September 10, 2013
...Key figures (click here) in the Afghanistan Electoral Alliance include the runner-up in the 2009 presidential vote, Abdullah Abdullah; Ahmad Zia Masud, a former vice president and brother of legendary Tajik commander Ahmad Shah Masud; General Abdul Rashid Dostum, a former ethnic Uzbek militia leader; Atta Mohammad Noor, the powerful governor of Balkh Province; and influential Hazara leader Mohammad Mohaqeq....
An Editorial by the distinguished Dr. Abdullah Abdullah. Great hope and a vision. The next President of Afghanistan.
By Abdullah Abdullah
January 8, 2013
In the year 2000, well before the tragic Sept. 11attacks on the United States (click here) and the subsequent liberation of Afghanistan, a secret meeting took place in northern Afghanistan, one of the few areas not conquered by the Taliban. A man named Hamid Karzai, as part of a delegation representing the former king of Afghanistan, flew in to meet Ahmad Shah Massoud, leader of the anti-Taliban United Front, and me to discuss the future of the country.
The Land Mafia is corruption. It still exists under Karzai. There is too much unpredictable outcomes for the people in Afghanistan and they need leadership that understands them.
4:45 PM Wednesday Sep 11, 2013
ISLAMABAD (AP) Pakistan has decided (click here) to release the most senior Afghan Taliban prisoner it is holding and could do so as soon as this month to jumpstart the struggling peace process, a senior Pakistani official said.
The Afghan government has long demanded that Pakistan release Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's former deputy leader. He was arrested in a joint raid with the CIA in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi in 2010.
Sartaj Aziz, adviser to the Pakistani prime minister on national security and foreign affairs, said Tuesday that the government has agreed to release Baradar to help the peace process but has not yet set a date.
"He could be released this month or very soon," said Aziz. "It is part of confidence building measures, and we are hopeful he can play a role."
Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai welcomed Pakistan's decision to set Baradar free, saying "we believe his release will help the Afghan peace process."
But he said Baradar must be "accessible, secure and with a known address" if he remains in Pakistan....
The Congressional resolution to create a surge in Afghanistan had nothing to do with the death of Osama bin Laden.
September 11, 2013
The 12 year war: 73% of all US casualities in Afghanistan on Obama's Watch (click here)
...On Sept. 14, 2011, Congress approved a resolution authorizing the president “to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons.”
By October 2001, U.S. forces were engaged in Afghanistan, seeking to remove al Qaeda from the sanctuary it had used there to launch the Sept. 11, 2001 attack.
Since then, most of the leaders and participants in the 9/11 terrorist attacks have been killed or captured. But the United States not only remains at war in Afghanistan, it continues to suffer significant casualties there....
The United States of America has caused more hardship and insecurity with the Afghan people than it ever solved.
...In a 2008 survey by Oxfam, respondents said land issues were the leading cause of insecurity. “With arms widely available, these disagreements can easily escalate and flare into violence,” Oxfam said. Higher-profile fights between government and international forces and anti-government militants were considered far less important.
Two months ago, in Deh Sabz, an area of land just north of Kabul, a gunfight between police and residents resulted in nine deaths and many more injuries, according to an Afghanistan Analysts Network report. The fight was over the construction of the Kabul New City in an area locals and Kuchis [a semi-nomadic Pashtun group], use for pasture; the community said they had paid for the land through local power brokers...
...“The ‘land mafia’ did not even exist in Kunduz two years ago, but now their presence is increasing day by day. It's very serious because the victims involved are civilians, especially people like Kuchis, who are not [politically] powerful. They can do nothing because the people taking the land hold top government positions.”...
...But USIP’s research showed that most communities resisted formal documenting procedures. There was a prevailing sense that formal procedures did not offer tangible results and instead carried high social, economic and security costs. Many feared documentation of land ownership in Afghanistan - the third most corrupt in the world, according to Transparency International - could lead to their being targeted for land grabs, excess government taxes and bribes....
...The PEACE project has been one of the most successful to date, according to the Afghanistan Watch report and analysts who spoke with IRIN. Initiated in 2006, the project focuses on natural resource management, one of the root causes of conflict among pastoral communities. It provides information on pasture conditions, market prices and livestock enterprises, and facilitates conflict resolution, often leading to peaceful outcomes and stronger conflict-management skills in the community....
On
Sept. 14, 2011, Congress approved a resolution authorizing the
president “to use all necessary and appropriate force against those
nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized,
committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11,
2001, or harbored such organizations or persons.”
By October 2001, U.S. forces were engaged in Afghanistan, seeking to remove al Qaeda from the sanctuary it had used there to launch the Sept. 11, 2001 attack.
Since then, most of the leaders and participants in the 9/11 terrorist attacks have been killed or captured. But the United States not only remains at war in Afghanistan, it continues to suffer significant casualties there.
- See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/dennis-m-crowley/12-year-war-73-us-casualties-afghanistan-obamas-watch#sthash.LGzlqT7d.dpufOn Sept. 14, 2011, Congress approved a resolution authorizing the president “to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons.”
By October 2001, U.S. forces were engaged in Afghanistan, seeking to remove al Qaeda from the sanctuary it had used there to launch the Sept. 11, 2001 attack.
Since then, most of the leaders and participants in the 9/11 terrorist attacks have been killed or captured. But the United States not only remains at war in Afghanistan, it continues to suffer significant casualties there.
- See more at: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/dennis-m-crowley/12-year-war-73-us-casualties-afghanistan-obamas-watch#sthash.LGzlqT7d.dpufOn Sept. 14, 2011, Congress approved a resolution authorizing the president “to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons.”
The 12-Year War: 73% of U.S. Casualties in Afghanistan on Obama's Watch
September 11, 2013 - 4:38 AM
The 12-Year War: 73% of U.S. Casualties in Afghanistan on Obama's Watch
September 11, 2013 - 4:38 AM
