Order Code RL30588
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Afghanistan: Post-War Governance,
Security, and U.S. Policy
Updated November 3, 2006January 11, 2007
Kenneth Katzman
Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress
Afghanistan: Post-War Governance,
Security, and U.S. Policy
Summary
Afghanistan’s political transition was completed with the convening of a
parliament in December 2005, but since thenin 2006 insurgent threats to Afghanistan’s
government have escalated to the point that some experts arewere questioning the future
of success of
U.S. stabilization efforts. In the political process, a new constitution was adopted
in in
January 2004, successful presidential elections were held on October 9, 2004, and
parliamentary elections took place on September 18, 2005. The parliament has
become an arena for factions that have fought each other for nearly three decades to
debate and peacefully resolve differences. Afghan citizens are enjoying new
personal personal
freedoms that were forbidden under the Taliban. Women are participating
in in
economic and political life, including as ministers, provincial governors, and
senior senior
levels of the new parliament.
The insurgency led by remnants of the former Taliban regime escalated
unexpectedly in 2006,
after several years in which it appeared the Taliban were
mostly defeated. Taliban
fighters have conducted several increasingly larger scale
been conducting large-scale attacks on coalition and Afghan security
forces in several southern provinces,
possibly aidedassisted by popular frustration with
slow reconstruction, official corruption,
and the failure to extend Afghan government
authority into rural areas and provinces.
In addition, narcotics trafficking is resisting
counter-measures, and independent
militias remain throughout the country, although
many have been disarmed.
U.S. and partner stabilization measures focus on strengthening the central
government and
its security forces and on promoting reconstructing while combating
the renewed
insurgent challenge. The United States and other countries are building
an Afghan
National Army, deploying a NATO-led International Security Assistance Force
Force (ISAF) that now commands peacekeeping throughout Afghanistan, and running
running regional enclaves to secure reconstruction (Provincial Reconstruction Teams,
PRTs).
Approximately 21,000 U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan to help combat the
insurgency, of which mostall but 8,000 are now under NATO/ISAF command (as of October 5).
To build security institutions and assist reconstruction, the United States gave
Afghanistan about $4.35 billion in FY2005, including funds to equip and train
Afghan security forces. Another approximately $3 billion was provided in FY2006. Pending and
enacted FY2007 appropriations measures would
FY2007 appropriations add another approximately $2.6 billion, including
security security
forces funding.
This paper will be updated as warranted by major developments. See also CRS
Report RS21922, Afghanistan: Elections, Constitution, and Government, by Kenneth
Katzman; and CRS Report RL32686, Afghanistan: Narcotics and U.S. Policy, by
Christopher M. Blanchard.
Contents
Background to Recent Developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
The Mujahedin Government and Rise of the Taliban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Taliban Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
The “Northern Alliance” Coalition Against the Taliban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Bush Administration Policy Pre-September 11, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
September 11 Attacks and Operation Enduring Freedom . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Post-War Stabilization and Reconstruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
The Bonn Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Permanent Constitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
National Elections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Addressing Key Challenges to the Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Strengthening Central Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 910
Curbing Regional Strongmen and Militias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1011
Combating Narcotics Trafficking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Reconstructing Infrastructure and the Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1314
Implementing Rule of Law/Improving Human Rights Practices . . . . . 15
Advancement of Women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Post-War Security Operations and Force Capacity Building . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
U.S. Operations/Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1718
The NATO-Led International Security Force (ISAF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2324
Afghan National Army (ANA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2425
Afghan National Police . . . . . . . . . . ./Justice Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2627
U.S. Security Forces Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2728
Regional Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2830
Pakistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2830
Iran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2931
India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3032
Russia, Central Asian States, and China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3133
Russia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3133
Central Asian States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3133
China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3234
Saudi Arabia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3234
U.S. and International Aid to Afghanistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3335
U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3335
Post-Taliban U.S. Aid Totals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3335
Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 and Amendments . . . . . . 3436
FY2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3536
Additional Funds and Other U.S. Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3537
World Bank/Asian Development Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3537
International Reconstruction Pledges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3638
Promoting Long-Term Economic Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3638
Trade and Investment Framework Agreement and WTO
Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3739
Residual Issues From Past Conflicts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3739
Stinger Retrieval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3739
Mine Eradication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3840
Appendix 1: U.S. and International Sanctions Lifted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4850
List of Figures
Figure 1. Map of Afghanistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5052
List of Tables
Table 1. Major Security-Related Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2729
Table 2. U.S. Aid to Afghanistan, FY1999-FY2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3941
Table 3. U.S. Aid to Afghanistan, 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4042
Table 4. U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan, FY2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4143
Table 5. U.S. Aid to Afghanistan, FY2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4244
Table 6. U.S. Aid to Afghanistan, FY2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4345
Table 7. U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan, FY1978-FY1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4446
Table 8. NATO/ISAF Contributing Nations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4547
Table 9. Provincial Reconstruction Teams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4648
Table 10. Major Factions/Leaders in Afghanistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4749
Afghanistan: Post-War Governance,
Security, and U.S. Policy
Background to Recent Developments
Prior to the founding of a monarchy in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durrani,
Afghanistan was territory inhabited by tribes and tribal confederations linked to
neighboring nations, not a distinct entity. King Amanullah Khan (1919-1929)
launched attacks on British forces in Afghanistan shortly after taking power and won
complete independence from Britain as recognized in the Treaty of Rawalpindi
(August 8, 1919). He was considered a secular modernizer presiding over a
government in which all ethnic minorities participated. He was succeeded by King
Mohammad Nadir Shah (1929-1933), and then by King Mohammad Zahir Shah.
Zahir Shah’s reign (1933-1973) is remembered fondly by many older Afghans
for promulgating a constitution in 1964 that established a national legislature and
promoting freedoms for women, including freeing them from covering their face and
hair. However, possibly believing that he could limit Soviet support for communist
factions in Afghanistan, Zahir Shah also entered into a significant political and arms
purchase relationship with the Soviet Union.
Afghanistan’s slide into instability began in the 1970s when the diametrically
opposed Communist Party and Islamic movements grew in strength. While receiving
medical treatment in Italy, Zahir Shah was overthrown by his cousin, Mohammad
Daoud, a military leader. Daoud established a dictatorship with strong state control
over the economy. Communists overthrew Daoud in 1978, led by Nur Mohammad
Taraki, who was displaced a year later by Hafizullah Amin, leader of a rival faction.
They tried to impose radical socialist change on a traditional society, in part by
redistributing land and bringing more women into government, sparking rebellion by
Islamic parties opposed to such moves. The Soviet Union sent troops into
Afghanistan on December 27, 1979, to prevent a seizure of power by the Islamic
militias, known as the mujahedin (Islamic fighters). Upon their invasion, the Soviets
replaced Hafizullah Amin with an ally, Babrak Karmal.
Soviet occupation forces were never able to pacify the outlying areas of the
country. The mujahedin benefited from U.S. weapons and assistance, provided
through the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in cooperation with Pakistan’s InterService Intelligence directorate (ISI). That weaponry included portable shoulderfired anti-aircraft systems called “Stingers,” which proved highly effective against
Soviet aircraft. The mujahedin also hid and stored weaponry in a large network of
natural and manmade tunnels and caves throughout Afghanistan. The Soviet Union’s
losses mounted, and Soviet domestic opinion turned anti-war. In 1986, after the
CRS-2
reformist Mikhail Gorbachev became leader, the Soviets replaced Karmal with the
director of Afghan intelligence, “Najibullah” Ahmedzai.
On April 14, 1988, Gorbachev agreed to a U.N.-brokered accord (the Geneva
Accords) requiring it to withdraw. The withdrawal was completed by February 15,
1989, leaving in place the weak Najibullah government. The United States closed
its embassy in Kabul in January 1989, as the Soviet Union was completing its
pullout. A warming of relations moved the United States and Soviet Union to try
for a political settlement to the Afghan conflict, a trend accelerated by the 1991
collapse of the Soviet Union, which reduced Moscow’s capacity for supporting
communist regimes in the Third World. On September 13, 1991, Moscow and
Washington agreed to a joint cutoff of military aid to the Afghan combatants.
Afghanistan Social and Economic Statistics
Population:
Ethnic Groups
Religions
Literacy Rate
GDP:
GDP per capita
GDP real growth
Unemployment rate
Revenues (2006.)
Expenditures (2005)
External Debt:
Foreign Exchange
Reserves
Major Exports:
Oil Production
Oil Consumption
Oil Proven Reserves
Major Imports:
31 million (July 2006 est.)
Pashtun 42%; Tajik 27%; Uzbek 9%; Hazara 9%; Aimak 4%; Turkmen
3%; Baluch 2%; other 4%
Religions
Sunni Muslim 80%; Shiite Muslim 19%; other 1%
Literacy Rate
28% of population over 15 years of age
GDP:
$21.5 billion (purchasing power parity)
GDP per capita
$800 (purchasing power parity)
GDP real growth
8% (2005)
Unemployment rate 40% (2005)
Revenues (2006 est.) $500 million
Expenditures (2005) 8% (2005)
40% (2005)
$500 million
$561 million, including $42 million in capital expenditures
External Debt:
$8 billion bilateral, plus $500 million multilateral. U.S. said February 8,
2006, that the has forgiven
$108 million in debt to U.S. would be forgiven.
Foreign Exchange
$2 billion
Reserves
Major Exports:in 2006
$2 billion
fruits, nuts, carpets, semi-precious gems, hides, opium
Oil Production
none
Oil Consumptionnone
5 million barrels per day
Oil Proven Reserves 3.6 billion barrels of oil, 36.5 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to
Afghan government on March 15, 2006
Major Imports:
food, petroleum, capital goods, textiles
Source: CIA World Factbook, August 2006, Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington, D.C.; Afghan
leadership press statements (October 2006).
The State Department has said that a total of about $3 billion in economic and
covert military assistance was provided by the U.S. to the Afghan mujahedin from
1980 until the end of the Soviet occupation in 1989. Press reports say the covert aid
program grew from about $20 million per year in FY1980 to about $300 million per
CRS-3
year during FY1986-FY1990. The Soviet pullout decreased the strategic value of
Afghanistan, causing the Administration and Congress to reduce covert funding.1
With Soviet backing withdrawn, on March 18, 1992, Najibullah publicly agreed
to step down once an interim government was formed. That announcement set off
a wave of rebellions primarily by Uzbek and Tajik militia commanders who were
nominally his allies. The defectorsin northern
Afghanistan, who joined prominent mujahedin commander Ahmad
Shah Masud of
the Islamic Society, a largely Tajik party headed by Burhannudin
Rabbani. Masud
had earned a reputation as a brilliant strategist by preventing the
Soviets from
occupying his power base in the Panjshir Valley of northeastern
Afghanistan.
Najibullah fell, and the mujahedin regime began April 18, 1992.2
The Mujahedin Government and Rise of the Taliban
The fall of Najibullah exposed the differences among the mujahedin parties.
The leader of one of the smaller parties (Afghan National Liberation Front), Islamic
scholar Sibghatullah Mojadeddi, became president during April and- May 1992.
Under Under
an agreement among the major parties, Rabbani became President in June
1992 with
the understanding that he would serve until December 1994. He refused
to step down
down at that time, saying that political authority would disintegrate without a clear
successor. Kabul was subsequently shelled by other mujahedin factions leader,
particularly the, particularly
that of nominal “prime minister” Gulbuddin Hikmatyar, who accused
Rabbani of
monopolizing power. Hikmatyar’s radical Islamist Hizb-e-Islami
(Islamic Party) had
received a large proportion of the U.S. aid during the anti-Soviet
war. Four years of
civil war (1992-1996) created popular support for the Taliban
as a movement that
could deliver Afghanistan from the factional infighting.
The Taliban was formed in 1993-1994 by Afghan Islamic clerics and students,
many of them former mujahedin who had become disillusioned with continued
conflict among mujahedin parties and had moved into Pakistan to study in Islamic
seminaries (“madrassas”). They were practitioners of an orthodox Sunni Islam
called “Wahhabism,” which is similar to that practiced in Saudi Arabia. The Taliban
was composed of ethnic Pashtuns (Pathans) from rural areas of Afghanistan who
viewed the Rabbani government as corrupt, anti-Pashtun, and responsible for civil
war. With the help of defections, the Taliban seized control of the southeastern city
of Qandahar in November 1994; by February 1995, it had reached the gates of Kabul,
after which an 18-month stalemate around the capital ensued. In September 1995,
the Taliban captured Herat province, bordering Iran, and imprisoned its governor,
Ismail Khan, a Tajik ally of Rabbani and Masud, who later escaped and took refuge
in Iran. In September 1996, Taliban victories near Kabul led to the withdrawal of
Rabbani and Masud to their Panjshir Valley redoubt north of Kabul with most of
their heavy weapons; the Taliban took control of Kabul on September 27, 1996.
1
For FY1991, Congress reportedly cut covert aid appropriations to the mujahedin from
$300
million the previous year to $250 million, with half the aid withheld until the second
half half
of the fiscal year. See “Country Fact Sheet: Afghanistan,” in U.S. Department of State
Dispatch, vol. 5, no. 23 (June 6, 1994), p. 377.
2
After failing to flee, Najibullah, his brother, and aides remained at a U.N. facility in Kabul
until the Taliban movement seized control in 1996 and hanged them.
CRS-4
Immediately thereafter, Taliban gunmen entered a U.N. facility in Kabul to seize
Najibullah, his brother, and aides sheltered there, and subsequently hanged them.
Taliban Rule
The Taliban regime was led by Mullah Muhammad Umar, who fought and lost an eye
in in
the anti-Soviet war while fighting under the banner of the Hizb-e-Islam (Islamic
Party of Yunis Khalis. Umar held the title of Head of State and “Commander of the
Faithful,” but he mostly remained in the Taliban power base in Qandahar, rarely
appearing in public. Umar forged a close bond with bin Laden and refused U.S.
demands to extradite him. Born in Uruzgan province, Umar is about 60 years old.
The Taliban progressively lost international and domestic support as it imposed
strict adherence to Islamic customs in areas it controlled and employed harsh
punishments, including executions. The Taliban authorized its “Ministry for the
Promotion of Virtue and the Suppression of Vice” to use physical punishments to
enforce strict Islamic practices, including bans on television, Western music, and
dancing. It prohibited women from attending school or working outside the home,
except in health care, and it publicly executed some women for adultery. In what
many consider its most extreme action, in March 2001 the Taliban blew up two
large Buddha statues carved into hills above Bamiyan city, on the grounds that they
represented un-Islamic idolatry.
The Clinton Administration held talks with the Taliban before and after it took
power, but relations quickly deteriorated. The United States withheld recognition
of Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, formally recognizing no
faction as the government. Because of the lack of broad international recognition,
the United Nations seated representatives of the ousted Rabbani government, not the
Taliban. The State Department ordered the Afghan embassy in Washington, D.C.,
closed in August 1997. U.N. Security Council Resolution 1193 (August 28, 1998)
and 1214 (December 8, 1998) urged the Taliban to end discrimination against
women. Several U.S.-based women’s rights groups urged the Clinton
Administration Administration
not to recognize the Taliban government, and in May 1999, the
Senate passed a
resolution (S.Res. 68) calling on the President not to recognize any
Afghan Afghan
government that discriminates against women.
The Taliban’s hosting of Al Qaeda’s leadership had become the Clinton
Administration’s overriding agenda item with Afghanistan by 1998.3 In April 1998,
then U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson visited Afghanistan and
asked the Taliban to hand over bin Laden, but was rebuffed. After the August 7,
1998, Al Qaeda bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the Clinton
Administration progressively pressured the Taliban on bin Laden, imposing U.S.
sanctions and achieving adoption of some U.N. sanctions against the Taliban. On
August 20, 1998, the United States fired cruise missiles at alleged Al Qaeda training
camps in eastern Afghanistan, but bin Laden was not at any of the camps at the time.
Some observers assert that the Administration, for varying reasons, missed other
3
For more information on Al Qaeda, see CRS Report RL33038, Al Qaeda: Profile and
Threat Assessment, by Kenneth Katzman.
CRS-5
purported opportunities to strike bin Laden. Clinton Administration officials say that
they did not try to oust the Taliban from power with U.S. military force because
domestic U.S. support for those steps was then lacking and the Taliban’s opponents
were too weak and did not necessarily hold U.S. values.
The “Northern Alliance” Coalition Against the Taliban
The Taliban’s policies caused many different Afghan factions to ally with the
ousted President Rabbani and Masud, the Tajik core of the anti-Taliban opposition,
into a broader “Northern Alliance.” Other components of the Alliance were the
Uzbeks, the Hazara Shiites, and the Pashtun IslamistsAmong them were the Uzbek, Hazara Shiite,
and Pashtun Islamist factions below (see also Table 10 on “Major
Factions/Leaders
in Afghanistan”).
!
Uzbeks/General Dostam. One major component was the Uzbek
Alliance faction was the
Uzbek militia (the Junbush-Melli, or National Islamic Movement of
Afghanistan) of General Abdul Rashid Dostam. During the U.S., although Dostam
had earlier contributed to efforts to force Rabbani from power.
During the U.S.-led war against the Taliban, Dostam reportedly
impressed U.S.
military commanders by leading horse-mounted
forces against fixed
Taliban positions at Shulgara Dam, south of
Mazar-e-Sharif, leading
to the fall of that city and the Taliban’s
subsequent collapse.
!
Hazara Shiites. Members of Hazara tribes, mostly Shiite Muslims,
are prominent in Bamiyan Province (central Afghanistan) and are
always wary of repression by Pashtuns and other large ethnic
factions. During the various Afghan wars, the main Hazara Shiite
grouping was Hizb-e-Wahdat (Unity Party, an alliance of eight
smaller groups).
!
Pashtun Islamists/Sayyaf. Abd-I-Rab Rasul Sayyaf, who is now
a parliament committee chairman, headed a Pashtun-dominated
mujahedin faction called the Islamic Union for the Liberation of
Afghanistan. Even though his ideology is similar to that of the
Taliban, Sayyaf joined the Northern Alliance.
Bush Administration Policy Pre-September 11, 2001
Prior to the September 11 attacks, Bush Administration policy toward the
Taliban differed only slightly from Clinton Administration policy: applying pressure
short of military while retaining dialogue with the Taliban. The Bush
Administration Administration
did not provide the Northern Alliance with U.S. military assistance,
although the 9/11
Commission report sayssaid that, in the months prior to the September
11 attacks, the
Administration was leaning toward such a step. That report adds that
some added that some
Administration officials wanted to also assist anti-Taliban Pashtun forces and
not just
the Northern Alliance; other covert options might have been under
consideration as
CRS-6
well.4 In a departure from Clinton Administration policy, the Bush
Administration Administration
stepped up engagement with Pakistan, in part to persuade it to end
4
Drogin, Bob. “U.S. Had Plan for Covert Afghan Options Before 9/11.” Los Angeles
Times, May 18, 2002.
CRS-6
support for the
Taliban. In accordance with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1333,
in February
2001 the State Department ordered the closing of a Taliban
representative office in
New York, although the Taliban representative continued to
operate informally. In
March 2001, Bush Administration officials received Taliban
foreign ministry aide
Rahmatullah Hashemi to discuss bilateral issues.
Fighting with some Iranian, Russian, and Indian support, the Northern Alliance
continued to lose ground to the Taliban after it lost Kabul in 1996. By the time of the
September 11 attacks, the Taliban controlled at least 75% of the country, including
almost all major provincial capitals. The Northern Alliance suffered a major setback
on September 9, 2001, two days before the September 11 attacks, when Ahmad Shah
Masud was assassinated by alleged Al Qaeda suicide bombers posing as journalists.
He was succeeded by his intelligence chief, Muhammad Fahim, a veteran figure but
who lacked Masud’s charisma or undisputed authority.
September 11 Attacks and Operation Enduring Freedom. After the
September 11 attacks, the Bush Administration decided to militarily overthrow the
Taliban when it refused to extradite bin Laden. The Administration decided that a
friendly regime in Kabul was needed to create the conditions under which U.S. forces
could capture Al Qaeda activists there. In Congress, S.J.Res. 23 (passed 98-0 in the
Senate and with no objections in the House, P.L. 107-40) authorized:5
all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or
persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist
attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001 or harbored such organizations or
persons.
Major combat in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom, OEF) began on
October 7, 2001. It consisted primarily of U.S. air-strikes on Taliban and Al Qaeda
forces, coupled with targeting by relatively small numbers (about 1,000) of U.S.
special operations forces, to facilitate military offensives by the Northern Alliance
and Pashtun anti-Taliban forces. Some U.S. ground units (about 1,300 Marines)
moved into Afghanistan to pressure the Taliban around Qandahar at the height of
the the
fighting (October-December 2001), but there were few pitched battles between
U.S.
and Taliban soldiers; most of the ground combat was between Taliban and its
Afghan Afghan
opponents. Some critics believe that U.S. dependence on local Afghan
militia forces
in the war strengthened the militias in the post-war period.
The Taliban regime unraveled rapidly after it lost Mazar-e-Sharif on
November November
9, 2001. Northern Alliance forces — the commanders of which had
initially initially
promised U.S. officials they would not enter Kabul — entered the capital on
4
Drogin, Bob. “U.S. Had Plan for Covert Afghan Options Before 9/11.” Los Angeles
Times, May 18, 2002.
5
Another law (P.L. 107-148) established a “Radio Free Afghanistan” under RFE/RL,
providing $17 million in funding for it for FY2002.
CRS-7
November 12 to popular celebrations. The Taliban subsequently lost the south and
east to pro-U.S. Pashtun leaders, such as Hamid Karzai. The end of the Taliban
regime is generally dated as December 9, 2001, when the Taliban surrendered
Qandahar and Mullah Omar fled the city, leaving it under tribal law administered by
Pashtun leaders such as the Bashir Noorzai brothers. Subsequently, U.S. and
5
Another law (P.L. 107-148) established a “Radio Free Afghanistan” under RFE/RL,
providing $17 million in funding for it for FY2002.
CRS-7
Afghan Afghan
forces conducted “Operation Anaconda” in the Shah-i-Kot Valley south of
Gardez Gardez
(Paktia Province) during March 2-19, 2002, against as many as 800 Al
Qaeda and
Taliban fighters. In March 2003, about 1,000 U.S. troops raided
suspected Taliban
or Al Qaeda fighters in villages around Qandahar. On May 1,
2003, Secretary of
Defense Rumsfeld said “major combat operations” had ended.
Post-War Stabilization and Reconstruction6
The war paved the way for the success of a decade-long U.N. effort to form a
broad-based Afghan government. The United Nations was viewed as a credible
mediator by all sides largely because of its role in ending the Soviet occupation.
During the 1990s, proposals from a succession of U.N. mediators incorporated many
of former King Zahir Shah’s proposals for a government to be selected by a
traditional assembly, the loya jirga. However, any U.N.-mediated ceasefires
between between
warring factions always broke down. Non-U.N. initiatives fared no better,
particularly the “Six Plus Two” multilateral contact group, which began meeting in
1997 (the United States, Russia, and the six states bordering Afghanistan: Iran,
China, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan). Other efforts included
a “Geneva group” (Italy, Germany, Iran, and the United States) formed in 2000; an
Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) contact group; and Afghan exile efforts,
including one from the Karzai clan and one centered on former King Zahir Shah.
The Bonn Agreement. Immediately after the September 11 attacks, former
U.N. mediator Lakhdar Brahimi was brought back (he had ended his efforts in
frustration in October 1999). U.N. Security Council Resolution 1378 was adopted
on November 14, 2001, calling for a “central” role for the United Nations in
establishing a transitional administration and inviting member states to send
peacekeeping forces to promote stability and aid delivery. After the fall of Kabul in
November 2001, the United Nations invited the major Afghan factions, most
prominently the Northern Alliance and that of the former King — but not the Taliban
— to a conference in Bonn, Germany. On December 5, 2001, the factions signed the
“Bonn Agreement.”7 It was endorsed by U.N. Security Council Resolution 1385
(December 6, 2001). The agreement included the following provisions:
!
Formed a 30-member interim administration to govern until the
holding in June 2002 of an emergency loya jirga, which would
choose a government to run Afghanistan until a new constitution is
approved and national elections held (planned for June 2004).
6
More information on some of the issues in this section can be found in CRS Report
RS21922, Afghanistan: Elections, Constitution, and Government, by Kenneth Katzman.
7
Text of Bonn agreement at [http://www.ag-afghanistan.de/files/petersberg.htm].
CRS-8
Hamid Karzai was selected to chair the interim administration,
weighted toward the Northern Alliance with 17 out of 30 of the
positions, including Defense (Fahim), Foreign Affairs (Dr. Abdullah
Abdullah), and Interior (Yunus Qanooni). The three ethnic Tajiks,
in their 40s, had been close aides to Ahmad Shah Masud. It was
6
More information on some of the issues in this section can be found in CRS Report
RS21922, Afghanistan: Elections, Constitution, and Government, by Kenneth Katzman.
7
Text of Bonn agreement at [http://www.ag-afghanistan.de/files/petersberg.htm].
CRS-8
agreed that, in the interim, Afghanistan would abide by the
In the
interim, the constitution of 1964 would apply.8
!
Authorized an international peace keeping force to maintain security,
at least in Kabul. Northern Alliance forces were directed to
withdraw from Kabul. The agreement also referenced the need to
cooperate with the international community to counter narcotics
trafficking, crime, and terrorism. The international peacekeeping
force was authorized by Security Council Resolution 1386
(December 20, 2001).
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, about 50, was selected to lead Afghanistan because he iswas a credible
Pashtun leader who seeks factional compromise rather than intimidation of his opponents
through armed force. On the other hand, some observers believe him too willing to
compromise with rather than confront regional and other faction leaders, and to tolerate
corruption, resulting in a slower than expected pace of reform and professionalization
of government. He has led the powerful Popolzai tribe of Durrani Pashtuns since 1999,
when his father was assassinated, allegedly by Taliban agents, in Quetta, Pakistan.
Karzai attended university in India. He was deputy foreign minister in Rabbani’s
government during 1992-1995, but he left the government and supported the Taliban as
a Pashtun alternative to Rabbani. He broke with the Taliban as its excesses unfolded and
forged alliances with other anti-Taliban factions, including the Northern Alliance. Karzai
entered Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks to organize Pashtun resistance to the
Taliban, supported by U.S. special forces. He became central to U.S. efforts after
Pashtun commander Abdul Haq entered Afghanistan in October 2001 without U.S.
support and was captured and hung by the Taliban. Some of his several brothers have
lived in the United States, including Qayyum Karzai, who won a parliament seat in the
September 2005 election. Karzai said in August 2006 that he might not run for a second term
term in 2009 presidential elections.
Permanent Constitution. An “emergency” loya jirga (June 2002) put a
popular imprimatur on the transition government. Former King Zahir Shah returned
to Afghanistan in April 2002 for the meeting, for which 381 districts of Afghanistan
chose 1,550 delegates, of which about 200 were women. At the assembly, the
former King and Rabbani withdrew their candidacies and Karzai was selected to
remain leader until presidential elections. On its last day (June 19, 2002), the
assembly approved a new cabinet, with a few changes. Subsequently, a 35-member
constitutional commission, appointed in October 2002, drafted the permanent
constitution and unveiled in November 2003. It was debated by 502 delegates,
selected in U.N.-run caucuses, at a “constitutional loya jirga (CLJ)” during
December 13, 2003-January 4, 2004. The CLJ, chaired by Mojadeddi (mentioned
8
The last loya jirga that was widely recognized as legitimate was held in 1964 to ratify a
constitution. Najibullah convened a loya jirga in 1987 to approve pro-Moscow policies; that
gathering was widely viewed by Afghans as illegitimate.
CRS-9
constitution and unveiled in November 2003. It was debated by 502 delegates,
selected in U.N.-run caucuses, at a “constitutional loya jirga (CLJ)” during
December 13, 2003-January 4, 2004. The CLJ, chaired by Mojadeddi (mentioned
above), ended with approval of the constitution with only minor changes from the
draft. Most significantly, members of the Northern Alliance factions and their allies
did not succeed in measurably limiting the power of the presidency by setting up a
prime minister-ship. However, major powers were given to an elected parliament,
such as the power to veto senior official nominees and the ability to impeach a
president.
National Elections. The October 9, 2004, presidential voting was orderly
and turnout heavy (about 80%). On November 3, 2004, Karzai was declared winner
(55.4% of the vote) over his seventeen challengers on the first round, avoiding a
runoff. Parliamentary and provincial council elections were intended for April-May
2005 but were delayed until September 18, 2005. Because of the difficulty in
confirming voter registration rolls and determining district boundaries, elections for
the district councils, each of which will have small and contentious boundaries, were
put off until later in 2006. (postponed. No date is set for these elections.)
Parliamentary results were delayed until November 12, 2005, because of the
need to examine 2,000 fraud complaints. Even though many believe the Karzai
supporters are a slight majority of the parliament, when it convened on December
18, 2005, the Northern Alliance bloc, joined by others, engineered selection of
former Karzai presidential election rival Qanooni for speaker of the lower house.
Qanooni subsequently said he would work cooperatively with Karzai; the role of
“opposition leader” was subsequently taken up by Northern Alliance political leader
Rabbani, who won a seat, although Rabbani told CRS in Kabul in March 2006 that
he supports “reform” and not opposition to Karzai. The 102-seat upper house,
selected by the provincial councils and Karzai, consists mainly of older, well known
figures, as well as 17 females (half of Karzai’s 34 appointments, as provided for in
the constitution). The leader of that body is Mojadeddi, who was slightly injured in
a bombing of his convoy in March 2006.
The new parliament has asserted itself in the process of confirming a postelection post-election
cabinet, deciding to confirm each nominee individually. Modernizers in the
parliament also succeeded in forcing Karzai to oust several major conservatives from
the Supreme Court in favor of those with more experience in modern jurisprudence,
and it has established itself in oversight of the national budget.
Addressing Key Challenges to the Transition
The political transition has proceeded, but Karzai’s government has expanding
suffers from
lack of capacity and has expanded its writ only in a few outlying regions near Kabul,
and Afghanistan continues to face
challenges beyond the ongoing insurgency. A
Washington Post report on June 26,
2006, said that confidence in Karzai on the part
of Afghans and of some European
nations that contribute forces to Afghanistan, is
also waning because of government
corruption and a lack of protection from
robberies and other crimes, as well as some
recent decisions that conflict with
comprehensive reform, discussed below. Secretary
of State Rice subsequently rebutted the criticism
of Karzai and said the United States
maintains confidence in his leadership.
maintains confidence in his leadership.
Subsequently, a reported CIA assessment in November 2006 found that increasing
CRS-10
numbers of Afghans view Karzai’s government as weak and corrupt.9 Some
observers say that Karzai’s domestic opponents, including some fellow Pashtuns, are
using Karzai’s perceived weakness to maneuver against him politically.
Strengthening Central Government. A key part of the U.S. stabilization
effort is to build the capacity of the Afghan government, an objective that has not to
date succeededbeen accomplished in the southern provinces. Over the past year, the outgoing
commander of
CRS-10
U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Carl Eikenberry (he departs
Afghanistan in late January 2007), has worked to extend Afghan
government government
authority by conducting visits to all provinces along with Afghan
ministers to
determine local needs and demonstrate the abilityheighten the profile of the central
government to act. As a government. As a
demonstration of high-level U.S. support for Karzai, the
Administration has
maintained a pattern of senior visits. Vice President Cheney
attended Karzai’s
inauguration in December 2004. In March 2005, First Lady Laura
Bush visited.
President Bush made his first visit on March 1, 2006.
The United States and the Afghan government are also trying to build
democratic traditions at the local level. At the local level, an Afghan government
“National Solidarity Program,” largely funded by international donors, ” seeks to
create and empower local governing councils
to prioritize local reconstruction
projects. Elections to these local councils have been
held in several provinces, and
almost 40% of those elected have been women.910
U.S. Embassy Operations and Funding. Zalmay Khalilzad, an American
of Afghan origin who was President Bush’s envoy to Afghanistan, was ambassador
during December 2003-August 2005, and he reportedly had significant influence on
Afghan government decisions and factional reconciliation.10.11 The current ambassador
is Ronald Neumann. To
assist the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and coordinate
reconstruction and diplomacy, in
2004 the State Department created an Office of
Afghanistan Affairs. As part of a
2003 U.S. push to build government capacity, the
Bush Administration formed a 15-person15person Afghan Reconstruction Group (ARG),
placed within the U.S. Embassy in
Kabul, to serve as additional advisors to the
Afghan government. However, observers in Kabul say the group,The group is now mostly
focused on helping Afghanistan attract private investment, is phasing out and develop revenuegenerating industries.
The U.S. embassy, now housed in a newly constructed building, has expanded
its personnel and facilities to help accelerate the reconstruction process. The tables
at the end of this paper discuss U.S. funding for Embassy operations and Karzai
protection, which is now led by Afghan forces. An FY2006 supplemental
appropriation (P.L. 109-234) provided a requested $50 million for security costs to
protect U.S. facilities and personnel.
9
Rohde, David and James Risen. CIA Review Highlights Afghan Leader’s Woes. New
York Times, November 5, 2006.
10
Khalilzad, Zalmay (Then U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan). “Democracy Bubbles Up.”
Wall Street Journal, March 25, 2004.
11
Waldman, Amy. “In Afghanistan, U.S. Envoy Sits in Seat of Power.” New York Times,
April 17, 2004. Afghanistan’s ambassador in Washington is Seyed Jalal Tawwab, formerly
a Karzai aide.
CRS-11
Curbing Regional Strongmen and Militias. Karzai, as well as numerous
private studies and U.S. official statements, have cited regional and factional militias
as a major threat to Afghan stability because of their arbitrary administration of
justice and generation of popular resentment. Some of these local militias have been
accused of past human rights abuses in a report released in July 2005 by the
“Afghanistan Justice Project.11 Some argue that Afghans have always sought
sought substantial regional autonomy, but others say that easily purchased arms and
manpower, funded by narcotics trafficking, sustains the local militias.
9
Khalilzad, Zalmay (Then U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan). “Democracy Bubbles Up.”
Wall Street Journal, March 25, 2004.
10
Waldman, Amy. “In Afghanistan, U.S. Envoy Sits in Seat of Power.” New York Times,
April 17, 2004. Afghanistan’s ambassador in Washington is Seyed Jalal Tawwab, formerly
a Karzai aide.
11
See [http://www.afghanistanjusticeproject.org].
CRS-11
SuggestingIn June 2006, suggesting that Karzai believes some militias can play a useful role in filling
filling security gaps, in June 2006particularly the deficit of national police, he said he was
authorizing arming some local tribal
militias (arbokai) to help in local policing.
Karzai said his assessment was that these
militias would provide security and be loyal
to the nation and central government and
that arming them is not inconsistent with
the disarmament programs discussed below.
Several of these local militias are now
operating.
Although the smaller militias persist, Karzai has succeeded in marginalizing some major
most of the largest regional leaders. Herat
governor Ismail Khan was removed by
Karzai in September 2004 and was later
appointed Minister of Water and Energy.
On the other hand, he was tapped by
Karzai to help calm Herat after Sunni-Shiite
clashes there in February 2006, clashes
that some in Kabul believe were stoked by
Khan himself to demonstrate his
continued influence in Herat. Dostam (see above)
was appointed Karzai’s top
military advisor, and in April 2005 he “resigned” as head
of his Junbush Melli
faction. In July 2004, Karzai removed charismatic Northern
Alliance commander
Atta Mohammad from control of a militia in the Mazar-e-Sharif
area, appointing him
as governor of Balkh province, although he reportedly remains
resistant to central government control. Two other militia leaders, Hazrat Ali
(Jalalabad area)
and Khan Mohammad (Qandahar area) were placed in civilian police
chief posts;
Hazrat Ali was subsequently elected to parliament.
Karzai has tried to appoint some
relatively young, pro-government technocrats
in key governorships instead of local
strongmen; three examples are Qandahar
governor Asadullah Khalid, Paktika
governor Muhammad Akram Khapalwak, and
Paktia governor Abdul Hakim
Taniwal. However, Taniwal was killed in a suicide
bombing on September 10, 2006.
As noted above, former Defense Minister Fahim was appointed by Karzai to the
upper house of parliament. The move gives him a stake in the political process and
reduces his potential to activate Northern Alliance militia loyalists. Fahim has also
turned almost all of his heavy weapons over to U.N. and Afghan forces as of January
2005 (including four Scud missiles).
DDR and DIAG Programs. A cornerstone of the effort to curb regionalism
was a program, run by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan
(UNAMA, whose mandate was extended until March 2007 by U.N. Security Council
Resolution 1662 of March 23, 2006), to dismantle identified and illegal militias. The
The program, which formally concluded on June 30, 2006, was the “DDR” program:
Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration. The program was run in
partnership with Japan, Britain, and Canada, with participation of the United States.
The program got off to a slow start because the Afghan Defense Ministry did not
enact mandated reforms (primarily reduction of the number of Tajiks in senior
CRS-12
positions) by the targeted July 1, 2003, date. In September 2003, Karzai acted on the
issue, replacing replaced
22 senior Tajik Defense Ministry officials with Pashtuns, Uzbeks,
and Hazaras.
The DDR program had initially been expected to demobilize 100,000 fighters,
although that figure was later reduced by Afghan officials to just over 60,000.
According to UNAMA, a total of 63,380 militia fighters were disarmed by the end
of the program. Of those, 55,800 exercised reintegration options provided by the
program: starting small businesses, farming, and other options, although U.N.
officials say about 25% of these have thus far found long-term, sustainable jobs. The
total cost of the program was $141 million, funded by Japan and other donors,
including the United States. Some studies have criticized the DDR program for
CRS-12
failing to prevent a certain amount of rearmament of militiamen or stockpiling of
weapons and for the rehiring of some militiamen in programs run by the United
States and its partners.12
Part of the DDR program was the collection and cantonment of militia weapons.
According to UNAMA, at least 36,000 medium and light weapons were collected;
of these, 13,400 pieces have been transferred to the ANA. In addition, about 11,000
heavy weapons (tanks, armored personnel carriers, and artillery pieces) were
collected, nearly all of the heavy weapons believed controlled by militia forces.
cantonment of militia weapons. Figures for collected weapons are contained in the
table below. However, some accounts say that only poor quality weapons were
collected.
Since June 11, 2005, the disarmament effort has emphasized another program
called “DIAG,” Disbandment of Illegal Armed Groups. It is run by the Afghan
Disarmament and Reintegration Commission, headed by Vice President Khalili. The
program seeks to disarm, by December 2007, a pool of as many as 120150,000 members
of 1,800 different “illegal armed groups”: militiamen that were not part of
recognized local forces (Afghan Military Forces, AMF) and were never on the rolls
of the Defense Ministry. However, UNAMA officials told CRS in Kabul in March
2006 that only “several hundred” groups (five or more fighters) are of sufficient
concern to merit disarmament efforts. As of November 2006, over 22,000 weapons
had been collected from these militia fighters, according to UNAMA.
Kapisa Province is considered a model for the program because 37 commanders
believed receptive to disarmament attended a ceremony to formally inaugurate the
DIAG program on May 1, 2006. Other provinces believed receptive are Takhar and
Herat; some commanders in Khost, which has sometimes been restive, agreed to
disarm under the program in March 2006. No payments are available to fighters
disarmed under the program, and the program depends on persuasion and negotiation
rather than direct use of force against the illegal groups
Under the DIAG, no payments are available to fighters, and the program
depends on persuasion and negotiation rather than direct use of force against the
illegal groups. The program is not operating in most of the south because Taliban
and other insurgent groups refuse to disarm voluntarily. DIAG is not as well funded
as is DDR: thus far, the program has received $11 million in operating funds. As an
incentive for compliance, Japan and other donors are making available $35 million
for development projects where illegal groups have disbanded.
Combating Narcotics Trafficking.13 Narcotics trafficking is regarded by
some as the most significant problem facing Afghanistan, generating funds to sustain
local militias, Taliban and other insurgents, and criminal groups. Narcotics account
for an estimated $2.7 billion in value — nearly halfabout one third of Afghanistan’s GDP. In
relatively pessimistic comments on August 22, 2006, Karzai called for a focus on
funding alternative livelihoods that will dissuade Afghans from growing and on
targeting key traffickers, rather than on eradication of poppy fields. His statement
reflected setbacks later confirmed by the September 3, 2006,a November 2006 study by the U.N. Office on Drugs
and Crime (UNODC) assessment that Afghanistan’s opium harvest grew almost 50%
over 2005 levels — to 6,100 metric tons, nearly 92% of the world’s total supply.
Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Bank that the amount of land on which
12
For an analysis of the DDR program, see Christian Dennys. Disarmament, Demobilization
and Rearmament?, June 6, 2005, [http://www.jca.apc.org/~jann/Documents/Disarmament
%20demobilization%20 rearmament.pdf].
13
For a detailed discussion and U.S. funding on the issue, see CRS Report RL32686,
Afghanistan: Narcotics and U.S. Policy, by Christopher M. Blanchard.
CRS-13
Area under cultivation for poppies increased by 59% to 400,000 acres planted, up
from 260,000 acres planted in 2005poppy is grown in Afghanistan increased by 61% over 2005 levels. Production
increased 26% to 5,644 metric tons. Production in the restive provinces of Helmand
and Uruzgan increased 132% in the year. Afghan officials said in early November 2006
2006 that, based on observations of plantings now under way, the opium crop for 20062007
2006-2007 will probably rival that of this year’s crop.
To try to add effectiveness to the U.S. program, the U.S. military has overcome
its initial reluctance to expand its mission in Afghanistan and is now playing a greater
role in counter-narcotics. It is flying Afghan and U.S. counter-narcotics agents (Drug
Enforcement Agency, DEA) on missions and identifying targets; it also evacuates
casualties from any counter-drug operations. The Bush Administration also has
taken some legal steps against suspected Afghan drug traffickers; 14 in April 2005,
a DEA U.S. military is still reportedly resisting
calls by the DEA and other agencies to move to active attacks on drug bazaars and
other narcotics-related targets.14 NATO commanders, who have taken over security
responsibilities throughout Afghanistan, say they are providing information to
Afghan counter-narcotics officials to help them target their efforts and increasingly
target operations against large drug traffickers. The Bush Administration has taken
some legal steps against suspected Afghan drug traffickers;15 in April 2005, a DEA
operation successfully caught the alleged leading Afghan narcotics trafficker,
Haji Haji
Bashir Noorzai, arresting him after a flight to New York. NATO commanders,
who have taken over security responsibilities throughout Afghanistan including the
large poppy growing Helmand province, say they will provide information to Afghan
counter-narcotics officials to help them target their efforts and increasingly target
operations against large drug traffickersThe Afghan government,
according to December 2006 press reports, appears to have relented on allowing
ground-based chemical spraying of poppy fields, although it still opposes aerial
spraying. In December 2006, Karzai removed the governor and deputy governor of
Helmand Province, a key poppy cultivation region, and replaced them with officials
presumably more amenable to countering the narcotics trade.
The Bush Administration has not included Afghanistan on an annual list of
countries that have “failed demonstrably to make substantial efforts” to adhere to
international counter-narcotics agreements and take certain counter-narcotics
measures set forth in U.S. law.1516 However, the Administration also has not, to date,
made a required certification of full Afghan cooperation that is required to provide
more than $225 million in U.S. assistance to Afghanistan (FY2006 funds). Narcotics
trafficking control was perhaps the one issue on which the Taliban satisfied much
of the international community; the Taliban enforced a July 2000 ban on poppy
cultivation, which the U.N. International Drug Control Program (UNDCP) said in
February 2001 had dramatically decreased cultivation.16 The Northern Alliance did
not issue a similar ban in areas it controlled.
Reconstructing Infrastructure and the Economy. U.S. and Afghan
officials see the growth in narcotics trafficking as a product of an Afghan economy
ravaged by war and lack of investment. U.S. economic reconstruction efforts are
showing some results, including roads and education and health facilities constructed.
International investors have returned to some extent, and there is substantial new
construction, such as the Serena luxury hotel that opened in November 2005. A $25
million new Coca Cola bottling factory was opened in Kabul on September 11,
2006. However, the United States has not met all its reconstruction targets. The
five-year development strategy outlined in the “Afghanistan Compact” adopted at the
January 31-February 1, 2006, London conference on Afghanistan re-states that the
14
Cameron-Moore, Simon. “U.S. to Seek Indictment of Afghan Drug Barons.” Reuters,
November 2, 2004.
15
This is equivalent to the listing by the United States, as Afghanistan has been listed every
year since 1987, as a state that is uncooperative with U.S. efforts to eliminate drug
trafficking or has failed to take sufficient steps on its own to curb trafficking.
16
Crossette, Barbara. “Taliban Seem to Be Making Good on Opium Ban, U.N. Says.” New
York Times, February 7, 2001.
CRS-14
sectors discussed below are priorities. The tables at the end of the paper show U.S.
appropriations of assistance to Afghanistan.
!
Roads. U.S. and international aid has thus far rebuilt about 1,800
miles of roads, as of October 2006. However, many villages remain
isolated by poor and non-existent roads and U.S. Ambassador
Neumann told CRS in February 2006 that expanding road building
is a major U.S. priority to expand the writ of the Afghan government
and build a viable legitimate economy. Among projects completed:
the Kabul-Qandahar roadway project (Phase I, completed December
2003, and Phase II, completed November 2004); the Qandahar-Herat
roadway, funded by the United States, Japan, and Saudi Arabia, was
largely completed in late 2005; and a $20 million road from
Qandahar to Tarin Kowt, built by U.S. military personnel,
inaugurated in late 2005. U.S.-funded ($16 million) work began on
July 5, 2006 for a road linking the Panjshir Valley to Kabul; it is
scheduled for completion in December 2006. New U.S. projects to
build a Khost-Gardez road and roads in Badakhshan Province are
under way. On October 19, 2006, the United States announced $94
million in Commanders Emergency Response Program (CERP)
funds to build about 200 miles of new roads in Qandahar, Uruzgan,
Nuristan, Kunar, Paktika, and Ghazni 17 The Northern Alliance did
not issue a similar ban in areas it controlled.
14
Meyer, Josh. “Pentagon Resists Pleas For Help in Afghan Opium Fight.” Los Angeles
Times, December 5, 2006.
15
Cameron-Moore, Simon. “U.S. to Seek Indictment of Afghan Drug Barons.” Reuters,
November 2, 2004.
16
This is equivalent to the listing by the United States, as Afghanistan has been listed every
year since 1987, as a state that is uncooperative with U.S. efforts to eliminate drug
trafficking or has failed to take sufficient steps on its own to curb trafficking.
17
Crossette, Barbara. “Taliban Seem to Be Making Good on Opium Ban, U.N. Says.” New
York Times, February 7, 2001.
CRS-14
Reconstructing Infrastructure and the Economy. U.S. and Afghan
officials see the growth in narcotics trafficking as a product of an Afghan economy
ravaged by war and lack of investment. U.S. economic reconstruction efforts are
showing some results, including roads and education and health facilities constructed.
International investors have returned to some extent, and there is substantial new
construction, such as the Serena luxury hotel that opened in November 2005. A $25
million new Coca Cola bottling factory was opened in Kabul on September 11,
2006. However, the United States has not met all its reconstruction targets, and some
Afghan leaders complain that not enough has been done to revive such potentially
lucrative industries as minerals mining, such as of copper and lapis lazuli (a stone
used in jewelry). The five-year development strategy outlined in the “Afghanistan
Compact” adopted at the January 31-February 1, 2006, London conference on
Afghanistan re-states that the sectors discussed below are priorities. The tables at the
end of the paper show U.S. appropriations of assistance to Afghanistan.
!
Roads. U.S. and international aid has thus far rebuilt about 1,800
miles of roads, as of December 2006. However, many villages
remain isolated by poor and non-existent roads and U.S.
Ambassador Neumann told CRS in February 2006 that expanding
road building is a major U.S. priority to expand the writ of the
Afghan government and build a viable legitimate economy. Among
projects completed: the Kabul-Qandahar roadway project (Phase I,
completed December 2003, and Phase II, completed November
2004); the Qandahar-Herat roadway, funded by the United States,
Japan, and Saudi Arabia, was largely completed in late 2005; and a
$20 million road from Qandahar to Tarin Kowt, built by U.S.
military personnel, inaugurated in late 2005. A U.S.-funded ($16
million) road linking the Panjshir Valley to Kabul has been built.
Other U.S. projects to build a Khost-Gardez road and roads in
Badakhshan Province are under way. On October 19, 2006, the
United States announced $94 million in Commanders Emergency
Response Program (CERP) funds to build about 200 miles of new
roads in Qandahar, Uruzgan, Nuristan, Kunar, Paktika, and Ghazni
provinces.
!
Education and Health. According to U.S. officials, 5.2 million
Afghan children are now in school — up from only 800,000 in 2001
— and girls’ attendance is up sharply. About 525,000 girls were
enrolled in school during 2005, according to UNAMA. However,
those in school still represent only about half of the total Afghan
child population. Additional work is being conducted on school and
health clinic rebuilding; at least (278 schools and 326 clinics have
been built
thus far, according to Ambassador Quinn on September 22, 2005).
About $152 million thus far, although that is far short of the 1,000 clinics that
U.S. funds were estimated to be able to build. About $152 million
in U.S. funds were programmed for
Afghanistan education during
FY2003-FY2005. The Senate version
of FY2007 appropriations
measure (H.R. 5522, S.Rept. 109-277)
earmarks $81 million for Afghanistan education in FY2007. Press
reports say that some projects are going uncompleted; a Washington
Post report of November 20, 2005, says that of 1,000 U.S.-funded
health clinics and schools to be built by the end of 2004 at a cost of
$73 million, only about 150 have been completed by November
2005, mostly refurbishing existing buildings.
Afghanistan education in FY2007. Egypt operates a 65person65-person field
hospital at Bagram Air Base that instructs Afghan
physicians.
Jordan operates a similar facility in Mazar-e-Sharif.
CRS-15
!
Agriculture. According to the director of the USAID mission at
U.S. Embassy Kabul in December 2005, USAID has helped
Afghanistan double its
agricultural output over the past four years.
Afghan officials say
agricultural assistance and development should
be a top U.S. priority
as part of a strategy of encouraging legitimate
alternatives to poppy
cultivation. As noted in tables below, the
FY2006 supplemental
appropriation (P.L. 109-234) provided a
CRS-15
requested $5 million for
agriculture development. The Senate
version of H.R. 5522 (FY2007
foreign aid appropriation)
recommends $20 million in ESF for
Afghan agriculture assistance.
!
Electricity. The Afghanistan Compact states that the goal is for
electricity to reach 65% of households in urban areas and 25% in
rural areas by 2010. Currently, there is no national power grid, and
only about 10% of Afghans have access to electricity. Press reports
say that there are severe power shortages in Kabul, partly because
the city population has swelled to nearly 4 million, up from half a
million when the Taliban was in power. The government plans to
Afghan government,
with help from international donors, plans to import electricity from
Central Asian and other neighbors beginning in 2009
to help address
the shortages.
The FY2006 supplemental (P.L. 109234) 109-234)
appropriated most of the $28 million requested for key
electricity electricity
projects (Northeast Transmission Project).
Implementing Rule of Law/Improving Human Rights Practices.
Virtually all observers agree that Afghans are freer than they were under the Taliban.
The press is relatively free and Afghan political groupings and parties are able to
meet and organize freely, but there are also abuses based on ethnicity or political
factionalism and arbitrary implementation of justice by local leaders, according to the
State Department report on human rights practices for 2005 (released March 8,
2006).1718 According to the report, “The lack of an effective police force, poor
infrastructure and communications, instability, and insecurity hampered
investigations of unlawful killings, bombings, or civilian deaths...” Some observers
are likely to bewere disappointed by Karzai’s July 2006 decision to reconstitute a
“Ministry for the
Promotion of Virtue and the Suppression of Vice,” although Karzai
says it would not
abuse individual rights but rather promote moral behavior and seek
to discredit
alcohol, drugs, and corruption.
The State Department International Religious Freedom report for 2006 (released
September 15, 2006) indicates progress on religious freedom but says there continues
to be discrimination against the Shiite (Hazara) minority and some other minorities
such as Sikhs and Hindus. On the other hand, the U.S. Commission on International
Religious Freedom said in a report released in May 2006 that there is rising religious
persecution, a judgment that is consistent with observations of other experts. Some
observers have noted that the government has reimposed some Islamic restrictions
that characterized Taliban rule, including the code of criminal punishments stipulated
in Islamic law.18
18
For text, see [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61704.htm].
CRS-16
in Islamic law. Other accounts in late 2006 say that alcohol is increasingly difficult
to obtain in restaurants and stores.
A major religious freedom case earned congressional attention in
March 2006.
An Afghan man, Abd al-Rahman, who had converted to Christianity
16 years ago
while working for a Christian aid group in Pakistan, was imprisoned
and faced a
potential death penalty trial for apostasy — his refusal to convert back
to Islam.
Facing international pressure that the trial would undercut the new Afghan
constitution’s commitment to international standards of human rights protections,
President Karzai apparently prevailed on Kabul court authorities to release him on
March 29, 2006; he subsequently went to Italy and sought asylum there. His release
17
For text, see [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61704.htm].
18
Shea, Nina. “Sharia in Kabul?” National Review, October 28, 2002.
CRS-16
came the same day the House passed H.Res. 736 calling on the Afghan government
to protect Afghan converts from prosecution. Another case that demonstrated
judicial conservatism on religious matters was the October 2005 Afghan Supreme
Court conviction of a male journalist, Ali Nasab (editor of the monthly “Women’s
Rights” magazine), of blasphemy; he was sentenced to two years in prison for his
articles about apostasy. A Kabul court reduced his sentence to time served and he
was freed in December 2005, easing concerns. There are hopes that theThe replacement
of the chief justice
of the Afghan Supreme Court, Fazl Hadi Shinwari, a religious
conservative, might accelerate judicial reform.
U.S. programs generally focus on building capacity of the judicial system,
including police training and court construction; many of these programs are
conducted in partnership with Italy, which is the “lead” coalition country on judicial
reform. The United States has trained over 500 judges, according to USAID, and it
trains prosecutors and court administrators for the Ministry of Justice, the office of
the Attorney General, and the Supreme Court conservative, might
prevent a repeat of similar incidents in the future.
An Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHC) has been formed
to monitor government performance and has been credited in State Department
reports with successful interventions to curb abuses. It is headed by former Women’s
Affairs minister Sima Samar.
Funding Issues. USAID plans to spend $149.237 million on democracy and
rule of law programs for FY2004-FY2007, composed of $105.292 million in ESF
and $43.945 million in DA. Of these funds, about $84 million has gone to support
the went to supporting the
national elections in 2004 and 2005. The funding includes support for the new
parliament, civil society programs, political party strengthening, media freedom, rule
of law programs, and local governance.
Advancement of Women. According to State Department report, the
Afghan government is promoting the advancement of women, but numerous abuses
continue, primarily because of Afghanistan’s conservative traditions. The first
major development in post-Taliban Afghanistan was the establishment of a Ministry
of Women’s Affairs dedicated to improving women’s rights. It promoted the
involvement of women in business ventures, and it has promoted interpretations of
the Quran that favor participation of women in national affairs. There were three
female ministers in the 2004-2006 cabinet: former presidential candidate Masooda
Jalal (Ministry of Women’s Affairs), Sediqa Balkhi (Minister for Martyrs and the
Disabled), and Amina Afzali (Minister of Youth). However, Karzai proposednominated only
one (Minister of Women’s Affairs Soraya Sobhrang) in the new cabinet and she was
cabinet that followed the
parliamentary elections, and she was voted down by opposition from Islamist
conservatives in parliament. In March 2005,
Karzai appointed a former Minister of
Women’s Affairs, Habiba Sohrabi, as
governor of Bamiyan province, inhabited
mostly by Hazaras. As noted above, the
constitution reserves for women at least 25%
of the seats in the upper house of
parliament, and several prominent women have
CRS-17
won seats in the new parliament,
including some who would have won even if there
were no set-aside for women.
More generally, women are performing some jobs, such as construction work,
that were rarely held by women even before the Taliban came to power in 1996,
including in the new police force. Press reports say Afghan women are increasingly
CRS-17
learning how to drive. Under the new government, the wearing of the full body
covering called the burqa is no longer obligatory, and fewer women are wearing it
than was the case a few years ago. On the other hand, women’s advancement has
made women a target of Taliban attacks. Attacks on girls’ schools have increased,
and on Sepember 25September 25, 2006, the chief of the Women’s Affairs Ministry branch in
Qandahar,
Safia Amajan, was assassinated.
The Administration and Congress are taking a continued interest in the
treatment of women in Afghanistan, and U.S. officials have had some influence in
persuading the government to codify women’s rights. After the Karzai government
took office, the United States and the new Afghan government set up a U.S.-Afghan
Women’s Council to coordinate the allocation of resources to Afghan women.
Empowerment of Afghan women was a major feature of First Lady Laura Bush’s
visit to Afghanistan in March 2005. According to the State Department, the United
States has implemented over 175 projects directly in support of Afghan women,
including women’s empowerment, maternal and child health and nutrition, funding
the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, micro-finance projects, and like programs.
Funding Issues. Recent congressional action includes the following.
!
On November 27, 2001, as the Taliban was collapsing, the House
unanimously adopted S. 1573, the Afghan Women and Children
Relief Act, which had earlier passed the Senate. The law (signed
December 12, 2001) calls for the use of unspecified amounts of
supplemental funding (appropriated by P.L. 107-38, which gave the
Office of the President a $40 billion Emergency Response Fund to
respond to the September 11, 2001 attacks) to fund educational and
health programs for Afghan women and children.
!
Subsequent appropriations for programs for women and girls are
contained in the tables at the end of this paper. The Afghanistan
Freedom Support Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-327) authorized $15
million per year (FY2003-2006) for the Ministry of Women’s
Affairs. Recent appropriations have required that about $50 million
per year, from various accounts, be used specifically to support
programs and organizations that benefit Afghan women and girls.
Post-War Security Operations and Force Capacity Building
The top security priority of the Administration has been to prevent Al Qaeda
and the Taliban from regrouping and posing a challenge tochallenging the Afghan government.
The pillars of the U.S.
security effort are (1) continuing combat operations by U.S.
and other coalition
forces in Afghanistan; (2) peacekeeping by a NATO-led
International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF); (3) U.S. and NATO expansion of
“provincial
CRS-18
reconstruction teams” (PRTs); and (4) the equipping and training of an
Afghan Afghan
National Army (ANA) and Afghan National Police (ANP) force.
U.S. Operations/Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). The United
States military (U.S. Central Command, CENTCOM) has about 2021,000 troops in
Afghanistan — a slight increase from the 19,000 there in 2005 — in response to the
CRS-18
2006 upsurge of Taliban attacks. However, as of October 5, 2006, NATO/ISAF is
now the lead force throughout Afghanistan, and 11,250 of the U.S. forces in
Afghanistan are under NATO/ISAF, although the U.S. component of the
NATO/ISAF force is operationally still under U.S. command.
In conjunction with the assumption of NATO/ISAF peacekeeping responsibility
in 2006 and prior to the increase in Taliban violence, U.S. officials had planned for
a reduction of U.S. forces to about 16,500 by the end of 2006, but those plans are
now on hold until at least February 2007, according to the outgoing commander of
U.S.-led
combat forces in Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry. He heads the
“Combined
Forces Command-Afghanistan (CFC-A),” headquartered at Camp
Eggers, near the
U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
NineteenPrior to the transfer to NATO command, nineteen coalition countries —
primarily Britain, France, Canada, and Italy —
are contributing another approximately 2 were contributing approximately
4,000 combat troops to OEF, down from
about 4,000 (2005-2006), as manybut most of these forces have now been “re-badged” to the
expanded NATO-led ISAF mission. These forcesThe remaining approximately 1,000 non-U.S.
forces outside NATO/ISAF will continue to operate in
conjunction with the
approximately 8,000 U.S. forces that will remain under direct
U.S. command and . Many
will continue to conduct “counter-terrorism” combat against Al Qaeda, Taliban, and
other militant formations throughout Afghanistan (“Operation Active Endeavor”).
As part of the U.S.-led combat, French aircraft have been flying strikes (after a
hiatus hiatus
during November 2005-May 2006) from Bagram air base north of Kabul,
Tajikistan,
and Qatar as part of the “Combined Air Operations Center.” Press reports
in October 2006 said that air strikes are more frequent in Afghanistan than against
insurgents in Iraq. Japan provides naval refueling capabilities in the Arabian sea.
However, in December
2006, France announced it would withdraw its 200 Special Forces that were
performing counter-terrorism missions near Jalalabad, a decision that will not affect
the other French forces serving under NATO/ISAF. France will provide two
additional helicopters to Operation Active Endeavor and train Afghan special forces.
Among other coalition efforts, Japan provides naval refueling capabilities in the
Arabian sea. Italy is leading the related naval interdiction mission in the Persian
Gulf/Arabian Sea
intended to prevent the movement of terrorists from
Afghanistan/Pakistan across
those waters. This operation had been led by the United
States from a naval
headquarters in Bahrain.
Prior to 2006, U.S. forces and Afghan troops fought relatively low levels of
Taliban insurgent violence. The United States and Afghanistan conducted
“Operation Mountain Viper” (August 2003); “Operation Avalanche” (December
2003); “Operation Mountain Storm” (March-July 2004) against Taliban remnants in
and around Uruzgan province, home province of Mullah Umar; “Operation Lightning
Freedom” (December 2004-February 2005); and “Operation Pil (Elephant)” in Kunar
Province in eastern Afghanistan (October 2005). By 2005, U.S. commanders had
believed that the combat, coupled with overall political and economic reconstruction,
had weakened the insurgency to the point of virtual irrelevance.
CRS-19
In the upsurge of violence since mid-2006, Taliban insurgents, sometimes
mimicking suicide and roadside bombing tactics used in the Iraq insurgency, have
stepped up their operations in Afghanistan, particularly in Uruzgan, Helmand,
Qandahar, and Zabol Provinces, areas that NATO/ISAF assumed responsibility for
on July 31, 2006. Fighting was particularly intense between May and August 2006,
as U.S.-led forces sought to expel large (300-person) Taliban formations from
villages around Qandahar city, such as the Panjwai district. NATO forces fought large (300-person) Taliban formations in those provinces.
The Taliban resistance
and resilience led to U.S. military comments that the Taliban
is “growing in
influence” in the south. In response, the U.S. and NATO forces launched “Operation
Mountain Lion” and “Operation Mountain Thrust,” the latter begun in June 2006 and
CRS-19
intended to clear areas of the restive southern provinces in advance of the NATO
assumption of responsibility. The operation formally ended on July 31 with about
700 Taliban killed, according to U.S. military officials. Another offensive, led by
NATO, began in August 2006 (Operation Medusa), which was considered a success
in ousting Taliban fighters from positions around Qandahar.
By September 2006, some U.S. commanders expressed optimism that the
offensives had suppressed the new Taliban challenge as Taliban commanders
admitted they were conducting a “tactical retreat” from the southern provinces and
began to operate in provinces more north and west, including Ghazni and Farah.
Potentially related to the changing combat patterns has been a notable increase in the
frequency of suicide bombings in Kabul itself, which previously had been considered
relatively safe. On the other hand, there continue to be relatively large Taliban
formations still attacking NATO positions in these areas, as of November 2006,
although perhaps less frequently than earlier in 2006.
At the same time, there is a debate among experts whether the Taliban
resurgence has been driven by popular frustration with the Karzai government and
the slow pace of economic reconstruction. Some believe that Afghans in the restive
areas have been intimidated by the Taliban into providing food and shelter. Others
believe that the population has, in some cases, welcomed the Taliban fighters as an
alternative to what they see as a return of corruption in government and a tolerance
of autonomy for local armed groups.
The Taliban insurgent command structure apparently is still intact. In addition
to Mullah Umar, several key commanders remain at large: Jalaludin Haqqani (who
some believe heads a completely separate insurgent faction, operating around Khost),
Mullah Akhtar Usmani, and the purportedly ruthless Mullah Dadullah. In April
2005, Taliban remnants started a clandestine radio station, “Voice of Shariat,”
suggesting the movement still has substantial resources. On the other hand, in early
October 2005, Pakistan arrested and subsequently extradited to Afghanistan the
Taliban’s chief “spokesman,” Abdul Latif Hakimi, and there has been debate among experts
whether the Taliban resurgence has been driven by popular frustration with the
Karzai government and the slow pace of economic reconstruction. Some believe that
Afghans in the restive areas have been intimidated by the Taliban into providing food
and shelter. Others believe that the population has, in some cases, welcomed the
Taliban fighters as an alternative to what they see as a return of corruption in
government and a tolerance of autonomy for local armed groups. However, Taliban
attacks on schools, teachers, and other civilian infrastructure has caused some
popular anger against the movement. The Afghan government asserts that the
increase in the insurgency is because Pakistan is not denying the Taliban a safe haven
there.
In response, the U.S. and NATO forces launched “Operation Mountain Lion”
and “Operation Mountain Thrust;” the latter began in June 2006 and was intended
to clear areas of the restive southern provinces in advance of the NATO assumption
of responsibility. The operation formally ended on July 31 with about 700 Taliban
killed, according to U.S. military officials. Another offensive, led by NATO, was
conducted in August 2006 (Operation Medusa), which was considered a success in
ousting Taliban fighters from the Panjwai district near Qandahar. That Operation
was also considered proof that NATO will conduct intensive combat in Afghanistan.
In the aftermath of that operation, British forces entered into an agreement — still
controversial to some experts — with tribal elders in the Musa Qala district of
Helmand Province, under which they would secure the main town of the district
without an active NATO presence.
Following the recent operations, U.S. and NATO commanders have expressed
optimism that the offensives had suppressed the new Taliban challenge, and Taliban
commanders admitted they were conducting a “tactical retreat” from the southern
provinces and began to operate in provinces more north and west, including Ghazni
and Farah. Gen. Richards and U.S. Ambassador Neumann said that the operations
needed to be followed up with intensified civilian reconstruction to win over the
loyalty of the population in the south. There continue to be Taliban formations
attacking NATO positions in these areas, although attack frequency appears to have
dropped in late 2006 and early 2007. Some attribute the reduced Taliban activity to
the winter weather, and they anticipate a violent spring of 2007.
The Taliban insurgent command structure apparently is still mostly intact. In
addition to Mullah Umar, several key commanders remain at large: Jalaludin
Haqqani (who some believe heads a separate insurgent faction, operating around
Khost), and the purportedly ruthless Mullah Dadullah. Dadullah and Umar continue
to issue statements to media outlets, including through an official spokesman, Qari
Yusuf Ahmadi. However, a U.S. airstrike in late December 2006 killed one
prominent commander, Mullah Akhtar Usmani. The same month, a religious police
CRS-20
minister in the Taliban regime was killed in a NATO airstrike. In April 2005,
Taliban remnants started a clandestine radio station, “Voice of Shariat,” suggesting
the movement still has substantial resources.
Some Taliban militants have renounced their past and joined the political
process under Karzai’s offers of amnesty. According to press reports, about 50-60
militants, including several key Taliban and Hikmatyar activists, have joined the
reconciliation process, headed by Mojadeddi. Another Taliban figure, its former
ambassador to Pakistan, was released by U.S. forces in September 2005. As noted
above, several Taliban figures, including its foreign minister Wakil Mutawwakil,
ran in the parliamentary elections. Karzai has said about 100-150 of the top Taliban
leadership would not be eligible for amnesty, although Karzai reportedly has
indicated a willingness to conduct peace talks even with Mullah Umar. Through a
spokesman, on October 29, 2006, Umar rejected any talks.
Whereabouts of Bin Laden and Other Militants. Complicating the U.S.
mission has been the difficulty in locating so-called “high value targets” — militant
leaders believed to be in Pakistan but some of which might also be able to move into
Afghanistan. The two most notable are bin Laden himself and his close ally, Ayman
al-Zawahiri. Bin Laden reportedly escaped the U.S.-Afghan offensive against the Al
CRS-20
Qaeda stronghold of Tora Bora in eastern Afghanistan in December 2001.19 On July
30, 2006, U.S. forces reportedly detained four suspected Al Qaeda operatives in
eastern Afghanistan, suggesting that some continuing Al Qaeda presence thereA
purported U.S.-led strike reportedly missed Zawahiri by a few hours in the village of
Damadola, Pakistan, in January 2006, suggesting that the United States and Pakistan
are acquiring some intelligence on his whereabouts.20 Mullah Umar told a media
outlet in early January 2007 that he had not seen bin Laden since the Taliban’s fall
from power.
Another “high value target” identified by U.S. commanders is the Hikmatyar
faction (Hizb-e-Islami Gulbuddin, HIG) allied with Al Qaeda and Taliban
insurgents.
His fighters are operating in Kunar Province, east of Kabul. On February
19, 2003,
the U.S. government formally designated Hikmatyar as a “Specially Designated
Designated Global Terrorist,” under the authority of Executive Order 13224,
subjecting it to
financial and other U.S. sanctions. It is not formally designated as a
“Foreign
Terrorist Organization,” but it is included in the section on “other terrorist
groups”
in the State Department’s report on international terrorism for 2004, released April
April 2005. Some accounts suggest that a Special Operations team ambushed in June 2005
2005 might have been searching for Hikmatyar; a U.S. helicopter sent to rescue the team
team was shot down, killing the 16 aboard.
U.S. Military Presence/Use of Facilities. Even if the Taliban insurgency
is defeated, Afghan leaders say they want the United States to maintain a long-term
presence in Afghanistan, an outcome thatalthough U.S. officials have not committed to. On
that outcome.
On May 8, 2005, Karzai summoned about 1,000 delegates to a national consultationconsultative jirga in
Kabul on whether Afghanistan shouldto host permanent U.S. bases. Delegates
reportedly supported an
19
For more information on the search for the Al Qaeda leadership, see CRS Report
RL33038, Al Qaeda: Profile and Threat Assessment, by Kenneth Katzman.
20
Gall, Carlotta and Ismail Khan. U.S. Drone Attack Missed Zawahiri by Hours. New York
Times, November 10, 2006.
CRS-21
indefinite presence of international forces to maintain
security but urged Karzai to
delay a decision. On May 23, 2005, Karzai and
President Bush issued a “joint
declaration” providing for U.S. forces to have access
to Afghan military facilities, in
order to prosecute “the war against international
terror and the struggle against
violent extremism.” The joint statement did not give
Karzai his requested increased greater
control over facilities used by the U.S. forces, over
U.S. operations, ror over prisoners
taken during operations. Some of the bases, both
in and near Afghanistan, that are
used to support combat in Afghanistan, include the
following.:
!
Bagram Air Base. This base, north of Kabul, is the operational hub
of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.2021 At least 500 U.S. military
personnel personnel
are based there. Bagram, along with thirteen other
airfields in
Afghanistan, handles the 150 U.S. aircraft (including
helicopters) in
the country and substantial infrastructure is being
added to it. A
hospital is being constructed on the facility; one of
the first
permanent structures to be built there. The FY2005
supplemental (P.L. 109-13) provides
provided a total of about $52 million for
various projects to upgrade
facilities at Bagram, including a control
tower and an operations
center, and the FY2006 supplemental
appropriation (P.L. 109-234)
provides $20 million for military
construction there. It is expected that NATO will be using the base
19
For more information on the search for the Al Qaeda leadership, see CRS Report
RL33038, Al Qaeda: Profile and Threat Assessment, by Kenneth Katzman.
20
Harris, Kent. “Buildings Going Up at Bagram Air Base as U.S. Forces Dig In for the
Long Haul.” Stars and Stripes, March 15, 2005.
CRS-21
in conjunction with the handover of NATO security responsibilities
in Afghanistan, and NATO might share operational costs for it.
that NATO will be using the base — and sharing operational costs
— in conjunction with the handover of NATO security
responsibilities in Afghanistan.
!
Qandahar Airfield. This airfield, just outside Qandahar, bases about
500 U.S. military personnel. The FY2005 supplemental provided
$16 million for an ammunition supply facility at Qandahar.
!
Shindand Air Base. This base is 20 miles from the Iranian border.
It has been used by U.S. forces and combat aircraft since October
2004, after the dismissal of Herat governor Ismail Khan, whose
forces controlled the facility.
!
21
!
Karshi-Khanabad Airbase. This Uzbekistan base housed about
1,750 U.S. military personnel (900 Air Force, 400 Army, and 450
civilian) in supply missions to Afghanistan. U.S. forces ceased
using it in September 2005, following deterioration in U.S.Uzbekistan relations over a May 2005 Uzbek crackdown on unrest
in Andijon.
!
Peter Ganci Base, Kyrgyzstan. This base at Manas airport has about
1,100 U.S. military personnel as well as refueling and cargo aircraft.
Leadership of Kyrgyzstan changed in April 2005 in an uprising
against President Askar Akayev, but senior U.S. officials reportedly
received assurances about continued U.S. use of the base from the
new Presidenthis
successor, Kurmanbek Bakiyev. However, in February 2006,
Bakiyev said the United States should pay $200 million per year to
use the facility instead of the $2 million it now pays. In July 2006,
the dispute was resolved with a U.S. agreement to give Kyrgyzstan
$150 million in assistance and base use payments over the coming
year, pending congressional approval.
Bakiyev demanded a
large increase in the $2 million per year U.S. contribution for use of
Harris, Kent. “Buildings Going Up at Bagram Air Base as U.S. Forces Dig In for the
Long Haul.” Stars and Stripes, March 15, 2005.
CRS-22
the base, and in July 2006, the dispute was resolved with a U.S.
agreement to give Kyrgyzstan $150 million in assistance and base
use payments.
!
Persian Gulf Bases. Several bases in the Persian Gulf are used to
support the Afghanistan mission, including Al Dhafra in the UAE
(about 1,800 U.S. military personnel in UAE) and Al Udeid in Qatar
(10,000 U.S. personnel in Qatar). P.L. 109-13 appropriated $1.4
million to upgrade Al Dhafra. As noted above, military facilities in
Bahrain house U.S. naval command headquarters for OEF and Iraqrelated naval operations in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea.
(About 5,100 U.S. military personnel are in Bahrain.)
!
Incirlik Air Base. On April 21, 2005, Turkey said it would extend
for another year an agreement allowing the United States to use
Incirlik air base to supply U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
(About 2,100 U.S. military personnel are in Turkey.)
OEF Costs and Casualties. As of October 28, 2006, 284January 10, 2007, 296 U.S. military
personnel have been killed Afghanistan. In 2005, 90 U.S. soldiers were killed in
Afghanistan, double the 2004 number. Additional U.S. casualties have occurred in
other theaters of OEF, including the Phillipines and parts of Africa (OEF-Trans
Sahara). No reliable Afghan casualty figures for the
war on the Taliban and Al
Qaeda have been announced, but estimates by researchers
of Afghan civilian deaths
generally cite figures of “several hundred” civilian deaths.
CRS-22
Incremental costs of U.S.
operations in Afghanistan appear to be relatively stable at
running about $1.5 billion per month. For
information on U.S. military costs, see CRS Report
RL33110, The Cost of Iraq,
Afghanistan, and Enhanced Base Security Since 9/11,
by Amy Belasco.
The NATO-Led International Security Force (ISAF).2122 As discussed
above, the NATO-led “International Security Assistance Force” (ISAF, consisting
of all 26 NATO members states plus 11 partner countries) has, as of October 5, 2006,
formally assumed command of the overall peacekeeping effort in Afghanistan. ISAF
was created by the Bonn Agreement and U.N. Security Council Resolution 1386
(December 20, 2001),2223 initially limited to Kabul. NATO’s takeover of command of
ISAF in August 2003 paved the way for an expansion of its scope, and
NATO/ISAF’s responsibilities broadened significantly in 2004 with NATO/ISAF’s
assumption of security responsibility for northern and western Afghanistan (Stage
1, Regional Command North, in 2004 and Stage 2 in 2005, respectively)., Regional Command West, in
2005, respectively).24
22
As noted above, six countries (in addition to the United States) are providing forces to
OEF, and twelve countries are providing forces to both OEF and ISAF.
23
Its mandate was extended until October 13, 2006, by U.N. Security Council Resolution
1623 (September 13, 2005); and until October 13, 2007, by Resolution 1707 (September 12,
2006).
24
In October 2003, NATO endorsed expanding its presence to several other cities,
contingent on formal U.N. approval. That NATO decision came several weeks after
(continued...)
CRS-23
The process continued on July 31, 2006, with the formal handover of the
security mission in southern Afghanistan to NATO/ISAF control. As part of this
“Stage 3,” a British/Canadian/Dutch-led 8,000 person “Regional Command South”
was formed. “Stage 4,” the assumption of NATO/ISAF command of peacekeeping
in fourteen provinces of eastern Afghanistan, was agreed to at a NATO meeting in
Slovenia on September 28, 2006, and was completed on October 5. The
NATO/ISAF force is led by Britain’s Lt. Gen. David Richards, who heads “ISAF 9.”
The next commander, who will take over in February 2007, is to be U.S. Army
General Dan McNeil, subject to Senate confirmation. He would head “ISAF 10.”
As part of the completion of the NATO/ISAF takeover of command, the United
States put the 11,250 troops operating in eastern Afghanistan under NATO/ISAF
command; they form the bulk of the new “Regional Command East.” At the same
time, NATO members Britain, Romania, Poland, and Canada have agreed to deploy
most of the additional 2,000 - 2,500 troops that outgoing U.S. Supreme Allied Commander
Commander Europe Gen. James Jones sayshas said is needed in the south to combat the
Taliban. Of
those, about 1,000100 will be from Poland, although they might not arrive until early
2007.
British commanders say they want to get back to the reconstruction mission in
the south following the intense anti-insurgency combat of July-August 2006,
although that might prove difficult in the face of stiff Taliban resistance. NATO
officials said on August 15, 2006, that they will soon sign an agreement with
21
As noted above, six countries (in addition to the United States) are providing forces to
OEF, and twelve countries are providing forces to both OEF and ISAF.
22
Its mandate was extended until October 13, 2006, by U.N. Security Council Resolution
1623 (September 13, 2005); and until October 13, 2007, by Resolution 1707 (September 12,
2006).
23
In October 2003, NATO endorsed expanding its presence to several other cities,
contingent on formal U.N. approval. That NATO decision came several weeks after
Germany agreed to contribute an additional 450 military personnel to expand ISAF into the
city of Konduz. The U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 1510 (October 14, 2003)
formally authorizing ISAF to deploy outside Kabul.
CRS-23
Afghanistan to formalize the NATO presence in Afghanistan and stipulate 15
initiatives to secure Afghanistan and rebuild its security forces.
In conjunction with the restructuring, total NATO/ISAF force levels have
increased to about 31,500 from the 2005 levels of about 12,000. During 2002-2004,
ISAF’s force was about 6,400 troops from all contributors. Table 8 lists each
contributing country to ISAF and the approximate number of forces contributed.
The NATO assumption of command represents a quieting of the initial
opposition of European NATO nations to mixing reconstruction-related
peacekeeping with anti-insurgent combat. Afghan and some U.S. officials have
privately questioned the resolve of NATO nations to combat the Taliban resurgence,
although the intensity of combat in 2006 might have assuaged Afghan concerns. In
December 2005, NATO adopted rules of engagement that allow NATO/ISAF forces
to perform combat missions, although perhaps not as aggressively as the combat
conducted by the U.S.-led OEF forces. Still, most NATO countries have so-called
“national caveats” on their troops’ operations that NATO leaders are trying to reduce.
There reportedly are about 50 such “caveats” that NATO commanders say are
“operationally significant.” Germany, for example, refuses to deploy ground troops
in the south where the mission is mostly combat, although German aircraft reportedly
have been flying strikes in southern Afghanistan in support of NATO/ISAF combat
there. Others do not conduct night-time combat. Some in the Dutch parliament
opposed their country’s deployment to the south, but the parliament voted on
February 3, 2006, to permit the move. On May 17, 2006, despite recent deaths of
Canadian forces in Qandahar, Canada’s House of Commons voted to keep Canadian
soldiers in Afghanistan until at least 2009and they will constitute a
reserve combat force, although they might not arrive until early 2007. Another
additional 75 will come from the Czech Republic.
In conjunction with the restructuring, as shown in the table below, total
NATO/ISAF force levels have increased sharply from the 2005 levels of about
12,000. During 2002-2004, ISAF’s force was about 6,400 troops from all
contributors. Table 8 lists each contributing country to ISAF and the approximate
number of forces contributed. In order to avoid the impression that foreign forces are
“occupying” Afghanistan, NATO said on August 15, 2006, that it would negotiate
an agreement with Afghanistan to formalize the NATO presence in Afghanistan and
stipulate 15 initiatives to secure Afghanistan and rebuild its security forces.
The NATO assumption of command represents a quieting of the initial
opposition of European NATO nations to mixing reconstruction-related
peacekeeping with anti-insurgent combat. Some in the Dutch parliament opposed
their country’s deployment to the south, but the parliament voted on February 3,
2006, to permit the move. On May 17, 2006, despite recent deaths of Canadian
forces in Qandahar, Canada’s House of Commons voted to keep Canadian soldiers
in Afghanistan until at least 2009. On the basis of that domestic opposition in the
NATO countries, Afghan and some U.S. officials privately questioned the resolve of
NATO nations to combat the Taliban resurgence, although the intensity of combat
in 2006 might have assuaged Afghan concerns.
In December 2005, NATO adopted rules of engagement that allow NATO/ISAF
forces to perform combat missions, although perhaps not as aggressively as the
combat conducted by the U.S.-led OEF forces. Still, most NATO countries have socalled “national caveats” on their troops’ operations that NATO leaders are trying to
reduce. There reportedly are about 50 such “caveats” that NATO commanders say
24
(...continued)
Germany agreed to contribute an additional 450 military personnel to expand ISAF into the
city of Konduz. The U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 1510 (October 14, 2003)
formally authorizing ISAF to deploy outside Kabul.
CRS-24
limit operational flexibility. Germany, Italy, and Spain, for example, refuse to deploy
ground troops in the south where the mission is mostly combat, although German
transport aircraft reportedly have been helping with airlift to southern Afghanistan.
Others have refused to conduct night-time combat. At the NATO summit in Riga,
Latvia during November 28-29, 2006, some NATO countries, particularly the
Netherlands, Romania, and France, pledged to remove some of these caveats, and all
agreed that their forces would come to each others’ defense in times of emergency
anywhere in Afghanistan.
One source of the official Afghan nervousness about the transition is that NATO
has had chronic personnel and equipment shortages (particularly helicopters) for the
Afghanistan mission. Those shortages began to ease somewhat in December 2003
when NATO made available 12 helicopters from Germany, the Netherlands, and
Turkey; and aircraft and infantry from various nations. In connection with their
increased responsibilities as of July 2006, Britain has brought in additional
equipment, including Apache attack helicopters, and the Netherlands is deploying
additional Apache helicopter and F-16 aircraft to help protect its forces in the south.
Italy is reportedly sending “Predator” unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, and six
AMX fighter-bomber aircraft.24 25 Additional pledges of helicopters and equipment,
including from France, were made at the NATO summit in Riga in November.
NATO/ISAF also coordinates with Afghan security
forces and with OEF forces as
well, and it assists the Afghan Ministry of Civil
Aviation and Tourism in the
operation of Kabul International Airport (where Dutch
combat aircraft also are
located).
Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs). NATO/ISAF expansion in
Afghanistan builds on a December 2002 U.S. initiative to establish provincial
reconstruction teams (PRTs) — military-run enclaves that provide safe havens for
international aid workers to help with reconstruction and to extend the writ of the
Kabul government. PRT activities can range from resolving local disputes to
24
Kington, Tom. Italy Could Send UAVs, Helos to Afghanistan. Defense News, June 19,
2006.
CRS-24
coordinating local reconstruction projects, although the U.S.-run PRTs focus mostly
on counter-insurgency. Some aid agencies say they have felt more secure since the
PRT program began, fostering reconstruction activity in areas of PRT operations.2526
However, other relief groups do not want to associate with military force because
doing so might taint their perceived neutrality. Plans are to eventually establish PRTs
PRTs in most of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. The; the list of existing PRTs, including lead
country, is
shown in Table 9. U.S. funds support PRT reconstruction projects. Appropriations
Appropriations and USAID allocations for PRT-led reconstruction are noted in the
tables at the end
of this paper.
Each U.S.-run PRT is composed of U.S. forces (50-100 U.S. military
personnel); Defense Department civil affairs officers; representatives of USAID,
State Department, and other agencies; and Afghan government (Interior Ministry)
personnel. Most PRTs, including those run by partner forces, have personnel to train
25
Kington, Tom. Italy Could Send UAVs, Helos to Afghanistan. Defense News, June 19,
2006.
26
Kraul, Chris. “U.S. Aid Effort Wins Over Skeptics in Afghanistan.” Los Angeles Times,
April 11, 2003.
CRS-25
Afghan security forces. Many U.S. PRTs in restive regions are “co-located” with
“forward operating bases” of 300-400 U.S. combat troops.
In conjunction with broadening NATO security responsibilities, the United
States has been turning over PRTs to its partners. The NATO agreement to take over
the entire peacekeeping operation included a commitment for NATO/ISAF to
eventually take over all PRTs in Afghanistan. In August 2005, in preparation for the
establishment of Regional Command South, Canada took over the key U.S.-led PRT
in Qandahar. In May 2006, Britain took over the PRT at Lashkar Gah, capital of
Helmand Province. The Netherlands took over the PRT at Tarin Kowt, capital of
restive Uruzgan Province. As noted above, Italy and Spain, through their PRTs, now
have primary control of western Afghanistan. Germany (with Turkey and France)
took over the PRTs and the leadership role in the north from Britain and the
Netherlands when those countries have deployed to the south.
Some other countries, including Turkey, are considering taking over other PRTs.
Turkey opened
a PRT, in Wardak Province, on November 25, 2006. It will reportedly focus on
providing health care, education, police training, and agricultural alternatives in that
region. U.S. officials in Kabul told CRS in February 2006 that there is a move to
turn over
the lead in the PRTs to civilians rather than military personnel, presumably State
State Department or USAID officials. That process began in early 2006 with the
establishment of a civilian-led U.S.-run PRT in the Panjshir Valley.
Afghan National Army (ANA).
U.S. forces (“Office of Security
Cooperation Cooperation
Afghanistan,” OSC-A), in partnership with French, British, and other
forces, are training the new ANA. As of November 2006, the ANA numbers about
35,000 troops in 40 battalions, (5 Corps) of which 24 are combat battalions. That
is about half its total target strength of 70,000 that it is expected to reach by 2010.
The target level was
training the new ANA. The table below shows its current strength and target levels,
as well as that of the Afghan National Police (ANP). The target ANA size was
reiterated in the Afghanistan Compact adopted in London on
February 1, 2006,
although some observers believe the goal might be scaled back to
50,000 because of
the sustainment costs to the Afghan government. Afghanistan’s
Defense Minister
says that even 70,000 is highly inadequate and believes that the
target size should be
at least 150,000. Gen. Bob Durbin is the commander of the
Combined Security
Transition Command Afghanistan (CSTC-A), the entity that is
25
Kraul, Chris. “U.S. Aid Effort Wins Over Skeptics in Afghanistan.” Los Angeles Times,
April 11, 2003.
CRS-25
building the ANA; he says building the ANA; he
said in January 2007 that the ANA is growing by about 12,000 per month.26 The
United States has built four regional bases for it (Herat, Gardez, Qandahar, and
Mazar-e-Sharif).
The ANA now has at least some presence in most of Afghanistan’s 34
provinces, working with the PRTs and assisted by embedded U.S. trainers (about ten
to twenty per battalion). Coalition officers are conducting heavy weapons training
for a heavy brigade as part of the “Kabul Corps,” based in Pol-e-Charki, east of
Kabul. Fully trained recruits are paid about $70100 per month; generals receive about
$530 per month. The FY2005 foreign aid appropriation (P.L. 108-447) contains a
provision requiring that ANA recruits be vetted for past involvement in terrorism,
human rights violations, and drug trafficking.
The ANA is earning mixed reviews. Some U.S. and allied officers say that the
ANA is becoming a major force in stabilizing the country and a national symbol.
The ANA deployed to Herat in March 2004 to help quell factional unrest there and
to Meymaneh in April 2004 in response to Dostam’s militia movement into that city.
CRS-26
It deployed outside Afghanistan to assist relief efforts for victims of the October 2005
Pakistan earthquake. It is increasingly able to conduct its own battalion-strength
operations, according to U.S. officers.
Other officers report continuing personnel (desertion, absentee) problems, ill
discipline, and drug abuse, although some concerns have been addressed. At the time
the United States first began establishing the ANA, Northern Alliance figures
reportedly weighted recruitment for the national army toward its Tajik ethnic base.
Many Pashtuns, in reaction, refused recruitment or left the ANA program. U.S.
officials in Afghanistan say this problem has been at least partly alleviated with better
pay and more close involvement by U.S. forces, and that the force is ethnically
integrated in each unit. The naming of a Pashtun, Abdul Rahim Wardak, as Defense
Minister in December 2004 also reduced desertions among Pashtuns (he remains in
that position in the cabinet confirmed April 2006). The chief of staff is Gen.
Bismillah Khan, a Tajik who was a Northern Alliance commander; he visited the
United States in October 2005. U.S. officers in
Afghanistan add that some recruits
take long trips to their home towns to remit funds
to their families, and often then
return to the ANA after a long absence. Others,
according to U.S. observers, often
refuse to serve far from their home towns.
An Afghan Air Force, a carryover from the Afghan Air Force that existed prior
to the Soviet invasion, remains, although it has virtually no aircraft to fly. It has
about 400 pilots, as well as 28 aging helicopters and a few cargo aircraft. Russia
overhauled 11 of these craft in 2004, but the equipment is difficult to maintain. In
May 2005, representatives of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said
the United States is considering obtaining for Afghanistan additional transport planes
and helicopters, although the equipment might not necessarily be U.S. equipment,
according to DSCA. Afghan pilots are based at Bagram air base. Afghanistan is
seeking the return of 26 aircraft, including some MiG-2s that were flown to safety in
Pakistan and Uzbekistan during the past conflicts in Afghanistan.
26
DOD News Briefing With Major General Durbin. July 13, 2006.
CRS-26
ANA Armament.
ANA Armament. Equipment, maintenance, and logistical difficulties
continue continue
to plague the ANA. Few soldiers have helmets, many have no armored
vehicles or
armor. In July 2006, the Administration announced it would be drawing
down about
$2 billion worth of equipment for transfer to the ANA over the next 12
to 18 months.
According to a GAO report of June 2005, in addition to direct
funding, the United
States drew down $287 million worth of defense articles
(including M-113 armored
personnel carriers) and services for the ANA during
FY2002-FY2004, plus $11
million worth of military trucks and armored personnel
vehicles. On June 16, 2005,
the President authorized an additional draw-down of
$161.5 million. In FY2006,
Afghanistan is eligible to receive grant Excess Defense
Articles (EDA) under
Section 516 of the Foreign Assistance Act. International
International donors (primarily East bloc nations), Defense Ministry weapons
stocks, 27 and the
DDR program discussed above have previously furnished most of
the ANA
weaponry. International donors have also furnished $120 million in cash
for the
Afghan National Police. In October 2005, Russia announced it would give the ANA
27
Report to Congress Consistent With the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002, July
22, 2003.
CRS-27
the ANA four helicopters and other non-lethal military aid and equipment; it has already
already provided about $100 million in military aid to post-Taliban Afghanistan.
Egypt has
made two major shipments of weapons to the ANA containing 17,000 small arms.
Afghan National Police
small arms. The Czech Republic is said to be considering providing up to 10
refurbished helicopters to the ANA.
Afghan National Police/Justice Sector. Some Afghan officials believe
that building up a
credible and capable national police force is at least as important
to combating the
Taliban insurgency as building the ANA. Figures on police are
provided in Table 1 below. Some Afghans do not believe the ANA
should have a
role in maintaining internal security, and that this should be the role
of the police.
The United States and Germany are training the Afghan National
Police (ANP) force.
The U.S. effort has beenwas first led by State Department/INL, primarily
through a contract
with DynCorp, but the Defense Department is beginning to play
a role in that effort, particularly in “police reform.” About 62,000 ANP are on duty,
of which 58,000 are trained and 37,000 are both trained and equipped, according to
CSTC-A on July 13, 2006. To address equipment shortages, CSTC-A said on July
13, 2006, that the ANP will soon receive 8,000 new vehicles and thousands of new
weapons of all types.took over the lead in police training in
April 2005. There are currently seven police training centers around Afghanistan,
which includes training in human rights principles and democratic policing concepts.
To address the widely cited continuing inadequacy of ANP presence around
Afghanistan, the U.S.-led coalition began a program in August 2006 to hire 11,200
“auxiliary police” to serve in the restive south. In the 110th Congress, H.R. 1, passed
by the House on January 9, 2007, recommends a major increase in U.S. and
international training of the Afghan police.
To address equipment shortages, CSTC-A said on July 13, 2006, that the ANP
will soon receive 8,000 new vehicles and thousands of new weapons of all types. A
report by the Inspectors General of the State and Defense Department, circulated to
Congress in December 2006, found that most ANP units have less than 50% of their
authorized equipment,28 among its significant criticisms.
Some governments criticized Karzai for setting back police reform in June 2006
when he approved a new list of senior police commanders that included 11 (out of
86 total) who had failed merit exams. His approval of the 11 were reportedly to
satisfy faction leaders and went against the recommendations of a police reform
committee. There are seven police training centers around Afghanistan, which
includes training in human rights principles and democratic policing concepts.
However, the ANP work in the communities they come from, often embroiling them
in local factional or ethnic disputesHowever, the ANP work in the communities they come from, often
embroiling them in local factional or ethnic disputes. Another problem is widespread
corruption, because ANP officers only receive salaries of about $70 per month, and
they reputedly encourage bribery to supplement these earnings, causing popular
resentment.
The State Department (INL) has placed 30 U.S. advisors in the Interior Ministry
to help it develop the national police force and counter-narcotics capabilities.
According to the State Department, the United States has completed training of the
first unit of National Interdiction Unit officers under the Counter-Narcotics Police
27
Report to Congress Consistent With the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002, July
22, 2003.
CRS-27
of Afghanistan. U.S. trainers are also building Border Police and Highway Patrol
forces (which are included in the figures cited above).
28
Inspectors General, U.S. Department of State and of Defense. Interagency Assessment
of Afghanistan Police Training and Readiness. November 2006. Department Of State
report No. ISP-IQ0-07-07.
CRS-28
U.S. justice sector programs generally focus on building capacity of the judicial
system, including police training and court construction; many of these programs are
conducted in partnership with Italy, which is the “lead” coalition country on judicial
reform. The United States has trained over 500 judges, according to USAID, and it
trains prosecutors and court administrators for the Ministry of Justice, the office of
the Attorney General, and the Supreme Court.
U.S. Security Forces Funding. U.S. funds appropriated for Peacekeeping
Operations (PKO funds) are used to cover ANA salaries. Recent appropriations for
the ANA and ANP are contained in the tables at the end of this paper. As noted in
the table, the security forces funding has shifted to DOD funds instead of assistance
funds controlled by the State Department.
CRS-29
Table 1. Major Security-Related Indicators
(November 2006January 2007)
Force
Current Level
Total U.S. Forces in
Afghanistan
21,000
U.S. Forces Not Under ISAF
Command
8,000 for “Operation Active
Endeavor” anti- Al Qaeda
and other heavy combat
missions, primarily in eastern
Afghanistan. A few thousand of
of these are training Afghan
security forces or are attached
to PRTs.
OEF Partner Forces
NATO/ISAF Peacekeeping
Afghan National Army (ANA)
2,000 est.
about 31,000 (incl. 11,000 (now Op.
Active Endeavor) not under
NATO/ISAF
About 1,000
Number of U.S. airstrikes
flown in support of operations
2,000 (May - November
2006)
NATO/ISAF Peacekeeping
About 31,000 (incl. 11,250
U.S. now formally under
ISAF command, but
operationally led by a U.S.
commander)
33,000
Target Level
TargetReduced level of 16,600 by end
end of 2006 was set in early
2006,
but target has now been
overtaken by events due to
heavy Taliban resistance
Number is moving toward
zero after NATO/ISAF
takeover of all peacekeeping
on October 5, 2006
but target was scrapped
due to Taliban resurgence
Decreasing as NATO/ISAF
has taken over nationwide
peacekeeping as of October 5,
2006
about 33,500 (following
October 2006 NATO
commander call for 2,500
additional forces
)
Afghan National Army (ANA) 36,000
70,000 (official figuregoal, by
2010)
Afghan National Police (ANP) 6270,000 on duty, of which
37,000 are both trained and
equipped
62,000 trained and equipped
Legally Armed Fighters
0
(Disarmed by DDR program
by June 2005)
0
DIAG/Weapons Collected
from Illegal Armed Groups
“Several hundred” significant
illegal groups (five or more
fighters) remain. 22,000
weapons collected thus far
goal is no remaining illegal
groups by 2010
Number of Suicide Bombings
(2005)
21
Suicide Bombings (to date
2006)
78
CRS-2850,000 are both trained and
equipped. 375 U.S. advisors,
mostly contractors
82,000 trained and equipped
Counter-Narcotics Police
2,600
Number of Pakistani troops in
Pakistani border provinces
About 80,000
Legally Armed Fighters
disarmed by DDR
63,380
Weapons Collected by DDR
36,000 medium and light;
12, 250 heavy
Armed Groups disbanded by
DIAG
Commanders in areas of the
following provinces have
disarmed: Badakhshan,
Takhar, Kapisa, Laghman,
Paktia, Baghlan, Ghazni
Weapons Collected by DIAG
22,000
Number of Suicide Bombings
(2005)
21
Suicide Bombings (2006)
117
Number of insurgents killed in 4,000 in 2006, including
operations
2,000 killed SeptemberDecember
63,380
goal is to disband 1,800
groups, of which several
hundred are “significant” (five
or more fighters).
0
0
CRS-30
Regional Context
Although most of Afghanistan’s neighbors believe that the fall of the Taliban
has stabilized the region, some experts believe that some neighboring governments
are attempting to manipulate Afghanistan’s factions to their advantage, even though
six of Afghanistan’s neighbors signed a non-interference pledge (Kabul Declaration)
on December 23, 2002. In November 2005, Afghanistan joined the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Afghanistan now has observer
status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which is discussed below.
Pakistan
Some Afghan leaders continue to resent Pakistan because it was the most public
defender of the Taliban movement when it was in power (one of only three countries
to formally recognize it as the legitimate government: Saudi Arabia and the United
Arab Emirates are the others). Pakistan purportedly viewed (and according to some
Afghan leaders, still views) the Taliban as an instrument with which to build an
Afghanistan sufficiently friendly and pliable to provide Pakistan strategic depth
against rival India. Pakistan ended its public support for the Taliban after the
September 11, 2001, attacks. For its part, Pakistan is wary that any Afghan
government might fall under the influence of India, which Pakistan says is using its
diplomatic facilities in Afghanistan to train and recruit anti-Pakistan insurgents.
The efforts by Afghanistan and Pakistan to build post-Taliban relations have not
completely recovered from a setback in March 2006, when Afghan leaders openly
asserted that
Pakistan was exerting insufficient efforts to prevent Taliban remnants
from operating
there. That assessment was subsequently reinforced in comments by
State State
Department Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism Henry Crumpton, on a visit to
Kabul Kabul
in May 2006. However, someSome progress was made during a September 6, 2006,
visit by
President Musharraf to Kabul where he pledged to seek out and destroy the
Pakistan-based Pakistanbased command structure of the Taliban. Despite continuing mutual
accusations accusations
during visits by Karzai and Musharraf to Washington, D.C. in late
September, further
progress was made, according to senior U.S. officials, at a joint
at a joint dinner for Karzai and Musharraf hosted by President
Bush on September 28, 2006.
Among other steps At that session, the two leaders agreed to gather tribal
elders on both sides of
their border to persuade them not to host Taliban militants. Reflecting continued
differences, in October 2006 Karzai said that Mullah Umar is hiding in the Pakistani
city of Quetta, an allegation denied by Pakistan.
Suggesting it can act against the Taliban when it intends to, on July 19, 2005,
Pakistan arrested five suspected senior Taliban leaders, including a deputy to Mullah
Umar, and, as noted above, in October 2005 it arrested and turned over to
Afghanistan Taliban spokesman Hakimi. On August 15, 2006, Pakistan announced
the arrest of 29 Taliban fighters in a hospital in the Pakistani city of Quetta.
The United States has praised Pakistan for its efforts against Al Qaeda, although
it has been less praiseworthy about Pakistan actions against the Taliban. After the
September 11 attacks, Pakistan provided the United States with requested access to
Pakistani airspace, some ports, and some airfields for OEF. Pakistan also has
CRS-29However, reflecting remaining differences, in October 2006 Karzai said that
Mullah Umar is hiding in the Pakistani city of Quetta, an allegation denied by
Pakistan. There have also been questions about the wisdom of a September 5, 2006,
agreement between Pakistan and tribal elders in this region to exchange an end to
Pakistani military incursions into the tribal areas for a promise by the tribal elders to
expel militants from the border area. Some say that “Pakistani Taliban” have
continued to gain influence over the villages in these regions. In a meeting with
Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in Kabul in early January 2007, Karzai
CRS-31
strongly criticized a Pakistani plan to mine and fence their common border in an
effort to prevent infiltration of militants to Afghanistan. Even though the move was
a Pakistani attempt to increase its efforts to help Afghanistan, Karzai said the move
would separate tribes and families that straddle the border. He said there was still an
“increasing lack of trust” between the countries.
The United States has praised Pakistan for its efforts against Al Qaeda. After
the September 11 attacks, Pakistan provided the United States with requested access
to Pakistani airspace, some ports, and some airfields for OEF. Pakistan also has
arrested over 550 Al Qaeda fighters, some of them senior operatives, and turned them
over to the United States. Among those captured by Pakistan are top bin Laden aide
Abu Zubaydah (captured April 2002); alleged September 11 plotter Ramzi bin Al
Shibh September 11, 2002; top Al Qaeda planner Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (March
2003); and a top planner, Abu Faraj al-Libbi (May 2005). A U.S. Predator dronelaunched January 13, 2006, strike on Damadola village in Pakistan targeted
Zawahiri, according to U.S. officials, but his subsequent video appearance proved
that the strike did not succeed. It also caused anti-U.S. demonstrations in Pakistan
because some civilians apparently were killed in the strike; press sources say up to
four Al Qaeda militants were hit in it.
Following failed assassination attempts in December 2003 against President
Musharraf, Pakistani forces accelerated efforts to find Al Qaeda forces along the
Pakistan-Afghanistan border, in some cases threatening tribal elements in these areas
who are suspected of harboring the militants. In March 2004, about 70,000 Pakistani
forces began a major battle with about 300-400 suspected Al Qaeda fighters in the
Waziristan area, reportedly with some support from U.S. intelligence and other
indirect support. Pakistan has had nearly 80,000 forces poised near the north
Waziristan area of Pakistan, and theThe U.S. military acknowledged in April 2005 that
it is training
Pakistani commandos to fight Al Qaeda fighters in Pakistan.28 On the
other hand, many experts question whether a September 5, 2006, agreement between
Pakistan and tribal elders in this region will result in the expulsion of foreign
militants from the border area. That was promised by the elders in exchange for an
end to Pakistani military incursions into the tribal areas. Others say that “Pakistani
Taliban” are gaining influence over the villages in these regions.29
Pakistan wants the government of Afghanistan to pledge to abide by the
“Durand Line,” a border agreement reached between Britain (signed by Sir Henry
Mortimer Durand) and then Afghan leader Amir Abdul Rahman Khan in 1893,
separating Afghanistan from what was then British-controlled India (later Pakistan
after the 1947 partition). As of October 2002, about 1.75 million Afghan refugees
have returned from Pakistan since the Taliban fell. About 300,000 Afghan refugees
remain in Pakistan.
Iran
Iran perceives its key national interests in Afghanistan as exerting its traditional
influence over western Afghanistan, which Iran borders and was once part of the
Persian empire, and to protect Afghanistan’s Shiite minority. Iran’s assistance to
Afghanistan has totaled about $205 million since the fall of the Taliban, mainly to
build roads and schools and provide electricity and shops to Afghan cities and
villages near the Iranian border. After the fall of the Taliban in late 2001, President
Bush warned Iran against meddling in Afghanistan. Partly in response to the U.S.
criticism, in February 2002 Iran expelled Karzai-opponent Gulbuddin Hikmatyar,
although but
it did not arrest him. Since then, the Bush Administration criticism of
Iranian Iranian
“meddling” has lessened as the pro-Iranian Northern Alliance has been
28
Gall, Carlotta. “U.S. Training Pakistani Units Fighting Qaeda.” New York Times, April
27, 2005.
CRS-30
marginalized marginalized
in the government. For his part, Karzai, who again visited Iran in May
2006 — and
who met with hardline Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in
Tajikistan on
29
Gall, Carlotta. “U.S. Training Pakistani Units Fighting Qaeda.” New York Times, April
27, 2005.
CRS-32
July 26, 2006 — says that Iran is an important neighbor of Afghanistan.
Iran did not
strongly oppose Karzai’s firing of Iran ally Ismail Khan in September
2004, although
Iran has opposed the subsequent U.S. use of the Shindand air base.29
30 Iran is said to
be helping Afghan law enforcement with anti-narcotics along their
border. About
300,000 Afghan refugees have returned from Iran since the Taliban
fell, but about 1.2
million remain, mostly integrated into Iranian society.
Even though Iran’s position in Afghanistan has waned since 2004, it is still
greatly enhanced from the time of the Taliban, which Iran saw as a threat to its
interests in Afghanistan, especially after Taliban forces captured Herat (the western
province that borders Iran) in September 1995. Iran subsequently drew even closer
to the Northern Alliance than previously, providing its groups with fuel, funds, and
ammunition,3031 and hosting fighters loyal to Ismail Khan. In September 1998, Iranian
and Taliban forces nearly came into direct conflict when Iran discovered that nine of
its diplomats were killed in the course of the Taliban’s offensive in northern
Afghanistan. Iran massed forces at the border and threatened military action, but the
crisis cooled without a major clash, possibly out of fear that Pakistan would intervene
on behalf of the Taliban. Iran offered search and rescue assistance in Afghanistan
during the U.S.-led war to topple the Taliban, and it also allowed U.S. humanitarian
aid to the Afghan people to transit Iran.
India
The interests and activities of India in Afghanistan are almost the exact reverse
of those of Pakistan. India’s goal is to deny Pakistan “strategic depth” in
Afghanistan, and India supported the Northern Alliance against the Taliban in the
mid-1990s. A possible reflection of these ties is that Tajikistan allows India to use
one of its air bases; Tajikistan supports the mostly Tajik Northern Alliance. India
saw the Taliban’s hosting of Al Qaeda as a major threat to India itself because of Al
Qaeda’s association with radical Islamic organizations in Pakistan dedicated to
ending Indian control of parts of Jammu and Kashmir. Some of these groups have
committed major acts of terrorism in India. For its part, Pakistan accuses India of
using its nine consulates in Afghanistan to spread Indian influence.
India is becoming a major investor in and donor to Afghanistan. It is cofinancing, along with the Asian Development Bank, several power projects in
northern Afghanistan. In January 2005, India promised to help Afghanistan’s
struggling Ariana national airline and it has begun India Air flights between Delhi
and Kabul. It has also renovated the well known Habibia High School in Kabul and
committed to a $25 million renovation of Darulaman Palace as the permanent house
for Afghanistan’s parliament. Numerous other India-financed reconstruction projects
are under way throughout Afghanistan. India, along with the Asian Development
29Bank, is financing the $300 million project, mentioned above, to bring electricity
from Central Asia to Afghanistan.
30
Rashid, Ahmed. “Afghan Neighbors Show Signs of Aiding in Nation’s Stability.” Wall
Street Journal, October 18, 2004.
3031
Steele, Jonathon, “America Includes Iran in Talks on Ending War in Afghanistan.”
Washington Times, December 15, 1997.
CRS-31
Bank, is financing the $300 million project, mentioned above, to bring electricity
from Central Asia to Afghanistan.33
Russia, Central Asian States, and China
Some neighboring and nearby states take an active interest not only in Afghan
stability, but in the U.S. military posture that supports OEF.
Russia. During the 1990s, Russia supported the Northern Alliance against the
Taliban with some military equipment and technical assistance in order to blunt
Islamic militancy emanating from Afghanistan.3132 Russia, which still feels humiliated
by its withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989, apparently views Northern Alliance
figures as
instruments with which to rebuild Russian influence in Afghanistan.
Although Although
Russia supported the U.S. effort against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in
Afghanistan out
of fear of Islamic (mainly Chechen) radicals, more recently Russia
has sought to
reduce the U.S. military presence in Central Asia. Russian fears of
Islamic activism
emanating from Afghanistan may have ebbed since 2002 when
Russia killed a
Chechen of Arab origin known as “Hattab” (full name is Ibn alKhattabal-Khattab), who led a
militant pro-Al Qaeda Chechen faction. The Taliban
government was the only one
in the world to recognize Chechnya’s independence,
and some Chechen fighters
fighting alongside Taliban/Al Qaeda forces have been
captured or killed.
Central Asian States. During Taliban rule, Russian and Central Asian
leaders grew increasingly alarmed that radical Islamic movements were receiving
safe haven in Afghanistan. Uzbekistan, in particular, has long asserted that the group
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), allegedly responsible for four simultaneous
February 1999 bombings in Tashkent that nearly killed President Islam Karimov, is
linked to Al Qaeda.3233 One of its leaders, Juma Namangani, reportedly was killed
while commanding Taliban/Al Qaeda forces in Konduz in November 2001.
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan do not directly border Afghanistan, but IMU guerrillas
transited Kyrgyzstan during incursions into Uzbekistan in the late 1990s.
These countries generally supported the Northern Alliance against the Taliban;
Uzbekistan supported Uzbek leader Abdul Rashid Dostam, who was part of that
Alliance. In 1996, several of these states banded together with Russia and China
into a regional grouping called the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to discuss the
Taliban threat. It includes China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and
Kyrgyzstan. Reflecting Russian and Chinese efforts to limit U.S. influence in the
region, the group issued a statement in early July 2005, reiterated by a top official of
the group in October 2005, that the United States should set a timetable for ending
its military presence in Central Asia. Despite the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
statements, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan are all, for now, holding to their
pledges of facility support to OEF. (Tajikistan allows access primarily to French
31combat aircraft, and Kazakhstan allows use of facilities in case of emergency.) In
July 2003, Afghanistan and Tajikistan agreed that some Russian officers would train
some Afghan military officers in Tajikistan.
32
Risen, James. “Russians Are Back in Afghanistan, Aiding Rebels.” New York Times, July
27, 1998.
3233
The IMU was named a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department in
September 2000.
CRS-32
combat aircraft, and Kazakhstan allows use of facilities in case of emergency.) In
July 2003, Afghanistan and Tajikistan agreed that some Russian officers would train
some Afghan military officers in Tajikistan.34
Of the Central Asian states that border Afghanistan, only Turkmenistan chose
to seek close relations with the Taliban leadership when it was in power, possibly
viewing engagement as a more effective means of preventing spillover of radical
Islamic activity from Afghanistan. Turkmenistan’s leader, Saparmurad Niyazov,
who died in December 2006, saw Taliban control as facilitating construction of a
natural gas pipeline from
Turkmenistan through Afghanistan (see below). The
September 11 events stoked
Turkmenistan’s fears of the Taliban and its Al Qaeda
guests and the country publicly
supported the U.S.-led war. No OEFU.S. forces have
been based in Turkmenistan.
China. A major organizer of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, China
has a small border with a sliver of Afghanistan known as the “Wakhan corridor”
(see
map). China had become increasingly concerned about the potential for Al Qaeda
Qaeda to promote Islamic fundamentalism among Muslims (Uighurs) in northwestern
northwestern China. A number of Uighurs fought in Taliban and Al Qaeda ranks in
the U.S.-led
war, according to U.S. military officials. In December 2000, sensing
China’s
increasing concern about Taliban policies, a Chinese official delegation met with
with Mullah Umar. China did not, at first, enthusiastically support U.S. military action
action against the Taliban. Many experts believe this is because China, as a result of
strategic considerations, was wary of a U.S. military buildup nearby. In addition,
China has been an ally of Pakistan, in part to balance out India, a rival of China.
Saudi Arabia
During the Soviet occupation, Saudi Arabia channeled hundreds of millions of
dollars to the Afghan resistance, primarily the Hikmatyar and Sayyaf factions. Saudi
Arabia, which itself practices the strict Wahhabi brand of Islam practiced by the
Taliban, was one of three countries to formally recognize the Taliban government.
The Taliban initially served Saudi Arabia as a potential counter to Iran, but IranianSaudi relations improved after 1997 and balancing Iranian power ebbed as a factor
in Saudi policy toward Afghanistan. Drawing on its reputed intelligence ties to
Afghanistan during that era, Saudi Arabia worked with Taliban leaders to persuade
them to suppress anti-Saudi activities by Al Qaeda. Saudi Arabia apparently believed
believed that Al Qaeda’s presence in Afghanistan drew Saudi Islamic radicals away from
from Saudi Arabia itself and thereby reduced their opportunity to destabilize the Saudi
Saudi regime. Some press reports indicate that, in late 1998, Saudi and Taliban leaders
leaders discussed, but did not agree on, a plan for a panel of Saudi and Afghan Islamic
Islamic scholars to decide bin Laden’s fate. Other reports, however, say that Saudi Arabia
Arabia refused an offer from Sudan in 1996 to extradite bin Laden to his homeland
on the
grounds that he could become a rallying point for opposition to the regime.
According to U.S. officials, Saudi Arabia cooperated extensively, if not
publicly, with OEF. It broke diplomatic relations with the Taliban in late September
2001 and quietly permitted the United States to use a Saudi base for command of
U.S. air operations over Afghanistan, but it did not permit U.S. aircraft to launch
strikes in Afghanistan from Saudi bases. The Saudi position has generally been to
allow the United States the use of its facilities as long as doing so is not publicized.
CRS-3335
U.S. and International Aid
to Afghanistan
Many experts believe that financial assistance and accelerating reconstruction
would do more to improve the security situation than intensified anti-Taliban combat.
Afghanistan’s economy and society are still fragile after decades of warfare that left
about 2 million dead, 700,000 widows and orphans, and about 1 million Afghan
children who were born and raised in refugee camps outside Afghanistan. In
addition to 3.6 million Afghan refugees at the start of the U.S.-led war33 another
500,000 Afghans were displaced internally before U.S. military action began,
according to Secretary General Annan’s April 19, 2001, report. Since January 2002,
more than 3.5 million Afghan refugees have returnedMore than
3.5 million Afghan refugees have since returned, although a comparable number
remain outside Afghanistan.
Although still heavily dependent on donors, the government has made
significant progress in generating a growing portion of its budget domestically. It
now raises domestically about half of its $900 million annual operating budget from
tax and customs revenues after succeeding in forcing customs revenue to be remitted
to the central government. Tax revenue from such growing Afghan companies as
Roshan and Afghan Wireless (cell phone service), and Tolo Television are providing
substantial funds as well. Karzai also has sought to reassure international donors by
establishing a transparent budget and planning process. Nonetheless, the Afghan
government still depends on international donors, U.N. agencies, and NGOs for
operating as well as reconstruction funds. The U.N. High Commission for Refugees
(UNHCR) supervises Afghan repatriation and Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan.
U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan
During the 1990s, the United States became the largest single provider of
assistance to the Afghan people. During Taliban rule, no U.S. aid went directly to
that government; monies were provided through relief organizations. Between
1985-1994, the United States had a cross-border aid program for Afghanistan,
implemented by USAID personnel based in Pakistan. Citing the difficulty of
administering this program, there was no USAID mission for Afghanistan from the
end of FY1994 until the reopening of the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan in late 2001.
Post-Taliban U.S. Aid Totals. Since the beginning of FY2002 (which began
just before Operation Enduring Freedom commenced in October 2001) and including
and
including funds appropriated for FY2006, the United States has provided
approximately $3.9
billion in civilian-related reconstruction and other civilian
assistance and $6.3 billion
in military/security-related assistance. This latter
category included training and
equipping the ANA and ANP, DOD and INL counter-narcoticscounternarcotics operations, Karzai
protection, and de-mining/anti-terrorism. Table 2 breaks down FY1999-FY2002 aid
33
About 1.5 million Afghan refugees were in Iran; 2 million in Pakistan; 20,000 in Russia;
17,000 in India, and 9,000 in the Central Asian states.
CRS-34
breaks down FY1999-FY2002 aid by program, and the other tables cover FY2003- FY2006FY2003FY2006. A history of U.S. aid to
Afghanistan prior to 1999 (FY1978-FY1998) is in Table 7.34
Table 7.34
34
In some cases, aid figures are subject to variation depending on how that aid is measured.
The figures cited might not exactly match figures in appropriated legislation; in some, funds
were added to specified accounts from monies in the September 11-related Emergency
Response Fund.
CRS-36
Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 and Amendments. A key
post-Taliban aid authorization bill, S. 2712, the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act
of 2002 (P.L. 107-327, December 4, 2002), as amended, authorized U.S. aid. The
total authorization, for all categories for all yearsFY2003-FY2006), is over $3.7 billion. For
the most
part, the humanitarian, counter-narcotics, and governance assistance targets
authorized by the act have been met or exceeded by successive appropriations.
However, no Enterprise Funds have been appropriated, and ISAF expansion has
been funded by contributing nations. It authorized the following:
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$60 million in total counter-narcotics assistance ($15 million per
year for FY2003-FY2006);
$30 million in assistance for political development, including
national, regional, and local elections ($10 million per year for
FY2003-FY2005);
$80 million total to benefit women and for Afghan human rights
oversight ($15 million per year for FY2003-FY2006 for the Afghan
Ministry of Women’s Affairs, and $5 million per year for FY20032006 to the Human Rights Commission of Afghanistan);
$1.7 billion in humanitarian and development aid ($425 million per
year for FY2003-FY2006);
$300 million for an Enterprise Fund;
$550 million in draw-downs of defense articles and services for
Afghanistan and regional militaries. (The original law provided for
$300 million in drawdowns. That was increased to $450 million by
P.L. 108-106, an FY2004 supplemental appropriations); and
$1 billion ($500 million per year for FY2003-FY2004) to expand
ISAF if such an expansion takes place.
A subsequent law (P.L. 108-458, December 17, 2004), implementing the
recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, contained a subtitle called “The
Afghanistan Freedom Support Act Amendments of 2004.” The subtitle mandates the
appointment of a U.S. coordinator of policy on Afghanistan and requires additional
Administration reports to Congress, including (1) on long-term U.S. strategy and
progress of reconstruction — an amendment to the report required in the original law;
(2) on how U.S. assistance is being used; (3) on U.S. efforts to persuade other
countries to participate in Afghan peacekeeping; and (4) a joint State and Defense
Department report on U.S. counter-narcotics efforts in Afghanistan. The law also
contains several “sense of Congress” provisions recommending more rapid DDR
activities; expansion of ISAF; and counter-narcotics initiatives. The law did not
specify dollar amount authorizations for FY2005 and FY2006.
34
In some cases, aid figures are subject to variation depending on how that aid is measured.
The figures cited might not exactly match figures in appropriated legislation; in some, funds
were added to specified accounts from monies in the September 11-related Emergency
Response Fund.
CRS-35 H.R. 1, a bill in the
110th Congress to implement the September 11 Commission recommendations,
contains a sense of Congress that the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act be
reauthorized; it passed the House on January 9, 2006.
FY2007. On December 2, 2005, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ron
Neumann signed an agreement with the Afghan Finance Minister under which the
United States pledges to provide Afghanistan with $5.5 billion in civilian economic
aid over the next five years. The U.S. aid plan is reportedly programmed for
education, health care, and economic and democratic development. On February 6,
2006, the Administration requested, for FY2007, the following for Afghanistan:
CRS-37
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$42.8 million for Child Survival and Health (CSH);
$150 million in Development Assistance (DA);
$610 million in ESF (an increase of about $190 million over what is
being provided in ESF for FY2006);
$297 million for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement
(INCLE) for counter-narcotics operations (an increase of about $60
million over what is being provided for FY2006);
$1.2 million in International Military Education and Training
(IMET);
no funds specifically requested for Karzai protection (NADR) or
Peacekeeping Operations (PKO); and a
total request of about $1.1 billion, in line with the Administration
pledge at the February 1, 2006, “London Conference.”
In congressional action, the House passed H.R. 5522, the regular FY2007
foreign aid appropriation. It (H.Rept. 109-486)FY2007 aid is operating under the terms of P.L. 109383, a continuation appropriation. The House-passed (H.R. 5522) aid levels appear
to provide guidance for FY2007 aid levels: it contains $510.77 million in ESF for
Afghanistan and $235 million for counter-narcotics programs in Afghanistan, but
appears to fully fund the remaining program categories. The Senate version (S.Rept.
109-277), which awaits Senate action, contains $1.124 billion for Afghanistan,
slightly more than the total request and matching the request in many of the aid
categories. However, it funds only $381 million in ESF but provides $161 million
for democracy programs in Afghanistan, a category not in the Administration request.
The Senate version also provides $30 million more than requested for Child Survival
programs and $36 million more than requested for Development Assistance (DA).
USAID says it plans to USAID says it plans to
spend about $42 million on PRT-related reconstruction
programs. The In addition, the
FY2007 Defense Appropriation (P.L. 109-289) provides $1.5 billion
to train and
equip Afghan security forces and $100 million for DOD counternarcoticscounter-narcotics support
operations in Afghanistan.
Additional Funds and Other U.S. Assistance. Since the fall of the
Taliban, the U.S. Treasury Department (Office of Foreign Assets Control, OFAC)
has unblocked over $145 million in assets of Afghan government-owned banking
entities that were frozen under U.S. sanctions imposed on the Taliban in 1999, and
another $17 million in privately-owned Afghan assets. These funds were used for
currency stabilization; mostly gold held in Afghanistan’s name in the United States
to back up Afghanistan’s currency. Another $20 million in overflight fees withheld
by U.N. sanctions on the Taliban were provided as well. Together with its allies,
over $350 million in frozen funds were released to the Afghan government. The
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has made available total investment
credits of $100 million.
World Bank/Asian Development Bank. In May 2002, the World Bank
reopened its office in Afghanistan after 20 years. On March 12, 2003, it announced
CRS-36
a $108 million loan to Afghanistan, the first since 1979. In August 2003, the World
Bank agreed to lend Afghanistan an additional $30 million to rehabilitate the
telecommunications system, and $30 million for road and drainage rehabilitation in
Kabul. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been playing a major role in
Afghanistan and has pledged $800 million in loans and grants and $200 million in
project insurance for Afghanistan. Since December 2002, the bank has loaned
Afghanistan $372 million of road reconstruction, fiscal management and governance,
and agricultural development. The Bank has also granted Afghanistan about $90
million for power projects, agriculture reform, roads, and rehabilitation of the energy
sector. One of its projects in Afghanistan was funding the paving of a road from
Qandahar to the border with Pakistan, and as noted above, it is contributing to a
project to bring electricity from Central Asia to Afghanistan. In December 2004, the
CRS-38
Bank approved an additional loan of $80 million to restore and improve key sections
of the road system.
International Reconstruction Pledges. Afghan leaders said that
Afghanistan needs $27.5 billion for reconstruction for 2002-2010. At donors
conferences in 2002 (Tokyo), Berlin (April 2004), and Kabul (April 2005), about
$9.5 billion in non-U.S. contributions were pledged. However, only about half has
been received as of January 2006. At the London conference in February 2006,
another $6 billion (non-U.S.) in pledges was made for the next five years. Of the
new pledges, Britain pledged about $900 million. The London conference also
leaned toward the view of Afghan leaders that a higher proportion of the aid be
channeled through the Afghan government rather than directly by the donor
community. In exchange, the Afghan government is promising greater financial
transparency and international (United Nations) oversight to ensure that international
contributions are used wisely and effectively.
Promoting Long-Term Economic Development. In an effort to find a
long-term solution to Afghanistan’s acute humanitarian problems, the United States
has tried to promote major development projects as a means of improving Afghan
living standards and political stability over the long term. During 1996-98, the
Clinton Administration supported proposed natural gas and oil pipelines through
western Afghanistan as an incentive for the warring factions to cooperate. A
consortium led by Los Angeles-based Unocal Corporation proposed a $2.5 billion
Central Asia Gas Pipeline (CentGas), which is now estimated to cost $3.7 billion to
construct, that would originate in southern Turkmenistan and pass through
Afghanistan to Pakistan, with possible extensions into India.35 The deterioration in
U.S.-Taliban relations after 1998 largely ended hopes for the pipeline projects while
the Taliban was in power.
Prospects for the project have improved in the post-Taliban period. In a summit
meeting in late May 2002 between the leaders of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and
Pakistan, the three countries agreed to revive the gas pipeline project. Sponsors of
35
Other participants in the Unocal consortium include Delta of Saudi Arabia, Hyundai of
South Korea, Crescent Steel of Pakistan, Itochu Corporation and INPEX of Japan, and the
government of Turkmenistan. Some accounts say Russia’s Gazprom would probably
receive a stake in the project. Nezavisimaya Gazeta (Moscow), October 30, 1997, p. 3.
CRS-37
the project held an inaugural meeting on July 9, 2002 in Turkmenistan, signing a
series of preliminary agreements. They recommitted to it on March 1, 2005, and all
three continued to express support for the project at a February 2006 meeting of their
oil ministers, although financing for the project is unclear. Turkmenistan’s new
leadership is likely to favor the project as well because it is following the policies of
the late President Niyazov. Some U.S. officials view Some U.S. officials view
this project as a superior
alternative to a proposed gas pipeline from Iran to India,
transiting Pakistan.
Afghanistan’s prospects also appeared to brighten by the announcement in
March 2006 of an estimated 3.6 billion barrels of oil and 36.5 trillion cubic feet of
gas reserves. Experts believe these amounts, if proved, could make Afghanistan
relatively self-sufficient in energy and possibly able to provided some exports to its
35
Other participants in the Unocal consortium include Delta of Saudi Arabia, Hyundai of
South Korea, Crescent Steel of Pakistan, Itochu Corporation and INPEX of Japan, and the
government of Turkmenistan. Some accounts say Russia’s Gazprom would probably
receive a stake in the project. Nezavisimaya Gazeta (Moscow), October 30, 1997, p. 3.
CRS-39
neighbors. Some Afghan leaders believe the government needs to better develop
other resources such as copper and coal mines that have gone unused.
Trade and Investment Framework Agreement and WTO
Membership. The United States is trying to build on Afghanistan’s post-war
economic rebound. Following a meeting with Karzai on June 15, 2004, President
Bush announced the United States and Afghanistan would negotiate a bilateral trade
and investment framework agreement (TIFA). These agreements are generally seen
as a prelude to a broader but more complex bilateral free trade agreement. On
December 13, 2004, the 148 countries of the World Trade Organization voted to start
membership talks with Afghanistan.
Residual Issues From Past Conflicts
A few issues remain unresolved from Afghanistan’s many years of conflict.
Stinger Retrieval. Beginning in late 1985 following internal debate, the
Reagan Administration provided about 2,000 man-portable “Stinger” anti-aircraft
missiles to the mujahedin for use against Soviet aircraft. Prior to the U.S.-led war
against the Taliban and Al Qaeda, common estimates suggested that 200-300
Stingers remained at large, although more recent estimates put the number below
100.36 The Stinger issue resurfaced in conjunction with 2001 U.S. war effort, when
U.S. pilots reported that the Taliban fired some Stingers at U.S. aircraft during the
war. No hits were reported. Any Stingers that survived the anti-Taliban war are
likely controlled by Afghans now allied to the United States and presumably pose
less of a threat. However, there are concerns that remaining Stingers could be sold
to terrorists for use against civilian aircraft. In February 2002, the Afghan
government found and returned to the United States “dozens” of Stingers.37 In late
36
Saleem, Farrukh. “Where Are the Missing Stinger Missiles? Pakistan,” Friday Times.
August 17-23, 2001.
37
Fullerton, John. “Afghan Authorities Hand in Stinger Missiles to U.S.” Reuters,
February 4, 2002.
CRS-38
January 2005, Afghan intelligence began a push to buy remaining Stingers back, at
a reported cost of $150,000 each.38
In 1992, after the fall of the Russian-backed government of Najibullah, the
United States reportedly spent about $10 million to buy the Stingers back, at a
premium, from individual mujahedin commanders. The New York Times reported
on July 24, 1993, that the buy back effort failed because the United States was
competing with other buyers, including Iran and North Korea, and that the CIA
would spend about $55 million in FY1994 in a renewed Stinger buy-back effort. On
March 7, 1994, the Washington Post reported that the CIA had recovered only a
fraction (maybe 50 or 100) of the at-large Stingers.
36
Saleem, Farrukh. “Where Are the Missing Stinger Missiles? Pakistan,” Friday Times.
August 17-23, 2001.
37
Fullerton, John. “Afghan Authorities Hand in Stinger Missiles to U.S.” Reuters,
February 4, 2002.
38
“Afghanistan Report,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. February 4, 2005.
CRS-40
The danger of these weapons has become apparent on several occasions. Iran
bought 16 of the missiles in 1987 and fired one against U.S. helicopters; some
reportedly were transferred to Lebanese Hizballah. India claimed that it was a
Stinger, supplied to Islamic rebels in Kashmir probably by sympathizers in
Afghanistan, that shot down an Indian helicopter over Kashmir in May 1999.39 It was
a Soviet-made SA-7 “Strella” man-portable launchers that were fired, allegedly by
Al Qaeda, against a U.S. military aircraft in Saudi Arabia in June 2002 and against
an Israeli passenger aircraft in Kenya on November 30, 2002. Both missed their
targets. SA-7s were discovered in Afghanistan by U.S. forces in December 2002.
Mine Eradication. Land mines laid during the Soviet occupation constitute
one of the principal dangers to the Afghan people. The United Nations estimates that
5 -7 million mines remain scattered throughout the country, although some estimates
are lower. An estimated 400,000 Afghans have been killed or wounded by land
mines. U.N. teams have destroyed one million mines and are now focusing on demining priority-use, residential and commercial property, including lands around
Kabul. As shown in the U.S. aid table for FY1999-FY2002 (Table 2), the U.S. demining program was providing about $3 million per year for Afghanistan, and the
amount increased to about $7 million in the post-Taliban period. Most of the funds
have gone to HALO Trust, a British organization, and the U.N. Mine Action Program
for Afghanistan. The Afghanistan Compact adopted in London in February 2006
states that by 2010, the goal should be to reduce the land area of Afghanistan
contaminated by mines by 70%.
38
“Afghanistan Report,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. February 4, 2005.
39
“U.S.-Made Stinger Missiles — Mobile and Lethal.” Reuters, May 28, 1999.
CRS-3941
Table 2. U.S. Aid to Afghanistan, FY1999-FY2002
($ in millions)
U.S. Department of
Agriculture (DOA)
and USAID Food For
Peace (FFP), via
World Food
Program(WFP)
State/Bureau of
Population, Refugees
and Migration (PRM)
via UNHCR and
ICRC
State Department/
Office of Foreign
Disaster Assistance
(OFDA)
State
Department/HDP
(Humanitarian
Demining Program)
Aid to Afghan
Refugees in Pakistan
(through various
NGOs)
FY2000
FY2001
42.0 worth of
wheat
(100,000
metric tons
under
“416(b)”
program.)
16.95 for
Afghan
refugees in
Pakistan and
Iran, and to
assist their
repatriation
7.0 to various
NGOs to aid
Afghans inside
Afghanistan
68.875 for
165,000 metric
tons. (60,000
tons for May
2000 drought
relief)
131.0
(300,000
metric tons
under P.L.480,
Title II, and
416(b))
198.12 (for
food
commodities)
14.03 for the
same purposes
22.03 for
similar
purposes
136.54 (to
U.N. agencies)
6.68 for
drought relief
and health,
water, and
sanitation
programs
3.0
18.934 for
similar
programs
113.36 (to
various U.N.
agencies and
NGOs)
2.8
7.0 to Halo
Trust/other
demining
2.615
5.44 (2.789
for health,
training Afghan
females in
Pakistan)
6.169, of
which $3.82
went to similar
purposes
Counter-Narcotics
USAID/
Office of Transition
Initiatives
Dept. of Defense
5.31 for
similar
purposes
1.50
0.45 (Afghan
women in
Pakistan)
Foreign Military
Financing
Anti-Terrorism
Economic Support
Funds (E.S.F)
Peacekeeping
Totals
FY2002
(Final)
FY1999
76.6
113.2
182.6
63.0
24.35 for
broadcasting/
media
50.9 ( 2.4
million
rations)
57.0 (for
Afghan
national army)
36.4
105.2
24.0
815.9
CRS-4042
Table 3. U.S. Aid to Afghanistan, 2003
($ in millions, same acronyms as Table 2)
From the FY2003 Foreign Aid Appropriations (P.L. 108-7)
Development/Health
90
Food Aid
47
Peacekeeping
10
Disaster Relief
94
ESF
50
Non-Proliferation, Demining,
Anti-Terrorism (NADR)
5
Refugee Relief
55
Afghan National Army (ANA) train and
equip (FMF)
21
Total from this law:
372
From the FY2003 Supplemental (P.L. 108-11)
Road Construction
(ESF, Kabul-Qandahar road)
100
Provincial Reconstruction Teams (ESF)
10
Afghan government support (ESF)
57
ANA train and equip (FMF)
Anti-terrorism/de-mining
(NADR, some for Karzai protection)
170
28
Total from this law:
365
Total for FY2003
737
CRS-4143
Table 4. U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan, FY2004
($ in millions, same acronyms as previous tables)
From the FY2004 Supplemental (P.L. 108-106)
Disarmament and Demobilization (DDR program) (ESF)
30
Afghan government (ESF) $10 million for customs collection
70
Elections/democracy and governance (ESF)
69
Roads (ESF)
181
Schools/Education (ESF)
95
Health Services/Clinics (ESF)
49
Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs)
58
Private Sector/Power sector rehabilitation
95
Water Projects
23
Counter-narcotics/police training/judiciary training (INCLE).
Defense Dept. counter-narcotics support operations
Afghan National Army (FMF)
170
73
287
Anti-Terrorism/Afghan Leadership Protection (NADR)
35
U.S. Embassy expansion and security/AID operations
92
Total from this law:
(of which $60 million is to benefit Afghan women and girls)
1,327
From the FY2004 Regular Appropriations (P.L. 108-199)
Development/Health
171
Disaster Relief
35
Refugee Relief
72
Afghan women (ESF)
5
Judicial reform commission (ESF)
2
Reforestation (ESF)
2
Aid to communities and victims of U.S. military operations (ESF)
2
Other reconstruction (ESF). (Total FY2004 funds spent by
USAID for PRT-related reconstruction = $56.4 million.)
64
ANA train and equip (FMF)
50
Total from this law:
Total for FY2004
403
1,727
CRS-4244
Table 5. U.S. Aid to Afghanistan, FY2005
($ in millions)
From the FY2005 Regular Appropriations (P.L. 108-447)
Assistance to Afghan governing institutions (ESF)
225
Train and Equip ANA (FMF)
400
Assistance to benefit women and girls
Agriculture, private sector investment, environment,
primary education, reproductive health, and democracybuilding
50
300
Reforestation
2
Child and maternal health
6
Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission
2
Total from this law
985
From Second FY2005 Supplemental (P.L. 109-13)
Other ESF: Health programs, PRT programs, agriculture,
alternative livelihoods, government capacity building,
training for parliamentarians, rule of law programs
(ESF). (Total FY2005 funds spent by USAID for PRTled reconstruction = $87.89 million.)
Aid to displaced persons (ESF)
Families of civilian victims of U.S. combat ops (ESF)
Women-led NGOs (ESF)
DOD funds to train and equip Afghan security forces.
Of the funds, $34 million may go to Afghan security
elements for that purpose. Also, $290 million of the
funds is to reimburse the U.S. Army for funds already
obligated for this purpose.
1,073.5
5
2.5
5
1,285
DOD counter-narcotics support operations
242
Counter-narcotics (INCLE)
220
Training of Afghan police (INCLE)
400
Karzi protection (NADR funds)
17.1
DEA operations in Afghanistan
7.7
Operations of U.S. Embassy Kabul
60
Total from this law
3,317
Total from all FY2005 laws
4,302
CRS-4345
Table 6. U.S. Aid to Afghanistan, FY2006
($ in millions)
From the FY2006 Regular Foreign Aid Appropriations (P.L. 109-102)
ESF for reconstruction, governance, democracy-building
(ESF over $225 million subject to certification that Afghanistan is
cooperating with U.S. counter-narcotics efforts.) Total FY2006 funds to
be spent on reconstruction by USAID via PRTs = $20 million.
430
Counter-narcotics (INCLE).
Of the funds, $60 million is to train the ANP.
235
Peacekeeping (ANA salaries)
18
Karzai protection (NADR funds)
18
Child Survival and Health (CSH)
43
Reforestation
3
Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission
2
Aid to civilian victims of U.S. combat operations
2
Programs to benefit women and girls
50
Development Assistance
130.4
Total from this law:
931.4
From the FY2006 Supplemental Appropriation (P.L. 109-234)
Security Forces Fund
ESF (Includes $11 million for debt relief costs and $5 million for
agriculture development)
1,908
43
DOD counter-narcotics operations
103
Embassy operations
50.1
Migration and Refugee aid
3.4
DEA counter-narcotics operations
9.2
Total from this law:
2,116.7
Total for FY2006:
3,048.1
CRS-4446
Table 7. U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan, FY1978-FY1998
($ in millions)
Fiscal
Year
Devel.
Assist.
Econ.
Supp.
(ESF)
P.L. 480
(Title I and II)
Other
(Incl. Regional
Military Refugee Aid)
1978
4.989
—
5.742
0.269
0.789
11.789
1979
3.074
—
7.195
—
0.347
10.616
1980
—
(Soviet invasion - December 1979)
—
—
1981
—
—
—
—
—
—
1982
—
—
—
—
—
—
1983
—
—
—
—
—
—
1984
—
—
—
—
—
—
1985
3.369
—
—
—
—
3.369
1986
—
—
8.9
—
—
8.9
1987
17.8
12.1
2.6
—
—
32.5
1988
22.5
22.5
29.9
—
—
74.9
1989
22.5
22.5
32.6
—
—
77.6
1990
35.0
35.0
18.1
—
—
88.1
1991
30.0
30.0
20.1
—
—
80.1
1992
25.0
25.0
31.4
—
—
81.4
1993
10.0
10.0
18.0
—
30.2
68.2
1994
3.4
2.0
9.0
—
27.9
42.3
1995
1.8
—
12.4
—
31.6
45.8
1996
—
—
16.1
—
26.4
42.5
1997
—
—
18.0
—
31.9a
49.9
1998
—
—
3.6
—
49.14b
52.74
Total
Source: Department of State.
a. Includes $3 million for demining and $1.2 million for counternarcotics.
b. Includes $3.3 million in projects targeted for Afghan women and girls, $7 million in earthquake
relief aid, 100,000 tons of 416B wheat worth about $15 million, $2 million for demining, and
$1.54 for counternarcotics.
CRS-4547
Table 8. NATO/ISAF Contributing Nations
(Numbers approximate)
(As of NATO Stage 4 transition, completed October 5, 2006)
NATO Countries
Non-NATO Partner Nations
Belgium
300
Albania
30
Bulgaria
150
Austria
5
Canada
1,800
Azerbaijan
20
Czech Republic
100
Croatia
120
Denmark
320
Finland
100
Estonia
90
Ireland
10
France
1,000
Macedonia
120
Germany
2,750
New Zealand
100
350
Greece
180
Sweden
Hungary
200
Switzerland
Iceland
15
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
1,800
135
10
Netherlands
2,100
Norway
350
Poland
10
Portugal
180
Romania
750
Slovakia
60
Slovenia
50
Spain
625
Turkey
475
United States
31,000
35
Luxemburg
United Kingdom
Total ISAF force
5
5,200
11,250
Note: See NATO’s Afghanistan
Afghanistan page at
[http://www.nato.int/issues/
afghanistan].
CRS-4648
Table 9. Provincial Reconstruction Teams
(RC=Regional Command)
PRT Location
Province
Lead Force/Country
Gardez
Paktia (RC-East, E)
U.S.
Ghazni
Ghazni (RC-E)
U.S.
Bagram A.B.
Parwan
U.S./South Korea (RC-C, Central)
U.S. (assisted by 175 troops from
South Korea)
Jalalabad
Nangarhar (RC-E)
U.S.
Khost
Khost (RC-E)
U.S.
Qalat
Zabol (RC-South, S)
U.S. (with Romania)
Asadabad
Kunar (RC-E)
U.S.
Sharana
Paktika (RC-E)
U.S.
Mehtarlam
Laghman (RC-E)
U.S.
Jabal o-Saraj
Panjshir Province (RCE)
U.S. (State Department lead)
Nuristan
Nuristan (RC-E)
U.S.
Farah
Farah (RC-W)
U.S.
NATO/ISAF and Partner-Run PRTs
Qandahar
Qandahar (RC-S)
NATO/Canada (as of September
2005)
Lashkar Gah
Helmand (RC-S)
NATO/ Britain (with Denmark
and and
Estonia)
Tarin Kowt
Uruzgan (RC-S)
NATO/Netherlands (with
Australia)
Herat
Herat (RC-W)
NATO/Italy
Qalah-ye Now
Badghis (RC-W)
NATO/Spain
Mazar-e-Sharif
Balkh (RC-N)
ISAF/Sweden
Konduz
Konduz (RC-N)
NATO/Germany
Faizabad
Badakhshan (RC-N)
NATO/Germany
Meymaneh
Faryab (RC-N)
NATO/Norway
Chaghcharan
Ghowr (RC-W)
NATO/Lithuania
Pol-e-Khomri
Baghlan (RC-N)
NATO/Hungary (as of October
1, 1,
2006)
Bamiyan
Bamiyan (RC-C)
New Zealand (not NATO/ISAF)
Maidan Shahr
Wardak (RC-C)
Turkey
CRS-49
CRS-47
Table 10. Major Factions/Leaders in Afghanistan
Party/
Commander
Leader
Ideology/
Ethnicity
Regional
Base
Taliban
Mullah (Islamic cleric) Muhammad Umar (still at
large possibly in Afghanistan)/Mullah
Dadullah/Jalaludin Haqqani.
ultraorthodox
Islamic,
Pashtun
Insurgent
groups, mostly
in the south
and east, and
in Pakistan.
Islamic
Society
(leader of
“Northern
Alliance”)
Burhannudin Rabbani/ Yunus Qanooni (elected to
lower house)/Muhammad Fahim (in upper
house)/Dr. Abdullah Abdullah (Foreign Minister
2001-2006). Ismail Khan heads faction of the
grouping in Herat area.
moderate
Islamic,
mostly
Tajik
Much of
northern and
western
Afghanistan,
including
Kabul
National
Islamic
Movement of
Afghanistan
Abdul Rashid Dostam. Best known for March
1992 break with Najibullah that precipitated his
overthrow. Subsequently fought Rabbani
government (1992-1995), but later joined
Northern Alliance. Commanded about 25,000
troops, armor, combat aircraft, and some Scud
missiles, but was unable to hold off Taliban forces
that captured his region by August 1998. Karzai
rival in October 2004 presidential election, now
Karzai’s chief “security adviser.”
secular,
Uzbek
Mazar-eSharif,
Shebergan,
and environs
Hizb-eWahdat
Karim Khalili is Vice President, but Mohammad
Mohaqiq is Karzai rival in presidential election
and parliament. Generally pro-Iranian. Was part
of Rabbani 1992-1996 government, and fought
unsuccessfully with Taliban over Bamiyan city,
the Hazara base.
Shiite,
Hazara
tribes
Bamiyan
province
Pashtun
Leaders
Various regional governors; central government
led by Hamid Karzai.
Moderate
Islamic,
Pashtun
Dominant in
southern,
eastern
Afghanistan
Hizb-e-Islam
Gulbuddin
(HIG)
Mujahedin party leader Gulbuddin Hikmatyar.
orthodox
Lost power base around Jalalabad to the Taliban in Islamic,
1994, and fled to Iran before being expelled in
Pashtun
2002. Now allied with Taliban and Al Qaeda;
likely in Pakistan or eastern Afghanistan. Leader
of a rival Hizb-e-Islam faction, Yunus Khalis, the
mentor of Mullah Umar, died July 2006.
Small groups
around
Jalalabad,
Nuristan and
in southeast.
Islamic Union Abd-I-Rab Rasul Sayyaf. Islamic conservative,
leads a pro-Karzai faction in parliament. He lived
many years in and is politically close to Saudi
Arabia, which shares his conservative brand of
Sunni Islam (“Wahhabism”). During anti-Soviet
war, Sayyaf’s faction, with Hikmatyar, was a
principal recipient of U.S. weaponry. Criticized
the U.S.-led war against Saddam Hussein after
Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.
orthodox
Islamic,
Pashtun
Paghman
(west of
Kabul)
CRS-4850
Appendix 1: U.S. and International Sanctions Lifted
Virtually all U.S. and international sanctions on Afghanistan, some imposed
during the Soviet occupation era and others on the Taliban regime, have now been
lifted.
!
On January 10, 2003, President Bush signed a proclamation making
Afghanistan a beneficiary of the Generalized System of Preferences
(GSP), eliminating U.S. tariffs on 5,700 Afghan products.
Afghanistan was denied GSP on May 2, 1980, under Executive
Order 12204 (45 F.R. 20740). This was done under the authority of
Section 504 of the Trade Act of 1974 [19 U.S.C. § 2464].
!
On April 24, 1981, controls on U.S. exports to Afghanistan of
agricultural products and phosphates were terminated. Such controls
were imposed on June 3, 1980, as part of the sanctions against the
Soviet Union for the invasion of Afghanistan, under the authority of
Sections 5 and 6 of the Export Administration Act of 1979 [P.L. 9672; 50 U.S.C. app. 2404, app. 2405].
!
In mid-1992, the George H.W. Bush Administration determined that
Afghanistan no longer had a “Soviet-controlled government.” This
opened Afghanistan to the use of U.S. funds made available for the
U.S. share of U.N. organizations that provide assistance to
Afghanistan.
!
On March 31, 1993, after the fall of Najibullah in 1992, President
Clinton, on national interest grounds, waived restrictions provided
for in Section 481 (h) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
mandating sanctions on Afghanistan including bilateral aid cuts and
suspensions, including denial of Ex-Im Bank credits; the casting of
negative U.S. votes for multilateral development bank loans; and a
non-allocation of a U.S. sugar quota. Discretionary sanctions
included denial of GSP; additional duties on country exports to the
United States; and curtailment of air transportation with the United
States. Waivers were also granted in 1994 and, after the fall of the
Taliban, by President Bush.
!
On May 3, 2002, President Bush restored normal trade treatment to
the products of Afghanistan, reversing the February 18, 1986
proclamation by President Reagan (Presidential Proclamation 5437)
that suspended most-favored nation (MFN) tariff status for
Afghanistan (51 F.R. 4287). The Foreign Assistance Appropriations
for FY1986 [Section 552, P.L. 99-190] had authorized the President
to deny any U.S. credits or most-favored-nation (MFN) tariff status
for Afghanistan.
!
On July 2, 2002, the State Department amended U.S. regulations (22
C.F.R. Part 126) to allow arms sales to the new Afghan government,
CRS-4951
reversing the June 14, 1996 addition of Afghanistan to the list of
countries prohibited from receiving exports or licenses for exports
of U.S. defense articles and services. Arms sales to Afghanistan had
also been prohibited during 1997-2002 because Afghanistan had
been designated under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty
Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-132) as a state that is not cooperating with
U.S. anti-terrorism efforts.
!
On July 2, 2002, President Bush formally revoked the July 4, 1999
declaration by President Clinton of a national emergency with
respect to Taliban because of its hosting of bin Laden. The Clinton
determination and related Executive Order 13129 had blocked
Taliban assets and property in the United States, banned U.S. trade
with Taliban-controlled areas of Afghanistan, and applied these
sanctions to Ariana Afghan Airlines, triggering a blocking of Ariana
assets (about $500,000) in the United States and a ban on U.S.
citizens’ flying on the airline. (The ban on trade with Talibancontrolled territory had essentially ended on January 29, 2002 when
the State Department determination that the Taliban controls no
territory within Afghanistan.
!
U.N. sanctions on the Taliban imposed by Resolution 1267 (October
15, 1999), Resolution 1333 (December 19, 2000),and Resolution
1363 (July 30, 2001) have now been narrowed to penalize only Al
Qaeda (by Resolution 1390, January 17, 2002). Resolution 1267
banned flights outside Afghanistan by its national airline (Ariana),
and directed U.N. member states to freeze Taliban assets.
Resolution 1333 prohibited the provision of arms or military advice
to the Taliban (directed against Pakistan); directing a reduction of
Taliban diplomatic representation abroad; and banning foreign travel
by senior Taliban officials. Resolution 1363 provided for monitors
in Pakistan to ensure that no weapons or military advice was
provided to the Taliban.
!
P.L. 108-458 (December 17, 2004, 9/11 Commission
recommendations) repeals bans on aid to Afghanistan outright,
completing a pre-Taliban effort by President George H.W. Bush to
restore aid and credits to Afghanistan. On October 7, 1992, he had
issued Presidential Determination 93-3 that Afghanistan is no longer
a Marxist-Leninist country, but the determination was not
implemented before he left office. Had it been implemented, the
prohibition on Afghanistan’s receiving Export-Import Bank
guarantees, insurance, or credits for purchases under Section 8 of the
1986 Export-Import Bank Act, would have been lifted. In addition,
Afghanistan would have been able to receive U.S. assistance because
the requirement would have been waived that Afghanistan apologize
for the 1979 killing in Kabul of U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan
Adolph “Spike” Dubs. (Dubs was kidnapped in Kabul in 1979 and
killed when Afghan police stormed the hideout where he was held.)
CRS-5052
Figure 1. Map of Afghanistan