NATO weighs Afghan lessons of waging major ops abroad

October 21, 2021

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO defense ministers are weighing Thursday what lessons to draw from the almost two-decade-long military mission in Afghanistan, including whether the world’s biggest security organization should even undertake major operations outside Europe and North America.

Ahead of the meeting at the U.S.-led military alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the way the organization’s biggest-ever operation ended shows that the challenges of such endeavors should not be underestimated.

“It highlights the challenges and the risks to engage in big missions and operations outside NATO territory,” Stoltenberg told reporters. At the same time, he said, “the lesson cannot be that we will never engage.”

“We should not draw the wrong conclusion on Afghanistan and think that NATO allies and NATO should never again engage in military operations to fight extremism, or terrorism,” he said. NATO took the lead on international security efforts in Afghanistan in 2003 but ended combat operations in 2014 to focus on training local security forces. It helped build up an Afghan army of some 300,000 troops, but that force withered in just days in August in the face of a Taliban offensive.

More than 100,000 people were evacuated from the Afghan capital Kabul during the frenzied final days of a U.S. airlift after President Joe Biden said American troops would leave. Thousands of Afghans remained, desperate to escape the uncertainty of Taliban rule.

Stoltenberg suggested that part of the problem for NATO might have been that its role became more demanding as the major international effort to rebuild Afghanistan developed, shifting the organization away from its original task of destroying the al-Qaida network.

“We started with a very limited, narrow, military mission, fighting terrorism, degrading al-Qaida,” Stoltenberg said. But NATO then became “only one of many players or actors,” including the EU and United Nations, in a broader “nation building effort,” he said.

German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said it was important to learn “that purely military aims alone are not sufficient” when the ultimate goal is to foster democracy and stabilize a country wracked by decades of conflict.

“If you are pursuing longer-term political aims with this, possibly you need even more patience than 20 years, and above all … you have to describe the aims in very concrete and realistic terms, because otherwise you get what we saw in Afghanistan -- that we achieved our military aims over 20 years but nation-building ultimately failed in the long term,” she told reporters.

The actual job of identifying lessons is being handled by NATO’s 30 deputy national envoys, under the lead of Assistant Secretary General for Operations John Manza. Manza was to submit his initial findings in a report to the ministers. A final report is due to be debated by NATO foreign ministers in early December.

Explaining the process to lawmakers earlier this month, Manza said that it’s important to have a “wide-eyed discussion” about hot-spot countries before NATO deploys troops there, and to establish whether those countries constitute a vital interest for the alliance, or just a peripheral one.

“From what I can see there was no such discussion at NATO headquarters about the level of interest in Afghanistan. I would argue that Afghanistan isn’t and never was in the vital interest of the United States or any of our allies,” he said.

Manza noted that the mission was initially small and focused on anti-terror work in Kabul, but that as it began to expand to a country-wide counter-insurgency operation — climbing up to around 140,000 NATO troops — “our level of investment began to exceed our interests.”

“We didn’t see how difficult that was going to make it to get out because the sum costs became the strategy; the strategic driver if you’re not careful,” he said. Other problems were that important military reports meant for civilian decision-makers were “delayed and watered down” by committees, while international Provincial Reconstruction Teams meant to foster economic growth in Afghanistan’s regions became a kind of local government.

The enforcement of a U.N. women in security initiative aimed at ensuring that 8% of Afghan security personnel were female may have actually put them at risk because there was no infrastructure within the armed forces to protect them.

Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

Four arrested on charges of election fraud, Afghan prosecutor says

Thu, 25 Nov 2010

Kabul - Four suspects have been arrested on charges of fraud and bribery during recent parliamentary elections that were marred by massive fraud, a senior prosecutor said Thursday.

The four included two money changers who had received cash on behalf of election officials to help certain candidates secure seats in the country's lower house of parliament, Deputy Attorney General Rahmatullah Nazari said at a press conference.

He said some members of the Independent Election Commission (IEC), the body that conducted the September 18 elections, were also involved in receiving bribes. "These officials are decision makers" in the IEC, he said.

The allegation came after the IEC on Wednesday declared 238 final winners of seats in parliament, while the results for 11 candidates in the southern province of Ghazni were withheld due to technical reasons.

More than 2,500 candidates, including over 400 women, vied for 249 seats in the lower house, known as the Wolesi Jirga.

Nazari accused the IEC on Wednesday of "prematurely releasing" the final results, saying his office has launched a criminal investigation into vote fraud.

The election, the second since the ouster of Taliban regime in late 2001, was marred by widespread fraud, irregularities and Taliban attacks. More than 1 million fraudulent votes were found and thrown out prior to the announcement of the final results.

A UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission has also sifted through about 6,000 complaints since the polling day and disqualified 19 people, including a cousin of President Hamid Karzai.

The IEC also disqualified another five candidates who were declared winners in the preliminary results.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/355165,fraud-afghan-prosecutor-says.html.

Taliban Leader in Secret Talks Was an Impostor

By DEXTER FILKINS and CARLOTTA GALL

November 22, 2010

KABUL, Afghanistan — For months, the secret talks unfolding between Taliban and Afghan leaders to end the war appeared to be showing promise, if only because of the repeated appearance of a certain insurgent leader at one end of the table: Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, one of the most senior commanders in the Taliban movement.

But now, it turns out, Mr. Mansour was apparently not Mr. Mansour at all. In an episode that could have been lifted from a spy novel, United States and Afghan officials now say the Afghan man was an impostor, and high-level discussions conducted with the assistance of NATO appear to have achieved little.

"It’s not him," said a Western diplomat in Kabul intimately involved in the discussions. "And we gave him a lot of money."

American officials confirmed Monday that they had given up hope that the Afghan was Mr. Mansour, or even a member of the Taliban leadership.

NATO and Afghan officials said they held three meetings with the man, who traveled from across the border in Pakistan, where Taliban leaders have taken refuge.

The fake Taliban leader even met with President Hamid Karzai, having been flown to Kabul on a NATO aircraft and ushered into the presidential palace, officials said.

The episode underscores the uncertain and even bizarre nature of the atmosphere in which Afghan and American leaders search for ways to bring the nine-year-old American-led war to an end. The leaders of the Taliban are believed to be hiding in Pakistan, possibly with the assistance of the Pakistani government, which receives billions of dollars in American aid.

Many in the Taliban leadership, which is largely made up of barely literate clerics from the countryside, had not been seen in person by American, NATO or Afghan officials.

Doubts were raised about the man claiming to be Mullah Mansour — who by some accounts is the second-ranking official in the Taliban, behind only the founder, Mullah Mohammed Omar — after the third meeting, held in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar. A man who had known Mr. Mansour years ago told Afghan officials that the man at the table did not resemble him. "He said he didn’t recognize him," said an Afghan leader, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The Western diplomat said the Afghan man was initially given a sizable sum of money to take part in the talks — and to help persuade him to return.

While the Afghan official said he still harbored hopes that the man would return for another round of talks, American and other Western officials said they had concluded that the man in question was not Mr. Mansour. Just how the Americans reached such a definitive conclusion — whether, for instance, they were able to positively establish his identity through fingerprints or some other means — is unknown.

As recently as last month, American and Afghan officials held high hopes for the talks. Senior American officials, including Gen. David H. Petraeus, said the talks indicated that Taliban leaders, whose rank-and-file fighters are under extraordinary pressure from the American-led offensive, were at least willing to discuss an end to the war.

The American officials said they and officials of other NATO governments were helping to facilitate the discussions, by providing air transport and securing roadways for Taliban leaders coming from Pakistan.

Last month, White House officials asked The New York Times to withhold Mr. Mansour’s name from an article about the peace talks, expressing concern that the talks would be jeopardized — and Mr. Mansour’s life put at risk — if his involvement were publicized. The Times agreed to withhold Mr. Mansour’s name, along with the names of two other Taliban leaders said to be involved in the discussions. The status of the other two Taliban leaders said to be involved is not clear.

Since the last round of discussions, which took place within the past few weeks, Afghan and American officials have been puzzling over who the man was. Some Afghans say the man may have been a Taliban agent sent to impersonate Mr. Mansour. "The Taliban are cleverer than the Americans and our own intelligence service," said a senior Afghan official who is familiar with the case. "They are playing games."

Others suspect that the fake Taliban leader, whose real identity is not known, may have been dispatched by the Pakistani intelligence service, known by its initials, the ISI. Elements within the ISI have long played a "double-game" in Afghanistan, reassuring United States officials that they are actively pursuing the Taliban while at the same time providing support for the insurgents.

Publicly, at least, the Taliban leadership is sticking to the line that there are no talks at all. In a recent message to his followers, Mullah Omar denied that there were any talks unfolding at any level.

"The cunning enemy which has occupied our country, is trying, on the one hand, to expand its military operations on the basis of its double-standard policy and, on the other hand, wants to throw dust into the eyes of the people by spreading the rumors of negotiation," his message said.

Despite such statements, some senior leaders of the Taliban did show a willingness to talk peace with representatives of the Afghan government as recently as January.

At that time, Abdul Ghani Baradar, then the deputy commander of the Taliban, was arrested in a joint C.I.A.-ISI raid in the Pakistani port city of Karachi. Although officials from both countries hailed the arrest as a hallmark of American-Pakistani cooperation, Pakistani officials have since indicated that they orchestrated Mr. Baradar’s arrest because he was engaging in peace discussions without the ISI’s permission.

Afghan leaders have confirmed this account.

Neither American nor Afghan leaders confronted the fake Mullah Mansour with their doubts about his identity. Indeed, some Afghan leaders are still holding out hopes that the man really is or at least represents Mr. Mansour — and that he will come back soon.

"Questions have been raised about him, but it’s still possible that it’s him," said the Afghan leader who declined to be identified.

The Afghan leader said negotiators had urged the man claiming to be Mr. Mansour to return with colleagues, including other high-level Taliban leaders whose identities they might also be able to verify.

The meetings were arranged by an Afghan middleman with ties to both the Afghan government and the Taliban, officials said.

The Afghan leader said both the Americans and the Afghan leadership were initially cautious of the Afghan man’s identity and motives. But after the first meeting, both were reasonably satisfied that the man they were talking to was Mr. Mansour. Several steps were taken to establish the man’s real identity; after the first meeting, photos of him were shown to Taliban detainees who were believed to know Mr. Mansour. They signed off, the Afghan leader said.

Whatever the Afghan man’s identity, the talks that unfolded between the Americans and the man claiming to be Mr. Mansour seemed substantive, the Afghan leader said. The man claiming to be representing the Taliban laid down several surprisingly moderate conditions for a peace settlement: that the Taliban leadership be allowed to safely return to Afghanistan, that Taliban soldiers be offered jobs, and that prisoners be released.

The Afghan man did not demand, as the Taliban have in the past, a withdrawal of foreign forces or a Taliban share of the government.

Sayed Amir Muhammad Agha, a onetime Taliban commander who says he has left the Taliban but who acted as a go-between with the movement in the past, said in an interview that he did not know the tale of the impostor.

But he said the Taliban leadership had given no indications of a willingness to enter talks.

"Someone like me could come forward and say, 'I am a Talib and a powerful person,’ " he said. "But I can tell you, nothing is going on."

"Whenever I talk to the Taliban, they never accept peace and they want to keep on fighting," he said. "They are not tired."

Source: Uruknet.
Link: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m72089.

Taliban commander, 7 others killed in NATO attack

WARNING: Article contains propaganda!

* * * * *

By ROBERT KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer

KABUL, Afghanistan – An airstrike and a raid by ground troops killed eight insurgents, including a senior Taliban leader who spearheaded attacks against Afghan security forces, NATO said Thursday as the war in Afghanistan entered its 10th year.

Maulawi Jawadullah — accused of organizing deadly ambushes, roadside bomb attacks, and abductions of Afghan police and soldiers in northern Afghanistan — was killed in the airstrike Wednesday in Takhar province, an alliance statement said.

Jawadullah was linked to the recent deaths of 10 Afghan National Police officers during an attack on a police station in neighboring Kunduz province, the statement said.
Seven other Taliban also died in the assault, including three who opened fire from a forest when coalition forces moved in following the airstrike, NATO said.

Thursday was the nine-year anniversary of the American invasion of Afghanistan, a frustrating benchmark for those who expected a quick exit after small targeted special forces toppled the Taliban from power in 2001.

This week also marked another milestone, as the death toll for NATO forces surpassed the 2,000 mark. At least 2,003 NATO service members have died fighting in Afghanistan since Oct. 7, 2001, according to an Associated Press count.

"NATO is here and they say they are fighting terrorism, and this is the 10th year and there is no result yet," Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in an emotional speech last week. "Our sons cannot go to school because of bombs and suicide attacks."

As NATO touts success at routing the insurgency, there are signs it is losing the trust of the Afghan people.

In a report released Thursday, the Open Society Foundations — a think tank backed by liberal billionaire George Soros — said Afghans are increasingly angry and resentful about the international presence in Afghanistan, and do not believe figures showing insurgents are to blame for most attacks and civilian deaths.

"While statistics show that insurgents are responsible for most civilian casualties, many we interviewed accused international forces of directly stoking the conflict and causing as many, if not more, civilian casualties than the insurgents," researchers say in the report.

The report was based on interviews in late 2009 and 2010 of more than 250 Afghans in seven provinces, along with discussions with community leaders in other parts of the country.

It suggests that NATO's message either is not getting out or is disregarded by Afghans, despite stepped-up press releases about their successes in protecting civilians and development projects over the past year.

The report argues that NATO has failed to fight back against the disinformation because the military coalition dismisses the percents as based on rumors, conspiracy theories, propaganda, or bad analysis.

"However, many of these perceptions seemed based as much on actual policies, albeit often due to indirect effects, as on propaganda or lack of information," the report says. "Many Afghan communities drew these conclusions only after they suffered from civilian casualties, night raids, detention operations, and saw few signs of progress in their country."

Meanwhile, NATO reported the death of a service member in a roadside bombing in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, without providing the nationality or specifying the location of the attack. The death was at least the 14th sustained by the NATO force so far in October, according to the AP's tally.

In other violence, assailants threw a hand grenade at a wedding party, wounding four people in eastern Wardak province, Afghan's Interior Ministry said Thursday. A ministry statement did not specify when the attack occurred.
____
Associated Press Writer Heidi Vogt contributed to this report.

Pakistan cuts NATO supply line after border firing

By HUSSAIN AFZAL and DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writers

PARACHINAR, Pakistan – Pakistan blocked a vital supply route for U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan on Thursday in apparent retaliation for an alleged cross-border helicopter strike by the coalition that killed three Pakistani frontier troops.

The blockade appeared to be a major escalation in tensions between Pakistan and the United States.

A permanent stoppage of supply trucks would place massive strains on the relationship between the two countries and hurt the Afghan war effort. Even a short halt is a reminder of the leverage Pakistan has over the United States at a crucial time in the 9-year-old war.

By midmorning, a line of around 100 NATO vehicles was waiting to cross the border into Afghanistan, officials said.

"We will have to see whether we are allies or enemies," Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said of the border incident, without mentioning the blockade.

NATO said it was investigating Pakistani reports that coalition aircraft had mistakenly attacked its forces. The coalition has on at least one other occasion acknowledged mistakenly killing Pakistani security forces stationed close to the border.

Over the weekend, NATO helicopters fired on targets in Pakistan at least two times, killing several suspected insurgents they had pursued over the border from Afghanistan. Pakistan's government protested the attacks, which came in a month during which there have been an unprecedented number of U.S. drone missile strikes in the northwest, inflaming already pervasive anti-American sentiment among Pakistanis.

The surge in attacks and apparent increased willingness by NATO to attack targets on the border, or just inside Pakistan, could be a sign the coalition is losing patience with Pakistan, which has long been accused of harboring militants in its lawless tribal regions.

Pakistani security officials said Thursday's deadly airstrike took place on a checkpoint in the Upper Kurram region.

The dead men were from a paramilitary force tasked with safeguarding the border, the security officials said. Their bodies were taken to Parachinar, the region's largest town, one official said. Three troops also were wounded.

Several hours later, officials reported another rocket strike by NATO helicopters about nine miles (15 kilometers) from the first one. There were no injuries.

The security officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation and because in some cases they were not authorized to release the information to the media.

The border between Pakistan and Afghanistan is unmarked. Border troops wear uniforms that resemble the traditional Pakistani dress of a long shirt and baggy trousers, which could make it hard to distinguish them from ordinary citizens or insurgents.

U.S. officials have complained in the past that Pakistani security forces do little to stop the movement of militants seeking to cross over into Afghanistan and attack foreign troops there.

Lt. Col. John Dorrian, a spokesman for intelligence and special operations at NATO headquarters in Kabul, said coalition forces observed early Thursday what they believed were insurgents firing mortars at a coalition base in Dand Wa Patan district of Paktia, which is next to Upper Kurram.

"A coalition air weapons team called for fire support and engaged the insurgents," he said. "The air weapons team reported that it did not cross into Pakistani air space and believed the insurgents were located on the Afghan side of the border."

Dorrian said Pakistani military officials had informed the NATO military coalition that members of their border forces had been struck by coalition aircraft. He said the coalition was reviewing the reports to see if the operation in Paktia was related to those reports.

Hours after the incident, Pakistani authorities were ordered to stop NATO supply trucks from crossing into Afghanistan at the Torkham border post, a major entryway for NATO materials at the edge of the Khyber tribal region, two government officials said.

No reason was given, but earlier this week Pakistan threatened to stop providing protection to NATO convoys if the alliance's helicopters attacked targets inside Pakistan again.

The other main route into Afghanistan in southeastern Pakistan had received no orders to stop NATO trucks from crossing, which they were doing as normal, said Syed Mohammed Agha, a spokesman for the Pashin Scouts border guards.

Some 80 percent of non-lethal supplies for foreign forces fighting in landlocked Afghanistan are transported over Pakistani soil after being unloaded at docks in Karachi, a port city in the south. While NATO and the United States have alternative supply routes, the Pakistani ones are the cheapest and most convenient.

In June 2008, a U.S. airstrike killed 11 Pakistani troops and frayed ties between the two nations. Pakistan said the soldiers died when U.S. aircraft bombed their border post in the Mohmand tribal region. U.S. officials said coalition aircraft dropped bombs during a clash with militants. They expressed regret over the deaths, but said the attack was justified.

Pakistan and the U.S. have a complicated, but vital, relationship, with distrust on both sides.

Polls show many Pakistanis regard the United States as an enemy, and conspiracy theories abound of U.S. troops wanting to attack Pakistan and take over its nuclear weapons. The Pakistani government has to balance its support for the U.S. war in Afghanistan — and its need for billions of dollars in American aid — with maintaining support from its own population.

___

Riechmann reported from Kabul, Afghanistan. Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Riaz Khan in Peshawar and Matiullah Achakzai in Chaman contributed to this report.

Officials: NATO chopper kills 3 Pakistani troops

By HUSSAIN AFZAL and DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writers

PARACHINAR, Pakistan – A NATO helicopter attacked a Pakistani border post near Afghanistan on Thursday, killing three troops, security officials in Pakistan said. Later, government officials said they were ordered to stop trucks carrying supplies for international forces from entering Afghanistan at a major border crossing.

NATO said it was investigating the allegations and whether they were linked to an operation against insurgents in a nearby Afghan province.

The accusations and the fallout were likely to exacerbate tensions between Islamabad and Washington, which is struggling to beat back a resurgent Taliban movement in the 9-year-old Afghan war. Over the weekend, NATO choppers fired on targets in Pakistan, killing several alleged insurgents they had pursued over the border from Afghanistan.

Islamabad protested the intrusion into its territory that has inflamed already pervasive anti-American sentiments among Pakistanis.

On Thursday, two government officials told The Associated Press they were ordered to stop NATO supply trucks from crossing into Afghanistan at the Torkham border post, a major entryway for NATO materials at the edge of the Khyber tribal region. No reason was given for the blockage, but earlier this week Pakistan threatened to stop providing protection to NATO convoys if the military alliance's choppers attacked targets inside Pakistan again.

Pakistani security officials differed on the exact location of the deadly airstrike, saying it took place either in Upper Kurram or Upper Orakzai. The remote, mountainous tribal regions neighbor each other. The border between them, as well as the one with Afghanistan, is poorly marked.

Many of the border troops wear uniforms that resemble the traditional Pakistani dress of a long shirt and baggy trousers — which could make it hard to distinguish them from ordinary citizens or insurgents.

The dead men were from a paramilitary force tasked with safeguarding the border, the Pakistani security officials said. Their bodies were taken to the region's largest town of Parachinar, one official said. Three troops also were wounded.

The Pakistani officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation and because in some cases they were not authorized to release the information to the media.

Lt. Col. John Dorrian, a spokesman for intelligence and special operations at NATO headquarters in Kabul, said coalition forces observed early Thursday what they believed were insurgents firing mortars at a coalition base in Dand Wa Patan district of Paktia province in eastern Afghanistan.

"A coalition air weapons team called for fire support and engaged the insurgents," he said. "The air weapons team reported that it did not cross into Pakistani air space and believed the insurgents were located on the Afghan side of the border."

Dorrian said NATO was reviewing the reports to see if the operation in Paktia was related to Pakistan's reports its forces were hit by NATO aircraft.

In June 2008, a U.S. airstrike killed 11 Pakistani troops and frayed the two nations' ties. Pakistan said the soldiers died when U.S. aircraft bombed their border post in the Mohmand tribal region. U.S. officials said their coalition's aircraft dropped bombs during a clash with militants. They expressed regret over the deaths, but said their attack was justified.

Pakistan and the U.S. have a complicated, but vital, relationship, with distrust on both sides.

Polls show many Pakistanis regard the United States as an enemy, and conspiracy theories abound of U.S. troops wanting to attack Pakistan and take over its nuclear weapons. The Pakistani government has to balance its support for the U.S. war in Afghanistan — and its need for billions in American aid — with maintaining the support from its own population.

The U.S. and NATO need Islamabad's cooperation in part because of their supply routes. Some 80 percent of non-lethal supplies for foreign forces fighting in landlocked Afghanistan cross Pakistani soil after being unloaded at docks in Karachi, a port city in the south.

Pakistani security forces provide security for the convoys, which are often attacked by militants and bandits as they travel north. While NATO and the United States have alternative supply routes, the Pakistani ones are the cheapest and most convenient.

The Pakistani government officials said about 250 vehicles of NATO supplies cross into Afghanistan daily at the Torkham border post.

There were more than 100 NATO vehicles blocked at the checkpoint by Thursday morning, they said.

____

Riechmann reported from Kabul, Afghanistan. Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Riaz Khan in Peshawar contributed to this report.

Taliban kill Afghan district governor, provincial official says

Tue, 07 Sep 2010

Kabul - Taliban insurgents killed a district governor and his bodyguard in an attack in northern Afghanistan, an official said Tuesday.

Ahmad Seroor, the governor of Nahrin district in Baghlan province, was traveling through Baghlan-e-Markazi district on Monday night when Taliban insurgents ambushed his vehicle.

"The district chief and his bodyguard were killed in the attack," Munshi Abdul Majeed, the provincial governor, told the German Press Agency dpa.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, speaking by phone from an undisclosed location, took responsibility for the attack.

Taliban militants are active in Baghlan and the neighboring province of Kunduz, where they have increased their insurgency in recent years after the fall of their regime in late 2001.

The northern region is relatively peaceful compared to southern and eastern provinces, the main power base for the militants.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/343024,governor-provincial-official-says.html.

Two Spaniards killed in Afghan 'terrorist' shooting - Summary

Wed, 25 Aug 2010

Kabul/Madrid - An Afghan police driver shot dead two Spanish police trainers and an interpreter before being killed by NATO security forces inside a base in north-western Afghanistan, Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said Wednesday.

Rubalcaba described the killing as a premeditated terrorist attack. He said he was unable to confirm reports that the Taliban were behind it.

The driver fired at the police officers with an assault rifle when they were instructing their Afghan colleagues in the capital of Badghis province, Qala-I-Naw.

Rubalcaba identified the killer as the driver of one of the slain police officers. The interpreter who was also killed was identified as a Spaniard of Iranian origin.

The killer was gunned down by Spanish police officers who witnessed the shooting.

Deputy Governor Haji Abdul Qami Sabir confirmed that two Spanish soldiers were killed when an Afghan policeman opened fire on the troops.

The Spanish victims were members of the paramilitary police force Civil Guard. Their names were given as captain Jose Maria Galera Cordoba and second lieutenant Abraham Leoncio Bravo Picayo. Both were 33 years old, according to Spanish government sources.

NATO confirmed the incident later on Wednesday, saying that an Afghan policeman, two international service members and a civilian had been killed.

The incident sparked angry reactions from hundreds of demonstrators who attempted to storm the Spanish-manned NATO camp, witness reports said.

The residents protested at the Provincial Reconstruction Team's base after allegations that foreign troops had shot and killed an Afghan policeman, Mohammed Rahim told the German Press Agency dpa.

"Firing is continuing in the city, everyone is escaping, and thousands of people are trying to attack the Spanish PRT base," he said.

Spanish government sources initially denied that the demonstrators tried to storm the base, but Rubalcaba said the Afghan army had repelled such an attempt.

The protestors wanted the body of the slain Afghan police officer, Spanish government sources said, explaining that an Afghan judge had entered the base in order to authorize the handover of the remains.

Spain has about 1,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of ISAF. Ninety-two Spaniards who were sent to Afghanistan have been killed, including 62 who died in a plane crash in Turkey in 2003.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/340973,terrorist-shooting-summary.html.

Germany Should not Sacrifice the Historical Relations with the Afghans for the Interests of America

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

In World War II, The Allied Countries, American and U.K. being part of them, were waging war against Germany and Japan. They pressed Afghanistan to side with them in the war and urged to give them the German diplomats based in Afghanistan. But the honor and dignity-loving traditions of the Afghans and the close relations of the Afghan people with the people of Germany did not permit kowtowing before might and material incentives and going back on values and close ties. Afghanistan declared its neutrality in the war and ensured safe passage of the diplomats to their country.

After the World War II, Afghanistan and Germany enjoyed close relations. German engineers and other German nationals were living in Afghanistan without fear and security problems. particularly in Khost where they had technical projects. Generally speaking, they were more safe there than in Germany. Afghans regarded them with due respect. But Unfortunately, after October 2001, when America launched its colonialist aggression against Afghanistan under the unjustified name of fighting terrorism, the government of Germany joined hands with the Americans—contrary to the aspirations of the Afghans. They preferred might and material incentives and did not reciprocate the Afghans’ favor.

In the past nine years, the German soldiers have been fighting against the Afghan people for the advancement of the American colonialist interests and goals. They have martyred many Afghans. On 4 September 2009, American fighter’s planes, on information from German commanders, blindly bombarded civilians who were taking fuel from tankers stuck in mud in a river. 140 people were killed; some of them burnt up completely. The American planes had used phosphorus bombs which are banned at world level. Even the surrogate administration in Kunduz on instructions from the Americans, did not allow the injured victims to go to Kabul for medical treatment. They feared, the world will know about their crimes.

It was more becoming and expected of Germany to have announced postponement of their military cooperation with the Americans after this carnage. They should have withdrawn their troops from the country, but contrarily, they pledged 500 more troops for Afghanistan as a gesture to please the Americans. This is in a time that majority of the people of Germany are against the presence of German troops in Afghanistan, according to fresh surveys and have staged several demonstrations as a protest.

No doubt, the current Jihad against the Americans invasion of Afghanistan and of their allies, is an Islamic nationalist resistance. Sooner or later, they will force the invading troops to flee this country. The government of Germany should respect the wants and aspirations of the German and Afghan people. They should not taint the splendid historical chapter of Afghan- German relations with the dark clouds of their partnership in the current unjust and unfair American war against Afghanistan. It is a rationale to do early what is anyway necessary to be done later--then with heavy losses.

We expect the government of Germany to take people- friendly decisions regarding Afghanistan instead of colonialism-friendly decisions and it is more appropriate for them to pull out of Afghanistan. The sooner, the better-- because, it is key to sustaining the trust and dignity of Germany and strengthening bonds of relations between the two people.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

Source: Theunjustmedia.
Link: http://theunjustmedia.com/Afghanistan/Statements/April10/Germany%20Should%20not%20Sacrifice%20the%20Historical%20Relations%20with%20the%20Afghans%20for%20the%20Interests%20of%20America.htm.

Kashmir is Pakistan's jugular vein: JuD chief

Lashkar-e-Tayiba operations chief Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and six others, being tried in an anti-terror court for their involvement in the Mumbai attacks, were arrested by the Pakistani authorities with the 'sole purpose of pleasing' India, Jamat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed has claimed.

"The truth is that the (Pakistan) government arrested various leaders who endorse Jihad in Kashmir and did so for the sole purpose of pleasing India. These leaders are now enduring in-camera hearings in (an) anti-terrorism court," he alleged, in a letter written on the first anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, to TV anchor Hamid Mir.

Lakhvi and six others were indicted by the anti- terror court in Rawalpindi for their role in planning and helping execute the attacks. All the accused have pleaded not guilty.

Saeed added, "My real crime is that I vociferously and comprehensively highlight the Kashmir issue. Kashmir is Pakistan's jugular vein and we can never close our eyes to it."

Though India and the United States had succeeded in getting the United Nations Security Council to impose restrictions on the JuD, the group has submitted a "formal request for de-listing in accordance with the rules of the UNSC," Saeed claimed.

He said the UNSC and the European Union had "contacted us for further clarifications. Our case is still pending at the UNSC."

France flies three illegal Afghan immigrants back to Kabul

Paris - France has flown three Afghan citizens, who were illegally on French soil, to the Afghan capital Kabul, Immigration Minister Eric Besson said Wednesday. The flight, made jointly with British authorities, left Paris's Charles de Gaulle Airport near midnight Tuesday and was the first such "charter" carrying forcibly expelled immigrants from France back to their home country in four years.

It was not clear how many Afghans expelled from Britain were on the plane.

Besson told Europe 1 radio that the three men would be returning to Kabul, "where there is no threat to their physical safety."

But a broad alliance of charities working with immigrants have mounted a vocal opposition to the flights, saying they contravened the European Declaration of Human Rights because they exposed the returning Afghans to war and terrorism.

On October 6, a planned flight of illegal immigrants to Afghanistan was annulled when the European Court of Human Rights suspended the forced expulsion of seven Afghans on a technicality.

Abdullah warns of 'fraud' in Afghan runoff poll

In Afghanistan, presidential contender Abdullah Abdullah has called for measures to prevent a repeat of fraud in the forthcoming second round election face-off with President Hamid Karzai.

Abdullah made the comments after a UN-backed commission, pushed by Western leaders of NATO members, claimed widespread vote rigging in favor of Karzai during the August vote and trimmed his 55% share of the vote to just below 50 percent, to force a new vote.

The United Nations has 'promised' that all necessary measures will be taken to prevent fraud in the run-off election.

Questions have been raised about such promises by the UN since it also had a major role in overseeing the first election.

However, the UN does caution that the next vote will not be perfect either, adding that the current insecurity in the country will hamper efforts to hold the run-off as flawless as possible.

Also, the European Union has declared that it is not able to send monitors for the next election. It has cited 'safety concerns' and the short notice as the reasons for the decision.

The second round is due to be held on November seventh despite the prospect of severe weather conditions and persisting security risks for voters.

Observers raise concerns about the legitimacy of the next election, raising doubts about the extent of voter participation when the Europeans, who pushed for another round of votes, express “safety concerns” for their own monitors but expect the Afghan population be unfazed by the lack of security that NATO an US has brought to their country.

It is widely believed that the UN, backed by western nations, forced the second round election to give their favorite candidate, Abdullah Abdullah, another chance to defeat the incumbent President Hamid Karzai, who has fallen out of their favor.

Afghanistan's Karzai agrees to election run-off

By Jonathon Burch

KABUL (Reuters) - President Hamid Karzai agreed to face a second round of voting in Afghanistan's disputed election on Tuesday after a U.N.-led fraud inquiry tossed out enough of his votes to trigger a run-off.

Karzai's decision immediately eased tensions with the West and removed one stumbling block for U.S. President Barack Obama as he weighs whether to send more troops to Afghanistan to fight a resurgent Taliban.

Obama called Karzai to congratulate him for accepting the run-off and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also welcomed Karzai's decision.

"It is now vital that all elements of Afghan society continue to come together to advance democracy, peace and justice," Obama said in a statement.

"We look forward to a second round of voting, and the completion of the process to choose the president of Afghanistan."

Obama also telephoned Abdullah Abdullah, a former foreign minister whom Karzai faces in the November 7 run-off, to thank him for his "constructive efforts," the White House said.

Obama administration officials have stressed that for Washington to succeed in Afghanistan it is essential that there be a legitimate and credible government in Kabul.

Obama was to meet with his war council this week and next on the request by his top military commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, for 40,000 or more reinforcements.

After hours of closed-door talks with Western diplomats, Karzai appeared tense as he accepted the ruling by the Afghan Independent Election Commission (IEC). The ruling cut his tally to 49.7 percent from the preliminary first-round result of 54.6 percent -- below the 50 percent needed for an outright win.

"We believe that this decision of the IEC is legitimate, legal and constitutional and that it strengthens the path toward democracy," said Karzai, with U.S. Senator John Kerry and U.N. Afghanistan envoy Kai Eide at his side.

The IEC made its ruling after a separate U.N.-backed fraud panel invalidated tens of thousands of votes for Karzai this week. Karzai had earlier said the extent of fraud was exaggerated and expressed confidence in his first-round victory.

Abdullah's camp said they were prepared for the run-off.

"We had hoped the president would accept the second round," said his spokesman, Fazel Sangcharaki.

MOUNTING CASUALTIES

Karzai, who is a Pashtun, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group, is almost certain to win the run-off but the level of mass fraud alleged in the first round will cast a shadow over the new vote.

Security issues are also of concern at a time when the insurgency is as strong as it has ever been and with winter approaching, which could disrupt voting.

"The Taliban no doubt will try their best to disrupt it," said Waheed Mozhdah, an Afghan analyst. "It (the run-off) will be difficult if our intention is for a better and (more) transparent election compared to the first round."

Kerry said holding the second round would be tough in the present environment. But the West, he said, was committed to assisting Afghanistan.

"We know it will be difficult and require sacrifice," he said. "But we are committed to this effort." [ID:nSP359291]

The uncertainty has added to pressure on Washington, where polls show Americans are weary of the eight-year-old war.

Many within Obama's Democratic Party have spoken out against sending more troops, while Republican opponents say his lengthy deliberations on a new strategy are undermining U.S. troops and emboldening the Taliban.

Afghanistan's other allies, Britain in particular, also face pressure due to mounting casualties.

In Washington, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said it was not certain Obama would announce a new strategy before the run-off.

"Whether or not the president makes a decision before that I don't think has been determined," he told reporters. "I continue to say that the decision will be made in the coming weeks as the president goes through an examination of our policy."

Earlier, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said the United States could not wait for problems surrounding the Afghan government's legitimacy to be resolved before making a decision on whether to send more troops.

More than 100,000 foreign troops, two-thirds of them Americans, are in Afghanistan fighting Taliban insurgents.

Afghan president's political rival accepts runoff

By RAHIM FAIEZ and HEIDI VOGT, Associated Press Writers

KABUL – President Hamid Karzai's chief political rival agreed Wednesday to take part in the Nov. 7 runoff election, setting the stage for a high-stakes showdown in the face of Taliban threats and approaching winter snows.

Ex-Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah made his comment to reporters one day after Karzai bowed to intense U.S. and international pressure and accepted findings of a U.N.-backed panel that there had been massive fraud on his behalf in the Aug. 20 vote.

Those findings showed Karzai failed to win the 50 percent required to avoid a runoff.

Election officials have fired 200 district election chiefs — about half of those from the first round — following complaints by candidates or observers about misconduct in their regions, the U.N. said last week.

Abdullah said he telephoned Karzai to thank him for agreeing to the second-round ballot.

"We are completely ready for the second round," Abdullah said, calling on Afghan officials to organize a "free, fair and credible election" with enough security encourage people to turn out and vote.

Abdullah's declaration sets the stage for an election that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said would be a "huge challenge" to pull off without repeating the widespread fraud that marred the first-round balloting.

Finding replacements for election workers implicated in fraud will be difficult. The government had to scramble this summer to recruit enough election officials and poll workers, especially at voting stations for women. It's unclear if they would be able to fill open posts with better-qualified people.

"It is hard to see how a second round can be credible unless women's security and access to the polls is dramatically improved," said Rachel Reid, a researcher with Human Rights Watch in Kabul.

The Independent Election Commission, the Afghan body that runs elections, must also finalize the list of polling stations. Much of the fraud in the August balloting came through ballots that arrived from so-called "ghost polling stations" that never opened because they were in dangerous areas.

But closing the questionable stations would prevent voters in those areas from casting ballots. Kai Eide, the U.N. chief in Afghanistan, has said he worked to open the stations to avoid disenfranchising voters.

Abdullah said Wednesday that he is preparing a list of conditions that his team wants election organizers to commit to in order to have a fair vote. He said he would be open to negotiating the conditions, but would not accept an election organized on the same terms as the August vote.

"I will be flexible, but I will be serious about this because, after all, it is the transparency and fairness of the elections which will decide the outcome," he said.

Karzai's capitulation Tuesday was a relief to American officials and averted a constitutional crisis. But new balloting carries with it the risk of low turnout or another round of wholesale ballot-stuffing and voter intimidation.

That would bring the Obama administration no closer to its goal of a credible, legitimate Afghan government necessary to win public support in the U.S. for the war in Afghanistan and reverse the Taliban rise.

If the election goes relatively well, it's unclear that a second-round win by Karzai, widely considered the favorite, would erase the stain brought on his leadership by widespread fraud in the first balloting Aug. 20.

Holding the poll as the country enters its cold season poses additional challenges, both for transporting ballots and drawing voters. U.S. and Afghan forces also must provide security to prevent a repeat of Taliban attacks in August that killed dozens. In some areas, militants cut off the ink-marked fingers of people who had voted.

During his news conference, Abdullah said he hoped the November election would take place on time and "under good circumstances."

Abdullah said voters in parts of the country under Taliban threat will be risking their lives to cast ballots "and they should be confident that the risk is worthwhile."

Karzai announced his decision Tuesday moments after the government election commission accepted the findings of auditors that the president fell short of a majority in the August ballot. The Karzai-influenced commission released preliminary results last month that showed the president winning with more than 54 percent out of a field of 36 candidates.

The president agreed to accept the findings after a day of intensive talks between Karzai and U.S. Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Kerry praised the Afghan leader for "genuine leadership in the decision he has made today." The two men met at least five times before the announcement.

ABC-TV reported from Washington that Karzai was refusing the runoff as late as Tuesday morning, even as reporters arrived at the presidential palace for a press conference in which he was expected to endorse a second round. He backed down after a flurry of telephone calls with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke.

Karzai supporters had complained of interference by foreigners, especially those on the U.N.-backed panel, which investigated and reported the fraud.

Karzai, an ethnic Pashtun, noted that most of the rejected ballots were from his power base in the Pashtun-dominated south, where the Taliban insurgency is strongest. He said those votes were "disrespected" and should be investigated further.

In an interview later with The Associated Press, Kerry described the evolution in Karzai's thinking.

"President Karzai really deeply believes he had won the election and ... that the international community was kind of conspiring to push for a different outcome," Kerry said in a telephone interview from Dubai. "He had people within his government, people within the election commission who felt they were being insulted about putting together a faulty election process."

"There were a lot of very deep feelings about Afghanistan's right to run its election, its competency in running it and so forth," Kerry continued.

UN fires Afghan vote staff for fraud

The UN secretary general says that it will fire most of the election staff complicit in Afghanistan's presidential election for widespread vote rigging.

Speaking in New York on Tuesday, Ban Ki-moon said the UN had learned 'a painful lesson' after noticing the widespread fraud in the August election in Afghanistan.

“We have learned very valuable and painful lessons from the first round,” Ban told reporters. “We will try to ensure that all Afghan people should be able to express their own will freely and without any intimidation or threat.”

Ban said the UN would advise the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) not to employ officials who may have been involved in recent fraud to make sure that mistakes would not be repeated.

"We will try to replace all the officials who have been implicated in not following the guidelines or who have been complicit in fraudulent procedures,” he told the BBC.

The UN investigation found evidence of massive vote-rigging in the recent presidential election in Afghanistan.

Ban told the BBC that 200 top officials who had been involved in fraud should leave, to ensure a run-off vote due next month was 'transparent and credible'.

It came after a UN-backed commission lowered Karzai's vote share below 50 percent.

The second round of vote, between Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, has been scheduled for November 7.

Australia reconsidering Afghan mission

Australia shows signs it may withdraw its forces from Afghanistan as soon as it is appropriate, despite US and NATO calls for a surge in troops deployed.

Australian Defense Minister John Faulkner said on Wednesday Canberra was weighing options to complete operations in the 'shortest time-frame possible'.

"I've certainly asked the Australian Defense Force for any recommendations they have about ensuring we do complete that important role," Faulkner told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Faulkner admitted that Australia's decision would affect the strategy of the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

"There will be impacts on the approach that NATO and ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] partners will be taking as a result of Gen. McChrystal's 60-day assessment," he said.

Australia has the largest non-NATO presence in Afghanistan with 1,500 troops deployed.

McChrystal warned last month that the coalition forces would lose ground within a year if extra troops are not deployed.

US President Barack Obama is considering plans to boost US troops by 40,000 to more than 100,000.

The Australians have lost 11 soldiers in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion of 2001.

About 100,000 international troops are currently based in Afghanistan.

Karzai 'will heed IEC ruling over vote'

The Afghan President's campaign team says Hamid Karzai will heed a ruling from election authorities despite earlier protests of western manipulation of the recount process.

"We have to wait for the final announcement through legal channels, which is the Independent Election Commission (IEC), and once the IEC announces the results then we are bound to accept it, based on the law," Karzai campaign spokesman, Waheed Omar said on Tuesday.

The statement came after the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) delivered a report Monday on investigations into ballot-stuffing. According to US monitors, nearly one million of Karzai's votes were fraudulent.

The report by the UN-backed Afghan watchdog shook Karzai's win in the key presidential elections by slashing his votes to 48 percent, lower than the 50 percent threshold necessary for unquestioned victory.

The ECC report would raise Abdullah's share of the vote to 31.5 percent and remove around 200,000 of Karzai's votes due to fraud, US-based Democracy International said.

This could mean the war-torn country needs to either persuade the rival camps to form a unity government to end two months of political chaos or hold a run-off between Karzai and his main rival, former foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah within two weeks.

Omar's remarks are in contrast to his Saturday comments in which he accused foreigners of trying to manipulate the recount process, saying the new results would not be acceptable.

The Afghan president has been at loggerheads with Western powers over their handling of war in the violence-wracked country, blaming the US and NATO-led forces for causing a high civilian toll due to indiscriminate attacks against the alleged militants.

Karzai has also been under pressure over revelations regarding the foreign powers' role in expanding the insurgency throughout the country, including alleged shipments of Taliban insurgents by British choppers.

Karzai led the preliminary results with about 55 percent of the vote, while Abdullah came in second with an approximate 28 percent.

Karzai may face run-off vote with Abdullah

The chance of a run-off to end Afghanistan's political crisis has increased after Electoral Complaints Commission shows that almost 1.3 million votes are invalid.

The UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) fraud watchdog submitted a long-awaited ruling on voting irregularities in the Afghan August poll on Monday, calling for the invalidation of ballots from 210 polling stations.

Democracy International, a US election monitor, noted that based on the figures released by the ECC, Karzai's share of the vote, from about 55 percent in the preliminary results, has been trimmed to 48 percent, below the threshold for an outright victory.

The ECC said in a statement that the Afghan election authorities were now "responsible for adjusting candidates' vote totals, in accordance with the ECC decision, before certifying the final result."

Preliminary figures by Afghanistan's own Independent Election Commission gave President Hamid Karzai 54.6 percent of the votes and Abdullah Abdullah 28 percent.

Under the Afghan law, the Independent Election Commission must accept the ECC findings, adjust the election tally, and announce the concluding outcome.

The Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan had earlier voiced reservations about the interference of foreign nations and the UN in the election process of the country, insisting that the Afghan Commission is well able to sort out the voting irregularities and come up with an accurate count.

It is widely believed that Western nations, which have deployed their forces in Afghanistan as part of the NATO force, favor Abdullah Abdullah for the Afghan presidency and have insisted on second round elections ever since the tallies pointed to a Karzai victory.

A number of Western leaders have recently visited Afghanistan to ensure that the Karzai government won't resist a second round election, a difficult and risky task amid worsening weather conditions in the rugged territories of the country, not to mention the deteriorating security situation.

UN-backed panel confirms massive Afghan fraud

By HEIDI VOGT and ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writers

KABUL – U.N.-backed fraud investigators on Monday threw out nearly a third of President Hamid Karzai's votes from the August election, undercutting his claim of victory and stepping up the pressure for him to accept a runoff.

The Obama administration has been holding off on a decision to send more troops to Afghanistan until a credible government is installed in Kabul.

Both Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and the U.N. secretary general signaled on Monday that a resolution was near.

Clinton said Karzai planned to announce his intentions on Tuesday, adding that she was "encouraged at the direction the situation is moving."

A spokeswoman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he spoke with Karzai and the Afghan leader assured him he will "fully respect" the constitutional process even if it means a runoff against his top challenger, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.

The findings by the Electoral Complaints Commission dropped Karzai's votes to 48 percent of the total, below the 50 percent threshold needed for him to avoid a runoff, according to calculations by independent election monitors.

Still, it was uncertain whether the Afghan-led Independent Election Commission, which is dominated by Karzai supporters, would accept the findings and announce a second round.

Karzai campaign spokesman Waheed Omar said the Karzai camp was waiting for the election commission to formally certify the U.N.-backed panel's findings, thereby giving them the force of law. Although short of an unequivocal pledge to accept a run-off, the statement appeared to represent a step in that direction after days of outright rejection.

Karzai's camp had complained about the panel of three foreigners and two Afghans which conducted the fraud investigation, saying foreigners were unfairly influencing the outcome.

Last week Karzai aides suggested he might contest the findings, setting off a series of last-minute diplomatic efforts, including visits by Sen. John Kerry, a Democrat and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as telephone calls by Clinton and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Karzai met again late Monday with Kerry and U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry to discuss the standoff.

The two-month election crisis threatens to undermine the Obama administration's Afghan strategy at a time when public support for the eight-year war is declining in the U.S. and the Taliban-led insurgents are gaining strength. The White House says President Barack Obama will not decide whether to send thousands more U.S. troops to Afghanistan until the political crisis is resolved.

Preliminary results released last month showed Karzai winning more than 54 percent of the vote in the 36-candidate race. However, proclamation of a Karzai victory was withheld until the U.N.-backed commission finished its investigation into widespread fraud allegations.

The inquiry was concluded last week, but the panel withheld releasing the findings while talks were held with the Karzai-dominated election commission that must certify the results and order any runoff.

The U.N.-backed panel decided to release its report Monday after the Afghan commissioners kept insisting on changes that would show Karzai winning outright. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Abdullah campaign spokesman Fazel Sancharaki welcomed the fraud panel's findings as "a step forward" and said the election commission had no choice but to call a runoff.

Afghans close to Karzai said the president feared the runoff was part of an Obama administration plan to oust him — a charge the U.S. has repeatedly denied. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not supposed to speak for Karzai.

Afghan officials say they can organize a runoff in about two weeks, which is close to the start of winter. After the first snows fall in the high mountain passes, it will become all but impossible to hold an election until the spring. A second round vote would also run the risk of Taliban attacks on voters similar to those carried out during the first ballot.

For those reasons, Western diplomats have urged the two sides to reach a power-sharing agreement which would avoid a new vote and bring an end to the crisis. Former U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and others held a series of weekend talks with the rival camps on a possible power-sharing deal.

Officials familiar with the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussions were confidential, said both sides were open to the power-sharing idea but were far apart on details. Karzai has said he would be willing to offer posts to the opposition in a new government — which falls short of a real coalition with clearly defined powers.

After the auditors' findings were released, U.N. spokesman Aleem Siddique said a runoff "isn't optional."

"It's a requirement of Afghan electoral law, and we expect the institutions of this country to follow the law to the letter," he said.

The U.S. Embassy called on the election commission "to implement these orders with all due speed."

Grant Kippen, the Canadian who heads the fraud panel, said he did not see any legal way for the election commission to reject the findings.

"Our decisions, our orders, are final and binding according to the law," Kippen said. "We've followed the law very clearly, very precisely. My sense is that the IEC is going to follow the law as well."

Investigators only released raw data from their findings, but it was clear that more than 900,000 of Karzai's 3 million votes were voided, along with about 191,500 ballots cast for Abdullah. More than 5 million votes were cast, of which 1.3 million invalidated, according to Democracy International, the election monitoring group that calculated Karzai's totals at 48 percent.

Karzai, who came to power soon after the collapse of the Taliban in the U.S.-led invasion of 2001, was close to the Bush administration but fell out of favor in Washington because of perceived weakness and indecision in the face of a growing insurgency which exploited Afghan public frustration over corrupt and ineffectual government.

Much of the electoral fraud appeared to have occurred in the south, homeland of Karzai's fellow ethnic Pashtuns where the Taliban are strongest. Taliban threats kept thousands of Pashtuns from the polls in areas where the president had been expected to run strong.

Report: US upgrading military bases in Afghanistan

While Washington is weighing its options on sending more troops to Afghanistan, the US army is spending billions of dollars on upgrading its bases in the war-torn country.

The Washington Post said on Sunday that the US military has wanted to spend 1.3 billion dollars on more than one-hundred military projects across Afghanistan.

Based on the report, 30 million dollars of the money will be spent on the main US base located near the northern Afghan city of Bagram.

The move is aimed at ensuring that Afghanistan's infrastructure can support US and NATO forces for years to come.

The US military has already spent roughly 2.7 billion dollars on construction in the last three years.

This comes as Washington says it closed its 2009 fiscal year with a record 1.4 trillion dollar budget deficit.

The report comes as US President Barack Obama is weighing a request for the deployment of an additional 40,000 troops in Afghanistan.