In this bulletin:

• Britain set to boost Afghanistan force
• 300 troops could be sent to Afghanistan
• Russia, Afghanistan coordinate Afghan debt settlement - FM Lavrov
• Only joint efforts can prevent chaos in Afghanistan - Lavrov
• Pak PM Aziz suggests "Marshall Plan-type approach" for Afghan development
• Former Mujahedeen Stage Rally in Kabul
• Attack is imminent, say Taliban
• U.S. can't stay for long in Afghanistan: Hekmatyar
• Karzai downplays Taliban ‘spring offensive’
• Karzai questions Pak on Indian consulates
• Karzai pleads with Italy on mission
• Canada urged to stick it out in Afghanistan
• Winning Afghan war essential for West: NATO chief
• High stakes on Pakistan-Afghan border
• Czech government approves donation of ammunition to Afghanistan
• Karzai inaugurates two hospitals in Mazar
• Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation & Development and Ministry of Interior Press release
• Dion Commits to Correcting Harper’s Irresponsibility on Afghanistan Mission
• Sell Afghan poppies for medicine: Dion
• Dion's Afghan message needs a touch of realism
• Bloc wants rethink on Afghan poppies
• Afghanistan Media Environment Experiencing the Winds of Change
• America's betrayal of Afghanistan
• It's Pakistan, Stupid

Britain set to boost Afghanistan force

Financial Times London - February 23 2007

Britain is expected to announce a fresh deployment of about 1,000 extra troops and equipment to Afghanistan on Monday. Downing Street on Friday declined to comment on newspaper reports that more personnel would be deployed. However, Des Browne, defence secretary, is believed to be preparing an announcement shortly.

News of a new UK deployment would follow this month’s decision by the US to send 3,200 more troops to Afghanistan in the spring, taking US forces to 27,000, their highest level of the war. Britain has been reluctant to add to its 6,000-strong force in the country as it has reinforced it several times already.

Two weeks ago, Mr Browne issued a plea for Nato countries to send more troops to the south of Afghanistan to help Britain and the US in their battle against the Taliban.

After a Nato meeting in Seville that failed to provide new commitments for combat troops in the turbulent south, Mr Browne called for more assistance from the alliance’s other members.

“We have shown the nature of our commitment in Afghanistan in one of the most difficult parts of the country,” he said then. “We are setting the challenge to other countries to share the whole responsibility… We need to encourage others to join us.”

Liam Fox, shadow defence secretary, said the planned deployment showed how over-stretched British forces were. “It’s clear we cannot carry out two medium sized military campaigns at the same time. We were consistently told that no plans existed to reduce troop numbers in Iraq in order to make further deployment in Afghanistan.” he said.

“This is the third reinforcement of British troops since John Reid [home secretary and former defence secretary] suggested last year that no further increases would be necessary in Afghanistan. “Increasingly the government are not only incompetent but fundamentally dishonest.

“No mention of this was made by the prime minister in his statement to the House of Commons on Wednesday. It is bad enough to treat the House of Commons with contempt but even worse to treat with contempt our servicemen and women who would have heard this news second hand.

“We need our Nato allies to share the more of the financial and military burden in Afghanistan. If more troops are needed they should come from countries such as Germany, Spain and Italy, who aren’t properly fulfilling their Nato obligations.”

300 troops could be sent to Afghanistan

The Herald - AUSTRALIA has the capacity to send up to 300 more troops to Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says.

The Government is considering bolstering its commitment in Afghanistan and may send special forces to the war-torn nation ahead of an expected surge in activity by the Taliban in the northern hemisphere spring.

A small group of military officers has been sent to Afghanistan to assess the security environment before advising if more Australian troops should be deployed to Oruzgan province.

Mr Downer said Australia had the capacity to increase it troops. "If we were to send a small number of additional forces to Afghanistan we could certainly do that," he said.

"Two hundred, three hundred, that sort of number." Labor supports any increase in troop numbers in Afghanistan based on the fact that Afghan-trained terrorists were responsible for the deaths of 88 Australians in the October 2002 Bali bombing.

Mr Downer criticised Labor for wanting a victory in Afghanistan while supporting defeat in Iraq. Labor wants Australia to start withdrawing troops from Iraq.

Mr Downer said Labor leader Kevin Rudd's position was hypocritical. "Why is it that Mr Rudd would rather we won in Afghanistan and lost in Iraq?" he said. "I would have thought you would have wanted to win in Afghanistan and Iraq."

Russia, Afghanistan coordinate Afghan debt settlement - FM Lavrov

KABUL, February 23 (RIA Novosti) - Russia and Afghanistan have coordinated the terms of settlement of Afghanistan's debt to the former U.S.S.R., which, according to Russian experts' estimates, totals $10 billion, Russia's foreign minister said Friday.

"The problem of Afghan debt settlement has been coordinated, only some formalities remain to be settled," Sergei Lavrov, on a working visit to Afghanistan, told journalists in Kabul.

The minister said relevant documents are being drafted, and added the issue settlement will help the two countries cooperate in the economic and trade spheres and contribute to Russian investment into the Afghan economy.

Lavrov said Afghanistan is ready to cooperate with regional security body, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in fighting terrorism and drug trafficking.

Afghanistan has regained its position as the world's top drug producer since U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban in 2001. Illegal drug production and trade is the only source of income for many in the war-torn southwest Asian nation, and is a major source of financing for Islamist militants.

Two CSTO members, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, share borders with Afghanistan and are major trafficking routes for drug smugglers from the country. Heroin and other drugs from Afghanistan have also flooded Russia and other ex-Soviet states since the 1990s.

The Russian minister also said Russia will continue providing assistance for Afghanistan to rehabilitate the country. He also said an agreement has been reached that the Afghan government will provide assistance to Russian companies working in the country.

A joint statement of the Russian and Afghan foreign ministers says that Afghanistan is interested in Russian businesses taking part in the country's rehabilitation and is ready to create favorable conditions for them. It also says that Russia will help Afghanistan fight drug trafficking.

Only joint efforts can prevent chaos in Afghanistan - Lavrov

BERLIN. Feb 22 (Interfax) - The Russian authorities believe that only a pooling of collective efforts can stop the situation in Afghanistan from evolving into the worst-case scenario.

"We and our German colleagues are convinced that the situation [in Afghanistan], just like the situation in Iraq, requires collective efforts by the international community and all parties able to constructively influence the situation in order to prevent it from sliding toward chaos," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference in Berlin ahead of departure for Kabul on Thursday.

Russia supports the International Security Assistance Forces in Afghanistan, , he said. The Russian authorities allowed aircraft belonging to them to cross Russian airspace en route to Afghanistan and back, he said. "Today we confirmed our readiness to continue this support," he added.

Pak PM Aziz suggests "Marshall Plan-type approach" for Afghan development
Malaysia Sun Friday 23rd February, 2007 - ANI

Islamabad, Feb 23 : Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that a "Marshall Plan-type approach" should be adopted in Afghanistan to expedite reconstruction efforts and for the welfare of the people in the war-ravaged country.

Aziz said this while talking to a six-member US Congressional delegation of Norman Dicks (Democrat), Marcy Kaptur (Democrat), Rodney Frelinghuysen (Republican), Steve Rothman (Democrat), Christopher Carney (Democrat) and Patrick Murphy (Democrat) at Prime Minister's House, here yesterday, reported the Daily Times.

According to the paper, he said that although Pakistan was not an aid-giving country, it had given Afghanistan 350 million dollars to accelerate economic activity there.

He further said that Pak-Afghan trade had reached 1.5 billion dollars from a mere 50 million dollars four years ago.

"If there was a single country in the world that wanted Afghanistan to grow and prosper, it was Pakistan," he said and added that Pakistan knew that an unstable Afghanistan would inevitably affect Pakistan.

Aziz said that the causes of and the solution to Afghan problems lay in Afghanistan. He said Pakistan and Afghanistan had agreed to repatriate over 3 million Afghan refugees who were still living in Pakistan.

Former Mujahedeen Stage Rally in Kabul

Kabul (AP 2.23.07) - Thousands of former fighters, including top government figures, rallied Friday to support a proposed amnesty for Afghans suspected of war crimes.

Some former fighters called for the death of those demanding prosecution of warlords who were involved in a quarter-century of fighting, first against the Soviet Union and then among themselves.

About 25,000 people, many holding pictures of leaders of the mujahedeen, or holy warriors, flocked to Kabul's National Stadium as thousands of police deployed throughout the city.

"Whoever is against mujahedeen is against Islam and they are the enemies of this country," Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, an influential lawmaker and former mujahedeen leader, told the rally.

Later, youths marched through the city, chanting "Death to enemies of Afghanistan!" and "Death to America!" They also shouted "Death to Malalai Joya!" _ a female lawmaker who is among the most outspoken critics of Sayyaf and other prominent mujahedeen leaders. There were no reports of violence.

Friday's rally followed a resolution by both houses of Afghanistan's parliament calling for an amnesty that would cover the mujahedeen leaders who led the anti-Soviet resistance in the 1980s and then plunged the country into a civil war that cost tens of thousands of lives.

War crimes accusations include the killing of thousands of civilians in Kabul by indiscriminate shelling and rocketing during the 1992-95 civil war. International rights groups and the United Nations have condemned the parliamentary proposal.

The rally appeared to be an attempt by the former warlords to pressure President Hamid Karzai into signing the resolution into law.

Karzai on Thursday told reporters he had yet to receive the resolution and would study it and hold consultations before issuing a decision based on the Afghan constitution and Islamic law.

Among those attending the rally were prominent members of the government and parliament, including Sayyaf, Vice President Karim Khalili, Karzai senior security adviser Mohammed Qasim Fahim, an army chief of staff, Abdul Rashid Dostum, Energy Minister Ismail Khan and former President Burhanuddin Rabbani.

All were leaders of the Northern Alliance that toppled the Taliban regime with U.S. military support in 2001. Former fighter Azizullah, 50, who goes by one name, said said he lost three sons during the anti-Soviet war. He was carrying a large, framed picture of Rabbani. "I lost my sons for Afghanistan and for the pride of jihad," he said.

Ghulam Hazrat, 40, a former officer with Sayyaf, hailed the fact that mujahedden leaders of Uzbek, Tajik, Pashtun and Hazara factions that fought bitterly among themselves after the anti-Soviet war were now sharing the same stage.

Surrounded by bodyguards, the leaders arrived separately in convoys of SUVs to accolades from their respective supporters.

"It's a very big step toward the stability and prosperity of Afghanistan," Hazrat said. "The international community should respect mujaheddin. They are the heirs of 2 millions Afghan martyrs (during the Soviet war). These people also fought against terrorists and al-Qaida."

The New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch has called for officials including Khalili and Dostum to face trial before a special court for alleged war crimes during the civil war _ although no such tribunal has been organized or appears imminent.

In a report, the rights group also listed Fahim, Ismail Khan and Rabbani as among the "worst perpetrators." Others who should be brought to trial include Taliban leader Mullah Omar and fugitive warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, it said.

Attack is imminent, say Taliban

KABUL (DPA): The Taliban has deployed 6,000 fighters in preparation for a spring offensive against government and foreign forces in Afghanistan, said the military leader of the Islamic milita that once ruled the country.
"The attack is imminent," Mullah Dadullah said in an interview with Al Jazeera television.

"The number of Taliban mujahedin who are ready to launch the spring battle has reached 6,000," he said, adding that they were hiding in places such as tunnels ahead of the fighting.

Dadullah said he was confident that the numbers of Taliban fighters would increase and might hit 10,000, predicting the fundamentalist rebel forces would win more recruits as Nato countries increase their troop levels in Afghanistan. "The more the number of Jewish and Christian soldiers who fight us increases, the more the Afghan people will be encouraged to join us," he said.

Dadullah, a Pashtun known as a vicious fighter, is believed to be one of the closed advisers of Taliban leader Mullah Omar. Before a US-led offensive ousted the Taliban from power in 2001, Dadullah belonged to Omar's 10-man leadership council.

Colonel Tom Collins, a spokesman for the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, also said on Wednesday that the Taliban was preparing to ramp up its fighting as the weather warms and the ISAF expected "hard fighting in selected areas," particularly in the south, where the Taliban forces primarily operate.

News of the expected offensive came as the ISAF's death toll rose this week with deaths reported in southern as well as eastern Afghanistan. The ISAF - which, along with the US-led coalition, has 46,000 troops deployed in Afghanistan - reported Thursday that one of its soldiers died in eastern Afghanistan from injuries not sustained in combat. It did not give details about the incident or release the nationality of the soldier but said an investigation was under way.

A day earlier, the Spanish and British governments said they each lost one soldier deployed with the ISAF. A British Royal Marine was killed by a landmine while on patrol in the southern province of Helmand, and a Spanish soldier was killed and two others injured when a mine blew up while they were travelling in a convoy near Shindand in eastern Afghanistan. – DPA

U.S. can't stay for long in Afghanistan: Hekmatyar

By Sayed Salahuddin – Reuters Thursday, February 22, 2007 - KABUL (Reuters) - An Afghan warlord on a U.S. wanted list has said the United States does not have the capacity to stay for long in Afghanistan and he predicts it will pull out at the same time as it withdraws from Iraq.

Denouncing the United States as "the mother of problems," Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former prime minister whose forces operate in southeastern areas near Pakistan, said Afghanistan's turmoil would not end until U.S. forces left the region.

"As long as America remains in Afghanistan and in the region, war and problems will continue," he said in a copy of a video tape obtained by Reuters on Thursday. "I can say with full assurance and confidence that America does not have the ability to stay for a long period in Afghanistan...," he said.

Wearing a black turban, the bespectacled and heavily-bearded Hekmatyar said America's allies had sent troops to Afghanistan and Iraq out of fear of Washington.

But he said a rift was emerging among them over whether they should stay on there. "My analysis is that America (will) pull out from Iraq and Afghanistan simultaneously and the withdrawal perhaps will happen this year," he declared.

Hekmatyar is on a U.S. government wanted list and leads an insurgency force separately from the Taliban Islamic movement against the Afghan government and foreign troops under the command of NATO and the U.S. military. His forces mostly operate in the rugged southeastern areas bordering Pakistan.

More than 4,000 people died by violence in the southeast and southern regions last year, the bloodiest period since U.S.-led troops overthrew Taliban's government in 2001. The tape was provided by a sympathizer of Hekmatyar. Hekmatyar was America's largest recipient of aid in the 1980s during the Soviet invasion.

His group of fighters helped bring about a Soviet withdrawal after ten years of occupation and the loss of some 15,000 soldiers and Hekmatyar advised U.S. and NATO troops to do likewise and pull out. "The occupying forces...have only one successful way and ... that is to pull out of Afghanistan as soon as possible," he added.

Karzai downplays Taliban ‘spring offensive’

Claims his govt is stronger than Pakistan’s; says suicide bombers are non-Afghans

By Rahimullah Yusufzai - The News International (Pakistan) February 22, 2007

KABUL: Downplaying the threat of the so-called “spring offensive” by the Taliban, President Hamid Karzai has said he cannot believe that 10,000 fighters were waiting for the winter to end to launch big attacks against his government and the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan.

“Who is this Taliban commander Hayatullah Khan who made this claim? I have never heard his name and probably you also don’t know him,” he commented in an interview with The News in his offices at the sprawling Gul Khana Palace in Kabul.

The previously unknown Hayatullah Khan, claiming to be a Taliban commander, announced recently that 10,000 Taliban fighters were ready to take part in the “spring offensive” against the foreign occupying forces in Afghanistan. The US and Nato forces have been making preparations to counter the threat by sending reinforcements of troops and weapons to Afghanistan’s southern provinces.

President Karzai argued that the Taliban cannot launch an offensive, whether in spring or another season, without outside assistance. Pointing out that Taliban attacks in Afghanistan had registered decline in recent months, he said Pakistan had taken steps to stem the flow of militants across the border with Afghanistan. “We have seen an improvement in the situation. My government is happy with some of the measures adopted by Pakistan in this regard. But we feel Pakistan needs to do more to tackle the problem,” he stressed.

The Afghan President, who will turn 50 on December 24 this year, maintained that almost all the suicide bombers who launched attacks in Afghanistan were non-Afghans. “Only one or two of them were Afghans. We have captured some of the would-be suicide bombers and their interrogation has revealed that those being sent on suicide missions in our country are non-Afghans,” he said.

Karzai accused the Taliban of attacking schools and killing teachers to deprive Afghan children of education. He said hospitals and others symbols of development were being attacked and destroyed. “Isn’t it strange that most attacks including those by suicide bombers take place near newly constructed buildings? Our enemies don’t want Afghanistan to rebuild and once again become a truly independent and sovereign country,” he contended.

He recalled that once while visiting his hometown Kandahar he saw a badly damaged five-storey building that had been constructed sometime back. “I was being driven to the Kharqa Sharif Mosque for prayers when I saw this building. I was told it was damaged in a recent suicide bombing. Afghanistan’s enemies don’t want our nation to attain progress and stand on its own feet,” he complained.

President Karzai said he didn’t want to criticize Pakistan and blame it for Afghanistan’s troubles because leaders of the two countries had decided to refrain from blaming each other publicly. Still he didn’t want to let go the opportunity to point out that almost all attacks by Taliban were taking place in Afghan provinces bordering Pakistan. And he narrated a story to explain the good security situation in provinces that were located far away from the border with Pakistan. He said: “When I visited Faryab province in northern Afghanistan sometime back, thousands of people greeted me at the airport and on the roadside to the provincial capital, Maimana. My security guards were left behind and I found them relaxed and a bit careless. When I asked them as to why they left me unguarded, their reply was that they weren’t concerned because I wasn’t travelling in a province near the Pakistan border.”

Offering peace and friendship to Pakistan, the Afghan leader opined that the two countries could pursue mutually beneficial ties. “We would prosper as friends. We could increase our trade relations. We need to attain full potential of our relationship,” he said.

President Karzai said he was at a loss to understand Pakistan’s objections to the presence of Indian consulates in Jalalabad and Kandahar. “Isn’t there an Indian embassy in Islamabad? Why has Pakistan allowed that on its soil if the Indian diplomatic missions are such a threat?” he asked.

About the Afghan government’s refusal to accept the Durand Line as an international border and, therefore, a settled issue, Karzai maintained that it wasn’t his decision and he had no authority to do so. “The Afghan nation and not Hamid Karzai would have to decide this issue,” he stressed.

When it was pointed out to him that his administration was weak and, therefore, unable to enforce its writ in certain parts of the war-ravaged country, President Karzai replied that his regime in some respects was stronger than the Pakistani government. “I can go anywhere in Afghanistan. I appoint and remove top government functionaries. All departments including the intelligence agency are fully under my control. I have been dispatching troops to different parts of the country,” he explained. However, he hastened to add that the Afghan government suffered from weaknesses in its civil services and administrative departments.

Karzai questions Pak on Indian consulates

Anand K Sahay (PTI) - Kabul, February 23, 2007

Questioning Pakistan's objections to India having consulates in Afghanistan's Jalalabad and Kandahar, President Hamid Karzai has wondered why Islamabad allowed Indian diplomatic mission on its soil if it was a security threat for them. "Isn't there an Indian embassy in Islamabad?" he asked during an interview with an Afghan news agency.

"Why has Pakistan allowed that on its soil if the Indian diplomatic missions are such a threat?" the president asked.

Pakistan has objected to India having consulates in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad and Kandahar in the south, alleging that they were a security threat to it. Informed sources here say that the Pakistani leadership takes up the issue in nearly every meeting with the Afghan leader.

India has traditionally maintained diplomatic sub-offices in both the cities which lie near the Afghan-Pak frontier. When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan (1996-2001), New Delhi was forced to close even its embassy in Kabul.

Speaking of the widely speculated "spring offensive" of the Taliban, which has been a subject of discussion and disquiet in NATO circles, Karzai said that the extremists "cannot launch an offensive, whether in spring or any other season, without assistance from outside".

He said almost all attacks launched by the Taliban were taking place in provinces that border Pakistan. "When I visited Faryab province in northern Afghanistan some time back, my security guards left me unguarded, and their stance was that the province was not near the Pakistan border," Karzai said.

Karzai pleads with Italy on mission

The Associated Press - 02/22/2007 - KABUL ? President Hamid Karzai urged Italy Thursday not to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, after the Italian government resigned because of a parliamentary defeat over its plan to keep its 2,000 forces in the volatile country.

Karzai, whose own shaky grip on Afghanistan is under threat from resurgent Taliban rebels, also urged another key contributor to the 35,000-strong NATO security force, Canada, to stay the course.

"My message to the countries helping us in Afghanistan, to Canada, to Italy, is that the Afghan people, the Canadian people and the Italian people are in the same fight, a fight for the security of our lives today and tomorrow," Karzai told reporters after meeting NATO's Secretary-general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in Kabul.

Italy's Prime Minister Romano Prodi stepped down Wednesday after his government lost a parliamentary vote over its foreign policy program, including plans to keep Italian troops in Afghanistan. Most of the 2,000 forces are deployed in the relatively quiet west of the country.

Karzai asked those doubting the Afghan mission to remember that it was in an Afghanistan run by Taliban hard-liners that al-Qaeda planned the Sept. 11 attacks on America. "I hope our memories are not short," he said.

De Hoop Scheffer, joined by the alliance's top military commander U.S. Gen. John Craddock, said that he remained confident Italy "will not forsake and will not leave Afghanistan."

"I trust my Italian friends," de Hoop Scheffer said. "Afghanistan ... is the frontline in the fight against those people who want to destroy the fabric of our societies," he said. "If we do not succeed in Afghanistan, I am quite sure that the spoilers will come to us, to Netherlands, to Belgium, to United Kingdom."

NATO has struggled to raise enough forces for its Afghan mission, particularly in the turbulent south where Taliban militants are most active.

Last week, Canada's Senate committee on national security and defense said its government should consider withdrawing from Afghanistan unless its NATO allies refuse to pitch in more troops to the international mission. Canada has some 2,500 troops in Kandahar province.

British and U.S. soldiers make up more than half of the NATO force. The reluctance of other nations such as Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Turkey to provide more combat troops for the south has irked nations on the front lines there, raising concern over a split within the alliance.

Canada urged to stick it out in Afghanistan

Updated Fri. Feb. 23 2007 - CTV.ca News Staff

During a lightning visit to Afghanistan, NATO's secretary general urged Canada to stick with its commitment to the war-torn nation until the job is done. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and the alliance's supreme commander, U.S. Gen. John Craddock, made a brief stop at Kandahar Airfield Friday to consult with military officials.

De Hoop Scheffer called on Italy and Canada not to withdraw their troops, echoing an impassioned plea he made Thursday during a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. 

The message came as the Opposition Liberals said they were committed to ending Canada's combat commitment in February 2009, if they form the next government. It also came as news emerged that the Italian government was deeply conflicted over the nation's plan to keep forces in Afghanistan.

De Hoop Scheffer chose his words carefully when responding to the Liberals' position on Afghanistan, said CTV's Tom Clark, reporting from Kandahar.

Clark said the NATO commander did not want to get involved with what he called a Canadian discussion, but he hoped that Canada would stay the course and remain in Afghanistan "as long as it took to put the country back on its feet again in terms of aid and reconstruction and of course the security issue as well," Clark told CTV Newsnet on Friday.

"He was careful not to get too political about it, but said that he would prefer to deal with the Canadian government as opposed to the Canadian Opposition."

The purpose of the brief visit remains largely a mystery, Clark said. De Hoop Scheffer met with the Dutch commander at the Kandahar base, visited a Provincial Reconstruction Team and a dam that had been the scene of recent fighting, but there was little official explanation of why he was there.

"It was a very fast tour of the south that he took. He did not speak with any of the troops. He did not have any bigger meetings, other than with the commander. So it was very low profile, very much below the radar, in and out, very fast."

De Hoop Scheffer did say the perception that Canada, the United States, Britain and the Netherlands are doing all of the heavy lifting in the south of Afghanistan is wrong, and that other nations are helping share the load and are also taking risks.

He pointed out that a Spanish soldier was killed Wednesday during an attack in western Afghanistan, and two British troops were killed in seperate incidents on Wednesday and Thursday.

He said a "collective" effort was underway in the south of Afghanistan where most of the fighting is taking place.

His comments came as NATO appeared to be preparing for a major push ahead of an expected Taliban spring offensive. There were reports Friday that The U.K. planned to add 1,000 troops to the 5,000 it already has in Afghanistan.

However, de Hoop Scheffer downplayed the Taliban's ability to launch a real campaign and said even talking about it makes them appear more powerful than they really are.

Canada has roughly 2,500 soldiers in Afghanistan, most stationed in the volatile southern region.

Winning Afghan war essential for West: NATO chief

By Sayed Salahuddin - KABUL (Reuters) - The West must win the war against Islamic militants in Afghanistan or face attacks in their own countries, NATO Secretary-General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer said on Thursday.

"If we like it or not, Afghanistan ... is a frontline in the fight against those people who want to destroy the fabric of our societies," he told a joint news conference with President Hamid Karzai after talks in Kabul.

"If we don't succeed in Afghanistan, I am quite sure that the spoilers will come to us to the Netherlands, to Belgium, to the United Kingdom, (as) they came to the United States," he said referring to the September 11 attacks by al Qaeda.

Last year was the bloodiest in Afghanistan since U.S.-led troops overthrew the Taliban government in 2001 for harboring Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network after September 11.

Amid warnings by the Taliban of a spring offensive, Western analysts say this year is a crunch period to win the war. De Hoop Scheffer said NATO should focus on reconstruction, paying more attention to training and equipping the Afghan army.

For its part, the Afghan government needs to build up its institutions, fight against endemic corruption and drugs in the world's leading producer of heroin, he added. NATO has over 33,000 troops in Afghanistan.

Some of its member countries have shown reluctance to send more troops or lift the restrictions over the deployment of troops to the southern and eastern regions, the main bastion of the militants.

More than 4,000 people, nearly a quarter of them civilians, but also about 170 foreign troops died in violence last year, mostly in the two regions.

The militants operate from safe heavens in Pakistan, the former key supporter of the Taliban until the September 11 attacks. Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of still backing the militants, which Islamabad denies but concedes of some border infiltration by the insurgents.

High stakes on Pakistan-Afghan border

By Barbara Plett - BBC News, North Waziristan

Simple markers suggest the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and occasional white numbers painted onto mountain tops rise from a wilderness of barren ridges and dried-up creek beds.

At higher altitudes a blanket of snow wipes out any sign of a boundary. Recently the Pakistani army flew foreign journalists along this imaginary line, to demonstrate its determination to seal the border.

The tour was meant to counter Nato and Afghan charges that the Taleban had created a sanctuary in the tribal belt along Pakistan's frontier, giving crucial support to the insurgency in Afghanistan.

Pakistan admits there is some cross-border infiltration, but says it's doing everything it can to stop it. Much is at stake, because a surge in fighting is expected when spring clears the frozen mountain pathways.

Our helicopter landed at a notorious insurgent crossing point, near the hamlet of Lwara Mundi in the region of North Waziristan. A red brick army fort sits isolated in an icy plain, facing the gap in the snow-covered mountains.

Maj-Gen Azhar Ali Shah is responsible for North Waziristan, which lies along less than 10% of the 2,400km (1,491-mile) border. He has 97 checkpoints under his command.

Last year his men stopped a group of returning fighters here at Lwara Mundi. And this is one of the small sections of the vast and rugged frontier that Pakistan plans to fence.

"We also decided to establish a security zone about 3km-deep in North Waziristan agency," says the general. "This would be sort of a buffer zone. Although still 100% of those going across may not be checked, we could make it very difficult for them." And he says, the coalition forces have to do more.

"On the other side certainly there is a need to increase the number of posts, but we understand whenever the troops become available, they would have those posts as well."

The government is eager to show it's on top of border security in North Waziristan, because it has been criticised for ceding control here to pro-Taleban tribesmen.

For more than a year the army waged a military campaign against foreign militants and their supporters in this tribal area. But that backfired. It led to fierce fighting, and radicalised the local tribesmen, turning them towards the Taleban.

So the government signed a peace deal, aimed at returning power to the tribal elders who had lost influence to the pro-Taleban militants.

Around 100 tribal notables gathered at the main army base in North Waziristan, invited by the military to publicly declare their commitment to the agreement in front of the visiting journalists.

They sat in chairs set up on a neatly trimmed green lawn, black or golden turbans piled high on their heads. "We stand by the peace deal, no one can break it," said their designated spokesman, Gul Abad Khan.

"There are problems, but that's because of foreigners, the local tribesmen are bound by the agreement, and we are not facing any kind of local Taleban resistance."

Still, observers aren't convinced the elders have the will, or the authority, to act. The peace deal has reduced fierce fighting between the army and the locals, but it hasn't stopped cross-border infiltration, and it's widely reported to have empowered the pro-Taleban tribesmen on the ground.

It certainly looks that way in neighbouring South Waziristan, where the government has also signed a peace deal with the tribes. There, militants recently took journalists on a tour, openly carrying weapons and driving confidently, apparently without fear of challenge.

"We will continue to fight against the infidel foreign troops until they are thrown out," their leader, Beitullah Mehsud, told a BBC reporter, admitting that he sends his men to fight in Afghanistan.

"God willing at the end they will be defeated. We will force them to leave Islamic countries." The Pakistanis say they will continue to hunt militants like this, but only alongside a political process.

They say force alone won't work on either side of the border. It was the military campaign which turned the tribes against the army in Pakistan, and the same thing is happing in Afghanistan, says Ali Jan Mohammed Aurakzai, governor of North-West Frontier Province.

"Today they've reached a stage that a lot of local population have started supporting the militant operations," he told journalists. "And it is developing into some sort of a nationalist movement, a resistance movement, a sort of war of liberation against the coalition forces."

The coalition forces strongly reject that argument. They say the Taleban can be defeated by a mixture of military force and economic reconstruction, rather than political accommodation. The expected military offensive this spring may show more clearly who's right.

Czech government approves donation of ammunition to Afghanistan

Xinhua / February 22, 2007  - The Czech government on Wednesday approved to donate 20,000 automatic rifles and 650 machine guns, worth of 30 million crowns (1.4 million U.S. dollars) to Afghanistan.

The Defense Ministry said the arms were redundant, which would contribute to the international efforts to achieve security and improve democracy in the region.

Czech military pointed out that it was more expensive to liquidate than to donate the great amount of redundant weapons , which were from the previous cold-war period in Europe.

In early March, the Czech government is to decide on the donation of 12 transport and combat helicopters to the Afghan military. NATO allies asked the Czech Republic last year to give weapons to Afghanistan. Since 2004, the Czech Republic donated redundant ammunition to Afghanistan.

Karzai inaugurates two hospitals in Mazar

MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Feb 22 (Pajhwok Afghan News): President Hamid Karzai inaugurated two hospitals during his visit to this northern city on Thursday. The president also inaugurated construction of a 7-kilometre road linking Shadian area to Mazar-i-Sharif.

Addressing a news conference after the inauguration of the road construction project and the two hospitals, the president said opening of the hospitals pointing to their self-sufficiency in terms of health facilities.

He pointed out that three things were necessary for the reconstruction of the country; unity, education for the new generations; and collective efforts.

He said Afghanistan was one of the poorest countries of the world. He asked his countrymen to struggle hard to give emancipation to their country from poverty. At the same time, he said the enemies of Afghanistan were afraid of its progress and prosperity. Regarding Afghanistan's ties with its neighbours, Karzai said peaceful Afghanistan was in their interest.

Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak, Chief of Army Staff General Bismillah Mohammadi, Public Health Minister Mohammad Amin Fatimi and Minister for Public Works Suhrab Ali Safari were accompanied the president to the northern province of Balkh.

Earlier, in his welcome address, Balkh Governor Atta Mohammad Noor briefed the president and other officials about the security situation and reconstruction activities in the province. He said construction of the hospitals would address the longstanding demand of the people.

According to the provincial officials, construction of the 100-bed Shaheen Military Hospital and the gynecology hospital were funded by the United States and Bayat Foundation respectively.

The Shaheen Military Hospital was constructed at the cost of eight million US dollars. The two-storey gynecology hospital, having 32 rooms and equipped with all modern facilities, including two operation theatres, has been constructed at the cost of half million US dollars.

Officials said the 7-kilometre road, work on which was inaugurated by the president, would be built at the cost of nine million US dollars. The fund for the road construction will be provided by the government.

Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation & Development and Ministry of Interior Press release

Kabul, Afghanistan (22 February 2007). Improved security in Kandahar province has meant that the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) has allocated $18 million for building clinics, schools, roads, bridges, water reservoirs, clean drinking water networks, rehabilitating canals, and establishing small scale hydro-electric power stations.

His Excellency, Eshan Zia, the Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development said: “Such a massive development surge is unique in the history of Kandahar province, particularly since projects have been selected based on extensive consultation with local people, including elected and traditional leadership.”

He went on to say: “Out of nine hundred and forty projects, one hundred and seventy two are already up and running. Projects identified by local people as priorities include building clinics, schools, roads, bridges, water reservoirs, clean drinking water networks, rehabilitating canals, and establishing small scale hydro-electric power stations. These projects will provide almost 6000 jobs.”

His Excellency, Zarar Ahmad Muqbel, Minister of Interior said: “ The development assistance being provided to Kandahar province has only been made possible due to the combined efforts of local people and the local police - supported by NATO.”

Minister Zarar also said: “ for too long, enemies of peace and stability, who have been unable to defeat the proud people and police of Afghanistan, have resorted to random acts of violence and intimidation to prevent the ordinary people of the Kandahar from getting the development assistance they need.”

However the people of Kandahar, in particular Panjwayi and Zheri districts, have refused to give in to terrorism and intimidation. Instead, they have actively engaged with all levels of government to implement projects which will improve the lives of their communities.”

Both Minister Zarar and Minister Zia said : “ Development cannot take place without security, and security cannot take root without development. By helping provide for both, the people are setting the conditions for a lasting peace.”

Notes for Editors:

During three recent visits to Kandahar province, His Excellency Mohammad Ehsan Zia, Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), has signed a total of 190 projects with Community Development Councils in different districts of Kandahar, with total value of $4,322,569 out of the USD18 million (funded by Canadian International Development Agency and United States Agency for International Development) in development assistance into the province in order to bring positive changes to the lives of local citizens. Totally 971 projects have been identified by people of different districts in Kandahar and out of this number, work on 172 projects has already begun, with the estimated number of beneficiaries standing at 100,000 families, or 700,000 individuals.

In less than two months, 190 projects out of 971 projects identified are contracted with the actual work of 172 projects providing short term jobs for approximately 6,000 people started.

The Social Protection Food Assistance Unit of MRRD is also working with the World Food Program (WFP) to provide Food for Work in districts all over Kandahar. A distribution of 5,820 MT mixed food is planned during 2007 which will target about 50,820 food insecure families (approximately 304,920 beneficiaries/persons) and will provide short-term job opportunities for several thousand workers. This project will help to rehabilitate and implement projects identified by the communities and the government, including 26.5 km feeder road, 139 canals, 89 Karizes, 36 wells, 61 Nawars and 65 intakes(Sarbands). Part of this assistance is funded by CIDA.

As part of an ongoing development and rehabilitation campaign in Kandahar, MRRD is also providing food and non-food assistance to approximately 5,800 recently returned Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), over a third of those displaced by last fall’s fighting.

Dion Commits to Correcting Harper’s Irresponsibility on Afghanistan Mission

February 22, 2007 (Liberal Party) - Montreal – The Liberal Party would embark on a principled and constructive way forward on Canada’s Afghanistan mission that would see a better integration of military and aid efforts as well as a firm 2009 end date, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion said today.

“By establishing a timeline for the conclusion of our combat mission in Kandahar in 2009, by insisting other nations share a greater part of the burden, by better integrating our military, diplomatic and development efforts, by helping the Afghan government take more responsibility, and by addressing the opium economy and water challenges, a Liberal government would ensure Canada has a responsible strategy in Afghanistan,” said Mr. Dion.  

During a speech at the University of Montreal, Mr. Dion outlined the key elements of the Liberal plan, including:

• Committing to ending Canada’s mission in Kandahar in 2009 and immediately informing NATO of this deadline so that a replacement nation can be found;
•  Better integrating military, aid and diplomacy efforts;
• Developing an effective strategy to combat the problems stemming from the local economy’s dependence on the illegal opium trade; and
•  Addressing the chronic fresh water shortage.

Under Mr. Dion’s leadership, the Liberals would retain the current number of Canadian troops in Afghanistan until 2009 to honour the international obligation undertaken by the Harper government, but would review the current mission and reserve the option of re-deploying Canada’s combat task force to other under-resourced and critical functions in Afghanistan, such as training the Afghan National Army and additional Provincial Reconstruction Teams.

Between now and 2009, the Liberals would adopt a more responsible, integrated strategy in Kandahar, with a greater development and diplomatic thrust, and with a real effort to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people, upon whom the mission’s success hinges.

“If Canada had followed Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s advice in 2003, we would be in Iraq right now. His judgement in that case proved very poor, and we are seeing that same poor judgement in his response to the changing nature of our mission in Afghanistan,” said Mr. Dion.

“Canadians are worried about our role in Afghanistan. We all support our brave men and women in uniform, and we owe it to them to ensure that the conditions are such that their work is achieving results.”

Sell Afghan poppies for medicine: Dion

Wants Ottawa to back pilot project to turn opium into medicinal painkillers -

February 23, 2007 - bruce campion-smith –Toronto Star

OTTAWA–Canada should back a pilot project to market Afghanistan's opium production – blamed for fuelling a deadly insurgency – as legal medicinal painkillers, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion says.

In a major foreign policy speech yesterday, Dion called for a new strategy for the Afghan mission to put a greater focus on diplomacy and development. And one key plank is a plan to cope with the country's poppy crop, which has become a mainstay of the economy.

"If we do not start to think creatively about the problem of the drug economy, the situation will never get better," Dion said in a text of his Montreal speech.

Dion said Canada should help fund a project proposed by the Senlis Council, an international security and development policy think-tank, to license poppy crops for use as codeine and morphine in the developing world.

"Such a licensed cultivation would ... offer farmers a real and profitable alternative to the heroin trade," he said. Dion, who also urged a crackdown on illegal processing labs, later conceded the drug strategy is not a sure bet.

"I know it is very risky what they are proposing. I am not naive. But what is not risky in Afghanistan? We need to try this risk and see the result," Dion said in an interview after his noon-hour speech.

During an Ottawa visit last September, Afghan President Hamid Karzai warned that the "menace" of narcotics was as serious a threat as terrorism and could undermine the country's economic progress. "If we do not destroy poppies in Afghanistan, poppies will destroy us," Karzai said.

Current efforts to eradicate the poppy crop have been controversial since destitute farmers are often left with no income to support their families.

In addition to tackling the drug trade, Dion said Canada must do more to ensure Afghans get necessary vaccinations. And he said the country needs help to rebuild irrigation networks destroyed in decades of violence.

In his speech, Dion said a Liberal government would withdraw Canada's 2,500 troops from Kandahar in 2009, but left the door open for soldiers to go elsewhere in the country.

"I will say unequivocally that a Liberal government led by me will not extend Canada's combat mission in Kandahar beyond February 2009," Dion said.

"We need a new government that will be able to say very clearly `Yes, we end the mission in 2009 ... help us in the meantime and we need a country to replace us because we are serious,'" he said in the interview.

The federal Conservatives have yet to say what Canada's role might be in Afghanistan after the current military commitment ends in February 2009.

Noting that just 20 per cent of Canada's aid funding is being spent in Kandahar, Dion said a Liberal government would push for a "real effort to win the hearts and minds of Afghans.

"It is very difficult to keep the confidence of the population if they don't identify the Canadian forces with improvement for the quality of life," he said.

Dion's Afghan message needs a touch of realism

From Thursday's Globe and Mail editorial

When it comes to Canada's mission in Afghanistan, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion is right to argue for greater clarity, more emphasis on diplomacy (particularly in dealing with the Kabul government, Pakistan and recalcitrant NATO allies) and a more coherent and better defined strategy, including a firm exit date. But although he now accepts that Canada should honour its commitment to maintain its current troop level in Afghanistan until 2009, he is reserving the option of moving those soldiers away from the front lines of the war with the Taliban. That would be a huge mistake.

In outlining his party's Afghan policy, Mr. Dion suggests that the Canadians could be usefully redeployed in such assignments as training Afghan troops or as part of additional provincial reconstruction teams. It sounds good in theory and puts him in the same camp as most European leaders, who have repeatedly rebuffed entreaties from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to commit their soldiers to front-line duty. But both the training of the Afghan army and the reconstruction work are long-term projects that will take a decade or more and can succeed only in a more secure and stable environment than currently exists in the Taliban strongholds.

Canadians are doing their share of rebuilding infrastructure and training Afghans. But the primary job of the combat troops has to be the suppression of the Taliban insurgency and the establishment of basic security. Until the Taliban are stripped of their military capacity, they will be able to destroy the new schools, mosques and hospitals as fast as the reconstruction teams can erect them. And Mr. Dion's worthy goals of fostering development, building irrigation systems to provide fresh water and finding alternatives to wean Afghan farmers from their dependence on illegal opium crops will come to naught.

Mr. Dion has wavered in the past in his support for Canada's military role in Afghanistan, and his announcement yesterday shows that he has not changed his tune much, even as he has had to accommodate those Liberals, including deputy leader Michael Ignatieff, who strongly back Canadian involvement. "Between now and 2009," he said, "a Liberal government I lead will adopt a more integrated strategy in Kandahar, with a greater development and diplomatic thrust, and a real effort to win the hearts and minds of Afghan[s] . . . The Taliban will not be defeated solely through the barrel of a gun."

That is undoubtedly true. But you do need the guns to keep the resurgent Taliban from overrunning the country once again and wrecking any chance of Afghanistan rising from the graveyard of failed nation-states.

Bloc wants rethink on Afghan poppies

New strategy for opium farmers necessary for support of mission, Duceppe warns

DANIEL LEBLANC - MONTREAL -- The Canadian government has to work on an international strategy to purchase poppy crops from farmers in Afghanistan in order to stop the heroin trade and end the fighting in the war-ravaged country, Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe said yesterday.

In a speech in Montreal, Mr. Duceppe said a new strategy on opium is mandatory if the Canadian government wishes to continue enjoying the Bloc's support for the military mission in Afghanistan. He said 80 per cent of Afghans live off agriculture, and a strategy has to be put in place to replace opium production with legal crops.

"For a transition period, we have to purchase the poppy crops directly from farmers and use it for medical purposes, to produce codeine or morphine," Mr. Duceppe said. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, he added, "can only count on the Bloc's support if he firmly moves in the direction that I have laid out."

The Department of Foreign Affairs was asked yesterday for its current position on the eradication of poppy crops, and had not responded by the end of the day.

Mr. Duceppe used his speech to further explain his party's position on Afghanistan, which he said could eventually lead to the tabling of a no-confidence motion against the government.

In addition to a new opium strategy, he called for increased humanitarian action and a less aggressive strategy on the part of Canadian troops based in Kandahar. He said the government has so far spent $1.8-billion on military efforts in Afghanistan, and only $300-million on humanitarian aid.

"The government has to explain to the population that if we are in Afghanistan, it's not to serve American interests or wage war. Afghanistan is not Iraq, and Afghanistan cannot become another Iraq," Mr. Duceppe said.

He offered his support to the Canadian troops serving in Afghanistan. Starting this summer, the major deployment will come from the Canadian Forces base in Valcartier, Que. Mr. Duceppe said the mission remains a "noble" cause. But the situation is not improving, he added, and changes must be made.

The current federal approach is too bellicose, he said as he pointed to recent statements from Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor that Canadian Forces are in Afghanistan as retribution for al-Qaeda's 2001 attacks against the United States.

"The Harper government seems to think that the world can defeat terrorism uniquely through force and that the best way to respond to the attacks of Sept. 11 is with weapons. That is wrong," Mr. Duceppe said.

"The best way to stop terrorism in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the world is by giving hope to people, not with bombardments."

His previous statements on Afghanistan had been criticized as being devoid of any details, but foreign-affairs analyst Jocelyn Coulon praised yesterday's speech for its "clear and coherent vision."

Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion and NDP Leader Jack Layton are also set to make speeches on Afghanistan in Montreal. Mr. Harper has refused.

Afghanistan Media Environment Experiencing the Winds of Change

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Despite continued difficulties with security and reconstruction, television is gaining ground in Afghanistan as the most important news and entertainment source in urban areas, particularly the capital, Kabul, according to recent surveys conducted by Washington, D.C.-based media and public opinion research organization, InterMedia.

"Television use and importance is rising most quickly in Kabul, where socioeconomic conditions are better than in the rest of the country, and among young people 15-24," says Jacob English, an InterMedia Project Manager for the Middle East and North Africa. "From 2005 to 2006, television access in the city rose from 59 to 78 percent. Even urban residents who can't afford to buy a television set have greater access to places where TV is available-others' homes, cafes and work places. However, due to problems with infrastructure, mainly a lack of consistent electricity and little disposable income, television's appeal is more socially desirable than affordable for many Afghans."

In a country where 84 percent of the population is rural, the urban-rural split is pronounced: nationwide only 37 percent of Afghans claim to watch TV weekly, compared to 89 percent in Kabul.

The capital's viewers can choose from six privately run channels. InterMedia found that Tolo TV, funded by an Australian based Afghan businessman, is most popular, with programs including a nightly newscast, roundtable discussions, Islamic programming, and shows on cinema, cooking, music and sports. Afghan State TV is the second most important information source. The station's principal focus is news, the tone of which is usually consistent with the government line. When it has strayed from this, officials, religious leaders and culturally conservative print outlets have accused the channel of sowing dissent and disrespecting Islam, which in turn has resulted in some self-censorship.

Other challenges remain before Afghans have true choice in terms of media platforms and diversity of views. More than 25 years of war has devastated the country's infrastructure, leaving radio as the most reliable means of news and entertainment (Afghanistan remains a radio culture-92 percent of Afghans own a radio, 73 percent listen weekly). Further, the resurgent Taliban and the reactivation of the Department for Promoting Virtue and Punishing Vice frighten Afghans, worried about possible future dire consequences from watching television's more risque fare.

"In 2006," English says, "Afghans witnessed increased violence in their country, yet interest in news and overall media consumption declined. This is unusual because media use typically spikes during wars and other crises. But in Afghanistan, many are skeptical of domestic media, perceiving these outlets as biased due to their ties with political figures and factions-thus, the decreased interest in news, which may be due at least in part to dissatisfaction with available media outlets. Nonetheless, the need for news and information will not disappear."

In a country where 56 percent of the people are under 34, young Afghans embrace television and other new technologies more readily than older generations. TV access among those 15-24 has remained steady at more than 30 percent since 2004, but averages less than 15 percent for those over 45. International and local media producers realize this and are creating programs to target young Afghans.

Young Afghans, English says, are becoming more curious about new technologies and are most likely to drive media consumption patterns in the long run. Western influences -- close to 60 percent of youths 15-24 view the United States favorably -- and the prestige associated with television ownership may also impact their media choices.

"Once this new generation sees and hears the images and voices of television, their demand for this media will likely rise," he says. "It's unlikely they will return to the radio of their parents."

InterMedia is a leading international media research, public opinion, evaluation and consulting organization creatively equipping clients to understand their audiences, gauge their effectiveness and target their communications in transitional and developing societies worldwide. Based in Washington, D.C., and active year-round in more than 60 countries, InterMedia helps clients understand complex issues in challenging research environments. The company's strengths include its people -- area experts skilled in scientifically-based research and focused on client solutions -- its vast global network of local research partners and contacts and its rich data archive of close to 600 media and opinion surveys carried out over the past 15 years.

Survey note: InterMedia commissioned the nationwide (31 of 34 provinces) survey of 3,110 respondents. Interviews were conducted in September 2006. Given a sample of this size, the range of error with a 95 percent confidence interval is +/-1.76 percent. SOURCE InterMedia

America's betrayal of Afghanistan

Rutland Herald Vermont, USA February 21, 2007 COMMENTARY By MARY K. KERR

To quote Walt Kelley: "We have met the enemy, and it is us."

In place of the freedom promised Afghanistan, the Bush administration is treating this impoverished, war-torn country as a captive pawn, an enemy rather than a friend.

This administration allows house search without authorization, abuses Afghan culture and civil rights particularly of women and children, flaunts the Geneva Convention, dictates policies without alternatives, and continually advocates the administration's wants rather the needs of Afghans.

Where has the $12.5 billion gone? Is no one accountable? Five years — 1,825 days — is a long time to wait for a people who have suffered war for 23 years against the Soviets, a disastrous civil war, Taliban ouster and now American invaders.

"Where is the reconstruction, rebuilt schools, housing, highways, and health clinics the U.S. promised?" inquire human rights agency directors and journalists.

Kabul's new skyline reveals not the desperately needed housing for displaced locals and refugees, but the glittering new mansions, high rise condos and malls of the rich, whom one journalist refers to as "economic terrorists." These high-tech structures may replace the crumbling walls and twisted roofs of war-torn buildings, but do so at the expense of the poor whose humble, newly built mud dwellings are
often bulldozed to make way for high-rent properties.

United Nations recently released a plea for $75 million to feed Afghans living outside Kabul who are suffering a drought. Yet due to lack of funds, the U.N. has left unfinished its project to clear land mines that kill as many as 300 Afghans and maim many more per month.

Less than one-half of the estimated 12.5 million land mines have been cleared to date. Who will feed the vulnerable families of farmers, whose poppy fields
are being eradicated without alternative means of survival for these land-tilling Afghans? At present, at least they can support their households.

Imagine the more positive impact of a mounted multinational attack against drug traffickers, who profit from the opium, plus a crackdown on users. In paraphrasing JFK's words — "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country!" — I suggest: "Dictate not what the Afghans need, ask what the Afghans say they need."

Without hesitation Afghans say: "We need food, shelter, health care, security, justice, and education." And they ask for "recognition and respect for their Islamic culture and the ensuing civil rights."

"Why is America trying to colonize us?" young people inquire. "Why does the U.S. believe it will be successful when history shows that neither the British nor the Soviets proved so?"

The only reasonable rebuttal is to agree that the Bush administration is clueless, its Afghanistan policy a disaster. "Look at Lebanon!" laments a young TV producer in expressing her pessimism. "They fight a war, make peace, rebuild, and now are under siege again."

Imagine: You are desperate, your poverty-stricken family has been without adequate food and water for months. Your crying children are thin and gaunt.

Someone offers you money for food in exchange for your support. The giver is Taliban, not American. This story is not hypothetical. It is one often heard in and outside Kabul. Would you not accept this gift?

Mary K. Kerr of Vergennes is a former editor and reporter in Vermont. She traveled to Afghanistan last year.

It's Pakistan, Stupid

Investor's Business Daily Tue Feb 20, 2007

War On Terror: We've been warning for years that Pakistan has become the new Afghanistan for al-Qaida, and that Islamabad has not exactly been a reluctant host. Now it's front-page news.

The New York Times, quoting U.S. intelligence officials, says al-Qaida has re-established a chain of command inside Pakistan, thanks in part to cease-fire deals Islamabad has cut with local militants who protect al-Qaida. Fox News has confirmed the story, which developed from recent congressional testimony.

Last month, as we noted, departing U.S. National Intelligence Director John Negroponte dropped the bombshell that al-Qaida leaders are projecting power to the Middle East, North Africa and Europe "from their leaders' secure hideout in Pakistan."

Shockingly, Osama bin Laden and his deputies have managed to set up a training and communications infrastructure there that rivals what they lost five years ago in Afghanistan. Far from being cut off from their followers or on the run, they're calling the shots -- from within the borders of our purported ally.

Last year alone bin Laden and his No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri produced and released 21 tape-recorded messages -- twice as many as the year before. And their statements are more current, at times referring to events that took place just days earlier.

That suggests America's Most Wanted Terrorists are having little difficulty in Pakistan creating a secure means of distributing the tapes. They're also communicating with lieutenants through couriers and the Internet.

Meanwhile, they're training groups of up to 20 men at a time at a band of camps they've set up inside Pakistan. They've already trained and exported terrorists to Western cities, from London to Lodi, Calif., as we've also warned.

They've even trained British and American citizens -- all under the nose of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who assures us he's cracking down on our enemies and earning every penny of the billions in aid we send his regime.

Some al-Qaida terrorists trained in Pakistan have carried out their assignments, others luckily were caught first, while still others are lying in wait. After foiling the plot to down 10 airliners over U.S. cities, the MI5 uncovered dozens of other terror plots with Pakistani links.

All this we've reported on these pages. Still left undebated, however, is what Washington is doing about it. President Bush says he's leaving it up to Islamabad to crush al-Qaida central. "Mr. Musharraf assured me he will take care of leaders of the Taliban and al-Qaida," he said in a recent interview with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly.

This is the same Muslim ally who insists his country is free and clear of Taliban and al-Qaida leaders, who just surrendered to al-Qaida-sympathizing warlords the area of Pakistan where al-Qaida leaders are believed to be holed up and who has banned U.S. patrols inside his country.

Our Afghan-based troops not only can't conduct search-and-destroy raids on al-Qaida hideouts and camps in Pakistan. They can't even pursue al-Qaida and Taliban fighters back into Pakistan when they mount cross-border attacks on our positions in Afghanistan. The White House has agreed to these restrictions as part of our "valued partnership" with Islamabad.

But Musharraf is a reluctant partner only temporarily on our side for tactical and selfish reasons. In his recently published memoir, he suggests America is the cause of terror. And we can't win the war on terror until we make right with Muslims we've aggrieved the world over.

"Ultimate success will come only when the roots that cause terrorism are destroyed: that is when injustices against Muslims are removed," Musharraf said. "This lies in the hands of the West, particularly America."

Why are we continuing to outsource the key battle in the war on terror to this Muslim general? Now that it's clear his country is harboring al-Qaida central, how will U.S. policy change toward Pakistan? We put these questions to the White House. The response we got was not reassuring.

"We're keeping a keen eye on Pakistan," a senior West Wing official told us, adding that Pakistan is just one of many "trouble spots." He said it only seems like nothing new is being done. "We don't call press conferences to describe everything that's going on," he said, "since to do so would tip off the very guys we're trying to defeat and work against our interests within foreign governments."

But that's what we heard after the 7/7 trail led back to Pakistan, and again after the trans-Atlantic sky terror plot traced back to Pakistan. Every time we discover another piece of evidence that al-Qaida is thriving in Musharraf's backyard, we dispatch more high-level officials to take his temperature, hold his hand and point him in the right direction. Musharraf slaps them on the back, tells them not to
worry and they go home with new promises, and nothing changes. We get no results, al-Qaida grows, new camps sprout up, and a new team of officials is sent to Islamabad to sit with Musharraf.

It's time for the administration to take a harder line. America can no longer afford to count on Pakistan as an ally. We must insist on foot patrols -- U.S. boots on the ground -- inside Pakistan's northern tribal areas, while allowing Musharraf the face-saving option of assuring Muslim masses that raids were being led by Pakistani forces.

We'd make it clear to Musharraf that if he resists U.S. patrols to destroy al-Qaida camps inside Pakistan, he risks losing promised reconstruction and military aid, including his coveted F-16s.

[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.]