Biden says no hard feelings toward McChrystal

July 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 18 (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said on Sunday it was too soon to judge if a surge of U.S. troops into Afghanistan was winning the war and insisted he bore no ill will toward General Stanley McChrystal.

President Barack Obama fired McChrystal last month after a magazine interview in which members of a team led by the top U.S. general in Afghanistan belittled Biden and called Obama’s national security adviser a “clown.”

“I wasn’t the clown. I was the guy who, in fact, was their problem, they thought. I’m not their problem,” Biden told ABC News’ “This Week” program.

McChrystal’s interview with Rolling Stone magazine exposed divisions between the White House and the military on how to conduct the Afghan war.

A member of his team joked about the vice president. “Biden?” the aide was quoted as saying. “Did you say: ‘Bite me?’” Another aide called national security adviser Jim Jones a clown who was “stuck in 1985.”

“I didn’t take it personally at all. I really, honest to God, didn’t. Compared to what happens in politics, this is — that was a piece of cake,” Biden said.

But Biden said the situation left McChrystal in an untenable position and that six four-star generals had advised the vice president that he must go.

“I met with McChrystal. The president met with McChrystal. He was — he was really apologetic. He knew they had gone way beyond. But we also knew that if a sergeant did that, if a lieutenant did that — I mean no one could stay,” Biden said.

Obama replaced McChrystal by putting General David Petraeus in charge of the war in Afghanistan.

U.S. troops are encountering stiff resistance and mounting casualties from a resurgent Taliban, despite a six-month buildup in U.S. forces. But Biden said it was too early to say if the strategy was working or not.

“We knew it was going to be a tough slog. But I think it’s much too premature to make a judgment until the military said we should look at it, which is in December,” Biden said, adding that it would take until August to complete the troop surge.

(Reporting by Alister Bull; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Civilian deaths rise as Afghan fight intensifies

July 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

KABUL, July 10 (Reuters) – Hundreds of Afghans took to the streets of Mazar-i-Sharif on Saturday to protest against mounting civilian deaths, while five U.S. and NATO troops died in separate insurgent attacks on a bloody day of fighting across the country.

Protesters chanted slogans against foreign forces and Afghan President Hamid Karzai after U.S. troops killed two civilians in a pre-dawn raid on Wednesday in the northern city’s outskirts.

NATO also admitted killing six people with stray artillery on Thursday, a day after an airstrike accidently killed five Afghan soldiers.

Insurgent gunmen also killed 11 Pakistani tribesmen near the eastern Afghan border, opening fire on their bus, while a bomb placed on a motorbike killed one civilian at a bazaar in the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar. [ID:nSGE669GBL] Civilian casualties and friendly fire deaths among Afghan security forces have been a frequent irritant between Karzai and Western military forces during the nine-year war since the ousting of the Taliban in 2001. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

For more on Afghanistan click [ID:nAFPAK]

or see link.reuters.com/syx62d

Afghan blog: blogs.reuters.com/afghanistan/ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>

General David Petraeus, the U.S. general tapped by Washington to take over the Afghan war after his predecessor criticised senior administration officials, last week wrote to international troops to warn civilian deaths must be kept at a minimum.

“We must never forget that the decisive terrain in Afghanistan is the human terrain,” Petraeus, who masterminded the Iraq counter-insurgency, wrote to 150,000 U.S. and NATO troops preparing an all-out offensive against the Taliban in the south.

In Kabul, The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said five soldiers were killed by roadside bombs and insurgent gunfire in separate incidents in the south and east.

A joint Afghan and NATO investigation team found six civilians died on Thursday when artillery shells went astray in Paktia Province, the alliance said in a statement.

“ISAF officials offer sincere condolences to those affected and accept full responsibility for the actions that led to this tragic incident,” the statement said.

Five Afghan government soldiers were accidently killed and two others wounded in a pre-dawn NATO helicopter airstrike on Wednesday, prompting condemnation from the government.

SENSITIVE CHANGE

Petraeus is considering a sensitive change to rules of engagement drawn up his predecessor to avoid civilian casualties, following complaints they tie the hands of coalition troops combating insurgents.

The latest deaths will make any relaxation more difficult and may prompt more strains with the government.

Karzai is already annoyed over plans outlined by Petraeus for Afghan villagers to form militia-style defence groups to help fight the Taliban on their own, The Washington Post newspaper said on Saturday.

Casualties among NATO forces fighting in Afghanistan hit a high in June and commanders expect violence to rise in parallel with an anti-insurgent offensive in coming months, raising questions about whether more can be done to protect troops.

Bombers including one suicide attacker hit two separate NATO convoys in eastern Khost and northern Kunduz on Saturday, injuring German soldiers and showing the growing insurgency can strike well beyond the Taliban-dominated south.

Two coalition soldiers were killed on Friday in separate bomb attacks, NATO said, while a suicide car bomb hit an alliance convoy on a bridge outside Jalalabad, killing one civilian. (Additional reporting by Sayed Salahuddin; Editing by David Fox) (For more Reuters coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan, see: here)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Stray NATO artillery kills six Afghan civilians

July 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

KABUL, July 10 (Reuters) – Foreign troops in Afghanistan killed six civilians and wounded several others with stray artillery fire just a day after a NATO airstrike accidently killed five Afghan government soldiers.

A joint Afghan and NATO investigation team found the civilians died on Thursday when artillery fire failed to hit a target in the Jani Khel district of Paktia Province, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement.

“ISAF officials offer sincere condolences to those affected and accept full responsibility for the actions that led to this tragic incident,” the statement, received late on Friday, said.

The country’s interior ministry initially blamed the deaths on a rocket fired by insurgents hitting a local bazaar.

Civilian casualties and friendly fire deaths among Afghan security forces have been a frequent irritant between President Hamid Karzai and Western military forces during the nine-year war since the ousting of the Taliban in 2001.

ISAF said commanders had held two days of meetings, or “shuras”, with local elders in Jani Khel to discuss the incident.

New U.S. and NATO forces commander General David Petraeus is considering a change to rules of engagement drawn up his predecessor to avoid civilian casualties, following complaints they tie the hands of coalition troops combating insurgents.

Casualties among NATO forces fighting in Afghanistan hit a record high in June and commanders expect violence to rise in parallel with an anti-insurgent offensive in coming months, raising questions about whether more can be done to protect troops.

Two coalition soldiers were killed on Friday in separate bomb attacks, the alliance said, while a suicide car bomb hit a NATO convoy on a bridge outside Jalalabad, killing one civilian and wounding nine others.

Five Afghan government soldiers were accidently killed and two others wounded in a pre-dawn NATO helicopter airstrike on Wednesday, prompting condemnation from the country’s government.

The attack took place after a aircraft mistook Afghan National Army soldiers for Taliban insurgents during an operation in southwest Ghazni. (Editing by David Fox) (For more Reuters coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan, see: here)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Senate set to OK Petraeus as U.S. Afghan commander

June 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

WASHINGTON, June 29 (Reuters) – U.S. General David Petraeus faces a confirmation hearing in the Senate on Tuesday expected to expose growing doubts about the U.S. effort in Afghanistan but broad support for the four-star general chosen to lead it.

One of the U.S. military’s biggest stars, Petraeus is widely credited with helping turn the tide in Iraq. President Barack Obama hopes he can do the same with the unpopular, nine-year-old war in Afghanistan.

Petraeus, 57, would replace General Stanley McChrystal, who was fired by Obama last week over comments made by him and his aides belittling the president and his aides and announced his retirement on Monday.

It was the biggest military shake-up of his presidency, and the second time the top Afghan commander was fired since Obama took office last year.

“This is Obama’s last chance,” Arturo Munoz, a security analyst at the RAND Corporation, said of Petraeus.

If the general who helped pull Iraq back from the brink and oversaw development of the book on counter-insurgency strategy cannot win the war in Afghanistan, maybe no one can, Munoz added.

Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee to which Petraeus will testify, cautioned reporters a day ahead of the confirmation hearing that support for the war among Obama’s Democrats was starting to erode.

“On the Democratic side, there’s I would say solid support but there’s also the beginnings of some fraying of that support — and that’s true in the base, as well as in the Congress,” he told reporters.

He aimed to press Petraeus to increase the number of Afghan forces who are taking part in a campaign to secure the Taliban’s spiritual home of Kandahar, an operation seen as the linchpin of Obama’s war strategy.

After a slower-than-expected roll-out, that operation is expected to get fully under way in September and its perceived success or failure could affect Obama’s Democrats at the ballot box in November congressional elections.

STRUGGLING CAMPAIGN

The Afghan job is technically a step-down for Petraeus, who used to be McChrystal’s boss.

The Army general is widely respected by Republicans and Democrats, and few expect his nomination to be held up. Obama has called for his confirmation before the July 4 holiday.

“I think the hearing is going to be warm and very positive regarding Petraeus himself … But in regard to the counter-insurgency strategy, no. That’s going to be different,” said Munoz. “There are going to be a lot of hard questions.”

Perceptions of a struggling U.S. campaign have been fueled by a stronger-than-expected Taliban resistance in the southern district of Marjah — meant to be a showcase of U.S. strategy — and the slow start to the offensive in Kandahar.

In a sign of growing tensions, a key Democratic lawmaker in the House of Representatives said she was cutting billions of dollars in aid to Afghanistan from spending legislation because of reports of corruption and donor aid being flown out of the country.

Representative Nita Lowey, who heads the House appropriations subcommittee on foreign aid, vowed not to spend “one more dime” on aid to Afghanistan until she can be sure it is not being abused.

Petraeus, who briefly fainted the last time he appeared before the Senate committee — he blamed dehydration — is also expected to face tough questions from opposition Republicans critical of Obama’s plan to start withdrawing U.S. troops in July 2011.

Senator John McCain, the ranking Republican on the committee, has criticized the timeline and said it sent a signal to Afghans that the United States and its allies were preparing to wrap up the war regardless of the outcome.

Levin said the July 2011 date was crucial to Americans wary of making an open-ended commitment to the Afghan conflict.

“That date being set I think was critically important in terms of maintaining support of the American people (for) a war that has gone on so long,” Levin said.

Ramping up Afghan security forces is a precondition for any eventual pullout by American forces. But a report on Monday by the U.S. special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction underscored the difficulty of training Afghan troops to take over the country’s security. [ID:nN2890507]

“We don’t really know at this point in time what the capability of the Afghanistan security forces really is,” chief inspector Arnold Fields told reporters, highlighting problems of drug abuse and corruption.

(Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell; editing by David Alexander and Mohammad Zargham)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

U.S. showed Pakistan evidence on militant faction

June 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – The United States has presented evidence to Pakistan about the growing threat and reach of a militant faction which Washington suspects has ties to Pakistani intelligence, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

World

In the presentations, U.S. military leaders provided Pakistan’s army chief with information detailing the role of the Haqqani network in a string of increasingly brazen bombings, including one last month targeting the main NATO air base at Bagram in Afghanistan.

Washington has long pressed Islamabad to crack down on the Haqqanis in the North Waziristan tribal zone bordering Afghanistan, who are closely aligned with the Taliban, but U.S. officials acknowledge it is a hard sell because of resistance within Pakistani intelligence.

General David Petraeus, who oversees the Afghan war as head of U.S. Central Command, told a congressional hearing the Haqqanis had “transnational” ambitions, suggesting they could try to strike beyond Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Washington has issued similar warnings about the growing reach of the Pakistani Taliban, which investigators blame for a botched May 1 car bomb in New York’s Time Square.

There are strategic reasons for Pakistan’s hesitancy to attack the Haqqanis, a faction which some in Islamabad see as a strategic asset that will give them influence in any eventual settlement to the war in neighboring Afghanistan.

One U.S. official said “some elements” of Pakistani intelligence, but far from all, still support the Haqqanis.

Without mentioning the Haqqanis by name, Petraeus acknowledged long-standing ties between Islamabad and what he called “bad guys,” suggesting the relationships were useful to gather intelligence on the groups.

But he voiced confidence Pakistanis understood that “you cannot allow poisonous snakes to have a nest in your backyard, even if the tacid agreement is that they’re going to bite the neighbors kids instead of yours.”

“Eventually,” Petraeus said, “they turn around and bite you and your kids.”

Pakistan has denied a report by the London School of Economics that alleges enduring ties between its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency and the Afghan Taliban.

PAKISTAN INTELLIGENCE ROLE

The report said the agency not only funds and trains Taliban fighters in Afghanistan but is officially represented on the movement’s leadership council, giving it significant influence over operations.

Petraeus said there was “no question” Pakistan has maintained “a variety of relationships,” in some cases dating back decades, to groups which, with U.S. support, battled the Soviets when they occupied Afghanistan.

“Some of those ties continue in various forms, some of them, by the way, gathering intelligence,” he said.

“You have to have contact with bad guys to get intelligence on bad guys.”

Some of the groups in question, including the Haqqani network, are now leading the fight against Western forces.

The Pentagon has expressed confidence that Pakistan will eventually mount an offensive in North Waziristan, but has acknowledged the country’s armed forces were already stretched by operations in other tribal areas.

“The problem has been one of capacity. And again, we’re working hard to enable that capacity,” Petraeus said.

Petraeus, General Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, and Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, discussed Haqqani’s alleged role in the bombings in a recent meeting with Pakistan’s army chief Ashfaq Kayani.

“We have shared information with him about links of the leadership of the Haqqani network … that clearly commanded and controlled the operation against Bagram air base and the attack in Kabul, among others,” Petraeus said.

Suicide bombers carrying rockets and grenades launched a brazen predawn attack on the base on May 19, killing an American contractor and wounding nine U.S. troops. About a dozen militants, many wearing suicide vests packed with explosives, were killed, the Pentagon said at the time.

A day earlier, a suicide bomber attacked a military convoy in Kabul, killing 12 Afghan civilians and six foreign troops.

Bagram is the main base for U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan, with the largest airfield in the country. It was used by the former Soviet Union during its invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s.

(Additional reporting by Phil Stewart; editing by Todd Eastham)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

US discovers $1 trillion Afghan mineral deposits-NYT

June 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 14 (Reuters) – Afghanistan could be holding $1 trillion of untapped mineral deposits including critical industrial metals such as lithium, the New York Times reported, quoting U.S. government officials.

The previously unknown deposits of iron, copper, cobalt and gold are so huge that it could transform the impoverished nation into one of the world’s important mining centres, the report on the newspaper’s website said. (www.nytimes.com/)

The mineral wealth, discovered by a team of Pentagon officials and U.S. geologists, is scattered throughout the country including in the south and east along the border with Pakistan, where the Taliban-led insurgency is the most intense.

“There is stunning potential here,” the newspaper quoted General David Petraeus, commander of the U.S. Central Command, as saying in an interview at the weekend. “There are lots of ifs, of course, but I think potentially it is hugely significant.”

An internal Pentagon memo said Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium”, the New York Times said. Lithium is a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and other electronics such as mobile telephones. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

For more on Afghanistan click [ID:nAFPAK]

or see link.reuters.com/syx62d

Afghan blog: blogs.reuters.com/afghanistan/ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Afghanistan does not have any mining industry or infrastructure, so it will take decades for the country to exploit its mineral wealth fully, the paper quoted U.S. officials as saying.

The report about the country’s untapped wealth is likely to intensify competition among regional players such as China, India and even Russia for a greater role in exploiting those resources.

Two Chinese firms have committed themselves to a $4 billion investment in the vast Aynak copper mine, south of Kabul, the biggest non-military foreign investment so far in the country.

Another big contract to mine an estimated 1.8 billion tonnes of high-quality iron ore in the remote mountainous region of Hajigak is expected to open for international bidding this year.

Firms from India and China are eyeing the contract, which the Afghan mines ministry says is the largest unmined iron deposit in Asia.

According to the U.S. study, the biggest deposits discovered so far are of iron and copper and the quantities are large enough to make Afghanistan a major world producer.

Other finds include large deposits of niobium, a soft metal used in producing superconducting steel, rare earth elements and large gold deposits in Pashtun areas of southern Afghanistan.

(Reporting by Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Paul Tait)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Report says Pakistan meddling in Afghanistan

June 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

KABUL, June 13 (Reuters) – Pakistani military intelligence not only funds and trains Taliban fighters in Afghanistan but is officially represented on the movement’s leadership council, giving it significant influence over operations, a report said.

The report, published by the London School of Economics on Sunday, said its research strongly suggested support for the Taliban was the “official policy” of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.

Although links between the ISI and the Taliban have been widely suspected, the findings, which it said were corroborated by two senior Western security officials, could raise more concerns in the West over Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan.

The report also said Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was reported to have visited senior Taliban prisoners in Pakistan earlier this year, where he is believed to have promised their release and help for militant operations, suggesting support for the Taliban “is approved at the highest level of Pakistan’s civilian government”.

>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

For more on Afghanistan click [ID:nAFPAK]

or see link.reuters.com/syx62d

Afghan blog: blogs.reuters.com/afghanistan/

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^<

In Islamabad, a Pakistani presidential spokeswoman, Farah Ispahani, dismissed the allegations in the report as “absolutely spurious”. She said there “seems to be a concentrated effort to try to damage the new Pakistan-American strategic dialogue”.

Militants were feeling the pressure, she added, because “we will rout them from every area of Pakistan we find them in”.

“Pakistan appears to be playing a double-game of astonishing magnitude,” said the report, based on interviews with Taliban commanders, former senior Taliban ministers and Western and Afghan security officials.

In March 2009, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General David Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command, said they had indications elements in the ISI supported the Taliban and must end such activities.

Western officials have been reluctant to talk publicly on the subject for fear of damaging cooperation from Pakistan, a nuclear-armed state Washington has propped up with billions of dollars in military and economic aid.

“The Pakistan government’s apparent duplicity — and awareness of it among the American public and political establishment — could have enormous geo-political implications,” said the report’s author, Matt Waldman, a fellow at Harvard University.

“Without a change in Pakistani behaviour it will be difficult if not impossible for international forces and the Afghan government to make progress against the insurgency,” Waldman said in the report.

The report comes at the end of one of the bloodiest weeks for foreign troops in Afghanistan — more than 30 were killed — and at a time when the insurgency is at its most violent.

More than 1,800 foreign troops, including some 1,100 Americans, have died in Afghanistan since U.S.-backed Afghan forces overthrew the Taliban in late 2001. The war has already cost the United States around $300 billion and now costs more than $70 billion a year, the report said, citing 2009 U.S. Congressional research figures.

ISI, GULF FUNDING

The report said interviews with Taliban commanders “suggest that Pakistan continues to give extensive support to the insurgency in terms of funding, munitions and supplies”.

“These accounts were corroborated by former Taliban ministers, a Western analyst and a senior U.N. official based in Kabul, who said the Taliban largely depend on funding from the ISI and groups in Gulf countries,” the report said.

Almost all of the Taliban commanders interviewed in the report believed the ISI was represented on the Quetta Shura, the Taliban’s supreme leadership council based in Pakistan.

“Interviews strongly suggest that the ISI has representatives on the (Quetta) Shura, either as participants or observers, and the agency is thus involved at the highest level of the movement,” the report said.

The report also said Zardari, and a senior ISI official, allegedly visited some 50 senior Taliban prisoners at a secret location in Pakistan where he told them they had been arrested only because he was under pressure from the United States.

Afghanistan has been highly critical of ISI involvement in the conflict, while analysts believe Pakistan will be unwilling to cooperate fully against the Taliban without reassurances about a reduction in India’s large presence in country.

The report’s author, said some, but not all, the commanders he spoke to said the ISI support was given so as to undermine Indian influence in Afghanistan.

The main focus of those he interviewed was on driving out foreign forces, restoring sharia law and obtaining justice and security. “They didn’t talk about the Taliban regaining the reins of government,” Waldman told Reuters in London.

Nor was there any sign of al Qaeda being a significant influence. None expressed any affection for al Qaeda and some acknowledged its role in the Taliban’s downfall in 2001.

He said those he spoke to wanted peace, but not at any cost.

While he detected some reluctance to see an immediate withdrawal of all foreign forces — which could precipitate a civil war — the massive presence of troops was a major problem.

They wanted clean and honest government and the separation of men and women, including at work. They were happy to see girls’ education, but only up to a certain age.

They were also well aware of factors running in their favour, including the unpopularity of the government and divisions in the international community about the Afghan war.

“Although they are tired and war-weary, they feel a level of confidence in the eventual outcome,” he said. (Additional reporting by Myra MacDonald in London and Chris Allbritton in Islamabad, Editing by Matthew Jones) (For more Reuters coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan, see: here)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

RPT-Report slams Pakistan for meddling in Afghanistan

June 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

KABUL, June 13 (Reuters) – Pakistani military intelligence not only funds and trains Taliban fighters in Afghanistan but is officially represented on the movement’s leadership council, giving it significant influence over operations, a report said.

The report, published by the London School of Economics, a leading British institution, on Sunday, said research strongly suggested support for the Taliban was the “official policy” of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI).

Although links between the ISI and Islamist militants have been widely suspected for a long time, the report’s findings, which it said were corroborated by two senior Western security officials, could raise more concerns in the West over Pakistan’s commitment to help end the war in Afghanistan.

The report also said Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was reported to have visited senior Taliban prisoners in Pakistan earlier this year, where he is believed to have promised their release and help for militant operations, suggesting support for the Taliban “is approved at the highest level of Pakistan’s civilian government”.

A Pakistani diplomatic source described that report as “naive”, and also said any talks with the Taliban were up to the Afghan government.

“Pakistan appears to be playing a double-game of astonishing magnitude,” said the report, based on interviews with Taliban commanders and former senior Taliban ministers as well as Western and Afghan security officials.

“DUPLICITY”

In March 2009, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General David Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command, said they had indications elements in the ISI supported the Taliban and al Qaeda and said the agency must end such activities.

Nevertheless, senior Western officials have been reluctant to talk publicly on the subject for fear of damaging possible cooperation from Pakistan, a nuclear-armed state Washington has propped up with billions of dollars in military and economic aid.

“The Pakistan government’s apparent duplicity — and awareness of it among the American public and political establishment — could have enormous geo-political implications,” said the report’s author, Matt Waldman, a fellow at Harvard University.

“Without a change in Pakistani behaviour it will be difficult if not impossible for international forces and the Afghan government to make progress against the insurgency,” Waldman said in the report.

The report comes at the end of one of the bloodiest weeks for foreign troops in Afghanistan — more than 21 have been killed this week — and at a time when the insurgency is at its most violent.

More than 1,800 foreign troops, including some 1,100 Americans, have died in Afghanistan since U.S.-backed Afghan forces overthrew the Taliban in late 2001. The war has already cost the United States around $300 billion and now costs more than $70 billion a year, the report said, citing 2009 U.S. Congressional research figures.

VIOLENT REGIONS

The report said interviews with Taliban commanders in some of the most violent regions in Afghanistan “suggest that Pakistan continues to give extensive support to the insurgency in terms of funding, munitions and supplies”.

“These accounts were corroborated by former Taliban ministers, a Western analyst and a senior U.N. official based in Kabul, who said the Taliban largely depend on funding from the ISI and groups in Gulf countries,” the report said.

Almost all of the Taliban commanders interviewed in the report also believed the ISI was represented on the Quetta Shura, the Taliban’s supreme leadership council based in Pakistan.

“Interviews strongly suggest that the ISI has representatives on the (Quetta) Shura, either as participants or observers, and the agency is thus involved at the highest level of the movement,” the report said.

The report also stated that Pakistani President Zardari, along with a senior ISI official, allegedly visited some 50 senior Taliban prisoners at a secret location in Pakistan where he told them they had been arrested only because he was under pressure from the United States.

“(This) suggests that the policy is approved at the highest level of Pakistan’s civilian government,” the report said.

Afghanistan has also been highly critical of Pakistan’s ISI involvement in the conflict in Afghanistan. Last week, the former director of Afghanistan’s intelligence service, Amrullah Saleh, resigned saying he had become an obstacle to President Hamid Karzai’s plans to negotiate with the insurgents. [ID:SGE6560IX]

In an exclusive interview with Reuters at his home a day after he resigned, Saleh said the ISI was “part of the landscape of destruction in this country”.

“It will be a waste of time to provide evidence of ISI involvement. They are a part of it. The Pakistani army of which ISI is a part, they know where the Taliban leaders are — in their safe houses,” he told Reuters. (Editing by David Fox and Alex Richardson) (For more Reuters coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan, see: here)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Petraeus says need to give credit to anti-Taliban ops in Pak

May 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment

As pressure piles up on Pakistan to extend its military action against militants, a top US General has said the country should be given credit for going after the Taliban in its territory.

General David Petraeus, Commander of the US Central Command, said the Pakistani military went after the Taliban effectively last year in its northwest territories.

“There is a common enemy out there, and we all have to cooperate” in defeating it, Petraeus said in his key note address to the 2010 Joint War fighting Conference, in Virginia Beach.

Petraeus, who was in western Pakistan last week said: “It’s important to give Pakistan credit for what it has done”.

The praise for Pakistan Army’s anti-militant operations in its north west came as the Islamabad is under pressure to extend crack down to North Waziristan, believed to be the base of many al qaeda and Taliban leaders.

The US has been pursuing Pakistan to launch a military operation in North Waziristan, and the impetus has increased after the recent Times Square failed bombing attempt was found to have links to the region.

President Barack Obama has said that al Qaeda and the Taliban continue to plot from the Af-Pak border region.

“As we’ve seen in recent plots here in the United States, al Qaeda and its extremist allies continue to plot in the border regions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and a growing Taliban insurgency could mean an even larger safe haven for al Qaeda and its affiliates,” Obama said yesterday.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pak, US spar over Times Square bomber’s Taliban link

May 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

London, May 12 (ANI): Pakistan and the United States are sparring over whether failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad was working under the direction of the Pakistani Taliban.

While officials in Pakistan have denied the link, senior officials in Washington, including Attorney General, Eric Holder and White House”s Special Adviser on Counter-Terrorism John Brennan have said Shahzad conspired with militants in Pakistan.

The Guardian quoted a Pakistani security official with knowledge of the investigation, as saying: “No Taliban link has come to the fore.”

The paper said officials in Islamabad are perplexed and angry at statements coming out of Washington about Shahzad”s links with the Pakistani Taliban, believing that the US is exploiting the issue to apply pressure for new military offensives in Pakistan”s tribal border area with Afghanistan, in the North Waziristan region.

Shahzad, a naturalised American citizen of Pakistani origin, told US interrogators that he had been trained in Waziristan, part of Pakistan”s tribal area, according to the court charges laid against him.

Since then, the Pakistani Taliban”s official spokesman, Azam Tariq, has twice denied that his group was involved with Shahzad.

The ineptness of Shahzad”s bomb, which did not go off, has also raised doubts over whether the Pakistani Taliban could have trained him.

US CENTCOM chief General David Petraeus has already said that Shahzad was a “lone wolf” who was “inspired by militants in Pakistan but didn”t have direct contact with them”.

A senior Pakistani government official said: “There is a disconnect between the Pentagon and the [Obama] administration. The Pentagon gets it that more open pressure on Pakistan is not helpful.”

According to the Washington Post, some American officials are also skeptical about Shahzad being involved with Pakistani insurgent groups, or that they may have played a role in orchestrating the Times Square bombing attempt.

“We need to find out, as quickly as possible, what his connections were and how he was trained,” said Republic Senator Christopher S. Bond.

He added that White House statements suggesting a central role by the Pakistani Taliban were based on “suspicions and tenuous connections.”

Senate Intelligence committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein said there is a “high likelihood” that Shahzad received some kind of terrorist training in Pakistan. But she said committee members had not been provided with specifics about how the Taliban might have aided the attempted bombing. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

US working with India on Af-Pak: Petraeus

April 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The US is trying to reverse the momentum of the Taiban in Afghanistan and has been working actively with India with regard to the situation in the Af-Pak region, a top American General has said.

“It (India) is not in the title (of Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke), but he has certainly had a lot of activity with our Indian partners,” General David Petraeus, Commander of the US Central Command, told Charlie Rose Show on the PBS.

Appreciative of the recent Pakistani military operation against the Taliban and al-Qaeda along the Pak-Afghan border, Petraeus said the US forces in Afghanistan are trying to regain the momentum in the country.

“It (Taliban) has been resurgent. It did indeed have the momentum. And what we’re trying to do now is reverse that moment and take back areas they have been able to take control of,” Petraeus said.

The American General said that defeat of the Taliban in Kandahar is very important for victory in the war against terrorism.

“It really is the birthplace of the Taliban. It is also where the 9/11 attacks were originally conceived. That’s where they were planned. So it has enormous importance to the Taliban,” he said.

“It will not be a hub-to-hub offensive. This is not going to be something like the clearance of Ramadi or, say, southwestern Baghdad. This in fact is as much political as it is military,” he said.

Responding to a question on Pakistan, Petraeus said there has indeed been considerable progress by the Pakistani army and frontier corps against the Pakistani Taliban in the country’s northwest, including Swat and tribal areas, but clearly it is a very tough work.

“And again, the extremists there, the Pakistani Taliban and their confederates, have sought to fight back by doing what they do, which is carry out acts of indiscriminate violence against innocent civilians as they did before, as well, as they assassinated Benazir Bhutto and blew up visiting cricket teams and thousands and thousands of innocent Pakistani civilians and security force members,” he said.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pak Army expresses reservation over new Af-pak policy

September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Sep 17 (ANI): The Obama Administration has been informed by the Pakistan Army that the US’ new Af-Pak policy will yield negative results if it is applied in the same manner as it is being done in Afghanistan.

President Asif Ali Zardari during his visit to the USA will also advocate the same line of the army.

The army leadership communicated that there was a large difference between the situation in Afghanistan and that in Pakistan and if the US tried to implement the same policy in Pakistan than it would not only yield negative results but it will also affect Pak-US relations.

The military top brass, including Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee General Tariq Majid made it clear to the US leadership during the recent visit of Chairman US Joint Chief of Staff Committee Admiral Mike Mullen, Commander of the US Central Command General David Petraeus and Commander of the Allied forces in Afghanistan General Stanely McCrystal that the same policy for both Pakistan and Afghanistan US would not prove successful.

Sources said that the army has informed in written to the US administration about its reservations regarding its new Af-Pak policy, The News reports.

Army Chief Ashfaq Pervez Kayani and General Tariq Majeed have also reportedly advised Zardari to convince the US not to see Pakistan and Afghanistan from the same perspective and adopt a separate policy for Pakistan. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

US to open new intelligence training centre focusing on Pakistan, Afghanistan

August 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington , Aug.25 (ANI): The United States is planning to set-up a training centre at the Central Command to train military officials and secret agents to focus more on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

According to the Washington Times, CENTCOM chief General David Petraeus would open the intelligence organization called the Centre for Afghanistan Pakistan Excellence later this week.

The organization would be headed by Derek Harvey, a retired colonel in the Defence Intelligence Agency, and would focus on training military officers and covert agents and analysts.

When asked about the training centre, Harvey, who had become Petraeus’ most trusted man during the Iraq operation, said the organization would be set-up on the experience and lessons learnt during the Iraq counterinsurgency operation.

Not only the counterinsurgency moves, but the information gained in terms of intelligence analysis would also be taken into account while establishing the training center, Harvey said.

He highlighted that the new center would focus on integrating all sources of information to develop strategic products for both war fighters and decision makers in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“We have tended to rely too much on intelligence sources and not integrating fully what is coming from provincial reconstruction teams, civil-affairs officers, commanders and operators on the ground that are interacting with the population and who understand the population and can actually communicate what is going on in the street,” Harvey said.

The training academy would also train future analysts, officers and covert operators in the local dialect such as Pashto and Dari languages and other culture courses.

When asked that whether the new training centre would mean a long term US presence in the region, Harvey said it was for the higher authorities to decide.

“Even if we downsize, we are still going to have investments in South Asia,” he added.

The organization would be coordinating and sharing information between the Defence Intelligence Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the (NATO) International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, and Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. However, the CIA has been kept away from the organization.

When asked as to why the CIA has deliberately been kept away, Harvey said: “The CIA had already detailed many analysts to support his new centre.” (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ex-UK Special Forces commander to work on reconciliation with Taliban

August 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, Aug.21 (ANI): A former British special forces commander has been appointed to mastermind a program of reconciliation with members of the Taliban, General David Petraeus, the US military chief, said overnight.

Lieutenant-General Sir Graeme Lamb, who retired recently from the British Army, was personally requested by General Stanley McChrystal, the US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, to take on the role, which is considered crucial to reduce the impact of the insurgency.

General Lamb would work at “local level reconciliation and reintegration”, General Petraeus said at a briefing at the US Embassy in London.

General Petraeus, the commander of US Central Command, which embraces Iraq and Afghanistan, was full of praise for General Lamb, a former Director Special Forces, when he worked with him in Baghdad. He played a similar role there, persuading Sunni insurgent leaders to give up fighting.

General Petraeus said NATO forces had faced a tough time before the election overnight, especially in Helmand, where British troops had lost many soldiers in the last two months. “Our soldiers have shed blood side by side,” he said.

According to The Australian, he refused to predict how long he expected British and other NATO troops to be engaged in fighting the Taliban, but said that the alliance needed to maintain a “sustained and substantial commitment”.

There are about 62,000 US troops in Afghanistan, with another 6,000 to be deployed by the autumn. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

US CENTCOM chief says Brit soldiers are the world’s best

August 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, Aug.21 (ANI): U.S. CENTCOM chief General David Petraeus has described British troops as the world’s best, as they spectacularly hunted down al-Qaeda bombers for him while he led the victorious surge in Iraq.

Recalling their valour, General Petraeus said British soldiers often rented taxis, removed body armour and drove through Baghdad to get their man.

The Sun quoted General Petraeus as saying: “They would use extraordinary skill. And your conventional forces demonstrate the same capacity. I have always been impressed by the courage, capacity for independent action, skill and exceptional will of your soldiers. It’s what sets forces in the UK – and I’d argue the US and a handful of other countries – apart from all others in the world.”
“22 SAS are absolutely spectacular. We felt privileged to have them in Iraq. Brits should be very proud of all their forces and take special pride in their special forces,” he added.
Passing through London, the General also praised the outnumbered UK forces holding off the Taliban in Helmand.

He said: “British troops have been in a very tough place and they have done exceedingly well.”

He said he had asked former British SAS commander Lt. Gen. Graeme Lamb to go to Kabul to advise new NATO boss General Stanley McChrystal on how to win over Taliban defectors.

In a message to all Brits, he said: “It’s absolutely natural for those putting their lives on the line to ask, is this worth it?
“It is. It is enormously important we achieve our objective in Afghanistan, and ensure it does not again become a sanctuary for al-Qaeda and other extremists that have carried out attacks on your streets,” he added.

The general, who has served with the British military since 2001, admitted it was a mistake to go boozing with Brit soldiers.
He said: “I could never hold my own with them, especially not Scottish paratroopers. That was a losing proposition.” (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

CENTCOM chief Petraeus in Pak, to discuss weapons delivery

August 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Aug.19 (ANI): U.S. Central Command chief General David Petraeus has arrived here to hold discussions with Pakistan’s military leaders on expediting delivery of US equipment to Pakistan so it can expand its offensive against Taliban militants.

The Dawn quoted US officials as saying that the Pakistan Army is short of equipment, and needs them for a large-scale ground operation.

‘It is part of a substantial effort to strengthen US-Pakistani military cooperation,’ US envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, told a news agency while referring to General Petraeus’s visit.

Holbrooke said on Tuesday that Washington was trying to expedite delivery of equipment requested by the Pakistani army, including helicopters and parts.

He said Pakistani army chiefs would also provide General Petraeus with their assessment of the battle in the Swat valley, northwest of Islamabad, after a three-month offensive in which Pakistani forces have pushed back militants.

The United States also wants Pakistan to move against other militant factions, based in various areas including North Waziristan, which focus on battling western forces in Afghanistan.

But Lieutenant-General Nadeem Ahmed, the Margala Corps Commander, said on Tuesday Pakistan would need months to prepare for a ground offensive against the Taliban in South Waziristan. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

US pushing Pak to continue operation against Taliban

August 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New York, Aug.19 (ANI): The United States is pushing Pakistan to continue operation against Taliban in the wake of reported death of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud.

However, senior American administration officials believe that Islamabad is still caught between a ‘clear’ and ‘hold’ situation when it comes to Swat and Waziristan.

According to them the Pakistan Army sees the operation against the Taliban in Swat and Waziristan as a ‘surgical strike’ following which they can again shift focus towards its arch rival India.

“The perception in the Pakistani military is that this is a surgical strike. They go and clear out Swat and Waziristan and then they can go back to fighting the Indians,” officials said.

They said US Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, during his meeting with the Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha on Tuesday, asked Islamabad to ‘push on’ against the extremists based inside the country.

“The purpose of my meeting today was to express our support and appreciation of Pakistan-U.S. military cooperation. Second, in particular I wanted to say how impressed we are with the speed with which refugees have been able to return to their homes in Swat. And third, I wanted to encourage greater cooperation going forward,” Holbrooke said on Tuesday.

According to the New York Times, the leader of American and NATO combat operations in Afghanistan, General Stanley A. McChrystal, who arrived in Pakistan on Monday also asked General Kayani to continue action against the Taliban and other extremist groups.

US officials said General David Petraeus, commander of American forces in the Middle East,is also expected to arrive in Islamabad on Wednesday (today) for a meeting with General Kayani.

It is believed that General Petraeus too will deliver the same message to Pakistan, officials said. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pictures of detainee-abuse could have a ‘destabilising effect’ on Pak : General Petraeus

May 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Lahore, May 30 (ANI): The US Central Command Chief General David Petraeus has said that publishing images of the abuse of prisoners in US custody could dent Pakistan’s efforts to counter extremism.

General Petraeus, in his statement to a court, urged it to keep the photographs under a veil, as they could have a ‘destabilising effect’ on Pakistan and other US allies in the war against Al Qaeda.

“Photos depicting abuse of detainees in the US military custody in Afghanistan and Iraq would negatively affect the ongoing efforts by Pakistan to counter its internal extremist threat,” Petraeus said.

He added that if the pictures are made public, they would likely deal a particularly ‘hard blow’ to the efforts of the United States in the countries where it is engaged against Al-Qaeda and other extremist groups.

It may also ignite civil unrest in those countries, Petraeus said.

“Militant and extremist groups would use these images to foment anti-US sentiment and to incite demonstrators to conduct deliberate attacks against US targets, as well as western non-government organization facilities and personnel,” he said. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pakistan realizes threat posed by Taliban : General Petraeus

May 28, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Lahore, May 28 (ANI): The US Central Command chief General David Petraeus has said that Pakistan has now realized the existential threat posed by the Taliban.

In an interview to a foreign radio channel, General Petraeus said : “The four major elements of Pakistani society, the government, the opposition, the military and the civilians, realise that Pakistan must oppose and confront the Taliban, who pose a threat to the Pakistani state.”

He said there has been a major shift of opinion among the people of the country towards the Taliban, as they now realize that the outlawed outfit only fosters oppression.

Commenting on the ‘war on terror’ in Afghanistan, the CENTCOM chief admitted that security forces must do more to ensure minimum loss of life of innocent civilians during the US led military operations.

He, however added that the troops must be given certain freedom to counter the extremists.

“We shouldn’t have our soldiers go into a fight with one arm tied behind their back,” The Daily Times quoted General Petraeus, as saying. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

US announces separate 400 million dollar counter-insurgency aid for Pakistan

May 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 27 (ANI): The United States has set up a separate aid of about 400 million dollars to help Pakistan counter extremism effectively.

The annual fund named the Pakistan Counter-insurgency Capabilities Fund (PCCF) would primarily provide sophisticated weapons and counter insurgency training to the Pakistan military.

The fund would be in addition to the war supplement that has already been approved by the Senate.

The PCCF will allow the US Central Command officials to work directly with the Pakistani military to help build its counter-insurgency capability, The Dawn reports.

A Pakistan Embassy spokesman said that this additional fund would be of great help in the ongoing military operations in Swat and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

Recently, the US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates had urged the congressional panel to provide an additional package to Islamabad to help build up its counter terrorism capabilities.

“We are asking for this unique authority for the unique and urgent circumstances we face in Pakistan. It is a vital element of President Obama’s new Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy,” Gates had said.

However, the State Department and the Pentagon both had different opinions over the aid being provided to Pakistan.

Several Senators and members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the State Department’s legislative affairs insisted that the fund must be put under strict vigil and in the patronage of the State Department.

They claimed that counter-insurgency is ’80 per cent political and only 20 per cent military’ so all the efforts to tackle such issues must be controlled by civilians.

“This provision lays down an important marker that providing security assistance to other countries is a matter of foreign policy and should remain a core responsibility of the Secretary of State,” Congressman Berman had said.

The PCCF would allow Central Command chief General David Petraeus to press for additional Pakistani acceptance of US training, US officials said. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Posts