Obama approves Afghanistan troop increase - CNN

President Barack Obama has approved a significant troop increase for Afghanistan, Pentagon officials said Tuesday.

The new troop deployment is expected to include 8,000 Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, as well as 4,000 additional Army troops from Fort Lewis, Washington.

"This increase is necessary to stabilize a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, which has not received the strategic attention, direction and resources it urgently requires," Obama said in a written statement.

"The Taliban is resurgent in Afghanistan, and al Qaeda supports the insurgency and threatens America from its safe haven along the Pakistani border."

Another 5,000 troops will be deployed at a later date to support combat troops, bringing the total to 17,000 the Defense Department said. A senior administration official confirmed the total.

The Obama administration has been conducting several reviews of U.S. policy in Afghanistan, including a review by Gen. David Petraeus, the commander in the region. The president and the Pentagon have been considering a request from the top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, to send as many as 30,000 additional troops.

Obama said the troop increase in Afghanistan would be made possible in part by the impending troop drawdown in Iraq.

All 17,000 troops announced Tuesday will go to the southern region of the country where Afghanistan borders Pakistan, with the goal mainly being to stop the flow of foreign fighters, according to a U.S. military official with direct knowledge of the deployment and military plans for Afghanistan.

The troops will also train Afghan army units.

The military operations will set up a string of bases and smaller combat outposts, allowing the troops to move around and engage in counterterrorism against foreign fighters and counterinsurgency operations against the Taliban and other local enemies, the official said.

The goal is to have enough troops to "seize and hold" territory and maintain basic security, which hasn't been possible under current troop levels, the official said. The Taliban continues to maintain at least half a dozen safe areas inside Afghanistan, which are prime targets for the U.S. military.

About 38,000 U.S. troops are currently serving in Afghanistan.

The increased troop levels are expected to last three to four years, the military official said.

However, the administration official said there was no clear timeline. "That would prejudge the outcome of the strategic review," the senior administration official said.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said the original mission in Afghanistan was "too broad" and needs to be more "realistic and focused" for the United States to succeed.

"If we set ourselves the objective of creating some sort of central Asian Valhalla over there, we will lose, because nobody in the world has that kind of time, patience and money," Gates said during a recent Senate hearing.

Obama returns to Washington, Afghan decision near - Associated Press

President Barack Obama plans to make a decision soon about sending additional troops to Afghanistan, his chief spokesman said Monday.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the administration continues to review its policy toward Afghanistan, some seven years after U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban-led government. Gibbs cautioned that no firm timetable had been set, nor had administration officials settled on how many — if any — new troops would be involved.

"Without getting into broad time lines, I wouldn't — I don't think this is anything that involves weeks," Gibbs told reporters traveling with the president on Air Force One back from Chicago, where the Obama family spent a long weekend in their hometown.

Taliban insurgents have regained ground and the new Obama administration is contemplating doubling troop levels as part of a strategy to reclaim control. Addressing the ongoing war there is one of the administration's top — and most watched — priorities.

Anticipation of the troop build up in Afghanistan has been high since Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last Tuesday that Obama was days away from announcing his decision. Yet no formal announcement has emerged.

Gibbs noted that U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke is in the region talking with leaders about how best to address the situation. Obama also has met with military leaders and his foreign policy advisers, both at the Pentagon and the State Department.

Obama has been widely believed likely to send fresh forces to the Afghan battle even as a wide review of U.S. strategy and goals there gets fully under way. Gates had told a Pentagon news conference last week that Obama "will have several options in front of him." Gates suggested, as have other officials, that the ground commander in Afghanistan would eventually get all the forces he has asked for, but no more.

Lt. Gen. David McKiernan wants more fighting forces and support troops such as helicopter crews to push back against the Taliban in Afghanistan's increasingly dangerous south and eastern regions.

An opponent of the "surge" of U.S. forces that is now credited with turning around the Iraq war, Obama has taken a cautious approach to the addition of forces in Afghanistan. He is expected to initially approve only part of a military request for as many as 30,000 forces this year, while military and civilian advisers revamp U.S. war goals.

Gibbs' comments came as the president, his wife and daughters arrived at Andrews Air Force Base just outside Washington at midday Monday. His family had left for Chicago on Friday aboard Air Force One. Among items topping Obama's agenda this week is signing into law the $787 billion economic stimulus plan that Congress passed last Friday.

While in Chicago, the first family did not have a public schedule. The president played basketball with friends, visited the gym and got a haircut. Barack and Michelle Obama celebrated Valentine's Day with a dinner at Oprah Winfrey's personal chef's restaurant on Saturday.

It was Obama's first significant break since taking office on Jan. 20.

Obama won't be in Washington long; he heads to Colorado, Arizona and Canada this week and he plans to sign the stimulus legislation in Denver.

Drive to eliminate poppy in Helmand begins - Frontier Post

Eradication process of poppy crop in surrounding areas of provincial capital Lashkargah of restive southern Helmand province was commenced on Monday.

The campaign started from Bolan area of Lashkargah where people had cultivated poppy on a state-owned land. Helmand governor Mohammad Gulab Mangal told Pajhwok Afghan News the campaign would be extended to surrounding areas of Lashkargah, adding that the process would last for a month.

He said that it was expected that the crop cultivated over 5000 hectare of land would be destroyed during that period. He said 60 tractors were involved in the process and 200 policemen would maintain security during the eradication process.

All the land will thoroughly be freed from poppy crop and no compromise will be made in this connection," Mangal vowed.

Although, the governor has hinted at providing assistance to the growers as an alternative source of income, but Lalay, a farmer told this news agency that they have received nothing as yet. "The government must provide us alternate source of income as we would confront with economic hardships after our crop is destroyed," he said.

The governor claimed that roughly 1500 hectare of land had been freed fromn poppy crop. Last year, Helmand province topped the list of poppy growing provinces.

1. A survey conducted by the UN last year revealed that almost 165 thousands hectare of land was brought under poppy crop cultivation in Afghanistan, with 1000 hectare in Helmand alone.

Army returns to an old tactic to defeat resurgent Taliban: sniping - Guardian

As concern mounts over the number of civilian casualties caused by air strikes in Afghanistan, the army is switching tactics.

Mark Townsend visits the marksmen about to be deployed on the front line and asks them about the psychology of killing.

In the moments before he pulls the trigger, Dean has learnt to switch off. No longer does the 28-year-old sniper register the close-up face caught in the centre of his crosshairs. "It's about getting into your bubble, focusing on the act until it becomes automatic, repetitive. You concentrate only on the shot," said the Coldstream Guards colour sergeant. Like all army snipers, Dean does not disclose his surname for fear of his family becoming a target for home-grown extremists. Within modern warfare and its array of laser-guided missiles and smart bombs, only men like Dean regularly see their victims at the point of death.

Snipers are playing an increasingly important role in Helmand province in Afghanistan where 8,100 British soldiers are stationed. Scores of Taliban have been shot dead. One sniper alone is reported to have killed 39 of the enemy. Dean, who spent six months in Helmand last year, would not talk about his "kill tally", but admitted that colleagues routinely accounted for "handfuls" of the enemy.

Snipers are becoming an increasingly valued weapon in the desert of Helmand. "We're starting to see a definite renaissance of sniping," said Frank, a captain and commanding officer of the sniper division at the Land Warfare Centre in Wiltshire.

Sniping's tactical comeback is facilitated by mounting concern over the number of civilian casualties in southern Afghanistan caused by air strikes. Fears over the risk of collateral damage from jets are bolstered by field reports indicating that snipers are the military's most cost-effective, discriminating fighting machine in Helmand.

A report by Civic - the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict - will this week corroborate concern over collateral damage by confirming a record death toll of Afghan civilians last year. However, Civic's Sarah Holewinski said they had no evidence or reports of British snipers mistakenly targeting innocent Afghans and hoped that the "planning going into sniper use remains thorough and sound".

At the Wiltshire training base, courses are heavily oversubscribed. More than 240 soldiers are vying to be selected for the 120 places a year. In Helmand itself there are 25 snipers seeking to engage "high-value targets" such as Taliban commanders or individuals identified as linked to al-Qaida. The armed forces have 330 trained snipers at present, more than double the total during the 1990s, when sniping was wound down.

Sniping is a form of psychological warfare. Shots from an invisible source can, according to the Ministry of Defence, induce terror in advancing forces; even tank commanders cower inside from an unseen but precise foe. Yet the real mental duel is contested within the sniper's mind. Its practitioners know that, when they squeeze the trigger, the object of their concentration will die.

Frank looks for recruits whose minds are sufficiently robust to concentrate on their mission rather than the human being within their sights. "It is one thing to kill in the heat of the battle when the blood's up, but it's quite another when you have a lot of time to think," he said. "You need to get the right man for the job in case he hesitates or is going to suffer problems down the line."

A calm, composed disposition is a prerequisite. As is patience: snipers can spend hours motionless as they wait for the optimum time to strike. Psychological profiling remains critical in selecting the right candidates; any detection of mental fragility and they are out, says Frank.

The act of shooting itself is a lesson in deliberation. The body must be perfectly still, the breathing controlled. Last week Dean targeted a "simulated head" 400m away across a snow-smothered Wiltshire field. Through the scope of his LII5A3 sniper rifle, the head's two-dimensional features were as clear as if it were sited across a room. Steadily Dean positioned the target into the centre of the mildot reticule, its crosshairs. The headshot is preferable and invariably fatal. But to shoot a bullet in the heat of Afghanistan, first a sniper must ascertain the wind speed, temperature, barometric pressure and humidity at the target.

Many snipers hail from farming communities, men who developed an early interest in hunting and creeping after prey undetected. "It's about stalking; we are looking for that natural hunting ability, looking for a cut above the rest," said Frank.

Snipers must also be comfortable in their own company for days on end as they operate undercover behind Taliban lines. The enemy cannot be allowed to identify their position. It is one thing to kill, but to kill again snipers must be able to retreat without enemy forces pinpointing them.

But, above all, Frank's team must train a sniper to obliterate all distractions; training is deliberately repetitive to make sniping an instinctive process. Any potential psychological effects are addressed at post-operation debriefs under the specialised risk management scheme with help specially tailored to address the unique strains of sniping. Its effectiveness is unknown; there are no data available to measure whether snipers sustain more psychological trauma than, say, infantrymen.

Another factor driving the resurgence of sniping is cost-effectiveness. During the Vietnam war, the average number of rounds expended per kill with M-16 rifles was 50,000.

By contrast, snipers averaged 1.3 bullets per kill, and defence officials estimate that contemporary trends are likely to mirror the ratios recorded in Indochina.

Each of the 8.59mm bullets used by UK snipers in southern Afghanistan costs about £20, compared to a single projectile from the Javelin anti-tank missile, which costs £70,000.

They were pinned down on a small hill just east of Kajaki, northern Helmand, a company of Royal Anglian Regiment infantrymen surrounded by Taliban firing from 21 positions. Amid the chaotic firefight, a lone figure crawled along an exposed ridge and, Lambert and Butler cigarette drooping from his bottom lip, slowly took aim. Over the next 15 minutes, the British sniper methodically eliminated seven of the Taliban gunpoints.

The sniper never said a word, but single-handedly ensured his colleagues made a successful dawn retreat one August morning in 2007, a single example among countless occasions when snipers have underlined their value in Afghanistan. A Royal Marines spokesman said: "Once you have targeted the Taliban, you can run down their numbers pretty quickly; without a doubt, sniping is a battle-winner." He recalled one occasion when a sniper picked out Taliban gunmen 1,800m away, a spot that also helped save lives. Only days after the Kajaki sniper's heroics 18 months ago, a 500lb bomb from an American fighter killed three British soldiers in the same location, an illustration of the risks inherent in high-speed air strikes and a tragedy that advocates of sniping still refer to.

As the Afghan conflict rumbles on, military experts predict the role of the sniper will become increasingly central. The Pentagon is developing a guided smart bullet for use in sniper rifles. In the future, men like Dean may crouch four miles away from their target before sending a smartslug to destroy a distant, faceless foe.

Afghanistan's Karzai hits out at U.S. critics - Reuters

Afghan President Hamid Karzai lashed out at mounting U.S. criticism on Sunday, saying he expected "better judgment" from the Obama administration.

In the latest show of strain between the allies in a seven-year war against Islamist militants, Karzai told CNN President Barack Obama's description of the Kabul government as "very detached" from its people reflected the new U.S. government's immaturity.

"Perhaps it's because the administration has not yet put itself together," he told CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" program.

"I hope as they settle down, and as they learn more, we'll see better judgment."

U.S. policy on Afghanistan is under review as Obama contemplates almost doubling the number of U.S. troops there to around 60,000.

At the same time, U.S. criticism of Karzai has grown as the Taliban insurgency steadily gains ground more than seven years after U.S.-led forces toppled the hardline Islamist Afghan government.

Despite Obama's comments, Karzai said he admired the U.S. leader. "I can certainly engage with him very, very very positively," he said.

Karzai repeated his criticism that the U.S.-led military campaign against Taliban and al Qaeda militants had brought civilian casualties, arrests and home searches that were undermining confidence of Afghans.

Whenever he criticized U.S. practices in Afghanistan -- for example, of aerial spraying of poppy fields or torture allegations -- this was followed by reports of high-level corruption in his government, including an accusation that his brother was involved in the narcotics trade, Karzai said.

"Whenever there was a disagreement, this kept repeating," he said, without directly addressing the accusations.

"My conclusion is that, yes, this was part of a political pressure tactic, unfortunately."

Recent U.S. newspaper articles highlighting a growing rift between Washington and Karzai showed "there's a lot of misinformation and, indeed, at times disinformation from parts of the Western press against me," Karzai said.

(Reporting by Paul Eckert, editing by Alan Elsner)

Taliban in Swat valley call 10-day ceasefire - Telegraph

Taliban fighters in north-west Pakistan's Swat valley called a 10-day ceasefire on Sunday after local officials agreed to enforce Islamic laws.
By Ben Farmer in Kabul

The ceasefire brought a pause in fighting between the Pakistani military and the Pakistani Taliban after more than a year of clashes that have left hundreds of civilians, militants and soldiers dead.

The region was once a popular holiday destination for Pakistanis escaping urban life. It is now subject to hardline Islamic laws after civic leaders bowed to intense Taliban pressure following a campaign of intimidation and bombings that has seen hundreds of schools close, and girls denied an education.

President Asif Zardari claimed yesterday that the Taliban had now established a foothold in "huge parts" of Pakistan.

In neighbouring Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai said yesterday that he is to send aides to Washington for a review of the "war on terror" as he fights to hold on to dwindling US political support.

The Afghan leader has admitted a "crisis" between his regime and America and said he had still not spoken to President Barack Obama nearly a month after the US leader's inauguration. But during a visit by Richard Holbrooke, the new US envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Mr Karzai said that he was "very, very thankful that President Obama has accepted the proposal of Afghanistan joining a strategic review of the war against terrorism".

Washington has accused Kabul of being detached from its people while President Karzai has angered his US backers with frequent public accusations that American forces have killed civilians.

However Mr Obama has now accepted a written request for Kabul to join a review into US strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan that was announced last week.

The review stems from increasing US unease at how to quell growing Taliban-led insurgencies in both countries.

Pakistan, which its president says is in a "fight for survival" with Islamic militants, has already asked to join the review.

Kabul's delegation to Washington will be led by the foreign minister, Rangeen Dadfar Spanta.

Mr Holbrooke, who flew on to India, earlier met ministers, military commanders, MPs and foreign diplomats in Kabul and said his visit was to "reaffirm America's commitment" to the war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

International support has drained away from Mr Karzai, who was once the darling of the West and a key ally of Mr Bush, over his inability to curb corruption.

Before visiting Kabul, Mr Holbrooke spent four days in Pakistan.

New sniper rifle boosts British Army operations against the Taliban - Telegraph

Soldiers call it "long-range death" – their name for the British Army's most powerful sniper rifle.

With its unerring accuracy and powerful telescopic sight, the L115A3 virtually guarantees "one round, one kill" at ranges of more than a mile.

The weapon has been used with "phenomenal" success in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, where it is said to have had a major "psychological impact" on the Taliban. Last week the Army put the weapon on display and The Sunday Telegraph was asked to send the first newspaper journalist to test-fire the weapon on the Army's ranges in Warminster, Wiltshire, where the Support Weapons School is based.

The new weapon fires a higher calibre bullet, 8.59mm, further and with greater accuracy than any rifle which has seen service with The Army. Unlike the L96 sniper rifle, which it replaced, it is also fitted with a suppressor which reduces both noise and flash and helps to ensure that the sniper remains hidden.

The L115A3, produced by the British company Accuracy International, has been procured for the Army at a total cost of £4million – a testament to the revived importance of snipers.

The art of sniping almost died out during the Cold War, when weapons of mass destruction were believed to offer the solution to global warfare.

Only the Parachute Regiment, the Royal Marines and the Special Forces recognised that snipers would always have an important part to play on the battlefield.

But today, with a bloody insurgency raging in southern Afghanistant where 8,300 British troops are based, the sniper has become a vital battle-winning asset. The modern British Army sniper needs to be more than just a crack shot. He – sniping in the Army remains a male domain – needs to be intelligent, a first-class navigator, expert in field craft and camouflage and have a very "highly developed hunting instinct".

Snipers, not surprisingly, consider themselves to be a "cut above the rest" of the Army.

In southern Afghanistan, they often act as the both the eyes and ears of commanders, reporting on the movements of the Taliban from covert and often isolated hides.

Working in pairs, the spotter – usually the more experienced of the two – picks out the targets, estimates the range, relative humidity, barometric pressure and wind speed, while providing cover for the sniper while he engages the enemy.

In Helmand, snipers wear bizarre-looking sand-coloured gillie suits to ensure that they blend in to the surrounding desert and remain hidden while they target the Taliban.

"I go into my own little bubble when I'm sniping", said Dean, a 34-year-old Colour Sergeant in the Coldstream Guards, who – like most snipers – did not want his personal details made public.

"It's very difficult to explain. You become very methodical and try and ensure that you are doing everything which is going to give you the perfect shot – one round, one kill.

"With this weapon I would expect to achieve that every time."

Dean, who is also an instructor at the Army's sniping school in Brecon, south Wales, refused to say how many enemy combatants he had killed.

"I don't want to talk about that", he said when asked. "I don't keep a tally. I have a job to do like everyone else in the Army and I make sure I do it to the best of my ability."

He added that the L115A3 was as "competitive" as any sniper rifle in the world.

"It can be fitted with night vision equipment so it allows us to own the night-time battlefield. But like every weapon, it is just a tool. What matters is the person pulling the trigger."

Marine Darren Smith of 45 Cdo Royal Marines killed in Afghanistan

It is with deep regret that the Ministry of Defence has confirmed the death of Marine Darren Smith of 45 Commando Royal Marines on operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on 14 February 2009.

He was a member of X-ray Company, 45 Commando Royal Marines, and was based in Forward Operating Base Nolay in southern Sangin.

Marine Smith was wounded in an ambush by Taliban fire. Despite the efforts of his colleagues, he tragically died of his wounds en-route to the medical facilities at Camp Bastion.

Marine Darren Smith

Darren Smith, known as 'Daz', was born on 6 December 1981 and lived in Fleetwood, Lancashire. He joined X-ray Company in July 2008 immediately after completing Royal Marines Commando Recruit Training.

He was the epitome of a young Royal Marine; enthusiastic, hardworking, fiercely loyal to his friends and very brave. He carried the light machine gun, and was always at the front of his troop, leading the patrol on operations against the Taliban.

Daz was enormously popular with all of the other members of X-ray Company. He was a young man at the start of his career in the Royal Marines, but he already had a reputation for hard work and high professional standards. He was intelligent and trustworthy and had a natural talent that promised much for the future.

He was a keen footballer and had trialled for Everton, Manchester City and Blackpool, but Liverpool was the team he supported. Even when he was deployed on operations he tried hard never to miss a game.

During the quieter times of the deployment when relaxed and amongst his mates, Daz would always speak of his two-year-old daughter, Keira, of whom he was immensely proud. He was a devoted and loyal father and his thoughts would quickly turn to his loving girlfriend, who he had been with since childhood.

Daz was immensely proud to be a Royal Marine and died as he lived, leading from the front. He was brave to the last and he leaves a gap in X-ray Company that is irreplaceable.

The Marine who saved the dogs of war - MailOnline

One shivering, starving mongrel changed Pen Farthing's life. As a Royal Marine, serving in Afghanistan at a remote desert outpost in Helmand Province, he was horrified by the number of abandoned dogs and by the vile, organised dog fights.

This centuries-old 'sport', which involves slicing off the ears and tails of potential fighting dogs without anaesthetic, is hugely popular among rival clans.

The owners of winning dogs earn money and prestige. As Pen, a dog owner himself when at home, writes: 'Dogs in Afghanistan were extremely far down in the welfare list … although, to be fair, human life wasn't exactly that far up it.' And so, after one appalled look, he sprang into action.

His first rescue dog was cruelly tethered with wire and had been tormented by Kalashnikov-toting Afghan police. Pen actually risked his life, making himself a conspicuous target for the lurking Taliban by scaling the compound wall, throwing the terrified, pain-racked dog a sausage laced with a tranquilliser, cutting the tether and freeing him to roam with the pack which prowled the camp perimeter.

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