European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 9, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                              Page 4 stars and stripes edition Petraeus warns of mini let in next few months by Robert Reid the associated press Iraq sunni extremists May try a series of High profile attacks ahead of a september report to Congress on Progress in the top com Mander said recalling the tet offensive that torpedoed support for the Vietnam we expect they will try this pull off a variety of sensational at tacks and grab the headlines to create a David Petraeus the 1968 Viet Cong and North vietnamese tet offensive failed to achieve most of its tactical but it shattered political support for the Vietnam War among the Petraeus and ambassador Ryan Crocker Are to present a re port to Congress by 15 on the situation in several re publicans say if Progress is not made by they May Call for a new strategy in the general would not say what he and Crocker plan to Tell con Gress in the but he added that the two top american officials in Iraq have a responsibility to produce our assessment of the implications of different he would not but other generals have warned in recent weeks against drawing Down american troops too rapidly before iraqi Security forces can Petraeus also would not say what measures he would take to prevent a spate of spectacular at he spoke at a Camp on the Edge of which had been the self declared capital of an Al Aida front the islamic state of on a suicide truck bomber hit an outdoor killing and wounding in the shiite town of 60 Miles North of the night be a suicide bomber hit a Funer Al in a kurdish shiite Village Northeast of killing the attacks suggested Al Aida militants and other sunni insurgents have moved further to avoid troops and strike where Security is troops have gone on the of Robert David talks to commanders saturday in pensive in bad Cuba and have gained control of the Western half of the forces have also launched an offensive in areas South of where Al Aida and other sunni insurgents Are believed to Rig car bombs that strike in the if troops can drive the extremists away from strategic areas around they Hope to minimize attacks in the capital that draw International Petraeus said there had been Progress in restoring stability in some areas of the Nota Bly Anbar where sunni sheiks have turned against last troops killed 35 insurgents in what command ers believe was an attempt to rein filtrate the Anbar Provin Cial where extremist at tacks have dropped at the National government reconciliation efforts among shiite and kurdish politicians have faltered because of deep differences on some of the is including sharing Oil wealth and regional Are at the Core of the Iraq at the National Progress to Foster True reconciliation is still a work in Petraeus in some respects we should recognize that these issues Are that they Are doing it in an environment shaped by very bad sectarian violence last special Ops Soldier killed in Mali incident a Soldier from special operations was killed saturday in a Weathe relat de incident in the european command said the Soldier was working with the trans Sahara counter terror ism which seeks to help Nigeria and Senegal con front terrorist three other soldiers were injured in the incident and were being transported to a medical facility in Turkina for the names of the soldiers Are being withheld pending next of Kin from the associated press july 2007 Load it up left Ryan of Leesburg loads 30 my rounds on an Apache helicopter recently at Basra air station in below Matthew Shetton helps Mathis Load weapons systems on the the army has joined British forces at the contingency operating base in Basra by supplying six Apache helicopters to assist in operation around the multinational division South photos by Dan of the British army afghan counter narcotics minister quits by Jason Straziuso the associated press stans counter narcotics minister has resigned Only weeks after afghan labourers finished cultivating an opium poppy crop that could exceed last years record Habibullah Maderis Resigna confirmed by a Deputy minis Ter comes As the and afghan officials debate privately whether to use herbicides to re Duce the drug afghan president Hamid Karzai rejected that approach for the 2007 growing partly be cause some afghans fear the chemicals could affect legitimate crops and drinking fears the says Are in much of the profit from the country billion drug Trade is believed to fund Taliban fighters waging a violent Campaign against the government officials said Sun Day that recent clashes Between police and insurgents left 11 suspected militants dead in the while Taliban fighters kidnapped a local Leader from his Home and shot him to Qaderi submitted his Resigna Tion to the president about five Days said the Deputy the Resigna Tion was voluntary and driven in part by health he though Qaderi has taken a new position in Canada As Afghanistan consulate Karzai has not named a replace Qaderi headed the ministry since december 2004 and sur Vived several Cabinet but Afghanistan poppy crop has ballooned under his watch and the country production last year accounted for More than 90 percent of the worlds heroin Western and officials have said this years Harvest could equal or exceed last years record the has proposed spraying the crops with herbicide As it does with coca plants in where the current ambassador to William previously Dan the top Gener Al in charge of Natoley troops has said he expects Western soldiers to step up efforts to com Bat the drug though they would not be involved in manual eradication of poppy Fields that afghan officials now carry out with the help of Western Taliban fighters Are believed to tax and protect poppy Farmers and drug report Rumsfeld nixed 05 strike in Pakistan stars and stripes a secret military operation in Early 2005 to Cap Ture senior members of Al Aida in Pakistan trib Al areas was aborted at the last minute alter top Bush administration officials decided it was too risky and could jeopardize relations with the new York times reported citing intelligence and military the times wrote that the target was a meeting of Al Aida leaders that intelligence officials thought included Ayman Osama bin Laden top Deputy and the Man believed to run the terrorist groups but the Mission was called off after Donald then the defense rejected an j it hour Appeal by Porter then the director of the Central intelligence officials Navy seals in Parachute gear had boarded c130 cargo planes in Afghanistan when Mission was a former senior Tot Flugence official involved in the planning told the Rumsfeld decided against the operation when it ballooned from a Small number of military person Nel and Cia operatives to several current and former officials told the he was also concerned that it could cause a rift with the officials Are reported As the decision frustrated some Fop tote Tience officials and members of the military secret Spe Cial operations who say the states missed a significant Opportunity to try to capture senior Al Aida the tunes it is unclear whether president gush was in formed about the planned accorto to the