 Last weekend the Pentagon announced that an American soldier had died after sustaining injuries in combat. They reported that he was attacked by enemy forces but the latest reports paint a very different picture. There are reports that the American soldier killed last week in Afghanistan, died when a local teenager stabbed him in the neck.Sgt. Michael Cable, 26, was on guard duty when the teen struck. He was guarding Afghan and US officials meeting in a province near the border with Pakistan. According to the New York Post "The Afghan and American dignitaries were attending the swearing-in ceremony of Afghan Local Police in Shinwar district in Nangarhar province, senior district official Zalmai Khan said. Afghan Local Police, or ALP, recruits are drawn from villages and backed by the US military". Once soldiers guarding the meeting had secured the area, Sgt Cable was playing with children, when the teen attacked him from behind. The teen stabbed him in the neck with a large knife. Officials have said they do not believe the attack was a green on blue attack, that is the young man was not wearing an Afghan uniform. The incident happened Wednesday March 27 but a week later what really happened has leaked out. An investigation is underway and details remain sketchy. There has been little publicity surrounding the killing and those now speaking to reporters are doing so with the promise of anonymity. The teenager fled the scene after killing Sgt Cable and has since joined the Islamic militant movement known as the Taliban. A spokesperson for the Taliban said the teen acted independently when he killed Sgt Cable but he is now part of their organisation. Opinion:It is spring in Afghanistan and the Taliban have begun their annual spring offensive. Attacks against foreign forces increase at this time of year casting doubt over any future peace in Afghanistan. In March 2013 14 US soldiers died in Afghanistan, an increase on previous months. Foreign forces have worked hard to secure peace in Afghanistan but their efforts have failed. There is no reason to believe that peace is possible when foreign forces withdraw in 2014. The reality is that insurgents who fled the country are biding their time across the border in Pakistan and will flood back into the country in due course. The long war in Afghanistan has bred a new generation of disgruntled Afghans who also have an axe to grind. The murder of Sgt Cable is one more incident that proves this is the reality. Source: New York Post
 Ten young girls in Afghanistan have been killed by a landmine. They were reportedly gathering firewood at the time. The incident happened in the eastern Afghanistan Nangarhar province. One of the girls unwittingly chopped into the bomb with an axe. Ten young lives gone in the blink of an eye. Families left bereaved and grief stricken. According to sources the girls were aged between 9 and 13. Apart from those who died two girls received serious, possibly life threatening, injuries. The landmine was a long standing death trap waiting to happen, left over from the Afghan conflict with Russia. Perhaps it should be mentioned here that some countries in the West were keen to supply the people Arms during that conflict. Certain Afghans waged a Jihad against the Russians and we colluded. According to wikipedia " The mujahideen received wide military and financial support from Pakistan, also receiving direct and indirect support by the United States and China." Now those same people, the Mujahideen, are enemies classed as insurgents and terrorists, the Taliban. And so on it goes.SkyNews reportsb that "In the first six months of 2012, 1,145 Afghan civilians were killed and around 2,000 wounded, mostly by roadside bombs. Women and children account for about 30% of this year's casualties."The country is so heavily mined after recent conflicts that it will be nigh on impossible to ever make safe. Work goes on to try and make it as safe as possible. The UN claims that thousands of mines and explosives have been destroyed but there are so many more hidden unseen just waiting for a person to come close. One thing that instantly sprang to this blogger's mind was that it was young girls doing this work and not boys nor men. Yes it appears that the lot of females in Afghanistan has changed little.RIPUpdates to follow as available........ The latest news is that it was nine girls who were killed and three injured. That of course could still change. Locals claim it was an old Jihad bomb whilst some officials have said it is a recent Taliban bomb. Whoever was responsible suffice to say there are many such bombs scattered around Afghanistan, potentially killing any person or persons who encounters them.
 Foreign troops are due to pull out of Afghanistan by 2014. There has already been an exodus of some foreign troops leaving those still in the country a difficult if not impossible task. Military deaths continue and the latest once more were at the hands of an Afghan national wearing a uniform.
Late yesterday NATO issued a statement which read, ""An individual wearing an Afghan National Civil Order Police uniform turned his weapon against International Security Assistance Force service members in southern Afghanistan today, killing three service members." The attacker was injured and detained.
Part of the mission of those foreign troops in Afghanistan is to train an effective local police force and army. The work is increasingly dangerous as insurgents it seems infiltrate training camps.
NATO officials today, July 2, 2012, have confirmed that three of its staff have been killed by a man dressed in an Afghan police uniform. As yet the nationalities of those killed has not been released.
These latest three deaths bring the total number of NATO personnel killed in this way to 20. Understandably this is proving demoralising for troops and worrying. It puts the training mission into question. It makes some people demand an instant draw down of troops whilst others believe the campaign will have to carry on much longer than 2014.
Afghanistan down the years, and with different occupying forces, has proved itself a hard nut to crack. It has so often been a case of two steps forward and three steps back for NATO forces.
In the final analysis will the cost, in hard cash and loss of life, be worth what has been achieved? Cause for concern is also will Afghanistan simply revert to its previous state once foreign troops have pulled out? RIP
July 2 update - The three soldiers have been identified as British
Tags: Afghanistan, foreign troops killed, NATO staff killed, Afghan in police unfiorm kills three, three british soliders killed
 President Obama took an undercover visit to Afghanistan last night. It was the eve of the anniversary of the death of Bin Laden. Whilst some made much of this, claiming that Obama was merely electioneering, you cannot blame him. All leaders have done the same and will no doubt continue to do so. It was probably following advice from his campaign managers anyway. Tastelss and tacky? Maybe but you need look no further than the GOP campaign for more of the same.
The ads run to remind the voters of the US that Bin Laden was finally tracked down and killed on President Obama's watch have been criticised, mainly by right wing America. Would they have acted differently in the same circumstances? Of course not.
The video footage of the visit appears to show US troops stationed in Afghanistan over the moon that the President had visited them . He was also there to broker a long term deal with the Afghan President.
Obama's arrival in Afghanistan was not readily welcomed by all and following his departure a series of explosions followed. The suicide bombings left 11 people dead and confirmed what Obama has refuted. This is that the war in Afghanistan is over. It is far from over. It may go through peaks and troughs but it is still evident.
Recent abuses by some foreign troops have furthered the cause of extremists. Such acts are one sure fire way to breed a new generation of insurgents and terrorists. In so many ways, as far as Afghanistan goes, it does not matter why 17 civilians were killed in a massacre, it merely matters that they were.
Afghanistan proved itself unwinable to the Soviet troops who occupied the country for so long. At that time the troops were fighting the Mujahideen. Perhaps the US should remember that back then they, the CIA, supplied arms and support to the Mujahideen as of course they were fighting the Soviets, that is the Reds. Having sowed the seeds they now are reaping the rewards.
It would be prudent for countries who supply arms to terrorists, because they like the cause, as is the case in the Middle East, to remember that people are often not what or who they seem to be.
Tags: Mujahideen, Afghanistan, Taliban, War, Kabul suicide bombs, Obama visits Kabul
 The Taliban Spring offensive has begun yet again. In spite of the foreign forces best attempts Afghanistan remains an unstable and volatile region. Today, April 15, 2012 both Afghanistan and Pakistan have experienced attacks by insurgents.
In light of the draw down of foreign troops the it will be much harder to counteract the terrorists.
Today April 15, 2012, around 400 prisoners have escaped from Pakistan prisons. Rocket propelled grenades accompanied by militants armed to the teeth soon freed the prisoners. All had al-Qaeda or Taliban links. One prisoner it was claimed was in prison for the attempted murder of the Pakistan former President.
Today's events in Afghanistan must be a cause for concern. There are reports that four suicide bombers struck in Jalalabd where US forces are stationed. At time of writing, 13.10, BST in the UK, there are reports that various embassies are under attack. The British, German embassies and Nato HQ in Kabul are being directly hit. A nearby US embassy is also under attack.There are also reports of the Japanese embassy being attacked.
It is fair to say that these attacks are coordinated and will have been in the planning stage for some time. Whether or not the situation has been aggravated bu the recent Koran burnings and civilian murders allegedly by SSG Bales is debatable. One thing seems certain and that is that the insurgents are still active and that this long war in Afghanistan is unable to fulfill its mission in spite of the hard work by troops.
As yet the list of dead and injured is not known.
Updates will follow as available.
Tags: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Taliban, Spring offensive, foreign forces, Al Qaeda, embassy attacks
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