The Struggle for Influence in Afghan

Afghanistan Sun (ANI) | Thursday 1st August, 2013 | The deadline for the withdrawal of most, if not all U.S. and other NATO troops from Afghanistan, is only 18 months off, but much of what will happen after that, is still up in the air.

The world closely watches as the U.S., the Afghan Government led by President Hamid Karzai, the Northern Alliance and Afghanistan's neighbours are searching for a solution to the Afghan conflict that is in their best interest, though not necessarily in the interest of the country.

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Bomber Dies in Planned Bomb Attack on Afghan and NATO Troops

UPI | GHAZNI, Afghanistan July 17 (UPI) -  An Afghan boy, 12, was killed by his own bombs as he attempted to attack a convoy of Afghan and NATO troops, a Ghazni, Afghanistan, security chief said.
Provincial security chief Haji Asadullah confirmed the boy had explosives on his bicycle, which detonated while a convoy of troops passed him in the city of Ghazni Tuesday.
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Insurgents Kill Eight Laborers

The New Zealand Herald |  KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Afghan officials say insurgents have shot and killed eight day laborers on their way to work at a U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan. Thursday's attack in Logar province is the latest in an intimidation campaign against Afghans working for the government or NATO forces.

Provincial spokesman Din Mohammad Darwesh says the laborers were killed just after dawn as they headed to Forward Operating Base Shank, a U.S. base located near the capital of Puli Alam.
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Gunmen Kill Eight Afghan Civilians

Bahrain News Agency | Kabul, July 18 - At least eight Afghan civilians working as labor in a NATO-led coalition security forces military base were killed by unknown gunmen in eastern Logar province of Afghanistan, according to local authorities. Officials further added that the dead bodies of the civilians were found in Khushi district.

Deputy provincial security chief Raees Khan Sadiq Abdul Rahimzai confirming the report said the deceased individuals were residents of Kalanghar area in Pul-e-Alam district and were working in a NATO military base.
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Pakistan Tells Britain it Backs Afghan Peace Efforts

Khurram SHAHZAD | Fox News | AFP | ISLAMABAD (AFP) – Pakistan assured Britain's visiting prime minister on Sunday that it would promote peace efforts in neighbouring Afghanistan as the West pushes for talks with the Taliban ahead of NATO's withdrawal.

David Cameron's talks in Islamabad were conducted as three attacks in northwest Pakistan killed at least 25 people, underscoring the Islamist militant violence plaguing both sides of the Afghan border. His two-day visit to Afghanistan and Pakistan was part of a Western push to end a 12-year Taliban insurgency after recent efforts to start peace talks collapsed in ignominy over the manner in which the militants opened an office in Qatar on June 18.

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US Marks 4 Years Since Soldier Captured in Afghanistan

Fox News | AFP | KABUL (AFP) – The US commander in Afghanistan said Sunday he hoped that an American soldier held by the Taliban would soon return home safely as troops marked the fourth anniversary of his disappearance.

US Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl vanished on June 30 2009. He is the only known American soldier held by the Taliban, who have released several videos showing him to be alive. "Four years later, we are still waiting for Sergeant Bergdahl's safe return and it is my sincere hope that the wait will soon come to an end," said US General Joseph Dunford, commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan.

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Afghanistan's Next Generation Wants Taliban Held Accountable

NPR | NATO troops pull out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014, leaving some Afghans concerned about security. The withdrawal of foreign troops also opens up multiple chances for a successful democracy. A new generation is emerging in Afghanistan that is more educated, more connected with the world and more hopeful about the future than previous generations. Renee Montagne talks to with Shaharzad Akbar, chairperson for Afghanistan 1400, and Davood Moradian, director-general of the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies.  LISTEN IN

Is Afghanistan ready to Defend Itself?

Evidence is mixed as to the readiness of Afghanistan's Army and National Police to assume the lead in planning and fighting – with the summer combat season likely to be the first big test. 

Howard LaFranchi | Christian Science Monitor | Kabul, Afghanistan | The expression on the face of the Afghan National Army sergeant makes this much clear: He couldn't be prouder of the spanking-new, million-dollar, gun-mounted vehicle that NATO trainers are teaching him to operate.

"My main goal is to learn very well the operation of these vehicles and their guns so I can defeat our enemy," says Sgt. Nezamuddin Stanekzai as he leans out its door frame, his maroon beret adjusted to sit on his head just so. "I am ready to defend my country!" he declares, signaling two thumbs up.

Stanekzai, radiating confidence as he trained recently at the sprawling Pol-e-Charkhi army base outside Kabul, probably is ready. He is among those Afghans who tested high enough to land in the nascent Mobile Strike Force unit – a $1 billion program designed to leave Afghanistan with a top-notch rapid-reaction force

Afghanistan's 'worst nightmare' of Pak double speak comes true over peace talks

Afghanistan Sun (ANI) | Wednesday 3rd April, 2013 | Afghanistan's 'worst nightmare' of Pakistan cutting back on support for peace talks with the Taliban ahead of the NATO troops pull out in 2014, has come true. Afghan foreign ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai said Pakistan is changing the goalposts on its support for the peace process once again, and in recent weeks has appeared to have backed away from support for the process. (READ MORE)

Coalition-Afghan Partnering Operations Resuming

Jim Garamone | American Forces Press Service | WASHINGTON, Sept. 27, 2012 – Afghan and NATO troops are resuming partnered operations which were suspended earlier this month because of a series of deadly insider attacks, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta announced during a news conference here today.

Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, had ordered that all combined operations below the battalion level be approved by regional commanders following attacks by Afghan soldiers and police that have killed 51 members of the coalition this year.  (READ MORE)

Afghanistan: As Nato Troops Pull Out, Kabul has the Task of Rebuilding Society

Nick Hopkins | guardian.co.uk | Thursday 27 September 2012 17.16 EDT |  The military campaign in Afghanistan has been the focus of international attention over the last decade, but that is shifting markedly as Kabul tries to make sense of what will be left behind when Nato's combat troops disappear.

The country has 34 provinces and progress in each, on issues such as women's rights and counter-narcotics, is, so far, patchy. (READ MORE)

Afghan Govt will Collapse and Taliban will Rule Again, Afghan Expert Says

AFP | news.com.au | THE Afghan government will collapse and Taliban insurgents are likely to retake power after the US and NATO pull their troops out in 2014, a respected international scholar has predicted.

The withdrawal of international forces will in some respects leave the country worse off than it was before a US-led invasion toppled the Taliban nearly 11 years ago, Afghan expert Gilles Dorronsoro of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said. (READ MORE)

5 Militants Killed in Eastern Afghan Operations

SINA  | Thursday 27th September, 2012 | KABUL, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Afghan forces and the NATO-led coalition troops have eliminated five militants in operations launched in eastern Afghan provinces within a 24-hour period, the coalition forces said in a statement on Tuesday. "Afghan and coalition forces killed five insurgents, detained one, located two weapons caches and cleared seven improvised explosive devices (IEDs) during operations in eastern Afghanistan... (READ MORE)

American Advisers Heighten Guard in Afghanistan

Jennifer Rowland | The AfPak Channel | U.S. military advisers are taking more precautions than ever against the threat of "insider attacks," keeping their body armor on and their weapons loaded even as they train Afghan troops inside fortified bases (NYT). Some Afghan soldiers expressed resentment over the measures, but the American advisers are taking no chances now that Afghan security forces have killed 51 NATO troops this year.

Two NATO service members were killed in the eastern Afghan province of Logar on Wednesday during an insurgent suicide bombing and subsequent firefight (AFP, AP).  (READ  MORE)

NATO: 2 Service Members Killed in Afghanistan

UT San Diego | KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide attack on a NATO patrol in eastern Afghanistan killed two service members in the U.S.-led coalition on Wednesday, NATO and Afghan officials said.

The attack included small-arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades and a man wearing a vest laden with explosives, said Jamie Graybeal, a spokesman for the coalition.

The coalition gave no other details, but Din Mohammad Darwesh, a spokesman in Logar province, said the suicide bomber, who was on foot, struck the international soldiers as they were patrolling a section of Pul-i-Alam, the provincial capital. (READ MORE)

Partnered Operation with Afghan Forces Continuing: US

Afghanistan Sun (IANS) Tuesday 25th September, 2012 |  Partnered operations between NATO and Afghan forces are continuing despite a decision by the US commander to scale them down after a string of deadly insider attacks, Pentagon spokesperson George Little has said.

Speaking at a Pentagon news conference Tuesday, the spokesperson described such scaling back as "a temporary measure", adding that some patrols below the battalion level still continue, Xinhua reported.

"Let me be clear as well that operations with our Afghan partners continue," said Little. (READ MORE)

Afghan-NATO Forces Foil Insider Attack

By Kristina Wong | The Washington Times | Afghan and NATO forces on Friday thwarted an insider attack for the first time since the start of the war, coalition officials said Monday.

Officials said that a joint Afghan-NATO special operations team arrested two men who were in the “advanced stages” of preparing for a strike against a coalition base in Logar province, just south of Kabul.

The planned strike, by two “known insider attack facilitators,” was to include homemade bombs, the recruitment of insurgent fighters and the attempted infiltration of Afghan security forces, the officials said... (READ MORE)