Chairman Cites Surge Success, Discusses U.S.-Pakistan Relations

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON  – The surge operation in Afghanistan is a success that has accomplished what it was designed to do, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey told the Atlantic Council here today.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said he is encouraged by the success of the surge of 30,000 U.S. troops into the country, and by the decision Afghan leaders made during the recent loya jurga council meeting.

“They indicated they need and want and aspire to a relationship with us after 2014,” Dempsey said., but he added that he is not ready to say what will happen after all the surge troops are withdrawn from Afghanistan in September.

News reports said Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, wants a pause before withdrawing more forces. Dempsey said officials here and at U.S. Central Command are studying possible steps to take after the surge ends. All commanders look at recommendations for future actions through the lens of today’s experiences, Dempsey said.

“If missions change, if we establish milestones, if we reassess and make any changes, then a commander will do what he does,” Dempsey said. “He’ll say, ‘OK, if you want me to do that, here’s the troops-to-task analysis.’”

Marine Corps Gen. James N. Mattis, Centcom commander, and Allen are in constant contact, Dempsey said, and they keep each other informed of any changes to their strategies.

Dempsey said he also wants to ensure that American and NATO forces are not holding on to the mission due to an excess of caution over turning security responsibility over to the Afghans.

“We hold on to the bicycle seat sometimes a little too long,” the general said, meaning that like a concerned Dad, sometimes a person just has to let a child ride the bike alone. All this will influence the timetable for troop withdrawals from Afghanistan, the chairman said.

Meanwhile, a Nov. 26 border incident in which NATO fire killed 24 Pakistani soldiers near an Afghanistan-Pakistan border crossing has inflamed already raw nerves inside Pakistan, the chairman said, and U.S.-Pakistani military-to-military relations “are a mess.”

“I can absolutely say that it wasn’t something that we did intentionally,” Dempsey said of the border incident. “Regrettably, the Pakistani military believes we did. We did not attack a Pakistan military border post intentionally. If you think we did, I’d have to ask you what in the world you’d think we would gain by doing that.”

Dempsey said he has spoken with Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. Other senior U.S. officials have also spoken to their Pakistani counterparts, urging restraint and patience to let an inquiry board look into the incident and present its findings, he said.

The United States has invited Pakistan to participate in reviewing the incident, but Pakistan has so far declined, Pentagon officials said.

Alleged Terrorist Indicted in New York for the Murder of Five American Soldiers

NEW YORK—Today, a federal grand jury in Brooklyn, N.Y., returned an indictment charging Faruq Khalil Muhammad ‘Isa, 38, aka “Faruk Khalil Muhammad ‘Isa,” “Sayfildin Tahir Sharif” and “Tahir Sharif Sayfildin,” with aiding in the murder of five American soldiers in a suicide-bomb attack in Iraq in April 2009.

Specifically, he is charged with the murders of Staff Sergeant Gary L. Woods, 24, of Lebanon Junction, Ky.; Sergeant First Class Bryan E. Hall, 32, of Elk Grove, Calif.; Sergeant Edward W. Forrest Jr., 25, of St. Louis; Corporal Jason G. Pautsch, 20, of Davenport, Iowa; and Army Private First Class Bryce E. Gaultier, 22, from Cyprus, Calif.

The indictment also charges the defendant with conspiring to kill Americans abroad and providing material support to that terrorist conspiracy to kill Americans abroad.

In January 2011, the defendant was arrested and detained in Canada after he was charged by a federal complaint in the Eastern District of New York. The United States is seeking the defendant’s extradition from Canada in relation to the federal complaint in the Eastern District of New York. He remains in custody, and the defendant’s extradition hearing in Canada is currently scheduled for Jan. 30 to Feb. 1, 2012.

The charges were announced by Loretta E. Lynch, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; and Janice K. Fedarcyk, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the FBI.

The government’s investigation is being conducted by the FBI New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, with assistance provided by the Department of Defense, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the government of Tunisia.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zainab Ahmad, Carter H. Burwell and Berit W. Berger, with assistance provided by Mary Futcher and Stephen Ponticiello of the Counterterrorism Section in the Department of Justice’s National Security Division. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance in this matter.

The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Former Los Angeles Resident Pleads Guilty in Plot to Attack Seattle Military Processing Center

Defendant Agrees to Sentence of 27-32 Years in Prison for Plotting Attack

SEATTLE—A former Los Angeles man pleaded guilty today in connection with the June 2011 plot to attack a military installation in Seattle, announced Jenny A. Durkan, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington; Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; and Laura M. Laughlin, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle office.

 
Walli Mujahidh, aka “Frederick Domingue, Jr.,” 32, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder officers and agents of the United States, conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and unlawful possession of a firearm. If the plea agreement is accepted by the court, Mujahidh will be sentenced to between 27 and 32 years in prison under the terms of the agreement. Following the prison term, Mujahidh will be on federal supervised release for the rest of his life. Mujahidh is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge James L. Robart on April 16, 2012.
 
“This defendant tried to carry out a plot to kill American servicemen and women, and other innocent citizens who happened to be at the federal facility on the day of the planned attack,” said U.S. Attorney Durkan. “I applaud the FBI, Seattle Police Department, and the Joint Terrorism Task Force for their work in disrupting this plot and bringing Walli Mujahidh to justice. I also want to thank the many leaders of the Muslim community who have worked with my office to ensure that acts of a few are not used to condemn the faith of many.”
 
“Today’s plea underscores the threat posed by homegrown violent extremists and the need for continued vigilance to detect and dismantle their plots. I applaud the many agents, analysts and prosecutors who worked together to thwart this planned attack before anyone was harmed,” said Assistant Attorney General Monaco.
 
“The FBI is pleased that Mr. Mujahidh accepted responsibility for his actions, but this case remains a chilling reminder that there is constant work to be done,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Laughlin. “The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force continues to work tirelessly to detect, disrupt and dismantle threats to our community.”
 
The other defendant in the case, Abu Khalid Abdul-Latif, aka “Joseph Anthony Davis,” 33, of Seattle, remains scheduled for trial in May 2012.
 
Law enforcement first became aware of the plot when a citizen alerted them that he/she had been approached about participating in the attack and supplying firearms to the conspirators. The person then agreed to work with law enforcement, which began monitoring Abdul-Latif and Mujahidh. Since early June, the conspirators were captured on audio and videotape discussing a violent assault on the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS). The MEPS is where each branch of the military screens and processes enlistees. In addition to housing many civilian and military employees, the building houses a federal daycare center.

In his plea agreement, Mujahidh admits that he became aware of the planned attack in May 2011, and in early June was making plans to travel to Seattle from Los Angeles to participate in the attack. Mujahidh arrived in Seattle on June 21, 2011, and in a meeting with a person who was working with law enforcement, Mujahidh suggested going into the MEPS with machine guns and grenades and killing everyone there.
 
The next day, the person working with police brought some firearms, which had been rendered inoperable by law enforcement, to a meeting with Mujahidh and Abdul-Latif. The men were arrested after they took possession of the weapons. Mujahidh is prohibited from possessing firearms due to a felony conviction in California for theft.
 
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, with assistance from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
 
The investigation is being conducted by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which has investigators from federal, state and local law enforcement. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) contributed significant expertise to this investigation.

Afghanistan: Kansas Guard's ambitious new market sells hope to desperate locals

By Army Staff Sgt. Luke Graziani
Combined Joint Task Force 1 - Afghanistan

LAGHMAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan (12/8/11) - Just off the busy Afghan Highway 7, near the village of Gerdy Katz, a little market has emerged out of the dust and debris. Although small in stature, the shop is bursting with promise and hope for the villagers.

 The market is only the most recent, albeit essential, addition to a list of achievements the Kansas National Guard’s Agribusiness Development Team and their Afghan counterparts have struggled to reach together.

Two years ago the ADT cleared 10 Jaribs - roughly 50 acres - of land adjacent to Combat Outpost Xio Haq.

That initiative resulted in a boom of farming and agriculture to include greenhouses erected on-site, a well-supplied irrigation system and a citrus fruit tree and nut tree orchard.

Roughly 120 farmers were trained in green house technology, soil analysis, drip irrigation, pest management and animal husbandry.

 The culmination of all these projects was the ribbon cutting ceremony of the market, owned and operated by Wasir Kahn, a local Malik. Kahn and his team of laborers worked hard to see the fruits of their labor evolve to a business that would help bring hope to their district.

“Because it's close to the highway, the people of Kabul and Jalalabad, they want to buy something from here, so we have market here,” Kahn said.

 The closeness to the highway, combined with a lack of anything else like it in the area may spell success for this long awaited market.

“One of the keys to this marketplace is that there really is not much in the way of commercial, particularly commercial agriculture, products in this part of the district,” said Phil Blake, U.S. Department of Agriculture agricultural advisor. “This is really the perfect place in this western part of the district to have a facility where we can have a diversity of products.”

At the moment the humble market can only boast having poultry selling services, tailoring services and fresh locally grown produce. It holds the potential for growth to other areas.

“We were recently funded to set up a micro dairy here,” Blake said. “This will be the only place in this part of district where people can stop and pick up fresh cheese and yogurt-milk products.”

All of the perishable products for the local villages were brought in by trucks in the past. Before the market, getting fresh products were not cost effective.

“We go to Jalalabad or Methar Lam city so we spend more money as a transportation cost,” said Kahn, referring to the way they used to conduct business.

“For example, 1 kilogram of sugar you buy [at] 100 Afghani, but we spend 300 Afghani here for transportation cost, so 1 kilogram was almost 400 [Afghani]. Now [that] you [can] buy the sugar here, the transportation cost will sever.”

The market has already been a success story just by being there. Locals can enjoy the benefits of fresh products, but not have to dig as deeply into their pockets.

 The Gerdy Katz villagers are expected to take this development on their own to grow and expand it as their village expands and grows. The future is in their hands.

“The most important thing here is this district has now been declared transitioned,” Blake said.

 
“We are seeing more and more of a pull-back of advisors and U.S. forces here, so in the coming months the Afghans are pretty much going to be on their own,” he said. “We see this as a perfect opportunity for them to stand up for themselves and stand up the business here that is already proving to be successful.”

Kuwait: Minnesota Army National Guard members supporting the drawdown

By Army National Guard 1st Lt. Travis Tomford
Minnesota National Guard

CAMP VIRGINA, Kuwait  - With Dec. 31 just around the corner, the logistical drawdown and troop withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq is well underway and Minnesota Army National Guard members are on front lines of that task.

Providing huge assistance to the U.S. effort during what will likely be the last phase of Operation New Dawn are the Soldiers of Delta “Drifter” Company of the 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 194th Armor (1-194 CAB), 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division.

“It is an honor to be here now and provide the support needed to facilitate the drawdown,” said Army Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Gamble, the 1st Platoon sergeant currently on his second tour in the Middle East.

“Historically speaking, we are right in the middle of something big,” he said. “Our footprints will be one of the last made by U.S. forces in Iraq, and looking back 30 or 40 years from now, that is something we will be able to tell our children and grandchildren. We all take great pride in that.”

As the number of troops leaving Iraq daily continues to increase, so too does the amount of equipment they are bringing south to Kuwait with them.

Delta Company has been tasked with providing security support for convoys transporting the equipment troops have used throughout the war into neighboring Kuwait.

“This is no small task,” said Army 1st Lt. Christopher Bingham, the 3rd Platoon leader. “In the past ten years, there has been a massive amount of equipment collected throughout Iraq, and we want to be sure we bring with us anything serviceable and not waste taxpayer money.”

Although the end of the war in Iraq is in sight, the Soldiers recognize the presence of danger still exists. Therefore, they continue to remain vigilant and determined to bring everyone home safe.

“The job doesn’t end until every last Soldier is back home in the arms of their loved ones,” said Army Capt. Ryan Rossman, the Delta Company commander. “What the Soldiers from the 1-194 CAB have done these past four months in Kuwait and Iraq is remarkable, but we will not lose sight of our ultimate goal of returning home with everyone.”

At Camp Virginia, a base just south of the Iraqi border where a majority of the 600-plus Soldiers from the 1-194 CAB are currently stationed, the effects of the troop withdrawal from Iraq are clearly evident.

Camp Virginia, along with other U.S. bases throughout Kuwait, has received an influx of Soldiers who were previously stationed in Iraq. This is because most of the 40,000 troops who were previously in Iraq must pass through Kuwait before they can head home.

 However, though the bases in Kuwait may currently be packed with U.S. forces, this likely will not last for long. “With most of the units passing through expecting to be home before the holidays, things should slow down around here pretty quick,” Bingham said.

 Regardless of what is asked of the Drifters, they will continue to perform their duties to the utmost of professionalism that has been displayed thus far throughout the deployment.

Finally, no Soldier will lose sight of the mission and what needs to be accomplished here. Only once have they all boarded the plane home and arrive safely will each them be able to rest peacefully knowing they have done their part to ensure the mission in Iraq is complete.

Afghanistan: National Guard agribusiness development team helps Afghan farmers capitalize on livestock, improve livelihoods

By Army Sgt. Tamika Dillard
International Security Assistance Force

PARWAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan – As National Guard Soldiers rode down this narrow dirt road, with food shops to the right and clothing shops to the left, villagers from both sides of the street greeted them with large smiles as they waved peace signs back and forth.

This day, Dec. 3, these same Soldiers they see often roaming through their villages were not just passing through this time. They were making village calls in the small remote village of Jabbulsaraj here.

The Kentucky Army National Guard Agribusiness Development Team is currently working to improve the lives of farmers and connect them with their government through simple agricultural projects and outreach.

“Our mission is to employ the locals to do preventative medicines on their animals so the local Afghans see that their veterinarians are taking the lead,” said Army National Guard Capt. David Licciardello, the Kentucky National Guard ADT veterinarian. “We want the people of Afghanistan to know we are behind them by supplying them with the necessary advice, medication and care they need.”

Approximately 70 percent of Afghanistan is dependent upon agriculture, while most of their food base is dependent upon livestock, animal care and health. If the Afghan people do not have healthy livestock they are forced to look at other means for survival.

“If we teach the Afghan people how to properly take care of their livestock they will not have to turn to drugs or harming themselves or others,” Licciardello said. “They are learning if they follow the guidance we provide to them, their livestock can produce not only milk and food but healthy coats, wools and in some cases transportation.”

According to the U.S. Agency for International Development website, more animals are surviving at a much higher rate thanks to a USAID program that brings veterinary services to Afghanistan’s remote areas.

Throughout Afghanistan, USAID and the Dutch Committee for Afghanistan have trained more than 200 veterinary workers to care for the region’s flocks and have constructed 35 veterinary field clinics. The clinics are supplied with medications, vaccines and motorcycles, which are used to reach outlying communities. Together, the animal healthcare workers vaccinate an average of 50,000 animals each month.

“The supplies we receive for the different areas come from the Dutch Committee for Afghanistan,” Licciardello said. “They have a co-op of current and good quality vaccines they provide at reduced fees and in turn we would provide it at a low cost or no cost to the local veterinarians.”

Licciardello added that providing the vaccines at little to no cost gives the locals an incentive to treat their livestock. Otherwise the local herdsmen will not vaccinate their animals, causing a flock of sheep or herd of cattle to potentially die.

Diseases that are common in this area are foot-and-mouth disease, clostridium, endotoxemia and peste des petits ruminants, or PPR. These types of disease can be detrimental to a farmer who’s very dependent on his livestock.

“The foot-and-mouth disease is a severe plague for animal farming,” Licciardello added.

It is highly infectious and can spread by infected animals through aerosols, contact with contaminated farming equipment, vehicles, clothing or feed, and by domestic and wild predators.

Its containment demands considerable efforts in vaccination, strict monitoring, trade restrictions and quarantines, and occasionally the elimination of millions of animals, he said.

Over the past six months Licciardello has completed multiple missions throughout Panjshir, Parwan and Kapisa provinces, educating farmers about the importance of vaccinations and he loves the progress that has been made so far.

To date he has been involved in administering more than 140,000 vaccines to far more than 35,000 animals.

“It is great knowing we have made so many farmers realize the importance of vaccinating their animals,” Licciardello said. “When they look at their animals now and see they are healthy and stronger, they realize the true value in keeping up with the health of their herds.”

Afghanistan: National Guard Soldiers give school supplies, hope to Afghan children

By Army Sgt. Tamika Dillard
International Security Assistance Force

KAPISA PROVINCE, Afghanistan – More than 600 children received a surprise here Dec. 3 when Kentucky Army National Guard Soldiers showed up at their school with more than 50 boxes full of school supplies.

“After visiting three of the local schools, I e-mailed several friends of mine in the Kentucky school system,” said Army National Guard Sgt. Heather Carrier, a Kentucky Army National Guard Soldier. “Not even a day later a personal friend sent me a message to inform me she would make it this year’s National Guard Youth Symposium community project.”

Notebooks, pens, tablets, crayons and English textbooks were donated in an effort to provide a better education for the future of Afghan youth. Donations were made by many local businesses and delivered to the sixth annual National Guard Youth Symposium in Louisville, Ky., earlier this year.

“When you visit the schools here you can point out the differences in the students,” Carrier said. “You see a student sitting in the front of the class with a couple of pens and a notebook and then you see the child sitting in the back of the classroom with a sheet or two of loose paper that was borrowed from another student. It just wasn’t right in my eyes.”

Carrier wasn’t the only Soldier who wanted to make a difference and show support for the Afghan education system.

“I hated going to the local schools and seeing the children without the basic school supplies,” said Army Sgt. Jerred Stevens. “After my last school visit, I made a phone call to my mom and told her about the youth program here.”

Stevens said his mom immediately began to put the word out to schools in her district about starting a donation for the schools in Afghanistan.

“My mom is an elementary school teacher at Brodhead Elementary,” Stevens said. “The students in her classroom helped with the supply drive and it took off from there. Before we knew it donations were coming in from students, parents and businesses throughout Rockcastle County, Ky.”

Once all the supplies were gathered, the question that lingered on Carrier and Stevens’ minds was, “How will we get all these boxes to Afghanistan?”

Between the two of them, they had more than 600 boxes waiting to be transported from Kentucky to Afghanistan.

Stevens said the solution proved to be quite easy once he made the right contacts.

“I contacted my training [noncommissioned officer in charge], Staff Sgt. Heath Sailor, in my unit,” he said. “Staff Sgt. Sailor told me to have my mom drop the packages off at the Richmond Armory in Richmond, Ky. From their Staff Sgt. Sailors took the packages to where the packages from the symposium were located at the Kentucky Air National Guard base in Louisville.”

The packages arrived on Thanksgiving Day at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan.

“When I heard the packages had arrived I was so excited,” Carrier said as she laughs about it. “I didn’t think it would make it here as fast as it did. I thought we would be handing it off to the next unit for delivery, but I am happy it didn’t work out like that.”

To the Afghan teachers and students, the joy that the Soldiers brought to them means so much.

“I am so happy for these school supplies and the help from the soldiers,” said Nagahia, a 10th grade student at Nasaji Gulbahar Girls School. “This is a great relationship between us and America for now and into the future. It is great the Soldiers care about our education and have come to help my people rebuild my country.”

To the Soldiers of the Kentucky National Guard, it was priceless to see the children so excited about receiving supplies for schools.

“Seeing them light up when you give them a pack of pencils or notebook just lights up my heart,” Carrier said. “They take these items as if you just gave them a PlayStation 3 or an Xbox 360. They are so grateful and appreciative.”

Troops Get Supplies Despite Pakistan’s Border Closing

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2011 – U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan will receive the supplies they need to perform their missions regardless of Pakistan’s closure of its border with Afghanistan, Pentagon officials said today.

Pentagon Press Secretary George Little and Navy Capt. John Kirby hope that Pakistan will reopen the border between the countries and return its troops to the border coordination centers. The centers are designed to avoid incidents like that of Nov. 26 when NATO ordnance accidently killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

The two spoke during a Pentagon news conference.

The war effort in Afghanistan continues unabated by the closures, Little said. “We’re well-aware of the closures and potential impacts,” he said. “To date, there’s been no significant impact to our ability to provide for the war effort. That being said, we do believe that these are important supply routes, and we hope that in the near future they can be reopened.”

Good logistics systems are among the crucial factors for success in any military operation, and redundancy is key to logistics. About 30 percent of the supplies to NATO and U.S. troops in Afghanistan travel through Pakistan. Other routes are taking up the slack.

NATO International Security Assistance Force commander Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen “is comfortable” with his supply situation now, Kirby said. “So there have been no major muscle movements to alter the flow of logistics,” he said.

Kirby also discussed China and reports that Chinese leaders have ordered their navy to be operationally ready. This does not mean that China is girding for war. “Nobody is looking for that kind of conflict with China,” he said.

Navies exist to protect the national security interests of their countries, Kirby said.

“All navies have to be ready for operation; our navy is ready for operations,” he said. “We certainly wouldn’t begrudge the Chinese government from wanting to ensure that their navy was fit for sea.”

U.S. military relations with China are improving. Michele Flournoy, undersecretary of defense for policy, has just left China after holding defense consultative talks with military and governmental leaders there.

“This is a country that we have been trying very hard to develop a good, constructive military relationship with,” Kirby said. “We’re taking steps in the right direction, and it is moving in the right direction.”

The peaceful rise of China is not only good for the region, it’s good for the world, Kirby said.

“This is a country that we want to have a good, constructive, productive relationship with,” he said.

General: Afghan Reintegration Program Will Take Time

By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2011 – Permanently removing insurgents from the fight and reintegrating them into their Afghan communities is a gradual process that will take time, the International Security Assistance Force officer directing coalition support to that Afghan-led effort said today.

British Royal Marine Maj. Gen. David Hook, director of ISAF’s Force Reintegration cell, briefed Pentagon reporters today by video link from Kabul, Afghanistan.

The Afghan Peace and Reintegration program has so far helped 2,970 former insurgents rejoin Afghan society, Hook noted, and is working with another 1,200 fighters who represent “reintegration opportunities.”

While the program is nationwide and directed by the central government in Kabul, he added, it is implemented at the district and provincial level throughout Afghanistan. Most reintegrated former fighters, he said, have come from the nation’s northern and western provinces, but numbers in the southern and eastern areas are increasing slowly.

“A cornerstone of this local approach is the resolution of grievances that led people to fight in the first place,” Hook said. “If you accept the premise that 80 percent of the men fighting in the south are fighting for nonideological reasons -- and our analysis of why they have stopped fighting supports this -- it becomes clear that if you can address their grievances, you can draw them back into society. You then make the other 20 percent less relevant.”

The program aims to build trust and confidence among people who have been fighting the government and each other for many years, the general said, in a process that “engages political, social and religious leaders at every level so that Afghans can build peace, if necessary, village by village.”

The requirement that former insurgents apologize to their villages essentially forms a compact between those fighters and their fellow Afghans, Hook said, adding he attributes the program’s low recidivism rate -- five of nearly 3,000 reintegrees -- to that bond.

“He has asked for forgiveness from his community, and his community has forgiven him, and it locks them together in this contract,” Hook said.

Hook told reporters he wanted to dispel myths that have grown up around the reintegration program. Insurgents aren’t paid to stop fighting, he said, though they receive a three-month transitional allowance if they take part in disengagement training.

And, insurgents are not immune to prosecution, Hook added, noting they can expect no compromise on human rights violations, particularly the rights of women.

Hook called reintegration an essential component in ISAF’s counterinsurgency campaign. In a letter to troops upon taking command of ISAF forces in July, Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen talked about the importance of reintegration and about “maintaining unrelenting pressure on the insurgency,” he said. “Ultimately, this pressure gives the insurgent a choice: to be killed, to be captured or to reintegrate.”

Four factors are converging to increase the program’s momentum, Hook said. The past year’s troop surge has decreased the insurgency’s capability, he said, and international and Afghan support for reintegration is increasing. Third, the program itself is expanding and improving outreach capability, he added, and many insurgent fighters -- facing another winter, when their leaders typically relocate -- are tired.

“I'm not saying the process is perfect; there are still issues to be addressed. But the Afghans are delivering and fixing issues as they arise,” Hook said.

“You have a gathering national momentum towards peace,” he added. “Ultimately, I believe … [there is] a favorable set of circumstances that will enable this program to progress. The challenge is taking all of those pieces and using them to leverage the program, and this is where Afghan leadership is essential. With strong leadership over the winter, this program will gain greater momentum.”

Combined Force Seizes, Destroys Drug Cache

From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2011 – A combined Afghan and coalition security force confiscated a drug cache containing about 10,000 pounds of hashish during a patrol in the Zurmat district of Afghanistan’s Paktiya province today, military officials reported.

The hashish was destroyed, officials said.

In other Afghanistan operations today:

-- A combined force detained several suspects while searching for an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan leader in the Chahar Darah district of Konduz province. The leader trains insurgents to construct and use roadside bombs, recruits suicide bombers, and plans attacks throughout the district.

-- In the Nad ‘Ali district of Helmand province, a combined force detained several suspects while searching for a Taliban leader who directs roadside-bomb and other attacks, and is linked to several kidnappings in the area.

-- A combined force captured a Haqqani facilitator and one other suspect in the Pul-e ‘Alam district of Logar province. The man directed roadside bomb attacks against coalition forces and supplied Haqqani fighters.

-- A combined force captured a Haqqani leader, detained four other suspects, and seized several weapons in the Bak district of Khost province. The leader conducted attacks in the district.

In Afghanistan operations yesterday:

-- A combined patrol confiscated a weapons cache containing 10 82mm rounds, two anti-personnel mines, one rocket-propelled grenade, 100 machine-gun rounds and one RPG motor in the Khost district of Logar province.

-- Afghan police captured a truck containing more than 14,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate in Qalat in Zabul province.

Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
 
They died Dec. 3, in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device.  They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, Fort Bliss, Texas.
 
Killed were:
 
Sgt. 1st Class Clark A. Corley Jr., 35, of Oxnard, Calif.,
 
Spc. Ryan M. Lumley, 21, of Lakeland, Fla., and
 
Spc. Thomas J. Mayberry, 21, of Springville, Calif.
 
For more information the media may contact the First Armored Division public affairs by email at dennis.r.swanson4.mil@mail.mil or by phone at 915-744-8406 or 915-203-3769.
 
UPDATE:  Dec. 8, 2011 -- A second contact phone number was added for First Armored Division public affairs.

Afghanistan: Oklahoma National Guard, Afghan National army join forces to weaken insurgency

By Army Staff Sgt. Erik Wolf
Combined Joint Task Force 1

PAKTYA PROVINCE, Afghanistan – National Guard Soldiers and Afghan National army soldiers kicked off a joint mission, known as Operation Shamshir III, here Nov. 28.

The mission, incorporating the Oklahoma National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 279th Infantry Regiment, Task Force Creek, and ANA’s 3rd Coy, 1st Kandak, was intended to deny enemy strongholds and destroy caches of weapons and ammunition.

The objectives of their mission were based on intelligence and civil affairs reporting that showed where likely places for strongholds and caches could be found. ANA and U.S. soldiers, acting on these reports, executed a large-scale search that resulted in the capture of several assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and artillery rounds, thousands of rounds of small-arms ammunition, and materials for making improvised explosive devices.

One lasting effect of the mission is that the elimination of the weapons will make it more difficult for the insurgency to restart combat operations during the upcoming fighting season, said Army National Guard 1st Lt. Joshua Starks, commander of Company B, 1st Battalion, 279th Infantry Regiment, TF Creek.

“Operation Shamshir III was a successful strike on the enemy’s ability to quickly reengage fighting after the winter,” Starks said.

Army National Guard Lt. Col. Chuck Booze, the TF Creek commander, attributed the success of the operation to the local villagers’ negative opinion of the insurgency.

“This is a classic example of the population’s distrust of the insurgency and cooperation with the ANA and coalition forces to rid the area of weapons and IED materials,” Booze said.

“At present, security is the villagers’ greatest concern in our area,” said ANA Maj. Gulam Habib, the 3rd Coy commander.

“With this successful operation,” he said, “[Afghan National Security Forces] will be able to reduce the enemy’s ability to intimidate and threaten the local population.”

General Calls Iraq Operations ‘Worth It’ in Final News Briefing

By Lisa Daniel
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7, 2011 – As the final U.S. military convoys roll out of Iraq these next three weeks, marking the end of eight years of operations, Americans can be proud of the work service members did there, U.S. Forces Iraq’s deputy commanding general said today.

In USFI’s final news briefing of the War in Iraq from Baghdad, Army Lt. Gen. Frank G. Helmick told the Pentagon press corps that Americans and Iraqis will have different opinions about whether Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn “were worth it.”

“From where I sit, it was,” Helmick said.

It was because of the U.S. military role that the country held historic elections in March 2010, giving Iraq “the opportunity for a sovereign future,” the general said. And, he added, violence is at an eight-year low.

Helmick said his beliefs are underscored by the positive comments of some wounded warriors and family members of the fallen, which totals more than 4,500 U.S. service members.

“My firm belief is that there is no other military in the world that can do what yours did in Iraq,” he said. “For eight years, they have been building and securing this country.”

U.S. troops’ greatest legacy in Iraq, Helmick said, is in the professionalism, confidence and esprit de corps of the Iraqi security forces.

“We gave 28 million Iraqis the greatest gift anyone can give and that is their freedom,” he said.

Helmick marked the historic occasion by calling the veterans of Iraq operations the next “Greatest Generation,” a reference to those who served in World War II.

“The significance of this day doesn’t escape me,” the general said on the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. For their service in Iraq, he said, “America discovered the next greatest generation.”

“Words cannot begin to express the pride I feel about America’s military performance and service in Iraq,” he added.

The 18-month process of drawing down forces in Iraq “is simply historic,” going from 300,000 service members and more than 5,000 installations in 2007 to 8,000 troops and five bases today, Helmick said. Military drivers have logged 16 million miles, “moving a mountain of equipment and personnel,” mostly through southern Iraq and into Kuwait, and have fewer than 1,000 truckloads left, he said.

U.S. forces built the Iraqi security forces to more than 700,000, trained them, and left them with “some of the best [equipment] we have,” including the M1 Abrams tank and artillery equipment, the general said. U.S. forces also were in charge of the country’s security until 2010 when Iraqi forces took the lead.

Every piece of U.S. military equipment “goes through an agonizing process” of determining whether it should be shipped out of the country or left for the Iraqis, Helmick said. The U.S. military has incurred significant savings in transportation costs by leaving equipment, namely office furniture, in Iraq, he said.

Iraq still has challenges, Helmick said, including continued threats from al-Qaida and other terrorist groups, Iranian meddling, and internal ethnic tensions.

Iraq has made good progress on police work, the general said, and is capable of securing the country internally, if not externally. “The Iraqis understand they have a security gap if someone comes into their air space who doesn’t want to be seen,” he said.

Whether or not the Iraqis choose a future U.S. military role in security is up to them, the general said.

“The sense I get from the Iraqis is that they want to have a strong relationship with our country,” he said.

Asked about the military’s “lessons learned” in Iraq, Helmick said, “We performed, really, beyond expectations.”

Early on, the general said, service members in Iraq had to do things they weren’t necessarily trained to do. They weren’t very good at advising Iraqi farmers on wheat crops, “but we did that,” or in helping with the oil refinery and distribution processes, “but we did that,” he said.

“The military had to branch out through all the different portions of the government sector because, at that time, there was no one to pass the ball off to,” Helmick said.

U.S. operations in Iraq later became the example of how best to synchronize military and civilian actions, Helmick said. Americans serving in the Iraq War learned about the country’s culture and enabled the Iraqis to create a system of security and governance for themselves, he said, rather than a template of how things are done in the United States.

As for Iraq’s future security, Helmick said, “We really don’t know what is going to happen, but we know we’ve done everything we can for the Iraqi security forces.”

Asked if the Iraqis are capable of doing their part to keep U.S. State Department employees and contractors safe when they take over the U.S. role there Jan. 1, the general said, “My gut tells me they will be capable to do this -- they’re doing it today.”

ISAF Reintegration Director to Brief Live from Afghanistan

Maj. Gen. David Hook (Royal Marines), director of the International Security Assistance Force’s Force Reintegration Cell, will brief the media live from Afghanistan at 10:30 a.m. EST, Dec. 8, in the Pentagon Briefing Room (2E973) to provide an update on governance and reconstruction.

Journalists without a Pentagon building pass will be picked up at the River Entrance only.  Plan to arrive no later than 45 minutes prior to the event; have proof of affiliation and two forms of photo identification.  Please call 703-697-5131 for escort into the building.

DOD Helps Afghans Develop Mineral Enterprise

By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7, 2011 – A Defense Department task force working with the U.S. Geological Survey is modernizing Afghanistan’s geological enterprise so the war-torn nation can stimulate international investment in its rich deposits of minerals, fossil fuels and rare-earth elements.

The DOD Task Force for Business and Stability Operations is providing state-of-the-art equipment and, with USGS, training for geophysicists at the Afghanistan Geological Survey so the government eventually can use modern tools to conduct and oversee mineral exploration there.

“We’ve been working with the USGS on this program since September 2009,” Emily Scott, task force director of natural resource development, told American Forces Press Service.

“We just signed another interagency agreement to continue working with the USGS on geophysics capacity training for the next fiscal year,” she added. The fiscal year ends Sept. 30, 2012.

After several months of mainly classroom training for five Afghan scientists at the USGS in Denver, Colo., Scott said, “this year we will focus on [getting the scientists] out in the field in Afghanistan and collecting ground geophysics data with the equipment we purchased.”

Geophysics is the study of Earth’s shape, gravitation, magnetism, internal structure, composition and other features.

For the purpose of mining, geophysicists can figure out what’s in the ground by measuring characteristics of the surface material and the subsurface rocks.

These include the chemical composition of the surface material and, for subsurface rocks, electrical conductivity, tiny variations in the earth’s magnetic and gravity fields, and how different rocks absorb light, called infrared spectral reflectance.

“Each rock has its own characteristic density,” Dr. Victor F. Labson, director of the USGS Crustal Geophysics and Geochemistry Science Center in Denver, told American Forces Press Service.

“By understanding the density distribution and understanding which rocks have what density -- and we [know] that from a hundred years of laboratory measurements -- we can then discern what sort of rocks are in the subsurface from the gravity variations.”

The same thing is true for magnetics, conductivity and light absorption, he added -- each kind of rock responds differently to each measuring instrument.

These properties can be measured on the ground and, since 1943 when magnetic anomaly detectors were used on planes over the ocean to hunt for enemy submarines during World War II, from the air.

The Afghan geophysicists are being trained in ground geophysics but the real need is to enable them to work with companies that invest in exploring Afghan mineral deposits and bring in their own contractors to do the flights and data collection.

“There’s a huge commercial industry that supports airborne geophysics,” Labson said, “So we hope they’ll have the understanding and the ability to write [specifications for and to monitor] contracts, and then interpret the data resulting from airborne surveys.”

The USGS has just completed and published on its website more than 20 highly prospective area reports for deposits in Afghanistan that seem to have particular potential, he said.

“The idea is to help create a stable economy, that’s really the underlying mission of the task force,” Labson said.

“Developing the resources would be an economic boost,” he added, “but there are a lot of jobs associated with it as well.”

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Mines, supported by the task force, made progress on its goals yesterday in London at an international conference called Mines and Money.

There, the ministry opened tender processes, or auctions, for exploration and later exploitation of four project areas with deposits containing gold and copper.

“Afghanistan is a geologically rich country,” Minister of Mines Wahidullah Shahrani said yesterday in a statement. “Assessments of only a fraction of the country’s land area indicate the potential for considerable mineral resources.”

What this means, Scott explained, “is that international investors will compete for each deposit for the next year.”

The companies will have until March, she added, “to submit what we call their expressions of interest, at which time we’ll begin qualifying the companies and determining who’s qualified to bid. Then they’ll be invited to put bids together for each deposit.”

The four copper and gold tenders will be marketed in parallel, Scott said. A lithium deposit in the Herat province will be marketed separately.

Of the first four deposits, one is a copper deposit in Herat province called Shaida, Zarkashan is a copper and gold deposit in Ghazni province, Badakhshan is a gold deposit in the country’s north, and Balkhab is a copper deposit in Sar-I-Pul and Balkh provinces.

“These are exploration deposits,,” Scott said, “so at this point the companies will have to come in and do ground geophysics, airborne geophysics and drilling in order for them to come to a value on the deposit at that level.”

She added: “Copper and gold deposits of this size tend to be worth billions of dollars.”

USS Carney Disrupts Pirate Attack in Gulf of Aden

From U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs

USS CARNEY, At Sea (NNS) -- USS Carney (DDG 64), part of NATO's counter-piracy task force Operation Ocean Shield, worked with other NATO forces and coalition partners to disrupt pirate activity in the Gulf of Aden, Dec. 5.

A Japanese maritime patrol aircraft patrolling the area on counter-piracy operations spotted a suspicious skiff with seven suspected pirates aboard and contacted the NATO flagship ITS Andrea Doria who in turn tasked Carney to investigate.

In a coordinated operation, Carney approached the skiff, while the patrol aircraft circled overhead. As the warship appeared on the horizon the skiff attempted to flee however it stopped when hailed.

The patrol aircraft and Carney observed the suspected pirates throwing items overboard. The items were visually confirmed by the patrol aircraft as ladders and other pirate-related equipment.

A team from Carney boarded the skiff and after a thorough search seized the excess fuel and other items useful to piracy activity, before ensuring the skiff had enough fuel to return to the Somali coast.

In 2009, 45 ships were hijacked in the region; so far in 2011, 21 ships have been hijacked effectively halving the number of ships taken. Naval warships have been in the region constantly providing a visible presence and deterrence and this has undoubtedly contributed to the pirates' lack of success.

Carney is currently deployed, assigned to NATO, conducting counter-piracy operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.