Afghan peacekeeping force to be bolstered


	March 21, 2002	atimes.com

Central Asia/Russia

Afghan peacekeeping force to be bolstered
By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS - The 17-nation, Kabul-based International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is to be bolstered by troops from at least nine more countries: Argentina, Australia, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Poland and Thailand.

The proposed expansion of the ISAF, which now consists of 4,840 troops, is being strongly supported by the United Nations and its special envoy in Afghanistan, Lakhdhar Brahimi. The ideal force strength, according to UN estimates, is about 30,000 troops. But even with the nine new countries joining the ISAF, the total military strength is likely to fall far short of this figure. The individual troop contributions by the nine countries remain to be determined.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, who returned from Kabul last week, has also urged the extension of the UN-authorized ISAF's mandate, which expires at the end of June. This is imperative, she said, because the ISAF has maintained the peace in Kabul and provided security not only to Afghans but also to UN personnel and humanitarian workers.

Britain, which currently leads the peacekeeping force with 1,863 troops, has announced plans to withdraw from the ISAF by the end of April. Turkey, which has 275 troops serving with the ISAF, is likely to take over command from Brn. The number of Turkish troops in the ISAF is to be increased to 1,260 before the end of April. But the Turkish government is seeking funds from the United States, Britain and other Western nations to finance the deployment of additional troops. The estimated cost is US$60 million.

Even as it pulls out of the ISAF, the British government has decided to send 1,700 soldiers to join US-led forces battling Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in the mountains of Afghanistan. Until now, only British Special Forces have been assisting the United States, which has more than 5,300 ground troops in Afghanistan.

Although the US administration has proclaimed that its anti-terrorist war in Afghanistan is "winding down", the deployment of fresh British troops is an indication that the war in Afghanistan may really be on the verge of escalating, according to political analysts. "It is inevitable that the United States, in particular, is entering a quagmire well beyond the borders of Afghanistan," says As'ad AbuKhalil, a professor of politics at California State University.

AbuKhalil, author of Bin Laden and Taliban: The New American War against Terrorism, said the United States has become too involved in far too many civil wars. "The United States is insisting on furthering its own interests as soon as possible, with little consideration for local sensibilities and interests," he said. "It did so in Lebanon in the 1980s." AbuKhalil also said: "Western powers assume that Western military superiority is sufficient to pacify a region and to shape and mold it. They can do that, but only for a period."

Roger Normand, executive director of the New York-based Center for Economic and Social Rights, said: "What the United States is doing is arming selected warlords to attack what are called Taliban and al-Qaeda remnants, but in reality are often forces of rival warlords."

Normand, who is writing a major UN-assigned report on human rights in Afghanistan, said this is the same destructive policy of foreign intervention that contributed to the military factionalization of Afghan society in the past two decades. "It is certain to heighten factional conflict and undermine international plans for reconstruction of Afghanistan, which depend on increased peace and security," he added. Normand also said the current situation in Afghanistan appears to be part of a US strategy of establishing a permanent military presence in new army bases throughout the region, using the pretext of continuing instability in Afghanistan to extend influence over regional oil and gas resources.

Meanwhile, in a letter to the Security Council on Monday, British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock said the ISAF has been primarily responsible for improved security in Kabul. The reopening of the Kabul international airport "has been one of the most significant contributions to the creation of a sense of a return to normality, connecting the capital to the rest of the world", the letter said. Greenstock said the ISAF was also responsible for training the 1st Battalion of the Afghan National Guard. About 600 men from a wide variety of Afghan ethnic groups are now in training.

The UN Development Program, the lead UN agency in Afghanistan, has undertaken to fund and supervise the refurbishment of a semi-derelict barracks as a base. The training course is scheduled to end next month. The Netherlands, Norway, Turkey, France, Italy, Germany and Britain have provided resources.

(Inter Press Service)