AFGHANISTAN UPDATE

17 May 2007

No. 1: 10 - 16 May 2007

This is the first update of a new, weekly newsletter by BASIC on Afghanistan. If you would like to subscribe to the mailing list and receive future editions of the newsletter, please send an email to basic-wash at basicint.org with the phrase "Subscribe to Afghanistan Update" in the subject line.

Feedback on format and content is also gladly received. In particular we are keen to hear feedback of how useful you find this update. Please contact Cameron Scott by e-mail at cscott at basicint.org with comments or suggestions.

Summary:

• Taliban's top military commander killed
• Further setbacks in Afghan-Pakistani relations with deaths at tripartite meeting, border clashes
• Backlash against international forces for civilian deaths continues, causes rift within the alliance
• Continued calls for negotiations with the Taliban
• Deployment updates

The senior military commander of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Mullah Dadullah, was killed on Sunday 13 May in an engagement with Afghan and international forces in Kandahar province. Dadullah, who lost a leg fighting against Soviet forces in the 1980s and was a commander for the Taliban in the 1990s, had a fearsome reputation as an insurgent leader and had promised to escalate the campaign against the Afghan government and international forces in Afghanistan in 2007, claiming to have thousands of suicide bombers prepared to attack.

The New York Times reports that Dadullah had left Pakistan just days before he was located in Kandahar and targeted following a 'robust' intelligence operation. Identifying and eliminating key leaders plays a fundamental role in the counter-insurgency strategy pursued by international forces in Afghanistan, and Dadullah is the most prominent figure to be killed or captured since 2001. According to Afghan intelligence sources, three of the Taliban fighters released in the exchange for Italian journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo in March were also killed in the operation. Although the Afghan government and its international partners have described Dadullah's death as a major setback for the Taliban, the Taliban leadership council have already designated that his successor will be his brother, Mullah Bakht Mohammed.

The potential for improvement in relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan appears have taken a turn for the worse following multiple incidents in the last week. In what has been described by ISAF "heinous and despicable act," an individual dressed in the uniform of the Pakistani Frontier Corps opened fire at a tripartite meeting between ISAF, Afghan and Pakistani military officials on 14 May. A US soldier and an Afghan soldier were killed before the visiting contingent returned fire, killing the assailant and wounding several Pakistani soldiers. The Pakistani government has attributed the attack to 'miscreants' and has promised a full investigation into the incident.

There was further violence along the border as Afghan troops fought Pakistani soldiers after they crossed into Paktia province on 13 May. According to Afghan authorities the engagement left 6 Afghan border police and 7 children dead after Pakistani artillery hit their school. This incident prompted demonstrations outside the Pakistani embassy in Kabul on Wednesday, where angry Afghan civilians denounced the recent events. Later that day, Pakistani and Afghan troops on the border of Paktia again exchanged fire, resulting in fatalities on both sides. Meanwhile, controversial Pakistani efforts to fence the most troublesome spots of the border continued, as the Associated Press reported on 10 May that a 12 mile segment is now been fully fenced. The completed section spans the North Waziristan - Paktika border, which has been a key crossing point for militants.

Despite the success in eliminating Dadullah, a backlash against international forces for causing civilian casualties continues. Efforts were made in the Afghan parliament last week to place restrictions on the operations of international forces in the wake of a joint US-Afghan operation on Wednesday 8 May that left at least 21 civilians dead - possibly many more - in the Sangin district of Helmand province. Although Afghanistan's parliament is unlikely to set a timetable for withdrawal of international forces as threatened, the move is a testament to the intense frustration bred by the continued deaths of civilians from military operations.

Military operations in 2007 have been marred by high-profile incidents resulting in civilian casualties, several of which have involved US troops operating under the Enduring Freedom mandate, a mission separate in command from the NATO-led ISAF. The lack of communication and coordination between the two operations has drawn the ire of other NATO countries and prompted German defense minister Franz Josef Jung to criticize the OEF mission this week. Jung stated that a change in tactics was required, lest operations cause more civilian casualties and undermine the effort to build popular support for the government of Hamid Karzai. Although American officials have apologized for the incidents that have caused civilian casualties, a US military investigation recently cleared the unit involved in an operation in western Afghanistan in late April that local officials say killed dozens of civilians. The investigation declared that appropriate force had been used, and blamed the Taliban for hiding amongst civilians.

Several European nations have recently announced adjustments and expansions in their deployments to Afghanistan. Italy will send another 145 troops, along with armored vehicles and helicopters, the defence ministry announced on 15 May. The presence of Italian soldiers in Afghanistan has been controversial, and the government of Romano Prodi narrowly won a Senate vote to maintain its contribution to ISAF in March. The Bulgarian news agency BTA reported on 9 May that Bulgaria would increase its contribution to the ISAF mission from 83 personnel to 400 by June. The additional troops will be stationed in Kabul and Kandahar, tasked with providing airport security. Slovakia will also be sending troops to southern Afghanistan, according to a report from Czech news agency CTK on 11 May. The Slovakian troops, already stationed in Kabul, will relocate to Kandahar to assist in reconstruction of the airport, mine clearance, and other non-combat duties.

Plans for an EU mission to assist in the training and development of the Afghan National Police received final approval from European ministers last week. The Associated Press reports that the 160 strong force will deploy in mid-June, and will also assume a role in strengthening Afghanistan's struggling judiciary system in addition to its police forces. The group will be led by Brig. Gen. Friedrich Eichele of the German police.

Cameron Scott
BASIC

Stories and Links:

No Way To Win Hearts and Minds, The Economist, 9/5 http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9141410

Afghans Say US Airstrikes Killed 21 Civilians, The New York Times, 10/5 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/10/world/asia/10afghan.html

Bring back Taliban to end police corruption, say Afghan truckers, The Independent, 10/5 http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article2527708.ece

Hearts, minds and death, The Economist, 12/5 http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9164957

Talking replaces guns in war with the Taliban, The Daily Telegraph, 11/5 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/05/11/wafghan11.xml

Civilian Deaths Undermine Allies' War on Taliban, The New York Times, 13/5 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/13/world/asia/13AFGHAN.html

German defense minister calls for changes in Afghanistan tactics, The Associated Press, 14/5 http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/14/europe/EU-GEN-EU-Afghanistan.php

Taliban leader Mullah Omar says militia will fight foreign occupiers, The Associated Press, 14/5 http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/15/asia/AS-GEN-Afghan-Commander-Killed.php

Taliban's top military commander killed during fighting, The Guardian, 14/5 http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2078868,00.html

US Soldier Shot to Death in Pakistan, The New York Times, 14/5
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/14/world/asia/14cnd-afghan.html

Afghanistan: British Fighting a Subtle War, Asia Times Online, 15/5 http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/IE15Df03.html

Poppy Fields Are Now a Front Line in Afghan War, The New York Times, 16/5 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/16/world/asia/16drugs.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

NATO forces braced for Taliban revenge attacks, The Financial Times, 16/5 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/40ea6fee-034a-11dc-a023-000b5df10621.html

Pentagon Says Appropriate Force Used in Afghan Battle, Voice of America News, 16/5 http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-05-16-voa58.cfm

Locals turn on Taliban as civilians die in strikes, The Washington Times, 16/5 http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20070515-101412-4409r.htm