Russia’s Putin says NATO should stay in Afghanistan

(Reuters) – NATO forces should stay in Afghanistanuntil their job is done, Russia President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday, suggesting they should stay beyond a planned withdrawal of most combat troops in 2014.

“It is regrettable that many participants in this operation are thinking about how to pull out of there,” Putin said at a meeting with paratroopers in the Russian city of Ulyanovsk. “They took up this burden and should carry it to the end.”

(Reporting by Gleb Bryanski; Writing by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Steve Gutterman)

This Stalker drone stays airborne using laser power

Unmanned aerial vehicles have seen extensive deployment in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The UAVs are routinely used for a wide range of ops, including recon and even missile strikes against armed combatants in hard to reach areas.

One of the smaller drones that has been deployed overseas is designed by Lockheed Martin and dubbed “The Stalker.”

Interestingly enough, Lockheed recently conducted a test in cooperation with a company known as LaserMotive using a modified Stalker drone.

Essentially, the drone was modded to capture power from a laser beam aimed at a specific point on the aircraft. The test flight was conducted indoors using a wind tunnel and in testing, the aircraft managed to stay aloft for 48 hours straight.

According to military researchers, the modded Stalker could have stayed airborne indefinitely – if it was continuously powered by the laser beam.

To be sure, the test was only halted because the aircraft had already passed all initial endurance goals set by the team.

The Stalker aircraft is normally powered by a rechargeable battery and according to Lockheed, the battery actually had more power when the test ended than at the start.

Putting the cool factor aside for moment, it is probably worth noting that the US Army might have some difficulty keeping a laser trained on the drone during heavy combat on an actual battlefield.

I also wonder how Lockheed would tackle the problem of an aircraft turning and banking away from the laser beam. Presumably, the laser would be only be capable of charging the battery while the aircraft is moving in a straight line during level flight.

17 Afghan Civilians Killed in Airstrike Against Taliban

PUL-E-ALAM, Afghanistan — Local officials reported that the NATO airstrike targeting Taliban hideouts left 17 civilians dead in Logar province on Tuesday night. According to district governor Sayed Wakil Agha, the air raid conducted by NATO-led troops in Sajawand village of Baraki Barak district killed 17 non-combatants, including women and children. He added that the warplanes targeted the house of a tribal elder identified as Sayed Bashir Akhundzada. The incident and the number of fatalities was also confirmed by Abdul Wali Wakil, the chief of Logar provincial council. According to Logar police chief Raes Khan Sadiq, the airstrike took place while Taliban commander Qari Sardar and his men were inside the residence of tribal elder Akhundzada. The air raid killed Qari Sardar and six of his men. Meanwhile, NATO issued a statement confirming the offensive in Logar province but dismissed claims that civilians were killed. The statement said Afghan and NATO troops carried out an operation to arrest a Taliban leader in Baraki Barak district and during the operation, militants attacked with small-arms fire and a grenade. Afghan and coalition forces returned fire and requested for an airstrike. Subsequently, several militants were killed and a number of weapons and explosives were seized. In the statement, NATO confirmed that two women were injured, though their injuries are not life-threatening. The coalition troops even provided emergency medical treatment and took both women to an ISAF medical facility.

Helicopter Crash Kills 2 NATO Soldiers in Afghanistan

Gen. John Allen, (C), the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, salutes before he observes Memorial Day at ISAF headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 28, 2012.

NATO officials said two coalition members were killed in a helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan Monday.

The coalition said it is investigating the cause of the crash.  Initial reports said there was no enemy activity in the area.

Earlier, another coalition aircraft also crashed in eastern Afghanistan. There were no fatalities in that crash.

Also Monday, an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan killed a NATO service member.

NATO did not release the names or nationalities of the victims.

More than 170 NATO troops have been killed in Afghanistan this year.

In Kabul, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, led a Memorial Day ceremony for members of the NATO coalition who have died in the war.

“While our brothers and sisters fell in a place far from home, far from their families, the values for which they stood and for which they lived and for which they died occupy an enduring place in our hearts.”

On Sunday, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta defended plans to gradually wind down military operations in Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

Speaking on ABC’s This Week program, the Pentagon chief said NATO forces still have a fight on their hands, but that “it is on the right track.”

Critics of a withdrawal timeline say Afghan militants will bide their time until international troops are gone.

Also Sunday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned a coalition airstrike that officials say killed a family of eight in eastern Paktia province, where Afghan and international troops are trying to quell the Taliban insurgency.

A provincial government spokesman Rohullah Samoon told VOA Sunday the overnight airstrike killed a man, his wife and six children in the Gerda Serai district.  He said that according to his information, the man was not linked to any insurgent group or any anti-government activities.

Joe Biden addresses ‘9/11 generation’ of West Point grads

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Vice President Joe Biden praised the 972 Army cadets who graduated from West Point on Saturday for their decision to join the military, “knowing full well that you were likely to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.”
“Your generation, the 9/11generation, is more than worthy of the proud legacy that you will inherit today,” Biden said in his commencement address to the newly commissioned second lieutenants…(Read More)

Afghan family killed by Nato air strike

Eight innocent civilians dead in Paktia province, say officials, but coalition says troops came under fire from insurgents

American soldiers patrol Afghanistan’s Zabul province: Hamid Karzai warned civilian deaths undermine a new agreement with the US. Photograph: Tim Wimborne/Reuters

A Nato air strike has killed eight members of one family at their home in a part of eastern Afghanistan that has seen heavy fighting this year, officials say.

President Hamid Karzai sent a team to look into the strike, which local officials said they had not been informed about.

“There was no co-ordination, [Nato] didn’t seek the help of Afghan forces,” said Rohullah Samoon, spokesman for the governor of Paktia province.

Memorial Day: Among post-9/11 veterans, deepening antiwar sentiment

This Memorial Day the Iraq war is over and the Afghanistan war is winding down, but they’re weighing heavily on post-9/11 veterans, 33 percent of whom said they weren’t worth the cost.

U.S. war veterans raise their hands in solidarity after throwing their medals towards the site of the NATO Summit in Chicago May 20, 2012. Nearly 50 veterans threw service medals into the street near the summit site in protest. Adrees Latif/Reuters LOS ANGELES Despite the end of the Iraq war and the scheduled drawdown in Afghanistan, this Memorial Dayarrives against a backdrop of deepening – and some say more troublesome – antiwar sentiment among military veterans. One of the most vivid and replayed images of protesters at the NATO summit last weekend inChicago was a group of some 40 vets lined up to toss their war medals over the chain link fence to protest what former naval officer Leah Bolger calls “the illegal wars of both NATO and America.” According to a recent Pew Research Center study, 33 percent of post-9/11 veterans say that neither the war in Iraq nor in Afghanistan “were worth the cost,” and this among a highly motivated cohort who chose to serve…(Read More)

NDAA 2013: Congress approves domestic propaganda

Official: 122 girls, 3 teachers poisoned at Afghan school

Nick Paton Walsh
CNN.com
May 24, 2012

More than 120 girls and three teachers were admitted to an Afghanistan hospital Wednesday after being poisoned in their classes with a type of spray, a Takhar provincial official said.

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The incident occurred in the provincial capital of Talokhan, in the Bibi Hajera girls school, said Dr. Hafizullah Safi, director of public health for the northern Afghanistan province.

Forty of the 122 girls were still hospitalized, he said, with symptoms including dizziness, vomiting, headaches and loss of consciousness.

Read full article

Terror Attack in Afghanistan on Thursday, 24 May, 2012 at 16:11 (04:11 PM) UTC. EDIS CODE: VW-20120524-35197-AFG

Five girls who were treated at an Afghanistan hospital Wednesday after being poisoned in their classes returned to the hospital Thursday complaining of continued headaches, vomiting and dizziness, authorities said.The five are among 120 girls who went to the hospital after being poisoned with a type of spray, said Dr. Hafizullah Safi, director of public health in Takhar province. The poisoning also sent three teachers to the hospital.On Wednesday, officials said 40 of the victims were still in the hospital with ailments. It was unclear how many remained in the hospital Thursday.The incident occurred in the Bibi Hajera girls school in the northern Afghanistan province, Safi said.Blood samples have been sent to Kabul in an effort to determine the substance used, he said. The results may not be available until Sunday.”A number of girls from 15 to 18 were brought from a school to hospital today,” hospital director Dr. Habibullah Rostaqi said Wednesday. “Generally, they are not in a critical condition. We are looking after them, but let’s see what happens later. We understand so far from the situation … they are more traumatized.””The Afghan people know that the terrorists and the Taliban are doing these things to threaten girls and stop them going to school,” said Khalilullah Aseer, a spokesman for Takhar police. “That’s something we and the people believe. Now we are implementing democracy in Afghanistan, and we want girls to be educated, but the government’s enemies don’t want this.”Taliban tightens grip on Afghan schoolsThere have been several instances of girls being poisoned in schools in recent years. In April, also in Takhar province, more than 170 women and girls were hospitalized after drinking apparently poisoned well water at a school. Local health officials blamed the acts on extremists opposed to women’s education.While nearly all the incidents involve girls, earlier this month nearly 400 boys at a school in Khost province fell ill after drinking water from a well that a health official said may have been poisoned…(Read More)