Вокруг ситуации в Афганистане
Вчера talinci выложил фотку афганских женщин-военослужащих с церемонии выпуска в Кабуле. Американцы усиленно пиарят «успехи» государственного строительства в Афганистане, но в реальности с трудом контролируют ситуацию даже вокруг своих баз.
Позавчера талибы после яростного боя выбили правительственные силы из уезда Барге Маталь (Барг-и-Матал) в афганской провинции Нуристан. Что интересно, силы коалиции так и не пришли на помощь обороняющимся.
Далее - сегодняшнее интервью главнокомандующего войсками НАТО в Афганистане. Генерал уходит от ответов и только тупо повторяет, что американцы не собираются прекращать сотрудничество с афганскими властями. Интересно, правда? Такое впечатление, что интервью берут у Галуста Саакяна.
Top NATO Commander Addresses Recent Taliban Gains, Vows Commitment To Security
May 30, 2010
In an exclusive interview, NATO's top military commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, spoke in Kabul today with RFE/RL Radio Free Afghanistan correspondent Mujahed Jawad about the current situation in Nuristan Province, near the border with Pakistan, and in the southern province of Kandahar.
RFE/RL: As you well know, the Barg-e Matal district in the eastern part of Nuristan Province has fallen under the control of the Taliban. Why do you think this has happened?
General Stanley McChrystal: Insurgent forces in that area massed a number of fighters. And I think that it's very important that the government of Afghanistan, supported by coalition forces, work to secure every Afghan around the country. And I know we're working to do that.
RFE/RL: What were the reasons behind the district of Barg-e Matal falling into the hands of the Taliban?
McChrystal: When the insurgents mass in areas, they can put together a certain amount of combat power. But, of course, as you know, we are securing other areas. And I'm confident that that will not remain in insurgent hands, as well.
RFE/RL: Local officials have said that hundreds of Pakistani Taliban were supporting the Afghan Taliban in the Barg-e Matal district. Are NATO forces not trying to prevent the infiltration of Taliban from Pakistan?
McChrystal: We are working with our Afghan partners and with the government of Pakistan -- and we have a close partnership -- to limit any movement of insurgents either way across the border.
RFE/RL: Afghan officials have also said that neither the Afghan government nor NATO forces helped local security troops to defend against the Taliban. I mean, there were no reinforcements on time from either side. So why didn't NATO help?
McChrystal: We are partnered with Afghan forces around the country. There were air strikes and there were resupply activities there. And we will remain partnered with our Afghan partners -- both MOI [Ministry of the Interior] and MOD [Ministry of Defense] -- in the days ahead.
RFE/RL: Is there any joint plan to recapture that district from the Taliban? If so, when? And what can NATO forces do in this regard?
McChrystal: Well, of course, we would never discuss future military plans because they are too sensitive. But I would say that our partnership to secure Afghans is absolute.
RFE/RL: As you know, the Taliban have launched a county-wide operation in Afghanistan. Since then, we have seen many terrorist attacks. Do you think they will create a big threat for you and the Afghan government this summer?
McChrystal: I think they will create a big threat for Afghan people, and I think Afghans everywhere need to unite to stop things like suicide bombings. They need to stop things like improvised explosive devices that actually kill so many innocent Afghans. It's that unity of the Afghan people that ultimately will be the strength.
RFE/RL: For many months, there have been reports about upcoming military operations in Kandahar, but nothing specific on the ground is under way. What is new about that? When exactly will it start?
McChrystal: In fact, a number of things have begun. Because people are looking for conventional military operations, they don't sometimes see what is happening. We are increasing our partnership inside Kandahar city with the Afghan National Police. We are developing a ring of security around the city with Afghan National Civil Order Police. And then we are increasing Afghan National Army and coalition force activities in the environs or districts around the city.
This will be a very gradual process, not an event. So it will take months to happen. But that security will continue to improve with each passing day.
Источник
Что ещё интереснее - в топ-новостях на Яху ни слова о потерях в Нуристане, зато статья с заголовком NATO general in Afghanistan: Taliban train in Iran. Кстати, опять манипуляция. На самом деле генерал сначала говорит, что иранцы в целом сотрудничают с властями Афганистана (и так оно и есть, потому что Аль-Каеда и Талибан - заклятые враги Ирана), но, мол, есть и «доказательства» того, что некоторые талибы проходят подготовку в Иране. Бред, конечно, но для американской аудитории сойдёт. Главное, что ни слова про Нуристан.
NATO general in Afghanistan: Taliban train in Iran
By HEIDI VOGT and RAHIM FAIEZ, Associated Press Writers Heidi Vogt And Rahim Faiez, Associated Press Writers - 38 mins ago
KABUL, Afghanistan - The commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan said Sunday there is "clear evidence" that some Taliban fighters have trained in Iran.
Gen. Stanley McChrystal told reporters in the Afghan capital that Iran - Afghanistan's western neighbor - has generally assisted the Afghan government in fighting the insurgent group.
"There is, however, clear evidence of Iranian activity - in some cases providing weaponry and training to the Taliban - that is inappropriate," he said. McChrystal said NATO forces are working to stop both the training and the weapons trafficking.
Last month, McChrystal said there were indications that Taliban were training in Iran, but not very many and not in a way that it appeared it was part of an Iranian government policy. He did not give details on how many people have trained in Iran at Sunday's news conference.
NATO said a service member was killed Sunday in a small arms attack in southern Afghanistan, taking overall NATO losses in May to 49, according to a tally by The Associated Press. That makes May the deadliest month for foreign troops in Afghanistan since a spike in February during a major offensive in Marjah, when 53 died, including 31 Americans.
The nationality of the service member killed Sunday was not released. May is already the deadliest month for U.S. forces this year, with 32 troops killed. The month also brought the 1,000th U.S. military death in the Afghan war since it began in 2001.
The AP's figures are based on Defense Department reports of deaths as a direct result of the Afghan conflict, including personnel assigned to units in Afghanistan, Pakistan or Uzbekistan. Non-U.S. deaths are based on statements by governments that have contributed forces to the coalition.
The Taliban have spread out beyond their heartland in the south in recent years to increasingly launch attacks countrywide.
In the north, insurgents detonated a remote-controlled bomb Sunday as a police convoy passed by, killing seven officers in a province previously considered to be relatively safe, said deputy provincial Gov. Shams-ul Rahman.
The attack was the deadliest of a half-dozen separate incidents across the country.
In nearby Kunduz province, militants attacked a police checkpoint in Ali Abad district, triggering a gunbattle that killed three insurgents and wounded seven others, the Interior Ministry said.
In eastern Paktia province, NATO planes dropped guided bombs on Saturday to kill a team of militants that had fired mortars at coalition forces in Zormat district.
And NATO and Afghan forces killed one suspected militant and detained several others at a compound in southern Helmand province where bomb-making equipment was found. Coalition patrols arrested other suspected insurgents in operations elsewhere in Helmand and neighboring Kandahar, both considered Taliban strongholds.
In Ghazni, also in the south, militants on Sunday attacked a convoy of fuel tankers on a road regularly used as a resupply route for NATO forces. The assault left the trucks burning but caused no injuries.
"I saw the convoy moving in the morning and then suddenly I heard an explosion. Fighting started and lasted for 30 to 45 minutes. They burned a lot of containers," said local resident Azrat Shah.
McChrystal stressed to reporters that the Afghanistan fight will extend long beyond July 2011, when President Barack Obama plans to start drawing down forces.
In recent meetings with President Hamid Karzai, Obama "reaffirmed the strategic partnership, which is way beyond July 2011," McChrystal said. "I think President Obama's decision to begin the reduction of U.S. forces in 2011 really needs to be viewed in that context."
However, the strategic partnership depends on being able to transfer some responsibility to Afghan forces, which are still plagued by a lack of training and distrust of the people despite years of training programs funded by the international community.
The Marjah offensive has been followed by the re-infiltration of Taliban forces into the area despite a continuing strong U.S. Marine presence.
"We've dramatically changed the state of the insurgency in that region," McChrystal said, while acknowledging that "progress there is not yet fully established."
A summer offensive planned for the Taliban birthplace of Kandahar will be similarly painstaking, McChrystal said. The plan is to focus on delivering services like electricity and water, he explained.
"Progress will be measured in months, rather than days," he said.
Also Sunday, Canada said the chief of its forces in Afghanistan, Brig. Gen. Daniel Menard, was being relieved following allegations of an inappropriate relationship. Col. Simon Hetherington, the acting commander of Canada's forces, said Menard's dismissal would not have an impact on the Canadian mission in southern Afghanistan.
Associated Press Writer Christopher Torchia contributed to this report from Kandahar Air Field.
Конечно, если в Афганистане дела коалиции действительно так плохи, то иранцам это только на руку, потому как американцам придётся на время забыть об иранском направлении. Но также можно впасть в экстремальную конспирологию и предположить, что сообщения о безрадостном состоянии американцев - деза, и тем самым готовится почва для вторжения в Иран с лозунгом: «Если заткнём Иран, то в Афганистане всё наладится». Хотя, по-моему, это уже из области фантазий.
В друзья! Фштук