There has been a dramatic fall in the number of trained Afghan soldiers leaving the Afghan National Army (ANA) over last couple of years, according to top military training officer in Afghanistan.
Addressing international journalists in Brussels through a video link-up with Kabul, Robert W. Cone, the commanding general of Combined Security Transition – Afghanistan said, “Probably 18 months to two years ago we had an AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave) rate that was over 20 percent, which is totally unacceptable in a modern army. Today, as we speak, I think that number is actually below eight percent and the Afghans continue to work this very hard.”
Stressing the strong ties Afghan youth have with their families, the General said that during the leave programme there are delays, explaining a new pragmatic approach to address the problem.
“We call it a managed leave programme where every Afghan soldier, just like every western soldier, knows when his next break is going to be and then can take it - it’s complicated here, of course, because the banking system is not that mature and often they have to carry that money home to their families.
“A large number of Afghans will go on leave during the Eid period, and a significant number will come back. It’s normally a transportation delay that they can’t get back from where they went home to and they can’t get back in time, so they’ll show up several days or a week late because of transportation problems.
“In many ways, they’re very much like western soldiers in terms of their expectations of care by their chain of command.”
Outlining an optimistic future for the ANA, he said, “Their goal and objective is to assume responsibility for their own security as quickly as we can get them properly manned and equipped.”
General Cone told journalists, “They have been under development now for over six years and they are now at a strength of about 51,000 troops in the fielded force, and another 10,000 that are currently in training, in the training centres across this country.”
Coming to the police department, General Cone minced no words in admitting the tough challenges faced by that sector now and ahead. “The police development lags behind the army some number of years. The police problem is much more complicated in its nature because it’s constantly in interaction with the people and frankly there are many more opportunities for corruption and inappropriate activity. “The history of policing in Afghanistan is problematic. And many of the police in the past have been members of former militias and had not had the kind of training and professional education that we as westerners find acceptable in a modern police force.”
Pointing out ways to root out corruption, the General said, “Things like pay reform, ensuring that the police are paid adequately so they are not prone to what is known as one-handedcorruption, which is that they don’t make enough money and so therefore they must attempt to gain money illegally.”
Making repeated stressed requests for “police trainers,” the General said, “We need additional police trainers to assist us to broaden this programme. Fifty-two districts in a nation where there’s 364 is where we require additional assistance... some of them have already stepped forward, for instance, Great Britain, Canada, have stepped forward and offered on a bilateral basis police trainers to assist in this programme.”
“We currently have some 1,300 police trainers that are employed in the field.” Explaining the need for the large number of police trainers, the General said, “The number of police trainers we currently need is a number of about 2,300. That includes about 800 actual police trainers, policemen who go to the field, but because it’s dangerous here in Afghanistan they require a security force that goes with them.”
Highlighting the aptitude of Afghans to fight, General said, “The challenge with them is not in this willingness to fight, it is in the higher level skills of things like command and control, logistics, applying close air support; the professional military skills.”
Predicting the Afghan army growth to surpass 80,000, the General said, “That is the internationally- agreed upon number from the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board. That will be some 14 brigades and six commando battalions with associated logistics support, aviation support, artillery support, and that force - that number will be achieved, we predict, in March of next year.
“And things like, for instance, the air-force capability will not be fully online until 2013 and so that - again, because it takes much longer to teach them English to fly an aircraft, to teach them to fly, for instance, the C27 which we’re buying from Italy will be their primary airlift aircraft, and so that will take longer.
With the international clamour growing for more international soldieries, there was a very candid admission from the General on the frontlines saying, “... We would like to see and that is the Afghans taking the majority of the fight, taking the fight to the enemy, because they know the ground, they understand the language, they know the people, and again, using ISAF forces as reinforcement.
“That is the emerging model and I think all can see the value of this that the Afghans are on point and provide the majority of the combat forces engaged in the operations,” added General Cone. Reflecting on ethnic-balancing employed in the country’s armed forces, General Cone said, “For instance, the 209th corps is commanded by a Hazara, his chief of staff is a Pashtun, Uzbek, Tajik, and what I think is interesting having watched Afghan operations in the countryside is the amazement of the Afghan people looking at this army as a model of ethnic integration.”
Showing posts with label ISAF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ISAF. Show all posts
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Saturday, January 12, 2008
NATO optimistic on Afghanistan
Secretary General says Kosovo volatile, Pakistan restive
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on January 10 expressed optimism for the situation in Afghanistan amid criticism of allies’ apathy in the region. Welcoming a recent decision by the United States to send an extra 3,000 Marines to Afghanistan, de Hoop Scheffer called for patience and cautioned against drawing hasty conclusions on the situation in the country.
Addressing journalists at a New Year reception hosted by NATO, de Hoop Scheffer denied that allies “are not active enough” adding, “If you look at the recent past, you see a number of allies stepping up to the plate. Even yesterday, we heard that Poland has made a very substantial and considerable offer, including eight helicopters, which is a lot, and ground forces for Afghanistan.”
“Nations like Slovakia, Hungary, Georgia, France, the Czech Republic, Australia, Norway, Singapore, Azerbaijan - all of course according to their capability - ...have recently contributed or are contributing forces,” he said. “The Afghan National Army is doing better and better. Health care is up. Child mortality is down. Two-thirds of villages in Afghanistan have received development projects worth up to USD 50,000. Comparing situation in 2001 to start of 2008, lots of progress has been made, but the problem is that we, the international community has no patience. We want to see instant progress, but that is not possible. We need ‘patience.’ This is a long-term commitment,” he said.
Stressing, “The answer in Afghanistan is not military but civilian. Reconstruction and development is something for the long-haul,” the Secretary General reiterated that Afghanistan is the key in the fight against terrorism.
According to NATO figures, the number of troops in ISAF - now provided by 39 nations - rose from around 33,000 in January 2007, to almost 42,000 by December. With around 140 suicide attacks, 2007 was the bloodiest year in Afghanistan since the Taliban were ousted from power in late 2001, according to a United Nations survey.
Answering a journalist’s question, de Hoop Scheffer expressed concern over the situation in Pakistan. “That’s the situation in Pakistan, it’s very relevant for the NATO operation, the ISAF operation in Afghanistan.”
Refusing to comment on the internal situation in Pakistan, the Secretary General said, “I’ll not comment on the internal situation in Pakistan. That’s not up to me. What is important is that those people who are trying to make life in Afghanistan more complicated than it already is, are adequately dealt with in Pakistan as well.”
On the issue of Kosovo, Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer said NATO had a clear “key” role in Kosovo and “KFOR will stay and protect minorities and majorities alike.” Highlighting the presence of about “16,000” peacekeeping troops in Kosovo, the Secretary General said, “KFOR is there to stay with 1244 UN resolution... (and will stay) unless there is another resolution from United Nations.”
“The situation (in Kosovo) is volatile now ... (But) Let nobody be under the illusion that he or she could get his way by violent means,” the NATO chief said. “Although I prefer a negotiated solution, the chance seems remote now,” he added.
Asked to comment on the changes if the European Union will send its own mission to Kosovo, de Hoop Scheffer told journalists, “KFOR’s mandate as such will not change ...But the ESDP mission, as you know, when it would come, would have a police element and KFOR is not a police force in Kosovo.”
He described the need to have a close EU-NATO cooperation in Kosovo as “very important” and said all of the Western Balkans should one day be allowed to join NATO and the EU. Kosovo, a province of 2.2 million, has been under UN administration since 1999, when NATO bombs stopped Serbian ethnic cleansing in the area.
Commenting on the Western Balkans in general, the Secretary General said, “Now, we have ...the only recipe, in my opinion, which will create lasting stability and security in the Balkans is the road to Euro- Atlantic integration. And at the end of the day, and I don’t know when the end of the day will come, but my ideal would be that I see all those countries in the European Union and in NATO. That is the only recipe for stability.”
NATO leaders are due to meet in Bucharest, Romania, for a summit scheduled to take place on April 2-4. The NATO chief de Hoop Scheffer said the summit would address “future threats and challenges,” such as cyber defence and energy security, and would consider the applications of three potential new member states: Albania, Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).
Saying, “the level of scrutiny has never been more intense,” and without committing himself on their chances to join the alliance this spring, the Secretary General urged them to continue reforms up to “the last moment.” “NATO allies will take a political decision,” he added.
Asked to comment on others (Georgia and Ukraine), de Hoop Scheffer said, “Ukraine has a distinctive partnership, Intensified Dialogue. So has Georgia, Intensified Dialogue. We should use that to the full ...I do not know what Bucharest exactly will result in as far as Ukraine and Georgia are concerned. For the moment my advice would be let’s at least use the Intensified Dialogue we have with Ukraine and with Georgia to the full. And I say again we’ll certainly, and I’ll certainly establish sooner rather than later contacts with the new Ukrainian government and with the Georgian government for that matter, after the moment there is a new Georgian government.”
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on January 10 expressed optimism for the situation in Afghanistan amid criticism of allies’ apathy in the region. Welcoming a recent decision by the United States to send an extra 3,000 Marines to Afghanistan, de Hoop Scheffer called for patience and cautioned against drawing hasty conclusions on the situation in the country.
Addressing journalists at a New Year reception hosted by NATO, de Hoop Scheffer denied that allies “are not active enough” adding, “If you look at the recent past, you see a number of allies stepping up to the plate. Even yesterday, we heard that Poland has made a very substantial and considerable offer, including eight helicopters, which is a lot, and ground forces for Afghanistan.”
“Nations like Slovakia, Hungary, Georgia, France, the Czech Republic, Australia, Norway, Singapore, Azerbaijan - all of course according to their capability - ...have recently contributed or are contributing forces,” he said. “The Afghan National Army is doing better and better. Health care is up. Child mortality is down. Two-thirds of villages in Afghanistan have received development projects worth up to USD 50,000. Comparing situation in 2001 to start of 2008, lots of progress has been made, but the problem is that we, the international community has no patience. We want to see instant progress, but that is not possible. We need ‘patience.’ This is a long-term commitment,” he said.
Stressing, “The answer in Afghanistan is not military but civilian. Reconstruction and development is something for the long-haul,” the Secretary General reiterated that Afghanistan is the key in the fight against terrorism.
According to NATO figures, the number of troops in ISAF - now provided by 39 nations - rose from around 33,000 in January 2007, to almost 42,000 by December. With around 140 suicide attacks, 2007 was the bloodiest year in Afghanistan since the Taliban were ousted from power in late 2001, according to a United Nations survey.
Answering a journalist’s question, de Hoop Scheffer expressed concern over the situation in Pakistan. “That’s the situation in Pakistan, it’s very relevant for the NATO operation, the ISAF operation in Afghanistan.”
Refusing to comment on the internal situation in Pakistan, the Secretary General said, “I’ll not comment on the internal situation in Pakistan. That’s not up to me. What is important is that those people who are trying to make life in Afghanistan more complicated than it already is, are adequately dealt with in Pakistan as well.”
On the issue of Kosovo, Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer said NATO had a clear “key” role in Kosovo and “KFOR will stay and protect minorities and majorities alike.” Highlighting the presence of about “16,000” peacekeeping troops in Kosovo, the Secretary General said, “KFOR is there to stay with 1244 UN resolution... (and will stay) unless there is another resolution from United Nations.”
“The situation (in Kosovo) is volatile now ... (But) Let nobody be under the illusion that he or she could get his way by violent means,” the NATO chief said. “Although I prefer a negotiated solution, the chance seems remote now,” he added.
Asked to comment on the changes if the European Union will send its own mission to Kosovo, de Hoop Scheffer told journalists, “KFOR’s mandate as such will not change ...But the ESDP mission, as you know, when it would come, would have a police element and KFOR is not a police force in Kosovo.”
He described the need to have a close EU-NATO cooperation in Kosovo as “very important” and said all of the Western Balkans should one day be allowed to join NATO and the EU. Kosovo, a province of 2.2 million, has been under UN administration since 1999, when NATO bombs stopped Serbian ethnic cleansing in the area.
Commenting on the Western Balkans in general, the Secretary General said, “Now, we have ...the only recipe, in my opinion, which will create lasting stability and security in the Balkans is the road to Euro- Atlantic integration. And at the end of the day, and I don’t know when the end of the day will come, but my ideal would be that I see all those countries in the European Union and in NATO. That is the only recipe for stability.”
NATO leaders are due to meet in Bucharest, Romania, for a summit scheduled to take place on April 2-4. The NATO chief de Hoop Scheffer said the summit would address “future threats and challenges,” such as cyber defence and energy security, and would consider the applications of three potential new member states: Albania, Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).
Saying, “the level of scrutiny has never been more intense,” and without committing himself on their chances to join the alliance this spring, the Secretary General urged them to continue reforms up to “the last moment.” “NATO allies will take a political decision,” he added.
Asked to comment on others (Georgia and Ukraine), de Hoop Scheffer said, “Ukraine has a distinctive partnership, Intensified Dialogue. So has Georgia, Intensified Dialogue. We should use that to the full ...I do not know what Bucharest exactly will result in as far as Ukraine and Georgia are concerned. For the moment my advice would be let’s at least use the Intensified Dialogue we have with Ukraine and with Georgia to the full. And I say again we’ll certainly, and I’ll certainly establish sooner rather than later contacts with the new Ukrainian government and with the Georgian government for that matter, after the moment there is a new Georgian government.”
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