Afghanistan War News Updates -- September 12, 2011

Afghanistan Militias And Police 'Committing Abuses' -- BBC

Militias and some units of the new local police in Afghanistan are committing serious human rights abuses, a Human Rights Watch report has said.

It says that they are responsible for crimes including killings, rape, arbitrary detention, abductions and forcible land grabs.

The report says the Afghan government has failed to hold the militias properly to account.

Nato said it was working with the government to examine the findings.

Read more ....

More News On Afghanistan

US-backed Afghan militias accused of human rights abuses -- The Guardian
Afghan militias, police accused of abuses -- AP
NATO-backed local police terrorising Afghans - report -- Reuters
US-backed Afghan police accused of serious abuses -- AFP
U.S.-backed Afghan police force accused of human rights abuses -- Global Post
HRW: Afghan Police Guilty of Serious Abuses -- Voice of America
Afghanistan militias and police “committing abuses” -- RAWA News

Afghan truck bomb hits US troops in Wardak -- BBC
77 U.S. troops injured in Taliban truck bombing -- L.A. Times
Nato military base attacked by suicide bomber in Afghanistan -- The Guardian
Taliban targets coalition base on eve of 9/11 anniversary -- CNN
Taliban Time Blast to 9/11 -- Wall Street Journal
NATO: 77 U.S. troops injured after Taliban hit Afghan coalition base -- CNN
Taliban claim Afghanistan truck bomb attack that wounded 77 US troops -- Yahoo News/Christian Science Monitor

FACTBOX-Security developments in Afghanistan, Sept 12 -- Alertnet
Operations Continue at Outpost After Attack -- US Department of Defense

US troops in Afghanistan mark 9/11 -- AFP
In Afghanistan, tie between 9/11 and the war often gets lost -- L.A. Times
PHOTOS: Commemorating Sept. 11 In Afghanistan -- NPR
In rural Afghanistan, many don’t know 9/11 -- CNN

US must stay in Afghanistan for 'long haul', says ambassador -- The Telegraph
U.S. casualties keep rising in Afghan war -- Ottawa Citizen
Six soldiers honoured for service in Afghanistan -- Montreal Gazette/Postmedia News
For some former Guantanamo detainees, present bleaker than past -- Washington Post
NATO progress in Afghanistan questioned -- Voice of Russia

Taliban office in Qatar approved by US -- The Australian/The Times
U.S. backs move to let Taliban open headquarters in Qatar in the hope of ending war in Afghanistan -- Daily Mail
U.S. Offers The Taliban New Middle East Headquarters -- Business Insider

Half a Trillion Dollars of Broken Afghan Dreams -- New York Times/Reuters
9/11 Recalled — Kabul -- Sharifullah Sahak, At War, New York Times
In Afghanistan, tie between 9/11 and the war often gets lost -- Laura King, L.A. Times
Ryan Crocker’s ‘strategic patience’ in Afghanistan -- Jackson Diehl, Washington Post

Afghanistan War News Updates -- September 9, 2011

U.S. Air Force Capt. Jon Polston, right, inspects the Jugi bridge while a bus squeezes through the narrow roadway in Mehtar Lam in Laghman province, Afghanistan, Sept. 7, 2011. Polston is the lead engineer assigned to the Laghman Provincial Reconstruction Team. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Ryan Crane

On The Afghan Frontline, U.S. Soldiers See Longer War Ahead -- New York Times/Reuters

KUNAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - U.S. soldiers deployed on the rugged mountains of eastern Afghanistan say the war isn't going away for another ten years, even after Washington pulls troops from a country locked in a deadly Islamist insurgency.

With failing public support for the war, U.S. President Barack Obama has announced a plan to gradually draw down the 100,000 troops in Afghanistan and hand over all security responsibilities to Afghan forces by the end of 2014.

But ten years after the September 11, 2011 attacks, which brought U.S. forces to Afghanistan, the country still faces a Taliban insurgency that the world's formidable military has been unable to quell.

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More News On Afghanistan

FACTBOX-Security developments in Afghanistan, Sept 9 -- Alertnet
Combined Forces Detain Multiple Insurgents -- US Department of Defense
Taliban claim new missiles downing aircraft -- Asia Times
Program Aims to Reintegrate Former Insurgents in Afghanistan -- US Department of Defense
ISAF: Reporter killed in Afghanistan in case of mistaken identity -- CNN
Nato-led forces killed BBC reporter in Afghanistan -- BBC
US soldier killed BBC reporter in Afghanistan: coalition -- Yahoo News/AFP
Taliban must face 'more pain' to talk: US envoy -- Yahoo News/AFP
Strategies have shifted, but soldier committed to Afghanistan -- MSNBC
Afghans: Still hoping 'peace and stability come' -- MSNBC
How 9/11 changed Afghanistan: Before and after photos show how the invasion transformed the country -- Daily Mail
Kabul To Jalalabad: A Postcard From The Road -- NPR

Clinton meets Afghan national security advisor -- AFP
Afghan national security adviser in Washington for talks -- Stars and Stripes
Afghan Delegation In U.S. For Strategic Partnership Discussions -- RTT News
US not seeking permanent military base in Afghanistan -- Times of India

Report: Billions spent in Afghanistan with little knowledge of costs -- CNN
Afghan Funds Oversight Isn’t Adequate, State Department IG Says -- Bloomberg
Audit finds boost in US civilians to Afghanistan cost nearly $2 billion since 2009 -- Washington Post
Cost of civilian ‘surge’ in Afghanistan: $1.7 billion -- Washington Post
U.S. spends $2B on Afghan nation building -- Politico
Civilian experts in Afghanistan are costly: Report -- Global Post
U.S. civilian surge to Afghanistan cost $2 billion: report -- Reuters
Cost Of Deploying One Civilian To Afghanistan: Up To 570,000 USD Per Year -- RAWA News
Afghanistan's civilian surge comes with enormous price tag and uncertain results -- Government Executive

What If Ahmad Shah Masud, Afghanistan's 'Lion Of Panjshir,' Hadn't Been Killed? -- Radio Free Europe
Talking peace to the Taliban, and other fairy stories -- Terry Glavin, National Post
Talking With the Taliban Is Not Diplomacy, It's Deadly -- Michael Rubin, FOX News
Analysis: 10 years on, Afghanistan isn't far from where it started -- Global Post
How we can win in Afghanistan: Ten years after 9/11, we need a smarter strategy against the Taliban -- Melissa Skorka, New York Daily News
Afghanistan: The Bottom Of The Barrel Is In Sight -- Strategy Page
Growing Violence Clouds Afghanistan's Future -- NPR

Afghanistan War News Updates -- September 8, 2011

An Afghan Army recruiting office in Kandahar is open for business, but few of the region's young men have been eager to join the military. Kuni Takahashi for The New York Times

New Way To Count Afghan Army Recruits Reveals Old Problem -- New York Times

KABUL, Afghanistan – Army recruiting in southern Afghanistan – the spiritual homeland of the Taliban — is tricky at best, deadly at worst.

In the all-volunteer army, southern Pashtun representation has hovered around 2 or 3 percent, sometimes dipping lower, under NATO and the Ministry of Defense’s former method of counting. But this summer, as modest improvements began to erode, the ministry, in consultation with the NATO Training Mission responsible for piecing together the army, suddenly changed the way it calculates southern Pashtun representation, going from a geographical approach to a tribal method. On paper, the results were surprising, showing a marked increase. But they were also arguably misleading.

Read more ....

More News On Afghanistan

Afghan Army Attracts Few Where Fear Reigns -- New York Times
Afghanistan struggles to enlist Pashtuns in Taliban heartland -- Bulletin/New York Times
Afghanistan's Shrinking Security Forces: A Gaping Hole in Obama's War Strategy -- Tony Karon, Time

FACTBOX - Security developments in Afghanistan, Sept 8 -- Alertnet
Combined Patrol Kills Insurgents, Seizes Weapons -- US Department of Defense
Officials: bombs kill 8 people around Afghanistan -- AP
Officials: 2 NATO troops, 5 Afghan soldiers killed -- Forbes/AP
NATO: Blast Kills 2 Service Members in S. Afghanistan -- Voice of America
4 Afghan army soldiers killed in roadside bomb attack in Khost province -- Voice of America
Senior police officer shot dead in E. Afghanistan -- Xinhuanet
7 insurgents killed, 32 detained in Afghanistan -- PhilStar.com

Panetta: Taliban weakened in Afghanistan -- UPI
In Afghanistan's Panjshir, disquiet over Taliban reconciliation -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Post Taliban, Jalalabad Struggles To Stay Peaceful -- NPR (Audio)

NATO Suspends Transfers to Some Afghan Jails Over Torture Fears -- Voice of America
Afghan government says NATO halt to detainee transfers is unjustified, damages relations -- Washington Post
Afghanistan rejects UN allegations of torture in jails -- BBC

Life in Kabul after 10 years of war -- Channel 4 News
Afghanistan journalist's sojourn in 'strange paradise' -- L.A. Times
Just another risky day in Afghanistan -- Sydney Morning Herald
Medal of Honor recipient saved 36 lives during Afghan battle -- Stars and Stripes