A prominent Afghan official blames Pakistan for the resurgence of Taliban militants in Afghanistan according to the article Afghanistan official visits Waterloo, from The Record.
"The Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan would be dead overnight if Pakistan were forced to stop supporting them, says a senior Afghanistan government official [Jawed Ludi]."
" 'The root and the sources of terrorist indoctrination, terrorist support... happens to be based in Pakistan,' Ludin said... 'The whole world is here to fight terrorism, why is it they (Taliban fighters) can come in great numbers from across the border and attack us, and Pakistan gets away with impunity?' "
"...now Pakistani intelligence uses Islamic extremism to undermine any nationalist tendencies in the provinces that border Afghanistan ... The Muslim radicals running the Madrassas, the Taliban and Pakistani intelligence agency ... form what Ludin calls an evil triangle."
" 'This triangle is the evil triangle that has to be dismantled if the world is ever going to be safe from terrorism' Ludin said."
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
CSIS Releases Report on Progress in Afghanistan
"The Post-Conflict Reconstruction Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies recently released its final report on Afghanistan, entitled 'Breaking Point: Measuring Progress in Afghanistan.' "
"The report found that:
• Afghans are losing trust in their government because of an escalation in violence
• Public expectations are neither being met nor managed;
• Conditions in Afghanistan have deteriorated in all key areas targeted for development, except for the economy and women's rights."
"Afghans are more insecure today than they were in 2005 ... due largely to the violence surrounding the insurgency and counter-insurgency campaigns..."
"The central government’s institutional and human capacity has improved, but its legitimacy has deteriorated. Sub-national government structures still lack capacity. In their place, militia commanders and local mafias have filled the void..."
"Traditional, informal judicial structures continue to fill the gap in justice for many Afghans..."
"High economic growth [has] improved the general ... Afghan economy, yet these benefits have not translated into sufficient employment and income generating activities for the ordinary
citizen."
"Although reconstruction investments by the international community have enhanced social services and infrastructure, deteriorating security conditions ... has limited ... its benefits for many Afghans."
"The report found that:
• Afghans are losing trust in their government because of an escalation in violence
• Public expectations are neither being met nor managed;
• Conditions in Afghanistan have deteriorated in all key areas targeted for development, except for the economy and women's rights."
"Afghans are more insecure today than they were in 2005 ... due largely to the violence surrounding the insurgency and counter-insurgency campaigns..."
"The central government’s institutional and human capacity has improved, but its legitimacy has deteriorated. Sub-national government structures still lack capacity. In their place, militia commanders and local mafias have filled the void..."
"Traditional, informal judicial structures continue to fill the gap in justice for many Afghans..."
"High economic growth [has] improved the general ... Afghan economy, yet these benefits have not translated into sufficient employment and income generating activities for the ordinary
citizen."
"Although reconstruction investments by the international community have enhanced social services and infrastructure, deteriorating security conditions ... has limited ... its benefits for many Afghans."
The Development of the Pakistan Taliban
The following is excerpted from an article that details the evolution and development of the now infamous "Pakistan Taliban." The article The Pakistan Taliban, was written by Graham Usher for the Middle East Report.
"Today the Pakistan Taliban is the 'de facto political leadership' in North and South Waziristan ... The Waziristans are the most populous of seven tribal agencies that ... share a ragged mountain border with ... Afghanistan. They are collectively known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas or FATA."
"This 370 mile-long frontier -- and the Talibanized rule emerging there -- represents Pakistan's gravest internal threat, says Gen. Pervez Musharraf"
"...the Pakistan Taliban, allied with al-Qaeda and Islamists from Central Asia and Chechnya, have carved out an indispensable sanctuary for insurgents fighting in Afghanistan"
"For the first 50 years of Pakistan's existence, the government's policy toward the FATA was ...
Tribal leaders, or maliks, were granted semi-autonomous powers in exchange for fealty to the ... the regime."
"until recently, no foreign (meaning, non-Pashtun) troops were allowed in the tribal areas."
"For the last 30 years, FATA's isolation has served another purpose:
The state has used the region as the launching pad for Pakistan-inspired insurgencies in Afghanistan ... a war economy [grew] driven by opium, guns and God, while jihad was first taught, then waged, by generations of young men..."
"the younger tribesmen [ask] `Why was it jihad to resist the Russians, but now it is terrorism to resist the Americans?' "
"In March 2004 -- for the first time in the history of the state -- a reluctant Musharraf [pressured by Washington] dispatched 80,000 Pakistani soldiers to the tribal areas ... outraged [the] maliks, who saw the invasion as a betrayal of their basic pact with Pakistan's rulers..."
"The campaign was a disaster ... The political impact was profound, says Ismail Khan. 'It empowered the [Taliban] militants on the one hand and weakened the government...' "
"Over the next two years, the army mounted eight more incursions ... With every raid the Taliban grew stronger."
"Today the Pakistan Taliban is the 'de facto political leadership' in North and South Waziristan ... The Waziristans are the most populous of seven tribal agencies that ... share a ragged mountain border with ... Afghanistan. They are collectively known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas or FATA."
"This 370 mile-long frontier -- and the Talibanized rule emerging there -- represents Pakistan's gravest internal threat, says Gen. Pervez Musharraf"
"...the Pakistan Taliban, allied with al-Qaeda and Islamists from Central Asia and Chechnya, have carved out an indispensable sanctuary for insurgents fighting in Afghanistan"
"For the first 50 years of Pakistan's existence, the government's policy toward the FATA was ...
Tribal leaders, or maliks, were granted semi-autonomous powers in exchange for fealty to the ... the regime."
"until recently, no foreign (meaning, non-Pashtun) troops were allowed in the tribal areas."
"For the last 30 years, FATA's isolation has served another purpose:
The state has used the region as the launching pad for Pakistan-inspired insurgencies in Afghanistan ... a war economy [grew] driven by opium, guns and God, while jihad was first taught, then waged, by generations of young men..."
"the younger tribesmen [ask] `Why was it jihad to resist the Russians, but now it is terrorism to resist the Americans?' "
"In March 2004 -- for the first time in the history of the state -- a reluctant Musharraf [pressured by Washington] dispatched 80,000 Pakistani soldiers to the tribal areas ... outraged [the] maliks, who saw the invasion as a betrayal of their basic pact with Pakistan's rulers..."
"The campaign was a disaster ... The political impact was profound, says Ismail Khan. 'It empowered the [Taliban] militants on the one hand and weakened the government...' "
"Over the next two years, the army mounted eight more incursions ... With every raid the Taliban grew stronger."
Monday, February 26, 2007
Leadership unsuited by intellect and temperament: the consequences
"Six years ago a man unsuited both by intellect and by temperament for high office somehow ended up running the country." [Paul Krugman, NYTimes 2/26/07]
Yes, but with him came a host of other people focused on what they could do with him as the front. Whatever we might want to say about them and their agendas, they have done a lot in a very short time. They have shown that indeed a small cabal can run this country -- with consequences for the world that are terrifying and devastating.
Yes, but with him came a host of other people focused on what they could do with him as the front. Whatever we might want to say about them and their agendas, they have done a lot in a very short time. They have shown that indeed a small cabal can run this country -- with consequences for the world that are terrifying and devastating.
Friday, February 23, 2007
The Iraq Effect
In the article The Iraq Effect: War Has Increased Terrorism Sevenfold Worldwide of MotherJones, Peter Berger and Paul Cruickshank answer the highly controversial question of how has the Iraq War affected international terrorism.
"Our study shows that the Iraq War has generated a stunning sevenfold increase in the yearly rate of fatal jihadist attacks ... even when terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan is excluded, fatal attacks in the rest of the world have increased by more than one-third ... our study shows that the Iraq conflict has greatly increased the spread of the Al Qaeda ideological virus...
Also undermining the argument that Al Qaeda ... [is] being distracted from plotting against Western targets are the dangerous, anti-American plots that have arisen since the start of the Iraq War. There have been six jihadist attacks on the home soil of the United States’ NATO allies ... in the period after the invasion of Iraq, whereas there were none in the 18 months following 9/11...
...the pool of Muslims who dislike the United States has grown by hundreds of millions since the Iraq War began...
The rate of attacks in Arab countries jumped by 445 percent since the Iraq invasion, while the rate of killings rose by 783 percent....
While Iraqis make up the great bulk of the insurgents, several studies have shown that the suicide attackers in Iraq are generally foreigners...
Our study shows just how counterproductive the Iraq War has been to the war on terrorism."
"Our study shows that the Iraq War has generated a stunning sevenfold increase in the yearly rate of fatal jihadist attacks ... even when terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan is excluded, fatal attacks in the rest of the world have increased by more than one-third ... our study shows that the Iraq conflict has greatly increased the spread of the Al Qaeda ideological virus...
Also undermining the argument that Al Qaeda ... [is] being distracted from plotting against Western targets are the dangerous, anti-American plots that have arisen since the start of the Iraq War. There have been six jihadist attacks on the home soil of the United States’ NATO allies ... in the period after the invasion of Iraq, whereas there were none in the 18 months following 9/11...
...the pool of Muslims who dislike the United States has grown by hundreds of millions since the Iraq War began...
The rate of attacks in Arab countries jumped by 445 percent since the Iraq invasion, while the rate of killings rose by 783 percent....
While Iraqis make up the great bulk of the insurgents, several studies have shown that the suicide attackers in Iraq are generally foreigners...
Our study shows just how counterproductive the Iraq War has been to the war on terrorism."
The Wrong Model
I have only recently become aware that the international drug trade, even that from Afghanistan and elsewhere in Asia, is managed largely by the Colombian mafia. It turns out that the Columbian mafia have a much wider grip on the system than I had imagined. And, as I am coming to know, the whole contraband enterprise -- or enteprises of many sorts -- has grown to such proportions that at some point one wonders where contraband simply becomes "business" -- the two being linked in many ways. The problem for the social scientist in trying to understand a world spinning ever faster out of control is that reliable information on sub rosa activities is so scanty and fragmentary. I post this article because it draws our attention to how broadly and deeply the contraband industry has reached into world affairs.
The wrong model
The Boston Globe
By Dan Restrepo
"...Bush administration ... appears to have selected [Columbia] as a model for the path forward in Afghanistan.
Although Colombia's decades- long struggles against narco-trafficking and insurgencies certainly offer lessons for Afghanistan, they are not the road map to success...
The erstwhile public secret of the deep connections between Colombia's political and governing class and narco-terrorist paramilitary organizations has begun to unravel. Formal charges have been brought against numerous members of Congress...
Colombia's long struggle with powerful drug lords underscores the threat these individuals and organizations pose to democratic institutions. If Colombia, a country with a long tradition of democracy, has been compromised, the challenge for the fledgling Afghani democracy is even greater...
The Colombianization of U.S.-Afghanistan policy is rife with peril,not the least because it is unclear that U.S. policy in Colombia has been a success or that Colombia is the shining example the administration would like to believe..."
The wrong model
The Boston Globe
By Dan Restrepo
"...Bush administration ... appears to have selected [Columbia] as a model for the path forward in Afghanistan.
Although Colombia's decades- long struggles against narco-trafficking and insurgencies certainly offer lessons for Afghanistan, they are not the road map to success...
The erstwhile public secret of the deep connections between Colombia's political and governing class and narco-terrorist paramilitary organizations has begun to unravel. Formal charges have been brought against numerous members of Congress...
Colombia's long struggle with powerful drug lords underscores the threat these individuals and organizations pose to democratic institutions. If Colombia, a country with a long tradition of democracy, has been compromised, the challenge for the fledgling Afghani democracy is even greater...
The Colombianization of U.S.-Afghanistan policy is rife with peril,not the least because it is unclear that U.S. policy in Colombia has been a success or that Colombia is the shining example the administration would like to believe..."
Former Iranian President Rallies Opposition to Ahmadinejad
As many are aware, Ahmadinejad is beginning to lose popular support in Iran. The following article Iran: Rafsanjani Presses Political Offensive Against President, Stressing Moderation of EurasiaNet comments on how former president Rafsanjani taken this opportunity to go on the attack.
"...emboldened by the ... support of a ... number of senior clerics, Iran’s political maverick, Aliakbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, is pressing a campaign to diminish President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s influence...
In the span of five days in early February, Rafsanjani gave two provocative television speeches and made a highly publicized visit to Qom ... unleashing a rhetorical offensive...
...opposition to Ahmadinejad’s policies had been rising...
Rafsanjani ... indicated that Ahmadinejad’s recklessly confrontational tactics had backfired..."
"...emboldened by the ... support of a ... number of senior clerics, Iran’s political maverick, Aliakbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, is pressing a campaign to diminish President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s influence...
In the span of five days in early February, Rafsanjani gave two provocative television speeches and made a highly publicized visit to Qom ... unleashing a rhetorical offensive...
...opposition to Ahmadinejad’s policies had been rising...
Rafsanjani ... indicated that Ahmadinejad’s recklessly confrontational tactics had backfired..."
Anti-American feelings soar among Muslims, study finds
Anti-American feelings soar among Muslims, study finds
from The Times
"The War on Terror has radicalised Muslims around the world to unprecedented levels of anti-American feeling, according to the largest survey of Muslims ever to be conducted...
A large number of Muslims supported the Western ideal of democratic government. Fifty per cent of radicals supported democracy, compared with 35 per cent of moderates...
Religion was found to have little to do with radicalisation or antipathy towards Western culture. Muslims were condemnatory of promiscuity and a sense of moral decay. What they admired most was liberty, its democratic system, technology and freedom of speech.
'There is no significant difference in religiosity between moderates and radicals. In fact, radicals are no more likely to attend religious services regularly than are moderates.' "
from The Times
"The War on Terror has radicalised Muslims around the world to unprecedented levels of anti-American feeling, according to the largest survey of Muslims ever to be conducted...
A large number of Muslims supported the Western ideal of democratic government. Fifty per cent of radicals supported democracy, compared with 35 per cent of moderates...
Religion was found to have little to do with radicalisation or antipathy towards Western culture. Muslims were condemnatory of promiscuity and a sense of moral decay. What they admired most was liberty, its democratic system, technology and freedom of speech.
'There is no significant difference in religiosity between moderates and radicals. In fact, radicals are no more likely to attend religious services regularly than are moderates.' "
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Threat to the Troops Over Eradication Operation
An article entitled Taliban warlord's threat to troops, by Tom Coghlan of The Telegraph (UK) discusses a threat made by an Afghan warlord regarding the upcoming poppy eradication operation.
"A Taliban commander has told The Daily Telegraph of his plans to sabotage a British-backed operation to eradicate the poppy crop in southern Afghanistan ... he intends to defend the poppy fields of Helmand province to exploit dissatisfaction among locals ... Afghan police will start to plough poppy fields on Saturday ... Nato sources said attacks on the eradication police would force British troops to intervene. Tribal elders have threatened a violent backlash if eradication takes place"
"A Taliban commander has told The Daily Telegraph of his plans to sabotage a British-backed operation to eradicate the poppy crop in southern Afghanistan ... he intends to defend the poppy fields of Helmand province to exploit dissatisfaction among locals ... Afghan police will start to plough poppy fields on Saturday ... Nato sources said attacks on the eradication police would force British troops to intervene. Tribal elders have threatened a violent backlash if eradication takes place"
The Evolving Drug Trade in Afghanistan
This is an interesting article from The Telegraph entitled The Profits are Vast But Only the Big Fish Can Swim, about how the drug trade in Afghanistan has developed from only 3 or 4 years ago.
"several shipments of ... opium each month [are brought] to the Iranian border ... to Iranian middlemen operating on behalf of European syndicates who refine it into heroin and speed. From there it goes onwards via Turkey to the back streets of London and other European cities...
'There are fewer smugglers than there used to be — and only the bigger fish can swim' said Nabi [a drug smuggler]...
The Helmand poppy trade, and Afghanistan's £1.5 billion-a-year drugs pyramid, is streamlining itself...
The trade has been forced underground thanks to the international counter-narcotics effort...
[However in recent developments] Afghan police recently stumbled on half a ton [500kg] of opium ... When Western drugs officials heard of the incident and approached [them] 15kg of the drugs were handed back."
"several shipments of ... opium each month [are brought] to the Iranian border ... to Iranian middlemen operating on behalf of European syndicates who refine it into heroin and speed. From there it goes onwards via Turkey to the back streets of London and other European cities...
'There are fewer smugglers than there used to be — and only the bigger fish can swim' said Nabi [a drug smuggler]...
The Helmand poppy trade, and Afghanistan's £1.5 billion-a-year drugs pyramid, is streamlining itself...
The trade has been forced underground thanks to the international counter-narcotics effort...
[However in recent developments] Afghan police recently stumbled on half a ton [500kg] of opium ... When Western drugs officials heard of the incident and approached [them] 15kg of the drugs were handed back."
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Taking the Battle to the Airwaves
This article reveals another aspect of Afghanistan affairs. Mohsini is a Shi'ite cleric from Kandahar and may in fact provide an alternative to disaffected Pushtuns in that region.
Afghan cleric takes Islamic battle to the airwaves
By Sayed Salahuddin
Reuters
"Mohseni is launching a semi-Islamic television channel which does not focus exclusively on Islamic teachings.
'The general beliefs of people are being ignored, people are betrayed, our history and culture is played with. We will talk about these to people in order to enable them to find their identity.'
'Our television is the tongue of the silent majority ... These people want bread, water, clothes; these people want knowledge, they do not want Indian culture to govern them,' he added.
Every day, people come in droves to seek his advice on religious matters, disputes and for guidance."
Afghan cleric takes Islamic battle to the airwaves
By Sayed Salahuddin
Reuters
"Mohseni is launching a semi-Islamic television channel which does not focus exclusively on Islamic teachings.
'The general beliefs of people are being ignored, people are betrayed, our history and culture is played with. We will talk about these to people in order to enable them to find their identity.'
'Our television is the tongue of the silent majority ... These people want bread, water, clothes; these people want knowledge, they do not want Indian culture to govern them,' he added.
Every day, people come in droves to seek his advice on religious matters, disputes and for guidance."
A New Moderated Islamic Movement in Afghanistan
Joshua Kucera of Eurasia.net writes about a new "moderate" Muslim project in Afghanistan in his article NEW MOVEMENT IN AFGHANISTAN STRIVES TO OFFER IDEOLOGICAL ALTERNATIVE TO THE TALIBAN
"A new political movement is taking shape in Afghanistan that is pro-Western in orientation and seeks to present Afghans with a clear ... alternative to the vision offered by the resurgent Taliban movement.
The movement, Fedayeen-e-Sul, or Sacrificers for Peace, is led by Hamed Wardak...
The movement aims to be pan-ethnic, reformist and democratic...
Wardak said he often refers to the important role that women played in the life of Mohammed...
There are about 30 members of parliament who are ready to affiliate themselves to Fedayeen-e-Sul, but at present not all of them want to be publicly identified...
The United States is interested in fostering moderate Islam in countries that are majority Muslim...
Wardak spoke critically of the current Afghan president, Hamid Karzai... 'It's also distressing to our movement that many Americans and Western observers believe that only President Karzai is a bulwark against the Taliban. To us, this is an insult to our country, our long history and our new democracy.' "
"A new political movement is taking shape in Afghanistan that is pro-Western in orientation and seeks to present Afghans with a clear ... alternative to the vision offered by the resurgent Taliban movement.
The movement, Fedayeen-e-Sul, or Sacrificers for Peace, is led by Hamed Wardak...
The movement aims to be pan-ethnic, reformist and democratic...
Wardak said he often refers to the important role that women played in the life of Mohammed...
There are about 30 members of parliament who are ready to affiliate themselves to Fedayeen-e-Sul, but at present not all of them want to be publicly identified...
The United States is interested in fostering moderate Islam in countries that are majority Muslim...
Wardak spoke critically of the current Afghan president, Hamid Karzai... 'It's also distressing to our movement that many Americans and Western observers believe that only President Karzai is a bulwark against the Taliban. To us, this is an insult to our country, our long history and our new democracy.' "
From Friend to Foe
The New York Times has published an article that describes an Afghan's interesting relationship with the U.S. government over the years. According to the article An Afghan's Path from Ally of U.S. to Drug Suspect, by JAMES RISEN, the U.S. government used this individual for years as an informant against the Taliban and al-Qaeda but when the relationship fizzled, he was arrested on drug charges.
"In April 2005, federal law enforcement officials ... announce[d] the capture of ... Haji Bashir Noorzai ... [but] the officials left out some puzzling details...
Soon after the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, Mr. Noorzai agreed to cooperate with American officials ... in late January 2002 he handed over 15 truckloads of weapons, including about 400 antiaircraft missiles, that had been hidden by the Taliban in his tribe's territory, Mr. Fisher said[Noorzai's lawyer] ... Mr. Noorzai also persuaded a local tribal figure, Haji Birqet, to return to Afghanistan from Pakistan, the lawyer said. But he said the Americans, falsely warned that Mr. Birqet and Mr. Noorzai were plotting to attack United States forces, killed Mr. Birqet ... angered by the attack on Mr. Birqet, Mr.Noorzai broke off contact with the Americans and fled to his home in Pakistan, according to Mr. Fisher.
...Mr. Noorzai had secretly been indicted by a federal grand jury in New York on drug smuggling charges in January 2005. [FBI] contractors ... persuade[d] Mr. Noorzai to come to the United States ... where he was arrested..."
"In April 2005, federal law enforcement officials ... announce[d] the capture of ... Haji Bashir Noorzai ... [but] the officials left out some puzzling details...
Soon after the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, Mr. Noorzai agreed to cooperate with American officials ... in late January 2002 he handed over 15 truckloads of weapons, including about 400 antiaircraft missiles, that had been hidden by the Taliban in his tribe's territory, Mr. Fisher said[Noorzai's lawyer] ... Mr. Noorzai also persuaded a local tribal figure, Haji Birqet, to return to Afghanistan from Pakistan, the lawyer said. But he said the Americans, falsely warned that Mr. Birqet and Mr. Noorzai were plotting to attack United States forces, killed Mr. Birqet ... angered by the attack on Mr. Birqet, Mr.Noorzai broke off contact with the Americans and fled to his home in Pakistan, according to Mr. Fisher.
...Mr. Noorzai had secretly been indicted by a federal grand jury in New York on drug smuggling charges in January 2005. [FBI] contractors ... persuade[d] Mr. Noorzai to come to the United States ... where he was arrested..."
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Are the Taliban Winning?
Here is a report on the situation in Afghanistan that is ominous because of the despair that is setting in. Note also the realization among the Afghans that they have been abandoned by the Americans. The one war the Bush administration need to fight and win was this one, and they abandoned it in order to go after a foolish thug -- who happened to be sitting at a strategic location in the oil-rich Middle East. Pray that the administration will wake up to their folly.
Current History
Letter from Afghanistan: Are the Taliban Winning?
by Ahmed Rashid
"In Kabul today, most Afghans, from illiterate cooks to well-educated civil servants, take it for granted that the Taliban are coming back to power.
Afghans speak of yet another American betrayal...
Public morale has been most affected by the revived Taliban insurgency ... and by the gradual withdrawal of US troops from the insurgency-hit areas and their replacement by less well-equipped or less motivated NATO forces.
The Taliban have been able to launch attacks involving battalion-size units of over 1,000 men...
Afghans ... believe that ... the US administration never had the intention to stabilize or rebuild Afghanistan
While Iraq has bathed in US funding for infrastructure projects ... there is less electricity in Kabul now than there was under Soviet occupation...
A major problem for the West is its inability or refusal to acknowledge past failures in Afghanistan, or the country's present predicament, and to offer serious future commitments of both money and troops.
Until that happens, Afghans will continue to believe that they are losing the war against the Taliban."
Current History
Letter from Afghanistan: Are the Taliban Winning?
by Ahmed Rashid
"In Kabul today, most Afghans, from illiterate cooks to well-educated civil servants, take it for granted that the Taliban are coming back to power.
Afghans speak of yet another American betrayal...
Public morale has been most affected by the revived Taliban insurgency ... and by the gradual withdrawal of US troops from the insurgency-hit areas and their replacement by less well-equipped or less motivated NATO forces.
The Taliban have been able to launch attacks involving battalion-size units of over 1,000 men...
Afghans ... believe that ... the US administration never had the intention to stabilize or rebuild Afghanistan
While Iraq has bathed in US funding for infrastructure projects ... there is less electricity in Kabul now than there was under Soviet occupation...
A major problem for the West is its inability or refusal to acknowledge past failures in Afghanistan, or the country's present predicament, and to offer serious future commitments of both money and troops.
Until that happens, Afghans will continue to believe that they are losing the war against the Taliban."
Afghanistan's Situation From the View of the Afghan Press
We are posting the following article in its entirely. It was originally written in Dari [Afghan Farsi]. Note the way the Afghanistan press is expressing concern about what is going on in the country.
Daily Afghanwire Newsletter
THE WAVES OF TERROR RISE HIGHER
During the past three decades, and especially during the past five years, murders, thefts and other cases and problems occurred in different forms. The phenomenon of suicide attacks, which were previously not present in Afghanistan, and remote controlled explosions in crowded areas such highways, schools, streets lead to tens of deaths. Now, we see that the features of such awful events have changed and the circumstances of one case differ from the circumstances of another event.
Recently the terror and murder waves have increased resulting in some people being killed. One of those killed in recent terrorist events was Mohammad Islam Mohammadi, an elected MP from Samangan, who was killed in the light of day in the distance between his house and the mosque where we went to pray. After that, the groom of Ustad Rabbani Wahidullah was killed when he wanted to enter his home by unidentified gunmen. Following that, the daughter of a female MP, Shakiba Hashimi, was killed at her house and the day before yesterday a suicide attack took place in Herat.
The recent criminal cases have astonished people and created an atmosphere of terror among the people and we can say that the all these take place as the result of insecurity. If we study the events, they all occurred in places where - beside the internal security forces - the peace-keeping forces of 37 countries also are present.
We can mention that all these events took place at a time when the security organs are calling for better security measures and openly that they can ensure the people of a completely secure situation. Such events, if they result in terror among the people, this increases the distance and atmosphere of distrust among the people and the government and it shows the weakness of the security forces and it reveals that the police and security forces are not fulfilling their tasks and responsibilities well, because people are being killed during the bright day and the murders are escaping.
It is now necessary that their full attention should be given to the security sector and that the foreign forces should also assist the Afghan security organs in maintaining security and that our security system should be equipped with modern technologies. We are fortunate money and finances should be taken out of people's pockets and should be spent for security means and the prosperity of the people.
Daily Afghanwire Newsletter
THE WAVES OF TERROR RISE HIGHER
During the past three decades, and especially during the past five years, murders, thefts and other cases and problems occurred in different forms. The phenomenon of suicide attacks, which were previously not present in Afghanistan, and remote controlled explosions in crowded areas such highways, schools, streets lead to tens of deaths. Now, we see that the features of such awful events have changed and the circumstances of one case differ from the circumstances of another event.
Recently the terror and murder waves have increased resulting in some people being killed. One of those killed in recent terrorist events was Mohammad Islam Mohammadi, an elected MP from Samangan, who was killed in the light of day in the distance between his house and the mosque where we went to pray. After that, the groom of Ustad Rabbani Wahidullah was killed when he wanted to enter his home by unidentified gunmen. Following that, the daughter of a female MP, Shakiba Hashimi, was killed at her house and the day before yesterday a suicide attack took place in Herat.
The recent criminal cases have astonished people and created an atmosphere of terror among the people and we can say that the all these take place as the result of insecurity. If we study the events, they all occurred in places where - beside the internal security forces - the peace-keeping forces of 37 countries also are present.
We can mention that all these events took place at a time when the security organs are calling for better security measures and openly that they can ensure the people of a completely secure situation. Such events, if they result in terror among the people, this increases the distance and atmosphere of distrust among the people and the government and it shows the weakness of the security forces and it reveals that the police and security forces are not fulfilling their tasks and responsibilities well, because people are being killed during the bright day and the murders are escaping.
It is now necessary that their full attention should be given to the security sector and that the foreign forces should also assist the Afghan security organs in maintaining security and that our security system should be equipped with modern technologies. We are fortunate money and finances should be taken out of people's pockets and should be spent for security means and the prosperity of the people.
Hundreds of Critics of the Pakistani Government are Disappearing
Concerns over Pakistan's missing
"The disappearance of hundreds of government opponents is Pakistan's most critical human rights issue...
...the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said it had reports of at least 400 people believed abducted by security agencies...
In the past the government has denied abusing human rights in making arrests...
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan's report ... said the rise in enforced disappearances over the past year was the most pressing problem.
Mr Haider [the commission's secretary general] said that the country's security agencies, military and police were involved in the disappearance of Pakistani civilians, many of whom had 'suffered an extreme degree of torture'.
...the disappearances problem was likely to be even worse than reported.
The government has been facing a recent wave of militant and sectarian violence amid protests about alleged bias in general elections that were due to be held in late January."
"The disappearance of hundreds of government opponents is Pakistan's most critical human rights issue...
...the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said it had reports of at least 400 people believed abducted by security agencies...
In the past the government has denied abusing human rights in making arrests...
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan's report ... said the rise in enforced disappearances over the past year was the most pressing problem.
Mr Haider [the commission's secretary general] said that the country's security agencies, military and police were involved in the disappearance of Pakistani civilians, many of whom had 'suffered an extreme degree of torture'.
...the disappearances problem was likely to be even worse than reported.
The government has been facing a recent wave of militant and sectarian violence amid protests about alleged bias in general elections that were due to be held in late January."
More Acts of Terrorism
Double Car Bombing in Baghdad
"A double car bombing in a mainly Shia district of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, has killed at least 60 people and injured more than 130...
The two blasts tore through a busy open-air market in the New Baghdad area in quick succession, witnesses said...
Large plumes of smoke rose above the city...
They came a day after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Baghdad and said the [recent] security operation had begun well..."
Train Blast in India
"India and Pakistan have condemned a train bombing that killed at least 66 people as an act of terrorism aimed at disrupting their peace process.
The train, running from Delhi to Lahore in Pakistan, was hit by two blasts at about midnight...
The ensuing fire swept through two carriages of the 'Friendship Express'...
Many train windows in India have bars on them for security reasons...
'We couldn't save anyone. They were screaming inside, but no-one could get out' Rajinder Prasad, [a] rescuer...
The reaction from both governments suggests the prime suspects might be groups such as Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad - the main Islamic militant groups who have been blamed for many high-profile bombings, says the BBC's Jill McGivering."
"A double car bombing in a mainly Shia district of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, has killed at least 60 people and injured more than 130...
The two blasts tore through a busy open-air market in the New Baghdad area in quick succession, witnesses said...
Large plumes of smoke rose above the city...
They came a day after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Baghdad and said the [recent] security operation had begun well..."
Train Blast in India
"India and Pakistan have condemned a train bombing that killed at least 66 people as an act of terrorism aimed at disrupting their peace process.
The train, running from Delhi to Lahore in Pakistan, was hit by two blasts at about midnight...
The ensuing fire swept through two carriages of the 'Friendship Express'...
Many train windows in India have bars on them for security reasons...
'We couldn't save anyone. They were screaming inside, but no-one could get out' Rajinder Prasad, [a] rescuer...
The reaction from both governments suggests the prime suspects might be groups such as Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad - the main Islamic militant groups who have been blamed for many high-profile bombings, says the BBC's Jill McGivering."
Saturday, February 17, 2007
A Second Terrorist Strike in Iran
The Jondollah terrorist group has struck again in the Iranian city Zehedan. Ali Akbar Dareini reports on this incident in the article 2nd blast in 3 days hits Iranian city."A bomb went off Friday night at a girls school in the southeastern Iranian border city of Zahedan..."
"No one was hurt..."
"Zahedan is near where Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan meet."
"According to FARS, the leader of the Jondollah group, Abdolmalek Rigy, claimed responsibility for the bombing ... The group also claimed responsibility for a car bomb in the same area Wednesday."
Friday, February 16, 2007
More on the Severe Implications of Zawahiri's Recent Statements
Here is another site that has noticed the shift in Zawahiri's loyalty. And in this case, the author has some history with the idea. He tells us that there was even an earlier time when Z. made such a statement but it was at that time understandable in the Afghanistan context only. Now we are seeing an appeal to Muslims everywhere to follow Mullah Muhammad Omar.
The following is excerpted from the article, Mulla Omar to Lead Jihadi Intifada--What Happened to Bin Laden?, written by B. Raman in the South Asia Analysis Group:
"After pledging his personal allegiance to Mulla Omar, Zawahiri calls upon the Muslims of the world to unite under his leadership."
"This theme of Al Qaeda fighting under the leadership of Mulla Omar had earlier figured in Zawahiri's year-end review of the state of the global jihad..."
"Whereas in his year-end review [Jan. 22, 2007] he was talking specifically in the context of the jihad in Afghanistan in which all jihadi elements ... will fight under the command of Mulla Omar, in his latest message of February 12, 2007, Zawahiri has been talking of the global jihad and not specifically the jihad in Afghanistan. It tries to project Mulla Omar as the commander of the global Jihadi Intifada. If that is so, what about Osama bin Laden? What happened to his leadership? Zawahiri's message is silent on this point."
The following is excerpted from the article, Mulla Omar to Lead Jihadi Intifada--What Happened to Bin Laden?, written by B. Raman in the South Asia Analysis Group:
"After pledging his personal allegiance to Mulla Omar, Zawahiri calls upon the Muslims of the world to unite under his leadership."
"This theme of Al Qaeda fighting under the leadership of Mulla Omar had earlier figured in Zawahiri's year-end review of the state of the global jihad..."
"Whereas in his year-end review [Jan. 22, 2007] he was talking specifically in the context of the jihad in Afghanistan in which all jihadi elements ... will fight under the command of Mulla Omar, in his latest message of February 12, 2007, Zawahiri has been talking of the global jihad and not specifically the jihad in Afghanistan. It tries to project Mulla Omar as the commander of the global Jihadi Intifada. If that is so, what about Osama bin Laden? What happened to his leadership? Zawahiri's message is silent on this point."
Resentment Toward Taliban Recruiters
This article is a little dated but it describes an issue of great importance for the future of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The whole project of recruiting fighters and suicide bombers requires a careful look. For the social scientist this process is especially interesting because it entails the attempt of folks with an agenda to enlist others in their cause who will be asked to take serious personal risks and even, possibly, make the extreme sacrifice. So the process crucially depends on the conscious deployment of moral and idealistic terms to justify such commitment: here is ideology in as pure a form as it gets. In this case the particular moral terms for an imagined community of profound significance are Islamic; in our society they are likewise "religious" ideals but, to retain the appearance of a secular society, we phrase our appeals in terms of patriotism. Men and women are asked to die for the country. That a different appeal works in Pakistan -- the particular way the appeal is phrased there, that is, for Islam -- reveals how deeply salient such ideals are among young men in search of a cause to work for, even to die for.
Taliban recruiters look to Pakistan
By RIAZ KHAN and MATTHEW PENNINGTON
The Associated Press
" ...the recruiters ... have turned to this cluster of about 25 ethnic Pashtun villages in search of volunteers."
"People here are religious, and recruiters play on that sentiment..."
"...a local office of Harkat-ul-Mujahedeen, an outlawed Pakistani militant group ... had circulated jihadist literature and CDs and recruited mostly jobless young men to go to Afghanistan -- like their fathers who fought the Soviet occupation of that country two decades ago. "
"...over the past year there have been increasing reports of funerals in Pakistani border villages of militants killed in fighting in Afghanistan, then repatriated for burial..."
"According to Shabqadar residents [in Pakistan], dozens of fighters came to offer prayers for Bahar Ali, 25, an unemployed man who had vanished seven months before mounting a suicide bombing in southern Afghanistan in mid-October. 'Most of the people of the village feel honored with the act of Bahar Ali as one of bravery and a service to Islam,' said neighbor Arshad Khan. 'Others are worried about the future of their young and jobless sons.' "
Taliban recruiters look to Pakistan
By RIAZ KHAN and MATTHEW PENNINGTON
The Associated Press
" ...the recruiters ... have turned to this cluster of about 25 ethnic Pashtun villages in search of volunteers."
"People here are religious, and recruiters play on that sentiment..."
"...a local office of Harkat-ul-Mujahedeen, an outlawed Pakistani militant group ... had circulated jihadist literature and CDs and recruited mostly jobless young men to go to Afghanistan -- like their fathers who fought the Soviet occupation of that country two decades ago. "
"...over the past year there have been increasing reports of funerals in Pakistani border villages of militants killed in fighting in Afghanistan, then repatriated for burial..."
"According to Shabqadar residents [in Pakistan], dozens of fighters came to offer prayers for Bahar Ali, 25, an unemployed man who had vanished seven months before mounting a suicide bombing in southern Afghanistan in mid-October. 'Most of the people of the village feel honored with the act of Bahar Ali as one of bravery and a service to Islam,' said neighbor Arshad Khan. 'Others are worried about the future of their young and jobless sons.' "
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