Coalition Forces

The U.S. Department of Defense plans to send up to 1,100 troops from the 82^nd Airborne Division, to provide security for Afghanistan’s Oct. 9 election. Several hundred have been sent to Herat to support the Afghan National Army. This deployment raises the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to more than 18,000. The Division also announced on Sept. 13 that about 3,500 soldiers will be deployed to Afghanistan by the spring elections.

U.S. forces suffered several attacks on Sept. 20, leaving three soldiers dead and 14 wounded. Two U.S. soldiers were killed in a firefight in Paktika province. Six Afghan National Army troops and two coalition soldiers were also wounded. Three rockets were fired at a U.S. base in Paktika but did not reach their target. The third American soldier died in an attack on a security patrol in Khost Province.

Two U.S. soldiers were also wounded by a freshly-laid mine while performing security patrol in Shinkay, a district in Zabul. American troops killed 22 insurgents after 40 attacked a coalition late on Sept. 19.  Nine insurgents were killed, after firing a rocket at a U.S. helicopter.

A roadside bomb exploded but caused no injuries in Jalalabad.

U.S. forces also killed a militant in Deh Chopan in Uruzgan province on Sept. 20.

On Sept. 23, two Afghan fighters were killed in a confrontation with U.S. troops in Uruzgan, one being identified as a local Taliban commander. A U.S. soldier was also wounded in a rocket attack.

General Afghan Security Situation

An attempt to assassinate Afghan President Hamid Karzai failed on Sept.16, when a rocket missed his helicopter as it was landing in Gardez in Paktia province. Officials have arrested three men, two of whom confessed to firing the rocket. Taliban supporters have also claimed responsibility. On Sept. 18 Karzai announced that foreign troops, “vital for Afghanistan,” would remain until Afghan forces could maintain stability.

On the same day, eight of Karzai’s 17 rivals requested a one-month delay in voting because of security concerns. Yunis Qanooni of the Northern Alliance, former minister of education, is Karzai’s strongest opponent. Karzai allegedly proposed they join forces in a future government, but Qanooni publicly opposed the idea on Sept. 20. Karzai denies the offer.

Five days after the attempt to assassinate Karzai, Afghan Vice President Nematullah Shahrani escaped a remote-controlled explosion in Kunduz province on Sept. 20. A driver was injured. On the same day, Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakim announced that Karzai, his Cabinet and the presidential candidates are “prime targets.”

Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar followed on Sept 21, with a flyer warning Afghan refugees in Pakistani camps not to vote in the election. He equated voting in the elections to helping the United States set up a puppet regime against Islam.

In Khost Province on Sept. 24, 300 elders of the Terezay tribe threatened to burn the houses of any tribal members who do not vote for Karzai.

On Sept. 14, attackers killed a militiaman loyal to Herat’s ousted governor, Ismail Khan. At least seven people died and 60 were wounded in raids on UN compounds Sept. 12, forcing the UN and aid workers to evacuate. In addition to Khan, Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostam agreed to disarm all but 600 of his militiamen.

Suspected Taliban rebels abducted three tribal elders from the Maruf district of southern Kandahar who were promoting the election. Two were found dead on Sept. 18 and the other wounded.  An Afghan military commander was also killed.

On Sept. 19, four gunmen killed a militia commander and wounded two of his guards when they ambushed his car in Helmand province.

Taliban also stopped a taxi carrying three Afghan soldiers in Zabol on Sept. 20 and beheaded the soldiers.

One of the three Taliban fighters killed in a raid of Char Cheno district in Uruzgan province on Sept. 25 was Maulvi Abdul Ghaaffar, a senior Taliban commander once held at Guantanamo Bay. More than five alleged Taliban leaders were captured. The Char Cheno district chief was killed in a rebel attack on his convoy.  On the same day, Afghan officials also reported that suspected Taliban militants killed nine government soldiers in Helmand province.

The Afghan Army set up regional command headquarters in Kandahar region on Sept. 18 and 19. In total, 3,000 Afghan soldiers will serve in the Kandahar command.

The Pentagon has estimated that about 10,000 Afghan troops have been trained and deployed. Plans for 70,000 Afghan troops by the end of the year have been delayed to 2009.

ISAF

On Sept. 18 the UN Security Council voted unanimously to renew the multinational security force’s mandate in Afghanistan until October.

Karzai requested 5,300 NATO troops but only 1,800 have been promised. However, Spain and Italy have sent enough troops to raise the NATO presence to 9,000 troops.

Great Britain is also considering deploying up to 8,000 replacement troops. British combat jets were sent to Afghanistan for the first time on Sept. 24 to provide support for NATO-led troops.

The German Cabinet also decided on Sept. 22 to ask parliament to extend the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan for another year.

According to the Pentagon, there are 40,000 Pakistani troops and 30,000 paramilitary forces working on the borders.

Pakistan

Reneging on his Dec. 24 promise to shed his uniform, Pakistan’s President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, said on Sept. 16 he may not step down because “the vast majority” of the Pakistani people want him to keep his post. Musharraf said taking off his uniform would impede the national “renaissance” against extremism.

Musharraf traveled to New York to speak with President Bush and India’s Prime Minister Singh on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Sept. 21. Bush did not urge Musharraf to step down but focused discussions on al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden, with both concluding it is very possible that bin Laden is in the tribal areas.

Pakistani troops continued their military assaults on these areas on Sept. 19, exchanging fire in the Karwan Manzai area near Khanigurram. One or two soldiers were injured. Some 50 Uzbek and Chechen fighters had been killed in Khanigurram, where jets destroyed a militant training camp.

On Sept. 26, after a two hour gun battle in Sindh province, security forces killed Amjad Farooqi, a key al-Qaida militant connected to the murder of Daniel Pearl.

Pakistani authorities have detained 35 Pakistani prisoners upon their return from Guantanamo Bay for three months of debriefing.

Pakistani officials renewed their amnesty offer to foreign militants on Sept. 15. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz’s Cabinet formed a special committee to locate and negotiate with tribal elders. Aziz also lifted economic sanctions on tribes suspected of sheltering al-Qaida militants on Sept. 25. Two days later, a weapons cache was found in caves.

Despite Pakistan’s swarm of arrests in the past few months, experts warn that the number of suspected militants captured does not necessarily translate to progress in knocking out the al-Qaida structure.

Other News in Brief 

• A new investigation into the torture of seven Afghan soldiers and the murder of an 18-year-old Afghan army recruit while in U.S. custody has begun. On Sept. 14, Army investigators recommended the arrest of three soldiers for negligent homicide and abuse at an Afghan prison in Bagram.
   
• A criminal accused of creating propaganda for Osama bin Laden and preparing a video so that he could watch the September 11^th attack refused to attend his U.S. military review hearing on Sept. 14.
   
• An Afghan court on Sept. 15 sentenced three Americans to up to 10 years in jail for torture, illegal detention and running a private prison in abul for “anti-terrorism” purposes.
   
• The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) announced on Sept. 16 that it has formed a 43-member team of monitors fro Afghanistan’s upcoming elections, headed by U.S. Ambassador Robert Barry.
   
• Human Rights Watch issued a report on Sept. 17 explaining that Afghans in most parts of the country are more afraid of local factional leaders and military commanders than the Taliban.
   
• On Sept. 19, Afghanistan auctioned capital notes allowing the banks to set a market-driven interest rate.
   
• The UN General Assembly opened in New York on Sept. 21, with President Bush pledging that the United States will not allow violence to disrupt the elections and will continue its commitments to the Afghan people. President Karzai also addressed the assembly, listing the milestones Afghanistan has achieved as well as the challenges ahead. He held bilateral meetings with world leaders, including President Bush.
   
• On Sept. 22, the United States sent home at least 11 Afghan detainees from Guantanamo Bay.  Karzai said the released prisoners will take part in peacekeeping, while one of his opponents, Mohammed Mohaqeq, criticized his reconciliation as “dangerous.”
   
• More than 30,000 Afghan refugees voluntarily returned home from Iran on Sept. 25. The remaining 50,000 will return home by March 20.
   
• The Asian Development Bank agreed to co-finance an investment guarantee facility in Afghanistan through a $5 million loan and $10 million guarantee.
   
• The UN World Food Program (WFP) said Afghanistan would need more than $50 million to fight its severe drought. While more than 6 million are expected to struggle with lack of water, the WFP is targeting 1.4 million in the most affected areas. The Food and Agriculture Organization said Afghanistan has asked for $71.3 million in aid, of which $51.8 million will be used for food.
   
• According to a national survey by Afghan journalists in the Institute for War and Peace, about 82% of the 3,000 respondents plan to vote.
   
• Using the election as a catalyst, More than 40 advocacy groups have joined the Women’s Edge Coalition to demand equal rights and gender-based development.
   
• The Afghan Special Narcotics Force, trained by the UK, conducted a successful raid of Nangarhar province, seizing 17 tons of opiates, 16 tons of chemicals and 47 opium presses. Three tons were publicly burned in Kabul.