Afghan chaos growing Options

[ghostgovt]

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?p...7-3-2005_pg7_22

Afghan forces insulting women
Sunday, March 27, 2005


Staff Report

CHITRAL: Shahida Sahar, chairperson of the Dukhtaran-e-Chitral and member of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), has complained about the insulting behaviour of Afghan security forces towards women.

Ms Sahar told reporters that Afghan forces had misbehaved with women in Nishagram, Afghanistan, adding their behaviour was insulting and deplorable. In winter when Chitral is cut off with other parts of the country, the people of Chitral route through Afghanistan to arrive in Chitral or Peshawar. She appealed to Afghan President Hamid Karzai to ask his security forces to ‘behave decently with women.

[heritage]

U.S. to Upgrade Air Bases in Afghanistan

Updated 11:54 AM ET March 28, 2005
http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pr...8943da00&src=ap

By STEPHEN GRAHAM

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The United States is spending $83 million to upgrade its two main air bases in Afghanistan, an Air Force general said Monday, the latest indication that American forces will remain in the country for years.

Brig. Gen. Jim Hunt said the money was being spent on construction projects already underway at Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, and Kandahar Air Field in the south. A new runway is being built at Bagram, the biggest Afghan airfield used by the U.S. military.

"We are continuously improving runways, taxiways, navigation aids, airfield lighting, billeting and other facilities to support our demanding mission," Hunt said at a news conference in the capital.

Afghan leaders are seeking a long-term "strategic partnership" with the United States, which expects to complete the training of the country's new 70,000-strong army next year.

It remains unclear if that will include permanent American bases in a region that includes Iran, nuclear rivals India and Pakistan and oil-rich Central Asia. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on a visit to Kabul earlier this month that Washington had not decided how long to keep troops here.

U.S. commanders have said they may cut their 17,000-strong force this year if a Taliban insurgency wanes, but say the Afghan government remains vulnerable and that some kind of U.S. presence will be needed for years.

In an interview with CNN's "Late Edition," Army Gen. John Abizaid, the commander of U.S. Central Command, said fresh skirmishes along the Pakistani frontier showed "the fight is not out of the Taliban completely, and not out of the al-Qaida people that are operating in that region."

Asked where Osama bin Laden might be, Abizaid said only that "an awful lot of al-Qaida leadership" was operating in the mountainous border region and that U.S. troops were watching the area "with great interest."

Hunt said 150 U.S. aircraft, including ground-attack jets and helicopter gunships as well as transport and reconnaissance planes, were using 14 airfields around Afghanistan. Many are close to the Pakistani border. Other planes such as B-1 bombers patrol over Afghanistan without landing......

[heritage]

Laura Bush Takes Quick Trip to Afghanistan

Updated 11:13 AM ET March 29, 2005
http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pr...894nt4o0&src=ap

By DEB RIECHMANN

WASHINGTON (AP) - First lady Laura Bush set out Tuesday for a quick visit to Afghanistan, a war-torn country where American forces are still battling a stubborn Taliban-led insurgency.

Mrs. Bush has wanted to visit Afghanistan for a couple of years but delayed the journey, mostly because of security concerns. Her trip was kept secret until just before she left from Andrews Air Force Base near Washington.

"I have been so looking forward to going to Afghanistan," she told reporters on the tarmac of the military base in suburban Maryland. "When I really realized the plight of the women under the Taliban, I also found that American women really stand in solidarity with the women in Afghanistan."

"I'm delighted to be able to bring that message to Afghanistan," Mrs. Bush added. "This has been in the planning for quite some time. I didn't tell anyone."

She was to arrive in Kabul at midday Wednesday and spend about five hours on the ground, spending most of her time being briefed on educational initiatives for Afghan women. She also will meet with President Hamid Karzai and have dinner with U.S. forces at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul.

Asked what message she planned to bring to Karzai, she replied, "Just that America stands with the people of Afghanistan and how moved we are by their efforts, by the big huge vote that turned out earlier this year, how the American people are standing with the people of Afghanistan as they rebuild their country from years and years of war but also build a democracy for the first time in their history."

[After 3 years, the counrtry ranks at the bottom of all countries, the opium crop is the highest since before the Taliban ruled, reconstruction monies are spent on new US airbases, and Alqeada still roams around.]

Mrs. Bush also said she planned to meet with Afghan women who have what she called micro-enterprises that make scarves and rugs.

A former teacher and librarian, Mrs. Bush has expressed concern about the limited educational opportunities for Afghan girls under the rule of the former Taliban regime.

"She wants to be able to see the advances made for women in Afghanistan and to underscore the United States' longterm commitment to the people of Afghanistan," said Susan Whitson, the first lady's press secretary.

The first lady was accompanied by Education Secretary Margaret Spellings. Her twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna, did not accompany her, Whitson said.

Spellings visited Afghanistan last year and was touched by the plight of women.

"They've been abused by the Taliban and sometimes their families, their husbands _ their (Afghan people's) pervasiveness of drugs," Spellings said. "I mean, these gut-wrenching stories. And of course they adore their children, and they want to see about their children, they want a better life, a better future."

About 17,000 U.S. troops are in Afghanistan. More than 120 American soldiers have died since American forces invaded to oust the former Taliban government for harboring al-Qaida militants after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Whitson said the White House had worked with security officials to insure the first lady's safety. [Dr. Rice had to meet in an undisclosed bunker because it was too dangerous to travel.]

"We want to make sure she is safe as well as the people she is meeting with and all the citizens of Afghanistan," she said. "We've taken all the precautions."

Mrs. Bush was traveling to Afghanistan as part of a delegation of the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council, a group formed in 2002 to promote private-public partnerships between U.S. and Afghan institutions and insure that Afghan women gain the skills and education deprived them under years of the Taliban.

In Kabul, Mrs.Bush was to visit the Women's Teacher Training Institute and hold a roundtable discussion with students and teachers. She also was to witness the award of a $17.7 million grant to American University in Kabul and $3.5 million to the International School. [photo-op --- whenever Bush's approval ratings drop, he send out Mrs. Bush]

[ghostgovt]

The Taliban appears to be gathering steam.... while more assualts occurs on a daily basis again in Afghanistan. Too bad BushCoForces had to scurry off to Iraq to make a mess of things in Iraq while leaving Afghanistan in turmoil and unstability.




http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...nistanustaliban

Al-Qaeda funding the return of the Taliban, top US commander says
Tue Mar 29,10:07 AM ET

KABUL (AFP) - Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network is making fresh efforts to engineer a comeback by the Taliban and regain a foothold of its own in Afghanistan, the commander of US forces in the country said.

Lieutenant General David Barno said the US believed both Bin Laden and fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Omar were probably still in the region, possibly on the rugged border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"Al-Qaeda clearly still wants to see the Taliban stage some kind of a comeback in Afghanistan," Barno told AFP.

"They're still providing financing, with guidance, training, support and selected individuals that help lead and motivate the operations here in Afghanistan."

[ghostgovt]

Springtime and war... just goes hand in hand in BushWorld.

Springtime in Afghanistan brings surge in Taliban attacks

Thu Mar 31, 8:46 PM ET
Add to My Yahoo! Asia - AFP

KABUL (AFP) - After an unusually bitter winter in Afghanistan, the Taliban have emerged from hibernation with a vengeance and begun a spring campaign of violence, with just months to go before key parliamentary elections.



***********************************



Australia denies NATO request for more troops in Afghanistan
(AP)

1 April 2005


CANBERRA - Australia agreed with NATO’s secretary-general that Afghanistan’s burgeoning opium crop is a growing international problem, but refused a request to increase Australia’s military presence there to help deal with it, officials said on Friday.

[heritage]

Too bad that Laura's last minute 6-hour trip was over shadowed by news about Terri Schiavo and the Pope.

What have we done with the $1 billion/month that we spend int Afghanistan? We built one cross country highway and military bases. The country is at the bottom of the list of poor countries. Children die from hunger and get no education. Opium is the entire GDP.

Laura goes to give $20 million for education, mostly higher education and get a photp-op. That is peanuts compared to the military funds. Where was the republicans' sympathy for the Afghan women when the Taliban ran the country? The Bush adminsitration was negotiating with the Taliban about a gas pipeline before 9-11.

------------------------
Laura Bush Takes Quick Trip to Afghanistan

Updated 11:13 AM ET March 29, 2005
http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pr...894nt4o0&src=ap

----------------------

[ghostgovt]

Too bad that Laura's last minute 6-hour trip was over shadowed by news about Terri Schiavo and the Pope.

What have we done with the $1 billion/month that we spend int Afghanistan? We built one cross country highway and military bases. The country is at the bottom of the list of poor countries. Children die from hunger and get no education. Opium is the entire GDP.

Laura goes to give $20 million for education, mostly higher education and get a photp-op. That is peanuts compared to the military funds. Where was the republicans' sympathy for the Afghan women when the Taliban ran the country? The Bush adminsitration was negotiating with the Taliban about a gas pipeline before 9-11.

------------------------
Laura Bush Takes Quick Trip to Afghanistan

Updated 11:13 AM ET March 29, 2005
http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pr...894nt4o0&src=ap

----------------------

Your dead right on heritage......

All these repubs are interested in is making their 'own' news and yuk it up at their fancy fund raisers.... while they create more haovic around the world in from what they tear up on taxpayer's money. Total disgrace!

Now we are slowly entering Pakistan across the Afghan border.


http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200504/0...402_179212.html

April 02, 2005
US military confirms increasing militancy in Afghanistan
font size ZoomIn ZoomOut

The US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan Saturday confirmed the increasing militancy in Afghanistan, particularly in the areas along the border with Pakistan.

"The number and severity of attacks against Afghan and coalition forces has increased compared to the winter. The areas that might have increased actually primarily are along the border with Pakistan and Afghanistan," US military spokeswoman Cindy Moore told journalists here.

However, she ruled out the possibility of Pakistan's involvement in the cross border militancy, adding that the "government of Pakistan supports the government of Afghanistan in time to get rid of insurgents."

[ghostgovt]

http://www.kuwaittimes.net/today/subcontinent_s3.php

Afghan politician beheaded in suspected Taleban attack


KABUL: Suspected Taleban insurgents beheaded an Afghan politician in southern Afghanistan last week, officials and party sources said yesterday. Lal Mohammad, a top member of Afghanistan Solidarity Party which backed President Hamid Karzai during last October's presidential election was beheaded in insurgency-hit Helmand province on Tuesday, party spokesman Massoud Mateen told AFP. "He was taken away from his house and beheaded," Mateen said, adding that the evidence pointed to members of the ousted Taleban regime being behind the attack. Mateen said members of Lal Mohammed's family had already fled his village in the Washir district of the province when the Taleban attacked a second time on Wednesday. Helmand governor Sher Mohammad confirmed the killing but said he did not know if Taleban militants, whose ultra-conservative regime was ousted in late 2001 by a US-led invasion, were behind the killing. "Yes we know that Lal Mohammad-a politician-was killed on Tuesday but we don't know who was behind his killing," Mateen said that the Washir district was "a stronghold" of Taleban loyalists who three years after the fall of the regime were still are able to carry out attacks on Afghan and foreign troops as well as civilians. Mohammad, a teacher in the poverty-stricken province campaigned for US-backed Karzai during last October's presidential election which Karzai won with more than 55 per cent of the vote. Helmand was also Afghanistan's top opium cultivating province in 2004 and eradication campaigns have fuelled drug related violence in the province in recent weeks. * Meanwhile the death toll from the fiery crash of a US helicopter in Afghanistan has risen to 18, the military said yesterday, after it found the remains of two more American soldiers among the wreckage. Investigators dispatched from the United States were also heading for the site of Wednesday's crash, the deadliest for Americans since the fall of the Taleban in 2001, to examine whether bad weather was to blame. Thirteen US service members and three civilian contractors were initially confirmed dead in the crash of the CH-47 Chinook near Ghazni, 130 kilometres (80 miles) south of the Afghan capital, Kabul. Spokeswoman Lt. Cindy Moore said the remains of two other soldiers listed as missing were found on Friday. All the remains were taken to Bagram, the American base north of Kabul. From there, they will be flown to Dover Air Base, in the US state of Delaware, for identification, Moore said. The names of the victims and the nationalities of the three contractors have not been released. Moore said investigators from the US Army's Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker, Alabama, were traveling to Afghanistan on Saturday.

[Marine]

ANA Accepts Responsibility for Western Provinces

4/10/2005


HERAT, Afghanistan – In a ceremony held here Thursday, the remaining members of the Afghan Militia Force’s 4th Corps handed over official authority for the protection of Herat, Badghis, Farah and Ghor provinces to the 207th Regional Corps of the Afghan National Army.

The 207th Regional Corps was actually commissioned Sept. 28, 2004, and, as far as the Ministry of Defense is concerned, this exchange had happened months before, but, according to Maj. Michael Perry, an operations advisor to the 207th, it was an important ceremony nonetheless. “Basically, it was an acknowledgement by the AMF that they no longer exist,” Perry said.

During the ceremony, the commanders of both units exchanged flags, signifying the ANA’s acceptance of the responsibility for western Afghanistan. “The exchange of flags between the old army and the ANA was done very enthusiastically and very patriotically,” said Maj. Mohammad, a member of the regional command’s staff.

Sgt. Abdul Quduz, who returned from Pakistan to “take responsibility for (his) nation,” believes that the passing of the AMF serves as a sign of a new stability for Herat and all of Afghanistan. “Now we have a president who is the head of the new army and we are under the command of one person,” he said. “We will act according to the law and the rules.”

Capt. Mahboub Bullah, a former member of the AMF, said that the time had come for the nation to unify under a national authority and this handover was another sign that it was taking place.

The AMF, he said, had been too segregated—units were made up of single ethnic groups and fell under the control of warlords, acting at their whims. In fact, the first ANA soldiers to arrive in Herat Province were sent in August 2004 to quell fighting between AMF troops under the control of local commanders.

Bullah said this kind of fighting could not happen with a national army. “The new army, the ANA, is based on all Afghan ethnicities,” he said. “It belongs to all Afghans.”

http://www.cfc-a.centcom.mil/main/PressReleases.asp?id=191

[Marine]

Afghan Officers visit Quantico for training
Submitted by: MCB Quantico
Story Identification #: 2005487641
Story by Cpl. Sara A. Carter



MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. (Apr. 7, 2005) -- Afghan officers from the Afghanistan National Army stopped at Quantico on Tuesday during a 10-day tour of three military bases on the East Coast.

The six officers and an interpreter, who flew halfway around the world to examine how the Marine Corps works, spent Tuesday touring Weapons Training Battalion, Marine Corps University and the Staff Non-Commissioned Officer Academy. At each stop, Marines were there to give briefs about what they do.

The tour of Quantico included more than just briefs.

During their time at WTBn., they were able to look at two weapons Marine Corps snipers use.

Out of the six officers, only two have traveled outside of Afghanistan and this is the first time anyone from the Afghan National Army has traveled to the United States.

"I am proud working with the United States Marine Corps," said Lt. Col. Ishaq Tamkin, Battalion Commander, 1st Bn., 3rd Brigade of the Afghanistan National Army. "[I am] eager to have a good experience with the U.S. Marine Corps."

Most of the Afghan officers have a good perspective on the Marine Corps and its Marines.

"They are very friendly, professional," said Tamkin through his interpreter. "They are working with us on many parts."

Indeed the Marines are. The Afghans' next stop was Wednesday at the School of Infantry at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Then they will visit Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., to see how recruits are trained.

This was a historic experience for the Afghan officers, but for the Marines as well.

"We are proud to have them here," said Sgt. Christopher Sharon, primary marksman instructor at the Scout Sniper School. "It is a good opportunity for them to come out and see how we do things. The Marine Corps has a good system in place to train officers and enlisted."

The Afghans are scheduled to return to Afghanistan Wednesday.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf...t=2,afghanistan

[Marine]

National Military Academy of Afghanistan Opens Gates to Future Leaders
By Lt. Col. Frederick Rice and Maj. Rick Peat

The color guard of the National Military Academy of Afghanistan parades the newly unfurled and dedicated colors before the NMAA corps of cadets as part of the academy grand opening.
Maj. Rick Peat


KABUL, Afghanistan (Army News Service, March 28, 2005) – Although the Afghan National Army is only about three years young, its it has created a national military academy early in its development.

Established to educate and develop the future leaders of the army and nation, the new National Military Academy of Afghanistan celebrated its grand opening in a special ceremony March 22.

Attending the ceremony were Afghan government ministers, senior U.S. and Afghan military officers, special guests from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, including Dean of Academics Brig. Gen. Daniel Kaufman, and numerous ambassadors and other dignitaries.

Speaking at the ceremony were Maj. Gen. Mohammad Sharif, NMAA Commander; Abdul Rahim Wardak, Afghanistan minister of defense; and Professor Abdul Karim Khalili, second vice president of Afghanistan.

“The roll of this academy is vital for the future of Afghanistan, because this academy will produce loyal, professional and true leaders for Afghanistan’s future without any ethnic, language and tribal distinction,” said Wardak. “These young cadets will be trained in the spirit of national unity and strong military character upon which we can be proud among the respective nations of the world.”

Khalili emphasized the excellent reputation the ANA has built among the people of Afghanistan.

“The people of Afghanistan appreciate and strongly support the good work of their integrated national army, which represents the true face of the Afghan nation,” he said. “Today, we are going to open an institute which will train the future commanders and leaders of our proud army and of this hopeful nation.”

During the ceremony, West Point and NMAA officials exchanged gifts. Kaufman presented a West Point saber mounted in a display case, while Sharif offered a hand-carved wooden plaque of the NMAA shoulder sleeve insignia encased in a presentation box.

The Office of Military Cooperation-Afghanistan and the Afghan Ministry of defense worked together to create the NMAA.

Major renovations to academy facilities have created a learning and living environment for the cadets. The school has created implemented procedures and policies.

Sharif vowed success for the academy, “Through this podium I promise to Defense Minister Wardak that we will do our best at teaching the cadets to international standards and in the spirit of national unity.”

The first class of cadets completed seven weeks of basic training March 17, and began their first day of academic classes the day following the academy’s grand opening.

The cadets represent all of the major ethnic groups throughout Afghanistan and traveled from literally every corner of the country, across rugged and undeveloped terrain and through blizzard-like conditions, to report to the academy. One cadet was more than 20 days late because of his travel troubles, but was welcomed and immediately integrated into the program.

Modeled after West Point, the academy is a four-year, degree-granting institution that will commission its cadets as second lieutenants in the Afghan National Army. Graduates will earn an engineering degree with an emphasis on civil, mechanical, systems or electrical engineering.

The curriculum focuses on engineering because, “Our country is war-struck and devastated,” said Sharif. “We are in the process of rehabilitating it. We need more engineers because we need reconstruction.”

Planning for the academy began more than 18 months ago, when Maj. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, Chief of OMC-A at the time, and senior Afghan Ministry of Defense leaders agreed upon the need to establish a military academy that would provide the ANA with a highly educated and capable future officer corps.

OMC-A was ready to assist and quickly enlisted the help of the U.S. Military Academy.

Military Academy Study Team Chief Col. Barney Forsythe and Maj. Gen. Mohammad Juma Nassar, MOD general staff working group director, submitted the initial plan for the academy to the MOD and the OMC-A chief in November 2003.

West Point staff and faculty members then began the planning process, deploying to Afghanistan for several months at a time to write policy, develop admissions standards and determine the curriculum. They completed all steps hand-in-hand with their Afghan counterparts, ensuring all programs were adapted to meet Afghan standards and culture.

“Our environments (U.S. and Afghan) are different,” said Sharif. “Planners considered all cultural aspects and did not impose anything on us. While the academy will be similar to West Point, it will not be the same.”

The most significant challenges involved the logistical requirements of setting up the academy from scratch.

“They didn’t have so much as a paper clip on hand to get the academy started,” said Col. Chris King, a geography professor at USMA. “You have to find every little thing you need, things you take for granted.”

To fill their faculty positions, the MOD identified 1,023 potential academic professors who possessed the necessary advanced degrees. Military Academy Implementation Team Chief Col. James Wilhite, West Point faculty and OMC-A members Col. Ray Winkle, Col. Gary Krahn and Dr. Larry Butler then narrowed the list to 200 candidates with the desired qualifications to teach everything from world history to physics to chemistry to psychology.

The team eventually hired 30 professors to form the academic faculty.

By the end of November 2004, 353 cadet candidates had completed the competitive entrance exam. The MOD, in conjunction with OMC-A staff, then conducted personal interviews of the prospective cadets. The top 120 young men were offered a place in the first class.

Forsythe, who laid the groundwork for the academy 18 months ago, returned for the grand opening and remarked upon his impressions of seeing the concept turned into reality.

“The academy facility is excellent and represents the excellence that the Afghan government and ANA expect of the officer corps and their service,” he said.

“This institution could play a significant role for the emerging democracy in Afghanistan, much like West Point played a large role in the emerging United States of America; providing leaders of character who would serve the Army and their people. And at some point in time, when they left their service in uniform, would continue to serve the country in another capacity that further advances the nation,” added Forsythe, visibly moved by what the new academy represents.

The bond formed between West Point and NMAA will be further strengthened over time. The USMA corps of cadets recently adopted the NMAA corps of cadets as its first and only partnership cadet corps. They will correspond with each other, exchange ideas, and share resources.

To fully care for the administrative and logistical needs of new academy, a 300-soldier NMAA support battalion will be assembled over the next year. West Point will continue to send faculty, administrators and support personnel as needed to assist in forming and training the support battalion and to further develop the NMAA faculty for the specific course work and curriculum being taught there.

Additional NMAA faculty will be hired as the corps of cadets grows over the next few years. Future classes will have between 250 to 300 students each, and upperclassmen will take on leadership roles in guiding the underclassmen.

Cadets, who are between the ages of 18 and 23, will earn $80 a month as well as receive free books, supplies, housing and food while enrolled. For the privilege of attending the academy, they incur a 10-year service commitment to the ANA, twice the commitment length of U.S. Military Academy cadets. There was no problem finding volunteers for the academy.

Wilhite has grown very close to the NMAA corps of cadets during his work with the academy and will redeploy soon. Before the grand opening ceremony he made a point to shake the hand of each cadet and offer his personal congratulations. Later, when reflecting on the significance of this act, he remarked that he was likely shaking the hand of a future general, a future minister, a future president of Afghanistan.

Cadet Jamshaid, the top cadet of the NMAA, said, “As military officers, we will never step back from learning and will always be disciplined and remain faithful and loyal to our beloved country.”

Hope and love of country are also shown by the cadets’ parents. Cadet Aminullah, from Herat Province, said his father provided special advice to him before leaving home to attend the academy.

“Be faithful to your country,” he said. “Afghanistan is like a mother. If you serve your mother, you have to serve your motherland too.”

http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=7078

[Marine]

Airmen adopt-a-village  or two
JA FARKEL, Afghanistan - Afghan children sit quietly as they wait for Airmen from the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at nearby Bagram Air Base to hand out school supplies and toys. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Catie Hague)


JA FARKEL, Afghanistan - Staff Sgt. Larenzo Smartt hands a bag of school supplies to an Afghan girl during an Adopt-A-Village visit here. He is an administrator with the 455th Expeditionary Mission Support Group at nearby Bagram Air Base. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Catie Hague)

This post has been edited by Marine: Apr 10 2005, 05:15 PM

[Marine]

U.S. MPs Provide Skills, Gear to Afghan National Police
By Sgt. Jennifer S. Emmons, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service


GHAZNI, Afghanistan, April 6, 2005 – As part of the provisional reconstruction teams spread throughout Afghanistan, police tactical advisory teams are helping with the country’s reconstruction and stabilization.

In eastern Afghanistan’s Ghazni province, military police soldiers work closely with the Afghan National Police in their area. They train and help equip the local police to provide security for the local population.

“We teach many of the basics of police work,” said Adkins. “This includes basic law-enforcement skills, handcuffing, searching people, riot control, how to enter and clear a building, levels of force, vehicle searches, how to operate checkpoints, and weapons safety, as well as other important police training.”

These classes teach the police how to provide security for the local people, in addition to their search for anti-coalition militants. “When the police are out on patrol, they know what to look for,” said Adkins. “They’re not just looking for bad guys. They interact with the community and see how everything is going. This makes them a more professional force.”

As the ANP receive more training and become more proficient in their mission, the population will see their own people providing the security. “We take the police with us on all our missions,” said Adkins. “This shows the people that their own government is taking care of them. It gives more credibility to the coalition when the people see us working with their own police force.”

“The refitting and training (have) really helped the police in the area,” said team member Sgt. Brian Jones. “We’ve seen them (develop into) a dynamic police force.”

The soldiers on the advisory teams have gained as much from the experience of training the ANP as the police have. “Working with the police is great, because these people really want to learn and really want to be helped,” said Jones.

Giving the classes to the Afghan police also has helped the soldiers build confidence in their own ability. “I’ve learned to do things I wouldn’t normally be able to do as a private,” said Pfc. Kevin Nummerdor, a PTAT team leader. “When I’m giving these classes to the police, I’m honing my own skills and preparing to be (a noncommissioned officer).”

The opportunity to train the Afghan police force is very rewarding, said Adkins. “We’ve seen the changes that have happened in the police since we’ve been here,” he said. “It’s really great to know we are making a difference.”

(Army Sgt. Jennifer S. Emmons is assigned to the 17th Public Affairs Detachment.)

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Apr2005/20050406_504.html



Army Sgt. James Adkins observes as Afghan police officers demonstrate how to search an individual. The soldiers are training Afghan National Police officers to provide a secure environment for the local population. Photo by Pfc. Kevin Nummerdor, USA

[Marine]

Afghan National Military Academy Welcomes First Cadets
by Lt. Col. Susan H. Meisner, USA

KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb. 8, 2005 -- On a snowy day in February, Afghanistan's first class of cadets reported for duty at the new National Military Academy Afghanistan.

The academy is on the grounds of a former flight technology school in Kabul. Modeled after West Point, the academy is a four-year, degree-granting institution that will commission second lieutenants for the Afghan National Army.

Cadets will earn an engineering degree with an emphasis on civil, mechanical, systems or electrical engineering, and will incur a 25-year service commitment upon graduation.

Afghan Assistant Minister for Personnel and Education Homayun Fawzi welcomed the members of the first class, telling them to "be proud of their enlistment in this academy."

Planning for the academy began more than a year ago, when Army Maj. Gen. Karl W. Eikenberry, then chief of the Office of Military Cooperation Afghanistan, and senior Afghan Defense Ministry leaders decided to establish an academy that would be the "crown jewel" of Afghan education.

U.S. Army Col. Barney Forsythe, chief of a U.S. Military Academy study team, and Afghan Maj. Gen. Mohammad Juma Nassar, director of a Ministry of Defense General Staff working group, submitted their initial plan for the academy to the defense ministry and the chief of OMC-A in November 2003.

West Point deans and department heads then began the planning process, deploying to Afghanistan for several months at a time to write policy, develop admission standards and determine the curriculum. They completed all steps hand in hand with their Afghan counterparts, to ensure programs were adapted to meet Afghan standards and culture.

"Our environments are different. Planners considered all cultural aspects and did not impose anything on us," Academy Superintendent Maj. Gen. Mohammed Sharif said. "While the academy will be similar to West Point, it will not be the same."

The defense ministry identified 1,023 potential professors with the necessary advanced degrees. OMC-A academy team chief Col. James Wilhite and West Point faculty and OMC-A members Larry Butler and Cols. Ray Winkle and Gary Krahn winnowed the list, selecting 200 candidates with special criteria for teaching everything from world history to physics to chemistry to psychology. The team eventually hired 30 professors to form the academic faculty.

By the end of November, 353 cadet candidates had completed the competitive entrance exam. The defense ministry, in conjunction with OMC-A staff, then conducted personal interviews and selected the top 120 young men to join the first class.

Future classes will have 250 to 300 students each, and upperclassmen will take on leadership roles in guiding the underclassmen. Sharif said the academy "represents all the ethnicities of this country."

The curriculum focuses on engineering, because "our country is war struck and devastated," said Sharif. "We are in the process of rehabilitating it. We need more engineers because we need reconstruction."

Cadets, who are between the ages of 18 and 23, will earn $80 a month and will receive free books, supplies, housing and food in addition to their education.

After seven weeks of basic combat training, graduates will begin their academic studies. In addition to their engineering curriculum, they will study military leadership, ethics and psychology, among other topics. Sixteen officers and noncommissioned officers are staffing cadet basic training. Eight of them will remain on site during the academic year.

"Our objective is to make a very strong and reliable army for Afghanistan," said 1st Lt. Abdul Haq, 2nd Platoon leader and a military instructor at the academy. "It should be accepted by all people. I was waiting to see the wars ended and see people take part in educational programs.

"I am thankful for (the United States') part in helping," he added.

Afghan Sgt. 1st. Class Asadullah Nawabi, a platoon sergeant, echoed Haq's sentiments. "I would like to thank the U.S. military in helping us get things done," he said, adding that helooks forward to teaching the cadets.

Some cadets had spent a lifetime planning for this day. "Ever since I was a child, I wanted to join the army," said Abdul Saboor from Baghlan province. "I left Kabul University and changed my major to come here."

Top scorer on the entrance exam was Jamshiud Dehzad of Laghman province. Top graduate of Shaheed Mohammed Arif High School in Jalalabad, Dehzad said he was happy and proud to be there.

"We came to do our best to make our country successful," said cadet Abudul Ghafar, from Mazar-eñSharif.

"It is my country," said Afghan Sgt. 1st. Class Ghazi Ahmad, a platoon sergeant from Paktia province, as if puzzled by the question about why he would serve at the academy. If he did not serve his country, then who would, he asked.

(Army Lt. Col. Susan H. Meisner is public affairs officer for the Office of Military Cooperation Afghanistan.)

http://www.canadafreepress.com/2005/good-news-iraq020905.htm

[Marine]

Collecting Bombs and Bullets

A new programme seeks to remove munitions left over from years of war.

By Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi in Mazar-e-Sharif (ARR No. 159, 28-Jan-05)

Mohammad Afzal remembers the day the ammunition dump exploded in his village of Qala-ye-Zal in Kunduz province.

“Three years ago, I was living in a house when the arms dump exploded next door,” said Afzal, who now lives in Balkh.

"We were uninjured but the house shook. One person was killed and several others were injured by the flying bullets,” he recalled. “No one was able to get close enough to do anything about the blaze and it was two hours before all the bullets were spent. Everyone just took cover indoors."

Afzal’s experience is all too common in a country that, after more than two decades of conflict, remains littered with vast stores of unexploded munitions.

According to recent figures released by the United Nations Mine Action Centre for Afghanistan, 626 people were killed or injured in 2004 by landmines and unexploded ordnance.

Huge amounts of ordnance are thought to be hidden at old military bases, in the hands of former commanders and in private stockpiles.

Now the government has set an ambitious goal of collecting more than 100,000 tonnes of unexploded munitions through the UN-backed Afghanistan New Beginning Programme, ANBP.

Defence ministry spokesman General Zahir Azimi said the first phase would entail locating stockpiles. Munitions that are still usable would be transferred to the new Afghan National Army, while ammunition that has been damaged or deteriorated would be destroyed.

"The plan is an effective one, because the army will benefit and it will also save lives and limbs," he said.

The project has been launched in Balkh and Herat provinces before extending to other regions.

"The Disarmament, Demobilisation and Rehabilitation [DDR] process is now 60 per cent complete but the disposal of ammunition was not included in it," said Azimi. "That is why this initiative was launched."

Under DDR, local commanders and militia members have turned in weapons.

Azimi said the project won’t be easy and may take some time to complete.

"These stockpiles could be anywhere,” he said. “There were many military posts used in time of war, and we do not know where many of them are, but we will carry on until the task is completed."

Many in the north consider the arms collection a major step towards getting the country back to normal.

"We will all be relieved when these shells and bullets are removed. Then we will know the war is over," said Sayed Hussain of Mazar-e-Sharif.

"There is no need for ammunition in Afghanistan any more,” said Raz Mohammad, also from Mazar-e-Sharif. “Now we must start thinking about rebuilding our country which has been razed to rubble by tanks and bullets."

Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi is an IWPR staff reporter in Mazar-e-Sharif.

http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?archive/arr/a...1_159_1_eng.txt

[Marine]

Afghanistan explosives recovery effort yields enormous weapons cache


By Kevin Dougherty, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Thursday, January 20, 2005



Kevin Dougherty / S&S
Piles of ammunition turned in last fall by warring factions in western Afghanistan are guarded around-the-clock.


Kevin Dougherty / S&S
Workers survey the arms cache, which at an estimated 8,000 tons is believed to be the largest open-air storage site in the world.


HERAT, Afghanistan — Between the majestic snow-capped mountains of the Band-e Baba Range and the historic city of Herat in western Afghanistan looms a powerful menace of man’s making.

“If this went off,” Mark Holroyd said, “all the windows in Herat would probably shatter.”

Not every household in Herat has windows, but the observation is enough to make even the coolest of the cool sweat at the thought.

Holroyd, an explosive ordnance technician for Ronco Consulting Corp., calls it “the biggest open-air arms cache in the world.” There are about 8,000 tons of explosives — an estimate he characterizes as conservative — on the ground and under 24-hour guard. Much more was here, and much more is expected to arrive in the coming months.

The cache is the result of a United Nations program, with U.S. military assistance, to disarm the warring militias in western Afghanistan. Dubbed Task Force Saber, the effort began in August and by October tons of ammunition started being consolidated in a field east of Herat.

“When I first came here,” Holroyd said as he stood near the cache, “it was the scariest place I had ever seen.”

Much of the ammo came from the town’s 700-year-old citadel, controlled by Ismail Khan, the regional warlord who is now a minister in the Afghan government. The storage site, estimated to be three to four acres in size, includes a wide array of arms, from bullets to 1,000-pound bombs. Crates and other containers indicate the stuff was manufactured in the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, the United States and a handful of other nations.

The team assembled to handle the ammo sorts it out and then determines what the Afghan National Army can use and what should be destroyed. Every day, Holroyd said, the team blows up roughly 70 tons of ammo. Since more is still being turned in, Holroyd figures the job will take about a year.

One of the U.S. soldiers involved in the program is Capt. Chris Kennedy of the 25th Infantry Division, based in Hawaii.

“I did something close to this in Bosnia,” Kennedy said, “but never to this magnitude. This is five times the size that I saw in Bosnia.”

Those who see it for the first time are amazed at such a sea of destructive power.

“I wish I had my camera,” Spc. Dean Brazzell, 151st Infantry Battalion, Indiana National Guard, said as he climbed a small hill to get a better look.

Largely absent from the cache are AK-47 rounds and rocket-propelled grenades.

“That’s disturbing,” said Army Col. Randy Smith, head of the Regional Command Area Group-West, “because that’s the weapon of choice for terrorist activities.”

Still, Smith is pleased with the results so far, though he admits: “We don’t think we’ve scratched the surface yet.”

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?sectio...30&archive=true

[Marine]

Afghan police force reaches 53,000

www.chinaview.cn 2005-01-16 17:52:31


KABUL, Jan. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- The target of the Afghanistan government to have a 62,000-strong police force by 2006 is nearly reached as the Afghanistan National Police (ANP) has been strengthened to 53,000, acting spokesperson of UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) Arean Quentier said Sunday.

"Today there are 53,000 police officers in the Afghan National Police. Of these 32,000 have been newly trained and the others are former policemen," she told journalists at a news briefing here.

The post-war central Asian state would have 62,000 strong police force by the end of 2006.

Germany and the United States as the lead nations in rebuilding ANP have been assisting the post-war nation to meet the target on stipulated time.

With the support of the United States and allies, the post-war Afghanistan has already established 21,000 troops of a 70,000-strong Afghan National Army (ANA) agreed upon in the historic Bonn agreement signed in late 2001.


http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-01/...ent_2467507.htm

[Marine]

US to help Afghan army recruit soldiers

www.chinaview.cn 2005-01-10 21:42:43


KABUL, Jan. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- In an effort to accelerate the recruiting process in the fledgling Afghan National Army (ANA), the US military is going to help Afghan government open more recruitment centers across the country, US official said here Monday.

"Eleven more recruitment centers are set to open in the next few months, bringing the total to 35, including two centers in Kabul," Graig Weston, head of the Office of Military Cooperation in Afghanistan told reporters at a news conference.

These recruitment centers, he added would be established in therestive southern provinces of Helmand, Nimruz, Zabul and other regions.

Under the historic Bonn agreement, the post-war Afghanistan would have 70,000 strong brand new national army, of those over 21,000 have already been trained.

"Today the Afghan National Army has more than 21,000 soldiers, about 17,800 trained soldiers and more than 3,400 in training," henoted.

The rebuilding of 70,000-strong Afghan army, according to the US-led coalition, will be completed by September 2007.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-01/...ent_2441706.htm

[Marine]

Key Taleban commander killed, another arrested in Afghanistan
(DPA)

27 January 2005



ISLAMABAD - Afghan authorities claimed to have killed an “important” Taleban commander while arresting another in an armed raid in the country’s eastern Helmand province, the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) said on Thursday.


Spokesman for Helmand’s governor, Mohammed Wali, told AIP that the government forces launched the swoop on Taleban’s commanders in Musakala district on Wednesday, which resulted in the killing of Mohammadullah and the arrest of an injured, Abdul Ghafaar.

One soldier was also killed and four injured in the gunfight that lasted 40 minutes with the radical fighters, Wali said.

He said Mohammadullah had been wanted by the Afghan government in connection with various deadly attacks in the province.

Afghanistan’s eastern and southern regions have been the site of frequent violent attacks on the government, US forces and military installations by the Taleban and their Arab “guest fighters” of the Al Qaeda network since the ouster of the radicals from the power in late 2001.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle...on=subcontinent

[Marine]

Taliban commander among five killed in Afghanistan
Pakistan Times Foreign Desk Report

KANDAHAR (Afghanistan): Taliban militants attacked a government office in Zabul, sparking a gun battle that left five people dead, including a rebel commander, an Afghan official said on Wednesday.

Zabul Gov. Khial Mohammed identified the commander as Abdul Razzak and said he had helped organize many rebel operations in the province, which has been a focus of resistance against government and US forces.

The latest battle began when militants attacked the mayor's office in the Atghar district of Zabul on Monday morning. Militia soldiers guarding the office shot dead four suspected Taliban, including Razzak, while one soldier also died, Mohammed said.●

http://pakistantimes.net/2005/01/06/top8.htm