In this bulletin:

• Suicide Bomber Kills Child, 4 Soldiers in Afghanistan
• Pre-mature blast kills 5 Taliban, militants attack police posts in S. Afghanistan
• Functional Afghan air force five years away: US general
• Donors should back Afghan $50 bln aid plan-U.N.
• Japan earmarks $54 million in food grants
• Prime Minister allows wheat export to Afghanistan
• Afghan schools closed by threats
• EU to raise Afghan police training - diplomats
• Border Wars
• NATO wary of Iranian arms sneaking into Afghanistan
• Afghanistan, Balkans, Russia relations top NATO agenda in Berlin
• Pakistan seeks to allay doubts on Taliban talks
• INTERVIEW-Germany says Pakistan troubles fuel Qaeda strength
• Pakistani militant chief pledges to keep fighting foreign forces in Afghanistan
• Afghanistan's opposition urges gov't to talk with Taliban
• Reporter shot dead in troubled Pakistani tribal area
• Manley concerned Afghan panel recommendations not being met
• Afghanistan encounters not all work of Taliban
• A fighter and a financier
• Ducking and diving under B-52s

Suicide Bomber Kills Child, 4 Soldiers in Afghanistan

(VOA) 23 May 2008 - A suicide bomber has attacked an Afghan army convoy in eastern Afghanistan, killing four soldiers and one child.

An Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman, Zahir Azimi, says four Afghan soldiers were also wounded in Friday's attack in Khost province. News agencies report the bombing is similar to others carried by Taliban insurgents.

On Thursday, former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani said the Taliban had shown a readiness for political dialogue and that every effort should be made to establish such contacts to end the insurgency.

Rabbani said the alliance of opposition parties he now leads received a letter, in which the militants said they would accept international conventions and would not oppose education for girls.

Meanwhile, one NATO soldier and two Afghan civilians were killed Thursday during a protest in central Ghor province against a U.S. soldier who shot at a copy of the Koran in Iraq.

The protest turned violent when demonstrators began throwing rocks and setting tents on fire. Afghan police opened fire on the crowd, killing the two civilians and wounding several others.

The NATO mission in Afghanistan says it is not clear how the soldier - from Lithuania - was killed.

Pre-mature blast kills 5 Taliban, militants attack police posts in S. Afghanistan

KABUL, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Five Taliban were killed by an unexpected blast of their own mine on a road in Musa Qala district of southern Afghanistan Friday while a group of Taliban militants launched fierce attacks on several police posts in the region, an official said.

    A pre-mature mine blast killed five Taliban as a group of militants were planting mines Friday on a main road frequented by Afghan and international forces in Musa Qala of Helmand province, provincial police chief Mohammad Hussein Andiwal said.

    "Apparently the mine they were planting is to target Afghan and foreign troops who often patrol on the road," Andiwal told Xinhua. He said four bodies of the killed militants were destroyed in the blast which occurred as early as 7 a.m. local time.

    Furthermore, a "large number" of Taliban militants began attacking police posts in Takh Tapol area of Musa Qala district Friday noon and the hours-long fighting "is still going on", Andiwal said during an evening talk with Xinhua via phone. He said two Taliban, including one injured, were arrested by the police.

    A Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said around 500 Taliban fighters were involved in the fighting with the police, which later was joined by Afghan and foreign forces. He said eight police posts were already destroyed by the militants and the police there escaped.

    A 10-month long Taliban control over Musa Qala ended last December when Afghan troops backed by international force during a major offensive recaptured the district, which is said to be with extreme strategic significance in Helmand, a known hotbed of Taliban-led militancy. However, the regained district has been the scene of increasing violent incidents over the months.

    Six and half years on from Taliban regime collapse in 2001, Afghanistan, especially its remote southern and eastern region, has still been in the grip of spiraling violence. Insurgency-related fighting and bombings left 8,000 people dead in Afghanistan in 2007, a record high since 2001.

    The Taliban militants, who, according to NATO military, have lost capability to confront Afghan and NATO troops directly, vowed to intensify guerrilla-style attacks this year, which usually come out in forms of bombings and ambushes.

Functional Afghan air force five years away: US general

Thu May 22, BRUSSELS (AFP) - Afghanistan's army will need international air support in combat operations for another five years, the US general leading efforts to build and train the Afghan security forces said Thursday.

US Major General Robert Cone, speaking to reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels, said the support would have to continue until the fledgling Afghan airforce is fully operational, probably in 2013.

"We believe that the Afghan air corps, on its current glide path, will have a capability in 2013," he said, adding that the army "will be dependent on additional firepower from allies until that time."

Cone said the air force would take a long time to build because of the special maintenance, logistics and fuelling skills and equipment required.

"I will tell you that development of an air corps is particularly difficult and will require some significant lead time," he said.

He underlined: "The hardest part is the dropping of bombs from the air. It will require significant training and we're thinking 2013 is when the Afghans will be capable of doing that."

Afghan and international forces are fighting a tenacious Taliban-led insurgency and the ability to call in jets and attack helicopters to back combat troops has proved a life-saving tool.

In March, Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak called on NATO to help build the airforce, so that the military can take more responsibility in combat -- the key to allowing international forces to finally leave Afghanistan.

"We need some ground attack capabilities. The issue is still under consideration and we will welcome any help in restructuring and recreating our air force," he said.

Cone also said that the Afghan army now numbered around 57,000 troops, with 9,000 others in training, and that it remained on target to meet a requirement for 80,000 personnel early next year.

NATO leads a 47,000 strong force drawn from 40 countries which is trying to spread the influence of the weak central government throughout the country.

Donors should back Afghan $50 bln aid plan-U.N.

KABUL, May 22 (Reuters) - The international community should back a $50-billion Afghan development strategy at a donors' conference in Paris next month, but Kabul must also fight rampant corruption, the U.N.'s special envoy said on Thursday.

Afghanistan depends on aid for 90 percent of its spending. But international donors have fallen behind in paying what they have already pledged and much of the money goes straight back to donor countries in salaries and profits. Official corruption eats into the remainder.

More than six years after U.S.-led and Afghan forces toppled the Taliban, Kabul and its Western backers are faced with a revived insurgency and a public frustrated by the lack of security and disappointed with the slow pace of development.

"It's obvious the international community does not spend its resources as well as it should and it's obvious that corruption is a much too widespread phenomenon in Afghanistan," the U.N. Special Envoy Kai Eide told a news conference in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

"I would like to see a partnership coming out of Paris where the international community says 'yes, we will spend our resources better' and the government says 'yes, we will fight corruption more vigorously'," he said.

International donors have pledged some $24 billion at three donor conferences since 2002, but the level of aid to Afghanistan is still many times lower per head than to other countries struggling to emerge from conflict such as Kosovo or East Timor.

This was partly due to the international community underestimating the scale of the problems faced by Afghanistan after nearly three decades of war and also due to the failure to foresee the re-emergence of the Taliban insurgency.

The Afghan government has now also drawn up a 5,000-page national development strategy, setting out its goals which it is to present to the June 12 Paris conference hosted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Afghanistan is seeking $50.1 billion from Paris, more than half of which it wants spent on security and infrastructure, the lack of which hampers almost every level of economic development.

"There are certain priorities as set by the Afghan government in its development strategy," said Eide. "We in the international community have to align our resources behind that strategy."

Many donors are wary of giving funds directly to the Afghan government fearing much of it will disappear into the pockets of corrupt officials. Afghanistan is ranked 172 out of 180 countries on Transparency International's corruption perception index.

Consequently, some two-thirds of aid is not channeled through the Afghan government, meaning Kabul has almost no control how the money is spent and the state remains weak and ineffectual.

"We have to spend much more resources and attention on building the state institutions that must be the basis for progress with regard to security and development," Eide said.

Afghanistan also suffers from a lack of coordination among more than 60 major donor countries and international organisations, dozens of aid agencies and foreign forces who are also engaged in reconstruction and development work.

Eide's appointment by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in March was meant to bring better coordination to the international community's efforts in Afghanistan.

The Paris conference, he said, will be a chance for the international community to commit in writing to renewing and improving their efforts in Afghanistan.

Japan earmarks $54 million in food grants

Associated Press - Fri May 23 - TOKYO - Japan allocated $54 million in emergency grants on Friday to the United Nations to help Afghanistan, Africa and Palestinian refugees cope with the ongoing food crisis.

The money will be given to the U.N.'s World Food Program and Relief and Works Agency to buy and distribute food in the impoverished areas, the Foreign Ministry said.

Sudan, Kenya and eight other countries in Africa are included, it said. "Chronic food shortages are spreading in these countries and regions due to poverty, natural disasters, bad weather, as well as conflicts," the ministry said in a statement. "The recent rises in global food prices has made the food shortage all the more serious."

The funds represent the first allocation of Japan's $100 million pledge of emergency food aid over three months, the Foreign Ministry said. With the announcement, Japan's global food aid this year totals $140 million.

High oil prices, growing demand, panic buying and speculation have sent food prices soaring worldwide, triggering protests from Africa to Asia and raising fears that millions more would suffer malnutrition.

Internationally, rice prices skyrocketed by about 76 percent from December to April while overall food prices have risen 83 percent in three years, according to the World Bank.

The Japanese government announced Thursday it would release some of its huge stockpile of rice to help ease the crisis, sending some 20,000 tons to five African nations in coming weeks.

Prime Minister allows wheat export to Afghanistan

Associated Press of Pakistan (APP)

ISLAMABAD (May 23 2008): Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday agreed to allow the export of 50,000 metric tons of wheat to Afghanistan In a telephonic call from Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the Prime Minister approved export of wheat to Afghanistan as a special gesture for the brotherly country facing problems of wheat supply.

Gilani who recently met Karzai on the sidelines of World Economic Forum in Egypt, expressed the confidence that relations between the two countries would continue to grow stronger. via Business Recorder

Afghan schools closed by threats
By Pam O'Toole - BBC News

More than 50 schools have been shut in the southern Afghan province of Ghazni after threats by suspected Taleban militants, a local politician says.

Provincial assembly member Habib Ruhman said teachers and pupils were staying away from most schools in five of Ghazni's 19 districts.

He said more than 10,000 students were affected. Ghazni education authorities put the number of schools shut at 16. The Taleban control swathes of Ghazni and attack schools and kidnap teachers.

Education has been one of the success stories in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taleban.

Almost seven million children enrolled in school at the beginning of this academic year - up from less than a million during the days of the Taleban administration, which banned girls from going to school and women from teaching.

But over the past two years, schools have increasingly been in the front line of a war between the Afghan government and Taleban insurgents and their allies, with violence-ridden provinces in the south and east worst affected.

Militants have attacked or burned many schools - hundreds have been closed and teachers and students have been killed.

One young student called Najibullah said in his area of Ghazni, the problem dates back to almost the beginning of the Afghan year, which started in late March.

"Since nearly the beginning of this year, our schools have been shut," he told the BBC. "And teachers get threats from those opposing the government saying 'don't go to school otherwise you will be beheaded'.

"That's why they can't come to school and the school remains closed And our future is unclear. We ask the government to reinstate our schooling."

There is a tremendous thirst for knowledge in Afghanistan - some students are prepared to travel long distances to be educated. But threats from the Taleban or other insurgent groups and general insecurity in some areas means that fear is taking its toll.

A few months ago President Karzai said the number of Afghan children missing school because of the Taleban insurgency had reached 300,000.

EU to raise Afghan police training - diplomats

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union ministers will agree on Monday to increase the size of the bloc's police training mission in Afghanistan, diplomats said.

Under the agreement, the bloc will set itself a long-term objective of doubling the size of its current mission to around 400 trainers, they said.

The long-flagged move is part of EU efforts to do more in the country where government officials accept that corruption among security forces is hampering efforts to tackle the huge opium sector, spread the rule of law and reconstruct.

"They will signal the political will to increase the size of the mission," said one EU diplomat of a preliminary agreement that will be endorsed at the meeting of EU foreign, defence and development ministers in Brussels on Monday.

He said ministers were likely to issue a statement after the meeting stating that their objective was to double the number of trainers on the ground, without giving a fixed timeframe.

"This is not necessarily for the short-term," he said. "There is a recognition that conditions are difficult," he said of a Taliban-led insurgency, particularly in southern provinces.

Germany took over the training task almost from scratch, starting in August 2002 with three-year courses for officers at the newly reopened Kabul Police Academy.

But its approach has been criticised -- particularly in the United States -- as being too slow in bringing law and order to a country faced with endemic corruption and Taliban insurgency.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble have called publicly for a doubling of the mission.

While the EU mission targets high-end training and mentoring for mostly senior law enforcement officials, the United States is leading a separate, 1,000-strong training effort covering both the national Afghan police and army.

Major General Robert Cone, the U.S. general in charge of the U.S. training effort, told Reuters this month more than twice as many instructors were needed to retrain the force.

The police force is often the only arm of the Afghan state in many isolated outposts across the rugged mountainous country, but is renowned for fleeing in the face of Taliban attacks and milking the populace for bribes.

Border Wars

A rising number of cross-frontier incursions are raising tensions—and security challenges—on the volatile Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier, says NATO's new commander in the region.

By Ron Moreau | Newsweek Web Exclusive, May 23, 2008 

As the new commander of NATO's 22,000 predominantly American combat troops operating along the rugged and mountainous frontier Afghanistan shares with Pakistan, U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey J. Schloesser could hardly have a tougher assignment. His men are responsible for guarding the long, porous border from insurgent attacks and infiltration emanating from Pakistan's largely ungoverned tribal area, where Al Qaeda-linked Afghan Taliban, allied Pakistani tribal militants and other Pakistani extremists enjoy safe havens. Ever since the Pakistani military began peace talks with tribal leaders some three months ago, these militants have increased their cross-border attacks and infiltration. Not only are Schloesser's men charged with preventing these incursions, they are also involved in working with Afghanistan's fledgling security forces, its local government appointees and tribal elders to provide security and a degree of economic development for the region's poor villagers. A 32-year Army veteran who has been in command of NATO's Regional Command-East (RC-East) since early April, Schloesser has served in Germany, South Korea, Haiti, Kosovo and Iraq. Concurrently commander of the US Army's elite 101st Airborne Division, from his Bagram headquarters he talked in a telephone interview with NEWSWEEK's Ron Moreau about the challenges he faces. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: How concerned are you about the ongoing peace negotiations in Pakistan's tribal area, talks that don't seem to include any prohibitions on insurgent cross-border attacks and movement into Afghanistan?
Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser: Pakistan is a sovereign country. Our interest from NATO's perspective is that whatever agreements are made will hopefully be enforceable. I would expect that there would be some attempt [by the Pakistani military] to ensure that security is provided in those areas in Waziristan or other [tribal] agencies further north. Obviously, from my perspective I'm interested in security and stability along the border.

What about reports that the insurgents' cross-border attacks and infiltration into Afghanistan have increased over the past two or three months, as the peace deal was being negotiated?
I've been in command about 45 days, so even I have to put a pinch of salt on anything I say. But I am deeply concerned that there appear to be a fair number of cross-border incidents that both bring tension to the border and also obviously require border operations on the part of coalition forces here in Afghanistan. That drives us [away] from what I am trying to do, which is give security to the people of Afghanistan and help the Afghan people develop and strengthen local governance.

What about reports of an uptick in Pakistanis, both from the tribal area and from Pakistan's Punjab and other provinces, coming across the border along with Afghan Taliban from Pakistani safe havens to fight with Taliban forces?
The insurgents we see coming across the border, and those that we are dealing with inside Afghanistan, are a diverse lot. It's a variety, not just one group. It's not just the conservative, Kandahar [province]-based Taliban. You can say they share a common ideology, but sometimes even that is unclear. There seems to be a strong degree of cooperation [among them]. Some help with financing, some with facilitation to help them get across and also move weapons across the border. Others help train and recruit fighters not only within Pakistan but elsewhere as well. I wouldn't say that I have seen a lot of what I would call Pakistanis. I would not want to call this a large or organized movement. These are largely smaller insurgent groups and terrorists from different regions participating in this. One thing I would not want to do is to send a message that I believe that Punjabis are crossing the border. I don't believe that we see that.

Some experts have warned that Afghan and coalition forces are not winning in Afghanistan. How would you describe your biggest challenge to try to turn things around?
In RC-East [which comprises 14 eastern provinces] we are seeing success each and every day. We are working very closely with the Afghan national security forces. And we are achieving a great deal of success in security, governance and development. But my daily concern is the [unstable] border region that seems to add tension between the Afghans and the Pakistanis and coalition forces. We are all really fighting the same enemy. I have to spend a lot of time addressing those issues along the border.

NATO wary of Iranian arms sneaking into Afghanistan
Canwest News Service Thursday, May 22, 2008

OTTAWA - Weapons from Iran have turned up in Afghanistan in "significant quantities" over the last two years, which NATO says is causing it great concern.

That means Afghanistan, and the western troops including Canada's 2,500-strong contingent in Kandahar charged with protecting the country, are feeling the squeeze on two frontiers.

Last week, NATO sounded the alarm over Afghanistan's southern neighbour Pakistan for providing "safe havens" for the Taliban through deals struck with the Pakistani government.

Pakistan remains the biggest external security headache for NATO, which leads the 40-country International Security Assistance Force for Afghanistan, because Taliban and al-Qaida militants are able to regroup, rearm, rest and train in its lawless tribal belt across what is a porous and unmanageable border.

But threats from inside Iran are also undermining the rebuilding efforts in Afghanistan, said NATO spokesman James Appathurai in a wide-ranging interview with Canwest News on the regional security threats to Afghanistan.

"What we know is that weapons of Iranian origin have turned up in significant quantities inside Afghanistan and that is of significant concern to us," said Appathurai, who was in Ottawa this week to meet with Canadian officials about Afghanistan. "I cannot speak to the origin or the design behind that. But I can say we would like it to stop. There is no doubt about that."

Appathurai said signs of Iranian weapons emerged "in the last two years" and that the military is watching this "relatively recent phenomenon" very closely.

Over that time, there have been periodic reports of shipments of arms, with apparent links to Iran, being seized by coalition forces inside Afghanistan.

During a visit to Canadian troops in Kandahar this past Christmas, Defence Minister Peter MacKay said weapons from Iran are a threat in Afghanistan.

MacKay and others have been careful not to point fingers at the Iranian government, suggesting that elements within the Shiite country are seeking to maintain good relations with Iran, while attempting to make mischief for the western troops, particular American forces, inside Afghanistan.

Iran opposed Afghanistan's former Taliban rulers and did not recognize their government.

MacKay did not offer specifics on the Iranian involvement, nor did U.S. assistant secretary of state Richard Boucher earlier this month, when he repeated the allegation against Iran at a press conference in Paris.

"Iran is interfering in a variety of ways," Boucher said, but "not as violently as in Iraq."

Iran is a signatory to the international efforts to rebuild Afghanistan. President Hamid Karzai, in fact, has praised Tehran for helping refugees and fighting drug smuggling.

Boucher suggested that although Tehran is supporting the Karzai government, it may also be "hedging its bets" by supporting its enemies in the Taliban insurgency.

Appathurai said the key to maintaining long-term security in Afghanistan is strengthening its government, and giving its army and police the ability to protect its interests in Central Asia.

"No matter what happens outside the borders, when the Afghan government is strong enough to be legitimate in the eyes of its people, to have effective security structures, to have an economy that gives people alternatives, then what happens outside will be more of a nuisance than a strategic menace," he said.

Appathurai reiterated NATO's concern for the safe havens being afforded to militants inside Pakistan, which he said have led to a 50 per cent spike in violent incidents along the eastern border region last month, equalling the most violent period of the previous year in August 2007.

While there has been no spillover to the southern region that includes Canada's area of responsibility in Kandahar province, "you can never predict what will happen; if you squeeze the toothpaste tube, things squirt," he said.

NATO is anxious for Pakistan to sort out its internal political turmoil, following the election earlier this year that drove the party of President Pervez Musharraf from power and brought a fractured, ill-defined coalition to power. Musharraf continues to hold the post of president.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer is planning to visit Islamabad once "the dust settles" from Pakistan's recent election, Appathurai said.

Afghanistan, Balkans, Russia relations top NATO agenda in Berlin

Berlin (Earth Times) 23 May 2008 - The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is to discuss the Western alliance's deployments in Afghanistan and the Balkans along with its fraught relations with Russia during its five-day spring meeting in Berlin that began Friday.

Some 350 parliamentarians from more than 40 countries kicked off proceedings in the German capital with committees meeting on a range of themes, with the future of the alliance and the deployment of a US anti-missile shield in Europe major points of discussion.

While NATO has 26 members, parliamentary delegations from more than 20 non-member countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, are also attending.

The parliamentarians split up into five committees - Political, Defence and Security, Science and Technology, Civil Dimension of Security, Economics and Security - on Friday.

Among those attending proceedings that end with a plenary session on Tuesday are NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Supreme Allied Commander Europe US General Bantz John Craddock.

German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier are also to participate.

Pakistan seeks to allay doubts on Taliban talks

ISLAMABAD, May 23 (Reuters) - Pakistan on Friday tried to downplay concerns about peace talks with the militants linked to al Qaeda and Taliban, saying it was engaging only with those who renounce violence.

Authorities in the North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan Wednesday signed a peace deal on Wednesday with militants in the Swat valley, promising to pull out troops from the region in return for a commitment from the insurgents to cease attacks.

The government is also negotiating a peace deal through tribal elders with Baitullah Mehsud, the de facto leader of the Pakistani Taliban based in South Waziristan tribal region, which is regarded as a safe haven for al Qaeda militants.

The United States has expressed concerns over these talks by Pakistan's new government, led by the party of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, saying that deals with militants might allow them to plot attacks in Pakistan and abroad.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the government was committed to use force, whenever needed, but a military option alone could not end violence.

"We believe that military action alone will not be effective in permanently ending the phenomenon of terrorism," a foreign ministry statement quoted him as saying. Pakistan has a three-pronged strategy to deal with militancy and terrorism: political, socio-economic and military, he said.

Pakistan has cut peace deals in the past also, but critics including western allies, have complained that these resulted in militants regrouping and intensifying cross-border attacks on NATO forces in Afghanistan.

U.S. Gen. David Petraeus, nominated for the military's top Middle East post, said on Thursday al Qaeda's top leaders were inside Pakistan's lawless tribal areas on the Afghan border and that the group's next major attack would likely originate there.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters in Washington this week that the United States did not want militants to be able to use any part of Pakistan to launch attacks at home or abroad.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte also voiced his government's misgivings about Pakistani peace talks with the militants during a congressional hearing on Tuesday.

The Pakistani Foreign Minister said in the statement the government was holding peace talks from a position of strength and was reaching out to tribal elders to use political means to end violence.

"Political engagement is possible only with those who renounce militancy and violence; don't allow the use of our territory against any other country; and do not help foreign terrorist elements to find hideouts in our territory," Qureshi said.

"However, determination to use force whenever required remains an important element of our strategy," he added. Pakistan has seen a wave of suicide attacks and bomb blasts since mid-2007, including the one that killed former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in late December.

Mehsud, known as an al Qaeda cohort, is blamed for these attacks though he has denied involvement in Bhutto's murder. The attacks, however, have fallen off since the new coalition, which assumed power last month, vowed to open talks with militants.

INTERVIEW-Germany says Pakistan troubles fuel Qaeda strength

BERLIN, May 22 (Reuters) - A slew of al Qaeda statements this year reflects the growing assertiveness of Osama bin Laden's network as Pakistan struggles to exert control in its tribal areas, a senior German security official said.

Joerg Ziercke, who as head of the Federal Crime Office (BKA) is Germany's top policeman, said in an interview that al Qaeda had never issued so many statements in such a short period of time as in the first five months of this year.

"We interpret this as a clear sign that al Qaeda wants to show itself confident and strong and that it thinks it's able to prepare attacks. This worries us, although there is no concrete evidence of attacks at the moment," Ziercke told Reuters.

Bin Laden himself has released five tapes in the past six months, nearly as many as in the previous three years. His recent messages have placed growing emphasis on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- a central issue for many Arabs and Muslims -- in an apparent effort to widen his support.

Germany considers itself at risk of al Qaeda attack, in part because it has troops serving with NATO in Afghanistan. Last September it foiled what authorities say was a major bomb plot directed by an al Qaeda affiliate in Pakistan.

Ziercke said al Qaeda seemed to feel safe and unworried by the investigations it triggered with each public statement.

"They don't appear worried by this at all. We believe al Qaeda can present itself so confidently because Pakistan cannot assert its influence in the tribal areas at the border with Afghanistan," he said, adding that ministers, high-ranking army officers and tribal leaders had been killed in that region.

Al Qaeda members as well as Taliban militants are believed to have taken refuge in North and South Waziristan -- part of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) -- after U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001.

Western security officials are concerned that the network's central leadership -- what some term "core al Qaeda" -- has been able to renew itself, plotting attacks and providing training to new al Qaeda recruits, some of them from Europe.

Ziercke said confirmation that a man from Germany had carried out a suicide bombing in Afghanistan in March was a warning that homegrown militants might also strike back home.

Pakistan has begun thinning out troops in parts of its border region with Afghanistan and freed Taliban prisoners to try to seal a peace with al Qaeda-linked militants active on both sides of the frontier.

Washington is uneasy about such a pact and NATO says it has reinforced troops along the Afghan border, anticipating a peace deal between Pakistan and the Taliban will allow the insurgents to launch more attacks into Afghanistan.

Ziercke said Pakistan played a large role in the fight against international terrorism, adding he had no doubts its government was seriously working on that front.

"But the (government's) assertiveness in these regions, which have been ruled by tribal leaders for centuries, is limited. We're watching very carefully how the internal security situation in Pakistan develops," he said.

Pakistani militant chief pledges to keep fighting foreign forces in Afghanistan

The Associated Press - Friday, May 23, 2008

KHAR, Pakistan: A Pakistani militant leader said Friday his group will maintain a cease-fire with Pakistan's new government, but would keep fighting foreign forces in neighboring Afghanistan.

Faqir Mohammed made the declaration during an address to 5,000 tribesmen who had gathered for the funeral of a local journalist in Bajur tribal region.

Mohammed is a senior leader of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, an umbrella organization of militants holding peace talks with the government through tribal intermediaries.

His comments would likely be an embarrassment to the government which has said it would only engage militants who first renounce violence and do not use Pakistan as a base for attacks elsewhere.

Western officials fear a peace deal would let militants regroup and launch more cross-border attacks on NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan and even major terror strikes further afield.

Tehrik-e-Taliban announced a cease-fire in Pakistan's tribal regions last month. Mohammed said Friday the group would hold its fire as long as peace talks continue with the Pakistani government.

"We will not attack government positions and whoever indulges in such an attack will be treated as an enemy," he said. But Mohammed said the Western troops in Afghanistan remained a legitimate target.

"We are Muslims and the enemy of infidels," Mohammed told the gathering. "We will continue our jihad (holy war) in Afghanistan as long as the foreign allied forces are there."

Pakistan's new civilian administration came to power two months ago, aiming to quell violence by tribal militants and an explosion in suicide attacks that had shocked Pakistanis.

The strategy of negotiation marks a shift from the policy of former army chief President Pervez Musharraf, a longtime U.S. ally in the war on terror, who relied more on military force.

Musharraf claimed successes in fighting al-Qaida, but critics claimed heavy-handed deployments by the army ignited a militant backlash that destabilized Pakistan.

Amid U.S. apprehensions over where peace talks will lead, Pakistan's government reiterated Friday it would only negotiate with those who renounce militancy and violence.

"Political engagement" was only possible with those who "don't allow the use of our territory against any other country and do not help foreign terrorist elements to find hideouts in our territory," Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in a statement.

Earlier this week in Washington, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said the United States had "real reservations about negotiated agreements" with extremists.

Last week, a suspected U.S. missile strike in Bajur killed 14 people. It is unclear who the victims were. The attack hit a border village where a CIA Predator drone unsuccessfully targeted al-Qaida No.2 Ayman al-Zawahri two years ago.

Afghanistan's opposition urges gov't to talk with Taliban

KABUL, May 22 (Xinhua) -- A leader of the Afghanistan National Front, the opposition alliance, Thursday urged Afghan President Hamid Karzai's administration to negotiate with Taliban militants.

"The National Front is in favor of negotiation with armed opposition to end the current security crisis," Burhanudin Rabbani told a conference of his supporters.

Rabbani, who is the rotary leader of the alliance and the leader of the Jamiat-e-Islami, or Islamic Society party of Afghanistan, also said, "We have to support negotiated settlement of the problem of our country and in this regard serious talks must be held."

A former president and sitting parliamentarian, Rabbani disclosed that Taliban outfit had sent a letter to him and expressed their readiness for talks.

Rabbani said that in the letter, the outfit clearly stated it wants the solution of the country's problems through talks besides respecting the international agreements, conventions and allowing girls to get education.

Rabbani added that the Afghanistan National Front, an umbrella of several opposition groups, would contest the next presidential elections in 2009 and would choose a united candidate to stand.

Reporter shot dead in troubled Pakistani tribal area

KHAR, Pakistan, May 23, 2008 (AFP) - Unidentified gunmen shot dead a journalist after he interviewed a spokesman for Taliban militants in a Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan, officials said Friday.

Muhammad Ibrahim, 44, a reporter for Urdu-language Express newspaper, was killed Thursday evening as he was returning to Khar after interviewing Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (Pakistan Taliban Movement) spokesman Maulvi Omar.

Khar is the main town of restive Bajaur tribal district, where pro-Taliban militants are active. Tribal administration official Muwaz Khan confirmed the killing, saying no one had claimed responsibility.

Witnesses said Ibrahim was travelling on his motorcycle when he was intercepted by unidentified men in a black car who snatched his cell phone, camera and notes and then shot him. The gunmen also stole Ibrahim's motorcycle, residents said.

Bajaur chief of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Maulvi Faqir Muhammad -- also a deputy of Al-Qaeda-linked militant commander Baitullah Mehsud -- condemned the killing in an address to around 5,000 mourners at the journalist's funeral.

"We are investigating it and if the killers are found they will be punished severly," Muhammad said, adding that the shooting was an "injustice".

Muhammad and spokesman Omar visited Ibrahim's home late Thursday to express their grief over the killing, residents said. More than 100 Pakistani journalists Friday took to the streets in Islamabad to protest against the killing.

Manley concerned Afghan panel recommendations not being met

Last Updated: Thursday, May 22, 2008 | CBC News

The chair of the panel that examined Canada's mission in Afghanistan told CBC News in an exclusive interview that he is concerned the federal government may not be acting on key recommendations more than four months after his report was tabled.

In its final report presented in January, the panel headed by former Liberal deputy prime minister John Manley criticized Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government for being too close-mouthed in its communications strategy for the Afghan mission.

The panel also said the effectiveness of Canada's military and civilian activities in Afghanistan and the progress of Afghan security and government must be tracked.

But in an interview with the CBC senior correspondent Brian Stewart that aired Thursday, Manley said the Canadian government has not helped public understanding of the mission or of the many complex issues surrounding it.

"It certainly concerns me if we are not getting the information out to Canadians," said Manley, who, along with the other members of the panel, visited Afghanistan for 10 days in November.

"The Canadian focus is less and less on what the troops are doing, what we should be doing and in fact, whether our report is being implemented." In March, the Conservatives, with support from the Liberals, passed a motion that would keep Canadian soldiers in Kandahar until 2011.

The motion was contingent on two recommendations of the Manley report: that NATO allies provide 1,000 extra troops to help the Canadian effort and that Ottawa secure access to unmanned surveillance drones and large helicopters to transport Canadian troops around the region.

But details of the Afghan mission are still subject to tight information control by the Prime Minister's Office, while key departments, such as Foreign Affairs and the Canadian International Development Agency, remain media averse.

During his interview, Manley said the concerns raised by the panel surrounding what the government reveals about the mission are serious enough to threaten the mission's overall success.

"Our report included a large assessment of how things were going, and it was not a glowing assessment," Manley said. "In fact, I think we were pretty clear that if things didn't change, the whole effort in Afghanistan was in real peril of being lost."

The five-member panel also said Canada must place greater emphasis on diplomacy and reconstruction, and the Canadian military focus must shift gradually from combat to training Afghan national security forces. A special cabinet subcommittee has been set up to co-ordinate Canada's efforts, as recommended by the Manley report.

Senior government officials insist the cabinet is very focused on Afghanistan, while sources say task forces within Foreign Affairs and CIDA are working to unveil a series of "signposts of progress" on the mission, perhaps as soon as mid-June, the CBC's Stewart said.

But Roland Paris, associate professor at the University of Ottawa's Centre for International Policy Studies, told CBC News that despite the urgent need for more information on the Afghan mission, there has been "no significant change" in the level of transparency or detailed reporting from the Canadian government.

"What we've been lacking is a very specific set of goals and clear benchmarks that we can use to evaluate whether or not we are making progress toward these goals," Paris told CBC News. He added there is "much more detailed, much more unvarnished reporting" on the mission in Iraq than the mission in Afghanistan.

Earlier this year, International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda said the government would increase the number of briefings it offers reporters on the Afghan mission in an attempt to be more open about what is happening there.

"Our goal is to better inform Canadians about Canada's activities on the ground," she told reporters at a press conference in February. But Oda also suggested the media was at fault for government's difficulty in communicating the Canadian mission's good news stories.

Afghanistan encounters not all work of Taliban

Militants often claim carnage that's caused by family feuds, thieves

The Toronto Star, May 23, 2008 Rosie DiManno Columnist

JALALABAD, Afghanistan–A crackling voice on the police radio is transmitting real-time play-by-play of a dangerous operation underway in an isolated, mountainous corner of the province.

The first report claims Afghan National Police have their target surrounded and everyone in the room quietly cheers, including the acting district commander, a U.S. army captain, a deliberately un-introduced American in civilian clothes with a pistol strapped to his thigh (maybe special forces), two interpreters and a reporter.

But then something goes drastically wrong. Deputy chief Haji Amir Khan Liwal politely asks the reporter to leave.

Throughout the rest of the day, information released is confusing and contradictory: Four policemen wounded, say officials; several police officers killed, according to the regional Taliban commander.

"We have suspended operations for now," Liwal tersely comments by evening.

The Taliban may have tried to get in on the act by alleging involvement – because they're always making largely absurd declarations of combat successes, these being the same fellows who put suicide vests on 10-year-old boys. But this was no Taliban vs. ANP encounter.

And that's the thing not often mentioned about violence in Afghanistan: It is generic and chronic, not limited to the Taliban insurgency, with countless feuds and revenge attacks mounted, regularly erupting in bloodshed.

The seeds of this particular incident were apparently planted years ago, during the mujahideen era, one family purportedly aggrieved over the power wielded by another, former jihadist Hazrat Ali, now a member of parliament. He owns a huge Mediterranean-style villa not far from the police station.

A week ago, unknown armed men – except apparently known to everyone locally – raided the house, assassinated Ali's father, and kidnapped several women and children.

What do they want? Who knows? Money or the release from jail of detained relatives, most likely, or perhaps just to remind Ali that, while he may be off in Kabul, under round-the-clock guard, he is still vulnerable to the primitive codes of personal vengeance by which many Afghans live.

Those who perpetrated the killing and kidnapping had been apparently run to ground in their mountain bolt-hole; hence the Afghan operation that now seems in tatters.

It is difficult to separate the personal vendettas from the Taliban-based militancy in this country. As well, there are numerous groups of brigands, professional cutthroats who raid, thieve, and kill at will.

To the outside world, it's all lumped in as insurgency. It isn't. At a briefing by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan last week, officials said 450 illegal armed groups are still active countrywide.

This recent event has been particularly embarrassing for Liwal. The previous day, he'd been boasting to a visiting journalist about the safety and calm of Nangarhar province, claiming this eastern region – which shares a border with Pakistan – is the fourth most secure province in the country, according to independent assessments.

"One of the reasons for this is we have good security co-ordination between the police, the armed forces and the populace. People here want security, above everything else. Of course, we sometimes have little problems with the Taliban. But the citizens tell us when Taliban fighters are moving through this area. In one place, last year, the villagers themselves actually threw the fighters out."

Pashtun Nangarhar province, while severely conservative – even mannequins in the store windows have their faces veiled – does feel relatively safe and palpably prosperous. The capital is abuzz with reconstruction, many new factories opened, the university full of male and female (separated) students, and girls skipping off to school in their white headscarves and black uniforms. Youngsters frolic in the river that winds through the city.

Much of this security can be attributed to the vast U.S. military base here. American muscle has pacified huge swaths of Regional Command East. Yet the key to Nangarhar stability is Governor Gul Agha Sherzai, a famous anti-Soviet warlord who helped drive out the Taliban in 2001 and a close political ally of President Hamid Karzai.

Recently, Sherzai was actually named "Person of the Year" by Radio Free Afghanistan.

The flipside to Sherzai: when formerly governor of Kandahar (and widely loathed), he extorted untold cash from civilians at police checkpoints, embezzled reconstruction money, ran protection rackets for opium traffickers, was generally treacherous with American allies, and basically used his time in office to benefit self and Barakzai tribe.

But, that too is Afghanistan. Liwal, extolling Sherzai's virtues, asserts that, among other achievements, Nangarhar is now opium-free, with the governor eradicating all poppy fields. This might even be true – the Star saw no poppy fields while travelling in the province.

But Nangarhar had primarily been known for its heroin cultivation labs, where top alchemists processed the yield, transported here, into a pure drug, then shipped out over the Pakistan border. It is almost with something approaching pride that Liwal describes these opium experts. "The most expert specialists were living in this area. But we have cleared them out. We smashed all the drug-producing factories."

However, down the road from the capital, on the Jalalabad to Torkham highway, close to the border, is a place called Shaddle Bazaar, Afghanistan's biggest opium market. Thousands of kilos are openly bought and sold there every day.

Liwal would not give the Star permission to visit Shaddle Bazaar. An attempt to go it alone was turned back at the edge of that district by highway police. Told that Liwal claimed the bazaar had been dismantled, a police captain sneers: "Propaganda."

The Afghan army won't venture into bazaar although, over the past year, Afghanistan's elite anti-drug force has raided the market repeatedly with help from foreign forces. It keeps springing back to life. Just like the Taliban insurgency that mainlines off the drug trade.

Columnist Rosie DiManno is on assignment in Afghanistan, where she covered the Taliban's fall in 2001.

A fighter and a financier

By Syed Saleem Shahzad - Asia Times Online / May 23, 2008

KUNAR VALLEY, Afghanistan - Afghanistan's troubled recent history, which spans the Soviet occupation in the 1980s, the vicious post-Soviet civil war and then Taliban rule, has thrown up a number of men who have obtained "legendary" status - whether through their tribal followings or from connections with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) .

These mujahideen resistance figures include Jalaluddin Haqqani, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Ismail Khan and the late Ahmad Shah Massoud.

The new leaders of the anti-American resistance in Afghanistan, however, are cut from a different cloth. They are despised and victimized by the ISI and often condemned by tribal elders. They are the sons of a global ideology which is orphan all over the world except in the merciless border terrain of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Take Qari Ziaur Rahman, commander of the Taliban in Nooristan and Kunar provinces, which border Pakistan. He is not the son of a legendary mujahideen commander, but of a cleric named Maulana Dilbar. His ties do not lie with the ISI, but with Osama bin Laden, having instructed bin Laden in the lessons of the Prophet Mohammad's life.

Ziaur, in his early thirties, was raised in the camps of Arab militants, who instilled in him the passion to fight against the Americans - not only in Afghanistan, but also across the globe. Ziaur did not get his command as any hereditary right. First, he had to prove himself on the battlefield, which he did by taking on US troops in Kunar and Nooristan. He was the first to mount operations against the US in the Karghal district of Kunar and he engineered the second-biggest encounter ever in Nooristan.

His exploits drew the attention of the coalition forces, which placed him on a wanted list and distributed flyers from the air offering a reward of US$350,000 for his arrest or killing.

With the heat on, Ziaur tried to take refuge in Pakistan, but in a coordinated move by the US Central Intelligence Agency and the ISI, he was arrested. Fortune smiled on him though and under a scheme brokered by Pakistani tribal warlord Baitullah Mehsud he was released in a prisoner exchange for Pakistani military officials. Otherwise, he would certainly have ended up at the US's Bagram air base near Kabul, or even at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba.

After his release, Ziaur was elevated from a military operations commander to the overall in-charge of the Taliban's affairs in Kunar and Nooristan. His duties include devising regional battle policies and arranging budgets. He also represents Kunar and Nooristan in Taliban leader Mullah Omar's shura (council).

Ziaur is widely tipped to become one of the most important Taliban commanders in the whole region. Asia Times Online spoke to him, and somewhat unusually - even brazenly - he allowed his picture to be taken.

ATol: Which Afghan province do you come from?

Ziaur: I come from the province of Kunar.

ATol: What madrassa (seminary) education do you have?

Ziaur: I memorized the Koran. Before that I studied in a primary school. Then I acquired education in the Arabic language. I did a diploma.

ATol: From which institution?

Ziaur: It belonged to some Arab fellows. The institution was supported by an Arab country.

ATol: At present you are the in-charge and commander of the Taliban in Kunar and Nooristan provinces?

Ziaur: I administer the Taliban's affairs, mainly finance.

ATol: So you mainly look after the Taliban's financial matters, not their military affairs?

Ziaur: I do look after military matters, but the main emphasis is on finance.

ATol: This means you are the in-charge of both financial and military operations in Nooristan and Kunar provinces.

Ziaur: Indeed.

ATol: NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization] has made Kunar and Nooristan a hub of its operations. How do you assess NATO's plans and what is your counter-strategy?

Ziaur: From the Soviet days in Afghanistan, Kunar's importance has been clear. This is a border province [with Pakistan] and trouble here can break the central government [in Kabul]. Whoever has been defeated in Afghanistan, his defeat began from Kunar. Hence, everybody is terrified of this region. The Soviets were defeated in this province and NATO knows that if it is defeated here it will be defeated all over Afghanistan.

ATol: How many NATO troops are there in Kunar?

Ziaur: Thousands ...

ATol: How many bases do they have?

Ziaur: I tell you ... They have a central base which is called Topchi. Then in Pechdara they have a big presence in Maragai ... then they have many other bases like Koranghal ... then in Tarla ... on another side of Kunar there is a pass called Zarokas ... they have a big base over there as well, also in the Souqe region ... then in Sarkano ... in Nooristan they have a base in Kamdesh ... Rawat ... then in western Nooristan in the Doab district.

ATol: Can you compare the Taliban's strength with that of NATO, as they have so many bases. I witnessed Taliban rule in many districts in Helmand [province]. Do the Taliban rule any districts in Kunar?

Ziaur: Thank God that this is a mountainous region. NATO has a presence in the bases only, other than that they do not control anything. The mujahideen patrol everywhere and they carry out attacks freely.

ATol: How many mujahideen attacks are there each day?

Ziaur: Many small-scale attacks are carried out every day.

ATol: What are the main areas of attack?

Ziaur: Koranghal is our main operation theater in Kunar. It is a slaughterhouse for the Americans. Many Americans have been killed there. Kamdesh in Nooristan is our main operation front. We killed many Americans there as well. Similarly, we are very active in Sarkano, beside many other areas.

ATol: What is the Taliban's strength in these areas of Nooristan and Kunar?

Ziaur: I cannot disclose the numbers. The main thing is that the masses are with the Taliban and the Taliban are in huge numbers.

ATol: Nooristan has a very strategic position. It goes up to Kapisa province, from where a route goes to Kabul from north. Do you have any plans to mobilize a Taliban attack on Kabul from this route?

Ziaur: The Taliban will apply all sorts of strategies.

ATol: Kunar and Nooristan were the strongholds of the Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan led by Hekmatyar. Do they still have a presence in the region? Do the Taliban have some sort of joint venture with them?

Ziaur: They just have the name. They are only a little bit active, and not to the extent that is mentioned in the press.

ATol: There were reports in the Western press that on April 19, Hekmatyar, commanders Abdul Ghaffur and Kashmir Khan were spotted by NATO in Nooristan and there was a fierce encounter in which NATO forces sustained losses. What is your take?

Ziaur: This is a lie. NATO attacks here and there. It claims it attacked in Nooristan because of Osama bin Laden, as if Osama is omnipotent in Nooristan. They claim [al-Qaeda deputy] Dr [Ayman] Zawahiri is in Bajaur [Agency in Pakistan] and then attack that area. This is all gossip.

ATol: It is said that the Taliban's real strength lies in Arab and Punjabi fighters. What is the proportion of Arab and Punjabi fighters in your total strength?

Ziaur: We are all one, all faithfuls are brothers. Whether they come from the East or from the West, Arab or Pakistani, we are one and for each other.

ATol: You look after the Taliban's finances, so where do they raise resources?

Ziaur:Through contributions by the people.

ATol: I witnessed poppy cultivation in Kunar. I was told by the local population that clerics have now issued a decree that the mujahideen can buy weapons from the sale of poppy. Can you shed any light on that?

Ziaur: This is not true. Indeed, it is a controversial issue whether poppy cultivation is prohibited in Islam or not. But the Taliban are not dependent on poppy cultivation at all.

ATol: NATO has offered reward money for the arrest or killing of Taliban commanders. What amount is on your head?

Ziaur: There is some. I do not know how much.

ATol: Yesterday in Kunar I observed constant flights of [US Predator] drones and B-52 aircraft. Why are they so active?

Ziaur: Because of the daily attacks [by the Taliban] in Kunar province. They are aware that this year there will be a decisive battle and they know they cannot fight in the mountains.

ATol: NATO bombs the Nawa Pass [leading to Pakistan] and in the process a few shells also hit Pakistan's Bajaur area. What is happening here?

Ziaur: This is because recently the mujahideen carried out a huge operation in the Nawa Pass, which was successful. Therefore, NATO is terrified and is trying to pre-empt any more attacks by bombing the area.

NEXT: A revolution of guns and culture

Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief.

Ducking and diving under B-52s

By Syed Saleem Shahzad - Asia Times Online / May 22, 2008

KUNAR VALLEY, Afghanistan - When a United States Predator drone launched missiles at a militant hideout in the town of Damadolah in Pakistan's Bajaur Agency last week, it underscored the area's emergence as a crucial battlefield in the Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan, and even in the "war on terror".

The tribal area that borders the Afghan provinces of Kunar and Nooristan is said to be the hiding ground of al-Qaeda kingpins Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri and their confidants, and it serves as a vital corridor for the Taliban.

Last week's drone attack was the third of its kind, indicating that

US intelligence is closely monitoring the area, acutely aware of its importance. The strike had some success, taking out two senior al-Qaeda leaders - Sheikh Osman, know for his amputated hand, and Sheikh Soliman. However, a famous Taliban commander, Dost Muhammad, escaped unhurt.

The heavyweight al-Qaeda members had traveled to Damadolah to instruct a select group of Taliban leaders in the safe use of satellite telephones.

Sheikh Osman in particular was a big loss. He was wanted by the US for his role in al-Qaeda's global operations as the right-hand man of Dr Junaid al-Jazeri, pin-pointed by Washington as the main engine behind al-Qaeda's strategies in North Africa and Europe. (Two years ago, in another drone attack on Damadolah, Zawahiri apparently narrowly escaped death after leaving a dinner party early.)

There is fierce debate over how the drone was able to target Damadolah. Pakistani opposition parties allege that Islamabad played a key role in providing intelligence. But the issue is not as simple as that, as will emerge.

Unlike in Helmand province, in Kunar the Taliban do not independently run districts. However, among the craggy outcrops and lush green forests, they have established safe havens and also have the support of large sections of the population. This allows the Taliban to maintain an edge against the American forces in the area by launching daily attacks on their bases, as well as those of the Afghan National Army and intelligence centers.

Kunar and Nooristan provinces also serve as the start of a natural route up to the northeastern province of Kapisa, from where, ultimately, the Taliban hope to enter into Kabul.

All regional intelligence agencies are certain that bin Laden and Zawahiri are still in this area. The US considers it pivotal for the success of the "war on terror". The Taliban on the other hand have built all their resources all around this region.

And neither side wants to give up ground.

An arduous overnight trek on foot from Bajaur Agency took us to the Sarkano district of Kunar province. The route followed the Nawa Pass - a tough climb - which has become a daily flashpoint between the Taliban and US forces.

While I was heaving with the effort, my slim Taliban guide glided along effortlessly, despite lugging an AK-47 rifle and ammunition, and much of my baggage.

"To me, this is a journey of a few hours, for you it is an eight-hour journey," said Ibrahim, a resident of Kunar province. He confided later that he had thought that after the first stiff climb my passion to cover Taliban country would have been extinguished. There were indeed moments, on some of the treacherous stony paths where one slip in the moonlight would have sent me tumbling hundreds of meters into a vast valley, that I considered the wisdom of the journey.

"Wake up, a mujahideen center is only 20 minutes away. You can take a rest when we get there," Ibrahim cried as I tried to take a five-minute snooze on some hard rocks. I knew that his 20 minutes was at least one hour for me, and that is how it turned out.

But after hours of walking I was dehydrated, and simply had to stop and refresh myself from a stream running down the side of a mountain.

"Where is this center?" I asked Ibrahim after a while, as all I could see were the outlines of mountains and dense clumps of trees.

"It is five minutes away. Very near," Ibrahim responded. And then I realized the magic of this terrain. Either in daylight or at night, one can suddenly discover a mud house, safely concealed in the shadows of the mountains and the jungle.

We had arrived at a Taliban safe house. A bed of dried grass in a small room with mud walls was more comfortable than any five-star hotel and I slept for three hours until I was awakened by Ibrahim for morning prayers.

As we started a breakfast of dried bread and tea, two Taliban joined us. "Our camp will be joined by several groups and we will carry out an attack tonight," one of them said, without giving details.

"We will place you at a height in a secure place from where you will be able to cover the event," the other man said. Neither gave their names, only saying that they belonged to "Shah Khalid's" camp. As dawn broke, we resumed our journey.

"Saleem, we have to hurry and pass through this terrain before the sun rises. Once the sun is up, people will spot you as a stranger, and a few houses here have informers for the Americans," Ibrahim chided as I stopped to eat some fruit from a mulberry tree.

"A few days ago, we killed an informer. But there are still many because of poverty. The Americans can easily pay US$1,000 for ordinary information. This is a huge amount of money for them, they can do anything with it," Ibrahim said.

Ibrahim explained that, except for a few villages that are completely in the hands of the Taliban, the Americans try to "buy each and every stone" in Kunar province to inform on the Taliban. This is to be expected, given that Washington believes the sector is home to bin Laden and Zawahiri.

Finally, we arrived at our destination, a village in the Sarkano district, and we made our way to the house of Zubair Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman in Kunar.

The first thing I noticed was a big portrait of a black-bearded man, although it was partly covered by curtain. "He is my elder son, Abdul Rahman," Zubair's elderly father, Enayat, told me.

"He was the pride of the village. He was a Talib. After the US invaded Afghanistan [in 2001], we were approached by the governor of the province through tribal elders that Abdul Rahman should surrender. We were promised that he would not only be pardoned, but that he would be made a commander of the local police setup.

"After a lot of guarantees, we sent him to surrender. He was welcomed by the governor, but American forces then came and he was arrested. Four days later, his dead body was sent to our village. He had been killed through the worst kind of torture. From that day on, this whole village vowed to take up arms to fight against the Americans," Enayat said.

"Every other month we are offered a truce and friendship, but because of Abdul Rahman's death, nobody is ready to believe them [Americans]. Once or twice in a month American special forces come to arrest the youths of the village, but they are clever enough to dodge them each time," Enayat said.

By evening it was clear that the village only comprised elderly women and men, and some children. A few farm workers were the only youths in the area. They were working the main crop of the area - poppy. The village was also full of mulberry trees.

A while later, my contact Zubair arrived and he immediately instructed the farm workers to leave the fields and take up arms in positions in and around the village.

Zubair then turned to me: "I sense some danger, so we will spend the night somewhere else." So we set off again on a short hike over some rough terrain and ended up in another mud house, this one built on a mountain ridge.

Under a sky full of stars and bright moonlight we could hear the occasional noise of B-52 aircraft and drones. We settled down for a short sleep, the most noise now provided by some fidgety donkeys tied near my bed.

We awoke before dawn and found a note left by Zubair, in which he explained that the Taliban had been unable to make an attack during the night, but that they would do so that evening.

General information on attacks is given to the different Taliban groups operating in the region at the eleventh hour. But specifics, such as where and when an attack will occur, are only known by the groups that will take part in the action.

This is what happened on the evening of May 15. Our group of four - now on our way back to Pakistan - had left after saying evening prayers at dusk. As we started the climb up into the mountains, we heard low-flying B-52s nearby. According to the Taliban, such low flights mean bombing operations. Soon there was a constant noise all around us, including that of drones. We took shelter among some trees and large rocks.

"Generally, after such a noise, the helicopters arrive. And if they spot any movement, they launch special forces who have already cordoned off the area," Zubair explained, adding that we had better get moving - and fast.

Zubair's father had given me a walking stick, which proved invaluable in stopping me from sliding around on the rocks. By now the noise of the aircraft and drones was very close. Dogs in the valley were barking incessantly.

Soon the cover of the trees came to an end and we had to stay as high up the mountains as possible. It was tough going. My throat was dry and my muscles ached, but there was no question of stopping. There was a palpable tension created by the noisy monsters in the sky, which now included helicopters.

The tension heightened several notches when gunfire broke out to our north, so close we could see the muzzle flashes as the guns fired.

"This must be an attack in the Karghal area," Zubair surmised. "We will have to make a brief stop at a mujahideen center nearby so I can get information on exactly what is going on. Then we can proceed through the jungles. The jungle is safe. Even if special forces have cordoned off the area, we will have lots of caves to hide in," Zubair said.

Once in the safe house we were fed with water and fresh white butter bread and tea. Zubair used his wireless to get the low-down. The Taliban had attacked from several directions in the Karghal area, as well as in the Nawa Pass near the Pakistan border - the route we had used to enter Afghanistan. We would have to take the long route home.

Zubair quickly realized I was tiring so he hired a donkey for me. But after just a few minutes on the back of the awkward animal, I knew I was likely to fall off the wretched thing and break a bone. It was back to my feet, although the donkey stayed with us just in case I reached a point of exhaustion.

We were now in deep jungle which provided good cover, but the going was rough, especially the thorny bushes that ripped at the clothes and skin.

A climb up a steep cliff towards the top of a mountain marked our return to Pakistani soil, but my relief was short-lived: another firefight had broken out ahead of us, this time between Taliban insurgents and the Afghan army. The drones were also back in force. The poor donkey was frightened out of its wits and began a pitiful bray - a noise as alarming as the guns and drones.

We changed direction and headed for Bajaur Agency, where the drone attack on Damadolah had taken place two days ago. Soon the cool morning breeze welcomed us and the noise of the drones and the guns was left behind.

But while the world had gone silent for me, I could only think of the clamor that will envelop this area in the months ahead as the Taliban and US-led coalition forces fight it out.

Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief.

[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.]