ISAF doodt ‘chef bermbommen Uruzgan’ (2)

Geplaatst op 01/04/2009 door Hans de Vreij

Mullah Abdul Bari – naar verluidt de belangrijkste man achter de ‘bermbommencampagne’ in Uruzgan – blijkt te zijn uitgeschakeld door Australische Special Forces en het Afghaanse leger.  Lieutenant-Generaal Mark Evans (Chef Operatiën van de Australische krijgsmacht) zei in een verklaring verder dat Abdul Bari ook verantwoordelijk was voor het aansturen van zelfmoordactivisten, de opleiding van buitenlandse strijders en de verdeling van wapens.

Het uitschakelen van mullah Abdul Bari blijkt uit de verklaring een van te voren geplande actie te zijn geweest, waarvoor in de woorden van generaal Evans “de noodzakelijke toestemmingen van ISAF” zijn verkregen en die is uitgevoerd conform het oorlogsrecht en de geweldinstructies van ISAF. Lees verder →

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Afghanistan Conference: Final Declaration

Geplaatst op 31/03/2009 door Hans de Vreij

Chairmen’s Statement of the International Conference on Afghanistan
Issued Under the Authority of the Three Co-chairs

The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
The Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan

The Hague, 31 March 2009

The Government of Afghanistan and the international community met today in The Hague at the invitation of the Government of the Netherlands. They agreed that greater energy and clear direction must urgently be provided to ensure more effective support for the people of Afghanistan, for its security and prosperity as well as for its democratic and human rights.

They acknowledged that greater attention must be given to achieving a well coordinated and strategically integrated approach. They underlined the critical importance of building on the will of the Afghan people and on the leadership of the Afghan Government in guiding strategic discussions on Afghanistan’s future and its ownership in the implementation of our efforts to support and assist Afghanistan. Lees verder →

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ISAF doodt ‘chef bermbommen Uruzgan’

Geplaatst op 31/03/2009 door Hans de Vreij

Volgens ISAF is de man die verantwoordelijk was voor alle ‘bermbom’-operaties in de provincie Uruzgan vorige week woensdag uitgeschakeld bij een gecombineerde actie van ISAF en het Afghaanse leger (ANA). De man, mullah Abdul Bari, kwam samen met twee metgezellen om bij een kort vuurgevecht in een gebied dat al enige tijd in de gaten werd gehouden, aldus ISAF. Een nadere lokatie is niet gegeven.

‘Bermbommen’ zijn doodsoorzaak nummer 1 onder de Afghaanse en buitenlandse troepen in Uruzgan. Ook veel gewone burgers vallen ten prooi aan de Improvised Explosive Devices (IED’s). Het woord bermbom is overigens niet helemaal juist: meestal gaat het om geïmproviseerde landmijnen die in wegen en paden liggen ingegraven. Ze kunnen op afstand radiografisch tot ontploffing worden gebracht of door middel van een simpele drukplaat. Zwaardere IED’s bestaan bijvoorbeeld uit op elkaar gestapelde antitankmijnen of mortiergranaten, voorzien van een ontstekingsmechanisme. Lees verder →

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Van Middelkoop in de schijnwerpers

Geplaatst op 31/03/2009 door Hans de Vreij

door Hans Andringa

In de perszaal van het Haagse World Forum Convention Centre staat een trotse minister Eimert van Middelkoop de internationale pers te woord.  Wat begon als een onderonsje met Nederlandse journalisten groeide in enkele minuten uit tot een media-event. De lampen van de camera’s zetten hem letterlijk en figuurlijk in het zonnetje.

Van Middelkoop heeft alle reden om de pers op te zoeken. Zojuist heeft de Amerikaanse minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Hilary Clinton, de Nederlandse defensie een enorm compliment gegeven. De Nederlandse aanpak – militaire aanwezigheid combineren met hulp en wederopbouw-  heeft volgens Clinton als voorbeeld gediend voor de Afghanistanplannen die president Obama vorige week bekend heeft gemaakt. Lees verder →

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What does ISAF stand for: I almost give up …

Geplaatst op 30/03/2009 door Hans de Vreij

Defence minister Eimert van Middelkoop heads the Dutch delegation at the International Conference on Afghanistan in The Hague. Now, for foreign readers, I should explain something. The Dutch contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has been hotly debated, the discussion focusing on the question whether this is a ‘fighting’ or a ‘reconstruction’ mission. You would think that the words ‘Security Assistance’ are self-explanatory. Not so in the Netherlands. Right up to this day, politicians, pollsters and the media continue to feed this discussion, whether out of sheer ignorance or for political reasons.

Which brings me back to our Defence minister. What did I hear him say today: “ISAF, the Security AND Assistance Force”. You can probably see the connotation of the word AND. Security is the nasty fighting bit (not so popular in Holland); the word ‘assistance’ (in isolation) could be construed as referring to the lovely rebuilding part (ever so popular in the Lowlands). Slipping in the ‘AND’ is no slip of the tongue. I’ve heard it before, including from a Dutch Chief of Defence who also should have known better.

Eimert, sir, please check the official NATO website and assure yourself that there is no AND in the definition of ISAF. To spell things out: the task of ISAF as underwritten by the Dutch government is “assisting the Afghan authorities in providing security and stability and creating the conditions for reconstruction and development.”

Joop and Otte (those concerned will know who I refer to), do make sure the minister doesn’t make a fool of himself at tomorrow’s International Conference on Afghanistan by using the word AND there, too. This is the serious international arena, not the backwaters of local Dutch politics in which one can play with words to appease coalition partners or influence public opinion. If you don’t succeed, I (almost) give up… and you’ll stand accused of a nasty bit of MEDIAOPS.  In plain English: disinformation and deception.

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Live from The Hague… to Tarin Kowt

Geplaatst op 30/03/2009 door Hans de Vreij

Afghans will see conference on TV

By our special correspondent Bette Dam

Inhabitants of the Afghan town of Tarin Kowt will be able to follow the International Conference on Afghanistan in The Hague in their own town – live on television.  All international television stations will cover the meeting, but people in the remote capital of the southern province of Uruzgan will be watching intently, too –  if they have access to a TV set. That, at least, is the plan being worked on hard right now, says Abdul Waheed Hamidi of Afghanistan’s SABA-TV. He is still a little cautious because, after all, things may still go wrong trying to establish a link between the capital, Kabul, and the distant provincial town. But, as the journalist smiles and says: “Tomorrow, around lunchtime, they’ll be able to watch live in Tarin Kowt, Insha’Allah (God willing).”

Mr Hamidi explains that his station has been broadcasting to Tarin Kowt and surrounding area since 14 March this year. Up until then, people mainly got their television via satellite dishes, although those kinds of dishes are somewhat taboo: “With the old traditions that exist there, having a dish like that on your roof only raises suspicions. Neighbours and relatives are quick to think that you’re watching a totally different type of channel… like porn, for example. That’s why a lot of people don’t have a TV. But we broadcast from a transmitter, and that’s more widely accepted because they know it’s coming from Kabul.”

After the enthusiasm generated by two week’s broadcasting in Tarin Kowt, which the TV journalist describes as a ‘revolution’ for the town, Mr Hamidi decided that he also wanted to show the high-level conference in The Hague on his TV station. “That’s all part of it, don’t you think? As a journalist I want the latest news.”

He wants to have five hours’ live coverage from the conference on TV screens not only in Kabul, but in Karin Towt too. That is, however, a rather costly venture, Mr Hamidi says. “Because I want to do it any way, I turned for help to the charity OXFAM Novib and the Dutch embassy.” Lees verder →

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‘Taliban strength: approximately 30,000’

Geplaatst op 30/03/2009 door Hans de Vreij

The Taliban movement in Afghanistan has an estimated strength of 30,000 men. The estimate is contained in an unclassified training document for US personnel to be deployed to the country which has appeared on the internet through the website Wikileaks. The document, prepared by the US Army Training and Doctrine Command ((TRADOC) and the TRADOC Intelligence Support Activity (TRISA) ‘should not be considered a finished intelligence product, nor used in such a manner’, the authors stress’. It contains details about warlord militias; groups related to Iranian and Pakistani Intelligence Forces; terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda; insurgent groups such as the Taliban (including a detailed chain of command), Hizb-e-Islami (Gulbuddin) and the Haqqani network; as well as different groups that are active in Pakistan.

The document relies in part on open (=public) sources, such as estimates by the non-gouvernmental organisation ICOS (formerly known as The Senlis Council) which had stated earlier that by the end of 2007, there were ‘heavy’ Taliban and other insurgent activities in about 54% of Afghanistan.

And if you want to know whether there is an increased Taliban (TB) activity in a given region, the document spells out a number of key indicators: Lees verder →

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Afghanistan Conference: monitoring the news

Geplaatst op 29/03/2009 door Hans de Vreij

As Tuesday’s International Conference on The Hague is drawing closer, the amount of news related to the conference is also rapidly increasing. If you wish to stay on top of the latest developments use these tailor-made links from three news aggregators: AltaVista, Google, and Yahoo.

Geplaatst in Afghanistan, Verenigde Naties | 1 reactie

US: A New Strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan

Geplaatst op 27/03/2009 door Hans de Vreij

See new policy White Paper

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Moscow meeting in advance of Afghanistan conference

Geplaatst op 27/03/2009 door Hans de Vreij

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), described by some as Russia and China’s ‘alternative NATO’, is meeting in Moscow today with the issue of Afghanistan high on the agenda. Key players of next Tuesday’s Afghanistan Conference in The Hague will attend the Moscow meeting. These include UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, his NATO counterpart,  Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and the Secretary-General of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. Their presence underlines the importance of the ‘regional context’ that the US, the UN and NATO seek to focus on in solving the problems of Afghanistan.

Besides Russia and China, the SCO comprises Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The organisation also has four permanent ‘Observer States’: India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan which, with the exception of Mongolia, will also play an important role at the The Hague conference. Interestinlgy enough, the US State Department also dispatched a representative to the Moscow meeting who may (or may not) meet with the Iranian delegation.

(Update: click here for the final statement of the Moscow SCO meeting)

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