Hooray for Ashraf

The Presidential inauguration is with us in a day or two. Karzai is going around trying to be independent by saying how much better off Afghanistan would be if the USA and Pakistan simply did not exist.

But the point is that Ashraf Ghani, the new President, is such an intellect. He is one of the world's great thinkers. He's given to bouts of anger. But what a star. Can we but hope he may be Afghanistan's redeemer. We certainly need some better way. Ashraf is the future whereas Abdullah Abdullah is the representative of the warlords of the past.

Another Afghan Official Murdered

The mayor of Kandahar, Ghulam Haidar Hameedi, has been killed in a suicide attack.

The perpetrator detonated explosives hidden in his turban as the mayor made an address to tribal officials, discussing a land dispute. This is not the first time an attack has been made by hiding a bomb in a turban but tradition dictates that turbans must not be removed.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, which coincides with the start of the security handover from NATO to local troops. They claim that the attack was in response to the deaths of two children which had occurred after Hameedi ordered the demolition of 200 illegally constructed houses.

Hameedi was a popular mayor by all accounts, who stood up to the militia and encouraged the building of roads and public buildings. The BBC report refers to him as ‘competent and trusted’.

The US Ambassador offered his condolences and sincere regret at the loss of yet another top Afghan official. Karzai’s senior aide was assassinated a week ago and it has been just two weeks since President Karzai’s brother was killed in the very same city.

Kandahar was the countries designated capital during Taliban rule until 2006 so it is unsurprising that much of their efforts have been centred here.

Follow the story...

http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2011/07/27/mayor-death-wont-affect-ongoing-projects-wesa

Taliban to make peace?

On July 14^th, two members of the Afghan parliament held a press conference, announcing that that they had met with Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar over a year ago.

During this meeting he agreed on an outline for peace negotiations with the Kabul government.

There were further claims that this had been approved by President Karzai himself. Omar was said to have signed an agreement that he himself revised but this was rejected by the president.

The president’s office say that they have doubts that the signature on the document is truly Mr Omar’s.

http://www.rferl.org/content/gandhara_afghan_legislators_claim_to_have_met_with_taliban_chief/24266866.htm

New Speaker

From Saad Mohseni today: Raoof Ibrahimi, an ethnic Uzbek from Kunduz, becomes Afghanistan's Speaker (Lower House of Parliament)

Succeeding in Afghanistan?

The Henry Jackson Society has put out a positive report on Afghanistan:
http://henryjacksonsociety.org/cms/harriercollectionitems/Succeeding%20in%20Afghanistan.pdf

I wish I could share their optimism. And with regard to Afghanistan: When will journalists use normal terminology - calling a spade a spade? Not that their report is culpable at that level. But sending reinforcements is not "a surge" and an increase in violence is not "a spike". I heard the great polemiscist Robert Fisk saying as much yesterday in Old Chelsea Town Hall. Not that I agree with him on much but on this he and I are one.

We have lost control of the border Afpak area and are swiftly losing control of the entire country. Minister of Defence Wardak cannot even visit his own province. Things aren't good.

Is this the end of the Taliban?

It was reported in The Independant on Mon Sept 21st from Islamabad that the infamous Sher Mohammed Qasab was captured in a raid at Mingora, he was wounded and his three sons were killed. A military spokesman said "He was severely wounded and succumbed to his wounds early this morning." Another Military Official said the death of Qasab who killed many civilians, policemen and troops would reassure the residents of the tourist valley that the "Taliban were finished!" Pakistani troops have made significent gains against the militants in their Swat offensive after Taliban advances raised fears for the nuclear armed Pakistan future and contributed to a slide in investor confidence.

Maybe the Taliban have just moved across the border into Afghanistan.

There is in the Helmand province a couple of buildings known as "Rose Cottage" here 60 soldiers are making the "final journey" home, as this has been the deadliest summer of the British forces time in Afghanistan. A couple of soldiers with decades of experience between them have been in charge of the army's morgue, this must have been one of the most depressing jobs.

Could this be because of the British soldier unlike the U. S. soldier does not have armour to cover their groin and neck. A senior surgeon said that "We have seen a lot of groin and neck injuries in U.K. not otherwise seen in US Marines because of this piece of equipment" Wheras the US Kevlar is a lighter body armour and has the important groin plate and they have modular neck and shoulder protection!!

It is not a lot to ask that in giving there lives for this cause they have the resouces to finish the job.

A call for a Cease-fire

The internment will begin on Monday with Royal family members and then on Tuesday the first President Daoud Khan in a State funeral, the following has come from Prince Nadir tonight, that was announced in the Afghan media today.

We, the surviving family members of Shaied Mohammad Daoud Khan, the first president of Afghanistan, call for an immediate weeklong ceasefire throughout our beloved country to remember and honor the memory of eighteen members of our family and the million and a half Afghan martyrs who have since lost their lives for the protection of the holy religion of Islam and for the freedom of Afghanistan. We pray for their souls.

We believe that the sacrifices made by all Afghans and their families should be recognized, honored and respected. We call upon all Afghans and the international community to show goodwill and to commit to our request.

Let us put our guns to the side, honor those who have suffered the loss of their loved ones during this painful thirty year struggle, and pray for the souls of our brothers and sisters who have made us proud to be Afghan.

Shaied Daoud Khan and countless other brave Afghans gave up their precious lives for a better future for the next generation.. As we pray for their souls, let us stand together to fulfill their hopes and dreams of a peaceful, united and prosperous Afghanistan.

On the eve of this new year (1388), as we mourn and release our family and all our martyrs back into the ground of this soil from which they’ve come and to which they return, let us bury with them the seeds of an intention; that this cease-fire be turned into the flowering of a lasting peace. In so doing, may they rest at peace and bring peace upon us all, at last.
A statement from the families of Shaied Daoud Khan and his brother Shaied Naim Khan.

The Need To Win

Tim Pendry sends his personal reflections on Afghanistan which are of interest.

YOU CAN FIND THEM ON THIS LINK

Kudos Robert Gates

The US Defense Secretary is a refreshing figure in the Bush administration. A recent op-ed by David Ignatius in the Washington Post commends Gates very highly, and rightly so.

"He is still firing on all cylinders, working to repair the damage done at the Pentagon by his arrogant and aloof predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld. Gates has restored accountability in the military services by firing the secretaries of the Army and Air Force when they failed to respond forthrightly to problems. And he has been an early and persuasive internal administration critic of U.S. military action against Iran."

And this morning, Gates proposed a noble plan to resucitate the mission in Afghanistan. $20 billion for a three-year project to double the size of the Afghan army is commendable, as is the restructuring of command. Gates wants all but a few US troops to be under NATO command. At present they are split roughly between NATO and Operation Enduring Freedom, an obvious strategic stumbling block. Gates also wants more troops, but they won't be available in the short term.

What is missing is a strong stance on the poppy problem. Thomas Schneider, a former Pentagon official, in The New York Times Magazine, courageously and cogently argues for aerial eradication of poppy-crop.

In any case, the debate on Afghanistan seems to be converging to a coherent line between the current administration and the next. Everyone seems enthusiastic to redouble efforts in the "good war." And that is very good.