Security

BERLIN, Nov 28 (IPS) - With the majority of international troops expected to withdraw over the next three years, there are growing doubts over donors' commitments to continue to support Afghanistan, one of the poorest countries in the world. German politicians and experts say the fears are legitimate, and that Afghanistan should take full advantage of the Dec. 5 international Foreign Ministers Conference on Afghanistan to secure a strong commitment from donor countries.

"You should make sure that in Bonn the cheques will be signed," Frithjof Schmidt, a member of the German parliament for Alliance 90/The Greens, recommended to Afghan politicians and members of civil society at a Nov. 23 international forum in Berlin organised by the green think tank and international policy network Heinrich Böll Foundation. Schmidt urged western donors to commit to continued civilian aid after the pullout of international troops, set to be complete by the end of 2014. Afghanistan should not undergo what other conflict regions have painfully experienced: the decline of development aid after the withdrawal of foreign troops, he said. "We must guarantee a responsible handover of responsibility for security," said Ambassador Michael Steiner, Germany's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"We should not leave ruins of engagement." Time for self-criticism Steiner and Schmidt acknowledged the general perception that there will be no military solution to the Afghan civil war and that focussing on military aid has proved to be a mistake. "The last decade of international presence in Afghanistan has been a history of fatal misjudgements and missed chances," Schmidt said. For years Afghan and international NGOs have warned that the military rationale has increased the insecurity in the country and undermined the positive gains of the previous ten years in the fields of education, health and infrastructure.

From the very beginning the western allies committed serious mistakes, said Francesc Vendrell, former UN/EU Special Representative to Afghanistan. "In the difficult Afghan setting it's important to take advantage of the few materialising opportunities," he told IPS. "This has not happened."

Two "cardinal mistakes" he mentioned were the decision by western countries to include Afghan warlords in the government and the sidelining of the United Nations. In his point of view the reduced U.N. participation in the peace process has created more space for combat-ready actors like NATO and the United States, whose pretext for invading Afghanistan was to fight the Taliban for harbouring Al Qaeda. Because of their neutrality, the U.N. would be the best facilitators of talks with the Taliban and others in Afghanistan, who are essential for peace, Vendrell said.

The Bonn conference is being held much too early, Vendrell criticised. Without clear positions on the part of the actors involved, the conference will be a "waste of money," he said. The Dec. 5 conference, presided by Afghanistan and hosted by Germany, will be attended by delegations from more than 90 countries. Since the withdrawal plans were announced in 2010, Afghans have feared that they will be left in the lurch, Aziz Rafiee, director of the Afghanistan Civil Society Forum- organisation (ACSFo), told IPS. He complained that NATO and the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) will leave his country without having achieved the preconditions for the pullout.

For years, Afghan and international NGOs have called for a correction of the huge disparity between military and civilian aid. "Now that the international community doesn't see any chance of a military victory, it's hastily withdrawing its troops," he said. Lost resources Rafiee estimates that since the overturn of the Taliban in 2001, the military costs of NATO and ISAF have added up to one trillion dollars, with the U.S. accounting for 525 billion dollars, the EU for 400 billion dollars and the other ISAF partners for 100 billion dollars. "The government of Hamid Karzai insists that it has received 29 billion dollars. The West (the U.S. and EU) speaks of 79 billion dollars being transferred through Kabul. Even if we assume 100 billion dollars, that's just one-tenth of the military aid," noted Rafiee. "With one trillion dollars in development aid we could have been much more fair." That seems fatally true especially in the case of the Afghan security forces, which will take on the task of protecting the Afghan people in 2014 but are much too weak to fight the armed opposition groups. Taliban fighters regularly demonstrate their strength by killing international troops. And they already control more than half of the country.

The ACSFo director pointed to a study by the German Technical Cooperation agency (GTZ - now GIZ) which reports that an ISAF soldier on duty in Afghanistan costs 4,200 dollars a day, while the monthly pay for an Afghan soldier amounts to merely 400 dollars a month. "Extensive training of Afghan forces would have translated into lower military costs for western countries," Rafiee said. The German Institute of Economic Research (DIW) in Berlin puts the economic costs of Germany's ten-year participation in the Afghan war at 17 billion euros - three times what the government was officially supposed to pay. And the DIW estimates that by late 2014, the total cost of participation will jump to at least 22 billion euros.

The vast majority of Germans - between 70 and 80 percent, according to opinion polls - disapprove of the military participation in Afghanistan, where 50 German soldiers have been killed so far. Believe in Afghan abilities "After the fantasies of almightiness have failed" - western politicians and military leaders were sure that the fight against Al Qaeda would last no more than two or three years - "time for modesty in target-setting has come," the diplomat Steiner said at the Berlin forum on Nov. 23.

He also recommended being more confident in Afghanistan's abilities. Fazel Rabi Haqbeen of the Asia Foundation told IPS that "western donor countries tend to pursue a top-down approach, ignoring the abilities of local and religious institutions, especially in the countryside. There are local structures that do work," he said. "They should not be disqualified." The Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR) underlines that the sustainability of development services also depends on the capability to help to ensure that development projects benefit from local knowledge. "The violation of culture is a mistake," ACBAR Director Anne Garella told IPS. "Quick decisions have proved to be unsustainable. On the local level it's necessary to be patient and 'drink a lot of tea'."

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 21, 2011 - Coalition and Afghan forces today seized weapons and drug caches in southern and eastern Afghanistan following two days of multiple engagements with insurgent fighters, military officials reported.

A coalition security force discovered a weapons cache while conducting a patrol in the Marja district of Helmand province today. The cache consisted of 700 7.62 mm rounds, nine 9 mm rounds, two assault rifles and five magazines. The weapons were seized by the security force to be destroyed later.

In the Maiwand district of Kandahar province, a combined Afghan and coalition security force destroyed a 550-pound cache of marijuana while on patrol.

Another combined force, acting on a local Afghan's tip, found and destroyed 17 80 mm mortar rounds in the Bagram district of Parwan province.

On Nov. 19, a combined force captured a Taliban ammunition and explosives supplier in Zabul province's Qalat district. An additional suspect was detained.

In other Nov. 19 operations:

-- A coalition force detained numerous suspected insurgents in Marja after receiving information that insurgents were at a compound in the area. After the force called for the men to come out peacefully, the insurgents emerged and were detained without incident.

-- In Helmand's Kajaki district, a combined force detained multiple suspected insurgents during an operation in search of a Taliban member who coordinates the movement of supplies for insurgents there. The security force confiscated roadside bombs and bomb-making materials.

-- A combined force operating in Paktia province's Zurmat district captured a Taliban roadside bomb coordinator and an additional suspect.

-- In the Behsud district of Nangarhar province, a combined force detained numerous suspected insurgents during an operation in search of an al-Qaida member who transports insurgent fighters and supplies from Nangarhar to Kunar province.

In Nov. 18 operations:

-- During a combined operation to search for an al-Qaida trainer and courier in the Sayyidabad district of Wardak province, a shooter engaged the security force with small-arms fire from inside a building. The force returned fire, killing the man, then detained two suspected insurgents and destroyed multiple weapons, including bomb-making materials, firearms, grenades and ammunition.

-- A coalition force acting on a tip in Marja found and seized five rocket-propelled grenades, 40 rounds of small-arms ammunition and 30 feet of detonation cord.

-- A Taliban leader planning large-scale attacks in Kandahar province was captured there by a combined Afghan and coalition security force.

-- International Security Assistance Force officials are investigating a firefight that broke out in the Ghazni district of Ghazni province when insurgents fired on a combined Afghan and coalition security force at an Afghan security forces checkpoint. Engaged with rocket-propelled grenades, mortar and small-arms fire, the force requested air support. After multiple attempts to identify themselves as friendly forces, the force was unable to stop the threat and engaged the checkpoint in self-defense, killing two people. Afghan police responded to assess the situation and render medical care. Three additional personnel were wounded.

-- A coalition patrol in Helmand's Kajaki district found and destroyed an 82 mm mortar and 17 rocket-propelled grenades.

-- A combined force captured a Haqqani network leader who planned suicide-bomb attacks in the Bak district of Khost province. The security force detained two additional suspects.

-- In Khost's Terayzai district, a combined force detained multiple suspected insurgents and seized various weapons during an operation in search of a Haqqani network coordinator.

-- A combined force in Khost's Sperah district detained multiple suspected insurgents during an operation in search of a Haqqani network leader who directs the movement of senior Haqqani leaders and distributes weapons, vehicles and munitions.

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2011 - National Security Advisor Tom Donilon discussed the administration's "all-in" Asia strategy during a press conference in Indonesia today.

Donilon said the president's weeklong engagements with Asian leaders culminating in the East Asia Summit "is the implementation of a substantial and important reorientation in American global strategy."

The summit has occurred annually since 2005, with the United States and Russia participating for the first time this year along with Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Vietnam, India and China.

Donilon noted that from the president's hosting of the 19th annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' meeting in Honolulu through a trip to Canberra and Darwin in Australia and culminating with the summit in Bali, Obama worked this week with 25 nations "in the fastest-growing economic region in the world," and attended formal bilateral meetings with 10 countries' heads of state.

A White House fact sheet on the summit noted while the gathering's traditional agenda includes regional concerns such as education, finance, energy and the environment, Obama called for discussions on security topics including maritime cooperation and nuclear nonproliferation. The president also pledged support to advance humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in the region.

Donilon said the administration has worked for three years on a strategic rebalancing of what officials viewed as an "underweighted" U.S. involvement in Asia.

"We set about, through three lines of quite specific work, to address that underweighting," he said.

Donilon outlined those approaches: strengthening alliances and security partnerships; engaging with emerging regional power centers such as China, India and Indonesia; and participating in and helping to form regional, multilateral economic, diplomatic and security institutions.

The president has given "clear guidance" that the United States will allocate the resources to maintain a strong security presence in Asia, Donilon said, in the midst of what he described as a $489 billion spending reduction over 10 years.

"With Asia, that means being all in, and doing the things that are required here with the resources that are necessary," the national security advisor said.

"From our perspective, we've been able to positively advance each of the key goals that we had for the course of this trip," he added. "And I think that's been in the U.S. interest."

Defense-related announcements during Obama's Asia trip included an agreement with Australia to establish a rotational deployment of Marines to train with Australian military forces and a transfer and upgrade of 24 Excess Defense Article F-16s to the Indonesian air force.

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2011 - A car bomb smashed into an International Security Assistance Force convoy in Kabul today killing 13 coalition personnel, NATO officials said.

Five of the dead are service members, and eight are ISAF civilian employees. The attack injured several Afghans and coalition personnel as well as innocent Afghan civilian.

News reports out of Kabul say the Taliban took credit for the car bomb attack, and reports indicate the car ran into what is popularly called a Rhino -- essentially an armored bus.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was informed of the convoy attack soon after it happened. "His heart goes out to those who were killed and wounded, and to their families," said Pentagon Press Secretary George Little. "Continuing our aggressive pursuit of the enemy will honor their sacrifice, and he is determined that the United States  working closely with our Afghan and NATO partners  will do precisely that."

A second attack in southern Afghanistan took the lives of three more coalition personnel and wounded others when a man wearing an Afghan National Army uniform shot the soldiers.

ISAF Commander U.S. Marine Gen. John R. Allen condemned today's terrorist attacks.

"I am both saddened and outraged by the attacks that took place today against coalition forces and the people of Afghanistan," Allen said in a written release. "The enemies of peace are not martyrs, but murderers. To hide the fact that they are losing territory, support and the will to fight, our common enemy continues to employ suicide attackers to kill innocent Afghan fathers, mothers, sons and daughters, as well as the coalition forces who have volunteered to protect them."

Allen also mentioned a suicide attack launched by a young girl who walked into a building housing the National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan's internal intelligence service, in the eastern province of Kunar. The girl killed herself and wounded several NDS personnel.

"My thoughts and prayers are with the families of those killed and injured in today's attacks," Allen said. "Their sacrifices will be honored and the enemy will be held to account."

UPDATE

The seven soldiers wounded in Saturday’s shooting at Forward Operating Base Pacemaker in northern Kandahar province are currently being prepared for aero-medical transfer to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany in the coming days.

Medical specialists working at the Bagram Medical Facility have reassessed the status of the soldier with the most significant wounds.  Overnight his condition has improved from life-threatening.

Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Ash Power said the improvement in the soldier’s medical status was encouraging and testament to the skills and experience of the medical staff in ISAF’s health care facilities.

“I’m very pleased that his condition has improved but he, and several of his mates, remain in a serious condition,” Lieutenant General Power said.

“We’re monitoring their status closely and working with our coalition partners to ensure they are getting the best possible care.”

Lieutenant General Power said senior Australian mentors at Forward Operating Base Pacemaker were now working closely with their Afghan National Army colleagues to develop a plan to recommence formal mentoring in the next few days.

“Afghan commanders made the decision that members of the Afghan National Army's 6th Kandak are no longer confined to their barracks and have recommenced administrative tasks and training within its confines,” he said.

“We expect that Afghan commanders will make the decision to re-issue combat equipment and weapons this week so that operations can resume.”

Defence has also ensured that ADF personnel involved in this incident have been provided the appropriate mental, pastoral and welfare care.

Planning is also underway to return Captain Duffy, Corporal Birt and Lance Corporal Gavin to their families in Australia.

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