British envoy says mission in Afghanistan is doomed

From Times Online
October 1, 2008
British envoy says mission in Afghanistan is doomed, according to leaked memo

Charles Bremner, Paris and Richard Beeston, Foreign Editor
The official version of the US-led campaign in Afghanistan received a blow today with a leaked report that the British Ambassador in Kabul believes that US strategy is wrong and the war is as good as lost.

The potentially explosive views were published by Le Canard Enchaîné, a respected French weekly, which said that they were direct quotations from a diplomatic cable written by François Fitou, the French Deputy Ambassador in Kabul.

Mr Fitou reported to President Sarkozy's office and his own Foreign Ministry that Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, the British Ambassador, believed that "American strategy is destined to fail" in Afghanistan, according to the newspaper.

It published a reproduction of what it said was the coded cable, in which the French diplomat summarised the ambassador's main points from a September 2 meeting.
More on the linkhttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4860080.ece

 

Fixed Linky: Times Online webpage

 

Karzai's bid to reach out to Taliban supported by France
AFP
Published: Wednesday, October 01, 2008
PARIS - France voiced support on Wednesday for Afghan President Hamid Karzai's bid to hold talks with the Taliban but said he must not engage with hardcore extremists in the militia.
Karzai said Tuesday he had asked Saudi Arabia to help persuade the Taliban militia to enter into peace talks but that discussions had not yet started.
"In some regions at the local level, there must be contacts," Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in an interview to i-Tele television.
More on the link
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=1cc7f1ea-84d3-4c07-99dd-f312f41bc394

 

Pakistani Taliban deny report leader Mehsud dead
Wed Oct 1, 2008 5:25pm
By Kamran Haider

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Questions swirled on Wednesday over the fate of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, with a Pakistani television channel reporting he had died of illness but Taliban spokesmen dismissed the report.

Mehsud is the militant commander Pakistani authorities accuse of being behind a wave of suicide attacks across the country, including the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in December.

Mehsud, an ethnic Pashtun tribesman in his mid-30s, has denied involvement in the attack on Bhutto as she left an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi on December 27.

The Geo television channel reported late on Tuesday that Mehsud, based in the lawless Waziristan region on the Afghan border, had died of kidney failure after a long illness.

But Taliban spokesmen denied the report of his death, or even that he was seriously ill
More on the link
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE4907AB20081001?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&rpc=401

 

Not looking good is it?
The comments are worth a read over on timesonline.co.uk but the spelling is atrocious. Ironic that the standard of english is better on arrse than the times.

 

Regret the last two posts I got my threads mixed!

 

Did British head sheds not say that about the yank "Surge" in Iraq?

 

Just noticed the BBC aren't running this story....
A Google News search however reveals 13 International Newspapers running it.
What you won't find on the BBC

 

I would say france would be looking to exit asap even though they have only just re sent troops, cant say they have a proven track record with guerrila warfare!
until the goverment gives commanders the man power they need then it will always be an uphill battle, is there any news of the that plant pot reid being re shuffled? have not be reading the news recently

 

True. It's a Commie Rag after all but where there's smoke...

 

I thought it was the equivalent of Private Eye

 

Le Canard Enchaine is not exactly "a Commie rag". That's L'Humanite, the official french communist party daily.

Le Canard has a long tradition of bringing out scandals and confidential informations, often leaked by civil servants with an agenda. They also have a long history of warping the truth to fit their leftist views but the cases they bring out generally tend to be true.

 

So It's a Commie rag then?
Just kidding.
Ta for the background info. Everyday's a school day...