US and allies face tough questions while recommitting forces to the war effort in Afghanistan, says Zubair A Dar
A cursory look at the map showing the toll on United Kingdom’s
troops in Afghanistan clearly shows the challenge that the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) forces face in this war ravaged country. The maximum number of casualties have occurred in southern provinces around Helmand and Kandahar – at least 223 deaths since the war began in 2001.
Facing elections in the coming year, the Gordon Brown-led Labour Party is finding it hard to reassure the United Kingdom’s public in general and the families of the troops in particular about the effectiveness of the war in stopping the threat from arriving in London. In a speech at the Royal College of Defence Studies in London, Brown stressed that Afghan campaign was "prosecuted out of necessity" as three-quarters of the terrorist activities that happen in Britain arose from these areas.
And this is one of the many factors that US President Barack Obama will have in mind while spelling out his policy on Afghanistan, the tone for which was set recently, when he announced his intention to "finish the job".
Though the process is likely to begin by sending more troops to Afghanistan to control Taliban resurgence before the final withdrawal begins, negotiation with the Taliban has not been entirely ruled out. Though the stated mission is to “dismantle and degrade their (al-Qaeda's and Taliban's) capabilities and destroy their networks”, there are strong indications that the Taliban can be a part of the final settlement that would see security responsibilities transferred to the Afghans.
The likely troop reinforcement comes weeks after the US and Nato commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley A. McChrystal, in a report warned that "failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near term risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no longer possible". McChrystal had sought 40,000 more troops for implementing his new strategy in Afghanistan that concentrated on protecting civilians rather than killing insurgents or controlling the territory.
It was following this report that the US President began a series of consultations – nine in all – with his war council that included Vice President Joe Biden, secretary of state Hillary Clinton, secretary of defense Robert Michael Gates, US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan ambassador Richard Holbrooke and US Commander in Afghanistan General Stanley McChrystal besides management and budget director Peter Orszag whose consultation is seen as a result of the budgetary concerns raised in recent weeks. While US war expenditure is likely to increase by as much as $30 billion to $40 billion per year, the McChrystal plan had warned that "inadequate resources will likely result in failure”.
Obama’s new strategy will have to negotiate many domestic and international pressures. In the recent months, the American and British public has viewed the Afghanistan war as “not winnable”. Voices within the US Democrats, who fear Obama’s association with a growingly unpopular war in an election year, oppose any major escalation of involvement in Afghanistan – their belief that the conflict is no longer central to US security.
A cursory look at the map showing the toll on United Kingdom’s
troops in Afghanistan clearly shows the challenge that the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) forces face in this war ravaged country. The maximum number of casualties have occurred in southern provinces around Helmand and Kandahar – at least 223 deaths since the war began in 2001.Facing elections in the coming year, the Gordon Brown-led Labour Party is finding it hard to reassure the United Kingdom’s public in general and the families of the troops in particular about the effectiveness of the war in stopping the threat from arriving in London. In a speech at the Royal College of Defence Studies in London, Brown stressed that Afghan campaign was "prosecuted out of necessity" as three-quarters of the terrorist activities that happen in Britain arose from these areas.
And this is one of the many factors that US President Barack Obama will have in mind while spelling out his policy on Afghanistan, the tone for which was set recently, when he announced his intention to "finish the job".
Though the process is likely to begin by sending more troops to Afghanistan to control Taliban resurgence before the final withdrawal begins, negotiation with the Taliban has not been entirely ruled out. Though the stated mission is to “dismantle and degrade their (al-Qaeda's and Taliban's) capabilities and destroy their networks”, there are strong indications that the Taliban can be a part of the final settlement that would see security responsibilities transferred to the Afghans.
The likely troop reinforcement comes weeks after the US and Nato commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley A. McChrystal, in a report warned that "failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near term risks an outcome where defeating the insurgency is no longer possible". McChrystal had sought 40,000 more troops for implementing his new strategy in Afghanistan that concentrated on protecting civilians rather than killing insurgents or controlling the territory.
It was following this report that the US President began a series of consultations – nine in all – with his war council that included Vice President Joe Biden, secretary of state Hillary Clinton, secretary of defense Robert Michael Gates, US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan ambassador Richard Holbrooke and US Commander in Afghanistan General Stanley McChrystal besides management and budget director Peter Orszag whose consultation is seen as a result of the budgetary concerns raised in recent weeks. While US war expenditure is likely to increase by as much as $30 billion to $40 billion per year, the McChrystal plan had warned that "inadequate resources will likely result in failure”.
Obama’s new strategy will have to negotiate many domestic and international pressures. In the recent months, the American and British public has viewed the Afghanistan war as “not winnable”. Voices within the US Democrats, who fear Obama’s association with a growingly unpopular war in an election year, oppose any major escalation of involvement in Afghanistan – their belief that the conflict is no longer central to US security.
even the remotest signs of fatigue. That is what sets him apart from other protesters who look drawn out and fatigued. He agrees with the ways of both Mahatma Gandhi as well as Subhash Chandra Bose. For him, there is no conflict of interest there. But in practice, he follows the non-violent ways of Gandhi. Satyagraha is his tool. For more than three years now, he has been fighting a battle for the separate statehood of Cooch Behar, comprising nine districts of Assam and West Bengal. The place where he has set his temporary abode is on the low-lying part of the footpath which gets water logged from time to time. Those nights, he has no option but to remain awake.
But each time, they have come up against the wall of death. People then did the next best thing. They sought to keep the memory alive (if not the body) with tombstones and totem-poles, in rituals and prayers and through memorials and mummified bodies. But at the beginning of the 21st century, a crack in the wall has appeared. For the first time in human history, the possibility of driving a hole through the wall of death is beginning to look real.
travelling economy class. The fact that the thinking class is actually looking at events with eyes askew was well illustrated by the exact opposite reactions caused by another such event. Let me explain. When External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and Minister of State Shashi Tharoor were found living in five-star hotels, a cry went up berating their sensibilities and calling them insensitive, among other things. When Sonia Gandhi made a conscious decision to travel economy, another sort of war cry arose.
India have been instrumental in educating generations of students who in turn have gone on to make a mark in various fields of life. These instutions, run by Jesuit priests, Catholic nuns and other orders of the Church, have passed down sturdy personal skills and social values to youngsters from all sections of Indian society. 
only in name. Ambedkar’s vision of a federal India was ruined by the Congress,” says Prabal Neog, leader of the 28th battalion of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). “Our democracy may not be perfect,” counters HN Das, general secretary of the Assam Congress, “but let’s not forget Assam went back by 20 years because of ULFA.”
Labh Mukti Bhavan’ in Varanasi. People from across the country come here to die. In the end they celebrate death. No doubt during those last moments, there will be anguish. But, more than that people believe that death is liberation. Liberation from this world. In the last five decades, more than 20,000 people have attained ‘moksha’ in Mukti Bhavan. Shuklaji, the manager of this place, says “Here we celebrate death like birth.”
fined when it failed to meet the regulatory norms set up by the European Commission (EC). In 2008, the antitrust regulators fined a whopping $1.3 billion for not being able to comply with the antitrust laws since 2004 and thus bringing the total amount of fines on Microsoft to a gigantic $2.5 billion. In 2009, EC imposed a fine of $1.45 billion (£1.06 billion) on American giant, Intel Corporation on the ground that illegal anticompetitive practices of Intel would harm the continuation of a healthy competitive market. The EC, in fact, has gone unique in this century with its antitrust activities. It fined Archer Daniels Midland, along with 13 other leading pharmaceutical companies, which the EC suspected were seeking to control the European vitamin market. The most horrifying one was when EC blocked the $43 billion merger deal between General Electric and Honeywell on the ground that American firms are targeting and buying European firms to retain their growth. Surprisingly, the deal was allowed by the US regulators.
But I don’t think we’re pushing the envelope to compete with the best of global cinema. Where are the really brilliant world-class filmmakers after Satyajit Ray and Adoor Gopalakrishnan competing at Cannes or Toronto Film Festival? I know Bollywood producers make a noise about going to Cannes and other international forums… The films I saw at Cannes were bloody realistic. Here in India we make films which convey a softer realism. I think Nandita Das’s film “Firaaq” could’ve gone to Cannes, or earlier, even Sheetal Talwar’s “Dharm”. Manikada (Ray) always used to ask, "What is the West’s compulsion to understand us?" They don’t have any compulsion. Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Devdas” was shown at the opening night of Cannes. That was a huge honour for us. But if we want to compete with the West at Cannes and other international platforms, we need to become a global player and make the kind of films the world is resonating to.
BJP. But today this staunch Hindutva supporter is a disillusioned man. The squabbles within the BJP, he feels, has left the party's committed foot soldiers high and dry. He argues that by abandoning its hindutva plank the bjp has lost its core essence. Now he wants advani to go and make way for fresh blood. read on...
touch alcohol cause dad’s going to be hopping mad when you get back home. Well, this apple drink with a fizz promises to fool your friends, make your dad happy, while allowing you to still seem the coolest guy in the party. A winner from the stable of Parle Agro (known for its mango drink – Frooti), Appy Fizz, not only looks a lot like bubbly alcohol, but also doesn’t pinch your pocket. Quite a deal! Recently, Appy Fizz underwent a change in its avatar. Nadia Chauhan, Director, Parle Agro told 4Ps B&M, “Appy Fizz got bored of its old gear and we thought it will be a great idea to change into something new. It has purely been a cosmetic change to keep things short.”
thirdly, to fast during Ramzan (if health permits); fourthly, to give Zakaat (donating five per cent of one’s savings) and lastly, to carry out a compulsory pilgrimage to Mecca called Hajj. While Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis believe in going for Hajj only when one has fulfilled all his responsibilities in life, the fact is that if one’s health permits and one has sufficient money, one can undertake the journey as many times. It is a personal wish.