Militants hang 8-year-old boy in southern Afghanistan

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- An 8 year-old boy was hanged by militants in Afghanistan's Helmand province after the boy's father -- a police officer in the southern city of Gereshk -- refused to comply with militants' demands to provide them with a police vehicle, officials said.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the hanging, saying "this action is not permitted in any culture or any religions," according to a statement Sunday, which provided details of the incident.

Karzai said he has ordered local authorities to root out the militants and arrest them "as soon as possible."

The boy was kidnapped Friday. It was unclear when he was killed.

The incident comes amid a recent wave of attacks on local officials who are considered anti-Taliban. Less than two weeks ago, Ahmed Wali Karzai, Karzai's half-brother and a provincial council chief in neighboring Kandahar, was killed in his home by a longtime bodyguard.

Elsewhere on Sunday, formal ceremonies marking the handover of security to Afghan forces took place in Kabul and Panjshir province.

They are the fifth and sixth areas to be transferred to national forces.

Last week, the capital of Helmand province -- Lashkar Gah -- was transferred to local control as NATO begins a drawdown of troops.

The area was a scene of heavy fighting and stiff resistance last year as a coalition "surge" swept southward in an effort to drive Taliban forces from their traditional heartland.

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http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/07/24/afghanistan.militants.hang.boy/

Obama’s Remarks on the Strategy in Afghanistan

Good morning, everybody. When I announced our new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan last December, I directed my national security team to regularly assess our efforts and to review our progress after one year. That's what we've done consistently over the course of the past 12 months —- in weekly updates from the field, in monthly meetings with my national security team, and in my frequent consultations with our Afghan, Pakistani and coalition partners. And that's what we've done as part of our annual review, which is now complete.

I want to thank Secretary Clinton and Secretary Gates for their leadership. Since Joint Chief of Staff Chairman, Admiral Mullen, is in Afghanistan, I'm pleased that we're joined by Vice Chairman, General Cartwright.

Our efforts also reflect the dedication of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, whose memory we honor and whose work we'll continue. Indeed, the tributes to Richard that have poured in from around the globe speak to both the enormous impact of his life and to the broad international commitment to our shared efforts in this critical region.

I have spoken with President Karzai of Afghanistan as well as President Zardari of Pakistan and discussed our findings and the way forward together. Today, I want to update the American people on our review —- our assessment of where we stand and areas where we need to do better. I want to be clear. This continues to be a very difficult endeavor. But I can report that thanks to the extraordinary service of our troops and civilians on the ground, we are on track to achieve our goals.

It's important to remember why we remain in Afghanistan. It was Afghanistan where al Qaeda plotted the 9/11 attacks that murdered 3,000 innocent people. It is the tribal regions along the Afghan-Pakistan border from which terrorists have launched more attacks against our homeland and our allies. And if an even wider insurgency were to engulf Afghanistan, that would give al Qaeda even more space to plan these attacks.

And that's why, from the start, I've been very clear about our core goal. It's not to defeat every last threat to the security of Afghanistan, because, ultimately, it is Afghans who must secure their country. And it's not nation-building, because it is Afghans who must build their nation. Rather, we are focused on disrupting, dismantling and defeating al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and preventing its capacity to threaten America and our allies in the future.

In pursuit of our core goal we are seeing significant progress. Today, al Qaeda's senior leadership in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan is under more pressure than at any point since they fled Afghanistan nine years ago. Senior leaders have been killed. It's harder for them to recruit; it's harder for them to travel; it's harder for them to train; it's harder for them to plot and launch attacks. In short, al Qaeda is hunkered down. It will take time to ultimately defeat al Qaeda, and it remains a ruthless and resilient enemy bent on attacking our country. But make no mistake -- we are going to remain relentless in disrupting and dismantling that terrorist organization.

In Afghanistan, we remain focused on the three areas of our strategy: our military effort to break the Taliban's momentum and train Afghan forces so they can take the lead; our civilian effort to promote effective governance and development; and regional cooperation, especially with Pakistan, because our strategy has to succeed on both sides of the border.

Indeed, for the first time in years, we've put in place the strategy and the resources that our efforts in Afghanistan demand. And because we've ended our combat mission in Iraq, and brought home nearly 100,000 of our troops from Iraq, we're in a better position to give our forces in Afghanistan the support and equipment they need to achieve their missions. And our drawdown in Iraq also means that today there are tens of thousands fewer Americans deployed in harm's way than when I took office.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/17/world/asia/17afghan-text.html?src=twrhp

Holbrooke mentioned Afghan war before surgery

As friends and colleagues from four decades of diplomatic life reflected on the intensity of Richard C. Holbrooke's dedication, many were not surprised to learn that concerns about the Afghanistan war were apparently among his final thoughts.

After Holbrooke's death Monday, The Washington Post, citing his family members, reported that the veteran diplomat had told his physician just before surgery Friday to "stop this war."

But Tuesday, a fuller account of the tone and contents of his remarks emerged.

As physician Jehan El-Bayoumi was attending to Holbrooke in the emergency room at George Washington University Hospital, she told him to relax and asked what she could do to comfort him, according to an aide who was present.

Holbrooke, who was in severe pain, said jokingly that it was hard to relax because he had to worry about the difficult situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

El-Bayoumi, an Egyptian American internist who is Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's physician, replied that she would worry for him. Holbrooke responded by telling her to end the war, the aide said.

The aide said he could not be sure of Holbrooke's exact words. He emphasized Tuesday that the comment was made in painful banter, rather than as a serious exhortation about policy.

Holbrooke also spoke extensively about his family and friends as he awaited surgery by Farzad Najam, a thoracic surgeon of Pakistani descent.

Holbrooke's statement was seized upon quickly by critics of the Afghan war debate, some of whom interpreted it as a clarion call to end the conflict. Others viewed his comment as a last-breath disavowal of the Obama administration's war policy, which has involved a troop surge - which Holbrooke publicly supported - to combat the Taliban. But State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley cast Holbrooke's words simply as "humorous repartee."


Crowley said the comment "says two things about Richard Holbrooke in my mind. Number one, he always wanted to make sure he got the last word. And secondly, it just showed how he was singularly focused on pursuing and advancing the process and the policies in Afghanistan and Pakistan to bring them to a successful conclusion."

Holbrooke's deputy, Frank Ruggiero, has been named to fill his post as special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan in an acting capacity, Crowley said, adding that no significant move had been made to select a permanent replacement.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/14/AR2010121406760.html?hpid=topnews

Talk to Taliban, say Afghans, as corruption fears grow

AN OVERWHELMING majority of Afghans support talks with the Taliban and an increasing number believe that the country is heading in the right direction.

However, the latest survey of opinion in Afghanistan also finds a sharp rise in concerns over corruption. Most Afghans believe that graft is a major problem in every area of their lives and at every level of government, according to the poll by the Asia Foundation.

Its publication came as the Afghan Government dropped corruption charges against an aide to President Karzai. Mohammad Zia Salehi, a senior official in Mr Karzai's National Security Council, was arrested in July after he was caught on a wiretap soliciting a bribe.

While the Afghan Army attracts some measure of confidence from 91per cent of those asked, just 54 per cent say they trust the Afghan Government and international bodies. Less than half - 47per cent - of Afghans believe that the country is on the right track, though this is up from 42 per cent the year before, and from 38per cent in 2008. Better security is the main reason, with reconstruction and education for girls also cited.

However, among those who are pessimistic, the number citing worsening security has increased, despite the troop surge. Unemployment and corruption are also cited. The latter shows a sharp jump from 17 to 27 per cent in the latest survey, carried out by the non-profit body with funding from the US Government.

"Respondents were asked whether they think corruption is a major problem, a minor problem or no problem at all in their daily life, their neighbourhood, their local authorities, their provincial government and in Afghanistan as a whole," the report says. "The survey shows that the majority of Afghans think that corruption is a major problem in all facets of life and at all levels of government."

There has also been a significant increase in the number of people who support talks with insurgents and the reintegration of armed groups. As many as 83per cent back the Afghan Government's attempts at negotiations, with support strongest in the east, south-east and north-west of the country where the fighting is most intense.

The findings suggest "that an increasing proportion of the Afghan public is in favour of a political solution to the ongoing conflict in the country rather than a purely military one". There is less enthusiasm among women for talks: 20per cent oppose the negotiations compared with only 12per cent of men, possibly reflecting fears of a future government that includes Taliban elements.

The survey interviewed 6,467 Afghans aged over 18, and was carried out from June 18 to July 5 in all 34 provinces, although polling in some dangerous areas was not possible.

Afghanistan has ordered about 150 aid groups, including four foreign organisations, to shut down for failing to submit reports on their projects and finances, a government official said yesterday.

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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/talk-to-taliban-say-afghans-as-corruption-fears-grow/story-e6frg6so-1225951023568