New fighting force, same
Afghanistan By Dad Noorani
KABUL - Two weeks ago, the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO) took over command of
insurgency-plagued southern Afghanistan from the
United States, and the top general warned that he
would "strike ruthlessly" against Taliban rebels
when necessary.
British Lieutenant-General
David Richards indicated that the International
Security Assistance Force (ISAF) under NATO
command would continue to use the heavy firepower
the coalition had employed in recent months in
response to an escalation in militant attacks. "We
will retain the capability and will to strike
ruthlessly at the enemies of Afghanistan when
required," he said.
But is this all it
will take to defeat the insurgents? In the past
week, 12 Afghan policemen, including a senior
officer traveling in
two
trucks, were killed in a mistaken attack by a
coalition plane in the southeastern province of
Paktika.
The coalition spokesman at the
main Bagram base, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul
Fitzpatrick, insisted the two trucks belonged to
Taliban trying to flee the area after an
engagement with a joint patrol of the Afghan
National Army (ANA) and coalition forces.
On Friday, a day after the incident, he
said: "Coalition forces are confident that the
trucks destroyed by the aircraft were the same two
trucks fleeing the site of the attack on the joint
coalition patrol." He promised that the coalition
would cooperate with Afghan authorities on an
investigation.
But provincial authorities
did not wait. On Saturday, Paktika Governor Dr
Akram Khpalwak said the probe had been completed,
and the report would be submitted to Afghan
President Hamid Karzai. The families of the slain
policemen had received 50,000 afghanis (US$994) as
compensation, he said. The president has ordered
more assistance.
Karzai, who reacted
swiftly to the killing, said in a statement: "I am
extremely saddened by this tragic incident and I
want an immediate investigation to find out what
exactly happened. I have repeatedly asked the
coalition forces to take maximum caution while
carrying out operations."
Since deployment
to Afghanistan three years ago in the north and
west, ISAF has gradually expanded its presence.
Its new mission in southern Afghanistan -
considered the most dangerous and challenging -
coincides with the deadliest surge in fighting in
Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.
NATO's priorities include maintaining
security, extending the central government's
authority and speeding up the reconstruction
process. It will consult and coordinate all its
activities with the Afghan government and the
international community and will evaluate its
strategy every other month.
This is where
the US-led coalition failed. This decision of NATO
is likely to go well with the Afghan government
and public.
NATO officials declared that
they would not engage in counter-terrorism
operations, but would assist the reconstruction
process and strongly react to those who intend to
disrupt the efforts aimed at extending and
strengthening the Afghan government's authority.
But the key question many Afghans ask is
whether NATO countries are capable and willing
enough to win the war against the insurgents and
their local and foreign backers.
This
would include taking on the drug mafia and some
neighboring countries and getting tough with
Karzai over corruption in the government. But
NATO's greatest difficulty in the south lies in
ending foreign support for the insurgents.
The Western alliance is unlikely to defeat
its battle-hardened foes by simply chasing them in
the Afghan villages. The net has to be cast much
wider. The fact that massive insecurity in the
south is directly linked to cross-border
infiltration by insurgent and terrorist elements
from across the Durand Line (border with Pakistan)
is well accepted inside Afghanistan and in
international diplomatic and military circles.
Foreign support for the Taliban must end
for security to improve inside Afghanistan. The
time is running out and polite diplomatic
protestation must be replaced by a more robust
action on the part of the international community.
The other front where Afghanistan must
focus urgent attention is to strengthen the
public's confidence and trust in the ability of
domestic and international forces and other state
institutions to provide security and
reconstruction in the south. The people are eager
to be liberated from the tyranny of rebels and
extreme poverty.
Up to now, neither
foreign nor Afghan security forces have
systematically ventured out into most parts of
southern Afghanistan. The provincial
reconstruction teams have largely been deployed to
safer areas in the north and west of the country.
Much like the Soviets before them, the
international forces are largely confined to large
bases in big cities from where they conduct ad hoc
military operations against the insurgents. As
soon as they are gone, the insurgents are back in
business. With its expansion to the south, NATO
has been presented with an opportunity to change
all this.
