14 posts tagged “afghanistan”
In the first such strikes since the inauguration of President Barack Obama, suspected U.S. missile barrages today killed at least 18 people in the lawless tribal region near the Afghan border, Pakistani officials said.
The two raids suggested that the new U.S. administration intends to press ahead with attacks against Islamic militants in the rural areas, even though the campaign has been politically costly to Pakistan's Western-leaning civilian government. President Obama indicated during the campaign for the White House that he would continue to carry out strikes against "high-value" Al Qaeda and Taliban targets on Pakistani soil, particularly if the Pakistani military were unable or unwilling to act. That declaration ruffled some feathers in Pakistan, where the U.S. raids are extremely unpopular.
Although Pakistani leaders have repeatedly lodged formal diplomatic objections to the American airstrikes, the government is widely believed to have given tacit permission to U.S. forces to carry out such raids -- as long as they do not involve sending ground forces into Pakistani territory.
Pakistani news reports cited security officials as saying that at least five of those killed in today's strikes in the North and South Waziristan tribal agencies -- long known as a haven for Al Qaeda and the Taliban -- were militants. Dozens of such raids have been carried out in the last six months by the Bush administration, killing several important Al Qaeda-linked figures. But scores of Pakistani civilians, including women and children, also died, according to local officials.
The first of today's attacks took place in the North Waziristan village of Zharki, with missiles striking at least two structures, according to security officials. A short time later, a separate strike was reported in South Waziristan. The American military in Afghanistan refused any comment on the raids, but U.S. forces are known to operate unmanned Predator drones from bases on the Afghan side of the border, together with newer Reaper aircraft...
NATO joins war on Afghan opium trade
October 10, 2008
BUDAPEST (AFP) — NATO announced Friday its troops would from now on target Afghanistan's opium trade directly in an effort to cut off hundreds of millions of dollars of drug money financing the Taliban insurgency.
NATO has generally avoided tackling drugs, with many members fearful of compromising support from ordinary Afghans, including many poor farmers dependent on such crops for their livelihoods...
...NATO defense ministers agreed that "ISAF can act in concert with the Afghans against facilities and facilitators supporting the insurgency, subject to the authorization of respective nations," said spokesman James Appathurai...
...Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Romania and Spain had led opposition against officially diving into the drug war, believing that the Afghans themselves should drive such efforts...
...The agreement would allow governments to tackle the "high end" opium trade if they wanted to, but not tie the hands of those nations unwilling to take part, the official said.
"This means that the United States and Britain have free rein" to take action, a NATO diplomat said.
"Germany will continue to act in coordination with Afghan forces," he said.
Senior NATO officials say that Afghanistan's drug problem has been largely brought under control, except for seven provinces in the lawless south of the country, where many of the insurgents have been operating...
Not many details are available. The United States denies the story.
U.S. Denies Incursion into Pakistan
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani troops and tribesmen opened fire on two U.S. helicopters that crossed into the country from neighboring Afghanistan, intelligence officials said Monday. The U.S. denied the report.
The helicopters did not return fire and re-entered Afghan airspace without landing, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media.
"There was no such incursion, there was no such event," said Col. Gary L. Keck, Defense Department spokesman.
The reported incursion late Sunday will likely add to tensions between Islamabad and Washington...
Top US diplomat escapes gun attack in Pakistan
By MUNIR AHMAD – August 26, 2008
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen opened fire on a vehicle carrying the top U.S. diplomat in the main city in Pakistan's volatile northwest Tuesday morning, but no one was killed or wounded, officials said.
Meanwhile, a bomb exploded at a political rally in southwestern Pakistan, wounding at least 20 people, police said.
The attack in Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province, came a day after the government announced a ban on the Pakistani Taliban, the umbrella militant group said to be behind a recent string of suicide bombings and other assaults.
It also came hours after the ruling coalition collapsed, a fracture that could strengthen a party considered more in line with U.S. goals in the war on terror.
Lynne Tracy, the principal officer for the U.S. consulate in Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province, was "100 percent safe," police official Riaz Khan said.
Mohammad Nabi, another police official, said an unknown number of gunmen in a Land Cruiser fired from an open window before fleeing the scene. He said the driver managed to reverse the vehicle and reach the residence of the U.S. official.
The U.S. Embassy provided few details, saying only that there was a "security incident" involving three consulate employees. It would not name or describe the employees...
Full Story Here
2 Fort Campbell Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan
Aug 19, 2008 03:44 PM
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) -- Two Fort Campbell soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan.
The Army said Tuesday that 29-year-old 1st Lt. Donald C. Carwile of Oxford, Miss., and 21-year-old Pfc. Paul E. Conlon Jr. of Somerville, Mass., died on Aug. 15...
Both soldiers were assigned to 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division based at Fort Campbell...
This could get really 'ugly'
Musharraf 'running out of time'
Page last updated at 14:26 GMT, Saturday, 16 August 2008 15:26 UK
Pakistan's foreign minister has said President Pervez Musharraf must stand down in the next two days or face impeachment proceedings.
"Musharraf is running out of time", said Shah Mahmood Qureshi, of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) - a major partner in the governing coalition.
Draft charges against the president include violation of the constitution and gross misconduct, officials said.
Mr Musharraf's office has said he will not resign and will defend himself.
The impeachment campaign was launched last week by leaders of the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
A PML-N official said: "There is a long list of charges against him... we will file them, by the latest, by Tuesday."
If Mr Musharraf chooses not to quit, he would be the first president in Pakistan's history to be impeached...
Troops Deployed Abroad Give 6:1 to Obama
By Luke Rosiak - August 14, 2008 9:52 AM
...According to an analysis of campaign contributions by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Democrat Barack Obama has received nearly six times as much money from troops deployed overseas at the time of their contributions than has Republican John McCain, and the fiercely anti-war Ron Paul, though he suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination months ago, has received more than four times McCain's haul...
...members of the armed services overall -- whether stationed overseas or at home -- are also favoring Obama with their campaign contributions in 2008, by a $55,000 margin. Although 59 percent of federal contributions by military personnel has gone to Republicans this cycle, of money from the military to the presumed presidential nominees, 57 percent has gone to Obama...
...Individuals in the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps have all leaned Republican this cycle, but the only branch in which that ideology has carried over to the presidential race is the Marine Corps, where McCain leads Obama by about $4,000. In each of the other branches... Obama leads by significant margins...
...Only the Coast Guard prefers Democrats across the board, with 78 percent of employees' total federal contributions going to members of that party, and Obama beating McCain $7,795 to $250. Navas anecdotally confirmed that soldiers are often conservative but that many are making an exception in the presidential race. "Most of my friends are conservative Republicans and they say, 'I'm voting for Barack.' McCain does not have a lock on the military vote, that's for sure," he said. "We'll complete our duty -- I'm deploying next year -- because it's a commitment I made to the nation, not to a president. But we all know that Iraq was a big mistake"...
[this blows]
Pentagon extends tour of Marines in Afghanistan
By Lolita C. Baldor – 4 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has extended the tour of 2,200 Marines in Afghanistan, after insisting for months the unit would come home on time.
Marine Col. David Lapan confirmed Thursday that the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is doing combat operations in the volatile south, will stay an extra 30 days and come home in early November rather than October...
Most of the headlines are focusing on President Bush signing the new war funding bill and the cost of the war. Rightly so, that is where the focus should be. However, the President did make some compromises by signing the bill.
The package approved by Congress includes a doubling of GI Bill college benefits for troops and veterans. It also provides a 13-week extension of unemployment benefits, $2.7 billion in emergency flood relief for the Midwest, and tens of billions of dollars for food aid, anti-drug enforcement, Louisiana levee repairs and many other items.
The war is going to be funded... no matter what. That is an undeniable truth. President Bush knows that. So give credit where credit is due. The President did compromise and we got unemployment extended, flood relief, food aid, etc.
I still think we are funding the wrong war. (I do believe we are in a war but it's not conventional) I would prefer the larger sum went towards fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan and for social program that will help the communities in the Middle-East. You know... help the people like you and me that just want to live life.
