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Afghans Bristle at U.S. Ban on Airline
By ALISSA J. RUBIN January 30, 2013 The New York Times
KABUL, Afghanistan — A recent move by the United States military to bar one of Afghanistan’s major airlines from contracts because of allegations of narcotics smuggling has caused a diplomatic firestorm, with Afghan officials angrily demanding proof and some American officials quietly criticizing the timing of the decision.
The blacklisting of the airline, Kam Air, is said to have started early this month and was first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Friday. The article quoted American military officials as saying the ban on American military contracts was based on information that the airline had carried “bulk quantities” of opium out of the country as well as within it.
Kam Air officials deny the accusation, and the Afghan government says it has no knowledge of such activities. President Hamid Karzai’s spokesman, Aimal Faizi, demanded that the American military hand over any evidence it had so that the government could act on the charges.
“We have to get to the bottom of this in order to take action,” Mr. Faizi said. “We need evidence and proofs in this regard. We cannot make inquiries based on a newspaper article.”
Several Western officials here, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the issue is a delicate one, described the Afghan demands as reasonable, given the potential complications. The American military command and the American Embassy declined to comment on the accusations and Afghan response.
One part of the dispute is a practical problem: Mr. Karzai often charters Kam Air for foreign trips, and planned to do so in the next few days for a flight to Europe, Mr. Faizi said. If the airline has been publicly listed for drug smuggling, Western officials noted, other countries’ air traffic controllers and aviation regulators will not want Kam Air planes landing on their runways.
“This is being taken very seriously by air control and aviation authorities around the world,” said one Western diplomat here. “We don’t know what kind of evidence there is, but the allegations have damaged the reputation of the company so much they may not be able to fly.”
The Kabul government is also worried because the accusation implicitly calls into question airport security and customs procedures in Afghanistan. A formal note sent to the American Embassy from the Afghan Foreign Ministry this week demanded “all documents” related to the allegations.
“These accusations are very serious,” the note said, “and not only damage the credibility of Kam Air airways, but also raise doubt about the work and inspections of related organs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.”
Potentially more serious, the allegations have inflamed longstanding tensions between the American administration and Mr. Karzai about American charges that his government is corrupt.
Some American officials privately expressed dismay at the military’s decision, saying it blindsided and embarrassed Mr. Karzai just after his successful meeting in Washington with President Obama and during negotiations over the long-term relationship between the countries.
Both American diplomats and the military have been ambivalent about how to approach Afghan corruption cases over the years. While they have at times pushed for more official accountability as in the Kabul Bank corruption scandal, in which some members of Mr. Karzai’s family and inner circle have been implicated, in other areas they have backed off. Often, American officials say, that softer approach has come in the hope that Americans will ultimately have more influence if they avoid nettling Mr. Karzai — though that view has been hotly debated.
“There’s a family dispute going on,” one Western official said, speaking of a difference between American military and diplomatic officials over the Kam Air decision. “People are spun up. This could have far-reaching effects.”
As in many corruption cases, the allegations of drug smuggling are based on intelligence, making it less likely that the United States military will share the information and leaving leeway for the Afghan government to deny them.
The head of the airline, Zemarai Kamgar, has denied the accusations repeatedly on Afghan television, and other Afghan businesses have rallied behind him.
“Such reports have a bad effect on current businesses in Afghanistan, and we are suffering a lot,” said Hajji Yunnis Mohammed, a deputy head of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce.
“Our businessmen are concerned about 2014,” Mr. Mohammed said, referring to the completion of the American troop withdrawal, “and when there are drug smuggling allegations and threats of being blacklisted, that damages business prospects in our country.”
Mr. Faizi, the presidential spokesman, added: “We get reports from time to time about foreign aircraft smuggling drugs, but this is the first time we have heard anything about Kam Air.”
When it comes to drug smuggling, Afghanistan has a troubled record. It is the world’s largest opium producer, and traffickers smuggle hundreds of tons of opium out of the country every year on routes to Iran, Tajikistan and Pakistan. Although some of it may go by air, much of it crosses by land, carried by trucks, private vehicles and burros.
Hundreds of millions of dollars in cash also leaves the country every year, smuggled through the airports in suitcases. And gold has recently emerged as a favorite export — although that is taken out legally.
Sharifullah Sahak contributed reporting.
A version of this article appeared in print on January 31, 2013, on page A7 of the New York edition with the headline: Afghans Bristle at U.S. Ban on Airline.
Afghanistan isn't safe, U.S. warning says
Jan. 30, 2013 at 9:49 AM
WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- There are no parts of Afghanistan considered immune from violence and U.S. interests there are at risk at all times, a U.S. State Department warning read.
The State Department updated a travel warning for Afghanistan, setting the security threat at "critical."
"No region in Afghanistan should be considered immune from violence, and the potential exists throughout the country for hostile acts, either targeted or random, against U.S. and other Western nationals at any time," the warning read.
The State Department warning added that anti-government forces such as al-Qaida and the Taliban are active in the country.
"Afghan authorities have a limited ability to maintain order and ensure the security of Afghan citizens and foreign visitors," the warning added.
U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan aim to leave the country next year after more than 10 years of engagement. Multinational forces are preparing for a departure as Afghan forces take the lead in military operations.
In December, Jan Kubis, U.N. special envoy to Afghanistan, briefed the Security Council on gains in Afghanistan. He said there was a general lack of political development in the country, however. Development gains are at risk "because of weak and inadequate" state systems.
Departing U.S. general in Afghanistan weighs gains and uncertainty
Washington Post By Kevin Sieff Wednesday, January 30, 2013
KABUL - Gen. John R. Allen was leaving Helmand province for the last time, his jet flying high above the desert moonscape that saw a bloody American military campaign and then an unprecedented withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Allen arrived here 18 months ago, charged with two seemingly contradictory goals: to defuse an active insurgency and bring home 30,000 U.S. soldiers and Marines. Now, after the departure of a third of his force, it’s Allen’s turn to leave Afghanistan, where he says hard-fought security gains have often failed to bring about effective governance that would ensure long-term stability.
“In some ways, it feels like I’m leaving family behind to an uncertain future,” he said, looking out at the rugged expanse of southern Afghanistan last week.
Since 2001, there have been 11 commanders of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, five of whom, like Allen, also commanded NATO forces. But no other general was forced to focus in equal measure on both fighting a war and withdrawing from it.
That meant putting Afghan soldiers in charge of combat operations even as many observers said they were unprepared. It meant building trust with an Afghan president known for intransigence, and fighting the Taliban while support waned in the United States. Those were the predictable challenges.
Then there were the unexpected tests: the insider attacks, the burning of Korans on a U.S. military base, the Pentagon investigation into a trove of Allen’s e-mails for possible sexual impropriety — which cleared Allen of wrongdoing last week.
As his command was buffeted, Allen impressed subordinate commanders with an ability to straddle Washington’s demands for a military endgame with Afghan demands for long-term reassurance. But he says he recognized that the U.S. drawdown would not coincide with clear-cut victory — in many cases, security gains have only brought more questions.
With 11 days left in his tour, Allen says he’s proud of the growth of the Afghan security forces and the success of NATO’s troop surge in places such as southern Helmand, where four years ago the Taliban operated freely.
But if security is not accompanied by effective governance, the Taliban could return, he says, or criminal networks could corrode gains.
“Now what they face is an absence of governance and a desire for law enforcement and legal stability,” Allen said of civilians in parts of the country that have seen strategic gains.
He has been pressing Afghan officials, including President Ha¬mid Karzai, to deliver governance in places where military gains are visible. But in many cases, patronage networks have prevailed or corrupt leaders have remained in power as public confidence diminished.
“General Allen works for his own country. We work for the national interests of our country,” Abdul Karim Khurram, Karzai’s chief of staff, said of Allen and Karzai’s sometimes divergent views.
Meanwhile, there has been pressure from Allen’s own government. The next phase of the drawdown — and questions about Washington’s appetite for a military presence in Afghanistan beyond 2014 — have hovered over his command.
Allen wants to keep between 9,000 and 15,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, according to American officials who were not authorized to speak publicly about the subject, while the Obama administration is considering a force of about half that size. White House officials told reporters this month that zero troops might remain.
“When you have political appointees talking about a zero option, it doesn’t make things any easier,” said a U.S. military official on Allen’s staff.
Before Allen departed Helmand last week, the top Afghan commander there, Sayed Malouk, gave him a valedictory speech in a room full of top U.S. and Afghan military brass.
“We have full confidence that you and your other generals will give the best advice to President Obama — to support this mission after 2014,” Malouk said, looking at Allen. “Blood and fight ours, tools and support yours.”
Allen managed a tight-lipped smile while many other officers in the crowd laughed.
“You might have seen me squirming in my seat,” Allen said later, as he returned to Kabul.
Allen won accolades as a three-star general in 2007, when he seized on the tribal dynamics of western Iraq to persuade Sunni elders to resist the insurgency. His handling of the “Anbar Awakening” made him Obama’s first choice to replace Gen. David H. Petraeus in July 2011.
In Afghanistan, Allen did not have the same resources as commanders in Iraq or his predecessors in Kabul. In Washington, he lacked their celebrity. But he still battled a potent insurgency.
About 640 NATO and U.S. troops have been killed in Afghanistan since Allen took over.
“Those are the ones that are with you in the middle of the night, and you can’t sleep when you think about them,” Allen said, his voice breaking.
As Allen and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force hand the reins to Afghan forces, fatalities have become a grim metric for the state of the transition. More than 1,000 Afghan soldiers died in 2012, about a 20 percent increase from 2011, a marker of who is doing the bulk of the fighting, U.S. and Afghan officials say.
Allen “pivoted the Afghan army and police to take the lead while we were engaged in combat,” said Marc Chretien, Allen’s political adviser, who also served with him in Iraq.
Afghan soldiers have paid dearly, Allen said, and “now the knockout blow needs to be delivered by the Afghan government.”
“Meanwhile, those corps commanders are going to continue to bleed,” he said of the top seven Afghan generals.
Poor governance could result in a Taliban resurgence or a rise in criminal operations, Allen said. Patronage networks and fledgling Afghan institutions are “locked in a death struggle,” he said.
That institutional weakness in part prompted Allen’s recommendation to Obama for a post-2014 U.S. presence. His top priority for beyond 2014, he said, is to deploy a significant number as advisers in the Afghan ministries of Defense and Interior. Then, troop levels permitting, he would assign others to military training centers in Kabul and possibly keep some advisers at regional Afghan police and army commands.
Traveling the country for the last time, Allen was eager to put Afghanistan’s woes in context. There are tensions with Pakistan, he noted, and a recent history dominated by upheavals.
But the context Allen cites most in farewell speeches relates to what he calls “young democracies” – countries with flashes of promise but a great need for support and long, uncertain roads ahead.
“I really believe we can win this thing,” he said, but “winning won’t occur between now and 2014. We will set the conditions to win during that decade of transformation.”
Afghan army casualties reduced by 1.9 percent: Azimi
By Sadaf Shinwari - 30 Jan 2013, 3:28 pm Khaama Press
According to Afghan defense officials, there has been a slight reduction in Afghan national army casualties during the past three months.
Gen. Zahir Azimi defense ministry spokesman on Wednesday said at least 160 Afghan national army soldiers were killed during the past three months.
Mr. Azimi further added the statistics shows a reduction of 1.9% as compared to last year where 179 Afghan national army soldiers were killed during the same period.
He also said at least 463 Afghan national army soldiers have been killed during the past six months while 472 Afghan soldiers were killed last year.
According to Gen. Zahir Azimi increased capabilities of the Afghan national army soldiers are the main reason behind a reduction in Afghan soldiers casualties.
Mr. Azimi also said that Afghan national army soldiers are equipped with modern facilities which are unique in the region.
In response to United Nations report regarding civilians casualties during Afghan soldiers operations Mr. Azimi denying the report said the casualties have dramatically reduced during Afghan army operations.
Gen. Zahir Azimi said United Nations has also allocated civilians casualties who have been killed by unknown people to Afghan army.
In regards to United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) report regarding prisoners torture in Afghan jails defense ministry spokesman denied the report and said prisoners are neither tortured nor humiliated.
He also called on the organizations to present evidence regarding their claims.
In the meantime defense ministry spokesman Gen. Zahir Azimi said defense minister Gen. Bismillah Mohammadi’s tour to Pakistan was a step to improve bilateral relations between the two nations.
This comes as local media agencies in Pakistan have reported that Pakistani and Afghan officials have agreed to reach a deal on training Afghan security forces however Mr. Azimi said the two sides have not signed any agreement so far.
Faizi Claims Kerry Comments Prove Foreign Interference
TOLOnews.com By Karim Amini Tuesday, 29 January 2013
President Hamid Karzai's spokesman Tuesday claimed that some countries are attempting to interfere in Afghanistan's electoral affairs for their own interests.
Pointing to recent comments from American senator John Kerry, Aimal Faizi said it was one example of how foreigners had been involved in previous presidential elections and it won't happen again – although he denied the Senator's claim of helping Karzai gain power in the last election.
"This is in itself a big confession that this American senator that America had interfered in the previous election," Faizi told TOLOnews. "But this time [the Afghan] government will try to hold a transparent election without any violations and without the interests of the regional and world countries interfering in Afghanistan."
Kerry warned in a Senate hearing last week that if the Afghan Presidential election was not transparent and fair then there is possibility the international community will completely leave Afghanistan beyond 2014.
"Having an election that passes muster and is acceptable according to international standards and observers will be critical to our ability to have the kind of transition we want to have, and to have confidence that the government that succeeds in 2014 has legitimacy," Kerry said of the 2014 Afghan presidential poll.
"If it doesn't have legitimacy, if we don't succeed in that effort, it's going to be very, very difficult to convince the American people, and to convince our allies in Isaf and beyond, to stay engaged in this effort."
He added his personal experience with the last election did not meet these standards.
"I went through this personally with President Karzai in the last election where there were serious questions about the propriety of the process and we had to sort of strike a compromise about it. I don't think they'll be room for a compromise in the aftermath here," Kerry said.
Faizi disregarded Kerry's suggestion that Karzai's presidential win was questionable.
"Well, that is only a claim that Kerry made but he has to prove. More important is they've admitted Afghanistan's claim that foreigners intervened," Faizi said.
Karzai has said that security challenges present the biggest threat to the 2014 presidential poll and emphasised that the Afghan government will make every effort for the people to attend the ballot on time.
Meanwhile, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) Tuesday also claimed that people are attempting to "intervene" in the election process, only the IEC said it was not foreigners, but Afghans.
IEC spokesman Noor Mohammad Noor said government officials and agencies are interfering in the IEC work, but it will not be tolerated.
"Undoubtedly, everyone, and even various [government] agencies want to intervene but they will not find any chance for intervention," he said.
Education, IT Ministries to Boost IT Facilities in Schools
TOLOnews.com By Shahla Murtazaie Tuesday, 29 January 2013
Fifty Afghan high schools are set to receive a boost in information technology facilities and teachers following an agreement between the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT) and the Ministry of Education Tuesday.
The US$2 million agreement signed between the ministers will be first rolled out at five Kabul high schools and later will be implemented at 45 more schools which are yet to be determined.
The cooperation agreement's first phase will see web development services introduced over the next three months to the Kabul Mechanics Institute, Institute of Vocational Teacher Education, Saed Jamaludin Teacher Training Center, Secondary Technical School and the Girls School of Commerce, MCIT said.
"In the coming year we will develop web services in fifty schools with a consideration of $2 million dollars in Kabul and other provinces," Amirzai Sangin, Afghan Communication and Information Technology Minister said.
Minister of Education Gullam Faroq Wardak said the first phase involving the five high schools in Kabul will cover around five thousand students.
"Here we are going to train tutors and with the help of Ministry of Communication and Information Technology we will chose tutors for fifty schools who will work there as teachers," Wardak said.
It is understood that the money for this project will be paid from the Telecommunication Development Fund and Telecommunication Regulatory Authority.
Afghanistan Will Not Cope with Climate Change: Karzai
TOLOnews.com By Sharif Amiry Tuesday, 29 January 2013
President Hamid Karzai Tuesday highlighted his grave concerns for Afghanistan's water resources saying that climate change may further complicate the country's situation into a problem it will not cope with.
At the third national conference on Afghanistan's development and management of water resources, Karzai criticised the failure of international aid to construct more water dams even as billions of dollars poured into Afghanistan's infrastructure projects.
"The world's climate change will harm Afghanistan more because other countries are capable of restraining the unpleasant effects of climate change but Afghanistan does not have the capability," Karzai said in Kabul.
He also made the claim that neighbouring countries are receiving more benefits from Afghan resources than Afghans are.
"Our neighbours should know that Afghanistan also has the right to develop. Afghanistan will use this right. But so far, our right has been infringed," he said.
Minister of Energy and Water Mohammad Ismail Khan said that the government needs more serious management of water resources across the country and thereby help reduce poverty.
"The progress and management of water resources should help to reduce poverty in the country," he said.
Afghanistan is a country with comparatively high water resources – an estimated 75 billion cubic meters of flowing water – however three decades of conflict have held progress in its development back.
On another note, Karzai mentioned the ongoing commentary on Afghanistan's peace talks and the country's future, noting that Afghanistan will lead itself.
"No country should try to lead Afghanistan's peace talks. This statement of ours is not only to America but to neighbouring countries as well," he said.
Karzai urged that the only source to advance peace talks is the High Peace Council, and said that any interference in the process is a conspiracy by foreigners aimed at destabilising Afghanistan.
"Any dispersion of efforts will result in the same result of the last thirty years," he said. "I call upon the Taliban to think of a peace, out of the peace talks, that can result in a sustainable and powerful Afghanistan," he added.
Efforts to negotiate directly with the Taliban have become stronger recently, and more often are taking place beyond Afghanistan's borders – most recently in Pakistan and Qatar.
"The result of our peace, should be a powerful, sustainable, and unbreakable Afghanistan," Karzai said.
Recently, a number of Taliban leaders arrived Qatar to open the political liaison office.
Govt Names Jan 29 as National Day of Retirees
TOLOnews.com By Azim Arash Tuesday, 29 January 2013
The government has declared January 29 the National Day of Retirees in Afghanistan as it pledged to improve its care of retirees around the country.
The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs & Disabled said the day – equivalent to Dalwa 10 in the Persian calendar – will be celebrated annually in recognition and appreciation for those who have worked for so many years.
The move comes after a number of retirees complained that the government is careless towards the group, saying that the pension is low and the payment is often delayed.
"The government pays a trivial salary, and we go to government offices for months in order to receive it," a retired veteran Abdul Basir told TOLOnews.
Labor Minister Amina Afzali said her ministry is trying to find a way to facilitate pension payments.
"The ministry is making an effort to find a way to solve this problem and to find opportunities for retirees [to receive their payment], according to the country's laws," Amina Afzali said.
"We expect the day should be a day to bring more ease to retirees and their privileges should be paid justly and on time," head of Afghanistan's Retirees Union Abdul Ali told TOLOnews.
The age of retirement is 65 year in Afghanistan and government employees retire after working 40 years in the country.
www.afghanistannewscenter.com
By ALISSA J. RUBIN January 30, 2013 The New York Times
KABUL, Afghanistan — A recent move by the United States military to bar one of Afghanistan’s major airlines from contracts because of allegations of narcotics smuggling has caused a diplomatic firestorm, with Afghan officials angrily demanding proof and some American officials quietly criticizing the timing of the decision.
The blacklisting of the airline, Kam Air, is said to have started early this month and was first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Friday. The article quoted American military officials as saying the ban on American military contracts was based on information that the airline had carried “bulk quantities” of opium out of the country as well as within it.
Kam Air officials deny the accusation, and the Afghan government says it has no knowledge of such activities. President Hamid Karzai’s spokesman, Aimal Faizi, demanded that the American military hand over any evidence it had so that the government could act on the charges.
“We have to get to the bottom of this in order to take action,” Mr. Faizi said. “We need evidence and proofs in this regard. We cannot make inquiries based on a newspaper article.”
Several Western officials here, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the issue is a delicate one, described the Afghan demands as reasonable, given the potential complications. The American military command and the American Embassy declined to comment on the accusations and Afghan response.
One part of the dispute is a practical problem: Mr. Karzai often charters Kam Air for foreign trips, and planned to do so in the next few days for a flight to Europe, Mr. Faizi said. If the airline has been publicly listed for drug smuggling, Western officials noted, other countries’ air traffic controllers and aviation regulators will not want Kam Air planes landing on their runways.
“This is being taken very seriously by air control and aviation authorities around the world,” said one Western diplomat here. “We don’t know what kind of evidence there is, but the allegations have damaged the reputation of the company so much they may not be able to fly.”
The Kabul government is also worried because the accusation implicitly calls into question airport security and customs procedures in Afghanistan. A formal note sent to the American Embassy from the Afghan Foreign Ministry this week demanded “all documents” related to the allegations.
“These accusations are very serious,” the note said, “and not only damage the credibility of Kam Air airways, but also raise doubt about the work and inspections of related organs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.”
Potentially more serious, the allegations have inflamed longstanding tensions between the American administration and Mr. Karzai about American charges that his government is corrupt.
Some American officials privately expressed dismay at the military’s decision, saying it blindsided and embarrassed Mr. Karzai just after his successful meeting in Washington with President Obama and during negotiations over the long-term relationship between the countries.
Both American diplomats and the military have been ambivalent about how to approach Afghan corruption cases over the years. While they have at times pushed for more official accountability as in the Kabul Bank corruption scandal, in which some members of Mr. Karzai’s family and inner circle have been implicated, in other areas they have backed off. Often, American officials say, that softer approach has come in the hope that Americans will ultimately have more influence if they avoid nettling Mr. Karzai — though that view has been hotly debated.
“There’s a family dispute going on,” one Western official said, speaking of a difference between American military and diplomatic officials over the Kam Air decision. “People are spun up. This could have far-reaching effects.”
As in many corruption cases, the allegations of drug smuggling are based on intelligence, making it less likely that the United States military will share the information and leaving leeway for the Afghan government to deny them.
The head of the airline, Zemarai Kamgar, has denied the accusations repeatedly on Afghan television, and other Afghan businesses have rallied behind him.
“Such reports have a bad effect on current businesses in Afghanistan, and we are suffering a lot,” said Hajji Yunnis Mohammed, a deputy head of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce.
“Our businessmen are concerned about 2014,” Mr. Mohammed said, referring to the completion of the American troop withdrawal, “and when there are drug smuggling allegations and threats of being blacklisted, that damages business prospects in our country.”
Mr. Faizi, the presidential spokesman, added: “We get reports from time to time about foreign aircraft smuggling drugs, but this is the first time we have heard anything about Kam Air.”
When it comes to drug smuggling, Afghanistan has a troubled record. It is the world’s largest opium producer, and traffickers smuggle hundreds of tons of opium out of the country every year on routes to Iran, Tajikistan and Pakistan. Although some of it may go by air, much of it crosses by land, carried by trucks, private vehicles and burros.
Hundreds of millions of dollars in cash also leaves the country every year, smuggled through the airports in suitcases. And gold has recently emerged as a favorite export — although that is taken out legally.
Sharifullah Sahak contributed reporting.
A version of this article appeared in print on January 31, 2013, on page A7 of the New York edition with the headline: Afghans Bristle at U.S. Ban on Airline.
Afghanistan isn't safe, U.S. warning says
Jan. 30, 2013 at 9:49 AM
WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- There are no parts of Afghanistan considered immune from violence and U.S. interests there are at risk at all times, a U.S. State Department warning read.
The State Department updated a travel warning for Afghanistan, setting the security threat at "critical."
"No region in Afghanistan should be considered immune from violence, and the potential exists throughout the country for hostile acts, either targeted or random, against U.S. and other Western nationals at any time," the warning read.
The State Department warning added that anti-government forces such as al-Qaida and the Taliban are active in the country.
"Afghan authorities have a limited ability to maintain order and ensure the security of Afghan citizens and foreign visitors," the warning added.
U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan aim to leave the country next year after more than 10 years of engagement. Multinational forces are preparing for a departure as Afghan forces take the lead in military operations.
In December, Jan Kubis, U.N. special envoy to Afghanistan, briefed the Security Council on gains in Afghanistan. He said there was a general lack of political development in the country, however. Development gains are at risk "because of weak and inadequate" state systems.
Departing U.S. general in Afghanistan weighs gains and uncertainty
Washington Post By Kevin Sieff Wednesday, January 30, 2013
KABUL - Gen. John R. Allen was leaving Helmand province for the last time, his jet flying high above the desert moonscape that saw a bloody American military campaign and then an unprecedented withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Allen arrived here 18 months ago, charged with two seemingly contradictory goals: to defuse an active insurgency and bring home 30,000 U.S. soldiers and Marines. Now, after the departure of a third of his force, it’s Allen’s turn to leave Afghanistan, where he says hard-fought security gains have often failed to bring about effective governance that would ensure long-term stability.
“In some ways, it feels like I’m leaving family behind to an uncertain future,” he said, looking out at the rugged expanse of southern Afghanistan last week.
Since 2001, there have been 11 commanders of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, five of whom, like Allen, also commanded NATO forces. But no other general was forced to focus in equal measure on both fighting a war and withdrawing from it.
That meant putting Afghan soldiers in charge of combat operations even as many observers said they were unprepared. It meant building trust with an Afghan president known for intransigence, and fighting the Taliban while support waned in the United States. Those were the predictable challenges.
Then there were the unexpected tests: the insider attacks, the burning of Korans on a U.S. military base, the Pentagon investigation into a trove of Allen’s e-mails for possible sexual impropriety — which cleared Allen of wrongdoing last week.
As his command was buffeted, Allen impressed subordinate commanders with an ability to straddle Washington’s demands for a military endgame with Afghan demands for long-term reassurance. But he says he recognized that the U.S. drawdown would not coincide with clear-cut victory — in many cases, security gains have only brought more questions.
With 11 days left in his tour, Allen says he’s proud of the growth of the Afghan security forces and the success of NATO’s troop surge in places such as southern Helmand, where four years ago the Taliban operated freely.
But if security is not accompanied by effective governance, the Taliban could return, he says, or criminal networks could corrode gains.
“Now what they face is an absence of governance and a desire for law enforcement and legal stability,” Allen said of civilians in parts of the country that have seen strategic gains.
He has been pressing Afghan officials, including President Ha¬mid Karzai, to deliver governance in places where military gains are visible. But in many cases, patronage networks have prevailed or corrupt leaders have remained in power as public confidence diminished.
“General Allen works for his own country. We work for the national interests of our country,” Abdul Karim Khurram, Karzai’s chief of staff, said of Allen and Karzai’s sometimes divergent views.
Meanwhile, there has been pressure from Allen’s own government. The next phase of the drawdown — and questions about Washington’s appetite for a military presence in Afghanistan beyond 2014 — have hovered over his command.
Allen wants to keep between 9,000 and 15,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, according to American officials who were not authorized to speak publicly about the subject, while the Obama administration is considering a force of about half that size. White House officials told reporters this month that zero troops might remain.
“When you have political appointees talking about a zero option, it doesn’t make things any easier,” said a U.S. military official on Allen’s staff.
Before Allen departed Helmand last week, the top Afghan commander there, Sayed Malouk, gave him a valedictory speech in a room full of top U.S. and Afghan military brass.
“We have full confidence that you and your other generals will give the best advice to President Obama — to support this mission after 2014,” Malouk said, looking at Allen. “Blood and fight ours, tools and support yours.”
Allen managed a tight-lipped smile while many other officers in the crowd laughed.
“You might have seen me squirming in my seat,” Allen said later, as he returned to Kabul.
Allen won accolades as a three-star general in 2007, when he seized on the tribal dynamics of western Iraq to persuade Sunni elders to resist the insurgency. His handling of the “Anbar Awakening” made him Obama’s first choice to replace Gen. David H. Petraeus in July 2011.
In Afghanistan, Allen did not have the same resources as commanders in Iraq or his predecessors in Kabul. In Washington, he lacked their celebrity. But he still battled a potent insurgency.
About 640 NATO and U.S. troops have been killed in Afghanistan since Allen took over.
“Those are the ones that are with you in the middle of the night, and you can’t sleep when you think about them,” Allen said, his voice breaking.
As Allen and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force hand the reins to Afghan forces, fatalities have become a grim metric for the state of the transition. More than 1,000 Afghan soldiers died in 2012, about a 20 percent increase from 2011, a marker of who is doing the bulk of the fighting, U.S. and Afghan officials say.
Allen “pivoted the Afghan army and police to take the lead while we were engaged in combat,” said Marc Chretien, Allen’s political adviser, who also served with him in Iraq.
Afghan soldiers have paid dearly, Allen said, and “now the knockout blow needs to be delivered by the Afghan government.”
“Meanwhile, those corps commanders are going to continue to bleed,” he said of the top seven Afghan generals.
Poor governance could result in a Taliban resurgence or a rise in criminal operations, Allen said. Patronage networks and fledgling Afghan institutions are “locked in a death struggle,” he said.
That institutional weakness in part prompted Allen’s recommendation to Obama for a post-2014 U.S. presence. His top priority for beyond 2014, he said, is to deploy a significant number as advisers in the Afghan ministries of Defense and Interior. Then, troop levels permitting, he would assign others to military training centers in Kabul and possibly keep some advisers at regional Afghan police and army commands.
Traveling the country for the last time, Allen was eager to put Afghanistan’s woes in context. There are tensions with Pakistan, he noted, and a recent history dominated by upheavals.
But the context Allen cites most in farewell speeches relates to what he calls “young democracies” – countries with flashes of promise but a great need for support and long, uncertain roads ahead.
“I really believe we can win this thing,” he said, but “winning won’t occur between now and 2014. We will set the conditions to win during that decade of transformation.”
Afghan army casualties reduced by 1.9 percent: Azimi
By Sadaf Shinwari - 30 Jan 2013, 3:28 pm Khaama Press
According to Afghan defense officials, there has been a slight reduction in Afghan national army casualties during the past three months.
Gen. Zahir Azimi defense ministry spokesman on Wednesday said at least 160 Afghan national army soldiers were killed during the past three months.
Mr. Azimi further added the statistics shows a reduction of 1.9% as compared to last year where 179 Afghan national army soldiers were killed during the same period.
He also said at least 463 Afghan national army soldiers have been killed during the past six months while 472 Afghan soldiers were killed last year.
According to Gen. Zahir Azimi increased capabilities of the Afghan national army soldiers are the main reason behind a reduction in Afghan soldiers casualties.
Mr. Azimi also said that Afghan national army soldiers are equipped with modern facilities which are unique in the region.
In response to United Nations report regarding civilians casualties during Afghan soldiers operations Mr. Azimi denying the report said the casualties have dramatically reduced during Afghan army operations.
Gen. Zahir Azimi said United Nations has also allocated civilians casualties who have been killed by unknown people to Afghan army.
In regards to United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) report regarding prisoners torture in Afghan jails defense ministry spokesman denied the report and said prisoners are neither tortured nor humiliated.
He also called on the organizations to present evidence regarding their claims.
In the meantime defense ministry spokesman Gen. Zahir Azimi said defense minister Gen. Bismillah Mohammadi’s tour to Pakistan was a step to improve bilateral relations between the two nations.
This comes as local media agencies in Pakistan have reported that Pakistani and Afghan officials have agreed to reach a deal on training Afghan security forces however Mr. Azimi said the two sides have not signed any agreement so far.
Faizi Claims Kerry Comments Prove Foreign Interference
TOLOnews.com By Karim Amini Tuesday, 29 January 2013
President Hamid Karzai's spokesman Tuesday claimed that some countries are attempting to interfere in Afghanistan's electoral affairs for their own interests.
Pointing to recent comments from American senator John Kerry, Aimal Faizi said it was one example of how foreigners had been involved in previous presidential elections and it won't happen again – although he denied the Senator's claim of helping Karzai gain power in the last election.
"This is in itself a big confession that this American senator that America had interfered in the previous election," Faizi told TOLOnews. "But this time [the Afghan] government will try to hold a transparent election without any violations and without the interests of the regional and world countries interfering in Afghanistan."
Kerry warned in a Senate hearing last week that if the Afghan Presidential election was not transparent and fair then there is possibility the international community will completely leave Afghanistan beyond 2014.
"Having an election that passes muster and is acceptable according to international standards and observers will be critical to our ability to have the kind of transition we want to have, and to have confidence that the government that succeeds in 2014 has legitimacy," Kerry said of the 2014 Afghan presidential poll.
"If it doesn't have legitimacy, if we don't succeed in that effort, it's going to be very, very difficult to convince the American people, and to convince our allies in Isaf and beyond, to stay engaged in this effort."
He added his personal experience with the last election did not meet these standards.
"I went through this personally with President Karzai in the last election where there were serious questions about the propriety of the process and we had to sort of strike a compromise about it. I don't think they'll be room for a compromise in the aftermath here," Kerry said.
Faizi disregarded Kerry's suggestion that Karzai's presidential win was questionable.
"Well, that is only a claim that Kerry made but he has to prove. More important is they've admitted Afghanistan's claim that foreigners intervened," Faizi said.
Karzai has said that security challenges present the biggest threat to the 2014 presidential poll and emphasised that the Afghan government will make every effort for the people to attend the ballot on time.
Meanwhile, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) Tuesday also claimed that people are attempting to "intervene" in the election process, only the IEC said it was not foreigners, but Afghans.
IEC spokesman Noor Mohammad Noor said government officials and agencies are interfering in the IEC work, but it will not be tolerated.
"Undoubtedly, everyone, and even various [government] agencies want to intervene but they will not find any chance for intervention," he said.
Education, IT Ministries to Boost IT Facilities in Schools
TOLOnews.com By Shahla Murtazaie Tuesday, 29 January 2013
Fifty Afghan high schools are set to receive a boost in information technology facilities and teachers following an agreement between the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT) and the Ministry of Education Tuesday.
The US$2 million agreement signed between the ministers will be first rolled out at five Kabul high schools and later will be implemented at 45 more schools which are yet to be determined.
The cooperation agreement's first phase will see web development services introduced over the next three months to the Kabul Mechanics Institute, Institute of Vocational Teacher Education, Saed Jamaludin Teacher Training Center, Secondary Technical School and the Girls School of Commerce, MCIT said.
"In the coming year we will develop web services in fifty schools with a consideration of $2 million dollars in Kabul and other provinces," Amirzai Sangin, Afghan Communication and Information Technology Minister said.
Minister of Education Gullam Faroq Wardak said the first phase involving the five high schools in Kabul will cover around five thousand students.
"Here we are going to train tutors and with the help of Ministry of Communication and Information Technology we will chose tutors for fifty schools who will work there as teachers," Wardak said.
It is understood that the money for this project will be paid from the Telecommunication Development Fund and Telecommunication Regulatory Authority.
Afghanistan Will Not Cope with Climate Change: Karzai
TOLOnews.com By Sharif Amiry Tuesday, 29 January 2013
President Hamid Karzai Tuesday highlighted his grave concerns for Afghanistan's water resources saying that climate change may further complicate the country's situation into a problem it will not cope with.
At the third national conference on Afghanistan's development and management of water resources, Karzai criticised the failure of international aid to construct more water dams even as billions of dollars poured into Afghanistan's infrastructure projects.
"The world's climate change will harm Afghanistan more because other countries are capable of restraining the unpleasant effects of climate change but Afghanistan does not have the capability," Karzai said in Kabul.
He also made the claim that neighbouring countries are receiving more benefits from Afghan resources than Afghans are.
"Our neighbours should know that Afghanistan also has the right to develop. Afghanistan will use this right. But so far, our right has been infringed," he said.
Minister of Energy and Water Mohammad Ismail Khan said that the government needs more serious management of water resources across the country and thereby help reduce poverty.
"The progress and management of water resources should help to reduce poverty in the country," he said.
Afghanistan is a country with comparatively high water resources – an estimated 75 billion cubic meters of flowing water – however three decades of conflict have held progress in its development back.
On another note, Karzai mentioned the ongoing commentary on Afghanistan's peace talks and the country's future, noting that Afghanistan will lead itself.
"No country should try to lead Afghanistan's peace talks. This statement of ours is not only to America but to neighbouring countries as well," he said.
Karzai urged that the only source to advance peace talks is the High Peace Council, and said that any interference in the process is a conspiracy by foreigners aimed at destabilising Afghanistan.
"Any dispersion of efforts will result in the same result of the last thirty years," he said. "I call upon the Taliban to think of a peace, out of the peace talks, that can result in a sustainable and powerful Afghanistan," he added.
Efforts to negotiate directly with the Taliban have become stronger recently, and more often are taking place beyond Afghanistan's borders – most recently in Pakistan and Qatar.
"The result of our peace, should be a powerful, sustainable, and unbreakable Afghanistan," Karzai said.
Recently, a number of Taliban leaders arrived Qatar to open the political liaison office.
Govt Names Jan 29 as National Day of Retirees
TOLOnews.com By Azim Arash Tuesday, 29 January 2013
The government has declared January 29 the National Day of Retirees in Afghanistan as it pledged to improve its care of retirees around the country.
The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs & Disabled said the day – equivalent to Dalwa 10 in the Persian calendar – will be celebrated annually in recognition and appreciation for those who have worked for so many years.
The move comes after a number of retirees complained that the government is careless towards the group, saying that the pension is low and the payment is often delayed.
"The government pays a trivial salary, and we go to government offices for months in order to receive it," a retired veteran Abdul Basir told TOLOnews.
Labor Minister Amina Afzali said her ministry is trying to find a way to facilitate pension payments.
"The ministry is making an effort to find a way to solve this problem and to find opportunities for retirees [to receive their payment], according to the country's laws," Amina Afzali said.
"We expect the day should be a day to bring more ease to retirees and their privileges should be paid justly and on time," head of Afghanistan's Retirees Union Abdul Ali told TOLOnews.
The age of retirement is 65 year in Afghanistan and government employees retire after working 40 years in the country.
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