Troop Cuts Could Set Back Gains in Afghanistan

An international organization has recommended that troop levels remain the same in Afghanistan until July 2012.  The International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) has released a report stating that an early withdrawal would set back gains made in southern Afghanistan.  Read more in the links below:

"U.S. troop cut could set back Afghan gains - thinktank", Reuters, February 10, 2011.

"Afghanistan Transition: Dangers of a Summer Drawdown", International Council on Security and Development Press Release, February 9, 2011.

Here is an abstract of the report:

"This report looks at the current dynamics in Kandahar and Helmand provinces, southern Afghanistan, in the context of the United States' announced plan to begin drawing down military forces in Afghanistan in five months. The surge of 30,000 additional US forces has changed the security dynamics on the ground significantly, with the additional troops making major gains in clearing districts previously held by the Taliban.

The total troops on the ground in Afghanistan have gone from approximately 89,000 NATO- ISAF troops and 215,000 Afghan security forces in March 2010, to a current total of 131,000 NATO-ISAF troops and 266,000 Afghan police and army, an overall increase of 93,000. The Afghan security forces are also more visible and arguably more professional and better equipped than before.

This progress at the military level will hopefully create an enabling environment for analogous improvement in the fields of aid, development, governance and counter-narcotics which still require significant work. Without that, the military gains will be undermined and unsustainable. The urgent needs of people displaced by the fighting, the chronic grinding poverty and unemployment, and the grassroots political dynamics are not being addressed in southern Afghanistan. It is not at all clear what strategies will be used to tackle these vital issues."

The report can be downloaded at the link below.  It is an Adobe Acrobat PDF file.

http://www.icosgroup.net/documents/afghanistan_dangers_drawdown.pdf