Afghanistan Wrapup for September 30, 2006

Saturday, September 30

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Kabul, 7:50 AM: In a devastating attack in the heart of Kabul, a suicide bomber detonated himself next to Afghanistan's Interior Ministry, killing 12 people, including 2 policemen, and wounding 54 more. The bomber attacked while workers who were lining up along a narrow dirt road before a security gate that they have to pass through to get inside the Ministry.

The bomber had been acting suspiciously, then tried to get close to a large group of people just past a police checkpoint. Police tried to search him, but he ran from the police just beyond the police checkpoint. Police warned him to stop and a policeman pulled out his gun, but just at that moment, the bomber detonated himself.
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Italy, 12:30 PM: Caporal Maggiore Vincenzo Cardella died in an Italian hospital from wounds sustained in a roadside bomb attack near Kabul on September 26 that killed another Italian soldier, Caporal Maggiore Capo Giorgio Langella.

Kandahar-Herat Highway, Kandahar Province: Roadside bomb attack on an Afghan police vehicle wounded 4 policemen.

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This very interesting website showcases Afghan-grown produce that you can buy if you want to support Afghan farmers. Supporting Afghan farmers helps to sustain their livelihoods and helps to reduce their poverty levels.

Farmers who cannot make a living, succumb to growing opium, or are mired in poverty are prone to support the Taliban. The grape harvest is complete and raisins are due to hit the market right about now. The world-famous pomegranates of Kandahar Province should be available in about a week or so.
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Garmser, Garmser District, Helmand Province: RAF GR-7s and US Air Force A-10s attacked Taliban forces fighting British troops near Garmser.

Kariz-e Kalan, Gilan District, Ghazni Province: US Air Force A-10s attacked Taliban fighters battling US forces near Kariz-e Kalan. Kariz-e Kalan (map here) is 12 miles south of Gilan, the capital of the province.


Friday, September 29

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15 1/2 miles west of Kandahar, Panjwayi District, Kandahar Province, 1 PM: A Canadian soldier, Private Josh Klukie, on a foot patrol stepped on a booby trap that detonated a bomb here, killing him. Another soldier, Corporal James Miller, was wounded in the attack.

Canadian military vehicles on the banks of the Arghandab River during Operation Medusa on September 2. The booby trap attack that killed the Canadian soldier occurred in this same general location.

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Afghanistan: The British Ministry of Defense reported that 10 British soldiers were seriously wounded in heavy fighting with the Taliban in the last few days of August, one month ago.

Previously, the British had suffered 13 seriously wounded for the entire year up until that time. The MoD also reported a fairly high number of British troops wounded during the first week of September in a land mine attack and battles with the Taliban.
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Sangin, Helmand Province: US Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, a US B-1 Lancer and Royal Air Force Harrier GR-7s attacked Taliban fighters battling British forces.


Thursday, September 28

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Zhari District, Kandahar Province, Early: Roadside bomb attack on a Canadian military vehicle wounded a Canadian soldier. This area has supposedly been cleansed of enemy forces during Operation Medusa.
As we have noted repeatedly, there apparently is no Zhari District. The area in question apparently refers to a part of the Panjwayi District along Highway 1 near Shengaray about 15 1/2 miles west of Kandahar.

A Canadian military vehicle on the banks of the Arghandab River in the "Zhari District" during Operation Medusa on September 2.

A Canadian soldier peers through his binoculars on the banks of Arghandab River on September 2 during Operation Medusa.

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Shajoy District, Zabul Province, 10 PM: The Taliban attacked a police post here, killing 1 policeman. 2 Taliban were also killed in the 2 1/2 hour battle. Looks like the Shajoy District is starting to heat up again. A year ago, this area was getting a lot more stable and now it seems to be deteriorating again.

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Enjar Ghar Mountain, Dur Baba District, Nangarhar Province: US Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs attacked Taliban fighters near Enjar Ghar Mountain. This is a mountain located between the towns of Tora (map here) and Pakha Mena (map here) in the far southeastern corner of Nangarhar, only about 5 miles from the Pakistani border.

It is about 39 miles east of Tora Bora in the same White Mountain Range. Over the border is Sulaiman Khel, near where Bin Laden's party supposedly appeared after they crossed the border out of Tora Bora. This district is 100% Pashtun. It was a major weapons smuggling route during the Soviet War and the Soviets heavily bombarded it.

There is quite a bit of opium growing going on here. There is but one health clinic here and patients travel by donkey up to 18 miles to get there. A number of children and old people have died trying to make it to the clinic. Thanks George Bush!

There are almost no literate people in this entire district of 29,000 people. However, there are now 4 primary schools and there are actually some girls in school. Nevertheless, the schools have no buildings or paper to write on and they are just held out of the open air. That is a mighty peculiar version of a "school", Mr. Bush! Most of the people in the district earn their living by smuggling goods to Pakistan.
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Shinkay, Shinkay District, Zabul Province: USAF A-10's also attacked the Taliban near here during fighting between the Taliban and US forces. The Shinkay District is in southeastern Zabul bordering on Western Kandahar Province.

Sangin, Sangin District, Helmand Province: British Royal Air Force Harrier GR-7s attacked Taliban fighters during a battle with British troops here.

Kajaki 'Ulya, Kajaki District, Helmand Province: US Navy F/A-18Fs attacked Taliban fighters during a battle with British troops here. Kajaki 'Ulya (map here) is located 1 mile north of Kajaki, the capital of the district, right below the Kajaki Dam.

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Mir Ali, North Waziristan, Pakistan: Islamist guerrillas shot dead Malang Jan, an Afghan refugee here after the accused him of spying for US forces. A note was pinned on his body explaining why he was killed. North Waziristan is now totally controlled by Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

A satellite photo of Mir Ali, Pakistan. This photo leaves something to be desired, but so do most satellite photos. This area is now totally controlled by Al Qaeda, the Taliban and a variety of other groups that are pretty much related to one or the other. The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan has a large presence here and they have linked up with Al Qaeda after being defeated in Uzbekistan.

Their leader, Tahir Yuldashev, played a role in the signing of the recent accords and is known to be hiding in the Waziristans. 1,000 more IMU fighters have recently joined him here after a major crackdown in Andijan in Uzbekistan. Profile of Yuldashev here.

A rally supporting the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Mir Ali earlier in June 2006. Those present in and around the Waziristans reads like a virtual who's who of radical Islam, including top leaders of Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

An Islamist cleric riles up a crowd in Mir Ali in June 2006. Now that a treaty has been signed, Al Qaeda and the Taliban have a gigantic base here. Some of Al Qaeda's most important leaders are hiding in this area. Other radicals, including those connected to the Daniel Pearl killing, are also hiding here. The area is a virtual snakes nest of terrorists.

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Germany: German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung said that NATO's strategy in Afghanistan had to change to focus on both security and reconstruction. Recent evidence has shown us exactly how Bush screwed up in Afghanistan and it is all wrapped up in the free market fundamentalism of the fanatical ideologues in the US Republican Party along with US domestic politics.

In order to understand this, some knowledge of US domestic politics is necessary. In recent years, Republicans have become fanatically partisan to the point where they are profoundly dishonest and incapable of being a loyal opposition in any Democratic Administration. To show you how pathological lying is inbred in the modern US Republican Party, look at the party's position on foreign wars and isolationism.

The Republican Party has not been isolationist since the end of World War 2. With the advent of the Cold War, the Communist-hating Republicans became fervent war hawks, mostly to fight wars against the hated Communists. Republicans supported the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Dominican Republic intervention. All of those wars and actions were for the most part started by Democrats.

When ultra-rightist Ronald Reagan came into office, the Republican Party started moving into fanaticism and they have never stopped. Reagan launched a number of military actions and Republicans cheered wildly for all of them, even the failures like Lebanon. George Bush Senior fought 2 wars, a stupid one in Panama and a real one in Iraq. Republicans fell all over themselves to support both wars.

When Bill Clinton came to power, the Republican Party went insane. The party that had never opposed a single US military action since World War 2 suddenly sounded like a bunch of flower-power hippies chanting "Bring our boys home!". It was surreal to watch them genuflect like this.

The reason for this surreal charade was that Clinton launched a number of peacekeeping missions in Kosovo, Bosnia, Somalia, and Haiti. The casualties were very low in all of these missions, except in Somalia, a stinking turd of a mission that George Bush Sr. deliberately laid on Clinton's doorstep at the end of his term.

After the "Black Hawk Down" mess in which a whole 18 US Special Forces soldiers were killed and had their corpses dragged through the streets, the wailing pacifists of the Republican Party rent their hair in the streets and demanded that we cut and run with our tail between our legs.

In all of the above Clinton missions, a parade of red-faced Republican liars pounded tables on TV, demanding to "bring our boys home". Out of the devious political sewer of this dishonest campaign came a new Republican philosophy of opposition to peacekeeping and nation building.

Republican super-pacifists, appeasers of genocide and cut and run crybabies, suddenly decided, ludicrously for a bunch of flower-power types, that real he-man armies were for attacking, destroying and conquering weak countries, not for peacekeeping and nation building, which was portrayed as wimpy, sissy, social-engineering, socialist-type BS demeaning to your average red meat US soldier.

As soon as George Bush got in and 9-11 occurred on his negligent watch, the party of turn the other cheek became the party of Nazi and Attila the Hun-like aggressive and preventive war. Once again, Republican ultra-liars supported every single military action frat boy Bush engaged in, no matter how insipid, poorly planned, criminal or evil.

So, Republicans are people who support every single military action that Republicans do and oppose every single military action that Democrats do.

Anyway, it is with this history in mind that we travel to early 2002, after the Taliban has just fallen. A new Republican doctrine emerges, "the anti-Clinton doctrine", in which Afghanistan was to be the precise opposite of Clinton's peacekeeping missions in Kosovo and Bosnia.

Afghanistan would be done with 2% of the troops that Clinton used in Bosnia and with radically reduced spending for rebuilding. In order to understand this moronic decision, you need to understand the Bush Administration's lunacy regarding Clinton. Bush is resolved to be the anti-Clinton. Whatever Clinton did, Bush will do the opposite.

All Clinton notions, plans, programs and theories were to be dumped because they carry the Clinton stain. How petty and childlike! These are the insipid gang of babies that are running the most powerful country in the world! The stupid plan to do the sweatshop version of post-Taliban Afghanistan on the downsized ultra-cheap has Donald Rumsfeld (let's do it quick, dirty and cheap) written all over it.

Furthermore, it smacks of the supposed Republican obsession with saving money, especially for girly peacekeeping missions and ideologically treacherous Communistic nation building socialism. The results of the criminally insane decision to do Afghanistan on the ultra-cheap by this gang of Republican morons and ideological fanatics can be seen every week in the bloodied reports blasting out of Afghanistan.
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Wednesday, September 27

Shindand, Herat Province, 4 PM: Roadside bomb attack on an Italian vehicle here lightly wounded 3 Italian soldiers and seriously wounded 1 Afghan interpreter. The vehicle was on the way to inspect a school in Shirzad at the time. Shindand is 70 miles south of Herat city in the far south of Herat Province on the border with Farah Province.

Eastern Afghanistan: Since the signing of a peace accord with the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the Waziristans recently, US troops on Afghanistan’s eastern border have seen the attacks on them triple.

Afghanistan: A Colombian aid worker, Colombian Diego Rojas Coronel, and two Afghan colleagues, Coronel's assistant Abdul Qader and their driver Belal, who were abducted in Afghanistan on September 9, were freed unconditionally, their organization said. The three employees worked for the Paris-based Madera NGO.

Kandahar: A suicide car bomber tried to ram a Canadian convoy as it drove through this city, but no Canadian soldiers were hurt. A Canadian R-31 Nyala military vehicle was damaged and 1 Afghan civilian was wounded. The Nyala is a very sturdy vehicle.

Paktika Province: US and Afghan soldiers killed 8 Taliban and captured 16 others during Operation Mountain Fury, a major operation involving 7,000 Coalition troops underway in the area.

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Laghman Province: Afghan troops killed 6 Taliban and captured two others during fighting in a small village here. 1 Afghan soldier was wounded and captured by the rebels.

A photo of Laghman Province. This province has been pretty stable, but large groups of Taliban are starting to appear here in a very ominous sign. The province is right next to Kabul Province. As you can see, the valleys are lush and there are some Alps-like soaring peaks here also in the distance.

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Helmand Province: Guerrillas attacked a police post here and 25 Taliban were killed during the battle that ensued.

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North Waziristan, Pakistan: Taliban leader Mullah Omar reportedly approved the truce deal between Pakistani officials and local guerrillas that ended fighting in the Waziristans. Latif Afridi, a lawyer and top official from the Awami National Party, said he received a copy of a letter containing Omar's approval which was written by one of his aides, Mullah Akhtar Mohammed Osmani.

The letter also supposedly placed the Taliban in North Waziristan under the command of Jalaluddin Haqqani, a front-line Taliban commander. Afridi is the name of a large Pakistani Pashtun tribe that dominates the Kyber Agency. They live west of Peshawar in the White Mountains, or Safed Koh range.

A painting of ferocious Afridi warriors fighting British troops in the 19th Century. The Afridi have a longstanding reputation for crime, especially smuggling and kidnapping for ransom. For a long time, they reportedly waylaid all travelers passing through the Khyber Pass and charged a toll. Their origins are obscure. Some reporters describe them as fair-skinned and say that they resemble Greeks or Jews.

They are also reported to be a lost tribe of Israel but this theory has fallen out of favor recently. The Greeks did conquer this area during Alexander the Great's reign in the 300's BC. Whatever their origins, a number of commentators feel that they are amongst the original inhabitants of the region who were present prehistorically and also before the Pashtuns migrated to the region. They may have assimilated to the Pashtuns later on.

They are not as fundamentalist as one might think, as they celebrate Mohammad's birthday every year as a festive occasion. Hard-line Sunni Salafi-jihadi radicals in the Al Qaeda mold consider this to be sacrilege and they have staged murderous attacks on such celebrations.

They are very fond of kebabs and eat quite a bit of meat. They continue to be heavily involved in smuggling, especially drug smuggling, and some of their top tribal leaders have gone to prison recently for this crime. The Afridis number about 315,000.

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Tuesday, September 26

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6 miles south of Kabul, 8 AM: Roadside bomb attack on a 3-vehicle Italian convoy on patrol here killed 1 Italian soldier, Caporo Maggiore Capo George Langella, and wounded 5 more, 2 seriously. One of the seriously wounded soldiers, Caporal Maggiore Vincenzo Cardella, died later in Italy.

Francesco Cirmi was the other seriously wounded soldier. 1 Afghan child who was in a car behind the convoy was also killed. A Puma wheeled armored vehicle was lifted into the air, tossed for yards and flipped over by the roadside bomb that was hidden in a ditch.

A photo of Italian soldier George Langella in his uniform in Afghanistan. He was killed in a roadside bomb attack on his convoy on September 26.

Another photo of Langella in his uniform.

Here is another photo of Langella with his pretty wife at his wedding in Italy.

A photo of the scene where the roadside bomb went off south of Kabul. 2 Italian soldiers were killed, 1 at the time and another a few days later in Italy. 4 more were wounded. Note that the vehicle has been completely upturned by the bomb.

Here is another photo of the scene of the roadside bomb attack. Note the large crowd that has gathered at the scene, the helicopter hovering above, the upturned military vehicle and the barren hills of Afghanistan in the background.

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Lashkar Gah, Helmand Province, AM: A suicide bomber attacked a security post outside a mosque here. The bomber blew up in the midst of a large crowd who were trying to decide who would go on the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca this year. The provincial governor's house is very close by and guards outside his home were the apparent target of the attack, but none of them were hurt.


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Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, 8 PM: A US KC-135 Stratotanker caught fire after it collided with a Kyrgyz TU-154 passenger plane on the airfield here, but the fire was put out by emergency personnel. The 3-man crew, which had just returned from a refueling mission, got out of the plane with no injuries.

The US plane was taxiing down the runway as it landed when its wing hit the wing of the Kyrgyz plane, setting the KU-135's wing on fire. The TU-154 continued its takeoff and then made an immediate emergency landing. None of the passengers on the TU-154 were hurt. An investigation into the crash is ongoing.
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Mandagal Sufla, Nuristan Province: Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs attacked guerrillas during fighting with US troops here. Mandagal Sufla is 3 miles north of Kamdesh.

A photo of gorgeous, forested, nearly inaccessible Kamdesh. Note the wooden homes. This area was almost impossible for the Soviets to conquer. Earlier, Tamerlane had tried to conquer Nuristan but he also failed. There are soaring peaks and raging rivers down below. Even in the 1970's most of the interior of Nuristan was even inaccessible to horses and mules!

That is because there are bridges crossing over the plunging ravines, with raging torrential rivers hundreds of feet below, that are very narrow and scary. These bridges are very wobbly foot bridges that sway as you cross them and go on for hundreds of feet across the ravine. The bridges are so scary that even equines refuse to travel on them. This renders much of Nuristan accessible only on foot, at least as of the 1970's. It's a great place for Bin Laden to hide, and I think that is where he may be.

Osama bin Laden is not dead, in my opinion, but instead I believe he recently traveled from South Waziristan to the region of Nuristan and Kunar Provinces in Afghanistan and the Bajaur Agency in Pakistan. Right now, he is in one of these 3 locations.

He traveled there about a month ago in a small convoy of only about 3 SUV's. Obviously, he is not too worried about being caught in this area. I reject the recent claims that he has died of typhoid, though it is prevalent in the region.

Interestingly, another Waziristan-style truce is reportedly going to be signed for the Bajaur Agency, which is swarming with radical Islamists, terrorists and other maniacs. Similar truces are reportedly planned for the Khyber, Tank, and Dera Ismail Khan Agencies at least.
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Now Zad, Now Zad District, Helmand Province: US Air Force A-10s attacked Taliban forces during a battle between the Taliban and British troops here.

Sangin, Sangin District, Helmand Province: US Navy F/A-18Fs attacked Taliban forces during another battle between British forces and the Taliban here. I understand that British forces here in Helmand are now coming under attack every single day.

Khost: A suicide car bomber detonated prematurely while trying to attack a US convoy here.

Khost University, Khost: A small bomb exploded in an office at Khost University, wounding two teachers and a student. One of the teachers was a former Taliban official who had joined a government reconciliation program.

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Khost Province: The Taliban fired rockets at a US military base here.

The stark beauty of Khost Province. This ferociously independent region is crawling with Taliban, Al Qaeda and Hezb-i-Islami fighters. Furthermore, the same guerrillas are crawling all over the North Waziristan region across the border in Pakistan.

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Afghanistan: A US 4-star general, Army Gen. Dan K. McNeil, will take charge of both U.S. and NATO forces here if he is confirmed by the US Senate.


Monday, September 25

Paktika Province: 6 Taliban were killed while escorting a suicide bomber from a village to his mission when the bomber apparently detonated early by accident.

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Kandahar: In yet another charming attack, the wonderful progressives of the Taliban killed Safia Ahmed-Jan, the Kandahar Province director for the Women's Affairs Ministry outside her home. A recent article profiled her and showed how she had been receiving frequent death threats but still continued going to work every day.

I really think we ought to consider having the Afghan government arm Afghan women to fight the Taliban. Under the Communist regime, there were a number of women's militias, with fighters numbering up to the tens of thousands, who fought very hard against the fundamentalist cretins trying to overthrow the government.

Those women had something concrete to fight for and many of them lost their lives fighting the reactionary forces who were backed to the hilt by US imperialism and fundamentalist losers in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
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Khost: 2 guerrillas were killed in a vehicle here when a bomb in the car went off too soon. They were planning an attack in town when the mishap occurred.

A thunderstorm brewing over dangerous Khost Province. There are regular attacks against US forces here. This was the first province to force the Soviets out of its territory early in the Soviet War.

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London: The Ministry of Defence said that there was no support for a theory that a land mine blast that killed a British soldier in Afghanistan was caused by the downdraft of a British helicopter.

The British paper The Sun had reported that the Chinook helicopter that was sent to rescue Cpl Mark Wright and the rest of his patrol set off at least 2 of the blasts. Wright had reportedly asked for a smaller helicopter to rescue them, but his request was ignored. 5 other paratroopers were wounded in the blasts, 3 of them very seriously.
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Nadir Shah Kot district, Khost province, 1 PM: Roadside bomb attack on Afghan border police on the Kabul-Khost Highway killed 2 policemen and wounded 8 more. The Nadir Shah Kot District is in the far west of Khost on the border with the eastern Jamal and Shadran districts of Paktia Province.

A local mullah holding a class for all boys in the shade of a tree. Note the rugged mountains in the background and the terraced hillside. Pat Tillman, the famous football hero turned Special Forces fighter, was killed by friendly fire in a firefight in this wild province.

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Sunday, September 24

Paktika Province, Late: Some 20 militants attacked the house of a district chief here. The district chief's vehicle was later recovered and 9 Taliban were arrested.

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Yaqoubi, Sabari District, Khost Province: The Taliban destroyed a medical clinic here in another one of their charming attacks meant to win the hearts and minds of poor Afghans. The report said that the attack took place in the Yaqoubi District, but there is no such district. Instead, Yacoubi is a large town about 19 miles northeast of Khost in the Sabari District.

A view of terraces, apparently for farming, in Khost. Look at the rugged mountains in the background. As you can see, this area has more vegetation than much of the rest of Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden has some of his most notorious training camps in this province. In general, residents supported the Taliban when they were in power.

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Uruzgan Province: US and Afghan forces fought a battle with the Taliban here, killing 20 Taliban. 7 Afghan and 2 US soldiers were lightly wounded.


Saturday, September 23

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Nahri Sarraj District, Helmand Province: British and Afghan forces killed 40 Taliban rebels in a raid on their base here in which their base was totally destroyed.

The report said that the attack took place in the Gereshk District, but there is not such district. Instead, the city of Gereshk is located in the Nahri Sahrai District. Another 23 Taliban were reportedly killed in 2 other engagements with the Taliban here in recent days.
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Sangin District, Helmand Province: NATO helicopter gunships killed 8 Taliban during a battle between British and Taliban forces here.

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South Waziristan: Islamist guerrillas fired a rocket at a Pakistani military base here, hitting the barracks and seriously wounding 2 Pakistani soldiers. Pakistani troops and the guerrillas have just signed a truce here, so this attack is surprising.

Weapons seized by Pakistani forces in South Waziristan in November 2004. I believe that Osama bin Laden just recently left this area and traveled up to the area around Nuristan in a small SUV convoy. Pakistani forces fought guerrillas for years here in South Waziristan before giving up and signing a peace treaty with them. Across from South Waziristan is Paktika Province, which has seen quite a bit of fighting recently. Guerrillas constantly move across the border here in both directions.

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