In this bulletin:

• Nations seek greater U.N. role in Afghanistan
• Taliban 'terrorist activities' slammed at UN meeting
• Afghan Hears Foreign Concerns on Drugs and Political Dialogue
• Canada may be drawn into drug-eradication in Afghanistan
• UN Presses Afghanistan To Strengthen Regional Cooperation, Reconciliation
• Two Spanish Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan
• Two Italian soldiers freed after Afghan kidnapping
• Afghanistan ambush kills 12
• AFGHAN ECONOMY EXPECTED TO GROW 13 % IN 2007 SAYS ADB
• Progress is slow but sure, colonel says
• Pakistan backs off Al Qaeda pursuit
• Russia concerned by destabilization in Afghanistan – ministry
• Chechens toughest foes Canadians confront in Afghanistan
• Iran again under scrutiny after new Afghan weapons find
• Afghanistan refugee fights for freedom, women's rights
• UN Presses Afghanistan To Strengthen Regional Ties

President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai, left, and Secretary General of United Nations Ban Ki-moon, right, speak to reporters after a high-level meeting on Afghanistan at U.N. headquarters on Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007. (AP Photo/David Karp)

Nations seek greater U.N. role in Afghanistan

Sun Sep 23, 2007 3:21 PM EDT, By Patrick Worsnip

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Key countries involved in Afghanistan urged the United Nations on Sunday to expand its role there, but Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said continuing violence kept the world body from operating in some areas.

An 18-nation meeting at U.N. headquarters also pressed Afghan President Hamid Karzai, heading Kabul's delegation, to promote national reconciliation through an "inclusive political dialogue" with the country's turbulent factions.

Ban called the meeting of foreign ministers and top diplomats from Afghanistan's neighbors and key NATO countries to seek increased backing for Afghan and U.N. efforts to bring peace and stability after years of intermittent fighting.

Since U.S.-backed forces overthrew Afghanistan's Taliban rulers in late 2001, Karzai's government has struggled to keep control, faced with a resurgent Taliban, independent-minded warlords and rising drug production.

About 50,000 foreign troops are deployed there, including a NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, and separately led U.S. forces.

Ban told reporters the three-hour meeting had heard a "request and strong desire on the part of member states that the United Nations do more ... (and) increase its role there."

He said the number of U.N. offices in Afghanistan had been recently increased by nine to a total of 17.

But in an opening address to the delegates Ban said there were areas -- a reference to fighting with the Taliban in the South -- where "security concerns would not allow me to justify a (U.N.) presence."

"In order to carry out such efforts, we need a reasonable level of freedom of movement and security," he said.

Ban also acknowledged that some countries want a higher profile special U.N. representative with greater authority to assist Karzai in peace-making efforts after the current envoy, Tom Koenigs, leaves his post at the end of this year.

The present U.N. mission supports and advises the Afghan authorities on economic and political development, justice reform, humanitarian aid and anti-drug programs.

Diplomats at the meeting said U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had also suggested appointing an international figure who would represent foreign nations in Afghanistan on assistance and other issues. Ban admitted there was a problem coordinating the many aid and other groups represented there.

Ban said the meeting also agreed that "there should be more efforts by President Karzai and Afghan leaders in promoting inclusive political dialogue for national reconciliation."

Karzai told reporters his government was attempting to "bring back to the fold" Taliban supporters who were not part of what he called terrorist networks. "We are working hard on that," he said.

An Afghan presidential spokesman said last week Kabul was ready for peace talks with the Taliban but would not accept preconditions demanded by the Islamist rebels, such as the withdrawal of all foreign troops.

A communique on Sunday's meeting said it was vital to break the link between drug production from Afghanistan's abundant poppy fields and the financing of "terrorist" activities.

Participants would support Afghan efforts to fight poppy cultivation in areas where it had increased, reward districts where poppies were not grown and arrest and prosecute drug traffickers and corrupt officials, it said. It gave no details.

The lack of security in Afghanistan was dramatized by reports that two Italian soldiers were believed to have been kidnapped there. Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema, attending the U.N. meeting, said he raised the issue with Karzai, Rice and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.

Taliban 'terrorist activities' slammed at UN meeting

Monday, September 24, 2007

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — Participants at a UN-sponsored high-level meeting on Sunday condemned increased "terrorist activities" by the Taliban in Afghanistan and urge Kabul to do more to spur good governance and root out corruption and drug trafficking.

A joint communique issued here at the end of the three-hour meeting "unequivocally condemned terrorist and other illegal activities, which hindered the establishment of the rule of law, the provision of basic services to the Afghan people."

UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who co-hosted the meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, said participants expressed hope that Afghan leaders "will continue to focus their efforts on good governance and eradicating corruption, drug trafficking."

Eighteen countries took part in the meeting which focused on "the increase in violent and terrorist activities by the Taliban, al-Qaeda, illegal armed groups, criminals and those involved in the narcotics trade."

Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan have waged a bloody insurgency which has claimed thousands of lives since their ouster from power in late 2001 by a US-led invasion following the September 11 terror attacks.

Asked about direct talks between Kabul and the ousted Taliban, Karzai recalled that his government was already in contact through a peace and reconciliation process with those Taliban who were not part of "foreign terrorist networks" such as al-Qaeda.

The communique also "expressed great concern at the expansion of poppy cultivation, as well as heroin production, over the past year, underlining the link between the production and trafficking of illegal drugs and the financing of terrorist activities."

Participants reviewed progress toward implementing the Afghanistan Compact, a five-year development blueprint launched in January 2006 by Kabul and some 70 foreign partners.

Under the deal, Afghanistan promised to take specific steps in the areas of security, governance, rule of law and human rights, and economic and social development in return for military and economic support.

Asked whether he was satisfied with the level of international aid to his country, Karzai replied: "If you are asking whether we will ask for more, we are grateful for what has been given to us already. If more is given, of course we will be very, very grateful."

Participants also welcomed recent initiatives to promote border management cooperation in drug control between Afghanistan and its neighbors.

Joining Karzai and Ban at the talks were the foreign ministers of France, India, Iran, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Turkey and the United States.

Also attending were delegations from Britain, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Spain as well as representatives from the Asian Development Bank, the European Union, the European Commission, NATO and the World Bank.

Afghanistan was in tatters after the 2001 fall of the Islamist Taliban regime, which led the world community to spend billions of dollars on development and send in tens of thousands of troops to fight a growing Taliban insurgency.

Voicing concern about increased violence and terrorism in Afghanistan, the UN Security Council Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to extend for one year the mandate of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

The UN-mandated ISAF is, at 39,000 people from around 37 nations, its most powerful since 2001, even though original estimates of troops and equipment requirements still have not been met.

It operates alongside a US-led coalition of about 15,000 and the fledgling Afghan security forces.

US-led forces in October 2001 toppled the Taliban, which was funded by and sheltered the Al-Qaeda extremist network, for refusing to hand over Osama bin Laden following the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

Afghan Hears Foreign Concerns on Drugs and Political Dialogue

By WARREN HOGE – NY Times

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 23 — A gathering on Sunday of foreign ministers and top diplomats from 18 countries involved in securing a stable future for Afghanistan focused on the rise in opium production and the use of drug proceeds to finance terrorism.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who presided over the meeting with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, said, “The meeting expressed great concern at the expansion of poppy cultivation, as well as opium and heroin production, over the past year, underlining the link between the production and trafficking of illegal drugs and the financing of terrorist activities.”

He said the group had agreed that “breaking this linkage is vital to creating a stable, prosperous and democratic Afghanistan.”

Mr. Ban said the participants, which included European nations and Afghanistan’s neighbors, had agreed that “there should be more efforts by President Karzai and Afghan leaders in promoting inclusive political dialogue for national reconciliation.” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice represented the United States at the meeting.

Mr. Karzai said his country was pursuing a process aimed at producing talks with Taliban members “who are not part of Al Qaeda, who are not part of terrorist networks, who have, for one reason or the other, been forced or found in a position to leave Afghanistan or to pick up guns.”

He added: “We are working hard on that. We are trying very hard to bring them back to the fold, to make them return and participate in the making of the country.”

Mr. Ban said the participants had urged the United Nations to do more in Afghanistan, but he warned that there were areas of the country too dangerous for a stepped-up United Nations presence. “In order to carry out such efforts, we need a reasonable level of freedom of movement and security,” he said.

Canada may be drawn into drug-eradication in Afghanistan

Steven Edwards CanWest News Service Monday, September 24, 2007

Canada and other countries agreed Sunday to back stepped-up operations to counter drugs production in Afghanistan - a move that some say will lead to Canadian troops being drawn into controversial drug-eradication and interdiction activities.

At a high-level meeting on the country, Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier put Canada's name to a communique that expresses "great concern" at the expansion of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan.

The production of heroin-producing opiates reached a "frighteningly new level" last year, according to a recent UN survey, and Canada is among countries that say profits of the illicit drugs trade are funding the Taliban and other insurgent groups.

But drug eradication is controversial because poor farmers also cultivate poppies, saying it's the only way they can make a living.

"Breaking this linkage (between drugs production and insurgent financing) is vital to creating a stable, prosperous and democratic, Afghanistan..." says the communique, released after the closed-door gathering.

While Canada's 2,500 troops in Afghanistan are currently not involved in drug eradication, the communique adds the "participants agreed to collectively support increased Afghan government efforts to fight the menace of poppy cultivation."

Afghan President Hamid Karzai praised Canada after emerging from the meeting, attended also by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and numerous other ministers and top officials from countries and organizations involved in Afghanistan.

"It has given a lot. It has given the lives of its sons and daughters," Karzai said.

Much of the rest of the communique reflects talk on reconstruction that people at the meeting say took place. But they add that inside, Bernier also highlighted actions Canada believes are necessary for speeding up development.

A central one was for the UN to send more staff to the country to better co-ordinate global aid efforts, according to one diplomat.

The initiative on civil aid builds on calls by Defence Minister Peter MacKay for countries to help spread the military burden by contributing troops.

But Canadian policy in Afghanistan will also be challenged today as two respected think tanks issue in-depth reports.

Dutch-based Transnational Institute, which brings together activist-scholars, will say the UN and Western countries are "over-reacting" to the jump in drugs production in Afghanistan. It warns violence could increase as a result of dramatically increasing counter-narcotics operations.

"The increased production is set to fall anyway because it represented an over-supply that world demand (for drugs) does not justify," said Martin Jelsma, head of TNI Drugs and Democracy Program. "But stepping up eradication could further deteriorate the already highly delicate security situation."

An increase in Afghan anti-narcotics operations could require at least logistical support from international forces, Jelsma said. He added a crackdown would, at the very least, increase the level of corruption in the country as tribal leaders with contacts in the Afghan government offer bribes to be spared.

"International troops are bound to get mixed up in all those power plays, and they would be seen as less neutral," he said. "They could be seen as defending the corrupt schemes of the government."

The Canadian and European-based think tank Senlis Council, in its report, will effectively say the government should go back to the drawing board.

The group, which has monitoring staff in the country, argues Canada needs to become much more robust in leading Afghan reconstruction efforts. It should also stop being what the council calls the U.S. "junior" partner.

The council also calls for the international troop presence to increase so that there can be less reliance on aerial bombings, which have led to numerous civilian deaths.

UN Presses Afghanistan To Strengthen Regional Cooperation, Reconciliation

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Afghan President Hamid Karzai co-chaired a high-level meeting on September 23 of key states whose support is needed to help bring peace and stability to Afghanistan. The 24 participants included the United States, Iran, Turkey and Pakistan. The meeting focused on how to promote security, good governance, the rule of law, human rights and economic and social development in Afghanistan, as well as how to fight international terrorism.

UNITED NATIONS, September 24, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- UN Secretary-General Ban described the meeting as "constructive" and "useful" to reporters after the talks concluded.

"While we agreed that the challenges are enormous and difficult," Ban said, "we also hope that the Afghanistan government under the leadership of President Karzai will continue to focus their efforts in good governance, eradicating corruption, eradicating the opium cultivation and drug trafficking, and promoting more education and sanitation and health facilities."

Ban and Karzai issued a joint communique reaffirming the commitment of the international community in supporting the Afghan government in terms of economic and social cooperation.

A major aim of this meeting was to strengthen ties with Afghanistan's neighbors, notably Pakistan and Iran, and to engage them in regional cooperation and gain their continuing support for the peace-building process in the country.

"While we help the Afghan government in their own efforts," Ban said, "the regional cooperation in the area of economy and security should also be strengthened, and there should be more efforts by President Karzai and Afghan leaders in promoting inclusive political dialogue for national reconciliation. All these efforts should be accompanied by international cooperation."

Karzai reaffirmed the support expressed by the UN secretary-general and expressed the Afghan people's gratitude for the material assistance that the international community is providing. In response to a question about his government's initiatives in integrating the Taliban into the reconciliation process, he said Kabul is welcoming any Taliban who are not part of Al-Qaeda or other terrorist networks.

"We are working hard on that," Karzai said. "We are trying very hard to bring them back into the fold, to make them return and participate in the making of the country. It's extremely important. This process will go on. Afghanistan, sir, is extremely grateful to the international community for the assistance that it has provided."

Responding to a question about Pakistan's cooperation against terrorist elements infiltrating Afghanistan, Karzai described Islamabad's activities in that regard as "promising" and said it is easy to distinguish between good and bad deeds.

"Pakistan's contribution is very, very important," Karzai said. "We are working on it. The peace jirga was an important step in this direction. There is a subcommittee formed of the peace jirga between the two countries -- 25 from each side -- that will meet in a few days' time. That will then determine the course that we take towards better cooperation between the two countries in an effective fight against extremism and terrorism."

Besides the UN Security Council's five permanent member -- Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States -- the high- level meeting was also attended by Canada, Germany, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Turkey.

Also present were the Asian Development Bank, the European Union, the European Commission, NATO, and the World Bank.

Participants reviewed progress toward implementing the Afghanistan Compact, a five-year development blueprint launched in January 2006 by Kabul and some 70 foreign partners.

Two Spanish Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan

September 24, 2007 -- Spain's Defense Ministry says two Spanish soldiers died and at least two others were seriously wounded today after their convoy was hit by an explosion in western Farah Province.

An Iranian interpreter who was traveling with the Spaniards also died.

Meanwhile, two Italian soldiers who were kidnapped in western Afghanistan have been freed in a NATO-led military operation.

The Italian news agency ANSA reports that five kidnappers were killed in the operation. The two soldiers were injured in the operation, one of them seriously, according to reports.

The Italians, with their Afghan driver and translator, went missing on September 22 after entering a police checkpoint in Herat Province. The fate of the Afghans is not clear.

The Associated Press reports that unidentified gunmen opened fire on a vehicle carrying police and government employees in the remote northeast of the country, killing 12.

The police chief in northern Badakhshan Province, General Agha Noor Kemtuz, said the men were traveling from Badakhshan to Kabul when the attack occurred on September 23 and were not armed.

Two Italian soldiers freed after Afghan kidnapping

HERAT, Afghanistan (AFP) — NATO forces freed two kidnapped Italian soldiers in a military operation in western Afghanistan overnight which left both men wounded, Italian and Afghan officials said Monday.

The two men went missing in the western province of Herat on Saturday with their Afghan interpreter and driver in the latest in a series of abductions targeting foreigners in the insurgency-weary country.

"There was an ISAF operation and they were rescued. Both of them are injured," the Italian embassy in Kabul said, referring to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

It was not clear who had abducted them, a diplomat said on condition of anonymity.

One of the two soldiers was in serious condition, the Italian defence ministry in Rome was quoted by Italy's ANSA news agency as saying. Both men were being treated in a NATO hospital, it said.

At least five of the abductors were killed in the raid to free the men, ANSA reported. An Afghan district official said five Taliban were killed but more senior officials would not confirm this.

Italian soldiers led the NATO operation to free them, supported by British troops, Italian Defence Minister Arturo Parisi said on Rai public television.

Asked who was responsible for the kidnapping, the minister said it looked to involve "an independent group."

Police said it appeared rebels from the Islamic extremist Taliban movement captured the men from near Herat's Shindand district and took them to neighbouring Farah province.

"According to our intelligence information, a Taliban commander, Mullah Abdul Hamid, had taken them," the police chief of criminal investigations for western Afghanistan, Ali Khan Husseinzada, told AFP.

However, the main Taliban spokesman, Yousuf Ahmadi, said he knew nothing about the men. The militia, waging an anti-government insurgency, has been behind several abductions including of 23 South Koreans in July. ISAF said it would release details later in the day.

The men were last seen in Shindand on Saturday. One of their vehicles was found abandoned but the men and the other vehicle had disappeared. Husseinzada said late Sunday their interpreter and driver had returned to Herat city.

Diplomatic sources in Kabul said the Italians were warrant officers who had been on a routine mission.

There are about 2,000 Italian soldiers in Afghanistan with ISAF. They are involved in military as well as reconstruction work and some are believed to be intelligence officers.

The Taliban killed two of its 23 Korean captives before freeing the remainder in August after direct talks with Seoul.

The hardline Islamic militia said afterwards the kidnapping of foreign nationals was an effective tool against the government.

At least three Italian nationals, all civilians, have been abducted in Afghanistan since 2005.

The most controversial case was in March this year and involved journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo, who was held by Taliban for three weeks.

He was freed after the government released five Taliban prisoners, but his interpreter and a driver were beheaded. Kabul later came under fire for negotiating with "terrorists."

It is rare for soldiers to be captured in Afghanistan as they usually move around with heavy security.

In June a coalition soldier said to belong to a small United Arab Emirates deployment went missing and the Taliban claiming to have kidnapped him.

The US-led coalition initially confirmed a soldier was missing and then referred all queries to the UAE. Further information was never released and the case remains unclear.

Afghanistan ambush kills 12

Echo times, 24/09/2007 - Three gunmen opened fire on a vehicle carrying police and government employees, killing 12 in north-eastern Afghanistan, police said today.

Meanwhile, a Nato service member was killed by small-arms fire yesterday in eastern Afghanistan, the alliance said. The exact location of the incident or the victim's nationality was not given.

The attack in the remote north-eastern Badakhshan province yesterday left seven policemen and five government employees dead, and one policeman wounded. They were travelling to Kabul, a Badakhshan police chief said.

The police were being transferred to new posts, so were not armed, he said. He added that there was possibly a personal conflict between the unidentified attackers and the officers.

Insurgency-related violence is relatively uncommon in northern Afghanistan, though the area has seen a handful of suicide bomb attacks this year.

In western Farah province, insurgents dressed in police uniforms ambushed a supply convoy escorted by private security guards yesterday, and the subsequent gunbattle left one security guard and 12 militants dead, said provincial Governor Muhaidin Baluch. 

AFGHAN ECONOMY EXPECTED TO GROW 13 % IN 2007 SAYS ADB

KABUL --  Afghanistan's economy is expected to grow 13 percent this financial year, mainly because of the inflow of billions of donor dollars for reconstruction, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Monday. The growth, up from 7.5 percent the previous year, is mainly driven by construction, the service industry, and agriculture, the ADB's country director in Afghanistan Brian Fawcett told reporters. However, the booming illegal poppy economy - equal to between 30 percent to 40 percent of the legal economy - also played a part, with profits from the drug trade "recycled into the economy generally," he said, without giving a specific figure. Afghanistan supplies 93 percent of the world's opium, which is used to make heroin. The drugs industry here is said to be worth around $3 billion a year. The country was in tatters after the 2001 fall of the Taliban, which led the international community to spend billions USD on development, send in tens of thousands of troops to fight a growing Taliban insurgency.

While it is still dependent on international donors to fund development, the Kabul government is now able to finance nearly-80 percent of its recurring budget, and is increasing its own spending on reconstruction, Fawcett said. Afghanistan's projected Gross Domestic Product growth rate of 13 percent is one of the highest in South Asia, where growth, as a whole, is expected to hit 8.1 percent, this year. The ADB put inflation here, this year, at 5.9 percent, mainly on rising transportation costs, but expected it to return to 5 percent, next year. Private sector investment, which should ultimately become the main engine for growth in Afghanistan, had improved, but was being held back by insecurity, Fawcett said. A violent insurgency by the extremist Taliban movement, which was in power between 1996 and 2001, is undermining Afghanistan's efforts to rebuild from nearly 30 years of war. Crime has also increased since the Taliban were driven from government. Fawcett said the country's key challenges for sustainable growth are improving governance and rule of law, addressing the insurgency and opium trade, overcoming capacity constraints, and improving competitiveness to even the trade balance .

Progress is slow but sure, colonel says
TheStar.com – September 24, 2007 Bruce Campion-Smith OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF

Redevelopment efforts in restive Kandahar need patience and `a commitment for the long-term'

KANDAHAR–Lt.-Col. Bob Chamberlain is asking Canadians for a little patience.

"Challenges are great. Expectations need to be managed," said Chamberlain, who heads the Canadian provincial reconstruction team here.

That could well be the motto of Canada's redevelopment efforts in Kandahar province. Charged with assisting one of the most troubled regions in Afghanistan, the team has run into flak over the pace of its efforts.

But Chamberlain fires back at critics, which include federal opposition parties, saying that Canada is making slow but steady progress in its mission.

And despite near weekly reports of Canadian convoys hit by bombs, Chamberlain said the security situation is improving, especially in the city. "Security incidents drop off year to year," he said, predicting a respite in the months ahead when winter arrives.

The tall, affable officer has been in the job for eight months and is quick to rhyme off examples of progress. There's no longer a curfew in Kandahar city; fresh fruit and vegetables are available on roadside stands and the endless rows of tiny shops now stock new goods, instead of the scavenged items they did before.

But even Chamberlain admits that the job ahead remains daunting, especially since the dodgy security means big parts of the province remain off limits.

"It can be overwhelming, the need in this country ... this takes time," he said.

His team, numbering over 300, includes representatives from foreign affairs, the Canadian International Development Agency, the RCMP, Corrections Canada as well as a large contingent of troops from the Quebec-based Royal 22nd Regiment (the Vandoos) for security.

The Canadians invest in "quick impact" projects such as irrigation canals, culverts and wells. But their real goal has been to build up the Afghan's ability to govern themselves, something that has been battered by years of conflict.

"We're not looking to build a building and walk away. In our view, it's not about building stuff," he said in a weekend briefing at the team's base at Camp Nathan Smith.

That means that instead of doing the work themselves, the Canadians will contract with Afghans, even if it means having to teach local residents the basics of signing a contract. That can delay projects by weeks and months.

"Every opportunity we want to ensure there's Afghan involvement at every possible level." He said the focus in Kandahar is "cops, courts, corrections and corruption."

"The end result is that if the bad guys do bad stuff, there's a system able to stop them," Chamberlain said.

But with reports of police on the take, a jail system riddled with abuse and a fledgling court system, the Canadians have their work cut out for them.

The focus on governance, slow to produce tangible results, has proven a tough sell in Canada.

Non-government agencies have accused the government of dragging its feet. The federal Liberals want a Commons committee to probe how CIDA is spending its cash in Afghanistan.

But Chamberlain insists it's the right approach and one that will have a lasting impact on this war-torn country.

"You don't measure concrete results the same as you would in Canada," said Chamberlain. "This is not a sprint. This is a marathon. It takes a commitment for the long-term."

Pakistan backs off Al Qaeda pursuit

Political realities force Musharraf to reduce efforts against Al Qaeda, depriving the U.S. of one of its strongest counter-terrorism allies.

Los Angeles Times, By Greg Miller Los Angeles Times Staff Writer September 23, 2007

WASHINGTON - Political turmoil and a spate of brazen attacks by Taliban fighters are forcing Pakistan's president to scale back his government's pursuit of Al Qaeda, according to U.S. intelligence officials who fear that the terrorist network will be able to accelerate its efforts to rebuild and plot new attacks.

The development threatens a pillar of U.S. counter-terrorism strategy, which has depended on Pakistan to play a lead role in keeping Al Qaeda under pressure to reduce its ability to coordinate strikes.

President Pervez Musharraf, facing a potentially fateful election next month and confronting calls to yield power after years of autocratic rule, appears too vulnerable to pursue aggressive counter-terrorism operations at the behest of the United States, the intelligence officials said.

At the same time, the Pakistani military has suffered a series of embarrassing setbacks at the hands of militants in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan where Osama bin Laden and other Al Qaeda figures are believed to be hiding.

U.S. intelligence officials said the conditions that have allowed Al Qaeda to regain strength are likely to persist, enabling it to continue training foreign fighters and plot new attacks.

"We are worried," said a senior U.S. counter-terrorism official who closely monitors Pakistan's pursuit of Al Qaeda in the rugged frontier region. The official, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.

"I think the prospect for aggressive action . . . is probably not good, no matter what," said the official, referring to the federally administered tribal areas where Al Qaeda is particularly strong. If Musharraf is removed from office or agrees to a power-sharing arrangement with political foes, the "change in government could well mean a diminution of cooperation on counter-terrorism," the official added.

A senior U.S. intelligence official said Pakistani retrenchment appears to have begun. "We're already beginning to see some signs of that," the official said, citing a recent series of reversals by the Pakistan military.

"In the next few days, we're probably going to see a withdrawal of forces that the Pakistanis put there," the intelligence official said, adding that the move could solidify a "safe haven, where the [Al Qaeda] leadership is secure, operational planners can do their business, and foreigners can come in and be trained and redeploy to the West."

Meanwhile, Bin Laden declared war on Musharraf in a new audiotape released last week, a message that experts said was timed to take advantage of the political turmoil.

Over the years, Musharraf's commitment to rooting out elements of Al Qaeda and the Taliban has sometimes been questioned. Last fall, the president struck a peace agreement with tribal leaders in North and South Waziristan, scaling back military operations in return for a pledge that the tribes would rein in foreign fighters.

Instead, American intelligence officials said, the deal took pressure off Al Qaeda at a critical time, enabling it to regroup and reestablish ties with terrorist affiliates in other parts of the world.

In recent months, Musharraf has sent troops to the tribal areas, particularly after a series of suicide bombings by militants who vowed revenge after government forces in July stormed a radical mosque in Islamabad, the capital.

Musharraf's popular support has eroded rapidly this year, starting with a failed attempt to oust the nation's chief justice.

The Pakistani leader, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, hopes to secure another presidential term in an Oct. 6 vote by national and provincial lawmakers. He faces legal challenges to his candidacy, and some opposition parties plan to boycott the vote. In response to calls that he give up his post as military chief, Musharraf said he would do so after being reelected, a pledge questioned by opponents.

The developments have triggered new concern in the intelligence community that a six-year effort by the United States and Pakistan to root out Al Qaeda, which has had limited success, could further falter. The intelligence official described it as a "caldron of events" that has become a significant complication in efforts to rein in terrorism.

The prevailing view among U.S. intelligence analysts is that Musharraf probably will remain in power, but in a significantly weakened position that may require him to embrace democratic reforms and share authority with one or more political rivals, U.S. officials said.

Such an arrangement would deprive Musharraf of the dictatorial power he has wielded, which enabled him to contain the political cost of carrying out counter-terrorism operations at the behest of the United States.

The unfolding situation has put Washington in the conflicted position of either pressing for democratic reforms in a nation where doing so is likely to undermine efforts to apprehend Bin Laden, or pushing to shut down terrorist camps linked to a series of plots against Western targets.

Polls in Pakistan suggest that Bin Laden is more popular than many of the Muslim nation's politicians, and analysts say it is extremely difficult for the beleaguered Musharraf to remain aligned with the U.S.

"From a domestic politics perspective, sustained Pakistani action against Al Qaeda in [the tribal areas] would be suicidal," said Seth Jones, an expert on terrorism and Pakistan at Rand Corp. "It would only increase hatred against his regime at the precise moment when he is politically weakest."

That political turmoil could cost the Bush administration cooperation from a key ally in the Islamic world, one that has nuclear arms. Musharraf has been praised repeatedly by President Bush, and Pakistan has received more than $5.6 billion in aid over the last six years, most of it meant to reimburse the country for counter-terrorism efforts.

Under new pressure from Washington, Musharraf sent military divisions back into the tribal areas this summer. Initially, the forays appeared to catch Al Qaeda by surprise, U.S. intelligence officials said, prompting the organization to pull back.

But the government's border troops recently have been subjected to a series of suicide attacks and kidnappings, the U.S. intelligence official said. Overall, dozens of Pakistani soldiers and hundreds of extremists and foreign fighters have been killed.

The bloodshed has added to the political pressure on Musharraf, who faces the widespread perception that he is sending Pakistani soldiers into harm's way on behalf of the United States.

Even when the operations succeed, there is little payoff for Musharraf.

"The whole purpose of [U.S.-Pakistani] operations is to eliminate people who primarily target the United States and the West," the senior counter-terrorism official said. That means Musharraf ends up being seen as "complicit in killing or capturing people who many Pakistanis think should be treated as heroes."

But Musharraf has survived at least two assassination attempts by Al Qaeda that were seen as increasing his willingness to authorize operations against the Islamist group, and officials say they don't expect Pakistan to abandon efforts to contain or pursue Al Qaeda.

"I don't think they're going to step away from the counter- terrorism effort entirely," said the senior U.S. intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the classified nature of the subject. "It's a national security issue for Pakistan."

The United States has provided significant intelligence assistance for Pakistan's pursuit of Al Qaeda, including the deployment of CIA teams and Predator surveillance drones.

Pakistan's central government has never had substantial control over the border region. Bin Laden and other Al Qaeda figures fled to the rugged area after being flushed from Afghanistan. U.S. officials said the terrorist network was seen as increasingly isolated and in a financial crunch until Musharraf's peace accord with the tribes last fall.

Since then, U.S. intelligence has tracked an influx of fighters and funds into the region. And counter-terrorism officials have encountered a series of plots, mostly in Europe, linked to Al Qaeda and Taliban training camps in Pakistan.

Authorities in Germany who disrupted an alleged bombing plot this month said at least five of the suspects had traveled to the tribal regions of Waziristan to receive training in the use of chemical explosives and detonators. The suspected German cell was rolled up in part because U.S. intelligence had intercepted suspicious communications between Pakistan and the German city of Stuttgart.

"Without significant steps to clear and hold territory within [the tribal areas], I don't believe Al Qaeda can be defeated or significantly weakened," said Jones, the Rand Corp. expert. "Consequently, the problem is likely to get worse before it gets better."

Russia concerned by destabilization in Afghanistan - ministry

24/ 09/ 2007

NEW YORK, September 24 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is worried by the "degradation" of the military-political situation in Afghanistan amid an ongoing rise in extremism and drug production, a senior Foreign Ministry official said Monday.

"We are especially concerned by that fact that militants with parallel power structures control entire areas," Deputy Foreign Vladimir Yakovenko told a high level meeting on Afghanistan at the UN headquarters.

The meeting was attended by foreign policy chiefs from the United States and the EU, as well as representatives of the OSCE, NATO and the Arab League.

The Russian diplomat said the main source of financial support for extremism is the illegal drug business, which has demonstrated "explosive growth." The drug trade also affects Russia, as drug traffickers use it as a transit country.

He welcomed U.S. efforts to fight illicit drug operations in Afghanistan, in particular by helping those provinces that have cracked down on drug production.

Around 97% of the world's heroin comes from Afghanistan, and production has increased 20-fold since the Taliban was toppled by allied forces in December 2001.

Yakovenko said that a recent debt relief agreement with Afghanistan is Russia's contribution to the country's economic stabilization, adding that Moscow will also restore a hydroelectric power plant and modernize the Salang tunnel that links northern and southern Afghanistan.

In August, Russia wrote off around 90% of Afghanistan's Soviet-era debt, a sum totaling $11.1 billion, with the remainder to be repaid over 23 years.

The Afghan debt, which was largely accrued from the delivery of Soviet weaponry, will be paid off under the July 2006 agreements reached through the 19-nation Paris Club of creditors, of which Russia is a member.

More than two decades of conflict and political instability have left Afghanistan one of the poorest nations in the world.

In February, Russia and Afghanistan reached an agreement granting favorable terms to Russian firms seeking contracts to rebuild Afghanistan's rundown infrastructure, as well as for work in other commercial areas. In 2006, Russian-Afghan trade turnover was approximately $90 billion.

Chechens toughest foes Canadians confront in Afghanistan

Matthew Fisher, CanWest News Service Published: Monday, September 24, 2007

The toughest fighters confronting Canada's Van Doos in Afghanistan are not Afghans but guerrillas from the volatile Russian republic of Chechnya.

That is the conclusion of a veteran Canadian infantryman who spends most of his time forward deployed in the Panjwei/Zahri districts establishing relationships with tribal elders and making security assessments.

"The Chechens are hard core. They are the best we face," said the soldier, a Montrealer who works in a secretive cell devoted to what the Canadian battle group calls Information Operations and what other armies sometimes call Information Warfare.

"There are also lots of fighters coming out of the Pakistani schools. The best training camps are all across the border. Other Islamic forces have been pouring in here. They are helping Afghans with IED's (improvised explosive devices), small unit tactics, any form of violence you can think of.

"We're dealing with all kinds of insurgents. With Chechens, Egyptians, Saudis, Pakistanis, guys from the Yemen. It isn't one group more than the next." Asked whether he had personally encountered foreigners on the battlefield, the sergeant, a veteran of six previous Canadian overseas missions who was only allowed to give his name as Pete, replied with a grin and classic military jargon: "I have not inter-acted verbally with them."

The trend towards more foreign fighters here was confirmed by Brig.- Gen. Marquis Hainse, Canada's top ranking soldier in Afghanistan and deputy commander for NATO in what in its main combat theatre, Sector South.

"We see an increase in foreign fighters," the general, who has been based in Kandahar since May, said, although he cautioned that there were not huge numbers of them.

"This may be because less people from Afghanistan are joining the fight. They are not getting the numbers they need here. They are not regenerating forces. What is their pool? It is not extremists but people who feel they don't have a choice. And that pool is reducing."

In separate interviews, the general and the Information Operations sergeant both also noted what they regard as growing resistance on the part of Afghans to hosting foreign fighters.

"Most Afghans dislike the Taliban, so imagine what they think of foreign fighters?" the sergeant said. "For the foreigners, unlike the Afghans, the war is not about nationalism. The foreigners have a ideology and that ideology is Islamic fundamentalism. They try to use that to control the Afghans.

"The Taliban is trying to recruit here, but what they get mostly is cannon fodder. They are not that well-trained."

What was always of primary interest to the Canadians was what Afghans wanted who lived in areas where fighting was worst.

"The answer is always the same. Security. That is always the main issue," the sergeant said. "Kandahar and Helmand have always been the worst for fighting. The Soviets had their biggest problems here. This is a place where they has been war for 30 years."

Several Pakistani websites keep a close eye on everything the Canadians are doing in Afghanistan, almost instantly posting stories about their operations after they appear in Canada. These sites also delight in highlighting political differences in Canada. However, the conclusion here is that little of this information has created problems for the troops.

"My assessment is that they (the enemy) do not have that degree of sophistication," said Brig.-Gen. Jim Ferron, the Canadian who is NATO's top intelligence officer in Afghanistan. "The leadership outside has access to such information, but I don't believe that they use that to deliberately co-ordinate plans to target Canada. Generally, their interest is to target NATO collectively."

That is also the assessment of the sergeant responsible for befriending tribal elders in the hot conflict zone to the west of Kandahar City.

"Some of the insurgents are adept at high tech means, and they do use this at a higher level, which is ironic as this was strictly banned during the time of the Taliban," Sgt. Pete said.

"But we are not affected by this at the tactical level. The insurgents communicate information through violence. This gets them some cooperation because for Afghans it becomes an issue of survival. The enemy get water, food and shelter through intimidation."

The Canadian approach is rather different.

"We try to create a relationship so we can see how we can help them solve their problems," Pete said. "We never lie. We always try to treat them the same. We never give them anything of monetary value. We speak directly to them and try not to get in the way of their culture or their religion."

Although the province of Kandahar, which they are responsible for, is huge, the Canadians have returned again and again to the same few villages and towns in Panjwai/Zahri.

"The concept of holding ground or facing an enemy that you can see is not here. This is a counter-insurgency," said General Hainse, the Canadian at Sector South headquarters. "This is about the getting the consensus of the indigenous people."

Sgt. Pete's approach was to "walk a lot. Our rotation is very pro-active. Anything we achieve is through having a presence. The only way to make progress is to keep boots on the ground."

Asked how progress could be measured in a war without fronts and where the enemy melted into the regular population in a second, he replied: "Success is sometimes geography-based. Sometimes it is result-based or clan-based. It is based on information we receive although we certainly do not believe everything we are told.

"What we get at first is a guarded response. We do not encounter open hostility except, of course, when we are getting shot at."

Iran again under scrutiny after new Afghan weapons find

HERAT, Afghanistan (AFP) — For the second time this month, Iran has come under scrutiny after Afghan security forces recovered a shipment of weapons destined for Taliban insurgents that came from across the border.

The latest discovery occurred on Saturday when Afghan authorities said they found about 40 Iranian- and Chinese-made mines and rocket-propelled-grenades in a vehicle abandoned by Taliban rebels in Herat province near the border. Some of the rockets shown to reporters carried Iran's coat of arms.

Two weeks earlier, NATO soldiers deployed in Afghanistan seized in Farah province, also on the border, a significant convoy of explosives that came from the Islamic republic and also was apparently destined for the hardliners.

"We do not have problems with Turkmenistan -- all the trouble comes through Iran," the deputy chief of border police for western Afghanistan, Samowal Hamidullah, told AFP in the western city of Herat.

"There are many illegal crossings between the two sides," said Hamidullah, who monitors about 20 border posts between Afghanistan and the two countries.

US officials allege that Tehran is supporting the Taliban in their bloody rebellion against the US-backed government of President Hamid Karzai and the 50,000 foreign soldiers backing him, most of whom are American.

Iran denies the charge and many Afghan officials also say there is no proof Tehran is directly involved, with Washington irked by Karzai's insistence that Iran is a good neighbour.

The 928-kilometre (575-mile) border between Iran and Afghanistan is porous and difficult to patrol. It is relatively easy for traffickers moving through the semi-desert of plains and hills to avoid detection.

All kinds of items smuggled over the border have been seized, including arms and drugs -- especially opium, which is being produced at record levels in Afghanistan.

Afghan intelligence services say the weekend's haul of arms is definitely from Iran, but they don't know "if it is Tehran which helps," Hamidullah said.

When asked who might have despatched the convoy found in early September, the top commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force, US General Dan McNeill, remained cautious.

"The geographic origin of that convoy was clearly Iran but take note that I did not say it's the Iranian government," he told AFP in a recent interview.

Najeeb Ur Rahman Manalai from the Centre for Conflict Studies and Peace in Kabul agreed.

"There is no clear proof that the Iranian government is behind these arms discoveries," he said. "They could even come from anti-Iranian insurgent groups in Iran."

The governor of Herat province, Hossein Anvari, also said he doubted direct Iranian involvement.

"We do not have any proof that weapons come from the government of Iran into Afghanistan," he told AFP.

This is the position of Karzai, who wants to keep good relations with Iran while ties with his other neighbour, Pakistan, are already strained.

Under the 1996-2001 Taliban regime, toppled in an invasion led by the United States, Shiite Iran supported the Northern Alliance as it opposed the Sunni Wahhabist Taliban.

But US officials say Tehran has changed this stance because it wants to destabilise Afghanistan to get at Kabul's principal ally, the United States, perhaps as a response to repeated US threats about its nuclear programme.

UN Presses Afghanistan To Strengthen Regional Ties

By Nikola Krastev Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Afghan President Hamid Karzai co-chaired a high-level meeting on September 23 of key states whose support is needed to help bring peace and stability to Afghanistan. The 24 participants included the United States, Iran, Turkey and Pakistan. The meeting focused on how to promote security, good governance, the rule of law, human rights and economic and social development in Afghanistan, as well as how to fight international terrorism.

UNITED NATIONS, September 24, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- UN Secretary-General Ban described the meeting as "constructive" and "useful" to reporters after the talks concluded.

"While we agreed that the challenges are enormous and difficult," Ban said, "we also hope that the Afghanistan government under the leadership of President Karzai will continue to focus their efforts in good governance, eradicating corruption, eradicating the opium cultivation and drug trafficking, and promoting more education and sanitation and health facilities."

Ban and Karzai issued a joint communique reaffirming the commitment of the international community in supporting the Afghan government in terms of economic and social cooperation.

A major aim of this meeting was to strengthen ties with Afghanistan's neighbors, notably Pakistan and Iran, and to engage them in regional cooperation and gain their continuing support for the peace-building process in the country.

"While we help the Afghan government in their own efforts," Ban said, "the regional cooperation in the area of economy and security should also be strengthened, and there should be more efforts by President Karzai and Afghan leaders in promoting inclusive political dialogue for national reconciliation. All these efforts should be accompanied by international cooperation."

Karzai reaffirmed the support expressed by the UN secretary-general and expressed the Afghan people's gratitude for the material assistance that the international community is providing. In response to a question about his government's initiatives in integrating the Taliban into the reconciliation process, he said Kabul is welcoming any Taliban who are not part of Al-Qaeda or other terrorist networks.

"We are working hard on that," Karzai said. "We are trying very hard to bring them back into the fold, to make them return and participate in the making of the country. It's extremely important. This process will go on. Afghanistan, sir, is extremely grateful to the international community for the assistance that it has provided."

Responding to a question about Pakistan's cooperation against terrorist elements infiltrating Afghanistan, Karzai described Islamabad's activities in that regard as "promising" and said it is easy to distinguish between good and bad deeds.

"Pakistan's contribution is very, very important," Karzai said. "We are working on it. The peace jirga was an important step in this direction. There is a subcommittee formed of the peace jirga between the two countries -- 25 from each side -- that will meet in a few days' time. That will then determine the course that we take towards better cooperation between the two countries in an effective fight against extremism and terrorism."

Besides the UN Security Council's five permanent member -- Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States -- the high- level meeting was also attended by Canada, Germany, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Turkey.

Also present were the Asian Development Bank, the European Union, the European Commission, NATO, and the World Bank.

Participants reviewed progress toward implementing the Afghanistan Compact, a five-year development blueprint launched in January 2006 by Kabul and some 70 foreign partners.

[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.]