Four more dead Canadians

[spring-peeper]

Two Canadians hit in Afghanistan blast...

Two Canadian soldiers were wounded Monday in Afghanistan when a roadside bomb exploded, striking their armoured vehicle as it travelled north of Kandahar.

The attack took place around 2:25 p.m. local time, National Defence spokesman Jay Paxton told globeandmail.com.

The soldiers — who were travelling in a Nyala armoured vehicle at the time of the blast — had been travelling to a small military outpost in Gumbad at the time.

Gumbad is located about 75 kilometres north of Kandahar city.

Both soldiers were taken by a U.S. ambulance helicopter to the Canadian-led multinational hospital at Kandahar airport.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060515.wsoldiers0515/BNStory/International/home

 

[spring-peeper]

Taliban commanders said among dead in Afghan clash

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, May 15 (Reuters) - Three Taliban commanders were among 11 insurgents killed in a battle near the southern Afghan town of Kandahar in which five policemen were also killed, Afghan authorities said on Monday.

The Taliban, fighting to oust foreign forces and Afghanistan's Western-backed government, have intensified their insurgency this year. Hundreds of people have been killed in bomb attacks, ambushes and clashes.

In separate incidents on Monday, a French soldier was killed in a blast while clearing mines in the capital, Kabul, and two Canadian soldiers were wounded by a roadside bomb in the southern province of Kandahar.

The Taliban commanders were killed on Sunday in fighting that erupted after police got word Taliban were hiding in Panjwai district, 30 km (20 miles) west of Kandahar town, and went to search for them. The battle lasted several hours.

"Unfortunately, we lost five of our men but we destroyed a dangerous group of Taliban. It's a big victory for our police," said Mohammad Daoud Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Kandahar provincial governor. Seven policemen were wounded.

Kandahar is the main town in the Afghan south and was a bastion of Taliban support during their rule.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL304691.htm

 

[spring-peeper]

The government of Canada will vote on Wednesday as to whether or not to commit our troops to Afghanistan for an additional 2 years. If passed, our peacekeepers will stay until February 2009.

Canada faces pressure

CBC correspondent Paul Hunter reported Monday night that there's "pressure on Canada to make up it's mind shortly.

"If it's going to continue in Afghanistan, the coalition would need to know, so that it doesn't have to line up troops from other countries."

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/05/15/debate05152006.html

 

[spring-peeper]

Here is an example of the good work that is going on in Afghanistan. Without NATO, the peacekeepers and reconstruction aid, this would not have been possible.

It is a proud and happy day for some of Afghanistan's most vulnerable women. Today, they are graduating from one of Medair's six training centres in Kabul. Medair and ECHO have provided skills training to vulnerable women in Kabul for the past seven years, with 455 women trained in 2005 alone.

In her speech, the deputy minister concentrates on the importance of skills for women. "This project implemented by Medair and supported by ECHO is of great value for the vulnerable women in Kabul. It not only gives new perspectives for the future, but also helps the country and the people to stand on their own two feet. The country has a long road still ahead of it, but this project is one of the most special opportunities developed just for women."

After her speech, sewing machines are given to the graduates as gifts. During this last part of the ceremony, the women show their gratitude by giving presents of their own to representatives of the ECHO Kabul office and the deputy minister. The ceremony finishes with an informal gathering for both beneficiaries and representatives.

At this gathering, some of the women who received loans talk about starting up a small business or cooperative. They plan to buy materials at the market and produce clothes using the skills they learned during the project. One woman talks about using her loan to start a tailoring business, a skill she learned as a returnee from Pakistan. Another wants to start up a cooperative in poultry, where she plans to work with some of her fellow graduates, selling eggs for a good market price under the supervision of a more experienced person.

After her graduation speech and the ceremony, Ramzia is so full of hope, talking about her dream of establishing a cooperative of seamstresses. "When I asked her what difference the project had made to her everyday life, she didn't hesitate for a second," says Mohammad, his moustache curving into a broad smile. "She said her family has gone from being hungry to eating meat twice a week."

Mohammad continues, beaming. "I looked at all the faces in the ceremony, and thought of all the women we trained this year alone. That moment brought everything into focus: 455 women, 455 families, and 455 desperate situations given new hope. It was all worth it."

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/220382/114768773448.htm

 

[spring-peeper]

This is from the same article as above. This is why we need to stay, everyone should have a chance at a happy ending. Now Ramzia has a chance at a happy ending.

Ramzia was born into poverty in Afghanistan, one of the poorest countries in the world. She never had high expectations from life, but even her few dreams were shattered when disaster struck her family. Her father was killed in the country's civil war, and the district of Kabul in which she lived was reduced to rubble by rocket attacks. Like millions of other Afghans, Ramzia and the surviving members of her family chose exile over death, and fled to Pakistan. When the war ended, they returned to Kabul, under no illusion about what awaited them there.

"Literally millions of refugees have poured back into the city," says Eric Sinclair, country director of Medair. "Many arrive with just a few boxes of personal belongings, hoping to find employment and start building a new life. But even for men, there is not enough work. For families with no grown-up men, life is terrible. Last winter, thousands froze to death because they could not even afford glass for the windows of their homes."

Ramzia's family had few options. She stayed at home to look after her blind mother, while her two little brothers - aged eight and ten - roamed the streets of Kabul day after day, selling cigarettes for two cents apiece in an effort to raise enough money to buy bread for dinner.

"One morning, Ramzia walked into our Medair training centre," Mohammad Shafi Sharifi remembers. "I thought, this is exactly the sort of person we are here to help."

 

[spring-peeper]

NATO asks Canada to lead in Afghanistan: report

Updated Wed. May. 17 2006 10:14 AM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

NATO wants Canada to take over command of the entire Afghan mission in 2008, a senior government official has told The Globe and Mail.

The Globe says the request, as well as a NATO meeting scheduled for next week, is behind the government's sudden decision to hold a vote tonight on whether to extend Canada's mission in Afghanistan by two more years.

After weeks of hounding the government for a clear indication of how long the troops would be in the region, opposition parties finally agreed to the six-hour debate and a vote for Wednesday.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060517/nato_afghan_060517/20060517?hub=World

 

[spring-peeper]

First female killed.

Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan

A Canadian soldier was killed Wednesday in combat in Afghanistan, marking the 17th Canadian death and the first woman to die in action since the mission began.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper confirmed the death in the House of Commons on Wednesday, offering the government's condolences to the woman's family.

Military officials have identified her as Captain Nichola Kathleen Sarah Goddard. She had been stationed with the 1st Royal Canadian Horse Artillery in Shilo, Manitoba.

National Defence said Wednesday Capt. Goddard was killed during a firefight with insurgents about 24 kilometres west of Kandahar. The incident occurred at 6:55 p.m. local time.

“Capt. Goddard was engaged in a significant operation, one in which Canadian soldiers were in support of Afghan authorities, when she was killed,” National Defence said.

“That operation was a clearance operation by Afghan security personnel in Kandahar province north of the Arghandab River and west of Kandahar City.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060517.wsoldier0517/BNStory/National/home

 

[spring-peeper]

We stay.

Canada's stay in Afghanistan extended by 2 years

With the latest death of a Canadian soldier fresh in their minds, members of Parliament have voted to approve an extension of the military mission to Afghanistan.
Capt. Nichola Goddard is the first Canadian female soldier to be killed in combat since the Second World War.

The vote was close, but the government prevailed 149-145. It means Canadian soldiers will remain in Afghanistan two years longer than previously planned.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/05/17/afghandebate05172006.html

 

[spring-peeper]

For the sake of the children

The Afghan government has unveiled an ambitious plan to help the country’s “generation that lost its childhood”.

Children in AfghanistanNo child or family in Afghanistan has escaped the social, economic and emotional turmoil brought about by more than two decades of conflict and displacement, says the ‘National Strategy for Children at Risk’ released yesterday.

And, with support from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the government wants to build on the nation’s increasing political stability and make children’s welfare the priority for the country’s continued
development.

The strategy, unveiled yesterday, calls for investment in programmes such as family counselling services, alternative family care packages, education, skills development, vocational training and income
creation initiatives.

“Twenty-three years of war, civil unrest and dislocation together with drought have exacerbated poverty, which is now endemic throughout the country,” the strategy report says. “Traditional family and community support networks are stressed or disrupted.

http://www.7days.ae/2006/05/17/for-the-sake-of-the-children.html

 

[spring-peeper]

UNICEF committed to Afghanistan despite attack

KABUL, May 17 (Reuters) - The U.N. Children's Fund will stay in Afghanistan despite a fatal attack on two aid workers last week and deteriorating security that has put much of the country off limits, a UNICEF official said on Wednesday.

A UNICEF driver and a doctor working for a German aid agency were killed and a UNICEF staffer wounded in a rocket-propelled grenade attack on their vehicle in the western province of Herat on Friday.

"There is no doubt that security has deteriorated in the last year, certainly, and also over the last several months," Dan Toole, UNICEF's director of emergency programmes, told Reuters in an interview.

"What is also true is that we have less access to much of the country than we had six months ago, or one year ago," he said.

The Friday attack by unknown assailants was the first time a UNICEF worker had been killed in Afghanistan since the agency began operating in the country in 1949.

A convoy of two unmarked U.N. vehicles was attacked by a suicide car bomber in the southern city of Kandahar on Wednesday. The bomber was killed and a driver was slightly hurt <snip>

Five workers of the Medecins Sans Frontieres medical aid group, three foreigners and two Afghans, were killed in a 2004 ambush in the same region the UNICEF vehicle was attacked. As a result, MSF group pulled out of Afghanistan.

UNICEF, mostly involved in health and education in Afghanistan, will stay unless security gets so bad that the United Nations as a whole pulls out, Toole said.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL58914.htm

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

 

[spring-peeper]

RIP and thank you

A female Canadian soldier killed in combat Wednesday in Afghanistan described missing her daily Tim Hortons coffee and feeling the pride of wearing the uniform in a lengthy e-mail posted on her sister’s Internet blog.

In an e-mail dated early March to her younger sister Kate, Capt. Nichola Goddard recounted carrying a 45-kilogram pack uphill on a two-kilometre march, as well as other daily challenges of her role in the Afghan mission.

"I feel like a poster child for why people should join the military," Goddard wrote. "It was an amazing 15 days."

In her e-mail, Goddard described moving into isolated areas, either on foot or with vehicles, to conduct shuras — the Pashto word for meetings — with local elders.

She wrote she was honoured to participate directly in two of the meetings, despite her initial concerns over being the only woman.

"I really thought that the whole female thing would be a huge issue," Goddard wrote. "It was, but not in the way that I thought it would be."

She described how the subject of the meeting quickly centred on her marital status.

"The big shock was not that I was in the army, but that I was married and in the army. The fact that my husband (Jason Beam) was not also a soldier was even more disturbing (don’t worry, Jay, I said that if you were strong enough to handle me, you didn’t need to be a soldier, too)."

The remainder of the discussion, she wrote, revolved around her "inexplicable" lack of children.

"The elder offered to go inside and get me some milk and bread, as diet was probably the issue. He was 67 and had two wives and several children under the age of 10. . . . I said that my husband would definitely say that one wife was enough. He thought that was hysterical, and I was a hit."

During the second shura, she wrote, the issue was her availability.

"My boss was apparently asked if I was available to marry one of the elder’s sons who looked to be about 15. After we’d established that I was already married, the issue turned to the all-important one of baking bread."

In another village, her unit’s interpreter approached her after having a conversation with five men who were watching her.

"Then he turned to me and said, ‘Please excuse their staring. They are just very surprised that you are a woman working with all of these men. I have told them that you climbed over the mountain with us with your heavy bag and that you had no problems. They think that you must be very strong. I explained to them that you are just like the men, and that you can do everything that they can do the same as them.’ "

Goddard added: "It was perhaps the greatest statement of equality that I have ever heard — and it was given by a Pakistani-raised Afghan male in the middle of an Afghan village that is only accessible by a five-kilometre walk up a mountain. It just goes to show that anything is possible and that stereotypes are often completely wrong."

While often recalling the humorous moments of her mission, Goddard’s letter also made reference to the ever-present dangers of Taliban attacks.

"One of the biggest challenges here is trying not to set a pattern," she wrote. "The local informant system is better than any CSIS network imaginable, so we try not to give them any more help than necessary."

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Canada/504490.html

 

[spring-peeper]

NATO chief vows alliance will stay course in Afghanistan

Portugal -- NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Friday that the alliance will remain strongly deployed in Afghanistan and defeat what he called opponents of Afghanistan's democratic development.

"NATO will stay the course and the spoilers will not have a chance," he said during a visit to Lisbon. "The operational plan is robust and the rules of engagement are robust."

More than 100 people were reported killed in a string of attacks across Afghanistan that started Wednesday and continued through Thursday, including Capt. Nichola Goddard, the first Canadian female soldier ever killed in front line combat.

The fighting was concentrated in southern provinces where the U.S.-led coalition is to cede control of security operations to NATO by July.

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=920c3c32-cd54-42ad-8f8d-0e9270a1413b&k=44745

 

[spring-peeper]

Last night, our news showed how the new troops going into Iraq are taught to deal with the different cultures/warfare. Training takes place once the troops arrive and before they are released onto the streets.

We train before they leave.

1,200 Ontario-based troops simulate Afghanistan patrols at Alberta army base

WAINWRIGHT, Alta. (CP) - Their maps show Wainwright, Alta., but as far as 1,200 Ontario-based soldiers are concerned, they are on patrol deep in deadly Afghanistan.

Like athletes preparing for a dangerous triathlon, troops from the Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group are sweating through final training before heading to Kandahar in August to begin a six-month tour of duty.

For the next few weeks, the soldiers will sweep through mocked-up Afghan villages, deal with Pashtun-speaking role players dressed as refugees and watch for hidden explosive devices.

They will also be "ambushed" by a special force acting as suicide bombers and Taliban fighters.

The idea is to replicate as closely as possible the lethal challenges the troops will face, said Col. Craig Hilton, commander of the new Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre on the sprawling Wainwright military base.

"The biggest problems we are facing are complex ambushes using roadside bombs combined with rocket-propelled grenade attacks and small-arms fire - the hit-run tactics that you find in an insurgency campaign," said Hilton.

Sixteen Canadians have been killed in Afghanistan since 2002, including four soldiers in a roadside blast on April 22.

"This is the most difficult kind of military operation that any professional armed force can be involved in."

The program weaves such flashy high-tech training devices as lasers and computers with good old-fashioned verbal feedback from crusty non-commissioned officers...

Asselin, a veteran combat engineer with one tour of duty in Kabul under his belt, said the training must be as realistic as possible.

"You have to be passionate about this," he said. "If they make a mistake over here, it is OK. If they make a mistake over there, they are going to die."

Pte. Mike Farrah, 20, of Windsor, Ont., has been in the field for three weeks. The biggest lesson he has learned so far?

"Don't trust anybody. You never know what is going to happen."

Establishing trust with Afghans will ultimately be the key to stabilizing a country that has been in turmoil for decades, said Col. Fred Lewis, commander of the battle group.

A key part of the mission will be training poorly equipped Afghan soldiers and police so they can win the trust of their own people.

"The troops have to understand that the Afghans are not the enemy," said Lewis. "The support of the people is vital. We aren't going to be able to go home until the Afghans can do it themselves."

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/05/08/1570165-cp.html

 

[dylanredefined]

It matters not what you 'guess', derail-o-bot.

Tell us - how would you feel if a bunch of tooled up Afghani's came to your neighbourhood and fucked up a dozen or more people so badly that you couldn't tell how many bodies all the bits came from. And in the name of what, exactly?

'Hunting'. So sick it deserves a special smiley.

well if they fucked up a bunch of oppresive religous nuts like the taliban
and put the kettle on.

 

[spring-peeper]

This is from a web site claiming to be "independent news from Afghanistan".

Many claims have been made as of late by Taliban military commanders and spokesmen that the British contingent sent to Helmand will meet a violent demise. Although in a support role and not much of an offensive one, the British will have their work cut out as they face a growing insurgency and an alienated, largely unemployed populace including disgruntled poppy farmers and narco-criminal gangs. If the attacks two months ago and this week don’t strike a cord with the British in Helmand, the Dutch in Oruzgan and the Canadians in Kandahar, the summer will be a bloody debacle indeed.

The Taliban aim to incur significant casualties amongst the Coalition forces here in the south, and will seek to test the resolve of both the troops and their countrymen. The goals of the Taliban will be focused on counter-security (attacking Coalition/ANA troops), counter-‘collaboration’ (attacking pro-government clerics, elders, translators, tipsters), counter-reconstruction and counter-mobility (attacks on convoys, fuel tankers, aid organizations). 2006 marks the first year since the Taliban’s overthrow they have effectively combined all of these tactics, along with an increase of suicide bomb attacks, into a weekly routine. The quickening pace and boldness of the attacks, the quantity and frequency of attacks, and now the amount of fighters involved (hundreds), spells disaster for the impoverished and war weary nation.

http://drupal.afgha.com/?q=en/comment/reply/338

 

[spring-peeper]

Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) will be donating $900,000 to each of the 17 districts in Kandahar. The Canadians are meeting with local elders to discuss what the commutities needs are. CIDA's Afghan budget is $100 million for this year. Canada is the largest international donor in Aghanistan. Below is an article about the first meeting.

The meeting in Weyand, in the Shah Wali Kot district about 50 kilometres north of Kandahar, was the first time anywhere in Afghanistan that elders gathered to discuss the proposal.

The Taliban remain strong in Shah Wali Kot, despite the presence of two Canadian forward bases in the region. Violence has been increasing throughout southern Afghanistan, and security at Sunday's meeting was tight.

"It's a uniquely Canadian approach," said the CIDA official. "It's brand new. It's never been done before."

By reducing their support base in communities, the program is also designed to fit with Canada's military attempt to control the Taliban. Officials acknowledge that development assistance can serve the same goals as armed force.

"It's a useful counterinsurgency tool," said Lt.-Col. Tom Doucette, who commands Camp Nathan Smith, the Canadian base where CIDA is headquartered.

CIDA has budgeted $900,000 for each of the 17 districts in Kandahar province. The aid agency's entire budget for Afghanistan is $100 million this year, making Canada the largest international donor of aid to the country.

The meeting in Weyand, in the Shah Wali Kot district about 50 kilometres north of Kandahar, was the first time anywhere in Afghanistan that elders gathered to discuss the proposal.

The Taliban remain strong in Shah Wali Kot, despite the presence of two Canadian forward bases in the region. Violence has been increasing throughout southern Afghanistan, and security at Sunday's meeting was tight.

A platoon of Canadian soldiers and two light armoured vehicles were on hand, as were the Afghan army and police.

In addition, elders brought their own militias and bodyguards, who appeared seemingly from out of the middle of the desert in pickup trucks and motorcycles. Dozens of weapons, from handguns to AK-47s -- some gaily decorated with pompoms and plastic flowers -- to rocket-propelled-grenade launchers, greeted the speakers.

Assadullah Khalid, governor of Kandahar, was unfazed as he encouraged people to get involved.

"It's not only the Canadian soldiers that are here with us bringing security, it's also the development side bringing strength and security."

Khalid told his people it was time they stood up to the Taliban and took action to improve their lives.

"If the people of the country don't support the Taliban, it's very easy to control the Taliban. They burn our clinics, they burn our schools and we are daydreaming."

"If we people keep supporting the Taliban from the communities, we are always going to have the same kind of life. It will never improve."

Projects to be funded by the Confidence In Government program are identified by local councils and approved by a committee from the national government, the governor's office, and the locally elected provincial council.

"We're really happy for this program because it listens to us," said Badshah, one of the elders at the meeting.

"This is a good thing the Canadians have," said Mohammed Nasim.

"Through this program they're going to build schools, dams, water. This is the first time for the government to provide services."

Hayat Kha welcomed the emphasis on local control.

"Whenever support comes from the international community, the people in the district shura (council), they just divide it among themselves and it doesn't reach the people."

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=30f74f9f-02c3-4fbd-a179-46289c511ce8&k=1164

 

[spring-peeper]

Other Canadian missions in Afghanistan include:

Heavy weapons cantonment: Helping the Afghan government collect, store and decommission 10,000 heavy weapons left over from decades of war, including artillery, tanks and rocket launchers.

Demining: Foreign Affairs says Canada has helped clear about one third of the estimated 10 million to 15 million mines in Afghanistan.

Microloans: Money from Canada has been used to provide microloans to more than 140,000 people in Afghanistan, 89 per cent of the clients are women.

Training: Canada also has a role in training the Afghan police and army. A group of Canadian Forces instructors were in Kabul to train members of the Afghan National Army. That unit remained in Kabul while the rest of the Canadian contingent moved south to Kandahar. Canadian troops are also training Afghan soldiers in Kandahar and the RCMP has a commitment to train Afghan police officers.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/afghanistan/canada.html

 

[Streathamite]

errmm...doesn't all this hinge on the rather large hope that that poor sodding country is set on a course to long term peace and stability? and this aids that processs?
because I can't see much hope in either tbh. How long will you accept your troops being there, without an end in sight?
e2a; and why is this in the ME forum, anyway?

 

[spring-peeper]

errmm...doesn't all this hinge on the rather large hope that that poor sodding country is set on a course to long term peace and stability? and this aids that processs?
because I can't see much hope in either tbh. How long will you accept your troops being there, without an end in sight?

This is from the article I quoteded on page thread (post 74):

"The troops have to understand that the Afghans are not the enemy," said Lewis. "The support of the people is vital. We aren't going to be able to go home until the Afghans can do it themselves."

I even bolded it for you...you didn't even look, did you?

 

[Streathamite]

ahhh...expressed myself very clumsily.
what i referred to was the possibility that the afghans won't or can't sort out the problems of the country, whilst your - or anybody's - troops are there. (in other words, the warlords will use your presence to prevent this happening)

 

[spring-peeper]

ahhh...expressed myself very clumsily.
what i referred to was the possibility that the afghans won't or can't sort out the problems of the country, whilst your - or anybody's - troops are there. (in other words, the warlords will use your presence to prevent this happening)

Who are the warlords...the landowners who protected their fiefdoms? It is hoped that they will start feeling a little more comfortable with the new Afghan government and that they will begin contributing to building the country. I read somewhere where one of the "warlords" was planning on running in the next election and is trying to clean up his image.

You didn't read post #77 - did you? I think that that is a good start to involving the "warlords", don't you?

 

[spring-peeper]

The Canadians were told in advance about the attack, but had no say in the operation.

Goodwill may be damaged

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- In addition to civilian deaths and injuries, collateral damage from a Sunday night aerial assault on an Afghan village may include goodwill toward Canadian troops.

Leaders of the American-led coalition trumpeted the late-night operation as a success, claiming 20 Taliban were killed in the attack on the village of Azizi in Kandahar province late Sunday and early Monday, while there were "an unconfirmed 60 additional Taliban casualties."

But rocket and machine-gun fire from American Apache helicopters also killed and wounded many civilians in an area where Canadian soldiers have employed medical teams and meetings with tribal leaders in an effort to win hearts and minds for the coalition.

Even though no Canadian soldiers were involved in the assault, to villagers, all western soldiers are considered the same and many feel they must share the blame.

The day after the battle, the intensive care unit in Kandahar's main hospital held seven civilians who had been severely wounded by American fire.

From his hospital bed, a father of eight said Canadian troops will share the blame for the onslaught that put him, his wife and two of his children in hospital.

"We cannot tell the difference between Canadian and American soldiers," said Fida Mohammad, who is being treated for metal shrapnel in one knee. "They are all Americans to us. They have been very cruel to us."

http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/canada_world/story.html?id=589691ab-f6b1-42af-8d86-32c9e31f97fb

 

[spring-peeper]

It would appear that the Afghan president isn't very impressed with the actions of the US military.

In addition to the civilian deaths, as many as 80 members of the Taliban militia were killed by the bombardment in the early-morning darkness Monday in the village of Azizi, in the Panjwayi district of Kandahar province, a U.S. military statement said. Only 20 of the Taliban deaths were confirmed, the statement added, and five Taliban members were detained for interrogation.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has complained for more than two years that U.S. airstrikes that injure or kill civilians undermine his efforts at reconciliation. And after four years of war in southern and eastern Afghanistan, the insurgency is spreading.

After last fall's largely peaceful parliamentary elections, Karzai said it was time for a change of tactics and called on U.S.-led forces to "concentrate on where terrorists are trained, on their bases, on the supplies to them, on the money coming to them."

In response to questions about Monday's bombing, Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick, a U.S. military spokesman in Afghanistan, said, "Coalition forces are aware of media reports of civilian casualties and are continuing to review assessments from ground elements in the region."

For the third time in a week, U.S.-led forces were pursuing Taliban fighters "suspected of terrorist and anti-Afghanistan activities," the spokesman said. "However, during the operation, coalition forces encountered organized armed opposition."

Ground forces backed up by U.S. warplanes "engaged the extremists, who were firing on coalition troops and endangering innocent civilians," he added.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003012494_afghan23.html

 

[spring-peeper]

Nice one, America.

Bombs take heavy toll

BLEEDING and burnt children, women and men started arriving at Kandahar hospital early yesterday.

They were ferried by truck, taxi and minibus -- any vehicle that withstood the coalition bombardment of their village in southern Afghanistan.

"Oh my God, they killed my kids. I left them behind," wept 60-year-old Attah Mohammed in anguish, tears streaming down his silver beard.

"They've killed innocent people."

Mohammed brought in eight relatives, some of whom were struggling for their lives in the operating theatre, but his thoughts were for the 24 dead he left behind.

Coalition warplanes started dropping bombs on his village in the Panjwayi district of Kandahar province around midnight on Sunday, he said, his shaking hands still smeared with blood.

"God may take my revenge on them," Mohammed said, as people gathered around him in the grounds of the hospital. "They took everyone from me."

The bombing came as a major spike in violence left more than 250 people killed in Afghanistan since last Wednesday, more than the number reported killed in Iraq during the same period.

Only those who could find a working vehicle had been able to make the 35km journey to Kandahar for help, with many left behind, shocked villagers said at the hospital.

Some were on their way, they said, as doctors in blood-splattered white uniforms hurried through the wards.

Authorities had refused to allow ambulances into the stricken area, said one doctor. "It was relentless," the 38-year-old said as he waited outside the hospital for word on the fate of his wounded cousin.

"It was exactly the same as when the Russians were bombing us." – AFP

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,19236161%255E663,00.html

 

[Streathamite]

Who are the warlords...the landowners who protected their fiefdoms? It is hoped that they will start feeling a little more comfortable with the new Afghan government and that they will begin contributing to building the country. I read somewhere where one of the "warlords" was planning on running in the next election and is trying to clean up his image.

You didn't read post #77 - did you? I think that that is a good start to involving the "warlords", don't you?

It IS a good idea - but I don't think it will work. I think the warlords have too great a history against the state, and of protecting their revolting mini-empires, and to much self-interest in this, to be brought into the fold, or to be trusted if they say they are onside.
i really wish i could be more positive about this situation....

 

[spring-peeper]

It IS a good idea - but I don't think it will work. I think the warlords have too great a history against the state, and of protecting their revolting mini-empires, and to much self-interest in this, to be brought into the fold, or to be trusted if they say they are onside.
i really wish i could be more positive about this situation....

One of the articles I read concerning the warlords mentioned that one of the status symbols that the warlords use is there stockpile of weapons. iirc, the amount of weapons shows how well the warlord can protect their area. Someone has to look after the citizens while the world uses their country as a battle ground.

I'm hoping that it will be the Afghan government that starts to protect its people. A couple of the more powerful warlords have supported the government bye handing their weapons over to the State, some even considering the idea of running the next election. They are also encouraging other warlords to do the same. It was an encouraging step - showing that they trust the government to protect them. (I think that just got changed. Apparently, the US is allowed to bomb the Afghans at will.)

I also have been reading how well the warlords are integrating themselves into the new bureaucracy. A number of positions were mentioned, as well as special "claims" programs being set up targetting specific groups. Strange thing though - when I started to find who was financing these jobs and bonuses, I found them all being listed on a humanitarian organization operating from Pakistan.

Imo, the warlords are the government of Afghanistan's problem. It is their country and any permanent solutions to this must be an Afghanistan solution.

 

[spring-peeper]

Trying to find out what happened....

The coalition is still refusing to identify the ground forces that entered the village Sunday, although there are hints that they were elite members of a special-forces unit, apparently trying to capture Taliban leaders at a meeting. The forces met stiff resistance from about 200 insurgents, a gun battle erupted and the coalition forces called in support from Apache helicopters and an A-10 Warthog airplane.

According to the coalition, the forces came under severe pressure from Taliban fighters hiding on village rooftops. As a result, they called in the bombing attacks to allow the coalition forces to escape.

Canadian Brigadier-General David Fraser is the commander of coalition operations in southern Afghanistan, but the coalition said the attack on the village was authorized by "higher headquarters" -- apparently because of the involvement of special forces and U.S. aircraft, which are outside Brig.-Gen. Fraser's command.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060524.AFGHAN24/TPStory/TPBusiness/America/

 

[spring-peeper]

Maybe some of the Afghans still trust us...

The 2,300 Canadian troops in Kandahar have been trying to cultivate relationships with villagers across the province. But a coalition spokesman, Major Scott Lundy, said the bombing attacks "will have dampened the mood somewhat" among the villagers and will require a new effort to "rebuild our relationships."

Overnight, coalition forces foiled an attempt by Taliban militants to fire three Soviet-made rockets at the main military airfield where Canadian soldiers are based.

Sirens sounded across the airfield at about 1:30 a.m. when coalition bomb-disposal experts found three Soviet-made 107-millimetre rockets that the Taliban had planned to fire at the base.

Local villagers had discovered the militants a few hours earlier and chased them away, Major Lundy said. Police alerted the coalition.

"It was precisely because of some alert Afghan citizens who live nearby that the base was spared another attack," Major Lundy said.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060524.AFGHAN24/TPStory/TPBusiness/America/

 

[spring-peeper]

America says "sorry" - well sorta.

U.S. military apologizes to families

Kabul — The U.S. military defended Wednesday an air strike earlier this week on a southern Afghan village that killed at least 16 civilians, saying its soldiers were being fired on and they had the right to defend themselves.

U.S. military spokesman Colonel Tom Collins also apologized to the victims' families, saying, “we never wanted this to happen.” He added the coalition has offered assistance to the families, but didn't disclose details.

“The ultimate cause of why civilians were injured and killed is because the Taliban knowingly, willfully chose to occupy homes of these people. We do everything we can to prevent killing civilians,” Col. Collins said.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060524.wafghan0524/BNStory/Front

Collins said the troops did not know there were civilians in the homes when the U.S. military called in Air Force A-10 Warthogs to strafe the buildings with large-caliber bullets.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/24/AR2006052400415.html