Here is your Sunday update on the war. And remember, parliamentary elections are slated for September 18th.
Afghanistan:
Two Australian soldiers died in Kandahar province in the south on Friday. On Sunday, four U.S. troops died in the south and east. 451 NATO troops have died fighting so far this year in Afghanistan. A mid-level Afghan security official in Kandahar was shot dead Sunday. The brother of a parliamentary candidate was shot dead in crossfire in the western Afghan province of Herat while insurgents tried to kill the candidate.
Dozens of private security guards were ambushed and killed in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province. The guards were stationed to secure a road being constructed. Neither the guards nor the construction workers were hired from the local population. The fighting occured in Sangin district. One Afghan official claims that while two dozen security guards died, the Taliban lost
fifty men in the clash. Afghan President Hamid Karzai issued an ordering recently that asks most private security firms to cease their operations within four months. Approximately 40,000 such security guards are in Afghanistan- only about 26,000 of them are registered with the governments. They have been especially predatorial toward the local population. They certainly help the cause of warlordism.... Hamid Karzai has ordered for the disbanding-process to
begin.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that anti-corruption units can be "independent". Karzai has faced warranted criticism for being a roadblock in the fight against graft.
Federally-Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan:
In the southern-portion of FATA, better known as Waziristan, a drone strike occurred for the second time this month. The attack took place just outside of the main North Waziristan town of Miramshah and targeted several moving vehicles.
Pakistani military operations had been ongoing in central-FATA(namely Kurram and Orakzai agencies) since late March with nearly-daily reports of attacks on militants. That stopped in early August as the flooding worsened throughout Pakistan. In recent days fighting has rekindled in the area. One Pakistani soldier died Friday, and the military also claimed that eight militants were killed in the fighting.
A bomb killed six anti-Taliban militiamen in the northern-FATA agency of Mohmand.
Pakistan:
"Eastern Pashtunistan", also known as "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa" and formerly known as "North-West Frontier Province", remains devestated by torrential rains and flashfloods. Many other parts of Pakistan are also devestated. 20 million are now said by the U.N. to have been affected. The Daily Kos' Noweasels discusses the flooding in depth along with ways to help. Several well-respected experts on the area believe that while militants(namely Lashkar-e-Taiba) are in a strong position to try and win hearts and minds amongst the flood victims, the U.S. and the Pakistani army are likely to earn much respect for their efforts. The U.S. is planning to increase the number of helicopters providing aid to the region, with 15 in the field and 18 more planned to arrive. Because of the devestation to roads and bridges, helicopters are vital to the effort to not only evacuate victims but also to ferry in badly-needed aid. And Angelina Jolie has donated $100,000; what have you done?
The U.N. has met it's goal, but I don't know why anyone would think it is enough. More flooding is taking place, and some locals are desperately trying to use sandbags to stave off the coming devestation.
The flooding exposes the civilian-military situation/relationship in Pakistan.
The government says they will clamp down on extremist-linked charities providing aid.
Another NATO container is torched in Balochistan province while en route to Afghanistan. The vast and sparsely-populated province of Balochistan is dominated by ethnic Balochs except in the northeast, including the provincial capital of Quetta, which is dominated by ethnic Pashtuns.
Following the assassination of a major politician belonging to their party, the ANP have requested the army's deployment to Karachi to prevent the killings of Pashtuns. Karachi is Pakistan's largest city, economic hub, and major port city. The continued influx of Pashtuns has increased ethnic tensions between them and the Urdu-speaking inhabitants of the huge city. The main players are the ethnic-Pashtun ANP, the ethnic-Urdu MQM, and militants who benefit from the chaos. The civil strife has resulted in hundreds of deaths in the southern city, including many assassinations or "target killings".
Maps:
When considering the situation in Pashtunistan, consider these maps of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is in the Pashtun areas where the U.S. and NATO have the most problems. It's important to note that while Pashtuns make up a much larger proportion of the population of Afghanistan than they do in Pakistan, there are still more Pashtuns in Pakistan than in Afghanistan. Here is a good map and rundown of the areas that make up the main warzone.