In this bulletin:

• School principal killed in eastern Afghanistan
• 34 Taliban Killed in Afghan Clashes
• Nato probes Afghan 'bomb deaths'
• Afghan agency rejects claims of prisoner abuse
• Turkmenistan-Afghanistan Pakistan Gas Pipeline Project In Trouble
• UN Paints Grim Portrait of Qaida Threat
• Taliban not 'credible threat': junior foreign minister
• Afghan minister blames Pak govt for unrest in Swat
• Itbari takes charge as new minister for refugee affairs
• Qanuni-led walkout stunning: Karzais spokesman
• A 'surge' for Afghanistan?
• of Afghan history?
• Repeat
• Red Crescent calls for closer cooperation with UN, donors
• Khaled Hosseini -- a best-seller for Afghanistan
• WB launches initiative to reduce AIDS stigma
• Coalition neurosurgeon saves Afghan childs life
• Juvenile correctional facility inaugurated in Kabul
• Unbeaten Afghanistan in ACC U-15 Elite Cup semis

School principal killed in eastern Afghanistan

By AMIR SHAH Associated Press November 29, 2007

KABUL, Afghanistan - Violence in eastern Afghanistan killed eight people, including four Taliban who died in a clash and a school principal who was murdered by attackers on a motorbike, officials said Thursday.

The violence came two days after NATO airstrikes targeting Taliban fighters mistakenly killed 14 members of an Afghan road construction crew in mountainous Nuristan province. NATO and Afghan authorities are investigating the incident.

The school principal, Fazel Mir, was shot to death Wednesday morning in Khost province, said Wazir Pacha, spokesman for the provincial police.

Schools and teachers are frequently targeted by militants for having an un-Islamic curriculum or for educating girls.

In Ghazni province, meanwhile, Taliban insurgents ambushed police Wednesday in Khogyani district, and the ensuing clash killed one policeman and four suspected militants, said deputy provincial police chief Mohammad Zaman.

Also Wednesday, militants in Paktia province attacked trucks carrying supplies for foreign troops, killing one driver, said Din Mohammad Darwesh, spokesman for the provincial governor.

In neighboring Paktika province, a roadside bomb hit Afghan troops on Wednesday, leaving one soldier dead and three wounded, Darwesh said.

This has been the deadliest year yet since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, with more than 6,100 people killed _ including over 800 civilians _ in militant attacks and military operations, according to an AP tally of figures from Afghan and western officials.

Afghan officials said bombs Monday night hit two tents housing Afghan engineers and laborers contracted by the U.S. military to build a road, killing 14 workers. They blamed faulty intelligence for the mistake.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force said its warplanes dropped two bombs targeting Taliban fighters in Nuristan on Monday night, and there was a "strong indication" that a Taliban leader was killed in the operation.

In Washington, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell called the operation a "legitimate airstrike" believed to have killed Abdullah Jan, the Taliban commander of Nuristan.

The incident is the first apparent major blunder by foreign troops in months. It follows sharp criticism earlier this year of mass civilian casualties in operations by U.S. and NATO-led troops, which have undermined their reputation among Afghan civilians and hurt the government of Western-backed President Hamid Karzai.

34 Taliban Killed in Afghan Clashes

By NOOR KHAN Associated Press November 29, 2007

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Afghan and foreign troops fought against Taliban militants and called in airstrikes in southern Afghanistan, leaving 30 fighters dead, an Afghan police chief said Thursday. Four other militants were killed in a separate clash in the east.

The joint forces attacked militants hiding inside two compounds on Wednesday in the Zhari district of southern Kandahar province, said provincial police chief Sayed Agha Saqib.

Troops detained 12 other militants, including group commanders fighting Afghan and foreign forces in the area, Saqib said. Five of the men detained were wounded during the clash.

In eastern in Khost province, meanwhile, gunmen on motorbikes shot to death a school principal on Wednesday, said Wazir Pacha, spokesman for the provincial police.

Schools and teachers are frequently targeted by militants for having un-Islamic curricula or for educating girls.

This has been the deadliest year yet in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, with more than 6,100 people killed _ including over 800 civilians _ in militant attacks and military operations, according to an AP tally of figures from Afghan and western officials.

The latest violence came two days after NATO airstrikes targeting Taliban fighters mistakenly killed 14 members of an Afghan road construction crew in mountainous Nuristan province, Afghan officials said. NATO and Afghan authorities are investigating the incident.

Afghan officials said the bombs Monday night hit two tents housing Afghan engineers and laborers contracted by the U.S. military to build a road. They blamed faulty intelligence for the mistake.

The alliance has called into question that version of the events _ but has stopped short of denying it.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force said its warplanes dropped two bombs targeting Taliban fighters in Nuristan on Monday night, and there was a "strong indication" that a Taliban leader in Nuristan province, Abdullah Jan, was killed in the operation.

"We do not believe at this stage, with the details that we have, that there were a large number of civilian casualties as has been reported, but as I say, this is under investigation," said Maj. Gen. Garry Robison, ISAF's deputy commander for stability.

The incident is the first apparent major blunder by foreign troops in months. It follows sharp criticism earlier this year of mass civilian casualties caused by U.S. and NATO operations. The civilian tolls have undermined foreign troops' reputation among Afghans and hurt the government of Western-backed President Hamid Karzai.

In other violence on Wednesday:

_ In Ghazni province, Taliban insurgents ambushed police in Khogyani district, and the ensuing clash killed one policeman and four suspected militants, said deputy provincial police chief Mohammad Zaman.

_ Militants in Paktia province attacked trucks carrying supplies for foreign troops, killing one driver, said Din Mohammad Darwesh, spokesman for the provincial governor.

_ In neighboring Paktika province, a roadside bomb hit Afghan troops, leaving one soldier dead and three wounded, Darwesh said.

Nato probes Afghan 'bomb deaths'

BBC News / Thursday, 29 November 2007

Nato says it is investigating reports that its forces killed 12 road workers in Afghanistan's north-east on Monday.

A spokesman for the Nato-led Isaf force confirmed its planes had carried out air strikes in Nuristan province but said a Taleban leader was targeted.

"The situation is not clear at all," the spokesman, Carlos Branco, said. Earlier, the US military said the raid was based on "credible intelligence".

Provincial officials said the men were killed in their tents as they slept.

Nato and US military officials say they were targeting a local Taleban commander, Abdullah Jan, in Nuristan province, 180km (112 miles) north-east of the capital, Kabul.

"Isaf was engaged in Nurgaram and Du Ab [districts], and in those places we used air strikes," Brig Gen Branco told a news conference. "We are carrying out the investigation and trying to get a clear picture."

The US military has said the bombs hit a site 1km (0.6 miles) from the road workers' camp. Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said on Wednesday the Nato forces had "acted on credible intelligence from several sources" when they launched the strike.

"We believe that Abdullah Jan, the western Nuristan Taleban commander, may have been killed in the air strike. We deem it, at this point, a legitimate air strike.

"There were no structures, vehicles or any other construction equipment within the vicinity of the impact area," said Mr Morrell.

The governor of Nuristan and the head of the Amerifa Construction Company said his workers had been killed in the incident, which took place late Monday.

"I don't think the Americans were targeting our people," said Amerifa director Sayed Nurullah Jalili. "I'm sure it's the enemy of the Afghans who gave the Americans the wrong information."

Governor Nuristani told AFP news agency: "We had reports that rebels were there.

"There was an air strike by coalition forces but later we found out that 12 people, all local road workers, were killed. "The road workers were in a tent which was hit by one bomb. All died," he said.

Nato has come under increasing pressure over Afghan civilian casualties. Last week, Nato head Jaap de Hoop Scheffer had said the organisation was doing all it could to avoid Afghan civilian casualties.

Afghan agency rejects claims of prisoner abuse

Thu Nov 29, KABUL (AFP) - Afghanistan's intelligence agency has rejected allegations that prisoners transferred to its custody by NATO nations are ill-treated and tortured.

The agency said Wednesday it had looked into the charges in an Amnesty International report this month and found they were based on interviews with opponents of the government and on incorrect data.

"This report is baseless and not based on accurate information," Afghanistan National Directorate of Security (ANDS) spokesman Sayed Ansari told reporters.

London-based Amnesty said prisoners captured by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force and transferred to Afghan custody faced whipping, beatings, exposure to extreme cold and food deprivation.

It urged ISAF nations to stop such transfers. Rights groups in Canada, one of the 37 countries in the military alliance, are trying to stop prisoners being handed to Afghan custody because of alleged torture and abuse.

Ansari said the attorney general's office, authorised to visit prisoners in ANDS custody, had "so far have not found any indications of prisoner abuse."

He said the International Committee of the Red Cross and Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission had visited the its holding cells and said they "appreciated the way prisoners are treated."

ISAF nations who handed the detainees over were able to visit the suspects in detention and "have never had any such complaints," the spokesman added.

The report was "based on interviews with people freed from ANDS custody who are in opposition and enmity with the Islamic government of Afghanistan," he said.

ISAF has also rejected the Amnesty charges, saying it had no evidence of systematic mistreatment and torture of its detainees once they were in the custody of Afghan authorities.

Turkmenistan-Afghanistan Pakistan Gas Pipeline Project In Trouble

All Headline News (AHN) November 29, 2007 7:50 a.m. EST

Siddique Islam - AHN South Asia Correspondent

Islamabad, Pakistan (AHN) - The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (Tap) gas pipeline project is unlikely to materialize due to Russian gas giant Gazprom's fresh agreement with Turkmenistan for increased Europe-bound gas supplies at higher rates.

Pakistan was weighing the new developments in the background of a just postponed ministerial meeting of the three countries and a revised agreement between the Russian company, Gazprom and Turkmenistan, the Dawn, a local newspaper, reported quoting government sources.

Under the revised understanding with Gazprom, Turkmenistan would increase gas deliveries to it to about 50 billion cubic meter (BCM).

Gazprom that delivers about one quarter of Europe's total gas needs would now pay US$130 per 1,000 cubic meters to Turkmenistan early next year and then $150 per 1,000 cubic meter by the end of the next year instead of current rates of $100 per 1,000 cubic meter, according to reports.

Turkmenistan and Gazprom have a 25-year gas supply agreement valid until 2028 but Ashgabat uses export projects like TAP to improve its price with Gazprom.

The world's 10th largest gas producer, Turkmenistan's total gas output currently is slightly higher than 60 BCM a year. Last year, its total exports stood at around 45 BCM.

Pakistan has planned to complete the project by 2012 under a energy security plan, but the deadline is becoming beyond imagination, an official said.

The 1,680 kilometers (1041.6 miles) TAP pipeline of 56-inch diameter needs at least 30 BCM of gas per year from Turkmenistan to Pakistan via Afghanistan.

The project cost has now been estimated at $5.3 billion. India had also been invited to join the project last year that started attending steering committee meetings as an observer.

"Further progress will depend on the robustness of the gas reserves data, certification of the reserves, extent of possible private interest, ability and willingness of Turkmenistan to fulfill its commitments to Gazprom and still supply Pakistan" the World Bank (WB) said according to the newspaper reports.

Challenges in the TAP project also include mitigation of the security risk in Afghanistan, improvement in India-Pakistan relations, and programs to minimize or phase out fuel subsidies in both countries and finally the ability of the pipeline options to withstand competition from liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the long run, the WB noted.

UN Paints Grim Portrait of Qaida Threat

The Associated Press By EDITH M. LEDERER 28/11/2007 UNITED NATIONS

Al-Qaida remains determined to mount major attacks and has extended its base of support and become more adept at communicating its message and operational plans, a U.N. report said Tuesday.

At the same time, Taliban rebels fighting to regain control of Afghanistan have increased their influence not only in Afghanistan but in northwestern Pakistan and have money from the drug trade to hire foot soldiers and buy sophisticated weapons, the report said.

The report by terrorism experts working for the Security Council committee monitoring U.N. sanctions against the Taliban and al-Qaida painted a grim picture of the "persistent and real" threat from both groups whose relationship "appears close."

Since its last report a year ago, the committee said "there may have been fewer major operations than al-Qaida leaders would have liked, but the arrest or death of suspected al-Qaida-related terrorists in more than 40 countries around the world ... suggests a high volume of terrorist planning."

"The frequent and widespread warnings by world leaders and counter-terrorist professionals that more attacks could occur at any time, acknowledge al-Qaida's spread, its patience and its determination," the report said.

It cited an increase in al-Qaida propaganda through the Internet including Osama bin Laden's first video broadcast in nearly three years in September addressed to the American people, which was followed by two other broadcasts. One urged supporters to follow the example of the Sept. 11, 2001 hijackers and the other appealed to Pakistanis to overthrow President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

"These messages, and the ambition they show, reflect the strength al-Qaida draws from activists in disjointed cells who desire to be part of something bigger," the report said.

Al-Qaida's No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri, in numerous videos over the past year, also continues to try to capitalize on the tens of thousands of people around the world who sign up to password-protected Web sites and chat rooms, it said.

"Through these videos, al-Zawahiri hopes to inspire attacks and to bring as much operational activity under central direction," it said.

According to information provided to the experts by member states, the report said al-Qaida has established training centers in Pakistan, operating out of houses and small compounds, and has networks that channel people into the centers.

"The evidence from arrests of people who have received such training confirms that al-Qaida is as determined as ever to carry out ambitious, large-scale operations wherever it may," the report said.

"Al-Qaida has continued to show its determination to mount major attacks; it has extended its base of support; its leaders have consolidated their ability to communicate their message and their operational plans," the report said.

The experts warned that while the world may have become "numbed" to attacks where many die, "any duplication of the level of violence seen in al-Qaida-related operations in Iraq, or the downing of aircraft, or the explosion of a `dirty bomb' in an urban center, which remains an al-Qaida ambition, will cause widespread economic, social and political disruption."

Elaborating on the close relationship between al-Qaida and the Taliban, the report said both groups have a common need to establish secure bases in Afghanistan, "especially as the authorities in Pakistan increase the pressure on the other side of the border."

The U.N. estimates there are about 3,000 active Taliban fighters, and up to 7,000 occasional fighters who receive "at least passive support from many others" and cross easily into Pakistan, the report said.

"The threat to President (Hamid) Karzai's authority and to the stability of Afghanistan is as real as ever," it said.

While security forces have prevented attacks and killed or captured significant leaders, the report said U.N. financial, travel and arms embargoes have had only a limited impact in curbing the activities of both groups because the list of individuals and groups subject to sanctions is incomplete and many of the 192 U.N. member states haven't fully implemented the measures.

In areas where cooperation between countries is required, the report said senior counter-terrorist officials are disappointed with progress, especially in response to terrorist use of the Internet.

Taliban not 'credible threat': junior foreign minister

Thu Nov 29, LONDON (AFP) - The Taliban does not pose a real threat to the government of Afghanistan and is far from being a resurgent force, junior foreign minister Mark Malloch-Brown said in a letter published on Thursday.

In the letter to The Independent newspaper, the former UN deputy secretary-general dismissed the findings of a European think-tank report last week which said that the country risks becoming a divided state.

"The Taliban do not pose a credible threat to the democratic Afghan government," Malloch-Brown wrote.

"The Taliban do not control a single province or have the ability to hold territory, showing they are far from being a resurgent force."

He continued: "Much progress has been made since 2001, but we recognise that many challenges remain."

The Senlis Council wrote in a report last week that Afghanistan is in "crisis" and risks becoming a divided state, as Taliban insurgents now control vast areas of unchallenged territory, and called for the NATO-led force there to be doubled in size to 80,000.

The Taliban's regime was toppled in late 2001 by a US-led offensive, but they have stepped up their attacks recently.

There have been more than 130 suicide blasts in Afghanistan this year, most of them blamed on the Taliban movement.

Afghan minister blames Pak govt for unrest in Swat

PUL-I-KHUMRI, Nov 27 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Afghanistans education minister Tuesday linked growing insecurity in the neighbouring country to the Pakistani governments casual approach to fighting militancy.

Speaking to newsmen after distributing cash to relatives of victims of the deadliest suicide bombing in Baghlan since 2001, Muhammad Hanif Atmar alleged: "Islamabads non-serious attitude towards terrorism in Afghanistan has caused the spread of the scourge to the neighbouring country."

"We have repeatedly urged Pakistan to prevent insurgents sneaking from its soil into Afghanistan, but our calls have fallen on deaf ears. Subsequently, we are witnessing closure of hundreds of schools in the northern Swat valley of Pakistan." Atmar argued.

The minister paid 25,000 afghanis to each of the bereaved families of 58 students killed and 15,000 afghanis to the relatives of each of 80 children wounded in the tragedy.

The money donated by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) was paid to kin of the victims on the directives of President Hamid Karzai.

Itbari takes charge as new minister for refugee affairs

KABUL, Nov 27 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Sher Muhammad Itbari has taken charge as new minister for refuges and expatriates after the voting out of his predecessor Muhammad Akbar Akbar in mid-May.

At a ceremony where he was introduced to officials of the ministry, Itbari announced under a long-term plan, 10 acres of land would be allocated to each of the families expelled from Iran and Pakistan.

President Hamid Karzai had introduced the new minister to Wolesi Jirga members on November 17 when he won a vote of confidence from Parliament.

Afghanistan had vast desserts which would be distributed to refuges - most of them illiterate - and their living standard would not improve unless they were engaged in the agriculture sector, Itbari remarked.

Former minister for refuges Ustad Akbar, also present at the introduction meeting, said: "I don't want to explain the services I have rendered to my subordinates, who can better judge my role."

Second Vice-President Muhammad Karim Khalili stressed: "All governmental officials must work honestly for the greater glory of their country, which needs selfless services from all."

Qanuni-led walkout stunning: Karzais spokesman

KABUL, Nov 27 - (Pajhwok Afghan News)- A walkout staged by Speaker Yunus Qanuni and scores of legislator from Parliament over a probe into the Baghlan attack was both stunning and unexpected, a spokesman for President Karzai said on Tuesday.

The parliamentarians, led by the speaker, left the Lower House on Monday to protest senior provincial government officials refusal to cooperate with a team probing the deadliest suicide bombing in northern Afghanistan since 2001.

While walking out of the assembly, around 80 lawmakers accused the government of failing to suspend top high-ranking officials of the Baghlan province, blamed for gross negligence, until the investigators completed their job.

Government functionaries they wanted to be dismissed over the November 6 suicide bombing, which killed scores of people including six parliamentarians and 59 schoolchildren, included provincial governor and heads of police, intelligence, education department, crimes branch and counter-terrorism unit.

At a news conference here on Tuesday, presidential spokesman Humayun Hamidzada expressed surprise over the move. The walkout by the speaker and other legislators was astonishing, he said.

In response to demands from lawmakers, the spokesman recalled, the government had already announced any step with regard to the suicide blast would be initiated in light of the findings of investigators.

During the course of the probe, involving support from international experts, provincial government functionaries were questioned, Hamidzada explained. Suspects taken into custody before they were grilled, he pointed out.

Yesterdays action of Wolesi Jirga members was startling in that it came after we informed (Yunus) Qanuni by phone that a consolidated inquiry report would be submitted to the president today (Tuesday), Karzais aide remarked.

Hamidzada insisted the speaker had been told the Interior Ministry had already completed its report while the findings of the team appointed by the Lower House were awaited. Both the reports were to be placed together before Karzai, he continued.

Qanuni and his supporters have vowed to stay away from Parliament as long as the government does not accept their demands. The enraged MPs complained their calls had fallen on deaf ears as the errant officials continued in their positions.

Reported by Zubair Babakarkhel Translated & edited by S. Mudassir Ali Shah

A 'surge' for Afghanistan?

By Gordon Lubold, Christian Science Monitor, November 29, 2007

Kabul, Afghanistan - The top general of the Marine Corps is pushing hard to deploy marines to Afghanistan as he looks to draw down his forces in Iraq, but his proposal, which is under discussion at the Pentagon this week, faces deep resistance from other military leaders.

Commandant Gen. James Conway's plan, if approved, would deploy a large contingent of marines to Afghanistan, perhaps as early as next year. The reinforcements would be used to fight the Taliban, which US officials concede is now defending its territory more effectively against allied and Afghan forces.

Within the Pentagon, General Conway's proposal has led to speculation about which, if any, American forces would be best suited to provide reinforcements for a mission that, most agree, has far more political appeal than the one in Iraq. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has already recommended against the proposal, at least for now, a military official said Tuesday. That leaves the decision up to Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

"It came down to an issue of timing," says the official, who didn't want to be named because of the sensitivity of the recommendation. "The chairman didn't feel that this was the right time."

Conway says that marines, who have been largely responsible for calming Anbar Province in Iraq, can either return home or "stay plugged into the fight" by essentially redeploying to Afghanistan. The general returned Monday from a trip to Iraq and Afghanistan, where he visited with marines and stressed that the Corps is not out to snatch a senior command billet in Afghanistan, nor is it trying to get out of Iraq "while the getting is good."

Critics of the plan worry that it would leave too much risk for the Army in Iraq, but Conway argues that the Corps would assume more risk in Afghanistan than it has now in Anbar Province, where violence has abated considerably.

"The trend lines tell us that it may be time to increase the force posture in Afghanistan," Conway says, in his first public comments on the matter since the proposal was leaked to the press last month.

Ideally, he says, the international community would provide more help for the roughly 50,000 coalition forces there now – about half of them American troops, mostly from the Army. About 300 marines are currently stationed in Afghanistan.

"But if it requires additional US forces," Conway says, "then it goes back to our suggestion that maybe we need more marines in there with a more kinetic bent."

Adm. William Fallon, head of US Central Command, which oversees operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan, is said to be "very strong" on the Conway option, says another senior military official, who asked not to be named, adding that the whole mix of forces must be looked at before a decision can be made.

"We're at the taking-a-hard-look-at-it stage," says this official. "The positive side of the Marines looking at this for a deployment is it would be a good mix of combat power and training and equip missions."

Secretary Gates's focus so far has been to seek more help from the international community to provide trainers and other forces to combat the resurgent Taliban.

Top Army and Air Force officials have expressed concern about the Conway plan, even as US officials on the ground in Afghanistan appear to welcome the idea.

The Corps would probably deploy a Marine Air Ground Task Force, a self-contained unit that brings with it its own headquarters, ground elements, logistics, and air-assault capabilities that may be especially suited to the scale of operations in Afghanistan, Conway says.

Gates has appeared to shoot down the idea in remarks over the past month. But sources say the Defense secretary hasn't yet been fully briefed on the matter.

Two years ago, the Pentagon was set to proclaim military success in Afghanistan and tie it up with a bow. But this year the security mission in Afghanistan has suffered from the US focus on Iraq and a heavy reliance on an international force.

NATO's command in Afghanistan, the International Security Assistance Force, has had some victories on the ground there, working with the nascent Afghan Army and police force. But the US considers some allied nations to be "casualty averse," not expecting to be engaged in heavy combat operations back when they signed up for what they considered a training-and-peacekeeping mission. Suicide attacks in Afghanistan are on the rise, and US casualties, though relatively few compared with those in Iraq, have increased as well, according to American military officials on the ground there.

Conway, for one, is convinced that Afghanistan's security needs inevitably will require more American forces – and that the Corps, with its "expeditionary" focus, is well suited to the mission. Already, he has sent two Marine battalions to mountain warfare training in California to prepare for the missions in Afghanistan should the request come.

The Corps is already beginning to plan the drawdown of its forces in Anbar in Iraq, where the bulk of Marine forces are deployed.

So far, the calm in Anbar, which began before the surge of US forces this spring, has continued, and Marine officials believe the strategy there has worked. It seems unlikely that a large contingent of marines would stay in Anbar much longer if that peace continues. Unless marines are sent elsewhere in Iraq, that would leave Conway an opening to redeploy them to Afghanistan.

Such a deployment would also ease the Corps' deployment tempo, a goal Gates established for both the Army and Marine Corps upon taking office in January.

The decision about which forces, if any, to send to Afghanistan has a political subtext. If the White House were to send more US forces into a country most Americans thought was already secure, Democrats would be sure to exploit the security retrogression during an election year.

Such a decision, too, would have reverberations within the Pentagon, since the US force that would return to Afghanistan would carry with it a political prize. While much of the American public wants US forces out of Iraq, many see Afghanistan as the more righteous mission, because the origins of the 9/11 attacks can be traced there.

"Marines may be jockeying for the longer-term and maybe more popular role," says Anthony Cordesman, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington.

If more American forces are needed in Afghanistan, then the Pentagon must look at the "entire pool" of forces before it decides that what is best for the Marine Corps is also best for its policy in Afghanistan, says Mr. Cordesman.

Michael O'Hanlon, a senior analyst at the Brookings Institution, another think tank in Washington, is not necessarily opposed to Conway's idea, but he worries that taking marines out of Anbar, where they have been effective, could rob the US of vital knowledge about the province.

"The Marines know more about that province than the Army does," he says.

Marines are already being asked to help with the fight in Afghanistan. Last month, Corps officials announced that AV-8B Harrier jump jets – attached to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit deployed aboard an amphibious assault ship – flew more than a dozen sorties over Afghanistan. The jets conducted reconnaissance, escorted ground convoys, and dropped precision-guided munitions on enemy targets, according to Corps officials.

Repeat of Afghan history?

Indianapolis Star, 11/27/2007 By Marie Cocco

WASHINGTON - Winter approaches, and as many as 400,000 Afghans face starvation. The trouble is not an insufficient supply of food. There is no way to get food to those who need it.

Attacks on aid workers and the hijacking of food convoys -- the United Nations' main feeding program says it has lost about 100,000 tons of food to attacks by insurgents and criminals so far this year -- have made it all but impossible to transport supplies along the main road connecting vast stretches of the country between Kandahar in the south and Herat in the west.

Nothing exposes a hollow promise like the prospect of mass starvation.
By now, six years after the United States and its Western allies launched military operations to avenge the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and free Afghanistan from the grip of the Taliban, humanitarian workers surely should not be forced to give up on feeding the desperate. But this is only one measure of our catastrophic failure.

While the Bush administration crows about apparent pacification of some neighborhoods in Iraq as proof that its surge of military forces there is working, Afghanistan hurtles toward chaos.

The Taliban has extended its presence through more than half of Afghan territory, according to new research by the Senlis Council, an independent, international think tank. This is no longer a regional or tribal threat, but a full-blown insurgency aimed at U.S., NATO and other allied troops, as well as the government of Hamid Karzai.

Foreign militants are joining up with this reconstituted Taliban, just as they once were lured to Afghanistan by Osama bin Laden and the holy warriors of al-Qaida -- just as they have been drawn to Iraq. "Foreign fighters from, amongst others, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Chechnya and China are once again using Afghanistan as a battleground for their interpretation of global jihad," says the Senlis Council's latest report, released last week.

There is the "import of tactics perfected in Iraq." These include suicide bombs and roadside bombs aimed at civilians as well as national and international forces.

In a worst-case scenario for the future, the research group envisions "a wholesale import of terrorist tactics and methodologies from Iraq. Seemingly inexhaustible supplies of martyrs permeate the country, indiscriminately attacking public spaces, military forces and the institutions of state."

Besides the military's inability to pacify the country and subdue the Taliban, Western development and reconstruction money has been scarce. The opium poppy crop is again a mainstay of the Afghan economy, and there is deep disagreement among allies over what to do about it.

Yet, as the presidential campaign careens toward an early winnowing with a front-loaded schedule of primaries, barely a word is uttered about the approaching disaster in Afghanistan. Democrats squabble about which of them will draw down the most troops from Iraq. Republicans attempt to best one another with their bellicose posturing about Iran, falling into line with this latest Bush administration fixation. The prospect of war consuming the entire Middle East seems not to trouble them.

Our government stood accused in the years leading to 9/11 of ignoring or at least failing to respond adequately to the gathering danger in Afghanistan. That history could repeat itself so soon is a chilling indictment.

Cocco writes for the Washington Post Writers Group.

Red Crescent calls for closer cooperation with UN, donors

KABUL, 29 November 2007 (IRIN) - The growing humanitarian needs of Afghans must come ahead of political and strategic priorities and the UN and other international donors ought to "better recognise" the pivotal role of the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) when dealing with humanitarian emergencies in Afghanistan, Fatima Gailani, president of the ARCS, told IRIN on 29 November.

Lack of resources, funding and professional capacity has complicated ARCS's ability to respond effectively to overwhelming humanitarian needs across the country.

"Afghanistan's humanitarian response capacity has remained very weak and vulnerable despite large amounts of aid money spent by various donors," Gailani said.

Established in the 1940s, the ARCS has about 37,000 volunteers country-wide and is involved in different humanitarian operations, including health services, landmine awareness, disaster response and relief activities.

The ARCS acknowledges support and assistance from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the past 15 years, but criticises the UN for lack of "interest, coordination and support".

"In the last three years, the UN has not approached the ARCS to see if there are things which we do better together," Gailani said.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is ready to work with national non-government organisations (NGOs), including ARCS, particularly in areas where the UN has access problems, said Adrian Edwards, a UNAMA spokesman.

UN agencies do not have access to large swaths of southern and southeastern Afghanistan due to insecurity problems.

However, the UN prefers to work with organisations, which "do the best job" and ensure accountability, the UN spokesman said. "Funding is not so much the issue, but capacity to deliver programmes on the ground."

Gailani said UN agencies should work closely with the ARCS on long-term capacity building and ease off on reliance on short-term arrangements. "The ARCS is a national institution and will last a long time, while NGOs come and go," she said.

Afghanistan is considered the fifth least developed country in the world and millions of its estimated 24.5 million people suffer from protracted food insecurity, lack of access to health services and a variety of other deprivations.

Six years after an international intervention, and despite the spending of large sums of aid money, the suffering and needs of many vulnerable Afghans are yet to be addressed, aid agencies say.

"People are asking what the UN and other donors are doing here," said Fatima Gailani, adding that inaccessibility and security concerns alone cannot justify the shortcomings.

UN officials, however, say more assistance is the key to tackling the issue.

Khaled Hosseini -- a best-seller for Afghanistan

PARIS (AFP) — Afghan writer Khaled Hosseini, whose "The Kite Runner" has sold a whopping eight million copies worldwide, is setting readers alight with his 2007 release "A Thousand Splendid Suns", but doesn't quite know why.

"It's very difficult to explain why a book becomes a phenomenon," he said in a telephone interview from his California home.

"Afghanistan is an enigmatic country, but the themes I touch on are universal -- friendship, love between parents and children, redemption."

Born in 1965 in Kabul, Hosseini lived in Iran, then France where his diplomat father was on assignment, before being granted political asylum in 1980 in the United States.

Trained as a doctor, Hosseini has, at least temporarily, given up medicine to split his time between writing and working to help the people of Afghanistan.

In "The Kite Runner", which will be released as a film in the US, Australia and Britain in December and the rest of the world next year, two childhood friends from different backgrounds argue then meet up again many years later in Taliban-run Afghanistan.

The theme runs through his new novel, which after 26 weeks on the New York Times list of best-selling hardcover fiction, is still in slot 10 and has been re-printed several times.

Focused on the lives of two women this time, it again recounts their different roots but intertwined destinies.

"When I lived in Kabul, we were not rich but we lived comfortably," he said. "I was always struck by poverty and by the destitute ... When I'd write little stories it was always about confrontation between the haves and the have-nots."

Translated into 40 languages, "The Kite Runner" has not only turned him into one of the world's best-known Afghan figures, but has helped changed the country's image, particularly in the United States.

"I receive letters from across the world. In the US people say 'for us, Afghanistan was simply Bin Laden and the Taliban, but after reading your book we understand the country's people better and have more consideration for them.'"

On the heels of the success of his first novel, Khaled Hosseini decided to write about women. "I think this is important because what happened to them, particularly under the Taliban, was atrocious. They were oppressed even before then however," he said.

And since the ouster of the Taliban, little has changed for Afghan women, he said. "Life has changed in Kabul, but not in other parts of the country. This is a key story touching on current affairs."

The heroines of "A Thousand Splendid Suns", Mariam and Laila, first are rivals but eventually attempt to flee the country together to escape from violent marriages.

Nowadays Khaled Hosseini has turned his prestige to use to help his country, and in September travelled to Afghanistan on behalf of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

"Afghanistan is one of the countries that has the most refugees. In the 1980s almost eight million people had fled the country seeking asylum. When the UN asked me to work for them I was very happy."

During his stay there he launched an appeal to the global community to continue to support Afghanistan.

WB launches initiative to reduce AIDS stigma

WASHINGTON, DC, Nov 27 - (Pajhwok Afghan News) - The World Bank, in collaboration with the UN and private-sector partners, has launched an initiative to identify and fund innovative approaches to reduce the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV and AIDS.

Aimed at dealing with the issue, the Development Marketplace for the South Asia region would cover Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, the World Bank said on Tuesday.

Stigma and discrimination seriously undermines efforts to fight HIV and AIDS, said Praful Patel, World Bank Vice President for the South Asia region. It also marginalises people at risk and living with the disease contributing further to their social isolation and rejection.

Patel added: This competition offers a unique opportunity to channel small grants directly to community organisations and NGOs to implement imaginative approaches that will help change the attitudes and practices that undermine effective programmes.

Titled Tackling HIV and AIDS Stigma and Discrimination: From Insights to Action, the Development Marketplace competition is reaching out to communities across South Asia seeking proposals for local, small-scale projects with the potential to be scaled up and replicated.

Mailed to Pajhwok Afghan News, a press statement from the World Bank said the winners would be selected by an international jury of the Bank and independent HIV and AIDS experts at the Development Marketplace event on May 15, 2008 in the Indian city of Mumbai.

According to the press release, the HIV epidemic in South Asia is mainly driven by high risk practices such as sex work, injecting drug use and unprotected sex between men.

Many of the people most at risk for HIV around the world deal with stigma on a regular basis, posing challenges to achieving universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support," said UNAIDS Executive Director Dr. Peter Piot.

"It is encouraging to see innovative steps being taken towards addressing these issues in South Asia, where stigma and discrimination remain serious problems.

Coalition neurosurgeon saves Afghan childs life

KABUL, Nov 27 - (Pajhwok Afghan News) - An Air Force neurosurgeon assigned to the Craig Joint Theater Hospital at the Bagram Airbase recently saved the life of an eight-month-old Afghan girl, the Combined Joint Task Force-82 said on Tuesday.

The child from the Parwan province, with symptoms including excessive head growth, eye abnormalities and irritability, was initially taken by her parents to El Salem Egyptian Field Hospital.

After Egyptian physicians referred her to CJTH, the task force said, Air Force neurosurgeon Lt. Col. Randall McCafferty diagnosed a congenital brain abnormality, called an arachnoid cyst at the base of the girls brain.

The cyst had caused blockage of the flow of cerebrospinal fluid, thus causing hydrocephalus (commonly known as water on the brain), said Dr. McCafferty. Left untreated, the condition could have eventually been fatal.

Thanks to the recent deployment of neurosurgical assets to Afghanistan, Dr. McCafferty was able to operate twice on the child on November 12 and 20, removing the cyst and leaving the girl in good condition.

McCafferty said: I was happy that I could bring specialised training to this region that did not previously exist and that with those skills I was able to provide an opportunity at a future life for both the child and her family that likely would not otherwise exist.

In addition, I was fortunate to have the support of command, my colleagues and the ICU staff at CJTH to be able to deliver this care, the doctor concluded.

Juvenile correctional facility inaugurated in Kabul

KABUL, Nov 27 - (Pajhwok Afghan News) - A juvenile correctional facility, constructed at the cost of $490,000, was inaugurated in Kabul on Tuesday.

The two-storey building having separate dormitories for boys and girls was constructed in three years with financial support from Italy, officials said.

Justice Minister Sarwar Danish said a child under 12, who committed a crime, would not be punished in accordance with the relevant law. Those aged between 12 and 18 would be kept in the juvenile correctional facility if they committed offences, he added.

Danish revealed up to 140 juvenile offenders, currently living in a rented house in the Darul-Aman area of Kabul, would be transferred to the new building. The children have been divided into groups.

Those who can go home at night are called open group and those staying at the centre day and night are included in the closed group.

Miss Raza Ali, first secretary to the Italian ambassador in Kabul, attended the inaugural ceremony. She said: "Children at the centre should not be punished; they are the future of society and have every right to be properly guided."

According to figures provided by the Justice Ministry, 950 children are being kept in juvenile centres across the country. The juvenile offenders are imparted education and vocational trainings.

Unbeaten Afghanistan in ACC U-15 Elite Cup semis

KABUL, Nov 29 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Maintaining their unbeaten run, Afghanistan Thursday inflicted a crushing defeat on Kuwait in a match of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Under-15 Elite Cup in Nepal's capital of Kathmandu.

The national team emerged Group-B leader by registering an easy victory over the opposition in the last outing, Afghan Manager Bashir Khan told Pajhwok Afghan News over the telephone from Kathmandu.

Batting first, Kuwait was skittled out for a meagre 60 in the 20th over - thanks to aggressive bowling spells from Hamid and Matiullah who captured three wickets apiece. Muhammad Hafiz also bowled intelligently, claiming two scalps, the manager said.

Afghanistan reached the target - hands down - in the 11th over for the loss of three wickets only. Muhammad Anwar rattled up 30 to guide his squad to a convincing triumph that saw them go marching into the semi-final of the competition. Hameed won the Man of the Match award.

The 10 days ACC Under-15 Elite Cup (2007), scheduled to conclude on December 4, features Afghanistan, Nepal, the UAE, Malaysia, Kuwait, Singapore, Hong Kong, Oman and Bhutan.

[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.]