 by Lt.Col. Ralph Peters The Taliban scored a powerful psychological victory yesterday, as fewer than two dozen suicide attackers brought Afghanistan's government and capital city to a standstill. In a dramatic wave of attacks (possibly planned with help from Pakistani intelligence operatives), the Taliban struck Kabul's presidential palace, several government ministries and a multistory shopping complex. And they did it just as President Hamid Karzai was swearing in his new Cabinet (despite a battle with parliament over the legitimacy of his picks).
Think that gave Afghans renewed confidence in their government? We've been told, repeatedly, that Afghanistan's army and police are improving, yet US forces had to rush to their aid in responding to 20 or fewer attackers right in Kabul. Still worse: The attack's planning was meticulous and media savvy. In smooth coordination with simultaneous suicide bombings and small-arms attacks, Taliban public-relations agents popped up online and in the media to thump their chests over their win. When it comes to media relations, these thugs aren't backward barbarians. Indeed, the Taliban does it far better than our military, which slowly issues defensive statements that nobody takes seriously. (And where our bureaucracy's paralytic, NATO's is comatose.) Inevitably, our guys in Kabul will play down the attacks, claiming that "Saigon's back to normal, people are going about their business." But weigh the psychological impact yesterday's strikes had on Afghans unsure of which horse to back in this deadly race. Yesterday's wave of bombings was a mini-Tet Offensive -- a small-scale repeat of the attacks that triggered US public opinion's turn against the Vietnam War. They were designed to explode Western claims of progress and embarrass our leaders -- and it worked. Our self-delusion stinks of the early years in Vietnam, when Gen. Paul Harkins, our man in Saigon, claimed (in 1963) that the Vietnamese army was doing a great job, the war was being won and our troops would be home by 1965. Recently, I read a report by an official US visitor to Afghanistan calling Karzai "brave" and describing him as the leader Afghanistan needs.
Good God -- he's hiding in his presidential palace, afraid to visit the front lines and see what kind of shape his country's really in. Yesterday, the war came to him. Our insistence on propping up Karzai is so uncanny a replay of our support for South Vietnam's incompetent Diem regime five decades ago that the similarity's unnerving. We saw what we wanted to see then. And we see what we want to see now. The problem is not our troops: They're doing everything we ask and more. But they're pit bulls led by miniature poodles. Senior military leaders refuse to see our enemies for what they are -- religious fanatics with a durable tribal base -- and insist on treating them as 20th-century ideological insurgents. Earth to Gen. Stan McChrystal: Those suicide bombers yesterday weren't Sandinistas. Special Forces and other personnel down-range (far from the gee-whiz briefing rooms) understand that there is no Afghan nation, that we've stuck ourselves in the midst of complex tribal wars super-charged by religious fanaticism among our enemies. And, in tribal wars, you have to pick your tribes. It's not that the war in Afghanistan's unwinnable. It's just not winnable on the ludicrous terms we've imposed upon ourselves. We want to build what can't be built and refuse to do what must be done -- and sacrifice our troops for foreign scoundrels. Poll the Afghans on the streets of Kabul today. Ask them if we're winning. Ralph Peters' latest book is "The War After Armageddon." NYPost
 Taliban fighters have staged a series of attacks in the centre of Kabul, with gunfire and several explosions reported at locations across the Afghan capital. Early reports of the attacks, which began on Monday close to the presidential palace, said that at least four people had been killed and that several people had been injured. Farhad Paiker, an Afghan journalist, told Al Jazeera that the strikes had spread to other parts of the city. "A suicide bomber in a car came towards the foreign ministry. Security forces tried to stop it and it hit a shopping centre," he said. "It is really chaotic in the area." Later a car bomb exploded near another shopping centre, close to the education ministry. A security source was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying that a suicide bomber had killed "several police and intelligence officials". The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying that 20 of their fighters were involved in the clashes. Afghan security forces have locked down the centre of the city. Nato's international forces were also reportedly helping to secure the area. "We can confirm that four suicide bombers have been killed," Zemarai Bashery, an interior ministry spokesman, told Al Jazeera. He said that two of the attackers had taken refuge in a building and had been killed by security forces. Qais Azimy, Al Jazeera's Kabul producer, reporting about 200m from the secene of some of the fighting, said: "There are hundreds of Afghan army and police and intelligence officials present. Civilians have completely left the area. "It is a big question mark how they [the fighters] got so close to the presidential palace." David Chater, Al Jazeera's correspondent who was at the Serena Hotel surrounded by the fighting, said: "We've heard four large explosions very close to the hotel. I'm told the fighting is close to the presidential palace. "There is fierce gunfire very close to me ... a heavy gunfight going on at the moment. "It is extraordinary that security has been breached to this extent," he said, adding that it showed the Taliban could act at will. The Serena Hotel, which is frequented by foreign journalists, was reported to be on fire shortly after the attacks began. Chater said there had been recent warnings that opposition fighters had hijacked six armoured cars and were planning an attack on the capital. The attack appears to be the most co-orindinated offensive on the capital since the US-led invasion in 2001 that toppled the Taliban from power. But Afghan politicians insisted the Taliban attack held little significance. "They did attack any important ministry," Mir Ahmed Joyenda, an Afghan parliamentarian, told Al Jazeera. "It does not mean the Taliban is strong. It means they can not target military targets only the Afghan people. It means that they are weak." Even so, the attack comes at a sensitive time in Afghan politics with Hamid Karzai, the president, yet to finalise his cabinet after disputed elections. Chater said that the strikes will bring into question the credibility of Karzai's authority and the military strategy in Afghanistan of Barack Obama, the US president. Obama committed 30,000 extra troops to the country at the end of last year, to be focused on training local security forces, after much deliberation. The attack also comes ahead of the London Conference on Afghanistan hosted by the UK, UN and Afghanistan on January 28 on winning the conflict in the country. Al Jazeera
 TALIBAN militants have beheaded six Afghans they accused of spying for the government of President Hamid Karzai. Police today confirmed the killings of six "moderate Taliban", saying the men had "cooperated with the authorities". The victims' bodies were found with their heads totally separated in a house near the capital of the southern province of Uruzgan on Thursday, Juma Gul Hema, the provincial police chief, told AFP. One man survived the attack with a deep gash across his throat, he said. "A group of moderate Taliban had gathered in a house near Tirin Kot," he said. "A group of Taliban terrorists went there and beheaded them all. They had separated the heads of six of them." The seventh man was still alive, he said. The Australian
 AFGHAN legislators have complained that President Hamid Karzai's proposed cabinet is inexperienced and beholden to warlords - opposition that threatens to slow the reform Western allies say is essential to beating the Taliban. The US embassy made only neutral comments after the nomination list was presented to parliament over the weekend, but gave no assessment of the nominees. Britain issued a more positive assessment. Mr Karzai's list was seen as a test of his commitment to cleaning up corruption in his government, anger over which fuels the Taliban insurgency. The Afghan leader has come under mounting criticism over his stewardship since the fraud-marred August election and the decision by US President Barack Obama to send 30,000 more troops to try to break the Taliban momentum. Mr Karzai kept US favourites in several posts critical to the war and reconstruction - including the ministries of defence, interior and finance - and jettisoned the heads of two ministries embroiled in corruption probes. "If this cabinet gets a confidence vote from the parliament of Afghanistan, it would not be able to put medicine on the injuries of the Afghan people," Gul Pacha Mujedi, a parliamentarian from Paktia province, said yesterday. Khaled Pashtun, a legislator from Kandahar, added: "My fear and that of many MPs is that they maybe are the puppets of those warlords, so that despite that they are considered civilised people and more educated people, they cannot implement their own ideas and initiatives." A presidential spokesman said Mr Karzai made his decision in consultation with international officials and Afghan political figures but was beholden to neither. "He has listened to the international community and various political parties, but the final decision was made by the President," spokesman Waheed Omar said, adding that Mr Karzai was confident the new team would implement reforms to root out corruption.It is not clear when parliament will vote on the nominees, and the dismay expressed by legislators indicates long and heated argument before approval. That would keep political tensions high and frustrate international allies impatient for reform. "We look forward to the lower house of parliament carrying out their duty to vet and approve candidates who will contribute to Afghanistan's progress towards institutional reform, security, and prosperity," said US embassy spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden. Britain's mission in Kabul "is upbeat about the cabinet nominations and thinks that this is a government that we will be able to do business with", embassy spokesman Paul Norris said. The Australian
 SUICIDE bombers struck at the heart of middle-class Kabul yesterday, killing at least eight people and wounding dozens near the home of a former vice-president and a hotel popular with Westerners. The blast occurred metres from the Heetal hotel in the diplomatic district of Wazir Akbar Khan and just hours before President Hamid Karzai was to open an anti-corruption conference. More than 200 delegates, including foreign officials, were gathered at the nearby Foreign Ministry for the three-day meeting, which is a response to demands from Western allies for greater accountability and transparency in Afghanistan's central administration. But officials yesterday said they believed the target of the attack was former vice-president Ahmed Zia Massoud, brother of anti-Taliban hero Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was killed by al-Qa'ida two days before the attacks on the US on September 11, 2001. The latest blast comes as the US prepares to deploy the first of 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan to boost the Western allied offensive against Islamic insurgents there. Shortly after the attack, Mr Karzai told the conference the explosion had badly damaged Massoud's house and killed two of his guards. Defence Ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi confirmed the strike killed four men and four women and wounded at least 40. An Afghan intelligence official in charge of security for the hotel said no guests were injured and the hotel suffered only minor damage, although windows in nearby buildings were shattered. The Heetal hotel is owned by the son of former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani, who was deposed by the Taliban in 1996. An English student at Kabul University who witnessed the blast said he saw a black four-wheeled drive vehicle near the hotel. "It drove very slowly to the checkpoint" of the hotel, and then it blew up," Hamayun Azizi, 22, said. The bombing has ended a relatively quiet few weeks in the capital, which suffered rolling rocket strikes and suicide blasts following the August presidential polls. The last major attack was almost one month ago on the US-run Camp Phoenix military base on the outskirts of the city. The Australian
 KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday it will be at least 15 years before his government can bankroll a security force strong enough to protect the country from the threat of insurgency. Speaking at a news conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Karzai said Afghan security forces would take the lead in securing the nation within five years, but he said his nation would need financial help to pay the salaries and equip a growing army and police force. "Afghanistan is looking forward to taking on our responsibilities in terms of paying for its forces with its own resources, but that will not be for another 15 years," Karzai said. Gates is the first member of President Barack Obama's Cabinet to visit since Obama announced last week that he is sending 30,000 reinforcements to Afghanistan, but intends to pare down the U.S. role in July 2011. He worked to convey two messages: that the U.S. would not abandon Afghanistan, as Gates said it did after the Soviets withdrew in 1989, but that the American commitment was not open-ended. The defense secretary and other administration officials have described the 2011 date as just the beginning, with the process likely take at least two or three years to complete. "There is a realism on our part that it will be some time" before the Afghan security forces can stand on their own, Gates said. "Our troops are here only as long as it takes to help you defeat your enemies," he said. "We will fight by your side until Afghan forces are large enough and strong enough to secure the nation on their own as they have already done in Kabul." FoxNews
 "The man sitting in front of me was my country's president, but the only thing I could feel towards him was anger," writes Meena, describing a meeting with Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president. "I lost respect for him because of his policies towards women's rights, his stance on negotiating with the Taliban, and his alliance with Dostum, a warlord and criminal." In a country where women's voices are rarely heard, Meena's publications on a pioneering blog, the Afghan Women's Writing Project (AWWP), represent a tentative step forward in addressing the lack of female voices in the public sphere in Afghanistan. Meena and her fellow contributors take enormous risks in writing - publishing anonymously to avoid being identified. Many of their own families do not know what they are doing, and if found, they could face serious reprisals from those who believe that Afghan women should be neither seen nor heard. One contributor, Roya, explains the constraints under which she works. "No one knows I am writing for this project and it stays a secret," she says. "I can't tell my family I am writing. There are security risks for us." In the volatile political and security climate of Afghanistan, no-one is taking any chances.
"Recently I received a death threat from Taliban," one anonymous poster writes, in a piece entitled Being a Woman: My Only Sin. But for the contributors, having their voices heard is worth the risk. "I grew up being told by the society that I was mentally unequal to men and incapable of doing anything but giving birth and rising children," Meena says. "Writing for the blog has enabled me to take the tears, the pain and the horror of Afghan women to my Afghan brothers and to the world." The project was set up by American novelist Masha Hamilton as a way for Afghan women to share their experiences directly with the rest of the world, rather than being spoken for by men. "It's about developing their voices," Hamilton says. "We don't just put anything up. It's a dialogue and a communication. We want to help them express their stories, and their writing often becomes more personal as time goes on." The project has been an enormous success. It attracts submissions on topics ranging from contemporary politics to considerations of the burqa, offering a unique insight into a world ordinarily kept hidden from public gaze. A network of volunteer teachers in the US use secure online classrooms to set writing prompts for the 36 women who participate from across Afghanistan. "We have some women writing from the most conservative provinces of Afghanistan," Hamilton says. "There are many cases of women feeling that this is a lifeline for them." As well as giving English language readers a chance to understand more about the lives of Afghan women, the project also represents an educational opportunity for the women who take part. For some, it is the only opportunity they have to practice their English, although organisers say that the development of creative skills is prioritised over improving the technical aspects of their language. Either way, the women clearly enjoy the interactive nature of the project.
Elay has been taking part for the past two months. "I have wonderful teachers," she says.
"They correct my essays and I learn from my mistakes, and the way they explain the mistakes." But with Afghanistan rocked by spreading instability, and large swathes of the country falling under Taliban control, the writers are well aware that the relative freedom that allows them to take part in the project is not guaranteed to last. Hamilton says that the deteriorating security situation has had an impact on the way the women see their futures. "In 2004, I went to Afghanistan for the first time," she says. "I could see that there was a long way for women to go, but there was hope. When I went back in November 2008, a lot of that had gone." The prospect of the government cutting a deal with the Taliban is of particular concern and the organisers are making contingency plans in case conservative elements are politically empowered by any potential deal. "We want to get them all laptops, in case things get worse again," Hamilton says. "Then they could write at home." Meanwhile, the women who risk everything to make their voices heard hope their writing can be a catalyst for positive change.
"I believe words are stronger than guns," Meena says. "It is words that start revolutions and changes." To read the work of the Afghan Women's Writing Project, visit http://awwproject.wordpress.com/ Al Jazeera
 For the first time, the president set a timeline on America's military involvement in the country it invaded in October 2001. The White House hopes that the addition of 30,000 US troops, which will begin almost immediately, combined with the pressure of the new deadline, will spur the government of Hamid Karzai into action. In a speech televised live across America, Mr Obama said that "these additional American and international troops will allow us to accelerate handing over responsibility to Afghan forces, and allow us to begin the transfer of our forces out of Afghanistan in July of 2011". He continued: "Just as we have done in Iraq, we will execute this transition responsibly, taking into account conditions on the ground. We will continue to advise and assist Afghanistan's fecurity forces to ensure that they can succeed over the long haul. "But it will be clear to the Afghan government – and, more importantly, to the Afghan people that they will ultimately be responsible for their own country." The speech came as it was announced that British and American troops in Afghanistan are to launch a major new onslaught against the Taliban within weeks. Thousands of soldiers will be deployed to "deliver a punch" to insurgents responsible for attacks in Helmand province. The move is part of President Barack Obama's plans to increase US troop numbers by 30,000 to be announced in a speech to the nation. He will send 9,000 US marines to fight with British forces in an offensive early in the New Year as the advanced guard of a major surge. Final preparations for the US marines' departure will begin almost immediately. They are expected to deploy shortly before Christmas for an offensive against Taliban strongholds in the south of the country. Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said "we're going to get in there quickly" in order to "deliver a punch quickly". More at the Telegraph
 US President Barack Obama's revamped policy on Afghanistan will be a strategy for success in a bloody conflict characterised by worsening Taliban violence and a controversial presidential election result. At his first media conference yesterday, new US Ambassador Jeffrey Bleich spoke of his confidence that the new Obama blue print would check worsening insecurity in the troubled country.
Speaking after presenting his credentials to Governor General Quentin Bryce, Mr Bleich, a close friend of President Obama for more than 20 years - said Washington had no greater friend than Australia.
On the vexed issue of climate change Mr Bleich said Washington fully acknowledged Canberra's position as a "world leader'' in the lead up to the Copenhagen conference.
The Obama White House was highly appreciative of Australia's military contribution to the Afghanistan conflict, he said.
 KABUL — The Taliban's reclusive leader issued a Muslim holiday message on Wednesday calling on Afghans to break off relations with the government, which he described as a 'stooge' administration. Mullah Omar's message ahead of Eid came a week after President Hamid Karzai reached out to the Taliban during his inauguration speech, saying it was important to include in the government former Taliban who were ready to renounce terrorism. The extremist group quickly rejected the appeal, repeating its refusal to negotiate with the Karzai government or participate in what it considers a puppet administration. "I hope you will continue your legitimate jihad (holy war) and struggle in the way of realizing your Islamic aspirations ... and break off all relations with the stooge Kabul administration," Omar said in the message posted on a Web site used by the Taliban and e-mailed to journalists from an address often used to send out his statements. He said there would be no negotiations that would prolong or legitimize the presence of foreign forces in the country. "Those who have occupied our country and taken our people as hostage, want to use the stratagem of negotiation like they used the drama of elections for some time in order to achieve their colonialist objectives," he said. "However, the people of Afghanistan will not agree to negotiation which prolongs and legitimizes the invaders' military presence." Omar hasn't been seen in years. Afghan officials claim he is in hiding in Pakistan. The Taliban leader insisted the insurgents had gained the upper hand and were winning the war."Ground realities in our beloved country indicate that the invaders are about to escape," he said. President Barack Obama has been considering plans to send tens of thousands more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, and U.S. military officials expect an infusion of approximately 32,000 to 35,000 troops to begin in February or March. It would be the largest expansion since the beginning of the war in 2001. In his statement, Omar called on militants to continue to fight against the government and its allies, but urged them to avoid civilian deaths. Taliban bombs often kill civilians in their pursuit of government or military targets. Militants were to blame for about three-quarters of the 1,500 civilian deaths in the first eight months of 2009, according to the United Nations. However, the Taliban statement blamed U.S. and NATO forces for killing civilians in military operations, and said these nations are guilty of human rights abuses because of the mistreatment of prisoners. The statement also repeated Taliban rhetoric claiming that the war in Afghanistan is an attempt by the West to undermine Islam. "The Americans and its allies have been hammering out plans overtly and covertly to destabilize the Islamic world and provoke differences in the Islamic countries," Omar said. FoxNews
 AS the political and military quagmire in Afghanistan and Pakistan deepens, an odious reality is dawning on the governments of those countries and their backers in the West: the Taliban will not be defeated, and must now be included as part of the solution if this intractable problem is ever to be solved. This unpalatable fact is fuelling ferocious debate on a number of questions. Should the war in Afghanistan be escalated or scaled back? Should the Taliban be brought to the negotiating table? And is it possible to declare a truce with the Afghan militants without providing a new launchpad for al-Qa'ida's war on the West? Eight years into the conflict, the disparate band of rebel groups known collectively as Taliban is undeniably winning the war. It now has a permanent presence in 80 per cent of Afghanistan, according to the London-based International Council on Security and Development, with its own civilian administration, courts, economy and taxation system in place. The Taliban is already operating as a "de facto alternative government" says Amin Saikal, the Afghan-born director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University, whose brother Mahmoud is a former Karzai government minister. As Hamid Karzai began his second five-year term as President on Thursday, he said he wanted a decrease in foreign troops, with security completely in Afghan hands within five years. "The people following Mullah Omar have one line of thinking: `We are fighting for our country, we are fighting for our honour, we are fighting for our religion. We see these foreign forces as invaders, and we see the Karzai government as a puppet'," Saikal says. The Taliban's renaissance is a product of the same hostility to foreign invaders that saw off the British colonialists in the 19th century and ended a decade of Soviet occupation in 1989. Omar's success rests with the historic resonance of his message, says Saikal: "Your country is occupied by infidels. Your forefathers drove them out, now they're coming back and occupying your land, and you as an Afghan and a Muslim have an obligation to stand up against these people." The Taliban's ascendancy, and the resulting surge in American soldiers returning home in body bags, has propelled a steady shift of opinion on how the next phase of the now discredited war on terror should be waged. Until recently "counter-insurgency" was the new buzzword and favoured modus operandi. But as the war drags on it becomes ever more apparent that fighting a broad-based insurgency is a costly, difficult and deadly task, with no end in sight. US President Barack Obama is expected to announce his long-delayed troops commitment before a NATO meeting on December 3. The US commander in Afghanistan Stanley McChrystal wants the President to send up to 40,000 more troops, without which he says the US operation "will likely result in failure' in the next year. Critics argue that such a surge would mean that "permanent war has become the de facto policy of the US", in the words of one commentator. Support is growing for the alternative favoured by Vice-President Joe Biden and other senior Obama aides: rejecting the surge in favour of a redoubled counter-terrorism effort aimed at rooting out al-Qa'ida and its supporters from their border strongholds. Marc Sageman, a former CIA mujahidin handler turned counter-terrorism analyst, last month told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee that a troop boost "may result in moral outrage in young Muslims in the West, who would take it upon themselves to carry out terrorist operations at home in response. So, far from protecting the homeland, the surge may actually endanger it in the short term." More at the Australian
 FIVE Afghan border guards were killed when a roadside bomb blast hit their patrol in the troubled southern province of Kandahar today, police said. The attack occurred in the Spin Boldak district bordering Pakistan during a pre-dawn patrol, said General Abdul Raziq, provincial border police commander. "In an explosion this morning all five border policemen were killed when their vehicle was hit," he told AFP. The Taliban, waging a violent insurgency that is at its worst in the south, claimed responsiblity for the bombing, with spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi, speaking from an undisclosed location, saying eight policemen had been killed. The Taliban often make wildly exaggerated claims on such incidents. Roadside bombs, often made from a mixture of fertiliser, fuel and metal, have become the weapon of choice for the Taliban-led militants and are causing increasing numbers of casualties among foreign and Afghan forces. President Hamid Karzai, re-elected in a fraud-marred vote in August, used his inauguration speech on Thursday to say that Afghan forces will take responsiblity for national security in five years. The Australian
 KABUL: US President Barack Obama aims to bring the Afghan war to an end before he leaves office, he said on Wednesday – the eve of a swearing-in ceremony Western officials hope would help salvage Hamid Karzai’s tattered reputation.
In an interview with CNN, Obama said he would soon announce the results of a long-awaited review – which would include an exit strategy to avoid “a multiyear occupation that won’t serve the interests of the US”.
“The American people will have a lot of clarity about what we’re doing, how we’re going to succeed, how much this thing is going to cost, what kind of burden does this place on our young men and women in uniform and, most importantly, what’s the end game on this thing,” he said.
“My preference would be not to hand off anything to the next president. One of the things I’d like is the next president to be able to come in and say I’ve got a clean slate.”
In the CNN interview, Obama gave a lukewarm endorsement of Karzai, saying his focus was on the government as a whole.
“I think that President Karzai has served his country in important ways. If you think about when he first came in, there may not have been another figure who could have held that country together,” said Obama. “He has some strengths, but he’s got some weaknesses. And I’m less concerned about any individual than I am with a government as a whole.” Daily Times
 New claims of corruption will hang over Hamid Karzai today as he tries to use his inauguration to persuade Western allies that he is capable of changing his ways and arresting Afghanistan’s downward spiral. Every word from the Afghan leader, when he speaks to about 300 foreign dignitaries at his inauguration ceremony in Kabul, will be scrutinised in London and Washington for evidence that he is serious about tackling abuses of power and that he can turn the tide in the war against the Taleban. Hopes of an end to corruption were put into doubt last night when the Minister of Mines was forced to deny that he had accepted a $30 million bribe from a Chinese company two years ago in exchange for awarding a $2.9 billion contract for a copper mine in Logar province. Mohammed Ibrahim Adel denied the allegations, about Afghanistan’s biggest foreign investment project, in The Washington Post, which quoted US sources. It is not clear whether he will be in Mr Karzai’s next Government. Thousands of soldiers and police sealed off the city and today has been declared a public holiday. Main roads in Kabul have been closed and the airport will be shut to civilian traffic. The preparations have added to the sense that this will be more than a routine swearing-in ceremony. Mr Karzai was declared the winner from elections in August only after weeks of dispute. He failed to reach the 50 per cent needed to win after a third of his votes were rejected as fraudulent and won only after Dr Abdullah Abdullah stood down. Journalists are barred from the ceremony amid suspicions that the President does not want the public to know which figures have been invited. One person that none of the foreign dignitaries will want to be seen with is Ahmed Wali Karzai, the President’s brother, who has become a symbol of everything that is wrong with the administration. He is one of the most powerful people in the country despite being only a member of the Kandahar provincial council. He has been linked to Afghanistan’s drugs industry. More at Times Online
 FRAUDULENT elections, attacks on UN officials in Kabul, and a US administration seemingly reluctant to fulfil its chosen general's requests for yet more troops; observers may be forgiven for thinking that Afghanistan is on track to become another Vietnam.
That, however, would be misreading the situation. Under General Stanley McCrystal, the International Security Assistance Force is finally developing a strategy that promises to bring success. While the Taliban is far from defeated, important aspects of the Afghan situation work in the favour of the West. Afghanistan is not yet a functioning state, but it is also easy to overstate the security problems there. In a country with roughly the same population as Iraq, daily attacks are still only a fraction of those in Iraq in 2006-07. Despite the odd high-profile attack, main economic and population centres such as Kabul, Jalalabad, Mazar-i-Sharif or Herat are essentially safe for foreigners and the local population. Anti-government forces have significantly increased their reach in recent years, but the Taliban is much less unified than that label suggests. Their influence remains localised and dependent on ethnic, historical and political conditions, which can differ from province to province and village to village. The hostile forces in the valleys of Nuristan and Kunar provinces are only temporary coalitions between local villagers, timber barons, the Haqqani network and al-Qa'ida foreign fighters. ISAF is now withdrawing its permanent presence from these marginal areas, where it is clearly not wanted. In contrast, insurgents in the Greater Paktia area in the southeast are dominated by the Haqqani network, which works in loose coalition with al-Qa'ida. Traditional tribal structures remain strong, which presents opportunities and constraints to both insurgents and coalition forces. While violence is persistent, it is at a much lower level than in Helmand or Kandahar. Insurgents in the south, and in Pashtun pockets in the north, are more centrally directed by the Mullah Omar's Quetta Shura. It continues to have national ambitions, and operates a shadow government in areas under its control. The heaviest resistance in this region was encountered in Helmand, but the centre of gravity is Kandahar city. ISAF forces are only thinly deployed to areas outside the city proper, which is controlled by the militias of the governor, brother of President Hamid Karzai, and Afghan National Security Forces. The Taliban strength in the city is unknown, but they are outnumbered by forces loyal to the government. Read more,,,, Source: The Australian Dr Stephan Fruehling is a lecturer at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University
 THE US envoy to Afghanistan has written memos to Washington expressing deep concern over possible deployment of thousands of new troops to the country. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry's classified cables reportedly detail his strong reservations against sending reinforcements until Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government shows it can tackle insipid corruption that has spurred the Taliban's resurgence, The Washington Post and New York Times report. Mr Eikenberry's cables also expressed worries over Mr Karzai's erratic behaviour, according to US officials familiar with the memos, the Post said. The correspondence was sent ahead of US President Barack Obama's critical war cabinet meeting at the White House today on what course to pursue against the bloody insurgency in the country. Mr Eikenberry joined the policy meeting by video link from Kabul, said the Times, adding that Mr Obama discussed his concerns with him, according to officials who requested anonymity. Mr Eikenberry's views are in stark contrast to top US and NATO commander General Stanley McChrystal, who warned that without tens of thousands more US troops in the next 12 months, the Afghan mission “will likely result in failure”. Four options were on the table at high-stakes talks in the White House situation room, which also involved General McChrystal and Defence Secretary Robert Gates, after which officials reported the president had not yet made a decision. Source: The Australian
 Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has appealed for closer trade ties with fellow Muslim countries to help Afghanistan break its cycle of conflict. Karzai met representatives of eight governments, including Abdullah Gul, the Turkish president and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, on the sidelines of an economic summit held by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Istanbul. Most trade with landlocked Afghanistan passes through the conflict-ridden border with Pakistan and through Iran. Karzai said: "Afghanistan's interest is primarily in having close brotherly relations with its neighbours, freedom of trade and transit, and an effective environment of co-operation." A Turkish foreign ministry official said there would be a follow-up conference on Afghanistan in the near future, which Turkey had offered to host.
Turkey has troops serving with Nato forces in Afghanistan and Gul said Afghanistan would need foreign military and economic support until Afghans were trained and equipped to look after their own security. "As stakeholders in the region, we cannot expect that the United States and other Western powers solve the problems by themselves. We should shoulder our responsibilities," Gul said. The widespread fraud reported during the Afghan election and the refusal of Karzai's chief rival to contest a run-off have damaged Karzai's credibility at the start of his second term. Karzai was seen as a guarantor of Western aid when he was first elected in 2004, but his relations with the US and other Western allies have become strained by allegations of corruption and poor governance. His popularity has dwindled as many ordinary Afghans believe they have not benefited from billions of dollars in aid. Also speaking at the summit, Ahmadinejad said the global economic order needs "radical change", calling for Islamic principles to replace capitalist values. "The present economic crisis is due to the capitalist system. The world needs radical change," the Iranian president said. Describing interest rates as the "biggest and most fundamental problem of the capitalist system," Ahmadinejad said economic programmes based on Islamic principles offered the way out. "The world is looking for fairer values that we cannot find in the capitalist system. The world system based on usury has collapsed, proving its failure," he said. "We have to draw up programmes based on Islamic economic thinkers. That way we can guide people to happiness, security, justice and honesty. This is the most correct way to salvation." The president urged member countries of the OIC to agree to carrying out trade in their national currencies and setting up a common market. "By announcing the type of money to be used between member countries, we will be saved from the adverse effects of global capitalism," he said. Source: Al Jazeera (English)
 Tonight, after months of conferences with top advisors, President Obama has settled on a new strategy for Afghanistan. CBS News correspondent David Martin reports that the president will send a lot more troops and plans to keep a large force there, long term.
The president still has more meetings scheduled on Afghanistan, but informed sources tell CBS News he intends to give Gen. Stanley McChrystal most, if not all, the additional troops he is asking for.
McChrystal wanted 40,000 and the president has tentatively decided to send four combat brigades plus thousands more support troops. A senior officer says "that's close to what [McChrystal] asked for." All the president's military advisers have recommended sending more troops.
But they also have warned that troops alone will not win the war unless Afghan President Hamid Karzai cleans up his government.
"He's got to take concrete steps to eliminate corruption," Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said last week. "That means you have to rid yourself of those who are corrupt. You have to actually arrest and prosecute them."
The first combat troops would not arrive until early next year and it would be the end of 2010 before they were all there. That makes this Afghanistan surge very different from the Iraq surge, in which 30,000 troops descended on Baghdad and the surrounding area in just five months.
Fred Kagan of the American Enterprise Institute says a slow motion surge will produce slow motion results.
"If they're going to be sort of trickled in very slowly over the course of a year than it's unlikely to have a very decisive impact in the course of 2010," he said.
The buildup would be expected to last about four years, until McChrystal completes his plan for doubling the size of the Afghan army and police force.
With 68,000 Americans already there, the Afghan surge would mean there would be 100,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan by the end of the president's first term.
The president is not expected to announce his decision until after he returns from China the week before Thanksgiving.
 Making his first public appearance Tuesday since being declared the winner in a disputed election, Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai vowed to stamp out corruption and work with the Taliban in his third term in office. "Afghanistan is accused with mass corruption. I will try to clean it up," Karzai said. After three decades of war, Afghanistan faces challenges, he said. "It is stepping forward towards a more institutional legal order while still struggling against terrorism and the menaces that affect us all. We are aware of difficulties of our governance and the environment in which we live. We'll keep trying to do our best to address the questions ... facing Afghanistan," he said. In addressing the nation's insecurity, Karzai said he would engage the Taliban. "The call for peace, the call for security of Afghanistan is one of the main desires of the Afghan people," Karzai said. "I would also call to the Taliban to ... join the government ... with respect to the Afghan constitution." Read more here,,,, Source: CNN
 Afghanistan's election commission has canceled Saturday's presidential runoff and proclaimed President Hamid Karzai victor of the war-ravaged nation's tumultuous ballot. Independent Election Commission chairman Azizullah Lodin announced Karzai as the victor during a news conference in Kabul on Monday. President Hamid Karzai had already effectively secured a second term when his only challenger, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, dropped out of the race Sunday because he said the vote would not be free or fair. The first round was marred by massive fraud. Meanwhile, the U.N. chief made a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Monday as international pressure mounted for a quick resolution to the country's electoral turmoil following the withdrawal of President Hamid Karzai's only challenger. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was to meet with the two men "to assure them and the Afghan people of the continuing support of the United Nations toward the development of the country," the statement said. Read more here,,,, Source: FoxNews
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by Lt.Col. Ralph Peters
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