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offensive
Is the Afghan Army ready for prime time?
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Afghan President Hamid Karzai has condemned the bombings in Kabul which killed up to nine Indians, a Frenchman and an Italian as a terrorist attack. The Taliban said they carried out the attacks. The assault comes as NATO and Afghan forces continue ‘Operation Moshtarak’ to combat the Taliban in the south of the country. Reporter Ben Gilbert looks at the battle readiness of the Afghan troops. Download MP3 (Photo: Ben Gilbert) Afghanistan’s “radio war”
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The United States government is mounting a counter-propaganda offensive in Afghanistan to combat the Taliban’s media successes. Journalist Douglas Wissing reports on the “radio war” raging in eastern Afghanistan. Download MP3 (Photo:Douglas Wissing)
NATO causes more civilian deaths in Afghanistan
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At least 27 civilians died in a NATO air strike in southern Afghanistan, the Afghan cabinet says. NATO said it hit a suspected insurgent convoy, but ground forces later found “a number of individuals killed and wounded”, including women and children. Civilian deaths in strikes have caused widespread resentment in Afghanistan. Matthew Bell reports. Download MP3 (Photo: POOL/AFP/Getty Images)
Taliban commander “seized in Pakistan”
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A man described as the top Afghan Taliban military commander and named as Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar has been captured in Pakistan, US officials say. The government has yet to confirm the arrest; the Taliban have denied it. Pakistani authorities have beefed up security at the Afghan border (AP Photo: Shah Khalid) after NATO launched Operation Moshtarak against the Taliban in Afghanistan. Jason Margolis has more. Download MP3
Who is Mullah Baradar?
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Ron Moreau is South East Asia correspondent for Newsweek magazine. He profiled Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar last summer and managed to communicate with him through emails. Katy Clark talks with Moreau, who is in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. Download MP3
Taliban ‘forced from strongholds’
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US Marines are making steady progress in one of the biggest NATO offensives in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001, but areas infested with roadside bombs are bogging them down, a spokesman said on Monday. On day three of Operation Moshtarak, senior Afghan officers said areas around Marjah and Nad Ali were being cleared of insurgents. The campaign aims to bring the areas back under Afghan government control. Anchor Katy Clark speaks with Rod Norland of the New York Times in Kabul. Download MP3 (Photo:Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images)On IED patrol in Afghanistan
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Download MP3Improvised Explosive Devices, or IED’s are now responsible for 70 % of the US troop fatalities in Afghanistan. One way the US led coalition is trying to combat them is by finding the bombs before they blow up. In part two of our series on IEDs, reporter Ben Gilbert is embedded with Task Force Thor in southern Afghanistan.
NATO prepares big offensive against Taliban
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Hundreds of villagers living in a Taliban-controled area of southern Afghanistan are leaving before a major NATO-led offensive gets under way. It is expected to be one of the largest counter-insurgency operations since the Afghan conflict began in 2001. The operation to clear insurgents from the southern town of Marjah, in Helmand province, is expected to begin soon. The BBC’s Frank Gardner is 90 miles east of Marjah in Kandahar. Download MP3
Pakistan girl ‘forced to become suicide bomber’
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In Pakistan a shocking account of life with the Taliban has emerged from a 13 year old girl, who says her own family tried to turn her into a suicide bomber. The girl, named Meena, says her brother is a Taliban commander who trained many bombers. There’s no independent verification of her account, but police say they believe she is telling the truth. Meena told her story to the BBC’s Orla Guerin. Download MP3Afghanistan conference
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Afghan forces will begin taking control of security in some of the country’s provinces by the end of 2010, a key summit on its future has pledged. In a statement at the end of the one-day meeting, delegates said the process would be complete within five years. The summit encouraged more contributions but gave no firm figures. Marco Werman talks with Afghanistan’s finance minister Omar Zakhilwal, who attended the London conference. Download MP3 (Photo: Anthony Devlin/AFP/Getty Images)
General McChrystal in Afghanistan hearing
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The United States will reverse Taliban momentum within a year and accomplish its mission in Afghanistan, but it will be “undeniably difficult” and costly, the top American commander there has said. Appearing in Congress, General Stanley McChrystal warned the mission would fail without more troops and praised President Obama’s decision to deploy 30,000 additional forces. Katy Clark reports. Download MP3 (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)Pakistan’s reaction to Obama speech
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President Obama said one of the three pillars to success in Afghanistan was Pakistan. Many in Pakistan have reacted negatively to that. The official reaction in Pakistan has been somewhat muted, but the press is speaking out strongly against the President’s new plan. The World’s Jason Margolis reports. Download MP3
President Obama’s Afghanistan plan
Special coverage of President Obama’s speech on The World:
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President Barack Obama has ordered 30,000 more US troops to Afghanistan but warned America would begin to withdraw its military forces by 2011. World security was at stake, Mr Obama said in his address to the nation at West Point, calling for more allied troops. Download MP3
Kandahar update
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President Obama is to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan and deploy them within six months, US officials have said. Commanders on the ground want the reinforcements concentrated in Taliban strongholds in southern Afghanistan, including Kandahar and Helmand, the group’s opium-producing heartland. Ben Gilbert is reporting from an American base in Kandahar Province. Download MP3 (Photo of Marines in Helmand by Manpreet Romana/AFP/Getty Images)
The situation in Kandahar
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President Obama will officially unveil his new orders for the US military in Afghanistan tomorrow night at the US Military Academy at West Point, New York. You can be certain the President’s speech will be closely watched at the military base in Kandahar. That’s Afghanistan’s second largest city and militants have been making gains in the area. Reporter Ben Gilbert is there. Download MP3
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