Articles found 18 December 2006
Blast hits NATO convoy in Afghanistan
Reuters Monday, December 18, 2006; 7:56 AM
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - An explosion struck a NATO convoy in southern Afghanistan on Monday, wounding two soldiers, witnesses and a NATO official said.
The blast occurred in a district of Kandahar province, a bastion of support for the Taliban when the group emerged in the 1990s and the focus of militant attacks since they were driven from power in 2001.
Initial reports indicated two NATO soldiers were wounded and one vehicle was damaged in the blast, an alliance spokesman said.
Police at the scene said the attack was carried out by a suicide car bomber. A Taliban commander, Mulla Hayat Khan, said the insurgents carried out the attack
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Senators meet with Canadian troops in Afghanistan
Meagan Fitzpatrick Canadian Press Monday, December 18, 2006
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OTTAWA - A group of senators are in Afghanistan this week checking up on Canadian troops and hoping to spread some Christmas cheer.
“Meeting the troops at this time of year is one of the things we wanted to concentrate on and every Canadian should be terribly proud of what they’re doing,” Senator Michael Meighen told CTV’s Canada AM on Monday morning.
The senators arrived on Saturday and have so far spent their time meeting with troops on the base in Kandahar. They have also travelled outside the perimeter of the base to visit soldiers who work on the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT).
The security situation has prevented them from visiting any of the actual reconstruction projects, the Conservative senator said.
“Without a moment’s hesitation I can tell all Canadians that their morale is absolutely first class, they are doing a superb job by everybody’s account including people we’ve talked to from other nations,” Meighen said. “They’re happy, they’re busy and they are convinced, and I think they have reason to be convinced, that they are making progress in bringing an improved quality of life to this very troubled part of Afghanistan.”
Meighen sits on the Senate committee on national security and defence. In September, he and other members of the committee tried to visit Afghanistan while they were on a trip to England, the Netherlands and Dubai but they ended up stuck in Dubai for six days racking up a $30,000 hotel bill.
That angered Senate Leader Marjory LeBreton, who blasted the senators for not cancelling the trip after being told by defence officials, including Gen. Rick Hillier, chief of the defence staff, that they couldn’t enter Afghanistan because of military operations. The entire trip cost $150,000.
The current visit comes at the start of a major new offensive aimed at defeating the Taliban in the Panjwaii and Zhari district in the south of Afghanistan.
End
Four suspected insurgents killed, 3 coalition troops wounded in Afghanistan
Canadian Press Monday, December 18, 2006
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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The U.S.-led coalition troops clashed with suspected militants in southern Afghanistan, leaving four insurgents dead and three soldiers wounded, a statement said Monday.
The troops, operating alongside the Afghan army, called in airstrikes during Sunday's clash in Kandahar province's Sperwan Ghar district. They also seized weapons caches containing mines and explosives, the statement said.
The confrontation occurred as Canadian troops and NATO forces prepared for a major offensive against the Taliban in the Panjwaii district, also in southern Afghanistan. The forward operating base in Panjwaii was a beehive of activity Sunday with troops stocking up on ammunition and mechanics doing last minute tuneups before the light armoured vehicles and tanks began rolling.
In the east of the country, U.S.-led and Afghan troops early Monday detained 10 suspected insurgents, including "a known transporter of weapons and explosives" with links to movements of foreign fighters in the region, a coalition statement said. It did not identify any of the suspects.
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Active Apaches in Afghanistan
December 18, 2006
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U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Philip Learn, and his co-pilot, Captain Brian Hummel, were recently awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroics a year ago in Afghanistan. But there's a lot more to it than that.
The two were flying an AH-64 Apache gunship at the time, escorting two CH-47 transport helicopters near Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan. One of the CH-47's took some ground fire, was damaged, but managed to land. Then the 34 troops on the CH-47 found themselves under fire from a large group of Taliban gunmen in the area. So Learn and Hummel took their AH-64 in low and basically shot it out with the Taliban, killing and wounding many, and forcing the rest to leave the area. At times, the AH-64 was exchanging fire with over a dozen Taliban, who were armed with assault rifles, machine-guns and PRGs.
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US and allies are losing the war in Afghanistan
By Patrick Seale, Special to Gulf News
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A few days ago, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan wept openly on national television. His tears were for Afghan children killed in America's war against the Taliban and for his inability to protect them. The mounting civilian death toll is rapidly eroding his popular support.
Karzai puts the blame squarely on neighbouring Pakistan, which he accuses of supporting the Taliban. "Pakistan wants to make slaves of us," he declared, "but we will not surrender!"
Clearly, the reconciliation between Karzai and Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf, which President George W. Bush tried to bring about at a White House dinner last September, is now a thing of the past.
Western intelligence agencies confirm that Pakistan continues to provide sanctuary for Taliban fighters in the tribal agencies flanking the Afghan border. Pakistan's military intelligence service, the ISI, is said to funnel money to the Taliban and to the tribal agencies to keep them under a semblance of control. Pakistan has also not been particularly active against Al Qaida.
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Rural soldiers more likely to die in Iraq, Afghanistan
Associated Press WICHITA, Kan.
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Christopher Wasser was like a lot of soldiers from rural areas.
The Ottawa native saw the military as a way to pay for college, said his mother, Candy Wasser.
Wasser joined the Marine Corps in 2001 and was among the first to invade Iraq two years later.
On a second deployment there in April 2004, he gained another common characteristic for rural soldiers. He was killed, dying from shrapnel wounds in Anbar Province.
According to a study released last month by the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire, the death rate per million population aged 18 to 54 was 60 percent higher for soldiers from rural areas compared with those from urban areas or the suburbs.
In Kansas, 29 of the 42 soldiers who have died in Iraq or Afghanistan hailed from rural communities.
Researchers said the higher death rate is linked to higher enlistment because of smaller job opportunities in rural areas. That means combat deaths are felt more keenly in rural parts of the country.
"For a lot of small towns and rural communities, the war's not abstract," said Dee Davis, president of the Kentucky-based Center for Rural Strategies. "In rural America, people know who's actually fighting."
Davis said his group did a survey before the election that showed three-fourths of rural respondents said they knew someone fighting overseas
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Newfoundland comic Mary Walsh takes her dark comedy to Afghanistan
December 18, 2006 - 16:58
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TORONTO (CP) - Newfoundland comic Mary Walsh is heading to Kandahar to entertain the troops.
The sharp-tongued comedienne is taking her film "Young Triffie" to Afghanistan for a special holiday screening with the Canadian Forces. The dark comedy is set in 1947 Newfoundland and stars Fred Ewanuick, Andrea Martin, Colin Mochrie and Remy Girard. Walsh and fellow Newfoundland comics Andy Jones and Cathy Jones also star
More on link
Blast hits NATO convoy in Afghanistan
Reuters Monday, December 18, 2006; 7:56 AM
Article Link
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - An explosion struck a NATO convoy in southern Afghanistan on Monday, wounding two soldiers, witnesses and a NATO official said.
The blast occurred in a district of Kandahar province, a bastion of support for the Taliban when the group emerged in the 1990s and the focus of militant attacks since they were driven from power in 2001.
Initial reports indicated two NATO soldiers were wounded and one vehicle was damaged in the blast, an alliance spokesman said.
Police at the scene said the attack was carried out by a suicide car bomber. A Taliban commander, Mulla Hayat Khan, said the insurgents carried out the attack
More on link
Senators meet with Canadian troops in Afghanistan
Meagan Fitzpatrick Canadian Press Monday, December 18, 2006
Article Link
OTTAWA - A group of senators are in Afghanistan this week checking up on Canadian troops and hoping to spread some Christmas cheer.
“Meeting the troops at this time of year is one of the things we wanted to concentrate on and every Canadian should be terribly proud of what they’re doing,” Senator Michael Meighen told CTV’s Canada AM on Monday morning.
The senators arrived on Saturday and have so far spent their time meeting with troops on the base in Kandahar. They have also travelled outside the perimeter of the base to visit soldiers who work on the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT).
The security situation has prevented them from visiting any of the actual reconstruction projects, the Conservative senator said.
“Without a moment’s hesitation I can tell all Canadians that their morale is absolutely first class, they are doing a superb job by everybody’s account including people we’ve talked to from other nations,” Meighen said. “They’re happy, they’re busy and they are convinced, and I think they have reason to be convinced, that they are making progress in bringing an improved quality of life to this very troubled part of Afghanistan.”
Meighen sits on the Senate committee on national security and defence. In September, he and other members of the committee tried to visit Afghanistan while they were on a trip to England, the Netherlands and Dubai but they ended up stuck in Dubai for six days racking up a $30,000 hotel bill.
That angered Senate Leader Marjory LeBreton, who blasted the senators for not cancelling the trip after being told by defence officials, including Gen. Rick Hillier, chief of the defence staff, that they couldn’t enter Afghanistan because of military operations. The entire trip cost $150,000.
The current visit comes at the start of a major new offensive aimed at defeating the Taliban in the Panjwaii and Zhari district in the south of Afghanistan.
End
Four suspected insurgents killed, 3 coalition troops wounded in Afghanistan
Canadian Press Monday, December 18, 2006
Article Link
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The U.S.-led coalition troops clashed with suspected militants in southern Afghanistan, leaving four insurgents dead and three soldiers wounded, a statement said Monday.
The troops, operating alongside the Afghan army, called in airstrikes during Sunday's clash in Kandahar province's Sperwan Ghar district. They also seized weapons caches containing mines and explosives, the statement said.
The confrontation occurred as Canadian troops and NATO forces prepared for a major offensive against the Taliban in the Panjwaii district, also in southern Afghanistan. The forward operating base in Panjwaii was a beehive of activity Sunday with troops stocking up on ammunition and mechanics doing last minute tuneups before the light armoured vehicles and tanks began rolling.
In the east of the country, U.S.-led and Afghan troops early Monday detained 10 suspected insurgents, including "a known transporter of weapons and explosives" with links to movements of foreign fighters in the region, a coalition statement said. It did not identify any of the suspects.
More on link
Active Apaches in Afghanistan
December 18, 2006
Article Link
U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Philip Learn, and his co-pilot, Captain Brian Hummel, were recently awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroics a year ago in Afghanistan. But there's a lot more to it than that.
The two were flying an AH-64 Apache gunship at the time, escorting two CH-47 transport helicopters near Kandahar, in southern Afghanistan. One of the CH-47's took some ground fire, was damaged, but managed to land. Then the 34 troops on the CH-47 found themselves under fire from a large group of Taliban gunmen in the area. So Learn and Hummel took their AH-64 in low and basically shot it out with the Taliban, killing and wounding many, and forcing the rest to leave the area. At times, the AH-64 was exchanging fire with over a dozen Taliban, who were armed with assault rifles, machine-guns and PRGs.
More on link
US and allies are losing the war in Afghanistan
By Patrick Seale, Special to Gulf News
Article Link
A few days ago, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan wept openly on national television. His tears were for Afghan children killed in America's war against the Taliban and for his inability to protect them. The mounting civilian death toll is rapidly eroding his popular support.
Karzai puts the blame squarely on neighbouring Pakistan, which he accuses of supporting the Taliban. "Pakistan wants to make slaves of us," he declared, "but we will not surrender!"
Clearly, the reconciliation between Karzai and Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf, which President George W. Bush tried to bring about at a White House dinner last September, is now a thing of the past.
Western intelligence agencies confirm that Pakistan continues to provide sanctuary for Taliban fighters in the tribal agencies flanking the Afghan border. Pakistan's military intelligence service, the ISI, is said to funnel money to the Taliban and to the tribal agencies to keep them under a semblance of control. Pakistan has also not been particularly active against Al Qaida.
More on link
Rural soldiers more likely to die in Iraq, Afghanistan
Associated Press WICHITA, Kan.
Article Link
Christopher Wasser was like a lot of soldiers from rural areas.
The Ottawa native saw the military as a way to pay for college, said his mother, Candy Wasser.
Wasser joined the Marine Corps in 2001 and was among the first to invade Iraq two years later.
On a second deployment there in April 2004, he gained another common characteristic for rural soldiers. He was killed, dying from shrapnel wounds in Anbar Province.
According to a study released last month by the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire, the death rate per million population aged 18 to 54 was 60 percent higher for soldiers from rural areas compared with those from urban areas or the suburbs.
In Kansas, 29 of the 42 soldiers who have died in Iraq or Afghanistan hailed from rural communities.
Researchers said the higher death rate is linked to higher enlistment because of smaller job opportunities in rural areas. That means combat deaths are felt more keenly in rural parts of the country.
"For a lot of small towns and rural communities, the war's not abstract," said Dee Davis, president of the Kentucky-based Center for Rural Strategies. "In rural America, people know who's actually fighting."
Davis said his group did a survey before the election that showed three-fourths of rural respondents said they knew someone fighting overseas
More on link
Newfoundland comic Mary Walsh takes her dark comedy to Afghanistan
December 18, 2006 - 16:58
Article Link
TORONTO (CP) - Newfoundland comic Mary Walsh is heading to Kandahar to entertain the troops.
The sharp-tongued comedienne is taking her film "Young Triffie" to Afghanistan for a special holiday screening with the Canadian Forces. The dark comedy is set in 1947 Newfoundland and stars Fred Ewanuick, Andrea Martin, Colin Mochrie and Remy Girard. Walsh and fellow Newfoundland comics Andy Jones and Cathy Jones also star
More on link
