DTN News - AFGHAN WAR: 3 Dead After Taliban Assault on Afghanistan's Presidential Palace

Defense War News Updates: DTN News - AFGHAN WAR: 3 Dead After Taliban Assault on Afghanistan's Presidential Palace

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources CTV News
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - June 26, 2013:  Afghan officials say a brazen Taliban assault on the presidential palace in Kabul has left three guards dead.

The militant group had earlier said that all eight attackers died in the early Tuesday attack on one of the most secure parts of the Afghan capital.

Militants with false papers and military-style uniforms bluffed their way through two checkpoints on their way to the palace before jumping out of their explosives-packed vehicle and opening fire on security personnel. 

Another carload of Taliban fighters got stuck between two checkpoints and detonated their own car bomb.

The Interior Ministry said a fourth guard was wounded.


*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources CTV News
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DTN News - KARZAI AT PENTAGON: Panetta Hosts Arrival Ceremony, Meets With Afghan President At Pentagon

Defense War News Updates: DTN News - KARZAI AT PENTAGON: Panetta Hosts Arrival Ceremony, Meets With Afghan President At Pentagon

Source: DTN News 
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 12, 2013:  Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday met with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta at the Pentagon to discuss the security transition in Afghanistan.

At a press conference after the meeting, Panetta said he had an hour-long, one-on-one meeting with Karzai to discuss "the ongoing transition to Afghan security lead, as well as the commitment of the United States to Afghanistan" after the completion of the transition by the end of 2014.

Panetta said both leaders believe the transition plan is " working, and we're fully committed to finishing the job," and they believed they are "moving in the right direction."

At a welcoming ceremony earlier in the day, Panetta assured Karzai of continued U.S. commitment as the last chapter of security transition has begun. According to U.S. President Barack Obama's withdrawal plan, U.S. combat forces will be out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014, after transferring security lead to the Afghans.

Meanwhile, the two countries are negotiating a bilateral security agreement that would define the U.S. role in Afghanistan post-2014. Karzai, who will meet Obama on Friday, said at the Pentagon he believed the United States and Afghanistan can work out the way forward for a bilateral security agreement "that will ensure the interests of Afghanistan, and also the interests of the United States."


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DTN News - NATO SUMMIT IN CHICAGO: Barack Obama Snubs Asif Ali Zardari At NATO

Defense War News Updates: DTN News - NATO SUMMIT IN CHICAGO:  Barack Obama Snubs Asif Ali Zardari At NATO
*U.S. has dole out over $100 billion to Pakistan since 1950 with zero gain and multifaceted problems
>Five Decades of Aid to Pakistan, 1950 - 2001
It is not much of an exaggeration to state that since independence in 1947, Pakistan has been an aid-dependent nation. Some estimates suggest that the gross disbursement of overseas development assistance to Pakistan from 1960 to 2002 (in 2001 prices) was $73.1 billion, from both bilateral and multilateral sources.
Almost 30 percent of this official development assistance came in the form of bilateral aid from the United States, the largest single bilateral donor by far.
>U.S. Financial aid to Pakistan since 9/11
Between 2002-2010, Pakistan received approximately 18 billion in military and economic aid from the United States. In February 2010, the Obama administration requested an additional 3 billion in aid, for a total of $20.7 billion.
Western officials have claimed nearly 70% ( roughly $3.4 billion) of the aid given to the Military assistance has been misspent in 2002-2007 and used to over Civilian Deficit. However U.S-Pakistani relationship has been a transactional based and U.S military aid to Pakistan and aid conditions has been shrouded in secrecy for several years until recently . In a startling revelation, an update released says that US funding to Pakistan has more than doubled since President Obama took office in 2009. In fiscal 2010 US gave nearly $4.3 billion to Pakistan, up from about $3 billion in 2009 and $2 billion in 2008. The US fiscal year runs from October to September.
>As of May 21, 2012 - Is Pakistan an opportunistic or a greedy country
In an unmistakable snub, President Barack Obama left Pakistan off a list of nations he thanked Monday for help getting war supplies into Afghanistan and refused to meet Mr Zardari yesterday in the midst of Pakistan's refusal to compromise over increasing the fee for trucks to pass through its territory to Afghanistan from $US250 ($253) to $US5000 almost two-thousand percent increase. Now, Pakistan has lost its credibility globally as a reliable or a dependable ally to fight or to stamp out terrorism and militancy.
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources BY: BRAD NORINGTON, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT From: The Australian
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 21, 2012: BARACK Obama has snubbed Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari despite inviting him to a NATO summit in Chicago, as a bitter dispute rages over supply routes that could disrupt the planned US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The US President refused to meet Mr Zardari yesterday in the midst of Pakistan's refusal to compromise over increasing the fee for trucks to pass through its territory to Afghanistan from $US250 ($253) to $US5000.

Pakistan closed its borders and then demanded the huge price rise for moving US supply trucks through its territory after US air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November.

Mr Zardari was invited to the NATO talks at late notice and US officials appear to have hoped a settlement of the transportation issue could have been reached before his arrival.

Instead, the conflict worsened yesterday.

It was made clear that Mr Obama was unwilling to meet Mr Zardari, and the diplomatic task was handed to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The dispute with Pakistan has forced unacceptable costs on the US as trucks transporting up to 40 per cent of equipment to and from Afghanistan have been forced to use a longer route through Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

The US insists strikes that killed Pakistani soldiers were accidental because the troops concerned appeared hostile.

It has also refused to issue a full apology, which has been demanded by Pakistan.

The rise in Pakistan's fee per truck is not only considered unreasonable retaliation but also a potential stumbling block as Washington draws up plans for withdrawing large amounts of military equipment from Afghanistan for a planned troop withdrawal by the end of 2014.

The argument over transportation fees is only the latest flare-up in relations. It follows US doubts about Pakistan's loyalty and its alleged double-dealing with the Taliban and insurgent groups considered terrorists.

The US still suspects senior Pakistani intelligence officials knew al-Qa'ida leader Osama bin Laden was hiding in a town with one of the country's largest military barracks for five years when Mr Obama ordered a commando raid on his hideout last year.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani government resents the unauthorised raid on its territory.

The US President yesterday met Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai at the NATO summit in Chicago.

The pair discussed plans to wind down the war and hand security to local forces while maintaining an American military commitment for a decade after the official 2014 withdrawal.

Using words similar to those for Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Mr Karzai thanked Mr Obama for "taxpayers' money" used to support his country as the US pledges continued support for an Afghan military after the official foreign troop withdrawal at a cost of $US4 billion a year.

Under the withdrawal schedule, local Afghan forces are meant to be responsible for the country's security by mid-next year.

All combat troops are to be withdrawn by the end of 2014.

Administration officials said yesterday that the invitation to Chicago for Mr Zardari had not come from Mr Obama personally but through NATO.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources BY: BRAD NORINGTON, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT From: The Australian
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DTN News - NATO SUMMIT IN CHICAGO: ISAF Nations To Decide On Next Transition Milestone

Defense War News Updates: DTN News - NATO SUMMIT IN CHICAGO: ISAF Nations To Decide On Next Transition Milestone
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Cheryl Pellerin - American Forces Press Service & 'Pak Wants US To Apologise For Salala' - The News
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 21, 2012: Representatives from 50 nations that contribute to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan will decide today on the next milestone for the transition in Afghanistan, President Barack Obama said here today.

On the second day of the NATO summit in Chicago, the president and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen made statements before the closed meeting.

Obama spoke from his place at the circle of tables formed around the blue NATO logo. About 250 heads of state and other officials were in attendance.

At today’s summit meeting, the president said, attendees “will set a goal for Afghan forces to take the lead for combat operations across the country in 2013, next year, so that ISAF can move to a supporting role.”

This will be another step toward the goal of having Afghans take the full lead for their security by the end of 2014, when the ISAF combat mission will end, Obama added.

NATO and its partners aim to preserve the coalition’s hard-won progress in Afghanistan, he said.

“The strategic partnership agreement that President [Hamid] Karzai and I signed in Kabul ensures that as Afghans stand up, they will not stand alone,” the president said. “Today we can agree on NATO's long-term relationship with Afghanistan beyond 2014, including our support of Afghan security forces.”

Two years ago at NATO’s summit in Lisbon, Portugal, Obama said, coalition nations agreed on a framework for transition in Afghanistan that would allow a responsible drawdown of the war by the end of 2014, and afterward allow for a long-term partnership with Afghanistan and the Afghan people.

Important progress has been made during the past two years, the president added.

“Our forces broke the Taliban's momentum, more Afghans are reclaiming their communities, Afghan security forces have grown stronger, and the transition that we agreed to in Lisbon is well under way,” he said.

Last week saw more progress, Obama said.

“We very much welcome President Karzai's announcement of the third group of areas to begin transition,” he said. “This means that 75 percent of the Afghan people live in areas where Afghan forces will be moving into the lead.” This phase will see 122 more districts across the nation transition to Afghan control, Karzai said May 17.

In his remarks before the morning session, the secretary general said that as Afghan forces step up, coalition forces will step back into a supporting role, focusing on training, advising and assisting Afghan partners.

“By the end of 2014, Afghan forces [will] have assumed full security responsibility throughout Afghanistan. By end of 2014, the ISAF operation will terminate and the NATO-led combat mission will end,” Rasmussen said.

But the commitment of NATO and the international community in Afghanistan is for the long term, said he added.

“From 2015, we expect to maintain a NATO-led presence to train, advise and assist the Afghan security forces,” Rasmussen said. “And NATO and ISAF nations will also pay their share to help sustain the army and police Afghanistan needs for the coming years. We all remain committed to our goal: a secure and democratic Afghanistan in a stable region.”

Obama said the region and the world have a profound interest in an Afghanistan that is stable, secure and not a source of attacks on other nations.

“And today, as always,” the president said, “our thoughts are with our brave forces who are serving in this vital mission.”

'Pak Wants US To Apologise For Salala' - The News

Hours before the start of Nato summit in Chicago on Sunday, Pakistan Ambassador in the US, Sherry Rehman called for the US administration to execute Pakistan's five demands to salvage the relationship between the two countries.

In her write-up published today in foreign media, Sherry Rehman topped the five-point demand list with the tendering of apology by the US for Salala attacks that killed 24 Pakistan soldiers.

She said significant progress could be made towards resetting the bilateral relationship if the US tenders apology for Salala attacks, reimburses CSF, enhances sharing of intelligence, ceases the drone attacks and shifts to policy of trade not aid.

"The US and Pakistan have had a rocky year. The unilateral raid on Abbottabad, the Raymond Davis CIA provocation, the U.S.-led NATO air assault in Salalah that tragically killed 24 Pakistani soldiers and the continuing unauthorized drone attacks on Pakistani soil have frayed our 60-year special relationship," Sherry Rehman said.

If the war against extremism is to succeed, the war of words between democratic allies must end, she asserted.

The ambassador said Pakistan has taken the first step to restoring normalcy to Pak-US relations by working to reopen the NATO supply routes that were closed after the Salalah tragedy.

Additional NATO News;

ISAF Nations to Decide on Next Transition Milestone       CHICAGO - Representatives from 50 nations that contribute to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan will decide at the NATO summit on the next milestone for the transition in Afghanistan, President Barack Obama said.

05/21/2012 Allen Explains Priorities in Afghanistan       WASHINGTON - Coalition forces will fulfill their missions in Afghanistan, Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force, told reporters at the beginning of the NATO summit.

05/21/2012 Face of Defense: Marine Serves Second Afghan Tour       KHAN NESHIN DISTRICT, Afghanistan - Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Brandon M. Barton is on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan, yet earlier in his life he’d never thought he would find himself wearing a Marine Corps uniform.

05/21/2012 Combined Afghan, Coalition Force Detains Taliban Facilitator       WASHINGTON - A combined Afghan and coalition security force detained a Taliban facilitator in the Zharay district of Kandahar province.

05/21/2012 Rotational Deployments to Boost U.S. Asia-Pacific Presence       WASHINGTON - Welcoming new Marine rotational deployments in Australia and Navy rotations planned for Singapore, the top U.S. Pacific Command officer said he’ll seek similar arrangements, possibly to include the Army, that expand U.S. presence in the region without the need for more permanently based forces.

05/20/2012 NATO Declares Missile Defense System Operational       CHICAGO - During its first session at the 25th NATO Summit, the alliance’s senior governing body declared operational the missile defense system it endorsed at its November 2010 summit in Lisbon, Portugal, NATO’s secretary general said.

05/20/2012 Panetta Meets With United Kingdom Counterpart       CHICAGO - U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta met in Chicago with his counterpart from the United Kingdom, Secretary of State of Defense Philip Hammond.

05/20/2012 Summit Reaffirms Commitment to Collective Security, Obama Says       CHICAGO - A year and a half after the NATO members at their summit in Lisbon, Portugal, pledged bold action to revitalize the future alliance, heads of state and government are reaffirming commitment to their collective defense and security, President Barack Obama said.

05/20/2012 Obama: Summit Will Reflect Consensus on Afghanistan       CHICAGO - The NATO summit largely will be devoted to ratifying and reflecting broad consensus on long-term support for Afghanistan, President Barack Obama said after a meeting in Chicago with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

05/20/2012 Secretary General Kicks Off NATO Summit in Chicago       CHICAGO - NATO’s largest-ever summit opened in Chicago to focus on keeping Afghanistan secure, ensuring NATO’s capability in the 21st century, and enhancing the alliance’s global network of partners, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.

05/19/2012 Panetta Discusses Cooperation With French Defense Minister       WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta met with newly appointed French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to discuss Afghan transition prior to the upcoming NATO Summit, a senior Pentagon spokesman said.

05/19/2012 Panetta Praises Troops on Armed Forces Day       WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta today thanked troops and their families for their service in an Armed Forces Day message, in which he also noted the importance of the upcoming NATO Summit in Chicago.

05/18/2012 President Issues Armed Forces Day Proclamation       WASHINGTON - In a proclamation declaring May 19 Armed Forces Day, President Barack Obama urged all Americans to recognize and honor U.S. military members for their “unparalleled service” in defense of the nation.

05/18/2012 Summit to Highlight NATO’s Evolving Capabilities       WASHINGTON - There are three big agenda items and one strategic priority that will occupy center stage at NATO’s May 20-21 summit in Chicago, James J. Townsend Jr., deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO policy, told Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service reporters.

05/18/2012 Report Depicts China’s Military Progress, Strategic Thinking       WASHINGTON - The Defense Department’s 2012 Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China report details China’s growing military capabilities, and points to areas of cooperation between the United States and China, a senior DOD official told Pentagon reporters.

05/18/2012 NATO General Outlines Summit Topics, Alliance Changes       WASHINGTON - NATO’s plan for military operations in Afghanistan up to and beyond 2014 will be the top agenda item at the organization’s May 20-21 summit in Chicago, Danish Army Gen. Knud Bartels, chairman of the NATO Military Committee, told American Forces Press Service.

05/18/2012 Face of Defense: Quick-thinking Airman Prevents Tragedy       SOUTHWEST ASIA - When Air Force Senior Airman Lanea Trevino noticed abandoned shower supplies in the wash stall next to hers, she set out in search of the items’ rightful owner and ended up saving another airman’s life.

05/18/2012 Locklear: Pacom’s Priorities Reflect New Strategic Guidance       WASHINGTON - With clear direction from President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, the new U.S. Pacific Command chief said he’s using the new strategic guidance as a roadmap as he sets priorities and engages with the region.

05/18/2012 Combined Force Seizes Opium Cache       KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan and coalition security force discovered a drug cache of opium during a patrol in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province.

05/18/2012 U.S. European Command, NATO Boost Cyber Defenses       WASHINGTON - Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis, the commander of U.S. European Command, says preparing a good defense to deter cyber attacks ranks among his top concerns.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Cheryl Pellerin - American Forces Press Service & 'Pak Wants US To Apologise For Salala' - The News
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DTN News - OBAMA IN AFGHANISTAN: Obama’s Afghanistan Plan - Echoes of Vietnam In The U.S. Exit Strategy

Defense War News Updates: DTN News - OBAMA IN AFGHANISTAN: Obama’s Afghanistan Plan - Echoes of Vietnam In The U.S. Exit Strategy
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Tony Karon - Time (Blog)
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 2, 2012: To understand the historical significance of President Barack Obama’s visit to Afghanistan on Tuesday, imagine that President Richard Nixon had, in the spring of 1972, flown to Saigon to signal American voters that the Vietnam war was coming to an end — and to ink a deal with President Nguyen Van Thieu codifying a long-term U.S. relationship with the Republic of South Vietnam, which would shortly be left responsible for its own security. 

“Today, I signed a historic agreement between the United States and Afghanistan that defines a new kind of relationship between our countries – a future in which Afghans are responsible for the security of their nation, and we build an equal partnership between two sovereign states; a future in which the war ends, and a new chapter begins,” Obama said Tuesday.  Nixon might have said something similar on that imaginary 1972 visit. Except, of course, everyone knew that Vietnam’s future would not be defined by an agreement between Washington and Thieu, as much as by the one signed in Paris, two months after Nixon’s reelection, between Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho, representing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (a.k.a. “North Vietnam”). Even that deal collapsed, of course, with the DRV and its supporters in the south finishing off the Thieu regime 19 months after U.S. troops withdrew.

Any deal between Presidents Obama and Karzai premised on the ability of the current political order in Kabul to protect itself independently of foreign troops is hardly likely to be the last word, pleasing as the spectacle may be for presidential campaign purposes. The key — but by no means the only — conversation shaping Afghanistan’s future will be the one conducted on the battlefield, and at the negotiating table, between the U.S., its Afghan interlocutors and the Taliban. That point seemed to be underscored by a Taliban car bomb attack near U.S. bases in Kabul just hours after Obama’s departure, which served as a counterpoint to the President’s insistence in his speech that the insurgents’ momentum has been broken. 

Sure, the U.S. has made important tactical gains against the Taliban in designated operational areas in southwestern Afghanistan, but tactical gains in an expeditionary counterinsurgency war tend to be just that; the insurgents know that, as Henry Kissinger famously put it, guerrilla armies win by not losing. They know that the civilian population has little faith in Western forces or in the government those forces protect, and they know the U.S. and its allies are seeking an expeditious exit from Afghanistan. The brutal truth of the Afghanistan equation is that time is still on the side of the Taliban.

The U.S. plans to drawn down troop levels from the current 90,000 to less than 20,000 by the end of 2014, while helping Afghan security forces “surge” to an anticipated 352,000 troops this year. The new agreements seemed to signal a ten-year commitment to maintain an unspecified number of troops for training, intelligence and logistics purposes, and to conduct operations against al-Qaeda. (More importantly, the U.S., as well as other NATO countries, will commit later this month to a decade-long financial package to the government in Kabul worth over $4 billion a year, a sum some say Karzai considers insufficient.)

“We will not build permanent bases in this country, nor will we be patrolling in cities and mountains,” Obama said. “That will be the job of the Afghan people.” But so narrow is the political base of the Karzai regime, which was elected by a small minority of Afghans and whose corruption is endemic, that its ability to lead a credible counterinsurgency fight against the Taliban remains seriously in doubt. The problem is not simply that the Afghan forces lack sufficient training, or that the Afghan government can’t afford to pay for the indigenous army that NATO has created to keep it alive; the problem is fundamentally one of motivation. How many Afghan troops are really ready to fight and die to keep President Karzai in power? One troubling indicator might be the by-now routine incidence of Afghan friendlies turning their weapons on their U.S. and other Western mentors — an incidence the AP claims the military is systematically underreporting.

President Obama did, of course, acknowledge that negotiations with the insurgency were underway. “My Administration has been in direct discussions with the Taliban,” he said. “We have made it clear they can be part of this future if they break with al-Qaida, renounce violence and abide by Afghan laws.” The Taliban may negotiate, and they may not — for a range of reasons ranging from mistrust of the U.S. to the fact that they feel the wind at their backs and because they know the Americans will leave, and also because the Taliban is no longer a single hierarchical entity, but a series of networks, with many of the younger commanders who have replaced those killed by U.S. forces in recent years adopting an even more militant and intractable position. The longer the fighting rages on, analysts of the Taliban warn, the less likely it becomes that those more inclined to negotiate a compromise are able to prevail in the movement’s internal debates over those who believe they will win a bigger victory by fighting on.

Still, even if the Taliban was willing to negotiate a political settlement, it’s a relative certainty that the insurgents won’t accept the terms laid down by President Obama: Even if the Taliban was willing to commit to preventing Afghan territory being used to stage international terror attacks, it’s unlikely to accept Afghan laws and a constitution adopted on the back of a Western invasion. Afghanistan had been engaged in a civil war for a decade before the U.S.-led invasion prompted by the 9/11 attacks, and the invasion didn’t change that; it simply tipped the balance in that civil war against the Pakistan-backed and predominantly Pashtun Taliban and in favor of the Northern Alliance, dominated by ethnic Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras, and backed by India, Iran and Russia. It is the Northern Alliance that forms the basis of the current order in Kabul, but take Western troops out of the equation, and the equation changes. The Taliban would only be likely to accept the Karzai order in Kabul if it had lost the war; right now, that’s not happening, meaning that a political solution is unlikely without a substantial renegotiation of the distribution of power. The likelihood that the Taliban will reconcile itself to a lesser role in the Karzai order is about as remote as those of the North Vietnamese being willing to accept Thieu’s authority.

Nor is it simply a case of Karzai reaching an accommodation with the Taliban: Key elements in the Northern Alliance are deeply mistrustful of any deals with the Taliban, and mistrust Karzai — and what they see as his effort to juggle the interests of competing warlords. His regime is brittle, at best, and could easily collapse — particularly because 2014 is also the year in which his tenure expires

Then again, right now the insurgents may be more likely to wait out 2014 and test the proposition that the Karzai regime will be able to defend itself without U.S. forces making the decisive difference — just like the Vietcong did in the period between the Paris agreement and the fall of Saigon.

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*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Tony Karon - Time (Blog)
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