taliban

Pakistan Begins Offensive Against Militant Stronghold in Waziristan Region

October 17, 2009

By Khalid Qayum and Naween Mangi Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) — Pakistan’s military began a ground and air offensive against Taliban guerrillas in their stronghold of South Waziristan, its most direct attempt to end terrorist violence that has threatened to destabilize the government of the nuclear-armed state. The operation started late yesterday, said an army spokesman, who declined to be identified in accordance with military policy. The operation may take eight weeks or longer to complete, he said. Troops will target both Pakistani and foreign militants, he said. Fighters loyal to the late Baitullah Mehsud have led an escalating campaign against President Asif Ali Zardari’s administration. The U.S. has encouraged offensives against Pakistan-based Taliban, saying Waziristan and other border districts are sanctuaries for jihadists who attack U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan. A Pakistani news channel, Express News, reported that residents were continuing to leave the mountainous region as fighting began. Thousands of displaced people have reached the nearby city of Dera Ismail Khan, where they are being registered at the main sports stadium, the network said. Northwest Frontier Province Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said as many as 2 million families may be displaced as a result of the military operations South Waziristan. He spoke in televised press conference in Peshawar today. He didn’t say what plans the government has for housing the displaced people. Deaths Four Pakistani soldiers were killed and 12 injured in initial clashes with militants, the military said in a statement on its Web site. A bomb exploded near a military convoy as it moved from Razmak, a military base in North Waziristan, Agence France- Presse reported. While the agency said two soldiers were killed, that was not confirmed by the army statement. Razmak is one of four main launching points for the offensive, to the north, east and west of Mehsud’s forces, Pakistan’s Samaa television said. The government said last week it had approved an offensive and given authority to the army chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani , to decide when to launch it. The army says it has deployed 28,000 troops around South Waziristan to attack an estimated 10,000 fighters of a major Taliban faction led until August by Baitullah Mehsud . Mehsud Mehsud was killed in August by a missile from a U.S.- operated unmanned aircraft, and his forces now are led by a relative, Hakimullah Mehsud. While other Taliban factions have focused their attacks on NATO forces in Afghanistan and their Afghan government allies, the Mehsud fighters have waged an escalating campaign within Pakistan. Pakistan’s government blamed Baitullah Mehsud for the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto , the wife of President Zardari, an accusation Mehsud denied. Spokesmen for the Mehsud Taliban have claimed responsibility for a spate of bombings and guerrilla assaults this month against government, army and police targets. At least seven guerrilla attacks in the past week have killed 140 people, including 11 who died in a car bombing yesterday in the northwestern city of Peshawar. Pakistan’s Taliban and their allies also are turning to commando raids on police and soldiers as a tactic to convince Pakistanis the government can’t contain them. At least 26 people were killed in assaults on Oct. 15 on a federal police headquarters and two police training centers in the eastern city of Lahore, and a bombing at a police station in Kohat. Commando Assaults While suicide bombings killed most of those who died in the past week, the Pakistani media’s focus has been on the commando assaults Oct. 15 and a 22-hour siege last weekend at Pakistan’s army headquarters in Rawalpindi. Jihadists also used commando assaults in Lahore in March, against a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team and at a police academy that was attacked again on Oct. 15. The tactic has been revived in an effort to fight back after the army drove the Taliban out of the Swat Valley in July and killed Mehsud in August, said Kamran Bokhari, regional director for the Middle East and South Asia at Stratfor , an Austin, Texas- based intelligence-consulting firm. The week-long spate of attacks is in part an effort to demoralize Pakistan’s security forces in advance of the offensive begun today, Bokhari said. To contact the reporter on this story: Khalid Qayum in Islamabad at kqayum@bloomberg.net or Naween A Mangi in Karachi at nmangi1@bloomberg.net

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Pakistan Bomb Kills 41 as Security Force Targeted in Fourth Day of Attacks

October 12, 2009

By Khalid Qayum and James Rupert Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) — A suspected suicide bombing in northwest Pakistan killed 41 people a day after the army ended a Taliban siege of its headquarters, taking the death toll from four days of attacks to more than 100. The bomb in the mountain market town of Alipur in Shangla district killed mainly civilians, Mian Iftikhar Hussain , information minister in the government of the North West Frontier Province, told reporters in Peshawar, the provincial capital. Four security personnel died, a military official who asked not to be indentified said. “Around 50 others are injured,” Amir Muqam a lawmaker from Shangla, said in a phone interview. “Many are in a serious condition.” The past week’s Taliban attacks, notably the unprecedented Oct. 10 assault on the army’s base that ended at dawn yesterday, may have bolstered public support for the military to launch the new offensive against the guerrillas that the U.S. has been seeking. Pakistani military spokesman General Athar Abbas said today’s attack targeted a security convoy. The recent violence is “a declaration of war that has united Pakistanis in favor” of a military strike against the guerrillas, Ishtiaq Ahmed , an international relations professor at Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, said before today’s bombing. A push into the main Taliban stronghold in the rugged mountains of Waziristan “is only a matter of time,” Ahmed said. Waziristan Attack The army has been poised for weeks to assault one of the main Taliban factions in Waziristan, from where several guerrilla networks attack U.S.-led forces in neighboring Afghanistan. The group now targeted by the army — a force led by Baitullah Mehsud until his death in a U.S. missile strike in August — has focused its violence in Pakistan, rather than on U.S. forces. The commando-style raid on the headquarters in Rawalpindi, a city adjacent to Islamabad, killed almost a dozen soldiers and is likely to further an eight-year-old erosion of the military’s covert alliance with jihadist groups, Ahmed said. “Slowly but surely, the battle lines between the army and militants are getting clearer,” he said. Pakistani special forces ended a 22-hour siege at the army command at dawn yesterday by storming the building where five guerrillas held hostages. Thirty-nine hostages were freed and three died, along with four of the five gunmen, Abbas said. Leader Captured The raid’s leader, Muhammad Aqeel , was wounded and captured. He planned the guerrilla assault on the bus of the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in March, Pakistan’s GEO TV reported, citing unidentified police officials. Aqeel, also known as Dr. Usman, once worked with the army’s medical corps and helped in 2008 suicide bombing that killed the army’s surgeon general, the New York Times reported, citing officials it didn’t name. The Taliban movement ordered one of its sections based in Punjab province to conduct the attack, Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq said today in a phone call to the Associated Press. A similar account was given by a caller to Pakistan’s GEO television on behalf of a Punjab-based Taliban affiliate named for Amjad Farooqi, a militant who helped lead the 2002 kidnap and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl and was killed in a battle with police in 2004. Punjab province has a strong militant network that has not previously made such high-profile attacks on the army. The direct assault by Punjabi militants may weaken support in the largely Punjabi officer corps for Punjab-based militant groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, which India says conducted last November’s terrorist assault on Mumbai. Police Warning Punjab’s police department warned the army in July that guerrillas of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Jaish-e-Muhammad groups were working with the Taliban to prepare an attack on the army headquarters, a Pakistani newspaper, the News, reported on Oct. 5, five days before the assault. The warning predicted militants wearing military uniforms would try to take hostages, the Times reported. The Rawalpindi siege began a day after a car bomb killed 50 people in the center of Peshawar, the northwestern provincial capital. To contact the reporter on this story: James Rupert in New Delhi at jrupert3@ bloomberg.net.

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Pakistan Bombing Kills 42 as Government Steps Up Campaign Against Taliban

October 9, 2009

By Khalid Qayum and Farhan Sharif Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) — A car bombing in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar today killed at least 42 people, as the government moved toward expanding its campaign against Taliban militants. The bombing at the Khyber Bazaar wounded at least 90, many of them seriously, Sher Gul, a spokesman for the Edhi Foundation ambulance service, said in a telephone interview. The toll may rise, he said. Vehicles including civilian buses were destroyed in the blast, Mian Iftikhar Hussain , information minister of the ethnic Pashtun North West Frontier Province, told reporters. “The attackers are the enemies of humanity,” Hussain said. “We won’t rest until we have eliminated them.” The bomber used about 50 kilograms (110 lbs) of explosives in today’s attack, Shafqat Malik, assistant inspector general of police, told reporters, without saying it was a suicide attack. Today’s was the deadliest of more than a dozen terrorist attacks this year in Peshawar, a city of 1.5 million near the Khyber pass border crossing with Afghanistan, where international forces are fighting a spreading insurgency. Pakistan blames the attacks on Taliban guerrillas based in the nearby tribal region that borders Afghanistan. Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said the attacks are to avenge the killing of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, who died in a U.S. drone attack in August. On June 9, militants killed at least 12 people, including two United Nations workers when they drove a truck bomb into Peshawar’s main luxury hotel, the Pearl Continental. A suicide bomb attack at the United Nations World Food Program headquarters in Islamabad on Oct. 5 killed 5 people. Expanded Campaign Malik said earlier today that the government will decide in a day or two about how soon to start a military operation against militants in South and North Waziristan tribal districts, the main Taliban strongholds along the border with Afghanistan. The people of these regions are demanding a campaign against militants, he said. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the Peshawar blast and ordered a probe. “Such activities cannot deter the government from its action against the extremists and action will continue till their complete elimination,” he said according to a statement released by his office in Islamabad. The new Taliban chief Hakeemullah Mehsud has reportedly threatened to carry out more terrorist attacks to in retaliation for Baitullah Mehsud’s killing. To contact the reporters on this story: Khalid Qayum in Islamabad at kqayum@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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Republicans McCain, Graham Urge Obama to Commit More Troops to Afghanistan

September 27, 2009

By Daniel Whitten Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) — Two top Republican senators urged President Barack Obama to send as many as 40,000 additional troops to Afghanistan to prevent the Taliban and al-Qaeda from gaining the upper hand there. “I’m very hopeful that the president will make the right decision, which is to commit the necessary troops,” Senator John McCain , the senior Republican on the Armed Services Committee, said today on ABC’s “This Week.” “A half-measure does not do justice. And time is important, because there’s 68,000 Americans already there and casualties will go up.” Another member of the committee, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said the U.S. risks losing the fight without sufficient forces in place. “We will be driven out. The Taliban will come back stronger than they were before. The moderates in Afghanistan will go back in hiding or get killed. NATO will be seen as a failure,” he said on CBS’s “Face the Nation”. Obama, who ordered 17,000 additional combat troops sent to Afghanistan earlier this year, is reviewing U.S. strategy in the conflict. The Washington Post reported last week that the top U.S. commander in the country, General Stanley McChrystal , submitted a classified assessment that 10,000 to 40,000 more troops would be needed to carry out a counterinsurgency mission. Weighing Options Obama said on Sept. 16 that he won’t be making a decision until all the options are explored and discussed with his advisers and military officials. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today on ABC’s “This Week” that the he hasn’t given the McChrystal report to Obama. “I’m going to sit on it until I think — or the president thinks — it’s appropriate to bring that into the discussion of the national security principles,” he said. The U.S. casualty rate has climbed in recent months and polls show public support for the war is declining. Some Democrats in Congress, led by Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, have been expressing doubts about the war effort. Senator Christopher Bond warned Obama against “dithering” over a decision on strategy. The Missouri Republican said on “Fox News Sunday” that “the next nine to 12 months will be decisive.” Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California said on the same program that Obama is right “to take his time, to really examine what the alternatives are at this time.” The Afghanistan strategy hasn’t worked well so far, she said, adding that the American public doesn’t want to be militarily engaged in Afghanistan for another decade. To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Whitten in Washington at dwhitten2@bloomberg.net .

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Republicans McCain, Graham Urge Obama to Commit More Troops to Afghanistan

September 27, 2009

By Daniel Whitten Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) — Two top Republican senators urged President Barack Obama to send as many as 40,000 additional troops to Afghanistan to prevent the Taliban and al-Qaeda from gaining the upper hand there. “I’m very hopeful that the president will make the right decision, which is to commit the necessary troops,” Senator John McCain , the senior Republican on the Armed Services Committee, said today on ABC’s “This Week.” “A half-measure does not do justice. And time is important, because there’s 68,000 Americans already there and casualties will go up.” Another member of the committee, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said the U.S. risks losing the fight without sufficient forces in place. “We will be driven out. The Taliban will come back stronger than they were before. The moderates in Afghanistan will go back in hiding or get killed. NATO will be seen as a failure,” he said on CBS’s “Face the Nation”. Obama, who ordered 17,000 additional combat troops sent to Afghanistan earlier this year, is reviewing U.S. strategy in the conflict. The Washington Post reported last week that the top U.S. commander in the country, General Stanley McChrystal , submitted a classified assessment that 10,000 to 40,000 more troops would be needed to carry out a counterinsurgency mission. Weighing Options Obama said on Sept. 16 that he won’t be making a decision until all the options are explored and discussed with his advisers and military officials. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today on ABC’s “This Week” that the he hasn’t given the McChrystal report to Obama. “I’m going to sit on it until I think — or the president thinks — it’s appropriate to bring that into the discussion of the national security principles,” he said. The U.S. casualty rate has climbed in recent months and polls show public support for the war is declining. Some Democrats in Congress, led by Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, have been expressing doubts about the war effort. Senator Christopher Bond warned Obama against “dithering” over a decision on strategy. The Missouri Republican said on “Fox News Sunday” that “the next nine to 12 months will be decisive.” Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California said on the same program that Obama is right “to take his time, to really examine what the alternatives are at this time.” The Afghanistan strategy hasn’t worked well so far, she said, adding that the American public doesn’t want to be militarily engaged in Afghanistan for another decade. To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Whitten in Washington at dwhitten2@bloomberg.net .

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Levin, McCain Face Off Over Increasing U.S. Troops for Afghanistan Mission

September 11, 2009

By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan Sept. 11 (Bloomberg) — The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said the Obama administration should focus on doubling the size of Afghan security forces and persuading Taliban fighters to join the government’s side before considering sending more U.S. combat troops. Senator Carl Levin , a Michigan Democrat who is back in Washington from a trip to Afghanistan last week, described the situation there as “serious” and said security has deteriorated. The senator said he came away from a meeting with General Stanley McChrystal with the impression that the U.S. commander in the war would likely seek more American troops. Levin said today the accelerated training of Afghan personnel should instead be the priority. “There’s a significant number of people in the country that have questions about deepening our military involvement,” Levin told reporters. Levin said he plans to take up the issue with Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama’s national security adviser, retired General James Jones. The reluctance of some prominent Democratic lawmakers to send more U.S. forces to Afghanistan weighs on Obama’s options to expand the fight against the Taliban insurgency and reflects waning public support for the eight-year war. In remarks on the Senate floor, Levin said with the right steps, “we can ensure that Afghanistan does not revert to a Taliban-friendly government that could once again provide a safe haven for al-Qaeda to terrorize” the world. Force Levels Levin has long advocated doubling the target size of the Afghan Army to 240,000 and the Afghan police to 160,000 by 2013. Levin and other Armed Service Committee members sent a letter to Obama in May urging him to speed the expansion of the Afghan forces. Today, Levin called for the target date to be moved up to 2012, saying that step is “both possible and essential.” Senator John McCain said McChrystal will ask for a “substantial” number of additional U.S. troops, a decision the lawmaker said he would support. “It’ll be controversial,” McCain, an Arizona Republican, said in an interview. So far, McChrystal’s plan for the war doesn’t call for an effort to win over lower level Taliban fighters that would be similar to a U.S. effort in Iraq that turned Sunni loyalists into U.S. allies, Levin said. Levin said Afghan forces will need U.S. help with equipment and logistics, using what is coming out of Iraq as U.S. forces there draw down. Obama has ordered 21,000 extra U.S. troops to Afghanistan this year, bringing the total to 68,000 by the end of the year. To contact the reporter on this story: Indira Lakshmanan in Washington at ilakshmanan@bloomberg.net

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Pakistan Arrests Two Senior Taliban Leaders in Swat to Disrupt Militants

September 11, 2009

By Khalid Qayum and James Rupert Sept. 11 (Bloomberg) — Pakistan has arrested two senior Taliban leaders in the Swat Valley, northwest of the capital, including the movement’s spokesman, the army said. The detention of Muslim Khan , who also served as a senior negotiator for the Taliban, and Mahmood Khan is meant to disrupt a militant effort to reorganize in Swat, three months after the army re-captured the valley from Taliban control. “The army is trying to consolidate its victory in Swat before it would attempt any other offensives,” notably against the main Taliban strongholds along the western border with Afghanistan, said Fazl Rahim Marwat, a political science professor at the University of Peshawar in northwest Pakistan. Pakistan had offered a reward of 10 million rupees ($120,500) for both men, said Major General Athar Abbas, the Pakistan army spokesman. The top Taliban leader in Swat, Maulana Fazlullah, heads the government’s list of wanted guerrillas, with an offer of 50 million rupees for his capture. Muslim Khan, 55, became the Swat Taliban’s main spokesman last year, leading a delegation that negotiated a truce with provincial authorities. As a fluent English-speaker, his “multilingual skills and his rich experience of working abroad in Western countries makes him a rare talent for the Taliban movement, a group that involves mostly madrasa graduates and illiterate activists,” said a report in February from the Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. Student Leader In the 1970s, Khan was a student leader in Swat of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party. He told the BBC in an interview last year he worked as a seaman and visited Europe in the 1980s, before returning home and joining Swat’s Islamist movement. Three other “terrorist leaders” — Fazle Ghaffar, Abdul Rehman and Sartaj — were also arrested in an army operation in Swat, the military said. An English-language daily, The News, cited the Taliban as saying the three men are clerics. The military’s announcement of the arrests came after The News quoted a Taliban spokesman named Salman as saying the five men were detained eight days ago after meeting an officer of military intelligence for peace talks. Interior Minister Rehman Malik denied that report, telling reporters in Islamabad that “the arrest was a result of action by the security forces and not because of talks.” “Most of the militants have either been killed or arrested, and the remainder have no choice but to surrender,” Malik said. Mehsud Killing The government says the Taliban are in disarray after losing control of Swat in June and suffering the death last month of Baitullah Mehsud, the movement’s overall leader in Pakistan. Mehsud was killed in a U.S. missile strike on his home in South Waziristan, the Taliban’s biggest stronghold. Fazlullah’s Taliban group has fought the government for control of Swat for more than five years. The guerrillas’ advance there marked their deepest penetration into Pakistan from its western border, and the closest approach to the capital. President Asif Ali Zardari’s administration signed a peace deal with the guerrillas in February, agreeing to impose Islamic Shariah law in Swat and nearby districts. Despite the truce, Taliban guerrillas advanced from Swat in April taking an adjacent district, Buner, centered only 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Islamabad. Swat Refugees The Taliban advance triggered a 10-week army offensive that re-captured the valley in June. The military killed 1,800 Taliban militants and arrested 2,000 in the Swat campaign, Abbas said yesterday on Aaj TV . About 340 soldiers died, Abbas said. Fighting in Swat and other parts of northwest Pakistan displaced an estimated 2.7 million people and destroyed 548 schools, according to UN figures released yesterday. About two- thirds of those displaced have returned to their villages and towns, the UN said. Many face a struggle to rebuild their homes. After pushing back the Taliban in Swat in 2007, the army failed to arrest their leaders, said Marwat, author of a book on the Taliban movement in the area. “Fazlullah was able to recover that time and recapture the valley, but this time the army is being tough to stop them from re-grouping,” he said. The U.S. wants Pakistan to continue its offensives against the Taliban and other militant groups. Richard Holbrooke , the special U.S. envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, and General Stanley McChrystal , the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, made appeals when they visited the capital, Islamabad, last month. To contact the reporter on this story: Khalid Qayum in Islamabad at kqayum@bloomberg.net ; James Rupert in New Delhi at 2024 or jrupert3@bloomberg.net

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Pakistan Pursues Taliban in Tribal Area; 50,000 Civilians Flee Fighting

September 7, 2009

By Paul Tighe Sept. 8 (Bloomberg) — Pakistan is pursuing Taliban fighters in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan where 50,000 civilians have fled their homes to escape fighting in Waziristan, the military said. Relief camps are being set up for displaced people in Waziristan, military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told Radio Pakistan yesterday, according to the official Associated Press of Pakistan. The army turned its attention to Waziristan and the Khyber regions after Taliban militants were driven from the Swat Valley in the North West Frontier Province, Abbas said. The 10-week operation that began in April ended “organized resistance” in Swat, he said. Pakistan says the Taliban is in disarray following the Swat fighting and the death last month of Baitullah Mehsud, the group’s leader in South Waziristan, after a U.S. missile strike. More than 1 million people who fled their homes in Swat in recent months have returned to towns and villages, according to the United Nations. The operation in the Khyber Agency is aimed at protecting Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province, from militants who gathered recently in the region, Abbas said, adding that army units are also searching for arms and ammunition dumps. Khyber, to the west of Peshawar, is on the main land supply route through Pakistan into Afghanistan where NATO-led forces are fighting a resurgent Taliban, mainly in the country’s south. Targeting Militants The operation is targeting the Lashkar-e-Islam in Khyber, the Dawn newspaper reported . The group has links with the Pakistan Taliban it said. The army will remain in Swat until the local police have the capacity to take over security, Abbas said. Leaders of militants in Swat are mostly Pakistani nationals and only about 10 percent came from outside the country or from the tribal region, he said. The International Committee of the Red Cross says civilians in Swat are encountering difficult conditions on their return, including limited access to food, water, electricity and health services. Security in Mingora, the main city in Swat, has “deteriorated sharply” with recent suicide attacks and fighting, the ICRC said, adding that it is trying to regain access to the town, which had a population of 200,000 people before the fighting began in April. A suicide bomber killed 16 trainee policemen in an attack on Mingora’s police station on Aug. 30. The successful battle in Swat is helping preserve Pakistan’s integrity, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Sept. 6 in a message marking the nation’s Defense Day. “We will eliminate the militants and those who have challenged the foundations of the state,” Zardari said. The government has called on Taliban leaders to surrender after the death of Mehsud, who led the Tekrik-e-Taliban, a force of about 5,000 fighters formed in South Waziristan in 2007. To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Tighe in Sydney at ptighe@bloomberg.net .

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Zardari Says Battle Against Taliban Extremists Saving Pakistan’s Integrity

September 6, 2009

By Paul Tighe Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) — Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said the army’s successful operation against the Taliban in the Swat Valley is preserving the country’s integrity. “We will eliminate the militants and those who have challenged the foundations of the state,” Zardari said in a message to mark the country’s Defense Day yesterday, according to the official Associated Press of Pakistan. The 10-week military offensive that ended in July put the militants on the run in the northwestern region, Zardari said, according to APP. More than 1 million people who fled the fighting have returned to their homes, the United Nation says. The fight against the Taliban has turned to the tribal regions bordering Afghanistan where the group’s leader in South Waziristan Baitullah Mehsud was killed last month. Soldiers have attacked militant bases in the Khyber region in the past week, prompting hundreds of civilians to flee, the daily Dawn newspaper reported. Extremists threaten the foundation of the state in their attempt to impose their agenda, Zardari said. “We will eliminate the militants,” the president said. “Let there be no doubt or mistake about it.” As many as 43 militants were killed on the fifth day of the operation in the Khyber Agency, Dawn reported yesterday, citing unidentified military officials. Helicopters during the weekend attacked bases of the outlawed Lashkar-i-Islam, including a training center. Hundreds of people in the Bara area defied a curfew to flee their homes, Dawn reported. The local administration is trying to set up relief camps, it said. Taliban Leadership The Taliban leadership in Pakistan is “almost finished” after the death of Mehsud, the leader of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said last month. Security forces are trying to ensure militants aren’t able to regroup, he said. The U.S. is pressing Pakistan to continue its offensives against the Taliban and other militant groups. Richard Holbrooke , the special U.S. envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, and General Stanley McChrystal , the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, made appeals when they visited the capital, Islamabad, last month. President Barack Obama has said a U.S. non-military aid package to Pakistan worth $1.5 billion a year is conditional on the government cracking down on Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in regions bordering Afghanistan. To contact the reporters on this story: Paul Tighe in Sydney at ptighe@bloomberg.net .

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Russia Seeks Role in Afghan War Planning as NATO Deaths Rise, Rogozin Says

September 2, 2009

By James G. Neuger Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) — Russia is seeking a role in planning NATO’s war in Afghanistan two decades after Soviet forces were ejected from the country. As East-West ties improve under President Barack Obama , Russia wants to be involved in setting the political, military and intelligence strategy for the war against the Taliban, said Dmitry Rogozin , Russian ambassador to the alliance. “We want to be inside,” Rogozin said, in English, in an interview in Brussels today. He spoke for the rest of the hour- long interview through a Russian translator. Allied military planners are groping for a new strategy as casualties climb. The commander in Afghanistan, U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal , this week called the situation there “serious.” In what Obama calls a “war of necessity,” some 153 allied troops were killed in July and August, according to www.icasualties.org. Wrangling between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his challengers over the Aug. 20 election has magnified concerns about the country’s stability. Russia now lets the North Atlantic Treaty Organization use its territory to ship supplies to Afghanistan, saying it faces a more direct threat from terrorism there than the U.S. and its allies. President Dmitry Medvedev has said Russia is prepared to cooperate with the U.S. to bring order to Afghanistan, though officials have made clear that Russia won’t commit troops. NATO planning sessions are restricted to countries taking part in missions. Soviet Invasion The invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and its failed 10-year occupation helped lead to the break-up of the Soviet Union. The U.S. shipped weapons to Islamic resistance fighters who later sowed the seeds of the al-Qaeda movement. Rogozin said he broached Russia’s proposals to Anders Fogh Rasmussen , a former Danish prime minister who became NATO secretary general on Aug. 1. Rasmussen responded with an “approving nod” without delving into the detail, he said. “It is in the interests of NATO to make Russia a permanent participant in all the discussions, professional discussions, closed discussions that are being held on Afghanistan in Brussels and Mons,” Rogozin said. NATO’s civilian headquarters is in Brussels. The military command is based in Mons, in southern Belgium. Rasmussen gave his account of that Aug. 11 encounter at a briefing today in Brussels, calling it a “a very successful, very fruitful and very useful meeting.” NATO is “reflecting on which further steps could be taken,” Rasmussen said. ‘Strategic Partnership’ In an Aug. 31 interview, Rasmussen called for a “strategic partnership” with NATO’s former Cold War adversary, seeking to soothe the strains that peaked with Russia’s 2008 war with Georgia, a would-be alliance member. Some 62,000 U.S. and 35,000 allied troops are battling to defeat a comeback of the Taliban, the radical Islamic movement that ran Afghanistan and harbored al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden until it was ousted by the U.S. after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Russia is saving the U.S. $1 billion annually by allowing its airspace to be used for 15 daily flights by American military cargo planes into Afghanistan, Rogozin said. Russia wouldn’t close off its airspace if NATO bars it from the war-planning discussions, Rogozin said, refusing to envision “such dramatic scenarios.” As part of a “new impetus” in NATO-Russia cooperation on Afghanistan, Rogozin also proposed a stepped up “dialogue of our intelligence agencies to break down terrorist and paramilitary networks, to localize their actions and ultimately neutralize them.” The two sides will take their next steps when Rasmussen meets Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York during the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly. Rogozin said he hoped Rasmussen will visit Moscow by the end of the year. To contact the reporter on this story: James G. Neuger in Brussels at jneuger@bloomberg.net

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Karzai, Abdullah Urged to Stop Claiming Lead in Afghan Election Amid Count

August 21, 2009

By James Rupert Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) — Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai is leading as votes are counted from yesterday’s election and is confident of winning, an aide said. Low voter turnout may mar any victory. “Initial figures from the count show that President Karzai is in the lead and we are sure that he will win,” said spokesman Sediq Seddiqui. “We will have to wait for the official count and announcement of the election commission,” before victory can be declared, he said. As days of ballot-counting began, residents and polling station monitors said the vote lacked the lengthy lines and public celebrations of the last election because of Taliban intimidation. The election may have failed to deliver the increased turnout sought by Afghan and U.S. officials, hindering efforts to win a broader mandate for the government as it battles Taliban militants. A spokesman for Abdullah Abdullah , Karzai’s chief challenger, said the opposition candidate was leading the vote count. Abdullah, Karzai’s former foreign minister, “is far ahead in the vote count in 17 provinces” out of 34, Fazl Sangcharaki said by telephone from Kabul. “He has about 60 percent of the vote, and we believe he is going to win.” Turnout Drops The election authority said turnout was between 40 percent and 50 percent, down from 70 percent five years ago, Agence France-Presse reported. Counting has been completed and results will be released early next week, it said. For the past eight years, Karzai and his international backers have failed to contain the fighting or fulfill Afghans’ aspirations for an economic recovery from three decades of war. 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. The Taliban conducted 73 attacks during election day across 15 of the country’s 34 provinces, Karzai told reporters in Kabul yesterday, without giving details. Twenty to 30 people died in voting day attacks, according to counts by international and Afghan news organizations. “The streets were eerily quiet” in the southern city of Kandahar, where drummers and dancers performed outside polling stations in 2004, said Hardin Lang , a monitor with Democracy International Inc ., a Washington-based organization. “The turnout appeared rather low in comparison to the last time.” Runoff Possible The unenthusiastic turnout raised speculation Karzai would fail to win 50 percent of the vote, which would put him in a runoff against his leading challenger, said Abubakar Siddique, an Afghan political analyst. “The early information is that the turnout was very low in some provinces and at best was fair in others,” said Haroun Mir , director of Afghanistan’s Center for Research & Policy Studies . Two opinion surveys this month show that Karzai’s top rival is Abdullah, who draws his main support from the ethnic Tajik regions of north Afghanistan. Afghan news reports spoke of a higher turnout in many northern provinces than in the south, which may benefit Abdullah. While the election showed the Taliban’s ability to disrupt a nationwide vote, it also was a “a considerable blow to the Taliban, who were not able” to stop it, Siddique said. Karzai and the Obama administration hailed the vote. “The successful conduct of elections” is “a propitious sign for establishing a democratically elected government and promoting democracy in the country,” the Afghan president told reporters after the polls closed. U.S. Praise “Lots of people have defied threats of violence and terror to express their thoughts about the next government,” said Robert Gibbs , a White House spokesman. As the Obama administration shifts America’s national security focus — and U.S. troops — from Iraq to Afghanistan, it needs a stronger Afghan government to confront Taliban militants whose attacks are killing record numbers of foreign troops and Afghan civilians. In the 65,000-strong U.S.-led coalition , 283 troops have been killed this year, a rate 50 percent higher than last year, and setting a record, according to the monitoring group iCasualties . The coalition said a U.S. soldier died yesterday in a mortar attack in the east of the country. More than 1,000 civilians were killed through June, 20 percent more than last year’s record high, United Nations figures show. Voter Registration While Afghan officials set no specific measurements for success in the vote, they touted a yearlong increase in voter registration, from about 10 million to 15 million, as a sign the election would bring increased participation and a stronger democratic base to the next government. Though the election commission said earlier this month that it hoped to open as many as 7,000 polling stations, it said yesterday only 6,200 had actually operated. Many of the closures of planned polling stations came in the ethnic Pashtun south, where the Taliban are most active, Afghanistan’s Pajhwok news agency said. Guerrillas patrolled the highway between Kabul and Kandahar, stopping traffic in Ghazni province to warn people not to vote, Pajhwok reported. The Taliban warned in leaflets distributed in southern Afghanistan that it would cut off people’s index fingers if they were marked by the ink used by polling officials to show they had voted, according to local residents. Two voters were hanged in Kandahar, the New York Times reported, citing unidentified witnesses. An April security map prepared by the Afghan government and UN agencies showed that the Taliban either control or pose a “high risk” of attack in 40 percent of Afghanistan, according to Peter Bergen, a senior fellow at the Washington-based New America Foundation . To contact the reporter on this story: James Rupert in Kabul at jrupert3@ bloomberg.net.

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Afghan Reports of Low Voter Turnout May Hurt Karzai Bid for Wider Mandate

August 20, 2009

By James Rupert Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) — Voters in Afghanistan’s presidential election may have failed to deliver the increased turnout sought by Afghan and U.S. officials, hindering efforts to win a broader mandate for the government as it battles Taliban militants. As days of ballot-counting began, residents and international election monitors in several provinces said yesterday’s election lacked the lengthy voter lines and public celebrations of the presidential vote five years ago. The Taliban conducted 73 attacks during the day across 15 of the country’s 34 provinces, President Hamid Karzai told reporters in Kabul, without giving details. Twenty to 30 people died in voting day attacks, according to counts by international and Afghan news organizations. “The streets were eerily quiet” in the southern city of Kandahar, where drummers and dancers performed outside polling places in 2004, said Hardin Lang , a monitor with Democracy International Inc ., a Washington-based elections organization. “The turnout appeared rather low in comparison to the last time,” said Lang. “There was no anecdotal evidence of enthusiasm.” Monitoring groups including Democracy International said they will release preliminary assessments of the election, addressing voter turnout and the degree of fraud, in the next two days, and it was unclear how long it will take for voting results to be published. ‘Fair’ at Best “The early information is that the turnout was very low in some provinces and at best was fair in others,” said Haroun Mir , director of Afghanistan’s Center for Research & Policy Studies . The unenthusiastic turnout may increase the chances that Karzai will fail to win 50 percent of the vote, which would put him in a runoff against his leading challenger, said Abubakar Siddique, an Afghan political analyst. Two opinion surveys this month show that his top rival is his former foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah , who draws his main support from the ethnic Tajik regions of north Afghanistan. Afghan news reports spoke of a higher turnout in many northern provinces than in the south, which may benefit Abdullah. While the election showed the Taliban’s ability to disrupt a nationwide vote, it also was a “a considerable blow to the Taliban, who were not able” to stop it, Siddique said. ‘Propitious Sign’ Karzai and the Obama administration hailed the vote. “The successful conduct of elections” is “a propitious sign for establishing a democratically elected government and promoting democracy in the country,” the Afghan president told reporters after the polls closed. “Lots of people have defied threats of violence and terror to express their thoughts about the next government,” said Robert Gibbs , a White House spokesman. As the Obama administration shifts America’s national security focus — and U.S. troops — from Iraq to Afghanistan, it needs a stronger Afghan government to confront Taliban militants whose attacks are killing record numbers of foreign troops and Afghan civilians. In the 65,000-strong U.S.-led coalition , 283 troops have been killed this year, a rate 50 percent higher than last year, and setting a record, according to the monitoring group iCasualties . The coalition said a U.S. soldier died yesterday in a mortar attack in the east of the country. More than 1,000 civilians were killed through June, 20 percent more than last year’s record high, United Nations figures show. Increased Registration While Afghan officials set no specific measurements for success in the vote, they have touted a yearlong increase in voter registration, from about 10 million to 15 million, as a sign the election would bring increased participation and a stronger democratic base to the next government. Zekria Barakzai, an election commission official, said the turnout might reach 50 percent, Agence France-Presse reported, meaning a total of 7 million to 8 million votes cast. That would be similar in number to the 8 million who voted in 2004, though it would represent a decline in the percentage of eligible voters taking part, from 70 percent five years ago. While the election commission said earlier this month that it hoped to open as many as 7,000 polling stations, it said yesterday only 6,200 had actually operated. Many of the closures of planned polling stations came in the ethnic Pashtun south, where the Taliban are most active, said reports from Afghanistan’s Pajhwok news agency. Taliban Warning Guerrillas patrolled the highway between Kabul and Kandahar, stopping traffic in Ghazni province to warn people not to vote, Pajhwok reported. The Taliban warned in leaflets distributed in southern Afghanistan that it would cut off people’s index fingers if they were marked by the ink used by polling officials to show they had voted, according to local residents. Two voters were hanged in Kandahar, the New York Times reported, citing unidentified witnesses. For the past eight years, Karzai and his international backers have failed to contain the fighting or fulfill Afghans’ aspirations for an economic recovery from three decades of war. 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. An April security map prepared by the Afghan government and UN agencies showed that the Taliban either control or pose a “high risk” of attack in 40 percent of Afghanistan, according to Peter Bergen, a senior fellow at the Washington-based New America Foundation . To contact the reporter on this story: James Rupert in Kabul at jrupert3@ bloomberg.net.

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Afghanistan Counts Ballots After Attacks Close Up to 11% of Poll Stations

August 20, 2009

By James Rupert Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) — Taliban attacks forced as many as 11 percent of polling stations in Afghanistan’s presidential election to close, undermining efforts to boost the government’s legitimacy by exceeding the 8 million voter turnout achieved five years ago. The U.S. and its allies are counting on a heavy turnout and a clear result to produce an administration strong enough to turn around an escalating war with Taliban militants that is killing record numbers of foreign troops and Afghan civilians. Rocket and bomb attacks were reported from Kabul and at least three southern provinces. With the government formally banning news media from mentioning violence to avoid deterring voters, the extent of disruption was unclear. Kabul was calm and voting was light after a five-day spate of car bomb and rocket raids. Heavier voting was reported in the more peaceful north. While President Hamid Karzai faces a divided opposition and is likely to win re-election, spiraling violence and economic stagnation mean he may not be strengthened politically. “A low turnout in a climate of fear may show the power of the Taliban to disrupt the government,” said Haroun Mir , director of Afghanistan’s Center for Research & Policy Studies . The Afghan election commission extended voting by 1 hour until 5 p.m. Kabul time, the Associated Press reported. Authorities are hoping for a 50 percent turnout, election commission official Zekria Barakzai told Agence France-Presse. That would be a roughly similar number to 2004 but less than the 70 percent of eligible voters who cast ballots then. Stations Closed Almost 6,200 polling stations opened, short of the 7,000 the election commission had initially planned to operate, commission official Barakzai said. Officials in southeastern Paktia province, which has a strong Taliban presence, said about 14 percent of stations remained closed there because of Taliban opposition, the Afghan news agency Pajhwok reported. For the past eight years, Karzai and his international backers have failed to contain the fighting or fulfill Afghans’ aspirations for an economic recovery from three decades of war. “Afghanistan and its government may emerge from this election weaker than before, not stronger,” said Mir. Afghans “don’t feel the relevance for their daily lives” of either the government or elections, Mir said. Two militants were killed in a gun battle with security forces near a police station in eastern Kabul, Agence France- Presse reported, citing an unnamed police officer. Taliban also attacked Baghlan town in the north of the country, stopping voting, the agency said. It said 22 guerrillas were killed, citing local police chief Mohammad Kabir Andarabi. Fifth-Poorest 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. A light trickle of voters arrived at the Wazir Akbar Khan mosque in an upscale neighborhood of Kabul. “People have been frightened by the Taliban threats, but they should ignore them and come to vote,” said Sadiq Samandar, 60, an administrator at the state TV station. The militants have scattered leaflets in villages and towns warning they will cut off people’s index fingers if they bear the indelible ink that shows they voted. Dropping his ballot into a clear plastic container, Karzai urged his countrymen to vote. “I request that the Afghan people come out and vote, so through their ballot Afghanistan will be more secure, more peaceful,” Karzai said according to the Associated Press. “Vote. No violence.” Take Root NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he was “encouraged” by initial reports from today’s voting. “We have to make sure that terrorism doesn’t once again root in Afghanistan,” Rasmussen told reporters at Iceland’s foreign ministry in Reykjavik. In the 65,000-strong U.S.-led coalition , 282 troops have been killed this year, a rate 50 percent higher than last year’s record, according to the monitoring group iCasualties . The coalition said a U.S. soldier died today in a mortar attack in the east of the country. More than 1,000 civilians were killed through June, 20 percent more than last year’s record high, United Nations figures show. Obama Shift The election is a key step as President Barack Obama shifts U.S. troops from Iraq to Afghanistan. The U.S. has taken pains to say it neither favors nor opposes Karzai, who many Afghans say is in power because of his international backing. U.S. policy makers are counting on the “legitimacy that these elections will give Afghans about their own government and about the international role in Afghanistan,” said J. Alexander Thier , director of the Future of Afghanistan project at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington. An April security map prepared by the Afghan government and UN agencies showed that the Taliban either control or pose a “high risk” of attack in 40 percent of Afghanistan, according to Peter Bergen, a senior fellow at the Washington-based New America Foundation . Widespread poll closures in the south, the main political base for Karzai, will “hurt his chances of winning re-election, and will taint the credibility” of the vote, said Mir. Karzai won 55 percent of 8 million votes cast in 2004. About 15 million voters are registered now, the election commission says. Lives Better In 2004, “everybody was really excited to vote for a president the first time, and was hoping that this will make their lives better,” said Sher Ahmad, an unemployed 22-year-old, as he window-shopped last week in one of a few shopping centers that have sprung up in the capital since then. “Karzai is trying to keep peace, but he is letting the warlords steal money, and poor people are not getting any benefit.” He was referring to men who became regional power brokers as guerrilla commanders in Afghanistan’s war against Soviet occupation in the 1980s. Karzai has sought their electoral support and named two, Muhammad Qasim Fahim and Muhammad Karim Khalili, as his vice- presidential running mates. Both were among those accused of committing human rights abuses in a 2005 report by the U.S. monitoring group Human Rights Watch. Two opinion surveys by U.S.-based polling organizations showed Karzai holding 40 percent to 44 percent of the vote in mid-July, against 20 percent to 26 percent for his former foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah , the most serious of nearly 40 opponents. If Karzai fails to win 50 percent of votes cast, he will face a runoff election, probably against Abdullah and likely in early October. Election officials said no turnout figure will be released until voting ends at 4 p.m. To contact the reporter on this story: James Rupert in Kabul at jrupert3@ bloomberg.net.

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Afghanistan Votes as Escalation of War With Taliban Saps Karzai’s Support

August 20, 2009

By James Rupert Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) — Afghans began casting their votes in a presidential election the U.S. hopes can build a government strong enough to turn around a war with Taliban militants that is killing more foreign troops and Afghans than ever. Taliban guerrillas struck the second-largest city, Kandahar, with five rocket or mortar attacks beginning about 3:30 a.m., international election monitors in the city reported by telephone. “The attacks were minor and people are starting to show up to vote,” said Hardin Lang, an election observer with the Europe-based lobbying group Democracy International . Security teams working with election monitors reported explosions in the outskirts of Kabul. No further details were available. With the government formally banning news media from reporting violence, an overall picture of attacks and early voting was hard to get. Voting was light in Kabul, where a five- day spate of car bombs and rockets had spread fear. While President Hamid Karzai , who voted early in Kabul, faces a divided opposition and is likely to be re-elected, spiraling violence and economic stagnation mean he may not be strengthened politically. “Afghanistan and its government may emerge from this election weaker than before, not stronger,” said Haroun Mir , director of Afghanistan’s Center for Research & Policy Studies . For the past eight years, Karzai and his international backers have failed to contain the fighting or fulfill Afghans’ hopes for an economic recovery from three decades of war. U.S. Shift 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. Afghans “don’t feel the relevance for their daily lives” of either the government or elections, Mir said. In the 65,000-strong U.S.-led coalition , 281 troops have been killed this year, a rate 50 percent higher than last year’s record, according to the monitoring group iCasualties . More than 1,000 civilians were killed through June, 20 percent more than last year’s record high, United Nations figures show. The election is a key step as President Barack Obama shifts America’s national security focus, and U.S. troops, from Iraq to Afghanistan. The U.S. has taken pains to say it neither favors nor opposes Karzai, who many Afghans say is in power because of his international backing. U.S. policy makers are counting on the “legitimacy that these elections will give Afghans about their own government and about the international role in Afghanistan,” said J. Alexander Thier , director of the Future of Afghanistan project at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington. Taliban Stronghold An April security map prepared by the Afghan government and UN agencies showed that the Taliban either control or pose a “high risk” of attack in 40 percent of Afghanistan, according to Peter Bergen, a senior fellow at the Washington-based New America Foundation . This Taliban stronghold, across the south of the country, has forced Afghanistan’s election commission to keep an unannounced number of polling stations closed today. Widespread poll closures in the south, the main political base for Karzai, will “hurt his chances of winning re-election, and will taint the credibility” of the vote, said Mir. Karzai won 55 percent of 8 million votes cast in 2004. About 15 million voters are registered now, the election commission says. In 2004, “everybody was really excited to vote for a president the first time, and was hoping that this will make their lives better,” said Sher Ahmad, an unemployed 22-year-old, as he window-shopped last week in one of a few shopping centers that have sprung up in the capital since then. “Karzai is trying to keep peace, but he is letting the warlords steal money, and poor people are not getting any benefit.” Guerrilla Commanders He was referring to men who became regional power brokers as guerrilla commanders in Afghanistan’s war against Soviet occupation in the 1980s. Karzai has sought their electoral support and named two, Muhammad Qasim Fahim and Muhammad Karim Khalili, as his vice- presidential running mates. Both were among those accused of committing human rights abuses in a 2005 report by the U.S. monitoring group Human Rights Watch. Two opinion surveys by U.S.-based polling organizations showed Karzai holding 40 percent to 44 percent of the vote in mid-July, against 20 percent to 26 percent for his former foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah , the most serious of nearly 40 opponents. Vote Fraud If Karzai fails to win 50 percent of votes cast, he will face a runoff election, probably against Abdullah and likely in early October. Five days of pre-election attacks have killed at least 28 people and injured more than 150. Afghan officials asked news media not to report violence today to avoid discouraging voters from turning out. Taliban have scattered leaflets in villages and towns warning that they will cut off people’s index fingers if they bear the indelible ink used by poll workers. “People are very afraid of these threats,” said Pamir Faraz, 26, a resident of the southeastern province of Khost, a Taliban stronghold on the Pakistani border. The city was calm but tense this morning, and residents seemed to be waiting to judge whether attacks would occur before going to vote, he said in a telephone interview. Fraud is likely in the south if ethnic Pashtun power brokers or Taliban violence bar independent monitors from polls, said Jandad Spinghar, director of the Free & Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan , the country’s biggest poll-monitoring organization. Pashtun culture restricts women’s right to appear in public, and men thus claim the right to register their tribeswomen and vote on their behalf. Women’s names, perhaps tens of thousands, were registered that way, and those votes might be cast in blocs by tribal leaders, Spinghar said. Election monitoring groups say it’s unclear whether fraud will reach a scale that might change the election result. To contact the reporter on this story: James Rupert in Kabul at jrupert3@ bloomberg.net.

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Afghan Police Battle Gunmen in Kabul as Taliban Keeps Voters Off Streets

August 19, 2009

By James Rupert and Viola Gienger Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) — Taliban guerrillas attacked a bank in the Afghan capital and a rocket was fired into a district near Kabul’s center on the eve of a presidential election that a resurgent Taliban has threatened to disrupt. Shops in nearby markets were mostly shuttered and downtown Kabul was unusually empty, partly because of the country’s independence holiday, and partly out of fear of further violence in the last few hours before voting begins. “People are afraid. The Taliban cannot capture Kabul, but they can kill people if they want, and we don’t know what they will do,” said Ruhollah Gul, 19, a tailor in a downtown market. Gul said he is not planning to vote in the election. Tomorrow’s vote, the second since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban regime in late 2001, is central to the U.S. and international efforts to build an Afghan government able to combat Islamic extremism and promote democracy. Police blamed today’s bank raid on Taliban militants and said officers had killed three attackers, Agence France-Presse reported. Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, earlier told the Associated Press that 20 suicide attackers wearing explosive vests had entered Kabul and five of them were fighting police. Late in the morning, a rocket landed east of Kabul’s center in an area of residential neighorhoods, police said. No casualties were reported. Suicide Bombers Extending a campaign of violence ahead of voting, a suicide bomber yesterday detonated explosives in a vehicle on a busy street in Kabul. It killed one member of the international force as well as seven Afghan civilians and two United Nations employees, said Canadian Brigadier General Eric Tremblay, a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force . The government of President Hamid Karzai , whose palace was targeted in a rocket attack yesterday, asked news organizations not to report election-day violence in an effort to ensure voters turn out for tomorrow’s ballot. Karzai is competing for re-election against three dozen candidates, led by Abdullah Abdullah , a former foreign minister. Domestic and international media should refrain from broadcasting suicide bombings and other violence between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. local time “in view of the need to ensure the wide participation of the Afghan people” in the vote, the New York Times cited the Foreign Ministry as saying. The Taliban has regrouped, challenging the authority of the government and prompting President Barack Obama to deploy more troops to help stabilize the country for the vote. Militant Threats Militants have threatened to attack ballot booths during the election, which also includes provincial councils. Newly trained Afghan police and soldiers will aim to show progress toward self-sufficiency as they take the lead in providing security for the elections. With about 6,500 polling places to protect, the Afghan National Police and the Afghan National Army will be the most visible security presence, said Australian Brigadier General Damian Cantwell, chief of the election task force for the NATO- led coalition force in Afghanistan. Foreign troops will keep their distance, monitoring from the air and providing backup on the ground as needed, he said. “I think it is a critical step in the development of both the Afghan Security Forces but also the country as a whole for the people to see and develop trust and confidence in their own security agencies,” Cantwell told reporters at the Pentagon yesterday via video link from Kabul. Al-Qaeda The Afghan forces will try to protect an estimated 15 million registered voters across a country almost the size of Texas. Taliban militants who sheltered al-Qaeda before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. have stepped up their campaign of violence leading up to the election. The insurgents clearly intend “to disrupt and discredit the process wherever possible,” Cantwell said. “For that very reason, I think it’s critical that the Afghan security forces are seen by their people as a credible response.” The number of militant attacks in Afghanistan has risen from an average of 32 a day in the past 10 days to 48 in the past three to four days, Tremblay said during the joint briefing with Cantwell. Statistically, “they’re not going to be able to attack even 1 percent of the entire polling sites in this country,” Tremblay said. Even with an increase in foreign forces in Afghanistan this year to quell a growing insurgency, the 63,000 U.S. troops and 40,500 others will hang back out of sight in a “low-profile but agile posture,” Cantwell said. Tiered Security Afghan police will provide the most close-in security at each polling site, with the army securing nearby neighborhoods and roads. International forces will serve as the third and fourth tiers of security. The international force is counting on the security plan, multiple checkpoints approaching the polls and scenario rehearsals to mitigate the inexperience of the 92,000 Afghan troops and 80,000 police officers trained thus far. “We recognize that, as security agencies, they have some way to develop and mature,” Cantwell said. “They are very aggressive once on the ground to ensure they’re doing the very best mission they can.” Election security should be sufficient to provide “reasonable access” for 85 percent to 90 percent of registered voters, Cantwell said. To contact the reporters on this story: Viola Gienger in Washington at vgienger@bloomberg.net . James Rupert in Kabul at jrupert3@ bloomberg.net.

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Rockets, Taliban Threats Aimed at Disrupting Afghan Presidential Election

August 16, 2009

By James Rupert Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) — Three rockets exploded in Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second-largest city, as supporters of President Hamid Karzai gathered for a final rally before the nation’s presidential election on Aug. 20. Taliban guerrillas in Kandahar Province renewed their threats to attack people who take part in the election, residents said. Leaflets signed by the Taliban have been posted on the walls of mosques in recent days, warning residents not to campaign or vote, said Ghousuddin Firoten, director of the Kandahar-based Hindara Media and Cultural Foundation. “People are feeling intimidated and the threats definitely will make it more difficult for many people to vote,” he said in a telephone interview. About 10 percent of the country’s polling stations may be unable to open because of Taliban opposition, according to election officials. The rocket attack in Kandahar killed a woman in her home and injured people in a shop at the city’s main bazaar, Afghanistan’s Pajhwok news agency reported. Supporters of Karzai, who is a native of the Kandahar region, gathered at the city’s main sports stadium for a rally led by Ahmed Wali Karzai, the president’s brother. A suicide car bombing yesterday near the U.S. Embassy and the main North Atlantic Treaty Organization base in Kabul killed seven people and injured 91 others, reinforcing concerns that the Taliban may stage attacks on election day. Insurgents didn’t carry out such strikes during Afghanistan’s first two national elections in 2004 and 2005. ‘New Tactics’ “We are using new tactics targeting election centers,” Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said in a telephone interview, according to Agence France-Presse. “We will accelerate our activities on election day and the day before,” he said. While U.S. Marines and British troops launched an offensive last month to expand government control in the neighboring province of Helmand, most of rural southern Afghanistan remains under Taliban control or influence. There are 63,000 U.S. troops and 40,500 non-U.S. NATO forces in Afghanistan, the highest number since the Taliban regime was ousted by U.S.-led forces following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The Islamist movement had sheltered the al-Qaeda terrorist group responsible for the attacks. Karzai faces a growing election challenge from his former foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah . He was favored by 44 percent of voters, compared with 26 percent for Abdullah, in a poll released Aug. 14 by the Washington-based International Republican Institute , which is monitoring the election. Karzai’s Lead Karzai held a 24-point lead over Abdullah in a survey by the institute in May. He needs more than 50 percent of votes to avoid a runoff against his closest rival. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last week the U.S. combat operations have made it possible for millions more Afghans to vote. President Barack Obama has boosted troop levels in Afghanistan since taking office in January in an effort to subdue the Taliban. General Stanley McChrystal , the new American commander in Afghanistan, is due by early September to provide an assessment of U.S. security strategy. Former Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and former Representative Lee Hamilton of Indiana said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program that the U.S. needs to have a clear goal in Afghanistan. “Afghanistan is fiendishly complex,” Hamilton, a Democrat who was co-chairman of the 9/11 Commission , said. “We are going to have to decide how hard, how big to go in, or to come back a little bit.” “I fear that we could find ourselves bogged down, drifting dangerously deeper and deeper into a situation where it becomes very difficult to get out,” said Hagel, a Republican and member of the Defense Policy Board, which advises the Pentagon. He is also head of the Atlantic Council of the United States, an international relations group. To contact the reporter on this story: James Rupert in Kabul at jrupert3@bloomberg.net

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Video: Ballots And Bullets

August 14, 2009

Afghanistan’s future in on the line as voters head for the polls next week and coalition forces clash with Taliban fighters. (Political Capital)

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Pakistani Taliban Militants, Rival Group Clash, Leaving as Many as 70 Dead

August 12, 2009

By Khaleeq Ahmed and Gregory Viscusi Aug. 12 (Bloomberg) — Taliban militants clashed with a pro-government militia in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal areas, a military official said. As many as 70 fighters were killed, the Associated Press reported. The fighting, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of Jandola in South Waziristan, pitted followers of Islamic militant Baitullah Mehsud , who the government said died in a U.S. missile strike last week, and supporters of Haji Turkistan Bitani, a local tribal leader allied with the government. There were heavy losses among Mehsud’s faction, said the official, who asked not to be identified. Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said Mehsud, the country’s most wanted Islamic guerrilla, was likely killed by a missile fired by a U.S. drone Aug. 5, and that there is infighting among his commanders over the leadership succession. Mehsud’s deputy, Hakimullah Mehsud, called journalists and analysts two days ago to dismiss claims that he and his boss had died. Baitullah Mehsud, who said he ordered terrorist bombings in Pakistan, led about 5,000 fighters in the border region with Afghanistan. Pakistan and the U.S. have described his killing as a major victory in their fight against the Taliban after the army drove militants from the Swat Valley in the North West Frontier Province. Taliban militants attacked Bitani’s men just outside Mehsud’s stronghold in South Waziristan, AP cited Bitani as saying. The Taliban used rockets, mortars and anti-aircraft guns against Bitani’s village of Sura Ghar, AP reported, citing two unidentified Pakistani intelligence officials, who added that at least 70 people were killed. There was no way to independently verify the death toll, as the fighting was in a remote area that is off-limits to journalists, AP said. To contact the reporters on this story: Khaleeq Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan paknews@bloomberg.net ; Gregory Viscusi in Paris at gviscusi@bloomberg.net .

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Taliban Deny Pakistani Report of Infighting, Say U.S. Didn’t Kill Leader

August 10, 2009

By James Rupert and Khalid Qayum Aug. 10 (Bloomberg) — A deputy leader of Pakistan’s Taliban dismissed a government statement that he was killed in guerrilla infighting over who should replace the movement’s leader, Baitullah Mehsud . Hakimullah Mehsud telephoned an ethnic Pashtun analyst today to rebut the government’s report of a gunbattle among top aides to Baitullah Mehsud, who U.S. and Pakistani officials say was killed by a U.S. missile on Aug. 5. “Hakimullah called me to deny the claim of the government,” the analyst, Sailab Mahsud , said in a telephone interview from Dera Ismail Khan, a Pakistani city just east of South Waziristan. Hakimullah said Baitullah also is alive and couldn’t come to the phone to prove it because they were “in the battlefield,” said Mahsud, a co-tribesman of the Taliban leaders who publishes a newsletter on Pakistan’s ethnic Pashtun community. The Taliban leader’s telephone call was the latest of several claims surrounding the reported death of Baitullah Mehsud. Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said yesterday that Hakimullah Mehsud had died in a gunfight with a rival candidate to lead the Taliban. “There is a full-scale psy-war going on,” said Bahukutumbi Raman, a terrorism analyst who directs the Institute for Topical Studies in Chennai, India. Pakistan and the U.S. have described Baitullah’s killing as a major victory in their fight against the Taliban, whose main stronghold is in the rocky mountains of Waziristan, home to the Mehsuds and several other Pashtun tribes. Secondary Leaders Retired and current Pakistani officials voiced hope that Mehsud’s death might change the war in the government’s favor. “The infighting among the Taliban commanders will weaken the group to the extent that it will eventually disintegrate,” said Mahmood Shah , an analyst and former security chief of Pakistan’s tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. Other analysts say the Taliban may not be critically weakened by a possible loss of their leader. “The secondary leaders are having discussions,” rather than battles, about a new commander, said Karim Mehsud, a Pakistani lawyer who cited his contacts from his past mediation with Taliban and tribal leaders. Taliban accounts of Baitullah Mehsud’s fate have varied so widely that he may indeed be dead, analyst Mahsud said. Many Mehsud tribesmen and Taliban sources have confirmed his death to Pakistani and Western news organizations. While Hakimullah told Mahsud that Baitullah was too busy to be brought to the phone, Maulana Nur Syed, a guerrilla spokesman, said he is gravely ill, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported. The leader needed treatment for diabetes, according to Taliban officials cited by the New York Times. Challenged Government In his phone call, Hakimullah “challenged the government to bring out any proof that Baitullah is dead,” said Mahsud. The evidence of Mehsud’s death “is pretty conclusive,” Jim Jones , the U.S. National Security Adviser, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” yesterday. “We put it in the 90 percent category.” Some degree of Taliban rivalry is indeed likely, Shah, Mahsud and other analysts said. Mutual suspicion among Taliban leaders has been deepened by the increasing accuracy of U.S. missile strikes such as the one that targeted Mehsud, said Raman. “Taliban are asking who is the mole in their midst” who might be sending information to Pakistani or U.S. forces to help target the missiles, he said in an e-mail. The U.S. offered a $5 million bounty for the capture of Mehsud, who said he ordered suicide bombings from his base in the tribal district bordering Afghanistan . Taliban Funds The government’s account of a battle between Hakimullah Mehsud and another top Taliban lieutenant, Waliur Rehman, was reported today by an English-language Pakistani daily, The News. The two men claimed the leadership amid a fight for control of Taliban funds and weapons worth millions of dollars, The News said, citing a security official it didn’t identify. Pakistan’s government blames Mehsud for the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto , the wife of current President Asif Ali Zardari . The army said last month it regained control of the Swat Valley in neighboring North-West Frontier Province from Taliban fighters backed by Meshud after a 10-week offensive killed more than 1,700 militants. Baitullah Mehsud, reportedly in his 30s, was killed when a U.S. missile fired from a drone hit a house in the village of Zangara in South Waziristan, according to Malik and local media reports. ‘A Big Deal’ Mehsud commanded as many as 5,000 fighters, U.S. military analysts said. He formed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan from an alliance of about five pro-Taliban groups in December 2007, according to the U.S. Military Academy’s Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. The U.S. says he has carried out attacks on American troops in Afghanistan. His death is “a big deal,” a demonstration of progress in U.S.-Pakistani security efforts, Jones told NBC yesterday. “Mehsud was public enemy No. 1 in Pakistan.” Mehsud was “a murderous thug and his elimination is a step forward for the safety of folks in that region and in our country,” White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters traveling with President Barack Obama to Mexico yesterday. “It also shows that Pakistan has made progress in moving to root out and eliminate extremist elements.” To contact the reporters on this story: Khalid Qayum in Islamabad at kqayum@bloomberg.net ; James Rupert in New Delhi at Jrupert3@bloomberg.net .

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Pakistan Has `Credible’ Information Mehsud Died, Challenges Taliban Claims

August 9, 2009

By Paul Tighe and Ian Katz Aug. 10 (Bloomberg) — Pakistan’s Taliban should prove their assertions that leader Baitullah Mehsud is still alive because the government stands by “credible information” he was killed last week, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said. Mehsud died in a missile strike and another leader was shot dead in a battle between his successors, according to intelligence reports, the official Associated Press of Pakistan cited Malik as saying yesterday. The militants are unable to offer physical evidence to disprove the government, he said. The evidence of Mehsud’s death “is pretty conclusive,” Jim Jones , the U.S. National Security Adviser said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” yesterday. “We put it in the 90 percent category.” Mehsud, blamed by Pakistan’s government for the 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto , led the Taliban in the tribal district bordering Afghanistan. The army said last month it regained control of the Swat Valley in neighboring North West Frontier Province from Taliban fighters after a 10-week offensive. Mehsud, reportedly in his 30s, was killed along with 40 militants when a U.S. missile fired from a drone hit a house in the village of Zangara in South Waziristan on Aug. 5, according to media reports in Pakistan. Hakimullah Mehsud, a potential successor was killed in a shootout with another leader after Mehsud’s death, according to intelligence information, APP cited Malik as saying. Taliban Spokesman A Taliban spokesman yesterday denied Mehsud was in the house when the missile hit, the British Broadcasting Corp, reported. Maulana Nur Syed told the BBC that Mehsud is gravely ill. The leader needed treatment for diabetes, according to Taliban officials cited by the New York Times. Mehsud commanded as many as 5,000 fighters, U.S. military analysts said. He formed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan from an alliance of about five pro-Taliban groups in December 2007, according to the U.S. Military Academy’s Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. The U.S. says he has carried out attacks on American troops in Afghanistan and had a $5 million bounty on his head. His death is “a big deal,” a demonstration of progress in U.S.-Pakistani security efforts, Jones told NBC yesterday. “Mehsud was public enemy number one in Pakistan.” Mehsud was “a murderous thug and his elimination is a step forward for the safety of folks in that region and in our country,” White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters traveling with President Barack Obama to Mexico yesterday. “It also shows that Pakistan has made progress in moving to root out and eliminate extremist elements.” To contact the reporters on this story: Paul Tighe in Sydney at ptighe@bloomberg.net ; Ian Katz in Washington at ikatz2@bloomberg.net .

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Taliban Leader Mehsud Was Probably Killed in Pakistan Strike, Jones Says

August 9, 2009

By Ian Katz Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) — National Security Adviser Jim Jones said the U.S. and Pakistan have concluded that Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, who ordered suicide bombings and had a $5 million bounty on his head, was probably killed in a U.S. missile strike last week. “The evidence is pretty conclusive,” Jones said today on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program in the strongest U.S. assertion so far that Mehsud is dead. “We put it in the 90 percent category.” Reports of Mehsud’s death have circulated since Aug. 5, when at least one missile struck the home of one of his fathers- in-law in Pakistan’s South Waziristan district, according to press accounts. Mehsud’s death is “a big deal,” a demonstration of progress in U.S.-Pakistani security efforts, Jones said. “Mehsud was public enemy number one in Pakistan.” Mehsud, who was blamed by authorities for the 2007 assassination of former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto , has been the top overall commander of Pakistan’s Taliban since several guerrilla groups united under his leadership 19 months ago. His death would signal an important victory in efforts that have failed to hunt down al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar . Bin Laden has been “a little bit more elusive,” Jones said. “We think that he’s still in that general region.” Afghan Strategy In neighboring Afghanistan, the U.S. will know within a year whether the Obama administration’s new security strategy is working, Jones said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” There are 63,000 U.S. troops and 40,500 non-U.S. NATO forces in that country, the highest number since the war to oust the Taliban regime began in 2001. Afghanistan is preparing for its second presidential vote since the Taliban were ousted by U.S.-led forces following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by al-Qaeda terrorists. The Islamist movement has stepped up its insurgency in the run-up to the Aug. 20 election and candidates and campaign officials have been attacked in recent weeks. “We think we have what we need going into the critical August 20th elections,” Susan Rice , U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program. Jones said adding to troop strength in Afghanistan isn’t “off the table.” Senator Carl Levin , chairman of the Armed Senate Committee, said on “Face the Nation” that “it’s too early to know what Congress would do” should President Barack Obama ask for more U.S. troops in Afghanistan. “Afghanistan is the place, along with the Pakistan border, that the attackers were trained and harbored, that hit us on 9/11,” Democrat Levin said. “We took our eye off that ball when we went to Iraq, but now we’ve got our eye on that border. We cannot allow that border to become a safe haven again.” North Korea Jones said former President Bill Clinton didn’t carry any official or unofficial messages from the U.S. government when he visited North Korea last week to obtain the release of two American women, Jones said. “Time will tell” if North Korea wants to return to the “global community,” he said. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , speaking today on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS,” said she hopes her husband’s trip “will perhaps lead the North Koreans to recognize that they can have a positive relationship with us.” “We’re not in any way intending to threaten North Korea in an offensive manner,” Hillary Clinton said. “Our concern is what they do internally that then threatens our allies and our partners and eventually us. You know, it’s not a good feeling to see them exporting nuclear technology as they have, or to continue to build up their own capacity.” American Hikers Separately, Iran confirmed that it has three American hikers in custody, Jones said. The Americans were hiking in mountains near the border with Iraq when they disappeared, Agence France-Presse reported on Aug. 1. Beshro Ahmed, media adviser for the General Security Department in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, identified the hikers as Shane Bower, Sara Short and Joshua Steel, AFP said. On Aug. 1, an Iranian court began trials of more than 110 people, including politicians, academics and journalists, accused of various crimes during protests after Iran’s disputed elections such as having links to terrorist groups, carrying weapons and transmitting pictures and information to foreign countries and media. “These are show trials,” Ambassador Rice said on CNN. “They are clearly a demonstration of the fact that the Iranian leadership is not reconciled to the concerns of its people regarding the validity of the elections. It’s unfortunate, it’s to be condemned.” To contact the reporter on this story: Ian Katz in Washington at ikatz2@bloomberg.net .

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Taliban Chief Mehsud Was Probably Killed in Pakistan Strike, Jones Says

August 9, 2009

By Ian Katz Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) — National Security Adviser Jim Jones said the U.S. and Pakistan have concluded that Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, who ordered suicide bombings and had a $5 million bounty on his head, was probably killed in a U.S. missile strike last week. “The evidence is pretty conclusive,” Jones said today on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program in the strongest U.S. assertion so far that Mehsud is dead. “We put it in the 90 percent category.” Reports of Mehsud’s death have circulated since Aug. 5, when at least one missile struck the home of one of his fathers- in-law in Pakistan’s South Waziristan district, according to press accounts. Mehsud’s death is “a big deal,” a demonstration of progress in U.S.-Pakistani security efforts, Jones said. “Mehsud was public enemy number one in Pakistan.” Mehsud, who was blamed by authorities for the 2007 assassination of former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto , has been the top overall commander of Pakistan’s Taliban since several guerrilla groups united under his leadership 19 months ago. His death would signal an important victory in efforts that have failed to hunt down al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar . Bin Laden has been “a little bit more elusive,” Jones said. “We think that he’s still in that general region.” Afghan Strategy In neighboring Afghanistan, the U.S. will know within a year whether the Obama administration’s new security strategy is working, Jones said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” There are 63,000 U.S. troops and 40,500 non-U.S. NATO forces in that country, the highest number since the war to oust the Taliban regime began in 2001. Afghanistan is preparing for its second presidential vote since the Taliban were ousted by U.S.-led forces following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by al-Qaeda terrorists. The Islamist movement has stepped up its insurgency in the run-up to the Aug. 20 election and candidates and campaign officials have been attacked in recent weeks. “We think we have what we need going into the critical August 20th elections,” Susan Rice , U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program. Jones said adding to troop strength in Afghanistan isn’t “off the table.” Senator Carl Levin , chairman of the Armed Senate Committee, said on “Face the Nation” that “it’s too early to know what Congress would do” should President Barack Obama ask for more U.S. troops in Afghanistan. “Afghanistan is the place, along with the Pakistan border, that the attackers were trained and harbored, that hit us on 9/11,” Democrat Levin said. “We took our eye off that ball when we went to Iraq, but now we’ve got our eye on that border. We cannot allow that border to become a safe haven again.” North Korea Jones said former President Bill Clinton didn’t carry any official or unofficial messages from the U.S. government when he visited North Korea last week to obtain the release of two American women, Jones said. “Time will tell” if North Korea wants to return to the “global community,” he said. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , speaking today on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS,” said she hopes her husband’s trip “will perhaps lead the North Koreans to recognize that they can have a positive relationship with us.” “We’re not in any way intending to threaten North Korea in an offensive manner,” Hillary Clinton said. “Our concern is what they do internally that then threatens our allies and our partners and eventually us. You know, it’s not a good feeling to see them exporting nuclear technology as they have, or to continue to build up their own capacity.” American Hikers Separately, Iran confirmed that it has three American hikers in custody, Jones said. The Americans were hiking in mountains near the border with Iraq when they disappeared, Agence France-Presse reported on Aug. 1. Beshro Ahmed, media adviser for the General Security Department in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, identified the hikers as Shane Bower, Sara Short and Joshua Steel, AFP said. On Aug. 1, an Iranian court began trials of more than 110 people, including politicians, academics and journalists, accused of various crimes during protests after Iran’s disputed elections such as having links to terrorist groups, carrying weapons and transmitting pictures and information to foreign countries and media. “These are show trials,” Ambassador Rice said on CNN. “They are clearly a demonstration of the fact that the Iranian leadership is not reconciled to the concerns of its people regarding the validity of the elections. It’s unfortunate, it’s to be condemned.” To contact the reporter on this story: Ian Katz in Washington at ikatz2@bloomberg.net .

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UN Envoy Warns Afghan Candidates Against Inciting Unrest Before Elections

August 2, 2009

By Michael Heath Aug.

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Pakistani Forces Arrest Pro-Taliban Clerics, Kill Commander in Swat Valley

July 26, 2009

By Paul Tighe and Khaleeq Ahmed July 27 (Bloomberg) — Pakistan’s army killed a militant commander and arrested pro-Taliban clerics in the Swat Valley including Sufi Muhammad , who brokered February’s peace accord in the region.

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