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NATO mission expands in Afghanistan amid rising militancy
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| 04 October 2006 |
| EVENT |
| NATO Secretary General Japp de Hoop Scheffer announced at a meeting of defence ministers in Slovenia on 28 September that the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan will enlarge its mission into its final stage by taking command of forces in the east of the country from 5 October. |
ISAF will take command of 12 additional Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs), bringing the total figure to 25, and the number of troops under NATO command will increase from around 20,000 to more than 30,000. The majority of this increase will be made up by the transfer to ISAF command of 12,000 US troops already deployed in east Afghanistan, although de Hoop Scheffer did re-state the desire for an additional 2,500 troops, primarily from Europe.
It was also announced that NATO member countries would be supplying the fledgling Afghan army with substantial amounts of surplus equipment and arms.
Eastern Afghanistan has been the scene of significant militant activity, which the US and Afghan authorities claim has increased in recent weeks following the signing of a peace deal between the Pakistani government and tribal leaders in Waziristan. In particular the mountainous terrain, difficulties of cross border militant operations and the presence of additional hostile groups such as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Hizb-i-Islami will provide the mission with a number of considerable challenges.
The fact that US military operations in the region have so far been focused on counter-insurgency operations rather than the maintenance of security and reconstruction will also require a modification of operational conduct.
| FORECAST |
| The level of militant activity and unique challenges present in the east are likely to mean that the newly NATO-led mission will face a number of the problems it did when expanding to the south. This could again lead to a situation whereby the primary mission of reconstruction is undermined by a need to engage the militants in armed operations, severely slowing progress. These factors mean that the ISAF force in the east will likely have to look at its goals in the medium to long term, rather than hoping for any immediate short term accomplishments. |
© 2006 Jane's Information Group
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