Afghanistan: ‘NATO Risks Losing The War,’ Holbrooke
Ambassador Richard Holbrooke
While the US administration and the Congress have opted for continued military-centric strategy in Iraq for the next five months or so, it is the same old story in Afghanistan where NATO forces seem stuck endlessly without any diplomatic or political moves.
What’s the latest in Afghanistan?
“NATO risks losing the war in Afghanistan because of a ‘tremendous deterioration’ in the popularity of the government of U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai,” Richard Holbrooke said Saturday, according to an AP report.
Richard Holbrooke, who? Well, Holbrooke, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is pegged by some to be named as the U.S. secretary of state if a Democratic president is elected in the next US presidential elections.
Holbrooke, who was instrumental in formulating U.S. policy toward the United Nations, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, remains best-known for his role as the architect of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement which ended the war in Bosnia.
” ‘Afghanistan represents the ultimate test for NATO,’ Holbrooke – who recently toured the war-torn country – told the Brussels Forum, an annual transatlantic security conference.
“He lambasted the U.S.-financed effort to train the Afghan police, saying it had produced a force that was corrupt and incompetent.
” ‘The U.S. training program (for the police) under DynCorp is an appalling joke … a complete shambles,’ he said. He referred to Falls Church, Virginia-based DynCorp International Inc. a major provider of security and defence services in Afghanistan, Iraq and other troublespots.
“At a news conference later, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said the fate of the allied operation in Afghanistan – in which 54 Canadian soldiers have died so far – could reach a ‘tipping point.’
” ‘While I don’t want to sound alarmist, I think there is going to be a tipping point unless we are able to stabilize (southern Afghanistan, especially), unless we are able to get on with building the economy, rule of law and government institutions,’ MacKay said.
“He said Canada has been disappointed by a lack of solidarity within NATO to share the burden of the Afghan operation.”
“The North Atlantic Treaty Alliance has 36,000 troops under its command in Afghanistan and the United States has deployed an additional 11,000 troops in the eastern border region with Pakistan.
“Still, Taliban guerrillas have vastly expanded their activities during the past year. Insurgents have now returned to many regions outside their traditional strongholds in the east that were rebel-free since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.”
There has been serious concern with regard to allegations of torture, abuse and execution within the Afghan prison system. More here…
