In this bulletin:

• Afghanistan says more than 50 Taliban killed
• Afghan battle 'being won' - Brown
• Brown outlines UK's role in future of Afghanistan
• UK to pay to halt opium crop in Afghanistan
• Gates Calls for Afghan Coordinator
• Top Officer Says Afghanistan No. 2
• Gates slams U.S. counternarcotics in Afghanistan
• Minister to confirm Afghan commitment
• Official: Afghanistan closes border with Pakistan
• Dr. Spanta met the Foreign Minister of Pakistan on the margin of 29th Session of SAARC Council of Ministers
• NATO's Handling of Afghan Mission Under Fire
• Death of the Three-Ds in Afghan Mission
• Mistake over 'captured Taleban'
• Afghan reconstruction in progress despite rising Taliban militancy
• Ticking time bombs in Kabul
• Give Afghan bigger say in rebuilding projects: Rights and Democracy

Afghanistan says more than 50 Taliban killed

Kandahar (AFP, 12.12.07) - More than 50 Taliban were killed in two days of intense clashes in southern Afghanistan after the rebels were pushed out of a nearby stronghold, the defence ministry said Wednesday.

The fighting took place in a district of Helmand province neighbouring Musa Qala, where the Afghan army mounted a campaign that on Monday drove out Taliban rebels who had been entrenched there for 10 months.

"The terrorists, after being defeated in Musa Qala, attempted to put pressure on Sangin district. During 48 hours of intense clashes around Sangin, over 50 terrorists have been killed," the ministry said in a statement.

It said three of the dead were foreign nationals, a reference to Al-Qaeda-linked foreign fighters who are said to be helping the Taliban in their insurgency against the government and its mainly Western allies.

Soldiers were now moving through the small southern town in Afghanistan's opium-growing core.

"We are using loudspeakers on top of our vehicles, in mosques and other places, and are calling on those who somehow have picked a gun to lay down their arms and live peacefully," said the top Afghan commander in the south.

Those who do so would be "forgiven and not pursued", General Gul Agha Ayoubi told AFP.

The militants stormed Musa Qala in early February, breaking a controversial deal in which British forces pulled out at the request of local elders who said they would handle security after months of intense fighting.

President Hamid Karzai has said he was asked by locals, including "Afghan Taliban", to retake the town and rid it of "Al-Qaeda terrorists" based there.

The 1996-2001 Taliban government sheltered Al-Qaeda, and they are said to be influencing some of the groups involved in an intensifying insurgency that has this year claimed around 6,000 lives. Rebels account for most of the dead.

Officials say other rebel groups not aligned with the network may be persuaded to stop fighting and side with the new administration.

The general said a "big number of people" had returned to Musa Qala after the fighting and that his soldiers were working to normalise the troubled town.

"As we entered the district, we erected the national flag of Afghanistan. It's flying over Musa Qala now," Ayoubi said.

His units would stay in Musa Qala for a while before handing over to law enforcement authorities, he said.

The Taliban also suffered "big casualties" in Musa Qala, the defence ministry said, without giving figures.

Militants meanwhile targeted an Afghan army commander in the main city in the south, Kandahar, with a suicide car bomb that killed a passer-by and wounded two Afghan soldiers, authorities said.

Suicide bombings are a favourite Taliban tactic. The Islamic rebels have carried out about 140 such attacks this year alone, mostly targeted at soldiers but killing many more civilians.

Authorities announced they had killed a senior rebel who was second to militant commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, the head of a faction operating mainly in the east and reportedly close to Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.

The rebel, identified as Mullah Sangin, was killed with three other Taliban in a firefight with Afghan and NATO-led troops in the eastern province of Paktika on Tuesday, said Ahmad Gul, an Afghan army spokesman.

Afghan battle 'being won' - Brown – BBC

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has told MPs that forces are "winning the battle against the insurgency" in Afghanistan.

He said Britain and its coalition partners were "isolating and eliminating the leadership of the Taleban, not negotiating with them".

But he backed Afghan leaders' moves towards "political reconciliation" with ex-insurgents who renounce violence.

The current level of 7,800 troops would be maintained, said Mr Brown, as part of the UK's "long term commitment". He also announced £450m development funding and more equipment for troops.

He said British, Afghan and Nato forces had been "driving the insurgents and extremists out of their hiding places" and stopping them regrouping and attacking "areas around the provincial capitals".

He said he wanted to build on military progress and help Afghans take more responsibility for government, security and economic development. Newspaper reports had suggested that Mr Brown would say it was "time to talk" to the Taleban.

But outlining his strategy in the House of Commons, the prime minister said: "Our aim is to isolate and eradicate the Taleban insurgency and to isolate the leadership. We are not negotiating with the leadership and we don't propose to do so."

He wanted to support Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai in his efforts towards "political reconciliation" which had already seen 5,000 fighters lay down their arms, he said.

Mr Brown also paid tribute to the courage of military personnel doing "vital work" in "dangerous places", and said the current 7,800-strong British force in Afghanistan would be maintained.

And he announced £450m for "development and stabilisation assistance" between 2009 and 2012, as well as 150 new protected patrol vehicles and extra Sea King helicopters.

He said the aim was for an extra 20,000 Afghan soldiers to be trained up next year, bringing the total to 70,000 and promised more police trainers to tackle "decades of failure and corruption" in building up police, courts and prisons.

He urged President Karzai to press ahead with "targeted eradication" policies against the poppy crop in Helmand.

And he urged more troop contributions from other Nato countries, along with the appointment of a "strong UN envoy" to co-ordinate international security, governance and development programmes.

Conservative leader David Cameron welcomed the announcements about equipment and said his party had long called for a single international figure to co-ordinate aid and reconstruction in Afghanistan - as Lord Ashdown had done in Bosnia.

He also asked Mr Brown to give quarterly updates on Afghanistan. He said: "This country is giving a tremendous amount to Afghanistan in both aid and lives.

"Those of us on this side of the House believe it is a worthwhile effort but the country wants reassurance."

The Liberal Democrats' acting leader Vincent Cable said recent surveys had suggested increasing concern among the British people and that a majority were in favour of withdrawal.

"There is a consensus among the parties in here that we continue to support the Afghan assault," he said.

"But what are you going to do to persuade British public opinion that this activity is necessary and right?"

Earlier politicians paid tribute to Sgt Lee Johnson, 33, who was serving with the 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment when he was killed in an explosion during the assault on Musa Qala, which had fallen to the Taleban.

The number of UK troops killed on operations in Afghanistan since 2001 now stands at 86.

Brown outlines UK's role in future of Afghanistan

Louise Radnofsky, Wednesday December 12, 2007 Guardian Unlimited

Britain will boost aid for Afghanistan's development and stabilisation by £450 million and set tough targets for the training of the country's own security forces, the prime minister said today as he unveiled "long-term" plans for the country.

Gordon Brown confirmed that former insurgents who renounced violence would be welcomed in civic life, but denied that he would enter into any talks with the leaders of the former Taliban regime.

Setting out his plans for "shifting our emphasis from short-term stabilisation to long-term development", in what he called one of the poorest countries on earth, Brown told MPs that aid will be used for "high impact" projects such as better roads, power supplies and clean water, as well as loans for small businesses, civic groups, and community development projects.

Brown said that in Musa Qala, the former Taliban stronghold recaptured by the military yesterday, there would be a cash-for-work programme and refurbishment of the district centre, high school and four mosques.

The town had been taken over by the Taliban in February after British troops left, ceding security to local tribal elders.

The prime minister contradicted newspaper reports that he wanted dialogue with Taliban leaders, saying he wanted to "make it clear that we will not enter into any negotiations with these people".

But he said that Afghan president Hamid Karzai had said that former insurgents could have "a place in the legitimate society and economy of Afghanistan" if they were prepared to renounce violence.

Brown did not confirm suggestions that the plan would include aid for farmers who gave up growing opium poppies, and restricted his description of the anti-drugs strategy as "stronger governance, targeted eradication, disruption of traffickers, strengthening the justice system, and promoting legitimate agriculture".

While visiting Afghanistan earlier this week, the prime minister had said that the British military presence of around 7,800 troops would remain "substantial" for the "foreseeable future".

He said today that the main military strategy now would be to "train Afghan forces to take ownership of their own security", and that he was aiming for there to be 20,000 new trained Afghan soldiers by next year, bringing the total to 70,000, supported by 340 British trainers and mentors.

Brown announced that 150 new protected patrol vehicles had been specially procured for forces there.

He said a "strong UN envoy" was needed to co-ordinate efforts in the region, but did not name an appointee, and called on greater support from other countries in boosting security forces.

Britain will continue to work with Pakistan, as well as the G8, Brown said, as well as urging Iran to play "a more constructive role".

UK to pay to halt opium crop in Afghanistan

By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent - Telegraph

Last Updated: 2:42am GMT 12/12/2007

Britain will pay Afghan farmers to stop growing the opium poppies that are used to make heroin, Gordon Brown is to say.

Plans to give poppy growers a financial incentive to produce alternative crops will be a key part of the long-term Afghan strategy the Prime Minister will present to Parliament this afternoon.

Attempts to eradicate the growing Afghan drug trade form a cornerstone of Mr Brown's attempts to clarify the objective of a military and diplomatic mission that could see thousands of British troops deployed for a decade or more.

Paddy Ashdown, the former Liberal Democrat leader, is also being lined up by Britain as a new international envoy to oversee a renewed attempt to strengthen the country's central government and economy.

British sources admit the new strategy depends on weaning Afghanistan off opium.

Despite repeated promises to combat the heroin trade, Afghan poppy cultivation has been increasing since international forces toppled the Taliban government in 2001.

Earlier this year, the United Nations said Afghan heroin production had risen to a record level, and the country accounts for 92 per cent of opium production.

Heavily-armed, well-funded drug gangs have put large swathes of the country beyond the control of President Hamid Karzai, whom Mr Brown met in Kabul on Monday.

Gates Calls for Afghan Coordinator

By ROBERT BURNS – WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Robert Gates indicated Tuesday that the lengthy search for a European official to coordinate the international aid presence in Afghanistan may be completed soon.

Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, Gates said he hopes a "suitable candidate" can be picked shortly, allowing more efficiency in the way international assistance is implemented.

Gates mentioned no names, but a senior defense official said before the hearing that the candidate proposed to Afghan President Hamid Karzai in recent weeks is British diplomat Paddy Ashdown, who was Bosnia-Herzegovina's international administrator for more than three years.

The defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the diplomatic sensitivities, said Karzai has embraced the concept of having a European in the coordinating role but has not announced his endorsement of any individual.

Gates acknowledged, during questioning by committee members, that opinion polls show resurgent support for the radical Taliban, who were overthrown in the U.S. invasion following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

"Admittedly, it's gotten worse," Gates said, adding that this appeared to be due to inadequate provision of basic government services and corruption among local Afghan police. He said it does not reflect a lack of U.S. military commitment, noting there are about 25,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Gates, who visited Afghanistan last week, said the security and other gains in Afghanistan are fragile.

"There needs to be more effective coordination of assistance to the government of Afghanistan," Gates told the committee. "A strong civilian representative is needed to coordinate all nations and key international organizations on the ground. We and others have worked with the Karzai government to identify a suitable candidate. I'm hopeful this exhaustive search will be completed soon."

Gates addressed the issue in more detailed in a written statement submitted in advance of his presentation.

"Even with devotion of U.S. resources that I've mentioned, there has not been sufficient follow-on reconstruction, development or security by other allies, and this has put at risk areas that have been cleared of insurgents," his prepared statement said.

Gates is scheduled to travel to Scotland on Thursday for two days of talks with NATO member countries who have combat troops in southern Afghanistan, where the insurgent violence has been especially high this year.

Gates said he has proposed to NATO that it develop a "strategic concept" paper, assessing how the situation in Afghanistan should proceed over the next three to five years. He hoped that the paper could be ready for consideration by NATO government leaders at a summit in Romania next spring.

Appearing with Gates, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said chances for success in Afghanistan rest in large part on the willingness of NATO allies to contribute more, while removing restrictions they have placed on the way their troops can be used there.

Mullen said the Afghan national army is making good progress; the Afghan police are more problematic, he said. "We have a long way to go," Mullen said.

In opening remarks at the hearing, Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., the committee chairman, said NATO allies must do more to help in Afghanistan. Skelton said U.S. intelligence agencies have cautioned that if current trends hold, the Afghanistan campaign faces the risk of "a looming strategic failure."

Top Officer Says Afghanistan No. 2

By ROBERT BURNS – WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military's top officer acknowledged on Tuesday that for all the importance of preventing Afghanistan from again harboring al-Qaida terrorists, Washington's first priority is Iraq.

"In Afghanistan, we do what we can," said Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "In Iraq, we do what we must."

His statement, delivered with emphasis in a prepared opening statement to the House Armed Services Committee, prompted some Democrats to say it showed what they have argued for years: that the Bush administration has become so bogged down in Iraq that it cannot make more effort in Afghanistan.

"I find it troubling that our ongoing commitment in Iraq prevents us from dedicating resources in Afghanistan beyond what is necessary to prevent setbacks, as opposed to what is required to realize success," Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo., chairman of the committee, said after the hearing.

Mullen, testifying with Defense Secretary Robert Gates on the effort to stabilize Afghanistan, said that war is "by design and necessity, an economy-of-force operation. There is no getting around that. Our main focus, militarily, in the region and in the world right now is rightly and firmly in Iraq."

The United States has about 166,000 troops in Iraq and about 25,000 in Afghanistan. Neither conflict shows signs of ending any time soon, although U.S. troop levels in Iraq are beginning to decline.

Asked by committee members about the long-futile effort to find Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader who masterminded the Sept. 11 attacks, Mullen and Gates both said the hunt was a high priority. But they would not offer any specifics about what U.S. forces are doing to track him down.

Mullen also said that in recent months there has been less cross-border infiltration of al-Qaida and Taliban forces from Pakistan into eastern and southern Afghanistan. Gates made a similar point and attributed the improved situation to the Pakistani government taking the problem more seriously.

Earlier this year Gates and other officials had said al-Qaida and Taliban fighters were finding refuge and operating training camps on the Pakistan side of the border, then slipping into Afghanistan.

Gates noted that the United States would not send conventional military forces into Pakistan to deal with the problem of sanctuaries, but he added, "That's the area we do need to be concerned about al-Qaida training and reconstituting itself."

The first option for dealing with that, Gates said, is encouraging the Pakistani government to act more aggressively on its own and, secondly, for U.S. forces to work together with the Pakistani military.

"And then we need to be able to act unilaterally, if we have to, to make sure they (al-Qaida) don't come back at us again," Gates added, seemingly referring to the possibility of U.S. military action inside Pakistan, an option that the Pakistani government has publicly stated will never be allowed.

Gates acknowledged, during questioning by committee members, that opinion polls show resurgent support for the radical Taliban, who were overthrown in the U.S. invasion following the Sept. 11 attacks.

"Admittedly, it's gotten worse," Gates said, adding that this appeared to be due to inadequate provision of basic government services and corruption among local Afghan police. He said it does not reflect a lack of U.S. military commitment.

Gates, who visited Afghanistan last week, said the security and other gains in Afghanistan are fragile.

"There needs to be more effective coordination of assistance to the government of Afghanistan," Gates told the committee. "A strong civilian representative is needed to coordinate all nations and key international organizations on the ground. We and others have worked with the Karzai government to identify a suitable candidate. I'm hopeful this exhaustive search will be completed soon."

Gates mentioned no names, but a senior defense official said before the hearing that the candidate proposed to Afghan President Hamid Karzai in recent weeks is British diplomat Paddy Ashdown, who was Bosnia-Herzegovina's international administrator for more than three years.

The defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the diplomatic sensitivities, said Karzai has embraced the concept of having a European in the coordinating role but has not announced his endorsement of any individual.

Gates addressed the issue in more detail in a written statement submitted in advance of his presentation.

"Even with devotion of U.S. resources that I've mentioned, there has not been sufficient follow-on reconstruction, development or security by other allies, and this has put at risk areas that have been cleared of insurgents," his prepared statement said.

Gates is scheduled to travel to Scotland on Thursday for two days of talks with defense and diplomatic representatives of NATO member countries who have combat troops in southern Afghanistan, where the insurgent violence has been especially high this year. Gates is pressing the allies to provide more troops, additional helicopters and about 3,500 trainers, mainly for the Afghan police.

Gates said he has proposed to NATO that it develop a "strategic concept" paper, assessing how the situation in Afghanistan should proceed over the next three to five years. He hoped that the paper could be ready for consideration by NATO government leaders at a summit in Romania next spring.

Gates slams U.S. counternarcotics in Afghanistan

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Tuesday told Congress the United States has no effective plan for tackling Afghanistan's opium industry and warned that current efforts could aid Taliban rebels.

In a forthright critique of counternarcotics efforts, Gates said the United States has become isolated among its allies by favoring aerial spraying of herbicides on Afghan poppy fields that produce more than 90 percent of the world's opiates.

"I'm really concerned about counternarcotics, because I think that we don't really have a strategy," Gates said at a hearing held by the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee. I think it's patently obvious that we have not been successful in the counter-narcotics effort in Afghanistan."

Gates said U.S. strategy has sometimes focused too heavily on the eradication of poppies grown by farmers who can rely on no other cash crop to feed their families.

"The day we go in and eradicate somebody's crops, we better be there with alternative seeds, some money, and a way to get that product to market, or we will have just recruited somebody else for the Taliban," the defense secretary said.

The Bush administration is split over how to combat Afghanistan's $4 billion opium trade, which equals more than half of the country's legitimate gross domestic product, according to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.

Drug money is fueling a growing Taliban insurgency and has spawned a wave of corruption that threatens the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, analysts say.

The Pentagon and the CIA oppose spraying poppy fields from aircraft, while counternarcotics officials at the State Department and the White House back the tactic.

Critics, including some U.S. allies in Europe, say the plan could backfire by reminding Afghan villagers of a Soviet-era campaign that used defoliants to destroy food crops.

Washington has agreed not to use herbicides without Kabul's approval. But analysts say the administration continues to press the Karzai government to accept the aerial strategy.

"Virtually no one else wants to do that, including the Afghan government," Gates said.

Minister to confirm Afghan commitment

December 12, 2007 06:55pm

MHS - DEFENCE Minister Joel Fitzgibbon will reaffirm Australia's commitment to Afghanistan during his first international meeting in Scotland tomorrow.

In his first trip abroad as defence minister, Mr Fitzgibbon today left for Edinburgh, where he will attend a meeting of countries with military commitments in Afghanistan.

Delegates at the Regional Command South Ministerial Meeting will discuss with members of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) the situation in southern Afghanistan.

Mr Fitzgibbon will meet a number of his international counterparts, including UK Defence Secretary Desmond Brown, Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay and US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates.

"The meeting will provide an opportunity to reaffirm Australia's long-term commitment to Afghanistan,'' a spokeswoman for Mr Fitzgibbon said.

"Importantly, the minister will also highlight to the group the urgent need for a broader holistic approach to stabilisation and reconstruction in southern Afghanistan.

"Like our ISAF partners, Australia is committed to defeating the extremist threat and providing tangible reconstruction and development improvements for the Afghan population.''

The eight countries involved in Regional Command South are: Australia, Denmark, Estonia, the Netherlands, Romania, US, UK and Canada.

Official: Afghanistan closes border with Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan authorities have closed its border with Pakistan in the southwestern Balochistan province after tightening measures to stop wheat flour smuggling, a Pakistani security official said on Wednesday.

"The Afghan authorities on Wednesday closed border at the town of Chaman as a sign of showing resentment over the measures to stop smuggling," said Saleem Nawaz, Inspector General of Pakistan's paramilitary Frontier Corps, which is responsible for the border security.

Pakistan is facing the problem of wheat flour shortage, which has led to substantial increase in flour price.  The Pakistani government Wednesday reviewed the flour situation and will take measures to solve the problem.

Dr. Spanta met the Foreign Minister of Pakistan on the margin of 29th Session of SAARC Council of Ministers

Posted On: Dec 10, 2007 - On the Margin of the 29 th Session of SAARC Council of Ministers, H.E. Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan met H.E. Inam ul Haque, the new acting Foreign Minister of Pakistan, in his residence.

In this meeting, Dr. Spanta congratulated Mr. Inam ul Haque on his appointment in this post and also spoke about the recent issues. Dr. Spanta emphasized the significance of stability in Afghanistan as the heart of Asia for stability in the region.

The two parties in this meeting discussed on the various issues such as the importance of Regional Peace Jirgas, the holding of second round of Peace Jirga in Pakistan, the necessity of coordination between the two  countries in counter-terrorism, issues relating to transportation and transit, political situations in Pakistan, and regional and international issues.

In addition in December 8 th, Dr. Spanta along with other SAARC Foreign Ministers met Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

At the end of the 29 th Session of SAARC Council of Ministers, the Foreign Ministers and the accompanied delegation, accompany with Mr. E. Ahmad, the Government Secretary of India in External Affairs for visiting Taj Mahal traveled to Agra.

Following the SAARC meeting  Dr. Spanta left for Ashkhabad to attend in International Conference on “Preventive Diplomacy and International Cooperation” , which is held in the capital of Turkmenistan.

NATO's Handling of Afghan Mission Under Fire

Conference-goers hear how NATO is not cut out for the mission it is leading in Afghanistan, and that a more co-ordinated approach is needed to succeed.

By Jeff Davis- Embassy, December 12th, 2007, NEWS STORY

An eminent group of scholars, bureaucrats and diplomats aimed scathing criticisms at NATO's handling of the mission in Afghanistan this week, criticizing its general lack of co-ordination and the failure of many countries to share the burden in the volatile southern region.

Charles-Philippe David, a professor of strategic and diplomatic studies at the Université de Quebec à Montréal, said NATO is not working well in Afghanistan.

"I don't think NATO is an appropriate structure in a post-Cold War environment," he said. "I don't think NATO will be able to face the world's new challenges."

Robert Fowler, former deputy minister of the Department of National Defence, said simply that there are four countries fighting and the rest are watching.

"I don't think NATO was made for this mission in Afghanistan," he said. "Nobody ever foresaw it doing whatever it is we are doing in Afghanistan."

Entitled "Peacebuilding in Afghanistan," the two-day, government-sponsored conference in Ottawa was an exhaustive examination of a range of issues by a panel from the United States, Canada, Europe and Afghanistan.

Peter Harder, former deputy minister of the Department of Foreign Affairs, said the conference was perhaps the broadest such discussion yet held in Canada, and that he was impressed by the caliber of the participants.

There was wide agreement that the caveats, which are preventing many NATO countries from engaging in combat activities, are a serious hindrance.

"I think it's time for Canada to speak up and stand up and ask other nations to share the burden," said Almas Bawar of the Senlis Council.

"Canada needs to ask them to remove their caveats and come and fight with them in southern Afghanistan."

Roland Paris, professor of international security at the University of Ottawa, said that with so many nations unwilling to fight, a move by Canada to withdraw from the south could shake the foundations of the alliance.

"A decision by Canada this winter to reduce its presence in Kandahar could provoke a diplomatic crisis within the NATO alliance," he said. "This would in turn would send a signal to the insurgents, the government of Afghanistan, to all the regional players that NATO's overall commitment to Afghanistan has fractured."

A theme running through the conference was a general lack of strategy and co-ordination between the Afghan government and the international forces, as well as between the multinational forces themselves.

"There needs to be a cohesive, integrated and well-coordinated strategy that we have lacked from the very beginning to this day," said Waheed Omer, an official from the cabinet secretariat of the government of Afghanistan.

Andrew Wilder, a research director from Tufts University, says police reform is a good example of this lack of coordination.

"It's one thing in 2002, 2003, 2004 to lack a strategy," he says. "It's quite striking in 2007 that we still have fundamental disagreements about what our strategy is for a police force in Afghanistan."

Mr. Wilder says the Germans and other Europeans are training police for civilian protection, while the Americans are training police forces for counterinsurgency combat.

Another problem, he says, is the lack of co-ordination between efforts to train agencies that work as integral parts of a larger system.

"One donor is focusing on the army, one donor working on police, one sorts out the judiciary, but they're not talking that much to each other in terms of what are the critical links joining these various interventions," he says.

"The problem in Afghanistan is that we don't have much of an overarching strategy that recognizes that a lot of things are linked," he added.

A number of politicians from the House foreign affairs committee attended the conference. These included Kevin Sorensen, the Conservative chair of the foreign affairs committee, NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar and his Bloc counterpart Francine Lalonde.

Anthony Cordesman, a security and strategy expert from the Centre for Strategic and International studies in Washington, D.C. told the conference that NATO is still years away from stabilizing the country.

Mr. Cordesman said the Afghan National Army will not reach the goals set for it for 2008, and that its development is behind schedule.

"The Afghan army is making progress, but the progress we want in 2008 at the earliest will come in 2009 and probably in 2010," he said. To reach functional maturity, Mr. Cordesman said, will take even longer.

"One thing is clear, it will take substantial outside aid to the Afghan security forces at every level through 2012, at a minimum, to create and stabilize the kind of forces and capabilities that are needed to replace NATO," he said.

And it's not just the Afghan forces that need work, he said. Mr. Cordesman said that in a recent conversation with a military commander in Afghanistan he was told about numerous deficiencies.

"The commander pointed out that, from his calculations, we are at least four combat battalions short of the minimum forces needed to win," he said. "We do not have the helicopters and mobility we need, and the caveats and the lack of coordination in NATO are a crippling problem in war fighting."

Much work, he said, is needed. "If we are not prepared to put time patience and resources into the problem on the level required, we can indeed snatch defeat from the possibility of victory," he said.

Death of the Three-Ds in Afghan Mission

The term "three-D approach" is being replaced with "whole-of-government" to describe the mission in Afghanistan, but opposition MPs say the change hides a lack of diplomacy and development on the ground.

By Lee Berthiaume - Embassy, December 12th, 2007, NEWS STORY

The government has abandoned the term "three-D" to describe its strategy for missions like Afghanistan in favour of the all-encompassing "whole-of-government" label, senior officials have acknowledged in recent weeks.

But while they say the change is meant to signify the strategy's evolution, in that successful international interventions will require participation by all departments and agencies, opposition critics say the apparent "rebranding" has done little to address shortcomings in Afghanistan.

The idea of using development, diplomacy and defence together in foreign interventions was introduced to the public when former prime minister Paul Martin unveiled the Liberals' International Policy Statement in April 2005.

The idea, which originated with U.S. Marine Gen. Charles Krulak in the 1990s, was one that centred around an urban battle scene in which humanitarian assistance would be delivered on one city block, peacekeeping and diplomacy would be conducted on the second and full military operations would be delivered on the third.

At a luncheon roundtable sponsored by the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre on Monday in Ottawa, the term "3D" was used several times to describe Canada's approach to Afghanistan, especially the activities of its Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kandahar.

But in testimony to the House foreign affairs committee on Nov. 27, Foreign Affairs deputy minister Len Edwards acknowledged that the term "three-D" has fallen out of usage.

"Are three Ds dead? We don't use the terminology all that much, I have to say, because to us that sounds like three different pillars," Mr. Edwards told committee members. "What we believe in is that we all have to work together.

"The government has a strategy in Afghanistan, and we have a task force that co-ordinates that strategy," he added. "Each of us plays our role and we work together. We don't have a three-D strategy; we have a one-D strategy–we're all working together."

Chief Superintendent David Beer, director-general of the RCMP's international policing sector, acknowledged after Monday's lunch discussion that three-D is no longer a term used within government, and that whole-of-government has been the new terminology since the Conservatives took power last year.

However, while the same basic principle, one of integration and teamwork between different government departments to address a particular challenge, remains the same, Supt. Beers said the application has changed.

"In Afghanistan we have more engagement [from different departments] than we had in the early months," he said. "It's an evolutionary vehicle that will change as the circumstances dictate."

Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, who commanded Canadian and multinational forces in southern Afghanistan last year and also spoke at Monday's event, said the government "is past three-D."

"A lot of people use three-D, but it's bigger than that," he said. "I think it's illustrative of the evolution of a concept that's getting bigger, getting broader, that has more depth, that is getting more mature and is developing more effects for countries like Afghanistan. It just shows the evolution of doing more."

NDP Foreign Affairs critic Paul Dewar questioned what "whole-of-government" actually meant, and said the end result on the ground in Afghanistan hasn't been any different than under the three-D approach.

"At the end of the day, the result is the same," he said. "There are very few people on the ground doing diplomacy and very few people on the ground doing development and we have an inordinate number of people doing defence."

He pointed to statistics given to committee members by Mr. Edwards and CIDA president Robert Greenhill during their testimony as proof.

Mr. Greenhill said that Canada's aid agency will have 35 professional staff working in Afghanistan by April 2008, up from 10 in 2006.

Mr. Edwards said the Kandahar PRT includes five foreign affairs personnel, six from CIDA, 10 from the RCMP and two from Correctional Services Canada positions. DFAIT also has two foreign affairs officials at the Kandahar airfield. As well, the total civilian complement in Kabul is expected to eventually reach 50.

Mr. Dewar said that when put up against the 2,500 military personnel who are in Afghanistan, "It's clearly unbalanced."

"I don't care if you call it three-D or whole-of-government, or whatever, it's not balanced," he added. "I'm not convinced it's any better. It's just different words dressing up a similar kind of outcome, and that is no more stability, less security, no more development, and definitely not enough emphasis on diplomacy."

Liberal Foreign Affairs critic Bryon Wilfert accused the government of using semantics as "a cover for the fact they never embraced the other two Ds when we were in government."

He said the government must clearly explain what it means by a whole-of-government approach, "because clearly that doesn't come across at all."

Mistake over 'captured Taleban'

BBC News / Tuesday, 11 December 2007

The Afghan government says it was wrong to have claimed to have captured two senior Taleban commanders during fighting for the town of Musa Qala.

On Sunday the defence ministry said it had captured Mullah Matin and Mullah Rahim, both well-known Taleban commanders in Helmand province. But now the ministry says that it was a case of mistaken identity.

A ministry spokesman said no Afghan soldiers were killed in operation and that only four civilians died. Afghan forces - with British and American support - say they are now securing Musa Qala street by street.

Local people, contacted by phone before a mobile communication mast was destroyed in bombing, said the losses sustained by Afghan, British and American troops are far higher than they admit.

The BBC's David Loyn in Kabul says that Afghan soldiers supported by British and American troops are now moving through the town cautiously, compound by compound.

A British spokesman said there had been some isolated incidents of shooting but the main body of the Taleban appear to have left when their order came to withdraw on Monday.

Although the provincial governor had earlier appealed for people to return to their homes, the Afghan spokesman said it would not be safe in Musa Qala for a further 48 hours, while the last remnants of the Taleban were cleared and the area checked for mines.

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai earlier said that he needed more help from the international community to help build his country's armed forces.

Mr Karzai's comments come despite Afghan troops taking the lead in retaking Musa Qala from the Taleban with Nato troops.

The Afghan defence ministry recently said that the Afghan armed forces needed to be 200,000 strong.

But our correspondent says there is no international support for that figure. In 2001 the international community agreed to fund an army of 70,000 men.

It will reach that total soon and most will be equipped with US-made M-16 rifles. World-class helicopters and tanks are also being supplied from abroad.

The Afghan government wants a larger army, not just to put down the Taleban insurgency, our correspondent says, but also to be able to project a more assertive posture in the region, with instability threatening to spill over from Pakistan to the east.

To the west, Iran has an army that is 350,000 strong, but most of that is made up of conscripts.

Some ministers, including the acting counter-narcotics minister, Gen Khodaidad, who was an officer in the Soviet-backed army in the 1980s, say compulsory conscription is the only way for Afghanistan to fulfil its defence needs at the same time as helping to build a national identity.

Mr Karzai has rejected these demands. Speaking at a Kabul press conference on Monday, he said the decision to attack Musa Qala followed reports of atrocities being perpetrated by the insurgents the town.

Afghan reconstruction in progress despite rising Taliban militancy

By Abdul Haleem, Zhang Yunlong - 2007-12-12

KABUL, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Six years after the fall of the Taliban regime, post-war Afghanistan saw its reconstruction work steadily on track in 2007 despite various security problems arising from mounting Taliban insurgency.

Over 1.1 billion U.S. dollars of investment was injected into the central Asian state in the outgoing year, mostly in the field of reconstruction run by the private sector, Omar Zakhilwal, director of the government-backed Afghanistan Investment Support Agency (AISA), told Xinhua.

Official figures show that the investment has mounted to more than 5 billion U.S. dollars since 2001, when the Taliban was removed from power by the U.S.-led invasion.

The Taliban, ever since its fall, has waged years-long insurgency against the Afghan administration, attacking government forces and foreign troops across the country.

The year 2007 is the bloodiest as conflicts and militancy-related violence have left over 6,000 people dead in the war-torn country this year, a record high since 2001.

UN Secretary General's special envoy to Afghanistan Tom Koenigs said in mid-October that the United Nations had recorded 606 roadside bombs and 133 suicide attacks since January this year, a 30 percent increase from last year.

Around 1,200 civilians were killed in violent incidents this year, Koenigs said.

Security situation continued to challenge the reconstruction efforts of Afghan government and the international community in 2007 as several reconstruction projects have been suspended or re-considered due to militants' activities such as bombings, kidnappings and ambushes.

Spiraling insurgency in the southern provinces of Afghanistan, commonly known as the heartland of Taliban, have even forced the aid agencies including World Food Program to halt humanitarian support in parts of the troubled region.

However, reconstruction process in the post-Taliban nation has been continuing with the international support and progress is being made in various sectors.

Afghanistan started the work for asphalting 5,000 km roads in 2002 and so far 3,000 km have been metalled, with work on around 700 km done this year, Ahmad Wali Rasouli, deputy to the Ministry for Public Work, told Xinhua.

He said Afghanistan's ring roads would be completed by 2009 and all 34 provinces of the country will be connected to the capital Kabul by asphalted roads by 2012.

In the field of tele-communication, Afghanistan has almost reached the level of self-sufficiency, analysts say, as more than 2.5 million Afghans own cellular phones today, an unbelievable scene during the Taliban reign.

The post-Taliban nation has further improved its communication system as the United Arab Emirate-based Etisalat launched its service here this year with more than 250 million US dollars investment, bringing the number of mobile tele-communication companies operating here to four.

Two more private airline companies, Safi Airways and Pamir airways, were launched in Afghanistan this year, increasing the number of private air companies operating in the country to three. Its first private airliner Kam Air became operational about four years ago.

Afghanistan in the outgoing year put on bid its biggest copper mine in Aynak area of Logar province, some 35 km south of Kabul, for which a Chinese company was selected as the preferred bidder in November.

Work on the project, which is said to be the second largest copper reservoir in the world, would create job opportunities for 3,000 Afghans besides boosting the country's national exchequer, Minister for Mines and Industries Ibrahim Adil said.

If realized, the Aynak project would be the first time that foreign firms invest in the country's mining industry, where privatization process has been encouraged. Moreover, the volume of export from Afghanistan has registered 218 million U.S. dollars in 2007, up 10 percent from the previous year.

Afghanistan has also achieved in the field of agricultural products and is moving towards self-sufficiency, a bulletin of the Ministry for Agriculture and Livestock has said. The country has harvested 5.6 million tons of grains in 2007, of which 4.5 million tons are wheat, which indicates 92 percent self-sufficiency in the field. Officials said Afghanistan needs to import only 0.5 million tons of wheat to fill the gap.     

Electricity supply has long been a problem in the war-torn country, which was unable to generate enough power for its own use. There is only an average of four-hour city power supply in two days in capital Kabul and the situation is even worse in the ongoing winter. Afghan government this year has promised a 24-hour city power in Kabul for the coming year. Though having been disappointed by similar pledges in the past, local residents are optimistic about the future.

The work for the installation of transmission lines to import power from neighboring Uzbekistan and Tajikistan has been nearly completed so far this year, Afghan Water and Power Ministry Spokesman Mohammad Tahir Khan told Xinhua. The country will begin importing 300 mw power from the two Central Asian countries next autumn, Khan said.

Moreover, an agreement was signed in Kabul in November 2007 to implement a 500-million-dollar electricity connection between Central Asia and South Asia, according to a statement issued earlier by the World Bank Afghanistan mission. In its first stage, the project would transfer around 1300 mw of electricity from Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic to Pakistan and Afghanistan. These moves have been widely hailed as signs of improved electricity supply for the power-strapped country in the coming years.

Afghanistan hosted the 17th annual meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of ECO (Economic Cooperation Organization) in October 2007, where the delegates promised to enhance cooperation among the member states in the fields of trade, economy, transport, industry and culture.

Moreover, 2007 was the year of improving relations between Afghanistan and its immediate neighbor Pakistan, as the first-ever joint Peace Jirga or council of tribal elders was held in Kabul in August, with the participation of more than 700 people including chieftains and notables from both sides. A similar peace gathering between the two neighbors is expected to be held in Islamabad within the next few months.

Afghanistan has suffered tremendously from war, factional fighting and civil strife over the past nearly three decades, and its reconstruction and recovery from war aftermath require more time and continued international assistance, local observers said. Afghan President Hamid Karzai in a press conference in December called on the international community to continue their support till the war-torn country stands on its own feet.

Afghanistan's former Finance Minister Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, a known economist, has said the country needs more than 30 billion U.S. dollars for its reconstruction.

"It is difficult to rebuild a country which has seen 30 years of war and lost almost all its national institutions," Noorul Haq Khan, an official at the Afghan education ministry, told Xinhua.

Analysts from the media circle believe Afghanistan needs a comprehensive strategy including military, political and economic ways to help improve the security situation and more time to fully recover from the war aftermath. Building a strong and efficient enough government force, checking poppy cultivation, rooting out corruption and pushing forward economic and social development are among the priorities which need to be handled soon and carefully, they say.

Ticking time bombs in Kabul

December 12, 2007 - Wahid Monawar, Toronto Star
After representing my country as a diplomat for 3 1/2 years in Canada, I was anxious to return home in anticipation of seeing change. From the Bonn agreement to an elected government, Afghanistan's administration has inherited one of the most difficult tasks, not only to re-establish Afghanistan's image and ability to govern and present a new face to the international community, but also to rebuild a society starting from sub-zero.

Arriving in Dubai from Toronto, I was already pleased to see numerous scheduled flights to Kabul – an improvement from just three flights per week a few years ago. As the refurbished 727 Boeing circled Kabul and smoothly landed, the wreckage of old Soviet planes that had formerly remained scattered next to the runway was no longer there, and to my pleasure, I noticed that the airport was not as chaotic as before.

On a short trip from the airport to my residence, I realized that the traffic had improved and that the condition of the roads was much better, with signs of prosperity and progress everywhere. I next discovered that with four competing mobile service providers, I could have better cellphone service than in Toronto. As our vehicle took a turn from the main road, my 10-minute dream of a progressive Afghanistan came to a sudden halt.

After the fall of the Taliban regime in October 2001, you did not need a PhD in sociology to diagnose the symptoms of an ailing society. Axiomatically, like many post-conflict nations, the major residues of a lengthy foreign oppression and tedious civil war were everywhere – invalids, widows and orphans.

I was distressed to find my visual impression confirmed by an NGO survey: that the number of beggars – consisting of children as young as 4 and 5 and women in burqas with babies who appeared listless and malnourished in their arms – had substantially increased in the past three years.

I was bewildered and shocked by the sheer number of these young kids trying to survive by begging for food instead of being in school and supported by society. This situation favours fanatic ideologues looking for recruits.

After reaching my residence, I took a stroll on Flower St., a place frequented by many foreigners. A minute or two into my walk, I was approach by a boy named Nabi for a handout. Asked how old he was, he took a few moments to ponder the question and then answered, "I guess 8."

He told me that he had been begging on the streets for the past three years and had even picked up some English words to cater to his foreign prospects. While the international community and the Afghan government partner to create functional institutions, we obliviously pass by these ticking human time bombs who have no hope of a better future. These children, with hopelessness as their scholarship, will certainly be the prey of narco-terrorists, Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

British historian Basil Liddell Hart wrote: "History attests that loss of hope rather than loss of life is what decides the issues of war."

Days into my return to Kabul and after attending many meetings, I had yet to hear a concern, let alone a solution. I know that I am politically incorrect to criticize my own government, but without constructive criticism, our ability to find an answer is limited.

The foundation of any government should be to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves. The government cannot afford to disregard the dire need of its young children. As a matter of national security, we should launch a serious program on many fronts to reclaim these youths.

This will include passing laws to punish those who enslave these children, forcing them to beg for criminal bands, and depriving them from having a normal childhood. It will include revamping the education system to train young people for jobs and work in a post-conflict economy. It will need the involvement of the business community to invest resources in the country's young Nabis, guiding them to productive lives and helping them obtain marketable skills.

We must come together to tackle this issue with a deadline and a sense of urgency, otherwise we will have an explosive situation on our hands. Wahid Monawar is Afghanistan's former consul general in Toronto. He currently is Afghanistan's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations in Vienna.

Give Afghan bigger say in rebuilding projects: Rights and Democracy

MONTREAL - Aid workers in Afghanistan need to learn to take a hands-off approach in their efforts to rebuild the wartorn country, says Rights and Democracy's Afghan director.

Palwasha Hasan, who heads the government-funded NGO's efforts to improve women's rights in Afghanistan, claims that many aid groups do not allow local Afghans to take ownership of legal reforms seen as key to the country's stability. She criticized international organizations that try to impose western solutions to Afghanistan's human rights problems.

"Their processes are not always informed by Afghan realities," she told The Canadian Press while in Canada for meetings with government officials.

"They bring in experts who stay for a short time and then leave," she added. "I don't think this is very productive to the project's long-term goals."

Montreal-based Rights and Democracy received $5 million last summer as part of the federal government's plan to help boost rule of law in Afghanistan. The country's legal system is a mishmash of local customs, various strands of Islamic law, international conventions and basic statutory law.

But despite the country's new constitution, the government of Hamid Karzai has had only mixed success in streamlining the legal code. Hasan, herself an Afghan Muslim, said aid groups must be willing to adopt a grassroots approach if they are to understand why elements of the justice system are not working.

"You are also supposed to help their rebuilding capacity," she said. "People should learn how to build their own future. You cannot always go and repair it for them."

She noted that Rights and Democracy is among the few foreign-funded NGOs that are willing to have their operations in Afghanistan run entirely by Afghans. Hasan believes Islam is part of the solution, rather than the problem, on women's rights issues.

"There are some interpretations which have a restricted view of women's rights and these limiting interpretations are the ones mostly seen by the world," she said. "There is a lot of space for women's rights in Islam... and we can use it today in our present reality."

Hasan admitted, however, that the status of women has been slow to improve since the Taliban was chased from power in 2001. According to recent figures, only 35 per cent of girls of school age attend classes, with only 10 per cent of girls attending secondary school. In five southern provinces - where support for the Taliban is still high - at least 90 per cent of school-age girls do not attend school. While there has been some progress since 2001, Hasan believes real change will take a long-term investment.

"Women's rights is not an overnight thing, women don't just take off their scarves and become modern," she said. "If you are already there, then you have to make sure you successfully stay there, and then you'll see changes."

A globalized world, she says, means Canada's investment in Afghanistan is ultimately bound to reap benefits for both countries.

"If Canada is doing something for Afghanistan, it is actually doing something for the world," Hasan said. "If there is peace in my country, there is peace in your country."

[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.]