http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/taliban/ en-us Mon, 6 Oct 2008 19:31:35 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2098892/posts In a groundbreaking meeting, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia recently hosted talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban militant group, according to a source familiar with the talks. The historic four-day meeting took place during the last week of September in the Saudi city of Mecca, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the negotiations. King Abdullah broke fast during the Eid al-Fitr holiday with the 17-member Afghan delegation -- an act intended to show his commitment to ending the conflict. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslim... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2098892/posts#comment Mon, 6 Oct 2008 19:31:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2098751/posts Taliban leaders are holding Saudi-brokered talks with the Afghan government to end the country's bloody conflict -- and are severing their ties with al Qaeda, sources close to the historic discussions have told CNN. The militia, which has been intensifying its attacks on the U.S.-led coalition that toppled it from power in 2001 for harboring Osama bin Laden's terrorist network, has been involved four days of talks hosted by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, says the source. The talks -- the first of their kind aimed at resolving the lengthy conflict in Afghanistan -- mark a significant move by the Saudi... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2098751/posts#comment Mon, 6 Oct 2008 16:54:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2098436/posts Taliban ‘upset’ at missile hit Monday, October 06, 2008 DERA ISMAIL KHAN: The Taliban are unusually angry about the latest suspected US missile strike in Pakistan, indicating that a top militant may have died, officials and residents said on Sunday as the death toll from the attack rose to 24. Several Arab militants were said to be among the dead in Friday's strike in North Waziristan. Two Pakistani intelligence officials said that over the weekend two people wounded in the attack died at a hospital in Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan. The officials, who spoke on condition of... The News International http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2098436/posts#comment Mon, 6 Oct 2008 04:11:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2098331/posts WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2008 – Coalition forces killed five enemy fighters in operations Oct. 3, targeting al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorist networks in eastern Afghanistan. Coalition forces targeted a Taliban sub-commander in Andar district who is known to plan and coordinate bombing attacks in Ghazni province. He is also wanted for helping move foreign fighters into Afghanistan. In Ghazni, coalition forces killed two armed militants. Coalition forces found several AK-47s and bomb-making materials at the compound. In Konar, coalition forces called in air strikes on several enemy fighters as they approached a U.S. base. Three armed militants were killed. Forces searched... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2098331/posts#comment Mon, 6 Oct 2008 00:58:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2098142/posts DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan - The Taliban are furious about the latest apparent U.S. missile strike in Pakistan, indicating a senior militant may be among two dozen people killed, officials and residents said Sunday. SNIP... "Two residents in the area targeted Friday said Taliban fighters warned people not to discuss the missile strike or inspect the rubble at the site. The residents requested anonymity for fear of Taliban retribution." AP, Yahoo News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2098142/posts#comment Sun, 5 Oct 2008 20:35:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097995/posts Britain's most senior military commander in Afghanistan has warned that the war against the Taliban cannot be won. Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith said the British public should not expect a “decisive military victory” but should be prepared for a possible deal with the Taliban. His assessment followed the leaking of a memo from a French diplomat who claimed that Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, the British ambassador in Kabul, had told him the current strategy was “doomed to fail”. Carleton-Smith, commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade, which has just completed its second tour of Afghanistan, said it was necessary to “lower our expectations”.... The Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097995/posts#comment Sun, 5 Oct 2008 15:47:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097992/posts AS the Afghan sun set over the end-of-tour memorial service last Wednesday at British headquarters in Lashkar Gah, 32 names of the dead, aged between 19 and 52, were solemnly read out, including that of the first woman killed, Corporal Sarah Bryant. Almost every other name, it seemed, was from 2 Para. The 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment lost more lives than any other section of 16 Air Assault Brigade — 11 in total, and five in one week in June — or one in 10 of the unit. Over the past few days, as the paras flew back to... times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097992/posts#comment Sun, 5 Oct 2008 15:38:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097949/posts NATO-led soldiers have captured a Taliban commander said to have links to the most senior figures in the extremist militia that is waging an insurgency in Afghanistan, the force said Sunday. Mullah Sakhi Dad and another insurgent were captured at a compound in the southern province of Uruzgan on Wednesday, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said in a statement. He had been leading a "significant number of Taliban fighters" and was implicated in suicide bombings, the distribution of ammunition and the kidnapping of Afghan civilians, it said. afp.google http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097949/posts#comment Sun, 5 Oct 2008 14:24:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097883/posts Britain's most senior military commander in Afghanistan has warned that the war against the Taliban cannot be won. Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith said the British public should not expect a “decisive military victory” but should be prepared for a possible deal with the Taliban. His assessment followed the leaking of a memo from a French diplomat who claimed that Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, the British ambassador in Kabul, had told him the current strategy was “doomed to fail”. Carleton-Smith, commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade, which has just completed its second tour of Afghanistan, said it was necessary to “lower our expectations”.... The Times (London) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097883/posts#comment Sun, 5 Oct 2008 11:30:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097837/posts DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) - Two people wounded in a suspected U.S. missile strike in Pakistan's northwest have died, bringing the death toll to 24 in an assault that has deeply angered the Taliban, intelligence officials said Sunday. The U.S. has ramped up cross-border strikes on alleged al-Qaida and Taliban targets along Pakistan's side of the border with Afghanistan, straining the two nations' anti-terror alliance. Several Arab militants were said to be among the dead in Friday's strike in North Waziristan, part of Pakistan's semiautonomous tribal belt where the U.S. says extremists have found safe havens from which to... AP (via My Way) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097837/posts#comment Sun, 5 Oct 2008 06:24:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097765/posts Adam Gadahn, the former Orange County, Calif., resident who's become known as al Qaeda's media director, resurfaced in a new video released on the Web today after nearly nine months of silence. Looking thin but healthy, the young al Qaeda spokesman lashed out against escalating U.S. and Pakistani air strikes in tribal regions, where he and other top al Qaeda leaders are believed to be hiding. The tape appeared to be recently recorded, as Gadahn pointedly spoke about America's financial crisis, referring to "the escalating chaos and looming meltdown threatening the crusaders' economic system." He references the current economic crisis... ABC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097765/posts#comment Sun, 5 Oct 2008 03:07:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097441/posts Pakistani villagers have collected the corpses and body parts of at least 20 people killed by a reported US strike. Intelligence officials and villagers said a pilotless drone fired a missile at a house in Mohammad Khel, North Waziristan, near the Afghan border. The dead are said to include several suspected Arab militants. A number of cross-border operations have been undertaken by US-led forces in Afghanistan since late August. BBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097441/posts#comment Sat, 4 Oct 2008 16:33:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097066/posts WASHINGTON, Oct. 3, 2008 – Continuing to build the capacity and the strength of the Afghan National Army is strategically important to progress in Afghanistan and eliminating the insurgency’s influence over the population, an official there said yesterday. If the Afghan army can provide security on its own, it would help to remove the relationship between the insurgents and the populations they still influence, Marine Corps Col. Jeffrey Haynes, commander of Regional Corps Advisory Command Central, said in a teleconference with bloggers. “As we continue to drive the wedge between the population and the insurgents, it will be harder and... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097066/posts#comment Fri, 3 Oct 2008 23:30:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097064/posts WASHINGTON, Oct. 3, 2008 – An Afghan civilian was killed and four were wounded this morning when militants attacked a village in eastern Afghanistan where coalition and Afghan troops were on patrol, military officials reported. The firefight started when militants engaged the joint forces with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades in Matin, a village in the Pech district of Konar province, officials said. While returning fire, Afghan soldiers also provided immediate medical care to the wounded and transported them to a medical facility for treatment, officials said. The body of the civilian was recovered and returned to his village, they... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097064/posts#comment Fri, 3 Oct 2008 23:27:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097036/posts PESHAWAR, Pakistan — War has come to Pakistan, not just as terrorist bombings, but as full-scale battles, leaving Pakistanis angry and dismayed as the dead, wounded and displaced turn up right on their doorstep. An estimated 250,000 people have now fled the helicopters, jets, artillery and mortar fire of the Pakistani Army, and the assaults, intimidation and rough justice of the Taliban who have dug into Pakistan’s tribal areas. About 20,000 people are so desperate that they have flooded over the border from the Bajaur tribal area to seek safety in Afghanistan. Many others are crowding around this northwest Pakistani... NY Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097036/posts#comment Fri, 3 Oct 2008 22:50:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2096764/posts US air strikes have killed at least 20 people including suspected foreign militants close to Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, reports say. BBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2096764/posts#comment Fri, 3 Oct 2008 17:15:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2095348/posts WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2008 – The war against radical Islamists operating in Afghanistan will be won, despite the challenges, the senior U.S. military officer posted there said today. “I am more convinced than ever that the insurgency will not win in Afghanistan,” Army Gen. David D. McKiernan, commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force for the past four months, told Pentagon reporters. McKiernan replaced Army Gen. Dan K. McNeill. McKiernan is in Washington to meet with President Bush, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and other senior civilian and military leaders. The White House is conducting a governmentwide review of Afghanistan... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2095348/posts#comment Thu, 2 Oct 2008 00:00:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2094602/posts On the front lines of the battle against terrorism, one need drive only 15 minutes from the military's headquarters to hear the militants' small-arms fire. Pakistani alleged Taliban supporters chant anti-US slogans as they gather at the site of a US... Pakistani alleged Taliban supporters chant anti-US slogans as they gather at the site of a US missile strike in Damadola village in the northwestern Bajaur tribal district which borders Afghanistan's volatile Kunar province, on May 15, 2008. Pakistani militants on May 15 accused the United States of carrying out a missile strike in the country's lawless tribal region and... ABC News ! http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2094602/posts#comment Wed, 1 Oct 2008 04:22:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2094527/posts Does it bother anybody else to hear Obama pronounce Pakistan & Taliban? MSM AnalysisI don't think he's a jihadi or anything. I'm just sayin'... he sounds like a jihadi... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2094527/posts#comment Wed, 1 Oct 2008 02:23:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2094300/posts MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (AFP) - A missile strike by a suspected US spy drone hit a house in a Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan, killing at least four people and wounding nine, security officials said Wednesday. The attack is the latest in a string of incidents on the rugged frontier that have raised tensions between Islamabad and Washington, including a clash between Pakistani troops and US-led forces in Afghanistan. It happened shortly after Pashtun tribesmen shot at three drones circling the village of Khusali Toorikhel in North Waziristan, a known haunt of Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants. "After the drones came under... AFP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2094300/posts#comment Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:32:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2094289/posts ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan's army chief named a general considered a hawk in the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban to head the country's powerful spy agency, asserting his control at a time of U.S. concern that rogue operatives are aiding Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan. Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shujaa Pasha oversaw military offensives against militants in the lawless border regions with Afghanistan in his most recent job as director general of military operations. His appointment as head of the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, the country's main spy agency, was part of a broader shake-up of army top brass announced... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2094289/posts#comment Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:16:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2093721/posts Militants in Pakistan pose a threat to the country's existence, according the the American General, David Petraeus. Speaking in London after meeting the UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, the commander of US Central Command said Pakistan had to deal with the problem. He went on to say he would help Pakistan make a a sustained commitment to deal with the militants. His comments come amid tension between the US and Islamabad over American attacks on militants inside Pakistan. 'Existential threat' US forces in Afghanistan have conducted a number of cross-border operations targeting militants based in neighbouring northwest Pakistan. The Pakistani... BBC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2093721/posts#comment Tue, 30 Sep 2008 05:17:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2093988/posts As the Taliban and al Qaeda insurgency rages in northwestern Pakistan, the Pakistani government has stepped up its efforts to engage the local tribes to battle the extremists. The effort to gain the support of the Pashtu tribes in northwestern Pakistan was highlighted when General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani, the Chief of Staff of the Pakistani Army visited the Bajaur tribal agency, where a two-month old offensive against the Taliban is still underway. Kiyani "expressed his satisfaction that local tribesmen have risen against miscreants and are fully supporting the Army," Geo TV reported. Miscreant is a term often used by Pakistanis... Long War Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2093988/posts#comment Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:57:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2093771/posts KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he's asked the king of Saudi Arabia to help facilitate peace talks with the Taliban in order to bring an end to the Afghan conflict. Karzai says there has not yet been any negotiations only requests for help. But he says that Afghan officials have traveled to both Saudi Arabia and to Pakistan in hopes of ending the conflict. Karzai says his government is trying to encourage militants to lay down arms and join the government, and he underscored that he has reached out to Taliban leader Mullah Omar to ''come back to... Dawn.com (Islamabad) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2093771/posts#comment Tue, 30 Sep 2008 11:26:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2093748/posts KHYBER AGENCY: The abducted Afghan ambassador designate to Pakistan, Abdul Khaliq Farahi Monday reached Peshawar after being released, official sources said. Earlier, the Afghan Embassy had also confirmed his release. The Afghan envoy was kidnapped on September 22 from Hayatabad area in Peshawar. His driver was killed by the kidnappers. geo.tv http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2093748/posts#comment Tue, 30 Sep 2008 06:31:57 GMT