Afghan chaos growing Options

[Marine]

Four election workers dismissed in Paktika


Pajhwok Report

SHARAN, October 9 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Four election workers including the head of the joint UN-Afghan poll panel's regional office in this Paktika capital city have been sacked on charges of fraud in vote count.

A senior official of the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) based in Sharan told Pajhwok Afghan News on Sunday Barat Shahid, Amir Shah Basharat, Bostan and Samar were dismissed after they were accused of backing particular election candidates.

Taj Ali Waziri claimed the workers were in breach of the relevant election law by supporting their relatives in the electoral fray. The staffers were fired after they failed to defend themselves in the course of investigations against the accusations leveled against them, Waziri concluded.


http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=7320

[ghostgovt]

http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read.html?id=5067

US soldier killed, one wounded in southern Afghanistan


KABUL, Oct 10 (AFP) - A US soldier was killed and another was wounded in a firefight in Afghanistan's insurgency-hit southern Zabul province, the US military said Monday.

The clash erupted on Sunday when US-led forces conducting an offensive with Afghan troops came under attack in the province's Shinkay district, the US military said in a statement.

"The wounded soldier was medically evacuated to a nearby forward operating base for treatment and is currently in stable condition," it said.

More than 200 US troops involved in the US-led operation to Afghanistan have been killed since it was launched in 2001. This year has been the bloodiest yet with more than 85 US troops killed, over 50 of them in hostile fire.

[Marine]

Ariana TV goes on air in Ghazni


Borhan Younus

KABUL, October 10 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Afghanistan's newly-established and increasingly popular Ariana Television (ATN), as part of its expansion plans, launched transmissions in the southern city of Ghazni on Monday.

The private TV channel thus entered the sixth province since its inception just 47 days back, with ATN Director Ghulam Reza Zaki voicing satisfaction with their ability to reach such a large number of viewers.

"We launched our transmissions in Ghazni today after going on air in Kabul, Kandahar, Jalalabad, Mazar-i-Sharif and Herat. In the near future, we plan to expand our network to several other cities in north, central and southern parts of the country."

Zaki told Pajhwok Afghan News residents could watch ATN by using an ordinary antenna after a transmitter was installed in their city. The ATN is regarded as Afghanistan's fast growing channel airing informative programmes on a wide range of subjects including religion, languages, politics, social issues and current affairs.

Because of the caution it exercises on sensitive issues, Zaki observed, ATN is steering clear of controversy and attracting a huge audience in a conservative country where the electronic media is a new phenomenon.

Funded by Afghan trader Eng. Ehsanullah Bayat, who also co-owns one of Afghanistan's mobile phone networks, ATN is watched in 75 Asian and African nations via satellite.

Zaki revealed they would soon launch an FM radio in major cities of the country with round the clock broadcasts. The Ariana Radio has already started experimental entertainment and music transmissions in Kabul, and plans to hit the airwaves with news, analyses and educational programmes in a month's time.


http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=7388

[Marine]

One dies, five wounded as shopkeepers clash


Pajhwok Report

KABUL, October 10 (Pajhwok Afghan News): One person was killed and five other sustained injuries after a fight started between shopkeepers in Dorah-e-Paghman district of central capital, eyewitnesses said on Monday.

Naqibullah 35, one of the shopkeepers, said opening of new shops in the market sparked the clash and the assailants attacked each other with knives and bricks. The injured were rushed to the nearby hospital, where Zabit Jan Agha succumbed to injuries.

A police party of the nearby check post reached the troubled spot but failed to control the violence. Police chief of fifth district of Kabul, who was called for reinforcement, said five of the traders were arrested.



http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=7385

[Marine]

This is interesting, I wonder where the Chinese came from and what they were doing in Afghanistan?

Chinese, Pakistani Taliban killed in Zabul operation


KANDAHAR CITY, October 20 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Zabul officials claimed on Monday Afghan and US forces had killed three foreign Taliban insurgents and captured 10 others during a new military sweep.

Wazir Mohammad, administrative chief of Shinkay district, told Pajhwok Afghan News two Chinese Taliban and a Pakistani were eliminated in the overnight operation while the 10 detained insurgents were being questioned.

Army officials in the neighbouring Kandahar said they killed two Taliban fighters in Maroof district. Without giving details, they added, five suspects held in the operation were being grilled.

Saeed Zabuli

by/mud


http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=7374

[Marine]

Kabul to host ECO conference in November


KABUL, October 10 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The third conference of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) would be held in Kabul next month, officials said on Monday.

Investment Manager of the Afghanistan Investment Support Agency (AISA), Shakib Noori told Pajhwok Afghan News AISA would host the conference, due on 9th and 10th of November, in collaboration with Afghan Commerce Ministry (ACM).

Afghan President Hamid Karzai will inaugurate the conference that aims the development of private sector and reconstruction of the country.

ECO is formed by Iran, Turkey and Pakistan in 1985 and currently the number of member countries has reached ten including Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.

Conference is meant to promote trade and investment among the member states. The summit will also focus on business-to-business interaction and networking opportunity.

A bilateral cooperation would be encouraged in member nations regarding transportation, transit and investment.

The summit will arrange hot debates on social problems in general but trade and commerce in particular.

Noori said that an exposition of the products of member countries would also be opened by the conference begins.

Representatives from private sector, Afghan cabinet ministers, diplomats, and policy makers and as well as mediamen are expected to attend the conference.

Zainab Muhammadi

aqm/amm/rh



http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=7358

[Marine]

Seven US military choppers fly to Pakistan

Pajhwok Report

KABUL, October 10 (Pajhwok Afghan News): US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan will send seven military helicopters and support personnel to Pakistan to assist with emergency recovery operations in the wake of Saturday's devastating earthquake.

Following Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's assurance to support relief, recovery and rescue operations, the US dispatched five CH-47 Chinook and three UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters with their associated crews to Pakistan on Monday (today).

A US military spokesperson, speaking to this news agency, confirmed the helicopters with food, blankets, fuel and water had flown to Islamabad. She said the choppers would take part in the ongoing relief operations in northern Pakistan.

A statement released from the US Bagram Airbase said the helicopters would provide rescue, recovery and logistic assistance to Pakistani authorities. It added the combined command was in contact with the US embassy in Islamabad to provide planning assistance and technical guidance as required.

This support would not degrade the coalition's ongoing anti-insurgency operations in Afghanistan, said the press release. The US-led coalition is busy fighting militants in the troubled southern and eastern zones, where Taliban have recently stepped up attacks on foreign and Afghan forces.

Meanwhile, Afghan President Hamid Karzai expressed profound grief and shock over the killings of thousands in Pakistan. In a telephone conversation with President Pervez Musharraf, Karzai said the Afghan government and people shared the grief.




http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=7360

[vfguenley]

This is interesting, I wonder where the Chinese came from and what they were doing in Afghanistan?

Chinese, Pakistani Taliban killed in Zabul operation
KANDAHAR CITY, October 20 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Zabul officials claimed on Monday Afghan and US forces had killed three foreign Taliban insurgents and captured 10 others during a new military sweep.

Wazir Mohammad, administrative chief of Shinkay district, told Pajhwok Afghan News two Chinese Taliban and a Pakistani were eliminated in the overnight operation while the 10 detained insurgents were being questioned.

Army officials in the neighbouring Kandahar said they killed two Taliban fighters in Maroof district. Without giving details, they added, five suspects held in the operation were being grilled.

Saeed Zabuli

by/mud
http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=7374

If you follow news other than what propaganda the whitehouse is spewing, you’ll read that the Chinese have not wanted us to be warring on their continent since the get go. They have been closely watching what we are up to with the intent of not allowing this war to spill over into the rest of southwest Asia. Who knows if they have the guts to confront us, my guess is if we pushed them hard enough they would resist.

[Marine]

Well at least they are giving people trials now, they still don't have much religous tolerance. In the old days the Taleban would have just took this fellow down to the soccer stadium and beat him to death publically with a baseball bat.

Journalist held on blasphemy charges goes on trial


Pajhwok Report

KABUL, October 11 (Pajhwok Afghan News): A provincial court Tuesday started hearing in a blasphemy case filed against Ali Mohaqqiq Nasab, editor-in-chief of monthly Haqooq-i-Zan (women rights).

Muhaqqiq was incarcerated some ten days back for publication of anti-Islam articles in his magazine. Ansarullah Maulvizada, head of the provincial court, said the magazine would resume publication after the court absolves the accused from blasphemy charges.

During the hearing, the prosecution demanded of the court to award severe punishment to the accused for allegedly publishing blasphemous articles.

Asserting his innocence, Mohaqqiq said he was falsely implicated in the blasphemy case. He prayed the court to arrange an open discussion of religious scholars to decide the case.

However, the court declined his arguments and sought explanation from the accused regarding the alleged anti-Islam articles published in his magazine.

In a statement released here, president of the Afghan Independent Journalists Association (AIJA) Rahimullah Samandar demanded a fair trial of the arrested journalist. He said Muhaqqiq should be provided opportunity to clarify his position.



rh/dk/mud

[Marine]

Rice to meet senior Afghan officials on drugs, terrorism


S. Mudassir Ali Shah & Borhan Younus

KABUL, October 11 (Pajhwok Afghan News): US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to arrive here on Wednesday for talks with President Hamid Karzai and Afghan ministers on a wide range of issues, a presidential spokesman said on Tuesday.

Khaleeq Ahmad Khaleeq, spokesman for Karzai on international affairs, told Pajhwok Afghan News the visiting secretary of state would go into a meeting with Afghan businesswomen to know the problems facing them. The meeting will take place at the sprawling presidential palace immediately after her arrival in Kabul.

Rice is scheduled to meet Counter-narcotics Minister Habibullah Qaderi and senior government officials to review the pace and progress of an ongoing campaign for the elimination of drugs from the impoverished Central Asian country, where poppy cultivation and heroin smuggling have been a major cause for concern for the international community.

Among others, Rural Rehabilitation and Development Minister Hanif Atmar and Agriculture and Food Minister Obaidullah Ramin would attend the session on the combat against drugs - one of the formidable challenges for the US-backed Karzai administration.

Khaleeq added Rice would also call on President Karzai to assure him of continued US support for Afghanistan's efforts to chart its way to peace and stability. The war on terrorism, the overall situation obtaining in the region and other subjects of mutual interest will figure prominently at the Karzai-Rice talks.

Karzai and Rice would address a joint news conference at the end of their meeting, said the spokesman, who attached great importance to the US secretary's trip that comes at a crucial point in Afghanistan's transition towards democracy.

Kabul expects the world fraternity will continue to help it beyond the Bonn process, whose culmination was marked by last month's legislative polls. According to Khaleeq, Karzai will urge the US not to abandon the post-conflict nation that still needs international attention.

Meanwhile, another official source revealed Lithuanian President Valdas Adam Kus would arrive soon in Kabul for negotiations with Karzai on the post-election situation and areas where Afghanistan required urgent assistance. The source expressed unawareness when asked if a date had been firmed up for the visit.


http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=7458

[ghostgovt]

Afghan attacks mar Rice's visit
By Robin Wright
The Washington Post
Published: Thursday, October 13, 2005

KABUL, Afghanistan - Hours after three rockets were fired at foreign diplomatic facilities and the Afghan security headquarters here, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in the Afghan capital Wednesday for talks about ongoing military operations and efforts to stabilize the country's fragile new democracy.

Rice's visit, the first by a senior U.S. official since Afghanistan's parliamentary elections last month, also came as six Afghan soldiers and five Afghan aid workers, including two doctors, were killed in attacks Wednesday blamed on insurgents from the Islamic extremist Taliban militia.

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2005/10/...on=nation_world

[Marine]

Afghan Military Academy Begins Second Term

By Air Force 1st Lt. Leslie Brown Office of Security Cooperation-Afghanistan Public Affairs

KABUL, Afghanistan — Cadets at the National Military Academy of Afghanistan started their second semester recently as 97 students returned from mid-term break.

“We are much more prepared this semester,” said ANA Maj. Gen. Mohammad Sharif, the NMAA’s commanding general.

The academy, which is modeled after the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, made history when it opened its doors to the first class of Afghan National Army cadets in March 2005.

With the experience gained during the first semester, said Sharif, taking care of any problems that may arise is easier. “We also know the process to fix any deficiencies we may encounter now that we’ve completed our first semester,” he said.

The Academy is located on the grounds of a former flight technology school adjacent to the Kabul International Airport. Six of the compound’s buildings have been completely renovated for use.

The Academy is a four-year, degree-granting institution that will commission second lieutenants for the ANA. Cadets will earn a bachelor’s degree with an emphasis on civil, mechanical, systems or electrical engineering.

Besides providing its graduates with a college education, the NMAA has another, even more important mission.

“The main thing this academy gives them is integrity,” said Army Col. Dean Stodter, chief of the Office of Security Cooperation-Afghanistan’s Military Academy Implementation Team. “Our purpose is to develop character and values, things they might not get elsewhere.”

With a full semester complete, 97 cadets remain of the 120 young men who were selected to join the first class. Future classes will have between 250 to 300 students each and upperclassmen will take on leadership roles in guiding the underclassmen.

“The intent is to grow the brigade of cadets until we’re graduating about 300 new second lieutenants per year,” said Army Maj. Dawn Conniff, a Military Academy Implementation Team advisor.

Along with the upperclassmen, Afghan Army noncommissioned officers will also train the cadets.

“The NCOs will teach the cadets basic military tasks,” said Army 1st Sgt. Sean McMullan, a training advisor at the Academy. “They teach periods of instruction on subjects such as how to assemble, disassemble and maintain an AK-47.”

It hasn’t been easy for McMullan and the other advisors to break the Soviet-style leadership that the Afghans are accustomed to. “We are trying to break the stigma that only officers can teach,” he said. “You have to allow the NCOs and the cadets the opportunity to fail. If they have to teach a class twice, then they teach it twice.”

Though the timeline for increasing the size of each new class of cadets is dependent on future funding and infrastructure requirements, current Afghan Ministry of Defense plans are to access between 200 to 350 students next February. Subsequent year accessions also are linked to those factors.

“As attrition and other personnel models develop, we may need to access more or less cadets in the subsequent years in order to actually graduate the annual goal of 300 cadets,” Conniff said. “The NMAA will provide the ANA with the bulk of their lieutenant population.”

The cadets, who are between the ages of 18 and 23, earn $20 per month during their first year. They also receive free books, supplies, housing and food in addition to their education.

One cadet, Jamshid Dehzad, is excited about attending the military academy.

“I’ve always had an interest in the army. When I heard they started the academy I was happy,” Dehzad said. “I’ve wanted to do this my entire life.”

Dehzad, who is from the Laghman Province, has one important reason for wanting to earn a commission in the ANA.

“I want to command in the infantry, so I can serve my country,” he said. “Because my country needs to be secure.”

http://www.centcom.mil/CentcomNews/Stories/10_05/25.htm

[vfguenley]

Rice to meet senior Afghan officials on drugs, terrorism
S. Mudassir Ali Shah & Borhan Younus

KABUL, October 11 (Pajhwok Afghan News): US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to arrive here on Wednesday for talks with President Hamid Karzai and Afghan ministers on a wide range of issues, a presidential spokesman said on Tuesday.

Khaleeq Ahmad Khaleeq, spokesman for Karzai on international affairs, told Pajhwok Afghan News the visiting secretary of state would go into a meeting with Afghan businesswomen to know the problems facing them. The meeting will take place at the sprawling presidential palace immediately after her arrival in Kabul.

Rice is scheduled to meet Counter-narcotics Minister Habibullah Qaderi and senior government officials to review the pace and progress of an ongoing campaign for the elimination of drugs from the impoverished Central Asian country, where poppy cultivation and heroin smuggling have been a major cause for concern for the international community.

Among others, Rural Rehabilitation and Development Minister Hanif Atmar and Agriculture and Food Minister Obaidullah Ramin would attend the session on the combat against drugs - one of the formidable challenges for the US-backed Karzai administration.

Khaleeq added Rice would also call on President Karzai to assure him of continued US support for Afghanistan's efforts to chart its way to peace and stability. The war on terrorism, the overall situation obtaining in the region and other subjects of mutual interest will figure prominently at the Karzai-Rice talks.

Karzai and Rice would address a joint news conference at the end of their meeting, said the spokesman, who attached great importance to the US secretary's trip that comes at a crucial point in Afghanistan's transition towards democracy.

Kabul expects the world fraternity will continue to help it beyond the Bonn process, whose culmination was marked by last month's legislative polls. According to Khaleeq, Karzai will urge the US not to abandon the post-conflict nation that still needs international attention.

Meanwhile, another official source revealed Lithuanian President Valdas Adam Kus would arrive soon in Kabul for negotiations with Karzai on the post-election situation and areas where Afghanistan required urgent assistance. The source expressed unawareness when asked if a date had been firmed up for the visit.
http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=7458

Bush and Drugs, maybe it’s a once you’re a coke head always a coke head thing, it doesn’t appear that Bush or his sheople care to be the ones who inhibit the drug trade in this country the Bush bunch have been running for four years now. What can be said to the American constituency in defense of the handling of the excessive drug traffic generated in Afghanistan. The drugs are both making their way into the US and the drugs being sold are supporting the other side of the war with terrorism. You can say that this president is also supporting terrorists with his lack of ability to slow the drug traffic in southwest Asia.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0513/p01s04-wosc.html
Afghanistan riddled with drug ties
The involvement of local as well as high-level government officials in the opium trade is frustrating efforts to eradicate poppy fields.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...0-2004Oct5.html
Afghanistan's Drug Boom
The opium problem could undo everything that's being done to help the Afghan people

http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issue...2/1125drugs.htm
Afghanistan: Drugs Funding Warlords

This post has been edited by vfguenley: Oct 14 2005, 07:46 AM

[Marine]

U.S. Soldiers awarded for saving life of ANA Soldier

By U.S. Army Capt. Mirtha Villarreal, Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix Public Affairs

KABUL MILITARY TRAINING CENTER, KABUL, Afghanistan – Two Soldiers from the 136th Regional Training Center at the Kabul Military Training Center were awarded the Army Commendation Medal with Valor during a ceremony here May 5.

Staff Sgt. Scott Ehrman and Staff Sgt. David Dixon received the award for actions that saved the life of an Afghan National Army Soldier who stepped on a land mine Dec. 12 near KMTC.

KMTC is the schoolhouse for the ANA and much of the training is conducted on the surrounding ranges. Minefields are a reminder that KMTC was once occupied by the Russians and later the Taliban.

Mined areas are marked and sentries are posted to insure that Soldiers do not accidentally walk through the danger areas. On this day, an ANA Soldier walked towards the sentry through the marked path but decided to take a short cut on his return.

“I heard an explosion and looked towards the direction of the blast,” Ehrman said. “I saw a smoke cloud, then an ANA Soldier hobbling out. From there it was all automatic.”

Dixon immediately drove to the edge of the marked minefield area and called in the grid coordinates to Range Control and requested medical assistance. He then turned over the radio to Ehrman who assumed tactical control on the ground and closed down surrounding ranges. Ehrman then directed the medical team to the designated area.

Meanwhile, Dixon realized that the wounded Soldier would have to be extracted from the mined area. He, Ehrman and the ANA cadre on the ground devised a rescue plan.

A flatbed truck with two ANA Soldiers was used to drive into the area . The Soldiers pulled the wounded Soldier into the truck and drove back on the exact path they took in. Dixon supervised the first aid care.

Even though the ANA Soldier lost his foot, medics believe the quick actions of Dixon and Ehrman spared the Soldier’s life.

“You don’t think about what can happen to you. You do what you can for the wounded Soldier,” Dixon said.

The Soldiers’ courageous efforts are an example of what our citizen Soldiers can do when called upon. The Soldiers first met while serving in the Marine Corps in 1991, and both had left the military to pursue civilian life.

When the Twin Towers were hit on September 11, 2001, Ehrman called up his old friend and talked him into rejoining the Armed Forces. Dixon is from Dallas and Ehrman is from Farmersville, Texas, and both decided to join the Texas National Guard.

Afghanistan is the second deployment for both since they decided to re-enlist.

When asked if they regretted the decision to rejoin, they both smiled and said, “We will stay in as long as they will have us”.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Sign up for the CENTCOM/Coalition Newsletters
http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/Heroes%...ion/05_05/4.htm

[ghostgovt]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-10...n-tankers_x.htm

Bomb destroys 8 tankers in Afghanistan
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — A blast destroyed eight fuel tankers Friday outside the U.S.-led coalition's main base in southern Afghanistan. Two drivers were injured in the explosion, which sent thick black clouds billowing over Kandahar Airfield.

U.S. military spokeswoman Sgt. Marina Evans said the tankers belonged to the Afghan army and one hit a land mine as they were passing the base.

But Afghan army commander Gen. Mohammed Sarwar said the explosion was believed to have been caused by a bomb hidden in one of the tankers.

An Associated Press reporter saw the blackened remains of eight tankers in one of the base's parking lots, next to its outer walls.

There has been a string of attacks on tankers contracted by the coalition to haul fuel to its bases from neighboring Pakistan. Friday's was the biggest in months.

[Marine]

B Company, 451st Civil Affairs Battalion helps out at a local school

116th Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office

FOB WARRIOR, Iraq – As part of the 116th Brigade Combat Team, soldiers of B Company, 451st Civil Affairs Battalion are working hard to assess vital services with the goal of improving the quality of life for families in Kirkuk Province, Iraq.

The B Company, 451st Civil Affairs Battalion mission is multi-faceted as it often requires a thorough assessment of towns, villages, and city neighborhoods throughout the Kirkuk province and surrounding areas. The civil affairs soldier is prepared to submit various reports based on information collected during an assessment and it is during this gathering of information that the soldier is often presented an opportunity to do one of the most rewarding missions – that of visiting local schools and delivering supplies to the children.

The civil affairs soldiers are often the recipients of numerous school supply packages, either donated from their own family members and friends or from organizations that work with the U.S. military in supplying large-scale school supply packages.

“We work closely with Operation Provide School Supplies and we are working closely with the Kirkuk DG of Education to ensure that school supplies are distributed equitably across the city, across all ethnic groups – we don’t play favorites”, said Maj. Eric Boettcher, Commander of the B Company, 451st Civil Affairs Battalion.

The civil affairs soldiers of B Company, 451st Civil Affairs Battalion are working to improve the quality of life for school children in the province of Kirkuk, as this is only a small part of the 116th Brigade Combat Team’s mission while deployed in north central Iraq.

“Many times the civil affairs soldiers are the ones that are in the best position to deliver donated school supplies throughout the city because we are out in the city so often during the week”, said Capt. Alex Carter, Civil Affairs Team Chief. “On this particular day, we were able to donate over 600 lbs of pens, pencils, folders, notebooks, staplers, soccer balls, gum, and paper to the Ishtar Elementary School, right here in the city.”

The 116th BCT mission also includes assisting Iraq’s new government, supporting economic development, facilitating communications and improving security and stability in the region.


http://www.centcom.mil/CentcomNews/Stories/10_05/22.htm

This post has been edited by Marine: Oct 15 2005, 04:50 PM

[heritage]

CBS 60 MInutes did a segment Sunday on Afghan poppy crop and government ineptitude

Afghan Opium Production Resists Eradication

Updated 1:31 PM ET October 17, 2005
http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pr..._051006&src=abc

Poppy cultivation in Afghanistan fell this year but opium production barely budged, making the rugged mountain nation once again world's largest heroin purveyor, despite national and international efforts to curtail the drug's spread.

Nipping Afghanistan's opium problem in the bud thus far has meant targeting poppy farmers, but the root of the problem lies beyond the fields and within Afghanistan's government, say experts.

The problems are manifold. The heroin industry puts many Afghans at the mercy of narco-traffickers, and Russia and Europe are grappling with skyrocketing heroin use, which has fueled a rise in HIV cases.

In the last few years, the refining of opium into morphine and heroin has shifted within Afghanistan, signaling that organized crime has implanted itself, with opium profits now believed to be fueling the insurgency and international terrorist groups.

The Afghan government and international community have grappled unsuccessfully with the problem, but one think tank suggests that the answer is as simple as allowing poppy farmers to grow the plant legally for sale to pharmaceutical companies, rather than attempting to eradicate the crop. .....

[Marine]

Marijuana Eradication
Released: 09/09/2005

Sheriff’s Deputies spent Wednesday evening September 7, 2005 destroying nearly 2000 marijuana plants at the County’s Highway department following a two day joint operation between the Governors Task Force on Marijuana eradication and the Anderson County Sheriff's Department. Deputies along with Task Force members seized the plants after they were spotted by Helicopter Pilots with the Tennessee Hwy Patrol flying throughout Anderson County.

“The Knox County Sheriff’s department provided a pilot and helicopter to our drug unit in a similar operation just last week. It would be extremely difficult to locate these fields without the use of a plane or helicopter in such rural areas.” said White.

http://www.tnacso.net/news/display.php?iid=19

I bet if poppies would grow in Tennessee we might see a different title.

This post has been edited by Marine: Oct 17 2005, 02:20 PM

[heritage]

Afghans Outraged Over Alleged Desecration

Updated 6:11 PM ET October 20, 2005
By DANIEL COONEY

http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pr...8dc1cg84&src=ap

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Islamic clerics expressed outrage Thursday at television footage that purportedly shows U.S. soldiers burning the bodies of two dead Taliban fighters to taunt other militants and warned of a possible violent anti-American backlash.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the alleged desecration and ordered an inquiry. The operational commander of the U.S. military in Afghanistan, which launched its own criminal probe, said the alleged act, if true, was "repugnant."

Worried about the potential for anti-American feelings over the incident, the State Department said it instructed U.S. embassies around the globe to tell local governments that the reported abuse did not reflect American values.

Cremating bodies is banned under Islam, and one Muslim leader in Afghanistan compared the video to photographs of U.S. troops abusing prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.

"Abu Ghraib ruined the reputation of the Americans in Iraq and to me this is even worse," said Faiz Mohammed, a top cleric in northern Kunduz province. "This is against Islam. Afghans will be shocked by this news. It is so humiliating. There will be very, very dangerous consequences from this."

Anger also was evident in the streets.

"If they continue to carry out such actions against us, our people will change their policy and react with the same policy against them," said Mehrajuddin, a resident of Kabul, who like many Afghans uses only one name.

Another man in the capital, Zahidullah, said the reported abuse was like atrocities committed by Soviet troops, who were driven out of Afghanistan in 1989 after a decade of occupation. He warned that the same could happen to American forces.

"Their future will be like the Russians," Zahidullah said.

In Washington, the U.S. government also condemned the alleged incident.

The allegation was "very serious" and "very troubling," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. His comment came after the department said U.S. embassies had been told to inform foreigners that abuse of remains "is not reflective of our values."

The move suggested U.S. worries about an anti-American uproar like Afghan riots in May that erupted after Newsweek said U.S. soldiers at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility desecrated Islam's holy book, the Quran. Newsweek later retracted the story.

The alleged body burning comes as the U.S. military is struggling to bolster its image in Afghanistan amid charges by Karzai of heavy-handed tactics in fighting the Taliban.

Australia's SBS television network broadcast the video purportedly showing soldiers burning the bodies of two suspected Taliban fighters in hills outside Gonbaz village in the southern Shah Wali Kot district _ an area plagued by Taliban activity and considered by the local security forces as too dangerous to venture into unless accompanied by U.S. troops.

The network said the video was taken by a freelance journalist, Stephen Dupont. Dupont, who told The Associated Press that he was embedded with the Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade, said the burnings happened Oct. 1.

He told SBS that soldiers in a U.S. Army psychological operations unit later broadcast taunting messages targeting the village, which was believed to be harboring Taliban fighters.

"They deliberately wanted to incite that much anger from the Taliban so the Taliban could attack them. ... That's the only way they can find them," Dupont said.

The video did not show those messages being broadcast, although it showed some military vehicles fitted with speakers and playing loud music.

According to a transcript released by SBS, the messages called the Taliban "cowardly dogs."

"You are too scared to come down and retrieve their bodies," said one message, according to the transcript.

Dupont told the AP the messages were broadcast in the local dialect but were translated into English for him by members of the Army unit. He declined to provide further information.

The U.S. military said the Army Criminal Investigation Command was looking into the matter.

"This alleged action is repugnant to our common values," Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya said from the U.S. base at Bagram. "This command takes all allegations of misconduct or inappropriate behavior seriously and has directed an investigation into circumstances surrounding this allegation."

A U.S. military spokeswoman, Sgt. Marina Evans, said investigators would check whether the purported act violated the Geneva Convention, which says the dead must be "honorably interred, if possible according to the rites of the religion to which they belonged."

The Afghan Defense Ministry launched its own investigation, Karzai's spokesman, Karim Rahimi, said.

"We strongly condemn any disrespect to human bodies regardless of whether they are those of enemies or friends," he told the AP.
___

Associated Press writers Meraiah Foley and Mike Corder in Sydney, Australia, and Amir Shah in Kabul and Noor Khan in Kandahar contributed to this report.

[heritage]

Cheney and his party got roughed up in Afghanistan...

Cheney Pledges Support to Afghan Democracy

Updated 2:42 PM ET December 19, 2005
http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pu...8ejgqfg3&src=ap

By NEDRA PICKLER

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Vice President Dick Cheney, celebrating democratic milestones in countries where U.S.-led invasions have toppled oppressive regimes, promised Afghans on Monday that the United States will not abandon its commitment to their infant democracy.

Cheney's presence in a front-row seat at the opening of the Afghan parliament came a day after a surprise visit to Iraq, where the vice president basked in the afterglow of that nation's successful parliamentary elections last week.

Cheney did not speak at the inaugural ceremonies for Afghanistan's national assembly, where 249 people, many in turbans and head scarves, took the oath of office. But by simply attending, he reflected the significance of the day to a White House that is in full campaign mode to improve its image and shore up the war on terror.

"The victory of freedom in Afghanistan as well as Iraq will be an inspiration to democratic reformers in other lands," Cheney said in an address later to U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan.

Cheney said the U.S. invasion that ousted the former Taliban regime "helped prepare the way for democratic institutions and a free society."

"In free elections, the Afghan people have shown the world their determination to chart their own destiny," he said at Bagram Air Base. "In this journey of freedom and progress, they will continue to have the full support of America and our coalition."

At the parliament, Cheney _ accompanied by his wife, Lynne _ listened to an English translation of the celebration from an earpiece. Two other U.S. representatives, Ambassador Ronald E. Neumann and coalition commander Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, did the same.

Colorfully dressed children scattered flower petals throughout the chamber and teenagers sang an Afghan song. President Hamed Karzai grew visibly emotional during his hour-long address to the new lawmakers.

Later, as Cheney lunched on kabobs, bread and rice with Karzai at his palace, the Afghan leader offered gratitude to the United States. The day "means progress. It means achievement. It means togetherness," Karzai said as the two men shook hands for the cameras in front of two dozen Afghan soldiers standing at attention.

Cheney told the U.S. troops they should be proud they helped liberate 25 million Afghans from the Taliban's tyranny.

"We are firmly committed to the safety of the Afghan people, to the success of this democracy, and to lasting peace and stability in the region," he said. "There is still a terrorist element in this country, and some Taliban die-hards who apparently are slow learners. The job of this task force is to find these enemies, to confront them directly, and to take them out of commission."

The vice president is on a five-day tour aimed at strengthening support for the war on terror. He also planned to visit key allies Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia before returning to Washington on Sunday.

The Cheneys' seven-hour visit to Afghanistan began when his unmarked C-17 landed at Bagram Air Base and he flew via helicopter to the parliament building. The chopper landing stirred up a dust storm, but the Cheneys ducked into a black SUV for a more secure street-crossing into the parliament grounds.

Secret Service agents stayed unusually close for the short ride, walking alongside the Cheneys' vehicle with their hands on its side. A gun-toting Afghan soldier dressed in fatigues pushed some of the vice president's staff and press corps against a wall until the compound gate closed behind the truck, leaving part of Cheney's entourage stranded outside.

Afghan security forces insisted on searching all their bags, over the objections of Secret Service agents who said they already had been examined. The confrontation between the Afghans and Americans grew tense at times. At one point a U.S. official demanded that the Afghans lower their weapons.

The vice president's military aides refused to have their bags searched _ they were carrying classified nuclear war plans that are supposed to be with Cheney at all times. A White House advance staffer angrily demanded that the Afghans allow them inside to be near Cheney without being searched.

The Afghans relented but insisted on body searches for the rest of Cheney's traveling party. The men were patted down outside in a dusty courtyard, while the women were taken into a small room and searched completely by hand by Afghan women.

Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.