In this bulletin:

• Afghans mark Eid amid violence
• 'Bomb blast' near Afghan mosque
• Over 155 civilians killed in suicide attacks, fighting in September
• Karzai fear over Pakistan clashes
• Taliban chief urges Afghanistan's neighbours to help drive out foreign troops
• NATO lists six key priorities for Afghanistan
• US, UK say stability in Afghanistan a common goal
• Mullah's death leaves Kandahar exposed
• Venturing into the Taleban's backyard
• German lawmakers extend Afghan mission
• Officer hails Afghan 'progress' – BBC
• Texas firm accused of overbilling U.S. government in Afghanistan
• Northern wheat trader survey and Afghan food security
• AWN warns against compromise on war crimes

Afghans mark Eid amid violence

October 12, 2007 - KABUL (AFP) - President Hamid Karzai offered condolences Friday to families of the victims of Afghanistan's deadly insurgency as the war-weary nation marked the start of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

As millions of Afghans began Eid celebrations with special prayers, there was no let-up in the violence. A bomb exploded outside a mosque in southern Helmand province, killing at least two people.

Karzai said those committing such attacks were not Muslims, as he delivered a speech to mark the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

"He congratulated the nation on the Eid day as well as expressing condolences to the families of our countrymen martyred in recent attacks," said Karzai aide Rafiullah Mujadadi.

"Those committing such crimes are not Muslims," Mujadadi quoted Karzai as saying in his fortified palace in Kabul.

The Taliban had vowed to intensify their attacks during Ramadan, and suicide blasts and other violence have killed more than 50 people in recent weeks.

Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar said the insurgency had reached a "success point" and "forced the invaders and their allies to admit that the invasion over the Afghan homeland was a historical error."

Omar's comments were reported Thursday in an online statement to mark Eid. The Taliban regime was toppled by a US-led invasion in 2001 and is now waging an insurgency aimed at bringing down the US-backed Afghan government.

More than 50,000 Western troops are stationed in Afghanistan to help authorities fight the insurgency, which is now at its most intense. Some 5,000 people have died in the violence this year.

Friday's blast occurred as hundreds gathered for prayers at the mosque in Gereshk district of volatile Helmand, officials said.

"It was a roadside bomb detonated against one of our vehicles remotely. Two police were martyred and four others were injured," police chief Mohammad Hussein Andiwal told AFP.

A spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said four people were killed, but a provincial police commander put the toll at two.

ISAF spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Richard Eaton also said five policemen had been admitted to one of their medical facilities for treatment.

An Afghan girl was meanwhile killed and two children were injured when a Taliban rocket missed a government building it had been targeting and hit their home in eastern Kunar province, police said.

"The Taliban fired four rockets on the city," said local police commander Abdul Jalal Jalal, referring to the provincial capital Asad Abad.

Afghan police Friday shot dead a would-be assailant and captured two others as they planned to attack a government reception marking the holiday in the western city of Herat, officials also said.

Despite the violence, millions of Afghans, dressed in new clothes, began visiting relatives and friends to offer sweets and enjoy specially prepared meals at the start of three days of Eid celebrations.

Traffic was heavy in the capital and elsewhere as Afghans also flocked to mosques to offer special prayers.

'Bomb blast' near Afghan mosque

BBC News / Friday, 12 October 2007

A bomb blast near a mosque in the southern Afghan province of Helmand has killed at least two policemen and injured several others, officials say.

A landmine detonated under the police vehicle in Gereshk district, officials said. Some reports put the number of casualties higher.

Hundreds were at the mosque to mark the start of the Eid al-Fitr festival.

Violence has soared this year with more than 3,000 people killed as Afghan and foreign forces battle Taleban fighters.

Earlier this week two people were killed and at least 10 injured after gunmen opened fire in a mosque in Wardak province bordering Kabul.

Over 155 civilians killed in suicide attacks, fighting in September

KABUL, 12 October 2007 (IRIN) - Over 155 Afghan civilians died in ground military operations, aerial strikes and suicide attacks by Taliban insurgents, US, NATO and Afghan government forces in September alone, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has told IRIN.

"At least 80 civilians lost their lives in suicide attacks and over 75 others were killed in military operations and aerial strikes in September," said Farid Hamidi, an AIHRC official.

The AIHRC is yet to verify the gender, age and other details of the civilian victims. Dozens of civilians are also feared wounded and many others have been displaced as a result of insurgency-related violence, the rights watchdog said.

Suicide attacks were all but unknown in Afghanistan until 2002 but have soared in the last two years. Since January 2007, over 103 suicide attacks have been recorded compared to 100 in the whole of 2006, the UN reported in September.

Noncombatants make up to 80 percent of suicide attack victims, found the UN study Suicide Attacks in Afghanistan (2001-2007).

"Unfortunately, all warring parties have continuously disregarded our repeated calls that all measures must be implemented to avoid harm to civilians during armed hostilities," the AIHRC's Hamidi said.

Southern and southwestern parts of Afghanistan are widely considered to be hotbeds of insurgency. However, two-thirds of civilian casualties in September resulting from military operations, aerial strikes and suicide attacks were reported in the eastern Afghan provinces of Nangarhar, Kunar and Laghman, AIHRC preliminary findings show.

Apart from rising civilian casualties, around 250 alleged Taliban fighters and at least 30 Afghan and international soldiers reportedly died in armed conflict in September.

On 21 September the UN Secretary-General reported to the Security Council that insurgency-and-terrorism related violence in Afghanistan had seen an increase of at least 20 percent compared to 2006.

"An average of 548 incidents per month were recorded in 2007, compared to an average of 425 per month in 2006," said the report, entitled The Situation in Afghanistan and its Implications for International Peace and Security.

In one of the deadliest incidents, on 29 September, a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a bus packed with Afghan army officers, killing 30 people, including six civilians, the Afghanistan Ministry of Defence said.

Furthermore, in separate military operations in Helmand and Uruzgan provinces on 25-26 September, US and Afghan forces killed over 160 Taliban insurgents, the US military stated in two press releases.

The Associated Press news agency said that by September this year the tally of war-related deaths had surpassed 5,000, compared to a total of 4,019 deaths in the whole of 2006.

Only a few of the over 30 nations that have contributed troops to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan provide modest ad hoc "condolence" payments to the families of civilians who die in their military operations, a spokesman for ISAF said.

In May 2007 the AIHRC found that US soldiers used "indiscriminate shooting and excessive force" during an incident on 4 March in Nangarhar Province in which at least 11 civilians were reportedly killed.

The rights watchdog said the US army formally apologised to the affected local people and paid a "condolence" sum of US$2,000 to each directly affected family.

The AIHRC has, however, repeatedly demanded the establishment of a regular and fair "compensatory" mechanism which would provide financial assistance to families affected in armed conflicts.

"There must be a transparent system of payments to the families of every civilian victim of armed conflict, in conformity with Afghanistan's domestic laws," Hamidi maintained.

According to Afghanistan's current penal code, a person who mistakenly kills an individual should pay Islamic compensation ('Diyat') equivalent to the price of 40 camels to the affected family - roughly $25,000.

Karzai fear over Pakistan clashes

By Lyse Doucet - BBC News, Kabul Friday, 12 October 2007

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has expressed concern about the recent upsurge in fighting in Pakistan's border tribal district of Waziristan.

Mr Karzai said the violence would have an impact on both countries. The fighting has left more than 200 militants and dozens of Pakistani soldiers dead, the authorities say.

Mr Karzai also denied allegations from Pakistan's military that militants operating in Pakistan were being helped from over the border in Afghanistan.

President Karzai chose his words carefully, clearly trying to avoid causing damage to what has long been a deeply sensitive and often strained relationship between two neighbours sharing a strategic border.

Afghan leaders often accuse Pakistan of giving sanctuary to Taleban militants and their allies, including al-Qaeda. Now, there are accusations from Pakistan.

In an interview with the BBC, the president said there could be linkages to Afghanistan in the recent upsurge in fighting in Pakistan's tribal territory of Waziristan.

But he firmly denied allegations from a Pakistan military spokesman that well-trained militants were getting help from across the border in Afghanistan.

"Do we have money to supply, do we have guns to supply, do we have reasons to support extremists that we are fighting here every day?" he asked.

When asked if Taleban militants fighting in Afghanistan were going back to Waziristan, Mr Karzai said: "It's the other way round."

President Karzai emphasised relations with Pakistan had recently improved. He was now more hopeful that solutions could be found to curb the growing violence on both sides of the border.

When told that Pakistan's President, Gen Pervez Musharraf, had already tried military and political approaches and both had failed to stem the growing strength of militant groups, President Karzai said making deals as President Musharraf had done last year in Waziristan was absolutely wrong.

President Karzai said their two countries had to work together with the international community and local people to eliminate the sanctuaries of the extremists, as well as their financial backers and the religious schools or madrassas which he described as training grounds for terrorism.

Your can listen or watch to Lyse Doucet's full interview with Hamid Karzai in Have Your Say on BBC World Service radio or BBC World television on Sunday 14 October at 1406 GMT. A video version will also be on the website.

Taliban chief urges Afghanistan's neighbours to help drive out foreign troops

By Fisnik Abrashi, The Associated Press October 12, 2007

KABUL, Afghanistan - Fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Omar called on Afghanistan's neighbours to help his militants oust the government of President Hamid Karzai and force foreign troops out of the country.

Omar's message - the authenticity of which couldn't be immediately confirmed - said "neighbours should help Afghans drive western forces from Afghanistan as they helped them during the Soviet Union invasion."

"They should abandon any kind of support and understand that they (western forces) are a danger to the whole region," said Omar's statement, posted on a website that previously carried militant messages.

It was unclear when it was posted, though it included greetings for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which is expected to start Saturday.

Afghanistan is going through its most violent period since the Taliban's ouster in the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. More than 5,100 people - mostly militants - have died in insurgency-related violence so far this year.

The Taliban often compare their struggle to the war against the Soviet Union's occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, when neighbouring Pakistan and Iran - helped by the United States and Saudi Arabia - armed the anti-communist mujahedeen.

Some observers accuse rogue elements in Pakistan's security forces of supporting today's Afghan rebels, and U.S. officials recently raised the alarm about Iranian weapons reaching the Taliban. Islamabad and Tehran deny any involvement.

Karzai has offered peace talks with the militants and even positions in the government. But the Taliban and warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of the militant group Hezb-i-Islami, have rejected the overtures, saying international troops must first leave the country.

In his Internet statement, Omar said Karzai's offers were the result of the Taliban's resilience on the battlefield. He said western forces should end "satanic" policies, including air strikes that kill civilians, and withdraw.

But he also called on his fighters to be mindful of civilians during combat, suggesting the bloodshed is sapping support also for the militants among ordinary Afghans.

Insurgents often launch attacks from civilian homes and a constant stream of suicide attacks are killing far more civilians than Afghan or foreign troops.

About 2,500 Canadian troops are serving in Afghanistan. The bulk are based in Kandahar province, which shares a border with Pakistan. Seventy-one Canadian soldiers have died since 2002.

Omar went into hiding after a U.S.-led invasion toppled his Taliban regime in Afghanistan six-years ago. Afghan officials have said he is hiding in the Pakistani city of Quetta. Pakistan says he is in Afghanistan.

NATO lists six key priorities for Afghanistan

NEW YORK, Oct 12 (Pajhwok Afghan News): A top US Army general and head of NATO operations in Afghanistan has listed out six top priorities for NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Prominent among them are equipping Afghan National Army (ANA), sustaining NATOs commitment, reinforcing development efforts, engaging Pakistan, counter-narcotics effort and a comprehensive approach.

At a Pentagon press conference on Wednesday, General Bantz Craddack, commander of the European Command, said he remained convinced that NATO and the international community were going to continue to deliver significant improvements to the quality of life of the Afghan people.

We're going to do this through a comprehensive approach. Let me give you what I think are the six keys here, key elements, that we've got to focus on -- we, NATO, ISAF, in conjunction then with other organizations -- on this comprehensive approach, he said.

The most important part of the NATO strategy, he said, is to train and equip the Afghan National Army and Police.

We've got to put an Afghan face on security, he said and referred to a survey by the Asia Foundation. The survey found that nearly 90 percent of the Afghan people interviewed trust the Afghan national army.

We believe that it is well on its way to reaching the strength of about 70,000 by 2010. And that means filled, trained, equipped, competent leadership, capable of operating on their own, Craddack said.

According to the minister of defence, the retention rates now are over 50 percent, and that's a steady improvement from days past.

The greatest single contribution is the improvement in the Afghan National Army. We're going to do more, building OMLTs, Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams, to help work with those battalions.

"That's much like the US embedded training teams. And we think again that by doing this will be the fastest road to direct security by the Afghans, which is essential for this reconstruction and development work, he said.

The general said sustaining NATO's commitment is very important for Afghanistan. We are militarily prevailing. We routinely defeat these opposition militant forces, the Taliban, in combat actions.

"And that's why they have turned and chosen to adopt alternative strategies and tactics, those tactics of indiscriminate roadside bombings and suicide attacks, terrorist tactics if you will, that are taking a heavy toll on the very population they claim to represent: the civilians, Craddack said.

We've got to maintain our military effort and support because we know, at the end, they cannot win without the support of the people. And we've got to convince the Afghan people that the Taliban era of fear and intimidation is over," he added.

He insisted: "We've made progress in lifting the caveats and restrictions that some NATO countries come in with their forces. We've substantially increased our overall troop strength.

The ISAF now is just under 40,000 soldiers. Appreciating the continued support made by the 37 nations that make up the ISAF force, the General said: but we have yet to fully realize the complete filling of our agreed statement of requirements, the numbers of troops and organizations and units we need on the ground.

The American general felt the international community as a whole must increase the development efforts in Afghanistan. We continue to stress that success in Afghanistan will never be measured by military victory.

"Overall success depends on offering a better way of life for the Afghan people. This means providing them jobs, electricity, roads, schools and health care, all vital to success, hr continued.

Provincial Reconstruction Teams, the PRTs that we have there can accomplish quick-impact projects. They build, for example, water wells. Medical support is provided. They deliver humanitarian aid where needed in cases of flooding and other types of support.

"But at the end of the day, it's the long-term investment and development by the international community, the creation of jobs and long-term opportunity, that will make the real difference, he said.

Engaging Pakistan, Craddack said, is one of the crucial elements of success in Afghanistan. NATO, for its part, already has quite extensive military-to-military cooperation with Pakistan. And it is improving every day. I recently saw some of these positive outcomes and this cooperation when I visited a forward operating base on the border with Pakistan two weeks ago."

He said some of the US soldiers there explained in detail how they had noticed a decrease in border crossings by militants due to their joint efforts with the Pakistani military forces across the border.

However, he acknowledged, it was true in many parts of the Afghan-Pakistan border region, there continued to be an offering of sanctuary for the insurgents, and as long as that sanctuary existed, NATOs task would remain difficult.

Though counter-narcotics efforts were not a primary responsibility of NATO, the general said, the alliance must find ways to impact all of the pillars that spawned the narco-terrorism problem.

According to him, NATO can provide support to the Afghan counter-narcotic forces by sharing information and intelligence with them, by providing logistical support, and when needed, bail them out of tough situations.

Lastly, he said: We've got to have -- continued to stress and focus on development and maturation of a comprehensive approach. By this he meant a coordinated application of military and civilian instruments, including the United Nations, the World Bank, nongovernmental organizations, and international organizations.

Like NATO, all these organizations are making great contributions, but I think we still haven't done enough to bring together and integrate all those efforts.

And we must do more to enhance the effectiveness and the efficiency of those organizations.

The effective application of this comprehensive approach by the whole of the international community is the means to enable peace in Afghanistan country and a people, as you know, that has been in conflict for more than three decades, he concluded. Lalit K. Jha

US, UK say stability in Afghanistan a common goal

LONDON, Oct. 12 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Washington and London Thursday identified stability in war-battered Afghanistan, where the security situation has sharply plummeted in recent months, as a long-term commitment for them.

"Its in both nations interest to help create a stable and secure environment there," British Defence Secretary Des Browne told reporters here following talks with his US counterpart Robert Gates.

Defeating Taliban insurgents and ensuring a meaningful reconstruction campaign held the key to peace and stability in that country, added Browne, who stressed:

Ultimately, politics is the answer.

He continued Afghanistan must develop "the government to deal with culture and with their issues. Our job is to give them the space to do that.

For his part, Gates said they conferred on many issues concerning Afghanistan during their meeting that also covered the situation in Iraq. We reviewed the status of NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operations and focused on the situation in parts of the south."

The issued would be taken up at a NATO ministerial conference, due in two weeks, Gates said, acknowledging: The UK is making a substantial contribution in Afghanistan -- some 6,000 troops, the second-largest contingent.

He continued the British forces were working closely with the Afghan army, taking the fight directly to the enemy. "They are making a difference to the people of Afghanistan and also playing an important role in civic development.

Reminded of a New York Times report that the US Marine Corps commandant has sought a pullout from Iraq to strengthen the force in Afghanistan, Gates replied: "I too have heard they are beginning to think about that, and thats all I heard.

But he hastened to remark: Ive seen no plan. No one has come to me with any proposals about it. My understanding is that, at this point, its extremely preliminary thinking on the part of perhaps the staff people in the Marine Corps. But I dont think at this point it has any standing.

Mullah's death leaves Kandahar exposed

OMAR EL AKKAD AND GRAEME SMITH - From Saturday's Globe and Mail

October 13, 2007 - Thousands of people mourned one of the most powerful men in southern Afghanistan Friday, and voiced fears about how they can stand against the Taliban without the renowned tribal elder Mullah Naqib.

The jovial, grey-bearded strongman died of a heart attack on Thursday night, his tribesmen said. He had suffered months of poor health after a suspected Taliban bombing that hospitalized him in March.

His passing leaves a dangerous gap in Kandahar city's defences, according to local officials and Western analysts. Mr. Naqib ruled the Arghandab district, a key buffer zone between the urban areas under government control and the increasingly hostile districts to the north.

“This is really, really bad news,” said Sarah Chayes, an American author who lives in Kandahar city. “Arghandab was the finger in the dike. Now you have a wall of water bearing down on the city.”

Canadian military officials have been worrying about their northern flank for months, as Mr. Naqib's influence waned and the Taliban focused on his territory as a route for attacking the city that once served as their seat of government.

The entire Canadian battle group is devoted to protecting the fertile river valley that leads toward Kandahar city from the southwest, but the Arghandab district could provide the same kind of corridor for insurgents, with plentiful hiding places among its trees and grape fields.

“Mullah Naqib protected Kandahar,” said Abdul Rahim Jan, a tribal elder from Panjwai. “This is a big loss. It's like a thousand people died.”

The Canadian military must quickly set up permanent posts in Arghandab to fill the power vacuum, Ms. Chayes said, estimating that perhaps 200 soldiers will be necessary to keep the peace.

Even before his death, however, Mr. Naqib's grip on Arghandab appeared to be slipping. He controlled the region since his rise to power as an anti-Soviet commander in the 1980s, when his success on the battlefield made him leader of the Alokozais, a populous and powerful tribe.

When interviewed by The Globe and Mail last month, however, the old warrior looked tired and sounded worried. In sharp contrast with his previously confident statements, Mr. Naqib warned that district centres would fall to the Taliban if the Canadian forces withdraw as scheduled in 2009.

“The locations the government holds now will be captured by the Taliban” if the Canadians leave, he said at the time.

On the night before his death, Ms. Chayes sat with him on the veranda of his home on the north side of the city, a comfortably appointed compound with lush gardens. He spoke disconsolately about the deteriorating security in Kandahar province, and seemed deeply saddened by it.

“He could not believe the situation now,” she said. “He died of a broken heart.”

Mr. Naqib, who was in his fifties, was buried Friday in his home village in the Arghandab district. Several notable Afghan politicians rushed to Kandahar to attend his funeral, and his death was announced during Friday prayers at the city's biggest landmark, the blue mosque on the northwestern edge of the city.

A tribal council, or shura, is expected to decide the next leader of the Alokozai tribe. The government's favoured candidate will be Haji Agha Lalai, a provincial council member from Panjwai district who also serves as head of Peace Through Strength, a program intended to help Taliban to switch sides in the war.

Other leading candidates will be Malim Akbar, the brother of slain Kandahar police chief Zabit Akrem Khakrezwal; and Abdul Hakim Jan, a relatively uneducated police commander in Arghandab.

“I am ready to serve, but it's a decision for the people,” said Mr. Lalai, reached by telephone last night.

The process of finding a new leader may take two or three months, Mr. Lalai said. While disparaging his competitors for the position, he suggested that together they might even do a better job than Mr. Naqib at protecting Arghandab.

“We can make the district even cleaner of Taliban than it is now,” he said.

Venturing into the Taleban's backyard

By Syed Shoaib Hasan - BBC News, South Waziristan Friday, 12 October 2007

Sitting inside a cramped shop in the town of Jandola in Pakistan's restive tribal area of South Waziristan, we are hoping to be taken to meet the man who is arguably Pakistan's most feared militant.

Baitullah Mehsud has been accused of organising some of the most devastating suicide attacks in the country.

His exploits have included the capture of over 200 Pakistan soldiers on 30 August. The shop is full of customers, many of whom carry AK-47 rifles.

The shoppers are pro-Taleban militants, or simply Taleban. The reality here is that the terms are inter-changeable.

Jandola marks the beginning of their territory which extends right up to the Afghan border. On our way to the town, we crossed several check posts and a large army convoy heading the other way. We were stopped and searched by troops once.

The soldiers appear to be from Pakistan's extreme northern area, near Gilgit. They are not native to the area, and are mostly Shia Muslims.

Shias are despised by the predominantly Sunni Muslim Taleban. When our contacts finally arrive, the change in the atmosphere is electric as their leader walked in.

Mahmood is a cheerful and cherubic young man in his mid-twenties, and greets us in the traditional tribal manner - hand on chest and a slap on the hands.

He is accompanied by four other men - all in their early twenties. After the greetings Mahmood - the smiling Taleban - motions us to follow. Outside we board a pick-up truck for our onward journey.

Mahmood takes the wheel, his AK-47 at his shoulder. My colleague joins him in the front passenger seat. I am joined in the rear by a young militant called Faisal.

The rest settle in the back, where one of them mans a mounted machine gun. As we fly along the dusty and pot-holed road, I notice that it is a harsh, arid terrain, with craggy and forbidding mountains lining the horizon.

"A fedayeen attacked a convoy here two days ago," says Faisal as we round a hillside. Fedayeen - literally those who sacrifice themselves - is the Taleban honorific for a suicide bomber.

Faisal goes on to claim there were several deaths, although the army only admitted three soldiers were injured. A few minutes later we enter a valley with narrow gorges. Faisal says the area is called Tangh and has historical importance.

Before partition, he says, Mehsud tribesmen ambushed a 200-vehicle British convoy here. He says that not a single man escaped as the British forces were cut down.

The past seems to hold few lessons for the present, Faisal argues, because another invading army - this time in the form of the Pakistani military - is also trying to blunder its way through.

But in this territory, there is almost a complete absence of Pakistani soldiers: there are only abandoned check posts and fortifications.

"They haven't come back since we captured the convoy," my guide explains. "Even the British never came to stay - they knew well enough.

"We will not tolerate the presence of any armed men other than our own in our territory." It takes us another couple of hours before we reach our destination.

During this time we pass through several small villages. The reaction of the people is startling - the children smile and wave, while the adults look on with respect and pride.

It appears that local support for the militants is almost universal. Faisal explains to me why he and his counterparts are increasingly targeting the army.

"We are forced to do this because of the government's policies for America's benefit," he says.

He and Mahmood are convinced that if opposition leader Benazir Bhutto returns to Pakistan in a power-sharing deal with President Musharraf, this pro-Americanism will get stronger.

"She is actually a Shia, so what else can we expect," he says. This anti-Shia resentment is palpable. In early August, Baitullah Mehsud's militants slaughtered a captured Shia soldier by cutting off his head. Minutes later we are at our destination.

We see two huge walled compounds, encompassing the homesteads typical of the area, located in a small valley. A group of children rush out to greet us, followed by several armed Taleban. Inside, we are told our host - Zulfiqar Mehsud, Baitullah's spokesman and deputy - will take a few hours to join us.

We do not know the cause of the delay, but can be certain that it is not because of the manoeuvres of the Pakistan army, because this is an area in which the militants are in complete control.

What we didn't know at this stage was that Baitullah Mehsud was not here, but away fighting in Afghanistan. In his next report, Syed Shoaib Hasan talks to Zulfiqar Mehsud and some of the captured Pakistani soldiers.

German lawmakers extend Afghan mission

By DAVID McHUGH - Associated Press / October 12, 2007

BERLIN - Germany's lower house of parliament on Friday overwhelmingly approved extending the deployment of 3,000 troops and six reconnaissance jets in Afghanistan for another year, despite mounting public skepticism about the mission. The vote in the 613-seat Bundestag — 454-79 with 48 abstentions — was the final step needed to extend the mission.

Public opinion polls recently indicated most Germans want the troops to come home following attacks on German forces and kidnappings of German citizens there. But Chancellor Angela Merkel's government had pressed for a renewal, saying to pull out now would open the door to a possible return of the Taliban regime ousted in 2001 and endanger years of progress in rebuilding the country.

Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, a left-wing Social Democrat, said during the Bundestag debate that troops were needed to support rebuilding schools so that Afghan children, especially girls who were banned from schools by the Taliban, had a chance to get an education.

"This is real development that we are moving forward with," Wieczorek-Zeul said. "Seventy percent of the population is under 25 and we want, through building up of the educational system and above all through elementary education, to give children and youth — and precisely girls — the chance to go to school."

The all-weather jets from the Luftwaffe's Tactical Reconnaissance Wing 51 "Immelmann," supported by 280 personnel, are based near Mazar-e-Sharif in northern Afghanistan and can provide faster, farther-ranging photographic information to assist security forces on the ground than can unpiloted drones, according to the German air force.

Most of the 2,800 German ground troops are in the north of the country as part of the International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF. Germany has resisted any suggestion they should take part in the heavier fighting in the south of the country.

The head of the Social Democrats' parliamentary faction, former Defense Minister Peter Struck, said the mission had already been a success and the situation in the north had become "much more stable." At the same time he warned the mission could remain in place for another decade.

Officer hails Afghan 'progress' – BBC

A British Army commander has praised his troops for helping to bring about a "more normal pattern of life" in Afghanistan's Helmand province. Lt Col Stuart Carver from the 1st Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment, said they had "taken the fight to the enemy" during their six-month tour of duty.

In a letter to his local newspaper, he said witnessing reconstruction projects was the "real" success. Nine members of the regiment, nicknamed the Vikings, have died since March. In a letter to the Eastern Daily Press, Col Carver said: "When we arrived in March many commentators were claiming the war was already lost, but the change in the nature of operations over the six months has been astonishing.

"The Taleban have been beaten back and dislodged from their comfort zones in the Green Zone of the River Helmand because the Vikings have taken a determined fight to the enemy."

He added that troops had been involved in some of the most ferocious close-quarter combat the British Army has ever seen, as well as dealing with challenging terrain and temperatures exceeding 50 degrees celsius. He said: "The real measurement of success has not been the numeric destruction of our foe but the embryonic beginning of reconstruction projects and the return to a more normal pattern of life, particularly in the vital town of Sangin."

He said that the 600 men and women of the battalion represented the "best of East Anglia", and that they had risked life and limb to make Afghanistan a safer place and win the trust of the local population. Fifty-seven soldiers from the regiment, who are due to return to the UK next week, have also been wounded in battle. Col Carver said: "There will not be a town in East Anglia that does not know someone who has been injured."

A memorial fund has been established to provide assistance to Royal Anglian soldiers who have been seriously wounded and help to the families of those killed.

Texas firm accused of overbilling U.S. government in Afghanistan

By LIZ AUSTIN PETERSON Associated Press / October 11, 2007

HOUSTON — A mom-and-pop Texas company that provides security in Afghanistan is accused of overbilling the U.S. government by charging for nonexistent employees and vehicles, an American security official with close ties to the company told The Associated Press.

Houston-based U.S. Protection and Investigations, which does security work for the U.S. State Department arm USAID, is the latest firm to face scrutiny since private guards allegedly killed 17 Iraqi civilians. The overbilling by USPI could add up to millions of dollars, the American security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in Kabul.

Eric Dubelier, USPI's attorney, called the official's allegations "factually incorrect." He said no one has accused the company or any of its employees of wrongdoing. He acknowledged the government is conducting an inquiry into the firm but declined to elaborate. USPI was founded two decades ago by Barbara and Del Spier of Hempstead, about 50 miles northwest of Houston. The firm is headquartered in Houston but the Spiers reportedly spend much of their time in Afghanistan.

According to its Web site, USPI's five years of work in Afghanistan have included contracts with several international companies and organizations to provide security for mine clearing and the construction of roads and buildings. In a 2004 interview with the Houston Chronicle, Barbara Spier said helping the United States meet its goals in Afghanistan was worth the sacrifice of working in such a dangerous country.

"I come back here and all I hear is bad, bad, bad," she told the newspaper. "But over there, the people are wonderful. They don't want us to leave. They are afraid the Taliban will take over again."

The company employs more than 3,600 people in the war-torn country, nearly all of whom are Ministry of Interior supplementary troops, its Web site says.

Other USPI employees are highly paid Americans such as Evan McAdams, a former Fort Bend school district police officer who joined the company so his family could afford to buy a new house. He was killed in 2005 in a vehicle collision near Kabul. USPI's hiring practices in Afghanistan have drawn criticism from the International Crisis Group, a Belgium-based think tank that works to prevent and resolve deadly conflict.

In a 2005 report on disarmament in Afghanistan, the group said a majority of the men on USPI's payroll are associated with private militias and have not gone through formal channels.

"Many have used their authority to engage in criminal activity, including drug trafficking," the report said.

Later that year, the firm drew attention again when an Afghan official said an American supervisor for USPI allegedly shot to death his Afghan interpreter and was flown out of the country the next day. USPI officials have declined to comment on the incident.

The American security official said agents from the private security firm Blackwater USA raided USPI's Kabul office last month and seized computers and office files. Blackwater helps provide security for the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan. It also employs the guards accused of killing the Iraqi civilians.

Associated Press writers Jason Straziuso and Fisnik Abrashi contributed to this report from Kabul.

Northern wheat trader survey and Afghan food security

A special report by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET)

Date: 05 Oct 2007 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This study is part of the "Central Asian Regional Wheat Markets and Afghan Food Security Initiative." It is one of five complementary activities that build on and expand the current knowledge base, and aim to clarify critical issues surrounding Central Asian regional wheat markets and their relationship to Afghan food security.

In Afghanistan, bread is the staple food and on average accounts for over half of the calories in the diet. Approximately one-fourth to one-third of the wheat(1) and flour used for making bread is imported, mainly from Pakistan, but also from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Imports are increasingly important, especially for urban areas. Imports were also found to account for a significant portion of the markets in rural areas, even in the "breadbasket" provinces of the north.

The increasingly high levels of imports are the combination of many factors:

- Overall, national wheat production does not meet total requirements due to primitive agricultural practices, harsh growing conditions, and limited irrigation.

- Most wheat is consumed on-farm. Marketable supplies of wheat are highly limited – on a national scale, less than 10 percent of production reaches the markets.

- Markets are inundated by relatively low priced flour from neighboring countries, notably Pakistan, which subsidizes its wheat industry.

- Consumers have acquired increasing preference for imported flour.

Based on the survey and a review of customs data, total wheat and flour imports are estimated at one million metric tons for 007/08, down slightly from 1. million metric tons last year. Imports by origin are estimated as follows: Pakistan 600,000 MT, Uzbekistan 00,000 MT, Kazakhstan 150,000 MT, Iran 5,000(2) MT and other 25,000 MT. Food aid for 2007 is estimated to be 100,000 MT, a similar quantity as 2006. Nearly all of the commercial imports (over 90 percent) will be imported as flour. Nearly all of the imported commercial wheat is from Kazakhstan.

Interviews were carried out in early June 2007 with about a dozen traders and millers in Hirat and Mazar-i-Sharif with brief visits to the border points at Tourghundy, Termez, Andkhoi and to the markets in Shibirghan and Kabul. Market participants cited limited credit and storage facilities as their major business impediments. Security was also an important concern. The majority of traders rent or lease readily available transport. The greatly improved road situation has stimulated the transport industry and the number of highway checkpoints, have been greatly reduced.

This season, the Hirat wheat crop of over 400,000 MT is estimated to be the largest of any province, but it is mostly consumed on-farm. The survey found that 60-70 percent of the flour in Hirat markets originates from Pakistan and another 20 to 30 percent from Kazakhstan. The balance (roughly 5 to 10 percent) is Iranian, Uzbek, and local flour. Hirat is filled with consumer goods and other commodities from nearby Iran. However, there is little flour or wheat due to Iran's trade barriers. Relatively minor quantities of wheat and some flour from Kazakhstan arrive via rail at Tourghundy at the border directly north of Hirat. Tourghundy could serve once again, as it did in the past, as an alternative route during future food emergency operations. Wheat and flour in the Hirat markets are largely consumed in the city itself, but important flows also move into nearby Badghis and Ghor provinces.

Mazar is one of the key wheat and flour markets in the country, and has four operational industrial flour mills. It is in the heart of the "breadbasket" and located near the strategic border crossing at Hairatan / Termez. In the past Hairatan was a major storage and supply hub for WFP. Wheat and flour from the North and from Central Asia is temporarily stored in Mazar before being transshipped mainly to the north and central regions and but also to Kabul.

There are no formal systems of grades and standards, or effective phytosanitary or health controls for wheat and flour. Most transactions occur after the buyer or his agent physically and subjectively inspect the goods. Flour is often sold based on established brands, but alteration and counterfeiting occur. Afghanistan's shattered economy serves as a dumping ground for low-quality wheat and flour from neighboring countries.

The main obstacles to trade in the region surrounding Afghanistan include transportation bottlenecks, exchange controls, and cumbersome customs procedures. However, these obstacles are not a major problem in the case of wheat and flour, with the exception of exports from Iran. Well-established formal and informal arrangements allow for ample commerce in wheat and flour. Import tariffs are only 3.5 percent, and hence contraband is not a major issue.

Key aspects of regional wheat and flour markets include the following:

- Afghanistan has replaced Iran as the region's largest wheat importer (mostly in the form of flour).

- The leading exporters (and most important sources of supplies for Afghanistan) are Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.

- Pakistan accounts for 500,000 to 600,000 MT (60 percent) of flour imports to Afghanistan. These imports are almost entirely as flour. Pakistan's huge surpluses are normally a stable source of supply for Afghanistan, although occasional interruptions occur.

- Iran is an important and uncertain "swing factor" in the region. Iran has gone from among the world's largest wheat importers to self-sufficiency. Iran may soon open up exports to Afghanistan.

- Uzbekistan has steadily shifted large portions of its massive irrigation schemes from cotton to wheat. It is Afghanistan's second largest supplier of flour, upwards of 200,000 MT. Afghanistan is perhaps the most important export market for Uzbek flour.

- Kazakhstan is a major player in world wheat markets with huge surpluses from a bumper crop of over 13.5 million MT. Kazakhstan normally has by far the largest exportable supplies of wheat and flour in the region, over seven million MT. However, production is entirely rain fed and subject to frequent drought. Still, with Iran now out of the market for Kazakh wheat, ample supplies will likely be available for shipment to Afghanistan for the next several years.

- Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and the Kyrgyz Republic do not currently have major affects on Afghan food security situation either as suppliers or potential competitors.

The nearly-completed national "Ring Road," along with thousands of kilometers of improved secondary roads, has already had huge benefits to the overall Afghan economy. An important finding of this survey is that in recent years, imported flour has increasingly moved further into the remote districts. This has enhanced overall food security but has likely had detrimental market affects on farmers. These are major changes in the rural economy and food security situation, and merit further study.

A new railroad from Iran to Hirat is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2008 will greatly facilitate trade. In addition, two major projects which will improve ports on the Gulf of Oman and connect with highways into Afghanistan will open new alternative trade routes to India, Pakistan, and other international markets, and will therefore help enhance food security in Afghanistan. In addition, a couple of additional future factors that could affect Afghan food security include the massive transport infrastructure projects which will facilitate local and regional trade are among the most significant on the positive side and the on-going civil strife and political uncertainty on the negative side.

The survey confirmed that the principal wheat and flour markets in the northern and western areas (and, in fact, in much of the country) are closely integrated with markets within the region, and act to stabilize supplies and prices. Still, with an important portion of the urban population highly dependent on these imports, any major shock to the market and transport systems could cause substantial price increases.

The following are some of the many "information gaps" which require further attention:

- Aspects of wheat and flour markets in neighboring countries as some of these countries are largely closed to the outside world.

- Present and future food security impacts of the Ring Road and other massive transport projects on the wheat industry, farmers, and consumers.

- Dynamics between urban and rural markets for wheat and flour.

- Basic statistical and market information including crop production, imports, population, and prices. The information is either lacking and/or highly unreliable.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Given the vital role of imported flour in Afghanistan, early warning activities must include regular monitoring and analysis of wheat and flour markets in the broader region.

2. The highest priority should be placed on establishing a system of exchange of food security and market information between interested parties in Afghanistan and Pakistan. WFP could play an important role as a facilitator and/or participant.

3. As a prerequisite for monitoring and analyzing regional markets, FEWS NET and WFP should take steps towards gaining deeper knowledge and understanding of these markets going beyond the initial "snapshots" of this study. The focus should be on practical, "real world" insights that will assist early warning and food security analysis and programming, including food aid.

4. A systematic, in-depth analysis of Afghanistan's food security situation in the context of Central Asian regional markets should be carried out in May or June, just prior to the beginning of each marketing year, with quarterly updates.

5. Early warning activities must include regular monitoring and analysis of the wheat and flour markets within Afghanistan itself. This should include the active and mutually-beneficial involvement of a small select group of key informants ( i.e. merchants, traders, millers, etc.).

6. FEWS NET and WFP should explore other possible activities that might be of mutual benefit involving information collection and market monitoring such as improved market price collection and regular reporting.

7. WFP should make every effort to purchase flour, wheat, and other foodstuffs (including fortified biscuits) from local sources in Afghanistan. This will have an important impact on the fledgling milling industry and will also help farmers and the economy in general.

8. Given increased insecurity and limited availability of local wheat, WFP should further explore sourcing wheat from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Flour from both of these countries could be brought into Hirat and Mazar taking advantage of regular rail transport and ample storage at the border points of Tourghundy and Hairatan. Iran should also be considered.

9. WFP could continue to play an important role in food security by supporting Food for Work projects focused on improved wheat production, storage, and transport.

10. Follow up is recommended on issues outlined in this survey under "Information Gaps." For example, an examination of the impacts on food security of the massive transformation of the road systems.

AWN warns against compromise on war crimes

[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.]