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AFGHANISTAN UPDATE21 September 2007 No. 19: 14 - 20 September 2007 If you would like to receive this update, please email 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 Chris Lindborg by email at clindborg at basicint.org with comments or suggestions. Previous editions of BASIC's Afghanistan Update are available here. Summary:
Afghan and NATO forces launched major operations in Helmand province on 19 September in an attempt to remove Taliban insurgents. Approximately 2,500 troops are taking part in the operation. ISAF reported that civilians were killed as a result of a NATO airstrike intended for Taliban located in the Upper Gereshk Valley on the same day. A suicide bomb attack in the town of Garmser left eight Afghan police officers wounded, including three who were in critical condition, said provincial police chief Mohammad Hussein Andiwal. In Badghis province, the provincial governor reported that four Afghan police officers and at least 20 militants died in fighting on 19 September. Western Afghanistan has been more stable compared to the southern and eastern regions of the country, but violence has spiked in recent months. NATO troops reported seeing several Taliban fighters using children as human shields during an engagement in southern Afghanistan on 19 September. Troops came under fire from approximately 20 insurgents while on patrol in Uruzgan province. NATO forces reportedly withheld fire to avoid injuring the children. A suicide attack killed at least seven people on 17 September in Helmand. The bomb was detonated after the attacker was stopped by police at a checkpoint. Another civilian was killed and others were injured when Taliban fighters attacked ISAF troops in Zabul province. It is also believed that NATO airstrikes killed at least one suspected insurgent. U.S. officials also mentioned their growing concern over possible weapons flows from Iran to Afghanistan and planned to increase border monitoring. But Gen. Dan McNeill, Commander of ISAF, said on 16 September that there has not been evidence of Iranian-government involvement in these weapons transfers. Meanwhile, just north of Helmand, the United States plans to mount its largest project in Afghanistan -a $300- $500 million dollar overhaul of the Kajaki dam. American officials say more than 4,000 jobs will be created at the height of construction and the dam will take six years to complete. The U.N. Security Council has extended the authorization of ISAF by a vote of 14-0. The resolution included an expression of gratitude for countries that have supported the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). The wording of the U.N. resolution was of particular importance to Japanese leaders, who saw the language as adding legitimacy to Japan's re-fueling mission in the Indian Ocean in support of OEF. The Japanese law that allows the mission expires on 1 November, and the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has been leading a bloc to prevent its renewal. DPJ leaders said that the U.N. resolution did not change their plans to vote against the mission. Rather than voting in favor of the U.N. resolution, Russia abstained because of what its leaders considered to be a nod toward Japan's domestic political considerations. Several other key countries continue to have doubts about renewing their commitments in Afghanistan. Reacting to the possibility that the Dutch will decide not to renew their mission, NATO's Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (a Dutchman), told NCR Handelsblad on 19 September that "nobody can leave Afghanistan." The Netherlands had agreed to keep their troops in Afghanistan until August 2008, but they are still searching for new allies to assist in the most dangerous southern regions of the country. The Dutch government had originally decided on a two-year mission for its troops with the condition that there would be a replacement from another country when the term expired. Also on that Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel's government approved a one-year extension for German troops in Afghanistan, but the parliament still needs to vote on the cabinet's decision. About 3,000 German forces are based primarily in the northern regions of the country and German leaders have been unwilling to expand their operations into the more violent south. Afghan President Hamid Karzai is urging Canada to renew its mission in Afghanistan. Karzai stated on 18 September that his government would not be ready to provide its own security when the mandate for the current Canadian mission ends in February 2009. Canadian public opinion continues to be uncertain with regard to involvement in Afghanistan. Canada's new foreign minister, Maxime Bernier, was heckled by protestors on 19 September during a presentation in which he defended Canada's military operations in Afghanistan. And Canada's defense minister, Peter MacKay, called on other countries to increase their commitments to the mission after meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on 20 September. Secretary Gates called Afghanistan a "litmus-test" for NATO and stated there would be "a mark of shame on all of us" if allies back out of Afghanistan. On 18 September, Afghan presidential spokesman Humayun Hamidzada rejected conditions put forward by student militia associated with the Taliban, which stipulated that foreign forces must leave before rebels and the Afghan government may negotiate. Hamidzada said that the only acceptable pre-condition would be for the Afghan government to provide security for the Taliban entering into negotiations. After meetings with the head of U.S. Central Command on 20 September, the chief of the Afghan general staff, Gen. Bismillah Khan, said that arranging negotiations with the Taliban would be long and difficult. Candice Boyer and Chris Lindborg, BASIC
Stories and Links: Afghan commander doubts Taliban hard-liners willing to talk
peace, but says others might, Brian Murphy, Associated Press
via SignOnSanDiego.com (San Diego Union Tribune), 20/09 Farah City orphans get new orphanage, ISAF News Release,
20/09 Opening the floodgates to an exodus? Paul Koring, The
Globe and Mail (Canada), 20/09 U.N. renews NATO troop mandate in Afghanistan, Reuters via
The Boston Globe, 20/09 Uphill Battle to Bolster Afghan Police, Scott Peterson,
The Christian Science Monitor, 20/09 Lessons in Iraq could apply to Afghanistan, Paul Koring,
The Globe and Mail (Canada), 19/09 U.N. Security Council Resolution 1776 (2007), "The Situation
in Afghanistan," (S/RES/1776) 19/09 ISAF unit donates supplies to boys' school, ISAF News
Release, 18/09 Humanitarian panel discusses handling of Afghan detainees
Editorials, Transcripts and Reports: Press Briefing by NATO Spokesman, James Appathurai, NATO
Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium, 19/09 France dispatching jet boon to Harper, Matthew Fisher, National
Post, 16/09 Q&A: "War on Terror Served Iran's Interests Best,"
Interview with Tariq Ali, IPS News, 16/09 "Why Helping Afghanistan Matters," Kurt Volker,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs,
Speech to the Atlantic Council of Finland, Helsinki, 14/09
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