|
|
|
 |
|
|
| HOME |
| NUCLEAR AND WMD |
| TRANS-ATLANTIC SECURITY |
| WEAPONS TRADE |
| BASIC PUBLICATIONS |
| ABOUT BASIC |
 |
AFGHANISTAN UPDATE12 October 2007 No. 21: 28 September - 11 October 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:
Violence in Afghanistan showed no signs of abating these past two weeks. A suicide bomber killed at least 30 people, most of whom were army staff boarding a bus to go to work in Kabul on the morning of 29 September. Four days later, a suicide bomber struck a bus that was serving civilians and police in the capital city, killing 17 people. The Associated Press reported that there have been more than 100 suicide attacks and overall more than 5,086 people have been killed in insurgency related violence this year. A U.N. Department of Safety and Security assessment (posted online by McClatchy Newspapers) found that Afghan violence was up by thirty percent during the first half of 2007 compared to the same period in 2006 and that the country is averaging 525 security incidents a month. The Pakistani military claimed at least 150 insurgents were killed this past week in Pakistan's northern tribal regions along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border, and about 250 people in total have been killed as a result of the fighting. Severe battles continue to take place as the military attempts to oust Taliban and al-Qaeda militants from their base of operations. In a marked escalation of the conflict, the Pakistani military is now using fighter planes against the militants. Civilians have also been killed and injured in the raids. NATO and Afghan troops launched a new military offensive against the Taliban on 2 October. Although full details were not forthcoming, the operation will apparently take place throughout Afghanistan with the exception of the north and is designed to maintain pressure on insurgents who usually retreat into the mountains during the winter. In troop deployment news, U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced further troop reductions in Iraq, and speculation over new increases in British troops for Afghanistan has followed. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates travelled to the United Kingdom on 11 October and troop demands in both conflicts were on the agenda of his meetings with Defence Secretary Des Browne and the Prime Minister. In a press conference with Mr. Gates, Mr. Browne denied that there was a linkage between the decisions made to remove British forces from Iraq and the demands for more troops in Afghanistan. In the United States, Marine Corps generals suggested that Marines now serving in Iraq should be re-deployed to Afghanistan after their mission ends in Iraq. The suggestion is reportedly still under review by top U.S. civilian and military leaders. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer met with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen in Copenhagen on 8 October. Mr. Rasmussen said that while Denmark is increasing its troop numbers in Afghanistan from 400 to 550, it has no plans for additional increases. New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has agreed to assist NATO and the EU in Afghanistan. On 3 October, the Prime Minister signed an agreement that is intended to make it easier for her country to share classified intelligence with NATO. She also agreed to move three New Zealand police officers assisting with Afghan police training from German to EU command. Shortly before the release of this update, the German parliament approved a year-long extension of its troop deployments in support of the NATO mission in Afghanistan. German citizen Rudolf Blechschmidt and four unnamed Afghans were released on 10 October. Their freedom was apparently made possible by a deal involving the release from prison of five Afghan criminals, one of whom was reportedly the father of a Taliban kidnapper who had been involved in the hostage crisis. Blechschmidt claimed in a post-release interview that Afghan police traveling with him in Wardak province had warned his would-be captors that he and his colleagues were headed to the area where they were kidnapped on 18 July. Coalition troops are hoping monetary incentives will bolster the fledging Afghan police forces and hasten the capture of militants. Canada has developed a new program in which NATO soldiers have started paying Afghan police cash. The money still comes from international donations that are coordinated through the Afghan Interior Ministry, but the program is intended to lessen opportunities for corruption and to prevent missed payments that have inspired many to leave their posts or even to turn to crime. The program remains in its early stages and its potential for success is unknown. In eastern Afghanistan, the United States recently intensified its ongoing "Most Wanted" campaign against Taliban and al-Qaida leaders by displaying posters and billboards with the pictures of 12 insurgents. The announcements promise rewards ranging from $20,000 to $200,000 for information leading to the capture of the men. A series of separate investigations are underway involving coalition forces in Afghanistan. The Danish government announced on 30 September that it is investigating the possibility that two soldiers killed in Helmand province four days earlier were the victims of friendly fire. Reuters cited a statement from the Danish army website, saying that during a battle with Taliban, Danish troops may have been fired upon by another ISAF unit. A shot fired from a Canadian convoy killed an Afghan man and injured a boy who were riding a motorcycle in Kandahar on 2 October. NATO reported that the shooting was an accident, but the incident is still under investigation. As Germany considered extending its mission in Afghanistan, Der Spiegel reported on accusations of drunkenness and abuse by members of the elite German KSK special forces unit. Higher ranking members of the German government have claimed that they were only recently informed of these accusations and allegations are now being discussed before the German Bundestag's Defense Committee. In other developments, the United States is expanding its base in Bagram, which it established at the beginning of the conflict in 2001 for about 3,000 troops, but now the base hosts 13,000 military personnel. Afghan authorities plan to shut down at least 10 private security firms. A draft set of Afghan government rules obtained by the Associated Press shows that the complaints against the firms include a lack of accountability and the intimidation of citizens. Private security employees have been used to guard some embassies in Afghanistan, which has added to the political sensitivity of the issue. The Afghan government has said that it will not spray this year's opium poppy crop, despite U.S. pressure to use herbicides. The Afghan government has cited environmental and health concerns while U.S. representatives have insisted that the herbicides are safe. By Candice Boyer and Chris Lindborg
Stories and Links: Canadian mentors celebrate Afghan victory; Weapons, electronic
components seized in sweep of village, The Canadian Press via
the North Bay Nugget, 11/10 Afghanistan: Rate of refugee return slows ahead of winter,
IRIN via Relief Web, 10/10 The Discount War: ISAF Is Failing in Effort to Secure Afghanistan
on the Cheap, Ralf Beste, Konstantin von Hammerstein and Alexander
Szandar, Der Spiegel Online, 10/10 Health-Afghanistan: U.S. army medics have set up free clinics
for local Afghans, Fawzia Sheikh, IPS News, 10/10 Marines Press to Remove Their Forces from Iraq, Thom Shanker,
The New York Times, 10/10 Kabul rejects U.S. pleas to spray opium poppies, Chiade
O'Shea, The Guardian, 09/10 Taliban poised for a big push, Syed Saleem Shahzad, Asia Times Online, 05/10 http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/IJ05Df01.html Violence in Afghanistan has soared by 30%, U.N. report says,
Declan Walsh, The Guardian, 04/10 'Marshall-like' plan needed for Afghanistan, Pakistani official
tells U.N. debate, U.N. News Centre, 02/10 Editorials, Transcripts and Reports: DoD News Briefing with General Craddock from the Pentagon,
U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Assistant Secretary of
Defense (Public Affairs), 10/10 The Forgotten Mission in Afghanistan Can Succeed. Here's How.
Caroline Wadhams and Lawrence J. Korb, Center for American Progress,
05/10 Half-year Review of the Security Situation in Afghanistan,
U.N. Department of Safety and Security, Afghanistan Topic Assessment,
dated 13/08; released online by McClatchy Newspapers, 01/10 Beyond Afghanistan: The future of American multilateralism,
Philip Gordon and Edward Joseph, International Herald Tribune,
27/09 Should we negotiate with the Taliban? Peter Jones, The
Ottawa Citizen, 23/09 |
|
BASIC
UK: The Grayston Centre, 2nd Floor, 28 Charles Square London
N1 6HT, +44-(0)20-7324 4680 |