In this bulletin:

• Suicide bomb targets Afghan police
• NATO airstrikes kill suspected insurgent near Afghan capital of Kabul
• Spokesman says Taleban kidnap five policeman in Afghan east
• Afghan commandos capture Taliban operative
• Local people defended district against Taleban - Afghan paper
• Afghan government uncertain about talks with Taleban – TV
• Well-organized al-Qaida returning in Afghanistan
• Pakistan army, militants cease fire in Afghan border region, officials say
• Taliban preparing for attack on Afghan warlord
• Afghan leader woos Canadians
• Rally backs Afghan mission
• Quebec results could shape Afghan mission
• Reconstruction projects to boost "unstable" districts of Afghan province
• Iran envoy awarded Afghan badge
• Slipping into chaos: U.S., allies must renew focus on Afghanistan
• Opinion: Stabilising the tribal belt
• Two tonnes of drugs seized in western Afghanistan
• Poppy paradox in Afghanistan
• ONCE WHIPPED BY TALIBAN, GIRL MAKES MARK AS AFGHAN SOCCER STAR

Suicide bomb targets Afghan police

(CNN) -- A suicide attacker on Monday killed at least seven people in southern Afghanistan, Interior Ministry spokesman Zmarai Bashary said.

The incident occurred in the Nad Ali district of Helmand province, a region that has been a major front in the war between NATO forces and the Taliban militant group.

The bomber detonated in front of the entrance gate of the district's chief police officer. Of the seven killed, four were police and three were civilians. Six others were wounded.

"The Interior Ministry of Afghanistan condemns this act of our enemies, who are working against the stability and security of Afghanistan," said Bashary.

NATO airstrikes kill suspected insurgent near Afghan capital of Kabul

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — NATO and Afghan army troops came under fire east of Kabul and then called in airstrikes, killing at least one suspected insurgent, officials said Monday.

The joint forces were attacked Sunday morning in Surobi district, about 40 kilometres east of the capital, said Maj. Charles Anthony, spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force.

"They had come under attack from insurgents, returned fire, and then called in close air support," Anthony said. "This is clearly going after a Taliban insurgent target, but we just don't have a whole lot of information on what the results were."

One insurgent was killed in the battle and one weapons cache was destroyed, he said. There were no reports of NATO, Afghan army or civilian casualties.

Surobi police chief Gen. Yardil Nizami said the bombardment destroyed one house in the village of Gazbala, killing two men and wounding two others.

Nizami did not know if the casualties - all from the same family - were militants or civilians, but noted many villagers in the area support insurgents.

"They are not good people. The local people are even facilitating opportunities for the enemy," he said, adding many Arab, Chechen and Taliban insurgents had recently been in the area.

The Interior Ministry said it has sent a delegation to investigate the incident.

More than 4,300 people - mostly militants - have died in insurgency-related violence this year, according to an Associated Press tally of figures from Western and Afghan officials.

Spokesman says Taleban kidnap five policeman in Afghan east

Text of report in English by Afghan independent Pajhwok news agency website

Kabul, 16 September: Taleban have kidnapped five policemen after burning their post in Zormat District of the southeastern Paktia Province last night.

Col Mohammad Gol, spokesman for the 203 Thunder Corps in the southeastern zone, said the security post was located on Gardez-Zurmat road.

Taleban seized the post after exchange of fire for about 90 minutes, said the spokesman, who added it was set on fire by the militants.

Gol said no policeman was killed or injured but the militants had kidnapped five cops.

Provincial officials, however, said the policemen had taken refuge at a secret place and were not kidnapped by the Taleban.

Taleban spokesman Shahaboddin Atal said several cops had been killed besides the kidnapping of the five personnel.

Afghan commandos capture Taliban operative

By Khalid Hasan
Daily Times 17 September 2007

WASHINGTON: A new battalion of Afghan National Army commandos completed its first operation on Friday, capturing a well-known Taliban facilitator and two suspected Taliban extremists, according to a Pentagon announcement.

Working with a contingent of Afghan national police advised by coalition forces, the commandos led a two-day mission 30 miles southwest of Jalalabad in the Sherzad district of Nangahar province.

During the mission, the commandos captured and detained Haji Shir Khan, a known improvised explosive device (IED) maker, who is responsible for numerous IED attacks on Afghan and coalition forces in the province. The assault force also found two weapons caches that contained 18 rocket-propelled-grenade rounds, an anti-tank mine, 10 hand grenades, a 12-gauge shotgun, eight fully-loaded AK-47 magazines, and more than 80 kilograms of opium.

“The commandos represent a bright future for the Afghan national security forces, and it’s no surprise after all of their training that they were successful in today’s mission,” said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, a Combined Joint Task Force 82 spokesman. In separate actions the same day, in Ghazni province, Afghan and coalition forces killed several suspected militants and detained another.

Also, several suspected militants were killed and two others were detained during an operation in Helmand province. The detainees include a suspected militant who was wounded during the course of operations and evacuated for further medical attention. Soldiers found opium, several AK-47s, numerous full ammunition vests, a machine gun and several rocket-propelled grenades during the operation, it was claimed.

Local people defended district against Taleban - Afghan paper

Text of report by Afghan Herat University newspaper Pagah on 15 September

A few nights ago, about 100 Taleban fighters attacked Farsi District, wanting to capture it. However, they encountered tough resistance from the security forces and the residents of this district and thus, accepted the defeat.

The attack came after the district residents had repeatedly warned government officials and had already informed the Herat Provincial Council that the situation was critical in their region. They had also told them that if government officials failed to take serious measures, the situation would worsen.

The Thursday night attack was a proof to their claim. However, in response to the officials' silence, the residents of Farsi District undertook the responsibility on their own and defended their region. Of course, the security forces' efforts are also appreciable. But the obvious point is that unless the people supported the security forces, the result of the incident would have been completely the opposite of what took place.

The support of this district's people for the security forces comes at a time when the government has failed to launch the necessary reconstruction projects and offer contributions to this district. Farsi District is one of the most deprived districts of the province.

The Taleban, who are provided with intelligence facilities by Pakistan, never launch an attack without sufficient information. They had certainly been informed that there are not sufficient security forces in this district. However, their only mistake which led to their defeat had been their assumption that the people would not support the security forces.

If the government does not take into consideration and appreciate this people's support, it will certainly lose such acts of support in the future. In addition, the result of its operations would be but success.

Afghan government uncertain about talks with Taleban – TV

Text of report by Afghan independent Ariana TV on 16 September

[Presenter] The Afghan government has so far not come to a concrete conclusion about holding talks with Taleban insurgents.

President Karzai's spokesperson says they are in a position where they are not sure whether to accept the Taleban's proposal on principle or not.

This is said while earlier the government had repeatedly announced that it was ready to hold talks with Taleban militants. Political analysts believe this hesitation on the part of the Afghan government is due to different discussions in the Afghan parliament.

[Reporter] In reaction to the recent statement of Taleban militants about holding talks with the Afghan government, Homayun Hamidzada, the spokesperson of President Karzai, says the government has not come to a concrete conclusion regarding the issue. Earlier, the government had repeatedly emphasized that it was ready to negotiate with Taleban militants.

[Karzai's spokesperson in Dari] We are in a situation where we ha! ve to decide whether to hold talks with Taleban militants on principle or not and if we are going to hold talks, then under which conditions and circumstances?

[Reporter] Some people believe that a number of cabinet members are concerned that they will lose their position if the government negotiates with Taleban militants and therefore they are trying to prevent these negotiations.

[First unidentified political analyst in Dari] There is no doubt that the people who have a fixed position in the cabinet of President Karzai are not willing to give up or share their position with a power like that of the Taleban.

[Second unidentified political analyst in Pashto] This is a fact. If the government negotiates with the Taleban or the Islamic Movement of Afghanistan, then the government has to give them a position in the Afghan cabinet. If they find a position in the cabinet then it is obvious that some of those high ranking cabinet members will lose their positio! n. They are not happy and worried that they may lose their position.</ p>

[Reporter] Although Taleban militants said they were waiting for the government's official response, but the spokesperson of President Karzai says that Taleban militants also have not reached a concrete conclusion amongst themselves.

Well-organized al-Qaida returning in Afghanistan

Los Angeles Times, 09/16/2007 By John Kirakou, Richard Klein

Contrary to what U.S. politicians say, the nation is extraordinarily dangerous and falling apart.

Donald Rumsfeld says in the current edition of GQ magazine that the war in Afghanistan has been "a big success," with people living in freedom and life "improved on the streets."

To anyone working in the country, there is only one possible informed response: What Afghanistan is the man talking about?

In reality, Afghanistan —- former Taliban stronghold, al-Qaida haven and warlord-cum-heroin-smuggler finishing school —- feels more and more like Sept. 10, 2001, than a victory in the U.S. war on terrorism.

The country is, plain and simple, a mess. Al-Qaida and its Taliban allies have quietly regained territory, rendering wide swaths of the country off-limits to U.S. and Afghan forces, international aid workers and even journalists.

Violent attacks against Western interests are routine. Even Kabul, which the White House has held up as a postcard for what is possible in Afghanistan, has become so dangerous that foreign embassies are in states of lockdown, diplomats do not leave their offices and venturing beyond security perimeters requires daylight-only travel, armored vehicles, Kevlar and armed escorts.

Fear reigns among average Afghans in Kabul. Street crime, virtually unheard of in Afghan culture, has increased dramatically over the past three years as angry, unemployed and often radicalized young men settle scores with members of other tribes and clans, steal and rob to feed their families and vent their frustration with a government that appears powerless to help them.

Taking a chance by eating in one of Kabul's handful of restaurants or going shopping in one of the few markets left is a new version of Russian roulette.

For U.S. officials and diplomats, Kabul is simply a prison. Embassies are completely closed to vehicular and even foot traffic.

Indeed, at the American Embassy, the consular section issues visas only to Afghan government officials.

If an average Afghan wants a visa to the U.S., he or she must travel to Islamabad, Pakistan, to apply. To allow Afghans to stand in line for visas at the embassy in Kabul would invite terrorist attacks or attract suicide bombers.

An American Embassy staffer going to the U.S. Agency for International Development office across the street is required to use an underground tunnel that links the two compounds. Even though the street is closed to all traffic other than official U.S. or U.N. vehicles and is patrolled and guarded by armored personnel carriers, tanks and Kalashnikov-carrying security personnel with a safety perimeter of several blocks, the risk from snipers, mortars or grenades is ever-present.

Working in Supermax Afghanistan makes the USAID's performance all the more heroic. Since 2003, the agency has overseen the investment of more than $4 billion in Afghanistan, has built more than 500 schools and an equal number of clinics and has paved more than 1,000 miles of roads, all while suffering about 130 casualties at the hands of the Taliban and al-Qaida.

By some measures, Afghanistan should be a feel-good story by now —- the Taliban is, officially at least, out of power, al-Qaida has been chased to the wilds of the Afghan-Pakistani border and U.S. forces are on hand to consolidate and solidify a peaceful new order.

But the truth is very different. By any measure, this remains a "hot" war with a well-armed, motivated and organized enemy.

Village by village, tribe by tribe and province by province, al-Qaida is coming back, enforcing a form of Islamic life and faith rooted in the 12th century, intimidating reformers, exacting revenge and funding itself with dollars from massive poppy cultivation and heroin smuggling.

As al-Qaida re-establishes itself, Osama bin Laden remains free to send video messages and serve as an ideological beacon to jihadis worldwide.

The country's president, Hamid Karzai, meanwhile, is in effect little more than the mayor of Kabul. The war in Afghanistan is a political and military one-step-forward-two-steps-back exercise.

The work there isn't just unfinished, it is more dangerous and less certain than policy-makers in Washington and talking heads in New York studios can imagine. Those suggesting otherwise are either naive or flacking a political agenda.

John Kiriakou was a CIA counter-terrorism official from 1998 to 2004 who recently returned from Afghanistan. Richard Klein, a former U.S. State Department official, is managing director for the Middle East and Arabian Gulf at Kissinger McLarty Associates in Washington. They wrote this article for the Los Angeles Times.

Pakistan army, militants cease fire in Afghan border region, officials say

The Associated Press - Monday, September 17, 2007

PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Pakistan's army has agreed to a cease-fire with militants holding some 260 soldiers hostage near the Afghan border, officials said Monday.

The soldiers were seized Aug. 30 in South Waziristan, a tribal region where pro-Taliban militants hold sway. Fighting between the militants and security forces there has since left scores of people dead.

Tribal leaders acting as mediators have managed to establish the cease-fire, said Arbab Arif Khan, the government official responsible for security in Pakistan's troubled tribal belt.

"They are now in session with the militants to secure the release of the hostages," Khan said. "We don't yet know what the terms would be."

Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad confirmed the agreement to stop the fighting. Representatives of the militants could not immediately be reached for comment.

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has sent thousands of extra troops into the border region amid signs that Taliban and al-Qaida militants are gaining strength there. The move has triggered fierce fighting.

Authorities suspect extremists based near the border of organizing a string of suicide bombings, including one that killed 16 soldiers at an army barracks last week.

Arshad said he had no confirmation of a report that two soldiers and 16 militants were killed in a clash on the boundary between North and South Waziristan early Monday.

An intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly, said another five soldiers were injured in the battle at the Pusht Ziarat security post and that 10 were listed as missing.

Taliban preparing for attack on Afghan warlord

Updated Sun. Sep. 16 2007 - CTV.ca News Staff

CTV has obtained video of Taliban fighters preparing for a looming attack on Canadian and government forces -- particularly a high-profile Kandahar warlord.

The insurgents are in Khakrez, a remote northern district of Kandahar province where Canadian troops aren't currently operating.

"The Taliban is the government here," one villager told CTV News, covering his face to protect his identity. "There are at least 4,000 living with us. We support them."

The Taliban have recently stolen a truck belonging to a government-funded de-mining company, killing three in the process.

Within days, they hope to use it in an attack on Mullah Naqib -- a former Taliban supporter who switched sides in 2001. He met Prime Minister Stephen Harper in March.

Naqib's men operate Canadian-made checkpoints that guard the northern passage into Kandahar. Canadian soldiers guard the western road leading into Kandahar, the province's capital.

Naqib's support for the government has made him a Taliban target before. In March, a roadside bomb struck his armoured vehicle. The blast killed one son, crippled another and left Naqib walking with a cane.

"It has been very tough," he said. "I have lost my sons. I am devastated."

Naqib appears to be as concerned about a possible Canadian withdrawal in February 2009 as another Taliban assassination attempt.

"Canada must not be scared away," he said. "Otherwise, the Taliban will overwhelm government towns and leave the Canadian missions as little but a joke among Afghans."

Although he appreciated that 70 Canadian soldiers have died in Afghanistan since 2002, Naqib pointed out that more than 200 Afghan police had been killed in a matter of months.

Afghan soldiers and police need more time and training to be able to defeat the Taliban, he said.

With a report from CTV's Steve Chao in Kandahar

Afghan leader woos Canadians

Karzai set to meet journalists in bid to push support for unpopular mission

September 17, 2007 - Bruce Campion-Smith OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF

KABUL–As Canadians work to win the hearts of Afghans, President Hamid Karzai is making his own play to win over Canadians skeptical about their country's military mission in Afghanistan.

In an extraordinary move, Canadian journalists embedded with the Canadian military in Kandahar province were flown to Kabul yesterday in anticipation of audience with the Afghan president that could happen today.

The proposed meeting shows Karzai is sensitive to the growing debate in Canada to scale back its Afghan mission and withdraw the 2,300 Canadian troops from the frontline in Kandahar.

But with few other NATO nations signalling their willingness to take Canada's place, there's growing concern here that a decision to pull back troops to safer duties elsewhere could spell trouble for the restive southern region.

About a dozen Canadian media representatives boarded a Canadian Forces Hercules transport yesterday for the flight to Kabul, where they awaited confirmation of a meeting with Karzai.

In the past, he has warned rebuilding Afghanistan is a long-term task and implored Canada to stick around, a message he's likely to repeat.

The message is also timed to be delivered in advance of a "high-level" United Nations meeting later this month in New York, focused on Afghanistan. Karzai is scheduled to meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to seek a renewed commitment from the international community to aiding Afghanistan.

But there's also pressure here to ensure the Canadian military remains in place past February 2009, when Afghan elections are scheduled.

When Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited Kabul last May, Karzai heaped praise on the work of Canadian soldiers while cautioning the work of rebuilding his troubled country will take time.

Since then, there's been growing pressure within Canada to withdraw troops. Now, even Harper himself says the current military mission won't continue without political consensus past February 2009, when the current commitment is due to run out.

But a pullout from the south would be a mistake, warns Asif Rahimi, a Canadian who serves as deputy minister of programs for the Afghan ministry of rural rehabilitation and development.

"Cutting loose, running away without having definite results from all the investments made in Afghanistan, both on the security as well as development," would be a mistake, Rahimi said.

"I think the international community has both a moral obligation plus a very pragmatic responsibility. Packing up prematurely will not necessarily contribute to the security of the Canadians," he said last night in an interview.

The deputy minister cautioned that Canadians, with their attention focused on the troubled southern region, are missing the success stories elsewhere in the country.

"When you travel you do see signs of success. You do see new life, businesses, you see the government presence," Rahimi said, citing a recent trip through northern Afghanistan where he opened new schools, bridges, roads and irrigation projects.

"Afghanistan is not all going down the tube," he said, adding that such progress is making it difficult for the Taliban to spread their insurgency.

Still, Rahimi cautioned, if Afghan government officials are to win the insurgency, "they must be able to protect the rest of this country and pay attention to the welfare of the people, employment and infrastructure," in order to show an example. "If security comes, this is what is going to happen to your area."

Even in Kandahar, he said there were improvements with ministry planners, finance officers and procurement experts based in the province to help spur development. "I think these stories too have to be communicated to the Canadians," Rahimi added.

While the insurgency is on the upswing, the Taliban is not a strong force, he said. "They're filling a gap in the south created by a weak government rather than a strong insurgency."

Earlier this month, Karzai called for negotiations with the Taliban. While Canada has rejected negotiations with insurgents, diplomats caution that peace talks might work to get softer elements of the insurgency to halt the violence.

But Rahimi is not optimistic that talks with the Taliban are the solution. "It's always black and white. There's no grey in the Taliban world," he said. "Their position will always be to impose their values on the rest of the world."

The Afghan civil servant was born and educated in Afghanistan but moved to Canada after the Soviet invasion in 1979. He moved back in 2005 but still has a home in an Ottawa suburb.

Rally backs Afghan mission

By SUN MEDIA - TORONTO -- Khoja Tamim Sediqui wants everyone to know his birthplace is better off because of Canada.

Sediqui is the president of the Canadian Afghan Council which hosted a rally yesterday in Toronto in support of this country's mission in the Middle East.

"Six years ago women couldn't go to school, men were forced to grow beards and women were forced to wear a veil," Sediqui said before the rally. "The Taliban were in control and the people ... were hostages in their own homes."

Today Afghanistan is much better off with new schools, bridges, roads and dams, he said, with Canada a large part of a UN mission to provide security that is necessary for the rebuilding of the infrastructure of the country.

The people are thankful for Canada's contributions and share in the pain when a member of our military is killed in Afghanistan, Sediqui said.

But he is also concerned that without the UN force and Canada's contribution, the Taliban will regain control and terrorism will spread into North America.

"The terrorists have no borders," he said. "We are fighting a group of people that are against all of us."

Canada's military commitment in Afghanistan is scheduled to end in February 2009 unless it is renewed by Parliament. There have been 70 Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan since 2002.

Quebec results could shape Afghan mission

September 17, 2007 - Chantal Hébert, Ottawa - Today's three by-elections will only determine who returns to the House of Commons with the psychological edge next month. But that, in turn, will resonate in the Oct. 16 Speech from the Throne.

If Stephen Harper's candidates take a beating today, the government will be under immense pressure to ensure its survival by spelling out a 2009 exit strategy from Canada's mission in Afghanistan as soon as Parliament reopens.

But if the polls are right and the Conservatives do reasonably well in one or more of the three Quebec seats at stake, the emphasis will likely be on bolder language and a possible challenge to the opposition to give a fuller range of Canadian options for the post-2009 period a comprehensive look.

Government strategists are already taking solace from the fact that even with an ongoing Quebec deployment in Afghanistan, the issue was not as front and centre in the campaign as they had feared.

That may not be enough for the Bloc Québécois to retreat from the brink of a vote against the throne speech. Gilles Duceppe, who has been criticized on the hustings for being too supportive of the Tories, might yet conclude he would only make matters worse for his party by continuing to prop them up.

But short of securing Bloc support, the Tories could have cause to hope that the Liberals – for whom the campaign has turned into a confidence-shattering exercise – would want to lay down their sabres rather than fall on their sword in an election later this year.

When all is said and done, the best outcome for the Prime Minister today would be that the results spook at least one opposition party into keeping his government alive. While the campaign has confirmed Harper's growth potential in Quebec, it continues to fall well short of a one-way ticket to a majority.

The Conservatives are still only cherry-picking seats in Quebec. Their hopes today in Roberval-Lac-Saint-Jean rest largely on the notoriety of their local candidate, Roberval Mayor Denis Lebel, rather than on a return on their many overtures to the province. A Conservative win in Roberval-Lac-Saint-Jean would still leave the party shut out of urban Quebec. And, overall, the by-elections have highlighted the ongoing absence of a strong Conservative organization in the province.

In spite of that, Harper is in much better shape than his main federalist opponent. Even before the votes are counted, the campaign has shown that, at least in Quebec, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion is not election-ready. More than ever, his party is on the defensive and his leadership is not lifting its fortunes.

That's ominous news for the Liberals and, in a roundabout way, for the Bloc, for whom a split in the federalist vote is immensely better than a one-on-one battle against the Conservatives.

As for Harper, who might relish the chance to take on a wounded Liberal leader in a snap general election, he will have to balance that temptation in the weeks to come against the quasi-certain knowledge that he will only get one shot at campaigning for a majority against Dion.

As of tomorrow, the future of the minority Parliament may rest with Dion's survival instincts. He is headed back to Parliament next month with the greatest need for more time.

Reconstruction projects to boost "unstable" districts of Afghan province

Text of report in English by Afghan independent Pajhwok news agency website

Ghazni City, 16 September: Various welfare and reconstruction projects are scheduled to be launched in 10 districts of the southern Ghazni Province under the National Solidarity Programme (NSP), officials said.

An amount of 70m dollars has been allocated for the projects in Zana Khan, Andar, Waghaz, Gero, Qarabagh, Ab Band, Moqor, Gelan, Nawa and Ajrestan Districts.

All the 10 districts are the most unstable from security point of view. However, officials believe implementation of the programme will help bring peace and stability and ensure employment for locals.

According to engineer Samiullah Nasiri, one of the organizers of the programme, nearly 5,000 people from those districts would get jobs.

He said villages containing 20 to 300 houses had been included in the programme. Each family will be given 10,000 afghanis besides launching of welfare projects in their respective areas.

Dr Mohammad Ghani Bahadari, member of the provincial council from the lawless Andar District, welcomed the launching of the programme.

However, he said implementation of the programme would be difficult in districts like Andar due to the security situation.

De! puty head of the provincial council Ustad Habib Rahman said the plan would help overcome widespread unemployment in the 10 backward districts.

Ghazni Province has 18 districts. Reconstruction projects under the NSP were launched in eight districts three years back. However, there was no plan for the remaining 10 districts mainly due to the prevailing security situation there.

Director of rural rehabilitation and development Gholam Sanayi Mail said the new scheme would soon be implemented in the 10 districts.

He said regional councils would be formed as the first step. The councils would launch mass awareness programmes to create awareness among people about the benefits of the development projects.

Iran envoy awarded Afghan badge

PRESS TV, Iran, 09/16/2007- Afghan President Karzai has awarded Iran's Envoy to Kabul Mohammad-Reza Bahrami the highest state order, Ahmad Shah Massoud Badge of Honor.

The badge was offered to the ambassador for his great efforts made to strengthen postive ties during a ceremony held Saturday night at the end of his four-year mission in Kabul.

First Afghan Vice-President Ahmad Zia Massaoud, Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta and National Security Advisor to Afghan President Zalmay Rassoul as well as a number of staff of Iran's Embassy in Kabul were also present at the ceremony.

Hamed Karzai praised Bahrami's efforts to bring the Iranian and Afghan nations closer to each other and expand bilateral relations.

He said that during the past four years, the two countries have been moving along the path of friendship and understanding and have witnessed consolidation of deep-rooted bonds.

The president conveyed a message of friendship of the Afghan people to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Bahrami praised the brave measures of the Afghan people to defend their land, saying the badge of honor shows consolidated relations between Tehran and Kabul and the two sides' resolve to further promote ties.

Ahmad Shah Massoud was an Afghan, ethnic Tajik and a Kabul University engineering student turned military leader who played a leading role in driving the Soviet army out of Afghanistan. He was assassinated in Sept. 2001.

Slipping into chaos: U.S., allies must renew focus on Afghanistan

The Register-Guard, 09/16/2007 - As President Bush and Congress focus intently on the Iraq war and Gen. David Petraeus' assessment of U.S. progress in that land of torment, it's imperative that the United States and its European allies not neglect the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.

That's tempting to do, especially with current and former members of the Bush administration still clinging to the myth that the war in Afghanistan is over and a model democracy is thriving in Kabul. In the current edition of GQ magazine, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld cites impressive progress in Afghanistan where he says people are savoring new freedoms and life has "improved on the streets."

Someone should give Rumsfeld a two-week all-expenses-paid vacation in the Afghan countryside, where a well-armed, organized and motivated al-Qaeda and its Taliban allies often operate with impunity and where U.S. and Afghan troops and even international aid workers are subject to frequent attack. Roadside and suicide bombings, once rare, have become routine.

Or Rumsfeld might try a weekend at the Kabul Hilton. In a recent essay in the Los Angeles Times, John Kiriakou, a former CIA counterterrorism official, and Richard Klein, a former State Department official, offer this grim description of life in the Afghan capital: "Even Kabul, which the White House has held up as a postcard for what is possible in Afghanistan, has become so dangerous that foreign embassies are in states of lockdown, diplomats do not leave their offices, and venturing beyond security perimiters requires daylight-only travel, armored vehicles, Kevlar and armed escorts."

Despite the rosy rhetoric from the White House, the United States has failed to make the necessary investments in the security and reconstruction of Afghanistan. European nations have recently increased their involvement in NATO's Afghan effort, but the United States and its NATO allies are often frustratingly at odds on strategy.

For example, U.S. officials justifiably complain that European countries are reluctant to allow their troops to engage in combat or deploy in the most dangerous parts of the country. Europeans complain, also with justification, that U.S. forces have become too reliant on airstrikes that take an unnecessary civilian toll that alienates ordinary Afghans and plays into the hands of al-Qaeda and Taliban recruiters.

More than military solutions will be required to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan. The United States and its NATO allies must increase their assistance to Afghanistan's struggling governmentand help provide the public services necessary to create a viable economy. Until President Hamid Karzai's government can provide security, core services and, above all, jobs, the insurgency will have little difficulty finding fighters and bankrolling its efforts through the country's resurgent opium trade.

Finally, the Bush administration must find a way to force embattled Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf into confronting tribal leaders in the remote regions of his country that border Afghanistan and persuading them to stop providing a save haven and staging ground for Taliban and al-Qaeda forces.

Four years ago, the Bush administration committed a strategic error of historic proportions by shifting its diplomatic and military resources to Iraq before finishing the job in Afghanistan. Now, U.S. and NATO troops are reaping the whirlwind.

The six-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacksshould serve as a reminder to renew America's focus on Afghanistan, while there is still time to save it from sliding into complete chaos.

Opinion: Stabilising the tribal belt

Dawn 17 September 2007, By Talat Masood - THE worsening situation in the tribal belt could be categorised as one of the foremost among the multiple challenges facing Pakistan. For all practical purposes, the state has lost its authority and is in full retreat especially in Waziristan and Bajaur. The Taliban and other militant groups having strong links with their counterparts in Afghanistan are in control.

Clearly, no government in the 21st century, more so after 9/11, can remain indifferent to this situation due to its serious implications for international security and its adverse fallout on domestic stability.

US intelligence agencies have recently warned that the resurgence of the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and the tribal belt poses a serious threat to homeland security. More than one US presidential candidate have threatened to send US troops into Pakistan to target Al Qaeda and militant sanctuaries, in case of actionable intelligence.

We are also daily witnessing the expanding influence of the Taliban in the settled areas, and the wave is travelling downwards unchecked. Incidents of burning of music and barber shops and blowing up of statues are a clear indication that religious fanaticism has returned with a vengeance.

The government’s initial efforts at countering this mix of terrorism and insurgency through military means and then later through peace deals have both failed in reasserting the writ of the state. Militant groups in Waziristan are intensifying their guerrilla tactics as their confidence grows. They are also resorting to vigilantism to assert social and political control in Waziristan and the adjoining settled areas.

The recent abject surrender of nearly 250 personnel of our armed forces to the militants is a huge embarrassment for the army which prides itself on its professional competence and high level of combat alertness. This incident is another reminder that the war on terror cannot be won with the same tools used in past conventional wars. Neither can it be won with the existing power structure or the one that President Musharraf is hoping to evolve through political “deals” and the use of state machinery.

Combating insurgency needs the support of the nation. Just as external wars cannot be won without the support of the people, as was clearly demonstrated in the 1971 India-Pakistan war, internal insurgency and terrorism cannot be defeated without the broad support of the nation. To say that democracies are also facing insurgencies such as in Nagaland in India or the one Britain faced in Ireland, and for that reason democracy is not a prerequisite, is a misplaced argument.

The United Kingdom was eventually able to resolve the Irish issue on the intrinsic strength of its democracy. Similarly, the Indian government is relatively better placed to tackle the insurgencies on its eastern borders, both in terms of drawing support from the country and engaging in political dialogue with the militants, due to its democratic credentials.

If Pakistan were a democracy and the government had greater legitimacy it would not have found the public to be as indifferent and opposed to the government’s policies in Fata as it is today. The lack of involvement of the people obviously has its impact on the morale and motivation of the armed forces.

Despite the deployment of 100,000 troops in Fata and the use of bombs, precision guided weapons and limited air power we have not been able to achieve any of our stated political objectives. The reason is that we are organised to fight conventional wars with guns, missiles, mortars and armoured vehicles. This is a war that has to be fought amongst the people, where there is no clear battleground. The state is fighting against non-state actors who are both indigenous and foreign and operate in a sympathetic and supportive milieu.

There is no concrete object to capture nor can the state suppress the will of its foes through the application of brute force. The government has to devise policies to win over the “hearts and minds” of the people.

In fact, there has to be only limited use of force and that too for creating conditions in which economic development, political evolution and social awareness can take place. Conventional wars and the use of nuclear forces have well-defined strategic objectives, and the “war on terror” is a more complex phenomenon.
The Americans are waging this “war” in Afghanistan and Iraq to create conditions which facilitate the emergence of governments that are friendly towards them and conform to their broad strategic objectives. Moreover, they also want to ensure that the state is functional to the extent that there are no sanctuaries to assist the operations of hostile forces.

Unlike past conventional wars, there is no desire to hold territory as long as these conditions are fulfilled. Apart from one or two major offensives, the US and the International Security Assistance Force have conducted mostly low-level tactical operations in Afghanistan.

So far, the use of military force has failed to achieve any of the stated goals. On the contrary, militant forces have gained considerable strength in the south and western provinces of Afghanistan, with adverse repercussions on the stability of Fata.The reason for the current resurgence of militancy is that the people are not supportive of US policies in Afghanistan and consider its presence there as foreign occupation. Moreover, President Karzai is perceived as an American protégé.

Besides, domestic factors, terrorism and insurgency are spreading in our region due to an unbalanced world order and the rapid diffusion of technology. The Pakistani establishment cannot afford to remain in a state of denial regarding the situation in the tribal belt. We have to accept the reality that there exist training camps and there are a large number of foreigners — call them Al Qaeda or fugitives from Central Asian and the Arab countries — operating from there. And these groups are supporting the Taliban across the border.

The government needs to develop a more coherent policy to counter them. The NWFP governor is all for peace jirgas and peace deals. But they have not helped and the militants are gaining ground. It is also obvious that the military operations are not succeeding and our forces are suffering maximum casualties.The foreign office has its own policy and the NWFP government takes an adversarial position on these issues. Lack of trust between Afghanistan and the Pakistani leadership is another factor that strengthens the militants. One only hopes that the follow-up of the joint jirga would help in building trust and developing a common vision for the two countries.

There are important structural factors too that are influencing the rise of militancy in the tribal belt. The fallout from the Afghan jihad and 9/11 have weakened the state structures. In addition, poor governance, deprivation and the drug economy have destabilised the region. The glorification of the militants by a section of the media is another factor that is promoting radicalism.

All this clearly illustrates that fighting the challenge of extremism and terrorism would require a sustained effort spread over years in multiple directions. Although international support is helpful, the struggle is essentially ours, and needs to be backed by a strong national consensus. Despite these efforts in the short term, militancy and terrorism can be expected to increase.

The writer is a retired lieutenant-general of the Pakistan army.

Two tonnes of drugs seized in western Afghanistan

Excerpt from report by Afghan female-orientated community Radio Sahar on 16 September

[Presenter] Ghowr Province security officials report the confiscation of 2 tonnes of narcotics after a clash with drug traffickers.

The security commander of Ghowr Province has said a policeman was also killed in this clash with the traffickers which lasted one hour last night [15 September].

[Correspondent] Ghowr Province Security Commander Shah Jahan Nuri says the clash erupted on the border between Dolaina and Shahrak districts of the province, adding that the police managed to seize 2 tonnes of narcotics after a one-hour clash.

He went on to say that this amount of drugs was placed in a lorry, stating that one policeman was killed in the incident. [Passage omitted: commander's comments, repetition]

The provincial security commander says there were six drug traffickers in the clash and three of them managed to flee. The police also seized two machineguns and a vehicle during this clash.

This is the largest quantity of narcotics se! ized by the security forces in Ghowr Province since the beginning of the current year. There has been mounting concern over the increase in poppy cultivation after the United Nations released its annual report, saying that there has been a marked rise in poppy growing and drug trafficking in Afghanistan.

At the same time, Ghowr Province Security Commander Shah Jahan Nuri said that the security checkpoint in Chaharsade District came under missile attack, which has caused no casualties. Nevertheless, the Taleban claimed five policemen have been killed in the attack.

Poppy paradox in Afghanistan

Boston Globe, 09/16/2007 By Paul Fishstein

AFGHANISTAN'S opium output has risen for another year, and with it the volume of the debate over solutions. On opposite extremes are the US government, which advocates a more aggressive, eradication-led approach, including chemical spraying, and the Senlis Council, which advocates the legalization of opium poppy cultivation to meet a claimed worldwide shortage of painkillers.

While these proposals may satisfy a hunger to hear simple solutions, both would exacerbate the problem.

Those advocating spraying claim that, largely due to corruption among government officials, all else has failed, and that a strong message must be sent to farmers. Yet, in an economy with an estimated 40 percent unemployment, it is not clear what would replace the one-third of Afghanistan's economy which would be destroyed.

Those advocating legalization claim that Afghanistan's problems with opium arise from its illegality and that legalization of production would reduce corruption, crime, and violence. Yet, in attributing much if not all of the unrest in southern Afghanistan to western drug policies, the legalizers ignore the other major causes of unrest, including criminality, corruption (much of it nondrug-related), resistance to foreign forces, and the support of groups across the border in Pakistan.

The legalizers are correct: An aggressive eradication-led approach, especially one involving chemical spraying, will exacerbate insecurity, hand the Taliban a golden propaganda opportunity, undermine both the Kabul government and its international supporters, and hurt most badly the poorest farmers and laborers. In months past, a number of security incidents in the eastern province of Nangarhar were not caused by Taliban but farmers resisting eradication.

Research has continually reaffirmed that most Afghan farmers, especially poorer ones, are constrained by a variety of factors (i.e., credit, water, roads, corruption) and cannot simply shift to alternative crops in response to eradication. A "tough love" approach is therefore not likely to produce anything but deep hate for the government and the international community. As one farmer in a poppy-growing area of Badakhshan put it, "the government hasn't provided jobs, services, or infrastructure, but now they want our crops."

Even more worrying, the US government's new counter-narcotics strategy uses still un-quantified links between opium and the Taliban to argue for merging counternarcotics with counterinsurgency. Explicitly equating growing poppies with insurgent activity may play well with the public at home, but merging the war on drugs with the global war on terror will be read in Afghanistan's unstable areas as a war on farmers - hardly consistent with the professed goal of winning hearts and minds. And an aggressive campaign that achieved the national target of 25 percent eradication in Helmand Province (the area which most hangs in the political balance) would likely reflect the old adage that the operation was a success, but the patient died.

Yet, the sprayers are also correct: In a country where legal institutions are often incapable even of keeping accused drug suspects in jail and where drugs are said to travel in the convoys of high officials, legalization will blur the lines between legal and illegal opium, provide new opportunities for corruption, and bid up the price of illicit opium - providing even stronger incentives for production. The legalizers have still not been able to answer the most basic question: If the opium poppy that is currently grown on 3 percent of Afghanistan's agricultural land is made legal, why wouldn't farmers expand production onto other areas?

The Afghan government has made clear its objections to both legalization and chemical spraying. Still, spraying has powerful advocates, and the new US strategy can easily be read as laying the groundwork for spraying, if not this year, then next. Certainly the new US ambassador, who oversaw "Plan Colombia" and its key component of aerial spraying, has reinforced the belief that spraying is coming. Such talk may well drive farmers to look for "protection" from antigovernment elements. On the other hand, the legalizers seem to have gained traction in some western capitals for what sounds at a distance like a simple solution to a complex problem.

Afghanistan needs a greater active commitment to all of the elements of its National Drug Control Strategy, which is a combination of interdiction, public information, prosecution of known drug dealers, and development of the legal economy. There is evidence that, with the right transport infrastructure, access to markets, and economic incentives, a combination of legal crops and off-farm employment opportunities can sustainably draw farmers away from the illicit economy.

In parts of Nangarhar, for example, the combination of high value vegetable crops and job opportunities has competed with opium poppy. Likewise, in Badakhshan and other areas of the north, the recovery of animal herds decimated by years of drought has shifted the economics of production toward wheat and other fodder-producing crops. In such areas, where farmers have choices, targeted eradication would make sense.

The more politically challenging aspects of the strategy, such as apprehending the "big fish" rather than petty traders and the politically unconnected, are also critical, in part to help improve the government's suspect credibility. Eradicating the crops of poor farmers while allowing the big fish to swim freely is not politically tenable, nor does it seem equitable, particularly to a rural population that feels that it bears the brunt of western governments' counternarcotics policies.

Relatedly, support for overall good governance - especially replacement of known corrupt officials with clean ones - is likewise critical. In some areas, "taxes" charged to farmers along the road are seen as obstacles to cultivation of legal crops. There is a huge appetite among Afghans for serious steps to stem this sort of corruption.

There are no simple solutions to Afghanistan's narcotics problem. Spraying may serve the Taliban by draining support from the government and its international supporters, while legalized cultivation may please drug traffickers and corrupt officials by muddying the distinction between legal and illegal, but both are likely to deepen Afghanistan's opium problem. There is room for hope, but not with these types of "solutions."

Paul Fishstein is director of the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, a policy research institute based in Kabul.

ONCE WHIPPED BY TALIBAN, GIRL MAKES MARK AS AFGHAN SOCCER STAR
9/15/07- A EurasiaNet Partner Post from RFE/RL

Six years ago, Shamila Kohestani of Afghanistan threw off her burqa and ran as fast as she could to escape a Taliban militiaman who was whipping her because she was not wearing it properly. Today, Kohestani has another reason to run -- she's the captain of Afghanistan's national women's soccer team. Omid Marzban of RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan reports.

Shamila Kohestani says she had just begun wearing a burqa when a member of the Taliban saw her and began whipping her for not wearing it properly.

"I was outside, wearing a burqa, but because I had just started to wear it, I did not have enough practice to keep all my body covered," Kohestani says. "[He] asked me why I had not covered the front part of my body. He beat me. But I threw the burqa off and escaped."

The determination that Kohestani showed that day at age 14 has never left her. When the Taliban's rule collapsed in Afghanistan in late 2001, she let no one tell her what to do. She turned to her greatest love, sports, and excelled.

Last month, as captain of the Afghan national women's soccer team, she traveled with 15 other women players to Islamabad. There, the still relatively new team took the field against other female squads with decades of experience.

Facing off with teams in Pakistan's national women's soccer league, the Afghans won three of five games. They advanced to the final round -- thrilling their Afghan fans -- until going down in defeat against their final rival, a team from Karachi. The score: 1-0.

"We Afghans are very proud today that our team placed second in this tournament," says Shafiq Hamidi, an Afghan refugee living in Islamabad who was at the final match. "I always thank God, and I am so proud that now Afghanistan has a name in the world."

Then, unable to contain his enthusiasm any longer, he shouts, "Long live Afghanistan, long live Afghanistan!"

As the player who scored five of the Afghan team's 11 goals in the tournament, 20-year-old Kohestani received most of the public's attention.

"The captain was the star of our team," says Saboor Walizada, the team's coach. Since her victory, Kohestani has been lionized by other young Afghan women, who are unaccustomed, to say the least, at seeing national female sports heroes.

That is because, even in the least traditional areas of the country, women are still only grudgingly allowed a place on the sports field. And even there they often can only play if they wear special attire.

That forces even the national women's soccer team to often play in both long pants and long-sleeved shirts, regardless of the weather. And they frequently add head scarves.

Still, it's a world away from the Taliban-ruled life female sports enthusiasts once endured. Growing up, they couldn't even watch soccer games. Watching and playing were the sole preserves of men. At halftime, the game stopped and everyone was expected to pray.

Kohestani, like many girls, fought the Taliban system as best she could. She studied secretly in a house in Kabul, as the Taliban forbade girls to go to school. And she kept her dreams alive.

"I asked myself, how long will I have to stay at home [for school], not go outside and not get [a real] education?" Kohestani recalls. "Then I was convinced that the situation will not remain as it is and maybe one day I will go to school, play soccer, and do whatever I like."

Kohestani's first dream -- to go to a public school -- came true in 2002 shortly after the Taliban was ousted by U.S.-led coalition forces. But she had to wait two more years to reach her second one, which was to play soccer full-time.

Getting started meant first getting discovered. And in a country where talent scouts for female stars are far from numerous, the odds were long.

It was Walizada, the coach of the women's team and a former Afghan national player himself, who found her.

A member of the Afghan Football Federation, Walizada had money from FIFA, world soccer's governing body, to promote soccer among women in the country. But to do so, he had to first get access to the closed world of girls schools and family homes.

"I went into their classes, and they were very willing to join a soccer team," Walizada says. "But to convince their families to let their daughters play soccer was the most difficult part of the job. Not every family I met agreed to let their daughter join my soccer team. Shamila's family was one of them. So far, some 500 girls have gotten the chance to play soccer in Kabul and the three northern provinces of Parwan, Jawzjan, and Sar-e Pul."

That's a beginning Walizada is proud of. And he hopes it will encourage many more girls and their families to reconsider what they can do with sports.

But if it is a good beginning, it also reflects the length of road ahead. "In a soccer game, Shamila is always less than 100 meters away from the goal, and she has a soft, green field under her feet," says Fatema Hussaini, a law student at Kabul University and a women's rights activist.

"But in the game of gaining freedom, she and other Afghan women might be 100 years away from the goal," Hussaini adds, "and the field is full of difficult barriers."

(Radio Free Afghanistan's Sayed Feridon Ibrahimi contributed to this feature.)

[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.]