Two commanders among five Taliban held in Uruzgan
By Aziz Zahid
KABUL, July 10 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Five Taliban fighters including two commanders were arrested in the troubled central province of Uruzgan, the Defence Ministry said on Sunday.

The insurgents were apprehended on Saturday during search operations conducted by the army in Charchino district of the militancy-haunted province, according to the ministry's Military Corps No 205 in Kandahar.

Commanders Mullah Jalil and Mullah Mira Jan and their three supporters were held with nine machine-guns and ammunitions, General Mohammad Sarwar told Pajhwok Afghan News in a telephone call.

Gen. Sarwar, who did not know whether the detained Taliban put up any resistance or just surrendered meekly to security personnel, said they had been handed over to American forces in the region for investigation.


Translated by Mudassir

Family of detained Afghan expelled from Pakistan
By Pakhtun Sahar
ISLAMABAD, July 10 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The family of an Afghan terror suspect, who was arrested this last week from a refugee camp in Bajaur Agency, has been expelled from Pakistan.

Authorities said on Sunday Dilbar was among the 22 suspects rounded up during the late-night swoop on July 6 on a refugee camp in Mamoond tehsil of the tribal agency, lying cheek by jowl with the Pak-Afghan border.

Still in detention, Dilbar had his family - including six females - driven from the tribal area a day earlier. Belongings of the household were loaded on trucks and handed over to Afghan guards at the Ghakhi border crossing.

Amir Zaman, assistant political agent (APA) of Mamoond tehsil, claimed Dilbar had links to a terrorist organisation and was involved in 'illegal activities.' However, the APA did not name the militant outfit.

In a telephonic conversation with Pajhwok Afghan News, Zaman insisted: "We have received incontrovertible proofs that Dilbar is an important member of a terrorist group."

He added they could not allow such Afghan refugees to live in Pakistan as could harm its interests and disrupt public peace.

As the government alleged the 22 people arrested in the crackdown were terrorists, families insisted the detainees were innocent and should be set free immediately.

Zaman Gul, father of Qeemat Gul who was also picked up in the swoop, had told Pajhwok Afghan News last week: "One having a satellite phone cannot be adjudged as a terrorist. These days, everyone has a satellite phone."

Translated & edited by Mudassir

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-07/...ent_3197943.htm

Taliban kills another pro-gov't clergy in Afghanistan

KABUL, July 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Taliban in their latest campaign against pro-government religious leaders have assassinated another clergy in troubled southeast Paktika province, provincial governor said Saturday.

"The criminal Taliban entered the house of Mawlawi Agha Jan and slaughtered him along with his wife mid last night," Gulab Mangal told Xinhua via telephone.

The late Agha, who used to stay in Paktika's provincial capital of Sharan was the head of local Ulema or Religious Scholars Council.

It is the third deadly attack on pro-government religious scholars in the militancy-plaguing southern and southeastern provinces of the post-Taliban nation.

Earlier two more pro-government religious leaders have been shot dead by Taliban rebels over the past two months.

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Pashto singers underline Pak-Afghan cultural exchanges
By Wagma Saba Amir
PESHAWAR, July 10 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Pashtun artistes in this provincial capital of the NWFP have underscored exchanges of singers to strengthen existing bonds between the peoples of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In the wake of a recent visit of popular singers Rahim Shah and Gulzar Alam to Kabul and their performance in the neighbouring country, a number of senior and young vocalists have called on the two governments to keep the process going.

Speaking to Pajhwok Afghan News, Mah Jabeen Qazalbash, once acclaimed as Frontier's music diva, argued the exchanges would accord greater substance to the bilateral relationship and artistes on both sides would benefit from cross-cultural interactions.

Asking the Afghan government to give an early official sanction to such cultural visits, Mah Jabeen pointed out Pashtun singers could also croon Persian songs, a fact reflective of the many commonalities between the two nations.

Shedding light on her family's history, she recalled her forefathers had migrated to Peshawar from the Iranian city of Mashad a long time back, a choice driven by regional affinities.

Zek Afridi, a rising songster on the Pakistan music scene, hailed the singers' trip to Kabul as a positive omen. "If continued, the process will lend Pak-Afghan ties a whole new boost and diversity," Afridi hoped.

"Singers and musicians are the ambassadors of peace, love and brotherhood," remarked the youngster, who enjoys tremendous popularity with music-lovers across the NWFP.

Zek Afridi has innovatively vocalized several Persian songs intoned by the late Ahmad Zahir - the legendary Afghan singer. "If invited, I will happily visit Kabul to give concerts to my Afghan brethren," Afridi volunteered.


Translated by Daud

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Tribal elders to help secure parliamentary polls
By Ilyas Wahdat
GARDEZ, July 9 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Tribal elders of Zazai tribe Friday vowed not to allow anyone to disrupt the upcoming parliamentary polls.

In a resolution, unanimously approved by some 1,000 elders of the Pashtun tribe, the elders pledged to discourage all such efforts aimed at derailing the September 18 landmark parliamentary elections.

The meeting was largely attended by elders from Zazai Maidan district of Khost, Ahmad Khel, Dandi Patan and Zazai Aryob districts of Paktia province.

Talking to Pajhwok Afghan News, Haji Mohammad Daud from Zazai Aryob district of Paktia province said residents of the respective areas would be responsible for searching and finding out the perpetrators in case of any attack against the government or coalition forces during the election.

They will later be handed over to the general council for punishment, he added.

It merits a mention here that a bomb attack on a US military convoy in Zazai Aryob district had reportedly killed two soldiers some 10 days ago.


sh/by/dk

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-07/...ent_3197895.htm

Taliban attacks police convoy, abducts 15 in Afghanistan

KABUL, July 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Suspected Taliban in a violent attack set ablaze a police van and took away 15 policemen along with two vehicles in southern Helmand province Friday, an official said Saturday.

"Taliban ambushed a three-vehicle convoy of border police on Desho-Lashkargah highway yesterday, destroyed a vehicle and took away 15 policemen including a commander along with two vehicles," district chief of Disho Hajji Abdul Rahim told Xinhua.

He added that he was unaware of the fate of the abducted policemen.

In the meantime, Taliban spokesman Mullah Abdul Latif Hakimi claimed that Taliban fighters had killed seven of their captives while holding the remaining eight in an unknown location.

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Dates for Musharraf's Kabul visit yet to be firmed up
By Pashtoon Sahar and Lailuma Sadid
ISLAMABAD, July 10 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf is planning to visit Kabul on July 20 to hold talks with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai on a host of issues with special focus on strained relations between the neighbouring countries.

President Musharraf's scheduled visit to Kabul was confirmed by Pakistan Information Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmed during a press conference in this Pakistani capital a day earlier.

The trip is aimed at boosting ties besides bringing an end to exchange of recriminations between the two countries.

The two leaders will also discuss the ongoing war against terror, re-emergence of Taliban, possible existence of al-Qaeda remnants in remote parts of the two countries and the upcoming parliamentary polls in Afghanistan.

Speaking to Pajhwok Afghan News, a Foreign Ministry official here said dates for the visit were yet to be firmed up.

Naveed Ahmad Moez, a spokesman for Afghan Foreign Ministry, when contacted, said it was too early to issue comment on the subject. "We are awaiting our government's decision regarding President Musharraf's visit to Kabul," Moez concluded.


Jh/by/dk

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Two Pakistanis among five arrested in Kandahar
By Saeed Zabuli
KANDAHAR CITY, July 9 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Police claimed arresting five people for allegedly planning to carry out terrorist attacks in the southern Kandahar province.

They included three Afghan and two Pakistani nationals. Police claimed recovering four mines and some secret documents from their possession.

Presenting the arrested people before journalists on Friday, Kandahar Governor Asadullah Khalid told a press conference, the three Afghans were arrested in Loya Wiala area of the Kandahar city, while the Pakistanis were captured in Spin Boldak. They were going to Maroof district to carry out attacks and terrorist activities in the area.

The governor said police had recovered four mines from the arrested Afghans and secret documents from the Pakistanis. They would be handed over the attorney office to be dealt with according to the law.

Without conceding information about the documents allegedly recovered from the two Pakistanis, Khalid jumped to the conclusion that the five were poised to carry out terrorist activities in the area.

The two Pakistanis, Mohammad Akbar and Mohammad Ibrahim, told Pajhwok Afghan News they were induced by the Taliban promising them of huge sums in return for waging 'jihad' in the Maroof district. They said they were residents of Ziarat area of the Balochistan province.

Lal Mohammad (38), one of the arrested Afghans, said he had no connection with any group or ideology. Rather personal enmity is involved in planting the mines and attacking the government installations.


Translated by Daud

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4072830.stm

3 July, 2005

What now for the Taleban?


Debilitating


As the spring fighting season gives way to summer, the situation remains uncertain.


There are some steps forward - for example, the decision of several moderate Taleban members to stand for September's parliamentary elections.

On the other hand, there are some serious steps back.

Earlier this month, a bomb exploded at a mosque in Kandahar during the funeral of an anti-Taleban Islamic scholar - 20 people were killed. It was the worst bombing attack in the past three years.

The Taleban initially claimed responsibility, but then denied it.

However, many analysts believe they were involved in some way.

Other attacks continue, meaning there is little hope of the Americans being able to withdraw.

Some say they are bogged down. The history of insurgencies shows it takes very few people to pin down a very large number of troops.

There are thought to be no more than 2,000 active Taleban militants and perhaps several hundred followers of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

But even if the number of defections increases, the Taleban insurgency and the debilitating insecurity it brings could carry on for a long time yet.

4 Terror Suspects Escape U.S. Afghan Base

Updated 9:31 AM ET July 11, 2005
By AMIR SHAH

http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pr...8b979800&src=ap

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Four suspected terrorists escaped Monday from the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, the first time anyone has broken out of the heavily guarded detention facility, sparking a massive ground and air search, officials said.

"They are considered dangerous and are suspected terrorists. That is why they were detained initially," a U.S. military spokeswoman, Lt. Cindy Moore, told The Associated Press.

The four are Arabs from Syria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Libya, said Kaber Ahmad, the government chief in Bagram, which is adjacent to the vast U.S. base by the same name, and whose security forces are helping in the search.

"Coalition forces, police and Afghan troops have surrounded several villages near the base," Ahmad said. Photos of the four, who have short hair and long beards and were wearing yellow prison clothes, were distributed, he said.

Moore declined to identify the four or elaborate why they were being held. Another military spokesman, Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara, described them only as "enemy combatants."

He said it was the first time anyone has broken out of Bagram's detention facility. The base is home to thousands of U.S. and coalition soldiers.

U.S. helicopters, American troops on the ground and Afghan forces were scouring the area around Bagram, an hour's drive north of Kabul, for the four, who vanished around dawn, she said.

About 500 people are being held by U.S. forces in Afghanistan, most of them at Bagram, O'Hara said.

Some 76 detainees who were no longer considered to be a threat were released from U.S. detention facilities Saturday, a week after an initial group of 57 were set free. Another 66 are to be freed shortly, a U.S. military statement said Monday. [Why now?]

Though no one has escaped from Bagram, detainees have broken out of other prisons. In October 2003, 41 suspected Taliban rebels escaped from an Afghan government-run jail in the southern city of Kandahar by digging a tunnel.

The escape comes after allegations that U.S. military personnel at Bagram and at other detention facilities have abused prisoners. The U.S. military has said it would not tolerate any maltreatment. [Is this a new charge??]

Body of U.S. Commando Found in Afghanistan

Updated 9:08 AM ET July 11, 2005
By DANIEL COONEY

http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pr...8b96un80&src=ap

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The body of a missing U.S. commando has been located in eastern Afghanistan, the military said Monday, bringing an end to the desperate search for the last member of an ill-fated, four-man special forces unit that disappeared last month.

One of the four men was rescued on July 3; the other two were found dead the next day.

The body of the fourth U.S. Navy SEAL was found Sunday in Kunar province by a search and rescue team, the military said in a statement. It said all indications are that he died in fighting, despite a claim by Mullah Latif Hakimi, a purported Taliban spokesman, that he was captured alive and beheaded.

"The location and disposition of the service member's remains indicate he died while fighting off enemy terrorists on or about June 28," the statement said.

U.S. military spokesman Col. James Yonts repeatedly denied Hakimi's claims.

"There have been claims of being dropped on a mountain wearing red clothes, there have been claims of being beheaded," he said. But "there was no indication supporting the claims. ... This individual was never in custody, he was never defamed or disgraced."

He said the injuries on the commando's body were consistent with "a firefight, a combat operation with smalls arms fire, RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) rounds."

Hakimi never offered proof to back up his claim that the rebels were holding the commando, or that they had killed him. Information from Hakimi in the past has sometimes proven exaggerated or untrue, and his exact tie to the Taliban leadership cannot be independently verified.

The Navy SEAL team went missing after a special forces helicopter carrying reinforcements to a mountainous area in eastern Kunar province was shot down on June 28, killing all 16 Americans on board, the deadliest single attack on the U.S. military since the war here began in 2001.

Yonts said the commando's body was found near the chopper crash site in an area "that we had looked over before, but where his body was located was hard to find."

The name of the commando was not immediately released, pending notification of family.

U.S. and Afghan officials have warned that the violence is likely to worsen in the lead-up to legislative elections in September _ the country's next key step toward democracy after a quarter century of war.

Yonts said the U.S. military was preparing to deploy an airborne infantry battalion based in Fort Bragg, N.C., to provide additional troops for the 20,000-strong U.S.-led coalition. He gave no other details about the deployment.

Kunar province has long been a hotbed of militant activity and a haven for fighters loyal to renegade former premier Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who is wanted by the United States. U.S. officials said al-Qaida fighters also were in the region. Osama bin Laden was not said to be there _ though he is believed to be somewhere along the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier.

The region's wooded mountains are popular with militants because they are easy to infiltrate from neighboring Pakistan and have plenty of places to hide.

Meanwhile, suspected Taliban gunmen ambushed a border patrol in the desert near the frontier with Pakistan, killing and beheading 10 Afghan soldiers, a provincial governor said Sunday. Violence elsewhere left 15 rebels and soldiers dead.

The 25-member patrol was attacked Saturday in southern Helmand province by militants driving four four-wheel-drive pickups, said provincial Gov. Sher Mohammed Aghunzada.

The insurgents killed 10 soldiers; 15 fled the ambush, Aghunzada said.

"The Taliban cut the heads off all the soldiers who were killed," he said. Aghunzada said the dead soldiers' bodies had been recovered.

He said the assailants launched the assault after driving across the border from Pakistan and returned across the frontier. The border is unguarded in that remote area.

Twelve other Afghan soldiers were killed Sunday when a land mine blew up under their vehicle in Paktika province, also near the border with Pakistan, provincial deputy police chief Ghulam Nabi said.

He said it wasn't clear if the mine was one of hundreds of thousands of old mines left over from a quarter century of fighting, or had been newly planted.

July 11, 2005 - Monday :: Welcome. Subscribe to receive newstories.

Gold mine discovered in Herat, claims minister
By Ahmad Ehsan Sarwaryar
HERAT CITY, July 11 (Pajhwok Afghan News): A large gold mine, also containing precious stones, has been discovered in the western province of Herat, an Afghan minister disclosed on Monday.

Eng. Mir Mohammad Sediq, minister of mines and industries, told reporters while inaugurating an industrial town in Herat that the pit was discovered in Chesth district three weeks back.

"We have sent samples from the mine to international laboratories, with the results indicating the presence of gold in the mine. Thus it is the best kind of mine," the minister remarked.

He added the laboratories had also learnt from satellite pictures that there were reserves of unique precious stone used in nuclear tests in the same district, 125 kilometers east of the provincial capital.

Sediq revealed his ministry planned to send precious stone samples to international laboratories for tests. He believed an international lab could be created in Afghanistan to study and analyze such minerals.

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Six foreigners arrested with arms in Kunar, Paktia
By Najeeb Khilwatgar
KABUL, July 11 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Afghan National Army claimed arresting six foreign nationals along with anti-personnel mines and six AK-47 assault rifles in two provinces.

Defense Ministry's spokesman General Zahir Azemi Monday told Pajhwok Afghan News three people, Haji Gul, Said Ajax and Wachal Gul, carrying remote-controlled anti-personnel mines, were apprehended in Kumar on July 7.

In a raid in Paktia, units of the 203 Tandar army corps arrested three foreign nationals along with AK-47 assault rifles. They have no legal documents.

Without revealing nationality of the arrested people, the spokesman said probe was underway and details would be released later.

Security officials in Kandahar last week claimed they had nabbed three Pakistanis with anti-personnel mines and documents

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US promises 700 extra troops to secure Afghan elections
By Borhan Younus
KABUL, July 11 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The US will send an additional 700 troops to Afghanistan to ensure security for the landmark legislative elections and boost the ongoing campaign against insurgents, the military said Monday.

At a news conference here, American military spokesman Colonel James Yonts said the US Army's airborne infantry battalion was preparing to deploy to Afghanistan in the next two weeks.

He assured the first post-Taliban parliamentary elections would go ahead as planned for September 18. "We know that there'll be some incidents against the coalition, also against civilians. But these elections will happen in September," Yonts reiterated.

Afghan, US and NATO forces are stepping up efforts to ensure holding of the polls, which Taliban have vowed to derail. The militants are going all out to make good on their warning, as hit-and-run attacks have worsened security situation in south and eastern Afghanistan.

In mid-June, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force announced sending of 2,000 more peacekeepers to join the 8,300-strong force for securing the twice-delayed elections.

With the US-led coalition's 18,000 personnel battling Taliban and other militants in the south and southeast, NATO troops patrol Kabul and some northern and northwestern provinces in a bid to restore stability to the country.

Colonel James Yonts remarked: "We take the elections very seriously and will do anything we can to support the process and allow them to come up on a positive way."

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Pakistan offers Afghanistan intelligence sharing
By Pakhtun Sahar
ISLAMABAD, June 11 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Pakistan has offered to share intelligence with Afghanistan to counter forces intent upon destabilising the war-ravaged country.

In a statement released here on Saturday, Pakistan's military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said the two neighbours should launch joint efforts to stop terrorists from entering and sabotaging peace in Afghanistan.

He said the thousands kilometres long border between the two countries could not be fully guarded; however, information sharing and joint efforts could help stop anti-state elements entering into the land-locked country.

The spokesman asked Afghan authorities to react positively to their offer instead of leveling baseless allegations against Pakistan.


Translated by Daud

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10335405


Al Qaeda militants escape from US Afghan centre

12.07.05 8.25am

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - US forces launched a manhunt for four "dangerous" Arab al Qaeda militants who escaped from US detention in Afghanistan on Monday, hours after another search found the body of a missing US commando.

In a fresh embarrassment for US forces reeling from their worst combat losses in Afghanistan since invading in 2001, the four were reported missing from the heavily guarded detention centre at the main US base early in the morning.

The new crisis came as US forces have been struggling to contain a surge in militant violence ahead of September 18 parliamentary elections, the next big step in Afghanistan's difficult path to stability.

The escape was the first known from the detention centre deep within the sprawling Bagram Air Base, about 50km north of the capital Kabul.

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50,000 voters being registered a day, says JEMB
By Makia Monir
KABUL, July 11 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) claimed on Monday estimated 50,000 people register as voters on a daily basis across Afghanistan.

JEMB's international spokesperson Bronwyn Curran reckoned about 600 thousand voters had been listed hitherto. Thirty-six percent of those registered as voters are said to be women.

Of the 1,052 voter registration centers set up across the country, eight (three in southern Zabul and five in Kandahar) remain closed for lack of workforce.

The voter registration campaign, which got under way on June 25, will continue till July 22. The keenly-awaited parliamentary elections will be held on September 18.


arl/r/amm/mud

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-07/...ent_3200707.htm

2 rockets rattle Afghan capital

KABUL, July 10 (Xinhuanet) -- Two rockets fired from unknown locations shocked the Afghan capital Kabul on Sunday morning, an official said.

"The rockets fired from mountains in east direction at 05:10 am hit residential areas but fortunately left no casualties," an official of the Interior Ministry's press department told Xinhua.

It is the first time in more than two months that the fortified Kabul has come under rocket attack.

"One of the rocket slammed the house of a Colonel Mohammad Yunus and the other landed near a park in Wazir Akbar Khan district," the official added but refused to be identified.

Wazir Akbar Khan is close to the fortified US embassy building and the Headquarters of NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

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JEMB rejects Taliban claim
By Abdullah Ilham & Saeed Zabuli
GARDEZ, July 11 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Officials of the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) in the southeastern Paktia province rejected Taliban's claim regarding surrender of the office.

Talking of Pajhwok Afghan News, a JEMB's official Barat Khan said neither the office was attacked nor surrendered to the militants. He added unidentified gunmen opened fire at one of their colleague, Habibullah, who was on way home.

He said Habibullah remained unhurt, while the attackers made good their escape. Police official showed ignorance about the incident.

Earlier, Taliban's spokesman Latifullah Hakimi told this news agency on Sunday, an official of the JEMB's regional office had surrendered three motorcycles, computers and other equipments of the office to them.


Translated by Daud

Here's a little covert action mystery to add to some Afghanistan chaos.

http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen...67-21775e4673d9


Afghan bounty hunters 'sold' my husband to U.S., Canadian says

Former Montrealer held at Guantanamo prison; wife denies terror links, U.S. ties him to Ressam

James Gordon
The Ottawa Citizen

Monday, July 11, 2005

A former Montreal resident currently detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was sold by bounty hunters to the United States for $5,000, the man's Canadian wife claims.

In a sworn U.S. court affidavit obtained by the Citizen, Karina Dereshteanu said Canadian officials told her about the deal long after her spouse, Algerian-born Ahcene Zemiri, was handed over to U.S. troops in Afghanistan in late 2001.

"I do not know what these bounty hunters may have told the Americans, but it cannot be true," said Ms. Dereshteanu. "I can attest to the best of my knowledge that my husband was not a member of the Taliban, al-Qaeda or any other type of terrorist or radical group."

The document confirms for the first time that Mr. Zemiri remains jailed due in part to his connection with Ahmed Ressam, a Montrealer thwarted en route to a planned terrorist attack at the Los Angeles International Airport. Mr. Ressam was caught in 1999 as he attempted to cross the B.C.-Washington border in a car packed with explosives. He was convicted on terrorism charges in 2001.

In court documents unveiled last year, Mr. Ressam said Mr. Zemiri was a close friend whom he asked for help while planning his foiled strike.

Mr. Ressam's 2001 court testimony alleged Mr. Zemiri gave him $3,500 and a video camera to use as "camouflage," and did so knowing it was to be used for a "job" in the U.S. Mr. Ressam also requested grenades, a pistol and a silencer.

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Huge quantity of hashish seized in Paktia
By Ilyas Wahdat
GARDEZ, July 11 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Police claimed capturing 3,890 kilograms of hashish in the Ahmadabad district of the southeastern Paktia province on Monday.

Paktia's deputy police chief Colonel Ghulam Nabi Salem told Pajhwok Afghan News the narcotics was hidden in a roadside ditch. This is the largest quantity ever seized in the province.

On May 24, security officials had alighted 3,225 kilograms of seized narcotics in presence of government officials and a large number of people.


jh/mhh/amm/dk

South Asia News

Taliban claim six Afghan policemen killed in attack on checkpoint
Jul 12, 2005

Kabul - The ousted extremist Taliban regime on Tuesday claimed to have killed six Afghan policemen in the southeastern province of Logar, after attacking a security checkpoint there.

Speaking by telephone from an unknown location, Mufti Latifullah Hakimi, Taliban spokesman, said that the rebels attacked the police checkpoint in Pul-e-Alam, the provincial capital of Logar province on Monday night.

He added that two of the Taliban fighters were seriously injured during the armed clash.

Afghan officials were not immediately available to comment about the incident.

The Taliban, who were toppled by the international military coalition led by the United States in late 2001, have recently increased their military attacks against Afghan and U.S. troops, mainly in the south and southeastern regions of the country.

July 13, 2005 - Wednesday :: Welcome. Subscribe to receive newstories.

Belgian F-16 jets fly into Kabul for poll security
By Najib Khilwatgar
KABUL, July 12 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Four F-16 jets belonging to the Belgian contingent in the NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed in Afghanistan flew into Kabul on Tuesday.

International Security Assistance Force's Air Force Commander Brigadier General D. Van Laethem said the aircraft would help boost security for the September elections. The jets could quickly reach the farthest sweeps of Afghanistan.

Earlier, the Dutch contingent chipped in with as many planes to strengthen the peacekeeping force's headquarters in Kabul.

The four planes would be formally handed over to the ISAF command at a ceremony here on Thursday, Laethem said, adding they would remain in Afghanistan for six months.

There are currently 8,300 peacekeepers form different nations deployed to Afghanistan. NATO, US and Afghan forces are in a bid to secure the first post-Taliban parliamentary vote

http://www.dawn.com/2005/07/12/top16.htm
July 12,2005


Oil supply to Afghanistan disrupted

By Ibrahim Shinwari

LANDI KOTAL (Khyber Agency), July 11: Oil supply to Afghanistan was disrupted on Monday when dozens of oil tanker owners parked their vehicles at Torkham border, citing security reasons inside Afghanistan. The move was launched after a scuffle between Afghan government officials and oil tanker drivers in Latha Bund area, near Kabul. A tanker driver said their vehicles were not allowed to proceed to Kabul by the Afghan officials posted at Latha Bund on the pretext that the route was not suitable for heavy traffic.

However, when drivers insisted on opening the route, the Afghan security officials abused and thrashed them, he alleged.

Department of Defense Fact Sheet

U.S. Defense Leaders Views on Afghanistan
March 16, 2005



Following are highlights of progress and challenges in Afghanistan as outlined by U.S. military leaders.

Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Gen. Myers is in the U.S. Central Command region this week, where he has visited Egypt, Iraq and Afghanistan. Approximately 20,000 U.S. troops are serving in Afghanistan.

• Afghanistan is making good political progress.
• The country has a president, a constitution, and parliamentary elections are scheduled for the summer.
• Women are playing a greater role in the country's political and economic life.
• Afghanistan's leaders are optimistic they can address the problems that still confront their nation.
• The Afghan government has established good working relationships with its neighbors, especially Pakistan.

• The Afghan army is a unifying force for the country.
• Units are composed of all ethnic groups from around the country.
• Twenty-two thousand soldiers in the Afghan National Army have been trained and deployed.
• Increased economic activity in Afghanistan is a sign of the country's growing security and stability.

• NATO is playing an important and growing part in stability operations in Afghanistan.
• NATO commands the International Security Assistance Force in and around Kabul. That force is expanding to the western portion of the country.
• NATO will establish four additional provincial reconstruction teams in western Afghanistan.

• Opium cultivation remains a huge problem.
• Leaders are pleased with the level of cooperation they have received to confront the drug problem – the day of the chairman's visit Afghan forces seized more than 2,000 pounds of heroin in an operation near Jalalabad.

• The search for Osama bin Laden continues.
• Operations in Iraq have not detracted from this priority.

Combined Joint Task Force 76 Transfer of Authority: Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya, commander of the Vicenza, Italy-based Southern European Task Force (Airborne), will lead Combined Joint Task Force 76 during the upcoming year. Maj. Gen. Eric T. Olson led Combined Joint Task Force 76 in Afghanistan for the past year. Following are highlights of his views on the country's progress.

• The number of violent contacts between Coalition forces and enemy fighters in Afghanistan is declining.
• Insurgent activity has decreased, and the number of former Taliban fighters willing to be part of the solution instead of the problem has increased.
• Afghan security forces are operating much more freely in areas that used to be very violent.
• Nongovernmental and international aid organizations are much more willing to go into many areas in Afghanistan.

• A more secure environment has enabled reconstruction to move forward.
• There are now 19 Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in Afghanistan helping with economic development and reconstruction.
• The PRTs work closely with Afghan government officials, and are readily accepted by the Afghan people.
• Many of the projects underway will have positive long-term effects on Afghanistan's economy – the projects will grow and provide jobs and opportunity for the Afghan people.

• Challenges remain to ensure the insurgents are eliminated.
• There must be conditions that deny terrorists the use of Afghan territory.
• Keeping the pressure on the enemy, improving the police force, and continuing to strengthen the army will help.


http://defendamerica.mil/downloads/factsheet_20050316.html

NEWS RELEASE
HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND
7115 South Boundary Boulevard
MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101
Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894

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

July 11, 2005
Release Number: 05-07-07


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


AFGHANISTAN: TONS OF MUNITIONS COLLECTED; IED SUSPECT CAPTURED

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Afghan National Police officers turned in more then 1,000 rockets and other munitions to U.S. forces near Ghazni on July 7 after having collected them from around the region.

In addition to the rockets, police collected more then 400 mortar rounds, more than 200 recoilless rifle rounds, 150 machine gun rounds, 75 rocket-propelled grenades and four anti-tank mines. Ninety-five percent of the munitions were reported as serviceable and one quarter were still in their original packing materials.

Coalition forces transported the weapons to a nearby base for destruction.

"We are seeing district and provincial governments across the country prepare for the National Assembly Elections in September. Part of that process is vetting candidates who want to run for seats in the parliament," said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Mike Fenzel, deputy commander of the Coalition's Regional Command East. "But in order to be favorably considered as a candidate, former warlords, fighters, and citizens with caches of weapons have to demobilize and demilitarize to even be considered. We've watched a steady flow of weapons and ammunition being turned in and collected by the Afghan National Police around our area of operation, all as part of the democratic process. These are very clear signals that democracy and security are taking hold in Afghanistan."

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, U.S. Soldiers patrolling near Qalat captured a man believed to be responsible for the detonation of an improvised explosive device that was triggered as their convoy passed July 7. The detonation caused no injuries or damage.

The man believed to be responsible for the attack was being questioned.

U.S. forces pursued a second individual believed to be involved in the attack but were unable to apprehend him.
http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/News_Re...se=20050707.txt

Civil Affairs Soldiers help Afghans help themselves
By Spc. Cheryl Ransford, 17th Public Affairs Detachment

The goal of the reconstruction process in Afghanistan is for the people to be able to stand on their own. In Khost province, the Civil Military Operations Center (CMOC) is pioneering a way to speed up that process.

Reconstruction is still occurring, but in Khost, the Afghan people are learning how to facilitate the projects through their own government’s resources, said Sgt. 1st Class Edith Horn, a member of the 412th Civil Affairs Battalion and head of the Khost CMOC.

The 412th CAB is an Army Reserve special operations unit from Whitehall, Ohio.

“When we first arrived in Afghanistan, the people in the village would constantly come to us asking for schools and other projects to be done. Then we would take the request and make it happen,” Horn said.

Now, the CMOC is helping the people understand how to use tools in place throughout the country for those kinds of requests. The Afghan government is made up of ministries and departments that handle everything from road construction and repair to medical facilities and schools.

“While most CMOCs and (Provincial Reconstruction Teams) are still handling the requests themselves, the people of Khost are learning to rely on their own government,” she said.

The process was slow to start, but now it has taken hold and the people seem very happy with the help and support they are receiving from the CMOC team.

Being able to work with and help the local population has been a rewarding opportunity for Staff Sgt. Randel Harris, of the 551st Military Police Company, who works with the CMOC team as a trainer for the local police force.

“They are very willing and eager to learn how to help and protect themselves,” he said. “It is a wonderful experience to see them be able to rely on themselves. You can see on their faces how happy they are to be a more independent people.”

While the people in Khost are happy to be more independent, they still need help with procedures and are glad the CMOC team is available to provide this assistance.

“The people come to us, and they are happy to be able to receive the help they need to file the paperwork properly with the ministries and departments,” Horns aid. “We help gather information and assist them in preparing the information for the ministries.”

The CMOC team is also teaching the local citizens how to get land rights and permission to build, as well as finding qualified teachers for new schools.

“The people are excited to be able to do the work themselves,” Harris said. “Even though it’s something new to them, they are learning the process quickly and not requiring as much help as they did in the beginning.”

Once the ministries or departments have the requests, the head of the organization checks with the CMOC about actually completing the projects. For instance, if someone comes in with a request for a school, a road and a well, the CMOC personnel advise the villagers to select the projects that will help the village most.

“In this instance, if there are already several wells, we will focus on the schools and the roads,” Horn said. “The schools are important because the children need to learn so the future of Afghanistan can continue to improve, and the roads are important because without roads the people can’t get to the stores and the economy in the village will not grow.”

The biggest part of the CMOC mission now is to get the ministry heads to work with the city-planning director, who is appointed by the governor, Horn said. “Right now, we are holding bimonthly meetings with the city planner and the ministry heads,” she said. “The ministries state their interest and priorities for what they want done in the village.”

The most important part of the Civil Affairs mission in Khost is that it focuses on the people, Horn said.

“The best part of what we are doing now is that the mission is about what they want for their villages, districts and country, not about what we want,” she said. “It’s great to see the people of Afghanistan stand up for what they want.

“Watching them grow … is a beautiful experience.”



http://www.socom.mil/Releases/ca_soldiers/civil_affairs.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200507/s1413689.htm

But Greens Senator Bob Brown says Australia should send civilian aid to Afghanistan, not troops.

Senator Brown says it is a travesty that the deployment was not debated in Parliament.

"Particularly with increasing reports now coming from Europe that the US wants to reduce and withdraw its forces from Afghanistan, Australia shouldn't be a convenient substitute for George Bush's domestic foreign policy," he said.

Professor Amin Saikal, the director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University, has welcomed the Australian deployment but says it is not enough.

"I think that Australia's contribution is a welcome development but I think it is very small and I think it will not amount to more than a token contribution," he said.

"Given the scale of instability in Afghanistan at the moment, I doubt very seriously that 150 SAS troops would be able to make more than a symbolic contribution."

http://www.kuna.net.kw/Home/Story.aspx?Lan...=en&DSNO=752004


Number two man at Pentagon says violence on the rise in Afghanistan, Iraq

WASHINGTON, July 14 (KUNA) -- Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Richard Myers on Thursday said violence will rise as elections in both Afghanistan and Iraq come nearer.

"We will see an increase in violence," said Myers.

Not before September elections in Afghanistan take place or the drafting of the Iraq constitution and the feeling that all parties in Iraq have a place in the new government can violence be expected to lessen, he said.

Myers, who is soon to retire from his post as the second most powerful man at the Pentagon, told reporters at the State Department Foreign Press Center that "political progress" will bring forth peace and the gradual downsizing of 135,000 US troops in Iraq and around 30,000 US troops in Afghanistan.

Recently the United States rejected a call from China, Russia and other members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, including Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan where the United States has military bases, to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. In the past two weeks, the US military suffered one of the worst blows in Afghanistan when 16 US soldiers were killed after their helicopter was downed in a mountainous region of the country.

Two more US soldiers were killed after they were dispatched to search the helicopter crash and one US solider from that rescue team is still missing. Myers, who called the spike in deadly attacks a tragedy, said that focusing on the attacks does not show the overall progress in the country.

The Afghan Resistance Re-Launches A Vast Offensive
12 July 2005
By Franoise Chipaux, Le Monde


In the euphoria of the success of the October 2004 presidential election, American as well as Afghan officials gave up the Taliban as virtually vanquished. Six months later, the "students of religion" and their allies have violently refuted those forecasts.

The traditional spring offensive has proved to be one of the most deadly in the four years that have followed the overthrow of the Taliban regime.
Far from being in disarray, the opponents of the new regime in Kabul have reorganized themselves, and fighters from different Arab countries, present in the region for many years, have gone back into service.

All these opponents have divided the Afghan theatre among themselves into four regions - East, South-East, South, and Center-North-West - to organize the fight. Perhaps the newest aspect of this campaign is the degree of organization it has achieved, its management, choice of targets, etc.

The decapitation Sunday of ten policemen in the Helmand province, which occurred after several other incidents of the same type, again proves the radicalization of the movement.

[emphasis added]http://www.militaryproject.org/article.asp?id=619

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

Bombs explode at Afghan election office, two police hurt

15 July 2005


KHOST, Afghanistan - Two bombs exploded in quick succession at an election commission office in restive southeastern Afghanistan, injuring two policemen, officials said on Friday.

The first blast late Thursday destroyed the office which was based inside a mosque in Khost city, they said, adding that the casualties occurred when another went off nine minutes later as police reached the area.

“A bomb explosion destroyed the election registration office in Khost city last night. When police secured the area a secondary explosion wounded two police,” provincial deputy police chief Mohammed Zaman told AFP.

The electoral office has been set up inside a large mosque located near the provincial police headquarters, residents said.

July 15, 2005 - Friday :: Welcome. Subscribe to receive newstories.

Former Taliban commander surrenders in Khost
By Abdul Majid Arif
KHOST CITY, July 14 (Pajhwok Afghan News): A senior former Taliban commander surrendered to the government in the southeastern Khost province, officials claimed on Thursday.

Availing the amnesty announced by President Hamid Karzai, Mullah Sadiq, cut off ties with the ousted student militia and pledged to support the government in its efforts to bring lasting peace to the war-hit country.

Mullah Sadiq had fought against the Soviets under the command of Jalaluddin Haqqani, who later joined the Taliban and rose to a ministerial slot in the regime. He remained district administrative chief of Orgun and police chief of the Ismailkhel and Gorbaz districts of Khost during Taliban era.

Khost deputy intelligence chief Naqibullah Esmati told Pajhwok Afghan News Mullah Sadiq was living in the Miranshah area of Pakistan, who returned and accepted the amnesty announced by President Karzai.

Earlier in May, another Taliban commander Abdul Malik Zulfan, involved in attacks against government and US forces in the province, had surrendered to the government.

Several Taliban leaders and activists, including some senior ones, have severed links with the militants and accepted the government-backed reconciliation efforts to play their role in reconstruction of the country.


Jh/by/dk

July 15, 2005 - Friday :: Welcome. Subscribe to receive newstories.

Gold trade in Herat slumps amid clampdown on drugs
By Ahmad Qureshi
HERAT CITY, July 14 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Gold trade in the western Herat province has slumped by 50 percent in the wake of a clampdown on drug smuggling to Iran in return for illegal bullion supplies from the Persian Gulf country.

A representative of the Herat Jewelers Union, Haji Qurban revealed on Thursday they had sold eight tons of gold last year. "But only two tons have been sold so far this year and the total annual sale may not exceed four tons."

"Previously families coming to Herat from Iran used to bring huge quantities of gold, but the practice has now been curbed in large measure. Some jewelers then also carried opium to Iran, where it was traded for gold," he told Pajhwok Afghan News.

A goldsmith, Humayun Nasiri had a similar view: "Much of the precious metal found its way to Afghanistan in return for drugs smuggled to Iran. But the clandestine swap is no longer possible because of beefed-up border security.

Each of the 120 jewelry shops in Herat, according an estimate, sold up to 200 grams of gold on a daily basis last year. However, the sale level has now slumped by half due to the tight security at the Afghan-Iran frontier.

Smuggling to Afghanistan from Iran was another reason for the declining demand for the Afghan variety of gold, Sarwari reasoned. Last year, per gram Iranian gold rates soared by 590 afs and the 18 percent increase inflicted a huge loss on the country's wobbly economy.

In order to arrest the gold market's downhill journey and minimize dependence on foreign currencies, he sought government's support for the Jewelers Union. Sarwari believed the problem could be resolved if the government inked accords with foreign countries on regulated gold trade.


sh/r/amm/mud

http://www.pajhwak.com/en/news/viewStory.asp?lng=eng&id=4557

Pajhwok Afghan News


Pajhwok Afghan News is Afghanistan’s premier independent news agency providing daily coverage of news from across Afghanistan.

From its beginnings as a special program to provide daily news coverage of Afghanistan’s historic Constitutional Loya Jirga in December 2003, Pajhwok was established in April 2004 with headquarters in Kabul and bureaus and correspondents throughout the country. Today, Pajhwok provides high quality daily news and features in Pashto, Dari, English and Urdu to an Afghan and international audience.

The name “Pajhwok” means “echo” or “reflection” in both Dari and Pashto. It was chosen by Pajhwok’s journalists after an intensive search to find a name that reflects the mission of the agency and embraces national unity.

Pajhwok’s daily reports provide vital information that informs local, regional and international debate, builds trust among communities, and strengthens local democratic institutions. With advanced training in international professional standards and a focus on covering issues most important to Afghans, Pajhwok’s journalists have gained wide renown for covering political reform, economic development, human rights, and other controversial issues.

With Pajhwok, Afghan audiences gain a deeper understanding of events affecting the country than they would from foreign stories tailored only for Western audiences.

Through its subscription service, Pajhwok reaches Afghans through most major media. Over 50 radio and independent television stations such as Afghan TV, Tolo TV, Radio Kilid, Arman FM, Good Morning Afghanistan, Radio Free Europe, Voice of America, the BBC, and the nationwide Bakhabar network broadcast Pajhwok’s reports throughout Afghanistan.

Readers of Afghanistan’s major newspapers and magazines, such as the Kabul Times, Anis, Hewad, the Daily Outlook, Kilid Weekly and Morsal Weekly also enjoy regular access to Pajhwok’s high quality news reporting.

In addition, private and government institutions, Afghan and international NGOs, Afghans living abroad and organizations working in Afghanistan all rely on Pajhwok for their news about Afghanistan.

Pajhwok is a truly independent organization, staffed, managed and led entirely by Afghan leaders in local media. Working with its partners, including media organizations such as the Center for International Journalism (CIJ), the Kilid Media Group, and international NGOs such as Internews and IMPACS, Pajhwok Afghan News provides the information necessary for citizens to make government more transparent, hold elected officials accountable, and participate more broadly in public life.

http://www.pajhwak.com/en/aboutUs/index.asp

July 15, 2005 - Friday :: Welcome. Subscribe to receive newstories.

Training certificates distributed among 374 policemen
By Najib Khelwatgar
KABUL, July 14 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Training completion certificates were distributed among 374 policemen during the 23rd graduation ceremony held at the Police Training Centre here on Thursday.

The Bon Agreement states, 26,000 National Police will be recruited and trained till 2007 to ensure law and order in the war-ravaged country.

Speaking on the occasion, commander of the training centre Colonel Mirza Mohammad Yarmand said a total of 44,387 officers, soldiers and sergeants had been trained and graduated in the centre so far.

Head of the police education wing at the Ministry of Interior Colonel Gul Nabi Ahmadzai thanked the United States and international community for extending cooperation in training of the policemen. He hoped their help would continue in the days ahead.

He urged the new police graduates to practically demonstrate what they had learned during the training. He asked them to serve the people with full devotion.

Police training centres are operational in seven provinces including Balkh, Kandahar, Paktia, Nangarhar, Kabul and Bamyan over the last two years imparting three-month and 15 days training to soldiers and officers respectively to improve their professional abilities.

Fifty-four police officers have been trained in three-month management course from the province and capital in Police Academy.

http://www.pajhwak.com/en/news/viewStory.asp?lng=eng&id=4556

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/246...2BFCDE72882.htm

Border missiles kill Afghan fighters

Friday 15 July 2005, 14:45 Makka Time, 11:45 GMT

Armed Afghan men were killed at the border with Pakistan
Related:


US-led troops in Afghanistan have killed 24 armed men believed to be part of the Taliban and al-Qaida network, the Pakistani Army says.

General Shawkat Sultan, spokesman for the Pakistani Army, told Aljazeera the men were killed after they launched a missile attack on the US military camp in Bamian, near the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.


Sultan said the US troops notified Pakistani authorities of the attack and the Pakistani Army sent hundreds of soldiers to the area as a precautionary measure.


War widening


The increase in fighting has raised concern that the Afghan war might be widening.

US and Afghan officials have cautioned that the situation could get worse before the elections with foreign fighters entering the country to disrupt the polls.

CNN reported today that "experts" estimate the number of terrorist insurgents at 200,000. Most are in Iraq. Many are going back to Afghanistan via Pakistan.

Not to mention the 100s of 1000s of militants and resistors vs BushForce inside 'all' of Asia as well. Afghanistan will probably become not only the original creator of imperialist resistance but the true nucleus of resistance against the BushConic Pentagon and imperialistic America as seen in their eyes. The sad part is, since Bush placed himself into office, such resistance has grown in huge amounts and is still growing.

Thanks for the update heritage.

A recent quick review of the situtation set forth by the BushCons.

[It is a controversial point to those who believe Afghanistan is a success story and ignore the chaotic narco-state it has become.]

[The only problem is, according to U.S. State Department data, the number of terror attacks tripled in 2004. A recent CIA report says that the number of terrorists is increasing, and Iraq is now a training ground for terrorists, just as Afghanistan was in the 1980s.]

http://www.american-reporter.com/2,675/1.html

Vol. 11, No. 2,675 - The American Reporter - July 14, 2005

On Native Ground
THINK BETTER, WIN MORE: IT'S TIME TO REVAMP U.S. FOREIGN POLICY
by Randolph T. Holhut
American Reporter Correspondent
Dummerston, Vt.

DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- George Galloway, the British MP who was last seen embarrassing the right-wing yahoos on the U.S. Senate committee investigating the so-called UN "oil-for-food" scandal, was absolutely correct when he said that "Londoners paid the price for Tony Blair's decision to go to war in Iraq and Afghanistan."

"Does this House believe that the hatred and bitterness engendered by the invasion and occupation of Iraq, by the daily destruction of Palestinian homes, by the construction of the great apartheid wall in Palestine, by the occupation of Afghanistan ... feeds the very terrorism of Bin Laden and other terrorists," Galloway said in Parliament after the July 7 bombing in London. "Is that really such a controversial point? Isn't that obvious?"

We know the answer to Galloway's question. It is a controversial point to those who believe that the U.S.-led and British supported invasion and occupation of Iraq was the right thing to do. It is a controversial point to those who believe the Sharon government can do no wrong and that the Palestinians deserve to have their houses bulldozed. It is a controversial point to those who believe Afghanistan is a success story and ignore the chaotic narco-state it has become.

The bombs that went off in London on July 7 didn't go off because the Muslim world "hates our freedom." On the contrary, they would love to see more freedom and less U.S. and British support for virtually every autocratic regime in the Middle East.

No, the bombs went off because too many Muslim countries hate the U.S. and Britain because of the actions of the two nations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Conservatives call this moral relativism. Let them, because they are wrong.

Osama bin Laden may not have directly plotted the London attacks, but he made it clear what the game is about. "If you bomb our cities, we will bomb yours," he said in one of his recent videos.

The bombs aren't going off in Stockholm. They're not going off in Geneva. They're not going off in Buenos Aries or Johannesburg. They're not going off in Beijing or Tokyo.

Why? Because the Swedes aren't sodomizing prisoners. The Swiss aren't dropping cluster bombs. The Brazilians didn't level Fallujah.

The Muslim world knows which countries launched an invasion of Iraq under dubious pretenses. They know which countries have committed atrocities. They know which countries support some of the worst dictatorships in the world. Most Muslims seethe silently with resentment and anger. A few, however, want revenge.

The Muslim world hates us for Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. They hate us for the 100,000 Iraqi civilians killed over the past two years of fighting. They hate us for the 500,000 Iraqis who died of disease and starvation during the decade-long U.S.-British embargo of Iraq after the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

It's time to dispense with the illusions.

President Bush may say, as he did on July 4, that "we're taking on the terrorists abroad so we don't have to face them here at home."

The only problem is, according to U.S. State Department data, the number of terror attacks tripled in 2004. A recent CIA report says that the number of terrorists is increasing, and Iraq is now a training ground for terrorists, just as Afghanistan was in the 1980s.

Invading Iraq didn't keep the bombs from going off in Madrid or London. And it won't prevent the next attack from happening on our soil.

Last September, a report commissioned by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld from the Defense Science Board, a non-governmental agency, came to the conclusion that the United States "should seek to reduce, not increase, perceptions of arrogance, opportunism, and double standards."

That panel also said that "when American public diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to Islamic societies, this is seen as no more than self-serving hypocrisy ... in the eyes of Muslims, American occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq has not led to democracy there, but only more chaos and suffering." It's not a question of diplomacy, they conclude, but "a fundamental problem of credibility. Simply, there is none."

The policies of the Bush administration have made us less safe. They have made us more vulnerable to terrorism. We cannot bomb our way to peace. We cannot impose democracy with guns. You can't expect to wage war and not get attacked in return.

Do you want to see peace? Getting the U.S. and Britain out of Afghanistan and Iraq and Israel out of the occupied territories would be a good start.

Do you want to see peace? The U.S. and Britain should support real democracy, and not merely pro-Western puppets. Support economic self-determination and not the capitalism on steroids that is the WTO.

In other words, the only effective way of dealing with terrorism is eliminating the conditions that produce terrorists. Without ending the cycle of violence, we'll see more days like July 7, perhaps again in this country.

Our current leaders can't see this. Worse, it seems that they don't want to see this.

July 16, 2005 - Saturday :: Welcome. Subscribe to receive newstories.

Another senior Taliban commander surrenders in Khost
By Abdul Majid Arif
KHOST CITY, July 16 (Pajhwok Afghan News): A former senior Taliban official, accepting the general amnesty, surrendered to the government in the southeastern Khost province on Friday, officials said.

Maulvi Gul Sha Wazir, known as Tractor Mula, was wanted to the government in several cases. He served as a teacher at the Tractor Madressah in the province during the ousted militia's regime.

After the fall of the extremists, he was assigned to lead groups of fighters involved in attacks against the government and coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Khost's national security chief Sadeq Tarakhel told Pajhwok Afghan News Mullah Sha Wazir was hiding in the neighbouring Pakistan and was leading the Taliban fighters from there. He was one of the top men wanted to government and coalition forces.

Talking to this news agency, an official of the counter-terrorism branch of the national security department Mohammad Ghaffar said the Taliban commander had availed the general amnesty announced by President Hamid Karzai.

A number of senior and junior-level Taliban officials in the south and southeastern provinces have surrendered over the last two months.

Earlier, two other Taliban commanders Mualim Jan and Mullah Sadeq had also cut off ties with the student militia and announced their support to the government.

Meanwhile, a bomb exploded in front of house of a senior former Taliban official, who had recently come into the government's fold.

The explosion happened at 11:30 pm when Mufti Habibur Rehaman was sleeping on the roof of his house. No one was hurt in the blast.

Mufti Habibur Rehman, who was deputy governor of the Paktika province and chief of the crime branch during the ousted militia's regime, had surrendered on April 23, 2005.


Translated by Daud

http://www.pajhwak.com/en/news/viewStory.asp?lng=eng&id=4584

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

Pro-government tribal leader killed in Afghanistan
(AP)

16 July 2005


KABUL, Afghanistan - Suspected Taleban gunmen kidnapped and hanged a pro-government tribal leader in southern Afghanistan, in the latest killing of an ally of President Hamid Karzai, an official said on Saturday.

Agha Jan was kidnapped along with his two sons, a brother and two nephews from his home in the Ataghar district of southern Zabul province on Thursday, said Gul Habib Jan, local police chief. Agha Jan’s relatives were freed unharmed but the tribal chief’s body was found Friday.

July 17, 2005 - Sunday :: Welcome. Subscribe to receive newstories.

Officials claim arresting one of Cantoni's kidnappers
By Safia Milad and Najib Khelwatgar
KABUL, July 17 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Intelligence officials claimed arresting an alleged kidnapper involved in abducting Italian aid-worker Clementina Cantoni in May last.

Informed sources confided to Pajhwok Afghan News Asadullah (26), believed to be one of the four kidnappers, was arrested last week while on his way to Jalalabad.

Cantoni, 32, was kidnapped from the central capital's posh Qala Musa area on May 16. She was set free on June 9 after hectic efforts by the government, Italian embassy and international aid and human rights organisations.

Sources said Asadullah was trying to cross into Pakistan to avoid arrest.

The sources further said the alleged abductor had confessed his involvement in the crime saying the Italian woman was kidnapped to ensure release of mother of Taimoor Shah - the main culprit.

The source added the kidnappers had kept the aid-worker for 15 days in a residential flat in Kart-i-Naw. She was later shifted to Lugar province.


azr/by/dk

http://www.pajhwak.com/en/news/viewStory.asp?lng=eng&id=4650

July 17, 2005 - Sunday :: Welcome. Subscribe to receive newstories.

Afghan army claim killing 20 militants in Khost
By Aziz Zahid & Abdul Majeed Arif
KABUL\KHOST CITY (Pajhwok Afghan News): Afghan military officials claimed killing 20 Taliban, including five foreign nationals, in the southeastern Khost province, bordering Pakistan.

Defence Ministry's spokesman Zahir Azimi told Pajhwok Afghan News Afghan and coalition forces retaliated to a rocket attack from insurgents in Spira and Lwargi districts Friday night.

He said the US forces first located their positions and then launched air-strikes killing 20 militants in the area. "Three Chechen and two Uzbek nationals also included among the slain."

About casualties on government side, Rahmatullah Khan, commander of the 203 corps in Paktia, said one soldier was killed and another wounded in the operation.


jh/by/dk

http://www.pajhwak.com/en/news/viewStory.asp?lng=eng&id=4648

July 17, 2005 - Sunday :: Welcome. Subscribe to receive newstories.

Pakistani troops kill 17 militants near Pak-Afghan border
By Pakhtun Sahar
ISLAMABAD, July 17 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Pakistani military Sunday killed 17 suspected Taliban, including some foreign militants, in the Datakhel area of its troubled North Waziristan Agency, some 300 kilometres southwest of this central capital.

A soldier was also killed in the armed clash that lasted about an hour, military officials confirmed.

Pakistan's military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan told Pajhwok Afghan News the suspected militants, travelling in a truck, were asked to stop and surrender. However, they hurled a grenade and opened fire on the military units.

In retaliatory fire, he said, 17 militants were killed while five other people, including two women and children were captured.

Asked if the slain were Taliban, the spokesman said: "They are not local," adding: "Investigations have been ordered to discover identity of the killed."

A resident of the area, on condition of anonymity, told this news agency all the dead were Taliban, trying to flee the area to avoid being netted by the army troops.

Independent sources said the military cordoned two houses, used by the militants as sanctuaries, and ordered them to surrender. However, they opened fire at the army units. The area had been cordoned off by troops soon after the clash.

North Waziristan is bordering Afghanistan's Paktika province, where insurgents blown a US tank with a remote-controlled mine on Saturday injuring four troopers.

Two days earlier, US forces killed 24 al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters in the same area. The group was retreating to their sanctuaries after attacking a border security post inside Afghanistan.

Afghan authorities often blame Pakistani government for, what they called the latter's failure to halt infiltration, accusations vehemently rejected by Pakistani authorities.


jh/hb/amm/dk

http://www.pajhwak.com/en/news/viewStory.asp?lng=eng&id=4618

July 17, 2005 - Sunday :: Welcome. Subscribe to receive newstories.

Police claim capturing three Taliban in Zabul
By Saeed Zabuli
KANDAHAR CITY (Pajhwok Afghan News): Police in the southern Zabul province claimed arresting three suspected Taliban on Saturday.

Ghulam Rasul, police chief of the Shahr-i-Safa district told Pajhwok Afghan News the three suspects crossed into Afghanistan from Pakistan. They were planning to carry out terrorist attacks in the area.

He said security men had recovered AK-47 assault rifles and hand-grenades from the arrested people.


jh/by/dk

http://www.pajhwak.com/en/news/viewStory.asp?lng=eng&id=4630

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?p...18-7-2005_pg4_9

Villagers protest alleged trespassing by nomads in Kabul

KABUL: About 1,000 villagers staged a noisy protest in the Afghan capital on Sunday against nomadic tribes people they claim have been squatting on their land. Protesters from five villages east of Kabul gathered outside the Presidential Palace to demand that the government expel the tribes’ people and their livestock from areas in Bagrami district. “We want our land back,” shouted the villagers, who carried signs in English and the local Dari language. Local tribes people are known to rove through the highlands near Kabul during the summer months, often with cattle and other livestock, to camp and let their animals graze. But Bagrami villagers say they have legal and hereditary rights to the land under the government of President Hamid Karzai. “We won’t let anybody capture our land,” said Sher Agha Farooqi, one of the protest organisers. “We have documents that show this land belongs to us.” ap

July 17, 2005 - Sunday :: Welcome. Subscribe to receive newstories.

ACC promises $60,000 for cricket promotion in Afghanistan
By Pakhtun Sahar
ISLAMABAD, July 17 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has announced $60,000 for cricket promotion in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan's Cricket Federation (ACF) secretary General Taj Malook told Pajhwok Afghan News the amount was announced during the annual meeting of the ACC and European Cricket Association (ECC) in London a few days back.

He said he had informed participants of the meeting about prospects of cricket promotion in Afghanistan. The cricketing countries, after presentation of report on Afghanistan, announced $60,000 to promote cricket in Afghanistan.

He said the game was nascent in the war-torn country and it would take time to bring the talent to the surface. We are approaching countries where cricket is being played to prepare our own squad.

Regarding his future plans, General Taj Malook said they were arranging a tour of Sri Lanka, where Afghan players would play six matches with local teams to improve their professional skills.

He said he had also hold meeting with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Shahryar Ahmad Khan and Sri Lankan Cricket Federation deputy chief to get their help in preparing the Afghan squad.

Terming his meeting with the PCB chief as beneficial, Taj Malook said the Pakistani officials had agreed to impart training to under 17 Afghan players during a 10-day workshop in Peshawar.


jh/mhh/amm/dk

http://www.pajhwak.com/en/news/viewStory.asp?lng=eng&id=4640

July 18, 2005 - Monday :: Welcome. Subscribe to receive newstories.

Afghan polls: Japan announces $8m assistance
By Lailuma Sadid
KABUL, July 18 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Japan has announced eight million dollars in assistance for the keenly-awaited Afghan parliamentary elections, seen as a formidable logistical challenge.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) would utilise the assistance, said a press release issued by the Japanese Embassy here on Sunday.

According to United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA) spokesman Brown, $148 million are required for holding the much-delayed elections.

Of the estimated poll-related expenditure, different nations have so far pledged $105 million. It will be pertinent to recall that Tokyo had also contributed $8.2 million to holding of last year's presidential vote.

As many as 5,805 candidates are in the run for the lower house and provincial council polls, scheduled for September 18. Violence has escalated in the build-up to the first post-Taliban ballot.


Translated & edited by Mudassir

http://www.pajhwok.com/en/news/viewStory.asp?lng=eng&id=4672

http://zmagsite.zmag.org/JulAug2005/kaposipr0705.html

July/August 2005 Volume 18 Number 7/8


The U.S. War In Afghanistan Continues

By Stephen Kaposi


In case you hadn’t realized, the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan has turned into another disastrous foreign war that will probably only end when the U.S. withdraws. U.S. soldiers, Afghan civilians, and those resisting the U.S. occupation are still dying for a neco-con dream of a worldwide empire.

Over three and a half years after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, there has been no victory and the bloody war continues. If anything, the U.S. has suffered a defeat, judging by the fact that the world’s superpower hasn’t been able to fully secure its colony, despite Bush administration propaganda to the contrary. Bush’s declaration May 1, 2003 that “major combat operations” had ended in Iraq may have received wide coverage, but another bellicose announcement received little attention.

On the same day as Bush’s announcement, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld gave exactly the same triumphant declaration while visiting Kabul. This is how Fox News, the Bush administration propaganda service, announced Rumsfeld’s triumph: “In an announcement marking a major victory in America’s ongoing war on terror, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld declared Thursday that ‘major combat activity’ has ended in Afghanistan.”

Just like in Iraq, the reality is the opposite. From April 2005 on, the Taliban was once again “resurgent” with a spring offensive launched. Convoys of trucks supplying U.S. troops have been attacked, government buildings stormed, and Afghan and U.S. soldiers killed in numerous attacks. A political ally of America’s puppet ruler, Hamid Karzia—a former oil company representative—was beheaded in the southern “insurgency-hit” Helmund province. International peacekeepers were stoned when they started taking photos of women. There is even evidence that Kabul’s regime is slowly turning the people against it, as when local villagers clashed with Afghan troops who came to destroy their poppy crops.

Meanwhile, many people in the southern city of Kandahar, concerned about rising crime and a lack of law and order, are looking back with fondness to the Taliban’s time in power. The Taliban maintained law and order and a sense of stability, unlike the chaos the U.S. invasion has brought. Thousands of people marched in the streets demanding the governor and police chief resign, accusing them of collusion with criminals. At other times, as in Iraq, such demonstrations have been crushed with murderous gunfire from U.S. troops, their warlord allies, or a faltering Afghan army the U.S. is trying desperately to create.

Later in April it was reported that the Taliban had relaunched a radio service in Afghanistan using a mobile transmitter consisting of a one-hour program broadcast twice a day. Earlier in February 2005, U.S. intentions in Afghanistan were made clear by Senator John McCain when he called for permanent U.S. bases in Afghanistan to “safeguard [U.S.] security interests in the region.”

A few days later, there was a glimpse that the situation in Afghanistan was not so good when it was announced that parliamentary elections, scheduled for May 21 would be delayed due to “logistical and security concerns.”

Then in mid-May 2005, thousands rioted in the eastern Afghanistan city of Jalalabad after reports said that guards at the U.S. concentration camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba had desecrated copies of the Koran. U.S. and Afghan troops fired on the protesters, killing at least four. The rallies spread to the capital Kabul and at least four other provinces, with university students in Kabul chanting “death to America” and calling the U.S. forces “invaders.”

An Associated Press report called it the “biggest display of anti-American anger since the ouster of the Taliban.” CNN described the riots as “anti-U.S. riots” and significant rallies were also held in Pakistani cities, with the anti-U.S. party, the MMA, announcing plans for further protests. Even Pakistan’s national assembly passed a resolution demanding the U.S. government investigate the incident and punish anyone found responsible.

Then there’s the undefeated Taliban who have been declared to be “resurgent” many times before their latest resurgency this April. For example, no less than 18 months earlier, a Taliban “resurgence” was reported in October 2003. U.S. forces launched major military sweeps in October and December 2003 and March 2004 to stay in control of the Afghan countryside.

Apart from Rumsfeld’s first declaration of victory on May 1, 2003, Hamid Karzai told BBC’s David Frost during an interview on June 8, 2003: “I don’t see a resurgence of the Taliban.” He continued by saying: “As far as the defeat of the Taliban is concerned, they are defeated, they are gone—as a movement, as a government, as a structure, a political structure, a religious structure—they are not there.” Someone should have told the German troops dying to keep Karzai in power—virtually on the same day as the interview four German peacekeepers were killed in a suicide bomb attack.

On February 26, 2004, Karzai again declared the Taliban defeated. Within two weeks, “evidence” emerged of how the U.S. was supposedly winning in Afghanistan. Human Rights Watch released a major report documenting widespread abuses committed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The report states, U.S. forces “have arbitrarily detained civilians, used excessive force during arrests of non-combatants, and mistreated detainees.” The U.S.-run system of “arrest and detention in Afghanistan exists outside of the rule of law” and “There is compelling evidence suggesting that U.S. personnel have committed acts against detainees amounting to torture or cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment.”