Afghan Leader Seeks Help With Troops UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai called on world leaders Tuesday to provide more help in strengthening his country's military and police forces to battle resurgent Taliban militants. "The war against those who continue to pose a threat to the security of our people will continue unabated," he said in a speech at the U.N. General Assembly. He requested greater international assistance to help train Afghan security forces "to take a leading role" in protecting the country. While Karzai praised the U.S. for helping Afghanistan build its security forces to their present capabilities, he also urged international forces to avoid the unintentional killings of civilians. "I emphasize the need for maximum caution on the part of international forces operating in Afghanistan, as well as increased coordination with Afghan authorities, in order to avoid civilian casualties," Karzai said. More than 4,400 people — mostly militants — have died in insurgency-related violence this year, according to an Associated Press count based on figures from Afghan and Western officials. Last month, Karzai said after a meeting with President Bush that the U.S. leader shares his concerns about the mounting number of Afghan casualties. Militants often wear civilian dress and seek shelter in villagers' homes, making it hard to differentiate the enemy from the innocent. In the past two years, the number of terrorist attacks have increased in Afghanistan, as well as the degree of brutality with which they are carried out, Karzai said Tuesday, emphasizing that the country has only been a victim and not a perpetrator of the problem. "Terrorism was never, nor is it today, a homegrown phenomenon in Afghanistan," Karzai said. In August, Karzai participated with Pakistan's President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in a four-day "peace jirga" in Kabul. In his speech, he called the event "a promising step ... in our common fight against terrorism and extremism." Karzai said another priority of the government would be to curb Afghanistan's drug trade by providing alternative livelihoods to farmers who grow poppy crops and increasing the implementation of other strategies including poppy eradication.
An ISAF humvee overlooks Khost, Afghanistan.
The United Nations Security Council has voted 14–0 to extend the mandate of the  (ISAF) in Afghanistan by another year.

The resolution says the Security Council agreed to, "extend the authorization of the International Security Assistance Force, as defined in resolutions 1386 (2001) and 1510 (2003), for a period of 12 months beyond October 13, 2007."

Although Russia has veto power on the Security Council, it abstained during the 14-0 vote on September 19th.  

Russian Ambassador to the United Nations, , told ''RIA Novosti'' Russia abstained because of what he called, "the unexpected inclusion in the document of a sentence expressing appreciation to NATO ....  "including its maritime interdiction component." "

Part of Resolution 1776 (2007) reads, "Expressing its appreciation for the leadership provided by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and for the contributions of many nations to ISAF and to the OEF coalition, including its maritime interdiction component."

Media reports indicate this section of the resolution provides support to Japan in a domestic dispute in that country over refueling of U.S. and other ships in the Indian Ocean.  Japanese government spokesperson, Kaoru Yosano, told ''Reuters'' the resolution was welcome, adding, "It is very important that Japan's refueling activity was evaluated highly by the United Nations and members of the U.N. Security Council."

"A decision was made to give priority to domestic considerations of some members of the United Nations," Churkin told ''Agence France Presse''. "The unity of the Security Council has been sacrificed to undue haste."

Even before the Security Council vote, Japanese officials hoped the resolution would clear the way to extend a naval mission assisting U.S.-led Afghanistan military operations, showing support for Washington and averting a conflict in the Japanese in parliament as a new government begins its mandate there.

The leader of Japan's main opposition Democratic Party, Ichiro Ozawa, has opposed extending Japan's mission to refuel coalition ships in the Indian Ocean, in part because he says the activities lack a direct U.N. imprimatur.

Although expressing concerns about the resolution, and calling for future decisions on the issue to be made "by consensus", China supported the resolution.

The resolution extends the ISAF mission mandate under Chapter VII of the  until October 13, 2008.

Expressing its concern about all civilian casualties, the resolution, condemns "in the strongest terms all attacks, including Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks, suicide attacks and abductions, targeting civilians and Afghan and international forces and their deleterious effect on the stabilization, reconstruction and development efforts in Afghanistan," as well as "the use by the Taliban and other extremist groups of civilians as human shields."

The resolution also calls for ISAF coalition members to, "sustain their efforts to train and empower the National Police and other Afghan forces."  

ISAF currently has approximately 39,000 troops deployed in Afghanistan.  Its mission, as stated on the ISAF web page, is to, "conduct military operations in the assigned area of operations to assist the Government of Afghanistan in the establishment and maintenance of a safe and secure environment with full engagement of Afghan National Security Forces, in order to extend government authority and influence, thereby facilitating Afghanistan's reconstruction and contributing to regional stability."