Articles found February 15, 2014
Taliban call US 'same as Soviets' on 25th anniversary of withdrawal from Afghanistan
Published February 15, 2014 Associated Press
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KABUL, Afghanistan – The Taliban are calling on Afghans to drive American forces out of their country, just like they say the USSR was defeated 25 years ago today.
In a statement on Saturday, the 25th anniversary of the Soviet withdrawal, Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said the USSR's forces had killed innocent people and "destroyed our country," but that "all our nation stood against them and were able to defeat them."
Ahmadi said that instead of taking that as a lesson, Americans invaded — making them "the same as yesterday's Soviets."
He urged Afghans to "deal with today's invaders as they dealt with yesterday's invaders," adding that "there is no difference between our jihad of yesterday and today."
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2 U.S. troops killed by gunmen in Afghan army uniforms
Men in army fatigues turn their weapons on American forces
The Associated Press Posted: Feb 12, 2014
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Two U.S. soldiers were killed and four wounded in an attack Wednesday by gunmen wearing Afghan security force uniforms in eastern Afghanistan, U.S. defence officials said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the attack, which is the latest in a string of incidents in which Afghan troops turned their weapons on their supposed allies.
The officials said four Afghans involved in the attack were killed in the ensuing battle.
The frequency of these insider attacks has declined markedly in recent months. At the height of the problem, in 2012, U.S. and coalition troops were more often fighting and training alongside their Afghan partners; the relationship evolved last year with the Afghans taking a lead combat role. That has put the Americans and other coalition troops in a less visible position as advisers.
The exact circumstances of Wednesday's incident were not immediately available. Two officials said it happened in Kapisa province, east of Kabul.
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Canada sounds alarm over bill eroding women’s rights in Afghanistan
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By Lee Berthiaume, Postmedia News February 7, 2014
OTTAWA – Canada is sounding the alarm about a proposed law in Afghanistan, amid signs the clock is already being turned back on hard-fought rights for Afghan women and girls.
The law, which has been passed by the Afghan parliament and is now awaiting President Hamid Karzai’s signature, would prohibit authorities from questioning the relatives of a criminal suspect.
This would effectively silence victims and undermine investigations into cases of sexual and domestic violence in a country rife with “honour killings” and forced marriages.
Canada was the first country to speak out this week, with Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Lynne Yelich voicing the government’s strong opposition to the law following a trip to Afghanistan.
The Conservative government has also instructed Canadian diplomats in Kabul to enlist counterparts from other countries to stop the legislation from being adopted.
Human Rights Watch researcher Heather Barr, whose organization uncovered the proposed law, praised Canada’s leadership in trying to raise concerns and rally opposition.
“It sends a clear message not just to the Afghan government, but to other donors as well, that this is an important issue and it’s something other people should speak out about,” she said.
On Friday, British Foreign Secretary William Hague tweeted his concern and said his country’s ambassador was “urgently” raising the matter with Afghan authorities.
Yet human rights groups say international silence has become the norm as women’s rights in Afghanistan have been rolled back over the past year, a concern privately echoed by Canadian officials.
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NATO Training Mission Afghanistan
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Story by Tech. Sgt. Mark Bell
KABUL, Afghanistan - Nine out of 10 Afghan National Army (ANA) recruits are unable to read, write or calculate basic arithmetic. Since 2009 the literacy and language division here, has provided a literacy program to better educate Afghan soldiers.
The objective of literacy training programs is to get students to a third grade reading level. Educators say this level of training allows students to improve reading and writing skills on their own, should they choose to do so.
Chief of the Literacy and Language division, Canadian Lt. Col. Tim Isberg says the program is essential for the country’s sustainment. For the last four years, NTM-A has been running a literacy program to insure that there’s a foundation of literate soldiers to professionalize the force, said Isberg.
In 2012, the ANA established the Darulaman Literacy Centre at the Regional Military Training Centre Capital, to prepare soldiers for their branch training which include military specialties like signal, artillery and engineering.
Literacy instructors are required to pass a rigorous screening program to verify their credentials, assess their skills, and complete a teacher-training certification program conducted by the Ministry of Education.
Matiullah Sapi, a literacy center instructor, has taught literacy for nearly two years. “When I’m teaching literacy, people enjoy it a lot.” He said. When the soldiers come here for literacy, the first day they know nothing. After a few weeks, I can see that they learn to read and write and solve their own problems, I really enjoy teaching, said Sapi.
Mir Azam, a student at the school said “Before the training I had a weakness, I could not spell my name and did not know mathematics, now I can read and write my name and I am very good at math.”
One day my son brought his notebook to me, he had a difficult math question, and I could not help him answer it, said Sapi. That’s why I focus more and more on mathematics so in the future if my son has a math problem, I will be able to solve it and help my son, he said.
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