what is the state of Afghanistan?

[booley]

I know we al are concentrating on iraq but from what little news i have heard, the Taliban basicly stlll control the outlands and what passes for the government set up by the US doesn't have much power outside kabul.

Can anyone help me find a source to find out the real state of Afghanistan?

[luaneryder]

1. From Asia Times

Karzai scrambles for 'friends'
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

snip:

KARACHI - The presidential elections scheduled for October 9 in Afghanistan pit on the one side the pro-US Afghan government and Washington, both desperately keen to show that the writ of law has been established in the country, against the Afghan resistance, which is equally determined to disrupt the polls.

However, away from the ongoing gun battles, in a complex tribal society like Afghanistan that has seen 30 years of political turmoil, civil strife and war, the country is a minefield of ever-shifting ideological complexities. The US, nevertheless, regardless of the ground realities, is bent on following its own agenda.

The United States' overriding objective is to see the completion of the polls in October - national elections have been delayed until early next year - and the confirmation of their man, Hamid Karzai, as the elected president. To achieve this, which Washington hopes will justify it heralding Afghanistan as "mission accomplished" after the invasion of late 2001 to oust the Taliban, and ahead of the US presidential elections in November, political expediency will prevail over all else.

To date, the US has failed miserably in attracting all mainstream forces of the past back into the political process, including former communist parties, warlords, the Taliban and the Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA), besides the Northern Alliance, which although participating in the presidential elections is visibly working against US interests.

http://atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/FI25Ag02.html

[Minstrel Boy]

4. Asia Times is the best!

Best informed analysis of the region I've seen. Pepe Escobar is great.

[fujiyama]

2. What's amazing

is how brainwashed and ignorant people are.

I remember speaking to one guy who was relatively intelligent otherwise. This was around the time the Iraq war was starting. He asked me what I thought of it and I said I'd rather be focusing on Afghanistan more. We haven't finished the job.

He asked "Isn't that place like a democracy now or something?"

God help us (and I'm not such a believer myself).

[manic expression]

3. Try the news source...

"The Guardian". They have a frequently updated in-depth report on Afghanistan, along with A LOT of other issues.

[seemslikeadream]

5. REGION: Taliban stepping up plans to disrupt elections: US

Barno says US must stay the course
* Germany planning new military camp ahead of Afghan elections

KABUL: The Taliban and their Al Qaeda allies were stepping up plans to disrupt Afghanistan’s first direct presidential election on Oct 9, the head of the US-led coalition said on Saturday.

“We have seen indications that they have no other option,” Lieutenant-General David Barno told a news conference in Kabul. “For all terrorists in the region disrupting the election is part of their agenda.” Barno said an insurgency that has seen over 1,000 deaths since August last year was being waged by a “tiny minority”, and that the rest of the world owed it to Afghanistan to stand by them beyond the election period.

“Our challenge is to rise up to the level of resolve shown daily here by our hosts, the people of Afghanistan, he said. “We must remain resolute, we must stay the course.” More than 17,000 US and allied troops are fighting an insurgency waged by the Taliban, overthrown in 2001 for supporting Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network, architects of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. Interim Afghan President Hamid Karzai is expected to defeat 17 opponents standing against him in the election.

Meanwhile, a German defence ministry spokesman said on Saturday that the German army is planning to build a new military camp south of Kabul to boost security ahead of Afghanistan’s general elections set for early 2005. The spokesman said a German army patrol would travel to the town of Surobi, 60 kilometres south of the capital of Kabul Saturday to discuss the parameters of the new camp with local authorities.

The temporary garrison is set to be up and running by January 2005. German Defence Minister Peter Struck, who is to travel to Afghanistan on Sunday to pay a visit to German troops, said Friday the security situation in the country remained “unstable” two weeks ahead of the country’s October 9 presidential election. With its 1,480 soldiers, Germany provides the largest number of troops within the NATO-run, 7,000 member International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

more
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_26-9-2004_pg4_15

[electricmonk]

6. Here's another source

Shameless self promotion here. A friend of mine is there working as a journalist and I set up this website for him to post stories and some photos. He's not embedded with any one division so he's free to move around the country and hook up with various units dependeing on what story he's looking for. Sometimes he's with the US military other times the Afghan National Army.

www.battlefieldtourist.com