Mision FAS: Afganistán

[Nemesis]

Problemas con los convoyes logísticos de la OTAN que suben desde Pakistán. Toca negociar con los jezafos de siempre del ISI.

Taliban, US wrestle for the upper hand
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

KARACHI - On the face of it, there is no basic change in the situation on the ground in the war theater in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The United States-led war machine is the same, the pattern of the Taliban's attacks is the same and Islamabad is still an ally of the US.

Nevertheless, the players are already raising the level of their struggle in an effort to win the war when battle resumes in full come next spring.

The Taliban this year decided to target the supply lines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as it passed through



Pakistan - as much as 90% of NATO's needs take this route, with no viable alternative.

This has had some success, but over the past 10 days attacks on Kabul-bound conveys in the Khyber Agency have reached unprecedented levels. Thirteen containers full of arms and ammunition, military vehicles and food were looted by the Taliban, forcing an entire NATO convoy from the southern port city of Karachi to stop in Peshawar, the capital of North-West Frontier Province.

Under an emergency arrangement, safe warehouses were hired for the supply trucks and containers to park> It was not until Monday, under extraordinary government-enabled security measures, that the convoy was able to resume its journey.

The attacks have been so incessant that Asia Times Online has learned that 530 containers loaded with armored personnel vehicles, military trucks, Humvees, arms and ammunition have not yet been delivered. They were sent four months ago from Jabal-i-Ali in the United Arab Emirates to Karachi. Clearly, if this continues, NATO's war effort will be severely compromised.

This is not the only area in which the Taliban have successfully expanded the scope of their activities. In an important development, they are now active in and around Peshawar, where they are engaging the Pakistani security forces.

In recent days they have also conducted a high-profile abduction of an Iranian diplomat and attacked foreign journalists and government functionaries.

They are also killing pro-government tribal chiefs in Bajaur and Mohamand Agencies, while all the time attracting more and more recruits. The aim is to establish such a presence that Pakistan will be forced to retreat and leave the Taliban alone to wage their war against NATO in neighboring Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, in NATO headquarters in Kabul and Brussels it has been realized that the level of the Taliban's control in Afghanistan is such that they are inching towards a serious escalation of the violence which could create serious turmoil right in the heart of Kabul.

The provinces of Wardak, Logar, Kapisa and Parwan, all relatively close to Kabul, are either partially controlled by the Taliban or the Taliban have a sufficiently significant presence to make them no-go areas for anti-Taliban forces.

In this scenario, especially over concerns about its supply lines, NATO is reluctant to entrust Pakistan with tackling the problem. Although relations between the two countries are good; even low-profile Pakistani support for the Taliban could turn the tables in Afghanistan.

NATO will therefore lead all actions, whether in Afghanistan or Pakistan. This is not too popular in Pakistan. Last week, the NATO commander in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, visited Islamabad to brief parliamentarians, but several of them, including those of the dominant Pakistan People's Party and Federal Minister Raza Rabbani, refused to attend.

They called the meeting a serious breach of Pakistan's sovereignty as no military official of another country is supposed to approach parliamentarians without the Foreign Office's mediation.

McKiernan wanted to take Pakistani lawmakers into his confidence over a new NATO initiative to increase the scope of Operation Lion Heart, which involves US strikes on insurgent targets in the Kunar region of Afghanistan and a full-scale Pakistani campaign in the region of Bajaur Agency. In the latter sphere, air attacks would be bolstered by land assaults.

Asia Times Online has learned that Qari Ziaur Rahman, the chief commander of Kunar and Bajaur, has admitted that the escalation in Kunar has already caused temporary problems, such as restricting militants from traveling from Kunar to aid their colleagues in Bajaur just across the border. Nevertheless, the militants claim to have defeated the Pakistan military in Bajaur and plan to release a celebratory video to this effect in the near future.

Pakistan army chief General Parvez Ashfaq Kiani plans to visit Brussels to discuss the exact modus operandi of the new phase of Operation Lion Heart.

High-level meetings between US intelligence and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) have already been held at different levels to devise plans to cripple the support systems of the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Pakistan.

Two prominent names came under discussion at these meetings: retired Lieutenant-General Hamid Gul and a former ISI official, retired Squadron Leader Khalid Khawaja.

Gul, a former head of the ISI, is suspected of providing political and moral support to the Taliban-led resistance in Afghanistan. Last year, former premier Benazir Bhutto named him as a suspect for the October 18 attack on her life in Karachi. She was subsequently assassinated in December.

Khawaja was the first person in the country to assist the displaced families of Arab fighters who fled to Pakistan after the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. He fought their cases in court, arranged temporary housing for them and assisted them in departing to their countries. Khawaja is active in the cause of missing people (those detained without trial for years) and wants to register cases against the former chief of army staff and president, General Pervez Musharraf, and his military aides for abuses allegedly committed during their eight years in power.

Tightening the noose around people such as Gul and Khawaja and the like is one way to cut off support for the Taliban.

The battle has begun in earnest in preparation for next year's showdown.

Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief. He can be reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com

[gato]

Pues esto os va a encantar, un par de noticias que no veréis en la prensa del pesebre, digo española:

Russia set to allow Spanish military transit to Afghanistan

20/11/2008 16:16 MOSCOW, November 20 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a decree allowing logistics supplies for Spanish troops in Afghanistan to pass through Russian territory.

A document posted on the Kremlin's website said that the decree concerned an agreement "between Russia and Spain on the transit of military supplies and personnel through Russian territory to support the Spanish military contingent as part of a security and development mission in Afghanistan,"

NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has about 53,000 troops in Afghanistan under a UN mandate to help give security support to the Afghan government and stop the flow of drugs from the country.
However, despite international efforts, the radical Islamic movement the Taliban, ousted from power after a U.S.-led military operation in 2001, has been stepping up their activities in recent months.

As of October 2008, Spain had contributed 780 personnel to the ISAF. The collective Spanish military contribution to ISAF is known as ASPFOR XVII.

Spanish forces are divided between the Herat Province, where they form a quick-reaction force, a group of instructors for Afghan National Army training, and a Combat Search & Rescue unit, and the Badghis Province, where they lead a provincial reconstruction team.

Despite the recent deterioration of relations with NATO, Russia continues to support the military alliance's operations in Afghanistan, and shares NATO's concerns over the worsening military and political situation in the country.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20081120/118431593.html

LA noticia sale cuando crecen los rumores de los intereses de GAZPROM o LUKOIL por REPSOL....hummmm

Military Aviation
05:30 pm - Thursday
Italian Defense: four Tornado fighters for Afghanistan
Rome, Italy - They will be deployed at Mazar-e Sharif Airport
(WAPA) - Four Tornado fighters of 6th Wing Ghedi (Brescia) will set off Mazar-e Sharif Airport, 500 km Northern-Eastern Herat, Afghanistan, on November 24th.

The new airplanes will join the Italian contingent, as part of the NATO-ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) mission started in August 2003, for the strengthening of the protection capability.

Four Tornado will have tasks of Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) for NATO. They will be fitted out with state of the art systems and will join the Joint Air Task Force (JATF) in Herat, along with Predator UAVs - Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, C-27J Spartan tactical airplanes, AB-212 helicopters, AgustaWestland A-129 Mangusta combat helicopters and CH-47 Chinook transport helicopters.

Tornados will be added to Predators in Herat Airport (here from May 9th, 2007). (Avionews)

http://www.avionews.com/index.php?corpo ... =index.php

[kilo009]

Muy buen ojo Gato. Hoy la prensa nacional te ha copiado, y sin citar derechos de "ojeador".

He visto la noticia en La Razón y ABC, señalando también que Alemania se beneficiará de la opción rusa.

[Loopster]

Una web de recursos geográficos bastante interesante.

Afghanistan Information Management Services

http://www.aims.org.af/index.aspx


Por si le resulta útil a alguno de los foristas o a los visitantes habituales.

[gato]

Entrevista al lìder talibán Hasa Rahmani

South Asia
Nov 25, 2008


INTERVIEW
Taliban not talking peace
Mullah Mohammad Hasan Rahmani
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

Amid continuing reports of a renewed initiative to hold peace talks with the Taliban over Afghanistan, and confusion over the Taliban's position, the Taliban leadership decided to outline its stance, and chose Mullah Mohammad Hasan Rahmani to speak with Asia Times Online.

Rahmani, about 50, is a member of the Taliban's shura (council) and a close adviser to Taliban leader Mullah Omar, with whom he is in daily contact; so much so that in Taliban circles he is considered Mullah Omar's shadow. During Taliban rule (1996-2001), Rahmani was governor of Kandahar province, the Taliban's spiritual heartland.

The interview took place at a location at which both North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Pakistan security troops operate in their hunt for the Taliban.

Asia Times Online: Please introduce yourself. How were you introduced to the Taliban movement? How did you became governor of Kandahar province? What is your relation with the Taliban movement at present?

Mullah Mohammad Hasan Rahmani: My name is Hasan Rahmani. I am a former governor of Kandahar province. I was involved with the Taliban movement from its beginning. It was an Islamic movement, and I had been involved in jihad, so I joined it. Later, when some areas were conquered by the Taliban, I was appointed as governor of Kandahar, and till the last I remained in this position.

ATol: Where did you get your education?

HR: At different places and in different madrassas [seminaries] in Afghanistan, Peshawar, Quetta etc.

ATol: Since you are still very close to Mullah Omar, and you are part of his shura , please explain why the Western media are boosting peace talks with the Taliban and saying that Saudi Arabia has played a major role. One report even says Saudi Arabia has offered Mullah Omar asylum.

HR: Today the Taliban are successful and the Americans and the NATO forces are in a state of defeat. The enemy wants to engage the Taliban and deviate their minds. Sometimes they offer talks, sometimes they offer other fake issues. The Taliban never ever tried for such talks, neither do we want these talks to be held. Neither the Saudi Arabian initiative [talks held recently in Mecca] nor the Saudi Arabian proposal [over Mullah Omar] is acceptable.

ATol: Al-Sharaq al-Awsat is a very credible [London-based] journal which mentioned two names [among others] which, according to my knowledge, are a part of the Taliban. One is Moulvi Abdul Kabeer, who was governor of Nangarhar province during Taliban rule, the other was Syed Tayyab Agha, who was Mullah Omar's secretary. These people went to Saudi Arabia and dined with King Abdullah. Is this news correct? Were they really there, and if so, in what capacity?

HR: This is absolutely wrong. Neither Moulvi Abdul Kabeer nor Tayyab Agha went to Saudi Arabia. In the last days of Ramadan [end of October] the former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, was invited for dinner, but later the media projected that talks had begun with the Taliban under Saudi mediation. That was to weaken the Taliban and their jihad. The fact is that the Taliban were not part of such talks, nor are they ready to be so.

ATol: You have always been one of Mullah Omar’s close lieutenants, part of his shura. Is he still commanding the Taliban from Afghanistan?

HR: Mullah Mohammad Omar Mujahid is still the commander of the faithful. He is the sole leader of the Taliban and solely in charge of their affairs.

ATol: Every year there is talk of Kandahar falling to the Taliban, but they have not succeeded in occupying it, or even putting any serious pressure on it. Except for engineering a mass jail break this year, they could not undertake any significant action. Why?

HR: This is a battlefield arrangement. Sometimes the Taliban capture several areas and reach near Kandahar, and believe they are in a position to seize it, so they talk about occupying it. But the fact is the Taliban could not occupy Kandahar.

ATol: The Taliban are blamed for attacking unveiled women with acid in Kandahar. What is the reality?

HR: This is propaganda aimed at defaming the Taliban. Nobody knows who threw the acid. Throwing acid on any human being, whether a man or a woman, has never been the Taliban’s policy and the Taliban deny their involvement in such acts.

ATol:Western media project that the Taliban have imposed Islamic laws, even though they don’t have a government in Afghanistan. They force people to practice Islam, stop the masses from listening to music and insist that men grow long beards and wear turbans. Is there any substance in this?

HR: The reality is that this is the time of resistance and jihad and the entire focus is on resistance. But at the same time, we place emphasis on the implementation of Islamic laws. This is the duty of all Muslims, to practice Islam and motivate others.

ATol: The Taliban have made special arrangements to disrupt NATO's supply lines. In Khyber Agency and in the Afghan provinces of Nangarhar and Wardak, the Taliban have carried out many attacks. Recently, similar attacks were witnessed in Kandahar. Are there plans to permanently disrupt NATO's supply lines in Spin Boldak [in Kandahar province] and in Kandahar?

RH: The Taliban have occupied all major routes in Afghanistan and have been choking the arteries of supplies for NATO convoys. They are strongly prepared between Wardak and Kandahar to cut off NATO supplies, but all over Afghanistan they are better prepared to do so.

ATol: Kandahar is the most important province of Afghanistan. Historically, the ruling elite belonged to this province. All prominent warlords and warriors came from Kandahar. How many Kandahari tribes are with you? I heard that President Hamid Karzai's own tribesmen [Popalzai] supported the Taliban.

RH: This is a fact, that Kandahari tribes are with the Taliban, even Hamid Karzai’s tribesmen, and even the elders of his tribes are with the Taliban and all the tribes.

ATol: Could you please name them, I mean the tribes who collectively decided to side with the Taliban?

RH: The Achakzai, Noorzai, Hajizai, Wazir and the tribes stretching up to Kunar and Khost are all with the Taliban ... and the Barakzai tribe.

ATol: The Popalzai ... ?

RH: Yes, the Popalzai, the Ishaqzai ... those opposed to the Taliban are now embarrassed and are contacting the Taliban, saying that Hamid Karzai deceived them.

ATol:Next year, presidential elections are scheduled in Afghanistan. Kandahar is the home of Karzai. When he contested the elections last time, he was supported by some former Taliban, including Mullah Abdul Salam Rocketti. Will it be possible for Karzai to roam freely in Kandahar to solicit votes?

RH: The entire world knows that he does not have a base or support. He is a weak person. Nobody believes Karzai is able to be supportive or useful to them. He has even lost the support of NATO and the Americans, therefore it is unlikely he will get the same attention from the people as he got during the last presidential elections.

Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief. He can be reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com

http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JK25Df02.html

[OSLO]

Los analistas del Centro Nacional de Inteligencia (CNI) tienen un nuevo motivo de preocupación en Afganistán: el alcalde de Herat se ha fugado, llevándose las donaciones que cada año hace la Familia Real Saudí a los fieles musulmanes para que peregrinen a La Meca.

Es otra preocupación más, según el CNI, a la ya de por sí inestable situación de las tropas españolas desplegadas en Afganistán.

Esta información ha llegado hasta Elena Sánchez, secretaria de "La Casa", de primera mano y en respuesta al afán de la número dos del centro por anticipar los riesgos. Varios de sus hombres, que van y vienen a menudo a la base militar española en Herat, son quienes le han puesto al corriente de estos detalles.

El principal problema es que esta fuga ya está en boca de los lugareños y la irritación es creciente, puesto que, tal y como especifican los monarcas sauditas, estas ayudas se destinan a los fieles musulmanes que carezcan de recursos propios para cumplir con este precepto coránico.








Lo difícil se hace, lo imposible se hará.

[OSLO]

Un informe reservado de Defensa sobre el atentado en Afganistán concluye que el blindaje de los BMR es insuficiente y que causó la muerte de dos militares españoles.

Según el documento elaborado por el Grupo Español de Desactivación de Explosivos (GEDE), entre las conclusiones sobre el BMR atacado se afirma que "la resistencia del blindaje es mínima", preocupa especialmente que la explosión penetra por el paso de rueda y destroza las uniones del blindaje por ser "tremendamente frágil" en estos vehículos o que el blindaje original de aluminio no resiste y el blindaje adicional que se colocó en la modernización tampoco.








Lo difícil se hace, lo imposible se hará.

[gato]

Esto ha aparecido esta mañana en los circuitos habituales talibanes. De creerlo -todo hay que cogerlo con pinzas-, les habrían dado una paliza a nuestros aliados nativos en el distrito de Bala Murghab.

49 puppet army terrorists killed, 26 wounded, 19 arrested, 8 military vehicles destroyed, 21 ranger and 6 kamaz vehicles booty in Badghis Thursday afternoon 27-11-2008 at approximately 2 pm local time, about 60 Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate ambushed a puppet Army security convoy in Akazo area of Bala Marghab district of Badghis province. In the ambush fighting started which continued until evening, during which 49 puppet army terrorists were killed, 26 wounded, 19 arrested, 8 military vehicles were destroyed, 21 Ranger and 6 Kamaz military vehicles and a very large stock of weapons were Mujahideen's booty.

This operation sends a clear signal to the puppets who have allied themselves with invaders forces, you are not protected the only way that you will feel secure is when the invaders forces unconditionally depart from Afghanistan, there is no negotiation with the invaders and those who are collaborating with them in any capacity, thus the jihad will continue until all the impurity is removed from Afghanistan. Reported by Qari Muhammad Yousuf

Tenemos que asumir que algo hay porque las agencias también dan la noticia. Para empeorar las cosas, típico incidente que demuestra lo tenso de la situación: convoy de ISAF que circulando de forma evasiva, arrolla a civiles y se monta la tangana.

November 28, 2008 - 2:50 PM Print this story Send this story RSS Feed
Afghans riot in Kabul after civilian killed

By Yousuf Azimy

KABUL (Reuters) - Dozens of angry Afghans pelted police with stones after a U.S. military vehicle struck a van and one civilian was killed and three wounded in the Afghan capital Friday, officials and witnesses said.

Seething resentment against the presence of some 65,000 foreign troops is growing in Afghanistan after scores of Afghan civilians have been killed in a series of mistaken air strikes this year.

The incident began when a U.S.-led coalition struck the minivan and it skidded off a main road in eastern Kabul and hit a shop, the U.S. military said.

A security contractor's vehicle also travelling along the road was then surrounded by an angry crowd and the driver called for assistance, but managed to leave before troops from a nearby British base arrived at the scene, a NATO spokesman said.

It was not clear if the civilian died in the traffic incident or was shot afterwards, but the NATO-led force said none of its troops had fired any shots.

But the quickness with which ordinary Afghans turned to violence illustrates the depth of resentment against the presence of foreigners in their country, many of whom drive aggressively at great speed to avoid the threat of suicide bombers.

AMBUSH

The killing of an Afghan civilian in a Taliban suicide bomb targeting foreign troops Thursday, close to the scene of Friday's incident, provoked no such protest. Afghans often blame the presence of foreign troops for attracting suicide bombs.

Crowds chanted "death to Bush, death to America" as the body of the victim of Friday's incident was put into the back of a taxi and driven away from the scene.

"They killed my son, my son is dead," said a weeping old man.

The rioters pelted Afghan police with stones and were chased down side-streets before dispersing.

Violence in Afghanistan has reached its highest level since U.S.-led and Afghan forces toppled the Taliban for sheltering al Qaeda leaders behind the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Taliban insurgents killed 13 Afghan soldiers and police and wounded 23 more in an ambush in the northwest of the country, an Afghan army general said Friday.

General Fazel Ahmad Sayaar said the insurgents also captured 19 more troops and police, as well as 26 military vehicles in the attack in the Bala Murghab district of Badghis province Thursday.

(Reporting by Yousuf Azimy; Writing by Jon Hemming; Editing by Valerie Lee and Sanjeev Miglani

En la emboscada habrían participado...¡300 insurgentes!. En nuestra zona de acción.

13 Afghan troops killed in ambush

KABUL, Afghanistan - Taliban insurgents killed 13 Afghan troops in an ambush of their convoy in northwestern Afghanistan, while NATO-led troops fired on insurgents inside Pakistan, officials said today.

More than 300 militants attacked the Afghan forces' convoy, which was transporting 47 vehicles for their units in Bala Murghab district of Badghis province late yesterday, said Naeem Khan, a border police official.

In a several-hour battle, 13 Afghan soldiers and policemen were killed and 11 others were wounded, said Abdul Ghani Sabri, the deputy provincial governor. Seven Taliban fighters were also killed, Sabri said.

Taliban kill 13 in ambush of Afghan truck convoy
The Associated Press
Friday, November 28, 2008

KABUL: Taliban insurgents killed 13 Afghan soldiers in an ambush of a convoy in northwestern Afghanistan, while NATO-led troops fired on insurgents inside Pakistan, officials said Friday.

More than 300 militants attacked the Afghan forces' convoy, which was transporting 47 vehicles for their units in the Bala Murghab district of Badghis Province late Thursday, said Naeem Khan, a border police official.

In a several-hour battle, 13 Afghan soldiers and policemen were killed and 11 were wounded, said Abdul Ghani Sabri, the deputy provincial governor. Seven Taliban fighters were killed, Sabri said.

In addition, he said, 16 Afghan soldiers were captured by the militants, who also took most of the 47 vehicles being transported in the convoy.

After the ambush, helicopters were dispatched to the area and fired at the militants, Khan said.

[Nemesis]

Sr gato ¿ha probado ud a pedir derechos de autor a los periolistos?

Ni más ni menos que en EFE-EL PAIS

Mueren 13 soldados afganos en una zona bajo control español

EFE - Kabul - 29/11/2008

Una emboscada perpetrada por insurgentes talibanes en la provincia afgana de Badghis -al noroeste del país y en cuya seguridad y reconstrucción participan tropas españolas- causó ayer la muerte de 13 soldados y policías afganos y heridas a otros 23, según el Ejército de Afganistán.

En el ataque también fueron hechos prisioneros 19 miembros de los cuerpos de seguridad del país asiático y los talibanes capturaron un botín compuesto por 26 vehículos militares, varias armas y munición, según los datos ofrecidos por el general Fazel Ahmad Sayaar. La ofensiva talibán tuvo lugar en el distrito de Bala Murghab, a unos 70 kilómetros al noreste de la base que el Ejército español tiene en Qala i Naw.

Por otro lado, decenas de ciudadanos furiosos lanzaron piedras contra la policía en Kabul después de que un vehículo militar estadounidense chocase contra una furgoneta, en un incidente en el que murió un civil y otros tres resultaron heridos, admitieron las autoridades afganas.

Una cosa...con esa cantidad de bajas, la compañía nativa en Bala Murgha ha sido eliminada. Conste en acta.

[Nemesis]

Sigue la guerra abierta en nuestra media provincia afgana. Ahora la respuesta aliada, con bombardeos incluidos.

40 Taliban militants killed in Afghanistan
29.11.08 08:44

Afghanistan, Kabul, 29 November /Trend News corr. W.Hakimi/According to coalition forces, 40 Taliban militants killed in an air-strike in Badghis Province.

Zmary Bashary told to media that these Taliban militant killed in a reaction to the Taliban ambush.

Zabihullah Mujahid rejected the report and accept only, five killed and 10 injures.

Accordingly, 40 Afghan National Police and Afghan National Army killed, or injured in this ambushed launched by Taliban.

General Fazlullahmad Siar in the region, accepted the report and added that Taliban tooke 26 military vehicle with themselves.

Mullah Rahamthullah the district commander of Bala Murghab in Badghis province said that Taliban arrested 18 ANA.

According to him they are trying to release them by intermediation of elders of the region.

Bahghis is an unrest province in the west of Afghanistan that Taliban increased their activity this year in this province.

Fijense que el ataque del otro día contra el ANA fue llevado a cabo por una partida de 300 guerrilleros. Lo tenemos crudo.