Salem-News.com Afghanistan articles Page 3

Lamar Advertising and POW Sgt. Bowe R. Bergdahl

Lamar Advertising helps spread word about American POW.

(WASHINGTON, DC) - About two weeks ago I had called Lamar Advertising in York, PA and spoke with Thomas A. Loper, knowing that some other Lamar sales offices throughout the US have been generous enough to donate digital sign board space to help promote the fact that we have a live POW out their that most Americans don't know about.

Sgt Bowe R. Bergdahl has been a POW since June 30, 2009.

Taliban Responsible for 90 Percent of All Civilian Casualties, ISAF

ISAF vows to work closely with their Afghan counterpart and take all actions necessary to reduce the civilian casualties.

(KABUL) - The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said Saturday that the Taliban militants group is responsible for nearly 90 percent of all civilian casualties in Afghanistan.

ISAF following a statement, said, “Their indiscriminate use of improvised explosive devices and attacks on coalition and Afghan National Security Forces from civilian homes and compounds are a grave violation of international law.”

Afghanistan Continues to Be Hub of Poppy Cultivation

"Drugs in Afghanistan are not only a problem for our country. They are a problem for the whole world" - Afghanistan’s Deputy Minister for Counter-Narcotics Mohammad Ibrahim Azhar

(KABUL) - A recent U.S. government report notes that more Afghan land is under poppy cultivation today than it was under the Taliban in 2002.

Demand for drugs, especially on the streets of rich countries, and the poor economic and security situation in Afghanistan are often cited by experts as the reasons for the failure of the fight to combat poppy cultivation.

Media Isn`t Being Honest About Obama`s Demands

Why not tell us the truth about the SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) which Barack Obama demands and Hamid Karzai has declined to sign?

(RICHMOND) - Why is it so hard for our news media to tell the truth?

Newscasters keep reporting that Afghanistan’s President Karzai is holding up the agreement to let U.S. forces stay in Afghanistan after 2014.

Order Readies 37 of Bagram 88 for Release, U.S. Outraged

U.S. officials say 17 of the 37 released prisoners are linked to the production of IEDs and the killing of 11 Afghan soldiers.

(KABUL Tolo News) - The U.S. government has condemned an ordered release of the first wave of 88 prisoners from Bagram prison, saying that more than 40 percent of the prisoners who are set to go were involved in direct attacks against U.S. and Afghan forces.

The Afghan Review Board (ARB) overseeing Bagram prisoner releases, led by Abdul Shakoor Dadras, ordered the first 37 of 88 prisoners from Bagram to be released on Monday, despite the U.S. military categorizing them as "dangerous".

An Open Letter to Soldiers with `Mental Health` Issues

You stand at the fork of two paths...

(TASMANIA, Aust.) - Are you a soldier or veteran who is supposed to have a 'mental health' issue such as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia or PTSD? If you are, then I have some suggestions for you to consider.

My first suggestion is that you ignore any label that you have been given. For example, the term 'post-traumatic stress disorder' (PTSD) is an inaccurate and unhelpful way of labelling the appropriate, diverse and complex emotional responses that a normal human being will have to emotionally disturbing events of the type that are experienced during war.

Taliban`s Kabul Attack Kills 21, Heightens Security Concerns

The standoff between Kabul and Washington has fueled uncertainty about future stability and security in Afghanistan.

(ISLAMABAD) - The death toll from a Taliban attack on a restaurant in Afghanistan's capital has risen to 21. A suicide bomber who blew himself up and Taliban gunmen who rushed in behind him to shoot the survivors killed 13 foreigners, including U.N. employees, Americans and other Westerners.

The attack is seen as a critical blow to Afghan peace and reconciliation efforts, and it has raised serious concerns ahead of the political security transition that is due to begin in Afghanistan in April.

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Week after bloody week, the chart of killings lengthens. And in Afghanistan, while war rages, a million children are estimated to suffer from acute malnourishment as the country faces a worsening hunger crisis.

(KABUL) - This month, from Atlanta, GA, the King Center announced its "Choose Nonviolence" campaign.

It is a call on people to incorporate the symbolism of bell-ringing into their Martin Luther King Holiday observance, as a means of showing their commitment to Dr. King's value of nonviolence in resolving terrible issues of inequality, discrimination and poverty here at home. The call was heard in Kabul, Afghanistan.

BBC News: Afghanistan Taliban `Confident of Victory` Over NATO

Earlier, the US National Intelligence Estimate predicted Afghanistan would descend into chaos if Kabul failed to sign a Bilateral Security Agreement with Washington, which would keep a contingent of US troops in the country after 2014.

(LONDON) - A spokesman for the Afghan Taliban has said it is "confident of victory" over NATO-led forces and already controls large areas of the country.

Interviewed by the BBC's John Simpson, Zabiullah Mujahed said in remote parts it was "everywhere", and foreign troops were scared to leave their bases.

Western Civilians in Kabul

The thousands of Western civilians who live in Kabul have felt very little of the threat posed by the insurgents.

(PORTLAND, OR) - Interesting observations of the lives of “thousands” of unofficial (mainly US) civilians by the NYTimes correspondent in Kabul.

I assume they are mainly US contractors and “security” company gunmen, business speculators and even shadier types that hope to profit from foreign money injected into an invaded and occupied country. Although there are also NGO employees engaged in presumably righteous activity, even most of them receive generous pay.