InfoAnda - Afghan elite raiders say they are U.S. equals |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Howard Stern may have to take a paycut | | 7 December 2010
Tunisian president in landslide election victory | International | | 26 October 2009
DMX a no-show again, warrant issued _ again | 6 December 2008

Android now second biggest smartphone platform: Gartner | 11 November 2010

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Afghan elite raiders say they are U.S. equals |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Social Pulse Business Video The Freeland File Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Reuters Investigates Decoder Politics Politics Home Election 2012 Issues 2012 Candidates 2012 Tales from the Trail Political Punchlines Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Tech Tonic Social Pulse Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Bernd Debusmann Nader Mousavizadeh Lucy P. Marcus David Cay Johnston Bethany McLean Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Steven Brill Jack & Suzy Welch Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Breakingviews Video Money Money Home Tax Break Lipper Awards 2012 Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik James Saft Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Money Clip Investing 201 Life Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Reuters TV Reuters News Article Comments (0) Slideshow Full Focus Editor's choice Our best photos from the last 24 hours. Full Article Images of March Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Huge quakes off Indonesia stir panic, but no big tsunami | 12:04pm EDT Defiant North Korea begins injecting fuel into rocket | 7:48am EDT Special Report: How Gaddafi scion went from reformer to reactionary 10:28am EDT Huge quakes off Indonesia stir panic, but no big tsunami 10:11am EDT Tsunami warning issued for two southern Thai provinces 5:46am EDT Discussed 311 Tyler Perry Pulled Over, Accuses White Cops of Racial Profiling via Facebook 292 Analysis: Justice Kagan–Giving liberals a rhetorical lift 289 Trayvon Martin call was ”mistake, not deliberate”: NBC Watched Transgender beauty says she wants to compete for Miss Universe Tue, Apr 3 2012 Quake off Indonesia sparks tsunami alert 7:25am EDT Horror hits the runway in Japan Fri, Mar 23 2012 Pictures Reuters Photojournalism Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more Syria: A year of conflict A look back at a year of protests and armed clashes against Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. Slideshow Fracking controversy Fracking is used to extract oil from deep within the earth. However, there are concerns it may contaminate groundwater. Slideshow Afghan elite raiders say they are U.S. equals Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Afghan security forces worry over fratricidal brothers-in-arms Tue, Apr 10 2012 Suicide attacks kill 19 in Afghanistan Tue, Apr 10 2012 No sign of spring offensive by Taliban, NATO says Tue, Apr 10 2012 Afghanistan, U.S. reach deal on controversial night raids Sun, Apr 8 2012 U.S.-Afghan deal could delay operations, curb raids Wed, Apr 4 2012 Analysis & Opinion Tragedies don’t end wars, even in Siachen From Afghanistan, the countdown to 2014 Related Topics World » Afghanistan » 1 of 9. Women Afghan Special Forces members participate in a night raid training exercise in Kabul April 11, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Mohammad Ismail By Mirwais Harooni and Rob Taylor KABUL | Wed Apr 11, 2012 12:06pm EDT KABUL (Reuters) - It's a special-forces entry like no other and guaranteed to spoil the element of surprise, but Afghanistan's new elite soldiers insist they will be no less effective in countering insurgents than controversial night raids by U.S. forces. Under cover of darkness, Afghan soldiers will surround the homes of suspected insurgent targets and then shout a demand that those inside separate into men and women before storming the door, safeguarding conservative cultural sensitivities. "We announce eight to 10 times that we are Afghan security forces and won't harm you. We ask them to take women and children to one side of the home and males to the other," said Colonel Jalaluddin Yaftali, the commander of Afghan special forces. "We operate very carefully and find our target," Yaftali told Reuters in an interview. Surprise night raids in pursuit of militants have long fanned anti-Western sentiment in Afghanistan, with many locals seeing them as violations of privacy, especially of women, in conservative southern areas where Taliban support is strongest. On Sunday, Afghanistan and the United States reached an agreement that only Afghan forces would be able to search residential homes or compounds, while Afghan police and soldiers would have to protect women and children, as well as culturally sensitive places. The agreement, reached after months of at-times tense negotiations, also gives Kabul the power to veto operations and removed a major obstacle to a wider pact to secure a U.S. presence after withdrawal of most foreign combat troops in 2014. The hope is that the strategy will lower civilian casualties in night raids and reverse some of the calamitous damage they have caused to President Hamid Karzai's popularity as foreign combat troops hand over to Afghan security forces. Under the deal, Afghan police and soldiers are supposed to seek an Afghan judicial warrant before conducting raids. Afghan authorities will also have control over prisoners taken and will decide whether to allow U.S. interrogators access to detainees. U.S. defense officials insist that not much is changing in special forces operations, which occur mostly at night, and say they have been almost 100-percent Afghan-led since last year. CONCERNS Some security analysts, and privately even some members of the Afghan military spoken to by Reuters, worry that the constraints now attached may make raids less effective, and see fewer carried out. Western commanders have seen the raids as one of the most effective anti-insurgent tactics and the danger is that shouted warnings could give targets time to escape in Afghanistan's warren-like, mud-walled villages and home compounds. A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that the new arrangement might, hypothetically, slow the pace of efforts against the Taliban and its allies in the crucial period when foreign forces begin to withdraw. "In theory could this severely hamper operations in Afghanistan? Potentially," the official said. However, he added: "In practice, do we think it will do so? No, because both sides understand the importance of these operations." U.S. officials insist they do not expect the warrant requirement to slow quick-strike raids. They also note that, in theory, the Afghan constitution allows for warrantless search/detention in some situations if warrants are requested within 48 hours of a raid taking place. Pentagon spokesman Captain John Kirby said that since the shift to an Afghan lead in special-forces raids in December, more than 350 raids had been carried out and insurgent targets were located in more than three-quarters of those. He said the agreement would apply only to U.S. special forces units and not other foreign contingents with special forces, including the British and Australians. Yaftali said he did not think the new law would create problems for operations. "Whatever we do is according to the Afghan constitution," he said. "In most of the cases in Afghanistan, we get to our target without any fighting or fatalities, because our operation is fast and accurate." "During our night raids we have killed many so-called shadow governors for the Taliban, self-nominated Taliban police chiefs and shadow district governors, as well as their commanders and fighters," he said. He said his unit, planned to number about 3,000, but still only half that size, was as well-equipped as NATO forces, with American M4 rifles and night-vision gear. It had also recruited female soldiers to search women-only compounds, he said. "Right now our personnel operate independently and around the country. Our operations are in cooperation with a U.S. technical team," Yaftali said. A new Operational Coordination Group, or OCG, to be set up by the Afghan government will oversee special forces operations, with the U.S. providing intelligence, helicopter and air support, as well as medical evacuation, security and support. There will also be a bilateral oversight committee chaired by Afghan Defense Minister General Abdul Rahim Wardak and NATO's top commander in the country, U.S. Marine General John Allen. U.S. officers spoken to by Reuters in southern Kandahar province welcomed the change, saying it would help free up American troops and deepen cooperation with Afghan forces. "I think it's a natural progression," said Colonel Todd Wood, commander of the 1/25 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, which has been in charge of three districts for the past year. (Additional reporting by Jack Kimball, Rob Taylor and Hamid Shalizi in KABUL; Missy Ryan in WASHINGTON; Writing by Rob Taylor; Editing by David Brunnstrom) World Afghanistan Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use AdChoices Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Wednesday, 11 April 2012
Bring a bag and the dog: Brits in Mali flee Qaeda |
Venezuela's Chavez to attend summit, says Colombia |
Kidnapped Costa Rican diplomat freed in Venezuela |
Tablet boom waiting for corporate wave |
Court narrows reach of computer fraud law |
RIM losing money on BlackBerry hardware: analyst |
Spielberg studio gets about $200 million from Indian backers |
Protect your eyes, The Three Stooges are back |
'Girls': It's sex and New York city for new generation |
Son of Bogart and Bacall to sail on restored African Queen |
Talk show host Ricki Lake marries |
Macy Gray lends raspy voice to others' songs |
Lindsay Lohan says club battery claim one big lie |
Defiant North Korea begins injecting fuel into rocket |
China ejects Bo from elite ranks, wife suspected of murder |
Syrian forces press assault as peace plan falters |
Manila summons China's envoy over South China Sea standoff |
Korean Air says jet diverted in Canada after threat |
Saudi Arabia denies activist on hunger strike |
Putin speech may offer clues on next Russian government |
Peru says rescue of 9 trapped miners imminent |
Red Cross makes first visit to Turkmenistan jail |
DOJ may sue Apple over ebooks as early as Wednesday: sources |
Starboard to AOL: Patent sale not enough |
Best Buy CEO resigns during personal conduct probe |
Nokia smartphone bug hits U.S. ambitions |
House to take up cybersecurity bill with revisions |
IBM targets rivals with info tech maintenance product |
Global cyber arms race engulfing Web
Rock week rolls Shepherd off Dancing With the Stars |
DreamWorks Studios gets more financing-source |
Ron Wood says Rolling Stones headed back to studio |
Robin Gibbs fighting pneumonia, misses concert |
Jazz musician Herbie Hancock to pen memoir |
UK's One Direction sued by US band with same name |
'Simpsons' creator reveals the real Springfield |
Son of Bogart and Bacall to sail on restored African Queen |
Huge quakes off Indonesia stir panic, but no big tsunami |
Putin signals support for NATO Afghan supply hub |
French left preps NATO allies for fast Afghan exit |
Sudan halts South Sudan talks after oilfield attack |
Analysis: Fat cat Italian politicians dodge Monti's austerity |
Yemen air force, troops kill 62 militants |
Afghan elite raiders say they are U.S. equals |
An Error has occured |
Nokia shares tumble after loss forecast |
Nokia launches first NFC Windows Phone |
RIM to launch updates of popular BlackBerry apps |
House to take up cybersecurity bill with revisions |
Sands opens Macau casino, eyes $35 billion Spain complex |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01