Overnight five rockets hit the Herat airport in western Afghanistan, according to local police. No further info.
A local official in Khost Province says a U.S./NATO/ISAF helicopter went down. ISAF confirms, but as is SOP for ISAF they refuse to give any details.
“The Australian Defense Minister said Australia is interested in forging a strategic partnership with Afghanistan.”-statement from Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai
The above statement has Australians wondering what’s going on? In five weeks the Australian government is going to sign some kind of deal with Afghanistan, that could cost Australian taxpayers hundreds of millions of Australian dollars.
The Afghan Embassy in Australia also said the deal would involve ”security, development, trade and investment, cultural and people-to-people links and migration and humanitarian affairs”. According to Australian media, Australian officials haven’t mentioned a thing about any such “deal”.
What the Australian government has said, in response to questions, is that such a deal was mentioned in a speech by the Prime Minister back on November 21, 2011!
However, that “mention” was vague: “This kind of co-operative country to country approach is an important framework for our long term plans. We seek an enduring relationship with Afghanistan beyond 2014 as Afghanistan takes on responsibility for its own security and governance.’‘-Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia
U.S. Admiral Bill McRaven, the head of U.S. special operations, has revealed that the so called U.S. troop withdrawal in 2014 is actually a troop replacement.
He said regular troops will be replaced with special operations teams that will shepard the Afghan government forces.
However, according to the Associated Press, this plan hasn’t even been presented to Defense Secretary Panetta, or President Obama. The plan was put together in February by several high ranking military officials, including Central Command’s General James Mattis and overall Afghanistan war commander General John R. Allen.
Pentagon officials say this is one of many plans that are meant to keep a U.S. combat troop presence in Afghanistan, while at the same time drawing down the majority of troops.