Afghanistan's Karzai In Secret Meetings With Taliban, Tries To Save His Skin (and head)

Afghanistan's President Karzai, has apparently decided that he can completely ignore the debt of blood and treasure that America expended for him over the past decade and get on his knees to beg the Taliban for a peace that will save his miserable life.

Well Karzai, this is how it will play out - the U.S. will leave Afghanistan for the most part soon...the Taliban will overthrow your government in less than six months and they will kill you before you can say "allahu ackbar."

The story comes from DAWN.

Karzai in secret talks with Afghan Taliban: report


KABUL: Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has been holding secret talks with Taliban officials in the hope of persuading them to make peace with his government, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed Afghan and Western officials.

Karzai's spokesman could not reached for comment. But the Times, in its report, said the spokesman had confirmed contact had been made and described the past two months as positive.

Officials, however, told the paper the Taliban-initiated talks had been fruitless so far, although they may help explain Karzai's mounting public hostility to Washington.

In November — around the same time the secret talks reportedly began — Karzai announced his intention to avoid signing a bilateral security deal with the United States until after a presidential election in April.

Karzai has served two terms and cannot run again.

President Barack Obama, frustrated by Karzai's refusal to sign the accord, was due to meet top commanders at the White House on Tuesday to discuss the future of the US mission in Afghanistan.

Relations have deteriorated sharply over Karzai's refusal to sign, sapping already scant support for the war in Washington, which has halved aid for civilian assistance in the fiscal year 2014.

Washington has signalled it could pull all troops out after 2014, unless a deal is signed soon. This would leave Afghanistan's fledgling security forces to fight the Taliban insurgency alone and diplomats fear they would struggle to cope without US financial and military support.

The Taliban have vowed to derail the April 5 election and the recent spike in violence in the capital suggests secret talks with Karzai have made little difference over their stated intention to step up attacks.

Monthly incidents in January were at the highest since 2008, according to security officials, and the trend has continued into February, with two bombs going off in Kabul on Monday.

Pitiful Reprimand From Karzai As Taliban Roadside Bomb Kills 17 Innocent Women and Children

Oh yeah, we all remember when Afghan President Karzai would take to the podium and condemn ANY and ALL military actions by the U.S. or NATO that even scratched a single Afghan civilian but like always, when the Taliban set up a roadside bomb like the one today that killed 17 women and children, the putz has nothing but fake concern and wimpy little requests of the Taliban.  Nothing.  Mums the word when Taliban murder, scream bloody murder if an American operation kills even one civilian.

And therein lies the rub - the fact of the matter is that Karzai objects to an infidel killing a Muslim...but if a Muslim kills 17 Muslim women and children, it's no skin off his ass.

The story comes from Times of India.

Roadside bomb kills 17 villagers in Afghanistan


KABUL: A roadside bomb struck a motorcycle-drawn cart carrying women and children between two villages Tuesday in western Afghanistan, killing all 17 people on board, a grim reminder of the dangers facing Afghan civilians ahead of the 2014 withdrawal of foreign combat troops.

International troops already have pulled back into a largely advisory and training role as they try to prepare Afghan soldiers and police to take over their own security. That effort has been marred by a series of attacks by Afghan troops or insurgents disguised in their uniforms.

In the latest so-called insider attack, an Afghan soldier opened fire on Slovakian troops in the southern city of Kandahar, killing one and wounding six others.

The roadside bomb that struck the cart was aimed at stopping a joint patrol of Afghan soldiers and police that was pursuing a group of Taliban militants in the western province of Herat, local police Lt. Sher Agha said. But the bomb exploded next to the cart carrying the villagers, killing 12 women, four children and a man, Agha said.

Another roadside bomb exploded near a taxi in the southern province of Helmand, killing three civilians and wounding two, provincial government spokesman Ummar Zawaq said.

About 1,000 Afghan civilians have been killed and more than 2,000 wounded in the first half of the year, according to the U.N. That marked a 24 percent increase in casualties compared to the same period last year.

In the south, an Afghan soldier opened fire on Slovakian Nato troops guarding Kandahar Air Field, base commander Gen. Abdul Raziq Sherzai said.

In Slovakia, defence minister Martin Glvac confirmed one soldier was killed and six others wounded, including two seriously, in what he condemned as ``a terrorist attack.''

Glvac said the soldier opened fire from a guard tower.

Kandahar government spokesman Javid Faisal said the Afghan soldier had been taken into custody and questioned, and that the preliminary investigation has so far indicated the shooting may have been an accident.

If the shooting is confirmed as an insider attack, the Slovakian soldier would be the ninth Nato service member killed by Afghan forces this year, according to an Associated Press count. The Nato coalition has said it suffered 29 fatalities in 2011 to insider attacks, and 62 in 2012.

The attacks have shaken the trust between the international forces and their Afghan forces at a time it is needed most as the withdrawal deadline approaches.

President Hamid Karzai issued a plea to the Taliban to respect the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins Wednesday in Afghanistan. He called on the movement to ``take the way of peace, compassion and kindness and stop killing people.''

But the Taliban quickly rejected Karzai's plea, saying that for them, jihad, or holy war, is an even greater obligation during Ramadan.

``We will continue with our attacks on the infidels and their slaves,'' Taliban spokesman Qari Yasouf Ahmadi said in a written statement.

Hopes for peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government were raised last month after the Islamic militant movement opened an office in the Gulf state of Qatar and agreed to start initial talks with the US.

But optimism quickly faded after the Taliban's use of the flag and name ``Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan'' — which it had used when it ruled Afghanistan — prompted outrage from Karzai and others in Afghanistan, who said the office was more akin to an embassy than a bureau for peace talks.

The Taliban were forced to remove the offending flag and name, but since doing so have effectively shuttered the office, Taliban officials said Tuesday.

Taliban officials in Qatar are not known to have yet contacted either U.S. or Afghan negotiators, and now that the office has been abandoned — at least temporarily — it raises questions of whether they ever will.

In other violence, two gunmen on a motorcycle shot and killed a prominent tribal leader who also was a former government official in the central province of Uruzgan as he walked through the provincial capital, government spokesman Abdullah Himat said.

A roadside bomb also killed two police and wounded four others in the province late on Monday, police spokesman Fareed Ayal said.

Afghanistan's Karzai Calls on the Afghan Taliban To Go Fight Against Pakistan

After some 12 years of fighting the Taliban in his country, Afghan President Karzai seems to think that one border skirmish where an Afghan border guard was killed by Pakistani troops is going to enrage the Afghan Taliban into ending their desire to regain power in Afghanistan and suddenly turn on the "enemy" in Pakistan.

I wonder, does Karzai happen to remember that it was Pakistan that gave the Afghan Taliban REFUGE when the Americans bombed the piss out of Afghanistan?

The story comes from DAWN.

Karzai urges Taliban to fight Afghan enemies after Pakistan clash


KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai called on the Afghan Taliban on Saturday to fight Afghanistan’s enemies in what was widely seen as a swipe against Pakistan days after the neighbours’ security forces clashed on their border.

“Instead of destroying their own country, they should turn their weapons against places where plots are made against Afghan prosperity,” Karzai told reporters in the capital, Kabul, saying this was “a reminder for the Taliban”.

“They should stand with this young man who was martyred and defend their soil,” he said, referring to a border policeman who was killed in the Wednesday night clash on eastern Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan.

Two Pakistani soldiers were wounded in the clash.

Afghanistan and Pakistan have had testy relations since Pakistan was formed in 1947, at the end of British colonial rule over India. Afghanistan has never officially accepted the border, the Durand Line, between them.

Pakistan supported the Afghan Taliban regime in Afghanistan in the 1990s.

Many Afghan leaders say Pakistan is still helping the militants, seeing them as a tool to counter the influence of its old rival, India, in Afghanistan.

Pakistan denies helping the militants and says it wants peace and stability in its western neighbour.

Karzai also revealed that he had spoken earlier on Saturday to the CIA’s Kabul station chief, asking that the intelligence agency continue to provide payments to his country.

He was report in the New York Times late last month that said his office has been receiving so-called ghost money from the CIA for more than a decade.

“Just this morning I met with the station chief of the CIA in Kabul and I thanked him for the support given to us in the past 10 years and I asked him to continue the support,” he said, adding that the money was “flowing to” Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security.

“In the situation of Afghanistan where there is so much need … it proves extremely helpful.”

The New York Times said the money was meant to buy influence for the CIA but instead fuelled corruption and empowered warlords, undermining Washington’s exit strategy from Afghanistan.

Afghan president orders US Special Forces to leave Wardak province

So, this is what it has come to?  President Hamid Karzai is taking over for our Commander-in-chief because our President and fearless leader is on his knees next to a golf cart on the 19th hole (some of you will get the reference, some won't)?  Yeah, for all of you Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force veterans out there...since you've been gone we have a new way of doing things in the military...you see, our guys get sent over to do a job and risk their lives only to have some ragheaded Muslim piece of shit whose every penny has come from getting your kids hooked on heroin telling them when and where they can fight.

Welcome to the pussified military of Barack Hussein Obama.  Welcome to the New World Order of Light in the Loafer Warfare.

Somebody turn the lights out, will ya?

The story comes from The Long War Journal.

Afghan president orders US Special Forces to leave Wardak province


President Hamid Karzai has ordered the Ministry of Defense to eject all "US Special Forces" from the key eastern province of Wardak after accusing the American troops or their local Afghan security partners of committing war crimes. Karzai's order is an ominous development for future US and NATO plans, which are expected to rely heavily on special operations forces to take on a greater role as the bulk of conventional forces are withdrawn from Afghanistan.

"Today, the National Security Council ordered the Ministry of Defense to remove American Special Forces within two weeks from Wardak province," Karzai spokesman Aimal Faizi told reporters, according to TOLONews.

"A recent example in the province is an incident in which nine people were disappeared in an operation by this suspicious force and in a separate incident a student was taken away at night from his home, whose tortured body with throat cut was found two days later under a bridge," he added.

US Forces - Afghanistan, an ISAF subcommand under which some US Special Forces operate, said it was aware of the statement attributed to Karzai and that it is investigating the allegations.

US special operations forces often partner with local Afghan security forces, such as the Afghan Local Police (ALP) at the village level. President Karzai has generally opposed the ALP, and some Afghans fear the local units, currently totaling 19,600 officers and often accused of corruption (as are more traditional Afghan government security forces), will foster a return to warlordism.

Karzai's directive for "US Special Forces" to withdraw from Wardak comes as NATO is working to negotiate and finalize plans for its force structure in Afghanistan after combat forces are withdrawn by the end of 2014. Various draft proposals and statements by US personnel and NATO partners have indicated that a force of 8,000 to 15,500 NATO troops, comprised of up to 9,500 Americans, could remain in Afghanistan. The residual mission is expected to be structured around training Afghan security forces and the continuation of counterterrorism operations targeting high value enemies. Both tasks rely heavily on US Special Forces (a designation precisely indicating the US Army "Green Berets") as well as the broader category of all US special operations forces.

Wardak is a troubled province

Wardak province, which borders Kabul to the southwest, has been contested by the Taliban and the Haqqani Network, the al Qaeda-linked Taliban subgroup, despite US efforts to secure the province over the past several years. The Taliban have been in control of the Tangi Valley, which runs through Wardak, since the withdrawal of US forces from Combat Outpost Tangi in the spring of 2011. US troops turned over the base to the Afghan Army, which immediately abandoned it. The Taliban later released a videotape that showed hundreds of fighters and senior Taliban leaders massing at the abandoned base and conducting a tour.

Wardak has been the scene of numerous high-profile attacks by the two groups, particularly in 2011. The Taliban shot down a US Army Chinook helicopter in Sayyidabad on Aug. 6, 2011. Thirty-eight US and Afghan troops, including 17 US Navy SEALS from the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, were killed in the crash. And on Sept. 10, 2011, the Taliban detonated a massive suicide bomb outside of Combat Outpost Sayyidabad, killing four Afghans and wounding more than 100 people, including 77 US soldiers. US commanders later blamed the attack on the Haqqani Network, a powerful al Qaeda subgroup.

Al Qaeda is also known to maintain a presence in Wardak province. The presence of terror cells has been detected in the districts of Maidan Shah, Sayyidabad, and Tarnek Wa Jaldak, or three of the province's eight districts. On Nov. 18, 2011, special operations forces killed Mujib Rahman Mayar, an Afghan member of al Qaeda. Mayar "trained insurgents and worked as a courier" for the terror group, ISAF stated after his death. "He delivered messages and transported money for the al Qaeda network."

Karzai Still Complains About U.S. Troop Abuse, Says Nothing About Taliban Killing 20 of His People the Past Two Days

There used to be a time when Afghan President Hamid Karzai would play both sides of the fence in the War in Afghanistan - he would criticize supposed actions by U.S. and NATO troops and at the same time he would condemn Taliban atrocities against his people. Well, it's been one helluva long time since Karzai has played the Taliban side of the fence. I guess you could say that Karzai stopped criticizing the Taliban about the time that Barack Hussein Obama told the world exactly when U.S. troops would withdraw from Afghanistan.

Well, over the past two days, the Taliban have raised holy hell on the nation of Afghanistan and the death toll at this point is right around 20.

The story comes to us from The Long War Journal.

Taliban kill 20 Afghans in suicide attack, bombings in the south


Over the past two days, the Taliban have killed 20 Afghans, including policemen and political leaders, during suicide and roadside bomb attacks in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand.

The attacks started yesterday in Helmand, where the Taliban killed 13 Afghans in two separate attacks in the districts of Kajaki and Nad Ali. In Kajaki, a suicide bomber killed nine people, including two policemen and seven civilians, in an attack at a bazaar.

The Taliban claimed credit for the Kajaki suicide attack, which they referred to as a martyr attack, in a statement released on their website, Voice of Jihad. The Taliban said the suicide bomber was named Hameedullah and came from Helmand, and they claimed that 12 ISAF troops and five Afghan "puppets," a term reserved for Afghan security forces, were killed. But no US and NATO troops were reported to have been killed or wounded in the attack. The statement also accused NATO forces of targeting Afghan civilians and warned them to stay away from NATO troops

"It should be reminded that Islamic Emirate has repeatedly warned civilians to stay away form foreign troops as the barbaric enemy troops deliberately shoot at civilians after an operation," the Taliban statement said.

In an IED attack in Nad Ali, the Taliban killed the district intelligence chief and two intelligence officers, as well as a member of the Helmand provincial council. The Taliban claimed credit for the attack.

The Taliban also claimed credit for today's suicide attack that took place outside of Kandahar Air Field, NATO's largest military base in the south. Afghan officials said that seven people, including a child and three civilians, were killed in the attack.

The Taliban claimed the suicide bomber, Ahmad from Kandahar, "rammed his explosives-laden van into the Land Cruiser convoy of foreign officials in the front gate of Kandahar airbase" and killed "12 invaders." Again, no US and NATO troops were reported to have been killed or wounded in the attack.

The Taliban continue to target local Afghan officials and security forces as part of their assassination campaign. Last week, a key district governor in Kandahar who was instrumental in getting local Taliban fighters to reconcile with the government was murdered.

Dozens of senior Afghan officials were killed last year. The most high-profile assassination occurred in Kabul, when a suicide bomber detonated explosives hidden in his turban and killed Burhanuddin Rabbani on Sept. 20, 2011. Rabbani was the leader of the Afghan High Peace Council, which has been established to negotiate with the Taliban, and also was the head of the Jamiat-e-Islami political party.

A Real ThankYouVeryMuch....Afghan President Says He Will Side With Pakistan In Armed Conflict Against U.S.

How's that for 10 years of bloodshed of American troops to keep Hamid Karzai and his government above ground only for the Afghan President to now say that if Pakistan and the U.S. had an armed conflict, he would commit Afghanistan to the Pakistani effort. Yeah, a real thank you there for sacrificing our blood and treasure to keep a Taliban's knife from cutting your head off, asshole.

From the article at DAWN:

Afghanistan would support Pakistan in case of military conflict between Pakistan and the United States, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in an interview to a private Pakistani TV channel broadcast on Saturday.

The remarks were in sharp contrast to recent tension between the two neighbours over cross-border raids, and Afghan accusations that Pakistan was involved in killing the chief Afghan peace envoy, former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani, by a suicide bomber on September 20.

“God forbid, if ever there is a war between Pakistan and America, Afghanistan will side with Pakistan,” he said in the interview to Geo television.

“If Pakistan is attacked and if the people of Pakistan need Afghanistan’s help, Afghanistan will be there with you.”

Obviously, being Muslims trumps everything in all cases so this shouldn't be a surprise but I am surprised he'd even answer the question. Of course, Hamid Karzai has been on more sides of the fence than a fence painter.

Afghanistan to back Pakistan if wars with US: Karzai


ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan would support Pakistan in case of military conflict between Pakistan and the United States, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in an interview to a private Pakistani TV channel broadcast on Saturday.

The remarks were in sharp contrast to recent tension between the two neighbours over cross-border raids, and Afghan accusations that Pakistan was involved in killing the chief Afghan peace envoy, former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani, by a suicide bomber on September 20.

“God forbid, if ever there is a war between Pakistan and America, Afghanistan will side with Pakistan,” he said in the interview to Geo television.

“If Pakistan is attacked and if the people of Pakistan need Afghanistan’s help, Afghanistan will be there with you.”

Such a situation is extremely unlikely, however. Despite months of tension and tough talk between Washington and Islamabad, the two allies appear to be working to ease tension.

In a two-day visit to Islamabad, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued stern warnings and asked for more cooperation in winding down the war in Afghanistan, but ruled out “boots on the ground” in North Waziristan, where Washington has been pushing Pakistan to tackle the Haqqani network.

The Haqqani are a group of militants Washington has blamed for a series of attacks in Afghanistan, using sanctuaries in the Pakistani tribal region along the Afghan border.

Pakistan is seen as a critical to the US drive to end the conflict in Afghanistan.

Pressure on Islamabad has been mounting since US special forces found and killed Osama bin Laden in May in a Pakistani garrison town, where he apparently had been living for years.

The secret bin Laden raid was the biggest blow to US-Pakistan relations since Islamabad joined the US “war on terror” after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Karzai said tensions between the United States and Pakistan did not have any impact in his country’s attitude towards Pakistan.

The TV channel, Geo, did not say when the interview was conducted.

Afghans have long been suspicious of Pakistan’s intentions in their country and question its promise to help bring peace.

Karzai repeated that concern in his remarks.

“Please brother, stop using all methods that hurt us and that are now hurting you.

“Let’s engage from a different platform, a platform in which the two brothers only progress towards a better future in peace and harmony,” he said.

Following the death of Rabbani, Karzai said he would cease attempting to reach out to the Afghan Taliban and instead negotiate directly with Pakistan, saying its military and intelligence services could influence the militants to make peace.

The Final Straw? Afghan Officials Are Hampering Effort To Keep U.S. Aid Away From the Taliban

I don't think there's anyone in this country of ours who wants the Taliban defeated in Afghanistan more than me. I also see very few others, like me, who are willing to stay the military course there to get that end result. But I gotta tell ya, I have absolutely had it ....HAD IT with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. A report out now is showing that Afghan officials are hampering U.S. efforts to protect U.S. aid to Afghanistan from falling into the very hands of our enemy, the Taliban.

From the report at Breitbart:

Afghan officials are thwarting U.S. efforts to protect American aid from being stolen or diverted to Taliban insurgents, a new report said Wednesday, specifically naming President Hamid Karzai as part of the problem.

U.S. government agencies in Kabul also came in for criticism for not working closely enough with each other to track U.S. cash flowing to Afghanistan.

Amid a growing financial scandal, and after billions in aid have been sent to his country, Karzai has banned U.S. Treasury officials who were working as advisers at the central bank, according to the report from the top U.S. auditor for reconstruction in the war-ravaged nation.

The Treasury advisers won't return because working conditions at the bank have become too hostile, it said.

Raising a new alarm over a national banking scandal that's left Afghanistan in financial crisis, the report cites Karzai's move as one of a number of ways in which his government fails to cooperate with costly international efforts to improve the country's financial sector.

"The United States has poured billions of aid dollars into a country plagued by corruption, insurgency and the narcotics trade," acting Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction Herbert Richardson said in a statement accompanying his report. "It is essential that we use all tools available to ensure that U.S. dollars are protected from fraud and diversion to the insurgency."

Most of you know by now that I think it will be a huge mistake to leave Afghanistan but I am this close (putting fingers very close together) to saying screw Karzai and the rest of them...let them see how they fare with the Taliban that they have been helping and appeasing for years now. Let Karzai bitch about other things other than supposed U.S. and NATO airstrikes that kill civilians - perhaps if we are gone and 50,000 of his people are massacred by the Taliban he won't think 5 or 6 of his civilians accidentally killed in an airstrike is that big of a deal.

In my view, Karzai has been playing the fence ever since Obama got elected - he probably knew that Obama was going to accelerate withdrawal and Karzai also knew that his army stood no chance against the Taliban so he's been trying to secretly cozy up to the Taliban. That's not dumb reasoning but you aren't going to cozy up to the enemy when American troops are on your dirt.

I've said it before - America's President, years ago, should have flown to Kabul, sat down with Karzai and told him - you do this our way with no lip or we will leave you to the Taliban and see what they do to you.

Report: Afghans hampering US banking program


WASHINGTON (AP) - Afghan officials are thwarting U.S. efforts to protect American aid from being stolen or diverted to Taliban insurgents, a new report said Wednesday, specifically naming President Hamid Karzai as part of the problem.

U.S. government agencies in Kabul also came in for criticism for not working closely enough with each other to track U.S. cash flowing to Afghanistan.

Amid a growing financial scandal, and after billions in aid have been sent to his country, Karzai has banned U.S. Treasury officials who were working as advisers at the central bank, according to the report from the top U.S. auditor for reconstruction in the war-ravaged nation.

The Treasury advisers won't return because working conditions at the bank have become too hostile, it said.

Raising a new alarm over a national banking scandal that's left Afghanistan in financial crisis, the report cites Karzai's move as one of a number of ways in which his government fails to cooperate with costly international efforts to improve the country's financial sector.

"The United States has poured billions of aid dollars into a country plagued by corruption, insurgency and the narcotics trade," acting Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction Herbert Richardson said in a statement accompanying his report. "It is essential that we use all tools available to ensure that U.S. dollars are protected from fraud and diversion to the insurgency."

Among his recommendations is that Afghan banks and the U.S. should record the serial numbers of the huge bundles of cash that have been flowing into the country as part of a $70 billion American effort since 2002 to improve security and development there.

A spokesman for Karzai referred comment to the central bank.

Emal Ashor, a spokesman for the central bank, said he was not aware of any decision by Karzai to unilaterally ban all U.S. advisers from the bank.

Efforts to track and protect U.S. tax dollars and other international aid are entangled in a web of Afghan banking scandals that have been fast developing in recent weeks:

_The former head of the central bank, Abdul Qadir Fitrat, fled late last month to northern Virginia amid allegations of failing to act on warnings about widespread corruption at the nation's largest private lender, Kabul Bank. He said he left after receiving death threats and that he was being made a scapegoat while the government refused to charge politically connected individuals.

_Kabul Bank, formerly headed by a world-class poker player, nearly collapsed last year because of mismanagement and questionable lending practices, becoming a symbol for the country's cronyism and deep-rooted corruption. Top officers were not arrested until last month.

_Earlier in June, the International Monetary Fund stopped an expected $70 million reconstruction payment to Afghanistan to show displeasure of international donors, a move that threatens billions of aid to a country reliant on foreign assistance.

The United States has a number of programs to help develop Afghanistan's central bank, regulate the nation's 17 commercial banks and strengthen how U.S. and Afghan law-enforcement authorities monitor the flow of U.S. aid through the economy. As part of that, Treasury had two advisers in the central bank, Richardson's office said.

But "President Karzai banned all U.S. government advisers" at the bank in May, a U.S. Embassy comment in Richardson's report said. "Treasury currently has no plans to re-engage at the central bank as the working conditions there for advisers have become hostile."

Other U.S. agencies working there include the Agency for International Development, departments of state, defense, homeland security, treasury and so on. While they've made some progress, they still have limited visibility over the circulation of the money, leaving the money vulnerable to fraud or diversion to insurgents.

"Auditors found that U.S. agencies have not done all they can to safeguard U.S. funds, and the Afghan government has not provided the cooperation needed to build a strong, secure financial system," Richardson said.

The report doesn't indicate the exact amount of work being done in Afghanistan through cash transactions, but gives an example. It said the U.S. Army's use of cash to pay contractors decreased from about 8.7 percent (almost $21 million) in January 2010 to 5.9 percent (about $19 million) in January 2011. Total U.S. Army payments during the period were about $3.5 billion, and cash payments were almost $235 million.

Other highlights of the report include:

The Afghan Attorney General's office has not cooperated fully in prosecuting those suspected of financial crimes. Monitoring officials have reported 21 leads to Afghan law enforcement organizations including the Ministry of Interior, the Major Crimes Task Force and the attorney general's office, but the attorney general's office only pursued four of them.

And the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has trained some Afghan law enforcement officials in smuggling and put "bulk cash" counters at Kabul International Airport, making some progress against the huge amounts of cash flowing out of the country. But after the counting machines arrived, their use was delayed for seven months because of a U.S.-Afghan disagreement over where to install them. When use began in April, Afghan customs officials were using them to count cash, but not record serial numbers so the money could be tracked. Additionally, the Afghan government decides the list of VIPs who can bypass customs screenings imposed on other passengers.

Taliban Suicide Bomber Hits Funeral For Karzai's Brother, 4 Killed Inside of Mosque

Afghan President Hamid Karzai (right) with his brother Ahmad Wali Karzai (left) Photo: AP

You know, when the Taliban decide to send a message, they definitely send a message. Not only did they send a strong message to Afghan President Hamid Karzai by assassinating his brother, they sent a suicide bomber to the brother's funeral who set off his explosives inside of the mosque killing four people.

I guess President Karzai has a choice, huh? Give in to the Taliban or die. Funny thing, ever since the assassination of his brother, Karzai hasn't been nearly as quick to criticize the actions of U.S. and NATO troops in his country.

The story is from The Telegraph.

Kandahar suicide attack during funeral for Hamid Karzai's brother


The Red Mosque in Kandahar had been packed with dignitaries and family members praying for Ahmad Wali Karzai just before the attack witnesses said.

Maulavi Hekmatullah Hekmat, head of Kandahar’s clerical council, died in the blast with three others and at least 15 were wounded.

Early reports suggested the attacker had evaded security by placing his explosives in a turban. President Hamid Karzai had not been in the mosque at the time, his palace said.

The attack came just two days after the assassination of southern Afghanistan's most powerful man and the creation of a power vacuum which many fear could escalate violence in the critical southern city.

It also followed a United Nations’ report that civilian deaths in the decade-long conflict had again hit record levels in the first six months of this year.

An average of eight Afghans a day were killed, up 15 per cent from the same period last year, despite Nato assessments that the coalition had begun to turn the tide of violence.

Four-fifths of those were killed by insurgents, often in indiscriminate roadside bombings and suicide attacks such as the one which struck Kandahar.

Maulavi Hekmatullah Hekmat led a government backed council of clergy who preached against the Taliban’s violent interpretations of Islam.

His public stands against suicide bombing and kidnapping had led to daily death threats and accusations he was a puppet of the foreign troops and Karzai regime.

Several of his colleagues had been assassinated in recent years and the council had dwindled in size.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the killing.

Siddiq Siddiqi, interior ministry spokesman, said: “The bombing was in a corner of the mosque. It’s a big mosque," Government investigators were still trying to determine why Sardar Mohammad had shot dead his close friend Ahmed Wali Karzai at point blank range on Tuesday morning.

Mohammad had worked as a bodyguard and security commander for the president’s younger half brother for years.

Friends suggested he was prone to violent rages and had been treated for erratic behaviour linked to hashish use.

However, he was said to hate the Taliban, who have claimed Mohammad was one of their agents.

The United Nations report said 1462 civilians were estimated to have died from fighting in the first six months from the war, though the figure was likely to be higher because much of the conflict is in remote areas.

It said: “As the conflict intensified in the traditional fighting areas of the south and southeast and moved to districts in the west and north, civilians experienced a downward spiral in protection.”

Taliban Assassinate Afghan President Karzai's Brother In Kandahar City

Ahmed Wali Karzai (right), the half brother of President Hamid Karzai. EPA photo.

There's a price to pay when you try to walk both sides of the street in Afghanistan ... when President Karzai decided to side with BOTH NATO and the Taliban, well, he ended up with two potential enemies and yesterday Karzai felt the sting as the Taliban plotted and carried out the execution of Karzai's half brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai.

From the report at The Long War Journal:

The Taliban are claiming credit for the assassination of Ahmed Wali Karzai, the half brother of the Afghan president and a key power broker in the strategic southern province of Kandahar.

The controversial Ahmed Wali Karzai was gunned down in his office in Kandahar City earlier today by Sardar Mohammed, who has been described as a bodyguard and the commander of security outposts in Karza just south of the provincial capital. Mohammed was conducting a meeting with Ahmed Wali behind closed doors when he pulled out a pistol and shot him in the head. Ahmed Wali died before he could reach the hospital. The assassin was gunned down by Ahmed Wali's bodyguards.

In a statement released on their website, Voice of Jihad, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the murder of Ahmed Wali, and said that the assassin "was in contact with Mujahideen."

"The killing of Ahmad Wali Karzai is considered as one of the most successful attacks carried out by Mujahideen since the beginning of Operation Badr," the Taliban claimed. Operation Badr is the Taliban's counteroffensive that is designed to counteract NATO's surge in the Afghan south. One of the goals has been the assassination of key Afghan political and military leaders.

So once again we are reminded of just how the Taliban operate in this sphere of "negotiation" - you'd think after all of the times the Taliban pulled this kind of stunt in Pakistan, that the officials in Afghanistan would have a clue. But no. And I'm sure the Obama administration and security officials won't blink an eye either and continue to push forward with negotiations with this band of savages.

From everything I've heard about Karzai's brother, the guy wasn't exactly a saint and we probably won't see a helluva lot of mourning over him in the country there but the signal is strong to President Karzai....and that signal is that the Taliban's reach is long and deep and at this moment, I'm sure the Afghan President isn't trusting even his closest aide or bodyguard.

Taliban claim assassination of President Karzai's brother


The Taliban are claiming credit for the assassination of Ahmed Wali Karzai, the half brother of the Afghan president and a key power broker in the strategic southern province of Kandahar.

The controversial Ahmed Wali Karzai was gunned down in his office in Kandahar City earlier today by Sardar Mohammed, who has been described as a bodyguard and the commander of security outposts in Karza just south of the provincial capital. Mohammed was conducting a meeting with Ahmed Wali behind closed doors when he pulled out a pistol and shot him in the head. Ahmed Wali died before he could reach the hospital. The assassin was gunned down by Ahmed Wali's bodyguards.

In a statement released on their website, Voice of Jihad, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the murder of Ahmed Wali, and said that the assassin "was in contact with Mujahideen."

"The killing of Ahmad Wali Karzai is considered as one of the most successful attacks carried out by Mujahideen since the beginning of Operation Badr," the Taliban claimed. Operation Badr is the Taliban's counteroffensive that is designed to counteract NATO's surge in the Afghan south. One of the goals has been the assassination of key Afghan political and military leaders.

While the assassination of Ahmed Wali could not be confirmed as a Taliban operation, the terror group has successfully executed other high-profile assassinations in the recent past. Since the spring of 2010, the list of those killed in the Taliban's assassination campaign in Kandahar includes the provincial chief of police, the deputy governor of Kandahar, the district chief for Arghandab, and the deputy mayor of Kandahar City.

Ahmed Wali served as the head of the provincial council in Kandahar, and was widely recognized as the government's most powerful man in the key southern province, home to the birthplace of the Taliban. He was a lightning rod for criticism due to his role in the drug trade, his domination of local security companies, and accusations that he provided explosives and other support to the Taliban. Ahmed Wali was also on the CIA's payroll.

In 2009, the US military was critical of Ahmed Wali and sought to have him removed from power. The US ultimately failed, as President Hamid Karzai fiercely protected his half brother and insulated him from efforts to dislodge him from power.

It is unclear what impact Ahmed Wali's assassination will have on the recent security gains in Kandahar and the south.

"He was the number-one man in Kandahar," Mir Wali Khan, a former parliament member from Helmand province who was close to Ahmed Wali and was present at his home at the time of the shooting, told The Associated Press. "We expect now the security of Kandahar will get worse, and the fighting among the tribes will grow stronger and stronger."

Afghan Security Forces Releasing Captured Senior Taliban Left and Right

There isn't much about the War in Afghanistan that doesn't piss me off royally nowadays - from the insane ROE to Obama's calls for withdrawal to this news now that Afghan security forces, with the blessing of corrupt President Karzai, are releasing captured senior Taliban commanders left and right from Afghan security prisons. It's all part of a "deal" between the Taliban and the Afghan government although we need to leave the payment to the Afghan government to our imagination.

From the article at DAWN:


Afghan security forces are freeing captured senior Taliban for payment or political motives, with President Hamid Karzai and his powerful brother among those authorising and requesting releases.

The practice is so systemic that the Taliban have a committee focused on getting their fighters out of jail. It undermines the deterrent effect of arrest and the potential of the prisoner population as a card to play in peace talks, analysts say.

The releases, which were confirmed to Reuters by several sources familiar with a range of cases, also raise questions about the capacity and political will of Afghan security forces meant to be taking over from foreign troops starting next year.

US forces will begin drawing down numbers from next July and Nato hopes to meet Karzai’s 2014 target for all security to be provided by Afghan police and military.

But cases uncovered by Reuters including that of Ghulam Haidar, a top insurgent in the southern Taliban heartland of Kandahar, suggest that a web of complex loyalties and widespread corruption are undermining the fight against the insurgency.

Ghulam Haidar, meaning “servant of God”, is a common name in Afghanistan so when Canadian forces turned one of the most dangerous men in Kandahar city over to their Afghan counterparts in March, they may not have realised who he was.

Days later he was walking free again, according to three sources who have investigated prisoner releases or have seen documents about Haidar’s capture.

Okay, here's the Holger take on the Afghan War in a nutshell. We along with NATO are there for one reason, to put al Qaeda and bin Laden out of business and since the Taliban decided to put themselves between us and our targets, the Taliban are on the hit list too. So, in order to prevent the reestablishment of al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan along with the sympathetic and helpful government of the Taliban, we need to kick complete ass in Afghanistan. So, at this point, you send our senior officials to Karzai and lay it out nice and simple. If he thinks he can survive without us there, then fine...we'll leave. But our mission is to eliminate the killers of Americans on 9/11 along with everyone of their protectors and in order to do that, we will end up killing some Afghan civilians. Too bad. It's the price of war that al Qaeda brought to Afghanistan.

There is it. Simple. We need to win this war and believe me, we can. We need to get Karzai out of the way and we need to let loose our dogs of war to show the Taliban and al Qaeda that they never, ever want to set foot in Afghanistan ever again (if any of them are left).



Afghan officials free top Taliban fighters


KABUL: Afghan security forces are freeing captured senior Taliban for payment or political motives, with President Hamid Karzai and his powerful brother among those authorising and requesting releases.

The practice is so systemic that the Taliban have a committee focused on getting their fighters out of jail. It undermines the deterrent effect of arrest and the potential of the prisoner population as a card to play in peace talks, analysts say.

The releases, which were confirmed to Reuters by several sources familiar with a range of cases, also raise questions about the capacity and political will of Afghan security forces meant to be taking over from foreign troops starting next year.

US forces will begin drawing down numbers from next July and Nato hopes to meet Karzai’s 2014 target for all security to be provided by Afghan police and military.

But cases uncovered by Reuters including that of Ghulam Haidar, a top insurgent in the southern Taliban heartland of Kandahar, suggest that a web of complex loyalties and widespread corruption are undermining the fight against the insurgency.

Ghulam Haidar, meaning “servant of God”, is a common name in Afghanistan so when Canadian forces turned one of the most dangerous men in Kandahar city over to their Afghan counterparts in March, they may not have realised who he was.

Days later he was walking free again, according to three sources who have investigated prisoner releases or have seen documents about Haidar’s capture. They asked not to be named because they are not authorised to release information.

“They took this guy into custody in mid-March, but he was out again in a few days. This is a classic example of what has been happening,” one former Western official told Reuters.

A Kabul-based source with links to Western intelligence services confirmed Haidar was a Taliban leader known to have a major role in the insurgency around the city.

Yet his freedom was requested by Karzai’s younger brother Ahmad Wali Karzai, head of the Kandahar provincial council.

Dubbed “AWK” by Westerners working in Kandahar, he has an iron grip on the city but his loyalties are considered less solid. A US government cable dated 2009, released by WikiLeaks, described him as a corrupt drug trafficker.

“When Ghulam Haidar was in (Afghan) custody AWK asked for his release,” said a second source, who rejected the idea that Haidar could have been set free because he was a double agent.

“If the Afghan government had good agents within the Taliban things should have gotten better — but that is obviously not the case,” the source added.

Ahmad Wali Karzai said he had never asked for the release of a Taliban prisoner and had not heard of Ghulam Haidar.

“I am the person most wanted by the Taliban, with nine suicide attacks against me,” he told Reuters by telephone.

“I would be the last person to release the Taliban — my position is for more tough measures against them.”

The Defence Ministry and National Directorate of Security, President Karzai’s office and the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force all declined to respond to questions on Ghulam Haidar’s case or the wider issue of Taliban releases.

A spokesman for the Interior Ministry, which controls the police, said it had not been involved in release of any Taliban.

“We have no evidence and no examples that detained Taliban were released by government officials,” Zemarai Bashary said.

Taliban Freedom Committee

Haidar was one of the most high-profile insurgents in recent years to slip through prisoner release mechanisms that are designed to prevent innocent men from languishing in prison but are regularly exploited by the Taliban to free key commanders.

“The Taliban operate a commission for prisoners affairs and effecting releases is among its responsibilities,” said Michael Semple, a Harvard University fellow with over 20 years experience in Afghanistan and extensive contacts with the Taliban.

“It’s systemic. It is well beyond the level of having the occasional success,” he added.

Another source also confirmed the committee’s existence, although in practical terms most release operations were conceived and directed at the local level.

In cases like Ghulam Haidar, political connections are key.

One of the most high-profile examples in recent years was the 2007 release of Dastagir, a Taliban leader from northwestern Badghis province. President Karzai himself ordered the commander freed after village elders promised he would renounce violence.

His return to battle united feuding Taliban factions and he was personally responsible for the deaths of at least 32 Afghan policemen in attacks he organised before he was killed in 2009, said a government source from western Afghanistan.

Afghan Lawmaker Reveals That Karzai Has Been Talking To Haqqani Taliban For Months

You know, I'm about at the end of my rope here in regards to Afghanistan. I can't think of anyone blogging that has been more supportive of the effort in the Afghanistan War to eliminate the Taliban and ensure that al Qaeda doesn't return to Afghanistan in their previous role of planning worldwide terror attacks, but I'm getting damn close to joining the ranks of those calling for the U.S. to get the hell out. But I'm not getting their due to our ROE or because of Leftist talking points but because of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. This tool, this worthless bag of shit has been talking to Jalaludin Haqqani who is leader of the Pakistan-based Haqqani Network offshoot of the Taliban for months - the same Haqqani Network that sits down with al Qaeda in planning meetings, the same Haqqani Network that is responsible for dozens and dozens of American troops being killed.

From the story at Breitbart:

A lawmaker says the Afghan government has been in reconciliation talks for months with members of a Taliban faction closely tied to al-Qaida and responsible for lethal attacks on coalition forces and bombings inside Kabul.
The parliamentarian, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, says the government has been in direct contact with Jalaludin Haqqani, the leader of the Pakistan-based Haqqani network.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that three members of the Taliban's leadership council also have participated in preliminary discussions with the Afghan government.

So, if Karzai wants to go ahead and sentence himself and the country of Afghanistan to suicide by Taliban, then I guess that is his right but for the U.S. to have our troops in harm's way, to fight daily against the Haqqani Network while Karzai rolls out the red carpet for their leader is beyond the pale.

Believe me, this is not going to be an easy decision for me - a U.S. pullout of Afghanistan will confirm the fact that America will NEVER enter another war in this world no matter how aggregious the attack on our country - we will have officially joined the ranks of Switzerland and for it, thousands and tens of thousands of Americans will end up dead. And instead of an American President sitting down with Karzai and asking him what the fuck he is thinking, ours is now blessing these talks. Why don't we just go ahead and blow ourselves up and get it over with?

Afghan lawmaker: Karzai in talks with Haqqani



KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - A lawmaker says the Afghan government has been in reconciliation talks for months with members of a Taliban faction closely tied to al-Qaida and responsible for lethal attacks on coalition forces and bombings inside Kabul.
The parliamentarian, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, says the government has been in direct contact with Jalaludin Haqqani, the leader of the Pakistan-based Haqqani network.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that three members of the Taliban's leadership council also have participated in preliminary discussions with the Afghan government.

While skeptical in the past, the U.S. last week expressed support for the Afghan government's efforts to talk with senior members of the Taliban.

Here We Go Again...NATO Claims 12 Taliban Killed In Air Strike, Karzai Says We Killed Civilians

I have fucking had it with Hahmid Karzai ...well, to be truthful, I had it with him six months ago but now I'm over the edge, there's no turning back for me regarding this fool.

From the report at Breitbart, NATO announced today that a coordinated air strike (file photo above) in northern Afghanistan killed 17 Taliban and before the ink was even dry on that report, good old Taliban sympathizer Karzai struts up to a podium to denounce the strike and claims that those dead "Taliban" were campaign workers.

From the story:

NATO said an airstrike in northern Afghanistan on Thursday killed about a dozen insurgents, but President Hamid Karzai said the victims were campaign workers seeking votes in this month's parliamentary elections.

NATO said its airstrike on a car in northern Takhar province's normally quiet Rustaq district killed or wounded as many as 12 insurgents, including a Taliban commander and a local head of an allied insurgent group, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

However, the office of Karzai—who repeatedly warns that civilian casualties undermine anti-insurgency efforts—issued a statement condemning the attack, saying 10 campaign workers had been killed and two wounded.

Takhar Gov. Abdul Jabar Taqwa said the car in which candidate Abdul Wahid Khorasani had been riding was fired on by helicopters following an initial pass by fighter jets. He called the incident an obvious mistake.

"There aren't even any Taliban in this area," Taqwa said.

An alliance spokesman said it was aware of the claims that civilians were killed and would conduct a thorough investigation.

"What I can say is these vehicles were nowhere near a populated area and we're confident this strike hit only the targeted vehicle after days of tracking the occupants' activity," said Maj. Gen. David Garza, the deputy chief of staff for joint operations in Afghanistan.

Another NATO spokesman said the vehicle hit had stopped at least twice prior to the attack, during which men armed with rifles were observed exiting it before re-entering.

So tell me, who do you believe in the above scenario? Well, of course, you believe NATO like I do.

What this means is this - this is Karzai getting all bent out of shape because he sees the U.S. and NATO cranking up the air war again - he was thrilled with Obama's decision to ground all of the aircraft and let American and NATO troops have to chance it on their own on the ground. Well, President Karzai, those NATO and American troops don't report to your ass and we have command now who isn't gonna fuck around anymore - we're gonna obliterate the Taliban and if you don't like it, then resign your damn Presidency.

Afghan president says airstrike killed civilians


KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - NATO said an airstrike in northern Afghanistan on Thursday killed about a dozen insurgents, but President Hamid Karzai said the victims were campaign workers seeking votes in this month's parliamentary elections.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, meanwhile, arrived in the Afghan capital for meetings with Karzai and NATO commander Gen. David Petraeus. The Pentagon chief also plans to visit U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

NATO said its airstrike on a car in northern Takhar province's normally quiet Rustaq district killed or wounded as many as 12 insurgents, including a Taliban commander and a local head of an allied insurgent group, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

However, the office of Karzai—who repeatedly warns that civilian casualties undermine anti-insurgency efforts—issued a statement condemning the attack, saying 10 campaign workers had been killed and two wounded.

Takhar Gov. Abdul Jabar Taqwa said the car in which candidate Abdul Wahid Khorasani had been riding was fired on by helicopters following an initial pass by fighter jets. He called the incident an obvious mistake.

"There aren't even any Taliban in this area," Taqwa said.

An alliance spokesman said it was aware of the claims that civilians were killed and would conduct a thorough investigation.

"What I can say is these vehicles were nowhere near a populated area and we're confident this strike hit only the targeted vehicle after days of tracking the occupants' activity," said Maj. Gen. David Garza, the deputy chief of staff for joint operations in Afghanistan.

Another NATO spokesman said the vehicle hit had stopped at least twice prior to the attack, during which men armed with rifles were observed exiting it before re-entering.

"We stand by the information in the release, and it is important to note that there was considerable time spent watching and waiting prior to the engagement," James Judge said.

A local politician with knowledge of the incident, but who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the attack may have been tied to rivalries among ethnic Uzbek politicians in the province.

Afghan politicians have in the past been accused of deliberately feeding false information to foreign forces in hopes of prompting attacks and eliminating rivals. Political violence is on the rise ahead of the Sept. 18 polls, with at least three candidates and five campaign workers killed.

Also Thursday, two American troops died in fighting, while NATO and local officials said coalition and Afghan forces killed dozens of insurgents in a series of ground and air engagements.

NATO said one U.S. service member was killed in the country's east and the other in the south—regions where fighting between the coalition and Taliban insurgents has been at its most intense. No other details were given in keeping with standard NATO procedure.

The deaths bring to three the number of U.S. service members killed in September and follow a spike in casualties during the last two weeks of August that saw the monthly total rise to 55. The August figure was still below the back-to-back monthly records of 66 in July and 60 in June. Total U.S. combat deaths for January-August of this year—316—exceeded the previous annual record of 304 for the whole of 2009.

NATO said coalition forces beat back an attack on a combat outpost in Paktika province's Barmal district along the mountainous border with Pakistan, killing at least 20 insurgents. Troops first returned fire with mortars and small arms before calling in an air assault, the alliance said in a statement, adding that no NATO or Afghan government forces were killed.

In Ghazni province's Andar district, five other insurgents were killed in an airstrike as they were placing a roadside bomb, NATO said.

In volatile Helmand province to the south, coalition and Afghan forces killed 11 insurgents and captured four, including a regional Taliban shadow district governor, Mulla Sayed Gul, responsible for ordering attacks and dispensing funds, the provincial government said.

Other insurgents were killed and captured in Paktika, one of several eastern provinces where the Taliban and their allies maintain cross-border routes to smuggle in weapons and militants, many of them linked to al-Qaida and recruited from their homelands in the Gulf and North Africa.

Estimates of the number of foreign fighters in Afghanistan vary, with the vast majority of insurgents still drawn from Afghanistan's multitude of tribes, especially in the Pashtun-dominated south.

Afghanistan's Karzai Complains About U.S. War Strategy, Offers No Suggestions

I don't know about you but if I hear Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai complain one more time about Afghan civilian casualties due to American military action in the War in Afghanistan, I'm going to scream. First off, Karzai decided to criticize the U.S. war strategy to some German flunkie the other day - here's part of that from the article at Breitbart:

President Hamid Karzai said on Sunday Washington's war strategy for Afghanistan needed a rethink, as a Taliban-led insurgency gathers pace and foreign forces casualties surge.
Karzai made the comments to the visiting Norbert Lammert, president of the German parliament, the Afghan president's office said in a statement.

"Speaking about Afghanistan and regional security (Karzai) said that the strategy of the war on terrorism must be reassessed," the statement said.

"The experience over the past eight years showed that fighting (Taliban) in Afghan villages has been ineffective and is not achieving anything but killing civilians."

Okay, Karzai, I'd like to ask you to tally up the civilian deaths caused by American military action over the last two years - give us a number, fool. The fact of the matter is he can't because there aren't more than 50 civilians killed accidentally by the U.S. military....but before I get criticized for 50 civilians deaths, let's ask President Karzai to give us the number of Afghan civilians killed during that same time period by the Taliban. Anyone else hear crickets? Well, Karzai, you know and I know that there have been over 10,000 Afghan civilians killed in the past two years - funny thing is that you, Mr. Karzai, NEVER complain about civilians killed by the Taliban but you get all bent out of shape by a single death attributed to the U.S. military.

Why is that? I'll tell you why it is...because it's okay for Afghan civilians to die during jihad actions but not okay to be killed by infidels. There. I said it.

Now, let's look at another reason the Afghan President drives me nuts. We just saw how he criticized the U.S. strategy yet he doesn't acknowledge that his buddy Barack Hussein Obama has basically grounded the air power in Afghanistan over the past year - there have been NO civilian casualties from bombing raids because our fixed wing aircraft simply haven't been in the air - so is Karzai saying that our boots on the ground are killing civilians? Give me one example.

And not only that but while Karzai criticizes us, he offers up no solutions, no suggestions whatsoever. From the article:

He also said that President Obama's plans to begin withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan next year had boosted Taliban spirits.

Oh, so NOW Karzai wants us to stay longer??! You know, if I didn't think it was so dangerous to allow Afghanistan to fall back into the hands of the Taliban, I'd suggest we just pull out of this war and see how Karzai feels as the Taliban encircle his palace in Kabul and start sharpening their sword blades to decapitate him. I wonder how critical he would be at that point.

I'd offer up to Mr. Karzai something else - if his ANA troops weren't such a band of incompetent, drug smoking, lackies... things would have progressed a helluva lot further at this point. One of the biggest U.S. and NATO challenges has been the ineffectiveness of Afghan troops and certainly the poor performance of Afghan police recruits. So, President Karzai, before you start throwing rocks inside of a palace full of glass windows, perhaps you better look in the mirror, chump.

Karzai wants change in Afghan war strategy


President Hamid Karzai said on Sunday Washington's war strategy for Afghanistan needed a rethink, as a Taliban-led insurgency gathers pace and foreign forces casualties surge.
Karzai made the comments to the visiting Norbert Lammert, president of the German parliament, the Afghan president's office said in a statement.

"Speaking about Afghanistan and regional security (Karzai) said that the strategy of the war on terrorism must be reassessed," the statement said.

"The experience over the past eight years showed that fighting (Taliban) in Afghan villages has been ineffective and is not achieving anything but killing civilians."

Rethinking counter-insurgency strategies in Afghanistan was the war-torn country's most pressing need, Karzai said.

"This has become a serious need in the current situation," he was quoted saying.

Earlier in the week, the Western-backed Karzai told American officials that Washington and its NATO allies must shift their military focus to insurgent hideouts on the Pakistani side of the border.

Speaking to US congressmen on Thursday Karzai said the US-led military campaign against Islamist insurgents in Afghanistan had not made progress, blaming the shortcomings on Washington's handling of post-Taliban Afghanistan.

"The lack of progress in the war on terror has two factors: one the terror sanctuaries have not been addressed and second because civilians were killed during this war," he said.

He also said that President Obama's plans to begin withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan next year had boosted Taliban spirits.

A US-led invasion ousted the Taliban in 2001.

Taliban Suicide Squad Attacks Karzai's Peace Conference In Kabul

Let's face it, just about everytime Afghan President Karzai has some sort of peace conference or key meeting, there's a Taliban attack on the event and today was no different as a suicide squad of Taliban attacked the outside conference - the attendees of the conference from all over Afghanistan were not killed or injured in the attack but it sounds like it got pretty close.

From the report at Times Online:

A Taleban suicide squad disguised in Afghan army uniforms clashed with security forces this morning as President Karzai welcomed hundreds of dignitaries to a massive peace conference in Kabul.

Three rockets aimed at the oversize marquee fell short of their intended target, police said, but fighting could still be heard more than an hour after the first explosion. At least one of the attackers was reported to have blown himself up.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Interior said police had surrounded a house around 500 yards from the giant tent, where the meeting is taking place.

“There is terrorist activity going on in a house in Afshar. The house has been surrounded by police,” said Zemarai Bashary.

Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taleban, said a group of four suicide bombers disguised in Afghan army uniforms had attacked the Jirga. He said they were aiming “to sabotage and destroy this peace jirga” and vowed all four would fight to the death.

I can't help but scratch my head regarding these attacks - I'm certainly not privy to what happens in the security lead up to these events but it seems to me that the Afghans handle their own security for them and every bloody time they get hit like this. I wonder, has Karzai ever thought of having NATO handle the security? And I'm no expert on this type of situation but one thing I've noticed about the Afghan government is that they have such a long lead up to these types of conference that I'm sure the Taliban plant their attacker well before the event near by - the article talks about how stringent the security check points were for the event but hell, if the Taliban placed these four jihadis into a house within reach weeks before the event, your security check points won't mean squat.

Taleban suicide squad attacks peace talks in Kabul


A Taleban suicide squad disguised in Afghan army uniforms clashed with security forces this morning as President Karzai welcomed hundreds of dignitaries to a massive peace conference in Kabul.

Three rockets aimed at the oversize marquee fell short of their intended target, police said, but fighting could still be heard more than an hour after the first explosion. At least one of the attackers was reported to have blown himself up.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Interior said police had surrounded a house around 500 yards from the giant tent, where the meeting is taking place.

“There is terrorist activity going on in a house in Afshar. The house has been surrounded by police,” said Zemarai Bashary.

The fighting erupted just as President Karzai was addressing guests at a the Consultative Peace Jirga — which is designed to garner a consensus on how and when to negotiate with the insurgents.

Eyewitnesses said the President, who has survived three assassination attempts, calmly tried to reassure the delegates as some of them began to panic. “Sit down, nothing will happen,” he said. “I have become used to this. Everyone is used to this.”

The attack is likely to embarrass security chiefs who swamped the capital with checkpoints in the run up to this morning’s well publicised conference.

Despite record numbers of Nato and Afghan forces, the Taleban have repeatedly shown their ability to strike seemingly well-guarded targets. Last month they launched two audacious attacks against the two main US and Nato bases, at Bagram and Kandahar Airfield.

President Karzai had delayed the conference, due to take place last month, so he could travel to Washington to meet Barack Obama.

Mr Karzai has been widely criticised for filling the meeting with his allies and failing to invite any senior Taleban representatives.

The Taleban have publically boycotted the event, while fighters loyal to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a semi-autonomous insurgent group, also refused to take part.

Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taleban, said a group of four suicide bombers disguised in Afghan army uniforms had attacked the Jirga. He said they were aiming “to sabotage and destroy this peace jirga” and vowed all four would fight to the death.

The meeting is taking place in Afghanistan’s Loya Jirga, or Grand Assembly tent, in the grounds of Kabul Polytechnic University. The site is overlooked by hills on three sides.

WTF of the Day: Afghan President Karzai Pissed Off At Pakistanis For Arresting Taliban #2 Leader

I don't know about you folks but I've had it up to my neck and beyond with Afghanistan's President Karzai - and I'm not even talking about all of the rumors of his role in the illegal drug trade in Afghanistan...I'm talking about his outcry every time a single Afghan civilian is killed in a NATO action yet keeps his mouth shut when the Taliban murder 20 civilians and now, this piece of shit has apparently gotten all bent out of shape because the Pakistanis arrested the #2 Taliban leader down in Karachi.

From the report at Breitbart:

The Afghan government was holding secret talks with the Taliban's No. 2 when he was captured in Pakistan, and the arrest infuriated President Hamid Karzai, according to one of Karzai's advisers.
The detention of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar—second in the Taliban only to one-eyed Mullah Mohammed Omar—has raised new questions about whether the U.S. is willing to back peace discussions with leaders who harbored the terrorists behind the Sept. 11 attacks.

Karzai "was very angry" when he heard that the Pakistanis had picked up Baradar with an assist from U.S. intelligence, the adviser said. Besides the ongoing talks, he said Baradar had "given a green light" to participating in a three-day peace jirga that Karzai is hosting next month.

First off, I don't believe for a minute that Karzai was holding talks with Baradar - pretty hard to do when he's 2500 miles away, isn't it?!! And secondly, who gave Karzai the green light to negotiate ANYTHING with Baradar? Baradar is a target of the U.S. and NATO forces - he harbored the killers of 3,000 Americans...not 3,000 Afghans. He's our piece of meat to deal with and that is why U.S. Intelligence was involved in his arrest in Pakistan.

It's about time that the U.S. simply squeezed Karzai completely out of the military operation in Afghanistan. I say we give him a choice: a) you shut the fuck up and let us destroy the Taliban without any whining or protests or intervention on your part OR b) we will simply withdraw from Afghanistan and see if you (Karzai) will last 3 months before you get your head cut off.

Simple choice, right? While the U.S. had some bumps in the road with the Iraqi Prime Minister during the Iraq War, the cooperation of Maliki was 100 fold what it has been from Karzai. I'm sick and fucking tired of seeing our young men and women put in harm's way with this incompetent and impeding individual in power. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm the LAST person that wants the U.S. and NATO out of Afghanistan - that is why I am imploring U.S. officials to finally lay down the law with this clown, Karzai.

Aide: Karzai `very angry' at Taliban boss' arrest


KABUL (AP) - The Afghan government was holding secret talks with the Taliban's No. 2 when he was captured in Pakistan, and the arrest infuriated President Hamid Karzai, according to one of Karzai's advisers.
The detention of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar—second in the Taliban only to one-eyed Mullah Mohammed Omar—has raised new questions about whether the U.S. is willing to back peace discussions with leaders who harbored the terrorists behind the Sept. 11 attacks.

Karzai "was very angry" when he heard that the Pakistanis had picked up Baradar with an assist from U.S. intelligence, the adviser said. Besides the ongoing talks, he said Baradar had "given a green light" to participating in a three-day peace jirga that Karzai is hosting next month.

The adviser, who had knowledge of the peace talks, spoke on condition of anonymity because of their sensitivity. Other Afghan officials, including Abdul Ali Shamsi, security adviser to the governor of Helmand province, also confirmed talks between Baradar and the Afghan government. Several media reports have suggested that Baradar had been in touch with Karzai representatives, but these are the first details to emerge from the discussions.

Talking with the Taliban is gaining traction in Afghanistan as thousands of U.S. and NATO reinforcements are streaming in to reverse the Taliban's momentum. That has prompted Pakistan and others to stake out their positions on possible reconciliation negotiations that could mean an endgame to the eight-year war.

Officials have disclosed little about how Baradar was nabbed last month in the port city of Karachi. The Pakistanis were said to be upset that the Americans were the source of news reports about his arrest.

The capture was part of a U.S.-backed crackdown in which the Pakistanis also arrested several other Afghan Taliban figures along the porous border between the two countries, after years of being accused by Washington of doing little to stop them.

Far from expressing gratitude, members of Karzai's administration were quick to accuse Pakistan of picking up Baradar either to sabotage or gain control of talks with the Taliban leaders.

Whatever the reason, the delicate dance among Karzai, his neighbors and international partners put the debate over reconciliation on fast forward.

Top United Nations and British officials emphasized last week that the time to talk to the Taliban is now. The Afghan government, for its part, has plans to offer economic incentives to coax low- and midlevel fighters off the battlefield. Another driving force is President Barack Obama's goal of starting to withdraw U.S. troops in July 2011.

The United States, with nearly 950 lives lost and billions of dollars spent in the war, is moving with caution on reconciliation.

At a breakfast meeting in Islamabad last week, Karzai said he and his Western allies were at odds over who should be at the negotiating table. Karzai said the United States was expressing reservations about talks with the top echelon of the Taliban while the British were "pushing for an acceleration" in the negotiation process.

"Our allies are not always talking the same language," he said.

Karzai said overtures to the Taliban stood little chance of success without the support of the United States and its international partners. He says his previous attempts to negotiate with insurgents were not fruitful because "sections of the international community undermined—not backed—our efforts."

The U.S. has said generally that it supports efforts to welcome back any militants who renounce violence, cut ties with al-Qaida and recognize and respect the Afghan constitution, but it is keeping details of its position closely held.

Daniel Markey with the Council on Foreign Relations said that while Karzai is having discussions with senior people on the Taliban side, "it's not clear that Washington or other members of the international community have weighed in as to what they believe are the red lines or proper boundaries with respect to negotiations with the Taliban."

During his trip to Afghanistan last week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said it was premature to expect senior members of the Taliban to reconcile with the government. He said until the insurgents believe they can't win the war, they won't come to the table. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has said she's highly skeptical that Taliban leaders will be willing to renounce violence.

A U.S. military official in Kabul, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss reconciliation, said the top commander in Afghanistan, U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, has not yet solidified his opinion on this issue.

He said the U.S. is still debating the timing of the Afghan government's outreach to senior leaders of three main Afghan insurgent groups—Omar; Jalaluddin Haqqani, who runs an al-Qaida-linked organization; and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the boss of the powerful Hezb-e-Islami.

The official added that the international military coalition had no problem with the Afghan government's reaching out to anyone, at any time, but is concerned that a deal to end the violence not come at too high a price.

Deep differences remain within the Obama administration on reconciliation, said Lisa Curtis, a research fellow on South Asia for the Heritage Institute, a right-leaning think tank in Washington. "This disagreement is contributing to a lack of clarity in U.S. official statements on the issue and leading to confusion among our allies," she said.

"The military surge should be given time to bear fruit," Curtis argued. "Insurgents are more likely to negotiate if they fear defeat on the battlefield."

Karzai won't discuss his administration's talks with Taliban members or their representatives, but several Afghan officials confirmed that his government was in discussions with Baradar, who hails from Karzai's Popalzai tribe of the Durrani Pashtuns in Kandahar.

"The government has been negotiating with Mullah Baradar, who took an offer to the Taliban shura," Shamsi said, using the word for the group's governing board.

Shamsi said he'd seen intelligence reports indicating that Omar resisted the offer and that Baradar's rivals within the Taliban leadership were fiercely opposed to any negotiations with the Afghan government.

An intelligence official in southern Afghanistan, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk with journalists, said there were reports that Omar was angry about Baradar's negotiations with the government and asked Pakistani intelligence officials to arrest him.

Nevertheless, Hakim Mujahed, a former Taliban ambassador to the United Nations, said many Taliban leaders are willing to talk.

"The problem is not from the Taliban side," he said. "There is no interest of negotiations from the side of the foreign forces."

Hamid Gul, a former director of the Pakistani intelligence service who has criticized the U.S. role in Afghanistan, said the insurgents want three things from the U.S. before talks could begin—a clearer timetable on the withdrawal of troops, to stop labeling them terrorists, and the release of all Taliban militants imprisoned in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

What actually precipitated Baradar's arrest remains a mystery.

Some analysts claim Pakistan wanted to interrupt Karzai's reconciliation efforts or force Karzai to give Islamabad a seat at a future negotiating table.

"I see no evidence to support that theory," Richard Holbrooke, U.S. envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, told reporters this month. "I know somewhat more than I'm at liberty to disclose about the circumstances under which these events took place and every detail tends to work against that thesis."

Another theory is that Baradar, deemed more pragmatic than other top Taliban leaders, was detained to split him from fellow insurgents. McChrystal said recently that it was plausible that Baradar's arrest followed an internal feud and purge among Taliban leaders.

There's also speculation that Baradar's arrest was just lucky—even unintentional.

If Karzai was still angry about Baradar's arrest, he didn't show it publicly last week on a two-day visit to Islamabad. His message was twofold—that Pakistan had a significant role to play in reconciliation and that its cooperation would be welcomed. He called Pakistan a "twin" and said Afghans know that without cooperation, neither would find peace.