UK 'may have 40-year Afghan role'

The UK's commitment to Afghanistan could last for up to 40 years, the incoming head of the Army has said.

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Gen Sir David Richards, who takes over on 28 August, told the Times the Army's role would evolve, but the process of "nation-building" would last decades.
Troops will be required for the medium term only, but the UK will continue to play a role in "development, governance [and] security sector reform," he said.
"There is absolutely no chance of Nato pulling out," Gen Richards added.
Gen Richards commanded 35,000 troops from 37 nations when he was head of Nato's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan between May 2006 and February 2007.
He will take over from Gen Sir Richard Dannatt as the UK's chief of the general staff.
'Campaign winnable'
Gen Richards' comments come a day after it emerged that three servicemen, from the Parachute Regiment, had been killed north of Lashkar Gah, in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, on Thursday afternoon.
Their deaths - in an attack on a Jackal armoured vehicle which left a colleague critically injured - take to 195 the number of British troops killed in Afghanistan since 2001.
The Army has suffered its heaviest losses of the entire campaign in recent weeks, but its soon-to-be chief said he strongly believed the campaign was "winnable".
"Demanding, certainly, but winnable," he said.

He added: "The end will be difficult to define; it won't be neat and clear-cut like the end of some old-fashioned inter-state war might have been."
He said it would take "a long time and considerable investment", adding: "We must remember, though, that we are not trying to turn Afghanistan into Switzerland."
Gen Richards said great efforts must be made to expand the Afghan National Army and build up the police force - only then could the UK's military role "decline".
Equipment
"I believe that the UK will be committed to Afghanistan in some manner - development, governance, security sector reform - for the next 30 to 40 years," he said.
"It is not just reconstruction; jobs and simple governance that works are key, and there has to be a strong reconciliation element to the latter."
Gen Dannatt has called for the government to commit more troops and equipment to Afghanistan, but Gen Richards said he would not be presenting a "shopping list" to ministers.
However, he said the Army and the government needed to "continue to respond flexibly and quickly to the evolving requirements of our campaign in Afghanistan".

BBC NEWS

Hillary : US cannot solve Kenya's problems

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Clinton has expressed concern over the way the government was handling governance issues.

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Clinton however indicated that the US government will not withhold aid if the masterminds of post election violence are not tried, but will instead impose bans on those implicated if the country failed to try them.
Speaking at a public lecture at the University of Nairobi on Thursday, Clinton singled out good governance and democracy as imperative ingredients that will inform the relationship between Kenya and United States.
"Kenya's problems can only be solved by Kenyans themselves. The government has to reform itself and it is imperative for Kenya's future. To unlock the potential the government has to reform itself." Clinton noted.
Clinton who reiterated President Barrack Obama's deep love for Kenya was categorical that nothing short of reforms in these key areas will find a soft landing in America's leadership.
On the fight against impunity, Clinton didn't mince her words on the ICC being the best option if Kenya fails to set up a local tribunal that enjoys trust from the Kenyan people and meets international standards
Mrs. Clinton called on the coalition government to work towards implementation of the reform agenda for sake of achieving economic growth and development in the country.
"Political reforms are vital for this country's economic progress," said Clinton, adding that these reforms can only be developed from within the country and not from any external pressure.
She further noted that corruption in this country is a great hinderance to its economic aspirations and called on the civil society to adopt modern technological methods in arresting corruption issues.
Terrorism
Meanwhile, Clinton has assured America is committed to resolve the issue of terrorism in the world.
Speaking when she laid a wreath at the 1998 bomb blast site, Clinton said Kenya and America will continue partnering to ensure such attacks are not repeated.
"This is an opportunity to renew our resolve and ensure we do all we can so that these attacks don't take more innocent lives in the future," she said.
Mrs. Clinton affirmed that the American government was committed to work with countries willing to stop terrorism.
"We also renew our commitment to peace and reconciliation to all who (renounce) the path of violence," Mrs Clinton said.
She also promised to continue working with victims of the US embassy bombing in1998 saying those who remained stand as a living symbol to remind us of what was lost.
Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula who was present also re-affirmed Kenya's commitment to fight terrorism.
Wetangula further said Kenya will continue working with US to share intelligence and resources to fight terrorism and ensure such attacks are not repeated.
The US Embassy in Kenya was bombed on August 7, 1998, leaving 213 people dead and many others injured.
However, the USA has been non committal to compensate the victims given that the U.S Congress has not passed legislation to authorize special compensation for victims of the 1998 bombings.
Earlier, Clinton who met Somali President Sheik Sheriff Ahmed said the US was taking seriously the threat of the Alshaabab Islamic militants in the region.
She observed that Somali could be a future haven for terrorist activities by the group believed to have links with the Alqaeda movement.
Clinton pledged support for the Transitional federal Government to help the troubled country.

KBC NEWS

NATO chief wants more troops in Afghanistan

LONDON, NATO's new secretary-general made a direct call for more troops in Afghanistan on Friday and said training of Afghan forces also needed to be escalated."Honestly speaking, I think we need more troops," Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former Danish prime minister who took over as head of NATO this month, said from Kabul."I have seen progress in the south (of Afghanistan), not least thanks to the increase in the number of troops, so definitely the number of troops matters," he told BBC radio.NATO has almost 65,000 troops in Afghanistan, with contributions from more than 40 countries, although around half of them are American. The United States has a further 36,000 troops operating outside the NATO umbrella.Washington has made clear it would like further troop contributions from major NATO states, but there is a reluctance among countries such as Germany, France and Italy to increase their numbers much above current levels.A roadside bomb killed four U.S. troops on Thursday in the southern Helmand province where Marines are conducting the biggest operation of the war. Last month, 76 foreign troops died in Afghanistan, making it by far the deadliest month of the war.The new U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, is due to issue a review of the conflict in the coming weeks, although it is not expected to make any specific request for extra troops."In a few weeks' time our commanders in the field will provide us with an updated assessment of the situation and based on that we will take the necessary decisions to proceed," Rasmussen said.One area for improvement that Rasmussen identified was the training of Afghan forces. There are around 180,000 Afghan soldiers and uniformed police operating, but their performance is patchy and they often cannot work independently."My criteria of success is that we can hand over gradually the ability for the security to the Afghans themselves," said Rasmussen, reiterating a goal set by his predecessor, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer."We have to build up a NATO training mission aiming at developing stronger capacity within the Afghan national army and the Afghan national police so we can make them capable to take lead responsibility for the security province-by-province."U.S. and British forces have conducted big security sweeps across southern Afghanistan in the past month, ahead of presidential and provincial elections on Aug. 20, but there was very little support from Afghan security forces, who are needed to hold territory once it is cleared of Taliban.

Reuters

IMF to approve additional loan for Pakistan

WASHINGTON: The IMF board of directors is scheduled to consider on Friday Pakistan’s request for additional loan and release of the delayed third tranche of $840 million to reduce pressure on the country’s forex reserves and the value of rupee.The third tranche was expected to be released by the end of June or early July, but it has been delayed by two months because of failure of the government to comply with the fund’s conditions.Pakistan had asked the IMF for a $4 billion standby loan for financing a budget gap of 4.9 per cent in 2009-10 to pre-empt a possible delay in external flows in the event of multilateral donors failing to release the pledged amount. The amount of loan being sought has now been revised to $3.1 billion.An official said the IMF board would decide the duration and mark-up of the additional loan. Pakistan and the IMF reached a 23-month standby loan agreement of $7.6 billion in November 2008 to meet the country’s balance of payments difficulties and help stabilise the economy.

Pakistan Taliban chief Mehsud 'dead'

ISLAMABAD .Pakistan said Friday it believed that wanted Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone attack, which if confirmed would score a coup in the US-led fight against Islamist militants.
The death of the notorious commander could deal a heavy blow to the sizeable Taliban movement commanded by Mehsud, who has a five-million-dollar US bounty on his head after Washington branded him "a key Al-Qaeda facilitator".
US and Pakistani officials accused Mehsud of masterminding the 2007 assassination of ex-Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto and he has been blamed for the deaths of hundreds of people in bomb attacks over two years.
Senior officials in Pakistan's powerful security establishment who supervise operations in Mehsud's Waziristan stronghold said the warlord was dead, but the government said it was seeking verification.
"According to my intelligence this news is correct, but we are investigating," Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told reporters. "To be 100 percent sure, we are going for ground verification," he added.
"Information is coming from that area that he is dead," said Interior Minister Rehman Malik. "I am unable to confirm unless I have solid evidence," the cabinet minister added.
Tribesmen said on condition of anonymity that Mehsud was killed with his wife when a US drone fired two missiles into a family home in the Laddah area of South Waziristan on Wednesday. A kinsman had initially said he was "safe".
The US Central Intelligence Agency, with the tacit cooperation of Islamabad, has carried out dozens of attacks in Pakistan using unmanned Predator and Reaper drones over the past year, but declines to discuss the strikes publicly.
Islamabad and Washington have called liquidating Mehsud a strategic aim in the fight against Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked extremists whom the United States has accused of posing an existential threat to nuclear-armed Pakistan.
"I warn Baitullah Mehsud's group to end terrorism. It is a targeted operation against Baitullah Mehsud and it will continue until the group is eliminated," Malik added.
In Washington, a US official said Thursday there was "some reason to believe Mehsud may be dead but it cannot be confirmed at this time for certain".
Islamabad publicly opposes suspected US strikes, saying they violate its territorial sovereignty and deepen resentment among the populace, but has posted a bounty of 615,000 dollars for Mehsud and is keen to see him dead.
Mehsud has reportedly narrowly escaped previous attacks.
"So far there is no report which confirms that the dead include Baitullah Mehsud. We have sent teams to investigate," Jamal Azmat Khattak, the assistant political agent in Laddah, told AFP.
Taliban commanders have neither confirmed nor denied Mehsud's demise. But top militants in his umbrella group Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) were gathering in his South Waziristan stronghold on Friday ahead of an expected announcement.
"An important announcement is expected at the end of the meeting," said one Taliban commander.
Analysts said that Mehsud's death, if confirmed, would deal a heavy blow to the organisation increasingly seen as the bloodiest orchestrator of extremist bombings that have killed about 2,000 people in Pakistan over two years.
"It will trigger a leadership crisis, they will find it very difficult to fill the vacuum. There cannot be a bigger loss for TTP than losing Mehsud," a Pakistani expert on tribal affairs, Rahimullah Yusufzai, told AFP.
Several names are touted as his possible successor but none match his stature.
The US government alleges Islamist fighters hide out in the Pakistan mountains near the Afghan border, plotting attacks on Western targets and crossing the porous frontier to attack foreign troops based in Afghanistan.
Washington has put Pakistan at the heart of the fight against Al-Qaeda and has ordered an extra 21,000 troops to Afghanistan in a bid to stabilise the neighbouring country for elections this month.

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