Foro de Inteligencia, Espionaje y Servicios Secretos

Kyrgyzstan's parliament voted Thursday to close a key U.S. air base in the country -- a move that could hamper President Barack Obama's efforts to increase the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Un soldado herido en Afganistán dice que el material que se usa no es apto
El soldado albaceteño Rubén López García, que resultó herido de gravedad en una misión militar en Afganistán en 2007, ha dicho hoy que tiene "sensación de abandono" por parte del Ministerio de Defensa, aunque reconoce que merece la pena participar en estas misiones y que lo volvería a hacer.

Rubén López García, de 21 años, ha declarado esta mañana en el Juzgado de Instrucción número 2 de Albacete como perjudicado en una misión militar en la que perdió una pierna y sufrió graves heridas en la otra y en la mano y muñeca izquierda el 24 de septiembre de 2007 y en la que perdieron la vida dos soldados españoles.

Por su parte, el abogado del soldado, Mariano Casado, ha dicho a los periodistas que desea que Rubén sea atendido como víctima de un atentado terrorista para poder cobrar una indemnización, ya que el joven en este momento cobra su paga de soldado en activo.

El soldado, que tenía 19 años cuando sufrió el atentado, ha explicado que por culpa de las heridas que sufrió no puede "correr, andar bien, ni mi trabajo, pero soy joven y lo voy a superar". El joven, que pertenece a la Primera Bandera de Paracaidistas con sede en Paracuellos del Jarama (Madrid), ha indicado que para ello está haciendo rehabilitación.

Mariano Casado, que es el secretario general de la Asociación Unificada de Militares Españoles (AUME), ha destacado que su comparecencia ante los medios de comunicación es para que la opinión pública conozca las condiciones de vida y laborales de los soldados en las misiones militares en el extranjero.

El abogado ha dicho que cuando Rubén estaba en Afganistán, los vehículos de los soldados no tenían blindaje, los inhibidores no funcionaban bien y los chalecos antifragmentos, "que son imprescindibles" y que llevan unas planchas, "de tanto usarse estaban rotas y se pegaban con cinta aislante".

Casado ha criticado al Ministerio de Defensa por acordarse de Rubén López García sólo los primeros días después del atentado y, posteriormente, "si te he visto no me acuerdo", ha aseverado.

Por ello, desde la AUME se reclama que atiendan las necesidades de estos soldados ante la gravedad de las misiones y su falta de seguridad "para poder poner los medios porque si se parte de que todo funciona bien no se hace nada", ha dicho.

Finalmente, ha explicado que Rubén ha declarado en Albacete para evitar desplazarse, en su estado, a Madrid, aunque este caso se está investigando en el Juzgado Central de Instrucción número 4 de la Audiencia Nacional.

Karzai 'orders Afghan elections'

Karzai's move to bring forward the vote is an attempt to boost his re-election chances, opponents say [AFP]
Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s president, is reported to have called for presidential elections to be held in April - four months earlier than planned.

The Independent Election Commission will hold the presidential, provincial council and other elections according to the constitution, Karzai said in a decree released by his office on Saturday.

James Bays, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Kabul, the Afghan capital, said: "The reports we have are that President Karzai is going to bring the elections forward. We have just received this decree.

"If it is true ... that would be very important news and it may be treated with some disquiet by the international community."

Karzai had indicated earlier in the week that he had judged the August 20 date set by the election commission to be unconstitutional, Bays said.

Opponents' criticism

Opponents of the president have said the move "may just be an effort by Karzai to use his advantage as president to wrong-foot them and use his office to help his campaign [for re-election]," he added.

"The former finance minister, Ashraf Ghani, told me earlier that the president should not set the election date, but the Independent Election Commission. He also said that if there is any dispute, then it is not up to the president to judge."

Karzai's move comes amid a deterioration in relations between Washington and Kabul, ostensibly over how to tackle opposition fighters linked to the Taliban, al-Qaeda and tribal leaders.

"Karzai has been in Afghanistan has been in charge for more than seven years and I think some international figures see him as part of the problem rather than part of the solution," Bays said.

"When Richard Holbrooke, the US special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, came to Kabul, he met Karzai – but he also met many of the challengers to be the president. Holbrooke made it clear that the US does not have a preferred candidate."

Speaking last week to Al Jazeera, the Afghan president said that Barack Obama, the new US president, had not contacted him during the first month of his term.

The Afghan constitution says the election should be held within 30 to 60 days before the end of the presidential term on May 21.

humanitarian news and analysis
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs


AFGHANISTAN: IDPs in northwest battle cold, diseases and hunger

Photo: Khaled Nahiz/IRIN
Displaced children are particularly vulnerable to cold-related diseases
QALA-I-NAW, 26 February 2009 (IRIN) - Freezing temperatures, hunger and sickness are unrelenting inside an old tent where Dadullah’s family has been living near Qala-e-Nau, the capital of the northwestern Afghan province of Badghis.

The family abandoned their home in Moqur District because of recurrent armed conflict between insurgent groups and pro-government forces and prevalent food insecurity.

“We left our homes out of despair and came here for survival,” the 42-year-old father-of-four told IRIN outside his tent. “These children are hungry and feel cold,” he said pointing to his young children huddled around him, shivering in the cold.

A provincial official said about 400 families (around 2,000 individuals) had been displaced across the province over the past two months. Most of the displaced have set up tents or sought shelter in dilapidated houses in the outskirts of the provincial capital.

Due to below zero temperatures and lack of access to safe drinking water, many internally displaced persons (IDPs), particularly children, are prone to diseases such as diarrhoea and pneumonia.

“We have lost everything… I cannot even buy medicine for my sick children,” said Dadullah.

Dearth of aid

Badghis is a remote province that has had little development and humanitarian activity over the past several years, making it one of the least developed of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.

Provincial government authorities said they had few resources at their disposal to mitigate the suffering of IDPs and that non-government aid agencies had little presence in the province.

Access to vulnerable people in Badghis and large areas in the south, east and central parts of the country has been impeded by worsening insecurity, attacks on aid workers, rugged terrain and lack of transport infrastructure.

The Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS), which has extensive presence across the country, said its provincial department delivered live-saving relief to some IDPs but acknowledged the need for more.

“These people [IDPs] need more emergency food aid, medical assistance, winter supplies and shelter,” Abdul Rahim Raheen, ARCS’s provincial head, told IRIN.

Amid a worsening humanitarian situation across Afghanistan largely resulting from conflict, drought and high food prices, the issue of how to meet the needs of IDPs remains a pressing challenge for the Afghan government and aid organisations.

Over 235,000 individuals are currently displaced in different parts of the country, down from about one million in 2002, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

However, tens of thousands of IDPs are deprived of basic necessities and are in need of immediate assistance, Amnesty International, a London-based rights watchdog, said on 18 February.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=83154
sam/ad/at/ed

BAGRAM, Afghanistan – Three contractors sustained minor injuries in a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack near Bagram Air Field March 4.

The attack occurred outside the perimeter of the base when a vehicle exploded near an entry control point. The driver, who was carrying explosives, abandoned the vehicle before it detonated. The explosive he was carrying detonated as he ran away from the vehicle. The attacker was killed in the second explosion. It is unknown if there were additional personnel in the vehicle.

No military or Afghan civilian casualties have been reported.

The injured contractors are being treated in the hospital on base.