KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Rising death tolls, military timetables slowed. Infighting in the partner Government. War-weary allies packing up to leave — and others eyeing an exit.

Events this spring — from the battlefields of Helmand and Kandahar to the halls of Congress — have served as a reality check on the Afghan war, a gruelling fight in a remote, inhospitable land that once harboured the masterminds of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.

The Taliban have proven resilient and won’t be easily routed. Good Afghan Government won’t blossom any faster than flowers in the bleak Afghan deserts. Phrases like "transition to Afghan control" mask the enormous challenge ahead to make those words reality.  Read more... (1206 words, 1 image, estimated 4:49 mins reading time)

Nato foreign ministers have snubbed Gordon Brown‘s plans for a staged withdrawal from the districts of Helmand by agreeing to handover reponsibility to local officials on a province by province basis.

British troops could be the last to leave Afghanistan after it emerged that a new “road map” for handing over control would not include the southern provinces.  Read more... (404 words, 1 image, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

In Sangin, says a farmer, ‘people are sick of night raids and being treated badly by the foreigners’

As with so many of the Helmand towns where the British are present the bazaar in Sangin is officially “thriving”.

Indeed, recent visitors have to admit that there are signs of commerce in the long thin strip of shops. But the rest, says David Gill, a photographer who visited Sangin three times last year, is like “a ghost town in Death Valley where you drive through and all you see is a sign flapping in the wind”.  Read more... (709 words, 1 image, estimated 2:50 mins reading time)

Almost a quarter of the low-ranking Taleban commanders lured out of the insurgency in southern Afghanistan have rejoined the fight because of broken government promises and paltry rewards, a scathing report on reintegration claims.

Nato plans to spend more than $1 billion (£648 million) over the next five years tempting Taleban foot soldiers to lay down their arms.

But research by a Kabul-based thinktank warns that those efforts could make matters worse by swelling the ranks of the insurgency, exacerbating village level feuds and fuelling government corruption.  Read more... (766 words, 1 image, estimated 3:04 mins reading time)

KITCHENER — The thought that he will soon be heading to Afghanistan, that his life will be on the line, that he’s going to a place where other Canadian soldiers have died, doesn’t seem to worry Private Chuck Fernandes at all.

It’s what the 24-year-old Kitchener native has spent nearly three years preparing for.

Thirteen weeks of arduous basic training in St. Jean, Que., followed by 13 weeks of battle school at Canadian Forces Base Meaford. Then nearly two years of military exercises and drills at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa near Ottawa.  Read more... (616 words, 1 image, estimated 2:28 mins reading time)

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – The RCMP has started looking at how to continue the police training mission in Afghanistan after the Canadian military pulls out next year, the Mounties’ top man said Saturday.

But Commissioner William Elliot noted there are a number of details and variables to be worked out, among them, who would protect and transport the police trainers as they go about their business in the volatile country.

“We’re at the beginning of looking at options, but there are a lot more questions than answers at the moment,” Elliot told reporters after wrapping up a brief visit to Kandahar.  Read more... (539 words, 1 image, estimated 2:09 mins reading time)

Defence Minister John Faulkner has visited Australian troops in Afghanistan on Anzac Day during a three-day visit to the country to discuss the war effort there.

Senator Faulkner visited Australian commanders and military and police personnel in Tarin Kowt and Kandahar as part of the visit, which included talks in Kabul with Afghan Interior Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar and Defence Minister Mohammad Rahim Wardak in Kabul to discuss Australia’s training mission in Oruzgan province.  Read more... (187 words, 1 image, estimated 45 secs reading time)

KANDAHAR — The RCMP has started looking at how to continue the police training mission in Afghanistan after the Canadian military pulls out next year, the Mounties’ top man said Saturday.

But Commissioner William Elliot noted there are a number of details and variables to be worked out, among them, who would protect and transport the police trainers as they go about their business in the volatile country.

“We’re at the beginning of looking at options, but there are a lot more questions than answers at the moment,” Elliot told reporters after wrapping up a brief visit to Kandahar.  Read more... (538 words, 1 image, estimated 2:09 mins reading time)

Canadian combat troops are slated to leave Afghanistan next summer, but RCMP Commissioner William Elliott said Saturday he expects his personnel will have to stay behind to undertake the “huge challenge” of training police officers.

About 50 RCMP and other civilian Canadian police are posted to Afghanistan as part of a mission to train the Afghan National Police. The ANP, as it’s known, has had a reputation for roadside shakedowns and graft that Canadian officials hope mentoring, training and supervision will eradicate.  Read more... (486 words, 1 image, estimated 1:57 mins reading time)

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is doubling Australia‘s civilian commitment in Afghanistan to assist with diplomacy, aid and policing efforts.

He will send an extra 50 people, which is about double the number already there.

Mr Rudd made the announcement on Saturday at Canberra’s Australian National University, where he spoke about the importance of Australia’s efforts in Afghanistan.

He used it as an opportunity to take a potshot at Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, who has pledged to send more troops given the withdrawal of Dutch soldiers later this year.  Read more... (252 words, 1 image, estimated 1:00 mins reading time)