There were some 2,000 of us under a massive tent at the Polytechnic University in the western part of Kabul Wednesday morning:  1,600 delegates, members of the media and assorted foreign dignitaries.  (Some of my media colleagues came in late because:  1. we had to sit on the buses forever before the drivers took us to the event and 2. organizers split us into small groups for the long and thorough security process.)

Early in Mr. Karzai’s speech to open the three-day peace assembly, an explosion sounded outside the tent, briefly interrupting the president.  Watch how the situation evolved (also, click here for more info, along with my immediate phone interview with VOA’s Sarah Williams):

Everyone reacted calmly to the initial rocket, but the situation changed after President Karzai’s speech.

As my colleagues and I scrambled to conduct interviews with delegates outside the main tent, a piercing whistle sounded directly overhead.  My initial thought in the split second I heard the sound was “fireworks,” but then logic quickly hit me.  Instantly, I grabbed the camera and tripod (despite my interviewee still being attached by microphone), ducked and looked up, but by that time, we heard the explosion.

I understand that this rocket exploded closer than the first one.  Below is the picture I captured from the media center overlooking the jirga campus. 

The long white structure in the middle is the main jirga tent.  I’m told that the second rocket exploded near the outer green fence, close to the guard tower.

As you can see in my video above, jirga organizers were quick to usher journalists out, much to the amusement of delegates walking calmly among us.

It was a constant battle:  us journalists trying to talk to delegates and shoot video of the exterior of the event, and organizers and Afghan security forces rushing us away.

You could argue they were doing it for our safety.  Which is no doubt true… up to a point.  Once they took us outside the barricades of the jirga campus, they left us standing in the middle of a completely exposed parking lot.  The handful of Afghan policemen there seemed pretty unconcerned by the gunfire ringing out down the street.

I will give the organizers this though… while the buses took some time to show up, the drivers felt no need to hang around.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBiJJP6znJs

We also discussed a point that Shaikh says international debates are not covering enough: the Pakistan-India dynamic.

The two nuclear powers have fought three wars against each other over the years.  Now, India is a major donor in Afghanistan, and Shaikh says Pakistani officials suspect India has strengthened its influence in the war-torn country.

The former foreign secretary also says Pakistanis worry that there is a shortage of troops on their eastern border.

A large number of the Pakistani army’s fighting force is now concentrated in the country’s western regions battling Taliban militants.  Shaikh says that if the United States had its way, more Pakistani troops would battle along that border, especially in the North Waziristan tribal area where Jalaluddin Haqqani’s Taliban network is centered.

Coalition commanders say the Haqqani network is a major cause of instability in eastern Afghanistan.  These Taliban fighters fled Afghanistan following the U.S.-led invasion, and now operate largely with impunity from the Pakistani military.

I asked Shaikh if Pakistan views the Haqqani network as a strategic asset in Afghanistan in order to counterbalance India’s influence.

Shaikh replied that Jalaluddin Haqqani was “the most capable commander by my reckoning in the resistance against the Soviets and was certainly someone that the Americans talked to in the aftermath of 9/11.”  He added that the fighting situation could make for “strange bedfellows” if the future of the Haqqani network remains at the forefront of Pakistan’s relationships with Afghanistan and the United States.

——————————————————————————————-

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani says the military operation targeting Taliban militants in the South Wazirstan tribal region is over.

Pahari Sahib, Wikimedia Commons

Mr. Gilani told reporters that Pakistan’s military is now focusing on the Orakzai tribal region in an effort to chase the Pakistani Taliban leadership that is believed to have fled there from South Waziristan.  Once fully launched, the operation in Orakzai will be the third major offensive against the Pakistani Taliban this year.

Here is a breakdown of the situation:

Part 1 –  How has Pakistan’s offensive against the Taliban evolved in 2009?

Part 2 — How successful has the military been?

Part 3 — How have the militants responded?

Part 4 — How is the public responding to the offensive?

U.S. officials have commended the Pakistani government for launching the South Waziristan operation.  But as the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan strengthens, Washington continues to urge Islamabad to expand its operations to take on the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida agents believed to be based in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region.

The former security chief of the tribal regions, retired Brigadier-General Mahmood Shah, tells me that the United States’ priorities are very different than Pakistan’s.  The United States wants Pakistan to focus on militants that are part of a global network of terrorists.  But Shah says Pakistan wants to focus on its immediate threat: militants it believes have launched a series of high-profile attacks across the country.  Since the beginning of October, these attacks have killed more than 500 people.

If you click the map above, you can see that North Waziristan is between South Waziristan and the Orakzai tribal regions.  I told Shah it appears the militants escaped from South Waziristan through its northern neighbor — where the United States wants Pakistan to focus its forces.

Shah says the militants Pakistan is targeting have always had a presence in Orakzai.  He says the military chose to attack the Pakistani Taliban’s base in South Waziristan before broadening its campaign.  He says that he believes his country will be in a better position to help the United States and its allies once it takes care of its domestic insurgency.

Click here for the story.

During his speech, President Obama explained the purpose of more troops is to break the Taliban’s momentum in the country and help lay the foundation for transitioning command from the coalition to Afghan security forces.

Mr. Obama also sought to reassure Afghans that the United States has no interest in taking over their country.  He said America seeks to isolate those who destroy and strengthen those who build in Afghanistan.  Watch my story below to see how Afghans reacted to the U.S. president:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Sg08MrqXoU

Mr. Obama also had a message for the Afghan government: The time for writing “blank checks” is over.  U.S. officials have long warned Afghan President Hamid Karzai that he must address government corruption during his new five-year term.  The day before President Obama’s announcement, Afghan lawmaker Daud Sultanzoi told me that he thought the new U.S. strategy is premature.

Click here for the story.

Mr. Obama also promised that the United States will not abandon the region.  He said that ultimately, America wants to be a partner with Afghanistan and not a patron.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=O23lwnuSmas

It appears Mr. Karzai is working fast to make good on at least some his promises.  Late Sunday, his office issued a decree asking Afghanistan’s High Office of Oversight and Anti-corruption to prepare for a national conference within one month.  The conference will bring together Afghan government officials, analysts and members of Afghan civil societies to discuss how to combat government corruption.

However, the make-up of this conference does beg the question: How can you find effective ways to combat government corruption when you are inviting government officials to participate?  The conference’s findings should be interesting.

Mr. Karzai has made numerous pledges to tackle the issue, but the problem
has deteriorated since he first took office in early 2002.  Transparency International released a poll last week that showed Afghanistan is now perceived to be the second-most corrupt country in the world behind Somalia.

Also in his inaugural address, President Karzai reached out to militants without links to international terrorism to help in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. But following the tightly-guarded inauguration ceremony, it seemed the militants gave their response. Afghan officials said a suicide bomber in the south of the country killed 10 civilians and wounded 13 others.  A separate bombing also the same day killed two U.S. soldiers in eastern Zabul province.

There were several other attacks in the days that followed, including an assassination attempt on an influential member of parliament, a suicide bombing, roadside bombings and a rocket attack near the Serena Hotel in Kabul.

President Karzai said it is his goal to have Afghan forces take the lead for all security operations by the end of his new five-year term.  Judging by the continued violence, it may be a long five years.