In this bulletin:

• NATO to launch new comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan
• Militants attack 3rd mobile telecom signal tower in S. Afghanistan
• US optimistic about Afghanistan reinforcements: Rice
• Rice urges NATO allies to aid Canada in south Afghanistan
• U.K. minister confident NATO will provide troops
• NATO may ask Russians for logistics help in Afghanistan
• Afghan MPs implore Canada to stay the course
• Body of 79th Cdn soldier killed in Afghanistan headed home
• Afghan Mission Has Two Goals: Security, Farming
• Coalition forces disrupt Taliban networks
• Afghan heroin flood 'likely'
• Government of Canada Recognizes Canadian Grassroots Efforts With Support for Afghan Women and Girls
• Report: Norwegian diplomat mooted as Afghan envoy
• UK focuses on "Harry's War", Afghan campaign drags on
• Cartoon and Koran film part of "Crusader war:" Taliban
• President Halonen Concerned over Girls' Schooling in Afghanistan
• Danish aid helps re-open Afghan schools
• Study: Troop Morale Up in Iraq, Down in Afghanistan
• Afghanistan holds rare women's art exhibit
• WFP food distributions begin for Afghans hit by high food prices
• Afghanistan invites Kuwaiti investments  

NATO to launch new comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan

Brussels (The Earth Times) 6 March 2008- NATO is to launch a comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan aimed at bridging longstanding divisions within the alliance, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner confirmed Thursday.

"A strategy is necessary," he said. The four-point plan combines the demands by some allies to focus on fighting the Taliban and the desire by others to do more on the reconstruction and nation-building side.

Kouchner said it would foresee "a common determination of the allies to stay engaged in Afghanistan for the long term", reconstruction, "clear prospects for a gradual handover to the Afghan authorities at all levels" and "a politically-shared strategy for Afghanistan", Kouchner said.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also confirmed plans for a new strategy at an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. Such a plan, which has been in the pipeline for some time, was expected to be launched at NATO's April 2-4 summit in Bucharest, officials said.

American, British, Dutch and Canadian soldiers have been left to face the brunt of the fighting against the Taliban in Afghanistan's volatile south amid reluctance from some allies to send their troops there.

Germany in particular has been unwilling to commit its troops to the south, preferring instead to deploy its soldiers in the more peaceful north.

The US has repeatedly called on its allies to send more troops while Canada has threatened to pull its 2,500 troops out of the dangerous Kandahar region unless other NATO members send substantial reinforcements.

But Rice sought to play down such divisions on Thursday. "Germany, like others, is contributing to the efforts and that is greatly appreciated," Rice said.

However, she stressed that defeating terrorism and the Taliban remained a priority.

"What we have to be able to do is to make certain that we can fulfil every requirement. We cannot just fulfil the requirements that have to do with reconstruction, governance and the rule of law," she said.

"We have to win against the insurgents, we have to help the Afghans, train the army, and it is a shared view that we need more help in that regard," she added.

NATO's ISAF mission in Afghanistan can count on about 40,000 soldiers, most of whom are American.

Militants attack 3rd mobile telecom signal tower in S. Afghanistan

    KABUL, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Taliban militants attacked a signal tower of a mobile telecommunication service company in Zabul province of southern Afghanistan, destroying a guards room near the tower, the police said Thursday.

    "Armed Taliban insurgents attacked the tower and the guards room of Areeba, a mobile phone service company, in Shar-e-Safa district of Zabul Wednesday night, destroying the room and power generator, but failed to damage the antenna," provincial police chief Mohammad yaqub told Xinhua via phone.

    It is the third time over the past two weeks that the anti-government insurgents have been attacking mobile phone towers in south Afghanistan since giving ultimatum to shut down signaling during nighttime.

    Armed personnel attacked and destroyed on March 1 two signal towers of Roshan, another mobile telecommunication service firm, separately in Kandahar and Helmand provinces.

    Taliban militants in a blatant warning to mobile companies on Feb. 25 asked them to stop operation from 5 p.m. till 7 a.m. in Taliban-held areas, saying Afghan and foreign forces can track down militants through mobile phone signals.

US optimistic about Afghanistan reinforcements: Rice

BRUSSELS (AFP) 6 March 2008 — US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed optimism Wednesday that NATO can find enough troops for Afghanistan to meet Canadian demands for a better response to the Taliban-led insurgency.

"People have obviously been working very hard on this issue," Rice told reporters travelling with her to Brussels, where she will meet with her NATO counterparts on Thursday, with Afghanistan high on the agenda.

"I think people have made progress and I think we are hopeful that NATO is going to meet the commitment that it needs to meet," she said.

"The Canadian contribution is highly valued and so we need very much to be able to meet the circumstances that would allow Canada to continue," she said, en route to Europe from Jerusalem.

Canada plans to end the mandate of its troops in Afghanistan in 2011 but has threatened to leave in a year if NATO does not send reinforcements, medium lift helicopters and drones soon.

Some 2,500 Canadian troops are deployed in Afghanistan's volatile south as part of the 43,000-strong NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) battling Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters.

Like a dozen countries represented in the south, where opium cultivation is flourishing, Canada is taking heavy casualties that are feeding public dissatisfaction at home.

Since 2002, 79 Canadian soldiers and a senior diplomat have died in roadside bombings and in melees with the insurgents.

Rice urges NATO allies to aid Canada in south Afghanistan

Peter O'Neil, Canwest News Service

BRUSSELS 6 March 2008- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called today for western allies to come to Canada's aid in Afghanistan. "We believe the alliance has an obligation to deliver" on Canada's request, she told reporters after a NATO foreign ministers' meeting.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has warned that Canada will withdraw its 2,500 soldiers from Afghanistan next year if it doesn't get an additional 1,000-troop reinforcement, extra helicopters and surveillance drones.

As the NATO foreign ministers meeting began in Brussels, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband indicated he's confident Canada will get the allied reinforcements it says it needs to extend its mission in Afghanistan beyond 2009.

"The Canadian contribution is very important and the debate that you've had, I think, has been a very valuable debate," Miliband said when asked by Canwest News Service if Canada will get the 1,000 soldiers it's seeking.

"I am confident that the nations of the coalition are going to stick together to ensure that we can all make a maximum contribution in Afghanistan in an effective way."

He said he will discuss the issue with Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier, who didn't speak to reporters before the meeting.

Miliband indicated that the ministers want to send the message to both domestic populations, and to NATO's military opponents in Afghanistan, that the alliance can't be intimidated into abandoning the mission.

"I think one of the features of today's discussion of NATO is going to be the long-term commitment that all the countries here are making to Afghanistan, the military commitment through NATO, but also a political and development commitment to the future of that country, which is very important to the region and to the wider world."

On Wednesday, Rice said she's optimistic Canada will meet success. "People have obviously been working very hard on this issue," she told reporters while en route to Brussels from Jerusalem.

"I think people have made progress and I think we are hopeful that NATO is going to meet the commitment that it needs to meet."

Like Miliband, she praised Canada's efforts in battling Taliban insurgents and rebuilding a war-shattered, barely-functioning country.

"The Canadian contribution is highly valued and so we need very much to be able to meet the circumstances that would allow Canada to continue," she said, according to a report from Agence France-Presse.

A series of reports have given dismal assessments of western efforts in Afghanistan, citing widespread government corruption, a booming heroin economy, bold terrorist actions by the Taliban, and a lack of coordination among western countries involved in the development assistance efforts.

Today's meeting is the final preparatory step before a crucial NATO summit next month in Bucharest, where national leaders will consider new ways to brighten the bleak outlook.

Harper is expected to know by then if allies will meet his demand. All eyes will be on French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has made clear he's willing to beef up France's efforts - though not necessarily in the volatile south where Canadians are based.

U.K. minister confident NATO will provide troops

Updated Thu. Mar. 6 2008 CTV.ca News Staff

Britain's foreign minister said Thursday he's confident NATO will be able to muster the extra troops needed if Canada is to continue its military role in the war-torn country.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said Canada will end its military role if NATO allies don't ante up 1,000 additional troops to serve in the volatile south of Afghanistan. Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier is attending the meetings.

British Foreign Minister David Miliband, arriving for NATO talks Thursday morning in Brussels, suggested he's confident the troops will be provided and Canada will be able to maintain its commitment, said CTV's London Bureau Chief Tom Kennedy.

"The British foreign minister said going into these morning it's going well," Kennedy told CTV's Canada AM, reporting from Brussels.

"He implied in fact there will be a solution, which is no surprise because what we've been hearing out of NATO over the past couple of months has been reasonable positive."

However, Kennedy said there is unlikely to be a breakthrough on the issue during this round of meetings. Rather, NATO members are setting up for a round of meetings in Romania next month, which is likely to result in a troop deal for Afghanistan.

NATO officials have stressed that the Brussels meetings are not intended to result in increased troop numbers.

On the day before the talks began, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she was "hopeful" NATO members would provide the required troops.

NATO members will be reviewing a "vision statement" on Afghanistan that is expected to be adopted at the summit. It would be designed to redefine the West's goals in Afghanistan and bolster public support for the mission.

NATO also has plans to ask Russia for logistical help for its mission in Afghanistan. That's at odds, Kennedy said, with the fact that NATO is considering expanding membership to the Balkan nations Albania, Croatia and Macedonia.

"It's very delicate because Russia objects to this and NATO needs Russia's help in Afghanistan," Kennedy said.

Greece has expressed discontent with Macedonia's inclusion on the list over a disagreement about the country's name. The name of Macedonia, which separated from Yugoslavia in 1991, implies a claim to a northern region of Greece of the same name.

Greece has threatened to use its veto power to cancel the membership bid by Macedonia, but NATO is hopeful for a solution as talks are underway.

Officials said the disagreement was the last barrier blocking the Balkan nations from joining, which could happen as soon as next month at the Bucharest meetings.

NATO may ask Russians for logistics help in Afghanistan

BRUSSELS (Canwest) 6 March 2008-- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, meeting today to consider new strategies to bring development and peace to increasingly violent Afghanistan, is looking to its old Cold War rival for help.

NATO is seeking assistance from Russia even though Afghans on both sides of the current struggle have bitter memories of the old Soviet Union's brutal 1979 invasion and decade-long occupation that ended in a humiliating withdrawal of troops by Moscow.

The transatlantic alliance will stop short of asking for Russian troops or the dreaded attack helicopters used in Afghanistan during the 1980s, since that would represent a huge propaganda coup for the Taliban insurgents.

But NATO is interested in Russian help in transporting equipment and troops into Afghanistan through Russian territory, officials said Wednesday.

The Russian government could make contributions that would include "regular use of Russian transport means to get supplies to NATO forces in Afghanistan [and] possible Russian contributions to the re-equipment of the Afghan army," said Robert Simmons, NATO's special envoy for the Caucasus and Central Asia, according to a report by Agence France-Presse.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier, who arrived here Wednesday for a meeting with European Union officials to discuss Canada-EU trade as well as the Afghanistan mission, was not immediately available for comment on the matter.

But Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government has been particularly cool towards Russia, not sending a congratulatory message this week to newly elected President Dmitry Medvedev.

The Harper government twice last year issued sternly worded official statements questioning Moscow's slippery slide away from democracy under former president Vladamir Putin, who hand-picked Medvedev as his successor.

NATO foreign ministers, led by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, will be confronted today by one of the many examples of flagging public support for the Afghanistan mission -- Canada's ultimatum that it will withdraw its 2,500 troops from the dangerous Kandahar region unless NATO finds substantial reinforcements.

Bernier plans to reiterate once again to colleagues that Canada will follow through on its threat unless it gets a 1,000-troop reinforcement and better equipment such as transport helicopters.

The gathering sets the stage for a NATO summit in Bucharest next month at which Harper is expected to find out if his diplomatic gambit will yield fruit.

One diplomatic source praised Canada's efforts earlier this week, saying France is profoundly aware of Canada's position even as it contemplates sending hundreds of new troops to the east rather than the south.

He said a French move to the east is logical because troops will be closer to Kabul, the Afghanistan capital where most of France's equipment and 2,000 troops are located. But that move would free up American soldiers in the east, near the volatile Pakistan border, to head south to help the Canadians, he noted.

Afghan MPs implore Canada to stay the course

MURRAY BREWSTER - The Canadian Press March 5, 2008 at 8:19 PM EST

OTTAWA — Afghan parliamentarians implored Canadians not to abandon them as the House of Commons argued Wednesday over the timing of a vote on the future of the mission in the war-torn region.

Fawzia Koofi, among six lower house Afghan MPs visiting Canada, insisted that important progress has been made in her country even though the security situation in general has deteriorated.

“We need to provide security and justice to the people and we cannot do it alone,” said Ms. Koofi, who represents the Badakhshan district in the northeastern part of the country.

“This message needs to be clearly given to your public.”

The comments were made as Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservatives sought unanimous consent among the opposition parties to hold a Commons vote on March 13 to determine the future of the mission. Government House Leader Peter Van Loan didn't get that approval, but talks among the various parties will continue.

The Tories offered to extend the sitting hours of the Commons so more MPs could have their say, but the attempt was blocked by the Liberals, who wanted some procedural clarification.

The government wants the vote held before Parliament breaks for a two-week Easter recess so that Harper can go to the NATO leaders summit in Bucharest, Romania, with a clear mandate.

The government's motion calls on Canada to keep a military contingent in Kandahar until 2011, as long as alliance members provide 1,000 more troops. The position is based on a recommendation by the Manley commission, which also said Ottawa's aid efforts must have a higher profile.

Safia Sediqi, who represents the Nangarhar region in the Afghan lower house, says the Afghan people are well aware of the contributions.

“The flag of Canada is not the many projects (which you fund), but the many people who work in the (national reconciliation program), in microfinance or security, obviously they know the people of Canada assisted the people of Afghanistan and they will be remembered,” said Ms. Sediqi, who at one time worked in the Afghan department of reconstruction and rural redevelopment.

Both Afghan politicians, while repeatedly praising the Canadian contribution, acknowledged more has to be accomplished in aid and reconstruction, particularly when it comes to infrastructure.

“There's a saying in Afghanistan: where the road ends, the Taliban begin,” said Ms. Sediqi.

Ms. Koofi was among the survivors of a Parliamentary delegation that was attacked by a suicide bomber last November in Baghlan, killing at least 26 people, including a leading opposition figure.

She says Canada's contribution is particularly important when it comes to training female police officers, whom she credits with a growing awareness in the country of domestic violence.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly reached out to moderate elements of the Taliban, not only to fracture the insurgency but to promote national reconciliation after three decades of war.

Ms. Sediqi wouldn't say whether she thought the effort was succeeding, but insisted the effort must continue.

Body of 79th Cdn soldier killed in Afghanistan headed home

By THE CANADIAN PRESS

CFB TRENTON - The body of the 79th Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan is headed back home today. Trooper Michael Yuki Hayakaze is being flown to CFB Trenton, in eastern Ontario.

Governor General Michaelle Jean and Peter MacKay, the minister of defence, are expected to be on the tarmac to meet the plane. The 25-year-old member of the Lord Strathcona's Horse, an armoured regiment based in Alberta, died Sunday.

He was killed by a roadside bomb while on a resupply mission west of Kandahar city, just days before his tour was up. He had been in Afghanistan since October and had replaced another driver who was injured by a roadside bomb.

In addition to the 79 soldiers, one Canadian diplomat has also died in the conflict. More than 2,500 soldiers from several different countries had lined the tarmac in Kandahar Airfield to salute Hayakaze on his final journey home.

Hayakaze hadn't been in the Forces for very long before he was sent to Afghanistan, a move that left him a little nervous. But fellow soldiers said he quickly adapted and was always cheerful

Afghan Mission Has Two Goals: Security, Farming

NPR

, March 6, 2008 · The past year in Afghanistan has been the bloodiest since the overthrow of the Taliban government in 2001. Now the United States is dispatching reinforcements — 3,200 Marines are being sent to Afghanistan in the coming weeks to help in the fight. And there are calls for more NATO forces. But military muscle is the least important answer to the troubles in Afghanistan.

Several weeks ago, a large team of highly trained American soldiers quietly slipped into the area around Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan. Their specialty? Farming.

Ten members of the 50-man unit are farmers, says Lt. Gen. Clyde Vaughan, the No. 2 officer in the National Guard. Like him, all those soldiers came from Missouri and their mission is to lend a hand to fellow Afghan farmers with improved seed, irrigation, storage — even butchering technique.

"The tribal chieftains that we were with [said], 'Look, we've lost a generation of farmers and we're worried about our youngsters. And we have better than 70 percent of the country that live on these farms, so how about helping us out?'"

Military officials say the only way to turn Afghanistan around is with programs like this that make life better for the Afghan people. They say tangible results will separate them from the Taliban insurgents, who are mounting more attacks and making inroads in the countryside against the Afghan government.

Retired Lt. Gen. David Barno, who was the top commander in Afghanistan until 2005, says those who focus too much on combat power miss the point.

"The common view from most thoughtful people on counterinsurgencies is that only 20 percent of a counterinsurgency effort is military," Barno says. "Eighty percent is other sectors: It's the political sector, the social sector, maybe the health sector. Certainly the economic sector."

But it's that 80 percent of the effort that is stalling in Afghanistan — maybe falling behind, Barno and others say. Militarily, the Taliban militants are losing battles and have lost many top and mid-level commanders.

"So I would say that while we have been successful militarily ... the other aspects of development in Afghanistan have not proceeded as well," Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Congress recently.

He said that rebuilding Afghanistan suffers from two problems. One is with the Afghan government.

"Clearly the counter narcotics is a problem, corruption is a problem," Gates said. "The ability of the government to get services to countryside is a problem. Effectiveness of government ministries in many cases is a problem."

The other problem, Gates says, is a lack of coordination for the billions of dollars in international aid meant to get down to the village level.

"There are some 40 partner nations active in Afghanistan, not to mention hundreds of nongovernmental organizations," he said. "There is no overarching strategy. There is no coordinating body that looks at what's working best and what's not working and shares those experiences. Or that coordinates and says, 'You need to focus on electricity,' and 'You need to focus on roads.''"

Both NATO and the United Nations in recent weeks settled on an international envoy to do just that. Lord Paddy Ashdown, a former British Parliament member who won praise for a similar job: international high representative for Bosnia.

But Afghan President Hamid Karzai rejected Ashdown's selection. Retired Marine Gen. Jim Jones served as the top commander of NATO and was a strong supporter of Ashdown. Jones has just written a report saying the future of Afghanistan will be determined by progress or failure in the civil sector.

The problem goes far beyond just a coordinator for international aid or a more effective Afghan government, Jones says. It's also about other governments living up to their commitments. The European Union tapped Great Britain to take the lead on dealing with Afghanistan's ever-growing narcotics trade. Italy was to lead on creating a judiciary, Germany with a police force.

"The countries, what they signed up to do was to take ... the strategic lead," Jones says. "But the rest of the international community just walked away from it." He says that lack of interest has an immediate effect in Afghanistan.

"And so as a result every year we hear of record poppy harvests," Jones says. "Every year we hear of corruption in the judicial system and drug lords who are arrested, tried, put in jail and three months later, the convictions are overturned. And with the police it's a question of just not enough capacity [and] not enough training."

Gates will set out for a NATO meeting in Bucharest, Romania, next month, trying to get the allies to do more in Afghanistan. And additional names for an international aid coordinator are being submitted to Karzai.

Meanwhile, another National Guard team is gearing up to head to Afghanistan — soldier farmers from Texas.

Coalition forces disrupt Taliban networks

KABUL, March 6 (KUNA) -- The US-led coalition troops said they had detained seven suspected insurgents during an operation in southern Afghanistan. The operation was conducted in Garmsir district of the volatile Helmand province on March 4 to target a Taliban leader, said a statement from the coalition forces Bagram base here on Thursday. Coalition forces found and detained seven individuals with suspected links to insurgent networks. The detained individuals will be questioned to their involvement in Taliban weapon-facilitation operations as well as other extremist activities.
"Taliban-facilitation operations are being systematically degraded due to the concentrated efforts of coalition forces and the unwavering support of the people of Afghanistan," said coalition forces' spokesman Major Chris Belcher.

Afghan heroin flood 'likely'

6 March 2008- AUSTRALIAN authorities are bracing for a new flood of heroin after reports that opium production is booming in Afghanistan.

Fairfax newspapers report that drug treatment experts are seeing an increase of Afghan "brown" heroin in Australian cities, which differs from "white" heroin sourced from Asia's golden triangle.

The increasing purity of heroin available in Melbourne coincides with a price drop and a rise in the number of fatal heroin overdoses in the city, Victorian police told Fairfax.

Opium production in Afghanistan rose 34 per cent last year, a UN survey found, giving it 93 per cent of the world opiate market.

The International Narcotics Control Board annual report, released this week, said Afghanistan produced an "exceptional quantity" of opium, at 8200 tonnes last year.

A confidential customs intelligence report obtained by ABC television showed police and security agencies feared crime syndicates may flood Australia with heroin, Fairfax said.

"Afghan opiates are replacing Golden Triangle heroin in China. The trade is spreading through East Asia with China, Japan and Hong Kong all reporting increased seizures from West Asia," the customs report said.

"Improvements in quality may result in Afghan heroin becoming more accepted by Australian consumers.

"This acceptance, together with increased availability of supply from Afghanistan, may result in more West Asian heroin being imported to Australia."

Government of Canada Recognizes Canadian Grassroots Efforts With Support for Afghan Women and Girls

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - March 6, 2008) - The Honourable Beverley J. Oda, Minister of International Cooperation, announced today that the Government of Canada is taking new action to reduce discrimination against women and children in Afghanistan and encourage their participation in Afghan society.

Minister Oda announced two initiatives at an event hosted by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), on the occasion of International Women's Week, to recognize the efforts of Canadian organizations and individuals that are helping improve the lives of Afghan women and girls.

"Women in Afghanistan suffered tremendous hardship under the Taliban regime. They lost the right to a formal education, to being part of the workforce and to participating in political life," said Minister Oda. "Canada is proud to help Afghan women overcome this legacy and is honoured to highlight some of the important work being done by Canadians, such as Alaina Podmorow, to help improve the lives of Afghan women and girls."

As part of today's announcement, the Government will provide $5 million to the Responsive Fund for the Advancement of Women, a Canadian International Development Agency fund to support quick-impact projects aimed at reducing discrimination against women and encourage their participation in Afghan society. The new capacity that this funding provides will help address the recommendation in the report of the Independent Panel on Canada's role in Afghanistan for "locally managed, quick action projects that bring immediate improvement to everyday life for Afghans."

The Government will also provide $500 000 to the Excel-rate Education initiative being undertaken by the Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, (CW4WA) a volunteer network in Canada committed to supporting the empowerment of Afghan women and girls. This project will establish a teacher-training program, through local partners, to improve education for Afghan girls in Kabul Province. The funding will permit the training of 720 Afghan teachers, including 364 female teachers.

In addition, CIDA will match, dollar for dollar, funds raised by CW4WA, and their affiliated youth organization, Little Women for Little Women in Afghanistan, to bring the number of female teachers trained to 500.

Two years ago, Miss Podmorow, an 11-year old girl from Okanagan, B.C., founded the organization called Little Women for Little Women in Afghanistan (LW4LW). This group is an extension of Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan. Through fundraising efforts, LW4LW was able to pay for the salaries of thirty Afghan schoolteachers for one year, at a cost of $750 per teacher. In addition to raising funds, Miss Podmorow's organization is committed to raising awareness among North American girls and their parents about the issues faced by girls in Afghanistan.

Today's announcement is part of Canada's overall $1.3 billion contribution to development in Afghanistan over 10 years which is aimed at strengthening governance, security and development in the country.

Report: Norwegian diplomat mooted as Afghan envoy
From Monsters and Critics.com

Oslo 6 March 2008- Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide was Thursday tipped as a likely contender for the position as UN envoy to Afghanistan, Norwegian media reported.

Eide was the former Norwegian ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) from 1998 to 2002 before serving as Norwegian ambassador to NATO until 2006 when he transferred to the foreign ministry in Oslo.

Both Norwegian broadcaster NRK and news agency NTB carried reports that Eide, 58, was in the running along with Canada's former foreign minister John Manley and Slovak Foreign Minister Jan Kubis.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store attending an unofficial NATO meeting in Brussels Thursday declined comment, pending word from the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The UN envoy was to coordinate humanitarian work with the NATO-led military campaign in Afghanistan. In January, the former leader of the British Liberal Democrats, Paddy Ashdown withdrew his name as envoy over objections from Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

A year ago Eide also featured in speculation as a possible replacement for former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari as envoy to Kosovo.

Ahtisaari was under fire from Serbia and Russia over a plan to make Kosovo an independent nation under a UN blueprint. The plan was subsequently shelved, and Kosovo in February declared itself independent.

UK focuses on "Harry's War", Afghan campaign drags on

LONDON (Reuters) 6 March 2008- A blaze of publicity for Prince Harry's front-line assignment in Afghanistan has briefly drawn Britons' attention to the conflict but touched little on the harsh realities of a struggling military campaign.

British media have reveled in Harry's cameo appearance, broadcasting pictures of Queen Elizabeth's grandson firing a machine gun and running banner headlines on the "hero prince".

The combat role of third in line to the throne has been used by politicians and army chiefs to remind Britons of the everyday sacrifices ordinary soldiers make on the front line.

The Ministry of Defence is happy. British media stood by an agreement not to publicize Harry's 10-week stint while he was still there -- until a U.S. Web site broke the news -- and he briefly brought some glamour to the army as its pin-up hero.

The image of the royal family has benefited and Prince Charles, Harry's father, said he now understood what the parents of personnel on the front line in Afghanistan went through.

But the realities of the war were all but glossed over. "The media was suckered into a deal that gave the war in Afghanistan the most positive and glamorous coverage it has had since the very beginning six years ago," Peter Wilby, a political commentator for the Guardian, told Reuters.

"It was a marvelous boost for army recruitment and revived the legitimacy of a war for which support has been waning."

Under the deal, media organizations including Reuters kept quiet about Harry's deployment in exchange for photographs, video and text of his role once the assignment was completed.

Yet the publicity at the end of his assignment has focused little on the truths of a military campaign in which Britain's 7,800 troops are struggling even after six years at war.

Like British forces serving in Iraq, they face difficult questions about their performance in two of the most challenging conflicts the military has faced in the past 60 years.

Newspapers have faithfully reported that Harry successfully called in air strikes -- he told pilots where their targets were -- during his time in Helmand province and took part in operations in which the ministry says 30 Taliban were killed.

But the Taliban now control at least 10 percent of Afghanistan, according to a U.S. intelligence assessment, and are running their own checkpoints in Helmand, a violent, unstable province in the south where British troops are based.

The United States, which is battling militants along the Afghan-Pakistan border, has criticized the tactics employed by its allies including Britain. It says they do not know how to wage an effective counter-insurgency campaign.

British forces have repeatedly mounted offensives to try to drive the Taliban out of strongholds in the north of Helmand, with occasional success. But basic problems such as a lack of helicopters often hamstring operations and the Taliban return.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, which is leading the 40,000-strong force in Afghanistan, acknowledges it needs more troops but few NATO member states are willing to provide them.

Britain says it has no extra soldiers to spare, partly because its troops are already badly stretched in Iraq but also because numbers of soldiers in the armed forces are generally down and recruitment is proving tough.

Any boost that "Harry's War" might bring -- and the ministry says that was not part of its intention in sending him to Afghanistan in the first place -- will not be seen for a while.

In Iraq, Britain has wanted to draw down its remaining 4,500 troops and pull out for several months, but insecurity on the ground means it cannot do so.

Iraqi militants frequently fire rockets at Britain's main base outside the southern city of Basra -- killing an airman six days ago -- and five British citizens have been held captive by militants for the past 10 months.

The Ministry of Defence has been accused of covering up abuse, torture and executions by British soldiers in Iraq, and has taken out an injunction against a former Special Forces soldier to stop him talking about his experiences there.

Some experts have big doubts about Britain's performance in Iraq, where it once had hopes of being welcomed with open arms.

"Britain's role in Iraq, and especially in Basra, has been a complete failure," said Ghassan al-Attiyah, the head of the Iraqi Foundation for Democracy and Development.

"After five years, they have just handed over Basra and put it into the control of militias who are supported by Iran." Much of the nuance of what is happening in the conflict has been lost in the glare of Harry's deployment.

Despite the publicity over what has become known as Harry's War, media experts say the Ministry of Defence may not gain much in the long term. The publicity has done little to focus attention on the real problems troops face in Afghanistan.

Cartoon and Koran film part of "Crusader war:" Taliban

KABUL (Reuters)6 March 2008 - Afghan Taliban militants have branded the reprinting of a satirical cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad in Danish newspapers and a film on the Koran by a Dutch politician as part of a "Crusader war" against Muslims.

The Islamic movement, which is leading an insurgency in Afghanistan against Afghan and foreign troops led by NATO and the United States, also called for aid for the Palestinians in their conflict with Israel.

"We see the publication of cartoons and insult of the Holy Koran as part of the Crusaders' war," the Taliban said in a statement posted on the group's Web site.

The cartoon -- one of 12 that prompted riots in many Muslim countries in 2006 -- was republished by a number of Danish papers last month to show solidarity with the cartoonist after three men were arrested on suspicion of plotting to kill him.

Many Muslims consider any depiction of the Prophet offensive.

Dutch right-wing politician Geert Wilders is expected to release his film, thought to be critical of the Koran, later this month. Wilders has given few details, but in the past he has called the Koran a "fascist" book that incites violence.

The reprinting of the cartoon and the planned release of the film coincide with recent incursions by Israel into Gaza, where more than 120 Palestinian civilians have been killed.

The developments have angered many in the Muslim world and prompted a series of protests in Afghanistan, where demonstrators have demanded the expulsion of Danish and Dutch troops serving under NATO's command.

The largest protest was held on Wednesday, when participants called on the Muslim world to provide arms and funds for the Palestinians. Some even indirectly threatened to join the Taliban insurgents, who were ousted from power in 2001 but remain active in the south and east of the country.

In the statement, the al Qaeda-backed Taliban also asked for help for the Palestinians.

"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan wants global institutions who preach democracy and human rights to the people of the world to condemn these atrocities of Israel and bring it to the International Criminal Court," it said.

Afghanistan's Western-backed government has called the republication of the cartoon an attack against Islam, and one official has warned it would feed the insurgents.

Several other Islamic countries have demanded that the release of Wilders' film should be stopped, and Pakistan's foreign ministry accused the Dutch politician of "propagating the politics of hate and promoting xenophobia".

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told Dutch television on Sunday he was concerned about the repercussions Wilders' plans may have for troops serving in Afghanistan and for Dutch people and businesses elsewhere in the world.

President Halonen Concerned over Girls' Schooling in Afghanistan

YLE 6 March 2008- President Tarja Halonen feels that it is a key task of the international community in Afghanistan to make sure that women and girls can go to school. The Finnish President spoke on Thursday at a women's conference in Brussels.

The conference had been convened by Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the European Commissioner for External Affairs. The key speeches were held by two woman leaders, President Halonen, and Ukrainian Prime Minister Julia Timoshenko.

In her address, President Halonen described the position of women in Finland, and also assessed the role of women in international conflicts - not just as peacemakers, but also as peacemakers and builders of reconciliation.

The Finnish President expressed special concern at the situation in Afghanistan. Halonen noted that Afghanistan is more than just a military problem.

She observed that 80 percent of women in Afghanistan lack education, and only one percent of girls in rural Afghanistan go to school. President Halonen feels that building schools and guaranteeing education for girls is one of the most important tasks.

Halonen also called for a more visible role for women in the fight against climate change. She said that efforts are currently underway in Finland to find ways to get women's voices better heard, and how to better make use of their practical skills in developing climate-friendly practices which preserve nature in homes, for instance.

Taking part in the Brussels conference on "Women: Stabilizing an Insecure World" were a large number of key women, including five heads of state, more than ten foreign ministers, as well as several other government ministers, and representatives of business organisations and civic groups.

Danish aid helps re-open Afghan schools

By The Copenhagen Post

6 March 2008- Danish aid is helping schools to re-open in Afghanistan, but critics say the curriculum is based on fundamental Islam

An ordinary school day will soon become a reality for some of Musa Qala's school children, reports Politiken newspaper.

Three months ago, the dusty district town of 35,000 inhabitants in the Helmand province of Afghanistan was devoid of schools after it had been taken over by the Taleban. The insurgents obliterated many learning centres and murdered teachers and students.

However, in December, the Afghan government troops claimed the town back with the help of British and American forces.

Denmark is now in charge of re-establishing schools in the Helmand province. And with a pledge of DKK 3.4 million, two primary schools are being built in Musa Qala and the town's secondary school is once again buzzing with students.

According to the Danish development plan for Helmand, Denmark will be responsible for the building or re-building of ten new schools over the next ten years. One of the long-term goals of the Helmand plan is to have 105,000 boys and girls in school by 2011.

But while getting the children back in school is important, the schools are considered 'religious' centres, and many critics are worried that the children are being educated according to strict interpretations of Islam.

'We are uneasy about supporting groups that are on the religious fringes,' said Peter Skaarup, The Danish People's Party's second-in-command. 'We have to be careful about giving aid to fundamentalist groups.'

But Franz-Michael Mellbin, the Danish ambassador to Afghanistan, said in an area where Islam is very strong and 90 percent of the population is illiterate, building only public schools will force the local priests to discourage parents from sending their children to school at all - or force them to cross the border into Pakistan, where there is little or no control over school curricula.

But Mellbin is still optimistic about Danish efforts. He said the priority was to establish a system that would enable as much access to schools as possible for the province's children.

'The first plan was not ambitious enough. So we've now enlisted the help of people from the education ministry in Kabul and we're drawing up new plans,' he said.

Mellbin added that support from local residents was crucial for success, particularly in getting girls into the schools. 'People are not comfortable sending girls to schools far away, whereas there is no problem for boys to walk up to ten km,' he said. (LYT)

Study: Troop Morale Up in Iraq, Down in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (AP) 6 March 2008 - The Army is about to release a report saying that U.S. troop morale improved in Iraq last year. But at the same time, soldiers fighting in Afghanistan suffered more depression as violence there worsened.

Sources familiar with the annual battlefield study say it will show that soldiers on their third and fourth tours of duty have sharply greater rates of mental health problems than those on their first or second deployments.

Slightly more soldiers in Iraq reported their morale was high or very high than the year before although it was still only 20 percent.

This year's report was drawn from the work of a team of mental health experts who traveled to the war zones last fall. The experts surveyed more than 2,200 soldiers in Iraq and nearly 900 in Afghanistan. Based on the findings, the military says it might need to send more mental health workers to the war front.

Afghanistan holds rare women's art exhibit

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) 6 March 2008 — Seven years ago, the Taliban would have torn these paintings to pieces.

The 93 works show the emotions and images of a war-torn country in which women are still deeply oppressed: war and weaponry, violence, entrapment, hopelessness — and hope.

But the Taliban would have been most offended because the artists are all women.

Twenty-three young artists displayed their work at an eight-day show in Kabul attended by some 3,000 people, according to event organizer Rahraw Omarzad. The show, which ended Monday, now travels to the western city of Herat.

Under the hardline Taliban regime, women were forbidden from leaving home without a male relative as an escort and girls were not allowed to go to school. Figurative art was banned and even destroyed.

"I couldn't paint during the Taliban regime because I didn't have enough material, and I wasn't allowed to go out and buy paint," said 22-year-old Maryam Formuli.

Echoing the frustration, Fareha Ghezal, 19, added, "I was young and couldn't go to the art center to learn because as a girl, I wasn't allowed to go to school."

The artists, who ranged in age from 7 to 26, guided their visitors around the gymnasium of a Kabul high school, describing their work and taking photographs with the viewers.

"It was like a wedding party. There were a lot of people enjoying it," said 23-year-old Maliha Hashemi, dressed in the artists' uniform for the exhibit, a black knee-length jacket and a red, green and black scarf, the colors of the Afghan flag.

"Before the exhibition, we were afraid that the visitors wouldn't be satisfied with our work, but when it opened, all the visitors were encouraging and impressed," Hashemi said.

Several paintings depicted women shrouded in the all-encompassing burqa that many Afghan women are forced to wear to protect them from the eyes of men who are not related to them.

One woman described her work — a grid of woven string with a tangled knot in the middle — as the impeccable order of the world outside Afghanistan, and the chaos those outside forces have caused within the country.

One extraordinary aspect about the show was the conversation the works sparked among strangers in a society in which men and women who aren't related rarely talk to each other.

One conversation illustrated how Afghan men and women can give remarkably different interpretations of a painting — and a woman's place in society.

Khadija Hashemi, 21, asked one man what he thought of her painting depicting an enormous caravan of women wearing blue burqas and riding donkeys into the desert horizon, with men accompanying them on foot.

The visitor said to her that the painting showed how much respect these men have for the women, letting them ride comfortably on the donkeys as the men suffered on foot on the difficult trek.

Not quite, she said.

"They don't have any role in the selection of the path. They don't have the choice to change the path. Instead they just have to keep on moving where the donkeys are led by the men," she said.

WFP food distributions begin for Afghans hit by high food prices

Source: United Nations World Food Programme

March 6, 2008

KABUL – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has begun providing emergency food assistance to millions of Afghans who can no longer afford to buy wheat and wheat flour, staples of the Afghan diet. WFP distributions in rural, urban and semi-urban areas were due to start this week.

"Between now and mid-year, WFP aims to reach 2.5 million people in both urban and rural areas of Afghanistan. They urgently need food to help them overcome increases in wheat prices that have exceeded 70 percent over the past 12 months," said Rick Corsino, WFP's Country Director in Afghanistan.

In and around the capital, Kabul, WFP will distribute wheat to 650,000 people, with beneficiaries including households headed by women, very large households with single-wage earners and the disabled.

The food distributions in Afghanistan come as rising commodity prices push basic foodstuffs out of the reach of poor people in many countries and also threaten to cut into planned food assistance by organizations like WFP. With global food prices up 40 percent since last June, WFP says the cost of projects already approved for 2008 has risen by US$500 million to reach a total of US$3.4 billion.

On 24 January, the Afghanistan Government and the United Nations appealed jointly to the international community to assist in addressing the humanitarian consequences of the rise in food prices. WFP requested US$77 million to deliver 89,000 metric tons of food to the poorest Afghans. Thus far, about two-thirds of this has been pledged by several donors.

"We must take immediate action to reduce the impact of soaring food prices on poor people in Afghanistan," said Corsino. "Distributions will be completed before the main mid-year wheat harvest as we do not want this additional food to discourage Afghan farmers from growing wheat for domestic markets and needs."

The 89,000 tons of food requested in the joint appeal is on top of the 180,000 tons that WFP plans to distribute in 2008 for nearly 3.7 million people recovering from war, civil unrest and recurring natural disasters.

Spring floods are a further concern to the Government and WFP. As temperatures gradually rise towards the end of an especially harsh winter, melting snows and spring rains are expected to threaten tens of thousands of people. Working with provincial authorities and the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, WFP plans to position 15,000 tons of food in those areas at greatest risk. These include the most food insecure areas in the central, western and north-eastern regions.

"We are moving now in anticipation of what has become a common spring occurrence, where hundreds of communities are hit by flooding that destroys homes and agricultural land and kills livestock," said Corsino.

In recent years, as the winter has ended there has been a marked increase in both insurgent and criminal activity, threatening WFP food movements, especially in the south and southeast of the country. WFP again appeals to all parties to respect this vital humanitarian effort that aims to reach the poorest Afghans with essential food.

Donors to WFP's current three-year US$415 million relief and recovery operation in Afghanistan include the United States (US$160 million), the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (US$36 million) – for CERF see: http://ochaonline.un.org), Canada (US$27 million), India (US$25 million), Japan (US$17 million), the Netherlands (US$8 million), Italy (US$5 million), Germany (US$5 million), Switzerland (US$4.4 million), the Russian Federation (US$3 million), the European Commission (US$3 million), Luxembourg (US$3 million), Saudi Arabia (US$2 million), France (US$1.8 million), Belgium (US$1.5 million), and several others.

WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency: this year, WFP plans to feed more than 70 million people in around 80 countries.

Afghanistan invites Kuwaiti investments 

By Ben Garcia, Kuwait Times March 6, 2008

KUWAIT: "Things are getting better in Afghanistan and the security concern is improving daily," declared Dr Omar Zakhilwal, head of Afghan business delegation, as he wooed Kuwaiti businessmen during their visit to the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) yesterday.

The group mostly comprised of Afghan businessmen based in Dubai, was received by KCCI Chairman Thunayan Alghanim and several KCCI members. They considered this visit as 'follow through' for the visit made by their president last December; to cement their bilateral, economic and political relations. Zakhilwal acknowledged concern for security but maintained that unavoidable business opportunities were being created every day.

Right now, the number of business people from European countries, China, India, America have been growing daily. When you ask them about security, they will never deny some risk factor, but they will always say that opportunities have always been there. Business has always been associated with risk-(if you don't take a risk you won't succeed)," he said.

He added that if there are foreign nationals enjoying development and rebuilding their country, Kuwaitis can also share, lead, operate their business in Afghanistan. "We want you to come and invest in Afghanistan. We now have a friendlier business environment and the attitude of business people are changing fast into positive. We want you to be part of these growing opportunities in our country," he enthused.

The business delegation consisted of Dubai-based Afghani companies who are actively reviving their country's economic prospect. Business delegates who hailed from banking, cement industry, mining and agro-business sectors.

Thunayan Alghanim explained the need to cement the economic relations. As he knows for a fact, they have zero economic count. "We strongly feel that there are huge opportunities in Afghanistan, but what kept us waiting was the issue of security and stability. We want to know whether it has improved or not," he said.

[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.]