Afghan protest grows on Qur'an burning

Afghan demonstrators in Kandahar marched through the streets on Sunday, the third day of protests against the recent Qur'an burning in the US.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/173160.html

Hundreds of students in Afghanistan have staged a fresh protest against the recent burning of the Holy Qur'an in the United States.

On Tuesday, the protesters gathered outside Kabul University to condemn the sacrilege of the Muslims' Holy book, a Press TV correspondent reported.

Protests against the burning of the holy Qur'an in a US church began in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif on Friday and later spread to all major cities in Afghanistan.

This is while in previous days, seven foreign workers of the United Nations were killed when a small number of furious protesters stormed the UN headquarters in Mazar-i-Sharif. Also on Saturday, 16 people lost their lives and dozens more were left injured during anti-US rallies in Kandahar.

In Kandahar province, at least two policemen were killed and 30 more people wounded after anti-US protests turned violent.

On March 20, American Pastor Wayne Sapp burned a copy of the Holy book under the supervision of controversial preacher Terry Jones in Florida.

Jones provoked an international outcry last year after he announced plans to burn copies of the Qur'an on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

30 killed in Afghan Qur'an burning march

Afghans shout anti- US slogans, behind a row of policemen, during a demonstration in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/172989.html

At least 30 people have been killed and nearly 150 others injured in four days of angry protests in Afghanistan against the burning of a copy of Islam's holy book by an American extremist pastor.

More than 1,000 Afghans took to the streets in Mehterlam, east of the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Monday, pushing angry protests into a fourth day, a Press TV correspondent reported.

In Kandahar province, at least two policemen were killed and 30 more people wounded after the anti-US protests turned violent.

The angry Afghan demonstrators urged punishment for those responsible for the desecration of the holy Qur'an.

They also set fire to the effigy of US President Barack Obama and demanded American troops leave the war-wrecked country.

Earlier on Saturday, 16 people lost their lives and dozens more were left injured during anti-US rallies in Kandahar.

Similar protests have also been staged in the capital Kabul and other Afghan provinces, including Nangarhar, Laghman,and Mazar-i-Sharif.

Seven foreign workers for the United Nations were also killed when a small number of furious protesters stormed the UN headquarters in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif on Friday.

On March 20, Pastor Terry Jones, who had already caused an outrage worldwide by threatening to burn copies of the Qur'an last September, broke his earlier promise and burned the holy Qur'an after holding a mock trial at his fringe church in the city of Gainesville.

US Military facing leadership failure

A group of US soldiers in Helmand Province in Afghanistan

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/162189.html

An American political journalist says the US military is experiencing “a complete failure of leadership,” due to the violent attitude of some commanders.

Alexander Cockburn said in an interview with Press TV that the commanding approach in some military units would “encourage atrocities and torture.”

He made his comments with regard to the April 4 trial of Army Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs, who has been accused of organizing a team of soldiers to kill Afghan civilians.

"Throughout 10-15 years you can see many examples of complete failure of leadership… committing atrocities or encouraging atrocities in the case of torture, conniving at torture, commanding torture and then evading responsibilities," he further explained.

Since the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan, more than 34,000 Afghan civilians have been killed in the country as a result of the war.

The United States currently has 100,000 troops in war-ravaged Afghanistan. The total number of coalition forces in the Asian country reaches 150,000. US President Barack Obama had earlier promised that the majority of the US forces would leave Afghanistan in 2011, but later said they would reside in the country up until 2014. Both US and UK authorities believe that at least a portion of their forces will stay in the war-hit country to help the Afghan authorities with the management of the internal affairs for several years to come.

Earlier in November, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said it is time for the United States to reduce its presence and military operations in Afghanistan.

"The time has come to reduce military operations…The time has come to reduce the presence of, you know, boots in Afghanistan . . . to reduce the intrusiveness into the daily Afghan life," Karzai noted.

In January 15, Human Rights Watch warned about the worsening security situation in Afghanistan.

In its annual report for 2010, the rights group said security has deteriorated in most regions of Afghanistan, despite the US troop surge last year.

It added that there was a ten percent increase in civilian casualties last year in the war-ravaged country.

The developments come as a recent report says US-led military operations have inflicted over USD 100 million in damages on public property in southern Afghanistan.

US uncertain about Afghanistan pullout

US Joint Chief of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/159911.html


The top US military official has cast doubts about the time of a withdrawal from Afghanistan and the number of American forces to leave the violence-wracked nation.

The head of the Joint Chief of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen reiterated that the Pentagon does not know how many soldiers will be pulled out in July and predicted a rise in violence throughout the year.

“As difficult as it may be to accept, we must prepare ourselves for more violence and more casualties in coming months. The violence will be worse in 2011 than it was in 2010 in many parts of Afghanistan,” AFP quoted Mullen as saying on Wednesday.

The US military chief stated that the drawdown would depend on the level of Afghan security forces' readiness in taking control.

He pointed out the “fragile gains” the US-led NATO forces have made in the country but did not fail to claim that the Taliban were losing the war especially in dangerous areas like the Kandahar province.

On Tuesday, US Vice President Joe Biden said Washington will not withdraw its troops from Afghanistan in the previously announced deadline of 2014, if Kabul does not want it to do so.

Biden's remarks are contradictory to an earlier pledge by President Barack Obama for a major drawdown of troops from the war-ravaged country by July 2011.

In 2001, the US and its allies invaded Afghanistan under the pretext of wiping the country off terrorism. However, the US-led occupation of Afghanistan has failed to establish security in the country .

Violence and terror attacks remain commonplace almost a decade after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.

Statistics indicate that 2010 was the deadliest year for both the civilians and the foreign troops fighting in the country.

Kabul to disband private security firms

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/158992.html

Afghanistan's president has ordered the Interior Ministry to intensify efforts to shut down domestic and foreign private security firms in the country.

Hamid Karzai issued the order one day after rejecting US calls to nearly double private security firms in Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, the US Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl W. Eikenberry told Karzai thousands of extra private security guards needed to be recruited to provide security escorts to foreign workers in Afghanistan

"It turned into a serious discussion, the president said we are trying to dismantle private security firms but you want to add another 25,000 to the firms," AFP quoted an unnamed senior official at Karzai's palace as saying.

Karzai said the plan ran counter to the goals of strengthening Afghan forces and national institution-building, the official said.

"This means you are creating parallel forces to Afghan security institutions and this means you do not want private security companies to be dismantled," the official cited the president as saying.

In August, Karzai gave private security companies four months to end operations in the country. He later extended the deadline under pressure from the West.

Karzai had earlier accused foreign security contractors in the country of operating as militias, saying that these firms are only worsening the security situation in Afghanistan.

Some of them have been accused of killing civilians without facing punishment.

Kabul has confirmed the presence of 52 foreign private security companies, including notorious American security firm Xe Services LLC -- formerly known as Blackwater -- in Afghanistan.

The company has been struggling with a trail of legal cases and civil lawsuits, including one for killing 17 Iraqi civilians during a Baghdad shootout in 2007.

Earlier in June, the CIA reportedly admitted that Blackwater had been loading bombs on US drones that target suspected militants in neighboring Pakistan.

Most of the security contractors are believed to have close ties with Afghan warlords and are also accused of contributing to the rising number of civilian casualties in the country.

Private security firms have been a source of controversy since the start of the war nine years ago.

A US Senate report has also revealed that the contractors often fail to vet local recruits and end up hiring Taliban militants.

Karzai has recently said the US-led foreign powers are interfering in his country's internal affairs and hinder the implementation of laws.

"I ask our foreign friends not to interfere in our internal affairs, not to interfere in our constitution,'' Karzai said at a ceremony on Tuesday commemorating the seventh's anniversary of the ratification of Afghan Constitution in downtown Kabul.

"They must stop meddling in our implementation of the law in our country.''

Karzai has emphasized that the Afghans have the ability to rule and govern the country on their own

US challenges Karzai on security firms

Private security firms, competing for contracts
worth billions of dollars, have long been regarded
as a major irritant by Afghans.


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=138233§ionid=3510203


The Pentagon has played down Afghan President Hamid Karzai's call to shut down foreign private security firms operating in his country.

Pentagon Spokesman Colonel David Lapan said Tuesday that even though Washington acknowledges that there are problems with the firms, the issue must be addressed in a way that also meets US security requirements.

"There are security needs that we have, that our forces have … so we want to make sure that we are addressing the Afghan government's concerns but meeting our requirements as well," said Lapan, quoted by AFP.

This follows an earlier statement by Karzai's office that his government is "serious" about getting rid of foreign private security firms.

The statement added that the issue had been discussed with NATO leaders over the past few days and a deadline would soon be set for the withdrawal of such companies.

Private security companies, competing for contracts worth billions of dollars, have long been regarded as a major irritant by Afghans following a series of scandals involving the killing of civilians.

Reports say that these companies have deployed an estimated 40,000 armed personnel throughout Afghanistan -- most of whom work for Western enterprises.

Most Afghans see these private firms as accumulators of wealth and power with no interest in the security for Afghanistan. They are also widely reported to be overbearing and abusive, notably on the country's roads.

Foreign mercs must leave, Karzai says

Afghan President Hamid Karzai

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137840&sectionid=351020403

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has called on the United States and its allies to stop supporting private security companies, saying the activities of these firms aggravate the country's problems.

Karzai made the remarks in Kabul on Saturday during a visit to the Afghan Civil Service Institute, which is training thousands of civil servants in the capital and across the nation to bolster the capacity of the Afghan government, AP reported.

“To help strengthen the Afghan government, the US and NATO should eliminate private security companies,” Karzai said, adding that their presence is "intolerable" since they have created a security structure that undermines the police and the army.

"Afghan or foreign companies, there are some 30,000 to 40,000 people in these security companies," he noted.

"They have created security problems for us, whoever is working in these private security companies, they are not working for the benefit of Afghan national interests… If they really want to be at the service of Afghans, they should join the Afghan National Police," Karzai added.

"Very urgently and seriously we want... the foreigners to stop creating private security companies," the Afghan president said, adding, "we cannot tolerate these companies, which are like a parallel structure with our forces. We cannot have police, army and — at the same time — another force as private security companies."

Kabul has confirmed the presence of 52 foreign private security companies in Afghanistan, including the notorious US security firm Xe Services LLC — formerly known as Blackwater.

Private security guards are operating in the country with absolutely no supervision by the Afghan government.

Karzai had earlier accused foreign security contractors of operating like militias, saying that the firms are only worsening the security situation in Afghanistan.

Most of the security contractors are believed to have close ties with Afghan warlords and have been accused of being partly responsible for the rise in civilian casualties in the country.

In the June 4 edition of The Wall Street Journal, it was reported that Xe's most recent government contract tasked the group with protecting CIA bases in Afghanistan.

The report was confirmed at the end of June by Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta during a TV interview, the newspaper wrote.

Blackwater/Xe mercs were hated by the Iraqis during their time in that country because they were able to kill many civilians with impunity.

Over the past few months, public opinion has been turning against the war in the United States and other countries, and thus US President Barack Obama's upbeat assessments about progress in the Afghan war will probably not go down well at home or abroad.

The death toll for US service members stationed in Afghanistan reached 66 for the month of July 2010, making it the deadliest month for US troops deployed in the Central Asian nation since the conflict began in October 2001.

US to stay in Afghanistan beyond 2011

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137062§ionid=351020403


US Defense Secretary Robert Gates says his country will keep a large number of its troops in Afghanistan even after President Barack Obama's 2011 deadline for starting troop withdrawal.

Despite mounting US casualties in the war-torn country, Gates said the US-led forces were making headway in the war.

"I think we need to re-emphasize the message that we are not leaving Afghanistan in July of 2011," Gates told ABC's This Week.

The remarks echoed those of US Vice President Joe Biden, who had earlier hinted that the number of American troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan in 2011 would be as few as 2,000.

With 66 fatalities, July set the record as the deadliest month for American forces stationed in Afghanistan since the start of the war in 2001.

Gate, however, downplayed the number saying, "We have warned about this for months, that this summer would be very difficult for us. But I think there are tangible signs that this approach is working, this strategy is working."

Meanwhile, the Netherlands is withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan. The Dutch troops joined the US-led war in Afghanistan back in 2006.

The rising number of casualties has increased opposition to the Afghan war in the US and other European states.

Afghans hold anti-US rally in Kabul

Afghan demonstrators hold posters of children killed by foreign forces at a demonstration in Kabul on August 1, 2010

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137058&sectionid=351020403

Hundreds of Afghan demonstrators have taken to the streets of Kabul in protest to the deaths of dozens of civilians in US-led airstrike.

Over 200 people took to streets of the Afghan Capital on Sunday.

Protesters chanted "death to America" and carried signs bearing pictures of children killed in the country's volatile south.

On July 23, a NATO rocket hit a house where Afghan civilians had taken refuge from the exchange of fire between US-led foreign forces and Taliban militants in Helmand Province.

The Afghan government has confirmed that 45 civilians, including women and children, were killed in the attack.

Afghan officials including President Hamid Karzai have repeatedly condemned and called for an end to the US-led military alliance's attacks on civilians.

The protests come as the UN Human Rights Office in Afghanistan has voiced concern about civilian casualties in the country. The office has warned that the number of civilian deaths has been rising over the past 18 months