to move up and down
Pakistani surgeons remove bullet from 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai, but Taliban threaten to ‘finish this chapter’
Pakistani surgeons removed a bullet on Wednesday from a 14-year-old girl shot by the Taliban for speaking out against the militants and promoting education for girls, doctors said.
Malala Yousafzai was in critical condition after gunmen shot her in the head and neck on Tuesday as she left school. Two other girls were also wounded.
Yousafzai began writing a blog when she was just 11 under the pseudonym Gul Makai for the BBC about life under the Taliban, and began speaking out publicly in 2009 about the need for girls’ education — which the Taliban strongly opposes. The extremist movement was quick to claim responsibility for shooting her.
“This was a new chapter of obscenity, and we have to finish this chapter,” Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan by telephone. (Reuters)
Pakistan gunmen shoot 14-year-old girl in the head for speaking out against Taliban
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Gunmen in Pakistan shot and seriously wounded on Tuesday a 14-year-old schoolgirl who rose to fame for speaking out against Taliban militants, authorities said.
Malala Yousufzai was shot in the head and neck when gunmen fired on her school bus in the Swat valley, northwest of the capital, Islamabad. Two other girls were also wounded, police said.
Yousufzai became famous for speaking out against the Pakistani Taliban at a time when even the government seemed to be appeasing the hardline Islamists.
Taliban threatens to kidnap and kill recently deployed Prince Harry in Afghanistan
KABUL — The Afghan Taliban said on Monday they were doing everything in their power to try to kidnap or assassinate Britain’s Prince Harry, who arrived in Afghanistan last week to fly attack helicopters.
“We are using all our strength to get rid of him, either by killing or kidnapping,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location. (JOHN STILLWELL/AFP/Getty Images)
Kandahar Journal: Taliban alley
The mission on the face of it was simple and straightforward for the Afghan National Army’s (ANA) 6th Kandak – drive out to a specific highpoint overlooking the intersection of two rivers and build an outpost on Tur-Muryani hill. Unfortunately, the confluence of the Arghandab and Mizan valleys is home field for Taliban sympathizers, facilitators and the Taliban themselves — and is a main route for the materials of their war. They were likely to be less than happy at the more intense scrutiny from this new outpost, right in their back yard. MORE
(Illustrations: Richard Johnson/Natoinal Post)
The National Post’s Richard Johnson is on his third tour of Afghanistan. Work from his earlier assignments won international awards and a place in the Smithsonian Museum’s permanent collection.
Follow his work here nationalpost.com/kandaharjournal
On Twitter at @newsillustrator
Or see more of his work here at newsillustrator.com
Or contact Richard in the field at kandaharartist@gmail.com
Kandahar Journal 2012 — Week 1 Gallery
The National Post’s Richard Johnson is on his third journey to Afghanistan. Here are some of his latest sketches and dispatches.
A Healthy Paranoia
Underfunded, underappreciated and trying to secure an ancient Afghan city
Charlie Foxtrot
Standing Guard and Embracing the Suck
IEDs get in the way of my plan to reach Canada’s former Afghan bases
Taliban rocket attack disturbs my beauty sleep
There is no ‘F’ in baggage
Taliban alarm clock: My first day back in Afghanistan and the Taliban take out the pizza place
I was so tired my first night at Kandahar Air Field (KAF) that the wailing-screaming-shreaking-shouting rocket attack siren was easily incorporated into my dream. It was a good ten minutes later and someone banging on my door to tell me to get my ass in the bunker that finally got me out of my borrowed bed.
I had memorized the location of the bunker but it took me a few strides in the wrong direction before I remembered where it was. I joined the two other occupants at the doorway. It was 5.30 a.m.
An MP truck drove by a nearby bunker and warned people to get inside and not stand in the doorway. We all backed in.
The alarm was not a ruse. We heard at least two impacts and could see dust from the explosion across the rooftops of the base. I was told that with the end of the holy month of Ramadan at midnight last night, the Taliban had gotten themselves filled with food and decided to stir things up a little.
The National Post’s Richard Johnson begins his third journey to Afghanistan this week. Work from his earlier assignments won international awards and a place in the Smithsonian Museum’s permanent collection.
Follow his work here nationalpost.com/kandaharjournal
On Twitter at @newsillustrator
Or see more of his work here at newsillustrator.com
Or contact Richard in the field at kandaharartist@gmail.com
Taliban vows revenge against ‘sick-minded American savages’ after U.S. massacre of 16 Afghan civilians
Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgents on Monday vowed revenge against “sick-minded American savages” for the weekend rampage by a U.S. soldier who killed 16 villagers in their homes.
The Taliban would “take revenge from the invaders and the savage murderers for every single martyr,” the Islamists said in a statement on their website.
The U.S. soldier walked off his base and broke into the homes of villagers in Kandahar province’s Panjwayi district before dawn Sunday, killing 16 people including women and children.
A soldier has been detained and the United States has offered condolences to the families and pledged that action will be taken against anyone found guilty of the massacre. (Photo: Ahmad Nadeem/Reuters)
Afghan soldier kills two NATO troops as Koran-burning protests rage
An Afghan soldier joined protests on Thursday against the burning of copies of the Koran at a NATO base and shot dead two foreign troops, Western military sources said, as the Taliban urged security forces to turn their guns on foreigners.
Protests against the burning of copies of Islam’s most holy book drew thousands of angry Afghans to the streets, chanting “Death to America!” for the third consecutive day in violence that has killed 11 people and wounded many more.
The Taliban urged Afghans to target foreign military bases and kill Westerners in retaliation for the Koran burning at Bagram airfield on Tuesday, later directing its plea to the security forces, calling on them to “turn their guns on the foreign infidel invaders,” it said on its site shahamat-english.com. (Photos: Reuters)
U.S. surprises Kabul with early end to Afghanistan military operations
The United States took Kabul by surprise by laying out plans to end its Afghan combat role earlier than expected, just after the leak of a secret report that the Taliban is confident of regaining control of the country.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said late on Wednesday the United States would stop taking the lead role in combat operations before the end of 2013 and step into a supporting role as it winds down its longest war.
He said U.S. forces would remain “combat-ready” but would largely shift to a train-and-assist role as Afghan forces take over responsibility for security ahead of a 2014 deadline for full Afghan control. (Photo: Aref Yaqubi//AFP/Getty Images)
All for nothing? Pakistan-backed Taliban poised to reclaim Afghanistan upon NATO’s exit
The U.S. military said in a secret report that the Taliban, backed by Pakistan, are set to retake control of Afghanistan after NATO-led forces withdraw, raising the prospect of a major failure of Western policy after a costly war.
Lieutenant Colonel Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, confirmed the existence of the document, reported on Wednesday by Britain’s Times newspaper and the BBC.
But he said it was not a strategic study.
“The classified document in question is a compilation of Taliban detainee opinions,” he said. “It’s not an analysis, nor is it meant to be considered an analysis.”
Nevertheless, it could be interpreted as a damning assessment of the war, dragging into its 11th year and aimed at blocking a Taliban return to power.
It could also be seen as an admission of defeat and could reinforce the view of Taliban hardliners that they should not negotiate with the United States and President Hamid Karzai’s unpopular government while in a position of strength. (Photo: Mohammad Shoiab/Reuters)
Beyond the call of duty: Master Bombardier to be awarded medal for valour
It was almost fully dark and the Canadian Leopard C1 main battle tank was resting awkwardly at a 60-degree angle, one set of tracks invisible in the water flowing down the wadi. For a vehicle with impressive “go-anywhere” capabilities, this tank was going nowhere. The return to base was on hold.
What had been a confident, show-of-force, quick-reaction rescue was suddenly a big, fat vehicle convoy target strung out along 500 metres of Afghan farm road. A Taliban mortar team’s dream.
I dropped into a handy ditch and three Canadian soldiers welcomed me with an offer of a smoke and a joke about tank drivers. But when a Kalashnikov started firing all three were on their feet, running in the direction of the sound. I ran after them — for about 10 paces until my brain caught up.
Master Bombardier Adam Holmes was the first to climb out of the trench that night in the summer of 2007.
This Thursday morning in Ottawa Master Bombardier Holmes will be awarded the Medal of Military Valour (MMV), in recognition for valour and devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy in 2010.
This is how he earned it.
Rick Perry defends Marines caught urinating on Taliban corpses in video
Texas Governor Rick Perry, scrambling to keep his U.S. presidential bid alive, accused the Obama administration on Sunday of over-reacting to a videotape that shows four Marines appearing to urinate on dead Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.
“These kids made a mistake. There’s not any doubt about it. They shouldn’t have done it. It’s bad,” Perry told CNN’s “State of the Union” program.
“But to call it a criminal act, I think, is over the top,” said Perry, who faces a possible make-or-break performance in the South Carolina Republican presidential primary on Saturday. (Photos: Reuters)
Video of Marines urinating on dead insurgents won’t harm peace talks: Taliban
A video showing what appear to be American forces urinating on dead Taliban fighters prompted anger in Afghanistan and promises of a U.S. investigation on Thursday, but the insurgent group said it would not harm nascent efforts to broker peace talks.
The video, posted on YouTube and other websites, shows four men in camouflage Marine combat uniforms urinating on three corpses. One of them jokes: “Have a nice day, buddy.” Another makes a lewd joke.
It is likely to stir up already strong anti-U.S. sentiment in Afghanistan after a decade of a war that has seen other cases of abuse, and that could complicate efforts to promote reconciliation as foreign troops gradually withdraw.
Gary Clement’s Week in Review for Jan 1. to 7, 2012
Iran to move nuclear work to mountain bunker in ‘near future’
U.S. Republican Primary 2012
Memory loss can begin as early as 45
Montreal man crosses U.S. border showing just iPad scan of passport
Taliban agrees to set up political office in Qatar
Arab League monitors remaining in Syria to ensure end to violence
How the Taliban ends
Jonathan Kay: In March, 2004, Israeli soldiers manning the Hawara checkpoint near Nablus witnessed a shocking sight: An adolescent Palestinian boy named Abdu lifted up his shirt to reveal a large suicide vest. Everyone braced for an explosion. But instead, the boy froze, and declared to the Israelis that he didn’t want to blow himself up.
Abdu (who later turned out to have “developmental problems,” according to his parents) kneeled on the ground and appeared terrified. He removed the vest and then was taken into Israeli custody. The entire pathetic spectacle was captured on video. His picture appeared on the front page of the next day’s Israeli newspapers, with headlines such as “I wanted virgins in paradise.”
In the long campaign to defeat and discredit Palestinian terrorism, this was a decisive moment. The fact that the terrorists would use a mentally disabled boy as their bomber showed that they’d become desperate for recruits. Worse, from their own propaganda perspective, it showed that they would resort to any tactic -even killing a Palestinian child -to further their campaign.
I thought of Abdu this week when I saw news that an eightyear-old Afghan girl had been tricked into blowing herself up near a police station in Uruzgan Province. (She died, but no one else was hurt.) The case is not isolated: In Pakistan, terrorists recently strapped a suicide vest to a nine-year-old girl they’d abducted and drugged (the girl was saved and returned to her family). Neither plot is likely to have originated with the Taliban itself, which tries to avoid using children. But both incidents will help discredit the instrument of terrorism upon which the Taliban rely. (Photo: Finbar O’Reilly)
More from out multimedia series, The Long Road.
