Iraq Conflict Prompts Fresh Security Concern in Afghanistan

Afghan leaders are concerned that military action in Iraq may drain international attention and resources from Afghanistan's reconstruction effort, increasing the difficulty of extending Kabul's authority to areas now under the control of warlords and other renegade elements. In an attempt to help allay Kabul's fears, American paratroopers have launched an offensive aimed at rooting out the remnants of Taliban and al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan.

US and Afghan troops loyal to President Hamid Karzai's interim Afghan government launched their offensive March 20, a day after American bombs began to fall on Baghdad. The hunt for Taliban and al Qaeda fighters is concentrated in the rugged Sami Ghar mountains and around the eastern cities of Gardez and Khost.

Seeking to reinforce the US-Afghan relationship, Afghan Defense Minister Mohammed Fahim, a former Northern Alliance leader, visited the United States in mid-March. According to Afghan officials familiar with the talks, Bush administration officials assured Fahim that Washington's assistance to Karzai's government would not change as a result of the military operations in Iraq. In turn, Fahim sought to reassure US officials that Kabul was building its own military capacity to shoulder more of the country's security burden.

"We told the Americans that we have confidence in them and that they should have confidence in us," Fahim told a gathering of Afghan officials in Kabul after his return from Washington.

The Karzai government is committed to building a new Afghan national army, which is ultimately supposed to assume full responsibility for ensuring the country's security. The army's formation has proceeded at a slower pace than originally envisioned. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. On March 15, the Defense Ministry staged a military parade in Kabul in an effort to showcase the army's most elite unit. "This regiment includes soldiers from throughout the region," said Dr. Gulbuddin [he uses only one name], the Defense Ministry's chief of staff. "They have been in training for a few months and are the core of the national army."

According to Afghan sources, Karzai's government will need more than 3,000 troops to provide adequate protection against security threats posed by fighters under the control of various warlords. Dr. Gulbuddin told EurasiaNet in a telephone interview that security precautions have been stepped up at strategic locations in Kabul and elsewhere. Despite this, Afghans are increasingly vulnerable to instability, he claimed.

"We are still in danger on the Pakistani border. We have received several reports showing that there is a lot of movement in the purchase and sales of weapons close to the border," Dr. Gulbuddin said.

Other Afghan officials dispute Dr. Gulbuddin's dire security assessment. One Foreign Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, insisted that internal security was "much better than I can ever remember. Our merchants can travel to Mazar-e-Sharif through Kandahar [the former Taliban stronghold] without anyone hassling them." At the same time, the diplomat admitted that virtually no location in Afghanistan could be deemed totally secure.