Combat Journalist

By Mustafa Kazemi

Kabul – The Department of Defense announced today the death two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. 

They died March 11, in Jalrez District, Wardak Province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when they were attacked by small arms fire.  Killed were: 

Capt. Andrew M. Pedersen-Keel, 28, of South Miami, Florida. 

He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C. 

Staff Sgt. Rex L. Schad, 26, of Edmond, Oklahama. 

He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Armor Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division – Fort Stewart, Georgia. 

By Mustafa Kazemi

Kabul – A helicopter belonging to the US Military crashed in Southern Kandahar province on Monday, killing all 5 service members onboard.

A statement released from the ISAF Joint Command (IJC) early Tuesday confirmed the crash but provided no details; saying the incident was under investigation.

Press Office of Southern Kandahar province confirmed few hours after the crash that the helicopter had crashed in Daman district of Kandahar province due to a rain storm.

Press Office of Kandahar also confirmed the same number of died soldiers as the ISAF – five American troops.

At the early hours of the crash, a US military official who wished to remain unidentified confirmed that all those onboard were American troops.

The helicopter belonged to the US Army, & was a utility class UH-60 — was en route to an undisclosed U.S. Forward Operating Base.

End

By Mustafa Kazemi

There is an abnormal mystification in what President Karzai stated on March 10^th. The misinterpretation of his comments has sparked these drastic series of comments and reactions from the US government & military officials. However, Karzai did accuse the United States of speaking & acting with double standards, as he stated that he is aware that there are meetings between the US & Taliban officials being held in gulf countries everyday and the US tell Afghanistan that the US has no war with the Taliban but yet these Americans abuse his people under the name of fighting the Taliban.

Karzai further specifies this, that he is made aware by some patriot Taliban and also some foreigners (he refers to those Taliban & foreigners who spy for him) that there are talks going on between the Taliban & the US government but the US government denies these talks but still the Americans abuse Afghan people in their country under the name of fighting the Taliban, whom they say aren’t their enemy. He wants to say if the Taliban are not the enemies of the US, then why does the US government talk with them in secret and why do they abuse and annoy the Afghan people under the name of fighting someone who’s not their enemy at the first place.

In a second sentence the president repeats that there are secret talks between the Taliban & the US government taking place daily; he refers to the Talibans comment about the suicide attack in Kabul where they said they wanted to show off their power to the Americans. Karzai responds to the Taliban, addressing them & saying: “No! It was not showing off your power to the Americans, it was in fact a service that you Taliban did for the US, and a service to this “2014″ slogan to scare us that if the Americans leave this country, you Taliban won’t leave us alone”.

So Karzai does accuse the United States of speaking with double standards about the Taliban & Afghanistan and that the US conducts secret talks with the Taliban without informing the Afghan government, but he does not directly accuse US of supporting the Taliban or the Taliban belonging to the United States.

Karzai’s direct quotes:

“We are aware, we are told; both by the foreigners and the patriot Taliban; (they) come and talk to us behind (the scenes) that ‘between our elders and the Americans such & such deals are ongoing, be aware. Every day in Europe and in gulf countries there are talks between Americans and the foreigners and Taliban, and the America says that Taliban are not their enemy and I don’t have any war with the Taliban – but yet they (Americans) everyday annoy our people under the name of (fighting) the Taliban.

Taliban are also in talks with the Americans every day, but yet again bombs go off in Kabul and in Khost that ‘I’m (Taliban) showing off my power to the Americans). No! These bombs that went off in Kabul & Khost yesterday were not showing off your power to the Taliban, it was in fact a service to the United States, a service to this “2014″ slogan in order to scare us that if these people (Americans) won’t be here, I (refers to Taliban) won’t leave you.”

–End–

By Mustafa Kazemi

Kabul (Afghanistan) – Since it became a trend to leak the identity of recipients of a press statement in Afghanistan, first by the Taliban and later the ISAF’s Joint Command, it might not seem an amazing news anymore as it was at the opening. But where is irony that makes it worth a story? It’s the unwanted competition between the multinational ISAF’s Joint Command Press Desk and the Taliban spokesman who ranks first in this leak spree.

On Wednesday January 16, for the second time in the history of ISAF, the Press Desk of the ISAF Joint Command that deals with all the updates and media coverage on behalf of the ISAF sent out a press release about the death of a soldier in southern Afghanistan following an improvised landmine explosion. But this isn’t the end of the story. The “To” field of the email message seemed all fashioned and retouched with the exposed 1,190 email addresses of primarily journalists, media outlets in & outside Afghanistan, ISAF officials, Defense Department Officials, State Department Officials, Foreign Embassies personnel, Foreign Countries diplomats, American government personnel in Afghanistan, Afghan government staff, and some unknown email addresses that could belong to anyone ranging from Special Forces operatives to CIA staff in Afghanistan.

In the screenshot below you can see some of the email addresses that were leaked. The domain “afghan.swa.army.mil” is the email domain of Afghanistan-deployed staff at the US Army.

Earlier in November, the Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi leaked the email addresses of hundreds of its recipients of press statements that are always exaggerated 1/10.

Pick one of the global media outlets who published this story here on this Google search of the stories.

Both the email addresses list leaked by the ISAF Joint Command & the Taliban are available with me. If you’ll die without having that list, email me on me [at] combatjournalist [dot] me then I’ll save you.

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By Mustafa Kazemi

Kabul (Afghanistan) – The United States Army on Friday released the soldiers’ suicide statistics for the month of November.

According to the U.S. Army, in the month of November, among active-duty soldiers, there were 12 potential suicides out of which one has been confirmed as a suicide and 11 others yet remain under investigation.

The Army has not provided further details on circumstances or location of any of suicides.

During November, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 15 potential suicides (12 soldiers from Army National Guard and three from Army Reserve) out of which two suicides are confirmed as suicide and 13 still remain under investigation.

In October, the Army reported 20 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers; since the release of that report, one case has been removed for a total of 19 cases: nine have been confirmed as suicides and 10 remain under investigation. 

For the year 2012, there have been 177 potential active-duty suicides:  113 have been confirmed as suicides and 64 remain under investigation.  Active-duty suicide number for 2011: 165 confirmed as suicides and no cases under investigation. 

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By Mustafa Kazemi

Kabul (Afghanistan) – Monday morning turned a bloody start for the day for many Afghans in Southwest & East of the country.

The Director of Women’s Affairs Department of Laghman province was killed early morning in the same province, according to a local news wire.

Later, a roadside bomb attacked the vehicle of Police Chief of Nimruz Province that resulted in his death, & injury of one of his bodyguards along with the governor’s son.

Preliminary reports in Laghman indicate the Women’s Affairs Chief was assassinated in a direct attack deliberated at her.

Nimruz criminal investigation head says that the roadside bomb that killed the Chief of Police was set before they drove to that area for a work-related mission.

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