KABUL, 28 February 2005 — The number of soldiers in Afghanistan’s fledgling army passed 25,000 yesterday with the graduation of three battalions of newly trained soldiers and officers but the force remains far short of its planned strength. “With the graduation of three battalions today the number of Afghan National Army personnel including officers goes over 25,000,” said Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed Zahir Azimi.
Some 853 soldiers and officers graduated in a ceremony in the Afghan capital, taking the force a small step closer to its eventual planned size of 70,000 men. However, government officials cautioned that Afghanistan is still years away from being able to maintain stability without a US military presence.
The 853 soldiers and officers of the 31st Battalion graduated yesterday morning in a joyful ceremony in the capital, Kabul. “You young people must encourage others to follow you into the Afghan National Army,” Gen. Abdullah, a senior Defense Ministry official who goes by one name, told the soldiers. “You are entrusted with the Afghan nation and must go like men to every corner of the country.”
“In order for Afghanistan to regain the full strength of its institutions and for stability to become a reality, a long-term presence by the United States is necessary,” said presidential spokesman Jawed Ludin. “It is essential for Afghanistan and the Afghan people to know this.” The south and southeast has seen frequent attacks against Afghan forces and foreign troops since the US-led military toppled the Taliban in late 2001 after it refused to hand over Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden.
When formalities ended, many soldiers performed a traditional Afghan dance while others festooned their Afghan trainers with plastic and paper flowers and posed for photos in groups drawn from across the country’s deep ethnic divides. France helps train the senior officers, Britain the noncommissioned officers and the United States trains the regular soldiers. Instructors from countries including Romania and Mongolia train troops on their mainly Soviet-era tanks and artillery.
