Order Code RL30588
Afghanistan: Post-War Governance,
Security, and U.S. Policy
Updated June 6July 11, 2008
Kenneth Katzman
Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Afghanistan: Post-War Governance,
Security, and U.S. Policy
Summary
U.S. and outside assessments of the effort to stabilize Afghanistan are mixed;
and subject to debate; the Administration notes progress on reconstruction,
governance and security in
many areas of Afghanistan, particularly the U.S.-led
eastern sector of Afghanistan. However, recent outside studies contain relatively
but says the mission is still “under-resourced” to address
escalating insurgent activity in some sectors. Recent outside studies contain
relatively pessimistic assessments, emphasizing a growing sense of insecurity in areas
areas previously considered secure, increased numbers of suicide attacks, increasing
aggregate poppy cultivation, and growing divisions within the NATO alliance
about about
total troop contributions and the relative share of combat primarily in the
south.
Both the official U.S. as well as outside assessments are increasingly
pointing to
Pakistan, and particularly the new Pakistani government, as failing to
prevent Taliban
and other militant infiltration from Pakistan. To try to gain momentum against the
insurgency, the With available U.S. forces short, the
Administration is anticipating adding U.S. troops to the still combat-intense
south, possibly
and eventually assuming U.S. command of the southern sector. The
Administration Administration
also has increased direct U.S. action against Taliban concentrations
inside Pakistan.
Politically, the Afghan central government is relatively stable, but it is perceived
as weak and rife with corruption. The post-Taliban. The postTaliban transition was completed with
the convening of a parliament in December
2005; a new constitution was adopted 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
peacefully resolve differences, as well
as a center of political pressure on President Hamid Karzai, who is running for reelection in 2009
Hamid Karzai. Major regional strongmen have been marginalized. Afghan
citizens citizens
are enjoying personal freedoms forbidden by the Taliban, and women are
participating in economic and political life. Presidential elections are to be held in
the fall of 2009, with parliamentary and provincial elections to follow one year later.
To help stabilize Afghanistan, the United States and partner countries are
deploying a 53,000 troop NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
that now commands peacekeeping throughout Afghanistan, including the restive
south. Of those, overabout 23,000 of the 34,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan are part of
ISAF. The; the remainder are conducting anti-terrorism missions under Operation
Enduring Freedom. U.S. and partner forces also run regional enclaves to secure
reconstruction (Provincial Reconstruction Teams, PRTs), and are building an Afghan
Afghan National Army and National Police. The United States has given
Afghanistan over
$23 $25 billion (appropriated, including FY2008 to date) since the fall
of the Taliban,
including funds of which about $17 billion was to equip and train Afghanthe security forces.
About $2 billion in
reconstruction aid iswas requested for FY2009, including in a
FY2009 supplemental
appropriations request. Breakdowns are shown in the tables at the end of the paper.
This paper will be updated as warranted by major developments. See also CRS
Report RS21922, Afghanistan: Government Formation and Performance, 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Taliban Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
The “Northern Alliance” Congeals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Bush Administration Policy Pre-September 11, 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
September 11 Attacks and Operation Enduring Freedom . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Post-War Stabilization and Reconstruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Political Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Bonn Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Permanent Constitution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
National Elections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Next Elections and Candidates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Governance Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
U.N. Involvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Expanding Central Government Writ and Curbing “Warlords” . . . . . 12
Provincial Governorships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Human Rights and Democracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Combating Narcotics Trafficking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Post-War Security Operations and Force Capacity Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
The Combat Environment, U.S. Operations, and Operation Enduring
Freedom (OEF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
The Taliban “Resurgence” and Early Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
The Taliban “Resurgence” . . . . .21
Whereabouts of Bin Laden and Related Insurgent Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Policy Reviews and Further U.S. Troop Buildup . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Policy Reviews and Further 2008-2009 U.S. Troop Buildup . . . . . . . 23. . . . 24
“Americanizing” the Southern Front? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2425
Feelers to the Taliban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2526
The NATO- - Led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) . . . . . . . . 29
New NATO Force Pledges in 2008 and Since . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
National “Caveats” on Combat Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Provincial Reconstruction Teams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Afghan Security Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Afghan National Army . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3334
Afghan National Police/Justice Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3637
Tribal Militias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
U.S. Security Forces Funding/”CERP” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Regional Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Pakistan/Pakistan-Afghanistan Border . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Increased Direct U.S. Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4142
Iran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Russia, Central Asian States, and China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Russia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Central Asian States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Saudi Arabia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
U.S. and International Aid to Afghanistan and Development Issues . . . . . . . . . . 47
National Solidarity Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Post-Taliban U.S. Aid Totals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 and Amendments . . . . . . 51
Afghan Freedom Support Act Re-Authorization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
FY2007 and FY2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
International Reconstruction Pledges/Aid/Lending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5352
Residual Issues From Past Conflicts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Stinger Retrieval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Mine Eradication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Appendix A. U.S. and International Sanctions Lifted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6968
List of Figures
Figure 1. Map of Afghanistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7170
List of Tables
Table 1. Afghanistan Social and Economic Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Table 2. Afghan and Regional Facilities Used for Operations in Afghanistan . . 28
Table 3. Recent and Pending Foreign Equipment for ANA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Table 4. Major Security-Related Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Table 5. U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan, FY1978-FY1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5655
Table 6. U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan, FY1999-FY2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5756
Table 7. U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan, FY2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5857
Table 8. U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan, FY2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5958
Table 9. U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan, FY2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6059
Table 10. U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan, FY2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6160
Table 11. U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan, FY2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6261
Table 12. U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan, FY2008 Request/Action . . . . . . . . . 6362
Table 13. U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan, FY2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6463
Table 14. USAID Obligations FY2002-FY2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6564
Table 15. NATO/ISAF Contributing Nations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6665
Table 16. Provincial Reconstruction Teams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6766
Table 17. Major Factions/Leaders in Afghanistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6867
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 who established a dictatorship with strong state involvement
in 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
reformist Mikhail Gorbachev became leader, the Soviets replaced Karmal with the
director of Afghan intelligence, Najibullah Ahmedzai (known by his first name).
CRS-2
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.
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
year during FY1986-FY1990. The Soviet pullout decreased the perceived strategic
value of Afghanistan, causing a reduction in subsequent 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 in 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
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
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-3
Table 1. Afghanistan Social and Economic Statistics
Population:
Ethnic Groups:
31 million
Pashtun 42%; Tajik 27%; Uzbek 9%; Hazara 9%; Aimak 4%; Turkmen
3%; Baluch 2%; other 4%
Religions:
Sunni Muslim (Hanafi school) 80%; Shiite Muslim (Hazaras, Qizilbash,
and Isma’ilis) 19%; other 1%
Size of Religious
Christians - estimated 500 - 8,000 persons; Sikh and Hindu - 3,000
Minorities
persons; Bahai’s - 400 (declared blasphemous in May 2007); Jews - 1
person; Buddhist - unknown, but small numbers, mostly foreigners. No
Christian or Jewish schools. One church, open only to expatriates.
Literacy Rate:
28% of population over 15 years of age
GDP:
$21.5 billion (purchasing power parity). Double the 2002 figure.
GDP Per Capita:
$300/yr; but $800 purchasing power parity
GDP Real Growth:
12% (2007)
Unemployment Rate: 40%
Children in
5.7 million, of which 35% are girls. Up from 900,000 in school during
School/Schools Built Taliban era. 300,000 children in south cannot attend school due to
violence. 8,000 schools built; 140,000 teachers hired since Taliban era.
Afghans With Access 8285% with basic health services access - compared to 8% during Taliban
to Health Coverage
era, although access is more limited in restive areas. Infant mortality has
dropped 18% since Taliban to 135 per 1,000 live births. 680 clinics built
with U.S. funds since Taliban.
Roads Built
About 5,000 miles post-Taliban, including ring road around the country.
Access to Electricity 20% of the population.
Revenues:
Expenditures
External Debt:
Foreign Exchange
Reserves:
Foreign Investment
Major Exports:
Oil Production:
Oil Proven Reserves:
Major Imports:
Import Partners:
Anticipated $1 billion in 2008; $715 million in 2007; $550 million 2006
$1.2 billion in 2007 (est.); 900 million in 2006
$8 billion bilateral, plus $500 million multilateral. U.S. forgave $108
million in debt to U.S. in 2006
Foreign Exchange:
$2.5 billion.
Foreign Investment
$500 billion est. for 2007; about $1 billion for 2006
Major Exports:
fruits, raisins, nuts, carpets, semi-precious gems, hides, opium
negligible
Oil Production:
negligible
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
Import Partners:
Pakistan 38.6%; U.S. 9.5%; Germany 5.5%; India 5.2%; Turkey 4.1%;
Turkmenistan 4.1%
Source: CIA World Factbook, January 2008, Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington, DC; President
Bush speech on February 15, 2007; International Religious Freedom Report, September 14, 2007;
press reports about draft Afghan National Development Strategy.
CRS-4
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, was president during April - May 1992. Under an
agreement among the major parties, Rabbani became President in June 1992 with
agreement that he would serve until December 1994. He refused to step down at that
time, saying that political authority would disintegrate without a clear successor.
Kabul was subsequently shelled by other mujahedin factions, particularly that of
nominal “Prime Minister” Gulbuddin Hikmatyar, a Pashtun, 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.
In 1993-1994, Afghan Islamic clerics and students, mostly of rural, Pashtun
origin, 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”), formed the Taliban movement. They practiced
an orthodox Sunni Islam called “Wahhabism,” akin to that practiced in Saudi
Arabia.
They 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, 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 the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul with
most most
of their heavy weapons; the Taliban took control of Kabul on September 27,
1996.
Taliban gunmen subsequently entered a U.N. facility in Kabul to seize
Najibullah,
his brother, and aides, and then hanged them.
Taliban Rule
The Taliban regime was led by Mullah Muhammad Umar, who lost an eye 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 6465 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
CRS-5
many consider its most extreme action, in March 2001 the Taliban blew up two large
Buddha statues carved into hills above Bamiyan city as representations of idolatry.
(Additional damage to the remaining structure was inflicted in May 2008 from an
accidental detonation of explosives near the site.)
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, DC, 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 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 government that discriminates
against women.
The Taliban’s hosting of Al Qaeda’s leadership gradually became the Clinton
Administration’s overriding agenda item with Afghanistan. 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, imposing U.S. sanctions and
achieving adoption of some U.N. sanctions as well. On August 20, 1998, the United
States fired cruise missiles at alleged Al Qaeda training camps in eastern
Afghanistan, but bin Laden was not hit. Some observers assert that the
Administration missed several other opportunities to strike him. 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” Congeals. The Taliban’s policies caused
different Afghan factions to ally with the ousted President Rabbani and Masud and
their ally in the Herat area, Ismail Khan — the Tajik core of the anti-Taliban
opposition — into a broader “Northern Alliance.” In the Alliance were Uzbek,
Hazara Shiite, and even some Pashtun Islamist factions discussed in the table at the
end of this paper (Table 17).
!
Uzbeks/General Dostam. One major Alliance faction was the
Uzbek militia (the Junbush-Melli, or National Islamic Movement of
Afghanistan) of General Abdul Rashid Dostam, who is frequently
referred to by some Afghans as one of the “warlords” who gained
power during the anti-Soviet war, although Dostam had earlier
contributed to efforts to oust Rabbani.
!
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 larger ethnic
factions. During the various Afghan wars, the main Hazara Shiite
CRS-6
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 resembled Clinton Administration policy — applying economic and political
pressure while retaining dialogue with the Taliban, and refraining from providing
military assistance to the Northern Alliance. The September 11 Commission report
said that, in the months prior to the September 11 attacks, Administration officials
leaned toward such a step and that some officials wanted to assist anti-Taliban
Pashtun forces. Other covert options were under consideration as well.3 In a
departure from Clinton Administration policy, the Bush Administration stepped up
engagement with Pakistan to try to end its support for the Taliban. In accordance
with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1333, in February 2001 the State
Department Department
ordered the Taliban representative office in New York closed, although
the Taliban
representative continued to operate informally. In March 2001,
Administration Administration
officials received a Taliban envoy to discuss bilateral issues.
Fighting with some Iranian, Russian, and Indian financial and military 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 provincial capitals. The 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 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, judging that a friendly regime in
Kabul was needed to enable U.S forces to search for Al Qaeda activists there. United
Nations Security Council Resolution 1368 of September 12, 2001 said that the
Security Council “expresses its readiness to take all necessary steps to respond”
(implying force) to the September 11 attacks. In Congress, S.J.Res. 23 (passed 98-0
in the Senate and with no objections in the House, P.L. 107-40) authorized:4
3
Drogin, Bob. “U.S. Had Plan for Covert Afghan Options Before 9/11.” Los Angeles
Times, May 18, 2002.
4
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
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. The combat consisted primarily of U.S. air-strikes on Taliban and
Al Qaeda forces, facilitated by the cooperation between small numbers (about 1,000)
of U.S. special operations forces and the Northern Alliance and Pashtun antiTaliban 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 fighting
(October-December (OctoberDecember 2001), but there were few pitched battles between U.S. and
Taliban Taliban
soldiers; most of the ground combat was between Taliban and its 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
9, 2001. Northern Alliance forces — the commanders of which had initially
promised U.S. officials they would not enter Kabul — entered the capital on
November 12, 2001, to popular jubilation. 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 Noorzai clan. Subsequently, U.S. and Afghan forces
conducted “Operation Anaconda” in the Shah-i-Kot Valley south of Gardez (Paktia
Province) during March 2-19, 2002, against 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, then Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld
announced an end to “major combat operations.”
Post-War Stabilization and Reconstruction5
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, or loya jirga. However, U.N.-mediated cease-fires between
warring factions always broke down. Non-U.N. initiatives made little progress,
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 failed efforts
included a “Geneva group” (Italy, Germany, Iran, and the United States) formed in
5
More information on some of the issues in this section can be found in CRS Report
RS21922, Afghanistan: Government Formation and Performance, by Kenneth Katzman.
Some of the information in this section is derived from author participation on a
congressional delegation to Afghanistan in March 2008.
CRS-8
2000; an Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) contact group; and Afghan exile
efforts, including one from the Karzai clan (including Hamid Karzai) and one
centered on Zahir Shah.
Political Transition
Immediately after the September 11 attacks, former U.N. mediator Lakhdar
Brahimi was brought back (he had resigned 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 aid
delivery. After the fall of Kabul in November 2001, the United Nations invited
major Afghan factions, most prominently the Northern Alliance and that of the
former King — but not the Taliban — to a conference in Bonn, Germany.
Bonn Agreement. On December 5, 2001, the factions signed the “Bonn
Agreement.”6
It was endorsed by U.N. Security Council Resolution 1385
(December
6, 2001). The agreement, reportedly forged with substantial Iranian
diplomatic help
because of Iran’s support for the Northern Alliance faction:
!
!
!
!
formed the interim administration headed by Hamid Karzai.
authorized an international peace keeping force to maintain security
in Kabul, and Northern Alliance forces were directed to withdraw
from the capital. Security Council Resolution 1386 (December 20,
2001) gave formal Security Council authorization for the
international peacekeeping force.
referred to the need to cooperate with the international community
on counter narcotics, crime, and terrorism.
applied the constitution of 1964 until a permanent constitution
could be drafted.7
Permanent Constitution. A June 2002 “emergency” loya jirga put a
representative imprimatur on the transition; it was attended by 1,550 delegates
(including about 200 women) from Afghanistan’s 376364 districts. Subsequently, a 35member constitutional commission 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 above), ended with approval of the
constitution with only minor changes. Most significantly, members of the Northern
Alliance faction failed to set up a prime minister-ship, but they did achieve limits to
presidential powers by having major authorities assigned to an elected parliament,
such as the power to veto senior official nominees and to impeach a president. The
constitution made former King Zahir Shah honorary “Father of the Nation” - a title
6
7
Text of Bonn agreement at [http://www.ag-afghanistan.de/files/petersberg.htm].
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
that is not heritable. Zahir Shah died on July 23, 2007.8 The constitution also set out
timetables for presidential, provincial, and district elections (by June 2004) and
stipulated that, if possible, they should be held simultaneously.
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, about 56, was selected to lead Afghanistan because he was a credible
Pashtun leader who seeks factional compromise rather than intimidation 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 failure to professionalize government. Others . Others
say he seeks to maintain
Pashtun predominance in his government. From Karz village
in Qandahar Province,
Hamid Karzai 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. Karzai was slightly
injured by an errant U.S. bomb during the major combat of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Some of his several brothers have
lived in the United States, including Qayyum Karzai,
who won a parliament seat in the
September 2005 election. Another brother, Ahmad
Wali Karzai, is deputy chair of the provincial council of Qandahar. With heavy
. With heavy protection, he has survived several assassination
attempts since taking office, including
rocket fire or gunfire at or near his appearances.
National Elections. Ultimately, it proved impractical to hold all elections
simultaneously. The first election was for president and it was held on October 9,
2004, missing thea June deadline. The voting was orderly and turnout heavy (about
80%)Turnout was 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 376 district councils, each of
which will have
small and likely contentious boundaries, have not been held.
For the parliamentary election, voting was conducted for individuals running in
each province, not as party slates. (There are now 90 registered political parties in
Afghanistan, but parties remain unpopular because of their linkages to outside
countries during the anti-Soviet war.) When parliament first convened on December
18, 2005, the Northern Alliance bloc, joined by others, selected a senior Northern
Alliance figure, who was Karzai’s main competitor in the presidential election,
8
Text of constitution: [http://arabic.cnn.com/afghanistan/ConstitutionAfghanistan.pdf].
CRS-10
Yunus Qanooni, for speaker of the lower house. In April 2007, Qanooni and
Northern Alliance political leader Rabbani organized this opposition bloc, along with
8
Text of constitution: [http://arabic.cnn.com/afghanistan/ConstitutionAfghanistan.pdf].
CRS-10
ex-Communists and some royal family members, into a party called the “National
Front” that wants increased parliamentary powers and direct elections for the
provincial governors. 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 Sibghatullah Mojadeddi, the pro-Karzai elder statesman.
Next Elections and Candidates. The next presidential elections are
expected to be held in the fall of 2009. The Wolesi Jirga voted on February 13, 2008
2008 to hold parliamentary and provincial elections in 2010, separate from the 2009
presidential elections, although discussions on combining all the elections are
continuing, given the high cost ($100 million per election). The indecision on this
question is holding up U.N. and other efforts to help Afghanistan plan the elections
and register voters. An election law was submitted for parliamentary approval in
November 2007 and is being considered there. Karzai has said, in a Washington Post
interview of January 27, 2008, and again in another interview on April 6, 2008, that
he would run for re-election. Qanooni might run again but some say that the senior
Northern Alliance leader Burhannuddin Rabbani, who is about 75 years old, might
run instead. Some Afghans say independent parliamentarian Ramazan Bashardost,
a Hazara, might run, as might former Interior Minister Ali Jalali, a Pashtun. There
has been speculation in recent press articles that the Afghan-born U.S. Ambassador
to the United Nations
Zalmay Khalilzad, who has served as Ambassador to
Afghanistan and has been
extensively involved in Afghan issues in his U.S. career,
might run for President of Afghanistan might run. Khalilzad has
dampened but not outright
denied the speculation.
Governance Issues
With a permanent national government fully assembled, Karzai and the
parliament — relations between which are often contentious — are attempting to
improve and expand governance throughout the country. In testimony to the Senate
Armed Services Committee on February 28, 2008, Director of National Intelligence
Mike McConnell said that the Karzai government controls only 30% of the country,
while the Taliban controls 10%, and tribes and local groups control the remainder;
U.S. and NATO officials in Kabul told CRS in March 2008 they disagree with that assessment
assessment as too pessimistic. At the same time, there is a broader debate among
Afghans over
whether to continue to strengthen central government — the approach
favored by
Karzai and the United States and most of its partners — or to promote
local solutions
to security and governance, an approach that some international
partners, such as
Britain, want to explore.
The parliament has asserted itself on several occasions, for example in the
process of confirming a post-election cabinet and in forcing Karzai to oust several
major conservatives from the Supreme Court in favor of those with more experience
in modern jurisprudence. In mid-2007, parliament enacted a law granting amnesty
to commanders who fought in the various Afghan wars since the Soviet invasion —
some of whom are now members of parliament — in an attempt to put past schisms
to rest in building a new Afghanistan. The law was rewritten to give victims the
CRS-11
ability to bring accusations of past abuses forward; its status is unclear because
Karzai did not veto it but he did not sign it either.
CRS-11
In a sign of tension between Karzai and his opposition in parliament, in May
2007, the National Front bloc engineered a vote of no confidence against Foreign
Minister Rangeen Spanta and Minister for Refugee Affairs Akbar Akbar for failing
to prevent Iran from expelling 50,000 Afghan refugees over a one-month period.
Karzai accepted in principle the dismissal of Akbar but deferred Spanta’s dismissal
because refugee affairs are not his ministry’s prime jurisdiction. The Afghan
Supreme Court has sided with Karzai, causing some National Front bloc members
to threaten to resign from the parliament, an action they believe would shake
confident in Karzai’s leadership. Spanta remains in his position, to date, but the
dispute is unresolved. The Front conducted a walkout of parliament on November
26, 2007, to protest what it said was Karzai’s inattention to parliament’s views on
whether or not panic by security forces caused additional deaths following the
November 6, 2007, suicide bombing in Baghlan Province that killed 6
parliamentarians and about 70 other persons.
On the other hand, on some less contentious issues, the executive and the
legislature appear to be working well. Since the end of 2007, the Wolesi Jirga has
passed and forwarded to the Meshrano Jirga several laws, including a labor law, a
mines law, a law on economic cooperatives, and a convention on tobacco control.
The Wolesi Jirga also has recently confirmed Karzai nominees for a new Minster of
Refugee Affairs, head of the Central Bank, and the final justice to fill out the
Supreme Court. (For further information, see CRS Report RS21922, Afghanistan:
Government Formation and Performance.)
U.N. Involvement. The international community is extensively involved in
Afghan stabilization, not only in the security field but in diplomacy and
reconstruction assistance. Some of the debate over the growing role of U.S. partners
there was represented in a proposal to create a new position of “super envoy” that
would represent the United Nations, the European Union, and NATO in Afghanistan.
This would subsume the role of the head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in
Afghanistan (UNAMA). In January 2008, with U.S. support, U.N. Secretary General
Ban Ki Moon tentatively appointed British diplomat Paddy Ashdown to this “super
envoy” position, but President Karzai rejected the appointment reportedly over
concerns about the scope of authority of such an envoy, in particular its potential to
dilute the U.S. role in Afghanistan. For political purposes, Karzai might have also
sought to show a degree
of independence from the international community. Ashdown withdrew
his name on
January 28, 2008.
U.N. Security Council Resolution 1806 of March 20, 2008, extends UNAMA’s
mandate for another year and expands it to include some of the “super-envoy”
concept. UNAMA is co-chair of the joint Afghan-international community
coordination body called the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB), and
Resolution 1806 directs UNAMA, in that capacity, to coordinate the work of
international donors and strengthen cooperation between the international
peacekeeping force (ISAF, see below) and the Afghan government. UNAMA is
helping implement the five-year development strategy outlined in a “London
Compact,” (now called the Afghanistan Compact) adopted at the January 31February31-
CRS-12
February 1, 2006, London conference on Afghanistan. The priorities developed in
that document also comport with current drafts of Afghanistan’s own “National
Strategy for
Development,” to be presented later in Junepresented on June 12, 2008 in Paris, as discussed
CRS-12
further below under
“assistance.” The head of UNAMA as of March 2008, and with
the expanded
powers, is Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide. In speeches in Washington,
D.C. in late April 2008, Eide
said that additional capacity-building resources are
needed, and that some efforts by
international donors duplicate each other or are tied
to purchasing decisionsare redundant or tied to purchases by Western countries.
Expanding Central Government Writ and Curbing “Warlords”. U.S.
policy believesasserts that stability and countering corruption and narcotics trafficking
depends on will
result from expanding the capacity, proficiency, transparency, and writ of the Afghan
central government. U.S. commanders and officials assert that Taliban militants are
able to infiltrate “un-governed space,” contributing to the persistence and in some
areas the expansion of the Taliban insurgency. A, and writ of the Afghan central
government. A Washington Post report of November 25, 2007, said that the failure
to build capacity, as well as government corruption and compromises with local
factions, are major contributors to a sense within the Administration of only limited
U.S. success in stabilizing Afghanistan. That same report echoed the concerns of
U.S. commanders and officials that Taliban militants are able to infiltrate “ungoverned space,” contributing to the persistence and in some areas the expansion of
the Taliban insurgency. On the other hand, a February 2008 U.N. report on the
narcotics situation, discussed below, says that where governance is improving and
growing, such as in northern and eastern Afghanistan, a reduction of opium
cultivation has been observedgovernance is improving and growing
in northern and parts of relatively restive eastern Afghanistan, contributing to a
reduction of opium cultivation there.
U.S. officials continue to try to bolster Karzai through repeated statements of
support and top level exchanges, including several visits there by Vice President
Cheney and one, by President Bush (March 1, 2006), and First Lady Laura Bush. President
Karzai has visited the
United States repeatedly, including two days of meetings with President Bush at
Camp David (August 5 and 6, 2007). They met again on September 26, 2007 in the
context of U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York, and again on the sidelines
of the April 2008 NATO meeting United States repeatedly, and has met with President Bush on
the sidelines of several international meetings, including the April 2008 NATO
summit in Bucharest, Romania.
A key part of the U.S. strategy to strengthen the central government is to help
Karzai
support Karzai’s efforts to curb key regional strongmen and local militias – who
some refer to as
“warlords.” Karzai has cited these actors as a major threat to Afghan stability
stability because of their arbitrary administration of justice and generation of popular
resentment through their demands for bribes and other favors. Some argue that
Afghans have always sought substantial regional autonomy, but others say that easily
purchased arms and manpower, funded by narcotics trafficking, sustains local
militias, as well as the Taliban insurgency.
Karzai has, to some extent, marginalized most of the largest regional leaders.
!
Herat governor Ismail Khan was removed as Herat governor in September 2004 and
was later appointed Minister of Water and Energy. On the other
hand,
Khan was tapped by Karzai to help calm Herat after SunniShiite Sunni-Shiite
clashes there in February 2006, clashes that some believe were
stoked by Khan to demonstrate his continued influence in Herat.
!
In April 2005, Dostam was appointed Karzai’s top military advisor,
and in April 2005 he “resigned” as head of his Junbush Melli
faction. However, in May 2007 his followers in the north were
again restive (conducting conducted
large demonstrations) in attempting to
force out the anti-Dostam
governor of Jowzjan Province. In
CRS-13
February 2008, Afghan police
surrounded Dostam’s home in Kabul,
but did not arrest him, in
connection with the alleged beating of a
political opponent by Dostam supporters. According to observers in
Kabul, Karzai continues to weigh arresting him political opponent by
CRS-13
Dostam supporters. Some outside observers have cited Karzai’s
refusal to order an arrest as a sign of weakness of his leadership.
!
Another key figure, former Defense Minister Fahim (Northern
Alliance) was appointed by Karzai to the upper house of parliament,
although he remained in that body only a few months. The
appointment was intended to give him a stake in the political process
and reduce his potential to activate Northern Alliance militia
loyalists. Fahim continues to turn heavy weapons over to U.N. and
Afghan forces (including four Scud missiles), although the U.N.
Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) says that large
quantities of weapons remain in the Panjshir Valley.
!
In July 2004, Karzai moved charismatic Northern Alliance figure
Atta Mohammad Noor from control of a militia in the Mazar-eSharif area to governor of Balkh province, although he reportedly
remains resistant to central government control. Still, his province
is now “cultivation free” of opium, according to the U.N. Office on
Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reports since August 2007.
!
Two other
large militia leaders, Hazrat Ali (Jalalabad area) and Khan
Mohammad (Qandahar area) were placed in civilian police chief
posts in 2005; Hazrat Ali was subsequently elected to parliament.
Provincial Governorships. Karzai has tried to use his power to appoint
provincial governors to extend government authority, although some question his
choices and others sayhave questioned
his past appointments, while noting that he has a limited talent pool of corruption
free officials to
choose from. The key Afghan initiative to improve local governance is the formation
in October
was the establishment in August 2007 of the “Independent Directorate of Local
Governance” (IDLG) headed by
Jelani Popal and reporting to the presidential
office. This represents andan attempt to
to institute a more effective and systematic process for selecting
capable governors
by taking the screening function away from the Interior Ministry.
The directorate is
also selecting police chiefs and other local office holders, and in
many cases has
already begun removing allegedly corrupt local officials. Six
governors have thus far been removed or are slated for replacement. In March 2008,
Karzai replaced the weak and ineffective Helmand governor Asadullah Wafa with
Gulab Mangal. Mangal is considered a competent administrator, but he is from
Laghman province, not Helmand, somewhat to the consternation of Helmand
residents.
Forming the directorate represents an attempt by Karzai to build on his efforts
since 2005 to appointed some relatively younger technocrats in key governorships:
these include Qandahar governor Asadullah Khalid, Paktika governor Muhammad
Akram Khapalwak, Khost governor Arsala Jamal, who U.S. commanders say has
played a major role in governance progress there, and Paktia governor Abdul Hakim
Taniwal. (Taniwal was killed in a suicide bombing on September 10, 2006.)
Another key appointee has been Kabul province governor Hajji Din Mohammad, son
of the slain “Jalalabad Shura” leader Hajji Abd al-Qadir. In March 2008, Karzai
replaced the weak and ineffective Helmand governor Asadullah Wafa with Gulab
Mangal. Mangal is considered a competent administrator, but he is from Laghman
province, not Helmand, somewhat to the consternation of Helmand residents.
CRS-14
Other pro-Karzai governors, such as Nangahar’s Ghul Agha Shirzai, are
considered corrupt and politically motivated rather than technically competent,
CRS-14
although Shirzai is credited with helping weaken the Taliban in Nangahar. In July
2007, Karzai removed the governor of Kapisa province for saying that Karzai’s
government was weak and thereby failing to curb the Taliban insurgency.
DDR and DIAG Programs. A cornerstone of the effort to strengthen the
central government was a program, run by UNAMA, to dismantle identified and
illegal militias. 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 had gottengot off to a slow start because the Afghan
Defense Defense
Ministry did not reduce the percentage of Tajiks in senior positions by a July
1, 2003,
target date, dampening Pashtun recruitment. In September 2003, Karzai
replaced 22
senior TajikTajiks in the Defense Ministry officials with Pashtuns, Uzbeks, and
Hazaras,
enabling DDR to proceed.
The DDR program had initially been expected to demobilize 100,000 fighters,
although that figure was later reduced. Figures for accomplishment of the DDR and
DIAG programs are contained in the security indicators table later in this paper. Of
those demobilized, 55,800 former fighters have exercised reintegration options
provided by the program: starting small businesses, farming, and other options. U.N.
officials say at least 25% of these have thus far found long-term, sustainable jobs.
Some studies criticized the DDR program for 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.9 Part of the DDR
program was the collection and cantonment of militia weapons. However, some
accounts say that only poor quality weapons were collected. UNAMA officials say
that vast quantities of weapons are still kept by the Northern Alliance faction in the
Panjshir Valley, although the faction is giving up some weapons to UNAMA slowly,
in small weekly shipments. Figures for collected weapons are contained in the table.
The total cost of the program was $141 million, funded by Japan and other donors,
including the United States.
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.
Under the DIAG, no payments are available to fighters, and the program depends on
persuasion rather than use of force against the illegal groups. DIAG has not been as
well funded as was DDR: it has received $11 million in operating funds. As an
incentive for compliance, Japan and other donors made available $35 million for
development projects where illegal groups have disbanded. These incentives were
intended to accomplish the disarmament, by December 2007, of a pool of as many
as 150,000 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. These goals have not been met in part because
armed groups in the south fear the continued Taliban combat activity and refuse to
9
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].
CRS-15
on the rolls of the Defense Ministry. These goals have not been met in part because
armed groups in the south fear the continued Taliban combat activity and refuse to
disarm voluntarily, but UNAMA reports that some progress has been achieved, as
shown in the security indicators table.
U.S. Embassy Operations/Budgetary Support to Afghan
Government. A key component of U.S. efforts to strengthen the Afghan
government has been maintaining a large diplomatic presence. Zalmay Khalilzad,
an American of Afghan origin, was ambassador during December 2003-August 2005;
he reportedly had significant influence on Afghan government decisions.10 The
current ambassador is William Wood, who previously was U.S. Ambassador to
Colombia and who has focused on the counter-narcotics issue. As part of a 2003
U.S. push to build government capacity, the Bush Administration formed a 15-person
Afghan Reconstruction Group (ARG), placed within the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, to
serve as advisors to the Afghan government. The group is now mostly focused on
helping Afghanistan attract private investment and develop private industries. The
U.S. embassy, housed in a newly constructed building, has progressively expanded
its personnel and facilities. The tables at the end of this paper discuss U.S. funding
for Embassy operations, USAID operations, and Karzai protection.
Although the Afghan government has increased its revenue and is covering a
growing proportion of its budget, USAID provides funding to help the Afghan
government meet gaps in its budget – both directly and through a U.N.-run multidonor Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund, ARTF account. Those aid figures, for
FY2002-FY2007, are in Table 14 at the end of the paper.
Human Rights and Democracy. The Administration and Afghan
government claim progress in building a democratic Afghanistan that adheres to
international standards of human rights practices and presumably is able to earn the
support of the Afghan people. The State Department report on human rights
practices for 2007 (released March 11, 2008)11 said that Afghanistan’s human rights
record remained “poor,” but attributed this primarily to weak governance, corruption,
drug trafficking, and the legacy of decades of conflict. 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. In debate over
a new press law, both houses of parliament have approved a joint version, but Karzai
has vetoed it on the grounds that it gives the government too much control over
private media. Even in the absence of the law, media policy remains highly
conservative; in April 2008 the Ministry of Information and Culture banned five
Indian-produced soap operas on the grounds that they are too risque. That came amid
a move by conservative parliamentarians to pass legislation to ban loud music, men
and women mingling in public, video games, and other behavior common in the
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
For text, see [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100611.htm].
CRS-16
and women mingling in public, video games, and other behavior common in the
West. Since the Taliban era, more than 40 private radio stations, seven television
networks, and 350 independent newspapers have opened.
The death penalty has been reinstituted, reversing a 2004 moratorium declared
by Karzai. Fifteen convicts were executed at once on October 7, 2007. In January
2008, Afghanistan’s “Islamic council,” composed of senior clerics, backed public
executions for convicted murderers and urged Karzai to end the activities of foreign
organizations that are converting Afghans to Christianity.
The State Department International Religious Freedom report for 2007 (released
September 14, 2007 says) said that “there was an increase in the number of reports of
problems involving religious freedom compared to previous years.” There continues
to be discrimination against the Shiite (Hazara) minority and some other minorities
such as Sikhs and Hindus. In May 2007, a directorate under the Supreme Court
declared the Baha’i faith to be a form of blasphemy. Others have noted that the
government has reimposed some Islamic restrictions that characterized Taliban rule,
including the code of criminal punishments stipulated in Islamic law. Other accounts
accounts say that alcohol is increasingly difficult to obtain in restaurants and stores. Some
Some government policies reflect the conservative nature of Afghan society; recent
indications of that sentiment were the demonstrations in March 2008 in several
Afghan cities against Denmark and the Netherlands for Danish cartoons and a Dutch
film apparently criticizing aspects of Islam and its key symbols.
On January 25, 2008, in a case that has implications for both religious and
journalistic freedom, a young reporter, Sayed Pervez Kambaksh, was sentenced to
death for distributing a website report to student peers questioning some precepts of
Islam. Karzai has said he will allow the appeal process to play out — and the
Supreme Court is likely to overturn that sentence — before considering a pardon for
Kambaksh. A previous 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, Karzai prevailed on Kabul court authorities to
release him on March 29, 2006; he subsequently went to Italy and sought asylum
there. His release came the same day the House passed
H.Res. 736 calling on the
Afghan government to protect Afghan converts from prosecution. Another case 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 articles about apostasy. A Kabul court reduced
his sentence to time served and he was freed in December 2005
prosecution.
Afghanistan was again placed in Tier 2 in the State Department report on human
trafficking issued in June 2008 (Trafficking in Persons Report for 2008). The
. The government is assessed as not complying with
minimum standards for eliminating
trafficking, but making significant efforts to do
so. The Trafficking in Persons Report for 2008 so. The says that women (reportedly from
from China and Central Asia) are being trafficked into Afghanistan for sexual
exploitation.
Other reports say some are brought to work in night clubs purportedly
frequented by
members of many international NGOs.
CRS-17
An Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has been formed
was formed in
2002 to monitor government performance and has been credited in State Department
reports with successful interventions to curb abuses. Headed by former Women’s
Affairs minister Sima Samar, it also conducts surveys of how Afghans view
governance and reconstruction efforts. The House-passed Afghan Freedom Support
CRS-17
Act (AFSA) re-authorization bill (H.R. 2446) would authorize $10 million per year
for this Commission until FY2010.
Funding Issues. USAID has spent significant funds on democracy and rule
of law programs (support for elections, civil society programs, political party
strengthening, media freedom, and local governance) for Afghanistan. Funding for
FY2002-FY2007 is shown in Table 14. An additional $100 million was requested
in further FY2008 supplemental funding, to help prepare for presidential and
parliamentary elections scheduled for 2009, and $248 million for these functions is
requested for FY2009. H.R. 2642 (P.L. 110-252) appears to provide the funds.
Advancement of Women. According to State Department human rights
report, the Afghan government is promoting the advancement of women, but
numerous abuses, such as denial of educational and employment opportunities,
continue primarily because of Afghanistan’s conservative traditions. A major
development in post-Taliban Afghanistan was the formation of a Ministry of
Women’s Affairs dedicated to improving women’s rights, although numerous
accounts say the ministry’s influence is limited and it is now headed by a male,
although the (the
deputy minister is female). Among other activities, it promotes the
involvement of
women in business ventures.
Three female ministers were in the 2004-2006 cabinet: former presidential
candidate Masooda Jalal (Ministry of Women’s Affairs), Sediqa Balkhi (Minister for
for Martyrs and the Disabled), and Amina Afzali (Minister of Youth). However, Karzai
Karzai nominated only one (Minister of Women’s Affairs Soraya Sobhrang) in the cabinet
cabinet that followed the parliamentary elections, and she was voted down by opposition
opposition from Islamist conservatives in parliament, leaving no women in the
cabinet. (The
deputy minister is a female.) In March 2005, Karzai appointed a
former Minister of
Women’s Affairs, Habiba Sohrabi, as governor of Bamiyan
province, inhabited
mostly by Hazaras. mostly by Hazaras. (She hosted visiting First Lady Laura Bush
during her visit to Bamiyan in June 2008.) As noted, the constitution reserves for
women at least 25% of
the seats in the upper house of parliament, and several
prominent women have won
seats in the new parliament, including some who would
have won even if there were
no set-asides. However, some NGOs and other groups
believe that the women
elected by the quota system are not viewed as equally
legitimate parliamentarians.
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
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 and athletic
facilities have increased in the most restive areas.
CRS-18
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
CRS-18
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. The Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 (AFSA,
P.L. 107-327) authorized $15 million per year (FY2003-FY2006) for the Ministry of
Women’s Affairs. The House-passed AFSA reauthorization (H.R. 2446) would
authorize $5 million per year for this Ministry. Appropriations for programs for
women and girls, when specified, are contained in the tables at the end of this paper.
Combating Narcotics Trafficking.12 Narcotics trafficking is regarded by
some as one of the most significant problems facing Afghanistan, generating about
40% of the Taliban’s funds. The U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
reported in February 2008 that opium cultivation for 2008 will likely be similar to the
2007 record harvest, which was an increased of 34% over the previous year. The
State Department’s International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, (INCSR)
released February 29, 2008, said area under cultivation had increased by 17% in 2007
over 2006 levels. Afghanistan is the source of about 93% of the world’s illicit opium
supply, and according to UNODC, “... leaving aside 19th Century China, no country
in the world has ever produced narcotics on such a deadly scale.” Narcotics now
accounts for about $4 billion in value, about 53% of the value of the legal economywhat
U.S. commanders estimate to be about 25% - 40% of the Taliban’s funds.
Afghanistan is the source of about 93% of the world’s illicit opium supply, and
according to UNODC, “... leaving aside 19th Century China, no country in the world
has ever produced narcotics on such a deadly scale.” Narcotics now accounts for
about $4 billion in value, about 53% of the value of the legal economy. The U.N.
Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported in February 2008 that opium
cultivation for 2008 will likely be similar to the 2007 record harvest, which was an
increased of 34% over the previous year. The State Department’s International
Narcotics Control Strategy Report, (INCSR) released February 29, 2008, said area
under cultivation had increased by 17% in 2007 over 2006 levels. On June 11, 2008,
the U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 1817, called for greater international
cooperation to stop the movement of chemical precursors used to process opium into
Afghanistan.
On the other hand, there are some signs of progress. The February 2008
UNODC report said that the number of “poppy free” provinces is 12, an increase
from 6 in 2006, and that cultivation is decreasing in another ten provinces, mostly in
the north, where UNODC says governance is increasingimproving. The report said cultivation
also also
decreased sharply in Nangarhar Province (Jalalabad), a key province near the
Pakistan border. The acting Minister of Counter-Narcotics, Gen. Khodaidad, said in
late April 2008 that overall cultivation will fall in 2008, and that as many as 20
provinces State Department Assistant Secretary responsible for counternarcotics, David Johnson, said in late June 2008 that opium production in 2008
would level off compared with 2007. Afghan leaders estimate that 20 provinces
might soon be declared cultivation free, including Nangarhar and
Badakshan. Others
attribute the apparent drop in cultivation to the large world
increase in prices for legal
crops. Much of the cultivation growth in recent years has
come from Helmand
Province (which now produces about 50% of Afghanistan’s
total poppy crop) and
other southern provinces where the Taliban insurgency is still
consistently active, and
the February 2008 UNDOC reports said cultivation is
increasing in 7 provinces, mostly in the west and south.
mostly in the west and south. On June 12, 2008, Afghan officials announced seizing
260 tons of hashish in Qandahar Province, perhaps the world’s largest drug bust, and
which NATO officials said would hurt Taliban operations.
In response to congressional calls for an increased U.S. focus on the drug
problem, in March 2007 the Administration created a post of coordinator for counternarcotics and justice reform in Afghanistan, naming Thomas Schweich of the Bureaucounter-
12
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-19
narcotics and justice reform in Afghanistan, naming Thomas Schweich of the Bureau
of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) to that post (he departed that
post in June 2008). On August 9,
2007, he announced a major new counter-narcotics
program and strategy that seeks
to better integrate counter-narcotics and counter-insurgencycounterinsurgency, as well as enhance and
encourage alternative livelihoods.13 Part of the
widely acknowledged lack of
progress has been attributed to disagreements on a
counter-narcotics strategy. The
Afghan government wants to focus on funding
alternative livelihoods that will
dissuade Afghans from growing poppy crop, and on
building governance in areas
where poppy is grown. The Afghan side, backed by some U.S. experts such as
Barnett Rubin, believe that maintains that
narcotics flourish in areas where there is no security, and
not the other way around.
U.S. officials emphasize eradication. In concert with interdiction and building
up alternative livelihoods, the United States has prevailed on Afghanistan to
undertake efforts to U.S.-trained Afghanistan counter-narcotics police
eradicate poppy fields by cutting down the crop manually on the
ground. However,
there appears to be a debate between some in the U.S.
government, including
Ambassador to Afghanistan William Wood, and the Afghan
government over
whether to conduct spraying of fields, particularly by air. The
Ambassador and others in the Bush Administration feel that aerial spraying is the
only effective means to reduce poppy cultivation. President Karzai, most recently in
an interview with the Washington Post on January 27, 2008,President Karzai strongly
opposes aerial
spraying of poppy fields. He and others say that allowing such activity, arguing that doing so would cause
a backlash
among Afghan farmers that could produce more support for the Taliban.
Others believe that Karzai feels that acquiescing to a U.S.-designed counter-narcotics
program would make him look like a puppet of the international community. NATO
commanders, who have taken over security responsibilities throughout Afghanistan,
are now focusing on interdicting traffickers and raiding drug labs, and outgoing
NATO/ISAF commander Gen. Dan McNeill said in February 2008 that his NATO
mandate permits him to conduct counter-narcotics combat when it is clearly linked
to insurgent activity NATO
commanders, who have taken over security responsibilities throughout Afghanistan,
are now focusing on interdicting traffickers and raiding drug labs. Yet, U.S. troops
deploying to Helmand in 2008 have not specifically acted against poppy fields,
deliberately to avoid angering the local population on which the success of U.S.
operations depend. Congress appears to be siding with Karzai; the FY2008
Consolidated Appropriation (P.L. 110-161) prohibits U.S. counter-narcotics funding
from being used for aerial spraying on Afghanistan poppy fields.
The U.S. military, in support of the effort, is flying Afghan and U.S. counternarcotics agents (Drug Enforcement Agency, DEA) on missions and identifying
targets; it also evacuates casualties from counter-drug operations. The Department
of Defense is also playing the major role in training and equipping specialized
Afghan counter-narcotics police, in developing an Afghan intelligence fusion cell,
and training Afghan border police, as well as assisting an Afghan helicopter squadron
to move Afghan counter-narcotics forces around the country. The Bush
Administration has taken some legal steps against suspected Afghan drug
traffickers;14 in April 2005, a DEA operation successfully caught the alleged leading
Afghan narcotics trafficker, Haji Bashir Noorzai, arresting him after a flight to New
13
14
Text of the strategy, see [http://www.state.gov/p/inl/rls/rpt/90561.htm#section1]
Cameron-Moore, Simon. “U.S. to Seek Indictment of Afghan Drug Barons.” Reuters,
November 2, 2004.
CRS-20
York. The United States is funding a new Counternarcotics Justice Center (estimated
cost, $8 million) in Kabul to prosecute and incarcerate suspected traffickers.15
The Bush Administration has repeatedly named Afghanistan (and again in the
February 2008 State Department INCSR report discussed above) as a major illicit
13
Text of the strategy, see [http://www.state.gov/p/inl/rls/rpt/90561.htm#section1]
14
Cameron-Moore, Simon. “U.S. to Seek Indictment of Afghan Drug Barons.” Reuters,
November 2, 2004.
15
Risen, James. “Poppy Fields Are Now a Front Line in Afghanistan War.” New York
Times, May 16, 2007.
CRS-20
drug producer and drug transit country, but has not included Afghanistan on a smaller
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.16 The Administration has exercised waiver provisions
(the last was published in the Federal Register in May 2006) to a required
certification of full Afghan cooperation that was needed to provide more than $225
million in recent U.S. economic assistance appropriations for Afghanistan. A similar
certification requirement (to provide amounts over $300 million) is contained in the
House version of the FY2008 appropriation (P.L. 110-161). Other provisions on
counter-narcotics, such as recommending a pilot crop substitution program and
cutting U.S. aid to any Afghan province whose officials are determined complicit in
drug trafficking, are contained in the AFSA reauthorization bill (H.R. 2446).
Narcotics trafficking control was perhaps the one issue on which the Taliban, when
it was in power, satisfied much of the international community; the Taliban enforced
a July 2000 ban on poppy cultivation, which purportedly dramatically decreased
cultivation.17 The Northern Alliance did not issue a similar ban in areas it controlled.
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 challenging the Afghan government. The pillars of the U.S.
security effort are (1) continuing combat operations by U.S. forces and a NATO-led
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF); (2) U.S. and NATO operation of
“provincial reconstruction teams” (PRTs); and (3) the equipping and training of an
Afghan National Army (ANA) and Afghan National Police (ANP) force.
The Combat Environment, U.S. Operations, and Operation
Enduring Freedom
(OEF)
U.S. and partner country troop levels (U.S. Central Command, CENTCOM)
have increased significantly since 2006 to
combat a Taliban resurgence. NATO/ISAF has led
peacekeeping operations
nationwide since October 5, 2006, and about 65% ofmost U.S.
troops in Afghanistan (numbers are in the security indicators table below) are under
15
Risen, James. “Poppy Fields Are Now a Front Line in Afghanistan War.” New York
Times, May 16, 2007.
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-21
in the security indicators table below) are under NATO command. The NATO/ISAF
force is headed by U.S. Gen. David McKiernan,
who on June 13, 2008 took over
from U.S. Gen. Dan McNeill. (McNeill in turn had
had taken over in February 2007 from U.K.
General David Richards.) The remainder are
under direct U.S. command as part of
the ongoing anti-terrorism mission Operation Enduring Freedom
(OEF). Most U.S.
forces in Afghanistan, who are primarily in eastern Afghanistan,
report, as of May
2008, to Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser as head of Combined Joint
Task Force 101 (CJTF-101), named after the 101st Airborne Division, and
headquartered at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul. Gen. Schloesser commands OEF
but is dual-hatted as commander of ISAF Regional Command-East of the
NATO/ISAF mission. Incremental costs of U.S. operations in Afghanistan appear
to be running about 2 - 3 billion dollars per month. The FY2008 Defense
Authorization Act (P.L. 110-181, Section 1229) requires a quarterly DOD report on
the security situation in Afghanistan, along the lines of the similar “Measuring
Stability and Security” report required for Iraq. For further information, see CRS
Report RL33110, The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror
Operations Since 9/11, by Amy
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-21
(CJTF-101), named after the 101st Airborne Division, headquartered at Bagram Air
Base north of Kabul. Gen. Schloesser commands OEF as well as ISAF Regional
Command-East of the NATO/ISAF mission. Incremental costs of U.S. operations
in Afghanistan appear to be running about 2 - 3 billion dollars per month. The
FY2008 Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 110-181, Section 1229) requires a quarterly
DOD report on the security situation in Afghanistan, along the lines of the similar
“Measuring Stability and Security” report required for Iraq; the first was submitted
in June 2008. For further information, see CRS Report RL33110, The Cost of Iraq,
Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11, by Amy
Belasco.
Prior to the transfer to NATO command, 19 coalition countries — primarily
Britain, France, Canada, and Italy — were contributing approximately 4,000 combat
troops to OEF, but most of these have now been “re-badged” to the expanded NATOled ISAF mission. AHowever, a few foreign contingents, such as composed mainly of special
operations forces, including a small unit from the UAE,
remain part of OEF. Until
December 2007, 200 South Korean forces at Bagram Air
Base (mainly combat
engineers) were part of OEF; they left in December 2007 in
fulfillment of a July-AugustJulyAugust 2007, agreement under which Taliban militants released
21 kidnapped South
Korean church group visitors in Ghazni province. Two were
killed during their captivity. The Taliban kidnappers did not get the demanded
release of 23 Taliban prisoners held by the Afghan government.18 As of April 2008,
South Korea
is in the process of re-engaging in Afghanistan by planning to take over
the Parwan
Province PRT based at Bagram Air Base and possibly train Afghan
security forces
at facilities in Kabul as well.
Japan provided naval refueling capabilities in the Arabian sea, but the mission
ended in October 2007 following a parliamentary change of majority there in July
2007. The mission was revived in January 2008 when the new government forced
through parliament a bill to allow the mission to resume. On June 1, 2008, a senior
Japanese official said Japan might expand the mission of its Self Defense Forces to
include some reconstruction activities in Afghanistan. As part of OEF, the United
States leads a multi-national naval anti-terrorist, anti-smuggling, anti-proliferation
interdiction mission in the Persian Gulf/Arabian Sea, headquartered in Bahrain. That
mission was expanded after the fall of Saddam Hussein to include protecting Iraqi
oil platforms in the Gulf.
In the four years after the fall of the Taliban, 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 the east (October 2005). By 2005,
CRS-22
U.S.
The Taliban “Resurgence” and Early Responses. By 2005, U.S.
commanders had believed that the combat, coupled with overall political and
economic reconstruction, had almost ended the insurgency.
The Taliban “Resurgence”. An increase in violence beginning in mid2006 took some U.S. commanders by surprise because the insurgency had been low
level for several years, and polls showed that the Taliban are politically unpopular,
even in the conservative Pashtun areas. Taliban insurgents, increasingly adapting
suicide and roadside bombing characteristic of the Iraq insurgency – and enjoying a
degree of safehaven in Pakistan – nonetheless have been able to step up attacks,
particularly in Uruzgan, Helmand, Qandahar, and Zabol Provinces, areas that
NATO/ISAF assumed responsibility for on July 31, 2006. The violence triggered
debate about whether the resurgence was driven by popular frustration with the
widely perceived corruption within the Karzai government and the slow pace of
economic reconstruction. Some believe that Afghans in the restive areas were
intimidated by the Taliban into providing food and shelter, while others believe that
some villages welcome any form of justice, even if administered by the Taliban.
Taliban attacks on schools, teachers, and other civilian infrastructure have reportedly
caused popular anger against the movement, but others say they appreciate the
Taliban’s reputation for avoiding corruption. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Admiral Michael Mullen testified on December 11, 2007, that the Taliban support
had tripled to about 20% over the past two years. Other developments in 2007 that
the United States found worrisome have been the Taliban’s first use of a surface-toair missile (SAM-7, shoulder held) against a U.S. C-130 transport aircraft, although
it did not hit the aircraft.
NATO has countered the violence with repeated offensives, including such
major operations as Operation Mountain Lion, Operation Mountain Thrust, and
Operation Medusa (August-September 2006). The latter was considered a success
in ousting Taliban fighters from the Panjwai district near Qandahar. Operation
Medusa also demonstrated that NATO would conduct intensive combat in
Afghanistan. In the aftermath of Medusa, British forces — who believe in working
more with tribal leaders as part of negotiated local solutions — entered into an
agreement 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. That strategy failed when the Taliban captured Musa Qala town in
February 2007. A NATO offensive in December 2007, approved by President
Karzai, retook Musa Qala, although there continue to be recriminations between the
Britain, on the one side, and the United States and Karzai, on the other, over the
wisdom of the original British deal on Musa Qala. Some Taliban activity continues
on the outskirts of the district.
During 2007, U.S. and NATO forces, bolstered by the infusion of 3,200 U.S.
troops and 3,800 NATO/partner forces, pre-empted an anticipated Taliban “spring
offensive.” In a preemptive move, in March 2007, NATO and Afghan troops
conducted “Operation Achilles” to expel militants from the Sangin district of
northern Helmand Province. One purpose of the operation was to pacify the area
around the key Kajaki dam. The Taliban “offensive” largely did not materialize, and
U.S. and NATO commanders say their efforts deprived the Taliban of the ability to
control substantial swaths of territory. Taliban militants are often killed 50 or 60 at
a time by coalition airstrikes because they move in remote areas where they are easily
CRS-23
located and struck. The NATO operations, and a related offensive in late April 2007
(Operation Silicon), had a major success on May 12, 2007, when the purportedly
ruthless leader of the Taliban insurgency in the south, Mullah Dadullah, was killed
by U.S. and NATO forces in Helmand Province. His brother, Mansoor, replaced him
as leader of that faction but Mansoor was arrested crossing into Pakistan in February
2008 — arrests and deaths such as these are contributing to U.S. command optimism
that it will eventually defeat the Taliban outright.18 A U.S. airstrike in December
2006 killed another prominent commander, Mullah Akhtar Usmani. A key
commander in Kunar province, Mullah Ismail, was arrested while crossing over into
Pakistan in mid-April 2008.
Despite recent losses, several key Taliban leaders are at large and believed to be
working with Al Qaeda leaders; some Taliban are able to give interviews to Pakistani
(Geo television) and other media stations. In addition to Mullah Umar, Jalaludin
Haqqani and his son, Siraj, remain at large, leading an insurgent faction operating
around Khost. Haqqani is believed to have contact with Al Qaeda leaders in part
because one of his wives is purportedly Arab. The Taliban has several official
spokespersons, including Qari Yusuf Ahmadi, and it operates a clandestine radio
station, “Voice of Shariat,” and publishes videos.
Policy Reviews and Further 2008-2009 U.S. Troop Buildup. Despite
the offensives, a perception of growing Taliban strength has taken hold among some
observers, as evidenced by, among other indicators: (1) 2007 recording the most
casualties, including Taliban fighters, of the war so far: (2) numbers of suicide
bombings at a post-Taliban high, including such major bombings as one in Kabul on
June 17, 2007, which killed about 35 Afghan police recruits on a bus; a suicide
bombing in early November 2007 that killed six parliamentarians, as noted above;
the suicide bombing near Qandahar on February 17, 2008 that killed 67 civilians and
13 Afghan police - the most lethal attack since 2002; and (3) expanding Taliban
operations in provinces where it had not previously been active, including Lowgar
and Wardak (close to Kabul), as well as formerly stable Herat, where there are few
Pashtuns sympathetic to the Taliban; (4) attacks in Kabul against targets that are
either well defended or in highly populated centers, such as the January 14, 2008,
attack on the Serena Hotel in Kabul (see below); the January 26, 2008, kidnaping of
an American aid worker in Qandahar; and, (5) the April 27, 2008 assassination
attempt on Karzai during a military parade celebrating the ouster of the Soviet Union.
A parliamentarian was killed. This attack, aspects of which were uncovered
beforehand, triggered a move by parliament to vote no confidence in the intelligence
director, the Defense Minister, and the Interior Minister, but the three remain in their
positions as of mid-May 2008.
On the other hand, U.S. commanders say that the United States and its allies
have made substantial progress reducing Taliban attacks in eastern Afghanistan
where U.S. troops mainly operate and are able to achieve significant coverage; one
18
Mansoor Dadullah was one of five Taliban leaders released in March 2007 in exchange
for the freedom of kidnapped Italian journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo, but there were
reports in January 2008 that Mullah Umar Mullah Umar had dismissed Mansoor because
of reported talks with British military officers about his possible defection.
CRS-24
U.S. briefing in January 2008 said that attacks along the eastern Afghan-Pakistan
border are 40% lower than they were in December 2006. U.S. commanders say they
have continued on the offensive during the winter of 2008 to deny the Taliban the
ability to regroup and that the Taliban “spring offensive” has again been weak or
non-existent in spring 2008, as it was in 2007. U.S. commanders — and a U.N.
Secretary General report of March 6, 2008 — say that 70% of the violence in
Afghanistan is now occurring in 10% of Afghanistan’s 376 districts, an area
including about 6% of the Afghan population. U.S. commanders say the increase
in violence is caused mainly by a higher tempo of U.S./ISAF anti-Taliban operations
rather than any increase in Taliban recruitment or capabilities, and attribute the
Taliban resilience primarily to the lax border policing of Pakistan. Some NATO
commanders go so far as to say that the Taliban is on the brink of defeat – nearly \
decapitated, having lost 7,000 fighters over the past two years, and low on
ammunition.
Still, to address the widespread perception of deterioration of the U.S. effort, a
reported National Security Council review (reported by the Washington Post on
November 25, 2007) found that the Taliban has been able to expand its presence,
particularly in “un-governed” remote areas. The review also reportedly concluded
that the United States needed to focus more attention and resources on the Afghan
situation than it had previously. Joint Chiefs Chairman Mullen largely confirmed the
perception that the Afghan battlefield was “under-resourced” in his December 11,
2007 testimony in which he stated that, in Iraq, “the United States does what it must,
while in Afghanistan, the United States does what it can.” Other policy reviews have
been conducted by the State Department; it evaluated its use of “soft power” to
complement the U.S. military operations in Afghanistan. Similar findings are
emphasized in recent outside assessments of Afghanistan policy, including a report
in November 2007 by the Senlis Council;19 a January 2008 study by the Atlantic
Council (“Saving Afghanistan: An Appeal and Plan for Urgent Action”) and a
January 30, 2008 study by the Center for the Study of the Presidency (“Afghanistan
Study Group Report”), as well as in recent hearings, such as the January 31, 2008
hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“Americanizing” the Southern Front? As a consequence of the policy
reviews and public perceptions, the Administration is taking new steps to keep the
pressure on the Taliban in the south, where it remains strongest, as well as to ease
strains with key NATO partners. Some policy decisions appear to indicate that the
United States might assume greater responsibility for the intense combat in the south.
On January 14, 2008, Secretary of Defense Gates approved the deployment of an
additional 3,200 Marines to Afghanistan (for seven months), of which about 700 will
be for training the Afghan security forces, and the remainder will provide more
combat capability in the south. They have arrived and begun to engage in combat in
Helmand Province; including an operation that began in late April 2008 that expelled
Taliban militants from the Garmsar district of Helmand. Still, U.S. and NATO
commanders in Afghanistan have decided that they needed about three more brigades
(about 10,000) to be able to stabilize the still restive southern sector, particularly all
19
Text of the report is at [http://www.senliscouncil.net/modules/publications/Afghanistan_
on_the_brink/documents/Afghanistan_on_the_brink]
CRS-25
of southern Helmand Province. With NATO countries unlikely to fill that entire
need, on April 4, 2008, at the NATO summit in Romania, President Bush pledged
to further increase U.S. forces in Afghanistan in 2009, regardless of the change in
U.S. Administration at that time. The 2009 addition could be as much as 7,000 U.S.
forces, in addition to finding replacements for the 3,200 additional Marines sent on
a seven month rotation. On May 22, 2008, the Defense Department confirmed that
the United States is likely to take over the command of Regional Command-South
in November 2010, after rotations by the Netherlands (2008-2009) and Britain (20092010). The issue of NATO/ISAF and the positions of contributing countries is
discussed further below.
U.S. and NATO commanders are also increasingly sensitive to losing “hearts
and minds” because of civilian casualties resulting from U.S. and NATO operations,
particularly air strikes. In a joint meeting on May 21, 2007, President Bush and
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said that U.S. and NATO operations
were seeking to avoid civilian casualties but that such results were sometimes
inevitable in the course of fighting the Taliban. President Bush and President Karzai
said they discussed the issue during their Camp David meetings in August 2007.
With Karzai saying in October 2007 that he had asked for a halt to the use of air
strikes, NATO is reportedly examining using smaller air force munitions to limit
collateral damage from air strikes, or increased use of ground operations.
Feelers to the Taliban. President Karzai believes that an alternative means
of combating Taliban militants is to offer talks with Taliban fighters who want to
consider ending their fight. Noted above is the “Program for Strengthening Peace
and Reconciliation” (referred to in Afghanistan by its Pashto acronym “PTS”) headed
by Meshrano Jirga speaker Sibghatullah Mojadeddi. The program is credited with
persuading numerous Taliban figures and commanders to renounce violence and joint
the political process. Several Taliban figures, including its foreign minister Wakil
Mutawwakil, ran in the parliamentary elections. The Taliban official who was
governor of Bamiyan Province when the Buddha statues there were blown up,
Mohammad Islam Mohammedi — and who was later elected to the post-Taliban
parliament from Samangan Province — was assassinated in Kabul in January 2007.
In September 2007, Karzai offered to meet with Mullah Umar himself, appearing
thereby to backtrack on earlier statements that about 100-150 of the top Taliban
leadership would not be eligible for amnesty. The Taliban rejected the offer, saying
they would not consider reconciling until (1) all foreign troops leave Afghanistan; (2)
a new Therefore, the increase
18
Two were killed during their captivity. The Taliban kidnappers did not get the demanded
release of 23 Taliban prisoners held by the Afghan government.
CRS-22
in violence beginning in mid-2006 took some U.S. commanders by surprise.
Taliban insurgents, increasingly adapting suicide and roadside bombing characteristic
of the Iraq insurgency, have been able to step up attacks. The main theater of
combat is Uruzgan, Helmand, and Qandahar provinces, areas that NATO/ISAF
assumed primary responsibility for on July 31, 2006. The violence triggered debate
about whether the resurgence was driven by popular frustration with the widely
perceived corruption within the Karzai government and the slow pace of economic
reconstruction. Some believe that Afghans in the restive areas were intimidated by
the Taliban into providing food and shelter, while others believe that some villages
welcome any form of justice, even if administered by the Taliban. Taliban attacks
on schools, teachers, and other civilian infrastructure have reportedly caused popular
anger against the movement, but others say they appreciate the Taliban’s reputation
for avoiding corruption. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael
Mullen testified on December 11, 2007, that the Taliban support had tripled to about
20% over the past two years, and the June 2008 DoD report referenced earlier says
the Taliban is now a “resilient insurgency” likely to “increase the scope and pace” of
attacks through 2008. Increasingly in mid-2008, Afghan and U.S. officials and
commanders are blaming Pakistan for failing to curb the movement of militants
based there into Afghanistan. Other developments in 2007 that the United States
found worrisome were the Taliban’s first use of a surface-to-air missile (SAM-7,
shoulder held) against a U.S. C-130 transport aircraft, although it did not hit the
aircraft.
At the onset of the upsurge in Taliban violence in 2006, NATO countered with
repeated offensives, including such major operations as Operation Mountain Lion,
Operation Mountain Thrust, and Operation Medusa (August-September 2006). The
latter was considered a success in ousting Taliban fighters from the Panjwai district
near Qandahar. Operation Medusa also demonstrated that NATO would conduct
intensive combat in Afghanistan. In the aftermath of Medusa, British forces — who
believe in working more with tribal leaders as part of negotiated local solutions —
entered into an agreement 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. That strategy failed when the Taliban captured Musa Qala
town in February 2007. A NATO offensive in December 2007, approved by
President Karzai, retook Musa Qala, although there continue to be recriminations
between the Britain, on the one side, and the United States and Karzai, on the other,
over the wisdom of the original British deal on Musa Qala. Some Taliban activity
continues on the outskirts of the district.
These offensives were temporarily successful, but NATO determined that a
more integrated strategy involving pre-emptive combat and improved governance
was needed. During 2007, U.S. and NATO forces, bolstered by the infusion of
3,200 U.S. troops and 3,800 NATO/partner forces, pre-empted an anticipated Taliban
“spring offensive.” In March 2007, NATO and Afghan troops conducted “Operation
Achilles” to expel militants from the Sangin district of northern Helmand Province,
in part to pacify the area around the key Kajaki dam. The Taliban “spring offensive”
largely did not materialize, and U.S. and NATO commanders say their efforts
deprived the Taliban of the ability to control substantial swaths of territory. The
NATO operations, and a related offensive in late April 2007 (Operation Silicon), had
a major success on May 12, 2007, when the purportedly ruthless leader of the Taliban
CRS-23
insurgency in the south, Mullah Dadullah, was killed by U.S. and NATO forces in
Helmand Province. His brother, Mansoor, replaced him as leader of that faction but
Mansoor was arrested crossing into Pakistan in February 2008. Arrests and deaths
such as these contributed to U.S. command optimism that it would eventually defeat
the Taliban outright.19 A U.S. airstrike in December 2006 killed another prominent
commander, Mullah Akhtar Usmani. A key commander in Kunar province, Mullah
Ismail, was arrested while crossing over into Pakistan in mid-April 2008. The
Taliban has several official spokespersons, including Qari Yusuf Ahmadi, and it
operates a clandestine radio station, “Voice of Shariat,” and publishes videos.
Whereabouts of Bin Laden and Related Insurgent Groups.
Compounding the difficulty of stabilizing Afghanistan, U.S. forces face a
convergence of insurgent threats – the Taliban, Al Qaeda, other insurgent groups, and
increasingly Pakistani militants such as Beitullah Mehsud. U.S. commanders say
that Al Qaeda militants are increasingly facilitating, although not necessarily
participating in, militant incursions in Afghanistan. The two most notable Al Qaeda
leaders at large, and believed in Pakistan, are Osama bin Laden himself and his close
ally, Ayman al-Zawahiri. They reportedly escaped the U.S.-Afghan offensive against
the Al Qaeda stronghold of Tora Bora in eastern Afghanistan in December 2001.20
A 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 have some intelligence on his movements.21 A strike in late January 2008,
in an area near Damadola, killed Abu Laith al-Libi, a reported senior Al Qaeda figure
who purportedly masterminded, among other operations, the bombing at Bagram Air
Base in February 2007 when Vice President Cheney was visiting. During a visit to
the United States in August 2007, Karzai told journalists that U.S. and Afghan
officials are no closer than previously to determining bin Laden’s location.
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 and Nuristan provinces, northeast of Kabul. On
February 19, 2003, the U.S. government formally designated Hikmatyar as a
“Specially 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.” On July 19, 2007, Hikmatyar
injected some optimism into the U.S. mission in Afghanistan by issuing a statement
declaring a willingness to discuss a cease-fire with the Karzai government, although
no firm reconciliation talks have been held between HIG and the Karzai government
and he has in 2008 issued hardline statements suggesting he is continuing his fight.
19
Mansoor Dadullah was one of five Taliban leaders released in March 2007 in exchange
for the freedom of kidnapped Italian journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo, but there were
reports in January 2008 that Mullah Umar Mullah Umar had dismissed Mansoor because
of reported talks with British military officers about his possible defection.
20
For more information on the search for the Al Qaeda leadership, see CRS Report
RL33038, Al Qaeda: Profile and Threat Assessment, by Kenneth Katzman.
21
Gall, Carlotta and Ismail Khan. “U.S. Drone Attack Missed Zawahiri by Hours.” New
York Times, November 10, 2006.
CRS-24
Yet another militant faction is led by Jalaludin Haqqani and his son, Siraj,
operating around Khost. Haqqani is believed to have contact with Al Qaeda leaders
in part because one of his wives is purportedly Arab. This group is active around
Khost Province.
Policy Reviews and Further U.S. Troop Buildup. Despite the repeated
offensives, a perception of growing Taliban strength has taken hold supported by,
among other indicators: (1) 2007 recording the most casualties, of the war so far; (2)
numbers of suicide bombings at a post-Taliban high, including one near Qandahar
on February 17, 2008 that killed 67 civilians and 13 Afghan police - the most lethal
attack since 2002; (3) expanding Taliban operations in provinces where it had not
previously been active, including Lowgar and Wardak (close to Kabul), as well as
formerly stable Herat, where there are few Pashtuns sympathetic to the Taliban; (4)
attacks in Kabul against targets that are either well defended or in highly populated
centers, such as the January 14, 2008, attack on the Serena Hotel in Kabul (see
below); the January 26, 2008, kidnaping of an American aid worker in Qandahar;
(5) the April 27, 2008 assassination attempt on Karzai during a military parade
celebrating the ouster of the Soviet Union; (6) the June 12, 2008 prison break in
Qandahar (several hundred Taliban captives were freed, as part of an emptying of the
1,200 inmates there); (7) the July 8, 2008 suicide bombing at the gates of the Indian
Embassy in Kabul, killing 41, the most lethal such attack in Afghanistan to date; and
(8) a reported 40% rise in attacks (over 2007 figures) in the U.S.-led eastern sector.
The attack on Sariposa prison in Qandahar particularly shook confidence in U.S.
and NATO policy because, subsequently, some of the freed militants fanned out
north of Qandahar and took over up to nine villages in nearby Arghandhab district,
prompting a NATO-Afghan counterattack. The counter-offensive was declared
successful by June 21, although some say that there might not have been 500
militants that gathered there as asserted by local residents. Even though the events
did not apparently pose a threat to government control of Qandahar city, the cycle
caused substantial consternation among Afghans in the province.
The upsurge in attacks in the eastern sector have also caused consternation at
DoD because, throughout 2007, U.S. commanders were heralding substantial
progress in reducing Taliban attacks in that sector. The progress was attributed to the
fact that U.S. troops are able to achieve significant coverage of the area. Amid the
June and July 2008 setbacks, U.S. commanders still maintain that the overall effort
is succeeding because 70% of the violence in Afghanistan occurs in 10% of
Afghanistan’s 364 districts, an area including about 6% of the Afghan population.
U.S. commanders say much of the increase in violence has been caused by a higher
tempo of U.S./ISAF anti-Taliban operations rather than any increase in Taliban
recruitment or capabilities. In May 2008, some NATO commanders went so far as
to say that the Taliban is on the brink of defeat – nearly decapitated, having lost 7,000
fighters over the past two years, and low on ammunition. In June 2008 outgoing
Gen. McNeill and the new NATO commander Gen. McKiernan attributed much of
the increase in violence in the east to Pakistan’s failure to prevent the movement of
militants across the border.
CRS-25
“Americanizing” the Southern Front? To address the widespread
perception of deterioration of the U.S. effort, a reported National Security Council
review (reported by the Washington Post on November 25, 2007) concluded that the
United States needed to focus more attention and resources on the Afghan situation
than it had previously. Joint Chiefs Chairman Mullen largely confirmed the
perception that the Afghan battlefield was “under-resourced” in his December 11,
2007 testimony in which he stated that, in Iraq, “the United States does what it must,
while in Afghanistan, the United States does what it can.” Other policy reviews
have been conducted by the State Department; it evaluated its use of “soft power” to
complement the U.S. military operations in Afghanistan. Similar findings are
emphasized in recent outside assessments of Afghanistan policy, including a report
in November 2007 by the Senlis Council;22 a January 2008 study by the Atlantic
Council (“Saving Afghanistan: An Appeal and Plan for Urgent Action”) and a
January 30, 2008 study by the Center for the Study of the Presidency (“Afghanistan
Study Group Report”), as well as in recent congressional hearings.
The Administration has decided on new steps to keep the pressure on the
Taliban, as well as to ease strains with key NATO partners. Some policy decisions
indicate that the United States is likely to assume greater responsibility for the
combat-intense south. On January 14, 2008, Secretary of Defense Gates approved
the deployment of an additional 3,200 Marines to southern Afghanistan (for seven
months, later extended through November 2008), of which about 700 are training the
Afghan security forces. The Marines have begun to clear Taliban militants from
Helmand Province; including an operation in April 2008 that expelled Taliban
militants from the Garmsar district of Helmand. Still, U.S. and NATO commanders
in Afghanistan have decided that they needed about three more brigades (about
10,000, of which about one brigade would be devoted to training the Afghan security
forces) to be able to stabilize the still restive southern sector, particularly all of
southern Helmand Province.
With NATO countries unlikely to fill that entire need, on April 4, 2008, at the
NATO summit in Romania, President Bush pledged to further increase U.S. forces
in Afghanistan in 2009, regardless of the change in U.S. Administration at that time.
The 2009 addition could be as much as 7,000 U.S. forces beyond the 3,200 additional
Marines already deployed. However, Joint Chiefs Chairman Mullen said on July 2,
2008 that there were not now additional U.S. forces available for Afghanistan until
forces were freed up from duty in Iraq. In another move, on May 22, 2008, the
Defense Department confirmed that the United States is likely to take over the
command of Regional Command-South in November 2010, after rotations by the
Netherlands (2008-2009) and Britain (2009-2010). In July 2008, the Defense
Department deployed an additional aircraft carrier to the Afghanistan theater to
provide additional air strike capability. The issue of NATO/ISAF and the positions
of contributing countries is discussed further below.
U.S. and NATO commanders are also increasingly sensitive to losing “hearts
and minds” because of civilian casualties resulting from U.S. and NATO operations,
22
Text of the report is at [http://www.senliscouncil.net/modules/publications/Afghanistan_
on_the_brink/documents/Afghanistan_on_the_brink]
CRS-26
particularly air strikes. In a joint meeting on May 21, 2007, President Bush and
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said that U.S. and NATO operations
were seeking to avoid civilian casualties but that such results were sometimes
inevitable in the course of fighting the Taliban. President Bush and President Karzai
said they discussed the issue during their Camp David meetings in August 2007.
NATO is reportedly examining using smaller air force munitions to limit collateral
damage from air strikes, or increased use of ground operations.
Feelers to the Taliban. President Karzai believes that an alternative means
of combating Taliban militants is to offer talks with Taliban fighters who want to
consider ending their fight. Noted above is the “Program for Strengthening Peace
and Reconciliation” (referred to in Afghanistan by its Pashto acronym “PTS”)
headed by Meshrano Jirga speaker Sibghatullah Mojadeddi and overseen by Karzai’s
National Security Council. The program is credited with persuading 5,000 Taliban
figures and commanders to renounce violence and joint the political process.
Several Taliban figures, including its foreign minister Wakil Mutawwakil, ran in the
parliamentary elections. The Taliban official who was governor of Bamiyan
Province when the Buddha statues there were blown up, Mohammad Islam
Mohammedi — and who was later elected to the post-Taliban parliament from
Samangan Province — was assassinated in Kabul in January 2007. In September
2007, Karzai offered to meet with Mullah Umar himself, appearing thereby to
backtrack on earlier statements that about 100-150 of the top Taliban leadership
would not be eligible for amnesty. The Taliban rejected the offer, saying they would
not consider reconciling until (1) all foreign troops leave Afghanistan; (2) a new
“Islamic” constitution is adopted; and (3) Islamic law is imposed.
In December 2007, other press reports appeared that European or other
intermediaries had been holding secret talks with Taliban figures. Even though it is
Karzai’s position that talks with the Taliban could be helpful, two European
diplomats working for the United Nations and European Union were expelled by the
Afghan government in December 2007, possibly because they allegedly provided the
Taliban intermediaries with small gifts as gestures of goodwill. As referenced above,
there have been reports that, before his capture, Mansoor Dadullah was in talks with
British forces about ending his battles, and some recent news stories say that Siraj
Haqqani has been in talks with Pakistani intermediaries about possibly ending
Taliban activity inside Pakistan. In April 2008, representatives of the
minority-
CRS-26
dominated National Front bloc (see above) said they have had some peace talks with
Taliban representatives.
Whereabouts of Al Qaeda Leaders and Fighters. Complicating the
U.S. mission has been the difficulty in locating so-called “high value targets” of Al
Qaeda: leaders believed to be in Pakistan but who are believed able to direct Al
Qaeda fighters to assist the Taliban. The two most notable are Osama bin Laden
himself and his close ally, Ayman al-Zawahiri. They reportedly escaped the U.S.Afghan offensive against the Al Qaeda stronghold of Tora Bora in eastern
Afghanistan in December 2001.20 A 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 have some intelligence on his
movements.21 A strike in late January 2008, in an area near Damadola, killed Abu
Laith al-Libi, a reported senior Al Qaeda figure who purportedly masterminded,
among other operations, the bombing at Bagram Air Base in February 2007 when
Vice President Cheney was visiting. During a visit to the United States in August
2007, Karzai told journalists that U.S. and Afghan officials are no closer than
previously to determining bin Laden’s location. Other reports say there are a growing
number of Al Qaeda militants now being identified on the Afghan battlefield,22
although senior U.S. officials say that these militants may now be focused on sewing
instability in Pakistan more so than in Afghanistan.
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 and Nuristan provinces, northeast of Kabul. On
February 19, 2003, the U.S. government formally designated Hikmatyar as a
“Specially 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.” On July 19, 2007, Hikmatyar
injected some optimism into the U.S. mission in Afghanistan by issuing a statement
declaring a willingness to discuss a cease-fire with the Karzai government, although
no firm reconciliation talks have been held between HIG and the Karzai government
talks with Taliban representatives.
U.S. Military Presence/SOFA/Use of Facilities. U.S. forces operate in
Afghanistan under a “status of forces agreement” (SOFA) between the United States
and the interim government of Afghanistan in November 2002; the agreement gives
the United States legal jurisdiction over U.S. personnel serving in Afghanistan. Even
if the Taliban insurgency ends, Afghan leaders say they want the United States to
maintain a long-term presence in Afghanistan. On May 8, 2005, Karzai summoned
about 1,000 delegates to a consultative jirga in Kabul on whether to host permanent
U.S. bases. They supported an indefinite presence of international forces to maintain
security but urged Karzai to delay a decision. On May 23, 2005, Karzai and
20
For more information on the search for the Al Qaeda leadership, see CRS Report
RL33038, Al Qaeda: Profile and Threat Assessment, by Kenneth Katzman.
21
Gall, Carlotta and Ismail Khan. U.S. Drone Attack Missed Zawahiri by Hours. New York
Times, November 10, 2006.
22
Shanker, Thom. “U.S. Senses a Rise in Activity By Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.” New York
Times, December 4, 2007.
CRS-27
President Bush issued a “joint declaration”23 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 enhanced control over facilities used by U.S. forces, over U.S. operations, or
over prisoners taken during operations. Some of the bases, both in and near
Afghanistan, that support combat in Afghanistan, include those in the table. 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.
23
See [http://www.mfa.gov.af/Documents/ImportantDoc/US-Afghanistan%20Strategic%20
Partnership%20Declaration.pdf].
CRS-28
Table 2. Afghan and Regional Facilities Used for
Operations in Afghanistan
Facility
Use
Bagram
Air Base
50 miles north of Kabul, the operational hub of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, and base
for CJTF-82. At least 500 U.S. military personnel are based there, assisted by about
175 South Korean troops. Handles many of the 150 U.S. aircraft (including
helicopters) in country. Hospital under construction, one of the first permanent
structures there. FY2005 supplemental (P.L. 109-13) provided 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. NATO also using the base
and sharing operational costs.
Qandahar
Air Field
Just outside Qandahar. Turned over from U.S. to NATO/ISAF control in late 2006
in conjunction with NATO assumption of peacekeeping responsibilities.
Shindand
Air Base
In Farah province, about 20 miles from Iran border. Used by U.S. forces and
combat aircraft since October 2004, after the dismissal of Herat governor Ismail
Khan, whose militia forces controlled the facility.
Peter
Ganci
Base:
Manas,
Kyrgyzstan
Used by 1,200 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 his successor, Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Bakiyev
demanded a large increase in the $2 million per year U.S. contribution for use of the
base; dispute eased in July 2006 with U.S. agreement to give Kyrgyzstan $150
million in assistance and base use payments.
Incirlik Air
Base,
Turkey
About 2,100 U.S. military personnel there; U.S. aircraft supply U.S. forces in
Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. use repeatedly extended for one year intervals by
Turkey.
Al Dhafra,
UAE
Air base used by about 1,800 U.S. military personnel, to supply U.S. forces and
related transport into Iraq and Afghanistan.
Al Udeid
Air Base,
Qatar
Largest air facility used by U.S. in region. About 5,000 U.S. personnel in Qatar.
Houses central air operations coordination center for U.S. missions in Iraq and
Afghanistan; also houses CENTCOM forward headquarters.
Naval
Support
Facility,
Bahrain
U.S. naval command headquarters for OEF anti-smuggling, anti-terrorism, and
anti-proliferation naval search missions, and Iraq-related naval operations (oil
platform protection) in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea. About 5,100 U.S.
military personnel there.
KarsiKhanabad
Air Base,
Uzbekistan
Not used by U.S. since September 2005 following U.S.-Uzbek dispute over May
2005 Uzbek crackdown on unrest in Andijon. Once housed about 1,750 U.S.
military personnel (900 Air Force, 400 Army, and 450 civilian) in supply missions
to Afghanistan. Uzbekistan allowed German use of the base temporarily in March
2008, indicating possible healing of the rift. Could also represent Uzbek counter
to Russian offer to U.S. coalition to allow use of its territory to transport equipment
into Afghanistan.
CRS-29
The NATO- - Led International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF)24
As discussed, the NATO-led “International Security Assistance Force” (ISAF,)
consisting of all 26 NATO members states plus 14 partner countries), now
commands , now commands
peacekeeping operations throughout Afghanistan. The several tables at
the end of this paper list contributing countries and forces contributed, areas of
operations, and Provincial Reconstruction Teams they control. ISAF was created by
the Bonn ISAF was created by the Bonn
Agreement and U.N. Security Council Resolution 1386 (December 20,
2001),25
initially limited to Kabul. In October 2003, NATO endorsed expanding its
presence presence
to several other cities, contingent on formal U.N. approval. That NATO
decision decision
came several weeks after Germany agreed to contribute an additional 450
military military
personnel to expand ISAF into the city of Konduz. The U.N. Security
Council Council
adopted Resolution 1510 (October 14, 2003) formally authorizing ISAF to
deploy deploy
outside Kabul. NATO’s takeover of command of ISAF in August 2003 paved
the the
way for the expansion, and NATO/ISAF’s responsibilities broadened
significantly 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,
Regional Command West, in 2005, respectively). The mission was most
recently recently
renewed by U.N. Security Council Resolution 1776 (September 19, 2007),
which which
also noted U.N. support for the Operation Enduring Freedom mission. (Several
tables at the end of this paper list contributing countries, forces contributed, areas of
operations, and Provincial Reconstruction Teams they control.)
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 “Regional Command South” (RC-S) was
formed. Britain is the lead force in Helmand; Canada is lead in Qandahar, and the
Netherlands is lead in Uruzgan; the three rotate the command of RC-S. “Stage 4,”
the assumption of NATO/ISAF command of peacekeeping in fourteen provinces of
eastern Afghanistan (and thus all of Afghanistan), was completed on October 5,
2006. As part of the completion of the NATO/ISAF takeover of command, the
United States put over half the U.S. troops operating in Afghanistan under
NATO/ISAF’s “Regional Command East” (RC-E), although still reporting to a U.S.
command in country.
The April 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania resulted in some new
pledges for NATO and other partner forces to add troops to Afghanistan to meet the
agreed requirement of 10,000 total extra forces deemed needed to stabilize the restive
south. As of now, the partner forces that are bearing the brunt of combat in southern
Afghanistan are Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Australia. The
need to line up new pledges became acute in February 2008, when Canada said it
would extend its 2,500 troop deployment until 2009, but not beyond that, unless other
partners contribute 1,000 forces to assist with combat in the Canadian sector
(Qandahar province).
24
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.
25
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).
CRS-30
New NATO Force Pledges in 2008 and Since. At and in conjunction
with the NATO summit in Bucharest in early April 2008, twelve countries did
indicate new pledges, although some are of reconstruction aid rather than troops, and
others were restatements of previous pledges. The following were the major pledges:
!
France announced a deployment of up to 1,000 forces — a battalion
of about 700 plus 200 special forces that formerly were part of OEF.
The French forces will be deployed mostly in the U.S.-led eastern
sector, freeing up U.S. forces to go to the south.
!
Germany turned down a U.S. request to send forces to the combatheavy south, but it pledged in early 2008 to add 500 forces to its
sector in the north, mostly to take over a Norway-led rapid reaction
force there. (Despite opposition in Germany to the Afghanistan
mission, Germany’s parliament voted by a 453-79 vote margin on
October 12, 2007, to maintain German troop levels in Afghanistan.)
!
Britain plans to deploy about 600 more troops to its already
significant 7,800 troop commitment to Afghanistan. These forces
will serve in Britain’s sector of the south (very high combat
Helmand Province).
!
Poland recommitted to its February 2008 announcement that it
would add 400 troops to the 1,200 in Afghanistan, but that they
would continue to fight alongside U.S. forces as part of RC-E,
operating mainly in Ghazni province.
!
Norway plans to add 200 troops but in the largely passive north,
where Norway is deployed.
!
Denmark will add about 600 forces to the mission in the south.
!
Georgia pledged 500 additional forces for Afghanistan.
!
Croatia pledged 200 - 300, which would double its existing force.
!
The Czech Republic pledged 120 new forces.
!
Greece and Romania promised to send an unspecified number of
additional trainers for the Afghan security forces.
!
New Zealand pledged to increase its contingent at the PRT it runs in
Bamiyan province.
!
Azerbaijan pledged an additional 45, more than its existing force
there.
!
In February 2008, Australia ruled out sending more forces to
supplement its contingent, which operates in combat intense
Uruzgan province, but said it would augment civilian assistance such
CRS-31
as training Afghan police and judges and build new roads, hospitals,
and schools.
!
In May 2008, Italy announced that it was now willing to deploy
some of its forces to the combat-intense south.
Among other unfulfilled pledges (in addition to the 3,200 combat forces the
United States has now decided to send) are 3,200 additional trainers that are needed
for Afghan security forces. About 700 of the 3,200 Marines that will deploy to
Afghanistan by April 2008 will be!
In June 2008, Britain announced it would add 230 troops to its
already significant 7,800 troop commitment to Afghanistan.
Although the forces will serve in Britain’s sector of the south (very
high combat Helmand Province), they would mainly conduct
training for the Afghan security forces.
CRS-31
!
Germany, as recently as June 21, 2008, has turned U.S. requests to
send forces to the combat-heavy south, but it pledged in early 2008
to add 500 forces to its sector in the north, mostly to take over a
Norway-led rapid reaction force there. On June 21, 2008, it was
reported that Germany would announce an increase in its authorized
troop ceiling for Afghanistan to 4,500, from 3,500, although still in
the northern sector. (Despite opposition in Germany to the entire
Afghanistan mission, Germany’s parliament voted by a 453-79 vote
margin on October 12, 2007, to maintain German troop levels in
Afghanistan.)
Among unfulfilled pledges are 3,200 trainers that are needed for Afghan
security forces. About 700 of the 3,200 Marines that deployed to Afghanistan in
March 2008 are trainers to address that shortage.
Another key point of contention has been NATO’s chronic equipment shortages
— particularly helicopters, both for transport and attack — for the Afghanistan
mission. Secretary Gates has been pressing for NATO countries to contribute an
additional 16 helicopters in southern Afghanistan to relieve a U.S. helicopter
battalion that Gates said in testimony would not have its deployment there extended
again beyond mid-2008. One idea considered at the NATO meeting in Scotland on
December 13, 2007, was for U.S. or other donors to pay for the upgrading of
helicopters that partner countries might possess but have inadequate resources to
adapt to Afghanistan’s harsh flying conditions. Some NATO countries reportedly are
considering jointly modernizing about 20 Russian-made transport helicopters that
could be used by all participating nations in Afghanistan. In 2007, to try to
compensate for the shortage, NATO chartered about 20 commercial helicopters for
extra routine supply flights to the south, freeing up Chinooks and Black Hawks for
other missions. Some of the extra Polish troops to bebeing deployed in 2008 will operate
and maintain eight helicopters.
The shortages persist even though several partner nations brought in additional
equipment in 2006 in conjunction with the NATO assumption of command of all
peacekeeping. At that time, Apache attack helicopters and F-16 aircraft were
brought brought
in by some contributors. Italy sent “Predator” unmanned aerial vehicles,
helicopters,
and six AMX fighter-bomber aircraft.26 Germany notes that it provides
six Tornado
combat aircraft to assist with strikes in combat situations in the south.
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). In October
2008, Hungary will add 60 troops and take over security at that
the airport.
In an effort to repair divisions within the Afghanistan coalition, in his December
11, 2007, testimony, Secretary Gates previewed his presentation, at a NATO meeting
in Scotland on December 13, 2007, of a “strategic concept paper” that would help
coordinate and guide NATO and other partner contributions and missions over the
26
Kington, Tom. Italy Could Send UAVs, Helos to Afghanistan. Defense News, June 19,
2006.
CRS-32
coming three to five years. This is an effort to structure each country’s contribution
as appropriate to the politics and resources of that contributor. The concept paper,
26
Kington, Tom. Italy Could Send UAVs, Helos to Afghanistan. Defense News, June 19,
2006.
CRS-32
now titled the “Strategic Vision,” was endorsed by the NATO summit in Bucharest,
Romania in early April 2008.
National “Caveats” on Combat Operations. Some progress has been
made in persuading other NATO countries to adopt flexible rules of engagement
that allow all contributing forces to perform combat missions, although perhaps not
as aggressively as do U.S. forces. All have agreed that their forces would come to
each others’ defense in times of emergency anywhere in Afghanistan. At the NATO
At the NATO summit in April 2008, NATO
countries pledged to continue to work remove theirthe
other so-called “national caveats” on
their troops’ operations that U.S. commanders
say limit operational flexibility. Some
nations refuse to conduct night-time combat.
Others have refused to carry Afghan
National Army or other Afghan personnel on their helicopters. Others do not fight
fight after snowfall. These caveats were troubling to those NATO countries with forces
forces in heavy combat zones, such as Canada, which feel they are bearing the brunt of the
fighting and attendant casualties
of the fighting. There has been some criticism of the Dutch
approach in Uruzgan,
which focuses heavily on building relationships with tribal
leaders and identifying
reconstruction priorities, and not on actively combating
Taliban formations. Some believe this approach allows Taliban fighters to group and
expand their influence, although the Taliban formations. The
Netherlands says this approach is key to a longterm pacification of the south. 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 some have done
so. All agreed that their forces would come to each others’ defense in times of
emergency anywhere in Afghanistan. (See long-term pacification of the south. (See
CRS Report RL33627, NATO in
Afghanistan: A Test of the Transatlantic Alliance,
by Paul Gallis.)
Provincial Reconstruction Teams
U.S. and partner officials have generally praised the effectiveness of “provincial
reconstruction teams” (PRTs) — enclaves of U.S. or partner forces and civilian
officials that provide safe havens for international aid workers to help with
reconstruction and to extend the writ of the Kabul government — in accelerating
reconstruction and assisting stabilization efforts. The PRTs, a December 2002 U.S.
initiative, perform activities ranging from resolving local disputes to coordinating
local reconstruction projects, although the U.S.-run PRTs, and most of the PRTs in
southern Afghanistan, 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.27 Other relief groups do not want to associate
with military force because doing so might taint their perceived neutrality. Secretary
Secretary Gates and U.S. commanders have
attributed recent successes in stabilizing some
areas, such as Ghazni and Khost, to
the PRTs’ ability to intensify reconstruction by
coordinating many different security
and civilian activities. In Ghazni, almost all the
schools are now open, whereas one
year ago many were closed because of Taliban
intimidation. In Khost, according to
Secretary Gates on December 11, 2007, PRT activities
focused on road building and
construction of district centers that tie the population
to the government have led to
a dramatic improvement in security over the past year.
Bombings there have fallenfell from one
per week in 2006 to one per month now.
On the other hand, some relief groups do not want to associate with military
forces because doing so might taint their perceived neutrality. Others argue that the
27
Kraul, Chris. “U.S. Aid Effort Wins Over Skeptics in Afghanistan.” Los Angeles Times,
April 11, 2003.
CRS-33
There are 25 PRTs in operation. In conjunction with broadening NATO security
responsibilities, the United States turned over several PRTs to partner countries, and
virtually all the PRTs are now under ISAF controlPRTs are delaying the time when the Afghan government has the skills and resources
to secure and develop Afghanistan on its own.
There are 25 PRTs in operation. Virtually all the PRTs, including those run by
the United States, are now under the ISAF mission, but with varying lead nations.
The list of PRTs, including lead country, is shown in Table 16. Each PRT operated
by the United States 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
Afghan security forces. Many U.S. PRTs in restive regions are “co-located” with
“forward operating bases” of 300-400 U.S. combat troops. U.S. funds support PRT
reconstruction projects, as shown in the tables at the report’s end. According to U.S.
officials in March 2008, 54 PRT development projects have been completed and 199
(valued at $20
million) are ongoing. USAID funds used for PRT programs are in the
table on
USAID spending at the end of this paper.
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 Uruzgan Province. Germany (with
Turkey and France) took over the PRTs and the leadership role in the north from
Britain and the Netherlands when those countries deployed to the south.
Representing evolution of the PRT concept, Turkey opened a PRT, in Wardak
Province, on November 25, 2006, to focus on providing health care, education, police
training, and agricultural alternatives in that region. As of March 2008, the Czech
Republic has established a new PRT in Lowgar Province. As noted above, South
Korea is expected to soon take over the U.S.-run PRT at Bagram Air Base. There
also has been a move to turn over the lead in the U.S.-run PRTs to civilians rather
than military personnel, presumably 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 Security Forces
U.S. officials see successful and capable Afghan National Security Forces
(ANSF) as the means by which the United States and NATO would eventually wind
down their involvement in Afghanistan. However, a June 2008 GAO study,
referenced below, as well as a June 2008 DoD report on the ANSF28 suggests that
such capability is likely a long way off. U.S. forces (“Combined Security Transition
forces (“Combined Security Transition Command- Afghanistan,” CSTC-A,
headed as of July 2007 by Gen. Robert Cone),
along with partner countries and contractors, are , are
training the new Afghan National
Army (ANA) and Afghan National Police (ANP).
28
Required by FY2008 National Defense Authorization Act, Section 1231. (PL. 110-181)
CRS-34
Afghan National Army. U.S. and allied officers say that the ANA, now
about 5558,000 trained, and assigned,29 is becoming a major force in stabilizing the
country and a
national symbol. Senior U.S. commanders say that some ANA battalions in eastern
Afghanistan have progressed to the point where they will be able to conduct
operations on their own by spring 2008. The commando forces of the ANA, trained
by U.S. Special national symbol. According to the DoD report of June 2008
referenced earlier, the ANA has taken the lead in 30 significant combat and clearing
operations to date, and has demonstrated “increasing competence, effectiveness, and
professionalism.” The commando forces of the ANA, trained by U.S. Special
Operations Forces, are considered well-trained and are taking the
lead in some
counter-insurgency operations in the U.S.-led eastern sector, particularly
against HIG
elements in Nuristan province. However, General McNeillll said in
April 2008 that it would not be Karzai has pledged in April 2008 to take over
security of the Kabul regional command from Italy as of July 2008. However, then
NATO/ISAF commander General McNeill said in April 2008 that it would not be
until 2011 that ANA (and ANP) forces would be
capable enough – and have
sufficient air transport and air support – to allow for a
drawdown of international forces. Karzai has pledged in April 2008 to take over
security of the Kabul regional command from Italy as of July 2008.
CRS-34
forces. Further negative assessments came in a GAO study released June 2008 that,
of 105 ANA units, only two are assessed by DoD as being fully capable of
conducting their primary missions.30
Still, ANA battalions, or “Kandaks,” have improved over time and been
stiffened by the
presence of U.S. and partner embeds, called “Operational Mentor and Liaison
Liaison Teams” (OMLTs). Each OMLT has about 12-19 personnel, and U.S. commanders
commanders say that the ANA will continue to need embeds for the short term,
because embeds
give the units confidence they will be resupplied, reinforced, and
evacuated in the
event of wounding. Coalition officers also are conducting heavy
weapons training
for a heavy brigade as part of the “Kabul Corps,” based in Pol-e-CharkieCharki, east of
Kabul. Among the partner countries contributing OMLTs (all or in
part) are Canada,
Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands,
Norway, Poland,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Britain, and the United States. As noted
above, about 700
of the extra 3,200 Marines being sent to Afghanistan in early 2008
will be devoted
to training the ANA and ANP. The Indian press reported on April 24,
2007, that a
separate team from the Indian Army would help train the ANA.2831
The United States has built four AMA bases (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
10-20 per battalion). 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. 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. In June 2007, the
ANA and ANP led “Operation Maiwand” in Ghazni province, intended to open
schools and deliver humanitarian aid to people throughout the province.
On the other hand, U.S. officers report continuing personnel (desertion,
absentee) problems, ill discipline, and drug abuse, although some concerns have been
addressed. Some accounts say that a typical ANA unit is only at about 50% of its
authorized strength at any given time. 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). The chief of staff is Gen.
Bismillah Khan, a Tajik who was a Northern Alliance commander. 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. The
FY2005 foreign aid appropriation (P.L. 108-447) requires that ANA recruits be
vetted for terrorism, human rights violations, and drug trafficking.
Equipment, maintenance, and logistical difficulties continue to plague the ANA.
Few soldiers have helmets, many have no armored vehicles or armor. The tables
below discusses major equipment donations, as well as the new U.S. equipment
being delivered in mid-2008.
28
Indian television news channel NDTV. April 24, 2007.
CRS-35
29
Numbers actually on duty at any given time may be less than the assigned number due to
abseenteeism, temporary desertions, or related factors.
30
Government Accountability Office. Further Congressional Action May Be Needed to
Ensure Completion of a Detailed Plan to Develop and Sustain Capable Afghan National
Security Forces. GAO-08-661. June 2008.
31
Indian television news channel NDTV. April 24, 2007.
CRS-35
On the other hand, as noted by the GAO study in June 2008, U.S. officers report
continuing personnel (desertion, absentee) problems, ill discipline, and drug abuse,
although some concerns have been addressed. Some accounts say that a typical ANA
unit is only at about 50% of its authorized strength at any given time. 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). The chief of staff is Gen. Bismillah Khan, a Tajik who was a Northern
Alliance commander. 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. The FY2005 foreign aid appropriation (P.L. 108-447)
requires that ANA recruits be vetted for terrorism, human rights violations, and drug
trafficking.
Equipment, maintenance, and logistical difficulties continue to plague the ANA.
The June 2008 GAO study said that there are significant shortages in about 40% of
equipment items, although CSTC-A envisions that all ANA brigades will be
equipped to 85% of requirements by the end of 2008. Few soldiers have helmets,
many have no armored vehicles or armor. The tables below discusses major
equipment donations, as well as the new U.S. equipment being delivered in mid2008.
The Afghan Air Force, a carryover from the Afghan Air Force that existed prior
to the Soviet invasion, is expanding gradually after its equipment was virtually
eliminated in the 2001-2002 U.S. combat against the Taliban regime. It now has
about 400 pilots, as well as 22 helicopters and cargo aircraft. Its goal is to have 61
aircraft by 2011. By May 2008, it is expected to receive an additional 25 surplus
helicopters from the Czech Republic and the UAE, bought and refurbished with the
help of U.S. funds. 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. U.S. plans do not
include supply of fixed-wing combat aircraft such as F-16s, which Afghanistan
wants, according to U.S. military officials.
CRS-36
Table 3. Recent and Pending Foreign Equipment
for ANA
Country
Equipment
Overview
Since 2002, 46 donor nations have contributed equipment
worth $822 million (a/o July 2008). Another 187 donations
are pending, worth almost $200 million. Major items include
Leopard 1 tanks, MI-17 and MI-35 helicopters, M2 machine
guns, and 81 mm mortars.
United States
Major $2 billion value in arms delivered between May 2006-end
of 2007. Includes several hundred Humvees, 800 other various
armored vehicles. Also includes light weapons. Authorized
total drawdown ceiling (un-reimbursed by appropriations) is
$550 million; H.R. 2446 - AFSA reauthorization — would
increase ceiling to $300 million/year. Afghanistan is eligible to
receive grant U.S. Excess Defense Articles (EDA) under
Section 516 of the Foreign Assistance Act.
Hungary
20,500 assault rifles
Egypt
17,000 small arms
Russia
4 helicopters and other equipment, part of over $100 million
military aid to Afghanistan thus far
Turkey
24 — 155 mm Howitzers
Bulgaria
50 mortars, 500 binoculars
Czech Republic
12 helicopters and 20,000 machine guns
Estonia
4,000 machine guns plus ammunition
Greece
300 machine guns
Latvia
337 rocket-propelled grenades, 8 mortars, 13,000 arms
Lithuania
3.7 million ammunition rounds
Montenegro
1,600 machine guns
Poland
110 armored personnel carriers, 4 million ammo rounds
Switzerland
3 fire trucks
Turkey
2,200 rounds of 155 mm ammo
Croatia
1,000 machine guns plus ammo
UAE
10 Mi-17 helicopters (to be delivered by May 2008)
)
CRS-37
Afghan National Police/Justice Sector. U.S. and Afghan officials believe
believe that building up a credible and capable national police force is at least as important
important to combating the Taliban insurgency as building the ANA. There is a widespread
widespread consensus that this effort lags that of the ANA by about 18 months,
although U.S.
commanders say that it is increasingly successful in repelling Taliban
assaults on
villages and that the ANP (now numbering about 75,30080,000 assigned) is experiencing
experiencing fewer casualties from attacks. To continue the progress, the U.S. military is
CRS-37
conducting reforms to take ANP However, according to the June 2008
GAO study referenced above, none of the ANP units is rated as fully capable.
To try to advance the effort, the U.S. military is conducting reforms to take ANP
out of the bureaucracy and onto the streets and it is
trying to bring ANP pay on par
with the ANA. It has also launched a program called
“focused district development”
to concentrate resources on developing individual
police forces in districts, which is
the basic geographic area of ANP activity. (There
are about ten “districts” in each
of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.) In this program, a
district force is taken out and
retrained, its duties temporarily performed by more
highly trained police, and then
reinserted after the training is complete. Gen. Cone
said on April 18, 2008 that, thus far, tenAs of July 2008, about twenty districts have
undergone this process, which
he says will is expected to take five years to complete for all of Afghanistan’s districtsthe
remainder of the country.
The U.S. police training effort was first led by State Department/INL, but the
Defense Department took over the lead in police training in April 2005. Much of the
training is still conducted through contracts with DynCorp. There are currently seven
police training centers around Afghanistan. In addition to the U.S. effort, which
includes 600 civilian U.S. police trainers (mostly still Dyncorp contractors) in
addition to the U.S. military personnel (see table on security indicators), Germany
(technically the lead government in Afghan police training) is providing 41 trainers.
The European Union has sent an additional 120 police trainers as part of a 190member “EUPOL” training effort, and 60 other experts to help train the ANP. The
EU said in March 2008 the size of the EUPOL training team should be doubled to
about 400.
To address equipment shortages, in 2007 CSTC-A is providing about 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,2932
among its significant criticisms.
Justice Sector. Many experts believe that comprehensive police and justice
sector reform is
vital to Afghan governance.
Police training now includes
instruction in human
rights principles and democratic policing concepts, and the State
Department human
rights report on Afghanistan, referenced above, says the
government and outside
observers are increasingly monitoring the police force to
prevent abuses. However,
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)
32
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-38
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.
The ANP work in the communities they come from,
often embroiling them in local
factional or ethnic disputes.
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. U.S.
trainers are also building Border Police and Highway Patrol forces.
29
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-38
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 750 judges, lawyers, and prosecutors,
according to President Bush on February 15, 2007, and built 40 judicial facilities.
USAID also trains court administrators for the Ministry of Justice, the office of the
Attorney General, and the Supreme Court. On February 15, 2007, President Bush
also praised Karzai’s formation of a Criminal Justice Task Force that is trying to
crack down on official corruption, and the United States, Britain, and Norway are
providing mentors to the Afghan judicial officials involved in that effort.
Tribal Militias. Since June 2006, Karzai has authorized arming some local
tribal militias (arbokai) in eastern Afghanistan, building on established tribal
structures, to help in local policing. Karzai argues that these militias provide security
and are loyal to the nation and central government and that arming them is not
inconsistent with the disarmament programs discussed below. Britain favors
expanding the arbokai program to the south, but U.S. military commanders say that
this program would likely not work in the south because of differing tribal structures
there.
U.S. Security Forces Funding/”CERP”. 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. In addition to the train and equip funds provided by DoD, the U.S. military
in Afghanistan has additional funds to spend on reconstruction projects that build
goodwill and presumably reduce the threat to use forces. These are Commanders
Emergency Response Program funds, or CERP. The U.S. military spent about $206
million in CERP in FY2007 and expect to spend, subject to FY2008 supplemental
appropriations, about $410 million in CERP in FY2008. During 2002-2006, over 40
non-U.S. donors provided about $425 million to train and equip the ANA. As noted
As noted in the table, the
security forces funding has shifted to DOD funds instead of
assistance funds
controlled by the State Department.
CRS-39
Table 4. Major Security-Related Indicators
Force
Total Foreign Forces in
Afghanistan
U.S. Casualties in Afghanistan
Current Level
About 6466,000, of which: 53,000 are NATO/ISAF. (12,000 ISAF
in 2005;
and 6,000 in 2003.) U.S. forces: 34,500000 total, of which
23,500 in
NATO/ISAF and 11,000 U.S. (plus 2,000 partner forces) in OEF. (U.S.
total was:
25,000 in 2005; 16,000 in 2003; 5,000 in 2002). U.S. will rise
further in 2009, according to President Bush on April 5, 2008,
likely by
about 7,000. U.S. forces deployed at 88 bases in
Afghanistan, and
include 1 air wing (40 aircraft) and 1 combat
aviation brigade (100 aircraft). About 1,000 coalition partner
forces in OEF, but not ISAF.
U.S. Casualties in Afghanistan 443
aircraft).
473 killed, of which 308332 by hostile action. Additional 65 U.S.
deaths in
other OEF theaters, including the Phillipines and parts of
Africa (OEF-TransOEFTrans Sahara). About 275350 partner forces killed.
100+ U.S. killed in
2007, highest yet. 150 U.S. killed from
October 2001 - January 2003.
NATO Sectors
(Regional Commands-South,
east, north, west, and
central/Kabul)
NATO Sectors
RC-S - 23,000 (Canada, UK, Netherlands rotate lead); RC-E - 16,400
(Regional Commands-South, east,16,400 (U.S. lead); RC-N - 4,300; RC-W - 2,500 (Italy lead)
RC-Kabul - 5,900 (Italynorth, west, and central/Kabul)
5,900 (France lead but Afghanistan planning to take
lead by July
2008).
Afghan National Army (ANA) 55,000 trained, with about 40
58,000 on duty. 63,000 including
civilian support. Organized into 33 battalions. Will add 13,000
soldiers by end of 2008; 80,000 is goal by 2009, endorsed in
Afghanistan Compact civilian support. There are 49 combat
battalions. 80,000 troops is goal by 2009. Afghanistan proposes raising
ceiling to
120,000. About 2,000 trained per month. 4,000 are commando
forces, trained by U.S. Special Forces, active in north-east against
HIG.
ANA private paid about $150 per month; generals receive
about $750
per month. ANA now being outfitted with U.S. M16
rifles and 4,000 up-armoreduparmored Humvees.
Afghan National Police (ANP) 75,300 assigned. Authorized strength: 82,000. Salaries raised
80,000 assigned, close to authorized strength: 82,000. 18,000 are
border police; 3,800 are counter-narcotics police; 5,300 civil order
police. Salaries raised to $100 per month in mid-2007 from $70 to counter corruption
in the force. 2,600 are counter-narcotics police. 10,000 are
border police.
U.S. and Partner Trainers
Legally Armed Fighters
disarmed by DDR
counter corruption.
U.S. and Partner Trainers
About 4,000 U.S. military trainers as Embedded Training Troops
and and
Police Mentoring Teams. Also, 600 civilian U.S. police
trainers. Of
these, about 900 U.S. military trainers are for ANP.
The remaining 3,100
are for ANA training. ANP training assisted
by EUPOL (European
Union contingent of 190 trainers, organized
as OMLTs; see text), and 41
German trainers of senior ANP.
Legally Armed Fighters
disarmed by DDR
63,380; all of the pool identified for the program
Number of Taliban fighters
5,000 - 20,000 (U.S. military estimate June 2008). Plus about
1,000 Haqqani faction and 1,000 HIG
Armed Groups disbanded by
DIAG
161 illegal groups (five or more fighters) disbanded. Goal is to
disband disband
1,800 groups, of which several hundred groups are
“significant.” 5,700
weapons confiscated, 1.050 arrested.
Weapons Collected by DDR
DDR: 36,00057,630 medium and light; 12,250 heavy.
Number of Suicide Bombings
21 in 2005; 123 in 2006; 160 in 2007.
Afghan Casualties
Taliban Reconciled by PTSD
(reconciliation) commission
About 5,000 since May 2005 inception
Attacks per day (average)
Number of Suicide Bombings
Afghan Casualties
1,000 per month in 2007; 800 in 2006; 400 in 2005. Attacks up 40%
in eastern sector (Jan- May 2008) compared to 2007
21 in 2005; 123 in 2006; 160 in 2007.
About 6,000 in 2007 (including Taliban; all types of violence)
Number of Improvised
Explosive Devices (IED’s)
500+ in 2007
CRS-40
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), and Afghanistan has observer status
in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which is discussed below.
Pakistan/Pakistan-Afghanistan Border30Border33
As Pakistan’s government has changed composition over the past year, experts
increasingly see Pakistan as U.S.
commanders – in pointed criticism since May 2008 – see Pakistan as increasingly
unhelpful to U.S. efforts to stabilize Afghanistan.
During 2001-2006, the Bush Administration generally refrained from criticism of
President Pervez Musharraf, instead praising Pakistani accomplishments against Al
Qaeda, including the arrest of over 700 Al Qaeda figures, some of them senior, since
the September 11 attacks. After the attacks, Pakistan provided the United States with
access to Pakistani airspace, some ports, and some airfields for OEF. 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). Others say Musharraf has acted against Al Qaeda only
Some expert see Pakistani and
Afghan Taliban militants increasingly merging and pooling their efforts against
governments in both countries. The current situation contrasts with that during
2001-2006, when the Bush Administration praised President Pervez Musharraf for
Pakistani accomplishments against Al Qaeda, including the arrest of over 700 Al
Qaeda figures, some of them senior, since the September 11 attacks.34 After the
attacks, Pakistan provided the United States with access to Pakistani airspace, some
ports, and some airfields for OEF. Others say Musharraf acted against Al Qaeda
only because of its threat to him; for example, he stepped up Pakistani military activities
activities in the tribal areas of Pakistan only after the December 2003 assassination attempts
attempts against him by that organization.
On the Taliban, Pakistan has consistently faced Afghan criticism. Afghan
leaders resent Pakistan as the most public defender of the Taliban movement when
it was in power and they suspect it wants to have the option to restore a Taliban-like
regime. (Pakistan was one of only three countries to formally recognize it as the
legitimate government: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the others.)
Pakistan viewed the Taliban as providing Pakistan strategic depth against rival India,
and it remains 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, and is using its reconstruction funds to build
influence there. Pakistan ended its public support for the Taliban after the September
11, 2001, attacks. Efforts by Afghanistan and Pakistan to build post-Taliban
relations never fully recovered from March 2006, when Afghan leaders stepped up
accusations that Pakistan was allowing Taliban remnants, including Mullah Umar,
to operating there. In a press interview on February 2, 2007, Musharraf tacitly
33
For extensive analysis of U.S. policy toward Pakistan, and U.S. assistance to Pakistan in
conjunction with its activities against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, see CRS Report RL33498,
Pakistan-U.S. Relations, by K. Alan Kronstadt.
34
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 alLibbi (May 2005).
CRS-41
acknowledged that some senior Taliban leaders might be able to operate from
Pakistan but strongly denied that any Pakistani intelligence agencies were
deliberately assisting the Taliban. Karzai visited Pakistan on December 27, 2007, to
discuss the Taliban safehaven issue and other bilateral issues, and reports said his
30
For extensive analysis of U.S. policy toward Pakistan, and U.S. assistance to Pakistan in
conjunction with its activities against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, see CRS Report RL33498,
Pakistan-U.S. Relations, by K. Alan Kronstadt.
CRS-41
meeting with Musharraf was highly productive, resulting in re-dedication to joint
action against militants. While in Pakistan, Karzai met with Pakistani opposition
leader Benazir Bhutto just hours before she was assassinated on December 27.
The latest phase of U.S. attempts to broker cooperation between Pakistan and
Afghanistan began on September 28, 2006, when President Bush hosted a joint
dinner for Karzai and Musharraf. It resulted in the two leaders’ agreeing to gather
tribal elders on both sides of their border in a series of “peace jirgas” to persuade
them not to host Taliban militants. (The first of them, in which 700 Pakistani and
Afghan tribal elders participated, was held in Kabul August 9-10, 2007.3135 Another
is planned, but no date has been announced.) In January 2007, Karzai strongly
criticized a Pakistani plan to mine and fence their common border in an effort to
prevent infiltration of militants to Afghanistan. Karzai said the move would separate
tribes and families that straddle the border. Pakistan subsequently dropped the idea
of mining the border, but is building some fencing.
A U.S. shift toward the Afghan position on Pakistan increased following a New
York Times
report of February 19, 2007, that Al Qaeda leaders, possibly including
Osama bin
Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, had re-established some small Al Qaeda
terrorist terrorist
training camps in Pakistan, near the Afghan border. The regrouping of
militants is said to beThis possibly was an outgrowth
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. In July 2007, U.S.
counter-terrorism officials publicly deemed
the agreement a failure. Despite the
widespread assessment that the deals had failed,
in April 2008, the new government,
dominated by Musharraf’s opponents who
prevailed in February 2008 parliamentary
elections, began negotiating a similar
“understanding” with members of the Mehsud
tribe, among which is militant leader
Baitullah Mehsud, believed responsible for
harboring Afghan Taliban and for
growing militant acts inside Pakistan itself,
possibly including the Bhutto killing.
Outgoing Gen. McNeill and others blamed
the negotiations for an increase in militant
infiltration across the border that has
undermined some of the progress in pacifying
the Regional Command East sector. In addition, Pakistan has stopped attending
meetings of the
Others blame Mehsud for increasingly sending his fighters into Afghanistan, and still
others, such as a Rand Corporation study released in June 2008, believe that some
Pakistani forces may even be complicit in assisting the militants.
In addition, since February 2008, Pakistan has stopped attending meetings of the
“coordinating commission” under which NATO, Afghan, and
Pakistani forces meet
regularly on both sides of the border. In April 2008, in an
extension of the
commission’s work, the three agreed to set up six “border coordination
centers” to share intelligence on cross-border movement of militants, building on an
agreement in May 2007 to share intelligence on extremists’ movements.
Increased Direct U.S. Action. Since September 2007, press reports have
said that U.S. military planners are proposing increasing U.S. direct action against
militants in Pakistan, partly in partnership with Pakistani border and other forces.32
Responding to the reports, Musharraf — as well as his newly ascendant political
opponents in Pakistan — publicly oppose unilateral U.S. action and any presence of
31
Straziuso, Jason. Musharraf Pulls Out of Peace Council. Associated Press, August 8,
2007.
32
Tyson, Ann Scott. “Pakistan Strife Threatens Anti-Insurgent Plan.” Washington Post,
November 9, 2007.
CRS-42
U.S. combat forces in Pakistan. In late January 2008, Secretary of Defense Gates
said that Pakistan had not yet asked for such U.S. help and that any U.S. troops
potentially deployed to Pakistan would most likely be assigned solely to train
Pakistani border forces, such as the Frontier Corps. However, press reports also say
that visits to Pakistan by top U.S. intelligence officials in January 2008 resulted in
agreement for more U.S. Predator unmanned aerial vehicle flights over the border
regions; the Abu Laith al-Libi strike discussed earlier is believed a product of that
enhanced U.S. activity over Pakistan. In addition, U.S. forces in Afghanistan have
acknowledged on a few occasion since early 2007 that they have shelled purported
Taliban positions inside the Pakistani side of the border, and have done some “hot
pursuit” a few kilometers over the border into Pakistan. U.S. commanders said in
June 2008 that NATO and U.S. forces had beefed up their numbers on the border to
deal with the spike in attacks caused by Pakistan’s relaxation of efforts to prevent
centers” –
which will include networks of radar nodes to give liaison officers a common view
of the border area. These centers build on an agreement in May 2007 to share
35
Straziuso, Jason. Musharraf Pulls Out of Peace Council. Associated Press, August 8,
2007.
CRS-42
intelligence on extremists’ movements. One has been actually established to date.
Increased Direct U.S. Action. Since September 2007, U.S. military forces
have increased direct U.S. firepower against militants in Pakistan.36 Afghan
President Karzai has threatened to send Afghan troops against militants in Pakistan,
but he is not believed to have the capability to implement such a threat. Pakistani
political leaders across the spectrum publicly oppose any presence of U.S. combat
forces in Pakistan. In January 2008, Secretary of Defense Gates said that Pakistan
had not yet asked for such U.S. help and that any U.S. troops potentially deployed to
Pakistan would most likely be assigned solely to train Pakistani border forces, such
as the Frontier Corps. Former NATO commander Gen. McNeill, in June 2008,
publicly criticized any U.S. reliance on the Frontier Corps as an unreliable forces.
Press reports add that visits to Pakistan by top U.S. intelligence officials in January
2008 resulted in agreement for more U.S. Predator unmanned aerial vehicle flights
over the border regions; the Abu Laith al-Libi strike discussed earlier is believed a
product of that enhanced U.S. activity over Pakistan. In addition, U.S. forces in
Afghanistan have acknowledged on a few occasion since early 2007 – most recently
in June 2008 – that they have shelled or conducted air strikes on purported Taliban
positions inside the Pakistani side of the border, and have done some “hot pursuit”
a few kilometers over the border into Pakistan. One air strike in early June 2008
reportedly killed by accident a number of Pakistani border forces, incurring intense
Pakistani criticism. U.S. commanders said in June 2008 that NATO and U.S. forces
had beefed up their numbers on the border to deal with the spike in attacks caused by
Pakistan’s relaxation of efforts to prevent militant infiltration.
Suggesting that it can act against the Taliban when it intends to, on August 15,
2006, Pakistan announced the arrest of 29 Taliban fighters in a hospital in the
Pakistani city of Quetta. On March 1, 2007, Pakistani officials confirmed they had
arrested in Quetta Mullah Ubaydallah Akhund, a top aide to Mullah Umar and who
had served as defense minister in the Taliban regime. He was later reported released.
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). It is recognized by the United Nations, but Afghanistan
continues to indicate that the border was drawn unfairly to separate Pashtun tribes
and should be re-negotiated. As of October 2002, about 1.75 million Afghan
refugees have returned from Pakistan since the Taliban fell, but as many as 3 million
might still remain in Pakistan, and Pakistan says it plans to expel them back into
Afghanistan in the near future.
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
36
Tyson, Ann Scott. “Pakistan Strife Threatens Anti-Insurgent Plan.” Washington Post,
November 9, 2007.
CRS-43
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, but
it did not arrest him. Iran did not oppose Karzai’s firing of Iran ally Ismail Khan as
Herat governor in September 2004, although Iran has opposed the subsequent U.S.
use of the Shindand air base.3337 Iran is said to be helping Afghan law enforcement
with anti-narcotics along their border. Karzai, who has visited Iran on several
33
Rashid, Ahmed. “Afghan Neighbors Show Signs of Aiding in Nation’s Stability.” Wall
Street Journal, October 18, 2004.
CRS-43
occasions says that Iran is an important neighbor of Afghanistan. During his visit to
Washington, DC, in August 2007, some differences between Afghanistan and the
United States became apparent; Karzai publicly called Iran part of a “solution” for
Afghanistan, while President Bush called Iran a “de-stabilizing force” there. Still,
Karzai received Ahmadinejad in Kabul in mid-August 2007.
The U.S.-Afghan differences over Iran’s role represent a departure from the past
five years, when Iran’s influence with political leaders in Afghanistan appeared to
wane, and U.S. criticism of Iran’s role in Afghanistan was muted. The State
Department report on international terrorism, released April 30, 2008, said Iran
continued during 2007 to ship arms to Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, including
mortars, 107mm rockets, and possibly man-portable air defense systems
(MANPADS). On April 17, 2007, U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan captured
a shipment of Iranian weapons that purportedly was bound for Taliban fighters. On
June 6, 2007, NATO officers said they caught Iran “red-handed” shipping heavy
arms, C4 explosives, and advanced roadside bombs (“explosively-forced projectiles,
EFPs, such as those found in Iraq) to Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. Another such
shipment was intercepted in western Afghanistan on September 6, 2007. Gen.
McNeill said the convoy was sent with the knowledge of “at least the Iranian
military.” Because such shipments would appear to conflict with Iran’s support for
Karzai and for non-Pashtun factions in Afghanistan, U.S. military officers did not
attribute the shipments to a deliberate Iranian government decision to arm the
Taliban. However, some U.S. officials say the shipments are large enough that the
Iranian government would have to have known about them. In attempting to explain
the shipments, some experts believe Iran’s policy might be shifting somewhat to gain
leverage against the United States in Afghanistan (and on other issues) by causing
U.S. combat deaths.
There is little dispute that Iran’s relations with Afghanistan are much improved
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.3438 In September 1998, Iranian and Taliban forces nearly came into direct
37
Rashid, Ahmed. “Afghan Neighbors Show Signs of Aiding in Nation’s Stability.” Wall
Street Journal, October 18, 2004.
38
Steele, Jonathon, “America Includes Iran in Talks on Ending War in Afghanistan.”
(continued...)
CRS-44
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. About
300,000 Afghan refugees have returned from Iran since the Taliban fell, but about 1.2
million remain, mostly integrated into Iranian society, and a crisis erupted in May
2007 when Iran expelled about 50,000 into Afghanistan.
34
Steele, Jonathon, “America Includes Iran in Talks on Ending War in Afghanistan.”
Washington Times, December 15, 1997.
CRS-44
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
Bank, is financing the $300 million project, mentioned above, to bring electricity
from Central Asia to Afghanistan. Pakistan is likely to take particular exception to
the reported training by India of the ANA, discussed above The growing
Indian financial and political influence might have been a cause of the July 2, 2008
attack on India’s embassy, presumably by pro-Pakistan elements that want to limit
India’s influence. The attack has triggered more debate in India about whether it
should deploy more security forces in Afghanistan to protect its construction workers,
diplomats, and installations.
India has funded Afghanistan projects worth about $750 million. India, along
with the Asian Development Bank, is financing the $300 million project, mentioned
above, to bring electricity from Central Asia to Afghanistan. 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, including a road to the Iranian border in remote Nimruz
province.
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. Russia provides some humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, although it
keeps a low profile in Afghanistan because it still feels humiliated by its withdrawal
from Afghanistan in 1989 and senses Afghan resentment of the Soviet occupation.
38
(...continued)
Washington Times, December 15, 1997.
CRS-45
In an effort to try to cooperate more with NATO at least in Afghanistan, in
conjunction with the April 2008 NATO summit, Russia agreed to allow NATO to
ship non-lethal supplies to coalition forces in Afghanistan by land over Russian
territory.
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.3539 Although Russia supported the U.S. effort
against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan out of fear of Islamic (mainly
Chechen) radicals, Russia continues to seek 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 al-Khattab), who led a militant pro-Al Qaeda Chechen
35
Risen, James. “Russians Are Back in Afghanistan, Aiding Rebels.” New York Times, July
27, 1998.
CRS-45
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.3640 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.
During Taliban rule, Uzbekistan supported Uzbek leader Abdul Rashid Dostam,
who was part of that Alliance. It allowed use of Karshi-Khanabad air base by OEF
forces from October 2001 until a rift emerged in May 2005 over Uzbekistan’s
crackdown against riots in Andijon, and U.S.-Uzbek relations remained largely
frozen. Uzbekistan’s March 2008 agreement with Germany for it to use KarshiKhanabad air base temporarily, for the first time since the rift in U.S.-Uzbek relations
developed in 2005, suggests that U.S.-Uzbek cooperation on Afghanistan and other
issues might be rebuilt. As a follow-up to this, Uzbekistan at the April 2008 NATO
summit in Bucharest, proposed to revive the “6 + 2” process of neighbors of
Afghanistan to help its stability, but Karzai reportedly opposes this idea as unwanted
Central Asian interference in its affairs.
In 1996, several of the Central Asian 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 has issued statements, most recently in August
39
Risen, James. “Russians Are Back in Afghanistan, Aiding Rebels.” New York Times, July
27, 1998.
40
The IMU was named a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department in
September 2000.
CRS-46
2007, that security should be handled by the countries in the Central Asia region.
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 combat aircraft, and Kazakhstan allows
use of facilities in case of emergency.)
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. It saw Taliban control as facilitating construction
of a natural gas pipeline from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan (see above). 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 U.S. forces have
been based in Turkmenistan.
36
The IMU was named a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department in
September 2000.
CRS-46
China.
China.41 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
to promote Islamic fundamentalism among Muslims (Uighurs) in northwestern
China. A number of Uighurs fought in Taliban and Al Qaeda ranks in the U.S.-led
war, according to U.S. military officialsin China. In December 2000,
sensing China’s
increasing concern about Taliban policies, a Chinese official
delegation met with
Mullah Umar. China did not enthusiastically support U.S.
military action against the
Taliban, possibly because China was wary of a U.S.
military buildup nearby. In
addition, China has been allied to Pakistan in part to
pressure India, a rival of China.
Still, Chinese delegations are visiting Afghanistan
to assess the potential for
investments in such sectors as mining and energy,3742 and a
deal was signed in
November 2007 as discussed above (China Metallurgical Group).
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, a majority of whose citizens practice the strict Wahhabi brand of Islam also
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 Iranian-Saudi 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. Some press reports
indicate that, in late 1998, Saudi and Taliban leaders discussed, but did not agree on,
a plan for a panel of Saudi and Afghan Islamic scholars to decide bin Laden’s fate.
According to U.S. officials, Saudi Arabia cooperated extensively, if not
publicly, with OEF. It broke diplomatic relations with the Taliban in late September
41
For more information, see CRS Report RL33001.
Cooperation: Issues For U.S. Policy, by Shirley Kan.
42
U.S.-China Counterterrorism
CRS Conversations with Chinese officials in Beijing. August 2007.
CRS-47
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. airstrikes from it
37
CRS Conversations with Chinese officials in Beijing. August 2007.
CRS-47
U.S. and International Aid
to Afghanistan and Development Issues
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. More than
3.5 million Afghan refugees have since returned, although a comparable number
remain outside Afghanistan. The U.N. High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)
supervises Afghan repatriation and Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan.
Still heavily dependent on donors, Karzai has sought to reassure the
international donor community by establishing a transparent budget and planning
process. Some in Congress want to increase independent oversight of U.S. aid to
Afghanistan; the conference report on the FY2008 defense authorization bill (P.L.
110-181) established a “special inspector general” for Afghanistan reconstruction,
(SIGAR) modeled on a similar outside auditor for Iraq (“Special Inspector General
for Iraq Reconstruction,” SIGIR). The law also authorized $20 million for that
purpose, although funds have not yet been provided in DOD appropriationsand some funds were provided in P.L. 110-252, as shown in the tables. On
May 30, 2008, Maj. Gen. Arnold Fields (Marine, ret.) was named to the position.
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. Efforts to build the
legitimate economy are showing some results, by accounts of senior U.S. officials,
including expansion of roads and education and health facilities constructed. USAID
spending to promote economic growth is shown in Table 14, and U.S. and
international assistance to Afghanistan are discussed in the last sections of this paper.
Some international investors are implementing projects, and there is substantial
new construction, such as the Serena luxury hotel that opened in November 2005
(long considered a priority Taliban target and was attacked by militants on January
14, 2008, killing six) and a $25 million new Coca Cola bottling factory that opened
in Kabul on September 11, 2006. Several Afghan companies are growing as well,
including Roshan and Afghan Wireless (cell phone service), and Tolo Television.
A Gold’s Gym has opened in Kabul as well. The 52-year-old national airline,
Ariana, is said to be in significant financial trouble due to corruption that has affected
its safety ratings and left it unable to service a heavy debt load, but there are new
privately run airlines, such as Pamir Air, Safi Air, and Kam Air. 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). However, in November 2007, the Afghan government signed a deal with
China Metallurgical Group for the company to invest $2.8 billion to develop
Afghanistan’s Aynak copper field in Lowgar Province; the agreement will include
construction of a coal-fired electric power plant and a freight railway.
CRS-48
The United States is trying to build on Afghanistan’s post-war economic
rebound. In September 2004, the United States and Afghanistan signed a bilateral
trade and investment framework agreement (TIFA). These agreements are generally
CRS-48
seen as a prelude to a broader but more complex bilateral free trade agreement, but
negotiations on an FTA have not begun to date. On December 13, 2004, the 148
countries of the World Trade Organization voted to start membership talks with
Afghanistan. Another initiative supported by the United States is the establishment
of joint Afghan-Pakistani “Reconstruction Opportunity Zones” (ROZ’s) which would
be modeled after “Qualified Industrial Zones” run by Israel and Jordan in which
goods produced in the zones receive duty free treatment for import into the United
States. For FY2008, $5 million in supplemental funding iswas requested to support
the zones, but P.L. 110-252 did not specifically mention the the
zones. A Senate bill, S.
2776, would authorize the President to proclaim duty-free
treatment for imports from
ROZ’s to be designated by the President.
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
neighbors.
Afghan officials are said to be optimistic for increased trade with Central Asia
now that a new bridge has opened (October 2007) over the Panj River, connecting
Afghanistan and Tajikistan. The bridge was built with U.S. assistance. The bridge
will further assist what press reports say is robust reconstruction and economic
development in the relatively peaceful and ethnically homogenous province of
Panjshir, the political base of the Northern Alliance.
Another major energy project remains under consideration. During 1996-1998,
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.3843 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
the project held an inaugural meeting on July 9, 2002 in Turkmenistan, signing a
series of preliminary agreements. Turkmenistan’s new leadership (President
Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov, succeeding the late Saparmurad Niyazov) favors the
project as well. Some U.S. officials view this project as a superior alternative to a
proposed gas pipeline from Iran to India, transiting Pakistan.
38
43
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-49
project as well. Some U.S. officials view this project as a superior alternative to a
proposed gas pipeline from Iran to India, transiting Pakistan.
Some of the more stable provinces, such as Bamiyan, are complaining that
international aid is flowing mostly to the restive provinces in an effort to quiet them,
and ignoring the needs of poor Afghans in peaceful areas. Later in this paper are
tables showing U.S. appropriations of assistance to Afghanistan, including some
detail on funds earmarked for categories of civilian reconstruction, and Table 14 lists
USAID spending on all of these sectors for FY2002-FY2007.
!
Roads. Road building is considered a U.S. priority and has been
USAID’s largest project category there, taking up about 25% of
USAID spending since the fall of the Taliban. An FY2008
supplemental funding requests asks for $50 million more for roads,
particularly to rehabilitate a road that would connect northern
Afghanistan with Kabul, running through Bamiyan Province. Roads
are considered key to enabling Afghan farmers to bring legitimate
produce to market in a timely fashion and former commander of
U.S. forces in Afghanistan Gen. Eikenberry said “where the roads
end, the Taliban begin.” Among major projects completed: the
Kabul-Qandahar roadway project; the Qandahar-Herat roadway,
funded by the United States, Japan, and Saudi Arabia, completed by
2006; a road from Qandahar to Tarin Kowt, built by U.S. military
personnel, inaugurated in 2005; and a road linking the Panjshir
Valley to Kabul. U.S. funds are also building roads connecting
remote areas to regional district centers in several provinces in the
eastern sector.
!
Education. Despite the success in enrolling Afghan children in
school since the Taliban era (see statistics above), setbacks have
occurred because of Taliban attacks on schools, causing some to
close.
!
Health. The health care sector, as noted by Afghan observers, has
made considerable gains in reducing infant mortality and improving
Afghans’ access to health professionals. In addition to U.S.
assistance to develop the health sector’s capacity, Egypt operates a
65-person field hospital at Bagram Air Base that instructs Afghan
physicians. Jordan operates a similar facility in Mazar-e-Sharif.
!
Agriculture. USAID has spent about 5% of its Afghanistan funds
on agriculture, and this has helped Afghanistan double its
agricultural output over the past five 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. (Another 10% of USAID funds is spent on “alternative
livelihoods” to poppy growing, mostly in aid to farmers.)
CRS-50
!
Electricity. About 10% of USAID spending in Afghanistan is on
power projects. 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. There have been severe power shortages in
Kabul, partly because the city population has swelled to nearly 4
CRS-50
million, up from half a million when the Taliban was in power, but
power to the capital is more plentiful as of March 2008. An FY2008
supplemental request asks for $115 million more for this sector,
particularly to ensure that a 100 Megawatt diesel generator becomes
operational for Kabul. The Afghan government, with help from
international donors, plans to import electricity from Central Asian
and other neighbors beginning in 2009. Another major pending
project is the Kajaki Dam, located in unstable Helmand Province.
USAID has allocated about $500 million to refurbish the remaining
two electricity-generating turbines (one is operating) of the dam
(total project estimate, when completed) which, when functional,
will provide electricity for 1.7 million Afghans and about 4,000 jobs
in the reconstruction. However, progress depends on securing
access to the dam; surrounding roads and areas are controlled by or
accessible to Taliban insurgents.
National Solidarity Program. The United States and the Afghan
government are also trying to promote local decisionmaking on reconstruction. The
“National Solidarity Program,” largely funded by U.S. and other international donors
seeks to create and empower local governing councils to prioritize local
reconstruction projects. The assistance, channeled through donors, provides block
grants of about $60,000 per project to the councils to implement agreed projects,
most of which are water projects. Elections to these local councils have been held
in several provinces, and almost 40% of those elected have been women.3944 The U.S.
aid to the program is part of the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF)
account. (Of the supplemental FY2008 ESF funds requested, $40 million is to
launch the next phase of the National Solidarity Program, and $25 million is for the
budgetary support portion of the ARTF account.)
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
and 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 FY2002 and including funds already
appropriated for FY2008, the United States has provided over $23 billion in
25 billion in
44
Khalilzad, Zalmay (Then U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan). “Democracy Bubbles Up.”
Wall Street Journal, March 25, 2004.
CRS-51
reconstruction assistance, including military “train and equip” for the ANA and ANP
and counter-narcotics-related assistance. These amounts do not include costs for
U.S. combat operations, which are discussed in CRS Report RL33110, The Cost of
39
Khalilzad, Zalmay (Then U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan). “Democracy Bubbles Up.”
Wall Street Journal, March 25, 2004.
CRS-51
Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11, by Amy
Belasco. The tables below depict the aid.4045
Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 and Amendments. A key
post-Taliban aid authorization bill, S. 2712, the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act
(AFSA) of 2002 (P.L. 107-327, December 4, 2002), as amended, authorized about
$3.7 billion in U.S. civilian aid for FY2003-FY2006. For the most part, the
humanitarian, counter-narcotics, and governance assistance targets authorized by the
act were met or exceeded by appropriations. However, no Enterprise Funds have
been appropriated, and ISAF expansion was funded by the contributing partner
forces. The act 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 FY2003FY2006 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.
40
45
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-52
contains several “sense of Congress” provisions recommending more rapid DDR
activities; expansion of ISAF; and counter-narcotics initiatives.
Afghan Freedom Support Act Re-Authorization. In the 110th Congress,
H.R. 2446, passed by the House on June 6, 2007 (406-10), would reauthorize AFSA
through FY2010. Some observers say the Senate might take it up early in 2008. The
following are the major provisions of the bill:
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!
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!
!
A total of about $1.7 billion in U.S. economic aid and $320 in
military aid (including draw-downs of equipment) per fiscal year
would be authorized.
a pilot program of crop substitution to encourage legitimate
alternatives to poppy cultivation is authorized. Afghan officials
support this provision as furthering their goal of combatting
narcotics by promoting alternative livelihoods.
enhanced anti-corruption and legal reform programs would be
provided.
a mandated cutoff of U.S. aid to any Afghan province in which the
Administration reports that the leadership of the province is
complicit in narcotics trafficking. This provision has drawn some
criticism from observers who say that the most needy in Afghanistan
might be deprived of aid based on allegations that are difficult to
judge precisely.
$45 million per year for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, the
Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, and programs for
women and girls is authorized.
$75 million per year is authorized specifically for enhanced power
generation, a key need in Afghanistan.
a coordinator for U.S. assistance to Afghanistan is mandated.
military drawdowns for the ANA and ANP valued at $300 million
per year (un-reimbursed) are authorized (versus the aggregate $550
million allowed currently).
authorizes appointment of a special U.S. envoy to promote greater
Afghanistan-Pakistan cooperation.
reauthorizes “Radio Free Afghanistan.”
establishes a U.S. policy to encourage Pakistan to permit shipments
by India of equipment and material to Afghanistan.
FY2007 and FY2008. The tables below show funds appropriated thus far for
FY2008, both regular and supplemental. When the supplemental request is factored
in, the requests for both FY2007 and FY2008 appear to be somewhat higher than the
amounts pledged in a December 2, 2005, U.S.-Afghan agreement under which the
United States said it would provide Afghanistan with $5.5 billion in civilian
economic aid over the next five years ($1.1 billion per year). 41
41
Among other forms of post-Taliban assistance, over $350 million in U.S. and allied
frozen funds were released to the Afghan government after the fall of the Taliban. The U.S.
Treasury Department (Office of Foreign Assets Control, OFAC) unblocked over $145
million in assets of Afghan government-owned banking entities frozen under 1999 U.S.
Taliban-related sanctions, and another $17 million in privately owned Afghan assets. The
funds were used for currency stabilization; mostly gold, held in Afghanistan’s name in the
United States, that backs up Afghanistan’s currency. Another $20 million in overflight fees
(continued...)
CRS-53
International Reconstruction Pledges/Aid/Lending. Afghan leaders
had International Reconstruction Pledges/Aid/Lending. Afghan leaders
said in 2002 that Afghanistan needs $27.5 billion for reconstruction for 20022010. 2002-2010.
Including U.S. pledges, about $30 billion has been pledged at donors
conferences in
2002 (Tokyo), Berlin (April 2004), Kabul (April 2005), the London
conference conference
(February 2006), and since then. Of that, about half are non-U.S.
contributions.
However, not all non-U.S. amounts pledged have been received,
although although
implementation appears to have improved over the past few years (amounts
received received
had been running below half of what was pledged). The Afghanistan
Compact 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 donor
community. Only about $3.8 billion of funds disbursed have been channeled
through through
CRS-53
the Afghan government, according to the Finance Minister in April 2007.
The The
Afghan government is promising greater financial transparency and international
(United Nations) oversight to ensure that international contributions are used wisely
and effectively.
Later in June 2008, when On June 12, 2008, Afghanistan formally presentspresented its Afghan National
Development Strategy in Paris, it reportedly will askasking for $50.1 billion during 20092014 from 2009-2014 from
international donors. Of that, $14 billion will bewas requested to improve
infrastructure,
including airports and to construct a railway. Another $14 billion
would be to build
the ANSF, and about $4.5 billion would be for agriculture and
rural development rural development.
However, citing in part a relative lack of transparency in Afghan governance, donors
pledged about $21 billion, but that included $10.2 billion already committed by the
United States. Of the other major pledges, the Asian Development bank pledged
$1.3 billion, the World Bank pledged $1.1 billion, Britain pledged $1.2 billion;
France pledged $165 million over two years; Japan pledged $550 million; Germany
offered $600 million over two years, and the European Union pledged $770 million.
Among multilateral lending institutions, in May 2002, the World Bank reopened
its office in Afghanistan after 20 years. On March 12, 2003, it announced 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 also been playing a major role in
Afghanistan, loaning (or granting) Afghanistan more than $450 million since
December 2002. 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.
Residual Issues From Past Conflicts
A few issues remain unresolved from Afghanistan’s many years of conflict, such
as Stinger retrieval and mine eradication.
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
41
(...continued)
withheld by U.N. Taliban-related sanctions were provided in 2003. The Overseas Private
Investment Corporation (OPIC) has made available investment credits as well.
CRS-54
Stingers remained at large, although more recent estimates put the number below
100.4246 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
46
Saleem, Farrukh. “Where Are the Missing Stinger Missiles? Pakistan,” Friday Times.
August 17-23, 2001.
CRS-54
government found and returned to the United States “dozens” of Stingers.4347 In late
January 2005, Afghan intelligence began a push to buy remaining Stingers back, at
a reported cost of $150,000 each.4448
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.
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 1999.4549 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. U.N. teams have destroyed one million mines and are now focusing on
de-mining priority-use, residential and commercial property, including lands around
Kabul. As shown in the U.S. aid table for FY1999-FY2002 (Table 6), the U.S. demining program was providing about $3 million per year for Afghanistan, and the
amount increased to about $7 million in the post-Taliban period. Most of the funds
have gone to HALO Trust, a British organization, and the U.N. Mine Action Program
for Afghanistan. The Afghanistan Compact adopted in London in February 2006
42
Saleem, Farrukh. “Where Are the Missing Stinger Missiles? Pakistan,” Friday Times.
August 17-23, 2001.
43
states that by 2010, the goal should be to reduce the land area of Afghanistan
contaminated by mines by 70%.
47
Fullerton, John. “Afghan Authorities Hand in Stinger Missiles to U.S.” Reuters,
February 4, 2002.
4448
“Afghanistan Report,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. February 4, 2005.
4549
“U.S.-Made Stinger Missiles — Mobile and Lethal.” Reuters, May 28, 1999.
CRS-55
states that by 2010, the goal should be to reduce the land area of Afghanistan
contaminated by mines by 70%.
CRS-56
Table 5. U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan, FY1978-FY1998
($ in millions)
Fiscal
Year
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
Devel.
Assist.
4.989
3.074
—
—
—
—
—
3.369
—
17.8
22.5
22.5
35.0
30.0
25.0
10.0
3.4
1.8
—
—
—
Econ.
Other
Supp.
P.L. 480
(Incl. Regional
(ESF) (Title I and II) Military Refugee Aid)
—
5.742
0.269
0.789
—
7.195
—
0.347
(Soviet invasion - December 1979)
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
8.9
—
—
12.1
2.6
—
—
22.5
29.9
—
—
22.5
32.6
—
—
35.0
18.1
—
—
30.0
20.1
—
—
25.0
31.4
—
—
10.0
18.0
—
30.2
2.0
9.0
—
27.9
—
12.4
—
31.6
—
16.1
—
26.4
—
18.0
—
31.9a
—
3.6
—
49.14b
Total
11.789
10.616
—
—
—
—
—
3.369
8.9
32.5
74.9
77.6
88.1
80.1
81.4
68.2
42.3
45.8
42.5
49.9
52.74
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 $1.54 for counternarcotics.
CRS-5756
Table 6. U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan, FY1999-FY2002
($ 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 $3.82
went to similar
purposes
Counter-Narcotics
USAID/
Office of Transition
Initiatives
Dept. of Defense
5.31 for
similar
purposes
1.50
0.45 (Afghan
women in
Pakistan)
Foreign Military
Financing
Anti-Terrorism
Economic Support
Funds (E.S.F)
Peacekeeping
Totals
FY2002
(Final)
FY1999
76.6
113.2
182.6
63.0
24.35 for
broadcasting/
media
50.9 ( 2.4
million
rations)
57.0 (for
Afghan
national army)
36.4
105.2
24.0
815.9
CRS-5857
Table 7. U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan, FY2003
($ in millions, same acronyms as Table 6)
FY2003 Foreign Aid Appropriations (P.L. 108-7)
Development/Health
90
P.L. 480 Title II (Food Aid)
47
Peacekeeping
10
Disaster Relief
94
ESF
50
Non-Proliferation, De-mining, Anti-Terrorism (NADR)
5
Refugee Relief
55
Afghan National Army (ANA) train and equip (FMF)
21
Total from this law:
372
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-5958
Table 8. U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan, FY2004
($ in millions, same acronyms as previous tables)
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
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 = $56.4 million)
64
ANA train and equip (FMF)
50
Total from this law:
403
Other: P.L. 480 Title II Food Aid
.085
Total for FY2004
1,727
CRS-6059
Table 9. U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan, FY2005
($ in millions)
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 democracy-building
50
300
Reforestation
2
Child and maternal health
6
Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission
2
Total from this law
985
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 PRT-led 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, $290 million of the funds is to reimburse the U.S.
Army for funds already obligated for this purpose.
1,073.5
5
2.5
5
1,285
DOD counter-narcotics support operations
242
Counter-narcotics (INCLE)
220
Training of Afghan police (INCLE)
400
Karzi protection (NADR funds)
17.1
DEA operations in Afghanistan
7.7
Operations of U.S. Embassy Kabul
60
Total from this law
3,317
Other: P.L. 480 Title II Food Aid
56.95
Total
4,359
CRS-6160
Table 10. U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan, FY2006
($ in millions)
FY2006 Regular Foreign Aid Appropriations (P.L. 109-102)
ESF
(ESF over $225 million subject to
certification that Afghanistan is
cooperating with U.S. counter-narcotics)
430
(Mostly for reconstruction, governance,
and democracy-building;
Includes $20 million for PRTs)
Peacekeeping (ANA salaries)
Counter-narcotics (INCLE)
18
235
(Includes $60 million to train ANP)
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
FY2006 Supplemental Appropriation (P.L. 109-234)
Security Forces Fund
ESF
1,908
43
(Includes $11 million for debt relief costs,
$5 million for agriculture development,
and $27 million for Northeast
Transmission electricity project)
Embassy operations
50.1
DOD Counter-narcotics operations
103
Migration and Refugee aid
3.4
DEA counter-narcotics operations
9.2
Total from this law
Other: P.L. 480 Title II Food Aid
Total for FY2006
2,116.7
60
3,108.1
CRS-6261
Table 11. U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan, FY2007
($ in millions)
Regular Appropriation
(In accordance with Continuing Appropriation P.L. 110-5)
ESF
479 (USAID plans $42 million for PRTs)
Counter-narc
(INCLE)
209.7
Child Survival
and Health
(CSH)
100.77
Development
Assistance (DA)
166.8
IMET
1.138
NADR
21.65
Total This Law
979
DOD Appropriation (P.L. 109-289)
Security Forces
train and equip
1,500
DOD Counternarcotics support
100
Total
Appropriated for
FY2007 to date
2,539.77
FY2007 Supplemental (H.R. 2206/P.L. 110-28)
ESF
P.L. 480 Title II
Food Aid
U.S. Embassy
security
Security Forces
train and equip
INCLE
$653 million request/$737 in final law
(of which in law: 174 for PRTs; 314 for roads; 40 for power; 155
for rural development; 19 for agriculture (latter two are
alternative livelihoods to poppy cultivation); 25 for governance;
and 10 for the “civilian assistance program”
30 million
also provides $16 million in Migration and Refugee aid for
displaced persons near Kabul, and $16 million International
Disaster and Famine Assistance
47.2 million requested/79 in final version
5.900 billion requested/5.9064 in final version
(includes 3.2 billion for equipment and transportation; 624
million for ANP training; 415 for ANA training; 106 for
commanders emergency response, CERP; plus other funds )
no request/47 million in agreement;
plus 60 million in DOD aid to counter-narcotics forces in
Afghanistan and Pakistan, plus 12 million DEA
FY2007 supp.
6.870 billion in final version
FY2007 Total
10.388 billion (all programs)
CRS-6362
Table 12. U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan,
FY2008 Request/Action
Regular FY2008 Appropriation (H.R. 2764, P.L. 110-161)
ESF
INCLE
IMET
Child Survival and Health
(CSH)
NADR (Karzai protection)
Radio Free Afghanistan
Afghan Security Forces Funding
$543 million total. Of this: $126 million for
emergency request (see below); $75 million to
benefit women and girls; $20 million for agriculture.
$300 million limit subject to counter-narcotics
cooperation certification. Regular ESF request was
for $693 million
274.8 m., forbids use for aerial spraying
1.7 m.
$65.9 m.
(incl. $5.9 million for child and maternal clinics)
21.65
3.98
1,350
(For emergency request below)
Total appropriated in P.L. 110161
2,261
Revised FY2008 Supplemental Request (Global War on Terrorism)
ESF
USAID operations
Security Forces equip and train
U.S. Embassy security
U.S. Embassy construction,
maintenance
NADR
Total FY2008 appropriated to
date
Total FY2008 (if remaining
requested FY2008 supp. funds
are appropriated)
Other funding
834 m. request (additional 495 beyond 339
original supplemental request)
(Of the additional $495, $325 is for provincial
governance, National Solidarity program, election
support; $170 is for economic growth, including
$115 for power. Another $50 for roads, and another
$5 is for Reconstruction Opportunity Zones). Fully
funded in H.R. 2642
16
2,700
($1.71 billion for ANA/$980 million for ANP)
162.4
160
5
2.26 b.
(Of which $126 million in ESF and $1.35 billion in
Security Forces appropriated above)
4.323 b.
CRS-64(1,400 provided in H.R. 2642, completes funding
the full request)
160
(76.7 provided in H.R. 2642)
5
4.59 billion
2 million for Special Inspector General for Afghan
Reconstruction
CRS-63
Table 13. U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan, FY2009
($ in millions)
Regular Request
ESF
707
(includes 120 for alternative livelihoods,
248 for democracy and governance, 226
for econ. growth, 74 for PRT programs)
Child Survival and Health
52
(Plus 57 more of ESF for health and
education)
International Counter-Narcotics and Law
Enforcement (INCLE)
250
International Military Education and
Training (IMET)
1.4
Other non-military accounts
44
(incl. 12 m. in non-emergency food aid)
Afghan National Security Forces Funding
(DOD funds)
Total Regular Request
2,000
$3.054 billion
Supplemental Request
ESF
INCLE
Total Supplemental Request
749.9
175
924.9
CRS-65
Embassy security and maintenance
Afghan National Security Forces Funding
(DOD funds)
Total Regular Request
44
(incl. 12 m. in non-emergency food aid)
41.3
appropriated in H.R. 2642
2,000
(provided in H.R. 2642, FY2009 bridge)
$3.054 billion
Supplemental Request/H.R. 2642 (P.L. 110-252) FY2009 Supplemental
ESF
INCLE
Total Supplemental Request
Other funds
749.9
(455 provided in H.R. 2642)
175
(funded by H.R. 2642)
924.9
(730 funded)
$5 million for Special Inspector General
for Afghan Reconstruction
CRS-64
Table 14. USAID Obligations FY2002-FY2007
($ millions)
Sector
FY
2002
FY
2003
FY
2004
FY
2005
Agriculture
27
56
50
77
27
61
298
Alternative
Livelihoods
3
1
5
185
121
246
561
Roads
51
142
354
276
250
418
1491
Power
3
77
286
66
136
568
Water
2
1
27
21
1
1
52
Econ. Growth
21
12
84
91
46
68
321
Education
19
21
104
86
51
62
343
Health
8
56
83
111
52
72
381
Afghan Reconstruction
Trust Fund
38
40
67
87
45
41
317
Support to Afghan
Gov’t
3
36
31
15
5
90
Democracy
22
34
132
88
17
81
374
Rule of Law
4
8
21
15
6
13
67
11
56
85
20
210
382
5
6
17
16
4
14
63
Internally Displaced
Persons
108
23
10
-
141
Food Aid
159
51
49
-
376
10
10
1436
5830
PRT Programs
Program Suppt
57
FY FY2007 FY20022006 (reg. + FY2007
supp)
60
Civilian Assistance
Totals
471
462
1171
1510
779
CRS-6665
Table 15. NATO/ISAF Contributing Nations
(As of June 3, 2008, press reports [http://www.nato.int/isaf/docu/epub/pdf/isaf
_placemat.pdf])
NATO Countries
Non-NATO Partner Nations
Belgium
375
Albania
140
Bulgaria
420
Austria
2
Canada
2500
Australia
1100
Czech Republic
370
Azerbaijan
45
Denmark
690
Croatia
210
Estonia
120
Finland
65
France
1670
Ireland
7Georgia
1
Germany
3370
Jordan
265Ireland
7
Greece
150
Jordan
90
Hungary
205
Macedonia
140
Hungary
205Iceland
10
New Zealand
160
Iceland
10
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
2350
Sweden
250
75200
Ukraine
3
200
9
Netherlands
1770
Norway
580
Poland
1140
Portugal
165
Romania
570
Slovakia
70
Slovenia
70
Spain
800
Turkey
760
United States
2
235075
Luxemburg
United Kingdom
Singapore
45
8530
235508530
23250
Total ISAF force (approx.)
53,00052,700
CRS-6766
Table 16. Provincial Reconstruction Teams
(RC=Regional Command)
Location (City)
Province/Command
U.S.-Lead (all under ISAF banner)
Gardez
Paktia Province (RC-East, E)
Ghazni
Ghazni (RC-E). with Poland.
Bagram A.B.
Parwan (RC-C, Central)
Jalalabad
Nangarhar (RC-E)
Khost
Khost (RC-E)
Qalat
Zabol (RC-South, S). with Romania.
Asadabad
Kunar (RC-E)
Sharana
Paktika (RC-E). with Poland.
Mehtarlam
Jabal o-Saraj
Laghman (RC-E)
Panjshir Province (RC-E), State Department lead
Qala Gush
Nuristan (RC-E)
Farah
Farah (RC-W)
Partner Lead (all under ISAF banner)
PRT Location
Province
Lead Force/Other forces
Qandahar
Qandahar (RC-S)
Canada
Lashkar Gah
Helmand (RC-S)
Britain. with Denmark and Estonia
Tarin Kowt
Uruzgan (RC-S)
Netherlands. with Australia and 40
Singaporean military medics and others
Herat
Herat (RC-W)
Italy
Qalah-ye Now
Badghis (RC-W)
Spain
Mazar-e-Sharif
Balkh (RC-N)
Sweden
Konduz
Konduz (RC-N)
Germany
Faizabad
Badakhshan (RC-N)
Germany. with Denmark, Czech Rep.
Meymaneh
Faryab (RC-N)
Norway. with Sweden.
Chaghcharan
Ghowr (RC-W)
Lithuania. with Denmark, U.S., Iceland
Pol-e-Khomri
Baghlan (RC-N)
Hungary
Bamiyan
Bamiyan (RC-E)
New Zealand (not NATO/ISAF). 10
Singaporean engineers
Maidan Shahr
Wardak (RC-C)
Turkey
Pul-i-Alam
Lowgar (RC-E)
Czech Republic
CRS-6867
Table 17. Major Factions/Leaders in Afghanistan
Party/
Leader
Leader
Ideology/
Ethnicity
Regional
Base
Taliban
Mullah (Islamic cleric) Muhammad Umar (still at
large possibly in Afghanistan)/Jalaludin and Siraj
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 (speaker of
lower house)/Muhammad Fahim/Dr. Abdullah
Abdullah (Foreign Minister 2001-2006). Ismail
Khan, a so-called “warlord,” heads faction of the
grouping in Herat area. Khan, now Minister of
Energy and Water, visited United States in March
2008 to sign USAID grant for energy projects
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 secular,
break with Najibullah that precipitated his overthrow. Uzbek
Subsequently fought Rabbani government (19921995), 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. During OEF, impressed U.S.
commanders with horse-mounted assaults on Taliban
positions at Shulgara Dam, south of Mazar-e-Sharif,
leading to the fall of that city and the Taliban’s
subsequent collapse. Karzai rival in October 2004
presidential election, now his top “security adviser.”
Mazar-eSharif,
Shebergan,
and environs
Hizb-eWahdat
Karim Khalili is Vice President, but Mohammad
Shiite,
Mohaqiq is Karzai rival in presidential election and Hazara
parliament. Generally pro-Iranian. Was part of
tribes
Rabbani 1992-1996 government, and fought
unsuccessfully with Taliban over Bamiyan city.
Bamiyan
province
Pashtun
Leaders
Various regional governors; central government
led by Hamid Karzai.
Moderate
Islamic,
Pashtun
Dominant in
southern,
eastern
Afghanistan
Hizb-eIslam
Gulbuddin
(HIG)
Mujahedin party leader Gulbuddin Hikmatyar. Lost orthodox
Islamic,
power base around Jalalabad to the Taliban in
Pashtun
1994, and fled to Iran before being expelled in
2002. Still allied with Taliban and Al Qaeda in
operations east of Kabul, but may be open to ending
militant activity. 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
orthodox
Abd-I-Rab Rasul Sayyaf. Islamic conservative,
leads a pro-Karzai faction in parliament. Lived
Islamic,
many years in and politically close to Saudi Arabia, Pashtun
which shares his “Wahhabi” ideology. During antiSoviet 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.
Paghman
(west of
Kabul)
CRS-6968
Appendix A. 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,
reversing the June 14, 1996 addition of Afghanistan to the list of
countries prohibited from receiving exports or licenses for exports
CRS-7069
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, referencing the 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-7170
Figure 1. Map of Afghanistan