CANADA MILITARY NEWS:JULY15-USA TRAITOR- SGT. BOWE BERGDAHL- OBAMA AND NATO BETRAY OUR TROOPS AND AFGHANS AND SHAME THE WORLD- just 2 participate in a white mans war that they have created with Canada and EU. Shame on the lot of u.... u disgrace our troops of our nations and slap the faces of Afghan women and children/Adfghan news updates/troop love/Dr. Abdullah Abdullah - Good Morning Freedom /UKRAINE BEING HIJACKED BY NATO AND USA, CANADA AND EU/Afghanistan and our Nations troops betrayed by American President/Ukraine betrayed by West dogma- $$$ 2 Ukraine NOT Home Nations troop healing and education??? /BERGDAHL CHARGED DESERTION...not... TREASON- March 25-2015 with 6 American troops killed on his blood
SONOFABITCH-6 American troops butchered-5 TALIBAN COMMANDERS FREED 4 THIS PIECE OF
SHEEEET-A U.S. official says the
Army sergeant who abandoned his post in Afghanistan and was held by the Taliban
for five years will be court martialed on charges of desertion and avoiding
military service. Bergdahl the Lance Armstrong of American troops- but our Nato troops died....
Ex-Taliban
prisoner Bergdahl to be charged with desertion: official
By
Lolita C. Baldor The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A U.S. official says the Army sergeant who abandoned his post in Afghanistan and was held by the Taliban for five years will be court martialed on charges of desertion and avoiding military service.
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will also be charged with misbehavior before the enemy, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the announcement publicly on the record and spoke on condition of anonymity.
WASHINGTON
- Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who was released from five years of Taliban captivity
six weeks ago, is set to resume his duties as a regular army soldier, an army
statement said .
QUOTE:“The
future is too good to waste on lies. And life is way too short to care for the
damnation of others,” he wrote.
“I have seen their ideas and I am ashamed to even be American.”
Bergdahl
smiles in ‘captivity’ pic
By Joe
Tacopino
July
10, 2014 | 3:21am
This
POW looks more like a BFF
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was held
captive by the Taliban for nearly five years, is seen in a new image
mugging for a picture with a jolly jihadi who has his arm resting casually on
Bergdahl’s shoulder.
The bro-hug was posted Wednesday to the Twitter account of someone
associated with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, according to Fox
News.
The supposed captor was identified by The Middle East Research Institute as
a since-slain Taliban commander, Badruddin Haqqani.
Bergdahl, who was taken prisoner when he mysteriously drifted away from his
unit while on patrol in Paktika province, sports a grin in the photo.
The tweet accompanying the image gives a shout-out to the Army sergeant, who
was freed in exchange for five Taliban soldiers released from captivity at
Guantanamo Bay by the Obama administration.
Haqqani was killed in a US drone strike in August 2012.
It was not clear when the picture was taken.
Later, another Twitter account posted that Bergdahl was never tortured by
the Taliban and was treated only with kindness during his captivity, according
to the Daily Mail.
Bergdahl, a native of Idaho, was captured in 2009.
He is currently receiving
care at a military base in San Antonio, Texas.
The release of possible Taliban terrorists was controversial because some
former members of Bergdahl’s unit claim that he left of his own accord.
Some have even claimed that Bergdahl left his post several times prior to
his being captured.
Bergdahl had privately complained in letters to his parents that he was
frustrated with the American mission in Afghanistan.
“The future is too good to waste on lies. And life is way too short to care
for the damnation of others,” he wrote.
“I have seen their ideas and I am ashamed to even be American.”
A new investigation has been launched into whether the soldier had indeed
been captured or whether he willingly deserted his mission.
JUNE 9 2014- f**k.... OBAMA HAS BETRAYED OUR DEAD AND WOUNDED NATO SONS AND DAUGHTERS FIGHTING 4 BASIC FREEDOMS4 AFGHANS- and has betrayed our world- 5 taliban leaders of Guantanamo Bay??? We will remember- OBAMA- u broke our hearts....and betrayed men and women in uniform all over the world!!!!! Sweet Jesus, Mother Mary and Joseph. All the blood lost dancing around the innocents 2 get the taliban muslim cowards hiding under the dresses of Afghan women ... and politican betrays our world... AGAIN!!!!
With Taliban swap, Afghans wonder: Is the West abandoning us?
the reality.... JUNE 9- Afghanistan will be free- and Afghans military and cops are doing brilliantly... and they love the everyday Afghan people- and the Nations (NATO) troops who truly loved and believed in Afghan people and their basic freedom and dignity and basic rights of their BEAUTIFUL CULTURES ...imho.... and THE TROOPS N COPS are loyal... which on this day... is a hell of a lot more than President Obama and his UN cronies don't cha think?
the truth
The ISI’s Great Game in Afghanistan
Irrespective of the election outcome, Pakistan will remain deeply involved in Afghanistan.
By Omer Aziz
June 08, 2014
On the evening of March 20, two teenagers entered the buffet area of the luxurious Serena Hotel in Kabul. The well-guarded establishment was a popular meeting place for politicians, diplomats, and journalists; a kind of refuge away from the danger constantly present in Kabul. Like the many guests assembled at the Serena this night, the two young men told security officials that they were visiting the hotel for dinner to celebrate the Afghan New Year. As guests filled their plates and live music echoed throughout the hall, the men entered the dining area and began wildly shooting, killing nine people before being killed by security. Among the dead were the noted Afghan journalist Sardar Ahmad, who was killed with this wife and two daughters, and Luis Maria Darte, a longtime Paraguyan diplomat and election observer.
Two days later, Afghan President Hamid Karzai released a statement saying the terrorist attack had been conducted “by an intelligence service outside this country.” Which entity did he have in mind? If there was any doubt, Karzai quickly put it to rest the following week in an interview he gave with an Indian television channel, when he said that terrorism was “nurtured” and “supported” in Pakistan, where the militants had their “ideological roots.”
For four decades, Pakistan’s spy-generals have played Afghanistan like a powerful chip in a consequential game of poker. They know the important local militants, have open channels to their favorite groups, and regularly play various groups against the Western coalition. The twin justifications for the aggressive intervention in Afghan affairs are India and American withdrawal. Since Pakistan’s humiliating dissection at Indian and nascent Bangladeshi hands in 1971, Islamabad’s doctrine vis-à-vis Afghanistan has been known as strategic depth. For the ISI, Afghanistan is to be a safety net should the delusional prediction that India will invade a weaker Pakistan actually come true.
A widespread view in Pakistan’s elite circles is that the U.S. will soon withdraw and leave the Afghan problem at Pakistan’s doorstep. I have been hearing a variant of this view for five years now. With U.S. President Barack Obama’s decision to leave 9,800 troops in Afghanistan through the end of 2014 and potentially leave zero troops after two years, it is apparent now that this view has not been unfounded. But Pakistan has wanted a vacuum in Afghanistan all along. A despoiled, anarchic vestige of a state to its east means that Pakistan can virtually control the territory, as it did through its various puppets in the 1980s and 1990s.
During the Soviet-Afghan War – during which American arms were shipped into Afghanistan through the ISI – Pakistani spymasters channeled funds and arms into the hands of their favorite militant groups, often the most retrogressive and extremist of the Mujahedeen. Leaders of some of these groups studied in Pakistani madrassas, a wellspring of indoctrination and militant thinking. By one estimate, the number of madrassas in Pakistan feeding the jihadists surged from 900 in 1971 to 32,000 in 1988. The ISI’s strategy at the time – and which remains its strategy today – can be summed up by what Pakistani dictator Zia ul-Haq told one of his generals: “Afghanistan must be made to boil at the right temperature.”
In the intervening period, Afghanistan has done more than boil. It has been flayed and seared by selfish American short-termism and poisonous, neocolonial Pakistani long-termism. As is well known, the Afghan Taliban were themselves a creation of the ISI, and a de facto proxy by the time they took over Kabul in 1996. In 1999, Benazir Bhutto’s minister of interior, Nasrullah Babar admitted it quite explicitly, pronouncing, “We created the Taliban.”
Today, the “Talban” are a hodgepodge of militant outfits, though the central leadership of the Afghan Taliban is thought to be in Quetta, Pakistan. For the ISI, there may be a chickens coming home to roost moment, as Pakistan faces a brutal insurgency within its own borders that has adopted the Taliban name but is in many ways far more rejectionist and hostile to the governing authorities. To give just one example, the Afghan Taliban support polio vaccination while the Pakistani Taliban vow to kill anyone offering such treatments. The ISI’s game of prolonging the post-9/11 insurgency in Afghanistan long enough for the tired American leviathan to pack up and go home – and for Pakistan to move in more forcefully – is the direct cause of this terrorist surge, which has taken over 50,000 lives. There are now three separate but interrelated insurgencies eating at the Pakistani state like overfed parasites: the sectarian Sunni jihad against Pakistan’s Shia population, the Balochi insurgency, and the gangsterism and religious extremism destroying Karachi. When exporting militancy is a state’s central foreign policy tool, it does not take long for the pawns to turn their guns on their masters.
According to a number of reports, the ISI – sometimes called a state within a state – operates a highly secretive, off-the-record “S Wing” that is used to support the various militant groups that have been central to Pakistani foreign policy. A report leaked in 2006 by the British Defense Ministry stated, “Indirectly Pakistan (through the ISI) has been supporting terrorism and extremism.” The report went so far as to link the ISI to the 2005 London bombings, in addition to the various insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan. A 2012 NATO study based on 27,000 interrogations of 4,000 captured Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters concluded that the ISI provided safe havens to the Taliban, monitored their movements, manipulated their fighters, and arrested those thought uncooperative.
Behind all this lies India, which had been an ardent supporter of the Northern Alliance and today has an active presence in Afghanistan. The threat of Indian encirclement of Pakistan via Afghanistan seems widely overblown. There are fewer than 3,600 Indians in Afghanistan – most of them businessmen – and just 10 Indian diplomatic officers. While there is considerable evidence of Indian support of Balochi separatists, the paranoid ISI view of India in Afghanistan ignores New Delhi’s vested interest in a stable and prosperous Afghanistan. It also ignores the centuries-old history between India and Afghanistan, and the erstwhile Indo-Afghan frontier. Afghanistan has received more than a billion dollars of Indian aid and, in 2009, celebrated the completion of the Zaranj-Delaram road, giving it better access to Iran. There is also the much-discussed animosity towards Pakistan by Karzai and by Pashtuns in general, who consider Islamabad an aggressive, prevaricating, double-dealing regime.
The unfortunate but crystalline reality of Afghanistan’s future is that it hinges on the decisions made by Pakistani generals and whether their actions will be checked by a Coalition response. This is not to suggest that Afghanistan’s future is lost. To recapitulate some recent victories: 7 million Afghans turned out to vote on April 5, thirty-five percent of them women. The Afghan election went forward despite threats from the Taliban and accusations of fraud. Voters jubilantly participated in the electoral process, thwarting attempts by militant groups who have violently opposed elections.
Regardless of who wins, however, Pakistan will be deeply involved in the internal workings of Afghanistan. It will be up to neighboring states and whatever remnant of the international community that is still engaged to ensure that over a decade of conflict and reconstruction does not conclude with a de facto takeover of Afghanistan by its neighbor across the Durand Line.
JUNE 14- ELECTION AFGHANISTAN- we love u Dr. Abdullah Abdullah- the nelson mandela of Afghanistan- students, youth, women and elders adore Dr. Abdullah who took 45% of 1st run.
AFGHANISTAN- GOOD MORNING FREEDOM
Attack on Abdullah: Kabul hints at Pakistan link
Published in The Express Tribune, June 9th, 2014.
KABUL: Afghanistan on Sunday accused ‘foreign intelligence services’ of being behind an attack targeting presidential front-runner Abdullah Abdullah that killed 12 people, in a veiled reference to Pakistan.
Abdullah survived the assassination attempt on Friday when two blasts hit his campaign motorcade in Kabul.
“Initial investigations indicate foreign intelligence services were involved in this incident through Lashkar-e-Taiba in an organised manner, and the terrorists were aiming to disrupt the election in Afghanistan,” Afghanistan’s National Security Council, which is chaired by President Hamid Karzai, said in a statement.
The attempt to assassinate Abdullah triggered strong international condemnation, including from the United States and the UN Security Council.
Afghanistan is in the middle of elections to choose a successor to Karzai. Abdullah fell short of the 50 per cent threshold needed for an outright victory in the April first round and will face former World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani in the run-off.
The NSC statement said Friday’s attack on Abdullah was ‘the worst incident during election campaign’.
comment;From many days i was thinking that why karzai is not linking this attack to pakistan and finally it happened.
comment:
any doubts?
KABUL DREAMS (Afghan Youth Band) GOOD MORNING FREEDOM
--------------------
Hundreds of civil society and human rights activists on Monday staged an anti-Pakistan demonstration in Kabul
Dr. Abdullah Abdullah - we pray the next President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan- youth, women and seniors of Afghanistan love him dearly
GOOD MORNING FREEDOM- KABUL DREAMS- we love our Afghans... just love u
CANADA
MILITARY NEWS: June 3- OBAMA AND NATO BETRAY OUR TROOPS AND AFGHANS AND SHAME THE WORLD- just 2 participate in a white mans war that they have created with
Canada and EU. Shame on the lot of u....
u disgrace our troops of our nations and slap the faces of Afghan women and children/Adfghan news updates/troop love/Dr. Abdullah Abdullah - Good Morning Freedom
Bowe Bergdahl told colleagues at Afghan base he had
gone to start a 'new life'
The 28-year-old is alleged to have left the message
in a note before he wandered off his base in Afghanistan
·
U.S. Army Private Bowe Bergdahl watches as one of his captors display his identity tag to the camera at an unknown location in Afghanistan
The American soldier freed in exchange for five Taliban prisoners said he had gone to start a 'new life' before wandering off his base in Afghanistan, it has been claimed.
Bowe Bergdahl, 28, left the message in a note to his colleagues, according to reports in the New York Times.
The soldier said he did not want to fight for America any more, did not believe in the war and was leaving to start a new life before wandering away in June 2009.
The news came as it emerged the Army may still pursue charges against Sgt Bergdahl for desertion.
General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said military leaders have been accused of "looking away from misconduct, and it's premature" to think they will not investigate if there was a case to be answered.
His statement came just days after Susan Rice, Obama's national security adviser said he served with "honour and distinction".
It emerged that President Obama could face possible impeachment over the deal to free Bergdahl after he was accused of breaking federal law over brokering a deal with the Taliban.
Opposition Republicans claim the President ignored a law requiring him to notify Congress 30 days before releasing anyone from Guantanamo Bay prison.
Soldiers who served alongside private Bergdahl have called for him to be court martialed for “deserting his post” - while the pictures of six colleagues who died looking for him were posted on Facebook.
His release on Saturday, brokered with the Taliban in exchange for five Guantanamo Bay detainees, has ignited fury in some quarters of the military.
Sergeant Matt Vierkant, a member of Bergdahl’s platoon when he went missing on June 30, 2009, said: “I was pissed off then and I am even more so now with everything going on.
"Bowe Bergdahl deserted during a time of war and his fellow Americans lost their lives searching for him."
Vierkant said Bergdahl needs to not only acknowledge his actions publicly but face a military trial for desertion under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
His former squad leader Greg Leatherman said he hopes the military investigates Bergdahl and questions whether he did, indeed, desert his post in Afghanistan.
A Facebook page called “Bowe Bergdahl is NOT a hero!” has already gained almost 6,000 members and shows the pictures of the six soldiers who lost their lives while looking for him.
They were Staff Sergeant Clayton Bowen, 29, and Private Morris Walker, 23, who were killed in an IED explosion on August 18, 2009.
A week later father-of-two Staff Sergeant Kurt Curtiss, 27, died in a gun battle.
Second Lieutenant Darryn Andrews, 34, and Private Matthew Martinek, 20, died after a rocket-propelled grenade ambush on September 4, 2009.
The next day Staff Sergeant Michael Murphrey, 25, was killed in an IED blast.
A White House petition to court martial Bergdahl for being absent without leave has nearly 2,000 online signatures.
It came amid reports Bergdahl is said to have sent e-mails to his parents that suggest he had become disillusioned with America’s mission in Afghanistan and was considering desertion.
The soldier’s friends said he enlisted in the army to help the Afghan people and provide philanthropic support to the war effort.
But the emergence of a series of emails suggest he had lost faith in the US Army’s mission shortly before he was captured five years ago.
NATO NATIONS DUMP THEIR WOUNDED TROOPS WHO FOUGHT AND DIED IN THEIR WAR... Wounded Warrior Project- USA
Canada's Sgt. Elton Adams Battle of the Mind
UK troops remembered- Bed of Roses- wounded and broken soul warriors dumped like broken toys....
----------------
AFGHANISTAN
The
three other Americans being held in Afghanistan
American
Warren Weinstein was kidnapped in August 2011 while doing work in Pakistan.
By: Gordon Lubold
John Hudson Foreign Policy, Published on Tue Jun 03 2014
WASHINGTON—The
controversial decision to swap five senior Taliban figures for the military’s
lone prisoner of war, Bowe Bergdahl, is putting new pressure on the
White House to do more to free the three other American citizens who have been
missing in Afghanistan or Pakistan for years.
The
American civilians thought to be in captivity include Caitlin Coleman, who, along with her Canadian-born
husband Josh, disappeared in Afghanistan in October 2012. Coleman was pregnant
and would have had a child by the following January; if the infant survived, he
or she would be considered an American citizen. The third missing citizen is Warren Weinstein, 72, a government contractor who
was doing work in Pakistan when he was kidnapped in August 2011.
It
was unclear from government officials this week what the status of these
Americans was or if active discussions were taking place to secure their
release.
In a
letter to President Barack Obama on Monday, Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter of
California demanded to know why they weren’t part of the deal in which
Washington agreed to send five detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Qatar in
return for Bergdahl’s release. Bergdahl, 28, had been held by militants since
wandering off his tiny outpost in eastern Afghanistan in 2009.
“My
understanding is that three other Americans remain in the custody of militants
aligned with the Taliban,” Hunter wrote. “Should this still be the case, I
would like to know why these individuals were not included in the negotiation
that resulted in the release of five detainees from Guantanamo Bay.”
Hunter
also urged the president to “expedite and exhaust ongoing lines of effort” to
ensure the return of the three Americans, but was careful to stipulate that it
should not be done by releasing additional detainees from Guantanamo Bay.
There
was no immediate response to the letter from the White House.
White
House now facing pressure to free the three other American citizens who have
been missing in Afghanistan or Pakistan for years.
As of
Tuesday, June 3, 2014, at least 2,182 members of the U.S. military had died in
Afghanistan as a result of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001,
according to an Associated Press count.
The AP
count is two less than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Tuesday at
10 a.m. EDT.
At
least 1,806 military service members have died in Afghanistan as a result of
hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
Outside
of Afghanistan, the department reports at least 133 more members of the U.S.
military died in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Of those, 11 were the
result of hostile action.
The AP
count of total OEF casualties outside of Afghanistan is five more than the
department's tally.
The
Defense Department also counts three military civilian deaths.
Since
the start of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, 19,784 U.S. service
members have been wounded in hostile action, according to the Defense
Department.
The
latest identification reported by the military:
-Pfc.
Jacob H. Wykstra, 21, of Thornton, Colorado, died May 28, in Kandahar Province,
Afghanistan, of injuries sustained as a result of an aircraft accident;
assigned 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th
Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado.
Leaving
aside the political ramifications of the deal within the U.S., the prisoner
swap blows dark clouds over the Afghanistan-Pakistan-India region
It had
all the trappings of a soon-to-be-iconic photograph — a tall American
Commander-in-Chief dressed in a smart black suit, his arms reassuringly around
the shoulders of the mother on his left and the father on his right, all three
walking away from the camera down a flowery White House pathway.
However
the announcement that Barack Obama made a few minutes before that photograph
was taken on May 31, flanked by the parents of U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl, has
since sent ripples of consternation across both a bitterly partisan Washington
and a South Asia that is jittery from watching Washington’s rush for the exit
in Afghanistan.
The
unprecedented decision by the White House to hand over five senior Taliban
commanders held in Guantanamo Bay to the Amir of Qatar in exchange for the
release from captivity of Sergeant Bergdahl, is being seen by many, including
Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill, as one of the strongest plays by the
American President to consolidate his second-term legacy.
According
to the deal, the five men have been banned from leaving Qatar for at least a
year and Mr. Obama said that he had received security guarantees from Qatar
“that it will put in place measures to protect our national security.”
Controversial
move
However,
with Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar saying the exchange was a “big
victory,” there is real reason to fear the consequences of the release of the
men described as the “Taliban Dream Team,” and comprising the outfit’s
intelligence chiefs, chief of army staff, interior minister, provincial
governor, and one prisoner linked to a joint Taliban-al Qaida cell.
Unsurprisingly,
within days of the prisoner swap being announced, the move was condemned by Mr.
Obama’s political opposition as a case of “negotiating with terrorists.”
House
Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard McKeon and the ranking Republican on
the Senate committee, James Inhofe, said in a joint statement that in executing
this transfer, Mr. Obama had “violated laws which require him to notify Congress
30 days before any transfer of terrorists from Guantanamo Bay and to explain
how the threat posed by such terrorists has been substantially mitigated.”
Although
the White House said in response to such criticism that it had to act despite
the legal requirement for the transfer due to the “unique and exigent
circumstances” of the case, Mr. Obama’s position has been further weakened by
the fact that at least six U.S. soldiers, some from Sgt. Bergdahl’s 1st
Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment were said to have been killed
while looking for the missing man.
Further
undermining the administration’s justification for this high-stakes exchange is
the uncanny resemblance of Sgt. Bergdahl’s Afghan adventures to the plot of the
TV series “Homeland” – in which a U.S. soldier captured by a terror group
gradually becomes a double agent and turns on his motherland with terrifying
effect.
Although
no such drama has yet unfolded in Sgt. Bergdahl’s case, after Mr. Obama’s plan
was announced, evidence has surfaced suggesting that the soldier may have been
an Army deserter, that the U.S. intelligence community had compiled “a major
classified file” after investigating him, and Pentagon sources have noted that
he “may have been an active collaborator with the enemy.”
Some
of Sgt. Bergdahl’s fellow soldiers also mentioned his “stated desire to walk
from Afghanistan to India.”
The
White House’s embarrassment deepened into a borderline PR crisis when it was
then revealed that the soldier’s father, Robert Bergdahl, had apparently been
tweeting supportive messages to a Taliban spokesman.
Via
his account @bobbergdahl, he said in a tweet that has since been deleted — but
was captured in numerous screen grabs — “I am still working to free all
Guantanamo prisoners… God will repay for the death of every Afghan child,
ameen.”
When
asked about this conversation, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney declined
to comment on those reports but defended the administration’s handling of the
release.
Leaving
aside the political ramifications of the deal within the U.S., the prisoner
swap blows dark clouds over the Afghanistan-Pakistan-India region in the form
of heightened uncertainty regarding America’s designs for a troop-free
Afghanistan in 2016.
New
transactions
One
precedent that has been set with this prisoner swap is that all manner of new
transactions may emerge in the space for “reconciliation” with the Taliban
after Western forces scale down.
For
New Delhi this may mean that its diplomats may have to get accustomed to
engaging with the Taliban as a neighbourhood political force to reckon with and
drop any former notions of abhorrence.
In the
light of Mr. Obama’s demonstrated mono-vision in his approach to the Bergdahl
affair, India’s new government led by Narendra Modi may be best served by a new
paradigm that goes beyond the trilateral mentality with Washington, perhaps
bringing in Pakistan instead.
Bob
Bergdahl, father of U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, speaks during a news
conference as his wife Jani looks on at the Idaho National Guard headquarters
in Boise, Idaho June 1, 2014. Photo: Reuters
Many
ordinary Afghans said Monday the five senior Taliban figures who were freed in
exchange for a US soldier had blood on their hands and their release would
strengthen the insurgents.
The
men are all former officials of the Taliban regime that ruled Afghanistan from
1996 to 2001.
The
insurgents have been battling the Western-backed Afghan government since they
were ousted from power in a US-led invasion.
The
Taliban had long demanded the release of the five, who are considered still
influential within the movement.
They
were freed from Guantanamo Bay and transferred to the Gulf state of Qatar, in
exchange for army sergeant Bowe Bergdahl who had been captured by the Taliban
five years ago.
Of the
five, Norullah Noori, the ex-governor of the northern province of Balkh, was
seen as the most controversial among the people AFP spoke to in the area, where
he is accused of taking part in the 1998 massacre of thousands of people.
The
others include Khairullah Khairkhwa, the Taliban interior minister who is
considered a relative moderate; Mohammad Fazl, a leading commander with a
strong battlefield reputation; Abdul Haq Wasiq, deputy head of the Taliban
intelligence service; and Mohammad Nabi.
Nabi,
the least known, may have been held on suspicion of ties to the Al-Qaeda-linked
Haqqani militant network.
All
the men are now in Qatar, which helped broker the deal, and are under a
one-year travel ban under the conditions of their release.
Hussain
Ali, a taxi driver in Balkh provincial capital of Mazar-i-Sharif, said:
"Our close relatives and loved ones and neighbours were killed during
Noori's term as governor.
"We
are very disappointed to hear about the release of these prisoners," he
added.
Amir Mohammad
Ziaye, a prominent leader, added: "These prisoners should not have been
handed over to Qatar, they should have been handed over to the Afghan
government and Noori should have been tried for war crimes."
The
allegations around Noori centre on an August 1998 massacre of up to 8,000
people at the hands of the Taliban, who were bent on avenging the killing of
2,000 of their own men a year earlier.
Noori's
Guantanamo Bay detention file notes he is "wanted by the United Nations
for possible war crimes including the murder of thousands of people". But
the respected Afghanistan Analysts Network said no clear evidence has been
presented to back up the allegation.
Bahara
Bahar, a female activist in the western city of Herat, said the release had
dealt a psychological blow to people after years of fighting the Taliban.
"It
is almost election time and the release of these five senior members of the
Taliban... will scare and dishearten people," she said.
In
Pashtun-dominated areas of the country, however, many welcomed the release.
Khalid
Zia, a lecturer at Nangarhar University in the east, said: "We consider
the release a positive move that will help pave the way for peace negotiations
and strengthen morale."
The
U.S. airbase that has been the main transit point for military personnel and
cargo headed to Afghanistan
for more than a decade is officially closed for businessHYPERLINK \l "".
Officials
in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan,
expect all military personnel to be gone by the end of the week.
Staging
Base for Afghan War Is Handed to Kyrgyzstan
By
DOUGLAS SCHORZMANJUNE 3, 2014
In
another symbolic step toward the exit from Afghanistan, the United States on
Tuesday formally handed Kyrgyzstan control of Manas Air Base, once a major
waypoint for personnel and cargo bound for the Afghan war.
For
hundreds of thousands of American and NATO service members, military processing
at the base, formally known as the Transit Center at Manas, was the last stop
before entering the war zone and the first stop after leaving. It was also the
home of a United States Air Force logistics and refueling operation involved in
daily operations in Afghanistan. Col. John Millard, the American commander at
the base, told reporters at the handover ceremony that the Air Wing there
loaded more than a billion liters of fuel for coalition aircraft over the years
of the war.
Manas
was one of two American bases hurriedly set up in Central Asia to support the
invasion of Afghanistan in the weeks after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11,
2001. The other, in Uzbekistan, closed in 2005.
Years
later, the American pullout from Kyrgyzstan stands as a sign not only of the
dwindling war effort in Afghanistan but also of worsening relations with Russia
and its closer allies among the former Soviet republics.
The
Kyrgyz government first moved to evict the United States from Manas in 2009,
acting under a mix of pressure and incentives from a Russian government that
was growing increasingly hostile to the United States’ presence in the region.
American officials headed off that attempt by agreeing to pay more rent:
raising it to $60 million a year, plus substantial spending on facilities
improvement, from the original $17.4 million, according to American and Kyrgyz
officials.
More
recently, when it became clear that the Kyrgyz government was adamant that the
American lease ending next month would be the last, NATO officials began
planning ways to route around Manas as they began the extensive troop and cargo
withdrawal effort in Afghanistan. The American military started using a base in
Romania as its main transit center for the Afghan war this year.
On
Tuesday, the American ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, Pamela Spratlen, told a news
conference at Manas that the last of the 300 or so American personnel at the
base would be gone within a week. The specialized equipment at the base, including
airport vehicles and firefighting equipment, will stay for use by Kyrgyz
forces.
Bowe
Bergdahl told colleagues at Afghan base he had gone to start a 'new life'
Jun 03, 2014 20:09
By
Christopher Bucktin
The
28-year-old is alleged to have left the message in a note before he wandered
off his base in Afghanistan
U.S.
Army Private Bowe Bergdahl watches as one of his captors display his identity
tag to the camera at an unknown location in Afghanistan
The American
soldier freed in exchange for five Taliban prisoners said he had gone to start
a 'new life' before wandering off his base in Afghanistan, it has been claimed.
Bowe
Bergdahl, 28, left the message in a note to his colleagues, according to
reports in the New York Times.
The
soldier said he did not want to fight for America any more, did not believe in
the war and was leaving to start a new life before wandering away in June 2009.
The
news came as it emerged the Army may still pursue charges against Sgt Bergdahl
for desertion.
General
Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said military leaders
have been accused of "looking away from misconduct, and it's
premature" to think they will not investigate if there was a case to be
answered.
His
statement came just days after Susan Rice, Obama's national security adviser
said he served with "honour and distinction".
It
emerged that President Obama could face possible impeachment over the deal to
free Bergdahl after he was accused of breaking federal law over brokering a
deal with the Taliban.
Opposition
Republicans claim the President ignored a law requiring him to notify Congress
30 days before releasing anyone from Guantanamo Bay prison.
Soldiers
who served alongside private Bergdahl have called for him to be court martialed
for “deserting his post” - while the pictures of six colleagues who died
looking for him were posted on Facebook.
His
release on Saturday, brokered with the
Taliban in exchange for five Guantanamo Bay detainees, has ignited
fury in some quarters of the military.
Sergeant
Matt Vierkant, a member of Bergdahl’s platoon when he went missing on June 30,
2009, said: “I was pissed off then and I am even more so now with everything
going on.
"Bowe
Bergdahl deserted during a time of war and his fellow Americans lost their
lives searching for him."
Vierkant
said Bergdahl needs to not only acknowledge his actions publicly but face a
military trial for desertion under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
His
former squad leader Greg Leatherman said he hopes the military investigates
Bergdahl and questions whether he did, indeed, desert his post in Afghanistan.
A
Facebook page called “Bowe Bergdahl is NOT a hero!” has already gained almost
6,000 members and shows the pictures of the six soldiers who lost their lives
while looking for him.
They
were Staff Sergeant Clayton Bowen, 29, and Private Morris Walker, 23, who were
killed in an IED explosion on August 18, 2009.
Former
Pashtun warlord endorses Abdullah Abdullah ahead of Afghan presidential runoff
election
By
Amir Shah, The Associated Press
Supporters
of Afghanistan's presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah cheer during a
campaign rally in Ghazni, Afghanistan, Tuesday, June 3, 2014. The second round
of Afghanistan's presidential election will take place on June 14, 2014. (AP
Photo/Massoud Hossaini)
KABUL
- Representatives of a powerful former Pashtun warlord said Tuesday that he
endorsed the front runner in Afghanistan's coming presidential runoff election.
The
announcement by those representing Abdul Rasoul Sayyaf came during a campaign
rally for front runner and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah at a
wedding hall in the Afghan capital, Kabul. In a speech, Abdullah thanked
Sayyaf, who didn't attend, for his support and promised to make up for time
lost after the 2001 U.S.-led invasion that ousted the Taliban.
"People
expect us to honestly serve the nation," Abdullah said.
Abdullah
is the front runner for the June 14 runoff, facing former Finance Minister
Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai. In the first round of elections April 5, Abdullah
garnered 45 per cent of votes while Ahmadzai came in second with 31.6 per cent.
Sayyaf
was a warlord during the country's 1990s civil war and there have been
allegations of him having past links to radical jihadists including Osama bin
Laden. As a Pashtun and charismatic speaker, he may appeal to Afghanistan's
large number of religious conservatives.
His
support also helps Abdullah, 53, as he has both Pashtun and Tajik parentage,
something that made some Pashtuns nervous about voting for him in a country
where ethnic ties remain incredibly important to many. Pashtuns are the
country's largest ethnic group.
Sayyaf
ran in the first round and got 7.1 per cent of the vote.
During
the Soviet occupation in the 1980s, Abdullah served as adviser to and spokesman
for Tajik warlord Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was assassinated by al-Qaida two days
before the Sept. 11, 2001 attack.
In the
early days after the U.S.-led alliance toppled the Taliban regime, Abdullah
became the face of Afghanistan's anti-Taliban movement, giving frequent press
conferences to international media. He served as foreign minister and then was
the runner-up in President Hamid Karzai's disputed re-election in 2009.
Whoever
wins the June 14 vote will replace Karzai, who is constitutionally barred from
seeking a third term. They'll also face the withdrawal of foreign troops at the
end of the year and attacks from the Taliban.
In a
statement Tuesday, Karzai said the first vote represented a victory for
Afghanistan and urged citizens to vote in the coming runoff.
"I
believe Afghans are moving toward a bright future," he said.
Afghan Presidential Front-Runner Gets More Backing
June
14 Runoff Pits Former a Foreign Minister Against Former Finance Minister
By
Maria
Abi-Habib And
Habib
Khan Totakhil
June
3, 2014 12:18 p.m. ET
KABUL—Former
warlord Ismail Khan, Afghan parliamentary leaders and other rivals announced
their support for the presidential campaign of Abdullah Abdullah on Tuesday,
giving the front-runner another boost ahead of next week's runoff election.
The
June 14 runoff is pitting Mr. Abdullah, a former foreign minister, against
former finance minister Ashraf Ghani. Mr. Abdullah secured 45% of some 6.5
million votes cast in the first round of...
Transfer
of Taliban detainees to Qatar against Afghan-U.S. agreement’
By
Farhad Naibkhel
KABUL:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday turned the heat up on the handover of
five Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Prison to Qatar government, saying the
transfer was at odds with the previous agreement between Kabul and Washington.
Spokesperson
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ahmad Shekib Mostaghni said that “shifting
and handover of five Taliban members to Qatar from U.S. prison at Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba in exchange for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was against recent
telephonic conversation of President Hamid Karzai and the U.S. Secretary of
State, John Kerry, and previous agreement between Kabul and Washington”.
Speaking
at a press conference here he said that based on agreement the five members of
Taliban must be submitted to the government of Afghanistan after releasing and
latter they respectively and safely with full freedom should be sent to Qatar
or any other country to join their families.
He
stated that “If the five released Afghans have been sent to Qatar with their
satisfaction, Afghan government welcomes the released of them, if they faced
limitation of liberty the government of Afghanistan demand from Qatar
government to take serious and urgent mission to release them”.
Facing
of five members of Taliban released from Guantanamo Bay to any freedom
limitation will spark serious concern for the Afghan government, obeying
constitution of Afghanistan it is a responsibility to the Afghan government
tonsure rights and safety of Afghan citizens, he added.
He
insisted that “Afghan government expect to the five released Afghan Taliban
have access to all rights as other Afghan in Qatar”.
Pointing
to US President Barack Obama’ speech, who said “ Qatar government committed
with US government that after hand over of five Taliban members this country
will consider US national security”, Spokesperson of foreign Affairs termed
this comment unclear for Afghan government.
He
said that such comments can be a kind of library limitation ahead of released
Afghans in Qatar, adding that “we want from US government more explanation in
this regard”.
Meanwhile
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan sent statement officially to US
Embassy based in Kabul and Qatar government.
In
statement to US Embassy the ministry said that as Afghan government is against
limitation of freedom of Afghans in Guantanamo Bay and other detention centers,
recently five Afghans released from Guantanamo Bay in exchange with the US
soldier inverse to previous agreement with the government of Afghanistan
shifted to Qatar.
In
the statement Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan said that if the five
released Afghan shifted with full freedom and their satisfaction, will be
welcomed, if they have been shifted and submitted inverse to earlier agreement
at the objective of limitation of liberty to Qatar government it is against
International Rights Law, which mentioned that no government has the right to
submit another governments citizens to the third country as prison or limited
with liberty, otherwise Afghan government with express of concern and will
demand freedom without any condition for its citizen.
And
also the government will ask US and Qatar governments to obey international law
of Human Rights behave with them as a liberty and grant them with all rights.
Sunday,
01 June 2014 19:15 Last Updated on Monday, 02 June 2014 15:13 Written by Aazam
Arash
The
Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday that 3,000 new National Army soldiers
have been trained and assigned to providing security for the upcoming presidential
runoff election on June 14.
General
Baz Muhammad Jawaheri, the Deputy of Training and Personnel at the Ministry,
said that the new soldiers would be primarily deployed to the most restive
areas of the country in hopes that they might prevent a major disturbance to
the election process.
"During
the second round of the election new soldiers have been trained," Jawaheri
said. " f the enemy has trained new soldiers, we are sending our newly
trained soldiers to fight them."
The
Afghan security forces were praised back in April for their performance during
the first round of the elections. Despite a wave of Taliban ahead of Election
Day, police and military personnel were able to keep millions of voters safe
when the time came.
"Our
soliders are committed, god willing, we will ensure the security of the second
round of the election," Jawaheri said.
A
week ago, operations were started around the country in order to put insurgents
on their heels right before the election and during the traditionally volatile
spring fighting season.
A
number of soldiers who graduated from academy on Sunday, likely to be included
in the 3,000 assigned to election security, told TOLOnews they were determined
to put their training to use.
"We
were trained really well, and now I can defend my country and my
countrymen" National Army soldier Ahmad Jawed said.
Many
have voiced concerns about security during the runoff round, predicting a
tougher challenge than the first round. However, with one election already
under their belt and fresh reinforcements announced, security officials appear
confident about their ability to protect the process.
“I
feel happy, I cannot express how happy I am,” exclaimed deported Afghan
interpreter Faizullah Muradi on national radio in Norway Tuesday morning.
Muradi, on the phone from Italy, wasn’t .... READ MORE
KABUL:
The Turkish government on Tuesday condemned attack on Turkish engineers in
eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, wherein three Turkish engineers were
killed the other day. The Turkish.... READ MORE
KABUL:
Hundreds of civil society and human rights activists on Monday staged an
anti-Pakistan demonstration in Kabul and warned that the Afghan nation would
respond Pakistan’s cross-border atta.... READ MORE
KABUL:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday said it has sent a plea to the U.S.
Embassy based in Kabul seeking the U.S. support to put an end to Pakistan’s
indiscriminate rocket shelling on ea.... READ MORE
KABUL:
As many as 74 Taliban have been killed following military operations carried
out by the Afghan national security forces in various provinces of the country.
The Interior Ministry said in .... READ MORE
KABUL:
A NATO service member has died following rebels attack in eastern Afghanistan
on Monday, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in
a statement. The exact location.... READ MORE
KABUL:
Minister of Women Affairs (MoWA) urged women voters for full participation in
the second round of presidential election, scheduled on June 14. Huson Bano
Ghazanfar said that in the first .... READ MORE
KABUL:
Qatari officials had decided to let the recently released five key Taliban
prisoners, in exchange for a US soldier, to move free in the country, a senior
official said A senior Gulf offici.... READ MORE
---------
Editorial:
America’s soft stance on aggression
Afghanistan
has been in a whirl of fettered political animosity and frenzy of Pakistan. We
have found ourselves on a sticky wicket as our detested neighbor is devouring
us with vile tactics, a derivative of its chaotic ‘strategic depth’ policy
which is steered towards destabilizing Afghanistan. The wicked policy has long
been detested and caused Afghanistan collateral damage. We condemn them. We
warn them. But, condemnation emboldens their spirit and the intensity of their
vice. They are trying to attenuate the bond between the society and the nascent
democracy in Afghanistan. Pakistan wants us to suffer in these high-pressure
and time-constrained situations, and to fail in the democratic transfer of
power in the impending elections. Pakistan harbors, feeds and sponsors feted
terrorists sprawling along the tribal belt, spearheading the fight against our
territory with the use of shenanigans and tomfooleries of the Taliban.
The
size and scope of militant operations are increasing as the Taliban are
recruiting fighters from religious schools to ramp up their campaign of
violence against Afghanistan’s run-off elections. Dozens of madrasas and
Taliban training camps inside Quetta have been closed, according to
intelligence reports, and many of the brainwashed men have been sent to
Kandahar, Helmand and Zabul provinces in the restive south to disrupt the
elections. We don’t fear them at all. They tried to disrupt the April 5
elections as well, but failed. The momentous turnout of millions in the polls
was a punch to their hooliganism. Afghans don’t fear terrorists’ threat. They
just have had enough of it and they can’t bear it any more. Terrorists are a
malice, but the fact that the Obama administration is turning a blind eye to it
is an agony.
Over
the past few years, Pakistani military have been firing rockets onto eastern
Afghanistan with a dramatic increase in cross-line attacks since a month. The
steep rise in cross-line rocket barrages from the other side of the Durand Line
is happening as Afghanistan is drawing closer to the runoff presidential
elections. The government believes the incursions are Pakistan’s attempt to
disrupt the election process. Alas! The attacks have taken toll on Afghans,
with many killed and displaced over the past months. During its post-9/11
invasion of Afghanistan, the U.S. forces bombed many of the country’s military
bases including Shindand airbase in western Herat, with the bulk of military
planes and artilleries destroyed as a result. Now, we have no artillery or the
necessary weaponry to strike back at Pakistan for its indiscriminate attacks.
American war on terror has faltered too. Now the U.S. is refusing to make up
for that.
Kabul’s
relations with the Obama Administration plunged downtrend after President
Karzai boldly refused to cave to the U.S. demand to sign a Status of Forces
Agreement last year. Ever since, the U.S. has been balking at the outburst of
terrorists from FATA and Pakistan’s unprovoked attacks on Afghanistan. Foreign
Ministry on Sunday sent a plea to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul to inquire
Washington’s stance vis--vis Pakistan’s rocket barrages and to seek an end to
the indiscriminate shelling on eastern Afghanistan. Article nine of the
Afghan-U.S. Strategic Partnership Agreement clearly states that the stability
in Afghanistan would contribute to the development and stability of
South-Central Asia, the United States affirms that it shall regard with grave
concern any external aggression against Afghanistan and would develop and
implement mutually-terminated political, diplomatic, economic or military
measures. The U.S. Ambassador to Kabul James Cunningham on Tuesday said the
U.S. has a neutral standpoint to Pakistan’s rocket attacks and wants the issue
be resolved through diplomatic means. In spite of the explicit statement in the
two-pronged pact, Americans are baulking at our treacherous neighbor’s rage and
killing spree. If the U.S. leadership abstains from its soft stance and
actually supports the Afghan security forces, the day will not be far that
extremism and bloodshed in our land will cease.
Afghan
elections: candidates told to stop stirring ethnic tensions before poll
Teams
for presidential rivals Abdulllah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani warned against
inflaming prejudices and sowing disunity
Emma
Graham-Harrison in Kabul
theguardian.com,
Tuesday 3 June 2014 15.52 BST
A
policeman in Ghazni tries to control crowds at a rally on Tuesday of
presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah. Photograph: Massoud Hossaini/AP
Afghan
election authorities have accused two would-be presidents of stirring up ethnic
tensions before the June polls, and warned the media against broadcasting
divisive programmes or libellous attacks.
The
first round of Afghanistan's high-stakes presidential vote has been civil. The
main candidates, Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, assembled multi-ethnic
slates, avoided attacks on particular groups, and steered clear of focusing on
the private life of the rival.
But
with the race narrowed to a run-off, and both men searching for a gain in a
poll that is likely to be very close, there is a harder edge.
In
rallies, news conferences and advertisements the two teams have "stirred
up … discriminatory issues, defamation and irreverence against each
other", the Independent Election Commission said in a statement from its
media commission this week.
The
commisssion warned the candidates and their teams to "strictly avoid
applying discriminatory languages and tribal, racial, linguistic, regional, and
religious prejudices which cause … disunity among the Afghan people".
The
media was not to broadcast programmes fomenting ethnic and other tensions, or
ones that defamed or insulted the candidates running for office, the statement
said.
Diplomats
are watching closely for inflammatory language before the presidential
election's second round, happening on 14 June.
The US
ambassador, James Cunningham, said he had already warned each candidate against
manipulating ethnic tensions.
"We're
worried about the potential for that, and we are advising both the campaigns
that they should not run a campaign that is either ethnically based or using
ethnic elements to try and damage or undercut the other one," Cunningham
told journalists at a briefing in Kabul. "The candidates themselves are
both sensitive to this, and I hope we can do a good job of convincing people in
the campaigns that this isn't a good thing for the future of the country."
Ghani,
in second place behind Abdullah in the first round of the election, is from the
Pashtun ethnic group that has ruled Afghanistan for most of the last three
centuries. Abdullah has a Pashtun father but a Tajik mother and he is
identified with non-Pashtun northerns he fought beside during the civil war.
Many
moderate Afghans are already fretting over the rise of partisan attacks.
"Discouraging to see Facebook now a battle ground between young Afghans
about elections. So many ethnic hijackers leading this divisive battle,"
Bilal Sarwary, a journalist, said on Twitter.
Saad
Mohseni, whose influential Moby Media controls a string of popular TV and radio
channels, said campaigning had got more hostile. "We are now reviewing
every ad, every guest, weeding out anything provocative … we have a huge
responsibility. Of course when you are doing live TV there is always a small
risk, but by and large we have not allowed these debates to take control of the
programmes."
He
said he thought many Afghans were more interested now in forging a strong
national identity, after the years of fighting. "There are a few
individuals trying to stir things up but the Afghan people are not going to
fall for this all over again, given the mistakes we have made over the last 30
years," he said.
Both
campaigns denied using ethnic language in their campaigning, or making personal
attacks.
"We
fully agree with the statement," said Mujib Rahimi Rahimi, a spokesman for
Abdullah. "As a team that represents national unity, we have people from
all over the country and all ethnic groups."
An
adviser to Ghani said their team would not stir up tension because their
fundamental message was that "all Afghans should be treated equally".
KABUL:
Kabul last night called for the immediate release of former Guantanamo Bay
detainees sent to Qatar in exchange for the freedom of American soldier Bowe
Bergdahl, branding their transfer to a third country illegal.
The
transfer of the five Taliban, who a Qatari source said must stay in the country
for a year, "goes against the laws", a statement from the ministry of
foreign affairs said.
Under
international laws, "no government can hand over a country's citizens to a
third country as a prisoner," it said, adding that Kabul is "strongly
protesting" the move.
"The
government of Afghanistan ... calls for the release of its citizens so that
they can, in accordance with international laws, enjoy their freedom," it
added.
The
detainees were transferred in an exchange securing the freedom of Bergdahl, who
was captured by insurgents in June 2009, and who was the only American soldier
being held in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile,
US President Barack Obama's administration came under fire from leglistors over
the swap, which they say sets a bad precedent.
However,
US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said he hoped the exchange might lead to
breakthroughs in reconciliation with the militants.
He
denied accusations from some Republicans the swap resulted from US negotiations
with terrorists, saying it had been worked out by the government of Qatar.
President
Obama hailed the release in an appearance with Bergdahl's parents, Bob and
Jani, in the White House Rose Garden.
Moreover,
Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar hailed the release of the
insurgents as a "big victory".
"I
extend my heartfelt congratulations to the entire Afghan Muslim nation, all the
mujahideen and to the families and relatives of the prisoners for this big
victory regarding the release of five Taliban leaders from Guantanamo
prison," he said in a rare statement.
The
detainees arrived in Qatar yesterday and their families have been flown there.
The
28-year-old US soldier was receiving treatment at the US military medical
centre in Landstuhl, Germany as part of the "reintegration process,"
the army said. It was unclear how long he would remain there. His parent early
this morning said: "We love you."
CANADA
MILITARY NEWS APRIL 10, 2014-Afghanistan-1960s remember- HEADS UP -Pakistani
Rebels and Suicide Attackers slither in2 our Afghanistan -Hey Canada n USA etc.
Wld u die 2 vote 4 ur countries like r Afghans? - AFGHANS BRING PRIDE 2 NATO
TROOPS AND AFGHAN TROOPS AND POLICING APRIL 5, 2014- they are rising up and
defiant and proud showing the world how 2 be free at last- no taliban gonna
take their world no more... no way- Whilst UN, EU,USA, Canada politicians
hijack our world and turn humanity in2 ashes-Ukraine4oil.... Afghanistan rises
us up/DAILY UPDATES AFGHANISTAN- Kabul Dreams -Good Morning Freedom
Russia
has stepped up 4 USA and Canada and EU nations so often... SHAME ON USA,
CANADA, EU.... AND NATO (u were going 2 be disbanded after Afghanistan now u
have ur white on white war... whilst Ukraines kill each other with their phony elections created by
USA..... just like Arab spring.... ewwwwww)-
and now....
Obama
slaps us all by letting 5 taliban killing machines of innocent muslims and
girls and women...... in the hundreds of thousands... free... 4 a traitor that
caused the death of 6 American troops...
EVIL
NATO... EVIL USA....
OBAMA
BETRAYS ALL TROOPS BY DUMPING AFGHANISTAN 2 SAVE A TRAITOR 2 MOVE ON 2 A WHITE
MANS WAR IN EUROPE... THAT HE STARTED/NATO BETRAYS TROOPS.....
6/2/14
Background of the 5 detainees we traded for Bergdahl, a de
http://time.com/2809352/bowe-bergdahl...
- "The 6 U.S. Soldiers Who Died Searching For Bowe Bergdahl ... Troops
suggest that Bergdahl's desertion makes him more traitor than hero"
http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/20...
- "The element that I think blindsided Obama was the negative feedback
from military people, who have the credibility to make the public think about
both sides of this trade in a skeptical way ... They assumed the troops would
zip it while Obama took his victory lap for rescuing the last POW in
Afghanistan ... It's also not surprising that the White House overplayed its
hand, sending Benghazi fabulist Susan Rice - who snotty Beltway insiders don't
realize is one of the least credible people in America to informed members of
the public - to falsely claim Bergdahl was captured in battlefield action ...
Can anyone possibly view that Rose Garden ceremony with Obama and Bob Bergdahl
that you mentioned, complete with phrases from the Koran, in concert with the
threat level of the prisoners who were released, and dispute Mullah Omar's
contention that this was a big victory for the Taliban?"
The
three other Americans being held in Afghanistan
White
House now facing pressure to free the three other American citizens who have
been missing in Afghanistan or Pakistan for years.
“Woe
to the statesman whose arguments for entering a war are not as convincing at
its end as they were at the beginning,” said Otto von Bismarck, the politician
who dominated German and European affairs from the 1860s until 1890.
Unfortunately, the arguments for invading
Afghanistan were not convincing even at the beginning. Of course, it was not
President Barack Obama who launched the war. But he considered this a “good
war.” So we should assume that Obama was convinced of the arguments his
predecessor George Bush advanced in justification of the invasion.
What were Bush's justifications? The US went
to Afghanistan in 2001 in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks which Washington
thought, on inconclusive evidence, were planned by terrorists based in that
country. The aim was to topple the Taliban regime harboring the terrorists.
As was only to be expected, the defeat of the
Taliban was swift and decisive. They vanished without a fight. But American
troops are still there making it the longest war in US history, costing the
lives of more than 2,300 US soldiers and countless numbers of Afghan civilians.
If Bush's policy of exploiting sectarian and
tribal differences destroyed Afghanistan's social fabric, Obama’s drone attacks
have traumatized the Afghan countryside. Afghanistan remains a country with a
weak central government which can provide neither stability nor security. As in
Iraq, the invasion has led to a never-ending cycle of violence providing
invaluable opportunities for all sorts of terrorist outfits to thrive. Worse
still, the war has destabilized the border areas of Pakistan.
The US justified its continued presence in
Afghanistan in the name of nation-building and spreading democracy including
human rights. But there is nothing to show on these counts. Despite foreign aid
on a massive scale, Afghanistan remains one of the poorest countries in the
world. About half the population still lacks proper housing and electricity,
and the unemployment rate at around 25 percent is among the world's highest.
After touching 14.4 percent in 2012, growth fell to just 3.1 percent last year.
As for human rights, Franz-Michael Mellbin,
the new EU ambassador to Kabul, draws a grim picture of the situation. Despite
huge practical improvements in areas from maternal mortality to the number of
girls in schools, Afghanistan is still one of the worst places to be a woman,
says Mellbin.
Last year, a landmark law to prevent violence
against women was pushed out of Parliament and the quota of seats for women on
provincial councils was cut. Earlier this year, Parliament passed a law that
gagged victims of domestic violence by preventing relatives from testifying
against each other, although the law was later modified.
Obama said last Tuesday, announcing the
withdrawal of US troops, that he intends to retain a residual force beyond
2014. According to this plan, 9,800 troops would remain in Afghanistan after
2014.This is for consolidating the gains already achieved, whatever they may
be.
Obama cannot be unaware of a new American
intelligence assessment on Afghanistan that predicts that the gains the US and
its allies made during the past 13 years are likely to be significantly eroded
by 2017. So the only conclusion is that a low-key war will continue with
thousands of armed contractors (as in Iraq) and drones playing an important
role.
This means two things. First, Obama is
unwilling to admit that the three decades of US meddling in Afghanistan have
been an unmitigated disaster. Secondly, as Tallyrand said of the Bourbons, the
US has learned nothing and forgotten nothing.
The
mystery surrounding American PoW Bowe Bergdahl
Release
of last American prisoner of war in Afghanistan reopens mystery of how Bowe
Bergdahl was captured — and whether he’s a patriot or a deserter.
Soldiers,
veterans and others have lit up social media with postings denouncing Sgt. Bowe
Bergdahl for allegedly abandoning his unit.
View 2
photos
zoom
U.S.
Army / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
Soldiers,
veterans and others have lit up social media with postings denouncing Sgt. Bowe
Bergdahl for allegedly abandoning his unit.
By:
David Lerman Bloomberg, Published on Tue
Jun 03 2014
A sign
showing support for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is displayed on June 2 in Hailey, Idaho.
Bergdahl was released from captivity on May 31 after being captured by Taliban
forces in Afghanistan in 2009.
WASHINGTON—The
release of the last American prisoner of war in Afghanistan has reopened the
mystery of how he was captured — and whether he’s a patriot or a deserter.
Even
before U.S. army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl arrives home after almost five years in
captivity, scores of soldiers, veterans and others have lit up social media
with postings denouncing the former prisoner for allegedly abandoning his unit.
The
U.S. army has never described the circumstances of Bergdahl’s disappearance
from a remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan or his capture by terrorists. An online
petition drive that has more than 5,600 digital signatures calls on the Obama
administration to punish Bergdahl for going AWOL, or absent without leave.
“He’s
at best a deserter and at worst a traitor,” Josh Korder, who said he served
with Bergdahl in Afghanistan, told CNN on Monday. “Any of us would have died
for him. For him to just leave us like that, it was a very big betrayal.”
President
Barack Obama said during a visit to Warsaw on Tuesday that Bergdahl would have
been returned home “regardless of the circumstances” of his capture.
“Whatever
those circumstances may turn out to be, we still get an American soldier back
if he’s held in captivity. Period,” Obama told reporters during a news
conference. “That’s what every mom and dad who sees a son or daughter sent over
into war theatre should expect, not just from their commander in chief but from
the United States of America.”
Gen.
Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a statement on
Tuesday that “the questions about this particular soldier’s conduct are
separate from our effort to recover ANY U.S. service member in enemy captivity.
This was likely the last, best opportunity to free him.”
Dempsey
said “our army’s leaders will not look away from misconduct if it occurred” and
that “we’ll learn the facts” when Bergdahl is able to provide them.
The
army previously produced a report on the circumstances of Bergdahl’s
disappearance, which remains classified, Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon
spokesman, told reporters on Tuesday. Warren corrected his comment from Monday
that only a preliminary investigation had been done.
Bergdahl,
28, an Idaho man who was captured in 2009 and released on May 31, is in stable
condition at the army medical centre in Landstuhl, Germany, Warren said.
“He
has nutrition issues,” Warren said, without elaborating. Defense Secretary
Chuck Hagel had said Bergdahl’s health was deteriorating in captivity, adding
urgency to efforts to reach a deal for his freedom.
Questions
about Bergdahl’s loyalty were raised two years ago, when Rolling Stone magazine
obtained email messages it said were sent by the soldier to his parents
describing his disillusionment with the U.S. effort in Afghanistan.
“I am
sorry for everything,” he wrote, according to the magazine. “The horror that is
America is disgusting.”
Since
Bergdahl’s release on May 31, Republican lawmakers have stepped up their
attacks on the Obama administration, saying it negotiated with terrorists and
failed to give Congress the legally required 30-day notification of the deal
that freed the American soldier in return for the release of five Taliban
prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
“I
fear President Obama’s decision will inevitably lead to more Americans being
kidnapped and held hostage throughout the world,” Senator Lindsey Graham, a
South Carolina Republican, said in a letter Monday asking the Senate Armed
Services Committee to hold a hearing on the prisoner swap. The panel scheduled
a closed-door briefing for June 10.
The
prisoner exchange, brokered by Qatar, requires the five men to remain in that
country for a year. Susan Rice, Obama’s national security adviser, said in the
interview June 1 on ABC that the agreement places “restrictions on their
movement and behaviour” in Qatar, while she declined to discuss details.
Throughout
the course of the long war in Afghanistan, Coalition troops have relied on
thousands of military working dogs to help keep them safe, and make their jobs
easier. The dogs are trained to detect explosives, to find illegal drugs, to
search for missing comrades, or target enemy combatants. Not only are they
active on the front lines, but behind the lines they serve as therapy dogs,
service dogs, and loyal companions. They also share the same risks as the
ground troops, suffering injuries and sometimes death on the battlefields.
Gathered here are images of these dogs and their handlers in Afghanistan and
back home, from over the past several years, part of the ongoing series here on
Afghanistan. [40 photos]
KABUL:
In order to gather suggestions of the businessmen and to identify existed
challenges in the business sector, Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and
Industries (ACCI) on Tuesday signed a coope.... READ MORE
---------
AFGHANISTAN
IS NOT INDIA... RAPING INNOCENT CHILDREN AND HANGING THEM.... EWWWWW
Ministry
of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyred and Disabled said on Sunday that 6.5 million
children in Afghanistan are prone to various types of abuses including physical
and sexual assaults. As pe.... READ MORE
KABUL:
President Hamid Karzai in a decree asked government officials to remain
impartial in runoff round of the presidential election. The decree said that
government officials should avoid intro.... READ MORE
----------------------
CRIMEA- AND
UKRAINE
USA-
CANADA-EU AND DUMBED DOWN NATO- CAUSE A WHITE MANS WAR WITH RUSSIA AND INNOCENT
UKRAINES ARE DYING AND SCARED... SHAME ON THE LOT OF U..
HOW CAN WE CELBRATE D-DAY WWII WITHOUT HUGE
THANKS 2 RUSSIA. And Ukraine... is 67% Russian and Russian speaking....
innocents are dying in the East... it's just not right anymore... imho...
Ukraine Femens now supporting Alexei Navalny-
a lot of innocent people of Ukraine are and will die because USA interferred so
horribly.... yet again.... SEE..SPINNING OUT OF CONTROL...
Ukrainian
police arrested topless Femen activist Oksana Shachko when she staged a protest
in support of convicted Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in central
Kiev on Thursday.
SNOWDEN: "It was amazing because she was the
first president who took the leadership to say 'We have the right to speak, to
communicate without being spied'. And these are not rights of a country. These
are human rights..."
Snowden
said Rousseff's speech in the UN, criticising the American espionage, was
inspiring.
Interferring
Global Nations are destroying beautiful Ukraine... NATO WAS 2 BE DISBANDED
AFTER AFGHANISTAN... SHAME ON YA! Let
the 67% Russian blood of Ukraine decide their own future..... Ukraine hijacked
an elected President.... in a democracy... with help from USA, Canada, EU
and troop betraying NATO.... imho
Uncle
Harold said without Russia... we would NEVA have won the war of WWII.... and USA
came on so late.... over 15 million died..... 6 million were jews 2 million catholics, gays, gypsies and
people of colour.... hard ole world. AND
UKRAINE FOLKS ARE 70% RUSSIAN... come on folks... we should not be
interferring... seriously... Let the Ukraine people decide.... even the orange
revolution.... a larger majority were russian.... it's insulting ... and cruel
4 the east Ukraine...imho
BRITAIN
PM And Putin To Meet Over Ukraine Violence
The
pair will sit down after attending commemorations on the 70th anniversary of
the D-Day landings in Normandy.
Innocent
people of Eastern Ukraine are dying because of USA and Canada interference with
EU (thinking they are better than beautiful Russia... shame on the lot o ya)
... and worst of all... NATO (which) was 2 be disbanded after Afghanistan...
raging up again... more innocent people dying 4 WHITE MAN'S WAR- Eastern
Ukraine (ukraine is 67% Russian speaking).... AT LEAST WE ARE STEPPING OUT OF
THE MUSLIM ON MUSLIM HATE... imho... God bless Ukraine... all people of
Ukraine...
There
was no 'reset' and the Cold War never ended
by
Wajiha Suboor
Recent
events in Ukraine have analysts and pundits foretelling a second Cold War. To
believe these outcries would be to believe in amicable relations between Russia
and the US since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. One would also have
to believe in general good-will and alliances between the two states. You don’t
even need to follow the news to know that is not the case. Just looking at pop
culture reveals Russians (among other former Soviet-state) are still an easy
and believable threat to “the American way” - bested only by the Middle East in
recent years. Despite all appearances and the official “reset” of relations
between the two countries in 2009, political discourse between the two nations
is just as defensive and distrustful as it was during the Cold War. It has
merely morphed its form to reflect the changes within the two nations still
immersed in it.
Let’s
look at the famous reset between Russia and the US in 2009. The event was
triggered by the severe deterioration of US-Russian relations following
Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008. In February of 2009, Vice President Joe
Biden first hinted at Washington’s intent to reset relations between the two
countries. Two months later, Obama and then-Russian President met in London to
reaffirm the notion and begin cooperative talks. Just a couple months after
that, Biden told the Wall Street Journal that the Russians “have a shrinking
population base, have a withering economy, have a banking sector and structure
that is not likely to be able to withstand the next 15 years.” He went on to
state these weaknesses would force Russia to concede to the West on key issues
– revealing the true intent of the reset: to bully each other around in the
name of cooperation and alliance.
Many
instances reveal how this has played out since. In Obama’s 2013 State of the
Union address he wanted to see “reductions in our nuclear arsenals”. The ‘our’
indicates both sides would reduce the number of nuclear warheads – until Russia
introduced the caveat for legally binding limits on missile defense programs
and the US declined. Putin has matched Biden’s insulting rhetoric in full
force, most recently in his New York Times op-ed when he asked Obama to desist
from acting on the situation in Syria because motives would be rooted in
American ‘exceptionalism’ and national interests.
The
events leading up to and after the reset of 2009 show that the Cold War never
truly ended – the only thing that changed was how each side saw the other.
Before 1991, the two countries viewed each other as powerful threats not only
due to the arsenal of nuclear warheads each accumulated, but also because of
the geo-political and economic influence exerted by each in their respective
hemispheres. The biggest threat was not mutually assured destruction, but
rather political and economic power. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and
more recently the Great Recession of 2008, the emerging nations are weaker and
much more unstable than those that started the Cold War in 1945. As a result,
the two sides feel that they can better bully the other under the guise of
friends and allies than as outright foes. That was the real reset of 2009.
“Canada
today is probably, not probably — certainly, absolutely, inarguably — one of
the most successful countries in the world.”
Gwyn
says Canada became one of the top 10 countries in the world against all odds.
“(The public) didn’t think that Canada had the stuff to be a nation,” Gwyn told
the more than 150 people who attended Saturday's event.
What
distinguished Macdonald was he believed there was only one way for Canada to
become a nation and that was for it to stretch out all the way from sea to sea,
Gwyn said.
....
SO USA DESTROYS MOST OF THEIR STATES WITH COAL, AND FRACKING AND OIL AND GAS..
ETC... AND AFRICAS ARCHBISHOP TUTU COMES 2 CANADA 2 BITCH ABOUT 1 OILSANDS...
1....... AND THEY ARE STILL KILLING THOUSANDS OF AFRICANS IN THEIR MINES...
African
Development Bank refuses to quit coal funding
Last updated on 2 June 2014, 9:38 am US and
World Bank ‘don’t understand’ impact of coal funding withdrawal on poor
countries, says senior official
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