Afghanistan
Aktuelle Einsätze
EUPOL Afghanistan
EU Police Mission in Afghanistan (EU)
Beginn: 06/07
Link zum Einsatz
UNAMA
United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UN-Peacebuilding)
Beginn: 03/02
Link zum Einsatz
ISAF
International Security Assistance Force (UN-Mandatiert)
Beginn: 01/02
Link zum Einsatz
U.S. army chief in Europe to run NATO Afghan unit (15.01.2008)
(Quelle: New York Times) Gen. David D. McKiernan is expected to be appointed as the next commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, American military officials said Monday. General McKiernan oversaw the allied ground attack that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. He has held a variety of senior posts and is the commander of American Army forces in Europe. He is likely to assume his new command in June and is to replace Gen. Dan K. McNeill.
Allies feel strain of Afghan war (15.01.2008)
(Quelle: Washington Post) The U.S. plan to send an additional 3,200 Marines to troubled southern Afghanistan this spring reflects the Pentagon's belief that if it can't bully its recalcitrant NATO allies into sending more troops to the Afghan front, perhaps it can shame them into doing so, U.S. officials said. … After more than six years of coalition warfare in Afghanistan, NATO is a bundle of frayed nerves and tension over nearly every aspect of the conflict, including troop levels and missions, reconstruction, anti-narcotics efforts, and even counterinsurgency strategy.
Taliban signal new approach with suicide attack on luxury hotel (15.01.2008)
(Quelle: The Independent) A Taliban suicide squad stormed a five-star hotel in Kabul yesterday, killing at least six people and wounding more than six others. … It is the first time the Taliban have launched an organised attack against a Western civilian target. The Norwegian foreign minister and his ambassador were in the hotel, popular with foreign diplomats and government contractors but they were not hurt.
Military leaders seek 3,000 more troops for Afghanistan (11.01.2008)
(Quelle: New York Times) Senior military officers will soon propose deploying about 3,000 additional American troops to Afghanistan, where the NATO-led security and stabilization effort is short of combat forces and trainers, Pentagon officials said Wednesday. … If approved, most of the 3,200 troops, all marines, would be sent to southern Afghanistan, where NATO forces have faced a growing Taliban resurgence.
U.S. to bolster forces in Afghanistan (10.01.2008)
(Quelle: Washington Post) The U.S. military is planning to deploy about 3,000 Marines to Afghanistan this spring to counter an expected offensive by Taliban insurgents, a Pentagon spokesman said yesterday, citing NATO allies' failure to provide additional combat troops.
US opens Afghan deaths tribunal (08.01.2008)
(Quelle: BBC) The US Marine Corps has opened a special tribunal into the deaths of Afghan civilians last March. As many as 19 Afghan civilians were allegedly killed when marines opened fire in Nangarhar province after their convoy was attacked by a car bomb.
'Bribes' free top Taleban leader (08.01.2008)
(Quelle: BBC) A Taleban commander in Afghanistan responsible for leading attacks on British troops says he has been freed from prison after paying a bribe. Mullah Sorkh Naqaibullah told the BBC he paid $15,000 (£7,500) to the Afghan authorities to win his freedom.
Ex-Taleban chief named governor (07.01.2008)
(Quelle: BBC) A former Afghan Taleban leader who switched sides has been made governor of a town in Helmand province won back from the rebels in December. Mullah Abdul Salaam takes charge of Musa Qala, which was recaptured by British and Afghan troops after being held by the Taleban for nine months.
Record level of violence (01.01.2008)
(Quelle: The Independent) US military deaths, suicide bombings and opium production hit record highs in 2007. Taliban militants killed more than 925 Afghan police. But US officials insist things are looking up. The Afghan army is assuming a larger combat role, and militants are unlikely to mount a major offensive next spring, as was feared would happen a year ago. Training for the Afghan police force is increasing.
In farewell remarks, top UN envoy expresses hope, concern for Afghanistan (30.12.2007)
(Quelle: UN News) Tom Koenigs, the outgoing Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, today voiced both hope for the strife-torn nation which is moving forward, but expressed concern for the country's security situation. 'Afghanistan is moving from being a country decimated by decades of conflict to a progressive Islamic democracy striving to improve the lives of its peoples,' Mr. Koenigs - who also heads the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) - said in his farewell remarks in Kabul.
Diplomats expelled by Afghanistan (27.12.2007)
(Quelle: BBC) Two diplomats accused by Afghan officials of making contacts with the Taleban have left the country after talks to stop their expulsions failed. One is a high-ranking British UN employee, Mervyn Patterson. The other is the acting head of the EU mission in Afghanistan, Irishman Michael Semple.
Australia vows Afghan commitment (22.12.2007)
(Quelle: BBC) Australian PM Kevin Rudd has told Afghan President Hamid Karzai during a visit to Kabul he is committed to the 'long haul' in Afghanistan. Mr Rudd also visited some of the 1,000 Australian troops in Uruzgan province. Mr Rudd, who has said he will pull out combat troops from Iraq, stressed he was committed to reconstruction and stability in Afghanistan.
Afghan president says foreign troops needed for next 10 years (21.12.2007)
(Quelle: Asia-Pacific Daily Report) Afghan President Hamid Karzai is saying that the foreign security presence in his country will be needed for another 10 years. In an interview with the German newspaper Bild, Karzai said Afghanistan had suffered massive destruction and rebuilding the country will take longer than initially thought. When asked how long his country would need German troops, Karzai said, 'I believe it will take another 10 years, at least 10 years.'
Bush faces pressure to shift war priorities (17.12.2007)
(Quelle: Washington Post) With violence on the decline in Iraq but on the upswing in Afghanistan, President Bush is facing new pressure from the U.S. military to accelerate a troop drawdown in Iraq and bulk up force levels in Afghanistan, according to senior U.S. officials.
Afghan mission is reviewed as concerns rise (16.12.2007)
(Quelle: New York Times) Deeply concerned about the prospect of failure in Afghanistan, the Bush administration and NATO have begun three top-to-bottom reviews of the entire mission, from security and counterterrorism to political consolidation and economic development, according to American and alliance officials.
Korean troops end 6-year mission in Afghanistan (14.12.2007)
(Quelle: Reliefweb) Soldiers from the Dongui and Dasan units, return home early Friday. Soldiers from those units have been assisting with reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan for the past six years.
Brown signals strategic shift as Taliban stronghold falls (12.12.2007)
(Quelle: The Independent) The Taliban stronghold of Musa Qala fell to Afghan forces last night, heralding a change of British strategy and an attempt to win the 'hearts and minds' of the Afghan people in the fight against insurgents. … In the Commons tomorrow, Mr Brown will announce a major policy shift which places greater emphasis on securing the support of the Afghan people with a three-pronged approach based on security, economic development and political cooperation with tribal leaders.
Taliban loses grip on last major town (11.12.2007)
(Quelle: New York Times) Afghan and NATO troops retook the town of Musa Qala in southern Afghanistan on Monday, forcing the Taliban to withdraw from the only sizable town they hold in the country, Afghan and NATO officials said. There was no clear picture of casualties, but the Taliban and civilians said there had been heavy bombardment overnight.
Karzai seeks more Afghan forces (11.12.2007)
(Quelle: BBC) Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has said that he needs more help from the international community to help build his country's armed forces. … An Afghan ministry of defence statement recently said that the Afghan armed forces should be 200,000 strong. But the BBC David Loyn in Kabul says there is no international support for that figure. In 2001 the international community agreed to fund an army of 70,000 men.
Berlin okays German aid team to work in Afghanistan (07.12.2007)
(Quelle: Reliefweb) Germany's government has given its blessing for a development-aid firm to work in a poor part of southern Afghanistan where the Taliban is active, an aid ministry spokesman in Berlin said Friday. The Netherlands is to pay for the 20-million-euro (29-million-dollar) project, which includes employing Afghans to build roads, promoting agriculture and improving local administration in the Urusgan province. The scheme will be managed by GTZ International Services, the commercial arm of the German federal development-aid organization GTZ.
Brown and Bush line up Ashdown for role in linking Afghan aid and military effort (05.12.2007)
(Quelle: The Guardian) Gordon Brown and President George Bush are expected in the next week to bring some badly needed coordination to aid and military effort in Afghanistan by appointing Lord Ashdown as super-envoy to the country. Brown is set to make the announcement to MPs before the Commons rises for Christmas in what is seen as a statement of his foreign policy approach to the fight against terrorism.
Top officials greet Gates in Kabul with pleas (05.12.2007)
(Quelle: New York Times) Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates heard appeals on Tuesday from Afghanistan’s most senior government and military leaders for more money, weapons and security trainers as 2007 brought the greatest spike in insurgent violence since the Taliban and Al Qaeda were routed six years ago.
UN mission to boost dialogue with former insurgents, envoy says (03.12.2007)
(Quelle: UN News) The United Nations Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said today it intends to continue reaching out to a number of groups previously involved in the insurgency that are now seeking to end the violence and participate in rebuilding the fledgling democracy. Political outreach is one of the Mission’s three priorities over the coming year, along with strengthening the rule of law and integrating the complex and numerous efforts underway in Afghanistan, … .
Afghan violence increases over 2007: UN (03.12.2007)
(Quelle: Reliefweb) Violence has grown 'slightly' in Afghanistan over 2007 but there has also been an improvement in efforts to defeat the Taliban-led insurgency, the United Nations mission said Monday. 'The violence is slightly stronger this year, the number of suicide attacks slightly larger,' UN deputy special representative to Afghanistan, Chris Alexander, told reporters.
Afghan Government says larger army needed (03.12.2007)
(Quelle: RFE / RL) Afghanistan's Defense Ministry says the country needs a 200,000-strong national army to stand against external threats and to tackle the Taliban-led insurgency. Speaking in Kabul on December 2, Defense Ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi said the initial goal -- set in 2001 -- to train around 70,000 Afghan troops no longer applies to Afghanistan's new realities.
U.S. notes limited progress in Afghan war (25.11.2007)
(Quelle: Washington Post) A White House assessment of the war in Afghanistan has concluded that wide-ranging strategic goals that the Bush administration set for 2007 have not been met, even as U.S. and NATO forces have scored significant combat successes against resurgent Taliban fighters, according to U.S. officials.
Revitalise transitional justice system - UN human rights commissioner (21.11.2007)
(Quelle: Irinnews) The government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the international community involved in Afghanistan must recommit to the Action Plan for Peace, Reconciliation and Justice (APPRJ) - known as transitional justice - which is expected to address crimes committed in the past three decades in the war-torn country, said the UN high commissioner for human rights, Louise Arbour.
The Taleban’s northern front (20.11.2007)
(Quelle: IWPR) While the attention of the Afghan government and the media is focused on major battles in the south of the country, the Taleban are making major headway in a northern region. Badghis, a north-western province wedged between Herat and Faryab, has been the scene of heavy fighting for the past two months, and the insurgents have occupied three of the province’s seven districts. They have also established intelligence and operational networks in most district centres.
China wins major Afghan project (20.11.2007)
(Quelle: BBC) A Chinese mining company has won a tender to develop one of the world's largest copper mines in Afghanistan. The state-owned China Metallurgical Group says it will invest nearly $3bn in the mine at Aynak in the province of Logar, south of Kabul. Officials say it will be the largest foreign investment in Afghan history and will employ 10,000 people.
Afghan civilian deaths alarm UN (20.11.2007)
(Quelle: BBC) The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed alarm at the number of civilian casualties caused by international forces in Afghanistan. Speaking at the end of a six-day visit to the country, Louise Arbour said the casualties were eroding public trust. … Earlier, Oxfam said half of the 1,200 civilian deaths this year were caused by international and Afghan troops.