afghan

Robert Gates: Pentagon Willing To Settle For Smaller Budget

by AP on February 14, 2011

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon can live with a smaller budget this year than the Obama administration originally requested, but the total – not counting war costs – cannot be less than $540 billion, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday. That is about $9 billion less than the White House first requested. Gates said that Congress’ failure to pass a 2011 budget – five months into the fiscal year – is forcing the Pentagon to stick to last year’s lower spending level. Those limits, he said, could turn into a crisis if they are not fixed soon. Gates met with key lawmakers for lunch Monday, but he said it’s not clear yet what they will do on the 2011 budget. Laying out the 2012 defense budget, Gates said he is seeking enough money to maintain 98,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, despite the Obama administration’s insistence that it will begin to gradually withdraw forces this July. Gates said that while it’s a certainty that the troop level will come down, it made more sense to request stable funding because the administration doesn’t know yet how many troops they will need. Military leaders say the troop reduction will be based on the security situation in Afghanistan. The 2012 budget request includes about $118 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That amount is substantially less than the 2011 request of about $160 billion, largely due to the ongoing withdrawal of forces from Iraq. The 2012 budget also provides $12.8 billion to train and equip the Afghan security forces, which maintains the training at current levels. Officials have said they need more than the current goal of 305,600 army and police, but the budget provides no additional money to support any growth in the training program. There are currently about 270,000 Afghan security forces, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai is expected to announce his next target for growth in coming weeks. The U.S. and NATO have pressed other nations to provide training, but they are still short about 740 trainers. Gates spoke to reporters while presenting the administration’s defense spending plan for 2012, which begins October 1. He also warned that he will pursue all potential legal moves to eliminate funding for the alternate engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Cutting the extra engine, he said, will save $3 billion over the life of the program.

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David Isenberg: PD-62 and PSC

by David Isenberg on December 28, 2010

Ever hear of the JFC Civil-Military Fusion Center ? Yes, neither had I, until an acquaintance emailed me the other day about it. It is a shop set up under the Joint Forces Command which is headquartered at Norfolk, VA. Reportedly it does excellent unclassified work. Earlier this month it released its monthly Afghanistan report titled, ” The Private Security Companies (PSCs) Dilemma in Afghanistan .” The report examines the impact of Afghanistan Presidential Decree No. 62 and the disbandment of PSCs. As this is a topic that has been much in the news of late, even though the Afghan government has somewhat rolled back its previously issued ban, it is worth looking at. A point that should surprise no one is that private security contractors are still heavily needed in Afghanistan. Nevertheless, private companies carrying out development projects in Afghanistan are still heavily reliant on PSCs. ISAF forces and the US also make great use of PSCs. According to the US Department of State, the US Department of Defense (DoD) was responsible for hiring 16,733 private guards to support the military efforts on the ground during Fiscal Year 2010. Of course, that is not all the PSC. The Afghan government estimates that there are in fact around 40,000 armed security contractors active in Afghanistan. The background to PD 62 was that it was issued at a tense time for security in Afghanistan, as the Afghan National Police (ANP) still lacked the capacity to assume full responsibility for providing security in the country. The decision to disband private security firms was made one week after it was agreed that control over security in Afghanistan would be transferred to the Afghan authorities by 2014. PD 62 mandated that all current PSCs should leave the country within four months of the decree’s approval, which would have made the deadline December 17. But given that private companies doing reconstruction work did not trust the ANP and that just two months after the president’s decision, in October, firms had already begun to cancel assistance programs and aid Karzai softened his position on the ban. On October 27, Karzai issued a press release on the formation of a committee led by the Ministry of Interior along with participating representatives from the International Security Assistance Force and major international donors. The committee was mandated to develop a plan for the disbandment of PSCs responsible for guarding development projects. However, on December 6, Karzai had abandoned his plans “to scrap private security firms in the country by mid-December. But there are still challenges ahead. Despite the decision to allow PSCs to continue operating in Afghanistan, the Afghan government left important details regarding security companies in doubt. Under the modified policy, security firms working for development companies, NATO, foreign embassies and the United Nations would be allowed to work in Afghanistan until their contracts ended, but it was unclear what would happen after the expiration date. Other new developments include private guards being required to wear uniforms and not being allowed to stop vehicles or set up roadblocks. It also indicated that a new independent public security force would be created to replace the PSCs already shut down and secure the development projects under their responsibility. However, convoy security would continue to be provided by private security firms, but the Afghan police would accompany the convoys to ensure that security firm employees were not misbehaving. So currently we have a situation where many observers: agree that the disbandment of PSCs is necessary to institutionalize the Afghan security sector and to contribute to strengthening institutionalization within the Afghan government. Nevertheless, how PSCs will work from now on remains unclear and further discussions ought to take place.

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EU imposes ban on all Afghan carriers

November 24, 2010

EU imposes ban on all Afghan carriers

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UAE backs Afghan transition

November 21, 2010

UAE backs Afghan transition

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Karzai Family Ties Shielded Flailing Afghan Bank

September 7, 2010

KABUL, Afghanistan — In early 2009, as President Hamid Karzai scanned the landscape for potential partners to run in his re-election bid, he was approached from an unusual corner: a bank. The president’s brother, Mahmoud, and another Afghan businessman, Haseen Fahim, were shareholders in Kabul Bank, one of the freewheeling financial institutions that had sprung up over the past decade since the Taliban’s fall.

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Editorial: Afghan war logs

July 27, 2010

Editorial: Afghan war logs

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Pakistan-Afghanistan Trade Deal: Clinton Seeks More Cooperation

July 19, 2010

ISLAMABAD (Associated Press) – Pakistan and Afghanistan sealed a landmark trade deal Sunday as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pushed the two neighbors to step up civilian cooperation and work together against al-Qaida and the Taliban. Shortly after kicking off a South Asia trip aimed at refining the goals of the increasingly unpopular war in Afghanistan, Clinton looked on as the Afghan and Pakistani commerce ministers signed the trade agreement. It was reached only after years of negotiation with recent and very active U.S. encouragement. The pact, which eases restrictions on cross-border transportation, must be ratified by the Afghan parliament and Pakistani Cabinet. U.S. officials said they believe it will significantly enhance ties between the two countries, boost development and incomes on both sides of the border and contribute to the fight against extremists. “Bringing Islamabad and Kabul together has been a goal of this administration from the beginning,” said Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. “This is a vivid demonstration of the two countries coming closer together.” Despite the agreement, Clinton faces challenges in appealing for greater cooperation between the neighboring nations on the nearly 9-year-old war, pressing Pakistan for more help in taking on militants accused of plotting attacks on the U.S., including the failed Times Square bombing, and stepping up action against extremists along the Afghan border. Although Pakistan has relented on issuing long-delayed visas for some 450 U.S. officials and Clinton is bringing new U.S. development aid for Pakistan, anti-American sentiment remains high. In addition, U.S. officials have also expressed concerns about Pakistan’s plans for a deal with China that would give energy-starved Pakistan two new nuclear power plants. Critics said transferring the reactors would violate international nonproliferation agreements. In talks with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, ahead of Monday meetings with military and civilian officials, Clinton was conveying the message that the U.S. is committed to the country’s long-term development needs, not just short-term security gains. Clinton is offering a package of about $500 million in development programs, funded by legislation approved by Congress to triple nonmilitary aid to $1.5 billion a year over five years. The aid will focus on water, energy, agriculture and health. The initiatives mark the second phase of projects begun under a new and enhanced strategic partnership. Holbrooke noted that when Clinton visited Pakistan last October she had “waded into continually hostile and skeptical crowds.” But he maintained that the new U.S. focus is “producing a change in Pakistani attitudes, first within the government and gradually, more slowly, within the public.” Still, he and other officials acknowledge, mistrust of America runs deep in Pakistan, particularly over unmanned drone strikes. They’re aimed at militants but often kill or injury civilians; to many Pakistanis, they represent an unacceptable violation of sovereignty. Vali Nasr, a Holbrooke deputy, said overcoming the suspicion remains a work in progress. “We’re not going to be able to get them aligned over a one-year time period on every single issue and change 30 years of foreign policy of Pakistan on a dime,” he said. Underscoring Pakistan’s fragility, only hours after Clinton’s arrival a suicide bomber ran past guards at a minority Shiite mosque in eastern Pakistan then blew himself up, wounding several worshippers. The attack, hundreds of miles away from Islamabad, appeared to be the latest in a string by Sunni extremists against other Muslims they consider infidels. After her stop in Pakistan, Clinton is set to attend an international conference on Afghanistan on Tuesday in Kabul, where Afghan officials will present details on their plans to reintegrate militants into society and outline how they intend to implement reform and anti-corruption pledges made earlier this year. Security was tightened in the Afghan capital ahead the conference which will assemble diplomats from 60 nations as well as the heads of NATO and the United Nations. Nonetheless, a suicide bomber killed three civilians near a busy market. American lawmakers and voters are increasingly questioning the course of the drawn-out war with rising death tolls among U.S. and international troops and growing questions about corruption. Last month was the deadliest of the war for international forces: 103 coalition troops were killed, despite the addition of tens of thousands more U.S. troops.

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Frida Berrigan: A Way Forward: Reexamining the Pentagon’s Spending Habits

July 14, 2010

Crossposted with Foreign Policy in Focus What is a trillion? It is a big number for sure. The best explanation I have found for this mind-blowing figure is from children’s book author David Schwartz. “One million seconds comes out to be about 11½ days. A billion seconds is 32 years. And a trillion seconds is 32,000 years.” What is a trillion dollars? What can you get for that much money? Rethink Afghanistan — Robert Greenwald’s effort to help us understand the war on terror, its costs, and consequences — has a new Facebook application aimed at breaking down exactly how much we can get for one trillion dollars. It is fun (in a qualified-world wide web-war on terror sort of way), and eye-opening. During one round of the game, we were able to spend $999.5 billion to: Hire every worker in Afghanistan for one year at a total cost of $12 billion;

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Obama Tells West Point Graduates U.S. Needs Allies’ Help in Shaping Future

May 22, 2010

By Nicholas Johnston and William McQuillen May 22 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama said the U.S. needs international help to combat complex challenges such as the war in Afghanistan, as his administration prepares to unveil its formal national security strategy. Obama, speaking to the U.S. Military Academy ’s graduating class, outlined a new strategy based on diplomacy, international cooperation and stronger international standards and institutions. A national security strategy statement of policy is sent to Congress by each new presidential administration. Obama’s is scheduled to be released next week. “America’s armed forces are adapting to changing times, but your efforts must be complemented,” Obama said. “We will need the renewed engagement of our diplomats, from grand capitals to dangerous outposts; and development experts who can support Afghan agriculture and help Africans build the capacity to feed themselves.” With wars being fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as economic and environmental concerns, American innovation will be needed to help shape “an era of economic transformation and individual empowerment; of ancient hatreds and new dangers; of emerging powers and global challenges,” Obama said at the ceremony in Mitchie Stadium on the academy’s campus in West Point, New York. Lending a Hand “Where democratic institutions take hold, we add a wind at their back. When humanitarian disaster strikes, we extend a hand,” Obama said. “Where human dignity is denied, America opposes poverty and is a source of opportunity. That is who we are. That is what we do.” Obama’s focus is a shift from the policies of his predecessor, George W. Bush . In the Bush policy outline sent to Congress in September 2002, the Republican president pushed a policy of striking first against “rogue states and terrorists.” U.S. security policy since the end of World War II, centered largely on Russia, had been premised on deterring enemies through the concept of mutually assured destruction, as both superpowers possessed nuclear weapons. The U.S. “can no longer rely on a reactive posture” because “rogue regimes” are seeking nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, the Bush document said. Obama today said “the burdens of this century cannot fall on American shoulders alone,” and warned that U.S. foes would like to see the country weakened by overextending its resources. Clear-Eyed “We are clear-eyed about the shortfalls of our international system,” Obama said. “But America has not succeeded by stepping out of the currents of cooperation; we have succeeded by steering those currents in the direction of liberty and justice, so actions thrive by meeting their responsibilities, and face consequences when they don’t.” In 2006, Bush updated his strategy to stress that Iran and its nuclear ambitions were the biggest challenges facing the U.S. It also called for freer trade in global markets and warned against isolationism. Obama today linked domestic priorities such as improving education and the development of clean energy sources, reducing dependence on foreign oil, with the nation’s security. “American innovation must be the foundation of American power,” he said. “Because at no time in human history has a nation of diminished economic vitality maintained its military and political primacy.” Setting a Standard The president also contrasted the conduct of the military with the failures of institutions such as those in the financial industry that contributed to the economic crisis. “Through a period when too many of our institutions have acted irresponsibly, the American military has set a standard of service and sacrifice that is as great as any in this nation’s history,” the president said. Abroad he said U.S. diplomats and intelligence agencies must complement military efforts, and other nations must join America’s efforts against terrorism and the spread of nuclear weapons. Obama said that, while the U.S. has had recent successes in eliminating leaders of the al-Qaeda terrorist network, “they will continue to recruit, plot and exploit our open society.” “The threat will not go away soon,” he said. “We see it in attempts to blow up an airliner over Detroit or a SUV in Times Square, even as these failed attacks show that pressure on networks like al-Qaeda is forcing them to rely on terrorists with less time and space to train.” Afghan War An important part of the Democratic Obama administration’s policy will be the war in Afghanistan, where about 92,000 U.S. troops are deployed. “We toppled the Taliban regime. Now we must break the momentum of a Taliban insurgency and train Afghan security forces,” Obama said. “There will be difficult days ahead.” Obama took responsibility for the conduct of the eight-year old Afghan war in a Dec. 1 speech at the Military Academy, and called for 30,000 more troops to help stabilize the country. At the same time he said U.S. forces will begin to withdraw in July of 2011 and turn over security duties to the Afghan government. Obama said the U.S. remains “poised to end our combat mission in Iraq this summer” as more responsibility is taken by Iraq security forces. Even after U.S. combat forces leave, Obama said a strong civilian presence will remain. “This is no simple task,” he said. “But this is what success looks like: an Iraq that provides no haven to terrorists; a democratic Iraq that is sovereign and stable and self-reliant.” The president typically speaks at the graduation ceremonies of one of the U.S. military service academies each year. Last year Obama addressed the graduating class of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where he pledged to only send U.S. forces into harm’s way “when it is absolutely necessary.” To contact the reporters on this story: Nicholas Johnston in West Point, New York, at Njohnston3@bloomberg.net ; William McQuillen in Washington at bmcquillen@bloomberg.net

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Afghanistan Suicide Car Bombing Kills Up to 20 Civilians, Army Doctor Says

May 18, 2010

By Eltaf Najafizada May 18 (Bloomberg) — A suicide car bombing in Kabul killed up to 20 civilians, Nesar Ahmad, a military doctor who helped evacuate dead and wounded, said in an interview near the scene of the attack in the Afghan capital. The bomber targeted a U.S. military convoy near the center of the city, Ahmad said. To contact the reporter on this story: Eltaf Najafizada at enajafizada1@bloomberg.net

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Afghanistan-Based NATO Troops Fire on Bus, Killing Four Civilians in South

April 12, 2010

By Eltaf Najafizada April 12 (Bloomberg) — Four Afghan civilians were killed when international troops opened fire today on a bus in the southern province of Kandahar, the Taliban heartland where coalition forces are preparing a new offensive. A patrol of International Security Assistance Force soldiers attempted to warn off an approaching vehicle traveling at speed before dawn using flares, flashlights and hand signals, NATO said in statement. When it failed to respond, they fired on the vehicle, it added. Afghan President Hamid Karzai “strongly condemned” the shooting, Agence France-Presse reported. Today’s killings in the province’s Zhari district come as Karzai’s ties with the United States have been strained by a series of anti-West comments by the president. In recent speeches, Karzai said the West was responsible for fraud in his country’s 2009 elections and threatened to join the Taliban if the international community continued to pressure him. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs called the remarks “genuinely troubling.” Eighteen people wounded in the attack had been taken to NATO and Afghan hospitals, Fazl Ahmad Sherzay, a security official with the local police force, said by telephone. Following the shooting incident, three Taliban militants, including a suicide bomber, attacked the regional security office wounding five Afghans civilians, Sherzay said. Nine-Year Insurgency Overseas forces are deployed in Afghanistan to help the Western-backed Afghan government defeat a near nine-year insurgency by Taliban guerrillas. The bus was heading for western Herat province, AFP said. U.S.-led forces are pursuing Taliban leaders in Kandahar to lay the groundwork for an offensive on the militant stronghold planned for mid-year, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said March 30. Preparations for the offensive include discussions with tribal leaders and helping organize community meetings to build support for the offensive, Morrell told reporters at the Pentagon. A NATO air strike in central Uruzgan province in February killed as many as 33 civilians, triggering Afghan government protests over noncombatant deaths that undermine the fight against the Taliban. To contact the reporter on this story: Eltaf Najafizada at enajafizada1@bloomberg.net

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Obama Makes Unannounced Visit to Afghanistan as U.S. Steps Up Taliban War

March 28, 2010

By Hans Nichols March 28 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama landed in Afghanistan today on an unannounced visit to meet with Afghan government officials and get a briefing from U.S. military leaders on progress in the eight-year-old war. “I’m encouraged by the progress that’s been made” in Afghanistan, Obama said after meeting with President Hamid Karzai in Kabul. He called for more work by Afghanistan’s leaders to root out corruption and improve governance. Obama’s in the country as the U.S. role there is growing with an escalation of forces that he ordered and allied troops are engaged in an offense against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. Landing at Bagram airfield under the cover of darkness, Obama travelled the 50 miles to Kabul by helicopter to meet with Karzai at the presidential palace. Obama also is holding a separate session with Karzai’s cabinet. Obama’s visit, his first to Afghanistan since becoming president, is intended to emphasize U.S. calls for the Afghan government to crack down on corruption, fight drug trafficking that helps fund the insurgency and institute merit-based systems for government appointments, according to James Jones , Obama’s national security adviser. “We plan to engage President Karzai as we’re going to make him understand that in this second term that there are going to be certain things he has to do as the president of his country that have not been paid attention to almost since day one,” Jones told reporters aboard Air Force One. Jones downplayed suggestions of tension between Obama and Karzai, saying, “I don’t think there’s any daylight between the two.” Karzai Invitation Obama invited Karzai for talks in Washington in May. “I want to send a strong message that partnership between the United States and Pakistan is going to continue,” Obama said. “We have seen already progress with respect to the military campaign against extremism, but we also want to continue to make progress on the civilian side.” While in Afghanistan, the president also plans to speak before U.S. troops and receive briefings from the commander he installed last June, General Stanley McChrystal , and Ambassador Karl Eikenberry , said press secretary Robert Gibbs . “One of the main reasons I am here is to just say thank you for the extraordinary efforts of our U.S. Troops,” Obama said. “All of us want to see a day when Afghanistan is going to be able to provide for its own security.” The trip, shrouded in secrecy because of security concerns, capped a week in which the president won a major domestic victory with passage of a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. health- care system and announced completion of a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia. Shift to Afghanistan Obama campaigned for office on a pledge to shift U.S. military resources from Iraq to Afghanistan. A year ago he ordered 17,000 combat troops and 4,000 trainers to the country ahead of Afghanistan’s elections. In December, Obama ordered another 30,000 forces be sent to the country, which ultimately will expand the number of military personnel to 100,000. At the same time he asked North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries to contribute more resources to the war. The escalation is intended to reverse Taliban gains and train afghans to take control of their country so American forces can begin withdrawing in July 2011. The U.S. is leading a drive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. A 30-day offensive by 15,000 Afghan and North Atlantic Treaty Organization troops, including U.S. Marines and British forces culminated earlier this month with allies taking control of the town of Marjah. Next Target It was the biggest operation against the Taliban since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 attacks by al-Qaeda. Officials have said they are making plans for an even bigger assault on the Taliban heartland city of Kandahar. As part of the Obama administration’s strategy, the U.S. also has strengthened its relationship with the government of neighboring Pakistan as well as with the Afghans. Jones and Deputy National Security Adviser Douglas Lute emphasized the importance of a regional approach to Afghanistan’s stability and said they are encouraged by the role Pakistan is playing. In 30 days, Karzai will convene a peace council with Afghan tribal and regional leaders, Lute said. Then in early May he hopes to host a foreign ministers conference in Kabul. Some Progress The effort has resulted in the capture of some top Taliban leaders in both countries and increased pressure of remnants of al-Qaeda hiding in tribal areas of the border. The U.S. is still deploying the 30,000 additional troops that Obama authorized. The U.S. will have 98,000 troops there by Sept. 30 for a total of almost 150,000 from all 34 countries in the NATO-led coalition that aims to reverse Taliban gains and train Afghan security forces to begin taking over by July 2011. Defense Secretary Robert Gates , testifying to the Senate Appropriations Committee on March 25 said the Afghan army is making “real strides” and that changes are being made to improve training of Afghan police officers. To contact the reporter on this story: Hans Nichols in Afghanistan at Hnichols2@bloomberg.net ;

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Pakistan Suicide Car Bomber Kills 12, Wounds 70 at Lahore Police Building

March 8, 2010

By Khalid Qayum and Anwar Shakir March 8 (Bloomberg) — A suicide car bombing outside a Pakistan police building in Lahore killed 12 people, the first attack this year on major northern cities struck repeatedly by Taliban militants in late 2009. The bomber smashed his car into the outer gate of the two- story intelligence building, causing it to collapse and leaving a 20-foot (six meter) deep crater, Khusro Pervez, the city’s police commissioner said. At least 70 people were injured with some still trapped under rubble, Akhtar Ali, a spokesman for the Edhi Ambulance Service , said by telephone. After Pakistan’s military launched its biggest offensive against Taliban guerrillas in October, the capital Islamabad, nearby army town of Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Lahore were struck by bombers and gunmen leaving hundreds dead. Since December, violence has been concentrated in smaller, more remote towns in the northwest. In a major setback for the Taliban, Pakistan says their leader, Hakimullah Mehsud , was killed by a missile fired from a U.S. drone aircraft in January. Fresh “hits in the main cities may be a reaction” to the army’s progress in fighting the militants, said Fateh Muhammad Burfat , an analyst at Karachi University. Interior Minister Rehman Malik said today the five-month offensive against the Taliban in their northwestern strongholds near the Afghan border had “broken the back” of the insurgency. Lahore last year suffered several major bombings and gun attacks, including one on the Sri Lankan cricket team in March. Police buildings in the city were raided on Oct. 15, and twin bombings at its busiest market on Dec. 7 killed 40 people, including many women and children. ‘Substantial Blow’ This year, only Karachi among Pakistan’s major cities had been hit by a bombing, with 31 killed at a religious procession in the port city on Feb. 5. The army said in February its campaign had dealt a substantial blow to the militants’ ability to carry out nationwide terrorist strikes. Some of the attacks in the northwest have claimed large numbers of victims, with 105 people killed when a suicide bomber struck a volleyball tournament in the town of Lakki Marwat. As troops pursue their campaign, Pakistani security forces have detained at least four senior members of the Afghan Taliban, including deputy leader Abdul Ghani Baradar . Talat Masood , a political consultant and retired Pakistani army lieutenant general, said it’s too early to judge how “complete or permanent” the shift against Afghan militant groups that Pakistan has long backed may become. Adam Gadahn, a U.S.-born spokesman for al-Qaeda, was yesterday reported by Associated Press to have been arrested in Karachi. The U.S. hasn’t confirmed the detention. To contact the reporters on this story: Khalid Qayum in Islamabad at kqayum@bloomberg.net ; Anwar Shakir in Peshawar at Ashakir1@bloomberg.net .

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Gates Lands in Kabul to Assess Progress of Military Surge Against Taliban

March 7, 2010

By Viola Gienger March 8 (Bloomberg) — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates landed in Afghanistan today on a visit to assess the progress of President Barack Obama ’s military surge against the Taliban. Gates arrives after NATO-led troops and Afghan soldiers wrested the town of Marjah in Helmand Province from the Taliban. The 15,000-person operation has restored security, while it may take months for Afghan civilian officials to win Marjah residents’ support, commanders have said. The defense secretary said he will examine Afghan President Hamid Karzai ’s plan to hold a peace loya jirga, or council, in April to persuade Taliban leaders to end their insurgency and join the government. It’s not premature to outline conditions fighters must meet, Gates said. “We ought not get too impatient,” Gates told reporters traveling on his plane to Kabul for the unannounced trip from Washington. “It’s their country, it’s their fight. We’re there to help, and how the politics play out in the end game will have to be an Afghan-led endeavor, as far as I’m concerned.” The visit is the second for Gates since Obama’s December decision to expand the U.S. force to 100,000 this year in a bid to reverse Taliban gains and train the Afghans to begin taking over in July 2011. The Marjah offensive is a prelude to a larger and, officials have said, more difficult campaign ahead in neighboring Kandahar Province. Opium-Region Focus About 6,000 of the additional 30,000 U.S. troops Obama authorized in December are on the ground, and officials still expect the full complement to arrive by the end of August, Gates said. Most of the supplemental force will focus on the southern, opium-poppy growing provinces of Helmand and Kandahar and on eastern Afghanistan. Military commanders said they’re pleased with the results of the push into Marjah by Afghan soldiers aided by American, British, Danish and Estonian troops. As of March 4, U.S. Marines were 21 days into what they expect will be a 30-day assault, known as Operation Moshtarak. They had gone eight days without a direct exchange of gunfire, Brigadier General Lawrence Nicholson told reporters at the Pentagon last week. The coalition intends to leave two battalions in Marjah until later this year to ensure continued security. ‘Very Fragile Area’ “We’re very conscious of the fact that this is a very fragile area,” said Nicholson, who commands the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The biggest concern is whether the successful handover of power to Afghan civil servants, many of them only recently trained by the coalition, will stick. The U.S. and its partners are supporting Helmand Governor Mohammad Gulab Mangal’s efforts to rally support with shuras, or community leader meetings, projects such as roads and schools and improved security. “We’ve got a very skeptical population here,” Nicholson said. “The population here is concerned about what we’re going to be able to do for them. I think they’re a little tainted by their former experiences under the Afghan government.” Gates cautioned against excessive optimism too early after the relatively smooth Marjah campaign and recent captures of Taliban leaders in Afghanistan and Pakistan. “I don’t think we should” read too much into specific, positive signs, he said. ‘Hard Days Ahead’ U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal , the top commander for the 43-nation coalition in Afghanistan, said four weeks ago that while the situation was still serious, it had stopped deteriorating. Gates said that assessment still holds. “People still need to understand there is some very hard fighting, very hard days ahead,” he said. Gates may also need to shore up support for the war among allies in the coalition led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization . The Netherlands is set to begin withdrawing its 2,000 members in August, while some other nations stepped up after Obama’s December announcement with promises to raise their numbers by 9,000 troops to almost 50,000. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a Brussels press conference on March 3 he didn’t know how the coalition would replace the 2,000-member Dutch force. The Dutch government collapsed Feb. 20 over the Labor Party’s refusal to extend the mission of Dutch troops in Uruzgan Province, seen by NATO as a model for peacekeeping and economic development. To contact the reporter on this story: Viola Gienger in Kabul via vgienger@bloomberg.net .

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NATO Air Strike in Afghanistan Kills 21 Civilians in Minibuses, Injures 14

February 22, 2010

By Eltaf Najafizada and Mark Williams Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) — A NATO air strike in Afghanistan’s central Uruzgan Province killed at least 21 civilians, including women and children, the country’s Interior Ministry said. Those killed were travelling in three minibuses, said Zemarai Bashary, the ministry ’s spokesman. “Fourteen wounded people have been found” at the scene, he said. NATO said aircraft yesterday fired on suspected militants believed to be preparing to attack a unit of Afghan and international troops “resulting in a number of individuals killed and wounded.” Women and children were later found at the scene of the attack, and the wounded were taken for medical treatment, NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said in a statement, without giving further details. “We are extremely saddened by the tragic loss of innocent lives,” U.S. General Stanley McChrystal , the top commander in Afghanistan, said in today’s statement. “I have made it clear to our forces that we are here to protect the Afghan people, and inadvertently killing or injuring civilians undermines their trust and confidence in our mission.” Bashary told Associated Press the minibuses had been carrying 42 civilians when they were attacked driving down a major road in the mountainous province. The incident comes as an offensive by 15,000 Afghan and NATO troops in neighboring Helmand Province is seeking to wipe out a Taliban stronghold whose opium crop has helped fund the guerrilla movement. It is the biggest operation against the Taliban since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 attacks. Helmand Fighting At least 13 NATO troops, one Afghan soldier, 16 civilians and about 120 insurgents have died during the Helmand fighting, according to news media including the Associated Press and Voice of America. Afghan President Hamid Karzai urged forces “to exercise absolute caution to avoid harming civilians” before the operation began Feb. 13. The Helmand offensive is the first major combat test of U.S. President Barack Obama ’s policy of sending in reinforcements to reverse Taliban territorial gains, protect civilians and train local forces to start taking over parts of Afghanistan in July 2011. The next stage will be to “roll eastwards into Kandahar,” British Major General Nick Carter, the top coalition commander for the area, said Feb. 18. More troops are scheduled to come into Afghanistan starting in March as part of the surge, aided by additional Afghan security forces. To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Williams in New Delhi at mwilliams108@bloomberg.net

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NATO Air Strike in Afghanistan Kills 21 Civilians in Minibuses, Injures 14

February 22, 2010

By Eltaf Najafizada and Mark Williams Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) — A NATO air strike in Afghanistan’s central Uruzgan Province killed at least 21 civilians, including women and children, the country’s Interior Ministry said. Those killed were travelling in three minibuses, said Zemarai Bashary, the ministry ’s spokesman. “Fourteen wounded people have been found” at the scene, he said. NATO said aircraft yesterday fired on suspected militants believed to be preparing to attack a unit of Afghan and international troops “resulting in a number of individuals killed and wounded.” Women and children were later found at the scene of the attack, and the wounded were taken for medical treatment, NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said in a statement, without giving further details. “We are extremely saddened by the tragic loss of innocent lives,” U.S. General Stanley McChrystal , the top commander in Afghanistan, said in today’s statement. “I have made it clear to our forces that we are here to protect the Afghan people, and inadvertently killing or injuring civilians undermines their trust and confidence in our mission.” Bashary told Associated Press the minibuses had been carrying 42 civilians when they were attacked driving down a major road in the mountainous province. The incident comes as an offensive by 15,000 Afghan and NATO troops in neighboring Helmand Province is seeking to wipe out a Taliban stronghold whose opium crop has helped fund the guerrilla movement. It is the biggest operation against the Taliban since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 attacks. Helmand Fighting At least 13 NATO troops, one Afghan soldier, 16 civilians and about 120 insurgents have died during the Helmand fighting, according to news media including the Associated Press and Voice of America. Afghan President Hamid Karzai urged forces “to exercise absolute caution to avoid harming civilians” before the operation began Feb. 13. The Helmand offensive is the first major combat test of U.S. President Barack Obama ’s policy of sending in reinforcements to reverse Taliban territorial gains, protect civilians and train local forces to start taking over parts of Afghanistan in July 2011. The next stage will be to “roll eastwards into Kandahar,” British Major General Nick Carter, the top coalition commander for the area, said Feb. 18. More troops are scheduled to come into Afghanistan starting in March as part of the surge, aided by additional Afghan security forces. To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Williams in New Delhi at mwilliams108@bloomberg.net

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Allied Rockets Kill 12 Civilians in Afghan Fighting; McChrystal Apologizes

February 14, 2010

By James Rupert and Eltaf Najafizada Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) — U.S.-led forces engaged in firefights with insurgents and uncovered stockpiles of explosives, as they sought to reestablish Afghan government control over a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan. Troops from the Afghan government and North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries were involved in “clearing operations” on their second-day of a campaign in the district of Marjah, in the Helmand province, British Royal Air Force Flight Lieutenant Wendy Wheadon said in an interview from Kandahar. Twelve Afghan civilians were killed today when an allied rocket went awry, according to a NATO and Afghan government statement. The use of mobile rockets was suspended after the accident, the statement said. “The current operation in Central Helmand is aimed at restoring security and stability to this vital area of Afghanistan,” General Stanley McChrystal , the top commander in the country, said in a statement. “It’s regrettable that in the course of our joint efforts, innocent lives were lost.” The offensive involves 15,000 troops, the biggest number since the war began, according to NATO, and aims to wipe out a Taliban stronghold whose opium crop has helped fund the guerrilla movement. Opium is refined into heroin. It’s the first major combat test for some of the 50,000 reinforcements President Barack Obama authorized for Afghanistan to reverse Taliban gains in the war that began in October 2001. Sending Shockwaves “Instead of clearing the area and leaving, as we frequently did in the past, our plans call for clearing, holding the area and then providing some building for the people there – - better security, better economic opportunity, better governance,” U.S. National Security Adviser James Jones said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program. The offensive also has what Jones called “a much bigger Afghan face,” with two Afghans for every one U.S. soldier involved. The operation ‘is going to make a big change in not only the southern part of Afghanistan but will send shockwaves through the rest of the country that there is a new direction, there is new commitment, and that we’re going to be successful,” Jones said on “Fox News Sunday.” The provincial government plans to move in “quickly” with “road construction and digging of wells,” Ahmadi said. “We want to have a government working as soon as the military operation to control Marjah is complete.” Bombs Everywhere Three caches of explosives, including 250 kilograms (551 pounds) of ammonium nitrate and 300 meters (984 feet) of detonation cord, were discovered in Marjah and surrounding areas, a NATO statement said. Bombs are “a concern — the Taliban has placed a lot of them everywhere,” said Lieutenant Commander Iain Baxter of the Royal Navy. “We need to try to find them and deal with them.” Twenty-seven Taliban have been killed since the NATO troops attacked before dawn Feb. 13, said Daud Ahmadi , a government spokesman for Helmand province. Two soldiers of the International Security Assistance Force, one American and one Briton, have been killed, said U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Sabrina D. Foster. While Helmand has been a guerrilla stronghold and a key Taliban supply route from nearby Pakistan, U.S. troops began operations in the province in the past 21 months. “Recent gains enjoyed by insurgents in Helmand have made a deliberate and properly resourced campaign by coalition forces that much more critical” in the province, said a report in September by Washington-based Institute for the Study of War . The U.S. presence in Helmand has improved security and the economy since July, said Abdul Ahad Helmandwal, a tribal elder near Marjah, in a phone interview. Still, the accompanying aid effort — which provided millions of dollars worth of seed and fertilizer to encourage farmers to grow wheat instead of opium – - has been undercut by a corruption scandal in which several top provincial officials have been arrested. A Taliban commander in Afghanistan, Akhtar Mohammad, said before the fighting that such operations had been attempted before and failed. “The Taliban have never been defeated,” Mohammad said. To contact the reporters on this story: To contact the reporter on this story: James Rupert in New Delhi at jrupert3@bloomberg.net ; Eltaf Najafizada in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan at enajafizada1@bloomberg.net

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Afghan, U.S. Forces Swoop Down on Taliban Stronghold in Southern Offensive

February 12, 2010

By Viola Gienger Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) — U.S. Marines joined by British and Afghan soldiers began an assault on a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan early today in what may be one of the biggest offensives of the war. A U.S. military official who asked not to be identified confirmed the operation was under way against insurgents in the town of Marjah in Helmand province. Coalition forces led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have talked openly for weeks about the impending action in an effort to persuade Taliban militants to give up and warn the population so residents can flee. The town, located about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southwest of the provincial capital Lashkar Gah, is considered one of the country’s biggest opium-production centers. U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal , the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, said the offensive’s goal is to connect other areas of Helmand that the Marines and British, Danish and Estonian troops recaptured in the past year. “We’re expanding that, increasing the areas that will be under government of Afghanistan control,” McChrystal told reporters on the sidelines of a NATO defense ministers meeting in Istanbul on Feb. 4. The offensive is the first major combat test for some of the 50,000 reinforcements President Barack Obama has authorized for Afghanistan since taking office. Their aim is to reverse Taliban territorial gains, protect civilians and train Afghan forces to start taking over parts of the country in July 2011. “This is the next example of the evolution and, I guess, the maturation of the capacity” of coalition and Afghan forces,” McChrystal said. Karzai Meeting The offensive began a few hours after Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed to the attack following discussions with McChrystal and U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry , the Washington Post reported, citing unidentified U.S. officials. The Associated Press reported earlier from the Marjah area on the beginning of the offensive, saying troops were ferried into the town by helicopter before dawn. Dubbed Operation Moshtarak, which means “Together” in the Dari language, the offensive will be the largest joint operation to date between Afghan and coalition forces, according to a Feb. 11 report by Jeffrey Dressler, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington. The campaign may include as many as 15,000 coalition and Afghan troops, wrote Dressler, who recently briefed a Marine Battalion at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, prior to deployment. British Major General Gordon Messenger said Feb. 7 that the offensive probably will involve heavy fighting with insurgents. Taliban Hub Marjah became “a major command and control” hub for the Taliban and narcotics traders “after U.S. Marines drove insurgents out of their previous sanctuary” to the south in Germser in April 2008, Dressler said. Marjah’s population probably is less than 50,000, he said. A three-day operation last May against one of two main bazaars that host the insurgency netted the largest drug cache in Afghanistan to date and resulted in the deaths of 47 militants, according to Dressler. Coalition and Afghan commanders have been meeting with local leaders to plan the operation and find ways of protecting the population. McChrystal said the planning for the offensive has been led by the governor of Helmand Province and supported by the relevant government ministries. To contact the reporter on this story: Viola Gienger in Washington at vgienger@bloomberg.net .

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U.S. Will Keep Its Civilian Teams in Afghanistan Long After Troops Leave

January 21, 2010

By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama ’s military surge in Afghanistan will be matched by a commitment to keep a large number of U.S. government employees there well after troops leave, according to a new State Department report. “While our combat mission in Afghanistan is not open-ended, we will remain politically, diplomatically and economically engaged in Afghanistan and Pakistan for the long-term to protect our enduring interests in the region,” according to the report released yesterday by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the office of Richard Holbrooke , the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he wants to persuade Taliban insurgents to stop fighting by offering money and jobs through a program funded by the international community. The plan will be discussed when the U.K. hosts a conference Jan. 28 on improving Afghanistan’s economy, institutions and security forces, Karzai told the British Broadcasting Corp. yesterday. The State Department’s 30-page “Afghanistan and Pakistan Stabilization Strategy” says the U.S. will focus on rebuilding Afghanistan’s agricultural capacity, countering extremist propaganda, improving governance and reintegrating militants into society. It comes after Obama in early December announced he would send 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan this year, with a target date to start a withdrawal in mid-2011. Civilian Force The report calls for a 20 percent to 30 percent boost in staffing beyond the 1,000 U.S. civilians now assigned to work in Afghan ministries and the U.S. mission. The U.S. civilian force includes diplomats, development and agriculture specialists, and agents for the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Agency, Treasury and Homeland Security. “Our civilian effort must be sustained beyond our combat mission so that Afghanistan does not become a failed state and safe haven for al-Qaeda,” according to the report. “Our focus is building the capacity of Afghan institutions to withstand and diminish the threat posed by extremism, and to deliver high-impact economic assistance, especially in the agricultural sector – to create jobs, reduce the funding that the Taliban receives from poppy cultivation, and draw insurgents off of the battlefield,” it said. Also yesterday, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he expects more than 60 nations to set clear priorities and make generous pledges at next week’s London conference. Economic Development Miliband, testifying at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, said the priorities include economic development, reconciliation of militants and a gradual transfer of security responsibilities to Afghan forces. “The definition of success is clear: It is not to kill or capture every member of the Taliban. It is to ensure the government of Afghanistan is able to secure its territory against a weakened insurgency, and deny al-Qaeda the space to operate,” Miliband told the panel. Testifying before the same panel, Holbrooke said he was heartened on his latest trip to Kabul to see the Afghan capital “in a better position than it’s been at any time” since he began his current job a year ago. Obama on Dec. 1 said he would increase U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan to around 100,000 in an effort to beat back a persistent extremist threat. He said a troop withdrawal in mid- 2011 would depend on ground conditions. The administration has said it will need about $30 billion to finance 30,000 additional troops for Afghanistan. To contact the reporter on this story: Indira Lakshmanan in Washington at ilakshmanan@bloomberg.net

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U.S. Coordinating With Pakistan on Afghanistan Troop Surge, Holbrooke Says

December 12, 2009

By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. is working aggressively with Pakistan to prevent the American troop surge in Afghanistan from driving insurgents across the border, a top diplomat said. Richard Holbrooke , U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, also said that while pressure on al- Qaeda has intensified under President Barack Obama , the capture or killing of Osama bin Laden shouldn’t be a “single factor” in fighting terrorism. Holbrooke, in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt ” airing this weekend, gave Pakistan credit for a “very intense struggle” that has resulted in arrests of terrorists that haven’t received attention. Pakistani authorities fear the U.S. troop increase in neighboring Afghanistan could undermine Pakistan’s own offensive to eliminate insurgents in its Waziristan border area and complicate efforts to find al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders hiding in the porous frontier, Holbrooke said. Top U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Admiral Mike Mullen , the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have been told by Pakistani leaders that “if we don’t coordinate your military operation with ours, you will succeed in Afghanistan by driving Taliban east into our country and will cause a problem,” Holbrooke said. “It’s a legitimate concern,” he said. “So we’re coordinating in ways that I don’t want to go into in detail in order to deal with the problem.” Hunt for bin Laden Holbrooke’s comments on bin Laden contrasted with those of General Stanley McChrystal , the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, who testified on Capitol Hill Dec. 8 that the defeat of the al-Qaeda terrorism network hinges on the capture or killing of bin Laden. McChrystal told the Senate Armed Services Committee that bin Laden’s iconic prominence as a fugitive from U.S. justice underpins the global reach of Islamic terrorism. Holbrooke said in the interview that bin Laden’s capture wouldn’t solve the problem of terrorism. “Eliminating Osama bin Laden eliminates the head of this odious organization, but the problem would continue, and let’s not overly focus on a single man, although the pursuit of him has intensified after a long period of relative neglect.” Holbrooke said the U.S. was “gratified” by Pakistan’s efforts in the last six months to go after home-grown terrorists in its own tribal regions in Swat and Waziristan. ‘Real Efforts’ “The Pakistanis have made real efforts against the Pakistani branch of the Taliban. But as far as the Afghan branch” of the Taliban, whose leadership U.S. intelligence believes is hiding in Pakistan, “we think more can be done, and we’re talking to the Pakistanis about it.” On Dec. 1, Obama announced he would add 30,000 U.S. troops to the 69,000 currently in Afghanistan, with the aim of training and turning over authority to Afghan security forces. He plans to begin withdrawing those additional forces starting in July 2011. Obama’s troop surge, announced in a speech at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, won approval from 62 percent of Americans in a Bloomberg National Poll conducted Dec. 3-7. Opinion is divided about setting a timeline to begin a drawdown, with 49 percent disapproving. Afghan Corruption On the question of corruption , which has dominated discussions of whether the Afghan government will be able to take over responsibilities, allowing for an eventual American exit, Holbrooke said U.S. officials were having private conversations with Afghan President Hamid Karzai about individuals who have been suspected of abusing power. “We are well aware of these stories,” Holbrooke said. “They have been on my mind ever since I took this job.” Asked if the U.S. was pressuring Karzai to cut ties with warlords and government officials accused of graft or trafficking drugs, Holbrooke said “certain types of discussions really need to remain confidential in order to have any effect.” “At the same time, no single person can deal with the corruption issue in an entire country, not Hamid Karzai, not American leaders. It’s an endemic issue,” he said. “We are not fighting in Afghanistan to eliminate corruption,” Holbrooke said. “We are trying to eliminate or reduce corruption in order to succeed militarily.” To contact the reporter on this story: Indira Lakshmanan in Washington at ilakshmanan@bloomberg.net

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Gen. Jones: No intention of Afghan exit in 2011

December 6, 2009

Gen. Jones: No intention of Afghan exit in 2011

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Gates Says Afghan Pullout to Be Gradual as Republicans Criticize Timeline

December 2, 2009

By Viola Gienger and Jonathan Salant Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. will thin its troops in Afghanistan gradually and based on conditions in local areas, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told lawmakers today as he sought to deflect Republican criticism of a target drawdown date. The start of any withdrawal will be based on a review to be conducted in December 2010, and probably will occur district by district or province by province, as Afghan forces are ready to take over, Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington today. “The end state in Afghanistan looks a lot like what we see in Iraq,” Gates said. “This gradual transfer of security responsibility with a continuing role on our part as a partner for that country in the long-term is what I would call success in Afghanistan.” The setting of a target date for starting a pullout has divided members of Congress. Many Republicans say the timeline wouldn’t give troops enough time to make decisive headway against the Taliban. Democrats who want to limit American involvement in the war welcomed the schedule. Senator John McCain , the senior Republican on the Armed Services Committee, told Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen that setting a withdrawal date was a mistake. “Success is the real exit strategy,” not “some arbitrary date in July 2011, which our enemies can exploit to weaken and intimidate our friends,” McCain told the officials. Obama Speech President Barack Obama announced his decision to begin a pullout in July 2011 during an address at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, late yesterday even as he described the planned deployment of 30,000 more troops next year in an attempt to reverse Taliban gains. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged an accompanying surge in civilians on the ground working alongside the increased military force to help Afghans develop their economy, especially by improving agriculture. That work will continue as American troops withdraw, Clinton told the Senate panel. “We will help by working with our Afghan partners to strengthen institutions at every level of Afghan society so that we don’t leave chaos behind when our combat troops begin to depart,” said Clinton, a former member of the committee when she represented New York in the Senate. Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the timeframe outlined by Obama will be sufficient to determine whether the 43-nation NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan can succeed. “We will know where we are by the summer of 2011,” Mullen told the House Foreign Affairs Committee later in the day. Iraq Pattern The surge in Iraq lasted only 14 months, Gates said. In Afghanistan, as in Iraq, responsibility might be transferred to Afghan security forces in some districts and provinces even as other areas see “extraordinarily heavy combat,” he said. The goal is to demonstrate resolve while also stepping up pressure on the Afghan government to perform well enough to take over, Gates said. The three gave similar reassurances in a separate hearing later in the day before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. House Republicans need more information before providing “full support,” their leader John Boehner told reporters after a party caucus. Republicans want to know what “we hope to accomplish over the next 18 months” and how the benchmark of “conditions on the ground” would determine when to remove troops. McChrystal Prediction U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal , the commander in Afghanistan, told U.S. troops and Afghan officials today in Kandahar that the surge he requested would show results in less than a year. “I believe that, by next summer, the uplift of new forces will make a difference” that’s “significant,” McChrystal said in a briefing broadcast by CNN. “It will be decided, in my view, in the next one to two years.” A U.S. military surge in Afghanistan is needed to prevent a Taliban takeover of the country that could hand al-Qaeda a global propaganda victory, Gates told the congressional panels. “The Taliban and al-Qaeda have become symbiotic, each benefiting from the success and mythology of the other,” Gates said. “Rolling back the Taliban is now necessary, even if not sufficient, to the ultimate defeat of al-Qaeda.” NATO Reinforcements In expanding the war, the U.S. is also seeking 5,000 to 7,000 extra troops from NATO members and other allies in the 43- nation coalition in Afghanistan, Gates said. In Brussels, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said today that U.S. allies will send an additional 5,000 troops to Afghanistan “and probably a few thousand more.” NATO reinforcements would focus on the northern and eastern parts of Afghanistan while U.S. soldiers and Marines would concentrate on the south, Gates said. Southern and eastern Afghanistan face the Pakistani border and is the area where the Taliban have made the biggest inroads. Insurgents are now dominant in 11 of 34 Afghan provinces, and the Taliban movement is operating “shadow governments” across Afghanistan, Mullen told the senators. Obama has made “the right decision” on the overall strategy of increasing the number of troops to provide security and train Afghan forces, McCain said, urging that all Americans support it. To contact the reporters on this story: Viola Gienger in Washington at vgienger@bloomberg.net ; Jonathan D. Salant in Washington at jsalant@bloomberg.net .

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NATO Allies to Send 5,000 Troops to Afghanistan to Support Obama’s Buildup

December 2, 2009

By James G. Neuger Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) — NATO allies will send 5,000 more troops to Afghanistan in response to President Barack Obama’s buildup, while putting off final decisions until the Afghan government cracks down on corruption. France and Germany said an international summit next month on stabilizing Afghanistan will hold the key to any additional deployments after Obama ordered 30,000 more U.S. troops to the country. Roughly a third of allied reinforcements will come by extending the tours of duty of troops scheduled to be pulled out, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said. “You will see some pledges right now, some at a later stage,” Rasmussen told reporters in Brussels today. “The most important thing is not the timeline here but the fact they will actually contribute with an additional number.” Rasmussen declined to name the European NATO allies that will send more troops. The buildup will take the U.S. presence to about 100,000 soldiers, compared with a current force of 38,000 from the rest of NATO. Obama’s deployment puts a stronger American stamp on the war he inherited from George W. Bush . Obama took office with the U.S. supplying 54 percent of the foreign troops in Afghanistan, a figure that he will push past 70 percent. Britain last week announced 500 reinforcements, taking its force up to 9,500, the second largest contingent after the U.S. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said a Jan. 28 conference on Afghanistan’s governance will determine whether they send more forces. ‘Clear Commitments’ France plans to maintain its force at 3,100, tying any buildup to “clear commitments” by the Afghan government to stem corruption, improve social standards and fight drug trafficking. “For the moment our mission is going well and there is no need to increase the number of our troops,” Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in an interview on France Info radio. “But nothing says we might not decide at some point to adjust our levels. We’ll see.” Germany needs parliamentary reauthorization of its current 4,400 troops before it debates more. Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle told reporters in Berlin today that Germany would provide Afghan police training. Asked if Germany would send more combat troops to Afghanistan, Westerwelle said the government will take the next eight weeks to discuss whether additional troops should be sent. Conference Outcome “There might be allies that want to see the outcome of the international conference” on Jan. 28 “before they actually announce their concrete contributions,” Rasmussen said. Poland, now with 1,900 troops in Afghanistan, will “most likely” add 600 and place 200 more in reserve, government spokesman Pawel Gras said on Radio Tok FM. Spain will send 200, increasing its force to 1,200, the newspaper El Pais reported. A Taliban spokesman vowed that resistance to the U.S. surge would be stepped up, Agence France-Presse reported. To contact the reporter on this story: James G. Neuger in Brussels at jneuger@bloomberg.net

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Al-Qaeda Terror Attack Threat May Be Waning, Former British Spy Chief Says

November 26, 2009

By Brian Lysaght Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — The al-Qaeda terrorist network may be losing its capacity to carry out large-scale attacks in the U.S. and U.K. because of improved security, Richard Dearlove , former chief of Britain’s MI6 spy agency, said. “It could be the movement is past the high point in its ability to mount mass-casualty events in the West,” Dearlove, 64, said in an interview in London late yesterday. “It’s because the bar has been raised, the door has been shut.” Dearlove served as chief of MI6, known officially as the Secret Intelligence Service, from 1999 to 2004, a period that included the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. “There is much more international security cooperation,” he said, though “the threat is not completely removed.” In a speech on defense issues at London’s Gresham College , Dearlove also said the British government sent troops to Afghanistan without sufficient equipment, and that a “surge” in North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces, followed by a negotiated settlement with the Taliban, is the “only solution” to the war. “Our armed forces have been under-resourced, this is a basic fact from which there is really no escape,” he said. “The Treasury has been squeezing the defense budget for approximately eight years.” In the past two years, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has faced mounting criticism from lawmakers, members of the armed forces and military families who say the equipment supplied to U.K. forces in Afghanistan is inadequate, especially helicopters and armored vehicles. Support Declines British support for the war in Afghanistan has declined as the number of combat deaths increased, according to opinion polls. Dearlove also said the U.K. government has failed to adequately explain why British troops are in Afghanistan. The war is as much about ensuring stability in neighboring Pakistan and securing its nuclear arsenal as routing the Taliban and its al-Qaeda allies, he said. Annual funding for the Afghan mission has been increased in recent years, and Brown and his cabinet ministers continue to make the case publicly for why British troops are in the country, a spokesman for the prime minister said in a telephone interview. The spokesman declined to be identified, in line with policy. U.S. Surge President Barack Obama is considering his military advisers’ request for as many as 40,000 extra U.S. troops to fight the Taliban. The U.S. contributes about 70,000 of the 110,000 members of foreign forces waging the Afghan war, which began in 2001. “If we want a negotiated settlement, we need a surge first to put pressure on the Taliban,” Dearlove said. “To leave prematurely, the price we must pay for that is extremely high and far higher than what we are paying now.” The U.K., which is mulling sending 500 more military personnel to Afghanistan, has 9,000 troops in the country, the second-largest contingent after the U.S. A total of 235 British personnel have died while serving there. Dearlove, who joined the spy agency in 1966, had postings in Nairobi, Prague and Washington. He is currently master of Pembroke College at the University of Cambridge. MI6 gathers intelligence overseas and is the employer of author Ian Fleming’s fictional agent 007, James Bond. Dearlove said that “anxiety” about the threat from terrorism and natural disasters has become a fact of modern life. “We have probably never been safer but this sense of anxiety about threats both natural and manmade is a striking characteristic of our times,” he said. To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Lysaght in London at blysaght@bloomberg.net .

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Obama Prepares to Unveil Plan Next Week to `Finish the Job’ in Afghan War

November 25, 2009

By Roger Runningen and Nicholas Johnston Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama is preparing to lay out for the American public his strategy for the Afghanistan war next week and said he intends to “finish the job” there. “The whole world, I think, has a core security interest in making sure that the kind of extremism and violence that you’ve seen emanating from this region is tackled, confronted in a serious way,” Obama said yesterday during a news conference with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the White House. After months of review, Obama this week held his final session with his top foreign policy and military commanders, including General Stanley McChrystal , the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan. McChrystal warned in August that the situation in Afghanistan was “serious” and required a revised strategy. Obama will announce his decision, possibly in a nationwide address, on or about Dec. 1, according to an official familiar with the timetable who spoke on condition of anonymity. The New York Times reported that the U.S. could send up to 30,000 additional troops. To build support, Defense Secretary Robert Gates , Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Admiral Michael Mullen , chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, likely will be dispatched to outline the strategy to Congress next week and McChrystal may testify the following week. Congressional Pressure The president is under pressure from both political parties: some Democrats are resisting deeper U.S. involvement in the war, now in its eighth year, while Republicans are pushing for quick action to add more troops to the fight. He also faces an increasingly skeptical public. A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll found 52 percent say the conflict hasn’t been worth the cost. “I feel very confident that when the American people hear a clear rationale for what we’re doing there and how we intend to achieve our goals, that they will be supportive,” Obama said yesterday. He gave no indication how many U.S. troops he will need to achieve his goals, which include dismantling al-Qaeda’s networks in the region and preparing the Afghan government to take over responsibility for security. The U.S. now contributes about 70,000 of the 110,000 foreign forces waging the Afghan war. McChrystal has recommended boosting the U.S. force by as many as 40,000 troops. Obama said his administration’s review of Afghanistan strategy has been “comprehensive and useful.” “After eight years, some of those years in which we did not have, I think, either the resources or the strategy to get the job done, it is my intention to finish the job,” Obama said at the White House. Help from Allies Obama said he also plans to remind allies from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization of their “obligations” to the war effort, including money and troops. NATO foreign ministers are scheduled to meet in Brussels next week. Obama has said he wants to set benchmarks to measure improvements in Afghanistan’s military and government, including the ability to deliver services to the civilian population and efforts to reduce corruption. The president also has said he wants to lay out a path for an exit strategy for a war that began after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S. “The Afghan people ultimately are going to have to provide for their own security” at some point, he said. The intensified pace of the war there has increased U.S. casualties. October was the deadliest month for U.S. forces since the fighting began, with 59 military personnel dead from combat and accidents, according to Department of Defense figures . War Cost An issue getting increasing attention among congressional Democrats is the cost of the war effort. White House Budget Director Peter Orszag has estimated that each additional soldier in Afghanistan could cost $1 million, for a total that could reach $40 billion if 40,000 more troops are added. Michigan Democrat Carl Levin , chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee , said last week that higher-income Americans should be taxed to pay for sending more troops to Afghanistan. An “additional income tax to the upper brackets, folks earning more than $200,000 or $250,000” a year, could fund more troops, Levin, a Michigan Democrat, said in an interview for Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital With Al Hunt .” Gibbs said Nov. 23, before the president’s last strategy session, that the idea of a so-called war tax hadn’t come up in Obama’s discussions. The president has told the Joint Chiefs of Staff that “we have to take into account how much all of this is going to cost over a five-year, 10-year period,” Gibbs said. To contact the reporters on this story: Roger Runningen in Washington at rrunningen@bloomberg.net ; Nicholas Johnston in Washington at Njohnston3@bloomberg.net

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Obama Calls Meeting of Afghanistan Strategy Group as Troop Decision Nears

November 23, 2009

By Roger Runningen Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama will conduct an Afghan war strategy session with his top military and foreign policy advisers tonight at the White House to follow up on questions he raised about an exit strategy for the U.S. The meeting, scheduled for 8 p.m. Washington time, will be the ninth that the president has convened as he reviews options for U.S. policy in Afghanistan. A decision may come as early as “sometime next week,” spokesman Robert Gibbs said at a briefing. After the last strategy session on Nov. 11, Obama expressed dissatisfaction with the options being presented, and the administration issued a statement saying the “president believes that we need to make clear to the Afghan government that our commitment is not open-ended.” Tonight’s meeting includes the broader question about whether to put more U.S. troops into the fight as well as a “strategy for getting them out,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said. Obama said he wants to set benchmarks to measure improvements in Afghanistan’s military and government, including the ability to deliver services to the civilian population and efforts to reduce corruption. The president has said he also wants to lay out a path for an exit strategy for a war that began in 2001. More Forces Among the questions being debated by Obama and his advisers is whether to grant a request from the top commander in the field, General Stanley McChrystal , for 40,000 more troops to fight the Taliban, which harbored al-Qaeda before being toppled in the invasion following the Sept. 11 attacks. The U.S. contributes about 70,000 of the 110,000 foreign forces waging the Afghan war. Gibbs said the idea of a so-called war tax hasn’t come up in Obama’s discussions. Michigan Democrat Carl Levin , chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee , said last week that higher-income Americans should be taxed to pay for sending more troops to Afghanistan. An “additional income tax to the upper brackets, folks earning more than $200,000 or $250,000” a year, could fund more troops, Levin, a Michigan Democrat, said in an interview for Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital With Al Hunt .” White House Budget Director Peter Orszag has estimated that each additional soldier in Afghanistan could cost $1 million, for a total that could reach $40 billion if 40,000 more troops are added. Accounting Gibbs said today that the president told the Joint Chiefs of Staff that “we have to take into account how much all of this is going to cost over a five-year, 10-year period.” The strategy session will involve 17 members of the administration, including Vice President Joseph Biden , Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , Defense Secretary Robert Gates , National Security Adviser James Jones , General Stanley McChrystal , the top American and NATO commander in Afghanistan, and Karl Eikenberry , U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan. Republicans are pressuring Obama for a decision. “We encourage you to adopt General McChrystal’s recommendation and to provide him with the forces that will give us the highest chance for success with the lowest risk to the safety and security of our forces,” House Republican Leader John Boehner and 13 others said in a Nov. 20 letter. To contact the reporter on this story: Roger Runningen in Washington at rrunningen@bloomberg.net

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Clinton Welcomes Karzai’s `Visionary Outline’ as U.S. Weighs Extra Troops

November 19, 2009

By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) — Hillary Clinton welcomed Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s “visionary outline” for his second five-year term, which includes fighting corruption and building up security forces to take over from U.S. troops. “I’ve heard a lot and I’m encouraged,” Secretary of State Clinton said in an interview after a two-day visit to the Afghan capital, Kabul, to attend Karzai’s swearing-in ceremony. The Obama administration’s chances of fulfilling its main mission in Afghanistan, the destruction of the al-Qaeda network that operated from the country before the U.S. ousted the Taliban following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, “depends on having good partners” in the Afghan government, said Clinton. She also warned Iran that there will be “consequences” if the government in Tehran fails to cooperate with UN demands to curb its nuclear program. Clinton’s visit, the first by a top U.S. official since Afghanistan’s Aug. 20 election was marred by evidence of widespread fraud, came as President Barack Obama considers a request from his military commander in the country to send as many as 40,000 additional troops to combat a growing Taliban insurgency. Obama’s decision on whether to increase the U.S. presence beyond 68,000 troops has been complicated by concerns that Karzai’s administration, hobbled by graft and unable to extend government authority nationwide, may be an unreliable partner. In his address, delivered before dignitaries including Clinton and numerous foreign ministers from countries who contribute to the military and civilian mission in Afghanistan, Karzai attempted to answer points of discord with donor nations. Fight Corruption He pledged to pursue peace with militants, fight corruption and drugs and build a national security force capable of defending his country and taking the lead in military operations within five years, a plan that would allow the U.S. an exit strategy from a war heading into its ninth year. “His speech today was a visionary outline of what he’d like to see happen by the time he finishes his second term, combined with very specific ideas about everything from the security forces to the anti-corruption efforts,” Clinton said. “It’s really a window of opportunity for not just President Karzai but the people of Afghanistan and also the international community.” “We intend to do everything we can to support retention, training and equipping” of the Afghan security forces, Clinton said. “There’s no doubt that if we can move more expeditiously on standing up a well-trained Afghan military” then “that’s a big plus.” Clinton said she didn’t want to preempt Obama’s much- anticipated announcement on troop numbers. Obama Decision “I don’t want to speak either for the president or preempt him from making the announcement. This has been a very thoroughly examined decision.” The prospects for defeating al- Qaeda and enabling Afghanis to defend themselves “depends on having good partners” in Kabul, she said. Karzai deserved credit for progress made in the seven years since he was installed as a transitional leader in 2002, Clinton said, citing the expansion of the number of children in schools from 1 million to 7 million. Clinton said she had listened to Karzai’s concerns about relations with the U.S., particularly concerning the distribution of aid, acknowledging that frictions were “not only a one-way street.” “There’ve been some mixed messages sent by the U.S. government” under the Bush administration, Clinton said. Iran Nuclear Dispute Asked whether she was disappointed by Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki’s announcement yesterday that Iran won’t send its low-enriched uranium abroad for further enrichment, a key part of a UN-brokered proposal designed to lessen tensions over the country’s nuclear effort, Clinton said “I don’t think it’s the final word.” “We’re going to wait to see what their response is on the Tehran research reactor and depending on what it is, we will proceed to the next set of deliberations and actions,” said Clinton. World powers say they are still waiting for Iran’s formal decision on the proposal for the country to ship most of its stockpile of low-enriched uranium abroad in return for reactor- grade fuel. France, Russia and the U.S. have agreed to the plan, which would supply a Tehran research reactor that makes medical isotopes. ‘Violated Rules’ Acceptance by Iran would improve the prospects for further talks over the country’s nuclear program, which the U.S. and several major allies allege is cover for development of a weapon. Under the proposal, Iran would get back uranium in a more highly enriched form suitable for use in a reactor and not in an atomic bomb. Iran says it wants nuclear technology only for peaceful purposes, including the generation of electricity. Mottaki said an exchange of the material for imported nuclear fuel is possible if the transfer takes place inside the country. “They’ve violated international rules,” said Clinton. “They have an opportunity to begin to reverse the production. They have to make the decision. But there are consequences to their failure and refusal to participate.” To contact the reporter on this story: Indira Lakshmanan in in Kabul at ilakshmanan@bloomberg.net .

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Obama Seeks Afghan War Exit Strategy Tied to Karzai Commitment, Gibbs Says

November 12, 2009

By Edwin Chen and Viola Gienger Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama is seeking an approach to eventually ending U.S. involvement in Afghanistan even as he weighs a possible expansion of the American military role in the conflict, administration officials said yesterday. “An exit strategy is as important as ramping up troops,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters aboard Air Force One as Obama headed for a trip through Asia. Gibbs echoed comments earlier in the day by Defense Secretary Robert Gates . “How do we signal resolve and at the same time signal to the Afghans as well as to the American people that this isn’t an open-ended commitment?” Gates told reporters traveling with him to Wisconsin , where he visited an Oshkosh Corp. factory that is speeding production of mine-resistant vehicles for the war. Obama may decide this month whether to grant a request by his commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal , to increase the U.S. force of 68,000 by as many as 40,000 personnel next year. The decision has been complicated by allegations of corruption in Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government and concerns the Afghan leadership may not be able to extend its authority nationwide. “Our success in Afghanistan is most dependent on the Afghan government being a true partner,” Gibbs said. “It’s time to start a new chapter in Afghanistan when it comes to governance and that’s obviously going to play a big part in the decision he makes.” Public Support Americans are divided over the value of the war to the U.S. and whether as many as 40,000 extra troops should be sent into the conflict, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released last month. En route to Asia yesterday, Obama told troops at an air base in Alaska that he wouldn’t put their lives at risk without a clear strategy and mission and “public support back home.” Karzai was declared the winner when the Afghan election commission canceled a Nov. 7 runoff after the other candidate, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah , dropped out. Obama met for more than two hours on Nov. 10 with advisers in their eighth strategy session in the White House Situation Room. The participants included McChrystal via remote link, Gates, Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen , General David Petraeus , who commands U.S. forces in the Middle East and Central Asia, and Richard Holbrooke , the special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Obama is looking for a combination of military and civilian power, seeking a solution that melds the best elements from a range of options presented to him so far, Gates said. The options cover varying troop levels and tactics, along with a civilian reconstruction push, to confront the Taliban insurgency. Gates on Leaks Gates criticized leaks in the two months that Obama has been considering strategy since a McChrystal assessment of the security situation in Afghanistan was given to the Washington Post. The leaks have emerged from around the administration, including the Defense Department, Gates said. The Pentagon chief said if he discovers the identity of anyone in his department sharing such information, “that would probably be a career-ender.” Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island said Obama is looking for stability in the long term in Afghanistan, where the Taliban ruled and harbored al-Qaeda before being ousted by the U.S. in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and the Pentagon. Reed, a Democrat and Obama confidant, sits on the Armed Services Committee and is a former U.S. Army officer. ‘Take the Burden’ “This is about a strategy that will stabilize the country, give the Afghan security forces the chance to take the burden from us, and essentially down the road feel some confidence that we can withdraw our military presence in large part,” Reed told the Bloomberg Washington Summit yesterday. The U.S. leads a coalition of 43 countries in Afghanistan. Obama administration officials have said the president wants to confer with allies during his Asia trip. Holbrooke is doing the same this week during visits to Berlin, Paris, Munich and Moscow before traveling on to Afghanistan. An assessment by the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, retired General Karl Eikenberry , that Obama not send more troops to the country for now because of uncertainty with the Afghan government “is pointing out what the president already understood,” Reed said. General David Petraeus , the overall commander of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, told the same conference that a buildup in Afghanistan would be more difficult than President George W. Bush’s 2007 surge of troops into Iraq because of infrastructure gaps. Iraq Flow “We put 6,000 additional troops into Iraq each of five straight months” during the 2007 deployment of reinforcements to quell violence, Petraeus said. “That’s an extraordinary logistical accomplishment but we had Kuwait” as a staging area for forces. Obama’s budget director, Peter Orszag , told the Bloomberg conference that it would cost about $10 billion a year for every 10,000 troops added in Afghanistan. The number of troops will determine how much more equipment the U.S. and NATO-led forces will need in Afghanistan, including the blast-proof all-terrain trucks that Oshkosh is building in the city of the same name on the shores of Lake Winnebago. The vehicles, called Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected All- Terrain Vehicles, or M-ATV’s, are an element of Gates’s drive to protect soldiers in Afghanistan, where improvised explosive devices account for more than 80 percent of casualties. To contact the reporters on this story: Edwin Chen at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, at 1844 or Echen32@bloomberg.net ; Viola Gienger in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, at vgienger@bloomberg.net .

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Obama Seeks Afghan War Exit Strategy Before Deciding on Troops, Gibbs Says

November 12, 2009

By Edwin Chen Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama wants to ensure the U.S. has an “exit strategy” from Afghanistan and a strong Afghan government before making final decisions on strategy, press secretary Robert Gibbs said. “An exit strategy is as important as ramping up troops,” Gibbs told reporters on Air Force One as the president headed for a trip through Asia. “Our success in Afghanistan is most dependent on the Afghan government being a true partner,” Gibbs said. “It’s time to start a new chapter in Afghanistan when it comes to governance and that’s obviously going to play a big part in the decision he makes.” The president has been meeting for weeks with military and foreign-policy advisers to discuss options for Afghanistan and a set of recommendations made by General Stanley McChrystal , the commander of U.S. and NATO forces there. Obama’s decision has been complicated by allegations of corruption in the government of President Hamid Karzai and evidence of fraud in his August re-election. Karzai was declared the winner when the Afghan election commission canceled a Nov. 7 runoff after the other candidate, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah , dropped out. Ambassador’s Recommendation Karl Eikenberry , the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan and a former top military commander there, has recommended that Obama not send more troops to the country for the time being, a U.S. official said today. The president wants the U.S. to make clear to the Afghan government that its commitment to the country isn’t open-ended, the official said in a statement, issued on the condition of anonymity. The official also said governance in Afghanistan must improve within a reasonable period of time. Obama met for more than two hours yesterday with advisers including Defense Secretary Robert Gates , Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen , General David Petraeus , who commands U.S. forces in the Middle East and Asia, and Richard Holbrooke , special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan. The U.S. has committed 68,000 troops to the Afghanistan conflict and Obama is weighing whether to send as many as 40,000 more. The administration also is pressing other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to put more resources into the fight. To contact the reporter on this story: Edwin Chen in Washington at Echen32@bloomberg.net .

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Obama Calls on Karzai to Deliver Results on Graft, Governance in New Term

November 3, 2009

By Roger Runningen and Nicholas Johnston Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama signaled Afghan leader Hamid Karzai must show real progress in his second term in tackling the corruption and lawlessness that have made Afghanistan a haven for al-Qaeda and Taliban extremists. “This has to be a point in time in which we begin to write a new chapter based on improved governance, a much more serious effort to eradicate corruption” and better security, Obama said he told Karzai yesterday when he called to congratulate him on his re-election. Karzai “assured me that he understood the importance of this moment. But as I indicated to him, proof is not going to be in words, it’s going to be in deeds.” Afghanistan’s election commission canceled a scheduled Nov. 7 runoff between Karzai and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah after Abdullah dropped out. The first round of voting in August was marred by fraud. Resolving the disputed election clears one obstacle to an Obama decision about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel last month suggested the U.S. may hold off on a decision on sending more troops until a “legitimate and credible government” is in place. “Although the process was messy, I’m pleased to say that the final outcome was determined in accordance with Afghan law,” Obama told reporters after a White House meeting with the president of the European Union, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt , who is in Washington for a U.S.-EU summit today. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs earlier yesterday said Karzai is the “legitimate leader” of the country. The declaration of Karzai as victor has “defused much of the uncertainty” and “provides the international community with a partner to work with,” Jan Zalewski , a London-based Afghanistan analyst at political risk consultants IHS Global Insight, said in an e-mail. Credibility Concerns Administration officials have said the existence of a credible government in Afghanistan is crucial to the success of U.S. efforts to stabilize the country and defeat extremists. Gibbs said the president will make a decision in the “next few weeks” about the future course in Afghanistan, including whether to send more American troops to fight in the war, now in its eighth year. The U.S. has committed 68,000 troops to the Afghanistan conflict and Obama is weighing whether to send as many as 40,000 more. The administration also is pressing other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to put more resources into the fight. Obama has been meeting with his top military and foreign policy advisers to discuss options for Afghanistan and a set of recommendations made by General Stanley McChrystal , the commander of U.S. and NATO forces there. Pressuring Karzai Obama said he emphasized to Karzai “that the American people and the international community as a whole want to continue to partner with him and his government.” Members of Congress joined Obama in ratcheting up the pressure on Karzai to improve his credibility. “It is an opportunity for the government of President Karzai to demonstrate genuine progress in combating corruption, establishing rule of law and bringing measurable improvement to peoples’ lives,” said Massachusetts Democrat John Kerry , chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The solution in Afghanistan will require not only the security that the U.S. and its allies are providing and training Afghan security forces to maintain, but also a better connection between Karzai and his people, said Ike Skelton , chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. “He’s just going to have to set an example and insist on taking care of the people, and rid the government of corruption,” Skelton, a Missouri Democrat, said in a telephone interview. “He should realize this is his one chance.” Given the scale of the challenges, the probable weak structure of any Karzai administration, and the strain in ties between the Afghan leader and U.S. government in recent months “it remains rather unlikely that much headway will be made with regard to Afghanistan’s multiple problems,” Zalewski said. To contact the reporters on this story: Roger Runningen in Washington at rrunningen@bloomberg.net ; Nicholas Johnston in Washington at njohnston3@bloomberg.net

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Karzai Wins Second Term as Afghan President After Rival Quits Runoff Vote

November 2, 2009

By Ali Sheikholeslami Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) — Hamid Karzai will serve a second term as Afghanistan’s president after election challenger Abdullah Abdullah, a former foreign minister, dropped out of a runoff vote that was scheduled for Nov. 7, the Independent Election Commission announced in Kabul. Consistent “with the high interest of the Afghan people and to prevent uncertainty and a lot of challenges to stability and security,” the commission “declares Hamid Karzai as the next president of Afghanistan.” The Aug. 20 first round was marred by fraud. Commission officials said in a statement televised live from Kabul that after Abdullah withdrew they reached a decision by consensus to underpin the country’s security. A “free and fair” vote in the planned Nov. 7 ballot would not have been possible, Abdullah told reporters yesterday in the capital. “The Afghan people deserve a better election,” he said. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement yesterday that the U.S. “will support the next president” of Afghanistan. Abdullah’s pullout won’t harm Karzai’s legitimacy, Clinton told reporters Oct. 31 during a visit to Jerusalem. Karzai’s submission to a second round of voting “bestowed legitimacy from that moment forward, and Dr. Abdullah’s decision does not in any way take away from that,” she said. Withdrawal ‘A Mistake’ Abdullah’s withdrawal “is a big mistake that takes away the last chance for Afghan people” to have a voice in choosing their government, said Mir Ahmad Joyenda, an Afghan legislator and head of the Foundation for Culture and Civil Society. Karzai, 51, has lost political legitimacy since his first election as president in 2004, and can only regain it “by changing his government and removing the warlords and mafias that he has joined with,” Joyenda said by phone. In the August vote, Abdullah won 27 percent to 48 percent for Karzai, according to amended results issued last month by election officials. A United Nations-backed anti-fraud commission last month invalidated more than 1 million votes, most of them for Karzai, reducing his vote tally to less than 50 percent of the total and forcing him into a runoff. In 2009, 281 U.S. military personnel have been killed in Afghanistan, a rate more than double last year’s record high, according to a count by the private monitoring group iCasualties.org. President Barack Obama is deciding whether to raise the U.S. troop commitment in the eight-year-old war beyond the 68,000 now there. Abdullah, who was born in 1960, said yesterday there is “no doubt” that more U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces are needed to suppress the Taliban and stabilize his nation, while adding that more than soldiers will be required. To contact the reporter on this story: Ali Sheikholeslami in London at alis2@bloomberg.net

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Clinton `Broke the Ice’ With Pakistanis Angry Over U.S. Actions in Region

October 31, 2009

By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ended a three-day visit to Pakistan in which she confronted intense anti-American sentiment in a nuclear-armed country that has become a central front for violent extremists. Wielding the celebrity she enjoys in Pakistan as a former first lady who first visited in 1995, Clinton tried to close the trust deficit that strains U.S.-Pakistani ties. She appeared on live television and in newspaper pages pledging to support democracy and development and praising the military for its five-month campaign against Taliban strongholds. Clinton “broke the ice” by risking her security to visit Lahore and Islamabad, two cities that have suffered terrorist attacks, and listening to “suspicion, anger and aggression” from Pakistani audiences, Jugnu Mohsin, publisher of the Lahore- based Friday Times newspaper group, said in an interview. Meetings with hundreds of Pakistani students, professionals, community leaders and journalists exposed Clinton to public ire over the use of air strikes on suspected terrorist hideouts in Pakistan’s tribal areas and over perceived heavy- handed conditions attached to billions of dollars of U.S. aid. Clinton’s willingness to hear out the tirades and try to explain the U.S. point of view won her respect, said Mohsin, who was among leading editors invited to air their opinions. “Whether the charm offensive works,” she added, “will depend on how consistent America’s commitment is to impact peoples’ livelihood.” $7.5 Billion In her remarks, Clinton sought to highlight the $7.5 billion in aid the U.S. has authorized for upgrading roads, electricity, education and other projects. The top American diplomat’s efforts to dispel the view that the U.S. is dictating to Pakistan and doesn’t care about its people or prosperity proved an uphill battle. An August survey by the Washington-based Pew Research Center showed 64 percent of Pakistanis regard the U.S. as an enemy. On chairs arranged on red tribal carpets at an arts center in Islamabad yesterday, Clinton listened to leaders from border areas caught in the cross-fire between government and Taliban forces. Faiysal Alikhan, a community organizer in Dera Ismail Khan, an area hard hit by extremist violence, praised Clinton for holding a meeting in the circular format typical of a tribal council. “The way she interacted, looked everyone in the eye, her body language demonstrated a level of trust,” he said in an interview. A larger gathering that followed with female professionals was “a sort of hostile environment,” he said, “and she handled that in a very honest and straightforward way.” Terror Attacks At the forum hosted by women television anchors, Clinton sought to deflect criticism over what Pakistan’s government says have been 528 civilian deaths in an unspecified period from missile strikes on suspected terrorist targets by U.S. remote- controlled drone aircraft. Clinton told women who critiqued such strikes as an infringement on Pakistani sovereignty that al-Qaeda “is in league with the people who are attacking Pakistan.” Suicide bombings and commando raids by Taliban guerrillas have killed at least 280 people in the country this month. Just hours after Clinton arrived in Islamabad on Oct. 27, a car bomb shattered a crowded market in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing at least 117 people, many of them women and children, in the deadliest attack since October 2007. Sixty others are still missing. Some Praise After the forum, Begum Salma Ahmed, the founding president of the Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said she felt Clinton’s “visit has gone down better than any by a U.S. official.” Clinton didn’t mince words when challenged about why the war on terror focuses so much on Pakistan. Clinton told editors in the eastern city of Lahore that al-Qaeda has a safe haven in Pakistan and she found “it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are and couldn’t get them if they really wanted to.” Pakistan’s army has launched its largest offensive yet against Taliban who control parts of the rugged, autonomous tribal zone along the Afghan border. The campaign is concentrated in South Waziristan, the base of the Taliban faction that Pakistan blames for 80 percent of terrorist attacks in the country. U.S. Spending Clinton asked her audience at the women’s forum how many knew that the U.S. had spent $300 million so far to help Pakistanis uprooted by their army’s assaults on the Taliban. Neither that contribution nor recently passed legislation to authorize $1.5 billion annually for economic development in Pakistan seems to have been taken in the cooperative spirit it was intended, she said. “We feel like we’re doing things and we are not getting through,” she said. One tribal leader complained to Clinton that Pakistan was “fighting your war.” Speaking in Pashto, Mufti Kifayatullah , a member of the local assembly in the North West Frontier Province, complained “the blood spilled is ours.” Talks, not military assaults, are needed, he urged. “I certainly hope there will be an opportunity for negotiations,” Clinton said, reminding him that the U.S. had tried to avert war in 2001 by urging the Afghan Taliban to hand over the al-Qaeda leaders who perpetrated the Sept. 11 attacks. To contact the reporter on this story: Indira Lakshmanan in Islamabad at ilakshmanan@bloomberg.net .

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Senator Kerry Signals Renewed Confidence in Afghanistan’s President Karzai

October 30, 2009

By Viola Gienger Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) — Senator John Kerry said Afghan President Hamid Karzai is willing to make Cabinet changes to bolster his government’s credibility, and expressed skepticism the beleaguered leader’s brother has links to the CIA. Kerry, who spoke to Karzai by telephone this morning and had lunch with CIA Director Leon Panetta yesterday, said he doesn’t believe the president’s brother has a “direct relationship” with the CIA, as reported earlier this week in the New York Times. Kerry expressed confidence in Karzai’s ability to recover from allegations that his government is corrupt and engaged in fraud in the first round of elections Aug. 20. “I think he is prepared to embrace reforms,” Kerry, 65, said in an interview for Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital With Al Hunt ,” airing this weekend. The Massachusetts Democrat also distanced himself from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s public questioning of whether some Pakistani officials know the whereabouts of al- Qaeda during her visit to the country this week. The Obama administration has said a central question is whether the Afghan government can be a capable partner and take over the country’s security and manage its development after eight years of war. President Barack Obama is weighing strategy on Afghanistan and whether to send as many as 40,000 more troops that his top commander there, General Stanley McChrystal , has requested. ‘Too Far, Too Fast’ Kerry said he didn’t know what Obama would decide and couldn’t confirm whether the decision might veer close to the senator’s position. In addition to linking U.S. aid to the Afghan government’s performance, Kerry has left open the possibility of sending more U.S. troops while saying McChrystal’s approach “reaches too far, too fast.” Kerry, the 2004 Democratic nominee for the U.S. presidency and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he doesn’t know when Obama will announce his decision on the strategy. Obama is scheduled to leave for a trip to Asia within days after Afghan voters go to the polls Nov. 7 for a presidential runoff election. Kerry helped persuade Karzai to agree to the rematch during a visit to Afghanistan last week, and the president is favored to defeat his challenger, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah . Credibility Question The timing of a decision on strategy depends in part on whether Obama feels he has enough information to judge the prospects for an Afghan government that can govern with credibility and handle civilian development efforts, Kerry said. “I suspect he will make the decision sometime very soon,” Kerry said. “What’s important to us is that we get legitimacy out of this election at the highest level, and then we can work downwards and deal with the issues of individual governors or individual relationships.” Kerry cited “serious questions” about links between Karzai’s brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, and the Central Intelligence Agency. The New York Times reported this week that he has received regular payments from the agency for much of the past eight years in exchange for services including helping recruit an Afghan paramilitary force. Ahmed Wali Karzai said that, while he cooperated with American civilian and military officials, he didn’t receive payments from the CIA. He also denied allegations that he was involved in the drug trade. Lunch With Panetta “We’re asking questions,” Kerry said, citing his lunch with Panetta and a group of other senators. “I’m not at liberty to talk about it, but I don’t believe there is a direct relationship” with the CIA. Hamid Karzai is prepared to confront “reasonable” issues where evidence indicates joint efforts to stabilize Afghanistan are at risk, Kerry said. Still, Karzai questioned whether the news reports related to his brother indicate an effort in Washington to undermine him, the senator said. Repairing such rifts with leaders in Afghanistan and Pakistan will be essential to a successful effort to defeat al- Qaeda, Kerry said. The war in Afghanistan can’t distract the U.S. from a simultaneous focus on Pakistan, he said. “Pakistan is the center of the al-Qaeda presence,” Kerry said, citing the danger of rising extremism and the country’s nuclear weapons. “If we keep our eye on Pakistan, I believe Afghanistan will flow more easily out of that.” He said he couldn’t judge Clinton’s timing for raising the question of Pakistani officials’ knowledge of the whereabouts of al-Qaeda militants, which U.S. officials believe are hiding near the Afghan border. “How you raise those issues, where you raise those issues is obviously a matter of personal preference or I suppose diplomatic policy,” Kerry said. “I think that, at this particular moment, what we’re trying to do is build our relationship and trust with the Pakistanis.” To contact the reporter on this story: Viola Gienger in Washington at vgienger@bloomberg.net .

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Afghan Taliban Kill Six United Nations Staff in Raid on Kabul Guesthouse

October 28, 2009

By Ed Johnson and James Rupert Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) — Six United Nations international workers were killed and nine wounded when insurgents attacked a guesthouse today in the Afghan capital, Kabul, where officials are preparing for next month’s presidential runoff election. Gunmen opened fire outside the main gate to the Bakhtar Guesthouse at about 6:30 a.m. local time and forced their way inside, killing UN workers as they “were running to escape,” UN spokesman Aleem Siddique said by telephone from Kabul. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack that left 10 people dead, saying it was intended to disrupt preparations for the vote, the Associated Press reported. Militants also fired a rocket, which failed to explode, into the grounds of the luxury Serena Hotel, forcing guests and employees to flee to the basement, the news agency said. Kabul has been on alert for a militant assault as Afghans prepare to vote on Nov. 7 to choose between incumbent President Hamid Karzai and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah . The capital has been hit several times in recent weeks, including a suicide bombing outside the Indian Embassy earlier this month that killed 17 people. The guesthouse is on a tree-lined street in Shahr-i-Nau, a central Kabul neighborhood where many government and international organizations have offices and residences. UN workers were injured, many with cuts and bruises suffered as they fled, Siddique said. “We’re trying to assure the safety of our staff, and we don’t know yet the identities of everyone who was killed,” he added. Machine Guns Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a telephone call that three militants with suicide vests, grenades and machine guns carried out the assault, AP reported. Three militants wearing explosive-packed vests were killed, Agence France-Presse reported, citing the Interior Ministry. Kabul is under a “very significant threat” from the Taliban, who are escalating attacks against the capital, said Rohan Gunaratna , head of the Singapore-based International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research. “One successful attack like this in Kabul sends a powerful message to the Afghan people and the international community that the Taliban will continue to fight and will not give up,” Gunaratna said by telephone. The assault came a day after eight U.S. soldiers were killed by roadside bombs in southern Afghanistan, making October the deadliest month for American forces in the eight-year conflict. President Barack Obama is reviewing his war strategy for Afghanistan and accusations of electoral fraud have complicated his decision on whether to grant the request of General Stanley McChrystal , the commander of U.S. and NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, to increase U.S. troop levels in the country. The runoff was triggered by a partial recount of the Aug. 20 vote that found more than 1 million ballots, most of them for Karzai, were suspect, putting his tally below the more than 50 percent needed to win in the first round. To contact the reporters on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net ; James Rupert in New Delhi at jrupert3@bloomberg.net .

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Afghan Police Say Five People Dead in Afghan Guesthouse Shooting, AP Says

October 27, 2009

By Ed Johnson Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) — Five people died in shooting at a guesthouse used by United Nations workers in the Afghan capital, Kabul, the Associated Press reported, citing police. Gunfire and explosions rocked the city early today and thick smoke rose above offices and residential buildings, according to the report. Kabul is on alert for a Taliban attack before next month’s runoff presidential election, AP said. Afghans are scheduled to vote Nov. 7, choosing between incumbent President Hamid Karzai and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah , after allegations of fraud triggered a partial recount of the Aug. 20 ballot. To contact the reporter on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net .

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Afghan Ambassador Open to UN-Run Election, Declines to Endorse Holbrooke

October 24, 2009

By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan Oct. 24 (Bloomberg) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government would accept the United Nations taking charge of a runoff election next month if that would alleviate concerns about fraud, the Afghan ambassador to Washington said. In a sign of friction with a key member of the Obama administration, Said Jawad declined in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt ,” airing this weekend, to express confidence in Richard Holbrooke , the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Holbrooke has denied reports that he clashed with Karzai over irregularities in Afghanistan’s Aug. 20 vote. Jawad also ruled out the likelihood of a deal between Karzai and his main rival, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah , to form a coalition government that would preclude the need for the planned Nov. 7 runoff, as some observers in Europe and Washington had suggested. Karzai is widely favored to win the rematch; he garnered 48.3 percent while Abdullah tallied 31.5 percent in the first vote after fraudulent ballots were thrown out, according to an analysis by Democracy International , a U.S.-based election- monitoring group. The UN “is welcome if they want” to supervise and tally the rematch vote, Jawad said, as the world body did in the last presidential election in 2004, before an Afghan commission took charge of the process. The runoff vote, which Karzai endorsed Oct. 20, was triggered by a partial recount that found more than 1 million ballots — most of them for Karzai — were suspect, putting the incumbent president’s tally below the more than 50 percent needed to win in the first round. Suspect Ballots In the aftermath of the August vote, the Karzai-appointed Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan had resisted calls from international observers to rule out ballots, saying Karzai had enough votes to win in the first round. The Electoral Complaints Commission , an independent body that includes three officials appointed by the UN, investigated and determined that 1 million ballots appeared to be fraudulent. “We will welcome their increased role and involvement,” Jawad said of the UN. It is in “our best interest to have the second round of the election to be as transparent and fair and democratic as possible.” Insecurity and threats from the Taliban suppressed voter turnout in about 1,700 polling stations where the insurgent presence is stronger, Jawad said. Though UN investigators raised concerns about fake votes attributed to those polling stations, Jawad said they shouldn’t be closed down even though estimated turnout was low in dangerous areas. Depriving Voters “If you close them down, then we would be depriving a large number of Afghans, especially the Pashtuns in southern Afghanistan,” of the right to vote, Jawad said. “It will not be regarded as a fair election.” There were more than 6,000 polling stations for the August vote; in about 500 of those, far more votes were tallied than cast, Farhan Haq , a spokesman for the UN in New York, said in telephone interview yesterday. In cases where the Electoral Complaints Commission threw out “a lot or all of the votes,” the UN was told “the station will not be open,” he said. The decision on which polling places to shut rests with the Afghans. Voting Preparations Ballots are already being packed for shipment to voting sites across the country. More than 200 of the 380 district election coordinators for the first round have been fired for complicity in the fraud, Aleem Siddique , spokesman for the UN mission in Afghanistan, said this week. Asked about Holbrooke, who was widely reported to have argued with Karzai following the flawed August election and who was perceived by some in Washington and Kabul as supporting a change in Afghanistan’s administration, Jawad refused to say if the U.S. envoy had lost the confidence of Karzai or his effectiveness in working with the Afghan government. “Individuals are coming and going. It will not affect actually the long-term relations between the two countries,” said Jawad. He also said he has “enjoyed good working relations with Ambassador Holbrooke.” Massachusetts Democrat John Kerry , the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee , was in Afghanistan last week and it was he who persuaded Karzai to break the impasse over the disputed election and accept a second round of voting. Holbrooke ‘Welcome’ Asked if Holbrooke can still be effective in his post, Jawad replied, “This is a matter up to the United States. As far as we are concerned, Ambassador Holbrooke is still the special envoy” and “if he decides to travel to Afghanistan, he’s welcome.” Holbrooke told reporters at the State Department yesterday that if Karzai is re-elected, he looks forward to working with him. “In terms of my relationships with President Karzai, they’re fine. They’re correct. They’re appropriate,” Holbrooke said. “I have absolutely no problems with him.” Holbrooke said the vetting of ballots and the agreement for a rematch vote was a victory for the electoral process, and expressed confidence that the runoff will have fewer irregularities because of lessons learned and a greater number of international troops present to help ensure security. As President Barack Obama considers the debate among his advisers on whether to expand the U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan, Jawad said Afghans would welcome additional U.S. forces on their soil. “They’re needed in Afghanistan,” he said. Declining to say how many more U.S. forces are necessary, he said it will “depend on the quality of the troops and the type of mission they will carry out.” Regional Stability Jawad said it would be a mistake for the U.S. to scale back its involvement in Afghanistan and shift its focus to other countries where al-Qaeda is active. “It is not for the sake of safety and security in Afghanistan,” he said. “It has implications for regional stability and global security.” Regarding complaints that the Karzai government has been too weak to crack down on corruption among warlords and well- connected businessmen, Jawad said the government has “heard the message of the international community and the message of the Afghan people.” He said Karzai has promised to “take tougher measures against corruption and improve governance.” To contact the reporter on this story: Indira Lakshmanan in Washington at ilakshmanan@bloomberg.net

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Emanuel Says Afghans Need Credible Government Before U.S. Troop Decision

October 18, 2009

By Vincent Del Giudice Oct. 18 (Bloomberg) — White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel signaled the U.S. may refrain from deciding to send more troops to Afghanistan until a “legitimate and credible government” is in place. “The president will not be rushed to making a decision” on Afghanistan, Emanuel said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program. It would be “reckless to make a decision on U.S. troop levels” without a through analysis of the country’s ability to govern itself, Emanuel said. The Obama administration maintains that Afghanistan needs a legitimate, stable government to harness the support of the country’s people and security forces to marginalize extremists. Uncertainty surrounding the results of the Aug. 20 presidential election, which has been plagued by allegations of fraud, was among the elements that prompted Obama to reconsider U.S. strategy and troop levels in the country. “The review is going to continue to go on,” Emanuel said on CNN. President Barack Obama met yesterday with his national security advisers on the war in Afghanistan, Emanuel said on the CBS “Face The Nation” program. More meetings are scheduled for this week and the following week, he said on CNN. “We’re getting closer and closer to where the president wants to be,” Emanuel said on CBS. The question isn’t “how many troops you send, but do you have a credible Afghan partner,” he said on CNN. Runoff Election Emanuel said Afghan leaders can either call a “run-off election” or convene “negotiations between the candidates.” A probe by Afghan and United Nations officials into the fraud allegations in the presidential election has trimmed President Hamid Karzai’s share of the vote. A runoff election is likely, Afghan envoy Said Jawad said this week. Ultimately, “it’s the Afghans making a decision about what type of government they’re going to have and what road they’re going to take to that point,” Emanuel said. Speaking from Afghanistan, Senator John Kerry , chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, echoed the White House position on adding to the U.S. force. “It would be entirely irresponsible for the president of the United States to commit more troops to this country when we don’t even have an election finished,” Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, said on the CNN program. Urging a Decision Some Republicans, such as Arizona senator and former presidential candidate John McCain , are pushing for a decision to send the troops General Stanley McChrystal , commander of U.S. and NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, has said he needs. McChrystal commands 103,000 troops from the 28 North Atlantic Treaty Organization members and 14 other allies. The U.S. is by far the biggest contributor, with a contingent that will reach 68,000 by the end of this year. That includes the increase of 21,000 that Obama authorized earlier this year. McChrystal also said good governance is a key to success in the South Asian nation, according to Kerry. “When our own commanding general tells us that a critical component of achieving our mission here is, in fact, good governance, and we’re living with a government that we know has to change and provide it, how could the president responsibly say, ‘Oh, they asked for more, sure, here they are?’” Kerry said on CNN. McChrystal said that even if Obama decided to send more troops to Afghanistan today, many of those troops wouldn’t begin to go there until next year, according to Kerry. To contact the reporter on this story: Vincent Del Giudice in Washington at vdelgiudice@bloomberg.net

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Afghan Presidential Runoff Vote Is `a Likely Scenario,’ Karzai Envoy Says

October 16, 2009

By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan and Viola Gienger Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) — A runoff election between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his main challenger is “a likely scenario,” Afghanistan’s ambassador to the U.S., Said Jawad , said as an announcement of ballot-recount results draws near. A probe by Afghan and United Nations officials into allegations of fraud in the Aug. 20 presidential election has trimmed Karzai’s share of the vote to 47 percent, the Washington Post reported today citing unnamed officials. A preliminary count last month put Karzai’s vote at almost 55 percent, higher than the more than 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff. Early November would be the latest the new vote could be held between Karzai and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah because the extreme winter cold would make turnout difficult, Jawad told the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington. “If it’s delayed until spring, that’s a recipe for disaster,” Jawad said yesterday. The Afghan government and its projects would be “in limbo,” he said, putting pressure on both the U.S. and Afghanistan to deliver results without a new president and cabinet. The commission investigating fraud will announce its findings in the next day or two, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said today. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a CNN interview that Afghans should follow “whatever their recommendation is” and predicted that if a second round is held, the likelihood of Karzai winning “is pretty high.” Obama Reconsiders President Barack Obama’s advisers have said Afghanistan needs a legitimate, stable government to harness the support of the country’s people and security forces to marginalize extremists. The uncertainty surrounding the election was among the elements that prompted Obama to reconsider U.S. strategy and troop levels in the country. “We don’t have any favorites in this race,” White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters aboard Air Force One with the president today. “The legitimacy of this election and its outcome is in the hands of the Afghan people,” Burton said. “We’re looking for them to get through this process just like everyone else is.” Bruce Riedel , a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said the “most immediate requirement we need is to fix the Afghan election fiasco.” “If there is a second round,” as looks increasingly likely, “we need to make sure it is not marred” by fraud and corruption, said Riedel, who led Obama’s interagency Afghan- Pakistan strategy review earlier this year after advising the National Security Council under the last three presidents. Coalition Government Karzai probably will try to organize a “national participation government,” Jawad said in an interview yesterday, without giving details. A coalition government would create problems such as the requirement to dole out appointments based on loyalty rather than merit, Jawad said. For now, the Obama administration can help cool tensions after the recount by making “tough decisions” to press both sides toward an agreement, said Ashraf Ghani , a former finance minister in Afghanistan who ran fourth in the election. “One party or the other is going to contest the decision and is going to declare it illegitimate,” Ghani said yesterday at the Atlantic Council of the United States, a policy group in Washington. “The key is to get all parties on board to accept a road map, reach an understanding and move on.” Alternatives Ghani said a coalition government is a possible solution to an impasse. Another alternative, he said, would be an interim administration similar to the one established in 2002 after the U.S. ousted the Taliban for harboring al-Qaeda, the group responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. Still another would be a national government with specific goals and timelines for delivering public services, Ghani said. Or, the U.S. could bypass the central government and concentrate on working with local leaders, he said. Obama’s presidency “in part rests on getting Afghanistan right, as does the future of my people,” Ghani said. Karzai is indisputably a force in Afghanistan even after the fraud allegations, Ghani said. Still, the president “understands the depth of the crisis of his legitimacy,” Ghani said. “Without international support, Mr. Karzai’s government could not last 10 days.” Clinton said earlier this week that the U.S. will expect the next Afghan president to increase stability in the country. Karzai Helpful When asked about a potential Karzai victory, Clinton told British Broadcasting Corp. radio that he “had been very helpful on many fronts.” “If this election results in him being re-elected, there must be a new relationship between him and the people of Afghanistan, between his government and governments which are supporting the efforts in Afghanistan to stabilize and secure the country,” Clinton said. Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission said on Sept. 16 that Karzai held a nominal lead of almost 55 percent, compared with 28 percent for Abdullah. The commission joined with a separate Electoral Complaints Commission composed of two Afghans and three foreign officials to announce on Sept. 24 an audit of suspect ballots by sampling. Kai Eide , the top UN envoy to Afghanistan, said at an Oct. 11 news conference in Kabul there was “significant fraud” at some voting stations. To contact the reporters on this story: Indira Lakshmanan in Washington at ilakshmanan@bloomberg.net ; Viola Gienger in Washington at vgienger@bloomberg.net .

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Clinton warning Afghan leaders of failure to solve country’s problems

October 12, 2009

Clinton warning Afghan leaders of failure to solve country’s problems

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Afghanistan Suicide Car Bomber Kills 17, Injures 73 Near Interior Ministry

October 8, 2009

By James Rupert and Jay Shankar Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) — A suicide car bombing outside India’s Embassy in the Afghan capital, Kabul, killed 17 people and wounded 73 in the second attack to hit the mission in 15 months. The attackers “came up to the outside perimeter wall of the embassy with a car loaded with explosives, obviously with the aim of targeting the embassy,” Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told journalists in India. Blast walls built since a bombing in July 2008 deflected the force of today’s explosion, said Jayant Prasad , the Indian ambassador in Kabul, speaking to India’s NDTV network. The bomb blew out doors and windows at the embassy building and caused “no loss of life” inside, said Shrinivasrao Sohoni , an Indian official working in Kabul as an adviser to the Afghan government. The attacker struck about 8:30 a.m., a time when the street — where the embassy and the Afghan Interior Ministry face each other — is normally busy with pedestrians. The attack is the latest bombing in the city as the government has been occupied with the disputed results of the Aug. 25 presidential election. Election authorities are investigating ballot fraud, especially by backers of President Hamid Karzai , and repeatedly have delayed announcing a result. “The election has brought a political stalemate that is worsening the instability of Afghanistan” and making it harder to respond to violence, said Victor Korgun , an Afghan specialist at the Institute for Oriental Studies in Moscow. ‘Savage Terrorism’ Karzai condemned the bombing , about 1.5 kilometers from his offices, as the work of “savage terrorists.” Hamed Elmi, the president’s deputy spokesman, said in a telephone interview that the dead included two police officers and 15 civilians, some of whom were schoolchildren. The blast injured guards at the embassy’s perimeter, Prasad said, and no Indians were hurt. The bombing was at least the sixth in or near Kabul since Aug. 18, in which more than 60 people have died. On July 7, 2008, a suicide bomber killed at least 40 people at the same location. The “intensity of today’s attack was the same as the earlier one,” Prasad told CNN-IBN TV . India is committed to its policy of giving economic and technical help to Karzai’s government as a way to help the U.S.- led battle against the Taliban guerrillas, Rao said yesterday at a conference in New Delhi. “We have an abiding interest in the stabilization of Afghanistan,” she said. India’s government has given more than $1.2 billion, a big amount “for a non-traditional donor nation,” largely to rebuild roads and the electrical power grid, and to train Afghans, Rao said. India is the sixth-largest donor nation to Afghanistan, she said. Guerrilla Network The Indian role in Afghanistan has been protested by Pakistani officials, including Interior Minister Rehman Malik , who say they believe India is using its presence there to foment insurrection in Pakistan’s adjacent Baluchistan province. Pakistan has given no evidence of the claim, which India denies. Last year, the Afghan and Indian governments said communications intercepts showed that Pakistan’s intelligence service supported the July bombing of the embassy. That attack was claimed by Sirajuddin Haqqani, a Taliban commander based in Pakistan’s North Waziristan region, on the Afghan border. Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate has helped protect the Haqqani guerrilla network, say former U.S. officials who have worked on the issue, including retired CIA counter-terrorism chief Vince Cannistraro , a Washington-based security analyst. Pakistan denied the allegations that it helped in the earlier bombing. To contact the reporters on this story: James Rupert in New Delhi at jrupert3@ bloomberg.net; Jay Shankar in Bangalore at jshankar1@bloomberg.net .

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Afghanistan Suicide Car Bomber Kills 12, Injures 60 Near Interior Ministry

October 8, 2009

By James Rupert and Jay Shankar Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) — A suicide car bomber detonated a vehicle near Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry and the Indian Embassy , killing 12 people and injuring 60 people. The bomb caused property damage to the Indian embassy, “but no loss of life,” within the embassy, Shrinivasrao Sohoni , an Indian official working as an advisor to the Afghan government, said by phone. The attack came at about 8:30 a.m., a time when the street is normally busy with pedestrians. President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack as the work of “savage terrorists,” in a statement on the presidential Web site. The blast was about 1.5 kilometers (one mile) from Karzai’s palace. Siamak Herawi , a spokesman for the office of president, confirmed the death toll and injuries by phone from Kabul. “The target is unclear,” Zemarai Bashary, a spokesman for the ministry, said by phone from Kabul, after Agence France- Presse reported the Indian mission was targeted. The AFP report cited an Indian diplomat it did not name. The Interior Ministry and the Indian Embassy face each other across a street in Kabul’s Shahr-e-Nau neighborhood. “The intensity of the attack was the same as the earlier one,” Jayant Prasad , the Indian ambassador, said on CNN-IBN TV from Kabul. Security personnel on the outer perimeter of the embassy were injured, while no Indians were hurt, he said. Some of the embassy’s doors and windows were blown off, he said. On July 7, 2008, a suicide bomber targeted India’s embassy in the Afghan capital, killing at least 40 people. The Afghan and Indian governments said that attack was carried out with the assistance of Pakistan’s intelligence service. Pakistan denied the claims. To contact the reporter on this story: James Rupert in New Delhi at jrupert3@ bloomberg.net; Jay Shankar in Bangalore at jshankar1@bloomberg.net .

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Gates Says Military Advice to Obama on Afghanistan Should Be Kept Private

October 5, 2009

By Tony Capaccio Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) — Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today the U.S. military’s advice to President Barack Obama on Afghanistan should be given privately, an implicit rebuke to the commander who has discussed openly his own views on war strategy. Referring to the debate within the administration over troop levels in Afghanistan, Gates said “it is imperative that all of us taking part in these deliberations, civilians and military alike, provide our best advice to the president, candidly but privately.” Army General Stanley McChrystal , the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said in media interviews and a speech last week in London that the Taliban insurgency is gathering strength and the U.S. risks failure without doing more to protect the local population. Obama is examining options for the Afghan war after McChrystal, in a private Aug. 30 assessment, said more international troops would be needed to provide security and train Afghan forces. Gates’s comments today, in a speech opening the annual convention of the Association of the U.S. Army in Washington, echoed criticism from retired Marine Corps General Jim Jones , Obama’s national security adviser. “It is better for military advice to come up through the chain of command,” Jones said in an interview yesterday on CNN. Obama is to have a closed-door meeting later today with Gates and is scheduled to conduct the third of at least five strategy sessions on Afghanistan Oct. 7 with his top foreign policy, national security and military advisers. McChrystal Meeting The president met with McChrystal Oct. 2 aboard Air Force One while Obama was in Copenhagen as part of the unsuccessful U.S. bid to bring the 2016 Olympic Games to Chicago. Gates said today in his speech that decisions Obama will make on the next stage of the Afghanistan campaign “will be among the most important of his presidency, so it is important that we take our time to do all we can to get this right.” “And speaking for the Department of Defense,” Gates said, “once the commander-in-chief makes his decisions, we will salute and execute those decisions faithfully and to the best of our ability.” Gates said violence levels in Iraq are “up some 60 percent from last year, a “worrisome trajectory.” Eight U.S. soldiers were killed over the weekend when militants attacked two outposts in eastern Nuristan province. Senator John McCain of Arizona, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, has said McChrystal is seeking 30,000 to 40,000 additional troops, and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said the situation in the country will worsen without an increase. The president will brief Republican and Democratic congressional leaders tomorrow about his review of U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said. The meeting at the White House is intended to “walk them through where we are in the process,” Gibbs said today. To contact the reporter on this story: Tony Capaccio in Washington at acapaccio@bloomberg.net .

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Afghan Forces Must Be Strengthened, Jones Says, as Eight Soldiers Killed

October 5, 2009

By Viola Gienger Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) — Afghan security forces must be strengthened to take on the Taliban, White House National Security Adviser Jim Jones said, as eight American soldiers were killed when militants attacked outposts in the country’s east. A “robust effort” is needed to help the Afghan army and police “control their own destiny,” Jones said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” yesterday. Building up the Afghan forces “will be an important part of whatever we decide to do.” President Barack Obama is examining options for the Afghan war after his commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal , warned that the U.S. risks failure without doing more to protect the local population. In an Aug. 30 assessment, McChrystal said more international troops would be needed to provide security and train Afghan forces. Jones said that while al-Qaeda has been weakened to fewer than 100 terrorists operating in Afghanistan, the group could find sanctuary there again should the Taliban return to power. A U.S.-led coalition ousted the Taliban leadership in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and the Pentagon. “But I don’t foresee the return of the Taliban, and I want to be very clear that Afghanistan is not in imminent danger of falling,” Jones said. Some 68,000 American personnel are due to be on the ground in Afghanistan by the end of the year, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice sought to reassure allies that the U.S. will stick with the fight. “Nobody is talking about walking away from Afghanistan,” Rice said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” U.S. Deaths The eight American soldiers and two Afghan personnel died Oct. 3 after insurgents attacked two outposts in eastern Nuristan province, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said in a statement. The deaths were the worst U.S. fatalities in a single engagement since July 2008, the Associated Press reported. The coalition of 41 nations, led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, had announced plans to leave the area as part of a broader plan to focus on larger population centers. Those plans haven’t changed, the force said in the statement. McChrystal recommended expanding the Afghan army and police force on an accelerated timetable to about 400,000 from a planned 230,800. In a separate report that hasn’t been released, McChrystal specified how many more foreign troops would be needed. More Troops Senator John McCain of Arizona, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, has said McChrystal is seeking 30,000 to 40,000 more troops. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said the situation will worsen unless more U.S. troops are added. “General McChrystal said without reinforcements we cannot change the momentum that the Taliban has achieved,” Graham, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said yesterday on “Fox News Sunday.” With additional troops, “we’ll have a second chance at governance,” Graham said. “But it’s impossible to bring about better governance without security. And what we have in place now is not going to work.” U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer , a California Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said she’s worried about the prospects of al-Qaeda finding haven in Afghanistan should the Taliban return to rule. She said that, while she hasn’t decided whether to support additional troops, she did back Obama’s increase of more than 21,000 this year. “We’ve got to finish the business that we started,” Boxer said on CNN. Public Defense Jones expressed dissatisfaction with McChrystal’s public defense of his assessment, made in interviews and in a speech in London last week. “Ideally it’s better for military advice to come up through the chain of command,” Jones said on CNN. “The president should be presented with options, not just one fait accompli,” Jones said in a separate appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” Jones said that, in addition to more security, Afghanistan also will need improved governance, the rule of law and economic development. The result of Afghan and international reviews of allegations of fraud in the presidential elections will be critical, Jones said. Preliminary results indicate President Hamid Karzai probably will prevail after the recounts. “We have a lot more work to do and a Karzai government is going to have to pitch in and do much better than they have,” Jones said. “I think most of us believe that the Karzai government does have a chance of pulling this out.” To contact the reporter on this story: Viola Gienger in Washington at vgienger@bloomberg.net .

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Eight US troops killed in east Afghan battle

October 4, 2009

Eight US troops killed in east Afghan battle

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Video: 9/11 Anniversary’s Impact On Afghan War

September 11, 2009

Analysis and discussion with Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island. He says we have to increase the size and effectiveness of the Afghan army and they must have the equipment appropriate to the task. (Political Capital)

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U.S. Urges Rigorous Vetting of Afghan Vote as Fraud Claims Prompt Recount

September 8, 2009

By James Rupert Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. urged Afghan authorities to address mounting allegations of voting fraud in last month’s presidential election, which incumbent Hamid Karzai is set to win, to ensure the new government is legitimate. “The results of these elections need to be credible and need to reflect the will of the Afghan people,” State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters in Washington yesterday. “We need to have a rigorous vetting of all of these allegations of fraud.” Afghanistan’s UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission yesterday ordered a partial recount for polling stations that reported 100 percent turnout or where at least 95 percent of votes were cast for a single candidate. The Obama administration is counting on the election to produce a credible government that can support the joint battle against Taliban guerrillas. “A legitimate electoral process is vital to us and vital to any kind of partnership that we would have with the government going forward,” Kelly said. The recount order was issued hours before the nation’s election authority announced new results showing Karzai surpassing the required majority for victory. With 91.6 percent of polling stations tallied, the official count shows Karzai with 54.1 percent of the vote to 28.3 percent for his main rival, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah . The complaints commission said it found “clear and convincing evidence of fraud,” the first confirmation of allegations that independent election monitors say risk undermining the outcome of the vote and the next government. Stuffing Ballot Boxes Abdullah has released photos and videos that he says show Karzai’s backers stuffing ballot boxes in southern Afghanistan, where violence by Taliban guerrillas kept turnout low. Karzai’s campaign has denied any role in vote fraud. Campaign spokesman Wahid Omar could not immediately be reached following the recount order. The Independent Election Commission said on its Web site that its official vote tally is “subject to challenge in accordance with the law prior to final certification.” The contest between Karzai, an ethnic Pashtun from the south, and Abdullah, whose support is rooted among non-Pashtun northerners, risks reviving Afghanistan’s historically troublesome ethnic divide. Karzai faces a runoff against Abdullah if the final count shows he failed to win more than 50 percent of the vote. Recount Procedures The complaints commission ordered the election authority to recount ballots from any polling place where the turnout appeared to equal or exceed 100 percent. Recounts were also ordered for any polling place that received as many as 100 votes if any candidate got more than 95 percent of them. Initial inquiries, notably in Ghazni, Paktika and Kandahar provinces “found clear and convincing evidence of fraud in a number of polling stations in each province investigated,” the complaints commission said in the order, posted on its Web site. It said the condition of ballot papers and boxes, and polling officials’ documents, showed that many ballots were illegally cast or “were not legally counted.” The polling places where fraud was apparent had recorded votes “far in excess of what could be expected based on credible observer reports of low voter turnout,” the order said. Further Investigation The recount of suspect votes will take place with independent election observers, candidates’ agents and investigators of the complaints commission watching, the order said. It will permit further investigation of the ballots, which may then be excluded from the vote count, the commission said. The order was signed by the complaints commission’s chairman, Grant Kippen , a Canadian elections specialist appointed by the United Nations to help ensure a credible vote result. The chief UN official in Afghanistan, Special Representative Kai Eide , urged election authorities to exclude from the vote count “results from ballot boxes where there is evidence of irregularities.” To contact the reporter on this story: James Rupert in New Delhi at jrupert3@bloomberg.net

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Merkel Defends Role in Afghanistan as NATO Says Civilians May Have Died

September 8, 2009

By Tony Czuczka and Patrick Donahue Sept. 8 (Bloomberg) — Chancellor Angela Merkel defended the German military’s role in the campaign against the Taliban as NATO acknowledged for the first time that an allied air strike in Afghanistan may have killed civilians. Merkel and her main rival at German elections in less than three weeks closed ranks today to reject opposition calls for a troop pullout after the Sept. 4 strike, which killed scores of Afghans and prompted criticism at home and abroad. German commanders called in the strike, which was carried out by U.S. planes. “The mission in Afghanistan is our reaction to terror,” Merkel said in a speech to a specially convened session of parliament in Berlin, referring to the eighth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington. “The consequences of not acting will affect us just as much as the consequences of acting.” With Merkel facing a Sept. 27 election, evidence that civilians died in the air strike is heating up the campaign. She and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier , her Social Democratic challenger, both told lawmakers that the Afghan government must take on more security tasks to allow NATO troops to pull back. The air strike targeted two tanker trucks seized by Taliban militants near the northern town of Kunduz. An initial assessment led by U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal , the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s commander in Afghanistan, “concluded that civilians had been killed or injured,” NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said in a statement. Canadian-led Inquiry McChrystal appointed Maj. Gen. C.S. Sullivan, a Canadian, to lead an inquiry into the air strike, which will take several weeks to report its findings, ISAF said. Afghan Rights Monitor, an Afghan group, said 60 to 70 people were killed in the attack. While northern Afghanistan is under German command, Germany has kept its troops mainly to aid, rebuilding and police- training tasks in the relatively quiet region, leaving the U.S. and U.K. to do much of the fighting against Taliban insurgents in the south. Germany has stringent checks on army operations to prevent any recurrence of its militaristic past. When German Tornado jets joined NATO-led air strikes against military targets in Yugoslavia in 1999, it was Germany’s first involvement in military combat since World War II. The Afghan mission must be reaffirmed by parliamentary vote every year. In Berlin, Oskar Lafontaine’s opposition Left Party is organizing an antiwar protest today to press its demand to bring home Germany’s 4,200 troops. Polls show a majority of voters oppose the German military involvement. Afghan Responsibility Merkel said Germany’s troop presence in Afghanistan “is necessary.” Yet Afghan security forces must make “enough progress in the next five years to allow international troops to steadily reduce their role.” She reiterated her call, made Sept. 6 with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, for an international conference to be convened on Afghanistan’s future before year’s end to help the new government assume more responsibility for security, as well as tackling criminality. Steinmeier said German troops can’t stay in Afghanistan “forever,” while also rejecting a pullout. “We need a clear perspective in order to achieve the step-by-step transfer of responsibility into Afghan hands,” he told parliament. Germany’s Defense Ministry rejected a Sept. 6 report in the Washington Post that said the order by a German general to attack the tankers was based on a single source, going against a directive by McChrystal. The decision was based on several points of information, a ministry spokesman said yesterday. The newspaper also reported that a NATO fact-finding team found that 125 had died, of whom “at least two dozen” were not insurgents. ‘Full Force’ Merkel and Steinmeier, whose Christian Democratic and Social Democratic parties have governed together since 2005, see no advantage in trying to score election points over Afghanistan, said Jan Techau , an analyst at the German Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin. “The main players are leaving each other in peace and aren’t exploiting the issue,” he said in a phone interview. Still, “the debate about the timing of a withdrawal has erupted in full force.” Steinmeier said the circumstances of the bombing must be cleared up, while rebuffing a demand by former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder for a pullout date. A deadline “could be understood by the wrong people in Afghanistan as encouragement,” he told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper. Steinmeier was chief of staff to Schroeder, whose government sent German troops to Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks. Steinmeier’s “hands are tied,” Techau said. Afghan President Hamid Karzai lambasted the order to bomb the trucks in an interview in yesterday’s Le Figaro. “What an error in judgment,” he told the French newspaper. “More than 90 dead for a simple truck, which was anyway immobilized in a river bed. Why didn’t they send ground troops to recover the tanker? General McChrystal telephoned himself to apologize and to say he hadn’t ordered the attack.” To contact the reporters on this story: Tony Czuczka in Berlin at aczuczka@bloomberg.net ; Patrick Donahue in Berlin at at pdonahue1@bloomberg.net .

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NATO Says Civilians Killed in Afghan Air Strike, Canadian General to Probe

September 8, 2009

By Gregory Viscusi Sept. 8 (Bloomberg) — NATO’s commander in Afghanistan appointed a Canadian general to investigate a Sept. 4 air strike that may have killed civilians. U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal , the North Atlantic Treaty Organization chief in Afghanistan, said in a statement that he’d asked Major General C.S. Sullivan to lead an inquiry into the incident near the northern town of Kunduz. “An initial assessment conducted at the scene of the incident by McChrystal and several of his senior leadership team concluded that civilians had been killed or injured in the strike,” according to the statement. Afghan Rights Monitor, an Afghan group, said 60 to 70 people were killed in the attack. The New York Times cited Afghan officials saying up to 90 people died. German troops called in the strike, which was carried out by U.S. planes. Northern Afghanistan is under German command. The incident has become an issue in the German Sept. 27 legislative elections, with Chancellor Angela Merkel telling lawmakers today that Germany’s military engagement in Afghanistan is necessary to combat terrorism. Germany has about 4,000 troops in Afghanistan, the third largest contingent after the U.S. and the U.K. “The consequences of not acting will affect us just as much as the consequences of acting,” Merkel said. “The mission in Afghanistan is our reaction to terror. It originated from there, and not the other way around.” Fuel Trucks The NATO inquiry “is examining the series of events that began on Sept. 3, when two fuel trucks were reported stolen by insurgents,” according to the NATO statement. Troops of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force “later located the trucks on the banks of the Kunduz River,” NATO said. “Believing civilians were not in the area, the local ISAF commander authorized an air strike, which destroyed the two fuel trucks. Subsequent review has led ISAF to believe that along with insurgents, civilians also were killed and injured in the strike.” Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the air strike. In an interview with the French newspaper Le Figaro yesterday, he said McChrystal had called to apologize. The air strike has divided NATO allies, with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner saying on Sept. 5 the attack was “a big mistake.” France has 3,160 troops in the country, the fourth largest contingent. Faced with growing anger from Afghan civilians and from the Afghan government, McChrystal last month issued new guidelines that call for air power to be used as a last resort. The investigation will take several weeks, NATO said. Other members of the team will include representatives of the German Army and U.S. Air Force, and they will coordinate with the Afghan government’s own probe. To contact the reporter on this story: Gregory Viscusi in Paris at gviscusi@bloomberg.net .

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US general sends Afghan war review to Pentagon

August 31, 2009

US general sends Afghan war review to Pentagon

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Karzai Distances Himself From Aide’s Claim No Runoff Needed in Afghan Vote

August 25, 2009

By James Rupert Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) — Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai’s campaign distanced itself from claims by a cabinet minister that he won re-election on Aug. 20 without needing a run-off ballot against his closest challenger Abdullah Abdullah . Finance Minister Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal said a report given to cabinet members showed Karzai capturing 68 percent of the vote, the New York Times reported, citing a meeting the minister held with journalists in Kabul yesterday. Karzai won 3 million votes, compared with 1.5 million for Abdullah, with 450,000 ballots still to be counted, Zakhilwal said. Karzai’s campaign is “not able to confirm the figures from Mr. Zakhilwal,” said Jaafar Rasuly , an official at the president’s headquarters.” We are not sure why he mentioned this. It’s outside his responsibility and we have to wait for the official results from the Independent Election Commission .” The commission, which plans to release partial results later today, told candidates on Aug. 22 to stop making victory claims. Abdullah has accused Karzai supporters of widespread fraud to ensure the president garners the 50 percent of votes he needs to avoid a second round of voting. The dispute threatens to undermine public confidence in an election that was designed to legitimize the next Afghan administration as it fights Taliban militants. Electoral Complaints Commission head Grant Kippen said 35 of 225 complaints about irregularities were “material to the outcome” of the election. His agency can order recounts or a repeat of voting where it finds fraud. Karzai’s Rule Over eight years, Karzai and his international backers have failed to keep Afghanistan’s war from spreading or improve the lot of most of its people. Measured by income, life expectancy and literacy, Afghanistan is the world’s fifth-poorest country , according to a 2007 report by the Afghan government and the United Nations. Abdullah said Karzai’s campaign is massively rigging the vote with help from local officials, including commission members. Karzai’s team has denied the allegation. Karzai won election in 2005 with 55 percent of ballots and has seen his popularity decline since then. Two opinion surveys conducted last month by U.S.-based research groups indicated he would get 40 to 44 percent of the vote. To contact the reporter on this story: James Rupert in Kabul at jrupert3@ bloomberg.net.

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