Canuck helicopter a vital eye in the sky

Two American Chinook helicopters approach a marked landing zone west of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Armed Canadian Griffon helicopters can protect Chinooks like these from attack and watch over ground convoys. "I'd rather not talk about it," the 33-year-old Edmontonian replies when asked about his relative, who is among the 108 Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
"It's personal and kinda tough."
He refuses to say any more, declining to name the soldier or talk about the circumstances of his death. But it's clear that the loss of a relative is a major reason why he takes his job so seriously.Lucas, a 12-year veteran of the Canadian military, is a mechanic with the 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron. It's his job to keep the eight CH-146 Griffons ready to fly on a moment's notice.Speaking from the Canadian base at the Kandahar airfield yesterday, Lucas says the choppers, which have only been in Afghanistan since mid-December, are preventing more Canadian casualties on a daily basis."It certainly makes me want to stay focused," he said."When you're here, you realize how important the job really is."By far, the deadliest place for Canadian soldiers to be is in a vehicle on the treacherous roads in the dusty countryside of Kandahar province.Taliban insurgents target military vehicles with bombs planted along the roadside - or strapped to suicide bombers who then approach checkpoints.
HIT A BOMB
The last 11 Canadians to die in Afghanistan have been killed by roadside bombs. The latest, Sapper Sean Greenfield, 25, of the 2 Combat Engineer Regiment based in Petawawa, died Saturday when the armoured vehicle he was riding in hit a bomb in the Zhari district, 40 km west of Kandahar. In a tragic irony, Greenfield was finishing up a joint mission by Canadian, U.S. and British soldiers to find and root out the makers of the bombs.Canadian soldiers have been particularly vulnerable in convoys of trucks delivering equipment, supplies and troops to forward operating bases throughout Kandahar province.It is precisely that kind of tragedy that the helicopters are helping to avoid.The Griffons, equipped with Gatling guns, armour plating and special sensors, are escort vehicles whose primary purpose is to protect large Chinook transport helicopters, greatly reducing the number of vehicles on the roads.The Griffons can also escort ground convoys and spot roadside bombs from the air.Retired Maj.-Gen. Lewis MacKenzie said movies like Black Hawk Down (about an ill-fated U.S. military operation in Somalia in the 1990s) can give the impression that helicopters are flying death traps, easy targets for anyone with a shoulder-mounted grenade launcher.In fact, MacKenzie said, rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) are not designed for airborne targets and only have a range of a hundred metres or so. Helicopters can easily fly above that.Real surface-to-air missiles are harder to come by, and so far the Taliban don't appear to have any weapons that sophisticated.
HANDS UP
MacKenzie said during one visit to Kandahar, he asked a group of about 30 infantrymen how many of them had been attacked by a so-called improvised explosive device (IED).
"Every hand went up," he said.
It's demonstrations like this that gives Lucas his sense of purpose.
"I'm really proud to be here," says Lucas."My only regret is that I miss my wife and young daughter, but I know it's important that we're here. I look at it this way: when I think about (the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York) I know I would rather take the fight to them here, rather than fight them back home in Canada."He adds: "I think we're serving a purpose and the soldiers that passed away did not die in vain."

Swat mass exodus continues

MINGORA/CHAKDARRA: Thousands of people Tuesday continued to flee all the areas where military has launched the third phase of the Rah-e-Haq operation that has so far claimed dozens of lives of civilians.

The residents of Koza Bandai, Bara Bandai, Ningwalai, Shakardara, Shawar, Ronial, Roringar, Chuperial, Khariri, Biha, Charbagh, Manglawar, Sangota and other areas left their houses in hurry to save their lives. Thousands of people, most of them women and children, were moving out from their respective areas using unfrequented and arduous paths due to continuing curfew.

Aged and ailing persons were being carried on charpoys along with bundles of their belongings. Around 40,000 people have so far migrated to the Mingora city where they don’t have any shelter or facilities as both the provincial and federal governments have been criminally ignorant to their unbearable woes. The operation, in which majority of people killed were civilians, displaced thousands of people but the government left them in the lurch which alienated people from the government.

Some have taken shelter at their relatives’ houses while most of the IDPs were forced to take refuge in mosques and male guests houses of the people. Thousands of fleeing people, locals put their number at 30,000, reached the neighbouring Chakdarra town of the Lower Dir district. They migrated from Shamozo area of the troubled valley. The people said that the forces asked them to leave the area within three days before an impending action against the militants who had attacked a police post. They left their houses at once and covered 20kms to reach the town. Al-Khidmat Foundation had established a relief camp to help the IDPs while there was no camp from the government. Families were also seen sitting on the both sides of the road under open sky.

Commissioner Malakand Division, Fazl Karim Khattak, said that 28,000 people had migrated so far from the troubled areas of the valley. He, however, said that the government had reserved 13 schools for camps adding that food and other facilities would be provided. He said that the IDPs would properly be registered in these camps.

Most of the people, however, preferred to move out from the beleaguered district as they did not feel secured in Mingora or other towns of Swat. The moneyed people had already left the valley and settled in Peshawar, Islamabad, Karachi and even abroad. Some people called The News from abroad and informed that they had moved out their children from the country, as they did not felt protected even in big cities of the country.

2 schools blown up in Bajaur
KHAR: Unidentified militants blew up two boys’ schools in Salarzai tehsil of the restive Bajaur Agency on Tuesday. Sources said militants blew up the Government High School, Pusht, and a primary school in the Salarzai area with explosives. No loss of life was reported as both schools were closed. The militants have so far destroyed 27 schools in Bajaur Agency.Meanwhile, the security forces targeted hideouts of militants in Mamond tehsil and Nawagai with heavy artillery and mortar guns. The security forces claimed to have dismantled the hideouts of militants in the actions. However, no casualty was reported in the attacks.In the meantime, Bajaur Agency Political Agent Shafirullah Khan along Bajaur Scouts Commandant Colonel Nauman Saeed and Assistant Political Agent Iqbal Khattak visited the far-flung areas of Salarzai tehsil. It was the first visit of the political administration officials since the writ of the state was re-established in the violence-hit areas of the agency.
The officials visited the remote areas of Pusht, Danqul, Ghaghay, Chargu and Nazakai areas where the political agent addressed the local people. He said the government had allocated huge funds for uplift of the tribal people to bring the areas on a par with the developed areas of the country.

Afghanistan: Can Obama succeed in the 'land of the unruly?'

(CNN) -- The ancient Persians called it "the land of the unruly." Historians call it "the graveyard of empires." President Obama calls Afghanistan something else: The "central front" in the battle against terrorism.

Afghanistan has defied armies led by military leaders including Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan. Now Obama's new administration will attempt to accomplish what few leaders have been able to do: stabilize Afghanistan.

Obama says he wants to start by adding U.S. troops to Afghanistan. Although some believe that a "surge" helped in Iraq, there is no military solution for stabilizing Afghanistan, several military and political experts say.

"Controlling the Afghan people is a losing proposition," says Stephen Tanner, author of "Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the Fall of the Taliban." "No one has ever been able to control the country."

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is struggling to control the country now, Tanner says. The landlocked nation, which is roughly the size of Texas, has no strong national police, he says; its citizens are averse to taxes and a strong central government.

Afghans seem to unite only when a foreign army occupies their country, Tanner says.

"The people are so disunited within that they can't resist an invader at the border," Tanner says. "But once you're in, you're surrounded by them."

The resurgence of the Taliban will complicate Obama's plans as well, Tanner says.

The Taliban are making a comeback. Since 2004, the last year of relative calm, annual acts of violence have increased from about 900 to 8,950 in 2007 and roadside bombs from 325 incidents to 1,469, Tanner says.

U.S. and coalition documents, based on NATO statistics, show more than a 30 percent increase in such attacks from January to December 2008. Last year, attacks by Taliban and al Qaeda forces around the country increased 31 percent. Since January 2008, U.S. and NATO troop deaths rose 26 percent, according to the statistics. Afghan security forces deaths rose 64 percent in the same period. Read more about the rising number of attacks

The government has also degenerated. It has become a corrupt "narco state," with opium trade providing nearly half of the country's gross national product, Tanner says.

There are about 30,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, but there are plans to add 15,000 troops. Defense Secretary Robert Gates briefed Obama on Monday about adding U.S. troops to Afghanistan, which would ultimately involve sending two additional combat brigades and a brigade of trainers for Afghan security forces.

It is clear that Obama intends to focus more on Afghanistan. He called it "the central front in our battle against terrorism" in a CBS "Face the Nation" interview.

"I think one of the biggest mistakes we've made strategically after 9/11 was to fail to finish the job. ... We got distracted by Iraq," Obama says.

Said T. Jawad, the Afghan ambassador to the United States, says the Afghan people would welcome a temporary increase in U.S. troops to make the country and its borders more secure. But the U.S. military will alienate Afghans if it continues to strike with unmanned Predator drones instead of surgical commando operations to go after the Taliban, Jawad says.

"In the long run, the real security solution is to be found in the capacity of the Afghan police and army," he says.

Should the U.S. negotiate with the Taliban?

Obama's policy toward Afghanistan won't just revolve around force, though, believes Caroline Wadhams, senior national security policy analyst for the Center for American Progress, a progressive Washington think tank.

She says Obama wants to accelerate training of the Afghan police, reduce corruption, increase economic development and possibly negotiate with the Taliban.

"It's never been just about the troops for Obama," Wadhams says. "More troops are part of a bigger strategic shift. The Obama administration wants to engage Afghanistan more deeply than the Bush administration."

President Obama has talked about a "more for more" strategy, which will commit more troops to the effort in Afghanistan, but would be looking for more help from its allies and from the Afghan government.

The U.S. will also increase aid to strengthen the Afghan government, including additional aid for education, infrastructure and human services. It will also help fund alternative livelihoods for farmers who abandon producing opium.

But that aid will be tied to better performance by the government on fighting corruption and establishing rule of law.

Any ultimate solution to Afghanistan's challenges would have to involve political negotiations with two players: Pakistan and the Taliban, some say.

Pakistan gives the Taliban financial and logistical support, along with sanctuary, says Jawad, Afghanistan's U.S. ambassador.

"The reason we have not been able to establish sustainable peace and stability has been Pakistan," Jawad says. "We were able to push the Taliban out of power, but we pushed them out into the countryside and Pakistan, where they were able to reorganize."

Richard Holbrooke, who was just appointed as an envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, will be making a first trip to the region next week. He wants Karzai to crack down on corruption and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to crack down on extremists on Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.

Tanner, the military historian, says just cracking down on the Taliban is a mistake -- some would be open to negotiations.

"The Taliban are no longer all hardcore fanatics," Tanner says. "There are a lot of moderate elements. You have to bring the Taliban into the Afghan government, not to take it over but to at least participate."

Afghanistan's bloody history

Afghans are filled with a fierce nationalism that goes back centuries.

Milton Bearden, a former CIA station chief who worked in Afghanistan, once called the country a "graveyard of empires" in a Foreign Affairs magazine essay. He says its tribesmen almost killed Alexander the Great when he invaded and bloodied Genghis Khan's armies so much that the Mongol leader gained control "only after reaching painful accommodations with the Afghans."

Afghanistan's history is so steeped in violence that some historians say the ancient Persians called it the "land of the unruly" (others say the term was coined by an Afghan king).

Joel Hafvenstein, author of "Opium Season," is an American who spent years working in Afghanistan among the people. He went there to help reduce the country's opium harvest.

He says Afghans are a lot like Americans: They're filled with a powerful national pride.

"Even broadly pro-Western friends of mine still don't really consider their country 'free' as long as foreign soldiers are here, and each airstrike that kills civilians reduces tolerance for foreign military forces around the country," he says.

The Taliban are seen as a foreign force by many Afghans, Hafvenstein says.

"Many Afghans saw the Taliban as an occupation army funded by Pakistan and various Arab countries, and were willing to tolerate a U.S./NATO military presence in Afghanistan as a lesser evil," he says.

Hafvenstein says he saw something else in the Afghan people that Obama -- and U.S. troops -- would be happy to see more of in the coming years.

"I've been surprised by the gentleness of most Afghans I know," he says. "You come here laboring under these stereotypes of the ferocious Afghan, and you find instead that most people are extremely gentle and compassionate -- and extremely determined with a knack for survival."

Kidnapped American U.N. Official in Pakistan Loves to Help Refugees, Friend Says

When John Solecki, the American U.N. worker kidnapped Monday in Pakistan, started working for the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, he told friends that he had found his calling, according to an opinion piece written by one of his former Columbia College professors."He soothes the feelings of people in distress," Richard Bulliet wrote in the International Herald Tribune Tuesday. "They know without his having to say it that he is doing his best to help them. And he does help them."
Bulliet wrote that the calm attitude could be helping Solecki, who serves as head of the U.N. refugee office in the city of Quetta."My guess is that he is already trying to talk to them in his direct and unflappable manner. And he is probably aware that people in many governments and agencies are working to secure his release. I'm sure he is calmer than I or anyone else I know would be under similar circumstances."
Gunmen seized Solecki as he traveled to work Monday morning, and shot and killed his driver, U.N. and Pakistani officials said. While the government there called the abduction a "dastardly terrorist act," police said it was not clear whether Islamist militants, criminals seeking a ransom payment or members of a regional separatist group were responsible.Bulliet, who did not immediately respond to an interview request by FOXNews.com, openly questioned why this happened to his dear friend."Why would anyone kidnap a man who has spent his entire career serving the needs of people in distress under the auspices of the United Nations?," he wrote. "He is an American citizen, but he doesn't work for or represent the United States government."Quetta is the capital of Baluchistan province, which partly borders Afghanistan. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has worked for three decades in the region helping hundreds of thousands of Afghans fleeing violence in their homeland.While a violent region, it has largely been spared the Al Qaeda and Taliban insurgency wracking much of northwestern Pakistan, where several foreigners have been attacked or kidnapped in recent months.Quetta has been mentioned by Afghan officials as a likely hiding place for Mullah Omar and other Taliban leaders who are thought to have fled Afghanistan after the U.S. invasion in 2001.

Clinton, Miliband Discuss Afghanistan, Iran, Middle East

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Iran has an opportunity to break out of its isolation over its nuclear program and become what she described as a "productive member" of the world community. She spoke on the eve of a meeting in Germany at which world powers will review diplomatic efforts to get Iran to stop enriching uranium.The Obama administration has expressed a readiness to drop preconditions for dialogue with Iran, and Secretary Clinton is depicting the current White House policy review as a chance for Tehran to break out of its self-imposed international isolation.
The secretary of state spoke to reporters with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband as senior diplomats from the five permanent U.N. Security Council member countries and Germany, the P5+1, prepared to convene Wednesday in Wiesbaden, Germany for their first meeting on the Iran nuclear issue since the new U.S. administration took office.Clinton alluded to interview remarks by President Obama last week that he would pursue diplomacy with Iran if that government "unclenched its fist.""Iran has an opportunity to step up and become a productive member of the international community. As President Obama said, we are reaching out a hand, but the fist has to unclench. And we will see how we proceed together toward a policy that we believe represents objectives that we share vis-à-vis Iran," she said.Miliband, the first senior foreign official to meet Clinton at the State Department in her new capacity had similar comments. Though Iran has ignored three U.N. Security Council sanctions resolutions to press on with its enrichment drive, the British Foreign Secretary said it is not too late for Tehran to chart a different course."We have talked also about the importance of the Iranian nuclear issue and your commitment to engage with other countries in making clear to Iran the costs of its conduct. But also making clear to Iran that if it is willing to accept its responsibilities in the international community, it will be a welcome member of the international community, exercising its rights as well as its responsibilities I think is a very important message," he said.
Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns will represent the United States at the policy meeting in Germany.Within the P5+1, Russia, and China have resisted pressure from the United States, Britain, France and Germany for tighter sanctions against Iran, but they did support a new Security Council resolution in October reaffirming international demands that Iran stop its enrichment drive.Iran has maintained a defiant stand in advance of the Weisbaden meeting. Its parliament speaker and former nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said Monday those who expect Iran to give up nuclear technology are "talking nonsense."And Iran claimed the launch of its first space satellite, action that drew an expression of concern from Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell."It is certainly a reason for us to be concerned about Iran and its continued attempts to develop a ballistic-missile program, increasingly long-range. Although this would appear just to be the launch of a satellite, their first, obviously there are dual-use capabilities in the technology here which could be applied toward the development of a long-range ballistic missile. And that is a cause of concern to us and I think to certainly everybody in the region, Israel and their Arab neighbors as well as to our allies in Europe," the spokesman said.The State Department said Iran's missile efforts are of deep concern and noted that U.N. member states are obligated under a 2006 Security Council resolution to prevent sales to Iran of technology or hardware that could advance its nuclear and missile programs.

Pakistan militant attack halts US, NATO supplies

PESHAWAR, Pakistan— Islamist militants blew up a bridge in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, cutting a major supply line for Western troops in Afghanistan, a government official and a NATO spokesman said.
The attack was the latest in a series on the Khyber Pass by insurgents seeking to hamper the U.S.-led mission against the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan.
A NATO spokesman in Afghanistan confirmed that supplies along the route had been halted "for the time being," but stressed the alliance was in no danger of running out of food, equipment or fuel.
The attack will add urgency to NATO and U.S. efforts to find alternative supply routes to landlocked Afghanistan, an already vital task given American plans to double its troop numbers in the country.
Meanwhile, authorities said they were questioning 15 people in connection with the abduction Monday of an American U.N. worker in the southwest of the country.
They said the men, among them several Afghans, were not considered suspects in the attack in which American John Solecki was kidnapped and his driver was shot and killed. The assault underscored the threats to foreigners in Pakistan as it battles al-Qaida militants.
Hidayat Ullah, a government official in the Khyber tribal area, said the bridge was about 15 miles (25 kilometers) northwest of the main city of Peshawar. He said trucks carrying NATO and U.S. supplies were unable to cross it.
It was not immediately clear whether supply convoys could reach Afghanistan through alternative routes in the region, nor how long it would take to rebuild it.
Up to 75 percent of the fuel and supplies destined for U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan travel through Pakistan after being unloaded at the port of Karachi. Most are driven along the Khyber Pass.
Pakistan has dispatched paramilitary escorts for supply convoys and cracked down on militants in Khyber, but attacks have persisted in an area that up to three years ago was largely free of violence.
Solecki was kidnapped as he traveled to work in Quetta city in Baluchistan, a province that partly borders Afghanistan but has largely been spared the al-Qaida and Taliban insurgency in the northwest.
The government called the abduction a "dastardly terrorist act." But police said it was not clear whether Islamist militants, criminals seeking a ransom payment or members of a regional separatist group were responsible.
"We have opened investigations, and our various teams are working on this case and the effort is to safely recover the man," said senior police officer Wazir Khan.
Solecki headed the Quetta office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, which has worked for three decades in the region helping hundreds of thousands of Afghans fleeing violence in their homeland.
Suspected militants have attacked or kidnapped several foreigners in recent months.
In August, Lynne Tracy, the top U.S. diplomat in the northwest, narrowly survived an attack on her vehicle in Peshawar by suspected militants. In November, also in Peshawar, gunmen shot and killed American aid worker Stephen Vance.
Quetta has been mentioned by Afghan officials as a likely hiding place for Mullah Omar and other Taliban leaders thought to have fled Afghanistan after the U.S. invasion in 2001.
Baluchistan is also the scene of a low-level insurgency driven by nationalist groups wanting more regional autonomy. They are not known to target foreigners.
Meanwhile, at least 35 Islamist militants were killed in an overnight operation in Swat Valley, an area in the northwest which has been increasingly overrun with insurgents, Pakistan's military said in a statement.

Afghanistan is no Vietnam...Mullen

WASHINGTON — The top U.S. military officer cautioned Monday against comparing the Pentagon's renewed focus on Afghanistan to the Vietnam War, citing terrorism and a non-occupation strategy as "dramatic differences" between the two conflicts.
"Afghanistan is much more complex," said Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
He added: "I certainly recognize — and having been in Vietnam myself — that there are those who make comparisons. I would be pretty careful about that though, for lots of reasons."
Mullen's comments came as the Pentagon prepares to deploy an additional 15,000 Army and Marine troops to Afghanistan this spring and summer in the Obama administration's military campaign to shut down the Taliban and al-Qaida.
Ultimately, an estimated 60,000 U.S. troops could be in Afghanistan over the next year as Obama starts ordering soldiers from Iraq. There are currently about 32,000 American troops in Afghanistan.
Speaking to a Washington meeting of the Reserve Officers Association, Mullen stopped short of predicting how long U.S. troops would remain in Afghanistan. He said the main difference between Afghanistan and Vietnam is that "we are not an occupying force."
"We have no intention of that," Mullen said. "There isn't any of the 42-plus countries who are there that have that intention. ... That said, we cannot send a message to the Afghan people that we are."
Chief among the concerns, Mullen said, is making sure Afghanistan never again becomes a safe haven for al-Qaida leaders who moved to lawless Pakistan tribal regions in the post-9/11 hunt for Osama bin Laden.
"We cannot accept that al-Qaida leadership which continues to plan against us every single day — and I mean us, here in America — to have that safe haven in Pakistan nor could resume one in Afghanistan," Mullen said.
Efforts to eliminate government corruption and develop the poor nation also marks a contrast between the U.S. mission in Afghanistan from Vietnam, Mullen said.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates met Monday with President Barack Obama, but White House spokesman Robert Gibbs would not say whether the two discussed troop levels in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon released a long-awaited study Monday describing crumbling security and a peak in violence in Afghanistan in spring and summer of 2008.
The quarterly status report, required by Congress, focused mostly on data available between April and September 2008 but included some year-end details, including:
_Between January and December 10, 2008, 132 U.S. personnel in Afghanistan died as the result of hostile action, up from 82 in 2007.
_The Afghan National Army Air Corps is beefing up its reconnaissance and gunship fleets and added 27 new helicopters and cargo planes by the end of December.
_As of December, NATO had provided only 42 Operational Mentor Liaison Teams out of 103 promised to train the Afghan National Security Forces.
The shortfall of the teams impacts the training of the Afghan forces, the report noted.
_The annual Failed State Index, published by the Fund for Peace, showed worsening governance in Afghanistan between 2006 and 2008.
Mullen also said the global financial crisis is threatening U.S. security options abroad, forcing a delicate balance between national security and federal budget cuts.
"I am extremely concerned that in fact one of the outputs of this financial crisis will be an increase in instability," Mullen said.
He added: "Clearly, in listening to our new president, it's going to have an impact on the budgets in our government."

Waste, fraud in Iraq being repeated in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON — Waste and corruption that marred Iraq's reconstruction will be repeated in Afghanistan unless the U.S. transforms the unwieldy bureaucracy managing tens of billions of dollars in infrastructure projects, government watchdogs warned Monday.
The U.S. has devoted more than $30 billion to rebuilding Afghanistan. Yet despite the hard lessons learned in Iraq, where the U.S. has spent nearly $51 billion on reconstruction, the effort in Afghanistan is headed down the same path, the watchdogs told a new panel investigating wartime contracts.
"Before we go pouring more money in, we really need to know what we're trying to accomplish (in Afghanistan)," said Ginger Cruz, deputy special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. "And at what point do you turn off the spigot so you're not pouring money into a black hole?"
Better cooperation among federal agencies, more flexible contracting rules, constant oversight and experienced acquisition teams are among the changes urged by the officials in order to make sure money isn't wasted and contractors don't cheat.
Cruz, along with Stuart Bowen, the top U.S. official overseeing Iraq's reconstruction, delivered a grim report to the Commission on Wartime Contracting. Their assessment, along with testimony from Thomas Gimble of the Defense Department inspector general's office, laid out a history of poor planning, weak oversight and greed that soaked U.S. taxpayers and undermined American forces in Iraq.
Bowen, who has made 21 trips to Iraq since he was appointed in October 2004, said the U.S. has financed a wide array of projects in Iraq — from training the Iraqi army and police to rebuilding the country's oil, electric, justice, health and transportation sectors.
Some of these projects succeeded, Bowen told the commission at its first public hearing, but many did not. Violence in Iraq and constant friction between U.S. officials in Washington and Baghdad were also major factors that undercut progress.
A 456-page study by Bowen's office, "Hard Lessons: The Iraq Reconstruction Experience," reviews the problems in an effort the Bush administration initially thought would cost $2.4 billion.
The U.S. government "was neither prepared for nor able to respond quickly to the ever-changing demands" of stabilizing Iraq and then rebuilding it, said Bowen. "For the last six years we have been on a steep learning curve."
Overall, the Pentagon, State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development have paid contractors more than $100 billion since 2003 for goods and services to support war operations and rebuilding projects in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Congress created the bipartisan panel a year ago over the objections of the Bush White House, which complained the Justice Department might be forced to disclose sensitive information about investigations.
There are 154 open criminal investigations into allegations of bribery, conflicts of interest, defective products, bid rigging and theft in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, said Gimble, the Pentagon's principal deputy inspector general.
Gimble noted that contracting scandals have gone on since the late 1700s when vendors swindled George Washington's army.
"Today, instead of empty barrels of meat, contractors produced inadequate or unusable facilities that required extensive rework," Gimble said. "Like the Continental Forces who encountered fraud, the (Defense Department) also encounters fraud."
Gimble's office found that a small number of inexperienced civilian or military personnel "were assigned far-reaching responsibilities for an unreasonably large number of contracts."
He cited an account tapped frequently by U.S. military commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan to build schools, roads and hospitals. More than $3 billion was spent on these projects, which were not always properly managed.
"In some instances, there appeared to be scant, if any, oversight of the manner in which funds were expended," Gimble said. "Complicating matters further is the fact that payment of bribes and gratuities to government officials is a common business practice in some Southwest Asia nations."
In "Hard Lessons," Bowen said his office found fraud to be less of a problem than persistent inefficiencies and hefty contractor fees that "all contributed to a significant waste of taxpayer dollars."
Styled after the Truman Committee, which examined World War II spending six decades ago, the eight-member panel has broad authority to examine military support contracts, reconstruction projects and private security companies.
In addition to examining flawed contracting, the commission will also study whether battlefield jobs handled by contractors such as aircraft maintenance and motor pools should be reserved for military and government employees.
The panel has until August 2010 to produce a final report. It can refer to the Justice Department any violations of the law it finds.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who pushed for formation of the commission, urged members to be aggressive and to hold people accountable.
"Harry Truman has been rolling in his grave for the last five years," said McCaskill, referring to the former Missouri senator (and later president) who led the Truman Committee. "A report is not going to be enough. You're going to need a two-by-four."

Germany to send troops to France as army ties deepen

PARIS - German troops will be stationed in France for the first time since World War Two when German forces occupied much of the country, a source said on Monday, a sign of ever closer military ties between the two historic foes.

A battalion of some 450-800 soldiers will probably be stationed near the northeastern city of Strasbourg, but France and Germany are still negotiating over the precise location, the diplomatic source told Reuters.

"The question of whether this will happen has basically been decided, it's now about the 'how' and 'how many' and 'where'," the source said.

Relations between Germany and France used to be bitterly hostile as a result of the 1870 Franco-German conflict and two world wars, but the former enemies now run a bi-national brigade and have shaped the core of Europe's joint defence strategy.

"The prospect of seeing German troops settle in France again regularly makes my grandfather splutter," wrote a French reader on the website of newspaper Liberation when the idea was first floated by President Nicolas Sarkozy last November.

For the online commentator it was something to welcome:

"What an extraordinary symbol of Franco-German reconciliation" read the post.

Sarkozy proposed the move amid negotiations over the future of the 5,000-strong French-German brigade, which has been on missions in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan since it was founded 20 years ago.

The brigade's main units are currently stationed in the German towns of Donaueschingen, Muellheim and Immendingen. But their future looked uncertain after France said it would recall some of the troops to plug gaps left by military cutbacks and a strategic re-shuffle of regiments at home.

"Now we have to agree on a location and what kind of unit will be offered. Talks are taking place at the highest level," the source said.

The troops are likely to settle in Alsace or Lorraine, regions that were alternately claimed by Germany and France for centuries and now form part of France.

Germany favours the Alsatian towns of Colmar and Illkirch as a new home for its battalion, while France would prefer the towns of Metz or Bitche in Lorraine, but may be willing to settle on Illkirch, the source said.

Sarkozy and Merkel are expected to announce further details of the plan this weekend at a security conference in Munich, German media reported.

Clinton sworn in to new U.S. Post

Ironies pile up as Clinton sworn in to new U.S. post

WASHINGTON--The ironies and memories piled up fast on Monday when U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, with husband Bill Clinton at her side, was publicly sworn-in to her new post by Vice President Joe Biden.

"Never did I think, Madame secretary, that I would swear you in as secretary of state," said Biden, once considered a front-runner for the top diplomatic job until President Barack Obama tapped him as his number two.

"Never did I think I'd be sworn in as vice president," he said to laughter at a State Department ceremony attended by several hundred of Clinton's friends and colleagues as well as four former secretaries of state.

Clinton noted the strange twists of fate that led them there.

"For me this has been an amazing personal journey," said the former first lady, who was the early favourite for the Democratic presidential nomination last year until Obama beat her in a gruelling campaign.

Biden also ran for president last year, but bowed out after early losses to Clinton and Obama.

"As Joe laughingly referenced, neither one of us thought we would be standing here together doing what we are now doing. Life has that funny way of unfolding and politics is even stranger," she said.

Clinton placed her hand on a Bible held by her husband, the former president, as she repeated the oath administered by Biden. She was sworn in privately on January 21 after she was confirmed by the Senate.

She acknowledged four former secretaries of state who attended the ceremony -- Henry Kissinger, James Baker, Madeleine Albright and Lawrence Eagleburger -- and made special note of some of her colleagues from Congress there.

Clinton singled out Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, "who after all presided over my confirmation hearing."

"I look forward to working with all of you -- particularly the appropriators," she said, alluding to the powerful members of Congress who dole out money for the State Department and other government agencies.

Handful of extremists can’t take country hostage: President Zardari

ISLAMABAD: Urging the need for financial support from US, President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday made it clear that a handful of extremists cannot make the country hostage at any cost.
President Zardari expressed these views during a meeting with US congressional delegation in Aiwan-e-Sadr on Monday.
The delegation comprised Representatives John F. Tierney, George Miller, Chris Van Hollen, Chris Welch, Christopher Murphy and Ron Kind.
A. Rehman Malik, Advisor to PM on Interior, Shaukat Tarin, Finance Advisor, Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Anne W. Patterson, US Ambassador in Pakistan were also present in the meeting.
Sources told Online that a host of issues including war against terror, US drone attacks, bilateral relations and regional situation was discussed in depth in the meeting.
Sources said, the President made it clear to them that Pakistan has paid a heavy price in terms of life and property after becoming ally in the war against terrorism.
He made them realise that the war could not be won without the financial support of US.
Sources said the President pointed out that situation in Swat was not encouraging, adding "we have will and ability to fight out terrorists and we will use the strategy of minimum collateral damage."
President said US must immediately stop drone attacks "as they are proving counterproductive," adding US must safeguard the interests of Pakistan in war against terrorism.
He told the delegation that he anticipates that US President Barrack Obama to take positive measures regarding Pakistan's problems.
Meanwhile Chief Minister NWFP Amir Haider Khan Hoti also met President Asif Ali Zardari.
Hoti briefed President on various issues relating to security situation in Swat, government steps and others, sources say.
President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his assurance that government will not hold talks with miscreants

— An eye-opener for ANP-

PESHAWAR: Known for changing political parties, the resignation of Khwaja Muhammad Khan Hoti from federal cabinet was not a bolt from the blue. However, his criticism of the party policies is an eye-opener for the ANP leadership before awarding tickets to the novice and well-off candidates for Senate elections.According to a provincial office-bearer of the ANP, the party had received more than 60 applications for the upcoming Senate elections, majority of whom belonged to influential and resourceful families. Out of eleven vacant seats, the ANP is expected to win six in case it makes adjustment with independent MPAs and other parties.Taking a U-turn from its old track, the Awami National Party had awarded tickets to newcomers but wealthy candidates for 2008 general elections and after securing maximum seats in the province, the nationalist party then inducted resourceful politicians both in the federal cabinet as well as provincial cabinet. Ignoring experienced parliamentarians and diehard loyalists of the ANP like late Abdul Mateen Khan, Arbab Muhammad Zahir Khan, Muzafarul Mulk, Pir Haider Ali Shah and Pervez Khan in the federal cabinet from the ANP quota had earned a wide flak for the party leadership but the influential Nawabzada was given berth in the federal cabinet as federal minister for social welfare and special education in its first phase.Similarly, the ANP had preferred the newcomers to the old party activists in the NWFP cabinet whereas important portfolios were awarded to those who had either joined the party before the polls or after elections.The favour began with the nomination of Syed Masoom Shah as personal secretary to the NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti, who is serving political advisor to the chief minister. After having a long association with the students’ wing of the Pakistan People’s Party, Masoom Shah had joined former NWFP chief minister Aftab Sherpao when he formed his own faction of the PPP. However, he joined the ANP before 2008 elections and was awarded party ticket for PF-21 Charsadda where he lost to Sikandar Sherpao.NWFP Minister for Agriculture Arbab Ayub Jan had a track record of changing parties since coming into electoral politics in 1985. After switching over from PPP to ANP and then National Awami Party Pakistan (NAPP), Arbab Ayub Jan was the central president of the NAPP before re-joining the ANP. He contested the 2008 general elections on the ANP ticket and won. Provincial Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Barrister Arshad Abdullah had joined the ANP before general elections 2008 who had contested 2002 elections on the PPP ticket against Sangeen Wali Khan, son of Khan Abdul Wali Khan, on PF-18 Charsadda. He was fortunate enough to win elections on the ANP ticket and secure a berth in the provincial cabinet while superseding Bashir Umerzai and Fazl Ghafoor Khan — hailing from the same district who had been associated with the party since long.
Another lucky MPA Hidayatullah from Dir Upper district was blessed with a ministerial job. He was previously associated with the Jamaat-e-Islami. But when the JI boycotted the general elections, he applied for the ANP ticket, which he got. He won the elections. He is now Minister for Livestock in the NWFP cabinet.Provincial minister Qazi Asad from Haripur, Mian Nisar Gul Kakakhel from Karak and Amjad Afridi from Kohat had won 2008 elections in independent capacity but after joining the ruling ANP they were inducted in the provincial cabinet. Mian Nisar Gul had won the 2002 general elections from the platform of Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf but put his weight behind the MMA government for almost five years. Qazi Asad was elected to the provincial assembly on the PML-Q ticket in 2002 general elections but was re-elected to the NWFP Assembly in independent capacity and was inducted in the provincial cabinet as minister for higher education on the ANP quota. Likewise, the PPP had also accommodated those in the provincial cabinet on its quota who had either associated with other political parties in past or won the elections as independent candidates.

Pakistan army 'advances in Swat'

Pakistan's army says it has retaken high ground from Taleban militants in a district of the north-west where many civilians died in weekend fighting.Charbagh district near Mingora, the main town in Swat valley, has been the scene of a major battle since Saturday.Witnesses said five more bodies were found on Monday, taking the number of dead civilians since Saturday to 25.The clash is the latest in an operation against an increasingly powerful Taleban insurgency in the valley.The military launched its offensive last week in response to a public outcry over the Taleban's growing strength in Swat.The militants have tightened their hold on the scenic valley, banning girls' education, setting up their own courts and killing those they oppose, sometimes beheading their victims.
'Died down'
"There has been heavy fighting in the area, and the militants resisted fiercely, so civilian deaths cannot be ruled out," an official at the army's media centre in Mingora told the BBC on Monday.He said that security forces had retaken all strategic heights in the Charbagh area, but that fighting had died down for the moment.Witnesses in Charbagh said five more bodies, all of them of non-combatant residents, were discovered in the area on Monday morning.On Sunday, officials in Mingora confirmed that 20 civilians had been killed since Saturday night.The army also said on Sunday that at least 16 militants and two soldiers had been killed in the battle.Meanwhile, residents of Mingora's north-western suburban neighbourhood of Sangota reported seeing eight bodies whom local people had been unable to identify.
In Mingora's southern neighbourhood of Rahimabad, witnesses said a beheaded body of a policeman was found.Correspondents based in Mingora said thousands of people were moving out of Charbagh area to escape the fighting.In some cases the fleeing families were leaving behind their dead, they said.

American U.N. Official Is Abducted in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A senior United Nations official was abducted and his driver was killed Monday morning in the southwestern city of Quetta, according to United Nations and Pakistani officials.The United Nations identified the official as John Solecki, an American, who was heading the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan Province.“We are confirming that an unfortunate incident happened this morning when Mr. John Solecki was abducted,” Amena Kamal, the spokeswoman for the United Nations in Islamabad, said by telephone.Ron Redmond, the spokesman for the United Nations refugee office in Geneva also confirmed the abduction but gave no details. The agency has 49 staff members in Quetta, where it has worked since 1980. It provides support to some 400,000 Afghan refugees in 10 villages and camps, agency officials said.There were no immediate claims of responsibility.A Pakistani security official said that such a high-profile kidnapping was unusual in Quetta and that he believed that Mr. Solecki probably had been seized for ransom or by the Taliban.Mr. Solecki had been in Pakistan for about two years, Ms. Kamal said. She said he was headed to work Monday morning when his vehicle was intercepted by gunmen. The driver was shot during the abduction and died on the way to the hospital, she said.Television images showed the white Toyota vehicle of Mr. Solecki rammed against a wall by the roadside — apparently as a result of the driver losing control of the vehicle after it came under fire. The police cordoned off the street after the incident.
Ms. Kamal said there had been no prior threats.
United Nations officials said the aid agency was in touch with the Pakistani government to try to obtain Mr. Solecki’s release.Wazir Khan Nasir, an official in the Quetta police, was quoted by Pakistani television as saying that Mr. Solecki did not have armed guards with him.Baluchistan Province borders Afghanistan and it has seen a low-level insurgency spearheaded by nationalists who are demanding more autonomy and a greater share in the province’s natural resources.At the same time, the Taliban have also maintained their presence in several districts of the province, especially the border areas.

UN warns of massive exodus

RAWALPINDI, The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has projected that the situation in Swat valley and the tribal areas would aggravate during the year, causing a fresh displacement of up to 625,000 people.
“An analysis indicates that there is a significant likelihood of large-scale clashes and intensified military offensives throughout 2009, and possibly into 2010,” the study said.According to the OCHA’s “humanitarian response plan”, the displacement would exacerbate an “already complex humanitarian situation”.Population movements have been fluid and more constant in comparison with August; the conflict continues with no sign of abating.The situation in Swat district was particularly alarming, with areas under militant control receiving very little or no assistance. Large portions of Swat district remain under curfew or inaccessible to aid agencies.
The security situation creates constraints for the adequate delivery of assistance to the entire affected population. The situation in Swat district and Fata remains particularly challenging and off-limits for most humanitarian agencies, as military operations continue with parts of the area under de facto control of non-state actors, the report says.The OCHA has announced that an amount of $127 million will be required to assist newly displaced persons. With $29 million in funding available from original appeal for the Pakistan Humanitarian Response Plan, this leaves an unmet requirement of $98 million for 2009, it explained in a statement.In Swat district, fighting is on the rise with 50 per cent of its 1.8 million inhabitants affected by the conflict and a large number of individuals displaced.Until now, 232,720 displaced people have been registered in nine districts of the NWFP.

CHITRAL: Protest against sale of stale chicken meat

CHITRAL: The residents of Chitral complained that stale and contaminated chicken meat was being sold in the Chitral bazaar in connivance with the food department officials and the local administration.Talking to this scribe on Saturday the residents said that the carcasses of the chicken were displayed in the open air exposed to dust and other contaminations. They expressed their apprehensions that the carcasses might also include the chicken, which had died on the way, while being transported from Afghanistan to Chitral via Arandu border.They said that only live chicken were to be sold in the market and according to the rules of the food department, it was forbidden to sell butchered chicken. They alleged that the food department was totally indifferent to its duties and was letting the vendors sell substandard meat to the people at exorbitant prices.They were of the view that the number of heart patients had increased manifold in the area over the recent time and the consumption of substandard meat was one of the reasons.Meanwhile, District Coordination Officer (DCO) Chitral Mutasim Billah Shah conducted a surprise raid of the Chitral bazaar here on Saturday and recovered thousands of bags of sugar, rice, pulses and urea fertilizers, which were being hoarded.

Hoti quits cabinet, says ANP betrayed Pakhtuns

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Narcotics Control Nawabzada Khawaja Mohammad Khan Hoti alias Toti Khan on Sunday announced to quit the cabinet in protest over the Awami National Party's (ANP) failure to honour its pledges made with the masses and leaving the people at the mercy of terrorists.
Addressing a packed press conference here, Khawaja Hoti said that ANP is responsible for the bloodshed of Pahktuns.
Hoti also complained that the problems of his constituency were not being taken into consideration, adding that even the provincial government did not take him into confidence in any matter of the province.
But Hoti said the decision of resignation was made in protest over poor law and order situation and rampant corruption in NWFP.
"I quit cabinet due to military operation in Swat, Hangu and FATA," he said, adding "Awami National Party has lost its control over the province and the masses are left at the mercy of terrorists."
Reacting to Hoti's allegations, ANP's central spokesperson Zahid Khan alleged that Khawaja Hoti had crossed the party lines so he should also give up the seat in the National Assembly.
Talking to media persons the ANP spokesman said: "We have the option to go to election commission if Hoti does not quit the National Assembly seat."
The spokesman said ANP was a disciplined party and has sufficient rules and regulations to deal with such cases of violation of party discipline.
He said the resigned minister was a member of party's all vital decision-making bodies. He never raised his concerns in party meetings.
Hoti has not yet conveyed the party about his resignation decision - verbally or in writing, Zahid said.
However Hoti denied the charges framed against him and said he never violated party norms and raised his voice against decisions in party he considered incorrect.
Hoti alleged that some elements of the party were hatching conspiracies against him in his constituency.
"False allegations are being levelled against me," he said.
"I am ready to quit National Assembly if someone proves allegations against me", he challenged.
that the problems of his constituency were also not being taken into consideration.
To a question he said: "I asked party chief Asfandyar Wali several times to take notice of the conspiracies against me but to no avail."
Reply to a question, Hoti said although his son Omar Farooq has joined PML-N, however "I can not even think to leave ANP."
"We failed to fulfil pledges which we made with the masses during elections campaign. "I would continue to raise voices for the people of my constituency in the National Assembly", he concluded.

Swat suffers one of deadliest days: 64 killed

CRUSH TALIBAN AND MULLAHS.



Food shortage hits the valley; hundreds of families migrate; Edhi suspends service as ambulance attacked.
MINGORA: In one of the deadliest days, women and children among 64 people were killed in troops shelling in different areas as security forces accelerated cannon fire against militants in the valley while people's exodus continued as hundreds of people migrated from the restive areas on Sunday.
According to an ISPR press release 16 millitants were killed in the past 24 hours, however Taliban sources confirmed the death of only two militants.
A medical technician and a dispenser were killed and six other hurt including a driver by the firing on unknown persons on the four Edhi ambulances carrying wounded people from Charbagh.
After the incident the Edhi Foundation suspended the aid service in the area which added to the miseries of people.
The security forces, backed by gunship helicopters, pounded suspected militants hideouts in Charbagh on Saturday night till Sunday morning.
However the locals alleged the onslaught mostly targeted the civilian areas.
The security forces have stepped up operations against militants in Swat following the visit of Chief of the Army Staff Ashfaq Pervez Kayani to the valley. The forces targeted the hideouts of the militants with artillery shelling in Charbagh, Matta, Mangalor and Kabal areas, sources in the military told the Statesman.
Two militants were killed in clashes between security forces and militants in Matta.
At lease nine people were killed by the gunship helicopters shelling in Chamaktai, Khwazakhela while five of a family died in Mangalwar.
Five other people were perished in Jokai area due to gunships shelling, locals said.
At least 21 dead bodies, including children and women, were retrieved from houses in Shaikh Pallu area of tehsil Charbagh which was targeted by the security forces on Saturday night.
The dead bodies could not be taken from the area due to imposition of curfew.
A dead body was found in Hazara area of Kabal, while a man was killed in shelling at the hideouts of militants.
A police constable was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Rahimabad.
The security forces are advancing towards Charbagh and upper areas.
Several houses were demolished due to shelling of security forces in Dehri area.
"A total 64 people were reportedly killed across the valley in Sunday's carnage, the deadliest since the operation launched in the valley," people say.
According to officials and people at least 80 percent areas of the district are under curfew for the last nine days due to which people face acute shortage of daily use items.
"People are dying for food in the curfew areas, let aside medical assistance," people who migrated to Mingora said.
Reportedly 300 children, aged between 5 to 8, are trapped in a madrassa in Manglawar, they said.
The exodus continued as dozens of families shifted from Charbagh and thousands of people have been displaced due to operation.
Witnesses said families using mountainous areas to reach Mingora and onward due imposition of curfew in most of the upper areas of the valley.
"Thousands of people have been migrated from the highland valley to other parts of the province in just two days," official sources said.
Official figures show seven lakh people have already left the valley of 17 lakh population.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has projected that the situation in Swat valley and the tribal areas would aggravate during the year, causing a fresh displacement of up to 625,000 people.
According to the OCHA's "humanitarian response plan", the displacement would exacerbate an "already complex humanitarian situation".
Population movements have been fluid and more constant in comparison with August; the conflict continues with no sign of abating.
The situation in Swat district was particularly alarming, with areas under militant control receiving very little or no assistance. Large portions of Swat district remain under curfew or inaccessible to aid agencies.
The OCHA has announced that an amount of $127 million will be required to assist newly displaced persons. With $29 million in funding available from original appeal for the Pakistan Humanitarian Response Plan, this leaves an unmet requirement of $98 million for 2009, it explained in a statement.
In Swat district, fighting is on the rise with 50 per cent of its 1.8 million inhabitants affected by the conflict and a large number of individuals displaced, according to UN report.
Until now, 232,720 displaced people have been registered in nine districts of the NWFP.

Suicide bomber attacks foreign troops in Kabul

KABUL - A suicide bomber in a car attacked a convoy of foreign troops in the Afghan capital Sunday, but there was no immediate word on casualties, a police officer said. Taliban militants claimed responsibility for the attack.The bomber targeted the convoy in Kabul's western outskirts, said Gen. Zulmay Khan Horiyakheil, a regional police commander. It was not clear if the bomber hit the convoy. Representatives for NATO and U.S. troops said they were checking the report.A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahed, claimed responsibility for the blast in a phone call to an Associated Press reporter in Kabul.Insurgent regularly launch suicide attacks on foreign and Afghan troops throughout Afghanistan, but the number of such attacks in the capital has decreased over the past year.There are some 70,000 U.S. and other NATO troops in the country.U.S. President Barack Obama's administration has indicated it is likely to send 30,000 additional troops in hopes of turning the tide of Taliban gains, and extending the control of the central government into the far reaches of the country.

North Korea says two Koreas on path toward war

SEOUL- North Korea warned on Sunday that the downward spiral of relations with the South has pushed the peninsula to the brink of war, two days after it said it was scrapping all pacts with its rich capitalist neighbor.

Analysts say the rhetorical volleys are aimed at changing the hardline policies of the South's president and are meant to grab the attention of new U.S. President Barack Obama.

"The policy of confrontation with the DPRK (North Korea) pursued by the (South Korean) group is ... the very source of military conflicts and war between the North and the South," the North's official KCNA news agency reported a commentary in the communist party newspaper as saying.

"In Korea in the state of armistice confrontation means escalated tension and it may lead to an uncontrollable and unavoidable military conflict and a war," it said.

The states, technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended with a cease fire and not a peace treaty, have more than 1 million troops near their border. There are about 28,000 U.S. troops in South Korea to defend the country.

The North's bureaucracy works slowly to form policy and it may still be trying to figure out its approach with the new Obama team, analysts said, making it easier for Pyongyang to direct its anger at Washington's allies, including Seoul.

The North in recent months has repeatedly threatened to destroy the conservative government of President Lee Myung-bak, which ended a decade of free-flowing aid to Pyongyang after taking office a year ago.

Lee's government mostly ignores Pyongyang's taunts.

"North Korea's escalating threats do not indicate major hostilities are imminent," said Bruce Klingner, an expert on Korean affairs at the Heritage Foundation in Washington.

"However, they could easily presage another round of tactical naval confrontations with South Korea in the Yellow Sea."

The two Koreas fought deadly naval skirmishes in disputed Yellow Sea waters off the west coast in 1999 and 2002.

North Korea has clamped down on it border with the South in recent months and has canceled cooperation deals reached during a period of detente in the past few years before Lee came to power.

The deals included reunions for separated families and running trains across the heavily guarded border.

The latest move follows comments by a U.S. national security official that the secretive state's leader, Kim Jong-il, appeared to have rebounded politically from his recent health scare and is making major decisions.

Kim inspected a military unit and a power plant at the weekend, KCNA said, with Kim noting "the (North) Korean people are ready to flatten even a mountain and empty even a sea at one go when called for by the Party.

Israel hits Hamas targets in Gaza

Israeli aircraft have bombed a Hamas security target in Gaza City and tunnels used by the militant group along the border with Egypt.

There were no reports of casualties after the strikes late on Sunday.

Israeli PM Ehud Olmert earlier vowed a "disproportionate" response to rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza.

He was speaking soon after at least two rockets hit southern Israel. Later three Israelis were injured in a mortar barrage by Palestinian militants.

Late on Sunday, Israeli aircraft carried out a strike on an empty Hamas police station in Gaza City, Palestinian witnesses say.

They say the building had been vacated after an Israeli warning to residents to leave the area.

Palestinians also reported explosions in Rafah on the Gaza-Egypt border, where Hamas operates tunnels to smuggle in weapons and food.

The Israeli army has so far made no comments.

Abbas criticism

Two weeks ago, Israel and Hamas - which controls Gaza - declared separate truces ending a three-week conflict.

Palestinian Authority and Hamas officials are gathering in Cairo for talks aimed at boosting the ceasefires.

An adviser to Ismail Haniya, who heads the Hamas government in Gaza, told AFP news agency the militant group was waiting for Israel's response to a truce offer, transmitted by Egypt, adding that things were "moving in a positive direction".

The Egyptians have been leading efforts to broker a permanent ceasefire by holding separate talks with officials from Israel and Hamas.

But Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas told journalists in Cairo that talks were impossible with anyone who rejected the supremacy of the Palestine Liberation Organisation - in an apparent reference to Hamas's leadership.

He also accused Hamas of having "taken risks with the blood of Palestinians, with their fate, and dreams and aspirations for an independent Palestinian state".

Civilian casualty

Israel wants the rocket attacks to end and wants to prevent militants in Gaza from being able to rearm.

Hamas wants the border crossings into Gaza to be fully opened to end a 18-month blockade of Gaza.

Speaking at the weekly Israeli cabinet meeting, Mr Olmert warned Israel would respond forcefully to renewed rocket fire.

"We've said that if there is rocket fire against the south of the country, there will be a disproportionate Israeli responce to the fire on the citizens of Israel and its security forces," he said.

"The response will come at the time, the place and the manner that we choose."

His strong stance was echoed by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defence Minister Ehud Barak.

Soon afterwards, militants fired mortars at an Israeli village near the Gaza border, injuring two soldiers and a civilian.

The civilian casualty is the first since the 18 January ceasefires which ended Israel's three-week assault on Gaza, which it said was aimed at stopping rocket attacks.

Earlier, a rocket landed between two nursery schools in Eshkol region of southern Israel, media reports said.

On Saturday, a rocket fired from Gaza exploded near the Israeli city of Ashkelon, with no casualties reported, and at least two were fired in the days before.

The ceasefires, independently declared by each side, have been violated several times.

An Israeli soldier was killed in a bomb attack on the Gaza border last Tuesday. Israel responded with air raids and a brief ground incursion by soldiers and tanks.

About 1,300 Palestinians and 10 Israeli soldiers were killed in Israel's devastating three-week assault on Gaza. Three Israeli citizens died in rocket attacks.

Curtain going down on cinema culture in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: Curtains seems to be coming down on the cinema culture in the provincial metropolis, as the number of cine-goers has dropped by nearly 50 percent due to the surging militancy and other problems, a survey conducted by Daily Times showed on Sunday.Earlier, the city had around 14 cinemas; however their number has now come down to 10, as the cinema owners are razing their buildings and constructing commercial plazas.The remaining cinemas are attracting few visitors, as incidents of bombing, suicide attacks, torching and bombing of CD shops and threats to art related activities have scared the general public across the province.At present, most of the cinemas in the city are screening Pashto films, while some are showing English and Urdu films.Sabrina and Arshad Cinemas, Khyber Bazaar, are screening Pashto films but the visitors were thin in presence on Sunday showing lack of public interest in movies.Palwasha Cinema was demolished a few years ago and a multi-storey commercial complex is nearing completion in its place.Cinema Road that runs on the backside of Khyber Bazaar got its name due to location of three cinemas on its stretch. Novelty Cinema was closed down for construction of a commercial plaza, while Tasveer Mahal and Picture House are still operating, but the numbers of visitors has declined.Naz Cinema, Hospital Road, was closed on Sunday, while Firdous Cinema, Grand Trunk (GT) Road; and Capital Cinema, Sadder; were screening a Pushto and Urdu film respectively on Sunday.The buildings of these cinemas are ramshackle lacking proper paint and other facilities for the visitors.Shama Cinema, Pajjagi Road, and PAF Cinema are also screening films. The latter is mostly visited by the armed forces personnel.Adeeb, an employee of Picture House, told Daily Times that the number of visitors had dropped by 50 percent over the past few years due to militancy, computer CDs and rising inflation. He was of the view that most of the cine-goers were labourers or those who had no other source of entertainment.He said cable TC and computer CDs had played havoc with the cinema houses. He said screening of Indian films by some cinemas had also failed to attract people.Home of some of the greatest Bollywood stars including Dilip Kumar, Kapoor family and Shahrukh Khan, Peshawar got its first cinema after World War-I which is nowadays known as PAF Cinema.Later, Cinema de Paris and Deluxe followed. Novelty came into being in 1930 and Capital and Lansdowne (later Falaksair) in 1934. Falaksair was demolished in 2007.

Afghan Opium Poppy Production Expected to Fall

The United Nations says that production of opium poppies in Afghanistan is likely to decrease this year. The country remains the world's largest producer of opium. The drug trade is a major source of revenue for Taliban insurgents and is also increasing official corruption in Afghanistan.

U.N and Afghan officials say that low prices of opium and high prices of wheat flour along with drought and pressure from the government have brought down poppy cultivation in most of Afghanistan in 2008.

Releasing findings of an annual winter survey at a news conference in Kabul, top U.N representative for Afghanistan Kai Eide anticipated a further decrease in opium cultivation this year. He says that out of 34 Afghan provinces the number of opium-free provinces could rise from 18 to 22 because of the effected anti-drugs campaign.


UN envoy to Afghanistan, Kai Eide (file photo)
"That means that poppy production is no longer in Afghanistan wide problem but it is a problem that is mainly limited to a small number of provinces in the South," said Kai Eide. "And also in the South there are prospects for a significant reduction, which will be a major blow to those who are behind the opium industry."

The top U.N representative urged international donors to bring in additional resources that will help the Afghan government to ensure that reduction in poppy cultivation leads to development in Afghanistan. He says that poppy production has increased in Afghanistan every year since 2002 but now a major reduction is within reach and this year could be a turning point.

"This prognosis must be seen as opening a window of opportunity to deal the poppy industry a significant blow," he said. "But that window of opportunity must be really used effectively by the government and by the donors. And if we do not make full use of that opportunity we could face a backlash soon rather than further progress."

The U.N report says that the price of opium has fallen by about 20 percent over the last year mainly due to overproduction during the past three years. It says that the high price of wheat was the main reason farmers cited for not growing poppies this year.

In the wake of increased insurgent attacks around the country, NATO defense ministers at a meeting in October authorized troops in Afghanistan to launch direct attacks on the drugs trade. But so far there have been no public reports of this order being implemented.

Afghan anti-narcotics minister, General Khodaided, while addressing Sunday's news conference, reiterated that assistance from foreign forces in anti-drugs efforts could be of vital importance.

"NATO forces or coalition forces must take part in interdiction," said Khodaided. "They must hit the convoys of the enemy because drug dealers, drug traffickers, terrorism and al-Qaida; they are the same, they are the enemies of Afghanistan"

Afghanistan's seven key drug producing provinces in the south and southwest produced 98 percent of the country's total output in 2008. The Taliban-led insurgency is most active in these areas.

The United Nations estimates the total export value of last year's poppy crop to have been nearly $3.5 billion. It says that taxes on farmers and traffickers might have helped Taliban insurgents collect up to $500 million.

Pakistan: 43 civilians die in Taliban crossfire

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- At least 43 civilians were killed Sunday when they were caught in the crossfire between Pakistani forces and Taliban militants, a Pakistani military official said.

The official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the incident happened in Charbagh, a district of Swat Valley in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province.

The mountainous Swat Valley region used to be a popular destination for tourists and skiers, but today it is a Taliban stronghold.

The Pakistani government and the army have come under criticism in recent weeks for allowing the security situation in Swat to deteriorate in the past few months. Islamabad has said there are plans for a new strategy to fight the Taliban, but they have yet to offer details.

The Taliban are imposing their strict brand of Islamic law in the region -- banning music, forbidding men from shaving, and not allowing teenage girls to attend school.

Government officials say the Taliban have torched and destroyed more than 180 schools in the Swat region. Many families have fled the area, and have been followed by many Pakistani police officers who are too scared to take on Taliban forces, a Pakistani army spokesman told CNN last week.

The Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 1996 -- harboring al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden -- and ruled it until they were ousted from power in 2001 after the September 11 attacks on the United States. Since then, the Taliban have regrouped and are currently battling U.S. and NATO-led forces.

U.S. President Barack Obama has called Afghanistan the "central front" in the war on terror and has promised to make fighting extremism there, and in neighboring Pakistan, a foreign policy priority. He is expected to send as many as 30,000 additional U.S. troops to battle Taliban forces.

Richard Holbrooke, the administration's new envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, is scheduled to make his first trip to the region this week.

SWAT VALLEY TRAGEDY

BECAUSE OF CRUEL,IGNORANT,THUGS AND CRIMINAL TALIBAN PEOPLE IN SWAT ARE SUFFERING.

The real Afghan problem

Peshawar police launch operation against militants

PSYCHO TALIBAN...
PESHAWAR: Backed by armoured personnel carriers (APCs) and artillery, the capital city police on Saturday kicked off an operation in areas bordering the troubled Mohmand Agency, arresting 15 militants.Also, unidentified miscreants fired 10 rockets at Adezai village near Darra Adamkhel.Encouraged by a change in strategy of the Army in Swat, large contingents of the police and the security forces moved forward in Bari Koroona, Bela, Mohmandan, Mathra and Qilla Shah Baig early on Saturday to push the militants back. Militants had sneaked into this part of the provincial capital from the Mohmand Agency and the area had become a “no-go zone”, with militants in large numbers operating there for the past many months.“During the operation, the forces arrested at least 15 militants, identified as Malik Shad, Naeem, Said, Lal Rahim, Riaz Khan, Abdul Wali, Tawab Sher, Fazal Rahim, Rahim Sher, Sultan Sher, Fazal Maula, Jamroz, Tahir, Javed and Obaidullah,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP-Operations) Abdul Ghafoor Afridi told reporters. The deputy city police chief said a crackdown would be launched in other areas against all those posing a threat to peace in the provincial metropolis. Earlier, militants fired 10 rockets at the residence of Abdul Malik, the Nazim of Adezai Union Council, located close to the turbulent Darra Adamkhel.