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US, UK agree on settlement with Taliban
The United States is on board with Great Britain in seeking a negotiated settlement with the Taliban in Afghanistan as both the countries are following a multi-pronged policy for bringing sustainable peace to Afghanistan.
This was stated by the British high commissioner in Islamabad while talking to The News at the Saudi National Day reception hosted by its Ambassador Ali Saeed Awadh Asseri on Friday evening.
Robert Edward Brinkley said that Britain’s commander in Afghanistan Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith’s views that the “war against the Taliban cannot be won” were not new. He has been saying about it all along but this must be seen in a bigger perspective. The commanders belonging to other countries have also been advocating similar ideas in their own way.
The high commissioner said that there were good Taliban and bad Taliban present in Afghanistan. “We are prepared to talk to good Taliban, who renounce violence and lay down their arms.”
To a question, he said the Taliban who would not give up arms, they would have to fight them. In that case, the fight would continue, he said. The high commissioner said that military method was no solution to a situation like Afghanistan and it had to be addressed politically too while, on the other end, socio-economic development must be brought about so that the confidence of the people might improve and atmosphere might become conducive for a peaceful settlement.
Some commanders, including Nato’s, are also talking in the term of having peace with Taliban and Afghan President Hamid Karzai has also been giving clear signals to Taliban for a negotiated settlement but Taliban, who are asking for immediate withdrawal of the foreign troops from Afghanistan unconditionally, are not willing to oblige him.
Robert Brinkley was of the opinion that the negotiations were ultimate solution to the ongoing war in Afghanistan. “It will be in the interest of Afghanistan and Taliban both,” he added. The high commissioner parried a question about the briefings in Pakistan’s parliament on the ongoing operation against the terror. “It is the sovereign right of parliament in every democracy to make or change the policies about the country.” The United States is on board with Great Britain in seeking a negotiated settlement with the Taliban in Afghanistan as both the countr... more -
Nato to attack Afghan opium labs
"Nato has agreed its troops will be allowed to attack opium factories for the first time in Afghanistan.
Alliance spokesman James Appathurai said troops will act with Afghan forces "against facilities and facilitators" using drugs to finance the Taleban.
Afghan forces have taken the lead in the fight against the drugs industry until now. The US wants more aggressive tactics against the opium trade.
Nato defence ministers reached agreement at a meeting in Budapest.
With regard to counter-narcotics... Isaf can act in concert with the Afghans against facilities and facilitators supporting the insurgency
Nato spokesman James Appathurai
Nato's International Security and Assistance Force (Isaf) and US-led troops have until now concentrated on eradicating poppy crops, rather than attacking opium factories and distribution networks.
The BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul says anti-drug efforts by the Afghan National Army and police have been largely ineffective so far, but the Nato move could end up aggravating the security situation.
While not the focus of this new strategy, many Afghan farmers could see a drop in income.
And a number of senior Afghan officials who are heavily involved in the drugs trade will not take kindly to any interference in what for them is a lucrative business, our correspondent says.
Afghanistan supplies more than 90% of the world's illicit opium, the main ingredient of heroin. " "Nato has agreed its troops will be allowed to attack opium factories for the first time in Afghanistan. ... more -
McCain and The Evil Empire
Pepe Escobar: McCain insists on demonizing Russia - he's not even listening to his own heroes.
At the second US presidential debate, Senator John McCain once again raised the specter of a renewed Cold War, displaying a very confrontational position towards Russia. Even Senator Barack Obama accused Russia of promoting "mischief around the world". McCain don't seem to be listening to his own heroes - certified Cold Warrior Henry Kissinger, who advises him, and counterinsurgency ace Gen. David Petraeus.
Pepe Escobar, born in Brazil is the roving correspondent for Asia Times and an analyst for The Real News Network. He's been a foreign correspondent since 1985, based in London, Milan, Los Angeles, Paris, Singapore, and Bangkok. Since the late 1990s, he has specialized in covering the arc from the Middle East to Central Asia, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He has made frequent visits to Iran and is the author of Globalistan and also Red Zone Blues: A Snapshot of Baghdad During the Surge both published by Nimble Books in 2007. Pepe Escobar: McCain insists on demonizing Russia - he's not even listening to his own heroes. ... more -
Nato to target Somalia's pirates
The NATO military alliance is to send several warships to assist the fight against pirates who have hijacked boats off the coast of Somalia. The NATO military alliance is to send several warships to assist the fight against pirates who have hijacked boats off the coast of So... more
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12 Children Among 33 Afghan Civilian Dead That US Will Admit To Killing
The inquiry found that of the 33 dead civilians, eight were men, three were women and 12 children.
The US military has admitted killing 33 civilians in an air strike on a village in Afghanistan in August, far more than it has previously acknowledged.
Following the August 22 attack on Azizabad, in Heart province, the Afghan government claimed that 90 civilians, mainly women and children, were killed. This figure was backed by the UN.
Until now the US has estimated that that no more than seven civilians died in the attack. It launched an inquiry after it emerged that film recorded on mobile phones showed rows of bodies of children and babies in a makeshift morgue.
The inquiry found that of the 33 dead civilians, eight were men, three were women and 12 children. The 10 others were undetermined. It also claimed that 22 Taliban fighters were killed in the attack.
The inquiry dismissed the Afghan government's estimate as being over-reliant on statements from villagers.
"Their reports lack independent evidence to support the allegations of higher numbers of civilian casualties," the US report said.
A spokesman for the Afghan government said it stood by its estimate.
The US expressed regret for the civilian losses but blamed the Taliban for having chosen to take up fighting positions near civilians.
"Unfortunately, and unknown to the US and Afghan forces, the (militants) chose fighting positions in close proximity to civilians," the report said.
The acting commander of US forces in the Middle East, Lieutenant General Martin Dempsey, said the attack was based on credible intelligence and was made in self-defence.
"We are deeply saddened at the loss of innocent life in Azizabad. We go to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties in Afghanistan in all our operations, but as we have seen all too often, this ruthless enemy routinely surround themselves with innocents," he said.
US central command said its investigation was based on 28 interviews resulting in more than 20 hours of recorded testimony from Afghan government officials, Afghan village elders, officials from non-governmental organisations, US and Afghan troops, 236 documents and 11 videos.
The issue of civilian deaths has outraged Afghans and strained relations with foreign forces which are in Afghanistan to help fight the insurgency. The Afghanistan president, Hamid Karzai, has warned US and Nato for years that they must stop killing civilians on bombing runs against militants, saying the deaths undermine his government and the international mission.
Following the raid on Azizabad Nato's commander in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, issued revised tactics and procedures for air and ground assaults against insurgents. The inquiry found that of the 33 dead civilians, eight were men, three were women and 12 children. ... more -
US to appeal for more Nato troops in Afghanistan
(WTF is this image doing on the internet? ARE they baiting them or what?)
Budapest: The United States will on Thursday appeal to Nato allies to send more troops to fight Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, despite the prospect of spending cuts because of the global financial crisis.
Defence ministers of the 26-nation alliance hold a two-day meeting in Budapest against a backdrop of a rise in violence in Afghanistan even though there has been a big increase in the size of the Nato-led international force in the past two years.
Commanders of the 50,700-strong force are seeking up to 12,000 more troops, but Washington's European allies have been reluctant to commit additional numbers.
NATO is also seeking to plug shortfalls in equipment such as helicopters and to resolve differences among member countries over U.S. calls for a more aggressive fight against the drugs trade that fuels the Taliban insurgency.
On Tuesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet agreed to allow for a boosting of German troop numbers in Afghanistan by 1,000 to up to 4,500. But Berlin has resisted Washington's calls to station troops in the insurgent-troubled south.
Washington has urged countries in southeastern Europe, including aspiring Nato members, to send more troops.
The United States plans to increase its troop strength in Afghanistan from the present 33,000, which include 13,000 under NATO command, but U.S. officials are concerned allies will see this as an excuse not to meet pledges.
"I want to make sure that everybody understands that the increases in US forces are not seen as replacements for Nato contributions. They're reinforcement," US Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters.
Comment about image above... WTF is this doing on the Internet? Shouldn't' some things be secret? (WTF is this image doing on the internet? ARE they baiting them or what?) ... more -
The encirclement of Russia
Chalmers Johnson: "We have to back down unless we are looking for real confrontation with Russia". Part 3
Chalmers Johnson: "It's amazing that we have gone this far pushing the Russians around ... They are the only people on earth who could literally destroy us."
Chalmers Johnson taught from 1962 to 1992 at the Berkeley and San Diego campuses of the University of California. From 1968 until 1972 he was a consultant to the Office of National Estimates of the Central Intelligence Agency. He has written 17 books. His most recent releases are “Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire” (Metropolitan Books, 2000) and “The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic” (Metropolitan, 2004) and his newest book, “Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic" (Metropolitan, 2007). Chalmers has been a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times, the London Review of Books, Harper’s Magazine, and The Nation among others, he appears in the 2005 prize-winning documentary film "Why We Fight".
See Part 1 at: http://current.com/items/89370666_massive_us_military_b...
See Part 2 at: http://current.com/items/89373406_last_days_of_the_amer... Chalmers Johnson: "We have to back down unless we are looking for real confrontation with Russia". Part 3 ... more -
British army officer says U.S. can't win in Afghanistan
Some blunt remarks by a senior British army officer have again raised the issue of divergent views among North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies about the mission in Afghanistan. Some blunt remarks by a senior British army officer have again raised the issue of divergent views among North Atlantic Treaty Organis... more
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British Commander: War in Afghanistan Cannot be Won.
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's commander in Afghanistan has said the war against the Taliban cannot be won, the Sunday Times reported.
It quoted Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith as saying in an interview that if the Taliban were willing to talk, then that might be "precisely the sort of progress" needed to end the insurgency.
"We're not going to win this war. It's about reducing it to a manageable level of insurgency that's not a strategic threat and can be managed by the Afghan army," he said.
He said his forces had "taken the sting out of the Taliban for 2008" but that troops may well leave Afghanistan with there still being a low level of insurgency.
But Afghanistan's Defense Minister expressed his disappointment on Sunday at the commander's statements, maintaining the insurgency had to be defeated.
"I think this is the personal opinion of that commander," Abdul Rahim Wardak told reporters.
"The main objective of the Afghan government and the whole international community is that we have to defeat this war of terror and be successful," he said.
Wardak said success also depended on how British forces were approaching the problems they faced in Helmand but did not say whether their current strategy was the right one.
Asked if the commander's comments came as a disappointment, Wardak said: "Yes, it is disappointing, for sure."
Britain has around 8,000 troops based in Afghanistan, most of them in the volatile southern province of Helmand, where they face daily battles with a growing insurgency.
NO NEGOTIATIONS WITH "INVADERS"
NATO commanders and diplomats have been saying for some time that the Taliban insurgency cannot be defeated by military means alone and that negotiations with the militants will ultimately be needed to bring an end to the conflict.
"If the Taliban were prepared to sit on the other side of the table and talk about a political settlement, then that's precisely the sort of progress that concludes insurgencies like this," Carleton-Smith said. "That shouldn't make people uncomfortable."
But a spokesman for the Taliban said on Sunday there would be no negotiations with foreigners and repeated calls made by Taliban commanders for the unconditional withdrawal of the more than 70,000 international troops from Afghanistan.
"They should know that Taliban will never hold talks with the invaders," Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf told the Pakistan-based Afghan news agency, AIP.
"What we had said in the past, we also say once again, that foreign forces should leave without any condition," he said.
Violence in Afghanistan has increased to its worst level since 2001, when U.S.-led and Afghan forces overthrew the ruling Taliban following the September 11 attacks on the United States.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said last week he had asked the king of Saudi Arabia to mediate in talks with the insurgents and called on Taliban leader Mullah Omar to return to his homeland and to make peace. LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's commander in Afghanistan has said the war against the Taliban cannot be won, the Sunday Times report... more -
South Ossetia car bomb blast kills 7
By Charles Clover
A powerful car bomb exploded yesterday near a military base used by Russian peacekeeping troops in Tskhinvali, the capital of the breakaway region of South Ossetia, killing at least seven and injuring three, writes Charles Clover in Moscow.
It was the worst act of violence since the end of the war in mid-August, and threatened a fragile peace accord in which Russia has pledged to withdraw its troops from positions in central Georgia and back to South Ossetia and Abkhazia by October 10. Russian officials said they were still investigating the blast. Some feared it could be used to justify any delay in the withdrawal.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008 By Charles Clover ... more -
British envoy says mission in Afghanistan is doomed, according to leaked memo
Britain’s Ambassador to Afghanistan has stoked opposition to the allied operation there by reportedly saying that the campaign against the Taleban insurgents would fail and that the best hope was to install an acceptable dictator in Kabul.
Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, a Foreign Office heavyweight with a reputation for blunt speaking, delivered his bleak assessment of the seven-year Nato campaign in Afghanistan in a briefing with a French diplomat, according to French leaks. However sources in Whitehall said the account was a parody of the British Ambassador’s remarks.
François Fitou, the deputy French Ambassador to Kabul, told President Sarkozy’s office and the Foreign Ministry in a coded cable that Sir Sherard believed that “the current situation is bad; the security situation is getting worse; so is corruption and the Government has lost all trust”.
According to Mr Fitou, Sir Sherard told him on September 2 that the Nato-led military operation was making things worse. “The foreign forces are ensuring the survival of a regime which would collapse without them . . . They are slowing down and complicating an eventual exit from the crisis, which will probably be dramatic,” the Ambassador was quoted as saying.
Britain had no alternative to supporting the United States in Afghanistan, “but we should tell them that we want to be part of a winning strategy, not a losing one”, he was quoted as saying. “In the short term we should dissuade the American presidential candidates from getting more bogged down in Afghanistan . . . The American strategy is doomed to fail.”
* * * * *
Click on the link for the complete article. Britain’s Ambassador to Afghanistan has stoked opposition to the allied operation there by reportedly saying that the campaign against... more -
War and 'Cash for Trash'
Gareth Porter: The state of the empire. Part 4
Gareth Porter discusses US hawkishness in the Caucasus with Real News Network senior editor Paul Jay. As the US and NATO pursue their containment policy, the threat of a new cold war emerges.
Gareth Porter is a historian and investigative journalist on US foreign and military policy analyst. He writes regularly for Inter Press Service on US policy towards Iraq and Iran. Author of four books, the latest of which is Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam.
See Part 1 at: http://current.com/items/89336287_bush_doctrine_at_the_...
See Part 2 at: http://current.com/items/89339379_the_state_of_the_empi...
See Part 3 at: http://current.com/items/89351820_provoking_russian_nat...
See Part 5 at: http://current.com/items/89373473_will_a_new_us_preside... Gareth Porter: The state of the empire. Part 4 ... more -
New hypersonic missile to be 'uninterceptable'
A joint Russian-Indian company has started the development of a cruise missile capable of flying at Mach 5, which will make it 'impossible to intercept'. BrahMos-2 will be the next generation of the highly successful the BrahMos missile already used by Indian military.
The news came from the head of BrahMos company, Sivathanu Pillai during the visit of Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdiukov.
The BrahMos missile (the acronym stands for Brahmaputra-Moscow) has been in development since 1998 and had its first successful test launch in 2001.
Russia provided the design of its P-800 Oniks missile as the basis of the project while India developed its guidance system. It has a maximum speed of Mach 2.8, making it is the world's fastest cruise missile.
The BrahMos-2 is expected to have twice the speed of the current version, which, the developers say, will make it practically immune to all existing missile defense systems.
-------------------------------- A joint Russian-Indian company has started the development of a cruise missile capable of flying at Mach 5, which will make it 'i... more -
NATO does not rule out Afghan talks with Taliban
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The general who commands NATO forces in Afghanistan called Wednesday for enlisting tribes to help pacify the country and did not rule out reconciliation with ousted Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.
General David McKiernan, the commander of the International Security Assistance Force, also said the coalition needs more troops for what he said is an increasingly “tough fight” in eastern and southern Afghanistan.
“And until we get to what I call a tipping point where the lead for security can be in the hands of the Afghan Army and the Afghan Police, there is going to be a need for the international community to provide military capabilities,” he told reporters.
McKiernan has asked for four more US combat brigades, support forces, helicopters and reconnaissance, intelligence and surveillance capabilities.
McKiernan said that any reconciliation efforts should be led by the Afghan government, but that the military would support it.
Asked whether dealing with the man who harbored Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was beyond the pale, McKiernan said, “I think that’s a political decision that will ultimately be made by political leadership.”
Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday that he has asked Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah to arrange talks with the Taliban so that Omar and other militia leaders could return home in peace.
“Ultimately, the solution in Afghanistan is going to be a political solution not a military solution,” said McKiernan, who spoke to reporters at a Pentagon news conference.
“We’re not going to run out of bad guys there that want to do bad things in Afghanistan,” he said.
“So the idea that the government of Afghanistan will take on the idea of reconciliation, I think, is (an) approach and we’ll be there to provide support within our mandate,” he said.
His visit to Washington comes as the administration is conducting a wide-ranging strategy review prompted by rising insurgent violence in Afghanistan fueled from sanctuaries in neighboring Pakistan.
The Afghan national army is supposed to double in size to 134,000 troops in four years, but McKiernan said he did not know how long it would take to reach a point where international forces can shrink in size. WASHINGTON (AFP) - The general who commands NATO forces in Afghanistan called Wednesday for enlisting tribes to help pacify the countr... more -
U.S. general wants help in Afghanistan now
WASHINGTON - The top American military commander in Afghanistan said on Wednesday more troops and other help in fighting a growing insurgency are needed "as quickly as possible."
Gen. David McKiernan said it's not just a question of troops — but more economic aid and more political aid as well.
Speaking to Pentagon reporters, the head of NATO forces in Afghanistan said there has been a significant increase in foreign fighters coming in from from neighboring Pakistan this year.
He did say Wednesday he's encouraged by recent Pakistani military operations against insurgents waging cross-border attacks into Afghanistan. WASHINGTON - The top American military commander in Afghanistan said on Wednesday more troops and other help in fighting a growing ins... more -
Provoking Russian nationalism
Gareth Porter: The state of the empire. Part 3
Gareth Porter discusses US hawkishness in the Caucasus with Real News Network senior editor Paul Jay. As the US and NATO pursue their containment policy, the threat of a new cold war emerges.
Gareth Porter is a historian and investigative journalist on US foreign and military policy analyst. He writes regularly for Inter Press Service on US policy towards Iraq and Iran. Author of four books, the latest of which is Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam.
See Part 1 at: http://current.com/items/89336287_bush_doctrine_at_the_...
See Part 2 at: http://current.com/items/89339379_the_state_of_the_empi...
See Part 4 at: http://current.com/items/89361295_war_and_cash_for_tras...
See Part 5 at: http://current.com/items/89373473_will_a_new_us_preside... Gareth Porter: The state of the empire. Part 3 ... more -
Russia proposes summit on collective European security
Russia will make its case this week for a new collective security treaty under which European governments would act as independent states rather than members of blocs and alliances.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will address Moscow's vision of a new European security alignment at the UN General Assembly in New York on Saturday, Russian officials said Tuesday.
No details were available about Lavrov's speech, and a ministry spokesman said Tuesday that he could not provide immediate comment.
But the idea of establishing a new, legally binding European security treaty was first proposed in June by President Dmitry Medvedev, who said the new arrangement should be based not on ideology, but rather "purely" on national interests.
The previous major European security pact, the Helsinki accords of 1975, divided the continent between NATO countries and countries in the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact.
With disintegration of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia -- and the emergence of new European states -- existing structures such as NATO and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have failed to ensure security on the continent, Medvedev has argued.
This, he said, necessitates the creation of new European security arrangements.
Russia's envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, had been scheduled to discuss the proposed treaty with NATO ambassadors Wednesday in Brussels at a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council.
But NATO and Russia drastically reduced cooperation in the wake of Russia's war last month with Georgia over the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia, and the planned NATO-Russia Council session was scrapped.
There may have been few concrete details for Rogozin to discuss with his NATO counterparts anyway.
An official with Russia's delegation to NATO said by telephone from Brussels on Tuesday that no document outlining the proposed new treaty exists.
"We need first to collect different proposals from the governments and then hold an all-European summit, where these proposals would be integrated into a single document," he said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
So far, nine countries have expressed interest in the idea, the official said: Germany, Italy, Belgium and six members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization -- a Russia-led alliance comprised of former Soviet republics. Russia will make its case this week for a new collective security treaty under which European governments would act as independent sta... more -
Little-known Islamic group claims Pakistan attack
A little known Islamic group claimed responsibility for Saturday's suicide attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad which killed 53, Al Arabiya television reported on Monday.
The group calling itself Fedayeen Islam (Partisans of Islam) demanded the closure of U.S. and NATO military bases in the region and the U.S. embassy in Pakistan, and an end to U.S. attacks against tribal areas in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
"If these demands are not met, we are ready to die," said a spokesman for the group on an audio tape aired by Arabiya. The Dubai-based television station said the English-language recording had been played over the phone to its correspondent in the Pakistani capital. A little known Islamic group claimed responsibility for Saturday's suicide attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad which killed... more -
U.S. presses NATO to target Afghan drug lords
Defense officials site drugs as a source of funding for the terrorists.
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