Articles found 30 December, 2006
Taliban: Execution will intensify jihad
POSTED: 0736 GMT (1536 HKT), December 30, 2006
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SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan (Reuters) -- A top commander of Afghanistan's Taliban said on Saturday that the execution of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein would galvanize Muslim opposition to the United States.
Mullah Obaidullah Akhund, a former Taliban defense minister and top insurgent commander, also said Saddam's execution on the Eid al-Adha Muslim festival -- marking the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca -- was a provocation.
"Saddam's hanging on the day of Eid is a challenge to Muslims," Obaidullah told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location.
"His death will boost the morale of Muslims. The jihad in Iraq will be intensified and attacks on invader forces will increase," he said. "Thousands of people will rise up with hatred for America."
The Taliban intensified their war against the Afghan government and the U.S., British and other Western troops supporting it this year.
That brought the most intense violence since U.S.-led troops ousted the hardline Islamists in 2001, and the Taliban have vowed to step up their campaign in the coming spring.
Obaidullah said U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair were fighting Muslims, and that is why Saddam was executed.
"Bush and Blair have launched a crusade against Muslims. Saddam was hanged because he was a Muslim, while slaves like Jalal Talabani in Iraq and Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan have been given power," he said.
"Muslims should not expect any good from these people," he said, referring to the Iraqi and Afghan presidents.
"Muslims should unite against the infidels, join the jihad and support the mujahideen because jihad has become an obligation for Muslims all over the world."
"God willing, both Afghanistan and Iraq will prove to be another Vietnam for America ... God willing, the invader forces in Afghanistan and Iraq will soon face defeat."
In Kabul, Karzai declined to comment on Saddam's execution, saying it was a matter for the government of Iraq and would have no impact on Afghanistan
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PRODI: CONTINUE AFGHANISTAN MISSION
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(AGI) - Rome, Dec 28 - Italy will not withdraw from Afghanistan, Italian PM Romano Prodi promised during the end-of-year conference, admitting that he is not worried about the re-financing of missions abroad; the vote is expected in Parliament by February. "The commitment in Afghanistan was made with a broad consensus. We have decided to continue the mission and will do so, though quite aware of the difficult Afghan situation," which "public awareness has too often underestimated". Among the problems of Afghanistan, Prodi listed the fragmentation of the country, the expansion of the opium market and the weakness of the central government. All these issues, the Prime Minister warned, "must guide us to finding a political solution. It is a rationale which must be promoted, because the problem requires it, but I'm not worried about any particular difficulties in the decision to be made."
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SASSARI BRIGADE: PARISI, IN FEBRUARY WILL GO TO AFGHANISTAN
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(AGI) - Sassari, Dec 28 - Next February the Sassari Brigade will go to Heart, in Afghanistan, for the international peace-keeping mission in which the Italian army is involved too. This was confirmed this evening by Defence Minister Arturo paris, in Mores, near Sassari, to celebrate the 107 years of Giovanni Antonio Carta, the last soldier of the Brigade which fought at Carso during the First World War. In reply to journalists, Parisi repeated that no Italian soldier will depart for Iraq, where the FA Ministry expects to launch a humanitarian mission in Baghdad and in the province of Dhi Qar, in which the Sassari people operated. (AGI) -
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Soldier in Afghanistan seeks aid for locals
By Paula Vogler Thursday, December 28, 2006 - Updated: 02:39 PM EST
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Captain Benjamin Tupper is spending Christmas in Afghanistan and conditions there rival winters in New England in terms of harshness, debilitating cold and bleak outlooks.
Tupper’s National Guard unit, embedded in Afghan “kandaks” or battalions, is training, mentoring and leading Afghan soldiers to handle their own country’s security issues. However, as dangerous as that may be at times, it is the plight of some of the locals that has Tupper’s attention.
While Tupper and his men go out on missions in four to six layers of clothing including high tech Goretex and Thinsulate, he sees children still in summer clothes of thin cotton shirts and pants, many barefoot walking in the snow.
“I inevitably end up a shivering mass of flesh and body armor,” said Tupper in a posting on his blog on the Internet. “Trekking through snow and ice, these children go about their daily business apparently oblivious to the cold. But we all know they are not oblivious to it; they are suffering through it.”
Tupper is asking for people to send him gloves, hats, coats, socks, scarves and warm clothing so that he can pass those items along to the children he comes in contact with.
“Just within 3 miles of our base there are literally hundreds of children who have absolutely no cold weather clothing,” said Tupper.
Teddy bears and beanie babies are also appreciated.
“Afghan children live a toy free existence and the smiles on the faces of the little boys and girls we give these out to are priceless,” Tupper said.
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Carlos Guerra: Will Iraq and Afghanistan wars produce a thorny new dilemma?
Web Posted: 12/29/2006 10:40 PM CST San Antonio Express-News
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If the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq have turned into seemingly interminable quagmires, brace yourself for the policy and moral dilemmas we may soon face.
National Guardsmen and reservists are already serving multiple tours, and active-duty terms are being extended. But even so, our military is seriously strained, and sending 20,000 more troops to Iraq will only worsen the situation.
Young men must still register for the draft, but opposition to its revival is so widespread that it isn't likely to happen soon.
Defense Department officials insist that they are having no problems maintaining troop levels or meeting recruitment goals.
But recruitment and re-enlistment incentives have been raised to five- and even six-digit levels, and the Pentagon has also lowered standards for recruits and raised the maximum age for enlistment.
The all-volunteer military that once turned away high-school dropouts now offers programs like Army Plus, which gives potential recruits crash GED courses.
Now, another little-discussed element that has helped keep troop levels up is being discussed as a way to boost future recruitment of better-qualified enlistees.
Changes in the law have made it easier and quicker for documented immigrants to become citizens by volunteering and serving. Last year, at least 30,000 noncitizens were wearing U.S. military uniforms and almost 5,000 became citizens. About 100 of these soldiers have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But as our military entanglements drag on — and officials look for ways to avoid a new draft — some policy wonks are openly encouraging the Pentagon to recruit foreigners, here and abroad.
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Mullah Dadullah- America’s new Frankenstein in Afghanistan
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Mullah Dadullah Akhund, the ruthless Taliban leader in charge of the militia’s campaign against NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in southern and eastern Afghanistan is fast becoming what Abu Musaib al Zarqawi had become for US forces in Iraq.
He shares many traits with Zarqawi, though unlike the slain al Qaeda Iraq chief, he is disabled, having lost one of his legs after stepping on a landmine in Herat in eastern Afghanistan in 1994 while battling the Ahmad Shah Masood led Northern Alliance.
He has a fondness for beheading his captives, and is feared by both his opponents and followers. He is also known to behead his followers who disobey him, but is still respected as a leader who can deal a crushing blow to his adversaries.
Deriving sadistic pleasure – by beheading captives – is not the only trait Mullah Dadullah shares with Zarqawi.
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Local student brings hope to Afghanistan
Hayward resident helps country's children find shelter, education
By Kristofer Noceda, STAFF WRITER Article Last Updated: 12/30/2006 02:39:04 AM PST
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HAYWARD — Deeba Haider takes restoring war-torn Afghanistan personally.
Never mind that her father sought refuge from his homeland because of death threats while working with the United Nations, bringing his family to Fremont five years ago.
Or the fact that her mother was under house arrest and lost many family members during the Soviet war in Afghanistan.
Her main reason comes from a passage in the Quran that calls for Muslims to help those in need.
"My parents have both gone through some hardships while in Afghanistan and I want to fix that so nobody experiences what they went through," she said. "But I want to do it through the power of education."
Haider, 21, and a senior at California State University, East Bay, has dedicated most of her spare time and efforts to the Children of Afghanistan Hope Project, a nonprofit she co-founded three years ago.
Through fundraisers held on campus and in Fremont, where a large Afghan population resides, CAHP has been able to open two schools exclusively for Afghan orphans and girls.
Haider says girls in Afghanistan weren't allowed to attend schools under the Taliban rule, and she wanted to do something about it.
So she opened Kampani Girls Literacy and Vocational Training School, located in the Kabul province of Afghanistan, earlier this year. The school currently has 84 girls enrolled, learning to read and write. Students also receive vocational training in sewing and textiles from two
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Idaho National Guard members plan to watch Monday's Fiesta Bowl — complete with a barbecue
By Heath Druzin Idaho Statesman | Edition Date: 12/30/06
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The "BSU" sign is a reminder of home. The 30 mm high explosive rounds that spell it out are a reminder of their mission.
The sign is from Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan, where members of the Idaho National Guard's 1-183rd Aviation Battalion have been serving since February. The soldiers are excited about Monday's Fiesta Bowl, which pits Boise State against Oklahoma, and aren't letting a 6 a.m. start time stop them from having a barbecue and watching the football game.
"There's a lot of guys here that are huge BSU fans — that are borderline fanatics," Chief Warrant Officer Shane McKenna told the Idaho Statesman by phone from Kandahar.
Two of those fans are Sgts. Jeremy and Jason Hopkins, brothers who followed the Broncos throughout their undefeated season via streaming audio on the Internet, Armed Forces Network broadcasts and Web articles. Both are eagerly awaiting the game, which airs around sunrise because of the 11›-hour time difference between Arizona and Kandahar.
"It's a big morale booster for us," Jeremy Hopkins said.
The soldiers in Kandahar are some of the 250 Idahoans serving a yearlong mission throughout Afghanistan with the 183rd on helicopter crews. New Year's for the soldiers in Kandahar will be much like it is for many fans in Boise: a big-screen television, barbecued meat and lots of blue and orange. The game will be piped in via satellite.
McKenna, a 1995 graduate of Centennial High who played defensive line for the Broncos in 1995 and 1996, said the soldiers are going to try to make the base as much like home as possible for the game. They are planning a barbecue, despite what likely will be a frosty morning in the midst of the long, cold Afghan winter.
"It kind of transports you back there in a way," McKenna said.
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Afghanistan Again: Somalia Falling to Al Qaeda
by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross A Pajamas Media Exclusive
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Al Qaeda’s allies in Somalia are on the verge of seizing the secular government’s last stronghold - opening the possibility of a “new Afghanistan” to shelter America’s enemies.
Somalia is at a critical juncture. In the coming days, the world will learn whether the transitional federal government is strong enough to fend off the terrorists’ assault. If it fails, al-Qaeda will win its first countrywide safe haven since 9/11.
The radical Islamic Courts Union (ICU), a Taliban-like group linked to Osama bin Laden, seized the Somali capital of Mogadishu in June and has steadily gained control of strategic cities throughout the country since then. Its main rival, the secular transitional federal government, is now confined to the south-central Somali city of Baidoa.
Baidoa is heavily fortified and protected by a large contingent of Ethiopian troops but its defenses will not hold, intelligence sources tell Pajamas Media. Ethiopia has allied itself with Somalia’s embattled transitional federal government.
Reached by Pajamas Media, Dahir Jibreel, the transitional government’s permanent secretary in charge of international cooperation, confirmed that a massive offensive is underway. Jibreel said that the ICU launched an “offensive on the seat of the government from three directions: Burkhakabo, Idale and Dinsor.”
Jibreel is guardedly optimistic, noting that the Islamic radicals “sustained heavy losses.”
“They will overrun Baidoa,” a military intelligence officer told Pajamas Media. “It’s only a question of when.”
Prior to this attack, the ICU fought against Ethiopian forces three times in open battle. Standing armies generally defeat irregular forces in such situations, but the ICU won all three encounters. The radical group may have won a fourth victory over the Ethiopians yesterday by capturing the town of Idale, about seventy kilometers south of Baidoa. Jibreel, however, contends that the transitional government actually maintains control of that town.
These repeated ICU victories over the Ethiopian army provide reason to believe that the Ethiopians will be unable to save Baidoa.
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Somalia: President says Somalia will not be like Afghanistan and Iraq
Fri. December 29, 2006 01:36 pm.
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(SomaliNet) Somalia’s interim president Abdulahi Yusuf Ahmed said on Friday Somalia will not be like Afghanistan and Iraq – his government won in the fighting with Islamist movement with the help of Ethiopian forces.
In news conference held in Baidoa city, the base of the transitional federal government, shortly after meeting with the Ethiopian foreign minister Siyoum Mesfin in Biadoa, president Yusuf said that his government could now handle the situation in Somalia, if needed it will ask for African troops to help the government establish the security.
Siyoum Mesfin, the Ethiopian foreign minister met with President Abdulahi Yusuf over the political issues between Somalia and Ethiopia and best ways to promote peace in the region in prevent of any terrorist actions in horn of Africa.
Mr. Yusuf thanked Ethiopian government for the help it offered interim government in order to stand on its feet and control whole Somalia.
“My government in collaboration with its neighbor (Ethiopian government) won to oust the so-called Islamic Courts and its terrorist groups from the capital and now my government is with its people working together how to restore peace and security,” Yusuf said.
President Yusuf also said that he had raised with the Ethiopian foreign minister over issues relating to how to bring peace and stability in the region and disarm the militias and then promote relations between Somalia and Ethiopia.
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