The British troops sent to Afghanistan recently have got off to a dangerous and difficult start. More troops are being rushed out to support them. The question of what to do about Afghanistan, and its 30 million people, is whizzing up the agenda.
Last January John Reid, then British secretary of State for defense, announced that the small British military presence in Afghanistan was to be expanded to some 5,000 soldiers, most of whom would be based in Helmand province. Their main role would be to support reconstruction efforts. Unfortunately John Reid then added, far too optimistically, that he would be happy for them to complete their mission “without a shot being fired”.
There were those in Parliament and beyond who suggested such a force would be too small for the allotted task, at a time when the dreaded and medieval Taleban was clearly on its way back. The Ministry of Defense must have, in private, shared such doubts for it was soon made known that an RAF Harrier squadron in Afghanistan would not now be withdrawn.
Spearheading the expanded British contingent was the 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, a touch and battle-hardened unit. Within a few days the unit’s bases were coming under daily attack. In just three weeks six British soldiers have been killed in Helmand province, which is four times the size of Wales and the main opium poppy-growing part of the country. One of them was Lance Cpl. Jabron Hashmi, a Muslim, whose funeral took place in Birmingham on July 8 in the presence of the Muslim chaplain for the Armed Forces.
The Ministry of Defense described the fierce opposition as “unexpected” — ignoring those experts who had predicted it — and Des Browne, the new and unimpressive secretary of state for defense, conceded that the arrival of the British troops had “energized the Taleban”. He told the House of Commons, by now alarmed at the situation, on the July 10, that 900 more troops would be sent out. These reinforcements would include one company from the Royal Marine’s 3 Commando Brigade. Troops in Helmand province are seriously short of lift helicopters, like the British Army as a whole, but it is hoped more will be found for Afghanistan.
I have no doubt in my mind that President George Bush and his senior colleagues took their eyes off the Afghanistan ball when they decided to invade Iraq in 2003. It is worth recalling that before President Bush arrived in the White House, he made it clear that he did not consider nation-building was an appropriate role for US forces.
Last year the American Ambassador in Kabul, Ronald Newman, sensibly declared:
“We’re not going to win this war militarily any time soon. If we throttle back the effort, we face trouble.”
Since 2001 and the successful American-led attack on the Taleban regime, 18,000 US troops have been engaged in search and destroy operations against the Taleban in the high mountains of southeast Afghanistan. 200 American soldiers were killed in that country in 2005 — the worst year so far. American troops are to be throttled back by some 3,000 in the next few weeks.
In Brussels last December NATO agreed to increase its commitment to Afghanistan from 10,000 to 16,000. However, it is running into trouble matching its fine, brave words with troop numbers and supporting equipment. NATO’s poor response so far has been the target of Conservative backbenchers in the Commons.
Gen. Sir David Richards is now the British commander of all NATO forces in the country, and NATO is going to take over responsibility for the four southern provinces in a few days. He will be only too aware he has a grim war to fight.
The Taleban are thought to have over 1,000 experienced fighters in the South, and they work with elements of Al-Qaeda, tribal militias opposed to the Kabul government and drug traffickers.
Part of what is at stake is the great advances which have been made in Afghanistan since 2001. President Hamid Karzai was elected for a five-year term, with 55.4 percent of the vote in October 2004. In the Parliament in Kabul a quarter of its members are women. Last year the Afghan economy grew by 14 percent. Some 5 million refugees have returned. Immunization has saved the lives of 35,000 Afghan children.
British ministers have talked of Afghanistan being the new battleground of the Western world — I think unwisely. To gain the upper hand is going to require the dispatch of many tens of thousands of highly professional, well equipped, and properly led and trained troops. They will be fighting with the Afghan National Army which is still very weak.
This struggle could last for decades. Has the world the will? Who is going to do the fighting?
