Hard to believe I have been in theater for 13 months. Started in Kuwait for a little over 1 month, then here here in Afghanistan for 1 year (as of 3 July 2010).
The summer is starting to heat up now. The temperatures are rising into the 90s during the day. The humidity is low so it makes it not so bad. Especially if you can find some shade.
I am enjoying being off post now. Even though it is a little more dangerous it is worth the security issues. As long as you keep your head down and watch out and don't take any unnecessary chances it should be all right.
The trip home for R&R was nice -- but too short. A lot of traveling for such a little time. I am looking forward to the next leave around Christmas time.
Work in the branch is rewarding and nice to have close relationships with people here. The problem is people come and go so soon.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
UN condemns killing of UN staff member in Kabul
UN condemns killing of UN staff member in Kabul
Tuesday, June 29, 2010 1:47 PM
UNITED NATIONS, Jun. 29, 2010 (Xinhua News Agency) -- The United Nations condemned Tuesday the shooting that occurred in the Afghan capital Kabul early Tuesday, which killed a UN staff member, and urged those responsible to be brought to justice, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said here.
"The United Nations condemns violence against any of its personnel under any circumstances," Nesirky told reporters here in a daily press briefing. "Those responsible for the killing should be brought to justice without delay."
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) confirms that one UN staff member, an Afghan national, was killed, and the other Afghan staff member who was involved in the incident was unharmed, said Nesirky.
The UN offers its sincerest condolences to the family of the staff member who was killed, he said.
According to a statement Tuesday from UNAMA, the circumstances of the shooting, which took place when a UN vehicle came under attack, are unclear.
United Nations security teams are working with Afghan security institutions to assist investigations, the statement further said.
No groups or individuals have claimed responsibility.
Late last October Taliban insurgents attacked a UN guest house in Kabul left at least five UN employees dead.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010 1:47 PM
UNITED NATIONS, Jun. 29, 2010 (Xinhua News Agency) -- The United Nations condemned Tuesday the shooting that occurred in the Afghan capital Kabul early Tuesday, which killed a UN staff member, and urged those responsible to be brought to justice, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said here.
"The United Nations condemns violence against any of its personnel under any circumstances," Nesirky told reporters here in a daily press briefing. "Those responsible for the killing should be brought to justice without delay."
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) confirms that one UN staff member, an Afghan national, was killed, and the other Afghan staff member who was involved in the incident was unharmed, said Nesirky.
The UN offers its sincerest condolences to the family of the staff member who was killed, he said.
According to a statement Tuesday from UNAMA, the circumstances of the shooting, which took place when a UN vehicle came under attack, are unclear.
United Nations security teams are working with Afghan security institutions to assist investigations, the statement further said.
No groups or individuals have claimed responsibility.
Late last October Taliban insurgents attacked a UN guest house in Kabul left at least five UN employees dead.
US, Afghans Repel Attack Against Major Base
US, Afghans Repel Attack Against Major Base
by The Associated Press
Enlarge Associated Press
Smoke rises outside an airfield used by Afghan and international forces in Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 30, 2010. Militants set off a car bomb and stormed the entrance to the airport and eight insurgents died in the ensuing gunbattle, authorities said.
Associated Press
Smoke rises outside an airfield used by Afghan and international forces in Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, June 30, 2010. Militants set off a car bomb and stormed the entrance to the airport and eight insurgents died in the ensuing gunbattle, authorities said.
text size A A A KABUL, Afghanistan June 30, 2010, 01:37 pm ET
U.S. and Afghan troops repelled an attack Wednesday on one of the biggest NATO bases in eastern Afghanistan by militants who used a suicide car bomb, rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons in a failed attempt to breach the defenses.
It was the third ground assault against a major coalition base in Afghanistan in the past five weeks — a sign that the insurgents have not been cowed by U.S. efforts to ramp up the war.
Eight militants were killed in the attack, which occurred at the airport base on the outskirts of Jalalabad about 75 miles (120 kilometers) east of Kabul on the main road between the Afghan capital and the Pakistan border.
The attack began with a suicide car bomber detonating his explosives near the gate to the base, followed by a half-hour gunbattle, Afghan officials said. An Afghan soldier and one international service member were wounded, NATO said.
Chief NATO spokesman Brig. Gen. Josef Blotz said the attackers were unable to penetrate the defenses.
"While designed to garner media attention, this attack only temporarily disrupted operations as our forces successfully repelled the attack," said Navy Capt. Jane Campbell, a U.S. spokeswoman.
In a text message to The Associated Press in Kabul, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said six suicide attackers killed 32 foreign and Afghan security forces. The insurgents often exaggerate their claims.
The Jalalabad attack followed a May 19 ground assault against the giant Bagram Air Field north of Kabul and another three days later against Kandahar Air Field in the south.
Those attacks — though militarily ineffective — have raised concern in the NATO mission about the audacity of the insurgents in the face of overwhelming NATO firepower. In all three assaults, insurgents launched what the military calls complex attacks — those that employ multiple types of weapons.
On June 15, a senior Pentagon official, Michele Flournoy, told a Senate committee that the number of complex attacks had been dropping since February, suggesting that was a sign the Taliban's capabilities were diminishing.
Wednesday's attack occurred hours before the U.S. Senate confirmed Gen. David Petraeus as the new commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. Petraeus replaces Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who was fired after he and his aides made unflattering comments about Obama administration figures to Rolling Stone magazine.
Petraeus is due to visit NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on Thursday en route to Kabul, the alliance announced.
The Wednesday attack was part of a pattern of rising violence in eastern Afghanistan, despite the U.S. focus on operations in the Taliban's southern strongholds in Helmand and Kandahar provinces.
A U.S. service member died of wounds suffered in a gunbattle with insurgents in eastern Afghanistan, U.S. officials said without giving further details. That brought to 59 the number of American troops who have died in June in Afghanistan.
Fighting has been under way since Sunday in the eastern province of Kunar with insurgents believed responsible for a roadside bombing that killed five American service members on June 7, according to U.S. statements.
Two American soldiers were killed Sunday in the first day of the operation. About 600 U.S. and Afghan troops are taking part, the U.S. statement said.
Insurgents with close ties to al-Qaida — such as the Haqqani group and followers of ex-Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar — operate in the east along with mainstream Taliban fighters.
In the south, NATO said 43 insurgents had been killed or captured in a three-day operation aimed at disrupting militants in Panjwai, a Taliban stronghold near Kandahar city. The operation is part of the plan to bolster security in Kandahar, the biggest city in the south and the former Taliban headquarters.
Afghan and international troops have reportedly captured more than 115 suspected insurgents in the past two months, including more than 15 mid- and senior-level militant leaders, and destroyed four roadside bomb factories, according to NATO.
Wednesday also marked the first anniversary of the capture of Spc. Bowe W. Bergdahl of Hailey, Idaho, the only American service member held prisoner by the insurgents. Bergdahl was discovered missing during his unit's roll-call the following day.
"Since he was captured on June 30, 2009, it has been a top priority for U.S. and coalition forces to find him, recover him, and bring him home safely," said Rear Adm. Greg Smith, deputy chief of staff for communication. "We continue our efforts to determine his whereabouts and ensure his safe return."
Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder met Wednesday with President Hamid Karzai to discuss legal issues including the ongoing fight against corruption, which has undermined public trust in the government.
A statement released by Karzai's office said the president complained to Holder that awarding contracts to government officials, political figures and parliamentarians was helping fuel the "negative phenomenon" of corruption. Karzai said Holder indicated that the U.S. government planned to review and reform the contract process in Afghanistan.
Karzai also complained that contracts were being awarded to private security firms, which he said undermined efforts to build a strong national army and police force.
Holder encouraged Karzai to continue efforts to improve governance and law enforcement "as much work remains to be done."
———
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Back in the Saddle
I am back in the saddle. It was a long trip back -- it took 4 days to travel back to Kabul, Afghanistan. The last day was was a long day. I flew from Frankfurt, Germany -- left at 8:25 pm and got to Kabul at 6 am. Went to my apartment and showered and dressed. Went to work and put in a full day. Didn't get any sleep on the flight so I crashed and burned when I did hit the bed. I am trying to get as much sleep every night so I don't get sick like I did the last time I went on R&R.
The weather has really heated up here -- it's in the low 90s every day now, moving to the mid-90s. Could be worse -- in Kuwait it's 118 every day.
The weather has really heated up here -- it's in the low 90s every day now, moving to the mid-90s. Could be worse -- in Kuwait it's 118 every day.
Blast shakes Kabul as US military chief visits
Blast shakes Kabul as US military chief visits PATRICK FALBY
June 26, 2010
The Afghan capital was rocked Saturday by an accidental blast just as Washington's military chief promised business as usual despite the sacking of the US commander of foreign forces.
The blast, near the foreign ministry in Kabul's embassy district, happened when an anti-personnel mine in an Afghan army vehicle accidentally detonated, a NATO spokesman said.
The blast shook Kabul after US Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, began a visit aimed at reassuring leaders following the sacking of the top US commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal.
Police on the scene told AFP there were no casualties.
General Mohammad Zahir Azimi, spokesman for the defence minister, said the Afghan National Army driver of the truck had been detained for questioning.
Meeting President Hamid Karzai, Mullen said NATO troops would still "spare no efforts avoiding civilian casualties" while continuing to strengthen and cooperate with Afghan forces, a statement from the presidency said.
Mounting foreign troop deaths have fuelled criticism in the international media that the US-led alliance is becoming bogged down in Afghanistan, something Washington denies.
The statement from Karzai's office said the Afghan leader had welcomed the appointment of David Petraeus as the new commander of foreign forces.
"Afghanistan... considers the appointment of this general who is experienced, aware of the Afghan situation and a war veteran, as the right decision," it said.
Mullen, who later went on for security talks in neighbouring Pakistan, had been expected to explain the circumstances leading to McChrystal's firing following an incendiary profile in an American magazine.
Karzai, whose office earlier in the week argued that McChrystal should not lose his job, used the meeting to say that he appreciated the former commander's "fruitful work".
During his one-day visit, Mullen also met the Afghan defence minister, US and NATO officials.
In Pakistan he was due to meet President Asif Ali Zardari, chief of the army staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and the head of the air force.
NATO on Saturday announced the death of five more alliance soldiers in Afghanistan following four Taliban-style bomb attacks in the south and east of the country.
And Britain's defence ministry said a British soldier died two weeks after being wounded by an explosion in southern Afghanistan.
June has become the deadliest month of the war since it began in late 2001, with 90 foreign troop deaths, according to an AFP tally based on that kept by icasualties.org.
This year 310 foreign soldiers have been killed -- compared with a 2009 total of 520 -- under McChrystal's counter-insurgency strategy, which entails pouring in tens of thousands of extra troops to take the fight to the Taliban.
The heavy toll can be largely attributed to the Taliban's use of homemade bombs, or improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which are cheap and easy to make and account for the majority of foreign troops deaths.
The United Nations said this month that IED attacks had risen 95 percent in the first four months of 2010 over the same period last year.
The G8 group of nations, meeting in Toronto, said Saturday Afghan government forces must make concrete progress towards assuming more responsibility for the security of their country "within five years".
NATO said Saturday it had killed a Taliban commander involved in making and deploying IEDs in Logar province, just south of Kabul.
Ghulam Sakhi was disguised in woman's clothes when he was killed late Friday by Afghan and international forces, NATO said.
Afghan and NATO forces also killed several insurgents in an air strike Friday night in the southern province of Zabul, the alliance said, adding that steps were taken to protect civilians beforehand.
McChrystal won early praise for a drop in civilian casualties as he attempted to win popular trust, at the same time working hard to bring Karzai on board.
There are 140,000 troops in Afghanistan, with the number set to peak at 150,000 by August in the hope of forcing an end to the insurgency by ramping up efforts in the southern province of Kandahar, the Taliban's heartland.
Obama said in Washington that Petraeus, well regarded for his role in turning around the Iraq war, would be able to hit the ground running due to his work on Afghanistan as head of Central Command, which oversees both war zones.
June 26, 2010
The Afghan capital was rocked Saturday by an accidental blast just as Washington's military chief promised business as usual despite the sacking of the US commander of foreign forces.
The blast, near the foreign ministry in Kabul's embassy district, happened when an anti-personnel mine in an Afghan army vehicle accidentally detonated, a NATO spokesman said.
The blast shook Kabul after US Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, began a visit aimed at reassuring leaders following the sacking of the top US commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal.
Police on the scene told AFP there were no casualties.
General Mohammad Zahir Azimi, spokesman for the defence minister, said the Afghan National Army driver of the truck had been detained for questioning.
Meeting President Hamid Karzai, Mullen said NATO troops would still "spare no efforts avoiding civilian casualties" while continuing to strengthen and cooperate with Afghan forces, a statement from the presidency said.
Mounting foreign troop deaths have fuelled criticism in the international media that the US-led alliance is becoming bogged down in Afghanistan, something Washington denies.
The statement from Karzai's office said the Afghan leader had welcomed the appointment of David Petraeus as the new commander of foreign forces.
"Afghanistan... considers the appointment of this general who is experienced, aware of the Afghan situation and a war veteran, as the right decision," it said.
Mullen, who later went on for security talks in neighbouring Pakistan, had been expected to explain the circumstances leading to McChrystal's firing following an incendiary profile in an American magazine.
Karzai, whose office earlier in the week argued that McChrystal should not lose his job, used the meeting to say that he appreciated the former commander's "fruitful work".
During his one-day visit, Mullen also met the Afghan defence minister, US and NATO officials.
In Pakistan he was due to meet President Asif Ali Zardari, chief of the army staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and the head of the air force.
NATO on Saturday announced the death of five more alliance soldiers in Afghanistan following four Taliban-style bomb attacks in the south and east of the country.
And Britain's defence ministry said a British soldier died two weeks after being wounded by an explosion in southern Afghanistan.
June has become the deadliest month of the war since it began in late 2001, with 90 foreign troop deaths, according to an AFP tally based on that kept by icasualties.org.
This year 310 foreign soldiers have been killed -- compared with a 2009 total of 520 -- under McChrystal's counter-insurgency strategy, which entails pouring in tens of thousands of extra troops to take the fight to the Taliban.
The heavy toll can be largely attributed to the Taliban's use of homemade bombs, or improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which are cheap and easy to make and account for the majority of foreign troops deaths.
The United Nations said this month that IED attacks had risen 95 percent in the first four months of 2010 over the same period last year.
The G8 group of nations, meeting in Toronto, said Saturday Afghan government forces must make concrete progress towards assuming more responsibility for the security of their country "within five years".
NATO said Saturday it had killed a Taliban commander involved in making and deploying IEDs in Logar province, just south of Kabul.
Ghulam Sakhi was disguised in woman's clothes when he was killed late Friday by Afghan and international forces, NATO said.
Afghan and NATO forces also killed several insurgents in an air strike Friday night in the southern province of Zabul, the alliance said, adding that steps were taken to protect civilians beforehand.
McChrystal won early praise for a drop in civilian casualties as he attempted to win popular trust, at the same time working hard to bring Karzai on board.
There are 140,000 troops in Afghanistan, with the number set to peak at 150,000 by August in the hope of forcing an end to the insurgency by ramping up efforts in the southern province of Kandahar, the Taliban's heartland.
Obama said in Washington that Petraeus, well regarded for his role in turning around the Iraq war, would be able to hit the ground running due to his work on Afghanistan as head of Central Command, which oversees both war zones.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Macadonians Came to Party
The house residents had a party the other day and we were invited. They invited quite a few people from where they work -- a lot of Macadonians. They came in two armored personnel carriers. I will try to attach a picture of one. The weather was threatening but turned out nice. We had steaks, chicken and lamb.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Taliban insurgents launch attack as Afghan peace conference starts
Taliban insurgents launch attack as Afghan peace conference starts
Published June 01, 2010
| Associated Press
AP2010
June 2: Afghan President Hamid Karzai asks attendees of the peace jirga to take their seats after hearing an explosion during his opening address in Kabul.
KABUL, Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban suicide attackers launched an assault on a national peace conference as it opened Wednesday in the Afghan capital, sparking gunbattles outside the venue. Two attackers were killed and one captured but no delegates were hurt, an official said.
The attack, reportedly including rocket fire, started within minutes of President Hamid Karzai beginning his opening address to some 1,600 dignitaries gathered for the conference, known as a peace jirga, in a huge tent pitched on a university compound.
The Taliban, which had earlier threatened to kill anyone who took part, claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone call to The Associated Press, saying it was intended to sabotage the three-day conference.
Karzai hoped that the jirga, which continued despite the attack, would bolster him politically by endorsing his strategy of offering incentives to individual Taliban fighters and reaching out to the insurgent leadership, despite skepticism in Washington about whether the time is right for an overture to militant leaders.
But the attack underscored the weak grip of Karzai's government in the face of the Taliban insurgency, which has grown in strength despite the presence of growing numbers of U.S. forces.
Karzai made an appeal to the Taliban — telling them their actions are keeping the international forces they resent in the country.
"You should provide the opportunity for the foreign forces to leave," Karzai told the conference. "Make peace with me and there will be no need for foreigners here. As long as you are not talking to us, not making peace with us, we will not let the foreigners leave."
About 10 minutes into his speech, Karzai was briefly interrupted by an explosion outside, which police said was a rocket. Karzai heard the thud, but dismissed it, telling delegates, "Don't worry. We've heard this kind of thing before."
Soon afterward, an AP reporter nearby heard a loud explosion and saw smoke rising from a second apparent rocket attack that struck about 100 meters (yards) from the venue.
Bursts of gunfire could be heard to the south of the venue, and security forces rushed to the area. Helicopters flew overhead.
Farooq Wardak, a government minister responsible for organizing the jirga, said three militants dressed in burqas and carrying explosives and armed with guns and at least one grenade launcher were involved in the attack. Two died in fighting outside the venue and one was captured, he said.
He said they were operating from a building about 1.5 kilometers (one mile) away from the venue.
It was not immediately clear if they had attempted to breach the venue itself on foot. Police officer Kamaluddin, who goes by one name, said a suicide bomber detonated explosives a few hundred yards (meters) from the tent, but other officials could not immediately confirm that.
Lt. Col. Joseph T. Breasseale, a spokesman for international forces in Afghanistan, said some insurgents were shot, but reports were unclear as to how many.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid gave a slightly different account of the attack. He said a group of four suicide attackers disguised in Afghan army uniforms had opened fire in an attempt "to sabotage and destroy this peace jirga."
Abdul Sattar Khawasi, a lawmaker from Parwan province attending the jirga, said the ability of the militants to launch the attack underscored the weakness of Karzai's administration.
"Unfortunately this shows the weakness of the government, and the weakness of the security forces, that they were unable to provide enough security for this consultative peace jirga," he said.
One prominent civil society activist expressed skepticism that the conference could help bring peace. Delegates include individuals with links to militants but not active members of the Taliban and other insurgent groups.
"I'm not very hopeful that we will come up with a workable mechanism to go for peace. The reason is we don't have the opposition with us. It's obvious from their attacks," said Sima Samar, the head of the Afghan Human Rights Commission. Samar said she was not invited to the conference itself, only to the opening speech.
___
Associated Press Writers Amir Shah and Heidi Vogt and AP Television News cameraman, Habib Samim contributed to this report.
Taliban attacks Afghan peace jirga
Afghan police captured one Taliban fighter and killed two others after an hours-long shootout [AFP]
Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has opened a three-day peace conference in the capital, Kabul, amidst rocket fire and at least one suicide bombing.
Several rockets were launched at the tent housing the conference, locally called a "jirga", during Karzai's opening speech on Wednesday. Long bursts of gunfire were also heard nearby.
A suicide bomber also blew himself up near the tent, according to Afghan police. No casualties were reported, except for the bomber. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Zemeri Bashary, a spokesman for the interior ministry, said police killed two other fighters, and captured a third, in a house near the conference site.
Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said the attackers were dressed in Afghan army uniforms.
The Afghan president left the area in an armoured convoy after his speech.
Security was a major concern in the weeks leading up to the conference: Extra police have been deployed throughout the capital, and journalists reported long delays at checkpoints Wednesday morning.
The Taliban warned delegates to stay away in an audio recording released last month, saying that "the punishment for participating in the jirga is death".
"I think some Afghans... will say, if they can't even secure the area around the gathering that they've talked about for months on end, with the immense security preparations they have in place, what chance do they have of trying to secure the rest of the country?" said Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from Kabul.
Searching for consensus
Delegates hope to reach an agreement at the traditional assembly of elders on how the government should hold dialogue with the Taliban.
Analysts say the delegates - which were selected by the government, and include tribal leaders, politicians, and members of civil society - are likely to reach a broad agreement on engaging the Taliban.
The plan calls for the government to offer jobs to low-level Taliban soldiers who agree to stop fighting.
In his opening address, Karzai criticised the Taliban for bringing suffering and oppression to Afghanistan.
"The Afghan nation is looking at you," he said, addressing the delegates. "They await your decisions, your advice, so that you can show the Afghan nation the way to reach peace, to rescue Afghanistan from this suffering and pain."
Barack Obama, the US president, has called the conference "an important milestone that America supports". European diplomats have also hailed it as a "crucial step to demonstrate national consensus".
Staffan de Mistura, the head of the United Nations mission in Afghanistan, said he was cautiously optimistic that participants in the jirga would agree on a deal.
"I believe they're tired of fighting... the Afghans are tired of a conflict that they will never win, that nobody else will ever win," he said.
Scepticism
But critics of Karzai's government, and many outside analysts, are sceptical that the conference will produce a detailed blueprint for reconciliation with the Taliban.
Karzai's main rivals have been excluded from the conference and representatives from the Taliban and groups like Hezb-i-Islami were not invited.
Abdullah Abdullah, Karzai's chief rival in last year's presidential election, declined to attend the conference, saying the hand-picked delegates do not represent Afghan public opinion.
Elders in several provinces, including Helmand and Khost, say the most influential tribal leaders were rejected in favour of those loyal to the government.
The Taliban is also dismissive of the event. In a statement sent to news organisations on Tuesday, the group said the conference does not represent the Afghan people, and is aimed at "securing the interest of foreigners".
Human rights groups say the list of delegates is too male-dominated: Only 20 per cent of the conference attendees will be women. The number of women was increased after Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, warned Karzai that women were being ignored.
Taliban attack Afghan leaders' meeting
Taliban suicide bombers and rockets attack Afghanistan talks as Hamid Karzai launches peace plans
Smoke rises from the site where the Taliban fired a rocket near the venue of the Afghanistan National Peace Jirga in Kabul. Photograph: S. Sabawoon/EPA
The Taliban deployed suicide bombers and rockets to attack a major meeting of Afghan leaders today, moments after President Hamid Karzai launched his plans for making peace with the insurgents.
The three-day "Peace Jirga" had just begun with a speech by the Afghan president when the first rocket exploded somewhere near the compound that houses the country's loya jirga tent – a large white marquee used for important national meetings.
Nearby, security officials exchanged fire with insurgents before a suicide bomber detonated explosives, killing himself. There were no reports of other casualties.
Karzai, who had just been recalling how senior members of the Taliban regime had crossed to the government's side soon after the US-led invasion of 2001, laughed off the incident.
"Sit down, nothing will happen," Karzai told the 1,600 delegates, some of whom left their seats to try to see what was going on.
"I have become used to this," said the president, who has survived a number of assassination attempts, before continuing with a speech where he promised to continue to pressurise US-led forces to reduce civilian casualties and bring an end to unpopular night raids.
Another explosion was heard from an apparent rocket attack that landed close to the venue. Soon after finishing his speech, Karzai left the tent in a convoy of armoured vehicles as helicopters hovered overhead. Small arms fire could still be heard an hour after the first attack.
The Taliban, who have successfully deterred some delegates from the country's most insecure areas from attending, claimed responsibility for the attack saying the suicide bombers had been dressed as members of the Afghan security forces – a tactic used many times in the past.
An Interior Ministry spokesman said the police and army had surrounded a building near to the perimeter of the Loya Jirga tent where he said some militants were based.
Despite the disruption one of the diplomats in the tent to observe the opening of the event said that there was only "mild apprehension" among the delegates.
"There was just a mild flutter in one quarter but in general people are pretty used to this kind of thing," said George Noel-Clarke, an EU political officer in Kabul.
"The Taliban are clearly trying to embarrass him but he dealt with it quite well."
The jirga, hailed by western leaders as a critical first step to peace was dismissed yesterday as a "PR exercise" by the leader of the country's opposition, who said he would not attend the event.
Abdullah Abdullah – who won millions of votes and came second in last year's presidential elections – said the way delegates had been selected by government officials meant they did not represent all Afghan opinion: "Had it been a national jirga and a national effort we would have supported that effort."
He said the event "seemed like a PR exercise to show that we are making an effort to reach peace in this country".
Huge amounts of effort went into organising the three-day conference which is being held in the same cavernous marquee that was used for the 2002 loya jirga that agreed Afghanistan's post-Taliban constitution.
The National Consultative Peace Jirga will be asked to consider an ambitious government proposal to offer jobs and other economic incentives to Taliban foot soldiers who agree to stop fighting.
Such schemes are unlikely to be too controversial. Far more divisive, however, will be how future negotiations with the Taliban should be handled and what, if anything, should be offered to insurgent leaders in return for peace.
Foreign officials say a broad national consensus is essential to avoid the perception that any peace deal is, in the words of one western diplomat, a "Pashtun to Pashtun stitch-up".
The 1,600 delegates include some 550 women, the number of which were increased after Hillary Clinton expressed concerns to Karzai that women risked being overlooked.
Published June 01, 2010
| Associated Press
AP2010
June 2: Afghan President Hamid Karzai asks attendees of the peace jirga to take their seats after hearing an explosion during his opening address in Kabul.
KABUL, Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban suicide attackers launched an assault on a national peace conference as it opened Wednesday in the Afghan capital, sparking gunbattles outside the venue. Two attackers were killed and one captured but no delegates were hurt, an official said.
The attack, reportedly including rocket fire, started within minutes of President Hamid Karzai beginning his opening address to some 1,600 dignitaries gathered for the conference, known as a peace jirga, in a huge tent pitched on a university compound.
The Taliban, which had earlier threatened to kill anyone who took part, claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone call to The Associated Press, saying it was intended to sabotage the three-day conference.
Karzai hoped that the jirga, which continued despite the attack, would bolster him politically by endorsing his strategy of offering incentives to individual Taliban fighters and reaching out to the insurgent leadership, despite skepticism in Washington about whether the time is right for an overture to militant leaders.
But the attack underscored the weak grip of Karzai's government in the face of the Taliban insurgency, which has grown in strength despite the presence of growing numbers of U.S. forces.
Karzai made an appeal to the Taliban — telling them their actions are keeping the international forces they resent in the country.
"You should provide the opportunity for the foreign forces to leave," Karzai told the conference. "Make peace with me and there will be no need for foreigners here. As long as you are not talking to us, not making peace with us, we will not let the foreigners leave."
About 10 minutes into his speech, Karzai was briefly interrupted by an explosion outside, which police said was a rocket. Karzai heard the thud, but dismissed it, telling delegates, "Don't worry. We've heard this kind of thing before."
Soon afterward, an AP reporter nearby heard a loud explosion and saw smoke rising from a second apparent rocket attack that struck about 100 meters (yards) from the venue.
Bursts of gunfire could be heard to the south of the venue, and security forces rushed to the area. Helicopters flew overhead.
Farooq Wardak, a government minister responsible for organizing the jirga, said three militants dressed in burqas and carrying explosives and armed with guns and at least one grenade launcher were involved in the attack. Two died in fighting outside the venue and one was captured, he said.
He said they were operating from a building about 1.5 kilometers (one mile) away from the venue.
It was not immediately clear if they had attempted to breach the venue itself on foot. Police officer Kamaluddin, who goes by one name, said a suicide bomber detonated explosives a few hundred yards (meters) from the tent, but other officials could not immediately confirm that.
Lt. Col. Joseph T. Breasseale, a spokesman for international forces in Afghanistan, said some insurgents were shot, but reports were unclear as to how many.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid gave a slightly different account of the attack. He said a group of four suicide attackers disguised in Afghan army uniforms had opened fire in an attempt "to sabotage and destroy this peace jirga."
Abdul Sattar Khawasi, a lawmaker from Parwan province attending the jirga, said the ability of the militants to launch the attack underscored the weakness of Karzai's administration.
"Unfortunately this shows the weakness of the government, and the weakness of the security forces, that they were unable to provide enough security for this consultative peace jirga," he said.
One prominent civil society activist expressed skepticism that the conference could help bring peace. Delegates include individuals with links to militants but not active members of the Taliban and other insurgent groups.
"I'm not very hopeful that we will come up with a workable mechanism to go for peace. The reason is we don't have the opposition with us. It's obvious from their attacks," said Sima Samar, the head of the Afghan Human Rights Commission. Samar said she was not invited to the conference itself, only to the opening speech.
___
Associated Press Writers Amir Shah and Heidi Vogt and AP Television News cameraman, Habib Samim contributed to this report.
Taliban attacks Afghan peace jirga
Afghan police captured one Taliban fighter and killed two others after an hours-long shootout [AFP]
Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has opened a three-day peace conference in the capital, Kabul, amidst rocket fire and at least one suicide bombing.
Several rockets were launched at the tent housing the conference, locally called a "jirga", during Karzai's opening speech on Wednesday. Long bursts of gunfire were also heard nearby.
A suicide bomber also blew himself up near the tent, according to Afghan police. No casualties were reported, except for the bomber. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Zemeri Bashary, a spokesman for the interior ministry, said police killed two other fighters, and captured a third, in a house near the conference site.
Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said the attackers were dressed in Afghan army uniforms.
The Afghan president left the area in an armoured convoy after his speech.
Security was a major concern in the weeks leading up to the conference: Extra police have been deployed throughout the capital, and journalists reported long delays at checkpoints Wednesday morning.
The Taliban warned delegates to stay away in an audio recording released last month, saying that "the punishment for participating in the jirga is death".
"I think some Afghans... will say, if they can't even secure the area around the gathering that they've talked about for months on end, with the immense security preparations they have in place, what chance do they have of trying to secure the rest of the country?" said Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from Kabul.
Searching for consensus
Delegates hope to reach an agreement at the traditional assembly of elders on how the government should hold dialogue with the Taliban.
Analysts say the delegates - which were selected by the government, and include tribal leaders, politicians, and members of civil society - are likely to reach a broad agreement on engaging the Taliban.
The plan calls for the government to offer jobs to low-level Taliban soldiers who agree to stop fighting.
In his opening address, Karzai criticised the Taliban for bringing suffering and oppression to Afghanistan.
"The Afghan nation is looking at you," he said, addressing the delegates. "They await your decisions, your advice, so that you can show the Afghan nation the way to reach peace, to rescue Afghanistan from this suffering and pain."
Barack Obama, the US president, has called the conference "an important milestone that America supports". European diplomats have also hailed it as a "crucial step to demonstrate national consensus".
Staffan de Mistura, the head of the United Nations mission in Afghanistan, said he was cautiously optimistic that participants in the jirga would agree on a deal.
"I believe they're tired of fighting... the Afghans are tired of a conflict that they will never win, that nobody else will ever win," he said.
Scepticism
But critics of Karzai's government, and many outside analysts, are sceptical that the conference will produce a detailed blueprint for reconciliation with the Taliban.
Karzai's main rivals have been excluded from the conference and representatives from the Taliban and groups like Hezb-i-Islami were not invited.
Abdullah Abdullah, Karzai's chief rival in last year's presidential election, declined to attend the conference, saying the hand-picked delegates do not represent Afghan public opinion.
Elders in several provinces, including Helmand and Khost, say the most influential tribal leaders were rejected in favour of those loyal to the government.
The Taliban is also dismissive of the event. In a statement sent to news organisations on Tuesday, the group said the conference does not represent the Afghan people, and is aimed at "securing the interest of foreigners".
Human rights groups say the list of delegates is too male-dominated: Only 20 per cent of the conference attendees will be women. The number of women was increased after Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, warned Karzai that women were being ignored.
Taliban attack Afghan leaders' meeting
Taliban suicide bombers and rockets attack Afghanistan talks as Hamid Karzai launches peace plans
Smoke rises from the site where the Taliban fired a rocket near the venue of the Afghanistan National Peace Jirga in Kabul. Photograph: S. Sabawoon/EPA
The Taliban deployed suicide bombers and rockets to attack a major meeting of Afghan leaders today, moments after President Hamid Karzai launched his plans for making peace with the insurgents.
The three-day "Peace Jirga" had just begun with a speech by the Afghan president when the first rocket exploded somewhere near the compound that houses the country's loya jirga tent – a large white marquee used for important national meetings.
Nearby, security officials exchanged fire with insurgents before a suicide bomber detonated explosives, killing himself. There were no reports of other casualties.
Karzai, who had just been recalling how senior members of the Taliban regime had crossed to the government's side soon after the US-led invasion of 2001, laughed off the incident.
"Sit down, nothing will happen," Karzai told the 1,600 delegates, some of whom left their seats to try to see what was going on.
"I have become used to this," said the president, who has survived a number of assassination attempts, before continuing with a speech where he promised to continue to pressurise US-led forces to reduce civilian casualties and bring an end to unpopular night raids.
Another explosion was heard from an apparent rocket attack that landed close to the venue. Soon after finishing his speech, Karzai left the tent in a convoy of armoured vehicles as helicopters hovered overhead. Small arms fire could still be heard an hour after the first attack.
The Taliban, who have successfully deterred some delegates from the country's most insecure areas from attending, claimed responsibility for the attack saying the suicide bombers had been dressed as members of the Afghan security forces – a tactic used many times in the past.
An Interior Ministry spokesman said the police and army had surrounded a building near to the perimeter of the Loya Jirga tent where he said some militants were based.
Despite the disruption one of the diplomats in the tent to observe the opening of the event said that there was only "mild apprehension" among the delegates.
"There was just a mild flutter in one quarter but in general people are pretty used to this kind of thing," said George Noel-Clarke, an EU political officer in Kabul.
"The Taliban are clearly trying to embarrass him but he dealt with it quite well."
The jirga, hailed by western leaders as a critical first step to peace was dismissed yesterday as a "PR exercise" by the leader of the country's opposition, who said he would not attend the event.
Abdullah Abdullah – who won millions of votes and came second in last year's presidential elections – said the way delegates had been selected by government officials meant they did not represent all Afghan opinion: "Had it been a national jirga and a national effort we would have supported that effort."
He said the event "seemed like a PR exercise to show that we are making an effort to reach peace in this country".
Huge amounts of effort went into organising the three-day conference which is being held in the same cavernous marquee that was used for the 2002 loya jirga that agreed Afghanistan's post-Taliban constitution.
The National Consultative Peace Jirga will be asked to consider an ambitious government proposal to offer jobs and other economic incentives to Taliban foot soldiers who agree to stop fighting.
Such schemes are unlikely to be too controversial. Far more divisive, however, will be how future negotiations with the Taliban should be handled and what, if anything, should be offered to insurgent leaders in return for peace.
Foreign officials say a broad national consensus is essential to avoid the perception that any peace deal is, in the words of one western diplomat, a "Pashtun to Pashtun stitch-up".
The 1,600 delegates include some 550 women, the number of which were increased after Hillary Clinton expressed concerns to Karzai that women risked being overlooked.
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