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| Afghanistan |
| Leaders deny Taliban rules half of nation |
| 2007-11-25 |
| I thought they were talking about pakistan... AFGHAN President Hamid Karzai and the NATO chief yesterday led strong criticism of a European think-tank report that said the Taliban were installed in more than half of Afghanistan. NATO secretary-general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said The Senlis Council report released yesterday "should not be considered as realistic". "Of course there are parts of Afghanistan where the going is tough from time to time," he said after talks with Mr Karzai. "We all know that and we all know that NATO forces are in combat in certain parts of Afghanistan." He added: "The analysis the council makes on the situation in Afghanistan, I simply do not share." But soon after, news came from the south of the country that Taliban militants had beheaded seven policemen after overrunning their checkpoints in the strategic area of Arghandab, 25km north of Kandahar city. Six other officers were missing after the Taliban attack, said Abdul Hakim Jan, a police officer. The Senlis report called for NATO's International Security Assistance Force to be doubled in size to 80,000, saying a study had found that 54 per cent of Afghan territory had a permanent Taliban presence. Earlier, The Netherlands announced it would extend the stay of its soldiers in Afghanistan by about two years, public broadcaster NOS reported. Speaking about the Senlis report, ISAF spokesman Brigadier General Carlos Branco said it was unclear where the 80,000 figure came from. "We have shortfalls and more troops would be most welcome," he said. But, "we have not identified a need for 80,000 troops," he said, adding that the report was "sensationalist". Mr Karzai was also dismissive, saying there had been progress in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban government in late 2001. "There are certain areas in southern parts of Afghanistan, especially close to our border with Pakistan, that see attacks from Taliban elements from time to time," he said. And "there are parts of Afghanistan that fall to the Taliban", he said, but "I do not share the analysis". General Branco said the claim that insurgents controlled vast areas of unchallenged territory and that 54 per cent of Afghan territory had a permanent Taliban presence was baseless. "They control not more than a handful of districts, even less," he said, adding these were "very small pockets without territorial continuity". The insurgents also only moved into areas with limited security presence and had often left before troops arrived to reassert control, he said. On a statement in the report that "the question now appears not to be whether the Taliban will return to Kabul, but when this will happen", General Branco said: "The shops are open, people are on the streets. It is a normal city. "It does not seem like a city on the eve of being overtaken by the Taliban." The Senlis Council, a policy think tank with offices in In The Netherlands, the Dutch public broadcaster said the parties in the centre-left coalition Government had agreed to extend the mandate of the Dutch troops in Oruzgan province, which expires in August next year, until 2010. The Dutch cabinet will discuss the extension today and thrash out the details. The NOS said one point that remains to be determined is exactly how long the soldiers will stay, but it is expected to be around two years. The Government of Christian Democrats, Labour and protestant Christian Union is expected to announce its decision next Friday. There are about 1650 Dutch soldiers in Afghanistan. Dutch and Australian troops make up the bulk of the force in Oruzgan. |
| Posted by:anonymous5089 |
| #2 Shouldn't there be less western forces and more Tajiks, Uzbecks and Hazaras chopping off Pushtoon heads? |
| Posted by: ed 2007-11-25 17:27 |
| #1 AFGHAN President Hamid Karzai and the NATO chief yesterday led strong criticism of a European think-tank report that said the Taliban were installed in more than half of Afghanistan. He's a politician, his job is to ignore the obvious, and lie. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-11-25 13:48 |