Afghan chaos growing Options

[ghostgovt]

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle...bcontinent&col=

Bodies of five including kidnapped candidate found in Afghanistan
(AFP)

9 September 2005


KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Afghan police have found the bodies of a parliamentary candidate, a district chief and three others after an intensive search in southern Afghanistan, a governor said on Friday.

“We found the five sprayed with bullets in the mountains of Ghorak district after a massive search operation by Afghan police some days ago,” Assadullah Khalid, the governor of strife-torn Kandahar province, told AFP.

“The bodies were buried,” he added.

Haji Mohammed Nawab, who was standing in landmark elections on September 18, was abducted with the new district chief of Ghorak, Mohammed Yaqoob, and three policemen northwest of Kandahar city on September 1.

[ghostgovt]

http://www.wfsb.com/Global/story.asp?S=3831444&nav=1VGmeMhm

PANJSHIR VALLEY, Afghanistan (AP) - A helicopter carrying Afghanistan's army chief and a Cabinet minister crashed shortly after takeoff Saturday, but all on board managed to escape the burning wreckage.

The pilot and Sediqa Balkhi, the minister for the disabled, were slightly injured, according to an Associated Press photographer who witnessed the crash.

The Afghan army chopper had just taken off when it suddenly turned on its side and plunged back to the ground before bursting into flames.

[heritage]

Warlords in Afghan Vote Concerns Groups

Updated 2:07 PM ET September 12, 2005

http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pr...8cis7rg0&src=ap

By DANIEL COONEY

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Human rights groups accuse his fighters of killing civilians, raping women and plundering at will during Afghanistan's civil war, yet Abdul Rasul Sayyaf will be among several reputed warlords running in Sunday's parliamentary elections.

Twenty-one other candidates were disqualified Monday for allegedly having continued ties with militias, but rights activists fear the presence of Sayyaf and others on the ballot means the key step toward democracy may be undermined by the very men it is trying to marginalize.

"It's like a recurring cancer," said Saman Zia-Zarifi, deputy Asia director for New York-based Human Rights Watch. "The international community and the Afghan government have wasted a great opportunity for this country to move away from the rule of the gun."

Electoral law bars anyone with links to armed groups from competing in the election and a total of 32 candidates have been struck off the ballot for that reason.

But with nearly 2,800 candidates, activists say many of the warlords involved in the bloodshed of the past quarter-century have slipped through a U.N.-backed review they call woefully inadequate.

"The most powerful people in the provinces are the ones with money and arms, and they are the ones running to be members of parliament," said Kazim Malwan, deputy secretary-general of the National Assembly, which has an administrative structure but no legislators yet. "A big percentage of the candidates are still linked to armed groups."

Some Afghans worry that warlords elected to the legislature may grant themselves immunity from prosecution for past abuses.

"These people are a threat to the future National Assembly. They may impose their own interpretation of the laws and will promote impunity," said Ahmad Nader Nadery, spokesman for the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. "We are very concerned."

Top U.N. envoy Jean Arnault admitted in an interview with The Associated Press that the vetting process had not been perfect.

"There are, as anybody would expect after 25 years of war, a number of people who will be running that should not be running under the law," he said. "This will not be a perfect election. ... But overall we feel fairly confident the process meets some basic requirements."

Zia-Zarifi, from Human Rights Watch, blamed the review's weakness on a lack of U.S. pressure on the Afghan government and the United Nations.

He said the U.S.-led military coalition relies on many local militia leaders in its battle to quash a reinvigorated insurgency by Taliban-led rebels in the south and east.

"There is a lack of appetite in Washington to take on these militias," Zia-Zarifi told the AP.

But even alleged warlords not involved in the fight against the Taliban are being permitted to compete in the elections.

Sayyaf was a powerful leader of guerrillas who helped drive out a Soviet occupation army in the 1980s, and his militia, Ittihad-e Islami, then was heavily involved in the 1990s civil war. He has denied having current links to armed groups, but declined requests for an interview.

Sayyaf "is directly implicated in the abductions and the indiscriminate and intentional targeting of civilians," a Human Rights Watch report charged in July. "There is clear and compelling evidence ... Ittihad forces specifically engaged in widespread killing."

Zia-Zarifi went further: "Sayyaf's name is a symbol for atrocities." He said Sayyaf still commands a militia force based just west of Kabul.

Sayyaf also is an ally of President Hamid Karzai, which worries rights activists. They say the review commission relied on evidence provided by a government-backed disarmament agency, raising questions that those in power used the process to remove rivals from the election.

None of the 21 candidates knocked off the ballot Monday are known to have close ties to Karzai.

The disqualifications, announced by Grant Kippen, chairman of the Electoral Complaints Commission, sparked an immediate denial _ and a threat _ from one of the candidates, Qumandan Didar.

"My supporters will protest and will sabotage the election process," Didar said. "I have no weapons. I have completely disarmed and have no links to armed groups. But I still have thousands of supporters."

Didar was a militia commander during the civil war in the early 1990s but is believed to have fled to Pakistan when the Taliban took control of much of the country later in the decade.

[Marine]

Afghan cabinet approves MDGs


KABUL, September 12 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The Afghan cabinet Monday approved the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) drafted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

A statement released from the presidential office said the step showed Afghanistan's commitment towards implementation of the international programme.

The MDGs specify policy guidelines regarding eradication of poverty and hunger, promotion of gender equality, empowerment of women, reduction in rate of child mortality and achievement of universal primary education.

The Millennium Declaration inked in September 2000 was an unprecedented commitment of the world leaders to work together to ensure peace and social justice across the globe.

Waheed Rahmani

by/dk


http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=563

[Marine]

20 tons of grapes exported to India, UAE from Kandahar

KANDAHAR CITY, September 12 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Twenty tons of grapes were exported this week from the southern Afghan city to India and the United Arab Emirates, a provincial official said on Monday.

Noorullah Habib, chief of the Kandahar Chamber of Commerce, told Pajhwok Afghan News 62 tons of grapes had been dispatched to the two countries during the last one month and a half.

As a result of the exports, Habib added, grape prices had gone up in the local market, but Kandahar fruit merchants and farmers were happy over the shipments abroad.

Heavy rains earlier in the year had fueled fears that fresh fruit rates could slump, he recalled, but the exports to foreign countries went a long way in assuaging such apprehensions.

Ghulam Mohiuddin, a Kandahar-based fruit merchant, told this scribe grape prices had soared this year. He linked the higher rates to exports to foreign markets, where fruits like melons and grapes are in high demand.

Reported by Mohib Rokhan & translated by Mudassir


http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=560

[ghostgovt]

http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_incl...?storyID=115294

Soldiers try to kill Afghan defense minister as U.S. warns of rebel plots
09/11/2005

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Afghan soldiers botched a brazen attempt to assassinate the defense minister at the capital's airport Saturday, while fighting in southern Afghanistan left 30 suspected militants dead, officials said.

The violence came as U.S. military commanders warned in an interview with The Associated Press that Taliban insurgents might try to disrupt the Sept. 18 legislative elections with "spectacular" assaults using car bombs and suicide attackers.

But Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya, the top operational commander in Afghanistan, said he was confident that enough American troops and other forces were in place to ensure the balloting succeeds.

"We are in a posture to disrupt, pre-empt and discourage enemy actions," he said.

Asked if the election would be successful, Kamiya said, "I am 100 percent confident."

Meanwhile, a helicopter carrying Afghanistan's army chief and three Cabinet ministers crashed and burst into flames while taking off, but all on board escaped with only minor injuries. The government called it an accident.

Nine Afghan soldiers were arrested in the attempt to shoot Defense Minister Rahim Wardak at the airport, said ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammed Saher Azimi.

Four bullets hit his convoy as the vehicles left the airport, but Wardak and several other ministers had gotten out, he said. One bullet hit "the exact place where the defense minister had been sitting in the car," and a ministry staffer was wounded, Azimi said.

"It is clear that it was an assassination attempt on the defense minister," he said.

The motive for the shooting was not announced. A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter, said the soldiers were angry over a pay dispute.

[Marine]

US ambassador visits Paktia, inspects telephone system


GARDEZ, September 12 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The US ambassador to Afghanistan Ronald Neumann Monday said his country wanted Afghanistan a strong, stable and economically developed country.

Speaking to reporters during his visit to the southern Paktia province, the US ambassador expressed satisfaction over the security arrangements there. He said both the coalition and Afghan forces were closely working to ensure foolproof security during the elections.

Regarding his trip to the volatile province, Neumann said his travel to Paktia was part of the process to review security arrangements ahead of the September 18 polls.

He confessed a number of problems existed in the province. But the United States, he said, had constructed schools, clinics and roads in the past and would continue to do so in future, he added.

"Some people believe in pledges but I will not make any promise that I can't fulfill," said the ambassador.

Earlier, he paid visit to a modern telephone and wireless system, Code Davison Multiple Access (CDMA), in the province.

Lou Fintor, press officer of US embassy in Kabul told Pajhwok Afghan News the project was supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Abdul Baseer, a CDMA staffer said about 200 people had got telephone connections over the past two weeks. The new system will work under billing system, which the customers will pay on monthly basis.

Regarding the security arrangements, Paktia Governor Hakim Taniwal said the coalition forces had given them 44 vehicles to ensure peace during the elections. He added different tribes were also supporting the government and law enforcement agencies in this regard.

Zubair Babakarkhail

US ambassador visits Paktia, inspects telephone system


GARDEZ, September 12 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The US ambassador to Afghanistan Ronald Neumann Monday said his country wanted Afghanistan a strong, stable and economically developed country.

Speaking to reporters during his visit to the southern Paktia province, the US ambassador expressed satisfaction over the security arrangements there. He said both the coalition and Afghan forces were closely working to ensure foolproof security during the elections.

Regarding his trip to the volatile province, Neumann said his travel to Paktia was part of the process to review security arrangements ahead of the September 18 polls.

He confessed a number of problems existed in the province. But the United States, he said, had constructed schools, clinics and roads in the past and would continue to do so in future, he added.

"Some people believe in pledges but I will not make any promise that I can't fulfill," said the ambassador.

Earlier, he paid visit to a modern telephone and wireless system, Code Davison Multiple Access (CDMA), in the province.

Lou Fintor, press officer of US embassy in Kabul told Pajhwok Afghan News the project was supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Abdul Baseer, a CDMA staffer said about 200 people had got telephone connections over the past two weeks. The new system will work under billing system, which the customers will pay on monthly basis.

Regarding the security arrangements, Paktia Governor Hakim Taniwal said the coalition forces had given them 44 vehicles to ensure peace during the elections. He added different tribes were also supporting the government and law enforcement agencies in this regard.

Zubair Babakarkhail

[Marine]

Campaign in Herat, Badakhshan turns a beauty contest


FAIZABAD, HERAT CITY, September 12 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Three young female candidates in western Herat and northern Badakhshan provinces are likely to grab seats in the next set up owing to their sheer facial beauty and attractive photographs.

Hundreds of supporters, who have never come in direct contact with the three females, are buying their pictures for as much as 150 afghani. Many more have pasted the photographs on their shops and cars without having any information about them.

However, the three aspirants, Qaeda Afif from Herat and Fauzia Gilani and Fauzia Kofabi from Badakhshan said they had never intended to get voter's support through their looks. "We want to serve our country and our people and the electorates should support us for our future plans rather than opting to vote for our photographs," said the three aspirants.

Their rivals, on the other hand, charged them of exploiting their beauty to create support for themselves. Jamshida Ahmadi, a candidate for the lower house, without specifically naming any one, told Pajhwok Afghan News some female candidates were trying to attract people by using their photographs.

Mohammad Karim, a shopkeeper at Herat City, who has pasted several posters of Qaida Afif at the wall of his shop, said: "I shall vote for that lady because I like her. "We know none of them but we are determined to vote for the most beautiful," said the smiling Karim.

A taxi driver Faridoon Mohammadi said posters of Qaida Afif and Fauzia Gilani were being sold both in Faizabad and Herat City for as much as 150 Afghani three dollars.

But the 28-year-old Qaida Afif spurned all such allegations, saying people favoured her for being young, educated and energetic. The smiley-faced and dark-eyed Qaida Afif is considered one of the hot favourites among election candidates in Herat. As many as 49 females are in the run for the five seats reserved for women in Herat.

Safiullah (40), resident of Faizabad, capital of the northern Badakhshan, said Fauzia Kofabi's photographs had been sold at 50 afghani in the city.

Mohammad Azim, a baker in Faizabad, whose shop was pasted with Fauzia's posters, said a number of young men wished to purchase the pictures but he did not sell it.

Shabana, one of Fauzia Kofabi's election campaign deputies, when contacted by this scribe, expressed ignorance about the selling of posters like hot cakes. "We don't care about what people say," said the campaigner, adding let people express their will.

Kofabi, 30, is a UNICIF staffer who also served with the organisation during the rule of the hardliner regime in Kabul. She also served as an English teacher in the province.

A regional official of the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) Syed Murtaza said no one had lodged a complaint with them about the sale of posters.

Khlida Khursand & Maniza Rasuli

sh/r/amm/dk


http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=526

[ghostgovt]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4237900.stm

13 September 2005

Day in Afghanistan: At-a-glance
The BBC News website is reporting in detail on events in Afghanistan throughout the day, to try to convey the fullest picture we can of life there ahead of Sunday's parliamentary and local elections.


NEWS 1500: Several thousand extra Nato troops are needed in Afghanistan's volatile south, British Defence Secretary John Reid says.

He tells journalists in London that from next April, Nato forces will be moved from their present locations in the north of the country to a new base in Helmand province in the south.

Mr Reid acknowledges that the deployment will be hazardous. "The Taleban are still active in the area. So are drug traffickers. We must be prepared to support, even defend, the provincial reconstruction team," he says.

[Marine]

Lightning, floods claim 20 lives in Kunar


ASADABAD/JALALABAD, September 11 (Pajhwok Afghan News): At least 20 people died in two natural disasters in the eastern Kunar province, residents and officials said on Sunday.

In the first incident, 10 of a family were killed as lightning hit a house in the Drin of the Ghaziabad district on Sunday afternoon.

Said Azim (40), a resident of the area, told Pajhwok Afghan News the lightening was followed by a heavy downpour which washed away the house of Baram Said. Seven bodies had been recovered while three members of the ill-fated family were still missing, Azim added.

He said the heavy rains had also damaged several other houses in the area besides destroying standing crops.

Confirming the tragic incident, Kunar Governor Asadullah Wafa said a relief team had been dispatched in the area to help the calamity-hit people.

Meanwhile, heavy flooding in Ghaziabad have washed away 10 people, with seven bodies found overnight, officials said on Sunday.

Zahidullah, spokesman for the provincial governor, told Pajhwok Afghan News floods - induced by torrential rains - also hit other districts Saturday night, damaging farmlands.

A search is going on in Kunar for the bodies of the three missing people who are believed to have died. Several people were killed last week in similar floods in the neighboring Nangarhar province.

Faridullah and Ezatullah Zawab

dk/mud


http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=498

[Marine]

Dozens of insurgents killed, 60 rounded up in Helmand


KANDAHAR CITY, September 11 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Anti-insurgency operations conducted in Girishk district of the southern Helmand province have led to the killing of a large number of miscreants and arrest of 60.

Haji Mohammad Wali, secretary to the Helmand governor, told Pajhwok Afghan News on Sunday a Quick Reaction Force contingent - comprising 350 soldiers backed by 35 military vehicles - conducted the operation in the restive district.

The swoops on militants in the Girishk district was still going on, he said, adding the force was poised to launch similar operations in Sangin district, another hotbed of insurgents.

Saeed Zabuli

jh/hb/amm


http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=457

[Marine]

Where most schools have no buildings


GHAZNI CITY, September 10 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Majority of students in the Deh Yak district of the southern Ghazni province are getting education in makeshift schools and mosques as 11 of the 14 schools have no buildings.

Muhammad Suleman, district education officer of Deh Yak, told Pajhwok Afghan News only three schools had proper buildings which hardly accommodate the students.

Suleman said the girl students were also studying in mosques as there were no buildings for them. He added the district needed four more schools to accommodate the increasing number of students.

Fatima Mushataq, another officer of the education department, said schools in the entire Ghazni province needed proper buildings. She complained of lack of funds with the department to construct new buildings.

Reported by Sher Ahmad Haidar

http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=461

[Marine]

Five more Taliban commanders surrender in Kunar


Pajhwok Report

ASADABAD, September 11 (Pajhwok Afghan News): In line with an ongoing national reconciliation policy, five more former Taliban commanders have surrendered to the government in the eastern Kunar province.

Kunar Governor Asadullah Wafa told Pajhwok Afghan News on Sunday the commanders joining the government were Badshah, Mohammad Amin, Israel, Abdul Ghafoor and Sadullah.

Wafa added it was a moment of jubilation for the government that Taliban commanders continued to switch sides and abjure violence while accepting to the government's offer of reconciliation.

"We are trying our best to help such commanders live a comfortable and honorable life in their homeland," promised the governor, who was confident that more and more supporters of Taliban.

On behalf of the commanders, Saadullah vowed they would not hesitate to cooperate with the government in ameliorating the lot of the masses. He said they would take part in the reconstruction effort and work for bringing peace to their war-battered country.

jh/amm/mud




http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=462

[Marine]

Dismissed army soldiers stage another demo in Kabul


KABUL, September 11 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Around 1,000 dismissed officers of the Afghan army staged a demonstration in this capital city to press for the payment of their outstanding salaries and reinstatement.

The rally was taken out at around 8:30am from the Eidgah Mosque and terminated at Pashtunistan Square, opposite the presidential palace, in the city center.

It was the latest in a series of demonstrations by the army officials, sacked in early 2002 under a defence ministry reforms programme aimed at bringing in newly-trained and professional soldiers.

The sacked army soldiers have since been demanding their unpaid salaries and the announcement of the result of a test given earlier to determine who among the dismissed officials deserved reinstatement.

One of the demonstrators, Naseer Ahmad kept shouting: "We want our right; we have served the government for years. Our children want food from us, but we have no money. Ultimately, we will have to resort to robberies if things don't change."

Shah Wali, another protestor who hails from Sarobi district, said: "We have no other way of seeking our right from the defence ministry; holding demonstrations is the only option open to us."



Zubair Babakarkhel

http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=469

[Marine]

Afghans view dilapidated roads as 3rd biggest problem


KABUL, September 11 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Most Afghan people have termed view dilapidated roads as their third biggest national problem after security and economy, reveals a survey conducted by the Center for International Journalism (CIJ).

CIJ surveyed a total of 2, 554 people on problems facing them under a government that has received billion of dollars in aid for the reconstruction of the country. Most of them opined rebuilding the lousy road network should figure prominently on the government's priority list.

A lady (32) from Takhar province linked increasingly fatal accidents to bumpy and unpaved roads. Because of the tortuous routes, patients - especially pregnant women - suffered a great deal before reaching hospitals, she reasoned.

Muhammad Gul (38), hailing from Wama district in Takhar, pointed out the northern province had extremely poor road links with the rest of the country.

Irrespective of who were elected to parliament in the September 18 polls, he stresses the would-be public representatives must raise the issue in the lower house as well as provincial councils.

Ubaidullah, belonging to Dargai in Khost, also demanded of the government to reconstruct roads at the earliest possible. He too referred to the agony of patients dying on the way to hospitals.

The problem was not confined to the countryside, he said, explaining the situation in urban areas was no better. The 25-year-old urged the government to pay special head to the rebuilding of highways and arteries.

A resident of Badghis province, Syed Noor Muhammad listed uneven routes as a huge concern for dwellers of the region. "If asphalted or paved, the roads will also help boost security," he believed.

More than two decades of war had destroyed - root and branch - highways, much to the inconvenience of people, said Amirudin Salik, advisor to the Public Works Ministry. "Regrettably, there is no one to address this major public concern on humanitarian grounds," he remarked.

Ghulam Nabi (32), resident of Farkhar district in Takhar province, said voters had asked election candidates, if returned to parliament, to make concerted efforts for resolving the pestering problem.

Daikundi inhabitant Hussain Wali complained patients in remote villages had to ride donkeys for three days before they reach the city centre for treatment.

Taxi driver Majidullah recalled during the Taliban era he would reach Kabul from Kandahar in 15 hours. "But now after the reconstruction of the highway, I take my breakfast in Kandahar and lunch in Kabul.

In a similar survey conducted by ICJ last year, 3,000 people had described a good road network as their fourth biggest problem. This year, it has gone a notch higher.



Pajhwok Report

rh/mud


http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=494

[Marine]

Tight poll-related security underlined


KANDAHAR CITY, September 11 (Pajhwok Afghan News): A Canadian-led provincial reconstruction team (PRT) based in the southern Kandahar province has stressed foolproof security for the parliamentary polls.

At a meeting with religious scholars here, PRT chief Lt-Col Stive Barlend said tight security was imperative for smooth holding of elections to the lower house and provincial councils.

Mullah Naqibullah, religious scholar and elder of the area, urged candidates to demonstrate fellow-feeling and brotherhood in the build-up to the vote. He also underlined the need for beefed-up security.

Another elder, Haji Muhammad Khan, complained polling stations were too few and people would have to walk for hours to cast votes. Setting up more polling stations will ensure a high turnout.

Captain Bob Ritchie, an official of the Canadian-led PRT, hoped the legislative polls would play a vital role in bringing true democracy to Afghanistan.

Mohibullah, an official of the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB), told Pajhwok Afghan News they had set up polling stations across the province on the basis of voter registration.

Col Hussain Andiwal, representative of the interior ministry, told this news agency he would take up the issue of establishing more polling stations with UNAMA and JEMB.



Reported by Saeed Zabuli & translated by Rahman


http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=501

[Marine]

Candidates' appointment to govt slots to be reversed

KABUL, September 11 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Two election candidates recently appointed to senior government positions in the northern Baghlan province by President Hamid Karzai will lose their jobs under the electoral law, officials said on Sunday.
President Karzai reshuffled and appointed several people to key positions last week. They included reshuffling of Baghlan Governor Juma Khan Hamdard to Jauzjan province, appointment of Masuma Yaqin as new head of women's affairs department and Raees Abdul Bari as mayor of Pul-i-Khumri, capital of Baghlan. Both Masuma Yaqin and Raees Abdul Bari are candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Commenting on the issue, administrative head of the presidential office Javid Ludin said the two were inadvertently appointed to the slots. "Appointment of the two is instantly cancelled because the electoral law don't allow it," Ludin told Pajhwok Afghan News.
Sultan Ahmad Baheen, spokesman for the Joint Electoral Management Body, showing ignorance about the appointments, said if it was so, they had to quit their jobs.
Lailuma Sadid
nd/by/dk

http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=502

[ghostgovt]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/09/1...reut/index.html

Taliban kill 7 after vote card find

Wednesday, September 14, 2005; Posted: 11:07 a.m. EDT (15:07 GMT)

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) -- Taliban insurgents have killed seven people in Afghanistan after finding them with voter cards for Sunday's elections, according to a provincial governor.

The Taliban, battling U.S. and government forces since their 2001 overthrow, are opposed to the parliamentary and provincial polls and claim to have killed several candidates.

Speaking of the seven killed on Tuesday in Uruzgan province, governor Jan Mohammad Khan said on Wednesday: "They were killed because they were carrying voting cards."

He said the seven had been traveling in a remote district when the attack took place. He gave no further details.

[heritage]

Afghanistan is still a third world country after 4 years. What has our $1 billion per month been spent on?

[heritage]

NYTimes article today:

U.S. May Start Pulling Out of Afghanistan Next Spring
By ERIC SCHMITT and DAVID S. CLOUD

Pentagon and military officials are discussing a proposal to cut troop levels in Afghanistan by as much as 20 percent next spring.