U.S. SACKED TOP GENERAL IN AFGHANISTAN
Sacked General David McKiernan
The US has replaced its top general in Afghanistan as President Barack Obama tries to turn around a stalemated war.
The US has replaced its top general in Afghanistan as President Barack Obama tries to turn around a stalemated war.
US defence secretary Robert Gates (photo) said he asked for the resignation of General David McKiernan.Mr Gates said new leadership is needed as the Obama administration launches its strategy in the seven-year-old campaign.
The change is aimed at "getting fresh thinking, fresh eyes on the problem", he said.The move comes as more than 21,000 additional US forces begin to arrive in Afghanistan, dispatched by Mr Obama to confront the Taliban more forcefully this spring and summer.
Replacing Gen McKiernan will be Lieutenant General Stanley
McChrystal(photo), who has had a top administrative job at the Joint Chiefs of Staff for less than a year. He is a former commander of the Joint Special Operations Command. Gen McKiernan held the command in Afghanistan for about 11 months.Mr Gates recommended to Mr Obama that Lt Gen McChrystal be nominated for the top job and that Lt Gen David Rodriguez be his deputy. He urged the Senate to confirm the two quickly.
Courtesy: Guardian UK
UP TO 100 DEAD IN US RAID IN AFGHAN
Governor fears death toll, including a Red Cross worker, could soar after US bombing.
Up to 100 Afghan civilians may have been killed during an air raid by US forces during a joint operation targeting suspected fighters, a regional administrator says.
Rohul Amin, the governor of Farah province, said on Wednesday that he feared that 100civilians had been killed in the Bala Baluk district, about 600km west of Kabul, the capital.
Amin said that Taliban fighters were reportedly using civilian homes to take shelter during the fighting.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, US secretary of state, said that the Obama administration "deeply, deeply" regrets the loss of innocent life apparently caused by the US bombing in Afghanistan. Clinton also said that any loss of innocent life is "particularly painful."
Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's president, thanked Clinton for "showing concern and regret'' and said he hoped they would work together completely to reduce civilian casualties in the struggle against terrorism.'
Courtesy: Al Jazeera
Up to 100 Afghan civilians may have been killed during an air raid by US forces during a joint operation targeting suspected fighters, a regional administrator says.Rohul Amin, the governor of Farah province, said on Wednesday that he feared that 100civilians had been killed in the Bala Baluk district, about 600km west of Kabul, the capital.
Amin said that Taliban fighters were reportedly using civilian homes to take shelter during the fighting.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, US secretary of state, said that the Obama administration "deeply, deeply" regrets the loss of innocent life apparently caused by the US bombing in Afghanistan. Clinton also said that any loss of innocent life is "particularly painful."Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's president, thanked Clinton for "showing concern and regret'' and said he hoped they would work together completely to reduce civilian casualties in the struggle against terrorism.'
Courtesy: Al Jazeera
IRAN TO UNVEIL PLAN ON AFGAN CRISIS
Tehran is formulating a plan to help improve the deteriorating security situation in neighboring Afghanistan, Iran's Foreign Minister says.Manouchehr Mottaki said at a one-day conference on Pakistan on Friday that Iran was devising a plan on Afghan crisis as it was worried about the current security situation in the South Asian region.
"We would not have been witnessing the current situation in Pakistan if appropriate policies had been pursued in Afghanistan over the past seven years," Mottaki said at the meeting, urging regional countries to contribute to the soon-to-be-unveiled project. Mottaki, however, did not provide any detail about the plan.
The Iranian top official also told Press TV correspondent on the sidelines of the meeting that it was time "to have a real and practical change in our approach towards Afghanistan crisis", reiterating at the same time that helping Pakistan could benefit the whole region in curbing the spread of extremism into other countries.Iran's express of deep concern over the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan comes at a time that Islamabad and Kabul are grappling with mounting insecurity and worsening economy.
The US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to oust the Taliban and destroy the al-Qaeda following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Despite the seven-year presence of more than 65,000 US-led forces in the country, violence has claimed the lives of thousands of Afghan civilians. According to the United Nations, more than 2,000 Afghan civilians were killed throughout 2008 in operations by foreign forces. The violence in Afghanistan has also gone beyond the borders, spreading to neighboring Pakistan.
Courtesy: Press TV
Courtesy: Press TV
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