Banner Advertise

Friday, October 24, 2008

[chottala.com] US training Pakistani forces to fight Taliban

US training Pakistani forces to fight Taliban

  •  By STEPHEN GRAHAM, Associated Press Writer Stephen Graham, Associated Press Writer Fri Oct 24, 1:09 pm ET
AP – Pakistan's tribesmen hold remains of missile allegedly fired by US forces on the outskirts of Pakistan's …

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – U.S. special forces have begun teaching a Pakistani paramilitary unit how to fight the Taliban and al-Qaida, hoping to strengthen a key front-line force as violence surges on both sides of the border with Afghanistan.

The sensitive mission puts rare American boots on the ground in a key theater in the war against extremist groups, but it risks fanning anti-U.S. sentiment among Pakistani Muslims already angry over suspected CIA missile attacks on militants in the same frontier region.

"The American special forces failed in Afghanistan and Iraq," said Ameerul Azim, an official in the hard-line Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami. "Those who failed everywhere cannot train our people."

Despite such complaints, the training program comes as some tribes in the frontier zone are setting up militias to help the Pakistani government combat extremist movements. The new forces have been compared to the Sunni Arab militias in Iraq that helped beat back the insurgency there.

Still, the U.S. training program is reportedly smaller than originally proposed and was delayed, apparently reflecting misgivings in Pakistan's government about allowing U.S. troops on its territory.

Its start has not been officially announced, but a Pakistani military officer and a U.S. defense official told The Associated Press that two to three dozen trainers arrived earlier this month.

The Pakistani said the Americans had already begun training senior personnel of the paramilitary Frontier Corps at an undisclosed location in Pakistan's restive northwest, adjacent to Afghanistan. He said the course included classroom and field exercises.

The Pentagon official said the Americans would stay for a few months. He said that it would likely be a one-time effort and that there were no plans to send more trainers.

Both agreed to discuss the program only if granted anonymity, because details had not been made public.

Asked about the program Thursday, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman declined to give any specifics. But he contrasted the mission with much larger U.S. training efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, where U.S. soldiers are embedded with local units on the battlefield.

"It is a train-the-trainer type of concept," Whitman said. "They are not actually conducting operations."

The Frontier Corps is a relic of British rule that was long a poorly armed, untrained police force that the government hopes can be remade into a potent unit capable of confronting Taliban militants.

Its troopers are local men, in contrast to the army, which is dominated by ethnic Punjabis and is viewed as an occupying force by the Pashtun tribes living on both sides of the border. U.S. and Pakistani officials argue that the corps' local knowledge and cultural sensitivities make it the best tool in a battle where winning hearts and minds is crucial.

The goal is that a strong Frontier Corps can take on most combat duties, allowing a gradual pullback of the army that is hoped will ease tensions in the northwest.

The U.S. has poured some $10 billion into Pakistan since the then-president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, turned against his former Taliban allies in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Most of the money has gone to the army, including the $70 million earmarked for the Frontier Corps program.

U.S. forces already trained Pakistan's Special Services Group, a commando unit that crushed militants holding Islamabad's Red Mosque last year. Washington also has supplied the helicopter gunships that are seeing heavy use in army offensives in several Pakistani border regions.

But with the war dragging in Afghanistan, U.S. lawmakers and commentators have questioned why Pakistan still seems unable to eradicate militant sanctuaries on its side of the border.

"This thought has come pretty late in the day," Rasul Bakhsh Rais, a professor of political sciences, said of Pakistan's decision to let the trainers in. "But still I don't think it is too late, given the fact that this is going to be a very long war."

With many Pakistanis accusing their army of fighting a proxy war against its own citizens at Washington's behest, U.S. officials have said Pakistan was reluctant to accept foreign training, but softened its stance in the light of mounting losses.

Musharraf, who was forced out of office earlier this year, announced a plan in 2007 to build up the Frontier Corps so it could confront Taliban fighters.

At the time, its troops had no body armor, few vehicles and an arsenal of only aging rifles. With U.S. help, the corps has received several more battalions, been armed with tanks and artillery and is now heavily involved in fighting in the Bajur and Swat areas.

American officials have said they are also supplying equipment such as helmets, flak vests and night-vision goggles.

"The hope is that the more trainers we train, the more effective they will be in training their forces and the more capable forces will then be able to take the fight to the militants in the tribal areas where they operate," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said.

The training program has begun despite strains in Pakistani-U.S. relations.

Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who replaced Musharraf as army chief, and the former leader's successor as president, Asif Ali Zardari, have maintained close ties with Washington. But they have condemned the recent U.S. missile strikes, the latest of which killed nine people Thursday.

Cooperation has also been chilled by an incident in June when U.S. warplanes killed 11 Frontier Corps troopers at a border post. U.S. officials said the action during a skirmish with militants was justified. Pakistan's army insists no shots were fired from the post.

U.S. officials suspect some Frontier Corps troops sympathize with the Taliban and ignore militants sneaking though mountain passes into Afghanistan to attack U.S. and NATO troops.

Pakistani officials agree the corps has problems, but analysts say a better trained force is more likely to have the confidence to take on the militants. American officials also hope it will become a better partner for cross-border cooperation.

___

Associated Press writers Lolita Baldor in Washington and Munir Ahmad in Islamabad contributed to this report.

 

More...

US training Pakistani forces to fight Taliban
The Associated Press - 3 hours ago
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — US special forces have begun teaching a Pakistani paramilitary unit how to fight the Taliban and al-Qaida, hoping to strengthen a ...
US Special Forces Training Pakistani Units: Report
Newsroom America, New Zealand - 20 minutes ago
US Special Forces troops are training a Pakistani paramilitary unit how to better fight the Taliban and al Qaeda, in an attempt to shore up an important ...

Thaindian.com
'US desperate to help Pakistan fight Taliban'
Daily Times, Pakistan - Oct 17, 2008
LAHORE: The US military begins a training effort inside Pakistan this week that 'holds promise' as the US is desperate to help Pakistan fight Taliban in the ...
US plan to help Pakistan fight insurgents Christian Science Monitor
US to train Pak troops how to fight out Taliban Thaindian.com
US begins training mission in Pakistan United Press International
all 244 news articles »

Calgary Herald
INDIA-PAKISTAN: A River Runs Through It
Strategy Page - 10 hours ago
October 19, 2008: Over the weekend, Pakistani troops moved into a large Taliban training camp in the hills surrounding the Swat valley. Over 60 Taliban died ...
US hits Haqqani Network in North Waziristan Long War Journal
Strike On Pakistan Islamic School Kills 9 CBS News
Pakistan to arm tribal militias Albany Times Union
Metro Canada - Vancouver
all 813 news articles »
Al-Qaeda websites attacked
Open Democracy, UK - 9 hours ago
According to Lieutenant-General Lloyd Austin, commander of US combat forces in Iraq, the province was experiencing over twenty attacks per week. ...

__._,_.___

[* Moderator's Note - CHOTTALA is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political and non-discriminatory organization.

* Disclaimer: Any posting to the CHOTTALA are the opinion of the author. Authors of the messages to the CHOTTALA are responsible for the accuracy of their information and the conformance of their material with applicable copyright and other laws. Many people will read your post, and it will be archived for a very long time. The act of posting to the CHOTTALA indicates the subscriber's agreement to accept the adjudications of the moderator]




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[chottala.com] Bangladesh Embassy needs a listing of all Bangladeshi-American engineers & architects to keep in their official database.

IF YOU ARE NOT A BANGLADESHI-AMERICAN ENGINEERS OR ARCHITECTS, PLEASE DISREGARD & IGNORE THIS E-MAIL.
 
 
Dear Bangladeshi-American Engineers and Architects,
 
Bangladesh Embassy requested me to give them a listing of all Bangladeshi-American engineers & architects listed in my database.  They will keep your information in their official database.  They mainly need your names, your telephone numbers, your e-mail addresses, your job title, your company name, and your nature & type of business.  They have very good reasons for having the listing of your information.  They may need your advice & suggestions for any technical fields in Bangladesh for a variety of reasons.  They may need to use your expertise in any industries in Bangladesh.  From time to time, they may need any of our help & assistance to develop & improve any technical segment in Bangladesh.  Also, some engineers, architects, or their representatives may visit USA from time to time for some training or some technical information exchanges.  They may need our help in USA during their visit.  Sometimes, we may also need their suggestions, help, & assistance.
 
I only have your names, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses that I can forward to Bangladesh Embassy.  But, I do not have your job title, your company name, and your type & nature of job.  Please provide me these information (your job title, company name, type & nature of business, etc.) so that I can forward these information to Bangladeh Embassy along with your phone numbers & e-mail addresses.
 
However, if any of you do not want to disclose your information to Bangladesh Embassy, please inform me as soon as possible.  I am planning to forward the listing of engineers & architects to Bangladesh Embassy during the last week of November 2008.  I will not forward your information to Bangladesh Embassy, if you ask me to not to do so before the last week of November 2008.  I will forward the information of only those engineers & architects, who do not ask me to not to send their information to Bangladesh Embassy.
 
 
MAHFUZUR RAHMAN
Treasurer
AABEA (American Association of Bangladeshi Engineers & Architects)
Washington DC Chapter
6524 Ivy Terrace 
Elkridge, MD 21075 
410-796-0577 (home);  301-646-3475 (cellular);  703-875-4054 (work) 
BangaliBhai@hotmail.com
__._,_.___

[* Moderator's Note - CHOTTALA is a non-profit, non-religious, non-political and non-discriminatory organization.

* Disclaimer: Any posting to the CHOTTALA are the opinion of the author. Authors of the messages to the CHOTTALA are responsible for the accuracy of their information and the conformance of their material with applicable copyright and other laws. Many people will read your post, and it will be archived for a very long time. The act of posting to the CHOTTALA indicates the subscriber's agreement to accept the adjudications of the moderator]




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___