More New Labour lies: Afghanistan

**Some good news that you might not have seen on the BBC.

By AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writer
Close to 90,000 children who would have died before age 5 in Afghanistan during Taliban rule will stay alive this year because of advances in medical care in the country, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Sunday.

The under-5 child mortality rate in Afghanistan has declined from an estimated 257 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2001 to about 191 per 1,000 in 2006, the Ministry of Public Health said, relying on a new study by Johns Hopkins University.

The U.N. and aid agency Save the Children both hailed the advances in health care in Afghanistan.

"This is certainly very positive news," said the U.N. spokesman in Afghanistan, Adrian Edwards. "To come from such low life expectancy to see this improvement does appear to be an indication that the work on the health sector here is beginning to pay off."

Karzai, surrounded by children at a news conference in Kabul, thanked international aid organizations and Afghan health workers for the work they've done to raise health standards. He said 89,000 children will be saved each year because of the improved health care.

Still, Afghanistan continues to face severe problems. Health Minister Mohammad Amin Fatimi said 250,000 children under age 5 die every year, mostly from malnutrition, diarrhea, tuberculosis and malaria.

Child immunizations have risen dramatically in recent years, and newly trained volunteer health workers are helping treat pneumonia among villagers in remote areas, said Tariq Ihsan, a deputy director with Save the Children.

But Ihsan said the youngest children make up the bulk of the country's high child mortality rate.

"My feeling is that we really need to look at this very carefully, because the children who are dying now could be the newborns," Ihsan said. "Many newborns are dying because they don't have access to immediate health care. I think that's a real challenge for Afghanistan. They need to ask, 'Are we saving enough newborns?'"

Deaths of Afghan children who don't reach their first birthday have dropped from 165 per 1,000 in 2001 to 129 per 1,000 today, a drop of some 22 percent, Edwards said.

Afghanistan's child mortality rate, from birth to age 5, has been among the worst in the world. Only Sierra Leone, with 283 child deaths per 1,000 live births, Angola (260) and Niger (259) ranked below Afghanistan at 257, UNICEF said in a 2006 report.

By comparison, the United States has eight under-5 child deaths per 1,000 births. Singapore and Iceland, with three childhood deaths per 1,000, topped the rankings.

The UNICEF report noted that, like Afghanistan, most of the countries with the worst child mortality rates have suffered from armed conflict.

Fatimi, the health minister, said 85 percent of Afghans now have access to basic health care — a marked improvement from the past.

A U.S.-led invasion in 2001 toppled the Taliban militant movement from power.

**Of course all these childrens lives mean nothing to the armchair general and self appointed military expert, oh and proven libelist Paul Flynn MP. Yes our very own Col. Blimp knows more than the troops on the ground, more than the Associated Press and even more than the Afghan govt.

He quotes forth on his webshite: British dead 75. Two and a half million shots discharged. Local dead, several thousands including hundreds of women and children. Poppy crop increase of 60%-an all-time record. Heroin the cheapest ever on the streets of this country. Al-Qaeda stronger that ever, recruiting children here. The threat of terrorism here increased. 100s of school for girls closed. War weary Afghans previously glad to see the expulsion of Taliban, now resigned to welcome them back. Corruption in Afghan Government out of control.

**But wait whats this... Fifty Taliban killed in western Afghanistan: police
1. November 2007, 17:34 AFP - Afghan forces said Thursday they had killed 50 more Taliban militants in the heaviest fighting in a western province since the fall of the Islamist regime in 2001.

An operation by local and NATO troops to retake a district in the increasingly troubled Farah province from the hardline rebels entered its third day, provincial police spokesman Mohammad Gul Sarjang said.

"The fighting is still ongoing in Gulistan district. We killed 20 more Taliban since yesterday," Sarjang said. "Five soldiers and seven police have also been killed so far."

On Wednesday Afghan police said up to 40 Taliban militants were killed and 20 wounded.

"There is fighting going on to retake the district, but I cannot confirm any casualties at this stage," defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Zahir Azimi said Thursday.

The Taliban dispute the casualty figures and maintain they are in control of the district.

The Islamist insurgents also attacked another district of Farah on Wednesday night, sparking a six-hour fight with security forces, Sarjang said.

"Taliban attacked Bakwa district last night. Thirty Taliban were killed in six hours of fighting, two police were wounded," Sarjang said.

Azimi later said the fighting had ended but he could not confirm the toll.

The figures could not be independently confirmed and the interior ministry was not immediately available for comment.

Taliban militants have taken over several districts in Afghanistan for brief periods of time but have kept control of only one, Musa Qala district in southern Helmand province, which they captured almost a year ago.

Rebels attacked a police post in Helmand's Nadali district Thursday, killing five policemen and wounding two others, police said.

"Five police are martyred and three have been wounded in the Taliban attack," provincial police chief Mohammad Hussain Andiwal told AFP.

Helmand, Afghanistan's biggest opium-growing region, borders Farah and hundreds of militants from the province have crossed over into Gulistan district during the current bout of fighting.

Separately police were carrying out follow-up operations in the southern district of Arghandab, close to the former Taliban base of Kandahar, where they said on Wednesday they had surrounded more than 200 militants and killed 50.

"Since yesterday there has not been any direct fighting in Arghandab district," provincial police chief Sayed Aqa Saqib told AFP.

"We are carrying out our clean-up operations. We have not faced any resistance so far."

**So lets see we pay his salary of £60K a year plus a £144K in expenses and the proven liar cant even get his facts right!

Okay as I am on a roll here, some more of the invincible(according to dire moonbat MP Paul Flynn) Taliban terrorists sent off to meet Allah..

Check this out from the MOD no doubt the MOD are lying after all the oracle of all knowledge Paul Flynn sees all and knows all...
Six months ago the town of Sangin was controlled by the Taliban and the small ISAF unit there was under siege. But as 12 Mechanized Brigade’s six month deployment to Afghanistan came to an end yesterday, the town is thriving once again with a Governor and Chief of Police, and throughout Helmand the Taliban have been put on the back foot.

The last units from 12 Mech Bde left Afghanistan yesterday, Wednesday 24 October 2007, after a six month deployment which began with the Taliban building up for an offensive against ISAF and the Afghan National Security Forces but ended with the enemy beaten back after a series of operations which saw fierce fighting in soaring heat and tough terrain.

**Oh and there is more some 80 Taliban killed in Afghanistan, dispatched off to Allah by Afghan troops and international troops...

AFP - Around 80 Taliban fighters were killed when they tried to ambush a patrol of Afghan and international soldiers in the south of Afghanistan, the US-led coalition said Sunday.

The coalition said the troops were forced to call in air support when they were ambushed Saturday in the highly volatile province of Helmand.

"The combined patrol immediately returned fire, manoeuvred, and employed close air support, resulting in almost seven dozen Taliban fighters killed during a six-hour engagement," it said in a statement.

The attackers fled after the clash in the town of Musa Qala, which has been held by the Taliban since February. The statement made no reference to any coalition or civilian casualties.

However, the Afghan commander for Helmand told AFP no troops were killed.

"Our initial assessment is that over 73 Taliban were killed in the direct fire and air bombing," said Afghan general Mohaidin Ghori.

"The attacks took place at different hours of the day yesterday in different locations. There have been no casualties to civilians and our forces."

International military forces helped to remove the extremist Taliban from government in late 2001 and are fighting the insurgency led by the hardline group and joined by other radical factions.

Much of the opium that funds the insurgency grows in Helmand, and last month about 2,500 NATO and Afghan troops launched a new operation to clear Taliban fighters from the southern province.

Separately, several Taliban were killed by a joint Afghan and international patrol in the neighbouring province of Kandahar Saturday, the coalition said.

"The Afghan National Security forces spotted the enemies of Afghanistan before they could carry out their attack," said spokesman Chris Belcher.

"The patrol immediately engaged the Taliban element, killing several enemy fighters before they fled the area," the coalition spokesman said.

The coalition statements could not be independently verified.

In a further development late Sunday, the NAT0-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) dismissed claims that it killed 13 civilians during a recent air raid targeting militants planning to ambush international forces.

**Seems to me that there is not much to being an MP, freebie junkets, lie your arse off and distort facts, lose libel cases, insult farmers and the farming community. Plus you get a cushy pension and 60K a year plus in your arse pocket all paid for from the taxpayers.

Ok some more on how we are losing the war
The area around Forward Operating Base (FOB) Arnhem has seen continual fighting over the last 12 months and until recently was a Taliban stronghold. That was, until a new type of Warrior arrived in the neighbourhood, and one that is giving local villagers the confidence to come home.

Right Flank 1st Battalion Scots Guards, an armoured infantry company commanded by Major Chris Bell is the first unit in Afghanistan to be using the Warrior Armoured Fighting Vehicles on a major deployment.
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Paul Flynn
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Maybe the liar Paul Flynn MP would care to argue the facts with the MOD?

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