President Karzai Is Deeply Saddened By the Death of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia
Date of Release: 1 August 2005

Arg, Presidential Compound, Kabul - H.E. Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is saddened by the death of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.

The President was notified of this news during the Cabinet meeting this morning and together with the Cabinet members prayed for his soul. The President praised his strong personality and admired his invaluable services to the Muslim world. The President said “King Fahd is the only king who has been able to earn the title of the servant of the two holy sites in Saudi Arabia.”

“The people of Afghanistan will continue to remember his lasting friendship with the people of Afghanistan as well as his unstinting support during the years of Jehad (holy war) against the Soviets,” the President added.

The President ordered that Afghanistan’s flag be flown at half-mast across the country and around the world where Afghanistan is represented, and called upon the people of Afghanistan to pray for his soul.

The President, on behalf of the people of Afghanistan, expressed his heart-felt condolences to King Fahd’s family, the people of Saudi Arabia and to Muslims around the world.

Released by Office of the Spokesman to the President Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Afghan Elections Face Funding - DANIEL LOVERING, AP August 1, 2005

KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan's upcoming parliamentary elections face a funding shortfall of $31 million because international donors have failed to deliver on pledges, a U.N. spokesman said Monday.

The lack of funding threatens to undermine plans for the polls scheduled for Sept. 18, which are expected to cost about $149 million, said Adrian Edwards, spokesman for the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

"If these funds do not become available very shortly, it will hurt essential preparatory work such as voter education and the establishment of thousands of polling stations and the hiring of over 140,000 polling staff," he said at a news conference.

Recent violence has also threatened to destabilize Afghanistan ahead of the crucial legislative polls. Officials warned that the violence could imperil more than three years of progress toward elections and the establishment of democracy in Afghanistan.

"We urge donor governments to reaffirm their commitment to the September elections by acting to address this problem as rapidly as possible," he said. Edwards declined to identify the countries that have not paid.

Asked why the United Nations didn't issue a warning earlier, Edwards said discussions with donors were continuing and possible funding difficulties had not been "forgotten or overlooked."

"The fact is, we're getting very, very close to these elections," he said. "That's why ... we think it's important to raise this issue now."

The violence has threatened to destabilize Afghanistan ahead of the crucial legislative polls. The attacks, waged mainly by Taliban insurgents and al-Qaida-linked militants, have claimed more than 800 lives since March.

"We don't anticipate a perfect election after so many years of conflict — that's just a sad reality. But we do believe the Afghan people want these elections, we do believe they want them now," Edwards said.

The tactics by Taliban-led rebels have become more ruthless since they began using suicide bombers and targeting religious and government leaders in a bid to subvert legislative elections in September, said U.S. Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya, the operational commander for coalition forces.

"Let me assure you that U.S. and coalition forces are going to fight our way up to and through the elections," Kamiya said. On Friday, the first shipment of millions of ballot papers for the polls arrived in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

The papers, flown in on a giant Antonov transport plane, were the first to arrive of some 40 million that have been printed in Britain and Austria ahead of the elections.

U.N. convoy ambushed in Afghan south, 2 hurt - Aug 1

KABUL (Reuters) - A United Nations convoy was ambushed in southern Afghanistan, the latest violence ahead of next month's parliamentary elections, and two people were injured, a U.N. spokesman said on Monday.

A driver for the U.N. Office for Project Services and a policeman guarding the convoy were hurt in the attack, spokesman Adrian Edwards said.

He did not have more details or knew who may have carried out the attack in Sangin district of Helmand province, which is infested with drug runners, disgruntled militia commanders and Taliban insurgents.

But Afghan officials said the ambush was set by Taliban guerrillas, who have declared a holy war against government and foreign forces and aid workers.

Dozens of aid workers, including some foreigners, have been killed in Taliban-linked raids since the militants were ousted from power by U.S.-led forces in late 2001.

Sunday's attack comes amid an increase in violence, mostly in southern and eastern parts of Afghanistan, in the run-up to the parliamentary elections on Sept. 18 which the guerrillas have vowed to derail.

Hundreds of people, mostly militants but also 36 U.S. soldiers, have died in the violence since March, the bloodiest period since the Taliban's fall.

Four injured as UN office attacked in Nooristan - Pajhwok Afghan News
08/01/2005

NURISTAN\KABUL - Four people were wounded as unidentified perpetrators fired rockets at the UN office in the Nooragram district of the remote Nooristan province overnight, officials said.

Three of the victims were working for a local NGO while the fourth one was driver with the United Nation Assistance Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA). Condition of one of the injured is stated to be serious.

Dr Safiullah Baran, an official of the National Solidarity, a government-run project in Nooragram, told Pajhwok Afghan News three rockets hit the UNAMA office. Baran, who claimed to be an eye-witness to the attack, suspected the rockets were fired from the nearby Nangraj hilltop.

Locals said similar attacks had been made from the hills in the past when security forces launched poppy eradication campaign in the area.

Nooragram administrator accused Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters for the attack. However, UNAMA's spokesman in Kabul, Adrain Edwards, when contacted, expressed ignorance.

He said a policeman and a driver wounded when their convoy was ambushed in the Sangin district of the southern Helmand province on Sunday. Defence Ministry spokesman Zahir Azimi confirmed the Nooristan attack, saying investigations had been initiated to reach the culprits.

Taliban becoming more ruthless in Afghanistan, says US general - August 1, 2005

KABUL (AFP) - Afghanistan's Taliban have become more ruthless and more willing to use suicide bombers and child soldiers in attacks, a US general said, vowing that polls next month would go ahead regardless.

"The US and Coalition forces are going to fight our way up to and through the elections," said Major General Jason Kamiya, the operational commander of the US-led forces fighting Islamic insurgents in Afghanistan.

"The Taliban are becoming more ruthless," he said. "They are targeting governmental leaders and popular Muslim religious leaders. We're seeing an increased threat to use suicide bombers."

Speaking at a Kabul press conference, he said that "Al-Qaeda and associated movements were handed a strategic defeat last year with Afghanistan's election of a president, but they will continue to challenge us".

More than 400 enemy fighters had been killed or captured in southern Afghanistan this year, driving the insurgents to resort to more extreme tactics because they could not defeat US forces in the field, Kamiya said.

Five clerics had been killed in southern and eastern Afghanistan in the past two months, and 21 people had been killed in the suicide bombing of the funeral of a cleric in the southern city of Kandahar, he said.

Kamiya said the Taliban's recruiting had been affected and the insurgents were increasingly using young and poorly trained fighters. He has earlier said some insurgents were thought to be only 14 years old.

"They are having trouble attracting recruits and they are forcing families to provide a son to serve in their ranks," the general said Monday. "We know this because the enemy fighters we kill are younger and less experienced."

Political violence in Afghanistan has escalated in recent months with more than 800 people killed so far this year compared to 850 in all of 2004.

The country goes to the polls on September 18 to elect a parliament and provincial councils after voting in President Hamid Karzai in October last year in elections that were held without widely-anticipated bloodshed.

An additional 1.6 million people have registered in recent weeks to vote in the upcoming elections, say officials, bringing the number of registered Afghan voters to around 12 million.

The total number of eligible voters is not known as a census has not been carried out in years but the total population is thought to be about 28 million, based on projections from 1980s figures.

Foreigners among dead, captured militants: Afghan Defense Ministry

KABUL, July 31 (Xinhua) -- A number of foreign nationals supporting insurgents have been killed and captured in south Afghanistan over the past one week, a Defense Ministry spokesman said Sunday.

"Some 26 enemies were killed and 49 others were captured in Uruzgan, Zabul and Helmand provinces over the past one week. There are a number of foreigners among the dead and captured militants,"spokesman Zahir Azimi said at a press conference here.

However, he declined to identify the above-mentioned aliens and said their identity will be made public after the completion of investigation.

Afghan officials have often accused Pakistan of interfering in Afghan affairs in the past but Islamabad rejected such claims as groundless.

Uruzgan, Zabul, Helmand and Kandahar, commonly known as the heartland of Taliban, have been the scene of mounting Taliban insurgency since early spring, during which over 400 people including militants, government and US troops have been killed. Enditem

Press Briefing by Adrian Edwards Spokesperson for the Special Representative of the Secretary-General

Kabul – 01 August 2005

ط Statement on Election funding

UNAMA is concerned about the $31 million shortfall in funding for Afghanistan's upcoming elections. This is worrying, less than seven weeks away from the elections. If these funds do not become available very shortly it will hamper essential preparatory work such as voter education, the establishment of thousands of polling facilities and the hiring of over 140,000 polling staff.

The consequence could include a postponement of the election and the loss of a huge investment made in the election this year. We urge donor governments to reaffirm their commitment to the September elections by acting to address this problem as rapidly as possible.

For press representatives the JEMB’s next regular press conference will be on Wednesday at 11am in the JEMB compound. The focus will be on women and elections.

ط DDR / DIAG update

Numerical indicators of progress are continuing to rise with Afghanistan’s various disarmament and reintegration processes. Figures provided this morning by the Afghan New Beginnings Programme, which is a government programme supported by the UN and donors, show that 57,597 ex-combatants have either entered or completed reintegration. This is an increase of 550 over the figures that were current as of our last briefing on Thursday.

In line with this process, a number of ex-combatants have recently graduated from two separate programmes. A ceremony for 98 ex-combatants who graduated from a construction project supervisor programme was held yesterday at Kabul Polytechnic, and 100 additional people will undergo similar training in the near future. With teacher training, some 180 people have now graduated and a further 142 are in training. The ammunition survey is on going throughout the country.

With Disbanding of Illegal Armed Groups 7781 weapons are now verified as having been handed in, 4052 of these from election candidates. Also verified at 5677 boxes of ammunition, and 17,311 individual pieces. Weapons collection points remain open in all provinces.

ط UNHCR facilitates voluntary repatriation of Afghans from Gujranwala

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has organized the first ever repatriation of Afghans from Gujranwala city, Pakistan – yesterday 150 Afghans left the city to return to Afghanistan under the ongoing repatriation programme.

Since March this year, more than 214,000 Afghans have returned from Pakistan with UNHCR help. As you know, all UNHCR repatriations are voluntary.

ط Sima Samar appointed Special Rapporteur

The Chairman of the sixty-first session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights has appointed Dr. Sima Samar of Afghanistan as the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan.

Dr. Samar is the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Women's Affairs in the post-Taliban Afghan government and now chairs the country's Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).

The Special Rapporteur is an honorary position and is both part-time and unpaid. Dr. Samar will be continuing in her current post, although she is expected to undertake two missions to Sudan over the next year. She will report on the human rights situation in Sudan to the UN General Assembly and Commission on Human Rights.

ط FAO to support livestock production in Herat Province

Between 18 and 21st July, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) dispatched a technical mission to Herat to assess livestock production in the province. The mission followed an earlier meeting between the new governor of Herat, Hussein Anwari, and FAO Country Representative Serge Verniau in which the governor had stressed the need to improve livelihoods among Kuchis and farmers.

The FAO team has since prepared proposals for two projects, one relating to development of poultry farming for women, the other related to integration of dairies. These include developing animal health and breeding systems as well as assistance to Kuchi farmers. They will be submitted to the donor community for funding.

By responding swiftly to the Governor’s request as well as to the population needs in Western Afghanistan, the FAO believes its programme will be a success and expects it to be duplicated in neighbouring provinces.

[During the mission, the FAO team visited 73 rural families, dairy and poultry farms as well as rural poultry systems. The mission also visited the slaughterhouse, livestock, and poultry and feed markets, poultry medicine suppliers, dairy shops, veterinary and other governmental offices in Herat.]

ط UNICEF Regional Director guest speaker 4th August

A reminder that this coming Thursday, Cecilia Lotse, the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) Regional Director for South Asia, will be speaking here at UNAMA’s 10am press briefing on the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan.

Ms. Lotse is currently travelling around the south, south-east and central provinces of Afghanistan, where she is meeting with local and government officials and visiting institutions including a maternal health centre, a girls school, a rural health clinic, and a women’s literacy programme.

Questions & Answers:

Question: Regarding funding for the elections, why is this announcement at this late stage? Over the last several months, the JEMB [Joint Electoral Management Body], the [Afghan] Government and the United Nations said there were no indications of any problems regarding the funding of the elections - I have the JEMB’s statement issued a few months ago that said there was no shortfall. Did they have poor estimates?

Spokesman: I think we need to make clear that our expectation is that the elections will go ahead and preparations are fully underway for that. The reason I’ve mentioned our concerns about funding is that this is a problem that can be fixed relatively easily. Not all the problems that Afghanistan is facing after so many years of conflict are [so simple to fix]. Clearly when you are giving power to the people of Afghanistan to freely choose their parliamentary and provincial council representatives, this is a complex process. And we don’t anticipate a perfect election. After so many years of conflict, this is a sad reality. But we do believe that the Afghan people want these elections. We believe they want them now. We believe the environment is adequate for elections that the Afghan people can trust in, and which can produce credible results. A massive election programme to produce this outcome is happening and right now it is well underway.

Question: If this election was budgeted for months ago and a shortfall has suddenly appeared, does that mean that some donor countries have not honoured their commitments? And if so, which are those countries?

Spokesman: No it doesn’t mean that countries are not honouring commitments. It means that pledges and commitments to honour the full amount have not yet been fully received. As I mentioned, we have a shortfall of USD 31 million at the moment, and the expected cost of the election is about USD 149 million.

Question: You say those funds have not been made available, where haven’t they been made available from?

Spokesman: You would have to ask the donor community that. There are a number of donors involved in this process. Figures on who has pledged what and are giving what are available on the JEMB’s website. We have here Bronwyn Curran from the JEMB – if you have questions on this, please refer to her after the briefing.

Question: If the USD 31 commitment does not happen, where will you find the money from?

Spokesman: Let me re-emphasize, we do expect this election will go ahead, we fully expect it to go ahead, and the effort for that is ongoing at the moment. What we need is, amongst those who are providing funds, for these [funds] to come forward quickly. The election is only seven week’s away. The money needs to be forthcoming for these elections. There are real consequences if you do not fund an election. We expect the money to be forthcoming, and we urge donors and the international community to come forward with that very quickly.

Question: Why didn’t you warn the donors weeks or months ago? Even if they come up with the money, could it still affect the date of the election?

Spokesman: The question of funding and discussions with donors is not something new, not something that has been forgotten or overlooked up until now. There have been discussions going on for some considerable time with donors. As you know, some of the funding was brought over from the last election. So this is an ongoing thing. The fact is that we are getting very close to these elections. That is why with this remaining shortfall, we think its important to raise this issue now and urge that action is taken about it.

Question: So it is not too late?

Spokesman: Our expectation is that the election will go ahead on schedule – we need the money though.

UAE bars Pakistan opposition head – BBC 8.1.05

The leader of the opposition in Pakistan's National Assembly has been refused entry to Dubai as his name was on a United Arab Emirates blacklist. Maulana Fazlur Rehman was stopped at Dubai's international airport and was likely to be deported, Pakistan's information minister said.

Mr Rehman is general secretary of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), a six-party religious alliance. The outspoken and hardline cleric had been heading on to Saudi Arabia.

Mr Rehman told the BBC's Urdu service that he was surprised at being included on the UAE government blacklist.

"When I applied for a visa to visit the United Arab Emirates, the embassy held on to my passport for several days, which gives me the impression that they must have sought clearance from the authorities before issuing the visa," Mr Rehman said.

A spokesman for Pakistan's foreign ministry said Mr Rehman was initially given permission to leave the airport following the intervention of Pakistan's ambassador in the UAE, but later that decision was revoked.

The spokesman, Nayeem Khan, said Mr Rehman had now decided to return to Pakistan. Mr Rehman, leader of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Islamic Party of Religious Leaders - JUI), was taking a two-day break in Dubai before heading to Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan information minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, said Mr Rehman was expected back on Tuesday morning but had no knowledge why he had been turned away.

Mr Rehman was a strong supporter of Afghanistan's ousted Taleban regime and has been a staunch critic of President Pervez Musharraf's policy of backing the US-led "war on terror".

Gas via Pakistan? They don't even allow our biscuits to reach Afghan kids - Newindpress, India - July 31 2005

NEW DELHI: Here's some cold reason for all those passionately plugging the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline: Forget gas, Pakistan is not allowing Indian biscuits pass its territory, biscuits meant for schoolchildren in war-ravaged Afghanistan.

Result: India's annual supply of 15,000 tonnes of high-protein biscuits, under the UN's World Food Programme, that could have taken just two days to reach the children now takes more than a week. Extra cost: An estimated $5 million (Rs 24 crore) a year.

As of now, 100 grams of Indian biscuits are distributed to each of almost 1.5 million school children daily across Afghanistan, mainly in Kabul, Kandahar and Herat.

Ironically, these biscuits are in lieu of 1 million tonnes of wheat, which India had pledged to send every year but had to withdraw after Islamabad did not allow transit.

Until now, 290,000 tonnes of biscuits, which means over 400,000 tonnes of wheat used, have been transported to Afghanistan.

These biscuits are shipped from Mumbai to Bandar Abbas or Chabahar in Iran and then via road through the Iran-Afghanistan border into Herat and Kandahar. A consignment of wheat would not have lasted that long.

Until 2008, the first consignment reached in February 2003, when India hopes to finish with the project, sources say, close to $25 million would have been spent on just transport alone. The straight and shortest route is by road through Pakistan via Lahore, Peshawar and Khyber Pass.

India has also raised the issue with Washington hoping that it can lean on Pakistan to reconsider its current policy.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had himself told US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld about the difficulties being faced because of Pakistan's position not to open land transit between New Delhi and Kabul.

The biscuits have proved to be a major success for Indian efforts in Afghanistan: the packets bear a stamp of the Indian Flag, possibly one reason why Pakistan is so reluctant.

Kabul is said to have asked for continuing biscuit supplies beyond 2008 but officials said that without proper transit facility, the costs may be difficult to sustain. It is believed that other donor countries have expressed interest in supplying these biscuits.

Pakistan 'Taleban law' challenged BBC News / Monday, 1 August 2005

Pakistan's Supreme Court has begun hearing a challenge to a law introducing a Taleban-style moral code in North-West Frontier Province (NWFP).

President Pervez Musharraf has asked the Supreme Court to declare the new law unconstitutional and a breach of people's fundamental rights.

The law includes measures to ensure people respect calls to prayer and to discourage singing and dancing. The NWFP government says it was mandated to pass the law when elected.

But the Pakistan government says the Hisba (Accountability) law would project a negative image of the country abroad, particularly in the West.

"It's likely to create a parallel judicial system and altogether a separate and parallel administrative system," federal law minister, Wasi Zafar, told the BBC.

The BBC's Roland Buerk in Islamabad says the timing of the case comes at a bad time for President Musharraf, who is cracking down on extremism and trying to reassure the world that Pakistan is moderate.

"Islam call for brotherhood, unity, well being and learning," the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan quoted President Musharraf as saying. "Please do not believe those who support extremism. They want to push Pakistan backward."

But religious parties say they are simply following the will of the people. "This is our right to reform society and its ills according to the ideology and according to the traditions and customs and teachings of the Koran," Qazi Hussain Ahmed, leader of the Jamaat-i-Islami, told the BBC.

"And we have consulted everybody so there should be nothing against the constitution." The Hisba law was passed by the NWFP assembly in July, with 68 votes in favour and 34 against.

Under the new law, an Islamic watchdog will monitor the observance of Islamic values in public places in NWFP. The plan is reminiscent of the infamous Department of Vice and Virtue, set up by the Taleban regime in Afghanistan.

Under the new law, the principal duty of the cleric, called "mohtasib" - one who holds other accountable - will be to ensure people respect the call to prayers, pray on time and do not engage in commerce at the time of Friday prayers.

He will also stop unrelated men and women from appearing in public places together, and discourage singing and dancing. One of his tasks will be to monitor the media to ensure "publications are useful for the promotion of Islamic values".

The Department of Vice and Virtue set up by Afghanistan's former ruling Taleban became the focus of criticism from human rights organisations.

Foreign madrassa students prepare to leave Pakistan after expulsion order

(AFP) - Hundreds of foreign students in Pakistan's Islamic seminaries were preparing to go home in line with an expulsion order that came amid a crackdown on militants after the deadly London bombings.

President Pervez Musharraf, under pressure to move against the country's Islamic radicals, has ordered more than 800 militant suspects arrested in sweeping raids and told some 1,400 foreign madrassa students to leave Pakistan.

"The decision appalled me, but I guess I don't have any choice," said Mohammed Tahir, a 24-year-old Frenchman of Pakistani descent studying at Lahore's leading madrassa, the sprawling Jamia Ashrafia.

"I'll not go against the law, but I would have liked to complete my education," said Tahir, a father-of-three from Paris studying Islamic law, interpretation of the Koran and logic in the seminary.

"I've got one-and-half-years left in my studies, but I plan to complete it at some seminary in France."
The school's principal, Abdul Rehman Ashrafi, said the madrassa would abide by the order and expel the 25 to 30 foreigners among its more than 1,800 students, saying many of them could continue their studies at home.

"We have our madrassas everywhere," he told AFP on Sunday. "We'll ask our expelled students to complete their education at one of our seminaries in their own countries in Europe, the United States and Asia."

Malaysian student Suheiri bin Bahadur, who three months ago enrolled in a five-year course at Jamia Ashrafia, also voiced disappointment but said he would continue his studies in his homeland.

"I think if the madrassa administration asks me to leave, I'll have to go, but I would have liked to complete what I came here for," he said.

"I selected Pakistan because the quality of religious education here is quite good, but I'll continue my education after I go back to Malaysia."

Hardline Islamic groups have protested against the nationwide clampdown, which has also included a ban on "hate sermons" in mosques and a national drive to register all madrassas this year and to change their curricula.

But a leading madrassa federation, the Wafaqul Madaris Pakistan, had agreed to cooperate in the registration drive of the country's more than 12,000 seminaries, said foreign office spokesman Muhammad Naeem Khan.

The state-run Associated Press of Pakistan also quoted him as saying that the "menace of extremism" would be exterminated by spreading knowledge, education and introducing reforms in various segments of Pakistani society.

The Lahore principal said most madrassas would follow the orders, including the repatriation of foreign nationals and dual passport holders.

Musharraf has defended the madrassa network as being broadly moderate and providing education for the poor but vowed to come down hard on the minority that teaches extremism and breeds anti-Western militancy.

Many hardline schools were set up, often with American and Saudi funding, as indoctrination and military training sites during the 1979-1989 US-backed guerrilla war against the Soviet occupation in neighbouring Afghanistan.

After the July 7 London bombings, Britain pressed Pakistan to move against radical madrassas following news that some of the British suicide-bombers had previously visited Pakistan and that one may have studied at a seminary there.

US Military Says Closing of Uzbek Base Won't Affect Afghan Operations - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

1 August 2005 -- The U.S. military said today that Uzbekistan's decision asking the U.S. to vacate the base at Khanabad would not affect operations in Afghanistan.

The Uzbek government gave the U.S. military permission to use the base for operations in nearby Afghanistan shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S. Last Friday the Uzbek government requested the U.S. leave the base within six months.

Speaking in Afghanistan, U.S. Colonel James Yonts said the ability of U.S. forces to operate in Afghanistan would not be affected by the Uzbek government's decision.

Yonts said operations would be reorganized to use at bases in Afghanistan and at Kyrgyzstan's Manas air field.

The Name of the Great Game - The Christian Science Monitor / August 1, 2005

The "great game" for influence in the old imperial playground of Central Asia took an important twist last week.

Uzbekistan handed an eviction notice to the US to exit an air base that's been used to track down terrorists in neighboring Afghanistan and to rebuild that country after the US-led ouster of the Taliban in 2001.

The eviction notice is no big deal, the US claims. Its forces already have access to bases in two other "stans," Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. And besides, perhaps the notice is only an opening gambit by the Uzbek regime of President Islam Karimov to negotiate for more money in renting out that key real estate.

What's more, does Uzbekistan really want to throw itself back under the shadow of Russia? Both Moscow and Beijing have lately stepped up pressure on Central Asia nations to keep the US out of their backyard.

Just the same, the eviction notice is an important sign that the US is quite willing to antagonize a dictator and possibly lose a military base used in fighting terrorism in order to achieve a broader aim: establishing democracy in Islamic nations.

That decision was forced on the US last May when Uzbekistan's forces killed a few hundred protesters in an uprising against the Karimov regime, which has not tolerated dissent.

The killings were a gross human rights violation the US could not ignore, even if Karimov claims, rather dubiously, that he was merely suppressing Islamic radicals.

On Friday, more than 400 people who had fled to Kyrgyzstan after the uprising were flown to Romania. They were wanted by the Uzbek regime, and their rescue is a clear sign where the US stands. The next step for Washington is to withhold as much as $22 million in aid to the regime in Tashkent if it fails to move toward democracy with political reform.

While the US "war" on terrorists remains a priority, the other goal of spreading democracy should sometimes trump it. Perhaps that's why the White House last week announced that the term "global war on terrorism" will now be called the "global struggle against violent extremism."

Definitions matter, and in Central Asia, the name of the game is not just to kill or capture terrorists, but for the US to struggle for democracy as a way to suppress any terrorism.

During the cold war, the US took a long time to learn that its befriending of anticommunist dictators often ended up helping communists. The US has now made a strategic choice with Uzbekistan to not abandon long-term American ideals on democracy for the sake of short-term tactical advantage in combating terrorists.

[Disclaimer: The content of this news bulletin does not necessarily reflect the view or policy of the Afghan Government, unless specifically stated as such. The collection of articles and commentaries from Afghan and international news sources is provided for informational purposes, and accuracy of the news is the responsibility of the original source.]