'Wahamiaji Waafrika kuondoshwa' kisiwani

Waziri mkuu wa Italia Silvio Berlusconi ameahidi kuwa kisiwa cha Lampedusa karibu kitakuwa hakina wahamiaji Waafrika.

Maelfu ya watu wamewasili katika kisiwa hicho kusini mwa Sicily tangu Januari, wakisafiri kutoka Tunisia na Libya.

Maafisa wamesema hali ya usafi imekuwa "mbaya" sana na wakazi wa kisiwa hicho wameandamana.


Wahamiaji Lampedusa


Alipotembelea kisiwa hicho, Bw Berlusconi alitangaza kwa umati wa watu kuwa "katika kipindi cha saa 48 hadi 60 Lampedusa itakaliwa na raia wa Lampedusa pekee".

Takriban wahamiaji 20,000 wamevuka bahari ya Mediterranea tangu mageuzi yaanze huko Afrika kaskazini na mashariki ya kati mwezi Januari.

Silvio Berlusconi


Dharura
Wahamiaji 6,000- zaidi ya idadi ya watu wote waishio katika kisiwa hicho- sasa wanaishi kwenye kambi za muda.

Siku ya Jumanne usiku hakujakuwa na wahamiaji wowote waliofika kisiwani hapo, chombo cha habari cha Italia kiliripoti, usiku wa kwanza kukosa wahamiaji kuwasili tangu waanze kuingia kisiwani humo.


Siku ya Jumatano asubuhi, meli tano ziliwasili, zilizoagizwa na serikali ya Italia kwenda Lampedusa kuchukua wahamiaji na kuwapeleka bara.

Ndege ya Bw Berlusconi ilifika kisiwani hapo baada ya saa 1300.

Baada ya kukutana na gavana wa eneo hilo na meya wa Lampedusa, alihutubia umati wa wakazi wa kisiwa hicho, huku akiwaahidi msururu wa hatua zitakazochukuliwa zikiwemo kufutwa kwa kodi na ruzuku.

Alisema pia kutakuwa na mpango wa kuzindua upya shughuli za utalii za Lampedusa, ambazo zimeathirika sana na kiwango kikubwa cha watu kutoka Afrika ya kaskazini.

Siku moja kabla, aliwaelezea wahamiaji hao waliokuwa wakienda Lampedusa kuwa ni "fukara" wakikimbia ulimwengu usiokuwa na uhuru wala demokrasia.

Japokuwa wengi wa wahamiaji hao wanatarajiwa kupelekwa Sicily au kambi zilizo bara ya Italia, majadiliano yanaendelea ya kuwarejesha wengi wao Tunisia.

Wengi waliowasili kisiwani hapo tangu mwezi Januari wamesafiri kwa maji kutoka Tunisia, lakini katika siku za hivi karibuni boti zimetoka kutoka Libya pia.






Mabomu yagunduliwa Dortmund

Ofisi ya polisi inayohusika na uhalifu nchini Ujerumani imelizima jaribio la shambulio la bomu katika uwanja wa mpira wa miguu wa Dortmund. Gazeti la Bild limeripoti kuwa wapelelezi waligundua maeneo mawili ardhini yaliyokuwa na mabomu na silaha.

Moja liligunduliwa karibu na uwanja wa mpira wa Dortmund na jingine mjini Krefeld. Ofisi hiyo imethibitisha kuwa ilikuwa inafanya uchunguzi wa mabomu yanayodhaniwa kupatikana katika jimbo la North-Rhine Westphalia.

Mjerumani mwenye umri wa miaka 25 anayetuhumiwa yuko chini ya ulinzi baada ya kukamatwa mjini Cologne. Wapelelezi wanasema bado haijafahamika iwapo mabomu hayo yalikuwa yatumike wakati wa mechi dhidi ya Hanover siku ya Jumamosi, ambapo mashabiki 80,000 wanatarajia kuhudhuria pambano hilo.








Bomu la ndani ya barua laripuka Uswisi

Bomu lililokuwa ndani ya barua limeripuka katika ofisi za shirika la nishati ya nyuklia la Uswisi na kuwajeruhi watu wawili.

Polisi wamesema kuwa barua hiyo imeripuka katika ofisi hizo zilizoko kwenye mji wa kaskazini mwa nchi hiyo wa Olten. Waathirika wote wamepatwa na majeraha madogo. Hakuna mtu au kundi lililodaii kuhusika na shambulio hilo








Kan na Sarkozy wataka masharti magumu ya nyuklia

Waziri Mkuu wa Japan, Naoto Kan na Rais Nicolas Sarkozy wa Ufaransa wametoa wito wa kuimarishwa viwango vya kimataifa vya usalama wa nyuklia kutokana na janga la nyuklia katika kiwanda cha nyuklia cha Fukushima nchini Japan.

Katika ziara yake kuonyesha mshikamano na Japan kufuatia maafa hayo, Rais Sarkozy ametaka kufanyike mkutano miongoni mwa mashirika ya usalama wa nyuklia kutoka kundi la mataifa 20 yaliyoendelea kiuchumi duniani-G20, ili kuanzisha sheria za kimataifa.

Katika mkutano na waandishi habari pamoja na Rais Sarkozy, Waziri Mkuu Kan amesema Japan iko tayari kushirikiana na ulimwengu katika kuelezea uzoefu wake kuhusu maafa ya nyuklia, lakini nchi hiyo itaendelea kutumia nishati ya nyuklia.

Mkusanyiko wa madini ya joto yenye mionzi ya nyuklia katika maji ya bahari karibu na kiwanda cha Fukushima umefikia viwango vipya karibu mara 4,400 zaidi kuliko kiwango halali kinachotakiwa. Kiwanda hicho kiliharibiwa kutokana na tetemeko la ardhi na tsunami iliyoikumba nchi hiyo tarehe 11 ya mwezi huu wa Machi na kuharibu mfumo wa kupoza mitambo, hivyo kusababisha vinu vya nyuklia katika kiwanda hicho kupata joto kupita kiasi.







San Pedro wadhibitiwa na wapiganaji wa Ouattara

Wapiganaji wanaomtii kiongozi wa Cote d'Ivoire anayetambuliwa kimataifa, Alassane Ouattara wameudhibiti mji wa San Pedro, bandari kubwa nchini humo inayosafirisha kakao. Hatua hiyo imefikiwa baada ya taarifa kueleza kwamba tayari wameudhibiti mji mkuu wa utawala wa Yamoussoukro. Rais anayeng'ang'ania madaraka, Laurent Gbagbo bado anaudhibiti mju mkuu wa Abidjan.

Wakati huo huo, mkuu wa jeshi la Cote d'Ivoire, Jenerali Philippe Mangou ameomba hifadhi ya ukimbizi katika makaazi ya balozi wa Afrika Kusini nchini humo. Jenerali Mangou, mshirika muhimu wa Gbagbo aliwasili jana jioni katika makaazi ya balozi huyo wa Afrika kusini nchini Cote´d´Ivoire, Zodwa Lallie, akiwa na mkewe na watoto wake watano.

Umoja wa Mataifa unakadiria kuwa zaidi ya watu 4,600 wameuawa katika mapigano nchini Cote d'Ivoire kutokana na mzozo wa uchaguzi wa rais wa Novemba mwaka uliopita ambao Umoja wa Mataifa unaamini kuwa Gbagbo alishindwa.

Azimio la Baraza la Usalama la Umoja wa Mataifa linamtaka Gbagbo kukabidhi madaraka kwa Ouattara. Azimio hilo pia limeweka vikwazo vya marufuku ya kusafiri na kuzuia mali za Gbagbo, mkewe pamoja na wasaidizi wake watatu muhimu.





Marekani na Uingereza zapeleka majasusi Libya

Marekani na Uingereza zimewapeleka mawakala wa kijasusi nchini Libya kuwasiliana na waasi na kukusanya data za kuongoza mashambulizi ya anga yanayofanywa na jeshi la muungano.

Gazeti la Marekani la New York Times limeripoti kuwa Rais Barack Obama amesaini amri ya siri kuruhusu operesheni za Shirika la Ujasusi la Marekani-CIA nchini Libya. Rais Obama amehakikisha kuwa hakuna wanajeshi wa ardhini watakaopelekwa Libya katika juhudi za kuwalinda raia wa Libya.

Kwa mujibu wa gazeti hilo, makundi madogo ya mawakala wa Kimarekani yamekuwa yakifanya shughuli ndani ya Libya kwa wiki kadhaa sasa. Vikosi maalum vya Uingereza na mashirika ya kijasusi ya siri pia viko Libya vikikusanya data za vikosi vya serikali na silaha.






Baraza la mawaziri Kuwait lajiuzulu

Shirika la habari la Kuwait limesema kuwa Baraza la mawaziri la nchi hiyo limejiuzulu leo kutokana na mzozo katika eneo hilo la Ghuba ukilengwa mzozo nchini Bahrain. Shirika hilo limesema kuwa baraza hilo limejiuzulu kutokana na matukio ya hivi karibuni ya nchi hiyo katika umoja wa kitaifa, usalama na utulivu.

Hatua hiyo inaonekana kuwa jaribio la mawaziri watatu kutoka familia inayotawala kuepuka kujibu masuali kwa nini Kuwait haijachangia kupeleka majeshi katika kikosi cha nchi za Ghuba ambacho kilipelekwa Bahrain. Mwanzoni mwa wiki hii, wabunge waliwaita mawaziri hao watatu kueleza uamuzi wa nchi hiyo kutopeleka wanajeshi wake Bahrain.







Kisiwa cha Mayote chawa rasmi sehemu ya Ufaransa

Visiwa vya ComoroKisiwa cha Mayotte kimejiunga rasmi hii leo kuwa sehemu ya nchi ya Ufaransa. Hatua hii inafuatia baada ya wananchi wa kisiwa hicho kupiga kura ya maoni iliyoandaliwa na Ufaransa kuhusu kujitenga na Comoro.

Hata hivyo utawala wa serikali kuu ya Comoro huko Moroni una msimamo mwengine kuhusu hatua hiyo.Ili kujua zaidi kuhusu vipi suala hili lilivyopokelewa na serikali,Saumu Mmwasimba amezungumza na mkuu wa kamati ya Komoro inayohusika na suala la kisiwa cha Mayotte na balozi wa Komoro nchini Afrika Kusini Ahmed Thabit






Mji mkuu wa Ivory Coast wazingirwa

Majeshi yanayomtii Rais wa Ivory Coast anayetambuliwa na jumuiya za kimataifa , Alassane Ouattara, yamezingira mji mkuu wa Abidjan kutoka maeneo mbalimbali

Hatua hiyo inatishia kusababisha mapambano kwenye mji huo, ngome ya mwisho ya Rais mpinzani Laurent Gbagbo.


Majeshi yanayomtii Ouattara

Awali mkuu wa majeshi wa Bw Gbagbo aliomba hifadhi kwa balozi wa Afrika Kusini.

Umoja wa Mataifa umesema Bw Gbagbo alishindwa kwenye uchaguzi mwaka jana, lakini amekataa kukabidhi madaraka kwa Bw Ouattara.

Majeshi yanayomwuunga mkono Bw Gbagbo yamekuwa yakishika doria kwenye wilaya za mji huo, na kuweka vizuizi vya barabarani.

Mwandishi wa BBC Valerie Bony mjini Abidjan alisema kumekuwa na mapigano makali kwenye kituo cha televisheni cha taifa liliopo eneo wanalokaa wakazi, na milipuko kwenye vitongoji kaskazini mwa nchi hiyo






Muammar Gadhafi ajigamba kushinda vita

Kiongozi wa Libya Leader Muammar Gadhafi Muammar Gadhafi amejigamba kuibuka na ushindi dhidi ya maadui zake wakati huu ambapo kanisa katoliki nchini Libya likitoa taarifa inayosema watu 40 wameuawa kutokana na hujuma za ndege za kivita za muungano.

Akizungumza baada ya taarifa za Waziri wa Mambo ya Nje, Mussa Kussa kuasi na kwenda nchini Uingereza hapo jana, Msemaji wa Serikali, Mussa Ibrahim amesema,hujuma inayofanywa na ndege za kivita ni uadui ulio wazi kabisa dhidi ya Walibya.

Waandishi wa habari walimuulza msemaji huyo kama Gadhafi na watoto wake bado wapo nchini Libya,alisema wapo na kuongeza kuwa wataendelea kuwepo mpaka mwisho.

Alisema,Libya ni nchi yao na wako madhibuti kukabiliana na kila jambo,akidai mapambano yanayoendelea sasa ni ya Walibya wote,wala si ya mmoja mmoja.

Akizungumza na kituo cha televisheni cha France 24 hivi punde, Ibrahim alizungumzia suala ka kujiuzulu kwa Mussa Kussa kwa kusema serikali imempa kibali cha kuondoka nchini humo na hasa kwa kuzingatia matatizo yake ya kiafya.

Waziri wa Mambo ya Nje wa Libya,Mussa KussaIbrahim aliendelea kusema kwamba, Mussa Kussa ni mtu mzee,amechoka na mgonjwa kwa hiyo amepewa ruhusa kwa kuwa pengine itamsaidia kiafya na kisaikolojia.

Msemaji huyo wa serikali, alisema mataifa lazima yafahamu kwamba Gadhafi anapendwa kwa kuwa pamoja na mashambulizi ya anga ya majeshi ya muungano katika miji mingi nchini humo, lakini mpaka sasa hakuna kikundi,wala kabila lilioandamana na kutaka kiongozi huyo aondoke.

Huko Misrata,mji wa tatu kwa ukubwa nchini Libya bado mambo si shwari,vikosi vya Gadhafi vimekuwa vikifyatua mabomu kwa kutumia vifaru na upande wa Waasi unadai watu 20 wameuwawa.

Kwa upande wao waratibu wapya wa operesheni ya kuzuia ndege kuruka nchini Libya,NATO wamesema hivi sasa wanafanyia kazi ripoti inayosema mashambulizi yaliyofanyika mjini Tripoli yameuwa watu 40.

Moja wa waratibu,Luteni Generali Charles Bouchard amesema hivi kuna mjadala unaendelea kufuatia tuhuma hizo ambazo zimetolewa muda mfupi baada vikosi vya NATO kupata mamlaka kamili ya kuongoza operesheni hiyo.

Ripoti hiyo iliyosambazwa kwa vyombo vya habari imemnukuu Mwakilishi wa Baba Mtakatifu nchini Libya,Askofu Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli ikisema hujuma ya mashambulizi ya anga iliyofanywa na vikosi hivyo katika wilaya ya Buslim imesabisha vifo vya watu 40.

Katika hatua nyingine NATO imesema imefanikiwa kunyong'onyesha mfumo wa kijeshi wa Libya ingawa hatua hiyo haimaanishi jeshi la Gadhafi lipo katika hatua ya kupoteza nguvu zake za kupambana.

Na huko Benghazi,Msemaji wa Waasi, Mustafa Gheriani amesema hivi sasa wapo katika mchakato wa kununua silaha kutoka mataifa ya nje ili kuweza kuvimudu vikosi vya serikali.

Hata hivyo Gheriani alikataa kuzungumzia taarifa zinazosema kuna vikosi maalum vya ardhini vya Marekani na Uingereza ambavyo hivi sasa vipo Libya kwa shabaha ya kuwasaidia Waasi hao

Majeshi ya Gaddafi yazidi kudhibiti

Waasi nchini Libya wanahangaika kushikilia mstari wao wa mbele baada ya majeshi ya Kanali Muammar Gaddafi kudhibiti upya miji kadhaa mashariki mwa nchi hiyo.

Waasi hao kwa sasa wamepoteza bandari muhimu ya mafuta ya Ras Lanuf na mji jirani wa Bin Jawad, hata hivyo ripoti zinasema kuwa mapigano yanaendelea eneo hilo.

Upande wa magharibi, mji unaodhibitiwa na waasi wa Misrata bado unashambuliwa na majeshi yanayomwuunga mkono Gaddafi.

Awali Rais wa Marekani Barack Obama amesema uwezekano upo wa kuwapa silaha waasi wenye nia ya kumpindua Kanali Gaddafi.

Alisema katika mahojiano kuwa Kanali Gaddafi amedhoofishwa kwa kiasi kikubwa na hatimaye atang'oka.

Majeshi yanayomwuunga mkono Gaddafi yamewarejesha nyuma waasi kwa kilomita kadhaa katika eneo walilokuwa wamedhibiti siku za hivi karibuni baada mashambulio ya anga yaliyofanywa na jeshi la muungano.

Waasi wamekimbilia upande wa mashariki kupitia mji wa Ras Lanuf.

Taarifa za waasi kurudi nyuma zimetolewa huku kukiwa na mkutano wa kimataifa juu ya Libya ambao umehusisha mataifa ya kiarabu kusaidia katika kuijenga Libya baada ya kumtoa Gaddafi.

Maelfu ya watu wameuliwa na kujeruhiwa tangu machafuko dhidi ya uongozi wa Kanali Gaddafi ulipoanza zaidi ya wiki sita zilizopita, huku waasi wakidhibiti eneo kubwa la mashariki na wanaomwuunga mkono Kanali Gaddafi wakishikilia mji mkuu wa Tripoli na miji mingine magharibi mwa nchi hiyo.







Wapiganaji wa I Coast waelekea mji mkuu

Majeshi yanayomtii Bw Ouattara
Majeshi yanayomtii Rais anayeungwa mkono na Umoja wa Mataifa Alassane Ouattara yanaelekea kwenye mji mkuu wa Ivory Coast, Yamoussoukro.

Majeshi yake hivi karibuni yameteka miji kadhaa na kiongozi aliye madarakani Laurent Gbagbo ametaka mapigano yasitishwe.

Bw Gbagbo amekataa kuachia madaraka licha ya Umoja wa Mataifa kutangaza kuwa alishindwa kwenye uchaguzi wa Novemba.

Mwandishi wa BBC alisema Yamoussoukro ni mji mkuu tu kwa jina, lakini kutekwa kwake kutakuwa ni ushindi wenye umuhimu mkubwa kwa majeshi yanayomwuunga mkono Ouattara.

Takriban watu 1,000,000 wamekimbia mapigano- hasa katika mji mkuu Abidjan- na karibu 462 wameuawa tangu Desemba, kulingana na Umoja wa Mataifa.

Katika mji wa magharibi wa Duekoue, maelfu ya watu wamejihifadhi kwenye kanisa baada ya kukimbia mapigano wiki hii.









Vikosi vya jeshi la muungano vyaishambulia Libya bila huruma

Wanajeshi wanaoshiriki kwenye operesheni za Libya Vikosi vya jeshi la muungano linaloongozwa na Marekani vimeongeza shinikizo kwa kiongozi wa Libya, Kanali Muammar Gaddafi kutokana na mfululizo wa mashambulio ya anga bila huruma.

Jenerali Charles Bouchard kutoka Canada

Miripuko ilisikika kwenye mji mkuu wa Tripoli mapema leo na walioshuhudia wamesema kuwa eneo la rada ya kijeshi lilikuwa likiwaka moto.

Ndege za kivita za jeshi la muungano zilifanya mashambulio 150 zaidi dhidi ya vikosi vya jeshi la Kanali Gaddafi, ukiwemo mji wa mashariki wa Adjabiya. Mashambulio hayo yamewawezesha waasi kuudhibiti tena mji huo.

Baadhi ya ndege za kijeshi zinazoshiriki katika operesheni nchini Libya
Kuna taarifa kwamba mtoto wa kiume wa Kanali Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam ameondoka kwa siri nchini humo ikiwa ni katika kuchukua hatua za kidiplomasia kwa ajili ya kuzuia mapigano zaidi na kuidhibiti hali iliyopo sasa ya kisiasa na kijeshi ambayo inazidi kuwa mbaya.

Marekani na Jumuiya ya Kujihami ya NATO zinafikiria kuwapatia silaha wapinzani, zikisema kuwa azimio la Umoja wa Mataifa linaruhusu uwezekano huo.

NATO hatimaye pia imekubali kuchukua jukumu la kuongoza operesheni za kutekeleza marufuku ya ndege kuruka katika anga ya Libya.

Operesheni hiyo itakuwa chini ya Jenerali Charles Bouchard kutoka Canada

Uvamizi wa anga unaofanywa na majeshi ya muungano umeshambulia eneo alipozaliwa Kanali Muammar Gaddafi huko Sirte, eneo muhimu linalolengwa na waasi lililopo upande wa magharibi.

Msemaji wa serikali ya Libya alisema raia watatu wa Libya waliuliwa kwenye bandari ya nchi hiyo.

Uvumi ambao haukuthibitishwa kuwa waasi waliudhibiti mji wa Sirte ulisababisha waasi kufyatua risasi kwa minajil ya kushangilia kwenye mji walioukhodhi wa Benghazi.

Waandishi wa kigeni Sirte walisema walisikia milipuko mikubwa kwenye mji huo huku ndege zikipita angani.

Msemaji wa waasi huko Benghazi alisema Sirte sasa ilikuwa mikononi mwa majeshi ya waasi- lakini hakujakuwa na uthibitisho binafsi kutokana na madai hayo, na waandishi wa habari wa kimataifa ndani ya mji huo walisema bado unadhibitiwa na serikali.

Wakati huo huo, Qatar ni taifa la kwanza la kiarabu kutambua uongozi wa waasi- Baraza la Taifa la Mpito- kama wawakilishi rasmi wa watu wa Libya.

US President Barack Obama, gestures, as he takes a question from a member of the media, during his news conference at the NATO Summit in Strasbourg, France, Saturday, April 4, 2009.(AP)

But in the longer run, an uneven sharing of the combat load in Afghanistan could doom U.S. hopes for relying on NATO as a partner in future conflicts. While the alliance celebrated its 60th anniversary and Obama hailed its more cohesive spirit, none of the leaders inside the Strasbourg castle alluded openly to the hard prospect that NATO troops may stay largely shielded while American soldiers are exposed to most of the battles and casualties.

The summit over the weekend ended with NATO’s agreement to contribute 5,000 more troops to bolster the intensified U.S. push for more security in Afghanistan’s cities and training for beleaguered Afghan soldiers and police.

The NATO additions are not insubstantial. But they pale beside Obama’s decision to send 21,000 U.S. soldiers and Marines this year to buttress 38,000 American troops fighting the Taliban. The new NATO contingent — adding to the alliance’s 35,000 troops in Afghanistan — would even be outstripped by the 10,000 more troops that senior American commanders are urging Obama to deploy to the conflict next year.

Left unsettled is how a NATO that was built on the principle of sharing security burdens can continue to play a role in the global effort to defeat Islamic extremism if it is unwilling to assume more of the risks in tight corners like Afghanistan.

“That’s a significant problem for the alliance, going forward,” said Nicholas Burns, a former American ambassador to NATO who is now a professor of diplomacy and international politics at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

“We all agreed to go into Afghanistan. The essence of the alliance is that we share responsibility and we share commitments,” Burns said. “And for some of the countries to essentially refuse to send their troops to combat areas, I still think, is an important issue that cannot be forgotten.”

U.S. congressional leaders have been vocal in bringing up reminders. At a hearing last week on U.S. strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the allies’ stance in Afghanistan was “nothing short of pitiful.”

But generally the Americans have taken on the bulk of the fight against the Taliban and against terrorists like al-Qaida.

With the first U.S. surge troops soon expected to arrive, a delegation of senior U.S. officials visited Kabul on Sunday to deal with the knotty issue of Afghanistan’s approaching election. U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen met much of the day with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and other candidates and government officials.

High on the agenda is settling the question of who will serve as president after Karzai’s term expires in May, since the presidential election will not be held until August. Holbrooke said Sunday it appears that Karzai will remain in office in that interim period. But the diplomat carefully added that the U.S. is taking no position on Karzai’s re-election effort.

Holbrooke, the Obama administration’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, also welcomed Iran to join Afghan stabilization talks in “whatever forums work for them.”

The American willingness to include Iran in talks on Afghanistan’s future is indicative of the new administration’s tack to broaden the world’s involvement in what was mostly a U.S. enterprise during the Bush years.

But the uneasy outlook for NATO’s role in Afghanistan is central to a still-unsettled debate about whether the alliance should return to its focus on preventing conflict within its own borders. NATO was created in April 1949 as a bulwark against a Soviet land invasion to conquer western Europe, but since the collapse of communism and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, NATO has been an alliance in search of a reason for being.

Obama’s strategy for Afghanistan contains themes that the Europeans have been preaching for years. They include the need to more closely integrate the roles of combat and nonmilitary activities such as developing the Afghan economy, promoting reconciliation with some insurgents, and finding more effective ways of strengthening the credibility of the Afghan government.

Mullen said Obama’s new war strategy makes clear that the U.S. needs help from allies to build a firmer foundation for stabilizing Afghanistan.

“Probably the most important part is to create governance in the country at every level — not just the national level but also at the district level, the provincial level,” he said in a speech in New York on Thursday before flying to the NATO summit.

But without real harmony, Mullen added, “it won’t make any difference how many more troops we send it — it’s not going to work.” (By ROBERT BURNS /AP)







The White House Blog
Afghanistan and NATO
Posted by Jesse Lee on April 04, 2009 at 05:51 PM EDT
In a press conference after the NATO meeting today, the President began by congratulating Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen for his unanimous selection as NATO’s next Secretary General, while also recognizing Turkey for seeing past initial objections in the spirit of consensus. He thanked President Sarkozy of France and Chancellor Merkel of Germany for hosting him, and noted the significance of NATO’s two newest formal members, Albania and Croatia. But as everybody new, Afghanistan was the top concern of the meeting, and the President spoke at length about his new plan for Afghanistan announced a week ago and the agreements reached in the meeting:
We start from a simple premise: For years, our efforts in Afghanistan have lacked the resources needed to achieve our goals. And that's why the United States has recommitted itself to a clear and focused goal -- to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and to prevent their return to either country in the future.
This effort cannot be America's alone. All of NATO understands that al Qaeda is a threat to all of us, and that this collective security effort must achieve its goals. And as a signal of that commitment, I am pleased that our NATO allies pledged their strong and unanimous support for our new strategy. Keep in mind it was only just a week ago that we announced this new approach. But already with Secretary Clinton's work at The Hague and with the success at today's summit we've started to match real resources to achieve our goals.
We're leaving Strasbourg and Kehl with concrete commitments on NATO support. Our allies and partners have already agreed to provide approximately 5,000 troops and trainers to advance our new strategy, as well as increased civilian assistance. To support critical elections for August 20th, NATO will fully resource our election support force to maximize security. And our allies have committed additional funds to an Afghan elections trust fund that will provide the necessary resources for free and fair elections.

To accelerate and enhance our training of Afghan security forces, a new NATO mission, a new NATO training mission, will focus on high-level support for Afghan army, and training and mentoring for the Afghan police. And many of our allies and partners have also pledged support for a new trust fund to sustain Afghan national armies going forward.
And to strengthen Afghan institutions and advance opportunity for the Afghan people, we are working with our NATO allies and partners to achieve substantial increases in non-military assistance and to provide the kind of doctors, engineers, educators and agricultural specialists that are needed to make a difference on the ground.

(President Barack Obama confers with U.S.Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton during the NATO summit in Strasbourg, France, Saturday, April 4, 2009. White House Photo/Pete Souza)The President was later asked about a law recently passed in Afghanistan that has gotten a great deal of attention, and which he described as "abhorrent":
Q Thank you, Mr. President, and good afternoon. I'd like to ask you about a law that's recently been passed in Afghanistan that affects the 10 percent of the Shia population there. A summary of it says it negates the need for sexual consent between married couples, tacitly approves child marriage, and restricts a woman's right to leave the home. The United Nations Development Fund for Women says this legalizes the rape of a wife by her husband. I'd like your assessment of this law, number one. Number two, will you condition future troop movements of the U.S. to Afghanistan on the basis of this law being retracted or rewritten? And if not, sir, what about the character of this law ought to motivate U.S. forces to fight and possibly die in Afghanistan?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, first of all, this was actually a topic of conversation among all the allies. And in our communication -- communiqué, you will see that we specifically state that part of this comprehensive approach is encouraging the respect of human rights. I think this law is abhorrent. Certainly the views of the administration have been, and will be, communicated to the Karzai government. And we think that it is very important for us to be sensitive to local culture, but we also think that there are certain basic principles that all nations should uphold, and respect for women and respect for their freedom and integrity is an important principle.
Now, I just want to remind people, though, why our troops are fighting, because I think the notion that you laid out, Major, was that our troops might be less motivated. Our troops are highly motivated to protect the United States, just as troops from NATO are highly motivated to protect their own individual countries and NATO allies collectively. So we want to do everything we can to encourage and promote rule of law, human rights, the education of women and girls in Afghanistan, economic development, infrastructure development, but I also want people to understand that the first reason we are there is to root out al Qaeda so that they cannot attack members of the Alliance.
Now, I don't -- those two things aren't contradictory, I think they're complementary. And that's what's reflected in the communiqué