NATO to deploy AWACS in Afghanistan

Updated on : Saturday, January 08, 2010

KABUL: The US-led military alliance says it will deploy the Airborne Warning and Control System planes (AWACS) to war-ravaged Afghanistan, officials say.

A NATO spokesperson said in Brussels on Friday that the planes would monitor the growing traffic of aerial missions against Taliban militants.

"AWACS [planes are] to begin their operations in Afghanistan in mid-January," media quoted NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu as saying.

She said AWACS are also fitted with long-range radar allowing them to detect other aircraft and prevent mid-air collisions.

Defense analysts say US-led forces do not need AWACS planes and other advanced weapons meant for big wars.

The developments come after Lindsey Graham, senior Republican senator, suggested that the US should devise a plan to permanently keep American troops in the war-torn country.

The Pentagon, meanwhile, decided to send an additional 1,400 marines to Afghanistan, the first series of which could begin arriving on the ground as early as mid-January.

Despite an earlier pledge by US President Barack Obama for a major drawdown of troops from the war-ravaged country by July 2011, American officials recently announced that US soldiers would remain in Afghanistan for at least another four years.

Analysts say the US is looking for an excuse to expand its military operations in the troubled South and central Asian regions to secure bases near Russia and China.

NATO has admitted to the rising power of militants in Afghanistan despite the growing presence of US-led forces in the country, which currently stands at 150,000.

War on Terror – a failure is in the way!

Updated on : Tuesday, July 27, 2010

From inception, there have always been some elements of mistrust between Pakistan and USA on War on Terror. Pakistan usually complains that Pakistani Army and nation have made more sacrifices than any other nation but USA does not recognize it in its true sprit and always has a policy of suspicion on Pakistani actions against Taliban militants and Al-Qaeda. Moreover USA does not fulfill its obligations in the right way of aiding Pakistan against incurred loses in this war.
US administration although praises Pakistan Army’s successful operation and South Waziristan and Swat but simultaneously puts doubts on the role of ISI in Afghanistan. Pakistan also does not like the Pro-India policy, which USA demonstrates in the region. USA needs badly Pakistan to deal with Al-Qaeda and Taliban phenomena Both USA and India are well aware that they cannot be successful without the help of Pakistan but its is their common viewpoint and agenda that Pakistan should be given due importance despite its incredible role in the war for the stability in region and safety of whole World. From time to time, USA had the policy of pressurizing Pakistan for infamous demand of “do more” but did not bother to think deeply the necessities and requirements of this sort of war. Inside USA, there are sever differences in military command and white house on Afghan war policies. This has also resulted in termination of top US military brass in Afghanistan.
Pakistan also has reservations over USA policies in the region. Despite that Pakistan is US ally in war on terror but all USA blessings are for India. As a policy, USA does not give Pakistan whatever it needs and opposes to whatever Pakistan gets from its friend. Obviously with such sort of mindset with ally, USA cannot win war in Afghanistan. USA foreign policy should fly from Washington to Islamabad directly and not from the route of Delhi. This is the clear message of time, which should be heeded by USA if wants to win war on terror otherwise a failure is in the way.

Gen Petraeus warns of tough Afghan mission ahead

Updated on : Saturday, July 02, 2010

KABUL: The United States' top field commander, General David Petraeus, warned on Saturday of a tough mission ahead a day after arriving to take command of the 150,000-strong NATO-led foreign force in Afghanistan.

Petraeus told hundreds of guests at a U.S. embassy party held to mark U.S. independence day that it was essential to show unity of purpose to solve Afghanistan's problems.

"This is a tough mission, there is nothing easy about it," he said at the sprawling and heavily fortified U.S. embassy complex in Kabul, Washington's biggest foreign mission anywhere in the world and boasting 5 ambassadors.

Petraeus is charged with not only winning the war against a growing Taliban insurgency, but also with starting a withdrawal of U.S. forces from July next year.

Wearing casual camouflage under a scorching Kabul sun, Petraeus and a besuited U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry on Saturday welcomed scores of guests to an embassy compound liberally decorated with Stars and Stripes flags.

A brass band played as guests munched on burgers, corn-on-the-cob, popcorn and ice-cream cones.

Petraeus's appointment could be a last throw of the dice for Washington to end an increasingly costly conflict that is draining Western budgets as they emerge from one of the worst global recessions in history.

He landed in Kabul on Friday after his appointment was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives approved $33 billion in funding for a troop surge he hopes will turn the tide of the war.

The surge will bring to 150,000 the number of foreign troops in Afghanistan just as a new strategy takes root. It entails tackling the Taliban in their strongholds while relying on the government to simultaneously improve local governance and development.


Petraeus, who is due to formally take command at a ceremony at the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) headquarters on Sunday, is credited with turning the tide of the war in Iraq using similar tactics.

ISAF said on Saturday that a service member had died in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in the south.

Nearly 1,900 foreign troops have died in Afghanistan since the Taliban were overthrown in 2001 -- including more than 100 last month, the bloodiest since the war began.

The last two weeks have thrown an especially harsh light on the war effort, with new reports of corruption in President Hamid Karzai's government and the change in command of foreign forces.

Doubts have also been raised over the commitment of the government to push governance and development alongside the military drive, and also the ability of Afghan forces to take over responsibility for security.

At the same time, Karzai has been wooing the Taliban with a series of modest peace overtures, all have which have been rejected by the hardline Islamist movement, which insists all foreign forces must leave before they will end the insurgency.

Obama's 1st yr marked by diplomacy, but few results

Updated on : Sunday, January 17, 2010

WASHINGTON: A year after coming to office, President Barack Obama has reopened diplomatic lines of communication, but still has little to show for his efforts on the toughest US foreign policy questions.

While former president George W. Bush's foreign policy was driven by the necessities of the "war on terror," Obama's Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared the new administration would begin "a new era of engagement."

Whether dealing with the global economic crisis or the climate change summit in Copenhagen, Obama has demonstrated his conviction that the United States cannot solve international problems alone.

He has also worked to repair relations with Russia, engage in "strategic dialogue" with China and pledged the United States will no longer engage in torture and will respect the United Nations.

Obama's personal popularity has bolstered the impact of key international speeches, including his address to the Muslim world delivered in Cairo and his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo.

But the US president has also risked the wrath of critics by extending a hand to US adversaries including Cuba, Venezuela and Iran.

"He has put Washington back in the international negotiating business," wrote Leslie Gelb, the former president of the Council on Foreign Relations, in The American Interest magazine.

"Obama has also cleared the international air of a lot of anti-Americanism," he added.

"His words have prepared the ground for the subsequent application of real American power. The problem is that the power shoe still hasn't dropped."

Three foreign policy issues have dominated Obama's agenda: the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Iran's nuclear program and the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The first of the three remains deadlocked as a result of Israeli government intransigence and Palestinian divisions. After a long year of futile efforts, Washington has reportedly offered its own peace plan for consideration.

But it has failed to convince Israel to halt settlement construction, and has seen little progress towards creating a strong or unified Palestinian side able to pursue negotiations.

On the issue of Iran's nuclear program, Obama made good on a promise to pursue dialogue with Tehran, only to see his overture rebuffed.

Iran's intransigence in the face of US engagement has ultimately strengthened international support for new sanctions against Iran, experts said.

Tehran has not only refused to negotiate, but even announced it would build more nuclear sites.

In dealing with the war in Afghanistan, Obama eventually announced he would boost the number of US troops in the country and has also sought to strengthen relations with Pakistan, even as he ordered an increase in the number of US airstrikes against militants in the country.

He faces rising US casualties in the war, and the difficult task of dealing with an Afghan government that came to power after fraud-tainted elections.

On all three policy questions, Obama has weakened the impact of his new approach by maintaining more-or-less similar tactics to his predecessor George W. Bush, said Amjad Atallah, a policy expert at the New America Foundation.

"Even in Afghanistan, where you see the most difference (because) the neo-cons never cared about Afghanistan, the policy is very similar to the Bush administration's strategy for Iraq: surge and withdraw," he said.

Writing in Foreign Affairs magazine, former president Jimmy Carter's diplomacy guru Zbigniew Brzezinski praised Obama for having "completely reconceptualized US foreign policy with respect to several centrally important geopolitical issues."

He cited Obama's commitment to nuclear disarmament, his decision to treat China as a "geopolitical partner" and his desire to be a "fair-minded and assertive mediator" in the Middle East peace process.

But he noted that Obama's efforts have so far "generated more expectations than strategic breakthroughs."

Ultimately, he added, "how Obama handles these three urgent and interrelated issues -- the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the Iranian dilemma and the Afghan-Pakistani conflict -- will determine the United States' global role for the foreseeable future."

Karzai declared winner of Afghan election

Updated on : Monday, November 02, 2009

KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai was declared winner of the country's second election Monday by the country's electoral commission after it decided to scrap a planned run-off ballot.

"We declare that Mr Hamid Karzai, who won the majority of votes in the first round, and is the only candidate in the second round, is the elected president of Afghanistan," Independent Election Commission chairman Azizullah Ludin said.

The move comes one day after Karzai's only challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, announced that he would not participate in the November 7 poll for fear of a repeat of widespread fraud which marred the first round in August.

Ludin said the move had been made in line with the provisions of the Afghan electoral law and constitution and "consistent with the high interest of the Afghan people".

The IEC chief said that the commission was also taking its decision in order to save money, citing "the huge expense that the election requires" and for security reasons.

The decision will "prevent uncertainty which creates a lot of challenges to stability and security in the country," he said.

Although it had initially said that the ballot would take place next Saturday, arguing that Abdullah had missed the deadline for withdrawal, the IEC had been under heavy international pressure to scrap the contest.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon flew into Kabul on Monday to hold talks with both Karzai and Abdullah.

Shortly before the IEC's announcement, Ban told a press conference that the UN would support and respect any decision from the commission.

Afghanistan shuts schools over swine flu

Updated on : Sunday, November 01, 2009

KABUL: Afghanistan on Sunday ordered the closure of all schools for three weeks after recording its first death from swine flu, the country's health minister said.

"In order to safeguard the health of all Afghans... all public and private schools will be shut for three weeks" from Monday, Farouq Wardak said in a statement.

The move comes after an engineer from Kabul last week became the first Afghan to die of the (A)H1N1 virus.

There are about 7.5 million students and teachers in Afghanistan, the statement said.

No more troops to Afghanistan now: NATO members

Updated on : Saturday, October 24, 2009

BRATISLAVA: NATO members the Netherlands and Denmark said Friday they will not send more troops to Afghanistan unless its Nov. 7 presidential runoff creates a legitimate government and until President Barack Obama decides on a new strategy.

Dutch Defense Minister Eimert Van Middelkoop said his country, with 2,160 troops in Afghanistan, is awaiting the final election results "because the legitimacy of the Afghan government is key," as well as a decision by the Obama administration.

"I think most countries are waiting for the American decisions," van Middelkoop said at a meeting in Bratislava of the defense ministers of the 28 NATO countries.

The top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, was briefing NATO ministers — including U.S. Defense Minister Robert Gates — on his view of the war in Afghanistan at the meeting.

Danish Defense Minister Soeren Gade said allies won't increase troop levels until they are assured the new government in Kabul is committed to the international effort.

"I think whoever is going to send more troops to Afghanistan will put up some conditions," said Gade, whose country has 690 soldiers in Afghanistan.

"They need to see the new Afghan president and say: 'If we send more troops to your country, you have to deal with this, this and this.' We have to make sure the new government in Afghanistan are committed to their job before we send any more troops to Afghanistan."

On the sidelines of the meeting, the top U.N. official in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, said the extensive fraud that marked the first round of presidential elections will be reduced but not eliminated in the runoff.

"We will not be able to carry out dramatic changes," Eide said.

He added that the security situation has not improved since the Aug. 20 ballot, when threats by Taliban militants resulted in a very low turnout despite a massive campaign by NATO troops and government forces to prevent attacks. He said that whatever government is formed after the elections must reach out to the insurgents.

"A peace and reconciliation process with the (insurgents) should be one of the top priorities of the new government," he said.