Afghanistan Conflict Monitor

Afghan Forces Expansion Needed For Victory: US Commander

2009-07-10T13:41:41-07:00

'Commander To Seek Expansion Of Afghan Forces, Officials Say', The Washington Post, 10 July 2009

EXCERPT: "Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the newly arrived top commander in Afghanistan, has concluded that Afghan security forces will have to expand far beyond currently planned levels if President Obama's strategy for winning the war there is to succeed, according to senior military officials. Such an expansion would require additional billions beyond the $7.5 billion the administration has budgeted annually to build up the Afghan army and police over the next several years, and the likely deployment of thousands more U.S. troops as trainers and advisers, officials said. McChrystal has not yet completed a 60-day assessment of the war due next month. But Defense Department officials in Washington and in Kabul said he has informed Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, including in a status update this week, of the need to increase the Afghan force substantially. Officials spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss findings that have not yet been made public. The Afghan army is already scheduled to grow from 85,000 to 134,000, an expansion originally expected to take five years but now fast-tracked for completion by 2011. Several senior Pentagon officials indicated that an adequate size for the Afghan force might be twice the expanded number."

To continue reading the article, click here.

See also:
'War in Afghanistan is being fought on two fronts', The Wall Street Journal, 10 July 2009
'Afghanistan: A war we cannot win', The Telegraph, 10 July 2009
'US military commander urges for more Afghan forces, civilian experts', China View, 9 July 2009

Related posts:
'Allied officers concerned by lack of Afghan forces', 8 July 2009
'The Afghan national police challenge', 24 June 2009
'Erratic Afghan forces pose challenge to US goals', 8 June 2009
'The long march: Building an Afghan national army', 29 May 2009
'Afghanistan's national security forces', 16 April 2009

Equipping USAID For Success: A Field Perspective

2009-07-10T12:06:45-07:00

'Equipping USAID For Success: A Field Perspective', Center for Strategic and International Studies, 7 July 2009

EXCERPT: "Post Conflict Reconstruction (PCR)'s latest special report Equipping USAID for Success is an analysis of development aid in Afghanistan and an evaluation of its efficacy. The report casts a crucial eye on the process as a whole, examines USAID's particular role, and finds that many development problems are caused by contradictions between USAID's mandates and its granted abilities. Understanding this disconnect is a crucial part of correcting the discrepancy and recovering the United States development program. Equipping USAID for Success contains an analysis of overall development funding from the U.S. Government, and its distribution across agencies compared to their abilities and execution. It highlights USAID's effectiveness by explaining fieldwork performed by the author, a USAID worker in Panjshir Province, Afghanistan. Finally, it combines the author's experience with an understanding of overall development structure to offer suggestions about redistributing development resources and improving USAID's agility. This complete analysis is an important contribution to efforts to improve America's work in Afghanistan and other in-conflict, developing nations."

To continue reading the report, click here [pdf].

Related posts:
'Donor spending practices "shameful": UN', 6 July 2009
'Improving mutual accountability for aid effectiveness', 23 June 2009
'Mutual accountability in development aid', 7 April 2009
'Smart development in practice', 3 April 2009
'The A to Z guide to Afghanistan Assistance 2009', 13 February 2009

Can Afghanistan’s New "Guardian" Militia Restore Security?

2009-07-10T12:06:30-07:00

'Can Afghanistan's New "Guardian" Militia Restore Security In The Provinces?', The Jamestown Foundation / Terrorism Monitor Volume 7, Issue 20, 9 July 2009

EXCERPT: "As the security situation in Afghanistan worsened, there was an increase in Taliban attacks in south and central Afghanistan, especially in Wardak province, 30 kilometers west of Kabul. The government and international forces decided to distribute arms to local people to defeat the Taliban and other insurgents in their respective villages and districts. The formation of the Afghan Public Protection Force (better known as the Guardians) is a pilot project operating in the Jalriz district of Wardak province and in Wardak's provincial capital of Maidan Shar. Wardak Province is located in central Afghanistan and has a majority Pashtun population with a significant Hazara (Shi'a) minority. Recruits to the new militia are chosen by local elders before receiving Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifles and three weeks of training from the Afghan national police. The militia is not intended to confront the Taliban in combat but is instead meant to serve as a kind of local watch. As such, they are equipped with radios and cell phones to call for assistance from American forces or the Afghan National Army when necessary. Most of the Wardak Guardians are loyal to Tor Gol, a former anti-Soviet mujahid."

To continue reading the report, click here.

See also:
'Factbox: Security developments in Afghanistan, July 10', Reuters, 10 July 2009
'Taliban infiltrate once-peaceful Afghan north', BBC News, 8 July 2009

Related posts:
'New Afghan force joins fight against Taliban', 22 May 2009
'US creates local militias to fight Taliban', 14 April 2009
'Local force to guard against Taliban', 26 March 2009
'Tribal engagement in Afghanistan', 26 February 2009
'Afghan militia gears up to fight the Taliban', 18 February 2009

Understanding German Objectives and Strategies

2009-07-10T12:06:01-07:00

Marian Gallenkamp, 'Afghanistan: Understanding German Objectives and Strategies', Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, 8 July 2009

EXCERPT: "When US President Barack Obama revealed the United States' new Af-Pak strategy on 27 March 2009, it was received exceptionally positive by the American allies including Germany. A new momentum was given, to come up with comprehensive and sustainable solutions to the worsening situation in Afghanistan. Germany was pleased by the change of paradigm in the new US strategy. Federal Foreign Minister Steinmeier said, 'finally we are on the path to a joint strategy, which will bring us joint success' and that the new US strategy 'provides a great number of openings for aligning our approaches'. The emphasize of strengthening civil reconstructions efforts, paired with military efforts to provide security and to wipe out terrorists and extremist elements in Afghanistan, while at the same time shifting the focus to a regional approach and working closer together with Afghan security forces and neighbouring countries, is perceived as a promising new change in dealing with the situation in Afghanistan and eventually improving and strengthening the country's stability."

To continue reading the report, click here [pdf].

See also:
'Germany to increase anti-terror measures before fall elections', Deutsche Welle, 10 July 2009
'German troops beef up fight against Taliban', Spiegel Online, 9 July 2009
'Germany funds projects to support government capacity-building in Afghanistan', ISRIA, 8 July 2009
'Germany ups terrorism alert before election', TIME, 6 July 2009

Related posts:
'Militants may plan attacks before German vote', 2 July 2009
'Germany begins to flex military muscle', 8 May 2009
'What does Berlin want in Afghanistan?', 10 March 2009
'The way forward in Afghanistan', 12 February 2009
'German general breaks silence on Afghanistan', 1 December 2008

Record Number Of Roadside Bomb Attacks

2009-07-09T13:37:45-07:00

'Roadside Bomb Attacks In Afghanistan Shatter Record', USA Today, 8 July 2009

EXCERPT: "Roadside bomb attacks on coalition forces in Afghanistan are blowing past previous records, causing a rising number of wounded as U.S. troops are waging a major offensive to stop growing violence from Afghan insurgents. The total number of incidents with roadside bombs, also called improvised explosive devices (IEDs), hit 736 in June, which set a record for the fourth straight month. Incidents have risen from 361 in March, to 407 in April and 465 in May, records show. Records also show the steadily worsening security situation in Afghanistan during the past two years. In June 2007, there were 234 incidents and another 308 in June 2008, according to statistics from the Pentagon's Joint IED Defeat Organization. Incidents include IEDs found and cleared, ineffective attacks and attacks that kill or wound coalition troops."

To continue reading the article, click here.

See also:
'Growing menace of Afghan IEDs', BBC News, 8 July 2009
'The trouble with armored vehicle', Defence Management, 8 July 2009
'Afghan army, police to get handheld detectors as IED violence escalates', Defence Industry Daily, 7 July 2009

Related posts:
'Rethinking IED strategies', 7 July 2009
'Use of IEDs increased by 80 percent', 5 June 2009
'US predicts 50 percent spike in IEDs', 15 May 2009
'Casualties caused by IEDs on the rise', 3 April 2009
'Afghan roadside bombs hit record in 2008', 26 January 2009

Karzai Victory May Trigger Afghan Violence: US

2009-07-09T13:25:29-07:00

'Karzai Victory May Trigger Afghan Violence: US', The Guardian, 9 July 2009

EXCERPT: "The expected victory of Hamid Karzai in next month's presidential elections in Afghanistan will trigger a violent backlash from ordinary Afghans, a top US commander in the country has warned. Although the Taliban have threatened to disrupt polling day itself, David Haight, the US colonel who is in charge of pacifying two strategically vital provinces on the southern doorstep of the capital, Kabul, says he is far more concerned about the aftermath of the election. 'I think the people down here are disgruntled with the government because there feeling is, look, "I'm just right to the south, I'm frigging 40 miles away and you couldn't help me?"' said Haight. 'I think that apathy is going to turn into some anger because when the administration doesn't change, and I don't think anyone believes now that Karzai is going to lose ... I think there is going to be frustration from people who realize there is not going to be a change. The bottom line is they are going to be thinking: "four more years of this crap?"' Haight said."

To continue reading the article, click here.

See also:
'Retiring US commander predicts easy Karzai win', The Associated Press, 9 July 2009
'EU to deploy election observers in Afghanistan', China View, 9 July 2009
'Afghan candidate hires Carville as campaign advisor', Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, 9 July 2009

Afghanistan Tones Down Contentious Marriage Law

2009-07-09T13:16:33-07:00

'Afghanistan Tones Down Contentious Marriage Law', The Associated Press, 9 July 2009

EXCERPT: "Afghanistan's government has revised a law that stirred an international outcry because it essentially legalized marital rape, officials said Thursday. The new version no longer requires a woman submit to sex with her husband, only that she do certain housework. The changes, which parliament is expected to approve, likely reflect a calculation by President Hamid Karzai that his reputation as a reformer is more important than support from conservative Shiites who favored the original bill. Presidential spokesman Humayun Hamidzada said the revisions show that Karzai has followed through on a pledge made in April to expunge the offensive parts of the marriage law, which applies only to minority Shiite Muslims. Women's rights activists welcomed the new draft, but many said the government had not done enough and that little will change in day-to-day life."

To continue reading the article, click here.

See also:
'Afghan "anti-woman law changed"', BBC News, 8 July 2009

Related posts:
'Violence against women is widespread: UN', 8 July 2009
'Backing women's rights deadly for officials', 26 June 2009
'Karzai vows to change controversial law', 28 April 2009
'Afghan women protest new restrictive law', 15 April 2009
'Afghan rape-law review to take months', 7 April 2009

Afghan Blast Kills 25, Half Of Them Children

2009-07-09T13:05:34-07:00

'Afghan Blast Kills 25, Half Of Them Children', The Associated Press, 9 July 2009

EXCERPT: "A truck filled with explosives that police believe may have been destined for Kabul blew up on a highway Thursday, killing 25 people — more than half of them children walking to school. Two American soldiers died in combat as the U.S. military reported the number of roadside bombs in Afghanistan last month was nearly three times the figure for Iraq. The attacks served as a grim reminder that the bloody conflict is widening, even as thousands of U.S. troops are being sent to Afghanistan to try to turn the tide against the Taliban-led insurgency, which has made a comeback after the Islamic extremist movement was ousted from power in 2001. The blast occurred about 7 a.m. as police were trying to clear a traffic jam on a highway in Logar province after the truck, which was loaded with timber, had overturned the night before. Suddenly, explosives hidden beneath the timber detonated, killing 21 civilians and four policemen, Interior Ministry spokesman Zemerai Bashary said."

To continue reading the article, click here.

See also:
'Factbox: Security developments in Afghanistan, July 9', Reuters, 9 July 2009
'Taliban attack leaves 2 police dead, 2 wounded in north Afghanistan', China View, 9 July 2009
'Afghanistan: Up to 27 killed in fighting', The New York Times, 8 July 2009

Related posts:
'The Taliban's winning strategy in Afghanistan', 7 July 2009
'Afghan insurgent violence accelerates in 2009', 12 June 2009
'US surge "will lead to spike in conflict"', 29 May 2009
'Taliban threatens spring offensive', 29 April 2009
'NATO figures show surge in violence', 31 January 2009