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Written by Vishal Menon | Greater Noida | Updated: March 5, 2017 10:13 am Simmons has been hired for three series by Afghanistans cricket board.

Proud to be an Afghan. These were the words etched behind Phil Simmons flashy jersey when he arrived with the Afghanistan team for practice at the Greater Noida Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Simmons stint as Afghanistans coach began, almost inadvertently, in Dubai on the sidelines of the Desert T20 challenge.

I was in Dubai to watch the Desert T20 challenge when I was approached by their CEO (Shafiqullah Stanikzai) and their manager, who asked me if I would be interested in accepting the role of the Afghanistan coach. I was pleasantly surprised at first. But, it was an extremely exciting offersomething I could not have possibly ignored, he said. The 53-year-old, sacked by the West Indies Cricket Board last year following a series of acrimonious public squabbles, jumped aboard instantly.

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On the face of it, choosing Simmons was pragmatic. After all, he has had considerable success Irelands coach for a decade, where they were the winners among Associate nations in 50-over as well as the T20 format. Going forward, he can use his experience when Afghanistan squares up against Ireland in their upcoming ODI series. I suppose so. I was the Ireland coach for a considerable amount of time, and since Afghanistan is scheduled to play two series against them, they have sought my experience, which is fair, I think, he noted.

Both Simmons and Ireland go a long way. In fact, just two days ago, Simmons had posted on his Twitter handle a link celebrating six years of Irelands historic triumph over England at the 2011 World Cup. With it was a powerful image of KevinO Briens jaw-dropping 113. Below it was the caption that read, Never to be forgotten #100 worth watching again.

After signing the dotted line in Dubai, Simmons landed in Harare early last month for his first assignment a five-match ODI series against Zimbabwe which the Afghans won 3-2.We should have won that series 4-1, he sighed. Simmons takes over from Inzaman-ul-Haq, who had resigned from the post of head coach last year, to be the selector in Pakistan Cricket Board. Inzamams six-month reign was one of the most prolific periods for Afghanistan cricket, having won 12 out of the 17 T20s, and pulling off an incredible heist on West Indies at the World T20 campaign in India early last year. In this period, they continued to exert their dominance against the Zimbabweans. During his tenure, Inzaman had said that he had travelled to Kabul only once, to sign the contract. Simmons conceded he has not been to Afghanistans political capital yet.

Simmons, however, is not looking too far ahead in his new role. They have hired me for just three series. This series against Ireland, followed by another 5-match ODI series against West Indies in the Carribean in May, followed by a return series in Ireland in July. Thats what I am looking at currently. he explained.

Barely four weeks into his new assignment, he admitted he was still getting into the scheme of things, and added that coaching this motley bunch presented their own set of challenges. You have players with diverse personality traits and temperaments. For instance, you have a guy like Ahmed Shehzad who is very jovial and fun-loving, while on the other hand you have Zadran, who is a bit shy and religious. Apart from that, the language is also an issue. Thankfully, I have someone like Lalchand Rajput as the manager, who converses with them in Hindi. He is my mediator, he added with a smile.

The immediate challenge for Simmons and his support staff would be to infuse a winning habit into this team. The former West Indies coach had cited their performances during last years World T20 to illustrate their glaring inconsitencies. These guys were good against the Zimbabweans. But if you look at their performances in the World T20 last year, they came close to winning on a number of occasions, but could not seal the deal. My job as the coach would be to help them through.

Simmons is happy with the kind of exposure his team is getting at the international level. I like to be realistic. I dont think the BCCI or the Cricket Australia would be really interested in hosting them for a series at this moment. The important thing would be to remain competitive at this level, and when that happens you are bound to get your chance against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.I think the upcoming series in the Carribean in May is a step in that direction. he added.

These are still early days, but Simmons stressed on the importance of having a robust first-class system where young talent would graduate to keep the older players on their toes. For a country wading through political and economic turmoil, they have fared well on the infrastructure front having invested on synthetic turfs and an academy in Kabul. Simmons explained that he was apprised of an academy in Kabul, which has been the nursery for upcoming talent in the country. Somebody was showing me a video of a talent hunt in Kabul. The kind of frenzy for a clinic is amazing. More that 10,000 people to watch these guys play, he concluded.

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After Ireland overhaul, Phil Simmons hopes to fill in the gaps for Afghanistan - The Indian Express

Afghan security forces arrive at the site of a suicide car bombing / Getty

BY: Natalie Johnson March 4, 2017 4:57 am

Afghanistan is ramping up investment in economic development as part of an effort to stabilize the country's security environment while moving away from reliance on foreign aid, the chief adviser to Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani said Friday.

"There's not any country that has moved from poverty to prosperity through foreign aid. It's usually investment that can change a country in a very fundamental way," M. Homayun Qayoumi said during an event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

Qayoumi said the Afghan government has emphasized the development of infrastructure projects that engage local communities to provide jobs and economic security. The projects also help forge a connection between Kabul and local populations.

"When [locals] see their role and their future to be tied into [these projects], that in itself improves security in a major way," he said.

Qayoumi cited Afghanistan's revival of an irrigation project in the Helmand province as an example of the connection between security and economic development. The project, promised to locals 70 years ago, includes the finalization of the hydropower Kajaki Dam.

"The locals are really the ones who are taking that [project] and warning all of these insurgencies coming from Pakistan that these projects are vital to our future," he said. "This is where we see the hope of the future, where economic opportunities would buttress the security environment."

In 2016, a year after Afghanistan's National Unity Government rose to power, President Ghani introduced an infrastructure plan outlining projects to advancethe nation's economy in the agriculture, mineral, trade, and manufacturing sectors.

The proposal triggered development and construction of 29 dams, some of them hydroelectric, within the past year. Once completed, the capacity of those dams is expected to equal two and a half Hoover Dams. Given the country's arid environment, the dams would have adramatic impact onAfghanistan's agricultural sector.

The government also is developinga national power grid. Today, 77 percent of Afghanistan's electricity is imported. Officials in Kabul anticipate that in five years that country will not only be self-sufficient in energy production but will also have the capacity to export electricity.

In the secondhalf of 2016, Afghanistan attracted over $800 million in foreign and domestic investments for its energy sector. Qayoumi said this money would go toward constructionof hydropower plants, solar projects, natural gas, and more.

"In terms of infrastructure projects, the number of dams that we have started in last year and a half is more than what we've done in the prior 200 years," Qayoumi said. "If you look at the amount of electricity generation that we started in the last year, it's more than what we've done in the prior 60 years."

Qayoumi said assistance from the United States and other Western nations is still imperative to Afghanistan's security environment, but said the government is hopeful that the country can begin moving away from its dependence on the West.

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Afghanistan Pivots to Economic Development to Enhance Security - Washington Free Beacon

ISLAMABAD: Afghan Ambassador Dr Omar Zakhilwal on Saturday said that border closure is affecting '25000 poor Afghans' and that due to prolonged closure they will have to 'airlift the stranded visitors'.

In a facebook post, the ambassador criticized Pakistan for 'unreasonable closure of legal Pak/Afghan trade and transit routes', adding that the officials he met had no justification for doing it.

'Today in my conversation with Mr Sartaj Aziz, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, I conveyed to him that if in the next couple of days an opening was not allowed for the return of the stranded visitors I would ask my government to provide chartered flights to lift them. This, however, would reflect a very poor picture.'

'I have not been provided with a convincing justification. Argument that the closure of these crossing points was needed to stop terrorists' crossing cannot carry any weigh as these points such as Torkham and Spin Boldak have been manned by hundreds of military and other security personal and have all the checking infrastructure and equipments in place.'

Pakistan closed Afghan border crossing after a series of terror incidents in Lahore, Sehwan and several other cities, which were blamed on elements based there.

The envoy said continuous closure was aimed at hurting the common Afghan people and it was damaging bilateral trade.

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'Afghanistan to airlift citizen if border not opened' - The News International

USA TODAY 7:05 a.m. CT March 3, 2017

Army Gen. John Nicholson is commander of the U.S.-led international military force in Afghanistan.(Photo: AP)

The war in Afghanistan is not going well. At best, its a stalemate. At worst, its a war seemingly without end the longest in U.S. history that is now shifting slowly in favor of the enemy, the Taliban and other Islamic extremists.

Afghan security forces are fighting harder than ever, but an average of 20 police or soldiers are being killed each day. The government in Kabul is barely able to gather enough new recruits to make up for the mounting dead and wounded. Last month, a mother in Kabul lost three sons, all police officers, to a single attack. Territory is slipping from the governments grasp, with just 57 percent of districts nationwide controlled by Kabul, down 15 percent from November 2015.

Americans have sacrificed a lot since the war began in 2001 in retaliation for the 9/11 terror attacks plotted by al-Qaeda leaders, who had safe harbor in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Beyond the 2,247 U.S. military deaths and 20,000 wounded, the U.S. has spent more in inflation-adjusted dollars to reconstruct Afghanistan than it did to rebuild Europe after World War II, and the nation remains far from self-sustaining.

The main upside is that the U.S. has successfully prevented Afghanistan from being used as a base for another 9/11-style attack on American soil. We believe ... that our operations in Afghanistan directly protect the homeland, Army Gen. John Nicholson, commander of the U.S.-led international military force in Afghanistan, told senators last month. Other accomplishments include shrinking territory held by the Islamic States Afghan affiliate down to a few districts and, in October, killing an al-Qaeda leader who was planning an attack on the United States.

Nicholson concedes the war is a stalemate. Hed like to add perhaps 1,400 U.S. troops to the 8,400 already in Afghanistan, with maybe 2,000 more contributed from NATO and other coalition allies who already have 5,000 on the ground. The additional manpower would improve battlefield surveillance and move trained advisers further down into Afghan forces to bolster leadership.

Nicholsons request for more U.S. troops appears reasonable, but troop levels have to reflect a broader strategy. America needs to know President Trumps position on Afghanistan. More than a month into his administration, theres silence on the issue. Trump has offered conflicting views in the past, arguing against nation-building but telling Fox News last year, albeit rather reluctantly, that hed stay in Afghanistan. Trump has ordered his generals to come up with a plan to defeat radical Islamic terrorism.

President Obama was moving toward a complete withdrawal, which might have successfully pressured Kabul into assuming more responsibilities. But by announcing troops levels well into the future, divorced from the situation on the ground, he also left the Taliban and other terrorist groups to bide their time until the U.S. was gone.

The White House needs to conduct a major policy review of Afghanistan, reach a fundamental decision and then make its case to the American people. The U.S. troops serving valiantly in Afghanistan deserve clarity of purpose.

The choice is whether the U.S. is staying in Afghanistan with an active counterterrorism role and assisting the governments fight against its enemies or whether it is leaving. Only when the Taliban realizes that the U.S. commitment is unwavering, and that it cannot retake Kabul, will this longest war come to a resolution.

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In Afghanistan, what's the plan? - Hattiesburg American

Sarah Hauck

Marines and sailors have been facing potential worst-case scenarios as they prepare for their deployment to Afghanistan in the spring.

About 300 Marines and sailors stationed at Camp Lejeune will deploy to the Helmand Province of Afghanistan to advise Afghan Army and police force leaders. Led by Brig. Gen. Roger Turner Jr., the II Marine Expeditionary Force Marines deploying this spring with the newly created Task Force Southwest will return to Afghanistan to train and advise key leaders within the Afghan National Army 215th Corps and the 505th Zone National Police.

Mission rehearsals are about pushing Marines to their limits to assess, reevaluate and get as close to perfection as possible before they leave U.S. soil, Turner said.

We try to do in these is give as close as possible representation of circumstances we may encounter, Turner said. It will give the Marines a feel for how the whole machine is going to work.

Turner explained that the replicated situations are created in a way to crescendo it to a point of almost unrealistic, to really test the Marines and their ability to operate under pressure and in stressful situations.

Throughout the week, various movements and missions were forced upon the Marines both during the day and at night in hopes of testing their teamwork and ability to adapt.

The main mission of the taskforce is to advise Afghan forces to continue to protect their country and people. Because of that objective, a major focus of the mission rehearsal has been learning the culture of the Afghan people, Public Affairs Officer for TFS Maj. Kendra Motz said.

There are definitely some relationships that are existing there already, and we are hopeful that we can reconnect and build on those, she said.

The nature of the deployment has encouraged a higher, more senior group of Marines to deploy, Turner said previously in a recorded interview.

Most have already seen time in Afghanistan, which has proven vital when training and teaching the younger Marines.

The use of Afghan role players, who have been immersed with TFS all week, also assists in learning the culture, Turner said. Advisors have been working with the role players via translator just like they would in country to gain a better understanding of how that process works.

We have been there so long that some of our Afghan partners are used to Americans and the culture, Turner said. Working through translators and with the role players now prevents a misunderstanding or any friction that may come from the difference in cultures. It is less about if they are offended by something said because it is taken a different way and more about learning how the advising process may take longer via translator. When our advisors understand the cultural nuances it may encourage them to ask addition questions.

Motz described the importance of understanding a culture in order to accomplish the mission of advising and assisting the Afghan forces with a quote by Theodore Roosevelt: People dont care how much you know until they know how much you care.

For Master Gunnery Sergeants Henry Gonzalez and Samuel Swain, the mission rehearsal was a way for them to pass on knowledge they have from prior deployments as well as help the younger Marines understand what to expect when their boots hit the ground in Afghanistan.

Gonzalez has not been deployed to Afghanistan but has been deployed to Iraq in an advisor position and said the mission rehearsal is shaped to teach no matter where the real mission takes them.

Preparing for Afghanistan this time has been great for the Marines, he said, thanks to help of subject matter experts who have been able to create a more sophisticated training regiment.

This is one of the best trainings we can do, he said. It gives us a much better understanding of everybodys responsibility, and what I heed to do and where to go so everyone understands their roles.

Gonzalez, who has deployed eight times, hoped the Marines would take away advice and knowledge that didnt involve responding to explosions before deployment.

I want them to make sure they take care of yourself and your family before you deploy, he said. If you do those things you will be able to perform while on deployment, the long hours that sometimes come with deployments. It will allow you to concentrate on what you do because that could save not only your life, but others as well.

Swain was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010-11 and said the training for this deployment is similar, and should be. The mission rehearsals provide a platform for experienced Marines like himself to educate on more than just tactics.

Passing on knowledge to them (is important), Swain said. We can share with them what to expect and what it is really like, not the Hollywood (version), including the processes they are going to go through day in and day out.

TFS will be replacing Army Task Force Forge. Groups will be spread across Helmand Province, each tasked to work with the various groups like the 215th Corps and 505th Zone, as well as headquarters and other pieces that make up a task force, Turner said.

The Marines and sailors will be working with Afghan security forces throughout the area, including at the Camp Leatherneck location used during operations years ago.

The deployment is expected to last nine months.

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Task force prepares for Afghanistan deployment - Jacksonville Daily News