SOS
03-26-2002, 11:44 AM
U.S. Military Plans to Start Training
Afghan Forces to Build a New Army
By CHIP CUMMINS
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
U.S. troops will begin training a new Afghan army in the next several weeks, in the Pentagon's first concrete step toward shaping an Afghan national force from thousands of fighters whose loyalties now lie with dozens of warlords.
The move to replace the poorly disciplined and ill-equipped Afghan troops suggests that U.S. military planners are beginning to think about an exit strategy, though Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said the U.S. remains committed to keeping large numbers of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to hunt down al Qaeda and Taliban leaders still at large.
"Ultimately, this will be the start of life after the U.S." in Afghanistan, said Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla., although he added that a significant U.S. troop pullout is still a long way off.
Pentagon officials said they hope to train enough Afghan troops so that by the end of the year the U.S.-trained Afghans can take over the training themselves.
Early Stages
Defense officials said plans were in their early stages and funding hasn't yet been secured. Mr. Rumsfeld said he didn't know how many Afghan soldiers would eventually be required to field a competent national army. Estimates from independent analysts range widely, from as few as 20,000 to 50,000 or more.
Initially, the U.S. will detail as many as 150 Army Special Forces, or Green Berets, to train fighters in basic military skills, police tactics and border security, defense officials said. The troops will teach some Afghan soldiers how to conduct the training themselves.
Mr. Rumsfeld said that the American trainers would be drawn mainly from the hundreds of Special Forces already in Afghanistan. As many as 6,000 U.S. troops are currently stationed in Afghanistan. Washington intends to maintain strong military ties with Afghanistan even after American forces leave, officials said.
But Mr. Rumsfeld also said the U.S. wouldn't make the establishment of a credible Afghan army a precondition for withdrawing its own forces. He said a withdrawal would come after American troops hunt down remaining leaders of Afghanistan's former Taliban government and operatives in the terrorist network run by Osama bin Laden.
Mr. Rumsfeld said that will likely still take "a number of months." He and other defense officials weren't more specific, though they have said significant pockets of Taliban and al Qaeda resistance remain throughout the country. Underscoring those concerns, Army Gen. Tommy Franks, commander of American forces in the country, recently moved four A-10 attack planes to the U.S. base at Bagram, closer to areas in eastern Afghanistan where Taliban and al Qaeda forces have regrouped in recent weeks. Two more A-10s, capable of delivering close-in air support for ground troops, are on the way, according to officials.
Mopping Up
U.S. forces continued mop-up operations in eastern Afghanistan following the biggest ground assault in the nearly six-month war. Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said soldiers were combing through caves and other hideouts abandoned by al Qaeda fighters in the Shah-e-Kot mountains, near the town of Gardez.
Troops have found computers, passports and phone lists as well as weapons and ammunition, he said. Soldiers also found a laboratory near Kandahar with equipment commonly used to produce anthrax, though officials said there was no conclusive evidence that any biological or chemical agents were actually made there.
The decision to begin training an Afghan army comes after an assessment team led by Army Maj. Gen. Charles Campbell visited Afghanistan in February, meeting with interim leader Hamid Karzai and his defense minister, Fahim Khan.
Afghan forces loyal to Mr. Karzai are already receiving some training from a peacekeeping force currently led by Britain. The force is expected to be turned over to a Turkish commander in coming months. Mr. Rumsfeld said the U.S. was working on an agreement with the Turkish military and would likely continue providing the peacekeeping force with intelligence assistance, logistical support and a fast-reaction team capable of backing up the force in case it gets into trouble.
-wj
Afghan Forces to Build a New Army
By CHIP CUMMINS
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
U.S. troops will begin training a new Afghan army in the next several weeks, in the Pentagon's first concrete step toward shaping an Afghan national force from thousands of fighters whose loyalties now lie with dozens of warlords.
The move to replace the poorly disciplined and ill-equipped Afghan troops suggests that U.S. military planners are beginning to think about an exit strategy, though Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said the U.S. remains committed to keeping large numbers of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to hunt down al Qaeda and Taliban leaders still at large.
"Ultimately, this will be the start of life after the U.S." in Afghanistan, said Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla., although he added that a significant U.S. troop pullout is still a long way off.
Pentagon officials said they hope to train enough Afghan troops so that by the end of the year the U.S.-trained Afghans can take over the training themselves.
Early Stages
Defense officials said plans were in their early stages and funding hasn't yet been secured. Mr. Rumsfeld said he didn't know how many Afghan soldiers would eventually be required to field a competent national army. Estimates from independent analysts range widely, from as few as 20,000 to 50,000 or more.
Initially, the U.S. will detail as many as 150 Army Special Forces, or Green Berets, to train fighters in basic military skills, police tactics and border security, defense officials said. The troops will teach some Afghan soldiers how to conduct the training themselves.
Mr. Rumsfeld said that the American trainers would be drawn mainly from the hundreds of Special Forces already in Afghanistan. As many as 6,000 U.S. troops are currently stationed in Afghanistan. Washington intends to maintain strong military ties with Afghanistan even after American forces leave, officials said.
But Mr. Rumsfeld also said the U.S. wouldn't make the establishment of a credible Afghan army a precondition for withdrawing its own forces. He said a withdrawal would come after American troops hunt down remaining leaders of Afghanistan's former Taliban government and operatives in the terrorist network run by Osama bin Laden.
Mr. Rumsfeld said that will likely still take "a number of months." He and other defense officials weren't more specific, though they have said significant pockets of Taliban and al Qaeda resistance remain throughout the country. Underscoring those concerns, Army Gen. Tommy Franks, commander of American forces in the country, recently moved four A-10 attack planes to the U.S. base at Bagram, closer to areas in eastern Afghanistan where Taliban and al Qaeda forces have regrouped in recent weeks. Two more A-10s, capable of delivering close-in air support for ground troops, are on the way, according to officials.
Mopping Up
U.S. forces continued mop-up operations in eastern Afghanistan following the biggest ground assault in the nearly six-month war. Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said soldiers were combing through caves and other hideouts abandoned by al Qaeda fighters in the Shah-e-Kot mountains, near the town of Gardez.
Troops have found computers, passports and phone lists as well as weapons and ammunition, he said. Soldiers also found a laboratory near Kandahar with equipment commonly used to produce anthrax, though officials said there was no conclusive evidence that any biological or chemical agents were actually made there.
The decision to begin training an Afghan army comes after an assessment team led by Army Maj. Gen. Charles Campbell visited Afghanistan in February, meeting with interim leader Hamid Karzai and his defense minister, Fahim Khan.
Afghan forces loyal to Mr. Karzai are already receiving some training from a peacekeeping force currently led by Britain. The force is expected to be turned over to a Turkish commander in coming months. Mr. Rumsfeld said the U.S. was working on an agreement with the Turkish military and would likely continue providing the peacekeeping force with intelligence assistance, logistical support and a fast-reaction team capable of backing up the force in case it gets into trouble.
-wj