thedrifter
02-22-08, 05:41 AM
NATO: Suicide bombs used as propaganda
By AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writer
Thu Feb 21, 11:24 AM ET
Militants using mass-casualty suicide attacks in Afghanistan are trying to swing public opinion among NATO nations that have troops here, the top alliance official said Thursday.
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said convincing people and Western parliaments that the situation is not deteriorating is of "key importance."
The bombers "want to influence Afghan public opinion, but at the same time the public opinion in our nations who provide the forces," de Hoop Scheffer said at a news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. "Let's not give them a ticket to ride."
The NATO chief was leading a delegation of the alliance's North Atlantic Council, consisting of its 26 permanent representatives, that met with local and international officials in Afghanistan.
Two suicide bombings this week left more than 140 people dead in the south, mostly civilians.
Afghan authorities on Wednesday detained seven men suspected in the deadliest insurgent attack since the Taliban's ouster in 2001 — a bombing that killed more than 100 at a dog fight Sunday in the provincial capital of Kandahar, Gov. Asadullah Khalid said.
Also Wednesday, Afghan and U.S.-led coalition troops battled for five hours with militants north of Musa Qala, where Taliban militants were in control for much of 2007 before Afghan, U.S. and British troops took the town and surrounding areas in December.
The Afghan Defense Ministry said 30 suspected Taliban fighters were killed in the operation, during which coalition aircraft bombed militant hide-outs. The coalition, reporting no casualty figures, said 11 militants were detained in Wednesday's operation, and 1,000 pounds of heroin and an arms cache were seized.
Helmand is the world's largest opium-producing region, and officials estimate up to 40 percent of proceeds from the country's drug trade are used to fund the insurgency.
The southern region is also where the insurgency is most active, and NATO commanders have asked for more combat troops for the area. NATO's International Security Assistance Forces is now 50,000-strong.
De Hoop Scheffer said more troops would deployed, but did not say how many or where they would go.
NATO also lags in efforts to provide enough military trainers to mentor the fledgling Afghan National Army, de Hoop Scheffer said, calling it a "mission of necessity."
"If we do not prevail, if we lose, it will not only be Afghanistan on the losing side, it will be our community, our societies in ... the West and elsewhere," he said.
Countries like Canada, which has 2,500 troops in Kandahar, have threatened to end their combat role in Afghanistan unless other NATO countries provide an additional 1,000 troops to help the anti-Taliban drive there.
The United States, which has some 28,000 forces in the country — both in the NATO-led mission and as part of a separate U.S.-led counterterrorism coalition — is sending an additional 3,200 Marines in April, most of whom are expected to be stationed in Kandahar during their seven-month tour.
Insurgency-related violence in Afghanistan killed more than 6,500 people in 2007 — the deadliest year since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, according to a tally of figures from Afghan and Western officials. Most of those killed were insurgents.
An explosion in Helmand on Wednesday killed a British soldier and wounded another, Britain's Ministry of Defense said in London. The blast hit a British patrol trying to disrupt Taliban activity, the ministry said, adding that the cause of the explosion was not immediately known.
___
Associated Press writers Fisnik Abrashi in Kabul and Noor Khan in Kandahar contributed to this report.
Ellie
By AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writer
Thu Feb 21, 11:24 AM ET
Militants using mass-casualty suicide attacks in Afghanistan are trying to swing public opinion among NATO nations that have troops here, the top alliance official said Thursday.
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said convincing people and Western parliaments that the situation is not deteriorating is of "key importance."
The bombers "want to influence Afghan public opinion, but at the same time the public opinion in our nations who provide the forces," de Hoop Scheffer said at a news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. "Let's not give them a ticket to ride."
The NATO chief was leading a delegation of the alliance's North Atlantic Council, consisting of its 26 permanent representatives, that met with local and international officials in Afghanistan.
Two suicide bombings this week left more than 140 people dead in the south, mostly civilians.
Afghan authorities on Wednesday detained seven men suspected in the deadliest insurgent attack since the Taliban's ouster in 2001 — a bombing that killed more than 100 at a dog fight Sunday in the provincial capital of Kandahar, Gov. Asadullah Khalid said.
Also Wednesday, Afghan and U.S.-led coalition troops battled for five hours with militants north of Musa Qala, where Taliban militants were in control for much of 2007 before Afghan, U.S. and British troops took the town and surrounding areas in December.
The Afghan Defense Ministry said 30 suspected Taliban fighters were killed in the operation, during which coalition aircraft bombed militant hide-outs. The coalition, reporting no casualty figures, said 11 militants were detained in Wednesday's operation, and 1,000 pounds of heroin and an arms cache were seized.
Helmand is the world's largest opium-producing region, and officials estimate up to 40 percent of proceeds from the country's drug trade are used to fund the insurgency.
The southern region is also where the insurgency is most active, and NATO commanders have asked for more combat troops for the area. NATO's International Security Assistance Forces is now 50,000-strong.
De Hoop Scheffer said more troops would deployed, but did not say how many or where they would go.
NATO also lags in efforts to provide enough military trainers to mentor the fledgling Afghan National Army, de Hoop Scheffer said, calling it a "mission of necessity."
"If we do not prevail, if we lose, it will not only be Afghanistan on the losing side, it will be our community, our societies in ... the West and elsewhere," he said.
Countries like Canada, which has 2,500 troops in Kandahar, have threatened to end their combat role in Afghanistan unless other NATO countries provide an additional 1,000 troops to help the anti-Taliban drive there.
The United States, which has some 28,000 forces in the country — both in the NATO-led mission and as part of a separate U.S.-led counterterrorism coalition — is sending an additional 3,200 Marines in April, most of whom are expected to be stationed in Kandahar during their seven-month tour.
Insurgency-related violence in Afghanistan killed more than 6,500 people in 2007 — the deadliest year since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, according to a tally of figures from Afghan and Western officials. Most of those killed were insurgents.
An explosion in Helmand on Wednesday killed a British soldier and wounded another, Britain's Ministry of Defense said in London. The blast hit a British patrol trying to disrupt Taliban activity, the ministry said, adding that the cause of the explosion was not immediately known.
___
Associated Press writers Fisnik Abrashi in Kabul and Noor Khan in Kandahar contributed to this report.
Ellie