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[igotthisguitar]

British Troops "Could Be" In Afghanistan For Decades: Minister

LONDON (AFP) - British troops could be in Afghanistan for decades, the country's Defence Secretary Des Browne said in comments published Sunday.

Asked by The People weekly newspaper when Britain's soldiers would withdraw from Afghanistan, Browne said: "We cannot risk it again becoming an ungoverned training haven for terrorists who ... threaten the UK

"But there is only so much our forces can achieve. The job can only be completed by the international community working with the Afghan government and its army.

"It is a commitment which could last decades, although it will reduce over time."

Browne's comments echo those of the head of the army, senior figures in the security services and former prime minister Tony Blair that the battle against Islamist extremism could last a generation.

The current prime minister Gordon Brown visited British troops in southern Afghanistan last month and told President Hamid Karzai of Britain's commitment to the country's long-term ... "success".

Britain has about 7,800 troops in Afghanistan as part of a 40,000-strong UN-sanctioned, NATO-led force aimed at helping reconstruction and fighting Taliban militia.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080114/wl_sthasia_afp/britainmilitaryafghanistan
;_ylt=AoackusuVic5gMt9aFfmP4gEtbAF

[pesawattahi]

Well I suppose it is better than last time around when they killed all but one who got to carry the message of defeat out. On a lighter note I hear you can buy antique Martini Henry rifles at rock bottom prices.

[igotthisguitar]

[igotthisguitar]

Maybe after a few more decades of "fighting for freedom" in Afghanistan etc. these sort of things won't be happening, huh?

Afghan Journalist Sentenced To Death
By JASON STRAZIUSO and AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writers

KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan journalist who was sentenced to death for distributing an article about Islam and women's rights is actually being punished for his brother's reporting on abuses by warlords, a media group said Wednesday.

Sayed Parwez Kaambakhsh, 23, was sentenced to death Tuesday by a three-judge panel in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif for distributing a report he printed off the Internet to fellow journalism students at Balkh University.

The article and asks why men can have four wives but women can't have multiple husbands. It was written in the Iranian language of Farsi, which is similar to the Afghan language of Dari.

The judges said the article humiliated Islam, and members of a clerics council had pushed for Kaambakhsh to be punished.

The case now goes to the first of two appeals courts.

MORE ...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/afghan_journalist_death_penalty
;_ylt=ApEfSgomHo4l1NiS9UkoyAwDW7oF

[igotthisguitar]

Bush Ignores Afghan School Violence
By JASON STRAZIUSO, Associated Press Writer
Tue Jan 29, 4:29 PM ET

KABUL, Afghanistan - In his State of the Union address, President Bush called Afghanistan a young democracy where children go to school and Afghans are hopeful. But he didn't mention the violence that has killed 147 students and teachers, and closed 590 schools in the last year � almost as many as the 680 the U.S. has built.

Bush's rosy outlook for a country that once hosted al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden didn't contain any falsehoods. New roads and hospitals are being built, just as he told the nation Monday night.

Boys and girls are going to school in record numbers. Some 5.8 million students, including 2 million girls, are now in class, compared with less than a million under the Taliban.

But some here might say Bush glossed over the bad news. Last year saw a record level of violence, and military leaders and analysts expect the suicide bombings, clashes and kidnappings to increase in 2008.

MORE ...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080129/ap_on_re_as/afghan_schools
;_ylt=As8BLVFjQYQl7YhWM59ea2u9IxIF