, the
newspaper said.
Jones' message seemed designed to cap expectations that more
troops might be coming, although the Obama administration has not
ruled out additional deployments in the future, the Post said.
"This will not be won by the military alone," Jones told the
Post during his trip. "We tried that for six years."
"The piece of the strategy that has to work in the next year is
economic development. If that is not done right, there are not
enough troops in the world to succeed."
An extra 17,000 troops Obama deployed to fight a growing
Taliban-led insurgency in southern and western Afghanistan were
expected to be on the ground by mid-July. Another 4,000 troops
being deployed to train Afghan security forces are due to arrive
by August.
The forces are part of a build-up that could expand the U.S.
military presence in Afghanistan to 68,000 troops by the end of
this year, more than double the 32,000 at the end of 2008.
The Post said Jones made it clear during his visit to
Afghanistan that it was a new era and Obama will not automatically
give military commanders whatever force levels they request, a
departure from the practice of the Bush administration in the Iraq
war.
(Editing by John O'Callaghan)
Q+A-The new U.S.
strategy in Afghanistan
By Jonathon Burch
KABUL, July 1 (Reuters) - Concrete signs of Washington's new
strategy for Afghanistan are taking shape with the final elements
of some 8,500 U.S. Marines arriving in southern Helmand province,
a Taliban stronghold, to bolster over-stretched British forces.
The Marines are the biggest single wave of an additional 17,000
extra U.S. troops and 4,000 more to train Afghan forces ordered by
President Barack Obama, who has identified Afghanistan as his main
military priority.
U.S. troop numbers will rise to 68,000 by year's end, more than
double the 32,000 at the end of 2008.
Former special operations chief General Stanley McChrystal has
meanwhile taken command of the present 90,000 U.S. and NATO troops
with the Pentagon saying it is time for "fresh thinking".
Following are questions and answers about the new strategy and
the main areas McChrystal wants to address.
WHAT IS THE COMMAND STRUCTURE?
McChrystal has a second-in-command in a newly created post.
Lieutenant General David Rodriguez is in charge of the day-to-day
running of foreign forces in Afghanistan. This mirrors the
structure used in Iraq by General David Petraeus, now commander of
U.S. forces in central Asia and the Middle East.
This allows McChrystal to focus on strategy, diplomacy and
training Afghan security forces. He and Rodriguez have been close
friends for more than 30 years.
McChrystal has also beefed up his media strategy, calling Rear
Admiral Greg Smith out of retirement. Smith coordinated
communications in Iraq for Petraeus.
COUNTER-INSURGENCY OR CONVENTIONAL WARFARE?
Since taking over last month, McChrystal has told commanders in
Afghanistan he wants a "cultural shift" away from conventional
warfare towards counter-insurgency operations aimed at winning the
support of Afghans.
His predecessor General David McKiernan was removed, most
experts believe, because Washington was losing patience with
conventional tactics that failed to quell mounting violence.
McChrystal has said most forces in Afghanistan were designed
for conventional "high-intensity" combat using every asset
available. One of his priorities now will be to draw insurgents
away from ordinary Afghans, saying foreign forces need "to
convince people, not kill them".
That would make the new Afghan strategy similar to that
Patraeus used in Iraq under the so-called surge from early 2007.
If McChrystal follows that pattern, the Marines will push out of
large base camps to establish smaller forward operating bases, or
FOBs, to live and fight among ordinary Afghans.
The same strategy might also see the use of community-based
guard forces along the lines of tribal councils that sprang up
among Sunni Muslim communities in western Iraq at roughly the same
time as the surge, a major turning point in the war there.
WHAT ABOUT CIVILIAN CASUALTIES?
McChrystal has repeatedly pledged to take steps to limit
civilian casualties, especially from air strikes, which have
infuriated Afghans and turned them against foreign forces.
He is expected to issue orders soon requiring troops to
disengage from combat when possible to reduce civilian deaths. He
also says air strikes should only be called in if soldiers on the
ground are under imminent threat and at risk of being over-run.
The issue was brought into sharp focus in May when U.S. B1
bombers killed dozens of civilians in western Afghanistan.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN TARGETS?
McChrystal used to command JSOC, the most elite and secretive
branch of the U.S. military's special forces tasked with hunting
down "high-value targets" in Iraq and Afghanistan.
His men are believed to have helped capture Saddam Hussein and
kill both of Saddam's sons.
McChrystal has said killing or capturing high value-targets
would still be part of the strategy in Afghanistan but he has also
said he understands it has its limits.
"You don't really need to chase and kill the Taliban. What you
need to do is take away the one thing they absolutely have to have
and that's access and support of the people," he said.
Security
developments in Afghanistan
July 1 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in
Afghanistan at 1130 GMT on Wednesday.
KUNAR - Three members of a family, including two children, were
killed and four wounded when a rocket hit a house in eastern Kunar
province, a provincial official said. It was not clear who fired
the rocket.
GHAZNI - Four Taliban insurgents were killed while planting a
landmine in Ghazni province, southwest of Kabul, overnight, the
interior ministry said.
HERAT - One policeman was killed and three wounded when their
checkpoint was attacked by insurgents in Rabaat Sangee district,
close to the border with Iran and Turkmenistan, on Tuesday night,
said Herat security spokesman Samanwal Nourkhan Nikzad. A
spokesman for Harakat-ul Mujahedin, a new Herat-based militant
group which says its is a Taliban offshoot, said they killed six
police officers and captured six more. Nikzad denied their claim.
(Reporting by Sayed Salahuddin and Sharafuddin Sharafyar;
Editing by Paul Tait)
US, NATO losing in
Afghanistan, Ashdown says
Press TV / July 1, 2009
A top British diplomat says that all foreign troops are losing
in Afghanistan because their leaders do not know how to handle the
war.
"We're losing," Paddy Ashdown, the former British
representative for Bosnia, said on Tuesday.
He also added the US- and NATO-led coalition faced defeat
unless operational changes were made.
"We're on our way to losing and our young men are dying out
there because politicians won't get their act together," according
to Ashdown.
He argued that the British seem to think Helmand province is
the biggest problem, while the Dutch focus on Oruzgan, another
province, the Canadians on Kandahar, the Germans on another
portion in the north of the country and the US troops on a
different set of priorities.
"Everyone is pulling in different directions and that's the
worst threat in Afghanistan there is," said the former member of
Britain's Royal Marines.
US President Barack Obama is ramping up Washington's presence
in Afghanistan, sending up to 20,000 additional troops.
There are around 90,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, 57,000
of them from the US military and the remainder from more than 40
nations from Britain to Bulgaria.
Pakistanis turn
on
Taliban, but resent U.S. -poll
* Opinion poll shows big swing against Pakistani Taliban
* Overwhelmingly negative views of U.S., Obama also seen
* Pakistanis express opposition to the war in Afghanistan
By Paul Eckert, Asia Correspondent
WASHINGTON, July 1 (Reuters) - Public opinion in Pakistan has
turned sharply against the Taliban and other Islamist militants
but Pakistanis still do not trust the United States and President
Barack Obama, a poll showed on Wednesday.
The WorldPublicOpinion.org poll, conducted last month as
Pakistan's army fought the Taliban in the Swat Valley, found that
most Pakistanis see the Pakistani Taliban and al Qaeda as a
critical threat to the nuclear-armed country.
Those Pakistanis who view Islamist militants and local Taliban
as a critical threat to their country rose to 81 percent, up from
34 percent in a similar poll in late 2007, the University of
Maryland polling project found.
Respondents who described al Qaeda's activities as a critical
threat to Pakistan rose 41 percentage points to 82 percent in the
same period.
The findings were based on face-to-face interviews of 1,000
adults in the Urdu language across Pakistan from May 17-28. The
findings have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage
points, the University of Maryland polling group said.
The university's Program on International Policy Attitudes
conducts polls around the world.
In the poll, seventy percent voiced sympathy for their
government over the Pakistani Taliban in the fight for Swat, a
scenic district near Pakistan's capital that was overrun by
Islamist militants earlier this year.
Seventy-two percent said they were confident Pakistan's army
could handle the situation.
WIDESPREAD REVULSION
The shift in Pakistani public opinion on Islamist militants
operating within Pakistan represented a "sea change" caused by
"widespread revulsion" at brutal tactics and undemocratic policies
of the Taliban when they briefly controlled Swat, poll research
director Clay Ramsay said in a statement.
He added that the poll indicated "the U.S. is resented just as
much as before, despite the U.S. having a new president."
Sixty-two percent of those questioned expressed low or no
confidence that Obama would do the right thing in world affairs.
Only 32 percent stated they thought his policies would be better
for Pakistan than predecessor George W. Bush's policies.
U.S. drone attacks on militant camps within Pakistan were
called unjustified by 82 percent of those in the poll.
Large majorities opposed all aspects of the U.S.-led war in
neighboring Afghanistan.
On Afghanistan, 61 percent said it would be bad if the Taliban
took over that country, while 87 percent said Taliban groups who
seek to overthrow the Afghan government should not be permitted to
have bases in Pakistan.
Obama's election did not boost the popularity in Pakistan of
the United States or U.S. policies, the poll indicated.
Seventy-two percent disapproved of the war in Afghanistan and
79 percent wanted it ended now, while 86 percent disapproved of
Obama's decision to more than double the number of U.S. troops in
that country, to 68,000, by the end of 2009.
Asked about Obama's goals, 93 percent agreed with the view that
he sought to impose American culture on the Islamic world, and 90
percent supported the notion that he wanted to weaken and divide
the Muslim world, the survey showed.
(Editing by Will Dunham)
Bad Security a
Hurdle for Female Hopefuls
Shakeela Abrahimkhil
Quqnoos / July 1, 2009
Two female contenders for Afghan presidential elections
complain that the deteriorated security situation challenges their
campaigns
Shahla Atta and Frozan Fana, the only two female presidential
candidates urged Afghan government to provide a satisfied security
situation to enable them to launch their campaigns in the outskirt
of Kabul city.
“I cannot visit the districts because of the serious security
threat, Shahla Atta expressed her concerns over the situation that
hurdles her campaigns.
The Taliban militants have intensified their attacks to a
record level in Afghanistan ahead of the presidential and
provincial council elections in the country.
The worsened security situation does not only threat the female
candidates but traveling to some 10 southern militant-controlled
districts is incredibly harsh for the 39 men, who are running for
the elections.
“I welcome any steps forward to provide immediate security for
us to campaign nation-wide. I seriously urge the international
community to help provide better security for the candidates,”
said Forzan Fana, another female presidential candidate.
Each of the two female presidential hopefuls believe in her
victory in the August 20 elections as they argue that the women
will vote for them, despite the fact that less number of Afghan
women obtained voter cards.
Meanwhile, US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues,
Melanne Verveer, in her recent visit to Afghanistan insisted on
paving the ground for the Afghan female candidates.
Ms Verveer termed the contribution of women in presidential and
provincial council elections crucial, describing it an important
chance for Afghan women to take a part in the elections.
Flood-affected families
need shelter before winter
KABUL, 1 July 2009 (IRIN) - Thousands of people who lost their
houses in January-May flooding in different parts of Afghanistan
need help to repair or rebuild their homes, or find new ones,
before winter.
"Where houses are damaged or completely destroyed, people are
in urgent need of shelter," Asif Khairkhwa, chairman of the Afghan
Red Crescent Society (ARCS) in the northern province of Balkh,
told IRIN. "People should have a shelter before the winter."
Similar concerns were echoed by officials in Takhar, Sar-i-Pul,
Baghlan and Badakhshan provinces, where thousands of houses have
been damaged by floods and avalanches over the past six months.
"Emergency shelter continues to be a primary gap in the
response," said OCHA's flood situation report [see: http://ochaonline.un.org/HumanitarianUpdates/tabid/5289/language/en-US/Default.aspx]
on 15 June.
The floods killed at least 66 people and affected over 21,000
families in the northern and northeastern provinces, according to
reports by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA). Aid agencies and the Afghan government provided
emergency assistance.
In some flood-affected provinces government officials said
there were no funds which could be used to help people rebuild
their homes. The only feasible solution, they said, was to
distribute tents. However, even tents are not available for all.
"We even don't have adequate tents to distribute to those in
need…We only have 150 tents for 800 families," Khairkhwa, the ARCS
chairman in Balkh, said.
According to an OCHA map of unmet needs in flood-affected areas
[see: http://reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/LPAA-7TGBYP?OpenDocument&cc=afg],
thousands of tents and/or temporary shelters are needed in a
number of affected provinces.
Roads still blocked
Many flood-affected roads are impassable, meaning that aid
cannot get through to people in some places, according to
provincial authorities and OCHA.
"Roads to six districts are still closed while people in those
districts need aid," said Sayed Nasir Hemat, ARCS's head in the
northeastern province of Badakhshan. The blocked roads had also
meant people could not access health services in some cases, and
had increased food prices, he said.
Assessments by OCHA and other agencies have identified an
urgent need to clear roads in Faryab, Takhar, Baghlan and Samangan
provinces.
However, Ghulam Haider, an adviser to the Ministry of Rural
Rehabilitation and Development, said the government had allocated
funds only for the reopening of roads blocked by snow and
avalanches. There were insufficient funds to repair and reopen
flood-damaged roads: "Repairing these roads requires millions of
dollars," he told IRIN.
Afghan climbers
hope to make history
By Aunohita Mojumdar
BBC News, Kabul
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
It sounds like an old joke - a farmer, a cook, a mason and a
schoolteacher go climbing together.
But this unlikely foursome from the Wakhi community in
north-eastern Afghanistan hopes to make mountaineering history.
On Thursday, they aim to become the first ever Afghans to scale
the country's highest mountain peak, Mount Noshaq, in a remote
corner of Badakshan province.
At 7,492m (25,000 ft), Noshaq is the second-highest peak of the
famous Hindu Kush range - only just topped by the tallest summit,
Tirich Mir.
Mt Noshaq is located at the beginning of the Wakhan corridor,
the tiny strip of land jutting out of Afghanistan, like a finger
pointing towards China, a corridor that separated British Imperial
India from Tsarist Russia.
From mujahideen to mountaineering
In the 1960s and 1970s the mountain peaks along the Wakhan were
an international draw.
Three decades of war, however, ended that.
International teams abandoned the area as many Afghans
struggled for survival.
Among them was Afiyat Khan.
Losing his father at a young age, he dropped out of school and
signed up with the mujahideen, joining Northern Alliance
commanders in the only area of the country to keep the Taliban at
bay.
He emerged from the war to become a skilled master mason.
But stories of his father, who worked with visiting tourists,
stayed with him.
"I just had the idea that someday I wanted to climb the
mountains," he recalled.
The opportunity came in 2002 when an accomplished Italian
climber, Carlo Alberto Pinelli, came to revive mountaineering in
Afghanistan, and train local Afghan youths.
Mr Khan joined immediately.
"At that time I didn't know we needed special equipment or
special shoes. I just started climbing."
Since then he has been to the Alps on several professional
training courses - the latest in April and May.
Mt Noshaq was first ascended in 1960 by a Japanese team and
most recently tackled, by a European-led expedition, in 2003.
But the peak has never been conquered by Afghans before.
Making the July expedition possible is a young group of
Frenchmen who have been living and working in Afghanistan for the
past several years: Louis Meunier, Jerome Veyret and Nicolas
Fasquelleis.
'Symbol of hope'
"This is a symbolic expedition," said Mr Meunier who was in
Kabul last week to finish buying supplies and equipment.
"The idea is to plant an Afghan flag at the top, as a symbol of
hope and achievement in Afghanistan."
The expedition is being launched under the aegis of the
Rome-based organisation, Mountain Wilderness and the French
national Alpine skiing school among others, but has been organised
by the three Frenchmen.
The team comprises the four Afghan climbers and two experienced
international guides as well as Mr Munier and Mr Veyret.
It aims to "send a message of peace and hope and to foster
national pride and unity".
"This will be a strong positive message illustrating the
determination of Afghans to overcome difficulties and bring peace
and success to a country torn apart by 30 years of war," the
expedition's mission statement says.
There is also a more concrete aim. They hope to pave the way
for more high-altitude adventures and sustainable tourism in the
area.
Despite the violence in other parts of the country, the Wakhan
region has remained safe.
Tourism here has been growing steadily, with visitors lured by
the area's spectacular beauty and its gentle inhabitants.
The area is surrounded by the Pamir, the Karakoram and the
Hindu Kush mountain range, which lies between Afghanistan and
Pakistan, and each valley is distinct.
'Luck and pluck'
Add to that the pristine peaks and beautiful rivers, and there
is every reason for it to prove catnip to tourists and climbers in
search of pastures new.
Increased tourism would give a welcome cash injection.
The inhabitants of the Wakhan corridor live off subsistence
agriculture and herding, with the semi-arid zone yielding few
crops.
No-one knows this better than the four Wakhis about to attempt
the Noshaq.
Mr Khan himself has worked as a porter on previous expeditions.
Now their own mission will bring short-term employment to the
80 porters who will accompany them to base camp.
Training in the Alps, none of the four has climbed heights
beyond 6,000m (20,000 ft).
Much of the success of the attempt will depend on good weather,
luck and sheer pluck.
Despite a short warm season, the weather in the area is
considered ideal for climbing, as is the short distance from the
road to base camp.
Adopted as the motto of the expedition is an Afghan proverb
that seems to echo not just the determination of the mission, but
even the lives of the climbers.
It simply says: "There is a path to the top of even the highest
mountain."
UN begins Bhutto
killing inquiry
BBC News / Wednesday, 1 July 2009
A United Nations inquiry into the assassination of former
Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto has formally began.
It is headed by Chile's ambassador to the UN, Heraldo Munoz,
and includes a former Indonesian attorney general and a former
senior Irish police officer.
The inquiry will last six months and investigate the "facts and
circumstances" of Ms Bhutto's death.
She was killed in December 2007 as she left a rally of her
Pakistan People's Party (PPP) supporters in Rawalpindi.
The three-member inquiry team will arrive in Pakistan later
this month and submit its report to the UN Secretary General in
six months, reports say.
Apart from Mr Munoz, the other members of the probe team are
Marzuki Darusman, the former Indonesian attorney-general, and
Peter Fitzgerald, who headed an early inquiry into the
assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
Pakistan's Interior Minister, Rehman Malik, told the BBC his
government thought the UN investigation was necessary to find out
who was behind the attack.
"We want to know who was behind this, who had conspired it, who
has financed it. And we think this was a big international
conspiracy," he said.
"Obviously, there might be some actors within Pakistan or
within the region, but we want really to expose the whole
conspiracy, because we think that this was a kind of a beginning
of an attempt to Balkanise Pakistan."
These are challenging times in Pakistan to carry out such an
investigation, says the BBC's World Affairs correspondent Mike
Wooldridge in Islamabad.
That is not least because the Pakistan Taliban leader Baitullah
Mehsud, accused by the last government here of being behind the
assassination, is the target of a two-month military offensive and
his militant network has hit back with retaliatory suicide
attacks.
The Taliban commander has denied having anything to do with Ms
Bhutto's killing.
'Rogue elements'
Her assassination left questions unresolved for many people
here, but especially her own party, which is now in government.
After she had narrowly escaped a double suicide bombing on the
day of her return to Pakistan from self-imposed exile in October
2007, she accused what she called "enemies" and "rogue elements"
in the government led by President Pervez Musharraf and in the
intelligence agencies of plotting to kill her.
The UN inquiry cannot itself launch criminal proceedings, but
can apparently apportion blame if it chooses to do so.
Officials say the inquiry will work "fairly discreetly".
Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf had blamed an
al-Qaeda-linked militant for the attack and refused to seek a UN
investigation.
He invited police from London's Scotland Yard to assist in the
inquiry into her death.
In their report, the British detectives said they believed she
died due to a severe head injury sustained as a consequence of a
bomb blast.
The Pakistani investigation into her death concluded that a
lone attacker fired shots at Ms Bhutto before detonating
explosives, but said that bullets were not the cause of death.
Wider enquiry
Ms Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) rejected both these
versions, claiming adequate security had not been provided for Ms
Bhutto, and called for a wider inquiry by the UN to establish the
identity and motives of the assassins.
A PPP-led coalition defeated Mr Musharraf's allies in general
elections last year.
Ms Bhutto, twice prime minister of Pakistan, lived in
self-imposed exile after Mr Musharraf assumed power in 1999.
In October 2007, she returned to Pakistan to campaign for the
PPP in parliamentary and provincial elections - the first to be
held since President Musharraf resigned as head of the army and
became a civilian leader.
Shortly after her return, she survived bomb attacks on her
convoy in Karachi that killed more than 100 people.
But Ms Bhutto continued to campaign and was assassinated on 27
December at a PPP rally in Rawalpindi.
She was standing upright in her armoured vehicle, with her head
exposed above the open roof escape hatch, waving to the crowd when
an attacker opened fire.
Seconds later, a bomb was set off at the scene which left some
20 other people dead.
