US expanding role of Special Forces in Afghanistan

 

A U.S. admiral said Tuesday that special operations forces in Afghanistan are preparing for a possible expanded role as American forces begin to withdraw after a decade of war.

 

Adm. Bill McRaven, the special operations commander who led last year s Navy commando raid against Osama bin Laden, confirmed that special operations forces would be the last to leave under the Obama administration s current plan, and that the Pentagon is considering handing more of the Afghan war responsibility over to a senior special operations officer as part of that evolution.

 

McRaven said special operations would combine targeting and training operations this summer to prepare for a smaller overall U.S. presence, but he stressed that no final decisions had been made.

 

“I have no doubt that special operations will be the last to leave Afghanistan,” McRaven told a Washington audience, though he said he did not expect their numbers to rise.

 

“As far as anything beyond that, we re exploring a lot of options,” he said.

 

The White House is considering handing the entire Afghan campaign back to special operations forces
an evolution expected to stretch well past the drawdown of most conventional NATO troops in 2014, according to multiple officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the still-evolving plans.

 

Senior administration officials have described turning the mission over to special operations forces as a possible way to provide security with fewer U.S. troops, because of their ability to work in smaller numbers and with local forces on such missions as night raids or patrolling villages. Administration officials believe that smaller presence will be less offensive to the Afghans.

 

Afghan participation in the controversial night raids against insurgents has not stopped Afghan president Hamid Karzai from criticizing them and blaming the U.S. for unnecessary civilian casualties, but U.S. officials believe his criticism will be more muted as his forces take on a greater role.

 

The administration s emphasis on partnering with Afghan forces is driving McRaven s streamlining of special operations in Afghanistan, blending the village security operations with the elite Joint Special Operations Command s terrorist-hunting cell based at Bagram, which is working on degrading the Taliban militant network with focused raids.
“We feel like we have to become not only more effective but more efficient,” McRaven said.

 

Under the current system, if the special operations terrorist hunters have five potential insurgents to hit in a given area, they will likely choose to strike a high-value target, instead of spending their time hunting lower level insurgents menacing a local village that fellow U.S. Army Green Berets are trying to secure, according to a U.S. military official.
With one commander in charge of all special operations, he could decide to clear out those lower level insurgents to secure the village, leaving the high value target for another night.

 

During McRaven s remarks at a Washington area hotel, there was an outburst from a retired special operations general who was angry at media coverage of special operations missions, such last year s raid in Pakistan by Navy commandos known as SEALs that killed bin Laden, and the recent SEAL rescue of two Western hostages in Somalia.
“Get the hell out of the media,” retired Lt. Gen. James Vaught shouted at McRaven.

 

McRaven calmly responded that avoiding media coverage was impossible in the 24-hour news cycle, and that while he objected to revealing sensitive tactics, the media could be useful, especially when reporting operations gone wrong.
“Having those failures exposed in the media helps us do a better job,” McRaven said. “So sometimes the spotlight on us makes us better.”

 

US drones targeting mourners, rescuers: Report

 

According to an investigation by the Bureau for the Sunday Times, the CIA’s drone campaign in Pakistan has killed dozens of civilians who had gone to rescue victims or were attending funerals.

 

The report was published days after US President Barack Obama claimed that the drones had “not caused a huge number of civilian casualties” in Pakistan.

 

However, according to research by the Bureau, it was stated that since Obama took office three years ago, between 282 and 535 civilians have been credibly reported as killed including more than 60 children. The report claims that: “A three month investigation including eye witness reports has found evidence that at least 50 civilians were killed in follow-up strikes when they had gone to help victims. More than 20 civilians have also been attacked in deliberate strikes on funerals and mourners. The tactics have been condemned by leading legal experts.”

 

The reports also reveal that often when the US attacks militants in Pakistan, the Taliban seal off the site to retrieve the dead. However, “an examination of thousands of credible reports relating to CIA drone strikes also shows frequent references to civilian rescuers. Mosques often exhort villagers to come forward and help, for example – particularly following attacks that mistakenly kill civilians.”

 

The Bureau’s report also states that according to Peter Singer, director of the 21st Century Initiative at the Brookings Institution, the US now has 7,000 drones operating and 12,000 more on the ground.
 

CIA drone attacks will remain secret

The CIA is not legally required to inform the public about the use of unmanned drones to kill suspected terrorists, US District Judge Rosemary Collyer has ruled.

The ruling was made in a case in which the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) challenged the CIA s decision to reject a Freedom of Information Act request on the issue.

The CIA had said that anything about the relevant records is basically classified information.

The federal judge also rejected the ACLU s argument that “former CIA Director Leon Panetta had officially acknowledged the agency s use of drones.”

The ACLU noted that media outlets have been covering the use of drones by the US, especially in Pakistan and Afghanistan, for years.

The ACLU pointed out that when Panetta, who is currently the US defense secretary, was asked about the credibility of such attacks, which also endanger many civilian lives, he said, “I think it does suffice to say that these operations have been very effective because they have been very precise.”

Despite the ACLU s argument, Judge Collyer ruled, “These comments by Director Panetta did not officially disclose the CIA s involvement in the drone strike programme. Director Panetta spoke generally of his knowledge of  covert and secret operations  in Pakistan and his assessment that those operations had been precise with minimal collateral damage.”

In an interview with the ‘Washington Post’ in 2010, Panetta “appeared to speak to the joint efforts of the military and non-military agencies of the US government… Director Panetta merely admitted that the CIA s operations in Pakistan, left undefined, were the most aggressive ever undertaken by the CIA,” the judge said.

On the India-Pakistan border, a cold peace

SURATGARH: It has been nearly eight years since India and Pakistan agreed a ceasefire over

Kashmir – long enough for residents to start building brick houses and plant paddy fields up to the edge of one of the world’s most heavily militarized borders.

Gaddafi revives offer of vote to end Libya conflict

TRIPOLI: The Libyan government on Sunday renewed its offer to hold a vote on whether Muammar Gaddafi should stay in power, a proposal unlikely to interest Gaddafi’s opponents but which could widen differences inside NATO.

Pressure is growing from some quarters within the alliance to find a political solution, three months into a military campaign which is costing NATO members billions of dollars, has killed civilians, and has so far failed to topple Gaddafi.

Moussa Ibrahim, a spokesman for Gaddafi’s administration, told reporters in Tripoli the government was proposing a period of national dialogue and an election overseen by the United Nations and the African Union.

“If the Libyan people decide Gaddafi should leave he will leave. If the people decide he should stay he will stay,” Ibrahim said.

But he said Gaddafi — who has run the oil-producing country since taking over in a military coup in 1969 — would not go into exile whatever happened. “Gaddafi is not leaving anywhere, he is staying in this country,” Ibrahim said.

The idea of holding an election was first raised earlier this month by one of Gaddafi’s sons, Saif al-Islam.

The proposal lost momentum when Libyan Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Ali Al-Mahmoudi appeared to dismiss it. At the time, it was also rejected by anti-Gaddafi rebels in the east of Libya, and by Washington.

Many analysts say Gaddafi and his family have no intention of relinquishing power. Instead, they say, the Libyan leader is holding out the possibility of a deal to try to widen cracks that have been emerging in the alliance ranged against him.

The election proposal could find a more receptive audience this time around, especially after a NATO bomb landed on a house in Tripoli on June 19, killing several civilians.

After that incident, alliance-member Italy said it wanted a political settlement, and also said that the civilian casualties threaten NATO’s credibility.

SOCCER DEFECTIONS

Libyan government forces have been fighting rebels, backed by NATO air power, since Feb. 17, when thousands of people rose up in a rebellion against his rule.

The revolt has turned into the bloodiest of the Arab Spring uprisings sweeping the Middle East.

Rebels now control the eastern third of the country, and some enclaves in the West. They have been unable though to break through to the capital, leaving Western powers banking on an uprising in Tripoli to overthrow Gaddafi.

The Libyan leader suffered a propaganda defeat when four members of the national soccer team and 13 other football figures defected to the rebels, the rebel council said.

Libyans are passionate about the sport and the national team was closely aligned with Gaddafi’s rule. At one point his son, Saadi, played in the side.

Asked about the defections, government spokesman Ibrahim said: “The Libyan footall team is full and functioning and performing all of its duties inside and outside Libya.”

HUMANITARIAN SWAP

A momentary thaw in the fighting allowed the Red Cross to reunite people caught on the wrong side of the conflict with their families.

A ship, the Ionis, arrived in Tripoli’s port on Sunday carrying 106 people from the main rebel stronghold in Benghazi. Many of the passengers were elderly, and families with small children.

A crowd of a few dozen people waited for the ship to dock, among them Mohammed Al-Gimzi. “I love Muammar Gaddafi very much,” he said.

When Al-Gimzi’s sister disembarked from the ship, he rushed to greet her and the two stood weeping with their heads on each other’s shoulders. “I am very happy to see my sister again,” he said, tears running down his face.

As part of the same exchange, a ship carried around 300 people from Tripoli to Benghazi on Friday. They included dozens of rebel supporters who had been detained.

“This is purely humanitarian, for families to meet with their loved ones and to be able to travel,” Robin Waudo, a spokesman in Tripoli for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said on Sunday. AGENCIES

Rebels say Gadaffi halts oil; Libya blames Britain

TRIPOLI: Libya accused Britain of damaging an oil pipeline in an air strike, hours after rebels said government attacks had halted production of oil they hope to sell to finance their uprising.

Elected governments never performed in Pakistan: Musharraf

WASHINGTON: Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf said Friday that all elected governments have failed the country, as he tries to mount a political comeback.

On a speaking tour of the United States, Musharraf said he wanted to return to power through popular will but did not agree that “we want a democratically elected government and that is all, period.”

“The important thing for an elected government is to deliver to the people and to the state. If that is not happening, that is the problem in Pakistan,” Musharraf told National Public Radio.

“Unfortunately, the civil governments have never performed. And I repeat: Never performed in its history. They have never,” Musharraf said.

During other appearances before US audiences, Musharraf has criticized the response of President Asif Ali Zardari and the civilian government to floods that affected 21

Generals in Pakistan push for shake-up of Government: NYT

A US daily reported that Pakistani Army, angered by the inept handling of the countrys devastating floods and alarmed by a collapse of the economy, is pushing for a shake-up of the elected government, and in the longer term, even the removal of President Asif Ali Zardari and his top lieutenants.
New York Times stated that the military, preoccupied by a war against militants and reluctant to assume direct responsibility for the economic crisis, has made clear it is not eager to take over the government, as it has many times before, military officials and politicians said. But the governments performance since the floods, which have left 20 million people homeless and the nation dependent on handouts from skeptical foreign donors, has laid bare the deep underlying tensions between military and civilian leaders. American officials, too, say it has left them increasingly disillusioned with Mr. Zardari, a deeply unpopular president who was elected two and a half years ago on a wave of sympathy after the assassination of his wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
In a meeting on Monday that was played on the front page of Pakistans newspapers, the army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, confronted the president and his prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, over incompetence and corruption in the government.
According to the press and Pakistani officials familiar with the conversation, the general demanded that they dismiss at least some ministers in the oversized 60-member cabinet, many of whom face corruption charges. The civilian government has so far resisted the generals demand. But the meeting was widely interpreted by the Pakistani news media, which has grown increasingly hostile to the president, as a rebuke to the civilian politicians and as having pushed the government to the brink.

Floods likely to delay Pakistan anti-Taliban moves

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Pakistan’s devastating floods are likely to delay army offensives against Taliban insurgents, the U.S. defense secretary said on Friday, possibly giving militants chances to intensify attacks.

The U.S.-backed government, overwhelmed by one of the worst natural disasters in Pakistan’s history, already faces renewed Taliban violence.

The al Qaeda-linked Taliban took responsibility for triple bombings at a Shi’ite Muslim procession in the city of Lahore this week, challenging the civilian government further.

On Friday, a blast rocked a pro-Palestinian rally in the southwestern city of Quetta, killing three people and wounding at least 12, hospital officials said.

“Unfortunately the flooding in Pakistan is probably going to delay any operations by the Pakistani army in North Waziristan for some period of time,” U.S. Defense Secretary

Two FC personnel shot dead in Khuzdar

Staff Report

KHUZDAR: Two FC personnel were killed when unknown gunmen opened fire in Khuzdar district, sources said on Friday.

According to police officials, two FC personnel went to a private bank to withdraw their salary when unknown gunmen targeted and shot them.

Security forces have cordoned off the area after incident. SAMAA

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