Afghanistan Conflict Monitor

Afghan Police Face Critical Tasks

'Afghan Police Face Critical Tasks', Online International News Network, 29 April 2009

EXCERPT: "Army Brig. Gen. Anne F. Macdonald, Assistant Commander for Police development in Kabul said that Afghan police force faces various challenges in the country. 'We can help, but ultimately it is going to be up to Afghan security forces - most notably the police - to make the difference,' she said. She indicates that there is no shortage of Afghan police in the country. She says Taliban think that Afghan police are the danger to them so they kill them, noting that last year 1,500 Afghan police killed in the country last year. The Afghan police face tremendous challenges, according to U.S. embassy and military officials. Thirty years of invasion, warlordism and the Taliban did not improve the situation. There was no police force, just militias that extorted money from the people and protected drug lords. She explains about the recruiting process of Police in Afghanistan and said they must be ensure that Afghan police must not be connected to Taliban or any other terrorist groups in the country."

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See also:
'New AfPak strategy prompts US general's optimism for Afghan forces', Jane's, 29 April 2009

Related posts:
'Afghanistan to boost police by 15,000: Minister', 20 April 2009
'Afghanistan's national security forces', 16 April 2009
'Top commander says Afghan handoff "years away"', 6 April 2009
'Policing in Afghanistan: Still searching for a strategy', 18 December 2008
'Afghanistan's future threatened by poor police', 10 June 2008

Exclusionary Humanitarian Aid Practices Hitting Balkh

'Exclusionary Humanitarian Aid Practices Hitting Hearts and Minds', EurasiaNet, 30 April 2009

EXCERPT: "During a recent interview, the governor of Balkh - Atta Mohammad - repeatedly expressed frustration with the international approach to Afghanistan. His chief complaint: Despite totally eradicating poppy cultivation in 2007, his province is being ignored by the international aid community. Atta expressed pride in achieving a measure of security and stability in Balkh. Crime is low and anti-government insurgents are not posing a particular problem. But endemic poverty and a critical humanitarian situation, he said, are threatening to reverse these fragile gains. Under current conditions aid agencies are finding it increasingly difficult to meet the population's needs. The reason, many say: donors predominantly fund political and military objectives. Balkh's plight seems to be connected in large part to this competition for resources. Dependent on rain-fed agriculture, the province was devastated by severe drought in 2008, crippling a region without substantial access to ground water. Yet despite the security and the need, Balkh's overwhelming needs have largely gone unaddressed."

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Related posts:
'UN envoy: Donor aid fragmenting Afghanistan', 20 March 2009
'Change slow for isolated Afghans', 24 February 2009
'Afghanistan hits back at Western critics over aid', 2 February 2009
'Afghanistan: Not lost but needs more attention', 16 June 2008

More Australian Troops For Afghan Mission

'More Australian Troops For Afghan Mission', The Sydney Morning Herald, 30 April 2009

EXCERPT: "Kevin Rudd has expanded Australia's military commitment in Afghanistan and put his stamp on a war that he says is becoming increasingly unpopular. About 450 extra personnel will be deployed, including 100 more soldiers to mentor the Afghan army and 120 personnel who will be deployed for eight months to provide security for the presidential election in August. The boost will lift Australia's commitment to 1550 soldiers. The Prime Minister said the extra troops would be there for "a fair bit of time". He said: "The Government has no interest in Australian forces being in Afghanistan for a day longer than is necessary. Mr Rudd said Australia's two main interests in the war were to prevent Afghanistan being used as a training ground for terrorists and to support the US under the ANZUS Treaty, which was invoked after the September 11 attacks. Ten Australian soldiers have died in the war, including nine in the past 18 months."

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See also:
'Australia boosts troop and financial assistance to Afghanistan', Radio Australia, 30 April 2009
'More troops equal greater risk: Govt', The Age, 30 April 2009
'No doubt war support will wane: Fitzgibbon', ABC News, 30 April 2009

Related posts:
'PM drawing up plans for surge of diggers', 6 March 2009
'More Australians want to leave Afghanistan', 3 October 2008
'Surge in Afghanistan needed, Fitzgibbon says', 16 July 2008
'Australia calls for 10,000 more troops in Afghanistan', 5 June 2008
'More Afghanistan deaths likely: Australian PM', 28 April 2008

Concerns Over Using Clinics As Polling Stations: ICRC

'Afghanistan: Using Clinics As Polling Stations "Not A Good Idea": ICRC', IRIN News, 30 April 2009

EXCERPT: "The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has expressed concern over the use of health facilities for voter registration or as polling stations in Afghanistan's upcoming presidential elections, saying this could jeopardise the security of health workers and put patients at risk. Whilst there is no provision in international humanitarian law and/or the Geneva Conventions banning the use of health centres in electoral processes, ICRC said insecurity in large swaths of Afghanistan would necessitate the presence of military forces to protect polling stations. Taliban insurgents have vowed to disrupt the elections and have warned people not to participate."

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See also:
'Up to 60 candidates for Afghan vote', AFP, 30 April 2009
'Afghans cannot vote in volatile districts: MPs', Quqnoos.com, 30 April 2009

Related posts:
'Government abandons voter registration at health centres', 16 January 2009
'Worsening security threatens Afghan elections', 7 October 2008
'Afghanistan's readiness to vote debated', 25 July 2008

700 More British Troops For Afghanistan

'Gordon Brown: 700 More Troops For Afghanistan', The Telegraph, 29 April 2009

EXCERPT: "In a Commons statement, Mr Brown said the additional troops, which will take the British force to 9,000, will remain in the country until the autumn. Officials made clear that there will be no permanent increase in UK troop numbers, which will return to the current level of 8,300 once the temporary 'surge' is over. Mr Brown was for the first time publishing a strategy document covering both Afghanistan and Pakistan. He described security in the mountainous borderlands between the two countries as the 'greatest priority' for the international community. He said that, in Afghanistan, Britain's aim was to build up the police and army to ensure that the country's democratic government was strong enough to withstand and overcome the terrorist threat. The goal would be to achieve a 'district-by-district, province-by-province handover' to Afghan control."

To continue reading the article, click here.
To continue reading "UK Policy in Afghanistan: The Way Forward", click here [pdf].

See also:
'UK Afghan strategy shifts to rebuilding', The Wall Street Journal, 29 April 2009
'Military loses battle over Afghanistan troop boost', Times Online, 29 April 2009
'Increase in troop numbers will not satisfy defence chiefs', The Guardian, 29 April 2009
'End of an era as Britain takes a back seat', Times Online, 29 April 2009

Related posts:
'60 percent in UK unconvinced about Afghan mission', 17 March 2009
'Britain to consider Afghan troop request', 28 November 2008
'British ambassador to Kabul "says Afghan mission is doomed"', 1 October 2008
'Britain, NATO struggle for Afghanistan numbers', 10 September 2008
'Britain's troops have paid high price for Afghan progress', 7 August 2008

Afghan Anti-Drug Effort Needs Big Boost

'Afghan Anti-Drug Effort Needs Big Boost', Reuters, 29 April 2009

EXCERPT: "Efforts to combat the drug trade in Afghanistan must grow dramatically as the United States deploys tens of thousands more troops to fight a resurgent Taliban, a top U.S. general said on Wednesday. General James Conway, commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, said the opium business had to be tackled because it was estimated to provide between $80 million and $400 million a year to the Taliban. Some 8,000 Marines are currently in the process of deploying to Afghanistan as part of President Barack Obama's strategy to reverse Taliban gains. Obama plans to increase the number of U.S. troops from about 40,000 now to 68,000 by this autumn. The vast majority of the Marines are expected to go to southern Afghanistan, the Taliban heartland and a major center for the cultivation of opium poppies, used to make heroin. Afghanistan produces more than 90 percent of the world's opium."

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See also:
'Afghan surge aims to break poppy trade', UPI, 29 April 2009
'Pakistan concerned about US plan in Afghanistan: US general', AFP, 29 April 2009
'US "losing control" in Afghanistan', Al Jazeera, 29 April 2009
'Counternarcotics offers chance to cooperate with Tehran', The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 29 April 2009

Related posts:
'3,000 kg of morphine seized: Ministry', 21 April 2009
'1 billion dollar drugs seized over the year', 2 April 2009
'Afghanistan still largest opium poppy producer: US', 27 February 2009
'2008 opium crop was second biggest: UN report', 20 February 2009
'Obstacle in bid to curb Afghan trade in narcotics', 23 December 2008

Falling Short On Afghanistan

Paddy Ashdown and Joseph Ingram, 'Falling Short on Afghanistan', The New York Times, 29 April 2009

EXCERPT: "A just-released report from Afghanistan's Ministry of Finance has produced some shocking findings with disturbing implications for the future of the war-ridden country and its unstable neighborhood. Yet the report and its conclusions have failed to capture the attention of the key politicians overseeing financial and military support from Afghanistan's allies. What this technical report, 'The Donor Financial Review for 2008,' concludes is that the international community is falling woefully short in financing its own estimates of Afghanistan's needs. For the period from 2008 to 2012, the financing gap is about $22 billion, or 48 percent of estimated needs. Worse, the activities financed by the donors have so far been seriously out of line with the strategic priorities established in Afghanistan's National Development Strategy, which has been strongly endorsed by the donor community as a whole."

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See also:
'Cooperating for peace', The Times of India, 29 April 2009
'What Afghanistan can learn from the Taliban', The Christian Science Monitor, 29 April 2009
'Corruption is the mother of insurgency: Ghani', EurasiaNet, 28 April 2009
'UN University to help build electronic government in Afghanistan', EurekAlert, 27 April 2009

Related posts:
'Paris declaration not enough to achieve aid effectiveness', 20 April 2009
'EU to take urgent look at boosting aid', 23 February 2009
'Afghanistan hits back at Western critics over aid', 2 February 2009
'The A to Z guide to Afghanistan assistance 2009', 13 February 2009
'UN envoy to Afghan urges to revamp foreign aid spending', 7 July 2008

Taliban Threatens Spring Offensive

'Taliban Threatens Spring Offensive', The Globe and Mail, 29 April 2009

EXCERPT: "A top Taliban commander warned today that militants would unleash a wave of ambushes, roadside bombs and suicide attacks in a new spring offensive in Afghanistan. In a possible harbinger of coming violence, coalition and Afghan troops killed 42 militants in three operations, officials said. Mullah Berader, a deputy to Taliban leader Mullah Omar, said the Taliban plans to launch a new offensive Thursday against international and Afghan troops, government officials and 'whoever is supporting invaders in our country.' Taliban militants have increased attacks in the past three years after what appeared to be an initial defeat of the radical group, which was toppled from power by the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. U.S. President Barack Obama has ordered 21,000 additional U.S. troops to the country to bolster the record 38,000 American forces already in the country."

To continue reading the article, click here.

See also:
'US military says 42 insurgents killed in Afghanistan', AFP, 29 April 2009
'Afghan education attacks kill 70 in a year: Ministry', ABS CBN News, 29 April 2009
'A capital idea for Afghanistan', Asia Times Online, 29 April 2009
'The occasional Taliban', Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 29 April 2009

Related posts:
'War in Afghanistan "could be lost by summer"', 10 February 2009
'Afghan insurgency stronger than ever', 11 November 2008
'Afghan "spring offensive" a myth: US commander', 9 May 2008
'Taliban declares new Afghan offensive', 28 March 2008
'Taliban in control of 54 percent of Afghanistan: Senlis Council', 21 November 2007

Pentagon: Progress In Talks To Keep US Base

'Pentagon: Progress In Talks To Keep US Base', The Associated Press, 28 April 2009

EXCERPT: "The United States reported progress Tuesday in negotiations to extend its lease of a key Central Asian air base that provides support for military operations in Afghanistan, although an August eviction date looms. 'I think we see reason for hope there, that that can be worked out,' Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said. Morrell would not describe the negotiations in detail. 'We hope we're getting closer,' he said, but the Pentagon is also planning alternative resupply routes if talks fall through. Other defense and State Department officials said a deal could be close. One official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the talks are confidential, said that as expected the issue had come down to money. The United States has offered to pay more, the official said. Losing the Manas base would pose a serious challenge to President Barack Obama's plan to send 21,000 more American forces into Afghanistan this year to fight surging Taliban and al-Qaida violence."

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See also:
'Manas scheduled to resume civilian status', The Jamestown Foundation, 28 April 2009
'US envoy: Tajik base not alternative to Manas', Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, 22 April 2009
'Kyrgyzstan's Manas airport to be civilian airport only', ITAR-TASS, 20 April 2009

Related posts:
'Decision on Manas base unchanged', 27 March 2009
'Kyrgyz lawmakers vote to oust US allies from base', 6 March 2009
'Kyrgyz parliament approves US base closure', 19 February 2009
'US strikes Central Asia deal to supply troops', 20 January 2009

Karzai Vows To Change Controversial Law

'Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai Vows To Change Controversial Law On Sex', Los Angeles Times, 28 April 2009

EXCERPT: "Afghan President Hamid Karzai pledged Monday to change a law critics say legalizes marital rape to remove concerns that it violates human rights. The law, which sparked an international outcry after it was signed last month, says a husband can demand sex with his wife every four days unless she is ill or would be harmed by intercourse. It also regulates when and for what reasons a wife may leave her home alone. Numerous countries condemned the law and President Obama called it 'abhorrent,' prompting Karzai to suspend the legislation for a judicial review. He said previously that the law would be changed, but his comments Monday were his strongest yet against the measure. 'Amendments will take place,' and the law 'will not have any concerns on any account of human rights and especially the rights of the Afghan people,' Karzai told reporters at a joint news conference with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown."

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See also:
'Afghan women's law highlights rift', BBC News, 27 April 2009
'Karzai signed law not knowing contents: Campaigners', The Washington Post, 26 April 2009
'Afghan cleric defends controversial marriage law', CNN, 21 April 2009

Related posts:
'Afghan women protest new restrictive law', 15 April 2009
'Afghan rape-law review to take months', 7 April 2009
'Afghan women struggle to be heard', 10 February 2009
'First Afghan woman mayor says women's rights worsened', 14 January 2009
'Many women are unaware of their rights', 15 May 2008