Afganistan - A little shift in focus

Ragusa · Mar 31, 2003

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Mainly unnoticed in the current political and media focus on Iraq the situation in Afganistan is IMO deserving more attention. I'll translate a newspaper article I read in today's Frankfurter Allgemeine - a well reputed conservative international newspaper (Monday 31.3.2003; p.6) which is AFAIK available in the US in english even).

"The impotent security force of Kabulistan"

Nowhere the situation in Afganistan is more clearly visible than in the courtyard of the president palace in the capitol Kabul. When recently journalists came for a visit they were checked by 12 men who looked less like palace guards but like taken from an action picture. Weapons over their sweatshirts they had the pockets of their khaki-trousers full of ammo. The leader of the Private Military Company/ Virginia, hired by the US foreign ministry, yelled at the visitors in broad american english until they were allowed to get in after 30 min of body searching.

Hamid Karzaj is one of the best protected presidents in the world. He also is one of the weakest. Over the past 10 months over 400 missiles were fired on the foreign peacekeeping troops and Karzais own troops. Clashes of opposing groups have cost hundrets of civilian lives, one minister was assassinated and Karzaj himself barely escaped another assassination attempt. He never really held control over afganistan, and since the iraq war started controll seems to completely get out of his hands. No day without fighting, without terrorist attacks and without deads. The US military, the primary security force in afganistan, seems impotent.

One week resumé: 8 days ago there was a shooting on the street from Gardez to Khost, where US and afgan troops killed 10 persons. On monday islamists shelled a US military convoi near the east-afgan border city of Shkin. Wednesday night the US special forces camp in Skhin was attacked with 11 missiles; at the same time 3 more missiles were fired at the camp in Gardez in the north. Only hours after a US military speaker called these attacks "a slight increase in attacks" a red cross worker was killed in south afganistan - this caused the organisation to stop activities for now. That the US military doesn't has the situation under control showed on saturday when a military patrol near Gereshk, 100km off Kabul, got caught in an ambush that left two soldiers dead and one more hurt.

A new wave of violence comes over afganistan. In the weeks before the iraq war, Taliban and Al-Quaida members repeatedly warned that the war in iraq would have consequences for afganistan as well. The US forces, now for 18 month trying to defeat the supporters of the old regime to hold Karzaj's back free had therefor started an offensive in afganistan at the same day the war in iraq started. Obviously the US wanted to show that the war in iraq wouldn't reduce their engagement in afganistan. The success of "Operation Viliant Strike" is doubtful. Till now just a handful of small weapon stocks were found and a couple of suspects caught. As if able to beef up their results with nicely named operations, the US troops last friday started "Operation Desert Lion". This operations is said to include 600 soldiers, underway with heavily armed helicopters.

The Taliban, who, under US airstrikes, had dissolved with almost ghostlike speed, seem to recover. It seems to be so that followers of the old regime under Mullah Omar have allied with the troops of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who was once their embittered enemy. The Taliban leader Mullah Dabullah last monday confirmed this concern of foreign intelligence services in an interview with the BBC. He announced to fight this war untill "the jews and the crists and all the other foreign crusaders" have been driven out of afganistan. He also was confident hat the iraq war would increase afgan support for the taliban's "struggle for liberation".

Pakistan is playing a special role in the fight against the recovering islamists. Pakistan's secret intelligence service ISI has offered assistance in the hunt for the Al Quaida members. When it comes to Taliban members however, which grew up under US and ISI guidance, the ISI likes to close an eye or two. This results in Mullah Omar continuously finding cover in the "Pashtun-Belt" at the afgan-pakistani border. Last weekend Karzaj wanted to to speak with the afgan president Musharraf about this certain problem in Islamabad, but this meeting was cancelled - because of the war in Iraq.

Not only the march on Baghdad, also the return of 18 afgans from the renowned prisoner camp Guantanamo is trying the US-afgan friendship. In interviews the returners openly criticised that the conditions in the camp didn't meet international standards. Who was innocently imprisoned for a year hardly has the US national anthem on his lips on his return.

The afganistan the US occaionally praised as a moel for a post-war iraq, in reality only consists of the region around Kabul, or "Kabulistan" as it is populary called in afganistan. The capitol, protected by the multinational ISAF troops, the progresses in nation building are clearly visible. The new currency, the afgani, has been accepted and circulates on the markets were weekly new products are offered. Even though the return of approx 2 million refugees to the capitol causes serious difficulties, it also is a sign that many afgans again start to trust. The ISAF troops and the UM workers and their counterparts from many other help orgnisations bring money into town and help to improve conditions.

When seen from the other regional centres Kabul is on a different planet. Mainly unimpressed, the warlords watch the activities in the capitol and the politics of the president, who is called "mayor of Kabul" outside of his realm. Ismail Khan or General Dostum not only control the politics in their provinces but also their own combat and police formations. Only 1700 afgan secutrity personnel have passed the US led training camp and can be considered loyal to the government. They face about 50.000 policemen who feel more obliged to follow the orders from their respective warlords rather than those of the new government. In many provinces where the Taliban had effectively rooted out opium production this business now booms again and brings in cash. An expert, who's travelling the region for years now, predicts that soon the western markets will be flooded with cheap heroin.

To convert Afganistan, a land of archaic tribal rites and traditions, into a modern democracy has to be seen as a century's project. After 18 months of moderate optimism the ISAF troops now again concentrate on the essentials: To prevent Afganistan from falling back into anarchy.
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The tasks the US have started in west-asia may take them and their allies quite a while to complete.

[ April 01, 2003, 12:28: Message edited by: Ragusa ]

Hephaestus · Apr 1, 2003

In interviews the returners openly criticised that the conditions in the camp didn't meet international standards. Who was innocently imprisoned for a year hardly has the US national anthem on his lips on his return.
Click to expand...

If our camps don't meet policy, then theirs sure as hell don't.

Ragusa, Afghanistan and Iraq are in west Asia.

Mystra's Chosen · Apr 1, 2003

When the US first started hunting for Bin Laden, they stopped allowing trucks full of aid into the country because they didn't want Bin Laden to get any arms from Pakistan. By the next week or so, the entire country was in dire need of a peice of bread. The states should be slapped by someone for their actions. According to their actions Nicaraugua and Sudan should legally be able to bomb the **** out of the states (since the states are able to retaliate against the Taliban, which is the official government, or was, of Afganistan, then why is it illegal for anyone to retaliate against the States?) but Sudan or Nicaraugua would be charged with War Crimes if they did. It's a shame that the states are able to do whatever they want... and without consequence. Who will police the police if the police are corrupt?

Ragusa · Apr 1, 2003

Hephaestus,
thanks for correcting me, it is, of course, west asia. As for the prison standards: I just translated the article, not more, not less. And as you might have noticed the article was talking about people who were deemed innocent (ie not beeing Taliban or Al-Quaeda) by the US - so they hardly can be blamed for Taliban prison standards - and treated the like. You can't seriously suggest that beeing afgan alone is reason enough.

The only thing the article states is that the prison conditions there are harsh, and that returners are not to happy about spending a year there - innocent, ie as a result of the US beeing errant. You wouldn't have like that as well.

They can be happy as they could be dead as well for the same reason, beeing suspect terrorists they certainly had a good chance to catch a bomb instead of beeing taken prisoner. Saying so is no US bashing but just stating the obvious.

The US treats the guantanamo bay prisoners according to the US philosophy of how-to-treat-prisoners. This philosophy, however, isn't quite undisputed as you can see scanning through the links below. Please don't rant on when you see that texas in particular gets an especially bad press there - it's not my fault.

http://www.hrw.org/wr2k3/us.html
http://www.hrw.org/us/usdom.php?theme=Guantanamo%20Detainees
http://hrw.org/press/2002/05/guantanamo.htm
http://hrw.org/editorials/2001/us-1229.htm
http://web.amnesty.org/web/ar2002.nsf/amr/usa!Open http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR510452003?open&of=ENG-USA http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR511842002?open&of=ENG-USA
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR511522002?open&of=ENG-USA
HRW and AI are NGO's deemed to be neutral and respectable.

PS: Finally, edited for the last time - with more and new, better links. This is not meant to be a guantanamo discussion here - if anyone has serious problems with that he may feel welcome to resurrect the according thread. This thread is still about afganistan.

[ April 01, 2003, 12:47: Message edited by: Ragusa ]

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Afganistan - A little shift in focus

Ragusa Eternal Halfling Paladin Veteran

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Afganistan - A little shift in focus

Ragusa Eternal Halfling Paladin Veteran

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Ragusa Eternal Halfling Paladin Veteran

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Latest gem: Sphene