Mission Not Accomplished

[Mavdog]

To all those out there who mistakenly believe the job was completed in Afganistan, it wasn't. We didn't finish. The bad guys are sill there, many of thise responsible for the 9/11 attack are still at large.
There's even a request by Karzai for more soldiers, but they're few left to send due to Iraq.
Yeah, way to take your eye off the ball Dubya!
No photo op with "Mission Accomplished" on this one.
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Taliban Vow More Attacks, Say Not Behind Herat Bomb

Mon Jul 12, 3:36 AM ET By Saeed Ali Achakzai
SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Afghanistan (news - web sites)'s ousted Taliban Monday denied carrying out a weekend bomb attack in the western city of Herat that killed five people, but vowed to disrupt preparations for landmark elections.

Mullah Dadullah, a senior military commander for the Taliban, said local rivalries between commanders within President Hamid Karzai's government were behind Sunday's blast, in which 34 people were wounded.

The attack took place just hours before forces loyal to powerful western governor Ismail Khan began handing in weapons under a nationwide disarmament drive which Khan has criticized.

In an interview published Monday, Karzai told the New York Times that he viewed Afghanistan's private militias, like Khan's, as the greatest threat to stability in the country, not Islamic militants from the Taliban.

More than 800 people have been killed over the past year in a wave of violence mostly blamed on remnants of the Taliban, who are opposed to Karzai's U.S.-backed government and plans to hold elections in October and April.

Karzai said more forceful action was needed to deal with militias, which have often defied Kabul's orders and added to instability in the north and west.

"We tried to do it by persuasion," Karzai told the Times, referring to his style of governing through consensus more than force. "The stick has to be used, definitely," he added.

TALIBAN THREAT

Only about 10,000 of an estimated 50,000 militia fighters have been demobilized, one reason why parliamentary elections were postponed until next April.

The presidential election, which analysts say is less prone to interference from powerful factional leaders, is due to be held on October 9, after initially being planned for June. Karzai is widely expected to sweep to victory.

Dadullah, responsible for the Taliban's military operations in its former stronghold in southern Afghanistan, reiterated a warning for Afghans to stay away from polling stations.

"The people of Afghanistan should not go close to registration centers, because we have decided to step up attacks on them," he told Reuters by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location.

More than 6.3 million out of an estimated electorate of nearly 10 million have registered to vote so far, despite militant attacks and threats.

The Taliban have been blamed for a series of attacks on Afghans working to register voters as well as the electorate itself. In the worst single atrocity, 16 bus passengers with voter registration cards were shot dead in the southern province of Zabul in June.

Karzai has urged NATO (news - web sites) to contribute more troops to help stabilize the country ahead of what has been billed as the country's first ever direct vote, but member states have been slow to contribute forces.

Some 6,500 NATO-led peacekeepers patrol the streets of Kabul, while the U.S. military leads about 20,000 soldiers hunting Islamic militants including senior al Qaeda figures.