KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- At a time when every experienced Afghan soldier on the ground in Kandahar is worth his weight in gold, many of them are now leaving in droves over something as simple as a pay dispute.
There are about 2,600 Afghan soldiers at work in Kandahar province, braving daily skirmishes with the Taliban and the ever-present dangers of improvised explosive devices and suicide bombers -- many of them having left friends and families behind in northern Afghanistan.
Now, because there's no longer a financial premium for working in the volatile southern provinces, many of them are migrating back to the comparatively safer northern territories, to the consternation of Canada's Operational Mentor Liason Team, which co-ordinates their training.
"Part of the problem is they used to get an incentive for working here in the south, and they've blanketed the incentive," OMLT commanding officer Col. Gregory Burt said in an interview with The Canadian Press. "In other words, a guy doing guard duty in Kabul gets the same incentive as the guy getting shot at every day down here in the south."
Burt, who is wrapping up his tour to Afghanistan, said he started looking into the matter a couple of months ago when he noticed many of the Afghan soldiers were either not renewing their military contracts or choosing instead to go AWOL -- absent without leave.
Or so he thought at first.
"They've gone AWOL from here, but they're signing up in the north and getting in again, and are getting the same (pay)," said an exasperated Burt. "Or, there are guys finishing the three-year contract who go up to the north and get back in."
Many departing soldiers don't even turn in their uniforms, because they plan on wearing them up north, he added.
There are roughly 80,000 Afghans serving in the Afghan National Army; the average Afghan soldier makes about US$200 per month -- a significant improvement over pay rates just a few years ago. Those soldiers deployed in Kandahar used to get an undisclosed premium -- ``enough to make a difference," Burt said -- to create an incentive for the tougher assignment.
Now, all the soldiers receive the same salary.
"It was being down south and getting danger pay, plus it was in a way isolation pay for being away from their family," he said. ``So, if you get the same thing working near your family, where are you going to go?"
It's a serious problem, said Burt, adding it could affect as many as 20 per cent of the Afghan soldiers serving in Kandahar. New recruits are always coming in, he said, but that still represents a loss of valuable experience.
With the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Fitr having just recently ended, a new appraisal of the ANA ranks will be necessary to determine how many soldiers will be coming back.
"Right now it's hard to say exactly because Eid is over, but you have to give them another 10 days," Burt said. "We can't get excited until the 2nd or 3rd of October -- then we check the numbers."
#2
I think it goes beyond pay. The Taliban is resurgent everywhere, including in their hometowns. If your hometown were being attacked, wouldn't you want to defend it first, instead of a strange (and hostile) town hundreds of miles away?
#1
If this kid is local, why isn't he wearing a mask? And why isn't he wearing body armor and a helmet? Whoever released this is being very irresponsible, and endangering the kid's life (assuming the kid's still alive...
#2
Let's see.
Good eyesight. Good situational awareness. Knows which side he's on.
Give the kid a green card. One year as high school defensive safety.
Comes back in as E3
How would the other guys in the high school look, next to him, to the girls?
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
10/01/2009 20:31 Comments ||
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[Iran Press TV] Afghan forces, backed by the US-led coalition, have killed 22 Taliban militants in clashes that broke out in the western province of Farah.
In a Tuesday night operation, Afghan police and military forces backed by coalition troops killed 22, detained 12 and injured up to 25 insurgents, the Afghan interior ministry announced in a Wednesday statement.
The operation, which was carried out in the Pusht Rod district of Farah, began at 8:30 pm (1600 GMT) and lasted almost four hours, the ministry said.
"Eight rocket launchers, 35 Kalashnikovs, one device for detonating remote-controlled bombs, hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition and some anti-vehicle mines were also discovered," the statement said, adding that there were no police casualties.
In recent months, the central region of Farah province, where the Pusht Rod district is located, has experienced a height in militant activity against government and coalition troops.
Farah borders Helmand province, where Taliban-linked fighters continue to battle out with the US-led coalition troops.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2009 00:00 ||
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[Quqnoos] Afghan police have recently arrested a Taliban shadow provincial governor in a central Bamyan province, officials said
The governor, Mullah Burhan, was appointed by the Taliban leadership to plan and carry out insurgent attacks in the peaceful central Afghan province, Governor Habiba Sarabi said.
The arrest has sparked tension among the people in the stable Bamyan province that the Taliban are trying to disrupt the security situation there.
Governor Sarabi expressed her concerns over the worsening security situation in Bamyan, as she said the Taliban-led insurgency is flowing in from the restive bordering provinces.
"We sent the detained Taliban governor down to the capital, Kabul, for further investigations," Sarabi further added.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2009 00:00 ||
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[Quqnoos] A suicide bomber rammed his car into a convoy of US troops in the eastern Afghan province of Khost earlier today, according to police
At least one US soldier has been killed in the car bombing, a US military spokesman told Quqnoos.
The incident occurred at around 8:00am outside the provincial capital, Khost city, in the Ismael Khail district.
Local witnesses said that two foreign helicopters landed in the area and evacuated at least four people.
A purported Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the bomber, Salahuddin, a resident of Khost province carried out the attack against the US forces.
Quqnoos' correspondent in Khost has said that international and Afghan forces have cordoned off the blast scene.
The explosion seems to have been a 'very powerful' one, as the wreckage of a US military tank has been seen off the Khost-Gardiz highway, where the incident took place.
Wednesday's attack is reportedly the first suicide bombing over the past four weeks, hitting foreign troops in the restive Afghan province, on the Pakistani border.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2009 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] At least three people have been killed while eight others injured after gunmen opened fire on a rival group in Gilgit.
The incident is believed to be sectarian-motivated, possibly in retaliation against a bomb blast that occurred three days ago in the same area. One person was killed and four others were injured in that attack.
Security forces have been deployed to keep control of the law and order situation in the area.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2009 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] An Inter services Public Relations spokesperson said that twelve suspected terrorists surrendered to security forces at Bar Shaur, Runial Chuprial and Mingora in the last twenty four hours.
Security forces also apprehended a terrorist in Khatiar area at Mingora.
Meanwhile, the government has distributed more then three hundred thousand ration cards amongst the IDPs of Malakand.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: TTP
[Geo News] The security has been beefed up at all government premises on Wednesday in view of potential terrorist attacks in Peshawar. According to Peshawar police sources, pickets have been erected on exits and entrances of the city for security at the government buildings and all the vehicles entering the city are being searched. In view of security apprehensions at government buildings, the number of police personnel has been augmented. According to police officials, a search operation against the suspected people is underway in various parts of the city and 32 suspected people have been arrested.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2009 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] A suspected US drone aircraft fired a missile into Pakistan's North Waziristan region on the Afghan border on Wednesday, intelligence officials said.
At least six militants were killed in the third strike in 24 hours, according to AFP. The missile struck in a village 20 km (12 miles) east of Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan, a Taliban and al Qaeda militant hotbed, the Pakistani officials said. 'It was a US drone attack which targeted a compound in Norak area in North Waziristan killing six militants. Two missiles were fired from a US drone at 2:10 pm (0810 GMT),' a security official in the region said.
Another security official confirmed the attack, and told AFP that Taliban rebels were using the compound. 'It is not clear if there was any high value target,' he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2009 00:00 ||
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#3
I think the one-eyed Mullah Omar is holding court in Quetta, along with his Paki ISI entourage. Quetta is in Baluchistan, on the Pak/Iranian border.
Since the attacks are occuring in North Wazoo, my guess is that it's more likely that we are trying to degrade and take out Haqqani Network HVTs.
#4
The UN still shells out for phony "refugee" camps in Baluchistan. It is from these that Pashto terrorism is operated. There isn't a single Afghan based terror center.
Ma'an/Agencies - Israeli police arrested a 22-year-old man from Nablus near Tel Aviv on Wednesday, for allegedly impersonating an Israeli border guard, Israeli news reported. The young man was detained as he entered the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station. He was asked to prove his identity but did not have an army ID card, news reports said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2009 00:00 ||
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Ma'an -- Two Palestinians died as a result of a gas leak inside a smuggling tunnel along Gaza's border with Egypt in the city of Rafah, medics said on Wednesday.
Medicals at Abu Yousef An-Najjar Hospital in Rafah said Muhammad Jalal Abu Sef, 45, and Riziq Al-Masri, 28, were dead when they arrived.
Thirteen others were injured as a result of the gas leak, which occurred after Israeli warplanes bombed the tunnels. It was not immediately clear if the gas leak was a direct result of the airstrikes.
Israeli warplanes launched three separate raids on the Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning. Two raids targeted the Rafah smuggling tunnels on the border with Egypt in the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
According to medical sources, six lightly Palestinians were treated at Abu Yousef An-Najjar Hospital in Rafah in direct connection with the airstrike.
Separately, Israeli helicopters launched a third strike on a group of Palestinian militants in an open area in the town of Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip.
Israeli military sources claimed the attacks came after Palestinian military groups fired several homemade projectiles on the western Negev Desert on Tuesday. Furthermore, military sources explained that Palestinian militants have recently tried several times to target Israeli forces patrolling the border areaand plant explosive devices near the border fence.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hamas
Ma'an -- Palestinian police loyal to the government in Gaza say they have arrested a currency-counterfeiting ring.
According to Ala Al-Batsh, the director of the police station in the Ash-Shuja'iya neighborhood of Gaza City, police found the suspects in possession of 230,000 forged US dollars in various denominations.
Al-Batsh also said the suspects confessed during questioning.
The seizure was the largest sum of forged bills found in the Gaza Strip in the last three years, police said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
"You mean President Obama isn't on the three dollar bill?"
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/01/2009 8:15 Comments ||
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#2
Ummm, where you been? Obama's on the eight dollar bill' Ya know as in "Behind the eight ball".
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/01/2009 13:56 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
+poster+1.jpg)
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- At a time when every experienced Afghan soldier on the ground in Kandahar is worth his weight in gold, many of them are now leaving in droves over something as simple as a pay dispute.
[Iran Press TV] Afghan forces, backed by the US-led coalition, have killed 22 Taliban militants in clashes that broke out in the western province of Farah. 
[Quqnoos] Afghan police have recently arrested a Taliban shadow provincial governor in a central Bamyan province, officials said
[Quqnoos] A suicide bomber rammed his car into a convoy of US troops in the eastern Afghan province of Khost earlier today, according to police
[Dawn] At least three people have been killed while eight others injured after gunmen opened fire on a rival group in Gilgit.
[Dawn] A suspected US drone aircraft fired a missile into Pakistan's North Waziristan region on the Afghan border on Wednesday, intelligence officials said.
Ma'an -- Two Palestinians died as a result of a gas leak inside a smuggling tunnel along Gaza's border with Egypt in the city of Rafah, medics said on Wednesday.
Ma'an -- Palestinian police loyal to the government in Gaza say they have arrested a currency-counterfeiting ring.
