Mediaboss Marketing

President Obama has authorized the military in Afghanistan to continue to target Taliban fighters next year, a move that broadens the scope of the training mission that is to begin in 2015.

The NATO and U.S. combat mission is slated to end at year's end and convert to a training mission for Afghan security forces that is expected to last two more years.

Original plans called for the 9,800 U.S. military trainers who would remain in Afghanistan next year to also have the authority to conduct limited counterterrorism operations against al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Those operations would be conducted by part of the 2,000 Special Operations forces that will remain in Afghanistan next year.

U.S. officials confirm that Obama has signed an executive order that would also allow military forces to conduct limited targeting of Taliban forces if they pose a threat to U.S. troops or if they were providing support to al Qaeda.

The order would also allow U.S. military aircraft to provide close air support for Afghan troops on the ground if needed. The new authorizations were first reported by the New York Times.

A U.S. military official said that the new authorization will not allow the targeting of Taliban fighters "solely because they are members of the Taliban." Another U.S. official said the limited targeting would be allowed if specific Taliban fighters posed a specific threat to U.S. military forces in Afghanistan.

The U.S. military official said that any air support provided to Afghan security forces will occur "in limited circumstances."

"And of course we will protect our own forces and coalition partners," the official said.

The official said the new authorizations have been "an ongoing process that has gotten us a place that we feel is about right to protect our own forces and help the Afghan National Security Forces" in extreme circumstances.

In a video conference with Pentagon reporters in early November, Lt. Gen. Joseph Anderson, the number two military commander in Afghanistan, hinted at that process. Asked about the scope of the future counterterrorism mission and when close air support could be provided to Afghan forces with the pending end of the combat mission, he said "those authorities have yet to be defined."

Continue reading here:
U.S. Broadens Military Mission for Afghanistan Next Year

By Jim Acosta and Ralph Ellis, CNN

updated 7:05 PM EST, Sat November 22, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- In a policy shift, President Barack Obama has decided to extend the combat role of U.S. forces in Afghanistan into 2015, allowing troops to keep fighting the Taliban and other militant groups that threaten American soldiers or the Afghan government, The New York Times reported.

Back in May, the President described an exit strategy that called for an end to U.S. combat operations and the withdrawal of the U.S.-led international military force by the end of 2014.

While not confirming the article, a senior administration official told CNN the change is more about force protection designed to protect U.S. personnel in Afghanistan.

"We will no longer target belligerents solely because they are members of the Taliban," the official said. "To the extent that Taliban members directly threaten the United States and coalition forces in Afghanistan or provide direct support to al Qaeda, we will take appropriate measures to keep Americans safe."

The policy shift apparently will not affect the number of American troops in Afghanistan. The Times said that half the 9,800 troops would leave by the end of next year.

The Times said the new presidential action will allow American planes and drones to support Afghan troops in combat.

The official told CNN that "the United States may provide combat enabler support to the [Afghan National Security Forces] in limited circumstances to prevent detrimental strategic effects to these Afghan security forces."

View original post here:
U.S. extends combat role in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Spinning teacups, carousels, bumper cars and even a mouse that could be a Minnie look-alike. But this is not a Disney attraction - far from it.

Welcome to City Park, a fairground in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.

Since its October opening, Afghanistan's first amusement park has attracted tens of thousands of visitors. City Park is a welcome respite for a country whose people have suffered three decades of war.

"It's very nice, everything is very beautiful, the carousel horse ride is nice," said one 6-year-old girl, Sadaf, who just had her face painted like a mouse.

Inside City Park visitors can get a break from the Kabul they are used to: one protected by concrete blast walls, guarded intersections and seemingly random checkpoints.

"The park is a place for entertainment, and there is not much of that in Afghanistan," said Almas Qaseemi, the park's deputy general manager.

2014 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

See the rest here:
Amusement park opens in war-torn Afghanistan

Pakistan Media on India-Pakistan-Afghanistan relations
Pakistan Media on India-Pakistan-Afghanistan relations Watch EXCLUSIVE Political videos only in this website: http://www.politicsdailyy.in/ You will find a lot of videos in this website related...

By: Nikhil gupta

Read the original post:
Pakistan Media on India-Pakistan-Afghanistan relations - Video

1TV Afghanistan Farsi News 16.11.2014
: .

By: 1TV Kabul

Visit link:
1TV Afghanistan Farsi News 16.11.2014 - Video