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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

March 3 at 6:13 PM

Josh Rogins Feb. 27 op-ed, Selling Trump a new Afghan commitment, presented a confused and unsatisfying discussion of where we next go in the United States more-than-15-year involvement in Afghanistan. Mr. Rogin appeared to think that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. and national security adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster can sell President Trump on extending and expanding our presence in Afghanistan. But there is no clear requirement for our forces to be there and no obvious positive outcome to be achieved. Mr. Rogin quotes House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Tex.) as complaining that President Barack Obama never made the case for U.S. involvement. He did not for an excellent reason: There is no compelling strategic reason for our military presence in Afghanistan.

Those who fail to see the issue from a historical perspective should acquaint themselves with the British role in Afghanistan from 1839 throughout the 19th century and the Soviet role there from 1979 to 1989. By extending our already enormous presence still further, we run the risk of being there to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the start of foreign (i.e., British) military involvement with the strong likelihood of a similar outcome. We should cut our losses, understand the realities of Afghanistan and quit the country.

Alan Neuschatz, Chevy Chase

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In Afghanistan, no one can win - Washington Post

The plane touched down on schedule a little after 10 a.m., fighter jets and warfare helicopters lined up on the runway sideline, and did as instructed when a pickup with a FOLLOW ME sign in the bed pulled in front to direct the 737 to where moveable stairs and troops waited.

Landing, to Perkins, meant Youre just in it now. Its just surreal. Its good. Its good to see the other side, to see what they go through and how hard they protect the homeland. Theyre really into it. You just appreciate all of them no matter what they do, contractors or whatever. Interpreters. Public affairs. Civil. Its just a real thing and Im appreciative.

To Butler on the tarmac, Its big. I was thinking it would be something else. I watch too many movies.

There was one sense of connection. Delaney was a participant but also a driving force behind the tour as a friend of Maj. Gen. John C. Thomson III, the base commander. Delaney had talked to troops about PTSD when Thomson was at Ft. Hood in Texas in 2009 and when Thomson was commandant at West Point in 2015. Thomson in return addressed NBA referees in 2015. When the three other arrivals exited the flydubai airlines charter and came down the stairs while taking in the surreal and the chill, Thomson greeted them with warm handshakes and smiles. Delaney, the last down, and Thomson embraced.

The trip would be personal for Delaney in that way. Not only would he re-connect with his friend, here was a new chance to talk about PTSD. Its a topic close to Delaney after working undercover to infiltrate organized crime as a New Jersey State Trooper prior to joining the NBA led to his own emotional distress. His plea to about 150 soldiers to look after themselves while they looked after the United States in the war on terrorism came hours later, soon after Thomson gave the USO group the perspective from this side of the world: What we do protects our homeland. Its much better to play away games.

Four-plus days in Bagram and two other bases would be educational and inspirational to Delaney, Perkins, Butler and Latta. It took only a few hours, though, before the first dinner among officers and the enlisted, for the value of the visit to become obvious, even more than bringing thanks from home for the service, even beyond the gratitude of the troops at the chance to have a connection to America in front of them.

Latta, Perkins, Butler and Delaney would help the United States Armed Forces heal from tragedy.

The guy blew himself up just three months earlier, after all. He strapped on a vest of explosives, headed toward the starting area for the base 5K run that would begin shortly as part of Veterans Day events, got within about a quarter-mile and unleashed so much fury that shrapnel took out divots of cement from a building 50 yards away. Right there on Disney Boulevard, a main street inside the wire named as a memorial to a fallen soldier, an Army specialist, Jason A. Disney, who lost his life in a 2002 heavy-equipment accident. Now there were more dead.

The killer, an Afghan civilian, had worked on the base for five years. On that hellish Nov. 12, 2016, he entered again, walked through at least one checkpoint (according to a spokesman for province) and detonated the vest shortly after 5:30 a.m local time. Results of the investigation were close to being released by the time the USO tour came through, but officials are certain he did not arrive armed for fury that morning. The explosives had been brought in before, either in pieces over time and later assembled or hidden whole on the grounds. It wasnt even The Killing Season.

Maybe, as some on the base believe, he was trying to get to the Clamshell, an aircraft-maintenance facility that had been turned into a gymnasium and that day was the starting point for the 5K. Hundreds would have been there. Thomson was on his way and could have been there if the killer had made it that far. Some details will be in the final report, some will never be known.

Army Sgt. John W. Perry and Pfc. Tyler R. Iubelt were killed. Two American contractors were killed. A third soldier, Sgt. 1st Class Allan E. Brown, died 3 weeks later after being transferred to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland. Sixteen U.S. service members and one from Poland, among the five nations of the NATO coalition forces at Bagram, were injured, many passing through Warriors Way and under the giant flag stretched horizontal.

Feb. 17, 2017: The Clamshell, again. Delaney, Butler, Perkins and Latta were there, Thomson was there, a two-star general shagging rebounds pre-game, and hundreds of service members were there. Some watched from three rows of metal bleachers on one sideline parallel to the cement court indoors, some from on stage with the band providing music during breaks, and many participated. The rifle of anyone playing was racked butt end down just beyond the other sideline.

This was why the trip was held in mid-February. The troops would have games, a 3-point contest, a dunk contest and a skills competition to coincide with the same events taking place at the NBAs All-Star weekend in New Orleans. Butler and Latta coached one team in the three-on-three finals, Perkins the other and Delaney refereed for a while before joining the crowd in the bleachers. Later, they judged the dunk contest that included a few successful attempts on regulation baskets.

But it was the noise. Service members cheered and laughed and sprung off the bleachers in reaction to a play like they hadnt partied, most agreed, since Nov. 12 sent everyone into mourning, such a heightened sense of security that most large events were cancelled. Extra precautions were still to the point that no advertising was done on the base to promote this appearance. Some soldiers didnt even hear about the USO tour until the same day, not wanting to give the enemy ideas about a high-profile strike.

To-day, Army Sgt. Aasim Torres said, breaking the word in two for emphasis. We were just out here on the basketball court, shooting around. And then sure enough. When I saw him (Perkins) walk in the door and duck his head under, I was like, Oh, this is real. This is happening. This is happening. They walked straight on the court. The way they came up to us made us seem like the superstars. They came up to us and shook our hands and had huge smiles on their faces. It was kind of surreal.

The NBA and WNBA may not have a more meaningful real-world impact all season, and perhaps seasons, plural. As the rain came down outside, the Clamshell was a place of sanctuary in a lot of ways, three months and 400 yards removed from the carnage. This was a chance to really move forward.

Hearing all this laughter so close to where it happened, its amazing how people have recovered from it, Marine Staff Sgt. Andrew Jacobs said. Once everything closed down (after the attack) everybody kind of went off to their work, separated. People lost touch. Now, I see people I havent seen for a few months. They found out about this visit and this tournament.

The visit was never supposed to be about players and an NBA executive helping the largest U.S. military instillation in Afghanistan heal. Delaney and Thomson started the planning in July, four months before anyone living inside the wire could have imagined a need. Thats what it partly, even largely, turned into, though. The tragedy was folded into the tour as some of the wounded from November were at Delaneys presentation the first day and the visitors were taken past the blast site.

The chunks of cement torn from the wall 50 yards away, across the main street named for another dead soldier, remain a constant, visible reminder of mayhems reach. The holes have been patched, except in brown set against the lighter beige faade. Whether leaders want to ensure the 14,000 troops and civilian contractors never forget, as tours end every nine to 12 months and new soldiers rotate in, or it hasnt happened just because is unclear. The four from the USO were taken by the site.

And yet, thanks in part to the visit.

Theyre smiling, Latta, about to begin her 11th WNBA season, said of the troops. Theyre happy. Thats the feeling Im getting. I didnt get a feel of something bad happened to them in November. When they see us, they shake our hand. They say, Oh, man, thanks for coming, its great to be around you. Me and Caron were talking and he was like, Its a great feeling to put a smile on their face and for them to be thank you for coming. It really means a lot for them. But at the same time they dont understand that its helping us. Its changing our lives. Its humbling us, giving us that awesome feeling.

They flew above Afghanistan once the rain stopped, base to base to base, anchored down in the 35-pound armor vests and helmets, strapped shoulder to waist into Vertol helicopters, a version of the tandem-rotor CH-47 Chinook, and climbed stairs to look into the cockpit of an F-16 fighter jet on the flight line. Just after they sat behind an M240H machine gun, put their hands on the grips and looked through the sights while in a Black Hawk helicopter.

Some got a 7:40 a.m. wake-up call the second day as an F-16 thundered down the runway for takeoff before rocketing into the sky and then as another of the sleek weapons followed three seconds later in the same sound check of speed and power. Standing among members of the military snapped to attention as the national anthem played on TV during a watch party before the 2017 All-Star Game half a world away (on Sunday night in the Big Easy and Monday morning in Afghanistan) was a rush of a different kind.

But when it was time to leave on the morning of Feb. 21, the sliver of the fifth day, the USO headliners were struck deepest by the connection with the soldiers, not the chance to surf the sky in a chopper above combat zones or a kids dream come to life of leaning into the cockpit of a fighter jet with the canopy raised. Delaney, Butler, Latta and Perkins made an incalculable difference, certainly more than they would have imagined on Feb. 17 and perhaps even more than they realized. This large military instillation on the front line of the war on terror, so front line that attacks sail in over the wall, did a lot of healing in a little less than a week.

The visitors left as they arrived, with several armed uniformed service members escorting them for safety, a presence even if a rifle or holstered pistol if mandatory for everyone on duty except the chaplain. There was one difference. The sun was out.

Scott Howard-Cooper has covered the NBA since 1988. You can e-mail himhere, findhis archive hereandfollow him on Twitter.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting.

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NBA's USO-led trip to Afghanistan inspires soldiers, visitors alike - NBA.com