Will the $ 55B Invested in Afghan Forces Pay Off?

The U.S. HAS Spent $ 55 one billion to recruit, train and equip Afghan security forces. And as the U.S. and NATO transition from leading the fight against the Taliban to pushing the Afghans into the lead, the world will see what the U.S. got for its money.

One of the MOST Closely Watched Initiatives Undertaken by the 195.000-strong Afghan National Army (ANA) is icts nascent quick-reaction capability, Which HAS Already tens of cost millions of dollars to field more than 300 640 vehicles of a Planned. The strength will grow to a strength of seven kandaks - each about the size of a battalion - two of Which will be special operations forces.

The Plan is for the kandaks to be able of driving to the fight in the ANA's fastest, most is advanced and well-protected vehicle: the mine-resistant mobile strike force vehicle, a derivative of Textron Marine and Land Systems' M1117 armored security vehicle, used by U.S., Canadian and other forces, around the world.

The power elite will be ble to crises sponds to Quickly and with mass and firepower, giving a new set of Kabul options When faced with a variety of fast-moving and unpredictable terrorism threats.

Increase the area to cover They Can, five kandaks are slated to Remain in the Kabul area, while two more will go to Kandahar in the south oz Their training is complete, officials Involved with the program said. Two units Have already gone through training, one is stationed in Darulaman outside Kabul, and the other is Deployed to Kandahar.

Story of a transport mission in Afghanistan

A pilot Transall, commander of the transport group operating in Dushanbe, says a mission like no other in the Afghan theater. Story.

"That day, I received a request for a mission on behalf of ISAF (International Security Assistance Force Force International Security Assistance). The message comes from the head of the "tasking branch", an American colonel, which already gives me an indication of the importance of this mission. It is to get a high-ranking Afghan delegation and on the ground Chakhcharan in central Afghanistan. The preparation of the mission requires even more care than usual because the destination field is isolated, almost non-existent infrastructure and mountains are performance Transall strain. Security measures are, in turn, very strict. Passengers must be "scanned" to stop air from Kabul, ammunition recovered and sealed in boxes before they embark.

Real risks to this mission since the Afghan authorities are prime targets for the insurgents. It can be a ground to air threat, or even an enemy infiltrator in the delegation. Thus, marines commando detachment reinforce the crew on board as observers, but also to ensure the safety of the cockpit. At dawn, about an hour before takeoff, an intelligence officer makes a detailed briefing while providing airport services defrosting the appliance, the climatic conditions in Dushanbe for two weeks being particularly harsh. Arrived in Kabul, I

Don't shrink Afghan forces, two key Senate Democrats warn Obama

Two Senate Democrats urged the White House on Friday to reconsider plans to shrink Afghan national security forces by a third after 2015, saying a robust Afghan fighting force will be needed to fight al Qaeda and its allies.
The appeal comes as President Barack Obama weighs how large of an American force to leave behind in Afghanistan after NATO declares the costly,

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unpopular war over at the end of 2014 and most foreign forces return home.
Officials say the White House is considering keeping between 3,000 and 9,000 troops in the country, a lower range than initially recommended by the top commander in Afghanistan.
Carl Levin of Michigan, head of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and committee member Jack Reed of Rhode Island said Obama, a fellow Democrat, should use the U.S. troop level announcement - expected in the coming months - as an opportunity to revisit plans to slash the Afghan forces from 352,000 to 230,000 after 2015.
"We support the establishment of a small number for the post-2014 (American) force," they wrote to Tom Donilon, Obama's national security adviser.
"At the same time, we are convinced that it will be necessary for the success of the mission, i.e., to prevent Afghanistan from once again becoming a safe haven for al Qaeda and its affiliated organizations, to reconsider plans to reduce the size of the (Afghan forces)."

NATO Looks to Enduring Afghanistan Force

NATO Planners Look to Enduring Force In Afghanistan

BRUSSELS --- With just 23 months until the end of the International Security Assistance Force mission in Afghanistan, Afghan forces are poised to move into the lead operationally, and NATO and partner nations are discussing the scope and missions of the enduring presence force that will remain in the country.

The conversations within NATO are about this transition, a senior NATO officer, speaking on background, told reporters today. The alliance’s chiefs of defense, including Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are here for meetings.

“It has been less a conversation about numbers than it has been about capabilities and requirements,” the senior officer said of discussions concerning NATO’s role going forward in Afghanistan.

“Milestone 2013” is the shorthand NATO uses referring to Afghan forces taking the security lead. Last week, President Barack Obama and Afghan President Karzai announced this will occur in the spring.

This milestone marks a long road for the Afghan national security forces, the officer said. In 2012, Afghan forces demonstrated their battlefield abilities and proficiencies. Now, he said, the need in Afghanistan is for NATO support forces and advisors rather than the combat troops Afghanistan needed in the past.

The post-2014 needs are a training-and-advising capability and a focused counterterrorism capability, the officer said. How to execute those missions at various troop levels are the conversations that are going on within NATO, in Afghanistan and in the capitals of partner nations, he told reporters, adding that ISAF has not been asked to provide advice with respect to a zero-troop option.

The way forward can be seen with an eye to the past, the officer said. The nature of the enduring-presence force will be to facilitate an Afghan national security force that will still be conducting counterinsurgency operations, he added.

Just a year ago, the officer noted, people asked when ISAF was going to shift the main effort in Afghanistan from Regional Command South to Regional Command East. They didn’t realize the main effort was already shifting, he said, because that mission was shifting to Afghan forces.

For a counterinsurgency to succeed, the officer said, indigenous forces have to be the lead. Foreign forces can provide the breathing space for these forces to develop their capabilities, but ultimately it is up to local forces to work with the people. “That’s been what has been happening over the last 18 months,” he said.

The drawdown of U.S. surge forces in Afghanistan created the space and necessitated innovation for Afghan forces. “They are doing corps-level operations today using counterinsurgency type tactics, techniques and procedures, with us firmly in an advisory role,” he said.

Suicide attack targets Afghan spy headquarters NDS in Kabul

A squad of suicide bombers attacked the national intelligence agency headquarters in heavily-fortified central Kabul Wednesday, killing at least two guards and wounding dozens of civilians, officials said.

Five attackers were killed in the brazen midday attack on the National Directorate of Security, which is playing an increasingly important role in the war against Taliban insurgents as Nato forces prepare to withdraw.

The Taliban claimed responsibility in a text message to AFP, saying “a large number of intelligence workers were killed and wounded”.

“There were five attackers involved. The first detonated a car bomb at the gate, the other four were shot dead by police and NDS guards as they approached,” Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said, adding that about 30 civilians were wounded.

A senior police officer said two guards from the National Directorate of Security intelligence agency were killed and others wounded.

A second car full of explosives was found nearby and defused.

The huge explosion was heard throughout Kabul’s diplomatic district, and witnesses said windows were shattered in nearby Chicken Street, a popular shopping destination for Westerners.

AFP journalists at the scene said it was swarming with security forces moments after the attack.

An NDS official, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed concern over how the attackers had managed to penetrate one of the most heavily-guarded areas of the capital, which includes the police HQ and the Interior Ministry.

“It was a suicide explosion at the gate,” he told AFP, adding that gunshots had also been heard.

“It’s a big facility and very, very sensitive, with a very high security installation and system,” he said.

The NDS plays a crucial role in the fight against the Taliban, who have been waging an insurgency since being ousted from power by the 2001 US-led invasion for harbouring al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks.

Failure Threatens Afghan Police Training Mission

Failure Threatens Afghan Police Training Mission

German officials have been training police in Afghanistan for a decade, but a visit to their training center in Mazar-e-Sharif creates major doubts about the effectiveness of the mission. Afghan police remain poorly prepared to tackle the mighty challenges they will face as Western forces withdraw.
The Afghan national sport is called buzkashi. It's a game in which horsemen battle over a goat carcass. There are no established teams.
During a match, the competitors forge brief, continuously shifting alliances. They only work together until they have gained a short-term advantage. The game can last for hours, even days. The winner is the rider who manages to carry the carcass to the goal. Buzkashi is a mirror of Afghan society.
By contrast, the German police officers who train local recruits in Afghanistan have brought soccer balls and nets to their base in Mazar-e-Sharif. Football is all about teamwork and team spirit. The goal is to form a team and achieve an objective together.
In a corner of the training center, on a patch of parched earth, there is now a soccer field where the next generation of Afghan police officers is learning the game.
"What we want to achieve with the recruits is a change in mentality," says a German instructor. More team spirit, a better sense of community, more loyalty. More soccer, less buzkashi.
Over the past 10 years, Germany has instructed some 56,000 Afghan police officers at four training centers in the region. The training is part of Germany's responsibility as a member of NATO, and so far the project has cost some €380 million ($503 million). As many as 200 German police officers are regularly stationed in Afghanistan, most of them in Mazar-e-Sharif.
But anyone who accompanies the German security aid workers for a few days is bound to doubt the mission's effectiveness after observing the mood among the officers and reading between the lines of official statements. Even now, when Western security forces have entered their 11th year of training, the police in Afghanistan don't stand for public order and security -- but rather for helplessness, arbitrariness and corruption.

Now even top officials in the Kabul government vow to kill Americans

The fate of the Americans in Afghanistan will be worse than that of the Russians,” Mohammed Ismail Khan warned in 2009. The same Afghan is now vowing to drive all “foreigners” out of Afghanistan.
More bluster from a Taliban leader? Hardly. Khan serves as Afghanistan’s energy minister, and is a key member of American ally Hamid Karzai’s cabinet.
In a videotaped meeting last month with jihadists in Herat Province, Khan slammed the US for bringing “American girls, white-skinned Western soldiers and black-skinned American soldiers” into Afghanistan. He called on the “mujahideen” to take up arms and attack them like they did the Soviet “invaders” in the 1980s.
Though his threatening remarks were quickly dismissed by the Afghan government, they should not be taken lightly — especially with American soldiers increasingly vulnerable to insider attacks by Afghans.                                              
Khan has lethal experience launching such attacks. In March 1979, Khan, then a captain in the Afghan army, orchestrated the murder of 50 Soviet military advisers and 300 of their family members in Herat Province. He decapitated many of them and had their heads paraded on spikes through the city.
The atrocity marked the opening salvo of the rebellion which led to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979.
The US Army recently cited Khan’s treachery as an example of “green-on-blue attacks” that “were common and costly to the Soviet army” during its occupation of Afghanistan. It warned that Khan is “now the Afghan government’s minister of energy.”
The Army published the account in February 2012 and distributed it to soldiers serving in Afghanistan as part of an “Official Use Only” handbook, titled, “Inside the Wire Threats — Afghanistan.” The 35-page handbook also notes that Soviet attempts to train and stand up an Afghan army to fight insurgents failed miserably. “The Afghan army was an unreliable ally,” it said. “It faced constant defections from the start, as not only individuals and units but also whole divisions went over to the mujahideen, taking their personal kit and rifles as well as tanks and armored vehicles.”
Added the report: “The original Soviet plan to push the Afghan army into the field to combat the mujahideen fell by the wayside. The Afghan army’s limited numbers, lack of training, and questionable loyalties made this project too risky to implement.”

1056 Afghan soldiers killed in 2012: Defense officials

The security transition from NATO troops to Afghan security forces which started last year is due to complete in five phases following a pre-planned organized program.

Despite Afghan security forces are in charge of over 75% of the Afghan soil security, Afghan officials are continuously expressing concerns regarding the lack of proper military equipments which creates challenges for the Afghan security forces.

In the meantime increased Afghan army troops casualties is another challenge being faced by Afghan national army where over 1000 service members have been killed during the year.

Afghan defense ministry spokesman Gen. Zahir Azimi on Sunday told reporters, “At least 906 Afghan national army soldiers have been killed during the past 9 months, and a total of 1056 Afghans troops have been killed during the year 2012 which shows an increase as compared to 2011.”

An Afghan military analyst Faqir Mohammad Faqir said increased attacks by militants is one of the main reason behind Afghan army casualties.

He said, “Whenever the other party involved in war increases activities then it will naturally increase the casualties but I think the Afghan troops should trained well, must be disciplined and equipped with modern weapons in a bid to reduce the growing casualties.”

Mr. Faqir also insisted that further works should be done in order to prevent Afghan army troops to lose their morale.

All Of Afghanistan's Cargo Planes Are To be Scrapped

US scraps entire fleet of Afghan cargo planes

 The U.S. military is scrapping the Afghan air force’s entire fleet of Italian-made cargo planes, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

U.S. and Afghan officials told the paper that the Afghan military isn’t expected to have an independent and fully functioning air force until around 2017, well after the withdrawal of most U.S. and international troops.
On the west end of Kabul International Airport, twin-engine C-27As sit side by side, sunlight reflecting off their gray wings and the green, black, and red of the Afghan flag emblazoned on their tails. For more than a year, though, most of the planes had been little more than expensive aviation exhibitions, unable to fly due to lack of spare parts and maintenance.
Now, despite spending nearly $600 million on the program, the U.S. is canceling the contract for the aircraft and disposing of all 16 planes delivered to the Afghan Air Force, the Journal reported.

Canadians in Afghanistan: what Operation Attention?

Nicolas Laffont is currently on assignment in Afghanistan with the Canadian Forces deployed for Operation Attention. 

For more than a decade that the Afghan war has begun and Canadians have been present since January 2002.

The combat mission in Kandahar which was based in the south of the country, ended in July 2011.

Since the present contingent of Canadian military declined to about 900 soldiers train Afghan security forces. This is what the military calls Operation Please note that the Canadian Contribution Training Mission - Afghanistan (CCFM-A).

Trainers, teachers, educators, advisors, ... In the context of this operation, Canada sent its military to provide support for training and professional development for national security forces of Afghanistan: Afghan National Army (ANA) Afghan Air Force (AAF) and the Afghan National Police (ANP).

The aim is to support the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan when NATO troops leave the country in 2014.

The Government of Canada has allocated a budget of nearly $ 700 million per year between 2011 and 2014 (500 million military presence, 85 million for the installation and close the training mission and 100 million in aid and development ).

After a rotation 0 in July 2011 and one rotation in February 2012, is now the "roto" 2 to be in control.Feature of this deployment? They are almost all Quebecers.

Afghanistan: withdrawal maximum security

The planned withdrawal of the French armies engaged in Afghanistan since 2008, is accelerating. More than 2000 men and 2000 tons of material have already left the country. To perform this maneuver logistics to its end, or the summer of 2013, freedom of action and security areas are essential.

The process of lightening the French forces began in 2011. In May 2012, François Hollande, president and army chief, calls for the acceleration of the movement. During the year 2012, the armies proceeded to withdraw about 2,100 troops and 2,000 tons of equipment. To allow convoys reach Kabul, security zones and areas is a key element. A security driven primarily by Task Force La Fayette 6 (TFLF 6) , commanded by Brigadier-Hautecloque Raysz between April 14 and November 25, 2012, and composed of groupings arms tactics (CATF) Steel , Wild Geese and Helicopter Battalion 

From May to July, tactical operations chained themselves to maintain the security of the axis Vermont, only practicable route between Kabul and Tagab. In April, " the insurgency led harassment actions in the area of Tagab , "says Colonel LAROUZIERE, commander GTIA Steel. Before starting the withdrawal of Tagab, sub-GTIA Tagab and Nijrab supported combat operations to the Afghan National Army (ANA), in Kapisa. The goal: to create a bubble of security around the FOB to perform the removal in a safe manner optimal. "  In five months, forty operations were mounted and we went more than thirty times in the fire , "says Captain H., unit commander of the sub-GTIA Tagab. And Colonel LAROUZIERE added: "  We were in contact to disrupt the insurgency and disrupt. While leading the ANA twenty-two transactions per month, we took over. "

Bye bye Kabul: the story of the French disengagement

REPORT to KABUL | The last flight of French fighting forces left Kabul. It will take six months to repatriate all 1200 vehicles and containers as much of the French army.

In order. But no battle disengagement, according the semantic precision of the military.

Do not tell them that the coalition of forty-seven NATO countries will never overcome these insurgents of all stripes beard. International jihadists, Taliban local interests and objectives fuzzy variables, Mujahideen hardened by a life of war, here are the masters of the majestic mountains and rocky valleys.

" The insurgents have still picked up well. The average age of Taliban commanders has dropped from 31 to 27 years , "says an officer, without being able to check the reliability of the statistical deadly. And interest because it is better to go to the old to negotiate rather than young dogs crazy. It adds a slightly bitter observation: " It was the right time to go. For them and for us. Before the Afghans see us as enemy aliens, as the occupier. "

The French leave (pictured, a convoy carrying VAB to the storage area of Kabul airport) and the future of Afghanistan remains unresolved. " The region was occupied by the French (district of Surobi and Kapisa) is now led by the Afghan National Army (ANA). And the insurgents have not taken the hand. This is evidence of their effectiveness , "says Colonel Antonelli, head of the training mission Epidote.

Further down in ranks, we find less convinced. " The Afghan soldiers are tough but the evil I do not give them five years before getting to defend Kabul , "said Master Corporal Loïc original douaisienne. Camp Warehouse, east of Kabul, where are grouped the ultimate French forces, "the leader" of poker or karaoke evenings of the 1st company of the 35th Infantry Regiment Belfort would have stayed a few more months. For compensation multiplied by more than two according to rank and marital status, and not subject to income tax ...

Afghanistan: defense chief does not preclude a Belgian presence in Kunduz to Christmas 2013

The Head of National Defence, General Gerard Van Caelenberge has not formally excluded that Belgian soldiers are still present in Kunduz in northern Afghanistan in a year. Much will depend on the progress of the announced departure of the German military, he said Friday during a visit to the year-end Belgian troops in cee countries. The operation of the Belgian F-16 in Kandahar "will remain a very important mission," he added.

General is currently conducting a tour of Belgian forces deployed in Afghanistan to support them in this time of Christmas season spent away from their families. Friday, CHOD visited bases in Mazar-e-Sharif and Kandahar. On Saturday, he will Kunduz, where 125 Belgians form a battalion of the Afghan army. They will be there still next year? General Van Caelenberge excludes nothing for hours. Everything will depend on the progress of the announced departure of the German military, which controls operations in the region of Kunduz and protect the Belgian

Already 181 widebody flights to evacuate 560 vehicles and 490 containers of Afghanistan

Apart from the two thousand soldiers repatriated since May 2012, 39% of equipment and vehicles involved in the first phase of withdrawal French regained the city. By the end of the year, this figure will increase to 48%. The second phase is expected to last six months and lead to the removal of another thousand soldiers.

Colonel Michel André, the second in command of the CMT ( center mutimodal transport , responsible for strategic liaison referrals in regard to Afghanistan, the CCPO, the CICLO and PAMIR), states that the cargo in question includes "2 680 units with 1,150 vehicles and 1,530 containers. "

According to him, during the last weeks of December and early January, "a major effort will be made ​​because the climatic conditions are optimal, cold room to load up the big carriers." These Antonov andBoeing 747 provide at KAIA start, now all transfer out of way in Afghanistan. "181 flights have already taken place from 20 to 30% of these flights (to repatriate sensitive cargo helicopters, ammunition ...) directly to France, the rest to the UAE" where the cargo is loaded on boats.

Recourse to the surface is still being considered. "Technically, it's ready" ensures Colonel André. But all negotiations between states that have not yet been completed, the use of these routes has still not materialized. However, the cabinet of the French Minister of Defense announced that the northern route via Uzbekistan, will be convoys tests.

These surface streets are threefold: 
- the way south to the ports of Pakistan (the cheapest route) 
- the way north through Kazakhstan air starting Kabul railway to the Baltic ports and sea 
- the Another way north via Uzbekistan: road to Mazar-i-Sharif, and railway and sea from the Baltic ports.

End of the mission in Afghanistan for military Phalsbourg

The soldiers of the 1st regiment of "Phalsbourg gunships as well as the base defense Phalsbourg who were in Afghanistan have returned to Lorraine.

The Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian embarked Saturday night from Paphos airport, Cyprus, aboard Flight 153 military repatriating French soldiers engaged in Afghanistan. Among them were men of the 1st regiment of combat helicopters and men Phalsbourg base defense Phalsbourg.

1st Regiment gunships Phalsbourg

Assessment of Engagement in Afghanistan

1 RHC was hired four times in Afghanistan. It was the first helicopter regiment to set foot in the Afghan theater and who led the operation of disengagement on the same theater. The first elements of the Light Aviation of the Army (ALT) have gained a foothold in Afghanistan in 2007. In September 2008, the first from the RHC, the first French helicopter gunships have been designed in the Afghan theater at 3 Gazelle Viviane. This detachment, engaged for a period of six months, was the forerunner of the 8 other mandates ALT who succeeded until December 2012. 1 RHC was again engaged in 2010 from June to December. In 2012, from June to December, the first RHC has the last battalion armed helicopters. After these many commitments, will lead the first RHC in more than 5000 flight hours, more than 1,700 missions, including more than 140 medical evacuations, thus evacuating more than 200 wounded French soldiers and Afghan civilians, including women and children. He has been involved in more than 100 shares of fire, delivering around 30 missiles and Hot 8,000 rounds of 30 mm.

End of mission for the fighters of Afghanistan

The Defence Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, hosted Saturday, December 8, 2012 in Paphos, on the island of Cyprus, a group of 153 French soldiers returning from Afghanistan. They expressed the gratitude of the nation for commitment of French forces in the country since 2001.

Saturday, December 8, 2012, the Minister of Defence, Jean-Yves Le Drian, came to meet 153 French soldiers returning from Afghanistan, on the occasion of their visit to Cyprus decompression chamber.Wishing to stand alongside some of the last troops engaged in combat operations, the Minister expressed the gratitude of the Nation with regard to the mission carried out by our forces in Afghanistan since 2001.

In his speech on the tarmac of the airport of Paphos, Cyprus, Jean-Yves Le Drian was first saluted the memory of the 88 French soldiers who sacrificed their lives in this theater. The Minister pointed to the soldiers the courage of their wounded comrades during operation. He said: "It is with a sense of accomplishment that you get in France. You will soon be in your home. In two weeks, you will celebrate Christmas with family. You will find those that you like and that you have missed so much. It was a commitment that the President had taken before the French. The honored here. "

The minister then embedded with the 153 soldiers on board the Airbus of Air Force, to join France.

No 7 Force Protection Wing takes control at Camp Bastion

The RAF's No 7 Force Protection Wing has taken over Force Protection duties at Camp Bastion in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Camp Bastion houses a population in excess of 28,000 people, and is a critical part of the strategic air bridge, linking RAF Brize Norton in the UK with forces in Afghanistan. The airfield supports around 3,000 flights per week and is considered one of the busiest airfields in the world.

The Force Protection Wing's role is to maintain, alongside the US Marine Corps Headquarters Group, a fully integrated Force Protection capability. This capability exists to protect Bastion, its personnel and assets, whilst disrupting insurgent freedom of movement within a 700 square kilometre defensive zone surrounding the base.

No 7 RAF Force Protection Wing comprises a headquarters and a security squadron of RAF Police drawn from stations across the RAF.

The Wing is augmented by soldiers from the 5th Contingent from the Tongan Defence Services, an Automated Sense and Warn detachment from 16 Regiment Royal Artillery and, more recently, soldiers from The Queen's Royal Lancers' A Squadron.

A gunner from 15 Squadron RAF Regiment providing protection to Camp Bastion during OP HERRICK 17

Picture MOD 2012

Squadron Leader Max Kroyer, Officer Commanding 15 Squadron RAF Regiment, said:

Afghan Government: Coalition Cannot Arrest Afghans

The Afghan National Security Council announced Sunday that foreigners are forbidden from arresting Afghans or operating prisons in the country, potentially complicating NATO's war effort in Afghanistan.

A statement from Afghan President Hamid Karzai's office calls foreign-run prisons "a breach of … national sovereignty."
"No foreigners have the right to run prisons and detain Afghan nationals in Afghanistan," according to the statement.

The decree stems in part from a spat between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the United Kingdom, whose defense minister said detainees captured by British forces cannot be handed over to Afghan authorities because of fears of ill treatment. Karzai's statement specifically referenced the dispute and promised to transfer any remaining British prisons to Afghan control.

It is unclear whether the decree carries the force of law and Karzai's office did not immediately respond to a Stars and Stripes request for comment.
Control over prisoners has also been a long-simmering issue between the U.S. and Karzai, who has criticized the American military for the slow pace of their handover of detainees to Afghan authorities, since Washington signed a memorandum of understanding in March agreeing to turn over Parwan prison to Afghan authorities within six months. The U.S. subsequently missed the deadline and had to negotiate an extension.
In September, the U.S. handed over control of Parwan prison, a major detention center on Bagram Airfield. But Karzai has publicly criticized the U.S. for continuing to hold a number of prisoners, including Afghans.
Two weeks ago, Karzai called for the "full Afghanization" of the detention center, saying that some prisoners ordered released by the Afghan courts were still being held by U.S. forces.

Afghanistan Wants Pakistan To Free More Taliban

By Deb Riechmann, Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghanistan's top diplomat will press Pakistan Friday to free more Taliban detainees to help coax the militant group into peace negotiations to end the 11-year-old war, an official said.
Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmay Rasoul will make the request during a one-day visit to Islamabad, according to an Afghan official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss Rasoul's agenda ahead of the minister's talks with high-ranking Pakistani officials.
The cooperation of Pakistan, which has longstanding ties to the Taliban, is seen as key to jumpstarting the stalled Afghan peace process that has made little headway since it began several years ago, hobbled by distrust among the major players, including the United States. The Afghan and U.S. governments accuse Islamabad of backing insurgents — an allegation Pakistan denies — and say many militant leaders are hiding in the country.
With Afghan presidential elections and the withdrawal of most foreign combat troops looming in 2014, Afghanistan and its international allies are trying to push a peace process with the Taliban to bring an end to the conflict.
Afghanistan needs Pakistan's help in reaching out to top Taliban leaders, but still insists that peace talks be led by Afghans, saying it will fight those who try to interfere.
Earlier this month, Pakistan released nine Taliban figures in a move that Afghanistan said was a positive, first step that showed Islamabad's support for the peace process.
The official said that those released, including some senior Taliban leaders, are believed to still be in Pakistan. Afghanistan hopes the freed militants will play a constructive role in the peace process, the official said, while acknowledging that it is too soon to know what role, if any, they will hold.
Afghan officials have long sought the release of Taliban's former deputy leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who was captured in Pakistan in 2010 because he reportedly was having secret talks with the Afghans.
While it's unclear whether the Taliban are interested in negotiating peace, the official maintained that there are indeed key Taliban figures who support a political process to end the violence, but that some of them are afraid to establish direct contact with the Afghan government because some of those who did in the past were killed or detained.
Afghanistan wants Pakistan to encourage Taliban leaders to join the Afghan-led peace process and allow Taliban negotiators to travel to third countries for talks without detaining them or putting pressure on their families, the official said.

Greek soldiers leave Afghanistan

The Ministry of Defence of Greece completed the withdrawal of its units in Afghanistan. A special battalion left Kabul with all its equipment, said the ministry statement.

The mission of the Greek contingent in Afghanistan began February 17, 2002 has ended. The Ministry of Defence said the withdrawal by the reduction of the military budget and savings. His statement said that in 2011 the maintenance of the military mission in Kabul has cost 6.8 million euros in 2010, 7.7 million