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The U.S. militarys dropping of its most powerful non-nuclear bomb on ISIS positions in Afghanistan last week was the correct action to take, said U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, who was in the Middle East at the time of the strike.

Gen. John Nicholson made the decision tactically that was the best ammunition to utilize, Stefanik said in a telephone interview on Monday about a congressional delegation she led to the Middle East last week.

Stefanik said she learned about the attack the next day.

I learned about it on the news as I was in Kuwait, she said.

Stefanik and the delegation of House Defense Committee members had met Nicholson, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, the previous day.

Nicholson did not inform them of the pending attack, but briefed them on the challenges of terrorists operating from underground tunnels and caves in the eastern section of Afghanistan.

We were not given any specific information about the MOAB, Stefanik said, referring to the acronym for the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb.

The GPS-guided bomb is also commonly known as the Mother of All Bombs.

Stefanik said rank-and-file military personnel she spoke with after the strike seemed supportive of it.

Much of the discussion was the fact that there are over 20 organizations who were making inroads in that region of Afghanistan, and Afghan forces are continuing to work to take back those regions, she said. Its of concern to me that Afghanistan is still the country with the highest number of terrorist organizations around the world. And I believe that it is our role to continue to work with the Afghans in a support and advise and assist role.

Stefanik led the delegation in her new role as chairwoman of the House Defense Committee Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities.

Reps. Tom Suozzi, D-Long Island, Anthony Brown, D-Md., and Keith Roffus, R-Pa., were also part of the delegation.

I thought it was an important opportunity for some of the newer members who are on my subcommittee to get an assessment of what is happening on the ground, she said.

The six-day trip included visits to three regions of Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Jordan.

In Kuwait, the delegation met with the Marine Corps unit focused on countering terrorism in Iraq and Syria, Stefanik said.

They also visited U.S. military units in various locations of the four countries.

I had the opportunity to visit and have lunches and dinners with numerous constituents from South Glens Falls, from Saratoga, from Saranac Lake, from Massena, from all over the district, she said. One of the biggest takeaways is the professionalism and the extensive service and sense of mission of the men and women in uniform.

Follow staff writer Maury Thompson at All Politics is Local blog, at PS_Politics on Twitter and at Maury Thompson Post-Star on Facebook.

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Stefanik, back from Afghanistan, supports MOAB strike - Glens Falls Post-Star

(KABUL, Afghanistan) Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Monday that the U.S. is using Afghanistan as a weapons testing ground, calling the recent use of the largest-ever non-nuclear bomb "an immense atrocity against the Afghan people."

Last week, U.S. forces dropped the GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb in eastern Nangarhar province, reportedly killing 95 militants. Karzai, in an interview with The Associated Press, objected to the decision, saying that his country "was used very disrespectfully by the U.S. to test its weapons of mass destruction."

The office of President Ashraf Ghani said following the bomb's usage that there was "close coordination" between the U.S. military and the Afghan government over the operation, and they were careful to prevent any civilian casualties.

But Karzai harshly criticized the Afghan government for allowing the use of the bomb.

"How could a government of a country allow the use of a weapon of mass destruction on its own territory? Whatever the reason, whatever the cause, how could they allow that? It just unimaginable," he said.

The strike was carried out Thursday morning against an Islamic State group tunnel complex, carved into a mountain that Afghan forces had tried to assault repeatedly in recent weeks, according to Afghan officials.

U.S. and Afghan forces have been battling the Taliban for more than 15 years. But the U.S. military unveiled the largest conventional bomb in its arsenal against the Islamic State group, which has a far smaller but growing presence in Afghanistan. U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly vowed to aggressively confront IS.

Trump called the operation a "very, very successful mission" but Karzai had harsh words for the new U.S. leader.

"My message to President Trump today is that he has committed an immense atrocity against the Afghan people, against fellow human beings," he said. "If the American government sees us as human beings, then they have committed a crime against fellow human beings, but if they treat us as less than human beings, well, of course they can do whatever they want."

Karzai added that one of the fundamental reasons that he refused to sign the bilateral security agreement with the United States when he was the president was specifically to prevent such actions.

"I told the people of Afghanistan in the Loya Jirga (Grand Assembly) we must not sign the BSA with the U.S., that we must not give them bases till the day they bring peace to Afghanistan," he said. "Why would the Afghan people want to give the U.S. bases? For what? To continue the war in Afghanistan, to become more insecure, to lose peace forever, to suffer, to receive more bombs, to receive a weapon of mass destruction? Or for security, for peace and for a better life?"

The U.S. National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster met with President Ghani during a visit to Afghanistan on Sunday. According to statement from the office of the president, the pair discussed mutual counterterrorism efforts, security and economic development.

The U.S. estimates 600-800 IS fighters are in Afghanistan, mostly in Nangarhar. American forces have concentrated on fighting them while also supporting Afghan forces against the Taliban. The U.S. has more than 8,000 troops on the ground in Afghanistan, training local forces and conducting counterterrorism operations.

Originally posted here:
The Former President of Afghanistan Called the Recent US Bombing 'an Immense Atrocity' - TIME

To the editor: While I can sympathize with the plight of women in Afghanistan, Najia Karimis op-ed article fails to place the blame for this disaster where it belongs. (What's the most dangerous country in the world to be female? I know firsthand, Opinion, April 11)

Not once in her piece does she mention the hardline practitioners of Islam who are responsible for these atrocities against women. In reality, U.S. troops in Afghanistan present little or no danger to women unless they happen to wander into an ongoing battle. They should not be held responsible for making it the worst country for women.

In the end, whether peace comes to Afghanistan or the country continues with its downward spiral, many of the women there will still be subjected to Sharia law and its gruesome consequences. Quite frankly, Im surprised that Karimi has been able to keep her womens shelter in Kabul in operation. Im sure that shes already made many enemies by doing so.

Charles Reilly, Manhattan Beach

..

To the editor: Im lucky enough to be a woman who hasnt been beaten or raped.

But I still understand what Karimi means when she quotes author Valerie Hudson, who says, The greatest predictor of whether a nation goes to war is the level of violence against women in that country. After all, I had just read the sickening story of an angry man killing a woman and an innocent child in a school.

To be a woman is always to know that a man may want to hurt you because he can. And you have to be on guard for that.

And now our president is attacking other countries already after a few months in office. Its pretty scary to be a woman in this country too.

Cheryl Clark OBrien, Long Beach

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There's a reason women are mistreated in Afghanistan radical Islam - Los Angeles Times

Six years ago, Staff Sgt. Jose Luis Sanchez lost the lower part of his left leg after he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan.

Last year, he started running marathons while wearing a prosthetic leg.

On Monday, the San Antonio resident ran the Boston Marathon for the second time and did so while carrying an American flag signed by many who served with him in Afghanistan.

Its not for me, its for others to be inspired, to be motivated, Sanchez said after finishing the race in five hours, 21 minutes, 56 seconds.

We live for others Ive learned that throughout being angry and frustrated and all that PTSD. Im channeling that to do positive and give back to whatever Ive taken from the community.

charles.schilken@latimes.com

Twitter: @chewkiii

Link:
Marine who lost a leg in Afghanistan carries American flag while running Boston Marathon [Video] - Los Angeles Times

The U.S. militarys decision to drop its largest conventional weapon Thursday on positions held by the Islamic State group (ISIS) in Afghanistan came as a surprise tomany who noted that the jihadists had only managed to instigate a low-level insurgency in the Central Asian nation. While the huge, costly blast may have sent a message about President Donald Trumps willingness to use extreme measures against his opponents, one of Americas biggest bombs may have missed the true target.

The U.S. Air Force dropped an 11-ton explosive, known as the mother of all bombs or Massive Ordinance Air Blast (MOAB), on a system of caves and tunnels previously identified as a known hub for ISIS activity in Afghanistans restive Nangahar province. The 30-foot-long,$16 million bombwas capable of causing a nearly 500-foot blast radius and Thursdays attack killed an estimated 36 militants loyal to the ISIS. Trump lauded the mission, which appeared to be authorized directly by the military, as another very, very successful mission. Elsewhere in Afghanistan, however, another hardline Sunni Muslim group, the Taliban, has been regrouping.

The Taliban have good reason to believe theyre winning, Marvin Weinbaum, former State Department analyst for Afghanistan and Pakistan and resident scholar at the Middle East Institute, toldNewsweek.

Like ISIS, the Taliban have advocated for the establishment of a nation based on its ultraconservative brand of Islam. From around 1996 up until 2001 the Taliban, backed by Pakistan, ruled the so-called Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which at that time comprised more than 90 percent of the country. The rest was held down by a beleaguered faction known as the Northern Alliance, a group supported by acoalition of regional countries including Russia, Iran and India.

After 9/11, the U.S. launched amilitary intervention against the Talibanafter uncovering evidence that it had collaborated with Al-Qaeda in killing a prominent Afghan political leader namedAhmad Shah Massoud who had attempted to warn the international community about an attack such as 9/11. With U.S. support, local forces ousted the Taliban, but the groups followers all but disappeared.

During his administration, former President Barack Obama announced the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Washingtons stated goal of bolstering local security forces to handlethe remaining insurgency had seemingly been realized, and a force of just under 10,000 troops were slated to stay behind. Since then, the Taliban have made steadygains across the outskirts of the nation. Largely ignored by the international community which was focused on unrest in the Arab world and the subsequent rise of ISIS, the Taliban has reclaimed a significant amount of territory in the northern Kunduz and southern Helmand provinces of Afghanistan.

ISIS are believed to have somewhere between 700 and 1000 fighters in Afghanistan, and the global jihadist group has claimed credit for several high-profile attacks but have failed to gain the local support that the Taliban has enjoyed. The Taliban, which is believed to number around 25,000individuals, has been so successful that two of its former bitter enemies, Russia and Iran, have come to the table to hedge their bets, according to Weinbaum.

It serves their best interest to keep those lines open, he added.

Russia and Iran were once united against the Taliban, but heavy U.S. militarypresence has threatened their interests in Afghanistan. In February,Army Gen. John Nicholson Jr., a top U.S. commander in Afghanistan told the Senate that Russia has become more assertive over the past year, overtly lending legitimacy to the Taliban to undermine NATO efforts and bolster belligerents under the pretense that the Taliban were involved in the fight against ISIS, which the group vehemently opposed. He also said that neighboring Iran is providing support to the Taliban.

Iran is worried that with American troops in Afghanistan, the two militaries will end up confronting each other, Mohammad Akram Arefi, an Iran-educated politics professor at Kateb University in Kabul,toldThe Washington Post.

Despite accusations of collaboration between the Russia-Iran alliance and the Taliban, the U.S. has paid little attention to the war-torn nation in recent years and Trump has not formed any apparent strategy either. The U.S. assassinated several major Taliban leaders and has continued to lend a hand to Afghan security forces, but Thursdays bombing was by far the most notable intervention lately despite having little tactical effect and not targeting the Taliban.

Instead, Washingtonhas largely pursued a strategy of buying time,in the hopes that the Afghan central government would eventually be able to establish a functioning military as well as a political and economic system that could essentially make a deal with and absorb the Taliban, Weinbaum said.

He also said recent territorial gains made by the militants, along with the newfound diplomatic contacts in Russia and Iran,was likely to lead to an upcoming spring offensive that could once again change the political landscape of Afghanistan. If the Taliban does succeed, it would likely draw its sponsor, Pakistan, and its rival, India, into the fight. Tensions between the nuclear-armed states have already escalated, meaning the Talibans takeover could have global consequences.

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The U.S. Military Bombed ISIS In Afghanistan, But The Taliban Are Winning The War - Task & Purpose