Karzai Demands that U.S. Airstrikes End

Once again Karzai is demanding that U.S. airstrikes end and that military operations cease. Karzai keeps pounding away at the United States (hard to figure this guy out). His latest outburst is centered around a SOF operation that the U.S. says was Afghan led that led to the death or one or two civilians. A combined force of 70 Afghan commandos and nine U.S. advisers conducted the operation. One Afghan Commando and a U.S. Special Forces operator died in the attack. The U.S. called in an airstrike against a compound from which they were taking fire and could not withdraw. According to the U.S. two civilians in the compound were killed. Read more in "Afghan President Again Demands US Airstrikes End", ABC News, January 19, 2014.

"Karzai's Dangerous Game" (NY Times, 19 Dec 13)

The New York Times has an op-ed contributed by Anatol Lieven (published December 19, 2013) examining the stance Karzai has taken on the Bilateral Security Agreement with the United States. The author states that Karzai is trying to garner nationalist support (among his Pashtun brothers) and also keep some sort of leverage on the United States with the upcoming Afghan presidential elections scheduled for April 2014. However, states the author, Karzai runs the risk of losing United States (and other Coalition) support and funding for his very weak government past 2014.

You can read the entire article at the link below:
www.nytimes.com/2013/12/20/opinion/karzais-dangerous-game.html

Karzai Playing Hardball . . . and Stupid

Karzai (the President of Afghanistan) is still playing hardball with the United States on the signing of the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA). Despite overwhelming support for the BSA by the Loya Jirga that was recently held Karzai still is refusing to sign the agreement that will allow U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond December 2014. Read more in a recent news report by the Voice of America.

Karzai Continues his Anti-Western Rhetoric

President Karzai continues his inflammatory remarks directed against the United States and its other allies. In his latest volley he questions why NATO is still in Afghanistan. One would think that the reason would be abundantly clear to Karzai but it seems the reasoning eludes him. Read more of Karzai's latest remarks in "Afghan government hits back at NATO chief, says war aimless", Reuters, March 19, 2013.

ISAF and Afghans Reach Agreement on Wardak

ISAF has released a news bulletin on the results of a meeting between General Dunford and President Karzai on March 20th. Essentially it says that security in Wardak will transition to the Afghans, that Special Forces teams will be withdrawn (starting with the one at Nerhk), and that ANSF will move into Nerhk district to assume security. You can read the entire text at the link below:

www.dvidshub.net/news/103772/isaf-and-afghan-government-reach-agreement-wardak

Agreement Reached with Karzai - Special Forces to Depart Nerkh District, Wardak Province

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the Karzi government have completed negotiations over the ordered departure by Karzai of Special Forces from Wardak Province, Afghanistan. It seems there will be a phased withdrawal of Special Forces from the province. According to recent news reports the first SF team to depart will be the one stationed in Nerkh district. The SF operational detachment or SFODA has been working in a Village Stability Operations (VSO) mission; part of which is training and working with the Afghan Local Police (ALP). Some members of the Nerkh ALP were once members of the now defunct Afghan Public Protection Program or APPP (read more on APPP).

Nerkh district, Wardak province



Other Special Forces detachments will remain in Wardak according to some news sources. It is likely that the U.S. SFODA in Nerkh district will be replaced with an Afghan National Army Special Forces (ANASF) detachment. The ANASF detachments mirror the mission of the U.S. SFODA's - with less capability and training. The ANASF does have the advantage of language and cultural expertise. To read more about the Special Forces team departure from Nerkh district read "U.S., Afghans make deal on Wardak troop pullout", Army Times, March 20, 2013.

Karzai and U.S. in Dispute Over High-Risk Prisoners

President Karzai and the United States are in a serious dispute over the fate of some three dozen prisoners held by the U.S. in Afghanistan. The prisoners pose a considerable risk to the United States and to the military effort in Afghanistan. The fear of the U.S. is that Karzai will gain control over the prisoners and then release them in order to appease Taliban officials. Karzai is linking the prisoner dispute to other matters of concern that are currently being negotiated with the Afghans - such as the status of forces agreement and long-term security agreement post-2014. Learn more in "Dispute over high-risk prisoners threatens to disrupt U.S.-Afghan talks", The Washington Post, March 14, 2013.

COMISAF Issues Threat Advisory In Light of Karzai Verbal Attacks on the United States

A cautionary advisory has been issued to troops in Afghanistan by the Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) because of recent anti-U.S. statements by President Karzai. Karzai has been coming out in recent weeks with several inflammatory statements and orders concerning the presence and operations of ISAF troops in Afghanistan. the ISAF commander is clearly concerned that there will be acts of violence (possibly insider attacks) against members of ISAF as a result of the Karzai remarks. Read more in "U.S. General Puts Troops on Security Alert After Karzai Remarks", The New York Times, March 13, 2013.

Blowback Against Karzai for Anti-U.S. Remarks

President Karzai is experiencing some push-back due to recent anti-U.S. remarks he has made in the past few weeks. Lawmakers on capital hill have spoke out against him as well as leading politicians in Afghanistan.

Instability in Maidan Wardak

The status of the Special Forces teams deployed in Wardak Province is still up in the air. The deadline that Karzai ordered for the teams removal (Monday, 11 March) has passed and they are still there. ISAF is hoping to reverse Karzai's inane decision with a revised "security transition plan" for Wardak province which will allow the SF teams to stay a little longer. The situation is further complicated by the recent insider attack in Jalrez district (in Wardak province) where two U.S. Soldiers were killed by a member of the Afghan Local Police (apparently).

Karzai is responding to reports that U.S. Special Forces and the Afghan units they are advising are conducting atrocities and harassing the local population. Subsequent investigations by the Afghan police, military, and ISAF have found no evidence of this happening. What is probably more to the truth is that a very effective information operations campaign by the Taliban have prompted the local population to mobilize against the ISAF special operations forces units. See "Fear and loathing in Afghanistan", The Independent, March 12, 2013 for more on unrest in the province.

Karzai has reacted to this unrest in the province, probably not because the allegations are true, but most likely in a political move to position himself as challenging ISAF and the western nations that have kept him in power for the last ten years in an effort to be seen as independent of the west. See "Karzai Bets on Vilifying U.S. to Shed His Image as a Lackey", The New York Times, March 12, 2013.

Karzai Slams U.S. - Says U.S. and Taliban are Conspiring

Karzai has once again come out with strong statements against the United States. This time he says that the Taliban and the United States are conspiring to keep Afghanistan in a state of turmoil. As silly as that sounds there are those out there that try to explain Karzai's outlandish behavior. For instance, The New York Times has a news article that says Karzai is offended and embarrassed by the stalled turnover of the Bagram detention facility in Parwan province and the U.S. insistence that special operations forces continue to operate in Afghanistan post-2014. The Times also points out that Karzai sees the Taliban as a real player post-2014 long after ISAF pulls out - so he has to say the right things to appease them. Read more in "Afghan Leader Says U.S. Abets Taliban's Goal", The New York Times, March 11, 2013.

No Evidence of Abuse by SF Teams in Wardak

According to a report by the Los Angeles Times there is no evidence of abuse by Special Forces teams working in Wardak province, Afghanistan. The U.S. has completed its investigations - as have the Afghans. No heads were cut off, five of the nine people reported "disappeared" are actually in an Afghan prison for insurgent activities, the one student who was killed by "someone" had ties to the Taliban and was killed in an inter-insurgent dispute, and the citizen complaints can be traced back to a Taliban information operations (IO) campaign. So the allegations are unfounded.

However, the real problem still remains. That problem is an incompetent President Karzai reacting to an very effective Taliban IO campaign to get Special Forces removed from one of the key provinces defending the roads into Kabul. The SF teams are doing great work with the Afghan forces there to include the ALP, ANASF, Commandos, and PRC.

The order to remove SF from Wardak has not been lifted. It remains to be seen if Karzai can be brought to his senses by his advisers or if ISAF folds under this latest attempt by Karzai to appease moderate Taliban forces that he will be negotiating with in the near future.

Read the LA Times article here: "Afghan dynamics altering U.S. efforts to wind down war", Los Angeles Times, March 5, 2013.

White House and Karzai in Talks about Special Forces Operating in Wardak

According to Marine General James Mattis, CENTCOM commander, the White House is now in talks with President Karzai on his irrational and devastating order to remove U.S. Special Forces from their advisory and training mission in Wardak province. This order by Karzai is yet again one more example of how winning of the war in Afghanistan has not been easy; the U.S. and NATO forces have been dealing with an incompetent President leading Afghanistan for quite a while . . . since we helped put him in power in 2002 over ten years ago!

SF and Wardak Province News Update

Not a lot of news, unsurprisingly, has come out in the last day or so in reference to President Karzai ordering out all Special Forces from Wardak province. He ordered the SF teams removal based on allegations that the SF teams (or Afghan military and police units they were working with) are abusing the local population. Most certainly Karzai is attributing acts the Taliban or other nefarious groups are doing to the SF teams and their Afghan partners.

Karzai's true reasons for demanding the removal of the SF teams most likely involve his political posturing for 2014 - his probable intent is to get political groups in Wardak (to include moderate insurgents) aligned with him in a bid to further consolidate his political power. By diminishing the ability of coalition (and Afghan security forces) to weed out and neutralize segments of the insurgency - Karzai can build support with these moderate forces in a future power-sharing arrangement. A likely side effect of this latest attack on NATO by Karzai is to set conditions for the relationship with the new ISAF commander.

ISAF has been very quiet so far on this affair - no doubt recoiling from another unwarranted, unanticipated, and unfathomable attack from Karzai. Naturally ISAF will jump through hoops to keep Karzai happy with meetings (see "General Dunford and President Karzai meet to discuss security in Wardak", DVIDs, February 27, 2013); it will establish a joint commission with the Afghans to review the allegations and conduct an investigation (see "Joint Commission Reviews Wardak Province Allegations", American Forces Press Conference, February 26, 2013); and it will reject the accusations of abuse as false (see a video where "NATO Rejects Misconduct Claims", DVIDS, February 25, 2013).

While ISAF's news releases provide sparse statements with little info others are speculating on the Wardak situation. One report provides some background information on the happenings in the province - see "Did U.S. Special Forces Commit Atrocities in a Key Afghan Province?", Time, February 28, 2013.

There is certainly a lot of uncertainty as to how this latest drama with Karzai will resolve. A lot is at stake here - ISAF's relationship with Karzai, the outcome of the COIN fight in Wardak, and post-2014 involvement of SOF in Afghanistan.

Special Forces in Wardak Told to Leave by Karzai

The story about Karzai telling the MoD to order U.S. Special Forces out of Wardak province continues to evolve. There are now reports that the eviction also includes the adjacent Logar province. Both provinces have experienced an uptick in fighting and an increased insurgent presence. Reports of abuses by special operations forces continue to be cited as the reason for the eviction (see "Afghan officials say NATO ignored complaints of abuses by U.S. Special Operations forces", The Washington Post, February 25, 2013). Coalition spokesmen have adopted their very predictable "conciliatory tone" (New York Times, 26 Feb 13) with Karzai and say that they will cooperate in an investigation. Karzai continues to assert his authority and power but in ways that diminish the coalitions ability to shape events to ensure a successful transition of Afghan security forces taking the lead for security within the entire country.

Afghan President Karzai Orders U.S. Special Forces out of Wardak Province

ALP training in Kajran district, Daykundi
province. (photo PO Matthew Leistikow)

The Long War Journal is reporting that President Karzai has given the order to the Ministry of Defense to order all U.S. Special Forces out of Wardak province, Afghanistan. The SF teams (sometimes referred to as Green Berets) are currently deployed in several areas of Wardak working with the Afghan Local Police (ALP) as part of the Village Stability Operations (VSO) program. If this development is true then it is very bad news. As the conventional forces of the United States and other troop contributing nations pull out of Afghanistan SOF will remain to work with ANA, ANP, and especially with the ALP. SOF will be one of the few organizations left in the country to influence the ANSF toward a more professional and competent force once we hit the December 2014 mark.

Karzai has always been reluctant to give the ALP his full support because they are usually less corrupt than other ANSF entities due to the oversight and influence of the SOF teams that live and train with the ALP; thus he cannot include them in his nefarious activities as much as he can other ANSF elements. With the departure of General Allen and the arrival of a new ISAF commander Karzai may be feeling his oats - first he orders his ANSF not to call in ISAF air strikes to support their operations and now he is seeking the removal of SF teams from one of the most successful programs in the country. One could think that he is setting the framework for his relationship with the new ISAF commander and prepping for when he has to sit down with the Taliban for a power-sharing arrangement post-2014. The Taliban have a great fear of the ALP and are pressing hard to have them neutralized. Read more in "Afghan president orders US Special Forces to leave Wardak province", The Long War Journal, February 24, 2013.

Karzai - Time to Dump Him? Some people think so!

Karzai's recent negative statements about the United States (and ISAF) are drawing comments from around the world. Some find it hard to understand why the State Department and military cave in to Karzai. We have agreed to allow Afghans to protect our bases, convoys, and development projects with the Afghan Public Protection Force (APPF), hand over supervision of the detention facilities, put restraints on our special operations forces that conduct night raids, and we have given him a pass on the corruption found everywhere in his government. The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) can't even protect themselves from the Taliban - never mind hoping the APPF can protect NATO and US personnel, facilities, and interests. The Afghans have no clue how to run a detention facility - have we forgotten the 500 Taliban that escaped from the Kandahar prison last year? Although the Afghan special operations forces (ANASF and Commandos) are getting more proficient - they still need the advise and assistance of ISAF SOF. If we agree, as may likely happen, to a warrant-based targeting system then we have major problems. Most recently Karzai has called for NATO to withdraw from the Afghan villages - an action that will certainly put a halt to the very sucessful Village Stability Operations (VSO) program and its associated Afghan Local Police (ALP). Read more about the discontent with Karzai in "Karzai The Ingrate", Investor's Business Daily, March 21, 2012.

Karzai's View of the United State's Approach to the War in Afghanistan

Karzai has recently demanded that NATO troops pull out of Afghan villages, stay on large bases, and hand over control of Afghan security in 2013 rather than 2014. In addition, he has been very vocal on ISAF discontinuing night raids, handing over control of the prisons and detention facilities, and closing down private security firms in favor of the Afghan Public Protection Program. Many observers feel that Karzai is out to lunch, crazy, and biting the hand that feeds him. Others would call him corrupt, ineffective, and erratic. One columnist attempts to explain Karzai's behavior. See "Why Karzai is fed up with the U.S. mission in Afghanistan", by Joshua Partlow in The Washington Post, March 16, 2012.

Things Our Military Generals Talk About with Each Other but Can't Say in Public about the Afghan War

What are some true things that our generals can't say in public about the Afghan war?

1.  Pakistan is now an enemy of the United States.
2. We don't know why we are here, what we are fighting for, or how to know if we are winning.
3. The strategy is to fight, talk, and build.  But we're withdrawing the fighters, the Taliban won't talk, and the builders are corrupt.
4. Karzai's family is especially corrupt.  (see corruption in Afghanistan).

My favorite is below:

18.  We are ignoring the advisory effort and fighting the "big war" with American troops, just as we did in Vietnam. And the U.S. military won't act any differently and work with the Afghan forces seriously until American politicians significantly draw down U.S. forces in country - when it may be too damn late.

Read the rest in "19 true things generals can't say in public about the Afghan war: A helpful primer", The Best Defense Blog, November 9, 2011.  Although dated Nov 2011 all 19 are still true today!

Deciphering Karzai's Rhetoric

Karzai has just recently announced that ISAF should withdraw its forces from Afghan villages and put them on large bases. He has also said that the Afghan security forces are ready to take over the security responsiblity for the country. The first statement flies in the face of logic and the second is wishful thinking. Does he really mean it or is it meant for the domestic audience? Read one commentators thoughts on this topic in "Afghan President Karzai's angry ultimatums have parallels in post-colonial Africa", The Christian Science Monitor, March 15, 2012.