May 16, 2012, in Afghanistan’s Herat Province three village elders were assassinated. They were shot while attending morning prayers in a Mosque. A fourth elder was wounded.
In Uruzgan Province a tribal elder, and his son, were assassinated by gunman on a motorcycle.
To show you how important the U.S./NATO supply route through Pakistan is, Pakistani officials revealed that the United States has agreed to give Pakistan an additional $365 million USD per year to re-open supply routes! Those supply routes have been shut down for the past six months.
It works out to about $1,500 USD per supply truck, per day. In return, not only will Pakistan re-open the supply routes, but their military will provide the convoys with security (which they have not done before).
According to Pentagon sources, as much as 30% of U.S./NATO supplies for Afghanistan operations pass through Pakistan.
Australia’s Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, announced that beginning in 2015 Australia will give Afghanistan $100 million (Aussie and British media reports did not specify if it was in AUD or USD) per year, for three years: “To consolidate and build on the security gains of the transition strategy, the Afghan National Security Forces will need ongoing funding and training and mentoring support…”
On top of that she also said that the Australian government will consider keeping special operations forces in Afghanistan, after most of their Diggers leave at the end of 2014.
Germany has also announced they will be bribing, I mean paying, the Afghan government $190 million USD per year, after German troops leave in 2014. The deal was just signed by Hamid Karzai and Angela Merkel. The German Chancellor said the West is planning on staying a long time: “This shows we are committed to Afghanistan in the long term.”
These pledges of hundreds of millions of USDs is on top of what our Western governments are already giving the U.S. puppet governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan!
With the economies of the Western countries collapsing, it makes you wonder where they’re gonna get all this money they’re pledging for Afghanistan?
Afghan government officials claiming major offensive against Mujahideen. In Helmand Province on May 15, they captured nine tons of explosives. Officials claim three people were spotted laying mines, and a U.S./NATO airstrike was called in, killing them.
On May 16, in Paktika Province, a U.S./NATO airstrike was called in when Afghan and NATO forces came under heavy fire. Afghan officials revealed that a major offensive was launched on May 14, and will continue until all Mujahideen are cleared from the province. They say at least nine Mujahideen were killed by the airstrike.
Afghan Interior Ministry officials also claim that in the past 24 hours of their offensive in Paktika, as well as Badakhshan Province, they’ve killed at least 14 Mujahideen.
In Kandahar Province, Afghan army claims they killed a potential suicide bomber before he could carry out his mission.
24 hour, ISAF Joint Command Morning operational update for May 16, 2012: ISAF reports more attempts/successes to capture “leaders” in Helmand and Kunduz provinces.
ISAF also reports that occupation troops came under attack when they launched a drug bust operation in Helmand Province. Mujahideen were killed.
The drug bust yielded more than 5,000 kilograms (11,000 pounds) of morphine waste, 400 kilograms (880 pounds) of ammonium chloride, 400 kilograms of morphine base and 4,000 liters (1,057 gallons) of liquid morphine.
ISAF claims that all items captured in drug busts are destroyed.