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Retired U.S. Marine Corps General James Mattis testifies before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination to serve as defense secretary in Washington, U.S. January 12, 2017. Photo by Jonathan Ernst/File Photo/Reuters

WASHINGTON A U.S. counterterrorism airstrike earlier this month in Afghanistan killed an al-Qaida leader responsible for a deadly hotel attack in Islamabad in 2008 and the 2009 attack on a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team, the Pentagon said Saturday.

In confirming the death of Qari Yasin, U.S. officials said Yasin was a senior terrorist figure from Balochistan, Pakistan, had ties to the group Tehrik-e Taliban and had plotted multiple al-Qaida terror attacks. The airstrike that led to his death was conducted March 19 in Paktika Province, Afghanistan.

Yasin plotted the Sept. 20, 2008, bombing on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad that killed dozens, officials said. The victims included two American service members, Air Force Maj. Rodolfo I. Rodriguez of El Paso, Texas, and Navy Cryptologic Technician 3rd Class Petty Officer Matthew J. OBryant of Theodore, Alabama, U.S. officials said.

The bus attack in the Pakistani city of Lahore killed six Pakistani policemen and two civilians and wounded six members of the cricket team.

READ NEXT: Most convicted terrorists are U.S. citizens. Why does the White House say otherwise?

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said in the statement: The death of Qari Yasin is evidence that terrorists who defame Islam and deliberately target innocent people will not escape justice.

The killing of Yasin in eastern Afghanistan lends credence to Pakistani claims that its militant enemies have found sanctuaries there. The neighboring countries routinely charge each other with harboring the others enemies.

Relations deteriorated earlier this year after a series of attacks in Pakistan that killed 125 people led Islamabad to close its border with Afghanistan for more than one month.

The two countries have exchanged lists of insurgents hiding out on the others soil and Afghanistan has also given Pakistan the locations of 23 sanctuaries where its Taliban militants are hiding. Kabul is demanding they be closed.

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Pentagon: An al-Qaida leader killed in Afghanistan airstrike - PBS NewsHour

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To Defeat Terrorism In Afghanistan, Start With Opium Crops in Nangarhar Province Forbes This month, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed an attack on a military hospital in Kabul, killing more than 40 civilians and defenseless patients. The attack came two days after the Afghan military announced that its month-long ... Afghanistan's relentless opium woes have a 'new seed in town,' and it comes from ChinaCNBC all 18 news articles »

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To Defeat Terrorism In Afghanistan, Start With Opium Crops in Nangarhar Province - Forbes

Trump should refuse to grant the request of Gen. Joseph Votel, head of U.S. Central Command, for thousands of additional troops to be sent to Afghanistan. Indeed, Trump should announce that, true to his campaign promise, he will not continue the failed Bush-Obama policy of nation-building in Afghanistan. The president should state that the United States will give the Afghan government six months to work out a deal with the Taliban, but then withdraw U.S. troopsadvisers and alland rapidly scale back the billions of dollars the United States provides to the corrupt government. He should warn the Talibanwho are sure to play a major role in the future of Afghanistanthat if it again hosts terrorists who seek to harm the United States, then the United States will respond with heavy bombings. Also, he should notify U.S. allies, who have troops in Afghanistan and who help train and finance the Afghan government, that if they are willing to take over the futile attempt to turn Afghanistan into a stable government, maybe even a liberal democracy, then they are welcome to try. Otherwise, they may wish to phase out assistance as the United States does.

One notes that General Votel did better than his long line of predecessors in Vietnam, Iraq and in Afghanistanwho time and again asked for more troopsby at least not promising that if his request was granted, then the United States would win the war. He only holds that his request would make the advise-and-assist mission more effective. And Gen. John Nicholson, who is the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said in early March that he needs several thousand more troops to break the stalemate. To win, some previous U.S. military analysts held, the United States will have to stay for long periods. Former U.S. military leader, Dr. John Nagl, said in 2015 that If ground is important enough to spill American blood on it, and in quantity, it is important enough to continue to station American forces on that ground for decades in order to prevent that threat to US interests from arising again. This ignores the principle of sunk costs. Sadly, the losses we have already suffered and inflicted cannot be reversed, but it defies logic that if we have made a bad investment we must continue to do so.

What one hopes Trump advisers will note is that the war in Afghanistan was won a long time ago and easily. Only twelve U.S. soldiers died during the 2001 overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan, where the fighting was largely carried out by locals of the Northern Alliance. The Department of Defense spent only $39.8 billion in Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002, while the total cost of security-related aid in 200203 was only $535 million. Killing off most of Al Qaeda was also not a difficult undertaking. What has caused the greatest loss of lives (including that of many locals) and squandering of scores of billions of dollars was the attempt to stay and rebuild Afghanistan into a modern state and ally.

The only previous U.S. successes in long-distance nation-building were in Japan and Germany, which had very different sociological conditions than Afghanistan. The special conditions in Japan and Germany included the cessation of all hostilities, a high level of domestic security, and local acceptance of the foreign occupation and democratization project. In addition, these nations had a strong sense of national unity, competent government personnel and low levels of corruption. Furthermore, they enjoyed strong economic fundamentals, including solid industrial bases, established infrastructure and educated populations. Also, there was vigorous support in these nations for science and technology, corporations, business and commerce.

But none of these conditions are in place in this godforsaken twelfth-century country to repeat what we did in Germany and Japan after World War II. Afghanistan's military and police forces are riddled with corruption and ineptitude, and Afghanistan is by far the world's largest producer of opium, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Supporters of continued U.S. involvement argue that Afghanistan will turn into a breeding ground and haven for terrorists if the United States leaves; and if we do not fight them there, then we will have to fight them here. In a recent op-ed, Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham wrote that The U.S. objective in Afghanistan is the same now as it was in 2001: to prevent terrorists from using the countrys territory to attack our homeland. However, first, terrorism already has so many places to breedin Libya, Syria, Iraq, parts of Pakistan and half a dozen African countriesthat they hardly need one more. So far, there is little evidence that they are able to hit the United States ever since the United States put up its guard after 9/11. Most relevant, the 9/11 terrorists were not Afghans or Taliban, but Saudis and other foreigners that the Taliban reluctantly hosted. There is little reason for them to tolerate them again after the suffering they underwent for the last fifteen years.

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America Can't Afford to Buy a Broken Afghanistan - The National Interest Online

Last updated10:15, March 27 2017

ALEX VAN WEL/FAIRFAX NZ

Kiwi troops patrolling the Ghandak highway in Bamiyan, Afghanistan.

A shelved Defence Force report on New Zealand's deployment in Afghanistan slammed the lack of a cohesive plan for our time in the country, as well as issues with faulty equipment.

However, a military commander says the report was neverformalised as it was"insufficiently accurate".

The draft report, provided to NZME under the Official Information Act, was produced after the end of New Zealand's 10-year involvement with the Provincial Reconstruction Team in the Bamiyan province.

SUPPLIED

A New Zealand soldier pictured in Afghanistan. A damning report into New Zealand's deployment in the country has finally been released.

The report from the military's J8 branch, which focuses on "continuous improvement/lessons learned",criticised a "lack of a cohesive campaign plan" for New Zealand operations in Afghanistan, with each six-month rotation treated like an individual operation.

READ MORE: * Flags lowered in Bamiyan * Defence Force chief slams inaccuracies in SAS allegations

SUPPLIED

Commander Joint Forces NZ Major General Tim Gall said the report was too inaccurate to be accepted and circulated.

"It was felt that no consolidated New Zealand campaign plan existed. As such, there was a lack of clarity over the end state and the milestones expected to be achieved."

Commanders on the ground felt "the principle of mission command was not exercised", with decisions being taken by government minister and military headquarters that should have been devolved.

Poor synchronisation between military headquarters and troops on the ground led to "frustration and wasted effort and resources", with duplicated sourcing of equipment like pallets and tie-down straps.

"A strong 'she'll be right' culture" was evident, with inconsistent application of processes.

"Personnel are simply not following established procedures or completing paperwork in accordance with published standard operating procedures."

There was a general lack of experience of working within a large coalition, while some troops were sent on deployment without meeting minimum requirements for readiness.

The report also outlined problems with military equipment. There was a shortage of specialist weapons, while issued combat boots broke down quickly in the Afghanistan environment and caused injuries, leading many soldiers to buy their own footwear.

REPORT INACCURATE - NZDF

The report was based on interviews with Kiwi troops in Afghanistan, with additional material from documents and direct observations.

"The interviewees were urged to be as open and frank as possible in their responses."

In a letter accompanying the report's release, Commander Joint Forces NZ Major General Tim Gall said it was too inaccurate to be accepted and circulated.

"The observations reported in the J8 group's conclusions diverged quite markedly from those of other, more experienced, on-the-ground observers."

Gall said the report contained self-contradictions, along with "unremarkable or mere 'business as usual' irritations" which were recorded as more serious issues.

Claims about the lack of a cohesive campaign plan ignored information at the public domain at the time about the Defence Force's missions in Afghanistan.

"The rest of the synopsis is devoted to dozens of 'issues', most of which could be characterised as being minor at best," he said.

NZME asked for a copy of the report in January 2014, but the Defence Force initially refused to release the information, saying it could compromise the country's safety and stop military officers from offering frank views.

It then decided to release the report, after Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier met Defence Force chief Lieutenant General Tim Keating.

-Stuff

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Damning Afghanistan war report criticises lack of planning for NZ deployment - Waikato Times

A Long Island man who served in the Marines and lost both legs below the knees after stepping on a bomb in Afghanistan was sworn in Friday as possibly the first fully active duty double amputee police officer in the country.

Matias Ferreira, 28, graduated from the Suffolk County Police Academy in Brentwood, L.I. His first assignment as a precinct patrol officer begins next week. He told Fox 5 New York he isnt worried if he breaks a leg on the job.

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If I break my leg I go the trunk of my car and put on a new one and Im back on duty, he told the station.

The 2011 blast in Afghanistan shattered his legs, forcing doctors to amputate. The machine-gunner spent nearly a year recovering in a hospital outside Washington.

Ferreira stands on titanium prosthetics, Newsday reported. He dreamed of being a cop as a kid.

Ferreira completed 29-weeks of training at the academy, passing the same rigorous challenges as other recruits.

More: Veteran who helps homeless vets aims to make it a nationwide movement

He was born in Uruguay and moved to the U.S. when he was 6, Fox 5 reported.

Tiffiany Ferreira said she was proud of her husband.

To watch my husband achieve his dream that I think most people would thing wasnt even possible is really special, she told the station.

DENVER Colorado is considering an unusual strategy to protect...

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Marine who lost both legs in Afghanistan sworn in as cop - New York Post