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06-22-2006, 11:33 PM
Associated Press
Karzai Criticizes U.S.-Led Coalition
By TINI TRAN , 06.22.2006, 02:43 PM
President Hamid Karzai criticized the U.S.-led coalition's anti-terror campaign Thursday, deploring the deaths of hundreds of Afghans and appealing for more financial help for his government.
Karzai's sharp assessment came as Osama bin Laden's deputy urged Afghans to revolt against coalition forces, and four more U.S. soldiers were killed.
More than four years after U.S.-led forces toppled the extremist Taliban government, Afghanistan is gripped by its deadliest spate of post-invasion violence. To try curb the bloodshed, more than 10,000 coalition forces have launched a major offensive against militants across southern Afghanistan. More than 600 people, mainly militants, have been killed since May.
But Karzai, who has previously scorned large-scale anti-militant campaigns, rejected the continued spilling of Afghan blood in military operations.
"It is not acceptable for us that in all this fighting, Afghans are dying. In the last three to four weeks, 500 to 600 Afghans were killed. (Even) if they are Taliban, they are sons of this land," a clearly frustrated Karzai told reporters in Kabul.
On Thursday, Afghan and coalition forces raided a Taliban compound northwest of Tirin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan province, killing eight militants, the coalition said. Six others were captured.
Karzai said the current focus on hunting militants didn't address terrorism's root causes. "We must engage strategically in disarming terrorism by stopping their sources of supply of money, training, equipment and motivation," he said.
He also said the war on terror needs to be broadened beyond Afghan borders.
"We are concerned about the increase of attacks in our country," he said. "Some of the reasons are the internal weakness of administration in our country, but most of the factors are foreign factors, terrorism and organized attacks."
He did not elaborate on which "foreign factors" were involved, but many Afghan officials have accused neighboring Pakistan of doing too little to catch Taliban militants planning attacks. Islamabad denies the claims.
Karzai said Afghanistan has received considerable help in reconstruction but has been given inadequate assistance to strengthen its police force, army and government administration.
"This is one of the reasons for the unhappiness between us and the international community," he said. "We did not get the assistance and cooperation that is necessary for a strategy for counterterrorism."
A February donors conference in London pledged $10.5 billion in aid for Afghanistan, most for improving security. About 37,000 new soldiers and more than 50,000 police have been trained but many more are needed.
Hours before Karzai's comments, al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri released a new videotape, his sixth this year, calling on Afghans to rise up against coalition forces.
"I am calling upon the Muslims in Kabul in particular and in all Afghanistan in general and for the sake of God to stand up in an honest stand in the face of the infidel forces that are invading Muslim lands," said al-Zawahri, wearing a white turban with an automatic rifle next to him.
The 3 1/2-minute tape, entitled "American Crimes in Kabul," was apparently made the day after a May 29 accident in which a U.S. military truck crashed into traffic in the Afghan capital, killing up to five people. The incident sparked anti-foreigner riots that left about 20 people dead, the bloodiest unrest here since the Taliban's 2001 ouster.
"I direct my speech today to my Muslim brothers in Kabul who lived the bitter events yesterday and saw by their own eyes a new proof of the criminal acts of the American forces against the Afghani people," al-Zawahri said on the tape, posted on an Islamist Web site.
Unlike al-Zawahri's previous messages, which appeared aimed at Americans, the latest video had no English subtitles. He spoke in Arabic, and Web sites carried translations in Pashtun and Dari, languages widely spoken here.
Asked about the tape, Karzai blamed al-Zawahri for Afghanistan's suffering before and after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and vowed to arrest him.
"He is first the enemy of the Afghan people, and then the enemy of the rest of the world," Karzai said. "He killed Afghans for years - thousands - and then he went to America and destroyed the twin towers."
Also, four U.S. soldiers were killed and another wounded Wednesday while trying to block the movement of militant forces in the eastern Nuristan province, the military announced in a statement Thursday.
Ground troops and attack planes were called in to continue the assault through the night. It was unclear if there were enemy casualties.
Afghan and coalition forces have targeted al-Qaida and Taliban militants along the Pakistan border since mid-April. Al-Zawahri and bin Laden are believed to be hiding in the rugged frontier.
Karzai Criticizes U.S.-Led Coalition
By TINI TRAN , 06.22.2006, 02:43 PM
President Hamid Karzai criticized the U.S.-led coalition's anti-terror campaign Thursday, deploring the deaths of hundreds of Afghans and appealing for more financial help for his government.
Karzai's sharp assessment came as Osama bin Laden's deputy urged Afghans to revolt against coalition forces, and four more U.S. soldiers were killed.
More than four years after U.S.-led forces toppled the extremist Taliban government, Afghanistan is gripped by its deadliest spate of post-invasion violence. To try curb the bloodshed, more than 10,000 coalition forces have launched a major offensive against militants across southern Afghanistan. More than 600 people, mainly militants, have been killed since May.
But Karzai, who has previously scorned large-scale anti-militant campaigns, rejected the continued spilling of Afghan blood in military operations.
"It is not acceptable for us that in all this fighting, Afghans are dying. In the last three to four weeks, 500 to 600 Afghans were killed. (Even) if they are Taliban, they are sons of this land," a clearly frustrated Karzai told reporters in Kabul.
On Thursday, Afghan and coalition forces raided a Taliban compound northwest of Tirin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan province, killing eight militants, the coalition said. Six others were captured.
Karzai said the current focus on hunting militants didn't address terrorism's root causes. "We must engage strategically in disarming terrorism by stopping their sources of supply of money, training, equipment and motivation," he said.
He also said the war on terror needs to be broadened beyond Afghan borders.
"We are concerned about the increase of attacks in our country," he said. "Some of the reasons are the internal weakness of administration in our country, but most of the factors are foreign factors, terrorism and organized attacks."
He did not elaborate on which "foreign factors" were involved, but many Afghan officials have accused neighboring Pakistan of doing too little to catch Taliban militants planning attacks. Islamabad denies the claims.
Karzai said Afghanistan has received considerable help in reconstruction but has been given inadequate assistance to strengthen its police force, army and government administration.
"This is one of the reasons for the unhappiness between us and the international community," he said. "We did not get the assistance and cooperation that is necessary for a strategy for counterterrorism."
A February donors conference in London pledged $10.5 billion in aid for Afghanistan, most for improving security. About 37,000 new soldiers and more than 50,000 police have been trained but many more are needed.
Hours before Karzai's comments, al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri released a new videotape, his sixth this year, calling on Afghans to rise up against coalition forces.
"I am calling upon the Muslims in Kabul in particular and in all Afghanistan in general and for the sake of God to stand up in an honest stand in the face of the infidel forces that are invading Muslim lands," said al-Zawahri, wearing a white turban with an automatic rifle next to him.
The 3 1/2-minute tape, entitled "American Crimes in Kabul," was apparently made the day after a May 29 accident in which a U.S. military truck crashed into traffic in the Afghan capital, killing up to five people. The incident sparked anti-foreigner riots that left about 20 people dead, the bloodiest unrest here since the Taliban's 2001 ouster.
"I direct my speech today to my Muslim brothers in Kabul who lived the bitter events yesterday and saw by their own eyes a new proof of the criminal acts of the American forces against the Afghani people," al-Zawahri said on the tape, posted on an Islamist Web site.
Unlike al-Zawahri's previous messages, which appeared aimed at Americans, the latest video had no English subtitles. He spoke in Arabic, and Web sites carried translations in Pashtun and Dari, languages widely spoken here.
Asked about the tape, Karzai blamed al-Zawahri for Afghanistan's suffering before and after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and vowed to arrest him.
"He is first the enemy of the Afghan people, and then the enemy of the rest of the world," Karzai said. "He killed Afghans for years - thousands - and then he went to America and destroyed the twin towers."
Also, four U.S. soldiers were killed and another wounded Wednesday while trying to block the movement of militant forces in the eastern Nuristan province, the military announced in a statement Thursday.
Ground troops and attack planes were called in to continue the assault through the night. It was unclear if there were enemy casualties.
Afghan and coalition forces have targeted al-Qaida and Taliban militants along the Pakistan border since mid-April. Al-Zawahri and bin Laden are believed to be hiding in the rugged frontier.