Finland Special Forces Unit Serving in Afghanistan

A recent news article provides some information about Finnish Special Forces serving in Afghanistan.  See "Finland has deployed special forces unit in Afghanistan", Helsingin Sanomat, February 23, 2012.

Is Reintegration of Afghan Insurgents Working?

The international community is sinking a lot of money into the reintegration of insurgents. The program offers the insurgent a way out of the fighting with a monthly stipend for three months, vocational training, and work opportunities - plus a way to walk away from the fight. Thus far, over 3,100 former insurgents have officially entered the program. This number is still significantly lower than what is needed for the reintegration process to have a real impact on the conflict - ISAF and Afghan officials were hoping to attract over 12,000 Taliban to the Afghan reintegration process.  Many observes have criticized the program citing statistics that most reintegrees come from the north where the fighting is less intense (vice the south and southeast) and that many of these 3,000 reintegrees are not Pastun fighters; instead they are cronies of local politicians looking for a handout.

See the "official" version of how reintegration is working in "Afghan insurgent Reintegration Effort Works, Official Says", American Forces Press Service, February 22, 2012.

A questioning voice can be heard here in "Military: Who Cares How Many Taliban Stop Fighting", Wired.com Danger Room, February 23, 2012.

Read more in "NATO: 99 percent of reformed insurgents staying out of the fight", Stars and Stripes, February 22, 2012 and "ISAF official: Reintegrating Afghan insurgents working", The Washington Times, February 22, 2012.

News Articles about Governance in Afghanistan

The link below will take you to a listing of news articles about governance in Afghanistan.

http://www.afghanwarnews.info/governancenews.htm

Withdrawal from Afghanistan and Presidential Politics

Michael A. Cohen of the Century Foundation has wrote an article exploring the presidential politics of the withdrawal from Afghanistan.  He explores the timeline for withdrawing and how the public views the circumstances of the departure from Afghanistan.  There are interesting comments on how the withdrawal affects Obama's quest for re-election.  See "Premature Evacuation?", Foreign Policy, February 2, 2012.

Afghanistan's Economy Beyond 2014 - A Big Question Mark

While many observers are worried about the security situation in Afghanistan after 2014 (date of withdrawal of the coalition forces) others are concerned about the economy of Afghanistan.  The Afghan economy is heavily dependent upon foreign aid - of the total 2010 government expenditure ($17 billion) only $1.9 billion came from Afghanistan's own sources of revenue.  The present economy depends almost entirely on the development funds provided by the United States, Europe, Japan, Australia, Canada and other nations.  The money spent supporting the security environment is immense.  After 2014 most of this money will fade away.  It is unknown how much the donor nations will continue to contribute after 2014.  Most nations are turned off by the immense corruption of the Karzai regime.

There are some possible solutions for the future. Technology will play a large part - the explosion of cell phone use is phenomenal. There are rich mineral deposits that can be mined.  There is is the New Silk Road strategy that may transform the economy.  However, for all these possible solutions, there must be a secure environment - and that is another big question mark.

Read more on this topic in "Can the Afghan economy be saved?", By Javid Ahmad and Louise Langeby, The AFPAK Channel, Foreign Policy, February 3, 2012.

Laghman Provincial Response Company - Bringing Security to a Contested Province

A reporter provides us insight on a U.S. Special Forces team's job of training the Laghman Provincial Response Company.  Read "Can These Commandos Salvage the Afghan War?", Wired.com Danger Room, February 16, 2012.

Reintegration of Taliban in Zabul Province

Zabul Province has taken a small step forward in the reintegration of insurgents back into Afghan society. The leader of a small band of Taliban has crossed over to the Afghan government and is now helping the government to reintegrate other insurgents. The reintegration program, although well-funded with $140 million, has had dismal success in Zabul province.  Most reintegrees have come from northern Afghanistan - with Badghis province having the most insurgents join the program.  Read more here - "In the battle for Taliban minds, a new spokesman steps forward in Zabul province", Stars and Stripes, February 19, 2012.

Hizb-i-Islami Wants Seat at Negotiation Table

The Afghan insurgent group known as Hizb-i-Islami wants to ensure it has a seat at the negotiation table that will attempt to settle the Afghan War.  See "Afghan talks to fail without all groups - Hizb-i-Islami", Reuters, February 19, 2012. The group claims that if left out of the Afghan peace talks then they will likely continue to fight.

The Fight In Helmand Province, Afghanistan

A war correspondent spent several weeks with the Marines in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.  Read a news article he wrote for The New York Times (February 1, 2012) entitled "The Hard Way Out of Afghanistan".

Afghan Women Worry about Karzai Taliban Negotiations

Afghan women are apprehensive about the prospects of the Taliban becoming part of the government as a result of negotiations conducted by the Taliban, U.S., and Karzai.  Read more in "Afghan Women Fear Backsliding As President Karzai Negotiates with Taliban", The Daily Beast, February 19, 2012.

82nd Agribusiness Development Team to Deploy to Afghanistan

The Wisconsin Army National Guard 82nd Agribusiness Development Team will soon deploy to Afghanistan.  The members of the "Dairy State" were chosen because they have experience in agriculture-related fields to include crop management, veterinary science, hydrology, pest control, and food processing. Read more in "Guard unit to train Afghans about agriculture", Army Times, February 18, 2012.  Learn more about agriculture in Afghanistan.

APPF Recruiting Security Guards from Afghanistan's Private Security Firms

The leadership of the Afghan Public Protection Force (APPF) is recruiting Afghans who are currently employed with private security firms in Afghanistan.  In accordance with a decree by President Karzai all private security firms will cease operations soon. The functions and responsibilities of the private security firms will be assumed by the APPF.  Many critics have weighed in on this change and not many believe it is a great idea. The track record of the Afghan government to run almost any program is horrible; with waste, ineffectiveness and inefficiency prevalent.  Security for the NGOs, international organizations, and ISAF will now become more expensive.  There is no confidence in the APPF to provide security at the level that the private security firms did.  And there is the corruption factor - many see the APPF as another avenue for Karzai and his cronies to skim more money off the top.  Read a "sunny" assessment of the APPF program provided to us by NATO Training Mission - Afghanistan in "Afghan Public Protection Force Leadership Engaging with Private Security Guards", NTM-A, February 18, 2012.

Way Ahead in Afghanistan - War According to the New York Times

On the Opinion Pages of The New York Times is an editorial providing guidance on the way ahead in Afghanistan. The piece provides the Times input for encouraging governance, training and financing the Afghan security forces, negotiating with the Taliban, support to the Afghan economy, leaving behind a residual American force (special operators), and how to deal with Pakistan.  Read "Beginning of the End", The New York Times Sunday Review, February 18, 2012.

Canadian Training Mission in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — Cuts or changes to Ottawa's politically sensitive contribution to NATO's training mission in Afghanistan are probable after the alliance concludes a review next month of the number of advisers it needs and where it needs them. Adjustments to the training force's laydown, including the disposition and skill sets of some Canadian troops is "likely, but what the effect will be is undetermined as of yet," said Maj.-Gen. Mike Day, who commands the 920 Canadian trainers in Afghanistan and is double-hatted as the senior NATO officer responsible for training Afghan security forces.

Read the rest of the news article here "Afghan training force likely to shrink", The Montreal Gazette, February 17, 2012.

Charlatans abound in Afghanistan

Read an interesting article about Afghans who claim to be something more than they are in order to increase their prestige, acquire money, or to gather intelligence on behalf of the Taliban.  See "In Struggle With Taliban, on Guard for Charlatans", The New York Times, February 18, 2012.

Special Forces Mission to Increase in Afghanistan

As overall U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan lowers special operations forces will increase their activity.  This will be primarily in the training and advisory arena; for which Special Forces training makes them uniquely qualified for.  Read more in "Special Forces in Afghanistan: not just taking out terrorists anymore", The Christian Science Monitor, February 16, 2012.

Afghan Defense Minister Worried About Cut In Size of Afghan Security Forces

The Afghan Defense Minister, Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak, has expressed his concern about proposed plans to cut spending on Afghanistan's security forces and reducing the strength from 352,000 to 230,000.  Along with the withdrawal of ISAF combat formations over the next two years there will be a reduction in funds for the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).  Read more in "Afghan general sounds alarm on US plan to cut local security forces", Fox News, February 18, 2012.  Gen Wardak's concerns are misplaced.  Instead of worrying about whether 230,000 personnel is enough to fight the insurgency perhaps he could do more to ensure that size force is managed and trained to do the job.  The first step would be to replace high-ranking officers who are holding positions based on political connections and loyalty to Karzai with trained officers who are willing to fight the insurgents.  A second step would be to curtail the wide-spread corruption within the ANSF - and learning to make do with the $4 billion year given to them by the international community.  Of course, there are more measures the general could take to correct the obvious inefficient and ineffective processes of the ANSF but . . . it would take a book to list them.

Issues to Solve During Afghanistan Transition

There are less than three years until the fight in Afghanistan has been fully transitioned to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) by the end of 2014.  There are many problems to be solved and issues to be faced during this transition.  Some of these include setting meaningful strategic goals for the war, developing an overall transition plan that will actually work, how to complete building up the ANSF in the face of upcoming cuts to the ANSF budget, what the end strength of the ANSF will be, what is the future of the Afghan Local Police (ALP), where will the peace negotiations with the Taliban leave us, how to reduce corruption within the Afghan government, how to resolve the difficulties with Pakistan (should we even try?), and how do we avoid a possible civil war between the Pashtuns and the ethnic groups of the old Northern Alliance (Uzbeks, Tajiks, and Hazaras)?  These questions and more are raised in an online piece entitled "The Real Issues in Afghanistan: Looking Beyond Undefined Policy Statements and Slogans", Defense Professionals, February 3, 2012.

Shifting to "Advise and Assist Role" in Afghanistan

Leon Panetta's recent announcement that the U.S. will move from a "combat' role to "advise and assist" role in Afghanistan in mid-2013 has caught some observers by surprise and spurred a flurry of commentary.  Read one online article entitled "US troops in Afghanistan: How big is shift from 'combat' to 'assistance'?", The Christian Science Monitor, February 2, 2012.

Taxis in Kabul - Life in the Fast Lane (or Slow Lane)

An enlightening article about catching a cab in Kabul, Afghanistan by a reporter who has spent some time there.  If you have spent any time driving through the city you will appreciate this piece for it's description of potholes, taxi driver, and lack of rules of the road!

Read "Fast and Furious cabs no match for Kabul's Mad Max roads", Stars and Stripes, October 4, 2011.