Monday, March 31, 2014

سال رای و رای‌گیری در افغانستان --- نخستین قانون اساسی افغانستان نود سال پیش حق انتخاب سیاسی را برای "اهالی" این کشور به رسمیت شناخت. اما این که قدرت سیاسی واقعا از صندوق آرای ملت بیرون آید، برای ده‌ها سال تنها در حد رویا بود. --- در این مطلب به این پرداخته شده که مردم افغانستان در این نود سال چگونه صاحب حق رای شدند، چگونه این رای شکل فیزیکی پیدا کرد و چه نهادهایی مسئولیت برگزاری انتخابات را به عهده داشته‌اند. --- تاریخچه انتخابات در افغانستان به چهار دوره تقسیم می‌شود: دوره اول از ۱۳۰۱ تا ۱۳۰۸، دوره دوم از ۱۳۰۹ تا ۱۳۴۳، دوره سوم از ۱۳۴۳ تا ۱۳۵۲ و دوره چهارم از ۱۳۸۰ تا حال. --- دوره اول شامل تصویب نخستین قانون اساسی در زمان سلطنت امان‌الله خان در ۱۳۰۱ آغاز می‌شود. امان‌الله خان پس از رسیدن به تاج و تخت، اعلام استقلال از بریتانیا و برقراری آرامش نسبی در کشور، به انجام اصلاحات و تحقق خواست‌های مشروطیت طلبان پرداخت. یکی از این خواست‌ها تشکیل "شورای دولت" بود. -- "نظامنامه اساسی دولت علیه افغانستان" (۱۳۰۱) و "نظامنامه تشکیلات اساسیه افغانستان" (۱۳۰۲) برگزاری انتخابات را برای انتخاب نیمی از اعضای این شورا و اعضای شوراهای محلی پیش‌بینی کرده بود. -- مطابق "نظامنامه تقسیمات ملکیه افغانستان" (۱۳۰۲) این کشور به پنج "ولایت" و چهار "حکومتی اعلی" تقسیم شده بود که هر کدام به چندین "حکومتی" و "علاقه‌داری" تقسیم شده بود. براساس "نظامنامه تشکیلات اساسیه" ۱۳۰۲، در هر یک از این واحدها یک "مجلس مشاوره" منتخب تشکیل می‌شد. --- دوره دوم شامل چهار سال سلطنت محمدنادر شاه و سی سال نخست سلطنت پسرش، محمدظاهر شاه می‌شود که از ۱۳۰۹ تا ۱۳۴۳ را دربر می‌گیرد. -- قانون اساسی ۱۳۰۹ تشکیل شورای ملی منتخب را در پایتخت و مجلس مشاوره را در مراکز ولایت‌ها و حکومتی‌های اعلی پیش‌بینی کرد. -- چگونگی انتخاب اعضای شورای مجلس در نخستین قانون انتخاب موسوم به "اصول انتخابات وکلای شورای ملی" ۱۳۰۹ توضیح داده شد. --- دوره سوم - این دوره شامل ده سال آخر سلطنت ظاهر شاه می‌شود که از ۱۳۴۳ تا ۱۳۵۲ را در بر می‌گیرد. در این دوره که بیشتر پژوهشگران آن را دهه دموکراسی و دهه قانون اساسی می‌نامند، سومین قانون اساسی و دومین قانون انتخابات تصویب شد که زمینه برگزاری انتخابات نسبتاً دموکراتیک را فراهم کرد. -- اعضای دوره های دوازدهم و سیزدهم مجلس نمایندگان در انتخابات سالها ۱۳۴۴ و ۱۳۴۸ انتخاب شدند. انتخابات یک ثلث مجلس سنا هم در همین سال‌ها برگزار شد. مواد ۱۰۹ و ۱۱۱ قانون اساسی حکم می‌کرد که در ولایت‌ها و شهرداری‌ها هم مجالس منتخب تشکیل شود، اما در واقع انتخاباتی برگزار نشد. --- دوره چهارم - این دوره با آغاز روند جدید به دنبال توافقات اجلاس بن آلمان در خزان ۱۳۸۰ آغاز شد که تا حال ادامه دارد. برای نخستین بار انتخاب رئیس جمهوری بر اساس قانون اساسی ۱۳۸۲، حق مردم دانسته شد. -- ین قانون حکم می‎کند که شش نوع انتخابات دیگر هم در کشور برگزار شود: انتخابات پارلمانی، شوراهای ولایتی، شوراهای ولسوالی، شوراهای قریه، مجالس شهرداری‌ها و شهرداری‌ها، اما در واقع تنها انتخابات ریاست جمهوری، مجلس نمایندگان و شوراهای ولایتی برگزار می‌شود. -- به این ترتیب، برای نخستین بار هم قوه مقننه و هم قوه مجریه بر اساس حق انتخاب مردم تشکیل شده است. قوه قضائیه هم مکلف به اخذ رای نمایندگان مردم در پارلمان است. - ایوب آروین - بی‌بی‌سی. at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/afghanistan/2014/03/140330_k02-af2014-90year-election-in-afg.shtml

Pakistan's Musharraf charged in treason case --- A court in Pakistan has charged former military ruler Pervez Musharraf with treason, the first army chief to face such a prosecution. -- He pleaded not guilty and has always claimed that the charges against him are politically motivated. He faces the death penalty if convicted. -- President from 2001 to 2008, he was one of Pakistan's longest-serving rulers. -- He went into self-imposed exile in 2008, returning to Pakistan in March 2013. -- He had hoped to lead his party into elections, but was disqualified from standing and found himself fighting an array of charges relating to his time in power. -- The 70-year-old has been in hospital since the beginning of the year and reports say he is being treated for high blood pressure. -- The judge read out five charges to Mr Musharraf. --- He pleaded "not guilty" to each of them but also addressed the court with a speech about his services to the country and questioned how he could be called a traitor, declaring that he was a patriot. -- "I am being called a traitor, I have been chief of army staff for nine years and I have served this army for 45 years. I have fought two wars and it is 'treason'?" the Agence France-Presse news agency quotes him as saying. -- "Is this the way to reward someone for being loyal to the country and for loving the country?" Musharraf asked the court. -- Mr Musharraf insists that he acted within the constitution when he declared a state of emergency in the country in 2007 and that he did not act alone when taking that decision. -- When the former president entered the court he was heavily guarded, but nevertheless appeared relaxed, even waving to the audience -- The court has adjourned and its next task is to decide whether Mr Musharraf will be allowed to leave the country to visit his sick mother in Dubai. -- He is currently on the exit control list which restricts certain Pakistani nationals from leaving the country and is under house arrest. - BBC, at: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26815518

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Hamid Karzai's tangled legacy: inept failure or anti-Taliban hero? --- A look at the extraordinary career of the Afghan president, the leader first hailed by the west who is now widely attacked for his perceived weaknesses, as he prepares to give up power --- Amid the dust and traffic of today's Kabul, three things remain almost as they were a decade or so ago. In winter, and when the wind clears the smog that is a side-effect of years of economic boom, the blue sky above the snowcapped peaks that ring the city is as impressive as ever. Then there is the Arg, the sprawling palace at the city's centre and the apparently calm eye of a turbulent storm of a country. The complex is home to the third element that has remained constant since the end of the Taliban's grim regime in 2001: Hamid Karzai, now in his 13th year of power. -- However, Karzai, 56, will soon be gone. He is constitutionally barred from contesting next weekend's elections and soon this theatrical, mercurial, complex man will have to find a new occupation. Many, particularly in Washington, will be relieved. -- Once, the prospect of Karzai losing power would have provoked a different reaction. Back in the chaotic days of late 2001, as the Taliban regime crumbled under the US assault launched in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Karzai was seen as a the man of the hour. He was the head of a major tribe, of Pashtun ethnicity like the apparently defeated Taliban and around 40% of his compatriots, but moderate, educated and pro-western. Officials in Washington, Kabul and London enthused about their new-found Afghan hero. Few are as gushing now. If, as three western ambassadors to Afghanistan told me during their respective terms in the Afghan capital, the relationship between US policymakers and Karzai was "like a marriage, with its ups and downs" this union has ended in definitive, and acrimonious, divorce. -- Once, the prospect of Karzai losing power would have provoked a different reaction. Back in the chaotic days of late 2001, as the Taliban regime crumbled under the US assault launched in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Karzai was seen as a the man of the hour. He was the head of a major tribe, of Pashtun ethnicity like the apparently defeated Taliban and around 40% of his compatriots, but moderate, educated and pro-western. Officials in Washington, Kabul and London enthused about their new-found Afghan hero. Few are as gushing now. If, as three western ambassadors to Afghanistan told me during their respective terms in the Afghan capital, the relationship between US policymakers and Karzai was "like a marriage, with its ups and downs" this union has ended in definitive, and acrimonious, divorce. -- When Moscow sent troops to bolster a faltering hardline Marxist regime in Kabul, Karzai fled. In 1992 he was with the first group of mujahideen leaders to enter a liberated Kabul and then watched the west ignore his country as it descended into anarchy and civil war. When the Taliban emerged in his native Kandahar, Karzai, like many Afghans, saw them as capable of bringing peace, or at least calm. He soon changed his mind and began lobbying for western aid for an effort to overthrow the hardline movement. This was a futile exercise until the 9/11 attacks, when everything changed. -- Just under two months after the attack, Karzai, armed with little more than a satellite phone, some CIA contact numbers and the hoped-for loyalty of his tribe, drove into Afghanistan. Foolhardy perhaps, but undeniably brave. By December 2001 the Taliban had been displaced, if not defeated, and the old mujahideen leaders were dead or discredited. Karzai was the right man in the right place. After consultations with representatives of key communities, he was installed, with some quiet celebration in Washington, as the leader of Afghanistan. -- "The mood at this time was pretty positive. He was seen as a good guy – thoughtful, knowledgeable, good internationally, good credentials, known quantity. It wasn't as if people said, 'Hey, he's all we've got'. It was much more positive than that," said one former US official closely involved at the time. -- There followed something of a honeymoon, for Afghanistan and for the newly joined couple of Karzai and the US. Draped in a distinctive Afghan chapan coat over well-cut suits and a Karakul hat, Karzai was fêted around the world. Heads of state were charmed by his oddly plummy English vowels – a legacy from his studies at a university in a former hill station beloved of British Raj administrators in India – and his conversation too. "He's well read, funny and can talk about everything from 19th-century politics to poetry to pots," said Rory Stewart, a British MP who dealt closely with Karzai at the time. Elections held in 2004 ratified Karzai's rule. In Washington and elsewhere, it appeared that the Afghan leader could do little wrong. For those who had seen Afghanistan under the bleak rule of the Taliban, the transformation was astonishing. -- Yet the next round of elections – in 2009 – saw everything change. According to Robert Gates, the former US defence secretary, Washington was so keen to oust the Afghan president that officials connived in delaying an Afghan presidential election in 2009 and then tried to manipulate the outcome in a "clumsy and failed putsch". How could so much go so wrong so quickly? The answer lies as much in the broader failings of the international effort in Afghanistan as in the specific relationship between its elected leader and officials on the other side of the world. --- Karzai blamed the west and Pakistan. The west, in part, blamed Karzai. Like Afghanistan generally, he might once have been seen as exotic, romantic and broadly friendly, but now had apparently become fractious, prickly and increasingly independent-minded. The system of government he had built was defiantly non-western, relying not on institutions but on individuals, key power-brokers prized for their loyalty and forgiven for faults that horrified overseas observers. None of this had been in the game plan. - More, Jason Burke - Guardian, at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/30/hamid-karzai-afghanistan-tangled-legacy-taliban

John Sopko, head of oversight for U.S. work in Afghanistan, says major challenges remain --- John F. Sopko became the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction in 2012, after more than 37 years of accountability work with government and the private sector. He inherited a dispirited agency that was struggling with retention and had a reputation for ineffectiveness. -- SIGAR oversees the development work of U.S. agencies in Afghanistan, including the Army Corps of Engineers, the Defense Department, the State Department and the Agency for International Development. -- We talked with Sopko about a range of issues, including his attempts to turn around SIGAR, the security problems associated with dwindling troop numbers and the move toward “direct assistance,” which allows the Afghan government to distribute U.S. money on its own. -- Below is an edited transcript of the interview: - More, Josh Hicks, Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal_government/john-sopko-head-of-oversight-for-us-work-in-afghanistan-says-major-challenges-remain/2014/03/30/1c96b71c-b83b-11e3-96ae-f2c36d2b1245_story.html

Credibility of Afghan Vote in Doubt as Observers Flee Violence --- KABUL, Afghanistan — Usually, an Afghan election — a $100 million, Western-funded exercise — draws foreigners to Kabul like flies to honey, with incoming flights full of consultants, international monitors, diplomats and journalists. -- Not this time. Now, it is the flights out that are full, and the incoming planes are half empty. With the possible exception of journalists, foreigners have been leaving Afghanistan like never before during an election period after a series of attacks on foreign targets and the commission running the vote. -- An attack on the offices of the Independent Election Commission went on all Saturday afternoon, with staff members hiding in armored bunkers and safe rooms while five insurgents fired rockets and small arms at the commission’s compound, having sneaked into a building nearby disguised in burqas. -- There were no reported casualties among the election staff, but flights to Kabul were diverted because the airport was shut down for most of the afternoon, said the airport’s director, Mohammad Yaqoub Rasooli. -- Even before the attack on Saturday, many international election monitors had either drastically curtailed their activities or made plans to evacuate their foreign employees, potentially raising serious questions about the validity of the election. -- The National Democratic Institute, a mainstay of previous Afghan elections, closed its Kabul office and sent its international monitors home after one was killed in a recent attack on the Serena Hotel, where the monitors were staying, said Kathy Gest, the institute’s spokeswoman. -- The International Republican Institute, which has helped monitor previous Afghan elections, has not been involved in this one. -- Ahmad Nader Nadery, chairman of the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan, said that another major monitor, Democracy International, had decided to cease its activities altogether. But a Democracy International official said the group had merely reduced its presence because of security concerns. -- “The report that we are pulling out our staff and are not observing the election is inaccurate,” said the official, Jed Ober, director of programs. “We currently have a core team of six experts managing a team of 12 long-term observers.” -- Mr. Nadery said: “Leaving the country at this critical moment causes two problems. A lot of the election bodies and monitors will be denied their expertise, and it will affect the credibility of the elections. With their not being on the ground, they cannot make observations or judgments about the credibility of the process.” -- More, NYTimes, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/world/asia/credibility-of-afghan-vote-in-doubt-as-observers-flee-violence.html?hp

Egypt to hold May 26-27 presidential election --- (Reuters) - Egyptians will vote on May 26-27 in a presidential election that Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to win easily, meaning the former army chief who deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi could be sworn in as head of state by early June. -- Widely seen as Egypt's de facto leader since he deposed Mursi after mass protests against his rule, Sisi enjoys backing from supporters who see him as Egypt's saviour. But he is viewed by the Islamist opposition as the mastermind of a coup that ignited the worst internal strife in Egypt's modern history. -- It will be the second time Egyptians have voted in a presidential election in less than two years. But in contrast to the 2012 vote won by Mursi, this election follows a fierce government crackdown on dissent that has included both Islamists and secular-minded democracy activists. -- The Brotherhood, Egypt's best organized political party until last year, has been banned and driven underground. --- With Sisi expected to win comfortably, the vote is not likely to go to a second round. - More, at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/30/us-egypt-elections-idUSBREA2T0BF20140330

Despite Conflict and Repression, Creativity -- Afghan Visual Scene Is Focus of Exhibition in Ewing --- In assembling “Art Amongst War: Visual Culture in Afghanistan, 1979-2014,” the current exhibition at the College of New Jersey Art Gallery, Deborah Hutton discovered works that evoked feelings ranging from dismay to guarded hope. -- But Dr. Hutton, the curator of the show and an associate professor of art history at the college, also expects visitors to react with surprise. Not just at what is portrayed in the pieces, but that the art, which will be on display through April 17, even exists. -- “Most of the images we see of Afghanistan are the ones that are in the news, of the Taliban or of women in burqas. There’s this idea that there’s no culture left at all, which isn’t true,” said Dr. Hutton, 43, of Trenton. -- Dr. Hutton specializes in Islamic art, including the art of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, having done most of her research in India. She has not been to Afghanistan, which “has not been a great place to travel” since she began her career in the late 1990s, she said. -- “It’s been 35 years since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the country has been at war or occupied since then,” Dr. Hutton said. That may have curtailed artistic expression in a culture once vivid with art, she said. But the drive to create meaning amid chaos has never been fully quashed, and in recent years, she said, the Afghan art scene has re-emerged. -- For example, the six photographers in the exhibition, which encompasses 51 works by 17 artists in a spectrum of disciplines, are members of the Afghan Photography Network, founded in 2013. (The college printed the photographs using digital files sent by the photographers.) Rahraw Omarzad, who contributed a video to the show that considers the repression and resilience of Afghan women during the Taliban regime, is the director of the Center for Contemporary Art Afghanistan in Kabul, established in 2004. -- The anonymous weavers of six 1980s and 1990s-era “war rugs” — carpets whose motifs include land mines, guns and soldiers — may have had no formal training, learning from their relatives, but they have incorporated the grim realities of life in a war zone into their traditional craft. - More, TAMMY LA GORCE, NYTimes, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/nyregion/afghan-visual-scene-is-focus-of-exhibition-in-ewing.html?_r=0

Saturday, March 29, 2014

کرزی به دیدن ابوذر تنها فرزند زنده روزنامه‌نگار مقتول رفت --- حامد کرزی، رئیس جمهوری افغانستان از ابوذر تنها فرزند بازمانده‌ سردار احمد، روزنامه‌نگار افغان که همراه با همسر و دو کودکش در حمله هفته پیش هتل سرینا کشته شدند، عیادت کرد. -- ابوذر پسر سه ساله سردار احمد خبرنگار خبرگزاری فرانسه در کابل، یک روز پیش از نوروز در این حمله طالبان هدف پنج گلوله قرار گرفت و به شدت زخمی شد. -- در این رویداد علاوه بر پدر چهل ساله و حمیرا مادرش، خواهر و برادر هفت و پنج ساله اش، نیلوفر و عمر، هم کشته شدند. -- به گفته بستگان ابوذر، در این حادثه دو گلوله به سر، دو گلوله به تن و یک گلوله به پای او اصابت کرد. -- وضعیت سلامت این کودک ابتدا وخیم بود اما در چند روز گذشته داکتران معالج او از بهبود وضعیتش خبر داده‌اند. --- براساس خبرنامه ریاست جمهوری افغانستان، رئیس جمهوری کرزی از ابوذر در بیمارستان ایمرجنسی عیادت کرد و "به داکتر ثریا دلیل وزیر صحت عامه مجدداً هدایت داد که با مشوره داکتران معالج ابوذر، او را برای مداوای بیشتر و صحت‌یابی کامل به هر کشور خارجی که مناسب است، اعزام کند." -- در روزهای اخیر تصاویر زیادی از ابوذر در جریان مداوا در بیمارستان در رسانه‌ها و شبکه‌های اجتماعی منتشر شده‌است و شخصیت‌های متعدد از او در بیمارستان عیادت کردند. -- داکتران معالج ابوذر گفتند که او بلافاصله پس از به هوش آمدن، حمیرا، اسم مادرش را صدا زد. پس از انتشار این خبر شماری از زنان فعال مدنی با گرد آمدن در برابر بیمارستان ایمرجنسی در کابل از ابوذر اعلام حمایت کردند و در پلاکاردهایی که با خود حمل می‌کردند، نوشتند که آنها همه مادران ابوذر هستند. -- همچنین ایندین اکپرس، روزنامه هندی گزارش داده‌است که امیتاب بچّن، بازیگر، تهیه کننده، خواننده و مجری مشهور سینمای بالیوود حمایت خود را از ابوذر اعلام کرده‌است.- BBC, at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/afghanistan/2014/03/140329_zs_karzai_abuzar_visit.shtml

Obama Offers Assurance to Saudis on Syria Stance --- RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — President Obama reassured King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia on Friday that the United States remained committed to strengthening the moderate opposition in the Syrian civil war, administration officials said. -- But aides declined to reveal whether Mr. Obama and the king agreed to any significant expansion of the covert program to train and arm the Syrian opposition. Relations between the two countries have become strained in recent months, in part over Saudi frustration with the United States’ reluctance to provide arms that could end up in the hands of jihadists and extremists in Syria. -- “The emergence of some more extremist elements within the opposition only reinforces the need to strengthen the more moderate opposition,” a senior administration official told reporters in Riyadh after a two-hour meeting at the king’s palatial desert compound. “We have been improving that coordination and planning with our partners and allies.” -- Mr. Obama met with Abdullah at the end of the president’s weeklong tour through Europe, which focused primarily on bolstering the European response to Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine. In Saudi Arabia, the president shifted his focus to another region racked by conflict. -- Officials said the face-to-face meeting with King Abdullah was an opportunity to confront the perception of a serious split between the United States and Saudi Arabia. -- Saudi Arabia and other gulf states have favored a greater effort to arm and train rebels who have taken up arms against the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. Last year, however, the White House abruptly shelved plans for a military strike after Mr. Assad agreed to a Russian proposal to get rid of his chemical weapons arsenal. --- Saudi leaders have also expressed alarm at Mr. Obama’s diplomatic initiative with Iran to halt much of that country’s nuclear program, which they consider a serious threat to the region. Officials said Iran was a key topic of discussion between the president and the king. -- American officials described the perception of a rift as overstated, and while conceding some differences in approach on Syria and Iran, they added that the meeting underlined the enduring alliance of the two countries. -- “Our strategic interests are much more aligned than different,” an official said, speaking anonymously in order to discuss the private meeting between the leaders. --- Egypt has been another point of contention between the United States and Saudi Arabia, which supported the Egyptian military’s ouster of Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s democratically elected president. Mr. Rhodes said the United States was concerned about the “shockingly large” number of death sentences recently handed down in Egypt. - More, MICHAEL D. SHEAR and MICHAEL R. GORDON, NYTimes

Obama Ends Overseas Trip With Award for Saudi --- RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — President Obama ended his weeklong trip to Europe and Saudi Arabia on Saturday morning with a brief private ceremony in which he presented an International Women of Courage award to a Saudi woman who works to prevent domestic violence in the kingdom. -- The brief event, just hours before Mr. Obama boarded Air Force One to return home, came a day after the president chose not to raise the issue of human rights during a two-hour discussion with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. -- The award, which is given by the secretary of state every year, honors women around the world “who have demonstrated exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment, often at great personal risk,” according to the State Department’s website. -- Maha Al Muneef, the executive director of the National Family Safety Program, had been selected to receive the award on March 4 but was unable to attend the ceremony in the United States for family health reasons. -- “I’m doing this on behalf of Michelle Obama, who normally is the presenter, and I know Dr. Al Muneef is disappointed that it’s me instead of Michelle, appropriately so,” Mr. Obama said as he presented her the award in a room at the Ritz Carlton hotel where he was staying. -- Mr. Obama praised her efforts to raise the issue of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia and elevate its importance in the eyes of the monarch. -- The president told her that he was “so very, very proud of you and grateful for all the work you’re doing here. -- “I’m looking forward to seeing you do even more wonderful things in the future,” he added. -- The president’s decision not to discuss human rights or women’s rights in his meeting with the king is sure to disappoint activists who have long been critical of the kingdom’s treatment of women. -- White House officials defended Mr. Obama’s decision, saying that the meeting with the king was intended as a way for the two leaders to discuss security issues in the region, including the nuclear negotiations with Iran and the Syrian civil war. -- “We’ll continue to raise these issues associated with human rights, with reforms here in the kingdom, on a regular basis in all of our interactions with the Saudis,” an official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting between Mr. Obama and King Abdullah. “The fact is that given the time they had today and given the need to focus intensively on Iran and Syria in particular, they just didn’t get to the full agenda.” -- Mr. Obama left for the airport a short time after presenting the award. Air Force One departed just before 11 a.m. local time. - More, MICHAEL D. SHEAR, NYTimes, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/world/middleeast/obama-saudi-arabia.html?ref=world&_r=0

Influential Republicans working to draft Jeb Bush into 2016 presidential race --- LAS VEGAS — Many of the Republican Party’s most powerful insiders and financiers have begun a behind-the-scenes campaign to draft former Florida governor Jeb Bush into the 2016 presidential race, courting him and his intimates and starting talks on fundraising strategy. --- Bush’s advisers insist that he is not actively exploring a candidacy and will not make a decision until at least the end of this year. But over the past few weeks, Bush has traveled the country delivering policy speeches, campaigning for Republicans ahead of the fall midterm elections, honing messages on income inequality and foreign policy, and cultivating ties with wealthy benefactors — all signals that he is considering a run. -- Many if not most of 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney’s major donors are reaching out to Bush and his confidants with phone calls, e-mails and invitations to meet, according to interviews with 30 senior Republicans. One bundler estimated that the “vast majority” of Romney’s top 100 donors would back Bush in a competitive nomination fight. -- “He’s the most desired candidate out there,” said another bundler, Brian Ballard, who sat on the national finance committees for Romney in 2012 and John McCain in 2008. “Everybody that I know is excited about it.” --- On Thursday night, Bush was feted here at a VIP dinner held by Sheldon Adelson inside the billionaire casino magnate’s airplane hangar. When one donor told Bush, “I hope you run for president in 2016,” the crowd of about 60 guests burst into applause, said a donor in attendance. -- Bush also met privately with Adelson. One person with knowledge of the conversation said that the former governor was “very laid back and comfortable” and that they did not discuss the 2016 campaign. --- He would enter a wide-open contest for the GOP nomination with other advantages, as well: deep ties to his party’s establishment and evangelical wings, and a reputation as a reform-minded policy wonk. Fluent in Spanish, Bush has credibility within the Hispanic community that could help broaden his coalition. He also has the gravitas many Republicans say is required to compete with former secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democrats’ leading potential contender. -- “Jeb has the capacity to bring the party together,” said Fred Malek, a top Republican official who said he has been in regular contact with Bush. -- Bush often writes gracious thank-you notes to those urging him to run but takes care never to indicate whether he is moving toward a campaign. -- “He is not in the middle of a formal process,” Bradshaw said. “He is methodical, he is thoughtful, and he’ll make a decision by the end of the year or the first quarter of next year.” --- “The ‘Bush fatigue’ question is always there,” said former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour (R). “If his name was Jeb Brown instead of Jeb Bush, he’d be the front-runner.” -- Bush is in regular touch with foreign policy thinkers such as former secretary of state Henry Kissinger, who said in an interview that he would be “delighted” if Bush ran — although Kissinger said he also likes Christie. -- “He would be outstanding,” Kissinger said of Bush. “He is someone who is experienced, moderate and thoughtful.” -- “The Bush family has an enormous number of friends who would be liable to go back to a place where they have been before,” Kean said. - More, Philip Rucker and Robert Costa, - Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/influential-republicans-working-to-draft-jeb-bush-into-2016-presidential-race/2014/03/29/11e33b06-b5f2-11e3-8cb6-284052554d74_story.html?hpid=z1

Afghanistan’s election results will need a calm response from the U.S. and partners --- U.S. strategic interests will be enormously affected by the outcome of Afghanistan’s presidential elections. With the vote for Hamid Karzai’s replacement looming, as well as elections for provincial councils, it is time to set realistic expectations and make sure our actions relate to our interests. Informed, patient diplomacy by the United States would go far in ensuring that the substantial gains made in Afghanistan over the past decade, at great cost, are not lost due to haste. -- Regardless of the efforts of the international community or the improving electoral bodies in Afghanistan, the April 5 elections will be corrupt, filled with fraud and marred by violence. Election officials and monitors have been targeted. Paradoxically, this reflects the success of the previous four elections in Afghanistan: Local power brokers, commanders and the Taliban are so invested in the electoral system and the resources that it generates that they are using both legitimate and illegitimate approaches to win or disrupt the voting. --- At this point, the United States needs to understand that what is most important in these upcoming elections is Afghanistan’s long-term stability. This is best achieved through a peaceful transfer of power to a new president with authority recognized broadly by Afghans. Democracy is, of course, important, and beyond a point its neglect would undermine stability, but the priority should not be on holding perfect elections. Afghans are likely to tolerate many types of procedural irregularities and small-scale fraud. Widespread violence and a breakdown of the tenuous political balance are likely only if these manipulations are seen as overtly propelling into office a candidate with little national support. Instead, Afghans are primarily preparing for both a national and, through provincial elections, local long-term renegotiation of political power. This is the challenge that the international community needs to focus on. -- The power transfer started by these elections is likely to take months. A run-off is likely. Time will be needed to resolve disputed vote counts. Karzai needs an honorable exit, but he must exit. New ministers and governors will be appointed. Power brokers are working to deliver votes to reaffirm their local authority. Even the most democratic-looking youth groups have been largely co-opted by the political elite into these machinations to trade votes for influence with several potential bidders. -- The United States and other international actors need to shape their initial response carefully in the days after the voting. For example, turnout is not likely to say much about the long-term effects of these elections. In an honor-based system, accusations of fraud are an attack on one’s prestige as much on his politics, which will lead to more such accusations. These reports are not as important as whether leaders decide to use these complaints as political tools in an attempt to overturn the elections. -- How the international community responds to such accusations is critical. The initial U.S. response should be more focused on maintaining calm than on assessing how free the elections were; it should leave space for Afghan reactions to dominate. All of the political steps that are bound to follow Saturday’s voting must be Afghan-driven, but this does not contradict the need for a strong U.S. diplomatic role in maintaining the peace. Afghan voters and leaders still care deeply about whether their political system appears democratic to outside observers, and they care about electing a leader the international community will do business with. Many will seek to know whom the United States “really supports”; while the Obama administration should remain neutral, we should not expect our show of neutrality to be believed. It would also have an effect if U.S. officials were to speak strongly against a candidate, as many Afghans would not vote for someone whose election would mean the end of U.S. or international aid. Washington would be wise to prepare for a role as a quiet referee and potential mediator in the negotiations over fraud that is likely to emerge. -- This will be even more challenging given the recent attacks on the Serena Hotel, where many international monitors were staying, and the Kabul election headquarters. Monitors are essential to reassure both the international community and Afghans that the voting has been the decisive element in the selection of the new president. --- It will take generations for democracy to take root in Afghanistan. But the fact that these elections are being held reflects the way that democratic practices have begun to become a part of the Afghan political system. The United States should continue to declare its support for the most transparent and clear elections possible, but the inevitable failure to achieve a perfectly free and fair vote should not trump the primary U.S. goal of a peaceful transfer of power. Without such a peaceful transition, there is little hope for the future of Afghan democracy anyway. - More, Noah Coburn and Ronald E. Neumann, Washingtonpost

O.C. mostly back to normal after quake, but headaches remain --- North Orange County on Saturday took stock of the damage from Friday’s 5.1 shaker, with municipal workers checking cracked buildings, broken water mains and gas leaks that forced dozens of residents from their homes. -- A night of more than 100 aftershocks led to a morning of mopping up, as residents and businesses waded through broken glass and other fallen debris. -- In Fullerton, at least 73 people were displaced, but none of them went to the Red Cross shelter set up in La Habra, said Tom Schultz, deputy chief of operations for the fire department. -- Twenty apartments on Fullerton’s Associated Road and six homes in other areas of the city were red-tagged. -- Cindy Elliott, a 30-year-old single mom who lives with her 3-year-old son, voluntarily left her home in the Camden Parkside apartments in the 2700 block of Associated Road. --- Friday’s shocker sent streams gushing down major roadways from broken water mains in Fullerton. -- A water-main break at Rosecrans Avenue and Gilbert Street in Fullerton closed Gilbert in both directions at the intersection, according to the Fullerton Police Department. -- Other north Orange County communities were dealing with evacuation and service interruptions. - More, OCRegiser, at: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/saturday-607514-quake-water.html

Hamid's Shadow: Karzai Confidant Takes Aim at Afghan Presidency --- Zalmai Rassoul has long been a close political ally of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Now, he is campaigning to succeed his mentor. With Karzai backing Rassoul, many believe the outgoing leader is seeking to retain his influence. --- The small helicopter descends onto the football pitch of Nangarhar University in Jalalabad and a gray-bearded man wearing a Merino wool jacket emerges from the bright cloud of dust. Zalmai Rassoul approaches the group waiting to receive him, men wearing pakols -- the brown, woolen caps of the mujahedeen -- with shawls elegantly draped across their shoulders. They hurriedly ushered Rassoul into a white, armored SUV and the motorcade quickly departed. -- It is campaign season in Afghanistan, with the presidential vote slated for April 5, and this day on the stump begins for Rassoul at the grave of Amanullah Khan in Jalalabad, the provincial capital not far from the Pakistani border. Afghans revere the former king for liberating them from the British -- and he was candidate Zalmai Rassoul's uncle. Here, on the eastern edge of Afghanistan, where the winters are mild and the orange trees fertile, Amanullah Khan has found his final resting place. -- Amanullah was a radical reformer. He was the first Afghan head of state to try to model his country after Western industrial societies. But he failed. He tried to do too much too quickly, resulting in widespread opposition to his plans. Amanullah was toppled in 1929, was forced to flee and died in Swiss exile 31 years later. -- Now that the former king's nephew is seeking the presidency, is Afghanistan ready for the sleeveless blouses and hair free of headscarves that Amanullah's beautiful Queen Soraya preferred? Or is it at least prepared for Rassoul's vision of an advanced Afghanistan? That was the focus of the speech he planned to deliver in the stadium of Jalalabad. -- Zalmai Rassoul is one of three top candidates to succeed Hamid Karzai. The other two are the Pashtun Ashraf Ghani, a technocrat educated in the US who previously served at the World Bank, and Abdullah Abdullah, the leading opposition candidate. His father is likewise Pashtun, but Abdullah Abdullah primarily represents the majority Tajik powers of the former Northern Alliance, the group which joined the Americans in toppling the Taliban government in 2001. -- The possible outcome of the race is difficult to predict, though it is expected that the first vote will result in a run-off between Abdullah Abdullah and one of the other candidates. In the second round, either Ghani or Rassoul will likely emerge victorious. But with just days to go before the first round of voting, a possible coalition between Rassoul and Abdullah is in the works. It also, of course, can't be excluded that local politicians, as they did five years ago, will stuff the ballot boxes. - More, Susanne Koelbl, Der Spiegel, at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/zalmai-rassoul-seeks-to-emerge-from-karzai-shadow-in-afghan-elections-a-960732.html

Afghanistan election HQ attack: Taliban militants killed --- Taliban militants who attacked Afghanistan's election commission headquarters have all been killed, police say. -- Gunmen broke into a nearby building, disguised as women, and opened fire on the commission compound. -- Police said special forces killed four attackers, while the Interior Ministry put the number at five. -- The attack comes a week before presidential elections which the Taliban have vowed to disrupt. -- 'Dressed as women', The assailants used a three-storey building as a launch pad for their attack on the election commission headquarters. -- Kabul police chief General Zahir told the BBC the attackers were armed with rocket-propelled grenade launchers and other weapons. -- Security forces battled the militants for about five hours, while IEC staff and eight international United Nations employees took refuge in safe rooms, AP reports. - More, BBC, at: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26798922

Why Afghanistan Matters: Renewing America and Renewing the World --- The world is in an unprecedented strategic situation: No major nation faces a serious threat of invasion or subjugation. The Cold War had posed an existential threat; indeed more than once nuclear war was actually close. Russia still has the same nuclear capabilities, but even in these tense times of a Ukrainian crisis, it remains impossible to put together a credible scenario in which the Russian leadership decides that launching a nuclear war against the United States would be a good idea. Even if the military were to carry out such a decision, the probable result of U.S. retaliation and an expected Nuclear Winter would inflict catastrophic damage on Russia itself, not to mention the rest of the world as well. -- Instead, the major challenges facing the nation are economic, exacerbated by environmental challenges, including Global Warming which could inflict a trillion dollars of damage on America in the decades ahead. Globalization and the new reality of an interdependent world significantly impact the United States. Third World assertiveness and broad international competition mean that the Industrialized World in general, and America in particular, no longer can get agricultural products and raw materials at bargain rates. Whether we are talking about bananas or iron ore, coffee or copper, countries of origin are demanding, and getting, fairer prices. Likewise, manufacturing jobs are now dispersed globally, while the internet lets people anywhere in the world compete for many service jobs. -- The core challenge for the XXI Century is maintaining global stability. America simply cannot prosper in a world of turmoil. A currently assertive Russia vividly shows the potential for turmoil, even though it is not in position to mount any major military challenge. It has far too many internal problems, including demographics, infrastructure gaps and an over reliance on energy exports. China also faces internal problems with a restive population that is demanding a better life, a leadership that has promoted economic success as its basis of legitimacy and its own demographic and minority challenges. The Islamic World remains in disarray, destabilized by a dynamic Arab Spring as well as U.S. invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, and an assertive and belligerent Iran. Behind this, the Committee to Destroy the World, Foreign Policy's tongue-in-cheek characterization of the heads of failed states, spreads misery and instability globally. --- The United States remains the only nation with a potential to lead the world toward stability. It has led the world before in addressing the Axis challenge and the the Soviet Cold War threat. It is still in a unique position of having been founded on ideals, and these ideals (equality, democracy, opportunity) are indeed universal. The world admired the United States for these ideals and for its leadership. Unfortunately, the United States has badly tarnished its own ideals and lost much of that respect, along with the leadership position it enjoyed. Support for dictatorial regimes was justified during the Cold War as a necessary policy of "realism," but continued without any serious reassessment into the post-Soviet era. In addition, an excessive faith in the righteousness of American policies led the nation into unilateral military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, widely seen as American arrogance and insensitivity to a newly assertive Islamic World. Much of the world sees American ideals as hollow. --- Early in the Afghan adventure, America flatly rejected the notion of nation building, instead relying on military efforts to stabilize a distant and poorly understood country. But in the past, America has not only done nation building, but done it extremely well -- just ask Germany and Japan or South Korea. Unfortunately, we have lost this perspective. Now we cannot even help build a nation in our own backyard, as Haiti depressingly illustrates. Further off in Afghanistan, it is disgraceful that after twelve years of "assistance," people are still starving to death and freezing to death. Now it is clear if we had put a tenth of our expenditures into positive development programs, we would have a totally different situation. -- For better or worse, we have focused on Afghanistan as demonstrating our ability to help an unstable nations move into the modern world. Despite the dismal press, much has actually been achieved in Afghanistan. A failure at this point would not only be a local calamity that we could shrug off as we did the loss in Vietnam. It would also be a recognition that we have ceased to believe in our own ideals. It would be an admission that American leadership is a thing of the past. America would still be a major power, able to throw its weight around. But that is different than leadership. It would simply be America grasping for its own parochial interests, as Russia in Crimea, or China in the South China Sea, or Pakistan in Kashmir, or European nations squabbling over responsibilities. -- Afghanistan has no intrinsic value to the United States, but American ideals do, and they have become intertwined. Afghanistan demonstrates our ability to support freedom, to stand by our friends, to assure the survival and success of liberty. Peace and prosperity are not divisible. We have to succeed in both Afghanistan and at home. We have to reinvigorate our own ideals at home and use them to lead the world into a new XXI Century. Or we can take our marbles and go home and watch the world around us descend into turmoil. - MORE, Edward Corcoran, Huffpost, at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/edward-corcoran/why-afghanistan-matters-r_b_5039185.html

دکرزي دکورنۍ یو شمېر غړیو داشرف غني احمدزي ملاتړ اعلان کړ --- دافغانستان دولسمشر ورور شاه ولي کرزي نن په کندهار کې دولسمشرۍ له کاندید اشرف غني احمدزي سره ملاتړ اعلان کړ. -- شاه ولي کرزي وروسته له دې داشرف غني احمدزي ننګه وکړه چې دده د تره زامنو حشمت کرزي او حکمت کرزي دولسمشرۍ په انتخاباتو کې د اشرف غني احمدزي ملاتړ وکړ. -- تر دې مخکې د ولسمشر حامد کرزي یوه بل ورور قیوم کرزي، چې په خپله د ولسمشرۍ کاندید و، د زلمي رسول په ګټه له کاندیداتورۍ تېر شوی و. -- دځینو کتونکو په وینا له اشرف غني احمدزي څخه دشاه ولي کرزي، حشمت کرزي او حکمت کرزي ملاتړ هغه هڅې شنډوي چې ځینو کړیو په کندهار کې دغلجیو او درانیو ترمنځ داختلاف درامنځته کولو لپاره کولې. -- ډاکتر احمدزي د جمعې په ورځ په کندهار کې په یوه لویه ولسي غونډه کې له ګډونه وروسته له شاه ولي کرزي سره وکتل. -- دکندهار دخلکو ملاتړ، چې دافغانستان په تاریخ کې تل برخلیک ټاکونکی و، د اشرف غني او نورو کاندیدانو لپاره خورا اهمیت لري. -- له ډاکتر اشرف غني احمدزي سره دشاه ولي کرزي او د نوموړي د کورنۍ د نورو غړیو ننګه نړیوالو رسنیو منجمله وال ستریټ ژورنال ورځپاڼې دولسمشر کرزي په کور نۍ کې د درز نښه بللې ده. -- وال ستریټ ژورنال په عین حال کې داشرف غني او دده دپلویانو له قوله ویلي چې دکندهار دپولیسو چارواکو دډاکتر غني ډېری پلویان پرې نښودل چې په کندهار کې دجمعې دورځې په لویه غونډه کې ګډون وکړي. - More, تاند - at: http://www.taand.com/archives/22439

Pakistan Will Not Receive US Military Hardware from Afghanistan --- The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General Joseph F. Dunford Jr., finally clarified the fate of surplus U.S. military hardware in Afghanistan: much of it will be staying in Afghanistan following the U.S. and NATO withdrawal scheduled for later this year. This contradicts earlier reports that the United States was negotiating a deal with Pakistan for the transfer of significant quantities of equipment, including mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles. -- “These reports are not correct. United States Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A) does not provide or intend to provide any such equipment, including MRAPs [mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles], from Afghanistan to Pakistan,” Dunford told the press. The statement was intended to reassure Afghanistan that the United States would not abandon Afghanistan’s interests, despite difficulties over the Bilateral Security Agreement which Afghan President Hamid Karzai has refused to sign. Dunford added that the U.S. “commitment to the Afghan people and the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) is unwavering.” --- Dunford’s statements clarifying the surplus hardware situation come after he indicated to the Senate Armed Services Committee that August 2014 looks like a realistic deadline for the political and diplomatic process of getting the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) signed. The Pentagon will require a few months of logistical planning in order to successfully extract desired supplies and hardware from Afghanistan via the Northern Distribution Network. Currently, the BSA is stalled pending Afghanistan’s elections; Karzai was reluctant to sign the agreement, arguing that it was a task for his successor (in addition to generally feeling that a continued U.S. presence in Afghanistan post-2014 would be detrimental to Afghan interests). If the BSA is signed on time, the U.S. will be able to keep a small force of between 3,000 to 10,000 troops in Afghanistan for limited counter-terrorism operations and training. -- Dunford’s statements are interesting in light of anonymous comments from Pakistani military officials in a Washington Post report (the same one that Dunford noted as being inaccurate) that indicate negotiations were underway for an arms transfer to Pakistan. Regarding the MRAPs, the WaPo article cites one anonymous Pakistani military official who notes that Pakistan “will not take it for the sake of just taking it, and [Pakistan] will not take it because it’s free.” He then adds that “We will take it because we need it.” --- There was never doubt that the United States would likely leave behind some hardware in Afghanistan for the Afghan National Army and security forces. The prospect of transferring arms to Pakistan seemed to make sense considering the United States could conceivably win favor in Pakistan by doing so, but any such sale or transfer would be perceived negatively by Afghanistan and India. The solution that Dunford and the Pentagon have favored — leaving a majority of the hardware behind — seems to follow the path of least resistance and will likely create little controversy regionally. --- The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) have matured dramatically as a counter-insurgency force in Afghanistan and will likely be able to put much of the hardware the United States leaves behind to good use in thwarting a resurgent Taliban threat. This will be particularly crucial in ensuring the security of Afghanistan should the BSA not get signed later this year due to delays. The ANSF have already received $53 billion over the past 12 years, including “160 aircraft, 100,000 vehicles, including 600 new Mobile Strike Force Vehicles, 500,000 weapons and 200,000 pieces of communications.” Adding surplus U.S. hardware from the war will only bolster their preparedness for security challenges post-2014. - More, Ankit Panda, The Diplomat - at: http://thediplomat.com/2014/03/pakistan-will-not-receive-us-military-hardware-from-afghanistan/

Afghanistan presidential election candidates face daunting challenges --- Almost a decade and a half after American troops forced the Taliban from power and helped usher in a new government, Afghanistan remains a dangerous country for democracy. ---- But that may be where the similarities to the U.S. campaign trail end. -- Almost 3,000 civilians were killed last year in Afghanistan as the war with the Taliban and its backers wore on. -- So you'd think public figures like Sultanzoi would take special precautions, but he drives himself around the country in his own car, delivering his message to everyone who will listen. -- Sultanzaoi says he can't afford elaborate security, and doesn't need it anyway. -- "The people know me, I'm comfortable with the people," he told CBS News at his campaign headquarters in Kabul. "Threats don't scare me." -- Not even the threat from the Taliban. Far from it, in fact; he considers the fundamentalist group to be just another Afghan voice -- one to be heard. -- He said he's regularly in contact with Taliban leaders, who trust him and would like to see him elected as a leader who can "work with them in the peace process." --- Afghanistan's political system is something of a hybrid; a mix of modern democracy and ancient tribal custom. That, Sultanzoi says, means politicians are able to rely a lot less on the rigid planning and scripted events that their Western counterparts do. -- "Plans cannot be carved in stone here," explained Sultainzoi, saying he tries to cater to "both modern and the traditional" elements in his nation's society. "There is room for both." --- Though he pitches himself as a man of the people, many of those people seem unready to vote for him. Sultanzoi is not polling very well. He blames that, in large part, on another problem in Afghan politics. -- "Corruption and fraud," he says, are set to skew his country's public will. -- Sultanzoi accuses current president Hamid Karzai -- who can't run again due to term limits -- of meddling in the election process. -- He says the election commission and other official bodies are stocked with Karzai appointees, and Zalmai Rassoul, the frontrunner in the polls, is Karzai's man in this race. --- Rassoul isn't the only one facing Sultanzoi's scorn, however. He accuses other leading candidates of funding their campaigns with dirty money, gained by way of all manner of corruption and graft including plundering public funds, illegitimate use of state bodies, and flat out extortion. -- "They have guns, they have armies of gun runners, they get money from drug cartels," he argued. And he's hurling the accusations not at lower tier, long shot candidates, but many of the very power players who have led this country for more than a decade. --- Sultanzoi said it all makes for a very uneven playing field. And that, he believes, is a bigger threat to Afghanistan's democratic process than the men trying to blow it up. - More, Tucker Reals/CBS News/ - at: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/afghanistan-presidential-election-candidates-face-daunting-challenges/

Friday, March 28, 2014

WSJ - Karzai Family Split Muddles Afghan Vote --- Some of President Hamid Karzai's influential relatives backed a rival to a candidate supported by the Afghan leader's brothers. -- KANDAHAR, Afghanistan—Some of President Hamid Karzai's influential relatives backed a rival to a candidate supported by the Afghan leader's brothers, deepening a split in the family that stands to make Afghanistan's presidential race even more unpredictable.--- Presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani appeared at a rally on Friday in the southern city of Kandahar with Hashmat and Hekmat Karzai, cousins of the Afghan president, as part of a two-day swing through eastern and southern Afghanistan. -- President Karzai's brothers Qayum and Mahmood, who exercise strong influence in Kandahar, are active backers of former foreign minister Zalmai Rassoul, another presidential candidate. Mahmood, however, has feuded with another Karzai brother, Shah Wali Karzai, the head of the president's tribe, over control of a housing development. - More, Nathan Hodge, at: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303325204579467561826668726

5.1 earthquake strikes near La Habra --- A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck near La Habra Friday night, and was felt across Orange County. The quake hit 1 mile east of La Habra at 9:09 p.m. It was preceded by a magnitude 3.6 quake in the same area at 8:03 p.m -- was followed by a magnitude 3.6 quake at 9:30 p.m. -- There were no immediate reports of major injuries or significant damage, although Metrolink trains wer slowed or stopped for inspection. -- Tony's Deli in Anaheim also had broken bottles, according to reports. A rockslide also reportedly closed the roadway at Carbon Canyon. -- More than 500 people reported feeling the quake minutes afterward. The quake was felt in Anaheim, Brea, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Foothill Ranch, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, Orange, Placentia, Santa Ana, Trabuco Canyon, Tustin, Westminster and Yorba Linda, as well as in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties. - More, OCRegister, at: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/habra-607482-quake-earthquake.html

تاند -- د کابل حمله د پنځو بریدګرو په وژلو سره پای ته ورسېده --- د کابل د ۱۱ قول ادرو قومندان قلم شاه شهیم اعلان وکړ چې د کابل په کارته سې کې پر یوه مېلمستون برید، چې یوې امریکايي مرستندویې موسسې ورڅخه کار اخیست، د پنځو حمله کوونکو له وژلو سره پای ته ورسېد. ده وویل چې په دې برید کې، چې ۳ ساعته یې دوام وکړ، یو افغان ماشوم هم وژل شوی دی. -- قلم شاه شهیم وویل چې ټول حمله کوونکي د افغان امنیتي ځواکونو د مقاومت په نتیجه کې ووژل شول. -- قومندان شهیم وویل، لومړی د ودانۍ مخته موټر بمي چاودنه وکړه، څلور نور ودانۍ ته ننوتل، درو یې ځانونه والوزول او یو د امنیتي ځواکونو په ډزو ووژل شو. -- ده دا هم وویل چې په مېلمستون کې څلور بند پاتې شوي بهرنیان ژوندي دي او د امنیتي ځواکونو له لوري ژغورل شوي دي. د کورنیو چارو وزارت امنیتي معین ښاغلي سالنګي هم تایید کړه چې پنځه واړه بریدګر له منځه وړل شوي خو مخکې تر دې چې پنځم ځانمرګی ووژل شي یوه ماشومه افغان نجلۍ ووژل شوه. ده ونه ویل چې ماشومه نجلۍ د چا په ډزو ووژل شوه. -- په کابل کې د امریکا سفارت په ټویټر کې ویلي پر روټس اف پیس یا د سولې ریښې موسسې برید غندلی، ویلي یې دي چې د امریکا د نړیوالې پراختیا ادارې له ملاتړه برخمنه ده. -- د امریکا سفارت ویلي چې سخت دریځو په داسي موسسه برید کړی چې یوازې یې له افغانانو سره د هغوی د ژوند په ښه کولو کې مرسته کوله. -- په مېلمستون کې له بهرنیو مرستندویانو سره د هغوی ښځې او ماشومان هم اوسېدل. - More, at: http://www.taand.com/archives/22366

Taliban attacks guesthouse of U.S.-based charity --- KABUL — The Taliban attacked the offices of a U.S.-based charity Friday, a complex assault that came just over a week before the country’s presidential election. -- The attack, involving a suicide car bombing and four gunmen, was directed at the Roots of Peace facility in the Kart-e-Char neighborhood of southwestern Kabul, the organization’s founder and chief executive, Heidi Kuhn, confirmed in an e-mail. -- After a standoff of several hours, 25 foreign residents of the Roots of Peace guesthouse were released when Afghan forces intervened, killing the four attackers, according to an Associated Press report. An Afghan girl was also killed during the attack. -- Although the attack proved to be less deadly than previous assaults on high-profile targets, it adds to an already tense security environment. The Taliban has pledged to execute attacks across the country that would threaten voters and destabilize the country’s fragile political process. The election is scheduled for April 5. --- In a statement Friday, the Taliban said it had attacked the Roots of Peace guesthouse because it was used by foreigners as a “church used to convert Afghans.” -- The nonprofit organization has no stated religious affiliation. Roots of Peace is a California-based group that has worked in Afghanistan for a decade helping local farmers cultivate vineyards and orchards. According to its Web site, the group has been working in Afghanistan since 2003 and has received millions of dollars in funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development. - More, Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/taliban-attacks-western-guest-house-afghan-officials-say/2014/03/28/d28af42c-b681-11e3-a7c6-70cf2db17781_story.html?hpid=z4

Doctors treating toddler shot by Taliban fear rise in Afghan violence --- (Reuters) - That Afghan toddler Abuzar survived a bullet fragment to the head during a Taliban attack in Kabul last week is astonishing. -- The two-year-old, his head heavily bandaged, has emerged from a coma, and the sight of him chuckling during hospital visits from his aunt give doctors hope he can make a full recovery. He may now go to Canada to live with an uncle. That is where the good news ends. -- The boy's mother, father and two sisters died in the brazen raid on the luxury Serena hotel, and at the Italian-run hospital where Abuzar is being treated, medical staff are planning to expand the facilities to cope with an expected rise in violence. --- "We are here to be surgeons of war," said Luca Radaelli, a doctor at the surgical centre in Kabul run by an Italian non-governmental group called Emergency, where admissions have soared 36 percent so far this year. -- "Our plan is to expand and build on the facilities we have present in Afghanistan," he added. -- Little Abuzar is patient number 28,378 at Emergency's surgical centre in Kabul, which has been open since 2001 and is one of just three of its kind in the country. - More, Jessica Donati, at: http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/03/28/afghanistan-children-idINDEEA2R08H20140328?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Foreigners escape Taliban siege in Kabul; Afghan child killed --- (Reuters) - Taliban gunmen stormed a Kabul guesthouse used by a U.S.-based aid group and held four foreigners hostage for several hours on Friday, just eight days before Afghanistan holds a presidential election which the militant group has vowed to derail. -- Kabul is already on high alert and people across the country are on edge ahead of an April 5 vote the hardline Islamist movement has denounced as a Western-backed sham. -- The siege of the walled compound, which is also home to a small church, lasted several hours before Afghan security forces killed the last remaining Taliban gunman holed up inside. -- At least one Afghan child was killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the building and the insurgents forced their way in. There were no foreign casualties. -- A Reuters witness saw about 20 people being evacuated from the guesthouse in an upmarket residential area of Kabul, many looking frightened and shocked. -- "The fight is over. The five attackers are dead," Qadam Shah Shaheem, commander of 111 Military Corps Kabul, told Reuters. -- "One detonated his car loaded with explosives, three others detonated explosives attached to their bodies inside the building, and one was shot by security forces. All four foreigners are alive and safe now." -- The country manager of an organization using the guesthouse said four people had been held hostage by the Taliban as their colleagues made frantic phone calls to establish whether they were alive. -- "I can confirm it was attacked and that there are only four people" inside, said Hajji Mohammad Sharif Osmani, country manager of Roots of Peace, a U.S.-based group involved in demining and other projects in Afghanistan. "The rest of the guys are outside." - More, at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/28/us-afghanistan-attacks-idUSBREA2R0TT20140328

ایساف: په افغان جګړه کې پاتې پوځي تجهیزات پاکستان ته نه ورکوو --- دناټو په مشرۍ ایساف ځواکونو پرون په ډاګه کړه چې دروان کال په پای کې دنړیوالو ځواکونو له وتلو وروسته به دافغانستان له جګړې پاتې پوځي تجهیزات پاکستان ته ورنه کړي. له دې مخکې ځینو رسنیو راپور ورکړی چې و چې ګنې امریکايي ځواکونه غواړي، خپل ځینې پوځي تجهیزات چې امریکا ته بېرته وړل یې ګران پرېوځي، پاکستان ته ورکړي. دې راپورونو یو شمېر افغانان اندېښمن کړي وو، خو په دې اړه دایساف په بیان کې راغلي دي چې دامریکا پوځ داسې کوم پلان نه لري. ایساف مخکې ویلي وو، چې خپل اضافي پوځي تجهیزات افغان امنیتي ځواکونو ته ځکه نه ورکوي چې دا ځواکونه دهغو دکارولو لپاره لازم ظرفیتونه نه لري. -- سوال دا دی چې که دا تجهیزات نه افغانستان ته ورکول کېږي، نه پاکستان ته نو څه ورسره کېږي؟ په دې اړه مو هڅه وکړه چې په کابل کې دایساف ځواکونو دویندویانو نظر واخلو، خو دوی په دې اړه له خبرو ډډه وکړه او یوازې دبیان په خپرولو یې اکتفا وکړه. -- دایساف په بیان کې نه دي ویل شوي چې دامریکا پوځ به له خپلو اضافي تجهیزاتو سره څه کوي، بېرته به یې امریکا یا دسیمې کوم بل هېواد ته وړي او که به دافغان امنیتي ځواکونو دپیاوړي کولو لپاره افغانستان ته ورکړل شي. دافغان امنیتي ځواکونو، په تېره دهوايي برخې پیاوړي کول هغه موضوع ده چې څارونکي او دپوځي چارو کارپوهان په پرله پسې ډول ټینګار پرې کوي، وايي چې ښايي افغان پلي ځواکونه له هوايي مرستې پرته ونشي کولای ددښمن دحملو مقابله وکړي. -- دایساف په بیان کې دنړیوالو ځواکونو دعمومي قوماندان جنرال جوزف ډنفورډ له قوله راغلي چې دی وايي، له افغانستان او افغان امنیتي ځواکونو سره دامریکا په ژمنوکې بدلون نه دی راغلی. ښاغلي ډنفورډ افغان ځواکونه ستایلي او ویلي یې دي، دوی په تېرو نهو میاشتو کې ثابته کړه چې دولسمشرۍ او ولایتي شوراګانو دراروانو انتخاباتو دامنیت ټینګولو لپاره بشپړ چمتووالی لري. ایساف وايي، په تېرو نژدې دولسو کلونو کې له افغان ځواکونو سره څه باندې درې پنځوس میلیارد ډالر مرستې شوي چې ۱۶۰ الوتکې، سل زره نقلیه وسایط، پنځه سوه زره وسلې او شاوخوا دوه سوه زره مخابراتي وسیلې او دشپې لیدو وسایل په کې شامل دي. متحد ایالات وايي چې، دافغانستان دتېرو دولسو کلونو په جګړه کې یې میلیاردونه ډالر لګولي او څه باندې دوه زره سرتېري یې وژل شوي دي. - د آزادی رادیو

U.S. Military: Sorry, Pakistan. You Won't Get Our Extra Equipment. -- The U.S. is stressing its support for Afghanistan, which opposed the reported move. --- The U.S. military is denying what it calls "inaccurate media reports" that armored vehicles and extra military equipment leftover from the war in Afghanistan could be provided to neighboring Pakistan—after Kabul opposed the move described in the press. -- "These reports are not correct," the military said in a statement Thursday. The U.S. military in Afghanistan "does not provide or intend to provide any such equipment, including MRAPs, from Afghanistan to Pakistan." -- The military is trying to get rid of equipment it does not want or need—and would be expensive to transport home—as its draws down troops in Afghanistan. The Washington Post reported earlier this month that the Pentagon was considering giving Pakistan some of the $7 billion worth of excess military equipment, and that Islamabad was particularly interested in the Army's mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles, or MRAPs. -- But the Afghan government had opposed this move. "Afghan security forces need this type of equipment and that as a strategic partner, the U.S. needs to consult with Afghanistan before making such a decision," a spokesman for Afghan President Hamid Karzai told Voice of America's Afghan service. --- The U.S. is still waiting for Afghanistan to sign a security agreement that could allow a contingent of troops to remain in the country past the end of the year—the deadline for the end of formal combat operations. Since the future partnership between the two countries is in limbo until the agreement is signed, it's no surprise the U.S. is seeking to reassure Afghanistan's security forces of its support as it waits for a new Afghan president to be elected this spring. -- "Our commitment to the Afghan people and the Afghan National Security Forces is unwavering," Gen. Joseph Dunford, who commands the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan, said in the statement. The U.S. military "remains committed to completing the transformation of the [Afghan National Security Forces] into a professional fighting force capable of meeting their security challenges." -- The military statement also ran through a laundry list of equipment the U.S. has given Afghanistan's security forces. Over 12 years, the U.S. has provided $53 billion in equipment and support; 160 aircraft; 100,000 vehicles; 500,000 weapons; and 200,000 pieces of communications and night-vision equipment, with more still being delivered. -- Whether Afghanistan's worries are eased or not, Pakistan is not likely to react well. The U.S. is counting on Pakistan to crack down on militants within its borders after this year. Islamabad, which has deployed some 150,000 soldiers along the border with Afghanistan, wanted the armored vehicles to better protect its troops from roadside bombs. - More, Sara Sorcher, National Journal, at: http://www.nationaljournal.com/defense/u-s-military-sorry-pakistan-you-won-t-get-our-extra-equipment-20140327

Dunford: U.S. will not give Pakistan MRAPs from Afghanistan --- The U.S. military is disputing media reports that it plans to give Pakistan excess American military equipment that is currently in Afghanistan. -- “Our commitment to the Afghan people and the Afghan National Security Forces is unwavering,” Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, commander of all U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, said in a statement Thursday. --- The Washington Post first reported in a March 16 web story that the U.S. military was considering giving the Pakistanis $7 billion worth of equipment amid the drawdown in Afghanistan. The Pakistani military has expressed interest in getting Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, which have been proven to be too big and heavy to operate effectively in Afghanistan, which lacks road infrastructure. -- The story came shortly after Dunford had testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee that the U.S. military was considering whether to repair damaged MRAPs in Afghanistan in order to give them to someone else. -- “We're in the process right now of seeing if there are any of our allies that can use those vehicles,” Dunford said at the March 12 hearing. “The services are also going back to review those requirements. I've put a stop on any destruction of any vehicles except those that are battle-damaged.” -- But U.S. Forces-Afghanistan issued a statement on Thursday calling media reports that it was considering sending military equipment to Pakistan “inaccurate.” -- “USFOR-A does not provide or intend to provide any such equipment, including MRAPs, from Afghanistan to Pakistan,” the statement says. -- When asked about the statement by Military Times, a spokeswoman for the Washington Post said the newspaper stands by its story. -- “We reported accurately on March 17 that discussions about a possible equipment transfer to Pakistan had been going on for months and that no final decisions had been made,” the spokeswoman said in an email. “We have taken note of the March 27 statement from U.S. Forces Afghanistan.” --- The story caused more strain on the U.S. military’s relationship with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, whose spokesman said Afghanistan would oppose any move to give excess MRAPs to Pakistan. -- “Afghan security forces need this type of equipment and as a strategic partner, the U.S. needs to consult with Afghanistan before making such a decision,” Emal Faizi told Voice of America for a March 18 story. - More, NavyTimes, at: http://www.navytimes.com/article/20140328/NEWS05/303280036/Dunford-U-S-will-not-give-Pakistan-MRAPs-from-Afghanistan

Killing of Afghan Journalist and Family Members Stuns Media Peers --- KABUL, Afghanistan — Sardar Ahmad, a warmly admired stalwart of the Afghan journalistic community here, loved to post bits of wisdom from his young daughter, Nelofar, on Facebook. -- “Baba, do the Taliban kill animals as well?” began one exchange he posted last July. “No!” he replied. -- “I wish we were animals,” Nelofar declared. --- On Wednesday night, journalists in Afghanistan gathered atop the Wazir Akbar Khan hill overlooking Kabul’s old city to hold a candlelight vigil remembering the journalist and his family. --- Last Thursday, on the eve of the Afghan New Year, Nowruz, the family went to dinner at the luxurious Serena Hotel. They were in the midst of their meal when four militants barged in with tiny pistols hidden in their socks, shooting Mr. Ahmad first and then two of his three children, even after their mother pleaded for them to kill her instead. --- When Afghan journalists convened at the Kabul morgue to identify Mr. Ahmad’s body, Shah Marai, a photographer with Agence France-Presse, told his colleagues of a recent car trip with his friend. “Shah Marai,” Mr. Ahmad said then, “we have survived and covered so many battles and suicide bombings, it would be such a shame if we were killed in a cowardly attack.” - More, ROD NORDLAND and HABIB ZAHORI, NYTimes, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/27/world/asia/killing-of-afghan-journalist-and-family-members-stuns-media-peers.html?ref=afghanistan&_r=0

Afghanistan is an occupied nation, Iranian president says on Kabul visit --- Hassan Rouhani speaks of 'two occupations' that have brought violence and extremism to the country -- The Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, described Afghanistan as an occupied nation while in Kabul to celebrate the Persian new year on Thursday, saying Soviet and Nato forces had brought violence and extremism to the country. -- Relations with the west have warmed slightly since Rouhani took office, but Iran has always been unhappy about having a US presence on its doorstep and is strongly opposed to a draft security agreement that would keep US troops in Afghanistan for another decade. -- Rouhani did not refer directly to the US or Nato, whose troops have been fighting on Afghan soil for over a decade, but his comments about "two occupations" left little room for doubt. --- Soviet forces arrived in Afghanistan in 1979 and stayed for a decade of escalating conflict. US and Nato troops helped topple the Taliban government in 2001, and have remained in the country to fight a spreading insurgency ever since. --- "[The occupations] brought the unfortunate seed of violence, which has damaged the lives of people and this country," Rouhani said, adding that decades of war had also introduced extremists to Afghanistan. -- "My country, the Islamic Republic of Iran, has condemned both occupations and has helped the people of Afghanistan in both periods of time," the Associated Press quoted him as saying at a day of celebrations at the presidential palace in Kabul that were also attended by the presidents of Tajikistan and Pakistan. -- Tehran has poured millions of dollars' worth into direct support for the Afghan government and networks of soft-power projects from schools to mosques and media outlets. It has also reportedly established ties with the Taliban, though relations with the hardline Sunni group were poor when they ruled the country. --- The Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, has warned US forces in the past that heavy-handed military tactics risk making Afghans see them as occupiers, but never gone as far as Rouhani. - More, Emma Graham-Harrison, Guardian, at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/27/afghanistan-occupied-nation-iranian-president-hassan-rouhani

Afghan notebook: A voice silenced --- Journalists in Afghanistan have held a candlelight vigil in memory of Sardar Ahmad, the senior reporter for Agence France-Presse, who was killed in a Taliban attack on 20 March. -- An experienced and popular journalist, Mr Ahmad was gunned down along with his wife and two of his young children at the Serena Hotel in Kabul. The BBC's Harun Najafizada remembers a colleague and friend. -- I first met Sardar Ahmad in 2003 in the early days of the new Afghanistan. -- It was a time of hope. The Taliban had gone, a new government was in place and our country seemed to be at the centre of the world's attention --- They also shot his younger son Abozar at least three times, but he survived and is now recovering to keep Sardar's name alive. -- As details of the attack emerged later, Afghan officials said they did not believe Sardar was the target. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. -- We began to worry when the usually regular tweets from Pressistan, the local news agency he founded, suddenly stopped. -- We all wondered why Sardar was silent when such a big news story was happening in our city. -- The next morning we found out that he had been silenced forever. --- For many of us journalists in Kabul, Sardar's death has suddenly brought home the grim reality of the relentless violence in our country. -- It's given a human face to civilian casualties that we have been reporting on for more than a decade. -- It's one tragedy against the background of so many all across Afghanistan. But it's left everyone - not just the media community, feeling deeply shocked. -- We will all miss Sardar very much. - More, Harun Najafizada, BBC Persian, at: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26754382

Obama says talk with Pope Francis focused on plight of poor, wars --- ROME — President Obama joined Pope Francis on Thursday at the Vatican, a meeting of two world figures with radically different politics but a shared concern that the global economy is dangerously dividing rich and poor. -- The visit, watched closely here by an avid media and curious Romans who leaned from balconies to see Obama’s motorcade pass, is the most symbolic stop of the president’s Europe trip. -- The two greeted each other Thursday morning outside the Papal Library in the Small Throne Room, extending hands and smiles. -- “Wonderful meeting you. I’m a great admirer,” Obama said. “Thank you, sir, thank you.” -- The men withdrew into the Papal Library and took seats on opposite sides of the pope’s desk. “Thank you,” Obama said, “for receiving me.” -- The meeting lasted less than an hour. But the encounter has been charged with the politics of the world’s most powerful nation and one of its most influential religious movements, and by a pair of men who have sought to change the public character of the institutions they run. -- Obama said that “the bulk of the time was spent discussing two central concerns” — the plight of “the poor, the marginalized and growing inequality” and the challenge of war in the world today. He said the talk underscored that although political leaders must find solutions, Francis has the power to focus public attention on the importance of resolving these issues. -- “We spent a lot of time talking about the challenges of conflict and how elusive peace is around the world,” Obama said, particularly the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, an issue of particular interest to the pope, who is scheduled to visit the Middle East in late May; the unrest in Syria and Lebanon; and the persecution of Christians. -- “The theme that stitched our conversation together was a belief that, in politics and in life, the quality of empathy, the ability to stand in somebody else’s shoes and to care for someone even if they don’t look like you or talk like you or share your philosophy — that’s critical,” Obama said. “It’s the lack of empathy that plunges us into wars.” -- Obama said he urged Francis to visit the United States, saying the country would receive him enthusiastically. - More, Scott Wilson, Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-pope-francis-challenges-us-on-economic-and-social-issues/2014/03/27/b466b672-b594-11e3-b899-20667de76985_story.html

Rumsfeld bashes Obama on Afghanistan, says ‘a trained ape’ could do better --- Former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Monday attacked the Obama administration for failing to secure a status of forces agreement with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai. -- Rumsfeld, speaking on Fox News, said even a "trained ape" could do better. -- "A trained ape could get a status of forces agreement," Rumsfeld said. "It does not take a genius. And we have so mismanaged that relationship." -- Rumsfeld noted that the United States has such agreements with more than 100 other countries. Such an agreement would allow the United States to station military forces in Afghanistan for years to come. -- Karzai recently voiced support for Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine -- a significant blow to U.S.-Afghan relations. Rumsfeld said he understands Karzai's increasingly antagonistic relationship, given the Obama administration's treatment of him. -- "United States diplomacy has been so bad -- so embarrassingly bad -- that I’m not the least bit surprised that he felt cornered and is feeling he has to defend himself in some way or he’s not president of that country,” Rumsfeld said. -- Rumsfeld said the Bush administration had a "first-rate" relationship with Karzai and that it has gone "downhill like a toboggan" since Obama took over. - Aaron Blake, washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/03/25/rumseld-bashes-obama-on-afghanistan-says-a-trained-ape-could-do-better/

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Karzai Battles for Legacy After Afghan Vote Next Week --- KABUL—Next week's election to pick a successor to Afghan President Hamid Karzai will also determine how much power the mercurial leader—who has ruled the country since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion—will retain once he leaves office. -- Mr. Karzai has exasperated Washington by declining to sign a security agreement that would allow some U.S. forces to remain in the country after year's end, and by whipping up anti-American sentiment in Afghanistan. -- The U.S. is hoping the next president will be a more reliable partner and quickly sign the security deal—something the major presidential candidates have promised to do. The future U.S.-Afghan relationship, however, depends on whether Mr. Karzai steps away from the limelight or remains the real decision maker in the next administration. -- Surprising many, Mr. Karzai has managed to remain relevant until the very end of his term. His public squabbles with Washington overshadowed much of the election campaign. Now, in the run-up to the April 5 vote, all of the leading candidates acknowledge his influence over the outcome, and some are seeking his blessing. --- "The president has played his role well. He has not become a lame duck," former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani, one of the main presidential candidates, said in an interview. "It's a tribute to his immense capability. It's a tribute to his political skills that we are talking about the president's role days before the election." -- The election, if it isn't derailed by Taliban violence or massive fraud, would mark the first democratic transfer of power in Afghanistan's history. A legitimate outcome is crucial to maintaining the billions of dollars in international aid Kabul needs to pay its security forces and keep the economy afloat. -- In addition to Mr. Ghani, the front-runners are Mr. Karzai's former foreign minister, Zalmai Rassoul, seen as the president's favorite, and Abdullah Abdullah, the politician who came in second in the 2009 presidential election and who is the only major candidate to openly criticize the incumbent. -- "The next government, regardless of who will win the election, will be much weaker than this government," said Afghan political analyst Haroun Mir. "President Karzai's role will be prominent. He is certainly an uncontested leader in the south, and he has also built important political links in the north." --- Mr. Karzai isn't allowed to run again by the constitution. But he erected a new residence on the grounds of the presidential palace that he intends to occupy after the election to remain close to his successor. He intensified speculation about his plans by telling parliament last week that he wants unspecified constitutional changes. -- Many Afghans are concerned that Mr. Karzai, at 56, wants to emulate Russian President Vladimir Putin, creating a prime-minister-like position for himself under a weak president, and then returning to full power. -- The Afghan president's spokesman, Aimal Faizi, said that anyone who thinks Mr. Karzai "may follow President Putin's path" is "being misled." He added that Mr. Karzai wants to bring changes into the constitution "based on his experience with the parliament and other state institutions" but has taken no steps so far. -- Though Mr. Karzai hasn't formally endorsed a candidate, he publicly pressured his older brother Qayum to drop out of the race. As a result, Qayum and other Karzai family members have switched their support to Mr. Rassoul. One cartoon making the rounds on Afghan Facebook pages shows Mr. Rassoul as a TV set—with President Karzai holding the remote control. -- A 70-year-old of royal lineage, Mr. Rassoul said in an interview that Mr. Karzai should have a strong say in the country's future. "He kept Afghanistan together. He will be, taking into consideration the Afghan society, a leader in Afghanistan," Mr. Rassoul said. "He will have influence, among people, among tribal chiefs, elders, and I think he will contribute to keep Afghanistan stable." -- When asked whether Mr. Karzai should have a more formal role, Mr. Rassoul demurred. "It will depend on what President Karzai wants to do," he said. "At least to me he never showed any intention. He said: 'I'm tired, I've been in this business at a very difficult time, I'm exhausted, I want to sit home, to read books, I want to write my books and to travel around Afghanistan…' But I am sure he will be involved in Afghan politics." --- Mr. Ghani, a former World Bank executive who ran against Mr. Karzai in 2009 and then served as his transition adviser until entering the presidential race, said he has proposed a more detailed plan to the Afghan president. -- "The president will have a space as a national leader, and there should be an office with budgetary autonomy and staff that allows the president to engage in national, regional and international issues," Mr. Ghani said in an interview. "Were I to be elected, I would seek his advice," he added. - More, WSJ, Yaroslav Trofimov, at: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304679404579459112046631466

برگزاری جشن جهانی نوروز در کابل --- در این جشن حسن روحانی رییس جمهور ایران، ممنون حسین رییس جمهور پاکستان، امام علی رحمان رییس جمهور تاجکستان و شماری از مقام‌های ارشد کشورهای ترکمنستان، آذربایجان و قزاقستان و معاون سرمنشی عمومی سازمان ملل متحد نیز حضور داشتند. --- قرار بود جشن جهانی نوروز در روز هفتم حمل در قصر تپه پغمان که برای برگزاری این مراسم تدارک دیده شده بود، برگزار شود. اما، مقام‌های دولتی می‌گویند که این قصر تاکنون آماده نشده و به همین دلیل، جشن جهانی نوروز در داخل ارگ ریاست جمهوری برگزار شد. مسایل امنیتی یکی از دلایل دیگری برای تغییر مکان برگزاری جشن جهانی نوروز خوانده شده است. -- جشن جهانی نوروز در ارگ ریاست جمهوری افغانستان با اجرای برنامه‌های هنری و فرهنگی محلی همراه بود. --- حامد کرزی رییس جمهور افغانستان، در آغاز مراسم جشن جهانی نوروز، گفت که این جشن سال‌ها قبل در افغانستان با شکوه تجلیل می‌شد. به گفته‌ی او، نوروز در تاریخ و تمدن کشورهای آسیای میانه جایگاه شایسته داشته و یکی از سنت‌های زیبای این سرزمین‌ها به شمار می‌رود. -- حامد کرزی گفت که کشورهای حوزه نوروز دارای مشترکات زیادی هستند و این مشترکات می‌توانند بنیاد همگرایی نیرومندی را در این حوزه بجا بگذارد. رئیس جمهور کرزی گفت که آینده کشورهای حوزه نوروز، در گیرو همکاری‌ها و همگرایی‌های بیشتر است. او گفت: «برای ما افغان‌ها جشن نوروز یک بهانه زیبا و یک فرصت است. بهانه‌ایست تا با برادران و خواهران خود جمع شویم و در جهت آشنایی بیشتر با مشترکات تمدنی و تاریخی خود بی‌اندیشیم. این جشن یک فرصتی برای توسعه و تعمق زمینه‌های همگرایی منطقه‌ای است. به باور من آینده سرزمین‌های ما در گرو همگرایی و همکاری منطقه‌ای است. بدون همکاری و همسویی، نمی‌توانیم مشکلات و معضل‌های موجود را در منطقه خود حل کنیم.» -- حامد کرزی گفت که مشکل عمده‌ی کشورهای منطقه، تروریزم و عدم توسعه نیافتگی است که به گفته‌ی او، این کشورها در شرایطی از این مشکلات رنج می‌برند که در یکی از غنی‌ترین مناطق دنیا موقعیت دارند. --- در همین‌حال، حسن روحانی رئیس جمهور ایران نیز بر نزدیکی کشورهای منطقه تاکید کرد و گفت که پیام اصلی نوروز همزیستی مسالمت‌آمیز و پیروی از اعتدال است. آقای روحانی تاکید کرد که نوروز در روزی اتفاق می‌افتد که طبیعت در نقطه اعتدال می‌رسد. رییس جمهور ایران گفت: «بصیرت نوروز که صورتش از نسیم بهاری خوش است، راه و رسم اعتدال در پیش‌گیریم. اعتدال یک شعار سیاسی به یک شخص محدود یا یک کشور نیست، اعتدال در فرهنگ و ادبیات منطقه‌ی نوروز ریشه‌ی تاریخی دارد. نوروز عید اعتدال است.» -- حسن روحانی همچنین از سران و مقام‌های کشورهای حوزه نوروز شرکت کننده در جشن جهانی نوروز در کابل خواست که بنام نوروز اعتدال و مقابله با افراط‌گرایی را عیدانه مردمان خود قرار دهند. رییس جمهور ایران گفت: «اعتدال طبعیت بدون اعتدال سیاست بی‌فروغ است. نمی‌توان در منطقه‌ای که گروهی ولو اندک برطبل جهل می‌کوبند تخم خشم می‌کارند از اعتدال سخن گفت. در حالی‌که افراط‌گرایی قربانی می‌گیرد.» حسن روحانی همچنین افزود: «ما می‌خواهیم نوروز را از صورت یک جشن به سیرت یک پیمان درآوریم. پیمان اعتدال همچون آغاز بهار.» -- رییس جمهور ایران به همگرایی کشورهای حوزه نوروز تاکید کرد و گفت جهان زمانی از این منطقه صدای افراط‌گرایی را شنیده، پس از این باید صدای اعتدال را بشنود. -- همچنین امام علی رحمان رییس جمهور تاجکستان نیز در سخنانی جشن نوروز را از جمله سنت‌های دیرینه کشورهای حوزه نوروز توصیف کرده گفت که این کشورها می‌توانند با توسعه روابط اقتصادی، بیشتر باهم نزدیک شوند. آقای رحمان گفت که این کشورها زمینه‌های زیادی برای گسترش روابط اقتصادی و فرهنگی دارند. --- ممنون حسین رییس جمهور پاکستان نیز، گفت که پیام اصلی نوروز همزیستی است. به گفته‌ی ممنون حسین، کشورهای حوزه نوروز، هرچند منابع و منافع مشترک زیادی دارند، اما چالش‌های جدی مواجه هستند. رییس جمهور پاکستان گفت که این کشورها می‌توانند از طریق همکاری‌های مشترک به مشکلات موجود در منطقه غلبه کنند. ممنون حسین همچنین گفت که دولت پاکستان به داشتن روابط حسنه و خوب با تمام کشورهای منطقه متعهد است. -- جشن جهانی نوروز در سال ۱۳۸۸ توسط سازمان ملل متحد به رسمیت شناخته شد. پس از به رسمیت شناخته شدن این جشن جهانی نوروز در سازمان ملل، برای اولین بار ایران میزبان این جشن بود. دومین جشن جهانی نوروز نیز در ایران برگزار شد. در سال ۱۳۹۱ شهر دوشنبه تاجکستان و در سال ۱۳۹۲ عشق آباد ترکمنستان میزبان این جشن بودند. -- جشن جهانی نوروز با حضور مقام‌های ارشد کشورهای حوزه نوروز در حالی در کابل برگزار شد که اخیرا روابط میان برخی از این کشورها تنش آلود شده است. پس از حمله تروریستان به هوتل کابل سرینا در شب نوروز، دولت افغانستان اعلام کرد که پاکستان طراح اصلی این حمله بوده است. همچنین اخیرا تنش‌ها میان ایران و پاکستان پس از ربوده شدن نه تن از سربازان ایرانی توسط گروه جیش‌العدل نیز تنش آلود شده است. - هشت صبح, at: http://8am.af/1393/01/07/nawroz-celeberation-kabul-afghanistan/

The Pentagon’s Map of Afghanistan: An Eldorado of Mineral Wealth and Natural Resources --- Curious information surfaced in the media [2012] – based on space reconnaissance, the US Department of Defense put together a map of Afghanistan showing in detail the country’s mineral riches which, as it transpired, may be quite impressive. -- The fact that Afghanistan sits on lucrative natural resources was recognized indirectly back in 2010 when the Afghan ministry of mines rolled out a $1b (!) estimate of what the country might have, and The New York Times quoted a source in the US Administration as saying that Afghanistan’s list of reserves included copper, gold, cobalt, and even lithium on which the present-day industry is heavily dependent. A Pentagon memo actually described Afghanistan’s potential lithium holdings as big enough to make it the “Saudi Arabia of lithium”. Somehow, the news flew below the radars of most watchers worldwide. -- It must be taken into account in the context that the areas used for poppy cropping in Afghanistan expanded by a factor of magnitude since the Western coalition invaded the country with an anti-terrorist mission and brought down the Taliban rule. At the moment, millions of Afghans are involved in poppy farming and processing or in heroin trafficking. A year after the advent of the Western coalition, Afghanistan entered the world stage as a heroin monopoly, outputting over 60% of the global supply. It is an open secret that the farmlands given to poppy in Afghanistan far exceed in proportions the cocaine plantations in Columbia, Peru, and Bolivia combined. The US-British explanation is that farmers in Afghanistan – an underdeveloped country supposedly having no natural resources – have to cultivate drugs for survival. --- Actually, Soviet scientists discovered decades ago that the soils of Afghanistan contained ample mineral resources. Among those, for example, are precious and semiprecious stones: samples of the Sar-e-Sang District Lazurite, whose quality craftsmen praise as exemplary, were found even in Pharaohs’ tombs and during the Troy excavations. The emerald deposit unsealed back in the 1970ies in the Panjshir Province ranks with the world’s largest, with gems comparable in quality to the acclaimed ones mined in Columbia. Also long ago, the Soviets were aware of the existence of Uranium reserves in Afghanistan – in Gen. A. Lyakhovsky’s account presented in his Tragedy and Honor in Afghanistan, the threat that the Uranium would be grabbed by Pakistan and Iran to build nuclear weapons was cited as an argument in favor of the future Soviet invasion at a pivotal December 8, 1979 meeting personally chaired by L.I. Brezhnev. -- The Soviet explorations which went on in Afghanistan till the late 1980ies showed that Afghanistan was extremely rich in various types of ores, with the resources hitherto untapped as the country had never been colonized. The Aynak copper deposit is the biggest in Eurasia, and the Hadjigek iron ore in the proximity of Kabul is believed to be the the top one in South Asia. Pegmatite reserves usable as sources of rubies, Beryl, and seldom-found gems – kunzite and hiddenite – are located east of Kabul. Pegmatite fields can, furthermore, serve to derive Beryllium (estimatedly, the corresponding reserves are the biggest known up to date with a total of over 73,500 tons), Lithium, Tantalum, and Niobium, the substances steady demand for which is pressed by the high tech sector along with the nuclear and aerospace industries. -- The Pentagon, therefore, confirmed the old Soviet findings about the reserves of precious metals, ores, sulfur, Lazurite, Baryte, Celestine, etc. in Afghanistan, and actually went further, scrupulously compiling a map of the deposits. The story deserves attention, considering that, contrary to the widespread notion, the war the Afghan mujahiddeen used to wage against the Soviets did not end when the Soviet forces were withdrawn from Afghanistan. In the 2000ies, the war recurred in the form of a drug offensive which cost Russia more lives than the botched Afghan military campaign. In that now fairly distant era, the Soviet death toll reached around 15,000 overall, while these days Afghan drugs kill up to 20,000 people in Russia annually, crippling far more. Most of the victims, it must be noted, are young people. It is absolute cynicism to justify the above with allegations that Afghanistan’s poverty leaves its farmers with no choice but to cultivate drugs. - MORE, Global Research, Nikolai Malishevski, - at: http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-pentagon-s-map-of-afghanistan-an-eldorado-of-mineral-wealth-and-natural-resources/32265

The Spoils of the War on Afghanistan, One Trillion Dollars of Lithium: The Future of Silicon Valley may lie in the Mountains of Afghanistan --- The future of Silicon Valley’s technological prowess may well lie in the war-scarred mountains and salt flats of Western Afghanistan. -- United States Geological Survey teams discovered one of the world’s largest untapped reserves of lithium there six years ago. The USGS was scouting the volatile country at the behest of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Task Force for Business and Stability Operations. Lithium is a soft metal used to make the lithium-ion and lithium-polymer batteries essential for powering desktop computers, laptops, smartphones, and tablets. And increasingly, electric cars like Tesla’s. -- The vast discovery could very well propel Afghanistan — a war-ravaged land with a population of 31 million largely uneducated Pashtuns and Tajiks, and whose primary exports today are opium, hashish, and marijuana — into becoming the world’s next “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” according to an internal Pentagon memo cited by the New York Times. -- That was the conclusion of a USGS survey report on Afghanistan that detailed the findings. In addition to lithium, the survey also found huge deposits of iron ore, gold, cobalt, copper, and potash, among many other valuable minerals. -- “The mineral wealth there is astonishing,” said professor Michel Chossudovsky of the Montreal-based Center for Research and Globalization, who has written extensively on Afghanistan. -- A conservative estimate of the riches is $1 trillion. In some circles, it’s as high as $5 trillion. -- Depending on who you talk to, the current lithium global reserves are adequate for at least another generation of lithium-ion battery manufacturers to produce them. -- Looking at Afghanistan, Sadoway says the war-ravaged nation, which has no effective mining infrastructure in place, may well be attractive to the world’s mining outfits. - More, Global Research News, Richard Byrne Reilly

India: jostling for geopolitical control in Afghanistan --- Forecasts past the withdrawal of US and British forces in Afghanistan tend to prize fears of violence and instability spilling over into Pakistan, obscuring the country's vital importance to both India and China. -- There is increasing anxiety among stakeholders as US forces prepare for a drawdown in Afghanistan by the end of 2014. The international community, including the United States, is still groping in the dark when it comes to Afghanistan’s future. As such, they have somewhat ignored India, which, in fact, will be pivotal in solving the Afghan dilemma. Instead, the west and regional stakeholders have focussed on Pakistan as the major player in post-2014 Afghanistan. -- Pakistan has been accused of supporting the Afghan Taliban and of providing sanctuary to them inside Pakistan in order to maintain strategic depth and influence within Afghanistan. Furthermore, Pakistan has been charged with supporting the Afghan Taliban and their affiliate, the Haqqani network, in order to counter India in Afghanistan, as well as of sending militant groups such as Laskhar-e-Taiba into Indian-administered Kashmir. Pakistan has denied these accusations. --- In contrast, India, along with Russia, Iran and Tajikistan, has always been a supporter of the anti-Taliban Panjshir-based Northern Alliance, as well as the Tajik-dominated and anti-Pashtun Afghan military. India has provided the Northern Alliance with high-altitude weaponry worth about $8 million, defence advisers to help counter the Taliban, and technicians from the Aviation Research Centre (affiliated with its intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing) to repair Soviet-made Mi-17 and Mi-35 helicopter gunships. --In the past decade, India has also established more than a hundred sub-consular offices and information desks near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan border, which are suspected of being outposts for Indian intelligence and covert operations. Indian intelligence operatives are believed to be active in the border area of Khost and the Pakistani tribal area of Miranshah with the support of the Afghan Border Security Force, which facilitates their meetings with pro-Afghan dissidents. Islamabad also accuses New Delhi of supporting the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has been wreaking havoc in Pakistan.-- Pakistani apprehensions are indeed valid; Indian intelligence is not idle in Afghanistan. In a video recording of a 2011 speech revealed last year by investigative news website Washington Free Beacon, now US defence secretary Chuck Hagel said: ‘India for some time has always used Afghanistan as a second front, and India has over the years financed problems for Pakistan on that side of the border. And you can carry that into many dimensions.’ --- The largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, the Pashtuns, are also the second largest ethnic group in Pakistan, where over half of the world’s 50 million Pashtuns live, divided as they are by the Durand Line between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan, therefore, sees itself a major stakeholder in its western neighbour. -- Pakistan contributed more than any country in accommodating Afghan refugees during the 1979-89 Soviet war in Afghanistan and after the Soviet forces withdrawal. It had a devastating impact on the Pakistani economy, and the country’s social fabric was torn asunder because of the influx of Afghans, and subsequently, heroin smuggling and the weaponisation of its urban centres. -- At the same time, Pakistan trained and supported the Afghan mujahideen during the war. These mujahideen groups have developed over time into the Afghan Taliban, and are seen as Pakistan’s proxies in countering the threat India poses to Islamabad’s interests in Afghanistan. -- If there is a civil war in Afghanistan after the US drawdown, Pakistan is highly likely to see an increase in terrorism on its own soil. There is also a possibility that the civil war could spread across the border. Pakistan is still hosting a large number of Afghan refugees, and a further influx could be expected in case of a civil war. -- Afghanistan’s geo-strategic location is another lure for Pakistan and other regional stakeholders. As the gateway to Central Asia, Afghanistan serves as an important energy corridor. Pakistan needs a stable Afghanistan to overcome its own energy crisis. Pakistan has provided landlocked Afghanistan with access to its Karachi port, and the Pakistan-Afghanistan Transit Trade Treaty allows Afghanistan access to the port at Lahore and access to a land route to India. --- Afghanistan’s vast reserves of oil, gas and minerals have attracted the interest of Pakistan and other regional players, including China, not to mention the United States and other Western powers. Afghanistan has the potential to be the ‘Saudi Arabia of lithium’ according to an internal Pentagon memo, with deposits so large they are game changers in the likely competition for resources between Pakistan, India, China and the West in a post-NATO Afghanistan. - MORE, Shazad Ali - Open Democracy, at: http://www.opendemocracy.net/opensecurity/shazad-ali/india-jostling-for-geopolitical-control-in-afghanistan

سازمان ملل: نامزدها باید آماده پذیرش نتیجه انتخابات افغانستان باشند --- معاون دبیرکل سازمان ملل متحد که برای شرکت در جشن جهانی نوروز از کابل دیدار می‌کند، از تمام نامزدهای انتخابات ریاست جمهوری افغانستان خواست که از همین حالا آماده پذیرش نتیجه انتخابات ریاست جمهوری افغانستان باشند. -- هروه لادسوس، معاون بان کی مون در امور صلح‌بانی، گفت که متهم کردن به تقلب نباید بهانه‌ای برای عدم پذیرش نتایج انتخابات شود. -- او تأکید کرد: " نامزدان باید نتایج انتخابات را پس از اعلام و تایید آن توسط مراجع مسئول انتخاباتی بپذیرند." -- او همچنین هشدار داد که تقلب گسترده در انتخابات می‌تواند ادامه همکاری جامعه جهانی با دولت جدید افغانستان را با مشکل رو برو کند. -- آقای لادسوس گفت:" تقلب گسترده نه تنها پذیرش نتایج نهایی انتخابات را برای نامزدهای انتخابات ریاست جمهوری مشکل خواهد کرد، بلکه بر ادامه کمک و تعهدات جامعه جهانی به افغانستان نیز تاثیر خواهد گذاشت." -- این مقام ارشد سازمان ملل متحد افزود که علاوه بر نهادهای انتخاباتی و امنیتی که برای جلوگیری از تقلب و تامین امنیت انتخابات تدابیر وسیع را روی دست گرفته اند، نامزدهای ریاست جمهوری نیز باید برای جلوگیری از تقلب دست به کار شوند -- آقای لادسوس گفت که سازمان ملل در انتخابات ریاست جمهوری افغانستان بی‌طرف بوده و تنها از نظر فنی به نهادهای انتخاباتی کمک خواهد کرد. -- او آمادگی دولت افغانستان را برای برگزاری انتخابات ریاست جمهوری، بهتر از انتخابات قبلی این کشور دانست و تاکید کرد که حضور ناظران و نمایندگان نامزدهای انتخابات ریاست جمهوری در مراکز رای‌دهی، شفافیت انتخابات را بیشتر تضمین خواهد کرد. - More, BBC, at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/afghanistan/2014/03/140327_k05_af2014_afghan_election_candidate.shtml

Top UN official reiterates world body’s ‘absolute’ impartiality ahead of next week’s Afghan polls --- 27 March 2014 – A top United Nations official today reiterated the world body’s ‘absolute impartiality’ in Afghanistan’s Presidential and Provincial Council elections slated to be held next week. -- “The elections are Afghan-led and Afghan-owned; the United Nations does not favour any candidate over another,” said the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, during a brief media encounter in the capital, Kabul. -- Mr. Ladsous is on a three-day visit to Afghanistan, during which he is expected to meet a range of representatives from governmental bodies and civil society, as well officials from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and other UN agencies, funds and programmes. He also represented UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at an official government ceremony commemorating the Afghan new year, Nowruz, in Kabul today, along with high-ranking government representatives from Afghanistan’s neighbours, including Iran, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Azerbaijan. -- UNAMA is providing technical support to the Afghan authorities, at their request, in the organization of the 5 April elections, which UN officials have described as critical to Afghanistan’s future stability and continued international support. -- During today’s media encounter, Mr. Ladsous expressed the UN’s solidarity with the people of Afghanistan on the eve of elections and reiterated the commitment and long-term partnership of the world body in order to meet the current and future needs of Afghanistan and its people. --- The UN official asked the candidates to commit themselves to accept the results of elections once they have been delivered and endorsed by the Afghan election authorities. --- “Nowruz represents a new beginning. Let us take this opportunity to collectively reject violence and strengthen our resolve to continue the hard work towards peace, prosperity and human rights in Afghanistan and around the world,” said Secretary-General Ban, in a message brought by Mr. Ladsous for the occasion. -- Nowruz is an ancestral festivity marking the first day of spring and renewal of nature, celebrated on 21 March each year for over 3,000 years. The United Nations General Assembly, in 2010, proclaimed an official UN observance because it promotes peace and solidarity. The day also focuses on reconciliation and neighbourliness, contributing to cultural diversity and friendship among people and different communities. -- n his message, the Secretary-General also said that this year’s celebrations came on the eve of a critical moment in Afghanistan’s transition: the elections. -- “These elections are a critical benchmark in Afghanistan’s transition, and can be an achievement all Afghans can be proud of,” Mr. Ban said. “Like Nowruz, successful elections can reinforce a sense of community and national unity.” - More, UNAMA, at: http://unama.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=12254&ctl=Details&mid=15756&ItemID=37820&language=en-US

Obama, in Brussels speech, prods Europe to stand up to Russia, bolster NATO -- BRUSSELS — President Obama attempted Wednesday to rouse Europe to confront Russia’s military seizure of Crimea, framing the West’s dispute with Russian President Vladimir Putin as a clash of ideologies lingering from the Cold War. -- In an evening speech at the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Obama made a broad case for U.S. and European unity, for sanctions against Russia that could damage still-fragile European economies and for help leveraging American power that he made clear in this case does not include military force. -- Using the museum as a cultural counterpoint to Russia’s display of force against Ukraine in recent weeks, Obama stressed that Moscow’s moves endanger not only that country but the international system that Europe and the United States have built over the years, a system that has been vital to the progress of democracy and international law worldwide. -- “Now is not the time for bluster,” Obama told an audience that, as has become his practice abroad, consisted mostly of young people. “The situation in Ukraine, like crises in many parts of the world, does not have easy answers, nor a military solution. But at this moment, we must meet the challenge to our ideals — to our very international order — with strength and conviction.” - More, Scott Wilson, Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/obama-urges-europeans-to-bolster-nato-to-help-deter-an-expansionist-russia/2014/03/26/9353797c-b4f7-11e3-8cb6-284052554d74_story.html

Egypt’s Abdel Fatah al-Sissi declares intent to run for presidency --- CAIRO — Three years ago, Abdel Fatah al-Sissi was a mostly unknown member of a council of Egypt’s top military officers. On Wednesday, the field marshal, whose image is now plastered on billboards and chocolate bars, declared what everyone in this nation was expecting — that he would run for president, a position he is virtually certain to win. -- “The state needs to regain its posture and power,” he said in an address on national television. “Our mission is to restore Egypt.” -- Officially, Sissi will run for president as a civilian. But the 59-year-old’s election would complete the defeat of Egypt’s brief experiment in Islamist rule and make him the sixth military man to lead the country over what has been a nearly unbroken 62-year span of autocracy. -- It was under Sissi’s command that the military staged the coup in July that toppled Mohamed Morsi, who in 2012 had become Egypt’s first democratically elected president. If Sissi wins the backing of voters, he could gain greater legitimacy. But his role continues to pose a challenge for the United States, which is eager to maintain close ties with Egypt, a longtime ally, without appearing to endorse its shift away from democracy. -- Unlike Hosni Mubarak, Anwar Sadat and the other military leaders who preceded him, Sissi never fought in any of Egypt’s wars with Israel, a source of both pride and legitimacy for the other men, as well as a lingering aspect of the nation’s cultural identity. Even so, supporters have likened Sissi to Egypt’s most popular military president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, who planned the 1952 coup that ousted the monarchy. -- No election date has been set, but Sissi was required to step down as defense minister to become a presidential candidate. “I leave this uniform to defend the country,’’ he said. - More, Abigail Hauslohner, Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/no-longer-a-general-abdel-fatah-al-sissi-is-poised-to-become-egypts-next-president/2014/03/26/7c6440b9-1bed-468f-b315-735a32f7d9e8_story.html?hpid=z3

Backing Ukraine’s territorial integrity, UN Assembly declares Crimea referendum invalid --- 27 March 2014 – In a vote that reaffirmed Ukraine’s unity and territorial integrity, the United Nations General Assembly today adopted a measure underscoring that the mid-March referendum in Crimea that led to the peninsula’s annexation by Russia “has no validity” and that the parties should “pursue immediately a peaceful resolution of the situation.” -- By a vote of 100 in favour to 11 against, with 58 abstentions, the 193-member Assembly called on all States, international organizations and specialized agencies not to recognize any alteration of the status of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol on the basis of the 16 March referendum “and to refrain from any action or dealing that might be interpreted as recognizing any such altered status.” -- Action in the Assembly follows months of ratcheting tensions in Ukraine triggered by the Government's decision last November not to sign an agreement on broader European integration. The capital, Kiev, erupted in violent demonstrations and street clashes in late January, culminating in the removal by Parliament of President Viktor Yanukovych. -- Tensions continued to mount in the Crimea region, where Russian troops and armoured vehicles were deployed in February and a secession referendum was later held, in which, according to the UN, Crimean authorities announced that close to 97 per cent of those who voted did so in favour of the region joining Russia. -- Subsequently, Crimea declared its independence, which in turn was recognized by Russia. In the immediate aftermath of those events, President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty to make Crimea part of Russia, while the Government in Kiev committed to never accept Crimea’s independence or annexation. -- Throughout, the UN has continued to press for a diplomatic solution to the crisis, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson and other senior officials having visited the region, including Moscow and Crimea, over the past three weeks. -- The UN Security Council convened seven sessions on the situation in Ukraine, and at its eighth meeting, Russia, one of the 15-nation body’s permanent members, blocked action by voting against a draft resolution that would have urged countries not to recognize the results of the referendum in Crimea. -- The non-binding text adopted by the Assembly today contained similar language, underscoring that the referendum held in Crimea has no validity and cannot form the basis for any alteration of the status of Crimea or of the city of Sevastopol. It calls on all States to “desist and refrain” from actions aimed at the partial or total disruption of Ukraine’s national unity and territorial integrity, “including any attempts to modify Ukraine’s borders through the threat or use of force or other unlawful means.” -- Finally, the Assembly resolution makes explicit reference to the primacy of the UN Charter’s call for the preservation of the unity and territorial integrity of all UN Member States, and also recalls the 1994 Memorandum on Security Assurances in Connection with Ukraine’s Accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the 1997 Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between Ukraine and Russian, and other bilateral agreements between Ukraine and Russia. - More, at: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=47443&Cr=Ukraine&Cr1=

د جمهوري ریاست د دلکشا او د کوټي باغچې ماڼۍ له بیا رغونې وروسته ګټې اخستنې ته وسپارل شوې --- د جمهوري ریاست د دلکشا او د کوټي باغچې د ماڼیو د بیا رغونې چارې چې له څو کلونو را په دیخوا پیل شوې وې بشپړې او دغه ماڼۍ ګټې اخیستنې ته وسپارل شوې. د دلکشا ماڼۍ د امیر حبیب الله خان په وخت کې د ارګ د بڼ په منځ کې جوړه شوې چې د ارګ له ښکلو او د لیدلو وړ ماڼیو څخه ګڼل کیږي. په دغه ماڼۍ کې د افغانستان د بېلابېلو شاهانو، په تېره بیا د اعلیحضرت محمد ظاهرشاه د واکمنۍ پرمهال د بهرنیو میلمنو د هرکلي مراسم، رسمي لیدنې کتنې او مهمې شاهي میلمستیاوې ترسره کېدې. په ځینو وختونوکې د پاچا د کار دفتر هم په همدې ماڼۍ کې و. -- دغه ماڼۍ په ۶۰۰ متره مربع ځمکه کې جوړه شوې چې د کابینې د غونډو، د ملاقاتونو، د ډوډۍ خوړلو او د انتظار خونې لري چې په زړه پورې میناتوري او نقاشي پکې شوې ده. د دلکشا د ماڼۍ په دننه کې دومره تزئیني شیان، فرشونه او قیمتي تابلوګانې کارول شوي دي چې کولاشي د افغانستان د سلطنت د برم او عظمت نماینده ګي وکړيدغه ماڼۍ په جګړوکې زیانمنه شوې وه چې د جمهوررئیس حامدکرزي په مشرۍ په نوې دوره کې بیا و رغول شوه. --- همدا راز کوټي باغچه د ارګ بله لومړنۍ داخلي ودانۍ ده چې د جوړولو کار یې په ۱۳۰۴ هجري قمري کال کې بشپړ شو. دغه ماڼۍ په دوو پوړونوکې شاوخوا په ۳۰۰ متره مربع ځمکه کې په دایروي شکل جوړه شوې ده.۱۵ وړې، منځنۍ او لویې خونې لري چې په شاهي نظام کې سردار عبدالولي پکې ژوند کولو.دغه ماڼۍ په خپل منځ کې د ګنبدې په څېر دایروي د هلیز لري چې چت او او برنډه یې په زړه وړونکې میناتورۍ ښکلې کړای شوې ده چې محمد علي خان یې انځورونه کښلي دي.د کوټي باغچې ماڼۍ له یوې برخې څخه یو وخت د موزیم کار هم اخیستل شوی دی. په ۱۳۰۳ کال کې د کابل موزیم له باغ بالا څخه شاهي ارګ ته را ولېږدول شو او شپږ کاله په کوټي باغچه کې پاتې شو.دغه ماڼۍ هم له بیا رغونې وروسته په دې وروستیوکې ګټې اخیستنې ته وسپارل شوه. -- More, at: http://graanafghanistan.com/?p=124368

Issued By, The Heritage Foundation: Afghanistan–Pakistan: U.S. Must Ensure that Its Military Gear Does Not Exacerbate Regional Tensions --- After 12 years of fighting against the Taliban in Afghanistan and failing to convince Pakistani leaders to crack down decisively on terrorist bases on their side of the border, American military planners are considering providing Pakistan with billions in leftover equipment from the war. A Washington Post story from last weekend indicates that U.S. military planners are in discussions with their Pakistani counterparts about the possibility of leaving behind, for Pakistani use, armored vehicles and other equipment deemed too expensive to ship back to the U.S. -- While giving the Pakistanis U.S. military equipment, including mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles, might make sense from a cost and logistical standpoint, the U.S. also needs to take into account the impact of such decisions on regional security dynamics. Washington should ensure that any military equipment it leaves in Pakistan does not exacerbate regional tensions. Washington should also condition the transfer of such military equipment on Islamabad's meeting certain counterterrorism benchmarks, including cracking down on groups that are destabilizing Afghanistan, such as the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network. -- As the U.S. winds down military operations in Afghanistan and withdraws its troops, it must carry out a major logistical feat in shipping out, selling, or disposing of massive amounts of military equipment. The total Afghan retrograde operation is expected to cost between $5 billion and $7 billion and to involve nearly 20,000 filled shipping containers. -- Because of their size and shipping costs, the U.S. must decide what to do with more than a thousand MRAP vehicles-turn them into scrap metal in Afghanistan or leave "as is" with the Pakistani military. The MRAPs were used by U.S. and NATO soldiers to protect themselves from improvised explosive devices across the country and likely saved countless lives. Each MRAP is worth about $1 million and would cost over $100,000 each to ship back to the U.S. -- The U.S. is reluctant to leave the MRAPs with the Afghans, whom it assesses as incapable of operating and maintaining them. Most other countries that would like the MRAPS are unwilling to pay the high cost of shipping the roughly 20-ton vehicles, making Pakistan-which shares a 1,500-mile border with Afghanistan-a more practical destination. Pakistan has expressed interest in the MRAPs for use in its fight against Pakistani Taliban insurgents. The Central Asian states that border Afghanistan may also be interested in obtaining the American leftover military hardware. -- But logistical and efficiency considerations should not be the sole drivers behind U.S. decisions on what to do with the MRAPs and other military equipment from the war in Afghanistan. U.S. policymakers must also take into account the impact of their decisions on regional security dynamics. -- Afghans are resentful of what they perceive as lack of U.S. focus on pressing Pakistan to crack down on Taliban insurgents on its territory, and have already expressed concern over the possibility of the bulk of the leftover equipment going to Islamabad. Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman General Zahir Azimi this week said his government would request that the U.S. leave the equipment with Afghan security forces, insisting that the Afghan army had the capability to use the advanced equipment. - More, at: http://www.nationaljournal.com/library/130814

Afghan minister promises safe vote despite Taliban pressure --- (Reuters) - Afghan Interior Minister Umer Daudzai, the man in charge of security during next week's presidential election, said on Wednesday the country was under pressure from an escalating Taliban insurgency but pledged to ensure a safe vote. -- Afghanistan will choose a successor to President Hamid Karzai on April 5 in a crucial election which is designed to mark the first democratic transfer of power in its history. -- Kabul is on high alert ahead of the vote, which Taliban insurgents have promised to derail with a campaign of bombings and assassinations. -- In a rare interview, Daudzai, a Karzai confidant and one of Afghanistan's most powerful men, told Reuters the government felt the pinch from the growing violence. -- "As we move along and get closer to the election our enemies try to put pressure on us, to disrupt the election," he said. -- "They have already declared that they would disrupt the election. But we are confident that they will not be able to derail the election ... There will be security, and people will come out and vote in a secure environment." - More, at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/26/us-afghanistan-minister-idUSBREA2P1KG20140326

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

افغانستان او تاجکستان دهمکارۍ پنځه موافقې لاسلیک کړې --- دافغانستان او تاجکستان حکومتونو په بېلابېلو برخو کې دهمکارۍ پنځه موافقت نامې او یوه ګډه اعلامیه لاسلیک کړه. ولسمشر حامد کرزي چې پرون دتاجکستان له ولسمشرامام علي رحمان سره په یوه ګډ خبري کانفرانس کې خبرې کولې وویل، چې تاجکستان په تیرو دولسو کلونو کې دافغانستان ښه ملګری پاته شوی. امام علي رحمان هم وویل، چې له افغانستان سره به د بهرنیو ځواکونو دوتلو په درشل کې خپلې همکارۍ په بیلابیلو برخو کې پراخې کړي. -- دافغانستان او تاجکستان ترمنځ لاسلیک شوې پنځه موافقې ددوه اړخیزو همکاریو، ګمرکونو، فرهنګ او پانګونې دتشویق په برخه کې دي. دغه موافقت نامې دچهارشنبې په ورځ دافغان او تاجکستاني چارواکو ترمنځ لاسلیک شوې او وروسته بیا ددواړو هیوادونو ولسمشرانو په یوه ګډ خبري کانفرانس کې خبرې وکړې. ولسمشر حامد کرزي وویل، چې له خپل تاجکستاني سیال سره یې ددوه اړخیزو همکاریو دپراختیا ترڅنګ په نورو مسایلو هم خبرې وکړې: ″موږ په خپل ملاقات کې دسیمې او نړۍ په وضعیت نظرونه سره شریک کړل، ځینې نظرونه مو سره ورته وو، ددې ترڅنګ مو ددواړو هیوادونو داړیکو په پراختیا، سوداګرۍ، اقتصاد، تګ راتګ، مواصلاتو، ریل پټلۍ او سیاسي برخو خبرې وکړې، دافغانستان او تاجکستان اړیکې په تیرو دولسو کلونو کې ډیرې پياوړې شوي.″ -- کابل ته دتاجکستان دولسمشر دسفر هدف دنوروز په جشن کې ګډون کول دي چې ټآکل شوې دپنجشنبې په ورځ دسیمې هیوادونو دځینو چارواکو په ګډون په ارګ ماڼۍ کې جوړ شي. دتاجکستان ولسمشر امام علي رحمان هم ژمنه وکړه چې له افغانستان سره به دبریښنا، ریلۍ پټلۍ او نورو اقتصادي برخو کې همکاري کوي. ښاغلي رحمان وویل، له افغانستان سره ددوی اړیکې دښه نیت په اساس بنآ دي او هڅه به وکړي چې دبهرنیو ځواکونو دوتلو په درشل کې خپلې همکارۍ نورې هم زیاتی کړي. -- نوموړي وویل، که چیرې په افغانستان کې سوله او ثبات راشي، له شک پرته چې د سیمې په هیوادونو کې هم حالات ښه کیږي: ″له افغانستانه په نږدې وخت کې دایتلافي ځواکونو دوتلو شرایطو ته په کتو، موږ په امنیتي پوځي او سرحدي برخه کې په همکارۍ ټینګار وکړ، دتاجکستان جمهوریت دافغانستان ثبات، امنیت او پرمختګ دسیمې دامنیت، ثبات او پرمختګ لامل ګڼي .″ -- دافغانستان او تاجکستان ترمنځ دهمکاریو دغه پنځه موافقې او یوه اعلامیه په داسې حال کې لاسلیکیږي چې افغانستان هیله لري تاجکستان له لارې له چین سره ترانزیتي لاره پیدا کړي. دکاسا هزار په نوم دبریښنا دغځولو یوه پروژه بیا دقرغزستان او تاجکستان هیوادونو څخه دافغانستان له لارې پاکستان ته انتقالیږي. افغان څیړونکي بیا وایي چې دمنځنۍ آسیا هیوادونو سره داقتصادي اړیکو او ترانزیتي لارو پراختیا دهیواد داقتصادي پیاوړتیا او ثبات لامل کیږي. - دآزادی رادیو

Obama Renewing U.S. Commitment to NATO Alliance --- BRUSSELS — President Obama has spent much of his presidency mired in the challenges of a world well outside the borders of Europe — the turmoil of the Middle East, the power struggles in Asia and the terrorist threats percolating in northern Africa, Pakistan and elsewhere. -- But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its stunningly fast annexation of Crimea have demanded a renewed focus on the part of the world that dominated American attention in the 20th century. Often accused of neglecting Europe in his first five years in office, Mr. Obama is using his trip here to recommit to the NATO alliance, rally the Continent against Russian “brute force” and cast the showdown as a test of common values. -- To show resolve, Mr. Obama decided on Wednesday to modestly increase military deployments in Eastern Europe, and aides said he would intensify efforts to broaden energy security, negotiate a trade agreement with Europe and upgrade military capabilities. -- Yet it will be hard to back up words with resources. The United States has only a small fraction of the force it once had in Europe, expanded energy ties will take years, and his own party leaders oppose quick action on a new trade pact. -- Moreover, Mr. Obama next month will head back to Asia, and aides said he would again promote his policy of pivoting toward the region he believes represents the future. One goal then for Mr. Obama, aides said, is to challenge Europe to take more of a leadership role itself, a familiar theme from Washington but one infused with new urgency by the Ukraine crisis. - More, NYTimes, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/27/world/europe/obama-europe.html?hpw&rref=world&_r=0

حضار گرانقدر و هموطنان عزیز، اسلام علیکم و رحمت الله و برکاته --- همانطوریکه ملت افغانستان آگاه است، سران اقوام طی جرگه یی بنام صدای مردم، با حضور 2500 تن از نماینده گان اقوام مختلف افغانستان از تمام ولایات از من درخواست نمودند تا درانتخابات ریاست جمهوری سال ۱۳۹۳ خود را نامزد نماییم واین امر مهم مورد قبول قرار گرفت. -- این هفته ما جلساتی داشتیم با بزرگان اقوام که وضعیت سیاسی و مبارزات انتخاباتی مورد ارزیابی قرار گرفت و به این نتیجه رسیدیم که در مرحله ...جدید، راهی را انتخاب نماییم که درآن مصحلت ملی، وحدت و باهمی باشد و بی شک در باهمی و اتفاق مزایای بهتری وجود دارد که ملت شریف افغانستان از آن بهره مند خواهد شد. -- بناْ ما از موضع خود عقب نشینی نکرده ایم و بخاطر منافع ملی ، همدلی و باهمی بنیاد کارمشترکی را گذاشتیم و پس از ارزیابی و مطالعه دقیق و مشوره جرگه، این صلاحیت به من داده شد که تصمیم مردم را اعلان کنم. -- و بالاخره تصمیم به آن گرفتیم که به روحیه وحدت ملی و یکپارچگی به تراژیدی جنگ های تحمیلی سی و پنج ساله، مبارزات خود را با تیم های دیگر که با ما هم عقیده و هم سفر اند و اهداف مشترک داریم، پشتیبانی خود را اعلام نماییم . -- بی شک این پشتیبانی نه تنها سفرما را کوتاه خواهد کرد بلکه ما را به اهداف ملی نزدیک تر خواهند نمود و من مطمین هستم که این حرکت، ما را به سوی پیروزی نهایی خواهد رسانید. --بدین ترتیب باید ازجناب قیوم کرزی تشکروسپاس نمایم که به این روحیه وحدت ملی درکاروان همبستگی ملی یکجا شد، و من مطمین هستم که شخصیت های مطرح بخاطر منافع ملی افغانستان دراین کاروان وحدت ملی یکجا خواهد شد. -- من به رهبری ولس غږ، حمایت همه جانبه خویش را در یک کاروان بزرگ حرکت ملی، از جناب داکتر زلمی رسول و تیم انتخاباتی شان، اعلام می داریم و میدانم که با این حرکت آرزو های ملت تحقق خواهد یافت و ما با قوت و روحیه ملی در چوکات وحدت ملی با این کاروان به هدف ملی خود، انشا الله خواهیم رسید. -- باید یاد آوری کرد که بنده از مدت بیشتر از دو دهه است که جناب داکتر صاحب زلمی رسول را از نزدیک میشناسم، و وی سال ها در کنار اعیحضرت بابای ملت قرار داشت و در زمان خدمت شان، صداقت و ایمانداری را به وطن و مردم فراموش نکرده است. -- به نظر من تنها کاروان وحدت ملی میتواند که افغانستان و مردم آنرا به سر منزل مقصود برساند و البته، وحدت ملي ما نجات همگانی ماست. - «ومن الله توفیق» - More, at: https://www.facebook.com/SardarNadirNaim

Rumsfeld's take: Karzai snubs West, backs Putin's power grab --- Mar. 24, 2014 - 4:22 - Former defense secretary on Afghan President Karzai, joining Syria and Venezuela in backing Russia's annexation of Crimea - More at: http://video.foxnews.com/v/3386856300001/rumsfelds-take-karzai-snubs-west-backs-putins-power-grab/#sp=show-clips&v=3386856300001

Dutch Museum Faces Tough Decision on Crimean Artifacts --- A Dutch museum is facing a difficult decision regarding the return of valuable Crimean jewels and gold artifacts after a current exhibition ends. -- The Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam opened “Crimea: Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea” in February. -- The exhibit was expected to run until May 18, but spokeswoman Yasha Lange told Russia's ITAR-TASS news agency that the display will be extended until August. -- It seems Mother Russia is trying to snatch the artifacts early, before Ukrainian, or even Crimean, authorities can get their hands on them. -- “Russia is attempting to appropriate valuable exhibits from Crimean museums that are currently on loan abroad," Ukraine’s vice prime minister for social affairs, Oleksandr Sych, said during a news briefing on March 24 according to the Official Public Relations Secretariat for the Headquarters of the National Resistance in Kiev. -- “Some of the exhibits from Crimean museums are being shown abroad, and Russian authorities are trying to have them sent directly to the Hermitage (Museum in St. Petersburg) rather than return them to Crimea,” he added. -- “Considering the knottiness of the problem, including the problem of who these exhibits should be returned to and how, the situation is now being scrutinized by Amsterdam University’s legal advisers, and we've also asked the Dutch Foreign Ministry for recommendations,” Lange told ITAR-TASS. -- The show features ancient jewelry and armor on loan from five Ukrainian museums, including four in the Crimean peninsula. - More, http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ukraine-crisis/dutch-museum-faces-tough-decision-crimean-artifacts-n63311

The future of Silicon Valley may lie in the mountains of Afghanistan --- The future of Silicon Valley may lie in the mountains of Afghanistan -- The future of Silicon Valley’s technological prowess may well lie in the war-scarred mountains and salt flats of Western Afghanistan. --- United States Geological Survey teams discovered one of the world’s largest untapped reserves of lithium there six years ago. The USGS was scouting the volatile country at the behest of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Task Force for Business and Stability Operations. Lithium is a soft metal used to make the lithium-ion and lithium-polymer batteries essential for powering desktop computers, laptops, smartphones, and tablets. And increasingly, electric cars like Tesla’s. -- The vast discovery could very well propel Afghanistan — a war-ravaged land with a population of 31 million largely uneducated Pashtuns and Tajiks, and whose primary exports today are opium, hashish, and marijuana — into becoming the world’s next “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” according to an internal Pentagon memo cited by the New York Times. -- That was the conclusion of a USGS survey report on Afghanistan that detailed the findings. In addition to lithium, the survey also found huge deposits of iron ore, gold, cobalt, copper, and potash, among many other valuable minerals.-- “The mineral wealth there is astonishing,” said professor Michel Chossudovsky of the Montreal-based Center for Research and Globalization, who has written extensively on Afghanistan. -- A conservative estimate of the riches is $1 trillion. In some circles, it’s as high as $5 trillion. --- In Silicon Valley and beyond, tech companies like Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Samsung, Sony, and Tesla rely on continual, and uninterrupted, access to lithium, as lithium-based batteries are the primary power storage devices in their mobile hardware. -- Without these batteries, MacBooks, iPads, iPhones, Kindles, Nooks, Galaxy IIIs, Chromebooks, and, yes, Tesla Model S cars would be largely worthless. If forced to use older, nonlithium batteries, their battery lives would certainly be much shorter. -- The world’s current lithium heavyweight is Bolivia, the biggest exporter of the element. There, in the swamps and marshlands of the southern region of the country near where the borders of Chile and Argentina meet, are the biggest deposits. -- Canada, China, Australia, and Serbia also have varying amounts of lithium, but not as much as Bolivia. Or apparently, Afghanistan. - More, Venturebeat.com - at: http://venturebeat.com/2014/03/20/lithium-afghanistan/

امريکايي څېړنې: افغانستان به دلېتيم سعودي عربستان وي --- دامريکايي ځواکونو له وتلوسره، امريکايانو افغانستان ته د مېنرالونو ډېر با ارزښته مالومات دډالۍ په توګه وسپارل. د(آيل پرايس) په نامه امريکايي وېب پاڼه ليکي، چې کېدای شي افغانستان دلېتيم د باارزښته زېرمو له برکته د ليتيم پر سعودي عربستان بدل شي او يا هم په بد حالت کې د کانګو په څېر د شخړو په ميدان واوړي. -- دسرچينې په حواله دروانې مياشتې په پيل کې د امريکې جيالوجيکو څېړنو کابل ته دافغانستان دکابو ۷۰ سلنې خاورې مېنرالي نقشه او د لوړ کيفيت تصويرونه وسپارل. خو له دغو زېرمو څخه د ګټې لپاره افغانستان امنيت، زېربنايي بنسټونو او تقنيني ملاتړ ته اړتيا لري. -- په ۲۰۱۰ کال کې امريکايي جيالوجېستانو د افغانستان د ليتيم، اوسپنې او مسو زېرمې دزر ميليارد ډالرو په ارزښت اټکل کړې. داسې اټکل کېږي چې افغانستان دلېتيمو يوه ډېره لويه ناسپړل شوې زېرمه لري. لېتيم چې يو پوست فلز دی، د لېتيم آيون او لېتيم پوليمر بټريو په جوړولو کې کارول کېږي، چې دغو بټريوته په هر برېښنايي څېز کې له برېښنايي موټرو څخه نيولې تر کمپيوټر او سمارټ فون پورې اړتيا ده. -- دپنتاګون مېمو په حواله ښايي افغانستان د لېتيم په سعودي عربستان بدل شي، چې دا به دلېتيمو اوسنی مخکښ هېواد يعنې بولويا دلېتيمو تر ټولو لوی صادروونکي هېواد په توګه وننګوي. -- داسې اټکل کېږي چې ښايي په راتلونکې کې دلېتيمو بيه له دوه چنده څخه هم لوړه شي، ځکه چې دا فلز د صنعت په لومړيتوبونو کې راځي. - روهی ویب

Obama Says N.S.A. Curbs Would Address Worries --- WASHINGTON — President Obama on Tuesday publicly endorsed a plan that Justice Department and intelligence officials have developed for a sweeping overhaul of the National Security Agency’s phone call records program, saying that he believed it would resolve privacy concerns without compromising the program’s utility as a counterterrorism tool. -- “They have presented me now with an option that I think is workable,” Mr. Obama said, adding, “I’m confident that it allows us to do what is necessary in order to deal with the dangers of a terrorist attack, but does so in a way that addresses some of the concerns that people had raised.” -- Mr. Obama made his remarks at a news conference in the Netherlands. The administration has not yet formally unveiled the plan, but it was detailed in a New York Times article that was based on accounts from senior administration officials. -- If Congress approved the plan, the N.S.A. would no longer collect records about Americans’ calling habits in bulk. Instead, the data would stay with phone companies, which would not be required to retain it any longer than they normally would. -- A judge’s order would be required before the N.S.A. could obtain records of callers who are linked to a suspect. The order would require the companies to swiftly provide the data in a standard technological format and allow the government to obtain the phone records of people up to two calling links, or “hops,” from a suspect, even if they had different providers. --- The question of whether judges should review each request ahead of time is a major difference between the administration plan and a new bipartisan bill unveiled on Tuesday by the chairman and ranking leader of the House Intelligence Committee, Representatives Mike Rogers, Republican of Michigan, and C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger, Democrat of Maryland. - More, CHARLIE SAVAGE, NYTimes, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/26/us/politics/obama-says-nsa-curbs-would-address-worries.html?ref=world&_r=0

Press release: - The International Surfing Association announces Afghanistan as its 82nd member nation --- La Jolla, California, March 25, 2014 – The International Surfing Association (ISA) is proud to welcome Afghanistan as the ISA’s 82nd Member Nation. -- Officially called the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the landlocked country is located in South Central Asia and is part of the greater Middle East. It is bordered by Pakistan in the South and East, Iran in the West, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the North, and China in the far northeast. -- The country has a small population of surfers who have come together and travelled for waves. -- “We are proud to welcome Afghanistan to the ISA,” said ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “Members of the Wave Riders Association of Afghanistan (WRAA) have brought together surfers from around the country to participate in a sport that brings them joy and a common bond. While still in its infant stage, there are a lot of opportunities for surfers and SUPers in Afghanistan, and we are excited to provide them with tools so they can grow their existing surfing community and allow their surfers to compete on an international level.” -- The President of the Wave Riders Association of Afghanistan, Afridun Amu, was thrilled to hear news of Afghanistan’s acceptance as a new ISA member. -- “Because so many of our people have been spread across the globe, we have found a place we can all come together and meet up through surfing,” said Amu. “Being a part of the ISA offers the possibility to bring surfers from Afghanistan together so that they can share their joy of this wonderful sport with each other, and with those who haven’t yet learned the sport. More importantly, for our citizens and surfers, this provides the opportunity to take part in an international network, which strengthens the tie of Afghanistan’s role in the world community. Since that is possible with soccer, basketball, cricket and chess, we think it can be the case with surfing as well.” -- The Wave Riders Association of Afghanistan was founded in 2012 by a dedicated group of individuals. The WRAA plans to hold the first Afghani National Surfing Championship in June of 2014 in Hossegor, France. - More, at: http://www.shop-eat-surf.com/2014/03/the-isa-announces-afghanistan-as-its-82nd-member-nation/

Afghanistan: Sufi leaders add 'dignity' to elections --- Why are Afghanistan's most prominent mystics returning to the political arena? --- Historically, Sufism has always been intertwined with Afghan politics. The story of a Sufi dervish placing a wreath of wheat on the head of Ahmad Shah Durrani, the founder of modern Afghanistan, at a Sufi shrine in Kandahar in 1747 is told to confirm the Durrani king's legitimacy. Zahir Shah, the last monarch of Afghanistan (r. 1933-73), was proclaimed king after Hazrat Nur al-Mashayekh placed the ceremonial turban on his head. --- The importance of the role of mystic leaders fluctuated. But even at their lowest moments of political significance, their perceived power, if not de facto importance, has preserved Sufi leaders' place in Afghan politics. -- To understand this influence, one must understand that like most of South and Central Asia, in Afghanistan too, Islam took root primarily through the mystical dimension of the religion. -- The Islam of Afghanistan, therefore, has traditionally been Sufi Islam, particularly the understanding of the religion that is offered by the Qadiriyyah and Naqshbandiyyah Sufi orders. --- Both Sufi leaders became the harshest critics of the Taliban movement as the religious students swept the country off of former mujahideen commanders and took Kabul in 1996. Paradoxically, a number of the former commanders and followers of both mystic leaders eventually joined the Taliban. -- At the Bonn Conference of December 2001, where an interim Afghan government was formed to replace the Taliban, Gailani and Mojaddidi were represented. But, like the Pakistanis, the Americans too, downplayed their significance in the Afghan society. -- Despite the recent universal rise to prominence of radical Islam and against all the money and sophisticated propaganda machinery that they utilise to exploit the weaknesses of Muslim states and disenchantment of Muslim masses, a majority of Afghans continue to see Islam through traditional Sufi lenses. --- The Americans and the international community have spent billions of dollars in Afghanistan in the past 12 years to fight extremism. But, they never understood that by investing - politically and financially - in promoting the mystical dimension of Islam, Afghan society would have had a more effective means to sideline extremism. A nation with hundreds of years of Sufi tradition engraved in its popular - as well as high - culture could easily return to its spiritual origins and it would have cost Washington and NATO capitals far less in treasure and lives.--- Karzai also lost the support of his longtime ally, Hazarat Sibghatullah Mojaddidi, when the former refused to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the US after a Loya Jirga (Grand Assembly) unanimously voted in favour of concluding the agreement. -- Given the three-decade-long systematic reduction of the role of Sufi leaders, and in an election where vision, ideology and principles come secondary to money and the buying and selling of votes, the names Gailani and Mojaddidi may not fetch great numbers of ballots, but they continue to carry weight in an indefinable way. -- Perhaps those names add a certain dignity, respectability and trust that protracted conflict and foreign interference has erased from Afghan politics. Perhaps, unlike westerners, those two Afghan politicians have realised that Sufism is the age-old anchor on which society relies when all else becomes dubious and complicated. - More, Helena Malikyar, Aljazeera, at: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/03/afghanistan-sufi-leaders-add-dig-20143256634750809.html

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Obama calls Russia a ‘regional power,’ warns of more sanctions if it expands military moves -- THE HAGUE — President Obama acknowledged Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea would be difficult to reverse, as Russia’s government announced plans to significantly increase forces on the Black Sea peninsula and create new ways to minimize the effect of Western economic sanctions. -- Concluding a summit here on nuclear security, Obama warned that broader Russian military intervention in neighboring countries would trigger further economic sanctions that would disrupt the global economy but hit Russia the hardest. He pointedly called Russia a “regional power” acting out of political isolation and economic uncertainty. -- Obama dismissed criticism that a perception of U.S. retreat abroad had prompted Putin to seize the Crimea region this month, an act the United States and Europe have said was a violation of Ukrainian and international law. But Obama made clear that Western nations are not contemplating a military response, unless Putin pushes into NATO member nations on Russia’s western border. -- “There’s no expectation that they will be dislodged by force,” Obama said in a news conference with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who hosted the Nuclear Security Summit. “And so what we can bring to bear are the legal arguments, the diplomatic arguments, the political pressure, the economic sanctions that are already in place, to try to make sure that there’s a cost to that process.” -- Obama has sought to galvanize European support here for broader sanctions against Russia should Putin expand his military campaign into eastern Ukraine or Moldova. The United States and six allied powers agreed to deepen Putin’s political isolation this week by effectively suspending Russia’s membership in the Group of Eight industrial nations. -- Obama has sought to galvanize European support here for broader sanctions against Russia should Putin expand his military campaign into eastern Ukraine or Moldova. The United States and six allied powers agreed to deepen Putin’s political isolation this week by effectively suspending Russia’s membership in the Group of Eight industrial nations. -- Obama will take his lobbying effort on Wednesday to Brussels, where he is scheduled to attend the European Union summit and meet with officials from NATO, the collective defense alliance for which he reaffirmed American support here. -- He is also scheduled to give what advisers call the “signal speech” of his European trip on the challenges facing what is known as the transatlantic partnership, among them Russian military ambitions that he described as a secondary concern to the United States. - More, Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/ousted-by-g-8-russia-says-it-will-remain-at-the-table-of-larger-g20/2014/03/25/2f70284a-b404-11e3-b899-20667de76985_story.html?hpid=z4

Russia Is Ousted From Group of 8 by U.S. and Allies --- THE HAGUE — The United States and its closest allies on Monday cast Russia out of the Group of 8 industrialized democracies, their most exclusive club, to punish President Vladimir V. Putin for his lightning annexation of Crimea, while threatening tougher sanctions if he escalates aggression against Ukraine. -- President Obama and the leaders of Canada, Japan and Europe’s four strongest economies gathered for the first time since the Ukraine crisis erupted last month, using a closed two-hour meeting on the sidelines of a summit meeting about nuclear security to project a united front against Moscow. -- But they stopped short, at least for now, of imposing sanctions against what a senior Obama administration official called vital sectors of the Russian economy: energy, banking and finance, engineering and the arms industry. Only further aggression by Mr. Putin — like rolling his forces into the Ukrainian mainland — would prompt that much-harsher punishment, the countries indicated in their joint statement, called the Hague Declaration. -- “The biggest hammer that can drop is sectoral sanctions, and the clearest trigger for those is eastern and southern Ukraine,” the senior administration official said. -- Some critics of the administration said the suspension of Russia from the G-8, which administration officials acknowledged was largely symbolic, showed a lack of resolve among the allies to take tougher steps to undo Mr. Putin’s annexation of Crimea. -- But it signified a firming of Western resolve compared with the early days of the Crimea crisis, when Germany and some other allies said it was premature to consider excluding Russia from the club of industrial democracies. Having Russia as part of that group since 1998 was meant to signal cooperation between East and West, and its exclusion inevitably raises new echoes of Cold War-style rivalry. -- Announcing that they would boycott a Group of 8 meeting planned for Sochi — Mr. Putin’s Black Sea showcase for the recent Winter Olympics — the seven countries who met here said they would instead gather by themselves in June in Brussels, headquarters of NATO and the European Union. - More, NYTimes, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/25/world/europe/obama-russia-crimea.html?hp&_r=0

Taliban bombers, gunmen hit Kabul election office --- KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban launched a brazen assault in the Afghan capital on Tuesday, with two suicide bombers detonating their explosives outside an election office on the city’s outskirts and other attackers storming inside the premises. -- The attack was the latest in the insurgents’ violent campaign against the country’s April 5 presidential polls.-- Fierce gunfire reverberated across the neighborhood in the early afternoon, as heavily armed troops from the Afghan rapid response force surrounded the office building, located near the home of presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai. He was not home at the time of the attack, officials said. -- Police official Sayed Gul Aga Hashmi said the assault on the provincial office of Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission started with two suicide attackers. -- One attacker detonated his car and the other set off his explosives’ vest, paving way for at least four other attackers to storm inside the building, said Hashimi, though the precise number of insurgents was not immediately clear. -- As the battle unfolded, about 20 election workers were trapped inside the building, according to an election commission official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to media. -- He said he had spoken to a colleague who was hiding inside the building’s bathroom with seven others and who told him there were about 12 more employees inside the building. -- Insurgents were also still inside the building, the employee recounted but couldn’t say whether any of his colleagues elsewhere in the building had been hurt, the official said. -- Insurgents were also still inside the building, the employee recounted but couldn’t say whether any of his colleagues elsewhere in the building had been hurt, the official said. -- There were no immediate reports of casualties in the attack. The Taliban claimed responsibility in a statement to media, saying their target was the election center. -- The insurgents have vowed to disrupt the April 5 elections, a vote that will chose Afghanistan’s next president and provincial council members. - Associated Press, Washingtonpost

White House plan would end NSA’s bulk collection of Americans’ phone data --- The Obama administration is preparing legislation that would end the National Security Agency’s widespread collection of Americans’ phone data while, officials say, preserving the government’s ability to gain information about terrorists. -- The legislation, senior officials say, would allow data about phone calls made to and from Americans to be kept with the phone companies. The companies would not be required to hold the data longer than they normally would. -- The effort comes as the administration is up against a deadline set by President Obama in January, when he directed his subordinates to find a way to end the government’s mass collection of phone data, a program that has stirred controversy since it was revealed through a leak to the news media in June. He gave them until Friday to come up with options.-- The proposal, which is still being worked on, would require phone companies to provide data about suspected terrorist numbers under a court order, officials said. It would include making available on a real-time, ongoing basis data about any new calls made to or from the suspect’s number after the order is served — an idea embraced by NSA leaders, officials said. -- The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which oversees the program, would have to approve each number as having likely ties to a suspected terrorist or terrorist group.-- The effort, first reported by the New York Times, is not surprising in that the number of options was limited. And any option would probably require legislative approval. -- Officials said the administration has decided to renew the current program for at least one more 90-day cycle. The current orders expire Friday. Under the program, the government collects telephone numbers and call times and dates, but not call content. -- The administration effort comes as the leaders of the House Intelligence Committee have drafted a bipartisan bill that would also end the NSA’s mass gathering of data. Their measure, to be introduced Tuesday, would also keep the records at the phone companies. -- But some privacy advocates are already expressing opposition to the proposal. -- The House bill would reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to make clear that the government can no longer collect any form of electronic communication in bulk, said its sponsors, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), the committee’s chairman, and Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (Md.), its ranking Democrat. -- “We believe this can be the solution for those of us who want to preserve important national security capabilities while heeding the legitimate concerns of many that the collection of bulk telephone metadata has a potential for abuse,” said Rogers, who has staunchly defended the NSA’s bulk-collection authority. - More, Ellen Nakashima, Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/bipartisan-house-bill-would-end-nsas-bulk-collection-of-americans-phone-data/2014/03/24/f8fac99a-b391-11e3-8020-b2d790b3c9e1_story.html?hpid=z2

Gunmen 'attack Afghan election HQ' in Kabul --- Insurgents have attacked the headquarters of Afghanistan's electoral commission in Kabul, police say. -- Initial reports said the home of candidate Ashraf Ghani had come under fire, but police now say the election HQ is the focus of the attack. -- They say insurgents have gained access to the main compound - it is not clear if there have been casualties. -- It is unclear how many attackers are involved in the assault on the election commission. The Taliban are boycotting the election and have vowed to disrupt the vote. -- Earlier, reports said gunfire and an explosion had been heard at the house of Mr Ghani in the capital. He was not at home, police said. -- Ashraf Ghani is a former finance minister and World Bank official, and a leading candidate in the race succeed Hamid Karzai. -- Mr Ghani is running for election on a ticket with the former Uzbek warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum. -- BBC, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26727268

کابل آماده میزبانی جشن جهانی نوروز --- مقامات دولت افغانستان می‌گویند حدود ۹۰ درصد کار اعمار و بازسازی منطقه پغمان در غرب کابل برای میزبانی از 'جشن جهانی نوروز' سال ۱۳۹۳ کامل شده‌است. قرار است کابل در روز هفتم حمل/فروردین ۱۳۹۳ میزبان 'جشن جهانی نوروز' باشد. -- دولت افغانستان می‌گوید کار بازسازی قصر پغمان که قرار است میزبان نمایندگان یازده کشور حوزه نوروز باشد، به پایان رسیده‌است. -- کبیر حقمل، از مسئولان این کمیسیون به بی‌بی‌سی گفت در کنار شرکت مقامات دولت‌های حوزه نوروز، هنرمندان نیز در این مراسم شرکت خواهند داشت. -- در هشتم میزان/مهر ۱۳۸۸ خورشیدی، نوروز از سازمان علمی و فرهنگی سازمان ملل متحد (یونسکو)، به عنوان میراث جهانی، به ثبت رسید و بنا به پیشنهاد جمهوری آذربایجان، مجمع عمومی سازمان ملل ۲۱ ماه مارس را به‌عنوان روز جهانی نوروز به‌ رسمیت شناخت و آن را در تقویم خود جای داد. -- برای میزبانی این جشن دولت افغانستان، چند آبشار، پارک تفریحی، میدان بزکشی، گلخانه و استخر و تندیس‌های تاریخی را در اطراف قصر اعمار کرده است. -- در متن به تصویب رسیده در مجمع عمومی سازمان ملل، نوروز، جشنی با قدمت بیش از ۳ هزار سال توصیف شده و آمده که بیش از ۳۰۰ میلیون نفر در جهان آن را جشن می‌گیرند. -- عکس‌ها از ستار نیازی- More, BBC, at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/afghanistan/2014/03/140320_zs_nawruz_global_festival_kabul.shtml

Egypt court sentences 528 Morsi supporters to death --- A court in Egypt has sentenced 528 supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi to death. -- They were convicted of charges including murdering a policeman and attacks on people and property. -- The group is among some 1,200 Muslim Brotherhood supporters on trial, including senior members. -- Authorities have cracked down harshly on Islamists since Mr Morsi was removed by the military in July. Hundreds have been killed and thousands arrested. -- They are expected to appeal. -- The verdict now goes to Egypt's supreme religious authority, the Grand Mufti (a senior Islamic scholar), for approval or rejection. -- Campaigners say that while death sentences are often handed down in Egypt, few have been carried out in recent years. -- The final trial session will not be held until 28 April, so there is some time left before the sentence is confirmed and there will be time to appeal in that period, says the BBC's Orla Guerin in Cairo. -- The Muslim Brotherhood has denounced death sentences and Washington expressed shock and concern. - More, BBC

.یونس قانونی معاون اول رئیس جمهوری افغانستان شد. --- مجلس نمایندگان افغانستان، به اکثریت آرا محمد یونس قانونی را به عنوان معاون اول رئیس جمهوری تعیین کرد. -- رای گیری برای تایید آقای قانونی، به خواست بیش از ۱۵۰ تن از نمایندگان به شکل علنی صورت گرفت. آقای قانونی به اتفاق آرای نمایندگان حاضر به این پست انتخاب شد. -- ریاست جمهوری افغانستان، یونس قانونی را با توافق رهبران جهادی به عنوان نامزد معاونت اول رئیس جمهوری تعیین کرد. -- آقای قانونی جانشین مارشال محمدقسیم فهیم می‌شود که روز هجدهم حوت/اسفند در گذشت. -- او تا ختم دوره ریاست جمهوری حامد کرزی در این مقام خواهد بود. -- انتخابات ریاست جمهوری آینده در شانزدهم حمل/فروردین برگزار می‌شود و حد اکثر تا ۶۰ روز پس از آن قدرت به رئیس جمهوری بعدی تحویل خواهد شد. -- مطابق اصل ۶۸ قانون اساسی، آقای کرزی نامزد جدید معاونت اول ریاست جمهوری را به مجلس نمایندگان پیشنهاد کرد. -- آقای قانونی پیش از این نماینده کابل در مجلس نمایندگان بود و در دوره پیشین قانونگذاری، رئیس مجلس بود. -- او از اعضای ارشد جمعیت اسلامی است و عمدتاً در سیاستگذاری‌های غیرنظامی این حزب نقش داشته است. -- محمد یونس قانونی در کابینه‌های سابق آقای کرزی در سمت‌های وزارت داخله/کشور و معارف/آموزش و پرورش کار کرده است. - More, at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/afghanistan/2014/03/140325_k04_140318_k02-qanooni-vice-presiden.shtml

Monday, March 24, 2014

Why China Needs the US in Afghanistan --- China’s plans for western development require stability, which means Beijing needs lasting peace in Afghanistan. -- China has big plans for an economic and diplomatic push to the west, as evidenced by the emergence last year of the “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the “Maritime Silk Road.” China is envisioning these projects partly as foreign policy tools to draw China closer to South Asia, Central Asia, and the Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia. However, there’s also an important domestic policy aspect, in that China hopes to make its restive western province, Xinjiang, into an economic hub, increasing development and (presumably) decreasing violent outbursts from the native Uyghur population. -- China’s renewed interest in its western neighbors comes at a sensitive time. As my colleagues Zach and Ankit discussed in a recent podcast, the security situation in Afghanistan, not a rosy picture to begin with, is about to get a lot more complicated. U.S. and NATO troops are scheduled to pull out of Afghanistan in 2014. With current President Hamid Karzai refusing to sign a Bilateral Security Agreement that would allow U.S. troops to remain after the drawdown, the Pentagon is even considering a “zero option” that would result in all U.S. troops leaving the country. U.S. officials, including General Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, are not sanguine about Kabul’s ability to hold out against a potential Taliban resurgence on its own. -- Chaos in Afghanistan, particularly Al Qaeda or other extremist terrorist groups returning, would be a blow to the U.S., but it would also be a disaster for China. Parts of China’s new economic plans (notably the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) are already in doubt due to security concerns. Should the Afghan government (which is scheduled to elect a new president in April) collapse following the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops, it would further destabilize the entire region—posing a threat to China’s “Silk Road Economic Belt.” -- Worse, China is worried that instability in Afghanistan (and Pakistan as well) will provide a training ground for terrorist groups seeking to split Xinjiang province off from the rest of China. Violent incidents in Xinjiang have already become increasingly common in recent years. Even more worrying, terrorist attacks have been carried out far from Xinjiang, including an October 2013 intentional car crash in Tiananmen Square as well as the March 1 knife attack in Kunming Railway Station. - More, The Diplomat, Shannon Tiezzi, at: http://thediplomat.com/2014/03/why-china-needs-the-us-in-afghanistan/

Pentagon disapproves of Afghan president's support for Crimea seizure --- (Reuters) - The United States on Monday voiced disagreement with Afghan President Hamid Karzai's decision to back Russia's annexation of Crimea, a move made all the more striking by Washington's role as a chief opponent to recent Russian moves in Ukraine. -- Karzai, increasingly at odds with Western nations who have backed his leadership of Afghanistan for over a dozen years, over the weekend came out in support of the results of a recent referendum that led to Russia's annexation of the Crimean region, according to a government statement cited by media. -- At the Pentagon, Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters that the comments by the Afghan leader, preparing to step down after elections next month, were "clearly not helpful." -- "While he's certainly entitled to his opinion, it's our opinion here in the United States - and I believe I can speak for us as a NATO partner, that it's the opinion of the alliance - that Russia is absolutely in violation of international obligations, violating the territorial integrity of Ukraine," Kirby said. -- The Obama administration and other major industrialized nations on Monday warned Russia that it could face damaging economic sanctions if President Vladimir Putin takes further actions to destabilize Ukraine following the seizure of Crimea. -- Moscow formally annexed Crimea on March 21, five days after newly installed pro-Moscow regional leaders held a referendum that yielded an overwhelming vote to join Russia. Kiev and the West have denounced the annexation as illegal. -- Only a handful of other countries, such as Venezuela and Syria, have come out in support of the move. -- Afghanistan was occupied by Russian soldiers during the 1980s in support of the Moscow-allied government of the day. - More, at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/24/us-usa-afghanistan-ukraine-idUSBREA2N1RX20140324

Afghanistan says Pakistan behind deadly Kabul hotel attack --- (Reuters) - Afghanistan accused Pakistan's intelligence service on Monday of staging last week's attack on a hotel in Kabul in which nine people including foreigners were shot dead by militants. -- Afghanistan usually speaks of unnamed foreign powers when it wants to hint at a suspected Pakistani role in an incident, but the statement by Afghanistan's NDS intelligence agency pointed its finger directly at Islamabad. -- Pakistan's foreign ministry rejected any responsibility for the gunmen who managed to smuggle pistols past the Serena hotel's heavy security cordon last Thursday. -- They then waited for a hotel restaurant to fill up for an Afghan New Year dinner before emerging to shoot diners. Three children between two and five were found with bullets in their heads and four of the nine dead were foreigners. The death toll included an Afghan journalist with the AFP news agency. -- "NDS investigations and findings after the tragic incident reveal that Pakistani intelligence services were involved in planning this heinous attack," the Afghan statement said. -- Pakistan's foreign ministry called it "disturbing" that Kabul was implicating Islamabad in the attack. "We reject the insinuation. The tendency to immediately blame Pakistan is unhelpful and should be discarded," it said. -- Afghanistan has long had an uneasy relationship with its eastern neighbour, accusing it of harbouring Taliban militants and helping them stage attacks on Afghan soil. - More, Maria Golovnina, at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/24/us-afghanistan-pakistan-idUSBREA2N15J20140324

جشن جهانی نوروز در ارگ ریاست جمهوری افغانستان برگزار می شود --- مسوولان کمیسیون دولتی برگزاری جشن جهانی نوروز افغانستان می گویند این جشن با حضور سران کشور های حوزه نوروز در ارگ ریاست جمهوری برگزار می شود. --- جشن جهانی نوروز هر سال در کشور های حوزه نوروز برگزار می شود و امسال افغانستان میزبان این جشن است. قرار بود جشن جهانی در پغمان و در مکانی که به مناسب این جشن آماده شده بود برگزار شود اما مسوولان می گویند که این جشن در پغمان برگزار نمی شود. گل آغا احمدی، رئیس دارالانشای کمیسیون دولتی برگزاری جشن جهانی نوروز به خبرگزاری بخدی گفت: "جشن نوروز سال 1393، زیر نام "صلح و بشردوستی"، در ارگ ریاست جمهوری با حضور رهبران شماری از کشورهایی که از نوروز تجلیل می کنند برگزار می شود." آقای احمدی گفت که جشن جهانی نوروز سال 1393 روز (پنجشنبه هفت حمل) در قصر پغمان برگزار نخواهد شد، بلکه در ارگ ریاست جمهوری افغانستان برگزار می شود. او می گوید که حدود نود درصد کار ساخت پروژه قصر پغمان، تکمیل شده است اما به شکل اساسی آماده میزبانی جشن جهانی نوروز نیست. --کار ساخت پروژه تجلیل از جشن جهانی نوروز سال ۱۳۹۳ در ولسوالی پغمان ولایت کابل در ۱۲ جوزا سال گذشته (۱۳۹۲) آغاز شد و محوطه این پروژه ۳۶۴ جریب زمین را در بر گرفته است. این ‍پروژه شامل بازسازی آبدات تاریخی، قصر پغمان، باغ‌ های اطراف آن و اعمار ساختمان خاصی برای برگزاری جشن جهانی نوروز است. بودجه این پروژه ۱۵ میلیون دالر است که در طول هفت ماه از سوی وزارت مالیه افغانستان پرداخت شده است. با این حال، گل آغا احمدی رئیس دارالانشای کمیسیون دولتی برگزاری جشن جهانی نوروز افغانستان می گوید که کاری های زیادی برای تکمیل قصر پغمان باقی مانده است. او می گوید که تلاش های زیادی در زمینه تکمیل ساخت این قصر جریان داشت اما ریزش باران مانع تکمیل کردن این پروژه شد. --- رئیس دارالانشای کمیسیون دولتی برگزاری جشن جهانی نوروز می گوید که در جشن جهانی نوروز به میزبانی افغانستان، حدود هفت صد مهمان داخلی و خارجی اشتراک خواهند داشت. او می گوید که این جشن با حضور سفیران و دیپلمات های کشور های ایران، آذربایجان، ترکیه، ترکمنستان، تاجیکستان، ازبکستان، قزاقستان، قرقیزستان، پاکستان و عراق برگزار می شود. از سویی هم شماری از چهره های سیاسی و فرهنگی نیز از ایجاد چنین محافلی ابراز خرسندی کرده و می گویند که چنین برنامه ها، برای تحکیم دوستی و روابط میان کشور های آسیای میانه مفید است. جشن باستانی نوروز از جشن های بزرگ است که همه ساله در کشور های مختلف به خصوص کشور های فارسی زبان و حوزه آُسیای میانه برگزار می شود. --- جشن جهانی نوروز سال های گذشته در کشور های تاجیکستان و ترکمنستان برگزار شد. رئیس جمهور کرزی نیز که سال گذشته در مراسم جشن جهانی نوروز در ترکمنستان شرکت کرده بود از سران کشور های حوزه نوروز دعوت کرد تا مراسم تجلیل از نوروز سال ۱۳۹۳ در افغانستان برگزار شود. امسال افغانستان میزبان یازده رئیس جمهور کشور های همسایه در تجلیل از جشن جهانی نوروز است. قرار است این جشن در روز پنج شنبه آینده در ارگ ریاست جمهوری برگزار شود. وزارت امور داخله کشور گفته است که برای تجلیل از جشن جهانی نوروز در افغانستان تدابیر شدید امنیتی روی دست گرفته شده است، مقام های این وزارت می گویند که تهدید امنیتی فرارروی این برنامه وجود ندارد. - خبرگزاری بخدی

14 People Dead, 176 Reports of Missing After Washington Mudslide --- Six more bodies were found Monday in a Washington town that was engulfed by mud when a hillside collapsed, raising the number of confirmed dead to 14, and authorities are chasing down a striking 176 reports of people missing. -- The number of reports of missing people was up from 108 earlier in the day, though authorities cautioned that many of those could likely be false alarms and duplicates. -- The search effort included firefighters and police officers, dogs and heavy equipment operators — even a hovercraft. -- The threat of a secondary landslide for a time hampered search-and-rescue efforts Monday afternoon. -- Emergency management officials said some crews had been pulled off the disaster site in Oso, Wash., because of the danger. -- "There is movement on the landslide," said state geologist Dave Norman. -- State officials said geologist from several agencies were on the scene to monitor the hillside, but the slide area remained unsafe for recovery work before beginning again. -- But the going was tough, officials said, with some areas “like quicksand” and others chunky hard clay hard to traverse and dig. -- No survivors were found on Monday, said Snohomish County Fire District 21 Chief Travis Hots in a Monday evening news briefing. - More, No survivors were found on Monday, said Snohomish County Fire District 21 Chief Travis Hots in a Monday evening news briefing. -- More, Tracy Connor, at: http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/deadly-mudslide/14-people-dead-176-reports-missing-after-washington-mudslide-n60886

Text Message to Passenger Families a 'Secondary Trauma,' Grief Experts Say --- Since the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jet more than two weeks ago, passengers' relatives — and much of the planet — have been gripped by uncertainty about the fate of those aboard, whipsawed by conflicting reports and speculation. -- On Monday, some received stunning news via text message: Malaysia Airlines told the relatives that the plane "has been lost and that none of those on board have survived." -- It was a shocking moment — perhaps even more so for the way it was delivered. Malaysia Airlines said it informed "the majority of the families" in person and by phone. But experts in disaster response and grief questioned the humanity of the text-message notification. -- Told of the text, Karla Vermeulen, a professor of psychology and the assistant director of the Institute for Disaster Mental Health at the State University of New York at New Paltz, exclaimed "Oh, wow." -- "That strikes me as efficient, but very inappropriate," Vermeulen said. "To break that big a piece of news, that devastating, by text seems pretty tone deaf and insensitive." -- A text message, she explained, is incapable of communicating emotion no matter what words are used in the text. Human beings have evolved to sense and communicate emotion with our faces, primarily our eyes. Research has shown that texting is no substitute. -- That's one reason why, for example, the military notifies families of a loved one's death in person. In an airline disaster in the U.S., relatives typically get personal attention from an airline employee, Red Cross volunteer or other official. Some airlines run drills for such an eventuality. - More, Brian Alexander, at: http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/missing-jet/text-message-passenger-families-secondary-trauma-grief-experts-say-n60871

In Afghan race, wooing votes with ethnic strongmen --- KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- On the edge of a Kabul neighborhood dominated by members of Afghanistan's ethnic Hazara minority, an election poster of presidential candidate Abdul Rasoul Sayyaf is damaged - partially scraped away by someone trying to remove it. -- The vandalism could be his past as a warlord coming back to haunt him -- During Afghanistan's civil war in the early 1990s, Sayyaf's militia killed tens of thousands of Hazaras, a community who are mostly Shiite Muslims, considered infidels by the Sunni radical fighters in Sayyaf's forces. -- Warlords like Sayyaf with a violent past have played a role in influencing Afghan politics since a U.S.-led coalition helped oust the Taliban in 2001. But they are emerging to play an overt political role in next month's presidential elections as President Hamid Karzai leaves the scene. -- Some, like Sayyaf, are running. Others are being courted by the candidates because many of the warlords command strong followings, particularly along ethnic lines. Candidates are choosing well-known strongmen as running mates to win support in their communities - despite their violent histories. Even the most urbane and international savvy of the presidential candidates, a former World Bank official, has tied his hopes to a warlord whose violent history has been condemned by the U.S. and other Western governments. -- The result is a mixed effect on Afghanistan's politics. The courting of warlords shows their political strength. On the other hand, it also shows that, unlike in the past, candidates are trying to reach out across ethnic lines in this deeply divided country and balance among communities. -- For the ethnic minorities, it is also a mixed bag. Candidates are trying to appeal to them. But now the communities are more internally divided than ever over whom to support. In the 2004 and 2009 presidential elections, a single ethnicity dominated each ticket. Ethnic Tajiks had one ticket - as did Hazaras, Pashtuns and Uzbeks. -- Not this time around. -- Each presidential candidate can take two vice presidential candidates on his ticket - and each has sought to spread the ethnic appeal. All three top front-runners in the April 5 vote have prominent Hazaras as running mates. -- Abdullah Abdullah, a former foreign minister, also has a Pashtun vice presidential candidate; Zalmai Rassoul has a Tajik; Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, the former World Bank official, has a powerful Uzbek warlord, Gen. Rashid Dostum, as his main running mate. Despite a violent past in the civil war, Dostum has emerged as the single leader behind whom Afghanistan's Uzbeks, who make up roughly 9 percent of the country's 32 million people, will rally. -- Some in the Hazara community, about nine percent of the population, are worried about splits. - More, KATHY GANNON , Associated Press, at: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_AFGHANISTAN_ETHNIC_ALLIANCES?SITE=SCAND&SECTION=HOME

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Breaking With the West, Afghan Leader Supports Russia’s Annexation of Crimea --- KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan this weekend joined Syria and Venezuela and became the newest member of a select club of nations: those that have publicly backed the Russian annexation of Crimea. -- Citing “the free will of the Crimean people,” the office of President Hamid Karzai said, “we respect the decision the people of Crimea took through a recent referendum that considers Crimea as part of the Russian Federation.” -- To the casual observer, becoming the first Western-backed democracy to express support for the widely denounced referendum in Crimea might seem an odd tack for Afghanistan, which is heavily dependent on assistance from the United States and European countries. Those nations wholeheartedly condemned the Russian takeover of Crimea, and were unlikely to be supportive of Mr. Karzai’s decision. -- But Russia’s insistence that it is righting a historical wrong in retaking Crimea, which was ceded to Ukraine by Soviet authorities in 1954, resonates in Afghanistan. Here, many believe that the Pashtuns, the country’s largest ethnic group, were unjustly cut off from their brothers and sisters when Britain laid down a border to separate Afghanistan from imperial possessions in South Asia. -- Most of the world recognized the frontier, known as the Durand Line, as the international border when Pakistan became independent in 1947. But Afghanistan did not, and it still lays claim to much of northwestern Pakistan. -- Aimal Faizi, the spokesman for Mr. Karzai, said that the Russian annexation of Crimea was a “legitimate move” and that the palace statement represented Afghanistan’s official recognition of the new borders. -- “Afghanistan always respects the free will of the nations on deciding their future,” he wrote in an email. He did not elaborate. -- Apart from dreams of restoring its own historic geography, Afghanistan has other reasons to offer Russia its support. --- With the Americans pulling back, it is looking for assistance from other quarters, and Russia has been increasingly active in offering development aid. Given Russia’s heavy influence on countries along Afghanistan’s border, maintaining a long-term relationship with the Kremlin is seen as essential to Afghan foreign policy. - More, MATTHEW ROSENBERG, NYTimes, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/24/world/asia/breaking-with-the-west-afghan-leader-supports-russias-annexation-of-crimea.html?ref=world&_r=0

Afghanistan alleges foreign hand in hotel attack --- KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s presidency says its spy agency believes that a foreign intelligence service, and not the country’s main militant groups, was behind the attack on a Kabul hotel last week that killed nine people, including two children and four foreigners. -- A statement from President Hamid Karzai’s office said the spy agency briefed Afghanistan’s top security officials. -- In that briefing the agency said: “The attack on the Serena Hotel was a direct attack by an intelligence service outside the country.” -- It did not specify which country was purportedly responsible for the assault, but Afghanistan routinely accuses Pakistan of sending militants across the border to wage attacks. Pakistan did not immediately comment on the allegations. -- The agency said neither the Taliban nor the Haqqani group, a network believed responsible for numerous high-profile attacks in Kabul, was even aware the attack was in the offing. -- Afghanistan’s National Security Council was also told that a Pakistani diplomat was spotted filming inside the Serena Hotel “a while ago,” seeming to suggest that the incident was connected to Friday’s horrific assault in which four gunmen, their small pistols hidden in their shoes, slipped passed the hotel security. -- Once inside the hotel, they opened fire inside a restaurant and shot people at point blank range, including two small children and their parents. A senior reporter of Agence France-Presse, Sardar Ahmad, died in the rampage along with his wife and two young children. His infant son is in critical condition in a Kabul hospital with several bullet wounds. Two Canadians, an American, a national of Paraguay and a fifth Afghan were also among the dead. -- Sardar and his family were buried Sunday amid tight security. --- The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it shows that “our people, if they decide to attack any place, they can do it.” -- Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, issued another statement on Sunday in which the movement still accepted responsibility for the attack but appeared to address the outrage over the killing of Sardar and his family. -- It said it killed “foreign and internal agents” but the killing of the family was “not the work of the Islamic Emirate,” without explaining further. -- Afghanistan’s interior ministry, which also briefed the National Security Council, said it had evidence of large numbers of students of madrassas or religious schools in Pakistan avowing to disrupt the April 5 polls for president as well as provincial council members. - More, Associated Press, Kathy Gannon, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/afghanistan-alleges-foreign-hand-in-hotel-attack/2014/03/23/9ec11a82-b2a7-11e3-bab2-b9602293021d_story.html

تشییع جنازه روزنامه‌نگار افغان و اعضای خانواده‌اش در کابل --- اجساد احمد سردار و اعضای خانواده‌اش از بیمارستان محمد داوود خان برداشته شد و در مراسم ویژه‌ای با چهار آمبولانس برای نماز جنازه به مسجد عیدگاه شهر کابل منتقل شد. -- آقای احمد همراه با خانم و دو فرزندش در حمله طالبان به هتل سرینا، در شب نوروز کشته شدند. در این حمله پنج غیرنظامی دیگر نیز کشته شدند. -- برادرزاده آقای احمد شب پیش در مصاحبه با تلویزیون خصوصی طلوع گفت که ابوذر، کوچکترین فرزند او که از این حادثه جان سالم بدر برده، هدف پنج گلوله قرار گرفته و وضعیت او نشان می‌دهد که سردار احمد و خانواده‌اش به صورت هدفمند مورد حمله مهاجمان قرار گرفته‌اند. -- مراسم تشییع جنازه سردار احمد، خبرنگار خبرگزاری فرانسه در کابل، امروز با حضور اعضای خانواده و دوستان آقای احمد، روزنامه‌نگاران و فعالان مدنی برگزار شد. -- به گفته خبرنگار بی‌بی‌سی در محل، با وجود باران شدید، صدها نفر در این مراسم شرکت کرده بودند -- 'اداره دیدبان رسانه‌ها' نیز دیروز اعلام کرد که بر اساس پیشنهاد تعدادی از نمایندگان رسانه‌ها و فعالان مدنی، این نهاد پوشش خبری طالبان را به خاطر کشتن سردار احمد و خانواده‌اش برای دو هفته تحریم می‌کند -- شماری از این تصاویر را مجاهد اندرابی برای بی‌بی‌سی فرستاده است.- More, BBC, at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/afghanistan/2014/03/140323_zs_sardar_ahmad_funeral.shtml

فریاد دو مادر دلسوخته و خواهران داغدار در سوگ عزیزان شان --- از جمع 9 فردی که پنجشنبه شب در هوتل کابل سرینا کشته شدند، یکی هم سردار احمد خبرنگار افغان با همسر و دو فرزند اش بود. -- اعضای خانواده سردار احمد می گیریند و فریاد می زنند که خدایا! در خانهء یک خانواده برای همیش بسته شد! -- سردار احمد خبرنگار افغان با همسر و دو فرزند خرد سال اش از جمع قربانیانی اند که شب سال نو از سوی مردان مسلح در هوتل کابل سرینا با ضرب گلوله کشته شدند. -- در این حادثه ابوذر کودک دونیم ساله این خبرنگار نیز به شدت زخمی شده و هم اکنون در یکی از مراکز صحی در کابل با مرگ دست و پنجه نرم می کند. -- خواهران سردار احمد از شدت دردی که به آنان رسیده است فریاد می کشند و گاهی هم به عاملین جنایتی که جگر گوشه های شان را با بی رحمی برای همیش از آنان جدا ساخت لعنت می فرستند: -- سردار احمد 40 سال داشت و با آژانس خبری فرانسه کار می کرد، حمیرا خانم سردار احمد بیست و چهارمین بهار زنده گی را سپری می کرد، دخترش نیلوفر شش ساله بود و عمر پسر مو طلایی سردار و حمیرا فقط 5 سال داشت. -- خانواده های سردار احمد و حمیرا همسرش هر دو یکجا در سوگ عزیزان از دست رفته شان اشک می ریختند و ناله سر می دادند. -- گنجانیدن احساس و درد يك مادر که فرزند دلبند اش را از دست داده است در قالب الفاظ مشکل است. -- مادر سر سفید سردار احمد خاموشانه اشک می ریخت اما مادر حمیرا همسر سردار احمد در فراق دختر جوان اش فریاد می زد و می گفت که آغاز شب سال نو پایان عمر دختر، داماد و نواسه های معصوم اش بوده است: -- خواهران حمیرا، حسرت زیبایی و جوانی خواهر شان را خورده می گفتند که حمیرا دیگر هرگز چشمش را بر رخ آنان باز نخواهد كرد و آفتاب زنده گی وی، برای همیشه غروب کرده است: -- اعضای خانواده سردار احمد از موضع گیری رییس جمهور کرزی در برابر طالبان مسلح مبنی بر برادر خطاب کردن به آنان انتقاد کرده از وی می خواهند تا موقف اش را در این خصوص روشن بسازد. -- اجساد این خانواده هنوز هم در سرد خانه شفاخانه وزیر محمد اکبرخان نگهداری می شود و قرار است با آمدن برادران شان که در خارج از افغانستان بسر می برند روز یکشنبه در کابل به خاک سپرده شوند. - More, رادیو آزادی

Video Shows Gunmen in Deadly Afghan Attack --- KABUL, Afghanistan—Security guards searched four attackers twice before allowing them to enter an Afghan hotel where the young men proceeded to the restaurant and killed nine diners, including four foreigners and an AFP journalist, his wife and two children, according to chilling closed-circuit video broadcast Saturday by a local TV station. -- The question of how the gunmen penetrated the tight security of the Serena hotel—considered one of the safest spots in the Afghan capital—with pistols and ammunition is one of the biggest mysteries surrounding Thursday's attack. Afghan authorities have said the attackers hid the weaponry in the soles of their shoes, wrapped in plastic. Interior Ministry spokesman Seddiq Seddiqi displayed the tiny pistols, which fit in the palm of a hand, ammunition and large shoes at a press conference on Friday. -- But the three-story hotel is surrounded by a fence and visitors must pass through two gates and a metal detector before crossing a courtyard to the lobby entrance. Bombings and shootings are common in Afghanistan, and many establishments have guests searched before allowing them to enter. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the assault and said it proves they can strike anywhere. -- The 14 minutes of video, obtained by the private Ariana TV station and shared with The Associated Press, show four men clad in traditional tunics and loose trousers known as shalwar kameez walking through the perimeter gate. They start toward security before they are apparently called back by the guards to be searched, with the time stamp showing it is 6:57 p.m. The cameras then capture images of the men placing ID cards and other items on a tray by a conveyer belt before passing through the metal detector. A guard then gives each one a more thorough pat down before letting them through the door. -- The Serena has one of the strictest protocols of places frequented by foreigners, but it is rare to be searched at the first gate, suggesting something about the men had raised suspicion. -- Authorities said two of the gunmen went to the restaurant and killed seven victims by shooting them in the head while two other victims were found in the halls. Police also killed all four attackers after a three-hour standoff. The camera appears to follow the four men as they make their way through the lobby at one point turning to a man with a phone before entering the hall that leads to the restaurant. -- The time stamp on the footage then jumps to 9:17 p.m. Two of the men are near the end of the hall past the restaurant, hiding behind walls with their pistols hoisted. About an hour later the burst of a gunshot is seen as security forces apparently fire at one of the attackers and water begins flooding the area. The second man walks toward the women's bathroom and isn't seen again. -- No security forces are seen in the hall or entering the restaurant before the final shot on the video at 10:20 p.m. The video conforms with AP reporting. -- Mr. Seddiqi and police officials contacted on Saturday said they had no updates about the attack as the investigation is still underway. -- Among the dead was Sardar Ahmad, a widely respected 40-year-old Afghan journalist with the French news agency Agence France-Presse. His wife and two of their children also were killed, and the agency said their 1-year-old son was badly wounded and hospitalized. All were shot in the restaurant. Relatives said the baby was still hospitalized but his condition was improving. --- Two Canadian development workers, an American and a Paraguayan also were killed. - More, Associated Press, WSJ

UNHCR report shows leap in asylum applications for industrialized countries --- GENEVA, March 21 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency on Friday issued a report saying there was a sharp rise in asylum claims in 44 industrialized countries over the course of last year, driven primarily by the crisis in Syria. -- UNHCR's "Asylum Trends 2013" report says 612,700 people applied for asylum in North America, Europe, East Asia and the Pacific last year – the highest total for any year since 2001. -- Reflecting a shifting international dynamic, Afghanistan, which in the previous two years was the world's principal country of origin for asylum-seekers, ranked third in terms of new claims behind Syria and the Russian Federation. Among the top-10 countries of origin, six are experiencing violence or conflict – Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia, Iraq and Pakistan. -- "There is clear evidence in these numbers of how the Syria crisis in particular is affecting countries and regions of the world far removed from the Middle East," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres. "This makes it all the more important that refugees and the communities receiving them are being properly and robustly supported." -- For 2013, the biggest increase in asylum applicants by region was in the 38 countries of Europe which together received 484,600 claims – an increase of a third from 2012. Germany was the largest single recipient with 109,600 new asylum claims. France (60,100) and Sweden (54,300) were also major receivers. -- Turkey, currently the biggest refugee-hosting country in Europe due to the Syria crisis (a registered Syrian refugee population of 640,889 as of March 18) also saw 44,800 asylum claims lodged last year, mainly from nationals of Iraq and Afghanistan. Italy received 27,800 claims and Greece 8,200. -- North America received the second highest number of asylum claims, amounting to nearly 98,800 in total. Here, however, the main country of origin of applicants was China. Canada, with its recent changes in asylum policies, received some 10,400 claims – half the number seen in 2012 (20,500). The United States (88,400) has long been a leading country of asylum in industrialized countries, and in 2013 was second only to Germany in the number of applications received.-- In East Asia and the Pacific, both Japan (3,300) and the Republic of Korea (1,600) received higher numbers of claims relative to previous years. Australia (24,300) too saw a significant rise from 2012 levels (15,800), putting it almost on par with levels seen in Italy. -- Asylum-seekers arriving in industrialized countries undergo individual assessments to determine whether they qualify for refugee status. Consequently their numbers are always higher than those who eventually get accepted as refugees. For the 44 industrialized countries mentioned in the Asylum Trends report, acceptance rates vary widely and tend to be higher among people fleeing conflict. -- Acceptance rates for people from Syria, Eritrea, Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan, for example are between 62 per cent and 95 per cent. Acceptance rates from nationals of the Russian Federation and Serbia [and Kosovo: Security Council resolution 1244 (1999)] are significantly lower at around 28 per cent and 5 per cent respectively. -- UNHCR tracks forced displacement globally and issues a number of reports each year showing trends worldwide. The three major components of global forced displacement are internal displacement, refugee numbers, and asylum-seekers (together totalling 45.2 million people, as of data from early 2013). UNHCR's next major update, the annual "Global Trends Report," is due for publication in June of this year. - More, UNHCR - The UN Refugee Agency, at: http://www.unhcr.org/532afe986.html

Syria, Russia and Afghanistan have the highest numbers of people fleeing their homelands, and most choose Europe. --- Syria, Russia and Afghanistan have the largest numbers of people fleeing their homelands to seek asylum, and most are turning to Europe, the United Nations' refugee agency says. -- Syria's three-year-old civil war generated 56,351 asylum seekers in 2013, more than double the previous year's total of 25,232, according to a report released by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). -- Syria became the world's biggest source for asylum seekers, surpassing Afghanistan, which fell to third. --- The report, which analysed trends in 44 industrialised countries, found that 38,653 Afghans sought asylum last year, versus 47,519 in 2012. It said 38,171 Iraqis and 34,660 Serbians sought asylum in 2013 for fourth and fifth place, respectively. - More, Aljazeera, at: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2014/03/syria-world-top-source-refugees-201432155359827120.html

UN: Syrians, Russians, Afghans lead asylum list --- GENEVA (AP) — Most asylum seekers turned to Europe last year as Syria, Russia and Afghanistan topped the list of places where people fled their homelands to ask for protection from another country, the United Nations refugee agency said Friday. --- The agency's report found that Europe totaled 484,600 asylum claims last year, 32 percent higher than in 2012. The report, which analyzes trends in 44 industrialized countries, says 612,700 people applied for asylum in North America, Europe, East Asia and the Pacific in 2013 — the highest total for any year since 2001 mainly due to Syria's civil war. -- "If you look at it in a broader perspective, it's the second-highest annual level over the past 20 years," said Volker Turk, the agency's director of international protection. "We are actually going back to sort of the beginning of the 1990s where indeed we had a very high number of asylum applications in the industrialized world," he said, largely resulting from crises in the Balkans and African Great Lakes region. -- Syria's 3-year-old civil war generated 56,351 asylum seekers in 2013, more than double the previous year's total of 25,232, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Syria became the world's biggest source for asylum seekers, surpassing Afghanistan, which fell to third. -- Russia, meanwhile, become the second-biggest source of asylum seekers with 39,779, up from 22,650 in 2012. Turk attributed Russia's surge to migration from Chechnya, which has had years of conflicts between separatist movements and Moscow. He also said that he is expecting the number of Syrian asylum seekers to increase this year. -- The 38 nations of Europe experienced the biggest 2013 increase in asylum applications, with Germany, France and Sweden the most popular destinations, particularly for Syrians. -- Outside Europe, the United States dealt with 88,360 asylum applications, Australia 24,320. -- The report offered few specifics on acceptance of asylum claims. It noted that applicants were more likely to receive favorable treatment if there was war in their homelands. - More, at: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/un-syrians-russians-afghans-lead-asylum-list

Saturday, March 22, 2014

.حوزه نوروز؛ بستر هم‌گرایی‌های منطقه‌ای --- تا چند روز دیگر منطقه تفریحی پغمان در اطراف کابل میزبان جشن بین‌المللی نوروز و نمایندگان برجسته چند کشور و سازمان بین‌المللی خواهد بود. میزبانی افغانستان و برگزاری جشن بین المللی نوروز بازتابی از رستاخیز افغانستان و نوروز است. -- تا چند سال قبل افغانستان، یکی از منزوی ترین کشور ها و مامن افراط گرایان منطقه و جهان بود. چون افغانستان، نوروز نیز هم در خاستگاهش و هم در منطقه منزوی یا تحریم و تکفیر شده بود. -- در کنار این اهمیت نمادین، برگزاری چهارمین جشن بین‌المللی نوروز نوید بخش اراده سیاسی در منطقه برای یافتن راه کارها و بسترهای برای گسترش همکاری‌ها و همگرایی های منطقه‌ای است. میراث مشترک فرهنگی می‌تواند بستری برای همکاری‌ها و همگرای‌های سیاسی، اقتصادی و امنیتی شود. --- کشور های منطقه با مشکلات یکسان اما با درجات گوناگون دسته و پنجه نرم می‌کنند: دولت‌های ضعیف، نظام‌های سرکوب‌گر سیاسی، اقتصادهای رانتی، مافیایی و تک محصولی، شکاف‌های رو به رشد تباری، زبانی و فرقه‌ای، تفاوت‌های شدید اقتصادی و طبقاتی، سیطره اسلام فقهی، تفسیرهای طالبانی و سلفی از دین، سردرگمی زندگی در شهر و روستا، جمعیت انبوه نسل جوان بیکار و مضطرب جنسی، جنس دوم بودن زن و ساختارهای عمیق زن ستیز، اختلافات شدید سیاسی دولت‌ها و رشد جریانهای دهشت افکن. -- حوزه نوروز از نبود رهبری سیاسی و نهادهای موثر منطقه – محور رنج می‌برد. رهبران سیاسی این حوزه بیشتر نمایندگان اقوام، تبارها، فرقه‌ها، ايدئولوژيها و گروه‌های مافیایی اند تا بازتابی از منافع و ارزش های مشترک. نهادهای منطقه‌ای چون سازمان همکاری‌های اقتصادی (اکو) و سارک بیشتر استراحت‌گاه‌های برای کارمندان و خزانه شعارهای پر زرق و برق دولتی اند تا سامانه‌های تاثیر گذار و مشکل گشا. --- اما حوزه نوروز دارای گنجینه‌های ارزشمند است که می‌تواند در بلند مدت برتهی دستی رهبری و نهادی این حوزه فایق آید؛ مانند حافظه تاریخی و میراث مشترک فرهنگی و ارزش های جهانی. در عرصه اقتصاد تا چند سده قبل، اقتصاد این حوزه نمونه‌ای از یک اقتصاد منطقه – محور بود که راه ابریشم آنرا نمایندگی و پیوند می‌داد. زبان فارسی نقشی مانند زبان انگلیسی در این منطقه داشت و پیوند دهنده گروه‌های مختلف اجتماعی، فرهنگی و سیاسی بعنوان یک زبان فرا قومی بود. --- ایجاد حوزه نوروز نیازمند پیدایش و نهادینه شدن ارزش‌های جهان شمول و انسانی مانند برابری سیاسی و حقوقی شهروندان و دولت‌ها، تنوع فرهنگی و معرفتی، آزادی‌های سیاسی و عقیدتی، مسئولیت‌پذیری فردی و گروهی، خردگرایی و همبستگی و تعامل منطقه‌ای است. - داوود مرادیان - BBC

Russian forces storm one of the last Ukrainian military outposts in Crimea --- BELBEK, Crimea — With a burst of automatic weapons fire and stun grenades, Russian forces in armored personnel carriers on Saturday broke through the walls of one of the last Ukrainian military outposts in Crimea, then quickly overpowered Ukrainian troops armed only with sticks. -- The fall of the Belbek air base, along with the loss of a second Ukrainian air base Saturday near the Crimean town of Novofedorivka, removed one of the last barriers to total Russian control of the Crimean Peninsula. -- It came less than a week after Crimeans voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to leave Ukraine and join Russia. In their speed, the base takeovers— which had progressed all week — were emblematic of Crimea’s swift absorption into the Russian Federation, even as Ukraine’s leaders reiterated Saturday that they do not recognize the annexation. -- In Belbek, the Ukrainians put up no resistance on the orders of the base commander, Col. Yuli Mamchur, who has become a symbol of Ukrainian spirit for his steely defiance of repeated Russian demands that the tactical air wing surrender and relinquish all weapons. - More, Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/monitors-set-to-deploy-to-ukraine-to-try-to-contain-crisis/2014/03/22/742e4898-b1a4-11e3-a49e-76adc9210f19_story.html?hpid=z1

Three Years of Revolt: What Has Become of Syria's Revolutionaries --- They have fled, they are hungry, they are doing what they can to survive: The Syrian civil war has caused great suffering since the protests agains President Bashar Assad began three years ago. We revisit some of those people we have met in our reporting. - More, Der Spiegel, at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/spiegel-revisits-syrians-it-has-met-over-the-years-a-959470.html

Illusion of Safety at Afghan Haven Is Shattered --- KABUL, Afghanistan — His handgun drawn, the clean-cut insurgent stood in the restaurant of the Serena Hotel in Kabul, listening to the mother of three as she begged, “Take my life, but please don’t kill my kids.” -- Her pleading made no difference. As frightened hotel staff members watched from the kitchen, the young militant shot the children first before killing their mother, some of the first casualties inflicted by four Taliban attackers who rampaged through the luxurious hotel on Thursday. The assault killed at least nine people and struck at the heart of the fortified existence enjoyed here by Westerners and the moneyed Afghan elite. -- With its high walls and heavy fortifications, the Serena was a magnet for foreign dignitaries and officials, along with well-heeled Afghans, who flocked to its restaurants, coffee shop and full-service spa. Many international organizations also put up visiting staff members there, confident in the metal detectors and multiple checkpoints manned by guards armed with assault rifles that were erected after a 2008 attack on the hotel left six dead. -- Thursday’s attack shattered the illusions of the Serena as one of the few remaining safe havens for the rich or foreign in Kabul, and the fallout was swift. --- The National Democratic Institute decided on Friday morning to pull out staff members who were staying at the hotel after one of them, Luis María Duarte, a former Paraguayan diplomat, was killed. Mr. Duarte and the other staff members were in Afghanistan to observe next month’s presidential election, and the organization was reassessing its election monitoring activities. -- The other dead in Thursday’s attack included the mother and two of her children, along with their father, Sardar Ahmad, a prominent Afghan journalist. A Canadian, two Bangladeshi nationals and another Afghan woman were also killed. -- The Taliban quickly claimed responsibility for the attack, reinforcing fears that the election to replace President Hamid Karzai will be accompanied by widening bloodshed. A series of attacks have made it apparent that Afghan and foreign civilians are likely to bear the brunt of the violence, which in the past two weeks has included a suicide bombing at a bazaar in northern Afghanistan and an assassination of a Swedish journalist on a crowded Kabul street. -- The spate of attacks has left a number of election observer missions and international organizations weighing whether they could stay on in a city that has become increasingly perilous for Westerners in recent months. -- It appeared certain that security concerns would now shrink the already limited international role in the election, scheduled for April 5, further diminishing the chances to document fraud and avert any potential crises in the aftermath of an election that is widely seen as crucial to Afghanistan’s stability as American-led combat forces withdraw from the country. -- But the focus on Friday for Afghans and foreigners alike was on mourning the dead and figuring out how the gunmen managed to get inside the Serena. --- Mr. Ahmad, 40, a reporter for Agence France-Presse, was shot along with his wife and two of his three children, ages 4 and 5, as they celebrated Nowruz, the Persian New Year, at a dinner accompanied by live music. -- The couple’s third child, a toddler, was seriously wounded by a gunshots to the head and an arm, and was in a coma at a nearby hospital. -- Bronwen Roberts, an Agence France-Presse journalist who worked with Mr. Ahmad in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2009, said he was a stalwart of the agency’s coverage here who enjoyed fishing and reading Afghan poetry and was proud of his young and growing family. -- “He was heartbroken about what was happening in his country, but he didn’t want to leave because it meant so much to him,” she said by phone from Paris. “He was a romantic soul, a sweet, sweet man.” --- Dozens of Afghan reporters, distraught over the death of Mr. Ahmad, pledged to embark on a 15-day boycott of all news related to the Taliban, though it was unclear how it would work in a country where insurgency looms over many aspects of life. -- Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, claimed the children were not executed but were killed in crossfire. He insisted that the Taliban was not responsible for their deaths, and that Mr. Ahmad was an unintended victim, not a target, of the attack. -- Still, he sought to justify the deaths as unfortunate casualties in an “unbalanced war” where air strikes by the American-led coalition have killed Afghan civilians. But “there is no acceptable way to defend the deaths of these children, and we regret their deaths,” he said in telephone an interview, as a child squealed in background. -- Seddiq Seddiqi, the Interior Ministry spokesman, told reporters the young insurgents managed to sneak guns past the hotel guards and metal detectors by hiding them in their socks and wrapping them in plastic. He did not explain how the plastic would have shielded the guns from detection, and also suggested that the assailants may have had inside help. --- Seddiq Seddiqi, the Interior Ministry spokesman, told reporters the young insurgents managed to sneak guns past the hotel guards and metal detectors by hiding them in their socks and wrapping them in plastic. He did not explain how the plastic would have shielded the guns from detection, and also suggested that the assailants may have had inside help. -- But first they wandered around the Serena for a while, staff recalled, taking in its opulence, which differs starkly from the homes that even prosperous Afghans live in, never mind the mud hovels of the poor villagers from which the insurgent draw most of their fighters. -- They even asked staff members when the Nowruz celebrations would start. -- Then they settled in for their meal. They ate slowly, drawing the suspicion of several Afghans seated nearby in the dining room, according to members of the hotel staff. Mounting tension turned to violence as fearful patrons began throwing plates and glasses at the young insurgents. -- The attackers responded by drawing their .25 caliber handguns and opening fire, according to a server in the dining room at the time. -- The attackers responded by drawing their .25 caliber handguns and opening fire, according to a server in the dining room at the time. -- After killing seven people in the dining room, they quickly moved toward the lobby where they killed two more people as they came under fire from the hotel’s armed guards. -- One guard is believed to have killed an insurgent before his gun jammed, at which point he was shot in the arm, hotel staff members said. -- Afghan security forces, including special commandos who have repeatedly handled similar situations in Kabul, overcame the attackers before midnight. Two insurgents were killed in the restaurant and another two in a nearby restroom, Mr. Seddiqi said. -- Throughout the attack, frightened guests holed up in their rooms or found shelter in safety bunkers around the complex. Some called friends and colleagues around Kabul, trying to find out what was happening or simply seeking the solace of familiar voices. -- The hotel remained under a heavy security blanket. Agents from the National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan’s main intelligence service, commandeered cafe areas within the hotel to conduct interviews with staff and security officers on duty the night of the attack. Others were taken to the intelligence services headquarters for questioning. - More, MATTHEW ROSENBERG and AZAM AHMED, NYTimes

GOP senator Kelly Ayotte calls on Obama to set Afghanistan troop plans --- A US senator leading a bipartisan delegation to Afghanistan on Saturday called on President Barack Obama to announce a decision on his plans for future troop levels in the country, on the assumption a much-delayed security pact eventually will eventually be signed with Kabul. -- During a visit to Afghanistan, Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, a Republican, stressed that no American forces would remain in the country without a bilateral security agreement, but also said Obama should not wait for that to give an idea of what the US presence would look like after the Nato-led combat mission ends at the end of this year. -- "I believe that it is time for our president to do this so that the people of Afghanistan understand that we remain committed in Afghanistan," Ayotte said, stressing that any post-2014 force would be contingent on the pact being signed. "He can no longer delay this decision." -- Ayotte, who is a member of the Senate armed services committee, said she also urged the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, who has refused to sign the deal, to change his mind. She also criticised the government's decision to release detainees formerly held by US-led forces and considered dangerous. --- The top commander of US and international forces in Afghanistan, General Joseph Dunford, testified at a Senate armed services committee hearing last week that he would feel comfortable with a residual international force of between 8,000 and 12,000 troops if the deal is signed. He said the US would provide two-thirds of those troops and would keep an additional few thousand forces in Afghanistan to conduct counterterrorism operations. -- Obama has yet to make a decision on the size of a post-2014 US force in Afghanistan after a 13-year war that has become highly unpopular among the American public. --- "I hope our president will announce as soon as possible that contingent on signing the BSA and contingent on a responsible way of dealing with the detainees that protects both Afghans and Americans and our allies that we will leave a follow-on force consistent with General Dunford's recommendations," Ayotte said at a news conference at the US embassy in Kabul. "That is a number that we cannot go below." -- "I call on President Karzai to sign the security agreement, but even if he does not we know that every major candidate in your election has committed to signing the bilateral security agreement," Ayotte said. -- Ayotte was making her third trip to Afghanistan as part of a delegation with two Democrats, Senator Joe Donnelly from Indiana and Representative Stephen Lynch from Massachusetts. They also warned the Afghans that the US was ready to completely withdraw if an agreement that provides US legal protection for American troops is not signed. -- "We're running out of time here … we're going to have to make a decision soon," Lynch said. "I hope that message goes out not just to Karzai but to the candidates." - More, Associated Press in Kabul -- Guardian

Remembering Sardar Ahmad --- The senior reporter for Agence France-Presse in Kabul, Sardar Ahmad, was shot dead along with his wife Humaira and two of their three children in a Taliban attack on a hotel on Thursday. Here his bureau chief Ben Sheppard reflects on a much-loved colleague. -- Three children's balloons rest, now half-deflated, on Sardar's desk. Just a day or two ago, he bought them from a street vendor who he had snapped on his camera-phone on his way to work. -- It was typical Sardar, always arriving for the morning shift with a story about something that he had been up to on the streets of Kabul, always fun, always colourful, always thinking about his children. -- Clever, informed, stylish and bubbling with boyish enthusiasm, Sardar was a five-star journalist, a friend to all at AFP -- and a man who impressed every single person he ever met. -- He loved the story in Afghanistan, had a deep knowledge of the news, and an effortless ability to explain the country to outsiders. He loved office banter, he loved the camaraderie at work, but he loved even more going home to his adored wife Humaira and family. -- Three small photographs of his three small children are stuck on the right-hand edge of his computer screen -- always in his eyesight. He often said they were the whole focus of his life. -- He recently bought a treadmill as part of a health-kick and described with delight how his children would run in front of him shouting at him to go faster. -- On Fridays, the weekly day off, he would often stay at home and cook lunch, taking great pride in preparing a dish that his children liked. -- He brought his beautiful young daughter Nilofar on a recent office outing to Kabul's only bowling alley, and one could see the huge joy both of them got from each other's company. -- He made her laugh. And she made him laugh even more. -- Sardar was at his best that evening -- hugely social, competitive, naturally talented and full of happiness at being out with friends, playing games, talking and eating and teasing and joking and winning. He was simply a success at life, picked out as a rare talent by AFP and soon rising to become the number-one reporter in his field. --- And he was ambitious too. Keen to be his own man, he set up a side-business as a media guru, running the Kabul Pressistan company. Only Sardar could have done it in parallel with full-time duties at AFP. - More, Ben Sheppard, at: http://blogs.afp.com/correspondent/?post/Remembering-Sardar-Ahmad --- or, http://www.afp.com/en/home/

Afghanistan: UN strongly condemns deadly assault on Kabul hotel --- 21 March 2014 – The United Nations has strongly condemned last night’s deadly attack on the Serena Hotel in Kabul that has reportedly left nine civilians dead and several more wounded – the latest violence to strike Afghanistan ahead of next month’s elections. -- Afghan women and children, as well as several foreign nationals, were among those slain in the attack on the hotel, for which the Taliban has reportedly claimed responsibility. -- Yesterday’s attack combined with a suicide bombing of a market in Faryab province and an attack on a police station in the eastern city of Jalalabad bring to over 50 the number of civilians killed in deadly attacks this week in Afghanistan. -- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a statement issued by his spokesperson, noted that the attacks took place as the country prepares to mark the spring festival of Nowruz, “a time when Afghans celebrate the values of peace and solidarity among communities.” -- Both Mr. Ban and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) stated that “the deliberate targeting of civilians is a flagrant breach of these values as well as of international humanitarian law.” -- The latest violence comes as Afghanistan prepares to hold presidential and provincial council elections on 5 April, and amid an ongoing transition process by which the Government is assuming greater responsibility for its own affairs. -- Earlier this week, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA, Ján Kubiš, appealed to Afghans to not allow violence or spoilers to deter the holding of peaceful and credible polls. - More, UN.org, at: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=47400&Cr=afghan&Cr1=

UN expert calls for assessing legal status of prolonged Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands --- 21 March 2014 – An independent United Nations human rights expert today called for an assessment by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of the legal status of Israel’s prolonged occupation of Palestinian Territory. -- “Special steps must be taken to ensure that the human rights of the Palestinian people are protected and the rule of law established in an occupation which has lasted now for more than 45 years,” said Richard Falk, UN Special Rapporteur on occupied Palestine, in a press release ahead of the presentation of his final report to the UN Human Rights Council on Monday. -- Asking that the Court – the UN’s highest legal body – weigh allegations that the occupation has legally unacceptable characteristics of “colonialism, apartheid and ethnic cleansing,” the expert also called on the Council to examine the legal implications of the occupation, and urged the international community to act decisively to uphold Palestinian human rights. -- “Ongoing settlement expansion remains a serious obstacle and undermines prospects for Palestinian self-determination,” he said, noting that the number of settlements built in the West Bank doubled in 2013, according to Israeli official data. -- “So far, there have been no signs of change in this trend for 2014 and Israel has already defiantly approved the construction of hundreds of new homes in the first three months of the year despite the ongoing peace negotiations.” -- Mr. Falk also reiterated concerns on the separation wall, recalling that, in 2004, the ICJ declared the barrier’s construction illegal in the occupied territory. An estimated 85 per cent of the planned route of the Wall lies within the West Bank; more than 60 per cent of a planned 708 kilometres has been completed and construction continues. -- “Such a course of action undermines respect for international law and should be challenged,” Mr. Falk underscored. -- The Special Rapporteur called for urgent attention to the deterioration of the situation in East Jerusalem, which his report describes as a “microcosm of the fragmentation of territory taking place throughout the West Bank.” He noted that “more than 11,000 Palestinians have lost their right to live in Jerusalem since 1996, under rules imposed by Israel.” -- The potential liability of companies who profit from settlements is also analyzed in the report. “The international community is starting to react responsibly in relation to issues of corporate social responsibility,” Mr. Falk said. -- “Some companies and countries are increasingly moving away from engagement with settlements on the basis of their illegality under international law; these examples are to be commended and should be followed by others.” -- The human rights expert also expressed his views on a worsening humanitarian situation in occupied Gaza, noting that “the effects of the blockade, coupled with regional developments, are having a severe impact on the civilian population of Gaza.” -- “We mustn’t forget that thousands of Palestinian political detainees, including children, remain in Israeli prisons. Among them are more than a hundred administrative detainees. Many of them are subjected to ill-treatment and torture from the time of their arrest to their interrogation in detention,” said Mr. Falk. -- Independent experts or special rapporteurs are appointed by the Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work. -- Speaking before his final appearance as Special Rapporteur before the Council, Mr. Falk stressed the importance of this mandate to bear witness to the serious human rights violations that continue to afflict the Palestinian people after more than four and half decades of occupation. -- “In the face of Israel’s continuing refusal to cooperate with this mandate, accentuated by defamatory attacks by political non-governmental organizations intent on undermining it, it is of the utmost importance that my successor is supported and enabled by the United Nations and the Human Rights Council to report objectively on the human rights violations being endured by the Palestinian people,” he stressed. - More, UN.org, at: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=47406&Cr=palestin&Cr1=

افغان حکومت له نړیوالې ټولنې غواړي، چې له ناټو څخه پاتې کیدونکي پوځي تجهیزات افغان ځواکونو ته ورکړي --- دوی وايي ښايي امریکا له افغانستان څخه د خپلو وتونکو ځواکونو ځیني پوځي وسایل پاکستان ته ورکړي. -- کابل وايي افغان ځواکونه اوس د دې وړتیا لري، چې دغه تجهیزات په سمه توګه وکاروي. -- ولسمشر دویم مرستیال کریم خلیلي له نړیوالې ټولنې وغوښتل، چې ناټو او ایساف بايد له افغانستان څخه د خپلو وتونکو ځواکونو پوځي تجهیزات د ویجاړولو او نورو هیوادونو ته د سپارلو پر ځای افغان امنیتي ځواکونو ته پریږدي. -- د کورنیو چارو وزیر عمر داوود زی وایي افغان ځواکونه پوځي تجهیزاتو ته اړتیا لري خو امریکا ښايي په افغانستان کې خپل ځیني تجهیزات پاکستان ته ورکړي.داوودزی د امریکا دغه کړنه مایوسونکي بولي. -- بل لور ته کریم خلیلي وایې، د افغان ځواکونو د سمبالښت لپاره به پوره هڅې وکړي. -- دا په داسې حال کې ده، چې امریکايي چارواکو ویلي، تر اوسه یې د افغانستان پر ملي ځواکونو ٥٣ ميليارده ډالره پانګونه کړې او له ١٦٠ زياتې الوتکې يې ورکړې دي. په افغانستان کې د امريکايي ځواکونو د عامه اړيکو دفتر ویلي، چې دوی افغان ځواکونو ته پر ١٦٠ بېلابېلو الوتکو سربیره سل زره موټرونه، پنځه سوه زره وسلې او دوه سوه زره نور بیلابیل پوځي وسايل ورکړي. - شمشاد تلویزیون

Living paycheck to paycheck: It’s not just for the poor --- When you hear the term "paycheck to paycheck" you probably think of low-income households struggling to make ends meet. That's even the title of a new HBO documentary highlighting the plight of America's working poor. But a new paper released at the Brookings Institution's BPEA conference Friday finds that a sizeable number of wealthy households are living paycheck to paycheck, too. -- "The Wealthy Hand-to-Mouth," by economists at Princeton and New York University, finds that roughly one-third of American households -- 38 million of them -- are living a paycheck-to-paycheck existence. These are families who hold little to no liquid wealth from cash, savings or checking accounts. But a staggering two-thirds of these households are not actually poor; while they resemble poor families in their lack of liquid wealth, they own substantial holdings ($50,000, on average) in illiquid assets. Because this money is locked up in things like their houses, cars and retirement accounts, they can't easily dip into it when times get tough. -- Demographically speaking, the wealthy hand-to-mouth are older, more educated and have substantially higher incomes than their poor counterparts. Perhaps the most striking difference is that while the poor hand-to-mouth tend to stay that way for long periods of time, wealthy-hand-to-mouth status is transient, lasting an average of only 2½ years. --- There's an important policy consideration here. Economic stimulus programs are typically targeted toward the poor, since they are the most likely to immediately spend cash windfalls on necessities that they'd otherwise be constrained against buying. But this study implies that wealthier hand-to-mouth households, because they face similar monthly constraints on their spending, would also respond positively to economic stimulus. The paper concludes that "in order to maximize the aggregate consumption response to fiscal stimulus payments, the payments should feature more moderate phasing out with household income." - More, Christopher Ingraham, Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/03/21/living-paycheck-to-paycheck-its-not-just-for-the-poor/?tid=ts_carousel

AFP Journalist Shot, Killed With Family In Kabul Hotel --- Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalist Sardar Ahmad was shot and killed, along with his wife and two of his three children, in a Taliban attack on an Afghan hotel Thursday evening. -- Ahmad, AFP's senior reporter in the Kabul bureau, was the victim of an attack reportedly launched by four teenage gunmen on the Serena hotel in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, the news organization said Friday. His son is said to still be in emergency treatment for his injuries. -- Ahmad, who is from Afghanistan, had been with AFP since 2003 and was described as "courageous" and one of the "best journalists" at the organization for his coverage of the tensions within Afghanistan. AFP chairman Emmanuel Hoog praised Ahman for his "exceptional coverage of the news in extremely difficult conditions." -- "This is an immensely painful and enormous loss for Agence France-Presse," Hoog said. -- "During the 11 years he spent with AFP in Kabul, he always exercised immense courage and objectivity when reporting, despite the risks faced by journalists in that country," added Gilles Campion, AFP's Asia-Pacific regional director. -- AFP staffers mourned the loss of the journalist Friday, calling it an "unspeakable tragedy." -- "Sardar was not only among the very finest journalists in Afghanistan, but also a wonderfully optimistic and engaging personality," AFP's editor-in-chief, Phil Chetwynd, said. - More, The Huffington Post

As U.S. war ends, Russia returns to Afghanistan with series of investment projects --- As the U.S.-led war winds down and Russia reasserts itself in Ukraine and the Middle East, Moscow is also ramping up its investment in Afghanistan. It is rebuilding the relics of the Soviet occupation and promoting its own political and cultural prowess. -- “You see Russia’s interest in Afghanistan rising. It’s visible,” said Stepan Anikeev, the spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Kabul. “We want to enlarge our role in the region. It’s not only for Afghanistan, but for our own goals.” --- Russia’s recent incursion into its neighbor, Ukraine, and its annexation of Crimea reflect its intent to maintain influence in some former Soviet republics. It also reaching out to old allies further afield. Last month, President Vladimir Putin received Egyptian army chief Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, whose relations with Washington have been strained since a coup last summer, and expressed support for the military man’s expected presidential bid. -- Moscow is also negotiating a major arms deal with Sissi and agreed in 2012 to sell Iraq $4.3 billion in weapons. In Syria, Putin is strongly backing the government of President Bashar al-Assad as he seeks to crush a rebellion that has received support from the West. --- In Afghanistan, Russian officials point to their development activities as a counterexample to U.S. aid projects, which many Afghans criticize as wasteful and misguided. -- “The mistake of the last 12 years is that people were eager to give money, but without the proper strategy,” said Russian Ambassador Andrey Avetisyan, who was also based in Kabul as a young diplomat in the 1980s. -- Many Afghans, including President Hamid Karzai, praise the Soviet model even though they fought a bloody 10-year war against the country’s army, which invaded in 1979 to support an unpopular communist government. --- “The Soviet money went to the right place. They were efficient in spending their money and doing it through the Afghan government,” Karzai said in an interview with The Washington Post this month. -- The new warmth between the Kremlin and Afghanistan was visible this week when the Afghan government released a message from Putin marking the Persian new year. It was the only such message made public, and was released at a time when the United States and European governments are imposing sanctions on Russia for its expansion into Ukraine. -- “I am certain that friendly ties and cooperation between Russia and Afghanistan in the future will add to the goodness and welfare of our people,” Putin said in the message to Karzai, which was translated into Dari, the local language. -- The Russian government has compiled a list of 140 Soviet-era projects that it would like to rehabilitate, according to the embassy. The Kabul Housebuilding Factory, the country’s largest manufacturing facility, was the first to receive assistance last fall: $25 million in new equipment. -- A few miles away in Kabul, the Russian government is spending $20 million to renovate the Soviet House of Science and Culture, constructed in 1982. The building, whose jutting angles exemplify Soviet industrial design, was torn apart by bullets and rockets and became crowded with Afghan drug addicts. It is to reopen this fall as the Russian Cultural Center, a beacon for those with interest in Russia. -- “We want to expand our culture here,” Anikeev said of the center. --- Afghanistan is still peppered with reminders of both the Soviet Union’s war and its infrastructure projects. Soviet land mines continue to kill and injure dozens of Afghan civilians every year. But its bread-making factory still produces thousands of loaves every day. Its housing complexes are among the country’s most desirable (and the only ones with central heating). -- “I hated the Soviets. I fought against them. They killed my father. But this is still the best place to live,” Gen. Labib Raeed said in his apartment in the Microryan, a Soviet-built complex which translates to “housing block” in Russian. -- Raeed is an officer in the U.S.-backed Afghan army, but he’s quick to criticize the U.S. development effort — more than $100 billion spent on non-military aid, including roads and schools -- “The Americans were generous to donate so much money, but they gave it to the wrong people,” he said. --- Many Afghans question why Russia seems so interested in development here now, just as the West’s assistance tapers off. The aid program seems to many a calculated move reminiscent of the Great Game, the contest between the Russian and British empires for influence in central Asia in the 19th century. -- Russian officials say that supporting Afghanistan makes sense, given their regional interests. Afghanistan shares borders with three former Soviet states that still receive considerable funding — and direction — from Moscow. And Afghanistan continues to be a major source of narcotics that pour into Russia. Economic development, along with a Russian-funded counternarcotics program, could curb that illicit trade, officials hope. -- Still, the timing of Russia’s development effort has raised eyebrows. That country’s most significant economic partnership with Afghanistan in recent years, a joint commission on “trade and economic cooperation,” wasn’t launched until 2012, the year the U.S. withdrawal began. -- There are other signs of a Russian revival here. - More, Kevin Sieff, Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/as-us-war-ends-russia-returns-to-afghanistan-with-series-of-investment-projects/2014/03/21/11fab228-a5fc-11e3-b865-38b254d92063_story.html

U.S. Watchdog: Afghanistan on the Brink of Blacklisting --- Afghan elections, U.S. efforts to fight corruption are central to the war-torn country's fate, special inspector general says. -- World powers are on the brink of blacklisting Afghanistan, further isolating the war-torn country and torpedoing its chances of ever joining the global marketplace, a top U.S. watchdog official said Thursday. -- “At the end of this year, America’s longest war will come to an end,” said John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction. “The ongoing drawdown of U.S. troops will leave, at most, a few thousand for training and quick-response sanctions. The reconstruction mission, however, is far from over.” -- Sopko heads a powerful organization established by Congress, known as SIGAR, to oversee the reconstruction in Afghanistan that runs simultaneously to the war and diplomatic efforts there. He points to the pernicious problem of corruption rooted in the Afghan system of government, propped up by the NATO countries involved in the fight. --- He faults the U.S. government for not having any unified plan for fighting this corruption, which he says has led to three key issues as the U.S. plans its withdrawal this year: whether the Afghan security can last without U.S. support, whether Afghanistan can hold free and fair elections this spring and restore the public faith in the local government, and whether the U.S. and Afghanistan can agree on a post-2014 military plan. -- “Allowing corruption to continue unabated will likely jeopardize every gain we have made over the last 12 years,” Sopko said Thursday in remarks at D.C.-based think tank the Atlantic Council. “In other words, rampant corruption may be the spoiler for all three issues.” -- The Financial Action Task Force, an international body that sets standards for fighting corruption, downgraded its score for Afghanistan in February. It stated that the fledgling government was not making sufficient progress in stopping issues such as money laundering and terrorist financing. -- Sopko says this could spell disaster if left unchecked. -- “If there is no sign of improvement, experts cautioned me that Afghanistan will be blacklisted,” he said. “A blacklisting could be devastating to Afghanistan’s financial sector and the overall economy.” -- Any country, particularly one in Afghanistan’s stage of development, requires foreign investment to make economic progress. Without overseas confidence to invest in Afghanistan, Sopko said, it essentially remains a welfare state leaning heavily on the U.S. government for financial support. - More, Paul D. Shinkman, usnews - at: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/03/21/us-watchdog-afghanistan-on-the-brink-of-blacklisting

Sardar Ahmad, charming and versatile AFP journalist --- Shocked colleagues of Sardar Ahmad, the senior reporter in AFP's Kabul bureau, Friday mourned the loss of a charming and talented journalist equally at ease covering Afghanistan's wrenching conflict as with colourful tales – including a lion who lived on a roof. -- Ahmad, 40, was shot dead along with his wife Humaira and two of their three children -- a girl and boy -- when gunmen attacked the Serena hotel in the Afghan capital on Thursday evening. -- An AFP staff photographer identified the four bodies at a city hospital on Friday, and said the family's infant son was undergoing emergency treatment after suffering serious wounds. -- "This is an immensely painful and enormous loss for Agence France-Presse," AFP chairman Emmanuel Hoog said. -- He described Ahmad as a "dedicated and courageous journalist, a cornerstone of our team in Afghanistan who delivered, every day, exceptional coverage of the news in extremely difficult conditions". --- Hired in 2003 to cover daily briefings by the US-led coalition at Bagram airbase, two years after the invasion that drove out the Taliban regime, Ahmad went on to cover all aspects of life, war and politics in his native country. -- He was known among his colleagues for his wit, charm and ebullience. His time covering the briefings at Bagram allowed him to achieve an impressive level of fluency in English -- and a distinctive American accent. --- "Sardar was one of our best journalists in Afghanistan and a beloved member of our team," Gilles Campion, AFP's Asia-Pacific regional director, said. -- "During the 11 years he spent with AFP in Kabul, he always exercised immense courage and objectivity when reporting, despite the risks faced by journalists in that country." -- Ahmad was a versatile reporter with an eye for unexpected stories that opened a window on life in Afghanistan away from the bombs and blast walls. -- His last feature for AFP, filed on Tuesday, was about a lion called Marjan, who was rescued by animal welfare officials from living on a rooftop in Kabul. That was a follow-up to a story Ahmad himself broke last year, generating headlines around the world. -- He wrote in the feature: "Marjan is named after a famous half-blind lion who lived at Kabul zoo and became a symbol of Afghanistan's national survival after living through coups, invasions, civil war and the hardline Taliban era before dying in 2002." -- Ahmad's second-last story, the day before, covered a threat by the Taliban to attack polling staff, voters and security forces ahead of the April 5 election. -- Outside AFP, Ahmad showed his entrepreneurial bent by founding Kabul Pressistan, a successful local news agency that has provided fixing and translation services for numerous foreign reporters coming to Kabul. -- Phil Chetwynd, the editor-in-chief of AFP, said his death was an "unspeakable tragedy". -- "Sardar was not only among the very finest journalists in Afghanistan, but also a wonderfully optimistic and engaging personality," Chetwynd said. -- "He has been the pillar of our bureau for the past decade and a great friend to many AFP colleagues. He was also a tremendously proud father and husband." - More, MSN, at: http://news.ph.msn.com/regional/sardar-ahmad-charming-and-versatile-afp-journalist-6

Afghanistan attack: AFP reporter among 9 dead in Kabul hotel --- (CNN) -- A staff reporter for the Agence France-Presse news agency, his wife and two of his three children were among nine civilians killed in an attack on a hotel in the Afghan capital, the news agency said Friday. -- The incident began when four teenagers entered the Serena Hotel in central Kabul on Thursday and started shooting randomly, according to police. -- AFP said journalist Sardar Ahmad started working for the news agency in 2003 and went on to become its senior reporter in Kabul, "covering all aspects of life, war and politics in his native country" and specializing in security issues. He also founded the Kabul Pressistan private news agency, AFP said. -- The hotel was hosting special celebrations at the time of the attack to mark the eve of the Persian New Year, or Nowruz, AFP said. Nowruz is a major holiday in Afghanistan. -- Gen. Mohammad Ayoub Salangi, the deputy interior minister, said Thursday that those killed included Afghans and foreigners, children and adults. Six people were also injured. -- Afghan security forces killed the four gunmen, who police said were under 18 and were "government opponents." -- Police said they believe the gunmen entered the hotel by smuggling small pistols in their shoes and then hid in the bathroom for several hours before launching their attack. -- The hotel also was the site of a shooting, in January 2008, that killed seven people. The Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack. -- Thursday's attack was the latest to claim the lives of foreigners in the Afghan capital. This month, gunmen shot and killed a Swedish journalist. In January, a bomb and gun attack by the Taliban on a restaurant in Kabul killed 21 people, most of them foreigners. - More, Laura Smith-Spark and Saad Abedine, CNN, at: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/21/world/asia/afghanistan-violence/index.html

د خبریالانو مدافع ټولنې سردار احمد د وژلو په غبرګون کې د طالبانو پر خبرونو د بندیز غوښتنه وکړه --- د افغان خبریالانو د خوندیتوب یا مصؤنیت کمېټې په یوه خبرپاڼه کې د فرانس پریس خبري اژانس د افغان خبریال سردار احمد او د هغه د کورنۍ د غړیو پر وژل کېدو ژوره خواشیني څرګنده کړه. -- د خبرپاڼې پر اساس سردار احمد، چې د هیواد یو پېژندل شوی مسلکي خبریال و، تېره شپه د کابل پر سرینا هوټل د طالبانو په برید کې له خپلې مېرمن او دوو تنکیو ماشومانو سره «شهید» شو. -- د افغان خبریالانو د خویندیتوب د کمېټې په خبرپاڼه کې ویل شوي چې د سردار احمد دوه کوچیني ماشومان وژل شوي خو یو بل یې، چې یو کلن دی، سخت ټپي شوی او په داسي حال کې چې حال یې نازک دی، په روغتون کې بستر دی. -- د خبریالانو د خونیدیتوب ټولنې ویلي چې د دې خبر خپرېدا د افغانستان د خبریالانو ټولنه سخته غمجنه کړې ده. -- د سرینا په هوټل کې څلورو وسله والو طالبانو د تمانچو په ډزو ۹ تنه ووژل چې ۴ یې بهرنیان او ۵ افغانان دي. ډېر نور د حمله کوونکو له حملې وژغورل شول. -- د خبریالانو د مصونیت کمېټې ویلي، سره له دې چې د افغانستان د دولت وسله وال مخالفان ادعا کوي چې په خپلو بریدونو کې ملکیانو ته زیان نه اړوي خو د تېرې شپې برید یو وار بیا ثابته کړه چې دوی په کومه بې رحمۍ پر ملکیانو په تېره بیا ماشومانو باندې ډزې وکړې. -- د سردار احمد دواړه ماشومان پر سر او تندي ویشتل شوي دي. -- په خبرپاڼه کې ویل شوي، سره له دې چې خبریالان بې پرې دي او د دواړو خواوو خبرونه خپروي خو بیا هم تل له تاوتریخوالو او بریدونو سره مخامخ کېږي. -- په سرینا هوټل کې د ژوندي پاتې شویو کسانو په وینا سردار احمد وسله والو طالبانو ته وویل چې «افغان دی، خبریال دی» خو هغوی پرې رحم ونه کړ او نه یوازې پر ده یې د تمانچې ډزې وکړې بلکې د ده پر مېرمن او معصومو ماشومانو یې هم ډزې وکړې. -- د خبریالانو د خوندیتیوب د کمېټې په خبرپاڼې کې ویل شوي:« پرون /جمعه/ یو شمېر افغان خبریالان په سردار محمد داوودخان روغتون کې راغونډ شول او د جګړه مارو دا د نه بخښلو جنایت یې د نه توجیه وړ وباله. خبریالانو پرېکړه وکړه چې د طالبانو د دې عمل په غبرګون کې به د پنځلس ورځو په مخه د جګړه مارو (طالبانو) اړوند خبرونه نه خپروي.» -- کمېټې له ښکېلو خواوو غوښتنه کړې چې د خبریالانو بې پرې توب ته په کتو د هغوی ژوند او خوندیتوب ته پام وکړي. -- د کابل د سرینا هوټل له پېښې جلا د راپورونو پر اساس نن وسله والو طالبانو په ننګرهار کې څلور قومي مشران ووژل او دوه نور ژوبل کړل. -- وسله والو طالبانو د ننګرهار په پېښه کې لاس لرل رد کړي دي. - تاند

Friday, March 21, 2014

Nine killed in Kabul hotel gun attack --- Nine people were killed when gunmen broke into a hotel in the Afghan capital Kabul and attacked diners on Thursday evening. -- Two children and four foreign nationals were among the dead, the official said. -- Special forces shot the gunmen. The Taliban said it was behind the assault. -- The Afghan government has blamed the attack on Pakistan's ceasefire with the Taliban, which it says has enabled the militants to focus on targeting Afghanistan, correspondents report. -- Afghan authorities are usually unwilling to voice Kabul's belief that Pakistan is behind violence in Afghanistan, the BBC's David Lloyn, in Kabul, reports. -- But Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi was very specific in blaming Pakistan for a ceasefire in the frontier region during the Afghan election campaign, our correspondent says. -- The truce allowed the Taliban to move across Afghanistan, and enabled the group to keep open thousands of religious schools, known as madrassas, which Mr Sediqi said "teach terrorists to fight Afghans". --- The gunmen - alleged to be teenagers - entered the five-star Serena Hotel, which is popular with foreigners, with pistols hidden in their socks -- They arrived at about 18:00 local time (13:30 GMT) claiming to be diners at a special buffet put on to mark Nowruz, the spring equinox and the start of the new year. -- They started shooting three hours later after hiding in a toilet. --- Among the dead were two women from New Zealand and Canada, and two men from India and Pakistan; the others killed were Afghans. --- AFP news agency is reporting that one of its journalists, Sardar Ahmad, died in the attack along with his wife and two of their children. -- Six other people were also wounded, Deputy Interior Minister General Mohammad Ayub Salangi told the BBC. -- An Afghan MP, Habib Afghan, is in hospital after being shot in the face, stomach and leg. -- The building was immediately surrounded by members of the elite Afghan Crisis Response Unit, who killed the attackers. --- The Serena Hotel is less than 1km (0.6 miles) from the presidential palace and key government ministries. - Moree, BBC, at: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26675253

Unveiling Afghanistan -- Suraya Popal: 'They Stole His Sister, Not His Car' --- What gives you hope for the future? -- The underground mines that have been discovered in Afghanistan bring hope to all Afghans for a prosperous future. I hope that those mines will be operated effectively in accordance with international law in order to guarantee the economic future of the people of Afghanistan. --- What do you fear most today? -- I am worried that the international community might repeat the mistake it made when it left Afghanistan alone in 1993. - More, Huffpost, at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/unveiling-afghanistan/suraya-popal-they-stole-h_b_5001258.html

د عدليې وزير حبيب الله غالب د ورپېښې ناروغۍ له امله په حق رسېدلى دى. --- د عدليې وزارت ستر سلاکار محمدهاشم هاشمزي رسنيو ته ويلي چې تېره ورځ د عدليې وزير حبيب الله غالب مغزي سکته وکړه او د بېړنۍ درملنې لپاره په بګرام کې د بهرنيانو روغتون ته ولېږدول شو، خو نن يې ساه ورکړې ده. -- د هاشمزي په وينا، د هغه د جنازې په اړه به وروسته اعلان وشي. -- د يادونې ده، درې ورځې مخکې ولسمشر حامد کرزي د يوه حکم پر اساس څارنپوه حبيب الله غالب د سترې محکمې د غړي په توګه نومولى و او په دې نږدې ورځو کې د باور رايې اخيستو لپاره ولسي جرګې ته معرفي کېده. -- حبيب الله غالب د مولوي محمدعمر کوهستاني زوى، د ١٣١٨ لمريز کال د غويي په ١٧مه د کاپيسا ولايت د کوهستان ولسوالۍ د قاضي خېل په کلي کې زېږېدلى و. -- لومړنۍ زده کړې يې د پروان د ګلبهار په ښوونځي کې ترسره کړې وې او وروسته يې د کابل په ابوحنيفه مدرسه کې زده کړې وکړې او په ١٣٣٧ لمريز کال کې ترې فارغ شو. -- هغه خپلې لوړې زده کړې د ليسانس تر کچې د کابل پوهنتون د شرعياتو په پوهنځي کې په ١٣٤١ لمريز کال کې ترسره کړې او په همدغه کال يې د عدليې په وزارت کې دنده ترلاسه کړه. - More, بینوا -

Four foreigners among nine gunned down in Taliban attack on Kabul hotel --- Four men with pistols stuffed in their socks attacked a luxury hotel in Kabul on Thursday, opening fire in a restaurant and killing nine people, including four foreigners, officials said. -- The attack came just hours after militants killed 11 people in an audacious assault on a police station in eastern Afghanistan. -- Afghan authorities initially said only two security guards had been wounded in the brazen assault on the Serena hotel in Kabul, which is home to UN staff and diplomats. -- But deputy interior minister General Mohammad Ayub Salangi later told Associated Press that the Afghan fatalities included two men, two women and one child while the foreigners included two women and two men. -- Salangi did not provide the nationalities of the foreigners who were believed to be celebrating the Persian new year with other guests. The attackers were all killed by security guards. -- Zabihullah Mujihid, a Taliban spokesman, who claimed responsibility for the attack, said the fighters evaded security by using a back entrance. He said they were armed with light and heavy weapons and suicide vests, although only gunfire was heard during the attack. -- “Tonight at 9.15 some mujahideen entered from an unofficial door,” he told the Guardian by phone. “Foreigners and officials from Kabul administration, important people were there tonight.” -- As fears for security rise in Afghanistan ahead of a presidential election set for next month, its rooms were fully booked by election monitors, United Nations staff and diplomats whose embassies felt exposed. -- It was also a favourite meeting place for Afghan leaders. Visitors to the pricey buffet restaurant and high-end gym, complete with a heated outdoor swimming pool that operates through the winter, would often bump into ministers, MPs and other powerful officials. -- The assailants were killed in both attacks on Thursday, but made their point: Afghan forces face a huge challenge in securing upcoming elections in what will be a major test of their abilities as foreign troops wind down their combat mission at the end of this year. - More, Emma Graham-Harrison, Guardian

In Afghanistan, Taliban carry out two attacks, raiding hotel, police station, killing at least 18 --- KABUL — Taliban insurgents exchanged gunfire with security forces inside a posh hotel near the presidential palace in the Afghan capital Thursday, killing eight civilians, just hours after militants killed 10 police officers in a brazen attack farther east. -- The attacks came on a day when 77 suspected Taliban fighters captured by Western forces were released from prison. -- Sediq Seddiqi, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said four teenagers armed with pistols and disguised as guests entered the Serena Hotel on Thursday. -- Hours later, when hotel guests were having dinner, the gunmen opened fire, Seddiqi said. Hotel guards and Afghan security forces rushed the guests to a safe room, but eight guests as well as the assailants were killed in the overnight exchange of fire. The slain civilians were three women — two of them foreigners — three men and two children, Seddiqi said. -- A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said in an e-mail that his group was behind the attack. The Taliban had information that nationals of “occupying countries,” as well as Afghan government officials and some “corrupt” law­makers, were at the hotel to celebrate the Afghan new year, he said. -- The assailants managed to get their weapons past tight hotel security, including body searches and X-ray machines. Security at the hotel was beefed up after a Taliban suicide attack in 2008 killed seven people. -- Earlier Thursday, Taliban militants raided a police station in the city of Jalalabad, killing 10 officers. Seven of the assailants were either fatally shot during the clash or were killed by explosives they carried. -- The predawn attack began when a suicide bomber blew up a vehicle at the entrance of the police station, located close to key government buildings, including the governor’s office. This allowed six other militants to make their way inside the police base, officials said. - More, Sayed Salahuddin, Washingtonpost

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Obama expands sanctions against top aides, associates of Putin over annexation of Crimea --- President Obama expanded sanctions against top aides and reputed financial associates of Russian President Vladi­mir Putin on Thursday as punishment for the annexation of Crimea, and laid the groundwork for far broader measures against “key sectors of the Russian economy” if Putin further escalates his actions in Ukraine. -- The broad measures potentially include Russia’s financial services, energy, mining, engineering and defense sectors, according to language in what was Obama’s third executive order in two weeks. If implemented, he acknowledged, they would not only significantly affect the Russian economy, “they could also be disruptive to the global economy.” -- But “Russia must know that further escalation will only isolate it further from the international community,” Obama said in a brief statement on the White House South Lawn. -- For now, the measures target Putin’s inner circle and stop well short of the kind of sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy. Those would be triggered only by a wider military incursion, and Russian troops remain massed on Ukraine’s eastern and southern borders. And although Putin has said Russia has no further territorial designs on Ukraine, he has proved indifferent to Western threats. -- Russia promptly retaliated by banning nine U.S. lawmakers and officials from entering the country. The list includes Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and three top Obama aides, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. - More, Karen DeYoung and Will Englund, - Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-expands-sanctions-against-top-aides-associates-of-putin-over-annexation-of-crimea/2014/03/20/ad5166f8-b04d-11e3-a49e-76adc9210f19_story.html?hpid=z2

Will Afghanistan security take backseat to Europe? --- With Russia pushing new hostilities to Europe's doorstep, U.S. and NATO officials are trying to gauge whether already dwindling resources and attention will be diverted from what, until now, has been a top security priority: Afghanistan. -- NATO, the international military alliance, is intent on continuing its 12-year mission in Afghanistan and has urged the government in Kabul to sign a security agreement allowing foreign troops to stay and train local forces beyond a Dec. 31 withdrawal deadline. -- But with NATO states in Eastern Europe openly worried over Russian aggression, especially after Moscow this week annexed the strategic Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine, the alliance may have little choice but to bolster its own borders at some cost of keeping a robust and diverse military presence a continent away. -- NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen insisted Wednesday that Russia's aggressions would not distract the military alliance from Afghanistan. -- "We have the capacity to deal with several missions and operations at one and the same time," Rasmussen said under questioning at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington. "And ongoing events will not have any impact on our engagement in Afghanistan." -- Other experts said it is inevitable that some European nations — particularly those within Russia's reach — refocus on securing their home fronts. -- "Because the Europeans are more concerned about Russia as a threat, they will be less inclined to divert very precious resources to overseas-type missions, of which Afghanistan is clearly one," retired Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis, the former NATO supreme allied commander and top U.S. commander in Europe, said in an interview this week. -- "In resources for these smaller nations, they'll want to put more attention and more focus on the very defensive level of effort," said Stavridis, now dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Medford, Mass. -- The war in Afghanistan has been winding down over the past year, and the vast majority of the 52,000 troops from 49 nations who are there currently already are planning to head home. -- More, LARA JAKES AP National Security Writer, at: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/afghanistan-security-backseat-europe-22980626

Gunmen Attack Luxury Hotel in Kabul Weeks Before Afghanistan Elections --- KABUL, Afghanistan — Four men with pistols opened fire inside the luxurious Serena Hotel complex in central Kabul on Thursday night, wounding two people before being gunned down and sowing panic in an exclusive enclave frequented by foreign officials, prominent Afghans and an array of development workers, officials and witnesses said. -- The Afghan Interior Ministry said the attackers entered the hotel saying they were going to eat in one of the complex’s restaurants. Officials said the attackers managed to smuggle pistols past security checkpoints and then hid in a bathroom, eventually springing out and opening fire on hotel guests and guards. -- The ministry said that the two injured people were hospitalized and that one was a foreigner, but gave no further details -- A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, said the insurgents were responsible. But the Twitter feed for the National Directorate of Security, the Afghan intelligence service, reported that the battle had been sparked by a conflict between armed guests, and the police forces appeared to be staying noncommittal. -- Witnesses inside the Serena said that a festive evening of Afghan New Year celebrations was interrupted around 9 p.m., when they began hearing gunshots around the complex’s packed restaurants. Frightened guests holed up in their rooms, or found shelter in safety bunkers around the complex. -- The police quickly put up a heavy cordon around the hotel, which is in central Kabul and within a mile of the presidential palace. -- The Serena has long been a popular destination for wealthy or prominent visitors to Kabul. Hotel rooms can cost upward of $300 a night, with prices soaring during times of high demand. Ahead of the presidential elections on April 5, rooms at the Serena were fully booked through the coming weeks. -- Even before, concerns about security in Kabul had prompted the United Nations to move some of its staff behind the hotel’s high walls, which are guarded around the clock by dozens of security guards armed with assault weapons. -- The hotel has also been subjected to repeated attacks by the Taliban, who more recently have threatened a heavy surge of assaults to disrupt the elections. With its expatriate clientele and general ambience of luxury, including a heated swimming pool and full-service spa, the hotel offers an obviously attractive target for militants, and recent security reports rated the Serena among the highest-risk locales in the city. -- Early on Thursday, the Taliban claimed another major attack after a series of coordinated strikes in the city of Jalalabad left at least 10 police officers dead, including the district police chief. - More, NYTimes, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/21/world/asia/afghanistan-police-attack.html?_r=0

Attack on Serena Hotel ends with death of gunmen --- KABUL (Pajhwok): Four suicide attackers were killed after a two-hour clash with security personnel inside a luxury hotel in the heart of Kabul on Thursday might, witnesses and officials said. -- Bursts of fire erupted at about 9.15pm, followed by a powerful blast near Serena Hotel, frequented by high-ranking Afghan and foreign officials. Security personnel surrounded the building. -- Interior Ministry spokesman Siddique Siddiqui told journalists at the site the brazen assault ended at 11pm with the killing of four terrorists, armed with pistols and hand grenades, The attackers entered the hotel through the backdoor. -- Hel blamed the hotel's guards for laxity that let the terrorists enter the heavily fortified building at 6pm. Two wounded Serena staffers were under medical care at hospital, he said, adding the incident was under investigation. -- Police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai confirmed the gunfire, but did not give further details. It was not immediately clear whether security guards or assailants fired inside the high-security hotel, popular with foreign diplomats and Afghan elites. -- According to one security official, who did not want to be named, said up to four gunmen had forced their way into the hotel, exchanging fire with security guards.-- Afghan lawmaker Qais Hassan, who was staying at Serena at the time of the incident, said the clash ended at 11pm. "As of now the situation is calm," he added. - More, at: http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2014/03/20/attack-serena-hotel-ends-death-gunmen

The Best Passports To Have For Unrestricted Travel Around The World --- If you could obtain a passport from any country in the world, which one would you pick? Keep in mind that what passport you hold says a lot more than you may realize about your access to the world. -- Can’t decide? Here’s some advice: You’d be wise to go with a member of the European Union, which is home to nine out of the top 10 countries whose citizens have the most freedom of (visa-free) travel, according to the 2013 index from Henley & Partners, an international residence and citizenship planning consulting firm. --- In the report, produced in collaboration with the International Air Transport Association, Henley & Partners ranked citizens’ visa-free access to other countries as of July 2013 on a 219-point scale. The United States’ total score of 172, for example, means that U.S. passport holders may enter 172 countries and territories without a visa, a marked increase from 2012. --- Citizens of Denmark, Germany and Luxembourg can also enter 172 countries and territories, though it’s citizens of Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom who, with a score of 173, edge out all others to have the best passports for global travel. Rounding out the top tier are Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands at 171, followed by Canada, France, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Portugal and Spain at 170. -- On the flipside, passport holders of Kosovo (38), Lebanon (38), Sri Lanka (38), Sudan (38), Nepal (37), Eritrea (36), Palestinian Territory (36), Pakistan (32), Somalia (32) and Iraq (31) have the least visa-free travel options among all countries and territories surveyed, save those whose passports were issued in Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghani passport holders can only visit 13 percent of the world, or just 28 countries, free of formalities. --- In general, passport holders in North America and Europe have the most freedom of travel, while passport holders in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia have the least. --- Scroll down below for a complete look at the best and worst passports for global travel. - More, Mark Johanson, at: http://www.ibtimes.com/best-passports-have-unrestricted-travel-around-world-1422038

نوروز جشن کهن و دیرین ما --- هرچند خیلی‌ها نوروز و جشن‌های آن را به جمشید، شاه پیشدادی نسبت می‌دهند ولی واقعیت این است که جشن‌های نوروز حتی پیشتر از جمشید نیز رواج داشته است. گفته می‌شود جشن‌های نوروز به زمانی برمی‌گردد که جوامع انسانی در جغرافیای بزرگی در آسیا به‌سوی زراعت و مالداری حرکت کردند. اما اکثریت مورخان و نویسندگان کلاسیک نوروز را «برشده» توسط جمشید می‌دانند. به‌طور مثال تأریخ طبری می‌نویسد؛ «جمشید علما را فرمود که آن روز که من بنشستم به مظالم، شما نزد من باشید تا هر چه در او داد و عدل باشد بنمائید، تا من آن کنم. و آن روز که به مظالم نشست، روز هرمز بود از ماه فروردین؛ پس آن روز رسم کردند.» -- یا ابوریحان بیرونی نیز روز پرواز کردن جمشید را نوروز می‌داند و به همین مناسبت آن را جشن می‌گرفتند. «چون جمشید برای خود گردونه بساخت؛ در این روز بر آن سوار شد، و جن و شیاطین او را در هوا حمل کردند و به یک روز از کوه دماوند به بابل آمد و مردم برای دیدن این امر به شگفت شدند پس این روز را عید گرفته و برای یادبود آن روز تاب می‌نشینند و تاب می‌خورند.» عمر خیام در نوروزنامه خود به تفصیل به آن پرداخته است. «جمشید به مناسبت باز آمدن خورشید به برج حمل، نوروز را جشن گرفت: سبب نهادن نوروز آن بوده است که آفتاب را دو دور بوده، یکی آن‌که هر سه‌صد‌وشصت‌وپنج شبانه‌روز به اول دقیقه حمل باز آمد و به همان روز که رفته بود بدین دقیقه نتواند باز آمدن، چه هر سال از مدت همی کم شود؛ و چون جمشید، آن روز دریافت (آن را) نوروز نام نهاد و جشن و آئین آورد و پس از آن پادشاهان و دیگر مردمان بدو اقتدا کردند.» -- مشخص است که جشن سال نو قبل از جشمید نیز وجود داشته ولی قراین چنین نشان می‌دهد که جمشید آن را جشن رسمی آریانای کهن ساخته است. -- مشخص است که جشن سال نو قبل از جشمید نیز وجود داشته ولی قراین چنین نشان می‌دهد که جمشید آن را جشن رسمی آریانای کهن ساخته است. - More, روزنامه هشت صبح

Obama pushes help for working women: How much do they need it? --- President Obama spoke in Florida about the challenges women face in today's economy. Here's a fact sheet on where working women have made progress and where they still lag men. -- President Obama is ramping up his attention to women's issues with midterm elections looming. On Thursday, he addressed the special challenges that women face in today’s economy during a forum at Valencia College in Orlando, Fla. - More, Mark Trumbull, csmonitor, at: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/2014/0320/Obama-pushes-help-for-working-women-How-much-do-they-need-it

Unemployment benefits: Will extension pass the House? --- Unemployment benefits in trouble? A Senate bill to renew unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless is unworkable, said House Speaker John Boehner. -- Bipartisan Senate legislation to renew benefits for the long-term unemployed is unworkable, House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday as aides circulated a letter from state officials envisioning a series of difficulties they would encounter in administering the measure. -- The speaker did not say flatly that the House would shelve the bill if it clears the Senate, leaving open the possibility of a future compromise. But a blog posting by his aides quoted the Ohio Republican as saying there was "no evidence that the bill being rammed through the Senate by (Majority) Leader (Harry) Reid" would help create more private sector jobs. -- In response, a spokesman for Reid, Adam Jentleson, said the legislation is bipartisan and the concerns expressed by state officials can be resolved. -- "We look forward to Speaker Boehner coming to the table to find solutions," Jentleson said, adding it is "hard to imagine Speaker Boehner simply walking away from the thousands of people in Ohio who lost their jobs through no fault of their own and need this lifeline to make ends meet while they continue to look for work." -- In their letter, the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, which administers unemployment benefit programs, said it has "significant concerns about the implementation of the legislation." -- The letter added that "some states have indicated they might decide such changes are not feasible in the short time available, and therefore would consider not signing the U.S. Department of Labor's agreement to operate the program." -- Among other issues, the letter said most states have outdated computer systems that make it hard to implement any changes to the program quickly, and it's not clear how states would pay for administrative costs if federal funds cannot be spent to determine eligibility. -- One of the provisions in the Senate compromise is a prohibition on individuals with million-dollar earnings from earning unemployment benefits. -- The letter also cited the potential for a large number of overpayments as a result of the bill's requirement for benefits dating back to the end of last year. -- The Senate is expected to debate the measure shortly after it returns on Monday from a week-long break. Under a compromise announced earlier in the month, a program of benefits would be renewed for five months, effective when it expired on Dec. 28. -- The program generally benefited workers laid off more than six months, an estimated 2 million of whom have lost payments since it expired. -- The Senate proposal has the support of at least five Republicans, meaning that unless there are Democratic defections, it will have enough support to achieve a 60-vote majority and overcome any GOP stalling tactics. It resulted from lengthy negotiations led by Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Dean Heller, R-Nev., whose states have among the highest joblessness in the country. - More, David Espo, Associated Press, CS Monitor

Fighting breaks out in eastern Afghanistan, Kabul --- (CNN) -- Fighting raged Thursday at a police station in eastern Afghanistan and near a hotel in the capital. -- Unknown gunmen and Afghan police exchanged heavy gunfire in an area close to the Serena Hotel in Kabul, police sources said Thursday. -- The hotel was already the site of an attack, in January 2008, that killed seven people. The Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack. -- Earlier, in eastern Afghanistan, Taliban militants stormed a police station in Jalalabad, and a deadly gun battle ensued, the country's Interior Ministry said. -- At least 11 people were killed and 22 were injured at the station, and at least six attackers were killed, according to a doctor at the hospital. -- This comes as the militant group threatened to carry out attacks before next month's presidential election. - More, CNN

هجده نفر در حمله انتحاری در شرق افغانستان کشته شدند --- وزارت داخله افغانستان قبلا اعلام کرده بود که حدود شش حمله کننده انتحاری به یک مرکز پلیس در شهر جلال آباد، مرکز ولایت ننگرهار در شرق افغانستان حمله کردند. -- به گزارش خبرنگار بی‎بی‎سی از محل، این پاسگاه پلیس در نزدیکی دفتر والی ننگرهار و ساختمان رادیو و تلویزیون واقع شده است. -- صدیق صدیقی سخنگوی وزارت امور داخله/ کشور افغانستان صبح امروز در صفحه رسمی فیسبوک و تویتتر خود نوشت که تا کنون ۵ نفر از حمله کنندگان کشته و انتظار می‌رود که یک و یا دو نفرحمله کننده دیگر نیز در محل باقی مانده باشند و عملیات پلیس در این ساختمان ادامه دارد. -- خبرنگار بی‎بی‎سی می‎گوید که آرشیو دفتر رادیو تلویزیون ملی افغانستان در این ولایت نیز آتش گرفته است. --- به گفته شاهدان عینی حوالی ساعت ۵ صبح به وقت محل یک خودرو بمب‌گذاری شده خود را در ورودی این مرکز پلیس منفجر و بعد افراد مهاجم مسلح وارد ساختمان شدند و به درگیری با نیروهای پلیس پرداختند. -- درگیری میان نیروهای مهاجم و پلیس ساعتها به طول انجامید که اکنون به گفته پلیس ساحه با کشته شدن تمام انتحاریان پاکسازی شده است. -- ذبیح الله مجاهد سخنگوی طالبان نیز با ارسال خبرنامه‌ای به بی‌بی‌سی مسئولیت این حمله را پذیرفته و نوشته که افراد آنان یک خودرو نوع مزدا را صبح امروز در مقابله حوزه اول امنیتی این شهر منفجر کرده است. -- او افزوده که بعد ازاین انفجار حمله کنندگان مسلح وارد ساختمان شده و مرکز اقامت والی و سایر تاسیسات دولتی را در اطراف این مقر پلیس هدف قرار داده و اکنون نیز درگیری در محل ادامه دارد. - BBC

Taliban suicide attack on Afghan police station kills 11 --- (Reuters) - Taliban fighters killed at least 11 people and wounded 22 in a suicide bomb attack and gunbattle at a police station in Afghanistan's eastern Jalalabad city early on Thursday morning, according to police and health officials. -- The attack in one of Afghanistan's main cities comes ahead of a presidential election on April 5, and demonstrated the insurgents determination to disrupt the vote. -- The assault began with two explosions just before dawn targeting the police station and a nearby square, close to compounds used by international organizations including the United Nations. -- The initial attack was carried out by two suicide bombers, one of them driving a three-wheeler vehicle. -- The NATO-led force in Afghanistan sent helicopter gunships to support Afghan security forces as a fire fight raged for over three hours before they were able to clear the area of the remaining militants. -- Police said they shot dead six Taliban, and all of them wore - More, Rafiq Shirzad, at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/20/us-afghanistan-blast-idUSBREA2J06320140320

18 killed, 22 injured in multiple blasts --- JALALABAD (Pajhwok): Eighteen people were killed and 22 others wounded during coordinated bomb attacks and shooting by the Taliban in the capital of eastern Nangarhar province on Thursday morning, officials said. -- Followed by gunbattles, the first explosion occurred when an explosives-laden truck was detonated in the Pashtunistan Square in first police district limits at 5:10am. The second blast took place near the governor's office. -- Later, the group of attackers traded intense fire with security forces, Brig. Gen. Fazal Ahmad Sherzad, told Pajhwok Afghan News. Some of the assailants were killed but the rest are still fighting with security forces. -- He put the death toll at 18, including 10 policemen, a university student and seven insurgents. The police chief said 14 people were wounded but hospital sources put the number at 22. -- Police spokesman Hazrat Omar Mashriqiwal said three suicide bombers detonated their explosives and two others were killed by police. Security personnel also suffered casualties but the exact number remains unclear. -- Dr. Humayoun Zahir, the provincial hospital director, confirmed receiving 11 bodies, including 10 policemen, so far. Most of the 22 injured were also policemen, he added. -- First police district chief, Aminul Haq, was among the dead. But Mashriqiwal said Haq was injured. Shortly after the incident, people converged on the site to know the fate of their relatives in the police force and in nearby government offices. -- One of them, Samiullah, who was not allowed by security forces to approach the site, said his brother was working at the police station. -- The National Radio Television (RTA) building was completely destroyed due to the intensity of the blasts. One journalist was injured in the blast, according to an employee of RTA. -- Wishing not to be named, an official from the governor office, said security forces had foiled the attackers' attempt to force their way into the palace. --- As usual, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. The group’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the fighters detonated an explosives-laden truck before storming the governor’s office and a police compound. He claimed more than 20 policemen were killed and the clash was still ongoing. - More, at: http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2014/03/20/18-killed-22-injured-multiple-blasts

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Razia Jan fights to educate girls in rural Afghanistan --- Returning to Afghanistan from the US, Razia Jan stood up to opposition and founded the Zabuli Education Center, which now has a roster of more than 400 girls in kindergarten through ninth grade. -- In 2005, Razia Jan came up with a dangerous idea: to start a free private school for girls in her native Afghanistan. The Taliban were using extreme violence to keep girls from learning. In 2008, the year she opened the school, terrorists in the country – armed with bombs, poison gas, guns, grenades, and acid – killed 149 teachers, students, and employees in Afghan schools. -- But Jan – who left Afghanistan in 1970 to study in the United States and couldn’t return after the Soviet invasion in 1979 – did not intend to let terrorists stop her. She approached Afghan Ministry of Education officials and persuaded them to donate a piece of land in a village 30 miles outside Kabul. Today, the Zabuli Education Center is in its sixth year and has a roster of more than 400 girls in kindergarten through ninth grade. -- Without the school, many of the students never would have had the chance to receive an education. “I can feel a change happening in these girls and in this community,” says Jan, who moved back to Afghanistan after building a successful tailoring business in Duxbury, Mass. “Knowledge is something nobody can steal from them.” - More, The Rotarian, The Christian Science Monitor, at: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/Change-Agent/2014/0319/Razia-Jan-fights-to-educate-girls-in-rural-Afghanistan

Musharraf, Pasha knew about Osama: US paper --- BANGKOK: The Pakistani security establishment has strongly rejected the New York Times report that Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha knew where Osama bin Laden was hiding, but there may be some evidence to speculate that some key officials in the establishment indeed knew of his hideout, especially General (retd) Pervez Musharraf and whether the crucial information leading to the May 2 Abbottabad raid was provided to the Americans by none other than a senior ISI official. -- The New York Times has claimed in a report, quoting a Pakistani official, that the US had direct evidence about former ISI chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha knowing about bin Laden’s presence in Abbottabad at the time.The newspaper also quotes former ISI chief Lt Gen Ziauddin Butt saying that Musharraf had arranged to hide bin Laden in Abbottabad. -- While the military circles have strongly refuted the report as a pack of “white lies”, some in the international community would never believe that the world’s most wanted terrorist was living unnoticed for more than five years at the doorway of the Kakul Military Academy in a vast compound, and that too, without any support system. -- Therefore, the New York Times’ claim about a special desk for the Osama case at the ISI, which worked independently and was led by an officer who did not report to any higher authorities, would help these non-believers a lot to strengthen their argument. -- The Osama compound in Abbottabad was demolished by the Pakistani authorities on February 28, 2012 because it was an embarrassing reminder of their incompetence and their alleged complicity. It may be a coincidence, but the compound was razed the day a US-based global intelligence firm [Stratfor] had reported while citing WikiLeaks that middle to senior-level officials in the Pakistani establishment knew the arrangements made for Laden at his Abbottabad safe house. -- “Mid-to-senior level ISI and Pak military, with one retired Pak military general, had knowledge of the OBL arrangements and safe house,” wrote Fred Burton, Stratfor’s vice-president for intelligence, in an e-mail which was leaked by WikiLeaks to his company’s regional director for South Asia, soon after the May 2, 2011 Abbottabad raid. -- The email went on to say that the names and specific ranks of these generals were unknown to the writer, but added that the US intelligence may have that information. -- Burton, one of the world’s foremost experts on security, terrorists and terrorist groups, however, did not reveal his source, but did say that the source was based in Pakistan. Burton’s email added that the US could use the information as a bargaining chip in post-raid negotiations with Islamabad, which had rebuked Washington after the raid. Stratfor, which provides analysis of world affairs to major global corporations, military officials and government agencies, was given access to classified information papers collected from Laden’s Abbottabad compound. The information leaked by WikiLeaks through Stratfor suggested that up to 12 officials in the ISI knew of the Osama’s safe house. -- In fact, General Ashfaq Kayani (October 2004-October 2007), Lt Gen. Nadeem Taj (October 2007-October 2008), and Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha (October 2008-March 2012), in that order, headed the ISI during the period between 2005 and May 2, 2011, when Osama bin Laden had been living in Abbottabad. Interestingly, Lt Gen Nadeem Taj, who was a close relative of General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, was the head of the Kakul Military Academy in Abbottabad before being elevated as director general of the ISI. Also, General Kayani had visited the Kakul Academy on April 23, 2011, nine days before Osama’s killing. -- Ahmed Shuja Pasha had conceded his failure in the aftermath of the May 2 episode and offered his resignation during a joint session of parliament as he failed to defend the role of the spy agency. Yet, he was allowed to continue as the ISI chief. -- Ten days before the Stratfor report was published, a February 18, 2012 Washington Postarticle by David Ignatius had claimed that an architect regularly employed by the ISI worked on the compound in which Osama sheltered for years in Abbottabad. Quoting intelligence sources, the writer claimed that the architect was told that a highly placed VIP was coming to the compound. According to David Ignatius, any probe on Osama bin Laden’s presence in Pakistan should focus on several issues, including how the al-Qaeda chief came to Abbottabad in 2005 and what Pakistani officials knew about his whereabouts. -- The Washington Post article also added: “Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani was ISI chief at the time, but the dominant figure was President [General] Pervez Musharraf. The commander of the PMA (Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul) in Abbottabad from 2006 was Lt Gen Nadeem Taj, who succeeded Kayani as head of the ISI in 2007”. -- Ignatius referred to former ISI chief General Ziauddin Butt’s claim that the Abbottabad compound was used by Intelligence Bureau and noted that a report in the Pakistani press in December had quoted him as saying that Osama’s stay at Abbottabad was arranged by Brigadier (R) Ijaz Shah, head of the Intelligence Bureau during 2004-2008, on Musharraf’s orders. General Ziauddin Khawaja, also known as Ziauddin Butt, headed the ISI from 1997 to 1999. - More, Amir Mir, thenews.com.pk, at: http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-29214-Musharraf-Pasha-knew-about-Osama-US-paper

What Pakistan Knew About Bin Laden --- Shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, I went to live and report for The New York Times in Afghanistan. I would spend most of the next 12 years there, following the overthrow of the Taliban, feeling the excitement of the freedom and prosperity that was promised in its wake and then watching the gradual dissolution of that hope. A new Constitution and two rounds of elections did not improve the lives of ordinary Afghans; the Taliban regrouped and found increasing numbers of supporters for their guerrilla actions; by 2006, as they mounted an ambitious offensive to retake southern Afghanistan and unleashed more than a hundred suicide bombers, it was clear that a deadly and determined opponent was growing in strength, not losing it. As I toured the bomb sites and battlegrounds of the Taliban resurgence, Afghans kept telling me the same thing: The organizers of the insurgency were in Pakistan, specifically in the western district of Quetta. Police investigators were finding that many of the bombers, too, were coming from Pakistan. -- In December 2006, I flew to Quetta, where I met with several Pakistani reporters and a photographer. Together we found families who were grappling with the realization that their sons had blown themselves up in Afghanistan. Some were not even sure whether to believe the news, relayed in anonymous phone calls or secondhand through someone in the community. All of them were scared to say how their sons died and who recruited them, fearing trouble from members of the ISI, Pakistan’s main intelligence service. -- After our first day of reporting in Quetta, we noticed that an intelligence agent on a motorbike was following us, and everyone we interviewed was visited afterward by ISI agents. We visited a neighborhood called Pashtunabad, “town of the Pashtuns,” a close-knit community of narrow alleys inhabited largely by Afghan refugees who over the years spread up the hillside, building one-story houses from mud and straw. The people are working class: laborers, bus drivers and shopkeepers. The neighborhood is also home to several members of the Taliban, who live in larger houses behind high walls, often next to the mosques and madrasas they run. --- The Pakistani government, under President Pervez Musharraf and his intelligence chief, Lt. Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, was maintaining and protecting the Taliban, both to control the many groups of militants now lodged in the country and to use them as a proxy force to gain leverage over and eventually dominate Afghanistan. The dynamic has played out in ways that can be hard to grasp from the outside, but the strategy that has evolved in Pakistan has been to make a show of cooperation with the American fight against terrorism while covertly abetting and even coordinating Taliban, Kashmiri and foreign Qaeda-linked militants. The linchpin in this two-pronged and at times apparently oppositional strategy is the ISI. It’s through that agency that Pakistan’s true relationship to militant extremism can be discerned — a fact that the United States was slow to appreciate, and later refused to face directly, for fear of setting off a greater confrontation with a powerful Muslim nation. --- The United States was neither speaking out against Pakistan nor changing its policy toward a government that was exporting terrorism, the legislator lamented. “How many people have to die before they get it? They are standing by a military that protects, aids and abets people who are going against the U.S. and Western mission in Afghanistan, in Syria, everywhere.” --- When I remember the beleaguered state of Afghanistan in 2001, I marvel at the changes the American intervention has fostered: the rebuilding, the modernity, the bright graduates in every office. Yet after 13 years, more than a trillion dollars spent, 120,000 foreign troops deployed at the height of the war and tens of thousands of lives lost, Afghanistan’s predicament has not changed: It remains a weak state, prey to the ambitions of its neighbors and extremist Islamists. This is perhaps an unpopular opinion, but to pull out now is, undeniably, to leave with the job only half-done. -- Meanwhile, the real enemy remains at large. - More, CARLOTTA GALL, NYTimes, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/magazine/what-pakistan-knew-about-bin-laden.html?_r=0

پرويز مشرف او(isi)د اسامه بن لادن ساتنه کول --- له دي وروسته چې پاکستان د نړيوال شرم سره مخ سو او د دي هېواد په مرکز کې ايبټ آباد سيمه کې د القاعدي شبکي مشر اسامه بن لادن د امريکايې ځانګړو ځواکونو له لوري ووژل سو اوس مهال داسې راپورونه خپاره سوي دي چې د پاکستان پخواني پوځي ديکتاتور جنرال مشرف د اسامه بن لادن د ساتلو لپاره يوه استخباراتي څانګه جوړه کړې وه." -- که څه هم پاکستانيو چارواکو تل د امريکا پلوي کړي او دا يې منل چې اسامه يې په هېواد کې په ښکاره نسته دى خو دغه مطلب پاکستاني تلويزيون جيو د کب په ٢٨مه د امريکايۍ ورځپاڼې نيويارک ټايمز په حواله خپور کړى دى. -- جيو د نيويارک ټايمز د معلوماتو له مخي ويلي دي چې د پاکستان د استخباراتي ادارې (اى اېس اى) پخواني مشر جنرال شجاع پاشا د القاعده د مشر اسامه بن لادن په اړه معلومات درلودل. -- سره له دي چې القاعدي شبکي مشر د امريکا لپاره خورا مهم کس بلل کيدى خو د پاکستانيانو له لوري يې ساتنه د امريکا پټه خبرتيا هغه څه وه چې ددي دوو هېوادونو اړيکي يې پر مطلوبونو پوري محدودي کړي وي. -- سرچينې زياته کړې، امريکايي چارواکي پر دغه کار چې جنرال پاشا د اسامه په اړه معلومات درلودل، ځکه حيران شوي وو چې پاشا له امريکا سره د ترهګرو پر ضد مبارزه کې همکاري کوله. -- اسامه بن لادن چې تر وژني وروسته يې مړى ونه موندل سو او داسې راپورونه خپاره سوه چې ګني د هغه جسد سمندر ته اچول سوى په راپور کې راغلي، په آى اېس آى کې داسې څانګې سته، چې د وسله والو طالبانو او نورو ترهګرو ډلو پر ضد فعاليت کوي، خو بيا نورې څانګې سته، چې د دغو ډلو مرسته او ملاتړ کوي. -- د پاکستان دوه مخى سياست چې دا مهال ور سره ټوله نړۍ بلدتيا لري د اسامه د پټولو لپاره ډېري هلي ځلي کړي وي خو کله چې امريکا د خپلو مخفي معلوماتو پر اساس د هغه په وژنه بريالي سوه پاکستان ته يې نړيوال شرم ور وباخښه. -- د سرچينې په وينا، امريکا له دغو کارونو خبره وه، خو ځکه يې نه افشا کوله چې لا د مخه د امريکا او پاکستان اړيکې چندانې ښې نه وې. -- که څه هم پاکستان او امريکا د اسامه تر وژني وروسته يو پر بل زياتي نيوکي وکړي خو پاکستان اړ دى چې د امريکا هر ډول غوښتنو ته غاړه کښيږدي. -- پاکستان د اسيا په لويه وچه کې دا مهال پروت هغه هېواد دى چې د پيچلي سياست او نورو کړنو څخه يې د اسيا ګڼ شمېر هېوادونه په ځانګړي ډول افغانستان او ايران رنځ وړي. -- په افغانستان کې د چارو څيړونکي د پاکستان دا کړني چې د لويو هېوادونو سره ډغري وهي خورا زيانمن کوونکي بولي او د پاکستان راتلونکى د پرمختګ نه بلکي د شاتګ خوا ته درومي. - خبریال ډاټ کام

U.S. examines pilot simulator data as Malaysia plane search falters --- (Reuters) - The FBI is helping Malaysian authorities to analyze data from a flight simulator belonging to the captain of a missing Malaysian airliner, a U.S. official said on Wednesday as investigators grasped for clues 12 days after the plane vanished. -- Malaysia's police chief, Khalid Abu Bakar, said an examination of the simulator, taken from the home of pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, showed its data log had been cleared on February 3, more than a month before the airliner, carrying 239 people, disappeared on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. -- "The experts are looking at what are the logs that have been cleared," he told a news conference. -- No wreckage has been found from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which vanished from air traffic control screens off Malaysia's east coast at 1:21 a.m. local time on March 8 (1721 GMT March 7), less than an hour after taking off. -- Malaysia has now made available to the FBI electronic data generated by both pilots of Flight MH370, including data from a hard drive attached to the captain's flight simulator, and from electronic media used by the co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid, a U.S. law enforcement official told Reuters. -- The official said he could not confirm that some data had been wiped from the simulator and stressed that there was no guarantee the FBI analysis would turn up any fresh clues. -- U.S. investigators had become increasingly frustrated in recent days that Malaysian authorities had not asked them for more help. -- The FBI has extensive experience investigating airplane crashes, including those of TWA 800 and EgyptAir 990 off the U.S. east coast in the 1990s and Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. - More, at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/19/us-malaysiaairlines-flight-idUSBREA2701720140319

Afghan police payroll under scrutiny from U.S. watchdog --- (Reuters) - A government watchdog is raising fresh concerns that U.S. funds meant to help pay Afghan police salaries may instead be going to "ghost workers," according to a letter he sent to military commanders in Afghanistan. -- John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, said his staff has initiated an audit on the reliability of personnel data for Afghan National Security Forces, including how such data are used to calculate payrolls for Afghan National Police officers. -- "I am writing to express my concern that the U.S. may be unwittingly helping to pay the salaries of non-existent members of the Afghan National Police," Sopko wrote in the February 19 letter to two U.S. generals and one Canadian general in the NATO mission, seen by Reuters. -- "The possibility of 'ghost workers' on the (Afghan National Police) payroll came up several times in the course of my most recent visit to Afghanistan and in recent discussions with European Union (EU) representatives." -- Worries about insufficient accountability have long dogged the "Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan" (LOFTA), established by the United Nations Development Programme in 2002. LOFTA's website says the fund supports payment of salaries of more than 140,000 Afghan police officers. -- Sopko noted that the European Union had withheld 100 million euros ($139 million) in planned contributions from the trust fund "due to concerns about how that money is being used, including the possibility of payments to ghost workers and other instances of financial mismanagement." -- The United States has provided 38 percent of the $3.17 billion that the international community has contributed to the trust fund since 2002, Sopko wrote. -- In a March 12 reply to Sopko, U.S. Army Major General Kevin Wendel, the head of the Combined Security Transition Command for Afghanistan, said his command was "aggressively pursuing this issue." - More, Phil Stewart, at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/19/us-usa-afghanistan-police-idUSBREA2I0YR20140319

عظیمي: امریکا دې خپل پوځي تجهیزات افغان ځواکونو ته ورکړي --- دافغانستان دفاع وزارت وايي چې افغان ځواکونه په دې هیواد کې دامریکا دموجودو تجهیزاتو او پوځي وسایطو دکارولو توان لري او دا تجهیزات او وسایط باید دپاکستان پرځای افغانستان ته ورکړل شي. ددې وزارت چارواکي وايي چې امریکا دافغانستان ستراتیژیک ملګری دی او باید درک کړي چې افغان ځواکونه له خپل هېواد نه ددفاع لپاره، دې تجهیزاتو ته اړتیا لري. -- ددې وزارت ویاند ظاهرعظیمي دسې شنبې په ورځ آزادي راډیو ته وویل، افغان ځواکونه دا مهال نږدې ټول پوځي عملیات په خپله ترسره کوي او که دامریکایي ځواکونو پرمختللي تجهیزات ورکړل شي؛ په دې برخه کې به ښه پرمختګ وکړي. "له امریکا څخه ددفاع وزارت غوښتنه دا ده چې دا تجهیزات دې افغان ملي اردو ته ورکړل شي چې افغان ځواکونه په پوره توانمندۍ سره خپلې چارې پرمخ بوزي او دترهګرو پر وړاندې پیاوړي واوسي." -- ښاغلی عظمی وویل، امریکا دافغان ځواکونو روزلو ته زیاتې هڅې کړي دي او په کار ده چې له تجهیزولو سره یې هم مرسته وکړي. دا په داسې حال کې ده چې دواشنګتن پوسټ ورځپاڼې لیکلي؛ امکان لري امریکایي ځواکونه داوو میلیاردو ډالرو په ارزښت دخپلو تجهیزاتو او نظامي وسایطو زیاته برخه پاکستان ته ورکړي. یادې ورځپانې لیکلي چې، په دې برخه کې دامریکا او پاکستان ترمینځ له څلورو میاشتو راهیسې خبرې روانې دي، خو دخبرو وروستۍ نتیجه یې نه ده روښانه شوې. -- دامریکا دمتحدو ایالاتو ددفاع وزارت ویلي چې ځواکونه یې په روان میلادي کال کې له افغانستان څخه وځي خو دا تجیهزات او وسایط یې ستراتیژیک اهمیت لري. ځینې افغان کارپوهان وايي، په افغانستان کې ددې تجهیزاتو کارول لوی لګښت غواړي او بله دا چې ددې هېواد له اراضي سره هم برابر نه دي. جنرال امراله امان ازادي راډیو ته وویل: "دا تجهیزات ددې اراضي لپاره نه دي چوړ شوي؛ موږ ته ډېر سپکباره وسایطو اړتیا چې هم مسافه ژر طی کړي او هم دې دپطرولو او ډېزلو مصارف کم وي. دا موږ ته له هر پلوه غیر اقتصادي تمامېده؛ له تخنیکي پلوه، موږ په ترمیم کې مشکلات ورسره درلودل." -- افغان چارواکو پخوا تردې هم دامریکا او ناټو ځواکونو څخه غوښتي چې خپل تجهیزات او پوځي وسایط دې افغان ځواکونو ته ورکړي. خو دامریکا او ناټو ځواکونو تاکید کړی چې افغان ملي اردو، ددې تجهیزاتو دکارولو ظرفیت نه لري. سره له دې چې دافغانستان دفاع وزارت وايي، افغان ملي اردو دنړېوالې ټولنې په مرسته پیاوړی شوی، خو دا هم وايي چې دامریکا له خوا یې تجهیزولو ته لازمه پاملرنه نه ده شوې. - دآزادی رادیو

Donors Pledge Additional $286 Million to ADB Infrastructure Fund for Afghanistan --- KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The governments of Japan, United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US) will continue their support for improving and maintaining Afghanistan’s key roads, power plants, and other infrastructure by providing an additional $286 million to the Afghanistan Infrastructure Trust Fund (AITF). -- The AITF, managed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on behalf of the Government of Afghanistan and donors, helps the country build and run infrastructure to promote security and drive development. Contributions to the fund will help ensure that 90% of the population has access to regional and national roads by 2017. In addition, the AITF will help ensure the proportion of households with access to grid electricity nationally will increase to 50% by 2017. -- “These important contributions to Afghanistan’s infrastructure will promote economic growth, private sector investment, and better public service delivery,” said Joji Tokeshi, Country Director for ADB in Afghanistan. “Most importantly, many thousands of Afghans will benefit from better access to electricity, transport, and employment opportunities.” -- The additional contributions, which were announced at a ceremony at the Afghanistan Ministry of Finance, include $213 million from the United Kingdom, $60 million from the United States and $13 million from Japan. -- “Over recent years, UK support to the AITF has brought major improvements to Afghanistan’s infrastructure; we are proud of this,” said Andy Leigh, Deputy Head of the UK Department for International Development (DFID) in Afghanistan. “I want to see these improvements continue for years to come. DFID is committed to supporting this program and investing in Afghanistan’s future.” -- “The US government's contribution to this fund is just one example of our long-term commitment to supporting Afghanistan's development. Our partnership with the ADB provides an important mechanism for improving the lives of the Afghan people and driving Afghanistan's economic growth,” said USAID Mission Director to Afghanistan, William Hammink. -- “The Government of Japan sees infrastructure development as an important pillar of its assistance to Afghanistan. Since the establishment of the AITF, the Government of Japan has contributed a total of $123 million to the fund. We hope our contribution to the AITF, in the transport and energy sectors, will promote further development in the country,” said Hiroshi Takahashi, Japanese Ambassador to Afghanistan. - More, reliefweb.int/report - Development Bank, at: http://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/donors-pledge-additional-286-million-adb-infrastructure-fund-afghanistan

UN strongly condemns deadly suicide attack in northern Afghanistan --- 18 March 2014 – The United Nations strongly condemned a deadly suicide attack that occurred today in the northern Afghan province of Faryab, killing 15 civilians and injuring nearly 50 others. -- According to reports, a suicide attacker with a body-borne improvised explosive device (IED) detonated in the centre of the provincial capital, Maimana. Local health officials have confirmed that two children were among those killed, and the injured included a pregnant woman. -- “The continuing rise in civilian deaths from IEDs is tragic. Their use in a distinctly civilian location such as a market is atrocious and cannot be justified,” the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan, Nicholas Haysom, said in a statement. -- He reiterated the many calls made by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for an immediate stop to the indiscriminate use of IEDs, especially in areas known to be populated by civilians. -- UNAMA stressed that the indiscriminate use of IEDs may amount to a war crime. International humanitarian law – which binds all parties to the armed conflict in Afghanistan – strictly prohibits the use of weapons and attacks that do not distinguish between civilians and military objectives. --- “The members of the Security Council reiterated that no terrorist act can reverse the path towards Afghan-led peace, democracy and stability in Afghanistan, which is supported by the people and the Government of Afghanistan and the international community,” said Sylvie Lucas, Permanent Representative of Luxemburg, which holds the Council’s rotating presidency for the month. - More, UN, at: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=47370&Cr=afghan&Cr1=

‘Compassion does not suffice’ UN rights panel says, urging immediate end to bloodshed in Syria --- 18 March 2014 – As the Syrian war enters a fourth year, the harrowing violence shows no signs of subsiding – the fighting has driven some nine million civilians from their homes and has reduced many of those who remain to scavenging – said the head of a United Nations-appointed human rights panel, denouncing the international community’s inaction in the pursuit of peace and accountability. -- The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic – appointed by the UN Human Rights Council – presented earlier today in Geneva a detailed report on the living conditions of men and women in the region and outlined a list of individuals – on all sides - believed to be responsible for crimes against humanity. -- “The lives of over one hundred thousand people have been extinguished. Those freed from detention now live with the physical and mental scars of torture. The fate and whereabouts of thousands more remain unknown,” regretted Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Chair of the Commission. -- According to the report, nearly nine million people – a third of the population – have fled their homes. In addition to the 2.5 million refugees, there are an estimated 6.5 million internally displaced people inside Syria, and millions more living in enclaves surrounded by violence. -- “This is the tragic reality of the Syrian war,” stated Mr. Pinheiro in his presentation, adding that “no one can claim ignorance of what is going on.” - More, UN, at: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=47375

How The Cost Of College Went From Affordable To Sky-High --- If you want to get an earful about paying for college, listen to parents from states where tuition and fees have skyrocketed in the last five years. In Arizona, for example, parents have seen a 77 percent increase in costs. In Georgia, it's 75 percent, and in Washington state, 70 percent. -- Even in Oklahoma, where tuition increases have been among the lowest in the nation, parents are dismayed. In Stillwater, Okla., Jeffery Corbett's daughter is attending community college. Corbett, a fundraiser for a nonprofit, says a high school diploma just won't get you very far. And he knows; he doesn't have a college degree. -- "I think about it all the time, because I realize [how] it has limited me, by not having that piece of paper," he says. -- And that, experts say, is the source of parents' frustration today. A college education seems unaffordable at the worst possible time — when "people are really struggling," says Sandy Baum, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute who has spent much of her career studying trends in college costs. -- "The unemployment rate is high. Nobody's wages have gone up in recent years," she adds. "Increases in college tuition at public colleges, particularly in recent years, have really been unacceptable. And there's no question that that is a much higher percentage of median [family] incomes than it used to be." -- And yet, Baum says, somehow, families are paying for it. "And the reason people are paying for it is because the return to the investment is so high." No matter what a higher education costs them, most Americans think it will be worth it, she says. -- It was a different story 70 years ago, when most Americans thought college was only for the wealthy elite. That changed after World War II with the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, better known as the GI Bill of Rights. -- The law made college affordable for a group of veterans who never would have thought of going beyond high school, says John Thelin, a professor at the University of Kentucky and author of A History of American Higher Education. -- The GI Bill was an unexpected success, Thelin says, enrolling just under 8 million veterans — 10 times the number the authors of the bill had predicted. -- This sudden, enormous demand, Thelin adds, could have pushed college costs higher — but didn't, because states embraced the idea. The booming postwar economy allowed them to spend unprecedented sums of money to expand higher education. -- "The biggest problem that was facing governors and legislators was, could we build campuses fast enough?" Thelin says. -- While states were investing, the federal government was carving out a new role for itself: helping families pay for college. It spawned the National Defense Student Loan program, later called the Federal Perkins Loan program, which did for civilians what the GI Bill had done for veterans — and opened college gates even wider. -- Then, with the civil rights movement as the backdrop, the landmark Higher Education Act of 1965 pushed for greater college access for women and minorities. -- At the same time, Thelin says, from "1965 to 1972, colleges and universities dug very deep into their own pockets to provide grants and other forms of student financial aid in partnership with the new federal programs." -- Americans flocked to campuses with the expectation that the government was going to foot part of the bill, and college did become affordable for many more Americans.-- But a turning point arrived around 1970, Thelin says. With double-digit inflation, an oil embargo and a sputtering economy, a perfect storm began to build. College tuition and fees climbed as much or more than the inflation rate. Private loans, heavily subsidized by the federal government, gradually replaced federal grants as the main source of money for both poor and middle-class college students. -- As family income fell, borrowing to pay for college took off, while public investment in higher education dropped. Sandy Baum of the Urban Institute says that drop has been the single biggest reason for the increase in college costs. -- "So it's not that colleges are spending more money to educate students," Baum says. "It's that they have to get that money from someplace to replace their lost state funding — and that's from tuition and fees from students and families." -- While most institutions tried to keep costs down, Baum says, some took advantage of the public perception that a high tuition means a quality education. -- "There's certainly evidence that people don't know how to measure the quality of a college education," she says. "They think that if it's expensive it must be better. I don't think colleges want to have high prices, but I do think they see strategic reasons why it may be in their interest to have high prices." -- For the average family though, the pricing of a college education has become a shell game. As colleges love to point out, there's the sticker price and there's the real price. That's great for the few who can navigate the labyrinth of financial aid sources and discounts that institutions say they offer. -- Experts say parents are slowly but surely becoming smarter consumers of higher education and are helping their kids find less-expensive options — like community college — while coming to the realization that a college education never will be the entitlement that many Americans thought it was 30 or 40 years ago. - More, Claudio Sanchez, NPR, at: http://www.npr.org/2014/03/18/290868013/how-the-cost-of-college-went-from-affordable-to-sky-high

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

British army hails Afghanistan withdrawal as 'historic moment' --- British troops pull out from all but two bases in Helmand with death toll at 448 since the first casualty in 2002 -- A hugely symbolic moment in the British involvement in Afghanistan has been was reached when forces completed their withdrawal from all but two of its bases in Helmand province, scene of some of the bloodiest fighting. -- At the peak of the violence, there were 137 bases in the province. The last of the equipment was brought from of one of the biggest bases on Saturday. -- British forces are due to end their combat role at the end of the year but there has been a gradual withdrawal over the last six months, largely free from publicity. -- Soldiers serving in Helmand spoke of nostalgia, sentimentality and also relief. Helmand will not be missed by many of those who served there. The British death toll in Afghanistan stands at 448 since the first casualty in 2002. -- Asked if the deaths had been worth it, the head of British forces in Helmand, Brigadier James Woodham, said: "It's always a difficult question to ask when there has been a human cost here in central Helmand. I guess ultimately history will judge the worth of what we've been doing at our government's request." -- Almost all the British bases in Helmand have either been dismantled or handed over to Afghan forces. Woodham described the handover as "a historic moment" in the British campaign in Afghanistan. -- The British handed over to the Afghans Lashkar Gah, which opened in 2006 and was the former headquarters of British military forces in Afghanistan, and the patrol base Lashkar Gah Durai. It has dismantled its main operating base, Price. - More, Ewen MacAskill, Guardian, at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/16/british-army-afghan-withdrawal-helmand

يونس قانوني دکرزي دمرستيال په توگه نومول سوی --- افغان ولسمشر حامد کرزي دسه شنبې په ورځ دولسي جرگې پخوانی مشر او استازی یونس قانوني دخپل لومړي مرستیال په توگه نومولی دی. دغه خبره دافغان ولسمشر ویاند کړې ده. که چیري پارلمان دیونس قانوني نومول تائید کړي، نو دی به دمارشال محمد قسیم فهیم ځای ناستي شي. قسیم فهیم دمارچ میاشتې پر نهمه نیټه ومړ. -- دحامد کرزي ویاند ایمل فیضي دټویټر پر ټولنیزه پاڼه په خپل پیغام کې لیکلي دي: «دافغان ولسمشر حامد کرزي په مشرۍ دسیاسي او جهادي مشرانو په غونډه کې یونس قانوني دخپل لومړي مرستیال په توگه نومول تائید کړل.» په پام کې ده چې یونس قانوني به داساسي قانون له مخې له پارلمان څخه دتائید رایې اخیستلو له پاره معرفي شي، خو ددې له پاره لا تر اوسه کومه نېټه اعلان شوې نه ده. -- دآلمان خبري آژانس په خپل رپوټ کې لیکلي دي چې یونس قانوني دجمیعت اسلامي گوند مخکښ غړی شمیر کیږي او پخواني لومړي مرستیال ولسمشر محمد قسیم فهیم او دپخوانۍ شمالي ټلوالي مشر احمد شاه مسعود ته نزدې کس بلل کیږي. قانوني له ۲۰۰۵م کال څخه تر ۲۰۱۰م کاله پورې دولسي جرگې مشر وو. همداشان قانوني دولسمشر کرزي په کابینه کې دکورنیو چارو او پوهني وزیر هم تير شوی دی. ددوشنبې په ورځ جمیعت اسلامي، یونس قانوني دقسیم فهیم دځای ناستې په توگه نومولی وو. قسیم فهیم دافغان ولسمشر حامد کرزي له نزدې متحدینو څخه شمیر کېدی. - دویچه ویلی

Afghan president picks new VP, bomb kills 15 --- (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai nominated a new vice president on Tuesday, a moderate politician from the same ethnic group as an opposition candidate contesting next month's presidential election. -- Mohammad Younus Qanuni replaces Marshal Mohammad Fahim Qasim, who died following an illness last week. Both men are Tajiks, Afghanistan's second largest ethnic group. -- Many Tajiks fought fiercely against the Taliban in the run-up to the U.S. invasion in 2001. They are an important constituency in presidential polls scheduled for April 5, which should mark the first time in Afghanistan's history that one elected government has handed power to another. --- Qanuni's appointment still has to be confirmed by legislators but it is unlikely to face serious opposition. - More, at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/18/us-afghanistan-blast-faryab-idUSBREA2H07U20140318

دیدگاه نامزدان ریاست جمهوری در مورد خط دیورند! --- نامزدان ریاست جمهوری افغانستان درباره چگونگی حل مساله خط دیورند، نظریات مختلف دارند. شماری از نامزدان ریاست جمهوری افغانستان همانند رئیس جمهور کرزی، تصمیم گیری در باره خط دیورند را از صلاحیت های مردم می دانند. اشرف غنی احمدزی یکی از این نامزدان می گوید که در صورت برنده شدن در انتخابات ریاست جمهوری، حق فیصله کردن در این باره را به باشنده گان دو طرف خط واگذار خواهد کرد: «موقف ما روشن است، فیصله در باره مساله خط دیورند مربوط به مردم می باشد نه حکومت ها و افراد مشخص، ما آرزو داریم که در آینده شرایطی فراهم شود که مردم دو طرف به رضایت خود در این باره تصمیم بگیرند و ما به یک نتیجه برسیم.» -- خط دیورند در سال 1893 میان عبدالرحمن خان و نماینده کمپنی هند شرقی امضا شد. پس از به وجود آمدن پاکستان در سال 1947 به عنوان یک کشور مستقل، حکومت های افغانستان، همواره از تایید این خط به عنوان سرحد مشترک با پاکستان خودداری کرده اند. تحلیلگران می گویند، همین موضوع سبب شده که در سه دهه گذشته میان افغانستان و پاکستان اختلافات باقی بماند و ناامنی ها در افغانستان هم چنان ادامه یابد. -- خط دیورند در سال 1893 میان عبدالرحمن خان و نماینده کمپنی هند شرقی امضا شد. پس از به وجود آمدن پاکستان در سال 1947 به عنوان یک کشور مستقل، حکومت های افغانستان، همواره از تایید این خط به عنوان سرحد مشترک با پاکستان خودداری کرده اند. تحلیلگران می گویند، همین موضوع سبب شده که در سه دهه گذشته میان افغانستان و پاکستان اختلافات باقی بماند و ناامنی ها در افغانستان هم چنان ادامه یابد. -- هم زمان با این، فضل الرحمن اوریا سخنگوی دفتر کمپاین داکترعبدالله عبدالله به رادیو آزادی گفته است که در صورت برنده شدن تیم شان در انتخابات، به کمک ملل متحد و همکاری جامعه جهانی تلاش می کنند به این مشکل صد ساله میان دو کشور، یک راه حل مناسب را دریابند. اما زلمی رسول و یک تعداد از نامزدان دیگر ریاست جمهوری گفته اند که درباره سرنوشت این خط، باید باشنده گان دو طرف همین خط تصمیم بگیرند. -- اخیراً مارک گراسمن نماینده پیشین امریکا در امور افغانستان و پاکستان تایید کرد که امریکا خط دیورند را به عنوان سرحد بین‌المللی افغانستان به رسمیت می‌ شناسد. این اظهارات عکس العمل وزارت خارجه و مقامات افغان را برانگیخت و آنان تاکید کردند که مساله دیورند مربوط به مردم افغانستان می باشد. در عین حال شماری از آگاهان افغان می گویند که نامزدان ریاست جمهوری باید در این باره با درک حقایق حرف بزنند. --احمد سعیدی در این باره چنین می گوید: «نامزدان باید به مردم راست بگویند که مطابق به میثاق های بین المللی از قرارداد دیورند از 1893 تا حالا بیش از یک صد و بیست سال گذشته است، هر قراردادی که از یک صد و بیست سال می گذرد روی آن تجدید نظر نمی شود، تابع زمان می رود، دوم اینکه ما از پاکستان بیست و هشت سال پیش استقلال گرفتیم، چرا طی همین مدت در سطح بین المللی درباره این موضوع ادعا نکردیم و هم چنان مساله خط دیورند از روز که افغانستان آزادی دارد که بیش از 90 سال می شود هرگز افغانستان در جامعه بین المللی منحیث یک سند رسمی این را یاد نکرده است.» -- با آنکه حکومت افغانستان بار ها از پذیرفتن خط دیورند به عنوان سرحد مشترک با پاکستان خودداری کرده است، اما اخیراً سخنگوی وزارت خارجه پاکستان گفت که اسلام آباد خط دیورند را به عنوان خط بین المللی بین افغانستان و پاکستان به رسمیت می شناسد. ایمل فیضی سخنگوی ریاست جمهوری افغانستان هم گفته که رئیس جمهور کرزی در این باره جدی است و تصمیم گیری درباره خط دیورند را از صلاحیت های مردم می داند. تا حالا روشن نیست که مشکل خط دیورند چه زمانی به طور رسمی و قانونی حل خواهد شد. - رادیو آزادی

Leaked File Details U.S. Phone Monitoring Abroad --- The National Security Agency is recording all telephone calls and their routing data in one foreign country and retaining that information for a month so that it can be analyzed later, according to a report based on a top secret intelligence document. --- Similar but less comprehensive efforts exist in at least four other foreign countries, according to a classified 2013 document provided by Edward J. Snowden, the former agency contractor. -- The collection effort was first disclosed on Tuesday by The Washington Post, which cited a classified summary of the program, code-named Mystic. The Post account said that the summary, also leaked by Mr. Snowden, noted that “every single” phone call in one foreign country was saved for 30 days before being purged. -- With each new disclosure of N.S.A. spying programs and their deep reach into communications around the globe, the data known to be retained by the agency grows. Still, it is not surprising that spy agencies can now record every call in a country, given the declining costs of data storage, said John Villasenor, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who is also affiliated with the Brookings Institution. -- The 2013 N.S.A. document referring to a potential expansion of the program briefly describes it. “Capabilities will offer near-real time, complete access” to that country’s phone network, the document says, “and provide for retrospective tasking and near real-time access/delivery of metadata as required.” -- The Mystic program already records phone calls in at least four other foreign countries, the document says. It says that the program records only “targeted communications” in those countries. At the request of the office of the director of national intelligence, The New York Times withheld their names because of national security concerns. --- A statement issued by the agency said that it “does not conduct signals intelligence collection in any country, or anywhere in the world, unless it is necessary to advance national security and foreign policy interests.” The statement added that all intelligence collection must be carried out legally “with respect for the fact that routine communications and communications of national security interest increasingly transit the same networks.” -- If the agency is recording vast numbers of phone calls in a foreign country, the international communications of Americans are bound to be recorded, even if only temporarily. The N.S.A. says that procedures require the agency to pare out Americans from its databases and protect private information, but the rules contain exceptions that have never been fully clarified. The routing and billing information accompanying a call is known as metadata. The “retrospective tasking” — or analyzing a phone call after it was made — takes place in a program code-named Retro Tool, according to a fragment of a classified document released by The Post. - More, JAMES GLANZ, NYTimes, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/19/us/leaked-file-details-us-phone-monitoring-abroad.html?ref=world

Both Sides in Syria Are Targeting Civilians, U.N. Report Says --- Both those fighting for and against the Syrian government are terrorizing the country’s civilian population in defiance of a recent Security Council resolution, a panel of investigators told the United Nations Human Rights Council on Tuesday. -- But while atrocities are increasing, the international community, apart from providing humanitarian aid, “has done little but bear witness to the plight of those caught in the maelstrom,” according to Paulo S. Pinheiro, the panel’s chairman. -- “We have an enormous volume of testimony,” Mr. Pinheiro said as he presented the panel’s seventh report on Syria, citing over 2,700 interviews as well as other documents and photographic evidence. “What we lack is a means by which to achieve justice and accountability.” -- The panel has urged the Security Council to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court or some other judicial authority. “Compassion does not, and should not, suffice,” Mr. Pinheiro said. “We cannot continue to sit for years in these rooms writing reports and making speeches lamenting the blood that is running in Syria’s streets.” -- Mr. Pinheiro said the Syrian conflict, now entering its fourth year, had hit a new low with the death from starvation of civilians, including children, in the Damascus suburb of Yarmouk. -- A million Syrian children are cut off from the reach of aid agencies because of fighting or blockades, he added. -- The panel also reported that inmates at the government-controlled prison in Aleppo had died of starvation and infectious diseases caused by systematic denial of food, sanitation and medical care, and that “severe torture” continues in government detention facilities. - More, NICK CUMMING-BRUCE, NYTimes

Russia’s Aggression in Crimea Brings NATO Into Renewed Focus --- LONDON — Russia’s annexation of Crimea has suddenly revived the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s central role as a counterweight to Moscow, and with it questions about the alliance’s options and ability to act. -- Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. swept into Poland and the Baltic nations on Tuesday with a message of reassurance that their membership in NATO carries the protection of the United States. But given deep Western reluctance to use military force in response to Russia’s aggression, it remains unclear what the alliance’s commitment to collective security means for Ukraine and other nonmembers should President Vladimir V. Putin continue to try to expand Moscow’s influence in the former Soviet bloc. -- Ian Bond, the director of foreign policy at the Center for European Reform, a London-based research group, said that “Putin has just given NATO something to do, but the question is whether NATO is up to it.” It is now crucial to deter further moves by Mr. Putin, he said. “If Russian forces move into eastern Ukraine,” he said, “what would NATO do?” --- The Atlantic alliance was designed, as the old phrase went, to keep the Americans in, the Germans down and the Soviets out. Now, with Mr. Putin acting more like a Cold War antagonist, arguing that Russia has the right to defend Russians everywhere, the United States will be under more pressure to sustain and exhibit military strength in Europe despite the much ballyhooed “pivot to Asia.” -- Since the Ukraine crisis began, the United States, in the context of the alliance, has sent more F-16 fighters to Poland and F-15 fighters to the Baltics. It has begun Airborne Warning and Control System, or Awacs, flights over the Polish and Romanian borders, and has ordered more exercises with warships in the Black Sea. -- “As NATO allies,” President Obama said on Monday, “we have a solemn commitment to our collective defense, and we will uphold that commitment.” - More, STEVEN ERLANGER, NYTimes

For Afghans In Camps, A Harsh Life With No End In Sight --- The Nasaji Bagrami camp for internally displaced Afghans sits on the outskirts of Kabul, a vast expanse of crumbling mud structures with tarps and tent sheets for roofs. These structures look like ruins from hundreds of years ago, but they're actually only about 5 years old. -- About 360 families live here in absolutely primitive conditions: Litter is strewn about, children wander around barefoot in the cold, barely clothed yet still smiling and playing with each other. -- Niasbibi, who appears to be around 60, heads one of the families. She fled from the southern province of Helmand two years ago after her village was hit by what she says was a NATO airstrike. She says she lost a daughter, her husband, four grandchildren and one of her eyes during the incident. -- She's surrounded by several unwashed grandchildren in tattered clothes. One has two large scars on his head. He was hit by a car while doing what many children here do: working in the streets to earn money for the family to buy food. -- On some days, her grandchildren attend a school in the camp established by an NGO, but the teachers show up irregularly. At least the children are usually able to get food there, she says. -- Mohammed Ibrahim is the camp elder and one of the original settlers here. He says he fled Helmand province almost five years ago along with about 80 other families. He says it's still too dangerous to return home. -- "A few families recently returned to Helmand, and they were killed," says Ibrahim. -- The camp has no electricity, sewage system or running water. Several times a day, 50-year-old Rosadin, who lives nearby, tows a small water tank into the camp with his tractor. -- He fills dirty plastic jugs from his tank. Residents pay about 50 cents for 20 liters of water. -- "I feel sad when I come here," Rosadin says. "I feel that they have no alternative than to live in these harsh conditions." -- Ibrahim says most of the people living in these conditions would prefer to die. -- "It's a terrible life, and it's an honor to die to leave this kind of life," he says. --- This is just one of more than 50 such camps across Kabul alone where tens of thousands of people live in similar harsh conditions. -- Mahir Hoda Sabar, the director of Internally Displaced Persons in the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, says the number of displaced Afghans has increased by about 100,000 over the past year. - More, Sean Carberry, NPR, at: http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/03/18/289003414/for-afghans-in-camps-a-harsh-life-with-no-end-in-sight

Suicide bombing kills at least 15 in Afghanistan --- KABUL — A suicide bomber in Afghanistan killed at least 15 people in a crowded market on Tuesday as the country prepares for a historical presidential election. -- Thirty-six people, many of them civilians, were wounded by the blast, which occurred in the main bazaar of Maimana, the provincial capital of northern Faryab Province close to the border with Turkmenistan, officials said. -- The target of the attack was not clear. It was also unclear if the explosive the bomber detonated went off prematurely, as some time have been the case in past attacks. -- “In total, I can say that most of the 15 killed and 36 wounded people were civilians,” Abdul Sattar Barez, the province’s deputy governor said by phone. -- “The victims included women and children, shopkeepers and poor hawkers.” - More, Sayed Salahuddin, Washingtonpost

Russian and Crimean parliaments sign treaty of accession --- MOSCOW —Russia effectively absorbed Crimea on Tuesday afternoon, moments after President Vladimir Putin declared that Russia has no designs on any other parts of Ukraine. -- In a speech to a joint session of parliament, which he used to call for the “reunification” of Crimea with Russia, he said the region has a special role in Russian history that makes it unique. -- Ecstatic members of the Russian parliament watched while Putin and Crimean leaders signed a treaty of accession as soon as Putin was done speaking, and the Kremlin said afterward it considers the treaty to be in force even before parliament has ratified it. -- Sevastopol, the city where Russia’s Black Sea fleet is based, also entered the Russian Federation, as a separate entity. -- Even while declaring that Moscow will not seek to expand its holdings in Ukraine, Putin also promised that Russia will do what it must to protect the rights of Russians living abroad -- which suggests that he intends to play a role in restive eastern Ukraine, with its large ethnic Russian population. -- He said Moscow will always protect the rights of Russians using “political, diplomatic and legal means.” -- But he stressed: “Don’t believe those who say Russia will take other regions after Crimea. We don’t need that.” - More, Will Englund, Washingtonpost

NSA surveillance program reaches ‘into the past’ to retrieve, replay phone calls --- The National Security Agency has built a surveillance system capable of recording “100 percent” of a foreign country’s telephone calls, enabling the agency to rewind and review conversations as long as a month after they take place, according to people with direct knowledge of the effort and documents supplied by former contractor Edward Snowden. -- A senior manager for the program compares it to a time machine — one that can replay the voices from any call without requiring that a person be identified in advance for surveillance. -- The voice interception program, called MYSTIC, began in 2009. Its RETRO tool, short for “retrospective retrieval,” and related projects reached full capacity against the first target nation in 2011. Planning documents two years later anticipated similar operations elsewhere. -- In the initial deployment, collection systems are recording “every single” conversation nationwide, storing billions of them in a 30-day rolling buffer that clears the oldest calls as new ones arrive, according to a classified summary. -- The call buffer opens a door “into the past,” the summary says, enabling users to “retrieve audio of interest that was not tasked at the time of the original call.” Analysts listen to only a fraction of 1 percent of the calls, but the absolute numbers are high. Each month, they send millions of voice clippings, or “cuts,” for processing and long-term storage.-- At the request of U.S. officials, The Washington Post is withholding details that could be used to identify the country where the system is being employed or other countries where its use was envisioned. -- No other NSA program disclosed to date has swallowed a nation’s telephone network whole. Outside experts have sometimes described that prospect as disquieting but remote, with notable implications for a growing debate over the NSA’s practice of “bulk collection” abroad. -- Bulk methods capture massive data flows “without the use of discriminants,” as President Obama put it in January. By design, they vacuum up all the data they touch — meaning that most of the conversations collected by RETRO would be irrelevant to U.S. national security interests. -- In the view of U.S. officials, however, the capability is highly valuable. --- In a statement, Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the National Security Council, declined to comment on “specific alleged intelligence activities.” Speaking generally, she said “new or emerging threats” are “often hidden within the large and complex system of modern global communications, and the United States must consequently collect signals intelligence in bulk in certain circumstances in order to identify these threats.” - More, Barton Gellman and Ashkan Soltani, Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/nsa-surveillance-program-reaches-into-the-past-to-retrieve-replay-phone-calls/2014/03/18/226d2646-ade9-11e3-a49e-76adc9210f19_story.html?hpid=z1

Don't Fear The Fat: Experts Question Saturated Fat Guidelines --- As a culture, we tend to suffer from the angel-or-devil mindset. Especially when it comes to food. -- And for forty years now, saturated fat — found in high amounts in meat, cheese and other full-fat dairy products — has been one of our top nutritional demons. -- The U.S. Dietary Guidelines urge us to limit consumption due to concerns that saturated fat raises the risk of heart disease. But after decades of research, a growing number of experts is questioning this link. -- In fact, the authors of a new meta-analysis published in the Annals of Internal Medicine conclude that there's insufficient evidence to support the long-standing recommendation to consume saturated fat in very low amounts. -- So, let's walk through this shift in thinking: The concern over fat gathered steam in the 1960s when studies showed that saturated fat increases LDL cholesterol — the bad cholesterol — the artery clogging stuff. The assumption was that this increased the risk of heart disease. -- But after all this time, it just hasn't panned out, at least not convincingly. When researchers have tracked people's saturated fat intake over time and then followed-up to see if higher intake increases the risk of hearts attacks and strokes, they haven't found a clear, consistent link. -- In fact, the new study, finds, "null associations" (to quote the authors) between total saturated fat intake and coronary risk. And a prior analysis that included more than 300,000 participants came to a similar conclusion. -- So, what explains this? Well, researchers say the relationship between cholesterol and heart disease is a lot more complicated than was once understood. LDL is just one indicator of risk. -- What's now thought to be a more important predictor of risk is the ratio a person has of LDL to HDL, the good cholesterol. And there's evidence that, compared to carbohydrates, saturated fat can increase HDL and lower fat deposits in the blood called triglycerides, which, in theory, would be protective against heart disease. -- "So when you put this all together," says Dariucsh Mozaffarian, MD of Harvard and a co-author of the paper, what you see is that saturated fat has a relatively neutral effect. It's "not a beneficial effect, but not a harmful effect. And I think that's what the recent studies show." -- So, where does this lead us? Lots of experts say the lesson here is that you can't take a reductionist approach to good health. --- He says the lesson is to get away from recommendations that are built on single nutrients. A healthy diet, he says, should include a wide variety of minimally-processed, whole foods such as nuts and vegetable and olive oil (which has some saturated fat), as well as fish, fruits, vegetables and small portions of animal products such as yogurt and cheese. (Surprisingly, the health-promoting Mediterranean style diet is made up of about 45 percent of calories from fat, including small amounts of meat) - More, Allison Aubrey, NPR, at: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/03/17/290846811/dont-fear-the-fat-experts-question-saturated-fat-guidelines

Paying For College: No Easy Answers For Many Families --- Among Americans ages 25 to 32, college graduates earned $17,500 more than high school graduates in 2012 — the largest pay differential ever, according to Pew Research. When it comes to earnings, "the picture is consistently bleaker for less-educated workers," the Pew study concluded. -- But even as the value of a college diploma has been rising, the cost of tuition has been increasing even faster — far beyond the reach of most young people. The cost of four years of tuition, room, board, books and fees can stretch up into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the pace of increase has accelerated throughout the recession and slow recovery. -- The College Board says the average tuition and fees at public four-year colleges and universities increased by 27 percent beyond the rate of inflation over the five years from the 2008-09 academic year to 2013-14. After adjusting for inflation, the cost of tuition more than tripled between 1973 and 2013. -- That reality has been forcing more and more students to take on staggering debts. Among all students who graduated from four-year colleges in 2012, seven in 10 left with debt. -- And that debt load is heavy — an average of nearly $30,000 each, according to the Institute for College Access and Success. Just 20 years ago, fewer than half of college students graduated with debt, and the amount was less than $10,000 on average. -- Such statistics can be especially daunting for lower-income families. --- "Unfortunately, there are still a lot of young people all across the country who say the cost of college is holding them back," President Obama said earlier this month at Coral Reef Senior High School in Miami. -- He was there to tout an initiative to help students complete their applications for federal student aid, such as Pell grants and loans. Obama also wanted to call attention to his request to have Congress spend $100 million to support strategies for making college more affordable. --- Does college really need to be so expensive? What can families do in the face of such staggering costs? - NPR, at: http://www.npr.org/2014/03/17/290249557/paying-for-college-no-easy-answers-for-many-families

Monday, March 17, 2014

یافته‌های ۸صبح: کانال ننگرهار در چنگال مافیای زمین --- یافته‌های ۸صبح نشان می‌دهد که در جریان چند سال گذشته بیش از یازده هزار جریب زمین مربوط پروژه کانال ننگرهار توسط شماری از زورمندان غصب شده است. -- براساس این یافته‌ها مسوولان شرکت همراز لمیتد به تاریخ ۲/۳/۱۳۸۵، حدود ۵۰ هکتار (۲۵۰ جریب) زمین نوع زراعتی را به مدت ۱۵ سال از ریاست کانال ملی ننگرهار اجاره گرفته است؛ اما اکنون این زمین‌ها به نمره‌ها و شهرک رهایشی تبدیل شده است. -- هم‌چنین مسوولان پروژه کانال ننگرهار دوباره به تاریخ ۱۴/۸/۱۳۸۵ حدود ۲۵ هکتار زمین دیگر نوع سنگ‌زار مربوط این پروژه را به شرکت‌های عمر فاروق و همراز لمیتد به مدت ۱۵ سال اجاره داده‌اند. -- در قراردادخط شرکت‌های یادشده با کانال ننگرهار آمده است: «از زمین‌های کانال به‌منظور تاسیسات فلز کاری و چوب‌فروشی استفاده می‌شود.» --- اما یافته‌های ۸صبح نشان می‌دهد که در حال حاضر در برخی از ساحات ۲۵ هکتار زمین یادشده خانه‌های مجلل و بلندمنزل‌ها ساخته شده است. -- شماری از افرادی که در زمین‌ کانال ننگرهار بلندمنزل و خانه‌های رهایشی ساخته‌اند، می‌گویند که حاجی نقیب از افرادی وابسته به حاجی فاروق رییس شرکت عمر فاروق این زمین‌ها را برای آنان با قیمت هنگفت به فروش رسانیده است. -- عبدالصبور، از باشندگان شهر جلال‌آباد می‌گوید از دوسال به این‌سو حدود ۳ بسوه زمین اجاره شده مربوط شرکت عمر فاروق را از نزد حاجی نقیب خریده است: «این زمین را برای ساخت خانه، از نزد حاجی نقیب از افرادی وابسته به حاجی فاروق رییس شرکت عمر فاروق، به قیمت هفت‌صدوپنجاه هزار افغانی با سند عرفی خریداری کرده‌ام.» -- به‌گفته او، اکنون قیمت یک بسوه از زمین‌های مربوط به شرکت عمر فاروق از ۷۰۰ هزار افغانی به یک‌میلیون‌ودوصد هزار افغانی افزایش یافته است. -- سید نقیب، از دیگر باشندگان ننگرهار می‌گوید که او سه سال پیش حدود چهار بسوه زمین از نزد حاجی نقیب خریده و اکنون در این زمین خانه سه‌منزله آباد کرده است: «چهار بسوه زمین را برای ساخت یک خانه از نزد حاجی نقیب خریده‌ام و اکنون خانه سه‌منزله در این زمین ساخته‌ام.» -- حاجی فاروق رییس شرکت عمر فاروق اما می‌گوید او زمین‌های کانال را به فروش نرسانیده است و تاکنون میلیون‌ها دالر بالای زمین‌هایی که از ریاست کانال اجاره گرفته، سرمایه‌گذاری کرده است. -- آقای فاروق به ۸صبح گفت: «اصلا یک خط هم از تعهد خود عدول نکرده‌ام، جلال‌آباد شیطان‌خانه است و من زمین را به مدت ۱۵ سال اجاره گرفته‌ام و هیچ نمره زمین را به مردم به فروش نرسانیدم. مقام‌های شورای ولایتی و دیگر ارگان‌ها با این قرارداد مشکل دارند.» --- در همین حال، یافته‌های ۸صبح نشان می‌دهد که در جریان ده‌سال گذشته، مسوولان پروژه کانال ننگرهار زمین‌های این پروژه را به شکل غیرقانونی با برخی از افراد قرارداد کرده‌اند. -- محمدآصف رحیمی، وزیر زراعت، آبیاری و مالداری به تاریخ ۱/۸/۱۳۹۱ در گزارش عنوانی ریاست‌جمهوری، گفته است که در جریان ده سال گذشته حدود ۱۱۵۰۰ جریب زمین زراعتی و غیرزراعتی مربوط پروژه کانال ننگرهار برای برخی از شرکت‌ها و افراد به‌شکل غیرقانونی به اجاره داده شده است. -- در گزارش آمده است: «طی یک دهه گذشته، بیش از ۱۱۵۰۰جریب زمین زراعتی و غیرزراعتی مربوط پروژه برای فعالیت‌های غیر زراعتی، به‌طور غیرقانونی به اجاره‌های کوتاه‌مدت و درازمدت داده شده که براساس شواهد عینی، عده از افراد از زمین‌های اجاره حتا مغایر مفادات مندرج قرارداد استفاده کرده‌اند.» -- اما انجنیر زیارت‌گل راحل، رییس کانال ننگرهار، با رد گزارش وزارت زراعت می‌گوید که آنان تاکنون به‌شکل قانونی برخی از ساحات این کانال را با شماری از شرکت‌ها قرارداد کرده‌اند. --- با این همه، رییس‌جمهوری کرزی در جواب گزارش وزارت زراعت، آبیاری و مالداری در حکم شماره ۲۷۹، تاریخ ۱۶/۱/۱۳۹۱ ریاست‌جمهوری، تاکید کرده که قراردادهای اجاره شده اراضی ملکیت پروژه انکشاف کانال ننگرهار که به‌منظورفعالیت‌های غیرزراعتی مورد استفاده قرار می‌گیرد، فسخ شود. - More, at: http://8am.af/1392/12/26/nangarhar-afghanistan-groove-in-hand-ground-mafia/

Russia recognizes Crimea’s independence, defying new U.S. and E.U. sanctions --- The international crisis over Ukraine escalated sharply Monday as the United States and Europe imposed sanctions on senior Russian political and military figures, and Russian President Vladi­mir Putin signed a decree recognizing the Ukrainian region of Crimea as an independent state. -- Both actions were taken in response to Sunday’s referendum in Crimea, where a reported 97 percent of voters said they wanted to become part of Russia. The Obama administration said the vote was rigged and discounted it as illegal. -- Putin’s decree, announced on the Kremlin Web site, was widely seen as a step toward the annexation of Crimea by Russia, a move that U.S. and European leaders have said would result in further punishment designed to cripple Russia’s economy. -- What has become the most serious U.S.-Russia confrontation in decades showed no sign of abating Monday, and there was little indication that ongoing diplomatic efforts would succeed in finding a resolution. -- The West increasingly thinks Putin’s actions in Crimea are part of a larger plan to impose his will on Ukraine, a former Soviet republic whose pro-Russian president fled the country last month in the wake of popular demonstrations in favor of joining the European Union. -- “Further provocations will achieve nothing except to further isolate Russia,” President Obama said in a Monday morning statement announcing sanctions against seven Russian and four Ukrainian officials. The U.S. goals, Obama said, are “to isolate Russia for its actions, and to reassure our allies and partners” of American support. -- The U.S. sanctions include asset freezes and travel bans on some of Putin’s closest aides. The European Union separately announced sanctions on 21 individuals, including several Russian military commanders. The European list did not include Kremlin aides. - More, Karen DeYoung and Griff Witte, Washingtonpost

Catholics, Anglicans, and Muslims join to fight world slavery --- Christians and Muslims have joined to eradicate slavery by encouraging governments, businesses, educational and faith institutions to rid their supply chains of slave labor. -- The Global Freedom Network, launched Monday at the Vatican, aims to eradicate slavery by encouraging governments, businesses, educational and faith institutions to rid their supply chains of slave labor. -- The initiative is the brainchild of billionaire Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest, who founded the Walk Free Foundation in 2012 to mobilize a grass-roots movement to end slavery. - More, Nicole Winfield, Associated Press, csmonitor

Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370: Did 'terrain masking' allow the pilots to elude radars? -- Officials searching for missing Flight MH370 are investigating whether whoever was in control of the plane when it veered off course deliberately flew low to avoid detection by military radar. Experts say so-called “terrain masking” could explain why the plane was apparently able to avoid being spotted after its last confirmed location. -- 10 days after the Malaysian Airlines jet disappeared with its 239 passengers and crew, an international team of investigators is said to be probing the possibility that the plane hugged close to the ground to avoid detection – a technique used by military pilots. -- The New Straits Times reported that shortly after the plane took off from Kuala Lumpur and then veered off course to the west, its altitude fell to as low as 5,000ft. “The person who had control of the aircraft has solid knowledge of avionics and navigation and left a clean track,” an official told the paper. -- With so few solid leads, investigators are having to consider an endless list of possibilities and theories, some more fanciful than others. -- Officials searching for missing Flight MH370 are investigating whether whoever was in control of the plane when it veered off course deliberately flew low to avoid detection by military radar. Experts say so-called “terrain masking” could explain why the plane was apparently able to avoid being spotted after its last confirmed location. - More, The Independent, at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/missing-flight-mh370-did-terrain-masking-allow-the-pilots-to-elude-radars-9198018.html

Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370: Did jetliner fly into area controlled by Taliban? Net widens after claims final satellite signal could have been sent from the ground --- The missing Malaysian airlines flight MH370 may have been deliberately flown under the radar to Taliban-controlled bases on the border of Afghanistan, it has emerged, as authorities said that the final message sent from the cockpit came after one of the jet's communications systems had already been switched off. -- Eight days after the Boeing 777 vanished, The Independent has learnt that Malaysian authorities are seeking diplomatic permission to investigate a theory that the plane was flown to one of a number of Taliban strongholds on the Afghan border in North West Pakistan. -- The latest revelation came as it was revealed that the final message sent to air traffic controllers from the jet's cockpit - “ All right, good night” - was spoken after someone on board had already disabled the plane's ACARS reporting system. -- Around 14 minutes later someone also switched off the plane's transponder, which identifies it to commercial radar systems. Malaysian Air force Major General Affendi Buang told reporters that the two separate actions, along with the calm message in between, “will tell you something” about whether the diversion was deliberate or not. -- At least 25 countries are now assisting in the search for the plane, intensifying challenges of co-ordinating ground, sea and aerial efforts. Countries known to be involved include Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Burma, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Australia, with special assistance regarding satellite data requested from the US, China and France. - More, Independen - at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/missing-malaysia-airlines-flight-mh370-net-widens-as-pilots-passengers-engineers-and-crew-investigated-9195320.html

Unemployment Extension Vote Will Be A Nail-Biter --- WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will have no margin for error when he brings a new bill reauthorizing unemployment benefits to the Senate floor for a vote this month. -- Five Republican senators have signed on to the measure, which would apply the benefits retroactively and pay for the roughly $9.5 billion cost through an accounting gimmick known as pension smoothing, raised custom fees in 2024 and an adjustment to payment procedures for single-employer pension plans. -- Early indications are that those five -- Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) -- will be the only Republicans to support the bill. A spokesman for Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.), who supported early compromises to pass unemployment insurance, said that he would not back this bill because it lacked "credible reforms." -- Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), another Democratic target, suggested she wasn't too into the deal. -- "My hope is there will be further debate and opportunities to amend this proposal and add real reforms to ensure that it better helps the chronically unemployed get back on the job," Ayotte said in a statement Friday.-- The compromise unveiled on Thursday night would end benefits for individuals with gross incomes in the preceding year that exceeded $1 million. The provision is more about symbolism than savings, as the IRS has estimated only $20 million or $30 million in unemployment payments have gone to millionaires in past years, a small fraction of what the government spends on benefits. That provision was pushed by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who is expected to oppose the compromise deal despite its inclusion. -- Coats and several other Republicans have pushed measures that would ban unemployment claimants from also receiving Social Security Disability Insurance; the new legislation omits such a stipulation. -- A Senate Democratic leadership aide said the party was still hopeful that an additional Republican will offer his or her support, which would give Reid a little more cushion. But if that member doesn't materialize, then the Nevada Democrat will need all of the 54 other Senate Democrats to back the bill in order to clear the 60-vote threshold to avoid a filibuster. -- Clearing that bar will require maintaining a delicate balance between the ideological wings of his party. On Friday, Sen. Joe Manchin's (D-W.Va.) office confirmed he would support the bill, removing one potential defector from the ranks. But the Senate Democratic leadership aide said that the main concern at this juncture would be that some of the more liberal members of the party might find the deal insufficient, in part because it would only last through the end of May. -- "I think it will be a moot point, because we will get all 55," the aide said. "I think at this point everybody just wants to get something passed." -- Even if the Senate passes an unemployment bill, however, it's unclear how the Republicans who control the House would respond. A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said it was too soon to comment. -- Benefits for more than 2 million Americans hang in the balance. On Dec. 28 Congress let federal long-term unemployment insurance expire after it had been in place since 2008. The benefits, which Congress routinely provides during recessions, kick in for workers who use up six months of state compensation. If the compromise legislation becomes law, all the people who missed checks would receive retroactive lump-sum payments. --- Even though the unemployment rate has declined, the rate of long-term joblessness is still higher than it's been in any recession since the Great Depression. -- UPDATE: 1:45 p.m. -- In a boost to Reid's chances of passing the bill, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) allayed Democratic leadership's concerns in announcing his support for the compromise. -- "I am pleased that there is a bipartisan deal to restore the federal unemployment extension, and that assistance will be restored retroactively to those Americans who have struggled to make ends meet in the months since the expiration of the program late last year," Harkin said in a statement passed to The Huffington Post. "To be clear, I would have preferred a longer extension, because this agreement means that we will need to revisit the issue in May, when this deal is about to expire. But in the meantime, this deal will help millions of Americans, including more than 14,000 Iowans, keep a roof over their heads and food on the table while they continue to look for new work." - More, Huffpost, at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/14/unemployment-extension_n_4964450.html

Unveiling Afghanistan -- Dr. Ramazan Bashardost: 'Our Leaders Push Their People Over the Cliff' --- Our leadership. Leaders are meant to look after their people -- save them from losing their footing and falling off the cliff, so to speak. Leaders in other countries protect their people. But not here. In Afghanistan, our leaders push their people over the cliff. -- If the women of Afghanistan really want to see a change, they need to stop making decisions on the basis of gender. Afghanistan will only free itself from the problems of inequality between men and women when the arbitrary criteria of ethnicity, gender, age, religion, language, and region are abolished and replaced with the criteria of merit, experience, expertise, and commitment. If these were the criteria, a woman could also become president of Afghanistan. If a woman is raped, nobody should ask which region or which ethnic community she came from: it is a crime regardless. -- Ask the hard questions: What have the 68 female Members of Parliament done for the women of Afghanistan? If they supported somebody for the post of the speaker or deputy speaker, their candidate would certainly be elected. But these women are not looking out for the interests of women. As is always the case in Afghanistan, divisions based on ethnicity, religion, and language trump over everything else. --- I am asking people to put aside the criteria of ethnicity, gender, age, religion, language, and region and adopt humanity as the criterion for organising their life, actions and behaviour. Furthermore, let's make it our purpose in life to heal the wounds rather than add salt to injury. - More, at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/unveiling-afghanistan/dr-ramazan-bashardost-our_b_4979581.html?utm_hp_ref=afghanistan

تعدیل قانون اساسی یا تغییر نظام؟ --- دیروز رییس‌جمهور کرزی در مراسم آغاز دوره جدید تقنینی شورای ملی، از ضرورت تعدیل قانون اساسی سخن گفت. آقای کرزی گفت تجربه ده‌سال گذشته، نشان داد که باید تعدیلاتی در قانون اساسی بیاید. او دقیقا نگفت که از نظر او کدام فصل و بند قانون اساسی باید تعدیل شود، اما تاکید کرد که غیر از ماده ۱۴۹، همه مواد قانون اساسی می‌تواند اصلاح شود. این نخستین‌بار است که آقای کرزی در مورد تعدیل قانون اساسی سخن می‌گوید. پیش از این آقای کرزی با حساسیت در این مورد برخورد می‌کرد و بحث تعدیل قانون اساسی را منتفی می‌دانست. -- آقای کرزی در مراسم شروع کار پارلمان دوم در سال ۱۳۸۹ با اشاره به بحث تغییر نظام گفته بود، این موضوع به تشویق برخی از حلقات بیرونی مطرح شده است. پیش از این بسیاری از سیاستمداران و جریان‌های سیاسی، از ضرورت تعدیل قانون اساسی و تغییر نظام از ریاستی به صدارتی که در آن رییس دولت در عین حال رییس حکومت نباشد، سخن گفته بودند. در مرام‌های حزبی بسیاری از احزاب مشهور در کشور هم از نظامی حمایت شده است که در آن یک نخست‌وزیر وجود داشته باشد، اما آقای کرزی هیچ‌گاهی، در گذشته به این صراحت در مورد ضرورت تعدیل در مواد قانون اساسی، سخن نگفته بود. -- از نظر بسیاری از جریان‌های سیاسی و چهره‌های مشهور، مهم‌ترین نقص کنونی قانون اساسی، نظام ریاستی است که در آن قدرت در دفتر رییس‌جمهور متمرکز است. در لویه‌جرگه قانون اساسی در سال ۱۳۸۲، بحث نوع نظام، یکی از موارد اختلافی جدی بود، اما آن زمان رییس‌جمهور کرزی و مرحوم مارشال فهیم، به‌شدت از نظام ریاستی طرفداری می‌کردند. آقای کرزی در آن زمان، حتا به اعضای لویه‌جرگه قانون اساسی هشدار داد، در صورتی‌که از نظام ریاستی حمایت نکنند، او از ریاست دولت انتقالی استعفا می‌دهد. - More, روزنامه هشت صبح, at http://8am.af/1392/12/25/law-material-afghanistan/

Facts Elusive in Kabul Death of Swedish Reporter --- KABUL, Afghanistan — With few facts emerging about why a Swedish journalist was gunned down on a crowded street here last week, some Afghan officials have begun offering an unsupported, if not familiar, theory: A spy war involving Western intelligence agents was to blame, rather than some homegrown cause. -- No officials who offered the theory wanted their names attached to it, and none could say what countries might have been involved in the killing of Nils Horner, 51, a reporter for Swedish Radio. But it opened a new front for speculation in a case swamped with conjecture. --- The biggest break so far in the investigation is video of a suspected gunman and an accomplice running from the scene of the crime. The video was captured by a surveillance camera that was mounted near the street by a Western embassy and not by the Afghan government, Afghan and foreign diplomats said. -- Afghan officials now have the video, but have refused to release it. A copy was obtained by the Expressen newspaper of Sweden and posted on its website. The grainy black-and-white video, which Afghan and Western officials said was authentic, shows a pair of men — one in traditional dress, the other in what appears to be a track suit — running down a main street in Kabul’s diplomatic enclave. -- The video was taken moments after the shooting, around the time the area had been cordoned off by heavily armed police officers to secure a route for a motorcade carrying senior officials to Mr. Fahim’s burial. The suspects ran toward the cordon and, judging from the video, most likely dashed past several police checkpoints as they escaped onto a narrow side street. -- Apart from the video, “the facts are thin,” said a European diplomat, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid upsetting Afghan officials. “We’re all struggling to explain this.” -- Now, some are saying Mr. Horner may have been killed as part of some shadowy intelligence war in Afghanistan waged by foreigners. -- The narrative that foreign forces mostly are to blame for Afghanistan’s ills has been a mainstay for President Hamid Karzai and other Afghan officials. Amid growing nationalism and anxiety about what will happen after Western combat troops leave Afghanistan by year’s end — and a long history of foreign meddling and proxy wars in the country — it may be no surprise that the theory of foreign involvement in the death of Mr. Horner surfaced. Western officials have insisted that Mr. Horner, who was killed Tuesday by a single shot to the head as he stood on a street, was not a spy. -- The European diplomat described the claim that Mr. Horner was an intelligence agent as “delusional nonsense.” -- “We’re all tired of people thinking that the Great Game is being played out here every day,” the diplomat said. - More, MATTHEW ROSENBERG, NYTimes, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/17/world/asia/facts-elusive-in-kabul-death-of-swedish-reporter.html?ref=afghanistan&_r=0

‘Do not let spoilers deprive you of your future’, UN envoy tells Afghans ahead of polls --- 17 March 2014 – In a personal appeal to the Afghan people less than three weeks before national elections, a senior United Nations envoy today urged all citizens of the nascent democracy to exercise their right to vote and not allow spoilers to deter the holding of peaceful and credible polls. -- “The success of the April 2014 elections will be of critical significance in reinforcing Afghanistan’s institutional and political stability and instilling confidence in the future,” the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Ján Kubiš, said in his briefing to the Security Council. -- Afghanistan is set to hold presidential and provincial council elections on 5 April, leading to the country’s first democratic transfer of power. It comes amid an ongoing transition process by which Afghanistan is assuming greater responsibility for its own affairs throughout the country. - Mr. Kubiš, who heads the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), urged all eligible Afghan citizens – men and women – to exercise their right to vote on 5 April, stressing that this a universal democratic right, as well as a responsibility in strengthening the country’s democratic processes and representative institutions. -- “Do not let spoilers and terrorists deprive you of your choice, of your future,” he stated. “Participation as voters, elections officials, and observers, is a rejection of force, violence, and intimidation as the means by which your proud nation decides your leadership.” -- He noted that, at this “delicate juncture” in Afghanistan’s transitions, it is a credible electoral process that can provide much needed stability and predictability through a popular mandate across ethnic lines for wider political, economic and social development agendas, including peace and reconciliation. -- “I want to make very clear that even groups such as the Taliban that reject the elections, have obligations to respect a civilian process,” he pointed out, adding that he is gravely disturbed by the Taliban’s recent declaration that it will seek to disrupt the process by force, unleashing a campaign of terror. -- Security will have a major impact on these polls, the envoy noted. To date, election-related violence has been of a lower order than 2009 and 2010, even as general security incidents have increased. However, it is on the rise. - More, UN, at: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=47365&Cr=afghan&Cr1=

US Goes High-Tech to Help Oversee Afghan Aid Work --- The main U.S. foreign assistance agency wants to step up use of smartphones, satellite imagery and GPS cameras to oversee tax-funded development projects in Afghanistan that aid workers no longer will be able to observe firsthand as American troops leave the country. -- The U.S. Agency for International Development on Saturday began seeking bids on a monitoring project contract that could cost up to $170 million. The agency hopes the five-year project will allow aid work to continue in Afghanistan despite the troop drawdown and will satisfy lawmakers and others who have criticized the agency for weak monitoring. -- Unless security improves significantly, Afghans hired by USAID contractors will increasingly be on the front line of overseeing the agency's largest single-country program. -- "As the U.S. prepares to have a smaller military footprint, it could become increasingly challenging for us to do our direct monitoring and have U.S. employees on the ground looking at things," Mark Feierstein, associate administrator for USAID, said in an interview. -- "We are going to try to do whatever oversight we can with USAID employees," Feierstein said. "If we conclude that even with the best technology we just can't have eyes and ears there, we just won't do the project." -- Since 2001, USAID has spent $12 billion on development projects in Afghanistan. Millions more will pour into the country in the years ahead. -- USAID-funded projects are monitored by aid workers, contractors, other U.S. government employees, USAID's internal watchdog, the Government Accountability Office, the Afghan government and civil organizations, and the office of Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. -- The new contract aims to enhance oversight by combining these existing monitoring techniques with stepped up use of high-tech tools. USAID already has used them in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Iraq and certain areas of Colombia. -- The tools include satellite imagery, cameras that take photos with the time, date and GPS coordinates, and cellphones that can be used to collect data and conduct informal public opinion surveys. -- Typically, Afghans are hired to go to project sites and collect information useful in monitoring the work. Such work can put them in danger if they are seen by insurgents fighting America's presence in Afghanistan. -- The drawdown of forces and further restricted movement of U.S. civilian workers in Afghanistan has alarmed Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., long critical of waste and fraud in U.S. reconstruction projects in Afghanistan. -- At a Senate hearing this past week, McCaskill noted that the special inspector general's office predicts that soon no more than 21 percent of Afghanistan will be accessible to U.S. civilian oversight personnel. -- "Now that's a 47 percent reduction since 2009," McCaskill said. "We had eyes and ears on the majority of Afghanistan during a time period that ... billions of dollars of American taxpayer money was being spent to build things. We're only going to have eyes and ears in 21 percent of the country." -- In its most recent quarterly report, the special inspector general's office also expressed deep concern that oversight could suffer. --"As the U.S. drawdown continues, implementing agencies and oversight bodies will have far less visibility over the reconstruction programs than in the past," it said in the report in January. - More, DEB RIECHMANN Associated Press -- at: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/us-high-tech-oversee-afghan-aid-work-22923329

امریکا، 170 میلیون دالر را در یک برنامه در افغانستان مصرف می کند --- ایالات متحده امریکا می خواهد حدود 170 میلیون دالر را در یک برنامه نظارتی در پروژه های افغانستان مصرف کند. در این برنامه از تیلفون های موبایل، تصاویر ماهواره یی و کمره های پیشرفته استفاده خواهد شد. این برنامه برای پنج سال است. هدف آن نظارت از پروژه های بازسازی در افغانستان، پس از خروج نیرو های بین المللی گفته شده زیرا پس از 2014، بررسی و نظارت مستقیم از این پروژه ها دشوار به نظر می رسد. این بار امریکا می خواهد با استفاده از موبایل های پیشرفته، تصاویر ماهواره یی و کمره های نظارتی، پروژه های افغانستان را بررسی کند. -- به وسیله این تکنالوژی، ماهواره ها تصویر می گیرند، کمره ها وقت و زمان عکس ها را مشخص می سازند و سیستم GPS در هماهنگی با تیلفون های پیشرفته، نظارت از پروژه ها را ممکن می سازد. این برنامه تا حدود 170 میلیون دالر مصرف دارد و اداره انکشاف بین المللی امریکا از امروز تلاش ها را آغاز کرده تا این پول را به دست آورد. -- مارک فییرشتاین معاون اداره بین المللی انکشافی ایالات متحده در یک مصاحبه از مقر این سازمان در واشنگتن گفته است: در حالی که امریکا می خواهد نقش خیلی کم نظامی در افغانستان داشته باشد، برای آنها خیلی مشکل است که به صورت مستقیم از پروژه ها در این کشور نظارت کنند و کارمندان شان بر سر این پروژه ها حضور داشته باشند. به گفته آقای فییرشتاین، نخست به وسیله کارمندان برای نظارت پروژه ها کار می شود و سپس با برخی تکنالوژی های روز. اما او می افزاید: اگر ما به این نتیجه رسیدیم که با وجود تکنالوژی پیشرفته، نمی توانیم پروژه ها را نظارت کنیم، اصلاً هیچ پروژه را پیش نمی بریم. -- اداره انکشاف بین المللی ایالات متحده امریکا، از آغاز سال 2001 بیش از دوازده میلیارد دالر را در پروژه های مختلف در افغانستان مصرف کرده و انتظار می رود به ارزش میلیون ها دالر دیگر در جریان سال های آینده در پروژه های این کشور کمک کند. تقریباً تمامی پروژه های که از سوی کارمندان خیریه، قراردادی ها، کارمندان حکومت امریکا، مفتش خاص این کشور برای بازسازی افغانستان یا سیگار، جامعه مدنی و بعضاً از سوی حکومت افغانستان نظارت می شوند، در برخی موارد با انتقاد های هم روبرو شده است.سناتور امریکایی، کلیر مک کازکیل یکی از منتقدین شدید حیف و میل شدن پول ها در پروژه های افغانستان است. او می گوید: از سال 2009 تا حالا، 47 درصد کاهش بودجه در این پروژه های به میان آمده است. -- به گفته سناتور مک کازکیل، میلیارد ها دالر پول مالیه دهنده گان امریکا در افغانستان مصرف شد اما در حال حاضر، فقط 21 در صد پروژه ها در این کشور در دسترس قرار دارند. با این هم در حال حاضر پروژه نظارت توسط تکنالوژی پیشرفته یک امید برای بررسی همین پروژه ها شده و در گذشته در برخی کشور ها، چون پاکستان، یمن، عراق و کولمبیا نتیجه داده است. - رادیو آزادی

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Pakistan eyes U.S. military equipment in Afghanistan --- ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The U.S. military may have another option for disposing of $7 billion worth of armored vehicles and other equipment it’s struggling to get rid of now that its war in Afghanistan is ending. -- Some of it could be driven across the border and handed over to Pakistan, part of an effort by the Pentagon to unload excess military supplies to U.S. allies at no cost. -- The discussions between American and Pakistani officials have been going on for months and center on leftover military hardware that the United States does not want to pay to ship or fly home. -- Although no final decisions have been made, Pakistan is particularly interested in the U.S. Army’s mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles, which Pentagon officials say will have limited strategic value as U.S. forces withdraw from Afghanistan this year. -- But with Pakistan’s military expected to be battling Taliban insurgents for years, the MRAPs could help Pakistani forces slow their high casualty rate of more than 20,000 dead or injured troops since 2001. -- “We will not take it for the sake of just taking it, and we will not take it because it’s free,” said one senior Pakistani military official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the negotiations. “We will take it because we need it.” -- About 150,000 Pakistani soldiers are along the country’s border with Afghanistan, and U.S. officials are counting on them to help keep the pressure on militant groups after 2014. -- But Pakistan’s troops remain vulnerable to roadside bombs and explosive devices, and their armored vehicles can withstand far less force than a U.S.-made MRAP, officials said. -- The United States had been a major weapons supplier to Pakistan for decades, but those sales slowed dramatically after the U.S. military raid that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011. -- Over the past year, the tension has eased, and leaders in both countries have stressed that they need to work together to try to ensure regional stability after the U.S.-led coalition withdraws from Afghanistan. -- Last fall, Secretary of State John F. Kerry signed a waiver authorizing U.S. weapons sales to Pakistan through at least this year. -- The backbone of the U.S. military’s vehicle fleet in Afghanistan, MRAPs were designed to protect American troops from explosive devices. But each MRAP weighs as much as 40 tons, and Pentagon leaders have said it would potentially cost more than $100,000 per vehicle to ship them back to United States. They also have qualms about leaving them in Afghanistan, noting that the stock is far larger than what the Afghan army would be able to maintain. -- The Washington Post reported in June that the U.S. military was shredding hundreds of MRAPs for scrap metal, despite their initial cost of $400,000 to $700,000 each. -- But Mark E. Wright, a Pentagon spokesman, said the military still has about 13,000 MRAPs scattered worldwide that remain in good working condition, including about 1,600 in Afghanistan. -- The U.S. government is offering them to allies for free on an “as-is, where-is” basis, Wright said. But the recipients, who would be vetted by the State Department, would be responsible for shipping them out of Afghanistan. -- Twenty countries have expressed an interest, he added. -- The Defense Department “is reviewing every request and is expediting the review process to support U.S. retrograde timelines,” said Wright, noting that decisions must be made by the end of this year. -- But Marine Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that many countries have ultimately decided that it’s neither cost-effective nor practical for them to pay to collect the MRAPs from Afghanistan. -- “It’s very expensive for countries to take those vehicles from Afghanistan,” he said. -- Pakistan, however, shares a 1,500-mile border with Afghanistan. Coalition forces also use Pakistani highways and ports to ship material into and out of landlocked Afghanistan. --- In January, the New York Times reported that Uzbekistan, which borders Afghanistan, also has been inquiring about receiving surplus U.S. military hardware. -- At the time, the newspaper noted­ that the U.S.-led coalition was increasingly relying on Uzbekistan to transport equipment and supplies out of Afghanistan because supply routes through Pakistan were partly blocked. --- Since then, however, a major Pakistani political party has lifted its blockade of NATO supply routes through the northern part of the country. Since January, there also have been several high-level meetings between U.S. and Pakistani officials over ways to bolster cooperation. -- A Pakistani security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter, said the military is exploring the acquisition of night-vision and communications equipment. -- Siemon T. Wezeman, a senior researcher and South Asia expert at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which tracks global weapons sales and transfers, said Pakistan also has reached out to Turkey in search of more heavily armored vehicles. --- Although Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been boosting the defense budget, Wezeman notes that Pakistan remains a cash-strapped nation. And U.S. military commanders, he said, fear leaving surplus equipment in Afghanistan because of uncertainty about the Afghan army’s ability to fend off Taliban insurgents. -- “Handing them all over to the Afghan army isn’t really an option,” Wezeman said. “There is a feeling in the U.S. that the Afghan army is not totally reliable, so it may be safer to just park them in Pakistan.” -- It’s less clear, however, how Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Afghan military leaders would react. Karzai, who is leaving office this year, is deeply skeptical of Pakistan and believes that the U.S.-led coalition has not done enough to prepare the Afghan army for threats from Pakistan and other countries that border Afghanistan. - More, Tim Craig, Washingtonpost

Crimeans vote in referendum on whether to break away from Ukraine, join Russia --- SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine — Crimeans voted overwhelmingly to leave Ukraine and join Russia, election officials said Sunday, capping a heavy-handed campaign that blocked most voters from hearing a vision for any alternative to unification with Moscow. -- Mikhail Malyshev, a senior election commission spokesman in the Crimean capital of Simferopol, announced that with a little more than 50 percent of the ballots counted, about 93 percent had voted in favor of joining Russia. -- The White House and Western governments rejected the referendum, conducted as thousands of Russian troops occupied the peninsula, and are eyeing sanctions. Ukraine’s interim prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, dismissed the vote as a “circus” under the “stage direction” of Moscow. Russia has staunchly defended it. -- A vote in favor of seceding from Ukraine was widely expected; ethnic Russians make up 60 percent of Crimea’s population, and the region has deep historical ties to Russia. But the vote may only complicate the biggest standoff between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War and increase security fears in the rest of Ukraine and in other former Soviet states. -- Tensions rose elsewhere in Ukraine on Sunday. In the eastern city of Donetsk, thousands of pro-Russian demonstrators rallied in support of following Crimea’s lead and holding a referendum on joining Russia. Clusters of protesters stormed two government offices. Pro-Russian activists in Kharkiv, another troubled city in Ukraine’s east, charged into a cultural center and burned Ukrainian-language books while several thousand Moscow sympathizers marched in the southern city of Odessa, according to the Reuters news agency. -- Shortly before midnight in Simferopol, with tens of thousands of people jamming Lenin Square and nearby streets, Crimean political leaders announced the preliminary vote totals. Fireworks exploded overhead while a male chorus sang the Russian national anthem from a giant stage and people screamed and hugged one another. -- In the Crimean Peninsula’s other major city, Sevastopol, local vote results were announced on a concert stage in the biggest square. -- Dmitri Belik, head of the city council, told the cheering crowd, “Sevastopol, we are in Russia! Thank you, citizens of Sevastopol, we did it with your help, and nobody is going to kick us out.” - More, Washingtonpost

U.S. warns Russia against annexing Crimea --- Having failed to prevent a Russian-sponsored referendum in Crimea, the Obama administration and its European allies refocused their efforts Sunday on keeping Moscow from annexing the autonomous Ukrainian region and expanding its military moves into other parts of Ukraine. -- In a telephone call to Russian President Vladi­mir Putin — his third in two weeks — President Obama said that the referendum “would never be recognized by the United States and the international community” and that “we are prepared to impose additional costs on Russia for its actions,” the White House said. -- An earlier White House statement, issued as Crimean polls were closing on an overwhelming vote by residents to become part of Russia, called Moscow’s actions “dangerous and destabilizing” and said that “military intervention and violation of international law will bring increasing costs for Russia.” -- European Union officials are due to meet Monday to consider measures — including an asset freeze and a travel ban on as-yet-unnamed Russian individuals deemed responsible for military aggression and corruption in Ukraine — that British Foreign Secretary William Hague said “must be adopted.” -- But how far the West is prepared to go in punishing Russia for the referendum, and how much further Putin intends to take his quest for control over part, if not all, of Ukraine, remain uncertain. -- Obama administration promises last week to exact a cost if the vote were held — even before new Russian military exercises on Ukraine’s eastern and southern borders and Saturday’s seizure of a Ukrainian gas plant just beyond Crimea’s northern boundary — would seem to make the imposition of at least some sanctions this week a foregone conclusion. -- The question for the West is whether harsh retribution now will make Putin more or less likely to desist from further action. Although he has so far been impervious to American and European threats, U.S. officials think that the cost the upheaval has already imposed on the Russian economy will become unbearable if Putin does not yield. -- The West could also suffer costs if Russia cuts off energy supplies to Europe and further squeezes the Ukrainian economy. But Western officials say that is a price they are willing to pay and have pledged economic support to Ukraine. - More, Karen DeYoung, Washingtonpost

حامد کرزی: افغانستان هیچگاه مُطیع پاکستان نخواهد شد --- رئیس جمهور کرزی می گوید رهبران پاکستان اکنون پی برده اند که افغانستان هیچگاه مُطیع و فرمانبردار پاکستان نخواهد شد. آقای کرزی گفت کشورش که تسلیم شوروی، امریکا و انگلستان نشد پس تسلیم هیچ کشوری دیگر هم نمی شود: «به بزرگان پاکستان امروز پیام من اینست از حمله شوروی تا امروز در افغانستان کوشش بر این شده است که افغانستان مُطیع برای پاکستان باشد و افغانستان زیر اثر سیاست پاکستان قرار داشته باشد. بزرگان پاکستان دیدند که این ممکن نیست پس افغانستان با پاکستان دوستی می خواهد، اما دوست و فقط دوست در استقلال، عزت و حاکمیت خاک خود. هیچ عمل افراطگری و تروریزم ما را تابع کسی ساخته نمی تواند.» -- رئیس جمهور کرزی این سخنان را در مراسم افتتاح سال چهارم دوره شانزدهم کاری شورای ملی کشور روز شنبه در کابل ابراز داشت. آقای کرزی گفت که افغانستان و پاکستان از موجودیت تروریزم رنج می برند و باید هر دو کشور برای ختم این رنج در تامین صلح و ثبات در کشور شان صادقانه همکاری کنند. وی این همکاری را مشروط به احترام حاکمیت و استقلالیت یک دیگر دانست. رئیس جمهور کرزی گفت که وی می داند که رهبری طالبان در پاکستان در امن و امان بسر می برد. -- آقای کرزی افزود، هر زمانیکه برخی از اعضای طالبان آماده مذاکره با حکومت افغانستان می شوند با تاسف عدهء از سران طالبان بازداشت و یا هم کشته می شوند. او این موضوع را با اعلام حمایت معتصم آغا جان به نماینده گی از برخی سران طالبان از پروسه صلح افغانستان ربط داده و گفت که کشورش مسرانه به آغاز رسمی مذاکرات صلح تاکید دارد. رئیس جمهور کرزی گفت، به دلیل اینکه صلح اهمیت حیاتی به مردم کشورش دارد پس او امضای توافقنامه امنیتی و دفاعی با امریکا را هم مشروط به آغاز عملی پروسه صلح در کشور دانسته است. -- قای کرزی در سخنان اش در مراسم افتتاح سال چهارم دوره شانزدهم کاری شورای ملی با اشاره به امضای توافقنامه امنیتی و دفاعی با امریکا گفت، هر کشوری که قرارداد با افغانستان می خواهد پس باید در قدم اول به این کشور صلح بیاورد: «مردم افغانستان صلح را مثل هر کشور و ملت دیگر جهان اساس زنده گی خود می دانند، پس اگر کشوری با ما قرارداد امنیتی می طلبد، رابطه می طلبد و پایگاه می طلبد آن حضور باید به افغانستان صلح بیاورد. تا ما در صلح زنده گی کنیم و آنها در منفعت خود.» -- رئیس جمهور کرزی بار دیگر گفت که وی باور دارد که امریکا و پاکستان در آوردن صلح و ثبات در افغانستان کمک موثر کرده می توانند. آقای کرزی گفت که مردم افغانستان مخالف امضاء توافقنامه امنیتی و دفاعی با امریکا نیستند اما وی باز هم روی شرایط حکومت افغانستان در خصوص امضا این قرار داد تاکید کرد. رئیس جمهور کرزی در حالی هنوز هم به خاطر امضاء توافقنامه امنیتی و دفاعی با امریکا بالای شرایط حکومت اش تاکید دارد که در این اواخر برخی مقام های امریکایی گفته اند که آنان منتظر خواهند ماند تا این توافقنامه را با جانشین رئیس جمهور کرزی امضا کنند. - رادیو آزادی

Karzai says Afghanistan doesn’t need U.S. troops to stay past end of year --- KABUL — In his final address to Afghanistan’s parliament Saturday, President Hamid Karzai said U.S. soldiers can leave at the end of the year because his military already protects 93 percent of the country and was ready to take over entirely. -- He reiterated his stance that he will not sign a pact with the United States that would provide for a residual force of U.S. troops to remain behind. -- The Afghan president has come under heavy pressure, both from the United States and Afghan tribal leaders, to sign the Bilateral Security Agreement. The force would train and mentor Afghan troops, and some U.S. Special Forces would also be left behind to hunt down members of al-Qaeda. --- All 10 candidates seeking the presidency in the April 5 election have said they would sign the security agreement, but Karzai himself does not appear to want his legacy to include a commitment to a longer foreign troop presence in his country. -- Karzai was brought to power in the wake of the 2001 U.S.-led invasion and subsequently won presidential elections in 2004 and 2009. Under Afghanistan’s constitution, he is banned from seeking a third elected term. -- Karzai in recent years has espoused a combative nationalism, with his hour-long speech Saturday no exception. -- “I want to say to all those foreign countries who maybe out of habit or because they want to interfere, that they should not interfere,” he said. -- Karzai said the war in Afghanistan was “imposed” on his nation. He said the United States could bring peace to Afghanistan if it went after terrorist sanctuaries and countries that supported terrorism, a reference to Pakistan, where Afghan insurgents have some times found refuge. - More, Kathy Gannon and Rahim Faiez, - Washingtonpost, at: http://news.msn.com/world/karzai-says-afghanistan-doesnt-need-us-troops

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Mohammed Fahim - obituary --- Mohammed Fahim was a 'self-appointed field marshal’ whose time as Afghanistan’s vice president was beset by claims of corruption -- Mohammed Fahim, who has died of a heart attack aged 56 or 57, was a controversial figure in Afghanistan, where his title was first vice president; for critics of western involvement in the country, he illustrated the futility of trying to introduce liberal democracy into a society riven by ethnic and tribal divisions. --- The son of a Muslim cleric, Mohammed Qasim Fahim was born in 1957 in a small village in the Panjshir Valley, and went on to study Islamic law in Kabul. -- He first came to prominence as a Mujahideen commander for the Northern Alliance coalition of guerrilla fighters led by Ahmed Shah Massood during the campaign against Soviet occupation from 1979. -- After the collapse of the pro-Soviet regime in 1992, he became a key figure in Massoud’s United Front government, heading its intelligence operations. He was known to use torture and, on one occasion, ordered the arrest of his future ally, Hamid Karzai, then the deputy foreign minister, on suspicion of spying for a rival faction within the government. The future president managed to escape when a rocket hit the prison where he was being held. -- After the Taliban took power in 1996, Fahim retreated to the Panjshir to continue the campaign against the Taliban, both in the valley and in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, where fighting erupted in 1997. -- He emerged into the international limelight in September 2001 after Massoud’s assassination by Tunisian Islamist militants posing as journalists two days before the 9/11 attacks in the United States. By the end of the month, as commander of the Northern Alliance, Fahim had become America’s main proxy in the fight against the Taliban. -- Fahim backed Hamid Karzai to lead the new UN-brokered interim government and in exchange was named defence minister. But within months American officials are said to have picked up intelligence that Fahim was considering an attempt to assassinate Karzai, as a result of which, in July 2002, US Special Forces wrested presidential bodyguard duties away from soldiers loyal to Fahim. The move followed the assassination earlier in the month of one of Karzai’s vice presidents, Abdul Qadir, a powerful Pashtun warlord and Karzai ally. -- Karzai was criticised for bringing Fahim into government. However his defenders argued that he had little choice after the international community deprived him of the resources he needed in the years immediately after 2001. One revealing story tells how when Karzai flew in a US military aircraft to Kabul after the defeat of the Taliban, Fahim arrived to greet him on the tarmac with nearly 100 bodyguards, all bristling with weapons. As Karzai emerged from the plane with just four companions, Fahim looked confused. “Where are your men?” he asked. “Why General,” replied Karzai, “you are my men — all of you are Afghans and are my men — we are united now — surely that is why we fought the war and signed the Bonn agreement?” -- But Fahim remained unconvinced and, as defence minister, was accused of delaying reforms that would have required him to replace his Tajik generals with a more ethnically balanced officer corps – a precondition for carrying out a $200 million UN-sponsored plan to pay off and disarm 100,000 militiamen loyal to the warlords. -- When Afghans finally got a chance to elect their president for the first time, in 2004, Karzai bowed to international pressure not to put Fahim on his ticket, though he later gave the man he called “my close friend and confidant” the honorary title of “marshal for life”. But Fahim remained a powerful figure and in 2006 Karzai, faced with a resurgent Taliban, returned him to government as an adviser. -- Fahim survived several Taliban assassination attempts, but in later years was beset by health problems which required hospital treatment in Germany. -- His death, which comes only a few weeks before Karzai is due to step down from the presidency, and as Nato forces pull out of Afghanistan , has added to the prevailing atmosphere of fear and uncertainty. - More, Telegraph, at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/active/10688191/Mohammed-Fahim-obituary.html

حامد کرزى: افغانستان تسليم هيچ کشورى نشده و نخواهد شد --- شهرکابل (پژواک،٢٤ حوت ٩٢): رئيس جمهور کرزى، به کشور هاى خارجى هشدار داد که در انتخابات افغانستان مداخله نکنند و در پيامى به پاکستان گفت که افغانستان، تسليم هيچ کشورى نشده و نخواهد شد. حامد کرزى رئيس جمهور که امروز در افتتاح سال چهارم دورۀ شانزدهم تقنينى شوراى ملى صحبت مى کرد، اظهار اميدوارى نمود که انتخابات ١٦ حمل ١٣٩٣ رياست جمهورى و شوراهاى ولايتى، به شکل آزاد و شفاف و در فضاى امن برگزار گردد. وى افزود: "برگزارى انتخابات آزاد، در صورتى ممکن است که در روند انتخابات کشور ما مداخله صورت نگيرد، يکبار ديگر بلکه چندين بار مى خواهم تکرار کنم پيام خود را به خارجيان که رئيس جمهور آينده کشور در نتيجۀ ابراز اراده آزاد مردم افغانستان انتخاب مى شود، هشدار مى دهم که از هر نوع مداخله در انتخابات افغانستان دورى بجويند که به خير شان است." -- موصوف به تاکيد گفت که حکومت در انتخابات مداخله نمى کند و کميسيون مستقل انتخابات و کميسيون شکايات انتخاباتى، بي طرف است و بايد بي طرفانه عمل کنند. رئيس جمهور، از رسانه ها نيز خواست تا در پوشش قراردادن برنامه هاى انتخاباتى، بي طرفى کامل را حفظ کنند. کرزى گفت که از رئيس جمهور آينده کشور که به اساس آراى مردم انتخاب مى شود، به حيث يک شهروند حمايت خواهد کرد. وى افزود که دولت افغانستان در ١٢ سال گذشته، دستاورد هاى چشمگيرى در بخش آزادى بيان، قانونگزارى، بهبود وضعيت اقتصادى، احقاق حقوق زنان، تعليم و تحصيل، روابط بين المللى، حاکميت ملى، تامين وحدت ملى، پيشبرد پروسه صلح و...، داشته است. حامد کرزى، از رئيس جمهور آيندۀ کشور خواست که به حفظ اين دستاوردها و پيشرفت هاى بيشتر در تمام اين عرصه ها توجه بيشتر داشته باشد. وى تامين وحدت ملى و صلح در کشور را از اولويت هاى مهم کارى ١٢ سال گذشتۀ حکومت عنوان کرد و گفت که حکومت آينده نيز بايد به اين موارد که از آرمان هاى مردم افغانستان است، بيشتر و بيشتر توجه کند. رئيس جمهور گفت که مردم افغانستان، از حدود ٣٥ سال به اين طرف از نبود تامين صلح رنج مى برند و در اين مدت، صد ها هزار افغان کشته و زخمى شده اند. --- حامد کرزى افزود: زمانى در هر دو کشور صلح تامين شده مى تواند که به حاکميت و استقلال يکديگر احترام بگذارند و در مبارزه با دهشت افگنى، همکارى صادقانه داشته باشند. وى علاوه کرد: "پيام من به بزرگان پاکستان اين است که از حمله شوروى تا امروز در افغانستان کوشش بر اين شده که افغانستان مطيع باشد براى پاکستان و افغانستانى باشد که زير اثر سياست پاکستان باشد، بزرگان پاکستان ديدند که اين ممکن نيست؛ افغانستان که تسليم شوروى انگليس و امريکا نشد، تسليم هيچ کشور ديگرى نمى شود." وى افزود که افغانستان با پاکستان دوستى مى خواهد. کرزى علاوه کرد که ايالات متحده امريکا و پاکستان مى توانند در تامين صلح در افغانستان کمک کنند، زيرا رهبرى طالبان مسلح در فضاى امن در پاکستان به سر مى برد و حمايت مى شود. -- هم چنان رئيس جمهور گفت: "ايالات متحده امریکا مى تواند که در روند صلح در افغانستان کمک کند و کمک موثر کند و من بار ها گفته ام که دو راه وجود دارد يا بايد با تروريزيم در همانجايى مبارزه صورت گيرد که از همانجا منبع مى گيرد و يا اينکه به حمايت و تمويل حاميان تروريزم پايان داده شود و نبايد حاميان تروريزم پاداش ببينند." حامد کرزى يک بار ديگر تاکيد کرد که اگر امريکا مى خواهد با افغانستان پيمان امنيتى امضا کند و در افغانستان پايگاه داشته باشد، بايد براى تامين صلح در افغانستان تلاش هاى صادقانه نماید. -- روى سند پيمان امنيتى ميان افغانستان و امريکا، حدود يک سال بحث ها صورت گرفت و سرانجام لویه جرگۀ مشورتی که در اواخر ماه عقرب سال روان در کابل تدوير يافت، ضمن ارايه برخى پيشنهادات، از رييس جمهور حامد کرزى خواست تا اين سند را امضا کند. اما حامد کرزى در ختم لويه جرگه، ضمن تاکيد بر برگزارى شفاف انتخابات رياست جمهورى و شوراهاى ولايتى سال آينده گفت: تا زمانى که مذاکرات صلح با مخالفين مسلح عملاً آغاز نشود و عمليات نيروهاى خارجى بر منازل مسکونى خاتمه نيابد، اين سند را امضا نمى کند. رئيس جمهور در مراسم افتتاح شوراى ملى گفت که نيروهاى امنيتى افغان، براى دفاع از استقلال کشور قربانى داده که قابل قدر مى باشد. --- موصوف گفت که با کودتاى حزب دموکراتيک خلق در افغانستان (سال ١٣٥٧) نقض حقوق شهروندى توسط دستگاه حکومتى آغاز شد، دستگيرى هاى وسيع، عدم مصوونيت در خانه و زندگى روزمره به امر عادى تبديل گرديد. وى افزود: "تاکيد من به نيرو هاى امنيتى افغانستان هميشه اين بوده است که در انجام وظايف شان، بايد خدمت به مردم و رعايت حقوق بشرى و شهروندى اساس کار شان باشد؛ هيچ کس نبايد بدون حکم قانون زندانى شود." موصوف علاوه کرد که اين يکى از مسايل مهم ملى مى باشد و نبايد هيچ فرد افغان، در اضطراب زندگى کند. --- کرزى در ادامه گفت: "هيچ گاهى هيچ مامور دولت چه در دستگاه هاى امنيتى ما و يا دستگاه ديگر دولت ما، اين توان را نداشته باشد که براى اغراض شخصى يا اهداف ديگر شخصى، به خانه کسى رفته بتواند و کسى را بندى، گرفتار و يا تعقيب کرده بتواند، هنوز به اين آرزوى خود به طور کامل نرسيديم." وى از حکومت آينده و شوراى ملى خواست که در اين قسمت توجه جدى داشته باشد. هم چنان موصوف افزود که حکومت در ١٢ سال گذشته در بخش پروژه هاى زيربنايى چون اعمار بندها و استخراج معادن، کارهايى را انجام داده، اما کشور هاى تمويل کننده در اين راستا علاقمندى نداشته اند. حامد کرزى از حکومت آينده کشور خواست تا به تجهيز و تقويه نيرو هاى امنيتى افغان و هم چنان پروژه زيربنايى، توجه بيشتر داشته باشد. - More, at: http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2014/03/15/karzai-promises-transparent-elections

Afghanistan From the Air --- What does an airport say about a country? More than you might think. --- As U.S. troops prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan, Jeffrey Stern has surveyed the country from its rooftops and from behind the wheel, capturing the sights, sounds, and smells of a massive war winding down. Now he offers his third installment in the series: A view of Afghanistan from the air. --- KABUL—On a flight to Afghanistan, I sat next to a young Afghan man traveling alone and returning home for the first time in five years. A boy, really, 19 years old, wearing skinny jeans and a gelled-up faux-hawk, coming back for a wedding and to see an aging grandfather. -- The boy had flown from London, where he’d been going to school, to Dubai and then caught the short flight from Dubai to Kabul, which is when he began to get nervous. He used the bathroom three times; he fidgeted constantly; he actually began talking to himself. Finally, he asked me a question in the cockney accent he’d picked up in London: “Is it dangerous?” -- He was genuinely frightened to be returning to Afghanistan. His uncle was going to pick him up at the airport and drive him through some of the country’s more dangerous provinces to his family’s home, and he was worried he’d gone soft while getting his education abroad—too soft for his own country. He didn’t feel he belonged there, any more than the foreigner sitting next to him. -- It struck me that this young man was part of the equation we don’t often think about when we discuss what will happen here when we leave. The hopeful among us talk of Afghanistan’s urban generation—people who are educated or at least want to be, sophisticated about things like technology, and progressive about issues like gender relations. A decent future is achievable, so goes this line of reasoning, if this young generation—seven in ten Afghans are under the age of 25—can loosen the grip the old men with beards have on tradition and religion. -- I’m as impressed with this generation of Afghans as anyone. I believe they can keep this whole enterprise going in the right direction. The question the boy I met on the plane represented for me is: Do they want to? Do they even want to be here? Two of my closest and most educated Afghan friends are now in the U.S., applying for asylum. They are both the kind of people who, if you met them, would leave you encouraged about Afghanistan’s future. -- But there’s only so much you can do for Afghanistan if you can't or aren't willing to go back. And while there are plenty of inspiring young Afghans committed to working not just on Afghanistan, but in Afghanistan, many of them carry passports from Western countries and fly back and forth all the time. Meaning, they don’t always have a lot of skin in the game. They have escape plans. They’re not starting families here, buying land here, or spending money here. There are plenty of people working on improving education in Afghanistan, for example, but not enough of them are, at the same time, working to ensure educational opportunities for their own children. --- The Kabul International Airport has come a long way in the last decade, thanks in large part to money from Japan, which is the second-largest aid donor to Afghanistan after the United States. -- On the new Emirates flight from Dubai to Kabul, you can watch a live feed on your seatback-mounted monitor from cameras positioned on the plane’s nose, tail, and belly. As far as entertainment goes, the footage tends to be pretty underwhelming—a monotonous mix of clouds and occasional specks of terrain below. But when we entered Afghan airspace and dipped below the clouds, I could see the country’s craggy brown mountaintops rushing by at 500 miles per hour. It felt like fast-forwarding through history as successive empires—the Greeks under Alexander the Great, the Mongols under Genghis Khan, the Soviets under Leonid Brezhnev—poured into Afghanistan, only to be eventually, inevitably, pushed back. And as the landscape unfolded rapidly below, it was hard not to feel part of that parade. - More, Jeffrey Stern, The Atlantic, at: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/03/afghanistan-from-the-air/284409/

Official: Investigators conclude Malaysian airliner was hijacked --- KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said Saturday that investigators believe the missing Malaysian airliner's communications were deliberately disabled, that it turned back from its flight to Beijing and flew for more than seven hours. -- Najib also said Saturday that authorities are now trying to trace the airplane missing for more than a week across two possible "corridors" — a northern corridor from northern Thailand through to the border of Kazakstan and Turkmenistan, and a southern corridor from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean. -- The announcement Saturday confirms days of mounting speculation that the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 with 239 people on board was not accidental. -- It means the investigation will now focus on who may have taken control of the plane and why, and that the search area will be vastly expanded. -- Najib said that searching in the South China Sea, where the plane first lost contact with air traffic controllers, would be ended. He said the new search corridors were based on the latest available satellite data. -- "Clearly the search for MH370 has entered a new phase," he said. "We hope this new information brings us one step closer to finding the plane." - More, at: http://news.msn.com/world/malaysian-official-says-missing-plane-hijacked

Friday, March 14, 2014

A lack of harmony between Pakistan and Afghanistan supports the militants’ unity of purpose. -- Taliban and like-minded jihadis are becoming more united in their determination to impose their brand of sharia on both Afghanistan and Pakistan, with the help of their international mentors under the banner of al-Qaeda. -- While the terrorists are racing ahead with this unity of purpose, the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan are divided when it comes to tackling the growing extremism. Islamabad is busy pursuing talks, while in Afghanistan “insider attacks’” are on the rise because the Taliban have managed to get members recruited by the Afghan security forces. The recent increase in the so-called green-on-blue attacks forced Coalition partners to suspend training of Afghan security forces. --- The two economic giants India and China are anxiously watching the events unfolding in their backyards. China has clearly indicated that it will not tolerate a Taliban takeover in Afghanistan. China is facing its own terrorist threat in its west, and it has blamed the Muslim separatists for the recent knife attack in Kunming. India is more concerned about its own home-grown terrorist groups, although the increasing Talibanization of Pakistan could severely cripple its economy. -- This creeping Talibanization cannot be contained within Afghanistan and Pakistan; it is bound to spill over into India and China, at least. However, the developing situation in Ukraine could have a game-changing effect in South Asia. For one thing, Ukraine might be a bigger fish for NATO to catch than Afghanistan. For another, note the recent statement by the Pan-Islamist Jihadi group Hizb ut Tahrir: “The situation in Ukraine will not stabilize unless the Khilafah state is established for the Muslims.” - More, Asim Yousafzai, The Diplomat, at: http://thediplomat.com/2014/03/the-talibans-unity-of-purpose/

Radar Suggests Jet Shifted Path More Than Once --- SEPANG, Malaysia — Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 experienced significant changes in altitude after it lost contact with ground control, and altered its course more than once as if still under the command of a pilot, American officials and others familiar with the investigation said Friday. -- Radar signals recorded by the Malaysian military appeared to show that the missing airliner climbed to 45,000 feet, above the approved altitude limit for a Boeing 777-200, soon after it disappeared from civilian radar and turned sharply to the west, according to a preliminary assessment by a person familiar with the data. -- The radar track, which the Malaysian government has not released but says it has provided to the United States and China, showed that the plane then descended unevenly to 23,000 feet, below normal cruising levels, as it approached the densely populated island of Penang. -- There, officials believe, the plane turned from a southwest-bound course, climbed to a higher altitude and flew northwest over the Strait of Malacca toward the Indian Ocean. -- Investigators have also examined data transmitted from the plane’s Rolls-Royce engines that showed it descended 40,000 feet in the span of a minute, according to a senior American official briefed on the investigation. But investigators do not believe the readings are accurate because the aircraft would most likely have taken longer to fall such a distance. -- “A lot of stock cannot be put in the altitude data” sent from the engines, one official said. “A lot of this doesn’t make sense.” -- The data, while incomplete and difficult to interpret, could still provide critical new clues as investigators try to determine what happened on Flight 370, which disappeared early last Saturday carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. - More, NYTimes, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/15/world/asia/malaysia-military-radar.html?ref=world

Thursday, March 13, 2014

U.S. General Warns of Perils in Leaving Afghanistan --- WASHINGTON — The top American commander in Afghanistan said on Wednesday that Al Qaeda would regroup and stage another attack on the West from Afghanistan if international troops completely withdrew from the country at the end of 2014. -- Appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, the commander, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., said that as long as a new president of Afghanistan was in place by August, he was confident that a new security agreement would be signed to allow American and international troops to leave a residual force in the country, as military commanders would like, and as President Obama has said is his preferred option. -- But General Dunford warned that if Afghanistan’s coming elections did not produce a new president by August, the residual force and the long-term stability of Afghanistan would be threatened. -- “The risk to an orderly withdrawal begins to get high in September, because of the number of tasks that need to be accomplished,” General Dunford said. “We still have plenty of flexibility to adjust in July.” -- He said that if Afghanistan signed a new security agreement with the United States, he would feel comfortable with a residual international force of between 8,000 and 12,000 troops. Those forces would train, advise and assist Afghan forces and also provide security for American commando operations. Under current Pentagon planning, about two-thirds of those forces would come from the United States. --- But in his testimony on Wednesday, General Dunford echoed fears expressed by other military leaders who have warned that a complete pullout of troops could end up negating 12 years of American fighting in Afghanistan. -- Without a core of Western troops remaining to support the Afghan government and continue training the security forces, General Dunford said, the chances are high that significant parts of the country will fall back under Taliban control, as they had been before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. --- Nonetheless, Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, pressed General Dunford on why, after more than a decade of war, American forces should remain in Afghanistan. -- “Can you honestly tell the American people, can you tell the people in West Virginia, that we should be in Afghanistan, stay in Afghanistan, it’s our purpose to do that?” Mr. Manchin asked. “This one makes no sense to any West Virginian at all, not anywhere I go in my state.” -- General Dunford insisted that if American forces went down to zero, it would be only a matter of time before the Taliban retook Afghanistan. “The deterioration of the Afghan forces begins to happen fairly quickly in 2015,” he said. “Units would run out of fuel, pay systems would not be completely operable, spare parts would not be available for vehicles and so we’d start to see decreased readiness in the Afghan security forces.” - More, HELENE COOPER, NYTimes

Emergency Rooms Are No Place for the Elderly --- Over the last five decades, quality emergency care has become synonymous with speed. Survival rates for patients in the throes of a stroke, heart attack or traumatic injury depend on the number of minutes needed to triage, diagnose and treat. Even the physical environment where emergency care takes place has become a paragon of medical efficiency — large echoing spaces that can be divided at a moment’s notice with panels of curtains, slick linoleum floors that can be mopped up in minutes and bright fluorescent lights. -- More recently, as overcrowding has become a significant problem, the drive for efficiency has become more pronounced, with doctors and nurses having to work as quickly as possible simply to see all the patients. -- But when it comes to elderly patients, it is nearly impossible to work quickly. Many are plagued by multiple chronic diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, take numerous prescription drugs that can cross-react in potentially dangerous ways and suffer from ills like dementia that can make the answer to even the simplest of questions – What brought you to the emergency room today? – difficult to understand. --- For several years now, a small but dedicated group of emergency medicine and geriatrics specialists has been working to improve this situation. And over the last three months, first in an article published in the national health policy journal Health Affairs, then in an impressive set of evidence-based guidelines supported by several national professional medical and nursing organizations, they have issued a call to arms to the rest of the medical profession. -- To meet the needs of the rapidly growing elderly population, these specialists assert, medical centers must “geriatricize” their emergency departments. -- “Older adults aren’t the kind of patients people gravitate toward,” said Dr. Ula Hwang, lead author of the paper in Health Affairs, a member of the task force that compiled the guidelines and an associate professor of emergency medicine and geriatrics and palliative care at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “There’s a reason you don’t see the frail, cognitively and functionally impaired older patient on television medical shows.” -- Nonetheless, Dr. Hwang and her colleagues remain optimistic. About 50 medical centers have incorporated such changes into their emergency departments, a notable improvement from a decade ago, when none existed. And by emphasizing close attention to the individual’s experience, many of these redesigned departments are not only improving care but also redefining what is possible for doctors and patients, even in one of the most critical of care settings. -- “We can really become partners in improving care, instead of just putting a Band-Aid on the problem,” Dr. Hwang said. “We can give our elderly patients, our parents and our grandparents the kind of respect and understanding that we owe them.” - More, PAULINE W. CHEN, M.D.- NYTimes, at: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/13/emergency-rooms-are-no-place-for-the-elderly/?rref=health&module=Ribbon&version=origin®ion=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Health&pgtype=Blogs

To Keep Teenagers Alert, Schools Let Them Sleep In --- Researchers have found that during adolescence, as hormones surge and the brain develops, teenagers who regularly sleep eight to nine hours a night learn better and are less likely to be tardy, get in fights or sustain athletic injuries. Sleeping well can also help moderate their tendency toward impulsive or risky decision-making. -- During puberty, teenagers have a later release of the “sleep” hormone melatonin, which means they tend not to feel drowsy until around 11 p.m. That inclination can be further delayed by the stimulating blue light from electronic devices, which tricks the brain into sensing wakeful daylight, slowing the release of melatonin and the onset of sleep. The Minnesota study noted that 88 percent of the students kept a cellphone in their bedroom. -- But many parents, and some students, object to shifting the start of the day later. They say doing so makes sports practices end late, jeopardizes student jobs, bites into time for homework and extracurricular activities, and upsets the morning routine for working parents and younger children. -- At heart, though, experts say, the resistance is driven by skepticism about the primacy of sleep. -- “It’s still a badge of honor to get five hours of sleep,” said Dr. Judith Owens, a sleep expert at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington. “It supposedly means you’re working harder, and that’s a good thing. So there has to be a cultural shift around sleep.” - More, JAN HOFFMAN - NYTimes, at: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/13/to-keep-teenagers-alert-schools-let-them-sleep-in/?_php=true&_type=blogs&hpw&rref=health&_r=0

'Toxic stew' of militants lurk in Afghanistan as NATO heads home --- (Reuters) - The soldiers were asleep when attackers struck their outpost, tucked in the mountains of Afghanistan's eastern province of Kunar and on the front lines of a deepening war between the army and a potent mix of militants. -- Afghan officials say scores of militants killed 21 soldiers as they overran the tiny fortified base on February 23. -- While the circumstances remain murky, the assault underscores the challenges Afghanistan will face as foreign forces withdraw to prevent hard-to-govern areas such as Kunar reverting to the militant safe havens they once were. -- While the circumstances remain murky, the assault underscores the challenges Afghanistan will face as foreign forces withdraw to prevent hard-to-govern areas such as Kunar reverting to the militant safe havens they once were. -- "We have the same concerns as everyone about 2014," said Wagma Sapay, a parliamentarian from Kunar, referring to the possible departure of all foreign forces, which would leave the Afghan police and army to face insurgents alone for the first time. -- "Our security forces are not able to provide security for people alone." -- U.S. officials reckon that about 50 al Qaeda militants remain in Afghanistan, operating from remote areas in Kunar and neighboring Nuristan. -- The two provinces are also believed to be home to militants from the Afghan Taliban, the Pakistani Taliban, the Hizb-i-Islami militant group, and dozens of other outfits. -- Kunar police chief Abdul Habib Sayedkhalil estimates that in his province alone there are 3,000 to 4,000 militants from 166 groups. -- "There's a toxic stew of bad guys up there," said Major General Stephen Townsend, who commands U.S. and NATO forces in eastern Afghanistan. --- The commander of NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, General Joseph Dunford, on Wednesday gave a bleak assessment of prospects in the event of a full withdrawal. -- "Without the Resolute Support mission, the progress made to date will not be sustainable," Dunford told the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, referring to a post-2014 NATO training and advisory mission. -- A limited number of advisers was needed to train and assist Afghan forces, he said, adding that without help, Afghan forces would deteriorate and al Qaeda and others would see an opportunity to again establish Afghan bases. --- Wooded, sparsely populated Kunar and Nuristan, bordering Pakistan's dangerous ethnic Pashtun areas, have long been ungovernable spaces. During the Soviet occupation in the 1980s, Soviet and the Afghan Communist troops struggled and failed to quell mujahideen fighters there. -- The provinces have seen some of the U.S. military's fiercest fights since 2001 as it sought to stem the flow of weapons and militants from Pakistan, including a 2005 encounter in which 19 American troops were killed. -- Today, many local officials blame widespread insecurity on the departure of foreign forces from almost all of their bases. --- "Insurgents can't take on Afghan security forces directly, so they target them by planting roadside bombs and launching terrorist attacks," he said. -- "Nuristan is covered with forests and lacks paved roads - providing security is not an easy task," said Hazrat Shah Nuristani, another lawmaker. He said provincial officials had repeatedly asked Afghan forces for help, to little avail. -- Afghanistan's police and army say they have made some headway in the region, but the terrain and a lack of sophisticated equipment work against them. - More, Mirwais Harooni and Missy Ryan, at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/13/us-afghanistan-militants-idUSBREA2C1BO20140313

دافغانستان له پاره دآلمان دمرستو نوې ستراتيژي اعلانيږي --- آلمان غواړي په افغانستان کي خپلي پراختيايي مرستي له اداري فساد سره دمبارزې او ښووني او روزني په برخو کي تمرکزي کړي. اداري فساد اوس هم په افغانستان کي ستره ستونزه ده. آلمان دپراختیايي چارو وزير گرد مولر، دچهارشنبې په ورځ (۲۰۱۴ کال دمارچ مياشتي ۱۲) په برلين کي وويل چي په افغانستان کي اوس هم اداري فساد «ستره ستونزه ده.» دهغه په خبره ديوې ښې حکومت والۍ له پاره بايد تلاش وسي. دآلمان دپراختيايي چارو وزارت نن چهارشنبه په برلين کي په يوه دوه ورځني نړيوال کنفرانس کي له ۲۰۱۴ کال څخه تر ۲۰۱۷ کاله پوري له افغانستان سره دمرستو نوې ستراتيژي وړاندي کوي. په دغه کنفرانس کي دافغانستان دماليې وزير عمر زاخېلوال هم گډون کوي. -- دغه پلان تر ډېره ځايه له افغانستان څخه دناټو ځواکونو تر وتلو وروسته دپراختيايي همکاريو دتنظم له پاره جوړ سوی دی. آلمان دپراختيايي چارو وزير وويل: «ايساف ځي او موږ پاتيږو. موږ به دافغانانو داعتماد وړ همکاران پاته سو.» دآلمان دپراختيايي چارو وزارت دمعلوماتو له مخي دغه وزارت له افغانستان سره دخپلو مرستو په نوې ستراتيژي کي ډيري پيسي دکرهڼي په برخه کي کار کوولو ته ځانگړي سوي دي. دغه راز به د«ښووني او روزني» برخي ته هم ډېره پاملرنه وسي. -- آلمان غواړي په ځانگړې توگه دافغانستان په شمال کي خپلو فعاليتونو ته ادامه ورکړي. په پلان کي ده چي دروان مېلادي کال تر پايه پوري به له افغانستان څخه ټول بهرني جنگي عسکر ووځي. آلمان غواړي چي تر۲۰۱۶مېلادي کاله پوري دپراختیایي مرستو په برخه کي هر کال له افغانستان سره ۴۳۰ میلیونه یورو مرسته وکړي. دغه پیسې باید دکرهڼي، اوبو او انرژۍ دتامین، زده کړو او روغتیايي خدماتو په برخه کي مصرف سي. -- دآلمان حکومت دافغانستان په شمال کي دنوو ولایتي روغتونونو او همداشان په لیري پرتو کليو او بانډو کي دنورو روغتيايي مرکزونو په رامنځ ته کولو کي پانگونه کړې ده. تر۲۰۱۷مېلادي کاله پوري په اهدافو کي دنرسانو دروزني ترڅنگ دپولیو یا گوزڼ ناروغۍ له منځه وړل هم شامل دي. - دویچه ویلی

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Gas blast destroys 2 NY buildings; 3 people dead --- NEW YORK (AP) — A gas leak triggered an earthshaking explosion that flattened two apartment buildings on Wednesday, killing at least three people, injuring more than 60 and leaving nine missing. A tenant said residents had complained repeatedly in recent weeks about "unbearable" gas smells. -- By evening, rescue workers finally began the search for victims amid the broken bricks, splintered wood and mangled metal after firefighters spent most of the day dousing the flames. Heavy equipment, including back hoes and a bulldozer, arrived to clear the mountain of debris where the two five-story East Harlem buildings stood. Flood lights were in place. Thermal imaging cameras were at the ready to identify heat spots — bodies or pockets of fire. -- The recovery was facing hardship in the form of the weather, which was expected to drop into the 20s with rain. Some parts of the debris pile were inaccessible because of a sinkhole caused by a subsurface water main break, officials said. -- Gallery: Building explosion in NYC: - The fiery blast, on Park Avenue at 116th Street, not far from the edge of Central Park, erupted about 9:30 a.m., around 15 minutes after a neighboring resident reported smelling gas, authorities said. The Con Edison utility said it immediately sent workers to check out the report, but they didn't arrive until it was too late. - More, MSN, at: http://news.msn.com/us/gas-blast-destroys-2-ny-buildings-3-people-dead

نقشه های معادن و منابع طبیعی افغانستان نشر شد --- افغانستان و ایالات متحده امریکا ۶۰ نقشه رسم شده را که منابع طبیعی و معادن موجود افغانستان را به سرمایه گذاران معرفی می کند روز دوشنبه در واشنگتن نشر کرد. --- این نقشه ها که با استفاده از پیشرفته ترین تکنالوژی با همکاری ائتلاف دانشمندان زمین شناسی افغانستان و امریکایی تهیه شده، به افغانستان کمک می کند تا مسیری را برای توسعه اقتصادی آینده خویش هموار کند. سوزت کیمبل، رئیس اداره مطالعه زمین شناسی ایالات متحده گفت: "تکنالوژی اطلاعات شعاع حساس(هایپراسکوپترال) در این تحقیق آثاری را فراهم می کند که منابع طبیعی افغانستان به وسیله آن شناسایی می شود." کیمبل گفت: "این اطلاعات مشروح به حیث ستون فقرات اطلاعات مهم علمی برای توسعه اقتصادی ذخایر منابع طبیعی و هم چنین عاملی بالقوه در شناسایی آب و مطالعات خطرات بیولوژیکی و طبیعی لازمی است." - صدای امریکا --- More, New Maps of Afghanistan Provide "Fingerprint" of Natural Resources, at: http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3820

Group claims responsibility for killing Swedish journalist in Afghanistan --- KABUL – A more radical militant group has claimed responsibility for killing a Swedish journalist in a brazen raid in the Afghan capital. -- The slaying on Tuesday of 52-year-old Nils Horner, who also held British citizenship in Kabul’s diplomatic enclave, has sent a new shock wave for foreigners living there. --- While Afghans are still probing the motive and scrambling to find the two culprits who fled right after the attack, a militant group calling itself Fidayee Front of Afghanistan’s Islamic Movement said it carried out the killing. -- The group, which according to some Afghans has been operating separately from the Taliban insurgents led by Mullah Mohammad Omar, was formed in recent years. The group said it killed the journalist because it believed he was a spy for the British M.I.6. -- “Mujahideen targeted Nils Horner. Nils Horner was killed in this attack. He was not a journalist. He was a spy of (M.I.6), he was a special worker of (M.I.6),” a statement on the group’s website quoted its spokesman Qari Hamza as saying. -- The group claims loyalty to Mullah Dadullah, a notorious Taliban commander killed in 2007. -- It has also claimed responsibility for killing a former Taliban minister, Mullah Arsala Rahmani, in 2012 in Kabul. --- On Wednesday, an official for Afghanistan’s main intelligence agency said it recently foiled a major planned attack in Kabul by the Dadullah group. - More, Sayed Salahuddin, Washingtonpost

U.S. commander in Afghanistan warns that full withdrawal will allow al-Qaeda to regroup --- The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said Wednesday that al-Qaeda’s network in that country is in “survival mode,” but warned that a full American military drawdown after the end of the year would allow the terrorist group to regenerate there. -- Marine Gen. Joseph F. Dunford’s remarks to the Senate Armed Services Committee appeared intended to shape the White House’s deliberation over whether to leave behind a contingent for training and counterterrorism missions beyond 2014 or pull out entirely. The decision has been delayed by the Afghan president’s refusal to sign a security pact with Washington. -- “A withdrawal, in my mind, means abandoning the people of Afghanistan, abandoning the endeavor that we’ve been here on for the last decade, and then providing al-Qaeda the space within which to begin again to plan and conduct operations against the West,” Dunford said. -- The general said a U.S. pullout in 2015 would be a “huge moral factor for al-Qaeda,” and would allow it “to once again establish preeminence in the region and become the vanguard for the al-Qaeda movement from the region.” --- Dunford said he was confident that Afghan security forces are up to the task of securing presidential elections scheduled to take place in early April and argued that the country’s Taliban insurgency does not represent “an existential threat to the government of Afghanistan or to the Afghan security forces.” -- The commander said his team in Kabul can wait until the end of the summer to learn whether it must execute a full withdrawal or plan to keep a contingent beyond 2014, when President Obama has pledged to end the U.S. combat role in Afghanistan. After September, lingering uncertainty would present significant risk, the general said. --- Speaking to a largely receptive panel, Dunford repeatedly made the case that a full pullout — an option some White House officials are pressing for — would set Afghanistan up for failure. -- “If we leave at the end of 2014, the Afghan security forces will begin to deteriorate,” Dunford said. “The security environment will begin to deteriorate, and I think the only debate is the pace of that deterioration.” --- Dunford testified that he supports leaving a residual force of 8,000 to 12,000 NATO troops — made up mostly of U.S. forces — and a separate contingent of a few thousand special forces to carry out counterterrorism operations. -- The Obama administration is contemplating keeping a force in Afghanistan for a couple of years, but it intends to withdraw the bulk of it before the president leaves office in 2017, according to officials who have described the plans on the condition of anonymity. -- At Wednesday’s hearing, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) called that time frame reckless and argued that keeping troops there for two more years would “be a needless risk of American lives.” --- The only testy exchange of the session came when Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) told Dunford that he is unable to explain to his constituents why the United States continues to keep forces in Afghanistan. -- “We’re a hawkish state,” said Manchin, arguing that a mission to defeat al-Qaeda has become an unnecessarily costly nation-building endeavor. “We like a good fight and sometimes we find if there’s not a good fight, we’ll fight each other just to stay in practice for the next fight.” -- Dunford told the senator he might just get his wish. -- “I would assess that if we don’t stay there, continue the job of growing the Afghan forces so they can replace us in providing security in Afghanistan, we’ll actually have a good fight,” the general said. - More, Ernesto Londoño, Washingtonpost




























w

Russia can't thwart Afghan war drawdown, U.S. commander says --- (Reuters) - Russia, locked in a standoff with the West over Ukraine, would be unable to thwart a complete or partial U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan even if it cut off access to Russian supply routes, a top U.S. general said on Wednesday. -- Asked at a Senate hearing whether the United States could still get its equipment out of Afghanistan even if Russia cut off routes running through its territory, General Joseph Dunford, the top U.S. and NATO commander in the war effort, replied: "Yes." -- "We've got resilience in the system and I'm not concerned at all about a loss of the Russian (routes in the) Northern Distribution Network," Dunford said, referring to the military's network of supply routes through Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. -- U.S. lawmakers are preparing sanctions against Russia over its intervention in Ukraine, despite Moscow's warnings those sanctions would "boomerang" back on the United States. EU member states are also threatening sanctions, such as travel restrictions and asset freezes. -- Dunford strongly warned Congress against withdrawing all American forces from the country this year - something he said would embolden al Qaeda, gradually erode the capabilities of Afghan forces and greatly undermine the rights of Afghan women. -- "I think the plight of women would be pretty dire if we were to withdraw at the end of 2014," Dunford said. -- More broadly, he predicted that if there were a complete U.S. withdrawal in 2014, "an emboldened al Qaeda will not only begin to physically reconstitute, but they will also psychologically exploit their perceived victory to boost recruitment, fundraising and morale." --- The United States is waiting for Karzai's successor to be determined following the April elections before deciding whether to sign that pact. -- But Obama has warned the clock is ticking. The nearly 13-year-old war has largely fallen from view among the U.S. public. -- Asked how long he could wait for a decision on whether to carry out an orderly withdrawal of all U.S. forces, Dunford said the risk would only start to become high in September. -- Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina lamented to Dunford how poorly attended Wednesday's hearing on the war effort was, despite an upcoming decision on a U.S. troop presence he thought was critical to future U.S. security. -- "One observation, the room is almost empty ... General, I remember when all these rows were full with people carrying bags and everybody was hanging on every word about Afghanistan," Graham said. -- Dunford said he was comfortable with NATO planning to keep between 8,000 and 12,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan after 2014, along with thousands of additional U.S. forces focused on counter-terrorism operations against al Qaeda. There are now nearly 34,000 U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan. --- Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, however, sharply questioned why American forces should stay in Afghanistan after already fighting there for so many years. -- "Can you honestly tell the American people ... that we should stay in Afghanistan?," he asked Dunford. -- But Dunford stressed that if American forces leave, the only question was how quickly Afghan troops would see their ability to fight Taliban insurgents fade. -- "The deterioration of the Afghan forces begins to happen fairly quickly in 2015," he said. "Units would run out of fuel, pay systems would not be completely operable, spare parts would not be available for vehicles and so we'd start to see decreased readiness in the Afghan security forces." - More, at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/12/us-usa-afghanistan-russia-idUSBREA2B1HE20140312

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Malaysia Airlines plane may have veered wildly off course during flight, military says --- KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — As the search pressed on Tuesday for a vanished Malaysian airliner, military officials said radar data showed it inexplicably turned and headed toward the Malacca Strait, hundreds of miles off its scheduled flight path, news agencies and Malaysian media reported. -- Malaysia’s air force chief, Gen. Rodzali Daud, was quoted by Malaysian newspaper Berita Harian as saying that the Boeing 777 jet was detected by military radar at 2:40 a.m. Saturday near Pulau Perak at the northern end of the strait, which separates the western side of the Malaysian peninsula from the Indonesian island of Sumatra. -- “After that, the signal from the plane was lost,” he told the newspaper. -- Search teams from 10 nations had initially focused their efforts east of the peninsula along the path that the red-eye flight was on when it disappeared after taking off from Kuala Lumpur at 12:41 a.m. local time en route to Beijing, where it was supposed to land at 6:30 a.m. -- The reports that the plane veered so far off course added a bizarre and confusing new element to a case that has baffled investigators. -- Three days after the plane carrying 227 passengers vanished, investigators admitted they still were mystified by what happened on board. Malaysian authorities said they continued to look for signs of sabotage or hijacking but were also considering the possibility of psychological or personal problems among the passengers or crew. -- They played down any connection between the plane’s fate and two Iranian passengers who had boarded the aircraft with fake Austrian and Italian passports. -- “The more information we get, the more we are inclined to conclude it is not a terrorist incident,” Ronald Noble, secretary general of the international police agency Interpol, told reporters. - More, Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/search-expands-for-missing-malaysia-airlines-flight/2014/03/11/fea6df4a-a8e8-11e3-8599-ce7295b6851c_story.html

Feinstein: CIA searched Intelligence Committee computers --- A behind-the-scenes battle between the CIA and Congress erupted in public Tuesday as the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee accused the agency of breaking laws and breaching constitutional principles in an alleged effort to undermine the panel’s multi-year investigation of a controversial interrogation program. -- Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) accused the CIA of secretly removing documents, searching committee-used computers and attempting to intimidate congressional investigators by requesting an FBI inquiry of their conduct — charges that CIA Director John Brennan disputed within hours of her appearance on the Senate floor. -- Feinstein described the escalating conflict as a “defining moment” for Congress’s role in overseeing the nation’s intelligence agencies and cited “grave concerns” that the CIA had “violated the separation-of-powers principles embodied in the United States Constitution.” -- Brennan fired back during a previously scheduled speech in Washington, saying that “when the facts come out on this, I think a lot of people who are claiming that there has been this tremendous sort of spying and monitoring and hacking will be proved wrong.” --- The dueling claims exposed bitterness and distrust that have soared to new levels as the committee nears completion of a 6,000-page report that is expected to serve as a scathing historical record of the agency’s use of waterboarding and other brutal interrogation methods on terrorism suspects held at secret CIA prisons overseas after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. -- Displaying flashes of anger during her floor speech, Feinstein said her committee would soon deliver the report to the White House, and push for declassification of a document that lays bare “the horrible details of the CIA program that never, never, never should have existed.” -- The latest dispute is in some ways a proxy for a deeper conflict over that document. The CIA and the committee are at odds over many of the report’s conclusions about the effectiveness of the interrogation program, but are battling primarily over tension that surfaced during the investigation. -- Feinstein’s remarks provided the most detailed account of that investigation, describing an arrangement in which the CIA set up a secret facility in Northern Virginia with computers where committee investigators were promised unfettered access to millions of operational cables, executive memos and other files on the interrogation program. -- The disagreement between Feinstein and Brennan centers on whether agency employees or committee staff members — or both — abused their access to that shared network to gain an upper hand. - More, Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/feinstein-cia-searched-intelligence-committee-computers/2014/03/11/982cbc2c-a923-11e3-8599-ce7295b6851c_story.html?hpid=z1

Journalist’s killing in Afghanistan raises fears of possible new trend endangering foreigners --- KABUL — A Swedish journalist was shot and killed Tuesday in Kabul in a brazen attack that many worry reflects the growing danger for foreigners in Afghanistan’s capital. -- Nils Horner, 52, was shot in a neighborhood populated by Western non-governmental organizations, embassies and journalists. It is the same area where 21 people, mostly foreigners, were killed when a Lebanese restaurant was attacked in January. -- Both attacks sent shock waves through the international community in Kabul. Horner’s killing, in broad daylight, was particularly disturbing to Western journalists who do much of their work beyond the blast walls of military bases and diplomatic compounds. -- According to Afghan police, Horner was conducting an interview on the street when two armed men shot him in the head. “Police are continuing their efforts to arrest the culprits of the incident,” police said in a statement. -- Horner, the South Asia correspondent for the Swedish radio station Sveriges Radio, had previously been based in New York and London, according to the station’s Web site. He had recently arrived in Kabul. -- No one has been arrested, and the Taliban have not claimed responsibility for the attack. -- He was “a legend,” said Swedish journalist Terese Cristiansson, “one of the best we have ever had.” -- In January, Western expatriates here had hoped the deadly attack on the Lebanese restaurant would prove to be an aberration. Typically, during the course of this 12-year war, the Taliban has chosen to target military bases or high-profile diplomatic installations rather than restaurants or journalists. -- But the January attack appeared to be a tactical shift. Among the dead were three Americans, including two employees of the American University of Afghanistan. Three U.N. staff members were also killed. -- Horner’s killing Tuesday led many to worry that a trend was beginning to emerge that could keep NGO workers from meeting their Afghan counterparts and hinder journalists’ efforts to report thoroughly on the country’s upcoming elections and ongoing U.S. withdrawal. -- Meanwhile, Horner’s friends Tuesday celebrated the life of a journalist who loved his work. -- More, Kevin Sieff, Washingtonpost

Feinstein Publicly Accuses C.I.A. of Spying on Congress --- The chairwoman of the Senate intelligence committee on Tuesday accused the Central Intelligence Agency of improperly removing documents from computers that committee staff members had been using to complete a report on the agency’s detention program, saying the move was part of an effort to intimidate the committee. -- Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California and the chairwoman of the committee, suggested on the Senate floor that the agency had violated federal law and said the C.I.A. had undermined Congress’s constitutional right to oversee the actions of the executive branch. -- “I am not taking it lightly,” she said. -- John O. Brennan, the C.I.A. director, denied Ms. Feinstein’s assertions on Tuesday. “Nothing could be further from the truth,” Mr. Brennan said in response to questions from NBC’s Andrea Mitchell in an appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. “We wouldn’t do that. I mean that’s just beyond the scope of reason in terms of what we would do.” -- He added: “We weren’t trying to block anything. The matter is being dealt with in an appropriate way.” He said that the C.I.A. was in no way spying on the committee or the Senate. -- He referred to inquiries now underway by the C.I.A.'s inspector general and the Justice Department, and urged Senate critics to wait for the results of those reviews. -- Ms. Feinstein leveled the new charge as part of a lengthy public recounting of the years of jousting between her committee and the C.I.A. over the legacy of the detention program, which President Obama officially ended in January 2009. -- The disclosure comes a week after the first reports that the C.I.A. late last year had carried out a separate search of computers used by her staff. The C.I.A. said it carried out the search to uncover how the committee gained access to an internal review of the detention program cited by Democratic lawmakers critical of the program. -- Calling the present conflict a “defining moment” for the oversight of American spy agencies,” Ms. Feinstein forcefully denied that committee staff members had obtained the internal review improperly, saying that the internal document had been made available as part of the millions of pages of documents that the agency had given the committee to conduct its investigation. -- The C.I.A. has referred the matter to the Justice Department to investigate possible wrongdoing, a move that Ms. Feinstein called “a potential effort to intimidate this staff.” -- Mr. Brennan challenged the committee to issue its report — parts of which he said he disagreed with — but he also said, “I will protect sources and methods.” -- In her speech, Ms. Feinstein for the first time revealed that in 2010 the C.I.A. had removed documents from the computer system used by her staff at an agency facility in Northern Virginia, where the intelligence committee was working on its investigation. -- Ms. Feinstein said she had sought an apology and an acknowledgment that the C.I.A.'s conduct was improper. “I have received neither,” she said. -- It was unclear Tuesday what specific documents were removed in 2010. -- Ms. Feinstein said she also wanted to use the speech to address charges in the news media that her staff had inappropriately removed a copy of the internal C.I.A. review from the Northern Virginia facility and brought it to the committee’s offices on Capitol Hill. -- The California Democrat confirmed that copies of portions of the review — which in recent weeks has been referred to as the “Panetta Review” because it was ordered by Leon E. Panetta, the former C.I.A. director — is now inside a safe at the Hart Office Building. -- She said that it was necessary to keep a copy of the review, which she said “corroborates critical information” of the committee’s own investigation, because of the C.I.A.'s history of destroying records about the detention program. - More, MARK MAZZETTI, NYTimes, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/12/us/cia-accused-of-illegally-searching-computers-used-by-senate-committee.html?hp

Terror Links to Stolen Passports Discounted in Malaysia Jet Inquiry --- SEPANG, Malaysia — Two Iranians known to have used stolen passports to board the Malaysia Airlines jet that disappeared on Saturday were unlikely to be linked to terrorist groups, international police authorities said, echoing an assessment by the Malaysian police that one of them was a 19-year-old Iranian who wanted to migrate to Germany. -- The 19-year-old Iranian, Pouria Nourmohammadi Mehrdad, was using a stolen Austrian passport to travel to Germany, where he was to meet his mother, said Khalid Abu Bakar, the inspector general of the Malaysian police. -- “We are in contact with his mother,” Mr. Khalid said at a news conference. -- Interpol identified the second Iranian traveler as Delavar Seyed Mohammad Reza, 29, who used a stolen Italian passport, and released a photograph of the two men boarding Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 at the same time. Interpol also confirmed the identity of the other Iranian, Mr. Mehrdad, but gave his age as 18. The source of the discrepancy was unclear. -- Mr. Khalid said that the two men had arrived in Malaysia on the same day, Feb. 28. -- At the headquarters of Interpol in Lyon, France, Ronald K. Noble, the agency’s secretary general, said the evidence emerging about the two Iranians suggested that they were not likely to be linked to any terrorist groups. -- “The more information we get, the more we are inclined to conclude it is not a terrorist incident,” Mr. Noble said. -- He added that the two men had traveled to Kuala Lumpur on Iranian passports before using the stolen Italian and Austrian passports to board the flight. -- Mr. Noble praised the Iranian authorities for their cooperation in confirming the identities of the two men. He said Tehran had also determined that neither of the men had a criminal record and that both had left Iran legally. -- The connection to Iran seemed to unsettle some authorities in Tehran, where a prominent lawmaker called the reports about the two Iranians “psychological warfare.” -- “Americans recruit some people for such kinds of operations so they can throw the blame on other countries, especially Muslim countries,” said Hossein Naghavi Hosseini, the spokesman for Parliament’s foreign policy committee. -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry struck a more cooperative note. -- “We have received information on the possible presence of two Iranians” aboard the plane and “we are pursuing the issue,” said Marzieh Afkham, a spokeswoman. “We have informed our embassy in Malaysia that we are ready to receive further information about the issue from Malaysian officials. We have announced that we were ready for cooperation,” she said. -- Mr. Khalid, the inspector general of the Malaysian police, said previous reports by Malaysian officials that five passengers had failed to board the flight were false. “Everybody that booked the flight boarded the plane,” he said. -- Thousands of Iranians seeking to leave their home country wait in Asian countries with friendly visa regulations to make the second part of their migration to the West or Australia. Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia are popular jumping-off points for middle-class Iranians who arrive on tourist visas and are then helped by local travel agents. -- The police in the Thai resort town of Pattaya said that they had questioned an Iranian man who paid cash for the tickets of the two passengers who traveled on stolen passports. -- The man they questioned, Hashem Saheb Gharani Golestani, 51, runs a frame shop in Pattaya and was a friend of another Iranian, a frequent customer of a local travel agency, who booked the tickets from abroad, the police said. Mr. Hashem was released after questioning, they said. -- The one-way tickets bought for the passengers were routed from Kuala Lumpur with a transit stop in Beijing, according to Benjaporn Krutnait, the manager of the Grand Horizon travel agency in Pattaya. One ticket then went on to Copenhagen, the other to Frankfurt, she said. - More, NYTImes

پیکر مارشال محمد قسیم فهیم به خاک سپرده شد --- مراسم به خاک سپاری مارشال محمد قسیم فهیم معاون اول ریاست جمهوری افغانستان به روز سه شنبه تحت تدابیر شدید امنیتی و با حضور ده ها تن از شخصیت های ملی و بین المللی در کابل برگزار شد. -- پس از نماز جنازهء مارشال محمد قسیم فهیم که به امامت عبدرب الرسول سیاف در کابل ادا گردید، رئیس جمهور کرزی آقای فهیم را یک شخصیت بزرگ و وطن دوست نامید. -- در مراسم تدفین معاون اول ریاست جمهوری افغانستان به روز سه شنبه هزاران تن از مردم عام به شمول تعداد از اعضای کابینه، شخصیت های جهادی و مقام ها و دپیلوماتان خارجی اشتراک داشتند. -- رییس جمهور کرزی پس از ادای نماز جنازه، در مورد شخصیت مارشال محمد قسیم فهیم چنین گفت: -- « مارشال محمد قسیم فهیم یک انسان وطن دوست و دوست شناس بود، در تمام قضایای ملی، مهم و سرنوشت ساز به این خاک به تمام معنا همراه و همکارم بود، درک ما از اوضاع یکی بود، من امروز دوست عزیز و برادر خود را از دست دادیم و مردم افغانستان خدمتگار خود را، او خدمتگار این خاک بود، دلش می سوخت و شخصیت کلان این مملکت بود.» -- مارشال محمد قسیم فهیم به روز یکشنبه 18 حوت سال جاری هجری شمسی در خانه اش در اثر سکتهء قلبی درگذشت. -- جسد معاون اول ریاست جمهوری به روز سه شنبه در تپه بادام باغ شهر کابل به خاک سپرده شد. -- در مراسم تدفین آقای فهیم صد ها تن از مقامات حکومتی، شخصیت های جهادی، مردم عام و دیپلوماتان خارجی اشتراک داشتند. - More, رادیو آزادی

Use of Stolen Passports on Missing Jet Highlights Security Flaw --- Use of Stolen Passports on Missing Jet Highlights Security Flaw -- Interpol created a database of stolen and lost passports in 2002 that has grown to more than 40 million documents available for governments to screen for terrorists, smugglers or swindlers who travel the world illicitly. But according to the international law enforcement agency, only three countries — the United States, Britain and the United Arab Emirates — systematically screen travelers against the agency’s database of stolen passports. -- The two men with stolen passports who boarded the missing Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing over the weekend did not have their passports screened. And last year, Interpol said, passengers around the world were able to board planes more than a billion times without having their passports checked against the database. -- “If Malaysia Airlines and all airlines worldwide were able to check the passport details of prospective passengers against Interpol’s database, then we would not have to speculate whether stolen passports were used by terrorists to board MH 370,” Ronald K. Noble, Interpol’s secretary general, said in a statement on Sunday, referring to the Malaysia Airlines flight. “We would know that stolen passports were not used by any of the passengers to board that flight.” -- Law enforcement and counterterrorism officials said Monday that the stolen passports might not have had anything to do with what happened to the jet. Still, they said, the episode had cast a spotlight on a flaw in security defenses built over the past decade to counter illicit travel and illegal trafficking of people, drugs and other contraband. -- Renewed focus on the critical database, which has apparently gone underutilized, came on a day when the search for the missing jetliner and its 239 passengers and crew members was set back by a number of false leads that seemed to underline how little investigators knew about the location of the plane, which vanished on Saturday. Malaysian officials said late on Monday that they were expanding the search to a much wider area, including waters north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, hundreds of miles from the aircraft’s last reported position. -- One of the many vexing mysteries of the plane’s disappearance was the hunt for the true identity of the two passengers who used passports stolen from European tourists in Thailand in the past two years. A senior American law enforcement official said Sunday that Thai officials were investigating a so-called passport ring operating on the resort island of Phuket, where both passports were stolen and where, he noted, false documents were routinely used by drug smugglers. -- Governments around the world have spent vast sums in the past decade to apply watermarks in passport books and encrypt authenticating information in the documents, all in efforts to combat increasingly sophisticated passport theft rings and forgers, the authorities said Monday. But the great majority of Interpol’s member nations still have not integrated the agency’s database of stolen passports beyond a central national office in each country — an office that can check a passport upon specific request or in an emergency, as member nations did after Malaysia Airlines published the passenger manifest of Flight MH370. -- Some authorities said on Monday that a perception persists among some aviation officials that integrating Interpol’s database of stolen passports would be a costly, cumbersome process, a characterization that Interpol officials disputed. “It’s a nominal cost,” said one Interpol official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of agency protocol. “We’re not talking millions here.” -- The official said Interpol was also willing to offer technical assistance to any member country that requested it. -- “Whether or not this eventually involves terrorism, this incident has certainly brought to light an area of potential vulnerability on a global scale,” said Mark Dombroff, a former Justice Department official who is now a partner specializing in aviation issues in the Washington office of the law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge. -- American investigators have repeatedly warned about the inability or unwillingness of foreign partners to address the use of fraudulent travel documents. - More, ERIC SCHMITT, NYTimes, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/11/world/asia/missing-malaysian-airliner-said-to-highlight-a-security-gap.html?hp&_r=0

پوشش ویژه از مراسم خاکسپاری معاون اول رئیس جمهور افغانستان --- آقای کرزی در سخنرانی خود از مارشال فهیم به عنوان نزدیکترین دوست و همکار خود در دوازده سال گذشته نام برد. -- حامد کرزی: "مارشال فهیم انسان وطندوست بود و در تمام قضایای ملی و دولتی مهم افغانستان و در تمام قضایای سرنوشت ساز این خاک در داخل و روابط بیرونی همراه و همکارم بود. درک ما از اوضاع یکی بود، تحلیل ما از اوضاع یکی بود و من دوست عزیز و برادر خود را از دست دادم." -- شما می‌توانید صحبت‌های کامل رئیس جمهوری افغانستان در مراسم تشییع جنازه آقای فهیم را به صورت کامل اینجا بشنوید: -- More, BBC, http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/afghanistan/2014/03/140311_zs_fahim_funeral_live_page.shtml

Monday, March 10, 2014

New Maps of Afghanistan Provide "Fingerprint" of Natural Resources --- A coalition of scientists from the United States and Afghanistan today released 60 high-tech maps that will help Afghanistan chart a course for future economic development. These maps represent a milestone as Afghanistan is the first country to be almost completely mapped using hyperspectral imaging data. -- The coalition of the U.S. Geological Survey, the Afghanistan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, and the Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO), was created by the U.S. Department of Defense, to share American international science and technology as a strategic tool for promoting economic development. -- "Hyperspectral data from this research provides a fingerprint that identifies Afghanistan’s natural resources," said Dr. Suzette Kimball, acting USGS director. "This detailed data serves as the backbone of crucial scientific information needed for economic development of natural resources as well as the potential to identify water, biological and natural hazard information." -- Hyperspectral imaging is an advanced imaging technique that measures visible and near-infrared light reflecting off the Earth's surface. Researchers use hyperspectral imaging spectrometer data to identify and characterize mineral deposits, vegetation, and other land surface features. -- Data were collected in 28 flights that commenced from Kandahar Air Field in 2007. Because of great advances in technology, this information was gathered in just two months where in the past, it would have likely taken up to 25 years to acquire. -- The project utilized NASA's WB-57 high altitude research jet outfitted with an imaging spectrometer. Flying at an altitude of 50,000 feet, the spectrometer captured hyperspectral images over 400,000 square kilometers. Scientists using data from the flights have mapped an area that covers more than 70 percent of Afghanistan. -- The maps are the newest and most detailed addition to a series of hyperspectral data from the USGS and the TFBSO. In July 2012, the hyperspectral data team released two surface materials maps of Afghanistan produced in partnership with the Afghan Geological Survey and TFBSO. - More, at: http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3820

China to hold int'l conference on Afghanistan issue --- BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Saturday that China will hold the Foreign Ministerial Conference of the Istanbul Process on Afghanistan in August. -- "We will send invitations to the Istanbul Process' 14 member states and 28 supporting parties," Wang told a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the top legislature. -- "We hope that through the process we can help the parties build consensus, work together to support efforts to complete the triple transitions, and encourage the situation in Afghanistan to move toward lasting peace," he added. -- The first one to be held in China, the Fourth Foreign Ministerial Conference of the Istanbul Process on Afghanistan was slated for August in China's Tianjin. -- Wang paid an official visit to Afghanistan in late February. He met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, his Afghan counterpart Zarar Ahmad Osmani, and Rangin Dadfar Spanta, Karzai's national security advisor. -- Wang said this year will be a crucial one for Afghanistan. The country will go through political, security and economic transitions all at the same time. -- Of course it's mainly up to Afghan people to realize the triple transitions, but they cannot do without the help and support of international community, Wang added. -- China is Afghanistan's biggest neighbor. Afghanistan's peace and stability has a direct bearing on security in China's western region. We hope to see a united, stable, growing and amicable Afghanistan, according to Wang. -- "For that purpose we will work with international community to actively facilitate political reconciliation in Afghanistan, support its peace and reconstruction efforts, and encourage Afghanistan to be more deeply involved in regional cooperation," Wang said. -- "We will also work with Afghanistan and other neighbors to resolutely fight against all terrorist forces," Wang said.- More, at: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/special/2014-03/08/c_133170656.htm

Blood test may predict onset of Alzheimer’s and related disease, new study finds --- Researchers at Georgetown University announced the discovery of a blood test that can predict whether a person will develop Alzheimer’s disease or a related condition within three years. -- Their study, described Sunday in the journal Nature Medicine, identifies 10 lipids in the blood that predict onset of the disease. Researchers tested the blood of 525 people age 70 and older over five years, 74 of whom either began the study meeting the criteria or later developed the criteria for mild Alzheimer’s disease or a memory loss condition known as amnestic mild cognitive impairment that is often a precursor to Alzheimer’s. Among those who developed the disease, the researchers discovered the presence of 10 lipids that were abnormal and that predicted with more than 90 percent accuracy the onset of the disease. -- They plan to expand the study by looking at larger longitudinal studies to see whether these lipids were present in the blood of patients in those studies who later developed the disease, said Howard J. Federoff, professor of neurology and executive vice president for health sciences at Georgetown University Medical Center, who led the study. If so, he said, they would move on to clinical trials. -- “We want to look back on when they were asymptomatic and see if these lipids were present,” he said, adding that a larger study would offer greater range in terms of patients’ age and racial diversity. -- There is no cure or effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, which afflicts more than 5 million Americans and 35.6 million people worldwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists Alzheimer’s as the sixth-leading cause of death, but recent research ranks it as the third-biggest killer in the United States. The numbers of those affected are expected to nearly triple by 2050 if there are no significant medical breakthroughs. -- A large field of research is currently looking at indicators for Alzheimer’s in blood and cerebral spinal fluid. It would probably be several years before a test for the lipids identified in this study could be ordered by a physician. -- “Developing tests that ultimately become ones that your doctor can order is not a straightforward process,” Federoff said, noting that some patients may ultimately prefer not to know they are likely to develop the disease because there is no treatment. -- But the presence of such a test could help researchers identify people at high risk and design a clinical trial to determine whether a drug could delay or prevent the onset of symptoms, he said. -- Heather Snyder, director of medical and scientific operations for the Alzheimer’s Association, called the Georgetown test intriguing, but cautioned that it was preliminary. -- “It would need to be further developed,” she said. Snyder added that even without available treatments, such a test could allow patients to “plan their care future, their financial future, to communicate with caregivers and friends, and to participate in a clinical trial as a chance to change the future for others with Alzheimer’s disease.” -- Research on indicators in cerebral spinal fluid, while further along in development than blood tests, are also still not ready for widespread diagnosis or prediction of the disease, Snyder said. - More, Tara Bahrampour, Washingtonpost

Edward Snowden: ‘They’re setting fire to the future of the Internet’ --- Edward Snowden on Monday advocated for better online security measures, speaking via Google Hangout at the South By Southwest Interactive conference in Austin. -- Snowden spoke as part of an an American Civil Liberties Union panel, along with analysts Chris Soghoian and Ben Wizner. While the video and audio feed – routed from Russia through seven proxy servers – was choppy, Snowden’s message was clear. -- “They’re setting fire to the future of the Internet,” Snowden said of the National Security Agency. “We need public advocates. We need public oversight. Some way [to have] trusted figures, sort of civil rights champions to advocate for us, to protect the structure. How do we fix our oversight? How do we structure an oversight model that works? The key factor is accountability.” -- “If we allow the NSA to continue unrestrained, every other government will accept that has green light to do the same,” he said. -- Snowden argued that NSA policies have harmed national security in an era of cyberattacks. -- “America has more to lose than anyone else when every attack succeeds,” Snowden said. “When you are the one country in the world who has sort of a vault that’s more full than anyone else’s, it doesn’t make sense for you to be attacking all day and never defending your full vault.” -- Snowden has generally remained in the background, perhaps not to distract from the debate on surveillance issues. He made an exception for SXSW, which has become a mecca for the tech community. It seemed an appropriate audience to advocate for end-to-end encryption to better protect user’s data. - More, Matt McFarland, Washingtonpost

Fahim’s state funeral tomorrow in Kabul --- KABUL (Pajhwok): The state funeral ceremony of Late Vice-President Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim will take place in the capital Kabul on Tuesday, the government announced, declaring three days of national mourning from Monday. -- Fahim died on Sunday of heart attack at his Kabul residence, a presidential spokesman said, adding the government had announced a three-day mourning period, during which the national flags would be lowered half-mast. -- The government has set up a commission, headed by Interior Minister Mohammad Omar Daudzai, to make necessary arrangements for Fahim’s burial ceremony. --Massoud Trashtwal, a member of the commission, told Pajhwok Afghan News it had been decided by the commission to hold Fahim’s funeral ceremony in Kabul on Tuesday. -- The commission announced three days of mourning from Monday and declared Tuesday as public holiday on the account of Fahim’s funeral, he added. -- Trashtwal said Fahim’s body will be taken in procession from Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital for the funeral ceremony before he is laid to rest in Kabul. -- Interior Ministry spokesman Siddiqui Siddique said tight security measures have been put in place for the funeral ceremony and all security organs were on high alert.

Sunday, March 09, 2014

ولسمشر کرزي دمارشال محمد قسیم فهیم مړینه یوه لویه ضایعه وبلله --- جمهور رئیس حامد کرزي په یوه ویډیویي پیغام کې دخپل لومړي مرستیال مارشال محمد قسیم فهیم مړینه یوه لویه ضایعه وبلله او ویلي یې دي چې، هغه په هېواد کې سوله امن او ملي یووالی غوښت. ښاغلي کرزي په دې پیغام کې دافغانستان خلکو او دقسیم فهیم کورنۍ ته تسلیت ویلی دی. ولسمشر کرزی وايي چې قسیم فهیم په مهمو مسایلو کې تل دافغانستان دخلکو دګټو په پلوۍ ولاړ و. -- محمد قسیم فهیم دیکشنبې په ورځ داوه پنځوس کلونو په عمر دورپیښې ناروغۍ له امله ساه ورکړه. دافغانستان ملي تلویزیون راپور ورکړ چې هغه دزړه سکته کړې. قسیم فهیم په دې وروستیو کلونو کې دشکرې له ناروغۍ هم ډېر ځورېده. دافغانستان جمهوري ریاست ویلي چې دنوموړي دمړینې له امله به ددوشنبې له ورځ تر چهارشنبې پورې په هېواد کې ملي ماتم وي او ملي بیرغ به نیم ځوړند وي. -- داطلاعاتو او فرهنګ وزیر سیدمخدوم رهین هم دملي تلویزیون له لارې له ټولو رسنیو وغوښتل چې په خپلو خپرونو کې ددې ملي ماتم درناوی وکړي: مارشال فهیم دعبدالمتین زوی اوپه ۱۹۵۷ میلادي کال کې په پنجشیرکې زیږدلی و. دی داحمد شاه مسعود له ملګرو څخه وو او پر افغانستان دپخواني شوروي اتحاد دیرغل پرمهال جهاد کې یې برخه درلوده. هغه دکابل له عربي دارالعلوم څخه فارغ شوی و. نوموړی دافغانستان ددفاع وزیر هم پاتې شوی و او ولسمشر کرزي ورته دمارشالۍ رتبه ورکړه. دوزیرانو شورا ددرارالانشا او دچارو اداره وايي چې، ولسمشر دهغه دجنازې او تدفین لپاره یو کمیسیون ټاکلی دی. -- دیکشنبې په ورځ په کابل کې دقسیم فهیم کور ته یو شمېر جګپوړي چارواکي، خلک او دجمهوري ریاست ځینې کاندیدان دغمرازۍ لپاره ورغلي وو. دافغانستان یو شمېر جګپوړو چارواکو، سیاسي شخصیتونو او دافغانستان لپاره دملګرو ملتونو دعمومي منشي ځانګړي استازي په بیلو بیلو پیغامونو کې دهغه په مړینې غمرازي ښودلې ده. - دآزادی رادیو

Marshal Fahim dies from illness --- KABUL (Pajhwok): First-Vice president Field Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim died Sunday of natural causes, a presidential spokesman said. -- Aimal Faizi wrote on tweet "with deep sadness, the first vice president, Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim has passed away. May his soul rest in peace.” -- He said the government of Afghanistan has called for a three-day national mourning, during which the national flag will be half-hoisted for his demise. -- President Karzai has expressed his deep grief and condolences to the nation and his family. -- Karzai called Fahim a true patriot and said his death was "a huge loss for Afghanistan." -- Fahim, an ally of Ahmad Shah Massoud, the charismatic Northern Alliance commander, had also served as defense minister in Karzai's first administration. -- Fahim fought against the Soviets and went on to battle against the Taliban before they were ousted in 2001. -- The son of Maulvi Abdul Matin, Fahim was born in the Amraz area of central Panjsher province in 1958. -- After completing his primary education in hometown, he was admitted to an Arabic Darul-ul-Uloom for Islamic studies in Kabul. -- After the 1979 coup against former President Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan, he migrated to Pakistan and returned in 1980 to launch an armed struggle in the Shigal district of eastern Kunar province. -- The following year in summer, he entered Panjsher valley and joined Ahmad Shah Massoud forces as the commander of the Mujahideen in the northern sector. He mobilised Mujahedeen in Panjsher and other parts of the country. -- Fahim was Mujahedeen commander in the Andarab district of northern Baghlan province. --- After Dr. Najibullah regime collapsed in 1993, Fahim entered Kabul leading Mujahedeen forces and was appointed head of the KHAD under interim president Sibghatullah Muhaddedi.-- He continued to serve as the head of intelligence under president Burhanuddin Rabbani, even when the Taliban took the power over most provinces in the second half of the 90s. -- After the assassination of Ahmad Shah Massoud in 2001, two days ahead of the 9/11 attacks, Fahim was confirmed the leader of Mujahideen resistance forces until Kabul was reclaimed with support from international troops in 2001. -- Fahim was appointed as defence minister well as one of the five vice-chairmen after the new government was inaugurated in December, 2002. ---In 2003, President Karzai confirmed Fahim would hold for life the rank of Marshal, Afghanistan's highest with all rights and privileges for his proactive role in the country’s independence. -- After the emergency Loya Jirga, he was elected as first-vice president and minister of defence and was also honoured with the Ahmad Shah Baba Medal. --- Marshal Fahim, who had survived many assassination attempts, was fluent in Dari, Pashtu and Arabic, but did not speak English. He left behind twelve children. - More, at: http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2014/03/09/marshal-fahim-dies-illness

Saturday, March 08, 2014

U.S., Afghan military try to get out the vote, prevent Taliban disruption of key election --- NABAHAR, Afghanistan — With critical Afghan elections just weeks away, U.S. and Afghan soldiers are focused on a daunting new mission: persuading residents of remote, insurgency-plagued areas to vote. -- The presidential election could be a turning point for this fragile, war-torn nation, producing the first peaceful transition of power in its history. But if the Taliban keeps Afghans from casting ballots on April 5, the legitimacy of the vote could be questioned — potentially throwing the country into turmoil. -- “This is our last high-risk mission,” Lt. Col. Eric Lopez told his battalion of U.S. soldiers one evening before helicopters picked them up for the trip to Nabahar, a frigid desert region 200 miles south of Kabul, in Zabul Province. -- “This is our last high-risk mission,” Lt. Col. Eric Lopez told his battalion of U.S. soldiers one evening before helicopters picked them up for the trip to Nabahar, a frigid desert region 200 miles south of Kabul, in Zabul Province. -- “If it has to do with the elections, don’t let the Afghans fail.” - More, Kevin Sieff, NYTimes

Passport Theft Adds to Mystery of Missing Malaysia Airlines Jet --- HONG KONG — Investigators trying to find out what happened to a Malaysia Airlines jet that disappeared somewhere over the Gulf of Thailand on Saturday morning were examining the usual causes of plane crashes: mechanical failure, pilot error, bad weather. But the discovery that two of the passengers were carrying stolen passports also raised the unsettling possibility of foul play. -- By early Sunday morning, there was little to go on: no wreckage of the jet, a Boeing 777-200 with 239 people aboard, and other than oil slicks on the surface of the gulf, no clue that a crash had even taken place. The airline said the plane had recently passed inspection, and Malaysia’s deputy minister of transport, Aziz bin Kaprawi, said the authorities had not received any distress signals from the aircraft. The plane was flying at 35,000 feet with no reports of threatening weather when it last made contact. -- After officials in Rome and Vienna confirmed that the names of an Italian and an Austrian on the manifest of the missing flight matched the names on two passports reported stolen in Thailand, officials emphasized that the investigation was in its earliest stages and that they were considering all possibilities, including terrorism. -- “We are not ruling out anything,” the chief executive of Malaysia Airlines, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, told reporters at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia on Saturday night. “As far as we are concerned right now, it’s just a report.” -- Using a system that looks for flashes around the world, the Pentagon reviewed preliminary surveillance data from the area where the plane disappeared and saw no evidence of an explosion, said an American government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the subject matter is classified. A team of aviation experts led by the National Transportation Safety Board was on its way to the area. -- If all aboard were killed, it would be the deadliest commercial airline accident since Nov. 12, 2001, when an American Airlines Airbus crashed just after takeoff from Kennedy Airport en route to the Dominican Republic. -- A senior American intelligence official said law enforcement and intelligence agencies were investigating the issue of the stolen passports. -- American authorities were scrutinizing the flight manifest closely, the official said, noting that forged travel documents are also used routinely by smugglers and illegal immigrants. -- American authorities were scrutinizing the flight manifest closely, the official said, noting that forged travel documents are also used routinely by smugglers and illegal immigrants. - More, NYTimes, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-flight.html?hp&_r=0

Gains have been made for women in Afghanistan, but women say the changes are superficial --- KABUL, Afghanistan — In 2009, the United States gave Wazhma Frogh the International Woman of Courage award for her women's rights activism in Afghanistan. Prominently displayed in Frogh's office is a picture of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton granting her the award as First Lady Michelle Obama smiles, clapping by her side. -- Four years later, the United States denied her a visa when she was trying to get away from an Afghan militia commander who she says was persecuting her. -- For Frogh, the experience underlined the state of the women's right movement in her country. Thirteen years after the fall of the Taliban, billions of dollars have been spent, there have been countless words of support from the West and from the Afghan government, yet the successes that have been achieved remain vulnerable. Ultimately, women still have nowhere to turn when their battle for equal rights puts them on the firing line, she said. -- "They give you an award but they don't support you when you need them," she told The Associated Press. "I always thought that if my government didn't help me I would always be able to turn to the United States. I never thought that they would turn their back on me." -- Gains have been made. Gone are the rules imposed by the Taliban forcing women to wear the all-encompassing burqa and barring girls from school. Now, as many as 4 million girls are in school, and women sit in Afghanistan's parliament. -- But Frogh and other women's activists said those changes, while important, are superficial. Women's equality was a priority when the memory of the Taliban was fresh, but over the years the commitment has waned. It became a mantra recited by the Afghan government and non-government organizations to get international funding, and a flag for Western governments to wave as a symbol of success over the Taliban, said Frogh and Afghan parliamentarian, Fawzia Koofi. -- "Women's rights is the most politicized issue in Afghanistan, before even talks with the Taliban, and I am not happy with it," said Koofi, referring to the Afghan government's attempts to negotiate with Taliban insurgents, raising women activists' fears authorities will compromise on their rights if necessary to reach a deal. -- Koofi said she is proud and grateful for the successes. But "after 13 years I am still being forced to ask for my basic rights." -- Many of the victories have major caveats. Girls are back in school, but most are pulled out by their families as they near puberty to ready them for marriage, she said. -- A hard-fought Law on the Elimination of Violence against Women was passed. More women are reporting cases of abuse and are aware of their right to speak out, said Georgette Gagnon, director of Human Rights with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. -- But, she said, few cases make it to court and prosecution is rare. Instead most end up in mediation, often through jirgas — a traditional council of elders — or other community councils, which rarely work in favor of the woman. -- "Often this mediation doesn't fully protect woman's rights and often leads to more violence against the woman," said Gagnon. --- The few Afghan businesswomen are paraded as success stories, while women are still having their lips cut off for perceived offenses, as happened recently in northern Afghanistan, said Frogh. -- More than 80 percent of the women in prisons are jailed for so-called "moral crimes," like leaving an abusive husband. Shelters for abused women have been set up, but most men in conservative Afghanistan, even those in the Ministry of Interior, see shelters as "immoral," and women who seek sanctuary there are often banished from their communities, Frogh said. - More, Kathy Gannon, Associated Press, at: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765649310/Frustration-in-Afghan-womens-rights-struggle.html

China says to work with Afghanistan to fight terrorism --- (Reuters) - China said on Saturday that it will work with Afghanistan to fight terrorism, after it blamed a deadly train station attack on extremists from its western Xinjiang region, which shares a short border with the war-torn nation. -- Beijing has become increasingly concerned about security in restive Xinjiang, where it says Muslim extremists receive help from militants in neighboring countries. -- China says separatists from the region, home to a large Muslim Uighur minority, launched a terrorist attack in the southwestern city of Kunming last week, killing at least 29 people and injuring about 140. -- China will work with the international community for political reconciliation in Afghanistan and support reconstruction, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a press briefing during an annual session of China's largely rubber-stamp parliament. -- "We will also work with Afghanistan and other neighbors to resolutely fight all terrorist forces," he said. -- China will host a foreign ministerial conference on Afghanistan in August to encourage "a move toward lasting peace", Wang said. -- China has been stepping up its engagement with other regional players in recent months in Afghanistan, Beijing-based diplomats say, mainly out of concern that the NATO-led force's pullout may spawn instability that could spill into Xinjiang. -- Many Uighurs in the energy-rich region, which borders ex-Soviet Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, chafe at Chinese restrictions on their culture and religion. More than 100 people there have been killed in unrest in the past year, according to Chinese state media reports. -- China bristles at suggestions from exiles and rights groups that the violence is driven more by unhappiness at government policies than by any serious threat from extremist groups who want to establish an independent state called East Turkestan. -- Experts say militant ideology does in part fuel the unrest, but the level of organization has long been disputed. - More, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/08/us-china-afghanistan-idUSBREA2706Y20140308

Meet the professional refugees lucky to get the minimum wage in the UK --- They were professionals in their own countries – lawyers, doctors, academics. Now, having fled and sought asylum in the UK, they're lucky if they can get a minimum-wage job. We meet six refugees adjusting to a very different way of life -- Wahid Ahmad trained as a civil engineer in Afghanistan, where he worked in a senior role for the UN on infrastructure projects, overseeing road- and bridge-building. "I was proud of the job I was doing, helping with the development of my country," he says. It was a well-paid job and very satisfying: the new roads he worked on helped farmers get produce to the markets more quickly and children to school more safely. But his role working for an international agency attracted disapproving attention from the Taliban and after receiving a series of threats, in 2008 Ahmad fled to the UK with his wife and two children. -- For six months, while his asylum application was being considered, Ahmad was not allowed to work. He studied to pass high-level English language exams, so he could take a one-year post-graduate certificate in construction management. While studying, he worked part-time in a cafe, making pizzas, kebabs and burgers, and delivering takeaway meals. -- When he started applying for engineering jobs, he was so discouraged by the constant rejections that he was prescribed antidepressants. Most of the time he gets no response to his applications, just an automated email that tells him to assume his application has been unsuccessful if he hears nothing back within four days. When he calls to ask why, despite his excellent qualifications, he has not been invited for an interview, he is told he has no UK experience. At this point, he often proposes that he volunteers with the company, but the offer is always rejected. "How am I to get experience if they won't even let me volunteer?" -- He took on a job in a food shop, working first as a halal butcher and later on the shop floor. "For a while it was very new to me. I would be preparing the fruit and vegetables, and it would keep coming to my mind what I was and what I am now. To be honest, it made me cry, but I have no option but to continue. The people I work with are very kind. They know I am an educated person. They tell me, 'Please don't be sad. You will find a job in your own field eventually.'" -- He has been getting support from a charity, Transitions, which helped him work on his CV, try to get work experience and stay positive. On his CV, under the section detailing his civil engineering experience, he summarises the skills he has gained in his new job: "Be attentive to customers' needs; handle the payment for any purchases; make the customer aware of any special offers." - More, Amelia Gentleman, Guardian, at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/08/professional-refugees-lawyers-doctors-minimum-wage-uk

Afghanistan still one of the worst places to be a woman, says EU ambassador --- Franz-Michael Mellbin criticises prosecution of 'moral crimes' and says Hamid Karzai's government has failed Afghan women -- President Hamid Karzai's government has let down Afghan women, according to the new EU ambassador to Kabul, who singled out the failure to end prosecution of rape victims and other abused women for "moral crimes" as a particular "disgrace". -- Franz-Michael Mellbin said that despite huge practical improvements in areas from maternal mortality to the number of girls in schools, Afghanistan was still one of the worst places to be a woman and a frontline in the global battle for women's rights. -- Mellbin, who previously served in Afghanistan as the Danish envoy, declined to criticise Karzai directly but said the government overall had failed in its responsibilities to be a voice for women's rights, as conservatives opposed to women having any role outside the home gathered strength. -- "We cannot be satisfied with what has been done. Right now what I feel is unfortunately very much lacking is that the government is not showing a sense of priority and urgency that we'd like to see," he told the Guardian in an interview to mark International Women's Day. -- "What we are lacking is a strong official voice to counter those reactionary voices … this makes it very difficult to fight for progress. We look in vain for strong government policy." -- Karzai has always described himself as a supporter of women's rights, but recently there has been heavy pressure on the fragile gains made after the Taliban's fall from power. -- Last year a landmark law to prevent violence against women was pushed out of parliament, the quota of seats for women on provincial councils was cut, and a proposal to reintroduce stoning as a punishment for adultery – used more against women than men – put forward by the justice ministry. -- Earlier this year, parliament passed a law that gagged victims of domestic violence by preventing relatives testifying against each other, although it was later modified on Karzai's orders.-- Many women believe this is happening because political interest in Afghanistan is fading in the west as troops head home. They fear that with the complete departure of foreign forces this year, conservatives will chip away faster at their rights or simply use them as a bargaining chip in peace talks with the Taliban. -- "I understand why Afghan women are very worried about the future, and they are, they constantly raise this issue with me," Mellbin said, adding that he was inspired by Afghan women's determination to seize every opportunity made available to them. -- "All over Afghanistan women today are 'first movers'. Some will be the first woman in their family to go to school, others to open a business or take public office. There is a tremendous awareness among Afghan women that they are trail-blazing for the next generation, for their daughters." -- He plans to make women's rights a priority during his time in Kabul, as part of the EU's "value-driven foreign policy", at least until he sees a government more focused on protecting and expanding gains so far -- "I do not subscribe to the view that silence is an option," Mellbin said. "We need to be more ambitious. Our agenda has to be continued progress, continued advancement." - More, Emma Graham-Harrison in Kabul, Guardian

Friday, March 07, 2014

AP Interview: Karzai's brother says he quit Afghan presidential race in favor of moderate --- KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The elder brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Friday he dropped out of the country's April 5 presidential election to leave the field open to a candidate that he hoped would steer the nation through a "dignified" transition. -- As he mused over giving up his bid to succeed his brother, businessman Qayyum Karzai said in an interview with The Associated Press that he places his hopes for the future of battered nation in what he believes is the moderate majority among the population. In the race, he is now throwing his support behind former Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul. -- Moderates are a "huge, huge bloc of votes," he said. "Overall I think that the people themselves have matured enormously in politics ... They know exactly who is who, and so my trust is in the people." -- But he said they are largely undecided — they are "sargardan," he said, using a Farsi word meaning their "heads are spinning" from the country's chaos. -- Qayyum Karzai, who announced his withdrawal earlier this week, said Friday he supported Rassoul for his moderate views. Both men are ethnic Pashtuns, who dominate the south and the east of Afghanistan, and they likely would have divided the vote between them. -- Rassoul is a loyalist of Afghanistan's former King Zahir Shah. Karzai described king's 40-year rule Friday as last time the country enjoyed a protracted period of peace and relative stability. -- "I think that the moderate persuasion has enormous appeal, and it should because we have suffered from the politics of the right and the politics of the left" since the king's ouster in 1973, Karzai said. "I wanted this moderate persuasion to win the elections, and I found Zalmai Rassoul to be the most suitable person to lead the country." -- A 1973 coup toppled Shah, the last king of Afghanistan. In later years, the Soviet Union would invade the country, sparking a bloody insurgency. Warlords then took over parts of the country until the rise of the Taliban in 1996. - More, GANNON, Associated Press, at: http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2014/03/07/ap-interview-karzais-brother-on-afghan-vote

"Mission accomplished" for U.S. air base in pro-Moscow Kyrgyzstan --- (Reuters) - A U.S. Air Force base in Kyrgyzstan is packing up for closure after more than 12 years of flying troops and cargo in and out of Afghanistan, as Moscow boosts its military clout in the strategic region. -- The Manas Transit Center in the ex-Soviet nation's main civilian airport has been in operation since the end of 2001, serving the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan codenamed Operation Enduring Freedom. -- As Kyrgyzstan seeks closer political ties and economic aid from its ex-Soviet overlord Russia, the national parliament last June gave Washington until July 2014 to close its base. -- The logistics hub, employing some 1,200 servicemen, was engaged in aerial refueling, personnel and cargo airlift, as well in humanitarian programs with Kyrgyzstan. -- "As of February 28, those four main missions had been completed, and now our main focus is on orderly and clean transfer of the transit center back to the government of Kyrgyzstan," said Colonel John Millard, commander of the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing and Manas base head. -- "We will have this installation and all U.S. personnel moved no later than July 10," he told visiting media on Thursday. -- During more than 12 years of operations, the Manas base near the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek handled more than 33,000 refueling missions, moved more than 5.3 million servicemen in and out of Afghanistan and served 42,000 cargo missions, Millard said. -- Personnel and cargo airlift missions have now been moved to Forward Operating Site Mihail Kogalniceanu near the Black Sea port of Constanta in Romania, known as "Transit Center M.K." -- On Thursday, U.S. soldiers were dismantling a field canteen at Manas. A nearby tent city, which used to accommodate up to 2,000 transit servicemen and was nicknamed "Hotel Alaska", had already been removed. A U.S. soldier jogged past a lonely C-17 transport airplane. - More, Olga Dzyubenko, at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/06/us-kyrgyzstan-usa-base-idUSBREA251SA20140306

Malaysia Airlines Flight With 239 Aboard Goes Missing --- A Malaysia Airlines flight carrying 239 people has lost contact with air traffic control and was still missing hours after it was supposed to have landed in Beijing, the airline said Saturday morning. -- The airline told NBC News that a search-and-rescue mission was under way for Flight MH370, a Boeing 777-200, and that relatives of those on board were being notified. -- The flight from Kuala Lumpur, carrying 227 passengers from 13 countries, including two infants, and 12 crew members, had been scheduled to land at 6:30 a.m. in Beijing (5:30 p.m. ET Friday). But Subang Air Traffic Control in Malaysia reported that it lost contact at 2:40 a.m. (1:40 p.m. ET Friday). - More, NBCNews, at:http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/malaysia-airlines-flight-239-aboard-goes-missing-n47516

خانم زینت کرزی می گوید، دختر بهترین تحفه خداوند است -- داکتر زینت کرزی خانم رئیس جمهور افغانستان، سومین طفل اش را به دنیا آورد. این طفل نوزاد که دختر است در یک شفاخانهء هند تولد شد. -- آقای کرزی قبلا یک پسر به نام میرویس و یک دختر به نام ملاله داشت. خانم زینت کرزی گفته است، دخترشان را مثل پسر شان دوست دارند و پسر و دختر برایشان فرقی ندارد. -- براساس اعلامیهء سفارت افغانستان در هند، دختر نوزاد رئیس جمهور کرزی در آغاز همین هفته در یک کلینیک شخصی در دهلی جدید چشم به جهان گشود. -- رییس جمهور کرزی قبل از آنکه راهی سریلانکا شود، در جریان توقف کوتاه اش در دهلی جدید، از خانم اش داکتر زینت کرزی و دختر نوزادش دیدن کوتاه داشت و بعد راهی سریلانکا شد. -- دو طفل دیگر رئیس جمهور کرزی، یعنی پسرش میرویس و دخترش ملاله در افغانستان تولد شده اند، ولی این بار به خانم زینت کرزی توصیه شده بود، در هند ولادت کند. -- داکتر زینت کرزی سال گذشته در مصاحبه با بی بی سی گفته بود "همسرش که پانزده سال باهم زنده گی کرده اند، اغلبا به دلیل کار زیاد برای خانواده جوانش وقت ندارد، وی گاهگاه روزهای جمعه وقت پیدا می کند و با من و اولادها قدم می زند و باهم می باشیم." -- خانم کرزی گفته بود، با وجود فرهنگ افغانستان که پسران را ترجیح می دهند، دخترشان را مثل پسر شان دوست دارند و پسر و دختر برایشان فرقی ندارد. -- خانم زینت کرزی گفته است، دختر بهترین تحفه خداوند است. - رادیو آزادی

U.S. General Apologizes to Afghan President After Airstrike --- Gen. Dunford Calls President Karzai Following Airstrike That Kills Child -- KABUL—The top U.S. general in Afghanistan called Afghan President Hamid Karzai to apologize following a coalition airstrike that killed a child and injured two women, an incident that further complicated attempts to reach a security agreement on long-term American military presence here. -- A coalition official said U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, the head of the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force, called Mr. Karzai late Thursday to express regret over the incident and to promise a joint investigation with the Afghans. -- Mr. Karzai's spokesman, Aimal Faizi, said Friday the airstrike, in the Garmsir district of southwestern Helmand province, represents a "clear breach" of a commitment made by President Barack Obama in a letter to the Afghan leader this month to "respect the sanctity and dignity of Afghans in their homes and in their daily lives." -- Mr. Obama wrote the letter as part of negotiations to seal the bilateral security agreement, or BSA, which is needed to maintain a limited number of U.S. troops and massive U.S. aid once the current coalition's mandate expires in December 2014. Though the BSA was approved by Afghanistan's Loya Jirga assembly on Sunday, Mr. Karzai said he would delay signing it until several of his conditions are met, throwing the deal's future in doubt. -- "This strike is an indication that the U.S. has no regard for the lives, houses, and sovereignty of the Afghan people," Mr. Karzai said in a statement protesting Thursday's airstrike in Helmand. "Under these circumstances, the BSA with the U.S. may not be signed." -- The coalition said in a statement Friday the Helmand airstrike targeted a "known insurgent" riding a motorcycle. The coalition official described the insurgent as a "midlevel Taliban commander" who had been involved in organizing attacks on Afghan and coalition forces and ferrying around bomb-making materials -- The insurgent was killed after a first--and unsuccessful--strike that killed and injured civilian bystanders, the official added. -- "The initial attempt to strike him missed," the official said. "We believe it was that airstrike that caused the civilian casualties." -- Mr. Karzai has long condemned coalition airstrikes and raids on Afghan homes, calling them a violation of Afghan sovereignty. While coalition officials said the incident Thursday didn't target or strike a house, Mr. Karzai has insisted the bilateral agreement would preclude foreign troops from attacking Afghan homes. -- The White House has said that if Mr. Karzai doesn't sign the deal by the end of the year, it would force planning for the "zero option" -- the total withdrawal of U.S. and international troops by the end of next year. - Nathan Hodge, WSJ, at: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304017204579227880997564904

Thursday, March 06, 2014

سفیر امریکا: میان ما و افغانستان بی اعتمادی است --- جیمز کننگهم؛ سفیر امریکا در افغانستان روز گذشته در سفر به ولایت بلخ، طی یک کنفرانس مطبوعاتی اعلام کرد: میان افغانستان و ایالات متحده امریکا بی باوری و بی اعتمادی است. او از اینکه این بی اعتمادی و بی باوری اخیرا به وجود آمده، اظهار تاسف کرد. -- به باور وی، این بی باوری ها ناشی از اختلاف بین امریکا و افغانستان برسر امضای پیمان امنیتی است. جیمز در عین حال برای چندمین بار هشدار داد: اگر توافقنامه امنیتی امضاء نشود ما نیروهای خود را بیرون می کنیم. -- سفیر امریکا در افغانستان گفت: اکنون افغانستان در یک موقعیت حساس قرار دارد که انتخابات اینده این کشور سرنوشت افغانستان را تعین کرده و این کشور در حال رشد و پیشرفت می باشد. او گفت: اگر انتخابات اینده ریاست جمهوری و شوراهای ولایتی افغانستان به صورت شفاف و سالم برگزار شود باعث رشد و پیشرفت این کشور می گردد از اینرو افغان ها باید تلاش کنند تا شفافیت انتخابات زیر سوال نرود. -- وی با بیان اینکه افغان ها به گونه ی گسترده ی اماده هستند تا شفافیت و امنیت انتخابات را تامین نمایند، افزود: امریکا و جامعه بین المللی نیز تلاش دارند که با همکاری با افغانستان پروسه ی انتخابات به گونه ی سالم برگزار شود چون انتخابات شفاف ارمان افغان ها است. -- کینکهم انتخابات را یک فرصت تاریخی برای افغانستان دانسته و تاکید می کند که انتقال قدرت به گونه ی مسالمت آمیز برای صلح و ثبات دایمی در افغانستان بسیار اثر گذار می باشد و نیز برای جامعه جهانی حیاتی است. -- او گفت: امریکا ناگزیر است که روی حکومت آینده افغانستان حساب کند و کار برسر امضای این پیمان را از طریق حکومت آینده دنبال کند. -- این مقام مسئول تاکید کرد: "ما همکاری خود را با حکومت جدید افغانستان فقط تا یک ماه پیش خواهیم برد، هرچند عدم امضاء قرار داد امنیتی در روابط سیاسی دو کشور بی باوری به وجود آورده اما امریکا خواهان حفظ دستاورد هایش در یازده سال گذشته است و آنرا ادامه می دهد." - افغانستان. رو

Back to the Past in Afghanistan --- March 8 marks the 105th celebration of International Women's Day, but women in Afghanistan have little to celebrate as the U.S. prepares to draw down its military presence. -- Across the country, extremists have become increasingly vocal in their efforts to roll back hard-fought gains for women and girls following the Taliban's removal from power. -- Female representation in parliament is down. Brutal attacks on women and girls are up. And extremists are growing increasingly bold in their efforts to once more mandate the oppression of women and girls into Afghan law. -- One of the signature achievements of U.S. engagement in Afghanistan has been advancing and protecting the rights of women and girls. Millions of girls have gone to school. Newly empowered women joined the police and military. -- That these gains have proven so fragile is tragic and disheartening to all who have worked vehemently to help. -- Unfortunately, as the U.S. military presence has begun to recede, anti-women extremists have grown increasingly influential. This is a frightening prospect for the millions of women and girls who have moved forward and begun to make plans for their lives. -- Most recently, both houses of parliament passed a change in the criminal code that would have shielded domestic abusers from testimony by daughters, spouses and other relatives. President Hamid Karzai rejected the legislation on February 17, but only after immense pressure from Afghan women's champions and the international community. -- This International Women's Day, while we celebrate our many accomplishments and discuss new paths forward, let's not forget the women of Afghanistan. They are strong, and they will continue to make their voices heard. The international community -- and especially the United States--can still levy pressure against extremists. -- A good step in the right direction would be congressional passage of the International Violence Against Women Act and the Women, Peace, and Security Act. Both bills are bipartisan, and both would encourage greater participation by women through amplifying their voices in the political and diplomatic process. -- No single step will stop a backslide to the days of Taliban rule. But, now more than ever, we must commit to the future of Afghanistan's women and girls. - More, Lauren Supina, at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lauren-supina/back-to-the-past-in-afghanistan_b_4904968.html?utm_hp_ref=afghanistan

Afghan president's brother withdraws from election, backs ex-minister --- (Reuters) - The Afghan president's older brother, Qayum Karzai, announced on Wednesday he was withdrawing from next month's presidential election and would back former foreign minister Zalmai Rassoul. -- The alliance is the first public acknowledgement of weeks of negotiations aimed at consolidating the voting bloc of Pashtuns, the country's largest ethnic group, and brings together two candidates considered close to the current president. -- The pullout was widely anticipated after Karzai failed to show up for a televised debate this week. -- "I will go to every mosque, every room and every guesthouse to get this team elected," Karzai told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference after announcing his withdrawal. -- "We are hoping to win on the first round. This team represents the only hope for stability in this country." -- Rassoul said negotiations on the election alliance had been taking place for two to three weeks. -- "This is good for Afghanistan and good for democracy," he said. -- The Karzai-Rassoul alliance will help consolidate that voting bloc and the supporters of the current government. -- "We expect other candidates to join us before the election," said Mahmood Karzai, another of the president's brothers. "I'm thinking of at least three candidates." -- He declined to name them, but the printed version of his brother's announcement pulling out of the race gave a clue. It said Qayum Karzai would join "the teams of Doctor Zalmai Rassoul and Abdul Rahim Wardak". -- Mahmood Karzai said his brother Qayum and Rassoul would campaign separately in order to cover the widest possible area. - More, at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/06/us-afghanistan-election-idUSBREA250BS20140306

With 2015 budget, Pentagon looks beyond Afghanistan --- (Reuters) - The Pentagon unveiled a $496 billion base budget on Tuesday that looks beyond Afghanistan to future U.S. security challenges after a dozen years of war, cutting the military to afford more training and new weapons as it adapts to an era of tighter spending. -- The budget set the Obama administration on a collision course with Congress by trying to eliminate popular older weapons systems and curb military compensation while seeking $26.4 billion in additional defense spending to be paid for by closing tax loopholes and cutting mandatory spending. -- The spending plan released on Tuesday means the Pentagon's base budget for the 2015 fiscal year essentially would remain flat for a third consecutive year as the department responds to directions to cut nearly $1 trillion in spending over a decade. -- Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the budget "supports - and is informed by - our updated defense strategy" as outlined in the Quadrennial Defense Review, an examination of strategy and priorities that was released alongside the budget. -- "Today's world requires a strategy that is neither budget driven nor budget blind," he said in a statement. "We need a strategy that can be implemented with a realistic level of resources, and that is what this QDR provides." -- The two documents drew an immediate negative reaction on Capitol Hill. Representative Buck McKeon, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, expressed dismay at the shrinking security spending and flatly rejected the strategy review, vowing to make the Pentagon rewrite it. -- "The product the process produced this time has more to do with politics than policy and is of little value to decision-makers," McKeon said in a statement. -- Army General Martin Dempsey, the military's top uniformed officer, signed off on the strategic review as "appropriate to the resources available" but made no bones about the fact that it meant a "smaller and less capable military" that would make it more difficult to meet U.S. security obligations. -- The White House said the Pentagon's funding levels would enable the military to protect U.S. interests and execute the country's updated defense strategy, albeit with "somewhat increased levels of risk." -- The risks "would grow significantly" if higher budget cuts go into force in 2016 and beyond as planned, it said. --- The department increasingly has relied on that segment of the budget for funding operations and modernization related to the Afghanistan conflict because it is not subject to congressional budget caps. -- Todd Harrison, a defense analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, said money included in the war-funding budget in 2014 largely offset the more than $30 billion in across-the-board cuts imposed on the base budget. -- He said Pentagon reliance on the war-funding budget was a "pretty dangerous situation" because once most U.S. forces withdraw from Afghanistan in December it will become more difficult to justify funding military operations through that supplemental measure. - More, at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/04/us-usa-fiscal-defense-idUSBREA2328420140304

Hamid Karzai brother drops out of Afghan elections --- Hamid Karzai’s brother dropped out of Afghanistan’s election on Thursday, throwing his weight behind a rival campaign and giving voters their clearest indication yet of their president’s favoured candidate. -- Qayum Karzai announced he was backing Zalmai Rassoul, the former foreign minister who joined the race after being asked to stand by President Karzai. -- “I and my team, we consider ourselves as a key part of this new alliance and declare my support for Dr Zalmai Rassoul,” Qayum Karzai told a press conference in Kabul. -- Analysts believe the election will go to a second round, most likely contested by Abdullah Abdullah, the runner-up five years ago, and a Karzai-backed ticket. -- “From now on, both teams will fight for victory... and I'm sure with the blessing of God, and the support of the people, we will win,” he said at the joint press conference. - More, Telegraph

Henry A. Kissinger - How the Ukraine crisis ends --- Henry A. Kissinger was secretary of state from 1973 to 1977. -- Public discussion on Ukraine is all about confrontation. But do we know where we are going? In my life, I have seen four wars begun with great enthusiasm and public support, all of which we did not know how to end and from three of which we withdrew unilaterally. The test of policy is how it ends, not how it begins. -- Far too often the Ukrainian issue is posed as a showdown: whether Ukraine joins the East or the West. But if Ukraine is to survive and thrive, it must not be either side’s outpost against the other — it should function as a bridge between them. -- Russia must accept that to try to force Ukraine into a satellite status, and thereby move Russia’s borders again, would doom Moscow to repeat its history of self-fulfilling cycles of reciprocal pressures with Europe and the United States. -- The West must understand that, to Russia, Ukraine can never be just a foreign country. Russian history began in what was called Kievan-Rus. The Russian religion spread from there. Ukraine has been part of Russia for centuries, and their histories were intertwined before then. Some of the most important battles for Russian freedom, starting with the Battle of Poltava in 1709 , were fought on Ukrainian soil. The Black Sea Fleet — Russia’s means of projecting power in the Mediterranean — is based by long-term lease in Sevastopol, in Crimea. Even such famed dissidents as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Joseph Brodsky insisted that Ukraine was an integral part of Russian history and, indeed, of Russia. -- The European Union must recognize that its bureaucratic dilatoriness and subordination of the strategic element to domestic politics in negotiating Ukraine’s relationship to Europe contributed to turning a negotiation into a crisis. Foreign policy is the art of establishing priorities. -- The Ukrainians are the decisive element. They live in a country with a complex history and a polyglot composition. The Western part was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1939, when Stalin and Hitler divided up the spoils. Crimea, 60 percent of whose population is Russian, became part of Ukraine only in 1954 , when Nikita Khrushchev, a Ukrainian by birth, awarded it as part of the 300th-year celebration of a Russian agreement with the Cossacks. The west is largely Catholic; the east largely Russian Orthodox. The west speaks Ukrainian; the east speaks mostly Russian. Any attempt by one wing of Ukraine to dominate the other — as has been the pattern — would lead eventually to civil war or breakup. To treat Ukraine as part of an East-West confrontation would scuttle for decades any prospect to bring Russia and the West — especially Russia and Europe — into a cooperative international system. - More, Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/henry-kissinger-to-settle-the-ukraine-crisis-start-at-the-end/2014/03/05/46dad868-a496-11e3-8466-d34c451760b9_story.html

Agency-by-agency summary of Obama budget --- Page 6 of 7 -- The spending plan asks Congress for $1.5 billion to support democratic transitions in the Middle East and North Africa as well as to ease the humanitarian crisis in Syria. It would set aside $400 million to support an anticipated transition in Syria. It foresees spending $5.1 billion for programs in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan, a significant reduction from previous years reflecting the end of the war in Iraq and the winding down of military operations in Afghanistan. That includes $2.6 billion for operations in Afghanistan, where the administration is still reviewing the size and scope of its military presence after the end of the year; $1.5 billion for Iraq, including $250 million to support the Iraqi military; and $1 billion for Pakistan, of which $280 million will support Pakistani security forces. It would also allocate $3 billion for international peacekeeping missions. - More, The Associated Press, at: http://www.boston.com/2014/03/05/agency-agency-summary-obama-budget/Hx92XDEiS5DIXX7gbeaAII/story-5.html

Rely on Iran and Pakistan for Help --- Assuming President Karzai will not sign the bilateral security agreement and President Obama makes good on his threat to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, the security situation in Afghanistan will deteriorate rapidly. The Taliban will celebrate and, along with other insurgent groups, will launch attacks against vulnerable targets in small, provincial towns and gradually consolidate their power. -- Kabul and the big cities may be spared large attacks because the Taliban lacks the means for a major operation like the Tet offensive the North Vietnamese carried out in 1968. But even Kabul may not be spared acts of terrorism and assassination like those we have witnessed sporadically in Afghanistan and almost daily in Iraq. There are also warlords who will take advantage of a weaker central government to settle old scores, establish territorial control and seek to increase their weight and influence. -- The United States and its allies, unable to fully end such violence even with a massive military presence, will hardly be able to control it once they leave. The U.S. will have to rely on Iran and Pakistan to contain the Taliban, at least along their borders. If the nuclear deal between Iran and the U.S. advances according to plan, the Iranians can use their considerable influence in Afghanistan and with a number of the warlords in a positive way. It will be in Pakistan’s interest, too, to prevent disorder in a neighboring country; and the U.S. should assist it to do so. -- The U.S. can, if necessary, use drones from its air bases in Central Asia to attack Taliban targets in Afghanistan. Lacking troops on the ground, the U.S. must also focus on containment, preventing internal disorder from spilling across Afghanistan’s borders and the export of this violence elsewhere. The U.S. must also help whoever succeeds Karzai as president to set up a government that is representative, committed to the rule of law and free of corruption; and it must remain vigilant against terrorist attacks on the home front. - Haleh Esfandiari, NYTimes

Wednesday, March 05, 2014

قیوم کرزی: زلمي رسول ته دهیواد دګټو له خاطره تېر شوم --- د افغانستان ولسمشري د ټاکنو کاندید قیوم خان کرزي د یوه بل نوماند زلمي رسول په وړاندي‌ له خپلي کاندیداتوري نه لاس واخیست، ښاغلي کرزي خبریال ډاټ کام ته وویل چې دا کار یې دهیواد او خلکو دګټي‌لپاره کړی دی . نوموړی وايي چې دده ټوله ټیم او رایه ورکوونکي‌ به په مکمل ډول د ښاغلي رسول سره ملاتړي‌او کار کوي . -- قیوم کرزي‌ خبریال ډاټ کام ته په تلیفوني اړیکه کې وویل چې ښاغلی وردګ هم دې ته چمتو شوی چې دزلمي رسول په وړاندي‌له کاندیدا توري‌ څخه لاس واخلي‌. ښاغلی وردګ او ټوله ټیم به سبا دورځي‌لس بې د افغانستان پروخت په یوه غونډه کې اعلان کوي‌. -- قیوم کرزی چې د حامد کرزي مشر ورور او په افغانستان کې زیات نفوذ لري‌ له خپلي کاندیدا توري‌لاس په سر کېدل دهیواد ، سولي‌او پرمختګ لپاره یو ستر ګام بولي . -- نوموړی خبریال ډاټ کام ته وویل چې دزلمي رسول او دده دټیم ټوله برنامه یوه ده ، دوی به اوس په ګډ ه هڅه کوي‌چې دا برنامه پلې کړي . قیوم کرزی وايي چې دزلمي رسول ملاتړ یې ځکه وکړ چې د سولي ،اقتصاد ، بیارغاونې او پرمختګ ټول اړخونه د دواړو ټیمونو ترمینځ برابر دي . -- ښاغلي‌ کرزي‌له خپلو ملاتړ کوونکو او رایه ورکوونکو نه وغوښتل چې خپله انرژي د زلمي رسول لپاره وکاروي ،دی وايي چې زلمی رسول د افغانستان او خلکو لپاره یوه لویه شتمني‌ده او هیواد وال ورباندي‌راغونډېدلای شي . - خبریال ډاټ کام

Qayum, Rassoul push alliance to the brink: aides --- KABUL (Pajhwok): The final result of ongoing negotiations between presidential candidates Abdul Qayum Karzai and Zalmai Rassoul to join forces is expected to be announced tomorrow, an aide to the President Karzai’s older brother said on Wednesday. -- Dr. Habibi, who campaigns for Qayum, confirmed to Pajhwok the negotiations were ongoing between their leader and Rassoul, a former foreign minister. He said the final decision on making an alliance between the two was expected to be announced on Thursday. -- Meanwhile, a spokesman for Rassoul, Ajmal Balochzada, told Pajhwok Afghan News the negotiations were yet to be finalised. -- Earlier in the day, Reuters news agency said Qayum was preparing to withdraw from the presidential elections quoting Rassoul as saying during an interview. -- Rassoul told the agency they were planning an alliance and would join forces soon. "We are in discussions about how we can join together, we have not reached yet a final result, but it is on the way," Rassoul said on the sidelines of a debate. "Our negotiation is not finalized ... but you will know very soon." -- With just one month to go until the vote on April 5, just three candidates appeared for Tuesday's televised debate on foreign policy, broadcast by Afghanistan's most popular channel. -- Last week, a number of tribal elders from southern provinces arrived in Kabul to choose one between Rassoul and Qayum Karzai. -- Most of the tribal elders were reported in support of Qayum to continue as presidential candidate. -- Presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi said in a statement President Karzai had urged his elder brother to withdraw in favour of Rassoul. - More, at: http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2014/03/05/qayum-rassoul-push-alliance-brink-aides

Ambitious U.S. hospital project in Afghanistan faces failure --- (Reuters) - An ambitious U.S.-funded project to build hospitals in Afghanistan has run into the ground, with the largest hospital ever planned in the country unlikely to open in full, U.S. and Afghan officials said. -- The $60 million project by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) started in 2008 and aimed to meet the medical needs of over two million Afghans by 2009. -- Five years on, not one of the healthcare centers built under the project is open. The biggest, 100-bed hospital in eastern Paktia province is unfinished and may never open, according to Reuters interviews with U.S. and Afghan officials. -- Paktia public health director Baz Mohammad Shirzad said even if completed, the new facility is far too big for the local authorities to handle because there were not enough doctors and other staff to operate such a big hospital. -- "With current possibilities, we are only able to run 30 beds," he said. -- Paktia public health director Baz Mohammad Shirzad said even if completed, the new facility is far too big for the local authorities to handle because there were not enough doctors and other staff to operate such a big hospital. -- "A health center that exists is not the same as one that is used or that actually functions," Doctors Without Borders said in a report last week. -- The aid group said access to healthcare remains as dire as before the arrival in 2001 of U.S.-led forces that ousted the extremist Taliban from power. -- "The story about healthcare risks being skewed by the persistent efforts of donors, the international community and the government to show peace dividends," it said. -- USAID confirmed none of the healthcare facilities was in use, but said many other structures in education, healthcare and government had been completed on time. -- "USAID is proud to have delivered hundreds of new public service structures to the Afghan people," said a USAID spokesman, adding that the hospital would be ready in June. -- Western powers have poured billions of aid dollars into Afghanistan as a way to win the hearts and minds of ordinary Afghans and are keen to project an image of success as foreign troops withdraw from the country this year. - MOre, at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/05/us-afghanistan-aid-idUSBREA2411720140305

Robert Gates tells Republicans to cut back on criticizing Obama’s Ukraine policy --- As the Ukraine crisis deepened, Sen. John McCain responded by criticizing President Obama’s “feckless” foreign policy, while Sen. Lindsey Graham called Obama “a weak and indecisive president [who] invites aggression.” --- What does Gates think about the Ukraine crisis? Distilled to its essence, his message would be the same as Jackson’s: Cool it, especially when it comes to public comments. -- “I think considerable care needs to be taken in terms of what is said, so that the rhetoric doesn’t threaten what policy can’t deliver,” Gates explained in a telephone interview. Russian President Vladimir Putin “holds most of the high cards” in Crimea and Ukraine as a whole. U.S. policy should work to reinforce the security of neighboring states without fomenting a deeper crisis in which Putin will have the advantage. -- Specifically, said Gates, the United States should help NATO allies such as Poland and the Baltic states enhance their readiness to resist any future Russian moves. The United States could encourage a rotation of NATO aircraft to beef up defenses on Russia’s border, for example. That’s the kind of power play that can check Putin, because it is realistic and sustainable. -- Gates said that Obama is correct to avoid loose talk about military options. “I’d even be cautious about sending warships into the Black Sea,” Gates explained. “It’s a threatening gesture, but if you’re not prepared to do something about it, it’s an empty gesture.” -- I asked Gates what he thought about the criticism of Obama by McCain and Graham. “They’re egging him on” to take actions that may not be effective, Gates warned. He said he “discounted” their deeper argument that Obama had invited the Ukraine crisis by not taking a firmer stand on Syria or other foreign policy issues. Even if Obama had bombed Syria or kept troops in Iraq or otherwise shown a tougher face, “he still would have the same options in Ukraine. Putin would have the same high cards.” -- Gates, a Republican himself, urged the GOP senators to “tone down” their criticism and “try to be supportive of the president rather than natter at the president.” -- Gates can be an emotional person when he talks about national-security issues, as any reader of his recent memoir, “Duty,” can see. And he showed some of that emotion when he said, near the end of our conversation: “It seems to me that trying to speak with one voice — one American voice — seems to have become a quaint thing of the past. I regret that enormously.” - More, David Ignatius, Washingtonpost

New study ranks Alzheimer’s as third leading cause of death, after heart disease and cancer --- Alzheimer’s disease likely plays a much larger role in the deaths of older Americans than is currently reported, according to a new study that says the disease may be the third leading cause of death in the U.S. -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists Alzheimer’s as the sixth leading cause of death, far below heart disease and cancer. But the new report, published Wednesday in the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, suggests that the current system of relying on death certificates for cause of death misses the complexity of dying for many older people and discounts the impact of Alzheimer’s. -- While the CDC attributed around 84,000 deaths in 2010 to Alzheimer’s, the report estimated that number to be 503,400 among people 75 and older. That puts it in a close third place behind heart disease and cancer, and well above chronic lung disease, stroke, and accidents, which currently rank third, fourth, and fifth. -- Alzheimer’s is somewhat of a “sleeping giant” compared to other leading killers that have received more funding over the years. While deaths from these diseases have been going down thanks to better treatment and prevention, the number of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease is quickly rising, and the disease is always fatal. -- Over 5 million people in the U.S. are currently estimated to have Alzheimer’s, and with the aging of the Baby Boomer generation this number is expected to nearly triple by 2050 if there are no significant medical breakthroughs, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. -- The disease cost the nation $210 billion last year; that rate is expected to rise to $1.2 trillion by 2050. “Scientists told us we need $2 billion a year over the coming ten years” to see significant advancement in treatment and prevention, said Keith Fargo, director of scientific programs & outreach at the Alzheimer’s Association. NIH funding for Alzheimer’s in 2012 was around $500 million, far below funding for heart disease and cancers. -- “We would like to see a response that is commensurate with the problem,” Fargo said. “Alzheimer’s disease is a serious disease and it needs to be taken seriously, and if we have the right kind of investment as a country, then we will be able to make strides similar to what we’ve made in heart disease, HIV, and cancer.” - More, Tara Bahrampour, washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/new-study-ranks-alzheimers-as-third-leading-cause-of-death-after-heart-disease-and-cancer/2014/03/05/8097a452-a48a-11e3-8466-d34c451760b9_story.html?hpid=z2

Karzai’s Brother Is Expected to Drop Out of Afghanistan’s Presidential Race --- KABUL, Afghanistan — President Hamid Karzai has vowed to stay out of Afghanistan’s presidential race, and not to show preference or prejudice toward any of the 11 contenders, but it is now clear that he has made an exception in at least one case: his own brother. -- After what Afghan officials have described as months of behind-the-scenes pressure from the president, Qayum Karzai is expected to pull out of the election on Thursday. -- An aide to Qayum Karzai, Aminullah Habibi, said Mr. Karzai would most likely throw his support — and considerable campaign financing — behind Zalmay Rassoul, the former foreign minister. -- “Negotiations are still taking place — we still have things to talk about — but it will be final tomorrow,” Mr. Habibi said on Wednesday. -- An official in Mr. Rassoul’s campaign, speaking on condition of anonymity because the announcement was not yet official, confirmed that account. “It is going to happen, but it is not finalized yet,” he said. -- Despite the vocal support of other family members, Qayum Karzai’s entry to the race was said to have defied the president’s wishes from the start. -- That became more clear late last month, when people close to the president convened a jirga, or gathering of elders, of 170 mostly Pashtun tribal leaders whose main focus was to negotiate between the Qayum Karzai and Rassoul campaigns to persuade one or the other to back out. -- “We have met with both candidates, and they both promised that they would accept any decision that the unity jirga takes,” said Qazi Mohammad Amin Weqad, one of the group’s leaders. -- That jirga initially voted overwhelmingly to support Qayum Karzai’s candidacy, but when they met with President Karzai, he persuaded them to change their decision in favor of Mr. Rassoul, according to Mr. Weqad. -- “President Karzai’s intervention doesn’t mean that he wants to intervene in the election,” Mr. Weqad said. “It was for the good of the country. He believes that if his brother wins, then the entire country and world would think that the president has helped him, and will accuse Qayum of rigging the election as the president was accused in 2009.” -- In an interview with The Washington Post recently, Mr. Karzai openly acknowledged he was stepping in to prevent his brother from running. “That’s rather an interference, because I am denying the right of a citizen of Afghanistan to run for office, but I have to do it for the larger, bigger interest of Afghanistan,” he said -- While Mr. Karzai has not openly declared that he supports any particular candidate, most analysts are convinced that he backs Mr. Rassoul. In order to run, Mr. Rassoul had to quit his job as foreign minister, and did so after he was sure he had the president’s support. -. More, ROD NORDLAND, NYTimes, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/06/world/asia/afghanistan-karzai-presidential-race.html?hp&_r=0

Tuesday, March 04, 2014

Afghanistan to Disband Crucial Guard Force --- KABUL-—The Afghan government is moving to dissolve a crucial guard force that protects military supply convoys, international aid programs and foreign installations, creating new uncertainty over security as the U.S. and its allies withdraw. -- The Afghan Ministry of Interior said in a statement Monday that Kabul would disband the Afghan Public Protection Force. -- While APPF is a government enterprise, its services are paid for commercially by the clients, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development. It replaced a host of private security contractors -- Top Afghan officials recently issued a directive that would disband the force and fold it into the Ministry of Interior. But U.S. and coalition officials say it is unclear how, exactly, the Afghan government plans to implement this new order-—and who will take over the job of protecting internationally funded reconstruction projects. -- Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Interior, said the Afghan National Police would take over some of the functions of the guard force. - More, Nathan Hodge, at: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304585004579418730552246724?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304585004579418730552246724.html

When War-Torn Rubble Met Royal Imagination, 'Paris Became Paris' --- Today, Paris is a city of light and romance, full of broad avenues, picturesque bridges and countless tourists visiting to soak in its charms. -- But the French capital wasn't always a stylish destination, says historian Joan DeJean. She's written about all things French and fashionable, from the birth of luxury goods to the rise of the celebrity hair stylist (which began during the terribly chic reign of Louis XIV). In her new book, How Paris Became Paris, DeJean starts with a look at the dismal condition of Paris in the late 1500s. The long wars between Protestants and Catholics had ended, but the toll on the city had been immense. -- "It was a city torn apart by warfare. Paris at that time is so desolate, so burned out, that contemporary observers talk about wolves roaming freely in the streets of the city," DeJean tells NPR's Renee Montagne. "Paris was also a city largely empty: huge spaces of empty terrain everywhere in the city. And the new king, Henry IV, had a lot of imagination and energy." -- Over the following century, Henry IV and later rulers, together with their engineers, architects and planners, transformed that desolate landscape into the modern city we know today. DeJean tells Montagne about what was so new about the Pont Neuf, why public flirtation became a new trend and how Paris changed the nature of tourism. - More, NPR Staff, at: http://www.npr.org/2014/02/28/283525705/when-war-torn-rubble-met-royal-imagination-became-paris

California gold discovery spurs rush of theories --- LOS ANGELES (AP) — Word last week that a Northern California couple found $10 million in gold coins while walking their dog has set off a Gold Rush of theories over who left behind all that loot. -- One is that Jesse James' gang deposited it in hopes of someday financing a second Civil War. Another postulates that the gold originally belonged to gentleman robber Black Bart, who wrote poetry when he wasn't sticking up stagecoaches. -- But the theory gaining the most traction this week is that the hoard is made up of most of the $30,000 in gold coins that Walter Dimmick stole from the U.S. Mint in San Francisco in 1901. The coins were never recovered. -- That theory, from fishing guide and amateur coin historian Jack Trout, set off a flurry of calls to the U.S. Mint after it was reported by the San Francisco Chronicle on Monday. -- The Northern California couple's coins are called the Saddle Ridge Hoard after the area of the couple's land where they were discovered. -- "We do not have any information linking the Saddle Ridge Hoard coins to any thefts at any United States Mint facility," mint officials said in a statement issued Tuesday. -- Although Trout acknowledges he can't prove his theory, he still thinks he's right. -- "There is no real direct proof, but I am getting more research in on this," he told The Associated Press by phone Tuesday from Chile, where he lives part of the year. -- Dimmick is said to have spirited six sealed bags — each filled with 250 $20 gold pieces — out of the mint, where he was the chief cashier. -- The Saddle Ridge Hoard contains 1,400 $20 gold pieces, 50 $10 gold pieces and four $5 gold pieces, with a range of dates beginning in 1847 and extending to 1894. -- Don Kagin is a rare coin dealer who represents the couple who stumbled upon the coins, which have a face value of about $28,000. He said the San Francisco Mint heist was one of the first possibilities he and his staff checked out. -- Even if the mint had coins on hand covering a span of 47 years, which is unlikely, those in the hoard include some so badly worn that they wouldn't have been there, said David McCarthy, Kagin's chief numismatist. -- Another coin, dated 1876, was in such pristine condition that it wouldn't have been there either. --- The finders, who have chosen to remain anonymous, have their own theory. -- They've done some research, Kagin said, and believe their property in California's Gold Rush country was occupied at the time by someone in the mining industry. That person must have squirreled away the coins over time. -- Why the owner never came back for the coins, well, that's another mystery. - More, JOHN ROGERS of Associated Press, at: http://news.msn.com/us/california-gold-discovery-spurs-rush-of-theories

Bloated cost of a gluten-free diet is hard to digest --- BOSTON (Reuters) - When Alice Bast was diagnosed with celiac disease in 1994, she had to scour local health-food stores and send away to Canada for the gluten-free food her condition necessitated. -- Two decades later, Jennifer Dillon received the same diagnosis but found gluten-free choices much closer to home - in the way of takeout from the Chinese restaurant down the street, options at the local supermarket, and on the shelves of a nearby CVS. -- Despite the difference in when the two women went gluten-free, they have something in common: The lofty price of their gluten-free diets is hard to swallow, coming at a significant premium to the price of conventional food items. -- Dillon estimates that where she used to spend $90 per week on groceries for her family of four, her weekly bill now is at least $130. -- Overall, Americans will spend an estimated $7 billion this year on foods labeled gluten-free, according to consumer research firm Mintel. -- It can be twice as expensive to eat gluten-free, says Bast, who is president of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness. "Our surveys tell us this is the number-one stressor for celiac patients, especially the newly diagnosed." -- The University of Chicago's Celiac Disease Center estimates that about 3 million Americans have celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that causes inflammation in the small intestine and leads to malnutrition. -- Going sans gluten means more than giving up wheat-based bread, cereal, pasta, and beer. It's also found in less obvious products, such as soy sauce, salad dressing, even toothpaste. -- Many people without celiac disease are excluding gluten as well from their diets, to combat food allergies, to ease gastrointestinal issues or arthritis, even to lose weight. -- Indeed, avoiding gluten has quickly become the latest food fad in a long list, ranging from the low-fat diets of the 1980s to the Atkins and other diets in which the consumption of carbohydrates is avoided or limited. --- While going gluten-free is the only treatment option for celiac patients, for others, gluten-avoidance may well be a waste of money. -- In a 2012 essay in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Italian celiac researchers Antonio Di Sabatini and Gino Roberto Corazza note that there is no good test to diagnose nonceliac gluten sensitivity and, despite the hype, there is not enough scientific evidence of the health benefits that have been associated with going gluten-free. -- Without further research, the authors warn against a "gluten preoccupation from evolving into the conviction that gluten is toxic for most of the population." -- For those determined to eat gluten-free, fewer choices and availability continue to drive up the cost. -- That's despite the fact that plenty of widely available, more reasonably priced food - such as fruit, vegetables, dairy and non-processed meat - is naturally gluten-free. - More, Kathleen Kingsbury, MSN, at: http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=OBR&date=20140304&id=17403755

سفیر امریکا: میدانیم پناهگاهای ترورزیم در کجاست --- سفیر ایالات متحده در افغانستان می گوید که امریکا می داند که پناهگاهای دهشت افگنان در کجا است و این یک حقیقتی است که ایالات متحده و متحدانش تلاش دارند از طروق مختلف بر آن فایق آیند. -- جیمز کنیگهم با اشاره به اظهارات تازۀ رئیس جمهور افغانستان که گفته بود افغان ها در جنگ دیگران کشته می شوند، می گوید که دلیل تهاجم امریکا به افغانستان ریشه کن ساختن عاملان دهشت افگنان القاعده بود که امریکا را هدف قرار داده بودند. -- آقای کنیگهم به روز سه شنبه در مزار شریف پس از ملاقات با محمد عطا نور، والی بلخ به خبرنگاران گفت "ما از ابتدا بر مبنای منافع مشترک کشور ها و جامعه بین المللی به افغانستان آمده ایم ما با هدف مبارزه با دهشت افگنی پدیده ای که کشور ما و تمام جهان را تهدید میکند اینجا امده ایم، و رابطه ما با رئیس جمهور کرزی بعضی اوقات چالش های داشته است، ولی امضای قرار داد امنیتی میتواند روابط دراز مدت ما با افغانستان را گسترش بدهد." -- سفیر امریکا گفت که روابط ایالات متحده با رئیس جمهور حامد کرزی بعضی اوقات آمیخته با تنش بود، اما سفیر امریکا اشاره کرد که زیر رهبری آقای کرزی ایالات متحده و افغانستان قادر شدند سند مهم همکاری های استراتیژیک دراز مدت را امضأ کنند. -- درهمین حال سفیر ایالات متحده امریکا در افغانستان میگوید این همه کشیدگی بین دو کشور بی باوری های را نیز بوجود اورده است اما ایالات متحده خواستار حفظ دستاورد های ده ساله درافغانستان بوده و تلاش دارد تا با حکومت جدید روی قرار داد امنیتی کار کند. -- خروج نظامیان و کاهش در کمک های انکشافی و زیربنایی از سوی امریکا دو بحث عمده ای است که سفیر ایالات متحده می گوید درصورت امضای نشدن این قرار داد امنیتی، افغانستان با آن مواجه خواهد شد. -- سفیر ایالات متحده در مزار شریف گفت که کشورش به تداوم پیشرفت و نگهداشت دست آورد ها متعهد می باشد، اما برای پیشبرد امور نیاز به چارچوب قانونی است که با امضأی توافقنامۀ امنیتی فراهم شده می تواند. - darivoa.

India and Pakistan ramp up aid as they jostle for influence in Kabul --- (Reuters) - India's most important message for Afghanistan is that it is not leaving, and it is backing that message with the biggest aid package it has ever given another country. -- Indian diplomats insist the message is meant as reassurance for allies in Afghanistan nervous about waning international support as NATO withdraws its troops. Yet it could equally have been chosen to send a warning to India's arch-rival, Pakistan. -- The nuclear-armed neighbors both want to secure influence in Kabul after foreign combat forces leave this year, and both are using aid as part of their strategy. -- India's $2 billion aid package includes several big projects, including a white marble parliament in Kabul that is rising up next to the blasted ruins of the old king's palace. -- Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan are rockier. Afghan President Hamid Karzai regularly accuses Pakistan of supporting Taliban militants, and has curtly made clear he cares more about security than Pakistani aid. -- "This is a very sensitive situation. Both are powerful, important allies," said Senator Arifullah Pashtoon, chairman of Afghanistan's foreign relations committee. -- "India is our friend. But Pakistan is our twin." -- A handsome new cream-and-red sandstone building in New Delhi houses the Indian agency overseeing foreign projects. Created in 2011, the agency's 25 officers oversee billions of dollars. An official, who declined to be identified, estimated India is expanding such projects by about 20 percent a year. -- The agency is determined to do things differently from the donors who used to patronize India. Overheads are minimal: just one person in India's Kabul embassy oversees the Afghan package and all money goes through the Afghan government budget. -- "We are not going to link development to political demands," the Indian official said. "We have experienced the futility of doing this, ourselves." - More, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/04/us-afghanistan-india-aid-idUSBREA230PW20140304

HUD would get money to aid homeless, renters --- The president’s proposed budget includes $46.7 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, about $1.2 billion more than what Congress approved for fiscal 2014. -- Programs designed to help the homeless and those in need of rental assistance would get the biggest boost. The administration proposed about $20 billion for the Housing Choice Voucher program. Those funds would restore cuts imposed on assisted housing units by the 2013 sequestration, and support all existing vouchers. Another $9.7 billion would go toward the Project-Based Rental Assistance Program, slightly less than the previously enacted level. -- The president also requested $6.5 billion for preserving affordable public housing and $2.4 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants, slightly more than the levels approved in fiscal 2014 in both cases. -- Under a “tough choices” heading, the proposal requests $2.8 billion for the Community Development Block Grant that aims to rehabilitate housing and invest in primarily low-income neighborhoods and $950 million for HOME investment Partnerships Program. That’s $280 million less than previously enacted the previous fiscal year for both initiatives combined. In budget documents, the administration said the cuts will strengthen the “long term viability” of the block grant program. -- The budget would provide $15 billion for the Project Rebuild program that helps address blight and in hard hit communities and $60 million for the department’s housing counseling program, a $15 million increase over the 2014 enacted level. -- The budget proposal also projected that the Federal Housing Administration, which tapped taxpayer money for the first time in its history last year, no longer needs to reach into federal coffers to shore up its funds. -- Just as the last fiscal year ended, the FHA informed Congress that it would draw $1.7 billion from the Treasury to maintain a required cash cushion. The agency said at the time that the $30 billion it had in its reserves would not be enough to cover expected losses for the next 30 years. But Tuesday’s proposal showed no need for taxpayer money in fiscal 2015. - More, Dina ElBoghdady, washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2014/03/04/hud-would-get-money-to-aid-homeless-renters/

Shakila Ibrahimkhalil: 'We Have Fought Too Hard for Our Freedoms to Lose Them Again' --- Under the Taliban's rule, I was denied the right to study and although I was very young, my family forced me to marry. When my husband was killed, his family pulled my children out of kindergarten and away from me: they didn't think I should be studying and working. Fortunately, following mediation by my family and the elders, they returned my children to me. -- Freedom of speech and the media; the presence of women in the media, in schools, and in other educational facilities; representation of women in the Parliament; the free movement of young people in the city: these are all important achievements. Such things were unimaginable 12 years ago. Human rights institutions that enable women to raise their voices are also very important. -- My biggest fear is to lose the gains we have made. I am also afraid of going back to civil war. We have made so much progress and I am afraid to lose it: children going to school, young people studying and playing sport, women working. We have fought too hard for our freedoms to lose them again. -- The first challenge is insecurity. The second is the absence of the rule of law and lack of access to justice for women. The third issue is administrative corruption, which heightens insecurity and injustice. Reprehensible traditions and customs, which prohibit girls from studying and treat women as the 'second sex' is a very big challenge. In some regions, men do not even allow women to go to the doctor. - More, Unveiling Afghanistan, Huffpost, at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/unveiling-afghanistan/shakila-ibrahimkhalil-we_b_4874529.html

Breaking down spending in Obama's budget proposal --- President Obama released his budget proposal Tuesday morning. Below, changes from last year’s funding levels department-by-department. This page will be updated with new information throughout the day. Read related article. - More, Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/presidential-budget-2015/

Obama budget seeks new spending, new taxes to boost economy, tame debt --- President Obama unveiled an ambitious $3.9 trillion budget blueprint Tuesday that seeks billions of dollars in fresh spending to boost economic growth but also pledges to tame the national debt by raising taxes on the wealthy, slashing payments to health providers and overhauling the nation's immigration laws. -- The request sent to Congress for the 2015 fiscal year offers a smorgasbord of liberal policy ideas at a time when riling up the Democratic base and drawing a vivid contrast with Republicans are critical to Obama's hopes of preserving his party's imperiled majority in the Senate. -- His blueprint includes some targeted spending cuts, but relies primarily on more than $1 trillion in new taxes to slow borrowing over the next decade – with much of the burden falling on major businesses and the wealthy. While some of the proceeds would go toward deficit reduction, Obama also calls for more than $55 billion in new spending on defense, roads and bridges, universal preschool education and expanded tax credits for the poor. -- His blueprint includes some targeted spending cuts, but relies primarily on more than $1 trillion in new taxes to slow borrowing over the next decade – with much of the burden falling on major businesses and the wealthy. While some of the proceeds would go toward deficit reduction, Obama also calls for more than $55 billion in new spending on defense, roads and bridges, universal preschool education and expanded tax credits for the poor. --- Graphic: An agency breakdown of Obama's budget » - More, Zachary Goldfarb, Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/03/04/obama-budget-seeks-new-spending-new-taxes-to-boost-economy-tame-debt/?hpid=z1

Hospital antibiotic use can put patients at risk, study says --- Doctors in some hospitals prescribe up to three times as many antibiotics as doctors at other hospitals, putting patients at greater risk for deadly superbug infections, according to a federal study released Tuesday. -- In addition, about one-third of the time, prescriptions to treat urinary tract infections and prescriptions for the critical and common drug vancomycin were given without proper testing or evaluation, or given for too long, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. -- Over the past year, CDC officials have been raising the alarm about health threats from antibiotic resistance. Last fall, they warned that the nation faces “potentially catastrophic consequences” if it doesn’t act quickly to combat the growing threat of antibiotic-resistant infections, which kill an estimated 23,000 Americans each year. -- Tuesday’s report focuses on the practices at hospitals, where proper prescribing can have a direct and immediate impact on medical care and reduce infections, said CDC Director Thomas Frieden. -- “We have to protect our antibiotics before our medicine chests run empty,” Frieden said in a teleconference with reporters. “Today, we’re getting specific about what hospitals can do.” -- The CDC is strongly recommending that all hospitals, no matter their size, develop a seven-step antibiotic prescribing program that includes greater accountability and monitoring of antibiotic prescription and use, he said. Key among those steps is an automatic reassessment within 48 hours of prescribing to make sure the drug choice is appropriate, he said. - More, Lena H. Sun, Washingtonpost

تشنج تازه میان کابل و اسلام آباد در مورد ساخت بند برق داسو --- کابل: شورای امنیت ملی افغانستان روز دوشنبه 03 مارچ 2014 از تصمیم اخیر پاکستان مبنی بر ساخت بند “داسو” که قرار است در مسیر دریای کابل - اندوس، ساخته شود انتقاد کرد و از بانک جهانی خواست که این پروژه را تمویل و تطبیق نکند. -- وزارت خارجه افغانستان دیروز دوشنبه با انتشار خبرنامه نوشت، شورای امنیت ملی به وزارت ‌های خارجه و مالیه دستور داده تا نگرانی‌های جانب افغانستان را در این مورد با بانک جهانی مطرح کند. وزارت خارجه افغانستان از تمامی موسسات بین‌المللی به شمول بانک جهانی خواسته که بدون موافقت افغانستان از تمویل و تطبیق پروژه بند “داسو” خودداری کنند. در خبرنامه این وزارت آمده است که دولت افغانستان معلومات لازم را در مورد چگونگی و جزئیات طرح ساخت “بند برق داسو” در اختیار ندارد و لازم است در این مورد بررسی‌ های همه جانبه صورت گیرد. -- مقام های پاکستانی اعلام کرده اند که هزینه ساخت این پروژه به حالت تعلیق درآمده است. بر اساس گزارش ها، ساخت بند برق “داسو” به 5.3 میلیارد دالر کمک های خارجی ضرورت دارد و بانک جهانی فقط 700 میلیون دالر را دراین زمینه کمک خواهد کرد. از سوی دیگر، اگر ساخت بند برق “داسو” تکمیل گردد این بند قابلیت تولید 4600 میگاوات برق را خواهد داشت. در همین حال، وزارت خارجه افغانستان از بانک جهانی خواسته که طرح ساخت این پروژه را جهت نظرخواهی به جانب افغانستان ارسال کند. -- این وزارت گفته است که ساخت بند برق موسوم به داسو٬ هنوز از مجرای دیپلوماتیک پاکستان به جانب افغانستان اطلاع داده نشده و هیچ‌ گونه توافق قبلی در این زمینه نیز میان دو کشور صورت نگرفته است. از سوی دیگر، در ساخت این پروژه منفعت افغانستان به شکل روشن تعریف نشده است. چندی پیش٬ پاکستان طرح پیشنهـادی ساخت این بند را به بـانک جهـانی فـرستـاد تـا بند برق داسـو را روی دریـای کابل– اندوس در منطقه کوهستانی ایالت خیبر پشتونخوا بسازد. پروژه‌ بند برق داسو از دریای کابل و اندوس، آب خواهد گرفت. - گران افغانستان

Obama Budget Would Expand Low-Income Tax Break --- WASHINGTON — When President Obama releases his proposed annual budget on Tuesday, he will grab his best opportunity of the year to show, in one comprehensive package of hard numbers and precise detail, how he would have the government address what he has called “the defining challenge of our time” — economic inequality. -- Many of Mr. Obama’s perennial proposals on education, job training, research and more have hit a Republican wall in Congress, but this year the president is adding one with echoes of Republicans’ own ideas. He will propose expanding a longstanding tax break to better benefit workers who are childless, which the White House estimates will help 13.5 million additional Americans who hold jobs yet remain poor. The current tax break favors low-wage workers with children. -- Mr. Obama would offset the costs, $60 billion over 10 years, by ending two tax breaks for some wealthy taxpayers, as a Republican House leader also recently proposed as part of a broader plan to overhaul the tax code. The changes would close loopholes that lower taxes for some self-employed professionals and investment-fund managers. --- So the White House is eager to draw attention to an idea that might be taken seriously, both in the news media and in Congress. -- Advisers say Mr. Obama will propose to double a childless worker’s maximum tax credit to about $1,000 a year and increase the annual income level for qualifying for some benefit to about $18,000 annually, roughly 50 percent over the federal poverty line for a single adult. The credit would also be available to workers at age 21 instead of 24, as long as they are living on their own, and remain available longer, until the age of 67 rather than 65. -- The earned-income tax credit began as a Republican policy decades ago to reward work and discourage welfare, and has been expanded through the years — by Mr. Obama and predecessors of both parties — mainly to help families with children. But for childless adults and those whose children are not in their custody, the credit has remained small and phases out at low incomes. -- Making it more generous for such workers “just makes a lot of sense,” said David H. Autor, an economics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, especially as more young males have been dropping out of the labor force. “Many of them do not have dependents, or their dependents are with the mom. Giving them more incentive to work seems like an excellent idea.” -- More, JACKIE CALMES, NYTimes, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/04/us/politics/obama-budget-would-expand-low-income-tax-break.html?hp&_r=0

War Deaths Top 13,000 in Afghan Security Forces --- KABUL, Afghanistan — More than 13,000 Afghan soldiers and police officers have been killed during the war here, far more than previously known, according to Afghan government statistics. -- Most of those losses occurred during the past three years as Afghan forces took over a growing share of the responsibility for security in the country, culminating in full Afghan authority last spring. -- The numbers also reflect an increased tempo to the conflict. More clashes have taken place as insurgents test the government forces, without as much fear of intervention from the American-led coalition as it prepares to withdraw. -- A statement released late Sunday by President Hamid Karzai’s cabinet, the Council of Ministers, put the total number of people in the Afghan security forces killed in the past 13 years at 13,729, with an additional 16,511 Afghan soldiers and police officers wounded. --- The Afghan death toll is four times higher than that of the international coalition, which has lost 3,425 soldiers — 2,313 of them Americans — during the 13-year conflict. --- The statement from the Council of Ministers also detailed payments of 1.3 billion afghanis, or about $23 million, in death benefits to soldiers’ families. It also said that 12,336 civilians had been killed in the conflict, and that 11,607 civilians had been wounded; those figures are in line with data compiled by the United Nations. The Afghan government, the statement said, had also paid 1.7 billion afghanis in death benefits to the families of civilian victims. - More, ROD NORDLAND, NYTimes, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/04/world/asia/afghan-cabinet-releases-data-on-deaths-of-security-personnel.html?ref=asia

THE EDITORIAL BOARD: Frustration With Afghanistan --- President Obama and NATO last week threatened to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by year’s end, given President Hamid Karzai’s refusal to sign a bilateral security agreement with the United States. -- Their frustration with Mr. Karzai is understandable. But the truth is, the whole exercise is theatrical. Neither the administration nor NATO wants to leave completely, and many neighboring countries want them to stay. So do many Afghans. -- In a telephone call last Tuesday, Mr. Obama told Mr. Karzai that he had directed the Pentagon to plan for a complete withdrawal of American forces by the end of December. On Thursday, NATO defense ministers delivered a similar message. But Mr. Obama also made it clear that he is still open to leaving a limited force behind to conduct training and counterterrorism operations. --- After repeated exhortations on the urgent need to complete an agreement, the new warnings were an acknowledgment of the obvious: that no deal will be signed until after Mr. Karzai leaves office. As he told The Washington Post on Saturday, Mr. Karzai no longer sees the war as Afghanistan’s war and considers Al Qaeda “more a myth than a reality.” He said he cannot sign the security agreement “without the launch of the peace process” between the government and the Taliban, which shows no likelihood of happening soon. -- The presidential election in April is expected to require two rounds of voting and months of political jockeying before a victor emerges. It would have been simpler if Mr. Karzai signed the agreement when it was approved by a grand assembly of Afghan elders in November. Despite considerable effort, the Americans failed to persuade him, but they may have more success with the men aiming to succeed him. All have signaled that they would sign the accord. -- In the meantime, Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told The Associated Press that the possibility of the allies leaving is weakening the resolve of the Afghan forces and encouraging the Taliban to be more aggressive. Mr. Obama has added to the uncertainty by declining to settle on the size of a residual force and its mission. A force of 3,000 to 10,000 troops is under discussion, although Mr. Obama has now stressed that zero is also in the mix. -- It is tempting to just be done with Afghanistan after 13 years of war. On the other hand, even after all America has invested there in lives lost and dollars spent, there are concerns about Afghanistan’s future if all troops are withdrawn. -- These concerns include the possibility that the country would again become a haven for terrorists. And that, ultimately, would make it hard, politically and strategically, for this nation’s leaders to simply walk away. - More, NYTimes, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/04/opinion/frustration-with-afghanistan.html?hpw&rref=opinion

Monday, March 03, 2014

In budget proposal, Obama to seek more money for anti-poverty programs --- The Obama administration budget to be released Tuesday will set the stage for an election-year debate over government’s role in creating economic opportunity, with President Obama calling for more federal spending to help the poor and Republicans charging that such programs waste money and foster dependency. -- In his latest request to Congress, Obama plans to seek $56 billion in fresh spending to expand educational offerings for preschoolers and job training for laid-off workers, among other priorities — the very types of programs that Republicans say have been proved ineffective. --- With his budget request, Obama is returning to the populist, bread-and-butter themes that helped him win reelection and have played to Democrats’ advantage for years. He will propose $28 billion in new spending on education, manufacturing and job training, as well as $28 billion for defense programs. He will endorse the idea of overhauling the corporate tax code to boost U.S. competitiveness and generate additional revenue to rebuild roads and bridges and create jobs. --- Obama echoed that thinking in his State of the Union address. In his budget, Obama plans to call for an expansion of the EITC so that childless adults receive more-generous benefits. He will also seek to expand other tax breaks, including the child tax credit, that benefit lower- and middle-income Americans. -- Administration officials said they would cover the cost of the proposals by closing tax loopholes that benefit the wealthy, including the “carried interest” provision, which benefits hedge-fund managers, and a loophole that permits self-employed professionals to avoid payroll taxes on the bulk of their earnings. -- Another area of agreement: Taxing the accumulated overseas profits of multinational corporations to finance an increase in spending on infrastructure projects. --- In his budget, Obama will call for more money for Head Start — and his Affordable Care Act calls for expanding Medicaid coverage in every state. - More, Washingtonpost

U.S. Suspends Trade and Investment Talks With Russia --- WASHINGTON—The Obama administration suspended trade and military ties with Moscow and said Monday that punitive sanctions against Russia now are "likely," in a sharply escalating series of actions responding to the Russian military intervention in Ukraine. -- The steps all came a day in advance of Secretary of State John Kerry's arrival in Kiev, adding up to a coordinated U.S. move to embrace embattled Ukraine and shun Russia, which has sent thousands of troops the U.S. called an "occupation" force. -- President Barack Obama said the U.S. is considering a "whole series" of economic and diplomatic punitive measures in response to President Vladimir Putin's decision to dispatch troops, a move Mr. Obama warned will be "costly" for Moscow. -- The president, speaking to reporters during a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Mr. Kerry will arrive in Ukraine Tuesday with a 'very specific and concrete' aid package for the interim government. --- U.S. lawmakers are considering an aid package for Ukraine. Sen. Robert Menendez (D., N.J.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said legislation could include $1 billion in loan guarantees and technical assistance for energy reforms, to support elections, combat corruption and assist in the recovery of stolen assets. -- The emerging package could receive bipartisan support in both the House and Senate and lawmakers signaled they could act quickly on legislation. -- In response to the Russian military move, the U.S. has already canceled meetings to prepare for June's Group of 8 leading nations summit in Russia. Mr. Obama said Mr. Putin should expect additional steps if Russia doesn't retreat. -- "Over time this will be a costly proposition for Russia," Mr. Obama said, adding that "the world is largely united" that Mr. Putin has violated international law. -- Among steps Monday, the U.S. said it would suspend talks with Russia aimed at boosting trade and investment, part of an effort to put pressure on Moscow after its military intervention in Ukraine. - More, Wall Street Journal

.حامد کرزی: القاعده یک افسانه است --- حامد کرزی‌، رئیس جمهوری افغانستان، در مصاحبه‌ای با روزنامه واشنگتن پست گفته است که افغانها در جنگی کشته شده‌اند، که از آنها نبوده است و آمریکا برای تامین منافع خود و متحدان غربی این کشور به افغانستان آمده است. -- آقای کرزی در این مصاحبه گفته است که به نظر او القاعده بیشتر یک افسانه است تا یک واقعیت. -- پس از آنکه حامد کرزی به رغم تائید جرگه مشورتی، موافقتنامه امنیتی افغانستان و آمریکا را امضا نکرد، روابط این دو کشور سرد شد. -- هفته پیش باراک اوباما، رئیس جمهور آمریکا، پس از صحبت تلفنی با آقای کرزی گفت که به پنتاگون دستور داده تا مقدمات طرح خروج کامل نیروهای آمریکایی از افغانستان را آماده کند. -- آقای کرزی در مصاحبه با واشنگتن پست یکبار دیگر در پاسخ به سوالی در مورد امضای موافقتنامه امنیتی گفته است، بهتر است این موافقتنامه را، رئیس جمهور بعدی امضا کند. -- تمامی نامزدانی که در حال حاضر سرگرم مبارزات انتخاباتی هستند، بطور ضمنی تاکید کرده‌اند که در صورت پیروزی در انتخابات آن را امضا خواهند کرد. -- رئیس جمهوری افغانستان در این مصاحبه گفته است که او تنها از طریق انتقاد علنی از آمریکا، توانسته خواسته‌هایش را بر آمریکایی‌ها تحمیل کند. -- او گفته: "هیچ اسلحه‌ای دیگری نداشتم، جز این که سر و صدا کنم تا توجه آمریکایی‌ها را جلب کنم." -- آقای کرزی همچنین گفته است که حالا نمی‌داند در مورد جنگ جاری در افغانستان چه بگوید. شاید چهار یا پنج سال دیگر بتواند جواب قطعی در این مورد داشته باشد. -- او بار دیگر این موضوع را تکرار کرده که آمریکایی‌ها باید پناهگاه اصلی طالبان در پاکستان را هدف قرار می‌دادند، نه روستائیان افغان را. --- در انتهای این مصاحبه، آقای کرزی به خبرنگاران واشنگتن پست گفته که برای مردم آمریکا سلام‌هایش را برسانند ولی برای دولت آمریکا نهایت خشمش را. - More, at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/afghanistan/2014/03/140303_l09_karzai_washengton_post_iv.shtml

Obama: Netanyahu must make 'tough decisions' --- US President Barack Obama has warned that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu must make "tough decisions" to advance peace talks with the Palestinians. -- At the White House, Mr Netanyahu replied Israelis expected him to "stand strong" and that the Palestinians had not done their part to ease tensions. -- The White House has said it hopes to see a peace deal in place by 29 April. -- But there has been little sign of progress since July, when direct talks resumed after a three-year hiatus. - BBCNews, at: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-26427247

Angelina Jolie's Oscar Dress 2014 Is Beyond Breathtaking (PHOTOS) --- Whether she's dressed in high-slit gown or a masculine-inspired suit, Angelina Jolie exudes classic elegance. And with Brad Pitt by her side, she always has the best accessory on the red carpet. --- But Jolie's Oscars 2014 dress was beyond breathtaking. The sheer, nude Elie Saab Couture gown draped beautifully, and her loose locks fell effortlessly down her back. With her minimal makeup, Jolie appeared lit-from-within underneath the camera's flashing lights. Swoon. - More, The Huffington Post, Dana Oliver, at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/02/angelina-jolie-oscar-dress-2014-photos_n_4882145.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

Oscar Winners List 2014: '12 Years A Slave' Takes Best Picture, 'Gravity' Wins 7 Awards --- Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" was named Best Picture at the Oscars' 2014 ceremony. The drama, which earned nine total nominations at the 86th annual Academy Awards, also won awards for Best Supporting Actress (Lupita Nyong'o) and Best Adapted Screenplay (written by John Ridley). -- While "12 Years a Slave" won the Oscars' top honor, "Gravity" was the Academy Awards' big winner. Alfonso Cuaron's film, which was tied with "American Hustle" for the most nominations on the night, 10 in total, took home seven awards. Cuaron himself won two: Best Director and Best Editing, an award he shared with Mark Sanger. ("American Hustle" lost in all 10 of its categories.) -- In addition to Nyong'o, acting winners included Matthew McConaughey (Best Actor for "Dallas Buyers Club") and Cate Blanchett, who won Best Actress for "Blue Jasmine." She received a standing ovation upon accepting her award. "Sit down, you're too old to be standing," she joked. She thanked her competitors in the category as well as Woody Allen, the film's controversial writer-director. -- Jared Leto won Best Supporting Actor for "Dallas Buyers Club," where he played Rayon, a transgender woman suffering from AIDS. -- Other winners include "Frozen" (Best Animated Feature), "20 Feet From Stardom" (Best Documentary Feature), "The Great Beauty" (Best Foreign Language Film) and "Her" (Best Original Screenplay for Spike Jonze). -- Other winners include "Frozen" (Best Animated Feature), "20 Feet From Stardom" (Best Documentary Feature), "The Great Beauty" (Best Foreign Language Film) and "Her" (Best Original Screenplay for Spike Jonze). -- The 2014 Oscars were hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The full list of winners can be found below. - More, The Huffington Post, Christopher Rosen - at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/02/oscar-winners-list_n_4843941.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

Can We Afford Another Failed State in Afghanistan? Beyond the 2014 Drawdown --- President Obama has threatened a full U.S. troop drawdown from Afghanistan by the end of this year unless Afghan President Hamid Karzai signs a security agreement with the U.S. Obama didn't say anything about "the asking price" of the controversial agreement, nor did he say much about the Afghan state the U.S would be leaving behind. He did not give even any inkling of the possibility that Afghanistan could plunge into the quagmire of a failed state to which the U.S. will not be indifferent -- a scenario based on the uncertainties likely to be left by unresolved issues. -- American and NATO forces are leaving behind a country where only 10 percent of its GDP of $1 billion comes from legitimate economic activity; of the remainder, 30 percent comes from underground narcotic trade and 60 percent from foreign aid. As a country with one of the highest military to civilian ratios, Afghanistan has more than 350,000 security force, both army and police, with $4 billion annual operation cost, but with few resources to support it. These armed forces are comprised predominantly of ethnic minorities from the north of the country that are launched against a resistance that comes largely from the country's Pashtun ethnic majority in the south. -- Many of the warlords who Balkanized the country in the 1990s act as high-ranking officials and parliamentarians, ranks they have acquired through the flagrant abuse of ethnic loyalties and tribal quotas. They have divvied up public offices to their former militia and have carved out ethnic-exclusive zones of influence in the government bureaucracy. These ethnic fiefdoms within the present bureaucracy are a major stumbling block to reform and the source of unbridled government corruption. -- Furthermore, some of these warlords-turned-demagogues have been implicated in crimes against humanity, but remain immune to prosecution with the tacit approval of the United States. Most of them are also on the not-so-secret CIA payroll and have acquired large estates in Afghanistan and abroad -- primarily in Dubai and Istanbul. By manipulating linguistic fault lines in the ethnic mosaic of Afghanistan the U.S. has been instrumental in creating a 'bribed and indebted' super rich class of collaborators in one of the poorest countries in the world. -- The loss of thousands of lives and trillions of dollars in America's longest military adventure has created what is perhaps the world's most corrupt state. At the same time, Afghanistan is a country with an estimated $1 trillion mineral wealth "without proper structures and management." The country's fragile political structure, presently held together by a scaffolding of American military and economic assistance, could collapse into a failed state overnight, manifesting the worse aspects of the civil strife seen in Rwanda, Congo, and Syria. -- The presence of foreign troops is never conducive to peace and sophisticated weapon systems don't stop wars, they only raise the prize in blood the less equipped opponent is willing to pay, e.g. resorting to suicide bombing in desperation. The U.S.-Afghanistan Bilateral Security Agreement may delay the occurrence of a failed state in Afghanistan, but without a peace initiative it will not prevent it. Averting that dreaded scenario requires a more comprehensive approach that reflects a peace initiative borne by regional reality rather than a shortsighted military strategy. -- Now that Afghanistan's second generation is being raised in the nearly four decades of war, the welfare of its citizens should be achieved through minimizing foreign interference and maximizing political participation through reconciliation. Likewise, the success of the American assistance to Afghanistan should be measured through a dividend of peace and security that could potentially provide opportunities for American investment and offset some of the cost, instead of linking it to military bases that will undoubtedly entail onerous maintenance cost. -- More, Zaman Stanizai, at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zaman-stanizai/can-we-afford-another-fai_b_4863736.html

Transcript: Hamid Karzai says U.S.-Afghan relationship ‘has been at a low point for a long time’ --- The following are key excerpts from comments Afghan President Hamid Karzai made in a March 1 interview with The Washington Post. Karzai met for more than an hour in his office in the presidential palace with Kevin Sieff, the Afghanistan bureau chief, and Douglas Jehl, the foreign editor. -- On his Feb. 25 telephone conversation with President Obama and their discussion about a stalled bilateral security agreement that would allow some U.S. troops to remain in Afghanistan after 2014: -- “My stand remains the same — that I cannot sign this BSA agreement with the United States without the launch of the peace process. . . . President Obama said, well, the U.S. can wait for the next president. . . . As you’ve heard, the presidential candidates have already said they would sign it, so the U.S. should have no problem.’’ --- “The relationship has been at a low point for a long time, at least since 2007, as far as Afghanistan is concerned and the Afghan president is concerned. It began to deteriorate with the civilian casualties and the neglectful attitude toward my complaints about it. In 2007, we had the most serious incident of civilian casualties in Herat province of Afghanistan, when things turned very difficult between us, and since then it has not recovered. -- “Of course, there other issues as well, secondary to civilian casualties. The private security firms, the parallel government structures, the contracts given to people, to individuals, causing corruption. And, of course, in a deeper way, reflecting a deeper lack of agreement between us, the way the so-called war on terror was fought. The sanctuaries were left alone outside Afghanistan and Pakistan, but the civilian villages were attacked. So when I say civilian casualties and when I say the incorrect strategy, the attack on the Afghan villages, that is exactly the crux of the difficulties.’’ --- “My message there is very clear. The American president has said they are not here for Afghanistan. So it’s not the American blood shed for the Afghanistan or the American resources spent for Afghanistan. If you go to President Obama’s speeches, he repeatedly says that he’s here for the sake of American interests, for the safety of America, for the security of America — that they are here in Afghanistan helping Afghanistan in order to help America. Therefore, it’s not for us — it’s for a cause that America holds dear. -- “And in order to help that cause — the American cause of security and prosperity — the United States came here in 2001 to Afghanistan, and the Afghan people received them with open arms. And we succeeded initially. So it’s not for us — it’s for the U.S. security and for the Western interests. --- “If you pay attention to the statements of U.S. officials and leaders, they say ‘America’s war, America’s war,’ they never say Afghanistan’s war. So the purpose was American, and for that American purpose, or larger Western purpose, they came to Afghanistan. We the Afghans found common ground in that purpose. -- “The common ground was that both of us wanted to be free of terrorism and extremism and to be secure and stable. Now, part of that was achieved for us, the other part was not. And the part that was most important was not achieved, which was security for the Afghan people and protection of Afghan life. And that’s where I have disagreed and that’s where I continue to disagree and raise my voice. --- “My role in view of our experience in the 2009 election is to stop foreign intervention in our elections, and to make sure that no foreigner intervenes in Afghan elections and then blames me or the Afghan government for it and gets away with it. And my role in that regard is to make sure that that doesn’t happen, that I do all I can to bring an election to the Afghan people that they will trust and will ensure our unity and stability.’’ --- “I want an election, and I want the Afghan people to decide for a new president, a new government. I’ve done enough; it’s time for me to move on and to have a new president. I believe it’s good for the country. Even if a great many Afghans want to me to stay, I don’t believe it’s good for the country.’’ --- “The only thing I’ve said publicly is that I love my brother, he’s a great man, he’s a very deserving person, and I am seeing now that he has support as well, considerable support. . . . But because I’m afraid that his presence would call those who want to interfere in Afghan elections — those who want to, if they wanted to spoil it, they would have an element to use, to exploit, for that reason — I’ve told him no, and that’s what I also told this morning to people who came to urge me to not prevent him, that I have done unfortunately. That’s rather an interference, because I am denying the right of a citizen of Afghanistan to run for office, but I have to do it for the larger, bigger interest of Afghanistan. --- “When the U.S. insisted on having the freedom to go and launch operations [as a condition of the agreement over a post-2014 troop presence], I said ‘Why — why do you need to go after Afghan villages after you have the BSA?’ This was one of the most serious issues in discussing the BSA. . . . --- “Foreign assistance brought an expensive way of life to Afghanistan. We will have to end this expensive way of life with or without the presence of the international community here, with or without the presence of the BSA here, with or without the strategic partnership agreement between us and America and others. This way of life is not sustainable. Afghanistan has to live by its means. --- “I am of two hearts here. When I see good, I am in approval. When I see the losses of Afghan people, our children, maimed and killed, I’m in disapproval. So I cannot give you a simple answer of yes or no. It’s very difficult. Maybe I can give you an answer of yes or no two, three, or five years from now, when my emotions have subsided. Right now I’m full of emotions.’’ --- “The world either doesn’t know my intentions or my way of life. If it’s deliberate, then of course it’s political. If it’s not deliberate, then it’s a lack of understanding. I’m not a worldly person by the way, by the standards of today’s world. I am not street smart. I believe in certain things, and I work for it regardless of whether I’m liked or not liked by those who are in power. In other words, I am a pacifist, I am a total, absolute pacifist. I don’t believe in war, and I don’t believe in guns, and I don’t believe in politics. I think it’s dirty.’’ --- “I keep telling my son to be very pacifist. I keep telling him every day. As a 7-year-old, he likes to have toys, and surely he likes to have a gun toy, but I’ve never allowed him one. Never. I’d rather urge him to do more painting — he’s a good painter — and to do calligraphy and things like that.’’ --- “To the American people, give them my best wishes and my gratitude. To the U.S. government, give them my anger, my extreme anger.’’ - More, Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/hamid-karzai-says-us-afghan-relationship-has-been-at-a-low-point-for-a-long-time/2014/03/02/945dbc18-a1da-11e3-b8d8-94577ff66b28_story.html

Sunday, March 02, 2014

An angry Karzai says he’s been betrayed by the U.S. -- Interview: Karzai says 12-year Afghanistan war has left him angry at U.S. government --- In an unusually emotional interview, the departing Afghan president sought to explain why he has been such a harsh critic of the 12-year-old U.S. war effort here. He said he’s deeply troubled by all the casualties he has seen, including those in U.S. military operations. He feels betrayed by what he calls an insufficient U.S. focus on targeting Taliban sanctuaries in Pakistan. And he insists that public criticism was the only way to guarantee an American response to his concerns. -- To Karzai, the war was not waged with his country’s interests in mind. -- “Afghans died in a war that’s not ours,’ he said in the interview, his first in two years with a U.S. newspaper. -- In Karzai’s mind, al-Qaeda is “more a myth than a reality” and the majority of the United States’ prisoners here were innocent. He’s certain that the war was “for the U.S. security and for the Western interest.” -- But in a phone call with Karzai last week, President Obama said he will accept having the winner of Afghanistan’s April presidential elections sign the pact. Karzai indicated that he views that as a best-case scenario. He won’t have to submit to U.S. demands — such as the continuation of counter­terrorism operations — but the popular security agreement will probably still be finalized -- “It’s good for them to sign it with my successor,” the Afghan leader said. --- “I had no other weapon to resort to, no other means to resort to, but to speak publicly and get attention that way. In other words, I was forced to yell,” he said. --- Karzai reiterated that he will not manipulate the April 5 presidential election. He has told his older brother to withdraw his candidacy to avoid the perception of interference. Qayum Karzai has refused, but he acknowledges what most Afghans believe: -- “Without the president’s support, it will be impossible to win,” Qayum said. --- “People do come to me, a lot of people, every day rather. Groups of people, individuals — they ask me” for support, Karzai said. -- Some of them ask him to remain in office, he said, but he dismisses the idea. -- “I’ve done enough; it’s time for me to move on,” Karzai said. --- “I am of two hearts here. When I see good, I am in approval. When I see the losses of Afghan people, our children, maimed and killed, I’m in disapproval,” he said, speaking in English. “Maybe I can give you an answer of yes or no two, three or five years from now, when my emotions have subsided. Right now, I’m full of emotions.’’ --- He said Afghanistan’s “common cause” with the United States dissipated because of such casualties. He has also said that U.S. forces should have done more to target Taliban sanctuaries in Pakistan, rather than conduct operations in Afghan villages. --- During a visit to the White House in 2010, he carried a photo of what he described as a family whose members were “just gazing with fright and fear” during a U.S.-led night operation. He showed it to Obama. -- “I said, ‘President, this is what I’m trying to end, the intimidation of Afghan families at night, in the name of fighting the Taliban.’ ” -- Asked about Obama’s response, Karzai shrugged, indicating it was unsatisfactory. Then he said: “So we are really an angry people.” -- “Foreign assistance brought an expensive way of life to Afghanistan,” Karzai said. “This way of life is not sustainable. Afghanistan has to live by its means.” --- After leaving office, Karzai won’t go far: The government has built him a house a few miles from the presidential palace. -- But before he steps down, Karzai has a few more messages to convey to his American partners. As he escorted two Washington Post journalists out of his office Saturday evening, he said: “To the American people, give them my best wishes and my gratitude. To the U.S. government, give them my anger, my extreme anger.’’ - More, Kevin Sieff, Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interview-karzai-says-12-year-afghanistan-war-has-left-him-angry-at-us-government/2014/03/02/b831671c-a21a-11e3-b865-38b254d92063_story.html?hpid=z4

Karzai says Afghan war not fought in his country's interest: report --- (Reuters) - Expressing "extreme anger" toward the U.S. government, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in an interview with the Washington Post that the war in Afghanistan was not fought with his country's interests in mind. -- "Afghans died in a war that's not ours,' Karzai said in the interview published on Sunday, just a month before an election to pick his successor. -- He was quoted as saying he was certain the 12-year-old war, America's longest and launched after the attacks of September 11, 2001, was "for the U.S. security and for the Western interest." -- Karzai's refusal to sign a security deal with Washington that would permit foreign troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond this year has frustrated the White House, and President Barack Obama has told the Pentagon to prepare for the possibility that no U.S. troops will be left in Afghanistan after 2014. -- Obama told Karzai in a phone call on Tuesday he had given the order to the Pentagon. The phone call was the first substantive discussion between the two leaders since June. -- But staking out a new position, the White House said in a statement it would leave open the possibility of concluding the bilateral security agreement later this year. --- "It's good for them to sign it with my successor," Karzai told the Post. He has insisted the United States must jump-start peace talks with Taliban insurgents and end raids and strikes on Afghan homes before he signs the deal. -- In the interview, the Afghan leader said he was deeply troubled by the war's casualties, including those in U.S. military operations, and felt betrayed by what he described as an insufficient U.S. focus on going after Taliban sanctuaries in Pakistan rather than in Afghan villages. -- Civilian casualties in Afghanistan dissipated his country's "common cause" with the United States, Karzai told the newspaper. -- Criticizing his U.S. allies was the only way to secure a response by Washington to his concerns, he added. --- The Post said Karzai told his interviewers as he escorted them out of his office on Saturday night: "To the American people, give them my best wishes and my gratitude. To the U.S. government, give them my anger, my extreme anger." - More, at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/03/us-afghanistan-karzai-idUSBREA2205J20140303

دختران سیاه‌پوش با افکار تندروانه در شمال افغانستان --- ترویج اندیشه‌های تندروانه اسلامی در یک مدرسه‌ دینی دخترانه در شمال افغانستان، نگرانی‌هایی را در مورد گسترش بنیادگرایی در میان زنان جوان افغان ایجاد کرده است. -- بر اساس یافته‌های بی‌بی‌سی، آموزش‌های دینی در "اشرف‎المدارس" قندز آمیخته با سیاست و مغایر با فرهنگ و سنت‌های رایج در افغانستان است؛ از جمله شاگردان آن شنیدن رادیو، دیدن تلویزیون، گرفتن عکس، بزرگداشت روزهایی مانند روز معلم، مادر، سال نو، تولد و نیز کارکردن زنان در بیرون از خانه را حرام می‌دانند. -- شیوه آموزش، نحوه پوشش و تعبیر شاگردان این مدرسه از دین، نگرانی‌های بسیاری را در بیرون آن برانگیخته و این سوال را مطرح کرده که مسئولان آن چه اهدافی را دنبال می‌کنند و مبنای قانونی آن از چه قرار است؟ -- مدرسه "اشرف‌المدارس" توسط مولوی عبدالخالق و مفتی سراج‌الدین از ملاهای بانفوذ ولایت قندز، چهارسال پیش بنیان‌گذاری شده و در حال حاضر شش هزار دختر در آن درس می‌خوانند. --به گفته گردانندگان اشرف‌المدارس، این مدرسه شاخه‌هایی هم در‎ تخار و بغلان دارد و قرار است که در ۹ ولایت دیگر از جمله کابل پایتخت نیز شعبه ایجاد کند. -- به باور فعالان مدنی در ولایت قندوز، تفسیر و تعبیر دانش آموزان اشرف‌المدارس از دین، سخت‌گیرانه، غیرمعمول و خلاف برداشت‌های موجود از اسلام در افغانستان است. -- "تو کافر شدی" و "این حرام است" دو عبارتی است که به گفته فعالان حقوق زن، شاگردان این مدرسه از آنها به عنوان حربه‌ای در برابر دیگران استفاده می‌کنند. -- نادره گیاه، رئیس امور زنان ولایت قندز می‌گوید:" دخترانی که در این مدرسه درس می‌خوانند بسیار پرخاشگراند. در یک مراسم یا مجلس با زنان و دختران دیگر جنگ می‌کنند، می‌گویند تو کافر شدی، چرا چادر از سرت پائین افتاد؟ چرا لباست اسلامی نیست و یا تو نماز را درست یاد نداری." -- به گفته شماری از فعالان مدنی این ولایت، در این مدرسه به دانش آموزان، گفته می‌شود که کارکردن زنان در خارج از منزل حرام است و زنانی که در رادیو و تلویزیون کار می‎کنند، کافر اند. -- خانم گیاه فعالیت‎های این مدرسه را تهدید بزرگی برای کارکنان موسسات، رسانه‌ها و فعالان مدنی قندوز می‌داند:" وقتی این‌گونه تعلیم ترویج پیدا کند و این دختران چنین آموزش ببینند و همه را کافر بدانند، دیگران نمی‌توانند آزادانه کار کنند و در اجتماع حضور یابند." -- اما مولوی عبدالخالق، رئیس اشرف‌المدارس، هدف از ایجاد این مدرسه را آگاه ساختن دختران از تعالیم و تاریخ دین اسلام می‎خواند:" در ابتدای اسلام دختران مسلمان فعالیت‌های دینی بسیار می‌کردند حتی در بعضی غزوات (جنگ‌های پیامبر اسلام) اشتراک می‌کردند. از این فعالیت‌ها، ما مسلمانان عقب مانده بودیم. این انگیزه باعث شد که ما خواستیم در بخش آموزش‌های دینی همکاری کنیم تا زنان و دختران مسلمان افغانستان دوباره به اوج غیرت و شهامت خود برسند." - More, BBC, ملیار صادق آزاد - http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/afghanistan/2014/02/140228_k05_fundamentalism_girl_are_growing.shtml

Afghanistan enter ICC ODI Rankings table for the first time --- Dubai: Thanks to their historic win over Bangaldesh in Asia Cup, Afghanistan were on Sunday included in the main ICC ODI Team Rankings table for the first time ever. -- Following their 32-run win over Bangaldesh, their first against a Full Member side, Afghanistan met the criteria for getting a rank and they joined the table in 12th place with 32 ratings points. They have the opportunity to slide past 11th-placed Ireland should they win either of their two remaining Asia Cup group matches. -- To gain the promotion to the main rankings table, Afghanistan needed to either win two ODIs against Full Members, or achieve one win in an ODI against a Full Member and also needed to have won more than 60% of qualifying matches versus other Associates (as shown on the Associate / Affiliate ODI Ranking Table). -- Afghanistan immediately achieved a ranking upon entry into the table, having played 12 ODIs since August 2010, with the minimum requirement being eight matches. -- Afghanistan's 32 ratings points come from the results of these 12 ODIs and the ranking of its opponents at the time the matches were played. It has been a remarkable journey for Afghanistan which was playing in the ICC World Cricket League Division 5 in 2008. - More, at: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/cricketnext/afghanistan-enter-icc-odi-rankings-table-for-the-first-time/455432-78.html

Ukrainian prime minister: Russia has made a "declaration of war" -- SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine - Ukraine mobilized for war on Sunday, after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared he had the right to invade, creating the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cold War. -- "This is not a threat: this is actually the declaration of war to my country," said Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk, head of a pro-Western government that took power when Russian ally Viktor Yanukovich fled last week. -- Putin obtained permission from his parliament on Saturday to use military force to protect Russian citizens in Ukraine, spurning Western pleas not intervene. - More, CBSNews, at: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-prime-minister-russia-had-no-reason-to-invade/

Ukraine mobilizes troops after Russia's 'declaration of war' --- Ukraine's new leaders accused neighbor Russia of declaring war, as Kiev mobilized troops and called up military reservists in a rapidly escalating crisis that has raised fears of a conflict. -- Amid signs of Russian military intervention in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, Russian generals led their troops to three bases in the region Sunday, demanding Ukrainian forces surrender and hand over their weapons, Vladislav Seleznyov, spokesman for the Crimean Media Center of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, told CNN. -- Speaking by phone, he said Russian troops had blocked access to the bases, but added, "There is no open confrontation between Russian and Ukrainian military forces in Crimea" and said Ukrainian troops continue to protect and serve Ukraine. -- "This is a red alert. This is not a threat. This is actually a declaration of war to my country," Ukrainian interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said. -- Speaking in a televised address from the parliament building in the capital, Kiev, he called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to "pull back his military and stick to the international obligations." -- "We are on the brink of the disaster." - More, CNN, at: http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/02/world/europe/ukraine-politics/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

106 million in path of latest winter blast --- (CNN) -- Here we go again. On the heels of a January and February filled with vicious, snarling storms, the first March wave of arctic air pushing eastward has prompted National Weather Service warnings, watches, and advisories for as many as 106 million people. -- Snow is threatening to add to the already record-high accumulations in cities across the Midwest, Southeast and Northeast. The winter-weary Washington area is awaiting a dangerous tenth of an inch of ice, topped by 8 to 12 inches of snow. -- This storm is a coast-to-coast event. It started as a low pressure system dumping rain on California, then proceeded east in two prongs. As the northern prong of the system has cascaded across the country, it's delivered dangerous, even deadly, weather to places unfazed by typical winters. - More, Mark Morgenstein, CNN, http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/02/us/us-severe-weather/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Getting Beyond 2014 in Afghanistan --- Please join the U.S. Institute of Peace, Voice of America, and Alliance in Support of the Afghan People for this two panel public event that will examine the U.S.-Afghan relationship, both its history and its future potential. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador James Dobbins will deliver the keynote address. -- Things are not as bleak as they seem in Afghanistan, and Afghanistan's future need not be as bleak as some fear. It is true that 2014 begins with numerous uncertainties, including questions about the presidential election and a post-2014 troop presence. -- But these complications obscure the reality of one of the most unusual, unexpected, but generous partnerships in American history. Over the past dozen years, tens of thousands of Americans have been engaged in the effort to stabilize and rebuild Afghanistan, a country that many had never given any thought to before the attacks against the U.S. on September 11, 2001. Since then, Americans and Afghans have interacted on a personal level, worked together as professionals, and shared their hopes for a better future for Afghanistan.-- These bonds of friendship and shared hopes between Americans and Afghans will endure regardless of the political decisions made in 2014. --- "Getting Beyond 2014" is jointly organized by the United States Institute of Peace, Voice of America, and the Alliance in Support of the Afghan People. It aims to provide a wider perspective on the U.S.-Afghan relationship, looking back at its successes, and forward to its potential. - More, United States Institute - at: http://www.usip.org/events/getting-beyond-2014-in-afghanistan

Oscar predictions: Who will win and who should --- Need some last-minute help in your Oscars pool? The Post’s film critics make their predictions — and pick who they think should win. (Sunday, 8:30 p.m. on ABC) - More, Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2014/02/28/oscar-predictions-who-will-win-and-who-should/

Afghan car bomb explodes early, kills 9 militants --- KABUL, Afghanistan — A militant car bomb prematurely exploded overnight in eastern Afghanistan, killing nine insurgents and four civilians, authorities said Sunday. -- The blast happened in Logar province, some 10 kilometers (six miles) north of the capital, Pul-e-Alam, said Din Mohammad Darwesh, a spokesman for the provincial governor. -- Darwesh said it appeared insurgents, who he identified as three Afghans and six Pakistanis, set off the bomb too early. -- “Unfortunately, the explosion completely destroyed a nearby civilian house in which two women and two children were killed,” he said in a telephone interview. “Police and local residents retrieved the bodies.” -- Two days earlier, additional Afghan soldiers had deployed to the capital of Logar Province after receiving an intelligence report about a possible attack. -- Meanwhile Sunday, a lone suicide bomber entered a police station in southern Kandahar province, though officers’ fire forced him to detonate his explosive vest early, only wounding one civilian, said Zia Durrani, spokesman for Kandahar’s police chief. -- Southern Afghanistan, and Kandahar in particular, has been the site of some of the heaviest fighting in the protracted Afghan conflict as Afghan and international combat troops have tried to root out a stubborn insurgency. But the Taliban have been tenacious and most Afghans say they still rule in much of the countryside. -- In the east of the country, officials said they are working to release elders kidnapped by armed men. -- A spokesman in Nangarhar province, Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, said Sunday that 30 elders from the districts of Ghoshta and Lalpur had been kidnapped three days prior in a remote part of the Nangarhar. -- He said that around 15 people already have been freed and that the kidnappers have demanded that any elders’ relatives working for the Afghan police quit their posts. -- No one has claimed responsibility for the kidnappings. Several armed groups operate in the area where the elders were taken. - More, Associated Press

California governor signs $687 million drought relief legislation --- (Reuters) - California Governor Jerry Brown on Saturday signed into law a $687 million drought-relief package to deal with a water shortage he has called the worst in the state's modern history. -- "This legislation marks a crucial step - but Californians must continue to take every action possible to conserve water," Brown, a Democrat, said in a statement. -- The largest share of the drought relief package - $549 million - comes from accelerated spending of bond money voters previously approved in two ballot propositions. -- Those measures will fund storm water recapturing, expanded use of recycled water, better management of groundwater storage and stronger water conservation measures. -- The legislation also has a program to deal with contaminants that become more concentrated in groundwater when less water is available to dilute them. -- In addition, the legislation appropriates $25.3 million in food assistance and $21 million in housing assistance to people affected by the drought, such as farm workers who have lost employment in bone-dry agricultural fields. -- While much of the United States has been pummeled by a series of snow storms, California in recent months has struggled with a drought that threatens to inflict the worst water crisis in recorded state history. -- California grows half the nation's fruits and vegetables and is the top state by value of agricultural goods produced. Large-scale crop losses in the state could lead to higher consumer prices, especially for tree and vine produce grown only here. -- "Obviously this rain helps, but we need a lot more to get caught up," said Carol Smith, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Oxnard just northwest of Los Angeles. -- Some coastal and valley regions of Southern California and the state's Central Coast have received 4 inches of rain, with up to 11 inches in the mountains and foothills, according to the National Weather Service. -- In this drought, Los Angeles has received less than 6 inches of rain since July 1, which is about half the normal amount over that time period, Smith said. -- "Neither the rain storms we're having now, nor this legislation will eliminate the drought and its impacts," state Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, a Democrat, said in a statement. - More, LOS ANGELES

وزرای دفاع ناتو بر برنامه ریزی احتمالی عقب نشینی نیروهای ایتلاف توافق کردند --- وزیر دفاع امریکا میگوید که وزرای دفاع ناتو و کشور های آیساف برای شروع برنامه ریزی احتمالی به طورعقب نشینی منظم نیروهای ایتلاف در افغانستان ، تا پایان سال ۲۰۱۴ توافق نمودند. -- چک هیگل وزیر دفاع امریکا پس از پایان مجلس وزرای ناتو و آیساف در یک کنفرانس خبری گفت: الی ده ماه ای باقی مانده ایالات متحده امریکا به حمایت خود از نیروهای امنیتی افغانستان ادامه خواهد داد و برای گفتگو در باره امضای توافقنامه امنیتی با رییس جمهور آیندۀ افغانستان آماده ‌اند. -- هیگل در ادامه افزود که وزرای دفاع ناتو و آیساف حمایت خود را از برنامه ریزی برای خروج وهمچنان ادامه ماموریت ناتو در افغانستان بعد از سال ۲۰۱۴ تکرار کردند. -- وزیر دفاع امریکا گفت : "همانطور که ما پس از پایان ماموریت رزمی همکاری های خود را ادامه خواهیم داد ، وزرای دفاع آیساف به ایالات متحده اطمینان دادند که برای حمایت از برنامه های غیرنظامی ، ماموریت به رهبری ناتو که آموزش مشاوره و کمک به نیروهای امنیتی افغان پس از سال ۲۰۱۴ است ،ادامه می دهند. " -- وی میگوید: امضا نشدن توافقنامه امنیتی میان دوکشور بیشتر به چلنج کشیدن برای ایالات متحده امریکا و دیگر کشور های آیساف برای حمایت آنها در افغانستان می باشد و اجرای این ماموریت پس از ۲۰۱۴ ، بدون امضای توافقتنامه امنیتی دوجانبه و وضعیت نیروهای ناتو را دوچار مشکل می سازد که باید این مسلٔه مشخص شود . --موصوف اضافه کرد: " به همین دلیل در اوایل این هفته ، رییس جمهور اوباما به وزارت دفاع ایالات متحده امریکا دستور داد تا برنامه خارج ساختن تمام نیروهای شان را الی ختم سال ۲۰۱۴ از افغانستان آماده سازد. " -- پیش نویس توافقنامه امنیتی دو جانبه با اکثریت ارا درجریان لویه جرگه مشورتی در ماه نوامبر سال گذشته تایید شده است. با این حال،رییس جمهور حامد کرزی برای امضای پیمان و تعیین شرایط جدید برای امضای قرارداد خود داری کرده است. -- امضای توافقنامه امنیتی دو جانبه میان کابل و واشنگتن راه را برای امضای یک قرارداد مشابه بین دولت افغانستان و ناتو باز می سازد ، که یک چارچوب قانونی برای حضور نیروهای ناتو در افغانستان بعد از سال ۲۰۱۴ را هموار می سازد. -- در عین حال مقامات ناتو هشدار داده اند که به طور کامل عقب نشینی نیروهای نظامی و تجهیزات خود را از افغانستان تا پایان سال ۲۰۱۴، در صورتی که توافق نامه از سوی دولت افغانستان به امضا نرسد، عملی خواهند کرد. -- این در حالیست که جمیمز دوبنیز نماینده خاص امریکا برای افغانستان و ‍پاکستان میگوید که اوباما امضای توافقنامه امنیتی را با رئیس جمهور آینده افغانستان معامله خواهد کرد. - وخت

Obama Accuses Russia of Breaching International Law -- Kremlin Deploys Military in Ukraine, Prompting Protest by U.S. --- SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine — Russian armed forces seized control of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula on Saturday, as the Russian Parliament granted President Vladimir V. Putin broad authority to use military force in response to the political upheaval in Ukraine that dislodged a Kremlin ally and installed a new, staunchly pro-Western government. -- Russian troops stripped of identifying insignia but using military vehicles bearing the license plates of Russia’s Black Sea force swarmed the major thoroughfares of Crimea, encircled government buildings, closed the main airport and seized communication hubs, solidifying what began on Friday as a covert effort to control the largely pro-Russian region. -- In Moscow, Mr. Putin convened the upper house of Parliament to grant him authority to use force to protect Russian citizens and soldiers not only in Crimea but throughout Ukraine. Both actions — military and parliamentary — were a direct rebuff to President Obama, who on Friday pointedly warned Russia to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity. - More, NYTimes

Saturday, March 01, 2014

California soaked but little drought help, damage --- AZUSA, Calif. — A storm that brought some of the highest rainfall totals to the Los Angeles area in years, including eight inches on some mountains, was just the beginning of what the region needs to pull out of a major drought. -- Although the storm was expected to remain strong Saturday, forecasters said such systems would have to become common for the state to make serious inroads against the drought. -- “We need several large storms and we just don’t see that on the horizon,” National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Boldt said Friday. “This is a rogue storm. We will dry out next week.” -- Forecasters expected the storm to last through Saturday in California before trundling east into similarly rain-starved neighboring states. Phoenix was expecting its first noticeable precipitation in two months. The storm was projected to head east across the Rockies before petering out in the Northeast in several days. -- Southern California has so far been spared major damage from the powerful Pacific storm, but forecasters warn that intense rain will occur even as it begins to move east. --- The National Weather Service says the center of the system located off the coast will move across Southern California to exit the region, but bands of intense rain will still occur. - More, Associated Press

U.S. officials confirm influx of Russian troops into Crimea --- U.S. officials said Friday that Russian troops had entered Crimea, as President Obama warned that there “will be costs for any military intervention” and vowed to stand by the Ukrainian people. -- Obama said he was “deeply concerned by reports of military movements,” that “would represent a profound interference in matters that must be determined by the Ukrainian people” and would constitute a “clear violation” of international law. -- As the United Nations Security Council held an emergency closed-door meeting, the United States and its allies scrambled to avoid a confrontation with echoes of the Cold War. -- After a day of increasingly alarming reports of an influx of Russian troops into Crimea, and U.S. references to a “fluid” situation, Obama appeared in the White House press room to pledge that “the United States will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine. -- “Just days after the world came to Russia for the Olympic games,” he said, “it would invite the condemnation of nations around the world.” Obama said that Vice President Biden has spoken Friday afternoon with Ukraine's new deputy prime minister “to assure him that in this difficult moment, the United States supports his government’s efforts.” -- “Any violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity would be deeply destabilizing, which is not in the interests of Ukraine, Russia or Europe,” Obama said. - More, Karen DeYoung, Washingtonpost

Russian parliament approves use of troops in Ukraine --- MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin received permission from Russia’s upper house of parliament Saturday to send troops to Ukraine, responding to what he called a threat to Russian lives. The request was made and granted after what appeared to be a highly orchestrated series of assertions that were disputed by knowledgeable Ukrainians. -- Oleksandr Turchynov, interim president of Ukraine, said: “We consider the behavior of the Russian Federation to be direct aggression against the sovereignty of Ukraine.” -- After approving the troop request, the Federation Council said it planned to ask Putin to consider recalling Russia’s ambassador to the United States, to show displeasure over what it described as threats by President Obama over Ukraine. -- The Federation Council, or upper house, unanimously approved authorization of Russian troops in Ukraine, not limiting any deployment to the Crimean Peninsula. But Putin has not yet decided on any action regarding troops or a recall of the Russian ambassador to Washington, his spokesman said Saturday night. -- “Of course, he will make these decisions based on how the situation develops,” Dmitry Peskov told Russia 24 television. -- U.S. officials said that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke later Saturday with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, and that Secretary of State John F. Kerry spoke with Turchynov, Ukraine’s interim president. -- The rapidly unfolding chain of events began Saturday morning after Crimean Prime Minister Serhiy Aksyonov asked Russia for help to ensure “peace and tranquility,” saying that the government in Kiev was unable to keep order. -- Then the Russian Foreign Ministry asserted that “unidentified gunmen directed from Kiev” had tried to capture the Crimean Interior Ministry headquarters overnight. - More, Washingtonpost, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/russian-parliament-approves-use-of-troops-in-crimea/2014/03/01/d1775f70-a151-11e3-a050-dc3322a94fa7_story.html?hpid=z1

تاند -- دعبدالله پلویانو دکابل لوبغالي ته دیو ملیون ډالرو په ارزښت زیان اړولی --- دافغانستان دالمپیک دکمېټې ځینو غړیو او یو شمېر ورزشکارانو شکایت وکړ چې پرون په کابل لوبغالي کې دعبدالله عبدالله دانتخاباتي کمپاین په لړ کې دده پلویانو دا ستدیوم سخت زیانمن او چټل کړی دی. خو له عبدالله عبدالله سره دنژدې اړیکو دلرلو له کبله دالمپیک کمېټې مشران نه غواړي چې رسماً اعتراض وکړي یا تاوان وغواړي. دورزشکارانو په وینا دلوبغالي ډېرې چوکۍ، پنجرې او نور وسایل مات شوي دي. -- په همدې حال کې ورزشکاران وايي چې دښاغلي عبدالله دکمپاین په خاطر لږترلږه دوې ورځې له لوبو او تمرینه پاتې شوي دي. ورزشکارانو غوښتنه وکړه چې نور دې هیڅ کاندید ته اجازه نه ورکول کېږي چې په لوبغالو کې انتخاباتي کمپاین وکړي. دالمپیک دملي کمېټې یوه غړي تاند ته وویل چې دعبدالله پلویانو دکابل غازي لوبغالي ته دیو ملیون ډالرو په ارزښت زیات اړولی دی. -- دکابل غازي لوبغالی دوه کاله پخوا دناټو پوځیانو له لوري په یو ملیون ډالره ترمیم شو. وروسته پنځه لکه ډالره ددې لوبغالي پر چوکیو، کړکیو او فلزي پنجرو ولګول شوې خو دپنجشنبې په ورځ دعبدالله عبدالله پلویانو، چې دکابل له بېلابېلو سیمو او دغه راز پروان او پنجشېر څخه راغلي ول، هم چوکۍ او هم نور وسایل ویجاړ کړل. -- دعبدالله عبدالله دانتخاباتي کمپیان غړیو منلې چې ددوی کسانو لوبغالي ته زیان اړولی دی خو ویلي یې دي چې دوی کرایه ورکړې ده. دعبدالله عبدالله د انتخاباتي کمپاین غړي عبدالرحمن اوریا وویل چې دوی په لوبغالي کې دغونډې دکولو په خاطر پیسې (کرایه) ورکړي دي.

Sotheby's takes back huge diamond after default --- NEW YORK (AP) - Sotheby's says an enormous diamond known as "The Pink Star" is back in its possession after the buyer couldn't pay for the jewel and defaulted. -- New York-based diamond cutter Isaac Wolf set auction history in November when he agreed to pay more than $83 million for the diamond, outbidding three others. -- Sotheby's said the price fetched in Geneva for the 59.60-carat pink diamond was the highest ever paid for a gemstone at auction. It described the internally flawless pink diamond as "one of the most remarkable gems ever to appear at auction." -- But the company's chief financial officer, Patrick McClymont, told investors in a conference call Thursday that the buyer had defaulted and Sotheby's has added the diamond back to its inventory at a value of $72 million. -- Sotheby's said it is currently in talks with the buyer, while considering other alternatives. -- "In the meantime, we are quite comfortable with our valuation and see real value in owning the diamond at this price," McClymont said. - More, msn, at: http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20140228&id=17396022