DEADLIEST WEEKEND FOR NATO AND CIVILIANS IN AFGHANISTAN....

Three Americans were among five foreign troops killed in Afghanistan on Sunday, continuing a deadly trend ahead of a presidential election this month.
The deaths were the latest in an escalation of violence which threatens to overshadow the August 20 ballot, a poll seen as a test for both Washington and Kabul after eight years of war.
The Taliban have vowed to disrupt the election and have called on Afghans to boycott the ballot, the second direct vote for president since the Islamists were toppled in 2001.




Three Americans were among five foreign troops killed in Afghanistan on Sunday, continuing a deadly trend ahead of a presidential election this month.
The deaths were the latest in an escalation of violence which threatens to overshadow the August 20 ballot, a poll seen as a test for both Washington and Kabul after eight years of war.
The Taliban have vowed to disrupt the election and have called on Afghans to boycott the ballot, the second direct vote for president since the Islamists were toppled in 2001.
A statement by NATO-led foreign forces said a patrol was hit by a roadside bomb in the east on Sunday and was then attacked with small-arms fire. The three troops were killed during the engagement with unidentified insurgents, NATO said.
U.S. military spokeswoman Lieutenant Commander Christine Sidenstricker identified the three as American. No other details were immediately available.
The International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan also said on Sunday that two soldiers were killed when their patrol was hit by two roadside bombs in the volatile south.
Sidenstricker said the two were not American.
August has so far followed the bloody trend of July, with nine foreign troops killed in the first two days. Three more Americans and a French soldier were killed on Saturday.
At least 71 foreign troops were killed in July. This included 41 U.S. troops, well above the previous monthly high of 26 in September 2008, and 22 British soldiers.
And the United Nations said on Friday 1,013 civilians had been killed between January and June this year, up from 818 in the same period last year. The Taliban and other insurgents were responsible for 59 percent of civilian deaths, a U.N. human rights report said.
Attacks this year had already reached their worst level since the removal of the Taliban and escalated after U.S. Marines and British troops launched offensives in southern Helmand province last month.
Military commanders had said a spike in casualties could be expected during the operations.
Helmand, a sprawling province of deserts, lush river valleys and mountains, has long been a Taliban stronghold and the source of most of the opium that funds the insurgency.
The offensives are the first operations under U.S. President Barack Obama's new regional strategy to defeat the Taliban and its militant Islamist allies and stabilize Afghanistan.
There have been a series of election-related attacks across the country, with one of President Hamid Karzai's campaign convoys ambushed in southeastern Ghazni on Saturday. A bodyguard was killed and a candidate for provincial elections was wounded.
The election is seen as a test of Obama's new strategy, as well as Kabul's ability to stage a legitimate and credible poll.
Karzai is seen as a clear front-runner in a field of 36 contenders. Poor security appears as one of the few election threats to the man who has ruled since 2001 and won the country's first direct vote in 2004.
A low voter turn-out in the ethnic Pashtun south, Karzai's traditional power base, could raise the possibility of a second run-off vote if no candidate gets more than 50 percent in the first round.
This would then open the way for a consolidation of rivals behind one of Karzai's main challengers, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah or former finance minister Ashraf Ghani.

Pakistan Gives US, NATO Proof On India’s Covert Links With Baitullah Mehsud

The US continues to be in denial as evident from the recent statement of Richard Holbrooke where he said the evidence Pakistan has produced on India’s links to terrorism in Balochistan is not credible. The Pakistanis have photographs and video tapes of Indian agents in Afghanistan meeting with known terrorists. Army chief Gen. Kayani has warned the Americans to stop criticizing the ISI. On his recent visit, the protocol given to Mr. Holbrooke was no longer presidential, as was the case during his previous visits. And the ISI chief has also declined to meet any US officials separately. Pakistan is getting closer to being left with no option but to limit or outright block the occupation supply lines in order to force Washington to understand it can’t ignore Pakistani regional strategic interests..
Higher Pakistani political and military authorities have handed over substantial evidence to its allies US and NATO regarding India’s involvement in aiding Baitullah Mehsud.
Well-informed sources told Online that Pakistani political and military leadership have provided documented and video tape evidence to Special US representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke and ISAF chief Lt. Gen. McChrystal of India’s covert links with Baitullah Mehsud and provision of aid to him through Indian consulate in Afghanistan.
During his recent trip to Pakistan Holbrooke was in clear-cut terms told to talk to India on this matter as Baitullah does not have resources to stand up before the army and he is clearly getting external aid. Upon this Holbrooke assured the Pakistanis that he would take up this matter with India at the diplomatic level. The Afghan government has also been told to stop the use of Indian consulates against Pakistan.
Sources further say that Pakistan for the first time has made it clear to US and NATO that it is need of hour to halt foreign aid to terrorist elements in order to show results in the so-called war against terrorism.
The full range of anti-Pakistan terrorism from Afghanistan. The Indians are involved. But there is als0 concernThat some people in CIA and Pentagon are meddling in Pakistan without the full knowledge of the rest of the US government.
On the other hand, Islamabad has made it clear to US that Washington needs to share relevant information with Pakistani intelligence agencies regarding the movement of Baitullah Mehsud along with pictures taken from satellites and drones.
Pakistani Officials have also expressed their sheer reservations regarding directly targeting Baitullah Mehsud and have urged that drone attacks must be halted immediately as innocent lives are being lost because of it.
Sources say that Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani in his recent visits to the US has number of times made it clear to Richard Holbrooke and General McChrystal to stop criticizing ISI concerning support of Taliban as it could result in major difference between the two countries. He made it clear there were no sympathizers of Baitullah within the army
Military sources further added that despite numerous briefings US Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Admiral Mike Mullen is not refraining from lambasting ISI and the ISI chief is also maintaining his policy of not meeting the US authorities separately

AL-QAIDA ATTEMPTS TO INFILTRATE MI5

Al-Qaida sympathizers have attempted to infiltrate British security service MI5 during its recent campaign to recruit more agents from diverse backgrounds.
A number of potential infiltrators were weeded out during a six-to-eight months vetting process which followed their application to join the organization, The Guardian newspaper quoted security sources as saying.










A key part of the huge recruitment drive has been to employ more people from ethnic minority backgrounds to bolster the agency's counter-terrorism capability. Around 100,000 candidates have applied for just 400 jobs.

Staff numbers are expected to grow by more than 50 percent during the next two years to 3,500, with more than half devoted to counter-terrorism.

According to the BBC, tens of thousands of people annually apply to join MI5, but only a handful in comparison make it through to final selection. Applicants' backgrounds and sympathies are intensively investigated.

Created in 1909 as the British security intelligence agency, MI5 is responsible for protecting Britain against covertly organized threats to national security, which include terrorism, espionage and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.