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[igotthisguitar]

Study: Afghanistan Could Fail As A State
By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Afghanistan risks sliding into a failed state and becoming the "forgotten war" because of deteriorating international support and a growing violent insurgency, according to an independent study.

The assessment, co-chaired by retired Marine Corps Gen. James Jones and former U.N. Ambassador Thomas Pickering, serves as a warning to the Bush administration at a time military and congressional officials are debating how best to juggle stretched warfighting resources.

MORE ...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080130/ap_on_go_ot/us_afghanistan_11
;_ylt=AlsxwpCoe8GHkVbPokznknr9xg8F

[thepeel]

"Could fail"? The NATO troops are unable to leave their base it is so violent. It has failed as a state.

[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

[igotthisguitar]

Blair Urges Canada Not To Flinch & Maintain Its Support Of A Noble Cause
Thu Jan 17, 9:12 PM
By Maria Babbage, The Canadian Press

TORONTO - Canada must not flinch when faced with the deaths of its soldiers in Afghanistan, but should meet such attacks with equal or even greater determination to "fight terrorism", former British prime minister Tony Blair urged Thursday amid renewed calls for Canada to end its military mission in the violence-plagued country.

The world has reached a "defining" moment in its history, and countries must choose a side in the battle against global terrorism, Blair told the sold-out Toronto business audience of 2,000, who paid more than $400 each to hear him speak.



Attempts by extremists to kill innocent civilians or soldiers trying to quash terrorism in other countries "can't sap our determination to succeed," he said.

"We're not going to win this battle by half-apologizing for our own existence," Blair said

Calling himself a "fan" of Canada, Blair said Canadians should be "immensely proud" of their military and what it has done in Afghanistan, calling it "as noble a cause as you can possibly imagine."

Blair's hawkish remarks come just a day after a top American official criticized NATO allies in Afghanistan, suggesting Canadian, British and Dutch troops have been ineffective in their mission.

That opinion, made by U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates in an interview this week, was echoed Thursday on the editorial pages of the influential Washington Post newspaper.

The Pentagon chief has said the remarks were not meant as a reflection on Canadian troops, but the NDP believes his comments could tip the scales of public opinion and drive Canada out of the war.

Canada's military mission could end in February 2009, although the civilian aspect, including police training, is expected to continue until 2011.

Blair, meanwhile, urged leaders to tackle the many challenges they face in the 21st century, including tougher economic conditions, immigration pressures, the rise of China as a global power, and energy and environmental concerns.

The challenge posed by terrorism is deep and its roots go further than we think, he said. But the fight won't get any easier.

"The world is in a state of transition," Blair said. "The question is, what is the destination?"

His wide-ranging speech drew a diverse crowd from Canada's elite, including Defence Minister Peter MacKay, environmentalist David Suzuki, former prime minister John Turner and former Liberal cabinet minister John Manley, who is writing a report on the future of Canada's involvement in Afghanistan.

Outside the hotel where Blair spoke, a number of protesters gathered to voice their disapproval of his decision to support the Iraq invasion in 2003.

Inside, Blair amused the audience with anecdotes about his days in power and spoke candidly about his global predictions, including the chance for peace in the Middle East.

A rising star on the international stage, Blair is currently serving as the Middle East envoy for the so-called quartet peacemakers - the United States, Russia, the European Union and United Nations - and is rumoured to have ambitions to become the EU's first president.

But Blair was coy when asked if he would seek the new post created in the revised EU constitution.

"I'm happy doing what I'm doing," he told former U.S. ambassador and ex-New Brunswick premier Frank McKenna, who grilled Blair during a sit-down talk following his speech.

"It's a long way off."

He also weighed in on the situations in Pakistan and Iraq, saying he believes Iraq will remain intact.

The former Labour Party leader, who left British politics about six months ago after a decade as prime minister, admitted his friends thought he was "crazy" to take on his current job in the Middle East.

Calling the situation in Lebanon a "tragedy," Blair urged global leaders to help resolve the conflict in the region, which he considers to be of "vital importance" to the world.

Ordinary Palestinians and Israelis do want peace, but "the trouble is getting there," he said.

Arab countries have "played the cause" in the past, but are more focused on Iran now, he added.

Blair also acknowledged some similarities between the situation in Israel and the conflict in Northern Ireland, which he helped resolve through peace negotiations.

He recalled that the worst atrocities in the Irish conflict came after the Good Friday agreement was signed.

Blair said he "knew" that was the point where things would either fall apart or get better.

"We have to be prepared to get up and fight for our values as though they are at risk ... because they are," he said.

"This is a fight that we're in. ... We've got to keep at it until we win."

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080117/national/blair_speech

[yetanotherSarah]

You mean tribal peoples are unable to make a nation state work? How could it be so?

[pesawattahi]

Bah its not that bad, all they need is infrastructure rather than the feel good things like schools, hospitals, and womens rights centers that are almost required by the press. A port would be nice too but since that is not possible a rail link to Karachi or some other such port would do much to improve that place.

[agentX]

It isn't so much that they are tribal. It's more along the lines that
a) Afghanistan never really was a "nation-state" to begin with
b) There's a little too much outside interference
c) They didn't really choose their leadership- it was kind of foisted unto them by the West.
d) You can't rebuilt a nation that's still coming apart. It's like fixing a TV while it's still plugged in the wall.

[yetanotherSarah]

[yetanotherSarah]

[igotthisguitar]

Few natural resources = OPIUM

[agentX]

[Gopher]

[pesawattahi]

[yetanotherSarah]

[igotthisguitar]