UN Security Council Team Says ISAF Needed, Wanted in Afghanistan
Activity Up in Pakistan Border Areas, ISAF May End Up Protecting Opium Spraying Ops
Tony Prudori, MILNEWS.ca, 10 Dec 06
A report from a United Nations Security Council team says there is "overwhelming support for the presence of international security forces inside Afghanistan."
The report, "Report of the Security Council Mission to Afghanistan" (.pdf) was compiled by a team of 10 Security Council representatives who visited Afghanistan 11-16 Nov 06.
In addition to meeting with United Nations, NGO and Afghan government officials, the Security Council team met with ISAF Commander General David Richards on 12 Nov for a 45 minute briefing (as well as supper hosted by the General). The team visited, and was briefed by ISAF Regional Command South staff, Kandahar airfield on 14 Nov. From there, they flew the same day to the US-led Provincial Reconstruction Team in Qalat in nearby Zabul Province. The 4 Dec 06 report says the team didn't visit Kandahar City becase of security concerns.
The strongest endorsement came from Afghanistan's National Security Advisor, Dr Zalmai Rassoul, who is quoted saying, 'that despite unfortunate incidents such as civilian casualties, culturally insensitive raids on houses and the arrest from time to time of innocent people, there was still overwhelming support for the presence of international security forces inside Afghanistan.'
Echoing Canadian, American and other calls for more support, in the report the team, 'took note of the continuing need of ISAF for adequate forces and resources to ensure the continued success of the ISAF operations.
While Afghan authorities told the UN team that civilian casualties from ISAF or Afghan fire can erode public support for ISAF efforts, ISAF officials are quoted saying that eight out of every ten people killed by suicide bombers have been Afghan civilians.
On the issue of development and humanitarian assistance, the report says that while NGO's would like more of a role in delivering aid, military forces may sometimes have to do the job:
'While accepting the need to protect humanitarian space and aid neutrality, the mission noted that insecurity or other adverse conditions meant that the military might be better placed at times to deliver basic assistance.'
Media reports around 10 Dec 06 quote John Walters, the director of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, saying on-ground opium spraying would be carried out. The UN team report hints ISAF forces could (or, at the very least, could be asked to) provide protection for such work:
'President Karzai acknowledged the severity of the threat, indicating that he would consider the use of ground spraying, but not aerial spraying, to eradicate the next poppy crop providing that international military forces provided security.'
In addition to repeating stakeholder concerns about Taliban and other insurgent sanctuaries in Pakistan, the report highlights the controversial deal between Pakistan and Taliban elements in Waziristan, noting that over the past several months, 'ISAF had detected a 70 per cent and 50 per cent increase, respectively, in security incidents in the Afghan provinces of Paktika and Khost, which neighbour North Waziristan.'
Overall, the report reinforces previous studies and observations of the multi-faceted nature of the conflict:
'The mission found that the spread of insurgency, and terrorist activity by the Taliban, Al-Qaida and other extremist groups, linked with the illegal drug trade, coupled with corruption and failures of governance and the rule of law, collectively pose a grave threat to reconstruction and nation-building in Afghanistan.'
Nonetheless, the team wrote that it was convinced that, 'the Government of Afghanistan and the international community have established a sound strategy to overcome these challenges.'
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