Obama Meets Afghan Leader Karzai

Obama Meets Afghan Leader Karzai

US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has met President Hamid Karzai while on a visit to Afghanistan.

Details of the talks have not yet been given. Mr Obama said earlier this week he would send extra US forces to the country if he is elected US president.

The senator, who flew to Kabul as part of a US congressional team, also had breakfast with US troops in the city.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain criticised him for announcing a strategy before visiting the region.

Mr Obama is later expected to visit Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and Britain.

Correspondents say the Illinois senator is hoping to address security issues, seen as the weakest aspect of his bid to win the presidency in November's election.

Opinion polls suggest Americans regard Mr McCain, senator for Arizona, as a better potential commander-in-chief.

'Shared experiences'

Mr Obama and Mr Karzai met for lunch in the presidential palace in Kabul, according to officials, but it is not known what they discussed.

In an interview with CNN last week, Mr Obama criticised Mr Karzai's government, saying it had "not gotten out of the bunker" and had done too little to rebuild the country's institutions.

However, asked ahead of his visit what message he would convey to Afghan and Iraqi leaders, Mr Obama said: "I'm more interested in listening than doing a lot of talking."

He stressed that he was visiting the region as a senator, not as president.

Mr Obama and two other senators on the trip, Republican Chuck Hagel and Democrat Jack Reed, had earlier talked to US troops over breakfast inside Camp Eggers in Kabul.

"They sat with the soldiers, shared stories with the soldiers about what is going on in Afghanistan... shared experiences," said US military spokesman Lt Col Dave Johnson.

Combat brigades

On Saturday, the opening day of Mr Obama's overseas trip, the congressional delegation visited the north-east of the country, where he met troops and US officials.

The area has seen an increase in fighting with pro-Taleban rebels in recent months, notably along the border with Pakistan.

In a speech earlier this week, Mr Obama promised to commit at least two more combat brigades - up to 10,000 men - to Afghanistan, if he wins November's election.

He also said the US military should focus on that country rather than Iraq.

Mr Obama also said he would talk to commanders in both Afghanistan and Iraq to find out about their concerns.

Correspondents say the McCain campaign will seize on every perceived misstep during Mr Obama's trip, and will also point out that Mr McCain's earlier visits to Iraq and elsewhere attracted far less public attention.

Original Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7516063.stm

Gordon Brown Calls For Iraq Hostage Release

Gordon Brown has called for the release of five British hostages held in Iraq, after the release of a video that claims that one has killed himself.

The prime minister, who is visiting Israel, described the video as "abhorrent" and said it would only add to the anguish of the men's families.

The tape, purporting to come from the kidnappers, alleges that a man known as Jason died on 25 May 2008.

The men were kidnapped in May 2007 by militants disguised as police officers.

So far, British officials say they are not able to corroborate the claims.

Discussions

Speaking between meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in Jerusalem, Mr Brown said he had discussed the kidnappings with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki during a visit to Bagdad on Saturday.

He said he had also raised the issue with "Americans and others who are active in Iraq".

Said Mr Brown: "I call on the hostage-takers to release those people who have been held in captivity immediately.

"We will work with the Iraqi government...to secure their release, and we will do everything in our power to work with all those who are in a position to help us release these hostages

"These men have suffered enough. "

Gordon Brown's call for the hostages to be released

It is understood that the man alleged to have committed suicide is the same Jason who appeared in a previous video, which was released by the kidnappers in December.

His family are said to have been informed last week.

'First warning'

The four bodyguards and a computer expert have been missing seen since they were snatched in broad daylight from at the Finance Ministry in Baghdad.

Around 40 men dressed as Iraqi police officers entered the building, while official-looking vehicles blocked the roads outside.

The bodyguards worked for security company Gardaworld and the fifth man worked for American management consultancy Bearingpoint.

A statement, claiming to come from the captors, who call themselves the Islamic Shia Resistance in Iraq, accuses the British Government of failing to respond to their messages.

"This procrastination and foot-dragging and lack of seriousness on the part of the British government has prolonged their psychological deterioration, pushing one of them, Jason, to commit suicide on 25/5/2008," said the statement.

"He surprised our brethren, who were taking care of him, with his suicide."

A video passed to the Sunday Times contained distressing news

The video also shows another British hostage, Alan, who comes from Dumbarton, appealing to the British government to meet his captors' demands for the release of prisoners.

"Physically, I'm not doing well," he says.

"Psychologically, I'm doing a lot worse.

"I want to see my family again."

But he makes no reference to Jason's alleged suicide.

Two occasions

According to the Sunday Times, an intermediary who handed the video to its representative said Jason had attempted suicide on two previous occasions.

Proof of his death would be handed over if the British government agreed to negotiate with the militants, the intermediary added.

In the previous film, dated 18 November, the militants said they would kill one of the men as a "first warning" unless the UK forces left Iraq within 10 days.

The tape, filmed in front of an "Islamic Shia Resistance in Iraq" flag, shows one man giving his name, saying he has been held for 173 days and adding: "I feel we have been forgotten."

The Foreign Secretary David Miliband has described the claims in the latest tape as "disgusting".

But he said the government remained open to working with anyone who can help free the men.

Sensitive negotiations

The hostages' friends and relatives marked the first anniversary of their capture in May by appealing for the hostages to be released.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has always maintained that sensitive negotiations for the men's release are going on behind the scenes.

One of the hostages has been identified as Peter Moore, originally from Lincoln, who was working as a computer consultant.

The identities of the four other men have not been confirmed.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner warned that there were numerous reports that his colleague Alan Johnston was killed after he was kidnapped in Gaza - all of which turned out to be inaccurate.

He added that the Iraqi captors appeared to want to do a prisoner exchange deal with the British government, and were not thought to be "bloodthirsty" in the same manner as al-Qaeda.

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