http://news.linktv.org Link TV News Videos (Filtered by topics: Kabul) en-us Wed, 01 May 2013 10:40:00 -0700 Copyright 2011 Link Media, Inc. http://news.linktv.org/videos/raw-video-boeing-747-drops-from-sky-at-bagram?start=0 A Boeing 747 cargo aircraft seems to hang in the air mid-climb before plunging to the ground and exploding in flames just minutes after takeoff at Bagram Air Field near Kabul. All seven US crewmembers aboard were killed.The plane was loaded with military vehicles. NATO dismissed a statement by the Taliban claiming responsibility. An investigation is ongoing. Wed, 01 May 2013 10:40:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/raw-video-boeing-747-drops-from-sky-at-bagram Bagram Airfield, Boeing 747, Raw video, Kabul, Taliban, Afghanistan, Cargo aircraft, Military vehicle, Russia Today A Boeing 747 cargo aircraft seems to suddenly hang in the air mid-climb before plunging to the ground and exploding in flames just minutes after takeoff at Bagram Air Field near Kabul. All seven US crewmembers aboard were killed.The plane was loaded with military vehicles. NATO dismissed a statement by the Taliban claiming responsibility. An investigation is ongoing. http://news.linktv.org/videos/afghans-pick-dog-quail-fights-over-sharia?start=0 The always-cheeky Vice travels to Kabul to find happy hordes of Afghan men turning their backs on sharia bans against gambling to put their money down on fighting dogs and quail. One long-time "underworld" gambler who fashions himself as something as a gangster says Afghans just want to have fun. The real problem? Foreign invaders, from Russians to Americans, he complains. Mon, 11 Mar 2013 19:21:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/afghans-pick-dog-quail-fights-over-sharia Kabul, Gambling, Dog, Afghanistan, Taliban, Sharia, Islam, United States, Russians, Vice (magazine) The always-cheeky Vice travels to Kabul to find happy hordes of Afghan men turning their backs on sharia bans against gambling to put their money down on fighting dogs and quail. One long-time "underworld" gambler who fashions himself as something as a gangster says Afghans just want to have fun. The real problem? Foreign invaders, from Russians to Americans, he complains. http://news.linktv.org/videos/taliban-gunmen-storm-kabul-police-hq?start=0 Security forces in the Afghan capital were battling Taliban gunmen holed up inside the border police headquarters in the center of Kabul. The Taliban fighters stormed the police offices after a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the building at dawn.&nbsp; Mon, 21 Jan 2013 01:07:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/taliban-gunmen-storm-kabul-police-hq Suicide attack, Kabul, Police office, Taliban, Afghanistan, Afghanistan War, Al Jazeera English Security forces in the Afghan capital were battling Taliban gunmen holed up inside the border police headquarters in the center of Kabul. The Taliban fighters stormed the police offices after a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the building at dawn. http://news.linktv.org/videos/afghanistan-suicide-bomber-strikes-base-used-by-cia?start=0 Three people were killed after a lone suicide bomber struck at a US base in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday. But authorities say the attacker did not get breach its perimeter of the base. The Afghan Taliban has claimed its bomber drove a vehicle packed with explosives to the base in Khost, 150 kilometres from the capital Kabul. Eyewitness Anwarullah Khan said: "There was a big bang which wounded some people. I don't know the exact number of wounded but it was really powerful." The base is believed to be used by the CIA. A suicide attack there three years ago killed eight intelligence officers. Wednesday's blast comes as NATO-led troops prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan in 2014. The three dead where Afghan civilians. Wed, 26 Dec 2012 06:13:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/afghanistan-suicide-bomber-strikes-base-used-by-cia Suicide attack, Khost, CIA, Taliban, Afghanistan, Afghanistan War, US-Afghanistan relations, Kabul, NATO, Euronews Three people were killed after a lone suicide bomber struck at a US base in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday. But authorities say the attacker did not get breach its perimeter of the base. The Afghan Taliban has claimed its bomber drove a vehicle packed with explosives to the base in Khost, 150 kilometres from the capital Kabul. Eyewitness Anwarullah Khan said: "There was a big bang which wounded some people. I don't know the exact number of wounded but it was really powerful." The base is believed to be used by the CIA. A suicide attack there three years ago killed eight intelligence officers. Wednesday's blast comes as NATO-led troops prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan in 2014. The three dead where Afghan civilians. http://news.linktv.org/videos/american-adviser-shot-dead-by-afghan-policewoman?start=0 A police consultant from the US has been shot to death by an Afghan female police officer with suspected links to the Taliban. She has been arrested. The shooting occurred at police headquarters in Kabul. It's the first such insider attack by a woman serving in the national security forces. &nbsp; Mon, 24 Dec 2012 05:39:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/american-adviser-shot-dead-by-afghan-policewoman Kabul, Taliban, US-Afghanistan relations, Afghanistan, United States, Afghanistan War, Psychological warfare, Police officer, National security, Euronews A police consultant from the US has been shot to death by an Afghan female police officer with suspected links to the Taliban. She has been arrested. The shooting occurred at police headquarters in Kabul. It's the first such insider attack by a woman serving in the national security forces. http://news.linktv.org/videos/harsh-winter-may-doom-afghan-refugees?start=0 Up to two million internal refugees in Afghanistan are in danger of starving of freezing to death this winter. At least 30 people, mostly children, died from the cold in refugee camps around Kabul last winter and a United Nations appeal for funds to improve conditions has fallen far short of its goal.<br /> Wed, 19 Dec 2012 21:05:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/harsh-winter-may-doom-afghan-refugees Afghanistan, Afghan refugees, Afghanistan War, Refugee, Internally displaced person, UNHCR, Kabul, Humanitarian crisis, United Nations, Al Jazeera English Up to two million internal refugees in Afghanistan are in danger of starving of freezing to death this winter. At least 30 people, mostly children, died from the cold in refugee camps around Kabul last winter and a United Nations appeal for funds to improve conditions has fallen far short of its goal. http://news.linktv.org/videos/navy-seal-dies-rescuing-colorado-doc-from-taliban?start=0 A Navy SEAL has been killed during a successful rescue mission in Afghanistan to free a Colorado doctor kidnapped by the Taliban. Dr. Dilip Joseph was abducted last week with two Afghan colleagues in Kabul as they were returning from a rural medical clinic. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called the SEAL a "fallen hero" who upheld the "highest ideals" of "sacrifice and service."<br /> Mon, 10 Dec 2012 01:11:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/navy-seal-dies-rescuing-colorado-doc-from-taliban Kabul, Kidnapping, United States Navy SEALs, Taliban, Rescue, Afghanistan, Doctor, Leon Panetta, US Secretary of Defense, Colorado A Navy SEAL has been killed during a successful rescue mission in Afghanistan to free a Colorado doctor kidnapped by the Taliban. Dr. Dilip Joseph was abducted last week with two Afghan colleagues in Kabul as they were returning from a rural medical clinic. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called the SEAL a "fallen hero" who upheld the "highest ideals" of "sacrifice and service." http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-112812?start=395 <p>Twin car bombings kill scores in Damascus as rebels down a warplane in Aleppo, the Obama administration seeks to codify its kill list with a drone rule book, many Afghan regions remain at the mercy of warlords, and more.</p> Wed, 28 Nov 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-112812 United Nations, Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinians, Jaramana, Drone, Foreign relations of Saudi Arabia, Takhar Province, Human rights in Jordan, National Center for Human Rights (Jordan), Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt Presenter, Male #1 In Afghanistan, the dangers threatening the security and safety of citizens aren't limited to the fight between Afghan and NATO forces on one hand, and the armed Taliban on the other. The central government is unable to impose order and security in a number of Afghan provinces. Among them is the province of Takhar, situated in northeastern Afghanistan, and inhabited by an Uzbek and Tajik majority, and a Pashtu minority. Reporter, Male #2 This distant province from Kabul is under the control of warlords who take advantage of their weapons, money, and influence to impose their will on others. They are also able to reach agreements with leaders such as this one, who controls several villages with around 100 soldiers under his command. Guest, Male #3 I do not carry a weapon to harm normal citizens, but to protect my family from the Taliban and smugglers. I can no longer give up my weapons because I have many enemies. Reporter, Male #2 Other leaders have diverted the flow of the main river to run their electric generators. It denied many villages access to water vital for their crops. The influence of warlords extends to the capital, Kabul, where this woman now resides. She fled her village after a local warlord killed her father, and threatened to forcibly marry her young daughter. Guest, Female #1 Five years have passed since we sought refuge in Kabul. I cannot return to my village and to my belongings, because warlords have weapons, money, and close ties everywhere. Reporter, Male #2 While hope prevailed that the government that succeeded the Taliban would be able to curb the influence of warlords, many believe the government of Hamid Karzai didn't make any efforts in that direction. Guest, Female #2 (Balkis Roshan, Member of the Afghan Senate) Many of the high-level government leaders are warlords. Their fighters instill fear in people. I am aware that they rob the land, rape women, and kill people without punishment. If the government punished them, they would stop committing these crimes. Reporter, Male #2 NATO forces are getting ready to withdraw from Afghanistan by late 2014. They will hand over security responsibilities to the Afghan forces to continue the fight against the Taliban. However, establishing comprehensive peace in Afghanistan also requires confronting the warlords, whose influence expands to all areas of the Afghan countryside. http://news.linktv.org/videos/kabul-bomb-blast-targets-diplomatic-sector?start=0 At least two guards were killed in a powerful Afghanistan bomb blast outside the NATO compound in the diplomatic area of Kabul. The attack by a suicide bomber, immediately claimed by the Taliban, was a short distance from the US embassy. A second man with an explosives-laden vest also approached the compound, but was shot dead before he detonated. Tue, 20 Nov 2012 23:29:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/kabul-bomb-blast-targets-diplomatic-sector Suicide attack, Kabul, Afghanistan, Explosion, NATO, 2012 US diplomatic missions attacks, Al Jazeera English At least two guards were killed in a powerful Afghanistan bomb blast outside the NATO compound in the diplomatic area of Kabul. The attack by a suicide bomber, immediately claimed by the Taliban, was a short distance from the US embassy. A second man with an explosives-laden vest also approached the compoud, but was shot dead before his bombs could explode. http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-112012?start=951 <p>Britain recognizes Syria's opposition council as armed groups commit atrocities in Aleppo, Israel escalates its aggression against Gaza as ceasefire looms, clashes in Mohamed Mahmoud Street highlight lack of justice in post-revolution Egypt, and more.</p> Tue, 20 Nov 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-112012 Gaza–Israel conflict, Israel, Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Gaza City, Syrian Civil War, Iraqi people, Ceasefire, Israel Defense Forces, Ankara, Iraq France ends its combat mission in Afghanistan, two years before US-led foreign troops are scheduled to leave the country. The French military says troops have withdrawn from Kapisa, the strategic province northeast of the capital Kabul, as part of a quickened departure from the country. Paris decided to accelerate its withdrawal after a string of so-called "insider attacks" in 2011 and 2012, including a January assault in which an Afghan soldier shot dead five French troops at their base. France has lost 88 soldiers in Afghanistan. Some 1,500 soldiers will stay in the country into 2013 to take responsibility for repairing equipment. http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-111312?start=969 <p>Mauritanian parliament convenes amid presidential power vacuum, Taliban resumes peace talks with US as attacks on NATO troops surge in Afghanistan, a look back at Yasser Arafat's legacy as investigation into his death continues, and more.</p> Tue, 13 Nov 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-111312 Syrian Civil War, Taliban, United States, Palestinians, Israel, Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Ra's al-'Ayn, Arab League Presenter, Male #1 Speaking about Afghanistan, a top-ranking commander at the Haqqani network, considered the most dangerous insurgent faction in Afghanistan, said the network will take part in peace talks with the United States, but only under the direction of its Afghan Taliban leaders. On the ground, at least four rockets were fired today in the Afghan capital, killing one person and injuring three others. Presenter, Male #1 The rockets fell in the northeastern part of Kabul, near a private television station and an office used by the Afghan intelligence service. The renewed rocket attacks are a reminder of the security challenges the country faces, as most NATO forces are getting ready to leave by the end of 2014. http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-101212?start=622 <p>Anti-Morsi slogans lead to clashes between Islamists and liberals in Tahrir Square, African Union forces expand control outside of Mogadishu, Saudi Arabia ranks as world's second-worst country for women, and more.</p> Fri, 12 Oct 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-101212 Taliban, Israel, Islamism, Afghanistan, Tahrir Square, Women's rights in Saudi Arabia, Ghazni Province, Jalalabad Airport, Bahrain Uprising, Nobel Peace Prize Afghan officials say that at least ten missiles have been fired at Jalalabad Airport in eastern Afghanistan, with no reports of casualties. Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar Province. The second-biggest US air base in Afghanistan is located in the city's airport. The biggest, Bagram, north of Kabul, has recently been attacked by Taliban militants. http://news.linktv.org/videos/female-rappers-take-center-stage-at-afghanistan-music-festival?start=0 In a country where public performing is typically considered shameful and un-Islamic, two Afghan female rappers took center stage on Wednesday at the second annual Sound Central Festival in Kabul, Afghanistan. The three-day "alternative music festival" was the idea of Travis Beard, an Australian photojournalist who joined the band " White City" when he moved to Kabul. Sat, 06 Oct 2012 10:56:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/female-rappers-take-center-stage-at-afghanistan-music-festival Hip hop music, Kabul, Afghanistan, Alternative rock, Music festival, Rapping, White City (band), Islam, Women in Islam, Women's Rights In a country where public performing is typically considered shameful and un-Islamic, two Afghan female rappers took center stage on Wednesday at the second annual Sound Central Festival in Kabul, Afghanistan. The three-day "alternative music festival" was the idea of Travis Beard, an Australian photojournalist who joined the band " White City" when he moved to Kabul. http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-100412?start=948 <p>Turkish demonstrators clash with police after parliament vote to strike Syria, Libyan protestors storm National Congress over lack of representation, Somali government blames al-Shabab for "systematic" killing of journalists, and more.</p> Thu, 04 Oct 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-100412 Politics of Israel, Taliban, Afghanistan, Syrian Civil War, Tzipi Livni, Coalition government, Jordan, Child, Israel Defense Forces, Ehud Barak Presenter, Female #1 Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul pledged before his American counterpart, Hillary Clinton, to pursue peace with the Taliban group. This, after Washington invited the Taliban to resume negotiations, which have been stalled since March. Zalmai is visiting Washington to set up a secondary committee to prepare for Afghan-American relations after the withdrawal from Afghanistan at the end of 2014. During a joint press conference with Zalmai, Clinton said that there will be difficult days, while confirming her country's commitment to Kabul. Yesterday, the American State Department reassured the Taliban that they are welcome at the negotiating table. http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-092012?start=145 <p>Pakistan calls in army to guard embassies as thousands clash with police, Israeli air strike kills two Hamas security officers in Gaza, UN human rights rapporteur arrives in Morocco to investigate torture claims, and more.</p> Thu, 20 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-092012 Israel Defense Forces, Israel, Rafah, Hamas, Kabul, Anti-Americanism, Air strike, Afghanistan, Palestinians, Innocence of Muslims A large number of Afghans have taken to the streets in the capital Kabul to protest against the US-made anti-Islam video. They demand severe punishment for the filmmakers and an immediate withdrawal of US-led forces from their country. Police guarded the protests, which remained peaceful. Protests were also held in Jalalabad, and in other parts of the country. http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-092012?start=1432 Despite a lack of facilities and open space, BBC Arabic reports that a group of Afghan girls hope to one day represent Afghanistan in international cricket competitions, in a scene that would have been impossible to see during Taliban rule. Thu, 20 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-092012 Israel Defense Forces, Israel, Rafah, Hamas, Kabul, Anti-Americanism, Air strike, Afghanistan, Palestinians, Innocence of Muslims Presenter, Male #1 Despite a lack of facilities and open space, a group of Afghan girls are trying to develop their cricket skills, hoping to one day represent Afghanistan in international competitions. Reporter, Male #2 Afghan girls are training to play cricket in one of the suburbs of the Afghan capital Kabul. This scene would have been impossible to see during Taliban rule, which shut the door in women's faces for any activity, political and social, not to mention athletic. Guest, Female #1 (Farahnaz Tazhib, Cricket Player) Training in this small basement is hard. We don't have a field to play cricket, or the necessary equipment. I call on the government, and the president himself, to support us. Reporter, Male #2 And as the male team participated in the Cricket World Cup competition that was held in Sri Lanka, Nabila hopes for a similar role for the female cricket team. Guest, Female #2 (Nabila Hameed, Cricket Player) I hope that our team can participate in the international competition, so we can serve our country and hold Afghanistan's name up high. Reporter, Male #2 The one who established the Afghan female team is Diana Barekzai, who fled to Pakistan during the Taliban's rule, and fell in love with the game while she was there. Guest, Female #3 (Diana Barekzai, Women's Cricket Team Founder and Trainer) I spent about one hour convincing the girls' parents to allow them to join the team. I don't do this for the money, and I don't receive a salary in return. I only hope that one day, their families will be proud of them. Reporter, Male #2 The idea of forming a female team can be considered a good start. But these girls must put in more effort to convince a society in which extremism has prevailed for years, and is not used to seeing women in athletic activities. Haidar Talibi, BBC. ** Contact Mosaic News: mosaicnews{at}linktv{dot}org http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-091812?start=500 At least 12 people were killed in a suicide bombing on the road leading to the airport in the Afghan capital Kabul, reports BBC Arabic. The Islamic Party of Afghanistan claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that it came in response to the film that insulted Islam. Tue, 18 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-091812 United States, Anti-Americanism, Islam, Palestinians, UN General Assembly, Syrian Civil War, Syria, Israel, Human rights in Bahrain, Bingöl Presenter, Female #1 NATO decided to limit the number of its joint operations with Afghan forces, after dozens of its soldiers were killed within the last few months by elements of the Afghan security forces. Presenter, Female #1 NATO announced that most joint patrols or training sessions will not be performed except at the brigadier level or above. Meanwhile, the collaboration process with each separate lower-level unit needs to be studied and approved by provincial leaders. Presenter, Female #1 The American Leaders of ISAF acknowledged that these attacks are a dangerous threat to Western military efforts in this country. Presenter, Female #1 With that, at least 12 people were killed, among them nine foreigners, in a suicide bombing that occurred on the road leading to the airport in the Afghan capital Kabul. The Islamic Party of Afghanistan claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that it came in response to the film that insulted Islam. Reporter, Female #2 A new explosion in the Afghan capital Kabul, occurred specifically on the road leading to the airport. The result was several deaths, mostly of foreigners who worked for an international company. As for the bus that was transporting the victims, it was completely charred. The Islamic Party of Afghanistan claimed responsibility for the operation, and said that it was in response to broadcasting the film that insulted Islam, which was produced in the United States and sparked a wave of anger and protests in a number of Islamic countries. Reporter, Female #2 The speaker of the group said that the operation was conducted by a woman who was wearing an explosive belt. The group is not known to have conducted suicide operations in the past. The attack comes after clashes occurred between thousands of protestors against the film that insulted Islam, and Afghan security forces, in the worst wave of violence witnessed in the country since the demonstrations that occurred after the American army burned copies of the Quran in February. Maha Sokar, BBC. http://news.linktv.org/videos/raw-video-suicide-bomb-attack-kills-six-in-kabul?start=0 At least six civilians have been killed in a suicide blast near the heavily-barricaded NATO headquarters in Afghanistan's capital. Reports are surfacing the blast is linked to the United States' designation of the Haqqani network as a terrorist organization. Sat, 08 Sep 2012 08:47:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/raw-video-suicide-bomb-attack-kills-six-in-kabul Kabul, Afghanistan, Suicide attack, Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, Haqqani network, List of designated terrorist organizations, NATO, Telegraph.co.uk At least six civilians have been killed in a suicide blast near the heavily-barricaded NATO headquarters in Afghanistan's capital. Zabihullan Mujahid, a Taliban spokesperson, has said the blast is the Taliban's response to the Obama administration's designation of the Haqqani network as a terrorist organization. http://news.linktv.org/videos/skateistan?start=0 A strange sight appears amid the violence and poverty of Kabul: girls and boys gliding through the war-torn city on skateboards. But even more unusual than the sight of Afghan teenage skateboarders are the expressions on their faces; they're smiling. Tue, 31 Jul 2012 09:41:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/skateistan Skateistan, Afghanistan, Kabul, Hazara people, Pashtun people, Uzbeks, Tajik people, Internally displaced person, Skateboarding, Child A strange sight appears amid the violence and poverty of Kabul: girls and boys gliding through the war-torn city on flat boards with wheels on the bottom, their shoes seemingly glued to the surface. But even more unusual than the sight of Afghan teenage skateboarders is the expression on their faces. They're smiling. ---- The city of Kabul is reeling from decades of warfare. Thousands of its children face a life with few prospects. But some are finding hope in an unlikely place. WAIS [Skateboarder]: People keep looking at our shoes and boards in a weird way. They think that they are attached to the boards through some sort of magnetic field. One day without skateboarding is like a month without skateboarding for me. My family and I used to work at Mikroyan, my father and three brothers washed cars for a living. We made a living but the work was intense. Before, my life was hard, but it's better now because of Skateistan. The Skateistan project is transforming the lives of hundreds of children like Wais through a unique sporting and education initiative. SHARNA NOLAN [Skateistan Co-founder]: Skateistan is Afghanistan's first skateboarding school and was brought together by a bunch of expatriate aid workers living in Kabul that had the common love of skateboarding and wanted to share something with the Afghan children here. Another one of Skateistan's pupils is Murza, a 17-year-old boy who has known nothing but a lifetime of war. MURZA [Skateboarder]: We can't escape the violent situation. I am so used to it that it doesn't scare me anymore. It's been happening throughout my life and will continue into the future. But Murza's involvement in Skateistan has renewed his hope. Life is hard in Kabul. It is solely because of the support of Skateistan that I am standing now. Skateistan builds on the positive interactions that kids experience through skateboarding and we also build in education. We expose our students to a whole range of new ideas and new subjects that are typically under-resourced in Afghan regular schooling. Kabul's a city that was designed for around two million people max and at the moment they estimate there's anywhere between 3.5 million to five million people living here. The roads aren't clean, there are no real waste disposal systems, and water and sanitation is an issue. The majority of people are doing quite poorly still and it's a real struggle day-to-day. We're able to bring working children that have not been to school or have limited educational opportunities into a classroom with more educated children. We're able to bring children that typically wouldn't mix in Afghan neighborhoods, so among our 240 students we have Hazaras, Uzbeks, Pashtuns, Tajiks, all playing together, all building relationships and all having fun through skateboarding and through the classroom activities that we do. One of the most remarkable things about Skateistan is its inclusion of women in sport, something that only a few years ago would have been unthinkable. FAZILLA [Skateboarder]: My name is Fazilla, I am 12 years old and I live in Qalai Zaman Khan. SHAMS RAZI [Teacher, Skateistan]: Fazilla comes from a very poor family. They have a lot of problems in the family, so we are providing the money for her to go to the school. When I first met Fazilla, she was incredibly shy. Skateboarding has given her an outlet to express herself through sporting achievement but also to think ahead to her future. While the Skateistan project has enjoyed support from the wider community, there has been opposition from some corners, especially towards girls skateboarding. I believe that people have negative thoughts; they disagree with girls wanting to pursue skateboarding as a hobby. My family is mostly on my side, however my father disagrees with this hobby. When I am skating on the streets, I can feel people questioning my right to skate. Their opinions are meaningless to me. I really like skating and I won't stop. Fazilla is not the only one who has found people questioning her right to skate. Mariam was a top pupil at Skateistan until her brother forced her to stop, as he didn't believe girls should skateboard. MARIAM [Skateboarder]: My family wants me to stay at home and do housework. I am often upset at home because I want to skate. SOPHIE FRIEDL [Volunteer, Skateistan]: She used to be skating for two years now, I think, and since we got the skate park she's not allowed to come skateboarding anymore because her brothers don't want her to take part in any sports. That's sadly still the attitude of quite a few families here. Old prejudices may not have completely disappeared, but the fact that girls are now involved in sport at all, is a sign of shifting moods in Kabul. In a country with few opportunities for young people, Skateistan represents a way for children to build their confidence and form new ways of seeing the world. We really believe that if these children are going to inherit the problems that they will, particularly in a country which has been through 30 years of war, it's important to show them new qualities of what it takes to be a leader. We the people of Afghanistan must unite to rebuild the country. The problems Afghanistan faces are enormous. However, in classrooms of Skateistan, children are growing up learning the skills they need to help rebuild their devastated country. My hope is that someone who is able to bring peace leads my country. Until there is peace, nothing can be certain. Hope is being kept alive in this school, with a difference. http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-070212?start=412 A US-led NATO air strike has killed at least five Afghans, including two children, in Logar Province. Press TV takes a look at the history of US-led NATO strikes in Afghanistan with its correspondent in Kabul. Mon, 02 Jul 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-070212 Syrian Civil War, Syria, Homs, Benghazi, Lebanon–Syria relations, Logar Province, Kurds in Turkey, Leyla Zana, Arms industry, Yitzhak Shamir A US-led NATO air strike has killed at least five Afghans, including two children, in Logar Province. Press TV takes a look at the history of US-led NATO strikes in Afghanistan with its correspondent in Kabul. http://news.linktv.org/videos/at-least-18-killed-in-fierce-taliban-gun-battle?start=0 At least 18 civillians have been killed in Afghanistan, after Taliban gunmen stormed a hotel on the outskirts of Kabul. Fri, 22 Jun 2012 14:10:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/at-least-18-killed-in-fierce-taliban-gun-battle Taliban, Kabul, Afghanistan, Civilian casualties, Taliban insurgency, Afghan National Army, Afghanistan War, Afghan National Police, Al Jazeera At least 18 civillians have been killed in Afghanistan, after Taliban gunmen stormed a hotel on the outskirts of Kabul. Al Jazeera's Jennifer Glasse reports. http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-062212?start=804 The death toll of the Taliban attack that targeted a hotel near the Afghan capital Kabul has risen to 16, reports Al-Alam. Gunmen held people hostage inside the hotel before NATO-backed security forces launched an attack that killed the five gunmen. Fri, 22 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-062212 Israel, Palestinians, Economy of Sudan, Susya, Syria-Turkey relations, Kabul, Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel, Middle East Peace Process, Shaul Mofaz Presenter, Male #1 The death toll of the Taliban attack that targeted a hotel near the Afghan capital Kabul has risen to 16, in addition to dozens of injured. Gunmen held tens of people hostage inside the hotel before NATO-backed security forces launched an attack that killed the five gunmen and freed the hostages. Reporter, Male #1 Here, near the Afghan capital Kabul, and specifically in this hotel located by the side of Qargha Lake, a fierce battle erupted from floor to floor, after Taliban gunmen stormed the hotel and held civilians hostage. Taliban sources say the civilians are foreigners. Guest, Male #2 (Mohamed Agha, Owner of the Hotel) My son called me and told me they are stuck inside the hotel, and the situation is hard. Reporter, Male #1 The operation that began last night was stopped by Afghan security forces that stormed the hotel and freed a number of hostages after killing some of the attackers. The Afghan Interior Ministry said it believes the attack was meticulously planned. Guest, Male #3 (Nasir Ahmed, Local Official) Two of my brothers work in the hotel, and they managed to escape. Reporter, Male #1 The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying foreigners and wealthy Afghans use the hotel to hold obscene parties. Attacks have escalated across Afghanistan in the past few days. Political observers believe this explosive situation reflects the mounting security challenges the Afghan government is facing as the withdrawal of foreign forces nears; it is scheduled for next year. Presenter, Female #1 Joining us from Kabul is writer and political analyst Habib Hakimi. Mr. Hakimi, why do you believe this operation, or attack, was carried out? And apart from the reasons announced by the Taliban, in your opinion, what are the reasons for this attack? Guest, Male #5 Of course, everything is a target for the Taliban movement, especially anything that is linked to the Afghan government, and sometimes their targets are not linked to the government or the foreign troops in Afghanistan. Guest, Male #5 In the past years, the Taliban movement has attacked similar sites many times, killing a lot of civilians. In this attack, all those who were killed in the hotel were civilians, not one military officer or political official, nor any prominent figure in the Afghan government was killed. Guest, Male #5 So I think is a terrorist operation and a criminal act in the truest sense of the word. It is worth mentioning that a number of women were among the killed. I have visited this hotel many times; it is used by families and civilians who go there for dinner, lunch, and so on. http://news.linktv.org/videos/panetta-says-pakistan-is-testing-us-patience?start=0 Leon Panetta, the US secretary of defence, has put renewed pressure on Pakistan to do more to combat armed groups in Pakistan, particularly the Haqqani Network, a group believed to be linked to al-Qaeda. Thu, 07 Jun 2012 15:45:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/panetta-says-pakistan-is-testing-us-patience US-Pakistan relations, Haqqani network, Leon Panetta, Pakistan, Drone attacks in Pakistan, Al-Qaeda, Navi Pillay, Drone, United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Waziristan Leon Panetta, the US secretary of defence, has put renewed pressure on Pakistan to do more to combat armed groups in Pakistan, particularly the Haqqani Network, a group believed to be linked to al-Qaeda. Panetta's warnings came during a press conference in Kabul on Thursday with his Afghan counterpart, Abdul Rahim Wardak. "We are reaching the limits of our patience here, and for that reason it is extremely important that Pakistan take action to prevent this kind of safe haven from taking place and allowing terrorists to use their country as a safety net in order to conduct their attacks on our forces," Panetta said. Al Jazeera's Imitaz Tyab reports from Islamabad. http://news.linktv.org/videos/afghan-schoolgirls-targeted-in-new-poison-attacks?start=0 Over 150 girls and teachers are being treated at a hospital following the latest poison attack on a school in the Takhar province of Afghanistan. Police are blaming radicals who oppose the education of women and girls for the attacks. Wed, 30 May 2012 15:20:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/afghan-schoolgirls-targeted-in-new-poison-attacks Takhar Province, Female education, Taliban, Afghanistan, Poison, Taliban insurgency, Balkh Province, Kabul, Afghan National Army, Violence against women Over 150 girls and teachers are being treated at a hospital following a poison attack on their school on Tuesday in the Takhar province. According to doctors this is the third attack on schools in northern Afghan provinces of Balkh and Takhar. Takhar province Police Chief, Mahmood Hassan, said an investigation team at the school found that a toxic material appeared to have been sprayed in the air prior to the girls' entering the premises. Many of the students suffered headaches, vomiting and even fell unconscious as they were being admitted to the hospital. Police blame radicals for attacking schools with unidentified toxic powder which is used to contaminate the air in classrooms. The radicals oppose the education of women and girls. Amena Jan, one of the girls who was poisoned, described her experience. "When I came into class I smelled something and then started to vomit and fell unconscious. I don't remember what happened after that," she said. Head of Takhar regional hospital, Habibiullah Rustaqi, said he was looking into the incident. "We have already sent the blood samples of poisoned students to a laboratory in Kabul in order to get a clear result of what happened. All of these incidents are similar. It has created a panic among students. I have suggested to officials to shut the school at least for a week," he said. Only a month ago, 150 schoolgirls were poisoned in Takhar province after drinking water that had been contaminated. Following the defeat of the Taliban in 2001 led by U.S.-backed Afghan forces, girls have returned to schools, especially in the country's capital Kabul. Previously, they were banned from receiving an education and women from working. However, there are still periodic attacks against students, teachers and school buildings, usually in the more conservative south and east of the country, from where the Taliban insurgency draws most of its support. By: Nadia Mayen Al Arabiya with Agencies http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-053012?start=542 <p>Egypt's Shafiq vows to crush revolution and restrain Islamists if he wins the election, Sudan pulls troops from Abyei amid new bombing accusations by the South, prominent Bahraini activist Zainab al-Khawaja released on bail, and more.</p> Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-053012 Iran, Israel, Iran-Israel relations, Sudan, Syria, Ahmed Shafiq, 2012 South Sudan–Sudan border conflict, Zainab Alkhawaja, Afghanistan War, Iran-Saudi Arabia relations Civilian deaths in Afghanistan were missing from talks at the recent NATO conference in Chicago. The UN envoy to Kabul, Jan Kubis, is blasting the alliance for ignoring what is thought to be the most controversial issue of the US-led war, and is calling for all warring groups in the country, such as the Taliban, to stop all civilian casualties. Meanwhile, separate attacks killed at least two foreign soldiers in southern Afghanistan, where most foreign troops are American. The US-led NATO coalition said the deaths took place on Wednesday. http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-050812?start=494 The US military has admitted to killing a family of six in an air strike on Afghanistan's Helmand Province last Friday, report Press TV. President Hamid Karzai said the pact Afghanistan signed with the US will be invalid if US forces continue to kill civilians. Tue, 08 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-050812 Iraq, Israel, Tariq al-Hashemi, Somali people, Helmand Province, US-Pakistan relations, Quran desecration, Syrian Civil War, Copt, Politics of Israel The US military in Afghanistan has admitted to killing a family of six in an air strike last Friday. It has confirmed the incident took place in the southern province of Helmand. Tens of civilians have been killed in US-led air strikes in several provinces in recent days, despite Kabul's repeated warnings to the forces to avoid killing civilians. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the pact signed between the US and Afghanistan, allowing US troops to stay past 2014 and created to protect Afghans, will be invalid if US forces continue to kill Afghan civilians. The deal angered Afghan lawmakers, who argued that the pact had not been approved by parliament. http://news.linktv.org/videos/democracy-now-may-2-2012?start=727 On a surprise visit to Afghanistan, President Obama marked the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Osama bin Laden and announced the signing of a long-term strategic partnership with the Afghan government. Wed, 02 May 2012 11:22:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/democracy-now-may-2-2012 International Workers' Day, May Day, Occupy movement, Occupy Wall Street, New York City, United States, Anti-corporate activism, Protest, Occupy Seattle, Occupy Oakland On a surprise visit to Afghanistan, President Obama marked the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Osama bin Laden and announced the signing of a long-term strategic partnership with the Afghan government. In a speech to the U.S. public, Obama said the agreement heralds "a future in which the war ends, and a new chapter begins." We're joined by writer Tariq Ali and former U.S. diplomat Ann Wright, who helped reopen the U.S. embassy in Kabul in 2001. We begin with Afghanistan, where several large explosions rocked the capital Kabul hours after President Obama's surprise visit to the country on the one-year anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death. The suicide attacks were claimed by the Taliban and resulted in at least seven deaths and numerous wounded. Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said, quote, "It is a message to Obama that he and his forces are never welcomed in Afghanistan and that we will continue our resistance until all the occupiers are either dead or leave our country." During his brief visit, President Obama delivered a prime-time address to the American public from Bagram Air Base. Obama signed an agreement with President Hamid Karzai on future Afghan-U.S. relations in Kabul Tuesday ahead of a NATO summit in Chicago later this month. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Good evening from Bagram Air Base. This outpost is more than 7,000 miles from home, but for over a decade it's been close to our hearts, because here in Afghanistan more than half a million of our sons and daughters have sacrificed to protect our country. Today I signed a historic agreement between the United States and Afghanistan that defines a new kind of relationship between our countries, a future in which Afghans are responsible for the security of their nation and we build an equal partnership between two sovereign states, a future in which war ends and a new chapter begins. President Obama, speaking at Bagram Air Base Tuesday night during an unannounced trip to Afghanistan. The Strategic Partnership Agreement pledges American support for Afghanistan for 10 years after the withdrawal of the last U.S. soldiers at the end of 2014. President Karzai said the agreement signaled a new chapter in bilateral relations between Afghanistan and the U.S., one marked by, quote, "mutual respect." Meanwhile, a new Pentagon report issued Tuesday said even though there has been a decline in violence, the U.S. has made limited gains on key issues in Afghanistan. The report says the most pressing concern remains the safe haven provided to insurgents in Pakistan, stating, quote, "The Taliban-led insurgency and its al Qaeda affiliates still operate with impunity from sanctuaries in Pakistan." Well, to talk more about the significance of President Obama's surprise trip and the agreement, we're joined by two people. Ann Wright is with us, retired Army colonel and former U.S. diplomat. She spent 29 years in the military, later served as a high-ranking diplomat in the State Department. In 2001, she helped oversee the reopening of the U.S. embassy in Afghanistan, where she served as deputy chief of mission. In 2003, she resigned her State Department post to protest the war in Iraq. She has been back to Afghanistan twice. We're also joined via Democracy Now! video stream from California by Tariq Ali, the British-Pakistani political commentator, writer, activist, editor of the New Left Review, author of numerous books, including The Obama Syndrome: Surrender at Home, War Abroad, joining us from Santa Monica. We're going to go first to Tariq Ali. Can you talk about President Obama's announcement last night from Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan? Well, Amy, I mean, A, why is he there? It's clearly a lot more to do with the re-election campaign, where the execution of Osama bin Laden is obviously going to be a key feature, and they've started using it, and secondly, to pretend that somehow this war is over. But it's not over, because the United States can stay there or use the so-called Afghan bases until 2024. And forgotten, Amy, are the pools of blood, the embers, the cries of rage, the sobbing of women and children, and the horrors that have been inflicted on that country. And this is what the real cause for continuing terrorism is. I noticed the President saying, "I am in Bagram Air Base, 7,000 miles away." He could have said, "And not far from here is Bagram Prison, where prisoners are still being tortured without any recourse to law at all." So it's essentially a PR visit designed to aid the re-election campaign. As far as Afghanistan is concerned, everyone, including the Pentagon, knows that this war is unwinnable. But Tariq, can you say something, Tariq, about the actual agreement that was signed, because a number of people have pointed out that key issues have not been resolved, including how long some U.S. forces will stay in the country even after the formal withdrawal in 2014? Well, you know, formal withdrawals are useless, because essentially what the agreement—Karzai has signed. And who does he speak for? He's not a sovereign leader. Afghanistan is not a sovereign state; it's an occupied state. So having President Obama go there and sign a deal with a puppet president who represents nobody and who can barely travel inside the country itself is a joke. And for this guy to agree that U.S. forces can use the bases 'til 2024 is a total joke, because he won't be there. If the Americans really leave Afghanistan, they'd be well advised to take him with them. Well, let's talk about President Hamid Karzai for a minute. During an interview with Christiane Amanpour on CNN, he talked about the massacre of 17 Afghan villagers earlier this year. He denied calling U.S. soldiers demons but said the killings were an act of intentional terrorism. PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI: Demons, I have never used the word "demon" in the English language. The word "intentional terror," yes, I did use in the English language. It was my input into the statement that we made. This was intentional. When someone walks out of a military barrack and goes to kill villagers, that's intentional, and that's terrorism. That's Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai. Tariq Ali? I know. Well, what else could he say, Amy, when it was such an obvious, blatant violation of everything the West is supposed to stand for? And, of course, pretending that this is an individual act by one guy, not part of a general problem. I mean, this is one guy doing it. Essentially, U.S. military policy in the region is to do it systematically in different parts of the country. That's the real problem. And the fact that Karzai has to come out and say this in these conditions shows how much anger there is. And by the way, 60 percent of U.S. citizens, according to the last Pew foundation opinion pollings, are against carrying on in that country. So the Afghans don't want it, American citizens don't want it, but the United States president is carrying on. But one of the points that Obama made in his speech last night was that the U.S. will work with Afghanistan over the next decade, but will not be establishing permanent bases in the country. Well, I mean, you know, their bases are already there. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: We will work with the Afghans to determine what support they need to accomplish two narrow security missions beyond 2014: counterterrorism and continued training. But we will not build permanent bases in this country, nor will we be patrolling its cities and mountains. That will be the job of the Afghan people. Tariq, your response? It's, you know, surreal. The Afghan people have made it clear they don't want them. The training he talks about, the number of incidents there have been of trained Afghan soldiers actually then breaking loose and carrying out attacks on the occupying armies in Afghanistan are now legion. The special agents they have trained have turned on intelligence agents from the West and killed them. And the reason for that is that large numbers of Afghans join the army and the police forces to get training, because that is what the insurgent leadership tells them to do, and then they turn these guns on the occupiers. So the notion that everything is calm and that Karzai somehow represents something is a totally grotesque analysis. I want to bring in Ann Wright into the conversation. Ann Wright, there was an AP report issued earlier this week that found that the number of attacks against ISAF and U.S. forces in Afghanistan by Afghan soldiers and the police are increasing and are also underreported. So that's one concern. The other is that Afghan forces are in fact unprepared to take over once U.S. forces leave. Can you— Well, indeed, the U.S. government is loath to let everyone really know what the extent of displeasure is for U.S. forces to be there. I mean, when you have the president of the United States having to come into Afghanistan in the middle of the night, and the agreement is signed at midnight, not in the middle of the day, you know that the security is lax. The idea that—you know, we've had 1,941 U.S. soldiers alone and probably 500 NATO soldiers have been killed, lots of contractors. In fact, the kidnapping of contractors and aid workers is rife right now. Not to—I mean, and then you talk about the numbers of Afghans that have been killed, I mean, in the tens of thousands. There is a reason why Afghans are shooting Americans: we have invaded and occupied their country. And the numbers of warlords that are a part of the government, who have their militias that are now being retrained, re-equipped in the new national army, means that they will come back to those warlords later. Ann Wright, I saw you yesterday at the May Day protest, and you were out there protesting through the day, so you hadn't heard the news that had just broken that President Obama had made the surprise trip to Afghanistan. Now, you have a unique relationship with the United States and Afghanistan. You reopened the mission there in 2001 as a U.S. diplomat. You had been an Army colonel. Talk about what happened then and your thoughts today. Well, 10-and-a-half years ago, when we went in as the first U.S. mission to the—with the U.S. embassy, we were giving the U.S. probably a year and a half to two years to whatever they needed to do with al-Qaeda and then do some quick humanitarian assistance, civic actions, schools, health clinics, things like that, and then remove ourselves, because we know the history of what foreign involvement is in Afghanistan. The invaders and occupiers always leave, and seldom in very good shape. We've seen that with the British, the Russians, and now the United States, where we've spent trillions of dollars in Afghanistan, we've been there for ten-and-a-half years, and now the president of the United States has to fly in at midnight. You, then, worked under Ryan Crocker. That's correct. Ryan Crocker— He now— —was the first chargé d'affaires that we had at the U.S. embassy. And now he is back as a retired Foreign Service officer, but now reappointed by the Obama administration as the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan. At yesterday's May Day march, Democracy Now! spoke to Eli Wright of Iraq Veterans Against the War, who served in Iraq from 2002 to '08. This is what he said about Obama's visit to Afghanistan. ELI WRIGHT: I mean, obviously, I don't support either of these wars, so, you know, I—our organization calls for immediate and unconditional withdrawal from Iraq, and we also oppose the war in Afghanistan, as well. I think what we're doing is creating more terrorism. We're creating more enemies of our country by engaging in these wars. And all we're doing is spreading further hatred around the world. I don't think that we—you know, I don't think that the record will show that we have brought liberty or freedom or democracy to either of these countries that's worth the human costs and the economic costs that it's—you know, that we're all paying. That was Eli Wright yesterday at Iraq Veterans Against the War, the group, at the May Day protest. Ann Wright, is there anything positive you see in what President Obama did yesterday, holding his news conference from Bagram and saying at some point in the future the U.S. will be out of Afghanistan? Well, the positive part is at least he's talking about removing the majority of the troops from Afghanistan. However, we have to be very cautious about what he's saying and hold his feet to the fire on this. We don't know for sure how many troops are going to be left behind, where they're going to be—supposedly there to continue to train the Afghan army. One would always question why Afghans need any more training, because it sure seems like they know how to use weapons and they know how to target facilities. In fact, within hours after the President left, a major U.S. compound in Kabul came under attack with RPGs, grenade launchers and all sorts of things, with seven people being killed. So it's not like they need more training in military operations, in my opinion. I want to turn to another issue that's been quite controversial, and that has to do with the use of drones. President Obama's top counterterrorism adviser has publicly confirmed that the United States has used drones to conduct targeted killings overseas. John Brennan spoke on Monday at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He detailed and defended the killings. JOHN BRENNAN: President Obama believes that, done carefully, deliberately and responsibly, we can be more transparent and still ensure our nation's security. So let me say it as simply as I can. Yes, in full accordance with the law and in order to prevent terrorist attacks on the United States and to save American lives, the United States government conducts targeted strikes against specific al-Qaeda terrorists, sometimes using remotely piloted aircraft, often referred to publicly as drones. And I'm here today because President Obama has instructed us to be more open with the American people about these efforts. That was President Obama's special adviser on homeland security and counterterrorism. John Brennan's speech was disrupted by Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK. Over the weekend, Benjamin helped organize the International Drone Summit in Washington, D.C. MEDEA BENJAMIN: How many people are you willing to sacrifice? Why are you lying to the American people and not saying how many innocents have been killed? MODERATOR: Thank you, ma'am, for expressing your views. There will be time for questions and answers after the presentation. MEDEA BENJAMIN: I speak out on behalf of Tariq Aziz, a 16-year-old in Pakistan, who was killed because he wanted to document the drone strikes. I speak out on behalf of Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, a 16-year-old born in Denver, killed in Yemen, just because his father was someone we don't like. I speak out on behalf of the Constitution, on behalf of the rule of law. I love the rule of law. I love my country. You are making us less safe by killing so many innocent people. That was Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK, and she was actually dragged out while speaking. Tariq Ali, your comment on the use of drones in Pakistan, in particular? Well, I mean, this is part of the cycle of war, vengeance, terror, response from insurgents, more war, more vengeance, more terror. These drone attacks, we know full well—anyone in Pakistan will tell you about them—kill large numbers of innocents. Now, by "large numbers," I don't mean tens of thousands, obviously, but I mean several hundreds, occasionally more than that, over a year and a half. And Obama has upped the drone attacks. During his period in office, the number of drone attack—during his first year in office, there were more drone attacks in Pakistan than during the previous five years of the Bush administration. So here he's been much worse, much more aggressive, and much more militaristic. And the real problem, apart from all the moral and ethical problems, is they have nil impact. They kill people, they kill innocents, and they create more problems for the United States. As for the notion that these drone attacks somehow are defending the United States and making it safe against terror, that is so crazy. It really is crazy thinking. And if these people still haven't realized it, I don't know whether they ever will. These drone attacks, most people, many, many international lawyers regard them as illegal anyway. Targeting your own citizens abroad, targeting your own citizens where they are, is an added dimension to this. This is the first president who's now acquired the right, the legal right, to order the targeting and killing of any U.S. citizen without recourse to law. This has happened under this particular president, so— Let's bring Ann Wright in to get a last comment on this, retired Army colonel, the diplomat who helped to open—reopen the U.S. mission in Afghanistan in 2001. Well, John Brennan saying that he, on behalf of the President, was telling the American people about this program, well, we're the last to learn then, because the rest of the world certainly knows about this targeted assassination program. And in fact, before Medea interrupted John Brennan on Monday, we had had a tremendous day on Sunday as we got John Brennan, as he went in to CNN, Fox News and ABC News, to let him know the irate feeling we have, by the American people, about this weapons program. It needs to stop. It is, you know, the targeted assassination of Pakistanis, Yemenis, Somalis, Afghans, and Americans now, where we have now had four Americans that have been killed by these assassin drones at the direction of the senior leadership of our country, extrajudicial killings by these drones, and they must stop. We're going to leave it there. I want to thank you very much, Ann Wright, retired Army colonel, a former diplomat, spent 29 years in the U.S. military, returned to Afghanistan twice after, in 2001, reopening the U.S. mission there as one of the top diplomats. Tariq Ali, thanks for being with us, editor of the New Left Review, latest book, The Obama Syndrome: Surrender at Home, War Abroad. This is Democracy Now! We covered May Day around the world. Stay with us. http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-050212?start=475 Following Obama's surprise meeting with Hamid Karzai, Kabul was rocked by a series of explosions that killed six people, reports Dubai TV. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks, and warned they will launch an offensive against NATO on Thursday. Wed, 02 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-050212 Israel, Palestinian prisoners in Israel, Palestinians, Human rights, Hunger strike, Egyptian Revolution, Syrian Civil War, US-Afghanistan relations, Tzipi Livni, Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel Presenter, Male #1 He came during the night and left before the break of dawn in a surprise visit, amid heavy security measures described as "unprecedented." US President Barack Obama visited Afghanistan for six hours and met with his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai. The two leaders signed a strategic partnership pact for cooperation between Washington and Kabul. Following Obama's visit, Kabul was rocked by a series of explosions that claimed the lives of six people. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks, and warned they will launch an offensive against NATO on Thursday. Hanna al-Haidri reports. Reporter, Female #1 In a surprise visit under the shadow of night, his plane landed in Afghanistan. US President Barack Obama visited Afghanistan for six hours and held talks with his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai. The two leaders signed a long-term strategic partnership agreement that follows months of negotiations. Under the terms of the agreement, the US will provide military and financial support for Afghanistan. The pact also outlines the relationship between Washington and Kabul after 2014. Obama addressed the Afghan and American people from Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan, amid heavy security. Guest, Male #2 (Barack Obama, US President) In the pre-dawn darkness of Afghanistan, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon, as we mark the first anniversary of bin Laden's death. Reporter, Female #1 From Afghanistan, Obama promised the Americans a new day on the horizon. However, the dawn of Kabul was not very bright, as smoke rising from explosion sites covered its skies not hours after the US presidential plane took off. Dozens of people were killed and injured in the bombings that targeted a housing compound for westerners in central Kabul. Additionally, clashes erupted between Afghan police and gunmen inside an EU and UN housing compound in the capital. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks, which it said were directed against Obama's visit and the signing of the strategic agreement. With this development, Afghans continue to pay what Obama referred to as "the high cost of 11 years of war." http://news.linktv.org/videos/democracy-now-april-19-2012?start=871 Photos of soldiers posing with Afghan corpses becomes the latest outrage of the US occupation of Afghanistan. Back from Syria, journalist Anand Gopal warns protesters "face slaughter" by Assad regime. And Tavis Smiley and Cornel West on "The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto." Plus headlines and more.<br /> Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:40:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/democracy-now-april-19-2012 United States, Afghanistan, US-Afghanistan relations, Barack Obama, Afghanistan War, US Army, Cadaver, Syria, Syrian Civil War, Tavis Smiley We get reaction to two photographs published by the Los Angeles Times that show U.S. soldiers posing with the corpses and body parts of dead Afghans. "I think (the photos) shock us actually more than they shock Afghans," says journalist Anand Gopal. "From the Afghan perspective, we've had troops urinating on corpses, a massacre of 17 civilians, air strikes, night raids, troops cutting off fingers for sport, and so, for Afghans, this is part and parcel of the experience of being in war." Meanwhile, several NATO allies have promised to underwrite Afghanistan's armed forces after foreign troops depart. The United States and other nations plan to retreat from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 and hand the security issue over to Afghan security forces. "If we don't address the agreements that the U.S. and Australian governments and other governments are making for a long-term war strategy in Afghanistan, we are heading for an increase in violence in this part of the world … more serious than the Kabul attacks," says Hakim, coordinator for Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers, based in Kabul, Afghanistan. [includes rush transcript] The Los Angeles Times has published two photographs that show U.S. soldiers posing with the corpses and body parts of dead Afghans. In one of the photos, a U.S. soldier from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division in 2010 poses with a dead Afghan man's hand on his shoulder. The newspaper says he was an insurgent. In another, soldiers hold upside-down a mangled corpse of what the L.A. Times identifies as a suicide bomber. They are among 18 photographs given to the L.A. Times by a soldier who said they reveal a breakdown in leadership and discipline that he believes compromised troops' safety. The paper's editor, Davan Maharaj, said he decided that, quote, "publishing a small but representative selection of the photos would fulfill our obligation to readers to report vigorously and impartially on all aspects of the American mission in Afghanistan." He noted the newspaper published "the least gruesome" of the photos and had no plans to publish the others. The images are the latest in a growing list of abuses attributed to the U.S. military in Afghanistan, including the massacre of 17 Afghan civilians, the Koran burning episode, and troops urinating on Afghan corpses. On Wednesday, President Barack Obama called for those responsible to be held accountable, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters, quote, "The conduct depicted in those photos is reprehensible." U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also condemned the photos. DEFENSE SECRETARY LEON PANETTA: This is not who we are, and it's certainly not who we represent, when it comes to the great majority of men and women in uniform who are serving there. I expect that the matter will be fully investigated. That investigation has already begun. After the L.A. Times decided to publish the photos, it waited more than 72 hours so the Pentagon could take extra security precautions in Afghanistan. Panetta said the images might trigger retaliatory violence against foreign soldiers stationed there. DEFENSE SECRETARY LEON PANETTA: This is war. And I know that war is ugly, and it's violent. And I know that young people, sometimes caught up in the moment, make some very foolish decisions. I am not excusing that. That's—I'm not excusing that behavior. But neither do I want these images to bring further injury to our people or to our relationship with the Afghan people. We had urged the L.A. Times not to—not to run those photos. And the reason for that is those kinds of photos are used by the enemy to incite violence, and lives have been lost as a result of the publication of similar photos in the past. We regret that they were published. Defense Secretary Panetta was speaking at a meeting of NATO ministers in Brussels Wednesday. Several NATO allies promised to underwrite Afghanistan's armed forces after foreign troops depart. The United States and other nations plan to retreat from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 and hand the security issue over to Afghan security forces. The NATO talks come just days after one of the most serious attacks on Kabul since the Taliban government was ousted from power in 2001. On Sunday, Afghan militants waged an 18-hour assault on the Afghan capital and three other provinces in what the Taliban called the start of a major spring offensive. The Afghan Defense Ministry said 32 insurgents were killed in the attacks which targeted the Afghan Parliament, the German and British embassies, a supermarket and a hotel. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the Taliban offensive showed a "failure" by the intelligence services, and especially by NATO. Well, for more, we're going to go directly to Kabul, Afghanistan, where we're joined by a peace activist who is going by the name Hakim. He is coordinator for Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers. And here in New York, we're joined by Anand Gopal, journalist who covers Afghanistan, Egypt, Syria and other countries in the region, currently working on a book about the history of the decade-long Afghan war. He also has just returned from Syria. But I want to go directly to Kabul now to Hakim. Can you talk about the release of these photos or what these photos depict from a 2010 deployment of U.S. military, soldiers standing with the body parts or the mangled corpses, posing with them for these photos, Hakim? Have they been showing in Afghanistan? Yes, certainly. President Karzai himself has called the photos inhumane and provocative, and Afghans who have access to online facilities are becoming familiar with the photos now. And as expected, in the previous videos of U.S. soldiers urinating on corpses and the kill team keeping fingers as trophies, all this seems to be old news, creating quite a bit of anger and cynicism. And, Hakim, the recent—the recent coordinated attacks by the Taliban, the impact on the general population, especially with the U.S. government continually claiming that the Taliban insurgency has receded in terms of its strength? Well, I think that the reports from the U.N. in 2011 about an increase in violence, as well as other reports, counter the narrative that the U.S.-NATO coalition gives about decreasing violence or decreasing Taliban insurgency. I think that the Kabul attacks should point us to think seriously and reexamine the whole war against terrorism in Afghanistan. And what happened on this weekend, the coordinated attack, overall, what it means? Also the news, right afterwards, that Australia will be pulling its troops out early from Afghanistan? Yes, it is interesting to note that the U.S. ambassador, Ryan Crocker, who, by the way, also presided over the disastrous Iraq war, has responded to the Kabul attacks by justifying the fact that early an U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan may provoke further 9/11s. We have to disagree with Ambassador Ryan Crocker. The fact is that all the terrorist-like incidents in the past few weeks, including the Kabul attacks, and the sergeant, Sergeant Bales—in response to the Koran burning and Sergeant Bales' killing spree in Kandahar, shows that if we don't address the agreements that the U.S. and Australian governments and other governments are making for a long-term war strategy in Afghanistan, we are heading for an increase in violence in this part of the world, in South Asia, perhaps perpetual war, more serious than the Kabul attacks. And, Hakim, the efforts of President Karzai to continue to distance himself publicly from the very American military that arranged to have him essentially installed in power—he continues to call the Taliban "my brothers" and seek to promote peace negotiations—your sense of how that is playing in the general population of Afghanistan, in Afghanistan? Well, Afghans say that cats do not hunt for rats for the sake of us, and they are wise enough, over the past four decades of war, to realize that Karzai is also playing a game. The Karzai government is seen by ordinary Afghans as very corrupt. And the politicking over the long-term strategy post-2014 is really an economic and geopolitical agreement, in which Karzai himself has passed, for a written agreement in the strategic partnership agreement for the U.S. to finance at least $2 billion U.S. per year for their—for U.S. forces to stay beyond 2014. So, ordinary Afghans are really sick and tired of these games that are being played. Similarly, games have been played by President Karzai. Hakim, we're going to thank you very much for being with us. But I wanted to ask you, as we have before when we've had you on, why do you choose not to be identified? Well, it's strange that the Afghan friends that I've met over the past seven—nine years have given me a name out of affection, and the name Hakim means doctor as well as—local doctor as well as an earnest person. And I've been trained as a medical physician. It also conveniently fits into my struggle with the Afghan people in just searching for non-military, nonviolent solutions here. Hakim, thank you very much for joining us from Kabul, coordinator of the Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers. We're going to break for just 20 seconds, then come back and get the response of longtime journalist Anand Gopal, who was in Afghanistan for years and now has just returned from Syria. Stay with us. [break] Anand Gopal is our guest. He's covered Afghanistan, Egypt, other countries in the region, for various newspapers and magazines, currently working on a book about the history of the Afghan war. On Tuesday, he returned from Syria. But before we talk about Syria, Anand, this latest revelation by the Los Angeles Times of these photographs—they're so gruesome, they would only print two, which were incredibly gruesome, and they said they were the best of them—and the attack by Leon Panetta on the L.A. Times for even printing those, your response? Well, as Hakim said, I think they shock us actually more than they shock Afghans, because, I mean, from the Afghan perspective, we've had troops urinating on corpses, a massacre of 17 civilians, air strikes, night raids, troops cutting off fingers for sport, and so, for Afghans, this is part and parcel of the experience of being in war. And there's a lot of concern, I think, in Washington about us losing the Afghans with these sorts of incidents. But I think their concerns are misplaced, because we've already lost them, really, over all these incidents over the last few years. And the U.S. military—I saw some of the generals or retired generals last night basically saying, "Well, these are isolated incidents. They don't represent the general conduct of U.S. troops." But isn't the reality that as any occupation drags on and an army realizes that it is in contradiction with the very people it's supposed to be protecting, these kinds of incidents tend to escalate and grow, and it's been seen in many other wars in the past, wars of occupation? Oh, absolutely. And they keep talking about rotten apples. But you have to wonder, how many rotten apples do you have to see before you realize that the tree itself is a problem? And this is the experience of Afghans under occupation, I think, and, as you mentioned, under other occupations. I mean, talking to troops who have been there or living with troops, I mean, they're trained to view every single person as an enemy, and they're trained to dehumanize the enemy. And so, these things follow from that. And you can't really run an occupation without having this mentality, because if you start seeing Afghans as human beings, then all of a sudden you're going to think twice before shooting at them. Yeah, I wanted to ask you, in terms of this whole issue of the United States withdrawing in 2014, will—your sense of whether there will be a genuine withdrawal? And also, that Afghanistan had a previous experience with a foreign army withdrawing, when the Soviet army withdrew after a 10-year occupation and war, and that only ended up in an eruption of a new civil war within Afghanistan that led to the rise of the Taliban. Right, and this Status of Forces Agreement, which was just signed, speaks to this, which is essentially saying that the U.S. troops could—can stay, would—implies that they could stay in perpetuity—in other words, that the U.S. troops won't be subject to the laws of Afghanistan. And the reason that was set up is so that we can—the U.S. can enable themselves to stay there for forever, essentially. I think a lot of the troops will probably be withdrawn, but we'll see special forces staying on the ground. This will be the state of affairs unless something happens like they're forced to leave by the Taliban, which I think is unlikely at this point. http://news.linktv.org/videos/afghan-militants-launch-spring-offensive-with-coordinated-attacks?start=0 Fighting between Taliban gunmen and Afghan security forces has ended in Kabul after almost 18 hours, Afghan defense ministry officials have said, after militant fighters launched attacks on multiple targets across the country. Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:43:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/afghan-militants-launch-spring-offensive-with-coordinated-attacks Taliban insurgency, Afghanistan War, Afghanistan, Afghan National Police, Taliban, Suicide attack, Haqqani network, Kabul, NATO, Jalalabad Province Fighting between Taliban gunmen and Afghan security forces has ended in Kabul after almost 18 hours, Afghan defense ministry officials have said, after militant fighters launched attacks on multiple targets across the country. ----- Gunmen launched multiple attacks in the Afghan capital Kabul on Sunday, assaulting Western embassies in the heavily guarded, central diplomatic area and at the parliament in the west, witnesses and officials said. Taliban insurgents claimed responsibility for the assault, one of the boldest on the capital since U.S.-backed Afghan forces removed the group from power in 2001. http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-041612?start=213 Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the attack launched by the Taliban movement in the capital Kabul and three other regions reveals the failure of intelligence agencies and NATO, reports Al-Alam. Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-041612 NATO, 2011-2012 Jordanian Protests, Afghanistan War, 2012 South Sudan–Sudan border conflict, Bahrain Uprising, Syrian Civil War, Welcome to Palestine, Lebanese Civil War, Hamid Karzai, South Sudan Presenter, Female #1 Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the attack launched by the Taliban movement in the capital Kabul and three other regions reveals the failure of the intelligence agencies and NATO. According to the Afghan Interior Ministry, the attacks led to the killing of 47 people, including 36 gunmen and three civilians. Reporter, Male #1 This is one of the battle scenes in the Afghan capital Kabul, where Afghan forces launched an attack on the Taliban movement's fighters, who barricaded themselves inside a building in the center of the city. After fierce battles that lasted nearly 18 hours, special Afghan forces announced their victory over the Taliban gunmen who were in two buildings in the diplomatic quarter in Kabul. Guest, Male #2 (Afzal Aman, Director of Operations at the Afghan Defense Ministry) A group of gunmen wearing explosive belts participated in this terrorist attack on some strategic sites. But, luckily, they were all eliminated and we managed to paralyze their goals after they lost the ability to face Afghan security forces in their strongholds. Reporter, Male #1 A spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry confirmed Afghan forces launched a series of bloody attacks against the Taliban gunmen. All of them were killed in the attack, as confirmed by NATO. Guest, Male #3 (Carsten Jacobson, NATO Commander in Afghanistan) Afghan forces proved their tactical fighting abilities and skills by winning the battle. This is what we witnessed after the Taliban attacks were announced. These forces managed to launch attacks on Taliban gunmen without the support of NATO forces. We didn't offer them any support. Reporter, Male #1 A spokesman for the Afghan police said security forces stormed the gunmen's last stronghold in a parliament building after intensive gunfire, killing all Taliban fighters. Taliban fighters had launched six coordinated attacks on Sunday. They said this marks the beginning of what they described as the "spring offensive." They targeted multiple sites in the diplomatic quarter, and the German and Japanese embassies were damaged from rocket attacks. Gunmen wearing explosive belts also tried to enter the parliament, but security forces repelled them. Reporter, Male #1 In another neighborhood, the fighters took control of a building near the entrance of a number of embassies, including France's, and a NATO base. NATO announced offices representing the US, the UK, and Germany were targeted in the attack. In coordination with the attacks in Kabul, Taliban gunmen also attacked government buildings and an American base in Logar Province, south of Kabul, and Jalalabad Airport, which holds one of the most important NATO airbases. They also targeted a police training center in the eastern province of Gardez. http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-031612?start=279 During Hamid Karzai's meeting with an Afghan fact-finding mission probing the Panjwai killings, dozens of victims' relatives said the murder had been planned in advance and carried out by a number of US forces, reports Press TV. Fri, 16 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-031612 Iran-Israel relations, Iraq, Israel, Sanctions against Iran, Arab League, Nuclear program of Iran, Iran, Bahrain Uprising, Panjwai shooting spree, Halabja Afghan President Hamid Karzai has slammed the US for not cooperating with an Afghan fact-finding mission that's probing the recent massacre of 18 Afghan civilians by the US forces. Karzai's criticism came after his meeting with the investigation team and the relatives of the massacre victims in Kabul. During the meeting, dozens of victims' relatives said the murder had been planned in advance and carried out by a number of US forces. An elder from Panjwaii district in southern Kandahar province where the slaughter took place said it was "an absolute lie that only one American soldier was responsible for the door-to-door killings." Other Afghan elders reiterated their demands that the soldiers responsible be put on trial in Afghanistan. They said they had never asked for compensation, only justice. http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-031412?start=1131 <p>Amnesty International accuses Syrian regime of using systematic torture, Israel breaks fragile truce with renewed shelling of Gaza, Saudi student dissent in Abha spreads around the Kingdom, and more.</p> Wed, 14 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0700 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-031412 Israel, Iran, Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Afghanistan, Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel, Ceasefire, Panjwai shooting spree, Gaza, Iron Dome, Israeli Air Force An Afghan fact-finding mission says that up to 20 US soldiers may have been involved in the massacre in Panjwaii district of Kandahar province. Most of the investigators are Afghan MPs who traveled from Kabul. They talked to local people, tribal elders, and families of the victims. Prime Minister Gilani also said that US troops burned Afghan corpses. President Hamid Karzai and his brothers were attacked by armed men in Panjwaii district while gathering facts on the incident. http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-030912?start=719 The US and Afghanistan signed an agreement to transfer the administration of Bagram prison from US forces to Afghan authorities, Al Jazeera reports. Within six months, the prison will be completely controlled by the Afghan army. Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-030912 Bahrain, Syrian Civil War, Bahrain Uprising, Bashar al-Assad, Syria, Israel, Saudi Arabia, United States, 2011-2012 Saudi Arabia protests, Kurds in Syria Presenter, Male #1 In Afghanistan, Washington and Kabul signed a memorandum of understanding today to transfer the administration of Bagram prison from US forces to Afghan authorities. This comes after Afghan President Hamid Karzai asked the US on two occasions to hand over control of the detention center to the Afghan government. Reporter, Male #2 The Bagram Air Base is located nearly 60 kilometers north of Kabul, where the US runs the Bagram prison by virtue of leading the international forces in Afghanistan. Within six months, the prison will be completely controlled by the Afghan authorities in accordance with the provisions of the memorandum of understanding signed between Washington and Kabul today. The deal was reached between Western and Afghan officials in the past several hours, shortly before the March 10 deadline, which included the Afghan president's second request to the United States to fully hand over the Bagram facility to Kabul. Guest, Male #3 (Gen. John Allen, Commander of International Forces in Afghanistan) This is an important step in the strategic partnership negotiations, and very much in keeping with both the Loya Jirga's recommendations and the desires of President Hamid Karzai. Guest, Male #4 (Abdul Rahim Wardak, Afghan Defense Minister) With the signing of this agreement and after ending issues related to the special operations, Afghan conditions would have effectively been met. And a foundation would have been established to sign a strategic cooperation agreement between the two countries. Reporter, Male #2 In January, Karzai sent the first request to the United States to transfer control of the detention center to the Afghan government. Then, Kabul released a report on the torture and abuse in Bagram prison, especially in the departments administered by the US forces, in addition to recording cases of detainees who remained in custody after proving their innocence, or completing their sentences. The report also recorded a number of violations of human rights treaties and the Afghan constitution, such as maintaining the administration of prisons in the hands of foreign forces. Reporter, Male #2 Observers of Afghan affairs believe that Karzai's request to Washington to fully hand over Bagram prison proves the president objects to Washington's strategy of negotiating with the Taliban to establish peace in the country. Bagram hold at least 3,000 detainees, mostly Taliban members, and is referred to by some as the "Afghan Guantanamo." It is considered by many Afghans to be a symbol of US occupation. The issue of Bagram prison recently resurfaced when US soldiers burned copies of the Quran there, leading to a wave of protests in the country that left a number of people killed. http://news.linktv.org/videos/afghanistan-fourth-day-of-anti-american-protests-are-deadliest-yet?start=0 In the four days of protests since the discovery of burnt Qurans at Bagram air base 25 people, including two US soldiers, have died. Friday's 11 deaths marked the deadliest day in four days of protest. Fri, 24 Feb 2012 12:50:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/afghanistan-fourth-day-of-anti-american-protests-are-deadliest-yet Afghanistan, Quran desecration, Herat Province, Bagram Airfield, ISAF, Protest, Afghanistan War, NATO, Kabul, Afghan National Army In the four days of protests since the discovery of burnt Qurans at Bagram air base 25 people, including two US soldiers, have died. Friday's 11 deaths marked the deadliest day in four days of protest. Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith reports from Kabul. http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-022412?start=1102 <p>Tunisian president opposes Saudi "excellent idea" to arm Syrian rebels, worshippers prevent Israeli settlers from breaking into al-Aqsa compound, Bahraini opposition rallies on the Friday of the "people reject humiliation," and more.</p> Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-022412 Israel, Syrian Civil War, Syria, Syrian people, Palestinians, Bashar al-Assad, Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israel Defense Forces, Homs, Bahrain At least a dozen people have been killed in fresh protests across Afghanistan against the US forces' burning of the Holy Quran. Fatalities were caused in the capital Kabul and three more provinces, including Herat. Police in Herat opened fire on demonstrators after they tried to storm the US consulate. At least three dozen people have been killed since anti-American protests erupted in Afghanistan on Tuesday. Two US troops are among the dead. US President Barack Obama has apologized over the matter, but outraged Afghans rejected the apology and demanded an immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops from their country. Protest rallies have been held in several other countries, including Bahrain, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Malaysia, to condemn American forces' burning of the Holy Quran. http://news.linktv.org/videos/afghanistan-quran-desecration-protests-continue-for-third-day?start=0 In a third day of violence in Afghanistan sparked by the burning of Qurans, another five people have been killed. President Hamid Karzai is appealing for calm, while the Taliban is calling on people to target military bases and kill foreigners. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:12:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/afghanistan-quran-desecration-protests-continue-for-third-day Afghanistan, Quran desecration, Protest, Taliban, Hamid Karzai, NATO, Bagram, Jalalabad, Kabul, Quran In a third day of violence in Afghanistan sparked by the burning of Qurans, another five people have been killed. This brings the total number of dead to 14 since protests began. President Hamid Karzai is appealing for calm, as demonstrations take place in Kabul, Bagram, and Jalalabad. However, the Taliban is calling on people to target military bases and kill foreigners. In a demonstration in eastern Nangarhar province, an Afghan soldier started shooting at NATO soldiers, according to reports from local officials and western military sources. http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-022312?start=606 Afghan and foreign troops have killed at least nine protestors angry at the burning of the Quran by the US military, pushing the death toll to 20, Press TV reports. An angry Afghan soldier also killed two US troops in southern Nangarhar Province. Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-022312 United States, Baghdad, Somali Civil War, 2011-2012 Saudi Arabia protests, Bagram Airfield, US-Afghanistan relations, Syrian Civil War, Israeli settlement, Yemen Uprising, Hosni Mubarak Local and foreign troops have killed at least nine protestors across Afghanistan. The protestors are angry at the desecration of the Holy Quran by US troops. The latest killings pushed the death toll to 20 since the beginning of the protests on Tuesday. Afghan forces also opened fire on demonstrators in the capital Kabul, injuring several. Scores of others have been wounded. Lawmakers in the country have condemned the desecration of the Quran by US forces, calling for a holy war against foreign troops. In other developments, an angry Afghan soldier has killed two US troops in southern Nangarhar Province. Demonstrations began after news emerged that American troops had burned copies of the Quran at the Bagram Air Base, a militarized airport north of the capital, Kabul. Thousands of people have attacked NATO bases. The Afghan president's office has said that the US military has apologized for the incident. More protests are expected to emerge after Friday prayers. http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-022212?start=806 <p>Ethiopian and Somali troops seize key al-Shabab stronghold, violence in Syria kills prominent citizen journalist and two foreign correspondents, Yemeni activists renew demand for Saleh's prosecution, and more.</p> Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-022212 Syrian Civil War, Syria, Iran, United States, Homs, Israel, Syrian army, Al-Shabaab, US-Afghanistan relations, Ali Abdullah Saleh Presenter, Male #1 Five people were killed and over 30 were injured in demonstrations organized by Afghan citizens in Kabul, Kunar, Logar and Jalalabad to condemn the burning of copies of the Holy Quran by US forces in Bagram Air Base. Presenter, Female #1 In addition, Afghan parliament members protested inside parliament in the capital Kabul. US forces offered an apology that was rejected by Afghans. Reporter, Male #2 The flame of the Afghan people's anger reached the capital Kabul. Children and youth took to the streets of the capital to condemn and protest the burning of copies of the Quran by American troops in the Bagram military base. Here, citizens are threatening to join the Taliban movement. They now believe the movement has become the only party that preserves their holy sites and recovers their rights. Guest, Male #2 We are against the Taliban, but we swear that if this action is repeated, we will all join the Taliban's ranks. And then, these forces will not be able to stay one more minute in Afghanistan. Reporter, Male #1 The Afghan parliament witnessed a protest by its members as well. Parliament members requested imams in mosques across Afghanistan to declare an armed jihad against US forces and foreigners without retreat or any excuses. Guest, Male #3 (Abdul Sattar Havasi, Afghan Parliament Member) I demand the imams of mosques to declare an armed jihad against America, the invading enemy, until it faces the same fate as the Soviets and leaves our country. Death to America! Reporter, Male #1 It is expected for a delegation of Afghan figures selected by the Afghan president to head to the Bagram Air Base to investigate the incident. However, it is unexpected for popular Afghan anger to quickly dissipate. This is not the first time the Quran has been desecrated since US forces entered Afghanistan. Each time, Americans merely offer an apology but don?t put an end to the crime. Bakir Younis, al-Jazeera, Kabul. http://news.linktv.org/videos/afghanistan-nato-commander-responds-to-quran-allegations?start=0 General John Allen, Commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, responds to claims that a large number of Islamic religious materials, which included Qurans, were being prepared for disposal. The incident happened at the detainee facility in Parwan. General Allen has initiated an investigation and intends to invite Afghans to join the investigation. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:03:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/afghanistan-nato-commander-responds-to-quran-allegations Afghanistan, Quran desecration, ISAF, General John Allen, NATO, Kabul, Parwan Province, Quran, Islam General John Allen, Commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, responds to claims that a large number of Islamic religious materials, which included Qurans, were being prepared for disposal. The incident happened at the detainee facility in Parwan. General Allen has initiated an investigation and intends to invite Afghans to join the investigation. http://news.linktv.org/videos/accidental-quran-burning-sparks-angry-protests-in-afghanistan?start=0 The commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan has issued a hasty apology after reports surfaced of religious texts being improperly disposed of at a military detention facility, leading to angry scenes in Kabul and Bagram. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:13:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/accidental-quran-burning-sparks-angry-protests-in-afghanistan Quran desecration, Afghanistan, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan War, Quran, Kabul, Protest, ISAF, NATO, Telegraph.co.uk Telegraph's Ben Farmer in Kabul says the apology by the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan after reports that religious texts were of improperly disposed is an attempt to avoid a repeat of the violence last April when a Florida pastor, burned a Quran at his church. http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-022112?start=982 Thousands of Afghans demonstrated in the capital Kabul and outside the Bagram military base to condemn the burning of the Holy Qur'an by US troops, reports Al-Alam. They also burned the American flag. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-022112 Syria, Syrian Civil War, Afghanistan, United States, Palestinians, Jordan, Iran, Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, US-Afghanistan relations, Politics of Afghanistan Presenter, Female #1 Thousands of Afghans demonstrated in the capital Kabul to condemn the burning of the Holy Quran by US troops at the Bagram military base. The demonstrators gathered in front of Bagram, the largest US base in Afghanistan, chanting anti-US slogans. They also burned the American flag. Reporter, Male #1 With angry voices and slogans demanding the departure of foreign troops from Afghanistan, thousands of protesters took to the streets in the area of Bagram, northeast of the capital, Kabul. The protesters condemned the burning and desecration of the Muslims' holiest book, the Quran, by American forces at the Bagram base, which is the largest foreign military base in the country. Demonstrators burned the American flag and expressed rage over the continuous desecration of Muslim holy sites. Guest, Male #2 The American forces' desecration of the holy Quran violates all Islamic and civil laws. We will not remain silent over the continuous desecration of our sacred sites by foreign troops, and we will continue the demonstrations. Reporter, Male #1 Protests have spread to areas adjacent to the Bagram military base, amid a wave of indignation and rage over the way the authorities dealt with the Quran-burning incident. NATO Commander General John Allen quickly offered an apology to the Afghan government and people, and described the incident as "unfortunate." Observers believe these types of acts will further widen the gap between the Afghan public and foreign forces. Guest, Male #3 (Mohamed Yasin Alami, Afghan Political Analyst) Over the days and years, the gap has been widening between the Afghan public and foreign troops. And these types of acts will further widen this gap. If this continues, the Afghan people will soon rebel against these forces. Reporter, Male #1 Starting with the killing of Afghan civilians, to the desecration of dead bodies, and ending with the burning of the holy Quran, these incidents have started to repeat themselves, a clear indication that foreign forces are still unable to gain the trust of the Afghan people despite the ten years that have passed since they arrived to the country. Mahmud Wathiq, al-Alam, Kabul. http://news.linktv.org/videos/afghan-children-hit-hardest-in-freeze-over-kabul?start=0 Unusually heavy snow and freezing temperatures mean more misery for Afghans displaced by fighting -- especially young children. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:35:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/afghan-children-hit-hardest-in-freeze-over-kabul Kabul, Afghanistan, Afghanistan War, Internally displaced person, Severe weather, Snow, Winter, Refugee camp, Helmand Province, Hypothermia Unusually heavy snow and freezing temperatures mean more misery for Afghans displaced by fighting -- especially young children. ---- Afghan children internally displaced by war stand in the snow outside their tents in Kabul http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-020112?start=650 Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar's Kabul visit coincided with the release of a secret NATO report accusing the Pakistani intelligence agency of supporting the Taliban, which said it has no intention of holding talks with Afghan authorities. Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-020112 Benjamin Netanyahu, Hunger strike, Ban Ki-moon, Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Palestinians, Muslim Brotherhood, Egyptian Parliamentary Election 2011-2012, Football in Egypt, Bahrain Uprising, Iranian Revolution Presenter, Female #1 In Pakistan, the military announced the deaths of more than 20 members of Pakistan's Taliban in airstrikes launched by the army on Taliban hideouts in the country's northwestern tribal region of Orakzai. Presenter, Male #1 Meanwhile, the Pakistani foreign minister headed to Kabul on a diplomatic mission aimed at improving the strained bilateral relations of the two neighboring countries. Presenter, Female #1 Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar's visit to Kabul coincided with the release of a secret NATO report accusing the Pakistani intelligence agency of supporting the Afghan-based Taliban, which said it has no intention of holding talks with Afghan authorities. Al-Seghair Salam has the details. Reporter, Male #2 There's a heavy burden straining the bilateral relations of Islamabad and Kabul, and both sides are equally affected by such a deterioration. Meanwhile, the Pakistani foreign minster arrived in Kabul in a bid to ease tension between the two neighboring countries. The Pakistani minister's visit comes at a sensitive time, amid an exchange of accusations on the two sides. Guest, Male #2 (Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistani Foreign Minister) I don't think these claims are new. These claims have been made for many years, and all of us know the hidden reasons behind them. We have joint agendas with most of the world's main players. But most importantly, we must examine the current talks between the Taliban and several of the world's major capitals. Reporter, Male #2 The Taliban seems to be the knife that is severing ties between the two neighboring countries. Afghan President Hamid Karazi and Asif Ali Zardari held talks late last year in an attempt to open a new chapter of their countries' relationship. At that time, the issue of holding talks with the Taliban was the focus of discussion, in a bid to reach a peace deal marking an end to a decade of conflict between the two countries. Kabul has openly and often accused Pakistan of supporting the Afghan Taliban Movement, which possesses bases in tribal areas along the Pakistani side of the border. Kabul's suspicion is echoed by a new secret military report for NATO forces accusing the Pakistani government of supporting the Afghanistan-based Taliban. The report added that the Pakistani government and intelligence service know the locations of senior Taliban leaders. To add insult to injury, the Taliban said it has no intention of holding talks with the Afghan government under the auspices of the Saudi Kingdom. Will NATO's report and Taliban's denial be the "mercy bullet" that derails the rapprochement efforts of the two countries? Or will it be a "summer cloud" that merely passes by? http://news.linktv.org/videos/mobile-ringtones-help-protect-afghanis-from-the-taliban?start=0 Some Afghans have found that having the right ringtones for their mobile phones, what they call a "Taliban visa," can protect them from the group. But, the very same ringtones can also invite unwelcoming questions from the authorities. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:57:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mobile-ringtones-help-protect-afghanis-from-the-taliban Afghanistan, Taliban, Ringtone, Mobile phone, Kabul, Al Jazeera English Travelers in Afghanistan are forced to face the dangers of bad roads, robbers, and armed fighters. While they have little hope concerning the transport system and thievery, some Afghans have found that the right ringtones for their mobile phones, what they call a "Taliban visa," can protect them from the group. But, they say, the very same ringtones could invite unwelcoming questions from the authorities. Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith reports from Kabul. http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-120711?start=974 Afghan President Hamid Karzai has blamed "Pakistani extremists" for Tuesday's deadly attacks on Shia mourners in Afghanistan, reports Press TV. Karzai blames the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group for the attacks that killed over 60 people. Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-120711 Protest, Israel, Demonstration (people), 2011 Libyan Uprising, Egyptian Parliamentary Election 2011-2012, Bahrain Uprising, 2011-2012 Saudi Arabia protests, Syrian Civil War, Homs, Yemen Uprising Afghan President Hamid Karzai has blamed "Pakistani extremists" for Tuesday's deadly attacks on Shia mourners in Afghanistan. Karzai blames the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group for the attacks that killed over 60 people. He says Kabul will pursue this issue with Islamabad very seriously. Karzai demanded justice from the Pakistani government. There have been reports that the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has accepted responsibility for the Afghan explosions. The blast targeted Shias marking the martyrdom anniversary of the Imam Hussein, the third Shia imam. There was already tension between Afghanistan and Pakistan over deadly cross-border attacks, which they blame on each other. http://news.linktv.org/videos/raw-video-first-seconds-after-kabul-suicide-blast?start=0 Warning: Graphic Content. At least 45 people including children were killed in the huge blast at the entrance to a riverside shrine in central Kabul, where hundreds of singing Shiite Muslims had gathered to mark Ashura. Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:22:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/raw-video-first-seconds-after-kabul-suicide-blast Suicide attack, Afghanistan, Kabul, Day of Ashura, Shia Islam, Bomb, Russia Today Warning: Graphic Content. At least 45 people including children were killed in the huge blast at the entrance to a riverside shrine in central Kabul, where hundreds of singing Shiite Muslims had gathered to mark Ashura. ---- People react seconds after a suicide blast targeting a Shi'ite Muslim gathering in Kabul December 6, 2011. A suicide bomber attacked a Shi'ite Muslim shrine in central Kabul on Tuesday where a crowd of hundreds had gathered for the festival of Ashura, killing up to 20 people in what appeared to be an unprecedented sectarian attack http://news.linktv.org/videos/shias-targeted-as-deadly-afghan-shrine-blasts-kill-at-least-59?start=0 At least 59 worshippers have been killed in two bombings in Afghanistan, the first to target Shia Muslims. The attacks came on the day of Ashoura, one of Shia Islam's most significant holy days. Most of the victims died in a suicide attack on a crowded shrine in Kabul. Tue, 06 Dec 2011 08:28:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/shias-targeted-as-deadly-afghan-shrine-blasts-kill-at-least-59 Afghanistan, Kabul, Shia Islam, Suicide attack, Mazar-i-Sharif, Bomb, Day of Ashura, Bicycle bomb, Bonn, Al Jazeera English At least 59 Shia Muslim worshippers have been killed in two bombings in Afghanistan. The attacks came on the day of Ashoura, one of Shia Islam's most significant holy days. Most of the victims died in a suicide attack on a crowded shrine in Kabul. In the second attack, a bicycle bomb in Mazar-e-Sharif killed four worshippers on a road leading to a Shia mosque. Al Jazeera's Jennifer Glasse reports from the Afghan capital, Kabul. http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-120111?start=1201 <p>UN views situation in Syria as civil war, Amnesty International accuses Saudi Arabia of 'wave of repression', Yemeni forces continue to shell Taiz, and more.</p> Fri, 02 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-120111 Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Syria, NATO, Protest, Bashar al-Assad, Civil war, Turkey, Ali Abdullah Saleh Hundreds of Afghans have taken to the streets in the capital Kabul voicing their anger over a strategic pact between Kabul and Washington. They called for an immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops from their country. They were also angry over the killings of civilians by US-led NATO forces. The protesters say the signing of the strategic agreement would put the lives of thousands of Afghans at risk and allow permanent basis for the US military. Afghan political figures have opposed signing the agreement with the US in recent weeks. http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-111711?start=1447 Ten years have passed since the Taliban regime was overthrown, and the capital Kabul is still waiting for peace. But much has been accomplished, especially in terms of granting girls an education, reports BBC Arabic. Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800 http://news.linktv.org/videos/mosaic-news-111711 Protest, Iran, Israel, Nuclear program of Iran, International Atomic Energy Agency, Civilian casualties, Industrial action, Kuwait, Syrian Civil War, West Bank Presenter, Female # 1 Ten years have passed since the Taliban regime was overthrown by NATO forces, but the capital Kabul is still waiting for peace. Much has been accomplished since, especially in terms of granting girls an education, which was prohibited under the Taliban. Reporter, Female # 2 Schools girls in Kabul are freely on their way to get an education. Ten years ago under Taliban rule, they were prisoners in their own homes. But today, they rush to their classes in one of the capital's schools, which adopts the British Oxford University curriculum. Eliza Habibi teaches the fourth session. Sometimes, students hear explosions while in class since the city is still unsafe. Despite these conditions, these girls are hopeful and ambitious. Ten years have passed but the Afghan government and NATO forces are still trying to reach a peace agreement. Any settlement could restore the Taliban to the scene. Guest, Female # 3 The government must be careful when talking to them. It is worrisome. Reporter, Female # 2 Eleven-year-old Sanadat shares the same view. Guest, Female # 4 I don't want the Taliban movement to return. It will close the schools. Reporter, Female # 2 The girls continue their education, but near the capital Kabul, the Taliban still threatens schools and the entire future. ** Contact Mosaic News: mosaicnews{at}linktv{dot}org